WorldWideScience

Sample records for survey domains compared

  1. Temporal abstraction and temporal Bayesian networks in clinical domains: a survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orphanou, Kalia; Stassopoulou, Athena; Keravnou, Elpida

    2014-03-01

    Temporal abstraction (TA) of clinical data aims to abstract and interpret clinical data into meaningful higher-level interval concepts. Abstracted concepts are used for diagnostic, prediction and therapy planning purposes. On the other hand, temporal Bayesian networks (TBNs) are temporal extensions of the known probabilistic graphical models, Bayesian networks. TBNs can represent temporal relationships between events and their state changes, or the evolution of a process, through time. This paper offers a survey on techniques/methods from these two areas that were used independently in many clinical domains (e.g. diabetes, hepatitis, cancer) for various clinical tasks (e.g. diagnosis, prognosis). A main objective of this survey, in addition to presenting the key aspects of TA and TBNs, is to point out important benefits from a potential integration of TA and TBNs in medical domains and tasks. The motivation for integrating these two areas is their complementary function: TA provides clinicians with high level views of data while TBNs serve as a knowledge representation and reasoning tool under uncertainty, which is inherent in all clinical tasks. Key publications from these two areas of relevance to clinical systems, mainly circumscribed to the latest two decades, are reviewed and classified. TA techniques are compared on the basis of: (a) knowledge acquisition and representation for deriving TA concepts and (b) methodology for deriving basic and complex temporal abstractions. TBNs are compared on the basis of: (a) representation of time, (b) knowledge representation and acquisition, (c) inference methods and the computational demands of the network, and (d) their applications in medicine. The survey performs an extensive comparative analysis to illustrate the separate merits and limitations of various TA and TBN techniques used in clinical systems with the purpose of anticipating potential gains through an integration of the two techniques, thus leading to a

  2. 2017 Emerging Technology Domains Risk Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    REV-03.18.2016.0 2017 Emerging Technology Domains Risk Survey Daniel Klinedinst Joel Land Kyle O’Meara October 2017 TECHNICAL REPORT CMU/SEI...Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. List of Tables Table 1: New and Emerging Technologies 2 Table 2: Security...Impact of New and Emerging Technologies 4 Table 3: Severity Classifications and Impact Scores 5 CMU/SEI-2017-TR-008 | SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

  3. Heliborne time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) surveys for uranium exploration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaturvedi, A.K.

    2015-01-01

    Airborne geophysical surveys have been used extensively in petroleum, mineral exploration, and environmental mapping. Of all the geophysical methods, Electromagnetic (EM) methods, both ground and airborne are used to map the conductive ore bodies buried in the resistive bed rock. Mapping resistivity variations can help unravel complex geological problems and identify areas of hidden potential. Besides the traditional applications to ground water investigations and other natural resource exploration and geological mapping, a number of new applications have been reported. These include hazardous-waste characterization studies, precision agriculture applications, archaeological surveys etc. Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) methods have undergone rapid improvements over the past few decades. Several new airborne Time Do-main EM (TDEM) systems appeared; existing systems were updated and/or enhanced. The use of natural field (passive) EM surveys continued to increase, with new or improved systems becoming available for both airborne and ground surveys. The number of large airborne survey systems with combined EM, magnetic, gravimetric and gamma-ray spectrometric capabilities also increased. Exploration of a mineral deposit is a multi-stage and multi-disciplinary approach that commences from regional investigations and concludes with establishing of a deposit. As economics play a major role in exploration, a proper integrated study is always beneficial in narrowing down the potential mineral target zones. Heliborne geophysical surveys are being conducted world-wide for exploration of base metals, gold, phosphorite, oil, uranium etc. that are very effective tool in identifying zones of interest accurately, economically and with less span of time. These surveys give a very good insight of surface and sub-surface geophysical signatures that can be attributed to geology with proper modeling. Heliborne Time - domain Electromagnetic (TEM) methods are well known for search of

  4. Socioeconomic inequality in domains of health: results from the World Health Surveys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hosseinpoor Ahmad

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In all countries people of lower socioeconomic status evaluate their health more poorly. Yet in reporting overall health, individuals consider multiple domains that comprise their perceived health state. Considered alone, overall measures of self-reported health mask differences in the domains of health. The aim of this study is to compare and assess socioeconomic inequalities in each of the individual health domains and in a separate measure of overall health. Methods Data on 247,037 adults aged 18 or older were analyzed from 57 countries, drawn from all national income groups, participating in the World Health Survey 2002-2004. The analysis was repeated for lower- and higher-income countries. Prevalence estimates of poor self-rated health (SRH were calculated for each domain and for overall health according to wealth quintiles and education levels. Relative socioeconomic inequalities in SRH were measured for each of the eight health domains and for overall health, according to wealth quintiles and education levels, using the relative index of inequality (RII. A RII value greater than one indicated greater prevalence of self-reported poor health among populations of lower socioeconomic status, called pro-rich inequality. Results There was a descending gradient in the prevalence of poor health, moving from the poorest wealth quintile to the richest, and moving from the lowest to the highest educated groups. Inequalities which favor groups who are advantaged either with respect to wealth or education, were consistently statistically significant in each of the individual domains of health, and in health overall. However the size of these inequalities differed between health domains. The prevalence of reporting poor health was higher in the lower-income country group. Relative socioeconomic inequalities in the health domains and overall health were higher in the higher-income country group than the lower-income country group

  5. Identification of preliminary core outcome domains for communication about childhood vaccination: An online Delphi survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Jessica; Ryan, Rebecca; Lewin, Simon; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Glenton, Claire; Cliff, Julie; Oyo-Ita, Angela; Muloliwa, Artur Manuel; Oku, Afiong; Ames, Heather; Rada, Gabriel; Cartier, Yuri; Hill, Sophie

    2017-08-20

    Communication interventions for childhood vaccination are promising strategies to address vaccine hesitancy, but current research is limited by the outcomes measured. Most studies measure only vaccination-related outcomes, with minimal consideration of vaccine hesitancy-relevant intermediate outcomes. This impedes understanding of which interventions or elements are effective. It is also unknown which outcomes are important to the range of stakeholders affected by vaccine hesitancy. Outcome selection shapes the evidence base, informing future interventions and trials, and should reflect stakeholder priorities. Therefore, our aim was to identify which outcome domains (i.e. broad outcome categories) are most important to different stakeholders, identifying preliminary core outcome domains to inform evaluation of three common vaccination communication types: (i) communication to inform or educate, (ii) remind or recall, and (iii) enhance community ownership. We conducted a two-stage online Delphi survey, involving four stakeholder groups: parents or community members, healthcare providers, researchers, and government or non-governmental organisation representatives. Participants rated the importance of eight outcome domains for each of the three communication types. They also rated specific outcomes within one domain ("attitudes or beliefs") and provided feedback about the survey. Collectively, stakeholder groups prioritised outcome domains differently when considering the effects of different communication types. For communication that aims to (i) inform or educate, the most important outcome domain is "knowledge or understanding"; for (ii) reminder communication, "vaccination status and behaviours"; and for (iii) community engagement communication, "community participation". All stakeholder groups rated most outcome domains as very important or critical. The highest rated specific outcome within the "attitudes or beliefs" domain was "trust". This Delphi survey

  6. THE TIME DOMAIN SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY: VARIABLE SELECTION AND ANTICIPATED RESULTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morganson, Eric; Green, Paul J. [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Anderson, Scott F.; Ruan, John J. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Myers, Adam D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 (United States); Eracleous, Michael; Brandt, William Nielsen [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Kelly, Brandon [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9530 (United States); Badenes, Carlos [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), University of Pittsburgh, 3941 O’Hara St, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States); Bañados, Eduardo [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Blanton, Michael R. [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Bershady, Matthew A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, 475 N. Charter St., Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Borissova, Jura [Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Universidad de Valparaíso, Av. Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Casilla 5030, and Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS), Santiago (Chile); Burgett, William S. [GMTO Corp, Suite 300, 251 S. Lake Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Chambers, Kenneth, E-mail: emorganson@cfa.harvard.edu [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); and others

    2015-06-20

    We present the selection algorithm and anticipated results for the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS). TDSS is an Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-IV Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) subproject that will provide initial identification spectra of approximately 220,000 luminosity-variable objects (variable stars and active galactic nuclei across 7500 deg{sup 2} selected from a combination of SDSS and multi-epoch Pan-STARRS1 photometry. TDSS will be the largest spectroscopic survey to explicitly target variable objects, avoiding pre-selection on the basis of colors or detailed modeling of specific variability characteristics. Kernel Density Estimate analysis of our target population performed on SDSS Stripe 82 data suggests our target sample will be 95% pure (meaning 95% of objects we select have genuine luminosity variability of a few magnitudes or more). Our final spectroscopic sample will contain roughly 135,000 quasars and 85,000 stellar variables, approximately 4000 of which will be RR Lyrae stars which may be used as outer Milky Way probes. The variability-selected quasar population has a smoother redshift distribution than a color-selected sample, and variability measurements similar to those we develop here may be used to make more uniform quasar samples in large surveys. The stellar variable targets are distributed fairly uniformly across color space, indicating that TDSS will obtain spectra for a wide variety of stellar variables including pulsating variables, stars with significant chromospheric activity, cataclysmic variables, and eclipsing binaries. TDSS will serve as a pathfinder mission to identify and characterize the multitude of variable objects that will be detected photometrically in even larger variability surveys such as Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

  7. The dark energy survey Y1 supernova search: Survey strategy compared to forecasts and the photometric type Is SN volumetric rate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, John Arthur

    For 70 years, the physics community operated under the assumption that the expansion of the Universe must be slowing due to gravitational attraction. Then, in 1998, two teams of scientists used Type Ia supernovae to discover that cosmic expansion was actually acceler- ating due to a mysterious "dark energy." As a result, Type Ia supernovae have become the most cosmologically important transient events in the last 20 years, with a large amount of effort going into their discovery as well as understanding their progenitor systems. One such probe for understanding Type Ia supernovae is to use rate measurements to de- termine the time delay between star formation and supernova explosion. For the last 30 years, the discovery of individual Type Ia supernova events has been accelerating. How- ever, those discoveries were happening in time-domain surveys that probed only a portion of the redshift range where expansion was impacted by dark energy. The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is the first project in the "next generation" of time-domain surveys that will discovery thousands of Type Ia supernovae out to a redshift of 1.2 (where dark energy be- comes subdominant) and DES will have better systematic uncertainties over that redshift range than any survey to date. In order to gauge the discovery effectiveness of this survey, we will use the first season's 469 photometrically typed supernovee and compare it with simulations in order to update the full survey Type Ia projections from 3500 to 2250. We will then use 165 of the 469 supernovae out to a redshift of 0.6 to measure the supernovae rate both as a function of comoving volume and of the star formation rate as it evolves with redshift. We find the most statistically significant prompt fraction of any survey to date (with a 3.9? prompt fraction detection). We will also reinforce the already existing tension in the measurement of the delayed fraction between high (z > 1.2) and low red- shift rate measurements, where we find no

  8. New Inversion and Interpretation of Public-Domain Electromagnetic Survey Data from Selected Areas in Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, B. D.; Kass, A.; Saltus, R. W.; Minsley, B. J.; Deszcz-Pan, M.; Bloss, B. R.; Burns, L. E.

    2013-12-01

    Public-domain airborne geophysical surveys (combined electromagnetics and magnetics), mostly collected for and released by the State of Alaska, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), are a unique and valuable resource for both geologic interpretation and geophysical methods development. A new joint effort by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the DGGS aims to add value to these data through the application of novel advanced inversion methods and through innovative and intuitive display of data: maps, profiles, voxel-based models, and displays of estimated inversion quality and confidence. Our goal is to make these data even more valuable for interpretation of geologic frameworks, geotechnical studies, and cryosphere studies, by producing robust estimates of subsurface resistivity that can be used by non-geophysicists. The available datasets, which are available in the public domain, include 39 frequency-domain electromagnetic datasets collected since 1993, and continue to grow with 5 more data releases pending in 2013. The majority of these datasets were flown for mineral resource purposes, with one survey designed for infrastructure analysis. In addition, several USGS datasets are included in this study. The USGS has recently developed new inversion methodologies for airborne EM data and have begun to apply these and other new techniques to the available datasets. These include a trans-dimensional Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique, laterally-constrained regularized inversions, and deterministic inversions which include calibration factors as a free parameter. Incorporation of the magnetic data as an additional constraining dataset has also improved the inversion results. Processing has been completed in several areas, including Fortymile and the Alaska Highway surveys, and continues in others such as the Styx River and Nome surveys. Utilizing these new techniques, we provide models beyond the apparent resistivity maps supplied by the original

  9. A comparative analysis of mail and internet surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin D. Poole; David K. Loomis

    2010-01-01

    Th e field of survey research is constantly evolving with the introduction of new technologies. Each new mini-revolution brings criticism about the accuracy of the new survey method. The latest development in the survey research field has been increased reliance on Internet surveys. This paper compares data collected through a mixed-mode (mail and Internet) survey of...

  10. A Survey on Challenges of Semantics Application in the Internet of Things Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harlamova Marina

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The Internet of Things (IoT, a global Internet-based system of computing devices and machines, is one of the most significant trends in the information technology area. An accepted unified communication approach would be a prerequisite for its mass adoption. Semantic technologies (Semantic Web have been advocated as enablers of unified communication. However, while there are particular advancements in research on application of Semantic Web in the IoT domain, the dynamic and complex nature of the IoT often requires case specific solutions hard to be applied widely. In the present survey, the semantic technology challenges in the IoT domain are amalgamated to provide background for further studies in the use of semantic technologies in the IoT.

  11. Durations and domains of daily aerobic activity: evidence from the 2010 Canadian time-use survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millward, Hugh; Spinney J, E L; Scott, Darren

    2014-07-01

    This study employs national time-diary data to evaluate how much aerobic activity Canadians engage in on a daily basis, how that activity is apportioned by activity domain, and how subgroups within the population vary in their aerobic attainment. The study employs time-use data from the 2010 General Social Survey of Canada, for 15,390 respondents aged 15 and older. To estimate effort levels, the authors harmonized survey codes with those in the Compendium of Physical Activities. Aerobic activity was defined as moderate or vigorous effort at 3.5 Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) or higher. Among the 4 activity domains, aerobic participation is highest in leisure activities, followed by chores, paid work, and active transportation (AT). Only a minority (42%) of respondents recorded at least 20 mins/day of aerobic activity. Aerobic totals were particularly low for women and those in poor or fair health, and low for students, 15- to 24-year-olds, and those residing in Quebec, Ontario, and larger cities. The majority of Canadian adults are failing to meet recommended aerobic activity levels. However, there is considerable opportunity to increase aerobic participation for some groups, particularly women and young adults, especially in the leisure and AT domains.

  12. Genome-wide survey and developmental expression mapping of zebrafish SET domain-containing genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Jian Sun

    Full Text Available SET domain-containing proteins represent an evolutionarily conserved family of epigenetic regulators, which are responsible for most histone lysine methylation. Since some of these genes have been revealed to be essential for embryonic development, we propose that the zebrafish, a vertebrate model organism possessing many advantages for developmental studies, can be utilized to study the biological functions of these genes and the related epigenetic mechanisms during early development. To this end, we have performed a genome-wide survey of zebrafish SET domain genes. 58 genes total have been identified. Although gene duplication events give rise to several lineage-specific paralogs, clear reciprocal orthologous relationship reveals high conservation between zebrafish and human SET domain genes. These data were further subject to an evolutionary analysis ranging from yeast to human, leading to the identification of putative clusters of orthologous groups (COGs of this gene family. By means of whole-mount mRNA in situ hybridization strategy, we have also carried out a developmental expression mapping of these genes. A group of maternal SET domain genes, which are implicated in the programming of histone modification states in early development, have been identified and predicted to be responsible for all known sites of SET domain-mediated histone methylation. Furthermore, some genes show specific expression patterns in certain tissues at certain stages, suggesting the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in the development of these systems. These results provide a global view of zebrafish SET domain histone methyltransferases in evolutionary and developmental dimensions and pave the way for using zebrafish to systematically study the roles of these genes during development.

  13. Comparative Hi-C Reveals that CTCF Underlies Evolution of Chromosomal Domain Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matteo Vietri Rudan

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Topological domains are key architectural building blocks of chromosomes, but their functional importance and evolutionary dynamics are not well defined. We performed comparative high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C in four mammals and characterized the conservation and divergence of chromosomal contact insulation and the resulting domain architectures within distantly related genomes. We show that the modular organization of chromosomes is robustly conserved in syntenic regions and that this is compatible with conservation of the binding landscape of the insulator protein CTCF. Specifically, conserved CTCF sites are co-localized with cohesin, are enriched at strong topological domain borders, and bind to DNA motifs with orientations that define the directionality of CTCF’s long-range interactions. Conversely, divergent CTCF binding between species is correlated with divergence of internal domain structure, likely driven by local CTCF binding sequence changes, demonstrating how genome evolution can be linked to a continuous flux of local conformation changes. We also show that large-scale domains are reorganized during genome evolution as intact modules.

  14. Comparative structural analysis of lipid binding START domains.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann-Gerd Thorsell

    Full Text Available Steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR protein related lipid transfer (START domains are small globular modules that form a cavity where lipids and lipid hormones bind. These domains can transport ligands to facilitate lipid exchange between biological membranes, and they have been postulated to modulate the activity of other domains of the protein in response to ligand binding. More than a dozen human genes encode START domains, and several of them are implicated in a disease.We report crystal structures of the human STARD1, STARD5, STARD13 and STARD14 lipid transfer domains. These represent four of the six functional classes of START domains.Sequence alignments based on these and previously reported crystal structures define the structural determinants of human START domains, both those related to structural framework and those involved in ligand specificity.This article can also be viewed as an enhanced version in which the text of the article is integrated with interactive 3D representations and animated transitions. Please note that a web plugin is required to access this enhanced functionality. Instructions for the installation and use of the web plugin are available in Text S1.

  15. Towards a minimal generic set of domains of functioning and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cieza, Alarcos; Oberhauser, Cornelia; Bickenbach, Jerome; Chatterji, Somnath; Stucki, Gerold

    2014-03-03

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has argued that functioning, and, more concretely, functioning domains constitute the operationalization that best captures our intuitive notion of health. Functioning is, therefore, a major public-health goal. A great deal of data about functioning is already available. Nonetheless, it is not possible to compare and optimally utilize this information. One potential approach to address this challenge is to propose a generic and minimal set of functioning domains that captures the experience of individuals and populations with respect to functioning and health. The objective of this investigation was to identify a minimal generic set of ICF domains suitable for describing functioning in adults at both the individual and population levels. We performed a psychometric study using data from: 1) the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey 1998, 2) the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007/2008, and 3) the ICF Core Set studies. Random Forests and Group Lasso regression were applied using one self-reported general-health question as a dependent variable. The domains selected were compared to those of the World Health Survey (WHS) developed by the WHO. Seven domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) are proposed as a minimal generic set of functioning and health: energy and drive functions, emotional functions, sensation of pain, carrying out daily routine, walking, moving around, and remunerative employment. The WHS domains of self-care, cognition, interpersonal activities, and vision were not included in our selection. The minimal generic set proposed in this study is the starting point to address one of the most important challenges in health measurement--the comparability of data across studies and countries. It also represents the first step in developing a common metric of health to link information from the general population to information

  16. THE TIME-DOMAIN SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY: UNDERSTANDING THE OPTICALLY VARIABLE SKY WITH SEQUELS IN SDSS-III

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruan, John J.; Anderson, Scott F.; Davenport, James R. A.; Green, Paul J.; Morganson, Eric; Eracleous, Michael; Brandt, William N.; Myers, Adam D.; Badenes, Carles; Bershady, Matthew A.; Chambers, Kenneth C.; Flewelling, Heather; Kaiser, Nick; Dawson, Kyle S.; Heckman, Timothy M.; Isler, Jedidah C.; Kneib, Jean-Paul; MacLeod, Chelsea L.; Ross, Nicholas P.; Paris, Isabelle

    2016-01-01

    The Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) is an SDSS-IV eBOSS subproject primarily aimed at obtaining identification spectra of ∼220,000 optically variable objects systematically selected from SDSS/Pan-STARRS1 multi-epoch imaging. We present a preview of the science enabled by TDSS, based on TDSS spectra taken over ∼320 deg 2 of sky as part of the SEQUELS survey in SDSS-III, which is in part a pilot survey for eBOSS in SDSS-IV. Using the 15,746 TDSS-selected single-epoch spectra of photometrically variable objects in SEQUELS, we determine the demographics of our variability-selected sample and investigate the unique spectral characteristics inherent in samples selected by variability. We show that variability-based selection of quasars complements color-based selection by selecting additional redder quasars and mitigates redshift biases to produce a smooth quasar redshift distribution over a wide range of redshifts. The resulting quasar sample contains systematically higher fractions of blazars and broad absorption line quasars than from color-selected samples. Similarly, we show that M dwarfs in the TDSS-selected stellar sample have systematically higher chromospheric active fractions than the underlying M-dwarf population based on their H α emission. TDSS also contains a large number of RR Lyrae and eclipsing binary stars with main-sequence colors, including a few composite-spectrum binaries. Finally, our visual inspection of TDSS spectra uncovers a significant number of peculiar spectra, and we highlight a few cases of these interesting objects. With a factor of ∼15 more spectra, the main TDSS survey in SDSS-IV will leverage the lessons learned from these early results for a variety of time-domain science applications.

  17. Comparative Study of Lectin Domains in Model Species: New Insights into Evolutionary Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofie Van Holle

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Lectins are present throughout the plant kingdom and are reported to be involved in diverse biological processes. In this study, we provide a comparative analysis of the lectin families from model species in a phylogenetic framework. The analysis focuses on the different plant lectin domains identified in five representative core angiosperm genomes (Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max, Cucumis sativus, Oryza sativa ssp. japonica and Oryza sativa ssp. indica. The genomes were screened for genes encoding lectin domains using a combination of Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST, hidden Markov models, and InterProScan analysis. Additionally, phylogenetic relationships were investigated by constructing maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees. The results demonstrate that the majority of the lectin families are present in each of the species under study. Domain organization analysis showed that most identified proteins are multi-domain proteins, owing to the modular rearrangement of protein domains during evolution. Most of these multi-domain proteins are widespread, while others display a lineage-specific distribution. Furthermore, the phylogenetic analyses reveal that some lectin families evolved to be similar to the phylogeny of the plant species, while others share a closer evolutionary history based on the corresponding protein domain architecture. Our results yield insights into the evolutionary relationships and functional divergence of plant lectins.

  18. THE TIME-DOMAIN SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY: UNDERSTANDING THE OPTICALLY VARIABLE SKY WITH SEQUELS IN SDSS-III

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruan, John J.; Anderson, Scott F.; Davenport, James R. A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Green, Paul J.; Morganson, Eric [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Eracleous, Michael; Brandt, William N. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Myers, Adam D. [Department of Physics and Astronomy 3905, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University, Laramie, WY 82071 (United States); Badenes, Carles [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT-PACC), University of Pittsburgh (United States); Bershady, Matthew A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 475 N. Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Chambers, Kenneth C.; Flewelling, Heather; Kaiser, Nick [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Dawson, Kyle S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States); Heckman, Timothy M. [Center for Astrophysical Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Isler, Jedidah C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 (United States); Kneib, Jean-Paul [Laboratoire d’astrophysique, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland); MacLeod, Chelsea L.; Ross, Nicholas P. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Paris, Isabelle, E-mail: jruan@astro.washington.edu [INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, I-34131 Trieste (Italy); and others

    2016-07-10

    The Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) is an SDSS-IV eBOSS subproject primarily aimed at obtaining identification spectra of ∼220,000 optically variable objects systematically selected from SDSS/Pan-STARRS1 multi-epoch imaging. We present a preview of the science enabled by TDSS, based on TDSS spectra taken over ∼320 deg{sup 2} of sky as part of the SEQUELS survey in SDSS-III, which is in part a pilot survey for eBOSS in SDSS-IV. Using the 15,746 TDSS-selected single-epoch spectra of photometrically variable objects in SEQUELS, we determine the demographics of our variability-selected sample and investigate the unique spectral characteristics inherent in samples selected by variability. We show that variability-based selection of quasars complements color-based selection by selecting additional redder quasars and mitigates redshift biases to produce a smooth quasar redshift distribution over a wide range of redshifts. The resulting quasar sample contains systematically higher fractions of blazars and broad absorption line quasars than from color-selected samples. Similarly, we show that M dwarfs in the TDSS-selected stellar sample have systematically higher chromospheric active fractions than the underlying M-dwarf population based on their H α emission. TDSS also contains a large number of RR Lyrae and eclipsing binary stars with main-sequence colors, including a few composite-spectrum binaries. Finally, our visual inspection of TDSS spectra uncovers a significant number of peculiar spectra, and we highlight a few cases of these interesting objects. With a factor of ∼15 more spectra, the main TDSS survey in SDSS-IV will leverage the lessons learned from these early results for a variety of time-domain science applications.

  19. Evaluating, Comparing, and Interpreting Protein Domain Hierarchies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Arranging protein domain sequences hierarchically into evolutionarily divergent subgroups is important for investigating evolutionary history, for speeding up web-based similarity searches, for identifying sequence determinants of protein function, and for genome annotation. However, whether or not a particular hierarchy is optimal is often unclear, and independently constructed hierarchies for the same domain can often differ significantly. This article describes methods for statistically evaluating specific aspects of a hierarchy, for probing the criteria underlying its construction and for direct comparisons between hierarchies. Information theoretical notions are used to quantify the contributions of specific hierarchical features to the underlying statistical model. Such features include subhierarchies, sequence subgroups, individual sequences, and subgroup-associated signature patterns. Underlying properties are graphically displayed in plots of each specific feature's contributions, in heat maps of pattern residue conservation, in “contrast alignments,” and through cross-mapping of subgroups between hierarchies. Together, these approaches provide a deeper understanding of protein domain functional divergence, reveal uncertainties caused by inconsistent patterns of sequence conservation, and help resolve conflicts between competing hierarchies. PMID:24559108

  20. Health inequalities: survey data compared to doctor defined data.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westert, G.P.; Schellevis, F.G.

    2003-01-01

    Aim: To compare prevalence of conditions and health inequalities in one study population using two methods of data collection: health interview survey and GP registration of consultations. Methods: Data is from the Second Dutch Survey of General Practice, using a multistage sampling design with

  1. Application of frequency- and time-domain electromagnetic surveys to characterize hydrostratigraphy and landfill construction at the Amargosa Desert Research Site, Beatty, Nevada

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Eric A.; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Johnson, Carole D.; Lane, John W.

    2016-01-01

    In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), conducted frequency-domain electromagnetic (FDEM) surveys at the USGS Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS), approximately 17 kilometers (km) south of Beatty, Nevada. The FDEM surveys were conducted within and adjacent to a closed low-level radioactive waste disposal site located at the ADRS. FDEM surveys were conducted on a grid of north-south and east-west profiles to assess the locations and boundaries of historically recorded waste-disposal trenches. In 2015, the USGS conducted time-domain (TDEM) soundings along a profile adjacent to the disposal site (landfill) in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), to assess the thickness and characteristics of the underlying deep unsaturated zone, and the hydrostratigraphy of the underlying saturated zone.FDEM survey results indicate the general location and extent of the waste-disposal trenches and reveal potential differences in material properties and the type and concentration of waste in several areas of the landfill. The TDEM surveys provide information on the underlying hydrostratigraphy and characteristics of the unsaturated zone that inform the site conceptual model and support an improved understanding of the hydrostratigraphic framework. Additional work is needed to interpret the TDEM results in the context of the local and regional structural geology.

  2. Simultaneous storage of medical images in the spatial and frequency domain: A comparative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Acharya U Rajendra

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Digital watermarking is a technique of hiding specific identification data for copyright authentication. This technique is adapted here for interleaving patient information with medical images, to reduce storage and transmission overheads. Methods The patient information is encrypted before interleaving with images to ensure greater security. The bio-signals are compressed and subsequently interleaved with the image. This interleaving is carried out in the spatial domain and Frequency domain. The performance of interleaving in the spatial, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT, Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT coefficients is studied. Differential pulse code modulation (DPCM is employed for data compression as well as encryption and results are tabulated for a specific example. Results It can be seen from results, the process does not affect the picture quality. This is attributed to the fact that the change in LSB of a pixel changes its brightness by 1 part in 256. Spatial and DFT domain interleaving gave very less %NRMSE as compared to DCT and DWT domain. Conclusion The Results show that spatial domain the interleaving, the %NRMSE was less than 0.25% for 8-bit encoded pixel intensity. Among the frequency domain interleaving methods, DFT was found to be very efficient.

  3. Inversion of time-domain induced polarization data based on time-lapse concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bitnarae; Nam, Myung Jin; Kim, Hee Joon

    2018-05-01

    Induced polarization (IP) surveys, measuring overvoltage phenomena of the medium, are widely and increasingly performed not only for exploration of mineral resources but also for engineering applications. Among several IP survey methods such as time-domain, frequency-domain and spectral IP surveys, this study introduces a noble inversion method for time-domain IP data to recover the chargeability structure of target medium. The inversion method employs the concept of 4D inversion of time-lapse resistivity data sets, considering the fact that measured voltage in time-domain IP survey is distorted by IP effects to increase from the instantaneous voltage measured at the moment the source current injection starts. Even though the increase is saturated very fast, we can consider the saturated and instantaneous voltages as a time-lapse data set. The 4D inversion method is one of the most powerful method for inverting time-lapse resistivity data sets. Using the developed IP inversion algorithm, we invert not only synthetic but also field IP data to show the effectiveness of the proposed method by comparing the recovered chargeability models with those from linear inversion that was used for the inversion of the field data in a previous study. Numerical results confirm that the proposed inversion method generates reliable chargeability models even though the anomalous bodies have large IP effects.

  4. Improving the performance of DomainDiscovery of protein domain boundary assignment using inter-domain linker index

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zomaya Albert Y

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge of protein domain boundaries is critical for the characterisation and understanding of protein function. The ability to identify domains without the knowledge of the structure – by using sequence information only – is an essential step in many types of protein analyses. In this present study, we demonstrate that the performance of DomainDiscovery is improved significantly by including the inter-domain linker index value for domain identification from sequence-based information. Improved DomainDiscovery uses a Support Vector Machine (SVM approach and a unique training dataset built on the principle of consensus among experts in defining domains in protein structure. The SVM was trained using a PSSM (Position Specific Scoring Matrix, secondary structure, solvent accessibility information and inter-domain linker index to detect possible domain boundaries for a target sequence. Results Improved DomainDiscovery is compared with other methods by benchmarking against a structurally non-redundant dataset and also CASP5 targets. Improved DomainDiscovery achieves 70% accuracy for domain boundary identification in multi-domains proteins. Conclusion Improved DomainDiscovery compares favourably to the performance of other methods and excels in the identification of domain boundaries for multi-domain proteins as a result of introducing support vector machine with benchmark_2 dataset.

  5. Comparative structure-function characterization of the saposin-like domains from potato, barley, cardoon and Arabidopsis aspartic proteases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryksa, Brian C; Grahame, Douglas A; Yada, Rickey Y

    2017-05-01

    The present study characterized the aspartic protease saposin-like domains of four plant species, Solanum tuberosum (potato), Hordeum vulgare L. (barley), Cynara cardunculus L. (cardoon; artichoke thistle) and Arabidopsis thaliana, in terms of bilayer disruption and fusion, and structure pH-dependence. Comparison of the recombinant saposin-like domains revealed that each induced leakage of bilayer vesicles composed of a simple phospholipid mixture with relative rates Arabidopsis>barley>cardoon>potato. When compared for leakage of bilayer composed of a vacuole-like phospholipid mixture, leakage was approximately five times higher for potato saposin-like domain compared to the others. In terms of fusogenic activity, distinctions between particle size profiles were noted among the four proteins, particularly for potato saposin-like domain. Bilayer fusion assays in reducing conditions resulted in altered fusion profiles except in the case of cardoon saposin-like domain which was virtually unchanged. Secondary structure profiles were similar across all four proteins under different pH conditions, although cardoon saposin-like domain appeared to have higher overall helix structure. Furthermore, increases in Trp emission upon protein-bilayer interactions suggested that protein structure rearrangements equilibrated with half-times ranging from 52 to 120s, with cardoon saposin-like domain significantly slower than the other three species. Overall, the present findings serve as a foundation for future studies seeking to delineate protein structural features and motifs in protein-bilayer interactions based upon variability in plant aspartic protease saposin-like domain structures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparing Relational and Ontological Triple Stores in Healthcare Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozgu Can

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Today’s technological improvements have made ubiquitous healthcare systems that converge into smart healthcare applications in order to solve patients’ problems, to communicate effectively with patients, and to improve healthcare service quality. The first step of building a smart healthcare information system is representing the healthcare data as connected, reachable, and sharable. In order to achieve this representation, ontologies are used to describe the healthcare data. Combining ontological healthcare data with the used and obtained data can be maintained by storing the entire health domain data inside big data stores that support both relational and graph-based ontological data. There are several big data stores and different types of big data sets in the healthcare domain. The goal of this paper is to determine the most applicable ontology data store for storing the big healthcare data. For this purpose, AllegroGraph and Oracle 12c data stores are compared based on their infrastructural capacity, loading time, and query response times. Hence, healthcare ontologies (GENE Ontology, Gene Expression Ontology (GEXO, Regulation of Transcription Ontology (RETO, Regulation of Gene Expression Ontology (REXO are used to measure the ontology loading time. Thereafter, various queries are constructed and executed for GENE ontology in order to measure the capacity and query response times for the performance comparison between AllegroGraph and Oracle 12c triple stores.

  7. Comparing the Age-Friendliness of Different Neighbourhoods Using District Surveys: An Example from Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Moses; Chau, Pui Hing; Cheung, Francis; Phillips, David R; Woo, Jean

    2015-01-01

    To address the age-friendliness of living environment in cities, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the "Age-friendly cities" (AFC) initiative in 2005. To date, however, no universal standard tool for assessing age-friendliness of a community has been agreed. Two quantitative studies on AFC conducted in two Hong Kong districts-Sha Tin and Tuen Mun-were compared. A total of 801 residents aged ≥50 years were interviewed using structured questionnaires based on the WHO's AFC criteria. District-wide differences in age-friendliness were compared on the basis of eight domain scores. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations with demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The provision of services and amenities was also compared to help explain the difference in domain scores. Variations in mean domain scores were observed in both districts. Sha Tin showed significantly lower scores in outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, as compared with Tuen Mun. Although a significantly higher score on the housing domain was observed in Sha Tin, differences in community and health services domains were insignificant. Socio-demographic factors, such as age group, gender, area of residence, type of housing, experience of elderly care, employment status, self-rated health and income, were associated with domain scores. However, variations in services and amenities provision appeared not to be strongly associated with district-wide difference in domain scores. District differences in public opinions towards age-friendly characteristics were observed in this study. Except for two of the eight domains, Sha Tin had significantly lower scores than Tuen Mun. Some socio-demographic indicators seemed predictive to the differences. Paradoxically, Sha Tin had better services and infrastructure and higher socio-economic status, but lower

  8. Alcohol consumption trends in Australia: Comparing surveys and sales-based measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, Michael; Callinan, Sarah; Raninen, Jonas; Pennay, Amy; Dietze, Paul M

    2018-04-01

    Survey data remain a crucial means for monitoring alcohol consumption, but there has been limited work done to ensure that surveys adequately capture changes in per-capita consumption in Australia. In this study, we explore how trends in consumption from two major Australian surveys compare with an official measure of per-capita consumption between 2001 and 2014 and examine age-specific trends in drinking. Data were from five waves of the cross-sectional National Health Survey (total n = 113 279) and 12 waves of the longitudinal Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Study (average n = 12 347). Overall and age-specific estimates of annual alcohol consumption were derived and compared with official per-capita consumption and previous analyses of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. In terms of overall consumption, both surveys broadly reflected trends in per-capita consumption, especially the decline that has been observed since 2007/2008. Age-specific trends were broadly similar, with the recent decline in consumption clearly concentrated among teenagers and young adults. The main Australian monitoring surveys remain useful monitoring tools for alcohol consumption in Australia. There is consistent evidence that the recent declines in Australian per-capita consumption have been driven by sharp falls in drinking among young people, a trend that requires further study. [Livingston M, Callinan S, Raninen J, Pennay A, Dietze PM. Alcohol consumption trends in Australia: Comparing surveys and sales-based measures. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000]. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  9. 2016 Emerging Technology Domains Risk Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-05

    measures upon which the CERT/CC based its recommendations and how each domain was triaged for importance. 6. Exploitation Examples details concepts or...Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited 2 Methodology A measured approach to analysis is required when...only a few vehicles had access to a cellular Internet connection, and only at 3G speeds. Some vehicles already have LTE connections, and many

  10. Statistical searches for microlensing events in large, non-uniformly sampled time-domain surveys: A test using palomar transient factory data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Price-Whelan, Adrian M.; Agüeros, Marcel A. [Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027 (United States); Fournier, Amanda P. [Department of Physics, Broida Hall, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (United States); Street, Rachel [Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Inc., 6740 Cortona Drive, Suite 102, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 (United States); Ofek, Eran O. [Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot (Israel); Covey, Kevin R. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Levitan, David; Sesar, Branimir [Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Laher, Russ R.; Surace, Jason, E-mail: adrn@astro.columbia.edu [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

    2014-01-20

    Many photometric time-domain surveys are driven by specific goals, such as searches for supernovae or transiting exoplanets, which set the cadence with which fields are re-imaged. In the case of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), several sub-surveys are conducted in parallel, leading to non-uniform sampling over its ∼20,000 deg{sup 2} footprint. While the median 7.26 deg{sup 2} PTF field has been imaged ∼40 times in the R band, ∼2300 deg{sup 2} have been observed >100 times. We use PTF data to study the trade off between searching for microlensing events in a survey whose footprint is much larger than that of typical microlensing searches, but with far-from-optimal time sampling. To examine the probability that microlensing events can be recovered in these data, we test statistics used on uniformly sampled data to identify variables and transients. We find that the von Neumann ratio performs best for identifying simulated microlensing events in our data. We develop a selection method using this statistic and apply it to data from fields with >10 R-band observations, 1.1 × 10{sup 9} light curves, uncovering three candidate microlensing events. We lack simultaneous, multi-color photometry to confirm these as microlensing events. However, their number is consistent with predictions for the event rate in the PTF footprint over the survey's three years of operations, as estimated from near-field microlensing models. This work can help constrain all-sky event rate predictions and tests microlensing signal recovery in large data sets, which will be useful to future time-domain surveys, such as that planned with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

  11. Comparing the Age-Friendliness of Different Neighbourhoods Using District Surveys: An Example from Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Moses; Chau, Pui Hing; Cheung, Francis; Phillips, David R.; Woo, Jean

    2015-01-01

    Background To address the age-friendliness of living environment in cities, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the “Age-friendly cities” (AFC) initiative in 2005. To date, however, no universal standard tool for assessing age-friendliness of a community has been agreed. Methodology Two quantitative studies on AFC conducted in two Hong Kong districts—Sha Tin and Tuen Mun—were compared. A total of 801 residents aged ≥50 years were interviewed using structured questionnaires based on the WHO’s AFC criteria. District-wide differences in age-friendliness were compared on the basis of eight domain scores. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations with demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The provision of services and amenities was also compared to help explain the difference in domain scores. Results Variations in mean domain scores were observed in both districts. Sha Tin showed significantly lower scores in outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, as compared with Tuen Mun. Although a significantly higher score on the housing domain was observed in Sha Tin, differences in community and health services domains were insignificant. Socio-demographic factors, such as age group, gender, area of residence, type of housing, experience of elderly care, employment status, self-rated health and income, were associated with domain scores. However, variations in services and amenities provision appeared not to be strongly associated with district-wide difference in domain scores. Conclusions District differences in public opinions towards age-friendly characteristics were observed in this study. Except for two of the eight domains, Sha Tin had significantly lower scores than Tuen Mun. Some socio-demographic indicators seemed predictive to the differences. Paradoxically, Sha Tin had better services and

  12. Comparing the Age-Friendliness of Different Neighbourhoods Using District Surveys: An Example from Hong Kong.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moses Wong

    Full Text Available To address the age-friendliness of living environment in cities, the World Health Organization (WHO launched the "Age-friendly cities" (AFC initiative in 2005. To date, however, no universal standard tool for assessing age-friendliness of a community has been agreed.Two quantitative studies on AFC conducted in two Hong Kong districts-Sha Tin and Tuen Mun-were compared. A total of 801 residents aged ≥50 years were interviewed using structured questionnaires based on the WHO's AFC criteria. District-wide differences in age-friendliness were compared on the basis of eight domain scores. Multiple linear regression was used to examine associations with demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The provision of services and amenities was also compared to help explain the difference in domain scores.Variations in mean domain scores were observed in both districts. Sha Tin showed significantly lower scores in outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, as compared with Tuen Mun. Although a significantly higher score on the housing domain was observed in Sha Tin, differences in community and health services domains were insignificant. Socio-demographic factors, such as age group, gender, area of residence, type of housing, experience of elderly care, employment status, self-rated health and income, were associated with domain scores. However, variations in services and amenities provision appeared not to be strongly associated with district-wide difference in domain scores.District differences in public opinions towards age-friendly characteristics were observed in this study. Except for two of the eight domains, Sha Tin had significantly lower scores than Tuen Mun. Some socio-demographic indicators seemed predictive to the differences. Paradoxically, Sha Tin had better services and infrastructure and higher socio

  13. Comparing Domain-Specific Physical Activity Efficacy Level between Turkish Adolescent Girls and Boys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çatikkas, Fatih

    2017-01-01

    The adolescence period is a very critical developmental period for personality, socializing and promotion of physical activity. In this regard, the aim of this study was to compare domain-specific physical activity efficacy level between adolescent boys and girls. A total of 219 girls (body weight: 57.50 ± 10.44 kg, height: 160.30 ± 7.40 cm, age…

  14. Comparative kinomics of human and chimpanzee reveal unique kinship and functional diversity generated by new domain combinations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Juliette

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Phosphorylation by protein kinases is a common event in many cellular processes. Further, many kinases perform specialized roles and are regulated by non-kinase domains tethered to kinase domain. Perturbation in the regulation of kinases leads to malignancy. We have identified and analysed putative protein kinases encoded in the genome of chimpanzee which is a close evolutionary relative of human. Result The shared core biology between chimpanzee and human is characterized by many orthologous protein kinases which are involved in conserved pathways. Domain architectures specific to chimp/human kinases have been observed. Chimp kinases with unique domain architectures are characterized by deletion of one or more non-kinase domains in the human kinases. Interestingly, counterparts of some of the multi-domain human kinases in chimp are characterized by identical domain architectures but with kinase-like non-kinase domain. Remarkably, out of 587 chimpanzee kinases no human orthologue with greater than 95% sequence identity could be identified for 160 kinases. Variations in chimpanzee kinases compared to human kinases are brought about also by differences in functions of domains tethered to the catalytic kinase domain. For example, the heterodimer forming PB1 domain related to the fold of ubiquitin/Ras-binding domain is seen uniquely tethered to PKC-like chimpanzee kinase. Conclusion Though the chimpanzee and human are evolutionary very close, there are chimpanzee kinases with no close counterpart in the human suggesting differences in their functions. This analysis provides a direction for experimental analysis of human and chimpanzee protein kinases in order to enhance our understanding on their specific biological roles.

  15. Fiscal 1992 survey report. Survey of research trends in search for important research domains; 1992 nendo juten kenkyu ryoiki tansaku no tame no kenkyu doko chosa hokokusho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1993-03-01

    For contribution of suggestions for establishing directions and concrete tasks for new industrial technology research and development projects, a survey is conducted about trends of industrial technology development and into research domains where importance will gather in the future, for which development trends are studied such as limiting, providing of intelligence, and advanced composition. In this report, domains expected to become important in the future are investigated. Important subjects are found in the domains of the space limiting (micromachining, atom/molecule manipulation, microanalysis, etc.), the time limiting (super-spacetime processing, quantum device, femtosecond technology, 4-dimensional device, etc.), biomimetics and providing of intelligence (intelligent material, neural network, genetic algorithm, artificial life, sensor fusion, intelligent robot, etc.). In addition to these, 'ultrastructure that learns from organisms,' 'intensive interaction system,' and 'nonlinearity/chaos technology' are proposed as promising fields of development. Since Japan is traditionally strong in hardware technologies relating to micromachining and substance/material processing, good results will be attained when the industrial, governmental, and academic circles exert endeavors. (NEDO)

  16. Fiscal 1992 survey report. Survey of research trends in search for important research domains; 1992 nendo juten kenkyu ryoiki tansaku no tame no kenkyu doko chosa hokokusho

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1993-03-01

    For contribution of suggestions for establishing directions and concrete tasks for new industrial technology research and development projects, a survey is conducted about trends of industrial technology development and into research domains where importance will gather in the future, for which development trends are studied such as limiting, providing of intelligence, and advanced composition. In this report, domains expected to become important in the future are investigated. Important subjects are found in the domains of the space limiting (micromachining, atom/molecule manipulation, microanalysis, etc.), the time limiting (super-spacetime processing, quantum device, femtosecond technology, 4-dimensional device, etc.), biomimetics and providing of intelligence (intelligent material, neural network, genetic algorithm, artificial life, sensor fusion, intelligent robot, etc.). In addition to these, 'ultrastructure that learns from organisms,' 'intensive interaction system,' and 'nonlinearity/chaos technology' are proposed as promising fields of development. Since Japan is traditionally strong in hardware technologies relating to micromachining and substance/material processing, good results will be attained when the industrial, governmental, and academic circles exert endeavors. (NEDO)

  17. Comparing autotransporter β-domain configurations for their capacity to secrete heterologous proteins to the cell surface.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wouter S P Jong

    Full Text Available Monomeric autotransporters have been extensively used for export of recombinant proteins to the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria. A bottleneck in the biosynthesis of such constructs is the passage of the outer membrane, which is facilitated by the β-domain at the C terminus of an autotransporter in conjunction with the Bam complex in the outer membrane. We have evaluated eight β-domain constructs for their capacity to secrete fused proteins to the cell surface. These constructs derive from the monomeric autotransporters Hbp, IgA protease, Ag43 and EstA and the trimeric autotransporter Hia, which all were selected because they have been previously used for secretion of recombinant proteins. We fused three different protein domains to the eight β-domain constructs, being a Myc-tag, the Hbp passenger and a nanobody or VHH domain, and assessed expression, membrane insertion and surface exposure. Our results show that expression levels differed considerably between the constructs tested. The constructs that included the β-domains of Hbp and IgA protease appeared the most efficient and resulted in expression levels that were detectable on Coomassie-stained SDS-PAGE gels. The VHH domain appeared the most difficult fusion partner to export, probably due to its complex immunoglobulin-like structure with a tertiary structure stabilized by an intramolecular disulfide bond. Overall, the Hbp β-domain compared favorably in exporting the fused recombinant proteins, because it showed in every instance tested a good level of expression, stable membrane insertion and clear surface exposure.

  18. Comparative analysis of glutaredoxin domains from bacterial opportunistic pathogens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leeper, Thomas; Zhang, Suxin; Van Voorhis, Wesley C.; Myler, Peter J.; Varani, Gabriele

    2011-01-01

    NMR structures of the glutaredoxin (GLXR) domains from Br. melitensis and Ba. henselae have been determined as part of the SSGCID initiative. Comparison of the domains with known structures reveals overall structural similarity between these proteins and previously determined E. coli GLXR structures, with minor changes associated with the position of helix 1 and with regions that diverge from similar structures found in the closest related human homolog. Glutaredoxin proteins (GLXRs) are essential components of the glutathione system that reductively detoxify substances such as arsenic and peroxides and are important in the synthesis of DNA via ribonucleotide reductases. NMR solution structures of glutaredoxin domains from two Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens, Brucella melitensis and Bartonella henselae, are presented. These domains lack the N-terminal helix that is frequently present in eukaryotic GLXRs. The conserved active-site cysteines adopt canonical proline/tyrosine-stabilized geometries. A difference in the angle of α-helix 2 relative to the β-sheet surface and the presence of an extended loop in the human sequence suggests potential regulatory regions and/or protein–protein interaction motifs. This observation is consistent with mutations in this region that suppress defects in GLXR–ribonucleotide reductase interactions. These differences between the human and bacterial forms are adjacent to the dithiol active site and may permit species-selective drug design

  19. Comparative Study of Complex Survey Estimation Software in ONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andy Fallows

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Many official statistics across the UK Government Statistical Service (GSS are produced using data collected from sample surveys. These survey data are used to estimate population statistics through weighting and calibration techniques. For surveys with complex or unusual sample designs, the weighting can be fairly complicated. Even in more simple cases, appropriate software is required to implement survey weighting and estimation. As with other stages of the survey process, it is preferable to use a standard, generic calibration tool wherever possible. Standard tools allow for efficient use of resources and assist with the harmonisation of methods. In the case of calibration, the Office for National Statistics (ONS has experience of using the Statistics Canada Generalized Estimation System (GES across a range of business and social surveys. GES is a SAS-based system and so is only available in conjunction with an appropriate SAS licence. Given recent initiatives and encouragement to investigate open source solutions across government, it is appropriate to determine whether there are any open source calibration tools available that can provide the same service as GES. This study compares the use of GES with the calibration tool ‘R evolved Generalized software for sampling estimates and errors in surveys’ (ReGenesees available in R, an open source statistical programming language which is beginning to be used in many statistical offices. ReGenesees is a free R package which has been developed by the Italian statistics office (Istat and includes functionality to calibrate survey estimates using similar techniques to GES. This report describes analysis of the performance of ReGenesees in comparison to GES to calibrate a representative selection of ONS surveys. Section 1.1 provides a brief introduction to the current use of SAS and R in ONS. Section 2 describes GES and ReGenesees in more detail. Sections 3.1 and 3.2 consider methods for

  20. A Comparative Analysis of Numbers and Biology Content Domains between Turkey and the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Incikabi, Lutfi; Ozgelen, Sinan; Tjoe, Hartono

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to compare Mathematics and Science programs focusing on TIMSS content domains of Numbers and Biology that produced the largest achievement gap among students from Turkey and the USA. Specifically, it utilized the content analysis method within Turkish and New York State (NYS) frameworks. The procedures of study included matching…

  1. Frequency-domain and time-domain methods for feedback nonlinear systems and applications to chaos control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Zhisheng; Wang Jinzhi; Yang Ying; Huang Lin

    2009-01-01

    This paper surveys frequency-domain and time-domain methods for feedback nonlinear systems and their possible applications to chaos control, coupled systems and complex dynamical networks. The absolute stability of Lur'e systems with single equilibrium and global properties of a class of pendulum-like systems with multi-equilibria are discussed. Time-domain and frequency-domain criteria for the convergence of solutions are presented. Some latest results on analysis and control of nonlinear systems with multiple equilibria and applications to chaos control are reviewed. Finally, new chaotic oscillating phenomena are shown in a pendulum-like system and a new nonlinear system with an attraction/repulsion function.

  2. Magnetic domains the analysis of magnetic microstructures

    CERN Document Server

    Hubert, Alex

    1998-01-01

    The book gives a systematic and comprehensive survey of the complete area of magnetic microstructures. It reaches from micromagnetism of nanoparticles to complex structures of extended magnetic materials. The book starts with a comprehensive evaluation of traditional and modern experimental methods for the observation of magnetic domains and continues with the treatment of important methods for the theoretical analysis of magnetic microcstructures. A survey of the necessary techniques in materials characterization is given. The book offers an observation and analysis of magnetic domains in all

  3. Comparing domain interactions within antibody Fabs with kappa and lambda light chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toughiri, Raheleh; Wu, Xiufeng; Ruiz, Diana; Huang, Flora; Crissman, John W; Dickey, Mark; Froning, Karen; Conner, Elaine M; Cujec, Thomas P; Demarest, Stephen J

    2016-10-01

    IgG antibodies are multi-domain proteins with complex inter-domain interactions. Human IgG heavy chains (HCs) associate with light chains (LCs) of the κ or λ isotype to form mature antibodies capable of binding antigen. The HC/LC interaction involves 4 domains: VH and CH1 from the HC and VL and CL from the LC. Human Fabs with κ LCs have been well characterized for their unfolding behaviors and demonstrate a significant level of cooperativity and stabilization when all 4 domains are intact. Very little is known regarding the thermodynamic properties of human Fabs with λ LCs. Here, we dissect the domain contributions to Fab stability for both κ and λ LC-containing Fabs. We find the cooperativity of unfolding between the constant domains, CH1/Cλ, and variable domains, VH/Vλ, within λ LC-containing Fabs is significantly weaker than that of κ LC-containing Fabs. The data suggests there may not be an evolutionary necessity for strong variable/constant domain cooperativity within λ LC-containing Fabs. After investigating the biophysical properties of Fabs with mismatched variable and constant domain subunits (e.g., VH/Vκ paired with CH1/Cλ or T cell receptor Cα/Cβ), the major role of the constant domains for both κ- and λ-containing Fabs may be to reduce the hydrophobic exposure at the VH/VL interface. Even though Fabs with these non-native pairings were thermodynamically less stable, they secreted well from mammalian cells as well behaved monodisperse proteins, which was in contrast to what was observed with the VH/Vκ and VH/Vλ scFvs that secreted as a mixture of monomer and aggregates.

  4. Comparing Traditional and Crowdsourcing Methods for Pretesting Survey Questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jennifer Edgar

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive interviewing is a common method used to evaluate survey questions. This study compares traditional cognitive interviewing methods with crowdsourcing, or “tapping into the collective intelligence of the public to complete a task.” Crowdsourcing may provide researchers with access to a diverse pool of potential participants in a very timely and cost-efficient way. Exploratory work found that crowdsourcing participants, with self-administered data collection, may be a viable alternative, or addition, to traditional pretesting methods. Using three crowdsourcing designs (TryMyUI, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and Facebook, we compared the participant characteristics, costs, and quantity and quality of data with traditional laboratory-based cognitive interviews. Results suggest that crowdsourcing and self-administered protocols may be a viable way to collect survey pretesting information, as participants were able to complete the tasks and provide useful information; however, complex tasks may require the skills of an interviewer to administer unscripted probes.

  5. AGN Accretion Physics in the Time Domain: Survey Cadences, Stochastic Analysis, and Physical Interpretations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Jackeline; Vogeley, Michael S.; Richards, Gordon; O'Brien, John T.; Kasliwal, Vishal

    2018-01-01

    We present rigorous testing of survey cadences (K2, SDSS, CRTS, & Pan-STARRS) for quasar variability science using a magnetohydrodynamics synthetic lightcurve and the canonical lightcurve from Kepler, Zw 229.15. We explain where the state of the art is in regards to physical interpretations of stochastic models (CARMA) applied to AGN variability. Quasar variability offers a time domain approach of probing accretion physics at the SMBH scale. Evidence shows that the strongest amplitude changes in the brightness of AGN occur on long timescales ranging from months to hundreds of days. These global behaviors can be constrained by survey data despite low sampling resolution. CARMA processes provide a flexible family of models used to interpolate between data points, predict future observations and describe behaviors in a lightcurve. This is accomplished by decomposing a signal into rise and decay timescales, frequencies for cyclic behavior and shock amplitudes. Characteristic timescales may point to length-scales over which a physical process operates such as turbulent eddies, warping or hotspots due to local thermal instabilities. We present the distribution of SDSS Stripe 82 quasars in CARMA parameters space that pass our cadence tests and also explain how the Damped Harmonic Oscillator model, CARMA(2,1), reduces to the Damped Random Walk, CARMA(1,0), given the data in a specific region of the parameter space.

  6. Familiarity Vs Trust: A Comparative Study of Domain Scientists' Trust in Visual Analytics and Conventional Analysis Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Aritra; Lee, Joon-Yong; Wilson, Ryan; Lafrance, Robert A; Cramer, Nick; Cook, Kristin; Payne, Samuel

    2017-01-01

    Combining interactive visualization with automated analytical methods like statistics and data mining facilitates data-driven discovery. These visual analytic methods are beginning to be instantiated within mixed-initiative systems, where humans and machines collaboratively influence evidence-gathering and decision-making. But an open research question is that, when domain experts analyze their data, can they completely trust the outputs and operations on the machine-side? Visualization potentially leads to a transparent analysis process, but do domain experts always trust what they see? To address these questions, we present results from the design and evaluation of a mixed-initiative, visual analytics system for biologists, focusing on analyzing the relationships between familiarity of an analysis medium and domain experts' trust. We propose a trust-augmented design of the visual analytics system, that explicitly takes into account domain-specific tasks, conventions, and preferences. For evaluating the system, we present the results of a controlled user study with 34 biologists where we compare the variation of the level of trust across conventional and visual analytic mediums and explore the influence of familiarity and task complexity on trust. We find that despite being unfamiliar with a visual analytic medium, scientists seem to have an average level of trust that is comparable with the same in conventional analysis medium. In fact, for complex sense-making tasks, we find that the visual analytic system is able to inspire greater trust than other mediums. We summarize the implications of our findings with directions for future research on trustworthiness of visual analytic systems.

  7. Predicting detection performance with model observers: Fourier domain or spatial domain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Baiyu; Yu, Lifeng; Leng, Shuai; Kofler, James; Favazza, Christopher; Vrieze, Thomas; McCollough, Cynthia

    2016-02-27

    The use of Fourier domain model observer is challenged by iterative reconstruction (IR), because IR algorithms are nonlinear and IR images have noise texture different from that of FBP. A modified Fourier domain model observer, which incorporates nonlinear noise and resolution properties, has been proposed for IR and needs to be validated with human detection performance. On the other hand, the spatial domain model observer is theoretically applicable to IR, but more computationally intensive than the Fourier domain method. The purpose of this study is to compare the modified Fourier domain model observer to the spatial domain model observer with both FBP and IR images, using human detection performance as the gold standard. A phantom with inserts of various low contrast levels and sizes was repeatedly scanned 100 times on a third-generation, dual-source CT scanner at 5 dose levels and reconstructed using FBP and IR algorithms. The human detection performance of the inserts was measured via a 2-alternative-forced-choice (2AFC) test. In addition, two model observer performances were calculated, including a Fourier domain non-prewhitening model observer and a spatial domain channelized Hotelling observer. The performance of these two mode observers was compared in terms of how well they correlated with human observer performance. Our results demonstrated that the spatial domain model observer correlated well with human observers across various dose levels, object contrast levels, and object sizes. The Fourier domain observer correlated well with human observers using FBP images, but overestimated the detection performance using IR images.

  8. Use of IMMPACT domains in clinical trials of acupuncture for chronic pain: a protocol for a methodological survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzei, Lauren Giustti; Bergamaschi, Cristiane de Cássia; Silva, Marcus Tolentino; Lopes, Luciane Cruz

    2017-09-27

    Pain is one of the most common and most debilitating complaints among patients. It affects the individual, their relationship with friends and family, their ability to function at work, and their sociability. Acupuncture is one of the therapeutic resources for managing chronic pain. Given the variability of outcome measures in controlled randomised clinical trials on non-oncologicchronic pain (CRCT-NOCP), the Initiative in Methods, Measurements and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) recommends six domains to be covered in evaluating the effectiveness of treatments for chronic pain. To check whether the methodological quality of outcome reporting in published trials has used IMMPACT recommendations in measuring CRCT-NOCP outcomes when acupuncture was used as a treatment. This is a methodological study. We will systematically search for eligible studies in specific databases with a defined strategy. We will use the MeSHterms of 'acupuncture', 'chronic pain' and similar terms, without restrictions on idiom. Eligible studies will include those which are randomised and chose NOCP patients to be treated with acupuncture or control (sham acupuncture or no acupuncture), recruited after September 2004, with ≥100 patients. The measured outcomes are to be the presence of outcome domains recommended by IMMPACT, domains reported by the patient or clinician, tools used to measure such domains, as well as other features of the studies. We shall conduct a regression analysis to explore factors which can be associated with the presence of outcome domains according to IMMPACT recommendations. This survey will be submitted for presentation at congresses and for publication in a scientific journal. The findings obtained in this study will allow us to measure the quality of the evidence and provide greater transparency in decisions regarding the use of acupuncture as a viable alternative to managing chronic pain. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise

  9. A primate specific extra domain in the molecular chaperone Hsp90.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vishwadeepak Tripathi

    Full Text Available Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90 is an essential molecular chaperone that mediates folding and quality control of client proteins. Many of them such as protein kinases, steroid receptors and transcription factors are involved in cellular signaling processes. Hsp90 undergoes an ATP hydrolysis dependent conformational cycle to assist folding of the client protein. The canonical Hsp90 shows a typical composition of three distinct domains and interacts with individual cochaperone partners such as Hop, Cdc37 and Aha1 (activator of Hsp90 ATPase that regulate the reaction cycle of the molecular chaperone. A bioinformatic survey identified an additional domain of 122 amino acids in front of the canonical Hsp90 sequence. This extra domain (E domain is specific to the Catarrhini or drooping nose monkeys, a subdivision of the higher primates that includes man, the great apes and the old world monkeys but is absent from all other species. Our biochemical analysis reveals that Hsp103 associates with cochaperone proteins such as Hop, Cdc37 and Aha1 similar to Hsp90. However, the extra domain reduces the ATP hydrolysis rate to about half when compared to Hsp90 thereby acting as a negative regulator of the molecular chaperonés intrinsic ATPase activity.

  10. Comparing Cognitive Models of Domain Mastery and Task Performance in Algebra: Validity Evidence for a State Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, Zachary B.

    2013-01-01

    This study compared an expert-based cognitive model of domain mastery with student-based cognitive models of task performance for Integrated Algebra. Interpretations of student test results are limited by experts' hypotheses of how students interact with the items. In reality, the cognitive processes that students use to solve each item may be…

  11. Radio weak lensing shear measurement in the visibility domain - II. Source extraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivi, M.; Miller, L.

    2018-05-01

    This paper extends the method introduced in Rivi et al. (2016b) to measure galaxy ellipticities in the visibility domain for radio weak lensing surveys. In that paper, we focused on the development and testing of the method for the simple case of individual galaxies located at the phase centre, and proposed to extend it to the realistic case of many sources in the field of view by isolating visibilities of each source with a faceting technique. In this second paper, we present a detailed algorithm for source extraction in the visibility domain and show its effectiveness as a function of the source number density by running simulations of SKA1-MID observations in the band 950-1150 MHz and comparing original and measured values of galaxies' ellipticities. Shear measurements from a realistic population of 104 galaxies randomly located in a field of view of 1 \\deg ^2 (i.e. the source density expected for the current radio weak lensing survey proposal with SKA1) are also performed. At SNR ≥ 10, the multiplicative bias is only a factor 1.5 worse than what found when analysing individual sources, and is still comparable to the bias values reported for similar measurement methods at optical wavelengths. The additive bias is unchanged from the case of individual sources, but it is significantly larger than typically found in optical surveys. This bias depends on the shape of the uv coverage and we suggest that a uv-plane weighting scheme to produce a more isotropic shape could reduce and control additive bias.

  12. A survey of HK, HPt, and RR domains and their organization in two-component systems and phosphorelay proteins of organisms with fully sequenced genomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baldiri Salvado

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Two Component Systems and Phosphorelays (TCS/PR are environmental signal transduction cascades in prokaryotes and, less frequently, in eukaryotes. The internal domain organization of proteins and the topology of TCS/PR cascades play an important role in shaping the responses of the circuits. It is thus important to maintain updated censuses of TCS/PR proteins in order to identify the various topologies used by nature and enable a systematic study of the dynamics associated with those topologies. To create such a census, we analyzed the proteomes of 7,609 organisms from all domains of life with fully sequenced and annotated genomes. To begin, we survey each proteome searching for proteins containing domains that are associated with internal signal transmission within TCS/PR: Histidine Kinase (HK, Response Regulator (RR and Histidine Phosphotranfer (HPt domains, and analyze how these domains are arranged in the individual proteins. Then, we find all types of operon organization and calculate how much more likely are proteins that contain TCS/PR domains to be coded by neighboring genes than one would expect from the genome background of each organism. Finally, we analyze if the fusion of domains into single TCS/PR proteins is more frequently observed than one might expect from the background of each proteome. We find 50 alternative ways in which the HK, HPt, and RR domains are observed to organize into single proteins. In prokaryotes, TCS/PR coding genes tend to be clustered in operons. 90% of all proteins identified in this study contain just one of the three domains, while 8% of the remaining proteins combine one copy of an HK, a RR, and/or an HPt domain. In eukaryotes, 25% of all TCS/PR proteins have more than one domain. These results might have implications for how signals are internally transmitted within TCS/PR cascades. These implications could explain the selection of the various designs in alternative circumstances.

  13. Domain-specific languages in perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Heering (Jan); M. Mernik (Marjan)

    2007-01-01

    textabstractDomain-specific languages (DSLs) are languages tailored to a specific application domain. They offer substantial gains in expressiveness and ease of use compared with general-purpose languages in their domain of application. Although the use of DSLs is by no means new, it is receiving

  14. A precursive study of the time-domain survey of the Galactic Anti-center using the Nanshan 1-meter telescope with variable stars detected

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Shu-Guo; Esamdin, Ali; Ma, Lu; Niu, Hu-Biao; Fu, Jian-Ning; Zhang, Yu; Liu, Jin-Zhong; Yang, Tao-Zhi; Song, Fang-Fang; Pu, Guang-Xin

    2018-04-01

    Following the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey and the Xuyi's Photometric Survey of the Galactic Anti-center, we plan to carry out a time-domain survey of the Galactic Anti-center (TDS-GAC) to study variable stars by using the Nanshan 1-meter telescope. Before the beginning of TDS-GAC, a precursive sky survey (PSS) has been executed. The goal of the PSS is to optimize the observation strategy of TDS-GAC and to detect some strong transient events, as well as to find some short time-scale variable stars of different types. By observing a discontinuous sky area of 15.03 deg2 with the standard Johnson-Cousin-Bessel V filter, 48 variable stars are found and the time series are analyzed. Based on the behaviors of the light curves, 28 eclipsing binary stars, 10 RR Lyraes, 3 periodic pulsating variables of other types have been classified. The rest 7 variables stay unclassified with deficient data. In addition, the observation strategy of TD-GAC is described, and the pipeline of data reduction is tested.

  15. Delusional disorder and schizophrenia: a comparative study across multiple domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peralta, V; Cuesta, M J

    2016-10-01

    Delusional disorder (DD) is an under-researched condition and its relationship to schizophrenia (SZ) controversial. This study aimed to further characterize DD and to examine multi-domain evidence for the distinction between DD and SZ. Using univariate analyses we examined 146 subjects with DD, 114 subjects with paranoid SZ and 244 subjects with non-paranoid SZ on 52 characteristics from several domains including demographics, risk factors, premorbid features, illness characteristics, index episode features, delusional-related features, response to treatment and outcome. In a further step, we searched for independent associations of the examined characteristics with DD v. SZ. Univariate analyses showed that DD differed from either form of SZ in 40 characteristics, the pattern of findings indicated that paranoid SZ was much more similar to non-paranoid SZ than DD. Relative to subjects with SZ, those with DD were more likely to have drug abuse before illness onset, better premorbid sexual adjustment, later age at illness onset, higher levels of affective symptoms and lack of insight, poorer response to antipsychotic medication, better functioning in the domains of personal care, paid work and social functioning; last, subjects with DD had fewer but more severe delusions and higher ratings of conviction of delusional experience than those with SZ. Predominance of jealousy and somatic delusions was confined to subjects with DD. DD and SZ represent two distinct classes of disorders, the differential features of DD being of nosological, aetiological and therapeutic relevance.

  16. Structural mapping of the coiled-coil domain of a bacterial condensin and comparative analyses across all domains of life suggest conserved features of SMC proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldman, Vincent M; Stanage, Tyler H; Mims, Alexandra; Norden, Ian S; Oakley, Martha G

    2015-06-01

    The structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins form the cores of multisubunit complexes that are required for the segregation and global organization of chromosomes in all domains of life. These proteins share a common domain structure in which N- and C- terminal regions pack against one another to form a globular ATPase domain. This "head" domain is connected to a central, globular, "hinge" or dimerization domain by a long, antiparallel coiled coil. To date, most efforts for structural characterization of SMC proteins have focused on the globular domains. Recently, however, we developed a method to map interstrand interactions in the 50-nm coiled-coil domain of MukB, the divergent SMC protein found in γ-proteobacteria. Here, we apply that technique to map the structure of the Bacillus subtilis SMC (BsSMC) coiled-coil domain. We find that, in contrast to the relatively complicated coiled-coil domain of MukB, the BsSMC domain is nearly continuous, with only two detectable coiled-coil interruptions. Near the middle of the domain is a break in coiled-coil structure in which there are three more residues on the C-terminal strand than on the N-terminal strand. Close to the head domain, there is a second break with a significantly longer insertion on the same strand. These results provide an experience base that allows an informed interpretation of the output of coiled-coil prediction algorithms for this family of proteins. A comparison of such predictions suggests that these coiled-coil deviations are highly conserved across SMC types in a wide variety of organisms, including humans. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Same but not alike: Structure, flexibility and energetics of domains in multi-domain proteins are influenced by the presence of other domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vishwanath, Sneha; de Brevern, Alexandre G; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy

    2018-02-01

    The majority of the proteins encoded in the genomes of eukaryotes contain more than one domain. Reasons for high prevalence of multi-domain proteins in various organisms have been attributed to higher stability and functional and folding advantages over single-domain proteins. Despite these advantages, many proteins are composed of only one domain while their homologous domains are part of multi-domain proteins. In the study presented here, differences in the properties of protein domains in single-domain and multi-domain systems and their influence on functions are discussed. We studied 20 pairs of identical protein domains, which were crystallized in two forms (a) tethered to other proteins domains and (b) tethered to fewer protein domains than (a) or not tethered to any protein domain. Results suggest that tethering of domains in multi-domain proteins influences the structural, dynamic and energetic properties of the constituent protein domains. 50% of the protein domain pairs show significant structural deviations while 90% of the protein domain pairs show differences in dynamics and 12% of the residues show differences in the energetics. To gain further insights on the influence of tethering on the function of the domains, 4 pairs of homologous protein domains, where one of them is a full-length single-domain protein and the other protein domain is a part of a multi-domain protein, were studied. Analyses showed that identical and structurally equivalent functional residues show differential dynamics in homologous protein domains; though comparable dynamics between in-silico generated chimera protein and multi-domain proteins were observed. From these observations, the differences observed in the functions of homologous proteins could be attributed to the presence of tethered domain. Overall, we conclude that tethered domains in multi-domain proteins not only provide stability or folding advantages but also influence pathways resulting in differences in

  18. Comparing online and telephone survey results in the context of a skin cancer prevention campaign evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollier, L P; Pettigrew, S; Slevin, T; Strickland, M; Minto, C

    2017-03-01

    A large proportion of health promotion campaign evaluation research has historically been conducted via telephone surveys. However, there are concerns about the continued viability of this form of surveying in providing relevant and representative data. Online surveys are an increasingly popular alternative, and as such there is a need to assess the comparability between data collected using the two different methods to determine the implications for longitudinal comparisons. The present study compared these survey modes in the context of health promotion evaluation research. Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviewing and an online panel. In total, 688 and 606 respondents aged between 14 and 45 years completed the online and telephone surveys, respectively. Online respondents demonstrated higher awareness of the advertisement, rated the advertisement as more personally relevant and had better behavioural outcomes compared with the telephone respondents. The results indicate significant differences between the telephone and online surveys on most measures used to assess the effectiveness of a health promotion advertising campaign. Health promotion practitioners could consider the combination of both methods to overcome the deterioration in telephone survey response rates and the likely differences in respondent outcomes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. The associations between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in European adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the SPOTLIGHT survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sofie Compernolle

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Sedentary behaviour has been associated with obesity and related chronic diseases. Disentangling the nature of this association is complicated due to interactions with other lifestyle factors, such as dietary habits, yet limited research has investigated the relation between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in adults. The aim of this paper was to examine the association between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in adults and to test the moderating effect of age and gender on this association. Methods A total of 6,037 participants from five urban regions in Europe completed an online survey, of which 6,001 were included in the analyses. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were used to examine main associations and interaction effects. Results All domain-specific sedentary behaviours, except transport-related sitting time, were significantly related to dietary habits. In general, having a higher sitting time was related to having less healthy dietary habits, especially for television viewing. Gender did not moderate any of the relations, and age was only a significant moderator in the relation between other leisure sitting time and alcohol consumption. Conclusion Domain-specific sitting behaviours were related to unhealthy dietary behaviours. However, the small effect sizes suggest that individual level behavioural interventions focusing on sedentary behaviour will not be sufficient to improve dietary habits. The fact that almost none of the associations were moderated by age or gender suggests that these associations, and possibly also the effects of interventions targeting both behaviours, may hold across age and gender groups.

  20. The associations between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in European adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the SPOTLIGHT survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Compernolle, Sofie; De Cocker, Katrien; Teixeira, Pedro J; Oppert, Jean-Michel; Roda, Célina; Mackenbach, Joreintje D; Lakerveld, Jeroen; McKee, Martin; Glonti, Ketevan; Rutter, Harry; Bardos, Helga; Cardon, Greet; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse

    2016-10-06

    Sedentary behaviour has been associated with obesity and related chronic diseases. Disentangling the nature of this association is complicated due to interactions with other lifestyle factors, such as dietary habits, yet limited research has investigated the relation between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in adults. The aim of this paper was to examine the association between domain-specific sedentary behaviours and dietary habits in adults and to test the moderating effect of age and gender on this association. A total of 6,037 participants from five urban regions in Europe completed an online survey, of which 6,001 were included in the analyses. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were used to examine main associations and interaction effects. All domain-specific sedentary behaviours, except transport-related sitting time, were significantly related to dietary habits. In general, having a higher sitting time was related to having less healthy dietary habits, especially for television viewing. Gender did not moderate any of the relations, and age was only a significant moderator in the relation between other leisure sitting time and alcohol consumption. Domain-specific sitting behaviours were related to unhealthy dietary behaviours. However, the small effect sizes suggest that individual level behavioural interventions focusing on sedentary behaviour will not be sufficient to improve dietary habits. The fact that almost none of the associations were moderated by age or gender suggests that these associations, and possibly also the effects of interventions targeting both behaviours, may hold across age and gender groups.

  1. Domain Engineering, A Software Engineering Discipline in Need of Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørner, Dines

    2000-01-01

    . The aim of this paper is to advocate: that researchers study these development method components, and that universities focus their education on basing well-nigh any course on the use of formal techniques: Specification and verification, and that software engineers take heed: Start applying formal......, and these again seem more stable than software designs. Thus, almost like the universal laws of physics, it pays off to first develop theories of domains. But domain engineering, as in fact also requirements engineering, really is in need of thoroughly researched development principles, techniques and tools...... techniques. A brief example of describing stake-holder perspectives will be given - on the background of which we then proceed to survey the notions of domain intrinsics, domain support technologies, domain management & organisation, domain rules & regulations, domain human behaviour, etc. We show elsewhere...

  2. Contribution of a combined TDEM (Time-Domain electromagnetism) and geoelectrical survey to the investigation of the coastal aquifer of Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebolledo-Vieyra, M.; Ravelo-Cervantes, J. I.; Lecossec, A.

    2007-12-01

    This study reports initial results of combined Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) and vertical electrical sounding (VES), geophysical characterization of the Quintana Roo coastal aquifer, with the aim of establishing effective protocols for subsequent surveys in the area, through the association of TDEM and VES. The high resistivity of the carbonate terrain, combined with the very low resistivity range of fresh-water and sea-water, are ideal to use both tools in combination. The results show that both methods used in a combination may provide a useful tool for hydrogeologial studies. In this survey we were able to identifiy a fracture 100 m x 40 m, that was correlated to fresh-water discharges in to the Puerto Morelos Reef lagoon.

  3. Survey of Applications of Complex Event Processing (CEP in Health Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadeem Mahmood

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available It is always difficult to manipulate the production of huge amount of data which comes from multiple sources and to extract meaningful information to make appropriate decisions. When data comes from various input resources, to get required streams of events form this complex input network, the one of the strong functionality of Business Intelligence (BI the Complex Event Processing (CEP is the appropriate solution for the above mention problems. Real time processing, pattern matching, stream processing, big data management, sensor data processing and many more are the application areas of CEP. Health domain itself is a multi-dimension domain such as hospital supply chain, OPD management, disease diagnostic, In-patient, out-patient management, and emergency care etc. In this paper, the main focus is to discuss the application areas of Complex Event Processing (CEP in health domain by using sensor device, such that how CEP manipulate health data set events coming from sensor devices such as blood pressure, heart rate, fall detection, sugar level, temperature or any other vital signs and how this systems respond to these events as quickly as possible. Different existing models and application using CEP are discussed and summarized according to different characteristics.

  4. Comparing NICU teamwork and safety climate across two commonly used survey instruments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Profit, Jochen; Lee, Henry C; Sharek, Paul J; Kan, Peggy; Nisbet, Courtney C; Thomas, Eric J; Etchegaray, Jason M; Sexton, Bryan

    2016-12-01

    Measurement and our understanding of safety culture are still evolving. The objectives of this study were to assess variation in safety and teamwork climate and in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting, and compare measurement of safety culture scales using two different instruments (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC)). Cross-sectional survey study of a voluntary sample of 2073 (response rate 62.9%) health professionals in 44 NICUs. To compare survey instruments, we used Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. We also compared similar scales and items across the instruments using t tests and changes in quartile-level performance. We found significant variation across NICUs in safety and teamwork climate scales of SAQ and HSOPSC (pteamwork scales (teamwork climate and teamwork within units) of the two instruments correlated strongly (safety r=0.72, pteamwork r=0.67, p<0.001). However, the means and per cent agreements for all scale scores and even seemingly similar item scores were significantly different. In addition, comparisons of scale score quartiles between the two instruments revealed that half of the NICUs fell into different quartiles when translating between the instruments. Large variation and opportunities for improvement in patient safety culture exist across NICUs. Important systematic differences exist between SAQ and HSOPSC such that these instruments should not be used interchangeably. 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/.

  5. Improving Comparability Of Survey Results Through Ex-Post Harmonisation A Case Study With Twelve European National Travel Surveys

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Linda; Hubert, Jean-Paul; Järvi, Tuuli

    An essential prerequisite for research, decision making and effective policies in the field of sustainable transport are reliable data on travel behaviour. In particular comparative analyses over space or time allow for a better understanding of transport systems and their impact on travel...... behaviour. Further, there is an increasing need for comparable transport indicators at the international level. All along, National Travel Surveys (NTS) have been used to perform such analyses and to generate respective indicators. Despite their similar intention to elicit basic information on travel...

  6. Shortening a Patient Experiences Survey for Medical Homes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judy H. Ng

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems—Patient-Centered Medical Home (CAHPS PCMH Survey assesses patient experiences reflecting domains of care related to general patient experience (access to care, communication with providers, office staff interaction, provider rating and PCMH-specific aspects of patient care (comprehensiveness of care, self-management support, shared decision making. The current work compares psychometric properties of the current survey and a proposed shortened version of the survey (from 52 to 26 adult survey items, from 66 to 31 child survey items. The revisions were based on initial psychometric analysis and stakeholder input regarding survey length concerns. A total of 268 practices voluntarily submitted adult surveys and 58 submitted child survey data to the National Committee for Quality Assurance in 2013. Mean unadjusted scores, practice-level item and composite reliability, and item-to-scale correlations were calculated. Results show that the shorter adult survey has lower reliability, but still it still meets general definitions of a sound survey for the adult version, and resulted in few changes to mean scores. The impact was more problematic for the pediatric version. Further testing is needed to investigate approaches to improving survey response and the relevance of survey items in informing quality improvement.

  7. Comparing two survey methods of measuring health-related indicators: Lot Quality Assurance Sampling and Demographic Health Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anoke, Sarah C; Mwai, Paul; Jeffery, Caroline; Valadez, Joseph J; Pagano, Marcello

    2015-12-01

    Two common methods used to measure indicators for health programme monitoring and evaluation are the demographic and health surveys (DHS) and lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS); each one has different strengths. We report on both methods when utilised in comparable situations. We compared 24 indicators in south-west Uganda, where data for prevalence estimations were collected independently for the two methods in 2011 (LQAS: n = 8876; DHS: n = 1200). Data were stratified (e.g. gender and age) resulting in 37 comparisons. We used a two-sample two-sided Z-test of proportions to compare both methods. The average difference between LQAS and DHS for 37 estimates was 0.062 (SD = 0.093; median = 0.039). The average difference among the 21 failures to reject equality of proportions was 0.010 (SD = 0.041; median = 0.009); among the 16 rejections, it was 0.130 (SD = 0.010, median = 0.118). Seven of the 16 rejections exhibited absolute differences of 0.10 and 0.20 (mean = 0.261, SD = 0.083). There is 75.7% agreement across the two surveys. Both methods yield regional results, but only LQAS provides information at less granular levels (e.g. the district level) where managerial action is taken. The cost advantage and localisation make LQAS feasible to conduct more frequently, and provides the possibility for real-time health outcomes monitoring. © 2015 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Statistical Survey of Non-Formal Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ondřej Nývlt

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available focused on a programme within a regular education system. Labour market flexibility and new requirements on employees create a new domain of education called non-formal education. Is there a reliable statistical source with a good methodological definition for the Czech Republic? Labour Force Survey (LFS has been the basic statistical source for time comparison of non-formal education for the last ten years. Furthermore, a special Adult Education Survey (AES in 2011 was focused on individual components of non-formal education in a detailed way. In general, the goal of the EU is to use data from both internationally comparable surveys for analyses of the particular fields of lifelong learning in the way, that annual LFS data could be enlarged by detailed information from AES in five years periods. This article describes reliability of statistical data aboutnon-formal education. This analysis is usually connected with sampling and non-sampling errors.

  9. Comparing two survey methods for estimating maternal and perinatal mortality in rural Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandy, Hoeuy; Heng, Yang Van; Samol, Ha; Husum, Hans

    2008-03-01

    We need solid estimates of maternal mortality rates (MMR) to monitor the impact of maternal care programs. Cambodian health authorities and WHO report the MMR in Cambodia at 450 per 100,000 live births. The figure is drawn from surveys where information is obtained by interviewing respondents about the survival of all their adult sisters (sisterhood method). The estimate is statistically imprecise, 95% confidence intervals ranging from 260 to 620/100,000. The MMR estimate is also uncertain due to under-reporting; where 80-90% of women deliver at home maternal fatalities may go undetected especially where mortality is highest, in remote rural areas. The aim of this study was to attain more reliable MMR estimates by using survey methods other than the sisterhood method prior to an intervention targeting obstetric rural emergencies. The study was carried out in rural Northwestern Cambodia where access to health services is poor and poverty, endemic diseases, and land mines are endemic. Two survey methods were applied in two separate sectors: a community-based survey gathering data from public sources and a household survey gathering data direct from primary sources. There was no statistically significant difference between the two survey results for maternal deaths, both types of survey reported mortality rates around the public figure. The household survey reported a significantly higher perinatal mortality rate as compared to the community-based survey, 8.6% versus 5.0%. Also the household survey gave qualitative data important for a better understanding of the many problems faced by mothers giving birth in the remote villages. There are detection failures in both surveys; the failure rate may be as high as 30-40%. PRINCIPLE CONCLUSION: Both survey methods are inaccurate, therefore inappropriate for evaluation of short-term changes of mortality rates. Surveys based on primary informants yield qualitative information about mothers' hardships important for the design

  10. Comparing web and mail responses in a mixed mode survey in college alcohol use research

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCabe, Sean Esteban; Diez, Alison; Boyd, Carol J.; Nelson, Toben F.; Weitzman, Elissa R.

    2011-01-01

    Objective This exploratory study examined potential mode effects (web versus U.S. mail) in a mixed mode design survey of alcohol use at eight U.S. colleges. Methods Randomly selected students from eight U.S. colleges were invited to participate in a self-administered survey on their alcohol use in the spring of 2002. Data were collected initially by web survey (n =2619) and non-responders to this mode were mailed a hardcopy survey (n =628). Results College students who were male, living on-campus and under 21 years of age were significantly more likely to complete the initial web survey. Multivariate analyses revealed few substantive differences between survey modality and alcohol use measures. Conclusions The findings from this study provide preliminary evidence that web and mail surveys produce comparable estimates of alcohol use in a non-randomized mixed mode design. The results suggest that mixed mode survey designs could be effective at reaching certain college sub-populations and improving overall response rate while maintaining valid measurement of alcohol use. Web surveys are gaining popularity in survey research and more work is needed to examine whether these results can extend to web surveys generally or are specific to mixed mode designs. PMID:16460882

  11. Men who have sex with men in Great Britain: comparing methods and estimates from probability and convenience sample surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prah, Philip; Hickson, Ford; Bonell, Chris; McDaid, Lisa M; Johnson, Anne M; Wayal, Sonali; Clifton, Soazig; Sonnenberg, Pam; Nardone, Anthony; Erens, Bob; Copas, Andrew J; Riddell, Julie; Weatherburn, Peter; Mercer, Catherine H

    2016-01-01

    Objective To examine sociodemographic and behavioural differences between men who have sex with men (MSM) participating in recent UK convenience surveys and a national probability sample survey. Methods We compared 148 MSM aged 18–64 years interviewed for Britain's third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) undertaken in 2010–2012, with men in the same age range participating in contemporaneous convenience surveys of MSM: 15 500 British resident men in the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS); 797 in the London Gay Men's Sexual Health Survey; and 1234 in Scotland's Gay Men's Sexual Health Survey. Analyses compared men reporting at least one male sexual partner (past year) on similarly worded questions and multivariable analyses accounted for sociodemographic differences between the surveys. Results MSM in convenience surveys were younger and better educated than MSM in Natsal-3, and a larger proportion identified as gay (85%–95% vs 62%). Partner numbers were higher and same-sex anal sex more common in convenience surveys. Unprotected anal intercourse was more commonly reported in EMIS. Compared with Natsal-3, MSM in convenience surveys were more likely to report gonorrhoea diagnoses and HIV testing (both past year). Differences between the samples were reduced when restricting analysis to gay-identifying MSM. Conclusions National probability surveys better reflect the population of MSM but are limited by their smaller samples of MSM. Convenience surveys recruit larger samples of MSM but tend to over-represent MSM identifying as gay and reporting more sexual risk behaviours. Because both sampling strategies have strengths and weaknesses, methods are needed to triangulate data from probability and convenience surveys. PMID:26965869

  12. Validation of the facial dysfunction domain of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life (PANQOL) Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lodder, Wouter L; Adan, Guleed H; Chean, Chung S; Lesser, Tristram H; Leong, Samuel C

    2017-06-01

    The objective of this study is to evaluate the strength of content validity within the facial dysfunction domain of the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life (PANQOL) Scale and to compare how it correlates with a facial dysfunction-specific QOL instrument (Facial Clinimetric Evaluation, FaCE). The study design is online questionnaire survey. Members of the British Acoustic Neuroma Association received both PANQOL questionnaires and the FaCE scale. 158 respondents with self-identified facial paralysis or dysfunction had completed PANQOL and FaCE data sets for analysis. The mean composite PANQOL score was 53.5 (range 19.2-93.5), whilst the mean total FaCE score was 50.9 (range 10-95). The total scores of the PANQOL and FaCE correlated moderate (r = 0.48). Strong correlation (r = 0.63) was observed between the PANQOL's facial dysfunction domain and the FaCE total score. Of all the FaCE domains, social function was strongly correlated with the PANQOL facial dysfunction domain (r = 0.66), whilst there was very weak-to-moderate correlation (range 0.01-0.43) to the other FaCE domains. The current study has demonstrated a strong correlation between the facial dysfunction domains of PANQOL with a facial paralysis-specific QOL instrument.

  13. A Cross-Domain Survey of Metrics for Modelling and Evaluating Collisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremy A. Marvel

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a brief survey of the metrics for measuring probability, degree, and severity of collisions as applied to autonomous and intelligent systems. Though not exhaustive, this survey evaluates the state-of-the-art of collision metrics, and assesses which are likely to aid in the establishment and support of autonomous system collision modelling. The survey includes metrics for 1 robot arms; 2 mobile robot platforms; 3 nonholonomic physical systems such as ground vehicles, aircraft, and naval vessels, and; 4 virtual and mathematical models.

  14. Thermal Loss of High-Q Antennas in Time Domain vs. Frequency Domain Solver

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bahramzy, Pevand; Pedersen, Gert Frølund

    2014-01-01

    High-Q structures pose great challenges to their loss simulations in Time Domain Solvers (TDS). Therefore, in this work the thermal loss of high-Q antennas is calculated both in TDS and Frequency Domain Solver (FDS), which are then compared with each other and with the actual measurements....... The thermal loss calculation in FDS is shown to be more accurate for high-Q antennas....

  15. Epidemiological survey of the effects of low level radiation dose: a comparative assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rose, K.S.B.

    1993-10-01

    This volume presents the collations tables of a six volume comparative epidemiological survey of the effects of low level radiation dose. Data are collated for the effects observed in the following irradiated groups:- Preconception irradiation, intra-uterine irradiation, childhood irradiation, adult irradiation. (UK).

  16. Survey sequencing and comparative analysis of the elephant shark (Callorhinchus milii genome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byrappa Venkatesh

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Owing to their phylogenetic position, cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras provide a critical reference for our understanding of vertebrate genome evolution. The relatively small genome of the elephant shark, Callorhinchus milii, a chimaera, makes it an attractive model cartilaginous fish genome for whole-genome sequencing and comparative analysis. Here, the authors describe survey sequencing (1.4x coverage and comparative analysis of the elephant shark genome, one of the first cartilaginous fish genomes to be sequenced to this depth. Repetitive sequences, represented mainly by a novel family of short interspersed element-like and long interspersed element-like sequences, account for about 28% of the elephant shark genome. Fragments of approximately 15,000 elephant shark genes reveal specific examples of genes that have been lost differentially during the evolution of tetrapod and teleost fish lineages. Interestingly, the degree of conserved synteny and conserved sequences between the human and elephant shark genomes are higher than that between human and teleost fish genomes. Elephant shark contains putative four Hox clusters indicating that, unlike teleost fish genomes, the elephant shark genome has not experienced an additional whole-genome duplication. These findings underscore the importance of the elephant shark as a critical reference vertebrate genome for comparative analysis of the human and other vertebrate genomes. This study also demonstrates that a survey-sequencing approach can be applied productively for comparative analysis of distantly related vertebrate genomes.

  17. Do Nice Guys Really Finish Last? Exploring the Relations between Ethical Conduct, Motivation and Satisfaction among Undergraduates in the Domains of Academics and Athletics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yukhymenko, Mariya A.

    2012-01-01

    This study explored patterns of the ethical conduct of collegiate students in academic and athletic domains employing social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997) using non-experimental, comparative and correlational designs. The study explored response patterns on anonymous surveys between varsity (N = 1151) and non-varsity (N = 227)…

  18. Interaction between two adjacent grounded sources in frequency domain semi-airborne electromagnetic survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Haigen; Lin, Jun; Liu, Changsheng; Kang, Lili; Li, Gang; Zeng, Xinsen

    2016-03-01

    Multi-source and multi-frequency emission method can make full use of the valuable and short flight time in frequency domain semi-airborne electromagnetic (FSAEM) exploration, which has potential to investigate the deep earth structure in complex terrain region. Because several sources are adjacent in multi-source emission method, the interaction of different sources should be considered carefully. An equivalent circuit model of dual-source is established in this paper to assess the interaction between two individual sources, where the parameters are given with the typical values based on the practical instrument system and its application. By simulating the output current of two sources in different cases, the influence from the adjacent source is observed clearly. The current waveforms show that the mutual resistance causes the fluctuation and drift in another source and that the mutual inductance causes transient peaks. A field test with dual-source was conducted to certify the existence of interaction between adjacent sources. The simulation of output current also shows that current errors at low frequency are mainly caused by the mutual resistance while those at high frequency are mainly due to the mutual inductance. Increasing the distance between neighboring sources is a proposed measure to reduce the emission signal errors with designed ones. The feasible distance is discussed in the end. This study gives a useful guidance to lay multi sources to meet the requirement of measurement accuracy in FSAEM survey.

  19. Men who have sex with men in Great Britain: comparing methods and estimates from probability and convenience sample surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prah, Philip; Hickson, Ford; Bonell, Chris; McDaid, Lisa M; Johnson, Anne M; Wayal, Sonali; Clifton, Soazig; Sonnenberg, Pam; Nardone, Anthony; Erens, Bob; Copas, Andrew J; Riddell, Julie; Weatherburn, Peter; Mercer, Catherine H

    2016-09-01

    To examine sociodemographic and behavioural differences between men who have sex with men (MSM) participating in recent UK convenience surveys and a national probability sample survey. We compared 148 MSM aged 18-64 years interviewed for Britain's third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) undertaken in 2010-2012, with men in the same age range participating in contemporaneous convenience surveys of MSM: 15 500 British resident men in the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS); 797 in the London Gay Men's Sexual Health Survey; and 1234 in Scotland's Gay Men's Sexual Health Survey. Analyses compared men reporting at least one male sexual partner (past year) on similarly worded questions and multivariable analyses accounted for sociodemographic differences between the surveys. MSM in convenience surveys were younger and better educated than MSM in Natsal-3, and a larger proportion identified as gay (85%-95% vs 62%). Partner numbers were higher and same-sex anal sex more common in convenience surveys. Unprotected anal intercourse was more commonly reported in EMIS. Compared with Natsal-3, MSM in convenience surveys were more likely to report gonorrhoea diagnoses and HIV testing (both past year). Differences between the samples were reduced when restricting analysis to gay-identifying MSM. National probability surveys better reflect the population of MSM but are limited by their smaller samples of MSM. Convenience surveys recruit larger samples of MSM but tend to over-represent MSM identifying as gay and reporting more sexual risk behaviours. Because both sampling strategies have strengths and weaknesses, methods are needed to triangulate data from probability and convenience surveys. 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/

  20. A comparison of expectations and impressions of ethical characteristics of dentists: results of a community primary care survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Kevin; Humeniuk, Katherine M; Hellyer, Joan Henriksen; Thorsteinsdottir, Bjorg; Tilburt, Jon C

    2014-08-01

    To better define potential challenges in dental professional ethics, the authors gathered data regarding patients' characterizations of an ideal dentist and compared them with their impressions of dentists in general. The authors invited 500 consecutively seen primary care patients at an academic medical center to participate in the study. Participants completed a 32-item survey assessing key domains of ethical characteristics of health care professionals: trustworthiness, honesty, beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect for autonomy, empathy, compassion, patience, courage, humility and dedication. The authors used the McNemar paired t test to compare respondents' ratings of ideal dentists with their ratings of dentists in general. Two hundred eight-five patients returned completed surveys, for a response rate of 57 percent. The authors found statistically significant differences between ideal and perceived characteristics in all but one domain. The area of greatest difference related to the domain of trustworthiness (that is, dentists should not "propose unnecessary treatments just so they can make money"). For this survey item, 98 percent of patients reported that it was very or extremely important, but only 57 percent of respondents moderately or strongly agreed that dentists in general were engaging in this practice (P dental profession and their actual impressions of dentists in general. Addressing these discrepancies may be crucial if dentistry is to continue to enjoy the public's trust.

  1. Descriptive epidemiology of domain-specific sitting in working adults: the Stormont Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemes, Stacy A; Houdmont, Jonathan; Munir, Fehmidah; Wilson, Kelly; Kerr, Robert; Addley, Ken

    2016-03-01

    Given links between sedentary behaviour and unfavourable health outcomes, there is a need to understand the influence of socio-demographic factors on sedentary behaviour to inform effective interventions. This study examined domain-specific sitting times reported across socio-demographic groups of office workers. The analyses are cross-sectional and based on a survey conducted within the Stormont Study, which is tracking employees in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. Participants self-reported their daily sitting times across multiple domains (work, TV, travel, PC use and leisure) on workdays and non-workdays, along with their physical activity and socio-demographic variables (sex, age, marital status, BMI, educational attainment and work pattern). Total and domain-specific sitting on workdays and non-workdays were compared across socio-demographic groups using multivariate analyses of covariance. Completed responses were obtained from 4436 participants. For the whole sample, total daily sitting times were higher on workdays in comparison to non-workdays (625 ± 168 versus 469 ± 210 min/day, P leisure-time sitting. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. A Fast, Efficient Domain Adaptation Technique for Cross-Domain Electroencephalography(EEG-Based Emotion Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Chai

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Electroencephalography (EEG-based emotion recognition is an important element in psychiatric health diagnosis for patients. However, the underlying EEG sensor signals are always non-stationary if they are sampled from different experimental sessions or subjects. This results in the deterioration of the classification performance. Domain adaptation methods offer an effective way to reduce the discrepancy of marginal distribution. However, for EEG sensor signals, both marginal and conditional distributions may be mismatched. In addition, the existing domain adaptation strategies always require a high level of additional computation. To address this problem, a novel strategy named adaptive subspace feature matching (ASFM is proposed in this paper in order to integrate both the marginal and conditional distributions within a unified framework (without any labeled samples from target subjects. Specifically, we develop a linear transformation function which matches the marginal distributions of the source and target subspaces without a regularization term. This significantly decreases the time complexity of our domain adaptation procedure. As a result, both marginal and conditional distribution discrepancies between the source domain and unlabeled target domain can be reduced, and logistic regression (LR can be applied to the new source domain in order to train a classifier for use in the target domain, since the aligned source domain follows a distribution which is similar to that of the target domain. We compare our ASFM method with six typical approaches using a public EEG dataset with three affective states: positive, neutral, and negative. Both offline and online evaluations were performed. The subject-to-subject offline experimental results demonstrate that our component achieves a mean accuracy and standard deviation of 80.46% and 6.84%, respectively, as compared with a state-of-the-art method, the subspace alignment auto-encoder (SAAE, which

  3. Comparing LiDAR-Generated to ground- surveyed channel cross-sectional profiles in a forested mountain stream

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brian C. Dietterick; Russell White; Ryan Hilburn

    2012-01-01

    Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) holds promise to provide an alternative to traditional ground-based survey methods for stream channel characterization and some change detection purposes, even under challenging landscape conditions. This study compared channel characteristics measured at 53 ground-surveyed and LiDAR-derived crosssectional profiles located...

  4. Epidemiological surveys on the effects of low-level radiation dose: a comparative assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rose, K.S.B.

    1988-01-01

    In this report, the health effects of low-level doses of radiation are considered by reference to published epidemiological surveys. The work was carried out with three objectives in mind: 1. to provide a comprehensive and critical review of the subject; 2. to seek consistent indications of particular health effects by collating results and comparing with those from surveys at moderate-level doses; 3. to provide an authoritative view on the epidemiology of low-level radiation-induced health effects. Vol E (DRAFT A) is appended and contains group collation tables. Epidemiological surveys can be conveniently divided into four classes (A, B, C, D) according to the phase of life when irradiation occurs or the effect is diagnosed. The first of the classes (A) is addressed here; this class is concerned with possible effects arising from radiation received by a parent before conception. Possible effects of preconception irradiation were identified under four broad groupings. These are Down's syndrome, ''Indicators of Reproductive Damage'' (mainly Primary Sterility, Congenital Abnormalities, Sex Ratio, Fetal Mortality, Infant Mortality), Childhood Malignancies, and Chromosomal Changes in Abortuses. Information about each survey, and comparisons with results from moderate-level dose surveys, are contained in synopses that are set out in the Appendix. (author)

  5. A micromagnetic study of domain structure modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Tetsuji; Mimuro, Naoki; Shimasaki, Masaaki

    2008-01-01

    To develop a mesoscopic model for magnetic-domain behavior, a domain structure model (DSM) was examined and compared with a micromagnetic simulation. The domain structure of this model is given by several domains with uniform magnetization vectors and domain walls. The directions of magnetization vectors and the locations of domain walls are determined so as to minimize the magnetic total energy of the magnetic material. The DSM was modified to improve its representation capability for domain behavior. The domain wall energy is multiplied by a vanishing factor to represent the disappearance of magnetic domain. The sequential quadratic programming procedure is divided into two steps to improve an energy minimization process. A comparison with micromagnetic simulation shows that the modified DSM improves the representation accuracy of the magnetization process

  6. Multi-domain training in healthy old age: Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based serious game to systematically compare multi-domain and single-domain training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binder, Julia C.; Zöllig, Jacqueline; Eschen, Anne; Mérillat, Susan; Röcke, Christina; Schoch, Sarah F.; Jäncke, Lutz; Martin, Mike

    2015-01-01

    Finding effective training interventions for declining cognitive abilities in healthy aging is of great relevance, especially in view of the demographic development. Since it is assumed that transfer from the trained to untrained domains is more likely to occur when training conditions and transfer measures share a common underlying process, multi-domain training of several cognitive functions should increase the likelihood of such an overlap. In the first part, we give an overview of the literature showing that cognitive training using complex tasks, such as video games, leisure activities, or practicing a series of cognitive tasks, has shown promising results regarding transfer to a number of cognitive functions. These studies, however, do not allow direct inference about the underlying functions targeted by these training regimes. Custom-designed serious games allow to design training regimes according to specific cognitive functions and a target population's need. In the second part, we introduce the serious game Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based training tool for older adults that allows the comparison of the simultaneous training of spatial navigation, visuomotor function, and inhibition to the training of each of these functions separately. Hotel Plastisse not only defines the cognitive functions of the multi-domain training clearly, but also implements training in an interesting learning environment including adaptive difficulty and feedback. We propose this novel training tool with the goal of furthering our understanding of how training regimes should be designed in order to affect cognitive functioning of older adults most broadly. PMID:26257643

  7. Multi-domain training in healthy old age: Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based serious game to systematically compare multi-domain and single-domain training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binder, Julia C; Zöllig, Jacqueline; Eschen, Anne; Mérillat, Susan; Röcke, Christina; Schoch, Sarah F; Jäncke, Lutz; Martin, Mike

    2015-01-01

    Finding effective training interventions for declining cognitive abilities in healthy aging is of great relevance, especially in view of the demographic development. Since it is assumed that transfer from the trained to untrained domains is more likely to occur when training conditions and transfer measures share a common underlying process, multi-domain training of several cognitive functions should increase the likelihood of such an overlap. In the first part, we give an overview of the literature showing that cognitive training using complex tasks, such as video games, leisure activities, or practicing a series of cognitive tasks, has shown promising results regarding transfer to a number of cognitive functions. These studies, however, do not allow direct inference about the underlying functions targeted by these training regimes. Custom-designed serious games allow to design training regimes according to specific cognitive functions and a target population's need. In the second part, we introduce the serious game Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based training tool for older adults that allows the comparison of the simultaneous training of spatial navigation, visuomotor function, and inhibition to the training of each of these functions separately. Hotel Plastisse not only defines the cognitive functions of the multi-domain training clearly, but also implements training in an interesting learning environment including adaptive difficulty and feedback. We propose this novel training tool with the goal of furthering our understanding of how training regimes should be designed in order to affect cognitive functioning of older adults most broadly.

  8. Private and Public Schooling in Ghana: A Census and Comparative Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tooley, James; Dixon, Pauline; Amuah, Isaac

    2007-07-01

    A census and survey of schools in the district of Ga, Ghana, explored the nature and extent of private education, and compared inputs to public and private schooling. Three quarters of all schools found were private, with almost as many unregistered private as government schools. Several important differences between registered and unregistered private schools were noted, including age, fee levels charged, teacher salaries and class size. A range of inputs, such as teacher activity, availability of desks, chairs, libraries, toilets and drinking water, were used to compare inputs to government, unregistered and registered private schools. Some conclusions are explored about the potential role for the private sector in helping meet "education for all" targets.

  9. Frequency Domain Electroretinography in Retinitis Pigmentosa versus Normal Eyes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Homa Hassan-Karimi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To compare electroretinogram (ERG characteristics in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP and normal subjects using frequency domain analysis. Methods: Five basic ERG recordings were performed in normal subjects and patients with a clinical diagnosis of RP according to the ISCEV (International Society of Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision protocol. Frequency domain analysis was performed by MATLAB software. Different frequency domain parameters were compared between the study groups. Results: Peak frequency (Fmod of flicker and oscillatory responses in RP patients showed significant (P<0.0001 high pass response as compared to normal controls. Peak frequency (Fmod of the other responses was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: In addition to conventional ERG using time domain methods, frequency domain analysis may be useful for diagnosis of RP. Oscillatory and flicker responses may be analyzed in frequency domain. Fast Fourier transform may reveal two distinct high pass responses (shift to higher frequencies in Fmod. Time and frequency domain analyses may be performed simultaneously with many modern ERG machines and may therefore be recommended in RP patients.

  10. Health and health-related indicators in slum, rural, and urban communities: a comparative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mberu, Blessing U; Haregu, Tilahun Nigatu; Kyobutungi, Catherine; Ezeh, Alex C

    2016-01-01

    It is generally assumed that urban slum residents have worse health status when compared with other urban populations, but better health status than their rural counterparts. This belief/assumption is often because of their physical proximity and assumed better access to health care services in urban areas. However, a few recent studies have cast doubt on this belief. Whether slum dwellers are better off, similar to, or worse off as compared with rural and other urban populations remain poorly understood as indicators for slum dwellers are generally hidden in urban averages. The aim of this study was to compare health and health-related indicators among slum, rural, and other urban populations in four countries where specific efforts have been made to generate health indicators specific to slum populations. We conducted a comparative analysis of health indicators among slums, non-slums, and all urban and rural populations as well as national averages in Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, and India. We triangulated data from demographic and health surveys, urban health surveys, and special cross-sectional slum surveys in these countries to assess differences in health indicators across the residential domains. We focused the comparisons on child health, maternal health, reproductive health, access to health services, and HIV/AIDS indicators. Within each country, we compared indicators for slums with non-slum, city/urban averages, rural, and national indicators. Between-country differences were also highlighted. In all the countries, except India, slum children had much poorer health outcomes than children in all other residential domains, including those in rural areas. Childhood illnesses and malnutrition were higher among children living in slum communities compared to those living elsewhere. Although treatment seeking was better among slum children as compared with those in rural areas, this did not translate to better mortality outcomes. They bear a disproportionately

  11. Use of models in large-area forest surveys: comparing model-assisted, model-based and hybrid estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goran Stahl; Svetlana Saarela; Sebastian Schnell; Soren Holm; Johannes Breidenbach; Sean P. Healey; Paul L. Patterson; Steen Magnussen; Erik Naesset; Ronald E. McRoberts; Timothy G. Gregoire

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on the use of models for increasing the precision of estimators in large-area forest surveys. It is motivated by the increasing availability of remotely sensed data, which facilitates the development of models predicting the variables of interest in forest surveys. We present, review and compare three different estimation frameworks where...

  12. A Randomized Trial Comparing Mail versus In-Office Distribution of the CAHPS Clinician and Group Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anastario, Michael P; Rodriguez, Hector P; Gallagher, Patricia M; Cleary, Paul D; Shaller, Dale; Rogers, William H; Bogen, Karen; Safran, Dana Gelb

    2010-01-01

    Objective To assess the effect of survey distribution protocol (mail versus handout) on data quality and measurement of patient care experiences. Data Sources/Study Setting Multisite randomized trial of survey distribution protocols. Analytic sample included 2,477 patients of 15 clinicians at three practice sites in New York State. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Mail and handout distribution modes were alternated weekly at each site for 6 weeks. Principal Findings Handout protocols yielded an incomplete distribution rate (74 percent) and lower overall response rates (40 percent versus 58 percent) compared with mail. Handout distribution rates decreased over time and resulted in more favorable survey scores compared with mailed surveys. There were significant mode–physician interaction effects, indicating that data cannot simply be pooled and adjusted for mode. Conclusions In-office survey distribution has the potential to bias measurement and comparison of physicians and sites on patient care experiences. Incomplete distribution rates observed in-office, together with between-office differences in distribution rates and declining rates over time suggest staff may be burdened by the process and selective in their choice of patients. Further testing with a larger physician and site sample is important to definitively establish the potential role for in-office distribution in obtaining reliable, valid assessment of patient care experiences. PMID:20579126

  13. Expansion of protein domain repeats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asa K Björklund

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available Many proteins, especially in eukaryotes, contain tandem repeats of several domains from the same family. These repeats have a variety of binding properties and are involved in protein-protein interactions as well as binding to other ligands such as DNA and RNA. The rapid expansion of protein domain repeats is assumed to have evolved through internal tandem duplications. However, the exact mechanisms behind these tandem duplications are not well-understood. Here, we have studied the evolution, function, protein structure, gene structure, and phylogenetic distribution of domain repeats. For this purpose we have assigned Pfam-A domain families to 24 proteomes with more sensitive domain assignments in the repeat regions. These assignments confirmed previous findings that eukaryotes, and in particular vertebrates, contain a much higher fraction of proteins with repeats compared with prokaryotes. The internal sequence similarity in each protein revealed that the domain repeats are often expanded through duplications of several domains at a time, while the duplication of one domain is less common. Many of the repeats appear to have been duplicated in the middle of the repeat region. This is in strong contrast to the evolution of other proteins that mainly works through additions of single domains at either terminus. Further, we found that some domain families show distinct duplication patterns, e.g., nebulin domains have mainly been expanded with a unit of seven domains at a time, while duplications of other domain families involve varying numbers of domains. Finally, no common mechanism for the expansion of all repeats could be detected. We found that the duplication patterns show no dependence on the size of the domains. Further, repeat expansion in some families can possibly be explained by shuffling of exons. However, exon shuffling could not have created all repeats.

  14. Full waveform inversion in the frequency domain using classified time-domain residual wavefields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Woohyun; Koo, Nam-Hyung; Kim, Byoung-Yeop; Lee, Ho-Young; Joo, Yonghwan

    2017-04-01

    We perform the acoustic full waveform inversion in the frequency domain using residual wavefields that have been separated in the time domain. We sort the residual wavefields in the time domain according to the order of absolute amplitudes. Then, the residual wavefields are separated into several groups in the time domain. To analyze the characteristics of the residual wavefields, we compare the residual wavefields of conventional method with those of our residual separation method. From the residual analysis, the amplitude spectrum obtained from the trace before separation appears to have little energy at the lower frequency bands. However, the amplitude spectrum obtained from our strategy is regularized by the separation process, which means that the low-frequency components are emphasized. Therefore, our method helps to emphasize low-frequency components of residual wavefields. Then, we generate the frequency-domain residual wavefields by taking the Fourier transform of the separated time-domain residual wavefields. With these wavefields, we perform the gradient-based full waveform inversion in the frequency domain using back-propagation technique. Through a comparison of gradient directions, we confirm that our separation method can better describe the sub-salt image than the conventional approach. The proposed method is tested on the SEG/EAGE salt-dome model. The inversion results show that our algorithm is better than the conventional gradient based waveform inversion in the frequency domain, especially for deeper parts of the velocity model.

  15. The Housing Domain of Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction in the Spontaneous Settlements on the Tehran Metropolitan Fringe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zebardast, Esfandiar

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this article is to survey the spontaneous settlements on the Tehran Metropolitan Fringe (TMF), to determine the different housing sub-domains of quality of life (QOL), to survey overall life satisfaction and to determine the extent to which overall life satisfaction is explained by the components of the housing domain of QOL in these…

  16. Combined use of frequency‐domain electromagnetic and electrical resistivity surveys to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface near saline lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills, Nebraska, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, John T.; White, Eric A.; Lane, John W.; Halihan, Todd; Zlotnik, Vitaly A; Butler, Dwain K.

    2009-01-01

    We investigate the use of frequency‐domain electromagnetic (FDEM) and electrical resistivity (ER) surveys for rapid and detailed characterization of the direction of lake‐aquifer fluxes and the configuration of salt plumes generated from saline lakes. This methodology was developed and applied at several lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills, Nebraska, in an area with both freshwater and saline lakes hydraulically connected to the freshwater surficial aquifer. The FDEM survey was conducted by mounting the instrument on a fiberglass cart towed by an all‐terrain vehicle. The towed FDEM surveys covered about 25 km per day and served as a reconnaissance method for choosing locations for the more quantitative and detailed ER surveys. Around the saline lakes, areas with high electrical conductivity are consistent with the regional direction of ground‐water flow. Lower electrical conductivity was measured around the freshwater lakes with anomalies correlating to a paleovalley axis inferred from previous studies. The efficacy of this geophysical approach is attributed to: (1) significant contrast in electrical conductivity between freshwater and saltwater, (2) near‐surface location of the freshwater/saltwater interface, (3) minimal cultural interference, and (4) relative homogeneity of the aquifer materials.

  17. Multi-domain training in healthy old age – Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based serious game to systematically compare multi-domain and single-domain training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Claudia Binder

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Finding effective training interventions for declining cognitive abilities in healthy aging is of great relevance, especially in view of the demographic development. Since it is assumed that transfer from the trained to untrained domains is more likely to occur when training conditions and transfer measures share a common underlying process, multi-domain training of several cognitive functions should increase the likelihood of such an overlap. In the first part, we give an overview of the literature showing that cognitive training using complex tasks such as video games, leisure activities, or practicing a series of cognitive tasks has shown promising results regarding transfer to a number of cognitive functions. These studies, however, do not allow direct inference about the underlying functions targeted by these training regimes. Custom-designed serious games allow to design training regimes according to specific cognitive functions and a target population’s need. In the second part, we introduce the serious game Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based training tool for older adults that allows the comparison of the simultaneous training of spatial navigation, visuomotor function and inhibition to the training of each of these functions separately. Hotel Plastisse not only defines the cognitive functions of the multi-domain training clearly, but also implements training in an interesting learning environment including adaptive difficulty and feedback. We propose this novel training tool with the goal of furthering our understanding of how training regimes should be designed in order to affect cognitive functioning of older adults most broadly.

  18. Asking about Sex in General Health Surveys: Comparing the Methods and Findings of the 2010 Health Survey for England with Those of the Third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Prah

    Full Text Available Including questions about sexual health in the annual Health Survey for England (HSE provides opportunities for regular measurement of key public health indicators, augmenting Britain's decennial National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal. However, contextual and methodological differences may limit comparability of the findings. We examine the extent of these differences between HSE 2010 and Natsal-3 and investigate their impact on parameter estimates.Complex survey analyses of data from men and women in the 2010 HSE (n = 2,782 men and 3,588 women and Natsal-3 undertaken 2010-2012 (n = 4,882 men and 6,869 women aged 16-69y and resident in England, both using probability sampling, compared their characteristics, the amount of non-response to, and estimates from, sexual health questions. Both surveys used self-completion for the sexual behaviour questions but this was via computer-assisted self-interview (CASI in Natsal-3 and a pen-and-paper questionnaire in HSE 2010.The surveys achieved similar response rates, both around 60%, and demographic profiles largely consistent with the census, although HSE participants tended to be less educated, and reported worse general health, than Natsal-3 participants. Item non-response to the sexual health questions was typically higher in HSE 2010 (range: 9-18% relative to Natsal-3 (all <5%. Prevalence estimates for sexual risk behaviours and STI-related indicators were generally slightly lower in HSE 2010 than Natsal-3.While a relatively high response to sexual health questions in HSE 2010 demonstrates the feasibility of asking such questions in a general health survey, differences with Natsal-3 do exist. These are likely due to the HSE's context as a general health survey and methodological limitations such as its current use of pen-and-paper questionnaires. Methodological developments to the HSE should be considered so that its data can be interpreted in combination with those from dedicated

  19. The Dark Energy Survey Image Processing Pipeline

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morganson, E.; et al.

    2018-01-09

    The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is a five-year optical imaging campaign with the goal of understanding the origin of cosmic acceleration. DES performs a 5000 square degree survey of the southern sky in five optical bands (g,r,i,z,Y) to a depth of ~24th magnitude. Contemporaneously, DES performs a deep, time-domain survey in four optical bands (g,r,i,z) over 27 square degrees. DES exposures are processed nightly with an evolving data reduction pipeline and evaluated for image quality to determine if they need to be retaken. Difference imaging and transient source detection are also performed in the time domain component nightly. On a bi-annual basis, DES exposures are reprocessed with a refined pipeline and coadded to maximize imaging depth. Here we describe the DES image processing pipeline in support of DES science, as a reference for users of archival DES data, and as a guide for future astronomical surveys.

  20. Paliperidone palmitate once-monthly maintains improvement in functioning domains of the Personal and Social Performance scale compared with placebo in subjects with schizoaffective disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Dong-Jing; Turkoz, Ibrahim; Walling, David; Lindenmayer, Jean-Pierre; Schooler, Nina R; Alphs, Larry

    2018-02-01

    Evaluate the effect of paliperidone palmitate once-monthly (PP1M) injectable on the specific functioning domains of the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale in patients with schizoaffective disorder (SCA) participating in a long-term study. This study (NCT01193153) included both in- and outpatient subjects with SCA experiencing an acute exacerbation of psychotic and mood symptoms. Subjects were treated with PP1M either as monotherapy or in combination with antidepressants or mood stabilizers during a 25-week open-label (OL) phase. Stabilized subjects were randomly assigned 1:1 (PP1M or placebo) into a 15-month double-blind (DB) relapse-prevention period. Functioning of the randomized subjects during OL and DB phases was evaluated using the PSP scale (four domains: socially useful activities, personal/social relationships, self-care, and disturbing/aggressive behaviors). Three statistical approaches were utilized to analyze PSP scores to assess robustness and consistency of findings. No adjustments were made for multiplicity. 334 of 667 enrolled subjects were stabilized with PP1M, randomly assigned to PP1M (n=164) or placebo (n=170) in the DB phase, and included in this analysis. Improvements in all PSP domain scores were observed during the OL phase and were maintained during the DB phase with PP1M, but decreased with placebo. Differences compared to placebo were significant in all four PSP domains during the DB phase (P≤0.008). The analysis in this study showed that PP1M improves functioning, as measured by the four PSP domain scores, in symptomatic subjects with SCA. Functioning was maintained compared with placebo. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Comparative international analysis of radiofrequency exposure surveys of mobile communication radio base stations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowley, Jack T; Joyner, Ken H

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents analyses of data from surveys of radio base stations in 23 countries across five continents from the year 2000 onward and includes over 173,000 individual data points. The research compared the results of the national surveys, investigated chronological trends and compared exposures by technology. The key findings from this data are that irrespective of country, the year and cellular technology, exposures to radio signals at ground level were only a small fraction of the relevant human exposure standards. Importantly, there has been no significant increase in exposure levels since the widespread introduction of 3G mobile services, which should be reassuring for policy makers and negate the need for post-installation measurements at ground level for compliance purposes. There may be areas close to antennas where compliance levels could be exceeded. Future potential work includes extending the study to additional countries, development of cumulative exposure distributions and investigating the possibility of linking exposure measurements to population statistics to assess the distribution of exposure levels relative to population percentiles. PMID:22377680

  2. Comparative international analysis of radiofrequency exposure surveys of mobile communication radio base stations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowley, Jack T; Joyner, Ken H

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents analyses of data from surveys of radio base stations in 23 countries across five continents from the year 2000 onward and includes over 173,000 individual data points. The research compared the results of the national surveys, investigated chronological trends and compared exposures by technology. The key findings from this data are that irrespective of country, the year and cellular technology, exposures to radio signals at ground level were only a small fraction of the relevant human exposure standards. Importantly, there has been no significant increase in exposure levels since the widespread introduction of 3G mobile services, which should be reassuring for policy makers and negate the need for post-installation measurements at ground level for compliance purposes. There may be areas close to antennas where compliance levels could be exceeded. Future potential work includes extending the study to additional countries, development of cumulative exposure distributions and investigating the possibility of linking exposure measurements to population statistics to assess the distribution of exposure levels relative to population percentiles.

  3. Comparison of retina specialist preferences regarding spectral-domain and swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Su GL

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Grace L Su,1 Douglas M Baughman,2 Qinqin Zhang,3 Kasra Rezaei,2 Aaron Y Lee,2 Cecilia S Lee2 1Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 2Department of Ophthalmology, 3Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare physician preferences regarding the commercially available spectral-domain (SD optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA and swept-source (SS OCTA prototype device.Design: Comparative analysis of diagnostic instruments was performed.Patients and methods: Subjects at the University of Washington Eye Institute and Harborview Medical Center were prospectively recruited and imaged with the Zeiss SD OCTA (HD-5000, Angioplex and Zeiss SS OCTA (Plex Elite, Everest devices on the same day. The study included 10 eyes from 10 subjects diagnosed with a retinal/choroidal disease. Deidentified images were compiled into a survey and sent to retina specialists in various countries. The survey presented masked SD and SS images of each eye for each retinal sublayer side by side. Respondents were asked about their image preference and impact on clinical management. A priori and post hoc preferences for SD vs SS were collected.Results: Fifty-four retina specialists responded to the survey. Median years in practice was 3.00 (interquartile range [IQR] 1.50–17.00. At baseline, 23 (48% physicians owned an OCTA machine. The majority of physician responses showed a preference for the SS over SD OCTA, independent of the retinal pathology shown (n=454 overall responses, 74%. Nevertheless, the majority indicated that both SD and SS would be equally valuable in informing clinical decisions (n=374 overall responses, 61%.Conclusion: These findings indicate that the majority of retina specialists surveyed prefer SS over SD OCTA based on image quality, regardless of the retinal pathology shown. Regarding the clinical utility of each modality, the majority of

  4. Recent temporal trends in sleep duration, domain-specific sedentary behaviour and physical activity. A survey among 25-79-year-old Danish adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aadahl, Mette; Andreasen, Anne Helms; Hammer-Helmich, Lene; Buhelt, Lone; Jørgensen, Torben; Glümer, Charlotte

    2013-11-01

    Prevalence of sedentary behaviour is high in many countries, but little is known about temporal trends in sitting time. To examine temporal changes in sleep and domain-specific sedentary behaviour and moderate to vigorous leisure time physical activity (MVPA). Two cross-sectional population-based surveys of 25-79-year-old inhabitants were conducted in The Capital Region of Denmark in 2007 (N = 69.800, response rate 52.3%) and 2010 (N = 77.517, response rate 54.8%). Information on sedentary behaviour and physical activity was obtained from self-report questionnaire and sociodemographic information from central registers. Data were weighted for survey design and for non-response and were analysed by multiple regression analyses. In 2007, the entire survey population reported a mean daily sleeping duration of 7.4 hours, leisure time sitting of 3.4 hours per day, occupational sitting of 4.4 hours per day, MVPA of 0.87 hours per day and a total 24-hour energy expenditure of 40.12 METs per day. In 2010, duration of sleep was unaltered (p = 0.1), sedentary leisure time and sedentary work time had increased by 12.6 minutes (p work and during leisure time, but also on leisure time MVPA. As duration of sleep is unaltered findings suggest that low intensity physical activity may be displaced in everyday life.

  5. Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Gao, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2014-02-01

    Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Word Domain Disambiguation via Word Sense Disambiguation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanfilippo, Antonio P.; Tratz, Stephen C.; Gregory, Michelle L.

    2006-06-04

    Word subject domains have been widely used to improve the perform-ance of word sense disambiguation al-gorithms. However, comparatively little effort has been devoted so far to the disambiguation of word subject do-mains. The few existing approaches have focused on the development of al-gorithms specific to word domain dis-ambiguation. In this paper we explore an alternative approach where word domain disambiguation is achieved via word sense disambiguation. Our study shows that this approach yields very strong results, suggesting that word domain disambiguation can be ad-dressed in terms of word sense disam-biguation with no need for special purpose algorithms.

  8. Novel nonphosphorylated peptides with conserved sequences selectively bind to Grb7 SH2 domain with affinity comparable to its phosphorylated ligand.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Zhang

    Full Text Available The Grb7 (growth factor receptor-bound 7 protein, a member of the Grb7 protein family, is found to be highly expressed in such metastatic tumors as breast cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, etc. The src-homology 2 (SH2 domain in the C-terminus is reported to be mainly involved in Grb7 signaling pathways. Using the random peptide library, we identified a series of Grb7 SH2 domain-binding nonphosphorylated peptides in the yeast two-hybrid system. These peptides have a conserved GIPT/K/N sequence at the N-terminus and G/WD/IP at the C-terminus, and the region between the N-and C-terminus contains fifteen amino acids enriched with serines, threonines and prolines. The association between the nonphosphorylated peptides and the Grb7 SH2 domain occurred in vitro and ex vivo. When competing for binding to the Grb7 SH2 domain in a complex, one synthesized nonphosphorylated ligand, containing the twenty-two amino acid-motif sequence, showed at least comparable affinity to the phosphorylated ligand of ErbB3 in vitro, and its overexpression inhibited the proliferation of SK-BR-3 cells. Such nonphosphorylated peptides may be useful for rational design of drugs targeted against cancers that express high levels of Grb7 protein.

  9. Behavioral Health Providers for Persons Who Are Deaf, Deafblind, or Hard-of-Hearing: A National Survey of the Structural and Process Domains of Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, Beth A D; Mathos, Kimberly; Fusco, Laura E; Post, Edward P

    2015-01-01

    Research suggests higher prevalence of mental health problems for those with hearing problems than in the general population. Despite barriers, mental health services for persons who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (HOH) have developed to meet the cultural and communication needs of this population. The authors conducted a national survey of mental health service providers to persons who are deaf, deafblind, or HOH, to learn about their structural and process domains of care. Results indicate that services for persons who are deaf, deafblind, or HOH are inadequate for consumers with serious mental illness. Results also uncovered unique pathways to care and practitioners.

  10. A survey of open source multiphysics frameworks in engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Babur, O.; Smilauer, V.; Verhoeff, T.; Brand, van den M.G.J.

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a systematic survey of open source multiphysics frameworks in the en- gineering domains. These domains share many commonalities despite the diverse application areas. A thorough search for the available frameworks with both academic and industrial ori- gins has revealed numerous

  11. How Consumers and Physicians View New Medical Technology: Comparative Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boeldt, Debra L; Wineinger, Nathan E; Waalen, Jill; Gollamudi, Shreya; Grossberg, Adam; Steinhubl, Steven R; McCollister-Slipp, Anna; Rogers, Marc A; Silvers, Carey; Topol, Eric J

    2015-09-14

    As a result of the digital revolution coming to medicine, a number of new tools are becoming available and are starting to be introduced in clinical practice. We aim to assess health care professional and consumer attitudes toward new medical technology including smartphones, genetic testing, privacy, and patient-accessible electronic health records. We performed a survey with 1406 health care providers and 1102 consumer responders. Consumers who completed the survey were more likely to prefer new technologies for a medical diagnosis (437/1102, 39.66%) compared with providers (194/1406, 13.80%; P<.001), with more providers (393/1406, 27.95%) than consumers (175/1102, 15.88%) reporting feeling uneasy about using technology for a diagnosis. Both providers and consumers supported genetic testing for various purposes, with providers (1234/1406, 87.77%) being significantly more likely than consumers (806/1102, 73.14%) to support genetic testing when planning to have a baby (P<.001). Similarly, 91.68% (1289/1406) of providers and 81.22% (895/1102) of consumers supported diagnosing problems in a fetus (P<.001). Among providers, 90.33% (1270/1406) were concerned that patients would experience anxiety after accessing health records, and 81.95% (1149/1406) felt it would lead to requests for unnecessary medical evaluations, but only 34.30% (378/1102; P<.001) and 24.59% (271/1102; P<.001) of consumers expressed the same concerns, respectively. Physicians (137/827, 16.6%) reported less concern about the use of technology for diagnosis compared to medical students (21/235, 8.9%; P=.03) and also more frequently felt that patients owned their medical record (323/827, 39.1%; and 30/235, 12.8%, respectively; P<.001). Consumers and health professionals differ significantly and broadly in their views of emerging medical technology, with more enthusiasm and support expressed by consumers.

  12. High road utilizers surveys compared to police data for road traffic crash hotspot localization in Rwanda and Sri Lanka.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staton, Catherine A; De Silva, Vijitha; Krebs, Elizabeth; Andrade, Luciano; Rulisa, Stephen; Mallawaarachchi, Badra Chandanie; Jin, Kezhi; RicardoVissoci, Joao; Østbye, Truls

    2016-01-20

    Road traffic crashes (RTCs) are a leading cause of death. In low and middle income countries (LMIC) data to conduct hotspot analyses and safety audits are usually incomplete, poor quality, and not computerized. Police data are often limited, but there are no alternative gold standards. This project evaluates high road utilizer surveys as an alternative to police data to identify RTC hotspots. Retrospective police RTC data was compared to prospective data from high road utilizer surveys regarding dangerous road locations. Spatial analysis using geographic information systems was used to map dangerous locations and identify RTC hotspots. We assessed agreement (Cohen's Kappa), sensitivity/specificity, and cost differences. In Rwanda police data identified 1866 RTC locations from 2589 records while surveys identified 1264 locations from 602 surveys. In Sri Lanka, police data identified 721 RTC locations from 752 records while survey data found 3000 locations from 300 surveys. There was high agreement (97 %, 83 %) and kappa (0.60, 0.60) for Rwanda and Sri Lanka respectively. Sensitivity and specificity are 92 % and 95 % for Rwanda and 74 % and 93 % for Sri Lanka. The cost per crash location identified was $2.88 for police and $2.75 for survey data in Rwanda and $2.75 for police and $1.21 for survey data in Sri Lanka. Surveys to locate RTC hotspots have high sensitivity and specificity compared to police data. Therefore, surveys can be a viable, inexpensive, and rapid alternative to the use of police data in LMIC.

  13. Health and health-related indicators in slum, rural, and urban communities: a comparative analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mberu, Blessing U.; Haregu, Tilahun Nigatu; Kyobutungi, Catherine; Ezeh, Alex C.

    2016-01-01

    Background It is generally assumed that urban slum residents have worse health status when compared with other urban populations, but better health status than their rural counterparts. This belief/assumption is often because of their physical proximity and assumed better access to health care services in urban areas. However, a few recent studies have cast doubt on this belief. Whether slum dwellers are better off, similar to, or worse off as compared with rural and other urban populations remain poorly understood as indicators for slum dwellers are generally hidden in urban averages. Objective The aim of this study was to compare health and health-related indicators among slum, rural, and other urban populations in four countries where specific efforts have been made to generate health indicators specific to slum populations. Design We conducted a comparative analysis of health indicators among slums, non-slums, and all urban and rural populations as well as national averages in Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, and India. We triangulated data from demographic and health surveys, urban health surveys, and special cross-sectional slum surveys in these countries to assess differences in health indicators across the residential domains. We focused the comparisons on child health, maternal health, reproductive health, access to health services, and HIV/AIDS indicators. Within each country, we compared indicators for slums with non-slum, city/urban averages, rural, and national indicators. Between-country differences were also highlighted. Results In all the countries, except India, slum children had much poorer health outcomes than children in all other residential domains, including those in rural areas. Childhood illnesses and malnutrition were higher among children living in slum communities compared to those living elsewhere. Although treatment seeking was better among slum children as compared with those in rural areas, this did not translate to better mortality

  14. Health and health-related indicators in slum, rural, and urban communities: a comparative analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blessing U. Mberu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: It is generally assumed that urban slum residents have worse health status when compared with other urban populations, but better health status than their rural counterparts. This belief/assumption is often because of their physical proximity and assumed better access to health care services in urban areas. However, a few recent studies have cast doubt on this belief. Whether slum dwellers are better off, similar to, or worse off as compared with rural and other urban populations remain poorly understood as indicators for slum dwellers are generally hidden in urban averages. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare health and health-related indicators among slum, rural, and other urban populations in four countries where specific efforts have been made to generate health indicators specific to slum populations. Design: We conducted a comparative analysis of health indicators among slums, non-slums, and all urban and rural populations as well as national averages in Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, and India. We triangulated data from demographic and health surveys, urban health surveys, and special cross-sectional slum surveys in these countries to assess differences in health indicators across the residential domains. We focused the comparisons on child health, maternal health, reproductive health, access to health services, and HIV/AIDS indicators. Within each country, we compared indicators for slums with non-slum, city/urban averages, rural, and national indicators. Between-country differences were also highlighted. Results: In all the countries, except India, slum children had much poorer health outcomes than children in all other residential domains, including those in rural areas. Childhood illnesses and malnutrition were higher among children living in slum communities compared to those living elsewhere. Although treatment seeking was better among slum children as compared with those in rural areas, this did not translate to

  15. Wavefield Extrapolation in Pseudo-depth Domain

    KAUST Repository

    Ma, Xuxin

    2011-12-11

    Wave-equation based seismic migration and inversion tools are widely used by the energy industry to explore hydrocarbon and mineral resources. By design, most of these techniques simulate wave propagation in a space domain with the vertical axis being depth measured from the surface. Vertical depth is popular because it is a straightforward mapping of the subsurface space. It is, however, not computationally cost-effective because the wavelength changes with local elastic wave velocity, which in general increases with depth in the Earth. As a result, the sampling per wavelength also increases with depth. To avoid spatial aliasing in deep fast media, the seismic wave is oversampled in shallow slow media and therefore increase the total computation cost. This issue is effectively tackled by using the vertical time axis instead of vertical depth. This is because in a vertical time representation, the "wavelength" is essentially time period for vertical rays. This thesis extends the vertical time axis to the pseudo-depth axis, which features distance unit while preserving the properties of the vertical time representation. To explore the potentials of doing wave-equation based imaging in the pseudo-depth domain, a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) is derived to describe acoustic wave in this new domain. This new PDE is inherently anisotropic because the use of a constant vertical velocity to convert between depth and vertical time. Such anisotropy results in lower reflection coefficients compared with conventional space domain modeling results. This feature is helpful to suppress the low wavenumber artifacts in reverse-time migration images, which are caused by the widely used cross-correlation imaging condition. This thesis illustrates modeling acoustic waves in both conventional space domain and pseudo-depth domain. The numerical tool used to model acoustic waves is built based on the lowrank approximation of Fourier integral operators. To investigate the potential

  16. Men who have sex with men in Great Britain: comparing methods and estimates from probability and convenience sample surveys

    OpenAIRE

    Prah, Philip; Hickson, Ford; Bonell, Chris; McDaid, Lisa M; Johnson, Anne M; Wayal, Sonali; Clifton, Soazig; Sonnenberg, Pam; Nardone, Anthony; Erens, Bob; Copas, Andrew J; Riddell, Julie; Weatherburn, Peter; Mercer, Catherine H

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To examine sociodemographic and behavioural differences between men whohave sex with men (MSM) participating in recent UK convenience surveys and a national probability sample survey.\\ud Methods: We compared 148 MSM aged 18–64 years interviewed for Britain's third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) undertaken in 2010–2012, with men inthe same age range participating in contemporaneous convenience surveys of MSM: 15 500 British resident men in the European...

  17. Medicine in words and numbers: a cross-sectional survey comparing probability assessment scales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koele Pieter

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the complex domain of medical decision making, reasoning under uncertainty can benefit from supporting tools. Automated decision support tools often build upon mathematical models, such as Bayesian networks. These networks require probabilities which often have to be assessed by experts in the domain of application. Probability response scales can be used to support the assessment process. We compare assessments obtained with different types of response scale. Methods General practitioners (GPs gave assessments on and preferences for three different probability response scales: a numerical scale, a scale with only verbal labels, and a combined verbal-numerical scale we had designed ourselves. Standard analyses of variance were performed. Results No differences in assessments over the three response scales were found. Preferences for type of scale differed: the less experienced GPs preferred the verbal scale, the most experienced preferred the numerical scale, with the groups in between having a preference for the combined verbal-numerical scale. Conclusion We conclude that all three response scales are equally suitable for supporting probability assessment. The combined verbal-numerical scale is a good choice for aiding the process, since it offers numerical labels to those who prefer numbers and verbal labels to those who prefer words, and accommodates both more and less experienced professionals.

  18. Domain similarity based orthology detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitard-Feildel, Tristan; Kemena, Carsten; Greenwood, Jenny M; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich

    2015-05-13

    Orthologous protein detection software mostly uses pairwise comparisons of amino-acid sequences to assert whether two proteins are orthologous or not. Accordingly, when the number of sequences for comparison increases, the number of comparisons to compute grows in a quadratic order. A current challenge of bioinformatic research, especially when taking into account the increasing number of sequenced organisms available, is to make this ever-growing number of comparisons computationally feasible in a reasonable amount of time. We propose to speed up the detection of orthologous proteins by using strings of domains to characterize the proteins. We present two new protein similarity measures, a cosine and a maximal weight matching score based on domain content similarity, and new software, named porthoDom. The qualities of the cosine and the maximal weight matching similarity measures are compared against curated datasets. The measures show that domain content similarities are able to correctly group proteins into their families. Accordingly, the cosine similarity measure is used inside porthoDom, the wrapper developed for proteinortho. porthoDom makes use of domain content similarity measures to group proteins together before searching for orthologs. By using domains instead of amino acid sequences, the reduction of the search space decreases the computational complexity of an all-against-all sequence comparison. We demonstrate that representing and comparing proteins as strings of discrete domains, i.e. as a concatenation of their unique identifiers, allows a drastic simplification of search space. porthoDom has the advantage of speeding up orthology detection while maintaining a degree of accuracy similar to proteinortho. The implementation of porthoDom is released using python and C++ languages and is available under the GNU GPL licence 3 at http://www.bornberglab.org/pages/porthoda .

  19. Domains and domain loss

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haberland, Hartmut

    2005-01-01

    politicians and in the media, especially in the discussion whether some languages undergo ‘domain loss’ vis-à-vis powerful international languages like English. An objection that has been raised here is that domains, as originally conceived, are parameters of language choice and not properties of languages...

  20. Assessing healthcare professionals' experiences of integrated care: do surveys tell the full story?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephenson, Matthew D; Campbell, Jared M; Lisy, Karolina; Aromataris, Edoardo C

    2017-09-01

    Integrated care is the combination of different healthcare services with the goal to provide comprehensive, seamless, effective and efficient patient care. Assessing the experiences of healthcare professionals (HCPs) is an important aspect when evaluating integrated care strategies. The aim of this rapid review was to investigate if quantitative surveys used to assess HCPs' experiences with integrated care capture all the aspects highlighted as being important in qualitative research, with a view to informing future survey development. The review considered all types of health professionals in primary care, and hospital and specialist services, with a specific focus on the provision of integrated care aimed at improving the patient journey. PubMed, CINAHL and grey literature sources were searched for relevant surveys/program evaluations and qualitative research studies. Full text articles deemed to be of relevance to the review were appraised for methodological quality using abridged critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data were extracted from included studies using standardized data extraction templates. Findings from included studies were grouped into domains based on similarity of meaning. Similarities and differences in the domains covered in quantitative surveys and those identified as being important in qualitative research were explored. A total of 37 studies (19 quantitative surveys, 14 qualitative studies and four mixed-method studies) were included in the review. A range of healthcare professions participated in the included studies, the majority being primary care providers. Common domains identified from quantitative surveys and qualitative studies included Communication, Agreement on Clear Roles and Responsibilities, Facilities, Information Systems, and Coordination of Care and Access. Qualitative research highlighted domains identified by HCPs as being relevant to their experiences with integrated care that have not

  1. The Distance between Perception and Reality in the Social Domains of Life

    OpenAIRE

    Lora, Eduardo

    2013-01-01

    The distance between perception and reality with respect to the social domains of life is often striking. Using survey data collected on Latin American countries, this paper provides an overview of the main empirical findings on the gaps between perception and reality in four social domains--health, employment, the perception of security, and social ranking. The overview emphasizes the psychological biases that may explain the gaps. Biases associated with cultural values are very relevant wit...

  2. Domain decomposition methods for mortar finite elements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Widlund, O.

    1996-12-31

    In the last few years, domain decomposition methods, previously developed and tested for standard finite element methods and elliptic problems, have been extended and modified to work for mortar and other nonconforming finite element methods. A survey will be given of work carried out jointly with Yves Achdou, Mario Casarin, Maksymilian Dryja and Yvon Maday. Results on the p- and h-p-version finite elements will also be discussed.

  3. Effectiveness of clinical supervision of physiotherapists: a survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snowdon, David A; Millard, Geraldine; Taylor, Nicholas F

    2015-04-01

    Limited literature exists on the practice of clinical supervision (CS) of professional physiotherapists despite current Australian safety and quality health standards stating that CS is to be provided to all physiotherapists. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of CS of physiotherapists working in an Australian public health service. CS was measured using the allied health-specific 26-item modified Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale (MCSS-26). Subscales of the MCSS-26 were summed for three domain scores (normative, restorative and formative) and a total score was calculated, which was compared with the reported threshold score of 73 for effective supervision. Sixty registered physiotherapists (response rate 92%), working for a large metropolitan public health service, with six different site locations, completed the survey. The mean (± s.d.) total MCSS-26 score was 71.0 ± 14.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 67.4-74.6). Hospital site was the only variable that had a significant effect on total MCSS-26 score (P=0.005); there was no effect for supervisor or supervisee experience, or hospital setting (acute vs subacute). Physiotherapists scored a significantly lower mean percentage MCSS-26 score on the normative domain compared with the restorative domain (mean difference 7.8%; 95% CI 2.9-12.7; P=0.002) and the formative domain (mean difference 9.6%; 95% CI 6.3-13.0; P<0.001). Of the two subscales that form the normative domain, 'finding time' had a significantly lower mean percentage MCSS-26 score than 'importance/value of CS' (mean difference 35.4%; 95% CI 31.3-39.4; P<0.001). Within this publicly funded physiotherapy department there was uncertainty about the effectiveness of CS, with more than half the physiotherapists rating their supervision as less than effective, suggesting there is opportunity for improvement in the practice of physiotherapy CS. Physiotherapists scored lowest in the normative domain, indicating that they found it

  4. Domain walls at finite temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho, C.A. de; Marques, G.C.; Silva, A.J. da; Ventura, I.

    1983-08-01

    It is suggested that the phase transition of lambda phi 4 theory as a function of temperature coincides with the spontaneous appearance of domain walls. Based on one-loop calculations, T sub(c) = 4M/√ lambda is estimated as the temperature for these domains to because energetically favored, to be compared with T sub(c) = 4.9M/√ lambda from effective potential calculations (which are performed directly in the broken phase). Domain walls, as well as other Types of fluctuations, disorder the system above T sub(c), leading to =0. The critical exponent for the specific heat above T sub(c) is computed; and α=2/3 + 0 (√ lambda) is obtained. (Author) [pt

  5. Comparing econometric and survey-based methodologies in measuring offshoring

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Refslund, Bjarke

    2016-01-01

    such as the national or regional level. Most macro analyses are based on proxies and trade statistics with limitations. Drawing on unique Danish survey data, this article demonstrates how survey data can provide important insights into the national scale and impacts of offshoring, including changes of employment...

  6. Comparing short versions of the AUDIT in a community-based survey of young people

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background The 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-10) is commonly used to monitor harmful alcohol consumption among high-risk groups, including young people. However, time and space constraints have generated interest for shortened versions. Commonly used variations are the AUDIT-C (three questions) and the Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) (four questions), but their utility in screening young people in non-clinical settings has received little attention. Methods We examined the performance of established and novel shortened versions of the AUDIT in relation to the full AUDIT-10 in a community-based survey of young people (16–29 years) attending a music festival in Melbourne, Australia (January 2010). Among those reporting drinking alcohol in the previous 12 months, the following statistics were systematically assessed for all possible combinations of three or four AUDIT items and established AUDIT variations: Cronbach’s alpha (internal consistency), variance explained (R2) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (concurrent validity). For our purposes, novel shortened AUDIT versions considered were required to represent all three AUDIT domains and include item 9 on alcohol-related injury. Results We recruited 640 participants (68% female) reporting drinking in the previous 12 months. Median AUDIT-10 score was 10 in males and 9 in females, and 127 (20%) were classified as having at least high-level alcohol problems according to WHO classification. The FAST scored consistently high across statistical measures; it explained 85.6% of variance in AUDIT-10, correlation with AUDIT-10 was 0.92, and Cronbach’s alpha was 0.66. A number of novel four-item AUDIT variations scored similarly high. Comparatively, the AUDIT-C scored substantially lower on all measures except internal consistency. Conclusions Numerous abbreviated variations of the AUDIT may be a suitable alternative to the AUDIT-10 for classifying high-level alcohol problems in a

  7. Membrane-sculpting BAR domains generate stable lipid microdomains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhao, Hongxia; Michelot, Alphée; Koskela, Essi V.

    2013-01-01

    Bin-Amphiphysin-Rvs (BAR) domain proteins are central regulators of many cellular processes involving membrane dynamics. BAR domains sculpt phosphoinositide-rich membranes to generate membrane protrusions or invaginations. Here, we report that, in addition to regulating membrane geometry, BAR...... domains can generate extremely stable lipid microdomains by "freezing" phosphoinositide dynamics. This is a general feature of BAR domains, because the yeast endocytic BAR and Fes/CIP4 homology BAR (F-BAR) domains, the inverse BAR domain of Pinkbar, and the eisosomal BAR protein Lsp1 induced...... phosphoinositide clustering and halted lipid diffusion, despite differences in mechanisms of membrane interactions. Lsp1 displays comparable low diffusion rates in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that BAR domain proteins also generate stable phosphoinositide microdomains in cells. These results uncover a conserved...

  8. Image-domain full waveform inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sanzong

    2013-08-20

    The main difficulty with the data-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) is that it tends to get stuck in the local minima associated with the waveform misfit function. This is because the waveform misfit function is highly nonlinear with respect to changes in velocity model. To reduce this nonlinearity, we define the image-domain objective function to minimize the difference of the suboffset-domain common image gathers (CIGs) obtained by migrating the observed data and the calculated data. The derivation shows that the gradient of this new objective function is the combination of the gradient of the conventional FWI and the image-domain differential semblance optimization (DSO). Compared to the conventional FWI, the imagedomain FWI is immune to cycle skipping problems by smearing the nonzero suboffset images along wavepath. It also can avoid the edge effects and the gradient artifacts that are inherent in DSO due to the falsely over-penalized focused images. This is achieved by subtracting the focused image associated with the calculated data from the unfocused image associated with the observed data in the image-domain misfit function. The numerical results of the Marmousi model show that image-domain FWI is less sensitive the initial model than the conventional FWI. © 2013 SEG.

  9. Image-domain full waveform inversion

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sanzong; Schuster, Gerard T.

    2013-01-01

    The main difficulty with the data-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) is that it tends to get stuck in the local minima associated with the waveform misfit function. This is because the waveform misfit function is highly nonlinear with respect to changes in velocity model. To reduce this nonlinearity, we define the image-domain objective function to minimize the difference of the suboffset-domain common image gathers (CIGs) obtained by migrating the observed data and the calculated data. The derivation shows that the gradient of this new objective function is the combination of the gradient of the conventional FWI and the image-domain differential semblance optimization (DSO). Compared to the conventional FWI, the imagedomain FWI is immune to cycle skipping problems by smearing the nonzero suboffset images along wavepath. It also can avoid the edge effects and the gradient artifacts that are inherent in DSO due to the falsely over-penalized focused images. This is achieved by subtracting the focused image associated with the calculated data from the unfocused image associated with the observed data in the image-domain misfit function. The numerical results of the Marmousi model show that image-domain FWI is less sensitive the initial model than the conventional FWI. © 2013 SEG.

  10. Frequency-domain elastic full waveform inversion using encoded simultaneous sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, W.; Son, W.; Pyun, S.; Min, D.

    2011-12-01

    Currently, numerous studies have endeavored to develop robust full waveform inversion and migration algorithms. These processes require enormous computational costs, because of the number of sources in the survey. To avoid this problem, the phase encoding technique for prestack migration was proposed by Romero (2000) and Krebs et al. (2009) proposed the encoded simultaneous-source inversion technique in the time domain. On the other hand, Ben-Hadj-Ali et al. (2011) demonstrated the robustness of the frequency-domain full waveform inversion with simultaneous sources for noisy data changing the source assembling. Although several studies on simultaneous-source inversion tried to estimate P- wave velocity based on the acoustic wave equation, seismic migration and waveform inversion based on the elastic wave equations are required to obtain more reliable subsurface information. In this study, we propose a 2-D frequency-domain elastic full waveform inversion technique using phase encoding methods. In our algorithm, the random phase encoding method is employed to calculate the gradients of the elastic parameters, source signature estimation and the diagonal entries of approximate Hessian matrix. The crosstalk for the estimated source signature and the diagonal entries of approximate Hessian matrix are suppressed with iteration as for the gradients. Our 2-D frequency-domain elastic waveform inversion algorithm is composed using the back-propagation technique and the conjugate-gradient method. Source signature is estimated using the full Newton method. We compare the simultaneous-source inversion with the conventional waveform inversion for synthetic data sets of the Marmousi-2 model. The inverted results obtained by simultaneous sources are comparable to those obtained by individual sources, and source signature is successfully estimated in simultaneous source technique. Comparing the inverted results using the pseudo Hessian matrix with previous inversion results

  11. Traditions in spider monkeys are biased towards the social domain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire J Santorelli

    Full Text Available Cross-site comparison studies of behavioral variation can provide evidence for traditions in wild species once ecological and genetic factors are excluded as causes for cross-site differences. These studies ensure behavior variants are considered within the context of a species' ecology and evolutionary adaptations. We examined wide-scale geographic variation in the behavior of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi across five long-term field sites in Central America using a well established ethnographic cross-site survey method. Spider monkeys possess a relatively rare social system with a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics, also typical of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes and humans (Homo sapiens. From the initial 62 behaviors surveyed 65% failed to meet the necessary criteria for traditions. The remaining 22 behaviors showed cross-site variation in occurrence ranging from absent through to customary, representing to our knowledge, the first documented cases of traditions in this taxon and only the second case of multiple traditions in a New World monkey species. Of the 22 behavioral variants recorded across all sites, on average 57% occurred in the social domain, 19% in food-related domains and 24% in other domains. This social bias contrasts with the food-related bias reported in great ape cross-site comparison studies and has implications for the evolution of human culture. No pattern of geographical radiation was found in relation to distance across sites. Our findings promote A. geoffroyi as a model species to investigate traditions with field and captive based experiments and emphasize the importance of the social domain for the study of animal traditions.

  12. Comparative survey of outdoor, residential and workplace radon concentrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barros, Nirmalla; Field, R. William; Field, Dan W.; Steck, Daniel J.

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated radon concentrations in above-ground (i.e. first floor) workplace in Missouri and compared them with above-ground radon concentrations in nearby homes and outdoor locations. This study also examined the potential utility of using home and outdoor radon concentrations to predict the radon concentration at a nearby workplace (e.g. county agencies and schools). Even though workplace radon concentrations were not statistically different from home radon concentrations, the radon concentration at a particular home, or outdoor location, was a poor predictor of the radon concentration at a nearby workplace. Overall, 9.6 and 9.9 % of homes and workplace, respectively, exhibited radon concentrations of ≥148 Bq m -3 . Because of the percentage of workplace with elevated radon concentrations, the results suggest that additional surveys of workplace radon concentrations are needed, especially in areas of high radon potential, to assess the contribution of workplace radon exposure to an individual's overall radon exposure. (authors)

  13. Stereoscopic Visualization of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Data: A Comparative Survey of Visualization Techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raslan, O.; Debnam, J.M.; Ketonen, L.; Kumar, A.J.; Schellingerhout, D.; Wang, J.

    2013-01-01

    Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data has traditionally been displayed as a gray scale functional anisotropy map (GSFM) or color coded orientation map (CCOM). These methods use black and white or color with intensity values to map the complex multidimensional DTI data to a two-dimensional image. Alternative visualization techniques, such as V m ax maps utilize enhanced graphical representation of the principal eigenvector by means of a headless arrow on regular non stereoscopic (VM) or stereoscopic display (VMS). A survey of clinical utility of patients with intracranial neoplasms was carried out by 8 neuro radiologists using traditional and nontraditional methods of DTI display. Pairwise comparison studies of 5 intracranial neoplasms were performed with a structured questionnaire comparing GSFM, CCOM, VM, and VMS. Six of 8 neuro radiologists favored V m ax maps over traditional methods of display (GSFM and CCOM). When comparing the stereoscopic (VMS) and the non-stereoscopic (VM) modes, 4 favored VMS, 2 favored VM, and 2 had no preference. In conclusion, processing and visualizing DTI data stereoscopically is technically feasible. An initial survey of users indicated that V m ax based display methodology with or without stereoscopic visualization seems to be preferred over traditional methods to display DTI data.

  14. AQUA-motion domain and metaphorization patterns in European Portuguese: AQUA-motion metaphor in AERO-motion and abstract domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna Jakubowicz Batoréo

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The AQUA-motion verbs – as studied by Majsak & Rahilina 2003 and 2007, Lander, Majsak & Rahilina [2005] 2008, 2012 and 2013, and Divjak & Lemmens 2007, and in European Portuguese (EP by Batoréo, 2007, 2008, 2009; Batoréo et al., 2007; Casadinho, 2007 – allow typically metaphorical uses, which we postulate can be organized in patterns. Our study shows that in European Portuguese there are two metaphorization patterns to be observed: (i AQUA-motion metaphor in AERO-motion domain and (ii AQUA-motion metaphor in abstract domain (e.g. abundance, arts, politics, etc.. In the first case, where the target domain of the metaphorization is the air, in EP we navigate through a crowd or we float in a waltz, whereas in the second, where it is abstract, we swim in money or in blood, and politicians navigate at sea or face floating currency in finances. In the present paper we survey the EP verbs of AQUA-motion metaphors in non-elicited data from electronically available language corpora (cf. Linguateca. In some cases comparisons are made with typologically diferent languages (as, e.g. Polish, cf. Prokofjeva’s 2007, Batoréo 2009.

  15. Radiation-damage-assisted ferroelectric domain structuring in magnesium-doped lithium niobate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jentjens, L.; Peithmann, K.; Maier, K.; Steigerwald, H.; Jungk, T.

    2009-06-01

    Irradiation of 5% magnesium-doped lithium niobate crystals (LiNbO3:Mg) with high-energy, low-mass 3He ions, which are transmitted through the crystal, changes the domain reversal properties of the material. This enables easier domain engineering compared to non-irradiated material and assists the formation of small-sized periodically poled domains in LiNbO3:Mg. Periodic domain structures exhibiting a width of ≈520 nm are obtained in radiation-damaged sections of the crystals. The ferroelectric poling behavior between irradiated and non-treated material is compared.

  16. How few countries will do? Comparative survey analysis from a Bayesian perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joop J.C.M. Hox

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Meuleman and Billiet (2009 have carried out a simulation study aimed at the question how many countries are needed for accurate multilevel SEM estimation in comparative studies. The authors concluded that a sample of 50 to 100 countries is needed for accurate estimation. Recently, Bayesian estimation methods have been introduced in structural equation modeling which should work well with much lower sample sizes. The current study reanalyzes the simulation of Meuleman and Billiet using Bayesian estimation to find the lowest number of countries needed when conducting multilevel SEM. The main result of our simulations is that a sample of about 20 countries is sufficient for accurate Bayesian estimation, which makes multilevel SEM practicable for the number of countries commonly available in large scale comparative surveys.

  17. Domain wall theory and exchange stiffness in Co/Pd multilayers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kambersky, V.; Kambersky, V.; de Haan, P.; Simsova, J.; Porthun, S.; Porthun, S.; Gemperle, R.; Lodder, J.C.

    1996-01-01

    The stripe model of domain structure in multilayers is studied by micromagnetic simulation. The results indicate a strong reduction of the effective domain wall energy (by dipolar effects). Domain width measurements on sputtered Co/Pd multilayers are compared with the theory. The estimated exchange

  18. Measuring determinants of career satisfaction of anesthesiologists: validation of a survey instrument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Afonso, Anoushka M; Diaz, James H; Scher, Corey S; Beyl, Robbie A; Nair, Singh R; Kaye, Alan David

    2013-06-01

    To measure the parameter of job satisfaction among anesthesiologists. Survey instrument. Academic anesthesiology departments in the United States. 320 anesthesiologists who attended the annual meeting of the ASA in 2009 (95% response rate). The anonymous 50-item survey collected information on 26 independent demographic variables and 24 dependent ranked variables of career satisfaction among practicing anesthesiologists. Mean survey scores were calculated for each demographic variable and tested for statistically significant differences by analysis of variance. Questions within each domain that were internally consistent with each other within domains were identified by Cronbach's alpha ≥ 0.7. P-values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Cronbach's alpha analysis showed strong internal consistency for 10 dependent outcome questions in the practice factor-related domain (α = 0.72), 6 dependent outcome questions in the peer factor-related domain (α = 0.71), and 8 dependent outcome questions in the personal factor-related domain (α = 0.81). Although age was not a variable, full-time status, early satisfaction within the first 5 years of practice, working with respected peers, and personal choice factors were all significantly associated with anesthesiologist job satisfaction. Improvements in factors related to job satisfaction among anesthesiologists may lead to higher early and current career satisfaction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Differences between time domain and Fourier domain optical coherence tomography in imaging tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, W; Wu, X

    2017-11-01

    It has been numerously demonstrated that both time domain and Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) can generate high-resolution depth-resolved images of living tissues and cells. In this work, we compare the common points and differences between two methods when the continuous and random properties of live tissue are taken into account. It is found that when relationships that exist between the scattered light and tissue structures are taken into account, spectral interference measurements in Fourier domain OCT (FDOCT) is more advantageous than interference fringe envelope measurements in time domain OCT (TDOCT) in the cases where continuous property of tissue is taken into account. It is also demonstrated that when random property of tissue is taken into account FDOCT measures the Fourier transform of the spatial correlation function of the refractive index and speckle phenomena will limit the effective limiting imaging resolution in both TDOCT and FDOCT. Finally, the effective limiting resolution of both TDOCT and FDOCT are given which can be used to estimate the effective limiting resolution in various practical applications. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2017 Royal Microscopical Society.

  20. Quantifying behavioural determinants relating to health professional reporting of medication errors: a cross-sectional survey using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alqubaisi, Mai; Tonna, Antonella; Strath, Alison; Stewart, Derek

    2016-11-01

    The aims of this study were to quantify the behavioural determinants of health professional reporting of medication errors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to explore any differences between respondents. A cross-sectional survey of patient-facing doctors, nurses and pharmacists within three major hospitals of Abu Dhabi, the UAE. An online questionnaire was developed based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF, a framework of behaviour change theories). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify components and internal reliability determined. Ethical approval was obtained from a UK university and all hospital ethics committees. Two hundred and ninety-four responses were received. Questionnaire items clustered into six components of knowledge and skills, feedback and support, action and impact, motivation, effort and emotions. Respondents generally gave positive responses for knowledge and skills, feedback and support and action and impact components. Responses were more neutral for the motivation and effort components. In terms of emotions, the component with the most negative scores, there were significant differences in terms of years registered as health professional (those registered longest most positive, p = 0.002) and age (older most positive, p Theoretical Domains Framework to quantify the behavioural determinants of health professional reporting of medication errors. • Questionnaire items relating to emotions surrounding reporting generated the most negative responses with significant differences in terms of years registered as health professional (those registered longest most positive) and age (older most positive) with no differences for gender and health profession. • Interventions based on behaviour change techniques mapped to emotions should be prioritised for development.

  1. Comparison of structure, function and regulation of plant cold shock domain proteins to bacterial and animal cold shock domain proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaikam, Vijay; Karlson, Dale T

    2010-01-01

    The cold shock domain (CSD) is among the most ancient and well conserved nucleic acid binding domains from bacteria to higher animals and plants. The CSD facilitates binding to RNA, ssDNA and dsDNA and most functions attributed to cold shock domain proteins are mediated by this nucleic acid binding activity. In prokaryotes, cold shock domain proteins only contain a single CSD and are termed cold shock proteins (Csps). In animal model systems, various auxiliary domains are present in addition to the CSD and are commonly named Y-box proteins. Similar to animal CSPs, plant CSPs contain auxiliary C-terminal domains in addition to their N-terminal CSD. Cold shock domain proteins have been shown to play important roles in development and stress adaptation in wide variety of organisms. In this review, the structure, function and regulation of plant CSPs are compared and contrasted to the characteristics of bacterial and animal CSPs. [BMB reports 2010; 43(1): 1-8].

  2. A Gemini snapshot survey for double degenerates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilic, Mukremin; Brown, Warren R.; Gianninas, A.; Curd, Brandon; Bell, Keaton J.; Allende Prieto, Carlos

    2017-11-01

    We present the results from a Gemini snapshot radial-velocity survey of 44 low-mass white-dwarf candidates selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopy. To find sub-hour orbital period binary systems, our time-series spectroscopy had cadences of 2-8 min over a period of 20-30 min. Through follow-up observations at Gemini and the MMT, we identify four double-degenerate binary systems with periods ranging from 53 min to 7 h. The shortest period system, SDSS J123549.88+154319.3, was recently identified as a sub-hour period detached binary by Breedt and collaborators. Here, we refine the orbital and physical parameters of this system. High-speed and time-domain survey photometry observations do not reveal eclipses or other photometric effects in any of our targets. We compare the period distribution of these four systems with the orbital period distribution of known double white dwarfs; the median period decreases from 0.64 to 0.24 d for M = 0.3-0.5 M⊙ to M < 0.3 M⊙ white dwarfs. However, we do not find a statistically significant correlation between the orbital period and white-dwarf mass.

  3. Thermal stability of bubble domains in ferromagnetic discs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hrkac, G [University of Sheffield, Engineering Materials, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom) ; Bance, S [University of Sheffield, Engineering Materials, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom) ; Goncharov, A [University of Sheffield, Engineering Materials, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom) ; Schrefl, T [University of Sheffield, Engineering Materials, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom) ; Suess, D [Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstr. 8-10e, A-1040 Vienna (Austria)

    2007-05-07

    The transition and thermal stability of disc-shaped ferromagnetic particles at the temperature of T = 300 K with a uniaxial anisotropy along the symmetry axis from a bi-domain to a single domain state has been studied. The nudge elastic band method was used to map the energy landscape and to calculate the energy barrier between the transition states. For single FePt disc-shaped particles with perpendicular anisotropy three transition configurations have been found: single domain, stripe- and stable bubble domains at zero applied field. The single domain configuration along the positive anisotropy axis is reached by an annihilation process of the domain wall and the all-down state by a complex domain expansion process. Magnetization configurations in two interacting discs show an increase in thermal stability compared with single disc systems, which is attributed to the interacting magnetostatic energy between the two particles.

  4. Thermal stability of bubble domains in ferromagnetic discs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hrkac, G; Bance, S; Goncharov, A; Schrefl, T; Suess, D

    2007-01-01

    The transition and thermal stability of disc-shaped ferromagnetic particles at the temperature of T = 300 K with a uniaxial anisotropy along the symmetry axis from a bi-domain to a single domain state has been studied. The nudge elastic band method was used to map the energy landscape and to calculate the energy barrier between the transition states. For single FePt disc-shaped particles with perpendicular anisotropy three transition configurations have been found: single domain, stripe- and stable bubble domains at zero applied field. The single domain configuration along the positive anisotropy axis is reached by an annihilation process of the domain wall and the all-down state by a complex domain expansion process. Magnetization configurations in two interacting discs show an increase in thermal stability compared with single disc systems, which is attributed to the interacting magnetostatic energy between the two particles

  5. Population-based sexual behavior surveys in China: Liuzhou compared with other prefectural cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yingying; Abler, Laurie; Pan, Suiming; Henderson, Gail E; Wang, Xin; Yao, Xingliang; Parish, William L

    2014-02-01

    Sexual behaviors in China are rapidly changing; simultaneously, sexually transmitted infections (STI)/HIV prevalence is increasing in the general population. To investigate these major shifts, we examined sexual behaviors and self-reported STI in one prefectural city in southern China, Liuzhou, and compared it to other prefectural cities throughout China. We used adults age 18-39 from two sets of population-based surveys that paralleled each other in both content and method. The first set was the Liuzhou survey conducted in 2008 (n = 398). The second set consisted of two national surveys collected in 2006 and 2010 (n = 2,186). Liuzhou respondents reported more active social and sexual behaviors than their national counterparts, including more socializing, dancing, drinking excessively, sexual activity among never married men and women, purchasing commercial sex among men, one-night stands among men, multiple sexual partnerships and self-reported STI among both men and women. Women in Liuzhou reported greater sexual risk behavior than their national counterparts, although overall they reported less than their male counterparts; they were also more likely to have had an abortion than women in other prefectural cities. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of the sexual context of Liuzhou among the general population, which may help explain the greater STI/HIV prevalence in Liuzhou.

  6. Comparing administrative and survey data for ascertaining cases of irritable bowel syndrome: a population-based investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Targownick Laura E

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Administrative and survey data are two key data sources for population-based research about chronic disease. The objectives of this methodological paper are to: (1 estimate agreement between the two data sources for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS and compare the results to those for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; (2 compare the frequency of IBS-related diagnoses in administrative data for survey respondents with and without self-reported IBS, and (3 estimate IBS prevalence from both sources. Methods This retrospective cohort study used linked administrative and health survey data for 5,134 adults from the province of Manitoba, Canada. Diagnoses in hospital and physician administrative data were investigated for respondents with self-reported IBS, IBD, and no bowel disorder. Agreement between survey and administrative data was estimated using the κ statistic. The χ2 statistic tested the association between the frequency of IBS-related diagnoses and self-reported IBS. Crude, sex-specific, and age-specific IBS prevalence estimates were calculated from both sources. Results Overall, 3.0% of the cohort had self-reported IBS, 0.8% had self-reported IBD, and 95.3% reported no bowel disorder. Agreement was poor to fair for IBS and substantially higher for IBD. The most frequent IBS-related diagnoses among the cohort were anxiety disorders (34.4%, symptoms of the abdomen and pelvis (26.9%, and diverticulitis of the intestine (10.6%. Crude IBS prevalence estimates from both sources were lower than those reported previously. Conclusions Poor agreement between administrative and survey data for IBS may account for differences in the results of health services and outcomes research using these sources. Further research is needed to identify the optimal method(s to ascertain IBS cases in both data sources.

  7. Calibrating a Salt Water Intrusion Model with Time-Domain Electromagnetic Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herckenrath, Daan; Odlum, Nick; Nenna, Vanessa

    2013-01-01

    Salt water intrusion models are commonly used to support groundwater resource management in coastal aquifers. Concentration data used for model calibration are often sparse and limited in spatial extent. With airborne and ground-based electromagnetic surveys, electrical resistivity models can......, we perform a coupled hydrogeophysical inversion (CHI) in which we use a salt water intrusion model to interpret the geophysical data and guide the geophysical inversion. We refer to this methodology as a Coupled Hydrogeophysical Inversion-State (CHI-S), in which simulated salt concentrations...... are transformed to an electrical resistivity model, after which a geophysical forward response is calculated and compared with the measured geophysical data. This approach was applied for a field site in Santa Cruz County, California, where a time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) dataset was collected...

  8. Barriers to global health development: An international quantitative survey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahr Weiss

    Full Text Available Global health's goal of reducing low-and-middle-income country versus high-income country health disparities faces complex challenges. Although there have been discussions of barriers, there has not been a broad-based, quantitative survey of such barriers.432 global health professionals were invited via email to participate in an online survey, with 268 (62% participating. The survey assessed participants' (A demographic and global health background, (B perceptions regarding 66 barriers' seriousness, (C detailed ratings of barriers designated most serious, (D potential solutions.Thirty-four (of 66 barriers were seen as moderately or more serious, highlighting the widespread, significant challenges global health development faces. Perceived barrier seriousness differed significantly across domains: Resource Limitations mean = 2.47 (0-4 Likert scale, Priority Selection mean = 2.20, Corruption, Lack of Competence mean = 1.87, Social and Cultural Barriers mean = 1.68. Some system-level predictors showed significant but relatively limited relations. For instance, for Global Health Domain, HIV and Mental Health had higher levels of perceived Social and Cultural Barriers than other GH Domains. Individual-level global health experience predictors had small but significant effects, with seriousness of (a Corruption, Lack of Competence, and (b Priority Selection barriers positively correlated with respondents' level of LMIC-oriented (e.g., weeks/year spent in LMIC but Academic Global Health Achievement (e.g., number of global health publications negatively correlated with overall barrier seriousness.That comparatively few system-level predictors (e.g., Organization Type were significant suggests these barriers may be relatively fundamental at the system-level. Individual-level and system-level effects do have policy implications; e.g., Priority Selection barriers were among the most serious, yet effects on seriousness of how LMIC-oriented a professional

  9. Enablers of the implementation of tissue plasminogen activator in acute stroke care: a cross-sectional survey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alice Grady

    Full Text Available To assess emergency physicians' perceptions of individual and system enablers to the use of tissue Plasminogen Activator in acute stroke.Australian fellows and trainees of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine completed a 57-item online survey assessing enablers to implementation of evidence-based practice across six domains: knowledge, skills, modelling, monitoring, feedback, and maintenance. Demographic and workplace characteristics were obtained. Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe demographic and workplace characteristics of responders, and survey responses. Each domain received an overall score (% based on the number of responders agreeing with all items within the domain.A total of 429 (13% Australasian College for Emergency Medicine members responded. 17.7% of respondents reported they and/or their workplace met all knowledge-related enablers, however only 2.3% had all skill-related enablers in place. Of respondents who decide which patients receive tissue Plasminogen Activator treatment, 18.1% agreed that all maintenance-related enablers are in place at their hospital, compared to 6.6% for those who do not decide which patients receive tissue Plasminogen Activator treatment. None of the respondents had all items in place cross all domains.Even when allowing for the low response rate, it seems likely there is a lack of individual and system enablers supporting the implementation of best-practice stroke care in a number of Australian hospitals. Quality improvement programs could target all domains, particularly the skills-training and feedback emergency physicians receive, to aid implementation of tissue Plasminogen Activator treatment for acute stroke.

  10. Comparative anatomy of chromosomal domains with imprinted and non-imprinted allele-specific DNA methylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paliwal, Anupam; Temkin, Alexis M; Kerkel, Kristi; Yale, Alexander; Yotova, Iveta; Drost, Natalia; Lax, Simon; Nhan-Chang, Chia-Ling; Powell, Charles; Borczuk, Alain; Aviv, Abraham; Wapner, Ronald; Chen, Xiaowei; Nagy, Peter L; Schork, Nicholas; Do, Catherine; Torkamani, Ali; Tycko, Benjamin

    2013-08-01

    Allele-specific DNA methylation (ASM) is well studied in imprinted domains, but this type of epigenetic asymmetry is actually found more commonly at non-imprinted loci, where the ASM is dictated not by parent-of-origin but instead by the local haplotype. We identified loci with strong ASM in human tissues from methylation-sensitive SNP array data. Two index regions (bisulfite PCR amplicons), one between the C3orf27 and RPN1 genes in chromosome band 3q21 and the other near the VTRNA2-1 vault RNA in band 5q31, proved to be new examples of imprinted DMRs (maternal alleles methylated) while a third, between STEAP3 and C2orf76 in chromosome band 2q14, showed non-imprinted haplotype-dependent ASM. Using long-read bisulfite sequencing (bis-seq) in 8 human tissues we found that in all 3 domains the ASM is restricted to single differentially methylated regions (DMRs), each less than 2kb. The ASM in the C3orf27-RPN1 intergenic region was placenta-specific and associated with allele-specific expression of a long non-coding RNA. Strikingly, the discrete DMRs in all 3 regions overlap with binding sites for the insulator protein CTCF, which we found selectively bound to the unmethylated allele of the STEAP3-C2orf76 DMR. Methylation mapping in two additional genes with non-imprinted haplotype-dependent ASM, ELK3 and CYP2A7, showed that the CYP2A7 DMR also overlaps a CTCF site. Thus, two features of imprinted domains, highly localized DMRs and allele-specific insulator occupancy by CTCF, can also be found in chromosomal domains with non-imprinted ASM. Arguing for biological importance, our analysis of published whole genome bis-seq data from hES cells revealed multiple genome-wide association study (GWAS) peaks near CTCF binding sites with ASM.

  11. Comparative anatomy of chromosomal domains with imprinted and non-imprinted allele-specific DNA methylation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anupam Paliwal

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Allele-specific DNA methylation (ASM is well studied in imprinted domains, but this type of epigenetic asymmetry is actually found more commonly at non-imprinted loci, where the ASM is dictated not by parent-of-origin but instead by the local haplotype. We identified loci with strong ASM in human tissues from methylation-sensitive SNP array data. Two index regions (bisulfite PCR amplicons, one between the C3orf27 and RPN1 genes in chromosome band 3q21 and the other near the VTRNA2-1 vault RNA in band 5q31, proved to be new examples of imprinted DMRs (maternal alleles methylated while a third, between STEAP3 and C2orf76 in chromosome band 2q14, showed non-imprinted haplotype-dependent ASM. Using long-read bisulfite sequencing (bis-seq in 8 human tissues we found that in all 3 domains the ASM is restricted to single differentially methylated regions (DMRs, each less than 2kb. The ASM in the C3orf27-RPN1 intergenic region was placenta-specific and associated with allele-specific expression of a long non-coding RNA. Strikingly, the discrete DMRs in all 3 regions overlap with binding sites for the insulator protein CTCF, which we found selectively bound to the unmethylated allele of the STEAP3-C2orf76 DMR. Methylation mapping in two additional genes with non-imprinted haplotype-dependent ASM, ELK3 and CYP2A7, showed that the CYP2A7 DMR also overlaps a CTCF site. Thus, two features of imprinted domains, highly localized DMRs and allele-specific insulator occupancy by CTCF, can also be found in chromosomal domains with non-imprinted ASM. Arguing for biological importance, our analysis of published whole genome bis-seq data from hES cells revealed multiple genome-wide association study (GWAS peaks near CTCF binding sites with ASM.

  12. Francis Bacon's natural history and civil history: a comparative survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzo, Silvia

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to offer a comparative survey of Bacon's theory and practice of natural history and of civil history, particularly centered on their relationship to natural philosophy and human philosophy. I will try to show that the obvious differences concerning their subject matter encompass a number of less obvious methodological and philosophical assumptions which reveal a significant practical and conceptual convergence of the two fields. Causes or axioms are prescribed as the theoretical end-products of natural history, whereas precepts are envisaged as the speculative outcomes derived from perfect civil history. In spite of this difference, causes and precepts are thought to enable effective action in order to change the state of nature and of man, respectively. For that reason a number of common patterns are to be found in Bacon's theory and practice of natural and civil history.

  13. Membrane-Sculpting BAR Domains Generate Stable Lipid Microdomains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Hongxia; Michelot, Alphée; Koskela, Essi V.; Tkach, Vadym; Stamou, Dimitrios; Drubin, David G.; Lappalainen, Pekka

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY Bin-Amphiphysin-Rvs (BAR) domain proteins are central regulators of many cellular processes involving membrane dynamics. BAR domains sculpt phosphoinositide-rich membranes to generate membrane protrusions or invaginations. Here, we report that, in addition to regulating membrane geometry, BAR domains can generate extremely stable lipid microdomains by “freezing” phosphoinositide dynamics. This is a general feature of BAR domains, because the yeast endocytic BAR and Fes/CIP4 homology BAR (F-BAR) domains, the inverse BAR domain of Pinkbar, and the eisosomal BAR protein Lsp1 induced phosphoinositide clustering and halted lipid diffusion, despite differences in mechanisms of membrane interactions. Lsp1 displays comparable low diffusion rates in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that BAR domain proteins also generate stable phosphoinositide microdomains in cells. These results uncover a conserved role for BAR superfamily proteins in regulating lipid dynamics within membranes. Stable microdomains induced by BAR domain scaffolds and specific lipids can generate phase boundaries and diffusion barriers, which may have profound impacts on diverse cellular processes. PMID:24055060

  14. Extending the Effective Ranging Depth of Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography by Spatial Frequency Domain Multiplexing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Wu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available We present a spatial frequency domain multiplexing method for extending the imaging depth range of a spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT system without any expensive device. This method uses two galvo scanners with different pivot-offset distances in two independent reference arms for spatial frequency modulation and multiplexing. The spatial frequency contents corresponding to different depth regions of the sample can be shifted to different frequency bands. The spatial frequency domain multiplexing SDOCT system provides an approximately 1.9-fold increase in the effective ranging depth compared with that of a conventional full-range SDOCT system. The reconstructed images of phantom and biological tissue demonstrate the expected increase in ranging depth. The parameters choice criterion for this method is discussed.

  15. The BRCT domain is a phospho-protein binding domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiaochun; Chini, Claudia Christiano Silva; He, Miao; Mer, Georges; Chen, Junjie

    2003-10-24

    The carboxyl-terminal domain (BRCT) of the Breast Cancer Gene 1 (BRCA1) protein is an evolutionarily conserved module that exists in a large number of proteins from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Although most BRCT domain-containing proteins participate in DNA-damage checkpoint or DNA-repair pathways, or both, the function of the BRCT domain is not fully understood. We show that the BRCA1 BRCT domain directly interacts with phosphorylated BRCA1-Associated Carboxyl-terminal Helicase (BACH1). This specific interaction between BRCA1 and phosphorylated BACH1 is cell cycle regulated and is required for DNA damage-induced checkpoint control during the transition from G2 to M phase of the cell cycle. Further, we show that two other BRCT domains interact with their respective physiological partners in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Thirteen additional BRCT domains also preferentially bind phospho-peptides rather than nonphosphorylated control peptides. These data imply that the BRCT domain is a phospho-protein binding domain involved in cell cycle control.

  16. Using the Domain Specific Innovativeness Scale To Identify Innovative Internet Consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldsmith, Ronald E.

    2001-01-01

    The Domain Specific Innovativeness Scale was included in a survey of student consumers to measure how innovative participants were with regard to buying online. Data analyses confirmed hypotheses that an innovative predisposition toward online buying would be associated positively with more hours of Internet use, greater Internet purchasing,…

  17. Perceived correlates of domain-specific physical activity in rural adults in the Midwest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrisman, Matthew; Nothwehr, Faryle; Yang, Jingzen; Oleson, Jacob

    2014-01-01

    In response to calls for more specificity when measuring physical activity, this study examined perceived correlates of this behavior in rural adults separately by the domain in which this behavior occurs (ie, home care, work, active living, and sport). A cross-sectional survey was completed by 407 adults from 2 rural towns in the Midwest. The questionnaire assessed the perceived social and physical environment, including neighborhood characteristics, as well as barriers to being active. The Kaiser Physical Activity Survey captured domain-specific activity levels. The response rate was 25%. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between social and physical environment factors and domain-specific physical activity. Having a favorable attitude toward using government funds for exercise and activity-friendly neighborhood characteristic were positively associated with active living. Friends encouraging exercise was positively associated with participation in sport. Barriers were inversely associated with active living and sport. Total physical activity was positively associated with workplace incentives for exercise, favorable policy attitudes toward supporting physical education in schools and supporting the use of government funds for biking trails, and it was inversely associated with barriers. There were no factors associated with physical activity in the domains of work or home care. Correlates of physical activity are unique to the domain in which this behavior occurs. Programs to increase physical activity in rural adults should target policy attitudes, neighborhood characteristics, and social support from friends while also working to decrease personal barriers to exercise. © 2014 National Rural Health Association.

  18. Mutations in the FMN domain modulate MCD spectra of the heme site in the oxygenase domain of inducible nitric oxide synthase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sempombe, Joseph; Elmore, Bradley O; Sun, Xi; Dupont, Andrea; Ghosh, Dipak K; Guillemette, J Guy; Kirk, Martin L; Feng, Changjian

    2009-05-27

    The nitric oxide synthase (NOS) output state for NO production is a complex of the flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-binding domain and the heme domain, and thereby it facilitates the interdomain electron transfer from the FMN to the catalytic heme site. Emerging evidence suggests that interdomain FMN-heme interactions are important in the formation of the output state because they guide the docking of the FMN domain to the heme domain. In this study, notable effects of mutations in the adjacent FMN domain on the heme structure in a human iNOS bidomain oxygenase/FMN construct have been observed by using low-temperature magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy. The comparative MCD study of wild-type and mutant proteins clearly indicates that a properly docked FMN domain contributes to the observed L-Arg perturbation of the heme MCD spectrum in the wild-type protein and that the conserved surface residues in the FMN domain (E546 and E603) play key roles in facilitating a productive alignment of the FMN and heme domains in iNOS.

  19. Identification and Expression Profiling of the BTB Domain-Containing Protein Gene Family in the Silkworm, Bombyx mori

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daojun Cheng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The BTB domain is a conserved protein-protein interaction motif. In this study, we identified 56 BTB domain-containing protein genes in the silkworm, in addition to 46 in the honey bee, 55 in the red flour beetle, and 53 in the monarch butterfly. Silkworm BTB protein genes were classified into nine subfamilies according to their domain architecture, and most of them could be mapped on the different chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that silkworm BTB protein genes may have undergone a duplication event in three subfamilies: BTB-BACK-Kelch, BTB-BACK-PHR, and BTB-FLYWCH. Comparative analysis demonstrated that the orthologs of each of 13 BTB protein genes present a rigorous orthologous relationship in the silkworm and other surveyed insects, indicating conserved functions of these genes during insect evolution. Furthermore, several silkworm BTB protein genes exhibited sex-specific expression in larval tissues or at different stages during metamorphosis. These findings not only contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of insect BTB protein gene families but also provide a basis for further investigation of the functions of BTB protein genes in the silkworm.

  20. Combinatorial geometry domain decomposition strategies for Monte Carlo simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, G.; Zhang, B.; Deng, L.; Mo, Z.; Liu, Z.; Shangguan, D.; Ma, Y.; Li, S.; Hu, Z. [Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, 100094 (China)

    2013-07-01

    Analysis and modeling of nuclear reactors can lead to memory overload for a single core processor when it comes to refined modeling. A method to solve this problem is called 'domain decomposition'. In the current work, domain decomposition algorithms for a combinatorial geometry Monte Carlo transport code are developed on the JCOGIN (J Combinatorial Geometry Monte Carlo transport INfrastructure). Tree-based decomposition and asynchronous communication of particle information between domains are described in the paper. Combination of domain decomposition and domain replication (particle parallelism) is demonstrated and compared with that of MERCURY code. A full-core reactor model is simulated to verify the domain decomposition algorithms using the Monte Carlo particle transport code JMCT (J Monte Carlo Transport Code), which has being developed on the JCOGIN infrastructure. Besides, influences of the domain decomposition algorithms to tally variances are discussed. (authors)

  1. Combinatorial geometry domain decomposition strategies for Monte Carlo simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, G.; Zhang, B.; Deng, L.; Mo, Z.; Liu, Z.; Shangguan, D.; Ma, Y.; Li, S.; Hu, Z.

    2013-01-01

    Analysis and modeling of nuclear reactors can lead to memory overload for a single core processor when it comes to refined modeling. A method to solve this problem is called 'domain decomposition'. In the current work, domain decomposition algorithms for a combinatorial geometry Monte Carlo transport code are developed on the JCOGIN (J Combinatorial Geometry Monte Carlo transport INfrastructure). Tree-based decomposition and asynchronous communication of particle information between domains are described in the paper. Combination of domain decomposition and domain replication (particle parallelism) is demonstrated and compared with that of MERCURY code. A full-core reactor model is simulated to verify the domain decomposition algorithms using the Monte Carlo particle transport code JMCT (J Monte Carlo Transport Code), which has being developed on the JCOGIN infrastructure. Besides, influences of the domain decomposition algorithms to tally variances are discussed. (authors)

  2. The B-subdomain of the Xenopus laevis XFIN KRAB-AB domain is responsible for its weaker transcriptional repressor activity compared to human ZNF10/Kox1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Born, Nadine; Thiesen, Hans-Jürgen; Lorenz, Peter

    2014-01-01

    The Krüppel-associated box (KRAB) domain interacts with the nuclear hub protein TRIM28 to initiate or mediate chromatin-dependent processes like transcriptional repression, imprinting or suppression of endogenous retroviruses. The prototype KRAB domain initially identified in ZNF10/KOX1 encompasses two subdomains A and B that are found in hundreds of zinc finger transcription factors studied in human and murine genomes. Here we demonstrate for the first time transcriptional repressor activity of an amphibian KRAB domain. After sequence correction, the updated KRAB-AB domain of zinc finger protein XFIN from the frog Xenopus laevis was found to confer transcriptional repression in reporter assays in Xenopus laevis A6 kidney cells as well as in human HeLa, but not in the minnow Pimephales promelas fish cell line EPC. Binding of the XFIN KRAB-AB domain to human TRIM28 was demonstrated in a classical co-immunoprecipitation approach and visualized in a single-cell compartmentalization assay. XFIN-AB displayed reduced potency in repression as well as lower strength of interaction with TRIM28 compared to ZNF10 KRAB-AB. KRAB-B subdomain swapping between the two KRAB domains indicated that it was mainly the KRAB-B subdomain of XFIN that was responsible for its lower capacity in repression and binding to human TRIM28. In EPC fish cells, ZNF10 and XFIN KRAB repressor activity could be partially restored to low levels by adding exogenous human TRIM28. In contrast to XFIN, we did not find any transcriptional repression activity for the KRAB-like domain of human PRDM9 in HeLa cells. PRDM9 is thought to harbor an evolutionary older domain related to KRAB whose homologs even occur in invertebrates. Our results support the notion that functional bona fide KRAB domains which confer transcriptional repression and interact with TRIM28 most likely co-evolved together with TRIM28 at the beginning of tetrapode evolution.

  3. Domain analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjørland, Birger

    2017-01-01

    The domain-analytic approach to knowledge organization (KO) (and to the broader field of library and information science, LIS) is outlined. The article reviews the discussions and proposals on the definition of domains, and provides an example of a domain-analytic study in the field of art studies....... Varieties of domain analysis as well as criticism and controversies are presented and discussed....

  4. Comparing bulk electrical conductivities spatial series obtained by Time Domain Reflectometry and Electromagnetic Induction sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saeed, Ali; Ajeel, Ali; dragonetti, giovanna; Comegna, Alessandro; Lamaddalena, Nicola; Coppola, Antonio

    2016-04-01

    The ability to determine and monitor the effects of salts on soils and plants, are of great importance to agriculture. To control its harmful effects, soil salinity needs to be monitored in space and time. This requires knowledge of its magnitude, temporal dynamics, and spatial variability. Conventional ground survey procedures by direct soil sampling are time consuming, costly and destructive. Alternatively, soil salinity can be evaluated by measuring the bulk electrical conductivity (σb) directly in the field. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors allow simultaneous measurements of water content, θ, and σb. They may be calibrated for estimating the electrical conductivity of the soil solution (σw). However, they have a relatively small observation window and thus they are thought to only provide local-scale measurements. The spatial range of the sensors is limited to tens of centimeters and extension of the information to a large area can be problematic. Also, information on the vertical distribution of the σb soil profile may only be obtained by installing sensors at different depths. In this sense, the TDR may be considered as an invasive technique. Compared to the TDR, other geophysical methods based for example on Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) techniques are non-invasive methods and represent a viable alternative to traditional techniques for soil characterization. The problem is that all these techniques give depth-weighted apparent electrical conductivity (σa) measurements, depending on the specific depth distribution of the σb, as well as on the depth response function of the sensor used. In order to deduce the actual distribution of the bulk electrical conductivity, σb, in the soil profile, one needs to invert the signal coming from EMI. Because of their relatively lower observation window, TDR sensors provide quasi-point values and do not adequately integrate the spatial variability of the chemical concentration distribution in the soil

  5. Inferring domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions with formal concept analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Khor

    Full Text Available Identifying reliable domain-domain interactions will increase our ability to predict novel protein-protein interactions, to unravel interactions in protein complexes, and thus gain more information about the function and behavior of genes. One of the challenges of identifying reliable domain-domain interactions is domain promiscuity. Promiscuous domains are domains that can occur in many domain architectures and are therefore found in many proteins. This becomes a problem for a method where the score of a domain-pair is the ratio between observed and expected frequencies because the protein-protein interaction network is sparse. As such, many protein-pairs will be non-interacting and domain-pairs with promiscuous domains will be penalized. This domain promiscuity challenge to the problem of inferring reliable domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions has been recognized, and a number of work-arounds have been proposed. This paper reports on an application of Formal Concept Analysis to this problem. It is found that the relationship between formal concepts provides a natural way for rare domains to elevate the rank of promiscuous domain-pairs and enrich highly ranked domain-pairs with reliable domain-domain interactions. This piggybacking of promiscuous domain-pairs onto less promiscuous domain-pairs is possible only with concept lattices whose attribute-labels are not reduced and is enhanced by the presence of proteins that comprise both promiscuous and rare domains.

  6. Inferring Domain-Domain Interactions from Protein-Protein Interactions with Formal Concept Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khor, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Identifying reliable domain-domain interactions will increase our ability to predict novel protein-protein interactions, to unravel interactions in protein complexes, and thus gain more information about the function and behavior of genes. One of the challenges of identifying reliable domain-domain interactions is domain promiscuity. Promiscuous domains are domains that can occur in many domain architectures and are therefore found in many proteins. This becomes a problem for a method where the score of a domain-pair is the ratio between observed and expected frequencies because the protein-protein interaction network is sparse. As such, many protein-pairs will be non-interacting and domain-pairs with promiscuous domains will be penalized. This domain promiscuity challenge to the problem of inferring reliable domain-domain interactions from protein-protein interactions has been recognized, and a number of work-arounds have been proposed. This paper reports on an application of Formal Concept Analysis to this problem. It is found that the relationship between formal concepts provides a natural way for rare domains to elevate the rank of promiscuous domain-pairs and enrich highly ranked domain-pairs with reliable domain-domain interactions. This piggybacking of promiscuous domain-pairs onto less promiscuous domain-pairs is possible only with concept lattices whose attribute-labels are not reduced and is enhanced by the presence of proteins that comprise both promiscuous and rare domains. PMID:24586450

  7. Selection and Evaluation of Priority Domains in Global Energy Internet Standard Development Based on Technology Foresight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yang; Ciwei, Gao; Jing, Zhang; Min, Sun; Jie, Yu

    2017-05-01

    The selection and evaluation of priority domains in Global Energy Internet standard development will help to break through limits of national investment, thus priority will be given to standardizing technical areas with highest urgency and feasibility. Therefore, in this paper, the process of Delphi survey based on technology foresight is put forward, the evaluation index system of priority domains is established, and the index calculation method is determined. Afterwards, statistical method is used to evaluate the alternative domains. Finally the top four priority domains are determined as follows: Interconnected Network Planning and Simulation Analysis, Interconnected Network Safety Control and Protection, Intelligent Power Transmission and Transformation, and Internet of Things.

  8. Development of the European Health Interview Survey - Physical Activity Questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) to monitor physical activity in the European Union.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finger, Jonas D; Tafforeau, Jean; Gisle, Lydia; Oja, Leila; Ziese, Thomas; Thelen, Juergen; Mensink, Gert B M; Lange, Cornelia

    2015-01-01

    A domain-specific physical activity questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) was developed in the framework of the second wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). This article presents the EHIS-PAQ and describes its development and evaluation processes. Research institutes from Belgium, Estonia and Germany participated in the Improvement of the EHIS (ImpEHIS) Grant project issued by Eurostat. The instrument development process comprised a non-systematic literature review and a systematic HIS/HES database search for physical activity survey questions. The developed EHIS-PAQ proposal was reviewed by survey experts. Cognitive testing of the EHIS-PAQ was conducted in Estonia and Germany. The EHIS-PAQ was further tested in a pilot survey in Belgium, Estonia and Germany in different modes of data collection, face-to-face paper and pencil interview (PAPI) and computer assisted telephone interview (CATI). The EHIS-PAQ is a rather pragmatic tool aiming to evaluate how far the population is physically active in specific public health relevant settings. It assesses work-related, transport-related and leisure-time physical activity in a typical week. Cognitive testing revealed that the EHIS-PAQ worked as intended. The pilot testing showed the feasibility of using the EHIS-PAQ in an international health interview survey setting in Europe. It will be implemented in all 28 European Union Member States via European Union implementing regulation in the period between 2013 and 2015. This will be a first opportunity to get comparable data on domain-specific physical activity in all 28 EU MS and to publish indicators at the EU level. The EHIS-PAQ is a short, domain-specific PA questionnaire based on PA questions which have been used in large-scale health interview surveys before. It was designed by considering the respondents' perspective in answering PA questions.

  9. Recursive nearest neighbor search in a sparse and multiscale domain for comparing audio signals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sturm, Bob L.; Daudet, Laurent

    2011-01-01

    We investigate recursive nearest neighbor search in a sparse domain at the scale of audio signals. Essentially, to approximate the cosine distance between the signals we make pairwise comparisons between the elements of localized sparse models built from large and redundant multiscale dictionaries...

  10. Ethnic Variation in the Cross-sectional Association between Domains of Depressive Symptoms and Clinical Depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shervin eAssari

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundThe degree by which depressive symptoms and clinical depression reflect each other may vary across populations. The present study compared Blacks and Whites for the magnitude of the cross-sectional associations between various domains of depressive symptoms and endorsement of clinical disorders of depression. MethodsData came from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL, 2001–2003. We included 3,570 Black (African Americans, and 891 Non-Hispanic Whites. Predictors were positive affect, negative affect, and interpersonal problems measured using the 12-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D. Outcomes were lifetime MDD, lifetime MDE, 12 month MDE, 30 days MDE, and 30 days MDDH based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI. Logistic regression models were applied in the pooled sample, as well as Blacks and Whites.ResultsRegarding CES-D, Blacks had lower total scores, positive affect, negative affect, and interpersonal problems compared to Whites (p < 0.05 for all comparisons. Blacks also had lower odds of meeting criteria for lifetime MDD and MDE, 12 month MDE, and 30 days MDE and MDDH (p < 0.05 for all comparisons. For most depressive diagnoses, ethnicity showed a positive and significant interaction with the negative affect and interpersonal domains, suggesting stronger associations for Blacks compared to Whites. CES-D total and CES-D positive affect did not interact with ethnicity on CIDI based diagnoses.ConclusionStronger associations between multiple domains of depressive symptoms and clinical MDD may be due to higher severity of depression among Blacks, when they endorse the disorder. This finding may explain some of previously observed ethnic differences in social, psychological, and medical correlates of depressive symptoms and clinical depression in the general population as well as clinical settings.

  11. A Geospatial Information Grid Framework for Geological Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Liang; Xue, Lei; Li, Chaoling; Lv, Xia; Chen, Zhanlong; Guo, Mingqiang; Xie, Zhong

    2015-01-01

    The use of digital information in geological fields is becoming very important. Thus, informatization in geological surveys should not stagnate as a result of the level of data accumulation. The integration and sharing of distributed, multi-source, heterogeneous geological information is an open problem in geological domains. Applications and services use geological spatial data with many features, including being cross-region and cross-domain and requiring real-time updating. As a result of ...

  12. Calculation of nonzero-temperature Casimir forces in the time domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Kai; Reid, M. T. Homer; McCauley, Alexander P.; Rodriguez, Alejandro W.; White, Jacob K.; Johnson, Steven G.

    2011-01-01

    We show how to compute Casimir forces at nonzero temperatures with time-domain electromagnetic simulations, for example, using a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Compared to our previous zero-temperature time-domain method, only a small modification is required, but we explain that some care is required to properly capture the zero-frequency contribution. We validate the method against analytical and numerical frequency-domain calculations, and show a surprising high-temperature disappearance of a nonmonotonic behavior previously demonstrated in a pistonlike geometry.

  13. Man Versus Machine: Comparing Double Data Entry and Optical Mark Recognition for Processing CAHPS Survey Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fifolt, Matthew; Blackburn, Justin; Rhodes, David J; Gillespie, Shemeka; Bennett, Aleena; Wolff, Paul; Rucks, Andrew

    Historically, double data entry (DDE) has been considered the criterion standard for minimizing data entry errors. However, previous studies considered data entry alternatives through the limited lens of data accuracy. This study supplies information regarding data accuracy, operational efficiency, and cost for DDE and Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) for processing the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems 5.0 survey. To assess data accuracy, we compared error rates for DDE and OMR by dividing the number of surveys that were arbitrated by the total number of surveys processed for each method. To assess operational efficiency, we tallied the cost of data entry for DDE and OMR after survey receipt. Costs were calculated on the basis of personnel, depreciation for capital equipment, and costs of noncapital equipment. The cost savings attributed to this method were negated by the operational efficiency of OMR. There was a statistical significance between rates of arbitration between DDE and OMR; however, this statistical significance did not create a practical significance. The potential benefits of DDE in terms of data accuracy did not outweigh the operational efficiency and thereby financial savings of OMR.

  14. The YARHG domain: an extracellular domain in search of a function.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penny Coggill

    Full Text Available We have identified a new bacterial protein domain that we hypothesise binds to peptidoglycan. This domain is called the YARHG domain after the most highly conserved sequence-segment. The domain is found in the extracellular space and is likely to be composed of four alpha-helices. The domain is found associated with protein kinase domains, suggesting it is associated with signalling in some bacteria. The domain is also found associated with three different families of peptidases. The large number of different domains that are found associated with YARHG suggests that it is a useful functional module that nature has recombined multiple times.

  15. Comparing cancer screening estimates: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and National Health Interview Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauer, Ann Goding; Liu, Benmei; Siegel, Rebecca L; Jemal, Ahmedin; Fedewa, Stacey A

    2018-01-01

    Cancer screening prevalence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), designed to provide state-level estimates, and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), designed to provide national estimates, are used to measure progress in cancer control. A detailed description of the extent to which recent cancer screening estimates vary by key demographic characteristics has not been previously described. We examined national prevalence estimates for recommended breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening using data from the 2012 and 2014 BRFSS and the 2010 and 2013 NHIS. Treating the NHIS estimates as the reference, direct differences (DD) were calculated by subtracting NHIS estimates from BRFSS estimates. Relative differences were computed by dividing the DD by the NHIS estimates. Two-sample t-tests (2-tails), were performed to test for statistically significant differences. BRFSS screening estimates were higher than those from NHIS for breast (78.4% versus 72.5%; DD=5.9%, pNHIS, each survey has a unique and important role in providing information to track cancer screening utilization among various populations. Awareness of these differences and their potential causes is important when comparing the surveys and determining the best application for each data source. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Benchmarking surgeon satisfaction at academic health centers: a nationwide comparative survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drachman, D A

    1996-01-01

    Forty-six academic health centers (AHCs) belonging to the University HealthSystem consortium joined forces to compare the efficiency of their surgical services and to identify best practices. In addition to measures of operational performance, surgeon satisfaction with the surgical services provided was measured by using a standardized questionnaire. From hospital records, indicators of the efficiency of surgical services were collected in three main areas: scheduling, preoperative testing and assessment, and the intraoperative process. Responding to a mail questionnaire, a sample of surgeons rated their satisfaction with key aspects of surgical services including scheduling, operating room staff, and equipment/supplies. On the basis of a review of the operational measures and the survey results, high performers were identified. Site visits were made to several of these high performers to uncover the critical factors responsible for their success. The survey revealed distinct variations in surgeon satisfaction across the participating institutions. Numerical benchmarks were obtained for surgeon satisfaction with each key component of surgical services. Scheduling was the most important component of overall surgeon satisfaction, explaining 71% of the variance in the rating of overall satisfaction with surgical services. High operational efficiency and high surgeon satisfaction were not incompatible. Several of the participating institutions were able to achieve both. These results were disseminated to all of the participants at a national meeting as well as in written form. The surgeon satisfaction survey allowed the participants to establish benchmarks for surgeon satisfaction for each key component of the surgical services they receive. The site visits revealed several common characteristics of highly efficient surgical services. Taken by themselves, the participating institutions might have been reluctant to consider adopting these best practices for fear of

  17. A preliminary survey of M. hyopneumoniae virulence factors based on comparative genomic analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henrique Bunselmeyer Ferreira

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the etiological agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia (PEP, a major problem for the pig industry. The mechanisms of M. hyopneumoniae pathogenicity allow to predict the existence of several classes of virulence factors, whose study has been essentially restricted to the characterization of adhesion-related and major antigenic proteins. The now available complete sequences of the genomes of two pathogenic and one non-pathogenic strain of M. hyopneumoniae allowed to use a comparative genomics approach to putatively identify virulence genes. In this preliminary survey, we were able to identify 118 CDSs encoding putative virulence factors, based on specific criteria ranging from predicted cell surface location or variation between strains to previous functional studies showing antigenicity or involvement in host-pathogen interaction. This survey is expected to serve as a first step towards the functional characterization of new virulence genes/proteins that will be important not only for a better comprehension of M. hyopneumoniae biology, but also for the development of new and improved protocols for PEP vaccination, diagnosis and treatment.

  18. .Gov Domains API

    Data.gov (United States)

    General Services Administration — This dataset offers the list of all .gov domains, including state, local, and tribal .gov domains. It does not include .mil domains, or other federal domains outside...

  19. Crystal shapes on striped surface domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valencia, Antoni

    2004-01-01

    The equilibrium shapes of a simple cubic crystal in contact with a planar chemically patterned substrate are studied theoretically using an effective interface model. The substrate is primarily made of lyophobic material and is patterned with a lyophilic (easily wettable) stripe domain. Three regimes can be distinguished for the equilibrium shapes of the crystal. The transitions between these regimes as the volume of the crystal is changed are continuous or discontinuous depending on the strength of the couplings between the crystal and the lyophilic and lyophobic surface domains. If the crystal grows through a series of states close to equilibrium, the discontinuous transitions correspond to growth instabilities. These transitions are compared with similar results that have been obtained for a volume of liquid wetting a lyophilic stripe domain

  20. Numerical results for near surface time domain electromagnetic exploration: a full waveform approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, H.; Li, K.; Li, X., Sr.; Liu, Y., Sr.; Wen, J., Sr.

    2015-12-01

    Time domain or Transient electromagnetic (TEM) survey including types with airborne, semi-airborne and ground play important roles in applicants such as geological surveys, ground water/aquifer assess [Meju et al., 2000; Cox et al., 2010], metal ore exploration [Yang and Oldenburg, 2012], prediction of water bearing structures in tunnels [Xue et al., 2007; Sun et al., 2012], UXO exploration [Pasion et al., 2007; Gasperikova et al., 2009] etc. The common practice is introducing a current into a transmitting (Tx) loop and acquire the induced electromagnetic field after the current is cut off [Zhdanov and Keller, 1994]. The current waveforms are different depending on instruments. Rectangle is the most widely used excitation current source especially in ground TEM. Triangle and half sine are commonly used in airborne and semi-airborne TEM investigation. In most instruments, only the off time responses are acquired and used in later analysis and data inversion. Very few airborne instruments acquire the on time and off time responses together. Although these systems acquire the on time data, they usually do not use them in the interpretation.This abstract shows a novel full waveform time domain electromagnetic method and our recent modeling results. The benefits comes from our new algorithm in modeling full waveform time domain electromagnetic problems. We introduced the current density into the Maxwell's equation as the transmitting source. This approach allows arbitrary waveforms, such as triangle, half-sine, trapezoidal waves or scatter record from equipment, being used in modeling. Here, we simulate the establishing and induced diffusion process of the electromagnetic field in the earth. The traditional time domain electromagnetic with pure secondary fields can also be extracted from our modeling results. The real time responses excited by a loop source can be calculated using the algorithm. We analyze the full time gates responses of homogeneous half space and two

  1. Unpacking the determinants of life satisfaction: A survey experiment

    OpenAIRE

    Corazzini, Luca; Bertoni, Marco; Angelini, Viola

    2014-01-01

    We present results of a survey experiment aimed at assessing context effects on subjects' reported life satisfaction, exerted by raising awareness of fundamental life domains - income, family, job, friends, sentimental relationships and health - through questionnaire manipulations. While simply presenting subjects with the list of the domains before evaluating overall life satisfaction has no effect on the distribution of life satisfaction, asking subjects to report their satisfaction with ea...

  2. A survey of IoT cloud platforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Partha Pratim Ray

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Internet of Things (IoT envisages overall merging of several “things” while utilizing internet as the backbone of the communication system to establish a smart interaction between people and surrounding objects. Cloud, being the crucial component of IoT, provides valuable application specific services in many application domains. A number of IoT cloud providers are currently emerging into the market to leverage suitable and specific IoT based services. In spite of huge possible involvement of these IoT clouds, no standard cum comparative analytical study has been found across the literature databases. This article surveys popular IoT cloud platforms in light of solving several service domains such as application development, device management, system management, heterogeneity management, data management, tools for analysis, deployment, monitoring, visualization, and research. A comparison is presented for overall dissemination of IoT clouds according to their applicability. Further, few challenges are also described that the researchers should take on in near future. Ultimately, the goal of this article is to provide detailed knowledge about the existing IoT cloud service providers and their pros and cons in concrete form.

  3. Comparative Performance of Complex-Valued B-Spline and Polynomial Models Applied to Iterative Frequency-Domain Decision Feedback Equalization of Hammerstein Channels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Sheng; Hong, Xia; Khalaf, Emad F; Alsaadi, Fuad E; Harris, Chris J

    2017-12-01

    Complex-valued (CV) B-spline neural network approach offers a highly effective means for identifying and inverting practical Hammerstein systems. Compared with its conventional CV polynomial-based counterpart, a CV B-spline neural network has superior performance in identifying and inverting CV Hammerstein systems, while imposing a similar complexity. This paper reviews the optimality of the CV B-spline neural network approach. Advantages of B-spline neural network approach as compared with the polynomial based modeling approach are extensively discussed, and the effectiveness of the CV neural network-based approach is demonstrated in a real-world application. More specifically, we evaluate the comparative performance of the CV B-spline and polynomial-based approaches for the nonlinear iterative frequency-domain decision feedback equalization (NIFDDFE) of single-carrier Hammerstein channels. Our results confirm the superior performance of the CV B-spline-based NIFDDFE over its CV polynomial-based counterpart.

  4. Development and Implementation of Domain Referenced Testing in Vocational Welding. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sterrett, Dan

    A project was undertaken to develop and implement domain-referenced tests (DRTs) for welders' helpers. After analyzing the results of a state survey of welding job titles and related tasks and after consulting with postsecondary educators and industry personnel, researchers developed DRTs to measure various tasks typically performed by welders.…

  5. Friction anisotropy-driven domain imaging on exfoliated monolayer graphene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jin Sik; Kim, Jin-Soo; Byun, Ik-Su; Lee, Duk Hyun; Lee, Mi Jung; Park, Bae Ho; Lee, Changgu; Yoon, Duhee; Cheong, Hyeonsik; Lee, Ki Ho; Son, Young-Woo; Park, Jeong Young; Salmeron, Miquel

    2011-07-29

    Graphene produced by exfoliation has not been able to provide an ideal graphene with performance comparable to that predicted by theory, and structural and/or electronic defects have been proposed as one cause of reduced performance. We report the observation of domains on exfoliated monolayer graphene that differ by their friction characteristics, as measured by friction force microscopy. Angle-dependent scanning revealed friction anisotropy with a periodicity of 180° on each friction domain. The friction anisotropy decreased as the applied load increased. We propose that the domains arise from ripple distortions that give rise to anisotropic friction in each domain as a result of the anisotropic puckering of the graphene.

  6. Self-assessment of competencies in dental education in Germany - a multicentred survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitter, K; Rüttermann, S; Lippmann, M; Hahn, P; Giesler, M

    2016-11-01

    The aim was to assess the competencies of undergraduate dental students in Germany in the domains team competence, communicative competence, learning competence and scholarship. The survey was conducted at 11 dental schools that are equally distributed all over Germany. Competencies were assessed with the Freiburg Questionnaire to Assess Competencies in Medicine (FCM). A short version of the FCM was used in this study. This short form included the four domains: team competence (three items), communicative competence (eight items), learning competence (five items) and scholarship (four items). Students had to rate each item twice: first with regard to the respondent's current level of competence and second with regard to the level of competence that respondents think is required by their job. All items were rated on a five-point Likert scale (1 'very much' and 5 'not at all'). Responsible lecturers from all selected dental schools received another questionnaire to answer the questions whether the FCM domain corresponding learning objectives were taught at the respective dental school. A total of 317 undergraduate students from 11 dental schools in their last clinical year participated. The response rate varied between 48% and 92%. Cronbach's α for the FCM scales addressing the current level of competencies ranged from 0.70 to 0.89 and for the scales measuring the presumed level of competencies demanded by their job ranged from 0.72 to 0.82. The mean values of the scales for the assessment of the presumed level of competencies demanded by the job were significantly lower compared to the mean values of the scales for the current level of competencies (P competence (SRM 1.34), learning competence (SRM 1.27) and communicative competence (SRM 1.18). Overall, the learning objectives that correspond to the assessed domains of competencies were taught to 19.6% completely, to 55.4% partially and to 25% not at all at the participating dental schools. The results of the

  7. Calibration of TAMA300 in time domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Telada, Souichi; Tatsumi, Daisuke; Akutsu, Tomomi; Ando, Masaki; Kanda, Nobuyuki

    2005-01-01

    We could reconstruct the strain of gravitational wave signals from acquired data in the time domain by using the infinite impulse response filter technique in TAMA300. We would like to analyse the waveform in the time domain for burst-like signal, merger phase waveform of binary neutron stars, and so on. We established the way to make a continuous time-series gravitational wave strain signal. We compared the time-domain reconstruction with the Fourier-space reconstruction. Both coincided within 3% in the observation range. We could also produce the voltage signal which would be recorded by the data-acquisition system from a simulated gravitational wave. This is useful for some analyses of simulations and signal injections. We could extract the waveform of the hardware injection signal in an observational run in the time domain. The extracted waveform was similar to the injection signal

  8. An assessment of incentive versus survey length trade-offs in a Web survey of radiologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegenfuss, Jeanette Y; Niederhauser, Blake D; Kallmes, David; Beebe, Timothy J

    2013-03-20

    It is generally understood that shorter Web surveys and use of incentives result in higher response rates in Web surveys directed to health care providers. Less is known about potential respondent preference for reduced burden as compared to increased reward. To help elicit preference for minimized burden compared to reward for completion of a survey, we observed physician preferences for shorter Web surveys compared to incentives as well as incentive preference (small guaranteed incentive compared to larger lottery incentive) accompanying an electronic request to complete a survey. This was an observational study that accompanied a large Web survey study of radiology staff, fellows, and residents at select academic medical centers in the United States. With the request to complete the survey, potential respondents were offered three options: (1) a 10-minute Web survey with the chance to win an iPad, (2) a 10-minute Web survey with a guaranteed nominal incentive ($5 amazon.com gift card), or (3) a shorter (5-7 minute) Web survey with no incentive. A total of 254 individuals responded to the Web survey request. Overwhelmingly, individuals chose a longer survey accompanied by an incentive compared to a shorter survey with no incentive (85% compared to 15%, P<.001). Of those opting for an incentive, a small, but not significant majority chose the chance to win an iPad over a guaranteed $5 gift card (56% compared to 44%). When given the choice, radiologists preferred a reward (either guaranteed or based on a lottery) to a less burdensome survey, indicating that researchers should focus more attention at increasing perceived benefits of completing a Web survey compared to decreasing perceived burden.

  9. Solution structure of leptospiral LigA4 Big domain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mei, Song; Zhang, Jiahai [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Zhang, Xuecheng [School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui 230039 (China); Tu, Xiaoming, E-mail: xmtu@ustc.edu.cn [Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)

    2015-11-13

    Pathogenic Leptospiraspecies express immunoglobulin-like proteins which serve as adhesins to bind to the extracellular matrices of host cells. Leptospiral immunoglobulin-like protein A (LigA), a surface exposed protein containing tandem repeats of bacterial immunoglobulin-like (Big) domains, has been proved to be involved in the interaction of pathogenic Leptospira with mammalian host. In this study, the solution structure of the fourth Big domain of LigA (LigA4 Big domain) from Leptospira interrogans was solved by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The structure of LigA4 Big domain displays a similar bacterial immunoglobulin-like fold compared with other Big domains, implying some common structural aspects of Big domain family. On the other hand, it displays some structural characteristics significantly different from classic Ig-like domain. Furthermore, Stains-all assay and NMR chemical shift perturbation revealed the Ca{sup 2+} binding property of LigA4 Big domain. - Highlights: • Determining the solution structure of a bacterial immunoglobulin-like domain from a surface protein of Leptospira. • The solution structure shows some structural characteristics significantly different from the classic Ig-like domains. • A potential Ca{sup 2+}-binding site was identified by strains-all and NMR chemical shift perturbation.

  10. Solution structure of leptospiral LigA4 Big domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mei, Song; Zhang, Jiahai; Zhang, Xuecheng; Tu, Xiaoming

    2015-01-01

    Pathogenic Leptospiraspecies express immunoglobulin-like proteins which serve as adhesins to bind to the extracellular matrices of host cells. Leptospiral immunoglobulin-like protein A (LigA), a surface exposed protein containing tandem repeats of bacterial immunoglobulin-like (Big) domains, has been proved to be involved in the interaction of pathogenic Leptospira with mammalian host. In this study, the solution structure of the fourth Big domain of LigA (LigA4 Big domain) from Leptospira interrogans was solved by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The structure of LigA4 Big domain displays a similar bacterial immunoglobulin-like fold compared with other Big domains, implying some common structural aspects of Big domain family. On the other hand, it displays some structural characteristics significantly different from classic Ig-like domain. Furthermore, Stains-all assay and NMR chemical shift perturbation revealed the Ca"2"+ binding property of LigA4 Big domain. - Highlights: • Determining the solution structure of a bacterial immunoglobulin-like domain from a surface protein of Leptospira. • The solution structure shows some structural characteristics significantly different from the classic Ig-like domains. • A potential Ca"2"+-binding site was identified by strains-all and NMR chemical shift perturbation.

  11. Emission of biocides from hospitals: comparing current survey results with European Union default values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tluczkiewicz, Inga; Bitsch, Annette; Hahn, Stefan; Hahn, Torsten

    2010-04-01

    Under the European Union (EU) Biocidal Products Directive 98/8/EC, comprehensive evaluations on substances of the Third Priority List were conducted until 31 July 2007. This list includes, among other categories, disinfectants for human hygiene (e.g., skin and surface disinfection). For environmental exposure assessment of biocides, the EU emission scenarios apply. Currently available default values for disinfectants are based on consumption data from not more than 8 hospitals and were originally assembled for other purposes. To revalidate these default values, a survey on annual consumption data was performed in 27 German hospitals. These data were analyzed to provide consumption data per bed and day and per nurse and day for particular categories of active ingredients and were compared with default values from the EU emission scenario documents. Although several deviations were detected, an overall acceptable correspondence between Emission Scenario Documents default values and the current survey data was found. (c) 2009 SETAC

  12. Electromagnetic surveys to detect clay-rich sediment in the Rio Grande inner valley, Albuquerque area, New Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartolino, James R.; Sterling, Joseph M.

    2000-01-01

    Information on the presence of clay-rich layers in the inner-valley alluvium is essential for quantifying the amount of water transmitted between the Rio Grande and the Santa Fe Group aquifer system. This report describes a study that used electromagnetic surveys to provide this information. In the first phase of the study, electromagnetic soundings were made using time-domain and frequency-domain electro- magnetic methods. On the basis of these initial results, the time- domain method was judged ineffective because of cultural noise in the study area, so subsequent surveys were made using the frequency-domain method. For the second phase of the study, 31 frequency-domain electromagnetic surveys were conducted along the inner valley and parallel to the Rio Grande in the Albuquerque area in the spring and summer of 1997 to determine the presence of hydrologically significant clay-rich layers buried in the inner-valley alluvium. For this report, the 31 survey sections were combined into 10 composite sections for ease of interpretation. Terrain-conductivity data from the surveys were modeled using interpretation software to produce geoelectric cross sections along the survey lines. This modeling used lithologic logs from two wells installed near the survey lines: the Bosque South and Rio Bravo 5 wells. Because of cultural interference, location of the wells and soundings, complex stratigraphy, and difficulty interpreting lithology, such interpretation was inconclusive. Instead, a decision process based on modeling results was developed using vertical and horizontal dipole 40-meter intercoil spacing terrain-conductivity values. Values larger than or equal to 20 millisiemens per meter were interpreted to contain a hydrologically significant thickness of clay-rich sediment. Thus, clay-rich sediment was interpreted to underlie seven segments of the 10 composited survey lines, totaling at least 2,660 meters of the Rio Grande inner valley. The longest of these clay

  13. WRKY domain-encoding genes of a crop legume chickpea (Cicer arietinum): comparative analysis with Medicago truncatula WRKY family and characterization of group-III gene(s).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Kamal; Srivastava, Vikas; Purayannur, Savithri; Kaladhar, V Chandra; Cheruvu, Purnima Jaiswal; Verma, Praveen Kumar

    2016-06-01

    The WRKY genes have been identified as important transcriptional modulators predominantly during the environmental stresses, but they also play critical role at various stages of plant life cycle. We report the identification of WRKY domain (WD)-encoding genes from galegoid clade legumes chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and barrel medic (Medicago truncatula). In total, 78 and 98 WD-encoding genes were found in chickpea and barrel medic, respectively. Comparative analysis suggests the presence of both conserved and unique WRKYs, and expansion of WRKY family in M. truncatula primarily by tandem duplication. Exclusively found in galegoid legumes, CaWRKY16 and its orthologues encode for a novel protein having a transmembrane and partial Exo70 domains flanking a group-III WD. Genomic region of galegoids, having CaWRKY16, is more dynamic when compared with millettioids. In onion cells, fused CaWRKY16-EYFP showed punctate fluorescent signals in cytoplasm. The chickpea WRKY group-III genes were further characterized for their transcript level modulation during pathogenic stress and treatments of abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid (SA) by real-time PCR. Differential regulation of genes was observed during Ascochyta rabiei infection and SA treatment. Characterization of A. rabiei and SA inducible gene CaWRKY50 showed that it localizes to plant nucleus, binds to W-box, and have a C-terminal transactivation domain. Overexpression of CaWRKY50 in tobacco plants resulted in early flowering and senescence. The in-depth comparative account presented here for two legume WRKY genes will be of great utility in hastening functional characterization of crop legume WRKYs and will also help in characterization of Exo70Js. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Kazusa DNA Research Institute.

  14. Comparing Two Inferential Approaches to Handling Measurement Error in Mixed-Mode Surveys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Buelens Bart

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays sample survey data collection strategies combine web, telephone, face-to-face, or other modes of interviewing in a sequential fashion. Measurement bias of survey estimates of means and totals are composed of different mode-dependent measurement errors as each data collection mode has its own associated measurement error. This article contains an appraisal of two recently proposed methods of inference in this setting. The first is a calibration adjustment to the survey weights so as to balance the survey response to a prespecified distribution of the respondents over the modes. The second is a prediction method that seeks to correct measurements towards a benchmark mode. The two methods are motivated differently but at the same time coincide in some circumstances and agree in terms of required assumptions. The methods are applied to the Labour Force Survey in the Netherlands and are found to provide almost identical estimates of the number of unemployed. Each method has its own specific merits. Both can be applied easily in practice as they do not require additional data collection beyond the regular sequential mixed-mode survey, an attractive element for national statistical institutes and other survey organisations.

  15. Generations and Gender Survey (GGS: Towards a Better Understanding of Relationships and Processes in the Life Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zsolt Spéder

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available The Generations and Gender Survey (GGS is one of the two pillars of the Generations and Gender Programme designed to improve understanding of demographic and social development and of the factors that influence these developments. This article describes how the theoretical perspectives applied in the survey, the survey design and the questionnaire are related to this objective. The key features of the survey include panel design, multidisciplinarity, comparability, context-sensitivity, inter-generational and gender relationships. The survey applies the life course approach, focussing on the processes of childbearing, partnership dynamics, home leaving, and retiring. The selection of topics for data collection mainly follows the criterion of theoretically grounded relevance to explaining one or more of the mentioned processes. A large portion of the survey deals with economic aspects of life, such as economic activity, income, and economic well-being; a comparably large section is devoted to values and attitudes. Other domains covered by the survey include gender relationships, household composition and housing, residential mobility, social networks and private transfers, education, health, and public transfers. The third chapter of the article describes the motivations for their inclusion. The GGS questionnaire is designed for a face-to-face interview. It includes the core that each participating country needs to implement in full, and four optional sub-modules on nationality and ethnicity, on previous partners, on intentions of breaking up, and on housing, respectively. The participating countries are encouraged to include also the optional sub-modules to facilitate comparative research on these topics.

  16. Comparing Homeless Persons’ Care Experiences in Tailored Versus Nontailored Primary Care Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, Cheryl L.; Steward, Jocelyn L.; Jones, Richard N.; Roth, David L.; Stringfellow, Erin; Gordon, Adam J.; Kim, Theresa W.; Austin, Erika L.; Henry, Stephen Randal; Kay Johnson, N.; Shanette Granstaff, U.; O’Connell, James J.; Golden, Joya F.; Young, Alexander S.; Davis, Lori L.; Pollio, David E.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives. We compared homeless patients’ experiences of care in health care organizations that differed in their degree of primary care design service tailoring. Methods. We surveyed homeless-experienced patients (either recently or currently homeless) at 3 Veterans Affairs (VA) mainstream primary care settings in Pennsylvania and Alabama, a homeless-tailored VA clinic in California, and a highly tailored non-VA Health Care for the Homeless Program in Massachusetts (January 2011-March 2012). We developed a survey, the “Primary Care Quality-Homeless Survey," to reflect the concerns and aspirations of homeless patients. Results. Mean scores at the tailored non-VA site were superior to those from the 3 mainstream VA sites (P < .001). Adjusting for patient characteristics, these differences remained significant for subscales assessing the patient–clinician relationship (P < .001) and perceptions of cooperation among providers (P = .004). There were 1.5- to 3-fold increased odds of an unfavorable experience in the domains of the patient–clinician relationship, cooperation, and access or coordination for the mainstream VA sites compared with the tailored non-VA site; the tailored VA site attained intermediate results. Conclusions. Tailored primary care service design was associated with a superior service experience for patients who experienced homelessness. PMID:24148052

  17. Recently surveyed lakes in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada: characteristics and critical loads of acidity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isaac WONG

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Based on minimal information, lakes in the western Canadian provinces of Manitoba (MB and Saskatchewan (SK have long been considered unaffected by acid rain. However, emissions of acidifying pollutants from MB smelters and oil sand processing in Alberta (AB may pose a developing threat. Surveys of 347 lakes located on geologically sensitive terrain in northern MB and SK were conducted to assess their acidification sensitivity and status. The survey domain (~193,000 km2 contained 81,494 lakes ≥1 ha in area. Small lakes dominated the inventory in terms of numbers, and large lakes dominated in terms of area. Survey lakes were selected using a stratified-random sampling design in 10 sampling blocks within the overall survey domain. Few lakes had pH <6, and only three (all in SK were acidic, i.e., Gran Alkalinity (Alk <0 μeq L–1. A broad range in lake sensitivity was apparent, and very sensitive lakes (low specific conductance, base cations and Alk were present in all sampling blocks. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC was an important constituent of many lakes. Critical loads (CL of acidity calculated using the Steady-State Water Chemistry model (SSWC revealed extremely low 5th percentile values for every block (range 1.9 to 52.7 eq ha–1 y–1. Block CL exceedances calculated using estimated S and N deposition for 2002 ranged from 54.5 to 909 eq ha–1 y–1. The largest exceedances were for sampling blocks located near smelter sources or downwind of the oil sands. Lake chemistry revealed by our surveys was compared to others conducted both nearby and outside Canada.

  18. Domain-swapping of mesophilic xylanase with hyper-thermophilic glucanase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Liangwei

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Domain fusion is limited at enzyme one terminus. The issue was explored by swapping a mesophilic Aspergillus niger GH11 xylanase (Xyn with a hyper-thermophilic Thermotoga maritima glucanase (Glu to construct two chimeras, Xyn-Glu and Glu-Xyn, with an intention to create thermostable xylanase containing glucanase activity. Results When expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3, the two chimeras exhibited bi-functional activities of xylanase and glucanase. The Xyn-Glu Xyn moiety had optimal reaction temperature (Topt at 50 °C and thermal in-activation half-life (t1/2 at 50 °C for 47.6 min, compared to 47 °C and 17.6 min for the Xyn. The Glu-Xyn Xyn moiety had equivalent Topt to and shorter t1/2 (5.2 min than the Xyn. Both chimera Glu moieties were more thermostable than the Glu, and the three enzyme Topt values were higher than 96 °C. The Glu-Xyn Glu moiety optimal pH was 5.8, compared to 3.8 for the Xyn-Glu Glu moiety and the Glu. Both chimera two moieties cooperated with each other in degrading substrates. Conclusions Domain-swapping created different effects on each moiety properties. Fusing the Glu domain at C-terminus increased the xylanase thermostability, but fusing the Glu domain at N-terminus decreased the xylanase thermostability. Fusing the Xyn domain at either terminus increased the glucanase thermostability, and fusing the Xyn domain at C-terminus shifted the glucanase pH property 2 units higher towards alkaline environments. Fusing a domain at C-terminus contributes more to enzyme catalytic activity; whereas, fusing a bigger domain at N-terminus disturbs enzyme substrate binding affinity.

  19. Psychotic experiences and disability: Findings from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Hans; Koyanagi, Ai; Kelleher, Ian; DeVylder, Jordan

    2018-03-01

    Psychotic experiences are associated with a number of poor clinical outcomes, including multimorbid psychopathology, suicidal behavior, and poor treatment response. We wished to investigate the relationship between psychotic experiences and disability, including the following domains: cognition, mobility, self-care, social interaction, role functioning, and days out of role. We used three nationally representative and racially/ethnically diverse samples of the general US adult population: the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), the National Latino and Asian American Survey (NLAAS), and the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Multi-variable logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations between lifetime psychotic experiences (visual and auditory hallucinatory experiences and delusional ideation; WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview psychosis screen) and 30-day impairments in functioning across disability domains (using the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule II). In all three samples, models were adjusted for socio-demographics and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. In the NCS-R, models were also adjusted for chronic health conditions. Across all three studies, our adjusted models showed that people with disability had anywhere from about 1.5 to over 3 times the odds of reporting lifetime psychotic experiences, depending on the domain. This was true for each disability domain, except self-care in the NLAAS and in the NSAL. Psychotic experiences are markers of risk for disability across a wide range of domains. This may explain the elevated rates of service utilization among individuals who report psychotic experiences and supports the need to assess for and respond to psychotic experiences even in the absence of psychotic disorder. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Interaction domains in high-performance NdFeB thick films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woodcock, T.G. [IFW Dresden, Institute for Metallic Materials, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany)], E-mail: t.woodcock@ifw-dresden.de; Khlopkov, K. [IFW Dresden, Institute for Metallic Materials, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany); Walther, A. [Insitut Neel, CNRS-UJF, 25 avenue de Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble (France); CEA Leti - MINATEC, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble (France); Dempsey, N.M.; Givord, D. [Insitut Neel, CNRS-UJF, 25 avenue de Martyrs, 38042 Grenoble (France); Schultz, L.; Gutfleisch, O. [IFW Dresden, Institute for Metallic Materials, P.O. Box 270116, D-01171 Dresden (Germany)

    2009-05-15

    The magnetic domain structure in sputtered NdFeB thick films has been imaged by magnetic force microscopy. The local texture of the films was investigated by electron backscatter diffraction. The average misorientation of the grains was shown to decrease with increasing substrate temperature during deposition. Interaction domains were observed and are discussed with reference (i) to the sample grain size compared to the single domain particle size and (ii) to sample texture.

  1. Domain Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørner, Dines

    Before software can be designed we must know its requirements. Before requirements can be expressed we must understand the domain. So it follows, from our dogma, that we must first establish precise descriptions of domains; then, from such descriptions, “derive” at least domain and interface requirements; and from those and machine requirements design the software, or, more generally, the computing systems.

  2. Problematic Mobile Phone Use and Big-Five Personality Domains

    OpenAIRE

    Takao, Motoharu

    2014-01-01

    Background: Although a mobile phone is useful and attractive as a tool for communication and interpersonal interaction, there exists the risk of its problematic or addictive use. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the correlation between the big-five personality domains and problematic mobile phone use. Materials and Methods: The Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) were employed in this study. Survey data were gathered from 504 university stude...

  3. The Pan-STARRS1 Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Kenneth; Pan-STARRS Team

    2018-01-01

    The Pan-STARRS1 Surveys are complete and the first data release, DR1, is available from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The data include a database of measured attributes of 3 billion objects, stacked images, and metadata of the 3pi Steradian Survey. The DR1 contains all stationary objects with mean and stack photometry registered on the GAIA astrometric frame. DR2 is in preparation and will be released this winter with all the individual epoch images and time domain photometry and forced photometry on the individual epoch images. The characteristics of the Pan-STARRS1 Surveys will be presented, including image quality, depth, cadence, and coverage. Measured attributes include PSF model magnitudes, aperture magnitudes, Kron Magnitudes, radial moments, Petrosian magnitudes, DeVaucoulers, Exponential, and Sersic magnitudes for extended objects. Images include total intensity, variance, and masks.An overview of the Pan-STARRS1 Surveys and data releases will be presented together with a brief description of the data collected since the end of the PS1 Science Consortium surveys, and the plans for the upcoming survey with PS1 and PS2 begining in February 2018.

  4. Domain decomposition method for solving elliptic problems in unbounded domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khoromskij, B.N.; Mazurkevich, G.E.; Zhidkov, E.P.

    1991-01-01

    Computational aspects of the box domain decomposition (DD) method for solving boundary value problems in an unbounded domain are discussed. A new variant of the DD-method for elliptic problems in unbounded domains is suggested. It is based on the partitioning of an unbounded domain adapted to the given asymptotic decay of an unknown function at infinity. The comparison of computational expenditures is given for boundary integral method and the suggested DD-algorithm. 29 refs.; 2 figs.; 2 tabs

  5. Multiple standards of aging: gender-specific age stereotypes in different life domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kornadt, Anna E; Voss, Peggy; Rothermund, Klaus

    2013-12-01

    Whereas it is often stated that aging might have more negative consequences for the evaluation of women compared to men, evidence for this assumption is mixed. We took a differentiated look at age stereotypes of men and women, assuming that the life domain in which older persons are rated moderates gender differences in age stereotypes. A sample of 298 participants aged 20-92 rated 65 - year-old men and women on evaluative statements in eight different life domains. Furthermore, perceptions of gender- and domain-specific age-related changes were assessed by comparing the older targets to 45 - year-old men and women, respectively. The results speak in favor of the domain specificity of evaluative asymmetries in age stereotypes for men and women, and imply that an understanding of gendered perceptions of aging requires taking into account the complexities of domain-specific views on aging.

  6. Time-domain electromagnetic soundings at the Nevada Test Site, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frischknecht, F.C.; Raab, P.V.

    1984-01-01

    Structural discontinuities and variations in the resistivity of near-surface rocks often seriously distort dc resistivity and frequency-domain electromagnetic (FDEM) depth sounding curves. Reliable interpretation of such curves using one-dimensional (1-D) models is difficult or impossible. Short-offset time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) sounding methods offer a number of advantages over other common geoelectrical sounding methods when working in laterally heterogeneous areas. In order to test the TDEM method in a geologically complex region, measurements were made on the east flank of Yucca Mountain at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Coincident, offset coincident, single, and central loop configurations with square transmitting loops, either 305 or 152 m on a side, were used. Measured transient voltages were transformed into apparent resistivity values and then inverted in terms of 1-D models. Good fits to all of the offset coincident and single loop data were obtained using three-layer models. In most of the area, two well-defined interfaces were mapped, one which corresponds closely to a contact between stratigraphic units at a depth of about 400 m and another which corresponds to a transition from relatively unaltered to altered volcanic rocks at a depth of about 1000 m. In comparison with the results of a dipole-dipole resistivity survey, the results of the TDEM survey emphasize changes in the geoelectrical section with depth. Nonetheless, discontinuities in the layering mapped with the TDEM method delineated major faults or fault zones along the survey traverse. 5 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab

  7. Space moving target detection using time domain feature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Min; Chen, Jin-yong; Gao, Feng; Zhao, Jin-yu

    2018-01-01

    The traditional space target detection methods mainly use the spatial characteristics of the star map to detect the targets, which can not make full use of the time domain information. This paper presents a new space moving target detection method based on time domain features. We firstly construct the time spectral data of star map, then analyze the time domain features of the main objects (target, stars and the background) in star maps, finally detect the moving targets using single pulse feature of the time domain signal. The real star map target detection experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively detect the trajectory of moving targets in the star map sequence, and the detection probability achieves 99% when the false alarm rate is about 8×10-5, which outperforms those of compared algorithms.

  8. The SHOCT domain: a widespread domain under-represented in model organisms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Y Eberhardt

    Full Text Available We have identified a new protein domain, which we have named the SHOCT domain (Short C-terminal domain. This domain is widespread in bacteria with over a thousand examples. But we found it is missing from the most commonly studied model organisms, despite being present in closely related species. It's predominantly C-terminal location, co-occurrence with numerous other domains and short size is reminiscent of the Gram-positive anchor motif, however it is present in a much wider range of species. We suggest several hypotheses about the function of SHOCT, including oligomerisation and nucleic acid binding. Our initial experiments do not support its role as an oligomerisation domain.

  9. The effects of multi-domain versus single-domain cognitive training in non-demented older people: a randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng Yan

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Whether healthy older people can benefit from cognitive training (CogTr remains controversial. This study explored the benefits of CogTr in community dwelling, healthy, older adults and compared the effects of single-domain with multi-domain CogTr interventions. Methods A randomized, controlled, 3-month trial of CogTr with double-blind assessments at baseline and immediate, 6-month and 12-month follow-up after training completion was conducted. A total of 270 healthy Chinese older people, 65 to 75 years old, were recruited from the Ganquan-area community in Shanghai. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups: multi-domain CogTr, single-domain CogTr, and a wait-list control group. Twenty-four sessions of CogTr were administrated to the intervention groups over a three-month period. Six months later, three booster training sessions were offered to 60% of the initial training participants. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS, Form A, the Color Word Stroop test (CWST, the Visual Reasoning test and the Trail Making test (TMT were used to assess cognitive function. Results Multi-domain CogTr produced statistically significant training effects on RBANS, visual reasoning, and immediate and delayed memory, while single-domain CogTr showed training effects on RBANS, visual reasoning, word interference, and visuospatial/constructional score (all P Conclusions Cognitive training can improve memory, visual reasoning, visuospatial construction, attention and neuropsychological status in community-living older people and can help maintain their functioning over time. Multi-domain CogTr enhanced memory proficiency, while single-domain CogTr augmented visuospatial/constructional and attention abilities. Multi-domain CogTr had more advantages in training effect maintenance. Clinical Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration number: ChiCTR-TRC-09000732.

  10. Domain-to-domain coupling in voltage-sensing phosphatase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakata, Souhei; Matsuda, Makoto; Kawanabe, Akira; Okamura, Yasushi

    2017-01-01

    Voltage-sensing phosphatase (VSP) consists of a transmembrane voltage sensor and a cytoplasmic enzyme region. The enzyme region contains the phosphatase and C2 domains, is structurally similar to the tumor suppressor phosphatase PTEN, and catalyzes the dephosphorylation of phosphoinositides. The transmembrane voltage sensor is connected to the phosphatase through a short linker region, and phosphatase activity is induced upon membrane depolarization. Although the detailed molecular characteristics of the voltage sensor domain and the enzyme region have been revealed, little is known how these two regions are coupled. In addition, it is important to know whether mechanism for coupling between the voltage sensor domain and downstream effector function is shared among other voltage sensor domain-containing proteins. Recent studies in which specific amino acid sites were genetically labeled using a fluorescent unnatural amino acid have enabled detection of the local structural changes in the cytoplasmic region of Ciona intestinalis VSP that occur with a change in membrane potential. The results of those studies provide novel insight into how the enzyme activity of the cytoplasmic region of VSP is regulated by the voltage sensor domain.

  11. Wide Field Radio Transient Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bower, Geoffrey

    2011-04-01

    The time domain of the radio wavelength sky has been only sparsely explored. Nevertheless, serendipitous discovery and results from limited surveys indicate that there is much to be found on timescales from nanoseconds to years and at wavelengths from meters to millimeters. These observations have revealed unexpected phenomena such as rotating radio transients and coherent pulses from brown dwarfs. Additionally, archival studies have revealed an unknown class of radio transients without radio, optical, or high-energy hosts. The new generation of centimeter-wave radio telescopes such as the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) will exploit wide fields of view and flexible digital signal processing to systematically explore radio transient parameter space, as well as lay the scientific and technical foundation for the Square Kilometer Array. Known unknowns that will be the target of future transient surveys include orphan gamma-ray burst afterglows, radio supernovae, tidally-disrupted stars, flare stars, and magnetars. While probing the variable sky, these surveys will also provide unprecedented information on the static radio sky. I will present results from three large ATA surveys (the Fly's Eye survey, the ATA Twenty CM Survey (ATATS), and the Pi GHz Survey (PiGSS)) and several small ATA transient searches. Finally, I will discuss the landscape and opportunities for future instruments at centimeter wavelengths.

  12. A Survey on Anomaly Based Host Intrusion Detection System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jose, Shijoe; Malathi, D.; Reddy, Bharath; Jayaseeli, Dorathi

    2018-04-01

    An intrusion detection system (IDS) is hardware, software or a combination of two, for monitoring network or system activities to detect malicious signs. In computer security, designing a robust intrusion detection system is one of the most fundamental and important problems. The primary function of system is detecting intrusion and gives alerts when user tries to intrusion on timely manner. In these techniques when IDS find out intrusion it will send alert massage to the system administrator. Anomaly detection is an important problem that has been researched within diverse research areas and application domains. This survey tries to provide a structured and comprehensive overview of the research on anomaly detection. From the existing anomaly detection techniques, each technique has relative strengths and weaknesses. The current state of the experiment practice in the field of anomaly-based intrusion detection is reviewed and survey recent studies in this. This survey provides a study of existing anomaly detection techniques, and how the techniques used in one area can be applied in another application domain.

  13. MIT domain of Vps4 is a Ca2+-dependent phosphoinositide-binding domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwaya, Naoko; Takasu, Hirotoshi; Goda, Natsuko; Shirakawa, Masahiro; Tanaka, Toshiki; Hamada, Daizo; Hiroaki, Hidekazu

    2013-05-01

    The microtubule interacting and trafficking (MIT) domain is a small protein module that is conserved in proteins of diverged function, such as Vps4, spastin and sorting nexin 15 (SNX15). The molecular function of the MIT domain is protein-protein interaction, in which the domain recognizes peptides containing MIT-interacting motifs. Recently, we identified an evolutionarily related domain, 'variant' MIT domain at the N-terminal region of the microtubule severing enzyme katanin p60. We found that the domain was responsible for binding to microtubules and Ca(2+). Here, we have examined whether the authentic MIT domains also bind Ca(2+). We found that the loop between the first and second α-helices of the MIT domain binds a Ca(2+) ion. Furthermore, the MIT domains derived from Vps4b and SNX15a showed phosphoinositide-binding activities in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. We propose that the MIT domain is a novel membrane-associating domain involved in endosomal trafficking.

  14. Thermomagnetically written domains in TbFeCo thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reim, W.; Weller, D.

    1988-01-01

    Characteristic features of thermomagnetically written domains in amorphous Tb x (Fe 90 Co 10 ) 100-x alloy thin films having different magnetic properties are reported. In particular, the writing process in materials with low Tb content chi ≤ 21 dominated by the demagnetizing field is compared to the bias field dominated process in Tb rich samples 22 ≤ chi ≤ 25. Domain wall movement over lateral dimensions of the bit size is found for Tb poor materials while for chi ≥ 22 domain boundaries are primarily determined by the area heated up to the Curie-temperature. The importance of mechanical stress on domain formation and irreversible changes of the storage medium due to overheating in the writing process are reported

  15. Comparing hospital staff and patient perceptions of customer service: a pilot study utilizing survey and focus group data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fottler, Myron D; Dickson, Duncan; Ford, Robert C; Bradley, Kenneth; Johnson, Lee

    2006-02-01

    The measurement of patient satisfaction is crucial to enhancing customer service and competitive advantage in the health-care industry. While there are numerous approaches to such measurement, this paper provides a case study which compares and contrasts patient and staff perceptions of customer service using both survey and focus group data. Results indicate that there is a high degree of correlation between staff and patient perceptions of customer service based on both survey and focus group data. However, the staff and patient subgroups also provided complementary information regarding patient perceptions of their service experience. Staff members tended to have more negative perceptions of service attributes than did the patients themselves. The focus group results provide complementary information to survey results in terms of greater detail and more managerially relevant information. While these results are derived from a pilot study, they suggest that diversification of data sources beyond patient surveys may enhance the utility of customer service information. If further research can affirm these findings, they create exciting possibilities for gathering valid, reliable and cost-effective customer service information.

  16. Domain-Specific and Domain-General Training to Improve Kindergarten Children’s Mathematics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geetha B. Ramani

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Ensuring that kindergarten children have a solid foundation in early numerical knowledge is of critical importance for later mathematical achievement. In this study, we targeted improving the numerical knowledge of kindergarteners (n = 81 from primarily low-income backgrounds using two approaches: one targeting their conceptual knowledge, specifically, their understanding of numerical magnitudes; and the other targeting their underlying cognitive system, specifically, their working memory. Both interventions involved playing game-like activities on tablet computers over the course of several sessions. As predicted, both interventions improved children’s numerical magnitude knowledge as compared to a no-contact control group, suggesting that both domain-specific and domain-general interventions facilitate mathematical learning. Individual differences in effort during the working memory game, but not the number knowledge training game predicted children’s improvements in number line estimation. The results demonstrate the potential of using a rapidly growing technology in early childhood classrooms to promote young children’s numerical knowledge.

  17. Transformation Algorithm of Dielectric Response in Time-Frequency Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ji Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A transformation algorithm of dielectric response from time domain to frequency domain is presented. In order to shorten measuring time of low or ultralow frequency dielectric response characteristics, the transformation algorithm is used in this paper to transform the time domain relaxation current to frequency domain current for calculating the low frequency dielectric dissipation factor. In addition, it is shown from comparing the calculation results with actual test data that there is a coincidence for both results over a wide range of low frequencies. Meanwhile, the time domain test data of depolarization currents in dry and moist pressboards are converted into frequency domain results on the basis of the transformation. The frequency domain curves of complex capacitance and dielectric dissipation factor at the low frequency range are obtained. Test results of polarization and depolarization current (PDC in pressboards are also given at the different voltage and polarization time. It is demonstrated from the experimental results that polarization and depolarization current are affected significantly by moisture contents of the test pressboards, and the transformation algorithm is effective in ultralow frequency of 10−3 Hz. Data analysis and interpretation of the test results conclude that analysis of time-frequency domain dielectric response can be used for assessing insulation system in power transformer.

  18. Domain observations of Fe and Co based amorphous wires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takajo, M.; Yamasaki, J.

    1993-01-01

    Domain observations were made on Fe and Co based amorphous magnetic wires that exhibit a large Barkhausen discontinuity during flux reversal. Domain patterns observed on the wire surface were compared with those found on a polished section through the center of the wire. It was confirmed that the Fe based wire consists of a shell and core region as previously proposed, however, there is a third region between them. This fairly thick transition region made up of domains at an angle of about 45 degree to the wire axis clearly lacking the closure domains of the previous model. The Co based wire does not have a clear core and shell domain structure. The center of the wire had a classic domain structure expected of uniaxial anisotropy with the easy axis normal to the wire axis. When a model for the residual stress quenched-in during cooling of large Fe bars is applied to the wire, the expected anisotropy is consistent with the domain patterns in the Fe based wire, however, shape anisotropy still plays a dominant role in defining the wire core in the Co based wire

  19. Fair reckoning: a qualitative investigation of responses to an economic health resource allocation survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giacomini, Mita; Hurley, Jeremiah; DeJean, Deirdre

    2014-04-01

    To investigate how participants in an economic resource allocation survey construct notions of fairness. Qualitative interview study guided by interpretive grounded theory methods. Qualitative interviews were conducted with volunteer university- (n=39) and community-based (n =7) economic survey participants. INTERVENTION OR MAIN VARIABLES STUDIED: We explored how participants constructed meanings to guide or explain fair survey choices, focusing on rationales, imagery and additional desired information not provided in the survey scenarios. Data were transcribed and coded into qualitative categories. Analysis iterated with data collection iterated through three waves of interviews. Participants compared the survey dilemmas to domains outside the health system. Most compared them with other micro-level, inter-personal sharing tasks. Participants raised several fairness-relevant factors beyond need or capacity to benefit. These included age, weight, poverty, access to other options and personal responsibility for illness; illness duration, curability or seriousness; life expectancy; possibilities for sharing; awareness of other's needs; and ability to explain allocations to those affected. They also articulated a fairness principle little considered by equity theories: that everybody must get something and nobody should get nothing. Lay criteria for judging fairness are myriad. Simple scenarios may be used to investigate lay commitments to abstract principles. Although principles are the focus of analysis and inference, participants may solve simplified dilemmas by imputing extraneous features to the problem or applying unanticipated principles. These possibilities should be taken into account in the design of resource allocation surveys eliciting the views of the public. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Conversion of Dielectric Data from the Time Domain to the Frequency Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Durman

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Polarisation and conduction processes in dielectric systems can be identified by the time domain or the frequency domain measurements. If the systems is a linear one, the results of the time domain measurements can be transformed into the frequency domain, and vice versa. Commonly, the time domain data of the absorption conductivity are transformed into the frequency domain data of the dielectric susceptibility. In practice, the relaxation are mainly evaluated by the frequency domain data. In the time domain, the absorption current measurement were prefered up to now. Recent methods are based on the recovery voltage measurements. In this paper a new method of the recovery data conversion from the time the frequency domain is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of the recovery voltage transient based on the Maxwell equation for the current density in a dielectric. Unlike the previous published solutions, the Laplace fransform was used to derive a formula suitable for practical purposes. the proposed procedure allows also calculating of the insulation resistance and separating the polarisation and conduction losses.

  1. Research Into the Role of Students’ Affective Domain While Learning Geology in Field Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elkins, J.

    2009-12-01

    Existing research programs in field-based geocognition include assessment of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. Assessment of the affective domain often involves the use of instruments and techniques uncommon to the geosciences. Research regarding the affective domain also commonly results in the collection and production of qualitative data that is difficult for geoscientists to analyze due to their lack of familiarity with these data sets. However, important information about students’ affective responses to learning in field environments can be obtained by using these methods. My research program focuses on data produced by students’ affective responses to field-based learning environments, primarily among students at the introductory level. For this research I developed a Likert-scale Novelty Space Survey, which presents student ‘novelty space’ (Orion and Hofstien, 1993) as a polygon; the larger the polygons, the more novelty students are experiencing. The axises for these polygons correspond to novelty domains involving geographic, social, cognitive, and psychological factors. In addition to the Novelty Space Survey, data which I have collected/generated includes focus group interviews on the role of recreational experiences in geology field programs. I have also collected data concerning the motivating factors that cause students to take photographs on field trips. The results of these studies give insight to the emotional responses students have to learning in the field and are important considerations for practitioners of teaching in these environments. Collaborative investigations among research programs that cross university departments and include multiple institutions is critical at this point in development of geocognition as a field due to unfamiliarity with cognitive science methodology by practitioners teaching geosciences and the dynamic nature of field work by cognitive scientists. However, combining the efforts of cognitive

  2. Comparing Social Media Data and Survey Data in Assessing the Attractiveness of Beijing Olympic Forest Park

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhifang Wang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Together with the emerging popularity of big data in numerous studies, increasing theoretical discussions of the challenges and limitations of such data sources exist. However, there is a clear research gap in the empirical comparison studies on different data sources. The goal of this paper is to use “attractiveness” as a medium to examine the similarity and differences of Social media data (SMD and survey data in academic research, based on a case study of the Beijing Olympic Forest Park, in Beijing, China. SMD was extracted from two social media platforms and two surveys were conducted to assess the attractiveness of various locations and landscape elements. Data collection, keyword extraction and keyword prioritization were used and compared in the data gathering and analysis process. The findings revealed that SMD and survey data share many similarities. Both data sources confirm that natural ambience is more appreciated than cultural elements, particularly the naturalness of the park. Spaces of practical utility are more appreciated than facilities designed to have cultural meanings and iconic significance. Despite perceived similarities, this study concludes that SMD exhibits exaggerated and aggregated bias. This resulted from the intrinsic character of SMD as volunteered and unstructured data selected through an emotional process rather than from a rational synthesis. Exciting events were reported more often than daily experiences. Reflecting upon the strength and weakness of SMD and survey data, this study would recommend a combined landscape assessment process, which first utilizes SMD to build up an assessment framework, then applies conventional surveys for supplementary and detailed information. This would ultimately result in comprehensive understanding.

  3. Image-domain full waveform inversion: Field data example

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sanzong

    2014-08-05

    The main difficulty with the data-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) is that it tends to get stuck in the local minima associated with the waveform misfit function. This is the result of cycle skipping which degrades the low-wavenumber update in the absence of low-frequencies and long-offset data. An image-domain objective function is defined as the normed difference between the predicted and observed common image gathers (CIGs) in the subsurface offset domain. This new objective function is not constrained by cycle skipping at the far subsurface offsets. To test the effectiveness of this method, we apply it to marine data recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. Results show that image-domain FWI is less sensitive to the initial model and the absence of low-frequency data compared with conventional FWI. The liability, however, is that it is almost an order of magnitude more expensive than standard FWI.

  4. Image-domain full waveform inversion: Field data example

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Sanzong; Schuster, Gerard T.

    2014-01-01

    The main difficulty with the data-domain full waveform inversion (FWI) is that it tends to get stuck in the local minima associated with the waveform misfit function. This is the result of cycle skipping which degrades the low-wavenumber update in the absence of low-frequencies and long-offset data. An image-domain objective function is defined as the normed difference between the predicted and observed common image gathers (CIGs) in the subsurface offset domain. This new objective function is not constrained by cycle skipping at the far subsurface offsets. To test the effectiveness of this method, we apply it to marine data recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. Results show that image-domain FWI is less sensitive to the initial model and the absence of low-frequency data compared with conventional FWI. The liability, however, is that it is almost an order of magnitude more expensive than standard FWI.

  5. Bridging the Gap between Social Animal and Unsocial Machine: A Survey of Social Signal Processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vinciarelli, Alessandro; Pantic, Maja; Heylen, Dirk K.J.; Pelachaud, Catherine; Poggi, Isabella; D’Ericco, Francesca; Schröder, Marc

    Social Signal Processing is the research domain aimed at bridging the social intelligence gap between humans and machines. This paper is the first survey of the domain that jointly considers its three major aspects, namely, modeling, analysis, and synthesis of social behavior. Modeling investigates

  6. Domain interplay in the urokinase receptor. Requirement for the third domain in high affinity ligand binding and demonstration of ligand contact sites in distinct receptor domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Behrendt, N; Ronne, E; Dano, K

    1996-01-01

    by chemical cross-linking, but quantitative binding/competition studies showed that the apparent ligand affinity was 100- to 1000-fold lower than that of the intact suPAR. This loss of affinity was comparable with the loss found after cleavage between the first domain (D1) and D(2 + 3), using chymotrypsin...

  7. Pilot Domain Task Experience in Night Fatal Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aherne, Bryan B; Zhang, Chrystal; Newman, David G

    2016-06-01

    In the United States, accident and fatality rates in helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) operations increase significantly under nighttime environmentally hazardous operational conditions. Other studies have found pilots' total flight hours unrelated to HEMS accident outcomes. Many factors affect pilots' decision making, including their experience. This study seeks to investigate whether pilot domain task experience (DTE) in HEMS plays a role against likelihood of accidents at night when hazardous operational conditions are entered. There were 32 flights with single pilot nighttime fatal HEMS accidents between 1995 and 2013 with findings of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control (LCTRL) due to spatial disorientation (SD) identified. The HEMS DTE of the pilots were compared with industry survey data. Of the pilots, 56% had ≤2 yr of HEMS experience and 9% had >10 yr of HEMS experience. There were 21 (66%) accidents that occurred in non-visual flight rules (VFR) conditions despite all flights being required to be conducted under VFR. There was a statistically significant increase in accident rates in pilots with pilots with >10 yr HEMS DTE. HEMS DTE plays a preventive role against the likelihood of a night operational accident. Pilots with limited HEMS DTE are more likely to make a poor assessment of hazardous conditions at night, and this will place HEMS flight crew at high risk in the VFR night domain.

  8. Survey Results on Fashion Consumption and Sustainability among Young Swedes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gwozdz, Wencke; Netter, Sarah; Bjartmarz, Thordis

    Sustainable choices and behaviours are becoming ever more important in our daily lives in all consumption domains. This report focuses specifically on the consumption of textile fashion of young Swedish consumers. The purpose of this report is twofold: a) To describe current fashion consumption...... of young consumers and sustainability related attitudes and knowledge and b) to compare attitudes, knowledge and behaviour between consumers with different levels of awareness and commitment towards sustainability. The survey was conducted among 1,175 young Swedish consumers (aged 16-30) in 2012....... The average age of respondents is 23.5 years, with 48.7% females and 51.3% males. The report focuses on three consumption phases: purchase (including pre-purchase), use & maintenance and discarding....

  9. Using best-worst scaling choice experiments to elicit the most important domains of health for health-related quality of life in Singapore

    OpenAIRE

    Uy, Elenore Judy B.; Bautista, Dianne Carrol; Xin, Xiaohui; Cheung, Yin Bun; Thio, Szu-Tien; Thumboo, Julian

    2018-01-01

    Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments are sometimes used without explicit understanding of which HRQOL domains are important to a given population. In this study, we sought to elicit an importance hierarchy among 27 HRQOL domains (derived from the general population) via a best-worst scaling survey of the population in Singapore, and to determine whether these domains were consistently valued across gender, age, ethnicity, and presence of chronic illnesses. We conducted a communi...

  10. Patient safety in practical nurses' education: A cross-sectional survey of newly registered practical nurses in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanDenKerkhof, Elizabeth; Sears, Nancy; Edge, Dana S; Tregunno, Deborah; Ginsburg, Liane

    2017-04-01

    Practical nurses have experienced an increasing scope of practice, including an expectation to care for complex patients and function on interdisciplinary teams. Little is known about the degree to which patient safety principles are addressed in practical nursing education. To examine self-reported patient safety competencies of practical nurses. A cross-sectional online survey (July 2014) and face-to-face interviews (June 2015). Ontario, Canada. Survey participants were practical nurses newly registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario between January 2012 and December 2013. Interview participants were faculty and students in a practical nursing program in Ontario. Survey respondents completed the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey online. Self-reported competencies in various patient safety domains were compared between classroom and clinical settings. Faculty members were interviewed about educational preparation of practical nurses and students were interviewed to provide insight into interpretation of survey questions. The survey response rate was 28.4% (n=1104/3883). Mean domain scores indicated a high level of confidence in patient safety competence (Nurses of Ontario >2years and in those who obtained their education outside of Canada. Faculty believed their approach to teaching and learning instilled a deep understanding of the limits to practical nurse autonomous practice. Practical nurses were confident in what they learned about patient safety in their educational programs. The high degree of patient safety competence may be a true reflection of practical nurses understanding of, and comfort with, the limits of their knowledge and, ultimately, the limits of their individual autonomous practice. Further exploration as to whether the questionnaire requires additional modification for use with practical nurse populations is warranted. However, this study provides the first examination of practical nurses' perspectives and

  11. Structure of the thioredoxin-fold domain of human phosducin-like protein 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lou, Xiaochu; Bao, Rui; Zhou, Cong-Zhao; Chen, Yuxing

    2009-01-01

    The X-ray crystal structure of the Trx-fold domain of hPDCL2 was solved at 2.70 Å resolution and resembled the Trx-fold domain of rat phosducin. Human phosducin-like protein 2 (hPDCL2) has been identified as belonging to subgroup II of the phosducin (Pdc) family. The members of this family share an N-terminal helix domain and a C-terminal thioredoxin-fold (Trx-fold) domain. The X-ray crystal structure of the Trx-fold domain of hPDCL2 was solved at 2.70 Å resolution and resembled the Trx-fold domain of rat phosducin. Comparative structural analysis revealed the structural basis of their putative functional divergence

  12. Introductory study of super survey (next generation underground exploration technology); Super survey (jisedai chika tansa gijutsu) no sendo kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    An investigational study was conducted on the R and D trend of innovative technology aiming at high-accuracy/high-efficiency next generation underground exploration technology (super survey technology). Paying attention to the seismic survey and electromagnetic survey, the study was made on technical characteristics, the utilization status and the needs at sites, the R and D trend, etc. As to the present R and D, the development is proceeded with of the time domain method in the electromagnetic survey, the effective quantity data processing/analysis method and the indication method using the reflection method in the elastic survey. As new technology to be noticed, the following are cited: SQUID magnetometer, underground analysis using magnetic deviation data, electromagnetic migration, ACROSS, rotating seismometer, laser Doppler vibrator, etc. Concerning the course of the next generation underground survey technology, a system of the integrated underground exploration theory is considered which is based on a combination of the electromagnetic survey and seismic exploration. In the study, a plan is worked out for research/development of a technology of analyzing the different data obtained. 49 figs., 13 tabs.

  13. Screening retinal transplants with Fourier-domain OCT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Bin

    2009-02-01

    Transplant technologies have been studied for the recovery of vision loss from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In several rodent retinal degeneration models and in patients, retinal progenitor cells transplanted as layers to the subretinal space have been shown to restore or preserve vision. The methods for evaluation of transplants are expensive considering the large amount of animals. Alternatively, time-domain Stratus OCT was previously shown to be able to image the morphological structure of transplants to some extent, but could not clearly identify laminated transplants. The efficacy of screening retinal transplants with Fourier-domain OCT was studied on 37 S334ter line 3 rats with retinal degeneration 6-67 days after transplant surgery. The transplants were morphologically categorized as no transplant, detachment, rosettes, small laminated area and larger laminated area with both Fourier-domain OCT and histology. The efficacy of Fourier-domain OCT in screening retinal transplants was evaluated by comparing the categorization results with OCT and histology. Additionally, 4 rats were randomly selected for multiple OCT examinations (1, 5, 9, 14 and 21days post surgery) in order to determine the earliest image time of OCT examination since the transplanted tissue may need some time to show its tendency of growing. Finally, we demonstrated the efficacy of Fourier-domain OCT in screening retinal transplants in early stages and determined the earliest imaging time for OCT. Fourier-domain OCT makes itself valuable in saving resource spent on animals with unsuccessful transplants.

  14. You Can’t Beat Relating with God for Spiritual Well-Being: Comparing a Generic Version with the Original Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire Called SHALOM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Fisher

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The Spiritual Health And Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM is a 20-item instrument that assesses the quality of relationships of the respondent with self, others, the environment and/or a Transcendent Other. In the Transcendental domain, four of the five items had the words ‘God, ‘Divine’ and ‘Creator’ replaced by the word ‘Transcendent’ to make the survey more generic by removing any implied reference to any god or religion. Invitations to complete a web survey were sent to people who had published papers in spirituality, or belonged to associations for spirituality or religious studies, as well as the Australian Atheist Forum. 409 respondents from 14 geographic regions, completed the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the modified, generic form of SHALOM showed acceptable model fit, comprising four clearly delineated domains of spiritual well-being. The paper analyses the results derived from using the modified, generic version and, in comparison with results of applications of the original survey instrument, concludes with discussion of the comparative utility of each of the versions of SHALOM. Further studies with more people are warranted, but, from evidence presented here, it looks like you can’t beat relating with God for spiritual well-being.

  15. CORAL: aligning conserved core regions across domain families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Jessica H; Marchler-Bauer, Aron

    2009-08-01

    Homologous protein families share highly conserved sequence and structure regions that are frequent targets for comparative analysis of related proteins and families. Many protein families, such as the curated domain families in the Conserved Domain Database (CDD), exhibit similar structural cores. To improve accuracy in aligning such protein families, we propose a profile-profile method CORAL that aligns individual core regions as gap-free units. CORAL computes optimal local alignment of two profiles with heuristics to preserve continuity within core regions. We benchmarked its performance on curated domains in CDD, which have pre-defined core regions, against COMPASS, HHalign and PSI-BLAST, using structure superpositions and comprehensive curator-optimized alignments as standards of truth. CORAL improves alignment accuracy on core regions over general profile methods, returning a balanced score of 0.57 for over 80% of all domain families in CDD, compared with the highest balanced score of 0.45 from other methods. Further, CORAL provides E-values to aid in detecting homologous protein families and, by respecting block boundaries, produces alignments with improved 'readability' that facilitate manual refinement. CORAL will be included in future versions of the NCBI Cn3D/CDTree software, which can be downloaded at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/cdtree/cdtree.shtml. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  16. Concrete domains

    OpenAIRE

    Kahn, G.; Plotkin, G.D.

    1993-01-01

    This paper introduces the theory of a particular kind of computation domains called concrete domains. The purpose of this theory is to find a satisfactory framework for the notions of coroutine computation and sequentiality of evaluation.

  17. A methodological study to compare survey-based and observation-based evaluations of organisational and safety cultures and then compare both approaches with markers of the quality of care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeth, D; Sandall, J; Allan, T; Warburton, F; Berridge, E J; Mackintosh, N; Rogers, M; Abbott, S

    2012-05-01

    Patient safety concerns have focused attention on organisational and safety cultures, in turn directing attention to the measurement of organisational and safety climates. First, to compare levels of agreement between survey- and observation-based measures of organisational and safety climates/cultures and to compare both measures with criterion-based audits of the quality of care, using evidence-based markers drawn from national care standards relating to six common clinical conditions. (This required development of an observation-based instrument.) Second, to examine whether observation-based evaluations could replace or augment survey measurements to mitigate concerns about declining response rates and increasing social desirability bias. Third, to examine mediating factors in safety and organisational climate scores. The study had three strands: (A) a postal questionnaire survey to elicit staff perceptions of organisational and safety climates, using six prevalidated scales; (B) semistructured non-participant observation of clinical teams; and (C) a retrospective criterion-based audit carried out by non-clinical auditors to minimise hindsight bias. Standardised summary scores were created for each strand, and pairs of measurements were compared (strand A with strand B, strand A with strand C, and strand B with strand C) using Bland-Altman plots to evaluate agreement. Correlations were also examined. Multilevel modelling of Strand A scores explored mediating factors. Eight emergency departments and eight maternity units in England, UK. None. Examination of feasibility, correlation and agreement. Strand A: the overall response rate was 27.6%, whereas site-specific rates ranged from 9% to 47%. We identified more mediating factors than previous studies; variable response rates had little effect on the results. Organisational and safety climate scores were strongly correlated (r = 0.845) and exhibited good agreement [standard deviation (SD) differences 0.449; 14 (88

  18. A Logic for Inclusion of Administrative Domains and Administrators in Multi-domain Authorization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iranmanesh, Zeinab; Amini, Morteza; Jalili, Rasool

    Authorization policies for an administrative domain or a composition of multiple domains in multi-domain environments are determined by either one administrator or multiple administrators' cooperation. Several logic-based models for multi-domain environments' authorization have been proposed; however, they have not considered administrators and administrative domains in policies' representation. In this paper, we propose the syntax, proof theory, and semantics of a logic for multi-domain authorization policies including administrators and administrative domains. Considering administrators in policies provides the possibility of presenting composite administration having applicability in many collaborative applications. Indeed, administrators and administrative domains stated in policies can be used in authorization. The presented logic is based on modal logic and utilizes two calculi named the calculus of administrative domains and the calculus of administrators. It is also proved that the logic is sound. A case study is presented signifying the logic application in practical projects.

  19. Structure and biochemical function of a prototypical Arabidopsis U-box domain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Pernille; Kragelund, Birthe B; Olsen, Addie N

    2004-01-01

    U-box proteins, as well as other proteins involved in regulated protein degradation, are apparently over-represented in Arabidopsis compared with other model eukaryotes. The Arabidopsis protein AtPUB14 contains a typical U-box domain followed by an Armadillo repeat region, a domain organization t...

  20. Assessing experiential education factors contributing to a PGY1 residency match: Pharmacy residency program director and comparative student survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prisco, Jennifer L; Hritcko, Philip M; Feret, Brett; Yorra, Mark L; Todd, Noreen E; Kim Tanzer; Basile, Cathy; Bonaceto, Kara; Morelli, Rita; Carace, Nicole; Szumita, Andrew

    2018-02-01

    To compare and contrast experiential education perceptions of pharmacy residency program directors (RPDs) and doctor of pharmacy students in their last year of the curriculum for residency application considerations. The New England Regional Departments of Experiential Education (NERDEE) consortium developed a 17-question survey to assess residency factors, including those related to experiential education. The survey was dispersed to advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students from six colleges/schools of pharmacy and RPDs nationwide. Students have different values on experiential preferences compared to RPDs. Sample findings include internal medicine and specialty clinical elective experiences prior to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear were extremely important to important for students, while RPDs viewed these experiences as somewhat important at best (p hinder a successful postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency match. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Coil response inversion for very early time modelling of helicopter-borne time-domain electromagnetic data and mapping of near-surface geological layers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schamper, Cyril Noel Clarence; Auken, Esben; Sørensen, Kurt Ingvard K.I.

    2014-01-01

    Very early times in the order of 2-3 μs from the end of the turn-off ramp for time-domain electromagnetic systems are crucial for obtaining a detailed resolution of the near-surface geology in the depth interval 0-20 m. For transient electromagnetic systems working in the off time, an electric cu...... resolution of shallow geological layers in the depth interval 0-20 m. This is proved by comparing results from the airborne electromagnetic survey to more than 100 km of Electrical Resistivity Tomography measured with 5 m electrode spacing.......Very early times in the order of 2-3 μs from the end of the turn-off ramp for time-domain electromagnetic systems are crucial for obtaining a detailed resolution of the near-surface geology in the depth interval 0-20 m. For transient electromagnetic systems working in the off time, an electric...

  2. Brazilian adults' sedentary behaviors by life domain: population-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mielke, Grégore I; da Silva, Inácio C M; Owen, Neville; Hallal, Pedro C

    2014-01-01

    There is rapidly-emerging evidence on the harmful health effects of sedentary behaviors. The aim of this paper was to quantify time in sedentary behaviors and document socio-demographic variations in different life domains among adults. A population-based survey was carried out in 2012 through face-to-face interviews with Brazilian adults aged 20+ years (N = 2,927). Information about time spent sedentary in a typical weekday was collected for five different domains (workplace, commuting, school/university, watching TV, and computer use at home). Descriptive and bivariate analyses examined variations in overall and domain-specific sedentary time by gender, age, educational attainment and socioeconomic position. On average, participants reported spending 5.8 (SD 4.5) hours per day sitting. The median value was 4.5 (interquartile range: 2.5-8) hours. Men, younger adults, those with higher schooling and from the wealthiest socioeconomic groups had higher overall sedentary scores. TV time was higher in women, older adults and among those with low schooling and socioeconomic position. Sedentary time in transport was higher in men, younger adults, and participants with high schooling and high socioeconomic position. Computer use at home was more frequent among young adults and those from high socioeconomic groups. Sitting at work was higher in those with higher schooling and from the wealthiest socioeconomic groups. Sedentary behavior at school was related inversely to age and directly to schooling. Patterns of sedentary behavior are different by life domains. Initiatives to reduce prolonged sitting among Brazilian adults will be required on multiple levels for different life domains.

  3. Brazilian adults' sedentary behaviors by life domain: population-based study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grégore I Mielke

    Full Text Available There is rapidly-emerging evidence on the harmful health effects of sedentary behaviors. The aim of this paper was to quantify time in sedentary behaviors and document socio-demographic variations in different life domains among adults.A population-based survey was carried out in 2012 through face-to-face interviews with Brazilian adults aged 20+ years (N = 2,927. Information about time spent sedentary in a typical weekday was collected for five different domains (workplace, commuting, school/university, watching TV, and computer use at home. Descriptive and bivariate analyses examined variations in overall and domain-specific sedentary time by gender, age, educational attainment and socioeconomic position.On average, participants reported spending 5.8 (SD 4.5 hours per day sitting. The median value was 4.5 (interquartile range: 2.5-8 hours. Men, younger adults, those with higher schooling and from the wealthiest socioeconomic groups had higher overall sedentary scores. TV time was higher in women, older adults and among those with low schooling and socioeconomic position. Sedentary time in transport was higher in men, younger adults, and participants with high schooling and high socioeconomic position. Computer use at home was more frequent among young adults and those from high socioeconomic groups. Sitting at work was higher in those with higher schooling and from the wealthiest socioeconomic groups. Sedentary behavior at school was related inversely to age and directly to schooling.Patterns of sedentary behavior are different by life domains. Initiatives to reduce prolonged sitting among Brazilian adults will be required on multiple levels for different life domains.

  4. Feature-level domain adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kouw, Wouter M.; Van Der Maaten, Laurens J P; Krijthe, Jesse H.

    2016-01-01

    -level domain adaptation (flda), that models the dependence between the two domains by means of a feature-level transfer model that is trained to describe the transfer from source to target domain. Subsequently, we train a domain-adapted classifier by minimizing the expected loss under the resulting transfer...... modeled via a dropout distribution, which allows the classiffier to adapt to differences in the marginal probability of features in the source and the target domain. Our experiments on several real-world problems show that flda performs on par with state-of-the-art domainadaptation techniques.......Domain adaptation is the supervised learning setting in which the training and test data are sampled from different distributions: training data is sampled from a source domain, whilst test data is sampled from a target domain. This paper proposes and studies an approach, called feature...

  5. Psychometric properties of the revised Malay version Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey using confirmatory factor analysis among postpartum mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norhayati, Mohd Noor; Aniza, Abd Aziz; Nik Hazlina, Nik Hussain; Azman, Mohd Yacob

    2015-12-01

    Social support is an essential component for the physical and emotional well-being of postpartum mothers. The objective of this study is to determine the psychometric properties of the revised Malay version Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey using a confirmatory validity approach. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 144 postpartum mothers attending Obstetric and Gynecology Clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital. Construct validity and internal consistency assessment was performed after the translation, content validity and face validity process. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and AMOS 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The original questionnaire consists of four domains (emotional/informational support, tangible support, affectionate support and positive social interaction) and 19 items. Affectionate support domain with three items only was treated as a separate construct and was not included in the factor analysis. The final confirmatory model with three constructs and 13 items demonstrated acceptable factor loadings, domain to domain correlation and best fit; (χ2[df]=1.665 [61]; P-value=0.001; Tucker-Lewis Index=0.944; comparative fit index=0.956; root mean square error of approximation=0.068). Composite reliability, average variance extracted and Cronbach's α of the domains ranged from 0.649 to 0.903; 0.390 to 0.699; 0.616 to 0.902, respectively. The study suggested that the four-factor model with 16 items (including one separate factor of affectionate) of the revised Malay version MOS Social Support Survey was acceptable to be used to measure social support after childbirth because it is valid, reliable and simple. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  6. INTRASURGICAL MICROSCOPE-INTEGRATED SPECTRAL DOMAIN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY-ASSISTED MEMBRANE PEELING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falkner-Radler, Christiane I; Glittenberg, Carl; Gabriel, Max; Binder, Susanne

    2015-10-01

    To evaluate microscope-integrated intrasurgical spectral domain optical coherence tomography during macular surgery in a prospective monocenter study. Before pars plana vitrectomy and before, during, and after membrane peeling, 512 × 128 macular cube scans were performed using a Carl Zeiss Meditec Cirrus high-definition OCT system adapted to the optical pathway of a Zeiss OPMI VISU 200 surgical microscope and compared with retinal staining. The study included 51 patients with epiretinal membranes, with 8 of those having additional lamellar macular holes, 11 patients with vitreomacular traction, and 8 patients with full-thickness macular holes. Intraoperative spectral domain optical coherence tomography allowed performing membrane peeling without using retinal dyes in 40% of cases (28 of 70 patients). No residual membranes were found in 94.3% of patients (66 of 70 patients) in intrasurgical spectral domain optical coherence tomography and subsequent (re)staining. In patients with vitreomacular traction, intrasurgical spectral domain optical coherence tomography scans facilitated decisions on the need for an intraocular tamponade after membrane peeling. Intraoperative spectral domain optical coherence tomography was comparable with retinal dyes in confirming success after membrane peeling. However, the visualization of flat membranes was better after staining.

  7. The characteristics, experiences and perceptions of naturopathic and herbal medicine practitioners: results from a national survey in New Zealand

    OpenAIRE

    Cottingham, Phillip; Adams, Jon; Vempati, Ram; Dunn, Jill; Sibbritt, David

    2015-01-01

    Background Despite the popularity of naturopathic and herbal medicine in New Zealand there remains limited data on New Zealand-based naturopathic and herbal medicine practice. In response, this paper reports findings from the first national survey examining the characteristics, perceptions and experiences of New Zealand-based naturopaths and herbal medicine practitioners across multiple domains relating to their role and practice. Methods An online survey (covering 6 domains: demographics; pr...

  8. Behavioural Spillover in the Environmental Domain: An Intervention Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lanzini, Pietro; Thøgersen, John

    2014-01-01

    This study tests hypotheses about behavioural spillover in the environmental domain as well as the impacts of monetary inducements and verbal praise on behavioural spillover by means of a field experiment. A sample of 194 students from a large university in Denmark were randomly allocated...... to a control group or to one of two experimental conditions where they were encouraged to purchase "green" products by means of either financial compensation and incentives or verbal encouragement and praise. Participants answered a baseline survey containing questions concerning a wide range...... of environmentally relevant behaviours and after a six weeks intervention period where they were requested to keep track of their purchases by means of a shopping diary they answered a second survey with the same content as the first. This allowed us to analyse the change in self-reported pro- environmental...

  9. PREFACE: Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marrows, C. H.; Meier, G.

    2012-01-01

    Domain structures in magnetic materials are ubiquitous and have been studied for decades. The walls that separate them are topological defects in the magnetic order parameter and have a wide variety of complex forms. In general, their investigation is difficult in bulk materials since only the domain structure on the surface of a specimen is visible. Cutting the sample to reveal the interior causes a rearrangement of the domains into a new form. As with many other areas of magnetism, the study of domain wall physics has been revitalised by the advent of nanotechnology. The ability to fabricate nanoscale structures has permitted the formation of simplified and controlled domain patterns; the development of advanced microscopy methods has permitted them to be imaged and then modelled; subjecting them to ultrashort field and current pulses has permitted their dynamics to be explored. The latest results from all of these advances are described in this special issue. Not only has this led to results of great scientific beauty, but also to concepts of great applicability to future information technologies. In this issue the reader will find the latest results for these domain wall dynamics and the high-speed processes of topological structures such as domain walls and magnetic vortices. These dynamics can be driven by the application of magnetic fields, or by flowing currents through spintronic devices using the novel physics of spin-transfer torque. This complexity has been studied using a wide variety of experimental techniques at the edge of the spatial and temporal resolution currently available, and can be described using sophisticated analytical theory and computational modelling. As a result, the dynamics can be engineered to give rise to finely controlled memory and logic devices with new functionality. Moreover, the field is moving to study not only the conventional transition metal ferromagnets, but also complex heterostructures, novel magnets and even other

  10. Time-domain modeling of electromagnetic diffusion with a frequency-domain code

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, W.A.; Wirianto, M.; Slob, E.C.

    2007-01-01

    We modeled time-domain EM measurements of induction currents for marine and land applications with a frequency-domain code. An analysis of the computational complexity of a number of numerical methods shows that frequency-domain modeling followed by a Fourier transform is an attractive choice if a

  11. Nursing home director of nursing leadership style and director of nursing-sensitive survey deficiencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinney, Selina H; Corazzini, Kirsten; Anderson, Ruth A; Sloane, Richard; Castle, Nicholas G

    2016-01-01

    Nursing homes are becoming increasingly complex clinical environments because of rising resident acuity and expansion of postacute services within a context of historically poor quality performance. Discrete quality markers have been linked to director of nursing (DON) leadership behaviors. However, the impact of DON leadership across all measured areas of DON jurisdiction has not been tested using comprehensive domains of quality deficiencies. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of DON leadership style including behaviors that facilitate the exchange of information between diverse people on care quality domains through the lens of complexity science. Three thousand six hundred nine DONs completed leadership and intent-to-quit surveys. Quality markers that were deemed DON sensitive included all facility survey deficiencies in the domains of resident behaviors/facility practices, quality of life, nursing services, and quality of care. Logistic regression procedures estimated associations between variables. The odds of deficiencies for all DON sensitive survey domains were lower in facilities where DONs practiced complexity leadership including more staff input and shared decisional authority. DON quit intentions were aligned with higher odds of facility deficiencies across all domains. Results supported the hypotheses that DONs using complexity leadership approaches by interacting more freely with staff, discussing resident issues, and sharing decision making produced better care outcomes from every DON sensitive metric assessed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The mechanism linking poor quality with high DON quit intentions is an area for future research. Encouraging DON use of complexity leadership approaches has the potential to improve a broad swath of quality outcomes.

  12. Delineating advanced practice nursing in New Zealand: a national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carryer, J; Wilkinson, J; Towers, A; Gardner, G

    2018-03-01

    A variety of advanced practice nursing roles and titles have proliferated in response to the changing demands of a population characterized by increasing age and chronic illness. Whilst similarly identified as advanced practice roles, they do not share a common practice profile, educational requirements or legislative direction. The lack of clarity limits comparative research that can inform policy and health service planning. To identify advanced practice roles within nursing titles employed in New Zealand and practice differences between advanced practice and other roles. Replicating recent Australian research, 3255 registered nurses/nurse practitioners in New Zealand completed the amended Advanced Practice Delineation survey tool. The mean domain scores of the predominant advanced practice position were compared with those of other positions. Differences between groups were explored using one-way ANOVA and post hoc between group comparisons. Four nursing position bands were identified: nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, domain-specific and registered nurse. Significant differences between the bands were found on many domain scores. The nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist bands had the most similar practice profiles, nurse practitioners being more involved in direct care and professional leadership. Similar to the position of clinical nurse consultant in Australia, those practicing as clinical nurse specialists were deemed to reflect the threshold for advanced practice nursing. The results identified different practice patterns for the identified bands and distinguish the advanced practice nursing roles. By replicating the Australian study of Gardener et al. (2016), this NZ paper extends the international data available to support more evidence-based nursing workforce planning and policy development. © 2017 International Council of Nurses.

  13. Akt1 binds focal adhesion kinase via the Akt1 kinase domain independently of the pleckstrin homology domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basson, M D; Zeng, B; Wang, S

    2015-10-01

    Akt1 and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) are protein kinases that play key roles in normal cell signaling. Individually, aberrant expression of these kinases has been linked to a variety of cancers. Together, Akt1/FAK interactions facilitate cancer metastasis by increasing cell adhesion under conditions of increased extracellular pressure. Pathological and iatrogenic sources of pressure arise from tumor growth against constraining stroma or direct perioperative manipulation. We previously reported that 15 mmHg increased extracellular pressure causes Akt1 to both directly interact with FAK and to phosphorylate and activate it. We investigated the nature of the Akt1/FAK binding by creating truncations of recombinant FAK, conjugated to glutathione S-transferase (GST), to pull down full-length Akt1. Western blots probing for Akt1 showed that FAK/Akt1 binding persisted in FAK truncations consisting of only amino acids 1-126, FAK(NT1), which contains the F1 subdomain of its band 4.1, ezrin, radixin, and moesin (FERM) domain. Using FAK(NT1) as bait, we then pulled down truncated versions of recombinant Akt1 conjugated to HA (human influenza hemagglutinin). Probes for GST-FAK(NT1) showed Akt1-FAK binding to occur in the absence of the both the Akt1 (N)-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and its adjacent hinge region. The Akt1 (C)-terminal regulatory domain was equally unnecessary for Akt1/FAK co-immunoprecipitation. Truncations involving the Akt1 catalytic domain showed that the domain by itself was enough to pull down FAK. Additionally, a fragment spanning from the PH domain to half way through the catalytic domain demonstrated increased FAK binding compared to full length Akt1. These results begin to delineate the Akt1/FAK interaction and can be used to manipulate their force-activated signal interactions. Furthermore, the finding that the N-terminal half of the Akt1 catalytic domain binds so strongly to FAK when cleaved from the rest of the protein may suggest a means

  14. Domain Adaptation for Machine Translation with Instance Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biçici Ergun

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Domain adaptation for machine translation (MT can be achieved by selecting training instances close to the test set from a larger set of instances. We consider 7 different domain adaptation strategies and answer 7 research questions, which give us a recipe for domain adaptation in MT. We perform English to German statistical MT (SMT experiments in a setting where test and training sentences can come from different corpora and one of our goals is to learn the parameters of the sampling process. Domain adaptation with training instance selection can obtain 22% increase in target 2-gram recall and can gain up to 3:55 BLEU points compared with random selection. Domain adaptation with feature decay algorithm (FDA not only achieves the highest target 2-gram recall and BLEU performance but also perfectly learns the test sample distribution parameter with correlation 0:99. Moses SMT systems built with FDA selected 10K training sentences is able to obtain F1 results as good as the baselines that use up to 2M sentences. Moses SMT systems built with FDA selected 50K training sentences is able to obtain F1 point better results than the baselines.

  15. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Can Adversely Impact Domains of Sexual Function Such as Satisfaction with Sex Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eluri, Swathi; Cross, Raymond K; Martin, Christopher; Weinfurt, Kevin P; Flynn, Kathryn E; Long, Millie D; Chen, Wenli; Anton, Kristen; Sandler, Robert S; Kappelman, Michael D

    2018-06-01

    Aspects of sexual health, which can be adversely affected by chronic disease, have been inadequately explored in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We evaluated patient-reported interest in sexual activity and satisfaction with sex life in a large cohort of IBD patients. We conducted a cross-sectional study within the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Partners Internet cohort. Sequential participants completed a 6-question supplemental online survey to examine sexual interest and satisfaction using the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System ® (PROMIS ® ) Sexual Function and Satisfaction measures. One-sample t tests were used to compare interest and satisfaction scores to general population norms. Among 2569 individuals, 1639 had Crohn's disease (CD), 930 had ulcerative colitis (UC) or indeterminate colitis, and 71% were women. Mean PROMIS scores for sexual interest were comparable to the general US population in men (CD: 49 and UC: 48 vs. population mean 50) and women (CD: 41 and UC: 40 vs. population mean 42). However, sexual satisfaction scores were lower than the US population in men (CD: 48 and UC: 48 vs. 51) and women (CD: 47 and UC: 46 vs. 49), p satisfaction and lowered IBD-specific quality of life. IBD patients in a large online survey had similar levels of sexual interest but decreased sexual satisfaction compared to the general population. Exploring these sexual health domains during clinical encounters can aid in improving IBD quality of life.

  16. Separated matter and antimatter domains with vanishing domain walls

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolgov, A.D.; Godunov, S.I.; Rudenko, A.S.; Tkachev, I.I., E-mail: dolgov@fe.infn.it, E-mail: sgodunov@itep.ru, E-mail: a.s.rudenko@inp.nsk.su, E-mail: tkachev@ms2.inr.ac.ru [Physics Department and Laboratory of Cosmology and Elementary Particle Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova st. 2, Novosibirsk, 630090 (Russian Federation)

    2015-10-01

    We present a model of spontaneous (or dynamical) C and CP violation where it is possible to generate domains of matter and antimatter separated by cosmologically large distances. Such C(CP) violation existed only in the early universe and later it disappeared with the only trace of generated baryonic and/or antibaryonic domains. So the problem of domain walls in this model does not exist. These features are achieved through a postulated form of interaction between inflaton and a new scalar field, realizing short time C(CP) violation.

  17. Distributed Kalman filtering compared to Fourier domain preconditioned conjugate gradient for laser guide star tomography on extremely large telescopes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilles, Luc; Massioni, Paolo; Kulcsár, Caroline; Raynaud, Henri-François; Ellerbroek, Brent

    2013-05-01

    This paper discusses the performance and cost of two computationally efficient Fourier-based tomographic wavefront reconstruction algorithms for wide-field laser guide star (LGS) adaptive optics (AO). The first algorithm is the iterative Fourier domain preconditioned conjugate gradient (FDPCG) algorithm developed by Yang et al. [Appl. Opt.45, 5281 (2006)], combined with pseudo-open-loop control (POLC). FDPCG's computational cost is proportional to N log(N), where N denotes the dimensionality of the tomography problem. The second algorithm is the distributed Kalman filter (DKF) developed by Massioni et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A28, 2298 (2011)], which is a noniterative spatially invariant controller. When implemented in the Fourier domain, DKF's cost is also proportional to N log(N). Both algorithms are capable of estimating spatial frequency components of the residual phase beyond the wavefront sensor (WFS) cutoff frequency thanks to regularization, thereby reducing WFS spatial aliasing at the expense of more computations. We present performance and cost analyses for the LGS multiconjugate AO system under design for the Thirty Meter Telescope, as well as DKF's sensitivity to uncertainties in wind profile prior information. We found that, provided the wind profile is known to better than 10% wind speed accuracy and 20 deg wind direction accuracy, DKF, despite its spatial invariance assumptions, delivers a significantly reduced wavefront error compared to the static FDPCG minimum variance estimator combined with POLC. Due to its nonsequential nature and high degree of parallelism, DKF is particularly well suited for real-time implementation on inexpensive off-the-shelf graphics processing units.

  18. Burden of Ulcerative Colitis on Functioning and Well-being: A Systematic Literature Review of the SF-36® Health Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yarlas, Aaron; Rubin, David T; Panés, Julian; Lindsay, James O; Vermeire, Séverine; Bayliss, Martha; Cappelleri, Joseph C; Maher, Stephen; Bushmakin, Andrew G; Chen, Lea Ann; DiBonaventura, Marco

    2018-04-27

    This review is the first to evaluate the burden of ulcerative colitis [UC] on patients' quality of life by synthesizing data from studies comparing scores from the SF-36® Health Survey, a generic measure assessing eight quality-of-life domains, between UC patients and matched reference samples. A systematic review of the published literature identified articles reporting SF-36 domains or physical and mental component summary scores [PCS, MCS] from UC and reference samples. Burden of disease for each SF-36 domain was then summarized across studies by comparing weighted mean differences in scores between patient and reference samples with minimally important difference thresholds. Thirty articles met pre-specified inclusion criteria. SF-36 scores were extracted from five samples of patients with active disease, 11 samples with a mixture of disease activity, five samples of patients in clinical remission, and 13 samples of patients following proctocolectomy with ileostomy or ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, along with respective reference samples. Clinically meaningful burden was observed in samples with active or mixed disease activity [deficits: PCS = 5.6, MCS = 5.5] on all SF-36 domains except Physical Functioning. No burden was observed in samples in remission or post-surgical patients [deficits: PCS = 0.8, MCS = 0.4] except for the General Health perception domain. Patients with active UC experience a clinically meaningful burden of disease across most aspects of quality of life. Patients with inactive UC exhibit negligible disease burden and are comparable to the general population on most quality-of-life outcomes. Thus, treatments which effectively induce and maintain remission may restore physical and mental health status.

  19. QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS— SOCIAL DOMAIN OF HEALTH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grujic-Vujmilovic Dragana

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that affects the quality of peoples’ lives through a number of psychological, emotional, social and psychosexual problems. Objective: Assess social domain of quality of life among a sample of diabetic patients and determine its association with the socio-demographic variables. Methods: In a survey conducted at the Clinical Center Banja Luka from October 2011 until June 2012 year, were included 150 patients with diabetes mellitus and 150 patients with hyperthyroidism. To assess quality of life, were used the questionnaire of the World Health Organization (WHOQOL-BREF. Results: In patients with diabetes mellitus compared to the control group, with statistical significant difference (t = –3.304; p 0.05 compared to control group. In higher percent with the support they received from friends were satisfied respondents who were married (67% than those who were single (40.0%, (p = 0.055. Conclusion: Most of the patients with diabetes mellitus were satisfied with their personal relationships and with social support that they got from their friends without difference by gender, age and level of education. Patients with diabetes were less satisfied with their sex life.

  20. Comparing spatial series of soil bulk electrical conductivity as obtained by Time Domain Reflectometry and Electrical Resistivity Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saeed, Ali; Dragonetti, Giovanna; Comegna, Allessandro; Garre, Sarah; Lamaddalena, Nicola; Coppola, Antonio

    2016-04-01

    Conventional ground survey of soil root zone salinity by direct soil sampling are time consuming, costly and destructive. Alternatively, soil salinity can be evaluated by measuring the bulk electrical conductivity, σb, in the field. This approach is faster and cheaper, and allows a more intensive surveying. Measurements of σb can be made either in situ or with remote devices. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors allow simultaneous measurements of water content, θ, and σb. They may be calibrated for estimating the electrical conductivity of the soil solution (σw). However, they have a relatively small observation window and thus they are thought to only provide local-scale measurements. The spatial range of the sensors is limited to tens of centimeters and extension of the information to a large area can be problematic. Also, information on the vertical distribution of the σb soil profile may only be obtained by installing sensors at different depths. In this sense, the TDR may be considered as an invasive technique. Compared to the TDR, other geophysical methods based for example on the Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) techniques represent an alternative in respect to those traditional for soil salinity characterization. In order to deduce the actual distribution of the bulk electrical conductivity, σb, in the soil profile, one needs to invert the signal coming from ERT sensors. The latter, in turn, depends on the specific depth distribution of the σb, as well as on the electrical configuration of the sensor used. With these premises, the main aim of this study is to estimate the vertical σb distribution starting from resistivity data series measured using the ERT method under different salinity conditions and using TDR data as ground-truth data for calibration and validation of the ERT sensor. This way, limited measured TDR data may be used for translating extensive ERT apparent electrical conductivity, σa, measurements to estimate depth

  1. Structure of an isolated unglycosylated antibody CH2 domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prabakaran, Ponraj; Vu, Bang K.; Gan, Jianhua; Feng, Yang; Dimitrov, Dimiter S.; Ji, Xinhua

    2008-01-01

    The crystal structure of an isolated unglycosylated antibody C H 2 domain has been determined at 1.7 Å resolution. The C H 2 (C H 3 for IgM and IgE) domain of an antibody plays an important role in mediating effector functions and preserving antibody stability. It is the only domain in human immunoglobulins (Igs) which is involved in weak interchain protein–protein interactions with another C H 2 domain solely through sugar moieties. The N-linked glycosylation at Asn297 is conserved in mammalian IgGs as well as in homologous regions of other antibody isotypes. To examine the structural details of the C H 2 domain in the absence of glycosylation and other antibody domains, the crystal structure of an isolated unglycosylated antibody γ1 C H 2 domain was determined at 1.7 Å resolution and compared with corresponding C H 2 structures from intact Fc, IgG and Fc receptor complexes. Furthermore, the oligomeric state of the protein in solution was studied using size-exclusion chromatography. The results suggested that the unglycosylated human antibody C H 2 domain is a monomer and that its structure is similar to that found in the intact Fc, IgG and Fc receptor complex structures. However, certain structural variations were observed in the Fc receptor-binding sites. Owing to its small size, stability and non-immunogenic Ig template, the C H 2-domain structure could be useful for the development by protein design of antibody domains exerting effector functions and/or antigen specificity and as a robust scaffold in protein-engineering applications

  2. Domain Walls and Matter-Antimatter Domains in the Early Universe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolgov A.D.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We suggest a scenario of spontaneous (or dynamical C and CP violation according to which it is possible to generate domains of matter and antimatter separated by cosmologically large distances. Such C(CP violation existed only in the early universe and later it disappeared with the only trace of generated matter and antimatter domains. So this scenario does not suffer from the problem of domain walls. According to this scenario the width of the domain wall should grow exponentially to prevent annihilation at the domain boundaries. Though there is a classical result obtained by Basu and Vilenkin that the width of the wall tends to the one of the stationary solution (constant physical width. That is why we considered thick domain walls in a de Sitter universe following paper by Basu and Vilenkin. However, we were interested not only in stationary solutions found therein, but also investigated the general case of domain wall evolution with time. When the wall thickness parameter, δ0 , is smaller than H−1/2 where H is the Hubble parameter in de Sitter space-time, then the stationary solutions exist, and initial field configurations tend with time to the stationary ones. However, there are no stationary solutions for δ0>H−1/2 We have calculated numerically the rate of the wall expansion in this case and have found that the width of the wall grows exponentially fast for δ0≫H−1 An explanation for the critical value δ0c=H−1/2 is also proposed.

  3. Domain-specific and domain-general constraints on word and sequence learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archibald, Lisa M D; Joanisse, Marc F

    2013-02-01

    The relative influences of language-related and memory-related constraints on the learning of novel words and sequences were examined by comparing individual differences in performance of children with and without specific deficits in either language or working memory. Children recalled lists of words in a Hebbian learning protocol in which occasional lists repeated, yielding improved recall over the course of the task on the repeated lists. The task involved presentation of pictures of common nouns followed immediately by equivalent presentations of the spoken names. The same participants also completed a paired-associate learning task involving word-picture and nonword-picture pairs. Hebbian learning was observed for all groups. Domain-general working memory constrained immediate recall, whereas language abilities impacted recall in the auditory modality only. In addition, working memory constrained paired-associate learning generally, whereas language abilities disproportionately impacted novel word learning. Overall, all of the learning tasks were highly correlated with domain-general working memory. The learning of nonwords was additionally related to general intelligence, phonological short-term memory, language abilities, and implicit learning. The results suggest that distinct associations between language- and memory-related mechanisms support learning of familiar and unfamiliar phonological forms and sequences.

  4. A survey on queues in machining system: Progress from 2010 to 2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shekhar C.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present article is to give a historical survey of some important research works related to queues in machining system since 2010. Queues of failed machines in machine repairing problem occur due to the failure of machines at random in the manufacturing industries, where different jobs are performed on machining stations. Machines are subject to failure what may result in significant loss of production, revenue, or goodwill. In addition to the references on queues in machining system, which is also called `Machine Repair Problem' (MRP or `Machine Interference Problem' (MIP, a meticulous list of books and survey papers is also prepared so as to provide a detailed catalog for understanding the research in queueing domain. We have classified the relevant literature according to a year of publishing, methodological, and modeling aspects. The author(s hope that this survey paper could be of help to learners contemplating research on queueing domain.

  5. Amphipathic motifs in BAR domains are essential for membrane curvature sensing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bhatia, Vikram K; Madsen, Kenneth L; Bolinger, Pierre-Yves

    2009-01-01

    BAR (Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs) domains and amphipathic alpha-helices (AHs) are believed to be sensors of membrane curvature thus facilitating the assembly of protein complexes on curved membranes. Here, we used quantitative fluorescence microscopy to compare the binding of both motifs on single...... nanosized liposomes of different diameters and therefore membrane curvature. Characterization of members of the three BAR domain families showed surprisingly that the crescent-shaped BAR dimer with its positively charged concave face is not able to sense membrane curvature. Mutagenesis on BAR domains showed...... that membrane curvature sensing critically depends on the N-terminal AH and furthermore that BAR domains sense membrane curvature through hydrophobic insertion in lipid packing defects and not through electrostatics. Consequently, amphipathic motifs, such as AHs, that are often associated with BAR domains...

  6. An assessment of survey measures used across key epidemiologic studies of United States Gulf War I Era Veterans

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Over the past two decades, 12 large epidemiologic studies and 2 registries have focused on U.S. veterans of the 1990–1991 Gulf War Era. We conducted a review of these studies’ research tools to identify existing gaps and overlaps of efforts to date, and to advance development of the next generation of Gulf War Era survey tools. Overall, we found that many of the studies used similar instruments. Questions regarding exposures were more similar across studies than other domains, while neurocognitive and psychological tools were the most variable. Many studies focused on self-reported survey results, with a range of validation practices. However, physical exams, biomedical assessments, and specimen storage were not common. This review suggests that while research may be able to pool data from past surveys, future surveys need to consider how their design can yield data comparable with previous surveys. Additionally, data that incorporate recent technologies in specimen and genetic analyses would greatly enhance such survey data. When combined with existing data on deployment-related exposures and post-deployment health conditions, longitudinal follow-up of existing studies within this collaborative framework could represent an important step toward improving the health of veterans. PMID:23302181

  7. Large exchange-dominated domain wall velocities in antiferromagnetically coupled nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuteifan, Majd; Lubarda, M. V.; Fu, S.; Chang, R.; Escobar, M. A.; Mangin, S.; Fullerton, E. E.; Lomakin, V.

    2016-04-01

    Magnetic nanowires supporting field- and current-driven domain wall motion are envisioned for methods of information storage and processing. A major obstacle for their practical use is the domain-wall velocity, which is traditionally limited for low fields and currents due to the Walker breakdown occurring when the driving component reaches a critical threshold value. We show through numerical and analytical modeling that the Walker breakdown limit can be extended or completely eliminated in antiferromagnetically coupled magnetic nanowires. These coupled nanowires allow for large domain-wall velocities driven by field and/or current as compared to conventional nanowires.

  8. Prevalence and determinants of disability among adults in Malaysia: results from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Noor Ani; Mohamad Kasim, Noraida; Mahmud, Nur Azna; Mohd Yusof, Yusniza; Othman, Salimah; Chan, Ying Ying; Abd Razak, Mohamad Aznuddin; Yusof, Muslimah; Omar, Maisarah; Abdul Aziz, Fazly Azry; Jamaluddin, Rasidah; Ibrahim Wong, Norazizah; Aris, Tahir

    2017-09-29

    Reliable national data on disability which is internationally comparable is needed in Malaysia. This study aims to examine the prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia and its determinants, particularly the socioeconomic factors and comorbidities. This study was based on the disability module, which is part of the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015. This survey was implemented using a multi-stage stratified sampling design. A locally validated Washington Group questionnaire was used to collect data on disability. Based on the definition of having at least one domain scored "a lot of difficulty or unable to do at all" or at least "some difficulty" scored in two domains, the prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia was 11.8% (95% CI: 11.15, 12.53). Logistic regression analysis performed showed that population at risk of having disability in Malaysia were those of older people, ethnic minority, low level of education, single, obese, physically inactive and having mental health problems. Among older people, disability was significantly higher among those with no formal education, having mental health problems and physically inactive. The prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia is comparable to WHO estimates and most developing countries. Planning for healthcare services should consider at-risk population, particularly older people and those from disadvantaged background to ensure equity healthcare.

  9. Prevalence and determinants of disability among adults in Malaysia: results from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noor Ani Ahmad

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Reliable national data on disability which is internationally comparable is needed in Malaysia. This study aims to examine the prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia and its determinants, particularly the socioeconomic factors and comorbidities. Methods This study was based on the disability module, which is part of the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015. This survey was implemented using a multi-stage stratified sampling design. A locally validated Washington Group questionnaire was used to collect data on disability. Results Based on the definition of having at least one domain scored "a lot of difficulty or unable to do at all" or at least “some difficulty” scored in two domains, the prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia was 11.8% (95% CI: 11.15, 12.53. Logistic regression analysis performed showed that population at risk of having disability in Malaysia were those of older people, ethnic minority, low level of education, single, obese, physically inactive and having mental health problems. Among older people, disability was significantly higher among those with no formal education, having mental health problems and physically inactive. Conclusions The prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia is comparable to WHO estimates and most developing countries. Planning for healthcare services should consider at-risk population, particularly older people and those from disadvantaged background to ensure equity healthcare.

  10. A comparison of helicopter-borne electromagnetics in frequency- and time-domain at the Cuxhaven valley in Northern Germany

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steuner, Annika; Siemon, Bernhard; Auken, Esben

    2010-01-01

    Two different airborne electromagnetic methods were applied in the same area: the frequency-domain helicopter-borne electromagnetic (HEM)system operated by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany, and the time-domain SkyTEM system of theHydroGeophysics Group at the Un......Two different airborne electromagnetic methods were applied in the same area: the frequency-domain helicopter-borne electromagnetic (HEM)system operated by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany, and the time-domain SkyTEM system of theHydroGeophysics Group...... at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. For verification of and comparison with the airborne methods, ground-basedtransient electromagnetics and 2-D resistivity surveying were carried out. The target of investigation was the Cuxhaven valley in NorthernGermany, which is a significant local groundwater reservoir...

  11. The JH2 domain and SH2-JH2 linker regulate JAK2 activity: A detailed kinetic analysis of wild type and V617F mutant kinase domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanz Sanz, Arturo; Niranjan, Yashavanthi; Hammarén, Henrik; Ungureanu, Daniela; Ruijtenbeek, Rob; Touw, Ivo P; Silvennoinen, Olli; Hilhorst, Riet

    2014-10-01

    JAK2 tyrosine kinase regulates many cellular functions. Its activity is controlled by the pseudokinase (JH2) domain by still poorly understood mechanisms. The V617F mutation in the pseudokinase domain activates JAK2 and causes myeloproliferative neoplasms. We conducted a detailed kinetic analysis of recombinant JAK2 tyrosine kinase domain (JH1) and wild-type and V617F tandem kinase (JH1JH2) domains using peptide microarrays to define the functions of the kinase domains. The results show that i) JAK2 follows a random Bi-Bi reaction mechanism ii) JH2 domain restrains the activity of the JH1 domain by reducing the affinity for ATP and ATP competitive inhibitors iii) V617F decreases affinity for ATP but increases catalytic activity compared to wild-type and iv) the SH2-JH2 linker region participates in controlling activity by reducing the affinity for ATP. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. A comprehensive survey of current and former college students with autism spectrum disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelbar, Nicholas W; Shefyck, Allison; Reichow, Brian

    2015-03-01

    There is a paucity of research concerning individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) pursuing higher education. This study sought to augment this gap in the literature by surveying individuals with ASD who are currently college students or who have previously attended college. Thirty-five individuals completed an online survey. These individuals reported receiving extensive academic supports that enabled their academic success. Their reported difficulties in the social and emotional domains received less support. In addition, not all areas of campus life were supportive, as study abroad and career service offices were reported to not understand individuals with ASD. Overall, the results of this survey indicate the importance of self-advocacy and the need for institutions of higher education to provide comprehensive supports for individuals with ASD in the academic, social, and emotional domains in order to effectively integrate this group into the campus environment.

  13. Improvement in Protein Domain Identification Is Reached by Breaking Consensus, with the Agreement of Many Profiles and Domain Co-occurrence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Bernardes

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Traditional protein annotation methods describe known domains with probabilistic models representing consensus among homologous domain sequences. However, when relevant signals become too weak to be identified by a global consensus, attempts for annotation fail. Here we address the fundamental question of domain identification for highly divergent proteins. By using high performance computing, we demonstrate that the limits of state-of-the-art annotation methods can be bypassed. We design a new strategy based on the observation that many structural and functional protein constraints are not globally conserved through all species but might be locally conserved in separate clades. We propose a novel exploitation of the large amount of data available: 1. for each known protein domain, several probabilistic clade-centered models are constructed from a large and differentiated panel of homologous sequences, 2. a decision-making protocol combines outcomes obtained from multiple models, 3. a multi-criteria optimization algorithm finds the most likely protein architecture. The method is evaluated for domain and architecture prediction over several datasets and statistical testing hypotheses. Its performance is compared against HMMScan and HHblits, two widely used search methods based on sequence-profile and profile-profile comparison. Due to their closeness to actual protein sequences, clade-centered models are shown to be more specific and functionally predictive than the broadly used consensus models. Based on them, we improved annotation of Plasmodium falciparum protein sequences on a scale not previously possible. We successfully predict at least one domain for 72% of P. falciparum proteins against 63% achieved previously, corresponding to 30% of improvement over the total number of Pfam domain predictions on the whole genome. The method is applicable to any genome and opens new avenues to tackle evolutionary questions such as the reconstruction of

  14. World Cup's impact on mental health and lifestyle behaviors in the general population: comparing results of 2 serial population-based surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Joseph Tai Fai; Tsui, Hi Yi; Mo, Phoenix Kit Han; Mak, Winnie Wing Sze; Griffiths, Sian

    2015-03-01

    This study compares the prevalence of health-related behaviors and mental health well-being in the Hong Kong general male population before and after the 2006 World Cup finals. Two anonymous, serial, comparable cross-sectional surveys. A total of 500 and 530 adult Chinese men, respectively, were interviewed in 2 telephone surveys before and after the finals. Those interviewed after the World Cup were more likely to eat snacks more than 3 d/wk, to be binge drinkers, or to spend more than 2 h/d communicating with family members. They were less likely to have higher General Health Questionnaire or lower Short Form-36 Health Survey Vitality scores (odds ratio [OR] = 0.684 and 0.765), to perceive family-related or work-related stress (OR = 0.327 and 0.345), or to self-report being sick or have visited a doctor (OR = 0.645 and 0.722). All variables between watchers versus nonwatchers of World Cup games were significant or marginally significant. Public health education should be incorporated into global sport events. © 2013 APJPH.

  15. Evaluating tablet computers as a survey tool in rural communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newell, Steve M; Logan, Henrietta L; Guo, Yi; Marks, John G; Shepperd, James A

    2015-01-01

    Although tablet computers offer advantages in data collection over traditional paper-and-pencil methods, little research has examined whether the 2 formats yield similar responses, especially with underserved populations. We compared the 2 survey formats and tested whether participants' responses to common health questionnaires or perceptions of usability differed by survey format. We also tested whether we could replicate established paper-and-pencil findings via tablet computer. We recruited a sample of low-income community members living in the rural southern United States. Participants were 170 residents (black = 49%; white = 36%; other races and missing data = 15%) drawn from 2 counties meeting Florida's state statutory definition of rural with 100 persons or fewer per square mile. We randomly assigned participants to complete scales (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Inventory and Regulatory Focus Questionnaire) along with survey format usability ratings via paper-and-pencil or tablet computer. All participants rated a series of previously validated posters using a tablet computer. Finally, participants completed comparisons of the survey formats and reported survey format preferences. Participants preferred using the tablet computer and showed no significant differences between formats in mean responses, scale reliabilities, or in participants' usability ratings. Overall, participants reported similar scales responses and usability ratings between formats. However, participants reported both preferring and enjoying responding via tablet computer more. Collectively, these findings are among the first data to show that tablet computers represent a suitable substitute among an underrepresented rural sample for paper-and-pencil methodology in survey research. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  16. On-chip Brownian relaxation measurements of magnetic nanobeads in the time domain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østerberg, Frederik Westergaard; Rizzi, Giovanni; Hansen, Mikkel Fougt

    2013-01-01

    the time and frequency domain methods on Brownian relaxation detection of clustering of streptavidin coated magnetic beads in the presence of different concentrations of biotin-conjugated bovine serum albumin and obtain comparable results. In the time domain, a measurement is carried out in less than 30 s...

  17. Comparing the results of recall surveys and standardized searches in understanding bird-window collisions at houses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justine A. Kummer

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Every year a large number of birds die when they collide with windows. The actual number is difficult to ascertain. Previous attempts to estimate bird-window collision rates in Canada relied heavily on a prior citizen-science study that used memory-based surveys. Such an approach to data collection has many potential biases. We built upon this study and its recommendations for future research by creating a citizen-science program that actively searched for collision evidence at houses and apartments for an extended period with the objective to see how standardized approaches to data collection compared with memory recall. Absolute collision estimates as well as relative differences were compared between residence types in the two studies, and we found considerable differences in absolute values for collisions but similar rankings of collision rates between residence types. Collision recall rates in our study (56.5% were very similar those in the prior 2012 study, where 50.5% of participants remembered a bird colliding with a window at some time in the past. Fatality estimates, however, were 1.4 times higher in the 2012 study than in our study based on standardized searches. Rural houses with a bird feeder consistently had the highest number of collisions. This suggests that memory recall surveys may be a useful tool for understanding the relative importance of different risk factors causing bird-window collisions.

  18. Spectral element method for elastic and acoustic waves in frequency domain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, Linlin; Zhou, Yuanguo; Wang, Jia-Min; Zhuang, Mingwei [Institute of Electromagnetics and Acoustics, and Department of Electronic Science, Xiamen, 361005 (China); Liu, Na, E-mail: liuna@xmu.edu.cn [Institute of Electromagnetics and Acoustics, and Department of Electronic Science, Xiamen, 361005 (China); Liu, Qing Huo, E-mail: qhliu@duke.edu [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708 (United States)

    2016-12-15

    Numerical techniques in time domain are widespread in seismic and acoustic modeling. In some applications, however, frequency-domain techniques can be advantageous over the time-domain approach when narrow band results are desired, especially if multiple sources can be handled more conveniently in the frequency domain. Moreover, the medium attenuation effects can be more accurately and conveniently modeled in the frequency domain. In this paper, we present a spectral-element method (SEM) in frequency domain to simulate elastic and acoustic waves in anisotropic, heterogeneous, and lossy media. The SEM is based upon the finite-element framework and has exponential convergence because of the use of GLL basis functions. The anisotropic perfectly matched layer is employed to truncate the boundary for unbounded problems. Compared with the conventional finite-element method, the number of unknowns in the SEM is significantly reduced, and higher order accuracy is obtained due to its spectral accuracy. To account for the acoustic-solid interaction, the domain decomposition method (DDM) based upon the discontinuous Galerkin spectral-element method is proposed. Numerical experiments show the proposed method can be an efficient alternative for accurate calculation of elastic and acoustic waves in frequency domain.

  19. Plasma membrane partitioning: from macro-domains to new views on plasmodesmata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yohann eBoutté

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Compartmentalization of cellular functions relies on partitioning of domains of diverse sizes within the plasma membrane (PM. Macro-domains measure several micrometers and contain specific proteins concentrated to specific sides (apical, basal and lateral of the PM conferring a polarity to the cell. Cell polarity is one of the driving forces in tissue and growth patterning. To maintain macro-domains within the PM, eukaryotic cells exert diverse mechanisms to counteract the free lateral diffusion of proteins. Protein activation/inactivation, endocytosis, PM recycling of transmembrane proteins and the role of diffusion barriers in macro-domains partitioning at PM will be discussed. Moreover, as plasmodesmata (PDs are domains inserted within the PM which also mediate tissue and growth patterning, it is essential to understand how segregation of specific set of proteins is maintained at PDs while PDs domains are smaller in size compared to macro-domains. Here, we will present mechanisms allowing restriction of proteins at PM macrodomains, but for which molecular components have been found in PDs proteome. We will explore the hypothesis that partitioning of macro-domains and PDs may be ruled by similar mechanisms.

  20. General and Domain-Specific Contributions to Creative Ideation and Creative Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donggun An

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The general objective of this study was to reexamine two views of creativity, one positing that there is a general creative capacity or talent and the other that creativity is domain-specific. These two views were compared by (a testing correlations among measures of domain-general and domain-specific creativity and (b examining how the general and the specific measures was each related to indices of knowledge, motivation, and personality. Participants were 147 college students enrolled in a foreign language course. Data were collected on participants’ domain knowledge, motivation, and creative personality, as well as four measures representing “General or Domain-Specific Creative Ideation” or “Creative Performance and Activity”. Results indicated that the four measures of creativity were correlated with one another, except for “General Performance and Activity” and “Domain-Specific Ideation.” A canonical correlation indicated that knowledge, motivation, and personality were significantly correlated with the four creativity measures (Rc = .49, p < .01. Multiple regressions uncovered particular relationships consistent with the view that creativity has both general and domain-specific contributions. Limitations, such as the focus on one domain, and future directions are discussed.

  1. Frequency domain analysis of piping systems under short duration loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sachs, K.; Sand, H.; Lockau, J.

    1981-01-01

    In piping analysis two procedures are used almost exclusively: the modal superposition method for relatively long input time histories (e.g., earthquake) and direct integration of the equations of motion for short input time histories. A third possibility, frequency domain analysis, has only rarely been applied to piping systems to date. This paper suggests the use of frequency domain analysis for specific piping problems for which only direct integration could be used in the past. Direct integration and frequency domain analysis are compared, and it is shown that the frequency domain method is less costly if more than four or five load cases are considered. In addition, this method offers technical advantages, such as more accurate representation of modal damping and greater insight into the structural behavior of the system. (orig.)

  2. Molecular LEGO by domain-imprinting of cytochrome P450 BM3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jetzschmann, K J; Yarman, A; Rustam, L; Kielb, P; Urlacher, V B; Fischer, A; Weidinger, I M; Wollenberger, U; Scheller, F W

    2018-04-01

    Electrosynthesis of the MIP nano-film after binding of the separated domains or holo-cytochrome BM3 via an engineered anchor should result in domain-specific cavities in the polymer layer. Both the two domains and the holo P450 BM3 have been bound prior polymer deposition via a N-terminal engineered his6-anchor to the electrode surface. Each step of MIP preparation was characterized by cyclic voltammetry of the redox-marker ferricyanide. Rebinding after template removal was evaluated by quantifying the suppression of the diffusive permeability of the signal for ferricyanide and by the NADH-dependent reduction of cytochrome c by the reductase domain (BMR). The working hypothesis is verified by the discrimination of the two domains by the respective MIPs: The holoenzyme P450 BM3 was ca. 5.5 times more effectively recognized by the film imprinted with the oxidase domain (BMO) as compared to the BMR-MIP or the non-imprinted polymer (NIP). Obviously, a cavity is formed during the imprinting process around the his 6 -tag-anchored BMR which cannot accommodate the broader BMO or the P450 BM3. The affinity of the MIP towards P450 BM3 is comparable with that to the monomer in solution. The his 6 -tagged P450 BM3 binds (30 percent) stronger which shows the additive effect of the interaction with the MIP and the binding to the electrode. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Domain Decomposition Solvers for Frequency-Domain Finite Element Equations

    KAUST Repository

    Copeland, Dylan

    2010-10-05

    The paper is devoted to fast iterative solvers for frequency-domain finite element equations approximating linear and nonlinear parabolic initial boundary value problems with time-harmonic excitations. Switching from the time domain to the frequency domain allows us to replace the expensive time-integration procedure by the solution of a simple linear elliptic system for the amplitudes belonging to the sine- and to the cosine-excitation or a large nonlinear elliptic system for the Fourier coefficients in the linear and nonlinear case, respectively. The fast solution of the corresponding linear and nonlinear system of finite element equations is crucial for the competitiveness of this method. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  4. Domain Decomposition Solvers for Frequency-Domain Finite Element Equations

    KAUST Repository

    Copeland, Dylan; Kolmbauer, Michael; Langer, Ulrich

    2010-01-01

    The paper is devoted to fast iterative solvers for frequency-domain finite element equations approximating linear and nonlinear parabolic initial boundary value problems with time-harmonic excitations. Switching from the time domain to the frequency domain allows us to replace the expensive time-integration procedure by the solution of a simple linear elliptic system for the amplitudes belonging to the sine- and to the cosine-excitation or a large nonlinear elliptic system for the Fourier coefficients in the linear and nonlinear case, respectively. The fast solution of the corresponding linear and nonlinear system of finite element equations is crucial for the competitiveness of this method. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  5. A Survey of Channel Modeling for UAV Communications

    KAUST Repository

    Khuwaja, Aziz Altaf; Chen, Yunfei; Zhao, Nan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Dobbins, Paul

    2018-01-01

    Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained great interest for rapid deployment in both civil and military applications. UAV communication has its own distinctive channel characteristics compared with widely used cellular and satellite systems. Thus, accurate channel characterization is crucial for the performance optimization and design of efficient UAV communication systems. However, several challenges exist in UAV channel modeling. For example, propagation characteristics of UAV channels are still less explored for spatial and temporal variations in non-stationary channels. Also, airframe shadowing has not yet been investigated for small size rotary UAVs. This paper provides an extensive survey on the measurement campaigns launched for UAV channel modeling using low altitude platforms and discusses various channel characterization efforts. We also review the contemporary perspective of UAV channel modeling approaches and outline some future research challenges in this domain.

  6. A Survey of Channel Modeling for UAV Communications

    KAUST Repository

    Khuwaja, Aziz Altaf

    2018-01-23

    Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained great interest for rapid deployment in both civil and military applications. UAV communication has its own distinctive channel characteristics compared with widely used cellular and satellite systems. Thus, accurate channel characterization is crucial for the performance optimization and design of efficient UAV communication systems. However, several challenges exist in UAV channel modeling. For example, propagation characteristics of UAV channels are still less explored for spatial and temporal variations in non-stationary channels. Also, airframe shadowing has not yet been investigated for small size rotary UAVs. This paper provides an extensive survey on the measurement campaigns launched for UAV channel modeling using low altitude platforms and discusses various channel characterization efforts. We also review the contemporary perspective of UAV channel modeling approaches and outline some future research challenges in this domain.

  7. Crystal structure studies of NADP{sup +} dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase from Thermus thermophilus exhibiting a novel terminal domain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, S.M. [Department of Studies in Physics, University of Mysore, Mysore 570 006 (India); Pampa, K.J. [Department of Studies in Microbiology, University of Mysore, Mysore 570 006 (India); Manjula, M. [Department of Studies in Physics, University of Mysore, Mysore 570 006 (India); Abdoh, M.M.M. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, An-Najah National University, Nablus, West Bank, Palestine (Country Unknown); Kunishima, Naoki [Advanced Protein Crystallography Research Group, RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima Institute, Hyogo 679-5148 (Japan); Lokanath, N.K., E-mail: lokanath@physics.uni-mysore.ac.in [Department of Studies in Physics, University of Mysore, Mysore 570 006 (India)

    2014-06-20

    Highlights: • We determined the structure of isocitrate dehydrogenase with citrate and cofactor. • The structure reveals a unique novel terminal domain involved in dimerization. • Clasp domain shows significant difference, and catalytic residues are conserved. • Oligomerization of the enzyme is quantized with subunit-subunit interactions. • Novel domain of this enzyme is classified as subfamily of the type IV. - Abstract: NADP{sup +} dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) is an enzyme catalyzing oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate into oxalosuccinate (intermediate) and finally the product α-ketoglutarate. The crystal structure of Thermus thermophilus isocitrate dehydrogenase (TtIDH) ternary complex with citrate and cofactor NADP{sup +} was determined using X-ray diffraction method to a resolution of 1.80 Å. The overall fold of this protein was resolved into large domain, small domain and a clasp domain. The monomeric structure reveals a novel terminal domain involved in dimerization, very unique and novel domain when compared to other IDH’s. And, small domain and clasp domain showing significant differences when compared to other IDH’s of the same sub-family. The structure of TtIDH reveals the absence of helix at the clasp domain, which is mainly involved in oligomerization in other IDH’s. Also, helices/beta sheets are absent in the small domain, when compared to other IDH’s of the same sub family. The overall TtIDH structure exhibits closed conformation with catalytic triad residues, Tyr144-Asp248-Lys191 are conserved. Oligomerization of the protein is quantized using interface area and subunit–subunit interactions between protomers. Overall, the TtIDH structure with novel terminal domain may be categorized as a first structure of subfamily of type IV.

  8. Telephone follow-up to a mail survey: when to offer an interview compared to a reminder call

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziegenfuss Jeanette Y

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Using a different mode of contact on the final follow-up to survey non-respondents is an identified strategy to increase response rates. This study was designed to determine if a reminder phone call or a phone interview as a final mode of contact to a mailed survey works better to increase response rates and which strategy is more cost effective. Methods A randomized study was embedded within a survey study of individuals treated with ulcerative colitis conducted in March 2009 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. After two mail contacts, non-respondents were randomly assigned to either a reminder telephone call or a telephone interview. Average cost per completed interview and response rates were compared between the two experimental conditions. Results The response rate in the reminder group and the interview did not differ where we considered both a completed survey and a signed form a complete (24% vs. 29%, p = 0.08. However, if such a signed form was not required, there was a substantial advantage to completing the interview over the phone (24% vs. 43%, p Conclusions The additional cost of completing an interview is worth it when an additional signed form is not required of the respondent. However, when such a signed form is required, offering an interview instead of a reminder phone call as a follow up to non-respondents does not increase response rates enough to outweigh the additional costs.

  9. Size and mobility of lipid domains tuned by geometrical constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schütte, Ole M; Mey, Ingo; Enderlein, Jörg; Savić, Filip; Geil, Burkhard; Janshoff, Andreas; Steinem, Claudia

    2017-07-25

    In the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells, proteins and lipids are organized in clusters, the latter ones often called lipid domains or "lipid rafts." Recent findings highlight the dynamic nature of such domains and the key role of membrane geometry and spatial boundaries. In this study, we used porous substrates with different pore radii to address precisely the extent of the geometric constraint, permitting us to modulate and investigate the size and mobility of lipid domains in phase-separated continuous pore-spanning membranes (PSMs). Fluorescence video microscopy revealed two types of liquid-ordered ( l o ) domains in the freestanding parts of the PSMs: ( i ) immobile domains that were attached to the pore rims and ( ii ) mobile, round-shaped l o domains within the center of the PSMs. Analysis of the diffusion of the mobile l o domains by video microscopy and particle tracking showed that the domains' mobility is slowed down by orders of magnitude compared with the unrestricted case. We attribute the reduced mobility to the geometric confinement of the PSM, because the drag force is increased substantially due to hydrodynamic effects generated by the presence of these boundaries. Our system can serve as an experimental test bed for diffusion of 2D objects in confined geometry. The impact of hydrodynamics on the mobility of enclosed lipid domains can have great implications for the formation and lateral transport of signaling platforms.

  10. Simulation of power fluctuation of wind farms based on frequency domain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lin, Jin; Sun, Yuanzhang; Li, Guojie

    2011-01-01

    , however, is incapable of completely explaining the physical mechanism of randomness of power fluctuation. To remedy such a situation, fluctuation modeling based on the frequency domain is proposed. The frequency domain characteristics of stochastic fluctuation on large wind farms are studied using...... the power spectral density of wind speed, the frequency domain model of a wind power generator and the information on weather and geography of the wind farms. The correctness and effectiveness of the model are verified by comparing the measurement data with simulation results of a certain wind farm. © 2011...

  11. Domain shape instabilities and dendrite domain growth in uniaxial ferroelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shur, Vladimir Ya.; Akhmatkhanov, Andrey R.

    2018-01-01

    The effects of domain wall shape instabilities and the formation of nanodomains in front of moving walls obtained in various uniaxial ferroelectrics are discussed. Special attention is paid to the formation of self-assembled nanoscale and dendrite domain structures under highly non-equilibrium switching conditions. All obtained results are considered in the framework of the unified kinetic approach to domain structure evolution based on the analogy with first-order phase transformation. This article is part of the theme issue `From atomistic interfaces to dendritic patterns'.

  12. Identification and Analysis of the SET-Domain Family in Silkworm, Bombyx mori

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hailong Zhao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available As an important economic insect, Bombyx mori is also a useful model organism for lepidopteran insect. SET-domain-containing proteins belong to a group of enzymes named after a common domain that utilizes the cofactor S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM to achieve methylation of its substrates. Many SET-domain-containing proteins have been shown to display catalytic activity towards particular lysine residues on histones, but emerging evidence also indicates that various nonhistone proteins are specifically targeted by this clade of enzymes. To explore their diverse functions of SET-domain superfamily in insect, we identified, cloned, and analyzed the SET-domains proteins in silkworm, Bombyx mori. Firstly, 24 genes containing SET domain from silkworm genome were characterized and 17 of them belonged to six subfamilies of SUV39, SET1, SET2, SUV4-20, EZ, and SMYD. Secondly, SET domains of silkworm SET-domain family were intraspecifically and interspecifically conserved, especially for the catalytic core “NHSC” motif, substrate binding site, and catalytic site in the SET domain. Lastly, further analyses indicated that silkworm SET-domain gene BmSu(var3-9 owned different characterization and expression profiles compared to other invertebrates. Overall, our results provide a new insight into the functional and evolutionary features of SET-domain family.

  13. Development and validation of a survey to measure features of clinical networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Bernadette Bea; Haines, Mary; Middleton, Sandy; Paul, Christine; D'Este, Catherine; Klineberg, Emily; Elliott, Elizabeth

    2016-09-30

    Networks of clinical experts are increasingly being implemented as a strategy to improve health care processes and outcomes and achieve change in the health system. Few are ever formally evaluated and, when this is done, not all networks are equally successful in their efforts. There is a need to formatively assess the strategic and operational management and leadership of networks to identify where functioning could be improved to maximise impact. This paper outlines the development and psychometric evaluation of an Internet survey to measure features of clinical networks and provides descriptive results from a sample of members of 19 diverse clinical networks responsible for evidence-based quality improvement across a large geographical region. Instrument development was based on: a review of published and grey literature; a qualitative study of clinical network members; a program logic framework; and consultation with stakeholders. The resulting domain structure was validated for a sample of 592 clinical network members using confirmatory factor analysis. Scale reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. A summary score was calculated for each domain and aggregate level means and ranges are reported. The instrument was shown to have good construct validity across seven domains as demonstrated by a high level of internal consistency, and all Cronbach's α coefficients were equal to or above 0.75. In the survey sample of network members there was strong reported commitment and belief in network-led quality improvement initiatives, which were perceived to have improved quality of care (72.8 %) and patient outcomes (63.2 %). Network managers were perceived to be effective leaders and clinical co-chairs were perceived as champions for change. Perceived external support had the lowest summary score across the seven domains. This survey, which has good construct validity and internal reliability, provides a valid instrument to use in future research related to

  14. A qualitative comparative survey of First Cycle radiography programmes in Europe and Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akimoto, Tatsuhito; Caruana, Carmel J.; Shimosegawa, Masayuki

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To qualitatively compare First Cycle Radiography programmes in Europe and Japan. Methods: This qualitative survey was conducted via a series of case-studies of university-based radiography curricula in Europe and Japan. Findings and conclusions: The main themes arising from the survey were that: (a) in Europe the freedom that most universities have in setting their own curricula and examinations means that in practice there is still a wide variability in curricula between and within states. On the other hand in Japan curricula are more uniform owing to central government guidelines regarding radiography education and a centrally administered national radiography examination. This means that student and worker mobility is much easier for Japanese radiographers. (b) in some countries in Europe principles of reporting and healthcare management are being expanded at the expense of the more technological aspects of radiography. Physical science competences on the other hand are considered highly in Japanese culture and form a major part of the curriculum. This may indicate that Japanese students would be in a much better position to cope with role developments linked to changes in imaging technology. Pragmatically oriented studies need to be carried out to determine ways in which radiographers can enhance their role without sacrificing their technological competences. The profession cannot afford to lose its technological expertise - it is neither in the interest of the profession itself and even less of the patient.

  15. The impact of domain knowledge on structured data collection and templated note design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Windle, T; McClay, J C; Windle, J R

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this case report is to evaluate the importance of specialized domain knowledge when designing and using structured templated notes in a clinical environment. To analyze the impact of specialization on structured note generation we compared notes generated for three scenarios: 1) We compared the templated history of present illness (HPI) for patients presenting with a dermatology concern to the dermatologist versus the emergency department. 2) We compared the evaluation of chest pain by ED physicians versus cardiologists. 3) Finally, we compared the data elements asked for in the evaluation of the gastrointestinal system between cardiologists and the liver transplant service (LTS). We used the SNOMED CT representation via BioPortal to evaluate specificity and grouping between data elements and specialized physician groups. We found few similarities in structured data elements designed by and for the specific physician groups. The distinctness represented both differences in granularity as well as fundamental differences in data elements requested. When compared to ED physicians, dermatologists had different and more granular elements while cardiologists requested much more granular data. Comparing cardiologists and LTS, there were differences in the data elements requested. This case study supports the importance of domain knowledge in EHR design and implementation. That different specialities should want and use different information is well supported by cognitive science literature. Despite this, it is rare for domain knowledge to be considered in EHR implementation. Physicians with correct domain knowledge should be involved in the design process of templated notes.

  16. National health and nutrition examination survey: plan and operations, 1999-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zipf, George; Chiappa, Michele; Porter, Kathryn S; Ostchega, Yechiam; Lewis, Brenda G; Dostal, Jennifer

    2013-08-01

    Background-Starting in 1999, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) became a continuous, ongoing annual survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian resident population of the United States. A continuous survey allowed content to change to meet emerging needs. Objective-This report describes how NHANES for 1999-2010 was designed and implemented. NHANES is a national survey designed to provide national estimates on various health-related topics. Methods-The survey used in-person face-to-face interviews and physical examinations for data collection. Approximately 5,000 people per year participated in NHANES. The 5,000 people surveyed each year are representative of the entire U.S. population. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

  17. Jahn-teller domains and magnetic domains in Mn2FeO4

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kub, J.; Brabers, V.A.M.; Novák, P.; Gemperle, R.; Simsova, J.

    2000-01-01

    Elastic (Jahn–Teller) domains and magnetic domains in the tetragonal spinel Mn2FeO4 were studied using X-ray double-crystal topography, X-ray diffractometry and the colloid-SEM method. The Jahn–Teller domains of the measured samples are tetragonal with the [0 0 1] c-axis alternating perpendicularly

  18. The extended-domain-eigenfunction method for solving elliptic boundary value problems with annular domains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aarao, J; Bradshaw-Hajek, B H; Miklavcic, S J; Ward, D A, E-mail: Stan.Miklavcic@unisa.edu.a [School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 (Australia)

    2010-05-07

    Standard analytical solutions to elliptic boundary value problems on asymmetric domains are rarely, if ever, obtainable. In this paper, we propose a solution technique wherein we embed the original domain into one with simple boundaries where the classical eigenfunction solution approach can be used. The solution in the larger domain, when restricted to the original domain, is then the solution of the original boundary value problem. We call this the extended-domain-eigenfunction method. To illustrate the method's strength and scope, we apply it to Laplace's equation on an annular-like domain.

  19. Between-Domain Relations of Students’ Academic Emotions and Their Judgments of School Domain Similarity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas eGoetz

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available With the aim to deepen our understanding of the between-domain relations of academic emotions, a series of three studies was conducted. We theorized that between-domain relations of trait (i.e., habitual emotions reflected students’ judgments of domain similarities, whereas between-domain relations of state (i.e., momentary emotions did not. This supposition was based on the accessibility model of emotional self-report, according to which individuals’ beliefs tend to strongly impact trait, but not state emotions. The aim of Study 1 (interviews; N = 40; 8th and 11th graders was to gather salient characteristics of academic domains from students’ perspective. In Study 2 (N=1709; 8th and 11th graders the 13 characteristics identified in Study 1 were assessed along with academic emotions in four different domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English using a questionnaire-based trait assessment. With respect to the same domains, state emotions were assessed in Study 3 (N = 121; 8th and 11th graders by employing an experience sampling approach. In line with our initial assumptions, between-domain relations of trait but not state academic emotions reflected between-domain relations of domain characteristics. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

  20. Between-domain relations of students' academic emotions and their judgments of school domain similarity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goetz, Thomas; Haag, Ludwig; Lipnevich, Anastasiya A.; Keller, Melanie M.; Frenzel, Anne C.; Collier, Antonie P. M.

    2014-01-01

    With the aim to deepen our understanding of the between-domain relations of academic emotions, a series of three studies was conducted. We theorized that between-domain relations of trait (i.e., habitual) emotions reflected students' judgments of domain similarities, whereas between-domain relations of state (i.e., momentary) emotions did not. This supposition was based on the accessibility model of emotional self-report, according to which individuals' beliefs tend to strongly impact trait, but not state emotions. The aim of Study 1 (interviews; N = 40; 8th and 11th graders) was to gather salient characteristics of academic domains from students' perspective. In Study 2 (N = 1709; 8th and 11th graders) the 13 characteristics identified in Study 1 were assessed along with academic emotions in four different domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English) using a questionnaire-based trait assessment. With respect to the same domains, state emotions were assessed in Study 3 (N = 121; 8th and 11th graders) by employing an experience sampling approach. In line with our initial assumptions, between-domain relations of trait but not state academic emotions reflected between-domain relations of domain characteristics. Implications for research and practice are discussed. PMID:25374547

  1. A Survey to Assess Barriers to Urban Teaching Careers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creasey, Gary; Mays, Jennifer; Lee, Robert; D'Santiago, Verenice

    2016-01-01

    The "Urban Teaching Barriers" survey was created to assess barriers to urban teaching careers. Pre-service teachers (N = 377) completed this instrument, along with questionnaires that assessed urban teaching intentions and urban teaching self-efficacy. Six barrier domains were identified that tapped concerns over (a) lack of resources,…

  2. Prospective survey of erectile dysfunction after external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kikuchi, Eiji; Ando, Toshiyuki; Nagata, Hirohiko; Miyajima, Akira; Nakagawa, Ken; Oya, Mototsugu; Nakashima, Jun; Marumo, Ken

    2011-01-01

    We prospectively evaluated the effect of external beam radiotherapy on erectile function in patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer using the Japanese version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) survey. From 2000 to 2007, we identified 55 patients who underwent external beam radiotherapy at our institution for localized or locally advanced prostate cancer and could respond to the IIEF survey. The patients did not receive neo- and/or adjuvant hormone therapy and they were followed-up for at least 12 months after radiotherapy. Mean patient age was 69 years and the mean prostate specific antigen (PSA) level before radiotherapy was 24.9 ng/ml. First we evaluated the change of the erectile function domain score over time before and after radiotherapy. The population of severe erectile dysfunction (ED) increased while those with no or mild ED decreased after radiotherapy. The erectile function and intercourse satisfaction domain score of the IIEF declined significantly after radiotherapy, however, the orgasmic function, sexual desire, and overall satisfaction domain scores did not change after external beam radiation. Of the 34 patients who had erectile function at baseline, 10 patients could maintain erectile function 12 months after radiotherapy. Though there were no significant differences in clinical features between patients who could maintain erectile function and those who had worsening erectile function 12 months after radiotherapy, the sexual desire domain score before radiotherapy was significantly higher in patients who could maintain erectile function than their counterparts. Using the IIEF survey, external beam radiation was found to affect erectile function in patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer. (author)

  3. Flexible time domain averaging technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Ming; Lin, Jing; Lei, Yaguo; Wang, Xiufeng

    2013-09-01

    Time domain averaging(TDA) is essentially a comb filter, it cannot extract the specified harmonics which may be caused by some faults, such as gear eccentric. Meanwhile, TDA always suffers from period cutting error(PCE) to different extent. Several improved TDA methods have been proposed, however they cannot completely eliminate the waveform reconstruction error caused by PCE. In order to overcome the shortcomings of conventional methods, a flexible time domain averaging(FTDA) technique is established, which adapts to the analyzed signal through adjusting each harmonic of the comb filter. In this technique, the explicit form of FTDA is first constructed by frequency domain sampling. Subsequently, chirp Z-transform(CZT) is employed in the algorithm of FTDA, which can improve the calculating efficiency significantly. Since the signal is reconstructed in the continuous time domain, there is no PCE in the FTDA. To validate the effectiveness of FTDA in the signal de-noising, interpolation and harmonic reconstruction, a simulated multi-components periodic signal that corrupted by noise is processed by FTDA. The simulation results show that the FTDA is capable of recovering the periodic components from the background noise effectively. Moreover, it can improve the signal-to-noise ratio by 7.9 dB compared with conventional ones. Experiments are also carried out on gearbox test rigs with chipped tooth and eccentricity gear, respectively. It is shown that the FTDA can identify the direction and severity of the eccentricity gear, and further enhances the amplitudes of impulses by 35%. The proposed technique not only solves the problem of PCE, but also provides a useful tool for the fault symptom extraction of rotating machinery.

  4. Domain-enhanced analysis of microarray data using GO annotations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jiajun; Hughes-Oliver, Jacqueline M; Menius, J Alan

    2007-05-15

    New biological systems technologies give scientists the ability to measure thousands of bio-molecules including genes, proteins, lipids and metabolites. We use domain knowledge, e.g. the Gene Ontology, to guide analysis of such data. By focusing on domain-aggregated results at, say the molecular function level, increased interpretability is available to biological scientists beyond what is possible if results are presented at the gene level. We use a 'top-down' approach to perform domain aggregation by first combining gene expressions before testing for differentially expressed patterns. This is in contrast to the more standard 'bottom-up' approach, where genes are first tested individually then aggregated by domain knowledge. The benefits are greater sensitivity for detecting signals. Our method, domain-enhanced analysis (DEA) is assessed and compared to other methods using simulation studies and analysis of two publicly available leukemia data sets. Our DEA method uses functions available in R (http://www.r-project.org/) and SAS (http://www.sas.com/). The two experimental data sets used in our analysis are available in R as Bioconductor packages, 'ALL' and 'golubEsets' (http://www.bioconductor.org/). Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  5. Interoperable domain models : The ISO land administration domain model LADM and its external classes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lemmen, C.H.J.; Van Oosterom, P.J.M.; Uitermark, H.T.; Zevenbergen, J.A.; Cooper, A.K.

    2011-01-01

    This paper provides a brief overview of one of the first spatial domain standards: a standard for the domain of Land Administration (LA). This standard is in the draft stage of development now (May 2011). The development of domain standards is a logical follow up after domain-independent standards,

  6. Consumers' Patient Portal Preferences and Health Literacy: A Survey Using Crowdsourcing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zide, Mary; Caswell, Kaitlyn; Peterson, Ellen; Aberle, Denise R; Bui, Alex At; Arnold, Corey W

    2016-06-08

    eHealth apps have the potential to meet the information needs of patient populations and improve health literacy rates. However, little work has been done to document perceived usability of portals and health literacy of specific topics. Our aim was to establish a baseline of lung cancer health literacy and perceived portal usability. A survey based on previously validated instruments was used to assess a baseline of patient portal usability and health literacy within the domain of lung cancer. The survey was distributed via Amazon's Mechanical Turk to 500 participants. Our results show differences in preferences and literacy by demographic cohorts, with a trend of chronically ill patients having a more positive reception of patient portals and a higher health literacy rate of lung cancer knowledge (Pportals and higher level of health literacy within the domain of lung cancer.

  7. Two optical bistability domains in composites of metal nanoparticles with nonlinear dielectric core

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shewamare, Sisay, E-mail: sisayshewa20@yahoo.com [Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Mal' nev, V.N., E-mail: vadimnmalnev@yahoo.com [Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

    2012-12-15

    It is shown that the local field in metal spherical particles with a dielectric core in an external varying electric field has two maxima at two different frequencies. The second maximum becomes more important with an increment in the metal fraction. Due to the nonlinear dielectric function of the core, the composite of these inclusions may have two optically induced bistability domains at different frequencies. At rather high metal fraction, two bistability domains merge and form one entire bistability domain. The parameters of these domains are studied numerically. The paper focuses on the second bistability domain, which has not been discussed in the literature so far. This domain exists in a comparatively narrow frequency range and its onset fields are lower than those of the first bistability domain. The lowest bistability onset fields are obtained in the entire domain. This peculiarity of the optical induced bistability in the metal composite with small dielectric cores can be attractive for possible applications.

  8. Two optical bistability domains in composites of metal nanoparticles with nonlinear dielectric core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shewamare, Sisay; Mal'nev, V.N.

    2012-01-01

    It is shown that the local field in metal spherical particles with a dielectric core in an external varying electric field has two maxima at two different frequencies. The second maximum becomes more important with an increment in the metal fraction. Due to the nonlinear dielectric function of the core, the composite of these inclusions may have two optically induced bistability domains at different frequencies. At rather high metal fraction, two bistability domains merge and form one entire bistability domain. The parameters of these domains are studied numerically. The paper focuses on the second bistability domain, which has not been discussed in the literature so far. This domain exists in a comparatively narrow frequency range and its onset fields are lower than those of the first bistability domain. The lowest bistability onset fields are obtained in the entire domain. This peculiarity of the optical induced bistability in the metal composite with small dielectric cores can be attractive for possible applications.

  9. Full-range k-domain linearization in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Mansik; Kim, Jeehyun; Jung, Unsang; Lee, Changho; Jung, Woonggyu; Boppart, Stephen A

    2011-03-10

    A full-bandwidth k-domain linearization method for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is demonstrated. The method uses information of the wavenumber-pixel-position provided by a translating-slit-based wavelength filter. For calibration purposes, the filter is placed either after a broadband source or at the end of the sample path, and the filtered spectrum with a narrowed line width (∼0.5 nm) is incident on a line-scan camera in the detection path. The wavelength-swept spectra are co-registered with the pixel positions according to their central wavelengths, which can be automatically measured with an optical spectrum analyzer. For imaging, the method does not require a filter or a software recalibration algorithm; it simply resamples the OCT signal from the detector array without employing rescaling or interpolation methods. The accuracy of k-linearization is maximized by increasing the k-linearization order, which is known to be a crucial parameter for maintaining a narrow point-spread function (PSF) width at increasing depths. The broadening effect is studied by changing the k-linearization order by undersampling to search for the optimal value. The system provides more position information, surpassing the optimum without compromising the imaging speed. The proposed full-range k-domain linearization method can be applied to SD-OCT systems to simplify their hardware/software, increase their speed, and improve the axial image resolution. The experimentally measured width of PSF in air has an FWHM of 8 μm at the edge of the axial measurement range. At an imaging depth of 2.5 mm, the sensitivity of the full-range calibration case drops less than 10 dB compared with the uncompensated case.

  10. Integrating art into science education: a survey of science teachers' practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turkka, Jaakko; Haatainen, Outi; Aksela, Maija

    2017-07-01

    Numerous case studies suggest that integrating art and science education could engage students with creative projects and encourage students to express science in multitude of ways. However, little is known about art integration practices in everyday science teaching. With a qualitative e-survey, this study explores the art integration of science teachers (n = 66). A pedagogical model for science teachers' art integration emerged from a qualitative content analysis conducted on examples of art integration. In the model, art integration is characterised as integration through content and activities. Whilst the links in the content were facilitated either directly between concepts and ideas or indirectly through themes or artefacts, the integration through activity often connected an activity in one domain and a concept, idea or artefact in the other domain with the exception of some activities that could belong to both domains. Moreover, the examples of art integration in everyday classroom did not include expression of emotions often associated with art. In addition, quantitative part of the survey confirmed that integration is infrequent in all mapped areas. The findings of this study have implications for science teacher education that should offer opportunities for more consistent art integration.

  11. Improving pairwise comparison of protein sequences with domain co-occurrence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gascuel, Olivier

    2018-01-01

    Comparing and aligning protein sequences is an essential task in bioinformatics. More specifically, local alignment tools like BLAST are widely used for identifying conserved protein sub-sequences, which likely correspond to protein domains or functional motifs. However, to limit the number of false positives, these tools are used with stringent sequence-similarity thresholds and hence can miss several hits, especially for species that are phylogenetically distant from reference organisms. A solution to this problem is then to integrate additional contextual information to the procedure. Here, we propose to use domain co-occurrence to increase the sensitivity of pairwise sequence comparisons. Domain co-occurrence is a strong feature of proteins, since most protein domains tend to appear with a limited number of other domains on the same protein. We propose a method to take this information into account in a typical BLAST analysis and to construct new domain families on the basis of these results. We used Plasmodium falciparum as a case study to evaluate our method. The experimental findings showed an increase of 14% of the number of significant BLAST hits and an increase of 25% of the proteome area that can be covered with a domain. Our method identified 2240 new domains for which, in most cases, no model of the Pfam database could be linked. Moreover, our study of the quality of the new domains in terms of alignment and physicochemical properties show that they are close to that of standard Pfam domains. Source code of the proposed approach and supplementary data are available at: https://gite.lirmm.fr/menichelli/pairwise-comparison-with-cooccurrence PMID:29293498

  12. Domain architecture conservation in orthologs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background As orthologous proteins are expected to retain function more often than other homologs, they are often used for functional annotation transfer between species. However, ortholog identification methods do not take into account changes in domain architecture, which are likely to modify a protein's function. By domain architecture we refer to the sequential arrangement of domains along a protein sequence. To assess the level of domain architecture conservation among orthologs, we carried out a large-scale study of such events between human and 40 other species spanning the entire evolutionary range. We designed a score to measure domain architecture similarity and used it to analyze differences in domain architecture conservation between orthologs and paralogs relative to the conservation of primary sequence. We also statistically characterized the extents of different types of domain swapping events across pairs of orthologs and paralogs. Results The analysis shows that orthologs exhibit greater domain architecture conservation than paralogous homologs, even when differences in average sequence divergence are compensated for, for homologs that have diverged beyond a certain threshold. We interpret this as an indication of a stronger selective pressure on orthologs than paralogs to retain the domain architecture required for the proteins to perform a specific function. In general, orthologs as well as the closest paralogous homologs have very similar domain architectures, even at large evolutionary separation. The most common domain architecture changes observed in both ortholog and paralog pairs involved insertion/deletion of new domains, while domain shuffling and segment duplication/deletion were very infrequent. Conclusions On the whole, our results support the hypothesis that function conservation between orthologs demands higher domain architecture conservation than other types of homologs, relative to primary sequence conservation. This supports the

  13. Effects of sub-domain structure on initial magnetization curve and domain size distribution of stacked media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, S.; Kumagai, S.; Sugita, R.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, in order to confirm the sub-domain structure in stacked media demagnetized with in-plane field, initial magnetization curves and magnetic domain size distribution were investigated. Both experimental and simulation results showed that an initial magnetization curve for the medium demagnetized with in-plane field (MDI) initially rose faster than that for the medium demagnetized with perpendicular field (MDP). It is inferred that this is because the MDI has a larger number of domain walls than the MDP due to the existence of the sub-domains, resulting in an increase in the probability of domain wall motion. Dispersion of domain size for the MDI was larger than that for the MDP. This is because sub-domains are formed not only inside the domain but also at the domain boundary region, and they change the position of the domain boundary to affect the domain size. - Highlights: • An initial magnetization curve for MDI initially rose faster than that for MDP. • Dispersion of domain size for the MDI was larger than that for the MDP. • Experimental and simulation results can be explained by existence of sub-domains

  14. Regional climate model sensitivity to domain size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leduc, Martin; Laprise, René

    2009-05-01

    Regional climate models are increasingly used to add small-scale features that are not present in their lateral boundary conditions (LBC). It is well known that the limited area over which a model is integrated must be large enough to allow the full development of small-scale features. On the other hand, integrations on very large domains have shown important departures from the driving data, unless large scale nudging is applied. The issue of domain size is studied here by using the “perfect model” approach. This method consists first of generating a high-resolution climatic simulation, nicknamed big brother (BB), over a large domain of integration. The next step is to degrade this dataset with a low-pass filter emulating the usual coarse-resolution LBC. The filtered nesting data (FBB) are hence used to drive a set of four simulations (LBs for Little Brothers), with the same model, but on progressively smaller domain sizes. The LB statistics for a climate sample of four winter months are compared with BB over a common region. The time average (stationary) and transient-eddy standard deviation patterns of the LB atmospheric fields generally improve in terms of spatial correlation with the reference (BB) when domain gets smaller. The extraction of the small-scale features by using a spectral filter allows detecting important underestimations of the transient-eddy variability in the vicinity of the inflow boundary, which can penalize the use of small domains (less than 100 × 100 grid points). The permanent “spatial spin-up” corresponds to the characteristic distance that the large-scale flow needs to travel before developing small-scale features. The spin-up distance tends to grow in size at higher levels in the atmosphere.

  15. Regional climate model sensitivity to domain size

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leduc, Martin [Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Canadian Regional Climate Modelling and Diagnostics (CRCMD) Network, ESCER Centre, Montreal (Canada); UQAM/Ouranos, Montreal, QC (Canada); Laprise, Rene [Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Canadian Regional Climate Modelling and Diagnostics (CRCMD) Network, ESCER Centre, Montreal (Canada)

    2009-05-15

    Regional climate models are increasingly used to add small-scale features that are not present in their lateral boundary conditions (LBC). It is well known that the limited area over which a model is integrated must be large enough to allow the full development of small-scale features. On the other hand, integrations on very large domains have shown important departures from the driving data, unless large scale nudging is applied. The issue of domain size is studied here by using the ''perfect model'' approach. This method consists first of generating a high-resolution climatic simulation, nicknamed big brother (BB), over a large domain of integration. The next step is to degrade this dataset with a low-pass filter emulating the usual coarse-resolution LBC. The filtered nesting data (FBB) are hence used to drive a set of four simulations (LBs for Little Brothers), with the same model, but on progressively smaller domain sizes. The LB statistics for a climate sample of four winter months are compared with BB over a common region. The time average (stationary) and transient-eddy standard deviation patterns of the LB atmospheric fields generally improve in terms of spatial correlation with the reference (BB) when domain gets smaller. The extraction of the small-scale features by using a spectral filter allows detecting important underestimations of the transient-eddy variability in the vicinity of the inflow boundary, which can penalize the use of small domains (less than 100 x 100 grid points). The permanent ''spatial spin-up'' corresponds to the characteristic distance that the large-scale flow needs to travel before developing small-scale features. The spin-up distance tends to grow in size at higher levels in the atmosphere. (orig.)

  16. A Review of Domain Modelling and Domain Imaging Techniques in Ferroelectric Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John E. Huber

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The present paper reviews models of domain structure in ferroelectric crystals, thin films and bulk materials. Common crystal structures in ferroelectric materials are described and the theory of compatible domain patterns is introduced. Applications to multi-rank laminates are presented. Alternative models employing phase-field and related techniques are reviewed. The paper then presents methods of observing ferroelectric domain structure, including optical, polarized light, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray and neutron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and piezo-force microscopy. Use of more than one technique for unambiguous identification of the domain structure is also described.

  17. Glaucoma diagnosis by mapping macula with Fourier domain optical coherence tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Ou; Lu, Ake; Chopra, Vik; Varma, Rohit; Hiroshi, Ishikawa; Schuman, Joel; Huang, David

    2008-03-01

    A new image segmentation method was developed to detect macular retinal sub-layers boundary on newly-developed Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (FD-OCT) with macular grid scan pattern. The segmentation results were used to create thickness map of macular ganglion cell complex (GCC), which contains the ganglion cell dendrites, cell bodies and axons. Overall average and several pattern analysis parameters were defined on the GCC thickness map and compared for the diagnosis of glaucoma. Intraclass correlation (ICC) is used to compare the reproducibility of the parameters. Area under receiving operative characteristic curve (AROC) was calculated to compare the diagnostic power. The result is also compared to the output of clinical time-domain OCT (TD-OCT). We found that GCC based parameters had good repeatability and comparable diagnostic power with circumpapillary nerve fiber layer (cpNFL) thickness. Parameters based on pattern analysis can increase the diagnostic power of GCC macular mapping.

  18. Chemical Shift Assignments of the C-terminal Eps15 Homology Domain-3 EH Domain*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, Steve; Sorgen, Paul L.

    2013-01-01

    The C-terminal Eps15 homology (EH) domain 3 (EHD3) belongs to a eukaryotic family of endocytic regulatory proteins and is involved in the recycling of various receptors from the early endosome to the endocytic recycling compartment or in retrograde transport from the endosomes to the Golgi. EH domains are highly conserved in the EHD family and function as protein-protein interaction units that bind to Asn-Pro-Phe (NPF) motif-containing proteins. The EH domain of EHD1 was the first C-terminal EH domain from the EHD family to be solved by NMR. The differences observed between this domain and proteins with N-terminal EH domains helped describe a mechanism for the differential binding of NPF-containing proteins. Here, structural studies were expanded to include the EHD3 EH domain. While the EHD1 and EHD3 EH domains are highly homologous, they have different protein partners. A comparison of these structures will help determine the selectivity in protein binding between the EHD family members and lead to a better understanding of their unique roles in endocytic regulation. PMID:23754701

  19. Simplicity and Specificity in Language: Domain-General Biases Have Domain-Specific Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culbertson, Jennifer; Kirby, Simon

    2016-01-01

    The extent to which the linguistic system—its architecture, the representations it operates on, the constraints it is subject to—is specific to language has broad implications for cognitive science and its relation to evolutionary biology. Importantly, a given property of the linguistic system can be “specific” to the domain of language in several ways. For example, if the property evolved by natural selection under the pressure of the linguistic function it serves then the property is domain-specific in the sense that its design is tailored for language. Equally though, if that property evolved to serve a different function or if that property is domain-general, it may nevertheless interact with the linguistic system in a way that is unique. This gives a second sense in which a property can be thought of as specific to language. An evolutionary approach to the language faculty might at first blush appear to favor domain-specificity in the first sense, with individual properties of the language faculty being specifically linguistic adaptations. However, we argue that interactions between learning, culture, and biological evolution mean any domain-specific adaptations that evolve will take the form of weak biases rather than hard constraints. Turning to the latter sense of domain-specificity, we highlight a very general bias, simplicity, which operates widely in cognition and yet interacts with linguistic representations in domain-specific ways. PMID:26793132

  20. Shark Variable New Antigen Receptor (VNAR Single Domain Antibody Fragments: Stability and Diagnostic Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stewart Nuttall

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The single variable new antigen receptor domain antibody fragments (VNARs derived from shark immunoglobulin new antigen receptor antibodies (IgNARs represent some of the smallest known immunoglobulin-based protein scaffolds. As single domains, they demonstrate favorable size and cryptic epitope recognition properties, making them attractive in diagnosis and therapy of numerous disease states. Here, we examine the stability of VNAR domains with a focus on a family of VNARs specific for apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1 from Plasmodium falciparum. The VNARs are compared to traditional monoclonal antibodies (mAbs in liquid, lyophilized and immobilized nitrocellulose formats. When maintained in various formats at 45 °C, VNARs have improved stability compared to mAbs for periods of up to four weeks. Using circular dichroism spectroscopy we demonstrate that VNAR domains are able to refold following heating to 80 °C. We also demonstrate that VNAR domains are stable during incubation under potential in vivo conditions such as stomach acid, but not to the protease rich environment of murine stomach scrapings. Taken together, our results demonstrate the suitability of shark VNAR domains for various diagnostic platforms and related applications.

  1. Assessing Data Quality in Emergent Domains of Earth Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darch, P. T.; Borgman, C.

    2016-12-01

    As earth scientists seek to study known phenomena in new ways, and to study new phenomena, they often develop new technologies and new methods such as embedded network sensing, or reapply extant technologies, such as seafloor drilling. Emergent domains are often highly multidisciplinary as researchers from many backgrounds converge on new research questions. They may adapt existing methods, or develop methods de novo. As a result, emerging domains tend to be methodologically heterogeneous. As these domains mature, pressure to standardize methods increases. Standardization promotes trust, reliability, accuracy, and reproducibility, and simplifies data management. However, for standardization to occur, researchers must be able to assess which of the competing methods produces the highest quality data. The exploratory nature of emerging domains discourages standardization. Because competing methods originate in different disciplinary backgrounds, their scientific credibility is difficult to compare. Instead of direct comparison, researchers attempt to conduct meta-analyses. Scientists compare datasets produced by different methods to assess their consistency and efficiency. This paper presents findings from a long-term qualitative case study of research on the deep subseafloor biosphere, an emergent domain. A diverse community converged on the study of microbes in the seafloor and those microbes' interactions with the physical environments they inhabit. Data on this problem are scarce, leading to calls for standardization as a means to acquire and analyze greater volumes of data. Lacking consistent methods, scientists attempted to conduct meta-analyses to determine the most promising methods on which to standardize. Among the factors that inhibited meta-analyses were disparate approaches to metadata and to curating data. Datasets may be deposited in a variety of databases or kept on individual scientists' servers. Associated metadata may be inconsistent or hard to

  2. Language Choice and Use of Malaysian Public University Lecturers in the Education Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tam Lee Mei

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available It is a norm for people from a multilingual and multicultural country such as Malaysia to speak at least two or more languages. Thus, the Malaysian multilingual situation resulted in speakers having to make decisions about which languages are to be used for different purposes in different domains. In order to explain the phenomenon of language choice, Fishman domain analysis (1964 was adapted into this research. According to Fishman’s domain analysis, language choice and use may depend on the speaker’s experiences situated in different settings, different language repertoires that are available to the speaker, different interlocutors and different topics. Such situations inevitably cause barriers and difficulties to those professionals who work in the education domain. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the language choice and use of Malaysian public university lecturers in the education domain and to investigate whether any significant differences exist between ethnicity and field of study with the English language choice and use of the lecturers. 200 survey questionnaires were distributed to examine the details of the lecturers’ language choice and use. The findings of this research reveal that all of the respondents generally preferred to choose and use English language in both formal and informal education domain. Besides, all of the respondents claimed that they chose and used more than one language. It is also found that ethnicity and field of study of the respondents influence the language choice and use in the education domain. In addition, this research suggested that the language and educational policy makers have been largely successful in raising the role and status of the English language as the medium of instruction in tertiary education while maintaining the Malay language as having an important role in the communicative acts, thus characterizing the lecturers’ language choice and use. Keywords: Language

  3. Denoising in Wavelet Packet Domain via Approximation Coefficients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Vahabi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we propose a new approach in the wavelet domain for image denoising. In recent researches wavelet transform has introduced a time-Frequency transform for computing wavelet coefficient and eliminating noise. Some coefficients have effected smaller than the other's from noise, so they can be use reconstruct images with other subbands. We have developed Approximation image to estimate better denoised image. Naturally noiseless subimage introduced image with lower noise. Beside denoising we obtain a bigger compression rate. Increasing image contrast is another advantage of this method. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach compares favorably to more typical methods of denoising and compression in wavelet domain.100 images of LIVE Dataset were tested, comparing signal to noise ratios (SNR,soft thresholding was %1.12 better than hard thresholding, POAC was %1.94 better than soft thresholding and POAC with wavelet packet was %1.48 better than POAC.

  4. Comparison of Satellite Surveying to Traditional Surveying Methods for the Resources Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osborne, B. P.; Osborne, V. J.; Kruger, M. L.

    Modern ground-based survey methods involve detailed survey, which provides three-space co-ordinates for surveyed points, to a high level of accuracy. The instruments are operated by surveyors, who process the raw results to create survey location maps for the subject of the survey. Such surveys are conducted for a location or region and referenced to the earth global co- ordinate system with global positioning system (GPS) positioning. Due to this referencing the survey is only as accurate as the GPS reference system. Satellite survey remote sensing utilise satellite imagery which have been processed using commercial geographic information system software. Three-space co-ordinate maps are generated, with an accuracy determined by the datum position accuracy and optical resolution of the satellite platform.This paper presents a case study, which compares topographic surveying undertaken by traditional survey methods with satellite surveying, for the same location. The purpose of this study is to assess the viability of satellite remote sensing for surveying in the resources industry. The case study involves a topographic survey of a dune field for a prospective mining project area in Pakistan. This site has been surveyed using modern surveying techniques and the results are compared to a satellite survey performed on the same area.Analysis of the results from traditional survey and from the satellite survey involved a comparison of the derived spatial co- ordinates from each method. In addition, comparisons have been made of costs and turnaround time for both methods.The results of this application of remote sensing is of particular interest for survey in areas with remote and extreme environments, weather extremes, political unrest, poor travel links, which are commonly associated with mining projects. Such areas frequently suffer language barriers, poor onsite technical support and resources.

  5. The framing of scientific domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dam Christensen, Hans

    2014-01-01

    domains, and UNISIST helps understanding this navigation. Design/methodology/approach The UNISIST models are tentatively applied to the domain of art history at three stages, respectively two modern, partially overlapping domains, as well as an outline of an art historical domain anno c1820...

  6. Protein domain organisation: adding order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kummerfeld, Sarah K; Teichmann, Sarah A

    2009-01-29

    Domains are the building blocks of proteins. During evolution, they have been duplicated, fused and recombined, to produce proteins with novel structures and functions. Structural and genome-scale studies have shown that pairs or groups of domains observed together in a protein are almost always found in only one N to C terminal order and are the result of a single recombination event that has been propagated by duplication of the multi-domain unit. Previous studies of domain organisation have used graph theory to represent the co-occurrence of domains within proteins. We build on this approach by adding directionality to the graphs and connecting nodes based on their relative order in the protein. Most of the time, the linear order of domains is conserved. However, using the directed graph representation we have identified non-linear features of domain organization that are over-represented in genomes. Recognising these patterns and unravelling how they have arisen may allow us to understand the functional relationships between domains and understand how the protein repertoire has evolved. We identify groups of domains that are not linearly conserved, but instead have been shuffled during evolution so that they occur in multiple different orders. We consider 192 genomes across all three kingdoms of life and use domain and protein annotation to understand their functional significance. To identify these features and assess their statistical significance, we represent the linear order of domains in proteins as a directed graph and apply graph theoretical methods. We describe two higher-order patterns of domain organisation: clusters and bi-directionally associated domain pairs and explore their functional importance and phylogenetic conservation. Taking into account the order of domains, we have derived a novel picture of global protein organization. We found that all genomes have a higher than expected degree of clustering and more domain pairs in forward and

  7. Protein domain organisation: adding order

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kummerfeld Sarah K

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Domains are the building blocks of proteins. During evolution, they have been duplicated, fused and recombined, to produce proteins with novel structures and functions. Structural and genome-scale studies have shown that pairs or groups of domains observed together in a protein are almost always found in only one N to C terminal order and are the result of a single recombination event that has been propagated by duplication of the multi-domain unit. Previous studies of domain organisation have used graph theory to represent the co-occurrence of domains within proteins. We build on this approach by adding directionality to the graphs and connecting nodes based on their relative order in the protein. Most of the time, the linear order of domains is conserved. However, using the directed graph representation we have identified non-linear features of domain organization that are over-represented in genomes. Recognising these patterns and unravelling how they have arisen may allow us to understand the functional relationships between domains and understand how the protein repertoire has evolved. Results We identify groups of domains that are not linearly conserved, but instead have been shuffled during evolution so that they occur in multiple different orders. We consider 192 genomes across all three kingdoms of life and use domain and protein annotation to understand their functional significance. To identify these features and assess their statistical significance, we represent the linear order of domains in proteins as a directed graph and apply graph theoretical methods. We describe two higher-order patterns of domain organisation: clusters and bi-directionally associated domain pairs and explore their functional importance and phylogenetic conservation. Conclusion Taking into account the order of domains, we have derived a novel picture of global protein organization. We found that all genomes have a higher than expected

  8. Health effects of the Chernobyl disaster: illness or illness behavior? A comparative general health survey in two former Soviet regions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Havenaar, J.; Rumyantzeva, G.; Kasyanenko, A.; Kaasjager, K.; Westermann, Anneke; van den Brink, W.; van den Bout, J.; Savelkoul, J.

    1997-01-01

    Results are described of a general health survey (n = 3044) that was conducted 6.5 years after the Chernobyl accident in 1986 in a seriously contaminated region in Belarus and a socioeconomically comparable, but unaffected, region in the Russian Federation. The purpose of the study was to

  9. Insights into function of PSI domains from structure of the Met receptor PSI domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlov, Guennadi; Perreault, Audrey; Schrag, Joseph D.; Park, Morag; Cygler, Miroslaw; Gehring, Kalle; Ekiel, Irena

    2004-01-01

    PSI domains are cysteine-rich modules found in extracellular fragments of hundreds of signaling proteins, including plexins, semaphorins, integrins, and attractins. Here, we report the solution structure of the PSI domain from the human Met receptor, a receptor tyrosine kinase critical for proliferation, motility, and differentiation. The structure represents a cysteine knot with short regions of secondary structure including a three-stranded antiparallel β-sheet and two α-helices. All eight cysteines are involved in disulfide bonds with the pattern consistent with that for the PSI domain from Sema4D. Comparison with the Sema4D structure identifies a structurally conserved core comprising the N-terminal half of the PSI domain. Interestingly, this part links adjacent SEMA and immunoglobulin domains in the Sema4D structure, suggesting that the PSI domain serves as a wedge between propeller and immunoglobulin domains and is responsible for the correct positioning of the ligand-binding site of the receptor

  10. A Third-Order Item Response Theory Model for Modeling the Effects of Domains and Subdomains in Large-Scale Educational Assessment Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rijmen, Frank; Jeon, Minjeong; von Davier, Matthias; Rabe-Hesketh, Sophia

    2014-01-01

    Second-order item response theory models have been used for assessments consisting of several domains, such as content areas. We extend the second-order model to a third-order model for assessments that include subdomains nested in domains. Using a graphical model framework, it is shown how the model does not suffer from the curse of…

  11. Resource Unavailability (RU) Per Domain Behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karagiannis, Georgios; Westberg, L.; Bader, A.; Tschofenig, Hannes; Tschofenig, H.

    2006-01-01

    This draft specifies a Per Domain Behavior that provides the ability to Diffserv nodes located outside Diffserv domain(s), e.g., receiver or other Diffserv enabled router to detect when the resources provided by the Diffserv domain(s) are not available. The unavailability of resources in the domain

  12. Toward the Development of a Core Set of Outcome Domains to Assess Shared Decision-making Interventions in Rheumatology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toupin-April, Karine; Barton, Jennifer; Fraenkel, Liana

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Working Group was to determine the core set of outcome domains and subdomains for measuring the effectiveness of shared decision-making (SDM) interventions in rheumatology clinical trials. METHODS: Following the OMERACT Filter 2.......0, and based on a previous literature review of SDM outcome domains and a nominal group process at OMERACT 2014, (1) an online Delphi survey was conducted to gather feedback on the draft core set and refine its domains and subdomains, and (2) a workshop was held at the OMERACT 2016 meeting to gain consensus...... ranged from 83% to 100% of respondents). At OMERACT 2016, only 8% of the 96 attendees were patients/caregivers. Despite initial votes of support in breakout groups, there was insufficient comfort about the conceptualization of these 7 domains and 17 subdomains for these to be endorsed at OMERACT 2016...

  13. Using tensorial electrical resistivity survey to locate fault systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monteiro Santos, Fernando A; Plancha, João P; Marques, Jorge; Perea, Hector; Cabral, João; Massoud, Usama

    2009-01-01

    This paper deals with the use of the tensorial resistivity method for fault orientation and macroanisotropy characterization. The rotational properties of the apparent resistivity tensor are presented using 3D synthetic models representing structures with a dominant direction of low resistivity and vertical discontinuities. It is demonstrated that polar diagrams of the elements of the tensor are effective in delineating those structures. As the apparent resistivity tensor shows great inefficacy in investigating the depth of the structures, it is advised to accomplish tensorial surveys with the application of other geophysical methods. An experimental example, including tensorial, dipole–dipole and time domain surveys, is presented to illustrate the potentiality of the method. The dipole–dipole model shows high-resistivity contrasts which were interpreted as corresponding to faults crossing the area. The results from the time domain electromagnetic (TEM) sounding show high-resistivity values till depths of 40–60 m at the north part of the area. In the southern part of the survey area the soundings show an upper layer with low-resistivity values (around 30 Ω m) followed by a more resistive bedrock (resistivity >100 Ω m) at a depth ranging from 15 to 30 m. The soundings in the central part of the survey area show more variability. A thin conductive overburden is followed by a more resistive layer with resistivity in the range of 80–1800 Ω m. The north and south limits of the central part of the area as revealed by TEM survey are roughly E–W oriented and coincident with the north fault scarp and the southernmost fault detected by the dipole–dipole survey. The pattern of the polar diagrams calculated from tensorial resistivity data clearly indicates the presence of a contact between two blocks at south of the survey area with the low-resistivity block located southwards. The presence of other two faults is not so clear from the polar diagram patterns, but

  14. Mapping geological structures in bedrock via large-scale direct current resistivity and time-domain induced polarization tomography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rossi, Matteo; Olsson, Per-Ivar; Johansson, Sara

    2017-01-01

    -current resistivity distribution of the subsoil and the phase of the complex conductivity using a constant-phase angle model. The joint interpretation of electrical resistivity and induced-polarization models leads to a better understanding of complex three-dimensional subsoil geometries. The results have been......An investigation of geological conditions is always a key point for planning infrastructure constructions. Bedrock surface and rock quality must be estimated carefully in the designing process of infrastructures. A large direct-current resistivity and time-domain induced-polarization survey has......, there are northwest-trending Permian dolerite dykes that are less deformed. Four 2D direct-current resistivity and time-domain induced-polarization profiles of about 1-km length have been carefully pre-processed to retrieve time-domain induced polarization responses and inverted to obtain the direct...

  15. Generating Dynamic Persistence in the Time Domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerrero, A.; Smith, L. A.; Smith, L. A.; Kaplan, D. T.

    2001-12-01

    Many dynamical systems present long-range correlations. Physically, these systems vary from biological to economical, including geological or urban systems. Important geophysical candidates for this type of behaviour include weather (or climate) and earthquake sequences. Persistence is characterised by slowly decaying correlation function; that, in theory, never dies out. The Persistence exponent reflects the degree of memory in the system and much effort has been expended creating and analysing methods that successfully estimate this parameter and model data that exhibits persistence. The most widely used methods for generating long correlated time series are not dynamical systems in the time domain, but instead are derived from a given spectral density. Little attention has been drawn to modelling persistence in the time domain. The time domain approach has the advantage that an observation at certain time can be calculated using previous observations which is particularly suitable when investigating the predictability of a long memory process. We will describe two of these methods in the time domain. One is a traditional approach using fractional ARIMA (autoregressive and moving average) models; the second uses a novel approach to extending a given series using random Fourier basis functions. The statistical quality of the two methods is compared, and they are contrasted with weather data which shows, reportedly, persistence. The suitability of this approach both for estimating predictability and for making predictions is discussed.

  16. Recovering protein-protein and domain-domain interactions from aggregation of IP-MS proteomics of coregulator complexes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amin R Mazloom

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Coregulator proteins (CoRegs are part of multi-protein complexes that transiently assemble with transcription factors and chromatin modifiers to regulate gene expression. In this study we analyzed data from 3,290 immuno-precipitations (IP followed by mass spectrometry (MS applied to human cell lines aimed at identifying CoRegs complexes. Using the semi-quantitative spectral counts, we scored binary protein-protein and domain-domain associations with several equations. Unlike previous applications, our methods scored prey-prey protein-protein interactions regardless of the baits used. We also predicted domain-domain interactions underlying predicted protein-protein interactions. The quality of predicted protein-protein and domain-domain interactions was evaluated using known binary interactions from the literature, whereas one protein-protein interaction, between STRN and CTTNBP2NL, was validated experimentally; and one domain-domain interaction, between the HEAT domain of PPP2R1A and the Pkinase domain of STK25, was validated using molecular docking simulations. The scoring schemes presented here recovered known, and predicted many new, complexes, protein-protein, and domain-domain interactions. The networks that resulted from the predictions are provided as a web-based interactive application at http://maayanlab.net/HT-IP-MS-2-PPI-DDI/.

  17. Apoplastic domains and sub-domains in the shoots of etiolated corn seedlings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epel, B. L.; Bandurski, R. S.

    1990-01-01

    Light Green, an apoplastic probe, was applied to the cut mesocotyl base or to the cut coleoptile apex of etiolated seedlings of Zea mays L. cv. Silver Queen. Probe transport was measured and its tissue distribution determined. In the mesocotyl, there is an apoplastic barrier between cortex and stele. This barrier creates two apoplastic domains which are non-communicating. A kinetic barrier exists between the apoplast of the mesocotyl stele and that of the coleoptile. This kinetic barrier is not absolute and there is limited communication between the apoplasts of the two regions. This kinetic barrier effectively creates two sub-domains. In the coleoptile, there is communication between the apoplast of the vascular strands and that of the surrounding cortical tissue. No apoplastic communication was observed between the coleoptile cortex and the mesocotyl cortex. Thus, the apoplastic space of the coleoptile cortex is a sub-domain of the integrated coleoptile domain and is separate from that of the apoplastic domain of the mesocotyl cortex.

  18. A Cross-Domain Collaborative Filtering Algorithm Based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xu; Lin, Jun-Yu; Jiang, Feng; Du, Jun-Wei; Han, Ji-Zhong

    2018-01-01

    Cross-domain collaborative filtering (CDCF) solves the sparsity problem by transferring rating knowledge from auxiliary domains. Obviously, different auxiliary domains have different importance to the target domain. However, previous works cannot evaluate effectively the significance of different auxiliary domains. To overcome this drawback, we propose a cross-domain collaborative filtering algorithm based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression (FCLWLR). We first construct features in different domains and use these features to represent different auxiliary domains. Thus the weight computation across different domains can be converted as the weight computation across different features. Then we combine the features in the target domain and in the auxiliary domains together and convert the cross-domain recommendation problem into a regression problem. Finally, we employ a Locally Weighted Linear Regression (LWLR) model to solve the regression problem. As LWLR is a nonparametric regression method, it can effectively avoid underfitting or overfitting problem occurring in parametric regression methods. We conduct extensive experiments to show that the proposed FCLWLR algorithm is effective in addressing the data sparsity problem by transferring the useful knowledge from the auxiliary domains, as compared to many state-of-the-art single-domain or cross-domain CF methods.

  19. The N-terminal domain determines the affinity and specificity of H1 binding to chromatin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Öberg, Christine; Belikov, Sergey

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► wt Human histone H1.4 and hH1.4 devoid of N-terminal domain, ΔN-hH1.4, were compared. ► Both histones bind to chromatin, however, ΔN-hH1.4 displays lower binding affinity. ► Interaction of ΔN-hH1.4 with chromatin includes a significant unspecific component. ► N-terminal domain is a determinant of specificity of histone H1 binding to chromatin. -- Abstract: Linker histone H1, one of the most abundant nuclear proteins in multicellular eukaryotes, is a key component of the chromatin structure mainly due to its role in the formation and maintenance of the 30 nm chromatin fiber. It has a three-domain structure; a central globular domain flanked by a short N-terminal domain and a long, highly basic C-terminal domain. Previous studies have shown that the binding abilities of H1 are at large determined by the properties of the C-terminal domain; much less attention has been paid to role of the N-terminal domain. We have previously shown that H1 can be reconstituted via cytoplasmic mRNA injection in Xenopus oocytes, cells that lack somatic H1. The heterologously expressed H1 proteins are incorporated into in vivo assembled chromatin at specific sites and the binding event is monitored as an increase in nucleosomal repeat length (NRL). Using this setup we have here compared the binding properties of wt-H1.4 and hH1.4 devoid of its N-terminal domain (ΔN-hH1.4). The ΔN-hH1.4 displays a drastically lower affinity for chromatin binding as compared to the wild type hH1.4. Our data also indicates that ΔN-hH1.4 is more prone to unspecific chromatin binding than the wild type. We conclude that the N-terminal domain of H1 is an important determinant of affinity and specificity of H1-chromatin interactions.

  20. Safety Domain Measurement for Vessels in an Overtaking Situation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua-Zhi Hsu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Marine traffic engineering has been pushed to the limits due to a rising demand in the shipping business. Merchant ships are growing dramatically, both in numbers and in size. To keep pace with current developments, automation seems to be one viable option when it comes to keeping ships running with fewer seafarers available. The aim of this paper is to monitor a modern day mariners’ performance while working in a tense situation. The objective is to define the size of the safety domain whilst overtaking a vessel. The approach was to assess the ship's domain area within a 3 nm wide traffic separation scheme by using a ship handling simulator. From the simulation results, an overtaking domain was determined as 1.36 nm long and 0.4 nm wide. Safety domains in real-life situations were experienced on a much smaller scale compared to the previous findings. The working load for this particular operation is expected to be stressful and highly skilled orientated.

  1. The Role of Child Abuse and Neglect in Predicting the Early Maladaptive Schemas Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Narimani

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of child abuse and neglect in predicting the early maladaptive schemas domains.Materials and Methods: This is a causal-comparative research. Sampling was performed using multistage clustering and simple random sampling methods. 500 individuals constituted the preliminary sample. After identifying 140 abused individuals, they were compared to 140 ordinary persons. In order to collect the data, the 53-item version of Bernstein Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ, and Yang Schema Questionnaire: Short Form 2 (YSQ-SF2 were used. To analyze the data, multivariate regression coefficient enter method was deployed.Results: Results showed that about 24% of the variance of the disconnection and rejection maladaptive schema domain, as well as 12% of the variance of the impaired autonomy and performance maladaptive schema domain were explained by the emotional abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect. 13% of the other-directedness maladaptive schema domain variance, 6% of the impaired limits maladaptive schema domain, and 5% of the overvigilance and inhibition maladaptive schema domain variance were explained by the emotional abuse.Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be concluded that one could predict schemas and their respective domains with regards to abused children. Abused children are likely to develop maladaptive schemas and cognitive distortions due to the dull and harsh atmosphere of the family and its unhealthy environment.

  2. DIMA 3.0: Domain Interaction Map.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Qibin; Pagel, Philipp; Vilne, Baiba; Frishman, Dmitrij

    2011-01-01

    Domain Interaction MAp (DIMA, available at http://webclu.bio.wzw.tum.de/dima) is a database of predicted and known interactions between protein domains. It integrates 5807 structurally known interactions imported from the iPfam and 3did databases and 46,900 domain interactions predicted by four computational methods: domain phylogenetic profiling, domain pair exclusion algorithm correlated mutations and domain interaction prediction in a discriminative way. Additionally predictions are filtered to exclude those domain pairs that are reported as non-interacting by the Negatome database. The DIMA Web site allows to calculate domain interaction networks either for a domain of interest or for entire organisms, and to explore them interactively using the Flash-based Cytoscape Web software.

  3. A survey on OFDM channel estimation techniques based on denoising strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pallaviram Sure

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Channel estimation forms the heart of any orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM based wireless communication receiver. Frequency domain pilot aided channel estimation techniques are either least squares (LS based or minimum mean square error (MMSE based. LS based techniques are computationally less complex. Unlike MMSE ones, they do not require a priori knowledge of channel statistics (KCS. However, the mean square error (MSE performance of the channel estimator incorporating MMSE based techniques is better compared to that obtained with the incorporation of LS based techniques. To enhance the MSE performance using LS based techniques, a variety of denoising strategies have been developed in the literature, which are applied on the LS estimated channel impulse response (CIR. The advantage of denoising threshold based LS techniques is that, they do not require KCS but still render near optimal MMSE performance similar to MMSE based techniques. In this paper, a detailed survey on various existing denoising strategies, with a comparative discussion of these strategies is presented.

  4. Domain fusion analysis by applying relational algebra to protein sequence and domain databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truong, Kevin; Ikura, Mitsuhiko

    2003-05-06

    Domain fusion analysis is a useful method to predict functionally linked proteins that may be involved in direct protein-protein interactions or in the same metabolic or signaling pathway. As separate domain databases like BLOCKS, PROSITE, Pfam, SMART, PRINTS-S, ProDom, TIGRFAMs, and amalgamated domain databases like InterPro continue to grow in size and quality, a computational method to perform domain fusion analysis that leverages on these efforts will become increasingly powerful. This paper proposes a computational method employing relational algebra to find domain fusions in protein sequence databases. The feasibility of this method was illustrated on the SWISS-PROT+TrEMBL sequence database using domain predictions from the Pfam HMM (hidden Markov model) database. We identified 235 and 189 putative functionally linked protein partners in H. sapiens and S. cerevisiae, respectively. From scientific literature, we were able to confirm many of these functional linkages, while the remainder offer testable experimental hypothesis. Results can be viewed at http://calcium.uhnres.utoronto.ca/pi. As the analysis can be computed quickly on any relational database that supports standard SQL (structured query language), it can be dynamically updated along with the sequence and domain databases, thereby improving the quality of predictions over time.

  5. A SURVEY ON UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vishal Meshram

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a survey of ubiquitous computing research which is the emerging domain that implements communication technologies into day-to-day life activities. This research paper provides a classification of the research areas on the ubiquitous computing paradigm. In this paper, we present common architecture principles of ubiquitous systems and analyze important aspects in context-aware ubiquitous systems. In addition, this research work presents a novel architecture of ubiquitous computing system and a survey of sensors needed for applications in ubiquitous computing. The goals of this research work are three-fold: i serve as a guideline for researchers who are new to ubiquitous computing and want to contribute to this research area, ii provide a novel system architecture for ubiquitous computing system, and iii provides further research directions required into quality-of-service assurance of ubiquitous computing.

  6. Single-domain versus two-domain configuration in thin ferromagnetic prisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pini, Maria Gloria; Politi, Paolo

    2007-01-01

    Thin ferromagnetic elements in the form of rectangular prisms are theoretically investigated in order to study the transition from single-domain to two-domain state, with changing the in-plane aspect ratio p. We address two main questions: first, how general is the transition; second, how the critical value p c depends on the physical parameters. We use two complementary methods: discrete-lattice calculations and a micromagnetic continuum approach. Ultrathin films do not appear to split in two domains. Instead, thicker films may undergo the above transition. We have used the continuum approach to analyze recent magnetic force microscopy observations in 30nm-thick patterned permalloy elements, finding a good agreement for p c

  7. Prediction of Cancer Proteins by Integrating Protein Interaction, Domain Frequency, and Domain Interaction Data Using Machine Learning Algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chien-Hung Huang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Many proteins are known to be associated with cancer diseases. It is quite often that their precise functional role in disease pathogenesis remains unclear. A strategy to gain a better understanding of the function of these proteins is to make use of a combination of different aspects of proteomics data types. In this study, we extended Aragues’s method by employing the protein-protein interaction (PPI data, domain-domain interaction (DDI data, weighted domain frequency score (DFS, and cancer linker degree (CLD data to predict cancer proteins. Performances were benchmarked based on three kinds of experiments as follows: (I using individual algorithm, (II combining algorithms, and (III combining the same classification types of algorithms. When compared with Aragues’s method, our proposed methods, that is, machine learning algorithm and voting with the majority, are significantly superior in all seven performance measures. We demonstrated the accuracy of the proposed method on two independent datasets. The best algorithm can achieve a hit ratio of 89.4% and 72.8% for lung cancer dataset and lung cancer microarray study, respectively. It is anticipated that the current research could help understand disease mechanisms and diagnosis.

  8. Topological domain walls in helimagnets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenherr, P.; Müller, J.; Köhler, L.; Rosch, A.; Kanazawa, N.; Tokura, Y.; Garst, M.; Meier, D.

    2018-05-01

    Domain walls naturally arise whenever a symmetry is spontaneously broken. They interconnect regions with different realizations of the broken symmetry, promoting structure formation from cosmological length scales to the atomic level1,2. In ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials, domain walls with unique functionalities emerge, holding great promise for nanoelectronics and spintronics applications3-5. These walls are usually of Ising, Bloch or Néel type and separate homogeneously ordered domains. Here we demonstrate that a wide variety of new domain walls occurs in the presence of spatially modulated domain states. Using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, we show three fundamental classes of domain walls to arise in the near-room-temperature helimagnet iron germanium. In contrast to conventional ferroics, the domain walls exhibit a well-defined inner structure, which—analogous to cholesteric liquid crystals—consists of topological disclination and dislocation defects. Similar to the magnetic skyrmions that form in the same material6,7, the domain walls can carry a finite topological charge, permitting an efficient coupling to spin currents and contributions to a topological Hall effect. Our study establishes a new family of magnetic nano-objects with non-trivial topology, opening the door to innovative device concepts based on helimagnetic domain walls.

  9. Sky surveys with Einstein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gioia, I.M.

    1990-01-01

    Since the early times after the launch of the Einstein Observatory, systematic studies of serendipitous Einstein x-ray sources have been carried out by several observers with interests in both galactic and extragalactic astronomy. The majority of these studies were not surveys in the strict sense of the word: in several cases no analyses requiring flux completeness were performed. However, these systematic searches for sources added much to our knowledge of the behaviour in the X-ray domain of the different classes of astronomical objects and in many instances led to the study of their properties at different wavebands. (author)

  10. Prediction Reweighting for Domain Adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuang Li; Shiji Song; Gao Huang

    2017-07-01

    There are plenty of classification methods that perform well when training and testing data are drawn from the same distribution. However, in real applications, this condition may be violated, which causes degradation of classification accuracy. Domain adaptation is an effective approach to address this problem. In this paper, we propose a general domain adaptation framework from the perspective of prediction reweighting, from which a novel approach is derived. Different from the major domain adaptation methods, our idea is to reweight predictions of the training classifier on testing data according to their signed distance to the domain separator, which is a classifier that distinguishes training data (from source domain) and testing data (from target domain). We then propagate the labels of target instances with larger weights to ones with smaller weights by introducing a manifold regularization method. It can be proved that our reweighting scheme effectively brings the source and target domains closer to each other in an appropriate sense, such that classification in target domain becomes easier. The proposed method can be implemented efficiently by a simple two-stage algorithm, and the target classifier has a closed-form solution. The effectiveness of our approach is verified by the experiments on artificial datasets and two standard benchmarks, a visual object recognition task and a cross-domain sentiment analysis of text. Experimental results demonstrate that our method is competitive with the state-of-the-art domain adaptation algorithms.

  11. A Survey Comparing Delegation of Cosmetic Procedures Between Dermatologists and Nondermatologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, Molly B; Srivastava, Divya; Bernstein, Ira H; Dover, Jeffrey S

    2015-07-01

    How delegation of procedures varies among cosmetic specialties in the United States is not well described. To better describe current practices in delegation of procedures to nonphysicians among physicians of different cosmetic specialties in the United States. An Internet-based survey was administered to physician members of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS). A total of 823 responses were collected. Two hundred ninety-one of the 521 dermatologists (55.9%) reported delegating cosmetic procedures compared with 223 of the 302 nondermatologists (73.8%) (p delegation occurred, dermatologists were more likely than nondermatologists to delegate the following procedures to higher level non-physician providers (NPP): chemical peels, neuromodulator and filler injections, laser hair removal, pulsed dye laser, tattoo removal, intense pulsed light, nonablative fractional laser, and sclerotherapy. No difference in delegation rate was noted between dermatologists and non-dermatologist physicians with respect to microdermabrasion, ablative fractional laser, cryolipolysis, radiofrequency skin tightening, focused ultrasound skin tightening, and focused ultrasound fat reduction. Dermatologists delegate procedures to NPP less frequently than non-dermatologist physicians, and when they do, it is typically to higher level NPP.

  12. Do South Asian women with PCOS have poorer health-related quality of life than Caucasian women with PCOS? A comparative cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Georgina L; Palep-Singh, Manisha; Ledger, William L; Balen, Adam H; Jenkinson, Crispin; Campbell, Michael J; Lashen, Hany

    2010-12-20

    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common chronic endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age. This study aimed to compare the HRQoL of South Asian and white Caucasian women with PCOS, given that it is particularly common among women of South Asian origin and they have been shown to have more severe symptoms. The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire (PCOSQ) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) were administered in a cross-sectional survey to 42 South Asian and 129 Caucasian women diagnosed with PCOS recruited from the gynaecology outpatient clinics of two university teaching hospitals in Sheffield and Leeds. Additional clinical data was abstracted from medical notes. Normative data, collected as part of the Oxford Health and Lifestyles II survey, was obtained to compare SF-36 results with ethnically matched women from the general UK population. Using the SF-36, normative HRQoL scores for women of South Asian origin were lower than for Caucasian women. Given this lower baseline we tested whether the same relationship holds true among those with PCOS. Although HRQoL scores for women with PCOS were lower than normative data for both groups, South Asian women with PCOS did not have poorer HRQoL than their Caucasian counterparts. For both the SF-36 and PCOSQ, mean scores were broadly the same for both Asian and Caucasian women. For both groups, the worst two HRQoL domains as measured on the PCOSQ were 'infertility' and 'weight', with respective scores of 35.3 and 42.3 for Asian women with PCOS compared to 38.6 and 35.4 for Caucasian women with PCOS. The highest scoring domain for South Asian women with PCOS was 'menstrual problems' (55.3), indicating best health, and was the only statistically significant difference from Caucasian women (p = 0.01). On the SF-36, the lowest scoring domain was 'Energy & Vitality' for Caucasian women with PCOS, but this was significantly higher for Asian women with PCOS (p = 0.01). The best health status for both groups

  13. A localized interaction surface for voltage-sensing domains on the pore domain of a K+ channel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li-Smerin, Y; Hackos, D H; Swartz, K J

    2000-02-01

    Voltage-gated K+ channels contain a central pore domain and four surrounding voltage-sensing domains. How and where changes in the structure of the voltage-sensing domains couple to the pore domain so as to gate ion conduction is not understood. The crystal structure of KcsA, a bacterial K+ channel homologous to the pore domain of voltage-gated K+ channels, provides a starting point for addressing this question. Guided by this structure, we used tryptophan-scanning mutagenesis on the transmembrane shell of the pore domain in the Shaker voltage-gated K+ channel to localize potential protein-protein and protein-lipid interfaces. Some mutants cause only minor changes in gating and when mapped onto the KcsA structure cluster away from the interface between pore domain subunits. In contrast, mutants producing large changes in gating tend to cluster near this interface. These results imply that voltage-sensing domains interact with localized regions near the interface between adjacent pore domain subunits.

  14. Supersymmetric domain walls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergshoeff, Eric A.; Kleinschmidt, Axel; Riccioni, Fabio

    2012-01-01

    We classify the half-supersymmetric "domain walls," i.e., branes of codimension one, in toroidally compactified IIA/IIB string theory and show to which gauged supergravity theory each of these domain walls belong. We use as input the requirement of supersymmetric Wess-Zumino terms, the properties of

  15. A Momentum-Exchange/Fictitious Domain-Lattice Boltzmann Method for Solving Particle Suspensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeon, Seok Yun; Yoon, Joon Yong [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Chul Kyu [Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Myung Seob [Korea Intellectual Property Office(KIPO), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-15

    This study presents a Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) coupled with a momentum-exchange approach/fictitious domain (MEA/FD) method for the simulation of particle suspensions. The method combines the advantages of the LB and the FD methods by using two unrelated meshes, namely, a Eulerian mesh for the flow domain and a Lagrangian mesh for the solid domain. The rigid body conditions are enforced by the momentum-exchange scheme in which the desired value of velocity is imposed directly in the particle inner domain by introducing a pseudo body force to satisfy the constraint of rigid body motion, which is the key idea of a fictitious domain (FD) method. The LB-MEA/FD method has been validated by simulating two different cases, and the results have been compared with those through other methods. The numerical evidence illustrated the capability and robustness of the present method for simulating particle suspensions.

  16. A structural analysis of the AAA+ domains in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cytoplasmic dynein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleave, Emma S; Schmidt, Helgo; Carter, Andrew P

    2014-06-01

    Dyneins are large protein complexes that act as microtubule based molecular motors. The dynein heavy chain contains a motor domain which is a member of the AAA+ protein family (ATPases Associated with diverse cellular Activities). Proteins of the AAA+ family show a diverse range of functionalities, but share a related core AAA+ domain, which often assembles into hexameric rings. Dynein is unusual because it has all six AAA+ domains linked together, in one long polypeptide. The dynein motor domain generates movement by coupling ATP driven conformational changes in the AAA+ ring to the swing of a motile element called the linker. Dynein binds to its microtubule track via a long antiparallel coiled-coil stalk that emanates from the AAA+ ring. Recently the first high resolution structures of the dynein motor domain were published. Here we provide a detailed structural analysis of the six AAA+ domains using our Saccharomycescerevisiae crystal structure. We describe how structural similarities in the dynein AAA+ domains suggest they share a common evolutionary origin. We analyse how the different AAA+ domains have diverged from each other. We discuss how this is related to the function of dynein as a motor protein and how the AAA+ domains of dynein compare to those of other AAA+ proteins. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Gorin

    Full Text Available Several models in the verbal domain of short-term memory (STM consider a dissociation between item and order processing. This view is supported by data demonstrating that different types of time-based interference have a greater effect on memory for the order of to-be-remembered items than on memory for the items themselves. The present study investigated the domain-generality of the item versus serial order dissociation by comparing the differential effects of time-based interfering tasks, such as rhythmic interference and articulatory suppression, on item and order processing in verbal and musical STM domains. In Experiment 1, participants had to maintain sequences of verbal or musical information in STM, followed by a probe sequence, this under different conditions of interference (no-interference, rhythmic interference, articulatory suppression. They were required to decide whether all items of the probe list matched those of the memory list (item condition or whether the order of the items in the probe sequence matched the order in the memory list (order condition. In Experiment 2, participants performed a serial order probe recognition task for verbal and musical sequences ensuring sequential maintenance processes, under no-interference or rhythmic interference conditions. For Experiment 1, serial order recognition was not significantly more impacted by interfering tasks than was item recognition, this for both verbal and musical domains. For Experiment 2, we observed selective interference of the rhythmic interference condition on both musical and verbal order STM tasks. Overall, the results suggest a similar and selective sensitivity to time-based interference for serial order STM in verbal and musical domains, but only when the STM tasks ensure sequential maintenance processes.

  18. Domain-Generality of Timing-Based Serial Order Processes in Short-Term Memory: New Insights from Musical and Verbal Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorin, Simon; Kowialiewski, Benjamin; Majerus, Steve

    2016-01-01

    Several models in the verbal domain of short-term memory (STM) consider a dissociation between item and order processing. This view is supported by data demonstrating that different types of time-based interference have a greater effect on memory for the order of to-be-remembered items than on memory for the items themselves. The present study investigated the domain-generality of the item versus serial order dissociation by comparing the differential effects of time-based interfering tasks, such as rhythmic interference and articulatory suppression, on item and order processing in verbal and musical STM domains. In Experiment 1, participants had to maintain sequences of verbal or musical information in STM, followed by a probe sequence, this under different conditions of interference (no-interference, rhythmic interference, articulatory suppression). They were required to decide whether all items of the probe list matched those of the memory list (item condition) or whether the order of the items in the probe sequence matched the order in the memory list (order condition). In Experiment 2, participants performed a serial order probe recognition task for verbal and musical sequences ensuring sequential maintenance processes, under no-interference or rhythmic interference conditions. For Experiment 1, serial order recognition was not significantly more impacted by interfering tasks than was item recognition, this for both verbal and musical domains. For Experiment 2, we observed selective interference of the rhythmic interference condition on both musical and verbal order STM tasks. Overall, the results suggest a similar and selective sensitivity to time-based interference for serial order STM in verbal and musical domains, but only when the STM tasks ensure sequential maintenance processes.

  19. Interoperable domain models: the ISO land administration domain model LADM and its external classes

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Lemmen, CHJ

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a brief overview of one of the first spatial domain standards: a standard for the domain of Land Administration (LA). This standard is in the draft stage of development now (May 2011). The development of domain standards is a...

  20. The evolution of the DLK1-DIO3 imprinted domain in mammals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol A Edwards

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available A comprehensive, domain-wide comparative analysis of genomic imprinting between mammals that imprint and those that do not can provide valuable information about how and why imprinting evolved. The imprinting status, DNA methylation, and genomic landscape of the Dlk1-Dio3 cluster were determined in eutherian, metatherian, and prototherian mammals including tammar wallaby and platypus. Imprinting across the whole domain evolved after the divergence of eutherian from marsupial mammals and in eutherians is under strong purifying selection. The marsupial locus at 1.6 megabases, is double that of eutherians due to the accumulation of LINE repeats. Comparative sequence analysis of the domain in seven vertebrates determined evolutionary conserved regions common to particular sub-groups and to all vertebrates. The emergence of Dlk1-Dio3 imprinting in eutherians has occurred on the maternally inherited chromosome and is associated with region-specific resistance to expansion by repetitive elements and the local introduction of noncoding transcripts including microRNAs and C/D small nucleolar RNAs. A recent mammal-specific retrotransposition event led to the formation of a completely new gene only in the eutherian domain, which may have driven imprinting at the cluster.

  1. A Cross-Domain Collaborative Filtering Algorithm Based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Yu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Cross-domain collaborative filtering (CDCF solves the sparsity problem by transferring rating knowledge from auxiliary domains. Obviously, different auxiliary domains have different importance to the target domain. However, previous works cannot evaluate effectively the significance of different auxiliary domains. To overcome this drawback, we propose a cross-domain collaborative filtering algorithm based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression (FCLWLR. We first construct features in different domains and use these features to represent different auxiliary domains. Thus the weight computation across different domains can be converted as the weight computation across different features. Then we combine the features in the target domain and in the auxiliary domains together and convert the cross-domain recommendation problem into a regression problem. Finally, we employ a Locally Weighted Linear Regression (LWLR model to solve the regression problem. As LWLR is a nonparametric regression method, it can effectively avoid underfitting or overfitting problem occurring in parametric regression methods. We conduct extensive experiments to show that the proposed FCLWLR algorithm is effective in addressing the data sparsity problem by transferring the useful knowledge from the auxiliary domains, as compared to many state-of-the-art single-domain or cross-domain CF methods.

  2. Processing and inversion of commercial helicopter time-domain electromagnetic data for environmental assessments and geologic and hydrologic mapping

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    J.E., Podgorski; Auken, Esben; Schamper, Cyril Noel Clarence

    2013-01-01

    Helicopter time-domain electromagnetic (HTEM) surveying has historically been used for mineral exploration, but over the past decade it has started to be used in environmental assessments and geologic and hydrologic mapping. Such surveying is a cost-effective means of rapidly acquiring densely......%-23%, and the artificial lineations were practically eliminated. Our processing and inversion strategy is entirely general, such that with minor system-specific modifications it could be applied to any HTEM data set, including those recorded many years ago. © 2013 Society of Exploration Geophysicists....

  3. Multifunctionalities driven by ferroic domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, J. C.; Huang, Y. L.; He, Q.; Chu, Y. H.

    2014-08-01

    Considerable attention has been paid to ferroic systems in pursuit of advanced applications in past decades. Most recently, the emergence and development of multiferroics, which exhibit the coexistence of different ferroic natures, has offered a new route to create functionalities in the system. In this manuscript, we step from domain engineering to explore a roadmap for discovering intriguing phenomena and multifunctionalities driven by periodic domain patters. As-grown periodic domains, offering exotic order parameters, periodic local perturbations and the capability of tailoring local spin, charge, orbital and lattice degrees of freedom, are introduced as modeling templates for fundamental studies and novel applications. We discuss related significant findings on ferroic domain, nanoscopic domain walls, and conjunct heterostructures based on the well-organized domain patterns, and end with future prospects and challenges in the field.

  4. Text Processing of Domain-Related Information for Individuals with High and Low Domain Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spilich, George J.; And Others

    1979-01-01

    The way in which previously acquired knowledge affects the processing on new domain-related information was investigated. Text processing was studied in two groups differing in knowledge of the domain of baseball. A knowledge structure for the domain was constructed, and text propositions were classified. (SW)

  5. Safety Culture Assessment Tools in Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Domains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mkrtchyan, L.; Turcanu, C.

    2012-01-01

    Over the last decades, in many domains especially in high risk industries, the authorities paid increasing attention to safety management systems and, in particular, to safety culture. Consequently, in the applied and academic literature a huge amount of studies explored the main challenges, issues and obstacles related with safety culture. We undertake a survey of safety culture experiences in the main safety-critical industries such as nuclear, railways, offshore, aviation, airlines, health care, etc. We review both academic and applied literature up to the year 2011. Our results help to establish a comprehensive view on the subject, its main terminologies, existing tools, and main difficulties. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the current tools of safety culture assessment, both in the nuclear as well as in the non-nuclear domain. The report provides also practical recommendations about the possible use of each tool given different circumstances and different factors. We do not aim to rank the tools pointing the best one, but we highlight instead the unique features of these tools, pointing their strong and weak sides

  6. Safety Culture Assessment Tools in Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Domains

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mkrtchyan, L; Turcanu, C

    2012-03-15

    Over the last decades, in many domains especially in high risk industries, the authorities paid increasing attention to safety management systems and, in particular, to safety culture. Consequently, in the applied and academic literature a huge amount of studies explored the main challenges, issues and obstacles related with safety culture. We undertake a survey of safety culture experiences in the main safety-critical industries such as nuclear, railways, offshore, aviation, airlines, health care, etc. We review both academic and applied literature up to the year 2011. Our results help to establish a comprehensive view on the subject, its main terminologies, existing tools, and main difficulties. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness about the current tools of safety culture assessment, both in the nuclear as well as in the non-nuclear domain. The report provides also practical recommendations about the possible use of each tool given different circumstances and different factors. We do not aim to rank the tools pointing the best one, but we highlight instead the unique features of these tools, pointing their strong and weak sides.

  7. Developing, testing, and implementing a survey of scientist mentoring teachers as part of an RET: The GABI RET mentor survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davey, B.

    2017-12-01

    The impacts of mentoring in education have been well established. Mentors have a large impact on their mentees and have been show to affect mentee attitudes towards learning, interest in subjects, future success, and more. While mentoring has a well-documented impact on the mentees, mentoring also has an impact on the mentors themselves. However, little has been studied empirically about these impacts. When we looked for a validated instrument that measured the impact of mentoring on the scientists working with the teachers, we found many anecdotal reports but no instruments that meet our specific needs. To this end, we developed, tested, and implemented our own instrument for measuring the impacts of mentoring on our scientist mentors. Our instrument contained both quantitative and qualitative items designed to reveal the effects of mentoring in two areas: 1) cognitive domain (mentoring, teaching, understanding K-12) and 2) affective domain (professional, personal, participation). We first shared our survey with experts in survey development and mentoring, gathered their feedback, and incorporated their suggestions into our instrument. We then had a subsection of our mentors complete the survey and then complete it again three to four days later (test-retest). Our survey has a high correlation for the test-retest quantitative items (0.93) and a high correlation (0.90) between the three reviewers of the qualitative items. From our findings, we feel we have a validated instrument (face, content, and contruct validity) that answers our research questions reliably. Our contribution to the study of mentoring of science teachers reveals a broad range of impacts on the mentors themselves including an improved understanding of the challenges of classroom teaching, a recognition of the importance of scientists working with science teachers, an enhanced ability to communicate their research and findings, and an increased interest and excitement for their own work.

  8. Three dimensional image reconstruction in the Fourier domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stearns, C.W.; Chesler, D.A.; Brownell, G.L.

    1987-01-01

    Filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithms are based upon the relationship between the Fourier transform of the imaged object and the Fourier transforms of its projections. A new reconstruction algorithm has been developed which performs the image assembly operation in Fourier space, rather than in image space by backprojection. This represents a significant decrease in the number of operations required to assemble the image. The new Fourier domain algorithm has resolution comparable to the filtered backprojection algorithm, and, after correction by a pointwise multiplication, demonstrates proper recovery throughout image space. Although originally intended for three-dimensional imaging applications, the Fourier domain algorithm can also be developed for two-dimensional imaging applications such as planar positron imaging systems

  9. Using freelisting to identify, assess, and characterize age differences in shared cultural domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrauf, Robert W; Sanchez, Julia

    2008-11-01

    Freelisting is a brief, paper-and-pencil technique in which participants make lists of items that they believe belong in a particular domain. Where cultural domains are shared, as for young and old in the same society, subtle intracultural differences may be difficult to detect. This article presents a series of techniques for revealing and describing this intracultural variation in freelisted data among young versus old age groups. Older (N = 30) and younger (N = 31) Mexicans in Mexico City made freelists in four quotidian domains: animals, emotions, illnesses, and gendered occupations. We used minimum residual factor analysis (consensus analysis) to establish domain coherence and assess overall consensus concerning contents of the domains. We established subvariation within the overall consensus by comparing levels of observed versus predicted inter-informant agreement. Results showed divergent patterns of inter-informant agreement between young and old participants across domains. Qualitative examination of items with higher salience for young versus old revealed age differences consistent with prior findings in each domain. The concatenation of these techniques renders freelisting an accessible, easily administered tool for probing age and group differences in cultural domains.

  10. Mental Illness-Related Stigma in Canadian Military and Civilian Populations: A Comparison Using Population Health Survey Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeks, Murray; Zamorski, Mark A; Rusu, Corneliu; Colman, Ian

    2017-07-01

    This study sought to compare the prevalence and impacts of mental illness-related stigma among Canadian Armed Forces personnel and Canadian civilians. Data were from two highly comparable, population-based, cross-sectional surveys of Canadian military personnel and Canadian civilians: the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey (N=6,696) and the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (N=25,113), respectively. Perceived stigma was assessed among those who reported care seeking for a mental health problem in the past 12 months. Follow-up questions assessed the impact of stigma in various domains. Modified Poisson regression and linear regression were used to examine population differences (military versus civilian) in terms of care seeking, stigma, and stigma impact, with adjustments for sociodemographic characteristics and the need for care. Military personnel were significantly more likely than civilians to have perceived stigma (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR]=1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.11-2.60). Stigma had a greater impact on military personnel, particularly in terms of work or school life (b=1.01, CI=.57-1.47). However, military personnel were also significantly more likely than civilians to have sought care (PR=1.86, CI=1.53-2.25). Military personnel reported a disproportionate amount of mental illness-related stigma, compared with Canadian civilians, and a greater impact of stigma. Nevertheless, military personnel were more likely to seek care, pointing to a complex relationship between stigma and care seeking in the military.

  11. Functional interchangeability of late domains, late domain cofactors and ubiquitin in viral budding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Zhadina

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available The membrane scission event that separates nascent enveloped virions from host cell membranes often requires the ESCRT pathway, which can be engaged through the action of peptide motifs, termed late (L- domains, in viral proteins. Viral PTAP and YPDL-like L-domains bind directly to the ESCRT-I and ALIX components of the ESCRT pathway, while PPxY motifs bind Nedd4-like, HECT-domain containing, ubiquitin ligases (e.g. WWP1. It has been unclear precisely how ubiquitin ligase recruitment ultimately leads to particle release. Here, using a lysine-free viral Gag protein derived from the prototypic foamy virus (PFV, where attachment of ubiquitin to Gag can be controlled, we show that several different HECT domains can replace the WWP1 HECT domain in chimeric ubiquitin ligases and drive budding. Moreover, artificial recruitment of isolated HECT domains to Gag is sufficient to stimulate budding. Conversely, the HECT domain becomes dispensable if the other domains of WWP1 are directly fused to an ESCRT-1 protein. In each case where budding is driven by a HECT domain, its catalytic activity is essential, but Gag ubiquitination is dispensable, suggesting that ubiquitin ligation to trans-acting proteins drives budding. Paradoxically, however, we also demonstrate that direct fusion of a ubiquitin moiety to the C-terminus of PFV Gag can also promote budding, suggesting that ubiquitination of Gag can substitute for ubiquitination of trans-acting proteins. Depletion of Tsg101 and ALIX inhibits budding that is dependent on ubiquitin that is fused to Gag, or ligated to trans-acting proteins through the action of a PPxY motif. These studies underscore the flexibility in the ways that the ESCRT pathway can be engaged, and suggest a model in which the identity of the protein to which ubiquitin is attached is not critical for subsequent recruitment of ubiquitin-binding components of the ESCRT pathway and viral budding to proceed.

  12. Mode system effects in an online panel study : Comparing a probability-based online panel with two face-to-face reference surveys

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Struminskaya, Bella; de Leeuw, E.D.; Kaczmirek, Lars

    2015-01-01

    One of the methods for evaluating online panels in terms of data quality is comparing the estimates that the panels provide with benchmark sources. For probability-based online panels, high-quality surveys or government statistics can be used as references. If differences among the benchmark and the

  13. The evolution of nursing in Australian general practice: a comparative analysis of workforce surveys ten years on.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halcomb, Elizabeth J; Salamonson, Yenna; Davidson, Patricia M; Kaur, Rajneesh; Young, Samantha Am

    2014-03-25

    Nursing in Australian general practice has grown rapidly over the last decade in response to government initiatives to strengthen primary care. There are limited data about how this expansion has impacted on the nursing role, scope of practice and workforce characteristics. This study aimed to describe the current demographic and employment characteristics of Australian nurses working in general practice and explore trends in their role over time. In the nascence of the expansion of the role of nurses in Australian general practice (2003-2004) a national survey was undertaken to describe nurse demographics, clinical roles and competencies. This survey was repeated in 2009-2010 and comparative analysis of the datasets undertaken to explore workforce changes over time. Two hundred eighty four nurses employed in general practice completed the first survey (2003/04) and 235 completed the second survey (2009/10). Significantly more participants in Study 2 were undertaking follow-up of pathology results, physical assessment and disease specific health education. There was also a statistically significant increase in the participants who felt that further education/training would augment their confidence in all clinical tasks (p nurses' role in general practice decreased between the two time points, more participants perceived lack of space, job descriptions, confidence to negotiate with general practitioners and personal desire to enhance their role as barriers. Access to education and training as a facilitator to nursing role expansion increased between the two studies. The level of optimism of participants for the future of the nurses' role in general practice was slightly decreased over time. This study has identified that some of the structural barriers to nursing in Australian general practice have been addressed over time. However, it also identifies continuing barriers that impact practice nurse role development. Understanding and addressing these issues is vital

  14. Identifying APT Malware Domain Based on Mobile DNS Logging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weina Niu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Advanced Persistent Threat (APT is a serious threat against sensitive information. Current detection approaches are time-consuming since they detect APT attack by in-depth analysis of massive amounts of data after data breaches. Specifically, APT attackers make use of DNS to locate their command and control (C&C servers and victims’ machines. In this paper, we propose an efficient approach to detect APT malware C&C domain with high accuracy by analyzing DNS logs. We first extract 15 features from DNS logs of mobile devices. According to Alexa ranking and the VirusTotal’s judgement result, we give each domain a score. Then, we select the most normal domains by the score metric. Finally, we utilize our anomaly detection algorithm, called Global Abnormal Forest (GAF, to identify malware C&C domains. We conduct a performance analysis to demonstrate that our approach is more efficient than other existing works in terms of calculation efficiency and recognition accuracy. Compared with Local Outlier Factor (LOF, k-Nearest Neighbor (KNN, and Isolation Forest (iForest, our approach obtains more than 99% F-M and R for the detection of C&C domains. Our approach not only can reduce data volume that needs to be recorded and analyzed but also can be applicable to unsupervised learning.

  15. Assessing subjective quality of life domains after multiple sclerosis diagnosis disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattarozzi, Katia; Casini, Federica; Baldin, Elisa; Baldini, Martina; Lugaresi, Alessandra; Milani, Paola; Pietrolongo, Erika; Gajofatto, Alberto; Leone, Maurizio; Riise, Trond; Vignatelli, Luca; D'Alessandro, Roberto

    2016-04-01

    An investigation of the domains Italian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) named as constituting their quality of life over time. We assessed, in 68 patients, QoL domains using the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual QoL: (a) before MS diagnosis disclosure, (b) thirty days after disclosure, and (c) after one and (d) four years' follow-up. The life domains most frequently named by patients were as follows: Family, Work and Finance, Hobbies, Health, Relationship with Friends and Job Effectiveness. Only Health and Job Effectiveness domains varied with time. The Health domain became a critical dimension when MS diagnosis was revealed. In addition, patients tended to be more satisfied with their health after disclosure compared to pre-diagnosis. Job Effectiveness seemed to be an important aspect until 1 year after diagnosis disclosure, but it tended to become less crucial over time. Family seems to be the most important domain over time, and psychological adaptation to MS seems to be characterized by a reconceptualization of aspects that revolve around oneself, such as professional success, rather than relational or affective factors. Evaluating the most relevant life domains for patients and their alteration over time may provide practitioners with an important tool in making health-related decisions, thus improving health outcomes and QoL. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Efficient segmental isotope labeling of multi-domain proteins using Sortase A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freiburger, Lee, E-mail: lee.freiburger@tum.de; Sonntag, Miriam, E-mail: miriam.sonntag@mytum.de; Hennig, Janosch, E-mail: janosch.hennig@helmholtz-muenchen.de [Helmholtz Zentrum München, Institute of Structural Biology (Germany); Li, Jian, E-mail: lijianzhongbei@163.com [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (China); Zou, Peijian, E-mail: peijian.zou@helmholtz-muenchen.de; Sattler, Michael, E-mail: sattler@helmholtz-muenchen.de [Helmholtz Zentrum München, Institute of Structural Biology (Germany)

    2015-09-15

    NMR studies of multi-domain protein complexes provide unique insight into their molecular interactions and dynamics in solution. For large proteins domain-selective isotope labeling is desired to reduce signal overlap, but available methods require extensive optimization and often give poor ligation yields. We present an optimized strategy for segmental labeling of multi-domain proteins using the S. aureus transpeptidase Sortase A. Critical improvements compared to existing protocols are (1) the efficient removal of cleaved peptide fragments by centrifugal filtration and (2) a strategic design of cleavable and non-cleavable affinity tags for purification. Our approach enables routine production of milligram amounts of purified segmentally labeled protein for NMR and other biophysical studies.

  17. Magnetic field control of 90°, 180°, and 360° domain wall resistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majidi, Roya

    2012-10-01

    In the present work, we have compared the resistance of the 90°, 180°, and 360° domain walls in the presence of external magnetic field. The calculations are based on the Boltzmann transport equation within the relaxation time approximation. One-dimensional Néel-type domain walls between two domains whose magnetization differs by angle of 90°, 180°, and 360° are considered. The results indicate that the resistance of the 360° DW is more considerable than that of the 90° and 180° DWs. It is also found that the domain wall resistance can be controlled by applying transverse magnetic field. Increasing the strength of the external magnetic field enhances the domain wall resistance. In providing spintronic devices based on magnetic nanomaterials, considering and controlling the effect of domain wall on resistivity are essential.

  18. COMPARING H{alpha} AND H I SURVEYS AS MEANS TO A COMPLETE LOCAL GALAXY CATALOG IN THE ADVANCED LIGO/VIRGO ERA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Metzger, Brian D. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08542 (United States); Kaplan, David L. [Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211 (United States); Berger, Edo, E-mail: bmetzger@astro.princeton.edu, E-mail: kaplan@uwm.edu, E-mail: eberger@cfa.harvard.edu [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)

    2013-02-20

    Identifying the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave (GW) sources detected by upcoming networks of advanced ground-based interferometers will be challenging, due in part to the large number of unrelated astrophysical transients within the {approx}10-100 deg{sup 2} sky localizations. A potential way to greatly reduce the number of such false positives is to limit detailed follow-up to only those candidates near galaxies within the GW sensitivity range of {approx}200 Mpc for binary neutron star mergers. Such a strategy is currently hindered by the fact that galaxy catalogs are grossly incomplete within this volume. Here, we compare two methods for completing the local galaxy catalog: (1) a narrowband H{alpha} imaging survey and (2) an H I emission line radio survey. Using H{alpha} fluxes, stellar masses (M {sub *}), and star formation rates (SFRs) from galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), combined with H I data from the GALEX Arecibo SDSS Survey and the Herschel Reference Survey, we estimate that an H{alpha} survey with a luminosity sensitivity of L {sub H{alpha}} = 10{sup 40} erg s{sup -1} at 200 Mpc could achieve a completeness of f {sup H{alpha}} {sub SFR} Almost-Equal-To 75% with respect to total SFR, but only f{sub M* Star-Operator }{sup H{alpha}} approx. 33% with respect to M {sub *} (due to lack of sensitivity to early-type galaxies). These numbers are significantly lower than those achieved by an idealized spectroscopic survey due to the loss of H{alpha} flux resulting from resolving out nearby galaxies and the inability to correct for the underlying stellar continuum. An H I survey with sensitivity similar to the proposed WALLABY survey on ASKAP could achieve f{sub SFR}{sup H{sub I}} Almost-Equal-To 80% and f{sub M Star-Operator }{sup H{sub I}} Almost-Equal-To 50%, somewhat higher than that of the H{alpha} survey. Finally, both H{alpha} and H I surveys should achieve {approx}> 50% completeness with respect to the host galaxies of

  19. KEJAHATAN NAMA DOMAIN BERKAITAN DENGAN MEREK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Nizar

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia already has an ITE Law governing domain names in general terms and on certain provisions in chapter VI, but the regulation of domain name crimes is not regulated in the ITE Law as mandated in the academic draft of the ITE Bill. The absence of regulation of domain name norm in the ITE Law creates problems with registrant of domain name (registrant which deliberately register the domain name is bad faith. The characteristic of a crime in a domain name relating to the mark is that the registered domain name has an equation in essence with another party’s well-known brand, the act of doing so by exploiting a reputation for well-known or previously commercially valuable names as domain names for addresses for sites (websites it manages. The Prosecutor may include articles of the KUHP in filing his indictment before the Court during the absence of special regulatory provisions concerning domain name crime.

  20. Ligand binding by PDZ domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chi, Celestine N.; Bach, Anders; Strømgaard, Kristian

    2012-01-01

    , for example, are particularly rich in these domains. The general function of PDZ domains is to bring proteins together within the appropriate cellular compartment, thereby facilitating scaffolding, signaling, and trafficking events. The many functions of PDZ domains under normal physiological as well...... as pathological conditions have been reviewed recently. In this review, we focus on the molecular details of how PDZ domains bind their protein ligands and their potential as drug targets in this context....

  1. The Definition, Dimensions, and Domain of Public Relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutton, James G.

    1999-01-01

    Discusses how the field of public relations has left itself vulnerable to other fields that are making inroads into public relations' traditional domain, and to critics who are filling in their own definitions of public relations. Proposes a definition and a three-dimensional framework to compare competing philosophies of public relations and to…

  2. Modularity, comparative cognition and human uniqueness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shettleworth, Sara J

    2012-10-05

    Darwin's claim 'that the difference in mind between man and the higher animals … is certainly one of degree and not of kind' is at the core of the comparative study of cognition. Recent research provides unprecedented support for Darwin's claim as well as new reasons to question it, stimulating new theories of human cognitive uniqueness. This article compares and evaluates approaches to such theories. Some prominent theories propose sweeping domain-general characterizations of the difference in cognitive capabilities and/or mechanisms between adult humans and other animals. Dual-process theories for some cognitive domains propose that adult human cognition shares simple basic processes with that of other animals while additionally including slower-developing and more explicit uniquely human processes. These theories are consistent with a modular account of cognition and the 'core knowledge' account of children's cognitive development. A complementary proposal is that human infants have unique social and/or cognitive adaptations for uniquely human learning. A view of human cognitive architecture as a mosaic of unique and species-general modular and domain-general processes together with a focus on uniquely human developmental mechanisms is consistent with modern evolutionary-developmental biology and suggests new questions for comparative research.

  3. The survey of the Omagari fault using electric survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Koichi; Kishimoto, Munemaru; Negi, Tateyuki; Teshima, Minoru

    2005-08-01

    The present document is to report the results of geophysical survey by electric survey around a site proposed for the Horonobe Underground Research Program at Horonobe-cho, Hokkaido by the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute. Electric survey using dipole-dipole array was carried out at 2,061 points using 101 electrodes over 1 km survey line in the area of Hokushin in Horonobe-cho near presumed Omagari-fault. Two dimensional resistivity inversion analysis was carried out and the resistivity structure from the surface to 250 m below sea level became clear. The resistivity structure was studied by comparing structure presumed from existing geological and geophysical informations. Resistivity distribution near surface was about 100 ohm-m and it became from 10 to 2 ohm-m as the depth increasing. Resistivity near presumed Omagari-fault was relatively lower than around that fault. Resistivity distribution was good agreement with two dimensional resistivity structure perfumed by AMT survey (2003) and existing electrical resistivity log data. Resistivity distribution of shallow zone at survey area was clear because the density of survey points were very high. (author)

  4. The patient safety climate in healthcare organizations (PSCHO) survey: Short-form development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benzer, Justin K; Meterko, Mark; Singer, Sara J

    2017-08-01

    Measures of safety climate are increasingly used to guide safety improvement initiatives. However, cost and respondent burden may limit the use of safety climate surveys. The purpose of this study was to develop a 15- to 20-item safety climate survey based on the Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations survey, a well-validated 38-item measure of safety climate. The Patient Safety Climate in Healthcare Organizations was administered to all senior managers, all physicians, and a 10% random sample of all other hospital personnel in 69 private sector hospitals and 30 Veterans Health Administration hospitals. Both samples were randomly divided into a derivation sample to identify a short-form subset and a confirmation sample to assess the psychometric properties of the proposed short form. The short form consists of 15 items represented 3 overarching domains in the long-form scale-organization, work unit, and interpersonal. The proposed short form efficiently captures 3 important sources of variance in safety climate: organizational, work-unit, and interpersonal. The short-form development process was a practical method that can be applied to other safety climate surveys. This safety climate short form may increase response rates in studies that involve busy clinicians or repeated measures. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  5. An Examination of Multiple Intelligence Domains and Learning Styles of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers: Their Reflections on Mathematics Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozgen, Kemal; Tataroglu, Berna; Alkan, Huseyin

    2011-01-01

    The present study aims to identify pre-service mathematics teachers' multiple intelligence domains and learning style profiles, and to establish relationships between them. Employing the survey model, the study was conducted with the participation of 243 pre-service mathematics teachers. The study used the "multiple intelligence domains…

  6. Investigating Simulated Driving Errors in Amnestic Single- and Multiple-Domain Mild Cognitive Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hird, Megan A; Vesely, Kristin A; Fischer, Corinne E; Graham, Simon J; Naglie, Gary; Schweizer, Tom A

    2017-01-01

    The areas of driving impairment characteristic of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remain unclear. This study compared the simulated driving performance of 24 individuals with MCI, including amnestic single-domain (sd-MCI, n = 11) and amnestic multiple-domain MCI (md-MCI, n = 13), and 20 age-matched controls. Individuals with MCI committed over twice as many driving errors (20.0 versus 9.9), demonstrated difficulty with lane maintenance, and committed more errors during left turns with traffic compared to healthy controls. Specifically, individuals with md-MCI demonstrated greater driving difficulty compared to healthy controls, relative to those with sd-MCI. Differentiating between different subtypes of MCI may be important when evaluating driving safety.

  7. Polar Domain Discovery with Sparkler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duerr, R.; Khalsa, S. J. S.; Mattmann, C. A.; Ottilingam, N. K.; Singh, K.; Lopez, L. A.

    2017-12-01

    The scientific web is vast and ever growing. It encompasses millions of textual, scientific and multimedia documents describing research in a multitude of scientific streams. Most of these documents are hidden behind forms which require user action to retrieve and thus can't be directly accessed by content crawlers. These documents are hosted on web servers across the world, most often on outdated hardware and network infrastructure. Hence it is difficult and time-consuming to aggregate documents from the scientific web, especially those relevant to a specific domain. Thus generating meaningful domain-specific insights is currently difficult. We present an automated discovery system (Figure 1) using Sparkler, an open-source, extensible, horizontally scalable crawler which facilitates high throughput and focused crawling of documents pertinent to a particular domain such as information about polar regions. With this set of highly domain relevant documents, we show that it is possible to answer analytical questions about that domain. Our domain discovery algorithm leverages prior domain knowledge to reach out to commercial/scientific search engines to generate seed URLs. Subject matter experts then annotate these seed URLs manually on a scale from highly relevant to irrelevant. We leverage this annotated dataset to train a machine learning model which predicts the `domain relevance' of a given document. We extend Sparkler with this model to focus crawling on documents relevant to that domain. Sparkler avoids disruption of service by 1) partitioning URLs by hostname such that every node gets a different host to crawl and by 2) inserting delays between subsequent requests. With an NSF-funded supercomputer Wrangler, we scaled our domain discovery pipeline to crawl about 200k polar specific documents from the scientific web, within a day.

  8. Survey of non-linear hydrodynamic models of type-II Cepheids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smolec, R.

    2016-03-01

    We present a grid of non-linear convective type-II Cepheid models. The dense model grids are computed for 0.6 M⊙ and a range of metallicities ([Fe/H] = -2.0, -1.5, -1.0), and for 0.8 M⊙ ([Fe/H] = -1.5). Two sets of convective parameters are considered. The models cover the full temperature extent of the classical instability strip, but are limited in luminosity; for the most luminous models, violent pulsation leads to the decoupling of the outermost model shell. Hence, our survey reaches only the shortest period RV Tau domain. In the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, we detect two domains in which period-doubled pulsation is possible. The first extends through the BL Her domain and low-luminosity W Vir domain (pulsation periods ˜2-6.5 d). The second domain extends at higher luminosities (W Vir domain; periods >9.5 d). Some models within these domains display period-4 pulsation. We also detect very narrow domains (˜10 K wide) in which modulation of pulsation is possible. Another interesting phenomenon we detect is double-mode pulsation in the fundamental mode and in the fourth radial overtone. Fourth overtone is a surface mode, trapped in the outer model layers. Single-mode pulsation in the fourth overtone is also possible on the hot side of the classical instability strip. The origin of the above phenomena is discussed. In particular, the role of resonances in driving different pulsation dynamics as well as in shaping the morphology of the radius variation curves is analysed.

  9. The relative influence of different domains of social connectedness on self-directed violence in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaminski, Jennifer W; Puddy, Richard W; Hall, Diane M; Cashman, Sandra Y; Crosby, Alexander E; Ortega, Lavonne A G

    2010-05-01

    Previous research has linked greater social connectedness with a lowered risk of self-directed violence among adolescents. However, few studies have analyzed the comparative strength of different domains of connectedness (e.g., family, peers and school) to determine where limited resources might best be focused. Data to address that gap were taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Student Health and Safety Survey, administered to 4,131 7th-12th graders (51.5% female; 43.8% Hispanic; 22.6% African American or Black). Logistic regressions (controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, family structure, academic performance, and depressive symptoms) suggest that family connectedness was a stronger predictor than connectedness to peers, school, or adults at school for non-suicidal self-harm, suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and non-fatal suicidal behavior. In some analyses, peer connectedness was unexpectedly a risk factor. Results have implications for prevention of suicide in adolescence, especially in the context of the current trend towards school-based prevention programs.

  10. Blocking-resistant communication through domain fronting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fifield David

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available We describe “domain fronting,” a versatile censorship circumvention technique that hides the remote endpoint of a communication. Domain fronting works at the application layer, using HTTPS, to communicate with a forbidden host while appearing to communicate with some other host, permitted by the censor. The key idea is the use of different domain names at different layers of communication. One domain appears on the “outside” of an HTTPS request—in the DNS request and TLS Server Name Indication—while another domain appears on the “inside”—in the HTTP Host header, invisible to the censor under HTTPS encryption. A censor, unable to distinguish fronted and nonfronted traffic to a domain, must choose between allowing circumvention traffic and blocking the domain entirely, which results in expensive collateral damage. Domain fronting is easy to deploy and use and does not require special cooperation by network intermediaries. We identify a number of hard-to-block web services, such as content delivery networks, that support domain-fronted connections and are useful for censorship circumvention. Domain fronting, in various forms, is now a circumvention workhorse. We describe several months of deployment experience in the Tor, Lantern, and Psiphon circumvention systems, whose domain-fronting transports now connect thousands of users daily and transfer many terabytes per month.

  11. From blackbirds to black holes: Investigating capture-recapture methods for time domain astronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laycock, Silas G. T.

    2017-07-01

    In time domain astronomy, recurrent transients present a special problem: how to infer total populations from limited observations. Monitoring observations may give a biassed view of the underlying population due to limitations on observing time, visibility and instrumental sensitivity. A similar problem exists in the life sciences, where animal populations (such as migratory birds) or disease prevalence, must be estimated from sparse and incomplete data. The class of methods termed Capture-Recapture is used to reconstruct population estimates from time-series records of encounters with the study population. This paper investigates the performance of Capture-Recapture methods in astronomy via a series of numerical simulations. The Blackbirds code simulates monitoring of populations of transients, in this case accreting binary stars (neutron star or black hole accreting from a stellar companion) under a range of observing strategies. We first generate realistic light-curves for populations of binaries with contrasting orbital period distributions. These models are then randomly sampled at observing cadences typical of existing and planned monitoring surveys. The classical capture-recapture methods, Lincoln-Peterson, Schnabel estimators, related techniques, and newer methods implemented in the Rcapture package are compared. A general exponential model based on the radioactive decay law is introduced which is demonstrated to recover (at 95% confidence) the underlying population abundance and duty cycle, in a fraction of the observing visits (10-50%) required to discover all the sources in the simulation. Capture-Recapture is a promising addition to the toolbox of time domain astronomy, and methods implemented in R by the biostats community can be readily called from within python.

  12. SH3 Domains Differentially Stimulate Distinct Dynamin I Assembly Modes and G Domain Activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sai Krishnan

    Full Text Available Dynamin I is a highly regulated GTPase enzyme enriched in nerve terminals which mediates vesicle fission during synaptic vesicle endocytosis. One regulatory mechanism involves its interactions with proteins containing Src homology 3 (SH3 domains. At least 30 SH3 domain-containing proteins bind dynamin at its proline-rich domain (PRD. Those that stimulate dynamin activity act by promoting its oligomerisation. We undertook a systematic parallel screening of 13 glutathione-S-transferase (GST-tagged endocytosis-related SH3 domains on dynamin binding, GTPase activity and oligomerisation. No correlation was found between dynamin binding and their potency to stimulate GTPase activity. There was limited correlation between the extent of their ability to stimulate dynamin activity and the level of oligomerisation, indicating an as yet uncharacterised allosteric coupling of the PRD and G domain. We examined the two variants, dynamin Iab and Ibb, which differ in the alternately splice middle domain α2 helix. They responded differently to the panel of SH3s, with the extent of stimulation between the splice variants varying greatly between the SH3s. This study reveals that SH3 binding can act as a heterotropic allosteric regulator of the G domain via the middle domain α2 helix, suggesting an involvement of this helix in communicating the PRD-mediated allostery. This indicates that SH3 binding both stabilises multiple conformations of the tetrameric building block of dynamin, and promotes assembly of dynamin-SH3 complexes with distinct rates of GTP hydrolysis.

  13. Knowledge Based Systems: A Critical Survey of Major Concepts, Issues, and Techniques. M.S. Thesis Final Report, 1 Jul. 1985 - 31 Dec. 1987

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Kavi, Srinu

    1984-01-01

    This Working Paper Series entry presents a detailed survey of knowledge based systems. After being in a relatively dormant state for many years, only recently is Artificial Intelligence (AI) - that branch of computer science that attempts to have machines emulate intelligent behavior - accomplishing practical results. Most of these results can be attributed to the design and use of Knowledge-Based Systems, KBSs (or ecpert systems) - problem solving computer programs that can reach a level of performance comparable to that of a human expert in some specialized problem domain. These systems can act as a consultant for various requirements like medical diagnosis, military threat analysis, project risk assessment, etc. These systems possess knowledge to enable them to make intelligent desisions. They are, however, not meant to replace the human specialists in any particular domain. A critical survey of recent work in interactive KBSs is reported. A case study (MYCIN) of a KBS, a list of existing KBSs, and an introduction to the Japanese Fifth Generation Computer Project are provided as appendices. Finally, an extensive set of KBS-related references is provided at the end of the report.

  14. An ontological approach to domain engineering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Falbo, R.A.; Guizzardi, G.; Duarte, K.

    2002-01-01

    Domain engineering aims to support systematic reuse, focusing on modeling common knowledge in a problem domain. Ontologies have also been pointed as holding great promise for software reuse. In this paper, we present ODE (Ontology-based Domain Engineering), an ontological approach for domain

  15. Ferroelectric negative capacitance domain dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Michael; Khan, Asif Islam; Serrao, Claudy; Lu, Zhongyuan; Salahuddin, Sayeef; Pešić, Milan; Slesazeck, Stefan; Schroeder, Uwe; Mikolajick, Thomas

    2018-05-01

    Transient negative capacitance effects in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 capacitors are investigated with a focus on the dynamical switching behavior governed by domain nucleation and growth. Voltage pulses are applied to a series connection of the ferroelectric capacitor and a resistor to directly measure the ferroelectric negative capacitance during switching. A time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach is used to investigate the underlying domain dynamics. The transient negative capacitance is shown to originate from reverse domain nucleation and unrestricted domain growth. However, with the onset of domain coalescence, the capacitance becomes positive again. The persistence of the negative capacitance state is therefore limited by the speed of domain wall motion. By changing the applied electric field, capacitor area or external resistance, this domain wall velocity can be varied predictably over several orders of magnitude. Additionally, detailed insights into the intrinsic material properties of the ferroelectric are obtainable through these measurements. A new method for reliable extraction of the average negative capacitance of the ferroelectric is presented. Furthermore, a simple analytical model is developed, which accurately describes the negative capacitance transient time as a function of the material properties and the experimental boundary conditions.

  16. Is Satisfaction with the Acute-Care Experience Higher amongst Consumers Treated in the Private Sector? A Survey of Public and Private Sector Arthroplasty Recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naylor, Justine M; Descallar, Joseph; Grootemaat, Mechteld; Badge, Helen; Harris, Ian A; Simpson, Grahame; Jenkin, Deanne

    2016-01-01

    Consumer satisfaction with the acute-care experience could reasonably be expected to be higher amongst those treated in the private sector compared to those treated in the public sector given the former relies on high-level satisfaction of its consumers and their subsequent recommendations to thrive. The primary aims of this study were to determine, in a knee or hip arthroplasty cohort, if surgery in the private sector predicts greater overall satisfaction with the acute-care experience and greater likelihood to recommend the same hospital. A secondary aim was to determine whether satisfaction across a range of service domains is also higher in the private sector. A telephone survey was conducted 35 days post-surgery. The hospital cohort comprised eight public and seven private high-volume arthroplasty providers. Consumers rated overall satisfaction with care out of 100 and likeliness to recommend their hospital on a 5-point Likert scale. Additional Likert-style questions were asked covering specific service domains. Generalized estimating equation models were used to analyse overall satisfaction (dichotomised as ≥ 90 or sector reporting the best Likert response for each individual domain were compared using non-parametric tests. 457 survey respondents (n = 210 private) were included. Less patient-reported joint impairment pre-surgery [OR 1.03 (95% CI 1.01-1.05)] and absence of an acute complication (OR 2.13 95% CI 1.41-3.23) significantly predicted higher overall satisfaction. Hip arthroplasty [OR 1.84 (1.1-2.96)] and an absence of an acute complication [OR 2.31 (1.28-4.17] significantly predicted greater likelihood for recommending the hospital. The only care domains where the private out-performed the public sector were hospitality (46.7 vs 35.6%, p private sector are not more satisfied with their acute-care experience nor are they more likely to recommend their hospital provider. Rather, avoidance of complications in either sector appears to result in

  17. Functional domains of plant chimeric calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase: regulation by autoinhibitory and visinin-like domains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandiran, S.; Takezawa, D.; Wang, W.; Poovaiah, B. W.

    1997-01-01

    A novel calcium-binding calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CCaMK) with a catalytic domain, calmodulin-binding domain, and a neural visinin-like domain was cloned and characterized from plants [Patil et al., (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 4797-4801; Takezawa et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 8126-8132]. The mechanisms of CCaMK activation by calcium and calcium/calmodulin were investigated using various deletion mutants. The use of deletion mutants of CCaMK lacking either one, two, or all three calcium-binding EF hands indicated that all three calcium-binding sites in the visinin-like domain were crucial for the full calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase activity. As each calcium-binding EF hand was deleted, there was a gradual reduction in calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase activity from 100 to 4%. Another mutant (amino acids 1-322) which lacks both the visinin-like domain containing three EF hands and the calmodulin-binding domain was constitutively active, indicating the presence of an autoinhibitory domain around the calmodulin-binding domain. By using various synthetic peptides and the constitutively active mutant, we have shown that CCaMK contains an autoinhibitory domain within the residues 322-340 which overlaps its calmodulin-binding domain. Kinetic studies with both ATP and the GS peptide substrate suggest that the autoinhibitory domain of CCaMK interacts only with the peptide substrate binding motif of the catalytic domain, but not with the ATP-binding motif.

  18. Summarization by domain ontology navigation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Troels; Bulskov, Henrik

    2013-01-01

    of the subject. In between these two extremes, conceptual summaries encompass selected concepts derived using background knowledge. We address in this paper an approach where conceptual summaries are provided through a conceptualization as given by an ontology. The ontology guiding the summarization can...... be a simple taxonomy or a generative domain ontology. A domain ontology can be provided by a preanalysis of a domain corpus and can be used to condense improved summaries that better reflects the conceptualization of a given domain....

  19. Lesion insertion in the projection domain: Methods and initial results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Baiyu; Leng, Shuai; Yu, Lifeng; Yu, Zhicong; Ma, Chi; McCollough, Cynthia

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To perform task-based image quality assessment in CT, it is desirable to have a large number of realistic patient images with known diagnostic truth. One effective way of achieving this objective is to create hybrid images that combine patient images with inserted lesions. Because conventional hybrid images generated in the image domain fails to reflect the impact of scan and reconstruction parameters on lesion appearance, this study explored a projection-domain approach. Methods: Lesions were segmented from patient images and forward projected to acquire lesion projections. The forward-projection geometry was designed according to a commercial CT scanner and accommodated both axial and helical modes with various focal spot movement patterns. The energy employed by the commercial CT scanner for beam hardening correction was measured and used for the forward projection. The lesion projections were inserted into patient projections decoded from commercial CT projection data. The combined projections were formatted to match those of commercial CT raw data, loaded onto a commercial CT scanner, and reconstructed to create the hybrid images. Two validations were performed. First, to validate the accuracy of the forward-projection geometry, images were reconstructed from the forward projections of a virtual ACR phantom and compared to physically acquired ACR phantom images in terms of CT number accuracy and high-contrast resolution. Second, to validate the realism of the lesion in hybrid images, liver lesions were segmented from patient images and inserted back into the same patients, each at a new location specified by a radiologist. The inserted lesions were compared to the original lesions and visually assessed for realism by two experienced radiologists in a blinded fashion. Results: For the validation of the forward-projection geometry, the images reconstructed from the forward projections of the virtual ACR phantom were consistent with the images physically

  20. Lesion insertion in the projection domain: Methods and initial results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Baiyu; Leng, Shuai; Yu, Lifeng; Yu, Zhicong; Ma, Chi; McCollough, Cynthia, E-mail: mccollough.cynthia@mayo.edu [Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905 (United States)

    2015-12-15

    Purpose: To perform task-based image quality assessment in CT, it is desirable to have a large number of realistic patient images with known diagnostic truth. One effective way of achieving this objective is to create hybrid images that combine patient images with inserted lesions. Because conventional hybrid images generated in the image domain fails to reflect the impact of scan and reconstruction parameters on lesion appearance, this study explored a projection-domain approach. Methods: Lesions were segmented from patient images and forward projected to acquire lesion projections. The forward-projection geometry was designed according to a commercial CT scanner and accommodated both axial and helical modes with various focal spot movement patterns. The energy employed by the commercial CT scanner for beam hardening correction was measured and used for the forward projection. The lesion projections were inserted into patient projections decoded from commercial CT projection data. The combined projections were formatted to match those of commercial CT raw data, loaded onto a commercial CT scanner, and reconstructed to create the hybrid images. Two validations were performed. First, to validate the accuracy of the forward-projection geometry, images were reconstructed from the forward projections of a virtual ACR phantom and compared to physically acquired ACR phantom images in terms of CT number accuracy and high-contrast resolution. Second, to validate the realism of the lesion in hybrid images, liver lesions were segmented from patient images and inserted back into the same patients, each at a new location specified by a radiologist. The inserted lesions were compared to the original lesions and visually assessed for realism by two experienced radiologists in a blinded fashion. Results: For the validation of the forward-projection geometry, the images reconstructed from the forward projections of the virtual ACR phantom were consistent with the images physically

  1. Lesion insertion in the projection domain: Methods and initial results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Baiyu; Leng, Shuai; Yu, Lifeng; Yu, Zhicong; Ma, Chi; McCollough, Cynthia

    2015-12-01

    To perform task-based image quality assessment in CT, it is desirable to have a large number of realistic patient images with known diagnostic truth. One effective way of achieving this objective is to create hybrid images that combine patient images with inserted lesions. Because conventional hybrid images generated in the image domain fails to reflect the impact of scan and reconstruction parameters on lesion appearance, this study explored a projection-domain approach. Lesions were segmented from patient images and forward projected to acquire lesion projections. The forward-projection geometry was designed according to a commercial CT scanner and accommodated both axial and helical modes with various focal spot movement patterns. The energy employed by the commercial CT scanner for beam hardening correction was measured and used for the forward projection. The lesion projections were inserted into patient projections decoded from commercial CT projection data. The combined projections were formatted to match those of commercial CT raw data, loaded onto a commercial CT scanner, and reconstructed to create the hybrid images. Two validations were performed. First, to validate the accuracy of the forward-projection geometry, images were reconstructed from the forward projections of a virtual ACR phantom and compared to physically acquired ACR phantom images in terms of CT number accuracy and high-contrast resolution. Second, to validate the realism of the lesion in hybrid images, liver lesions were segmented from patient images and inserted back into the same patients, each at a new location specified by a radiologist. The inserted lesions were compared to the original lesions and visually assessed for realism by two experienced radiologists in a blinded fashion. For the validation of the forward-projection geometry, the images reconstructed from the forward projections of the virtual ACR phantom were consistent with the images physically acquired for the ACR

  2. Defensive medicine among neurosurgeons in the Netherlands: a national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Sandra C; Hulsbergen, Alexander F C; Muskens, Ivo S; van Dam, Marjel; Gormley, William B; Broekman, Marike L D; Smith, Timothy R

    2017-12-01

    In defensive medicine, practice is motivated by legal rather than medical reasons. Previous studies have analyzed the correlation between perceived medico-legal risk and defensive behavior among neurosurgeons in the United States, Canada, and South Africa, but not yet in Europe. The aim of this study is to explore perceived liability burdens and self-reported defensive behaviors among neurosurgeons in the Netherlands and compare their practices with their non-European counterparts. A survey was sent to 136 neurosurgeons. The survey included questions from several domains: surgeon characteristics, patient demographics, type of practice, surgeon liability profile, policy coverage, defensive practices, and perception of the liability environment. Survey responses were analyzed and summarized. Forty-five neurosurgeons filled out the questionnaire (response rate of 33.1%). Almost half (n = 20) reported paying less than 5% of their income to annual malpractice premiums. Nearly all respondents view their insurance premiums as a minor or no burden (n = 42) and are confident that in their coverage is sufficient (n = 41). Most neurosurgeons (n = 38) do not see patients as "potential lawsuits". Relative to their American peers, Dutch neurosurgeons view their insurance premiums as less burdensome, their patients as a smaller legal threat, and their practice as less risky in general. They are sued less often and engage in fewer defensive behaviors than their non-European counterparts. The medico-legal climate in the Netherlands may contribute to this difference.

  3. Ferroelectric domain continuity over grain boundaries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mantri, Sukriti; Oddershede, Jette; Damjanovic, Dragan

    2017-01-01

    Formation and mobility of domain walls in ferroelectric materials is responsible for many of their electrical and mechanical properties. Domain wall continuity across grain boundaries has been observed since the 1950's and is speculated to affect the grain boundary-domain interactions, thereby...... impacting macroscopic ferroelectric properties in polycrystalline systems. However detailed studies of such correlated domain structures across grain boundaries are limited. In this work, we have developed the mathematical requirements for domain wall plane matching at grain boundaries of any given...... orientation. We have also incorporated the effect of grain boundary ferroelectric polarization charge created when any two domains meet at the grain boundary plane. The probability of domain wall continuity for three specific grain misorientations is studied. Use of this knowledge to optimize processing...

  4. Influence of social relationship domains and their combinations on incident dementia: a prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Tami; Murata, Chiyoe; Saito, Masashige; Takeda, Tokunori; Kondo, Katsunori

    2018-01-01

    Social relationships consist of mutually related but distinct dimensions. It remains unclear how these domains independently contribute to incident dementia. This large-scale, prospective cohort study examines associations between the social relationship domains as well as their combinations and incident dementia among community-dwelling older adults. We analysed data from 13 984 community-dwelling adults aged 65+ without long-term care needs living in Aichi prefecture in Japan. Incident dementia was assessed based on the Long-term Care Insurance records, followed for 3436 days from the baseline survey conducted in 2003. Three social relationships domains (social support, social networks and social activities) were further divided into a total of eight subdomains. A social relationship diversity score was calculated using the social relationship domains which were significantly related to incident dementia. A Cox proportional hazards model showed that being married, exchanging support with family members, having contact with friends, participating in community groups and engaging in paid work were related to a lower likelihood of developing incident dementia, controlling for covariates and other social relationship domains. The diversity scores, ranging from 0 to 5, were linearly associated with incident dementia (psocial relationship subdomains which were negatively related to incident dementia, suggesting that dementia may potentially be prevented by enhancing these social relationships. Future studies should examine independent pathways between each social relationship domain and incident dementia. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  5. Large ethnic variations in recommended physical activity according to activity domains in amsterdam, the netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kunst Anton E

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Purpose The level of recommended physical activity (PA is met less frequently by people from some ethnic minorities than others. We explored whether these differences in recommended PA between ethnic minority groups and the general population varied by domain and type of culturally-specific activity. Methods Participants were sampled from the population based SUNSET study and were from ethnic Dutch (n = 567, Hindustani-Surinamese (n = 370 and African-Surinamese (n = 689 descent. The validated SQUASH-questionnaire measured PA for the following domains: commuting, occupation, household, leisure time. Culturally-specific activities were added as extra question within the leisure time domain. The effect of each domain on ethnic differences in recommended PA prevalence was examined by odds-ratio (OR analysis through recalculating recommended PA, while, in turn, excluding the contribution of each domain. Results In the ethnic Dutch population, more vigorous PA in commuting and leisure time was reported compared to the Surinamese groups. The Hindustani-Surinamese and African-Surinamese reported more walking as commuting activity, while the Dutch group reported cycling more frequently. Ethnic differences in recommended PA became smaller in both Surinamese groups compared with the Dutch after removing commuting activity, for example, in Hindustani-Surinamese men (OR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.62-1.37 vs. OR = 1.33, 0.89-2.00 and women (OR = 1.61, 1.12-2.32 vs. OR = 2.03, 1.41-2.92. Removing occupational activity resulted in larger ethnic differences in both groups compared with the Dutch. Smaller effects were found for yoga and dancing, leisure time and household activities. Conclusion This study shows that differences in PA between ethnic minority groups and the general population vary according to the activity domain. The results indicate that including all relevant domains and activities is essential for assessment of ethnic differences in recommended

  6. Detecting atypical examples of known domain types by sequence similarity searching: the SBASE domain library approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhir, Somdutta; Pacurar, Mircea; Franklin, Dino; Gáspári, Zoltán; Kertész-Farkas, Attila; Kocsor, András; Eisenhaber, Frank; Pongor, Sándor

    2010-11-01

    SBASE is a project initiated to detect known domain types and predicting domain architectures using sequence similarity searching (Simon et al., Protein Seq Data Anal, 5: 39-42, 1992, Pongor et al, Nucl. Acids. Res. 21:3111-3115, 1992). The current approach uses a curated collection of domain sequences - the SBASE domain library - and standard similarity search algorithms, followed by postprocessing which is based on a simple statistics of the domain similarity network (http://hydra.icgeb.trieste.it/sbase/). It is especially useful in detecting rare, atypical examples of known domain types which are sometimes missed even by more sophisticated methodologies. This approach does not require multiple alignment or machine learning techniques, and can be a useful complement to other domain detection methodologies. This article gives an overview of the project history as well as of the concepts and principles developed within this the project.

  7. Developing the online survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Jeffry S; McNew, Ryan

    2008-12-01

    Institutions of higher education are now using Internet-based technology tools to conduct surveys for data collection. Research shows that the type and quality of responses one receives with online surveys are comparable with what one receives in paper-based surveys. Data collection can take place on Web-based surveys, e-mail-based surveys, and personal digital assistants/Smartphone devices. Web surveys can be subscription templates, software packages installed on one's own server, or created from scratch using Web programming development tools. All of these approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. The survey owner must make informed decisions as to the right technology to implement. The correct choice can save hours of work in sorting, organizing, and analyzing data.

  8. Comparing survey and assessment data: Consequences for stock evaluation of Northeast Arctic Greenland halibut

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ole Thomas Albert

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available Based on VPA-estimates of abundance, survey data and commercial catch statistics of Northeast Arctic Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides Walbaum, the paper describes trends by year-class and age in the distribution of Greenland halibut between surveyed and not-surveyed areas. Changes in the distribution of I-group around 1990 to areas beyond the Svalbard surveys has previously been described and related to temperature changes in the Spitsbergen Current. This paper shows that this displaced distribution of the 1989-94 year-classes persisted up to age 7. The results indicate that the displacement was an extraordinary situation and other similar distribution shifts have not occurred during the last 30 years or more. Further, the shift co-occurred with extreme levels of the 137 year long time series of the index of the North-Atlantic Oscillation (NAO. The results are discussed in relation to stock management and climate change.

  9. EH domain of EHD1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kieken, Fabien; Jovic, Marko; Naslavsky, Naava; Caplan, Steve, E-mail: scaplan@unmc.edu; Sorgen, Paul L. [University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Eppley Cancer Center (United States)], E-mail: psorgen@unmc.edu

    2007-12-15

    EHD1 is a member of the mammalian C-terminal Eps15 homology domain (EH) containing protein family, and regulates the recycling of various receptors from the endocytic recycling compartment to the plasma membrane. The EH domain of EHD1 binds to proteins containing either an Asn-Pro-Phe or Asp-Pro-Phe motif, and plays an important role in the subcellular localization and function of EHD1. Thus far, the structures of five N-terminal EH domains from other proteins have been solved, but to date, the structure of the EH domains from the four C-terminal EHD family paralogs remains unknown. In this study, we have assigned the 133 C-terminal residues of EHD1, which includes the EH domain, and solved its solution structure. While the overall structure resembles that of the second of the three N-terminal Eps15 EH domains, potentially significant differences in surface charge and the structure of the tripeptide-binding pocket are discussed.

  10. EH domain of EHD1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kieken, Fabien; Jovic, Marko; Naslavsky, Naava; Caplan, Steve; Sorgen, Paul L.

    2007-01-01

    EHD1 is a member of the mammalian C-terminal Eps15 homology domain (EH) containing protein family, and regulates the recycling of various receptors from the endocytic recycling compartment to the plasma membrane. The EH domain of EHD1 binds to proteins containing either an Asn-Pro-Phe or Asp-Pro-Phe motif, and plays an important role in the subcellular localization and function of EHD1. Thus far, the structures of five N-terminal EH domains from other proteins have been solved, but to date, the structure of the EH domains from the four C-terminal EHD family paralogs remains unknown. In this study, we have assigned the 133 C-terminal residues of EHD1, which includes the EH domain, and solved its solution structure. While the overall structure resembles that of the second of the three N-terminal Eps15 EH domains, potentially significant differences in surface charge and the structure of the tripeptide-binding pocket are discussed

  11. Successful application of frequency-domain airborne electromagnetic system with a grounded electric source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, L.; Lin, J.; Liu, C.; Zhou, H.; Ren, T.; Yao, Y.

    2017-12-01

    A new frequency-domain AEM system with a grounded electric source, which was called ground-airborne frequency-domain electromagnetic (GAFEM) system, was proposed to extend penetration depth without compromising the resolution and detection efficiency. In GAFEM system, an electric source was placed on the ground to enlarge the strength of response signals. UVA was chosen as aircraft to reduce interaction noise and improve its ability to adapt to complex terrain. Multi-source and multi-frequency emission method has been researched and applied to improve the efficiency of GAFEM system. 2n pseudorandom sequence was introduced as transmitting waveform, to ensure resolution and detection efficiency. Inversion-procedure based on full-space apparent resistivity formula was built to realize GAFEM method and extend the survey area to non-far field. Based on GAFEM system, two application was conducted in Changchun, China, to map the deep conductive structure. As shown in the results of this exploration, GAFEM system shows its effectiveness to conductive structure, obtaining a depth of about 1km with a source-receiver distance of over 6km. And it shows the same level of resolution with CSAMT method with an over 10 times of efficiency. This extended a range of important applications where the terrain is too complex to be accessed or large penetration depth is required in a large survey area.

  12. Characterizing leachate contamination in a landfill site using Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baawain, Mahad S.; Al-Futaisi, Ahmed M.; Ebrahimi, A.; Omidvarborna, Hamid

    2018-04-01

    Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) survey as well as drilling investigations were conducted to identify possible contamination of a dumping site in an unsaturated zone located in Barka, Oman. The method was applied to evaluate conductivity of the contaminated plumes in hot and arid/semiarid region, where high temperatures commonly ranged between 35 and 50 °C. The drilling investigation was carried out over the survey area to verify the geophysical results. The low-resistivity zone (90 Ωm) was correlated with compacted or cemented gravels and cobbles, particularly that of medium dense to very dense gravels and cobbles. Additionally, the TDEM profiles suggested that the plume migration followed a preferential flow path. The resistivity range 40-80 Ωm considered as contaminated areas; however, the drilling results showed the close resistivity domain in the depth >70 m below water table for some profiles (BL1, BL2, BL3, BL4 and BL5). The combined results of drilling wells, piezometers, and TDEM apparent resistivity maps showed a coincidence of the migrated leachate plume and water table. Predicted zone of the probable contamination was located at the depth of around 65 m and horizontal offset ranges 0-280 m, 80-240 m, and 40-85 m in the sounding traverses of BL4, BL6 and BL7, respectively.

  13. Subjective time pressure: general or domain specific?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleiner, Sibyl

    2014-09-01

    Chronic time pressure has been identified as a pervasive societal problem, exacerbated by high demands of the labor market and the home. Yet time pressure has not been disaggregated and examined separately across home and work contexts, leaving many unanswered questions regarding the sources and potentially stressful consequences of time pressure. Using data collected in the United States General Social Survey waves 2002 and 2004, this study disaggregates time pressure into the domains of home and work, and asks whether considering time pressures within distinct work and home contexts reveals distinct predictors or associations with stress. Findings show that both predictors and stress associations differ across work and home pressures, revealing both methodological and theoretical implications for the study of time pressure and work and family life more generally. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. We’re Working On It: Transferring the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from Laboratory to Library

    OpenAIRE

    Sands, Ashley E.; Borgman, Christine L.; Traweek, Sharon; Wynholds, Laura A.

    2014-01-01

    This article reports on the transfer of a massive scientific dataset from a national laboratory to a university library, and from one kind of workforce to another. We use the transfer of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) archive to examine the emergence of a new workforce for scientific research data management. Many individuals with diverse educational backgrounds and domain experience are involved in SDSS data management: domain scientists, computer scientists, software and systems engin...

  15. Time and frequency domain analyses of the Hualien Large-Scale Seismic Test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kabanda, John; Kwon, Oh-Sung; Kwon, Gunup

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Time- and frequency-domain analysis methods are verified against each other. • The two analysis methods are validated against Hualien LSST. • The nonlinear time domain (NLTD) analysis resulted in more realistic response. • The frequency domain (FD) analysis shows amplification at resonant frequencies. • The NLTD analysis requires significant modeling and computing time. - Abstract: In the nuclear industry, the equivalent-linear frequency domain analysis method has been the de facto standard procedure primarily due to the method's computational efficiency. This study explores the feasibility of applying the nonlinear time domain analysis method for the soil–structure-interaction analysis of nuclear power facilities. As a first step, the equivalency of the time and frequency domain analysis methods is verified through a site response analysis of one-dimensional soil, a dynamic impedance analysis of soil–foundation system, and a seismic response analysis of the entire soil–structure system. For the verifications, an idealized elastic soil–structure system is used to minimize variables in the comparison of the two methods. Then, the verified analysis methods are used to develop time and frequency domain models of Hualien Large-Scale Seismic Test. The predicted structural responses are compared against field measurements. The models are also analyzed with an amplified ground motion to evaluate discrepancies of the time and frequency domain analysis methods when the soil–structure system behaves beyond the elastic range. The analysis results show that the equivalent-linear frequency domain analysis method amplifies certain frequency bands and tends to result in higher structural acceleration than the nonlinear time domain analysis method. A comparison with field measurements shows that the nonlinear time domain analysis method better captures the frequency distribution of recorded structural responses than the frequency domain

  16. Estimation of Poisson noise in spatial domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Švihlík, Jan; Fliegel, Karel; Vítek, Stanislav; Kukal, Jaromír.; Krbcová, Zuzana

    2017-09-01

    This paper deals with modeling of astronomical images in the spatial domain. We consider astronomical light images contaminated by the dark current which is modeled by Poisson random process. Dark frame image maps the thermally generated charge of the CCD sensor. In this paper, we solve the problem of an addition of two Poisson random variables. At first, the noise analysis of images obtained from the astronomical camera is performed. It allows estimating parameters of the Poisson probability mass functions in every pixel of the acquired dark frame. Then the resulting distributions of the light image can be found. If the distributions of the light image pixels are identified, then the denoising algorithm can be applied. The performance of the Bayesian approach in the spatial domain is compared with the direct approach based on the method of moments and the dark frame subtraction.

  17. A random cluster survey and a convenience sample give comparable estimates of immunity to vaccine preventable diseases in children of school age in Victoria, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Heath; Riddell, Michaela A; Gidding, Heather F; Nolan, Terry; Gilbert, Gwendolyn L

    2002-08-19

    We compared estimates of the age-specific population immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and varicella zoster viruses in Victorian school children obtained by a national sero-survey, using a convenience sample of residual sera from diagnostic laboratories throughout Australia, with those from a three-stage random cluster survey. When grouped according to school age (primary or secondary school) there was no significant difference in the estimates of immunity to measles, mumps, hepatitis B or varicella. Compared with the convenience sample, the random cluster survey estimated higher immunity to rubella in samples from both primary (98.7% versus 93.6%, P = 0.002) and secondary school students (98.4% versus 93.2%, P = 0.03). Despite some limitations, this study suggests that the collection of a convenience sample of sera from diagnostic laboratories is an appropriate sampling strategy to provide population immunity data that will inform Australia's current and future immunisation policies. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

  18. A Highly Accurate Regular Domain Collocation Method for Solving Potential Problems in the Irregular Doubly Connected Domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao-Qing Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Embedding the irregular doubly connected domain into an annular regular region, the unknown functions can be approximated by the barycentric Lagrange interpolation in the regular region. A highly accurate regular domain collocation method is proposed for solving potential problems on the irregular doubly connected domain in polar coordinate system. The formulations of regular domain collocation method are constructed by using barycentric Lagrange interpolation collocation method on the regular domain in polar coordinate system. The boundary conditions are discretized by barycentric Lagrange interpolation within the regular domain. An additional method is used to impose the boundary conditions. The least square method can be used to solve the overconstrained equations. The function values of points in the irregular doubly connected domain can be calculated by barycentric Lagrange interpolation within the regular domain. Some numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the presented method.

  19. ILAE survey of neuropsychology practice in pediatric epilepsy surgery evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berl, Madison M; Smith, Mary Lou; Bulteau, Christine

    2017-06-01

    To determine the extent to which specific neuropsychological measures are in common use around the world for the assessment of children who are candidates for epilepsy surgery. As part of the work of the International League Against Epilepsy Pediatric Surgical Task Force, a survey was developed and distributed online. The survey consisted of questions related to demographics, training experience, general practice, and specific measures used and at what frequency. Seventy-eight clinicians with an average of 13.5 years of experience from 19 countries responded to the survey; 69% were English-speaking. Pre- and post-neuropsychological evaluations were conducted with a majority of children undergoing surgical resection for epilepsy. There was high consistency (>90%) among the domains evaluated, while consistency rate among specific measures was more variable (range: 0-100%). Consistency rates were also lower among respondents in non-English-speaking countries. For English-speaking respondents, at least one measure within each domain was used by a majority (>75%) of clinicians; 19 specific measures met this criterion. There is consensus of measures used in neuropsychological studies of pediatric epilepsy patients which provides a basis for determining which measures to include in establishing a collaborative data repository to study surgical outcomes of pediatric epilepsy. Challenges include selecting measures that promote collaboration with centers in non-English-speaking countries and providing data from children under age 5.

  20. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From Science Drivers to Reference Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ivezic, Z.; Axelrod, T.; Brandt, W.N.; Burke, D.L.; Claver, C.F.; Connolly, A.; Cook, K.H.; Gee, P.; Gilmore, D.K.; Jacoby, S.H.; Jones, R.L.; Kahn, S.M.; Kantor, J.P.; Krabbendam, V.; Lupton, R.H.; Monet, D.G.; Pinto, P.A.; Saha, A.; Schalk, T.L.; Schneider, D.P.; Strauss, Michael A.; /Washington U., Seattle, Astron. Dept. /LSST Corp. /Penn State U., Astron. Astrophys. /KIPAC, Menlo Park /NOAO, Tucson /LLNL, Livermore /UC, Davis /Princeton U., Astrophys. Sci. Dept. /Naval Observ., Flagstaff /Arizona U., Astron. Dept. - Steward Observ. /UC, Santa Cruz /Harvard U. /Johns Hopkins U. /Illinois U., Urbana

    2011-10-14

    In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next-generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pachon in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4 m (6.5 m effective) primary mirror, a 9.6 deg{sup 2} field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg{sup 2} with {delta} < +34.5{sup o}, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ugrizy, covering the wavelength range 320-1050 nm. About 90% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg{sup 2} region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We describe how the

  1. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From science drivers to reference design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivezić Ž.

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next- generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST. LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pachon in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4 m (6.5 m effective primary mirror, a 9.6 deg2 field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg2 with δ < +34.5◦ , and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, ugrizy, covering the wavelength range 320-1050 nm. About 90% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep- wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg2 region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We describe how the LSST

  2. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope: From Science Drivers To Reference Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivezić, Ž.

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available In the history of astronomy, major advances in our understanding of the Universe have come from dramatic improvements in our ability to accurately measure astronomical quantities. Aided by rapid progress in information technology, current sky surveys are changing the way we view and study the Universe. Next-generation surveys will maintain this revolutionary progress. We focus here on the most ambitious survey currently planned in the visible band, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST. LSST will have unique survey capability in the faint time domain. The LSST design is driven by four main science themes: constraining dark energy and dark matter, taking an inventory of the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, and mapping the Milky Way. It will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain multiple images covering the sky that is visible from Cerro Pach'{o}n in Northern Chile. The current baseline design, with an 8.4, m (6.5, m effective primary mirror, a 9.6 deg$^2$ field of view, and a 3,200 Megapixel camera, will allow about 10,000 square degrees of sky to be covered using pairs of 15-second exposures in two photometric bands every three nights on average. The system is designed to yield high image quality, as well as superb astrometric and photometric accuracy. The survey area will include 30,000 deg$^2$ with $delta<+34.5^circ$, and will be imaged multiple times in six bands, $ugrizy$, covering the wavelength range 320--1050 nm. About 90\\% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg$^2$ region about 1000 times in the six bands during the anticipated 10 years of operation. These data will result in databases including 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars, and will serve the majority of science programs. The remaining 10\\% of the observing time will be allocated to special programs such as Very Deep and Very Fast time domain surveys. We

  3. Structure and dynamics of the human pleckstrin DEP domain: distinct molecular features of a novel DEP domain subfamily.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Civera, Concepcion; Simon, Bernd; Stier, Gunter; Sattler, Michael; Macias, Maria J

    2005-02-01

    Pleckstrin1 is a major substrate for protein kinase C in platelets and leukocytes, and comprises a central DEP (disheveled, Egl-10, pleckstrin) domain, which is flanked by two PH (pleckstrin homology) domains. DEP domains display a unique alpha/beta fold and have been implicated in membrane binding utilizing different mechanisms. Using multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic tree reconstructions, we find that 6 subfamilies of the DEP domain exist, of which pleckstrin represents a novel and distinct subfamily. To clarify structural determinants of the DEP fold and to gain further insight into the role of the DEP domain, we determined the three-dimensional structure of the pleckstrin DEP domain using heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. Pleckstrin DEP shares main structural features with the DEP domains of disheveled and Epac, which belong to different DEP subfamilies. However, the pleckstrin DEP fold is distinct from these structures and contains an additional, short helix alpha4 inserted in the beta4-beta5 loop that exhibits increased backbone mobility as judged by NMR relaxation measurements. Based on sequence conservation, the helix alpha4 may also be present in the DEP domains of regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins, which are members of the same DEP subfamily. In pleckstrin, the DEP domain is surrounded by two PH domains. Structural analysis and charge complementarity suggest that the DEP domain may interact with the N-terminal PH domain in pleckstrin. Phosphorylation of the PH-DEP linker, which is required for pleckstrin function, could regulate such an intramolecular interaction. This suggests a role of the pleckstrin DEP domain in intramolecular domain interactions, which is distinct from the functions of other DEP domain subfamilies found so far.

  4. Biometric identification based on novel frequency domain facial asymmetry measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitra, Sinjini; Savvides, Marios; Vijaya Kumar, B. V. K.

    2005-03-01

    In the modern world, the ever-growing need to ensure a system's security has spurred the growth of the newly emerging technology of biometric identification. The present paper introduces a novel set of facial biometrics based on quantified facial asymmetry measures in the frequency domain. In particular, we show that these biometrics work well for face images showing expression variations and have the potential to do so in presence of illumination variations as well. A comparison of the recognition rates with those obtained from spatial domain asymmetry measures based on raw intensity values suggests that the frequency domain representation is more robust to intra-personal distortions and is a novel approach for performing biometric identification. In addition, some feature analysis based on statistical methods comparing the asymmetry measures across different individuals and across different expressions is presented.

  5. Automated transient identification in the Dark Energy Survey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goldstein, D. A. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). et al.

    2015-08-20

    We describe an algorithm for identifying point-source transients and moving objects on reference-subtracted optical images containing artifacts of processing and instrumentation. The algorithm makes use of the supervised machine learning technique known as Random Forest. We present results from its use in the Dark Energy Survey Supernova program (DES-SN), where it was trained using a sample of 898,963 signal and background events generated by the transient detection pipeline. After reprocessing the data collected during the first DES-SN observing season (2013 September through 2014 February) using the algorithm, the number of transient candidates eligible for human scanning decreased by a factor of 13.4, while only 1.0 percent of the artificial Type Ia supernovae (SNe) injected into search images to monitor survey efficiency were lost, most of which were very faint events. Here we characterize the algorithm's performance in detail, and we discuss how it can inform pipeline design decisions for future time-domain imaging surveys, such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Zwicky Transient Facility.

  6. Measuring patient satisfaction with exercise therapy for knee osteoarthritis: evaluating the utility of the physiotherapy outpatient survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, H P; Keogan, F; Gilsenan, C; Waldron, L; O'Connell, P

    2010-06-01

    To assess patient satisfaction with exercise for knee osteoarthritis (OA). A convenience sample of 27 patients recruited to a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing open kinetic chain and closed kinetic chain exercises for knee OA were reassessed at nine months post-randomization. Clinical outcomes included self-report and physical performance measures of function and pain severity. Patients also completed the Physiotherapy Outpatient Survey (POPS), which is a multi-dimensional measure of patient satisfaction with physiotherapy. There was no significant difference in satisfaction between the two intervention groups. Overall mean satisfaction for the entire cohort was 4.07 of a maximum score of 5 (standard deviation (SD) = 0.52). Lower levels of satisfaction with outcome (mean = 3.56, SD = 0.8) were reported compared with other domains of expectations, communication, organization and the therapist (mean = 3.79-4.49; SDs = 0.42-0.92). Both intervention groups improved from baseline on clinical outcomes of pain, self-report function and walking distance, with no significant differences between the two groups. High levels of satisfaction were reported in this subsample of knee OA patients participating in an RCT evaluating the effects of different exercise approaches for knee OA. Satisfaction varied depending on the satisfaction domain, with lower satisfaction with outcome compared with other aspects of care. The POPS questionnaire can be used to measure the multi-dimensional aspects of satisfaction with physiotherapy.

  7. A scientometric study of general internal medicine domain among muslim countries of middle East (1991 - 2011).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodhodinezhad, Niloofar; Zahedi, Razieh; Ashrafi-rizzi, Hassan; Shams, Asadollah

    2013-03-01

    The position of General Internal Medicine in the Islamic countries in the Middle East has been investigated in the present study. The scientific productions of the countries in the area on Web of science database during 1990-2011 constitute were examined. The result of the survey showed that the share of these countries in world scientific productions is very low. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran are the first to third ones in this domain in order. In view of annual growth rate, Kuwait having high growth rate, is the first one. Libya and Syria are the next ones. The scientific poverty line of Islamic countries in the area was surveyed. The result showed that in view of the scientific poverty line, the highest is Kuwait with the population of 0.04 percent of the world. Next to it, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are the second and third ones. The results of this research showed that the share of Islamic countries in the Middle East in scientific production of this medicine domain is very low. It needs to be paid more attention by the countries in the area.

  8. Ferromagnetic and twin domains in LCMO manganites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, G.; Markovich, V.; Mogilyanski, D.; Beek, C. van der; Mukovskii, Y.M.

    2005-01-01

    Ferromagnetic and twin domains in lightly Ca-doped La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 single crystals have been visualized and investigated by means of the magneto-optical technique. Both types of domains became visible below the Curie temperature. The dominant structures seen in applied magnetic field are associated with magneto-crystalline anisotropy and twin domains. In a marked difference to the twin domains which appear only in applied magnetic field, ferromagnetic domains show up in zero applied field and are characterized by oppositely oriented spontaneous magnetization in adjacent domains. Ferromagnetic domains take form of almost periodic, corrugated strip-like structures. The corrugation of the ferromagnetic domain pattern is enforced by the underlying twin domains

  9. Novel functions of CCM1 delimit the relationship of PTB/PH domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jun; Dubey, Pallavi; Padarti, Akhil; Zhang, Aileen; Patel, Rinkal; Patel, Vipulkumar; Cistola, David; Badr, Ahmed

    2017-10-01

    Three NPXY motifs and one FERM domain in CCM1 makes it a versatile scaffold protein for tethering the signaling components together within the CCM signaling complex (CSC). The cellular role of CCM1 protein remains inadequately expounded. Both phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) and pleckstrin homology (PH) domains were recognized as structurally related but functionally distinct domains. By utilizing molecular cloning, protein binding assays and RT-qPCR to identify novel cellular partners of CCM1 and its cellular expression patterns; by screening candidate PTB/PH proteins and subsequently structurally simulation in combining with current X-ray crystallography and NMR data to defined the essential structure of PTB/PH domain for NPXY-binding and the relationship among PTB, PH and FERM domain(s). We identified a group of 28 novel cellular partners of CCM1, all of which contain either PTB or PH domain(s), and developed a novel classification system for these PTB/PH proteins based on their relationship with different NPXY motifs of CCM1. Our results demonstrated that CCM1 has a wide spectrum of binding to different PTB/PH proteins and perpetuates their specificity to interact with certain PTB/PH domains through selective combination of three NPXY motifs. We also demonstrated that CCM1 can be assembled into oligomers through intermolecular interaction between its F3 lobe in FERM domain and one of the three NPXY motifs. Despite being embedded in FERM domain as F3 lobe, F3 module acts as a fully functional PH domain to interact with NPXY motif. The most salient feature of the study was that both PTB and PH domains are structurally and functionally comparable, suggesting that PTB domain is likely evolved from PH domain with polymorphic structural additions at its N-terminus. A new β1A-strand of the PTB domain was discovered and new minimum structural requirement of PTB/PH domain for NPXY motif-binding was determined. Based on our data, a novel theory of structure, function and

  10. A structural role for the PHP domain in E. coli DNA polymerase III.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barros, Tiago; Guenther, Joel; Kelch, Brian; Anaya, Jordan; Prabhakar, Arjun; O'Donnell, Mike; Kuriyan, John; Lamers, Meindert H

    2013-05-14

    In addition to the core catalytic machinery, bacterial replicative DNA polymerases contain a Polymerase and Histidinol Phosphatase (PHP) domain whose function is not entirely understood. The PHP domains of some bacterial replicases are active metal-dependent nucleases that may play a role in proofreading. In E. coli DNA polymerase III, however, the PHP domain has lost several metal-coordinating residues and is likely to be catalytically inactive. Genomic searches show that the loss of metal-coordinating residues in polymerase PHP domains is likely to have coevolved with the presence of a separate proofreading exonuclease that works with the polymerase. Although the E. coli Pol III PHP domain has lost metal-coordinating residues, the structure of the domain has been conserved to a remarkable degree when compared to that of metal-binding PHP domains. This is demonstrated by our ability to restore metal binding with only three point mutations, as confirmed by the metal-bound crystal structure of this mutant determined at 2.9 Å resolution. We also show that Pol III, a large multi-domain protein, unfolds cooperatively and that mutations in the degenerate metal-binding site of the PHP domain decrease the overall stability of Pol III and reduce its activity. While the presence of a PHP domain in replicative bacterial polymerases is strictly conserved, its ability to coordinate metals and to perform proofreading exonuclease activity is not, suggesting additional non-enzymatic roles for the domain. Our results show that the PHP domain is a major structural element in Pol III and its integrity modulates both the stability and activity of the polymerase.

  11. Detection of spectroscopic binaries in the Gaia-ESO Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van der Swaelmen, M.; Merle, T.; Van Eck, S.; Jorissen, A.

    2017-12-01

    The Gaia-ESO survey (GES) is a ground-based spectroscopic survey, complementing the Gaia mission, in order to obtain high accuracy radial velocities and chemical abundances for 10^5 stars. Thanks to the numerous spectra collected by the GES, the detection of spectroscopic multiple system candidates (SBn, n ≥ 2) is one of the science case that can be tackled. We developed at IAA (Institut d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique) a novative automatic method to detect multiple components from the cross-correlation function (CCF) of spectra and applied it to the CCFs provided by the GES. Since the bulk of the Milky Way field targets has been observed in both HR10 and HR21 GIRAFFE settings, we are also able to compare the efficiency of our SB detection tool depending on the wavelength range. In particular, we show that HR21 leads to a less efficient detection compared to HR10. The presence of strong and/or saturated lines (Ca II triplet, Mg I line, Paschen lines) in the wavelength domain covered by HR21 hampers the computation of CCFs, which tend to be broadened compared to their HR10 counterpart. The main drawback is that the minimal detectable radial velocity difference is ˜ \\SI{60}km/s for HR21 while it is ˜ \\SI{25}km/s for HR10. A careful design of CCF masks (especially masking Ca triplet lines) can substantially improve the detectability rate of HR21. Since HR21 spectra are quite similar to the one produced by the RVS spectrograph of the Gaia mission, analysis of RVS spectra in the context of spectroscpic binaries can take adavantage of the lessons learned from the GES to maximize the detection rate.

  12. The POINT-AGAPE Survey: Comparing Automated Searches of Microlensing Events toward M31

    CERN Document Server

    Tsapras, Y; Weston, M J; Kerins, E; Baillon, P; Gould, A; Paulin-Henriksson, S

    2010-01-01

    Searching for microlensing in M31 using automated superpixel surveys raises a number of difficulties which are not present in more conventional techniques. Here we focus on the problem that the list of microlensing candidates is sensitive to the selection criteria or "cuts" imposed and some subjectivity is involved in this. Weakening the cuts will generate a longer list of microlensing candidates but with a greater fraction of spurious ones; strengthening the cuts will produce a shorter list but may exclude some genuine events. We illustrate this by comparing three analyses of the same data-set obtained from a 3-year observing run on the INT in La Palma. The results of two of these analyses have been already reported: Belokurov et al. (2005) obtained between 3 and 22 candidates, depending on the strength of their cuts, while Calchi Novati et al. (2005) obtained 6 candidates. The third analysis is presented here for the first time and reports 10 microlensing candidates, 7 of which are new. Only two of the cand...

  13. A Generalized FDM for solving the Poisson's Equation on 3D Irregular Domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Izadian

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper a new method for solving the Poisson's equation with Dirichlet conditions on irregular domains is presented. For this purpose a generalized finite differences method is applied for numerical differentiation on irregular meshes. Three examples on cylindrical and spherical domains are considered. The numerical results are compared with analytical solution. These results show the performance and efficiency of the proposed method.

  14. Small planar domains in amorphous thin films: Nucleation and equilibrium conditions (abstract)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labrune, M.; Hamzaoui, S.; Puchalska, I. B.; Battarel, C.; Hubert, A.

    1984-03-01

    The purpose of this work is to investigate a new type of small flat domain in the shape of lozenges. Such domains may be used for high-density nonvolatile shift register memories [C. Battarel, R. Morille, and A. Caplain, IEEE Trans. Magn. July (1983)]. Experimental and theoretical results for nucleation and stability of small lozenge domains less than 10 μm in length in Co-Ni-P and CoTi [G. Suran, K. Ounadjela, and J. Sztern (this Proceedings)] amorphous thin films 1500 Å thick are presented. The films have a low coercivity (Hc ˜1 Oe) and a significant in-plane uniaxial anisotropy (HK ˜35 Oe). The domains were observed in an optical microscope by longitudinal Kerr effect using an experimental method described by Prutton. Domain nucleation is obtained by applying a local field higher than HK. It must be emphasized that to stabilize the domain two constant fields having opposite direction are required: H1 applied inside the domain and parallel to its magnetization; H2 parallel to the main magnetization of the film (H1>H2). Experimental results obtained for such configuration of magnetic fields will be presented and compared with numerical computations. The theoretical model will be discussed and the role played by the magnetostatic energy emphasized. The model takes into account the spreading of the magnetic charges which appear at the boundary of the domain. Finally, application to experimental devices as mentioned in the first reference above will be shown.

  15. Domain-Specific Control of Selective Attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Szu-Hung; Yeh, Yei-Yu

    2014-01-01

    Previous research has shown that loading information on working memory affects selective attention. However, whether the load effect on selective attention is domain-general or domain-specific remains unresolved. The domain-general effect refers to the findings that load in one content (e.g. phonological) domain in working memory influences processing in another content (e.g., visuospatial) domain. Attentional control supervises selection regardless of information domain. The domain-specific effect refers to the constraint of influence only when maintenance and processing operate in the same domain. Selective attention operates in a specific content domain. This study is designed to resolve this controversy. Across three experiments, we manipulated the type of representation maintained in working memory and the type of representation upon which the participants must exert control to resolve conflict and select a target into the focus of attention. In Experiments 1a and 1b, participants maintained digits and nonverbalized objects, respectively, in working memory while selecting a target in a letter array. In Experiment 2, we presented auditory digits with a letter flanker task to exclude the involvement of resource competition within the same input modality. In Experiments 3a and 3b, we replaced the letter flanker task with an object flanker task while manipulating the memory load on object and digit representation, respectively. The results consistently showed that memory load modulated distractibility only when the stimuli of the two tasks were represented in the same domain. The magnitude of distractor interference was larger under high load than under low load, reflecting a lower efficacy of information prioritization. When the stimuli of the two tasks were represented in different domains, memory load did not modulate distractibility. Control of processing priority in selective attention demands domain-specific resources. PMID:24866977

  16. Domain wall engineering through exchange bias

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albisetti, E.; Petti, D.

    2016-01-01

    The control of the structure and position of magnetic domain walls is at the basis of the development of different magnetic devices and architectures. Several nanofabrication techniques have been proposed to geometrically confine and shape domain wall structures; however, a fine tuning of the position and micromagnetic configuration is hardly achieved, especially in continuous films. This work shows that, by controlling the unidirectional anisotropy of a continuous ferromagnetic film through exchange bias, domain walls whose spin arrangement is generally not favored by dipolar and exchange interactions can be created. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that the domain wall width, position and profile can be tuned by establishing an abrupt change in the direction and magnitude of the exchange bias field set in the system. - Highlights: • Micromagnetic simulations study domain walls in exchange biased thin films. • Novel domain wall configurations can be stabilized via exchange bias. • Domain walls nucleate at the boundary of regions with different exchange bias. • Domain wall width and spin profile are controlled by tuning the exchange bias.

  17. Frequency Domain Image Filtering Using CUDA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Awais Rajput

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the implementation of image filtering in frequency domain using NVIDIA?s CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture. In contrast to signal and image filtering in spatial domain which uses convolution operations and hence is more compute-intensive for filters having larger spatial extent, the frequency domain filtering uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform which is much faster and significantly reduces the computational complexity of the filtering. We implement the frequency domain filtering on CPU and GPU respectively and analyze the speed-up obtained from the CUDA?s parallel processing paradigm. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of frequency domain filtering on CUDA, we implement three frequency domain filters, i.e., Butterworth, low-pass and Gaussian for processing different sizes of images on CPU and GPU respectively and perform the GPU vs. CPU benchmarks. The results presented in this paper show that the frequency domain filtering with CUDA achieves significant speed-up over the CPU processing in frequency domain with the same level of (output image quality on both the processing architectures

  18. Frequency domain image filtering using cuda

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rajput, M.A.; Khan, U.A.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the implementation of image filtering in frequency domain using NVIDIA's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture). In contrast to signal and image filtering in spatial domain which uses convolution operations and hence is more compute-intensive for filters having larger spatial extent, the frequency domain filtering uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) which is much faster and significantly reduces the computational complexity of the filtering. We implement the frequency domain filtering on CPU and GPU respectively and analyze the speed-up obtained from the CUDA's parallel processing paradigm. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of frequency domain filtering on CUDA, we implement three frequency domain filters, i.e., Butter worth, low-pass and Gaussian for processing different sizes of images on CPU and GPU respectively and perform the GPU vs. CPU benchmarks. The results presented in this paper show that the frequency domain filtering with CUDA achieves significant speed-up over the CPU processing in frequency domain with the same level of (output) image quality on both the processing architectures. (author)

  19. Accumulation of raft lipids in T-cell plasma membrane domains engaged in TCR signalling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zech, Tobias; Ejsing, Christer S.; Gaus, Katharina

    2009-01-01

    Activating stimuli for T lymphocytes are transmitted through plasma membrane domains that form at T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) signalling foci. Here, we determined the molecular lipid composition of immunoisolated TCR activation domains. We observed that they accumulate cholesterol, sphingomyelin...... and saturated phosphatidylcholine species as compared with control plasma membrane fragments. This provides, for the first time, direct evidence that TCR activation domains comprise a distinct molecular lipid composition reminiscent of liquid-ordered raft phases in model membranes. Interestingly, TCR activation...... domains were also enriched in plasmenyl phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine. Modulating the T-cell lipidome with polyunsaturated fatty acids impaired the plasma membrane condensation at TCR signalling foci and resulted in a perturbed molecular lipid composition. These results correlate...

  20. IMS Intra- and Inter Domain End-to-End Resilience Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kamyod, Chayapol; Nielsen, Rasmus Hjorth; Prasad, Neeli R.

    2013-01-01

    This paper evaluated resilience of the reference IMS based network topology in operation through the keys reliability parameters via OPNET. The reliability behaviors of communication within similar and across registered home IMS domains were simulated and compared. Besides, the reliability effects...

  1. UV--Visible observations with HST in the JWST North Ecliptic Pole Time-Domain Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, Rolf A.; Windhorst, Rogier; Grogin, Norman; Koekemoer, Anton; Royle, Patricia; Hathi, Nimish; Jones, Victoria; Cohen, Seth; Ashcraft, Teresa; Willmer, Christopher; Conselice, Christopher; White, Cameron; Frye, Brenda; HST-GO-15278 team; and the Webb Medium Deep Fields IDS GTO team.

    2018-01-01

    We report the first results from a UV–Visible HST imaging survey of the JWST North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) Time-Domain Field (TDF). Using CVZ and near-CVZ opportunities we observed the first two out of nine tiles with WFC3/UVIS in F275W and with ACS/WFC in F435W and F606W. Over the course of the next 13 months, this survey is designed to provide near-contiguous 3-filter coverage of the central r ≤ 5‧ of this new community field for time-domain science with JWST. The JWST NEP TDF is located within JWST's northern Continuous Viewing Zone, will span ~14‧ in diameter (~10‧ with NIRISS coverage), is devoid of sources bright enough to saturate the NIRCam detectors, has low Galactic foreground extinction, and will be roughly circular in shape (initially sampled during Cycle 1 at 4 distinct orientations with JWST/NIRCam — the JWST “windmill”). NIRISS slitless grism spectroscopy will be taken in parallel, overlapping an alternate NIRCam orientation. This is the only region in the sky where JWST can observe a clean extragalactic deep survey field of this size at arbitrary cadence or at arbitrary orientation. This will crucially enable a wide range of new and exciting time-domain science, including high redshift transient searches and monitoring (e.g., SNe), variability studies from Active Galactic Nuclei to brown dwarf atmospheres, as well as proper motions of extreme scattered Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Objects, and of nearby Galactic brown dwarfs, low-mass stars, and ultracool white dwarfs. Ancillary data across the electromagnetic spectrum will exist for this field when JWST science operations commence in the second half of 2019. This includes deep (mAB ~ 26 mag) wide-field (~23‧×25‧) Ugriz photometry of this field and its surroundings from LBT/LBC and Subaru/HSC, JHK from MMT/MMIRS, VLA 3 GHz and VLBA 4.5 GHz radio observations, and Chandra/ACIS X-ray images. Proposals for (sub)mm observations and spectroscopy to mAB ~ 24 mag are pending.

  2. Fast convergent frequency-domain MIMO equalizer for few-mode fiber communication systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xuan; Weng, Yi; Wang, Junyi; Pan, Z.

    2018-02-01

    Space division multiplexing using few-mode fibers has been extensively explored to sustain the continuous traffic growth. In few-mode fiber optical systems, both spatial and polarization modes are exploited to transmit parallel channels, thus increasing the overall capacity. However, signals on spatial channels inevitably suffer from the intrinsic inter-modal coupling and large accumulated differential mode group delay (DMGD), which causes spatial modes de-multiplex even harder. Many research articles have demonstrated that frequency domain adaptive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) equalizer can effectively compensate the DMGD and demultiplex the spatial channels with digital signal processing (DSP). However, the large accumulated DMGD usually requires a large number of training blocks for the initial convergence of adaptive MIMO equalizers, which will decrease the overall system efficiency and even degrade the equalizer performance in fast-changing optical channels. Least mean square (LMS) algorithm is always used in MIMO equalization to dynamically demultiplex the spatial signals. We have proposed to use signal power spectral density (PSD) dependent method and noise PSD directed method to improve the convergence speed of adaptive frequency domain LMS algorithm. We also proposed frequency domain recursive least square (RLS) algorithm to further increase the convergence speed of MIMO equalizer at cost of greater hardware complexity. In this paper, we will compare the hardware complexity and convergence speed of signal PSD dependent and noise power directed algorithms against the conventional frequency domain LMS algorithm. In our numerical study of a three-mode 112 Gbit/s PDM-QPSK optical system with 3000 km transmission, the noise PSD directed and signal PSD dependent methods could improve the convergence speed by 48.3% and 36.1% respectively, at cost of 17.2% and 10.7% higher hardware complexity. We will also compare the frequency domain RLS algorithm against

  3. Periodic domain inversion in x-cut single-crystal lithium niobate thin film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mackwitz, P., E-mail: peterm@mail.upb.de; Rüsing, M.; Berth, G.; Zrenner, A. [Department Physik, Universität Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn (Germany); Center for Optoelectronics and Photonics Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn (Germany); Widhalm, A.; Müller, K. [Department Physik, Universität Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn (Germany)

    2016-04-11

    We report the fabrication of periodically poled domain patterns in x-cut lithium niobate thin-film. Here, thin films on insulator have drawn particular attention due to their intrinsic waveguiding properties offering high mode confinement and smaller devices compared to in-diffused waveguides in bulk material. In contrast to z-cut thin film lithium niobate, the x-cut geometry does not require back electrodes for poling. Further, the x-cut geometry grants direct access to the largest nonlinear and electro-optical tensor element, which overall promises smaller devices. The domain inversion was realized via electric field poling utilizing deposited aluminum top electrodes on a stack of LN thin film/SiO{sub 2} layer/Bulk LN, which were patterned by optical lithography. The periodic domain inversion was verified by non-invasive confocal second harmonic microscopy. Our results show domain patterns in accordance to the electrode mask layout. The second harmonic signatures can be interpreted in terms of spatially, overlapping domain filaments which start their growth on the +z side.

  4. Statistics, data mining, and machine learning in astronomy a practical Python guide for the analysis of survey data

    CERN Document Server

    Ivezic, Željko; VanderPlas, Jacob T; Gray, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    As telescopes, detectors, and computers grow ever more powerful, the volume of data at the disposal of astronomers and astrophysicists will enter the petabyte domain, providing accurate measurements for billions of celestial objects. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the cutting-edge statistical methods needed to efficiently analyze complex data sets from astronomical surveys such as the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, the Dark Energy Survey, and the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. It serves as a practical handbook for graduate s

  5. Individual globular domains and domain unfolding visualized in overstretched titin molecules with atomic force microscopy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zsolt Mártonfalvi

    Full Text Available Titin is a giant elastomeric protein responsible for the generation of passive muscle force. Mechanical force unfolds titin's globular domains, but the exact structure of the overstretched titin molecule is not known. Here we analyzed, by using high-resolution atomic force microscopy, the structure of titin molecules overstretched with receding meniscus. The axial contour of the molecules was interrupted by topographical gaps with a mean width of 27.7 nm that corresponds well to the length of an unfolded globular (immunoglobulin and fibronectin domain. The wide gap-width distribution suggests, however, that additional mechanisms such as partial domain unfolding and the unfolding of neighboring domain multimers may also be present. In the folded regions we resolved globules with an average spacing of 5.9 nm, which is consistent with a titin chain composed globular domains with extended interdomain linker regions. Topographical analysis allowed us to allocate the most distal unfolded titin region to the kinase domain, suggesting that this domain systematically unfolds when the molecule is exposed to overstretching forces. The observations support the prediction that upon the action of stretching forces the N-terminal ß-sheet of the titin kinase unfolds, thus exposing the enzyme's ATP-binding site and hence contributing to the molecule's mechanosensory function.

  6. Quantifying information transfer by protein domains: Analysis of the Fyn SH2 domain structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serrano Luis

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Efficient communication between distant sites within a protein is essential for cooperative biological response. Although often associated with large allosteric movements, more subtle changes in protein dynamics can also induce long-range correlations. However, an appropriate formalism that directly relates protein structural dynamics to information exchange between functional sites is still lacking. Results Here we introduce a method to analyze protein dynamics within the framework of information theory and show that signal transduction within proteins can be considered as a particular instance of communication over a noisy channel. In particular, we analyze the conformational correlations between protein residues and apply the concept of mutual information to quantify information exchange. Mapping out changes of mutual information on the protein structure then allows visualizing how distal communication is achieved. We illustrate the approach by analyzing information transfer by the SH2 domain of Fyn tyrosine kinase, obtained from Monte Carlo dynamics simulations. Our analysis reveals that the Fyn SH2 domain forms a noisy communication channel that couples residues located in the phosphopeptide and specificity binding sites and a number of residues at the other side of the domain near the linkers that connect the SH2 domain to the SH3 and kinase domains. We find that for this particular domain, communication is affected by a series of contiguous residues that connect distal sites by crossing the core of the SH2 domain. Conclusion As a result, our method provides a means to directly map the exchange of biological information on the structure of protein domains, making it clear how binding triggers conformational changes in the protein structure. As such it provides a structural road, next to the existing attempts at sequence level, to predict long-range interactions within protein structures.

  7. Highly sensitive immunoassay based on E. coli with autodisplayed Z-domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jose, Joachim; Park, Min; Pyun, Jae-Chul

    2010-01-01

    The Z-domain of protein A has been known to bind specifically to the F c region of antibodies (IgGs). In this work, the Z-domain of protein A was expressed on the outer membrane of Escherichia coli by using 'Autodisplay' technology as a fusion protein of autotransport domain. The E. coli with autodisplayed Z-domain was applied to the sandwich-type immunoassay as a solid-support of detection-antibodies against a target analyte. For the feasibility demonstration of the E. coli based immunoassay, C-reactive protein (CRP) assay was carried out by using E. coli with autodisplayed Z-domain. The limit of detection (LOD) and binding capacity of the E. coli based immunoassay were estimated to be far more sensitive than the conventional ELISA. Such a far higher sensitivity of E. coli based immunoassay than conventional ELISA was explained by the orientation control of immobilized antibodies and the mobility of E. coli in assay matrix. From the test results of 45 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients' serum and 15 healthy samples, a cut-off value was established to have optimal sensitivity and selectivity values for RA. The CRP test result of each individual sample was compared with ELISA which is the reference method for RA diagnosis. From this work, the E. coli with Z-domain was proved to be feasible for the medical diagnosis based on sandwich-type immunoassay.

  8. Comparison of S. cerevisiae F-BAR domain structures reveals a conserved inositol phosphate binding site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moravcevic, Katarina; Alvarado, Diego; Schmitz, Karl R.; Kenniston, Jon A.; Mendrola, Jeannine M.; Ferguson, Kathryn M.; Lemmon, Mark A.

    2015-01-01

    SUMMARY F-BAR domains control membrane interactions in endocytosis, cytokinesis, and cell signaling. Although generally thought to bind curved membranes containing negatively charged phospholipids, numerous functional studies argue that differences in lipid-binding selectivities of F-BAR domains are functionally important. Here, we compare membrane-binding properties of the S. cerevisiae F-BAR domains in vitro and in vivo. Whereas some F-BAR domains (such as Bzz1p and Hof1p F-BARs) bind equally well to all phospholipids, the F-BAR domain from the RhoGAP Rgd1p preferentially binds phosphoinositides. We determined X-ray crystal structures of F-BAR domains from Hof1p and Rgd1p, the latter bound to an inositol phosphate. The structures explain phospholipid-binding selectivity differences, and reveal an F-BAR phosphoinositide binding site that is fully conserved in a mammalian RhoGAP called Gmip, and is partly retained in certain other F-BAR domains. Our findings reveal previously unappreciated determinants of F-BAR domain lipid-binding specificity, and provide a basis for its prediction from sequence. PMID:25620000

  9. Phylogeny of the TRAF/MATH domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapata, Juan M; Martínez-García, Vanesa; Lefebvre, Sophie

    2007-01-01

    The TNF-receptor associated factor (TRAF) domain (TD), also known as the meprin and TRAF-C homology (MATH) domain is a fold of seven anti-parallel p-helices that participates in protein-protein interactions. This fold is broadly represented among eukaryotes, where it is found associated with a discrete set of protein-domains. Virtually all protein families encompassing a TRAF/MATH domain seem to be involved in the regulation of protein processing and ubiquitination, strongly suggesting a parallel evolution of the TRAF/MATH domain and certain proteolysis pathways in eukaryotes. The restricted number of living organisms for which we have information of their genetic and protein make-up limits the scope and analysis of the MATH domain in evolution. However, the available information allows us to get a glimpse on the origins, distribution and evolution of the TRAF/MATH domain, which will be overviewed in this chapter.

  10. Motivational Factors in Women Seeking Augmentation Mammoplasty Across Different Age Groups: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherf, Matan; Wiser, Itay; Klein, Dov; Heller, Lior

    2018-02-19

    Augmentation mammoplasty is one of the most common esthetic procedures worldwide. A wide range of motivations leads women to undergo this procedure, among them socioeconomic status and age group. The aim of this study was to identify the motivation spectrum for augmentation mammoplasty through different age groups. We conducted a cross-sectional prospective survey given to Israeli women seeking augmentation mammoplasty consults in a hospital and private clinic settings, using a 17-item Motivation for Augmentation questionnaire. Three motivation domains were examined: appearance, sexuality and social. Study participants were divided into three age groups: 18-29, 30-39 and over 40 years. A total of 101 women participated in the study. Motivations were rated similar among all age groups. Appearance and sexuality domains were rated significantly higher compared with the social domain throughout all age groups (3.28 ± 0.91 and 3.15 ± 1.03 vs. 1.88 ± 1.16, p age. The desire to improve one's appearance and sexuality is more prominent than improving social and work status. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  11. Resolution enhancement of robust Bayesian pre-stack inversion in the frequency domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Xingyao; Li, Kun; Zong, Zhaoyun

    2016-10-01

    AVO/AVA (amplitude variation with an offset or angle) inversion is one of the most practical and useful approaches to estimating model parameters. So far, publications on AVO inversion in the Fourier domain have been quite limited in view of its poor stability and sensitivity to noise compared with time-domain inversion. For the resolution and stability of AVO inversion in the Fourier domain, a novel robust Bayesian pre-stack AVO inversion based on the mixed domain formulation of stationary convolution is proposed which could solve the instability and achieve superior resolution. The Fourier operator will be integrated into the objective equation and it avoids the Fourier inverse transform in our inversion process. Furthermore, the background constraints of model parameters are taken into consideration to improve the stability and reliability of inversion which could compensate for the low-frequency components of seismic signals. Besides, the different frequency components of seismic signals can realize decoupling automatically. This will help us to solve the inverse problem by means of multi-component successive iterations and the convergence precision of the inverse problem could be improved. So, superior resolution compared with the conventional time-domain pre-stack inversion could be achieved easily. Synthetic tests illustrate that the proposed method could achieve high-resolution results with a high degree of agreement with the theoretical model and verify the quality of anti-noise. Finally, applications on a field data case demonstrate that the proposed method could obtain stable inversion results of elastic parameters from pre-stack seismic data in conformity with the real logging data.

  12. Comparing Lay Community and Academic Survey Center Interviewers in Conducting Household Interviews in Latino Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan-Golston, Alec M; Friedlander, Scott; Glik, Deborah C; Prelip, Michael L; Belin, Thomas R; Brookmeyer, Ron; Santos, Robert; Chen, Jie; Ortega, Alexander N

    2016-01-01

    The employment of professional interviewers from academic survey centers to conduct surveys has been standard practice. Because one goal of community-engaged research is to provide professional skills to community residents, this paper considers whether employing locally trained lay interviewers from within the community may be as effective as employing interviewers from an academic survey center with regard to unit and item nonresponse rates and cost. To study a nutrition-focused intervention, 1035 in-person household interviews were conducted in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, 503 of which were completed by lay community interviewers. A chi-square test was used to assess differences in unit nonresponse rates between professional and community interviewers and Welch's t tests were used to assess differences in item nonresponse rates. A cost comparison analysis between the two interviewer groups was also conducted. Interviewers from the academic survey center had lower unit nonresponse rates than the lay community interviewers (16.2% vs. 23.3%; p < 0.01). However, the item nonresponse rates were lower for the community interviewers than the professional interviewers (1.4% vs. 3.3%; p < 0.01). Community interviewers cost approximately $415.38 per survey whereas professional interviewers cost approximately $537.29 per survey. With a lower cost per completed survey and lower item nonresponse rates, lay community interviewers are a viable alternative to professional interviewers for fieldwork in community-based research. Additional research is needed to assess other important aspects of data quality interviewer such as interviewer effects and response error.

  13. Do South Asian women with PCOS have poorer health-related quality of life than Caucasian women with PCOS? A comparative cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Campbell Michael J

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS is the most common chronic endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age. This study aimed to compare the HRQoL of South Asian and white Caucasian women with PCOS, given that it is particularly common among women of South Asian origin and they have been shown to have more severe symptoms. Methods The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire (PCOSQ and the Short Form-36 (SF-36 were administered in a cross-sectional survey to 42 South Asian and 129 Caucasian women diagnosed with PCOS recruited from the gynaecology outpatient clinics of two university teaching hospitals in Sheffield and Leeds. Additional clinical data was abstracted from medical notes. Normative data, collected as part of the Oxford Health and Lifestyles II survey, was obtained to compare SF-36 results with ethnically matched women from the general UK population. Using the SF-36, normative HRQoL scores for women of South Asian origin were lower than for Caucasian women. Given this lower baseline we tested whether the same relationship holds true among those with PCOS. Results Although HRQoL scores for women with PCOS were lower than normative data for both groups, South Asian women with PCOS did not have poorer HRQoL than their Caucasian counterparts. For both the SF-36 and PCOSQ, mean scores were broadly the same for both Asian and Caucasian women. For both groups, the worst two HRQoL domains as measured on the PCOSQ were 'infertility' and 'weight', with respective scores of 35.3 and 42.3 for Asian women with PCOS compared to 38.6 and 35.4 for Caucasian women with PCOS. The highest scoring domain for South Asian women with PCOS was 'menstrual problems' (55.3, indicating best health, and was the only statistically significant difference from Caucasian women (p = 0.01. On the SF-36, the lowest scoring domain was 'Energy & Vitality' for Caucasian women with PCOS, but this was significantly higher for Asian women with PCOS (p

  14. Quality of doctoral nursing education in the United Kingdom: exploring the views of doctoral students and staff based on a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenna, Hugh; Keeney, Sinead; Kim, Mi Ja; Park, Chang Gi

    2014-07-01

    To evaluate the quality of doctoral education in nursing in the United Kingdom. In recent decades, doctoral education programmes in nursing are increasing worldwide. There are many reasons for this and concerns have been raised regarding the quality of provision in and across countries. To date, the quality of doctoral education on a global level has not been reported in the literature. This United Kingdom study is part of a seven country investigation into the quality of doctoral education in nursing (Australia, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States of America). A quantitative study using a cross-sectional comparative survey design. An online survey was administered to collect the views of doctoral students and staff members on four domains: programme, faculty/staff, resource and evaluation. The study was carried out between 2010-2012. In most cases, staff perceived these more positively than students and the differences in perception were often statistically significant. Interestingly, many students rated the quality of supervision as excellent, whereas no staff member rated supervision this highly. The crucial importance of resources was confirmed in the path analysis of the four Quality of Doctoral Nursing Education domains. This demonstrates that investment in resources is much more cost-effective than investment in the other domains in relation to improving the overall quality of doctoral education in nursing. This study has wide-ranging implications for how the quality of doctoral education is monitored and enhanced. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Texture of lipid bilayer domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Uffe Bernchou; Brewer, Jonathan R.; Midtiby, Henrik Skov

    2009-01-01

    We investigate the texture of gel (g) domains in binary lipid membranes composed of the phospholipids DPPC and DOPC. Lateral organization of lipid bilayer membranes is a topic of fundamental and biological importance. Whereas questions related to size and composition of fluid membrane domain...... are well studied, the possibility of texture in gel domains has so far not been examined. When using polarized light for two-photon excitation of the fluorescent lipid probe Laurdan, the emission intensity is highly sensitive to the angle between the polarization and the tilt orientation of lipid acyl...... chains. By imaging the intensity variations as a function of the polarization angle, we map the lateral variations of the lipid tilt within domains. Results reveal that gel domains are composed of subdomains with different lipid tilt directions. We have applied a Fourier decomposition method...

  16. On the structure of order domains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geil, Olav; Pellikaan, Ruud

    2002-01-01

    The notion of an order domain is generalized. The behaviour of an order domain by taking a subalgebra, the extension of scalars, and the tensor product is studied. The relation of an order domain with valuation theory, Gröbner algebras, and graded structures is given. The theory of Gröbner bases...... for order domains is developed and used to show that the factor ring theorem and its converse, the presentation theorem, hold. The dimension of an order domain is related to the rank of its value semigroup....

  17. Roles of N- and C-terminal domains in the ligand-binding properties of cytoglobin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanai, Shumpei; Tsujino, Hirofumi; Yamashita, Taku; Torii, Ryo; Sawai, Hitomi; Shiro, Yoshitsugu; Oohora, Koji; Hayashi, Takashi; Uno, Tadayuki

    2018-02-01

    Cytoglobin (Cygb) is a member of the hexacoordinated globin protein family and is expressed ubiquitously in rat and human tissues. Although Cygb is reportedly upregulated under hypoxic conditions both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting a physiological function to protect cells under hypoxic/ischemic conditions by scavenging reactive oxygen species or by signal transduction, the mechanisms associated with this function have not been fully elucidated. Recent studies comparing Cygbs among several species suggest that mammalian Cygbs show a distinctly longer C-terminal domain potentially involved in unique physiological functions. In this study, we prepared human Cygb mutants (ΔC, ΔN, and ΔNC) with either one or both terminal domains truncated and investigated the enzymatic functions and structural features by spectroscopic methods. Evaluation of the superoxide-scavenging activity between Cygb variants showed that the ΔC and ΔNC mutants exhibited slightly higher activity involving superoxide scavenging as compared with wild-type Cygb. Subsequent experiments involving ligand titration, flash photolysis, and resonance Raman spectroscopic studies suggested that the truncation of the C- and N-terminal domains resulted in less effective to dissociation constants and binding rates for carbon monoxide, respectively. Furthermore, structural stability was assessed by guanidine hydrochloride and revealed that the C-terminal domain might play a vital role in improving structure, whereas the N-terminal domain did not exert a similar effect. These findings indicated that long terminal domains could be important not only in regulating enzymatic activity but also for structural stability, and that the domains might be relevant to other hypothesized physiological functions for Cygb. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, Kristine; Pelikan, Jürgen M; Röthlin, Florian; Ganahl, Kristin; Slonska, Zofia; Doyle, Gerardine; Fullam, James; Kondilis, Barbara; Agrafiotis, Demosthenes; Uiters, Ellen; Falcon, Maria; Mensing, Monika; Tchamov, Kancho; van den Broucke, Stephan; Brand, Helmut

    2015-12-01

    Health literacy concerns the capacities of people to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. In spite of the growing attention for the concept among European health policymakers, researchers and practitioners, information about the status of health literacy in Europe remains scarce. This article presents selected findings from the first European comparative survey on health literacy in populations. The European health literacy survey (HLS-EU) was conducted in eight countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain (n = 1000 per country, n = 8000 total sample). Data collection was based on Eurobarometer standards and the implementation of the HLS-EU-Q (questionnaire) in computer-assisted or paper-assisted personal interviews. The HLS-EU-Q constructed four levels of health literacy: insufficient, problematic, sufficient and excellent. At least 1 in 10 (12%) respondents showed insufficient health literacy and almost 1 in 2 (47%) had limited (insufficient or problematic) health literacy. However, the distribution of levels differed substantially across countries (29-62%). Subgroups within the population, defined by financial deprivation, low social status, low education or old age, had higher proportions of people with limited health literacy, suggesting the presence of a social gradient which was also confirmed by raw bivariate correlations and a multivariate linear regression model. Limited health literacy represents an important challenge for health policies and practices across Europe, but to a different degree for different countries. The social gradient in health literacy must be taken into account when developing public health strategies to improve health equity in Europe. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

  19. Development of a Survey to Assess Local Health Department Organizational Processes and Infrastructure for Supporting Obesity Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Ting; Stamatakis, Katherine A; McVay, Allese B

    Local health departments (LHDs) have an important function in controlling the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States. Data are needed to gain insight into the existence of routine functions and structures of LHDs that support and sustain obesity prevention efforts. The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the reliability of measures to assess foundational LHD organizational processes and functions specific to obesity prevention. Survey measures were developed using a stratified, random sample of US LHDs to assess supportive organizational processes and infrastructure for obesity prevention representing different domains. Data were analyzed using weighted κ and intraclass correlation coefficient for assessing test-retest reliability. Most items and summary indices in the majority of survey domains had moderate/substantial or almost perfect reliability. The overall findings support this survey instrument to be a reliable measurement tool for a large number of processes and functions that comprise obesity prevention-related capacity in LHDs.

  20. The diversity and evolution of Wolbachia ankyrin repeat domain genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanos Siozios

    Full Text Available Ankyrin repeat domain-encoding genes are common in the eukaryotic and viral domains of life, but they are rare in bacteria, the exception being a few obligate or facultative intracellular Proteobacteria species. Despite having a reduced genome, the arthropod strains of the alphaproteobacterium Wolbachia contain an unusually high number of ankyrin repeat domain-encoding genes ranging from 23 in wMel to 60 in wPip strain. This group of genes has attracted considerable attention for their astonishing large number as well as for the fact that ankyrin proteins are known to participate in protein-protein interactions, suggesting that they play a critical role in the molecular mechanism that determines host-Wolbachia symbiotic interactions. We present a comparative evolutionary analysis of the wMel-related ankyrin repeat domain-encoding genes present in different Drosophila-Wolbachia associations. Our results show that the ankyrin repeat domain-encoding genes change in size by expansion and contraction mediated by short directly repeated sequences. We provide examples of intra-genic recombination events and show that these genes are likely to be horizontally transferred between strains with the aid of bacteriophages. These results confirm previous findings that the Wolbachia genomes are evolutionary mosaics and illustrate the potential that these bacteria have to generate diversity in proteins potentially involved in the symbiotic interactions.

  1. Domain Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals on a Polycarbonate Surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasily F. Shabanov

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Alignment of nematic liquid crystals on polycarbonate films obtained with the use of solvents with different solvations is studied. Domain structures occurring during the growth on the polymer surface against the background of the initial thread-like or schlieren texture are demonstrated. It is established by optical methods that the domains are stable formations visualizing the polymer surface structures. In nematic droplets, the temperature-induced transition from the domain structure with two extinction bands to the structure with four bands is observed. This transition is shown to be caused by reorientation of the nematic director in the liquid crystal volume from the planar alignment to the homeotropic state with the pronounced radial configuration of nematic molecules on the surface. The observed textures are compared with different combinations of the volume LC orientations and the radial distribution of the director field and the disclination lines at the polycarbonate surface.

  2. Cross-sectional analysis of ferroelectric domains in PZT capacitors via piezoresponse force microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, J S [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang City (China); Zeng, H Z [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Kholkin, A L [Department of Ceramic and Glass Engineering and CICECO, University of Aveiro, Aveiro 3810-193 (Portugal)

    2007-11-21

    Ferroelectric domains have been investigated on the cross-section of Pb(Zr{sub 0.55}Ti{sub 0.45})O{sub 3} (PZT) thin film capacitors by scanning probe microscopy. The static domain images on the cross-section were obtained by the lateral piezoresponse force microscopy (LPFM) method, in which the ac voltage used to induce the converse piezoelectric effect was applied between the conductive tip and the bottom electrode. The polarization component normal to the substrate could be characterized via both d{sub 33} and d{sub 15} piezoelectric coefficients, which resulted in a high resolution of LPFM images. After a variable dc bias was applied between the top and the bottom electrodes, the variations of domain image on the cross-section were recorded by the LPFM immediately. Upon the application of low bias, new domain sites appeared near the PZT/Pt interface opposite to the initial polarization. Forward stretch of new domains was facilitated under the dc field approaching the coercive field E{sub c}. Under a very high field (about three times of the E{sub c}), the sidewise expansion of columnar domains was observed. However, the domains were only partially switched even though a very high field was applied. The observed domain growth process indicated a lower energy barrier for nucleation compared with that of domain wall motion. Possible reasons for the incomplete switching are the substantial influences of the interface and depolarization in thin film capacitors.

  3. Emergent rotational symmetries in disordered magnetic domain patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Run; Seu, Keoki A; Parks, Daniel; Kan, Jimmy J; Fullerton, Eric E; Roy, Sujoy; Kevan, Stephen D

    2011-12-16

    Uniaxial systems often form labyrinthine domains that exhibit short-range order but are macroscopically isotropic and would not be expected to exhibit precise symmetries. However, their underlying frustration results in a multitude of metastable configurations of comparable energy, and driving such a system externally might lead to pattern formation. We find that soft x-ray speckle diffraction patterns of the labyrinthine domains in CoPd/IrMn heterostructures reveal a diverse array of hidden rotational symmetries about the magnetization axis, thereby suggesting an unusual form of emergent order in an otherwise disordered system. These symmetries depend on applied magnetic field, magnetization history, and scattering wave vector. Maps of rotational symmetry exhibit intriguing structures that can be controlled by manipulating the applied magnetic field in concert with the exchange bias condition. © 2011 American Physical Society

  4. Quality of Life Among Dental Students: A Survey Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andre, Amanda; Pierre, Gaelle C; McAndrew, Maureen

    2017-10-01

    Quality of life is a complex construct that affects the overall life satisfaction, emotional well-being, and functioning of individuals. The aim of our study was to assess the quality of life of dental students at one U.S. dental school, using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF, a multi-dimensional, cross-cultural, validated, and reliable survey instrument. Of the 1,437 students invited to participate, 401 students responded, but 17 were excluded because of missing data. The final sample consisted of 384 students for an overall response rate of 27%: response rates by year were first year 32.6%, second year 16.9%, third year 26.6%, and fourth year 24.0%. The results showed that the responding students rated their overall quality of life as good. The Physical Health domain had the highest mean score, while the Psychological domain had the lowest. Females reported higher quality of life than males in the Social Relationships domain. Single students were found to have a lower perceived quality of life than married students. Older students were found to have lower perceived quality of life in the Physical Health and Environment domains. Physical Health domain scores were significantly higher for fourth-year than first-year respondents, while Psychological domain scores were significantly lower for third-year than first-year respondents. Further research is needed to explore the effect of dental school on the quality of life of dental students. Targeted programs to impact students' quality of life at various points in the curriculum may be beneficial.

  5. Severity of chronic Lyme disease compared to other chronic conditions: a quality of life survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorraine Johnson

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Overview. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC health-related quality of life (HRQoL indicators are widely used in the general population to determine the burden of disease, identify health needs, and direct public health policy. These indicators also allow the burden of illness to be compared across different diseases. Although Lyme disease has recently been acknowledged as a major health threat in the USA with more than 300,000 new cases per year, no comprehensive assessment of the health burden of this tickborne disease is available. This study assesses the HRQoL of patients with chronic Lyme disease (CLD and compares the severity of CLD to other chronic conditions.Methods. Of 5,357 subjects who responded to an online survey, 3,090 were selected for the study. Respondents were characterized as having CLD if they were clinically diagnosed with Lyme disease and had persisting symptoms lasting more than 6 months following antibiotic treatment. HRQoL of CLD patients was assessed using the CDC 9-item metric. The HRQoL analysis for CLD was compared to published analyses for the general population and other chronic illnesses using standard statistical methods.Results. Compared to the general population and patients with other chronic diseases reviewed here, patients with CLD reported significantly lower health quality status, more bad mental and physical health days, a significant symptom disease burden, and greater activity limitations. They also reported impairment in their ability to work, increased utilization of healthcare services, and greater out of pocket medical costs.Conclusions. CLD patients have significantly impaired HRQoL and greater healthcare utilization compared to the general population and patients with other chronic diseases. The heavy burden of illness associated with CLD highlights the need for earlier diagnosis and innovative treatment approaches that may reduce the burden of illness and concomitant costs posed

  6. Severity of chronic Lyme disease compared to other chronic conditions: a quality of life survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Lorraine; Wilcox, Spencer; Mankoff, Jennifer

    2014-01-01

    Overview. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) health-related quality of life (HRQoL) indicators are widely used in the general population to determine the burden of disease, identify health needs, and direct public health policy. These indicators also allow the burden of illness to be compared across different diseases. Although Lyme disease has recently been acknowledged as a major health threat in the USA with more than 300,000 new cases per year, no comprehensive assessment of the health burden of this tickborne disease is available. This study assesses the HRQoL of patients with chronic Lyme disease (CLD) and compares the severity of CLD to other chronic conditions. Methods. Of 5,357 subjects who responded to an online survey, 3,090 were selected for the study. Respondents were characterized as having CLD if they were clinically diagnosed with Lyme disease and had persisting symptoms lasting more than 6 months following antibiotic treatment. HRQoL of CLD patients was assessed using the CDC 9-item metric. The HRQoL analysis for CLD was compared to published analyses for the general population and other chronic illnesses using standard statistical methods. Results. Compared to the general population and patients with other chronic diseases reviewed here, patients with CLD reported significantly lower health quality status, more bad mental and physical health days, a significant symptom disease burden, and greater activity limitations. They also reported impairment in their ability to work, increased utilization of healthcare services, and greater out of pocket medical costs. Conclusions. CLD patients have significantly impaired HRQoL and greater healthcare utilization compared to the general population and patients with other chronic diseases. The heavy burden of illness associated with CLD highlights the need for earlier diagnosis and innovative treatment approaches that may reduce the burden of illness and concomitant costs posed by this

  7. Environmental surveys of the Heidrun field. Supplementary baseline survey 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oug, E.; Konieczny, R.M.; Bakke, T.; Lind, K.

    1993-02-01

    The present survey is a re-investigation of the sea bottom sediments at six sites in the Heidrun oil and gas field, May 1992. Petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals were at background levels. Compared to the baseline survey in 1988 values of hydrocarbons and barium were decreased. The sediment fauna was sparse with low numbers of species and individuals. Densities were strongly reduced and diversity decreased compared to 1988. There is no indication of anthropogenic factors or other large scale disturbances in the area to explain the faunal changes, which may reflect a large natural variation in the sediment fauna. 22 refs., 16 figs., 35 tabs

  8. Gender, Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Language Choices of Malaysian Youths: the Case of the Family Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehdi Granhemat

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the relationships between gender, ethnicity, ethnic identity, and language choices of Malaysian multilingual youths in the family domain of language use. Five hundred undergraduate students who belonged to different Malaysian ethnic groups were selected as participants of the study. The participant aged between 17 to 25 years old. To select the participants, a random proportional stratified sampling strategy was developed. A self administered questionnaire survey comprising three sections was used for gathering information about participants’ demographic profiles, their language choices in the family domain, and the concepts of their ethnic identity. To make analyses about the most used languages of the participants and the relationships between variables, SPSS software was run. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the participants’ profiles as well as participants’ used languages in the family domain of language use. Inferential statistics was used to examine relationships between variables. According to results of the study, in the family domain five codes were mostly used by the participants. These five codes were respectively, the Malay language, mixed use of Malay and English, Chinese, Mixed use of Chinese and English, and English. Furthermore, in the family domain, gender did not exert any influence on the choice of language of the multilingual participants, but ethnicity was found to be a determinant of language choice. Ethnic identity was found to influence the language choices of the Malays as well, but it did not affect the Chinese and Indian participants’ language choices in this domain of language use.

  9. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

    2012-11-19

    Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

  10. Endophilin-A1 BAR domain interaction with arachidonyl CoA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petoukhov, Maxim V; Weissenhorn, Winfried; Svergun, Dmitri I

    2014-01-01

    Endophilin-A1 belongs to the family of BAR domain containing proteins that catalyze membrane remodeling processes via sensing, inducing and stabilizing membrane curvature. We show that the BAR domain of endophilin-A1 binds arachidonic acid and molds its coenzyme A (CoA) activated form, arachidonyl-CoA into a defined structure. We studied low resolution structures of endophilin-A1-BAR and its complex with arachidonyl-CoA in solution using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The free endophilin-A1-BAR domain is shown to be dimeric at lower concentrations but builds tetramers and higher order complexes with increasing concentrations. Extensive titration SAXS studies revealed that the BAR domain produces a homogenous complex with the lipid micelles. The structural model of the complexes revealed two arachidonyl-CoA micelles bound to the distal arms of an endophilin-A1-BAR dimer. Intriguingly, the radius of the bound micelles significantly decreases compared to that of the free micelles, and this structural result may provide hints on the potential biological relevance of the endophilin-A1-BAR interaction with arachidonyl CoA.

  11. Gifted Students' Self-Perceptions of Ability in Specific Subject Domains: Factor Structure and Relationship with Above-Level Test Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swiatek, Mary Ann

    2005-01-01

    Current self-concept theories suggest a multi-dimensional construct, with domain-specific self-concepts hierarchically related to global self-concept. The academic domain may be comprised of subject-specific domains that are related to performance in corresponding areas. Here, gifted students' responses to questions about how they compare with…

  12. Protein domain evolution is associated with reproductive diversification and adaptive radiation in the genus Eucalyptus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kersting, Anna R; Mizrachi, Eshchar; Bornberg-Bauer, Erich; Myburg, Alexander A

    2015-06-01

    Eucalyptus is a pivotal genus within the rosid order Myrtales with distinct geographic history and adaptations. Comparative analysis of protein domain evolution in the newly sequenced Eucalyptus grandis genome and other rosid lineages sheds light on the adaptive mechanisms integral to the success of this genus of woody perennials. We reconstructed the ancestral domain content to elucidate the gain, loss and expansion of protein domains and domain arrangements in Eucalyptus in the context of rosid phylogeny. We used functional gene ontology (GO) annotation of genes to investigate the possible biological and evolutionary consequences of protein domain expansion. We found that protein modulation within the angiosperms occurred primarily on the level of expansion of certain domains and arrangements. Using RNA-Seq data from E. grandis, we showed that domain expansions have contributed to tissue-specific expression of tandemly duplicated genes. Our results indicate that tandem duplication of genes, a key feature of the Eucalyptus genome, has played an important role in the expansion of domains, particularly in proteins related to the specialization of reproduction and biotic and abiotic interactions affecting root and floral biology, and that tissue-specific expression of proteins with expanded domains has facilitated subfunctionalization in domain families. © 2014 University of Pretoria New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

  13. Toward long-term all-sky time domain surveys-SINDICS: a prospective concept for a Seismic INDICes Survey of half a million red giants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michel Eric

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available CoRoT and Kepler have brought a new and deep experience in long-term photometric surveys and how to use them. This is true for exoplanets characterizing, stellar seismology and beyond for studying several other phenomena, like granulation or activity. Based on this experience, it has been possible to propose new generation projects, like TESS and PLATO, with more specific scientific objectives and more ambitious observational programs in terms of sky coverage and/or duration of the observations. In this context and as a prospective exercise, we explore here the possibility to set up an all-sky survey optimized for seismic indices measurement, providing masses, radii and evolution stages for half a million solar-type pulsators (subgiants and red giants, in our galactic neighborhood and allowing unprecedented stellar population studies.

  14. Diagrammatic Representations in Domain-Specific Languages

    OpenAIRE

    Tourlas, Konstantinos

    2002-01-01

    One emerging approach to reducing the labour and costs of software development favours the specialisation of techniques to particular application domains. The rationale is that programs within a given domain often share enough common features and assumptions to enable the incorporation of substantial support mechanisms into domain-specific programming languages and associated tools. Instead of being machine-oriented, algorithmic implementations, programs in many domain-speci...

  15. Domain wall networks on solitons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutcliffe, Paul

    2003-01-01

    Domain wall networks on the surface of a soliton are studied in a simple theory. It consists of two complex scalar fields, in 3+1 dimensions, with a global U(1)xZ n symmetry, where n>2. Solutions are computed numerically in which one of the fields forms a Q ball and the other field forms a network of domain walls localized on the surface of the Q ball. Examples are presented in which the domain walls lie along the edges of a spherical polyhedron, forming junctions at its vertices. It is explained why only a small restricted class of polyhedra can arise as domain wall networks

  16. Domain wall kinetics of lithium niobate single crystals near the hexagonal corner

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Ju Won [Department of Physics and Photon Science, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Ko, Do-Kyeong [Department of Physics and Photon Science, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Advanced Photonics Research Institute, GIST, 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Yu, Nan Ei, E-mail: neyu@gist.ac.kr, E-mail: jhro@pnu.edu [Advanced Photonics Research Institute, GIST, 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712 (Korea, Republic of); Kitamura, Kenji [National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); Ro, Jung Hoon, E-mail: neyu@gist.ac.kr, E-mail: jhro@pnu.edu [Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan 602-739 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-03-09

    A mesospheric approach based on a simple microscopic 2D Ising model in a hexagonal lattice plane is proposed to explain macroscopic “asymmetric in-out domain wall motion” observation in the (0001) plane of MgO-doped stoichiometric lithium niobate. Under application of an electric field that was higher than the conventional coercive field (E{sub c}) to the ferroelectric crystal, a natural hexagonal domain was obtained with walls that were parallel to the Y-axis of the crystal. When a fraction of the coercive field of around 0.1E{sub c} is applied in the reverse direction, this hexagonal domain is shrunk (moved inward) from the corner site into a shape with a corner angle of around 150° and 15° wall slopes to the Y-axis. A flipped electric field of 0.15E{sub c} is then applied to recover the natural hexagonal shape, and the 150° corner shape changes into a flat wall with 30° slope (moved outward). The differences in corner domain shapes between inward and outward domain motion were analyzed theoretically in terms of corner and wall site energies, which are described using the domain corner angle and wall slope with respect to the crystal Y-axis, respectively. In the inward domain wall motion case, the energy levels of the evolving 150° domain corner and 15° slope walls are most competitive, and could co-exist. In the outward case, the energy levels of corners with angles >180° are highly stable when compared with the possible domain walls; only a flat wall with 30° slope to the Y-axis is possible during outward motion.

  17. Conformational dynamics and ligand binding in the multi-domain protein PDC109.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun Jin Kim

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available PDC109 is a modular multi-domain protein with two fibronectin type II (Fn2 repeats joined by a linker. It plays a major role in bull sperm binding to the oviductal epithelium through its interactions with phosphorylcholines (PhCs, a head group of sperm cell membrane lipids. The crystal structure of the PDC109-PhC complex shows that each PhC binds to the corresponding Fn2 domain, while the two domains are on the same face of the protein. Long timescale explicit solvent molecular dynamics (MD simulations of PDC109, in the presence and absence of PhC, suggest that PhC binding strongly correlates with the relative orientation of choline-phospholipid binding sites of the two Fn2 domains; unless the two domains tightly bind PhCs, they tend to change their relative orientation by deforming the flexible linker. The effective PDC109-PhC association constant of 28 M(-1, estimated from their potential of mean force is consistent with the experimental result. Principal component analysis of the long timescale MD simulations was compared to the significantly less expensive normal mode analysis of minimized structures. The comparison indicates that difference between relative domain motions of PDC109 with bound and unbound PhC is captured by the first principal component in the principal component analysis as well as the three lowest normal modes in the normal mode analysis. The present study illustrates the use of detailed MD simulations to clarify the energetics of specific ligand-domain interactions revealed by a static crystallographic model, as well as their influence on relative domain motions in a multi-domain protein.

  18. Frequency domain analysis of knock images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Yunliang; He, Xin; Wang, Zhi; Wang, Jianxin

    2014-12-01

    High speed imaging-based knock analysis has mainly focused on time domain information, e.g. the spark triggered flame speed, the time when end gas auto-ignition occurs and the end gas flame speed after auto-ignition. This study presents a frequency domain analysis on the knock images recorded using a high speed camera with direct photography in a rapid compression machine (RCM). To clearly visualize the pressure wave oscillation in the combustion chamber, the images were high-pass-filtered to extract the luminosity oscillation. The luminosity spectrum was then obtained by applying fast Fourier transform (FFT) to three basic colour components (red, green and blue) of the high-pass-filtered images. Compared to the pressure spectrum, the luminosity spectra better identify the resonant modes of pressure wave oscillation. More importantly, the resonant mode shapes can be clearly visualized by reconstructing the images based on the amplitudes of luminosity spectra at the corresponding resonant frequencies, which agree well with the analytical solutions for mode shapes of gas vibration in a cylindrical cavity.

  19. Domain-specific working memory advantage in synaesthetes

    OpenAIRE

    Lunke, Katrin; Walter, Stefan; Meier, Beat

    2016-01-01

    Synaesthesia is a phenomenon in which the perception of a distinct stimulus, called inducer-for instance a letter or sound-elicits a concurrent sensation, often a coloured experience. Past studies have shown better memory performance for synaesthetes compared to non-synaesthetes. Differences in the cognitive system, during encoding or retrieval in the domains of the inducer or the concurrent may explain this benefit. We tested four groups of synaesthetes (grapheme-colour, sound-colour, graphe...

  20. Power of tests for comparing trend curves with application to national immunization survey (NIS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Zhen

    2011-02-28

    To develop statistical tests for comparing trend curves of study outcomes between two socio-demographic strata across consecutive time points, and compare statistical power of the proposed tests under different trend curves data, three statistical tests were proposed. For large sample size with independent normal assumption among strata and across consecutive time points, the Z and Chi-square test statistics were developed, which are functions of outcome estimates and the standard errors at each of the study time points for the two strata. For small sample size with independent normal assumption, the F-test statistic was generated, which is a function of sample size of the two strata and estimated parameters across study period. If two trend curves are approximately parallel, the power of Z-test is consistently higher than that of both Chi-square and F-test. If two trend curves cross at low interaction, the power of Z-test is higher than or equal to the power of both Chi-square and F-test; however, at high interaction, the powers of Chi-square and F-test are higher than that of Z-test. The measurement of interaction of two trend curves was defined. These tests were applied to the comparison of trend curves of vaccination coverage estimates of standard vaccine series with National Immunization Survey (NIS) 2000-2007 data. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Problematic mobile phone use and big-five personality domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takao, Motoharu

    2014-04-01

    Although a mobile phone is useful and attractive as a tool for communication and interpersonal interaction, there exists the risk of its problematic or addictive use. This study aims to investigate the correlation between the big-five personality domains and problematic mobile phone use. The Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) were employed in this study. Survey data were gathered from 504 university students for multiple regression analysis. Problematic mobile phone use is a function of gender, extraversion, neuroticism, openness-to-experience; however, it is not a function of agreeableness or conscientiousness. The measurement of these predictors would enable the screening of and intervening in the potentially problematic behaviors of mobile phone users.

  2. Towards Domain-specific Flow-based Languages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zarrin, Bahram; Baumeister, Hubert; Sarjoughian, Hessam S.

    2018-01-01

    describe their problems and solutions, instead of using general purpose programming languages. The goal of these languages is to improve the productivity and efficiency of the development and simulation of concurrent scientific models and systems. Moreover, they help to expose parallelism and to specify...... the concurrency within a component or across different independent components. In this paper, we introduce the concept of domain-specific flowbased languages which allows domain experts to use flow-based languages adapted to a particular problem domain. Flow-based programming is used to support concurrency, while......Due to the significant growth of the demand for data-intensive computing, in addition to the emergence of new parallel and distributed computing technologies, scientists and domain experts are leveraging languages specialized for their problem domain, i.e., domain-specific languages, to help them...

  3. Is caseload midwifery a healthy work-form? - A survey of burnout among midwives in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Ingrid; Juul, Svend; Foureur, Maralyn

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the level of burnout among midwives working in caseloading practices compared to other models of midwifery care. Study design and setting: In this survey the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was used to measure burnout among midwives working in a tertiary maternity unit...... Denmark. Main outcome measures: Mean burnout scores and the proportion of midwives with high burnout scores (a score >= 50). Results: The response rate was 82.0% as 50 out of 61 midwives answered the questionnaire. In caseload midwifery the burnout scores in personal, work-related and client......-related burnout were significantly lower when compared to ‘‘other models of care”. Among caseloading midwives, none had high scores of burnout in any of the measured domains. The proportions of high burnout scores among all of the participating midwives were 22% (95% CI: 12%–36%) in personal burnout, 20% (95% CI...

  4. A Comparison of Web-Based and Paper-Based Survey Methods: Testing Assumptions of Survey Mode and Response Cost

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenlaw, Corey; Brown-Welty, Sharon

    2009-01-01

    Web-based surveys have become more prevalent in areas such as evaluation, research, and marketing research to name a few. The proliferation of these online surveys raises the question, how do response rates compare with traditional surveys and at what cost? This research explored response rates and costs for Web-based surveys, paper surveys, and…

  5. Trends in x-ray photography and patient exposure dose. Questionnaire survey results compared with those in 1973. [questionnaire survey in 1979

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Orito, T; Sanada, S; Maekawa, R; Koshida, K; Hiraki, T [Kanazawa Univ. (Japan). School of Paramedicine

    1980-04-01

    The exposure doses of patients in X-ray photography are influenced by such technological factors as X-ray tube voltage, filter, sensitizing screen, film and grid. Survey by questionnnaire was made previously in 1973 on the above factors. The trends five years after were surveyed similarly, in connection with the exposure doses of patients. Questionnaires were sent to 200 radiation technicians, and 121 (60.5%) answered the survey in March, 1979. The results in the cases of simple X-ray photography and obstetric, infant and breast X-ray photographings are described. X-ray tube voltage is generally on the increase. In the sensitizing screens, exposure doses are fairly decreased due to the use of improved intensifying screen (LT-II). In the grid, the ratio 8 : 1 is used more than 5 : 1. In the usage of additional filters and in the distance of photography, improvements are desired.

  6. What helps or hinders midwives to implement physical activity guidelines for obese pregnant women? A questionnaire survey using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McParlin, Catherine; Bell, Ruth; Robson, Stephen C; Muirhead, Colin R; Araújo-Soares, Vera

    2017-06-01

    to investigate barriers and facilitators to physical activity (PA) guideline implementation for midwives when advising obese pregnant women. a cross-sectional, self-completion, anonymous questionnaire was designed using the Theoretical Domains Framework. this framework was developed to evaluate the implementation of guidelines by health care professionals. A total of 40 questions were included. These were informed by previous research on pregnant women's and midwives views, knowledge and attitudes to PA, and supported by national evidence based guidelines. Demographic information and free text comments were also collected. three diverse NHS Trusts in the North East of England. all midwives employed by two hospital Trusts and the community midwives from the third Trust (n=375) were invited to participate. mean domain scores were calculated. Factor and regression analysis were performed to describe which theoretical domains may be influencing practice. Free text comments were analysed thematically. 192 (53%) questionnaires were returned. Mean domain scores were highest for social professional role and knowledge, and lowest for skills, beliefs about capabilities and behaviour regulation. Regression analysis indicated that skills and memory/attention/decision domains had a statistically significant influence on midwives discussing PA with obese pregnant women and advising them accordingly. Midwives comments indicated that they felt it was part of their role to discuss PA with all pregnant women but felt they lacked the skills and resources to do so effectively. midwives seem to have the necessary knowledge about the need/importance of PA advice for obese women and believe it is part of their role, but perceive they lack necessary skills and resources, and do not plan or prioritise the discussion regarding PA with obese pregnant woman. designing interventions that improve skills, promote routine enquiry regarding PA and provide resources (eg. information, referral

  7. Time-domain analytic Solutions of two-wire transmission line excited by a plane-wave field

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Ni Gu-Yan; Yan Li; Yuan Nai-Chang

    2008-01-01

    This paper reports that an analytic method is used to calculate the load responses of the two-wire transmission line excited by a plane-wave directly in the time domain.By the frequency-domain Baum-Liu-Tesche(BLT)equation,the time-domain analytic solutions are obtained and expressed in an infinite geometric series.Moreover,it is shown that there exist only finite nonzero terms in the infinite geometric series if the time variate is at a finite interval.In other word.the time-domain analytic solutions are expanded in a finite geometric series indeed if the time variate is at a finite interval.The computed results are subsequently compared with transient responses obtained by using the frequency-domain BLT equation via a fast Fourier transform,and the agreement is excellent.

  8. Improving the Effectiveness of Speaker Verification Domain Adaptation With Inadequate In-Domain Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-20

    M speakers. We seek a probabilistic solution to domain adap- tation, and so we encode knowledge of the out-of-domain data in prior distributions...the VB solution from (16)-(21) becomes: µ =αȳ + (1− α)µout, (24) Σa =α ( 1 NT NT∑ n=1 〈ynyTn 〉 − ȳȳT ) + (1− α) Σouta (25) + α (1− α) ( ȳ − µout...non- English languages and from unseen channels. An inadequate in-domain set was provided, which consisted of 2272 samples from 1164 speakers, and

  9. Multiple domains of social support are associated with diabetes self-management among Veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Kristen E; Hoerster, Katherine D; Reiber, Gayle E; Bastian, Lori A; Nelson, Karin M

    2018-01-01

    Objectives To examine, among Veterans, relationships of general social support and diabetes-specific social support for physical activity and healthy eating with diabetes self-management behaviors. Methods Patients from VA Puget Sound, Seattle completed a cross-sectional survey in 2012-2013 ( N = 717). We measured (a) general social support and (b) diabetes-specific social support for healthy eating and physical activity with domains reflecting support person participation, encouragement, and sharing ideas. Among 189 self-reporting diabetes patients, we fit linear and modified Poisson regression models estimating associations of social support with diabetes self-management behaviors: adherence to general and diabetes-specific diets and blood glucose monitoring (days/week); physical activity (social support was not associated with diabetes self-management. For diabetes-specific social support, higher healthy eating support scores across all domains were associated with better adherence to general and diabetes-specific diets. Higher physical activity support scores were positively associated with ≥150 min/week of physical activity only for the participation domain. Discussion Diabetes-specific social support was a stronger and more consistent correlate of improved self-management than general social support, particularly for lifestyle behaviors. Incorporating family/friends into Veterans' diabetes self-management routines may lead to better self-management and improvements in disease control and outcomes.

  10. The comparative mind-set: from animal comparisons to increased purchase intentions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Alison Jing; Wyer, Robert S

    2008-09-01

    Stimulating people to state a preference for one of two commercial products can increase their willingness to purchase not only one of these products, but also other products in a totally unrelated domain. However, willingness to make a purchase in a given domain (e.g., computers) can also be increased by asking individuals (a) to indicate which of two stimuli in a different domain (e.g., vacation packages) they dislike more, (b) to compare the relative attractiveness of wild animals, (c) to compare the animals with respect to physical attributes, and (d) to estimate how similar one object is to another. Moreover, the effects generalize to decisions about dating partners, as well as consumer products. In short, making any type of comparative judgment appears likely to give rise to a comparative-judgment mind-set and, therefore, to influence decisions in subsequent situations.

  11. The SPOR Domain, a Widely Conserved Peptidoglycan Binding Domain That Targets Proteins to the Site of Cell Division.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahashiri, Atsushi; Jorgenson, Matthew A; Weiss, David S

    2017-07-15

    Sporulation-related repeat (SPOR) domains are small peptidoglycan (PG) binding domains found in thousands of bacterial proteins. The name "SPOR domain" stems from the fact that several early examples came from proteins involved in sporulation, but SPOR domain proteins are quite diverse and contribute to a variety of processes that involve remodeling of the PG sacculus, especially with respect to cell division. SPOR domains target proteins to the division site by binding to regions of PG devoid of stem peptides ("denuded" glycans), which in turn are enriched in septal PG by the intense, localized activity of cell wall amidases involved in daughter cell separation. This targeting mechanism sets SPOR domain proteins apart from most other septal ring proteins, which localize via protein-protein interactions. In addition to SPOR domains, bacteria contain several other PG-binding domains that can exploit features of the cell wall to target proteins to specific subcellular sites. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  12. A graph kernel approach for alignment-free domain-peptide interaction prediction with an application to human SH3 domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundu, Kousik; Costa, Fabrizio; Backofen, Rolf

    2013-07-01

    State-of-the-art experimental data for determining binding specificities of peptide recognition modules (PRMs) is obtained by high-throughput approaches like peptide arrays. Most prediction tools applicable to this kind of data are based on an initial multiple alignment of the peptide ligands. Building an initial alignment can be error-prone, especially in the case of the proline-rich peptides bound by the SH3 domains. Here, we present a machine-learning approach based on an efficient graph-kernel technique to predict the specificity of a large set of 70 human SH3 domains, which are an important class of PRMs. The graph-kernel strategy allows us to (i) integrate several types of physico-chemical information for each amino acid, (ii) consider high-order correlations between these features and (iii) eliminate the need for an initial peptide alignment. We build specialized models for each human SH3 domain and achieve competitive predictive performance of 0.73 area under precision-recall curve, compared with 0.27 area under precision-recall curve for state-of-the-art methods based on position weight matrices. We show that better models can be obtained when we use information on the noninteracting peptides (negative examples), which is currently not used by the state-of-the art approaches based on position weight matrices. To this end, we analyze two strategies to identify subsets of high confidence negative data. The techniques introduced here are more general and hence can also be used for any other protein domains, which interact with short peptides (i.e. other PRMs). The program with the predictive models can be found at http://www.bioinf.uni-freiburg.de/Software/SH3PepInt/SH3PepInt.tar.gz. We also provide a genome-wide prediction for all 70 human SH3 domains, which can be found under http://www.bioinf.uni-freiburg.de/Software/SH3PepInt/Genome-Wide-Predictions.tar.gz. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  13. Identification of hierarchy of dynamic domains in proteins: comparison of HDWA and HCCP techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yesylevskyy S. O.

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Aim. There are several techniques for the identification of hierarchy of dynamic domains in proteins. The goal of this work is to compare systematically two recently developed techniques, HCCP and HDWA,on a set of proteins from diverse structural classes. Methods. HDWA and HCCP techniques are used. The HDWA technique is designed to identify hierarchically organized dynamic domains in proteins using the Molecular Dynamics (MD trajectories, while HCCP utilizes the normal modes of simplified elastic network models. Results. It is shown that the dynamic domains found by HDWA are consistent with the domains identified by HCCP and other techniques. At the same time HDWA identifies flexible mobile loops of proteins correctly, which is hard to achieve with other model-based domain identification techniques. Conclusion. HDWA is shown to be a powerful method of analysis of MD trajectories, which can be used in various areas of protein science.

  14. Processes of fungal proteome evolution and gain of function: gene duplication and domain rearrangement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen-Gihon, Inbar; Nussinov, Ruth; Sharan, Roded

    2011-01-01

    During evolution, organisms have gained functional complexity mainly by modifying and improving existing functioning systems rather than creating new ones ab initio. Here we explore the interplay between two processes which during evolution have had major roles in the acquisition of new functions: gene duplication and protein domain rearrangements. We consider four possible evolutionary scenarios: gene families that have undergone none of these event types; only gene duplication; only domain rearrangement, or both events. We characterize each of the four evolutionary scenarios by functional attributes. Our analysis of ten fungal genomes indicates that at least for the fungi clade, species significantly appear to gain complexity by gene duplication accompanied by the expansion of existing domain architectures via rearrangements. We show that paralogs gaining new domain architectures via duplication tend to adopt new functions compared to paralogs that preserve their domain architectures. We conclude that evolution of protein families through gene duplication and domain rearrangement is correlated with their functional properties. We suggest that in general, new functions are acquired via the integration of gene duplication and domain rearrangements rather than each process acting independently

  15. Chapter 4: Regional magnetic domains of the Circum-Arctic: A framework for geodynamic interpretation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltus, R.W.; Miller, E.L.; Gaina, C.; Brown, P.J.

    2011-01-01

    We identify and discuss 57 magnetic anomaly pattern domains spanning the Circum-Arctic. The domains are based on analysis of a new Circum-Arctic data compilation. The magnetic anomaly patterns can be broadly related to general geodynamic classification of the crust into stable, deformed (magnetic and nonmagnetic), deep magnetic high, oceanic and large igneous province domains. We compare the magnetic domains with topography/bathymetry, regional geology, regional free air gravity anomalies and estimates of the relative magnetic 'thickness' of the crust. Most of the domains and their geodynamic classification assignments are consistent with their topographic/bathymetric and geological expression. A few of the domains are potentially controversial. For example, the extent of the Iceland Faroe large igneous province as identified by magnetic anomalies may disagree with other definitions for this feature. Also the lack of definitive magnetic expression of oceanic crust in Baffin Bay, the Norwegian-Greenland Sea and the Amerasian Basin is at odds with some previous interpretations. The magnetic domains and their boundaries provide clues for tectonic models and boundaries within this poorly understood portion of the globe. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

  16. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2012-11-19

    Background: Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods.Results: To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods.Conclusion: The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. 2012 Wang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  17. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Bensmail, Halima; Gao, Xin

    2012-01-01

    Background: Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods.Results: To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods.Conclusion: The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications. 2012 Wang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

  18. Multiple graph regularized protein domain ranking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Jim

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein domain ranking is a fundamental task in structural biology. Most protein domain ranking methods rely on the pairwise comparison of protein domains while neglecting the global manifold structure of the protein domain database. Recently, graph regularized ranking that exploits the global structure of the graph defined by the pairwise similarities has been proposed. However, the existing graph regularized ranking methods are very sensitive to the choice of the graph model and parameters, and this remains a difficult problem for most of the protein domain ranking methods. Results To tackle this problem, we have developed the Multiple Graph regularized Ranking algorithm, MultiG-Rank. Instead of using a single graph to regularize the ranking scores, MultiG-Rank approximates the intrinsic manifold of protein domain distribution by combining multiple initial graphs for the regularization. Graph weights are learned with ranking scores jointly and automatically, by alternately minimizing an objective function in an iterative algorithm. Experimental results on a subset of the ASTRAL SCOP protein domain database demonstrate that MultiG-Rank achieves a better ranking performance than single graph regularized ranking methods and pairwise similarity based ranking methods. Conclusion The problem of graph model and parameter selection in graph regularized protein domain ranking can be solved effectively by combining multiple graphs. This aspect of generalization introduces a new frontier in applying multiple graphs to solving protein domain ranking applications.

  19. Multimorbidity in Australia: Comparing estimates derived using administrative data sources and survey data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanja Lujic

    Full Text Available Estimating multimorbidity (presence of two or more chronic conditions using administrative data is becoming increasingly common. We investigated (1 the concordance of identification of chronic conditions and multimorbidity using self-report survey and administrative datasets; (2 characteristics of people with multimorbidity ascertained using different data sources; and (3 whether the same individuals are classified as multimorbid using different data sources.Baseline survey data for 90,352 participants of the 45 and Up Study-a cohort study of residents of New South Wales, Australia, aged 45 years and over-were linked to prior two-year pharmaceutical claims and hospital admission records. Concordance of eight self-report chronic conditions (reference with claims and hospital data were examined using sensitivity (Sn, positive predictive value (PPV, and kappa (κ.The characteristics of people classified as multimorbid were compared using logistic regression modelling.Agreement was found to be highest for diabetes in both hospital and claims data (κ = 0.79, 0.78; Sn = 79%, 72%; PPV = 86%, 90%. The prevalence of multimorbidity was highest using self-report data (37.4%, followed by claims data (36.1% and hospital data (19.3%. Combining all three datasets identified a total of 46 683 (52% people with multimorbidity, with half of these identified using a single dataset only, and up to 20% identified on all three datasets. Characteristics of persons with and without multimorbidity were generally similar. However, the age gradient was more pronounced and people speaking a language other than English at home were more likely to be identified as multimorbid by administrative data.Different individuals, with different combinations of conditions, are identified as multimorbid when different data sources are used. As such, caution should be applied when ascertaining morbidity from a single data source as the agreement between self-report and administrative

  20. Multimorbidity in Australia: Comparing estimates derived using administrative data sources and survey data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lujic, Sanja; Simpson, Judy M; Zwar, Nicholas; Hosseinzadeh, Hassan; Jorm, Louisa

    2017-01-01

    Estimating multimorbidity (presence of two or more chronic conditions) using administrative data is becoming increasingly common. We investigated (1) the concordance of identification of chronic conditions and multimorbidity using self-report survey and administrative datasets; (2) characteristics of people with multimorbidity ascertained using different data sources; and (3) whether the same individuals are classified as multimorbid using different data sources. Baseline survey data for 90,352 participants of the 45 and Up Study-a cohort study of residents of New South Wales, Australia, aged 45 years and over-were linked to prior two-year pharmaceutical claims and hospital admission records. Concordance of eight self-report chronic conditions (reference) with claims and hospital data were examined using sensitivity (Sn), positive predictive value (PPV), and kappa (κ).The characteristics of people classified as multimorbid were compared using logistic regression modelling. Agreement was found to be highest for diabetes in both hospital and claims data (κ = 0.79, 0.78; Sn = 79%, 72%; PPV = 86%, 90%). The prevalence of multimorbidity was highest using self-report data (37.4%), followed by claims data (36.1%) and hospital data (19.3%). Combining all three datasets identified a total of 46 683 (52%) people with multimorbidity, with half of these identified using a single dataset only, and up to 20% identified on all three datasets. Characteristics of persons with and without multimorbidity were generally similar. However, the age gradient was more pronounced and people speaking a language other than English at home were more likely to be identified as multimorbid by administrative data. Different individuals, with different combinations of conditions, are identified as multimorbid when different data sources are used. As such, caution should be applied when ascertaining morbidity from a single data source as the agreement between self-report and administrative data