13 CFR 107.710 - Requirement to finance smaller enterprises.

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2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Requirement to finance smaller enterprises. 107.710 Section 107.710 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SMALL... Small Business for Sbic Financing § 107.710 Requirement to finance smaller enterprises. Your Portfolio...

More, smaller bacteria in response to ocean's warming?

KAUST Repository

Moran, Xose Anxelu G.

2015-06-10

Heterotrophic bacteria play a major role in organic matter cycling in the ocean. Although the high abundances and relatively fast growth rates of coastal surface bacterioplankton make them suitable sentinels of global change, past analyses have largely overlooked this functional group. Here, time series analysis of a decade of monthly observations in temperate Atlantic coastal waters revealed strong seasonal patterns in the abundance, size and biomass of the ubiquitous flow-cytometric groups of low (LNA) and high nucleic acid (HNA) content bacteria. Over this relatively short period, we also found that bacterioplankton cells were significantly smaller, a trend that is consistent with the hypothesized temperature-driven decrease in body size. Although decadal cell shrinking was observed for both groups, it was only LNA cells that were strongly coherent, with ecological theories linking temperature, abundance and individual size on both the seasonal and interannual scale. We explain this finding because, relative to their HNA counterparts, marine LNA bacteria are less diverse, dominated by members of the SAR11 clade. Temperature manipulation experiments in 2012 confirmed a direct effect of warming on bacterial size. Concurrent with rising temperatures in spring, significant decadal trends of increasing standing stocks (3% per year) accompanied by decreasing mean cell size (-1% per year) suggest a major shift in community structure, with a larger contribution of LNA bacteria to total biomass. The increasing prevalence of these typically oligotrophic taxa may severely impact marine foodwebs and carbon fluxes by an overall decrease in the efficiency of the biological pump. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

HIV Distal Neuropathic Pain Is Associated with Smaller Ventral Posterior Cingulate Cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Keltner, John R; Connolly, Colm G; Vaida, Florin; Jenkinson, Mark; Fennema-Notestine, Christine; Archibald, Sarah; Akkari, Cherine; Schlein, Alexandra; Lee, Jisu; Wang, Dongzhe; Kim, Sung; Li, Han; Rennels, Austin; Miller, David J; Kesidis, George; Franklin, Donald R; Sanders, Chelsea; Corkran, Stephanie; Grant, Igor; Brown, Gregory G; Atkinson, J Hampton; Ellis, Ronald J

2017-03-01

. Despite modern antiretroviral therapy, HIV-associated neuropathy is one of the most prevalent, disabling and treatment-resistant complications of HIV disease. The presence and intensity of distal neuropathic pain is not fully explained by the degree of peripheral nerve damage. A better understanding of brain structure in HIV distal neuropathic pain may help explain why some patients with HIV neuropathy report pain while the majority does not. Previously, we reported that more intense distal neuropathic pain was associated with smaller total cerebral cortical gray matter volumes. The objective of this study was to determine which parts of the cortex are smaller. . HIV positive individuals with and without distal neuropathic pain enrolled in the multisite (N = 233) CNS HIV Antiretroviral Treatment Effects (CHARTER) study underwent structural brain magnetic resonance imaging. Voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate regional brain volumes in these structural brain images. . Left ventral posterior cingulate cortex was smaller for HIV positive individuals with versus without distal neuropathic pain (peak P  = 0.017; peak t = 5.15; MNI coordinates x = -6, y = -54, z = 20). Regional brain volumes within cortical gray matter structures typically associated with pain processing were also smaller for HIV positive individuals having higher intensity ratings of distal neuropathic pain. . The posterior cingulate is thought to be involved in inhibiting the perception of painful stimuli. Mechanistically a smaller posterior cingulate cortex structure may be related to reduced anti-nociception contributing to increased distal neuropathic pain. © 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Smaller Is More Personal, and the Personal Gets Results. The Editor Reflects.

Science.gov (United States)

Erb, Tom

2001-01-01

Summarizes growing body of evidence relating small school size at elementary and middle grades to positive student outcomes. Notes that positive outcomes associated with small size relate to teacher commitment and effectiveness as well as student attachment, persistence, and performance. Concludes that smaller, more intimate schools are better…

The Effect of Introducing a Smaller and Lighter Basketball on Female Basketball Players’ Shot Accuracy

Science.gov (United States)

Podmenik, Nadja; Leskošek, Bojan; Erčulj, Frane

2012-01-01

Our study examined whether the introduction of a smaller and lighter basketball (no. 6) affected the accuracy of female basketball players’ shots at the basket. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) introduced a size 6 ball in the 2004/2005 season to improve the efficiency and accuracy of technical elements, primarily shots at the basket. The sample for this study included 573 European female basketball players who were members of national teams that had qualified for the senior women’s European championships in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. A size 7 (larger and heavier) basketball was used by 286 players in 1,870 matches, and a size 6 basketball was used by 287 players in 1,966 matches. The players were categorised into three playing positions: guards, forwards and centres. The results revealed that statistically significant changes by year occurred only in terms of the percentage of successful free throws. With the size 6 basketball, this percentage decreased. Statistically significant differences between the playing positions were observed in terms of the percentage of field goals worth three points (between guards and forwards) and two points (between guards and centres). The results show that the introduction of the size 6 basketball did not lead to improvement in shooting accuracy (the opposite was found for free throws), although the number of three-point shots increased. PMID:23486286

Designing a Smaller Power Inverter: the Google Littlebox Challenge - Text

Science.gov (United States)

Version | Energy Systems Integration Facility | NREL Designing a Smaller Power Inverter: the Google Littlebox Challenge - Text Version er Power Inverter: the Google Littlebox Challenge - Text Version Below is the text version for the Designing a Smaller Power Inverter: the Google Littlebox

Comparison between smaller ruptured intracranial aneurysm and larger un-ruptured intracranial aneurysm: gene expression profile analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hao; Li, Haowen; Yue, Haiyan; Wang, Wen; Yu, Lanbing; ShuoWang; Cao, Yong; Zhao, Jizong

2017-07-01

As it grows in size, an intracranial aneurysm (IA) is prone to rupture. In this study, we compared two extreme groups of IAs, ruptured IAs (RIAs) smaller than 10 mm and un-ruptured IAs (UIAs) larger than 10 mm, to investigate the genes involved in the facilitation and prevention of IA rupture. The aneurismal walls of 6 smaller saccular RIAs (size smaller than 10 mm), 6 larger saccular UIAs (size larger than 10 mm) and 12 paired control arteries were obtained during surgery. The transcription profiles of these samples were studied by microarray analysis. RT-qPCR was used to confirm the expression of the genes of interest. In addition, functional group analysis of the differentially expressed genes was performed. Between smaller RIAs and larger UIAs, 101 genes and 179 genes were significantly over-expressed, respectively. In addition, functional group analysis demonstrated that the up-regulated genes in smaller RIAs mainly participated in the cellular response to metal ions and inorganic substances, while most of the up-regulated genes in larger UIAs were involved in inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization. Moreover, compared with control arteries, inflammation was up-regulated and muscle-related biological processes were down-regulated in both smaller RIAs and larger UIAs. The genes involved in the cellular response to metal ions and inorganic substances may facilitate the rupture of IAs. In addition, the healing process, involving inflammation and ECM organization, may protect IAs from rupture.

Smaller Anterior Cruciate Ligament Diameter Is a Predictor of Subjects Prone to Ligament Injuries: An Ultrasound Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parag Suresh Mahajan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To test if diameter of normal anterior cruciate ligament (ACL can be measured by ultrasound (US, to see if there is a relationship between smaller ACL diameter and ACL injury, and to assess agreement between radiologists in measuring ACL diameter in cases and matched controls. Materials and Methods. In this ethics committee-approved study, maximum diameter of ACL near tibial insertion site was measured by static and dynamic US study in 25 normal contralateral knees of subjects who suffered noncontact ACL injury and in 25 matched control subjects. Results. ACL was visualized as a thick linear hypoechoic band inserted approximately 11 mm caudal to the tibial plateau and the intercondylar eminence. Maximum diameter of contralateral ACL near tibial insertion site among injured subjects was significantly smaller than in noninjured subjects (0.62 ± 0.07 cm versus 0.81 ± 0.06 cm; P<0.0001. In the regression analysis, the diameter of ACL near tibial insertion site was found significantly proportional to body weight and not significantly associated to height, gender, and age. Conclusion. Diameter of normal ACL near tibial insertion site can be measured by US and the maximum diameter is significantly smaller among subjects with noncontact ACL injury. US is a promising modality that can be used as an excellent screening test to detect subjects especially aspiring athletes prone to ACL injury. Very strong agreement was observed between radiologists in measuring ACL diameter.

Smaller superior temporal gyrus volume specificity in schizotypal personality disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Kim E.; Hazlett, Erin A.; New, Antonia S.; Haznedar, M. Mehmet; Newmark, Randall E.; Zelmanova, Yuliya; Passarelli, Vincent; Weinstein, Shauna R.; Canfield, Emily L.; Meyerson, David A.; Tang, Cheuk Y.; Buchsbaum, Monte S.; Siever, Larry J.

2009-01-01

Background Superior temporal gyrus (STG/BA22) volume is reduced in schizophrenia and to a milder degree in schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), representing a less severe disorder in the schizophrenia-spectrum. SPD and Borderline personality disorder (BPD) are severe personality disorders characterized by social and cognitive dysfunction. However, while SPD is characterized by social withdrawal/anhedonia, BPD is marked by hyper-reactivity to interpersonal stimuli and hyper-emotionality. This is the first morphometric study to directly compare SPD and BPD patients in temporal volume. Methods We compared three age-gender- and education-matched groups: 27 unmedicated SPD individuals with no BPD traits, 52 unmedicated BPD individuals with no SPD traits, and 45 healthy controls. We examined gray matter volume of frontal and temporal lobe Brodmann areas (BAs), and dorsal/ventral amygdala from 3T magnetic resonance imaging. Results In the STG, an auditory association area reported to be dysfunctional in SPD and BPD, the SPD patients had significantly smaller volume than healthy controls and BPD patients. No group differences were found between BPD patients and controls. Smaller BA22 volume was associated with greater symptom severity in SPD patients. Reduced STG volume may be an important endophenotype for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. SPD is distinct from BPD in terms of STG volume abnormalities which may reflect different underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and could help discriminate between them. PMID:19473820

Marketing healthcare: lessons for smaller hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhary, N R

2000-02-01

Recently, I have noted ubiquitous trends that lead me to conclude that we are on the brink of a fundamental change in the structure of healthcare delivery. Hospitals are changing. The hospital, that enduring and pervasive organization, which for decades has delivered the vast majority of acute care services is being re-conceptualized. Administrators and executives in today's hospitals are beginning to recognize the disaffection of constituents and the necessity to change from placing their own agenda or that of their profession over the needs of the customer. A lesson that is increasingly being heeded, particularly by the leading hospitals, is that a belief in one's own importance or a feeling of invulnerability represents an anachronistic stance. No hospital today can afford to retain a view that it is more important than the patients it serves, or that it is invulnerable. The external pressures are already clear--the actors, factors and forces in the external environment are forcing hospitals to re-evaluate efficiency, effectiveness and delivery arrangements. The rise to prominence of the outcomes movement is part of this trend. The present study was an attempt to assess the practices and trends in the modern smaller hospitals as a part of their strategy to match the competitive pressures.

Radiocarbon evidence for a smaller oceanic carbon dioxide sink than previously believed

Science.gov (United States)

Hesshaimer, Vago; Heimann, Martin; Levin, Ingeborg

1994-07-01

RADIOCARBON produced naturally in the upper atmosphere or arti-ficially during nuclear weapons testing is the main tracer used to validate models of oceanic carbon cycling, in particular the exchange of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere1-3 and the mixing parameters within the ocean itself4-7. Here we test the overall consistency of exchange fluxes between all relevant compartments in a simple model of the global carbon cycle, using measurements of the long-term tropospheric CO2 concentration8 and radiocarbon composition9-12, the bomb 14C inventory in the stratosphere13,14 and a compilation of bomb detonation dates and strengths15. We find that to balance the budget, we must invoke an extra source to account for 25% of the generally accepted uptake of bomb 14C by the oceans3. The strength of this source decreases from 1970 onwards, with a characteristic timescale similar to that of the ocean uptake. Significant radiocarbon transport from the remote high stratosphere and significantly reduced uptake of bomb 14C by the biosphere can both be ruled out by observational constraints. We therefore conclude that the global oceanic bomb 14C inventory should be revised downwards. A smaller oceanic bomb 14C inventory also implies a smaller oceanic radiocarbon penetration depth16, which in turn implies that the oceans take up 25% less anthropogenic CO2 than had previously been believed.

Participation of smaller size renewable generation in the electricity market trade in UK: Analyses and approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Romanovsky, G.; Xydis, G.; Mutale, J.

2011-01-01

a number of specific historical, technical and economic reasons that significantly influenced the ability of the smaller size RES/DG to participate in the electricity market and in provision of balancing services in accordance with the UK National Grid requirements. This paper discusses some perspectives...

Smaller genitals at school age in boys whose mothers were exposed to non-persistent pesticides in early pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Veje, Christine Wohlfahrt; Andersen, H R; Jensen, Tina Kold

2012-01-01

. The effects were associated with the maternal exposure levels, so that high-exposed boys had smaller genitals than medium-exposed boys, who had smaller genitals than those who were unexposed. Boys of mothers in the high exposure group (n = 23) had 24.7% smaller testes (95% CI: -62.2; -10.1) and 9.4% shorter...... penile length (95% CI: -16.8; -1.1) compared with the unexposed. The testicular volume and penile length at school age could be tracked to measures from the same boys made at 3 months, e.g. those that had small testes at school age also had small testes at 3 months. Pituitary and testicular hormone serum...

Formal conditions for the significance-effect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thellefsen, Torkild Leo; Sørensen, Bent; Thellefsen, Martin

2006-01-01

The significance-effect is the right effect of meaning caused upon an interpreting mind. The right effect is understood as the right interpretation of an intended meaning caused by a sign communicated by an utterer. In the article, which is inspired by Charles S. Peirce's doctrine of signs, his s...... semeiotics and his theory of communication, we account for the formal conditions that have to be present for the release of the significance-effect....

The Application of Systemic Safety for Smaller Nuclear Installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, J.

2016-01-01

This paper will provide an outline of ARPANSA’s approach to systemic safety as applied to smaller hazard nuclear installations. It will describe ARPANSA’s effort to enable licence holders to better understand the principles of systemic safety so that they may make improvements for themselves. In regard to human and organizational factors, inspections are more often used to highlight areas where performance can be improved to meet best practice rather than strictly as a compliance tool. This takes account of a graded, risk informed approach and is undertaken in a collaborative way that places a premium on openness, clarity, reliability and efficiency. The paper will discuss the challenges faced by the approach, and how ARPANSA is currently managing these. It will describe ARPANSA’s regulatory guidance and inspection processes. The significant stages in ARPANSA development of the systemic approach are provided briefly in the following paragraphs.

Increased expression and altered methylation of HERVWE1 in the human placentas of smaller fetuses from monozygotic, dichorionic, discordant twins.

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Yu Gao

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The human endogenous retroviral family W, Env(C7, member 1 gene (HERVWE1 is thought to participate in trophoblast cell fusion, and its expression is diminished in the placentas of singleton intrauterine growth-retarded pregnancies. However, there is limited information about the role of HERVWE1 in discordant fetal growth in twins. This study was to compare HERVWE1 gene expression between the placentas of discordant monozygotic twins and to identify its regulation by methylation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Fetuses from twenty-one pairs of monozygotic, dichorionic, discordant twins were marked as "smaller" or "larger" according to birth weight. Placental HERVWE1 mRNA and protein expression profiles were analyzed using quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC staining. Methylation profiles of the HERVWE1 promoter region were analyzed using a pyrosequencing assay. DNA methyltransferase (DNMT transcript levels were analyzed by RT-PCR. 5-methyl cytosine (5-MC was stained using an immunohistochemical assay. There was a significant negative correlation between HERVWE1 mRNA levels and birth weight in twins (P0.05. The DNMT3b3 mRNA levels in the smaller group were significantly downregulated compared with the larger group in discordant twins(P<0.05, whereas the DNMT3b7 mRNA levels in the smaller group were significantly upregulated compared with the larger group in discordant twins(P<0.05. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In discordant, monozygotic, dichorionic twins, HERVWE1 expression was higher in smaller fetuses and lower in larger fetuses. Methylation of the HERVWE1 gene promoter region may participate in the regulation of HERVWE1 gene expression in discordant twin pregnancies.

Slower gait, slower information processing and smaller prefrontal area in older adults.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosano, C.; Studenski, S.A.; Aizenstein, H.J.; Boudreau, R.M.; Longstreth Jr, W.T.; Newman, A.B.

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND: Slower gait in older adults is related to smaller volume of the prefrontal area (PFAv). The pathways underlying this association have not yet been explored. Understanding slowing gait could help improve function in older age. We examine whether the association between smaller PFAv and

Smaller Cigarette Pack as a Commitment to Smoke Less? Insights from Behavioral Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Marti, Joachim; Sindelar, Jody

2015-01-01

Cigarettes are commonly sold in packs of 20 units and therefore little is known about the potential impact of pack size on consumption. Using insights from behavioral economics, we suggest that cigarette packs smaller than the standard size may help some smokers cut back and/or quit, consistent with their long-term goals. Results from an online hypothetical purchase experiment conducted in a sample of US smokers reveal that over a third of smokers are willing to pay a price premium to purchase in smaller quantities. Further, a desire to quit smoking and high self-control is associated with preference for a smaller pack. While we provide some preliminary evidence that smaller packs may be beneficial to certain types of smokers, further research should be conducted to assess whether the smaller pack size should be considered in the arsenal of tobacco control policies to help current smokers quit (JEL: I18; I12; D12) PMID:26356844

Smaller Cigarette Pack as a Commitment to Smoke Less? Insights from Behavioral Economics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim Marti

Full Text Available Cigarettes are commonly sold in packs of 20 units and therefore little is known about the potential impact of pack size on consumption. Using insights from behavioral economics, we suggest that cigarette packs smaller than the standard size may help some smokers cut back and/or quit, consistent with their long-term goals. Results from an online hypothetical purchase experiment conducted in a sample of US smokers reveal that over a third of smokers are willing to pay a price premium to purchase in smaller quantities. Further, a desire to quit smoking and high self-control is associated with preference for a smaller pack. While we provide some preliminary evidence that smaller packs may be beneficial to certain types of smokers, further research should be conducted to assess whether the smaller pack size should be considered in the arsenal of tobacco control policies to help current smokers quit (JEL: I18; I12; D12.

Do parents leave a smaller carbon footprint?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordström, Leif Jonas; Shogren, Jason F.; Thunström, Linda

Do parents leave a smaller carbon footprint? While becoming a parent is transformational as one focuses more on the future, the time constraints are more binding right now. Using a unique data set that allows us to compare CO2 emissions from Swedish two-adult households with and without children......, we find becoming a Swedish parent causes a person to leave a larger carbon ootprint—due to changes in transportation patterns and food consumption choices....

Order of Magnitude Smaller Limit on the Electron's Electron Dipole Moment

Science.gov (United States)

Gabrielse, Gerald

2014-05-01

Proposed extensions to the Standard Model of particle physics typically predict that the electron would naturally have a small but potentially measurable electric dipole moment (EDM). The Standard Model, known to be incomplete, instead predicts that the electron EDM is much too small to measure. The ACME collaboration used the enormous electric field that electrons experience within a ThO molecule, the unique structure of this molecule, and a cryogenic buffer gas beam of molecules to search for an electron EDM. The new search was sensitive enough to detect an EDM that is ten times smaller than the previously measured upper limit - well within the range of predictions from various proposed extensions to the Standard Model. We did not detect such an EDM, however. Instead, we set a new upper limit on the electron EDM at a 90% confidence limit, | de | < 8 . 7 × 10-29 , making use of the effective electric field calculated for ThO. The new limit stringently constrains the parameters of proposed extensions to the Standard Model to values that predict an electron EDM smaller than the new limit. The TeV energy scale being probed is comparable to that being investigated at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Supported by the AMO program of the NSF.

Implementation Study of Smaller Learning Communities. Final Report

Science.gov (United States)

Bernstein, Lawrence; Millsap, Mary Ann; Schimmenti, Jennifer; Page, Lindsay

2008-01-01

The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program was established in response to growing national concerns about students too often lost and alienated in large, impersonal high schools, as well as concerns about school safety and low levels of achievement and graduation for many students. Authorized under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act,"…

Measurement of smaller colon polyp in CT colonography images using morphological image processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Manjunath, K N; Siddalingaswamy, P C; Prabhu, G K

2017-11-01

Automated measurement of the size and shape of colon polyps is one of the challenges in Computed tomography colonography (CTC). The objective of this retrospective study was to improve the sensitivity and specificity of smaller polyp measurement in CTC using image processing techniques. A domain knowledge-based method has been implemented with hybrid method of colon segmentation, morphological image processing operators for detecting the colonic structures, and the decision-making system for delineating the smaller polyp-based on a priori knowledge. The method was applied on 45 CTC dataset. The key finding was that the smaller polyps were accurately measured. In addition to 6-9 mm range, polyps of even processing. It takes [Formula: see text] min for measuring the smaller polyp in a dataset of 500 CTC images. With this method, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were achieved. The domain-based approach with morphological image processing has given good results. The smaller polyps were measured accurately which helps in making right clinical decisions. Qualitatively and quantitatively the results were acceptable when compared to the ground truth at [Formula: see text].

15 CFR 971.602 - Significant adverse environmental effects.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Environmental Effects § 971.602 Significant adverse environmental effects. (a) Determination of significant adverse environmental effects. The Administrator will determine the potential for or the occurrence of any significant adverse environmental effect or impact (for the purposes of sections 103(a)(2)(D), 105(a)(4), 106...

Desirable airfoil features for smaller-capacity straight-bladed VAWT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Islam, Mazharul; Ting, D.S.-K.; Fartaj, Amir

2007-05-15

In the small scale wind turbine market, the simple straight-bladed Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine (SB-VAWT) is very attractive for its simple blade design. A detailed aerodynamic performance analysis was conducted on a smaller capacity fixed-pitch SB-VAWT. Brief analyses of the main aerodynamic challenges of this type of wind turbine were first discussed and subsequently the authors conducted further literature survey and computational analysis to shortlist aerodynamic characteristics of a desirable airfoil for a self-starting and better performing SB-VAWT. The required geometric features of the desirable airfoil to achieve the short listed characteristics were also discussed. It has been found out that conventionally used NACA symmetric airfoils are not suitable for smaller capacity SB-VAWT. Rather, it is advantageous to utilize a high-lift and low-drag asymmetric thick airfoil suitable for low speed operation typically encountered by SB-VAWT. (author)

Combined value of Virtual Touch tissue quantification and conventional sonographic features for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huiping; Shi, Qiusheng; Gu, Jiying; Jiang, Luying; Bai, Min; Liu, Long; Wu, Ying; Du, Lianfang

2014-02-01

This study aimed to investigate the value of sonographic features including Virtual Touch tissue quantification (VTQ; Siemens Medical Solutions, Mountain View, CA) for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm. Seventy-one thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm with pathologic diagnoses were included in this study. The conventional sonographic features and quantitative elasticity features (VTQ) were observed and compared between benign and malignant nodules. There were 39 benign and 32 malignant nodules according to histopathologic examination. When compared with benign nodules, malignant nodules were more frequently taller than wide, poorly defined, and markedly hypoechoic (P benign and malignant nodules. The VTQ value for malignant nodules (mean ± SD 3.260 ± 0.725 m/s) was significantly higher than that of benign ones (2.108 ± 0.455 m/s; P benign and malignant thyroid nodules smaller than 10 mm. When VTQ was combined with B-mode sonographic features, the sensitivity was improved significantly.

Trends and patterns in smaller companies: The Danish perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulhøi, John Parm; Madsen, Henning

2000-01-01

This paper presents the empirical findings of a recent survey of Danish managers, with a special focus on managers in smaller companies. The survey, called the 'Danish Management Barometer', is part of a joint research programme between the Aarhus School of Business and the Danish Association...

Simultaneous compared with sequential blood pressure measurement results in smaller inter-arm blood pressure differences.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Hoeven, Niels V; Lodestijn, Sophie; Nanninga, Stephanie; van Montfrans, Gert A; van den Born, Bert-Jan H

2013-11-01

There are currently few recommendations on how to assess inter-arm blood pressure (BP) differences. The authors compared simultaneous with sequential measurement on mean BP, inter-arm BP differences, and within-visit reproducibility in 240 patients stratified according to age (simultaneous and three sequential BP measurements were taken in each patient. Starting measurement type and starting arm for sequential measurements were randomized. Mean BP and inter-arm BP differences of the first pair and reproducibility of inter-arm BP differences of the first and second pair were compared between both methods. Mean systolic BP was 1.3±7.5 mm Hg lower during sequential compared with simultaneous measurement (Psequential measurement was on average higher than the second, suggesting an order effect. Absolute systolic inter-arm BP differences were smaller on simultaneous (6.2±6.7/3.3±3.5 mm Hg) compared with sequential BP measurement (7.8±7.3/4.6±5.6 mm Hg, PSimultaneous measurement of BP at both arms reduces order effects and results in smaller inter-arm BP differences, thereby potentially reducing unnecessary referral and diagnostic procedures. ©2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison of retrograde intrarenal surgery and mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy in management of lower-pole renal stones with a diameter of smaller than 15 mm.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirac, Mustafa; Bozkurt, Ömer Faruk; Tunc, Lutfi; Guneri, Cagri; Unsal, Ali; Biri, Hasan

2013-06-01

The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) and miniaturized percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mini-PNL) in management of lower-pole renal stones with a diameter smaller than 15 mm. Between December 2009 and July 2012, the patients with the diagnosis of lower-pole stones were evaluated by ultrasonography, intravenous pyelography and computed tomography. The records of 73 evaluable patients who underwent mini-PNL (n = 37) or RIRS (n = 36) for lower-pole (LP) stones with diameter smaller than 15 mm were reviewed retrospectively. Of the 73 patients, 37 underwent mini-PNL and 36 underwent RIRS. The stone-free rates were 89.1 and 88.8 % for mini-PNL and RIRS groups, respectively. The mean operation time was 53.7 ± 14.5 in the mini-PNL group but 66.4 ± 15.8 in the RIRS group (P = 0.01). The mean fluoroscopy times and hospitalization times were significantly higher in the mini-PNL group. There was no major complication in any patient. RIRS and mini-PNL are safe and effective methods for treatment of LP calculi with a diameter smaller than 15 mm. RIRS is a non-invasive and feasible treatment option, and has also short hospitalization time, low morbidity and complication rate. It may be an alternative of mini-PNL in the treatment LP calculi with smaller than 15 mm.

Library Homepage Design at Smaller Bachelor of Arts Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Scott L.; Leonard, Kirsten

2011-01-01

This study examined the homepages of the libraries of 175 smaller bachelor of arts institutions, coding for the presence of 98 design elements. By reporting and examining the frequency of these features, the authors noted what is and is not common practice at these libraries. They found that only fourteen elements were present on at least half of…

Increased Expression and Altered Methylation of HERVWE1 in the Human Placentas of Smaller Fetuses from Monozygotic, Dichorionic, Discordant Twins

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zilian; Luo, Yanmin; Sun, Hongyu; Zhou, Yi; Huang, Linhuan; Li, Manchao; Fang, Qun; Jiang, Shiwen

2012-01-01

Background The human endogenous retroviral family W, Env(C7), member 1 gene (HERVWE1) is thought to participate in trophoblast cell fusion, and its expression is diminished in the placentas of singleton intrauterine growth-retarded pregnancies. However, there is limited information about the role of HERVWE1 in discordant fetal growth in twins. This study was to compare HERVWE1 gene expression between the placentas of discordant monozygotic twins and to identify its regulation by methylation. Methodology/Principal Findings Fetuses from twenty-one pairs of monozygotic, dichorionic, discordant twins were marked as “smaller” or “larger” according to birth weight. Placental HERVWE1 mRNA and protein expression profiles were analyzed using quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. Methylation profiles of the HERVWE1 promoter region were analyzed using a pyrosequencing assay. DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) transcript levels were analyzed by RT-PCR. 5-methyl cytosine (5-MC) was stained using an immunohistochemical assay. There was a significant negative correlation between HERVWE1 mRNA levels and birth weight in twins (P0.05). The DNMT3b3 mRNA levels in the smaller group were significantly downregulated compared with the larger group in discordant twins(P<0.05), whereas the DNMT3b7 mRNA levels in the smaller group were significantly upregulated compared with the larger group in discordant twins(P<0.05). Conclusions/Significance In discordant, monozygotic, dichorionic twins, HERVWE1 expression was higher in smaller fetuses and lower in larger fetuses. Methylation of the HERVWE1 gene promoter region may participate in the regulation of HERVWE1 gene expression in discordant twin pregnancies. PMID:22457770

Larger Subcortical Gray Matter Structures and Smaller Corpora Callosa at Age 5 Years in HIV Infected Children on Early ART

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven R. Randall

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 90% of HIV infected (HIV+ children. Since the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART, HIV/AIDS has transitioned to a chronic condition where central nervous system (CNS damage may be ongoing. Although, most guidelines recommend early ART to reduce CNS viral reservoirs, the brain may be more vulnerable to potential neurotoxic effects of ART during the rapid development phase in the first years of life. Here we investigate differences in subcortical volumes between 5-year-old HIV+ children who received early ART (before age 18 months and uninfected children using manual tracing of Magnetic Resonance Images. Participants included 61 Xhosa children (43 HIV+/18 uninfected, mean age = 5.4 ± 0.3 years, 25 male from the children with HIV early antiretroviral (CHER trial; 27 children initiated ART before 12 weeks of age (ART-Before12Wks and 16 after 12 weeks (ART-After12Wks. Structural images were acquired on a 3T Allegra MRI in Cape Town and manually traced using MultiTracer. Volumetric group differences (HIV+ vs. uninfected; ART-Before12Wks vs. ART-After12Wks were examined for the caudate, nucleus accumbens (NA, putamen (Pu, globus pallidus (GP, and corpus callosum (CC, as well as associations within infected children of structure volumes with age at ART initiation and CD4/CD8 as a proxy for immune health. HIV+ children had significantly larger NA and Pu volumes bilaterally and left GP volumes than controls, whilst CC was smaller. Bilateral Pu was larger in both treatment groups compared to controls, while left GP and bilateral NA were enlarged only in ART-After12Wks children. CC was smaller in both treatment groups compared to controls, and smaller in ART-After12Wks compared to ART-Before12Wks. Within infected children, delayed ART initiation was associated with larger Pu volumes, effects that remained significant when controlling for sex and duration of treatment interruption (left β = 0.447, p = 0.005; right β = 0

Dietary Differences in Male Workers among Smaller Occupational Groups within Large Occupational Categories: Findings from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS).

Science.gov (United States)

Tanaka, Rie; Tsuji, Mayumi; Senju, Ayako; Kusuhara, Koichi; Kawamoto, Toshihiro

2018-05-11

Studies examining workers' diet according to smaller occupational groups within "large occupational categories" are sparse. The aim of this study was to examine the potential differences in workers' diets based on the classification of workers into smaller occupational groups that comprise "large occupational categories". The subjects of this study were working fathers who had participated in the Japan Environment and Children's Study (N = 38,656). Energy and nutrient intake were calculated based on data collected from the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Occupations were classified according to the Japanese Standard Occupational Classification. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the adherence to current dietary recommendations within smaller occupational groups. In particular, significant differences were observed among the categorical groups of "professional and engineering workers", "service workers", and "agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers". In "professional and engineering workers", teachers showed higher odds of adherence to calcium intake recommendations compared with nurses (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 2.02⁻3.14; p < 0.001). In "agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers", agriculture workers showed higher odds of adherence to calcium (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.46⁻3.15; p < 0.001) and vitamin C (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.31⁻2.74, p = 0.001) intake recommendations compared with forestry and fishery workers. These findings may be beneficial from a research perspective as well as in the development of more effective techniques to improve workers' diet and health.

Opportunities for smaller engineering companies despite globalization. Chancen kleiner Ingenieurbueros trotz Globalisierung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lorentzen, P. (IPL Ingenieurbuero Peter Lorentzen, Frankfurt am Main (Germany))

1999-06-01

The trend to size is escalating into gigantism. The biggest in the branch merge to become the oversized. In view of this situation, the question which arises is what are the survival chances of the smaller players Will they all drop out of the running The answer to this question does not only concern the future order books of smaller companies, but in conjunction therewith and predominately the social security of employees, type and scope of assignments as well as the competitive situation and the consequences of all these on remuneration. (orig.)

Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia

Science.gov (United States)

Logue, Mark W.; van Rooij, Sanne J.H.; Dennis, Emily L.; Davis, Sarah L.; Hayes, Jasmeet P.; Stevens, Jennifer S.; Densmore, Maria; Haswell, Courtney C.; Ipser, Jonathan; Koch, Saskia B.J.; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh; Lebois, Lauren A.M.; Peverill, Matthew; Baker, Justin T.; Boedhoe, Premika S.W.; Frijling, Jessie L.; Gruber, Staci A.; Harpaz-Rotem, Ilan; Jahanshad, Neda; Koopowitz, Sheri; Levy, Ifat; Nawijn, Laura; O’Connor, Lauren; Olff, Miranda; Salat, David H.; Sheridan, Margaret A.; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Winternitz, Sherry R.; Wolff, Jonathan D.; Wolf, Erika J.; Wang, Xin; Wrocklage, Kristen; Abdallah, Chadi G.; Bryant, Richard A.; Geuze, Elbert; Jovanovic, Tanja; Kaufman, Milissa L.; King, Anthony P.; Krystal, John H.; Lagopoulos, Jim; Bennett, Maxwell; Lanius, Ruth; Liberzon, Israel; McGlinchey, Regina E.; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Milberg, William P.; Miller, Mark W.; Ressler, Kerry J.; Veltman, Dick J.; Stein, Dan J.; Thomaes, Kathleen; Thompson, Paul M.; Morey, Rajendra A.

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND Many studies report smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but findings have not always been consistent. Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)–Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) PTSD Working Group. METHODS We analyzed neuroimaging and clinical data from 1868 subjects (794 PTSD patients) contributed by 16 cohorts, representing the largest neuroimaging study of PTSD to date. We assessed the volumes of eight subcortical structures (nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, and lateral ventricle). We used a standardized image-analysis and quality-control pipeline established by the ENIGMA consortium. RESULTS In a meta-analysis of all samples, we found significantly smaller hippocampi in subjects with current PTSD compared with trauma-exposed control subjects (Cohen’s d = −0.17, p = .00054), and smaller amygdalae (d = −0.11, p = .025), although the amygdala finding did not survive a significance level that was Bonferroni corrected for multiple subcortical region comparisons (p < .0063). CONCLUSIONS Our study is not subject to the biases of meta-analyses of published data, and it represents an important milestone in an ongoing collaborative effort to examine the neurobiological underpinnings of PTSD and the brain’s response to trauma. PMID:29217296

Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia.

Science.gov (United States)

Logue, Mark W; van Rooij, Sanne J H; Dennis, Emily L; Davis, Sarah L; Hayes, Jasmeet P; Stevens, Jennifer S; Densmore, Maria; Haswell, Courtney C; Ipser, Jonathan; Koch, Saskia B J; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh; Lebois, Lauren A M; Peverill, Matthew; Baker, Justin T; Boedhoe, Premika S W; Frijling, Jessie L; Gruber, Staci A; Harpaz-Rotem, Ilan; Jahanshad, Neda; Koopowitz, Sheri; Levy, Ifat; Nawijn, Laura; O'Connor, Lauren; Olff, Miranda; Salat, David H; Sheridan, Margaret A; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Winternitz, Sherry R; Wolff, Jonathan D; Wolf, Erika J; Wang, Xin; Wrocklage, Kristen; Abdallah, Chadi G; Bryant, Richard A; Geuze, Elbert; Jovanovic, Tanja; Kaufman, Milissa L; King, Anthony P; Krystal, John H; Lagopoulos, Jim; Bennett, Maxwell; Lanius, Ruth; Liberzon, Israel; McGlinchey, Regina E; McLaughlin, Katie A; Milberg, William P; Miller, Mark W; Ressler, Kerry J; Veltman, Dick J; Stein, Dan J; Thomaes, Kathleen; Thompson, Paul M; Morey, Rajendra A

2018-02-01

Many studies report smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but findings have not always been consistent. Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC)-Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) PTSD Working Group. We analyzed neuroimaging and clinical data from 1868 subjects (794 PTSD patients) contributed by 16 cohorts, representing the largest neuroimaging study of PTSD to date. We assessed the volumes of eight subcortical structures (nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, and lateral ventricle). We used a standardized image-analysis and quality-control pipeline established by the ENIGMA consortium. In a meta-analysis of all samples, we found significantly smaller hippocampi in subjects with current PTSD compared with trauma-exposed control subjects (Cohen's d = -0.17, p = .00054), and smaller amygdalae (d = -0.11, p = .025), although the amygdala finding did not survive a significance level that was Bonferroni corrected for multiple subcortical region comparisons (p < .0063). Our study is not subject to the biases of meta-analyses of published data, and it represents an important milestone in an ongoing collaborative effort to examine the neurobiological underpinnings of PTSD and the brain's response to trauma. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Use of precracked Charpy and smaller specimens to establish the master curve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolov, M.A.; McCabe, D.E.; Nanstad, R.K.; Davidov, Y.A.

1997-01-01

The current provisions used in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations for the determination of the fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel steels employs an assumption that there is a direct correlation between K Ic lower-bound toughness and the Charpy V-notch transition curve. Such correlations are subject to scatter from both approaches which weakens the reliability of fracture mechanics-based analyses. In this study, precracked Charpy and smaller size specimens are used in three-point static bend testing to develop fracture mechanics based K k values. The testing is performed under carefully controlled conditions such that the values can be used to predict the fracture toughness performance of large specimens. The concept of a universal transition curve (master curve) is applied. Data scatter that is characteristic of commercial grade steels and their weldments is handled by Weibull statistical modeling. The master curve is developed to describe the median K Jc fracture toughness for 1T size compact specimens. Size effects are modeled using weakest-link theory and are studied for different specimen geometries. It is shown that precracked Charpy specimens when tested within their confined validity limits follow the weakest-link size-adjustment trend and predict the fracture toughness of larger specimens. Specimens of smaller than Charpy sizes (5 mm thick) exhibit some disparities in results relative to weakest-link size adjustment prediction suggesting that application of such adjustment to very small specimens may have some limitations

Sexually selected nest-building--Pomatoschistus minutus males build smaller nest-openings in the presence of sneaker males.

Science.gov (United States)

Svensson, O; Kvarnemo, C

2003-09-01

Both natural selection and sexual selection may act on nest-building. We tested experimentally how different regimes of egg-predation and male-male competition influence nest-building before mating, using the marine fish sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Males with sneaker males present built the smallest nest-openings, smaller than males held alone or with Pomatoschistus microps males (which may predate eggs and compete over nest-sites but not compete over fertilizations). Males with visual access to other nest-building males tended also to build smaller openings than males held alone or with P. microps. Males with egg-predators present built nests with openings not differing significantly from any other treatment. Our results indicate that the small nest-openings found in the sneaker male treatment are sexually selected through protection against sneaking or by female choice. Across treatments, time span before a male started to build his nest also explained variation in nest-opening width; males starting late built larger nest-openings.

TouchGrid: Touchpad pointing by recursively mapping taps to smaller display regions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hertzum, Morten; Hornbæk, Kasper

2005-01-01

Touchpad devices are widely used but lacking in pointing efficiency. The TouchGrid, an instance of what we term cell cursors, replaces moving the cursor through dragging the finger on a touchpad with tapping in different regions of the touchpad. The touchpad regions are recursively mapped...... to smaller display regions and thereby enable high-precision pointing without requiring high tapping precision. In an experiment, six subjects used the TouchGrid and a standard touchpad across different numbers of targets, distances to targets, and target widths. Whereas standard touchpad operation follows...... Fitts’ law, target selection time with the TouchGrid is a linear function of the required number of taps. The TouchGrid was significantly faster for small targets and for tasks requiring one tap, and marginally faster for two-tap tasks. Error rates tended to be higher with the TouchGrid than...

Collage of Saturn's smaller satellites

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

This family portrait shows the smaller satellites of Saturn as viewed by Voyager 2 during its swing through the Saturnian system. The following chart corresponds to this composite photograph (distance from the planet increases from left to right) and lists names, standard numerical designations and approximate dimensions (radii where indicated) in kilometers: 1980S26Outer F-ringshepherd120 X 100 1980S1Leadingco-orbital220 X 160 1980S25TrailingTethys trojanradii: 25 1980S28Outer Ashepherdradii: 20 1980S27Inner F-ringco-orbital145 X 70 1980S3TrailingTethys trojan140 X 100 1980S13LeadingTethys trojanradii: 30 1980S6LeadingDione trojanradii: 30 These images have been scaled to show the satellites in true relative sizes. This set of small objects ranges in size from small asteroidal scales to nearly the size of Saturn's moon Mimas. They are probably fragments of somewhat larger bodies broken up during the bombardment period that followed accretion of the Saturnian system. Scientists believe they may be mostly icy bodies with a mixture of meteorite rock. They are somewhat less reflective than the larger satellites, suggesting that thermal evolution of the larger moons 'cleaned up' their icy surfaces. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The Underreported Use of Integrated Marketing Communication by Smaller Businesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ed

This research suggests integrated marketing communication (IMC) is widely used by small business. In a survey of Midwest businesses, it was found that smaller business tend to integrate their marketing communication to the same extent as do larger businesses. Their advertising, P.R., and sales promotion are as likely to present a unified message,…

Confidence intervals for effect sizes: compliance and clinical significance in the Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Odgaard, Eric C; Fowler, Robert L

2010-06-01

In 2005, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (JCCP) became the first American Psychological Association (APA) journal to require statistical measures of clinical significance, plus effect sizes (ESs) and associated confidence intervals (CIs), for primary outcomes (La Greca, 2005). As this represents the single largest editorial effort to improve statistical reporting practices in any APA journal in at least a decade, in this article we investigate the efficacy of that change. All intervention studies published in JCCP in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008 were reviewed. Each article was coded for method of clinical significance, type of ES, and type of associated CI, broken down by statistical test (F, t, chi-square, r/R(2), and multivariate modeling). By 2008, clinical significance compliance was 75% (up from 31%), with 94% of studies reporting some measure of ES (reporting improved for individual statistical tests ranging from eta(2) = .05 to .17, with reasonable CIs). Reporting of CIs for ESs also improved, although only to 40%. Also, the vast majority of reported CIs used approximations, which become progressively less accurate for smaller sample sizes and larger ESs (cf. Algina & Kessleman, 2003). Changes are near asymptote for ESs and clinical significance, but CIs lag behind. As CIs for ESs are required for primary outcomes, we show how to compute CIs for the vast majority of ESs reported in JCCP, with an example of how to use CIs for ESs as a method to assess clinical significance.

Emulsion oil droplet size significantly affects satiety: A pre-ingestive approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Lett, Aaron M; Norton, Jennifer E; Yeomans, Martin R

2016-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated that the manipulation of oil droplet size within oil-in-water emulsions significantly affects sensory characteristics, hedonics and expectations of food intake, independently of energy content. Smaller oil droplets enhanced perceived creaminess, increased Liking and generated greater expectations of satiation and satiety, indicating that creaminess is a satiety-relevant sensory cue within these systems. This paper extends these findings by investigating the effect of oil droplet size (d4,3: 2 and 50 μm) on food intake and appetite. Male participants (n = 34 aged 18-37; BMI of 22.7 ± 1.6 kg/m(2); DEBQ restricted eating score of 1.8 ± 0.1.) completed two test days, where they visited the laboratory to consume a fixed-portion breakfast, returning 3 h later for a "drink", which was the emulsion preload containing either 2 or 50 μm oil droplets. This was followed 20 min later with an ad libitum pasta lunch. Participants consumed significantly less at the ad libitum lunch after the preload containing 2 μm oil droplets than after the 50 μm preload, with an average reduction of 12% (62.4 kcal). Despite the significant differences in intake, no significant differences in sensory characteristics were noted. The findings show that the impact that an emulsion has on satiety can be enhanced without producing significantly perceivable differences in sensory properties. Therefore, by introducing a processing step which results in a smaller droplets, emulsion based liquid food products can be produced that enhance satiety, allowing covert functional redesign. Future work should consider the mechanism responsible for this effect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of interpretation in the internationalization of smaller brazilian firms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.W. Seifert (Ralf); J. Child (John); S.B. Rodrigues (Suzana)

2012-01-01

textabstractAbstract This study considers how decision-makers in smaller firms interpret the means and conditions of internationalization, and how different modes of interpretation are likely to inform action choices in this process. Drawing on 58 qualitative interviews with the leaders of

A nerve stimulation method to selectively recruit smaller motor-units in rat skeletal muscle.

Science.gov (United States)

van Bolhuis, A I; Holsheimer, J; Savelberg, H H

2001-05-30

Electrical stimulation of peripheral nerve results in a motor-unit recruitment order opposite to that attained by natural neural control, i.e. from large, fast-fatiguing to progressively smaller, fatigue-resistant motor-units. Yet animal studies involving physiological exercise protocols of low intensity and long duration require minimal fatigue. The present study sought to apply a nerve stimulation method to selectively recruit smaller motor-units in rat skeletal muscle. Two pulse generators were used, independently supplying short supramaximal cathodal stimulating pulses (0.5 ms) and long subthreshold cathodal inactivating pulses (1.5 s) to the sciatic nerve. Propagation of action potentials was selectively blocked in nerve fibres of different diameter by adjusting the strength of the inactivating current. A tensile-testing machine was used to gauge isometric muscle force of the plantaris and both heads of the gastrocnemius muscle. The order of motor-unit recruitment was estimated from twitch characteristics, i.e. peak force and relaxation time. The results showed prolonged relaxation at lower twitch peak forces as the intensity of the inactivating current increased, indicating a reduction of the number of large motor-units to force production. It is shown that the nerve stimulation method described is effective in mimicking physiological muscle control.

Economic characteristics of a smaller, simpler reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaBar, M.; Bowers, H.

1988-01-01

Reduced load growth and heightened concern with economic risk has led to an expressed utility preference for smaller capacity additions. The Modular High Temperature Reactor (MHTGR) plant has been developed as a small, simple plant that has limited financial risk and is economically competitive with comparatively sized coal plants. Competitive economics is achieved by the simplifications made possible in a small MHTGR, reduction in the quantity of nuclear grade construction and design standardization and certification. Assessments show the MHTGR plant to have an economic advantage over coal plants for plant sizes from 270 MWe to 1080 MWe. Financial risk is limited by small unit sizes and short lead times that allow incremental deployment. Evaluations show the MHTGR incremental deployment capability to reduce negative cash flows by almost a factor of 2 relative to that required by a single large nuclear plant

How food marketers can sell smaller portions: Consumer insights and product innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Riis, J; Fisher, J O; Rowe, S

2016-08-01

Food portion size has been shown to be an important driver of energy intake. Despite the well acknowledged role of portion control in weight management, large portion sizes remain ubiquitous in the marketplace. Moving consumers towards consumption of smaller portion sizes will require changes in consumer behavior as well as changes in products available to consumers in a variety of settings. This special supplement presents cutting edge research aimed at understanding consumer behavior around portion size and innovations in product design that may promote the selection and consumption of smaller portion sizes. We identify further research that will be needed to translate basic behavioral findings into real world settings and to viable product development. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The relative age effect is larger in Italian soccer top-level youth categories and smaller in Serie A.

Science.gov (United States)

Brustio, Paolo Riccardo; Lupo, Corrado; Ungureanu, Alexandru Nicolae; Frati, Riccardo; Rainoldi, Alberto; Boccia, Gennaro

2018-01-01

The relative age effect (RAE; i.e., an asymmetry in the birth distribution) is a bias observed in sport competitions that may favour relatively older athletes in talent identification. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the presence of RAE in elite soccer players competing in the Italian championships, even considering the discriminations of younger and older Serie A players (in relation to the median age of the sample), and different positional roles (i.e., goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward) for each observed category. A total of 2051 players competing into the 2017-2018 Italian under-15 (n = 265), under-16 (n = 362), under-17 (n = 403), Primavera (n = 421) and Serie A (n = 600) championships were analysed. The birth-date distributions, grouped in four quartiles (i.e., January-March, Q1; April-June, Q2; July-September, Q3; October-December, Q4), were compared to a uniform distribution using Chi-squared analysis. The week of birth was analysed using Poisson regression. The results showed a large over-representation of players born in Q1 in all soccer player categories. However, the effect size of this trend resulted smaller as age increased. Individuals born in Q1 have about two-folds more chances to become a Serie A player compared to those born in Q4. The Poisson regression analysis showed that RAE was greater for defenders than for forwards among all categories. Therefore, a strongly biased selection emerged among elite soccer players competing in Italian championships, highlighting how young individuals born in the first three months have many more chances to become elite players compared to the others.

Smaller hippocampal volume as a vulnerability factor for the persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rooij, S J H; Kennis, M; Sjouwerman, R; van den Heuvel, M P; Kahn, R S; Geuze, E

2015-10-01

Smaller hippocampal volume has often been observed in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is no consensus whether this is a result of stress/trauma exposure, or constitutes a vulnerability factor for the development of PTSD. Second, it is unclear whether hippocampal volume normalizes with successful treatment of PTSD, or whether a smaller hippocampus is a risk factor for the persistence of PTSD. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and clinical interviews were collected from 47 war veterans with PTSD, 25 healthy war veterans (combat controls) and 25 healthy non-military controls. All veterans were scanned a second time with a 6- to 8-month interval, during which PTSD patients received trauma-focused therapy. Based on post-treatment PTSD symptoms, patients were divided into a PTSD group who was in remission (n = 22) and a group in whom PTSD symptoms persisted (n = 22). MRI data were analysed with Freesurfer. Smaller left hippocampal volume was observed in PTSD patients compared with both control groups. Hippocampal volume of the combat controls did not differ from healthy controls. Second, pre- and post-treatment analyses of the PTSD patients and combat controls revealed reduced (left) hippocampal volume only in the persistent patients at both time points. Importantly, hippocampal volume did not change with treatment. Our findings suggest that a smaller (left) hippocampus is not the result of stress/trauma exposure. Furthermore, hippocampal volume does not increase with successful treatment. Instead, we demonstrate for the first time that a smaller (left) hippocampus constitutes a risk factor for the persistence of PTSD.

13 CFR 120.215 - What interest rates apply to smaller loans?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What interest rates apply to... BUSINESS LOANS Policies Specific to 7(a) Loans Maturities; Interest Rates; Loan and Guarantee Amounts § 120.215 What interest rates apply to smaller loans? For a loan over $25,000 but not exceeding $50,000, the...

Weekday AOD smaller than weekend AOD in eastern China on the basis of the MODIS AOD product

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jingjing; Xia, Xiangao; Zhang, Xiaoling; Che, Huizheng; Li, Xiaojing

2018-05-01

A weekly cycle of surface particulate matter (PM) characterized by smaller values during weekends and larger values during weekdays was reported in eastern China. Whether column-integrated aerosol optical depth (AOD) showed similar weekly cycling as that of PM was debated. The weekly variation of AOD in eastern China was further studied by using the latest MODIS aerosol product (collection 6) with a fine spatial resolution (0.1°) from 2002 to 2015. We used three statistical methods to determine whether the weekly cycle of AOD was significant. AOD during weekdays (Wednesday to Friday) was lower than that during weekends. The maximum and minimum AOD was generally observed on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. This weekly pattern of AOD was in good agreement with previous results based on satellite aerosol products with a coarse spatial resolution, but it was in contrast to that of PM. Further analysis of the AOD weekly variability in 19 provincial cities suggested that AOD during weekdays was smaller than that during weekends in urban regions. Potential causes for the different weekly cycle of PM and AOD in eastern China were discussed.

Dysfunctional lipoproteins from young smokers exacerbate cellular senescence and atherogenesis with smaller particle size and severe oxidation and glycation.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ki-Hoon; Shin, Dong-Gu; Cho, Kyung-Hyun

2014-07-01

Until now, there has been limited information on the effects of smoking on atherogenesis and senescence in the context of lipoprotein parameters, particularly in young smokers who have smoked fewer than 10 cigarettes per day for 3 years. In this study, lipoprotein profiles and functions were compared between smoker (n = 21) and control groups (n = 20). In the smoking group, ferric ion reduction abilities of serum and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) fractions were significantly reduced, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was severely oxidized. All lipoprotein particles from the smoker group showed higher advanced glycated end products with more triglyceride (TG) content compared with the control group. Lipoproteins from smokers showed faster agarose gel electromobility as well as greater smear band intensity in SDS-PAGE due to oxidation and glycation. LDL from smokers was more sensitive to oxidation and promoted foam cell forma-tion in macrophages. Gel filtration column chromatography revealed that the protein and cholesterol peaks of VLDL and LDL were elevated in the smoker group, whereas those of HDL were reduced. Human dermal fibroblast cells from the smoker group showed severe senescence following treatment with HDL2 and HDL3. Although HDL from young smokers showed impaired antioxidant ability, smaller particle size, and increased TG content, cholesteryl ester transfer protein activities were greatly enhanced in the serum and HDL fractions of the smoker group. In conclusion, smoking can cause production of dysfunctional lipoproteins having a smaller particle size that exacerbate senescence and atherogenic progress due to oxidation and glycation. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Smaller socioeconomic inequalities in health among women: the role of employment status

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stronks, K.; van de Mheen, H.; van den Bos, J.; Mackenbach, J. P.

1995-01-01

Socioeconomic inequalities in health are smaller among women than among men. In this paper, it is hypothesized that this is due to a gender difference in employment status. We used data from the baseline of a Dutch longitudinal study. The socioeconomic indicators were educational level of the

Application of a model for delivering occupational safety and health to smaller businesses: Case studies from the US.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Thomas R; Sinclair, Raymond

2015-01-01

Smaller firms are the majority in every industry in the US, and they endure a greater burden of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities than larger firms. Smaller firms often lack the necessary resources for effective occupational safety and health activities, and many require external assistance with safety and health programming. Based on previous work by researchers in Europe and New Zealand, NIOSH researchers developed for occupational safety and health intervention in small businesses. This model was evaluated with several intermediary organizations. Four case studies which describe efforts to reach small businesses with occupational safety and health assistance include the following: trenching safety training for construction, basic compliance and hazard recognition for general industry, expanded safety and health training for restaurants, and fall prevention and respirator training for boat repair contractors. Successful efforts included participation by the initiator among the intermediaries' planning activities, alignment of small business needs with intermediary offerings, continued monitoring of intermediary activities by the initiator, and strong leadership for occupational safety and health among intermediaries. Common challenges were a lack of resources among intermediaries, lack of opportunities for in-person meetings between intermediaries and the initiator, and balancing the exchanges in the initiator-intermediary-small business relationships. The model offers some encouragement that initiator organizations can contribute to sustainable OSH assistance for small firms, but they must depend on intermediaries who have compatible interests in smaller businesses and they must work to understand the small business social system.

Application of a model for delivering occupational safety and health to smaller businesses: Case studies from the US

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Thomas R.; Sinclair, Raymond

2015-01-01

Smaller firms are the majority in every industry in the US, and they endure a greater burden of occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities than larger firms. Smaller firms often lack the necessary resources for effective occupational safety and health activities, and many require external assistance with safety and health programming. Based on previous work by researchers in Europe and New Zealand, NIOSH researchers developed for occupational safety and health intervention in small businesses. This model was evaluated with several intermediary organizations. Four case studies which describe efforts to reach small businesses with occupational safety and health assistance include the following: trenching safety training for construction, basic compliance and hazard recognition for general industry, expanded safety and health training for restaurants, and fall prevention and respirator training for boat repair contractors. Successful efforts included participation by the initiator among the intermediaries’ planning activities, alignment of small business needs with intermediary offerings, continued monitoring of intermediary activities by the initiator, and strong leadership for occupational safety and health among intermediaries. Common challenges were a lack of resources among intermediaries, lack of opportunities for in-person meetings between intermediaries and the initiator, and balancing the exchanges in the initiator–intermediary–small business relationships. The model offers some encouragement that initiator organizations can contribute to sustainable OSH assistance for small firms, but they must depend on intermediaries who have compatible interests in smaller businesses and they must work to understand the small business social system. PMID:26300585

IRIS: A Comprehensive Approach to Implementing Nuclear Power in Countries with Smaller Electric Grids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrovic, B.; Carelli, M. D.; Sandell, L.; Storrick, G. D.; Cavlina, N.

2008-01-01

Many emerging markets and smaller size countries are considering the nuclear option and the deployment of their first nuclear reactor(s). However, some of their requirements and available infrastructure are quite different from those of larger countries currently employing nuclear power. Specific considerations might include: a small size electrical grid, in some cases on the order of a few GWe; limited financial resources; no nuclear experience; inadequate availability of necessary material and people infrastructure. Large nuclear power plants of 1000 MWe or greater do not provide best fit. The IRIS (International Reactor Innovative and Secure) reactor, under development by an international team of eighteen organizations from nine countries led by Westinghouse specifically addresses these needs. IRIS is an advanced PWR with integral configuration that yields a simple design with enhanced safety. The IRIS size is 335 MWe and may be deployed in single or multiple modules. It can fit almost any grid, or a small utility within a larger grid; moreover, it allows incremental power additions as needed. The capital outlay is of the order of hundreds of millions rather than a few billions dollars. Successive construction and operation of multiple modules significantly reduces the required capital resources and capital at risk with generation income from earlier plants offsetting the construction outlays of subsequent ones. This is highly desirable in both developed and emerging markets, but it may be of critical importance to the latter. IRIS safety characteristics allow for licensing with a significantly reduced size of emergency zone, a critical feature for small countries and when cogeneration is desired. In fact, IRIS is designed to produce steam for district heating, water desalination and bio-fuel generation in addition to electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced in February 2008 its intention to contribute to funding the licensing of a 'Grid

Plant Proteins Are Smaller Because They Are Encoded by Fewer Exons than Animal Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez-Sánchez, Obed; Pérez-Rodríguez, Paulino; Delaye, Luis; Tiessen, Axel

2016-12-01

Protein size is an important biochemical feature since longer proteins can harbor more domains and therefore can display more biological functionalities than shorter proteins. We found remarkable differences in protein length, exon structure, and domain count among different phylogenetic lineages. While eukaryotic proteins have an average size of 472 amino acid residues (aa), average protein sizes in plant genomes are smaller than those of animals and fungi. Proteins unique to plants are ∼81aa shorter than plant proteins conserved among other eukaryotic lineages. The smaller average size of plant proteins could neither be explained by endosymbiosis nor subcellular compartmentation nor exon size, but rather due to exon number. Metazoan proteins are encoded on average by ∼10 exons of small size [∼176 nucleotides (nt)]. Streptophyta have on average only ∼5.7 exons of medium size (∼230nt). Multicellular species code for large proteins by increasing the exon number, while most unicellular organisms employ rather larger exons (>400nt). Among subcellular compartments, membrane proteins are the largest (∼520aa), whereas the smallest proteins correspond to the gene ontology group of ribosome (∼240aa). Plant genes are encoded by half the number of exons and also contain fewer domains than animal proteins on average. Interestingly, endosymbiotic proteins that migrated to the plant nucleus became larger than their cyanobacterial orthologs. We thus conclude that plants have proteins larger than bacteria but smaller than animals or fungi. Compared to the average of eukaryotic species, plants have ∼34% more but ∼20% smaller proteins. This suggests that photosynthetic organisms are unique and deserve therefore special attention with regard to the evolutionary forces acting on their genomes and proteomes. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Plant Proteins Are Smaller Because They Are Encoded by Fewer Exons than Animal Proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Obed Ramírez-Sánchez

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Protein size is an important biochemical feature since longer proteins can harbor more domains and therefore can display more biological functionalities than shorter proteins. We found remarkable differences in protein length, exon structure, and domain count among different phylogenetic lineages. While eukaryotic proteins have an average size of 472 amino acid residues (aa, average protein sizes in plant genomes are smaller than those of animals and fungi. Proteins unique to plants are ∼81 aa shorter than plant proteins conserved among other eukaryotic lineages. The smaller average size of plant proteins could neither be explained by endosymbiosis nor subcellular compartmentation nor exon size, but rather due to exon number. Metazoan proteins are encoded on average by ∼10 exons of small size [∼176 nucleotides (nt]. Streptophyta have on average only ∼5.7 exons of medium size (∼230 nt. Multicellular species code for large proteins by increasing the exon number, while most unicellular organisms employ rather larger exons (>400 nt. Among subcellular compartments, membrane proteins are the largest (∼520 aa, whereas the smallest proteins correspond to the gene ontology group of ribosome (∼240 aa. Plant genes are encoded by half the number of exons and also contain fewer domains than animal proteins on average. Interestingly, endosymbiotic proteins that migrated to the plant nucleus became larger than their cyanobacterial orthologs. We thus conclude that plants have proteins larger than bacteria but smaller than animals or fungi. Compared to the average of eukaryotic species, plants have ∼34% more but ∼20% smaller proteins. This suggests that photosynthetic organisms are unique and deserve therefore special attention with regard to the evolutionary forces acting on their genomes and proteomes.

Evidence for smaller right amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder following childhood trauma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veer, I.M.; Oei, N.Y.L.; van Buchem, M.A.; Spinhoven, Ph.; Elzinga, B.M.; Rombouts, S.A.R.B.

2015-01-01

Hippocampus and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childhood trauma are relatively understudied, albeit the potential importance to the disorder. Whereas some studies reported smaller hippocampal volumes, little evidence was found for abnormal amygdala volumes. Here

Diagnostic significance of hepatic venography and retrograde portography in portal hypertension

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukunaga, Masaki

1987-07-01

In this series, we studied about diagnostic significance of hepatic venography and retrograde portography in portal hypertension by using stepwise discriminant analysis. The accuracy rate of the discrimination was 95 % in liver cirrhosis (LC), 86 % in B' type LC, 83 % in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and 57 % in idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH). The difficulty in differential diagnosis of IPH from PBC was due to similarity of hepatic vascular changes in both diseases. Next we studied about the relationship between venographic findings and the causes of LC. The size of regenerated nodule in alcoholic LC was significantly smaller than the others, so venographic findings were different from others. It was concluded that hepatic venography was useful examination for differential diagnosis in portal hypertension, and was effective for considering about the causes of LC.

Diagnostic significance of hepatic venography and retrograde portography in portal hypertension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukunaga, Masaki

1987-01-01

In this series, we studied about diagnostic significance of hepatic venography and retrograde portography in portal hypertension by using stepwise discriminant analysis. The accuracy rate of the discrimination was 95 % in liver cirrhosis (LC), 86 % in B' type LC, 83 % in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and 57 % in idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH). The difficulty in differential diagnosis of IPH from PBC was due to similarity of hepatic vascular changes in both diseases. Next we studied about the relationship between venographic findings and the causes of LC. The size of regenerated nodule in alcoholic LC was significantly smaller than the others, so venographic findings were different from others. It was concluded that hepatic venography was useful examination for differential diagnosis in portal hypertension, and was effective for considering about the causes of LC. (author)

Wake flow behaviour behind a smaller cylinder oscillating in the wake of an upstream stationary cylinder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Yangyang; Sun, Zhilin [Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Tan, Danielle S [Maritime Research Centre, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore); Yu, Dingyong [College of Engineering, Ocean University of China, 266100 (China); Tan, Soon Keat, E-mail: yygao@zju.edu.cn [Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2014-04-01

The flow patterns around a cylinder oscillating freely in the wake of a larger cylinder upstream were investigated using the particle image velocimetry technique. The upstream cylinder was fixed at both ends while the downstream smaller cylinder was held by springs such that it was free to oscillate in the transverse direction. The flow patterns, amplitudes of oscillation and vortex shedding frequencies were compared with those of a single cylinder. In the presence of the upstream cylinder, the three parameters characterizing the oscillation response of the smaller cylinder—amplitude of oscillation, vortex shedding frequency and Reynolds stresses—were greatly reduced. While their magnitude increased with gap ratio, these three parameters were still smaller than the corresponding magnitudes for a single oscillating cylinder. The peak values of turbulence statistics such as Reynolds shear stress and normal stress behind the oscillating downstream cylinder were similarly reduced, and increased with gap ratios. (paper)

Introduced organisms pose the most significant threat to the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

spamer

Introduced organisms pose the most significant threat to the conservation status of oceanic islands (e.g.. Williamson 1996). Subantarctic Prince Edward Island, the smaller of the two islands in the Prince Edward. Island group, has few introduced organisms; it is cur- rently known to support only three introduced animals.

Socio-emotionally Significant Experience and Children’s Processing of Irrelevant Auditory Stimuli

Science.gov (United States)

Schermerhorn, Alice C.; Bates, John E.; Puce, Aina; Molfese, Dennis L.

2017-01-01

Theory and research indicate considerable influence of socio-emotionally significant experiences on children’s functioning and adaptation. In the current study, we examined neurophysiological correlates of children’s allocation of information processing resources to socio-emotionally significant events, specifically, simulated marital interactions. We presented 9- to 11-year-old children (n = 24; 11 females) with 15 videos of interactions between two actors posing as a married couple. Task-irrelevant brief auditory probes were presented during the videos, and event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited to the auditory probes were measured. As hypothesized, exposure to higher levels of interparental conflict was associated with smaller P1, P2, and N2 ERPs to the probes. This finding is consistent with the idea that children who had been exposed to more interparental conflict attended more to the videos and diverted fewer cognitive resources to processing the probes, thereby producing smaller ERPs to the probes. In addition, smaller N2s were associated with more child behavior problems, suggesting that allocating fewer processing resources to the probes was associated with more problem behavior. Results are discussed in terms of implications of socio-emotionally significant experiences for children’s processing of interpersonal interactions. PMID:27993611

Knowledge acquisition for the internationalization of the smaller firm:Content and sources

OpenAIRE

Harris, Simon; Fletcher, Margaret

2012-01-01

Internationalization process research emphasizes accumulated experience and networks as sources of knowledge for internationalization. Our understanding, however, as to what this knowledge is in practice for smaller firms, the challenges they face in acquiring it, and how they address those challenges is limited. Integrating organizational learning concepts with our theoretical understanding of the small firm internationalization process, we develop a new framework for understanding knowledge...

Detection of smaller Jc region and damage in YBCO coated conductors by using permanent magnet method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattori, K.; Saito, A.; Takano, Y.; Suzuki, T.; Yamada, H.; Takayama, T.; Kamitani, A.; Ohshima, S.

2011-01-01

We developed a non-destructive method for measuring the critical current density (J c ) in YBCO-coated conductors by using a permanent magnet (Sm 2 Co 17 ). J c could be determined from the repulsive force (F r ) generated between a permanent magnet and a coated conductor where shielding current flows. We also examined the influence of damage to the film on the J c distribution. The measured F r when the permanent magnet approached the cut part was smaller than that of the undamaged area. We developed a non-destructive method for measuring the critical current density (J c ) in YBCO-coated conductors by using a permanent magnet (Sm 2 Co 17 ). J c could be determined from the repulsive force (F r ) generated between a permanent magnet and a coated conductor where shielding current flows. We tried to detect a smaller J c region in the coated conductor by using the system. The J c distribution could be determined without influence from the thick copper film on YBCO thin film. We also examined the influence of damage to the film on the J c distribution. The surface of the coated conductors was cut by using a knife. The measured F r when the permanent magnet approached the cut part was smaller than that of the undamaged area. This J c measurement technique will be useful for detecting smaller J c regions and defects in coated conductors.

Comparison of flexible ureterorenoscopy and mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy in treatment of lower calyceal stones smaller than 2 cm.

Science.gov (United States)

Akbulut, Fatih; Kucuktopcu, Onur; Kandemir, Emre; Sonmezay, Erkan; Simsek, Abdulmuttalip; Ozgor, Faruk; Binbay, Murat; Muslumanoglu, Ahmet Yaser; Gurbuz, Gokhan

2016-01-01

To compare the outcomes of flexible ureterorenoscopy (F-URS) and mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mini-PNL) in the treatment of lower calyceal stones smaller than 2 cm. Patients who underwent F-URS and mini-PNL for the treatment of lower calyceal stones smaller than 2 cm between March 2009 and December 2014 were retrospectively evaluated. Ninety-four patients were divided into two groups by treatment modality: F-URS (Group 1: 63 patients) and mini-PNL (Group 2: 31 patients). All patients were preoperatively diagnosed with intravenous pyelography or computed tomography. Success rates for F-URS and mini-PNL at postoperative first month were 85.7% and 90.3%, respectively. Operation time, fluoroscopy time, and hospitalization time for F-URS and mini-PNL patients were 44.40 min, 2.9 min, 22.4 h, and 91.9 min, 6.4 min, and 63.8 h, respectively. All three parameters were significantly shorter among the F-URS group (p PNL group (0.39 mg/dL vs. 1.15 mg/dL, p = 0.001). A comparison of complications according to the Clavien classification demonstrated significant differences between the groups (p = 0.001). More patients in the F-URS groups require antibiotics due to urinary tract infection, and more patients in the mini-PNL group required ureteral double J catheter insertion under general anesthesia. Although both F-URS and mini-PNL have similar success rates for the treatment of lower calyceal stones, F-URS appears to be more favorable due to shorter fluoroscopy and hospitalization times; and lower hemoglobin drops. Multicenter and studies using higher patient volumes are needed to confirm these findings.

What Research Tells Us about the Impact and Challenges of Smaller Learning Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Thomas H.

2010-01-01

In the United States, considerable financial and human resources have been devoted to breaking some large high schools into smaller learning communities (SLCs). This article reviews research that compares SLCs to comprehensive high schools on a variety of measures. Extant research neither supports nor refutes the promise of SLCs to improve…

Fleet view of electrified transportation reveals smaller potential to reduce GHG emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meinrenken, Christoph J.; Lackner, Klaus S.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Novel framework compares GHG of plugins vs. hybrids for any vehicle type/performance. • Fleet GHG can be compared without forecasting market penetrations of vehicle sizes. • GHG/km for pure electrics must account for limited range using novel, modified Utility Factor. • Applied to the US, this points to smaller GHG reduction at fleet level than traditional fleet analyses. - Abstract: Plugin and hybrid vehicles have been shown to offer possible reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, depending on grid-carbon-intensity, range and thus life-cycle battery emissions and vehicle weight, and on trip patterns. We present a framework that enables GHG comparisons (well-to-wheel plus storage manufacturing) for three drivetrains (pure-electric, gasoline-hybrid, and plugin-hybrid), both for individual vehicles and for fleets. The framework captures effects of grid- versus vehicle-based electricity generation, grid transmission and charging losses, and manufacturing and carrying batteries. In contrast to previous work, GHG comparisons can be obtained for heterogeneous fleets of varying vehicle sizes (cars, vans, buses, trucks) and performances, without requiring forecasting of such vehicle specs and their respective market penetrations. Further, we show how a novel adaptation of the Utility Factor concept from plug-in-hybrids to mixed fleets of battery-only and gasoline-hybrids is crucial to quantifying battery-only-vehicles’ impact on fleet-wide GHG. To account for regional variations and possible future technology improvements, we show scenarios over a wide spectrum of grid-carbon-intensities (50–1200 g CO 2 e/kW h at wall), vehicle range (∼5–500 km), battery energy densities, and battery life-cycle GHG. Model uncertainties are quantified via sensitivity tests. Applying the framework to trip patterns of US passenger transportation, we find that owing to the interplay of GHG/km, battery size, all-electric range, and trip patterns, GHG

High proportion of smaller ranged hummingbird species coincides with ecological specialization across the Americas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonne, Jesper; Martín González, Ana M.; Maruyama, Pietro K.

2016-01-01

Ecological communities that experience stable climate conditions have been speculated to preserve more specialized interspecific associations and have higher proportions of smaller ranged species (SRS). Thus, areas with disproportionally large numbers of SRS are expected to coincide geographicall...

Making Microbiology Even Smaller!

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Linda Mull; Motz, Vicki Abrams

2013-01-01

We outline protocols for producing slant-minis (SLINIs) and mini-deeps (MEEPs) and examples of their use in simple microbiology experiments suitable for high school students. The principal benefits of these protocols are decreased cost associated with significantly reduced media use; easier, less expensive disposal of waste; and increased safety…

Usefulness of CT-guided automatic needle biopsy of solitary pulmonary nodule smaller than 15 mm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Gong Yong; Lim, Yeong Su

2004-01-01

To evaluate the usefulness of the CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy for the solitary pulmonary nodules smaller than 15 mm in diameter. Between April 2002 and May 2003, we evaluated twenty-five patients (11 men, 14 women, mean ages: 52.5 years) who had solitary pulmonary nodules, which we could not discriminate as being benign or malignant on the CT findings. All the subjects had CT-guided percutaenous cutting needle biopsy (PCNB) performed on them at our institution. A definitive diagnosis of benignity or malignancy was established to retrospectively analyze the patient's records. We evaluated the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and complications of PCNB for the definitive diagnosis of benignity or malignancy. The sensitivity and specificity of PCNB were determined using the Chi-square test, and the correlations with pneumothorax and emphysema after biopsy were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. In two nodules of the twenty-five nodules, no definitive diagnosis could be established. Of the remaining twenty-three nodules, 7 (30.4%) were malignant and 16 (69.6%) were benign. Twenty (87%) of the twenty-three definitively diagnosed nodules were correctly diagnosed with PCNB. Of the twenty nodules, 6 (30%) were malignant and 14 (70%) were benign. The sensitivity and specificity of the malignant nodules were 85.7% (6/7) and 100% (16/16), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the benign nodules were 87.5% (14/16) and 85.7% (6/7), respectively. Post-biopsy complication occurred in nine patients (36%): Hemoptysis (n=4, 16%) and pneumothorax (n=5, 20%). However, there was not a statistical significance between pneumothorax and emphysema after biopsy (r=0.3, p=0.15). When CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy of the solitary pulmonary nodules smaller than 15 mm in diameter was performed without an on-site cytopathologist, we know that PCNB can yield high diagnostic accuracy and very few complications

A nerve stimulation method to selectively recruit smaller motor-units in rat skeletal muscle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Bolhuis, A.I.; Holsheimer, J.; Savelsberg, H.H.C.M.

2001-01-01

Electrical stimulation of peripheral nerve results in a motor-unit recruitment order opposite to that attained by natural neural control, i.e. from large, fast-fatiguing to progressively smaller, fatigue-resistant motor-units. Yet animal studies involving physiological exercise protocols of low

New algorithm for detecting smaller retinal blood vessels in fundus images

Science.gov (United States)

LeAnder, Robert; Bidari, Praveen I.; Mohammed, Tauseef A.; Das, Moumita; Umbaugh, Scott E.

2010-03-01

About 4.1 million Americans suffer from diabetic retinopathy. To help automatically diagnose various stages of the disease, a new blood-vessel-segmentation algorithm based on spatial high-pass filtering was developed to automatically segment blood vessels, including the smaller ones, with low noise. Methods: Image database: Forty, 584 x 565-pixel images were collected from the DRIVE image database. Preprocessing: Green-band extraction was used to obtain better contrast, which facilitated better visualization of retinal blood vessels. A spatial highpass filter of mask-size 11 was applied. A histogram stretch was performed to enhance contrast. A median filter was applied to mitigate noise. At this point, the gray-scale image was converted to a binary image using a binary thresholding operation. Then, a NOT operation was performed by gray-level value inversion between 0 and 255. Postprocessing: The resulting image was AND-ed with its corresponding ring mask to remove the outer-ring (lens-edge) artifact. At this point, the above algorithm steps had extracted most of the major and minor vessels, with some intersections and bifurcations missing. Vessel segments were reintegrated using the Hough transform. Results: After applying the Hough transform, both the average peak SNR and the RMS error improved by 10%. Pratt's Figure of Merit (PFM) was decreased by 6%. Those averages were better than [1] by 10-30%. Conclusions: The new algorithm successfully preserved the details of smaller blood vessels and should prove successful as a segmentation step for automatically identifying diseases that affect retinal blood vessels.

Trends and patterns in contemporary management in smaller companies: The Danish perspective

OpenAIRE

Ulhøi, John Parm; Madsen, Henning

2001-01-01

This paper reports empirical findings from a recent survey of Danish managers with a special focus on managers from smaller companies. The survey has been initiated in Denmark and it is called the 'Danish Management Barometer'. The project is a joint research program between the Aarhus School of Business and the Danish Association of Managers and Executives. It is based on a structured, pre-tested questionnaire send out to 1500 pre-notified managers in Denmark aiming at establishing a...

Time-dependent analysis of incidence, risk factors and clinical significance of pneumothorax after percutaneous lung biopsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Woo Hyeon; Park, Chang Min; Yoon, Soon Ho; Lim, Hyun-Ju; Hwang, Eui Jin; Lee, Jong Hyuk; Goo, Jin Mo

2018-03-01

To evaluate the time-dependent incidence, risk factors and clinical significance of percutaneous lung biopsy (PLB)-related pneumothorax. From January 2012-November 2015, 3,251 patients underwent 3,354 cone-beam CT-guided PLBs for lung lesions. Cox, logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to identify time-dependent risk factors of PLB-related pneumothorax, risk factors of drainage catheter insertion and those of prolonged catheter placement, respectively. Pneumothorax occurred in 915/3,354 PLBs (27.3 %), with 230/915 (25.1 %) occurring during follow-ups. Risk factors for earlier occurrence of PLB-related pneumothorax include emphysema (HR=1.624), smaller target (HR=0.922), deeper location (HR=1.175) and longer puncture time (HR=1.036), while haemoptysis (HR=0.503) showed a protective effect against earlier development of pneumothorax. Seventy-five cases (8.2 %) underwent chest catheter placement. Mean duration of catheter placement was 3.2±2.0 days. Emphysema (odds ratio [OR]=2.400) and longer puncture time (OR=1.053) were assessed as significant risk factors for catheter insertion, and older age (parameter estimate=1.014) was a predictive factor for prolonged catheter placement. PLB-related pneumothorax occurred in 27.3 %, of which 25.1 % developed during follow-ups. Smaller target size, emphysema, deeply-located lesions were significant risk factors of PLB-related pneumothorax. Emphysema and older age were related to drainage catheter insertion and prolonged catheter placement, respectively. • One-fourth of percutaneous lung biopsy (PLB)-related pneumothorax occurs during follow-up. • Smaller, deeply-located target and emphysema lead to early occurrence of pneumothorax. • Emphysema is related to drainage catheter insertion for PLB-related pneumothorax. • Older age may lead to prolonged catheter placement for PLB-related pneumothorax. • Tailored management can be possible with time-dependent information of PLB-related pneumothorax.

Risk control and the minimum significant risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seiler, F.A.; Alvarez, J.L.

1996-01-01

Risk management implies that the risk manager can, by his actions, exercise at least a modicum of control over the risk in question. In the terminology of control theory, a management action is a control signal imposed as feedback on the system to bring about a desired change in the state of the system. In the terminology of risk management, an action is taken to bring a predicted risk to lower values. Even if it is assumed that the management action taken is 100% effective and that the projected risk reduction is infinitely well known, there is a lower limit to the desired effects that can be achieved. It is based on the fact that all risks, such as the incidence of cancer, exhibit a degree of variability due to a number of extraneous factors such as age at exposure, sex, location, and some lifestyle parameters such as smoking or the consumption of alcohol. If the control signal is much smaller than the variability of the risk, the signal is lost in the noise and control is lost. This defines a minimum controllable risk based on the variability of the risk over the population considered. This quantity is the counterpart of the minimum significant risk which is defined by the uncertainties of the risk model. Both the minimum controllable risk and the minimum significant risk are evaluated for radiation carcinogenesis and are shown to be of the same order of magnitude. For a realistic management action, the assumptions of perfectly effective action and perfect model prediction made above have to be dropped, resulting in an effective minimum controllable risk which is determined by both risk limits. Any action below that effective limit is futile, but it is also unethical due to the ethical requirement of doing more good than harm. Finally, some implications of the effective minimum controllable risk on the use of the ALARA principle and on the evaluation of remedial action goals are presented

Opportunities and barriers for smaller portions in food service: lessons from marketing and behavioral economics

Science.gov (United States)

Riis, J

2014-01-01

This paper uses the frameworks and evidence from marketing and behavioral economics to highlight the opportunities and barriers for portion control in food service environments. Applying Kahneman's ‘thinking fast and slow' concepts, it describes 10 strategies that can be effective in ‘tricking' the consumer's fast cognitive system to make better decisions and in triggering the slow cognitive system to help prevent the fast system from making bad decisions. These strategies include shrinking defaults, elongating packages, increasing the visibility of small portions, offering more mixed virtue options, adding more small sizes, offering ‘right-sized' standard portions, using meaningful size labels, adopting linear pricing, using temporal landmarks to push smaller portions and facilitating pre-commitment. For each of these strategies, I discuss the specific cost and revenue barriers that a food service operator would face if the strategy were adopted. PMID:25033960

Opportunities and barriers for smaller portions in food service: lessons from marketing and behavioral economics.

Science.gov (United States)

Riis, J

2014-07-01

This paper uses the frameworks and evidence from marketing and behavioral economics to highlight the opportunities and barriers for portion control in food service environments. Applying Kahneman's 'thinking fast and slow' concepts, it describes 10 strategies that can be effective in 'tricking' the consumer's fast cognitive system to make better decisions and in triggering the slow cognitive system to help prevent the fast system from making bad decisions. These strategies include shrinking defaults, elongating packages, increasing the visibility of small portions, offering more mixed virtue options, adding more small sizes, offering 'right-sized' standard portions, using meaningful size labels, adopting linear pricing, using temporal landmarks to push smaller portions and facilitating pre-commitment. For each of these strategies, I discuss the specific cost and revenue barriers that a food service operator would face if the strategy were adopted.

An Investigation of Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Smaller Learning Community Social Studies Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Christopher; Bol, Linda; Pribesh, Shana

2011-01-01

This study investigated the extent to which higher-order thinking skills are promoted in social studies classes in high schools that are implementing smaller learning communities (SLCs). Data collection in this mixed-methods study included classroom observations and in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that higher-order thinking was rarely…

Honors Programs at Smaller Colleges. 3rd Edition. National Collegiate Honors Council Monograph Series

Science.gov (United States)

Schuman, Samuel

2011-01-01

This monograph focuses upon areas of special concern to those working with honors at smaller colleges and universities: mission, recruitment, facilities, administration, budget, and curriculum. In each area, the author makes some general suggestions about overall operating principles, note specific issues that can lead to difficulties, and suggest…

Less Daily Computer Use is Related to Smaller Hippocampal Volumes in Cognitively Intact Elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Silbert, Lisa C; Dodge, Hiroko H; Lahna, David; Promjunyakul, Nutta-On; Austin, Daniel; Mattek, Nora; Erten-Lyons, Deniz; Kaye, Jeffrey A

2016-01-01

Computer use is becoming a common activity in the daily life of older individuals and declines over time in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The relationship between daily computer use (DCU) and imaging markers of neurodegeneration is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between average DCU and volumetric markers of neurodegeneration on brain MRI. Cognitively intact volunteers enrolled in the Intelligent Systems for Assessing Aging Change study underwent MRI. Total in-home computer use per day was calculated using mouse movement detection and averaged over a one-month period surrounding the MRI. Spearman's rank order correlation (univariate analysis) and linear regression models (multivariate analysis) examined hippocampal, gray matter (GM), white matter hyperintensity (WMH), and ventricular cerebral spinal fluid (vCSF) volumes in relation to DCU. A voxel-based morphometry analysis identified relationships between regional GM density and DCU. Twenty-seven cognitively intact participants used their computer for 51.3 minutes per day on average. Less DCU was associated with smaller hippocampal volumes (r = 0.48, p = 0.01), but not total GM, WMH, or vCSF volumes. After adjusting for age, education, and gender, less DCU remained associated with smaller hippocampal volume (p = 0.01). Voxel-wise analysis demonstrated that less daily computer use was associated with decreased GM density in the bilateral hippocampi and temporal lobes. Less daily computer use is associated with smaller brain volume in regions that are integral to memory function and known to be involved early with Alzheimer's pathology and conversion to dementia. Continuous monitoring of daily computer use may detect signs of preclinical neurodegeneration in older individuals at risk for dementia.

Phenomenological study on the significance of the scalar potential and Lamb shift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Xuhao; Li Xueqian; Ke Hongwei

2011-01-01

We indicated in our previous work that for QED the contributions of the scalar potential, which appears at the loop level, is much smaller than that of the vector potential, and in fact negligible. But the situation may be different for QCD, the reason being that the loop effects are more significant because α s is much larger than α, and secondly the non-perturbative QCD effects may induce the scalar potential. In this work, we phenomenologically study the contribution of the scalar potential to the spectra of charmonium. Taking into account both vector and scalar potentials, by fitting the well measured charmonium spectra, we re-fix the relevant parameters and test them by calculating other states of the charmonium family. We also consider the role of the Lamb shift and present the numerical results with and without involving the Lamb shift. (authors)

Media bias under direct and indirect government control: when is the bias smaller?

OpenAIRE

Abhra Roy

2015-01-01

We present an analytical framework to compare media bias under direct and indirect government control. In this context, we show that direct control can lead to a smaller bias and higher welfare than indirect control. We further show that the size of the advertising market affects media bias only under direct control. Media bias, under indirect control, is not affected by the size of the advertising market.

75 FR 37779 - Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Smaller Learning Communities Program; Notice...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-30

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA No. 84.215L] Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Smaller...-Marshall, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E308, Washington, DC 20202-6200..., in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: http://www.ed...

Significance assessment of the external control effects of lecturers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurbatova Margarita, V.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The state policy regarding higher education has changed in the last decade. These changes were part of the efficiency programs of the public sector. Governments of different countries ruined previously existing system of higher education state regulation and attempted to build the quasi-market structure in the higher education industry. Such transformations served as timely and progressive reforms in the recent studies of the economics of education. Substitution of bureaucratic management mechanisms and modern competition managerial tools are articulated. Economic and institutional and sociological studies on the effects of the introduction of quasi-markets and managerial tools in higher education governance oppose to orthodox market approach. They drew attention to the fact that evaluation methods and improve the effectiveness of organizations and employees that are typical of the private sector often produce results that differ from those in the public sector. To assess the consequences of the introduction of managerial tools of external control activities of university lecturers used a methodology based on the allocation of the individual structural components (effects and building on their basis of a multi-level hierarchical model in the research. Each component of the model (single effect is characterized by a degree of significance (importance and the degree of severity. The results of the systematization and assessment of the significance of the effects of external control activity of lecturers of Russian universities implemented in conditions of quasi-market mechanisms of the higher education system are highlighted in the paper.

Smaller amygdala volume and reduced anterior cingulate gray matter density associated with history of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Mark A; Yamasue, Hidenori; Abe, Osamu; Yamada, Haruyasu; Ohtani, Toshiyuki; Iwanami, Akira; Aoki, Shigeki; Kato, Nobumasa; Kasai, Kiyoto

2009-12-30

Although post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be seen to represent a failure to extinguish learned fear, significant aspects of the pathophysiology relevant to this hypothesis remain unknown. Both the amygdala and hippocampus are necessary for fear extinction occur, and thus both regions may be abnormal in PTSD. Twenty-five people who experienced the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995, nine who later developed PTSD and 16 who did not, underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with manual tracing to determine bilateral amygdala and hippocampus volumes. At the time of scanning, one had PTSD and eight had a history of PTSD. Results indicated that the group with a history of PTSD had significantly smaller mean bilateral amygdala volume than did the group that did not develop PTSD. Furthermore, left amygdala volume showed a significant negative correlation with severity of PTSD symptomatology as well as reduced gray matter density in the left anterior cingulate cortex. To our knowledge, this is the first observation of an association between PTSD and amygdala volume. Furthermore the apparent interplay between amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex represents support at the level of gross brain morphology for the theory of PTSD as a failure of fear extinction.

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty leads to significant biomechanical changes in the remaining rotator cuff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perka Carsten

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective After reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA external and internal rotation will often remain restricted. A postoperative alteration of the biomechanics in the remaining cuff is discussed as a contributing factor to these functional deficits. Methods In this study, muscle moment arms as well as origin-to-insertion distance (OID were calculated using three-dimensional models of the shoulder derived from CT scans of seven cadaveric specimens. Results Moment arms for humeral rotation are significantly smaller for the cranial segments of SSC and all segments of TMIN in abduction angles of 30 degrees and above (p ≤ 0.05. Abduction moment arms were significantly decreased for all segments (p ≤ 0.002. OID was significantly smaller for all muscles at the 15 degree position (p ≤ 0.005, apart from the cranial SSC segment. Conclusions Reduced rotational moment arms in conjunction with the decrease of OID may be a possible explanation for the clinically observed impaired external and internal rotation.

Smaller brain size likely in young adults (<40 years old) with depressive symptoms compared to healthy controls. A retrospective study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adachi, Michito; Sato, Takamichi; Kawaguchi, Etsuko; Shibata, Akiko

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine whether the brain size of young patients with depressive symptoms is smaller than that of healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We retrospectively evaluated brain size by calculating the ratio of the brain area to that of the skull (the brain-to-skull ratio) on routine MRI scans including the splenium of the corpus callosum obtained from 19 patients <40 years old with depressive symptoms in 2009. The controls were 12 healthy individuals <40 years old who underwent MRI for medical examinations. The mean brain-to-skull ratio of the control group was 0.850±0.022 (range 0.822-0.889), and that of the patient group was 0.819±0.041 (range 0.756-0.878). An unpaired t-test showed a significant difference in the brain-to-skull ratios between these groups (P=0.011). In particular, in 7 of the 19 patients with longer duration of illness and more severe symptoms, the brain-to-skull ratio was 89%-92% of the mean ratio of the control group. The brain size of young patients with depressive symptoms appears to be smaller than that of healthy controls. (author)

Fluid cognitive ability is associated with greater exposure and smaller reactions to daily stressors.

Science.gov (United States)

Stawski, Robert S; Almeida, David M; Lachman, Margie E; Tun, Patricia A; Rosnick, Christopher B

2010-06-01

The authors of this study investigated whether fluid cognitive ability predicts exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stressors. A national sample of adults from the Midlife in the United States study and the National Study of Daily Experiences (N = 1,202) who had a mean age of 57 years (SD = 12; 56% women, 44% men) completed positive and negative mood reports as well as a stressor diary on 8 consecutive evenings via telephone. Participants also completed a telephone-based battery of tests measuring fluid cognitive ability. Higher levels of fluid cognitive ability were associated with greater exposure to work- and home-related overload stressors. Possessing higher levels of fluid cognitive ability was associated with smaller stressor-related increases in negative mood, primarily for interpersonal tensions and network stressors, and smaller stressor-related decreases in positive mood for interpersonal tensions. Furthermore, fluid cognitive ability was unrelated to subjective severity ratings of the stressors reported. Discussion focuses on the role of fluid cognitive ability in daily stress processes. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Thalidomide has a significant effect in patients with thalassemia intermedia.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, YunShuan; Ren, Quan; Zhou, Yali; Li, Pingping; Lin, Wanhua; Yin, Xiaolin

2018-01-01

To investigate the effect of thalidomide in patients with thalassemia intermedia. We observed the effect of thalidomide in seven patients with thalassemia intermedia requiring blood transfusion. Four of the patients were transfusion-independent, and three patients were transfusion-dependent. For the four transfusion-independent patients, hemoglobin concentration increased significantly (≥2 g/dl) in three and moderately (1-2 g/dl) in one. After 3 months of treatment, hemoglobin concentration increased 3.2 ± 1.2 g/dl compared to pretreatment. Among the three transfusion-dependent patients, transfusion was terminated after one month of treatment in one patient and decreased >50% in the other two patients, accompanied by an increase in the average hemoglobin concentration. Thalidomide had a significant effect in patients with thalassemia intermedia. Further studies of a larger scale and more rigorous design are warranted.

On the Measurements of Particles Smaller than 20 μM by Global Rainbow Refractometry

Science.gov (United States)

Saengkaew, S.; Bonin, D.; Gréh, G.

2007-06-01

The measurement of the thermo-chemical characteristics of particles under evaporation or cooling is a challenge. Among others techniques, Global Rainbow Refractometry (GRR) is potentially applicable to a large variety of realistic media. This paper is focused on refractive index measurements of particles smaller than 20 μm which are especially important to extract droplet temperature in spray combustion.

Fewer but not smaller schools in declining fish and krill populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Brierley, Andrew S; Cox, Martin J

2015-01-05

Many pelagic species (species that live in the water column), including herring and krill, aggregate to form schools, shoals, or swarms (hereafter simply "schools," although the words are not synonyms). Schools provide benefits to individual members, including locomotory economy and protection from predators that prey on individuals, but paradoxically make schooling species energetically viable and commercially attractive targets for predators of groups and for fishers. Large schools are easier to find and yield greater prey/catch than small schools, and there is a requirement from fields as diverse as theoretical ecology and fisheries management to understand whether and how aggregation sizes change with changing population size. We collated data from vertical echosounder surveys of taxonomically diverse pelagic stocks from geographically diverse ecosystems. The data contain common significant positive linear stock-biomass to school-number relationships. They show that the numbers of schools in the stocks change with changing stock biomass and suggest that the distributions of school sizes do not change with stock biomass. New data that we collected using a multibeam sonar, which can image entire schools, contained the same stock-biomass to school-number relationship and confirm that the distribution of school sizes is not related to changing stock size: put simply, as stocks decline, individuals are distributed among fewer schools, not smaller schools. Since school characteristics affect catchability (the ease or difficulty with which fishers can capture target species) and availability of prey to predators, our findings have commercial and ecological implications, particularly within the aspirational framework of ecosystem-based management of marine systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Smaller hippocampal volume as a vulnerability factor for the persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rooij, S J H; Kennis, M; Sjouwerman, R; van den Heuvel, M P; Kahn, R S; Geuze, E

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Smaller hippocampal volume has often been observed in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is no consensus whether this is a result of stress/trauma exposure, or constitutes a vulnerability factor for the development of PTSD. Second, it is unclear whether

Reporting effect sizes as a supplement to statistical significance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of the article is to review the statistical significance reporting practices in reading instruction studies and to provide guidelines for when to calculate and report effect sizes in educational research. A review of six readily accessible (online) and accredited journals publishing research on reading instruction ...

Significant enhancement by biochar of caproate production via chain elongation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuhao; He, Pinjing; Shao, Liming; Zhang, Hua; Lü, Fan

2017-08-01

In this study, biochar was introduced into a chain elongation system to enhance the bioproduction of caproate and caprylate. The concentration of caproate increased to 21.1 g/L upon the addition of biochar, which is the highest level of caproate reported for such a system to date when ethanol was used as electron donor. The addition of biochar created a tougher system with more stable microorganism community structure for chain elongation, in which no obvious inhibition by products or substrates was observed, moreover, the lag phase was reduced 2.3-fold compared to the system without biochar. These reinforcement effect of biochar are attributed to the enhanced conductivity due to the significant enrichment of functional microorganisms via the microbial network surrounding smaller biochar particles, and via the adsorption on the rough surfaces or pores of larger particles, which facilitated electron transfer. Higher amounts of extracellular polymer substances and higher conductivity induced by biochar could contribute to the reinforcement effect in chain elongation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trends and patterns in contemporary management in smaller companies: The Danish perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulhøi, John Parm; Madsen, Henning

2001-01-01

This paper reports empirical findings from a recent survey of Danish managers with a special focus on managers from smaller companies. The survey has been initiated in Denmark and it is called the 'Danish Management Barometer'. The project is a joint research program between the Aarhus School...... of Business and the Danish Association of Managers and Executives. It is based on a structured, pre-tested questionnaire send out to 1500 pre-notified managers in Denmark aiming at establishing a data base to further monitor and identify interesting changes and patterns within a broad range of managerial...

Renal tissue alterations were size-dependent with smaller ones induced more effects and related with time exposure of gold nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarrar Bashir M

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Gold nanoparticles (GNPs have important application for cell labeling and imaging, drug delivery, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes mainly in cancer. Nanoparticles (NPs are being increasingly exploited for medical applications. The aim of the present study was to investigate the particle-size and period effects of administration of GNPs on the renal tissue in an attempt to address their potential toxicity. Methods A total of 70 healthy male Wistar-Kyoto rats were exposed to GNPs received 50 or 100 μl of GNPs infusion of size (10, 20 and 50 nm for 3 or 7 days to investigate particle-size effect of GNPs on the renal tissue. Animals were randomly divided into groups, 6 GNPs-treated rats groups and one control group. Groups 1, 2 and 3 received infusion of 50 μl GNPs of size 10 nm (3 or 7 days, size 20 nm (3 or 7 days and 50 nm (3 or 7 days, respectively; while groups 4, 5 and 6 received infusion of 100 μl GNPs of size 10 nm, size 20 nm and 50 nm, respectively. Stained sections of control and treated rats kidneys were examined for renal tissue alterations induced by GNPs. Results In comparison with respective control rats, exposure to GNPs doses has produced the following renal tubular alterations: cloudy swelling, vacuolar degeneration, hyaline droplets and casts, anisokaryosis, karopyknosis, karyorrhexis and karyolysis. The glomeruli showed moderate congestion with no hypercelluraity, mesangial proliferation or basement membrane thickening. The histological alterations were mainly seen in the cortex and the proximal renal convoluted tubules were more affected than the distal ones. Conclusions The induced histological alterations might be an indication of injured renal tubules due to GNPs toxicity that became unable to deal with the accumulated residues resulting from metabolic and structural disturbances caused by these NPs. The findings may suggest that GNPs interact with proteins and enzymes of the renal tissue

Detection of smaller J{sub c} region and damage in YBCO coated conductors by using permanent magnet method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hattori, K., E-mail: tey88221@st.yamagata-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510 (Japan); Saito, A. [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510 (Japan); Takano, Y.; Suzuki, T. [Tohoku Seiki Industries, Ltd., 3-1246, Tachiyagawa, Yamagata 990-2251 (Japan); Yamada, H.; Takayama, T.; Kamitani, A.; Ohshima, S. [Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, 4-3-16 Jonan, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510 (Japan)

2011-11-15

We developed a non-destructive method for measuring the critical current density (J{sub c}) in YBCO-coated conductors by using a permanent magnet (Sm{sub 2}Co{sub 17}). J{sub c} could be determined from the repulsive force (F{sub r}) generated between a permanent magnet and a coated conductor where shielding current flows. We also examined the influence of damage to the film on the J{sub c} distribution. The measured F{sub r} when the permanent magnet approached the cut part was smaller than that of the undamaged area. We developed a non-destructive method for measuring the critical current density (J{sub c}) in YBCO-coated conductors by using a permanent magnet (Sm{sub 2}Co{sub 17}). J{sub c} could be determined from the repulsive force (F{sub r}) generated between a permanent magnet and a coated conductor where shielding current flows. We tried to detect a smaller J{sub c} region in the coated conductor by using the system. The J{sub c} distribution could be determined without influence from the thick copper film on YBCO thin film. We also examined the influence of damage to the film on the J{sub c} distribution. The surface of the coated conductors was cut by using a knife. The measured F{sub r} when the permanent magnet approached the cut part was smaller than that of the undamaged area. This J{sub c} measurement technique will be useful for detecting smaller J{sub c} regions and defects in coated conductors.

Significance of autobiographical episodes and spacing effects in incidental memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyota, Hiroshi

2013-10-01

Participants were presented with target words on two occasions, and were asked each time to generate a memory of a past episode associated with the targets. Participants were also instructed to rate the importance (significance elaboration) or pleasantness of the pisode (pleasantness elaboration) in an orienting task, followed by an unexpect d recall test. Significance elaboration led to better recall than pleasantness elaboration, but only in the spaced presentation. The spaced presentation led to better tree recall than massed presentation with significance elaboration, but the difference between the two types of presentation was not observed with pleasantness elaboration. These results suggest that the significance of an episode is more critical than the pleasantness of an episode in determining the effectiveness of autobiographical elaboration in facilitating recall.

Comet 81p/Wild 2: The Updated Stardust Coma Dust Fluence Measurement for Smaller (Sub 10-Micrometre) Particles

Science.gov (United States)

Price, M. C.; Kearsley, A. T.; Burchell, M. J.; Horz, Friedrich; Cole, M. J.

2009-01-01

Micrometre and smaller scale dust within cometary comae can be observed by telescopic remote sensing spectroscopy [1] and the particle size and abundance can be measured by in situ spacecraft impact detectors [2]. Initial interpretation of the samples returned from comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft [3] appears to show that very fine dust contributes not only a small fraction of the solid mass, but is also relatively sparse [4], with a low negative power function describing grain size distribution, contrasting with an apparent abundance indicated by the on-board Dust Flux Monitor Instrument (DFMI) [5] operational during the encounter. For particles above 10 m diameter there is good correspondence between results from the DFMI and the particle size inferred from experimental calibration [6] of measured aerogel track and aluminium foil crater dimensions (as seen in Figure 4 of [4]). However, divergence between data-sets becomes apparent at smaller sizes, especially submicrometre, where the returned sample data are based upon location and measurement of tiny craters found by electron microscopy of Al foils. Here effects of detection efficiency tail-off at each search magnification can be seen in the down-scale flattening of each scale component, but are reliably compensated by sensible extrapolation between segments. There is also no evidence of malfunction in the operation of DFMI during passage through the coma (S. Green, personal comm.), so can the two data sets be reconciled?

A significant-loophole-free test of Bell's theorem with entangled photons

Science.gov (United States)

Giustina, Marissa; Versteegh, Marijn A. M.; Wengerowsky, Sören; Handsteiner, Johannes; Hochrainer, Armin; Phelan, Kevin; Steinlechner, Fabian; Kofler, Johannes; Larsson, Jan-Åke; Abellán, Carlos; Amaya, Waldimar; Mitchell, Morgan W.; Beyer, Jörn; Gerrits, Thomas; Lita, Adriana E.; Shalm, Lynden K.; Nam, Sae Woo; Scheidl, Thomas; Ursin, Rupert; Wittmann, Bernhard; Zeilinger, Anton

2017-10-01

John Bell's theorem of 1964 states that local elements of physical reality, existing independent of measurement, are inconsistent with the predictions of quantum mechanics (Bell, J. S. (1964), Physics (College. Park. Md). Specifically, correlations between measurement results from distant entangled systems would be smaller than predicted by quantum physics. This is expressed in Bell's inequalities. Employing modifications of Bell's inequalities, many experiments have been performed that convincingly support the quantum predictions. Yet, all experiments rely on assumptions, which provide loopholes for a local realist explanation of the measurement. Here we report an experiment with polarization-entangled photons that simultaneously closes the most significant of these loopholes. We use a highly efficient source of entangled photons, distributed these over a distance of 58.5 meters, and implemented rapid random setting generation and high-efficiency detection to observe a violation of a Bell inequality with high statistical significance. The merely statistical probability of our results to occur under local realism is less than 3.74×10-31, corresponding to an 11.5 standard deviation effect.

Economic potential of smaller-sized nuclear plants in today's economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behrens, C.E.

1984-01-01

In this study, the cost of producing power was modelled for a utility with specified financial and production parameters. Two reference cases were considered: in one, it was assumed that the utility would build 400-megawatt nuclear units as necessary to meet its growth in load; in the second, that it would meet its load growth by building 1200-MW units. The smaller plants were assumed to cost 12 percent more per kilowatt than the larger units. The object was to see if the lower financing costs of the 400-megawatt units were enough to overcome the larger plants' economies of scale. In addition to the reference cases, the sensitivity of the cost measurement to changes in various parameters was modelled. The parameters tested included interest rates, fuel mix, cost differential between the 400-megawatt and 1200-megawatt plants, and the rate of growth in load. The results of these cases indicate strongly that small nuclear power plants could have a market

Marginal effects of rural roads and irrigation canals on woody and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Across the northern rural regions of Iran, gardens and farmlands are being fragmented into smaller and smaller patches by rural roads network with significant edge effects on plant species composition and abundance. In this study, the presence of different plant species was recorded in ninety 1´1 m plots on nine 100 m ...

Smaller self-inflating bags produce greater guideline consistent ventilation in simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nehme, Ziad; Boyle, Malcolm J

2009-02-20

Suboptimal bag ventilation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has demonstrated detrimental physiological outcomes for cardiac arrest patients. In light of recent guideline changes for resuscitation, there is a need to identify the efficacy of bag ventilation by prehospital care providers. The objective of this study was to evaluate bag ventilation in relation to operator ability to achieve guideline consistent ventilation rate, tidal volume and minute volume when using two different capacity self-inflating bags in an undergraduate paramedic cohort. An experimental study using a mechanical lung model and a simulated adult cardiac arrest to assess the ventilation ability of third year Monash University undergraduate paramedic students. Participants were instructed to ventilate using 1600 ml and 1000 ml bags for a length of two minutes at the correct rate and tidal volume for a patient undergoing CPR with an advanced airway. Ventilation rate and tidal volume were recorded using an analogue scale with mean values calculated. Ethics approval was granted. Suboptimal ventilation with the use of conventional 1600 ml bag was common, with 77% and 97% of participants unable to achieve guideline consistent ventilation rates and tidal volumes respectively. Reduced levels of suboptimal ventilation arouse from the use of the smaller bag with a 27% reduction in suboptimal tidal volumes (p = 0.015) and 23% reduction in suboptimal minute volumes (p = 0.045). Smaller self-inflating bags reduce the incidence of suboptimal tidal volumes and minute volumes and produce greater guideline consistent results for cardiac arrest patients.

Overexpression of Jatropha Gibberellin 2-oxidase 6 (JcGA2ox6 Induces Dwarfism and Smaller Leaves, Flowers and Fruits in Arabidopsis and Jatropha

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying-Xiong Hu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Gibberellins (GAs are plant hormones that play fundamental roles in plant growth and development. Gibberellin 2-oxidase (GA2ox plays a direct role in determining the levels of bioactive GAs by catalyzing bioactive GAs or their immediate precursors to inactive forms. In this study, a GA2ox gene, designated JcGA2ox6, was isolated from Jatropha curcas. JcGA2ox6 is expressed in all tissues of adult Jatropha, with the highest expression level in male flowers and the lowest expression level in young leaves. Overexpression of JcGA2ox6 in Arabidopsis resulted in a typical dwarf phenotype, along with late flowering, smaller leaves and flowers, shorter siliques and smaller seeds. Similarly, when JcGA2ox6 was overexpressed in Jatropha, the transgenic plants exhibited a dwarf phenotype with dark-green leaves and smaller inflorescences, flowers, fruits and seeds. However, the flowering time of Jatropha was not affected by overexpression of JcGA2ox6, unlike that in the transgenic Arabidopsis. Moreover, the number of flowers per inflorescence, the weight of 10 seeds and the seed oil content were significantly decreased in transgenic Jatropha. The results indicated that overexpression of JcGA2ox6 had a great impact on the vegetative and reproductive growth of transgenic Jatropha. Furthermore, we found that the dwarf phenotype of transgenic Jatropha was caused by a decrease in endogenous bioactive GA4, which was correlated with the degree of dwarfism.

"What time is my next meal?" delay-discounting individuals choose smaller portions under conditions of uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Annie R; Ferriday, Danielle; Davies, Sarah R; Martin, Ashley A; Rogers, Peter J; Mason, Alice; Brunstrom, Jeffrey M

2017-09-01

'Dietary' delay discounting is typically framed as a trade-off between immediate rewards and long-term health concerns. Our contention is that prospective thinking also occurs over shorter periods, and is engaged to select portion sizes based on the interval between meals (inter-meal interval; IMI). We sought to assess the extent to which the length of an IMI influences portion-size selection. We predicted that delay discounters would show 'IMI insensitivity' (relative lack of concern about hunger or fullness between meals). In particular, we were interested in participants' sensitivity to an uncertain IMI. We hypothesized that when meal times were uncertain, delay discounters would be less responsive and select smaller portion sizes. Participants (N = 90) selected portion sizes for lunch. In different trials, they were told to expect dinner at 5pm, 9pm, and either 5pm or 9pm (uncertain IMI). Individual differences in future-orientation were measured using a monetary delay-discounting task. Participants chose larger portions when the IMI was longer (p relationship between BMI and smaller portion selection in uncertainty (p < 0.05). This is the first study to report an association between delay discounting and IMI insensitivity. We reason that delay discounters selected smaller portions because they were less sensitive to the uncertain IMI, and overlooked concerns about potential future hunger. These findings are important because they illustrate that differences in discounting are expressed in short-term portion-size decisions and suggest that IMI insensitivity increases when meal timings are uncertain. Further research is needed to confirm whether these findings generalise to other populations. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Smaller self-inflating bags produce greater guideline consistent ventilation in simulated cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boyle Malcolm J

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Suboptimal bag ventilation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR has demonstrated detrimental physiological outcomes for cardiac arrest patients. In light of recent guideline changes for resuscitation, there is a need to identify the efficacy of bag ventilation by prehospital care providers. The objective of this study was to evaluate bag ventilation in relation to operator ability to achieve guideline consistent ventilation rate, tidal volume and minute volume when using two different capacity self-inflating bags in an undergraduate paramedic cohort. Methods An experimental study using a mechanical lung model and a simulated adult cardiac arrest to assess the ventilation ability of third year Monash University undergraduate paramedic students. Participants were instructed to ventilate using 1600 ml and 1000 ml bags for a length of two minutes at the correct rate and tidal volume for a patient undergoing CPR with an advanced airway. Ventilation rate and tidal volume were recorded using an analogue scale with mean values calculated. Ethics approval was granted. Results Suboptimal ventilation with the use of conventional 1600 ml bag was common, with 77% and 97% of participants unable to achieve guideline consistent ventilation rates and tidal volumes respectively. Reduced levels of suboptimal ventilation arouse from the use of the smaller bag with a 27% reduction in suboptimal tidal volumes (p = 0.015 and 23% reduction in suboptimal minute volumes (p = 0.045. Conclusion Smaller self-inflating bags reduce the incidence of suboptimal tidal volumes and minute volumes and produce greater guideline consistent results for cardiac arrest patients.

Foxtail Millet [Setaria italica (L. Beauv.] Grown under Low Nitrogen Shows a Smaller Root System, Enhanced Biomass Accumulation, and Nitrate Transporter Expression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faisal Nadeem

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Foxtail millet (FM [Setaria italica (L. Beauv.] is a grain and forage crop well adapted to nutrient-poor soils. To date little is known how FM adapts to low nitrogen (LN at the morphological, physiological, and molecular levels. Using the FM variety Yugu1, we found that LN led to lower chlorophyll contents and N concentrations, and higher root/shoot and C/N ratios and N utilization efficiencies under hydroponic culture. Importantly, enhanced biomass accumulation in the root under LN was in contrast to a smaller root system, as indicated by significant decreases in total root length; crown root number and length; and lateral root number, length, and density. Enhanced carbon allocation toward the root was rather for significant increases in average diameter of the LN root, potentially favorable for wider xylem vessels or other anatomical alterations facilitating nutrient transport. Lower levels of IAA and CKs were consistent with a smaller root system and higher levels of GA may promote root thickening under LN. Further, up-regulation of SiNRT1.1, SiNRT2.1, and SiNAR2.1 expression and nitrate influx in the root and that of SiNRT1.11 and SiNRT1.12 expression in the shoot probably favored nitrate uptake and remobilization as a whole. Lastly, more soluble proteins accumulated in the N-deficient root likely as a result of increases of N utilization efficiencies. Such “excessive” protein-N was possibly available for shoot delivery. Thus, FM may preferentially transport carbon toward the root facilitating root thickening/nutrient transport and allocate N toward the shoot maximizing photosynthesis/carbon fixation as a primary adaptive strategy to N limitation.

Foxtail Millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.] Grown under Low Nitrogen Shows a Smaller Root System, Enhanced Biomass Accumulation, and Nitrate Transporter Expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeem, Faisal; Ahmad, Zeeshan; Wang, Ruifeng; Han, Jienan; Shen, Qi; Chang, Feiran; Diao, Xianmin; Zhang, Fusuo; Li, Xuexian

2018-01-01

Foxtail millet (FM) [ Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.] is a grain and forage crop well adapted to nutrient-poor soils. To date little is known how FM adapts to low nitrogen (LN) at the morphological, physiological, and molecular levels. Using the FM variety Yugu1, we found that LN led to lower chlorophyll contents and N concentrations, and higher root/shoot and C/N ratios and N utilization efficiencies under hydroponic culture. Importantly, enhanced biomass accumulation in the root under LN was in contrast to a smaller root system, as indicated by significant decreases in total root length; crown root number and length; and lateral root number, length, and density. Enhanced carbon allocation toward the root was rather for significant increases in average diameter of the LN root, potentially favorable for wider xylem vessels or other anatomical alterations facilitating nutrient transport. Lower levels of IAA and CKs were consistent with a smaller root system and higher levels of GA may promote root thickening under LN. Further, up-regulation of SiNRT1.1, SiNRT2.1, and SiNAR2.1 expression and nitrate influx in the root and that of SiNRT1.11 and SiNRT1.12 expression in the shoot probably favored nitrate uptake and remobilization as a whole. Lastly, more soluble proteins accumulated in the N-deficient root likely as a result of increases of N utilization efficiencies. Such "excessive" protein-N was possibly available for shoot delivery. Thus, FM may preferentially transport carbon toward the root facilitating root thickening/nutrient transport and allocate N toward the shoot maximizing photosynthesis/carbon fixation as a primary adaptive strategy to N limitation.

A current perspective on the risk significance of steam explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snyder, A.W.

1982-01-01

The view currently held in the Sandia National Laboratory is that, in the case of a meltdown in the reactor core, the probability of a steam explosion is greater than was estimated in WASH-1400, but that the extent and effect of an explosion will be very much smaller than assumed in WASH-1400. This results in a far smaller total risk with regard to containment. In WASH-1400, a nominal conditional probability of 1% was assumed for a containment rupture in a PWR-type reactor, should a large part of the reactor fuel be subject to meltdown during the course of the accident. The German risk analysis study 'Deutsche Risikostudie Kernkraftwerke' dated 1979 considers an explosion of a size sufficient to represent a threat to containment to be considerably more improbable than was assumed in WASH-1400. (orig./DG) [de

Clinical significance of measurement of hepatic volume by computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Hiroyuki; Matsuda, Yoshiro; Takada, Akira

1984-01-01

Hepatic volumes were measured by computed tomography (CT) in 91 patients with chronic liver diseases. Mean hepatic volume in alcoholic liver disease was significantly larger than that in non-alcoholic liver disease. Hepatic volumes in the majority of decompensated liver cirrhosis were significantly smaller than those of compensated liver cirrhosis. In liver cirrhosis, significant correlations between hepatic volume and various hepatic tests which reflect the total functioning hepatic cell masses were found. Combinations of hepatic volume with ICG maximum removal rate and with serum cholinesterase activity were most useful for the assessment of prognosis in liver cirrhosis. These results indicated that estimation of hepatic volume by CT is useful for analysis of pathophysiology and prognosis of chronic liver diseases, and for diagnosis of alcoholic liver diseases. (author)

Statistical Significance and Effect Size: Two Sides of a Coin.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xitao

This paper suggests that statistical significance testing and effect size are two sides of the same coin; they complement each other, but do not substitute for one another. Good research practice requires that both should be taken into consideration to make sound quantitative decisions. A Monte Carlo simulation experiment was conducted, and a…

Evaluating the scope for energy-efficiency improvements in the public sector: Benchmarking NHSScotland's smaller health buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, Joe; Pahl, O.; Burek, S.

2008-01-01

The National Health Service in Scotland (NHSScotland) has, in recent years, done much to reduce energy consumption in its major healthcare buildings (hospitals). On average, a reduction of 2% per year has been achieved since 2000, based on hospital buildings. However, there had been little or no attention paid to smaller premises such as health centres, clinics, dentists, etc. Such smaller healthcare buildings in Scotland constitute 29% of the total treated floor area of all NHSScotland buildings and, therefore, may contribute a similar percentage of carbon and other emissions to the environment. By concentrating on a sample of local health centres in Scotland, this paper outlines the creation of an energy benchmark target, which is part of a wider research project to investigate the environmental impacts of small healthcare buildings in Scotland and the scope for improvements. It was found that energy consumption varied widely between different centres but this variation could not be linked to building style, floor area or volume. Overall, it was found that a benchmark of 0.2 GJ/m 3 would be challenging, but realistic

Bubbling bed catalytic hydropyrolysis process utilizing larger catalyst particles and smaller biomass particles featuring an anti-slugging reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Marker, Terry L; Felix, Larry G; Linck, Martin B; Roberts, Michael J

2014-09-23

This invention relates to a process for thermochemically transforming biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks into high quality liquid hydrocarbon fuels. In particular, a catalytic hydropyrolysis reactor, containing a deep bed of fluidized catalyst particles is utilized to accept particles of biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks that are significantly smaller than the particles of catalyst in the fluidized bed. The reactor features an insert or other structure disposed within the reactor vessel that inhibits slugging of the bed and thereby minimizes attrition of the catalyst. Within the bed, the biomass feedstock is converted into a vapor-phase product, containing hydrocarbon molecules and other process vapors, and an entrained solid char product, which is separated from the vapor stream after the vapor stream has been exhausted from the top of the reactor. When the product vapor stream is cooled to ambient temperatures, a significant proportion of the hydrocarbons in the product vapor stream can be recovered as a liquid stream of hydrophobic hydrocarbons, with properties consistent with those of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. Separate streams of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel may also be obtained, either via selective condensation of each type of fuel, or via later distillation of the combined hydrocarbon liquid.

Multiple Smaller Missions as a Direct Pathway to Mars Sample Return

Science.gov (United States)

Niles, P. B.; Draper, D. S.; Evans, C. A.; Gibson, E. K.; Graham, L. D.; Jones, J. H.; Lederer, S. M.; Ming, D.; Seaman, C. H.; Archer, P. D.;

An atlas of the smaller maps in orientable and nonorientable surfaces

CERN Document Server

Jackson, David

2000-01-01

Maps are beguilingly simple structures with deep and ubiquitous properties. They arise in an essential way in many areas of mathematics and mathematical physics, but require considerable time and computational effort to generate. Few collected drawings are available for reference, and little has been written, in book form, about their enumerative aspects. An Atlas of the Smaller Maps in Orientable and Nonorientable Surfaces is the first book to provide complete collections of maps along with their vertex and face partitions, number of rootings, and an index number for cross referencing. It provides an explanation of axiomatization and encoding, and serves as an introduction to maps as a combinatorial structure. The Atlas lists the maps first by genus and number of edges, and gives the embeddings of all graphs with at most five edges in orientable surfaces, thus presenting the genus distribution for each graph. Exemplifying the use of the Atlas, the authors explore two substantial conjectures with origins in ...

Should we expect financial globalization to have significant effects on business cycles?

OpenAIRE

Iversen, Jens

2009-01-01

Empirical research suggests that financial globalization has insignificant effects on business cycles. Based on standard theoretical models it might be conjectured that the effects should be significant. I show that this conjecture is wrong. Theoretical effects of financial globalization can be determined to any level of precision by expanding the underlying artificial samples. In contrast, in the data the effects are imprecisely estimated because of short samples. I show that if the conclusi...

Significance of lower-pole pelvicaliceal anatomy on stone clearance after shockwave lithotripsy in nonobstructive isolated renal pelvic stones.

Science.gov (United States)

Sozen, Sinan; Kupeli, Bora; Acar, Cenk; Gurocak, Serhat; Karaoglan, Ustunol; Bozkirli, Ibrahim

2008-05-01

To investigate the probable effect of lower-pole pelvicaliceal anatomy on stone clearance after shockwave lithotripsy (SWL) in patients with nonobstructive renal pelvic stones. The clinical records of patients with isolated renal pelvic stones who underwent SWL between 1996 and 2005 were reviewed. After excluding patients with obstruction leading to dilatation, major anatomic abnormalities, noncalcium stones, metabolic abnormalities, history of recurrent stone disease, multiple stones, and previous renal surgery, 153 patients were enrolled in the study. Lower pole infundibulopelvic angle (IPA) and infundibular length and width were measured from intravenous urography. Patients were classified into three groups according to stone burden (group 1, renal pelvis, and both in 50 (32.6%), 29 (18.9%), and 8 (5.2%) patients, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in pelvicaliceal anatomic features except narrower IPA (P=0.02) in group 1 patients with residual stones. The falling of stone fragments to the lower calix in spite of the ureter whether clinically significant or not after SWL of pelvic stones initially seems to be related to stone burden rather than lower caliceal anatomy. However, existence of a more narrow IPA in group 1 patients with residual fragments led us to believe that lower-pole IPA can play a role in stone clearance, especially for smaller stones, probably because of smaller residual fragment size or the more mobile nature of the primary stone.

Polymersomes, smaller than you think: ferrocene as a TEM probe to determine core structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnston, A. H.; Dalton, P. D.; Newman, T. A.

2010-01-01

By incorporating ferrocene into the hydrophobic membrane of PEG-b-PCL polymersome nanoparticles it is possible to selectively visualize their core using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Two different sizes of ferrocene-loaded polymersomes with mean hydrodynamic diameters of approximately 40 and 90 nm were prepared. Image analysis of TEM pictures of these polymersomes found that the mean diameter of the core was 4-5 times smaller than the mean hydrodynamic diameter. The values obtained also allow the surface diameter and internal volume of the core to be calculated.

Significantly enhanced memory effect in metallic glass by multistep training

Science.gov (United States)

Li, M. X.; Luo, P.; Sun, Y. T.; Wen, P.; Bai, H. Y.; Liu, Y. H.; Wang, W. H.

2017-11-01

The state of metastable equilibrium glass can carry an imprint of the past and exhibit memory effect. As a hallmark of glassy dynamics, memory effect can affect glassy behavior as it evolves further upon time. Even though the physical picture of the memory effect has been well studied, it is unclear whether a glass can recall as many pieces of information as possible, and if so, how the glass will accordingly behave. We report that by fractionizing temperature interval, inserting multistep aging protocols, and optimizing the time of each temperature step, i.e., by imposing a multistep "training" on a prototypical P d40N i10C u30P20 metallic glass, the memory of the trained glass can be significantly strengthened, marked by a pronounced augment in potential energy. These findings provide a new guide for regulating the energy state of glass by enhancing the nonequilibrium behaviors of the memory effect and offer an opportunity to develop a clearer physical picture of glassy dynamics.

Global and regional associations of smaller cerebral gray and white matter volumes with gait in older people.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele L Callisaya

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Gait impairments increase with advancing age and can lead to falls and loss of independence. Brain atrophy also occurs in older age and may contribute to gait decline. We aimed to investigate global and regional relationships of cerebral gray and white matter volumes with gait speed, and its determinants step length and cadence, in older people. METHODS: In a population-based study, participants aged >60 years without Parkinson's disease or brain infarcts underwent magnetic resonance imaging and gait measurements using a computerized walkway. Linear regression was used to study associations of total gray and white matter volumes with gait, adjusting for each other, age, sex, height and white matter hyperintensity volume. Other covariates considered in analyses included weight and vascular disease history. Voxel-based morphometry was used to study regional relationships of gray and white matter with gait. RESULTS: There were 305 participants, mean age 71.4 (6.9 years, 54% male, mean gait speed 1.16 (0.22 m/s. Smaller total gray matter volume was independently associated with poorer gait speed (p = 0.001 and step length (p<0.001, but not cadence. Smaller volumes of cortical and subcortical gray matter in bilateral regions important for motor control, vision, perception and memory were independently associated with slower gait speed and shorter steps. No global or regional associations were observed between white matter volume and gait independent of gray matter volume, white matter hyperintensity volume and other covariates. CONCLUSION: Smaller gray matter volume in bilaterally distributed brain networks serving motor control was associated with slower gait speed and step length, but not cadence.

Discounting Behaviour and the Magnitude Effect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Steffen; Harrison, Glenn W.; Lau, Morten Igel

2013-01-01

We evaluate the claim that individuals exhibit a magnitude effect in their discounting behaviour, where higher discount rates are inferred from choices made with lower principals, all else being equal. If the magnitude effect is quantitatively significant, it is not appropriate to use one discount...... rate that is independent of the scale of the project for cost–benefit analysis and capital budgeting. Using data from a field experiment in Denmark, we find statistically significant evidence of a magnitude effect that is much smaller than is claimed. This evidence surfaces only if one controls...

Protein Thermostability Is Owing to Their Preferences to Non-Polar Smaller Volume Amino Acids, Variations in Residual Physico-Chemical Properties and More Salt-Bridges.

Science.gov (United States)

Panja, Anindya Sundar; Bandopadhyay, Bidyut; Maiti, Smarajit

2015-01-01

Protein thermostability is an important field for its evolutionary perspective of mesophilic versus thermophilic relationship and for its industrial/ therapeutic applications. Presently, a total 400 (200 thermophilic and 200 mesophilic homologue) proteins were studied utilizing several software/databases to evaluate their amino acid preferences. Randomly selected 50 homologous proteins with available PDB-structure of each group were explored for the understanding of the protein charges, isoelectric-points, hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, tyrosine phosphorylation and salt-bridge occurrences. These 100 proteins were further probed to generate Ramachandran plot/data for the gross secondary structure prediction in and comparison between the thermophilic and mesophilic proteins. Present results strongly suggest that nonpolar smaller volume amino acids Ala (χ2 = 238.54, psalt bridges in this study. The average percentage of salt-bridge of thermophiles is found to be higher by 20% than their mesophilic homologue. The GLU-HIS and GLU-LYS salt-bridge dyads are calculated to be significantly higher (psalt-bridges and smaller volume nonpolar residues (Gly, Ala and Val) and lesser occurrence of bulky polar residues in the thermophilic proteins. A more stoichiometric relationship amongst these factors minimized the hindrance due to side chain burial and increased compactness and secondary structural stability in thermophilic proteins.

Moderating Effects of Trust on Environmentally Significant Behavior in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seong-Gin Moon

2017-03-01

Full Text Available To treat environmental problems and to seek sustainable development, voluntary and cooperative efforts, which is really against the traditional mentality with the emphasis on the individual competitive optimization, became the key to maintain the sustainability of complex social and ecological systems. To understand the cooperative and voluntary individual’s environmentally significant behavior (ESB, this paper focuses on the role of trust, and assesses the effect of trust on the relationship between existing factors and ESB. A structural equation model (SEM is constructed to estimate the moderating effects of trust on ESB in Korea. We found that people with a negative view on strict environmental regulations do not exhibit ESB and thus nudge policies could be much more effective than the forceful measure. It is noteworthy that public private partnership, as a kind of optimal trust, should be more promoted in the environmental protection policies.

The Role of Interpretation in the Internationalization of Smaller Brazilian Firms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rene Eugenio Seifert

2012-10-01

Full Text Available This study considers how decision-makers in smaller firms interpret the means and conditions of internationalization, and how different modes of interpretation are likely to inform action choices in this process. Drawing on 58 qualitative interviews with the leaders of Brazilian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEsin the clothing industry located in the state of Paraná, the results support the contention that different understandings given to the means/conditions of internationalization are associated with different action choices. More specifically, the results indicate that: (a interpretation changes the criteria and parameters by which rational choices on internationalization are made; (b a comprehensive explanation of internationalization on the basis of situational characteristics is likely to be inconclusive without taking into account decision-makers’ interpretations; (c particular meanings given to internationalization are likely to inform choice in different ways, (d managers act on the basis of their inter-subjectively negotiated, shared and sustained reality; and (e investigative proximity with practitioners is pivotal in order to comprehensively account for their interpretations.

Misonidazole cytotoxicity in vivo: a comparison of large single doses with smaller doses and extended contact of the drug with tumor cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conroy, P.J.; Sutherland, R.M.; Passalacqua, W.

1980-01-01

Experiments were performed to determine the kinetics and magnitude of misonidazole cytotoxicity in EMT6/Ro tumors using an in vivo-in vitro clonogenicity assay. A comparison was made between the cytotoxic effects of large single doses with smaller doses of misonidazole administered ip and those produced on extended contact of the drug with tumor cells using a continuous iv drug infusion system. After a single ip dose of 1 mg/g, cytotoxicity was maximum at 18 to 24 h; by 72 h the clonogenic cells per tumor had returned to control levels. The maximum cytotoxicity was greater (a decrease of 10 times) if the animals were kept at 37 0 C compared with ambient conditions (a decrease of 4.5 times) where the body temperature would decrease due to the drug. A dose-response curve performed with the animals at 37 0 C showed no significant cytotoxicity at 18 h after single ip doses of 0.5 mg/g or less. Other experiments were carried out at 37 0 C using a drug continuous infusion system. Two profiles were studied: (a) continuous constant rate infusion over 3 days of constant serum and tumor levels of both 100 and 200 μg/ml and (b) continuous variable rate infusion where the maximum serum levels reached 80 or 200 μg/ml after 2 to 4 h and decayed with a half-life of 12 h as in humans. Significant cytotoxicity was obtained under both of these conditions. Maximum cytotoxicity occurred at about 24 h in both types of experiments and amounted to decreases of clonogenic tumor cells of 4.5 and 7 times for 100 and 200 μg/ml, respectively, after constant rate infusion and 2 to 4 times for 80 and 200 μg/ml, respectively, after variable rate infusion. Because of the relatively rapid recovery in the number of clonogenic tumor cells by 72 h, the cytotoxic effects were not reflected as changes in tumor size even when the animals were maintained at 37 0 C

Immunological Effects of Probiotics and their Significance to Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Harsharn S.; Grover, Sunita; Batish, Virender K.; Gill, Preet

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit upon the host (FAO/WHO, 2001). Lactic acid bacteria, particularly Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species are commonly used as probiotics. Other less commonly used probiotics include the yeast Sacchromyces cerevisiae and some non-pathogenic Escherichia coli and Bacillus species. Studies over the past 20 years have demonstrated that probiotic intake is able to confer a range of health benefits including modulation of the immune system, protection against gastrointestinal and respiratory tract infections, lowering of blood cholesterol levels, attenuation of overt immuno-inflammatory disorders (such as inflammatory bowel disease, allergies) and anti-cancer effects. However, the strongest clinical evidence for probiotics relates to their effectiveness in improving gut health and modulating (via stimulation or regulation) the host immune system. This chapter provides an overview of the current status of our knowledge regarding the immunostimulatory and immunoregulatory effects of probiotics on the immune system and their significance to human health.

The significance of water ionic strength on aluminium toxicity in brown trout (Salmo trutta L.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alstad, Nina E.W. [Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway); Kjelsberg, Birgitte M. [Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway); Voellestad, L. Asbjoern [Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway); Lydersen, Espen [Norwegian Institute for Water Research, P.O. Box 173 Kjelsaas, N-0411 Oslo (Norway); Poleo, Antonio B.S. [Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo (Norway)]. E-mail: toni.poleo@bio.uio.no

2005-01-01

The toxicity of aluminium to fish is related to interactions between aluminium and the gill surface. We investigated the possible effect of water ionic strength on this interaction. The mortality of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) exposed to three different degrees of Al polymerisation was compared in water with increased ionic strength (mean 7.31 x 10{sup -4} M) after additions of the base cations Ca{sup 2+}, Mg{sup 2+}, Na{sup +} or K{sup +}, and in water with no such addition (mean ionic strength 5.58 x 10{sup -4} M). Only a very slight ameliorating effect of increased ionic strength was observed, while the degree of Al polymerisation was of major importance in fish mortality. In addition, it was observed that smaller fish survived the Al exposures for a longer time than larger fish. We hypothesise that this is because larger fish are more susceptible to hypoxia than smaller fish. - Ionic strength has a slight ameliorating effect on Al toxicity in brown trout.

The significance of water ionic strength on aluminium toxicity in brown trout (Salmo trutta L.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alstad, Nina E.W.; Kjelsberg, Birgitte M.; Voellestad, L. Asbjoern; Lydersen, Espen; Poleo, Antonio B.S.

2005-01-01

The toxicity of aluminium to fish is related to interactions between aluminium and the gill surface. We investigated the possible effect of water ionic strength on this interaction. The mortality of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) exposed to three different degrees of Al polymerisation was compared in water with increased ionic strength (mean 7.31 x 10 -4 M) after additions of the base cations Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + or K + , and in water with no such addition (mean ionic strength 5.58 x 10 -4 M). Only a very slight ameliorating effect of increased ionic strength was observed, while the degree of Al polymerisation was of major importance in fish mortality. In addition, it was observed that smaller fish survived the Al exposures for a longer time than larger fish. We hypothesise that this is because larger fish are more susceptible to hypoxia than smaller fish. - Ionic strength has a slight ameliorating effect on Al toxicity in brown trout

Waterborne cues from crabs induce thicker skeletons, smaller gonads and size-specific changes in growth rate in sea urchins.

Science.gov (United States)

Selden, Rebecca; Johnson, Amy S; Ellers, Olaf

2009-01-01

Indirect predator-induced effects on growth, morphology and reproduction have been extensively studied in marine invertebrates but usually without consideration of size-specific effects and not at all in post-metamorphic echinoids. Urchins are an unusually good system, in which, to study size effects because individuals of various ages within one species span four orders of magnitude in weight while retaining a nearly isometric morphology. We tracked growth of urchins, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (0.013-161.385 g), in the presence or absence of waterborne cues from predatory Jonah crabs, Cancer borealis. We ran experiments at ambient temperatures, once for 4 weeks during summer and again, with a second set of urchins, for 22 weeks over winter. We used a scaled, cube-root transformation of weight for measuring size more precisely and for equalizing variance across sizes. Growth rate of the smallest urchins (summer: scent by 7% in the winter. At the end of the 22-week experiment, additional gonadal and skeletal variables were measured. Cue-exposed urchins developed heavier, thicker skeletons and smaller gonads, but no differences in spine length or jaw size. The differences depended on urchin size, suggesting that there are size-specific shifts in gonadal and somatic investment in urchins.

The effect of land fragmentation on farm performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Jakob Vesterlund; Czekaj, Tomasz Gerard; Henningsen, Arne

and fields. Fragmented land is expected to increase costs and reduce production and, thus, decrease the performance of farms. Preliminary results based on two methodological approaches both indicate no statistically significant effect of field shape, while smaller field sizes and longer distances...

Benefits of research activities incorporation into the core business of smaller TSOs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rovny, J.

2007-01-01

Much has been done to develop the nuclear safety technology to the current level. Nevertheless, incremental development of this knowledge based on demand-pull innovation only seems not to satisfy the future needs of nuclear industry. In order to cope with technical challenges faced by TSOs in the context of nuclear renaissance, the technology-push innovation has to be done in certain amount as well to ensure that brand-new ideas, technologies and attitudes will be implemented in order to enhance nuclear safety. For the reasons described, the technology-push innovation is accessible mainly for larger organizations. In order to cross the entrance barrier for smaller organizations, a cooperation among several TSOs is needed. Uncertainties related to investments in research can be optimalized by creating a research project portfolio. According to the traditional innovation management theory, technological innovation is a driver of competition and profitability and, therefore, the motivation is supported by economical benefits. (author)

An Empirical Study on the Behavior of Monthly Stock Prices of Fortune 500 Firms and S&P Smaller Firms: Evidence and Implications

OpenAIRE

Young H. Kim; Edward L. Davis; Charles T. Moses

2014-01-01

This paper revisits a random walk hypothesis by investigating the behavior of monthly stock prices of 461 Fortune 500 firms over 45 years and 599 S&P smaller firms over 10 years. The Box-Jenkins ARIMA models are applied to time series analysis and stock market forecasting to find the monthly stock price behavior. The research findings show that 309 (67.03%) Fortune 500 firms and 449 (74.96%) S&P smaller firms follow a random walk. The monthly stock prices of Fortune 500 firms and S&P firms ...

Neutron moderation in a bulk sample and its effects on PGNAA setup geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Jarallah, M.I.; Naqvi, A.A.; Fazal-ur-Rehman,; Maselehuddin, M.; Abu-Jarad, F.; Raashid, M.

2003-01-01

In a prompt gamma ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) setup, the neutron moderation in the bulk sample also plays a key role. This can even dominate the thermalization effects of the external moderator in some cases. In order to study the neutron moderation effect in the bulk sample, moderators with two different sizes of the sample were tested at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) PGNAA facility. In these tests, the thermal neutron relative intensity and prompt gamma ray yield from the two moderators were measured using nuclear track detectors (NTDs) and NaI detector, respectively. As predicted by Monte Carlo simulations, the measured intensity of thermal neutron inside the large sample cavity due to the external moderator was smaller than that from the smaller sample cavity. Due to its larger size, additional thermalization of neutrons will take place in the larger sample. In spite of smaller thermal neutron yield from the external moderator at the large sample location, higher yield of the prompt gamma ray was observed as compared to that from the smaller sample. This confirms the significance of neutron moderation effects in the bulk sample and can thereby affect the PGNAA geometry size. This allows larger samples in conjunction with smaller moderators in the PGNAA setup

Neutron moderation in a bulk sample and its effects on PGNAA setup geometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Jarallah, M.I. E-mail: mibrahim@kfupm.edu.sa; Naqvi, A.A.; Fazal-ur-Rehman,; Maselehuddin, M.; Abu-Jarad, F.; Raashid, M

2003-06-01

In a prompt gamma ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) setup, the neutron moderation in the bulk sample also plays a key role. This can even dominate the thermalization effects of the external moderator in some cases. In order to study the neutron moderation effect in the bulk sample, moderators with two different sizes of the sample were tested at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) PGNAA facility. In these tests, the thermal neutron relative intensity and prompt gamma ray yield from the two moderators were measured using nuclear track detectors (NTDs) and NaI detector, respectively. As predicted by Monte Carlo simulations, the measured intensity of thermal neutron inside the large sample cavity due to the external moderator was smaller than that from the smaller sample cavity. Due to its larger size, additional thermalization of neutrons will take place in the larger sample. In spite of smaller thermal neutron yield from the external moderator at the large sample location, higher yield of the prompt gamma ray was observed as compared to that from the smaller sample. This confirms the significance of neutron moderation effects in the bulk sample and can thereby affect the PGNAA geometry size. This allows larger samples in conjunction with smaller moderators in the PGNAA setup.

Intrauterine growth-restricted sheep fetuses exhibit smaller hindlimb muscle fibers and lower proportions of insulin-sensitive Type I fibers near term.

Science.gov (United States)

Yates, Dustin T; Cadaret, Caitlin N; Beede, Kristin A; Riley, Hannah E; Macko, Antoni R; Anderson, Miranda J; Camacho, Leticia E; Limesand, Sean W

2016-06-01

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reduces muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in offspring. Insulin sensitivity varies among muscle fiber types, with Type I fibers being most sensitive. Differences in fiber-type ratios are associated with insulin resistance in adults, and thus we hypothesized that near-term IUGR sheep fetuses exhibit reduced size and proportions of Type I fibers. Placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses were ∼54% smaller (P fetal muscles develop smaller fibers and have proportionally fewer Type I fibers, which is indicative of developmental adaptations that may help explain the link between IUGR and adulthood insulin resistance. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Percutaneous CT-guided biopsy for lung lesions 1 cm or smaller: the technique, results and complication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Chi Sung

2006-01-01

The author wanted to assess the diagnostic accuracy and safety of percutaneous biopsy for lung lesions 1 cm or smaller; the biopsies were performed on the basis of the modified coaxial technique under CT guidance. Thirty-five patients (22 men and 13 women) 23-76 years old (average age: 56.8 years) with lung lesions 1 cm or smaller underwent CT-guided percutaneous biopsy. Fifteen patients had underlying primary malignancies. After an 18 G guiding cannula was introduced to the border of the small lung lesion via the modified coaxial technique, fine-needle aspiration biopsy with 21 G needle and core tissue biopsies with 19.5 G or 20 G biopsy guns were performed through the lumen of the guiding cannula. The core tissue biopsies were finished after 6 macroscopic core tissue specimens were obtained. When the needle hit the eccentric portion of the small lung lesion, a 'fanning-out' technique with using the guiding cannula was applied to get multiple core tissue specimens from the small lung lesion. The diagnostic accuracy of this method was evaluated and the complications were reviewed. Both the cytopathologic and histopathologic specimens were obtained in all 35 cases. The fanning-out technique was necessary in 15 cases (43%) for obtaining six core tissue specimens from small lesions. The final diagnoses were 17 malignant lesions and 18 benign lesions. Sixteen lesions were true-positive, eighteen were true-negative, none was false-positive and one was false-negative. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 97%. The sensitivity for detecting malignancy and the specificity for benign lesion were 94% and 100%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 95%, respectively. The diagnostic ability to characterize the specific cell type of the malignant lesion was 94% (16 of 17), that for the benign lesions was 83% (15 of 18), and overall diagnostic ability was 89% (31 of 35). Five patients (14%) developed a pneumopthorax, and one of them (3%) received

AMS measurement of samples smaller than 300 {mu}g at center for applied isotope studies, University of Georgia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cherkinsky, Alexander, E-mail: acherkin@uga.edu [CENTER FOR APPLIED ISOTOPE STUDIES, University of Georgia, 120 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602 (United States); Ravi Prasad, G.V.; Dvoracek, Doug [CENTER FOR APPLIED ISOTOPE STUDIES, University of Georgia, 120 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602 (United States)

2013-01-15

The center for applied isotope studies has developed a protocol for the measurement of radiocarbon in the range 0.01-0.3 mg of carbon. We analyzed a series of radiocarbon-free and modern standards using the same sample preparation procedure as for unknown samples. We have studied the size dependency of {sup 12}C and {sup 13}C beam currents and {sup 14}C/{sup 13}C ratios from cathodes containing less than 1 mg of carbon. The iron catalyst used for graphite preparation contains some carbon with activity about 60 pMC and the level of contamination varies between batches from the same supplier. The cathodes in the range smaller than 50 {mu}g showed a very significant dependency between current and the sample size. In this range the current increased by about fifteen-fold; between 50 and 100 {mu}g the current increased two-fold. Samples larger than 300 {mu}g have shown negligible current variation. The {sup 14}C/{sup 13}C ratio was significantly affected only for the samples less than 50 {mu}g. Larger samples have shown very little variation in the {sup 14}C/{sup 13}C ratio. For the measurement of ultra-small unknown samples in the range of 10-50 {mu}g, we have found it to be important to use blanks and modern standards with exactly the same amount of carbon, which makes it possible to apply a mass-balanced correction.

Marginal effects of rural roads and irrigation canals on woody and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

TUOYO

smaller patches by rural roads network with significant edge effects on plant species composition and abundance. In this study .... information and road inventory details. ... field tests of anti-erosion and maintenance techniques on terrene rural ...

Detecting Novelty and Significance

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Vera; Bradley, Margaret M.; Codispoti, Maurizio; Lang, Peter J.

2013-01-01

Studies of cognition often use an “oddball” paradigm to study effects of stimulus novelty and significance on information processing. However, an oddball tends to be perceptually more novel than the standard, repeated stimulus as well as more relevant to the ongoing task, making it difficult to disentangle effects due to perceptual novelty and stimulus significance. In the current study, effects of perceptual novelty and significance on ERPs were assessed in a passive viewing context by presenting repeated and novel pictures (natural scenes) that either signaled significant information regarding the current context or not. A fronto-central N2 component was primarily affected by perceptual novelty, whereas a centro-parietal P3 component was modulated by both stimulus significance and novelty. The data support an interpretation that the N2 reflects perceptual fluency and is attenuated when a current stimulus matches an active memory representation and that the amplitude of the P3 reflects stimulus meaning and significance. PMID:19400680

Clinical significance of corpus callosum atrophy in a mixed elderly population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ryberg, C.; Rostrup, E.; Stegmann, Mikkel Bille

2007-01-01

subjects with ARWMC from the Leukoaraiosis And DISability (LADIS) study, the CC was segmented on the normalised mid-sagittal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) slice and subdivided into five regions. Correlations between the CC areas and subjective memory complaints, mini mental state examination (MMSE......, and the CC areas were smaller in subjects with subjective gait difficulty. The correlations remained significant after correction for ARWMC grade. In conclusion, CC atrophy was independently associated with impaired global cognitive and motor function in subjects with ARWMC. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights...

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A RADICALLY SMALLER, HIGHLY ADAPTIVE AND APPLICATION-FLEXIBLE MINING MACHINE FOR UTILITY AND DEVELOPMENT WORK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrew H. Stern

2004-12-20

The aim of this research project was to develop a preliminary ''conceptual design'' for a radically smaller, highly adaptive and application-flexible underground coal mining machine, for performing non-production utility work and/or also undertake limited production mining for the recovery of reserves that would otherwise be lost. Whereas historically, mining philosophies have reflected a shift to increasing larger mechanized systems [such as the continuous miner (CM)], specific mining operations that do not benefit from the economy of the large mining equipment are often ignored or addressed with significant inefficiencies. Developing this prototype concept will create a new class of equipment that can provide opportunities to re-think the very structure of the mining system across a broad range of possibilities, not able to be met by existing machinery. The approach involved pooling the collective input from mining professionals, using a structured listing of desired inputs in the form of a questionnaire, which was used to define the range of desired design specifications. From these inputs, a conceptual specification was blended, by the author, to embody the general concurrence of mission concepts for this machine.

Simple procedure for evaluating earthquake response spectra of large-event motions based on site amplification factors derived from smaller-event records

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dan, Kazuo; Miyakoshi, Jun-ichi; Yashiro, Kazuhiko.

1996-01-01

A primitive procedure was proposed for evaluating earthquake response spectra of large-event motions to make use of records from smaller events. The result of the regression analysis of the response spectra was utilized to obtain the site amplification factors in the proposed procedure, and the formulation of the seismic-source term in the regression analysis was examined. A linear form of the moment magnitude, Mw, is good for scaling the source term of moderate earthquakes with Mw of 5.5 to 7.0, while a quadratic form of Mw and the ω-square source-spectrum model is appropriate for scaling the source term of smaller and greater earthquakes, respectively. (author). 52 refs

Harvey, Mark S. (2003: Catalogue of the smaller arachnid orders of the world: Amblypygi, Uropygi, Schizomida, Palpigradi, Ricinulei and Solifugae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blick, Theo

2004-11-01

Full Text Available book review: Harvey Mark S. (2003: Catalogue of the smaller arachnid orders of the world: Amblypygi, Uropygi, Schizomida, Palpigradi, Ricinulei and Solifugae. Includes checklists for Europe of: Amblypygi, Uropygi, Schizomida, Palpigradi, Solifugae.

Hill Cipher and Least Significant Bit for Image Messaging Security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Husnul Arif

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Exchange of information through cyberspace has many benefits as an example fast estimated time, unlimited physical distance and space limits, etc. But in these activities can also pose a security risk for confidential information. It is necessary for the safety that can be used to protect data transmitted through the Internet. Encryption algorithm that used to encrypt message to be sent (plaintext into messages that have been randomized (ciphertext is cryptography and steganography algorithms. In application of cryptographic techniques that will be used is Hill Cipher. The technique is combined with steganography techniques Least Significant Bit. The result of merging techniques can maintain the confidentiality of messages because people who do not know the secret key used will be difficult to get the message contained in the stego-image and the image that has been inserted can not be used as a cover image. Message successfully inserted and extracted back on all samples with a good image formats * .bmp, * .png , * .jpg at a resolution of 512 x 512 pixels , 256 x 256 pixels. MSE and PSNR results are not influenced file format or file size, but influenced by dimensions of image. The larger dimensions of the image, then the smaller MSE that means error of image gets smaller.

Smaller scars--what is the big deal: a survey of the perceived value of laparoscopic pyloromyotomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Haricharan, Ramanath N; Aprahamian, Charles J; Morgan, Traci L; Harmon, Carroll M; Georgeson, Keith E; Barnhart, Douglas C

2008-01-01

Laparoscopic and open pyloromyotomies are equally safe and effective, with the principal benefit of laparoscopy being better cosmesis. The goal of this study was to measure the perceived value of laparoscopic pyloromyotomy. Four hundred sixteen subjects (177 college freshmen, 126 first-year medical students, and 101 parents) were asked to complete a questionnaire after photographs of mature pyloromyotomy (open and laparoscopic) scars were shown to them. To measure the perceived value, subjects' willingness to pay hypothetical additional out-of-pocket expenses for their preferred operation was assessed. Data were analyzed using Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, t test and multivariable regression. Four hundred four surveys were complete. Overall, 74% preferred the appearance after laparoscopy. Eighty-eight percent would pay an additional out-of-pocket amount for their daughter and 85% for their son to have the cosmetic outcome after laparoscopy. Respondents were willing to pay more for their daughters (P < .0001) and sons (P < .0001) than themselves. As expected, income level (P < .0001) influenced the willingness to pay, whereas ethnicity, education, number of children, and sex did not. The cosmetic benefit of laparoscopic pyloromyotomy was valued by a wide demographic with 85% being willing to pay additional expenses for their children to have smaller scars.

Effects of alveolar bone displacement with segmental osteotomy: micro-CT and histomorphometric analysis in rats

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Taegun KIM

Full Text Available Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of segmental osteotomy on the blood vessels and osteoclasts in rats using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT and histomorphometric analysis. After segmental osteotomy was performed around the maxillary first molars of 36 male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 72, the samples were divided into a control group (no displacement, 0.5 D group (0.5 mm buccal displacement and 1.0 D group (1.0 mm buccal displacement (n = 24/group. At 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks after surgery, changes in the blood vessel volume were investigated using micro-CT with perfusion of radiopaque silicone rubber. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP staining was used for histomorphometric analysis. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (rmANOVA was performed to compare the volume of blood vessels and number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts among the groups. Regarding blood vessel volume, the displacement groups had no significant effects, while the time points had significant effects (p = 0.014. The blood vessel volume at 1 week was significantly smaller than that at 2, 4, and 8 weeks (p = 0.004, p = 0.026, and p = 0.005, respectively. Regarding TRAP cell count, the displacement groups had no significant effects, while the time points had significant effects (p < 0.001. The number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts at 8 weeks was significantly smaller than that at 1, 2, and 4 weeks (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.002, respectively, and the count at 4 weeks was smaller than that at 1 week (p = 0.011. Therefore, a regional osteoclast-related acceleratory phenomenon was maintained until 4 weeks after surgery.

French Second Language Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development in Canada: The Roles of Smaller Universities and Related Institutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Heffernan, Peter J.

1991-01-01

Discusses teacher shortages in French language instruction areas in Canada, both core and immersion; the rationalization of programs; staffing and financial support among Alberta's tertiary education; language teacher preparation; and continuing professional development. Suggestions are made as to how a smaller university can better fulfill its…

Amotivation is associated with smaller ventral striatum volumes in older patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Caravaggio, Fernando; Fervaha, Gagan; Iwata, Yusuke; Plitman, Eric; Chung, Jun Ku; Nakajima, Shinichiro; Mar, Wanna; Gerretsen, Philip; Kim, Julia; Chakravarty, M Mallar; Mulsant, Benoit; Pollock, Bruce; Mamo, David; Remington, Gary; Graff-Guerrero, Ariel

2018-03-01

Motivational deficits are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia, persist despite antipsychotic treatment, and predict long-term outcomes. Evidence suggests that patients with greater amotivation have smaller ventral striatum (VS) volumes. We wished to replicate this finding in a sample of older, chronically medicated patients with schizophrenia. Using structural imaging and positron emission tomography, we examined whether amotivation uniquely predicted VS volumes beyond the effects of striatal dopamine D 2/3 receptor (D 2/3 R) blockade by antipsychotics. Data from 41 older schizophrenia patients (mean age: 60.2 ± 6.7; 11 female) were reanalysed from previously published imaging data. We constructed multivariate linear stepwise regression models with VS volumes as the dependent variable and various sociodemographic and clinical variables as the initial predictors: age, gender, total brain volume, and antipsychotic striatal D 2/3 R occupancy. Amotivation was included as a subsequent step to determine any unique relationships with VS volumes beyond the contribution of the covariates. In a reduced sample (n = 36), general cognition was also included as a covariate. Amotivation uniquely explained 8% and 6% of the variance in right and left VS volumes, respectively (right: β = -.38, t = -2.48, P = .01; left: β = -.31, t = -2.17, P = .03). Considering cognition, amotivation levels uniquely explained 9% of the variance in right VS volumes (β = -.43, t = -0.26, P = .03). We replicate and extend the finding of reduced VS volumes with greater amotivation. We demonstrate this relationship uniquely beyond the potential contributions of striatal D 2/3 R blockade by antipsychotics. Elucidating the structural correlates of amotivation in schizophrenia may help develop treatments for this presently irremediable deficit. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A heterodyne interferometer with periodic nonlinearities smaller than ±10 pm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weichert, C; Köchert, P; Köning, R; Flügge, J; Andreas, B; Kuetgens, U; Yacoot, A

2012-01-01

The PTB developed a new optical heterodyne interferometer in the context of the European joint research project ‘Nanotrace’. A new optical concept using plane-parallel plates and spatially separated input beams to minimize the periodic nonlinearities was realized. Furthermore, the interferometer has the resolution of a double-path interferometer, compensates for possible angle variations between the mirrors and the interferometer optics and offers a minimal path difference between the reference and the measurement arm. Additionally, a new heterodyne phase evaluation based on an analogue to digital converter board with embedded field programmable gate arrays was developed, providing a high-resolving capability in the single-digit picometre range. The nonlinearities were characterized by a comparison with an x-ray interferometer, over a measurement range of 2.2 periods of the optical interferometer. Assuming an error-free x-ray interferometer, the nonlinearities are considered to be the deviation of the measured displacement from a best-fit line. For the proposed interferometer, nonlinearities smaller than ±10 pm were observed without any quadrature fringe correction. (paper)

A heterodyne interferometer with periodic nonlinearities smaller than ±10 pm

Science.gov (United States)

Weichert, C.; Köchert, P.; Köning, R.; Flügge, J.; Andreas, B.; Kuetgens, U.; Yacoot, A.

2012-09-01

The PTB developed a new optical heterodyne interferometer in the context of the European joint research project ‘Nanotrace’. A new optical concept using plane-parallel plates and spatially separated input beams to minimize the periodic nonlinearities was realized. Furthermore, the interferometer has the resolution of a double-path interferometer, compensates for possible angle variations between the mirrors and the interferometer optics and offers a minimal path difference between the reference and the measurement arm. Additionally, a new heterodyne phase evaluation based on an analogue to digital converter board with embedded field programmable gate arrays was developed, providing a high-resolving capability in the single-digit picometre range. The nonlinearities were characterized by a comparison with an x-ray interferometer, over a measurement range of 2.2 periods of the optical interferometer. Assuming an error-free x-ray interferometer, the nonlinearities are considered to be the deviation of the measured displacement from a best-fit line. For the proposed interferometer, nonlinearities smaller than ±10 pm were observed without any quadrature fringe correction.

p-Curve and Effect Size: Correcting for Publication Bias Using Only Significant Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Simonsohn, Uri; Nelson, Leif D; Simmons, Joseph P

2014-11-01

Journals tend to publish only statistically significant evidence, creating a scientific record that markedly overstates the size of effects. We provide a new tool that corrects for this bias without requiring access to nonsignificant results. It capitalizes on the fact that the distribution of significant p values, p-curve, is a function of the true underlying effect. Researchers armed only with sample sizes and test results of the published findings can correct for publication bias. We validate the technique with simulations and by reanalyzing data from the Many-Labs Replication project. We demonstrate that p-curve can arrive at conclusions opposite that of existing tools by reanalyzing the meta-analysis of the "choice overload" literature. © The Author(s) 2014.

Non-stationarities significantly distort short-term spectral, symbolic and entropy heart rate variability indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magagnin, Valentina; Bassani, Tito; Bari, Vlasta; Turiel, Maurizio; Porta, Alberto; Maestri, Roberto; Pinna, Gian Domenico

2011-01-01

The autonomic regulation is non-invasively estimated from heart rate variability (HRV). Many methods utilized to assess autonomic regulation require stationarity of HRV recordings. However, non-stationarities are frequently present even during well-controlled experiments, thus potentially biasing HRV indices. The aim of our study is to quantify the potential bias of spectral, symbolic and entropy HRV indices due to non-stationarities. We analyzed HRV series recorded in healthy subjects during uncontrolled daily life activities typical of 24 h Holter recordings and during predetermined levels of robotic-assisted treadmill-based physical exercise. A stationarity test checking the stability of the mean and variance over short HRV series (about 300 cardiac beats) was utilized to distinguish stationary periods from non-stationary ones. Spectral, symbolic and entropy indices evaluated solely over stationary periods were contrasted with those derived from all the HRV segments. When indices were calculated solely over stationary series, we found that (i) during both uncontrolled daily life activities and controlled physical exercise, the entropy-based complexity indices were significantly larger; (ii) during uncontrolled daily life activities, the spectral and symbolic indices linked to sympathetic modulation were significantly smaller and those associated with vagal modulation were significantly larger; (iii) while during uncontrolled daily life activities, the variance of spectral, symbolic and entropy rate indices was significantly larger, during controlled physical exercise, it was smaller. The study suggests that non-stationarities increase the likelihood to overestimate the contribution of sympathetic control and affect the power of statistical tests utilized to discriminate conditions and/or groups

Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder : A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Logue, Mark W.; van Rooij, Sanne J H; Dennis, Emily L.; Davis, Sarah L.; Hayes, Jasmeet P.; Stevens, Jennifer S.; Densmore, Maria; Haswell, Courtney C.; Ipser, Jonathan; Koch, Saskia B.J.; Korgaonkar, Mayuresh; Lebois, Lauren A.M.; Peverill, Matthew; Baker, Justin T.; Boedhoe, Premika S W; Frijling, Jessie L.; Gruber, Staci A.; Harpaz-Rotem, Ilan; Jahanshad, Neda; Koopowitz, Sheri; Levy, Ifat; Nawijn, Laura; O'Connor, Lauren; Olff, Miranda; Salat, David H.; Sheridan, Margaret A.; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Winternitz, Sherry R.; Wolff, Jonathan D.; Wolf, Erika J.; Wang, Xin; Wrocklage, Kristen; Abdallah, Chadi G.; Bryant, Richard A.; Geuze, Elbert; Jovanovic, Tanja; Kaufman, Milissa L.; King, Anthony P.; Krystal, John H.; Lagopoulos, Jim; Bennett, Maxwell; Lanius, Ruth; Liberzon, Israel; McGlinchey, Regina E.; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Milberg, William P.; Miller, Mark W.; Ressler, Kerry J; Veltman, Dick J.; Stein, Dan J; Thomaes, Kathleen; Thompson, Paul M.; Morey, Rajendra A.

2018-01-01

Background Many studies report smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but findings have not always been consistent. Here, we present the results of a large-scale neuroimaging consortium study on PTSD conducted by the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium

The significance of relative density for particle damage in loaded and sheared gravels

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Fityus Stephen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available For granular assemblages of strong particles, an increase in the relative density usually leads to a significant increase in shear strength, which is evident as a peak strength, accompanied by significant dilation as the peak strength is attained. This paper describes an experimental study of shearing in assemblages of weak particles, where particle breakage offsets dilation for all but the lowest of confining stresses. In such materials, prone to particle breakage, the shear strengths of loose and dense assemblages rapidly converge to similar values as confining stress increases, and any benefit of greater relative density is lost. This is attributed to the densification effect associated with the loading under a high stress prior to shearing, which is characterised by widespread particle breakage and the formation of smaller particles to occupy space between coarser ones. Interestingly, under both low and high stresses, there was a tendency for greater particle breakage in the loose samples, as a result of both shearing and compression. This result suggests that, despite the denser assemblage having its particles more rigidly constrained and less able to rearrange to avoid direct loading, the influence of greater load-spreading capacity afforded by an increased number of particle contacts in a denser sample, is more dominant in controlling breakage.

The Problem with Big Data: Operating on Smaller Datasets to Bridge the Implementation Gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Richard P; Mushtaq, Faisal; White, Alan D; Mata-Cervantes, Gabriel; Pike, Tom; Coker, Dalton; Murdoch, Stuart; Hiles, Tim; Smith, Clare; Berridge, David; Hinchliffe, Suzanne; Hall, Geoff; Smye, Stephen; Wilkie, Richard M; Lodge, J Peter A; Mon-Williams, Mark

2016-01-01

Big datasets have the potential to revolutionize public health. However, there is a mismatch between the political and scientific optimism surrounding big data and the public's perception of its benefit. We suggest a systematic and concerted emphasis on developing models derived from smaller datasets to illustrate to the public how big data can produce tangible benefits in the long term. In order to highlight the immediate value of a small data approach, we produced a proof-of-concept model predicting hospital length of stay. The results demonstrate that existing small datasets can be used to create models that generate a reasonable prediction, facilitating health-care delivery. We propose that greater attention (and funding) needs to be directed toward the utilization of existing information resources in parallel with current efforts to create and exploit "big data."

From “Smaller is Stronger” to “Size-Independent Strength Plateau”: Towards Measuring the Ideal Strength of Iron

KAUST Repository

Han, Wei-Zhong; Huang, Ling; Ogata, Shigenobu; Kimizuka, Hajime; Yang, Zhao-Chun; Weinberger, Christopher; Li, Qing-Jie; Liu, Bo-Yu; Zhang, Xixiang; Li, Ju; Ma, Evan; Shan, Zhi-Wei

2015-01-01

The trend from “smaller is stronger” to “size-independent strength plateau” is observed in the compression of spherical iron nanoparticles. When the diameter of iron nanospheres is less than a critical value, the maximum contact pressure saturates at 10.7 GPa, corresponding to a local shear stress of ≈9.4 GPa, which is comparable to the theoretical shear strength of iron.

From “Smaller is Stronger” to “Size-Independent Strength Plateau”: Towards Measuring the Ideal Strength of Iron

KAUST Repository

Han, Wei-Zhong

2015-04-17

The trend from “smaller is stronger” to “size-independent strength plateau” is observed in the compression of spherical iron nanoparticles. When the diameter of iron nanospheres is less than a critical value, the maximum contact pressure saturates at 10.7 GPa, corresponding to a local shear stress of ≈9.4 GPa, which is comparable to the theoretical shear strength of iron.

Stratification of mixtures in evaporating liquid films occurs only for a range of volume fractions of the smaller component

Science.gov (United States)

Sear, Richard P.

2018-04-01

I model the drying of a liquid film containing small and big colloid particles. Fortini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 118301 (2016)] studied these films with both computer simulation and experiment. They found that at the end of drying, the mixture had stratified with a layer of the smaller particles on top of the big particles. I develop a simple model for this process. The model has two ingredients: arrest of the diffusion of the particles at high density and diffusiophoretic motion of the big particles due to gradients in the volume fraction of the small particles. The model predicts that stratification only occurs over a range of initial volume fractions of the smaller colloidal species. Above and below this range, the downward diffusiophoretic motion of the big particles is too slow to remove the big particles from the top of the film, and so there is no stratification. In agreement with earlier work, the model also predicts that large Péclet numbers for drying are needed to see stratification.

Examining Behavioral, Relational, and Cognitive Engagement in Smaller Learning Communities: A Case Study of Reform in One Suburban District

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Heather A.; Chang, Mei-Lin; Andrzejewski, Carey E.; Poirier, Ryan R.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this project was to examine the impact of Smaller Learning Community reform on students' behavioral, relational, and cognitive engagement in a suburban school district experiencing urbanization. We describe a project in which we evaluated the engagement of a cohort of 8th grade students as they transitioned to high school (n = 605).…

Carriers of loss-of-function mutations in EXT display impaired pancreatic beta-cell reserve due to smaller pancreas volume.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophie J Bernelot Moens

Full Text Available Exotosin (EXT proteins are involved in the chain elongation step of heparan sulfate (HS biosynthesis, which is intricately involved in organ development. Loss of function mutations (LOF in EXT1 and EXT2 result in hereditary exostoses (HME. Interestingly, HS plays a role in pancreas development and beta-cell function, and genetic variations in EXT2 are associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. We hypothesized that loss of function of EXT1 or EXT2 in subjects with hereditary multiple exostoses (HME affects pancreatic insulin secretion capacity and development. We performed an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT followed by hyperglycemic clamps to investigate first-phase glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS in HME patients and age and gender matched non-affected relatives. Pancreas volume was assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI. OGTT did not reveal significant differences in glucose disposal, but there was a markedly lower GSIS in HME subjects during hyperglycemic clamp (iAUC HME: 0.72 [0.46-1.16] vs. controls 1.53 [0.69-3.36] nmol·l-1·min-1, p<0.05. Maximal insulin response following arginine challenge was also significantly attenuated (iAUC HME: 7.14 [4.22-10.5] vs. controls 10.2 [7.91-12.70] nmol·l-1·min-1 p<0.05, indicative of an impaired beta-cell reserve. MRI revealed a significantly smaller pancreatic volume in HME subjects (HME: 72.0±15.8 vs. controls 96.5±26.0 cm3 p = 0.04. In conclusion, loss of function of EXT proteins may affect beta-cell mass and insulin secretion capacity in humans, and render subjects at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes when exposed to environmental risk factors.

Cost-effectiveness of motivational intervention with significant others for patients with alcohol misuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Shepard, Donald S; Lwin, Aung K; Barnett, Nancy P; Mastroleo, Nadine; Colby, Suzanne M; Gwaltney, Chad; Monti, Peter M

2016-05-01

To estimate the incremental cost, cost-effectiveness and benefit-cost ratio of incorporating a significant other (SO) into motivational intervention for alcohol misuse. We obtained economic data from the one year with the intervention in full operation for patients in a recent randomized trial. The underlying trial took place at a major urban hospital in the United States. The trial randomized 406 (68.7% male) eligible hazardous drinkers (196 during the economic study) admitted to the emergency department or trauma unit. The motivational interview condition consisted of one in-person session featuring personalized normative feedback. The significant other motivational interview condition comprised one joint session with the participant and SO in which the SO's perspective and support were elicited. We ascertained activities across 445 representative time segments through work sampling (including staff idle time), calculated the incremental cost in per patient of incorporating an SO, expressed the results in 2014 US$, incorporated quality and mortality effects from a closely related trial and derived the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. From a health system perspective, the incremental cost per patient of adding an SO was $341.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) = $244.44-437.74]. The incremental cost per year per hazardous drinker averted was $3623 (CI = $1777-22,709), the cost per QALY gained $32,200 (CI = $15,800-201,700), and the benefit-cost ratio was 4.73 (95% CI = 0.7-9.66). If adding an SO into the intervention strategy were concentrated during the hours with highest risk or in a trauma unit, it would become even more cost-beneficial. Using criteria established by the World Health Organization (cost-effectiveness below the country's gross domestic product per capita), incorporating a significant other into a patient's motivational intervention for alcohol misuse is highly cost-effective. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Effects of Didymosphenia geminata massive growth on stream communities: Smaller organisms and simplified food web structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladrera, Rubén; Gomà, Joan; Prat, Narcís

2018-01-01

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the impact of Didymosphenia geminata massive growths upon river ecosystem communities' composition and functioning. This is the first study to jointly consider the taxonomic composition and functional structure of diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages in order to determine changes in community structure, and the food web alterations associated with this invasive alga. This study was carried out in the Lumbreras River (Ebro Basin, La Rioja, Northern Spain), which has been affected by a considerable massive growth of D. geminata since 2011. The study shows a profound alteration in both the river community composition and in the food web structure at the sites affected by the massive growth, which is primarily due to the alteration of the environmental conditions, thus demonstrating that D. geminata has an important role as an ecosystem engineer in the river. Thick filamentous mats impede the movement of large invertebrates-especially those that move and feed up on it-and favor small, opportunistic, herbivorous organisms, mainly chironomids, that are capable of moving between filaments and are aided by the absence of large trophic competitors and predators -prey release effect-. Only small predators, such as hydra, are capable of surviving in the new environment, as they are favored by the increase in chironomids, a source of food, and by the reduction in both their own predators and other midge predators -mesopredator release-. This change in the top-down control affects the diatom community, since chironomids may feed on large diatoms, increasing the proportion of small diatoms in the substrate. The survival of small and fast-growing pioneer diatoms is also favored by the mesh of filaments, which offers them a new habitat for colonization. Simultaneously, D. geminata causes a significant reduction in the number of diatoms with similar ecological requirements (those attached to the substrate). Overall, D

Level and Contamination Assessment of Environmentally Sensitive Elements in Smaller than 100 μm Street Dust Particles from Xining, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Zhao

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Concentrations of the environmentally sensitive elements (ESEs As, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in smaller than 100 μm street dust particles from Xining were measured using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and their contamination levels were assessed based on enrichment factor (EF, geoaccumulation index (Igeo and pollution load index (PLI. The concentrations of As, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in smaller than 100 μm street dust particles from Xining are 0.1–0.8, 2.7–10.9, 0.7–5.2, 0.3–1.1, 0.6–2.5, 1.2–11.1, 0.7–1.3 and 0.4–2.9 times the background values of Qinghai soil, respectively. The calculated EF and Igeo values reveal the order Co > Pb > Cu > Zn > V > Ni > Mn > As. The EF and Igeo values of Co, Cu, Pb and Zn are higher indicating that there is considerable pollution by these elements in smaller than 100 μm street dust particles, especially for Co. The EF and Igeo of Mn, Ni and V are lower and the assessment results indicate an absence of distinct Mn, Ni and V pollution in the studied samples. The mean value of PLIsite is 1.14, indicating a slightly pollution in the whole city of Xining. The order of PLIarea for the five tested districts is Center District (CD > East District (ED > West District (WD > North District (ND > South District (SD, showing that ESEs pollution in the South District is the lightest while it is the highest in the Central District.

The Effect of Ion Motion on Laser-Driven Plasma Wake in Capillary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Suyun; Li Yanfang; Chen Hui

2016-01-01

The effect of ion motion in capillary-guided laser-driven plasma wake is investigated through rebuilding a two-dimensional analytical model. It is shown that laser pulse with the same power can excite more intense wakefield in the capillary of a smaller radius. When laser intensity exceeds a critical value, the effect of ion motion reducing the wakefield rises, which becomes significant with a decrease of capillary radius. This phenomenon can be attributed to plasma ions in smaller capillary obtaining more energy from the plasma wake. The dependence of the difference value between maximal scalar potential of wake for two cases of ion rest and ion motion on the radius of the capillary is discussed. (paper)

Surface tension effect on the mechanical properties of nanomaterials measured by atomic force microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Cuenot, Stéphane; Frétigny, Christian; Demoustier-Champagne, Sophie; Nysten, Bernard

2004-04-01

The effect of reduced size on the elastic properties measured on silver and lead nanowires and on polypyrrole nanotubes with an outer diameter ranging between 30 and 250 nm is presented and discussed. Resonant-contact atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to measure their apparent elastic modulus. The measured modulus of the nanomaterials with smaller diameters is significantly higher than that of the larger ones. The latter is comparable to the macroscopic modulus of the materials. The increase of the apparent elastic modulus for the smaller diameters is attributed to surface tension effects. The surface tension of the probed material may be experimentally determined from these AFM measurements.

Influence of irradiation (Co{sub 6}0) in pre-implant rabbits embryos: effect on blastocyst diameters and embryos smaller than 2 mm; Influencia da radiacao ionizante (bomba de cobalto) em embrioes de coelha na fase de pre-implantacao: efeito no diametro das blastulas e embrioes com menos de 2mm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Approbato, Mario S.; Oliveira Moura, Katia K.V. de; Souza Florencio, Rodopiano de; Cunha Junior, Carlos; Garcia, Ricardo; Faria, Renato S.; Benedetti, Leonardo N.; Goulart, Flamarion B.

1995-06-01

We studied the effect of ionizing irradiation on 12 New Zealand rabbits (65 embryos), in three different times: at match time (zero hour), two days after and four days after, with two different irradiation doses, 5 c Gy and 10 c Gy. Six rabbits (36 blastocysts) were used as controls. The matching instant was the zero hour. Exactly six days after ({+-} 60 minutes) the embryos of each rabbit was picked up by flushing the uterus with culture media. The embryos were fixed in methanol for 48 hours, and colored with acid Mayer hematoxylin. The following embryos parameters were studied: diameter growth; percentage of embryos smaller than 2 mm. We observed that only the irradiation time influenced the blastocysts diameter (no irradiation dose). There was no relation between percentage of embryos smaller than 2 mm and the irradiation. (author). 11 refs., 2 figs.

Vertebral artery terminating in posterior inferior cerebellar artery: A normal variation with clinical significance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I-Wen Liu

Full Text Available A vertebral artery (VA terminating in a posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA is often considered to be a normal variation associated with VA hypoplasia. We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of this cerebrovascular variant. A total of 80 patients with clinically evident cerebrovascular events in posterior circulation were examined by duplex sonography and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA. Eighty healthy subjects who had MRA check-up were recruited as controls. PICA termination of the VA (PICA-VA was identified as the VA not communicating with the basilar artery (BA but ending into a PICA. We compared the prevalence of PICA-VA and associated hemodynamic parameters between the patients with and without PICA-VA, and investigated their relationships with VA hypoplasia. The prevalence of PICA-VA was higher in the patient group than in the controls (18.7% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.015. Most measurements (73.3% of PICA-VA did not fit the criteria of VA hypoplasia. In comparison with the non-PICA-terminating group, the PICA-VA has a smaller diameter (3.7 ± 0.7 mm vs. 3.0 ± 0.5 mm, p < 0.001, lower mean velocity (241 ± 100 mm/sec vs. 164 ± 88 mm/sec, p < 0.01, and higher pulsatility index (1.3 ± 0.5 vs. 1.9 ± 0.6, p < 0.001. Moreover, a smaller diameter of the BA (3.2 ± 0.5 mm vs. 2.5 ± 0.9 mm, p = 0.004 and the posterior cerebral artery (PCA (2.0 ± 0.1 mm vs. 1.6 ± 0.1 mm, p = 0.006 were also noted in the PICA-VA group. The higher prevalence of PICA-VA in the patient group with smaller diameter of VA, BA and PCA reflected its clinical significance, suggesting that PICA-VA may have a detrimental impact on cerebral hemodynamics. However, the sample is small, and further studies are needed with larger sample size for confirmation.

High temperatures result in smaller nurseries which lower reproduction of pollinators and parasites in a brood site pollination mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Anusha; Pramanik, Gautam Kumar; Revadi, Santosh V; Venkateswaran, Vignesh; Borges, Renee M

2014-01-01

In a nursery pollination mutualism, we asked whether environmental factors affected reproduction of mutualistic pollinators, non-mutualistic parasites and seed production via seasonal changes in plant traits such as inflorescence size and within-tree reproductive phenology. We examined seasonal variation in reproduction in Ficus racemosa community members that utilise enclosed inflorescences called syconia as nurseries. Temperature, relative humidity and rainfall defined four seasons: winter; hot days, cold nights; summer and wet seasons. Syconium volumes were highest in winter and lowest in summer, and affected syconium contents positively across all seasons. Greater transpiration from the nurseries was possibly responsible for smaller syconia in summer. The 3-5°C increase in mean temperatures between the cooler seasons and summer reduced fig wasp reproduction and increased seed production nearly two-fold. Yet, seed and pollinator progeny production were never negatively related in any season confirming the mutualistic fig-pollinator association across seasons. Non-pollinator parasites affected seed production negatively in some seasons, but had a surprisingly positive relationship with pollinators in most seasons. While within-tree reproductive phenology did not vary across seasons, its effect on syconium inhabitants varied with season. In all seasons, within-tree reproductive asynchrony affected parasite reproduction negatively, whereas it had a positive effect on pollinator reproduction in winter and a negative effect in summer. Seasonally variable syconium volumes probably caused the differential effect of within-tree reproductive phenology on pollinator reproduction. Within-tree reproductive asynchrony itself was positively affected by intra-tree variation in syconium contents and volume, creating a unique feedback loop which varied across seasons. Therefore, nursery size affected fig wasp reproduction, seed production and within-tree reproductive phenology

Clinically significant bleeding in incurable cancer patients: effectiveness of hemostatic radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cihoric, Nikola; Crowe, Susanne; Eychmüller, Steffen; Aebersold, Daniel M; Ghadjar, Pirus

2012-01-01

This study was performed to evaluate the outcome after hemostatic radiotherapy (RT) of significant bleeding in incurable cancer patients. Patients treated by hemostatic RT between November 2006 and February 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Bleeding was assessed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) scale (grade 0 = no bleeding, 1 = petechial bleeding, 2 = clinically significant bleeding, 3 = bleeding requiring transfusion, 4 = bleeding associated with fatality). The primary endpoint was bleeding at the end of RT. Key secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS) and acute toxicity. The bleeding score before and after RT were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Time to event endpoints were estimated using the Kaplan Meier method. Overall 62 patients were analyzed including 1 patient whose benign cause of bleeding was pseudomyxoma peritonei. Median age was 66 (range, 37–93) years. Before RT, bleeding was graded as 2 and 3 in 24 (39%) and 38 (61%) patients, respectively. A median dose of 20 (range, 5–45) Gy of hemostatic RT was applied to the bleeding site. At the end of RT, there was a statistically significant difference in bleeding (p < 0.001); it was graded as 0 (n = 39), 1 (n = 12), 2 (n = 6), 3 (n = 4) and 4 (n = 1). With a median follow-up of 19.3 (range, 0.3-19.3) months, the 6-month OS rate was 43%. Forty patients died (65%); 5 due to bleeding. No grade 3 or above acute toxicity was observed. Hemostatic RT seems to be a safe and effective treatment for clinically and statistically significantly reducing bleeding in incurable cancer patients

The Effect of Visual Display Properties and Gain Presentation Mode on the Perceived Naturalness of Virtual Walking Speeds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nilsson, Niels Chr.; Serafin, Stefania; Nordahl, Rolf

2015-01-01

of the visual speed. The third study found a significant main effect of gain presentation mode. Allowing participants to interactively adjust the gain led to a smaller range of perceptually natural gains and this approach was significantly faster. However, the efficiency may come at the expense of confidence...

What happens to offspring when parents are inbred, old or had a poor start in life? Evidence for sex-specific parental effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Vega-Trejo, Regina; Kruuk, Loeske E B; Jennions, Michael D; Head, Megan L

2018-05-23

Parental effects on offspring performance have been attributed to many factors such as parental age, size and condition. However, we know little about how these different parental characteristics interact to determine parental effects, or the extent to which their effect on offspring depends on either the sex of the parent or that of the offspring. Here we experimentally tested for effects of variation in parents' early diet and inbreeding levels, as well as effects of parental age, and for potential interactive effects of these three factors on key aspects of offspring development in the mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Older mothers produced offspring that were significantly smaller at birth. This negative effect of maternal age on offspring size was still evident at maturation as older mothers had smaller daughters, but not smaller sons. The daughters of older mothers did, however, reach maturity sooner. Paternal age did not affect offspring body size, but it had a complex effect on their sons' relative genital size. When initially raised on a food-restricted diet, older fathers sired sons with relatively smaller genitalia, but when fathers were initially raised on a control diet their sons had relatively larger genitalia. The inbreeding status of mothers and fathers had no significant effects on any of the measured offspring traits. Our results indicate that the manifestation of parental effects can be complex. It can vary with both parent and offspring sex; can change over an offspring's life; and is sometimes evident as an interaction between different parental traits. Understanding this complexity will be important to predict the role of parental effects in adaptation. © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

The effects of dietary phosphorus and vitamin D3 on the cadmium accumulation in the tissues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuruki, Fukiko; Wung, Houi-Ling; Moriuchi, Sachiko; Hosoya, Norimasa

1979-01-01

The effects of dietary Ca and vitamin D 3 on the Cd accumulation in the liver and the kidney were observed and discussed in relation with the responses to the intestinal Ca transport and vitamin D dependent calcium binding protein (CaBP). 1. Ca transport in rat duodenum was significantly increased by vitamin D 3 , especially in rats raised on low P diet. However, this effect was reduced in Cd-exposed rats. 2. 45 Ca binding activity of the smaller CaBP (PIII), which was found predominantly in the duodenum and jejunum was increased by low P diet. However, in Cd-exposed rats, 45 Ca binding activity was suppressed significantly. On the other hand, the larger CaBP (PII) found mainly in jejunum and ileum showed a good response to vitamin D 3 , too, but not influenced by dietary P and Cd levels as the smaller CaBP. 3. Renal Cd accumulation was influenced by neither dietary P nor vitamin D 3 . However, hepatic Cd accumulation was significantly decreased in vitamin D 3 repleted rat, although it was not influenced by dietary P. These results suggest that dietary P modulates the inhibitory effect of Cd on intestinal vitamin D-stimulated Ca transport, presumably through the inhibition of Ca binding to the smaller CaBP (PIII). But Cd accumulation in the liver was decreased in vitamin D repleted groups, presumably, vitamin D dependent CaBP acts as the barrier in the Cd-exposed rats. (author)

S175. AMOTIVATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH SMALLER VENTRAL STRIATUM VOLUMES IN OLDER PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Science.gov (United States)

Caravaggio, Fernando; Fervaha, Gagan; Iwata, Yusuke; Plitman, Eric; Chung, Jun Ku; Nakajima, Shinichiro; Mar, Wanna; Gerretsen, Philip; Kim, Julia; Chakravarty, Mallar; Mulsant, Benoit; Pollock, Bruce; Mamo, David; Remington, Gary; Graff-Guerrero, Ariel

2018-01-01

Abstract Background Motivational deficits are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia, persist despite antipsychotic treatment, and predict long‐term outcomes. Evidence suggests that patients with greater amotivation have smaller ventral striatum (VS) volumes. We wished to replicate this finding in a sample of older, chronically medicated patients with schizophrenia. Using structural imaging and positron emission tomography, we examined whether amotivation uniquely predicted VS volumes beyond the effects of striatal dopamine D2/3 receptor (D2/3R) blockade by antipsychotics. Methods Data from 41 older schizophrenia patients (mean age: 60.2 ± 6.7; 11 female) were reanalysed from previously published imaging data. We constructed multivariate linear stepwise regression models with VS volumes as the dependent variable and various sociodemographic and clinical variables as the initial predictors: age, gender, total brain volume, and antipsychotic striatal D2/3R occupancy. Amotivation was included as a subsequent step to determine any unique relationships with VS volumes beyond the contribution of the covariates. In a reduced sample (n = 36), general cognition was also included as a covariate. Results Amotivation uniquely explained 8% and 6% of the variance in right and left VS volumes, respectively (right: β = -.38, t = -2.48, P = .01; left: β = -.31, t = -2.17, P = .03). Considering cognition, amotivation levels uniquely explained 9% of the variance in right VS volumes (β = -.43, t = -0.26, P = .03). Discussion We replicate and extend the finding of reduced VS volumes with greater amotivation. We demonstrate this relationship uniquely beyond the potential contributions of striatal D2/3R blockade by antipsychotics. Elucidating the structural correlates of amotivation in schizophrenia may help develop treatments for this presently irremediable deficit.

Theory of the superconducting proximity effect below the transition temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvert, W.

1975-01-01

The form of the low-temperature theory of the superconducting proximity effect depends on whether the non-linear terms are assumed to depend only on the local value of the gap or on its average value over some finite range. The local assumption leads to smaller values of the gap and to unphysical results at low temperatures. The effect of non-locality is significant even in the Ginsburg-Landau regime. (author)

Smaller Dentate Gyrus and CA2 and CA3 Volumes Are Associated with Kynurenine Metabolites in Collegiate Football Athletes.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Timothy B; Savitz, Jonathan; Singh, Rashmi; Teague, T Kent; Bellgowan, Patrick S F

2016-07-15

An imbalance in kynurenine pathway metabolism is hypothesized to be associated with dysregulated glutamatergic neurotransmission, which has been proposed as a mechanism underlying the hippocampal volume loss observed in a variety of neurological disorders. Pre-clinical models suggest that the CA2-3 and dentate gyrus hippocampal subfields are particularly susceptible to excitotoxicity after experimental traumatic brain injury. We tested the hypothesis that smaller hippocampal volumes in collegiate football athletes with (n = 25) and without (n = 24) a concussion history would be most evident in the dentate gyrus and CA2-3 subfields relative to nonfootball healthy controls (n = 27). Further, we investigated whether the concentration of peripheral levels of kynurenine metabolites are altered in football athletes. Football athletes with and without a self-reported concussion history had smaller dentate gyrus (p Football athletes with and without a concussion history had a trend toward lower (p history had greater levels of quinolinic acid compared with athletes without a concussion history (p football athletes with a concussion history (p football athletes without a concussion history (p < 0.05). Our results raise the possibility that abnormalities of the kynurenine metabolic pathway constitute a mechanism for hippocampal volume differences in the context of sports-related brain injury.

Effects of racing games on risky driving behaviour, and the significance of personality and physiological data.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Mingming; Chan, Alan H S; Wu, Feng; Wang, Jun

2015-08-01

Racing games have emerged as top-selling products in the video and computer game industry. The effect of playing racing games on the inclination of gamers to take risks has been investigated. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment 1, the impact of personality traits on the effects of playing racing games on risk-taking inclination was examined. The Vienna Test System, which includes the Eysenck Personality Profile Test and the Vienna Risk-Taking Test, was used to measure risk-taking inclination and risk-taking while driving. Experiment 2 was designed and conducted to analyse the effects of different intensity levels of car racing games on risk-taking inclination, and to study the relationship between physiological data and risk-taking inclination. Physiological data on skin conductance, heart rate and blood pressure were measured with the NeuroDyne System. Participants playing a racing game were more inclined to take risks in critical road traffic situations than those playing a neutral game. The adventurousness dimension of the Eysenck Personality Profile Test correlated significantly positively with risk-taking inclination. More importantly, the effect of the intensity level of a racing game on risk-taking inclination was significant. The higher the intensity level of the racing game, the higher the risk-taking inclination while driving. The effect of intensity level of the racing game on skin conductance was significantly positive. Skin conductance correlated significantly positively with risk-taking inclination. The effect of playing racing games on risk-taking inclination is linked to personality and physiological data. Some recommendations are proposed as a result of this study for racing game management. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Test the Overall Significance of p-values by Using Joint Tail Probability of Ordered p-values as Test Statistic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fang, Yongxiang; Wit, Ernst

2008-01-01

Fisher’s combined probability test is the most commonly used method to test the overall significance of a set independent p-values. However, it is very obviously that Fisher’s statistic is more sensitive to smaller p-values than to larger p-value and a small p-value may overrule the other p-values

No significant effect of angiotensin II receptor blockade on intermediate cardiovascular end points in hemodialysis patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peters, Christian Daugaard; Kjaergaard, Krista D; Jensen, Jens D

2014-01-01

Agents blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system are frequently used in patients with end-stage renal disease, but whether they exert beneficial cardiovascular effects is unclear. Here the long-term effects of the angiotensin II receptor blocker, irbesartan, were studied in hemodialysis......, and residual renal function. Brachial blood pressure decreased significantly in both groups, but there was no significant difference between placebo and irbesartan. Use of additional antihypertensive medication, ultrafiltration volume, and dialysis dosage were not different. Intermediate cardiovascular end...... points such as central aortic blood pressure, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, left ventricular mass index, N-terminal brain natriuretic prohormone, heart rate variability, and plasma catecholamines were not significantly affected by irbesartan treatment. Changes in systolic blood pressure during...

Smaller kidney size at birth in South Asians: findings from the Born in Bradford birth cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Roderick, Paul J; Jeffrey, Robin F; Yuen, Ho M; Godfrey, Keith M; West, Jane; Wright, John

2016-03-01

Rates of advanced chronic kidney disease and renal replacement therapy are higher in South Asian than in white British populations. Low birth weight is also more frequent in South Asian populations and has been associated with increased risks of kidney disease, perhaps due to a reduced nephron endowment. Using ultrasound scans at 34 weeks of gestation, we measured fetal kidney dimensions (transverse and anteroposterior diameters, length and circumference) and derived volume in a random sample of 872 white British and 715 South Asian participants in the Born in Bradford cohort study. Kidney measurements were compared between ethnic groups. Birth weight for gestational age at 40 weeks was 200 g less in South Asian babies compared with white British babies. The mean kidney volume for gestational age was 16% lower in South Asian than in white British babies [8.79 versus 10.45 cm(3), difference 1.66 cm(3) (95% confidence interval 1.40-1.93, P < 0.001)]. The difference was robust after adjustment for maternal age, socio-economic factors, marital status, body mass index, smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy, parity, baby's gender and birth weight for gestational age [adjusted difference 1.38 cm(3) (0.97-1.84), P < 0.001]. There were smaller reductions in other fetal measures. South Asian babies have smaller kidneys compared with white British babies, even after adjusting for potential confounders including birth weight. This finding may contribute to increased risks of adult kidney disease in South Asian populations. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Therapeutic Touch Has Significant Effects on Mouse Breast Cancer Metastasis and Immune Responses but Not Primary Tumor Size.

Science.gov (United States)

Gronowicz, Gloria; Secor, Eric R; Flynn, John R; Jellison, Evan R; Kuhn, Liisa T

2015-01-01

Evidence-based integrative medicine therapies have been introduced to promote wellness and offset side-effects from cancer treatment. Energy medicine is an integrative medicine technique using the human biofield to promote well-being. The biofield therapy chosen for study was Therapeutic Touch (TT). Breast cancer tumors were initiated in mice by injection of metastatic 66cl4 mammary carcinoma cells. The control group received only vehicle. TT or mock treatments were performed twice a week for 10 minutes. Two experienced TT practitioners alternated treatments. At 26 days, metastasis to popliteal lymph nodes was determined by clonogenic assay. Changes in immune function were measured by analysis of serum cytokines and by fluorescent activated cells sorting (FACS) of immune cells from the spleen and lymph nodes. No significant differences were found in body weight gain or tumor size. Metastasis was significantly reduced in the TT-treated mice compared to mock-treated mice. Cancer significantly elevated eleven cytokines. TT significantly reduced IL-1-a, MIG, IL-1b, and MIP-2 to control/vehicle levels. FACS demonstrated that TT significantly reduced specific splenic lymphocyte subsets and macrophages were significantly elevated with cancer. Human biofield therapy had no significant effect on primary tumor but produced significant effects on metastasis and immune responses in a mouse breast cancer model.

Birds and Roads: Reduced Transit for Smaller Species over Roads within an Urban Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher D. Johnson

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Roads provide humans with a means of mobility between destinations, be it for transportation of goods and services or as a means of connecting with others. However, roads are also known to contribute toward a number of deleterious landscape processes, such as habitat destruction and fragmentation, pollution (e.g., chemical, noise and light and animal mortality. Few studies however have investigated their effects on avifauna. We investigated the influence of road width on movements of nearby bird assemblages in Australia by comparing crossing counts of four species guilds and sizes over roads of varying widths in Southern Brisbane. In addition, we also sought to determine the association of seasonality with species crossing richness and abundance. Species guild affiliations were based on definitions from previous literature: small forest dependent, large forest dependent, honeyeater, and urban tolerant; whereas body size classifications were arbitrarily defined: small (< 20 cm, medium (20–29 cm, and large (>30 cm. Road sites were selected based on their vegetation likeness, both within and between sites, and this was assessed using the Specht classification system. We detected strong, negative correlations between road width and forest species richness, crossing species richness and species crossing abundance. In particular, analysis of species guild classifications revealed species richness and crossing likelihoods of the small forest dependent guild to be consistently lower than those of large forest dependent, honeyeater and urban tolerant guilds. Analysis of species by body size classification yielded similar outcomes: small birds were consistently less likely to be present nearby and cross over roads of all widths compared to medium and large birds. We believe gap permeability, particularly changes in vegetation structure and complexity that may restrict a species ability to access to the gap, as well as competition and predation, play an

The Effect of Family Disruption on Children's Personality Development: Evidence from British Longitudinal Data

OpenAIRE

Prevoo, Tyas; ter Weel, Bas

2014-01-01

This research documents the effects of different forms of family disruptions - measured by separation, divorce and death - on personality development of British children included in the 1970 British Cohort Study. There are statistically significant correlations between family disruptions prior to the age of 16 and personality development in early childhood. Parental divorce has the largest negative effect on a child's personality development. Family disruptions have smaller effects on persona...

Using a smaller dining plate does not suppress food intake from a buffet lunch meal in overweight, unrestrained women.

Science.gov (United States)

Yip, Wilson; Wiessing, Katy R; Budgett, Stephanie; Poppitt, Sally D

2013-10-01

The aim of the study was to determine whether plate size affects ad libitum energy intake (EI) at a buffet-style lunch in overweight, yet unrestrained women. Twenty overweight/obese (BMI=25-40 kg/m(2)) women attended two study visits, and were randomly assigned to small (19.5 cm) or large (26.5 cm) diameter plate size at a free choice lunch meal. At 9 am participants were given a small (0.5 MJ) breakfast, followed at 12 noon by the lunch meal from which they ate ad lib until comfortably full. Mean (SEM) EI at lunch was 3975 (239)kJ and 3901 (249) kJ respectively for small and large plate size. There was no detectable difference in EI between the two plate sizes (P>0.05). When in a raised state of hunger and offered a palatable buffet meal, altering the diameter of the dining plate onto which food was self-served did not significantly alter ad lib EI. We conclude there was no evidence that a smaller plate suppressed EI in a group of unrestrained, overweight women encouraged to eat to appetite from a wide choice of items. Whether plate size is a useful cue for portion size, and hence control of EI, in individuals actively restricting intake however remains possible, and requires investigation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Significance of Effective Leadership in Organisations

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王丽闻

2017-01-01

This essay will study leadership by critically analysing several key theories; it will begin with the concept of leadership to facility an understanding of the subject. Initially, the description of leadership in organisations will be explored to present the development of leadership, and simultaneously identify the purpose of effective leadership. Subse-quently, the demand for good leaders in current business environment will be discussed in order to identify the importance of effective lead-ership. Finally, an empirical case will be discussed to reveal how well the key theories help leaders to address various issues in organisations.

Scale Effects Related to Small Physical Modelling of Overtopping of Rubble Mound Breakwaters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, Hans F.; Andersen, Thomas Lykke

2009-01-01

By comparison of overtopping discharges recorded in prototype and small scale physical models it was demonstrated in the EU-CLASH project that small scale tests significantly underestimate smaller discharges. Deviations in overtopping are due to model and scale effects. These effects are discusse...... armour on the upper part of the slope. This effect is believed to be the main reason for the found deviations between overtopping in prototype and small scale tests....

The significant effects of puberty on the genetic diathesis of binge eating in girls.

Science.gov (United States)

Klump, Kelly L; Culbert, Kristen M; O'Connor, Shannon; Fowler, Natasha; Burt, S Alexandra

2017-08-01

Recent data show significant phenotypic and genetic associations between ovarian hormones and binge eating in adulthood. Theories of hormonal risk focus on puberty and the possibility that hormone activation induces changes in genetic effects that then lead to differential risk for binge eating in postpuberty and adulthood. Although this theory is difficult to test in humans, an indirect test is to examine whether genetic influences on binge eating increase during the pubertal period in girls. Prior work has shown pubertal increases in genetic influences on overall disordered eating symptoms, but no study to date has examined binge eating. The present study was the first to examine these increases for binge eating. Participants included 1,568 female twins (aged 8-25 years) from the Michigan State University Twin Registry. Binge eating and pubertal development were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Twin moderation models showed significant linear increases in genetic effects from prepuberty (5%) to postpuberty (42%), even after controlling for the effects of age and body mass index. Results provide critical support for increased genetic influences on binge eating during puberty. Additional studies are needed to identify hormonal mechanisms and fully test contemporary models of ovarian hormone risk. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The smaller windmill

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanguinetti, P. [Trillium Windmills Inc., Orillia, ON (Canada)

1997-06-01

The importance of small windchargers, below a rating of 1000 watts, was discussed. These units can go wherever there is a need to charge a 12 volt or 24 volt battery and where there is no easily available conventional electricity source, such as a sailboat, farm, scientific site, or cottage. Trillium Windmills was set up to market the Rutland Windcharger which is a small windcharger rated at 75 watts in a 22 MPH wind. To give an indication of the size of the market, it was pointed out that two manufacturers, one in North America and one in England, have monthly production runs of more than 1000 small wind turbines of less than 500 watts.

More Use Almost Always Means a Smaller Frequency Effect: Aging, Bilingualism, and the Weaker Links Hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Gollan, Tamar H.; Montoya, Rosa I.; Cera, Cynthia; Sandoval, Tiffany C.

2008-01-01

The "weaker links" hypothesis proposes that bilinguals are disadvantaged relative to monolinguals on speaking tasks because they divide frequency-of-use between two languages. To test this proposal, we contrasted the effects of increased word use associated with monolingualism, language dominance, and increased age on picture naming times. In two…

Power, effects, confidence, and significance: an investigation of statistical practices in nursing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaskin, Cadeyrn J; Happell, Brenda

2014-05-01

improvement. Most importantly, researchers should abandon the misleading practice of interpreting the results from inferential tests based solely on whether they are statistically significant (or not) and, instead, focus on reporting and interpreting effect sizes, confidence intervals, and significance levels. Nursing researchers also need to conduct and report a priori power analyses, and to address the issue of Type I experiment-wise error inflation in their studies. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High temperatures result in smaller nurseries which lower reproduction of pollinators and parasites in a brood site pollination mutualism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anusha Krishnan

Full Text Available In a nursery pollination mutualism, we asked whether environmental factors affected reproduction of mutualistic pollinators, non-mutualistic parasites and seed production via seasonal changes in plant traits such as inflorescence size and within-tree reproductive phenology. We examined seasonal variation in reproduction in Ficus racemosa community members that utilise enclosed inflorescences called syconia as nurseries. Temperature, relative humidity and rainfall defined four seasons: winter; hot days, cold nights; summer and wet seasons. Syconium volumes were highest in winter and lowest in summer, and affected syconium contents positively across all seasons. Greater transpiration from the nurseries was possibly responsible for smaller syconia in summer. The 3-5°C increase in mean temperatures between the cooler seasons and summer reduced fig wasp reproduction and increased seed production nearly two-fold. Yet, seed and pollinator progeny production were never negatively related in any season confirming the mutualistic fig-pollinator association across seasons. Non-pollinator parasites affected seed production negatively in some seasons, but had a surprisingly positive relationship with pollinators in most seasons. While within-tree reproductive phenology did not vary across seasons, its effect on syconium inhabitants varied with season. In all seasons, within-tree reproductive asynchrony affected parasite reproduction negatively, whereas it had a positive effect on pollinator reproduction in winter and a negative effect in summer. Seasonally variable syconium volumes probably caused the differential effect of within-tree reproductive phenology on pollinator reproduction. Within-tree reproductive asynchrony itself was positively affected by intra-tree variation in syconium contents and volume, creating a unique feedback loop which varied across seasons. Therefore, nursery size affected fig wasp reproduction, seed production and within

Devices for separation of particle emissions from biofuel plants smaller than 10 MW - Today's technology and potential for development; Stoftreningsteknik foer biobraensleanlaeggningar mindre aen 10 MW - tekniklaege och utvecklingspotential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roennbaeck, Marie; Gustavsson, Lennart; Martinsson, Lars; Tullin, Claes; Johansson, Linda

2002-09-01

The objective of this report is to compile a survey of available technologies for separation of particles and to present research and development in the area of particle separation for biofuel plants smaller than 10 MW. Technical and economical opportunities to transfer the technologies used today in larger plants to smaller ones are discussed. As the health effects of aerosols are under investigation, the issue of separation of particle less than 1 {mu}m is especially scrutinised. Current research concerning the particle size distribution at different load is presented. The project has been realised partly as a literature survey, partly through contacts with scientists in the area and manufacturers of devices for flue gas cleaning and particle separation. The target group is owners of plants, manufacturers of devices and authorities with responsibility for air quality and energy planning. Fabric filters is an established technology that can perform low particle emissions (less than a few mg/m{sup 3}) at a low cost also at smaller plants. Also electrostatic precipitators can perform the same low emissions, but the cost for installation at smaller plants has to be reduced. Both these technologies can, properly designed, separate submicron particles. Cyclones can today as its best perform a little less than 100 mg/m{sup 3} at 13 % CO{sub 2}. Cyclones are used together with other technologies to achieve high separation at a low cost. Cyclones are attractive because of their simplicity and low price, but because they use inertia forces as separation mechanism, they can never separate submicron particles. Conventional scrubbers and flue gas condensers are capable of separation of submicron particles but the efficiency is lower compared with fabric filters and electrostatic precipitators. The emission level after a scrubber/flue gas condenser is about 70 - 80 mg/m{sup 3} at 13 % CO{sub 2}. New technologies for separation of particles oriented towards smaller plants and

Accelerating Smaller Cutbacks to Delay Larger Ones?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tepe, Markus; Vanhuysse, Pieter

2012-01-01

. Investigating both medium and large cutbacks in ageing welfare states, we test whether, in addition to conventional demographic and economic variables, political-institutional variables capturing partisanship (political ideology), electioneering (political cycle), and institutional constraints (political...... effects of unemployment and population aging: these socio-demographic variables tend to delay large-size cutbacks, but to accelerate medium-size cutbacks in pension generosity, possibly because they function as alarm bell signals urging policymakers to take still feasible incremental action through...

Behavioral inhibition in childhood predicts smaller hippocampal volume in adolescent offspring of parents with panic disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, C E; Kunwar, P S; Hirshfeld-Becker, D R; Henin, A; Vangel, M G; Rauch, S L; Biederman, J; Rosenbaum, J F

2015-01-01

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a genetically influenced behavioral profile seen in 15–20% of 2-year-old children. Children with BI are timid with people, objects and situations that are novel or unfamiliar, and are more reactive physiologically to these challenges as evidenced by higher heart rate, pupillary dilation, vocal cord tension and higher levels of cortisol. BI predisposes to the later development of anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Reduced hippocampal volumes have been observed in anxiety disorders, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Animal models have demonstrated that chronic stress can damage the hippocampal formation and implicated cortisol in these effects. We, therefore, hypothesized that the hippocampi of late adolescents who had been behaviorally inhibited as children would be smaller compared with those who had not been inhibited. Hippocampal volume was measured with high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging in 43 females and 40 males at 17 years of age who were determined to be BI+ or BI− based on behaviors observed in the laboratory as young children. BI in childhood predicted reduced hippocampal volumes in the adolescents who were offspring of parents with panic disorder, or panic disorder with comorbid major depression. We discuss genetic and environmental factors emanating from both child and parent that may explain these findings. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a relationship between the most extensively studied form of temperamentally based human trait anxiety, BI, and hippocampal structure. The reduction in hippocampal volume, as reported by us, suggests a role for the hippocampus in human trait anxiety and anxiety disorder that warrants further investigation. PMID:26196438

Improving CT detection sensitivity for nodal metastases in oesophageal cancer with combination of smaller size and lymph node axial ratio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Jianfang [Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Beijing (China); Capital Medical University Electric Power Teaching Hospital, Beijing (China); Wang, Zhu; Qu, Dong; Yao, Libo [Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Beijing (China); Shao, Huafei [Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College, Yantai (China); Liu, Jian [Meitan General Hospital, Beijing (China)

2018-01-15

To investigate the value of CT with inclusion of smaller lymph node (LN) sizes and axial ratio to improve the sensitivity in diagnosis of regional lymph node metastases in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The contrast-enhanced multidetector row spiral CT (MDCT) multiplanar reconstruction images of 204 patients with OSCC were retrospectively analysed. The long-axis and short-axis diameters of the regional LNs were measured and axial ratios were calculated (short-axis/long-axis diameters). Nodes were considered round if the axial ratio exceeded the optimal LN axial ratio, which was determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis. A positive predictive value (PPV) exceeding 50% is needed. This was achieved only with LNs larger than 9 mm in short-axis diameter, but nodes of this size were rare (sensitivity 37.3%, specificity 96.4%, accuracy 85.8%). If those round nodes (axial ratio exceeding 0.66) between 7 mm and 9 mm in size were considered metastases as well, it might improve the sensitivity to 67.2% with a PPV of 63.9% (specificity 91.6%, accuracy 87.2%). Combination of a smaller size and axial ratio for LNs in MDCT as criteria improves the detection sensitivity for LN metastases in OSCC. (orig.)

Occult pneumothoraces in Chinese patients with significant blunt chest trauma: radiological classification and proposed clinical significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ryan K L; Graham, Colin A; Yeung, Janice H H; Ahuja, Anil T; Rainer, Timothy H

2012-12-01

vs. 1, p=0.02) than apical OPs. All apical and non-apical/basal OPs were successfully managed expectantly without associated mortality. This TCT classification of OP is proposed to help clinicians to decide on subsequent management of the OP. Basal OPs are significantly larger in size, and both basal and bilateral OPs are associated with higher severity of injury and longer hospital stay. These groups of patient may benefit from prophylactic tube thoracostomy instead of conservative treatment. On the other hand, apical and non-apical/basal groups is smaller in size, less severely injured and thus can be successfully managed expectantly. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Significance of Future Biogenic and Fire Emissions on Regional Aerosol Burden

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, A.; Tai, A. P. K.; Val Martin, M.

2017-12-01

Land-use and land cover changes have been found to substantially affect atmospheric aerosols and climate worldwide1,2, but the complex mechanisms and pathways involved in the interactions between terrestrial processes and aerosols are not well understood. Here we use a global coupled aerosol chemistry-climate-land model (CESM with CAM5 using Modal Aerosol Module 3 and CLM4.5 in Satellite Phenology mode) to investigate how aerosols respond to future climate and land-use changes, and in turn, affects cloud cover and other hydrometeorological variables in the long term. Time-sliced simulations are conducted for a base year (2000) as a base case; then three future projected scenarios for year 2050 driven by land-use and climate projections following the Representative Concentration Pathways RCP8.53 are conducted. The first scenario considers future projected biogenic emissions, allowing us to investigate the effect of increased plant activity and enhanced biogenic emissions due to future land-use and climate on aerosol burden. The second scenario considers future biomass burning emissions, allowing us to investigate the effect of increased biomass burning emissions due to future land-use and climate on aerosol burden. The third scenario combines the projected changes in the two emissions. We find that both biogenic and biomass burning emissions contribute significantly to local aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations. The contribution from biogenic emissions to local aerosol burden is smaller in magnitude (10% to 20%), but the effects are ubiquitous in many places globally. Meanwhile, the contribution from biomass burning emissions can be much higher in magnitude (63%)4, but concentrated in heavily burned regions and occurs only during burning season. Effects of both emissions are not additive since a larger flux of emissions causes greater deposition. The resulting further impacts of land-use change on regional hydrometeorology are also explored

Can we do without the Majorana term in the effective nuclear interaction?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrett, B.R.; Diallo, A.F.; Davis, E.D.

1994-01-01

Probably not, but the authors present phenomenological evidence that the strength of this term necessary to reproduce collective M1-transition strength data could be significantly smaller than is conventionally assumed and therefore more in line with naive microscopic considerations. They also find that g-boson effects are important to the reproduction of the summed M1 strength

Heavy collecting induces smaller and deeper Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus in the wild

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinhui Li

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus is a well-known traditional Chine medicinal herb. However, the demand for this herb is leading to over-collection and its decline in the wild. This study aims to investigate the ecological conditions of Fritillaria cirrhosa under the influence of human disturbance, biotic species interactions and climatic conditions. We established a total of 78 plots at 14 sites of F. cirrhosa in its distribution center, the Hengduan Mountains area. At each site, we estimated the abundance of F. cirrhosa at different distances from roads. The diameter and height of F. cirrhosa fruit and bulbs were measured and compared to underground bulb depth. We then analyzed the effects of environmental conditions and human disturbance on the abundance of F. cirrhosa using variance partitioning. We found that (1 abundance of F. cirrhosa and their underground bulb depth showed a significant linear increase with the distance from the main road; (2 the diameter/height of fruits and the diameter/height of fruits/bulbs showed significantly different responses to the human disturbance; (3 the community associates, climate and spatial conditions can explain 58%, 22% and 27%, respectively, of the variance in the F. cirrhosa abundance. These results highlight the fact that human disturbance and biotic factors have a great influence on the survival of F. cirrhosa, even more than climate conditions.

77 FR 24722 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-25

...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes... Manufacturing Process Changes, Including Emerging Technologies, on the Safety and Regulatory Status of Food... determining whether changes in manufacturing process, including the intentional reduction in particle size to...

Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Converges More Convexly on Normal Smaller Optic Nerve Head.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Kyoung In; Shin, Jeong Ah; Park, Hae-Young Lopilly; Park, Chan Kee

2015-08-01

To investigate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) configuration in the optic nerve head (ONH) and peripapillary area according to disc size and to determine whether it explains cup discrepancy among eyes with different disc sizes. Horizontal and vertical RNFL curvature and mean thickness were measured using confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (Heidelberg Retina Tomograph) in 63 normal subjects grouped by disc size. Average and quadrant RNFL thickness, disc size, average cup-to-disc ratio (CDR), and convergence angle at the optic disc were also measured using Cirrus HD-optical coherence tomography. The relationships between disc size and RNFL curvature, thickness, angle at optic disc, and CDR were evaluated. RNFL curvature and convergence angle reflects convexity "on" and "into" the optic disc, respectively. CDR was smaller for small discs and was positively correlated with disc size (Poptic disc were positively correlated with disc size (POptic disc area was negatively correlated with mean RNFL thickness at the optic disc margin measured by HRT (P=0.002), but not in the peripapillary area by optical coherence tomography. Using imaging techniques, we demonstrated that the shape of the RNFLs converging "on" and entering "into" the optic disc was more convex for small optic discs compared with large discs. A low CDR for small discs could be mediated by these RNFL profiles at the ONH, which may guide the clinical evaluation of glaucomatous ONH damage.

High-Arctic butterflies become smaller with rising temperatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bowden, Joseph James; Eskildsen, Anne; Hansen, Rikke Reisner

2015-01-01

size but long growing seasons could also increase body size as was recently shown in an Arctic spider species. Here, we present the longest known time series on body size variation in two High-Arctic butterfly species: Boloria chariclea and Colias hecla. We measured wing length of nearly 4500...... individuals collected annually between 1996 and 2013 from Zackenberg, Greenland and found that wing length significantly decreased at a similar rate in both species in response to warmer summers. Body size is strongly related to dispersal capacity and fecundity and our results suggest that these Arctic...

Significant Tsunami Events

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, P. K.; Furtney, M.; McLean, S. J.; Sweeney, A. D.

2014-12-01

Tsunamis have inflicted death and destruction on the coastlines of the world throughout history. The occurrence of tsunamis and the resulting effects have been collected and studied as far back as the second millennium B.C. The knowledge gained from cataloging and examining these events has led to significant changes in our understanding of tsunamis, tsunami sources, and methods to mitigate the effects of tsunamis. The most significant, not surprisingly, are often the most devastating, such as the 2011 Tohoku, Japan earthquake and tsunami. The goal of this poster is to give a brief overview of the occurrence of tsunamis and then focus specifically on several significant tsunamis. There are various criteria to determine the most significant tsunamis: the number of deaths, amount of damage, maximum runup height, had a major impact on tsunami science or policy, etc. As a result, descriptions will include some of the most costly (2011 Tohoku, Japan), the most deadly (2004 Sumatra, 1883 Krakatau), and the highest runup ever observed (1958 Lituya Bay, Alaska). The discovery of the Cascadia subduction zone as the source of the 1700 Japanese "Orphan" tsunami and a future tsunami threat to the U.S. northwest coast, contributed to the decision to form the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. The great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 marked the beginning of the modern era of seismology. Knowledge gained from the 1964 Alaska earthquake and tsunami helped confirm the theory of plate tectonics. The 1946 Alaska, 1952 Kuril Islands, 1960 Chile, 1964 Alaska, and the 2004 Banda Aceh, tsunamis all resulted in warning centers or systems being established.The data descriptions on this poster were extracted from NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) global historical tsunami database. Additional information about these tsunamis, as well as water level data can be found by accessing the NGDC website www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/

A neuro-data envelopment analysis approach for optimization of uncorrelated multiple response problems with smaller the better type controllable factors

Science.gov (United States)

Bashiri, Mahdi; Farshbaf-Geranmayeh, Amir; Mogouie, Hamed

2013-11-01

In this paper, a new method is proposed to optimize a multi-response optimization problem based on the Taguchi method for the processes where controllable factors are the smaller-the-better (STB)-type variables and the analyzer desires to find an optimal solution with smaller amount of controllable factors. In such processes, the overall output quality of the product should be maximized while the usage of the process inputs, the controllable factors, should be minimized. Since all possible combinations of factors' levels, are not considered in the Taguchi method, the response values of the possible unpracticed treatments are estimated using the artificial neural network (ANN). The neural network is tuned by the central composite design (CCD) and the genetic algorithm (GA). Then data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied for determining the efficiency of each treatment. Although the important issue for implementation of DEA is its philosophy, which is maximization of outputs versus minimization of inputs, this important issue has been neglected in previous similar studies in multi-response problems. Finally, the most efficient treatment is determined using the maximin weight model approach. The performance of the proposed method is verified in a plastic molding process. Moreover a sensitivity analysis has been done by an efficiency estimator neural network. The results show efficiency of the proposed approach.

Modelling vocal anatomy's significant effect on speech

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, B.

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the effect of larynx position on the articulatory abilities of a humanlike vocal tract. Previous work has investigated models that were built to resemble the anatomy of existing species or fossil ancestors. This has led to conflicting conclusions about the relation between

Faster diffraction-based overlay measurements with smaller targets using 3D gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jie; Kritsun, Oleg; Liu, Yongdong; Dasari, Prasad; Volkman, Catherine; Hu, Jiangtao

2012-03-01

Diffraction-based overlay (DBO) technologies have been developed to address the overlay metrology challenges for 22nm technology node and beyond. Most DBO technologies require specially designed targets that consist of multiple measurement pads, which consume too much space and increase measurement time. The traditional empirical approach (eDBO) using normal incidence spectroscopic reflectometry (NISR) relies on linear response of the reflectance with respect to overlay displacement within a small range. It offers convenience of quick recipe setup since there is no need to establish a model. However it requires three or four pads per direction (x or y) which adds burden to throughput and target size. Recent advances in modeling capability and computation power enabled mDBO, which allows overlay measurement with reduced number of pads, thus reducing measurement time and DBO target space. In this paper we evaluate the performance of single pad mDBO measurements using two 3D targets that have different grating shapes: squares in boxes and L-shapes in boxes. Good overlay sensitivities are observed for both targets. The correlation to programmed shifts and image-based overlay (IBO) is excellent. Despite the difference in shapes, the mDBO results are comparable for square and L-shape targets. The impact of process variations on overlay measurements is studied using a focus and exposure matrix (FEM) wafer. Although the FEM wafer has larger process variations, the correlation of mDBO results with IBO measurements is as good as the normal process wafer. We demonstrate the feasibility of single pad DBO measurements with faster throughput and smaller target size, which is particularly important in high volume manufacturing environment.

Flipped Classroom in Organic Chemistry Has Significant Effect on Students’ Grades

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Cormier

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The flipped classroom as a form of active pedagogy in postsecondary chemistry has been developed during the last 10 years and has been gaining popularity with instructors and students ever since. In the current paradigm in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, it is widely recognized that active learning has significant positive effects on students’ grades. Postsecondary organic chemistry is a difficult course for students, and the traditional way of teaching does not foster students’ active involvement. Implementation of active pedagogy could increase students’ achievement in this course. However, few quantitative data are available on the impact of active pedagogy in general, or flipped classrooms in particular, on learning in organic chemistry at a postsecondary level. Thus, in this study, we evaluated the gain on final grade scores in organic chemistry after implementing a flipped classroom approach to promote active learning in this course. We encouraged students to be active by having them watch educational videos before each class and then having them work during class time on problems that focused on applying the concepts presented in the videos. Exams were the same as those completed by students in the traditional classrooms of our college. In an a posteriori analysis of our students’ grades, we compared final grades in traditional classrooms (control group, N = 66 and in flipped classrooms (experimental group, N = 151. The sample was stratified in three categories depending on students’ academic ability in college, from low-achieving to high-achieving students. Our results show that students in the experimental group have significantly higher final grades in organic chemistry than those in the control group, that is, 77% for students in the active classroom vs. 73% in the traditional classroom (p < 0.05. The effect was the greatest for low-achieving students, with final scores of 70% in

Gamma knife radiosurgery for acoustic schwannomas. An analysis of the method of low dose and conformal multiple shots with smaller collimator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukuoka, Seiji; Takanashi, Masami; Hojo, Atsufumi; Konishi, Masanori; Nakamura, Hirohiko

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze tumor control and possible complications of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) in patients with acoustic schwannomas treated using low marginal dose and conformal multiple shots with smaller collimators to fit irregular tumor shapes. The authors evaluated 183 patients with follow-up periods ranging from 3 to 11 years. Marginal doses were 9 to 15 Gy (median 12 Gy), with corresponding treatment volumes being between 0.1 and 18.7 ml (median 1.8 ml). The number of isocenter varied from 2 to 24 shots (median 9 shots). The actuarial tumor control rate (resection-free survival) was 96.5%. Useful hearing, trigeminal and facial functions were preserved at 75%, 97.4%, and 100%, respectively. Hydrocephalus was recognized in 5.7% of all patients, and seems to occur in cases with medium sized tumors where mild ventricular enlargement is evident prior to treatment. GKRS proves to be a safe and effective therapy for small to medium sized tumors. However, the indication for larger sized tumors (diameter 3+ cm) should be carefully considered, larger tumors being less easy to control and liable to cause ataxia due to transient expansion. (author)

Effects of long-term grassland management on the carbon and nitrogen pools of different soil aggregate fractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Gary; Crawley, Michael J; Fornara, Dario A

2018-02-01

Common grassland management practices include animal grazing and the repeated addition of lime and nutrient fertilizers to soils. These practices can greatly influence the size and distribution of different soil aggregate fractions, thus altering the cycling and storage of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in grassland soils. So far, very few studies have simultaneously addressed the potential long-term effect that multiple management practices might have on soil physical aggregation. Here we specifically ask whether and how grazing, liming and nutrient fertilization might influence C and N content (%) as well as C and N pools of different soil aggregate fractions in a long-term grassland experiment established in 1991 at Silwood Park, Berkshire, UK. We found that repeated liming applications over 23years significantly decreased the C pool (i.e. gCKg -1 soil) of Large Macro Aggregate (LMA>2mm) fractions and increased C pools within three smaller soil aggregate fractions: Small Macro Aggregate (SMA, 250μm-2mm), Micro Aggregate (MiA, 53-250μm), and Silt Clay Aggregate (SCAfractions was mainly caused by positive liming effects on aggregate fraction mass rather than on changes in soil C (and N) content (%). Liming effects could be explained by increases in soil pH, as this factor was significantly positively related to greater soil C and N pools of smaller aggregate fractions. Long-term grazing and inorganic nutrient fertilization had much weaker effects on both soil aggregate-fraction mass and on soil C and N concentrations, however, our evidence is that these practices could also contribute to greater C and N pools of smaller soil fractions. Overall our study demonstrates how agricultural liming can contribute to increase C pools of small (more stable) soil fractions with potential significant benefits for the long-term C balance of human-managed grassland soils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Treatment of paediatric hyperthyroidism but not hypothyroidism has a significant effect on weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Crocker, Melissa K; Kaplowitz, Paul

2010-12-01

Thyroid hormones are involved in metabolic regulation, but the degree to which they affect body weight and body mass index (BMI) in children is unclear. We examined the effect of hypo- and hyperthyroidism on weight and BMI at the time of diagnosis and after appropriate treatment. Prospective and retrospective case series. Children referred for thyroid dysfunction were enrolled prospectively if their total or free T4 was elevated with TSH 20 (N = 29). Almost all patients had at least 2 classic signs or symptoms including goitre, but hyperthyroid patients had more symptoms. Mean BMI z scores at the time of diagnosis did not significantly differ between the two groups. Males with hyperthyroidism complained of weight loss more frequently and had a lower pretreatment BMI z score than hyperthyroid females. Hypothyroid patients lost a minimal amount of weight by the first follow-up (mean of 0·3 kg) and on average gained weight by the second follow-up visit. In contrast hyperthyroid patients gained a mean of 3·4 kg at the first follow-up visit and a mean of 7·1 kg by the second. Correction of hypothyroidism resulted in minimal weight loss, suggesting that hypothyroidism does not cause significant weight gain in children. In contrast, correction of the hyperthyroid state had a somewhat greater impact on weight status. These results are consistent with prior reports but surprising given the opposite metabolic effects of hypo- and hyperthyroidism. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Treatment of pediatric hyperthyroidism but not hypothyroidism has a significant effect on weight

Science.gov (United States)

Crocker, Melissa K.; Kaplowitz, Paul

2010-01-01

Objective Thyroid hormones are involved in metabolic regulation, but the degree to which they affect body weight and body mass index (BMI) in children is unclear. We examined the effect of hypo- and hyperthyroidism on weight and BMI at the time of diagnosis and after appropriate treatment. Design Prospective and retrospective case series Patients Children referred for thyroid dysfunction were enrolled prospectively if their total or free T4 was elevated with TSH 20 (N=29). Results Almost all patients had at least 2 classic signs or symptoms including goiter, but hyperthyroid patients had more symptoms. Mean BMI z scores at the time of diagnosis did not significantly differ between the two groups. Males with hyperthyroidism complained of weight loss more frequently and had a lower pretreatment BMI z score than hyperthyroid females. Hypothyroid patients lost a minimal amount of weight by the first follow-up (mean of 0.3 kilograms (kg)) and on average gained weight by the second follow-up visit. In contrast hyperthyroid patients gained a mean of 3.4 kg at the first follow-up visit and a mean of 7.1 kg by the second. Conclusions Correction of hypothyroidism resulted in minimal weight loss, suggesting that hypothyroidism does not cause significant weight gain in children. In contrast, correction of the hyperthyroid state had a somewhat greater impact on weight status. These results are consistent with prior reports but surprising given the opposite metabolic effects of hypo- and hyperthyroidism. PMID:20874768

Use of significance thresholds to integrate cumulative effects into project-level socio-economic impact assessment in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph, Chris; Zeeg, Taylor; Angus, David; Usborne, Anna; Mutrie, Erin

2017-01-01

A longstanding critique of project-level environmental assessment is that it is weak at addressing cumulative effects, and because of this many argue that cumulative effects are best managed at a regional scale. However, in the absence of regional management it is important that project-level assessment supports cumulative effects management as best as possible. In this paper we present case study socio-economic impact assessments of liquefied natural gas development on Aboriginal groups on Canada's west coast. The case studies use an analytical structure modified from typical Canadian practice including unambiguous and non-arbitrary significance thresholds grounded in stakeholder values to focus baselines, impact assessment, and significance determination on cumulative effects. This approach is found to be more capable of informing decision-makers on cumulative effects as well as more rigorous and transparent than typical assessments. Much of this approach is not conceptually new, but at least in western Canada such an approach is not typically used or meaningfully implemented by practitioners. As such, the case studies serve to illustrate how practice can bolster project-level assessment. - Highlights: •Typical project assessment is weak with respect to cumulative effects. •Modified analysis structure and thresholds enable a focus on cumulative effects. •Clear, value-based thresholds make analysis rigorous, transparent, and democratic.

Effect of Smaller Left Ventricular Capture Threshold Safety Margins to Improve Device Longevity in Recipients of Cardiac Resynchronization-Defibrillation Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinhaus, Daniel A; Waks, Jonathan W; Collins, Robert; Kleckner, Karen; Kramer, Daniel B; Zimetbaum, Peter J

2015-07-01

Device longevity in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is affected by the pacing capture threshold (PCT) and programmed pacing amplitude of the left ventricular (LV) pacing lead. The aims of this study were to evaluate the stability of LV pacing thresholds in a nationwide sample of CRT defibrillator recipients and to determine potential longevity improvements associated with a decrease in the LV safety margin while maintaining effective delivery of CRT. CRT defibrillator patients in the Medtronic CareLink database were eligible for inclusion. LV PCT stability was evaluated using ≥2 measurements over a 14-day period. Separately, a random sample of 7,250 patients with programmed right atrial and right ventricular amplitudes ≤2.5 V, LV thresholds ≤ 2.5 V, and LV pacing ≥90% were evaluated to estimate theoretical battery longevity improvement using LV safety margins of 0.5 and 1.5 V. Threshold stability analysis in 43,256 patients demonstrated LV PCT stability of 1 V had the greatest increases in battery life (mean increase 0.86 years, 95% confidence interval 0.85 to 0.87). In conclusion, nearly all CRT defibrillator patients had LV PCT stability <1.0 V. Decreasing the LV safety margin from 1.5 to 0.5 V provided consistent delivery of CRT for most patients and significantly improved battery longevity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Twentieth-century shifts in forest structure in California: Denser forests, smaller trees, and increased dominance of oaks.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntyre, Patrick J; Thorne, James H; Dolanc, Christopher R; Flint, Alan L; Flint, Lorraine E; Kelly, Maggi; Ackerly, David D

2015-02-03

We document changes in forest structure between historical (1930s) and contemporary (2000s) surveys of California vegetation through comparisons of tree abundance and size across the state and within several ecoregions. Across California, tree density in forested regions increased by 30% between the two time periods, whereas forest biomass in the same regions declined, as indicated by a 19% reduction in basal area. These changes reflect a demographic shift in forest structure: larger trees (>61 cm diameter at breast height) have declined, whereas smaller trees (Forest composition in California in the last century has also shifted toward increased dominance by oaks relative to pines, a pattern consistent with warming and increased water stress, and also with paleohistoric shifts in vegetation in California over the last 150,000 y.

Individual and school level effects of perceived harm, perceived availability, and community size on marijuana use among 12th-grade students: a random effects model.

Science.gov (United States)

Swaim, Randall C

2003-06-01

A hierarchical linear model was used to estimate the individual and school level effects for marijuana use among a national sample of 12th-grade students. School effects were small in comparison to individual level effects, accounting for 2.9% of the variance in marijuana use. At the individual level, perceived harm, perceived availability, and their interaction were significant predictors, each of which varied randomly across schools. Among two school-level predictors, the normative environment for perceived harm was not significant, but normative perceived availability predicted level of marijuana use. The effect of perceived availability on marijuana use was stronger in larger, compared to smaller communities. Results are discussed in light of the use of random regression methods for identifying school-specific patterns of risk and protection for prevention planning.

High concentration of H2 and O2 nanobubbles in water electrolytes and their collective optical effect

Science.gov (United States)

Postnikov, A. V.; Uvarov, I. V.; Lokhanin, M. V.; Svetovoy, V. B.

2017-09-01

Water electrolysis with a fast change of the polarity pumps in the liquid a huge amount of hydrogen and oxygen gases. In contrast with the DC electrolysis the gases do not form visible bubbles but change significantly the refractive index of the liquid nearby the electrodes from n = 1.35 to the values smaller than 1.19. The decrease of n is registered as distortion of the images of the electrodes. We argue that all the gas is collected in H2 and O2 nanobubbles with a size smaller than 200 nm. The concentration of nanobubbles with a size of 100 nm is estimated as 1021 m-3. Due to a significant contribution from the Laplace pressure the effective supersaturation reaches 500 for hydrogen and 150 for oxygen.

The effect of pulse width and contact configuration on paresthesia coverage in spinal cord stimulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Holsheimer, Jan; Buitenweg, Jan R; Das, John; de Sutter, Paul; Manola, Ljubomir; Nuttin, Bart

2011-05-01

In spinal cord stimulation for the management of chronic, intractable pain, a satisfactory analgesic effect can be obtained only when the stimulation-induced paresthesias cover all painful body areas completely or partially. To investigate the effect of stimulus pulse width (PW) and contact configuration (CC) on the area of paresthesia (PA), perception threshold (VPT), discomfort threshold (VDT), and usage range (UR) in spinal cord stimulation. Chronic pain patients were tested during a follow-up visit. They were stimulated monopolarly and with the CC giving each patient the best analgesia. VPT, VDT, and UR were determined for PWs of 90, 210, and 450 microseconds. The paresthesia contours at VDT were drawn on a body map and digitized; PA was calculated; and its anatomic composition was described. The effects of PW and CC on PA, VPT, VDT, and UR were tested statistically. Twenty-four of 31 tests with low thoracic stimulation and 8 of 9 tests with cervical stimulation gave a significant extension of PA at increasing PW. In 14 of 18 tests (low thoracic), a caudal extension was obtained (primarily in L5-S2). In cervical stimulation the extension was predominantly caudal as well. In contrast to VPT and VDT, UR is not significantly different when stimulating with any CC. PA extends caudally with increasing PW. The mechanism includes that the larger and smaller dorsal column fibers have a different mediolateral distribution and that smaller dorsal column fibers have a smaller UR and can be activated only when PW is sufficiently large. A similar effect of CC on PA is unlikely as long as electrodes with a large intercontact distance are applied.

Catching up with wonderful women: The women-are-wonderful effect is smaller in more gender egalitarian societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Krys, Kuba; Capaldi, Colin A; van Tilburg, Wijnand; Lipp, Ottmar V; Bond, Michael Harris; Vauclair, C-Melanie; Manickam, L Sam S; Domínguez-Espinosa, Alejandra; Torres, Claudio; Lun, Vivian Miu-Chi; Teyssier, Julien; Miles, Lynden K; Hansen, Karolina; Park, Joonha; Wagner, Wolfgang; Yu, Angela Arriola; Xing, Cai; Wise, Ryan; Sun, Chien-Ru; Siddiqui, Razi Sultan; Salem, Radwa; Rizwan, Muhammad; Pavlopoulos, Vassilis; Nader, Martin; Maricchiolo, Fridanna; Malbran, María; Javangwe, Gwatirera; Işık, İdil; Igbokwe, David O; Hur, Taekyun; Hassan, Arif; Gonzalez, Ana; Fülöp, Márta; Denoux, Patrick; Cenko, Enila; Chkhaidze, Ana; Shmeleva, Eleonora; Antalíková, Radka; Ahmed, Ramadan A

2017-03-14

Inequalities between men and women are common and well-documented. Objective indexes show that men are better positioned than women in societal hierarchies-there is no single country in the world without a gender gap. In contrast, researchers have found that the women-are-wonderful effect-that women are evaluated more positively than men overall-is also common. Cross-cultural studies on gender equality reveal that the more gender egalitarian the society is, the less prevalent explicit gender stereotypes are. Yet, because self-reported gender stereotypes may differ from implicit attitudes towards each gender, we reanalysed data collected across 44 cultures, and (a) confirmed that societal gender egalitarianism reduces the women-are-wonderful effect when it is measured more implicitly (i.e. rating the personality of men and women presented in images) and (b) documented that the social perception of men benefits more from gender egalitarianism than that of women. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

Extrapeural locating method: significance in CT-guided transthoracic pulmonary biopsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Guangjian; Wang Rengui; Liu Jianxin; Sun Jingtao

2008-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of extrapleural locating method in CT-guided transthoracic pulmonary biopsy to prevent or reduce the size of peumothorax. Methods: One hundred and fifteen cases of CT-guided transthoracic pulmonary biopsy with the pulmonary lesions not in direct contact with the pleura were selected. Of 115 cases, 46 were performed with extrapleural locating method (EPL) and 69 cases with lesion edge locating method (LEL). Taking the maximum distance between the partial and visceral pleura (MPVD) measured on the CT image after the procedure as the index of the volume of pneumothorax. The incidence and volume of pneumothorax of both groups were compared and statistically analysed with R x C Chi-Square test. The retention time of the biopsy needle in the lung parenchyma of the two group was documented and the average time was calculated in each group. Results: The incidence of pneumothorax was 45.7% (21/46), median 0.4 cm with EPL group, and 66.7% (46/69) and median 0.3cm with LEL group. When the distance between the lesion and pleura was equal or smaller than 2 cm (≤2cm), the incidence of pneumothorax was 39.4% (13/33) with EPL group and 73.2% (30/41) with LEL group, and the difference of incidence and volume of the pneumothorax between two groups was statistically significant(χ 2 =9.981, P=0.019). When the distance was larger than 2 cm (>2 cm), the incidence and volume of pneumothorax between two groups were not significant statistically. The average retention time of the biopsy needle in the lung parenchyma was (7.2 ± 1.8) s with EPL group and (58.3 ± 11.6) s with LEL group. Conclusion: The extrapleural locating method can reduce effectively the retention time of the biopsy needle in the lung parenchyma and the incidence and volume of pneumothorax in CT-guided transthoracic pulmonary biopsy. (authors)

The Importance of Integrating Clinical Relevance and Statistical Significance in the Assessment of Quality of Care--Illustrated Using the Swedish Stroke Register.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anita Lindmark

Full Text Available When profiling hospital performance, quality inicators are commonly evaluated through hospital-specific adjusted means with confidence intervals. When identifying deviations from a norm, large hospitals can have statistically significant results even for clinically irrelevant deviations while important deviations in small hospitals can remain undiscovered. We have used data from the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke to illustrate the properties of a benchmarking method that integrates considerations of both clinical relevance and level of statistical significance.The performance measure used was case-mix adjusted risk of death or dependency in activities of daily living within 3 months after stroke. A hospital was labeled as having outlying performance if its case-mix adjusted risk exceeded a benchmark value with a specified statistical confidence level. The benchmark was expressed relative to the population risk and should reflect the clinically relevant deviation that is to be detected. A simulation study based on Riksstroke patient data from 2008-2009 was performed to investigate the effect of the choice of the statistical confidence level and benchmark value on the diagnostic properties of the method.Simulations were based on 18,309 patients in 76 hospitals. The widely used setting, comparing 95% confidence intervals to the national average, resulted in low sensitivity (0.252 and high specificity (0.991. There were large variations in sensitivity and specificity for different requirements of statistical confidence. Lowering statistical confidence improved sensitivity with a relatively smaller loss of specificity. Variations due to different benchmark values were smaller, especially for sensitivity. This allows the choice of a clinically relevant benchmark to be driven by clinical factors without major concerns about sufficiently reliable evidence.The study emphasizes the importance of combining clinical relevance and level of statistical

The Importance of Integrating Clinical Relevance and Statistical Significance in the Assessment of Quality of Care--Illustrated Using the Swedish Stroke Register.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindmark, Anita; van Rompaye, Bart; Goetghebeur, Els; Glader, Eva-Lotta; Eriksson, Marie

2016-01-01

When profiling hospital performance, quality inicators are commonly evaluated through hospital-specific adjusted means with confidence intervals. When identifying deviations from a norm, large hospitals can have statistically significant results even for clinically irrelevant deviations while important deviations in small hospitals can remain undiscovered. We have used data from the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke) to illustrate the properties of a benchmarking method that integrates considerations of both clinical relevance and level of statistical significance. The performance measure used was case-mix adjusted risk of death or dependency in activities of daily living within 3 months after stroke. A hospital was labeled as having outlying performance if its case-mix adjusted risk exceeded a benchmark value with a specified statistical confidence level. The benchmark was expressed relative to the population risk and should reflect the clinically relevant deviation that is to be detected. A simulation study based on Riksstroke patient data from 2008-2009 was performed to investigate the effect of the choice of the statistical confidence level and benchmark value on the diagnostic properties of the method. Simulations were based on 18,309 patients in 76 hospitals. The widely used setting, comparing 95% confidence intervals to the national average, resulted in low sensitivity (0.252) and high specificity (0.991). There were large variations in sensitivity and specificity for different requirements of statistical confidence. Lowering statistical confidence improved sensitivity with a relatively smaller loss of specificity. Variations due to different benchmark values were smaller, especially for sensitivity. This allows the choice of a clinically relevant benchmark to be driven by clinical factors without major concerns about sufficiently reliable evidence. The study emphasizes the importance of combining clinical relevance and level of statistical confidence when

Are babies conceived during Ramadan born smaller and sooner than babies conceived at other times of the year? A Born in Bradford Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Daley, Amanda; Pallan, Miranda; Clifford, Sue; Jolly, Kate; Bryant, Maria; Adab, Peymane; Cheng, K K; Roalfe, Andrea

2017-07-01

It is not known whether infants exposed to intermittent maternal fasting at conception are born smaller or have a higher risk of premature birth than those who are not. Doctors are therefore unsure about what advice to give women about the safety of Ramadan fasting. This cohort study aimed to investigate these questions in Muslim mother-infant pairs to inform prenatal care. Routinely collected data accessed from maternity records were the source for information. Mothers were considered exposed if they were Muslim and Ramadan overlapped with their infant conception date, estimated to be 14 days after the last menstrual period. Infants were included as exposed if their estimated conception date was in the first 21 days of Ramadan or 7 days prior to Ramadan. After adjusting for gestational age, maternal age, infant gender, maternal body mass index at booking, smoking status, gestational diabetes, parity and year of birth, there was no significant difference in birth weight between infants born to Muslim mothers who were conceived during Ramadan (n=479) and those who were not (n=4677) (adjusted mean difference =24.3 g, 95% CI -16.4 to 64.9). There was no difference in rates of premature births in exposed and unexposed women (5.2% vs 4.9%; OR=1.08, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.65). Healthy Muslim women considering becoming pregnant prior to, or during Ramadan, can be advised that fasting does not seem to have a detrimental effect on the size (weight) of their baby and it appears not to increase the likelihood of giving birth prematurely. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Significance of radiation effects in solid radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Permar, P.H.; McDonell, W.R.

1980-01-01

Proposed NRC criteria for disposal of high-level nuclear waste require development of waste packages to contain radionuclide for at least 1000 years, and design of repositories to prevent radionuclide release at an annual rate greater than 1 part in 100,000 of the total activity. The high-level wastes that are now temporarily stored as aqueous salts, sludges, and calcines must be converted to high-integrity solid forms that resist deterioration from radiation and other effects of long-term storage. Spent fuel may be encapsulated for similar long-term storage. Candidate waste forms beside the spent fuel elements themselves, include borosilicate and related glasses, mineral-like crystalline ceramics, concrete formulations, and metal-matrix glass or ceramic composites. these waste forms will sustain damage produced by beta-gamma radiation up to 10 12 rads, by alpha radiation up to 10 19 particles/g, by internal helium generation greater than about 0.1 atom percent, and by the atom transmutations accompanying radioactive decay. Current data indicate that under these conditions the glass forms suffer only minor volume changes, stored energy deposition, and leachability effects. The crystalline ceramics appear susceptible to the potentially more severe alterations accompanying metamictization and natural analogs of candidate materials are being examined to establish their suitability as waste forms. Helium concentrations in the waste forms are generally below thresholds for severe damage in either glass or crystalline ceramics at low temperatures, but microstructural effects are not well characterized. Transmutation effects remain to be established

Subthreshold characteristics of pentacene field-effect transistors influenced by grain boundaries.

OpenAIRE

Park, J.; Jeong, Y-S.; Park, K-S.; Do, L-M.; Bae, J-H.; Choi, J.S.; Pearson, C.; Petty, M.C.

2012-01-01

Grain boundaries in polycrystalline pentacene films significantly affect the electrical characteristics of pentacene field-effect transistors (FETs). Upon reversal of the gate voltage sweep direction, pentacene FETs exhibited hysteretic behaviours in the subthreshold region, which was more pronounced for the FET having smaller pentacene grains. No shift in the flat-band voltage of the metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor elucidates that the observed hysteresis was mainly caused by the infl...

Device and circuit-level performance of carbon nanotube field-effect transistor with benchmarking against a nano-MOSFET.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Michael Loong Peng; Lentaris, Georgios; Amaratunga Aj, Gehan

2012-08-19

The performance of a semiconducting carbon nanotube (CNT) is assessed and tabulated for parameters against those of a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). Both CNT and MOSFET models considered agree well with the trends in the available experimental data. The results obtained show that nanotubes can significantly reduce the drain-induced barrier lowering effect and subthreshold swing in silicon channel replacement while sustaining smaller channel area at higher current density. Performance metrics of both devices such as current drive strength, current on-off ratio (Ion/Ioff), energy-delay product, and power-delay product for logic gates, namely NAND and NOR, are presented. Design rules used for carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) are compatible with the 45-nm MOSFET technology. The parasitics associated with interconnects are also incorporated in the model. Interconnects can affect the propagation delay in a CNTFET. Smaller length interconnects result in higher cutoff frequency.

Two Inexpensive and Non-destructive Techniques to Correct for Smaller-Than-Gasket Leaf Area in Gas Exchange Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas M. Savvides

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The development of technology, like the widely-used off-the-shelf portable photosynthesis systems, for the quantification of leaf gas exchange rates and chlorophyll fluorescence offered photosynthesis research a massive boost. Gas exchange parameters in such photosynthesis systems are calculated as gas exchange rates per unit leaf area. In small chambers (<10 cm2, the leaf area used by the system for these calculations is actually the internal gasket area (AG, provided that the leaf covers the entire AG. In this study, we present two inexpensive and non-destructive techniques that can be used to easily quantify the enclosed leaf area (AL of plant species with leaves of surface area much smaller than the AG, such as that of cereal crops. The AL of the cereal crop species studied has been measured using a standard image-based approach (iAL and estimated using a leaf width-based approach (wAL. iAL and wAL did not show any significant differences between them in maize, barley, hard and soft wheat. Similar results were obtained when the wAL was tested in comparison with iAL in different positions along the leaf in all species studied. The quantification of AL and the subsequent correction of leaf gas exchange parameters for AL provided a precise quantification of net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance especially with decreasing AL. This study provides two practical, inexpensive and non-destructive solutions to researchers dealing with photosynthesis measurements on small-leaf plant species. The image-based technique can be widely used for quantifying AL in many plant species despite their leaf shape. The leaf width-based technique can be securely used for quantifying AL in cereal crop species such as maize, wheat and barley along the leaf. Both techniques can be used for a wide range of gasket shapes and sizes with minor technique-specific adjustments.

[Different aluminum adjuvants significantly enhances the effect of immunization on Brucella Omp31].

Science.gov (United States)

Qing, Rui; Xiang, Qingke; Liu, Zhongqi; Xiao, Fei; Yang, Fan

2018-02-01

Objective To investigate the effect of aluminum phosphate (AP) and aluminum hydroxide (AH) as adjuvants on Brucella outer membrane protein 31 (Omp31) in inducing humoral and cellular immune responses and immune protection. Methods AP and AH adjuvants were prepared and separately mixed with Brucella Omp31 protein to measure the adsorption rates. The AP- and AH-absorbed Omp31 protein were intraperitoneally injected into BLAB/c mice at 0, 2, and 4 weeks, and meanwhile, unabsorbed Omp31 protein and PBS were used as controls. The levels of serum IgG, IgG1, IgG2a and genital tract secretion sIgA were determined by ELISA at 0, 2, 4 and 6 weeks. Spleen cells were collected for culture at 6 weeks, and the cells were stimulated by Omp31 for 48 hours followed by the analysis of IFN-γ and IL-10 levels in the supernatants by ELISA, and the determination of lymphocyte proliferation by CCK-8 assay. The mice were challenged with Brucella at 6 weeks, and bacterial content in spleen tissue was determined 1 and 2 weeks later. Results AP and AH could absorb over 70% and 85% of the Omp31 protein, respectively, for solutions at all the tested concentrations. ELISA suggested that serum IgG, IgG1, IgG2a and genital tract sIgA levels peaked 2 weeks after the last immunization for both AP and AH groups, and antibody level was higher in the AP and AH groups than the control groups, and higher in the AH group than in the AP group. CCK-8 assay showed that the proliferating rate of lymphocytes induced by the AH group was significantly higher than that by the AP group, and the AH group also showed significantly higher IFN-γ level in the supernatant than the AP group, but no significant difference in IL-10 level. The AH group had remarkably lower bacterial load in the spleen than the AP group 2 weeks after challenged by Brucella 16M strain. Conclusion Both AP and AH adjuvants effectively enhanced immunogenicity and immune protection of the Brucella Omp31 protein, and AH was superior to AP in

Effects of increased meal frequency on fat oxidation and perceived hunger.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohkawara, Kazunori; Cornier, Marc-Andre; Kohrt, Wendy M; Melanson, Edward L

2013-02-01

Consuming smaller, more frequent meals is often advocated as a means of controlling body weight, but studies demonstrating a mechanistic effect of this practice on factors associated with body weight regulation are lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of consuming three (3M) vs. six meals (6M) per day on 24-h fat oxidation and subjective ratings of hunger. Lean (body mass index meal frequency from three to six per day has no significant effect on 24-h fat oxidation, but may increase hunger and the desire to eat. Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.

Significance of Timing on Effect of Metaphylactic Toltrazuril Treatment against Eimeriosis in Calves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enemark, Heidi; Dahl, Jan; Enemark, Jörg Matthias Dehn

2015-01-01

of Eimeria bovis and Eimeria zuernii. Three commercial herds and a total of 71 calves, aged 48 – 135 days, were included. Treatment with a single oral dose of toltrazuril (15 mg/kg) was given after relocation to common pens and one week before expected outbreak of eimeriosis. The effect of treatment...... was followed by weekly faecal sampling and weighing initially and at the end of a study period of 8 weeks. In Herd 2 and 3 toltrazuril treated calves gained on average 7.95 kg more than placebo treated calves (p = 0.007), and both oocyst excretion and prevalence of Eimeria spp. were significantly reduced...

Smaller calcite lattice deformation caused by occluded organic material in coccoliths than in mollusk shell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frølich, Simon; Sørensen, Henning Osholm; Hakim, Sepideh Sadat

2015-01-01

The growth and nucleation of biominerals are directed and affected by associated biological molecules. In this paper, we investigate the influence of occluded biomolecules on biogenic calcite from the coccolithophorid Pleurochrysis carterae and from chalk, a rock composed predominantly of fossil....... Two heating cycles allow us to differentiate the effects of thermal agitation and organic molecules. Single peak analysis and Rietveld refinement were combined to show significant differences resulting from the occluded biomolecules on the mineral phase in biogenic calcite in the mollusk shell...

Significant uncertainty in global scale hydrological modeling from precipitation data errors

Science.gov (United States)

Sperna Weiland, Frederiek C.; Vrugt, Jasper A.; van Beek, Rens (L.) P. H.; Weerts, Albrecht H.; Bierkens, Marc F. P.

2015-10-01

In the past decades significant progress has been made in the fitting of hydrologic models to data. Most of this work has focused on simple, CPU-efficient, lumped hydrologic models using discharge, water table depth, soil moisture, or tracer data from relatively small river basins. In this paper, we focus on large-scale hydrologic modeling and analyze the effect of parameter and rainfall data uncertainty on simulated discharge dynamics with the global hydrologic model PCR-GLOBWB. We use three rainfall data products; the CFSR reanalysis, the ERA-Interim reanalysis, and a combined ERA-40 reanalysis and CRU dataset. Parameter uncertainty is derived from Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) using monthly discharge data from five of the largest river systems in the world. Our results demonstrate that the default parameterization of PCR-GLOBWB, derived from global datasets, can be improved by calibrating the model against monthly discharge observations. Yet, it is difficult to find a single parameterization of PCR-GLOBWB that works well for all of the five river basins considered herein and shows consistent performance during both the calibration and evaluation period. Still there may be possibilities for regionalization based on catchment similarities. Our simulations illustrate that parameter uncertainty constitutes only a minor part of predictive uncertainty. Thus, the apparent dichotomy between simulations of global-scale hydrologic behavior and actual data cannot be resolved by simply increasing the model complexity of PCR-GLOBWB and resolving sub-grid processes. Instead, it would be more productive to improve the characterization of global rainfall amounts at spatial resolutions of 0.5° and smaller.

The thresholds for statistical and clinical significance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Janus Christian; Gluud, Christian; Winkel, Per

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Thresholds for statistical significance are insufficiently demonstrated by 95% confidence intervals or P-values when assessing results from randomised clinical trials. First, a P-value only shows the probability of getting a result assuming that the null hypothesis is true and does...... not reflect the probability of getting a result assuming an alternative hypothesis to the null hypothesis is true. Second, a confidence interval or a P-value showing significance may be caused by multiplicity. Third, statistical significance does not necessarily result in clinical significance. Therefore...... of the probability that a given trial result is compatible with a 'null' effect (corresponding to the P-value) divided by the probability that the trial result is compatible with the intervention effect hypothesised in the sample size calculation; (3) adjust the confidence intervals and the statistical significance...

Significance of radiation-induced bystander effects in radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Masao

2014-01-01

Since 1994, a Phase I/II clinical study and radiotherapy have carried out using carbon-ion beams produced with the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) at National Institute of Radiological Sciences. Now we constructed the new treatment facility for the advanced carbon-ion therapy at HIMAC applying a 3D fast spot scanning system with pencil beams. In the field of fundamental biological studies for high-LET heavy ions, there are some reports regarding bystander effects after exposure to alpha particles derived from 238 Pu or He-ion microbeams. However, only limited sets of studies have examined bystander effects after exposure to different ion species heavier than helium, such as carbon ions. We have been investigating bystander cellular responses in both normal human and human tumor cells irradiated with the HIMAC carbon ions. Bystander cell-killing effect was observed in the cells harboring wild-type P53 gene, but not in the P53-mutated cells. Moreover, observed bystander effect was suppressed by treating with a specific inhibitor of gap-junction mediated cell-cell communication. There is clear evidence that the carbon-ion irradiation enables the enhanced cell killing in cells with wild-type P53 gene via gap-junction mediated bystander effect. (author)

The significance of GW-SW interactions for biogeochemical processes in sandy streambeds

Science.gov (United States)

Arnon, Shai; De Falco, Natalie; Fox, Aryeh; Laube, Gerrit; Schmidt, Christian; Fleckenstein, Jan; Boano, Fulvio

2015-04-01

Stream-groundwater interactions have a major impact on hyporheic exchange fluxes in sandy streambeds. However, the physical complexity of natural streams has limited our ability to study these types of interactions systematically, and to evaluate their importance to biogeochemical processes and nutrient cycling. In this work we were able to quantify the effect of losing and gaining fluxes on hyporheic exchange and nutrient cycling in homogeneous and heterogeneous streambeds by combining experiments in laboratory flumes and modeling. Tracer experiments for measuring hyporheic exchange were done using dyes and NaCl under various combinations of overlying water velocity and losing or gaining fluxes. Nutrient cycling experiments were conducted after growing a benthic biofilm by spiking with Sodium Benzoate (as a source of labile dissolved organic carbon, DOC) and measuring DOC and oxygen dynamics. The combination of experimental observations and modeling revealed that interfacial transport increases with the streambed hydraulic conductivity and proportional to the square of the overlying water velocity. Hyporheic exchange fluxes under losing and gaining flow conditions were similar, and became smaller when the losing or gaining flux increases. Increasing in streambed hydraulic conductivity led to higher hyporheic fluxes and reduction in the effects of losing and gaining flow conditions to constrain exchange. Despite the evident effect of flow conditions on hyporheic exchange, labile DOC uptake was positively linked to increasing overlying water velocity but was not affected by losing and gaining fluxes. This is because microbial aerobic activity was taking place at the upper few millimeters of the streambed as shown by local oxygen consumption rates, which was measured using microelectrodes. Based on modeling work, it is expected that GW-SW interaction will be more significant for less labile DOC and anaerobic processes. Our results enable us to study systematically

An update on the effects of playing violent video games.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Craig A

2004-02-01

This article presents a brief overview of existing research on the effects of exposure to violent video games. An updated meta-analysis reveals that exposure to violent video games is significantly linked to increases in aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, and cardiovascular arousal, and to decreases in helping behaviour. Experimental studies reveal this linkage to be causal. Correlational studies reveal a linkage to serious, real-world types of aggression. Methodologically weaker studies yielded smaller effect sizes than methodologically stronger studies, suggesting that previous meta-analytic studies of violent video games underestimate the true magnitude of observed deleterious effects on behaviour, cognition, and affect.

Impact of cloud-borne aerosol representation on aerosol direct and indirect effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. J. Ghan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Aerosol particles attached to cloud droplets are much more likely to be removed from the atmosphere and are much less efficient at scattering sunlight than if unattached. Models used to estimate direct and indirect effects of aerosols employ a variety of representations of such cloud-borne particles. Here we use a global aerosol model with a relatively complete treatment of cloud-borne particles to estimate the sensitivity of simulated aerosol, cloud and radiation fields to various approximations to the representation of cloud-borne particles. We find that neglecting transport of cloud-borne particles introduces little error, but that diagnosing cloud-borne particles produces global mean biases of 20% and local errors of up to 40% for aerosol, droplet number, and direct and indirect radiative forcing. Aerosol number, aerosol optical depth and droplet number are significantly underestimated in regions and seasons where and when wet removal is primarily by stratiform rather than convective clouds (polar regions during winter, but direct and indirect effects are less biased because of the limited sunlight there and then. A treatment that predicts the total mass concentration of cloud-borne particles for each mode yields smaller errors and runs 20% faster than the complete treatment. The errors are much smaller than current estimates of uncertainty in direct and indirect effects of aerosols, which suggests that the treatment of cloud-borne aerosol is not a significant source of uncertainty in estimates of direct and indirect effects.

A gloomy picture: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials reveals disappointing effectiveness of programs aiming at preventing child maltreatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Euser, Saskia; Alink, Lenneke Ra; Stoltenborgh, Marije; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H

2015-10-18

Consistent findings about the effectiveness of parent programs to prevent or reduce child maltreatment are lacking. In the present meta-analysis we synthesized findings from 27 independent samples from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of 20 different intervention programs aimed at (i) preventing the occurrence of child maltreatment in the general population or with at-risk but non-maltreating families, or (ii) reducing the incidence of child maltreatment in maltreating families. A significant combined effect on maltreatment (d = 0.13; N = 4883) disappeared after the trim-and-fill approach that takes into account publication bias against smaller studies without significant outcomes. However, moderator analyses showed that larger effect sizes were found for more recent studies, studies with smaller samples, programs that provide parent training instead of only support, programs that target maltreating instead of at-risk families, and programs with a moderate length (6-12 months) or a moderate number of sessions (16-30). More RCTs are needed to further unravel which factors are associated with program effectiveness. Because currently existing programs appeared to only reduce and not prevent child maltreatment, efforts in the field of preventive intervention should also focus on the development and testing of preventive programs for families at risk for child maltreatment.

Two phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinases coexist in the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism plant Ananas comosus. Isolation and characterization of the smaller 65 kDa form.

Science.gov (United States)

Martín, Mariana; Rius, Sebastián Pablo; Podestá, Florencio Esteban

2011-06-01

Two phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK, EC 4.1.1.49) isoforms of 74 and 65 kDa were found to coexist in vivo in pineapple leaves, a constitutive Crassulacean Acid Metabolism plant. The 65 kDa form was not the result of proteolytic cleavage of the larger form since extraction methods reported to prevent PEPCK proteolysis in other plant tissues failed to yield a single immunoreactive PEPCK polypeptide in leaf extracts. In this work, the smaller form of 65 kDa was purified to homogeneity and physically and kinetically characterized and showed parameters compatible with a fully active enzyme. The specific activity was nearly twice higher for decarboxylation of oxaloacetate when compared to carboxylation of phosphoenolpyruvate. Kinetic parameters fell within the range of those estimated for other plant PEPCKs. Its activity was affected by several metabolites, as shown by inhibition by 3-phosphoglycerate, citrate, malate, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, l-asparagine and activation of the decarboxylating activity by succinate. A break in the Arrhenius plot at about 30°C indicates that PEPCK structure is responsive to changes in temperature. The results indicate that pineapple leaves contain two PEPCK forms. The biochemical characterization of the smaller isoform performed in this work suggests that it could participate in both carbon and nitrogen metabolism in vivo by acting as a decarboxylase. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Smaller than a gnat

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

"CERN in Geneva is the largest research center for particle physics in the world; the Institute is a Mecca for scientists. Particle are projected into each other in gigantic ring accelerators to gain information from their reactions about the force and relations inside the elements. These experiments require high vacuum - Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum recently competed in a Eyropean call for bids for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and won the contract." (1,5 page)

Clinical significance of the corpus callosum in cerebral palsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Eun Ja; Kim, Ji Chang; Kim, Jong Chul; And Others

2000-01-01

To evaluate, using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the clinal significance of the corpus callosum by measuring the size of various portions of the corpus callosum in children with cerebral palsy, and in paired controls. Fifty-two children (30 boys and 22 girls aged between six and 96 (median, 19) months) in whom cerebral palsy was clinically diagnosed underwent MR imaging. There were 23 term patients and 29 preterm, and the control group was selected by age and sex matching. Clinal subtypes of cerebral palsy were classified as hemiplegia (n=14), spastic diplegia (n=22), or spastic quadriplegia (n=16), and according to the severity of motor palsy, the condition was also classified as mild (n=26), moderate (n=13), or severe (n=13). In addition to the length and height of the corpus callosum, the thickness of its genu, body, transitional zone and splenium, as seen on midsagittal T1-weighted MR images, were also measured. Differences in the measured values of the two groups were statistically analysed and differences in the size of the corpus callosum according to the clinical severity and subtypes of cerebral palsy, and gestational age, were also assessed. Except for height, the measured values of the corpus callosum in patients with cerebral palsy were significantly less than those of the control group (p less than 0.05). Its size decreased according to the severity of motor palsy. Compared with term patients, the corpus callosum in preterm patients was considerably smaller (p less than 0.05). There was statistically significant correlation between the severity of motor palsy and the size of the corpus callosum. Quantitative evaluation of the corpus callosum might be a good indicator of neurologic prognosis, and a sensitive marker for assessing the extent of brain injury

Clinical significance of the corpus callosum in cerebral palsy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Eun Ja; Kim, Ji Chang [The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jong Chul [School of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); And Others

2000-10-01

To evaluate, using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the clinal significance of the corpus callosum by measuring the size of various portions of the corpus callosum in children with cerebral palsy, and in paired controls. Fifty-two children (30 boys and 22 girls aged between six and 96 (median, 19) months) in whom cerebral palsy was clinically diagnosed underwent MR imaging. There were 23 term patients and 29 preterm, and the control group was selected by age and sex matching. Clinal subtypes of cerebral palsy were classified as hemiplegia (n=14), spastic diplegia (n=22), or spastic quadriplegia (n=16), and according to the severity of motor palsy, the condition was also classified as mild (n=26), moderate (n=13), or severe (n=13). In addition to the length and height of the corpus callosum, the thickness of its genu, body, transitional zone and splenium, as seen on midsagittal T1-weighted MR images, were also measured. Differences in the measured values of the two groups were statistically analysed and differences in the size of the corpus callosum according to the clinical severity and subtypes of cerebral palsy, and gestational age, were also assessed. Except for height, the measured values of the corpus callosum in patients with cerebral palsy were significantly less than those of the control group (p less than 0.05). Its size decreased according to the severity of motor palsy. Compared with term patients, the corpus callosum in preterm patients was considerably smaller (p less than 0.05). There was statistically significant correlation between the severity of motor palsy and the size of the corpus callosum. Quantitative evaluation of the corpus callosum might be a good indicator of neurologic prognosis, and a sensitive marker for assessing the extent of brain injury.

EFFECT SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT OF THE THERMODYNAMICAL FACTORS ON THE SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL OPERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Sednin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Technologies of direct conversion of the fuel energy into electrical power are an upcoming trend in power economy. Over the last decades a number of countries have created industrial prototypes of power plants on fuel elements (cells, while fuel cells themselves became a commercial product on the world energy market. High electrical efficiency of the fuel cells allows predictting their further spread as part of hybrid installations jointly with gas and steam turbines which specifically enables achieving the electrical efficiency greater than 70 %. Nevertheless, investigations in the area of increasing efficiency and reliability of the fuel cells continue. Inter alia, research into the effects of oxidizing reaction thermodynamic parameters, fuel composition and oxidation reaction products on effectiveness of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC is of specific scientific interest. The article presents a concise analysis of the fuel type effects on the SOFC efficiency. Based on the open publications experimental data and the data of numerical model studies, the authors adduce results of the statistical analysis of the SOFC thermodynamic parameters effect on the effectiveness of its functioning as well as of the reciprocative factors of these parameters and gas composition at the inlet and at the outlet of the cell. The presented diagrams reflect dimension of the indicated parameters on the SOFC operation effectiveness. The significance levels of the above listed factors are ascertained. Statistical analysis of the effects of the SOFC functionning process thermodynamical, consumption and concentration parameters demonstrates quintessential influence of the reciprocative factors (temperature – flow-rate and pressure – flow-rate and the nitrogen N2 and oxygen O2 concentrations on the operation efficiency in the researched range of its functioning. These are the parameters to be considered on a first-priority basis while developing mathematical models

Econometric analysis of the changing effects in wind strength and significant wave height on the probability of casualty in shipping.

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Sabine; Kumar, Shashi; Sakurada, Yuri; Shen, Jiajun

2011-05-01

This study uses econometric models to measure the effect of significant wave height and wind strength on the probability of casualty and tests whether these effects changed. While both effects are in particular relevant for stability and strength calculations of vessels, it is also helpful for the development of ship construction standards in general to counteract increased risk resulting from changing oceanographic conditions. The authors analyzed a unique dataset of 3.2 million observations from 20,729 individual vessels in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions gathered during the period 1979-2007. The results show that although there is a seasonal pattern in the probability of casualty especially during the winter months, the effect of wind strength and significant wave height do not follow the same seasonal pattern. Additionally, over time, significant wave height shows an increasing effect in January, March, May and October while wind strength shows a decreasing effect, especially in January, March and May. The models can be used to simulate relationships and help understand the relationships. This is of particular interest to naval architects and ship designers as well as multilateral agencies such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that establish global standards in ship design and construction. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sister-chromatid exchange induced by X-ray of human lymphocytes and the effect of L-crysteine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abramovski, I.; Vorsanger, G.; Hirschhorn, K.

1978-01-01

A staining technique that detects sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) has been used to examine the response of human lymphocyte chromosomes to various dosages of X-irradiation. The SCE frequency was markedly increased following irradiation. However, the increase was of a significantly smaller magnitude when irradiation occurred in the presence of an antimutagenic agent. Scoring SCEs may provide a useful technique for assaying the mutagenic effects of environmental carcinogens as well as the protective effects of antimutagenic agents. (Auth.)

Subjective Significance Shapes Arousal Effects on Modified Stroop Task Performance: A Duality of Activation Mechanisms Account.

Science.gov (United States)

Imbir, Kamil K

2016-01-01

Activation mechanisms such as arousal are known to be responsible for slowdown observed in the Emotional Stroop and modified Stroop tasks. Using the duality of mind perspective, we may conclude that both ways of processing information (automatic or controlled) should have their own mechanisms of activation, namely, arousal for an experiential mind, and subjective significance for a rational mind. To investigate the consequences of both, factorial manipulation was prepared. Other factors that influence Stroop task processing such as valence, concreteness, frequency, and word length were controlled. Subjective significance was expected to influence arousal effects. In the first study, the task was to name the color of font for activation charged words. In the second study, activation charged words were, at the same time, combined with an incongruent condition of the classical Stroop task around a fixation point. The task was to indicate the font color for color-meaning words. In both studies, subjective significance was found to shape the arousal impact on performance in terms of the slowdown reduction for words charged with subjective significance.

Subjective Significance Shapes Arousal Effects on Modified Stroop Task Performance: a Duality of Activation Mechanisms Account

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamil Konrad Imbir

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Activation mechanisms such as arousal are known to be responsible for slowdown observed in the Emotional Stroop (EST and modified Stroop tasks. Using the duality of mind perspective, we may conclude that both ways of processing information (automatic or controlled should have their own mechanisms of activation, namely, arousal for an experiential mind, and subjective significance for a rational mind. To investigate the consequences of both, factorial manipulation was prepared. Other factors that influence Stroop task processing such as valence, concreteness, frequency and word length were controlled. Subjective significance was expected to influence arousal effects. In the first study, the task was to name the color of font for activation charged words. In the second study, activation charged words were, at the same time, combined with an incongruent condition of the classical Stroop task around a fixation point. The task was to indicate the font color for color-meaning words. In both studies, subjective significance was found to shape the arousal impact on performance in terms of the slowdown reduction for words charged with subjective significance.

Beyond the Effects of Comprehensive Sexuality Education: The Significant Prospective Effects of Youth Assets on Contraceptive Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Jennifer; Oman, Roy F; Vesely, Sara K; Cheney, Marshall; Carroll, Leslie

2017-12-01

The purpose of the study was to prospectively determine if youth assets were significantly associated with contraception use after accounting for the effects of youths' exposure to comprehensive sexuality education programming. Prospective associations between youth asset scores, comprehensive sexuality education topics received, type of contraceptive used, and consistent contraceptive use were analyzed using multinomial and binomial logistic regression in a sample of 757 sexually active youth. Higher youth asset scores were associated with condom use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.01-2.28), hormonal birth control use (AOR = 2.71, 95% CI = 1.69-4.35), dual method use (AOR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.44-3.82), and consistent contraceptive use (AOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.38-2.82). After controlling for youths' experience with comprehensive sexuality education, higher youth asset scores remained a significant predictor of hormonal birth control use (AOR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.28-3.42), dual method use (AOR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.61-4.15), and consistent contraceptive use (AOR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.36-2.80). Youth serving organizations that are interested in preventing teen pregnancy should consider widespread implementation of evidence-based youth development programs that focus on building and strengthening specific youth assets. Copyright © 2017 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Cloud Greenhouse Effect on Mars: Significant Climate Change in the Recent Past

Science.gov (United States)

Haberle, Robert M.; Kahre, Melinda A.; Schaeffer, James R.; Montmessin, Frank; Phillips, R J.

2012-01-01

The large variations in Mars orbit parameters are known to be significant drivers of climate change on the Red planet. The recent discovery of buried CO2 ice at the South Pole adds another dimension to climate change studies. In this paper we present results from the Ames GCM that show within the past million years it is possible that clouds from a greatly intensified Martian hydrological cycle may have produced a greenhouse effect strong enough to raise global mean surface temperatures by several tens of degrees Kelvin. It is made possible by the ability of the Martian atmosphere to transport water to high altitudes where cold clouds form, reduce the outgoing longwave radiation, and drive up surface temperatures to maintain global energy balance.

No significant effect of prefrontal tDCS on working memory performance in older adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonna eNilsson

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS has been put forward as a non-pharmacological alternative for alleviating cognitive decline in old age. Although results have shown some promise, little is known about the optimal stimulation parameters for modulation in the cognitive domain. In this study, the effects of tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC on working memory performance were investigated in thirty older adults. An N-back task assessed working memory before, during and after anodal tDCS at a current strength of 1mA and 2mA, in addition to sham stimulation. The study used a single-blind, cross-over design. The results revealed no significant effect of tDCS on accuracy or response times during or after stimulation, for any of the current strengths. These results suggest that a single session of tDCS over the dlPFC is unlikely to improve working memory, as assessed by an N-back task, in old age.

Randomized, Evaluator-Blinded Study Comparing Safety and Effect of Two Hyaluronic Acid Gels for Lips Enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, Said; Sattler, Gerhard; Berg, Anna-Karin; Samuelson, Ulf; Wong, Cindy

2018-02-01

Hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers may differ in terms of gel characteristics and ease of use and it is of interest whether this might affect safety and duration of effect. To compare the long-term safety and effect of 2 HA fillers produced by 2 different technologies for lip enhancement. Subjects with very thin to moderately thick lips were randomized and treated with HA-RK (N = 31) or HA-JV (N = 29) to improve lip fullness by ≥ 1 grade on a 5-point scale, using a maximum of 3 mL of product. A smaller volume of HA-RK compared with HA-JV was required to improve lip fullness by ≥ 1 grade (mean: 1.54 mL vs 1.94 mL, p < .001). Despite the smaller volume, lip fullness and global aesthetic improvement were comparably sustained in both groups. At 6 months, 60.0% versus 57.7% of subjects (HA-RK vs HA-JV) had improved lip fullness. At 12 months, 71.4% versus 76.0% had aesthetic improvement (blinded evaluations) and 85.7% versus 86.2% felt more attractive. Both products were well tolerated. Both products achieved durable improvement in lip fullness and aesthetic appearance. A significantly smaller amount of HA-RK was required compared with HA-JV to achieve optimal treatment effect.

Effects of homogenization treatment on recrystallization behavior of 7150 aluminum sheet during post-rolling annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Zhanying; Zhao, Gang; Chen, X.-Grant

2016-01-01

The effects of two homogenization treatments applied to the direct chill (DC) cast billet on the recrystallization behavior in 7150 aluminum alloy during post-rolling annealing have been investigated using the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. Following hot and cold rolling to the sheet, measured orientation maps, the recrystallization fraction and grain size, the misorientation angle and the subgrain size were used to characterize the recovery and recrystallization processes at different annealing temperatures. The results were compared between the conventional one-step homogenization and the new two-step homogenization, with the first step being pretreated at 250 °C. Al_3Zr dispersoids with higher densities and smaller sizes were obtained after the two-step homogenization, which strongly retarded subgrain/grain boundary mobility and inhibited recrystallization. Compared with the conventional one-step homogenized samples, a significantly lower recrystallized fraction and a smaller recrystallized grain size were obtained under all annealing conditions after cold rolling in the two-step homogenized samples. - Highlights: • Effects of two homogenization treatments on recrystallization in 7150 Al sheets • Quantitative study on the recrystallization evolution during post-rolling annealing • Al_3Zr dispersoids with higher densities and smaller sizes after two-step treatment • Higher recrystallization resistance of 7150 sheets with two-step homogenization

Some Dynamical Effects of the Cosmological Constant

Science.gov (United States)

Axenides, M.; Floratos, E. G.; Perivolaropoulos, L.

Newton's law gets modified in the presence of a cosmological constant by a small repulsive term (antigravity) that is proportional to the distance. Assuming a value of the cosmological constant consistent with the recent SnIa data (Λ~=10-52 m-2), we investigate the significance of this term on various astrophysical scales. We find that on galactic scales or smaller (less than a few tens of kpc), the dynamical effects of the vacuum energy are negligible by several orders of magnitude. On scales of 1 Mpc or larger however we find that the vacuum energy can significantly affect the dynamics. For example we show that the velocity data in the local group of galaxies correspond to galactic masses increased by 35% in the presence of vacuum energy. The effect is even more important on larger low density systems like clusters of galaxies or superclusters.

Significant effect of Ca2+ on improving the heat resistance of lactic acid bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Song; Chen, Xiao Dong

2013-07-01

The heat resistance of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has been extensively investigated due to its highly practical significance. Reconstituted skim milk (RSM) has been found to be one of the most effective protectant wall materials for microencapsulating microorganisms during convective drying, such as spray drying. In addition to proteins and carbohydrate, RSM is rich in calcium. It is not clear which component is critical in the RSM protection mechanism. This study investigated the independent effect of calcium. Ca(2+) was added to lactose solution to examine its influence on the heat resistance of Lactobacillus rhamnosus ZY, Lactobacillus casei Zhang, Lactobacillus plantarum P8 and Streptococcus thermophilus ND03. The results showed that certain Ca(2+) concentrations enhanced the heat resistance of the LAB strains to different extents, that is produced higher survival and shorter regrowth lag times of the bacterial cells. In some cases, the improvements were dramatic. More scientifically insightful and more intensive instrumental study of the Ca(2+) behavior around and in the cells should be carried out in the near future. In the meantime, this work may lead to the development of more cost-effective wall materials with Ca(2+) added as a prime factor. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. All rights reserved.

INCREASING EXTINGUISHING EFFECT OF WATER MIST BY ELEKTRIFICATION

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Otto Dvořák

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper describes extinguishing experiments to verify the possibility of increasing the fire-extinguishing efficiency of low-, medium- and high-pressure water mist by its charging by the electric field of high DC voltage. The experimental results confirmed the effects of the electrical voltage, the configuration of electrodes (anode, cathode, the volumetric water flow rate, water pressure and the type of mist nozzle. Higher fire-extinguishing effect of electrically-charged water mist was shown by a shorter extinguishing time, a smaller volume of water to extinguish the fire and a higher percentage of successful extinguishing attempts. Benefit: faster and more efficient fire-fighting with a smaller risk of injury of persons and smaller subsequent damage in the protected space.

Confidence Intervals for Effect Sizes: Compliance and Clinical Significance in the "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology"

Science.gov (United States)

Odgaard, Eric C.; Fowler, Robert L.

2010-01-01

Objective: In 2005, the "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology" ("JCCP") became the first American Psychological Association (APA) journal to require statistical measures of clinical significance, plus effect sizes (ESs) and associated confidence intervals (CIs), for primary outcomes (La Greca, 2005). As this represents the single largest…

Are the Intraday Effects of Central Bank Intervention on Exchange Rate Spreads Asymmetric and State Dependent?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fatum, Rasmus; Pedersen, Jesper; Sørensen, Peter Norman

This paper investigates the intraday effects of unannounced foreign exchange intervention on bid-ask exchange rate spreads using official intraday intervention data provided by the Danish central bank. Our starting point is a simple theoretical model of the bid-ask spread which we use to formulate...... exert a significant influence on the exchange rate spread, but in opposite directions: intervention purchases of the smaller currency, on average, reduce the spread while intervention sales, on average, increase the spread. We also show that intervention only affects the exchange rate spread when...... the state of the market is not abnormally volatile. Our results are consistent with the notion that illiquidity arises when traders fear speculative pressure against the smaller currency and confirms the asymmetry hypothesis of our theoretical model....

Test the Overall Significance of p-values by Using Joint Tail Probability of Ordered p-values as Test Statistic

OpenAIRE

Fang, Yongxiang; Wit, Ernst

2008-01-01

Fisher’s combined probability test is the most commonly used method to test the overall significance of a set independent p-values. However, it is very obviously that Fisher’s statistic is more sensitive to smaller p-values than to larger p-value and a small p-value may overrule the other p-values and decide the test result. This is, in some cases, viewed as a flaw. In order to overcome this flaw and improve the power of the test, the joint tail probability of a set p-values is proposed as a ...

Funcionamiento Efectivo y Dimensión Subjetiva del Vínculo Significativo con los Demás / Effective Functioning and Subjective Dimension of the Significant Link with Others

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisca Maureira Sepúlveda

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Utilizando la base de datos de la Encuesta de Desarrollo Humano del Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD-EDH aplicada en Chile durante el año 2011 a un total de 2.535 personas mayores de 18 años, esta investigación analiza el “Vínculo Significativo con los Demás” (VSD en su componente Funcionamiento Efectivo (VSD-FE y en su dimensión Subjetiva (VSD-S. En general las personas desarrollan adecuados vínculos con sus otros significativos, no obstante distinguirse una mayor prevalencia en la dimensión subjetiva del índice VSD. Reconocen ser objeto de estima y declaran percibir la valoración y preocupación de los demás, a pesar de desarrollar con menor frecuencia actividades de afiliación con familiares y amigos. Elevan el índice VSD un mayor nivel socioeconómico (NSE, vivir acompañado, tener pareja, la ausencia de hijos, pertenecer a un menor tramo etario y vivir en zonas urbanas o urbes de concentración poblacional. Abstract Using the Human Development Survey database of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP-EDH applied in Chile in 2011 to a total of 2,535 people over the age of 18, this research analyzes the “Significant Link with the Other” (SLO in its Effective Function (SLO-EF and Subjective Dimension (SLO-S. In general, people develop adequate links with their significant others; however, a higher prevalence is distinguished in the subjective dimension of the SLO index. They recognize that they are esteemed and declare to perceive the esteem and concern of others, even though they are less likely to develop affiliation activities with family and friends. A higher socioeconomic level (NSE, living with others, having a partner, the absence of children, belonging to a smaller age group and living in urban areas or cities with population concentration, raises the SLO index.

Developing the RIAM method (rapid impact assessment matrix) in the context of impact significance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ijaes, Asko; Kuitunen, Markku T.; Jalava, Kimmo

2010-01-01

In this paper the applicability of the RIAM method (rapid impact assessment matrix) is evaluated in the context of impact significance assessment. The methodological issues considered in the study are: 1) to test the possibilities of enlarging the scoring system used in the method, and 2) to compare the significance classifications of RIAM and unaided decision-making to estimate the consistency between these methods. The data used consisted of projects for which funding had been applied for via the European Union's Regional Development Trust in the area of Central Finland. Cases were evaluated with respect to their environmental, social and economic impacts using an assessment panel. The results showed the scoring framework used in RIAM could be modified according to the problem situation at hand, which enhances its application potential. However the changes made in criteria B did not significantly affect the final ratings of the method, which indicates the high importance of criteria A1 (importance) and A2 (magnitude) to the overall results. The significance classes obtained by the two methods diverged notably. In general the ratings given by RIAM tended to be smaller compared to intuitive judgement implying that the RIAM method may be somewhat conservative in character.

The protective effect of lycopene against radiation injury to the small intestine of abdominally radiated mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itoh, Youko; Kurabe, Teruhisa; Ishiguchi, Tsuneo

2004-01-01

To reduce the side effects of radiotherapy, radioprotective effects of lycopene on villi and crypts in the small intestine of abdominally radiated mice (15 Gy) were examined with administration pre-, continuous and post-radiation. In the lycopene group, the ratio of the villus length to the crypt was significantly increased in comparison with the radiation only group at 2 days after radiation. At 7 days after radiation, the ratio of necrotic cells in crypt/total was significantly decreased and the ratio of necrotic cells in villus/total was significantly increased by lycopene administration, which indicated an acceleration of the recovery from the radiation injury with lycopene. Each lycopene administered group showed a significant radioprotective effect, with the pre-radiation administration inducing a smaller effect than that of continuous and post-radiation administration. Radiation induced apoptosis was also decreased by lycopene administration. It is concluded that pre-, continuous and post-radiation administration of lycopene protects against radiation injury of the small intestine and accelerate the recovery. (author)

The effect of pyrithioxine and pyridoxine on individual behavior, social interactions, and learning in rats malnourished in early postnatal life.

Science.gov (United States)

Tikal, K; Benesová, O; Franková, S

1976-04-15

Low protein (LP) or low calorie (LC) dietary regimens were applied in early postnatal life(1st-40th day of life) in male rats. After nutritional rehabilitation, open-field behavior in larger more illuminated boxes (HI, high intensity stimulus), and smaller, less illuminated boxes (HI, high intensity stimulus), and smaller, less illuminated boxes (HI, high intensity stimulus), and smaller, less illuminated boxes (HI, high intensity stimulus), dyadic interactions, and learning ability were investigated in these animals as adults (between the 200th to 300th day of life). LP malnutrition induced an increase of open-field activity with features of sterotypy both in LI and HI situations, an increase number of intersignal reactions during learning procedures without changes in other registered criteria of learning ability (latency, number of correct responses), and an increase of aggressive behavior in pair interaction. LC rats revealed only significant inhibition in LI--open-field activity and a slightly increased number in intersignal reactions during avoidance learning. With the aim of preventing previously described long-term deviations in early malnourished rats, some groups of animals with the above-mentioned early calorie or protein deficits were treated with pyrithioxine (Encephabol Merck) or pyridoxine in 10 doses of 40 mg/kg i.p. administered in the period when nutritional rehabilitation was carried out (between the 40th--50th day of life). The treatment with pyrithioxine reduced significantly behavioral disturbances in adult LP rats except the increase of intersignal reactions which was even potentiated. Pyridoxine was less effective but normalized the increase number of intersignal reactions both in LP and LC rats. The effect of pyridoxine of adult LC rats was interesting. There was significant improvement in all registered parameters of avoidance learning and a significant increase of sexual acts was recorded.

The somatically significant dose, SSD, and analog of the GSD, the genetically significant dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beentjes, L.B.; Duijsings, J.H.

1992-01-01

The medical applications of radiation comprise three main fields namely: Diagnostic Radiology, Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine. With the new weighting factors of ICRP (IC91a) the effective dose due to medical applications can be established. I is common to separate the effective dose into the genetic part and the somatic part, SED. In dealing with gonad doses it is important to account for the age of the person at the time of exposure as this will influence the number of children still to be expected from that person. The resulting dose will then be called the genetically significant dose, GSD. In a similar fashion this age factor will be important in considering the chance of tumor induction. The age of patients differs considerably from the average age of the general population. This age difference has to be accounted for if a comparison is to be made with other sources of radiation. This justifies establishing a somatically significant dose, SSD. The reduction of the SED value to a SSD for the medical field due to this phenomenon is .6 for diagnostic radiology, .5 for nuclear medicine and .3 for radiotherapy. Also the extension to more organs at risk, which result in a larger number of weighting factors published by ICRP (IC91a) tends to lower the calculated effective doses. (author)

Radioprotective effects of natural β-carotene on villi and crypts in abdominally radiated mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurabe, Teruhisa; Itoh, Youko; Matsumura, Eijin; Nakamura, Atsushi; Ayakawa, Yoshio

2002-01-01

The protective effect of β-carotene against radiation injury to the small intestine of abdominally radiated mice (15 Gy) was examined with administration given pre-radiation, during (pre- and post-) radiation, and post-radiation. In the β-carotene group, the ratio of villus length to crypt was significantly greater in comparison with the radiation only group at 2 days after radiation. At 7 days after radiation, the ratio of necrotic cells in the crypt vs. the total was significantly lower, and the ratio of necrotic cells in the villus vs. the total was significantly greater with β-carotene administration, which indicated that β-carotene accelerated recovery from radiation injury. Each group administered β-carotene showed a significant radioprotective effect, with pre-radiation administration yielding a smaller effect than administration during radiation and post-radiation. It is concluded that pre-, during, and post-radiation administration of β-carotene protected against radiation injury of the small intestine and accelerated recovery from it. (author)

When men appear smaller or larger than they really are: preliminary evidence that women are fooled by size illusions in attractiveness judgment tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludwig Yannick S.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In humans, studies have shown that contrast illusions can affect perceptions of facial attractiveness and dominance. In non-human animals, recent research found that contrast illusions of size positively affected male mate value. In humans, male height is a potentially important indicator of mate value, with women preferring men taller than themselves. We tested in two studies whether height contrast illusions could affect women’s perceptions of male height and mate value, particularly attractiveness, dominance, and muscularity. Using computer-generated images of men of different heights standing in groups of three, 104 female participants rated targets either surrounded by shorter, same height, or taller distractors in a within-subject design. The second experiment (N=80 replicated and extended the first by making the images more realistic and adding natural backgrounds, suggesting that when participants are given a visual anchor, in order to get a better sense of the absolute height of the targets, the effects remain. In both studies, results showed that, compared with same height distractors, male targets were rated as taller when surrounded by shorter distractors, and as shorter when surrounded by taller distractors. Additionally, attractiveness, dominance, and muscularity perceptions were affected in a similar manner, with most of the differences in these appraisals being mediated by the perceived height differences. Therefore, differently sized distractors affected the perceived height and mate value of the targets, which were in effect all of the same constant size. These findings indicate that context dependent effects could potentially influence attractiveness judgments. The same man might thus be perceived as more attractive when surrounded by men of similar or smaller height, as opposed to when surrounded by men who are taller.

Are We Underestimating the Significance of Pedicle Screw Misplacement?

Science.gov (United States)

Sarwahi, Vishal; Wendolowski, Stephen F; Gecelter, Rachel C; Amaral, Terry; Lo, Yungtai; Wollowick, Adam L; Thornhill, Beverly

2016-05-01

A retrospective review of charts, x-rays (XRs) and computed tomography (CT) scans was performed. To evaluate the accuracy of pedicle screw placement using a novel classification system to determine potentially significant screw misplacement. The accuracy rate of pedicle screw (PS) placement varies from 85% to 95% in the literature. This demonstrates technical ability but does not represent the impact of screw misplacement on individual patients. This study quantifies the rate of screw misplacement on a per-patient basis to highlight its effect on potential morbidity. A retrospective review of charts, XRs and low-dose CT scans of 127 patients who underwent spinal fusion with pedicle screws for spinal deformity was performed. Screws were divided into four categories: screws at risk (SAR), indeterminate misplacements (IMP), benign misplacements (BMP), accurately placed (AP). A total of 2724 screws were placed in 127 patients. A total of 2396 screws were placed accurately (87.96%). A total of 247 screws (9.07%) were BMP, 52 (1.91%) were IMP, and 29 (1.06%) were considered SAR. Per-patient analysis showed 23 (18.11%) of patients had all screws AP. Thirty-five (27.56%) had IMP and 18 (14.17%) had SAR. Risk factor analysis showed smaller Cobb angles increased likelihood of all screws being AP. Sub-analysis of adolescent idiopathic scoliotic patients showed no curve or patient characteristic that correlated with IMP or SAR. Over 40% of patients had screws with either some/major concern. Overall reported screw misplacement is low, but it does not reflect the potential impact on patient morbidity. Per-patient analysis reveals more concerning numbers toward screw misplacement. With increasing pedicle screw usage, the number of patients with misplaced screws will likely increase proportionally. Better strategies need to be devised for evaluation of screw placement, including establishment of a national database of deformity surgery, use of intra-operative image guidance, and

Clinical significance of the radioimmunological determination of C-peptide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudczak, R.; Waldhaeusl, W.

1979-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of metabolic control to insulinogenic reserve in insulin-dependent diabetics. Thus, the secretory reserve of the pancreatic beta cell was estimated in insulin-dependent diabetics by measuring changes in peripheral serum immunoreactive C-peptide (IRCP) concentrations in response to intravenous arginine (n = 19; 0.5 g/kg,t = 30 min) or glibenclamide-glucose (n = 6; 2 mg HB 419 - 0.33 g/kg intravenously). In the majority of ''stable'' diabetics a small secretory reserve of the beta cell was demonstrated, but both the absolute and relative increase in IRCP was reduced after intravenous arginine or glibenclamide-glucose in comparison with normal controls. In ''unstable'' diabetics a decreased basal concentration of IRCP, significantly smaller than that seen in ''stable'' diabetics (p < 0.01), was accompanied by a complete lack of IRCP release on intravenous arginine administration. Thus, we conclude that the radioimmunological determination of IRCP is of clinical interest in assessing the residual secretory capacity of the beta cell in insulin-dependent diabetics. In revealing a lack of insulin this diagnostic tool seems to detect a group of potentially ''unstable'' diabetics in need of strict observation, which would minimize the risks of bad metabolic control. (author)

Clinical significance of the radioimmunological determination of C-peptide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudczak, R; Waldhaeusl, W [Vienna Univ. (Austria). 1. Medizinische Klinik

1979-10-12

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of metabolic control to insulinogenic reserve in insulin-dependent diabetics. Thus, the secretory reserve of the pancreatic beta cell was estimated in insulin-dependent diabetics by measuring changes in peripheral serum immunoreactive C-peptide (IRCP) concentrations in response to intravenous arginine (n = 19; 0.5 g/kg,t = 30 min) or glibenclamide-glucose (n = 6; 2 mg HB 419 - 0.33 g/kg intravenously). In the majority of stable diabetics a small secretory reserve of the beta cell was demonstrated, but both the absolute and relative increase in IRCP was reduced after intravenous arginine or glibenclamide-glucose in comparison with normal controls. In unstable diabetics a decreased basal concentration of IRCP, significantly smaller than that seen in stable diabetics (p < 0.01), was accompanied by a complete lack of IRCP release on intravenous arginine administration. Thus, we conclude that the radioimmunological determination of IRCP is of clinical interest in assessing the residual secretory capacity of the beta cell in insulin-dependent diabetics. In revealing a lack of insulin this diagnostic tool seems to detect a group of potentially unstable diabetics in need of strict observation, which would minimize the risks of bad metabolic control.

Environmental Fatigue Behaviors of CF8M Stainless Steel in 310 .deg. C Deoxygenated Water - Effects of Hydrogen and Microstructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Hun; Cho, Pyungyeon; Jang, Changheui [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Soon [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corporation, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-01-15

The effects of environment and microstructure on low cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviors of CF8M stainless steels containing 11% of ferrites were investigated in a 310 .deg. C deoxygenated water environment. The reduction of LCF life of CF8M in a 310 .deg. C deoxygenated water was smaller than 316LN stainless steels. Based on the microstructure and fatigue surface analyses, it was confirmed that the hydrogen induced cracking contributed to the reduction in LCF life for CF8M as well as for 316LN. However, many secondary cracks were found on the boundaries of ferrite phases in CF8M, which effectively reduced the stress concentration at the crack tip. Because of the reduced stress concentration, the accelerated fatigue crack growth by hydrogen induced cracking was less significant, which resulted in the smaller environmental effects for CF8M than 316LN in a 310 .deg. C deoxygenated water.

‘Small is Beautiful’, Analysing the Democratising Effect of Localism, Greater Regional Autonomy, Decentralisation and Constitutional Reform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ben DUKE

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to provide a critical theoretical comparative review of the effect upon democracy, constitutional reform could have on new smaller states. This paper posits that it is an untried, untested assumption that democratisation will follow, if nation states’ populations choose constitutional reform. This paper also posits that social, economic, political, historical and cultural generic domains influence the drive for constitutional reform in very different ways globally. This paper intends to discuss the pressure for constitutional reform, from a globalisation perspective. This paper will demonstrate how globalisation itself is a significant causal factor, increasing the propensity towards constitutional reform of smaller states. This paper will also demonstrate that the EU anti-globalisation sentiment, asking for constitutional reform, is globally replicated elsewhere.

The effect of the weight of cloves on the growth and the yield of fall-planted garlic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Nurzyńska-Wierdak

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In three years trials (1990-1993 the effect of diameter of bulbilson growth and yield of local garlic ecotype R was studied. Nine size classes of bulbils were investigated. Significant effect of diameter of bulbils on biometric propeities and yield of local garlic was found out. The plants grown from big bulbils gave higher and better quality yield then those grown from smaller bulbils. There was no difference in yield of plants grown from big and medium bulbils.

Space radiation-induced bystander effect: kinetics of biologic responses, mechanisms, and significance of secondary radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonon, Geraldine

2011-01-01

Widespread evidence indicates that exposure of cell cultures to a particles results in significant biological changes in both the irradiated and non-irradiated bystander cells in the population. The induction of non-targeted biological responses in cell cultures exposed to low fluences of high charge (Z) and high energy (E) particles is relevant to estimates of the health risks of space radiation and to radiotherapy. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the induction of stressful effects in confluent normal human fibroblast cultures exposed to low fluences of 1000 MeV/u iron ions (linear energy transfer (LET) 151 keV/μm), 600 MeV/u silicon ions (LET 50 keV/μm) or 290 MeV/u carbon ions (LET 13 keV/μm). We compared the results with those obtained in cell cultures exposed, in parallel, to low fluences of 0.92 MeV/u a particles (LET 109 keV/μm). Induction of DNA damage, changes in gene expression, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation during 24 h after exposure of confluent cultures to mean doses as low as 0.2 cGy of iron or silicon ions strongly supported the propagation of stressful effects from irradiated to bystander cells. At a mean dose of 0.2 cGy, only 1 and 3 % of the cells would be targeted through the nucleus by an iron or silicon ion, respectively. Within 24 h post-irradiation, immunoblot analyses revealed significant increases in the levels of phospho-TP53 (serine 15), p21Waf1 (also known as CDKN1A), HDM2, phospho-ERK1/2, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation. The magnitude of the responses suggested participation of non-targeted cells in the response. Furthermore, when the irradiated cell populations were subcultured in fresh medium shortly after irradiation, greater than expected increases in the levels of these markers were also observed during 24 h. Together, the results imply a rapidly propagated and persistent bystander effect. In situ analyses in confluent cultures showed 53BP1 foci formation, a marker of DNA damage, in

The significance of domino effect in chemical accidents

OpenAIRE

Hemmatian, Behrouz; Abdolhamidzadeh, B; Darbra Roman, Rosa Maria; Casal Fàbrega, Joaquim

2014-01-01

A historical survey was performed on 330 accidents involving domino effect, occurred in process/storage plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials; only accidents occurred after 1st-January-1961 have been considered. The main features – geographical location, type of accident, materials involved, origin and causes, consequences, domino sequences – were analyzed, with special consideration to the situation in the developing countries and compared to those from other previous surve...

On detection and assessment of statistical significance of Genomic Islands

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Chaudhuri Probal

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many of the available methods for detecting Genomic Islands (GIs in prokaryotic genomes use markers such as transposons, proximal tRNAs, flanking repeats etc., or they use other supervised techniques requiring training datasets. Most of these methods are primarily based on the biases in GC content or codon and amino acid usage of the islands. However, these methods either do not use any formal statistical test of significance or use statistical tests for which the critical values and the P-values are not adequately justified. We propose a method, which is unsupervised in nature and uses Monte-Carlo statistical tests based on randomly selected segments of a chromosome. Such tests are supported by precise statistical distribution theory, and consequently, the resulting P-values are quite reliable for making the decision. Results Our algorithm (named Design-Island, an acronym for Detection of Statistically Significant Genomic Island runs in two phases. Some 'putative GIs' are identified in the first phase, and those are refined into smaller segments containing horizontally acquired genes in the refinement phase. This method is applied to Salmonella typhi CT18 genome leading to the discovery of several new pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance and metabolic islands that were missed by earlier methods. Many of these islands contain mobile genetic elements like phage-mediated genes, transposons, integrase and IS elements confirming their horizontal acquirement. Conclusion The proposed method is based on statistical tests supported by precise distribution theory and reliable P-values along with a technique for visualizing statistically significant islands. The performance of our method is better than many other well known methods in terms of their sensitivity and accuracy, and in terms of specificity, it is comparable to other methods.

Significance of size dependent and material structure coupling on the characteristics and performance of nanocrystalline micro/nano gyroscopes

Science.gov (United States)

Larkin, K.; Ghommem, M.; Abdelkefi, A.

2018-05-01

Capacitive-based sensing microelectromechanical (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) gyroscopes have significant advantages over conventional gyroscopes, such as low power consumption, batch fabrication, and possible integration with electronic circuits. However, inadequacies in the modeling of these inertial sensors have presented issues of reliability and functionality of micro-/nano-scale gyroscopes. In this work, a micromechanical model is developed to represent the unique microstructure of nanocrystalline materials and simulate the response of micro-/nano-gyroscope comprising an electrostatically-actuated cantilever beam with a tip mass at the free end. Couple stress and surface elasticity theories are integrated into the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam model in order to derive a size-dependent model. This model is then used to investigate the influence of size-dependent effects on the static pull-in instability, the natural frequencies and the performance output of gyroscopes as the scale decreases from micro-to nano-scale. The simulation results show significant changes in the static pull-in voltage and the natural frequency as the scale of the system is decreased. However, the differential frequency between the two vibration modes of the gyroscope is observed to drastically decrease as the size of the gyroscope is reduced. As such, the frequency-based operation mode may not be an efficient strategy for nano-gyroscopes. The results show that a strong coupling between the surface elasticity and material structure takes place when smaller grain sizes and higher void percentages are considered.

Toward better assessment of tornado potential in typhoons: Significance of considering entrainment effects for CAPE

Science.gov (United States)

Sueki, Kenta; Niino, Hiroshi

2016-12-01

The characteristics of typhoons that spawned tornadoes (tornadic typhoons: TTs) in Japan from 1991 to 2013 were investigated by composite analysis using the Japanese 55 year Reanalysis and compared with those of typhoons that did not spawn tornadoes (nontornadic typhoons: NTs). We found that convective available potential energy (CAPE), which considers the effects of entrainment (entraining CAPE: E-CAPE), and storm-relative environmental helicity (SREH) are significantly large in the northeast quadrant of TTs where tornadoes frequently occur and that E-CAPE and SREH in that quadrant for TTs are larger than those for NTs. On the other hand, ordinary CAPE without entrainment does not account for the spatial distribution of tornado occurrences nor does it distinguish TTs from NTs. E-CAPE is sensitive to humidity in the midtroposphere; thus, it is effective for detecting a conditionally unstable layer up to about 550 hPa, which is distinctive of TTs.

Why droplet dimension can be larger than, equal to, or smaller than the nanowire dimension

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammad, S. Noor

2009-11-01

Droplets play central roles in the nanowire (NW) growth by vapor phase mechanisms. These mechanisms include vapor-liquid-solid (VLS), vapor-solid-solid or vapor-solid (VSS), vapor-quasisolid-solid or vapor-quasiliquid-solid (VQS), oxide-assisted growth (OAG), and self-catalytic growth (SCG) mechanisms. Fundamentals of the shape, size, characteristics, and dynamics of droplets and the impacts of them on the NW growth, have been studied. The influence of growth techniques, growth parameters (e.g., growth temperature, partial pressure, gas flow rates, etc.), thermodynamic conditions, surface and interface energy, molar volume, chemical potentials, etc. have been considered on the shapes and sizes of droplets. A model has been presented to explain why droplets can be larger than, equal to, or smaller than the associated NWs. Various growth techniques have been analyzed to understand defects created in NWs. Photoluminescence characteristics have been presented to quantify the roles of droplets in the creation of NW defects. The study highlights the importance of the purity of the droplet material. It attests to the superiority of the SCG mechanism, and clarifies the differences between the VSS, VQS, VLS, and SCG mechanisms. It explains why droplets produced by some mechanisms are visible but droplets produced by some other mechanisms are not visible. It elucidates the formation mechanisms of very large and very small droplets, and discusses the ground rules for droplets creating necked NWs. It puts forth reasons to demonstrate that very large droplets may not behave as droplets.

IRIS-50. A 50 MWe advanced PWR design for smaller, regional grids and specialized applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrovic, Bojan; Carelli, Mario; Conway, Larry; Hundal, Rolv; Barbaso, Enrico; Gamba, Federica; Centofante, Mario

2009-01-01

IRIS is an advanced, medium-power (1000 MWt or ∼335 MWe) advanced PWR design of integral configuration, that has gained wide recognition due to its innovative 'safety-by-design' safety approach. In spite of its smaller size compared to large monolithic nuclear power plants, it is economically competitive due to its simplicity and advantages of modular deployment. However, the optimum power level for a class of specific applications (e.g., power generation in small regional isolated grids; water desalination and biodiesel production at remote locations; autonomous power source for special applications, etc.) may be even lower, of the order of tens rather than hundreds of MWe. The simple and robust IRIS 335 MWe design provides a solid basis for establishing a 20-100 MWe design, utilizing the same safety and economics principles, so that it will retain economic attractiveness compared to other alternatives of the same power level. A conceptual 50 MWe design, IRIS-50, was initially developed and then assessed in a 2001 report to the US Congress on small and medium reactors, as a design mature enough to have deployment potential within a decade. In the meantime, while the main efforts have focused on the 335 MWe design completion and licensing, parallel efforts have progressed toward the preliminary design of IRIS-50. This paper summarizes the main IRIS-50 features and presents an update on its design status. (author)

Effects of transient water mass redistribution associated with a tsunami wave on Earth’s pole path

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Soldati

2007-06-01

Full Text Available We have quantified the effects of a water mass redistribution associated with the propagation of a tsunami wave on the Earth’s pole path and on the Length-Of-Day (LOD and applied our modeling results to the tsunami following the 2004 giant Sumatra earthquake. We compared the result of our simulations on the instantaneous rotational axis variations with the preliminary instrumental evidence on the pole path perturbation (which has not been confirmed registered just after the occurrence of the earthquake. The detected perturbation in the pole path showed a step-like discontinuity that cannot be attributed to the effect of a seismic dislocation. Our results show that the tsunami induced instantaneous rotational pole perturbation is indeed characterized by a step-like discontinuity compatible with the observations but its magnitude is almost one hundred times smaller than the detected one. The LOD variation induced by the water mass redistribution turns out to be not significant because the total effect is smaller than current measurements uncertainties.

A Note on Testing Mediated Effects in Structural Equation Models: Reconciling Past and Current Research on the Performance of the Test of Joint Significance

Science.gov (United States)

Valente, Matthew J.; Gonzalez, Oscar; Miocevic, Milica; MacKinnon, David P.

2016-01-01

Methods to assess the significance of mediated effects in education and the social sciences are well studied and fall into two categories: single sample methods and computer-intensive methods. A popular single sample method to detect the significance of the mediated effect is the test of joint significance, and a popular computer-intensive method…

The biomechanical characteristics of wearing FitFlop™ sandals highlight significant alterations in gait pattern: a comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

James, Darren C; Farmer, Laura J; Sayers, Jason B; Cook, David P; Mileva, Katya N

2015-05-01

The net contribution of all muscles that act about a joint can be represented as an internal joint moment profile. This approach may be advantageous when studying footwear-induced perturbations during walking since the contribution of the smaller deeper muscles that cross the ankle joint cannot be evaluated with surface electromyography. Therefore, the present study aimed to advance the understanding of FitFlop™ footwear interaction by investigating lower extremity joint moment, and kinematic and centre of pressure profiles during gait. 28 healthy participants performed 5 walking trials in 3 conditions: a FitFlop™ sandal, a conventional sandal and an athletic trainer. Three-dimensional ankle joint, and sagittal plane knee and hip joint moments, as well as corresponding kinematics and centre of pressure trajectories were evaluated. FitFlop™ differed significantly to both the conventional sandal and athletic trainer in: average anterior position of centre of pressure trajectory (Pgait pattern of wearers. An anterior displacement of the centre of pressure trajectory during early stance is the primary response to the destabilising effect of the mid-sole technology, and this leads to reductions in sagittal plane ankle joint range of motion and corresponding kinetics. Future investigations should consider the clinical implications of these findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modified Cross Feedback Control for a Magnetically Suspended Flywheel Rotor with Significant Gyroscopic Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Ren

2014-01-01

Full Text Available For magnetically suspended rigid rotors (MSRs with significant gyroscopic effects, phase lag of the control channel is the main factor influencing the system nutation stability and decoupling performance. At first, this paper proves that the phase lag of the cross channel instead of the decentralized channel is often the main factor influencing the system nutation stability at high speeds. Then a modified cross feedback control strategy based on the phase compensation of cross channel is proposed to improve the stability and decoupling performances. The common issues associated with the traditional control methods have been successfully resolved by this method. Analysis, simulation, and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and superiority of the proposed control method.

Hybrid friction stir welding for dissimilar materials through electro-plastic effect

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xun; Lan, Shuhuai; Ni, Jun

2018-05-29

A hybrid Friction Stir Welding approach and device for dissimilar materials joining employing Electro-Plastic Effect. The approach and device include an introduction of high density, short period current pulses into traditional friction stir welding process, which therefore can generate a localized softened zone in the workpiece during plastic stirring without significant additional temperature increase. This material softened zone is created by high density current pulses based on Electro-Plastic Effect and will move along with the friction stir welding tool. Smaller downward force, larger processing window and better joint quality for dissimilar materials are expected to be achieved through this hybrid welding technique.

The significance of some methodological effects on filtration and ingestion rates of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis

Science.gov (United States)

Schlosser, H. J.; Anger, K.

1982-06-01

Filtration rate (F) and ingestion rate (I) were measured in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis feeding on the flagellate Dunaliella spec. and on yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). 60-min experiments in rotating bottles served as a standard for testing methodological effects on levels of F and I. A lack of rotation reduced F values by 40 %, and a rise in temperature from 18° to 23.5 °C increased them by 42 %. Ingestion rates increased significantly up to a particle (yeast) concentration of ca. 600-800 cells · μl-1; then they remained constant, whereas filtration rates decreased beyond this threshold. Rotifer density (up to 1000 ind · ml-1) and previous starvation (up to 40 h) did not significantly influence food uptake rates. The duration of the experiment proved to have the most significant effect on F and I values: in 240-min experiments, these values were on the average more than 90 % lower than in 15-min experiments. From this finding it is concluded that ingestion rates obtained from short-term experiments (60 min or less) cannot be used in energy budgets, because they severely overestimate the actual long-term feeding capacity of the rotifers. At the lower end of the particle size spectrum (2 to 3 µm) there are not only food cells, but apparently also contaminating faecal particles. Their number increased with increasing duration of experiments and lead to an underestimation of F and I. Elemental analyses of rotifers and their food suggest that B. plicatilis can ingest up to 0.6 mJ or ca. 14 % of its own body carbon within 15 min. The long term average was estimated as 3.4 mJ · ind-1 · d-1 or ca. 75 % of body carbon · d-1.

Effects of ADMA upon gene expression: an insight into the pathophysiological significance of raised plasma ADMA.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline L Smith

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA is a naturally occurring inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis that accumulates in a wide range of diseases associated with endothelial dysfunction and enhanced atherosclerosis. Clinical studies implicate plasma ADMA as a major novel cardiovascular risk factor, but the mechanisms by which low concentrations of ADMA produce adverse effects on the cardiovascular system are unclear.We treated human coronary artery endothelial cells with pathophysiological concentrations of ADMA and assessed the effects on gene expression using U133A GeneChips (Affymetrix. Changes in several genes, including bone morphogenetic protein 2 inducible kinase (BMP2K, SMA-related protein 5 (Smad5, bone morphogenetic protein receptor 1A, and protein arginine methyltransferase 3 (PRMT3; also known as HRMT1L3, were confirmed by Northern blotting, quantitative PCR, and in some instances Western blotting analysis to detect changes in protein expression. To determine whether these changes also occurred in vivo, tissue from gene deletion mice with raised ADMA levels was examined. More than 50 genes were significantly altered in endothelial cells after treatment with pathophysiological concentrations of ADMA (2 microM. We detected specific patterns of changes that identify pathways involved in processes relevant to cardiovascular risk and pulmonary hypertension. Changes in BMP2K and PRMT3 were confirmed at mRNA and protein levels, in vitro and in vivo.Pathophysiological concentrations of ADMA are sufficient to elicit significant changes in coronary artery endothelial cell gene expression. Changes in bone morphogenetic protein signalling, and in enzymes involved in arginine methylation, may be particularly relevant to understanding the pathophysiological significance of raised ADMA levels. This study identifies the mechanisms by which increased ADMA may contribute to common cardiovascular diseases and thereby indicates possible targets for therapies.

They are smaller, but these systems produce mighty reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Botvin, Judith D

2004-01-01

The first place winner, Commonwealth Health Corporation, Bowling Green, Ky., has a successful cost-saving story. Designed in-house, with donated printing, it cost a mere 54 cents per unit. Little Company of Mary Hospital, Evergreen Park, Ill., wins second place with a publication that enlisted the help of many personnel. University Health Care System, Augusta, Ga., third place winner, uses dramatic graphics to observe its 185th anniversary. Princeton HealthCare System, Princeton, N.J., receives special recognition for the clarity and effectiveness of its four-page report.

The Significance of Loyalty on Consumer Credit Profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aditya Galih Prihartono

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyze and test the effect of customer loyalty on consumer credit profitability. Loyalty Index Score was developed to determine the level of customers’ loyalty level through 4 main variables; Longevity, Depth, Breadth and Referrals. The effect of Loyalty Index Score on profitability was further tested by path analysis to find out the significance direct relationship between loyalty and profitablity and the indirect relationship between the two variable through bucket. The result showed that loyalty has a significant effect on profitability either directly or indirectly. It was concluded that direct loyalty effect on profitability is lower than that of the indirect effect through bucket. The conclusion could be made by analyzing the available data from personal loan customers in one of the biggest multinational bank in indonesia during October 2010 until March 2011.

Sibling Competition & Growth Tradeoffs. Biological vs. Statistical Significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Karen L; Veile, Amanda; Otárola-Castillo, Erik

2016-01-01

Early childhood growth has many downstream effects on future health and reproduction and is an important measure of offspring quality. While a tradeoff between family size and child growth outcomes is theoretically predicted in high-fertility societies, empirical evidence is mixed. This is often attributed to phenotypic variation in parental condition. However, inconsistent study results may also arise because family size confounds the potentially differential effects that older and younger siblings can have on young children's growth. Additionally, inconsistent results might reflect that the biological significance associated with different growth trajectories is poorly understood. This paper addresses these concerns by tracking children's monthly gains in height and weight from weaning to age five in a high fertility Maya community. We predict that: 1) as an aggregate measure family size will not have a major impact on child growth during the post weaning period; 2) competition from young siblings will negatively impact child growth during the post weaning period; 3) however because of their economic value, older siblings will have a negligible effect on young children's growth. Accounting for parental condition, we use linear mixed models to evaluate the effects that family size, younger and older siblings have on children's growth. Congruent with our expectations, it is younger siblings who have the most detrimental effect on children's growth. While we find statistical evidence of a quantity/quality tradeoff effect, the biological significance of these results is negligible in early childhood. Our findings help to resolve why quantity/quality studies have had inconsistent results by showing that sibling competition varies with sibling age composition, not just family size, and that biological significance is distinct from statistical significance.

Sibling Competition & Growth Tradeoffs. Biological vs. Statistical Significance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen L Kramer

Full Text Available Early childhood growth has many downstream effects on future health and reproduction and is an important measure of offspring quality. While a tradeoff between family size and child growth outcomes is theoretically predicted in high-fertility societies, empirical evidence is mixed. This is often attributed to phenotypic variation in parental condition. However, inconsistent study results may also arise because family size confounds the potentially differential effects that older and younger siblings can have on young children's growth. Additionally, inconsistent results might reflect that the biological significance associated with different growth trajectories is poorly understood. This paper addresses these concerns by tracking children's monthly gains in height and weight from weaning to age five in a high fertility Maya community. We predict that: 1 as an aggregate measure family size will not have a major impact on child growth during the post weaning period; 2 competition from young siblings will negatively impact child growth during the post weaning period; 3 however because of their economic value, older siblings will have a negligible effect on young children's growth. Accounting for parental condition, we use linear mixed models to evaluate the effects that family size, younger and older siblings have on children's growth. Congruent with our expectations, it is younger siblings who have the most detrimental effect on children's growth. While we find statistical evidence of a quantity/quality tradeoff effect, the biological significance of these results is negligible in early childhood. Our findings help to resolve why quantity/quality studies have had inconsistent results by showing that sibling competition varies with sibling age composition, not just family size, and that biological significance is distinct from statistical significance.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of repeat fine-needle aspiration for thyroid biopsies read as atypia of undetermined significance.

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, Michael; Zanocco, Kyle; Zydowicz, Sara; Elaraj, Dina; Nayar, Ritu; Sturgeon, Cord

2012-09-01

The 2007 National Cancer Institute (NCI) conference on Thyroid Fine-Needle Aspiration (FNA) introduced the category atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) or follicular lesion of undetermined significance (FLUS). Repeat FNA in 3 to 6 months was recommended for low-risk patients. Compliance with these recommendations has been suboptimal. We hypothesized that repeat FNA would be more effective than diagnostic lobectomy, with decreased costs and improved rates of cancer detection. Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed in which we compared diagnostic lobectomy with repeat FNA. A Markov model was developed. Outcomes and probabilities were identified from literature review. Third-party payer costs were estimated in 2010 US dollars. Outcomes were weighted by use of the quality-of-life utility factors, yielding quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were used to examine the uncertainty of probability, cost, and utility estimates. The diagnostic lobectomy strategy cost $8,057 and produced 23.99 QALYs. Repeat FNA cost $2,462 and produced 24.05 QALYs. Repeat FNA was dominant until the cost of FNA increased to $6,091. Dominance of the repeat FNA strategy was not sensitive to the cost of operation or the complication rate. The NCI recommendations for repeat FNA regarding follow-up of AUS/FLUS results are cost-effective. Improving compliance with these guidelines should lead to less overall costs, greater quality of life, and fewer unnecessary operations. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of kinematic hardening rules on thermal ratchetting analysis of cylinders subjected to cyclically moving temperature distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohno, N.; Kobayashi, M.

1995-01-01

In the present work, thermal ratchetting in a cylinder subjected to a cyclically moving temperature front (i.e. liquid surface induced thermal ratchetting) was analyzed by implementing in a finite element method the four kinds of plasticity models with different kinematic hardening rules. The following findings were thus obtained concerning effects of the kinematic hardening rules on the analysis. (1) If transition nonlinear hardening after yielding is disregarded, the thermal ratchetting becomes significant, as seen in the results of the PP and LKH models. Especially the PP model, which does not express any strain hardening, predicts steady development of the thermal ratchetting. (2) If significant mechanical ratchetting is allowed in the modeling of kinematic hardening, the thermal ratchetting becomes marked, as seen in the results of the AF model. (3) Model dependence of the thermal ratchetting is more noticeable when the difference of temperature at the temperature front, ΔT, is smaller. (4) The OW model makes the thermal ratchetting stop at a smaller number of cycles when ΔT is smaller. On the other hand, the LKH and AF models allow that the thermal ratchetting to develop more constantly when ΔT is smaller. As seen from the above findings, the analysis of liquid surface induced thermal ratchetting has great dependence on the kinematic hardening rules employed. Especially the PP model, which has been used often to analyze the thermal ratchetting so far, gives too large development of the thermal ratchetting. Thus we may say that in order to improve the analysis it is necessary to use an appropriate kinematic hardening model which is capable of expressing appropriately both mechanical ratchetting and transient nonlinear hardening after yielding. (author)

Size of oxide vacancies in fluorite and perovskite structured oxides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chatzichristodoulou, Christodoulos; Norby, Poul; Hendriksen, Peter Vang

2015-01-01

An analysis of the effective radii of vacancies and the stoichiometric expansion coefficient is performed on metal oxides with fluorite and perovskite structures. Using the hard sphere model with Shannon ion radii we find that the effective radius of the oxide vacancy in fluorites increases...... with increasing ion radius of the host cation and that it is significantly smaller than the radius of the oxide ion in all cases, from 37% smaller for HfO2 to 13 % smaller for ThO2. The perovskite structured LaGaO3 doped with Sr or Mg or both is analyzed in some detail. The results show that the effective radius...... of an oxide vacancy in doped LaGaO3 is only about 6 % smaller than the oxide ion. In spite of this the stoichiometric expansion coefficient (a kind of chemical expansion coefficient) of the similar perovskite, LaCrO3, is significantly smaller than the stoichiometric expansion coefficient of the fluorite...

Sleep disturbance effects of traffic noise—A laboratory study on after effects

Science.gov (United States)

Öhrström, E.; Rylander, R.

1982-09-01

Body movements during sleep and subjective sleep quality, as well as mood and performance were investigated after exposure to intermittent and continuous traffic noise during the night. In a first experiment, six young subjects slept in the laboratory for five nights; in a second experiment 12 subjects slept six consecutive nights in the laboratory. A good dose-response relationship was obtained between intermittent noise and subjective sleep quality: i.e., the higher the noise level, the poorer the sleep quality. A similar dose-response relationship was found for body movements immediately following noise peaks during nights with intermittent noise. Performance and mood tended to be worse after intermittent noise. However, these effects did not increase with an increase in noise levels. Compared with intermittent noise, continuous noise had a significantly smaller effect on sleep quality. Mood and performance were not worse after continuous noise. The results suggest that increased attention should be paid to peak noise levels when standards for nocturnal noise are set.

Distributions of p-values smaller than .05 in psychology: what is going on?

Science.gov (United States)

van Aert, Robbie C.M.; Nuijten, Michèle B.; Wicherts, Jelte M.; van Assen, Marcel A.L.M.

2016-01-01

Previous studies provided mixed findings on pecularities in p-value distributions in psychology. This paper examined 258,050 test results across 30,710 articles from eight high impact journals to investigate the existence of a peculiar prevalence of p-values just below .05 (i.e., a bump) in the psychological literature, and a potential increase thereof over time. We indeed found evidence for a bump just below .05 in the distribution of exactly reported p-values in the journals Developmental Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, but the bump did not increase over the years and disappeared when using recalculated p-values. We found clear and direct evidence for the QRP “incorrect rounding of p-value” (John, Loewenstein & Prelec, 2012) in all psychology journals. Finally, we also investigated monotonic excess of p-values, an effect of certain QRPs that has been neglected in previous research, and developed two measures to detect this by modeling the distributions of statistically significant p-values. Using simulations and applying the two measures to the retrieved test results, we argue that, although one of the measures suggests the use of QRPs in psychology, it is difficult to draw general conclusions concerning QRPs based on modeling of p-value distributions. PMID:27077017

Effects of alginate hydrogel cross-linking density on mechanical and biological behaviors for tissue engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Jinah; Seol, Young-Joon; Kim, Hyeon Ji; Kundu, Joydip; Kim, Sung Won; Cho, Dong-Woo

2014-09-01

An effective cross-linking of alginate gel was made through reaction with calcium carbonate (CaCO3). We used human chondrocytes as a model cell to study the effects of cross-linking density. Three different pore size ranges of cross-linked alginate hydrogels were fabricated. The morphological, mechanical, and rheological properties of various alginate hydrogels were characterized and responses of biosynthesis of cells encapsulated in each gel to the variation in cross-linking density were investigated. Desired outer shape of structure was maintained when the alginate solution was cross-linked with the applied method. The properties of alginate hydrogel could be tailored through applying various concentrations of CaCO3. The rate of synthesized GAGs and collagens was significantly higher in human chondrocytes encapsulated in the smaller pore structure than that in the larger pore structure. The expression of chondrogenic markers, including collagen type II and aggrecan, was enhanced in the smaller pore structure. It was found that proper structural morphology is a critical factor to enhance the performance and tissue regeneration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Low Intensity Continuous Ultrasound (LICU on Mouse Pancreatic Tumor Explants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Despina Bazou

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the effects of low intensity continuous ultrasound (LICU on the inflammatory response of mouse pancreatic tumor explants. While there are many reports focusing on the application of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS on cell cultures and tissues, the effects of continuous oscillations on biological tissues have never been investigated. Here we present an exploratory study of the effects induced by LICU on mouse pancreatic tumor explants. We show that LICU causes significant upregulation of IFN-γ, IL-1β, and TNF-α on tumor explants. No detectable effects were observed on tumor vasculature or collagen I deposition, while thermal and mechanical effects were not apparent. Tumor explants responded as a single unit to acoustic waves, with spatial pressure variations smaller than their size.

Low-dose vaporized cannabis significantly improves neuropathic pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilsey, Barth; Marcotte, Thomas; Deutsch, Reena; Gouaux, Ben; Sakai, Staci; Donaghe, Haylee

2013-02-01

We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluating the analgesic efficacy of vaporized cannabis in subjects, the majority of whom were experiencing neuropathic pain despite traditional treatment. Thirty-nine patients with central and peripheral neuropathic pain underwent a standardized procedure for inhaling medium-dose (3.53%), low-dose (1.29%), or placebo cannabis with the primary outcome being visual analog scale pain intensity. Psychoactive side effects and neuropsychological performance were also evaluated. Mixed-effects regression models demonstrated an analgesic response to vaporized cannabis. There was no significant difference between the 2 active dose groups' results (P > .7). The number needed to treat (NNT) to achieve 30% pain reduction was 3.2 for placebo versus low-dose, 2.9 for placebo versus medium-dose, and 25 for medium- versus low-dose. As these NNTs are comparable to those of traditional neuropathic pain medications, cannabis has analgesic efficacy with the low dose being as effective a pain reliever as the medium dose. Psychoactive effects were minimal and well tolerated, and neuropsychological effects were of limited duration and readily reversible within 1 to 2 hours. Vaporized cannabis, even at low doses, may present an effective option for patients with treatment-resistant neuropathic pain. The analgesia obtained from a low dose of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (1.29%) in patients, most of whom were experiencing neuropathic pain despite conventional treatments, is a clinically significant outcome. In general, the effect sizes on cognitive testing were consistent with this minimal dose. As a result, one might not anticipate a significant impact on daily functioning. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Parent socialization effects in different cultures: significance of directive parenting.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorkhabi, Nadia

2012-06-01

In this article, the controversy of divergent findings in research on parental socialization effects in different cultures is addressed. Three explanations intended to address divergent findings of socialization effects in different cultures, as advanced by researchers who emphasize cultural differences, are discussed. These include cultural differences in socialization values and goals of parents, parental emotional and cognitive characteristics associated with parenting styles, and adolescents' interpretations or evaluations of their parents' parenting styles. The empirical evidence for and against each of these arguments is examined and an alternative paradigm for understanding and empirical study of developmental outcomes associated with parenting styles in different cultures is suggested. Baumrind's directive parenting style is presented as an alternative to the authoritarian parenting style in understanding the positive developmental effects associated with "strict" parenting in cultures said to have a collectivist orientation. Directions for research on the three explanations are mentioned.

Sleep improvement for restless legs syndrome patients. Part IV: meta-analysis comparison of effect sizes of vibratory stimulation sham pads and placebo pills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burbank F

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Fred Burbank Salt Creek International Women's Health Foundation, San Clemente, CA, USA Purpose: To determine whether sham pads used as controls in randomized clinical trials of vibratory stimulation to treat patients with sleep loss associated with restless legs syndrome perform differently than placebo pills used in comparable restless legs syndrome drug trials. Patients and methods: Sham pad effect sizes from 66 control patients in two randomized clinical trials of vibratory stimulation were compared with placebo responses from 1,024 control patients in 12 randomized clinical drug trials reporting subjective sleep measurement scales. Control patient responses were measured as the standardized difference in means corrected for correlation between beginning and ending scores and for small sample sizes. Results: For parallel randomized clinical trials, sham effects in vibratory stimulation trials were not significantly different from placebo effects in drug trials (0.37 and 0.31, respectively, Qbetween subgroups =0.25, PQ≥0.62. Placebo effect sizes were significantly smaller in crossover drug trials than sham effect sizes in parallel vibratory stimulation trials (0.07 versus 0.37, respectively, Qbetween subgroups =4.59, PQ≤0.03 and placebo effect sizes in parallel drug trials (0.07 versus 0.31, respectively, Qbetween subgroups =5.50, PQ≤0.02. Conclusion: For subjective sleep loss assessments in parallel trials, sham pads in vibratory stimulation trials performed similarly to placebo pills in drug trials. Trial design (parallel versus crossover had a large influence on control effect sizes. Placebo pills in crossover drug trials had significantly smaller effect sizes than sham pads in parallel vibratory stimulation trials or placebo pills in parallel drug trials. Keywords: sham effect, placebo effect, trial design, crossover study, parallel study, counterstimulation

Neuroprotective Effect of Hydroxytyrosol in Experimental Diabetic Retinopathy: Relationship with Cardiovascular Biomarkers.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Correa, José Antonio; Rodríguez-Pérez, María Dolores; Márquez-Estrada, Lucía; López-Villodres, Juan Antonio; Reyes, José Julio; Rodriguez-Gutierrez, Guillermo; Fernández-Bolaños, Juan; De La Cruz, José Pedro

2018-01-24

The aim of the study was to test the neuroprotective effect of hydroxytyrosol (HT) on experimental diabetic retinopathy. Animals were divided in four groups: (1) control nondiabetic rats, (2) streptozotocin-diabetic rats (DR), (3) DR treated with 1 mg/kg/day p.o. HT, and (4) DR treated with 5 mg/kg/day p.o. HT. Treatment with HT was started 7 days before inducing diabetes and was maintained for 2 months. In the DR group, total area occupied by extracellular matrix was increased, area occupied by retinal cells was decreased; both returned to near-control values in DR rats treated with HT. The number of retinal ganglion cells in DR was significantly lower (44%) than in the control group, and this decrease was smaller after HT treatment (34% and 9.1%). Linear regression analysis showed that prostacyclin, platelet aggregation, peroxynitrites, and the dose of 5 mg/kg/day HT significantly influenced retinal ganglion cell count. In conclusion, HT exerted a neuroprotective effect on diabetic retinopathy, and this effect correlated significantly with changes in some cardiovascular biomarkers.

Higher media multi-tasking activity is associated with smaller gray-matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex.

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Kep Kee Loh

Full Text Available Media multitasking, or the concurrent consumption of multiple media forms, is increasingly prevalent in today's society and has been associated with negative psychosocial and cognitive impacts. Individuals who engage in heavier media-multitasking are found to perform worse on cognitive control tasks and exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties. However, the neural processes associated with media multi-tasking remain unexplored. The present study investigated relationships between media multitasking activity and brain structure. Research has demonstrated that brain structure can be altered upon prolonged exposure to novel environments and experience. Thus, we expected differential engagements in media multitasking to correlate with brain structure variability. This was confirmed via Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM analyses: Individuals with higher Media Multitasking Index (MMI scores had smaller gray matter density in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC. Functional connectivity between this ACC region and the precuneus was negatively associated with MMI. Our findings suggest a possible structural correlate for the observed decreased cognitive control performance and socio-emotional regulation in heavy media-multitaskers. While the cross-sectional nature of our study does not allow us to specify the direction of causality, our results brought to light novel associations between individual media multitasking behaviors and ACC structure differences.

Effect of silicone gel breast prosthesis on electron and photon dose distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnan, L.; St George, F.J.; Mansfield, C.M.; Krishnan, E.C.

1983-01-01

The effect of a silicone gel breast prosthesis on the absorbed dose distribution of 9-20 MeV electron beams and 1.25-15 MV photon beams was studied. Compared to water measurements, at depths smaller than the practical range of the electron beams, the central axis depth dose values below the prosthesis were lower for all energies by as much as 3.5%. However, at depths near the practical range, the central axis depth dose values for the prosthesis were greater than that of water by as much as 33%. Since this occurs near the end of the electron range, the resultant difference may not be clinically significant. Results of the effect of breast prosthesis on photon depth dose distributions reveal that no clinically significant perturbation is produced by the breast prosthesis using Co-60, 6- and 15-MV radiations

Effect of silicone gel breast prosthesis on electron and photon dose distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnan, L.; St George, F.J.; Mansfield, C.M.; Krishnan, E.C.

1983-01-01

The effect of a silicone gel breast prosthesis on the absorbed dose distribution of 9--20 MeV electron beams and 1.25--15 MV photon beams was studied. Compared to water measurements, at depths smaller than the practical range of the electron beams, the central axis depth dose values below the prothesis were lower for all energies by as much as 3.5%. However, at depths near the practical range, the central axis depth dose values for the prosthesis were greater than that of water by as much as 33%. Since this occurs near the end of the electron range, the resultant difference may not be clinically significant. Results of the effect of breast prosthesis on photon depth dose distributions reveal that no clinically significant perturbation is produced by the breast prosthesis using Co-60, 6- and 15-MV radiations

Smaller plates, less food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pelle Guldborg; Schmidt, Karsten; Skov, Laurits Rhoden

With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailer...... the hypothesis that dishware size plays an important role in the amount of food wasted among Danish adults in a self-service eating setting. This finding has PHN implications: slight changes in the foodscape can contribute to sustainable food consumption goals.......With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers...... and producers. Northern European consumers are among the most environmentally concerned consumers, however, their concerns do not always translate in more sustainable food-related behaviours. Furthermore, food choices are not always rational and could be non-reflective. Hence, the objective of this pilot study...

Smaller plates, less food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pelle Guldborg; Schmidt, Karsten; Skov, Laurits Rhoden

With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers...... the hypothesis that dishware size plays an important role in the amount of food wasted among Danish adults in a self-service eating setting. This finding has PHN implications: slight changes in the foodscape can contribute to sustainable food consumption goals....

Smaller plates, less food waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Pelle Guldborg; Schmidt, Karsten; Skov, Laurits Rhoden

and producers. Northern European consumers are among the most environmentally concerned consumers, however, their concerns do not always translate in more sustainable food-related behaviours. Furthermore, food choices are not always rational and could be non-reflective. Hence, the objective of this pilot study......With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers...... was to investigate whether the size of the dishware would non-reflectively influence the amount of foods taken from an “ad-libitum” buffet and the resulting amount of waste. Sample consisted of Danish business leaders that took part in a congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Two buffet tables were set up on two separate...

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and cognitive function: are smaller dosages more beneficial?

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Abubakari AR

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Abdul-Razak Abubakari,1 Mohammad-Mahdi Naderali,2 Ebrahim K Naderali3 1School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, London, UK; 2Blue Coat School, Liverpool, UK; 3School of Health Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, Hope Park Campus, Liverpool, UK Abstract: As longevity increases, so does the global prevalence of cognitive dysfunction. Numerous lifestyle and/or dietary interventions such as omega-3 fatty acids have been suggested to improve memory. Therefore, this study examined the consistency and strength of the impact of supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids on overall cognitive function using systematic reviews and meta-analytic methods. Of 905 studies retrieved from all searches, 12 randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. There were differences between studies reporting outcomes for single memory function parameters. Subgroup analysis of doses used (low versus high indicated that subjects receiving low (<1.73 g/day doses of omega-3 fatty acids had a significant reduction in cognitive decline rate (-0.07, 95% confidence interval -0.01, -0.02 but there was no evidence for beneficial effects at higher doses (+0.04, 95% confidence interval -0.06, +0.14 compared with the placebo group. This study suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial in preventing memory decline at lower doses. Keywords: cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, dietary fatty acids, omega-3, docosahexaenoic acid

Quasiparticle self-consistent GW theory of III-V nitride semiconductors: Bands, gap bowing, and effective masses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svane, Axel; Christensen, Niels Egede; Gorczyca, I.

2010-01-01

on the basis of the local approximation to density functional theory, although generally overestimated by 0.2–0.3 eV in comparison with experimental gap values. Details of the electronic energies and the effective masses including their pressure dependence are compared with available experimental information....... The band gap of InGaN2 is considerably smaller than what would be expected by linear interpolation implying a significant band gap bowing in InGaN alloys....

Collisional effects in the ion Weibel instability for two counter-propagating plasma streams

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Ryutov, D. D.; Fiuza, F.; Huntington, C. M.; Ross, J. S.; Park, H.-S. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2014-03-15

Experiments directed towards the study of the collisionless interaction between two counter-streaming plasma flows generated by high-power lasers are designed in such a way as to make collisions between the ions of the two flows negligibly rare. This is reached by making flow velocities v as high as possible and thereby exploiting the 1/v{sup 4} dependence of the Rutherford cross-section. At the same time, the plasma temperature of each flow may be relatively low so that collisional mean-free paths for the intra-stream particle collisions may be much smaller than the characteristic spatial scale of the unstable modes required for the shock formation. The corresponding effects are studied in this paper for the case of the ion Weibel (filamentation) instability. Dispersion relations for the case of strong intra-stream collisions are derived. It is shown that the growth-rates become significantly smaller than those stemming from a collisionless model. The underlying physics is mostly related to the increase of the electron stabilizing term. Additional effects are an increased “stiffness” of the collisional ion gas and the ion viscous dissipation. A parameter domain where collisions are important is identified.

The moving minimum audible angle is smaller during self motion than during source motion.

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W. Owen eBrimijoin

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We are rarely perfectly still: our heads rotate in three axes and move in three dimensions, constantly varying the spectral and binaural cues at the ear drums. In spite of this motion, static sound sources in the world are typically perceived as stable objects. This argues that the auditory system – in a manner not unlike the vestibulo-ocular reflex – works to compensate for self motion and stabilize our sensory representation of the world. We tested a prediction arising from this postulate: that self motion should be processed more accurately than source motion.We used an infrared motion tracking system to measure head angle, and real-time interpolation of head related impulse responses to create head-stabilized signals that appeared to remain fixed in space as the head turned. After being presented with pairs of simultaneous signals consisting of a man and a woman speaking a snippet of speech, normal and hearing impaired listeners were asked to report whether the female voice was to the left or the right of the male voice. In this way we measured the moving minimum audible angle (MMAA. This measurement was made while listeners were asked to turn their heads back and forth between ± 15° and the signals were stabilized in space. After this self-motion condition we measured MMAA in a second source-motion condition when listeners remained still and the virtual locations of the signals were moved using the trajectories from the first condition.For both normal and hearing impaired listeners, we found that the MMAA for signals moving relative to the head was ~1-2° smaller when the movement was the result of self motion than when it was the result of source motion, even though the motion with respect to the head was identical. These results as well as the results of past experiments suggest that spatial processing involves an ongoing and highly accurate comparison of spatial acoustic cues with self-motion cues.

Significance tests to determine the direction of effects in linear regression models.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiedermann, Wolfgang; Hagmann, Michael; von Eye, Alexander

2015-02-01

Previous studies have discussed asymmetric interpretations of the Pearson correlation coefficient and have shown that higher moments can be used to decide on the direction of dependence in the bivariate linear regression setting. The current study extends this approach by illustrating that the third moment of regression residuals may also be used to derive conclusions concerning the direction of effects. Assuming non-normally distributed variables, it is shown that the distribution of residuals of the correctly specified regression model (e.g., Y is regressed on X) is more symmetric than the distribution of residuals of the competing model (i.e., X is regressed on Y). Based on this result, 4 one-sample tests are discussed which can be used to decide which variable is more likely to be the response and which one is more likely to be the explanatory variable. A fifth significance test is proposed based on the differences of skewness estimates, which leads to a more direct test of a hypothesis that is compatible with direction of dependence. A Monte Carlo simulation study was performed to examine the behaviour of the procedures under various degrees of associations, sample sizes, and distributional properties of the underlying population. An empirical example is given which illustrates the application of the tests in practice. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

The effect of highly variable topography on the spatial distribution of Aniba perutilis (Lauraceae in the Colombian Andes

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José C. Fagua

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Topography is a factor that can significantly affect the diversity and the distribution of trees species in tropical forests. Aniba perutilis, a timber species listed as vulnerable to extinction, is widely distributed in Andean forest fragments, especially in those with highly variable topography. Based on field surveys and logistic regression analyses, we studied the population structure and the effect of highly variable topography on the spatial distribution of this tree in three protected forest fragments in the central Andes of Colombia. Individuals of A. perutilis were mainly found on mountain ridges and hills with gentle slopes; no individuals were found in valleys. Using a species distribution model with presence/absence data, we showed that the available habitat for A. perutilis is significantly smaller than the extension of the fragments and much smaller than the extension of the currently protected areas. Our results have important implications for the conservation of A. perutilis and likely for other threatened Andean tree species, which can also have locally restricted distributions due to highly variable local topography.

Links of the significant wave height distribution in the Mediterranean sea with the Northern Hemisphere teleconnection patterns

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P. Lionello

2008-06-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes the link between the SWH (Significant Wave Height distribution in the Mediterranean Sea during the second half of the 20th century and the Northern Hemisphere SLP (Sea Level Pressure teleconnection patterns.

The SWH distribution is computed using the WAM (WAve Model forced by the surface wind fields provided by the ERA-40 reanalysis for the period 1958–2001. The time series of mid-latitude teleconnection patterns are downloaded from the NOAA web site. This study shows that several mid-latitude patterns are linked to the SWH field in the Mediterranean, especially in its western part during the cold season: East Atlantic Pattern (EA, Scandinavian Pattern (SCA, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO, East Atlantic/West Russia Pattern (EA/WR and East Pacific/ North Pacific Pattern (EP/NP. Though the East Atlantic pattern exerts the largest influence, it is not sufficient to characterize the dominant variability. NAO, though relevant, has an effect smaller than EA and comparable to other patterns. Some link results from possibly spurious structures. Patterns which have a very different global structure are associated to similar spatial features of the wave variability in the Mediterranean Sea. These two problems are, admittedly, shortcomings of this analysis, which shows the complexity of the response of the Mediterranean SWH to global scale SLP teleconnection patterns.

Berry Shriveling Significantly Alters Shiraz (Vitis vinifera L.) Grape and Wine Chemical Composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Šuklje, Katja; Zhang, Xinyi; Antalick, Guillaume; Clark, Andrew C; Deloire, Alain; Schmidtke, Leigh M

2016-02-03

Berry shriveling is an often reported occurrence in the Shiraz (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivar. This study investigated the effect of berry shriveling occurring in a high yielding (18.6 ± 1.6 kg/vine) Shiraz vineyard in relation to a temporal investigation of grape and wine composition using three harvest dates. Berry shriveling resulted in delayed total soluble solids and amino acid accumulation into the berry, however differences between treatments diminished or became smaller by the third harvest date. Similarly, ethyl esters of fatty acids and higher alcohol acetates were lower in wines from shriveled berries from the first two harvests; anthocyanins were reduced in wines from shriveled berries at all harvest dates, whereas terpenes were unaltered. Wines made from shriveled berries had higher γ-nonalactone and β-damascenone concentrations. This study provides novel information on the chemical alterations of grapes and wines made from grapes affected by shriveling.

Nonlocal modification and quantum optical generalization of effective-medium theory for metamaterials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wubs, Martijn; Yan, Wei; Amooghorban, Ehsan

2013-01-01

A well-known challenge for fabricating metamaterials is to make unit cells significantly smaller than the operating wavelength of light, so one can be sure that effective-medium theories apply. But do they apply? Here we show that nonlocal response in the metal constituents of the metamaterial...... leads to modified effective parameters for strongly subwavelength unit cells. For infinite hyperbolic metamaterials, nonlocal response gives a very large finite upper bound to the optical density of states that otherwise would diverge. Moreover, for finite hyperbolic metamaterials we show that nonlocal...... response affects their operation as superlenses, and interestingly that sometimes nonlocal theory predicts the better imaging. Finally, we discuss how to describe metamaterials effectively in quantum optics. Media with loss or gain have associated quantum noise, and the question is whether the effective...

Late-night overeating is associated with smaller breakfast, breakfast skipping, and obesity in children: The Healthy Growth Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Karatzi, Kalliopi; Moschonis, George; Choupi, Eurikleia; Manios, Yannis

2017-01-01

Excessive energy intake during evening hours is associated with several health problems. The aim of this study was to investigate for the first time the possible association of late-night overeating with breakfast habits and obesity in a large sample of Greek children ages 9 to 13 y. In all, 2655 schoolchildren (9-13 y) participated in the Healthy Growth Study, a cross-sectional epidemiologic study conducted in 77 primary schools in four large regions in Greece. The present study presents results on 1912 children having full data regarding anthropometric, dietary, physical activity, and physical examination indices. High-energy intake at dinner and evening snack was associated with higher likelihood of skipping breakfast (odds ratio, 1.85; 95% confidence interval 1.42-2.39) and with lower caloric intake at breakfast (β = 0.14; P overeating is associated with skipping and/or consuming a smaller breakfast. In children with low levels of physical activity, it is associated with increased body mass index. Future relevant studies are essential to further explore and confirm the findings of the present study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tumor Volume Estimation and Quasi-Continuous Administration for Most Effective Bevacizumab Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sápi, Johanna; Kovács, Levente; Drexler, Dániel András; Kocsis, Pál; Gajári, Dávid; Sápi, Zoltán

2015-01-01

Bevacizumab is an exogenous inhibitor which inhibits the biological activity of human VEGF. Several studies have investigated the effectiveness of bevacizumab therapy according to different cancer types but these days there is an intense debate on its utility. We have investigated different methods to find the best tumor volume estimation since it creates the possibility for precise and effective drug administration with a much lower dose than in the protocol. We have examined C38 mouse colon adenocarcinoma and HT-29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma. In both cases, three groups were compared in the experiments. The first group did not receive therapy, the second group received one 200 μg bevacizumab dose for a treatment period (protocol-based therapy), and the third group received 1.1 μg bevacizumab every day (quasi-continuous therapy). Tumor volume measurement was performed by digital caliper and small animal MRI. The mathematical relationship between MRI-measured tumor volume and mass was investigated to estimate accurate tumor volume using caliper-measured data. A two-dimensional mathematical model was applied for tumor volume evaluation, and tumor- and therapy-specific constants were calculated for the three different groups. The effectiveness of bevacizumab administration was examined by statistical analysis. In the case of C38 adenocarcinoma, protocol-based treatment did not result in significantly smaller tumor volume compared to the no treatment group; however, there was a significant difference between untreated mice and mice who received quasi-continuous therapy (p = 0.002). In the case of HT-29 adenocarcinoma, the daily treatment with one-twelfth total dose resulted in significantly smaller tumors than the protocol-based treatment (p = 0.038). When the tumor has a symmetrical, solid closed shape (typically without treatment), volume can be evaluated accurately from caliper-measured data with the applied two-dimensional mathematical model. Our results

Effects of bovine pregnancy on the fatty acid composition of milk: the significance for humans needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Barreiro, R; Regal, P; Díaz-Bao, M; Vázquez, B I; Cepeda, A

2017-04-01

Milk from 40 Holstein dairy cows was collected from two different farms in Galicia (Spain). The differences in the fatty acid composition of two groups of cows, 20 pregnant and 20 non-pregnant, was studied to determine whether pregnancy status is a determinant factor that can alter the fatty acid profile of milk. Gas-chromatography (GC) coupled to flame ionisation detection (FID) was used for the determination of the fatty acids. Differences in the milk fatty acids between pregnant and non-pregnant cows were pronounced showing statistically significant differences for some fatty acids and the total saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Milk from non-pregnant cows was lower in saturated fatty acids and higher in monounsaturated fatty acids (unlike milk from pregnant cows). The effects of the consumption of bovine milk, particularly milk fat, on human health have been studied in depth and sometimes are associated with negative effects, but milk has also several beneficial characteristics linked to some fatty acids.

Nonthermal and screening effects on photoionizations in Lorentzian plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Dong-Soo; Jung, Young-Dae

2009-01-01

The nonthermal and plasma screening effects on the x-ray photoionization process are investigated in astrophysical Lorentzian plasmas. The screened atomic wave function and energy eigenvalue of the target ion in Lorentzian plasmas are obtained by the Rayleigh-Ritz variational method. The x-ray retardation and screened Coulomb corrections are considered to obtain a photoionization cross section as a function of the spectral index and plasma parameters. It is shown that the nonthermal character of the Lorentzian plasma suppresses the photoionization cross section. Hence, the photoionization cross sections in nonthermal plasmas are found to be always smaller than those in thermal plasmas. It is also shown that the plasma screening effect is more significant for small spectral indices. In addition, the nonthermal effect on the photoionization cross section is found to be decreased with an increase in the Debye length.

[Effects of long-term isolation and anticipation of significant event on sleep: results of the project "Mars-520"].

Science.gov (United States)

Zavalko, I M; Rasskazova, E I; Gordeev, S A; Palatov, S Iu; Kovrov, G V

2013-01-01

The purpose of the research was to study effect of long-term isolation on night sleep. The data were collected during international ground simulation of an interplanetary manned flight--"Mars-500". The polysomnographic recordings of six healthy men were performed before, four times during and after 520-days confinement. During the isolation sleep efficiency and delta-latency decreased, while sleep latency increased. Post-hoc analysis demonstrate significant differences between background and the last (1.5 months before the end of the experiment) measure during isolation. Frequency of nights with low sleep efficiency rose on the eve of the important for the crew events (simulation of Mars landing and the end of the confinement). Two weeks after the landing simulation, amount of the nights with a low sleep efficiency significantly decreased. Therefore, anticipation of significant event under condition of long-term isolation might result in sleep worsening in previously healthy men, predominantly difficulties getting to sleep.

A novel STAT inhibitor, OPB-31121, has a significant antitumor effect on leukemia with STAT-addictive oncokinases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayakawa, F; Sugimoto, K; Harada, Y; Hashimoto, N; Ohi, N; Kurahashi, S; Naoe, T

2013-01-01

Signal transduction and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins are extracellular ligand-responsive transcription factors that mediate cell proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, development and the immune response. Aberrant signals of STAT induce uncontrolled cell proliferation and apoptosis resistance and are strongly involved in cancer. STAT has been identified as a promising target for antitumor drugs, but to date most trials have not been successful. Here, we demonstrated that a novel STAT inhibitor, OPB-31121, strongly inhibited STAT3 and STAT5 phosphorylation without upstream kinase inhibition, and induced significant growth inhibition in various hematopoietic malignant cells. Investigation of various cell lines suggested that OPB-31121 is particularly effective against multiple myeloma, Burkitt lymphoma and leukemia harboring BCR–ABL, FLT3/ITD and JAK2 V617F, oncokinases with their oncogenicities dependent on STAT3/5. Using an immunodeficient mouse transplantation system, we showed the significant antitumor effect of OPB-31121 against primary human leukemia cells harboring these aberrant kinases and its safety for normal human cord blood cells. Finally, we demonstrated a model to overcome drug resistance to upstream kinase inhibitors with a STAT inhibitor. These results suggested that OPB-31121 is a promising antitumor drug. Phase I trials have been performed in Korea and Hong Kong, and a phase I/II trial is underway in Japan

What if there were no significance tests?

CERN Document Server

Harlow, Lisa L; Steiger, James H

2013-01-01

This book is the result of a spirited debate stimulated by a recent meeting of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology. Although the viewpoints span a range of perspectives, the overriding theme that emerges states that significance testing may still be useful if supplemented with some or all of the following -- Bayesian logic, caution, confidence intervals, effect sizes and power, other goodness of approximation measures, replication and meta-analysis, sound reasoning, and theory appraisal and corroboration. The book is organized into five general areas. The first presents an overview of significance testing issues that sythesizes the highlights of the remainder of the book. The next discusses the debate in which significance testing should be rejected or retained. The third outlines various methods that may supplement current significance testing procedures. The fourth discusses Bayesian approaches and methods and the use of confidence intervals versus significance tests. The last presents the p...

Effects of trace element concentration on enzyme controlled stable isotope fractionation during aerobic biodegradation of toluene.

Science.gov (United States)

Mancini, Silvia A; Hirschorn, Sarah K; Elsner, Martin; Lacrampe-Couloume, Georges; Sleep, Brent E; Edwards, Elizabeth A; Lollar, Barbara Sherwood

2006-12-15

The effects of iron concentration on carbon and hydrogen isotopic fractionation during aerobic biodegradation of toluene by Pseudomonas putida mt-2 were investigated using a low iron medium and two different high iron media. Mean carbon enrichment factors (epsilonc) determined using a Rayleigh isotopic model were smaller in culture grown under high iron conditions (epsilonc = -1.7+/-0.1%) compared to low iron conditions (epsilonc = -2.5+/-0.3%). Mean hydrogen enrichment factors (epsilonH) were also significantly smaller for culture grown under high iron conditions (epsilonH = -77 +/-4%) versus low iron conditions (EpsilonH = -159+/-11%). A mechanistic model for enzyme kinetics was used to relate differences in the magnitude of isotopic fractionation for low iron versus high iron cultures to the efficiency of the enzymatic transformation. The increase of carbon and hydrogen enrichment factors at low iron concentrations suggests a slower enzyme-catalyzed substrate conversion step (k2) relative to the enzyme-substrate binding step (k-l) at low iron concentration. While the observed differences were subtle and, hence, do not significantly impact the ability to use stable isotope analysis in the field, these results demonstrated that resolvable differences in carbon and hydrogen isotopic fractionation were related to low and high iron conditions. This novel result highlights the need to further investigate the effects of other trace elements known to be key components of biodegradative enzymes.

FY 2011 4th Quarter Metric: Estimate of Future Aerosol Direct and Indirect Effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koch, D

2011-09-21

The global and annual mean aerosol direct and indirect effects, relative to 1850 conditions, estimated from CESM simulations are 0.02 W m-2 and -0.39 W m-2, respectively, for emissions in year 2100 under the IPCC RCP8.5 scenario. The indirect effect is much smaller than that for 2000 emissions because of much smaller SO2 emissions in 2100; the direct effects are small due to compensation between warming by black carbon and cooling by sulfate.

Effects of non-steady irradiation conditions on fusion materials performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, H.; Fukumoto, K.; Nagumo, T.; Nita, N.

2001-01-01

During startup of fusion reactors, materials are exposed to neutron irradiation under non-steady temperature condition. Since the temperature of irradiation has decisive effects on the microstructural evolution, the non-steady temperature will have important consequences in the performance of fusion reactor materials. In the present study, a series of vanadium based alloys have been irradiated with neutrons in a temperature cycling condition. It has been found from this study that cavity number density is much greater in temperature cycled specimens than in steady temperature irradiation. Keeping the upper temperature constant, cavity number density is greater for smaller difference between the upper and the lower temperature. It follows that relatively small temperature excursions may have rather significant effects on the fusion material performance in service. (author)

A comparative economic assessment of hydrogen production from large central versus smaller distributed plant in a carbon constrained world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Y.V.; Ngo, Y.A.; Tinkler, M.J.; Cowan, N.

2003-01-01

This paper compares the economics of producing hydrogen at large central plants versus smaller distributed plants at user sites. The economics of two types of central plant, each at 100 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen, based on electrolysis and natural gas steam reforming technologies, will be discussed. The additional cost of controlling CO 2 emissions from the natural gas steam reforming plant will be included in the analysis in order to satisfy the need to live in a future carbon constrained world. The cost of delivery of hydrogen from the large central plant to the user sites in a large metropolitan area will be highlighted, and the delivered cost will be compared to the cost from on-site distributed generation plants. Five types of distributed generation plants, based on proton exchange membrane, alkaline electrolysis and advanced steam reforming, will be analysed and discussed. Two criteria were used to rank various hydrogen production options, the cost of production and the price of hydrogen to achieve an acceptable return of investment. (author)

Evaluation of significantly modified water bodies in Vojvodina by using multivariate statistical techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vujović Svetlana R.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper illustrates the utility of multivariate statistical techniques for analysis and interpretation of water quality data sets and identification of pollution sources/factors with a view to get better information about the water quality and design of monitoring network for effective management of water resources. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as factor analysis (FA/principal component analysis (PCA and cluster analysis (CA, were applied for the evaluation of variations and for the interpretation of a water quality data set of the natural water bodies obtained during 2010 year of monitoring of 13 parameters at 33 different sites. FA/PCA attempts to explain the correlations between the observations in terms of the underlying factors, which are not directly observable. Factor analysis is applied to physico-chemical parameters of natural water bodies with the aim classification and data summation as well as segmentation of heterogeneous data sets into smaller homogeneous subsets. Factor loadings were categorized as strong and moderate corresponding to the absolute loading values of >0.75, 0.75-0.50, respectively. Four principal factors were obtained with Eigenvalues >1 summing more than 78 % of the total variance in the water data sets, which is adequate to give good prior information regarding data structure. Each factor that is significantly related to specific variables represents a different dimension of water quality. The first factor F1 accounting for 28 % of the total variance and represents the hydrochemical dimension of water quality. The second factor F2 accounting for 18% of the total variance and may be taken factor of water eutrophication. The third factor F3 accounting 17 % of the total variance and represents the influence of point sources of pollution on water quality. The fourth factor F4 accounting 13 % of the total variance and may be taken as an ecological dimension of water quality. Cluster analysis (CA is an

The effect of inhaling concentrated oxygen on performance during repeated anaerobic exercise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Heller

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of the pilot study was to test the effect of inhaling 99.5% oxygen on recovery. The source of concentrated oxygen was O-PUR (Oxyfit. Research subjects completed two thirty-second Wingate tests at an interval of ten minutes, and in the interval between the tests the subjects inhaled either oxygen or a placebo in random order. This procedure was then repeated. The pilot study revealed a significantly (p<0.03 smaller performance drop in the second Wingate test following the inhalation of 99.5% oxygen when compared with the placebo. The results of the study indicate that inhaling concentrated oxygen may have a positive effect on short-term recovery processes.

Effects of gamma irradiation on the physical and structural properties of β-glucan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byun, Eui-Hong; Kim, Jae-Hun; Sung, Nak-Yun; Choi, Jong-il; Lim, Seong-Taek; Kim, Kwang-Hoon; Yook, Hong-Sun; Byun, Myung-Woo; Lee, Ju-Woon

2008-01-01

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on the physical and structural properties of β-glucan. β-Glucan solution (10%, w/v) was exposed to a cobalt-60 source (10, 30, and 50 kGy). Gel permeation chromatography data showed that the average molecular weight of irradiated β-glucan significantly decreased as the irradiation dose increased. In addition, gamma irradiation improved the solubility and decreased the viscosity of β-glucan by the radiolysis of the glycosidic bonds, and this effect was dependent upon the absorbed dose. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed that the functional groups of β-glucan were not significantly affected by gamma irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the irradiated β-glucan was deformed into smaller granules. Therefore, gamma irradiation could be used in commercial processes as an effective method to resolve the physical problems involved in the use of β-glucan with high viscosity and low solubility

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy for lower pole calculi smaller than one centimeter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Chaussy

2008-01-01

When complete stone-free status is the primary goal , follow-up examinations with new radiological technologies like spiral CT show that the stone-free rate of ESWL and endoscopically treated patients (RIRS does not differ significantly. However, in comparison to endoscopic stone removal, shockwave therapy is noninvasive, anesthesia-free and can be performed in an outpatient setup. Therefore, ESWL remains the first choice option for the treatment of lower caliceal stones up to 1 cm. The patient will definitely favour this procedure.

Effects of marijuana use on prefrontal and parietal volumes and cognition in emerging adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Jenessa S; McQueeny, Tim; Shollenbarger, Skyler; Browning, Erin L; Wieser, Jon; Lisdahl, Krista M

2015-08-01

Chronic marijuana (MJ) use among adolescents has been associated with structural and functional abnormalities, particularly in developing regions responsible for higher order cognition. This study investigated prefrontal (PFC) and parietal volumes and executive function in emerging adult MJ users and explored potential gender differences. Participants (ages 18-25) were 27 MJ users and 32 controls without neurologic or psychiatric disorders or heavy other drug use. A series of multiple regressions examined whether group status, past year MJ use, and their interactions with gender predicted ROI volumes. Post hoc analyses consisted of brain-behavior correlations between volumes and cognitive variables and Fisher's z tests to assess group differences. MJ users demonstrated significantly smaller medial orbitofrontal (mOFC; p = 0.004, FDR p = 0.024) and inferior parietal volumes (p = 0.04, FDR p = 0.12); follow-up regressions found that increased past year MJ use did not significantly dose-dependently predict smaller mOFC volume in a sub-sample of individuals with at least one past year MJ use. There were no significant gender interactions. There was a significant brain-behavior difference by group, such that smaller mOFC volumes were associated with poorer complex attention for MJ users (p < 0.05). Smaller mOFC volumes among MJ users suggest disruption of typical neurodevelopmental processes associated with regular MJ use for both genders. These results highlight the need for longitudinal, multi-modal imaging studies providing clearer information on timing of neurodevelopmental processes and neurocognitive impacts of youth MJ initiation.

Effect of low frequency transcutaneous magnetic stimulation on sensory and motor transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Albert; Shukla, Shivshil; Lee, Jacquelyn; Metzger-Smith, Valerie; He, Yifan; Chen, Jeffrey; Golshan, Shahrokh

2015-09-01

Peripheral nerve injury diminishes fast conducting large myelinated afferent fibers transmission but enhances smaller pain transmitting fibers firing. This aberrant afferent neuronal behavior contributes to development of chronic post-traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain (PTP-NP). Non-invasive dynamic magnetic flux stimulation has been implicated in treating PTP-NP, a condition currently not adequately addressed by other therapies including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). The current study assessed the effect of low frequency transcutaneous magnetic stimulation (LFTMS) on peripheral sensory thresholds, nerve conduction properties, and TENS induced fast afferent slowing effect as measured by motor and sensory conduction studies in the ulnar nerve. Results indicated sham LFTMS with TENS (Sham + TENS) significantly (P = 0.02 and 0.007, respectively) reduces sensory conduction velocity (CV) and increases sensory onset latency (OL), and motor peak latency (PL) whereas, real LFTMS with TENS (Real + TENS) reverses effects of TENS on sensory CV and OL, and significantly (P = 0.036) increases the sensory PL. LFTMS alone significantly (P sensory PL and onset-to-peak latency. LFTMS appears to reverse TENS slowing effect on fast conducting fibers and casts a selective peripheral modulatory effect on slow conducting pain afferent fibers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The cumulative effect of small dietary changes may significantly improve nutritional intakes in free-living children and adults

OpenAIRE

Bornet , Francis; Paineau , Damien; Beaufils , François; Boulier , Alain; Cassuto , Dominique-Adèle; Chwalow , Judith; Combris , Pierre; Couet , Charles; Jouret , Béatrice; Lafay , Lionel; Laville , Martine; Mahé , Sylvain; Ricour , Claude; Romon , Monique; Simon , Chantal

2010-01-01

Abstract Background/Objectives: The ELPAS study was an 8-month randomized controlled dietary modification trial designed to test the hypothesis that family dietary coaching would improve nutritional intakes and weight control in 2026 free-living children and parents (Paineau et al., 2008). It resulted in significant nutritional changes, with beneficial effects on body mass index in adults. In these ancillary analyses, we investigated dietary changes throughout the intervention. ...

Effect of particle size on thermal decomposition of alkali metal picrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Rui; Zhang, Tonglai; Yang, Li; Zhou, Zunning

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: The smaller-sized picrate has greater gas emission than do its larger counterpart. The small size effect reduces the thermal decomposition activation energy, accelerates the reaction rate, and promotes the reaction activity. - Highlights: • Picrates were prepared into three micron sizes by microemulsion synthesis. • Thermal decomposition kinetics and thermodynamics were studied by DPTA and DSC. • Smaller-sized picrate has higher activity and faster reaction rate. • Particle size effect on thermal decomposition kinetics and thermodynamics was revealed. - Abstract: Three alkali metal picrates, KPA, RbPA and CsPA, were prepared into three micron sizes by microemulsion synthesis, and their thermal decomposition behaviors were investigated by DPTA at different temperatures and by DSC at different heating rates. The smaller-sized picrate has greater gas emission and smaller kinetic and thermodynamic parameters than do its larger counterpart. It can be attributed to the decreasing particle size which leads to the high surface energy, the fast mass and heat transfer, and the increasing active sites on the reaction interface. The small size effect and surface effect cause the autocatalysis which reduces the activation energy and promotes the reaction activity. The particle size does not affect the reaction mechanism. However, the picrates with different central alkali metals exhibit different reaction mechanisms even though they are of the same size. This is because the central metal determines the bond energy and consequently affects the stability of picrate

Effect of particle size on thermal decomposition of alkali metal picrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Rui; Zhang, Tonglai, E-mail: ztlbit@bit.edu.cn; Yang, Li; Zhou, Zunning

2014-05-01

Graphical abstract: The smaller-sized picrate has greater gas emission than do its larger counterpart. The small size effect reduces the thermal decomposition activation energy, accelerates the reaction rate, and promotes the reaction activity. - Highlights: • Picrates were prepared into three micron sizes by microemulsion synthesis. • Thermal decomposition kinetics and thermodynamics were studied by DPTA and DSC. • Smaller-sized picrate has higher activity and faster reaction rate. • Particle size effect on thermal decomposition kinetics and thermodynamics was revealed. - Abstract: Three alkali metal picrates, KPA, RbPA and CsPA, were prepared into three micron sizes by microemulsion synthesis, and their thermal decomposition behaviors were investigated by DPTA at different temperatures and by DSC at different heating rates. The smaller-sized picrate has greater gas emission and smaller kinetic and thermodynamic parameters than do its larger counterpart. It can be attributed to the decreasing particle size which leads to the high surface energy, the fast mass and heat transfer, and the increasing active sites on the reaction interface. The small size effect and surface effect cause the autocatalysis which reduces the activation energy and promotes the reaction activity. The particle size does not affect the reaction mechanism. However, the picrates with different central alkali metals exhibit different reaction mechanisms even though they are of the same size. This is because the central metal determines the bond energy and consequently affects the stability of picrate.

Prognostic significance of IgG4+ plasma cell infiltrates following neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Yakirevich, Evgeny; Lu, Shaolei; Allen, Danisha; Mangray, Shamlal; Fanion, Jacqueline R; Lombardo, Kara A; Safran, Howard; Resnick, Murray B

2017-08-01

Lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) tissue following chemoradiotherapy (CRT) reflect alterations in the tumor immunoenvironment. The presence and role of plasma cells in this process are poorly understood. Our aim was to characterize the IgG4+ plasma cell population in EAC following CRT. Seventy-one esophagectomy specimens post-CRT were compared with a surgery-only group of 31 EACs. The distribution, density, and ratio of IgG4+ and IgG+ plasma cells were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinicopathologic features, treatment response, and survival. In the CRT group, the presence of higher numbers of IgG4+ (≥ median of 94/high-power field) and IgG+ (≥ median of 225/high-power field) plasma cells and increased IgG4+/IgG+ ratio (≥ median of 41%) within ulcers was associated with complete or near-complete treatment response (P = .0077, P = .0503, and P = .0063, respectively). Lower tumor grade, smaller tumor size, and higher levels of IgG4+ plasma cells in posttherapy ulcers significantly correlated with better overall survival, whereas pretherapy clinical stage, posttherapy pathologic stage, smaller tumor size, and lower tumor grade were associated with longer recurrence-free survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that both posttherapy pathologic stage and high IgG4+ plasma cells in ulcers were independent predictors of overall survival (P = .05 and P = .01), whereas only posttherapy pathologic stage was associated with recurrence-free survival (P IgG4+ plasma cell infiltrate in EAC following CRT. The presence of increased IgG4+ plasma cells may be a novel reliable factor to predict prognosis of EAC patients following CRT. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of passive smoking on health of children

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferris, G.B. Jr.; Ware, J.H.; Berkey, C.S.; Dockery, D.W.; Spiro, A. III; Speizer, F.E.

1985-10-01

Analysis of data on the effects of passive smoking obtained in preadolescent children from the Harvard Six-Cities Study demonstrates an exposure-response relationship between the number of smokers in the household and the reporting rates for doctor-diagnosed respiratory illness before age 2, history of bronchitis, wheeze most days and nights apart from colds, and a composite of symptoms defined as the lower respiratory index. Similarly, when only the amount currently smoked by the mother was used, the data indicated a relatively uniform increase in each of the reported diseases and symptoms. FEV/sub 1/ was lower in children with smoking mothers compared to children of nonsmoking mothers. Rate of increases in FEV/sub 1/ after adjusting for normal growth was significantly smaller in children of smoking mothers and was related also to amount smoked. Although children of smoking mothers were shorter on the average than children of nonsmoking mothers, no on-going passive smoking effect on height growth can be ascertained. All these differences are small and their medical significance remains to be defined.

Kefir exhibits anti‑proliferative and pro‑apoptotic effects on colon adenocarcinoma cells with no significant effects on cell migration and invasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoury, Nathalie; El-Hayek, Stephany; Tarras, Omayr; El-Sabban, Marwan; El-Sibai, Mirvat; Rizk, Sandra

2014-11-01

Kefir, a fermented milk product, exhibits anti‑tumoral activity in vivo; yet its mechanism of action remains elusive. Recent studies have focused on the mechanism of action of kefir on cancer cells in vitro. The current study aims at examining the effect of kefir on cell survival, proliferation, and motility of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Kefir's anti‑cancer potential was tested on CRC cell lines, Caco‑2 and HT‑29, through cytotoxicity, proliferation, and apoptotic assays. The expression of certain genes involved in proliferation and apoptosis was measured using reverse transcriptase‑polymerase chain reaction (RT‑PCR) and western blotting. To assess the effect of kefir on cancer metastasis, wound‑healing and time‑lapse movies, in addition to collagen‑based invasion assay, were used. The results show that cell‑free fractions of kefir exhibit an anti‑proliferative effect on Caco‑2 and HT‑29 cells. Analysis of DNA content by flow cytometry revealed the ability of kefir to induce cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. Kefir was also found to induce apoptosis, as seen by cell death ELISA. Results from RT‑PCR showed that kefir decreases the expression of transforming growth factor α (TGF‑α); and transforming growth factor‑β1 (TGF‑β1) in HT‑29 cells. Western blotting results revealed an upregulation in Bax:Bcl‑2 ratio, confirming the pro‑apoptotic effect of kefir, and an increase in p53 independent‑p21 expression upon kefir treatment. MMP expression was not altered by kefir treatment. Furthermore, results from time‑lapse motility movies, wound‑healing, and invasion assays showed no effect on the motility of colorectal as well as breast (MCF‑7 and MB‑MDA‑231) cancer cells upon kefir treatment. Our data suggest that kefir is able to inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis in HT‑29 and Caco‑2 CRC cells, yet it does not exhibit a significant effect on the motility and invasion of these cells in vitro.

Health significance and statistical uncertainty. The value of P-value.

Science.gov (United States)

Consonni, Dario; Bertazzi, Pier Alberto

2017-10-27

The P-value is widely used as a summary statistics of scientific results. Unfortunately, there is a widespread tendency to dichotomize its value in "P0.05" ("statistically not significant"), with the former implying a "positive" result and the latter a "negative" one. To show the unsuitability of such an approach when evaluating the effects of environmental and occupational risk factors. We provide examples of distorted use of P-value and of the negative consequences for science and public health of such a black-and-white vision. The rigid interpretation of P-value as a dichotomy favors the confusion between health relevance and statistical significance, discourages thoughtful thinking, and distorts attention from what really matters, the health significance. A much better way to express and communicate scientific results involves reporting effect estimates (e.g., risks, risks ratios or risk differences) and their confidence intervals (CI), which summarize and convey both health significance and statistical uncertainty. Unfortunately, many researchers do not usually consider the whole interval of CI but only examine if it includes the null-value, therefore degrading this procedure to the same P-value dichotomy (statistical significance or not). In reporting statistical results of scientific research present effects estimates with their confidence intervals and do not qualify the P-value as "significant" or "not significant".

[Clinical effect of bipolar radiofrequency thermotherapy on allergic rhinitis].

Science.gov (United States)

Oyake, Daisuke; Ochi, Kentaro; Takatsu, Mitsuharu; Shintani, Toshiharu; Umehara, Tsuyoshi; Koizuka, Izumi

2004-07-01

The clinical effect of bipolar radiofrequency thermotherapy on allergic rhinitis was evaluated. A bipolar radiofrequency system (CelonLab ENT) was used to treat 16 patients suffering from allergic rhinitis between February 2003 and August 2003. The thermotherapy was performed under local anesthesia at the otolaryngology outpatient clinic of St. Marianna University Toyoko Hospital. Data were collected by questionnaire and rhinomanometry preoperatively and 2 months postoperatively. The mean visual analogue scale (VAS) score for intraoperative pain was 31 mm (range, 0-100), and nearly all the patients felt no or a subtle pain during the thermotherapy. Postoperative pain was also well tolerated, with nearly all the patients not requiring analgesic drugs. Postoperative bleeding was minor, and none of the patients required additional treatment for bleeding. Nearly all the patients reported an improvement in their nasal patency, rhinorrhea, headaches, and sleeping. Statistically significant improvements were observed for all the measured VAS scores: nasal patency, rhinorrhea, headache, and olfactory function. Nasal resistance, as measured by anterior rhinomanometry, significantly improved after treatment. The effect of decongestion was also measured using anterior rhinomanometry. The ratio of nasal resistance before and after decongestion was significantly higher after thermotherapy, suggesting that nasal decongestion had a smaller effect on nasal patency after treatment. The current results suggest that the CelonLab ENT device is an effective and safe treatment for allergic rhinitis.

Confounding and Statistical Significance of Indirect Effects: Childhood Adversity, Education, Smoking, and Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mashhood Ahmed Sheikh

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The life course perspective, the risky families model, and stress-and-coping models provide the rationale for assessing the role of smoking as a mediator in the association between childhood adversity and anxious and depressive symptomatology (ADS in adulthood. However, no previous study has assessed the independent mediating role of smoking in the association between childhood adversity and ADS in adulthood. Moreover, the importance of mediator-response confounding variables has rarely been demonstrated empirically in social and psychiatric epidemiology. The aim of this paper was to (i assess the mediating role of smoking in adulthood in the association between childhood adversity and ADS in adulthood, and (ii assess the change in estimates due to different mediator-response confounding factors (education, alcohol intake, and social support. The present analysis used data collected from 1994 to 2008 within the framework of the Tromsø Study (N = 4,530, a representative prospective cohort study of men and women. Seven childhood adversities (low mother's education, low father's education, low financial conditions, exposure to passive smoke, psychological abuse, physical abuse, and substance abuse distress were used to create a childhood adversity score. Smoking status was measured at a mean age of 54.7 years (Tromsø IV, and ADS in adulthood was measured at a mean age of 61.7 years (Tromsø V. Mediation analysis was used to assess the indirect effect and the proportion of mediated effect (% of childhood adversity on ADS in adulthood via smoking in adulthood. The test-retest reliability of smoking was good (Kappa: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.63; 0.71 in this sample. Childhood adversity was associated with a 10% increased risk of smoking in adulthood (Relative risk: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03; 1.18, and both childhood adversity and smoking in adulthood were associated with greater levels of ADS in adulthood (p < 0.001. Smoking in adulthood did not significantly

Experimental evaluation of the effect of wave focusing walls on the performance of the Sea-wave Slot-cone Generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, P.; Taveira-Pinto, F.; Morais, T.; Rosa-Santos, P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The application of the Sea-wave Slot-cone Generator (SSG) in breakwaters is promising. • The use of wave focusing walls (WFW) improves the performance of the SSG technology. • The WFW concentrate the incident wave energy and increase the overtopping flow rates. • The design of new SSG devices should take into account the eventual use of WFW. • The use of WFW increased the annual energy production approximately to the double. - Abstract: The Sea-wave Slot-cone Generator (SSG) is a multi-level overtopping based wave energy converter that can be installed either nearshore or offshore. The installation in harbor breakwaters and in the shoreline presents several advantages despite the usual exposure to smaller waves than at offshore locations. This work analyzes the effect of wave focusing walls (i.e., wave concentrators) on the performance of isolated SSG units using a physical model built on a geometric scale of 1/40. Seven configurations were defined by changing the opening angle and the crest level of those elements. The use of wave concentrators proved to be advantageous since a wider wave front is captured and the run-up and overtopping phenomena are enhanced on the SSG ramp owing to the wave energy concentration (walls tapering effect). In fact, the total mean power captured increased for all SSG configurations with concentrators in comparison to the base configuration (without concentrators), regardless of the sea state considered. In terms of hydraulic performance, the gain associated to the use of wave concentrators depends on the characteristics of incident waves, being higher for the smaller significant wave heights and the shorter peak wave periods. The hydraulic efficiency, defined as the ratio between the total mean power captured per meter of SSG width and the wave power per meter width of the incident waves, increases with the significant wave height and reduces with the peak wave period in all tested SSG configurations. In

Do personality traits moderate the effect of late-life spousal loss on psychological distress?

Science.gov (United States)

Pai, Manacy; Carr, Deborah

2010-06-01

We use data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study to investigate the extent to which: (1) five personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability/neuroticism, extraversion, and openness) moderate the effect of late-life spousal loss on depressive symptoms; (2) these patterns vary based on the expectedness of the death; and (3) the patterns documented in (1) and (2) are explained by secondary stressors and social support. Widowed persons report significantly more depressive symptoms than married persons, yet the deleterious effects of loss are significantly smaller for highly extraverted and conscientious individuals. The protective effects of personality traits, however, vary based on the expectedness of the death. Extraversion is protective against depression only for persons who had forewarning of the death. Extraverts may be particularly good at marshalling social support during prolonged periods of spousal illness. We discuss the ways that extraversion and conscientiousness may buffer against bereavement-related stressors.

Nonmonotonic and spatial-temporal dynamic slope effects on soil erosion during rainfall-runoff processes

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Songbai; Yu, Minghui; Chen, Li

2017-02-01

The slope effect on flow erosivity and soil erosion still remains a controversial issue. This theoretical framework explained and quantified the direct slope effect by coupling the modified Green-Ampt equation accounting for slope effect on infiltration, 1-D kinematic wave overland flow routing model, and WEPP soil erosion model. The flow velocity, runoff rate, shear stress, interrill, and rill erosion were calculated on 0°-60° isotropic slopes with equal horizontal projective length. The results show that, for short-duration rainfall events, the flow erosivity and erosion amounts exhibit a bell-shaped trend which first increase with slope gradient, and then decrease after a critical slope angle. The critical slope angles increase significantly or even vanish with increasing rainfall duration but are nearly independent of the slope projective length. The soil critical shear stress, rainfall intensity, and temporal patterns have great influences on the slope effect trend, while the other soil erosion parameters, soil type, hydraulic conductivity, and antecedent soil moisture have minor impacts. Neglecting the slope effect on infiltration would generate smaller erosion and reduce critical slope angles. The relative slope effect on soil erosion in physically based model WEPP was compared to those in the empirical models USLE and RUSLE. The trends of relative slope effect were found quite different, but the difference may diminish with increasing rainfall duration. Finally, relatively smaller critical slope angles could be obtained with the equal slope length and the range of variation provides a possible explanation for the different critical slope angles reported in previous studies.

Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are significantly shorter than those with Becker muscular dystrophy, with the higher incidence of short stature in Dp71 mutated subgroup.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Masaaki; Awano, Hiroyuki; Lee, Tomoko; Takeshima, Yasuhiro; Matsuo, Masafumi; Iijima, Kazumoto

2017-11-01

Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) are caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene and are characterized by severe and mild progressive muscle wasting, respectively. Short stature has been reported as a feature of DMD in the Western hemisphere, but not yet confirmed in Orientals. Height of young BMD has not been fully characterized. Here, height of ambulant and steroid naive Japanese 179 DMD and 42 BMD patients between 4 and 10 years of age was retrospectively examined using height standard deviation score (SDS). The mean height SDS of DMD was -1.08 SD that was significantly smaller than normal (p < 0.001), indicating short stature of Japanese DMD. Furthermore, the mean height SDS of BMD was -0.27 SD, suggesting shorter stature than normal. Remarkably, the mean height SDS of DMD was significantly smaller than that of BMD (p < 0.0001). In DMD higher incidence of short stature (height SDS < -2.5 SD) was observed in Dp71 subgroup having mutations in dystrophin exons 63-79 than others having mutations in exons 1-62 (27.8% vs. 7.5%, p = 0.017). These suggested that height is influenced by dystrophin in not only DMD but also BMD and that dystrophin Dp71 has a role in height regulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of Africa's tropical protected areas for maintaining forest cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowker, J N; De Vos, A; Ament, J M; Cumming, G S

2017-06-01

The effectiveness of parks for forest conservation is widely debated in Africa, where increasing human pressure, insufficient funding, and lack of management capacity frequently place significant demands on forests. Tropical forests house a substantial portion of the world's remaining biodiversity and are heavily affected by anthropogenic activity. We analyzed park effectiveness at the individual (224 parks) and national (23 countries) level across Africa by comparing the extent of forest loss (as a proxy for deforestation) inside parks to matched unprotected control sites. Although significant geographical variation existed among parks, the majority of African parks had significantly less forest loss within their boundaries (e.g., Mahale Park had 34 times less forest loss within its boundary) than control sites. Accessibility was a significant driver of forest loss. Relatively inaccessible areas had a higher probability (odds ratio >1, p < 0.001) of forest loss but only in ineffective parks, and relatively accessible areas had a higher probability of forest loss but only in effective parks. Smaller parks less effectively prevented forest loss inside park boundaries than larger parks (T = -2.32, p < 0.05), and older parks less effectively prevented forest loss inside park boundaries than younger parks (F 2,154 = -4.11, p < 0.001). Our analyses, the first individual and national assessment of park effectiveness across Africa, demonstrated the complexity of factors (such as geographical variation, accessibility, and park size and age) influencing the ability of a park to curb forest loss within its boundaries. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Clinical significance of adiponectin expression in colon cancer patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Canhoroz

2014-01-01

Conclusion: Adiponectin, which is secreted by adipose tissue, may have a role in the development and progression of cancer via its pro-apoptotic and/or anti-proliferative effects. Adiponectin expression in tumor tissues is likely to have a negative effect on disease - free survival in patients with stage II/III colon cancer; however, no statistically significant effect was demonstrated.

Prognostic significance of electrophysiological tests for facial nerve outcome in vestibular schwannoma surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

van Dinther, J J S; Van Rompaey, V; Somers, T; Zarowski, A; Offeciers, F E

2011-01-01

To assess the prognostic significance of pre-operative electrophysiological tests for facial nerve outcome in vestibular schwannoma surgery. Retrospective study design in a tertiary referral neurology unit. We studied a total of 123 patients with unilateral vestibular schwannoma who underwent microsurgical removal of the lesion. Nine patients were excluded because they had clinically abnormal pre-operative facial function. Pre-operative electrophysiological facial nerve function testing (EPhT) was performed. Short-term (1 month) and long-term (1 year) post-operative clinical facial nerve function were assessed. When pre-operative facial nerve function, evaluated by EPhT, was normal, the outcome from clinical follow-up at 1-month post-operatively was excellent in 78% (i.e. HB I-II) of patients, moderate in 11% (i.e. HB III-IV), and bad in 11% (i.e. HB V-VI). After 1 year, 86% had excellent outcomes, 13% had moderate outcomes, and 1% had bad outcomes. Of all patients with normal clinical facial nerve function, 22% had an abnormal EPhT result and 78% had a normal result. No statistically significant differences could be observed in short-term and long-term post-operative facial function between the groups. In this study, electrophysiological tests were not able to predict facial nerve outcome after vestibular schwannoma surgery. Tumour size remains the best pre-operative prognostic indicator of facial nerve function outcome, i.e. a better outcome in smaller lesions.

Cardiovascular effects of metrizamide in infants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiSessa, T.G.; Zednikova, M.; Hiraishi, S.; Jarmakani, J.M.; Higgins, C.B.; Friedman, W.F.

1983-01-01

A prospective study was performed in 30 children under 3 years of age to compare the cardiovascular effects of a nonionic contrast material of low osmolality, metrizamide, with those of a conventional ionic contrast material, meglumine sodium diatrizoate. Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, left ventricular peak systolic pressure, heart rate, echocardiographically obtained end-diastolic and end-systolic dimension, and blood chemistries were obtained before and after angiography. Neither contrast material changed serum sodium, potassium, or creatinine levels. However, serum osmolality rose significantly following injection of diatrizoate, but not metrizamide. Both end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions increased after diatrizoate injection. However, end-diastolic dimension was unchanged and end-systolic dimension fell after metrizamide infusion. It is concluded that although the effects on intracardiac pressures are similar for both contrast materials, metrizamide may be advantageous in the critically ill infant because it causes a smaller increase in osmolality, fewer changes in cardiac dimensions, and a reduced heart rate challenge

An Analysis of Patient Perceptions and Expectations to Dental Implants: Is There a Significant Effect on Long-Term Satisfaction Levels?

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Here we present an analysis of patient perceptions and expectations to dental implant placement and their prosthetic reconstruction, to then consider whether they have an effect on long-term satisfaction levels. A Post-Treatment Completion Questionnaire was designed to analyse whether patient satisfaction is influenced by age and/or gender; has an effect on patient-reported self-confidence levels; contributes to increased levels of oral hygiene; provides further insight into the average pain levels during and after the surgical intervention; or influences further acceptance of dental implant surgery. And then whether relationships exist between any of these factors. 182 consecutive patients completed the survey: 68 males and 114 females (age mean 64.68 years ± 11.23 SD); the average number of months since treatment completion was 37.4 (males) and 62.6 (females). There is a significant relationship between comfort rating and “how well informed” the patient was (p = 0.015). A significantly positive relationship exists between “considering dental implants in the future” and “overall experience” (p = 0.001). A significantly positive relationship exists between “overall satisfaction with appearance” and “satisfaction with comfort” (p = 0.011). A significant relationship exists between “overall satisfaction with appearance,” “satisfaction with comfort,” and “overall satisfaction with experience” (p = 0.001). The results amplify the need to transmit logical, truthful information to patients when dental implant treatment is being considered. The “fully informed” patient will have realistic expectations that lead to high degrees of satisfaction. PMID:28928771

Mercury Quick Facts: Health Effects of Mercury Exposure

Science.gov (United States)

... 2012 What are the Health Effects of Mercury Exposure? The health effects that can be caused by breathing mercury depend ... they breathe faster and have smaller lungs. Health effects caused by long-term exposure to mercury vapors • • Anxiety • • Excessive shyness • • Anorexia • • Sleeping ...

THRESHOLD OF SIGNIFICANCE IN STRESS MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena RUSE

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Stress management is the individual's ability to handle any situation, external conditions, to match the demands of the external environment. The researchers revealed several stages in the stress response. A first phase was called ‘‘alert reaction'' or ‘‘immediate reaction to stress‘‘, phase in which there are physiological modifications and manifestations that occur under psychological aspect. Adaptation phase is the phase in which the reactions from the first phase diminishes or disappears. Exhaustion phase is related to the diversity of stress factors and time and may exceed the resources of the human body to adapt. Influencing factors may be: limited, cognitive, perceptual, and a priori. But there is a threshold of significance in stress management. Once the reaction to external stimuli occurs, awareness is needed. The capability effect occurs, any side effect goes away and comes out the ''I AM'' effect.

Irradiation effects of Ar cluster ion beams on Si substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishii, Masahiro; Sugahara, Gaku; Takaoka, G.H.; Yamada, Isao

1993-01-01

Gas-cluster ion beams can be applied to new surface modification techniques such as surface cleaning, low damage sputtering and shallow junction formation. The effects of energetic Ar cluster impacts on solid surface were studied for cluster energies of 10-30keV. Irradiation effects were studied by RBS. For Si(111) substrates, irradiated with Ar ≥500 clusters to a dose of 1x10 15 ion/cm 2 at acceleration voltage 15kV, 2x10 14 atoms/cm 2 implanted Ar atoms were detected. In this case, the energy per cluster atom was smaller than 30eV; at this energy, no significant implantation occurs in the case of monomer ions. Ar cluster implantation into Si substrates occurred due to the high energy density irradiation. (author)

Effects of Age and Working Memory Load on Syntactic Processing: An Event-Related Potential Study

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Graciela C. Alatorre-Cruz

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Cognitive changes in aging include working memory (WM decline, which may hamper language comprehension. An increase in WM demands in older adults would probably provoke a poorer sentence processing performance in this age group. A way to increase the WM load is to separate two lexical units in an agreement relation (i.e., adjective and noun, in a given sentence. To test this hypothesis, event-related potentials (ERPs were collected from Spanish speakers (30 older adults, mean age = 66.06 years old; and 30 young adults, mean age = 25.7 years old who read sentences to detect grammatical errors. The sentences varied with regard to (1 the gender agreement of the noun and adjective, where the gender of the adjective either agreed or disagreed with the noun, and (2 the WM load (i.e., the number of words between the noun and adjective in the sentence. No significant behavioral differences between groups were observed in the accuracy of the response, but older adults showed longer reaction times regardless of WM load condition. Compared with young participants, older adults showed a different pattern of ERP components characterized by smaller amplitudes of LAN, P600a, and P600b effects when the WM load was increased. A smaller LAN effect probably reflects greater difficulties in processing the morpho-syntactic features of the sentence, while smaller P600a and P600b effects could be related to difficulties in recovering and mapping all sentence constituents. We concluded that the ERP pattern in older adults showed subtle problems in syntactic processing when the WM load was increased, which was not sufficient to affect response accuracy but was only observed to result in a longer reaction time.

Mixed Effectiveness of Africa's Tropical Protected Areas for Maintaining Forest Cover: Insights from a Global Forest Change Dataset

Science.gov (United States)

De Vos, A.; Bowker, J.; Ament, J.; Cumming, G.

2016-12-01

The effectiveness of parks for forest conservation is widely debated in Africa, where increasing human pressure, insufficient funding, and lack of management capacity frequently place significant demands on forest habitats. Tropical forests house a significant portion of the world's remaining biodiversity and are being heavily impacted by anthropogenic activity. We used Hansen et al.'s (2013) global forest change dataset to analyse park effectiveness at the individual (224 parks) and national (23 countries) level across Africa by comparing the extent of forest loss (as a proxy for deforestation) inside parks to matched unprotected control samples. We found that, although significant geographical variation exists between parks, the majority of African parks experienced significantly lower deforestation within their boundaries. Accessibility was a significant driver of deforestation, with less accessible areas having a higher probability of forest loss in ineffective parks and more accessible areas having a higher probability of forest loss in effective parks. Smaller parks were less effective at preventing forest loss inside park boundaries than larger parks, and older parks were less effective than younger parks. Our analysis, which is the first individual and national assessment of park effectiveness across Africa, demonstrates the complexity of factors influencing the ability of a park to curb deforestation within its boundaries and highlights the potential of web-based remote sensing technology in monitoring protected area effectiveness.

The use of law to encourage smaller families in Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, T W

1980-01-01

government's stated small family norm. The program, initially instituted in 1969, has proven particularly effective, since 80% of all births in Singapore occur in government hospitals, where the rule may be consistently enforced. In August 1973 women with 2 or more children were made ineligible for maternity benefits, but female government employees could receive paid medical leave if they were sterilized after delivery. In August 1973 income tax relief was limited to the 1st 3 children. Other measures have been in the following areas: child employment; education; sterilization; and housing. The psychological impact of the disincentives may be their greatest effect, but it is difficult to measure. It is also difficult to determine the net effect of the disincentives on individuals. Indications are that the disincentives prohibited parents from attaining their desired family size in a very small number of cases.

Protest as participation: the significance of the antinuclear movement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelkin, D.

1982-01-01

The anti-nuclear movement includes a diversity of ideologies and strategies that has spawned an equal diversity of interpretations. The author examines the concerns of each group, focusing on environmentalists, scientists, feminists, churches, and other antinuclear activities whose organizations totaled 937 in 1980. She notes that while diversity suggests the grassroots strength of the movement, diversity has also kept it from achieving the coordination of effort that would give it political strength. Further, the movement reflects a general fear of technological change - as well as of nuclear power - a fear that can become enculturated as a desire to return to a smaller, more human scale. 22 references

Finite spatial-volume effect for π-N sigma term in lattice QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukushima, M.; Chiba, S.; Tanigawa, T.

2003-01-01

We report on a finite spatial-volume effect for the pion-nucleon sigma term σ πN for quenched Wilson fermion on 8 3 x 20 and 16 3 x 20 lattices at β = 5.7 with the spatial lattice size of La∼1.12fm and La∼2.24fm, respectively. It is found that the spatial size dependence of the connected part of σ πN con is significant small. We observed the magnitude of finite size effect for the disconnected part of σ πN dis is much larger than for to connected one and an almost drastic decrease of σ πN dis amounting to 50% between La∼2.24fm to the smaller lattice size of La∼1.12fm. (author)

Nb effect on Zr-alloy oxidation under high pressure steam at high temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Kwangheon; Yang, Sungwoo; Kim, Kyutae

2005-01-01

The high-pressure steam effects on the oxidation of Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) and Zirlo (Zry-1%Nb) claddings at high temperature have been analyzed. Test temperature range was 700-900degC, and pressures were 1-150 bars. High pressure-steam enhances oxidation of Zry-4, and the dependency of enhancement looks exponential to steam pressure. The origin of the oxidation enhancement turned out to be the formation of cracks in oxide. The loss of tetragonal phase by high-pressure steam seems related to the crack formation. Addition of Nb as an alloying element to Zr alloy reduces significantly the steam pressure effects on oxidation. The higher compressive stresses and the smaller fraction of tetragonal oxides in Zry-1%Nb seem to be the diminished effect of high-pressure steam on oxidation. (author)

Metastatic breast cancer - age has a significant effect on survival ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The data on 217 elderly (aged ≥ 65 years) and 209 middleaged postmenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer treated in the Department of Medical Oncology, University of Pretoria, from 1976 to 1985 were analysed to determine the effect of age on survival. When considered as a group, the elderly have a more ...

Report examines links among women's equality, smaller families, healthier children.

Science.gov (United States)

1997-06-01

This article reports on a new study by Nancy Riley about the relationship between gender equality and fertility and mortality declines in developing countries. Findings indicate that mortality and fertility has declined in countries without gender equality. Fertility and child mortality decline is related to women's educational status and employment. Riley argues that women's power to make decisions about health care, contraception, and the timing and number of children, if affected by education and paid employment, is more likely to lower mortality and fertility. Women's power may decline in countries where women's education and employment are advanced, but their role in society remains that of mothers. All developing countries showed a relationship between the amount of education and family size and child health. Fertility tends to be lowest among highly educated women. However, women's education has a stronger effect on child health and mortality. Maternal education also affects child nutritional status. Women's education offers women the option of job opportunities and new values or ideas. Women's employment may result in increased resources and status or in poverty and heavy physical labor. Societal views of women's work may reflect an increased self-worth for working women or lower status or the failure of a husband to adequately provide for family welfare. The key to the impact of women's employment is whether work becomes a way to achieve greater power for women in decision making about child welfare and family planning. Employment outside the home educates. In most countries, women who worked for cash had fewer children, but differences in fertility between working and nonworking women range from small to large. Higher income for Nigerian women means more children. Women's work also has inconsistent effects on child health.

Renormalization-group flow of the effective action of cosmological large-scale structures

CERN Document Server

Floerchinger, Stefan

2017-01-01

Following an approach of Matarrese and Pietroni, we derive the functional renormalization group (RG) flow of the effective action of cosmological large-scale structures. Perturbative solutions of this RG flow equation are shown to be consistent with standard cosmological perturbation theory. Non-perturbative approximate solutions can be obtained by truncating the a priori infinite set of possible effective actions to a finite subspace. Using for the truncated effective action a form dictated by dissipative fluid dynamics, we derive RG flow equations for the scale dependence of the effective viscosity and sound velocity of non-interacting dark matter, and we solve them numerically. Physically, the effective viscosity and sound velocity account for the interactions of long-wavelength fluctuations with the spectrum of smaller-scale perturbations. We find that the RG flow exhibits an attractor behaviour in the IR that significantly reduces the dependence of the effective viscosity and sound velocity on the input ...

[False positive results or what's the probability that a significant P-value indicates a true effect?

Science.gov (United States)

Cucherat, Michel; Laporte, Silvy

2017-09-01

The use of statistical test is central in the clinical trial. At the statistical level, obtaining a Pinformation about the plausibility of the existence of treatment effect. With "Pfalse positive is very high. This is the case if the power is low, if there is an inflation of the alpha risk or if the result is exploratory or chance discoveries. This possibility is important to take into consideration when interpreting the results of clinical trials in order to avoid pushing ahead significant results in appearance, but which are likely to be actually false positive results. Copyright © 2017 Société française de pharmacologie et de thérapeutique. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Effects of prefrontal tDCS on executive function: Methodological considerations revealed by meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Imburgio, Michael J; Orr, Joseph M

2018-05-01

A meta-analysis of studies using single-session transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to target the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was undertaken to examine the effect of stimulation on executive function (EF) in healthy samples. 27 studies were included in analyses, yielding 71 effect sizes. The most relevant measure for each task was determined a priori and used to calculate Hedge's g. Methodological characteristics of each study were examined individually as potential moderators of effect size. Stimulation effects on three domains of EF (inhibition of prepotent responses, mental set shifting, and information updating and monitoring) were analyzed separately. In line with previous work, the current study found no significant effect of anodal unilateral tDCS, cathodal unilateral tDCS, or bilateral tDCS on EF. Further moderator and subgroup analyses were only carried out for anodal unilateral montages due to the small number of studies using other montages. Subgroup analyses revealed a significant effect of anodal unilateral tDCS on updating tasks, but not on inhibition or set-shifting tasks. Cathode location significantly moderated the effect of anodal unilateral tDCS. Extracranial cathodes yielded a significant effect on EF while cranial cathodes yielded no effect. Anode size also significantly moderated effect of anodal unilateral tDCS, with smaller anodes being more effective than larger anodes. In summary, anodal DLPFC stimulation is more effective at improving updating ability than inhibition and set-shifting ability, but anodal stimulation can significantly improve general executive function when extracranial cathodes or small anodes are used. Future meta-analyses may examine how stimulation's effects on specific behavioral tasks, rather than broader domains, might be affected by methodological moderators. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can a Toy Encourage Lower Calorie Meal Bundle Selection in Children? A Field Experiment on the Reinforcing Effects of Toys on Food Choice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Reimann

Full Text Available The goal of this research was to test whether including an inexpensive nonfood item (toy with a smaller-sized meal bundle (420 calories, but not with the regular-sized meal bundle version (580 calories, would incentivize children to choose the smaller-sized meal bundle, even among children with overweight and obesity. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect in a between-subjects field experiment of a toy on smaller-sized meal choice (here, a binary choice between a smaller-sized or regular-sized meal bundles. A random sample of 109 elementary school children from two schools in the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area (55 females; Mage = 8.53 years, SDage = 2.14; MBMI = 18.30, SDBMI = 4.42 participated. Children's height and weight were measured and body-mass-index (BMI was calculated, adjusting for age and sex. In our sample, 21 children were considered to be either overweight or obese. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of a toy on smaller-sized meal choice. Results revealed that the inclusion of a toy with a smaller-sized meal, but not with the regular-sized version, predicted smaller-sized meal choice (P < .001, suggesting that children can be incentivized to choose less food when such is paired with a toy. BMI neither moderated nor nullified the effect of toy on smaller-sized meal choice (P = .125, suggesting that children with overweight and obesity can also be incentivized to choose less. This article is the first to suggest that fast-food restaurant chains may well utilize toys to motivate children to choose smaller-sized meal bundles. Our findings may be relevant for consumers, health advocates, policy makers, and marketers who would benefit from a strategy that presents healthier, but still desirable, meal bundle options.

Ski jumping boots limit effective take-off in ski jumping.

Science.gov (United States)

Virmavirta, M; Komi, P V

2001-12-01

In this study, we measured the vertical and horizontal take-off forces, plantar pressures and activation patterns of four muscles (vastus lateralis, gluteus maximus, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius) in 10 ski jumpers in simulated laboratory conditions when wearing either training shoes or ski jumping boots. We found significant differences in vertical (P boots condition resulted in a smaller displacement in the final position of the following joint angles: ankle angle (P knee angle (P boots condition, significantly more pressure was recorded under the heel (P knee and hip extensors when wearing jumping boots. We conclude that the stiffness of the structure of the jumping boots may result in a forward shift of pressure, thus limiting the effective vertical force. To avoid this pressure shift, the pattern of movement of simulated take-offs should be carefully controlled, particularly when wearing training shoes.

Erroneous analyses of interactions in neuroscience: a problem of significance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwenhuis, S.; Forstmann, B.U.; Wagenmakers, E.-J.

2011-01-01

In theory, a comparison of two experimental effects requires a statistical test on their difference. In practice, this comparison is often based on an incorrect procedure involving two separate tests in which researchers conclude that effects differ when one effect is significant (P < 0.05) but the

Nonlocal continuum-based modeling of breathing mode of nanowires including surface stress and surface inertia effects

Science.gov (United States)

Ghavanloo, Esmaeal; Fazelzadeh, S. Ahmad; Rafii-Tabar, Hashem

2014-05-01

Nonlocal and surface effects significantly influence the mechanical response of nanomaterials and nanostructures. In this work, the breathing mode of a circular nanowire is studied on the basis of the nonlocal continuum model. Both the surface elastic properties and surface inertia effect are included. Nanowires can be modeled as long cylindrical solid objects. The classical model is reformulated using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen and Gurtin-Murdoch surface continuum elasticity formalism. A new frequency equation for the breathing mode of nanowires, including small scale effect, surface stress and surface inertia is presented by employing the Bessel functions. Numerical results are computed, and are compared to confirm the validity and accuracy of the proposed method. Furthermore, the model is used to elucidate the effect of nonlocal parameter, the surface stress, the surface inertia and the nanowire orientation on the breathing mode of several types of nanowires with size ranging from 0.5 to 4 nm. Our results reveal that the combined surface and small scale effects are significant for nanowires with diameter smaller than 4 nm.

Nonlocal continuum-based modeling of breathing mode of nanowires including surface stress and surface inertia effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghavanloo, Esmaeal; Fazelzadeh, S. Ahmad; Rafii-Tabar, Hashem

2014-01-01

Nonlocal and surface effects significantly influence the mechanical response of nanomaterials and nanostructures. In this work, the breathing mode of a circular nanowire is studied on the basis of the nonlocal continuum model. Both the surface elastic properties and surface inertia effect are included. Nanowires can be modeled as long cylindrical solid objects. The classical model is reformulated using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen and Gurtin–Murdoch surface continuum elasticity formalism. A new frequency equation for the breathing mode of nanowires, including small scale effect, surface stress and surface inertia is presented by employing the Bessel functions. Numerical results are computed, and are compared to confirm the validity and accuracy of the proposed method. Furthermore, the model is used to elucidate the effect of nonlocal parameter, the surface stress, the surface inertia and the nanowire orientation on the breathing mode of several types of nanowires with size ranging from 0.5 to 4 nm. Our results reveal that the combined surface and small scale effects are significant for nanowires with diameter smaller than 4 nm.

Nonlocal continuum-based modeling of breathing mode of nanowires including surface stress and surface inertia effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghavanloo, Esmaeal, E-mail: ghavanloo@shirazu.ac.ir [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71963-16548 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Fazelzadeh, S. Ahmad [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71963-16548 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rafii-Tabar, Hashem [Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Research Center for Medical Nanotechnology and Tissue Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Evin, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Computational Physical Sciences Research Laboratory, School of Nano-Science, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-05-01

Nonlocal and surface effects significantly influence the mechanical response of nanomaterials and nanostructures. In this work, the breathing mode of a circular nanowire is studied on the basis of the nonlocal continuum model. Both the surface elastic properties and surface inertia effect are included. Nanowires can be modeled as long cylindrical solid objects. The classical model is reformulated using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen and Gurtin–Murdoch surface continuum elasticity formalism. A new frequency equation for the breathing mode of nanowires, including small scale effect, surface stress and surface inertia is presented by employing the Bessel functions. Numerical results are computed, and are compared to confirm the validity and accuracy of the proposed method. Furthermore, the model is used to elucidate the effect of nonlocal parameter, the surface stress, the surface inertia and the nanowire orientation on the breathing mode of several types of nanowires with size ranging from 0.5 to 4 nm. Our results reveal that the combined surface and small scale effects are significant for nanowires with diameter smaller than 4 nm.

Wake-Model Effects on Induced Drag Prediction of Staggered Boxwings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian Schirra

2018-01-01

Full Text Available For staggered boxwings the predictions of induced drag that rely on common potential-flow methods can be of limited accuracy. For example, linear, freestream-fixed wake models cannot resolve effects related to wake deflection and roll-up, which can have significant affects on the induced drag projection of these systems. The present work investigates the principle impact of wake modelling on the accuracy of induced drag prediction of boxwings with stagger. The study compares induced drag predictions of a higher-order potential-flow method that uses fixed and relaxed-wake models, and of an Euler-flow method. Positive-staggered systems at positive angles of attack are found to be particularly prone to higher-order wake effects due to vertical contraction of wakes trajectories, which results in smaller effective height-to-span ratios than compared with negative stagger and thus closer interactions between trailing wakes and lifting surfaces. Therefore, when trying to predict induced drag of positive staggered boxwings, only a potential-flow method with a fully relaxed-wake model will provide the high-degree of accuracy that rivals that of an Euler method while being computationally significantly more efficient.

The effect of isovolemic hemodilution with oxycyte, a perfluorocarbon emulsion, on cerebral blood flow in rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong-jin Yang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Cerebral blood flow (CBF is auto-regulated to meet the brain's metabolic requirements. Oxycyte is a perfluorocarbon emulsion that acts as a highly effective oxygen carrier compared to blood. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of Oxycyte on regional CBF (rCBF, by evaluating the effects of stepwise isovolemic hemodilution with Oxycyte on CBF. METHODOLOGY: Male rats were intubated and ventilated with 100% O(2 under isoflurane anesthesia. The regional (striatum CBF (rCBF was measured with a laser doppler flowmeter (LDF. Stepwise isovolemic hemodilution was performed by withdrawing 4ml of blood and substituting the same volume of 5% albumin or 2 ml Oxycyte plus 2 ml albumin at 20-minute intervals until the hematocrit (Hct values reached 5%. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the albumin-treated group, rCBF progressively increased to approximately twice its baseline level (208+/-30% when Hct levels were less than 10%. In the Oxycyte-treated group on the other hand, rCBF increased by significantly smaller increments, and this group's mean rCBF was only slightly higher than baseline (118+/-18% when Hct levels were less than 10%. Similarly, in the albumin-treated group, rCBF started to increase when hemodilution with albumin caused the CaO(2 to decrease below 17.5 ml/dl. Thereafter, the increase in rCBF was accompanied by a nearly proportional decrease in the CaO(2 level. In the Oxycyte-treated group, the increase in rCBF was significantly smaller than in the albumin-treated group when the CaO(2 level dropped below 10 ml/dl (142+/-20% vs. 186+/-26%, and rCBF returned to almost baseline levels (106+/-15 when the CaO(2 level was below 7 ml/dl. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Hemodilution with Oxycyte was accompanied with higher CaO(2 and PO(2 than control group treated with albumin alone. This effect may be partially responsible for maintaining relatively constant CBF and not allowing the elevated blood flow that was observed with albumin.

The Significance of Loyalty on Consumer Credit Profitability

OpenAIRE

Aditya Galih Prihartono; Ujang Sumarwan; Noer Azam Achsani; Kirbrandoko

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research is to analyze and test the effect of customer loyalty on consumer credit profitability. Loyalty Index Score was developed to determine the level of customers’ loyalty level through 4 main variables; Longevity, Depth, Breadth and Referrals. The effect of Loyalty Index Score on profitability was further tested by path analysis to find out the significance direct relationship between loyalty and profitablity and the indirect relationship between the two variable th...

Commonly used bowel preparations have significant and different effects upon cell proliferation in the colon: a pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riley Stuart A

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Markers of crypt cell proliferation are frequently employed in studies of the impact of genetic and exogenous factors on human colonic physiology. Human studies often rely on the assessment of tissue acquired at endoscopy. Modulation of cell proliferation by bowel preparation with oral laxatives may confound the findings of such studies, but there is little data on the impact of commonly used bowel preparations on markers of cell proliferation. Methods Crypt length, crypt cellularity and crypt cell proliferation were assessed in biopsies acquired after preparation with either Klean-Prep or Picolax. Crypt cell proliferation was assessed by whole-mount mitotic figure count, and by two different immunohistochemical (IHC labelling methods (Ki-67 and pHH3. Subsequent biopsies were obtained from the same patients without bowel preparation and similarly assessed. Parameters were compared between groups using analysis of variance and paired t-tests. Results There were significant differences in labelling indices (LI between biopsies taken after Klean-prep and those taken after Picolax preparation, for both Ki67 (p = 0.019 and pHH3 (p = 0.017. A similar trend was seen for whole-mount mitotic figure counts. Suppression or elevation of proliferation parameters by bowel preparation may mask any effect due to an intervention or disease. Conclusion Commonly used bowel preparations may have significant and different effects on crypt cell proliferation. This should be taken into account when designing studies and when considering the findings of existing studies.

Effect of the bitterness of food on muscular activity and masticatory movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Okada, Yamato; Shiga, Hiroshi

2017-10-01

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of the bitterness of food on muscular activity and masticatory movement. Twenty healthy subjects were asked to chew a non-bitter gummy jelly and a bitter gummy jelly on their habitual chewing side. The masseter muscular activity and the movement of mandibular incisal point were recorded simultaneously. For all cycles excluding the first cycle, parameters representing the muscular activity (total integral value and integral value per cycle) and masticatory movement (path, rhythm, and stability) were calculated and compared between the two types of gummy jellies. The total integral value of masseter muscular activity during the chewing of bitter gummy jelly was significantly smaller than during the chewing of non-bitter gummy jelly, however, no definite trends in the integral value per cycle and the stability of movement were observed. The parameters representing the movement path tended to be small during the chewing of bitter gummy jelly than during the chewing of non-bitter gummy jelly. The masticatory width was significantly smaller during the chewing of bitter gummy jelly. The parameters representing the rhythm of movement were significantly longer during the chewing of bitter gummy jelly than during the chewing of non-bitter gummy jelly. From these results it was suggested that the bitterness of food does not affect the integral value per cycle or the stability of the masticatory movement, but it does affect the movement path and rhythm, with narrowing of the path and slowing of the rhythm. Copyright © 2017 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of age, gender, and stimulus presentation period on visual short-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunimi, Mitsunobu

2016-01-01

This study focused on age-related changes in visual short-term memory using visual stimuli that did not allow verbal encoding. Experiment 1 examined the effects of age and the length of the stimulus presentation period on visual short-term memory function. Experiment 2 examined the effects of age, gender, and the length of the stimulus presentation period on visual short-term memory function. The worst memory performance and the largest performance difference between the age groups were observed in the shortest stimulus presentation period conditions. The performance difference between the age groups became smaller as the stimulus presentation period became longer; however, it did not completely disappear. Although gender did not have a significant effect on d' regardless of the presentation period in the young group, a significant gender-based difference was observed for stimulus presentation periods of 500 ms and 1,000 ms in the older group. This study indicates that the decline in visual short-term memory observed in the older group is due to the interaction of several factors.

One-deal-fits-all? : On category sales promotion effectiveness in smaller versus larger supermarkets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haans, A.J.; Gijsbrechts, E.

2011-01-01

Even within a store chain and format, supermarket outlets often exhibit substantial differences in selling surface. For chain managers, this raises the issue of correctly anticipating the promotion lift, and of profitably managing promotion activities, across these outlets. In this paper, we

Sex-specific mediation effect of the right fusiform face area volume on the association between variants in repeat length of AVPR1A RS3 and altruistic behavior in healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Junping; Qin, Wen; Liu, Feng; Liu, Bing; Zhou, Yuan; Jiang, Tianzi; Yu, Chunshui

2016-07-01

Microsatellite variants in the arginine vasopressin receptor 1A gene (AVPR1A) RS3 have been associated with normal social behaviors variation and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in a sex-specific manner. However, neural mechanisms underlying these associations remain largely unknown. We hypothesized that AVPR1A RS3 variants affect altruistic behavior by modulating the gray matter volume (GMV) of specific brain regions in a sex-specific manner. We investigated 278 young healthy adults using the Dictator Game to assess altruistic behavior. All subjects were genotyped and main effect of AVPR1A RS3 repeat polymorphisms and interaction of genotype-by-sex on the GMV were assessed in a voxel-wise manner. We observed that male subjects with relatively short repeats allocated less money to others and exhibited a significantly smaller GMV in the right fusiform face area (FFA) compared with male long homozygotes. In male subjects, the GMV of the right FFA exhibited a significant positive correlation with altruistic behavior. A mixed mediation and moderation analysis further revealed both a significant mediation effect of the GMV of the right FFA on the association between AVPR1A RS3 repeat polymorphisms and allocation sums and a significant moderation effect of sex (only in males) on the mediation effect. Post hoc analysis showed that the GMV of the right FFA was significantly smaller in male subjects carrying allele 426 than in non-426 carriers. These results suggest that the GMV of the right FFA may be a potential mediator whereby the genetic variants in AVPR1A RS3 affect altruistic behavior in healthy male subjects. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2700-2709, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of biaxial oscillatory shear stress on endothelial cell proliferation and morphology.

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Chakraborty, Amlan; Chakraborty, Sutirtha; Jala, Venkatakrishna R; Haribabu, Bodduluri; Sharp, M Keith; Berson, R Eric

2012-03-01

Wall shear stress (WSS) on anchored cells affects their responses, including cell proliferation and morphology. In this study, the effects of the directionality of pulsatile WSS on endothelial cell proliferation and morphology were investigated for cells grown in a Petri dish orbiting on a shaker platform. Time and location dependent WSS was determined by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). At low orbital speed (50 rpm), WSS was shown to be uniform (0-1 dyne/cm(2)) across the bottom of the dish, while at higher orbital speed (100 and 150 rpm), WSS remained fairly uniform near the center and fluctuated significantly (0-9 dyne/cm(2)) near the side walls of the dish. Since WSS on the bottom of the dish is two-dimensional, a new directional oscillatory shear index (DOSI) was developed to quantify the directionality of oscillating shear. DOSI approached zero for biaxial oscillatory shear of equal magnitudes near the center and approached one for uniaxial pulsatile shear near the wall, where large tangential WSS dominated a much smaller radial component. Near the center (low DOSI), more, smaller and less elongated cells grew, whereas larger cells with greater elongation were observed in the more uniaxial oscillatory shear (high DOSI) near the periphery of the dish. Further, cells aligned with the direction of the largest component of shear but were randomly oriented in low magnitude biaxial shear. Statistical analyses of the individual and interacting effects of multiple factors (DOSI, shear magnitudes and orbital speeds) showed that DOSI significantly affected all the responses, indicating that directionality is an important determinant of cellular responses. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Can Hall effect trigger Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in sub-Alfvénic flows?

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Pandey, B. P.

2018-05-01

In the Hall magnetohydrodynamics, the onset condition of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is solely determined by the Hall effect and is independent of the nature of shear flows. In addition, the physical mechanism behind the super- and sub-Alfvénic flows becoming unstable is quite different: the high-frequency right circularly polarized whistler becomes unstable in the super-Alfvénic flows whereas low-frequency, left circularly polarized ion-cyclotron wave becomes unstable in the presence of sub-Alfvénic shear flows. The growth rate of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the super-Alfvénic case is higher than the corresponding ideal magnetohydrodynamic rate. In the sub-Alfvénic case, the Hall effect opens up a new, hitherto inaccessible (to the magnetohydrodynamics) channel through which the partially or fully ionized fluid can become Kelvin-Helmholtz unstable. The instability growth rate in this case is smaller than the super-Alfvénic case owing to the smaller free shear energy content of the flow. When the Hall term is somewhat smaller than the advection term in the induction equation, the Hall effect is also responsible for the appearance of a new overstable mode whose growth rate is smaller than the purely growing Kelvin-Helmholtz mode. On the other hand, when the Hall diffusion dominates the advection term, the growth rate of the instability depends only on the Alfvén -Mach number and is independent of the Hall diffusion coefficient. Further, the growth rate in this case linearly increases with the Alfvén frequency with smaller slope for sub-Alfvénic flows.

Geomorphic Effects, Chronologies, and Archaeological Significance of El Nino Floods in Southern Peru

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Magilligan, F. J.; Manners, R.; Goldstein, P.

2003-12-01

The catastrophic effects of large floods have been well documented, on both contemporary and paleo-timecales, especially for the conterminous U.S. Less is known, however, about extreme events in hyper-arid sub-tropical climates where synoptic scale meteorological causes, such as El Nino-Southern Oscillation events, are the driving atmospheric mechanism. This research documents the geomorphic effects of extreme floods in the Moquegua River valley of southern Peru, in the core of the Atacama Desert. Using a combination of geomorphic mapping, hydrolologic modeling, aerial photography, ASTER satellite imagery, and GIS, we document the geomorphic signature of large contemporary floods within the mid-valley section (1500 masl) of the Rio Moquegua. Stratigraphic evidence and paleostage indicators of paleofloods, such as slackwater deposits and preserved high level flood gravels, are used to evidence late Holocene paleoflood magnitude-frequency relationships. On contemporary timescales, channel belt expansion by lateral erosion during large floods, such as the recent '97 and '98 floods, correspond to as much as 30-40 hectares of floodplain loss along the 20 km study reach. Sixty years of repeat aerial photography indicates that channel belt expansion and floodplain erosion commonly occurs along the Rio Moquegua. The frequent resetting of floodplain alluvium conditioned by these large floods is supported by radiocarbon dating of floodplain exposures. These dates indicate that most of the contemporary floodplain alluvium is younger that 560 14C yrs BP. The highest terrace remnants date to 3250 14C yrs BP and record a series of overbank flood gravels. Evidence for the regionally extensive Miraflores ENSO flood, ca. 1300 AD, exists in tributary and along mainstem sections. This flood has been documented along the coasts of Northern Chile to northern Peru, and has been evoked to explain significant social collapse. Our field evidence indicates that it catastrophically affected

Proton T2 relaxation effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide. Comparison between fast spin echo and conventional spin echo sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanimoto, Akihiro; Satoh, Yoshinori; Higuchi, Nobuya; Izutsu, Mutsumu; Yuasa, Yuji; Hiramatsu, Kyoichi

1995-01-01

Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) particles have been known to show a great T 2 relaxation effect in the liver, which contributes to significant liver signal decrease and detection of hepatic neoplasms. Recently, fast spin echo (FSE) sequence with less scanning time than conventional spin echo (SE) sequence has been rapidly introduced in clinical MR imaging. To investigate whether SPIO would show decreased T 2 relaxation effect on FSE, we obtained T 2 relaxivity (R2) of SPIO in vitro and liver signal decrease caused by SPIO in vivo. SPIO showed 20% less R2 on Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence than on SE. Relative liver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) decrease caused by SPIO was significantly smaller (p 2 relaxation effect on FSE than on SE. However, further studies will be required to assess the diagnostic capability of SPIO on FSE, in the detection of hepatic neoplasms. (author)

Effects of Bee Venom Acupuncture on Surgically Induced Endometriosis in Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Hyun Lee

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose : Bee Venom Acupuncture(BVA is known to affect inflammation and immune system. This study examined the macroscopic, hormonal and immunological effects of BVA on rats with surgically induced endometriosis. Method : Endometrial tissue was implanted in the serosal wall of the small intestine in rats. The rats were divided randomly into an experimental and control group. The experimental group was treated with BVA injection on kwanwon(CV4 three times per week, and the control group was given an oral dose of normal saline every day. 6 weeks later, the size of the ectopic uterine tissue was estimated, and the serum progesterone, estradiol and cytokine(TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 concentrations were analyzed. Result : The size of the ectopic uterine implants in the experimental group was much smaller than that in the control group. The estradiol, IL-2 concentrations were significantly lower and the IL-6, IL-10 concentrations were significantly higher in the serum of the experimental group than in the control group. there was no significant difference in the concentration of the other cytokine. Conclusion : These results suggest that BVA is an effective treatment for endometriosis.

Decreasing but still significant facilitation effect of cold-season macrophytes on wetlands purification function during cold winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Xiangxu; Zhang, Hui; Zuo, Jie; Wang, Penghe; Zhao, Dehua; An, Shuqing

2016-06-01

To identify the facilitation effect of a cool-season aquatic macrophyte (FEam) for use in effluent purification via constructed floating wetlands (CFWs) and to determine the possible pathways used during a winter period with an average temperature of less than 5 °C, pilot-scale CFWs were planted with the cold-season macrophyte Oenanthe clecumbens and were operated as batch systems. Although some leaves withered, the roots retained relatively high levels of activity during the winter, which had average air and water temperatures of 3.63 and 5.04 °C, respectively. The N and P removal efficiencies in CFWs decreased significantly in winter relative to those in late autumn. The presence of cool-season plants resulted in significant improvements in N and P removal, with a FEam of 15.23-25.86% in winter. Microbial N removal accounted for 71.57% of the total N removed in winter, and the decrease in plant uptake was the dominant factor in the wintertime decrease in N removal relative to that in late autumn. These results demonstrate the importance of cold-season plants in CFWs for the treatment of secondary effluent during cold winters.

Palms, peccaries and perturbations: widespread effects of small-scale disturbance in tropical forests

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Queenborough Simon A

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Disturbance is an important process structuring ecosystems worldwide and has long been thought to be a significant driver of diversity and dynamics. In forests, most studies of disturbance have focused on large-scale disturbance such as hurricanes or tree-falls. However, smaller sub-canopy disturbances could also have significant impacts on community structure. One such sub-canopy disturbance in tropical forests is abscising leaves of large arborescent palm (Arececeae trees. These leaves can weigh up to 15 kg and cause physical damage and mortality to juvenile plants. Previous studies examining this question suffered from the use of static data at small spatial scales. Here we use data from a large permanent forest plot combined with dynamic data on the survival and growth of > 66,000 individuals over a seven-year period to address whether falling palm fronds do impact neighboring seedling and sapling communities, or whether there is an interaction between the palms and peccaries rooting for fallen palm fruit in the same area as falling leaves. We tested the wider generalisation of these hypotheses by comparing seedling and sapling survival under fruiting and non-fruiting trees in another family, the Myristicaceae. Results We found a spatially-restricted but significant effect of large arborescent fruiting palms on the spatial structure, population dynamics and species diversity of neighbouring sapling and seedling communities. However, these effects were not found around slightly smaller non-fruiting palm trees, suggesting it is seed predators such as peccaries rather than falling leaves that impact on the communities around palm trees. Conversely, this hypothesis was not supported in data from other edible species, such as those in the family Myristicaceae. Conclusions Given the abundance of arborescent palm trees in Amazonian forests, it is reasonable to conclude that their presence does have a significant, if spatially

Palms, peccaries and perturbations: widespread effects of small-scale disturbance in tropical forests.

Science.gov (United States)

Queenborough, Simon A; Metz, Margaret R; Wiegand, Thorsten; Valencia, Renato

2012-03-19

Disturbance is an important process structuring ecosystems worldwide and has long been thought to be a significant driver of diversity and dynamics. In forests, most studies of disturbance have focused on large-scale disturbance such as hurricanes or tree-falls. However, smaller sub-canopy disturbances could also have significant impacts on community structure. One such sub-canopy disturbance in tropical forests is abscising leaves of large arborescent palm (Arececeae) trees. These leaves can weigh up to 15 kg and cause physical damage and mortality to juvenile plants. Previous studies examining this question suffered from the use of static data at small spatial scales. Here we use data from a large permanent forest plot combined with dynamic data on the survival and growth of > 66,000 individuals over a seven-year period to address whether falling palm fronds do impact neighboring seedling and sapling communities, or whether there is an interaction between the palms and peccaries rooting for fallen palm fruit in the same area as falling leaves. We tested the wider generalisation of these hypotheses by comparing seedling and sapling survival under fruiting and non-fruiting trees in another family, the Myristicaceae. We found a spatially-restricted but significant effect of large arborescent fruiting palms on the spatial structure, population dynamics and species diversity of neighbouring sapling and seedling communities. However, these effects were not found around slightly smaller non-fruiting palm trees, suggesting it is seed predators such as peccaries rather than falling leaves that impact on the communities around palm trees. Conversely, this hypothesis was not supported in data from other edible species, such as those in the family Myristicaceae. Given the abundance of arborescent palm trees in Amazonian forests, it is reasonable to conclude that their presence does have a significant, if spatially-restricted, impact on juvenile plants, most likely on the

Significance of the double-layer capacitor effect in polar rubbery dielectrics and exceptionally stable low-voltage high transconductance organic transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Lee, Wen-Ya; Kong, Desheng; Pfattner, Raphael; Schweicher, Guillaume; Nakajima, Reina; Lu, Chien; Mei, Jianguo; Lee, Tae Hoon; Wu, Hung-Chin; Lopez, Jeffery; Diao, Ying; Gu, Xiaodan; Himmelberger, Scott; Niu, Weijun; Matthews, James R; He, Mingqian; Salleo, Alberto; Nishi, Yoshio; Bao, Zhenan

2015-12-14

Both high gain and transconductance at low operating voltages are essential for practical applications of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Here, we describe the significance of the double-layer capacitance effect in polar rubbery dielectrics, even when present in a very low ion concentration and conductivity. We observed that this effect can greatly enhance the OFET transconductance when driven at low voltages. Specifically, when the polar elastomer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (e-PVDF-HFP) was used as the dielectric layer, despite a thickness of several micrometers, we obtained a transconductance per channel width 30 times higher than that measured for the same organic semiconductors fabricated on a semicrystalline PVDF-HFP with a similar thickness. After a series of detailed experimental investigations, we attribute the above observation to the double-layer capacitance effect, even though the ionic conductivity is as low as 10(-10) S/cm. Different from previously reported OFETs with double-layer capacitance effects, our devices showed unprecedented high bias-stress stability in air and even in water.

Significance of the double-layer capacitor effect in polar rubbery dielectrics and exceptionally stable low-voltage high transconductance organic transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Lee, Wen-Ya; Kong, Desheng; Pfattner, Raphael; Schweicher, Guillaume; Nakajima, Reina; Lu, Chien; Mei, Jianguo; Lee, Tae Hoon; Wu, Hung-Chin; Lopez, Jeffery; Diao, Ying; Gu, Xiaodan; Himmelberger, Scott; Niu, Weijun; Matthews, James R.; He, Mingqian; Salleo, Alberto; Nishi, Yoshio; Bao, Zhenan

2015-01-01

Both high gain and transconductance at low operating voltages are essential for practical applications of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Here, we describe the significance of the double-layer capacitance effect in polar rubbery dielectrics, even when present in a very low ion concentration and conductivity. We observed that this effect can greatly enhance the OFET transconductance when driven at low voltages. Specifically, when the polar elastomer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (e-PVDF-HFP) was used as the dielectric layer, despite a thickness of several micrometers, we obtained a transconductance per channel width 30 times higher than that measured for the same organic semiconductors fabricated on a semicrystalline PVDF-HFP with a similar thickness. After a series of detailed experimental investigations, we attribute the above observation to the double-layer capacitance effect, even though the ionic conductivity is as low as 10–10 S/cm. Different from previously reported OFETs with double-layer capacitance effects, our devices showed unprecedented high bias-stress stability in air and even in water. PMID:26658331

Isotope effects: definitions and consequences for pharmacologic studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Langenhove, A.

1986-01-01

The use of stable isotope-labeled compounds for pharmacologic studies requires careful consideration of the nature of the stable isotope label (2H, 13C, 15N, 18O) and its position of incorporation in the molecule. When deuterium is used, improper positioning can lead to significant primary isotope effects. Primary isotope effects occur when the breaking of the bond to the heavy isotope is the rate-limiting step in a reaction (or metabolic transformation). A reaction will proceed slower for the molecule with the heavy isotope label because of the mass difference between the light and the heavy isotope. In addition to these primary isotope effects, smaller but nevertheless important secondary isotope effects, physicochemical isotope effects, active hydrogen/deuterium exchange, or isotope effects associated with either the enzyme-catalyzed biotransformation or the mass spectrometric ionization and fragmentation can be operative. In mechanistic studies, isotope effects are used to their advantage; however, in pharmacokinetic studies, the occurrence of isotope effects can lead to grossly misleading biologic and analytic results: the metabolism of the drug will differ when in vivo isotope effects are operative, and isotope effects occurring during the analysis procedure will obscure the true metabolic profile of the drug

Effects of chronic acceleration on body composition

Science.gov (United States)

Pitts, G. C.

1982-01-01

Studies of the centrifugation of adult rats showed an unexpected decrease in the mass of fat-free muscle and bone, in spite of the added load induced by centrifugation. It is suggested that the lower but constant fat-free body mass was probably regulated during centrifugation. Rats placed in weightless conditions for 18.5 days gave indirect but strong evidence that the muscle had increased in mass. Other changes in the rats placed in weightless conditions included a smaller fraction of skeletal mineral, a smaller fraction of water in the total fat-free body, and a net shift of fluid from skin to viscera. Adult rats centrifuged throughout the post-weaning growth period exhibited smaller masses of bone and central nervous system (probably attributable to slower growth of the total body), and a larger mass of skin than controls at 1 G. Efforts at simulating the effects of weightlessness or centrifugation on the body composition of rats by regimens at terrestrial gravity were inconclusive.

Curative effects of sodium fusidate on the development of dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced colitis in rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Di Marco, Roberto; Mangano, Katia; Quattrocchi, Cinzia

2003-01-01

Fusidic acid and sodium fusidate (fusidin) are antibiotics with low toxicity and powerful immunomodulatory activities in vitro and in vivo. In this study we have evaluated the effect of fusidin on the development of dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (DNB)-induced colitis in rats that serves....... These entailed a significant reduction in body weight loss, smaller increase in colon weights, milder macroscopic damage, and lower histological scores. In addition, when sacrificed at the end of the study, fusidin-treated rats had significantly lower blood levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon......-gamma compared with untreated controls. The present findings concur with the beneficial actions of fusidin in a pilot study conducted in patients with Crohn's disease and warrant controlled studies in humans with IBD....

Presence and significant determinants of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with multiple sclerosis.

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Martina Borghi

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To investigate the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS, and to identify clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in MS. METHODS: 303 patients with MS and 279 healthy controls were administered the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N; measures of pre-morbid verbal competence and neuropsychiatric measures were also administered. RESULTS: Patients and healthy controls were matched for age, gender, education and pre-morbid verbal Intelligence Quotient. Patients presenting with cognitive impairment were 108/303 (35.6%. In the overall group of participants, the significant predictors of the most sensitive BRB-N scores were: presence of MS, age, education, and Vocabulary. The significant predictors when considering MS patients only were: course of MS, age, education, vocabulary, and depression. Using logistic regression analyses, significant determinants of the presence of cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting MS patients were: duration of illness (OR = 1.053, 95% CI = 1.010-1.097, p = 0.015, Expanded Disability Status Scale score (OR = 1.247, 95% CI = 1.024-1.517, p = 0.028, and vocabulary (OR = 0.960, 95% CI = 0.936-0.984, p = 0.001, while in the smaller group of progressive MS patients these predictors did not play a significant role in determining the cognitive outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our results corroborate the evidence about the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with MS. Furthermore, our findings identify significant clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in a large sample of MS patients for the first time. Implications for further research and clinical practice were discussed.

The energetic significance of cooking.

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Carmody, Rachel N; Wrangham, Richard W

2009-10-01

While cooking has long been argued to improve the diet, the nature of the improvement has not been well defined. As a result, the evolutionary significance of cooking has variously been proposed as being substantial or relatively trivial. In this paper, we evaluate the hypothesis that an important and consistent effect of cooking food is a rise in its net energy value. The pathways by which cooking influences net energy value differ for starch, protein, and lipid, and we therefore consider plant and animal foods separately. Evidence of compromised physiological performance among individuals on raw diets supports the hypothesis that cooked diets tend to provide energy. Mechanisms contributing to energy being gained from cooking include increased digestibility of starch and protein, reduced costs of digestion for cooked versus raw meat, and reduced energetic costs of detoxification and defence against pathogens. If cooking consistently improves the energetic value of foods through such mechanisms, its evolutionary impact depends partly on the relative energetic benefits of non-thermal processing methods used prior to cooking. We suggest that if non-thermal processing methods such as pounding were used by Lower Palaeolithic Homo, they likely provided an important increase in energy gain over unprocessed raw diets. However, cooking has critical effects not easily achievable by non-thermal processing, including the relatively complete gelatinisation of starch, efficient denaturing of proteins, and killing of food borne pathogens. This means that however sophisticated the non-thermal processing methods were, cooking would have conferred incremental energetic benefits. While much remains to be discovered, we conclude that the adoption of cooking would have led to an important rise in energy availability. For this reason, we predict that cooking had substantial evolutionary significance.

Effects of Math Anxiety and Perfectionism on Timed versus Untimed Math Testing in Mathematically Gifted Sixth Graders

Science.gov (United States)

Tsui, Joanne M.; Mazzocco, Michèle M. M.

2009-01-01

This study was designed to examine the effects of math anxiety and perfectionism on math performance, under timed testing conditions, among mathematically gifted sixth graders. We found that participants had worse math performance during timed versus untimed testing, but this difference was statistically significant only when the timed condition preceded the untimed condition. We also found that children with higher levels of either math anxiety or perfectionism had a smaller performance discrepancy during timed versus untimed testing, relative to children with lower levels of math anxiety or perfectionism. There were no statistically significant gender differences in overall test performance, nor in levels of math anxiety or perfectionism; however, the difference between performance on timed and untimed math testing was statistically significant for girls, but not for boys. Implications for educators are discussed. PMID:20084180

Economic effects of peak oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutz, Christian; Lehr, Ulrike; Wiebe, Kirsten S.

2012-01-01

Assuming that global oil production peaked, this paper uses scenario analysis to show the economic effects of a possible supply shortage and corresponding rise in oil prices in the next decade on different sectors in Germany and other major economies such as the US, Japan, China, the OPEC or Russia. Due to the price-inelasticity of oil demand the supply shortage leads to a sharp increase in oil prices in the second scenario, with high effects on GDP comparable to the magnitude of the global financial crises in 2008/09. Oil exporting countries benefit from high oil prices, whereas oil importing countries are negatively affected. Generally, the effects in the third scenario are significantly smaller than in the second, showing that energy efficiency measures and the switch to renewable energy sources decreases the countries' dependence on oil imports and hence reduces their vulnerability to oil price shocks on the world market. - Highlights: ► National and sectoral economic effects of peak oil until 2020 are modelled. ► The price elasticity of oil demand is low resulting in high price fluctuations. ► Oil shortage strongly affects transport and indirectly all other sectors. ► Global macroeconomic effects are comparable to the 2008/2009 crisis. ► Country effects depend on oil imports and productivity, and economic structures.

Limited effect of urban tree vegetation on NO2 and O3 concentrations near a traffic route

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grundström, Maria; Pleijel, Håkan

2014-01-01

Concentrations of NO 2 and O 3 were measured inside and outside a dense broad-leaved forest canopy adjacent to a busy traffic route in the City of Gothenburg, Sweden, with duplicate passive diffusion samplers during six one-week periods starting well before leaf senescence and ending when leaves were largely senescent. Concentrations of NO 2 were lower inside the forest canopy during all periods (representing a significant effect, p = 0.016), on average by 7% or 2.7 μg m −3 . O 3 showed a more variable response with an average non-significant effect of 2% lower in the forest stand. There was no systematic trend of the difference in concentrations inside and outside the forest stand of the pollutants with the progression of autumn leaf senescence. Our study indicates that the effect of urban vegetation on air pollution concentrations is small, although it seems to exist for NO 2 in a traffic polluted environment. - Highlights: • NO 2 was reduced by 7% inside an urban forest stand compared to outside. • The magnitude of the effect was not related to autumn senescence. • For O 3 the effect was smaller and non-significant. - Urban vegetation had limited effect on local air pollution

Uncertainty from the choice of microphysics scheme in convection-permitting models significantly exceeds aerosol effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. White

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the hydrometeor development and response to cloud droplet number concentration (CDNC perturbations in convection-permitting model configurations. We present results from a real-data simulation of deep convection in the Congo basin, an idealised supercell case, and a warm-rain large-eddy simulation (LES. In each case we compare two frequently used double-moment bulk microphysics schemes and investigate the response to CDNC perturbations. We find that the variability among the two schemes, including the response to aerosol, differs widely between these cases. In all cases, differences in the simulated cloud morphology and precipitation are found to be significantly greater between the microphysics schemes than due to CDNC perturbations within each scheme. Further, we show that the response of the hydrometeors to CDNC perturbations differs strongly not only between microphysics schemes, but the inter-scheme variability also differs between cases of convection. Sensitivity tests show that the representation of autoconversion is the dominant factor that drives differences in rain production between the microphysics schemes in the idealised precipitating shallow cumulus case and in a subregion of the Congo basin simulations dominated by liquid-phase processes. In this region, rain mass is also shown to be relatively insensitive to the radiative effects of an overlying layer of ice-phase cloud. The conversion of cloud ice to snow is the process responsible for differences in cold cloud bias between the schemes in the Congo. In the idealised supercell case, thermodynamic impacts on the storm system using different microphysics parameterisations can equal those due to aerosol effects. These results highlight the large uncertainty in cloud and precipitation responses to aerosol in convection-permitting simulations and have important implications not only for process studies of aerosol–convection interaction, but also for

Can a Toy Encourage Lower Calorie Meal Bundle Selection in Children? A Field Experiment on the Reinforcing Effects of Toys on Food Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Reimann, Martin; Lane, Kristen

2017-01-01

The goal of this research was to test whether including an inexpensive nonfood item (toy) with a smaller-sized meal bundle (420 calories), but not with the regular-sized meal bundle version (580 calories), would incentivize children to choose the smaller-sized meal bundle, even among children with overweight and obesity. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect in a between-subjects field experiment of a toy on smaller-sized meal choice (here, a binary choice between a smaller-sized or regular-sized meal bundles). A random sample of 109 elementary school children from two schools in the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area (55 females; Mage = 8.53 years, SDage = 2.14; MBMI = 18.30, SDBMI = 4.42) participated. Children's height and weight were measured and body-mass-index (BMI) was calculated, adjusting for age and sex. In our sample, 21 children were considered to be either overweight or obese. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of a toy on smaller-sized meal choice. Results revealed that the inclusion of a toy with a smaller-sized meal, but not with the regular-sized version, predicted smaller-sized meal choice (P restaurant chains may well utilize toys to motivate children to choose smaller-sized meal bundles. Our findings may be relevant for consumers, health advocates, policy makers, and marketers who would benefit from a strategy that presents healthier, but still desirable, meal bundle options.

Tumor significant dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Supe, S.J.; Nagalaxmi, K.V.; Meenakshi, L.

1983-01-01

In the practice of radiotherapy, various concepts like NSD, CRE, TDF, and BIR are being used to evaluate the biological effectiveness of the treatment schedules on the normal tissues. This has been accepted as the tolerance of the normal tissue is the limiting factor in the treatment of cancers. At present when various schedules are tried, attention is therefore paid to the biological damage of the normal tissues only and it is expected that the damage to the cancerous tissues would be extensive enough to control the cancer. Attempt is made in the present work to evaluate the concent of tumor significant dose (TSD) which will represent the damage to the cancerous tissue. Strandquist in the analysis of a large number of cases of squamous cell carcinoma found that for the 5 fraction/week treatment, the total dose required to bring about the same damage for the cancerous tissue is proportional to T/sup -0.22/, where T is the overall time over which the dose is delivered. Using this finding the TSD was defined as DxN/sup -p/xT/sup -q/, where D is the total dose, N the number of fractions, T the overall time p and q are the exponents to be suitably chosen. The values of p and q are adjusted such that p+q< or =0.24, and p varies from 0.0 to 0.24 and q varies from 0.0 to 0.22. Cases of cancer of cervix uteri treated between 1978 and 1980 in the V. N. Cancer Centre, Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Coimbatore, India were analyzed on the basis of these formulations. These data, coupled with the clinical experience, were used for choice of a formula for the TSD. Further, the dose schedules used in the British Institute of Radiology fraction- ation studies were also used to propose that the tumor significant dose is represented by DxN/sup -0.18/xT/sup -0.06/

Does the longus colli have an effect on cervical vertigo?

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiao-Ming; Pan, Fu-Min; Yong, Zhi-Yao; Ba, Zhao-yu; Wang, Shan-Jin; Liu, Zheng; Zhao, Wei-dong; Wu, De-Sheng

2017-01-01

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of the longus colli muscles in cervical vertigo. We retrospectively analyzed 116 adult patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) during 2014 in our department. Patients were assigned to the vertigo group or the nonvertigo group. Demographic data were recorded. Inner distance and cross-sectional area (CSA) of longus colli were measured using coronal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The vertigo group (n = 44) and the nonvertigo group (n = 72) were similar in demographic data. Mean preoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was higher in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group (P = 0.037), but no difference postoperatively. Mean JOA scores increased significantly postoperatively in both groups (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001). The mean vertigo score decreased significantly from pre- to postoperatively in the vertigo group (P = 0.023). The mean preoperative Cobb angle was significantly smaller in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group (P vertigo group (P vertigo group (P vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group. Mean Miyazaki scores were significantly higher in the vertigo group at C3/4 and C4/5 (P = 0.044 and P = 0.037). Moreover, a shorter inner distance and smaller CSA were related to a higher Miyazaki score. Inner distance and cross-sectional area (CSA) of longus colli are associated closely with cervical vertigo. Shorter inner distance and smaller CSA of the longus colli muscles might be risk factors for cervical vertigo. ACDF provided a good resolution of cervical vertigo. PMID:28328822

How significant is the ‘significant other’? Associations between significant others’ health behaviors and attitudes and young adults’ health outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berge Jerica M

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Having a significant other has been shown to be protective against physical and psychological health conditions for adults. Less is known about the period of emerging young adulthood and associations between significant others’ weight and weight-related health behaviors (e.g. healthy dietary intake, the frequency of physical activity, weight status. This study examined the association between significant others’ health attitudes and behaviors regarding eating and physical activity and young adults’ weight status, dietary intake, and physical activity. Methods This study uses data from Project EAT-III, a population-based cohort study with emerging young adults from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds (n = 1212. Logistic regression models examining cross-sectional associations, adjusted for sociodemographics and health behaviors five years earlier, were used to estimate predicted probabilities and calculate prevalence differences. Results Young adult women whose significant others had health promoting attitudes/behaviors were significantly less likely to be overweight/obese and were more likely to eat ≥ 5 fruits/vegetables per day and engage in ≥ 3.5 hours/week of physical activity, compared to women whose significant others did not have health promoting behaviors/attitudes. Young adult men whose significant other had health promoting behaviors/attitudes were more likely to engage in ≥ 3.5 hours/week of physical activity compared to men whose significant others did not have health promoting behaviors/attitudes. Conclusions Findings suggest the protective nature of the significant other with regard to weight-related health behaviors of young adults, particularly for young adult women. Obesity prevention efforts should consider the importance of including the significant other in intervention efforts with young adult women and potentially men.

Smaller Satellite Operations Near Geostationary Orbit

Science.gov (United States)

2007-09-01

of that study when a purely mathematical approach is not possible or too cumbersome to emphasize a point clearly. I will approach 7 the...components that are specifically designed to be utilized in CubeSats. Pumpkin Incorporated and Clyde Space are leading developers of COTS equipment...year mission life. From a purely hypothetical approach, assume the high interest targets were operating over Asia, with a number of satellites

Smaller decoding exponents : ball-collision decoding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bernstein, D.J.; Lange, T.; Peters, C.P.; Rogaway, P.

2011-01-01

Very few public-key cryptosystems are known that can encrypt and decrypt in time $ b^{ 2¿+¿o(1) } $with conjectured security level $2^b$ against conventional computers and quantum computers. The oldest of these systems is the classic McEliece code-based cryptosystem. The best attacks known against

The analysis and correction of neutron scattering effects in neutron imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raine, D.A.; Brenizer, J.S.

1997-01-01

A method of correcting for the scattering effects present in neutron radiographic and computed tomographic imaging has been developed. Prior work has shown that beam, object, and imaging system geometry factors, such as the L/D ratio and angular divergence, are the primary sources contributing to the degradation of neutron images. With objects smaller than 20--40 mm in width, a parallel beam approximation can be made where the effects from geometry are negligible. Factors which remain important in the image formation process are the pixel size of the imaging system, neutron scattering, the size of the object, the conversion material, and the beam energy spectrum. The Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code, version 4A (MCNP4A), was used to separate and evaluate the effect that each of these parameters has on neutron image data. The simulations were used to develop a correction algorithm which is easy to implement and requires no a priori knowledge of the object. The correction algorithm is based on the determination of the object scatter function (OSF) using available data outside the object to estimate the shape and magnitude of the OSF based on a Gaussian functional form. For objects smaller than 1 mm (0.04 in.) in width, the correction function can be well approximated by a constant function. Errors in the determination and correction of the MCNP simulated neutron scattering component were under 5% and larger errors were only noted in objects which were at the extreme high end of the range of object sizes simulated. The Monte Carlo data also indicated that scattering does not play a significant role in the blurring of neutron radiographic and tomographic images. The effect of neutron scattering on computed tomography is shown to be minimal at best, with the most serious effect resulting when the basic backprojection method is used

The multikinase inhibitor Sorafenib displays significant antiproliferative effects and induces apoptosis via caspase 3, 7 and PARP in B- and T-lymphoblastic cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schult, Catrin; Boldt, Sonja; Wolkenhauer, Olaf; Neri, Luca Maria; Freund, Mathias; Junghanss, Christian; Dahlhaus, Meike; Ruck, Sabine; Sawitzky, Mandy; Amoroso, Francesca; Lange, Sandra; Etro, Daniela; Glass, Aenne; Fuellen, Georg

2010-01-01

Targeted therapy approaches have been successfully introduced into the treatment of several cancers. The multikinase inhibitor Sorafenib has antitumor activity in solid tumors and its effects on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells are still unclear. ALL cell lines (SEM, RS4;11 and Jurkat) were treated with Sorafenib alone or in combination with cytarabine, doxorubicin or RAD001. Cell count, apoptosis and necrosis rates, cell cycle distribution, protein phosphorylation and metabolic activity were determined. Sorafenib inhibited the proliferation of ALL cells by cell cycle arrest accompanied by down-regulation of CyclinD3 and CDK4. Furthermore, Sorafenib initiated apoptosis by cleavage of caspases 3, 7 and PARP. Apoptosis and necrosis rates increased significantly with most pronounced effects after 96 h. Antiproliferative effects of Sorafenib were associated with a decreased phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473 and Thr308), FoxO3A (Thr32) and 4EBP-1 (Ser65 and Thr70) as early as 0.5 h after treatment. Synergistic effects were seen when Sorafenib was combined with other cytotoxic drugs or a mTOR inhibitor emphasizing the Sorafenib effect. Sorafenib displays significant antileukemic activity in vitro by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Furthermore, it influences PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling in ALL cells

Cosmological leverage from the matter power spectrum in the presence of baryon and nonlinear effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bielefeld, Jannis; Huterer, Dragan; Linder, Eric V.

2015-01-01

We investigate how the use of higher wavenumbers (smaller scales) in the galaxy clustering power spectrum influences cosmological constraints. We take into account uncertainties from nonlinear density fluctuations, (scale dependent) galaxy bias, and baryonic effects. Allowing for substantially model independent uncertainties through separate fit parameters in each wavenumber bin that also allow for the redshift evolution, we quantify strong gains in dark energy and neutrino mass leverage with increasing maximum wavenumber, despite marginalizing over numerous (up to 125) extra fit parameters. The leverage is due to not only an increased number of modes but, more significantly, breaking of degeneracies beyond the linear regime

The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Meta-Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherry, John L.

2001-01-01

Cumulates findings across existing empirical research on the effects of violent video games to estimate overall effect size and discern important trends and moderating variables. Suggests there is a smaller effect of violent video games on aggression than has been found with television violence on aggression. (SG)

Barnacle geese achieve significant energetic savings by changing posture.

Science.gov (United States)

Tickle, Peter G; Nudds, Robert L; Codd, Jonathan R

2012-01-01

Here we report the resting metabolic rate in barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) and provide evidence for the significant energetic effect of posture. Under laboratory conditions flow-through respirometry together with synchronous recording of behaviour enabled a calculation of how metabolic rate varies with posture. Our principal finding is that standing bipedally incurs a 25% increase in metabolic rate compared to birds sitting on the ground. In addition to the expected decrease in energy consumption of hindlimb postural muscles when sitting, we hypothesise that a change in breathing mechanics represents one potential mechanism for at least part of the observed difference in energetic cost. Due to the significant effect of posture, future studies of resting metabolic rates need to take into account and/or report differences in posture.

Orthognathic Surgery Has a Significant Effect on Perceived Personality Traits and Emotional Expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzaferro, Daniel M; Wes, Ari M; Naran, Sanjay; Pearl, Rebecca; Bartlett, Scott P; Taylor, Jesse A

2017-11-01

The effects of orthognathic surgery go beyond objective cephalometric correction of facial and dental disproportion and malocclusion, respectively. The authors hypothesized that there is tangible improvement following surgery that alters publicly perceived personality traits and emotions. The authors used Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a crowdsourcing tool, to determine how preoperative and postoperative images of orthognathic surgery patients were perceived on six personality traits and six emotional expressions based on posteroanterior and lateral photographs. Blinded respondents provided demographic information and were randomly assigned to one of two sets of 20 photographs (10 subjects before and after surgery). Data on 20 orthognathic surgery patients were collected from 476 individuals. The majority of participants were female (52.6 percent), 18 to 39 years old (67.9 percent), Caucasian (76.6 percent), had some college or technical training or graduated college (72.7 percent), and had an annual income between $20,000 and $99,999 (74.6 percent). A paired t test analysis found that subjects were perceived significantly more favorably after orthognathic surgery in 12 countenance categories: more dominant, trustworthy, friendly, intelligent, attractive, and happy; and also less threatening, angry, surprised, sad, afraid, and disgusted (p surgery than those earning less (p orthognathic surgery, with both perceived personality traits and emotions deemed more favorable. Additional work is needed to better understand the physiologic underpinnings of such findings. Crowdsourcing technology offers a unique opportunity for surgeons to gather data regarding laypeople's perceptions of surgical outcomes in areas such as orthognathic surgery.

Effects of Nano-zinc on Biochemical Parameters in Cadmium-Exposed Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Hejazy, Marzie; Koohi, Mohammad Kazem

2017-12-01

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic environmental and occupational pollutant with reported toxic effects on the kidneys, liver, lungs, bones, and the immunity system. Based on its physicochemical similarity to cadmium, zinc (Zn) shows protective effects against cadmium toxicity and cadmium accumulation in the body. Nano-zinc and nano-zinc oxide (ZnO), recently used in foods and pharmaceutical products, can release a great amount of Zn 2+ in their environment. This research was carried out to investigate the more potent properties of the metal zinc among sub-acute cadmium intoxicated rats. Seventy-five male Wistar rats were caged in 15 groups. Cadmium chloride (CdCl 2 ) was used in drinking water to induce cadmium toxicity. Different sizes (15, 20, and 30 nm) and doses of nano-zinc particles (3, 10, 100 mg/kg body weight [bw]) were administered solely and simultaneously with CdCl 2 (2-5 mg/kg bw) for 28 days. The experimental animals were decapitated, and the biochemical biomarkers (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) were determined in their serum after oral exposure to nano-zinc and cadmium. Statistical analysis was carried out with a one-way ANOVA and t test. P zinc-treated rats. AST, ALT, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL, and free fatty acids increased significantly in the cadmium- and nano-zinc-treated rats compared with the controls. However, albumin, total protein, and HDLc significantly decreased in the cadmium- and nano-zinc-treated rats compared with the controls (P zinc, the smaller sizes with low doses and the larger sizes with high doses are more toxic than metallic zinc. In a few cases, an inverse dose-dependent relationship was seen as well. This research showed that in spite of larger sizes of zinc, smaller sizes of nano-zinc particles are not suitable for protection against cadmium intoxication.

Is the effect of silicon on rice uptake of arsenate (AsV) related to internal silicon concentrations, iron plaque and phosphate nutrition?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, W.; Zhu, Y.-G.; Liu, W.-J.; Liang, Y.-C.; Geng, C.-N.; Wang, S.-G.

2007-01-01

Solution culture experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of silicon (Si) on arsenate (As V ) uptake by rice. The addition of Si to the pretreatment or uptake solution significantly decreased shoot and root As concentrations (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05). The presence of Si in the pretreatment or uptake solution also significantly decreased shoot P concentrations (P < 0.001). The data demonstrated that both internal and external Si inhibited the uptake of As and P. Results of As uptake kinetics showed that the mechanism of the effect of Si on arsenate uptake is not caused by direct competition for active sites of transporters with As. The effect of Si on As uptake was not entirely mediated through the effect of Si on P uptake. Although the addition of Si to pretreatment solutions still significantly decreased shoot and root As concentrations, the extent of reduction became smaller when rice roots were coated with iron plaque. - Arsenate uptake by rice seedlings is affected by both Si (internal and external) and iron plaque on root surface

Role of field-induced nanostructures, zippering and size polydispersity on effective thermal transport in magnetic fluids without significant viscosity enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Vinod, Sithara; Philip, John

2017-12-01

Magnetic nanofluids or ferrofluids exhibit extraordinary field dependant tunable thermal conductivity (k), which make them potential candidates for microelectronic cooling applications. However, the associated viscosity enhancement under an external stimulus is undesirable for practical applications. Further, the exact mechanism of heat transport and the role of field induced nanostructures on thermal transport is not clearly understood. In this paper, through systematic thermal, rheological and microscopic studies in 'model ferrofluids', we demonstrate for the first time, the conditions to achieve very high thermal conductivity to viscosity ratio. Highly stable ferrofluids with similar crystallite size, base fluid, capping agent and magnetic properties, but with slightly different size distributions, are synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, small angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, vibrating sample magnetometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermo-gravimetry. The average hydrodynamic diameters of the particles were 11.7 and 10.1 nm and the polydispersity indices (σ), were 0.226 and 0.151, respectively. We observe that the system with smaller polydispersity (σ = 0.151) gives larger k enhancement (130% for 150 G) as compared to the one with σ = 0.226 (73% for 80 G). Further, our results show that dispersions without larger aggregates and with high density interfacial capping (with surfactant) can provide very high enhancement in thermal conductivity, with insignificant viscosity enhancement, due to minimal interfacial losses. We also provide experimental evidence for the effective heat conduction (parallel mode) through a large number of space filling linear aggregates with high aspect ratio. Microscopic studies reveal that the larger particles act as nucleating sites and facilitate lateral aggregation (zippering) of linear chains that considerably reduces the number density of space

Detecting significant changes in protein abundance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Kammers

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We review and demonstrate how an empirical Bayes method, shrinking a protein's sample variance towards a pooled estimate, leads to far more powerful and stable inference to detect significant changes in protein abundance compared to ordinary t-tests. Using examples from isobaric mass labelled proteomic experiments we show how to analyze data from multiple experiments simultaneously, and discuss the effects of missing data on the inference. We also present easy to use open source software for normalization of mass spectrometry data and inference based on moderated test statistics.

Continuum modeling of post-implantation damage and the effective plus factor in crystalline silicon at room temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, H.Y.; Srinivasan, M.P.; Benistant, F.; Mok, K.R.; Chan, Lap; Jin, H.M.

2006-01-01

The role of computer simulation in predicting intrinsic diffusion effects is amplified with the shrinkage of MOS devices. In this work, post-implant damage distributions are obtained from atomistic Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Based on diffusion-limiting kinetics, the evolution of the damage at room temperature with time is studied. It is shown that evolution of the point defects follow the Ostwald ripening process, where larger defect clusters grow at the expense of smaller ones. A qualitative study of the effective plus factor is also conducted, taking into account various clustering and recombination processes. Clustering is found to significantly affect the remaining amount of damage, which in turn affects subsequent diffusion processes

Effect of Concrete Creep on the displacement of single tower single cable plane Extradosed Cable-stayed Bridge

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Jing-xian; Ran, Zhi-hong

2018-03-01

Extradossed Cable-stayed Bridge is both cable-stayed Bridge and Continuous rigid frame bridge mechanics feature, Beam is the main force components, cable is supplement.This article combined with a single tower and single cable plane Extradossed cable-stayed bridge in Yunnan, use different creep calculation models and analysis deflection caused by creep effects. The results showing that deflection caused by creep effect is smaller than the same span continuous rigid frame bridge, the value is about 2cm. On the other hand the deflection is increasing with ambient humidity decreases, therefore in the dry environment the calculation model is relatively large in the pre-camber. In the choice of RC creep model is significant in the dry areas.

The effect of coil misalignment on particle transport in quasi-axisymmetric systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Akihiro; Okamura, Shoichi; Isobe, Mitsutaka; Suzuki, Chihiro; Nishimura, Shin; Akiyama, Tsuyoshi; Matsuoka, Keisuke; Nemov, Victor V.

2004-01-01

The effect of the misalignment of modular coils neoclassical transport in CHS-qa is discussed in this paper. In order to calculate the effective helical ripple that characterizes the neoclassical transport of the stellarator configuration, NEO code is used which gives the effective helical ripple numerically. A displacement is put artificially on the modular coils of the CHS-qa, and the effect of this on the profile of the effective helical ripple is evaluated quantitatively. One objective of this study is to obtain useful information to determine the acceptable error level for the assembly of modular coils from the viewpoint of engineering. The calculation results of the NEO code show that if the level of displacement is smaller than a few centimeters, it has only a very small effect on the neoclassical transport. The a mount of change in the effective helical ripple is small. Therefore the displacement of the modular coils caused by the electromagnetic force at a 1.5 T operation of CHS-qa does not lead to significant problems in terms of neoclassical transport. (author)

Experimental investigation of the count-loss effect due to the time interval between counting-gates in the Feynman-α method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallerbos, E.J.M.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1997-01-01

Yamane and Hayashi derived a new formula for the variance-to-mean ratio that takes the channel advance time of a multi-channel scaler into account. If the channel advance time is much smaller than the channel width (as in practice), then its effect can be numerically shown to be negligible. It might be for this reason that experimental results that validate the new formula have never been published. However, by introducing an artificial long channel advance time equal to the width of one channel, the effect becomes significant and can be demonstrated experimentally. With these experimental results, the new formula could be validated. (author)

Experimental investigation of the count-loss effect due to the time interval between counting-rates in the Feynman-{alpha} method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallerbos, E.J.M.; Hoogenboom, J. E

1998-03-01

Yamane and Hayashi derived a new formula for the variance-to-mean ratio that takes the channel advance time of a multi-channel scaler into account. If the channel advance time is much smaller than the channel width (as in practice), then its effect can be numerically shown to be negligible. It might be for this reason that experimental results that validate the new formula have never been published. However, by introducing an artificial long channel advance time equal to the width of one channel, the effect becomes significant and can be demonstrated experimentally. With these experimental results, the new formula could be validated.

Experimental investigation of the count-loss effect due to the time interval between counting-rates in the Feynman-α method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallerbos, E.J.M.; Hoogenboom, J. E.

1998-01-01

Yamane and Hayashi derived a new formula for the variance-to-mean ratio that takes the channel advance time of a multi-channel scaler into account. If the channel advance time is much smaller than the channel width (as in practice), then its effect can be numerically shown to be negligible. It might be for this reason that experimental results that validate the new formula have never been published. However, by introducing an artificial long channel advance time equal to the width of one channel, the effect becomes significant and can be demonstrated experimentally. With these experimental results, the new formula could be validated

Experimental investigation of the count-loss effect due to the time interval between counting-gates in the Feynman-{alpha} method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallerbos, E.J.M.; Hoogenboom, J.E. [Delft University of Technology (Netherlands). Interfaculty Reactor Institute

1997-12-01

Yamane and Hayashi derived a new formula for the variance-to-mean ratio that takes the channel advance time of a multi-channel scaler into account. If the channel advance time is much smaller than the channel width (as in practice), then its effect can be numerically shown to be negligible. It might be for this reason that experimental results that validate the new formula have never been published. However, by introducing an artificial long channel advance time equal to the width of one channel, the effect becomes significant and can be demonstrated experimentally. With these experimental results, the new formula could be validated. (author).

Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiheung Ahn

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the requirement of long distance transportation of honey bees used for pollination, we understand little how transportation affects honey bees. Three trials in three different states (CA, GA, and MI were conducted to study the effects of long distance transportation on honey bee physiology. Newly emerged bees from one colony were split into two groups and introduced into a transported (T colony or a stationary (S colony in each trial. Volumes of hypopharyngeal gland acini in T colonies were significantly smaller than S colonies in all three trials. There were no significant differences between S and T colonies in juvenile hormone titers. Protein content in head showed no significant differences between S and T either in 7-day-old or 17-day-old bees of MI trial, but GA trial showed a significant reduction in bees experiencing transportation. Protein content in thorax was only measured in GA trial and was not significantly different between the two groups. Lipid content in abdomen was not significantly different between the S and T colonies in all three trials. This study suggests that bees experiencing transportation have trouble fully developing their food glands and this might affect their ability to nurse the next generation of workers.

Effect modification of air pollution on Urinary 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine by genotypes: an application of the multiple testing procedure to identify significant SNP interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christiani David C

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Air pollution is associated with adverse human health, but mechanisms through which pollution exerts effects remain to be clarified. One suggested pathway is that pollution causes oxidative stress. If so, oxidative stress-related genotypes may modify the oxidative response defenses to pollution exposure. Methods We explored the potential pathway by examining whether an array of oxidative stress-related genes (twenty single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs in nine genes modified associations of pollutants (organic carbon (OC, ozone and sulfate with urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxygunosine (8-OHdG, a biomarker of oxidative stress among the 320 aging men. We used a Multiple Testing Procedure in R modified by our team to identify the significance of the candidate genes adjusting for a priori covariates. Results We found that glutathione S-tranferase P1 (GSTP1, rs1799811, M1 and catalase (rs2284367 and group-specific component (GC, rs2282679, rs1155563 significantly or marginally significantly modified effects of OC and/or sulfate with larger effects among those carrying the wild type of GSTP1, catalase, non-wild type of GC and the non-null of GSTM1. Conclusions Polymorphisms of oxidative stress-related genes modified effects of OC and/or sulfate on 8-OHdG, suggesting that effects of OC or sulfate on 8-OHdG and other endpoints may be through the oxidative stress pathway.

Significance of the Capacity Recovery Effect in Pouch Lithium-Sulfur Battery Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knap, Vaclav; Zhang, Teng; Stroe, Daniel Loan

2016-01-01

Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries are an emerging energy storage technology, which is technically-attractive due to its high theoretical limits; practically, it is expected that Li-S batteries will result into lighter energy storage devices with higher capacities than traditional Lithium-ion...... batteries. One of the actual disadvantages for this technology is the highly pronounced rate capacity effect, which reduces the available capacity to be discharged when high currents are used. This drawback might be addressed by the use of the capacity recovery effect, which by introducing relaxation...... periods between consecutive pulse discharges of the battery, increases the available discharge capacity of the cell. The capacity recovery effect of the Li-S cell is studied in this paper using the pulse discharge technique, considering its dependence on the applied current, discharge step length...

Hydrologic effects of large southwestern USA wildfires significantly increase regional water supply: fact or fiction?

Science.gov (United States)

Wine, M. L.; Cadol, D.

2016-08-01

In recent years climate change and historic fire suppression have increased the frequency of large wildfires in the southwestern USA, motivating study of the hydrological consequences of these wildfires at point and watershed scales, typically over short periods of time. These studies have revealed that reduced soil infiltration capacity and reduced transpiration due to tree canopy combustion increase streamflow at the watershed scale. However, the degree to which these local increases in runoff propagate to larger scales—relevant to urban and agricultural water supply—remains largely unknown, particularly in semi-arid mountainous watersheds co-dominated by winter snowmelt and the North American monsoon. To address this question, we selected three New Mexico watersheds—the Jemez (1223 km2), Mogollon (191 km2), and Gila (4807 km2)—that together have been affected by over 100 wildfires since 1982. We then applied climate-driven linear models to test for effects of fire on streamflow metrics after controlling for climatic variability. Here we show that, after controlling for climatic and snowpack variability, significantly more streamflow discharged from the Gila watershed for three to five years following wildfires, consistent with increased regional water yield due to enhanced infiltration-excess overland flow and groundwater recharge at the large watershed scale. In contrast, we observed no such increase in discharge from the Jemez watershed following wildfires. Fire regimes represent a key difference between the contrasting responses of the Jemez and Gila watersheds with the latter experiencing more frequent wildfires, many caused by lightning strikes. While hydrologic dynamics at the scale of large watersheds were previously thought to be climatically dominated, these results suggest that if one fifth or more of a large watershed has been burned in the previous three to five years, significant increases in water yield can be expected.

New tablet formulation of tacrolimus with smaller interindividual variability may become a better treatment option than the conventional capsule formulation in organ transplant patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim YK

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Yu Kyong Kim,1 Anhye Kim,1,2 Shin Jung Park,3 Howard Lee1,4 1Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, Seoul, 2Clinical Trial Center, Ajou University Medical Center, Suwon, 3Research Institute, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp, Yongin, 4Department of Transdisciplinary Studies, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon, Republic of Korea Abstract: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic (PK and tolerability profiles of a new tablet formulation of tacrolimus and its interindividual variability (IIV in the systemic exposure, and to compare them with those of the conventional capsule formulation, a randomized, open-label, two-treatment, two-period, two-sequence, crossover study was performed in 47 healthy males. The capsule or tablet formulation of tacrolimus was orally administered, and serial blood samples were collected up to 96 hours after dosing. Whole-blood tacrolimus concentration was determined using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The maximum whole-blood tacrolimus concentration (Cmax and the area under the whole-blood tacrolimus concentration–time curve from 0 hour to the last quantifiable concentration (AUClast were compared between the two formulations. The similarity factor (f2 of the in vitro dissolution profiles was calculated. The geometric mean ratio (90% confidence interval of tablet to capsule was 0.9680 (0.8873–1.0560 and 1.0322 (0.9359–1.1385 for Cmax and AUClast, respectively. The IIV of Cmax and AUClast of the tablet was smaller than the capsule. The f2 values were >50 in all media. Both formulations were well tolerated. Thus, the tablet formulation of tacrolimus has smaller IIV in the systemic exposure than capsule, while having comparable PK and tolerability profiles, which may render it as a better treatment option for organ transplant patients. Keywords: new formulation, incrementally

Deformation and shell effects in nuclear mass formulas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbero, César; Hirsch, Jorge G.; Mariano, Alejandro E.

2012-01-01

We analyze the ability of three different Liquid Drop Mass (LDM) formulas to describe nuclear masses for nuclei in various deformation regions. Separating the 2149 measured nuclear species into eight sets with similar quadrupole deformations, we show that the masses of prolate deformed nuclei are better described than those of spherical ones. In fact, the prolate deformed nuclei are fitted with an RMS smaller than 750 keV, while for spherical and semi-magic species the RMS is always larger than 2000 keV. These results are found to be independent of pairing. It is also shown that the macroscopic sector of the Duflo–Zuker (DZ) mass model reproduces shell effects, while most of the deformation dependence is lost and the RMS is larger than in any LDM. Adding to the LDM the microscopically motivated DZ master terms introduces the shell effects, allowing for a significant reduction in the RMS of the fit but still exhibiting a better description of prolate deformed nuclei. The inclusion of shell effects following the Interacting Boson Model's ideas produces similar results.

Deformation and shell effects in nuclear mass formulas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbero, Cesar [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, C.C. 67, 1900 La Plata (Argentina); Instituto de Fisica La Plata, CONICET, 1900 La Plata (Argentina); Hirsch, Jorge G., E-mail: hirsch@nucleares.unam.mx [Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 04510 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); Mariano, Alejandro E. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, C.C. 67, 1900 La Plata (Argentina); Instituto de Fisica La Plata, CONICET, 1900 La Plata (Argentina)

2012-01-15

We analyze the ability of three different Liquid Drop Mass (LDM) formulas to describe nuclear masses for nuclei in various deformation regions. Separating the 2149 measured nuclear species into eight sets with similar quadrupole deformations, we show that the masses of prolate deformed nuclei are better described than those of spherical ones. In fact, the prolate deformed nuclei are fitted with an RMS smaller than 750 keV, while for spherical and semi-magic species the RMS is always larger than 2000 keV. These results are found to be independent of pairing. It is also shown that the macroscopic sector of the Duflo-Zuker (DZ) mass model reproduces shell effects, while most of the deformation dependence is lost and the RMS is larger than in any LDM. Adding to the LDM the microscopically motivated DZ master terms introduces the shell effects, allowing for a significant reduction in the RMS of the fit but still exhibiting a better description of prolate deformed nuclei. The inclusion of shell effects following the Interacting Boson Model's ideas produces similar results.

Seasonal changes and effect of harvest on glucosinolates in Isatis leaves.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohn, Tobias; Suter, Kathrin; Hamburger, Matthias

2008-04-01

The seasonal fluctuation of glucosinolates in five defined Isatis tinctoria and one Isatis indigotica accessions (first year, rosette stage), grown on field plots under identical conditions, was investigated. Analysis of the intact glucosinolates was carried out with shock frozen, freeze dried leaf samples using a recently developed and validated PLE (pressurized liquid extraction) protocol and ion-pair HPLC coupled with ESI-MS in the negative mode. When comparing the two Isatis species, significant qualitative and quantitative differences in the glucosinolate patterns were observed. Differences among the various Isatis tinctoria accessions were much smaller. We studied the effects of repeated harvesting during the growth season on glucosinolate concentrations and found that repeated harvest did not have a major effect on glucosinolate concentrations of newly grown leaves. Glucosinolates could not be detected in woad leaves submitted to conventional drying.

Novel life-history data for threatened seahorses provide insight into fishery effects.

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Lawson, J M; Foster, S J; Lim, A C O; Chong, V C; Vincent, A C J

2015-01-01

Life-history variables for three incidentally captured species of seahorse (Kellogg's seahorse Hippocampus kelloggi, the hedgehog seahorse Hippocampus spinosissimus and the three-spot seahorse Hippocampus trimaculatus) were established using specimens obtained from 33 fisheries landing sites in Peninsular Malaysia. When samples were pooled by species across the peninsula, sex ratios were not significantly different from unity, and height and mass relationships were significant for all species. For two of these species, height at physical maturity (HM ) was smaller than the height at which reproductive activity (HR ) commenced: H. spinosissimus (HM = 99·6 mm, HR = 123·2 mm) and H. trimaculatus (HM = 90·5 mm, HR = 121·8 mm). For H. kelloggi, HM could not be estimated as all individuals were physically mature, while HR = 167·4 mm. It appears that all three Hippocampus spp. were, on average, caught before reproducing; height at 50% capture (HC ) was ≥HM but ≤HR . The results from this study probe the effectiveness of assessment techniques for data-poor fisheries that rely heavily on estimates of length at maturity, especially if maturity is poorly defined. Findings also question the sustainability of H. trimaculatus catches in the south-west region of Peninsular Malaysia, where landed specimens had a notably smaller mean height (86·2 mm) and markedly skewed sex ratio (6% males) compared with samples from the south-east and north-west of the peninsula. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Clinical and angiographic predictors of haemodynamically significant angiographic lesions: development and validation of a risk score to predict positive fractional flow reserve.

Science.gov (United States)

Sareen, Nishtha; Baber, Usman; Kezbor, Safwan; Sayseng, Sonny; Aquino, Melissa; Mehran, Roxana; Sweeny, Joseph; Barman, Nitin; Kini, Annapoorna; Sharma, Samin K

2017-04-07

Coronary revascularisation based upon physiological evaluation of lesions improves clinical outcomes. Angiographic or visual stenosis assessment alone is insufficient in predicting haemodynamic stenosis severity by fractional flow reserve (FFR) and therefore cannot be used to guide revascularisation, particularly in the lesion subset system formulated. Of 1,023 consecutive lesions (883 patients), 314 (31%) were haemodynamically significant. Characteristics associated with FFR ≤0.8 include male gender, higher SYNTAX score, lesions ≥20 mm, stenosis >50%, bifurcation, calcification, absence of tortuosity and smaller reference diameter. A user-friendly integer score was developed with the five variables demonstrating the strongest association. On prospective validation (in 279 distinct lesions), the increasing value of the score correlated well with increasing haemodynamic significance (C-statistic 0.85). We identified several clinical and angiographic characteristics and formulated a scoring system to guide the approach to intermediate lesions. This may translate into cost savings. Larger studies with prospective validation are required to confirm our results.

Effects of Dry-Milling and Wet-Milling on Chemical, Physical and Gelatinization Properties of Rice Flour

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Jitranut Leewatchararongjaroen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Rice flour from nine varieties, subjected to dry- and wet-milling processes, was determined for its physical and chemical properties. The results revealed that milling method had an effect on properties of flour. Wet-milling process resulted in flour with significantly lower protein and ash contents and higher carbohydrate content. Wet-milled flour also tended to have lower lipid content and higher amylose content. In addition, wet-milled rice flour contained granules with smaller average size compared to dry-milled samples. Swelling power at 90 °C of wet-milled samples was higher while solubility was significantly lower than those of dry-milled flour. Dry milling process caused the destruction of the crystalline structure and yielded flour with lower crystallinity compared to wet-milling process, which resulted in significantly lower gelatinization enthalpy.

Significance of Thermal Fluvial Incision and Bedrock Transfer due to Ice Advection on Greenland Ice Sheet Topography

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Crozier, J. A.; Karlstrom, L.; Yang, K.

2017-12-01

Ice sheet surface topography reflects a complicated combination of processes that act directly upon the surface and that are products of ice advection. Using recently-available high resolution ice velocity, imagery, ice surface elevation, and bedrock elevation data sets, we seek to determine the domain of significance of two important processes - thermal fluvial incision and transfer of bedrock topography through the ice sheet - on controlling surface topography in the ablation zone. Evaluating such controls is important for understanding how melting of the GIS surface during the melt season may be directly imprinted in topography through supraglacial drainage networks, and indirectly imprinted through its contribution to basal sliding that affects bedrock transfer. We use methods developed by (Karlstrom and Yang, 2016) to identify supraglacial stream networks on the GIS, and use high resolution surface digital elevation models as well as gridded ice velocity and melt rate models to quantify surface processes. We implement a numerically efficient Fourier domain bedrock transfer function (Gudmundsson, 2003) to predict surface topography due to ice advection over bedrock topography obtained from radar. Despite a number of simplifying assumptions, the bedrock transfer function predicts the observed ice sheet surface in most regions of the GIS with ˜90% accuracy, regardless of the presence or absence of supraglacial drainage networks. This supports the hypothesis that bedrock is the most significant driver of ice surface topography on wavelengths similar to ice thickness. Ice surface topographic asymmetry on the GIS is common, with slopes in the direction of ice flow steeper than those faced opposite to ice flow, consistent with bedrock transfer theory. At smaller wavelengths, topography consistent with fluvial erosion by surface hydrologic features is evident. We quantify the effect of ice advection versus fluvial thermal erosion on supraglacial longitudinal stream

Treatment with pioglitazone induced significant, reversible mitral regurgitation.

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Dorkhan, Mozhgan; Dencker, Magnus; Frid, Anders

2008-04-30

There has in recent years been great concern about possible cardiac side effects of thiazolidinediones (TZDs). We present a case-report of a 60 year-old male who developed significant mitral regurgitation during six months treatment with pioglitazone in parallel with laboratory indications of fluid retention. Echocardiography six months after discontinuation of medication showed regression of mitral regurgitation and the laboratory parameters were also normalized. It is noteworthy that six months treatment with pioglitazone could induce significant valve dysfunction, which was reversible, and this underlines the importance of carefully monitoring patients when placing them on treatment with TZDs.

Treatment with pioglitazone induced significant, reversible mitral regurgitation

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Frid Anders

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract There has in recent years been great concern about possible cardiac side effects of thiazolidinediones (TZDs. We present a case-report of a 60 year-old male who developed significant mitral regurgitation during six months treatment with pioglitazone in parallel with laboratory indications of fluid retention. Echocardiography six months after discontinuation of medication showed regression of mitral regurgitation and the laboratory parameters were also normalized. It is noteworthy that six months treatment with pioglitazone could induce significant valve dysfunction, which was reversible, and this underlines the importance of carefully monitoring patients when placing them on treatment with TZDs.

Neurotrophic effects of perfluorocarbon emulsion gel: a pilot study

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Isaacs Jonathan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Positive neurotrophic effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment may be more easily achieved by applying a Perflourocarbon (PFC emulsion gel to the repair site. PFCs are halogen substituted carbon oils with unique oxygen transport potentials that are capable of increasing oxygen availability in local tissues. The purpose of this study was to determine if the application of a PFC emulsion to a repaired nerve would improve recovery. Materials and methods The left tibial nerve of 21 immature female Sprague-Dawley rats was transected, immediately repaired, and then circumferentially coated with PFC gel (Group A, n = 7, PFC-less gel (Group B, n = 7, or nothing (suture only, Group C, n = 7. At eight weeks post surgery, electrophysiological testing and histological and morphological analysis was performed. Results No statistically significant differences between experimental groups were found for muscle size and weight, axon counts, or nerve conduction velocity. Group A had a significantly smaller G-ratio than Groups B and C (p Conclusion Overall results do not indicate a functional benefit associated with application of a PFC emulsion gel to rodent tibial nerve repairs. A positive effect on myelination was seen.

Rumen-protected choline: A significance effect on dairy cattle nutrition.

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Jayaprakash, G; Sathiyabarathi, M; Robert, M Arokia; Tamilmani, T

2016-08-01

Choline is a vitamin-like substance it has multi-function in animal production, reproduction, and health. The transition period is most crucial stage in lactation cycle of dairy cows due to its association with negative hormonal and energy balances. Unfortunately, unprotected choline easily degrades in the rumen; therefore, choline added to the diet in a rumen-protected form. The use of rumen-protected choline (RPC) is a preventive measurement for the fatty liver syndrome and ketosis; may improve milk production as well as milk composition and reproduction parameters. This review summarizes the effectiveness of RPC on animal production, health, and reproduction.

Barnacle geese achieve significant energetic savings by changing posture.

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Peter G Tickle

Full Text Available Here we report the resting metabolic rate in barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis and provide evidence for the significant energetic effect of posture. Under laboratory conditions flow-through respirometry together with synchronous recording of behaviour enabled a calculation of how metabolic rate varies with posture. Our principal finding is that standing bipedally incurs a 25% increase in metabolic rate compared to birds sitting on the ground. In addition to the expected decrease in energy consumption of hindlimb postural muscles when sitting, we hypothesise that a change in breathing mechanics represents one potential mechanism for at least part of the observed difference in energetic cost. Due to the significant effect of posture, future studies of resting metabolic rates need to take into account and/or report differences in posture.

Vlasov simulation of the relativistic effect on the breaking of large amplitude plasma waves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Hui; Sheng Zhengming; Zhang Jie

2007-01-01

The influence of relativistic and thermal effects on plasma wave breaking has been studied by solving the coupled Vlasov-Poisson equations. When the relativistic effect is not considered, the wave breaking will not occur, provided the initial perturbation is less than certain value as predicted previously, and the largest amplitude of the plasma wave will decrease with the increase of the initial temperature. When the relativistic effect is considered, wave breaking always occurs during the time evolution, irrespective of the initial perturbation amplitude. Yet the smaller the initial perturbation amplitude is, the longer is the time for wave breaking to occur. With large initial perturbations, wave breaking can always occur with the without the relativistic effect. However, the results are significantly different in the two cases. The thermal effects of electrons decrease the threshold value to initial amplitude for wave breaking and large phase velocity makes the nonlinear phenomenon occur more easily. (authors)

Quantitative assessment of surface functionality effects on microglial uptake and retention of PAMAM dendrimers

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Liaw, Kevin; Gök, Ozgul; DeRidder, Louis B.; Kannan, Sujatha; Kannan, Rangaramanujam M.

2018-04-01

Dendrimers are a promising class of polymeric nanoparticles for delivery of therapeutics and diagnostics. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have shown significant efficacy in many animal models, with performance dependent on surface functionalities. Understanding the effects of end groups on biological interactions is critical for rational design of dendrimer-mediated therapies. In this study, we quantify the cellular trafficking kinetics (endocytosis and exocytosis) of generation 4 neutral (D4-OH), cationic (D4-NH2), anionic (D3.5-COOH), and generation 6 neutral (D6-OH) PAMAM dendrimers to investigate the nanoscale effects of surface functionality and size on cellular interactions. Resting and LPS-activated microglia were studied due to their central roles in dendrimer therapies for central nervous system disorders. D4-OH exhibits greater cellular uptake and lower retention than the larger D6-OH. D4-OH and D3.5-COOH exhibit similar trafficking kinetics, while D4-NH2 exhibits significant membrane interactions, resulting in faster cell association but lower internalization. Cationic charge may also enhance vesicular escape for greater cellular retention and preferential partitioning to nuclei. LPS activation further improves uptake of dendrimers, with smaller and cationic dendrimers experiencing the greatest increases in uptake compared to resting microglia. These studies have implications for the dependence of trafficking pathway on dendrimer properties and inform the design of dendrimer constructs tailored to specific therapeutic needs. Cationic dendrimers are ideal for delivering genetic materials to nuclei, but toxicity may be a limiting factor. Smaller, neutral dendrimers are best suited for delivering high levels of therapeutics in acute neuroinflammation, while larger or cationic dendrimers provide robust retention for sustained release of therapeutics in longer-term diseases.

Cone-beam computed tomography analysis of accessory maxillary ostium and Haller cells: Prevalence and clinical significance

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Ali, Ibrahim K.; Sansare, Kaustubh; Karjodkar, Freny R.; Vanga, Kavita; Salve, Prashant [Dept. of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Nair Hospital Dental College, Mumbai (India); Pawar, Ajinkya M. [Dept. of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Nair Hospital Dental College, Mumbai (India)

2017-03-15

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Haller cells and accessory maxillary ostium (AMO) in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, and to analyze the relationships among Haller cells, AMO, and maxillary sinusitis. Volumetric CBCT scans from 201 patients were retrieved from our institution's Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine archive folder. Two observers evaluated the presence of Haller cells, AMO, and maxillary sinusitis in the CBCT scans. AMO was observed in 114 patients, of whom 27 (23.7%) had AMO exclusively on the right side, 26 (22.8%) only on the left side, and 61 (53.5%) bilaterally. Haller cells were identified in 73 (36.3%) patients. In 24 (32.9%) they were present exclusively on the right side, in 17 (23.3%) they were only present on the left side, and in 32 (43.8%) they were located bilaterally. Of the 73 (36.3%) patients with Haller cells, maxillary sinusitis was also present in 50 (68.5%). On using chi-square test, a significant association was observed between AMO and maxillary sinusitis in the presence of Haller cells. Our results showed AMO and Haller cells to be associated with maxillary sinusitis. This study provides evidence for the usefulness of CBCT in imaging the bony anatomy of the sinonasal complex with significantly higher precision and a smaller radiation dose.

Evaluation of dimension effects on a capillary-attached gas sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahraminejad, Behzad; Basri, Shahnor; Isa, Maryam; Hambli, Zarida

2010-01-01

The analysis and useful gas sensing properties of a capillary-attached gas sensor (CGS) have been recently investigated. The aim of the present work was the assessment of dimension effects on the CGS sensing properties both diameterwise and lengthwise. CGS samples in different dimensions were fabricated and tested by exposure to different target gases in different concentration ranges. Dimension effects on CGS properties such as selectivity, sensitivity, rise time and input range were investigated. It was observed that the CGS with smaller diameter and longer lengths generated more selective information. However, decreasing sensitivity and increasing minimum input range were some disadvantages of smaller diameters. Longer length also made longer rise time and slower sensor. Finally, the optimum ranges for the CGS in length and diameter were suggested

Smaller incision size leads to higher predictability in microcoaxial cataract surgery.

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Klamann, Matthias K J; Gonnermann, Johannes; Maier, Anna-Karina B; Torun, Necip; Bertelmann, Eckart

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to compare the clinical outcomes of a 1.8 mm, 2.2 mm, and 2.75 mm microcoaxial cataract surgery system. METHODS. In this retrospective study, 129 eyes of 129 patients were included. Patients underwent phacoemulsification using a Stellaris system or an Infiniti system. The incision size was 1.8 mm, 2.2 mm, or 2.75 mm, respectively. Subjects were examined before surgery and 4 weeks after. The surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) was examined. The SIA in the 1.8 mm group was statistically lower compared to the 2.2 mm group (p=0.046) and the 2.75 mm group (p=0.017). There was no significant difference between the 2.2 mm group and the 2.75 mm group. With the use of appropriate support systems, 1.8 mm incisions appear to result in less SIA than 2.2 mm and 2.75 mm incisions. Advantages may arise from this, especially in the implantation of aspheric, toric, or multifocal lenses.

CO2 forcing induces semi-direct effects with consequences for climate feedback interpretations

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Andrews, Timothy; Forster, Piers M.

2008-02-01

Climate forcing and feedbacks are diagnosed from seven slab-ocean GCMs for 2 × CO2 using a regression method. Results are compared to those using conventional methodologies to derive a semi-direct forcing due to tropospheric adjustment, analogous to the semi-direct effect of absorbing aerosols. All models show a cloud semi-direct effect, indicating a rapid cloud response to CO2; cloud typically decreases, enhancing the warming. Similarly there is evidence of semi-direct effects from water-vapour, lapse-rate, ice and snow. Previous estimates of climate feedbacks are unlikely to have taken these semi-direct effects into account and so misinterpret processes as feedbacks that depend only on the forcing, but not the global surface temperature. We show that the actual cloud feedback is smaller than what previous methods suggest and that a significant part of the cloud response and the large spread between previous model estimates of cloud feedback is due to the semi-direct forcing.

Four-Component Relativistic Density-Functional Theory Calculations of Nuclear Spin-Rotation Constants: Relativistic Effects in p-Block Hydrides.

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Komorovsky, Stanislav; Repisky, Michal; Malkin, Elena; Demissie, Taye B; Ruud, Kenneth

2015-08-11

We present an implementation of the nuclear spin-rotation (SR) constants based on the relativistic four-component Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian. This formalism has been implemented in the framework of the Hartree-Fock and Kohn-Sham theory, allowing assessment of both pure and hybrid exchange-correlation functionals. In the density-functional theory (DFT) implementation of the response equations, a noncollinear generalized gradient approximation (GGA) has been used. The present approach enforces a restricted kinetic balance condition for the small-component basis at the integral level, leading to very efficient calculations of the property. We apply the methodology to study relativistic effects on the spin-rotation constants by performing calculations on XHn (n = 1-4) for all elements X in the p-block of the periodic table and comparing the effects of relativity on the nuclear SR tensors to that observed for the nuclear magnetic shielding tensors. Correlation effects as described by the density-functional theory are shown to be significant for the spin-rotation constants, whereas the differences between the use of GGA and hybrid density functionals are much smaller. Our calculated relativistic spin-rotation constants at the DFT level of theory are only in fair agreement with available experimental data. It is shown that the scaling of the relativistic effects for the spin-rotation constants (varying between Z(3.8) and Z(4.5)) is as strong as for the chemical shieldings but with a much smaller prefactor.

Cooperative effects in (ethanol)3-water heterotetramers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mejia, Sol; Espinal, Juan F; Mondragon, Fanor

2009-01-01

Density Functional Theory (DFT: B3LYP/6-31 + G(d)) was used for the optimization of clusters on the potential energy surface of (ethanol)3-water heterotetramers. The tetramerization energies can reach values up to -21.00 kcal/ mol. This energy can not be obtained by just considering the contributions from interactions between two cluster molecules, which suggests of the presence of global cooperative effects (positive). These effects are reflected in smaller hydrogen bond distances and smaller oxygen-oxygen distances, as well as in greater elongations of the O-H proton donor bond with a stronger red-shift in the heterotetramers compared to the ethanol-water heterodimers and the ethanol dimer. The largest cooperativity effect was observed in the four hydrogen bonds arranged in the largest possible cyclic geometric pattern, where all the molecules act as proton acceptor and donor simultaneously. A similar analysis to the characterization of (ethanol)3-water heterotetramers was carried out on (methanol)3-water heterotetramers, and ethanol and methanol tetramers, whose comparison showed a great similarity between all evaluated parameters for the clusters with equal geometric pattern.

Response to Instruction in Preschool: Results of Two Randomized Studies with Children At Significant Risk of Reading Difficulties

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Lonigan, Christopher J.; Phillips, Beth M.

2015-01-01

Although response-to-instruction (RTI) approaches have received increased attention, few studies have evaluated the potential impacts of RTI approaches with preschool populations. This manuscript presents results of two studies examining impacts of Tier II instruction with preschool children. Participating children were identified as substantially delayed in the acquisition of early literacy skills despite exposure to high-quality, evidence-based classroom instruction. Study 1 included 93 children (M age = 58.2 months; SD = 3.62) attending 12 Title I preschools. Study 2 included 184 children (M age = 58.2 months; SD = 3.38) attending 19 Title I preschools. The majority of children were Black/African American, and about 60% were male. In both studies, eligible children were randomized to receive either 11 weeks of need-aligned, small-group instruction or just Tier I. Tier II instruction in Study 1 included variations of activities for code- and language-focused domains with prior evidence of efficacy in non-RTI contexts. Tier II instruction in Study 2 included instructional activities narrower in scope, more intensive, and delivered to smaller groups of children. Impacts of Tier II instruction in Study 1 were minimal; however, there were significant and moderate-to-large impacts in Study 2. These results identify effective Tier II instruction but indicate that the context in which children are identified may alter the nature of Tier II instruction that is required. Children identified as eligible for Tier II in an RTI framework likely require more intensive and more narrowly focused instruction than do children at general risk of later academic difficulties. PMID:26869730

OBSERVATIONAL SELECTION EFFECTS AND THE M-σ RELATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gueltekin, Kayhan; Richstone, Douglas O.; Tremaine, Scott; Loeb, Abraham

2011-01-01

We examine the possibility that the observed relation between black hole mass and host-galaxy stellar velocity dispersion (the M-σ relation) is biased by an observational selection effect, the difficulty of detecting a black hole whose sphere of influence is smaller than the telescope resolution. In particular, we critically investigate recent claims that the M-σ relation only represents the upper limit to a broad distribution of black hole masses in galaxies of a given velocity dispersion. We find that this hypothesis can be rejected at a high confidence level, at least for the early-type galaxies with relatively high velocity dispersions (median 268 km s -1 ) that comprise most of our sample. We also describe a general procedure for incorporating observational selection effects in estimates of the properties of the M-σ relation. Applying this procedure we find results that are consistent with earlier estimates that did not account for selection effects, although with larger error bars. In particular, (1) the width of the M-σ relation is not significantly increased, (2) the slope and normalization of the M-σ relation are not significantly changed, and (3) most or all luminous early-type galaxies contain central black holes at zero redshift. Our results may not apply to late-type or small galaxies, which are not well represented in our sample.

Field significance of performance measures in the context of regional climate model evaluation. Part 2: precipitation

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Ivanov, Martin; Warrach-Sagi, Kirsten; Wulfmeyer, Volker

2018-04-01

A new approach for rigorous spatial analysis of the downscaling performance of regional climate model (RCM) simulations is introduced. It is based on a multiple comparison of the local tests at the grid cells and is also known as `field' or `global' significance. The block length for the local resampling tests is precisely determined to adequately account for the time series structure. New performance measures for estimating the added value of downscaled data relative to the large-scale forcing fields are developed. The methodology is exemplarily applied to a standard EURO-CORDEX hindcast simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the land surface model NOAH at 0.11 ∘ grid resolution. Daily precipitation climatology for the 1990-2009 period is analysed for Germany for winter and summer in comparison with high-resolution gridded observations from the German Weather Service. The field significance test controls the proportion of falsely rejected local tests in a meaningful way and is robust to spatial dependence. Hence, the spatial patterns of the statistically significant local tests are also meaningful. We interpret them from a process-oriented perspective. While the downscaled precipitation distributions are statistically indistinguishable from the observed ones in most regions in summer, the biases of some distribution characteristics are significant over large areas in winter. WRF-NOAH generates appropriate stationary fine-scale climate features in the daily precipitation field over regions of complex topography in both seasons and appropriate transient fine-scale features almost everywhere in summer. As the added value of global climate model (GCM)-driven simulations cannot be smaller than this perfect-boundary estimate, this work demonstrates in a rigorous manner the clear additional value of dynamical downscaling over global climate simulations. The evaluation methodology has a broad spectrum of applicability as it is

Elementary physical education: A focus on fitness activities and smaller class sizes are associated with higher levels of physical activity

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Mandy Kirkham-King

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Optimizing physical activity during physical education is necessary for children to achieve daily physical activity recommendations. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among various contextual factors with accelerometer measured physical activity during elementary physical education. Data were collected during 2015–2016 from 281 students (1st–5th grade, 137 males, 144 females from a private school located in a metropolitan area of Utah in the U.S. Students wore accelerometers for 12 consecutive weeks at an accelerometer wear frequency of 3days per week during physical education. A multi-level general linear mixed effects model was employed to examine the relationship among various physical education contextual factors and percent of wear time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (%MVPA, accounting for clustering of observations within students and the clustering of students within classrooms. Explored contextual factors included grade level, lesson context, sex, and class size. Main effects and interactions among the factors were explored in the multi-level models. A two-way interaction of lesson context and class size on %MVPA was shown to be statistically significant. The greatest differences were found to be between fitness lessons using small class sizes compared to motor skill lessons using larger class sizes (β=14.8%, 95% C.I. 5.7%–23.9% p<0.001. Lessons that included a focus on fitness activities with class sizes that were <25 students associated with significantly higher %MVPA during elementary physical education. Keywords: Exercise, Physical education and training, Adolescents

Effects of mastication on human somatosensory processing: A study using somatosensory-evoked potentials.

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Nakata, Hiroki; Aoki, Mai; Sakamoto, Kiwako

2017-04-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of mastication on somatosensory processing using somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs). Fourteen healthy subjects received a median nerve stimulation at the right wrist under two conditions: Mastication and Control. SEPs were recorded in five sessions for approximately seven minutes: Pre, Post 1, 2, 3, and 4. Subjects were asked to chew gum for five minutes after one session in Mastication. Control included the same five sessions. The amplitudes and latencies of P14, N20, P25, N35, P45, and N60 components at C3', frontal N30 component at Fz, and P100 and N140 components at Pz were analyzed. The amplitude of P45-N60 was significantly smaller at Post 1, 2, 3, and 4 than at Pre in Control, but not in Mastication. The latency of P25 was significantly longer at Post 2, 3, and 4 than at Pre in Control, but not in Mastication. The latency of P100 was significantly longer at Post 2 than at Pre in Control, but not in Mastication. These results suggest the significant effects of mastication on the neural activity of human somatosensory processing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Rising Waters and a Smaller Island: What Should Physicians Do for Tuvaluans?

Science.gov (United States)

Emont, Jordan; Anandarajah, Gowri

2017-12-01

Residents of the island nation of Tuvalu will be among the first of the 1.7 million Pacific Islanders to be displaced by the effects of climate change (including rising sea levels, changing distributions of agriculture, and unpredictable weather patterns). Already 3,500 Tuvaluans live in New Zealand (approximately 25 percent of the world's Tuvaluan population), some of whom moved due to climate change. Immigrating to New Zealand presents several challenges for Tuvaluans, including limited job opportunities, health care disparities, and dietary changes. Nevertheless, Tuvaluans in New Zealand continue their culture as they redefine their identity in a new country. Given the growing effects of climate change, physicians around the world will soon care for a new generation of immigrants and will play an important role in advocating for health equity and self-determination among climate-sensitive populations. This article uses personal stories and photographs of Tuvaluans and photographs of Tuvalu and New Zealand to present Tuvaluans' struggles and ethical issues pertaining to health that arise in relocating Tuvaluans. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Domestic Violence on Children and Significance of Psychosocial Support

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Neslihan Lok

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays increasing complexity of living conditions of children influence every aspect of family atmosphere, parent-child relationships and child rearing practices. These are significant factors in development of childrens personality and sustaining their mental health. Although family environment is considered to be safest environment for children, many parents grind them consciously or unconsciously on the grounds of edification which might cause problems in their physical, spiritual, mental and affective growth leading them to be unhealthy individuals. Therefore, children exposed to violence by their family members should be determined by a multidisciplinary team to make a psychosocial support available. [Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry 2016; 8(2: 156-161

Size effects in lithium ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao Hu-Rong; Yin Ya-Xia; Guo Yu-Gao

2016-01-01

Size-related properties of novel lithium battery materials, arising from kinetics, thermodynamics, and newly discovered lithium storage mechanisms, are reviewed. Complementary experimental and computational investigations of the use of the size effects to modify electrodes and electrolytes for lithium ion batteries are enumerated and discussed together. Size differences in the materials in lithium ion batteries lead to a variety of exciting phenomena. Smaller-particle materials with highly connective interfaces and reduced diffusion paths exhibit higher rate performance than the corresponding bulk materials. The thermodynamics is also changed by the higher surface energy of smaller particles, affecting, for example, secondary surface reactions, lattice parameter, voltage, and the phase transformation mechanism. Newly discovered lithium storage mechanisms that result in superior storage capacity are also briefly highlighted. (topical review)

Effects of N fertilizer on root growth in Zea mays L. seedlings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Z. R.; Rui, Y. R.; Shen, J. B.; Zhang, F. S.

2008-07-01

This paper reports the effects of different nitrogen (N) fertilizer levels on the growth of maize (Zea mays L.) under field conditions. The N supply was found to influence the growth of the plants, especially the roots. A high N supply significantly inhibited root elongation, and was associated with reduced root dry weight compared to controls and to plants grown with smaller supplies of N. However, no differences were seen in lateral primary root density under the different N supply conditions, nor did plant N concentration increase with high N supply. In conclusion, a high N supply not only wastes resources and pollutes the environment, it may also inhibit root growth. (Author)

Single leg balancing in ballet: effects of shoe conditions and poses.

Science.gov (United States)

Lobo da Costa, Paula H; Azevedo Nora, Fernanda G S; Vieira, Marcus Fraga; Bosch, Kerstin; Rosenbaum, Dieter

2013-03-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of lower limb positioning and shoe conditions on stability levels of selected single leg ballet poses performed in demi-pointe position. Fourteen female non-professional ballet dancers (mean age of 18.4±2.8 years and mean body mass index of 21.5±2.8kg/m(2)) who had practiced ballet for at least seven years, without any musculoskeletal impairment volunteered to participate in this study. A capacitive pressure platform allowed for the assessment of center of pressure variables related to the execution of three single leg ballet poses in demi pointé position: attitude devant, attitude derriére, and attitude a la second. Peak pressures, contact areas, COP oscillation areas, anterior-posterior and medio-lateral COP oscillations and velocities were compared between two shoe conditions (barefoot versus slippers) and among the different poses. Barefoot performances produced more stable poses with significantly higher plantar contact areas, smaller COP oscillation areas and smaller anterior-posterior COP oscillations. COP oscillation areas, anterior-posterior COP oscillations and medio-lateral COP velocities indicated that attitude a la second is the least challenging and attitude derriére the most challenging pose. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Smaller Alignment Index (SALI) applied in a study of stellar orbits in barred galaxies potential models using the LP-VIcode

Science.gov (United States)

Caritá, Lucas Antonio; Rodrigues, Irapuan; Puerari, Ivânio; Schiavo, Luiz Eduardo Camargo Aranha

2018-04-01

The Smaller Alignment Index (SALI) is a mathematical tool, not yet conventional, for chaos detection in the phase space of Hamiltonian Dynamical Systems. The SALI values has temporal behaviors very specific to ordered or chaotic motions, what makes the distinction between order and chaos easily observable in these systems. In this paper, this method will be applied to the stability study of stellar orbits immersed in gravitational potential of barred galaxies, since the motion of a test particle in a rotating barred galaxy model is given by a Hamiltonian function. Extracting four parameter sets from the Manos and Athanassoula (2011) work and elaborating a different initial conditions set for each case, we were able to introduce another point of view of their stability study for two degrees of freedom. We have also introduced two new extreme models that corroborates with the conclusions that more axisymmetric bars create an environment with less chaos and that more massive bars create an environment with more chaos. Separate studies were carried out for prograde and retrograde orbits that showed that the retrograde orbits seem more conducive to chaos. To perform all the orbits integrations we used the LP-VIcode program.

Differential Effects of Formal and Informal Gambling on Symptoms of Problem Gambling During Voluntary Self-Exclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Amanda V; Cohen, Irwin M; Davies, Garth

2018-01-18

Voluntary self-exclusion (VSE) programs enable problem gamblers to engage in a break from casino-based gambling. The current study analyzed the effects of a VSE program in British Columbia, Canada on problem gambling symptoms and the comparative reductions in problem gambling symptoms when participants abstained from gambling, continued to participate in non-casino based gambling, or attempted to violate their exclusion contract. 269 participants completed two telephone interviews over a 6-month period. Participants were administered the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Substantial reductions in PGSI scores were observed after 6 months. Program violators had significantly smaller PGSI Difference Scores by Time 2 compared to those who continued to gamble outside of the casino and those who completely abstained from all gambling. There were no significant differences between those who gambled informally and those who abstained. A multiple regression identified that while access to counselling and length of enrollment also contributed to the reduction in PGSI scores, violation attempts were most strongly associated with smaller reductions in symptoms of problem gambling. These results imply that some gamblers can successfully engage in non-casino based forms of gambling and still experience reductions in symptoms of problem gambling. Future analyses will explore characteristics associated with group membership that may help to identify which participants can successfully engage in non-casino based gambling without re-triggering symptoms of problem gambling.

Bedtime Blood Pressure Chronotherapy Significantly Improves Hypertension Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermida, Ramón C; Ayala, Diana E; Fernández, José R; Mojón, Artemio; Crespo, Juan J; Ríos, María T; Smolensky, Michael H

2017-10-01

Consistent evidence of numerous studies substantiates the asleep blood pressure (BP) mean derived from ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) is both an independent and a stronger predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than are daytime clinic BP measurements or the ABPM-determined awake or 24-hour BP means. Hence, cost-effective adequate control of sleep-time BP is of marked clinical relevance. Ingestion time, according to circadian rhythms, of hypertension medications of 6 different classes and their combinations significantly improves BP control, particularly sleep-time BP, and reduces adverse effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of baryons in the cosmological lensing PDFs

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, Tiago; Quartin, Miguel; Giocoli, Carlo; Borgani, Stefano; Dolag, Klaus

2018-05-01

Observational cosmology is passing through a unique moment of grandeur with the amount of quality data growing fast. However, in order to better take advantage of this moment, data analysis tools have to keep up the pace. Understanding the effect of baryonic matter on the large-scale structure is one of the challenges to be faced in cosmology. In this work, we have thoroughly studied the effect of baryonic physics on different lensing statistics. Making use of the Magneticum Pathfinder suite of simulations we show that the influence of luminous matter on the 1-point lensing statistics of point sources is significant, enhancing the probability of magnified objects with μ > 3 by a factor of 2 and the occurrence of multiple-images by a factor 5 - 500 depending on the source redshift and size. We also discuss the dependence of the lensing statistics on the angular resolution of sources. Our results and methodology were carefully tested in order to guarantee that our uncertainties are much smaller than the effects here presented.

Positive mood effects on delay discounting.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsh, Jacob B; Guindon, Alex; Morisano, Dominique; Peterson, Jordan B

2010-10-01

Delay discounting is the process by which the value of an expected reward decreases as the delay to obtaining that reward increases. Individuals with higher discounting rates tend to prefer smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. Previous research has indicated that personality can influence an individual's discounting rates, with higher levels of Extraversion predicting a preference for immediate gratification. The current study examined how this relationship would be influenced by situational mood inductions. While main effects were observed for both Extraversion and cognitive ability in the prediction of discounting rates, a significant interaction was also observed between Extraversion and positive affect. Extraverted individuals were more likely to prefer an immediate reward when first put in a positive mood. Extraverts thus appear particularly sensitive to impulsive, incentive-reward-driven behavior by temperament and by situational factors heightening positive affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparing identified and statistically significant lipids and polar metabolites in 15-year old serum and dried blood spot samples for longitudinal studies: Comparing lipids and metabolites in serum and DBS samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kyle, Jennifer E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Casey, Cameron P. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Stratton, Kelly G. [National Security Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zink, Erika M. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Kim, Young-Mo [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zheng, Xueyun [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Monroe, Matthew E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Weitz, Karl K. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Bloodsworth, Kent J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Orton, Daniel J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Ibrahim, Yehia M. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Moore, Ronald J. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Lee, Christine G. [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Research Service, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland OR USA; Pedersen, Catherine [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Orwoll, Eric [Department of Medicine, Bone and Mineral Unit, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland OR USA; Smith, Richard D. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Burnum-Johnson, Kristin E. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Baker, Erin S. [Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA

2017-02-05

The use of dried blood spots (DBS) has many advantages over traditional plasma and serum samples such as smaller blood volume required, storage at room temperature, and ability for sampling in remote locations. However, understanding the robustness of different analytes in DBS samples is essential, especially in older samples collected for longitudinal studies. Here we analyzed DBS samples collected in 2000-2001 and stored at room temperature and compared them to matched serum samples stored at -80°C to determine if they could be effectively used as specific time points in a longitudinal study following metabolic disease. Four hundred small molecules were identified in both the serum and DBS samples using gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-MS (LC-MS) and LC-ion mobility spectrometry-MS (LC-IMS-MS). The identified polar metabolites overlapped well between the sample types, though only one statistically significant polar metabolite in a case-control study was conserved, indicating degradation occurs in the DBS samples affecting quantitation. Differences in the lipid identifications indicated that some oxidation occurs in the DBS samples. However, thirty-six statistically significant lipids correlated in both sample types indicating that lipid quantitation was more stable across the sample types.

Effect of transport on MAR in detached divertor plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyamoto, Kenji; Hatayama, A.; Ishii, Y.; Miyamoto, T.; Fukano, A.

2003-01-01

The effect of H 2 transport on the onset of MAR in the relatively lower plasma parameter regime of a detached state (n e =1x10 19 m -3 , T e =1 eV) is investigated theoretically. The vibrationally excited molecular densities and the degree of MAR are evaluated by using a 1-D Monte Carlo method (with transport effect), and by solving time-dependent 0-D rate equations without the transport term (without transport effect), respectively. It is found that the degree of MAR with transport is smaller than that without transport under the same H 2 flow rate. Especially, the degree of MAR is negligible near the gas inlet. This smaller degree of MAR with transport is due to the lack of highly excited vibrational molecules which contribute to MAR. The hydrogen molecular density available for MAR is determined by the external hydrogen molecular source and the outflow due to transport, i.e., a 'net' confinement time

Effects of surface deposition and droplet injection on film cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jin; Cui, Pei; Vujanović, Milan; Baleta, Jakov; Duić, Neven; Guzović, Zvonimir

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Cooling effectiveness is significantly affected by the deposition size. • Coverage area for model without mist is reduced by increasing the deposition height. • Wall temperature is decreased by 15% with 2% mist injection. • Cooling coverage is increased by more than three times with 2% mist injection. • Cooling effectiveness for mist models is improved by increasing deposition height. - Abstract: In the present research, the influence of the particle dispersion onto the continuous phase in film cooling application was analysed by means of numerical simulations. The interaction between the water droplets and the main stream plays an important role in the results. The prediction of two-phase flow is investigated by employing the discrete phase model (DPM). The results present heat transfer characteristics in the near-wall region under the influence of mist cooling. The local wall temperature distribution and film cooling effectiveness are obtained, and results show that the film cooling characteristics on the downstream wall are affected by different height of surface deposits. It is also found that smaller deposits without mist injection provide a lower wall temperature and a better cooling performance. With 2% mist injection, evaporation of water droplets improves film cooling effectiveness, and higher deposits cause lateral and downstream spread of water droplets. The results indicate that mist injection can significantly enhance film cooling performance.

A home education program for older adults with hearing impairment and their significant others: a randomized trial evaluating short- and long-term effects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kramer, S.E.; Allessie, G.H.; Dondorp, A.W.; Zekveld, A.A.; Kapteyn, T.S.

2005-01-01

This paper addresses the development and effectiveness of a home education program. The program, designed for hearing-impaired elders and their significant others (SO), deals with communication strategies and speech reading. Participants were randomly assigned to a training group (hearing aid

The Significance of the Bystander Effect: Modeling, Experiments, and More Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brenner, David J.

2009-07-22

Non-targeted (bystander) effects of ionizing radiation are caused by intercellular signaling; they include production of DNA damage and alterations in cell fate (i.e. apoptosis, differentiation, senescence or proliferation). Biophysical models capable of quantifying these effects may improve cancer risk estimation at radiation doses below the epidemiological detection threshold. Understanding the spatial patterns of bystander responses is important, because it provides estimates of how many bystander cells are affected per irradiated cell. In a first approach to modeling of bystander spatial effects in a three-dimensional artificial tissue, we assumed the following: (1) The bystander phenomenon results from signaling molecules (S) that rapidly propagate from irradiated cells and decrease in concentration (exponentially in the case of planar symmetry) as distance increases. (2) These signals can convert cells to a long-lived epigenetically activated state, e.g. a state of oxidative stress; cells in this state are more prone to DNA damage and behavior alterations than normal and therefore exhibit an increased response (R) for many end points (e.g. apoptosis, differentiation, micronucleation). These assumptions were implemented by a mathematical formalism and computational algorithms. The model adequately described data on bystander responses in the 3D system using a small number of adjustable parameters. Mathematical models of radiation carcinogenesis are important for understanding mechanisms and for interpreting or extrapolating risk. There are two classes of such models: (1) long-term formalisms that track pre-malignant cell numbers throughout an entire lifetime but treat initial radiation dose-response simplistically and (2) short-term formalisms that provide a detailed initial dose-response even for complicated radiation protocols, but address its modulation during the subsequent cancer latency period only indirectly. We argue that integrating short- and long

A Multi-Scale Perspective of the Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Birds in Eastern Forests

Science.gov (United States)

Frank R. Thompson; Therese M. Donovan; Richard M. DeGraff; John Faaborg; Scott K. Robinson

2002-01-01

We propose a model that considers forest fragmentation within a spatial hierarchy that includes regional or biogeographic effects, landscape-level fragmentation effects, and local habitat effects. We hypothesize that effects operate "top down" in that larger scale effects provide constraints or context for smaller scale effects. Bird species' abundance...

Self-selection contributes significantly to the lower adiposity offaster, longer-distanced, male and female walkers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, Paul T.

2006-01-06

Although cross-sectional studies show active individuals areleaner than their sedentary counterparts, it remains to be determined towhat extent this is due to initially leaner men and women choosing toexercise longer and more intensely (self-selection bias). In this reportwalking volume (weekly distance) and intensity (speed) were compared tocurrent BMI (BMIcurrent) and BMI at the start of walking (BMIstarting) in20,353 women and 5,174 men who had walked regularly for exercise for 7.2and 10.6 years,respectively. The relationships of BMIcurrent andBMIstarting with distance and intensity were nonlinear (convex). Onaverage, BMIstarting explained>70 percent of the association betweenBMIcurrent and intensity, and 40 percent and 17 percent of theassociation between BMIcurrent and distance in women and men,respectively. Although the declines in BMIcurrent with distance andintensity were greater among fatter than leaner individuals, the portionsattributable to BMIstarting remained relatively constant regardless offatness. Thus self-selection bias accounts for most of the decline in BMIwith walking intensity and smaller albeit significant proportions of thedecline with distance. This demonstration of self-selection is germane toother cross-sectional comparisons in epidemiological research, givenself-selection is unlikely to be limited to weight or peculiar tophysical activity.

Neighbourhood Density Effects in Auditory Non-Word Processing in Aphasic Listeners

Science.gov (United States)

Janse, Esther

2009-01-01

This study investigates neighbourhood density effects on lexical decision performance (both accuracy and response times) of aphasic patients. Given earlier results on lexical activation and deactivation in Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia, the prediction was that smaller neighbourhood density effects would be found for Broca's aphasic patients,…