Sample records for active spreading center

  1. Hydrothermal mineralization at seafloor spreading centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rona, Peter A.

    1984-01-01

    The recent recognition that metallic mineral deposits are concentrated by hydrothermal processes at seafloor spreading centers constitutes a scientific breakthrough that opens active sites at seafloor spreading centers as natural laboratories to investigate ore-forming processes of such economically useful deposits as massive sulfides in volcanogenic rocks on land, and that enhances the metallic mineral potential of oceanic crust covering two-thirds of the Earth both beneath ocean basins and exposed on land in ophiolite belts. This paper reviews our knowledge of processes of hydrothermal mineralization and the occurrence and distribution of hydrothermal mineral deposits at the global oceanic ridge-rift system. Sub-seafloor hydrothermal convection involving circulation of seawater through fractured rocks of oceanic crust driven by heat supplied by generation of new lithosphere is nearly ubiquitous at seafloor spreading centers. However, ore-forming hydrothermal systems are extremely localized where conditions of anomalously high thermal gradients and permeability increase hydrothermal activity from the ubiquitous low-intensity background level (⩽ 200°C) to high-intensity characterized by high temperatures ( > 200-c.400°C), and a rate and volume of flow sufficient to sustain chemical reactions that produce acid, reducing, metal-rich primary hydrothermal solutions. A series of mineral phases with sulfides and oxides as high- and low-temperature end members, respectively, are precipitated along the upwelling limb and in the discharge zone of single-phase systems as a function of increasing admixture of normal seawater. The occurrence of hydrothermal mineral deposits is considered in terms of spatial and temporal frames of reference. Spatial frames of reference comprise structural features along-axis (linear sections that are the loci of seafloor spreading alternating with transform faults) and perpendicular to axis (axial zone of volcanic extrusion and marginal

  2. Tracking Stress and Hydrothermal Activity Along Oceanic Spreading Centers Using Tomographic Images of Seismic Anisotropy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dunn, R. A.; Conder, J. A.; Canales, J. P.

    2014-12-01

    Marine controlled-source seismic tomography experiments now utilize 50+ ocean-bottom seismographs and source grids consisting of many tens of seismic lines with <500 m shot spacing. These dense experiments focus on the upper 10 km of the lithosphere over areas approaching 9000 sq-km. Because of the dense sampling and large azimuthal coverage of ray paths (200,000+ travel time measurements possible), it is now feasible to solve for 3-D images of P-wave azimuthal anisotropy with resolving lengths approaching 1km. Recent examples include the L-SCAN and MARINER experiments, performed at the Eastern Lau Spreading Center and Mid-Atlantic Ridge (36N), respectively. In each case, background anisotropy of ~4% is found in the upper 3-4 km of lithosphere and is consistent with pervasive stress-aligned cracks and microcracks. The fast axes are generally oriented parallel to the trend of the spreading center, as expected for cracks that form in association with seafloor spreading. Three-dimensional images of anisotropy magnitude and orientation reveal variations interpreted as arising from changes in the ambient stress field. Near the ends of ridge segments, where the ridge axis jumps from one spreading center to the next, anisotropy is high with orientations that are out of alignment relative to the background trend. This agrees with numerical models and seafloor morphology that suggest tensile stress concentration and brittle crack formation in these areas. Anisotropy also increases in areas along the ridges where the underlying magma supply and hydrothermal output are greater. This is opposite the trend expected if simple tectonic stress models govern anisotropy. Increased hydrothermal activity, due to increased magma supply, can explain higher anisotropy via increased pore pressure and hydrofracturing. These studies provide the first evidence that images of seismic anisotropy can be used to map variations in hydrologic activity along the crests of oceanic spreading centers.

  3. Hydrothermal circulation at the Cleft-Vance overlapping spreading center: Results of a magnetometric resistivity survey

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Evans, R.L.; Webb, S.C.; Jegen, M.; Sananikone, K.

    1998-01-01

    We report on a magnetometric resistivity sounding carried out in the overlapping spreading center between the Cleft and Vance segments of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The data collected reveal a strong three dimensionality in the crustal electrical resistivity structure on wavelengths of a few kilometers. Areas of reduced crustal electrical resistivities, with values approaching that of seawater, are seen beneath the neovolcanic zones of both active spreading centers. We interpret these reduced resistivities as evidence of active hydrothermal circulation within the uppermost 1 km of hot, young oceanic crust.

  4. Strain Partitioning and Accumulation across Overlapping Spreading Centers: Geodetic GPS Measurements in South Iceland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    La Femina, P. C.; Dixon, T. H.; Malservisi, R.; Árnadóttir, T.; Sigmundsson, F.; Sturkell, E.

    2004-12-01

    Overlapping spreading centers (OSCs) and propagating ridges are important classes of mid-ocean ridges. Kinematic models of OSCs predict along strike variability in spreading rate associated with the propagation of one center and deactivation of the other. Iceland offers a unique opportunity to investigate strain accumulation and partitioning across slow, overlapping spreading centers, and the influence of a ridge centered hotspot on ridge kinematics and morphology. We present results of detailed GPS observations across the Eastern and Western Volcanic Zones, south Iceland, spanning a seven to nine year inter-rifting period, and compare our observations with two-dimensional elastic half-space models that simulate the long-term spreading process. We then compare the elastic half-space models with simple viscoelastic coupling models. We model three velocity profiles across the EVZ-WVZ system, solving for the spreading rate, locking depth and horizontal location of each spreading center. Our spreading rate estimates indicate along strike variations as expected in an OSC system and total spreading rates consistent with geodetic and geologic plate motion models. Spreading rates in the WVZ increase from northeast (3 ±1 mm/yr) to southwest (7 ±1 mm/yr). Spreading rates in the southwest propagating EVZ decrease from northeast (17 ±1 mm/yr) to southwest (12 ±1 mm/yr). These results are consistent with a model whereby the WVZ is deactivating in the direction of EVZ propagation. The morphology of the two spreading centers reflects the spreading rate differences and their location relative to the Iceland hotspot. The predicted locations of the spreading axis for each zone are consistent with mapped Holocene fissure swarms. The neovolcanic zone of the slower WVZ consists of a narrow (10-20 km wide) axial graben and has had few Holocene eruptions. The faster EVZ consists of two parallel neovolcanic zones separated by a 20 km gap of inactivity, little normal faulting, higher

  5. Venus' Chasmata and Earth's Spreading Centers: A Topographic Comparison

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stoddard, P. R.; Jurdy, D. M.

    2008-12-01

    Like the Earth, Venus has a global rift system, which has been cited as evidence of tectonic activity, despite the apparent lack of Earth-style plate tectonics. Both systems are marked by large ridges, usually with central grabens. On Earth, the topography of the rifts can be modeled well by a cooling half-space and the spreading of two divergent plates. The origin of the topographic signature on Venus, however, remains enigmatic. Venus' rift zones (termed "chasmata") can be fit by four great circle arcs extending 1000s of kilometers. The Venus chasmata system measures 54,464 km, which when corrected for the smaller size of the planet, nearly matches the 59,200-km total length of the spreading ridges determined for Earth. As on Earth, the chasmata with the greatest relief (7 km in just a 30-km run for Venus) represent the most recent tectonic activity. We use topographic profiles to look for well-understood terrestrial analogs to Venusian features. Focusing on mid-ocean ridge systems on Earth, we examine the variation along individual ridges, or rises, due to the gradual change in spreading rate (and thus cooling times). We then analyze the difference between fast and slow ridges, and propose that this technique may also be used to pick plate boundaries along spreading centers (SAM/AFR vs. NAM/AFR, e.g.). These profiles are then compared to those for Venus' rifts. Topographic profiles are based on the Magellan (Venus) and ETOPO5 (Earth) data sets. Long wavelength features appear similar to spreading systems on Earth, suggesting a deep, thermal cause. Short wavelength features, such as rift troughs and constructional edifices, are quite different, however, as expected from the vastly different surface conditions. Comparison of topographic profiles from Venus and Earth may lend insight into tectonic features and activity on our sister planet.

  6. Non-Orthogonality of Seafloor Spreading: A New Look at Fast Spreading Centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, T.; Gordon, R. G.

    2015-12-01

    Most of Earth's surface is created by seafloor spreading. While most seafloor spreading is orthogonal, that is, the strike of mid-ocean ridge segments is perpendicular to nearby transform faults, examples of significant non-orthogonality have been noted since the 1970s, in particular in regions of slow seafloor spreading such as the western Gulf of Aden with non-orthogonality up to 45°. In contrast, here we focus on fast and ultra-fast seafloor spreading along the East Pacific Rise. To estimate non-orthogonality, we compare ridge-segment strikes with the direction of plate motion determined from the angular velocity that best fits all the data along the boundary of a single plate pair [DeMets et al., 2010]. The advantages of this approach include greater accuracy and the ability to estimate non-orthogonality where there are no nearby transform faults. Estimating the strikes of fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge segments present several challenges as non-transform offsets on various scales affect the estimate of the strike. While spreading is orthogonal or nearly orthogonal along much of the East Pacific Rise, some ridge segments along the Pacific-Nazca boundary near 30°S and near 16°S-22°S deviate from orthogonality by as much as 6°-12° even when we exclude the portions of mid-ocean ridge segments involved in overlapping spreading centers. Thus modest but significant non-orthogonality occurs where seafloor spreading is the fastest on the planet. If a plume lies near the ridge segment, we assume it contributes to magma overpressure along the ridge segment [Abelson & Agnon, 1997]. We further assume that the contribution to magma overpressure is proportional to the buoyancy flux of the plume [Sleep, 1990] and inversely proportional to the distance between the mid-ocean ridge segment and a given plume. We find that the non-orthogonal angle tends to decrease with increasing spreading rate and with increasing distance between ridge segment and plume.

  7. Spreading activation in nonverbal memory networks.

    PubMed

    Foster, Paul S; Wakefield, Candias; Pryjmak, Scott; Roosa, Katelyn M; Branch, Kaylei K; Drago, Valeria; Harrison, David W; Ruff, Ronald

    2017-09-01

    Theories of spreading activation primarily involve semantic memory networks. However, the existence of separate verbal and visuospatial memory networks suggests that spreading activation may also occur in visuospatial memory networks. The purpose of the present investigation was to explore this possibility. Specifically, this study sought to create and describe the design frequency corpus and to determine whether this measure of visuospatial spreading activation was related to right hemisphere functioning and spreading activation in verbal memory networks. We used word frequencies taken from the Controlled Oral Word Association Test and design frequencies taken from the Ruff Figural Fluency Test as measures of verbal and visuospatial spreading activation, respectively. Average word and design frequencies were then correlated with measures of left and right cerebral functioning. The results indicated that a significant relationship exists between performance on a test of right posterior functioning (Block Design) and design frequency. A significant negative relationship also exists between spreading activation in semantic memory networks and design frequency. Based on our findings, the hypotheses were supported. Further research will need to be conducted to examine whether spreading activation exists in visuospatial memory networks as well as the parameters that might modulate this spreading activation, such as the influence of neurotransmitters.

  8. Upper mantle electrical resistivity structure beneath back-arc spreading centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seama, N.; Shibata, Y.; Kimura, M.; Shindo, H.; Matsuno, T.; Nogi, Y.; Okino, K.

    2011-12-01

    We compare four electrical resistivity structure images of the upper mantle across back-arc spreading centers (Mariana Trough at 18 N and 13 N, and the Eastern Lau at 19.7 S and 21.3 S) to provide geophysical constraints on issues of mantle dynamics beneath the back-arc spreading system related to the subducting slab. The central Mariana Trough at 18 N has the full spreading rate of 25 km/Myr, and shows characteristic slow-spreading features; existence of median valley neovolcanic zone and "Bull's eyes" mantle Bouguer anomaly (MBA) along the axes. On the other hand, the southern Mariana Trough at 13 N shows an EPR type axial relief in morphology and lower MBA than that in the central Mariana Trough (Kitada et al., 2006), suggesting abundance of magma supply, even though the full spreading rate is 35 km/Myr that is categorized as a slow spreading ridge. At the Eastern Lau spreading center, crustal thickness and morphology vary systematically with arc proximity and shows the opposed trends against spreading rate: The full spreading rate increases from 65 km/Myr at 21.3 S to 85 km/Myr at 19.7 S, while the crustal thicknesses decrease together with morphology transitions from shallow peaked volcanic highs to a deeper flat axis (Martinez et al., 2006). Matsuno et al. (2010) provides a resistivity structure image of the upper mantle across the central Mariana subduction system, which contains several key features: There is an uppermost resistive layer with a thickness of 80-100 km beneath the central Mariana Trough, suggesting dry residual from the plate accretion process. But there is no evidence for a conductive feature beneath the back-arc spreading center at 18 N, and this feature is clearly independent from the conductive region beneath the volcanic arc below 60 km depth that reflects melting and hydration driven by water release from the subducting slab. The resultant upper mantle resistivity structure well support that the melt supply is not abundant, resulting in

  9. Increased Spreading Activation in Depression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foster, Paul S.; Yung, Raegan C.; Branch, Kaylei K.; Stringer, Kristi; Ferguson, Brad J.; Sullivan, William; Drago, Valeria

    2011-01-01

    The dopaminergic system is implicated in depressive disorders and research has also shown that dopamine constricts lexical/semantic networks by reducing spreading activation. Hence, depression, which is linked to reductions of dopamine, may be associated with increased spreading activation. However, research has generally found no effects of…

  10. The Effect of Arc Proximity on Hydrothermal Activity Along Spreading Centers: New Evidence From the Mariana Back Arc (12.7°N-18.3°N)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baker, Edward T.; Walker, Sharon L.; Resing, Joseph A.; Chadwick, William W.; Merle, Susan G.; Anderson, Melissa O.; Butterfield, David A.; Buck, Nathan J.; Michael, Susanna

    2017-11-01

    Back-arc spreading centers (BASCs) form a distinct class of ocean spreading ridges distinguished by steep along-axis gradients in spreading rate and by additional magma supplied through subduction. These characteristics can affect the population and distribution of hydrothermal activity on BASCs compared to mid-ocean ridges (MORs). To investigate this hypothesis, we comprehensively explored 600 km of the southern half of the Mariana BASC. We used water column mapping and seafloor imaging to identify 19 active vent sites, an increase of 13 over the current listing in the InterRidge Database (IRDB), on the bathymetric highs of 7 of the 11 segments. We identified both high and low (i.e., characterized by a weak or negligible particle plume) temperature discharge occurring on segment types spanning dominantly magmatic to dominantly tectonic. Active sites are concentrated on the two southernmost segments, where distance to the adjacent arc is shortest (<40 km), spreading rate is highest (>48 mm/yr), and tectonic extension is pervasive. Re-examination of hydrothermal data from other BASCs supports the generalization that hydrothermal site density increases on segments <90 km from an adjacent arc. Although exploration quality varies greatly among BASCs, present data suggest that, for a given spreading rate, the mean spatial density of hydrothermal activity varies little between MORs and BASCs. The present global database, however, may be misleading. On both BASCs and MORs, the spatial density of hydrothermal sites mapped by high-quality water-column surveys is 2-7 times greater than predicted by the existing IRDB trend of site density versus spreading rate.

  11. Detailed seismic velocity structure of the ultra-slow spread crust at the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center from travel-time tomography and synthetic seismograms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harding, J.; Van Avendonk, H. J.; Hayman, N. W.; Grevemeyer, I.; Peirce, C.

    2017-12-01

    The Mid-Cayman Spreading Center (MCSC), an ultraslow-spreading center in the Caribbean Sea, has formed highly variable oceanic crust. Seafloor dredges have recovered extrusive basalts in the axial deeps as well as gabbro on bathymetric highs and exhumed mantle peridotite along the only 110 km MCSC. Wide-angle refraction data were collected with active-source ocean bottom seismometers in April, 2015, along lines parallel and across the MCSC. Travel-time tomography produces relatively smooth 2-D tomographic models of compressional wave velocity. These velocity models reveal large along- and across-axis variations in seismic velocity, indicating possible changes in crustal thickness, composition, faulting, and magmatism. It is difficult, however, to differentiate between competing interpretations of seismic velocity using these tomographic models alone. For example, in some areas the seismic velocities may be explained by either thin igneous crust or exhumed, serpentinized mantle. Distinguishing between these two interpretations is important as we explore the relationships between magmatism, faulting, and hydrothermal venting at ultraslow-spreading centers. We therefore improved our constraints on the shallow seismic velocity structure of the MCSC by modeling the amplitude of seismic refractions in the wide-angle data set. Synthetic seismograms were calculated with a finite-difference method for a range of models with different vertical velocity gradients. Small-scale features in the velocity models, such as steep velocity gradients and Moho boundaries, were explored systematically to best fit the real data. With this approach, we have improved our understanding of the compressional velocity structure of the MCSC along with the geological interpretations that are consistent with three seismic refraction profiles. Line P01 shows a variation in the thinness of lower seismic velocities along the axis, indicating two segment centers, while across-axis lines P02 and P03

  12. Petrology of gabbroic rocks from the Mid-Cayman rise spreading center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elthon, Don

    1987-01-01

    Mineral analyses of oxide and silicate phases from a suite (collected with the DSRV Alvin in January 1976 and July 1977) of 48 gabbroic rocks collected from the vicinity of the Mid-Cayman Rise spreading center are reported. Mineral compositions of these anorthosites, leuco-troctolite, leuco-olivine gabbros, olivine gabbros, leuco-gabbros, and gabbros indicate the cumulate rocks have been produced by the crystal fractionation of basaltic liquids. Certain features of these rocks are inconsistent with the occurrence of this fractionation at low pressures (1 atm to 2 kbar). Although the experimental data are not available to conclusively demonstrate that the effects seen were produced at moderate pressures (5-10 kbar), the effects are similar to those predicted thermodynamically and to those observed in limited experimental studies within this pressure range. It is therefore suggested that the most likely scenario for the production of these gabbroic rocks is the moderate-pressure crystallization of basaltic magmas within deep-seated magma chambers underneath this slow-spreading center.

  13. Model for the Evolution of an Oceanic Core Complex and its Hydrothermal Vent on the Ultraslow-Spreading Mid Cayman Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harding, J.; Van Avendonk, H. J.; Hayman, N. W.; Grevemeyer, I.; Peirce, C.

    2016-12-01

    The Mid Cayman Spreading Center (MCSC) is an ultraslow-spreading center (15 mm yr-1 full rate) along the Caribbean-North American plate boundary. Despite the paradigm that ultraslow-spreading centers are amagmatic and cold, two hydrothermal vent fields have recently been discovered along the MCSC. The Beebe Vent Field is a black smoker in the northern axial deep, and the Von Damm Vent Field (VDVF) is a moderate-temperature, talc precipitating vent found atop an oceanic core complex (OCC). This OCC, "Mt. Dent", is a large (3 km high) massif that formed beneath a detachment fault, which exhumed lower crustal and upper mantle material. The CaySeis Experiment was conducted in April, 2015 in order to collect wide-angle refraction data of the MCSC crust and upper mantle. We modeled the across-axis crustal structure of Mt. Dent as well as the surrounding lithosphere using 2.5D P-wave tomography. Using this tomographic model, along with geochemistry, we propose a model for the formation and evolution of the OCC Mt. Dent and the VDVF. A detachment fault formed in a magma-poor environment due to a pulse of magmatism, producing a large gabbro body that was then exhumed and rotated into the OCC footwall. Once magmatism waned and the gabbroic body cooled, the OCC was faulted and fractured due to plate flexure and increased tectonic extensional stress in the naturally cold and thick lithosphere. These faults provide a permeable and deep network of hydrothermal pathways that mine deep lithospheric heat and expose gabbro and fresh mantle peridotite. This model is consistent with the basalt geochemistry, hydrothermal fluid geochemistry, and the distribution of brittle vs. ductile structures along the detachment shear zone. The VDVF is therefore a product of a pulse of magmatism in an overall melt-poor environment, conditions that may be found at other ultraslow-spreading ridges.

  14. Age-Related Changes in Spreading Activation during Infancy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barr, Rachel; Walker, Joanne; Gross, Julien; Hayne, Harlene

    2014-01-01

    The concept of spreading activation describes how retrieval of one memory cues retrieval of other memories that are associated with it. This study explored spreading activation in 6-, 12-, and 18-month-old infants. Infants (n = 144) learned two tasks within the same experimental session; one task, deferred imitation (DI), is typically remembered…

  15. Wide-Angle Refraction Tomographic Inversion of Mid Cayman Spreading Center and its Oceanic Core Complex, CaySEIS Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harding, J.; Van Avendonk, H. J.; Hayman, N. W.; Grevemeyer, I.; Peirce, C.; Dannowski, A.; Papenberg, C. A.

    2015-12-01

    The CaySEIS experiment, conducted in April 2015, is a multi-national collaborative seismic study of the Mid Cayman Spreading Center (MCSC), an ultra-slow spreading center [15 mm/yr fr] in the Caribbean Sea. Ultra-slow spreading centers are thought to have very thin crust and a paucity of magmatism due to cooler mantle conditions. However, the suggestion that gabbro-cored oceanic core complexes (OCCs), volcanic deposits, and multiple layers of hydrothermal vents are widespread in the MCSC and other ultra-slow spreading centers has led to questions about the relationship between seafloor spreading rates and magmatism. To investigate this further, we conducted the CaySEIS experiment, with five wide-angle seismic refraction lines parallel and perpendicular to the neovolcanic zone. This analysis is based on two east-west oriented 100-km-long seismic refraction lines, which were each occupied by 18 ocean bottom seismometers. Line 2 lies across the central MCSC and an OCC called Mt. Dent. Line 3 crosses the northern end of the MCSC near the Oriente Transform Zone. With the wide-angle OBS data we can image the seismic velocity structure of Mt. Dent and distinguish between two models of OCCs - either Mt. Dent is composed of mostly gabbro with peridotite lenses identified by a low velocity gradient, or it is composed of mostly peridotite with gabbroic bodies identified by a constant velocity gradient. The crustal structure of both lines gives more insight into the asymmetry of the MCSC and the style of seafloor spreading to the east vs. the west. The 2-D velocity models reveal Mt. Dent has thick crust of 8 km with a low velocity gradient, supporting the magmatic gabbroic origin of OCCs. The surrounding crust to the west of the MCSC is highly variable, with areas of very thin crust. The crust to the east of the MCSC has an approximately constant thickness of 4 km. The development of OCCs may contribute to the crustal heterogeneity of ultra-slow spreading centers.

  16. Spread of epileptic activity in human brain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Milton, John

    1997-03-01

    For many patients with medically refractory epilepsy surgical resection of the site of seizure onset (epileptic focus) offers the best hope for cure. Determination of the nature of seizure propagation should lead to improved methods for locating the epileptic focus (and hence reduce patient morbidity) and possibly to new treatment modalities directed at blocking seizure spread. Theoretical studies of neural networks emphasize the role of traveling waves for the propagation of activity. However, the nature of seizure propagation in human brain remains poorly characterized. The spread of epileptic activity in patients undergoing presurgical evaluation for epilepsy surgery was measured by placing subdural grids of electrodes (interelectrode spacings of 3-10 mm) over the frontal and temporal lobes. The exact location of each electrode relative to the surface of the brain was determined using 3--D MRI imaging techniques. Thus it is possible to monitor the spread of epileptic activity in both space and time. The observations are discussed in light of models for seizure propagation.

  17. Imaging the seismic structure beneath oceanic spreading centers using ocean bottom geophysical techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zha, Yang

    This dissertation focuses on imaging the crustal and upper mantle seismic velocity structure beneath oceanic spreading centers. The goals are to provide a better understanding of the crustal magmatic system and the relationship between mantle melting processes, crustal architecture and ridge characteristics. To address these questions I have analyzed ocean bottom geophysical data collected from the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise and the back-arc Eastern Lau Spreading Center using a combination of ambient noise tomography and seafloor compliance analysis. To characterize the crustal melt distribution at fast spreading ridges, I analyze seafloor compliance - the deformation under long period ocean wave forcing - measured during multiple expeditions between 1994 and 2007 at the East Pacific Rise 9º - 10ºN segment. A 3D numerical modeling technique is developed and used to estimate the effects of low shear velocity zones on compliance measurements. The forward modeling suggests strong variations of lower crustal shear velocity along the ridge axis, with zones of possible high melt fractions beneath certain segments. Analysis of repeated compliance measurements at 9º48'N indicates a decrease of crustal melt fraction following the 2005 - 2006 eruption. This temporal variability provides direct evidence for short-term variations of the magmatic system at a fast spreading ridge. To understand the relationship between mantle melting processes and crustal properties, I apply ambient noise tomography of ocean bottom seismograph (OBS) data to image the upper mantle seismic structure beneath the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC). The seismic images reveal an asymmetric upper mantle low velocity zone (LVZ) beneath the ELSC, representing a zone of partial melt. As the ridge migrates away from the volcanic arc, the LVZ becomes increasingly offset and separated from the sub-arc low velocity zone. The separation of the ridge and arc low velocity zones is spatially coincident

  18. Evolution of Overlapping Spreading Centers: A SeaMARC II Investigation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-06-07

    Rhode Island , Narragansett, RI 02882 During a major SeaMARC II expedition in May-June 1987 we happed all the overlapping spreading centers (OSCs) north...Macdonald, 1988, The structural anatomy of the Clipperton and Orozco fracture zones: Sea Beam and SeaMARC II data, EOS Trans., Amer. Geophys. Union...raphy at the University of Rhode Island . most of them are deeper and less ing. Other workers further refined and in 1i.,72 he earned his Ph.D. in marine

  19. Seismic structure and segmentation of the axial valley of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Van Avendonk, Harm J. A.; Hayman, Nicholas W.; Harding, Jennifer L.; Grevemeyer, Ingo; Peirce, Christine; Dannowski, Anke

    2017-06-01

    We report the results of a two-dimensional tomographic inversion of marine seismic refraction data from an array of ocean-bottom seismographs (OBSs), which produced an image of the crustal structure along the axial valley of the ultraslow spreading Mid-Cayman Spreading Center (MCSC). The seismic velocity model shows variations in the thickness and properties of the young oceanic crust that are consistent with the existence of two magmatic-tectonic segments along the 110 km long spreading center. Seismic wave speeds are consistent with exhumed mantle at the boundary between these two segments, but changes in the vertical gradient of seismic velocity suggest that volcanic crust occupies most of the axial valley seafloor along the seismic transect. The two spreading segments both have a low-velocity zone (LVZ) several kilometers beneath the seafloor, which may indicate the presence of shallow melt. However, the northern segment also has low seismic velocities (3 km/s) in a thick upper crustal layer (1.5-2.0 km), which we interpret as an extrusive volcanic section with high porosity and permeability. This segment hosts the Beebe vent field, the deepest known high-temperature black smoker hydrothermal vent system. In contrast, the southern spreading segment has seismic velocities as high as 4.0 km/s near the seafloor. We suggest that the porosity and permeability of the volcanic crust in the southern segment are much lower, thus limiting deep seawater penetration and hydrothermal recharge. This may explain why no hydrothermal vent system has been found in the southern half of the MCSC.

  20. Spreading of Neutrophils: From Activation to Migration

    PubMed Central

    Sengupta, Kheya; Aranda-Espinoza, Helim; Smith, Lee; Janmey, Paul; Hammer, Daniel

    2006-01-01

    Neutrophils rely on rapid changes in morphology to ward off invaders. Time-resolved dynamics of spreading human neutrophils after activation by the chemoattractant fMLF (formyl methionyl leucyl phenylalanine) was observed by RICM (reflection interference contrast microscopy). An image-processing algorithm was developed to identify the changes in the overall cell shape and the zones of close contact with the substrate. We show that in the case of neutrophils, cell spreading immediately after exposure of fMLF is anisotropic and directional. The dependence of spreading area, A, of the cell as a function of time, t, shows several distinct regimes, each of which can be fitted as power laws (A ∼ tb). The different spreading regimes correspond to distinct values of the exponent b and are related to the adhesion state of the cell. Treatment with cytochalasin-B eliminated the anisotropy in the spreading. PMID:17012330

  1. Nurse Knowledge Exchange Plus: Human-Centered Implementation for Spread and Sustainability.

    PubMed

    Lin, Mike; Heisler, Scott; Fahey, Linda; McGinnis, Juli; Whiffen, Teri L

    2015-07-01

    Kaiser Permanente implemented a new model of nursing communication at shift change-in the bedside nursing report known as the Nurse Knowledge Exchange (NKE) in 2004-but noted variations in its spread and sustainability across medical centers five years later. The six core elements of NKEplus were as follows: team rounding in the last hour before shift changes, pre-shift patient assignments that limit the number of departing nurses at shift change, unit support for uninterrupted bedside reporting, standardization for report and safety check formats, and collaboration with patients to update in-room care boards. In January 2011 Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC; Pasadena) began implementing NKEplus in 125 nursing units across 14 hospitals, with the use of human-centered design principles: creating shared understanding of the need for change, minimum specifications, and customization by frontline staff. Champion teams on each nursing unit designed and pilot tested unit-specific versions of NKEplus for four to eight weeks. Implementation occurred in waves and proceeded from medical/surgical units to specialty units. Traditional performance improvement strategies of accountability, measurement, and management were also applied. By the end of 2012, 100% of the 64 medical/surgical units and 47 (77.0%) of the 61 specialty units in KPSC medical centers implemented NKEplus-as had all but 1 of the specialty units by May 2013. The mean KPSC score on the NKEplus nursing behavior bundle improved from 65.9% in 2010 to 71.3% in the first quarter of 2014. The mean KPSC Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) score for nurse communication improved from 73.1% in 2010 to 76.4% in the first quarter of 2014 (p < . 001). Human-centered implementation appeared to help spread a new model of nursing handoffs and change the culture of professional nursing practice related to shift change.

  2. Seafloor spreading on the Amsterdam-St. Paul hotspot plateau

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conder, James A.; Scheirer, Daniel S.; Forsyth, Donald W.

    2000-04-01

    The Amsterdam-St. Paul (ASP) platform on the intermediate rate Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) is the only oceanic hotspot plateau outside the Atlantic Ocean containing an active, mid-ocean ridge spreading axis. Because the ASP hotspot is small and remotely located, it has been relatively unstudied, and the ridge axis location in many places near the ASP plateau was previously unknown or ambiguous. We mapped the SEIR out to 1 Ma crust (Jaramillo anomaly) both on and near the ASP platform. We located the spreading center to within a few kilometers, based on side-scan sonar reflectivity. Recent off-platform magnetic anomalies and lineated abyssal hill topography are consistent with a simple spreading history. Off-platform full spreading rates increase from ˜63 km/Myr on segment H to the north of the platform to ˜65.5 km/Myr on segment K to the south. In contrast, inversions of seafloor magnetization based on uniform and variable thickness magnetic source layers reflect a complex on-platform tectonic history with ridge jumps, off-axis volcanism, and propagating rifts. On one section of the ASP plateau the spreading location has stabilized and is beginning to rift the plateau apart, generating symmetric magnetic anomalies and lineated topography for the last several hundred thousand years. The larger, more stable, spreading segments of the ASP platform are aligned with major volcanic edifices, suggesting that along-axis magma flow away from plume-fed centers is an important influence on spreading geometry. Many complex tectonic features observed on the ASP plateau, such as ridge jumps, en echelon, oblique spreading centers, and transforms oblique to the spreading direction, are comparable to features observed on Iceland. The similarities suggest that moderate crustal thickening at an intermediate rate spreading center may have similar effects to pronounced thickening at a slow rate spreading center.

  3. Hydrothermal activity at slow-spreading ridges: variability and importance of magmatic controls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Escartin, Javier

    2016-04-01

    Hydrothermal activity along mid-ocean ridge axes is ubiquitous, associated with mass, chemical, and heat exchanges between the deep lithosphere and the overlying envelopes, and sustaining chemiosynthetic ecosystems at the seafloor. Compared with hydrothermal fields at fast-spreading ridges, those at slow spreading ones show a large variability as their location and nature is controlled or influenced by several parameters that are inter-related: a) tectonic setting, ranging from 'volcanic systems' (along the rift valley floor, volcanic ridges, seamounts), to 'tectonic' ones (rift-bounding faults, oceanic detachment faults); b) the nature of the host rock, owing to compositional heterogeneity of slow-spreading lithosphere (basalt, gabbro, peridotite); c) the type of heat source (magmatic bodies at depth, hot lithosphere, serpentinization reactions); d) and the associated temperature of outflow fluids (high- vs.- low temperature venting and their relative proportion). A systematic review of the distribution and characteristics of hydrothermal fields along the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge suggests that long-lived hydrothermal activity is concentrated either at oceanic detachment faults, or along volcanic segments with evidence of robust magma supply to the axis. A detailed study of the magmatically robust Lucky Strike segment suggests that all present and past hydrothermal activity is found at the center of the segment. The association of these fields to central volcanos, and the absence of indicators of hydrothermal activity along the remaining of the ridge segment, suggests that long-lived hydrothermal activity in these volcanic systems is maintained by the enhanced melt supply and the associated magma chamber(s) required to build these volcanic edifices. In this setting, hydrothermal outflow zones at the seafloor are systematically controlled by faults, indicating that hydrothermal fluids in the shallow crust exploit permeable fault zones to circulate. While

  4. Effect of the Galapagos Hotspot on Seamount Formation along the Galapagos Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behn, M. D.; Sinton, J. M.; Detrick, R. S.

    2002-12-01

    Studies along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) and East Pacific Rise (EPR) have shown seamount formation to be a strong function of spreading rate. At the MAR, seamounts are a dominant morphologic feature of the inner valley floor, while at the EPR seamounts are rarely observed within the neovolcanic zone. The Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC) provides an excellent location to test the influence of a hotspot on the process of seamount generation at a relatively constant spreading rate. In this study we use multi-beam bathymetry data acquired during the G-PRIME cruise in April-May, 2000 to examine the distribution of axial seamounts along the GSC with distance from the hotspot. We use a numerical algorithm to identify isolated volcanic edifices, by searching bathymetry for closed, concentric contours protruding above the surrounding seafloor. Seamount populations are fit with a maximum likelihood model to estimate the total number of seamounts per unit area, ν o, and the characteristic seamount height, β-1. The number of seamounts in the axial zone decreases significantly as the Galapagos hotspot is approached, suggesting a change from dominantly point-source to fissure-fed volcanism as magma supply increases. West of the 95.5°W propagator, the total number of seamounts per unit area (ν o = 279+/-16 per 103 km2) is similar to values observed at the MAR. In comparison, east of 92.7°W, where magma supply is higher, seamount density (50+/-9 per 103 km2) is similar to observations at the fast-spreading EPR. Our results show that the transition from point-source to fissure-fed eruptions occurs gradually, in contrast to the "threshold" effect observed in axial magma chamber depth and axial morphology in which small changes in magma supply result in large changes in these variables. In summary, the western GSC displays the same range in seamount density observed along the global mid-ocean ridge system suggesting that both spreading rate and magma supply are important

  5. Morphology and segmentation of the western Galápagos Spreading Center, 90.5°-98°W: Plume-ridge interaction at an intermediate spreading ridge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sinton, John; Detrick, Robert; Canales, J. Pablo; Ito, Garrett; Behn, Mark

    2003-12-01

    Complete multibeam bathymetric coverage of the western Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) between 90.5°W and 98°W reveals the fine-scale morphology, segmentation and influence of the Galápagos hot spot on this intermediate spreading ridge. The western GSC comprises three morphologically defined provinces: A Western Province, located farthest from the Galápagos hot spot west of 95°30'W, is characterized by an axial deep, rift valley morphology with individual, overlapping, E-W striking segments separated by non-transform offsets; A Middle Province, between the propagating rift tips at 93°15'W and 95°30'W, with transitional axial morphology strikes ˜276°; An Eastern Province, closest to the Galápagos hot spot between the ˜90°50'W Galápagos Transform and 93°15'W, with an axial high morphology generally less than 1800 m deep, strikes ˜280°. At a finer scale, the axial region consists of 32 individual segments defined on the basis of smaller, mainly <2 km, offsets. These offsets mainly step left in the Western and Middle Provinces, and right in the Eastern Province. Glass compositions indicate that the GSC is segmented magmatically into 8 broad regions, with Mg # generally decreasing to the west within each region. Striking differences in bathymetric and lava fractionation patterns between the propagating rifts with tips at 93°15'W and 95°30'W reflect lower overall magma supply and larger offset distance at the latter. The structure of the Eastern Province is complicated by the intersection of a series of volcanic lineaments that appear to radiate away from a point located on the northern edge of the Galápagos platform, close to the southern limit of the Galápagos Fracture Zone. Where these lineaments intersect the GSC, the ridge axis is displaced to the south through a series of overlapping spreading centers (OSCs); abandoned OSC limbs lie even farther south. We propose that southward displacement of the axis is promoted during intermittent times of

  6. Epidemic spreading on activity-driven networks with attractiveness.

    PubMed

    Pozzana, Iacopo; Sun, Kaiyuan; Perra, Nicola

    2017-10-01

    We study SIS epidemic spreading processes unfolding on a recent generalization of the activity-driven modeling framework. In this model of time-varying networks, each node is described by two variables: activity and attractiveness. The first describes the propensity to form connections, while the second defines the propensity to attract them. We derive analytically the epidemic threshold considering the time scale driving the evolution of contacts and the contagion as comparable. The solutions are general and hold for any joint distribution of activity and attractiveness. The theoretical picture is confirmed via large-scale numerical simulations performed considering heterogeneous distributions and different correlations between the two variables. We find that heterogeneous distributions of attractiveness alter the contagion process. In particular, in the case of uncorrelated and positive correlations between the two variables, heterogeneous attractiveness facilitates the spreading. On the contrary, negative correlations between activity and attractiveness hamper the spreading. The results presented contribute to the understanding of the dynamical properties of time-varying networks and their effects on contagion phenomena unfolding on their fabric.

  7. Human activity and the spread of Phytophthora ramorum

    Treesearch

    Hall J. Cushman; Michelle Cooper; Ross K. Meentemeyer; Shelly Benson

    2008-01-01

    Increasing numbers of studies are finding that humans can facilitate the spread of exotic plant species in protected wildlands. Hiking trails commonly serve as conduits for invaders and the number of exotic plant species occurring in protected areas is often correlated positively with visitation rates. Despite such evidence linking human activity to the spread of...

  8. Accelerating late Quaternary uplift of the New Georgia Island Group (Solomon island arc) in response to subduction of the recently active Woodlark spreading center and Coleman seamount

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mann, Paul; Taylor, Frederick W.; Lagoe, Martin B.; Quarles, Andrew; Burr, G.

    1998-10-01

    The New Georgia Island Group of the Solomon Islands is one of four places where an active or recently active spreading ridge has subducted beneath an island arc. We have used coral reef terraces, paleobathymetry of Neogene sedimentary rocks, and existing marine geophysical data to constrain patterns of regional Quaternary deformation related to subduction of the recently active Woodlark spreading center and its overlying Coleman seamount. These combined data indicate the following vertical tectonic history for the central part of the New Georgia Island Group: (1) subsidence of the forearc region (Tetepare and Rendova Islands) to water depths of ˜1500 m and deposition of marine turbidites until after 270 ka; (2) late Quaternary uplift of the forearc to sea level and erosion of an unconformity; (3) subsidence of the forearc to ˜500 m BSL and deposition of bathyal sediments; and (4) uplift of the forearc above sea level with Holocene uplift rates up to at least 7.5 mm/yr on Tetepare and 5 mm/yr on Rendova. In the northeastern part of the New Georgia Island Group, our combined data indicate a slightly different tectonic history characterized by lower-amplitude vertical motions and a more recent change from subsidence to uplift. Barrier reefs formed around New Georgia and Vangunu Islands as they subsided >300 m. By 50-100 ka, subsidence was replaced by uplift that accelerated to Holocene rates of ˜1 mm/yr on the volcanic arc compared with rates up to ˜7.5 mm/yr in the forearc area of Tetepare and Rendova. Uplift mechanisms, such as thermal effects due to subduction of spreading ridges, tectonic erosion, or underplating of deeply subducted bathymetric features, are not likely to function on the 270-ka period that these uplift events have occurred in the New Georgia Island Group. A more likely uplift mechanism for the post-270-ka accelerating uplift of the forearc and volcanic arc of the New Georgia Island Group is progressive impingement of the Coleman seamount or

  9. Insights into Along Strike Variability in the Lau Back Spreading Center and Tonga Arc from Bodywave Tomography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adams, A. N.; Wiens, D.; Barklage, M.; Conder, J. A.; Wei, S. S.; Cai, C.

    2016-12-01

    The Lau Backarc Spreading Center (LBSC) and the Tonga Arc offer an excellent location to study the complex interactions between magma production in subduction arcs and backarcs. Although the LBSC is often considered to be an archetype of backarc spreading centers, the system exhibits major along strike changes in surficial and subsurface characteristics - including rift morphology, spreading and subduction rates, rift-arc separation, magma production, and crustal thickness. These variations, together with geochemical evidence, suggest that mixing of arc and backarc magmas may occur at depth beneath the southern LBSC, where the backarc spreading center and the Tonga Arc are most proximal. To investigate magma production and transport beneath the LBSC and the Tonga Arc, this study jointly inverts arrivals from local and teleseismic earthquakes at 51 OBS and 16 land stations to create P- and S-wave upper mantle velocity models. Results from this study show that low velocity zones associated with the LBSC and Tonga Arc are distinctly separated in the north, but merge to a single low velocity zone in the south, supporting prior geochemical evidence for a common source of arc and backarc magmas in the south. Low velocities beneath the LBSC tilt westward with depth, consistent with predictions from numerical models for asymmetrical melting in the mantle wedge. Beneath the central LBSC, low velocities extend to depths of 300 km, suggesting a deep source for melt in some regions.

  10. The spread of Ras activity triggered by activation of a single dendritic spine.

    PubMed

    Harvey, Christopher D; Yasuda, Ryohei; Zhong, Haining; Svoboda, Karel

    2008-07-04

    In neurons, individual dendritic spines isolate N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated calcium ion (Ca2+) accumulations from the dendrite and other spines. However, the extent to which spines compartmentalize signaling events downstream of Ca2+ influx is not known. We combined two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging with two-photon glutamate uncaging to image the activity of the small guanosine triphosphatase Ras after NMDA receptor activation at individual spines. Induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) triggered robust Ca2+-dependent Ras activation in single spines that decayed in approximately 5 minutes. Ras activity spread over approximately 10 micrometers of dendrite and invaded neighboring spines by diffusion. The spread of Ras-dependent signaling was necessary for the local regulation of the threshold for LTP induction. Thus, Ca2+-dependent synaptic signals can spread to couple multiple synapses on short stretches of dendrite.

  11. Birth of an oceanic spreading center at a magma-poor rift system.

    PubMed

    Gillard, Morgane; Sauter, Daniel; Tugend, Julie; Tomasi, Simon; Epin, Marie-Eva; Manatschal, Gianreto

    2017-11-08

    Oceanic crust is continuously created at mid-oceanic ridges and seafloor spreading represents one of the main processes of plate tectonics. However, if oceanic crust architecture, composition and formation at present-day oceanic ridges are largely described, the processes governing the birth of a spreading center remain enigmatic. Understanding the transition between inherited continental and new oceanic domains is a prerequisite to constrain one of the last major unsolved problems of plate tectonics, namely the formation of a stable divergent plate boundary. In this paper, we present newly released high-resolution seismic reflection profiles that image the complete transition from unambiguous continental to oceanic crusts in the Gulf of Guinea. Based on these high-resolution seismic sections we show that onset of oceanic seafloor spreading is associated with the formation of a hybrid crust in which thinned continental crust and/or exhumed mantle is sandwiched between magmatic intrusive and extrusive bodies. This crust results from a polyphase evolution showing a gradual transition from tectonic-driven to magmatic-driven processes. The results presented in this paper provide a characterization of the domain in which lithospheric breakup occurs and enable to define the processes controlling formation of a new plate boundary.

  12. Signs of Recent Volcanism and Hydrothermal Activity Along the Eastern Segment of the Galapagos Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raineault, N.; Smart, C.; Mayer, L. A.; Ballard, R. D.; Fisher, C. R.; Marsh, L.; Shank, T. M.

    2016-12-01

    Since the initial discovery of the Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) vents in 1977, large-scale disturbances resulting from eruptive and tectonic activity have both destroyed and created vent habitats along the GSC. In 2015, the E/V Nautilus returned to the GSC with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to explore 17 kilometers of the rift valley from the Rosebud site in the west, to a previously unexplored temperature anomaly east of the Tempus Fugit vent site. In the years to over a decade since scientists last visited the Rosebud, Rose Garden, and Tempus Fugit sites, there were many changes. Most notably, the Rosebud site, where scientists found a nascent vent community and left site markers in 2002, was apparently covered with glassy basaltic sheet flows. In addition to visual exploration, oceanographic sensor measurements and direct sampling, we used the ROV Hercules imaging suite, comprised of stereo cameras and a structured light laser sensor to map an area of diffuse flow in the Tempus Fugit field (100 m x 150 m). The centimeter-level photographic and bathymetric maps created with this system, along with ROV HD video, samples, and environmental sensors, documented hydrothermal activity and changes in biological community structure (e.g., Riftia tubeworms observed in nascent stages of community development in 2011 were now, in 2015, in greater abundance (with tubes almost 4 m in length). The detection of active venting and associated faunal assemblages will provide insight into the temporal and spatial variability of venting activity at the Tempus Fugit site. On a visual survey of the Rift east of the Tempus Fugit site, extinct sulfide chimney structures were discovered and sampled. There were several chimneys and sulfide deposits in a span of over 8 km that ranged in height from over a half meter to 1.5 m tall. Diffuse flow hosting white and blue bacterial mats was observed near the chimneys complexes. The base of a large chimney structure, venting white fluids

  13. Spread of activation and deactivation in the brain: does age matter?

    PubMed Central

    Gordon, Brian A.; Tse, Chun-Yu; Gratton, Gabriele; Fabiani, Monica

    2014-01-01

    Cross-sectional aging functional MRI results are sometimes difficult to interpret, as standard measures of activation and deactivation may confound variations in signal amplitude and spread, which however, may be differentially affected by age-related changes in various anatomical and physiological factors. To disentangle these two types of measures, here we propose a novel method to obtain independent estimates of the peak amplitude and spread of the BOLD signal in areas activated (task-positive) and deactivated (task-negative) by a Sternberg task, in 14 younger and 28 older adults. The peak measures indicated that, compared to younger adults, older adults had increased activation of the task-positive network, but similar levels of deactivation in the task-negative network. Measures of signal spread revealed that older adults had an increased spread of activation in task-positive areas, but a starkly reduced spread of deactivation in task-negative areas. These effects were consistent across regions within each network. Further, there was greater variability in the anatomical localization of peak points in older adults, leading to reduced cross-subject overlap. These results reveal factors that may confound the interpretation of studies of aging. Additionally, spread measures may be linked to local connectivity phenomena and could be particularly useful to analyze age-related deactivation patterns, complementing the results obtained with standard peak and region of interest analyses. PMID:25360115

  14. Inward spread of activation in vertebrate muscle fibres

    PubMed Central

    González-Serratos, H.

    1971-01-01

    1. A method for detecting the activation of individual myofibrils or groups of myofibrils within an isolated muscle fibre is described. It consists in making all the myofibrils wavy by setting the fibre in gelatine and compressing it longitudinally; active shortening of myofibrils can then be recognized by the straightening out of the waves. 2. The time course of this straightening during a twitch was found by high-speed ciné micrography. 3. There is a delay of activation between the superficial and central myofibrils, from which the velocity of inward spread of activation can be found. 4. This velocity has a Q10 of 2, and is about 7 cm/sec at 20° C. The mechanism of the inward spread of activation is discussed. 5. On relaxation the waves reappear, showing that there is a spontaneous elongation of the myofibrils. ImagesPlate 1Plate 2Plate 3Plate 4 PMID:5557071

  15. Masked Priming Effects in Aphasia: Evidence of Altered Automatic Spreading Activation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silkes, JoAnn P.; Rogers, Margaret A.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Previous research has suggested that impairments of automatic spreading activation may underlie some aphasic language deficits. The current study further investigated the status of automatic spreading activation in individuals with aphasia as compared with typical adults. Method: Participants were 21 individuals with aphasia (12 fluent, 9…

  16. Masked priming effects in aphasia: evidence of altered automatic spreading activation.

    PubMed

    Silkes, JoAnn P; Rogers, Margaret A

    2012-12-01

    Previous research has suggested that impairments of automatic spreading activation may underlie some aphasic language deficits. The current study further investigated the status of automatic spreading activation in individuals with aphasia as compared with typical adults. Participants were 21 individuals with aphasia (12 fluent, 9 nonfluent) and 31 typical adults. Reaction time data were collected on a lexical decision task with masked repetition primes, assessed at 11 different interstimulus intervals (ISIs). Masked primes were used to assess automatic spreading activation without the confound of conscious processing. The various ISIs were used to assess the time to onset and duration of priming effects. The control group showed maximal priming in the 200-ms ISI condition, with significant priming at a range of ISIs surrounding that peak. Participants with both fluent and nonfluent aphasia showed maximal priming effects in the 250-ms ISI condition and primed across a smaller range of ISIs than did the control group. Results suggest that individuals with aphasia have slowed automatic spreading activation and impaired maintenance of activation over time, regardless of fluency classification. These findings have implications for understanding aphasic language impairment and for development of aphasia treatments designed to directly address automatic language processes.

  17. Radiative Ignition and the Transition to Flame Spread Investigated in the Japan Microgravity Center's 10-sec Drop Shaft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1996-01-01

    The Radiative Ignition and Transition to Spread Investigation (RITSI) is a shuttle middeck Glovebox combustion experiment developed by the NASA Lewis Research Center, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), and Aerospace Design and Fabrication (ADF). It is scheduled to fly on the third United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-3) mission in February 1996. The objective of RITSI is to experimentally study radiative ignition and the subsequent transition to flame spread in low gravity in the presence of very low speed air flows in two- and three-dimensional configurations. Toward this objective, a unique collaboration between NASA, NIST, and the University of Hokkaido was established to conduct 15 science and engineering tests in Japan's 10-sec drop shaft. For these tests, the RITSI engineering hardware was mounted in a sealed chamber with a variable oxygen atmosphere. Ashless filter paper was ignited during each drop by a tungsten-halogen heat lamp focused on a small spot in the center of the paper. The flame spread outward from that point. Data recorded included fan voltage (a measure of air flow), radiant heater voltage (a measure of radiative ignition energy), and surface temperatures (measured by up to three surface thermocouples) during ignition and flame spread.

  18. Melt distribution along the axis of ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schlindwein, V. S. N.; Schmid, F.; Meier, M.

    2017-12-01

    Ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridges (<15 mm/y full spreading rate) differ from faster spreading ridges by their uneven melt distribution. Crustal thickness varies along axis from zero to more than 8 km at volcanic centers. These volcanic centers receive more melt than the regional average and may be sustained for millions of years. The segmentation pattern and active volcanism at ultraslow spreading ridges greatly differs from faster spreading ridges. Using networks of ocean bottom seismometers at three differing ridge segments, we could show that the maximum depth of brittle faulting, equivalent approximately to temperatures of 600-700°C, varies drastically along axis. Ridge sections that lack an igneous crust exhibit a thick lithosphere as evidenced by the deepest mid-ocean ridge earthquakes observed so far at more than 30 km depth. Beneath areas of basalt exposure, in particular beneath pronounced volcanic centers, the axial lithosphere may be more than 15 km thinner allowing for melt flow at the base of the lithosphere towards the volcanoes, a process that has been postulated to explain the uneven along-axis melt distribution. Spreading events at ultraslow spreading ridges are unusual as we found from two spreading episodes at 85°E Gakkel Ridge and Segment 8 volcano on the Southwest Indian Ridge. These eruptions were preceded or accompanied by large (M>5) and long-lasting earthquake swarms and active magmatism lasted over 3-16 years. A massive hydrothermal event plume and sounds from deep submarine explosive volcanism were observed at Gakkel Ridge. At the Segment 8 volcano, we imaged a melt reservoir extending to about 8 km depth below the volcano that potentially fed a sill intrusion recorded by an ocean bottom seismometers about 30 km away at a neighboring subordinate volcanic center. To better understand the segmentation and melt transport at ultraslow spreading rigdes, we recently conducted a segment-scale seismicity survey of Knipovich Ridge in the

  19. Masked Priming Effects in Aphasia: Evidence for Altered Automatic Spreading Activation

    PubMed Central

    Silkes, JoAnn P.; Rogers, Margaret A.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Previous research has suggested that impairments of automatic spreading activation may underlie some aphasic language deficits. This study further investigated the status of automatic spreading activation in individuals with aphasia as compared with typical adults. Method Participants were 21 individuals with aphasia (12 fluent, 9 non-fluent) and 31 typical adults. Reaction time data were collected on a lexical decision task with masked repetition primes, assessed at 11 different interstimulus intervals (ISIs). Masked primes were used to assess automatic spreading activation without the confound of conscious processing. The various ISIs were used to assess the time to onset, and duration, of priming effects. Results The control group showed maximal priming in the 200 ms ISI condition, with significant priming at a range of ISIs surrounding that peak. Participants with both fluent and non-fluent aphasia showed maximal priming effects in the 250 ms ISI condition, and primed across a smaller range of ISIs than the control group. Conclusions Results suggest that individuals with aphasia have slowed automatic spreading activation, and impaired maintenance of activation over time, regardless of fluency classification. These findings have implications for understanding aphasic language impairment and for development of aphasia treatments designed directly address automatic language processes. PMID:22411281

  20. Geodynamic environments of ultra-slow spreading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kokhan, Andrey; Dubinin, Evgeny

    2015-04-01

    Ultra-slow spreading is clearly distinguished as an outstanding type of crustal accretion by recent studies. Spreading ridges with ultra-slow velocities of extension are studied rather well. But ultra-slow spreading is characteristic feature of not only spreading ridges, it can be observed also on convergent and transform plate boundaries. Ultra-slow spreading is observed now or could have been observed in the past in the following geodynamic environments on divergent plate boundaries: 1. On spreading ridges with ultra-slow spreading, both modern (f.e. Gakkel, South-West Indian, Aden spreading center) and ceased (Labrador spreading center, Aegir ridge); 2. During transition from continental rifting to early stages of oceanic spreading (all spreading ridges during incipient stages of their formation); 3. During incipient stages of formation of spreading ridges on oceanic crust as a result of ridge jumps and reorganization of plate boundaries (f.e. Mathematicians rise and East Pacific rise); 4. During propagation of spreading ridge into the continental crust under influence of hotspot (Aden spreading center and Afar triple junction), under presence of strike-slip faults preceding propagation (possibly, rift zone of California Bay). Ultra-slow spreading is observed now or could have been observed in the past in the following geodynamic environments on transform plate boundaries: 1. In transit zones between two "typical" spreading ridges (f.e. Knipovich ridge); 2. In semi strike-slip/extension zones on the oceanic crust (f.e. American-Antarctic ridge); 3. In the zones of local extension in regional strike-slip areas in pull-apart basins along transform boundaries (Cayman trough, pull-apart basins of the southern border of Scotia plate). Ultra-slow spreading is observed now or could have been observed in the past in the following geodynamic environments on convergent plate boundaries: 1. During back-arc rifting on the stage of transition into back-arc spreading (central

  1. Magma Plumbing System at a Young Back-Arc Spreading Center: The Marsili Volcano, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trua, T.; Marani, M. P.; Gamberi, F.

    2018-01-01

    Although spreading rate is commonly taken as a proxy for decompression mantle melting at mid-ocean ridges (MORs), magmatism at back-arc spreading centers (BASCs) is further influenced by the subduction-related flux melting of the mantle. These regions consequently show a diversity of crustal structures, lava compositions, and morphologies not typically found in MORs. Here we investigate the crustal plumbing system of the small-scale, Marsili back-arc spreading center of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea using plagioclase data from a wide spectrum of lavas (basalts to andesites) dredged from its summit and flanks. We employ petrological modeling to identify the plagioclase populations carried in the individual lavas, allocate them to plausible magmatic components present within the plumbing system, and trace the processes occurring during magma ascent to the surface. The properties of the system, such as mush porosity and abundance of the melt bodies, vary from one magma extraction zone to another along the BASC, evidencing the local variability of melt supply conditions. The plagioclase crystals document a range of relationships with the host lavas, indicating magma extraction from a composite, vertically extensive mush and melt-lens system resembling that of MORs. At the same time, however, in small BASCs, such as in the case of the Marsili Basin, crustal accretion and resulting morphology are significantly influenced by the three-dimensional setting of the basin margins. This is an important deviation from the conventional model based on the linear continuity and essentially two-dimensional framework of MORs.

  2. Determination of Wetting Behavior, Spread Activation Energy, and Quench Severity of Bioquenchants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prabhu, K. Narayan; Fernandes, Peter

    2007-08-01

    An investigation was conducted to study the suitability of vegetable oils such as sunflower, coconut, groundnut, castor, cashewnut shell (CNS), and palm oils as quench media (bioquenchants) for industrial heat treatment by assessing their wetting behavior and severity of quenching. The relaxation of contact angle was sharp during the initial stages, and it became gradual as the system approached equilibrium. The equilibrium contact angle decreased with increase in the temperature of the substrate and decrease in the viscosity of the quench medium. A comparison of the relaxation of the contact angle at various temperatures indicated the significant difference in spreading of oils having varying viscosity. The spread activation energy was determined using the Arrhenius type of equation. Oils with higher viscosity resulted in lower cooling rates. The quench severity of various oil media was determined by estimating heat-transfer coefficients using the lumped capacitance method. Activation energy for spreading determined using the wetting behavior of oils at various temperatures was in good agreement with the severity of quenching assessed by cooling curve analysis. A high quench severity is associated with oils having low spread activation energy.

  3. Variation of Crustal Shear Velocity Structure Along the Eastern Lau Back-Arc Spreading Center Constrained By Seafloor Compliance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zha, Y.; Webb, S. C.; Dunn, R. A.

    2014-12-01

    Measurements of seafloor compliance, the deformation under long period (typically 30-300 s) ocean wave forcing, are primarily sensitive to crustal shear velocity structure. We analyze seafloor compliance from data collected from a subset of 50 broadband Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBS) deployed at the Eastern Lau spreading center (ELSC) from 2009 to 2010. The ELSC is a 400-km-long back-arc spreading center lying closely to the Tonga subduction trench in the southwestern Pacific. Seafloor morphology, crustal seismic structure and lava composition data show rapid variations along the ridge as the ridge migrates away from the volcanic arc front to the north, indicating a decreasing influence of the subducting slab. We calculate seafloor compliance functions by taking the spectral transfer function between the vertical displacement and pressure signal recorded by the 4-component OBSs, which are equipped with differential pressure gauges (DPGs). In the ridge perpendicular direction, compliance amplitude vary by more than an order of magnitude from the ridge crest to older seafloor covered by sediment. Along the spreading ridge, compliance measured from on-axis sites increases southwards, indicative of a decrease in the upper crustal shear velocity possibly due to increasing porosity and a thickening extrusive layer [Jacobs et al., 2007; Dunn et al., 2013]. We apply a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to invert the compliance functions for crustal shear velocities at various locations along the ELSC.

  4. The Masked Semantic Priming Effect Is Task Dependent: Reconsidering the Automatic Spreading Activation Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Wit, Bianca; Kinoshita, Sachiko

    2015-01-01

    Semantic priming effects are popularly explained in terms of an automatic spreading activation process, according to which the activation of a node in a semantic network spreads automatically to interconnected nodes, preactivating a semantically related word. It is expected from this account that semantic priming effects should be routinely…

  5. Epidemic spreading with activity-driven awareness diffusion on multiplex network.

    PubMed

    Guo, Quantong; Lei, Yanjun; Jiang, Xin; Ma, Yifang; Huo, Guanying; Zheng, Zhiming

    2016-04-01

    There has been growing interest in exploring the interplay between epidemic spreading with human response, since it is natural for people to take various measures when they become aware of epidemics. As a proper way to describe the multiple connections among people in reality, multiplex network, a set of nodes interacting through multiple sets of edges, has attracted much attention. In this paper, to explore the coupled dynamical processes, a multiplex network with two layers is built. Specifically, the information spreading layer is a time varying network generated by the activity driven model, while the contagion layer is a static network. We extend the microscopic Markov chain approach to derive the epidemic threshold of the model. Compared with extensive Monte Carlo simulations, the method shows high accuracy for the prediction of the epidemic threshold. Besides, taking different spreading models of awareness into consideration, we explored the interplay between epidemic spreading with awareness spreading. The results show that the awareness spreading can not only enhance the epidemic threshold but also reduce the prevalence of epidemics. When the spreading of awareness is defined as susceptible-infected-susceptible model, there exists a critical value where the dynamical process on the awareness layer can control the onset of epidemics; while if it is a threshold model, the epidemic threshold emerges an abrupt transition with the local awareness ratio α approximating 0.5. Moreover, we also find that temporal changes in the topology hinder the spread of awareness which directly affect the epidemic threshold, especially when the awareness layer is threshold model. Given that the threshold model is a widely used model for social contagion, this is an important and meaningful result. Our results could also lead to interesting future research about the different time-scales of structural changes in multiplex networks.

  6. Epidemic spreading with activity-driven awareness diffusion on multiplex network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Quantong; Lei, Yanjun; Jiang, Xin; Ma, Yifang; Huo, Guanying; Zheng, Zhiming

    2016-04-01

    There has been growing interest in exploring the interplay between epidemic spreading with human response, since it is natural for people to take various measures when they become aware of epidemics. As a proper way to describe the multiple connections among people in reality, multiplex network, a set of nodes interacting through multiple sets of edges, has attracted much attention. In this paper, to explore the coupled dynamical processes, a multiplex network with two layers is built. Specifically, the information spreading layer is a time varying network generated by the activity driven model, while the contagion layer is a static network. We extend the microscopic Markov chain approach to derive the epidemic threshold of the model. Compared with extensive Monte Carlo simulations, the method shows high accuracy for the prediction of the epidemic threshold. Besides, taking different spreading models of awareness into consideration, we explored the interplay between epidemic spreading with awareness spreading. The results show that the awareness spreading can not only enhance the epidemic threshold but also reduce the prevalence of epidemics. When the spreading of awareness is defined as susceptible-infected-susceptible model, there exists a critical value where the dynamical process on the awareness layer can control the onset of epidemics; while if it is a threshold model, the epidemic threshold emerges an abrupt transition with the local awareness ratio α approximating 0.5. Moreover, we also find that temporal changes in the topology hinder the spread of awareness which directly affect the epidemic threshold, especially when the awareness layer is threshold model. Given that the threshold model is a widely used model for social contagion, this is an important and meaningful result. Our results could also lead to interesting future research about the different time-scales of structural changes in multiplex networks.

  7. Influence of emotional valence and arousal on the spread of activation in memory.

    PubMed

    Jhean-Larose, Sandra; Leveau, Nicolas; Denhière, Guy

    2014-11-01

    Controversy still persists on whether emotional valence and arousal influence cognitive activities. Our study sought to compare how these two factors foster the spread of activation within the semantic network. In a lexical decision task, prime words were varied depending on the valence (pleasant or unpleasant) or on the level of emotional arousal (high or low). Target words were carefully selected to avoid semantic priming effects, as well as to avoid arousing specific emotions (neutral). Three SOA durations (220, 420 and 720 ms) were applied across three independent groups. Results indicate that at 220 ms, the effect of arousal is significantly higher than the effect of valence in facilitating spreading activation while at 420 ms, the effect of valence is significantly higher than the effect of arousal in facilitating spreading activation. These findings suggest that affect is a sequential process involving the successive intervention of arousal and valence.

  8. Hydrothermal venting along Earth's fastest spreading center: East Pacific Rise, 27.5°-32.3°

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baker, E. T.; Hey, R. N.; Lupton, J. E.; Resing, J. A.; Feely, R. A.; Gharib, J. J.; Massoth, G. J.; Sansone, F. J.; Kleinrock, M.; Martinez, F.; Naar, D. F.; Rodrigo, C.; Bohnenstiehl, D.; Pardee, D.

    2002-07-01

    During March/April 1998 we conducted detailed mapping and sampling of hydrothermal plumes along six segments of Earth's fasting spreading mid-ocean ridge, 27.5°-32.3°S on the East Pacific Rise. We compared the distribution and chemistry of hydrothermal plumes to geological indicators of long-term (spreading rate) and moderate-term (ridge inflation) variations in magmatic budget. In this large-offset, propagating rift setting, these geological indices span virtually the entire range found along fast spreading ridges worldwide. Hydrothermal plumes overlaid ~60% of the length of superfast (>130 km/Myr) spreading axis surveyed and defined at least 14 separate vent fields. We observed no plumes over the slower spreading propagating segments. Finer-scale variations in the magmatic budget also correlated with hydrothermal activity, as the location of the five most intense plumes corresponded to subsegment peaks in ridge inflation. Along the entire ridge crest, the more inflated a ridge location the more likely it was to be overlain by a hydrothermal plume. Plume chemistry mostly reflected discharge from mature vent fields apparently unperturbed by magmatic activity within the last few years. Plume samples with high volatile/metal ratios, generally indicating recent seafloor volcanism, were scarce. Along-axis trends in both volatile (3He; CH4; ΔpH, a proxy for CO2; and particulate S) and nonvolatile (Fe, Mn) species showed a first-order agreement with the trend of ridge inflation. Nevertheless, a broad correspondence between the concentration of volatile species in plumes and geological proxies of magma supply identifies a pervasive magmatic imprint on this superfast spreading group of ridge segments.

  9. Spreading activation in emotional memory networks and the cumulative effects of somatic markers.

    PubMed

    Foster, Paul S; Hubbard, Tyler; Campbell, Ransom W; Poole, Jonathan; Pridmore, Michael; Bell, Chris; Harrison, David W

    2017-06-01

    The theory of spreading activation proposes that the activation of a semantic memory node may spread along bidirectional associative links to other related nodes. Although this theory was originally proposed to explain semantic memory networks, a similar process may be said to exist with episodic or emotional memory networks. The Somatic Marker hypothesis proposes that remembering an emotional memory activates the somatic sensations associated with the memory. An integration of these two models suggests that as spreading activation in emotional memory networks increases, a greater number of associated somatic markers would become activated. This process would then result in greater changes in physiological functioning. We sought to investigate this possibility by having subjects recall words associated with sad and happy memories, in addition to a neutral condition. The average ages of the memories and the number of word memories recalled were then correlated with measures of heart rate and skin conductance. The results indicated significant positive correlations between the number of happy word memories and heart rate (r = .384, p = .022) and between the average ages of the sad memories and skin conductance (r = .556, p = .001). Unexpectedly, a significant negative relationship was found between the number of happy word memories and skin conductance (r = -.373, p = .025). The results provide partial support for our hypothesis, indicating that increasing spreading activation in emotional memory networks activates an increasing number of somatic markers and this is then reflected in greater physiological activity at the time of recalling the memories.

  10. Methane Distribution In Plumes Of The South Mariana Back-arc Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toki, T.; Hirota, A.; Tsunogai, U.; Gamo, T.; Nakamura, K.; Noguchi, T.; Taira, N.; Oomori, T.; Ishibashi, J.; Utsumi, M.

    2004-12-01

    In the South Mariana Back-arc Spreading Center, two methane plumes were observed in water column based on analysis of methane in seawater samples collected during the R/V Thompson expeditions in 2003 around water depth of 2,700 m over the Fryer site on the ridge-axis seamount (12\\deg57.22N, 143\\deg37.16E, depth: 2,850 m). The estimated end-member isotopic compositions of methane in the two plumes are \\delta13C_{CH4} = -5‰ PDB and -50‰ PDB. These values indicated that the two plumes were originated from the different sources. During YK03-09 cruise using the submersible Shinkai 6500 from October to November in 2003, detailed seafloor observation discovered sulfide chimneys emitting black and clear hydrothermal fluid on the off-axis seamount at Pika site (12°55.15N, 143°36.96E, depth: 2,773 m). The result of analysis of isotopic composition of methane in the hydrothermal fluids recovered from the off-axis hydrothermal vents using WHATS (Water and Hydrothermal Atsuryoku Tight Sampler) was averaged value of -4‰ PDB (standard deviation = 1‰ PDB, n = 3). Hydrothermal fluids from the Fryer site were also sampled and were measured: average value = -6.7‰ PDB, standard deviation = 0.3‰ PDB, n = 3. During the R/V Thompson expeditions in March 2004 using ROV ROPOS, 11 ROPOS dives and CTD-RMS plume surveys were conducted, and newly discovered a huge hydrothermal structure with active fluid venting at Achaean site on the ridge skirt (12°56.37N, 143°37.92E, depth: 2,990 m). The δ ^{13}C_{CH4} value of the fluid sample from the site using ROCS (Rotary Clean Seawater sampler) was -14.7‰ PDB. Analysis of isotopic composition of methane in the plume samples collected using the CTD-hydrocast at water depth of 2,500 m over the Archaean site showed -45‰ PDB. Source of methane (δ ^{13}C_{CH4} = -50‰ PDB), however, in the two plumes of the South Mariana Back-arc Spreading Center has been missing. The δ ^{13}C of methane cannot be considered in sediment

  11. Radiative Enhancement Effects on Flame Spread (REEFS) Project Studied "Green House" Effects on Fire Spread

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gokoglu, Suleyman A.; Ronney, Paul

    2003-01-01

    The Radiative Enhancement Effects on Flame Spread (REEFS) project, slated for flight aboard the International Space Station, reached a major milestone by holding its Science Concept Review this year. REEFS is led by principal investigator Paul Ronney from the University of Southern California in conjunction with a project team from the NASA Glenn Research Center. The study is focusing on flame spread over flat solid fuel beds to improve our understanding of more complex fires, such as those found in manned spacecraft and terrestrial buildings. The investigation has direct implications for fire safety, both for space and Earth applications, and extends previous work with emphasis on the atmospheres and flow environments likely to be present in fires that might occur in microgravity. These atmospheres will contain radiatively active gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) from combustion products, and likely gaseous fuels such as carbon monoxide (CO) from incomplete combustion of solid fuel, as well as flows induced by ventilation currents. During tests in the 2.2-Second Drop Tower and KC-135 aircraft at Glenn, the principal investigator introduced the use of foam fuels for flame spread experiments over thermally thick fuels to obtain large spread rates in comparison to those of dense fuels such as PMMA. This enables meaningful results to be obtained even in the 2.2 s available in drop tower experiments.

  12. Rapid conversion of an oceanic spreading center to a subduction zone inferred from high-precision geochronology.

    PubMed

    Keenan, Timothy E; Encarnación, John; Buchwaldt, Robert; Fernandez, Dan; Mattinson, James; Rasoazanamparany, Christine; Luetkemeyer, P Benjamin

    2016-11-22

    Where and how subduction zones initiate is a fundamental tectonic problem, yet there are few well-constrained geologic tests that address the tectonic settings and dynamics of the process. Numerical modeling has shown that oceanic spreading centers are some of the weakest parts of the plate tectonic system [Gurnis M, Hall C, Lavier L (2004) Geochem Geophys Geosys 5:Q07001], but previous studies have not favored them for subduction initiation because of the positive buoyancy of young lithosphere. Instead, other weak zones, such as fracture zones, have been invoked. Because these models differ in terms of the ages of crust that are juxtaposed at the site of subduction initiation, they can be tested by dating the protoliths of metamorphosed oceanic crust that is formed by underthrusting at the beginning of subduction and comparing that age with the age of the overlying lithosphere and the timing of subduction initiation itself. In the western Philippines, we find that oceanic crust was less than ∼1 My old when it was underthrust and metamorphosed at the onset of subduction in Palawan, Philippines, implying forced subduction initiation at a spreading center. This result shows that young and positively buoyant, but weak, lithosphere was the preferred site for subduction nucleation despite the proximity of other potential weak zones with older, denser lithosphere and that plate motion rapidly changed from divergence to convergence.

  13. Rapid conversion of an oceanic spreading center to a subduction zone inferred from high-precision geochronology

    PubMed Central

    Keenan, Timothy E.; Encarnación, John; Buchwaldt, Robert; Fernandez, Dan; Mattinson, James; Rasoazanamparany, Christine; Luetkemeyer, P. Benjamin

    2016-01-01

    Where and how subduction zones initiate is a fundamental tectonic problem, yet there are few well-constrained geologic tests that address the tectonic settings and dynamics of the process. Numerical modeling has shown that oceanic spreading centers are some of the weakest parts of the plate tectonic system [Gurnis M, Hall C, Lavier L (2004) Geochem Geophys Geosys 5:Q07001], but previous studies have not favored them for subduction initiation because of the positive buoyancy of young lithosphere. Instead, other weak zones, such as fracture zones, have been invoked. Because these models differ in terms of the ages of crust that are juxtaposed at the site of subduction initiation, they can be tested by dating the protoliths of metamorphosed oceanic crust that is formed by underthrusting at the beginning of subduction and comparing that age with the age of the overlying lithosphere and the timing of subduction initiation itself. In the western Philippines, we find that oceanic crust was less than ∼1 My old when it was underthrust and metamorphosed at the onset of subduction in Palawan, Philippines, implying forced subduction initiation at a spreading center. This result shows that young and positively buoyant, but weak, lithosphere was the preferred site for subduction nucleation despite the proximity of other potential weak zones with older, denser lithosphere and that plate motion rapidly changed from divergence to convergence. PMID:27821756

  14. New constraints on the formation and evolution of the Andaman Sea, a sedimented back arc spreading center in the South East Asia, from seismic reflection studies.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jourdain, A.; Singh, S. C.; Klinger, Y.

    2014-12-01

    The Andaman Sea is an enigmatic feature in the Indian Ocean region. To the west, it is bounded by a near arc parallel Andaman subduction system and to the east by the Malaya Peninsula. It hosts volcanic provinces like Alcock and Sewell Rises and the Andaman Sea Spreading Center (ASSC) that connects the sliver strike-slip Sagaing Fault in the north with the Andaman Nicobar and Great Sumatra Faults in the south. The actual spreading center follows a succession of basins, starting by the spreading of the Mergui basin in the south-east, 32 Ma ago, that shifted to the actual position of the spreading closer to the subduction trench. Several hypotheses have been proposed for the formation of the Andaman Sea basins: (a) Pull-apart basin along the Sagaing-Sumatra fault system, driven by the collision-extrusion mechanism and/or by the slip-partitioning induced by the oblique subduction, (b) Back-arc spreading due to the subduction. There is a debate about the orientation of the present spreading/extension between the North-South motion along the strike-slip faults and the NW-SE opening of the ASSC. We have access to 7000 km of high-resolution deep seismic reflection data, and high-resolution bathymetry data, which we combine with relocated earthquake data to shed light upon the formation and evolution of the Andaman Sea Basin. The central basin contains up to 4 km thick sediments. The crustal thickness is about 5-8 km in the central basin and increases to 13-15 km beneath the Alcock and Sewell Rises, which are devoid of sediments. Here we show how both the collision and the subduction play a role in the position and orientation of the extension in the Andaman Sea Basin, and how they influence the accretion at the spreading center.

  15. Spreading convulsions, spreading depolarization and epileptogenesis in human cerebral cortex

    PubMed Central

    Major, Sebastian; Pannek, Heinz-Wolfgang; Woitzik, Johannes; Scheel, Michael; Wiesenthal, Dirk; Martus, Peter; Winkler, Maren K.L.; Hartings, Jed A.; Fabricius, Martin; Speckmann, Erwin-Josef; Gorji, Ali

    2012-01-01

    Spreading depolarization of cells in cerebral grey matter is characterized by massive ion translocation, neuronal swelling and large changes in direct current-coupled voltage recording. The near-complete sustained depolarization above the inactivation threshold for action potential generating channels initiates spreading depression of brain activity. In contrast, epileptic seizures show modest ion translocation and sustained depolarization below the inactivation threshold for action potential generating channels. Such modest sustained depolarization allows synchronous, highly frequent neuronal firing; ictal epileptic field potentials being its electrocorticographic and epileptic seizure its clinical correlate. Nevertheless, Leão in 1944 and Van Harreveld and Stamm in 1953 described in animals that silencing of brain activity induced by spreading depolarization changed during minimal electrical stimulations. Eventually, epileptic field potentials were recorded during the period that had originally seen spreading depression of activity. Such spreading convulsions are characterized by epileptic field potentials on the final shoulder of the large slow potential change of spreading depolarization. We here report on such spreading convulsions in monopolar subdural recordings in 2 of 25 consecutive aneurismal subarachnoid haemorrhage patients in vivo and neocortical slices from 12 patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy in vitro. The in vitro results suggest that γ-aminobutyric acid-mediated inhibition protects from spreading convulsions. Moreover, we describe arterial pulse artefacts mimicking epileptic field potentials in three patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage that ride on the slow potential peak. Twenty-one of the 25 subarachnoid haemorrhage patients (84%) had 656 spreading depolarizations in contrast to only three patients (12%) with 55 ictal epileptic events isolated from spreading depolarizations. Spreading depolarization frequency and depression

  16. Seafloor hydrothermal activity and spreading rates - The Eocene carbon dioxide greenhouse revisited

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kasting, J. F.; Richardson, S. M.

    1985-01-01

    A suggestion has been made that enhanced rates of hydrothermal activity during the Eocene could have caused a global warming by adding calcium to the ocean and pumping CO2 into the atmosphere (Owen and Rea, 1984). This phenomenon was purported to be consistent with the predictions of the CO2 geochemical cycle model of Berner, Lasaga and Garrels (1983) (henceforth BLAG). In fact, however, the BLAG model predicts only a weak connection between hydrothermal activity and atmospheric CO2 levels. By contrast, it predicts a strong correlation between seafloor spreading rates and pCO2, since the release rate of CO2 from carbonate metamorphism is assumed to be proportional to the mean spreading rate. The Eocene warming can be conveniently explained if the BLAG model is extended by assuming that the rate of carbonate metamorphism is also proportional to the total length of the midocean ridges from which the spreading originates.

  17. Seafloor hydrothermal activity and spreading rates: the Eocene carbon dioxide greenhouse revisted

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kasting, J. F.; Richardson, S. M.

    1985-01-01

    A suggestion has been made that enhanced rates of hydrothermal activity during the Eocene could have caused a global warming by adding calcium to the ocean and pumping CO2 into the atmosphere (Owen and Rea, 1984). This phenomenon was purported to be consistent with the predictions of the CO2 geochemical cycle model of Berner, Lasaga and Garrels (1983) (henceforth BLAG). In fact, however, the BLAG model predicts only a weak connection between hydrothermal activity and atmospheric CO2 levels. By contrast, it predicts a strong correlation between seafloor spreading rates and pCO2, since the release rate of CO2 from carbonate metamorphism is assumed to be proportional to the mean spreading rate. The Ecocene warming can be conveniently explained if the BLAG model is extended by assuming that the rate of carbonate metamorphism is also proportional to the total length of the midocean ridges from which the spreading originates.

  18. Melt Inclusion Evidence for Subduction-modified Mantle Beneath the Woodlark Spreading Center, Solomon Islands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chadwick, J.; Turner, A.; Collins, E.

    2015-12-01

    The Woodlark Spreading Center (WSC) to the east of Papua New Guinea separates the Indo-Australian plate and Solomon Sea microplate. At its eastern terminus, the WSC is being subducted at the New Britain trench, forming a triple junction near the New Georgia Group arc in the Solomon Islands. Previous studies have shown that lavas recovered from greater than 100 km from the trench on the WSC are N-MORB, but closer to the trench they have arc-like Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic ratios, enrichments in LILE, and depletions in HFSE. In the complex triple junction area of the WSC on the Simbo and Ghizo Ridges, island arc tholeiites to medium-K calc-alkaline andesites and dacites have been recovered, many with trace element and isotopic characteristics that are similar to the true arc lavas in the New Georgia Group on the other side of the trench. We suggest that subduction-modified arc mantle migrates through slab windows created by the subduction of the WSC as the plates continue to diverge after subduction. This transfer of mantle across the plate boundary leads to variable mixing between arc and N-MORB end-members, forming the hybrid to arc-like lavas recovered on the WSC. To test this hypothesis and to characterize the end-member compositions, we have analyzed melt inclusions in olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase phenocrysts in Simbo and Ghizo Ridge lava samples. Major elements were analyzed using the electron microprobe facility at Fayetteville State University and volatiles were analyzed on the ion probe facility at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The melt inclusions show a wide diversity of magmas from basalts to dacites, and mixing modeling shows that most Woodlark Spreading Center lava compositions are explained by mixing between the most extreme mafic (MORB) and felsic (arc) inclusion compositions.

  19. Dynamical consequences of compositional and thermal density stratification beneath spreading centers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sotin, C.; Parmentier, E. M.

    1989-01-01

    Dynamical consequences of compositional buoyancy and the combined effects of compositional and thermal buoyancy on mantle flow and crustal production are explored. The results show that for a low enough mantle viscosity, buoyant upwelling can significantly enhance the crustal thickness relative to that which would be produced by plate spreading alone, while for a mantle viscosity of 10 to the 22nd Pa s, upwelling due to plate spreading is dominant and crustal thickness is predicted to be a function of spreading rate. The results indicate that thermal and compositional density variations result in opposing buoyancy forces that can cause time-dependent upwelling.

  20. HIV-1 Activates T Cell Signaling Independently of Antigen to Drive Viral Spread.

    PubMed

    Len, Alice C L; Starling, Shimona; Shivkumar, Maitreyi; Jolly, Clare

    2017-01-24

    HIV-1 spreads between CD4 T cells most efficiently through virus-induced cell-cell contacts. To test whether this process potentiates viral spread by activating signaling pathways, we developed an approach to analyze the phosphoproteome in infected and uninfected mixed-population T cells using differential metabolic labeling and mass spectrometry. We discovered HIV-1-induced activation of signaling networks during viral spread encompassing over 200 cellular proteins. Strikingly, pathways downstream of the T cell receptor were the most significantly activated, despite the absence of canonical antigen-dependent stimulation. The importance of this pathway was demonstrated by the depletion of proteins, and we show that HIV-1 Env-mediated cell-cell contact, the T cell receptor, and the Src kinase Lck were essential for signaling-dependent enhancement of viral dissemination. This study demonstrates that manipulation of signaling at immune cell contacts by HIV-1 is essential for promoting virus replication and defines a paradigm for antigen-independent T cell signaling. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Geodynamics of seafloor spreading extinction: Constraints from the South China Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, X.; Lin, J.; Behn, M. D.

    2016-12-01

    We investigate magmatism and mantle thermal structure beneath fossil spreading centers in the South China Sea (SCS), focusing on two aspects: (1) mantle thermal structure and melting, and (2) magmatism associated with seamounts. We carried out 3D geodynamic models to study thermal structure beneath the SCS during the process from initiation to cessation of seafloor spreading. Modeling results suggested that the overall mantle temperatures of the East Subbasin were significantly greater than that of the Southwest Subbasin when the seafloor spreading of both subbasins ceased at about 15-16 Ma. However, the differences in thermal structure between the two subbasins were calculated to have decreased with time. Work is in progress to couple geochemical and geophysical constraints with geodynamic modeling to investigate melt generation, fractional crystallization, and melt extraction at the fossil spreading centers in the SCS. Among the seamounts that can be identified on multi-beam bathymetry data, about half of them are located along the fossil spreading centers while the remaining located off axis. This is in contrast to fossil spreading ridges in the West Scotia Sea and Phoenix Ridge, where most seamounts are located off axis. The off-axis seamounts in the SCS also show strong asymmetry about the fossil spreading centers with most seamounts concentrated in the northern flank. Work is in progress to investigate the melting processes associated with seamounts.

  2. The Galapagos Spreading Center at 86°W: A detailed geothermal field study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Green, Kenneth E.; von Herzen, Richard P.; Williams, David L.

    1981-02-01

    Appendix is available with entire article on microfiche. Orderfrom American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20009. Document J80-013; $01.00. Payment mustaccompany order. We report here measurements of the heat flow field of the Galapagos Spreading Center on crust of age less than 1.0 m.y. The 443 measurements in an area of about 570 km2 reveal the general planform of the geothermal flux and permit the first truly areal estimate of the near-axis conductive heat flux. The intrusion process and associated hydrothermal circulation dominate the surface heat flow pattern, with circulation apparently continuing beyond the limits of our survey. The areal average of the conductive heat flux is 7.1 ± 0.8 HFU (295 ± 33 mW/m2), about one-third the heat flux predicted by plate models. The remaining heat is apparently removed by venting of hydrothermal waters at the spreading axis and through basalt outcrops and hydrothermal mounds off axis. The pattern of surface heat flux is lineated parallel to the axis and the strongly lineated topography. Sharp lateral gradients in the heat flow, greater than 10 HFU/km near escarpments and commonly expressed as high heat flow at the tops of the scarps and lower heat flow in the valleys, may indicate a local concentration of the circulation by surface fault systems and/or variable sediment thickness.

  3. Signatures of present and past melt distribution along fast and intermediate spreading centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marjanovic, Milena

    The work presented in this dissertation depicts past and present signatures of melt distribution at fast and intermediate spreading centers. The primary goal of the studies included in this thesis is to provide better understanding of melt distribution and variation in melt physical properties within and at the base of oceanic crust formed at these spreading centers. Furthermore, this work examines effects that melt presence might have on formation and structural characteristics of oceanic crust. To explore the above we use geophysical data collected during two expeditions conducted along the Juan de Fuca Ridge (intermediate) and the East Pacific Rise (fast). The major part of the thesis is based on the work conducted on high resolution reflection seismic data that investigate present day intracrustal melt distribution along the East Pacific Rise (EPR) axis extending between 8°20' and 10°10'N. Here, the character of the melt reservoir is examined from different aspects and by using different seismic data analysis methods. By systematic analysis of the seismic reflection data, we show that the axial melt lens (AML) is segmented at different segment scales. Locations of the mapped disruptions in the AML correspond to previously identified tectonic discontinuities well expressed in the seafloor bathymetry. The above result corroborates genetic relationship between tectonic and magmatic segmentation. To examine melt distribution along the EPR, here for the first time we use amplitude variation with angle of incidence (AVA) crossplotting technique that was developed by oil and gas industry experts to look for presence of hydrocarbons. Further data examination for the first time for the mid-ocean ridges show presence of deeper lenses (lenses that are present below the AML). Presence of gaps in these sub-events and their collocation with what is believed to be the location of origin of the last documented eruption occurred in 2005--06, may shed light on the mechanisms

  4. Magnetic and gravity anomalies of the slow-spreading system in the Gulf of Aden

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakanishi, M.; Fujimoto, H.; Tamaki, K.; Okino, K.

    2002-12-01

    The spreading system in the Gulf of Aden between Somalia, NE Africa, and Arabia has an ENE-WSW trend and its half spreading rate is about 1.0 cm/yr (e.g., Jestin et al., 1994). Previous studies (e.g., Tamsett and Searle, 1988) provided the general morphology of the spreading system. To reveal detailed morphology and tectonics of the spreading system in the Gulf of Aden, geophysical investigation was conducted along the spreading system between 45°30OE and 50°20OE by the R/V Hakuho-maru from December 2000 to January 2001. Bathymetric data were collected using an echo sounder SEA BEAM 2120 aboard R/V Hakuho-maru. Magnetic and gravity data were collected by towed proton magnetometer and shipboard gravimeter, respectively. The strike of the spreading centers east of 46°30OE is N65°W. The topographic expression of the spreading centers east of N46°30OE is an axial rift valley offset by transform faults siilar to that observed at slow spreading centers in other areas. The bathymetric feature of the spreading centers between 45°50OE and 46°30OE with a strike N80°E is N65°W trending en-echelon basins. The spreading center west of 45°50OE with a strike E-W is bouned by linear ridges and its bathymetric expression is N65°W trending en-echelon ridges. The axial rift valley west of N46°30OE is not offset by any prominent transform faults. Negative magnetic anomaly is dominant over the axial valleys. Its amplitude is about 500 nT and the wavelength is about 30 km. Prominent linear negative magnetic anomaly, which is more than 1000 nT, exists west of N46°30OE. The strike of the linear magnetic anomaly correlates with that of axial valleys west of N46°30OE. Mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly of the spreading centers increases eastward. This trend correlates with the eastward deepening of spreading centers.

  5. Consequences of Rift Propagation for Spreading in Thick Oceanic Crust in Iceland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karson, J. A.

    2015-12-01

    Iceland has long been considered a natural laboratory for processes related to seafloor spreading, including propagating rifts, migrating transforms and rotating microplates. The thick, hot, weak crust and subaerial processes of Iceland result in variations on the themes developed along more typical parts of the global MOR system. Compared to most other parts of the MOR, Icelandic rift zones and transform faults are wider and more complex. Rift zones are defined by overlapping arrays of volcanic/tectonic spreading segments as much as 50 km wide. The most active rift zones propagate N and S away from the Iceland hot spot causing migration of transform faults. A trail of crust deformed by bookshelf faulting forms in their wakes. Dead or dying transform strands are truncated along pseudofaults that define propagation rates close to the full spreading rate of ~20 mm/yr. Pseudofaults are blurred by spreading across wide rift zones and laterally extensive subaerial lava flows. Propagation, with decreasing spreading toward the propagator tips causes rotation of crustal blocks on both sides of the active rift zones. The blocks deform internally by the widespread reactivation of spreading-related faults and zones of weakness along dike margins. The sense of slip on these rift-parallel strike-slip faults is inconsistent with transform-fault deformation. These various deformation features as well as subaxial subsidence that accommodate the thickening of the volcanic upper crustal units are probably confined to the brittle, seismogenic, upper 10 km of the crust. At least beneath the active rift zones, the upper crust is probably decoupled from hot, mechanically weak middle and lower gabbroic crust resulting in a broad plate boundary zone between the diverging lithosphere plates. Similar processes may occur at other types of propagating spreading centers and magmatic rifts.

  6. The LOX Invasion: Stopping the Spread of Breast Cancer | Center for Cancer Research

    Cancer.gov

    Metastasis is the primary cause of death in breast cancer patients. In 10% of breast cancer diagnoses, the cancer has already spread to distant organs in the body. Although breast cancer has the potential to spread to almost any region of the body, the most common is the bone, followed by the lung and liver. Understanding the mechanisms for breast cancer invasion and metastasis is therefore vital for designing new therapies to prevent the spread of the disease.

  7. Distribution of diffuse flow megafauna in two sites on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center, Tonga

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Podowski, Elizabeth L.; Moore, Tom S.; Zelnio, Kevin A.; Luther, George W., III; Fisher, Charles R.

    2009-11-01

    Hydrothermal vent environments are characterized by large gradients of toxic chemicals and high temperatures, which play a significant role in defining species' distributions. We used high-resolution imagery and spatially explicit in-situ physico-chemical measurements analyzed within a Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to characterize the spatial relations among different groups of megafauna, temperature, and chemistry within two discrete vent communities (40 and 50 m 2) on the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC). Chemical (sulfide and O 2 concentrations) and temperature data were obtained from approximately 75 different locations within each community using in-situ instruments. All data were integrated into a GIS, which served as a visualization tool and enabled the data to be analyzed in a spatial context. Our results confirm the importance of abiotic variables in defining the distributions of some fauna and elucidate several biological associations that are consistent between the two communities. The provannid snail, Alviniconcha spp., appears to actively avoid temperatures above 32-46 °C and/or sulfide concentrations exceeding approximately 260 μM. Slightly higher average sulfide concentrations and temperatures were measured among aggregations of Ifremeria nautilei compared to aggregations of the mussel Bathymodiolus brevior; however, the presence of mixed aggregations of the two species indicates an overlap in requirements. The brachyuran crab, Austinograea spp., was consistently observed directly on symbiont-containing species, particularly Alviniconcha spp. The solitary snail, Eosipho desbruyeresi, was rarely observed on biological substrata, but was often (60% of its population at the most active site) within 5 cm of symbiont-containing fauna, indicating a tolerance and preference for proximity to areas of high productivity. Densities and coverage of species differed substantially between the two communities despite high species overlap

  8. Use of hygiene protocols to control the spread of viruses in a hotel.

    PubMed

    Sifuentes, Laura Y; Koenig, David W; Phillips, Ronnie L; Reynolds, Kelly A; Gerba, Charles P

    2014-09-01

    The goals of this study were to observe the spread of viruses in a hotel setting and to assess the effectiveness of a hygiene intervention in reducing their spread. Selected fomites in one hotel room were inoculated with bacteriophage ϕx-174, and fomites in a conference center within the same hotel were inoculated using bacteriophage MS2. Cleaning of the contaminated room resulted in the spread of viruses to other rooms by the housekeeping staff. Furthermore, viruses were transferred by hotel guests to the conference center and a communal kitchen area. Additionally, conference attendees transferred viruses from the conference center to their hotel rooms and a communal kitchen area. This study demonstrated how viruses can be spread throughout a hotel setting by both housekeepers and guests. A hygiene intervention, which included providing hand hygiene products and facial tissues to the guests and disinfecting solutions with disposable wipes to the housekeeping staff, was successful in reducing the spread of viruses between the hotel guest rooms and conference center. The hygiene intervention resulted in significantly reduced transfer of the ϕx-174 between the contaminated hotel room and other hotel rooms, communal areas, and the conference center (p = 0.02).

  9. Impact of Network Activity on the Spread of Infectious Diseases through the German Pig Trade Network.

    PubMed

    Lebl, Karin; Lentz, Hartmut H K; Pinior, Beate; Selhorst, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    The trade of livestock is an important and growing economic sector, but it is also a major factor in the spread of diseases. The spreading of diseases in a trade network is likely to be influenced by how often existing trade connections are active. The activity α is defined as the mean frequency of occurrences of existing trade links, thus 0 < α ≤ 1. The observed German pig trade network had an activity of α = 0.11, thus each existing trade connection between two farms was, on average, active at about 10% of the time during the observation period 2008-2009. The aim of this study is to analyze how changes in the activity level of the German pig trade network influence the probability of disease outbreaks, size, and duration of epidemics for different disease transmission probabilities. Thus, we want to investigate the question, whether it makes a difference for a hypothetical spread of an animal disease to transport many animals at the same time or few animals at many times. A SIR model was used to simulate the spread of a disease within the German pig trade network. Our results show that for transmission probabilities <1, the outbreak probability increases in the case of a decreased frequency of animal transports, peaking range of α from 0.05 to 0.1. However, for the final outbreak size, we find that a threshold exists such that finite outbreaks occur only above a critical value of α, which is ~0.1, and therefore in proximity of the observed activity level. Thus, although the outbreak probability increased when decreasing α, these outbreaks affect only a small number of farms. The duration of the epidemic peaks at an activity level in the range of α = 0.2-0.3. Additionally, the results of our simulations show that even small changes in the activity level of the German pig trade network would have dramatic effects on outbreak probability, outbreak size, and epidemic duration. Thus, we can conclude and recommend that the network activity is

  10. Attending an activity center: positive experiences of a group of home-dwelling persons with early-stage dementia.

    PubMed

    Söderhamn, Ulrika; Aasgaard, Live; Landmark, Bjørg

    2014-01-01

    In Norway, there is a focus on home-dwelling people with dementia receiving the opportunity to participate in organized meaningful activities. The aim of this study was to elucidate the experiences of home-dwelling persons with early-stage dementia who attend an activity center and participate in adapted physical and social activities delivered by nurses and volunteers. The study adopted a qualitative approach, with individual interviews conducted among eight people diagnosed with early-stage dementia. The interview texts were analyzed using manifest and latent content analysis. Four categories, ie, "appreciated activities", "praised nurses and volunteers", "being more active", and "being included in a fellowship", as well as the overall theme "participation in appreciated activities and a sense of feeling included in a fellowship may have a positive influence on health and well-being" emerged in the analysis. The informants appreciated the adapted physical and social activities and expressed their enjoyment and gratitude. They found the physical activities useful, and they felt themselves to be included in a fellowship through cheerful nurses and volunteers. The nurses were able to create a good atmosphere and spread joy in the center together with the volunteers. The informants felt themselves valued as the persons they were. These findings indicated that such activities may have had a positive influence on the informants' health and well-being. In order to succeed with this kind of activity center, it is decisive that the nurses are able to tailor meaningful activities and create an environment where the persons with dementia can feel that they are respected and valued. The municipality health care service should implement such activity centers with specialist nurses in dementia care together with volunteers.

  11. SAN-RL: combining spreading activation networks and reinforcement learning to learn configurable behaviors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, J.; Gaines, D. M.; Wilkes, M.; Kusumalnukool, K.; Thongchai, S.; Kawamura, K.

    2001-01-01

    This approach provides the agent with a causal structure, the spreading activation network, relating goals to the actions that can achieve those goals. This enables the agent to select actions relative to the goal priorities.

  12. Hybrid Spreading Mechanisms and T Cell Activation Shape the Dynamics of HIV-1 Infection

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Changwang; Zhou, Shi; Groppelli, Elisabetta; Pellegrino, Pierre; Williams, Ian; Borrow, Persephone; Chain, Benjamin M.; Jolly, Clare

    2015-01-01

    HIV-1 can disseminate between susceptible cells by two mechanisms: cell-free infection following fluid-phase diffusion of virions and by highly-efficient direct cell-to-cell transmission at immune cell contacts. The contribution of this hybrid spreading mechanism, which is also a characteristic of some important computer worm outbreaks, to HIV-1 progression in vivo remains unknown. Here we present a new mathematical model that explicitly incorporates the ability of HIV-1 to use hybrid spreading mechanisms and evaluate the consequences for HIV-1 pathogenenesis. The model captures the major phases of the HIV-1 infection course of a cohort of treatment naive patients and also accurately predicts the results of the Short Pulse Anti-Retroviral Therapy at Seroconversion (SPARTAC) trial. Using this model we find that hybrid spreading is critical to seed and establish infection, and that cell-to-cell spread and increased CD4+ T cell activation are important for HIV-1 progression. Notably, the model predicts that cell-to-cell spread becomes increasingly effective as infection progresses and thus may present a considerable treatment barrier. Deriving predictions of various treatments’ influence on HIV-1 progression highlights the importance of earlier intervention and suggests that treatments effectively targeting cell-to-cell HIV-1 spread can delay progression to AIDS. This study suggests that hybrid spreading is a fundamental feature of HIV infection, and provides the mathematical framework incorporating this feature with which to evaluate future therapeutic strategies. PMID:25837979

  13. SAPIENS: Spreading Activation Processor for Information Encoded in Network Structures. Technical Report No. 296.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ortony, Andrew; Radin, Dean I.

    The product of researchers' efforts to develop a computer processor which distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information in the database, Spreading Activation Processor for Information Encoded in Network Structures (SAPIENS) exhibits (1) context sensitivity, (2) efficiency, (3) decreasing activation over time, (4) summation of…

  14. Exploring the Role of Intrinsic Nodal Activation on the Spread of Influence in Complex Networks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Visweswara Sathanur, Arun; Halappanavar, Mahantesh; Shi, Yi

    In many complex networked systems such as online social networks, at any given time, activity originates at certain nodes and subsequently spreads on the network through influence. To model the spread of influence in such a scenario, we consider the problem of identification of influential entities in a complex network when nodal activation can happen through two different mechanisms. The first mode of activation is due mechanisms intrinsic to the node. The second mechanism is through the influence of connected neighbors. In this work, we present a simple probabilistic formulation that models such self-evolving systems where information diffusion occurs primarilymore » because of the intrinsic activity of users and the spread of activity occurs due to influence. We provide an algorithm to mine for the influential seeds in such a scenario by modifying the well-known influence maximization framework with the independent cascade diffusion model. We provide small motivating examples to provide an intuitive understanding of the effect of including the intrinsic activation mechanism. We sketch a proof of the submodularity of the influence function under the new formulation and demonstrate the same with larger graphs. We then show by means of additional experiments on a real-world twitter dataset how the formulation can be applied to real-world social media datasets. Finally we derive a computationally efficient centrality metric that takes into account, both the mechanisms of activation and provides for an accurate as well as computationally efficient alternative approach to the problem of identifying influencers under intrinsic activation.« less

  15. Morphology of oceanic ridges in spreading colloidal suspensions: Influence of spreading rate and lithospheric thickness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sibrant, A.; Davaille, A.; Mittelstaedt, E. L.

    2016-12-01

    Oceanic ridges exhibit significant changes in their structural, morphological, and volcanic characteristics with changes in spreading velocity. However, separating the role of correlated affects such as spreading rate and lithospheric thickness on the segmentation of the ridge axis is difficult with only field data. The goal of this study is (a) to conduct properly scaled laboratory simulations of oceanic ridges, and (b) to investigate how the morphology and geometry of spreading-normal oceanic ridges vary separately with extension rate and lithospheric thickness. We present a series of analogue experiments using colloidal silica dispersions as an Earth analogue. Saline water solutions placed in contact with these fluids, cause formation of a skin through salt diffusion, whose rheology evolves from purely viscous to elastic and brittle with increasing salinity. Applying a fixed spreading rate to this pre-formed, brittle plate resulting in cracks, faults and axial ridge structures. Lithospheric (skin) thickness at a given extension rate is varied by changing salinity of the surface water layer. With increasing spreading rate, we observe several regimes: (1) at the slowest spreading rates, the spreading axis is composed of several segments separated by non-transform offsets and has a fault-bounded, deep, U-shaped axial valley. The axis has a large sinuosity, rough topography, and jumps repeatedly. (2) At intermediate spreading rates, the spreading axis shows low sinuosity, overlapping spreading centers (OSC) , a smooth axial morphology, and very few to no jumps. The axial valley is shallow and shows a V-shape morphology. The OSCs have a ratio of length to width of 3 to 1. (3) At faster spreading rates, the axis is continuous and presents an axial high topography. (4) At the fastest spreading rates tested, the spreading axis is again segmented. Each segment is offset by well developed transform faults and the axis has a sinuosity comparable to those of regimes 2 and 3

  16. Direct evidence from anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility for lateral melt migration at superfast spreading centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varga, Robert J.; Horst, Andrew J.; Gee, Jeffrey S.; Karson, Jeffrey A.

    2008-08-01

    Rare, fault-bounded escarpments expose natural cross sections of ocean crust in several areas and provide an unparalleled opportunity to study the end products of tectonic and magmatic processes that operated at depth beneath oceanic spreading centers. We mapped the geologic structure of ocean crust produced at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) and now exposed along steep cliffs of the Pito Deep Rift near the northern edge of the Easter microplate. The upper oceanic crust in this area is typified by basaltic lavas underlain by a sheeted dike complex comprising northeast striking, moderately to steeply southeast dipping dikes. Paleomagnetic remanence of oriented blocks of dikes collected with both Alvin and Jason II indicate clockwise rotation of ˜61° related to rotation of the microplate indicating structural coupling between the microplate and crust of the Nazca Plate to the north. The consistent southeast dip of dikes formed as the result of tilting at the EPR shortly after their injection. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of dikes provides well-defined magmatic flow directions that are dominantly dike-parallel and shallowly plunging. Corrected to their original EPR orientation, magma flow is interpreted as near-horizontal and parallel to the ridge axis. These data provide the first direct evidence from sheeted dikes in ocean crust for along-axis magma transport. These results also suggest that lateral transport in dikes is important even at fast spreading ridges where a laterally continuous subaxial magma chamber is present.

  17. Magnetoencephalography with temporal spread imaging to visualize propagation of epileptic activity.

    PubMed

    Shibata, Sumiya; Matsuhashi, Masao; Kunieda, Takeharu; Yamao, Yukihiro; Inano, Rika; Kikuchi, Takayuki; Imamura, Hisaji; Takaya, Shigetoshi; Matsumoto, Riki; Ikeda, Akio; Takahashi, Ryosuke; Mima, Tatsuya; Fukuyama, Hidenao; Mikuni, Nobuhiro; Miyamoto, Susumu

    2017-05-01

    We describe temporal spread imaging (TSI) that can identify the spatiotemporal pattern of epileptic activity using Magnetoencephalography (MEG). A three-dimensional grid of voxels covering the brain is created. The array-gain minimum-variance spatial filter is applied to an interictal spike to estimate the magnitude of the source and the time (Ta) when the magnitude exceeds a predefined threshold at each voxel. This calculation is performed through all spikes. Each voxel has the mean Ta () and spike number (N sp ), which is the number of spikes whose source exceeds the threshold. Then, a random resampling method is used to determine the cutoff value of N sp for the statistically reproducible pattern of the activity. Finally, all the voxels where the source exceeds the threshold reproducibly shown on the MRI with a color scale representing . Four patients with intractable mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) were analyzed. In three patients, the common pattern of the overlap between the propagation and the hypometabolism shown by fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) was identified. TSI can visualize statistically reproducible patterns of the temporal and spatial spread of epileptic activity. TSI can assess the statistical significance of the spatiotemporal pattern based on its reproducibility. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Hydrothermal plumes over spreading-center axes: Global distributions and geological inferences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baker, Edward T.; German, Christopher R.; Elderfield, Henry

    Seafloor hydrothermal circulation is the principal agent of energy and mass exchange between the ocean and the earth's crust. Discharging fluids cool hot rock, construct mineral deposits, nurture biological communities, alter deep-sea mixing and circulation patterns, and profoundly influence ocean chemistry and biology. Although the active discharge orifices themselves cover only a minuscule percentage of the ridge-axis seafloor, the investigation and quantification of their effects is enhanced as a consequence of the mixing process that forms hydrothermal plumes. Hydrothermal fluids discharged from vents are rapidly diluted with ambient seawater by factors of 104-105 [Lupton et al., 1985]. During dilution, the mixture rises tens to hundreds of meters to a level of neutral buoyancy, eventually spreading laterally as a distinct hydrographic and chemical layer with a spatial scale of tens to thousands of kilometers [e.g., Lupton and Craig, 1981; Baker and Massoth, 1987; Speer and Rona, 1989].

  19. Relatedness Proportion Effects in Semantic Categorization: Reconsidering the Automatic Spreading Activation Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Wit, Bianca; Kinoshita, Sachiko

    2014-01-01

    Semantic priming effects at a short prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony are commonly explained in terms of an automatic spreading activation process. According to this view, the proportion of related trials should have no impact on the size of the semantic priming effect. Using a semantic categorization task ("Is this a living…

  20. Differential Dynamics of Platelet Contact and Spreading

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Dooyoung; Fong, Karen P.; King, Michael R.; Brass, Lawrence F.; Hammer, Daniel A.

    2012-01-01

    Platelet spreading is critical for hemostatic plug formation and thrombosis. However, the detailed dynamics of platelet spreading as a function of receptor-ligand adhesive interactions has not been thoroughly investigated. Using reflection interference contrast microscopy, we found that both adhesive interactions and PAR4 activation affect the dynamics of platelet membrane contact formation during spreading. The initial growth of close contact area during spreading was controlled by the combination of different immobilized ligands or PAR4 activation on fibrinogen, whereas the growth of the total area of spreading was independent of adhesion type and PAR4 signaling. We found that filopodia extend to their maximal length and then contract over time; and that filopodial protrusion and expansion were affected by PAR4 signaling. Upon PAR4 activation, the integrin αIIbβ3 mediated close contact to fibrinogen substrata and led to the formation of ringlike patterns in the platelet contact zone. A systematic study of platelet spreading of GPVI-, α2-, or β3-deficient platelets on collagen or fibrinogen suggests the integrin α2 is indispensable for spreading on collagen. The platelet collagen receptors GPVI and α2 regulate integrin αIIbβ3-mediated platelet spreading on fibrinogen. This work elucidates quantitatively how receptor-ligand adhesion and biochemical signals synergistically control platelet spreading. PMID:22325269

  1. Population migration and the spread of types 1 and 2 human immunodeficiency viruses.

    PubMed Central

    Quinn, T C

    1994-01-01

    Over 14 million people are estimated to be infected with the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), with nearly three-fourths of the infected persons residing in developing countries. One factor responsible for dissemination of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 worldwide was the intense migration of individuals, from rural to urban centers with subsequent return migration and internationally due to civil wars, tourism, business purposes, and the drug trade. In sub-Saharan Africa, between 1960 and 1980, urban centers with more than 500,000 inhabitants increased from 3 to 28, and more than 75 military coups occurred in 30 countries. The result was a massive migration of rural inhabitants to urban centers concomitant with the spread of HIV-1 to large population centers. With the associated demographic, economic, and social changes, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV-1 was ignited. Migratory patterns were also responsible for the spread of endemic HIV-2 to neighboring West African countries and eventually to Europe, the Americans, and India. Although Southeast Asia was the last region in which HIV-1 was introduced, it has the greatest potential for rapid spread due to population density and inherent risk behaviors. Thus, the migration of poor, rural, and young sexually active individuals to urban centers coupled with large international movements of HIV-infected individuals played a prominent role in the dissemination of HIV globally. The economic recession has aggravated the transmission of HIV by directly increasing the population at risk through increased urban migration, disruption of rural families and cultural values, poverty, and prostitution and indirectly through a decrease in health care provision. Consequently, social and economic reform as well as sexual behavior education need to be intensified if HIV transmission is to be controlled. Images PMID:8146131

  2. Multi-station investigation of spread F over Europe during low to high solar activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paul, Krishnendu Sekhar; Haralambous, Haris; Oikonomou, Christina; Paul, Ashik; Belehaki, Anna; Ioanna, Tsagouri; Kouba, Daniel; Buresova, Dalia

    2018-04-01

    Spread F is an ionospheric phenomenon which has been reported and analyzed extensively over equatorial regions on the basis of the Rayleigh-Taylor (R-T) instability. It has also been investigated over midlatitude regions, mostly over the Southern Hemisphere with its generation attributed to the Perkins instability mechanism. Over midlatitudes it has also been correlated with geomagnetic storms through the excitation of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) and subsequent F region uplifts. The present study deals with the occurrence rate of nighttime spread F events and their diurnal, seasonal and solar cycle variation observed over three stations in the European longitude sector namely Nicosia (geographic Lat: 35.29 °N, Long: 33.38 °E geographic: geomagnetic Lat: 29.38 °N), Athens (geographic Lat: 37.98 °N, Long: 23.73 °E geographic: geomagnetic Lat: 34.61 °N) and Pruhonice (geographic Lat: 50.05 °N, Long: 14.41 °E geographic: geomagnetic Lat: 47.7 °N) during 2009, 2015 and 2016 encompassing periods of low, medium and high solar activity, respectively. The latitudinal and longitudinal variation of spread F occurrence was examined by considering different instability triggering mechanisms and precursors which past literature identified as critical to the generation of spread F events. The main findings of this investigation is an inverse solar cycle and annual temporal dependence of the spread F occurrence rate and a different dominant spread F type between low and high European midlatitudes.

  3. Water and Melting in Back-arc Basins: New perspectives from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Langmuir, C. H.; Bezos, A.; Escrig, S.; Michael, P. J.

    2007-12-01

    Since the work of Stolper and Newman (EPSL, 1994) it has been well recognized that water and extent of melting correlate positively in back-arc basin basalts. Quantification of this effect has been used to determine the effect of water content in the source on extent of melting. The slope of the relationship δF/δH2Oo is linear, and varies from one back-arc basin to another. MELTS and other modeling (Hirschmann et al., J. Petrol., 1999; Gaetani and Grove, Contrib. Mineral. Pet. 1998; Geophys. Mon., 2003; Kelley et al., JGR, 2006) has led to the suggestion that the slope varies regularly with mantle temperature, and that water has a much larger effect on melting at higher compared to lower temperatures. This modeling has been done in the context of isothermal, isobaric addition of water. For back-arcs worldwide, a critical aspect of the data is that more hydrous basalts have very low Fe contents, even when corrected appropriately for hydrous fractionation. This leads to clear negative correlations between Fe and H2O corrected back to mantle values at Fo90. The 3 wt.% variations in Fe content are not compatible with isobaric models, and require very different melting conditions for hydrous basalts as compared to anhydrous back-arc basalts. Back-arc basin basalts also plot on the global correlations of axial depth and Na8.0, and this relationship has been used to estimate mantle temperatures in back-arc basins, which on this basis extend to very high values. New data on major elements, trace elements and water from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC), along with a re-evaluation of global back-arc data and modeling of mantle melting in the context of a polybaric spreading center environment (Langmuir et al., Geophys. Mon., 2006) provide new perspectives on these issues. The ELSC1 segment has a lower δF/δH2Oo than both the Mariana and Manus Basins, which would suggest the lowest temperature. However, its extent of melting inferred from its "F" intercept (on a

  4. Anatomy of ridge discontinuities, transform fault and overlapping spreading centre, at the slow spreading sedimented Andaman Sea Spreading Centre

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jourdain, A.; Singh, S. C.; Klinger, Y.

    2013-12-01

    Transform faults are the major discontinuities and define the main segment boundaries along spreading centres but their anatomy is poorly understood because of their complex seafloor morphology, even though they are observed at all types of spreading centres. Here, we present high-resolution seismic reflection images across the sedimented Andaman Sea Transform Fault where the sediments record the faulting and allow studying the evolution of the transform fault both in space and time. Furthermore, sediments allow the imaging of the faults down to the Moho depth that provides insight on the interplay between tectonic and magmatic processes. On the other hand, overlapping spreading centres (OSC) are small-scale discontinuities, possibly transient, and are observed only along fast or intermediate spreading centres. Exceptionally, an overlapping spreading centre is present at the slow spreading Andaman Sea Spreading Centre, which, we suggest, is due to the presence of thick sediments that hamper the efficient hydrothermal circulation allowing magma to stay much longer in the crust at different depths, and up to close to the segment ends, leading to the development of an overlapping spreading. The seismic reflection images across the OSC indicate the presence of large magma bodies in the crust. Seismic images also provide images of active faults allowing to study the link between faulting and magmatism. Interestingly, an earthquake swarm occurred at propagating limb of the OSC in 2006, after the great 2004 Andaman-Sumatra earthquake of Mw=9.3, highlighting the migration of the OSC westward. In this paper, we will show seismic reflection images and interpret these images in the light of bathymetry and earthquake data, and provide the anatomy of the ridge discontinuities along the slow spreading sedimented Andaman Sea Spreading Centre.

  5. Optimal design of active spreading systems to remediate sorbing groundwater contaminants in situ

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piscopo, Amy N.; Neupauer, Roseanna M.; Kasprzyk, Joseph R.

    2016-07-01

    The effectiveness of in situ remediation to treat contaminated aquifers is limited by the degree of contact between the injected treatment chemical and the groundwater contaminant. In this study, candidate designs that actively spread the treatment chemical into the contaminant are generated using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. Design parameters pertaining to the amount of treatment chemical and the duration and rate of its injection are optimized according to objectives established for the remediation - maximizing contaminant degradation while minimizing energy and material requirements. Because groundwater contaminants have different reaction and sorption properties that influence their ability to be degraded with in situ remediation, optimization was conducted for six different combinations of reaction rate coefficients and sorption rates constants to represent remediation of the common groundwater contaminants, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and toluene, using the treatment chemical, permanganate. Results indicate that active spreading for contaminants with low reaction rate coefficients should be conducted by using greater amounts of treatment chemical mass and longer injection durations relative to contaminants with high reaction rate coefficients. For contaminants with slow sorption or contaminants in heterogeneous aquifers, two different design strategies are acceptable - one that injects high concentrations of treatment chemical mass over a short duration or one that injects lower concentrations of treatment chemical mass over a long duration. Thus, decision-makers can select a strategy according to their preference for material or energy use. Finally, for scenarios with high ambient groundwater velocities, the injection rate used for active spreading should be high enough for the groundwater divide to encompass the entire contaminant plume.

  6. Retrograde spread of 5-aminosalicylic acid enemas in patients with active ulcerative colitis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Campieri, M.; Lanfranchi, G.A.; Brignola, C.

    1986-02-01

    In an attempt to know the exact retrograde spread of high-dosage 5-aminosalicylic acid enemas, we have studied eight patients with active left-sided colitis, by adding a small amount of barium sulfate to the enemas and by checking the spread radiologically after 15 minutes, 1 hour, and 6 hours. Four grams of 5-aminosalicylic acid in 100-ml enemas and 4 gm in 200-ml enemas were used. The same experiment was repeated in a subsequent attack, with enemas labeled with technetium-99m and checked by scintiscans in five of these patients. We always have observed a volume-dependent spread of enemas but, interestingly, in themore » patients studied with technetium-99m there was always a wider spread than that which was detected with barium enemas. In all five patients, 100-ml enemas reached the splenic flexure. In two patients with total colitis, a progression of 100-ml technetium-99m enemas was performed in the transverse colon, but the maximum opacity remained in the left side. We can conclude that 4 gm of 5-aminosalicylic acid in 100-ml enemas can be suitable for treating patients with left-sided colitis, and will represent a valid addition for patients with more extensive colitis.« less

  7. Animal-Centered Learning Activities in Pharmacy Education

    PubMed Central

    Lust, Elaine

    2006-01-01

    Objectives To assess the contribution of animal-centered activities to students achieving learning outcomes in a veterinary therapeutics course. Design Qualitative methods were used to assess the outcome of using “hands-on” animal interactions as tools of engagement in the course. Reflective commentary on animal-centered activities was collected and analyzed. Assessment Animal-centered learning activities are effective tools for engaging students and facilitating their understanding and application of veterinary therapeutic knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Analysis of qualitative data revealed themes of professional caring and caring behaviors as a direct result of animal-centered activities. Elements of empathy, caring, compassion, and self-awareness were strong undercurrents in student's comments. Conclusions Animal-centered learning activities provide an innovative learning environment for the application of veterinary pharmacy knowledge, skills, and attitudes directly to animal patients. The use of animals in the course is a successful active-learning technique to engage pharmacy students and assist them in developing caring attitudes and behaviors beneficial to future health care providers. PMID:17149415

  8. Spreading Topsoil Encourages Ecological Restoration on Embankments: Soil Fertility, Microbial Activity and Vegetation Cover

    PubMed Central

    Rivera, Desirée; Mejías, Violeta; Jáuregui, Berta M.; López-Archilla, Ana Isabel; Peco, Begoña

    2014-01-01

    The construction of linear transport infrastructure has severe effects on ecosystem functions and properties, and the restoration of the associated roadslopes contributes to reduce its impact. This restoration is usually approached from the perspective of plant cover regeneration, ignoring plant-soil interactions and the consequences for plant growth. The addition of a 30 cm layer of topsoil is a common practice in roadslope restoration projects to increase vegetation recovery. However topsoil is a scarce resource. This study assesses the effects of topsoil spreading and its depth (10 to 30 cm) on two surrogates of microbial activity (β-glucosidase and phosphatase enzymes activity and soil respiration), and on plant cover, plant species richness and floristic composition of embankment vegetation. The study also evaluates the differences in selected physic-chemical properties related to soil fertility between topsoil and the original embankment substrate. Topsoil was found to have higher values of organic matter (11%), nitrogen (44%), assimilable phosphorous (50%) and silt content (54%) than the original embankment substrate. The topsoil spreading treatment increased microbial activity, and its application increased β-glucosidase activity (45%), phosphatase activity (57%) and soil respiration (60%). Depth seemed to affect soil respiration, β-glucosidase and phosphatase activity. Topsoil application also enhanced the species richness of restored embankments in relation to controls. Nevertheless, the depth of the spread topsoil did not significantly affect the resulting plant cover, species richness or floristic composition, suggesting that both depths could have similar effects on short-term recovery of the vegetation cover. A significant implication of these results is that it permits the application of thinner topsoil layers, with major savings in this scarce resource during the subsequent slope restoration work, but the quality of topsoil relative to the

  9. Spreading topsoil encourages ecological restoration on embankments: soil fertility, microbial activity and vegetation cover.

    PubMed

    Rivera, Desirée; Mejías, Violeta; Jáuregui, Berta M; Costa-Tenorio, Marga; López-Archilla, Ana Isabel; Peco, Begoña

    2014-01-01

    The construction of linear transport infrastructure has severe effects on ecosystem functions and properties, and the restoration of the associated roadslopes contributes to reduce its impact. This restoration is usually approached from the perspective of plant cover regeneration, ignoring plant-soil interactions and the consequences for plant growth. The addition of a 30 cm layer of topsoil is a common practice in roadslope restoration projects to increase vegetation recovery. However topsoil is a scarce resource. This study assesses the effects of topsoil spreading and its depth (10 to 30 cm) on two surrogates of microbial activity (β-glucosidase and phosphatase enzymes activity and soil respiration), and on plant cover, plant species richness and floristic composition of embankment vegetation. The study also evaluates the differences in selected physic-chemical properties related to soil fertility between topsoil and the original embankment substrate. Topsoil was found to have higher values of organic matter (11%), nitrogen (44%), assimilable phosphorous (50%) and silt content (54%) than the original embankment substrate. The topsoil spreading treatment increased microbial activity, and its application increased β-glucosidase activity (45%), phosphatase activity (57%) and soil respiration (60%). Depth seemed to affect soil respiration, β-glucosidase and phosphatase activity. Topsoil application also enhanced the species richness of restored embankments in relation to controls. Nevertheless, the depth of the spread topsoil did not significantly affect the resulting plant cover, species richness or floristic composition, suggesting that both depths could have similar effects on short-term recovery of the vegetation cover. A significant implication of these results is that it permits the application of thinner topsoil layers, with major savings in this scarce resource during the subsequent slope restoration work, but the quality of topsoil relative to the

  10. The LOX Invasion: Stopping the Spread of Breast Cancer | Center for Cancer Research

    Cancer.gov

    Metastasis is the primary cause of death in breast cancer patients. In 10% of breast cancer diagnoses, the cancer has already spread to distant organs in the body. Although breast cancer has the potential to spread to almost any region of the body, the most common is the bone, followed by the lung and liver. Understanding the mechanisms for breast cancer invasion and

  11. Lithosperic rheology controls on oceanic spreading patterns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gerya, T.

    2012-04-01

    Mid-ocean ridges sectioned by transform faults represent one of the most prominent surface expressions of terrestrial plate tectonics. A fundamental long standing problem of plate tectonics is how and why ridge-transform spreading patterns are formed and maintained. On the one hand, geometrical correspondence between mid-ocean ridges and respective rifted margins apparently suggests that many oceanic transform faults are inherited structures that persisted throughout the entire history of oceanic spreading. On the other hand, data from incipient oceanic spreading regions show that transform faults are not directly inherited from transverse rift structures and start to develop as or after oceanic spreading nucleate. Based on self-consistent 3D thermomechanical numerical model of oceanic spreading we demonstrate that only limited range of oceanic lithosphere rheologies can reproduce natural spreading patterns. In particular, spontaneous formation and long-term stability of orthogonal ridge-transform spreading pattern requires visco-brittle/plastic rheology of plates with strong dynamic weakening of spontaneously forming faults. Our, numerical models of incipient oceanic spreading demonstrate that one or several oceanic transform faults can form gradually within broad non-transform accommodation zones connecting initially offset spreading centers. Orientation of transform faults and spreading centers changes exponentially with time as the result of new oceanic crust growth. The resulting orthogonal ridge-transform system is established within few millions of years after the beginning of oceanic spreading. By its fundamental physical origin, this system is a crustal growth pattern governed by space accommodation and not a plate breakup pattern governed by stress distribution. It is demonstrated that the characteristic extension-parallel orientation of oceanic transform faults can be obtained from space accommodation criteria as a steady state orientation of a strike

  12. Spreading vs. Rifting as modes of extensional tectonics on the globally expanded Ganymede

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pizzi, Alberto; Domenica, Alessandra Di; Komatsu, Goro; Cofano, Alessandra; Mitri, Giuseppe; Bruzzone, Lorenzo

    2017-05-01

    The formation of Ganymede's sulci is likely related to extensional tectonics that affected this largest icy satellite of Jupiter. Through geometric and structural analyses we reconstructed the pre-deformed terrains and we recognized two different modes of extension associated with sulci. In the first mode, smooth sulci constitute spreading centers between two dark terrain plates, similar to the fast oceanic spreading centers on Earth. Here extension is primarily accommodated by crustal accretion of newly formed icy crust. In the second mode, dark terrain extension is mainly accommodated by swaths of normal fault systems analogous to Earth's continental crustal rifts. A comparison with terrestrial extensional analogues, based on the fault displacement/length (Dmax/L) ratio, spacing and morphology, showed that magmato-tectonic spreading centers and continental crustal rifts on Earth follow the same relative patterns observed on Ganymede. Our results suggest that the amount of extensional strain may have previously been underestimated since the occurrence of spreading centers may have played a major role in the tectonic evolution of the globally expanded Ganymede. We also discuss a possible model for the origin of the different modes of extension in the context of the global expansion of the satellite.

  13. Slab edge interaction with a back-arc spreading center: 3D instantaneous mantle flow models of Vanuatu, SW Pacific

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McLean, K. A.; Jadamec, M.; Durance-Sie, P. M.; Moresi, L. N.

    2011-12-01

    The Vanuatu area of the south-west Pacific is a dynamic region of high heat-flow and strain-rate, dominated by ongoing plate boundary processes. At the southern termination of the Vanuatu arc the curved geometry of the New Hebrides trench juxtaposes the slab edge perpendicular to its back-arc spreading center. While existing 3D subduction models have demonstrated the importance of mantle flow around a slab edge, the nature of interaction between back-arc upwelling and circum-slab edge mantle flow is not well understood. We use 3D instantaneous numerical models of a Newtonian mantle rheology to test the effect of the slab edge and back-arc upwelling on the mantle flow vector field beneath southern Vanuatu. These high-resolution models simulate temperature-dependent buoyancy-driven deformation of the lithosphere and mantle for a realistic slab geometry. Model results show a small but significant component of vertical mantle flow velocity associated with the slab edge and back-arc spreading center. We also see strain-rate and dynamic topography commensurate with surface observations. Mantle flow by toroidal-type motion brings hotter mantle material from behind the slab into the mantle wedge, elevating geothermal gradients in the slab edge vicinity. The implications of moderate vertical displacement of this hot mantle material at the slab edge are wide-ranging, and such a tectonic framework might aid interpretation of a number of surface observations. For example, induced decompression partial-melting in the mantle wedge and/or slab, and thermal erosion of the slab may contribute to the diverse magma compositions from this region.

  14. Subalkaline andesite from Valu Fa Ridge, a back-arc spreading center in southern Lau Basin: petrogenesis, comparative chemistry, and tectonic implications

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Vallier, T.L.; Jenner, G.A.; Frey, F.A.; Gill, J.B.; Davis, A.S.; Volpe, A.M.; Hawkins, J.W.; Morris, J.D.; Cawood, Peter A.; Morton, J.L.; Scholl, D. W.; Rautenschlein, M.; White, W.M.; Williams, Ross W.; Stevenson, A.J.; White, L.D.

    1991-01-01

    Tholeiitic andesite was dredged from two sites on Valu Fa Ridge (VFR), a back-arc spreading center in Lau Basin. Valu Fa Ridge, at least 200 km long, is located 40-50 km west of the active Tofua Volcanic Arc (TVA) axis and lies about 150 km above the subducted oceanic plate. One or more magma chambers, traced discontinuously for about 100 km along the ridge axis, lie 3-4 km beneath the ridge. The mostly aphyric and glassy lavas had high volatile contents, as shown by the abundance and large sizes of vesicles. An extensive fractionation history is inferred from the high SiO2 contents and FeO* MgO ratios. Chemical data show that the VFR lavas have both volcanic arc and back-arc basin affinities. The volcanic arc characteristics are: (1) relatively high abundances of most alkali and alkaline earth elements; (2) low abundances of high field strength elements Nb and Ta; (3) high U/Th ratios; (4) similar radiogenic isotope ratios in VFR and TVA lavas, in particular the enrichment of 87Sr 86Sr relative to 206Pb 204Pb; (5) high 238U 230Th, 230Th 232Th, and 226Ra 230Th activity ratios; and (6) high ratios of Rb/Cs, Ba/Nb, and Ba/La. Other chemical characteristics suggest that the VFR lavas are related to MORB-type back-arc basin lavas. For example, VFR lavas have (1) lower 87Sr 86Sr ratios and higher 143Nd 144Nd ratios than most lavas from the TVA, except samples from Ata Island, and are similar to many Lau Basin lavas; (2) lower Sr/REE, Rb/Zr, and Ba/Zr ratios than in arc lavas; and (3) higher Ti, Fe, and V, and higher Ti/V ratios than arc lavas generally and TVA lavas specifically. Most characteristics of VFR lavas can be explained by mixing depleted mantle with either small amounts of sediment and fluids from the subducting slab and/or an older fragment of volcanic arc lithosphere. The eruption of subalkaline andesite with some arc affinities along a back-arc spreading ridge is not unique. Collision of the Louisville and Tonga ridges probably activated back-arc extension

  15. Spreading Activation in an Attractor Network with Latching Dynamics: Automatic Semantic Priming Revisited

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lerner, Itamar; Bentin, Shlomo; Shriki, Oren

    2012-01-01

    Localist models of spreading activation (SA) and models assuming distributed representations offer very different takes on semantic priming, a widely investigated paradigm in word recognition and semantic memory research. In this study, we implemented SA in an attractor neural network model with distributed representations and created a unified…

  16. Optimal design of active spreading systems to remediate sorbing groundwater contaminants in situ.

    PubMed

    Piscopo, Amy N; Neupauer, Roseanna M; Kasprzyk, Joseph R

    2016-07-01

    The effectiveness of in situ remediation to treat contaminated aquifers is limited by the degree of contact between the injected treatment chemical and the groundwater contaminant. In this study, candidate designs that actively spread the treatment chemical into the contaminant are generated using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. Design parameters pertaining to the amount of treatment chemical and the duration and rate of its injection are optimized according to objectives established for the remediation - maximizing contaminant degradation while minimizing energy and material requirements. Because groundwater contaminants have different reaction and sorption properties that influence their ability to be degraded with in situ remediation, optimization was conducted for six different combinations of reaction rate coefficients and sorption rates constants to represent remediation of the common groundwater contaminants, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and toluene, using the treatment chemical, permanganate. Results indicate that active spreading for contaminants with low reaction rate coefficients should be conducted by using greater amounts of treatment chemical mass and longer injection durations relative to contaminants with high reaction rate coefficients. For contaminants with slow sorption or contaminants in heterogeneous aquifers, two different design strategies are acceptable - one that injects high concentrations of treatment chemical mass over a short duration or one that injects lower concentrations of treatment chemical mass over a long duration. Thus, decision-makers can select a strategy according to their preference for material or energy use. Finally, for scenarios with high ambient groundwater velocities, the injection rate used for active spreading should be high enough for the groundwater divide to encompass the entire contaminant plume. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. The effect of magmatic activity on hydrothermal venting along the superfast-spreading East pacific rise.

    PubMed

    Urabe, T; Baker, E T; Ishibashi, J; Feely, R A; Marumo, K; Massoth, G J; Maruyama, A; Shitashima, K; Okamura, K; Lupton, J E; Sonoda, A; Yamazaki, T; Aoki, M; Gendron, J; Greene, R; Kaiho, Y; Kisimoto, K; Lebon, G; Matsumoto, T; Nakamura, K; Nishizawa, A; Okano, O; Paradis, G; Roe, K; Shibata, T; Tennant, D; Vance, T; Walker, S L; Yabuki, T; Ytow, N

    1995-08-25

    A survey of hydrothermal activity along the superfast-spreading (approximately 150 millimeters per year) East Pacific Rise shows that hydrothermal plumes overlay approximately 60 percent of the ridge crest between 13 degrees 50' and 18 degrees 40'S, a plume abundance nearly twice that known from any other rige portion of comparable length. Plumes were most abundant where the axial cross section is inflated and an axial magma chamber is present. Plumes with high ratios of volatile ((3)He, CH(4), and H(2)S) to nonvolatile (Mn and Fe) species marked where hydrothermal circulation has been perturbed by recent magmatic activity. The high proportion of volatile-rich plumes observed implies that such episodes are more frequent here than on slower spreading ridges.

  18. The distribution of near-axis seamounts at intermediate spreading ridges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Howell, J. K.; Bohnenstiehl, D. R.; White, S. M.; Supak, S. K.

    2008-12-01

    The ridge axes along the intermediate-spreading rate Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC, 46-56 mm/yr) and South East Indian Ridge (SEIR, 72-76 mm/yr) vary from rifted axial valleys to inflated axial highs independent of spreading rate. The delivery and storage of melt is believed to control axial morphology, with axial highs typically observed in areas underlain by a shallow melt lens and axial valleys in areas without a significant melt lens [e.g., Baran et al., 2005 G-cubed; Detrick et al. 2002 G-cubed]. To investigate a possible correlation between the style of seafloor volcanism and axial morphology, a closed contour algorithm is used to identify near axis (2.5km off axis) semi-circular seamounts of heights greater than 20m from shipboard multibeam bathymetry. In areas characterized by an axial high, more seamounts are formed at the ends of the segments than in the center. This is consistent with observations at fast-spreading ridges and suggests a tendency of lavas to erupt at lower effusion rates near second-order segment boundaries. Segments with a rift valley along the GSC show the opposite trend, with more seamounts at the center of second-order segments. Both patterns however are observed along SEIR segments with rift valleys where magma supply may be reflected in size and not their abundance.

  19. Epidemic spreading through direct and indirect interactions.

    PubMed

    Ganguly, Niloy; Krueger, Tyll; Mukherjee, Animesh; Saha, Sudipta

    2014-09-01

    In this paper we study the susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic dynamics, considering a specialized setting where popular places (termed passive entities) are visited by agents (termed active entities). We consider two types of spreading dynamics: direct spreading, where the active entities infect each other while visiting the passive entities, and indirect spreading, where the passive entities act as carriers and the infection is spread via them. We investigate in particular the effect of selection strategy, i.e., the way passive entities are chosen, in the spread of epidemics. We introduce a mathematical framework to study the effect of an arbitrary selection strategy and derive formulas for prevalence, extinction probabilities, and epidemic thresholds for both indirect and direct spreading. We also obtain a very simple relationship between the extinction probability and the prevalence. We pay special attention to preferential selection and derive exact formulas. The analysis reveals that an increase in the diversity in the selection process lowers the epidemic thresholds. Comparing the direct and indirect spreading, we identify regions in the parameter space where the prevalence of the indirect spreading is higher than the direct one.

  20. Epidemic spreading through direct and indirect interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ganguly, Niloy; Krueger, Tyll; Mukherjee, Animesh; Saha, Sudipta

    2014-09-01

    In this paper we study the susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic dynamics, considering a specialized setting where popular places (termed passive entities) are visited by agents (termed active entities). We consider two types of spreading dynamics: direct spreading, where the active entities infect each other while visiting the passive entities, and indirect spreading, where the passive entities act as carriers and the infection is spread via them. We investigate in particular the effect of selection strategy, i.e., the way passive entities are chosen, in the spread of epidemics. We introduce a mathematical framework to study the effect of an arbitrary selection strategy and derive formulas for prevalence, extinction probabilities, and epidemic thresholds for both indirect and direct spreading. We also obtain a very simple relationship between the extinction probability and the prevalence. We pay special attention to preferential selection and derive exact formulas. The analysis reveals that an increase in the diversity in the selection process lowers the epidemic thresholds. Comparing the direct and indirect spreading, we identify regions in the parameter space where the prevalence of the indirect spreading is higher than the direct one.

  1. Hydrothermal vent community zonation along environmental gradients at the Lau back-arc spreading center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Stacy; Hammerstrom, Kamille

    2012-04-01

    The Lau back-arc spreading center exhibits gradients in hydrothermal vent habitat characteristics from north to south. Biological zonation within a few meters of vents has been described as temperature driven. We constructed georeferenced photomosaics of the seafloor out to tens of meters beyond vents to describe peripheral zonation and explore correlations between environmental conditions and the biological community. Cluster analysis separated northern sites from southern sites, corresponding to a break in substrate from basalt in the north to andesite in the south. Northern sites were dominated by anemones, and southern by sponges. A previous suggestion that dominants may be dependent on friability of the substrate was not supported; when visually distinguishable, individual species within taxa showed different patterns. Northern sites hosted proportionally more suspension feeding species. Sulfide that can support microbial food sources is at higher concentrations at these sites, though bathymetry that may enhance bottom currents is less rugged. Northern sites had higher diversity that may result from the overall northwards flow, which would generally permit easier dispersal downcurrent, though we observed no difference in dispersal strategies at different sites.

  2. Physical inter-relationships between hydrothermal activity, faulting and magmatic processes at the center of a slow-spreading, magma-rich mid-ocean ridge segment: A case study of the Lucky Strike segment (MAR, 37°03'-37‧N)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fontaine, F. J.; Cannat, M.; Escartin, J.; Crawford, W. C.; Singh, S. C.

    2012-12-01

    The modalities and efficiency of hydrothermal heat evacuation at mid-ocean ridges (25% of the global heat loss) are controlled by the lithosphere thermal and permeability structures for which we had robust constraints only for fast/intermediate spreading axis until the last past few years during which integrated geophysical, geological and geochemical studies focused on some hydrothermal sites at slow-spreading ridges. At the Lucky Strike vent field of the mid-atlantic ridge - a hydrothermal complex composed of high-temperature (maximum T=340°C), smoker-like vents and associated diffuse flow and extracting a few hundreds MW from the oceanic lithosphere - a seafloor observatory which installation started in 2005 highlights local interactions between hydrothermal, tectonic and magmatic processes. Detailed geophysical and geological investigations stress the role of the local axial fault system on localizing high- and low-temperature ventings around the faulted rim of a paleo lava lake. Microseismic studies bring constraints on the subseafloor hydrology and suggest an along-axis flow pattern, with a privileged recharge area located about a kilometer north off the active discharges. Seismic reflection studies image a central magma chamber fueling the hydrothermal sites and also reveal its along-axis depth variations likely influencing hydrothermal cell organization and flow focusing. Such linkages among hydrothermal dynamics, heat source and crustal permeability geometries usually lack quantitative constraints at mid-ocean ridges in general, and the Lucky Strike segment settings offers a unique opportunity to couple high-resolution geophysical data to hydrodynamic model. Here we develop a series of original two- and three-dimensional numerical and physical models of hydrothermal activity, tailored to this slow-spreading environment. Our results highlight physical linkages among magmatism, tectonics and crustal hydrology stressing the key role of faulting and magma

  3. Characterization of Magma-Driven Hydrothermal Systems at Oceanic Spreading Centers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farough, A.; Lowell, R. P.; Corrigan, R.

    2012-12-01

    Fluid circulation in high-temperature hydrothermal systems involves complex water-rock chemical reactions and phase separation. Numerical modeling of reactive transport in multi-component, multiphase systems is required to obtain a full understanding of the characteristics and evolution of hydrothermal vent systems. We use a single-pass parameterized model of high-temperature hydrothermal circulation at oceanic spreading centers constrained by observational parameters such as vent temperature, heat output, and vent field area, together with surface area and depth of the sub-axial magma chamber, to deduce fundamental hydrothermal parameters such as mass flow rate, bulk permeability, conductive boundary layer thickness at the base of the system, magma replenishment rate, and residence time in the discharge zone. All of these key subsurface characteristics are known for fewer than 10 sites out of 300 known hydrothermal systems. The principal limitations of this approach stem from the uncertainty in heat output and vent field area. For systems where data are available on partitioning of heat and chemical output between focused and diffuse flow, we determined the fraction of high-temperature vent fluid incorporated into diffuse flow using a two-limb single pass model. For EPR 9°50` N and ASHES, the diffuse flow temperatures calculated assuming conservative mixing are nearly equal to the observed temperatures indicating that approximately 80%-90% of the hydrothermal heat output occurs as high-temperature flow derived from magmatic heat even though most of the heat output appears as low-temperature diffuse discharge. For the Main Endeavour Field and Lucky Strike, diffuse flow fluids show significant conductive cooling and heating respectively. Finally, we calculate the transport of various geochemical constituents in focused and diffuse flow at the vent field scale and compare the results with estimates of geochemical transports from the Rainbow hydrothermal field where

  4. Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge.

    PubMed

    Edwards, M H; Kurras, G J; Tolstoy, M; Bohnenstiehl, D R; Coakley, B J; Cochran, J R

    2001-02-15

    Seafloor spreading is accommodated by volcanic and tectonic processes along the global mid-ocean ridge system. As spreading rate decreases the influence of volcanism also decreases, and it is unknown whether significant volcanism occurs at all at ultraslow spreading rates (<1.5 cm yr(-1)). Here we present three-dimensional sonar maps of the Gakkel ridge, Earth's slowest-spreading mid-ocean ridge, located in the Arctic basin under the Arctic Ocean ice canopy. We acquired this data using hull-mounted sonars attached to a nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Hawkbill. Sidescan data for the ultraslow-spreading (approximately 1.0 cm yr(-1)) eastern Gakkel ridge depict two young volcanoes covering approximately 720 km2 of an otherwise heavily sedimented axial valley. The western volcano coincides with the average location of epicentres for more than 250 teleseismic events detected in 1999, suggesting that an axial eruption was imaged shortly after its occurrence. These findings demonstrate that eruptions along the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel ridge are focused at discrete locations and appear to be more voluminous and occur more frequently than was previously thought.

  5. Equinoctial spread-F occurrence at low latitudes in different longitude sectors under moderate and high solar activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pietrella, M.; Pezzopane, M.; Fagundes, P. R.; de Jesus, R.; Supnithi, P.; Klinngam, S.; Ezquer, R. G.; Cabrera, M. A.

    2017-11-01

    A comparative study aimed to investigate the equatorial and low-latitude spread-F occurrences for moderate solar activity (MSA) and high solar activity (HSA), was carried out considering concurrent observations made in some ionospheric stations, which identify three separate longitudinal sectors: Chiang Mai (CGM; 18.8° N, 98.9° E, mag. Lat. 13.2° N) and Chumphon (CPN; 10.7° N, 99.4° E, mag. Lat. 3.2° N), Thailand; Palmas (PAL; 10.2° S, 311.8° E, mag. Lat. 0.9° S) and São José dos Campos (SJC; 23.2° S, 314.1° E, mag. Lat. 14.0° S), Brazil; Tucumán (TUC; 26.9° S, 294.6° E, mag. Lat. 16.8° S), Argentina. Spread-F phenomena recorded during the equinoctial months of September and October 2010, March and April 2011, for MSA, March and April 2014, September and October 2014, for HSA, were classified in two different modes: range spread-F (RSF) and frequency spread-F (FSF). The satellite trace (ST) occurrence was also investigated as possible precursor of spread-F events. When comparing the results of equatorial (CPN and PAL) and low-latitude (CGM, SJC, and TUC) stations, some common features independently of the solar activity emerge: (1) a prevalence of RSF signatures is observed in the time interval 20:00-03:00 LT, while FSF occurrences prevail in the time interval 03:00-06:00 LT; (2) STs are confirmed to be a possible precursor of RSF occurrences. For HSA, at equatorial latitudes, spread-F occurrences in the Thai sector (CPN) are higher than those observed in the Brazilian sector (PAL). When comparing the results of low-latitude stations of CGM, SJC, and TUC some unusual aspects characterizing the morphology of spread-F occurrences emerge: (1) contrary to the Thai and Argentine sectors, in the Brazilian sector (SJC), RSF and FSF appearances in September, for HSA, are observed with relatively long persistence times between about 03:00-06:00 LT and 01:00-03:00 LT respectively, while balanced RSF and FSF occurrences with short persistence times are

  6. Characteristics of Hydrothermal Mineralization in Ultraslow Spreading Ridges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, H.; Yang, Q.; Ji, F.; Dick, H. J.

    2014-12-01

    Hydrothermal activity is a major component of the processes that shape the composition and structure of the ocean crust, providing a major pathway for the exchange of heat and elements between the Earth's crust and oceans, and a locus for intense biological activity on the seafloor and underlying crust. In other hand, the structure and composition of hydrothermal systems are the result of complex interactions between heat sources, fluids, wall rocks, tectonic controls and even biological processes. Ultraslow spreading ridges, including the Southwest Indian Ridge, the Gakkel Ridge, are most remarkable end member in plate-boundary structures (Dick et al., 2003), featured with extensive tectonic amagmatic spreading and frequent exposure of peridotite and gabbro. With intensive surveys in last decades, it is suggested that ultraslow ridges are several times more effective than faster-spreading ridges in sustaining hydrothermal activities. This increased efficiency could attributed to deep mining of heat and even exothermic serpentinisation (Baker et al., 2004). Distinct from in faster spreading ridges, one characteristics of hydrothermal mineralization on seafloor in ultraslow spreading ridges, including the active Dragon Flag hydrothermal field at 49.6 degree of the Southwest Indian Ridge, is abundant and pervasive distribution of lower temperature precipitated minerals ( such as Fe-silica or silica, Mn (Fe) oxides, sepiolite, pyrite, marcasite etc. ) in hydrothermal fields. Structures formed by lower temperature activities in active and dead hydrothermal fields are also obviously. High temperature precipitated minerals such as chalcopyrite etc. are rare or very limited in hydrothermal chimneys. Distribution of diverse low temperature hydrothermal activities is consistence with the deep heating mechanisms and hydrothermal circulations in the complex background of ultraslow spreading tectonics. Meanwhile, deeper and larger mineralization at certain locations along the

  7. The potential and realized spread of wildfires across Canada.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xianli; Parisien, Marc-André; Flannigan, Mike D; Parks, Sean A; Anderson, Kerry R; Little, John M; Taylor, Steve W

    2014-08-01

    Given that they can burn for weeks or months, wildfires in temperate and boreal forests may become immense (eg., 10(0) - 10(4) km(2) ). However, during the period within which a large fire is 'active', not all days experience weather that is conducive to fire spread; indeed most of the spread occurs on a small proportion (e.g., 1 - 15 days) of not necessarily consecutive days during the active period. This study examines and compares the Canada-wide patterns in fire-conducive weather ('potential' spread) and the spread that occurs on the ground ('realized' spread). Results show substantial variability in distributions of potential and realized spread days across Canada. Both potential and realized spread are higher in western than in eastern Canada; however, whereas potential spread generally decreases from south to north, there is no such pattern with realized spread. The realized-to-potential fire-spread ratio is considerably higher in northern Canada than in the south, indicating that proportionally more fire-conducive days translate into fire progression. An exploration of environmental correlates to spread show that there may be a few factors compensating for the lower potential spread in northern Canada: a greater proportion of coniferous (i.e., more flammable) vegetation, lesser human impacts (i.e., less fragmented landscapes), sufficient fire ignitions, and intense droughts. Because a linear relationship exists between the frequency distributions of potential spread days and realized spread days in a fire zone, it is possible to obtain one from the other using a simple conversion factor. Our methodology thus provides a means to estimate realized fire spread from weather-based data in regions where fire databases are poor, which may improve our ability to predict future fire activity. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Simulating wildfire spread behavior between two NASA Active Fire data timeframes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adhikari, B.; Hodza, P.; Xu, C.; Minckley, T. A.

    2017-12-01

    Although NASA's Active Fire dataset is considered valuable in mapping the spatial distribution and extent of wildfires across the world, the data is only available at approximately 12-hour time intervals, creating uncertainties and risks associated with fire spread and behavior between the two Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Satellite (VIIRS) data collection timeframes. Our study seeks to close the information gap for the United States by using the latest Active Fire data collected for instance around 0130 hours as an ignition source and critical inputs to a wildfire model by uniquely incorporating forecasted and real-time weather conditions for predicting fire perimeter at the next 12 hour reporting time (i.e. around 1330 hours). The model ingests highly dynamic variables such as fuel moisture, temperature, relative humidity, wind among others, and prompts a Monte Carlo simulation exercise that uses a varying range of possible values for evaluating all possible wildfire behaviors. The Monte Carlo simulation implemented in this model provides a measure of the relative wildfire risk levels at various locations based on the number of times those sites are intersected by simulated fire perimeters. Model calibration is achieved using data at next reporting time (i.e. after 12 hours) to enhance the predictive quality at further time steps. While initial results indicate that the calibrated model can predict the overall geometry and direction of wildland fire spread, the model seems to over-predict the sizes of most fire perimeters possibly due to unaccounted fire suppression activities. Nonetheless, the results of this study show great promise in aiding wildland fire tracking, fighting and risk management.

  9. 29 CFR 525.23 - Work activities centers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Work activities centers. 525.23 Section 525.23 Labor... OF WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES UNDER SPECIAL CERTIFICATES § 525.23 Work activities centers. Nothing in these regulations shall be interpreted to prevent an employer from maintaining or establishing work...

  10. 29 CFR 525.23 - Work activities centers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Work activities centers. 525.23 Section 525.23 Labor... OF WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES UNDER SPECIAL CERTIFICATES § 525.23 Work activities centers. Nothing in these regulations shall be interpreted to prevent an employer from maintaining or establishing work...

  11. Influenza activity in Europe during eight seasons (1999–2007): an evaluation of the indicators used to measure activity and an assessment of the timing, length and course of peak activity (spread) across Europe

    PubMed Central

    Paget, John; Marquet, Richard; Meijer, Adam; van der Velden, Koos

    2007-01-01

    Background The European Influenza Surveillance Scheme (EISS) has collected clinical and virological data on influenza since 1996 in an increasing number of countries. The EISS dataset was used to characterise important epidemiological features of influenza activity in Europe during eight winters (1999–2007). The following questions were addressed: 1) are the sentinel clinical reports a good measure of influenza activity? 2) how long is a typical influenza season in Europe? 3) is there a west-east and/or south-north course of peak activity ('spread') of influenza in Europe? Methods Influenza activity was measured by collecting data from sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and reports by national reference laboratories. The sentinel reports were first evaluated by comparing them to the laboratory reports and were then used to assess the timing and spread of influenza activity across Europe during eight seasons. Results We found a good match between the clinical sentinel data and laboratory reports of influenza collected by sentinel physicians (overall match of 72% for +/- 1 week difference). We also found a moderate to good match between the clinical sentinel data and laboratory reports of influenza from non-sentinel sources (overall match of 60% for +/- 1 week). There were no statistically significant differences between countries using ILI (influenza-like illness) or ARI (acute respiratory disease) as case definition. When looking at the peak-weeks of clinical activity, the average length of an influenza season in Europe was 15.6 weeks (median 15 weeks; range 12–19 weeks). Plotting the peak weeks of clinical influenza activity reported by sentinel GPs against the longitude or latitude of each country indicated that there was a west-east spread of peak activity (spread) of influenza across Europe in four winters (2001–2002, 2002–2003, 2003–2004 and 2004–2005) and a south-north spread in three winters (2001–2002, 2004–2005 and 2006–2007

  12. Knowledge of Senior Center Activities among the Elderly.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krout, John A.

    In the past few decades, senior centers have developed at an exponential rate. To investigate elderly citizens' knowledge of senior center activities and services, 250 white older adults (125 center users and 125 nonusers) from a small urban community were personally interviewed about the services and activities provided by their local senior…

  13. Dewetting and spreading transitions for active matter on random pinning substrates.

    PubMed

    Sándor, Cs; Libál, A; Reichhardt, C; Olson Reichhardt, C J

    2017-05-28

    We show that sterically interacting self-propelled disks in the presence of random pinning substrates exhibit transitions among a variety of different states. In particular, from a phase separated cluster state, the disks can spread out and homogeneously cover the substrate in what can be viewed as an example of an active matter wetting transition. We map the location of this transition as a function of activity, disk density, and substrate strength, and we also identify other phases including a cluster state, coexistence between a cluster and a labyrinth wetted phase, and a pinned liquid. Convenient measures of these phases include the cluster size, which dips at the wetting-dewetting transition, and the fraction of sixfold coordinated particles, which drops when dewetting occurs.

  14. Tetrahydrocannabinol-induced suppression of macrophage spreading and phagocytic activity in vitro.

    PubMed

    Lopez-Cepero, M; Friedman, M; Klein, T; Friedman, H

    1986-06-01

    The effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on several parameters of macrophage function in vitro were assessed. Delta 9 THC added to cultures of normal mouse peritoneal cells in vitro affected the ability of the cells to spread on glass surfaces and also had some effect on their ability to phagocytize yeast. These effects were dose related. A concentration of 20 micrograms of THC almost completely inhibited macrophage spreading, but it also decreased viability and the total number of these cells. Doses of 10 or 5 micrograms of THC also inhibited spreading but had little effect on cell viability or number. A dose of 1.0 microgram of THC had some inhibitory effect on spreading and the lowest dose affecting spreading appeared to be about 0.05 micrograms per culture. Higher doses of THC were necessary to inhibit phagocytosis of yeast particles as determined by direct microscopic examination or use of radiolabeled yeast as the test particles. These results indicate that several readily measured functions of macrophages may be suppressed by THC.

  15. Relation between the National Fire Danger spread component and fire activity in the Lake States.

    Treesearch

    Donald A. Haines; William A. Main; Von J. Johnson

    1970-01-01

    Relationships between the 1964 version of the spread component of the National Fire Danger Rating System and fire activity were established for Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The measures of fire activity included the probability of a fire-day as well as a C, D, or E fire-day, number of fires per fire-day, and acres burned per fire. These measures were examined by...

  16. Style of Plate Spreading Derived from the 2008-2014 Velocity Field Across the Northern Volcanic Zone of Iceland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drouin, V.; Sigmundsson, F.; Hreinsdottir, S.; Ofeigsson, B.; Sturkell, E.; Einarsson, P.

    2015-12-01

    The Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) of Iceland is a subaerial part of the divergent boundary between the North-American and Eurasian Plates. At this latitude, the full spreading between the plates is accommodated by the NVZ. We derived the plate boundary velocity field from GPS campaign and continuous measurements between 2008 and 2014, a time period free of any magma intrusion. Average velocities were estimated in the ITRF08 reference frame. The overall extension is consistent with 18 mm/yr in the 104°N direction spreading, in accordance with the MORVEL2010 plate motion model. We find that a 40km-wide band along the plate boundary accommodates about 75% of the full plate velocities. Within this zone, the average strain rate is approximately 0.35 μstrain/yr. The deformation field and the strain rate are, however, much affected by other sources of deformations in the NVZ. These include magmatic sources at the most active volcanic centers, glacial rebound near the ice-caps and geothermal power-plant water extraction. Magmatic sources include a shallow magma chamber deflation under Askja caldera, as well as under Þeistareykir and eventual deep magma inflation north of Krafla volcano. Vatnajökull ice cap melting causes large uplift and outward displacements in the southern part of the NVZ. The two geothermal power-plants near Krafla are inducing local deflations. Our GPS velocities show a 35° change in the direction of the plate boundary axis north of Askja volcano that we infer to be linked to the geometric arrangement of volcanic systems within the NVZ.We use a simple arctangent model to describe the plate spreading to provide constraints on the location and the locking depth of the spreading axis. For that purpose we divided the area in short overlapping segments having the same amount of GPS points along the plate spreading direction and inverted for the location of the center of the spreading axis and locking depth. With this simple model we can account for most

  17. Correlates of spreading depolarization in human scalp electroencephalography

    PubMed Central

    Drenckhahn, Christoph; Winkler, Maren K. L.; Major, Sebastian; Scheel, Michael; Kang, Eun-Jeung; Pinczolits, Alexandra; Grozea, Cristian; Hartings, Jed A.; Woitzik, Johannes

    2012-01-01

    It has been known for decades that suppression of spontaneous scalp electroencephalographic activity occurs during ischaemia. Trend analysis for such suppression was found useful for intraoperative monitoring during carotid endarterectomy, or as a screening tool to detect delayed cerebral ischaemia after aneurismal subarachnoid haemorrhage. Nevertheless, pathogenesis of such suppression of activity has remained unclear. In five patients with aneurismal subarachnoid haemorrhage and four patients with decompressive hemicraniectomy after malignant hemispheric stroke due to middle cerebral artery occlusion, we here performed simultaneously full-band direct and alternating current electroencephalography at the scalp and direct and alternating current electrocorticography at the cortical surface. After subarachnoid haemorrhage, 275 slow potential changes, identifying spreading depolarizations, were recorded electrocorticographically over 694 h. Visual inspection of time-compressed scalp electroencephalography identified 193 (70.2%) slow potential changes [amplitude: −272 (−174, −375) µV (median quartiles), duration: 5.4 (4.0, 7.1) min, electrocorticography–electroencephalography delay: 1.8 (0.8, 3.5) min]. Intervals between successive spreading depolarizations were significantly shorter for depolarizations with electroencephalographically identified slow potential change [33.0 (27.0, 76.5) versus 53.0 (28.0, 130.5) min, P = 0.009]. Electroencephalography was thus more likely to display slow potential changes of clustered than isolated spreading depolarizations. In contrast to electrocorticography, no spread of electroencephalographic slow potential changes was seen, presumably due to superposition of volume-conducted electroencephalographic signals from widespread cortical generators. In two of five patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage, serial magnetic resonance imaging revealed large delayed infarcts at the recording site, while electrocorticography

  18. a Context-Aware Tourism Recommender System Based on a Spreading Activation Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bahramian, Z.; Abbaspour, R. Ali; Claramunt, C.

    2017-09-01

    Users planning a trip to a given destination often search for the most appropriate points of interest location, this being a non-straightforward task as the range of information available is very large and not very well structured. The research presented by this paper introduces a context-aware tourism recommender system that overcomes the information overload problem by providing personalized recommendations based on the user's preferences. It also incorporates contextual information to improve the recommendation process. As previous context-aware tourism recommender systems suffer from a lack of formal definition to represent contextual information and user's preferences, the proposed system is enhanced using an ontology approach. We also apply a spreading activation technique to contextualize user preferences and learn the user profile dynamically according to the user's feedback. The proposed method assigns more effect in the spreading process for nodes which their preference values are assigned directly by the user. The results show the overall performance of the proposed context-aware tourism recommender systems by an experimental application to the city of Tehran.

  19. Modelling indirect interactions during failure spreading in a project activity network.

    PubMed

    Ellinas, Christos

    2018-03-12

    Spreading broadly refers to the notion of an entity propagating throughout a networked system via its interacting components. Evidence of its ubiquity and severity can be seen in a range of phenomena, from disease epidemics to financial systemic risk. In order to understand the dynamics of these critical phenomena, computational models map the probability of propagation as a function of direct exposure, typically in the form of pairwise interactions between components. By doing so, the important role of indirect interactions remains unexplored. In response, we develop a simple model that accounts for the effect of both direct and subsequent exposure, which we deploy in the novel context of failure propagation within a real-world engineering project. We show that subsequent exposure has a significant effect in key aspects, including the: (a) final spreading event size, (b) propagation rate, and (c) spreading event structure. In addition, we demonstrate the existence of 'hidden influentials' in large-scale spreading events, and evaluate the role of direct and subsequent exposure in their emergence. Given the evidence of the importance of subsequent exposure, our findings offer new insight on particular aspects that need to be included when modelling network dynamics in general, and spreading processes specifically.

  20. High-mobility group box 1 is an important mediator of microglial activation induced by cortical spreading depression.

    PubMed

    Takizawa, Tsubasa; Shibata, Mamoru; Kayama, Yohei; Shimizu, Toshihiko; Toriumi, Haruki; Ebine, Taeko; Unekawa, Miyuki; Koh, Anri; Yoshimura, Akihiko; Suzuki, Norihiro

    2017-03-01

    Single episodes of cortical spreading depression (CSD) are believed to cause typical migraine aura, whereas clusters of spreading depolarizations have been observed in cerebral ischemia and subarachnoid hemorrhage. We recently demonstrated that the release of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) from cortical neurons after CSD in a rodent model is dependent on the number of CSD episodes, such that only multiple CSD episodes can induce significant HMGB1 release. Here, we report that only multiple CSD inductions caused microglial hypertrophy (activation) accompanied by a greater impact on the transcription activity of the HMGB1 receptor genes, TLR2 and TLR4, while the total number of cortical microglia was not affected. Both an HMGB1-neurtalizing antibody and the HMGB1 inhibitor glycyrrhizin abrogated multiple CSD-induced microglial hypertrophy. Moreover, multiple CSD inductions failed to induce microglial hypertrophy in TLR2/4 double knockout mice. These results strongly implicate the HMGB1-TLR2/4 axis in the activation of microglia following multiple CSD inductions. Increased expression of the lysosomal acid hydrolase cathepsin D was detected in activated microglia by immunostaining, suggesting that lysosomal phagocytic activity may be enhanced in multiple CSD-activated microglia.

  1. DataSpread: Unifying Databases and Spreadsheets.

    PubMed

    Bendre, Mangesh; Sun, Bofan; Zhang, Ding; Zhou, Xinyan; Chang, Kevin ChenChuan; Parameswaran, Aditya

    2015-08-01

    Spreadsheet software is often the tool of choice for ad-hoc tabular data management, processing, and visualization, especially on tiny data sets. On the other hand, relational database systems offer significant power, expressivity, and efficiency over spreadsheet software for data management, while lacking in the ease of use and ad-hoc analysis capabilities. We demonstrate DataSpread, a data exploration tool that holistically unifies databases and spreadsheets. It continues to offer a Microsoft Excel-based spreadsheet front-end, while in parallel managing all the data in a back-end database, specifically, PostgreSQL. DataSpread retains all the advantages of spreadsheets, including ease of use, ad-hoc analysis and visualization capabilities, and a schema-free nature, while also adding the advantages of traditional relational databases, such as scalability and the ability to use arbitrary SQL to import, filter, or join external or internal tables and have the results appear in the spreadsheet. DataSpread needs to reason about and reconcile differences in the notions of schema, addressing of cells and tuples, and the current "pane" (which exists in spreadsheets but not in traditional databases), and support data modifications at both the front-end and the back-end. Our demonstration will center on our first and early prototype of the DataSpread, and will give the attendees a sense for the enormous data exploration capabilities offered by unifying spreadsheets and databases.

  2. A network model for Ebola spreading.

    PubMed

    Rizzo, Alessandro; Pedalino, Biagio; Porfiri, Maurizio

    2016-04-07

    The availability of accurate models for the spreading of infectious diseases has opened a new era in management and containment of epidemics. Models are extensively used to plan for and execute vaccination campaigns, to evaluate the risk of international spreadings and the feasibility of travel bans, and to inform prophylaxis campaigns. Even when no specific therapeutical protocol is available, as for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), models of epidemic spreading can provide useful insight to steer interventions in the field and to forecast the trend of the epidemic. Here, we propose a novel mathematical model to describe EVD spreading based on activity driven networks (ADNs). Our approach overcomes the simplifying assumption of homogeneous mixing, which is central to most of the mathematically tractable models of EVD spreading. In our ADN-based model, each individual is not bound to contact every other, and its network of contacts varies in time as a function of an activity potential. Our model contemplates the possibility of non-ideal and time-varying intervention policies, which are critical to accurately describe EVD spreading in afflicted countries. The model is calibrated from field data of the 2014 April-to-December spreading in Liberia. We use the model as a predictive tool, to emulate the dynamics of EVD in Liberia and offer a one-year projection, until December 2015. Our predictions agree with the current vision expressed by professionals in the field, who consider EVD in Liberia at its final stage. The model is also used to perform a what-if analysis to assess the efficacy of timely intervention policies. In particular, we show that an earlier application of the same intervention policy would have greatly reduced the number of EVD cases, the duration of the outbreak, and the infrastructures needed for the implementation of the intervention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Differential lexical and semantic spreading activation in Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Foster, Paul S; Drago, Valeria; Yung, Raegan C; Pearson, Jaclyn; Stringer, Kristi; Giovannetti, Tania; Libon, David; Heilman, Kenneth M

    2013-08-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known to be associated with disruption in semantic networks. Previous studies examining changes in spreading activation in AD have used a lexical decision task paradigm. We have used a paradigm based on average word frequencies obtained from the words generated on the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) and the Animal Naming (AN) test. The COWAT and AN tests were administered to a group of 25 patients with AD and 20 control participants. We predicted that the patients with AD would have higher average word frequencies on the COWAT and AN tests than the control participants. The results indicated that the AD group generated words with a higher average word frequency on the AN test but a lower average word frequency on the COWAT. The reasons for the discrepancy in average word frequencies on the AN test and COWAT are discussed.

  4. Investigation of spreading center ecolution by joint inversion of seafloor magnetic anomaly and tectonic fabric data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shoberg, Tom; Stein, Seth

    1994-01-01

    Spreading center segments that have experienced a complex tectonic history including rift propagation may have a complicated signature in bathymetric and magnetic anomaly data. To gain insight into the history of such regions, we have developed techniques in which both the magnetic anomaly patterns and seafloor fabric trends are predicted theoretically, and the combined predictions are compared numerically with the data to estimate best fitting parameters for the propagation history. Fitting functions are constructed to help determine which model best matches the digitized fabric and magnetic anomaly data. Such functions offer statistical criteria for choosing the best fit model. We use this approach to resolve the propagation history of the Cobb Offset along the Juan de Fuca ridge. In this example, the magnetic anomaly data prove more useful in defining the geometry of the propagation events, while the fabric, with its greater temporal resolution, is more useful for constraining the rate of propagation. It thus appears that joint inversion of magnetic and seafloor fabric data can be valuable in tectonic analyses.

  5. ALVIN investigation of an active propagating rift system, Galapagos 95.5° W

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hey, R.N.; Sinton, J.M.; Kleinrock, M.C.; Yonover, R.N.; MacDonald, K.C.; Miller, S.P.; Searle, R.C.; Christie, D.M.; Atwater, T.M.; Sleep, Norman H.; Johnson, H. Paul; Neal, C.A.

    1992-01-01

    ALVIN investigations have defined the fine-scale structural and volcanic patterns produced by active rift and spreading center propagation and failure near 95.5° W on the Galapagos spreading center. Behind the initial lithospheric rifting, which is propagating nearly due west at about 50 km m.y.−1, a triangular block of preexisting lithosphere is being stretched and fractured, with some recent volcanism along curving fissures. A well-organized seafloor spreading center, an extensively faulted and fissured volcanic ridge, develops ~ 10 km (~ 200,000 years) behind the tectonic rift tip. Regional variations in the chemical compositions of the youngest lavas collected during this program contrast with those encompassing the entire 3 m.y. of propagation history for this region. A maximum in degree of magmatic differentiation occurs about 9 km behind the propagating rift tip, in a region of diffuse rifting. The propagating spreading center shows a gentle gradient in magmatic differentiation culminating at the SW-curving spreading center tip. Except for the doomed rift, which is in a constructional phase, tectonic activity also dominates over volcanic activity along the failing spreading system. In contrast to the propagating rift, failing rift lavas show a highly restricted range of compositions consistent with derivation from a declining upwelling zone accompanying rift failure. The lithosphere transferred from the Cocos to the Nazca plate by this propagator is extensively faulted and characterized by ubiquitous talus in one of the most tectonically disrupted areas of seafloor known. The pseudofault scarps, where the preexisting lithosphere was rifted apart, appear to include both normal and propagator lavas and are thus more lithologically complex than previously thought. Biological communities, probably vestimentiferan tubeworms, occur near the top of the outer pseudofault scarp, although no hydrothermal venting was observed.

  6. Biphasic regulation of polymorphonuclear leukocyte spreading by polyphenolic compounds with pyrogallol moieties.

    PubMed

    Kori, Soichiro; Namiki, Hideo; Suzuki, Kingo

    2009-09-01

    Green tea polyphenols have been reported to have anti-inflammatory activities, although the molecular mechanisms responsible for this effect remain unclear. In the present study, we examined the effect of green tea extract and a variety of polyphenolic compounds on spreading of peripheral blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) over fibrinogen-coated surfaces. Green tea extract exerted a biphasic effect on PMN spreading; it induced or suppressed spreading at low and high concentrations, respectively. We also found that pyrogallol-bearing compounds have spreading induction activity. Among the compounds tested, tannic acid (TA) had the strongest activity; the concentrations required for induction of maximal spreading were 2 microM for TA, 200 microM for (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, and 2000 microM for the other active compounds. Furthermore, TA was the only compound showing a biphasic effect similar to that of green tea extract; TA at 20 or 200 microM suppressed spreading. The spreading-stimulatory signal was still latent during PMN exposure to TA at concentrations that inhibited spreading, because the pre-exposed PMNs underwent spreading when plated after removal of free TA by centrifugation. The spreading-inhibitory effect of TA at high concentrations overcame the induction of spreading by other stimuli, including phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, hydrogen peroxide, denatured fibrinogen surfaces, and naked plastic surfaces. These results suggest that TA as well as green tea extract is bi-functional, having pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects at low and high concentrations, respectively. Pharmacological use of TA may thus provide new strategies aimed at regulation of PMN spreading for control of inflammation.

  7. Effect of individual behavior on epidemic spreading in activity-driven networks.

    PubMed

    Rizzo, Alessandro; Frasca, Mattia; Porfiri, Maurizio

    2014-10-01

    In this work we study the effect of behavioral changes of individuals on the propagation of epidemic diseases. Specifically, we consider a susceptible-infected-susceptible model over a network of contacts that evolves in a time scale that is comparable to the individual disease dynamics. The phenomenon is modeled in the context of activity-driven networks, in which contacts occur on the basis of activity potentials. To offer insight into behavioral strategies targeting both susceptible and infected individuals, we consider two separate behaviors that may emerge in respiratory syndromes and sexually transmitted infections. The first is related to a reduction in the activity of infected individuals due to quarantine or illness. The second is instead associated with a selfish self-protective behavior of susceptible individuals, who tend to reduce contact with the rest of the population on the basis of a risk perception. Numerical and theoretical results suggest that behavioral changes could have a beneficial effect on the disease spreading, by increasing the epidemic threshold and decreasing the steady-state fraction of infected individuals.

  8. Effect of individual behavior on epidemic spreading in activity-driven networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rizzo, Alessandro; Frasca, Mattia; Porfiri, Maurizio

    2014-10-01

    In this work we study the effect of behavioral changes of individuals on the propagation of epidemic diseases. Specifically, we consider a susceptible-infected-susceptible model over a network of contacts that evolves in a time scale that is comparable to the individual disease dynamics. The phenomenon is modeled in the context of activity-driven networks, in which contacts occur on the basis of activity potentials. To offer insight into behavioral strategies targeting both susceptible and infected individuals, we consider two separate behaviors that may emerge in respiratory syndromes and sexually transmitted infections. The first is related to a reduction in the activity of infected individuals due to quarantine or illness. The second is instead associated with a selfish self-protective behavior of susceptible individuals, who tend to reduce contact with the rest of the population on the basis of a risk perception. Numerical and theoretical results suggest that behavioral changes could have a beneficial effect on the disease spreading, by increasing the epidemic threshold and decreasing the steady-state fraction of infected individuals.

  9. Help Control Mosquitoes that Spread Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika Viruses

    MedlinePlus

    Help Control Mosquitoes that Spread Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika Viruses B Z Z Z Z . Aside from being itchy ... for your information only. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health ...

  10. Spreading Depression, Spreading Depolarizations, and the Cerebral Vasculature

    PubMed Central

    Ayata, Cenk; Lauritzen, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Spreading depression (SD) is a transient wave of near-complete neuronal and glial depolarization associated with massive transmembrane ionic and water shifts. It is evolutionarily conserved in the central nervous systems of a wide variety of species from locust to human. The depolarization spreads slowly at a rate of only millimeters per minute by way of grey matter contiguity, irrespective of functional or vascular divisions, and lasts up to a minute in otherwise normal tissue. As such, SD is a radically different breed of electrophysiological activity compared with everyday neural activity, such as action potentials and synaptic transmission. Seventy years after its discovery by Leão, the mechanisms of SD and its profound metabolic and hemodynamic effects are still debated. What we did learn of consequence, however, is that SD plays a central role in the pathophysiology of a number of diseases including migraine, ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, and traumatic brain injury. An intriguing overlap among them is that they are all neurovascular disorders. Therefore, the interplay between neurons and vascular elements is critical for our understanding of the impact of this homeostatic breakdown in patients. The challenges of translating experimental data into human pathophysiology notwithstanding, this review provides a detailed account of bidirectional interactions between brain parenchyma and the cerebral vasculature during SD and puts this in the context of neurovascular diseases. PMID:26133935

  11. Heterogeneous incidence and propagation of spreading depolarizations

    PubMed Central

    Kaufmann, Dan; Theriot, Jeremy J; Zyuzin, Jekaterina; Service, C Austin; Chang, Joshua C; Tang, Y Tanye; Bogdanov, Vladimir B; Multon, Sylvie; Schoenen, Jean; Ju, Y Sungtaek

    2016-01-01

    Spreading depolarizations are implicated in a diverse set of neurologic diseases. They are unusual forms of nervous system activity in that they propagate very slowly and approximately concentrically, apparently not respecting the anatomic, synaptic, functional, or vascular architecture of the brain. However, there is evidence that spreading depolarizations are not truly concentric, isotropic, or homogeneous, either in space or in time. Here we present evidence from KCl-induced spreading depolarizations, in mouse and rat, in vivo and in vitro, showing the great variability that these depolarizations can exhibit. This variability can help inform the mechanistic understanding of spreading depolarizations, and it has implications for their phenomenology in neurologic disease. PMID:27562866

  12. Generations of spreading basins and stages of breakdown of Wegener's Pangea in the geodynamic evolution of the Arctic Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shipilov, E. V.

    2008-03-01

    Chronological succession in the formation of spreading basins is considered in the context of reconstruction of breakdown of Wegener’s Pangea and the development of the geodynamic system of the Arctic Ocean. This study made it possible to indentify three temporally and spatially isolated generations of spreading basins: Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic, and Cenozoic. The first generation is determined by the formation, evolution, and extinction of the spreading center in the Canada Basin as a tectonic element of the Amerasia Basin. The second generation is connected to the development of the Labrador-Baffin-Makarov spreading branch that ceased to function in the Eocene. The third generation pertains to the formation of the spreading system of interrelated ultraslow Mohna, Knipovich, and Gakkel mid-ocean ridges that has functioned until now in the Norwegian-Greenland and Eurasia basins. The interpretation of the available geological and geophysical data shows that after the formation of the Canada Basin, the Arctic region escaped the geodynamic influence of the Paleopacific, characterized by spreading, subduction, formation of backarc basins, collision-related processes, etc. The origination of the Makarov Basin marks the onset of the oceanic regime characteristic of the North Atlantic (intercontinental rifting, slow and ultraslow spreading, separation of continental blocks (microcontinents), extinction of spreading centers of primary basins, spreading jumps, formation of young spreading ridges and centers, etc., are typical) along with retention of northward propagation of spreading systems both from the Pacific and Atlantic sides. The aforesaid indicates that the Arctic Ocean is in fact a hybrid basin or, in other words, a composite heterogeneous ocean in respect to its architectonics. The Arctic Ocean was formed as a result of spatial juxtaposition of two geodynamic systems different in age and geodynamic style: the Paleopacific

  13. DataSpread: Unifying Databases and Spreadsheets

    PubMed Central

    Bendre, Mangesh; Sun, Bofan; Zhang, Ding; Zhou, Xinyan; Chang, Kevin ChenChuan; Parameswaran, Aditya

    2015-01-01

    Spreadsheet software is often the tool of choice for ad-hoc tabular data management, processing, and visualization, especially on tiny data sets. On the other hand, relational database systems offer significant power, expressivity, and efficiency over spreadsheet software for data management, while lacking in the ease of use and ad-hoc analysis capabilities. We demonstrate DataSpread, a data exploration tool that holistically unifies databases and spreadsheets. It continues to offer a Microsoft Excel-based spreadsheet front-end, while in parallel managing all the data in a back-end database, specifically, PostgreSQL. DataSpread retains all the advantages of spreadsheets, including ease of use, ad-hoc analysis and visualization capabilities, and a schema-free nature, while also adding the advantages of traditional relational databases, such as scalability and the ability to use arbitrary SQL to import, filter, or join external or internal tables and have the results appear in the spreadsheet. DataSpread needs to reason about and reconcile differences in the notions of schema, addressing of cells and tuples, and the current “pane” (which exists in spreadsheets but not in traditional databases), and support data modifications at both the front-end and the back-end. Our demonstration will center on our first and early prototype of the DataSpread, and will give the attendees a sense for the enormous data exploration capabilities offered by unifying spreadsheets and databases. PMID:26900487

  14. Moving Cell Boundaries Drive Nuclear Shaping during Cell Spreading

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yuan; Lovett, David; Zhang, Qiao; Neelam, Srujana; Kuchibhotla, Ram Anirudh; Zhu, Ruijun; Gundersen, Gregg G.; Lele, Tanmay P.; Dickinson, Richard B.

    2015-01-01

    The nucleus has a smooth, regular appearance in normal cells, and its shape is greatly altered in human pathologies. Yet, how the cell establishes nuclear shape is not well understood. We imaged the dynamics of nuclear shaping in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Nuclei translated toward the substratum and began flattening during the early stages of cell spreading. Initially, nuclear height and width correlated with the degree of cell spreading, but over time, reached steady-state values even as the cell continued to spread. Actomyosin activity, actomyosin bundles, microtubules, and intermediate filaments, as well as the LINC complex, were all dispensable for nuclear flattening as long as the cell could spread. Inhibition of actin polymerization as well as myosin light chain kinase with the drug ML7 limited both the initial spreading of cells and flattening of nuclei, and for well-spread cells, inhibition of myosin-II ATPase with the drug blebbistatin decreased cell spreading with associated nuclear rounding. Together, these results show that cell spreading is necessary and sufficient to drive nuclear flattening under a wide range of conditions, including in the presence or absence of myosin activity. To explain this observation, we propose a computational model for nuclear and cell mechanics that shows how frictional transmission of stress from the moving cell boundaries to the nuclear surface shapes the nucleus during early cell spreading. Our results point to a surprisingly simple mechanical system in cells for establishing nuclear shapes. PMID:26287620

  15. Antifungal properties of gliadin films incorporating cinnamaldehyde and application in active food packaging of bread and cheese spread foodstuffs.

    PubMed

    Balaguer, Mari Pau; Lopez-Carballo, Gracia; Catala, Ramon; Gavara, Rafael; Hernandez-Munoz, Pilar

    2013-09-16

    Gliadin films incorporating 1.5, 3 and 5% cinnamaldehyde (g/100g protein) were tested against food-spoilage fungi Penicillium expansum and Aspergillus niger in vitro, and were employed in an active food packaging system for sliced bread and cheese spread. Gliadin films incorporating cinnamaldehyde were highly effective against fungal growth. P. expansum and A. niger were completely inhibited after storage in vitro for 10 days in the presence of films incorporating 3% cinnamaldehyde. Indeed 1.5% cinnamaldehyde was sufficient in the case of P. expansum. The amount of cinnamaldehyde retained in films after storage for 45 days at 20 °C and 0% RH was also sufficient in most cases to prevent fungal growth in vitro. Active food packaging with gliadin films incorporating 5% cinnamaldehyde increased the shelf-life of both sliced bread and cheese spread. Mold growth was observed on sliced bread after 27 days of storage at 23 °C with active packaging, whereas in the control bread packaged without the active film fungal growth appeared around the fourth day. In the cheese spread, no fungi were observed after 26 days of storage at 4 °C when the product was packaged with the active film. However, growth of fungi was observed in control packaged cheese after 16 days of storage. This work demonstrates a noteworthy potential of these novel bioplastics incorporating natural antimicrobial compounds as innovative solutions to be used in active food packaging to extend shelf-life of food products. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Spot Radiative Ignition and Subsequent Three Dimensional Flame Spread Over Thin Cellulose Fuels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Olson, Sandra L.; Kashiwagi, T.; Kikuchi, M.; Fujita, O.; Ito, K.

    1999-01-01

    Spontaneous radiative ignition and transition to flame spread over thin cellulose fuel samples was studied aboard the USMP-3 STS-75 Space Shuttle mission, and in three test series in the 10 second Japan Microgravity Center (JAMIC). A focused beam from a tungsten/halogen lamp was used to ignite the center of the fuel sample while an external air flow was varied from 0 to 10 cm/s. Non-piloted radiative ignition of the paper was found to occur more easily in microgravity than in normal gravity. Ignition of the sample was achieved under all conditions studied (shuttle cabin air, 21%-50% O2 in JAMIC), with transition to flame spread occurring for all but the lowest oxygen and flow conditions. While radiative ignition in a quiescent atmosphere was achieved, the flame quickly extinguished in air. The ignition delay time was proportional to the gas-phase mixing time, which is estimated using the inverse flow rate. The ignition delay was a much stronger function of flow at lower oxygen concentrations. After ignition, the flame initially spread only upstream, in a fan-shaped pattern. The fan angle increased with increasing external flow and oxygen concentration from zero angle (tunneling flame spread) at the limiting 0.5 cm/s external air flow, to 90 degrees (semicircular flame spread) for external flows at and above 5 cm/s, and higher oxygen concentrations. The fan angle was shown to be directly related to the limiting air flow velocity. Despite the convective heating from the upstream flame, the downstream flame was inhibited due to the 'oxygen shadow' of the upstream flame for the air flow conditions studied. Downstream flame spread rates in air, measured after upstream flame spread was complete and extinguished, were slower than upstream flame spread rates at the same flow. The quench regime for the transition to flame spread was skewed toward the downstream, due to the augmenting role of diffusion for opposed flow flame spread, versus the canceling effect of diffusion

  17. Along-axis variations in seafloor spreading in the MARK area

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karson, J. A.; Thompson, G.; Humphris, S. E.; Bryan, W. B.; Edmond, J. M.

    1987-08-01

    Recent investigations with the manned submersible Alvin and the Angus deep-towed camera sled greatly extended the known range of variations in the style of seafloor spreading along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Five transects of the spreading center at intervals of 10-20 km south of the Kane Fracture Zone at 24 deg N latitude demonstate dramatic changes in the style and magnitude of tectonic extension, development of the neovolcanic zone, expression of hydrothermal venting, types of lithologic exposures, and morphology of the median valley.

  18. The Hydrologic Cycle Distributed Active Archive Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hardin, Danny M.; Goodman, H. Michael

    1995-01-01

    The Marshall Space Flight Center Distributed Active Archive Center in Huntsville, Alabama supports the acquisition, production, archival and dissemination of data relevant to the study of the global hydrologic cycle. This paper describes the Hydrologic Cycle DAAC, surveys its principle data holdings, addresses future growth, and gives information for accessing the data sets.

  19. A New Look at Spreading in Iceland: Propagating Rifts, Migrating Transform Faults, and Microplate Tectonics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karson, J.; Horst, A. J.; Nanfito, A.

    2011-12-01

    Iceland has long been used as an analog for studies of seafloor spreading. Despite its thick (~25 km) oceanic crust and subaerial lavas, many features associated with accretion along mid-ocean ridge spreading centers, and the processes that generate them, are well represented in the actively spreading Neovolcanic Zone and deeply glaciated Tertiary crust that flanks it. Integrated results of structural and geodetic studies show that the plate boundary zone on Iceland is a complex array of linked structures bounding major crustal blocks or microplates, similar to oceanic microplates. Major rift zones propagate N and S from the hotspot centered beneath the Vatnajökull icecap in SE central Iceland. The southern propagator has extended southward beyond the South Iceland Seismic Zone transform fault to the Westman Islands, resulting in abandonment of the Eastern Rift Zone. Continued propagation may cause abandonment of the Reykjanes Ridge. The northern propagator is linked to the southern end of the receding Kolbeinsey Ridge to the north. The NNW-trending Kerlingar Pseudo-fault bounds the propagator system to the E. The Tjörnes Transform Fault links the propagator tip to the Kolbeinsey Ridge and appears to be migrating northward in incremental steps, leaving a swath of deformed crustal blocks in its wake. Block rotations, concentrated mainly to the west of the propagators, are clockwise to the N of the hotspot and counter-clockwise to the S, possibly resulting in a component of NS divergence across EW-oriented rift zones. These rotations may help accommodate adjustments of the plate boundary zone to the relative movements of the N American and Eurasian plates. The rotated crustal blocks are composed of highly anisotropic crust with rift-parallel internal fabric generated by spreading processes. Block rotations result in reactivation of spreading-related faults as major rift-parallel, strike-slip faults. Structural details found in Iceland can help provide information

  20. The Roles of Spreading Activation and Retrieval Mode in Producing False Recognition in the DRM Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meade, Michelle L.; Watson, Jason M.; Balota, David A.; Roediger, Henry L., III

    2007-01-01

    The nature of persisting spreading activation from list presentation in eliciting false recognition in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm was examined in two experiments. We compared the time course of semantic priming in the lexical decision task (LDT) and false alarms in speeded recognition under identical study and test conditions. The…

  1. Effects of Internal Border Control on Spread of Pandemic Influenza

    PubMed Central

    Zamani, Nasim; MacIntyre, C. Raina; Becker, Niels G.

    2007-01-01

    We investigated the capacity of internal border control to limit influenza spread in an emergent pandemic in the context of Australia, a country with a low-population density and geopolitical boundaries that may facilitate restrictions. Mathematical models were used to study the time delay between epidemics in 2 population centers when travel restrictions were imposed. The models demonstrated that population size, travel rates, and places where travelers reside can strongly influence delay. The model simulations suggested that moderate delays in geographic spread may be possible with stringent restrictions and a low reproduction number, but results will be sensitive to the reproduction number and timing of restrictions. Model limitations include the absence of further importations and additional control measures. Internal border control may have a role in protecting domestic centers early in a pandemic, when importations are sparse. Our results may be useful for policymakers. PMID:18214176

  2. Moving Cell Boundaries Drive Nuclear Shaping during Cell Spreading.

    PubMed

    Li, Yuan; Lovett, David; Zhang, Qiao; Neelam, Srujana; Kuchibhotla, Ram Anirudh; Zhu, Ruijun; Gundersen, Gregg G; Lele, Tanmay P; Dickinson, Richard B

    2015-08-18

    The nucleus has a smooth, regular appearance in normal cells, and its shape is greatly altered in human pathologies. Yet, how the cell establishes nuclear shape is not well understood. We imaged the dynamics of nuclear shaping in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Nuclei translated toward the substratum and began flattening during the early stages of cell spreading. Initially, nuclear height and width correlated with the degree of cell spreading, but over time, reached steady-state values even as the cell continued to spread. Actomyosin activity, actomyosin bundles, microtubules, and intermediate filaments, as well as the LINC complex, were all dispensable for nuclear flattening as long as the cell could spread. Inhibition of actin polymerization as well as myosin light chain kinase with the drug ML7 limited both the initial spreading of cells and flattening of nuclei, and for well-spread cells, inhibition of myosin-II ATPase with the drug blebbistatin decreased cell spreading with associated nuclear rounding. Together, these results show that cell spreading is necessary and sufficient to drive nuclear flattening under a wide range of conditions, including in the presence or absence of myosin activity. To explain this observation, we propose a computational model for nuclear and cell mechanics that shows how frictional transmission of stress from the moving cell boundaries to the nuclear surface shapes the nucleus during early cell spreading. Our results point to a surprisingly simple mechanical system in cells for establishing nuclear shapes. Copyright © 2015 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Origin of Volcanic Seamounts Offshore California Related to Interaction of Abandoned Spreading Centers with the Continental Margin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, A. S.; Clague, D. A.; Paduan, J. B.; Cousens, B. L.; Huard, J.

    2007-12-01

    more alkalic compositions with decreasing age, although there is again considerable scatter. Chondrite-normalized La/Sm versus Zr/Nb form a continuum from the seamount lavas to depleted N-MORB and E-MORB suggesting a common origin by decompression melting of a mantle source with randomly distributed enriched heterogeneities, which are incorporated to a greater degree with decreasing degree of melting. Based on symmetric magnetic anomalies, only Davidson Seamount has been identified as straddling a fossil spreading center (Lonsdale, 1991, AAPG Mem. 47, 87-125). However, the other seamounts along the continental margin with the same NE-SW orientation and similar geochemical characteristics probably originated in a similar setting, erupting lavas along zones of weakness in the ocean floor fabric related to past seafloor spreading. Small volumes of magma can apparently rise long after spreading ceases if there is enough enriched source component to facilitate melting combined with zones of weakness in the underlying ocean crust fabric and/or extensional tectonics.

  4. Hotspot activity and plume pulses recorded by geometry of spreading axes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abelson, Meir; Agnon, Amotz

    2001-06-01

    Anomalous plan view geometry (planform) of spreading axes is shown to be a faithful indicator of hotspot influence, possibly capable of detecting pulses of hotspot discharge. A planform anomaly (PA) occurs when the orientation of second-order ridge segments is prominently oblique to the spreading direction. PA is found in the vicinity of hotspots at shallow ridges (<1.5 km), suggesting hotspot influence. In places the PA and shallow bathymetry are accompanied by geochemical anomalies, corroborating hotspot influence. This linkage is best expressed in the western Gulf of Aden, where the extent of the PA from the Afar hotspot coincides with the extent of La/Sm and Sr isotopic anomalies. Using fracture mechanics we predict PA to reflect overpressurized melt that dominates the stresses in the crust, consistent with hotspot regime. Accordingly, the temporal variations of the planform previously inferred from magnetic anomalies around the Kolbeinsey Ridge (KR), north of Iceland, record episodes of interaction with the hotspot and major pulses of the plume. This suggestion is corroborated by temporal correlation of episodes showing PA north of Iceland with plume pulses previously inferred by the V-shaped ridges around the Reykjanes Ridge (RR), south of Iceland. In contrast to the RR, the temporal correlation suggests simultaneous incidence of the plume pulses at Iceland and KR, hundreds of kilometers to the north. A deep northward branch of the Iceland plume active during pulse-periods may explain these observations.

  5. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Smoke from a successful controlled burn near KSC’s Launch Complex 39 surrounds the Vehicle Assembly Building and spreads across the horizon. The water in the foreground is the Banana River.

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-11-24

    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Smoke from a successful controlled burn near KSC’s Launch Complex 39 surrounds the Vehicle Assembly Building and spreads across the horizon. The water in the foreground is the Banana River.

  6. Scattering and the Point Spread Function of the New Generation Space Telescope

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schreur, Julian J.

    1996-01-01

    Preliminary design work on the New Generation Space Telescope (NGST) is currently under way. This telescope is envisioned as a lightweight, deployable Cassegrain reflector with an aperture of 8 meters, and an effective focal length of 80 meters. It is to be folded into a small-diameter package for launch by an Atlas booster, and unfolded in orbit. The primary is to consist of an octagon with a hole at the center, and with eight segments arranged in a flower petal configuration about the octagon. The comers of the petal-shaped segments are to be trimmed so that the package will fit atop the Atlas booster. This mirror, along with its secondary will focus the light from a point source into an image which is spread from a point by diffraction effects, figure errors, and scattering of light from the surface. The distribution of light in the image of a point source is called a point spread function (PSF). The obstruction of the incident light by the secondary mirror and its support structure, the trimmed corners of the petals, and the grooves between the segments all cause the diffraction pattern characterizing an ideal point spread function to be changed, with the trimmed comers causing the rings of the Airy pattern to become broken up, and the linear grooves causing diffraction spikes running radially away from the central spot, or Airy disk. Any figure errors the mirror segments may have, or any errors in aligning the petals with the central octagon will also spread the light out from the ideal point spread function. A point spread function for a mirror the size of the NGST and having an incident wavelength of 900 nm is considered. Most of the light is confined in a circle with a diameter of 0.05 arc seconds. The ring pattern ranges in intensity from 10(exp -2) near the center to 10(exp -6) near the edge of the plotted field, and can be clearly discerned in a log plot of the intensity. The total fraction of the light scattered from this point spread function is called

  7. Rise of a variable-viscosity fluid in a steadily spreading wedge-shaped conduit with accreting walls

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lachenbruch, Arthur H.; Nathenson, Manuel

    1976-01-01

    Relatively rigid plates making up the outer 50 to 100 km of the Earth are steadily separating from one another along narrow globe-circling zones of submarine volcanism, the oceanic spreading centers. Continuity requires that the viscous underlying material rise beneath spreading centers and accrete onto the steadily diverging plates. It is likely that during the rise the viscosity changes systematically and that the viscous tractions exerted on the plates contribute to the unique pattern of submarine mountains and earthquake faults observed at spreading centers. The process is modeled by viscous creep in a wedge-shaped conduit (with apex at the sea floor) in which the viscosity varies as rm where r is distance from the apex and m is a parameter. For these conditions, the governing differential equations take a simple form. The solution for the velocity is independent of r and of the sign of m. As viscous stresses vary as rm-1, the pattern of stress on the conduit wall is sensitive to viscosity variation. For negative m, the viscous pressure along the base of the conduit is quite uniform; for positive m, it falls toward zero in the axial region as the conduit base widens. For small opening angles, viscous forces push the plates apart, and for large ones, they oppose plate separation. Though highly idealized, the solution provides a tool for investigating tectonic processes at spreading centers.

  8. Spread dynamics of perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) in two seasonal wetland areas

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Renz, Mark J.; Steinmaus, Scott J.; Gilmer, David S.; DiTomaso, Joseph M.

    2012-01-01

    Perennial pepperweed is an invasive plant that is expanding rapidly in several plant communities in the western United States. In California, perennial pepperweed has aggressively invaded seasonal wetlands, resulting in degradation of habitat quality. We evaluated the rate and dynamics of population spread, assessed the effect of disturbance on spread, and determined the biotic and abiotic factors influencing the likelihood of invasion. The study was conducted at eight sites within two wetland regions of California. Results indicate that in undisturbed sites, spread was almost exclusively through vegetative expansion, and the average rate of spread was 0.85 m yr−1 from the leading edge. Spread in sites that were disked was more than three times greater than in undisturbed sites. While smaller infestations increased at a faster rate compared with larger populations, larger infestations accumulated more newly infested areas than smaller infestations from year to year. Stem density was consistently higher in the center of the infestations, with about 2.4 times more stems per square meter compared with the leading edge at the perimeter of the population. The invasion by perennial pepperweed was positively correlated with increased water availability but was negatively correlated with the cover of perennial and annual species. Thus, high cover of resident vegetation can have a suppressive effect on the rate of invasion, even in wetland ecosystems. On the basis of these results, we recommend that resident plant cover not be disturbed, especially in wet areas adjacent to areas currently infested with perennial pepperweed. For infested areas, management efforts should be prioritized to focus on controlling satellite populations as well as the leading edge of larger infestations first. This strategy could reduce the need for costly active restoration efforts by maximizing the probability of successful re-establishment of resident vegetation from the adjacent seedbank.

  9. Activity File of Learning Center and Classroom Multi-Cultural Activities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riverside Unified School District, CA.

    The cards in this file are representative samples of the types of activities developed by teachers involved in a Title I funded learning center of multi-cultural classroom activities for elementary school students. The five cultures that are stuoied are those of blacks, Asian Americans, native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Anglos. A…

  10. The South Central Superpave Center: Report of Activities

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-12-01

    The planning of the South Central Superpave Center (SCSC) began in mid-1994. The Center hired its first staff in early 1995 and was fully staffed by June 1995, at which point it became fully operational. This report describes SCSC activities that too...

  11. Ignition, Transition, Flame Spread in Multidimensional Configurations in Microgravity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kashiwagi, Takashi; Mell, William E.; McGrattan, Kevin B.; Baum, Howard R.; Olson, Sandra L.; Fujita, Osamu; Kikuchi, Masao; Ito, Kenichi

    1997-01-01

    Ignition of solid fuels by external thermal radiation and subsequent transition to flame spread are processes that not only are of considerable scientific interest but which also have fire safety applications. A material which undergoes a momentary ignition might be tolerable but a material which permits a transition to subsequent flame spread would significantly increase the fire hazard in a spacecraft. Therefore, the limiting condition under which flame cannot spread should be calculated from a model of the transition from ignition instead of by the traditional approach based on limits to a steady flame spread model. However, although the fundamental processes involved in ignition have been suggested there have been no definitive experimental or modeling studies due to the flow motion generated by buoyancy near the heated sample surface. In this study, microgravity experiments which required longer test times such as in air and surface smoldering experiment were conducted in the space shuttle STS-75 flight; shorter experimental tests such as in 35% and 50% oxygen were conducted in the droptower in the Japan Microgravity Center, JAMIC. Their experimental data along with theoretically calculated results from solving numerically the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations are summarized in this paper.

  12. Asymmetric seafloor spreading on the Reykjanes Ridge - influence of the Iceland anomaly?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benediktsdóttir, Ásdís; Hey, Richard; Martinez, Fernando; Höskulddson, Ármann

    2017-04-01

    Recently it has been shown that the crustal accretion on the Reykjanes Ridge (RR) is asymmetric with more lithosphere being consistently transferred from the Eurasian Plate to the North American Plate. In Iceland, the center of spreading has moved to the east, creating an age-asymmetry on Iceland, with more lithosphere on the North American side than the Eurasian side. The eastward movement of the spreading center is likely explained by the presence of the Iceland anomaly; if the anomaly is fixed with respect to the plate movements then the ridge system is drifting to the west and therefore the shift of the system is to the east, toward the Iceland anomaly. The shift of the center of spreading in Iceland must somehow be observed in the ridge systems off shore. We argue that the asymmetry on the RR south of Iceland, as observed in the magnetic data, is a result of the spreading center movements in Iceland. The RR extends down to the 15 km long right-lateral Bight Transform Fault (BTF) 1000 km south of south Iceland. Although it is short, it is a a sturdy and long lived offset, dating back to at least 37 Ma when spreading ceased in the Labrador Sea, and before that it was a triple junction between the North America-Greenland-Eurasia plates. Just south of the BTF, asymmetries in the magnetic data have been documented. The asymmetry is consistent to what is occurring in Iceland. Lithosphere is being transferred from the Eurasia Plate to the North America Plate. The question arises whether this is an influence of the Iceland anomaly? How far from Iceland do the influence of its anomaly reach and how to we quantify them? The off-shore asymmetries discussed here are not continuous, but seen in the magnetic fabric as if the ridge center was transferred a few kilometers, consistently to the east. A continuous asymmetry would have a different magnetic signature. The best documented asymmetry producing mechanism is a propagating rift (e.g. the Galapagos propagator). The

  13. Best Practice for Spreading Innovation: Let the Practitioners Do It

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gassenheimer, Cathy

    2013-01-01

    Alabama Best Practices Center (ABPC) was formed to help educators spread innovation and scale up successful teaching and learning practices. ABPC is the professional development arm of A+ Education Partnership, a statewide business/community/education nonprofit founded in 1991 to advocate for excellent public schools. Since 1999, ABPC has…

  14. A descriptive survey of types, spread and characteristics of substance abuse treatment centers in Nigeria.

    PubMed

    Onifade, Peter O; Somoye, Edward B; Ogunwobi, Olorunfemi O; Ogunwale, Adegboyega; Akinhanmi, Akinwande O; Adamson, Taiwo A

    2011-09-18

    Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and the 8th most populous in the world with a population of over 154 million, does not have current data on substance abuse treatment demand and treatment facilities; however, the country has the highest one-year prevalence rate of Cannabis use (14.3%) in Africa and ranks third in Africa with respect to the one-year prevalence rate of cocaine (0.7%) and Opioids (0.7%) use. This study aimed to determine the types, spread and characteristics of the substance abuse treatment centers in Nigeria. The study was a cross sectional survey of substance abuse treatment centers in Nigeria. Thirty-one units were invited and participated in filling an online questionnaire, adapted from the European Treatment Unit/Program Form (June 1997 version). All the units completed the online questionnaire. A large proportion (48%) was located in the South-West geopolitical zone of the country. Most (58%) were run by Non-Governmental Organizations. Half of them performed internal or external evaluation of treatment process or outcome. There were a total of 1043 for all categories of paid and volunteer staff, with an average of 33 staff per unit. Most of the funding came from charitable donations (30%). No unit provided drug substitution/maintenance therapy. The units had a total residential capacity of 566 beds. New client admissions in the past one year totalled 765 (mean = 48, median = 26.5, min = 0, max = 147) and 2478 clients received services in the non-residential units in the past year. No unit provided syringe exchange services. The study revealed a dearth of substance abuse treatment units (and of funds for the available ones) in a country with a large population size and one of the highest prevalence rates of substance abuse in Africa. The available units were not networked and lacked a directory or an evaluation framework. To provide an environment for effective monitoring, funding and continuous quality improvement, the units need to

  15. RECON-Dependent Inflammation in Hepatocytes Enhances Listeria monocytogenes Cell-to-Cell Spread.

    PubMed

    McFarland, Adelle P; Burke, Thomas P; Carletti, Alexie A; Glover, Rochelle C; Tabakh, Hannah; Welch, Matthew D; Woodward, Joshua J

    2018-05-15

    The oxidoreductase RECON is a high-affinity cytosolic sensor of bacterium-derived cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs). CDN binding inhibits RECON's enzymatic activity and subsequently promotes inflammation. In this study, we sought to characterize the effects of RECON on the infection cycle of the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes , which secretes cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP) into the cytosol of infected host cells. Here, we report that during infection of RECON-deficient hepatocytes, which exhibit hyperinflammatory responses, L. monocytogenes exhibits significantly enhanced cell-to-cell spread. Enhanced bacterial spread could not be attributed to alterations in PrfA or ActA, two virulence factors critical for intracellular motility and intercellular spread. Detailed microscopic analyses revealed that in the absence of RECON, L. monocytogenes actin tail lengths were significantly longer and there was a larger number of faster-moving bacteria. Complementation experiments demonstrated that the effects of RECON on L. monocytogenes spread and actin tail lengths were linked to its enzymatic activity. RECON enzyme activity suppresses NF-κB activation and is inhibited by c-di-AMP. Consistent with these previous findings, we found that augmented NF-κB activation in the absence of RECON caused enhanced L. monocytogenes cell-to-cell spread and that L. monocytogenes spread correlated with c-di-AMP secretion. Finally, we discovered that, remarkably, increased NF-κB-dependent inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide production were responsible for promoting L. monocytogenes cell-to-cell spread. The work presented here supports a model whereby L. monocytogenes secretion of c-di-AMP inhibits RECON's enzymatic activity, drives augmented NF-κB activation and nitric oxide production, and ultimately enhances intercellular spread. IMPORTANCE To date, bacterial CDNs in eukaryotes are solely appreciated for their capacity to activate cytosolic sensing

  16. Geologic mapping on the deep seafloor: Reconstructing lava flow emplacement and eruptive history at the Galápagos Spreading Center

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McClinton, J. T.; White, S.; Colman, A.; Sinton, J. M.; Bowles, J. A.

    2012-12-01

    The deep seafloor imposes significant difficulties on data collection that require the integration of multiple data sets and the implementation of unconventional geologic mapping techniques. We combine visual mapping of geological contacts by submersible with lava flow morphology maps and relative and absolute age constraints to create a spatiotemporal framework for examining submarine lava flow emplacement at the intermediate-spreading, hotspot-affected Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC). We mapped 18 lava flow fields, interpreted to be separate eruptive episodes, within two study areas at the GSC using visual observations of superposition, surface preservation and sediment cover from submersible and towed camera surveys, augmented by high-resolution sonar surveys and sample petrology [Colman et al., Effects of variable magma supply on mid-ocean ridge eruptions: Constraints from mapped lava flow fields along the Galápagos Spreading Center; 2012 G3]. We also mapped the lava flow morphology within the majority of these eruptive units using an automated, machine-learning classification method [McClinton et al., Neuro-fuzzy classification of submarine lava flow morphology; 2012 PE&RS]. The method combines detailed geometric, acoustic, and textural attributes derived from high-resolution sonar data with visual observations and a machine-learning algorithm to classify submarine lava flow morphology as pillows, lobates, or sheets. The resulting lava morphology maps are a valuable tool for interpreting patterns in the emplacement of submarine lava flows at a mid-ocean ridge (MOR). Within our study area at 92°W, where the GSC has a relatively high magma supply, high effusion rate sheet and lobate lavas are more abundant in the oldest mapped eruptive units, while the most recent eruptions mostly consist of low effusion rate pillow lavas. The older eruptions (roughly 400yrs BP by paleomagnetic intensity) extend up to 1km off axis via prominent channels and tubes, while the

  17. Composition of plume-influenced mid-ocean ridge lavas and glasses from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, East Pacific Rise, Galápagos Spreading Center, and Gulf of Aden

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelley, Katherine A.; Kingsley, Richard; Schilling, Jean-Guy

    2013-01-01

    The global mid-ocean ridge system is peppered with localities where mantle plumes impinge on oceanic spreading centers. Here, we present new, high resolution and high precision data for 40 trace elements in 573 samples of variably plume-influenced mid-ocean ridge basalts from the Mid-Atlantic ridge, the Easter Microplate and Salas y Gomez seamounts, the Galápagos spreading center, and the Gulf of Aden, in addition to previously unpublished major element and isotopic data for these regions. Included in the data set are the unconventional trace elements Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, W, and Tl, which are not commonly reported by most geochemical studies. We show variations in the ratios Mo/Ce, Cd/Dy, Sn/Sm, Sb/Ce, W/U, and Rb/Tl, which are expected not to fractionate significantly during melting or crystallization, as a function of proximity to plume-related features on these ridges. The Cd/Dy and Sn/Sm ratios show little variation with plume proximity, although higher Cd/Dy may signal increases in the role of garnet in the mantle source beneath some plumes. Globally, the Rb/Tl ratio closely approximates the La/SmN ratio, and thus provides a sensitive tracer of enriched mantle domains. The W/U ratio is not elevated at plume centers, but we find significant enrichments in W/U, and to a lesser extent the Mo/Ce and Sb/Ce ratios, at mid-ocean ridges proximal to plumes. Such enrichments may provide evidence of far-field entrainment of lower mantle material that has interacted with the core by deeply-rooted, upwelling mantle plumes.

  18. Activities in the Mission Control Center during STS 41-C

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1984-04-13

    41C-03229 (13 April 1984) --- An overall view of activity in the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Mission Control Center (MCC) during post-landing activity at the Challenger's landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

  19. Physical Activity Opportunities Within the Schedule of Early Care and Education Centers.

    PubMed

    Mazzucca, Stephanie; Hales, Derek; Evenson, Kelly R; Ammerman, Alice; Tate, Deborah F; Berry, Diane C; Ward, Dianne S

    2018-02-01

    Physical activity has many benefits for young children's health and overall development, but few studies have investigated how early care and education centers allot time for physical activity, along with measured individual physical activity levels for indoor/outdoor activities during a typical day. Fifty early care and education centers in central North Carolina participated in 4 full-day observations, and 559 children aged 3-5 years within centers wore accelerometers assessing physical activity during observation days. Observation and physical activity data were linked and analyzed for associations between child activity and type of classroom activity. Children averaged 51 (13) minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity and 99 (18) minutes per day of light physical activity while in child care. Children averaged 6 (10) and 10 (13) minutes per day of observed outdoor and indoor daily teacher-led physical activity, respectively. Outdoor time averaged 67 (49) minutes per day, and physical activity levels were higher during outdoor time than during common indoor activities (center time, circle time, and TV time). Physical activity levels varied between indoor and outdoor class activities. Policy and program-related efforts to increase physical activity in preschoolers should consider these patterns to leverage opportunities to optimize physical activity within early care and education centers.

  20. Activity-Centered Domain Characterization for Problem-Driven Scientific Visualization

    PubMed Central

    Marai, G. Elisabeta

    2018-01-01

    Although visualization design models exist in the literature in the form of higher-level methodological frameworks, these models do not present a clear methodological prescription for the domain characterization step. This work presents a framework and end-to-end model for requirements engineering in problem-driven visualization application design. The framework and model are based on the activity-centered design paradigm, which is an enhancement of human-centered design. The proposed activity-centered approach focuses on user tasks and activities, and allows an explicit link between the requirements engineering process with the abstraction stage—and its evaluation—of existing, higher-level visualization design models. In a departure from existing visualization design models, the resulting model: assigns value to a visualization based on user activities; ranks user tasks before the user data; partitions requirements in activity-related capabilities and nonfunctional characteristics and constraints; and explicitly incorporates the user workflows into the requirements process. A further merit of this model is its explicit integration of functional specifications, a concept this work adapts from the software engineering literature, into the visualization design nested model. A quantitative evaluation using two sets of interdisciplinary projects supports the merits of the activity-centered model. The result is a practical roadmap to the domain characterization step of visualization design for problem-driven data visualization. Following this domain characterization model can help remove a number of pitfalls that have been identified multiple times in the visualization design literature. PMID:28866550

  1. SCOPEOUT: sustainability and spread of quality improvement activities in long-term care- a mixed methods approach.

    PubMed

    Cranley, Lisa A; Hoben, Matthias; Yeung, Jasper; Estabrooks, Carole A; Norton, Peter G; Wagg, Adrian

    2018-03-12

    Interventions to improve quality of care for residents of long-term care facilities, and to examine the sustainability and spread of such initiatives, remain a top research priority. The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess the extent to which activities initiated in a quality improvement (QI) collaborative study using care aide led teams were sustained or spread following cessation of the initial project and to identify factors that led to its success. This study used an exploratory mixed methods study design and was conducted in seven residential long-term care facilities in two Canadian provinces. Sustainability and spread of QI activities were assessed by a questionnaire over five time points for 18 months following the collaborative study with staff from both intervention with non-intervention units. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with care managers at six and 12 months. QI team success in applying the QI model was ranked as high, medium, or low using criteria developed by the research team. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and General Estimating Equations were used to analyze the data. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. In total, 683 surveys were received over the five time periods from 476 unique individuals on a facility unit. Seven managers were interviewed. A total of 533 surveys were analyzed. While both intervention and non-intervention units experienced a decline over time in all outcome measures, this decline was significantly less pronounced on intervention units. Facilities with medium and high success ranking had significantly higher scores in all four outcomes than facilities with a low success ranking. Care aides reported significantly less involvement of others in QI activities, less empowerment and less satisfaction with the quality of their work life than regulated care providers. Manager interviews provided evidence of sustainability of QI activities on the intervention units in four of

  2. Galapagos hotspot-spreading center system: 1. Spatial petrological and geochemical variations (83/sup 0/W-101/sup 0/W)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schilling, J.; Kingsley, R.H.; Devine, J.D.

    We report on the petrology and geochemistry of basalts dredged at 40--50 km intervals along the Galapagos Spreading Center, between 83/sup 0/W and 101/sup 0/W (40 stations). Emphasis is on spatial variations of 'whole rock' major elements, rare earths, trace metals of the first transition series, and the nature of phenocryst assemblages and their abundances. These results provide new constraints on the nature and scale of mantle source heterogeneities, melting conditions, thermal field, and dynamics of crustal formation of the region. We suggest that ridge segments outside the high magnetic amplitude zone are at a steady state as a resultmore » of passive seafloor spreading. Basalts from these segments are apparently derived from an asthenosphere relatively uniformally depleted in incompatible elements, which appears of worldwide extent. We reject Vogt and DeBoer's (1976) model invoking damming at fracture zones of subaxial asthenosphere flow of crystal slushes and increasing fractional crystallization down the flow line, because this model would not explain the gradients in REE observed about the Galapagos Platform. Our preferred model combines the mantle-plume binary mixing model of Schilling (1973) with the concept of recurring rift propagation proposed by Hey (1977a). We further propose that pulsating mantle plume flux, perhaps in the form of a chain of blobs, may initiate the development of new rifts and their propagation. The present position of the tips of such new propagating rifts locate the wave fronts of such pulsating mantle plume flow. A two million year period is suggested for the last 4 m.y. from Wilson and Hey's (1979) information Rigorous testing of our preferred model is possible.« less

  3. Single molecular force across single integrins dictates cell spreading.

    PubMed

    Chowdhury, Farhan; Li, Isaac T S; Leslie, Benjamin J; Doğanay, Sultan; Singh, Rishi; Wang, Xuefeng; Seong, Jihye; Lee, Sang-Hak; Park, Seongjin; Wang, Ning; Ha, Taekjip

    2015-10-01

    Cells' ability to sense and interpret mechanical signals from the extracellular milieu modulates the degree of cell spreading. Yet how cells detect such signals and activate downstream signaling at the molecular level remain elusive. Herein, we utilize tension gauge tether (TGT) platform to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of cell spreading. Our data from both differentiated cells of cancerous and non-cancerous origin show that for the same stiff underlying glass substrates and for same ligand density it is the molecular forces across single integrins that ultimately determine cell spreading responses. Furthermore, by decoupling molecular stiffness and molecular tension we demonstrate that molecular stiffness has little influence on cell spreading. Our data provide strong evidence that links molecular forces at the cell-substrate interface to the degree of cell spreading.

  4. Effects of interleukin-1ß on cortical spreading depolarization and cerebral vasculature

    PubMed Central

    Eitner, Annett; Leuchtweis, Johannes; Bauer, Reinhard; Lehmenkühler, Alfred; Schaible, Hans-Georg

    2016-01-01

    During brain damage and ischemia, the cytokine interleukin-1ß is rapidly upregulated due to activation of inflammasomes. We studied whether interleukin-1ß influences cortical spreading depolarization, and whether lipopolysaccharide, often used for microglial stimulation, influences cortical spreading depolarizations. In anaesthetized rats, cortical spreading depolarizations were elicited by microinjection of KCl. Interleukin-1ß, the IL-1 receptor 1 antagonist, the GABAA receptor blocker bicuculline, and lipopolysaccharide were administered either alone or combined (interleukin-1ß + IL-1 receptor 1 antagonist; interleukin-1ß + bicuculline; lipopolysaccharide + IL-1 receptor 1 antagonist) into a local cortical treatment area. Using microelectrodes, cortical spreading depolarizations were recorded in a non-treatment and in the treatment area. Plasma extravasation in cortical grey matter was assessed with Evans blue. Local application of interleukin-1ß reduced cortical spreading depolarization amplitudes in the treatment area, but not at a high dose. This reduction was prevented by IL-1 receptor 1 antagonist and by bicuculline. However, interleukin-1ß induced pronounced plasma extravasation independently on cortical spreading depolarizations. Application of lipopolysaccharide reduced cortical spreading depolarization amplitudes but prolonged their duration; EEG activity was still present. These effects were also blocked by IL-1 receptor 1 antagonist. Interleukin-1ß evokes changes of neuronal activity and of vascular functions. Thus, although the reduction of cortical spreading depolarization amplitudes at lower doses of interleukin-1ß may reduce deleterious effects of cortical spreading depolarizations, the sum of interleukin-1ß effects on excitability and on the vasculature rather promote brain damaging mechanisms. PMID:27037093

  5. Distributed Active Archive Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bodden, Lee; Pease, Phil; Bedet, Jean-Jacques; Rosen, Wayne

    1993-01-01

    The Goddard Space Flight Center Version 0 Distributed Active Archive Center (GSFC V0 DAAC) is being developed to enhance and improve scientific research and productivity by consolidating access to remote sensor earth science data in the pre-EOS time frame. In cooperation with scientists from the science labs at GSFC, other NASA facilities, universities, and other government agencies, the DAAC will support data acquisition, validation, archive and distribution. The DAAC is being developed in response to EOSDIS Project Functional Requirements as well as from requirements originating from individual science projects such as SeaWiFS, Meteor3/TOMS2, AVHRR Pathfinder, TOVS Pathfinder, and UARS. The GSFC V0 DAAC has begun operational support for the AVHRR Pathfinder (as of April, 1993), TOVS Pathfinder (as of July, 1993) and the UARS (September, 1993) Projects, and is preparing to provide operational support for SeaWiFS (August, 1994) data. The GSFC V0 DAAC has also incorporated the existing data, services, and functionality of the DAAC/Climate, DAAC/Land, and the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) Systems.

  6. Activities of Western Research Application Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1972-01-01

    Operations of the regional dissemination center for NASA technology collection and information transfer are reported. Activities include customized searches for engineering and scientific applications in industry and technology transfers to businesses engaged in manufacturing high energy physics devices, subsurface instruments, batteries, medical instrumentation, and hydraulic equipment.

  7. Origin of the Indian Ocean-type isotopic signature in basalts from Philippine Sea plate spreading centers: An assessment of local versus large-scale processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hickey-Vargas, Rosemary

    1998-09-01

    Basalts erupted from spreading centers on the Philippine Sea plate between 50 Ma and the present have the distinctive isotopic characteristics of Indian Ocean mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), such as high 208Pb/204Pb and low 143Nd/144Nd for a given 206Pb/204Pb compared with Pacific and Atlantic Ocean MORB. This feature may indicate that the upper mantle of the Philippine Sea plate originated as part of the existing Indian Ocean upper mantle domain, or, alternatively, that local processes duplicated these isotopic characteristics within the sub-Philippine Sea plate upper mantle. Synthesis of new and published isotopic data for Philippine Sea plate basin basalts and island arc volcanic rocks, radiometric ages, and tectonic reconstructions of the plate indicates that local processes, such as contamination of the upper mantle by subducted materials or by western Pacific mantle plumes, did not produce the Indian Ocean-type signature in Philippine Sea plate MORB. It is more likely that the plate originated over a rapidly growing Indian Ocean upper mantle domain that had spread into the area between Australia/New Guinea and southeast Asia before 50 Ma.

  8. Ethics Centers' Activities and Role in Promoting Ethics in Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Safatly, Lise; Itani, Hiba; El-Hajj, Ali; Salem, Dania

    2017-01-01

    In modern and well-structured universities, ethics centers are playing a key role in hosting, organizing, and managing activities to enrich and guide students' ethical thinking and analysis. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of the goals, activities, and administration of ethics centers, as well as their role in promoting ethical thinking…

  9. Rho-ROCK signaling differentially regulates chondrocyte spreading on fibronectin and bone sialoprotein.

    PubMed

    Gill, Kamal S; Beier, Frank; Goldberg, Harvey A

    2008-07-01

    The mammalian growth plate is a dynamic structure rich in extracellular matrix (ECM). Interactions of growth plate chondrocytes with ECM proteins regulate cell behavior. In this study, we compared chondrocyte adhesion and spreading dynamics on fibronectin (FN) and bone sialoprotein (BSP). Chondrocyte adhesion and spreading were also compared with fibroblasts to analyze potential cell-type-specific effects. Chondrocyte adhesion to BSP is independent of posttranslational modifications but is dependent on the RGD sequence in BSP. Whereas chondrocytes and fibroblasts adhered at similar levels on FN and BSP, cells displayed more actin-dependent spread on FN despite a 16x molar excess of BSP adsorbed to plastic. To identify intracellular mediators responsible for this difference in spreading, we investigated focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-Src and Rho-Rho kinase (ROCK) signaling. Although activated FAK localized to the vertices of adhered chondrocytes, levels of FAK activation did not correlate with the extent of spreading. Furthermore, Src inhibition reduced chondrocyte spreading on both FN and BSP, suggesting that FAK-Src signaling is not responsible for less cell spreading on BSP. In contrast, inhibition of Rho and ROCK in chondrocytes increased cell spreading on BSP and membrane protrusiveness on FN but did not affect cell adhesion. In fibroblasts, Rho inhibition increased fibroblast spreading on BSP while ROCK inhibition changed membrane protrusiveness of FN and BSP. In summary, we identify a novel role for Rho-ROCK signaling in regulating chondrocyte spreading and demonstrate both cell- and matrix molecule-specific mechanisms controlling cell spreading.

  10. Spreading And Collapse Of Big Basaltic Volcanoes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Puglisi, G.; Bonforte, A.; Guglielmino, F.; Peltier, A.; Poland, M. P.

    2015-12-01

    Among the different types of volcanoes, basaltic ones usually form the most voluminous edifices. Because volcanoes are growing on a pre-existing landscape, the geologic and structural framework of the basement (and earlier volcanic landforms) influences the stress regime, seismicity, and volcanic activity. Conversely, the masses of these volcanoes introduce a morphological anomaly that affects neighboring areas. Growth of a volcano disturbs the tectonic framework of the region, clamps and unclamps existing faults (some of which may be reactivated by the new stress field), and deforms the substratum. A volcano's weight on its basement can trigger edifice spreading and collapse that can affect populated areas even at significant distance. Volcano instability can also be driven by slow tectonic deformation and magmatic intrusion. The manifestations of instability span a range of temporal and spatial scales, ranging from slow creep on individual faults to large earthquakes affecting a broad area. Our work aims to investigate the relation between basement setting and volcanic activity and stability at Etna (Sicily, Italy), Kilauea (Island of Hawaii, USA) and Piton de la Fournaise (La Reunion Island, France). These volcanoes host frequent eruptive activity (effusive and explosive) and share common features indicating lateral spreading and collapse, yet they are characterized by different morphologies, dimensions, and tectonic frameworks. For instance, the basaltic ocean island volcanoes of Kilauea and Piton de la Fournaise are near the active ends of long hotspot chains while Mt. Etna has developed at junction along a convergent margin between the African and Eurasian plates and a passive margin separating the oceanic Ionian crust from the African continental crust. Magma supply and plate velocity also differ in the three settings, as to the sizes of the edifices and the extents of their rift zones. These volcanoes, due to their similarities and differences, coupled with

  11. Hurricane Activity and the Large-Scale Pattern of Spread of an Invasive Plant Species

    PubMed Central

    Bhattarai, Ganesh P.; Cronin, James T.

    2014-01-01

    Disturbances are a primary facilitator of the growth and spread of invasive species. However, the effects of large-scale disturbances, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, on the broad geographic patterns of invasive species growth and spread have not been investigated. We used historical aerial imagery to determine the growth rate of invasive Phragmites australis patches in wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. These were relatively undisturbed wetlands where P. australis had room for unrestricted growth. Over the past several decades, invasive P. australis stands expanded in size by 6–35% per year. Based on tropical storm and hurricane activity over that same time period, we found that the frequency of hurricane-force winds explained 81% of the variation in P. australis growth over this broad geographic range. The expansion of P. australis stands was strongly and positively correlated with hurricane frequency. In light of the many climatic models that predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes over the next century, these results suggest a strong link between climate change and species invasion and a challenging future ahead for the management of invasive species. PMID:24878928

  12. Adult Basic Learning in an Activity Center: A Demonstration Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Metropolitan Adult Education Program, San Jose, CA.

    Escuela Amistad, an activity center in San Jose, California, is now operating at capacity, five months after its origin. Average daily attendance has been 125 adult students, 18-65, most of whom are females of Mexican-American background. Activities and services provided by the center are: instruction in English as a second language, home…

  13. Relationship between child care centers' compliance with physical activity regulations and children's physical activity, New York City, 2010.

    PubMed

    Stephens, Robert L; Xu, Ye; Lesesne, Catherine A; Dunn, Lillian; Kakietek, Jakub; Jernigan, Jan; Khan, Laura Kettel

    2014-10-16

    Physical activity may protect against overweight and obesity among preschoolers, and the policies and characteristics of group child care centers influence the physical activity levels of children who attend them. We examined whether children in New York City group child care centers that are compliant with the city's regulations on child physical activity engage in more activity than children in centers who do not comply. A sample of 1,352 children (mean age, 3.39 years) served by 110 group child care centers in low-income neighborhoods participated. Children's anthropometric data were collected and accelerometers were used to measure duration and intensity of physical activity. Multilevel generalized linear regression modeling techniques were used to assess the effect of center- and child-level factors on child-level physical activity. Centers' compliance with the regulation of obtaining at least 60 minutes of total physical activity per day was positively associated with children's levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA); compliance with the regulation of obtaining at least 30 minutes of structured activity was not associated with increased levels of MVPA. Children in centers with a dedicated outdoor play space available also spent more time in MVPA. Boys spent more time in MVPA than girls, and non-Hispanic black children spent more time in MVPA than Hispanic children. To increase children's level of MVPA in child care, both time and type of activity should be considered. Further examination of the role of play space availability and its effect on opportunities for engaging in physical activity is needed.

  14. Optimizing Hybrid Spreading in Metapopulations

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Changwang; Zhou, Shi; Miller, Joel C.; Cox, Ingemar J.; Chain, Benjamin M.

    2015-01-01

    Epidemic spreading phenomena are ubiquitous in nature and society. Examples include the spreading of diseases, information, and computer viruses. Epidemics can spread by local spreading, where infected nodes can only infect a limited set of direct target nodes and global spreading, where an infected node can infect every other node. In reality, many epidemics spread using a hybrid mixture of both types of spreading. In this study we develop a theoretical framework for studying hybrid epidemics, and examine the optimum balance between spreading mechanisms in terms of achieving the maximum outbreak size. We show the existence of critically hybrid epidemics where neither spreading mechanism alone can cause a noticeable spread but a combination of the two spreading mechanisms would produce an enormous outbreak. Our results provide new strategies for maximising beneficial epidemics and estimating the worst outcome of damaging hybrid epidemics. PMID:25923411

  15. Optimizing hybrid spreading in metapopulations.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Changwang; Zhou, Shi; Miller, Joel C; Cox, Ingemar J; Chain, Benjamin M

    2015-04-29

    Epidemic spreading phenomena are ubiquitous in nature and society. Examples include the spreading of diseases, information, and computer viruses. Epidemics can spread by local spreading, where infected nodes can only infect a limited set of direct target nodes and global spreading, where an infected node can infect every other node. In reality, many epidemics spread using a hybrid mixture of both types of spreading. In this study we develop a theoretical framework for studying hybrid epidemics, and examine the optimum balance between spreading mechanisms in terms of achieving the maximum outbreak size. We show the existence of critically hybrid epidemics where neither spreading mechanism alone can cause a noticeable spread but a combination of the two spreading mechanisms would produce an enormous outbreak. Our results provide new strategies for maximising beneficial epidemics and estimating the worst outcome of damaging hybrid epidemics.

  16. Bursty communication patterns facilitate spreading in a threshold-based epidemic dynamics.

    PubMed

    Takaguchi, Taro; Masuda, Naoki; Holme, Petter

    2013-01-01

    Records of social interactions provide us with new sources of data for understanding how interaction patterns affect collective dynamics. Such human activity patterns are often bursty, i.e., they consist of short periods of intense activity followed by long periods of silence. This burstiness has been shown to affect spreading phenomena; it accelerates epidemic spreading in some cases and slows it down in other cases. We investigate a model of history-dependent contagion. In our model, repeated interactions between susceptible and infected individuals in a short period of time is needed for a susceptible individual to contract infection. We carry out numerical simulations on real temporal network data to find that bursty activity patterns facilitate epidemic spreading in our model.

  17. Numerical study of liquid film rupture after droplet spreading on a superhydrophilic surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Yisen; Lian, Yongsheng

    2017-11-01

    When a droplet impacts onto a solid surface, different outcomes can be observed, such as rebound, spreading and splashing. We present numerical simulation results on liquid film rupture after spreading of a droplet impact on a smooth superhydrophilic surface. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved using the variable density pressure projection method and the moment-of-fluid method is used to track the droplet interface. A superhydrophilic or superwetting surface has strong affinity to liquid and we assume the contact angle between solid and liquid is almost zero degree. The droplet spreading and film rupture process occurs in two stages: the droplet first spreads onto the surface and flattens into a thin film as it reaches the maximum diameter, then the film rim becomes unstable and the film rupture initiates from the rim toward the center gradually until the entire film breaks up into secondary droplets. The duration of the film rupture stage is much shorter than the spreading stage. The simulation result is compared with experiment and good agreement is achieved. We investigate the film thickness evolution during spreading and the effect of surface wettability on film rupture.

  18. Spreading volcanoes

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Borgia, A.; Delaney, P.T.; Denlinger, R.P.

    2000-01-01

    As volcanoes grow, they become ever heavier. Unlike mountains exhumed by erosion of rocks that generally were lithified at depth, volcanoes typically are built of poorly consolidated rocks that may be further weakened by hydrothermal alteration. The substrates upon which volcanoes rest, moreover, are often sediments lithified by no more than the weight of the volcanic overburden. It is not surprising, therefore, that volcanic deformation includes-and in the long term is often dominated by-spreading motions that translate subsidence near volcanic summits to outward horizontal displacements around the flanks and peripheries. We review examples of volcanic spreading and go on to derive approximate expressions for the time volcanoes require to deform by spreading on weak substrates. We also demonstrate that shear stresses that drive low-angle thrust faulting from beneath volcanic constructs have maxima at volcanic peripheries, just where such faults are seen to emerge. Finally, we establish a theoretical basis for experimentally derived scalings that delineate volcanoes that spread from those that do not.

  19. CFD Modeling Activities at the NASA Stennis Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Allgood, Daniel

    2007-01-01

    A viewgraph presentation on NASA Stennis Space Center's Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modeling activities is shown. The topics include: 1) Overview of NASA Stennis Space Center; 2) Role of Computational Modeling at NASA-SSC; 3) Computational Modeling Tools and Resources; and 4) CFD Modeling Applications.

  20. Rho-ROCK signaling differentially regulates chondrocyte spreading on fibronectin and bone sialoprotein

    PubMed Central

    Gill, Kamal S.; Beier, Frank; Goldberg, Harvey A.

    2008-01-01

    The mammalian growth plate is a dynamic structure rich in extracellular matrix (ECM). Interactions of growth plate chondrocytes with ECM proteins regulate cell behavior. In this study, we compared chondrocyte adhesion and spreading dynamics on fibronectin (FN) and bone sialoprotein (BSP). Chondrocyte adhesion and spreading were also compared with fibroblasts to analyze potential cell-type-specific effects. Chondrocyte adhesion to BSP is independent of posttranslational modifications but is dependent on the RGD sequence in BSP. Whereas chondrocytes and fibroblasts adhered at similar levels on FN and BSP, cells displayed more actin-dependent spread on FN despite a 16× molar excess of BSP adsorbed to plastic. To identify intracellular mediators responsible for this difference in spreading, we investigated focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-Src and Rho-Rho kinase (ROCK) signaling. Although activated FAK localized to the vertices of adhered chondrocytes, levels of FAK activation did not correlate with the extent of spreading. Furthermore, Src inhibition reduced chondrocyte spreading on both FN and BSP, suggesting that FAK-Src signaling is not responsible for less cell spreading on BSP. In contrast, inhibition of Rho and ROCK in chondrocytes increased cell spreading on BSP and membrane protrusiveness on FN but did not affect cell adhesion. In fibroblasts, Rho inhibition increased fibroblast spreading on BSP while ROCK inhibition changed membrane protrusiveness of FN and BSP. In summary, we identify a novel role for Rho-ROCK signaling in regulating chondrocyte spreading and demonstrate both cell- and matrix molecule-specific mechanisms controlling cell spreading. PMID:18463228

  1. Roles of the spreading scope and effectiveness in spreading dynamics on multiplex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ming; Liu, Run-Ran; Peng, Dan; Jia, Chun-Xiao; Wang, Bing-Hong

    2018-02-01

    Comparing with single networks, the multiplex networks bring two main effects on the spreading process among individuals. First, the pathogen or information can be transmitted to more individuals through different layers at one time, which enlarges the spreading scope. Second, through different layers, an individual can also transmit the pathogen or information to the same individuals more than once at one time, which makes the spreading more effective. To understand the different roles of the spreading scope and effectiveness, we propose an epidemic model on multiplex networks with link overlapping, where the spreading effectiveness of each interaction as well as the variety of channels (spreading scope) can be controlled by the number of overlapping links. We find that for Poisson degree distribution, increasing the epidemic scope (the first effect) is more efficient than enhancing epidemic probability (the second effect) to facilitate the spreading process. However, for power-law degree distribution, the effects of the two factors on the spreading dynamics become complicated. Enhancing epidemic probability makes pathogen or rumor easier to outbreak in a finite system. But after that increasing epidemic scopes is still more effective for a wide spreading. Theoretical results along with reasonable explanation for these phenomena are all given in this paper, which indicates that the epidemic scope could play an important role in the spreading dynamics.

  2. Oxygen availability and spreading depolarizations provide complementary prognostic information in neuromonitoring of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.

    PubMed

    Winkler, Maren Kl; Dengler, Nora; Hecht, Nils; Hartings, Jed A; Kang, Eun J; Major, Sebastian; Martus, Peter; Vajkoczy, Peter; Woitzik, Johannes; Dreier, Jens P

    2017-05-01

    Multimodal neuromonitoring in neurocritical care increasingly includes electrocorticography to measure epileptic events and spreading depolarizations. Spreading depolarization causes spreading depression of activity (=isoelectricity) in electrically active tissue. If the depression is long-lasting, further spreading depolarizations occur in still isoelectric tissue where no activity can be suppressed. Such spreading depolarizations are termed isoelectric and are assumed to indicate energy compromise. However, experimental and clinical recordings suggest that long-lasting spreading depolarization-induced depression and isoelectric spreading depolarizations are often recorded outside of the actual ischemic zones, allowing the remote diagnosis of delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Here, we analyzed simultaneous electrocorticography and tissue partial pressure of oxygen recording in 33 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients. Multiple regression showed that both peak total depression duration per recording day and mean baseline tissue partial pressure of oxygen were independent predictors of outcome. Moreover, tissue partial pressure of oxygen preceding spreading depolarization was similar and differences in tissue partial pressure of oxygen responses to spreading depolarization were only subtle between isoelectric spreading depolarizations and spreading depressions. This further supports that, similar to clustering of spreading depolarizations, long spreading depolarization-induced periods of isoelectricity are useful to detect energy compromise remotely, which is valuable because the exact location of future developing pathology is unknown at the time when the neurosurgeon implants recording devices.

  3. True and fake information spreading over the Facebook

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Dong; Chow, Tommy W. S.; Zhong, Lu; Tian, Zhaoyang; Zhang, Qingpeng; Chen, Guanrong

    2018-09-01

    Social networks have involved more and more users who search for and share information extensively and frequently. Tremendous evidence in Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Google+ alike shows that such social networks are the major information sources as well as the most effective platforms for information transmission and exchange. The dynamic propagation of various information may gradually disseminate, drastically increase, strongly compete with each other, or slowly decrease. These observations had led to the present study of the spreading process of true and fake information over social networks, particularly the Facebook. Specifically, in this paper the topological structure of two huge-scale Facebook network datasets are investigated regarding their statistical properties. Based on that, an information model for simulating the true and fake information spreading over the Facebook is established. Through controlling the spreading parameters in extensive large-scale simulations, it is found that the final density of stiflers increases with the growth of the spreading rate, while it would decline with the increase of the removal rate. Moreover, it is found that the spreading process of the true-fake information is closely related to the node degrees on the network. Hub-individuals with high degrees have large probabilities to learn hidden information and then spread it. Interestingly, it is found that the spreading rate of the true information but not of the fake information has a great effect on the information spreading process, reflecting the human nature in believing and spreading truths in social activities. The new findings validate the proposed model to be capable of characterizing the dynamic evolution of true and fake information over the Facebook, useful and informative for future social science studies.

  4. The potential and realized spread of wildfires across Canada

    Treesearch

    Xianli Wang; Marc-Andre Parisien; Mike D. Flannigan; Sean A. Parks; Kerry R. Anderson; John M. Little; Steve W. Taylor

    2014-01-01

    Given that they can burn for weeks or months, wildfires in temperate and boreal forests may become immense (eg., 100 - 04 km2). However, during the period within which a large fire is 'active', not all days experience weather that is conducive to fire spread; indeed most of the spread occurs on a small proportion (e.g., 1 - 15 days) of not necessarily...

  5. Excellence in Physics Education Award: SCALE-UP, Student Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beichner, Robert

    2016-03-01

    The Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) Project combines curricula and a specially-designed instructional space to enhance learning. SCALE-UP students practice communication and teamwork skills while performing activities that enhance their conceptual understanding and problem solving skills. This can be done with small or large classes and has been implemented at more than 250 institutions. Educational research indicates that students should collaborate on interesting tasks and be deeply involved with the material they are studying. SCALE-UP classtime is spent primarily on ``tangibles'' and ``ponderables''--hands-on measurements/observations and interesting questions. There are also computer simulations (called ``visibles'') and hypothesis-driven labs. Students sit at tables designed to facilitate group interactions. Instructors circulate and engage in Socratic dialogues. The setting looks like a banquet hall, with lively interactions nearly all the time. Impressive learning gains have been measured at institutions across the US and internationally. This talk describes today's students, how lecturing got started, what happens in a SCALE-UP classroom, and how the approach has spread. The SCALE-UP project has greatly benefitted from numerous Grants made by NSF and FIPSE to NCSU and other institutions.

  6. Seafloor Volcanic and Structural Features Adjacent to the 90deg 50'N Transform - Galapagos Spreading Center: Clues for Understanding Plate Boundary Kinematics and Lithospheric Melting Processes (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fornari, D. J.; Soule, S.; Harpp, K. S.; Mittelstaedt, E. L.; Geist, D.; Kurz, M. D.; R/v Melville Mv1007 Cruise Scientific Party

    2010-12-01

    High-resolution EM122 multibeam and MR-1 sidescan sonar data collected over a wide area of seafloor west and east of the 90deg 50’N transform along the Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC) reveal seafloor morpho-structural fabric created along this intermediate spreading plate boundary. In concert with geochemical and geophysical data collected during the cruise, these data will be used to help unravel the kinematics of hotspot-ridge interactions in the northern Galapagos. West of the transform, the seafloor is dominated by three prominent NW-SE trending seamount lineaments, each ~20-30 km wide, including the prominent Wolf-Darwin Lineament (WDL) as well as two other smaller volcanic chains east of the WDL, which are oriented along intermediate trends that become more subparallel to the N-S trend of the transform from west to east. This suggests a possible strong controlling influence of the transform on the orientation of lithospheric fractures involved in supplying magmas to the volcanic centers. Interestingly, each seamount lineament west of the transform appears to have nascent volcanoes nucleating immediately south of the GSC axis at locations that mark along-axis discontinuities of the spreading center, suggesting ridge-related magmatic focusing is also influencing crustal generation on the Nazca plate in this region. The tectonized terrain associated with the transform is 60 km wide, whereas the transform valley is only 20 km wide. The northern 40 km of the transform has a well-defined linear shear zone and bounding faults. The southern 50 km of the transform are characterized by a wide zone of extensive oblique shear structures that trend NW-SE. Within this zone are numerous small volcanic cones and ridges that decorate the margins and axis of the transform domain. The structural evolution of the transform appears to be undergoing a transition along its length with intra-transform volcanism in the south and more normal shear in the north, however the tectonic

  7. Minor and trace element geochemistry of volcanic rocks dredged from the Galapagos spreading center: role of crystal fractionation and mantle heterogeneity.

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Clague, D.A.; Frey, F.A.; Thompson, G.; Rindge, S.

    1981-01-01

    A wide range of rock types (abyssal tholeiite, Fe-Ti-rich basalt, andesite, and rhyodacite) were dredged from near 95oW and 85oW on the Galapagos spreading center. Computer modeling of major element compositions has shown that these rocks could be derived from common parental magmas by successive degrees of fractional crystallization. However, the P2O5/K2O ratio implies distinct mantle source compositions for the two areas. These source regions also have different rare earth element (REE) abundance patterns. The sequence of fractionated lavas differs for the two areas and indicates earlier fractionation of apatite and titanomagnetite in the lavas from 95oW. The mantle source regions for these two areas are interpreted to be depleted in incompatible (and volatile?) elements, although the source region beneath 95oW is less severely depleted in La and K. -Authors

  8. Evolution of Slow to Intermediate-Spreading Oceanic Crust in the South Atlantic: The Effects of Age, Sediment Thickness, and Spreading Rate on the Heterogeneity of Upper Crustal Velocities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kardell, D. A.; Christeson, G. L.; Reece, R.; Carlson, R. L.

    2017-12-01

    The upper section of oceanic crust (layer 2A) commonly exhibits relatively low seismic velocities due to abundant pore and crack space created by the extrusive emplacement of magma and extensional faulting at the spreading ridge. While this is generally true for all spreading rates, previous studies have shown that slow seafloor spreading can yield much higher levels of upper crustal heterogeneity than observed for faster spreading rates. We use a recent multichannel seismic dataset collected with a 12.5 km streamer during the CREST cruise (Crustal Reflectivity Experiment Southern Transect) to build eleven 60-80 km-long tomographic velocity models. These two-dimensional models include both ridge-normal and ridge-parallel orientations and cover oceanic crust produced at slow to intermediate spreading rates. Crustal ages range between 0 and 70 m.y., spreading rates range between slow-spreading and intermediate-spreading, and sedimentary cover thickness ranges from 0 m close to the spreading center to 500 m proximal to the Rio Grande Rise. Our results show a trend of increasing layer 2A velocities with age out to the midpoint of the seismic transect. There is a rapid increase in velocities from 2.8 km/s near the ridge to 4.3 km/s around 10 Ma, and a slower increase to velocities around 5 km/s in 37 m.y. old crust. While this indicates an ongoing evolution in oceanic crust older than expected, the velocities do level off in the older half of the transect, averaging 5 km/s. Crust covered by a thicker sedimentary section can exhibit velocities up to 1 km/s faster than adjacent non-sedimented crust, accounting for much of the local variations. This is possibly due to the effects of a sealed hydrothermal system. We also observe a more heterogeneous velocity structure parallel to the ridge than in the ridge-normal orientation, and more velocity heterogeneity for slow-spreading crust compared to intermediate-spreading crust.

  9. Visitors Center activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1997-01-01

    More than 2,000 children and adults from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama recently build a 12-foot tall Space Shuttle made entirely from tiny LEGO bricks at the John C. Stennis Space Center Visitors Center in South Mississippi. The shuttle was part of an exhibit titled 'Travel in Space' World Show which depicts the history of flight and space travel from the Wright brothers to future generations of space vehicles. For more information concerning hours of operation or Visitors Center educational programs, call 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana or (601) 688-2370.

  10. Regulation of FAK Ser-722 phosphorylation and kinase activity by GSK3 and PP1 during cell spreading and migration.

    PubMed

    Bianchi, Mariarita; De Lucchini, Stefania; Marin, Oriano; Turner, David L; Hanks, Steven K; Villa-Moruzzi, Emma

    2005-10-15

    In addition to tyrosine sites, FAK (focal adhesion kinase) is phosphorylated on multiple serine residues. In the present study, the regulation of two of these sites, Ser-722 (S1) and Ser-911 (S4), was investigated. Phosphorylation of S1 (but not S4) decreased in resuspended cells, and recovered during spreading on fibronectin, indicating adhesion-dependent regulation. GSK3 (glycogen synthase kinase 3) inhibitors decreased S1 phosphorylation, and siRNA (short interfering RNA) silencing indicated further the involvement of GSK3beta. Furthermore, GSK3beta was found to become activated during cell spreading on fibronectin, and to physically associate with FAK. S1 phosphorylation was observed to decrease in wounded cell monolayers, while GSK3beta underwent inactivation and later was observed to increase to the original level within 24 h. Direct phosphorylation of S1, requiring pre-phosphorylation of Ser-726 in the +4 position, was demonstrated using purified GSK3 and a synthetic peptide containing FAK residues 714-730. An inhibitory role for S1 phosphorylation in FAK signalling was indicated by findings that both alanine substitution for S1 and dephosphorylation of S1 by PP1 (serine/threonine protein phosphatase type-1) resulted in an increase in FAK kinase activity; likewise, this role was also shown by cell treatment with the GSK3 inhibitor LiCl. The inhibitory role was confirmed by the finding that cells expressing FAK with alanine substitution for S1 displayed improved cell spreading and faster migration in wound-healing and trans-well assays. Finally, the finding that S1 phosphorylation increased in cells treated with the PP1 inhibitor okadaic acid indicated targeting of this site by PP1. These results indicate an additional mechanism for regulation of FAK activity during cell spreading and migration, involving Ser-722 phosphorylation modulated through the competing actions of GSK3beta and PP1.

  11. Spreading and collapse of big basaltic volcanoes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Puglisi, Giuseppe; Bonforte, Alessandro; Guglielmino, Francesco; Peltier, Aline; Poland, Michael

    2016-04-01

    Among the different types of volcanoes, basaltic ones usually form the most voluminous edifices. Because volcanoes are growing on a pre-existing landscape, the geologic and structural framework of the basement (and earlier volcanic landforms) influences the stress regime, seismicity, and volcanic activity. Conversely, the masses of these volcanoes introduce a morphological anomaly that affects neighboring areas. Growth of a volcano disturbs the tectonic framework of the region, clamps and unclamps existing faults (some of which may be reactivated by the new stress field), and deforms the substratum. A volcano's weight on its basement can trigger edifice spreading and collapse that can affect populated areas even at significant distance. Volcano instability can also be driven by slow tectonic deformation and magmatic intrusion. The manifestations of instability span a range of temporal and spatial scales, ranging from slow creep on individual faults to large earthquakes affecting a broad area. In the frame of MED-SVU project, our work aims to investigate the relation between basement setting and volcanic activity and stability at three Supersite volcanoes: Etna (Sicily, Italy), Kilauea (Island of Hawaii, USA) and Piton de la Fournaise (La Reunion Island, France). These volcanoes host frequent eruptive activity (effusive and explosive) and share common features indicating lateral spreading and collapse, yet they are characterized by different morphologies, dimensions, and tectonic frameworks. For instance, the basaltic ocean island volcanoes of Kilauea and Piton de la Fournaise are near the active ends of long hotspot chains while Mt. Etna has developed at junction along a convergent margin between the African and Eurasian plates and a passive margin separating the oceanic Ionian crust from the African continental crust. Magma supply and plate velocity also differ in the three settings, as to the sizes of the edifices and the extents of their rift zones. These

  12. Workjobs: Activity-Centered Learning for Early Childhood Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lorton, Mary Baratta

    Based on the idea that through active involvement with the materials the child would draw out the generalizations within the material, a teacher's method of activity-centered learning for early childhood education is presented. The first section of the book deals with the development of language through workjobs, emphasizing perception, matching,…

  13. Impacts of human activity modes and climate on heavy metal "spread" in groundwater are biased.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ming; Qin, Xiaosheng; Zeng, Guangming; Li, Jian

    2016-06-01

    Groundwater quality deterioration has attracted world-wide concerns due to its importance for human water supply. Although more and more studies have shown that human activities and climate are changing the groundwater status, an investigation on how different groundwater heavy metals respond to human activity modes (e.g. mining, waste disposal, agriculture, sewage effluent and complex activity) in a varying climate has been lacking. Here, for each of six heavy metals (i.e. Fe, Zn, Mn, Pb, Cd and Cu) in groundwater, we use >330 data points together with mixed-effect models to indicate that (i) human activity modes significantly influence the Cu and Mn but not Zn, Fe, Pb and Cd levels, and (ii) annual mean temperature (AMT) only significantly influences Cu and Pb levels, while annual precipitation (AP) only significantly affects Fe, Cu and Mn levels. Given these differences, we suggest that the impacts of human activity modes and climate on heavy metal "spread" in groundwater are biased. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Modeling universal dynamics of cell spreading on elastic substrates.

    PubMed

    Fan, Houfu; Li, Shaofan

    2015-11-01

    A three-dimensional (3D) multiscale moving contact line model is combined with a soft matter cell model to study the universal dynamics of cell spreading over elastic substrates. We have studied both the early stage and the late stage cell spreading by taking into account the actin tension effect. In this work, the cell is modeled as an active nematic droplet, and the substrate is modeled as a St. Venant Kirchhoff elastic medium. A complete 3D simulation of cell spreading has been carried out. The simulation results show that the spreading area versus spreading time at different stages obeys specific power laws, which is in good agreement with experimental data and theoretical prediction reported in the literature. Moreover, the simulation results show that the substrate elasticity may affect force dipole distribution inside the cell. The advantage of this approach is that it combines the hydrodynamics of actin retrograde flow with moving contact line model so that it can naturally include actin tension effect resulting from actin polymerization and actomyosin contraction, and thus it might be capable of simulating complex cellular scale phenomenon, such as cell spreading or even crawling.

  15. Visitors Center activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1997-01-01

    Astronaut Katherine Hire and LEGO-Master Model Builders assisted children from Mississippi, Louisiana and Mississippi in the building of a 12-foot tall Space Shuttle made entirely from tiny LEGO bricks at the John C. Stennis Space Center Visitors Center in South Mississippi. The shuttle was part of an exhibit titled ' Travel in Space' World Show which depicts the history of flight and space travel from the Wright brothers to future generations of space vehicles. For more information concerning hours of operation or Visitors Center educational programs, call 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana or (601) 688-2370.

  16. Tracking Active Learning in the Medical School Curriculum: A Learning-Centered Approach.

    PubMed

    McCoy, Lise; Pettit, Robin K; Kellar, Charlyn; Morgan, Christine

    2018-01-01

    Medical education is moving toward active learning during large group lecture sessions. This study investigated the saturation and breadth of active learning techniques implemented in first year medical school large group sessions. Data collection involved retrospective curriculum review and semistructured interviews with 20 faculty. The authors piloted a taxonomy of active learning techniques and mapped learning techniques to attributes of learning-centered instruction. Faculty implemented 25 different active learning techniques over the course of 9 first year courses. Of 646 hours of large group instruction, 476 (74%) involved at least 1 active learning component. The frequency and variety of active learning components integrated throughout the year 1 curriculum reflect faculty familiarity with active learning methods and their support of an active learning culture. This project has sparked reflection on teaching practices and facilitated an evolution from teacher-centered to learning-centered instruction.

  17. Electromagnetic constraints on a melt region beneath the central Mariana back-arc spreading ridge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsuno, Tetsuo; Evans, Rob L.; Seama, Nobukazu; Chave, Alan D.

    2012-10-01

    An electrical resistivity profile across the central Mariana subduction system shows high resistivity in the upper mantle beneath the back-arc spreading ridge where melt might be expected to exist. Although seismic data are equivocal on the extent of a possible melt region, the question arises as to why a 2-D magnetotelluric (MT) survey apparently failed to image any melt. We have run forward models and inversions that test possible 3-D melt geometries that are consistent with the MT data and results of other studies from the region, and that we use to place upper bounds on the possible extent of 3-D melt region beneath the spreading center. Our study suggests that the largest melt region that was not directly imaged by the 2-D MT data, but that is compatible with the observations as well as the likely effects of melt focusing, has a 3-D shape on a ridge-segment scale focused toward the spreading center and a resistivity of 100 Ω-m that corresponds to ˜0.1-˜1% interconnected silicate melt embedded in a background resistivity of ˜500 Ω-m. In contrast to the superfast spreading southern East Pacific Rise, the 3-D melt region suggests that buoyant mantle upwelling on a ridge-segment scale is the dominant process beneath the slow-spreading central Mariana back-arc. A final test considers whether the inability to image a 3-D melt region was a result of the 2-D survey geometry. The result reveals that the 2-D transect completed is useful to elucidate a broad range of 3-D melt bodies.

  18. An Improved Adaptive model for Information Recommending and Spreading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Duan-Bing; Gao, Hui

    2012-04-01

    People in the Internet era have to cope with information overload and expend great effort on finding what they need. Recent experiments indicate that recommendations based on users' past activities are usually less favored than those based on social relationships, and thus many researchers have proposed adaptive algorithms on social recommendation. However, in those methods, quite a number of users have little chance to recommend information, which might prevent valuable information from spreading. We present an improved algorithm that allows more users to have enough followers to spread information. Experimental results demonstrate that both recommendation precision and spreading effectiveness of our method can be improved significantly.

  19. Numerically bridging lamellipodial and filopodial activity during cell spreading reveals a potentially novel trigger of focal adhesion maturation.

    PubMed

    Loosli, Y; Vianay, B; Luginbuehl, R; Snedeker, J G

    2012-05-01

    We present a novel approach to modeling cell spreading, and use it to reveal a potentially central mechanism regulating focal adhesion maturation in various cell phenotypes. Actin bundles that span neighboring focal complexes at the lamellipodium-lamellum interface were assumed to be loaded by intracellular forces in proportion to bundle length. We hypothesized that the length of an actin bundle (with the corresponding accumulated force at its adhesions) may thus regulate adhesion maturation to ensure cell mechanical stability and morphological integrity. We developed a model to test this hypothesis, implementing a "top-down" approach to simplify certain cellular processes while explicitly incorporating complexity of other key subcellular mechanisms. Filopodial and lamellipodial activities were treated as modular processes with functional spatiotemporal interactions coordinated by rules regarding focal adhesion turnover and actin bundle dynamics. This theoretical framework was able to robustly predict temporal evolution of cell area and cytoskeletal organization as reported from a wide range of cell spreading experiments using micropatterned substrates. We conclude that a geometric/temporal modeling framework can capture the key functional aspects of the rapid spreading phase and resultant cytoskeletal complexity. Hence the model is used to reveal mechanistic insight into basic cell behavior essential for spreading. It demonstrates that actin bundles spanning nascent focal adhesions such that they are aligned to the leading edge may accumulate centripetal endogenous forces along their length, and could thus trigger focal adhesion maturation in a force-length dependent fashion. We suggest that this mechanism could be a central "integrating" factor that effectively coordinates force-mediated adhesion maturation at the lamellipodium-lamellum interface.

  20. The formation of post-spreading volcanic ridges in the South China Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Minghui; Sibuet, Jean-Claude; He, Enyuan; Tan, Pingchuan; Wang, Jian; Qiu, Xuelin

    2016-04-01

    , 41176053). References Sibuet J.-C., Yeh Y.-C. and Lee C.-S., 2016 revised. Geodynamics of the South China Sea. Tectonophysics. Holbrook, W. S., H. C. Larsen, J. Korenaga, et al., 2001. Mantle thermal structure and active upwelling during continental breakup in the North Atlantic, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 190, 251-266. Korenaga, J., P.B.Kelemen, W.S. Holbrook., 2002. Methods for resolving the origin of large igneous provinces from crustal seismology. Journal of Geophysical research: Solid Earth (1978-2012), 107(B9), 2178,doi:10.1029/2001JB001030. Castillo, P. R., Clague, D. A., Davis, A. S., et al., 2010. Petrogenesis of Davidson Seamount lavas and its implications for fossil spreading center and intraplate magmatism in the eastern Pacific. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 11, Q02005, doi:10.1029/2009GC002992.

  1. A Review on Forearc Ophiolite Obduction, Adakite-Like Generation, and Slab Window Development at the Chile Triple Junction Area: Uniformitarian Framework for Spreading-Ridge Subduction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bourgois, Jacques; Lagabrielle, Yves; Martin, Hervé; Dyment, Jérôme; Frutos, Jose; Cisternas, Maria Eugenia

    2016-10-01

    This paper aggregates the main basic data acquired along the Chile Triple Junction (CTJ) area (45°-48°S), where an active spreading center is presently subducting beneath the Andean continental margin. Updated sea-floor kinematics associated with a comprehensive review of geologic, geochemical, and geophysical data provide new constraints on the geodynamics of this puzzling area. We discuss: (1) the emplacement mode for the Pleistocene Taitao Ridge and the Pliocene Taitao Peninsula ophiolite bodies. (2) The occurrence of these ophiolitic complexes in association with five adakite-like plutonic and volcanic centers of similar ages at the same restricted locations. (3) The inferences from the co-occurrence of these sub-coeval rocks originating from the same subducting oceanic lithosphere evolving through drastically different temperature-pressure ( P- T) path: low-grade greenschist facies overprint and amphibolite-eclogite transition, respectively. (4) The evidences that document ridge-jump events and associated microplate individualization during subduction of the SCR1 and SCR-1 segments: the Chonos and Cabo Elena microplates, respectively. The ridge-jump process associated with the occurrence of several closely spaced transform faults entering subduction is controlling slab fragmentation, ophiolite emplacement, and adakite-like production and location in the CTJ area. Kinematic inconsistencies in the development of the Patagonia slab window document an 11- km westward jump for the SCR-1 spreading segment at ~6.5-to-6.8 Ma. The SCR-1 spreading center is relocated beneath the North Patagonia Icefield (NPI). We argue that the deep-seated difference in the dynamically sustained origin of the high reliefs of the North and South Patagonia Icefield (NPI and SPI) is asthenospheric convection and slab melting, respectively. The Chile Triple Junction area provides the basic constraints to define the basic signatures for spreading-ridge subduction beneath an Andean

  2. Contrasting styles of seafloor spreading in the Woodlark Basin: Indications of rift-induced secondary mantle convection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    MartíNez, Fernando; Taylor, Brian; Goodliffe, Andrew M.

    1999-06-01

    The Woodlark Basin in the southwest Pacific is a young ocean basin which began forming by ˜6 Ma following the rifting of continental and arc lithosphere. The N-S striking Moresby Transform divides the oceanic basin into eastern and western parts which have contrasting characteristics. Seafloor spreading west of Moresby Transform began after ˜2 Ma, and although spreading rates decrease to the west, the western basin has faster spreading characteristics than the eastern basin. These include (1) ˜500 m shallower seafloor; (2) Bouguer gravity anomalies that are >30 mGals lower; (3) magnetic anomaly and modeled seafloor magnetization amplitudes that are higher; (4) a spreading center with an axial high in contrast to the axial valleys of the eastern basin; (5) smoother seafloor fabric; and (6) exclusively nontransform spreading center offsets in contrast to the eastern basin, which has transform faults and fracture zones that extend across most of the basin. Overall depth contrasts and Bouguer anomalies can be matched by end-member models of thicker crust (˜2 km) or thinner lithosphere (<1/3) in the western basin. Correlated with these contrasts, the surrounding rifted margins abruptly thicken westward of the longitude of Moresby Transform. We examine alternative explanations for these contrasts and propose that rift-induced secondary mantle convection driven by thicker western margin lithosphere is most consistent with the observations. Although rift-induced convection has been cited as a cause for the voluminous excess magmatism at some rifted margins, the observations in the Woodlark Basin suggest that this mechanism may significantly affect the morphology, structure, and geophysical characteristics of young ocean basins in alternate ways which resemble increased spreading rate.

  3. Tracking Active Learning in the Medical School Curriculum: A Learning-Centered Approach

    PubMed Central

    McCoy, Lise; Pettit, Robin K; Kellar, Charlyn; Morgan, Christine

    2018-01-01

    Background: Medical education is moving toward active learning during large group lecture sessions. This study investigated the saturation and breadth of active learning techniques implemented in first year medical school large group sessions. Methods: Data collection involved retrospective curriculum review and semistructured interviews with 20 faculty. The authors piloted a taxonomy of active learning techniques and mapped learning techniques to attributes of learning-centered instruction. Results: Faculty implemented 25 different active learning techniques over the course of 9 first year courses. Of 646 hours of large group instruction, 476 (74%) involved at least 1 active learning component. Conclusions: The frequency and variety of active learning components integrated throughout the year 1 curriculum reflect faculty familiarity with active learning methods and their support of an active learning culture. This project has sparked reflection on teaching practices and facilitated an evolution from teacher-centered to learning-centered instruction. PMID:29707649

  4. Spread and SpreadRecorder An Architecture for Data Distribution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wright, Ted

    2006-01-01

    The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) project at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been measuring the microgravity environment of the space shuttle, the International Space Station, MIR, sounding rockets, drop towers, and aircraft since 1991. The Principle Investigator Microgravity Services (PIMS) project at NASA GRC has been collecting, analyzing, reducing, and disseminating over 3 terabytes of collected SAMS and other microgravity sensor data to scientists so they can understand the disturbances that affect their microgravity science experiments. The years of experience with space flight data generation, telemetry, operations, analysis, and distribution give the SAMS/ PIMS team a unique perspective on space data systems. In 2005, the SAMS/PIMS team was asked to look into generalizing their data system and combining it with the nascent medical instrumentation data systems being proposed for ISS and beyond, specifically the Medical Computer Interface Adapter (MCIA) project. The SpreadRecorder software is a prototype system developed by SAMS/PIMS to explore ways of meeting the needs of both the medical and microgravity measurement communities. It is hoped that the system is general enough to be used for many other purposes.

  5. Exposing Cancer Cells' Secret Aides to Spread Disease to Distant Sites | Center for Cancer Research

    Cancer.gov

    Researchers are shedding new light on the way cancer spreads from the primary organ to distant sites in the body, a process called metastasis. The assault of metastatic tumors on vital organs too frequently results in death, and until recently, little was known about the molecular mechanisms governing this devastating phenomenon.

  6. New Geochemical Analyses Reveal Crustal Accretionary Processes at The Overlapping Spreading Center Near 3 N East Pacific Rise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smithka, I. N.; Perfit, M. R.

    2013-12-01

    Mid-ocean ridges (MORs) are the sites of oceanic lithosphere creation and construction. Ridge discontinuities are a global phenomenom but are not as well understood as ridge axes. Geochemical analyses provide insights into upper mantle processes since elements fractionate with melting and freezing as well as reside in material to retain source signature. Lavas collected from ridge discontinuities consist of greater chemical diversity and represent variations in source, melting parameters, and local crustal processes. The small overlapping spreading center (OSC) near the third parallel north on the East Pacific Rise has been superficially analyzed previously, but here we present new isotope analyses and expand our understanding of MOR processes and processes near OSCs. Initial analyses of lavas collected in 2000 on AHA-NEMO2 revealed normal MOR basalt trends in rare earth element enrichments as well as in major element concentrations. Crystal fractionation varies along the tips of both axes, with MgO and TiO2 concentrations increasing towards the OSC basin. Newly analyzed Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios will further constrain the nature of geochemical diversity along axis. As the northern tip seems to be propagating and the southern tip dying, lavas collected from each may reflect two different underlying mantle melting and magma storage processes.

  7. Flame spread across liquids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ross, Howard D.; Miller, Fletcher; Schiller, David; Sirignano, William

    1995-01-01

    Recent reviews of our understanding of flame spread across liquids show that there are many unresolved issues regarding the phenomenology and causal mechanisms affecting ignition susceptibility, flame spread characteristics, and flame spread rates. One area of discrepancy is the effect of buoyancy in both the uniform and pulsating spread regimes. The approach we have taken to resolving the importance of buoyancy for these flames is: (1) normal gravity (1g) and microgravity (micro g) experiments; and (2) numerical modeling at different gravitational levels. Of special interest to this work, as discussed at the previous workshop, is the determination of whether, and under what conditions, pulsating spread occurs in micro g. Microgravity offers a unique ability to modify and control the gas-phase flow pattern by utilizing a forced air flow over the pool surface.

  8. Tobacco mosaic virus Movement Protein Enhances the Spread of RNA Silencing

    PubMed Central

    Vogler, Hannes; Kwon, Myoung-Ok; Dang, Vy; Sambade, Adrian; Fasler, Monika; Ashby, Jamie; Heinlein, Manfred

    2008-01-01

    Eukaryotic cells restrain the activity of foreign genetic elements, including viruses, through RNA silencing. Although viruses encode suppressors of silencing to support their propagation, viruses may also exploit silencing to regulate host gene expression or to control the level of their accumulation and thus to reduce damage to the host. RNA silencing in plants propagates from cell to cell and systemically via a sequence-specific signal. Since the signal spreads between cells through plasmodesmata like the viruses themselves, virus-encoded plasmodesmata-manipulating movement proteins (MP) may have a central role in compatible virus:host interactions by suppressing or enhancing the spread of the signal. Here, we have addressed the propagation of GFP silencing in the presence and absence of MP and MP mutants. We show that the protein enhances the spread of silencing. Small RNA analysis indicates that MP does not enhance the silencing pathway but rather enhances the transport of the signal through plasmodesmata. The ability to enhance the spread of silencing is maintained by certain MP mutants that can move between cells but which have defects in subcellular localization and do not support the spread of viral RNA. Using MP expressing and non-expressing virus mutants with a disabled silencing suppressing function, we provide evidence indicating that viral MP contributes to anti-viral silencing during infection. Our results suggest a role of MP in controlling virus propagation in the infected host by supporting the spread of silencing signal. This activity of MP involves only a subset of its properties implicated in the spread of viral RNA. PMID:18389061

  9. Using the Gravity Model to Estimate the Spatial Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Barrios, José Miguel; Verstraeten, Willem W.; Maes, Piet; Aerts, Jean-Marie; Farifteh, Jamshid; Coppin, Pol

    2012-01-01

    The gravity models are commonly used spatial interaction models. They have been widely applied in a large set of domains dealing with interactions amongst spatial entities. The spread of vector-borne diseases is also related to the intensity of interaction between spatial entities, namely, the physical habitat of pathogens’ vectors and/or hosts, and urban areas, thus humans. This study implements the concept behind gravity models in the spatial spread of two vector-borne diseases, nephropathia epidemica and Lyme borreliosis, based on current knowledge on the transmission mechanism of these diseases. Two sources of information on vegetated systems were tested: the CORINE land cover map and MODIS NDVI. The size of vegetated areas near urban centers and a local indicator of occupation-related exposure were found significant predictors of disease risk. Both the land cover map and the space-borne dataset were suited yet not equivalent input sources to locate and measure vegetated areas of importance for disease spread. The overall results point at the compatibility of the gravity model concept and the spatial spread of vector-borne diseases. PMID:23202882

  10. Using the gravity model to estimate the spatial spread of vector-borne diseases.

    PubMed

    Barrios, José Miguel; Verstraeten, Willem W; Maes, Piet; Aerts, Jean-Marie; Farifteh, Jamshid; Coppin, Pol

    2012-11-30

    The gravity models are commonly used spatial interaction models. They have been widely applied in a large set of domains dealing with interactions amongst spatial entities. The spread of vector-borne diseases is also related to the intensity of interaction between spatial entities, namely, the physical habitat of pathogens’ vectors and/or hosts, and urban areas, thus humans. This study implements the concept behind gravity models in the spatial spread of two vector-borne diseases, nephropathia epidemica and Lyme borreliosis, based on current knowledge on the transmission mechanism of these diseases. Two sources of information on vegetated systems were tested: the CORINE land cover map and MODIS NDVI. The size of vegetated areas near urban centers and a local indicator of occupation-related exposure were found significant predictors of disease risk. Both the land cover map and the space-borne dataset were suited yet not equivalent input sources to locate and measure vegetated areas of importance for disease spread. The overall results point at the compatibility of the gravity model concept and the spatial spread of vector-borne diseases.

  11. Liquid spreading on ceramic-coated carbon nanotube films and patterned microstructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Hangbo; Hart, A. John

    2015-11-01

    We study the capillary-driven liquid spreading behavior on films and microstructures of ceramic-coated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) fabricated on quartz substrates. The nanoscale porosity and micro-scale dimensions of the CNT structures, which can be precisely varied by the fabrication process, enable quantitative measurements that can be related to analytical models of the spreading behavior. Moreover, the conformal alumina coating by atomic layer deposition (ALD) prevents capillary-induced deformation of the CNTs upon meniscus recession, which has complicated previous studies of this topic. Washburn-like liquid spreading behavior is observed on non-patterned CNT surfaces, and is explained using a scaling model based on the balance of capillary driving force and the viscous drag force. Using these insights, we design patterned surfaces with controllable spreading rates and study the contact line pinning-depinning behavior. The nanoscale porosity, controllable surface chemistry, and mechanical stability of coated CNTs provide significantly enhanced liquid-solid interfacial area compared to solid microstructures. As a result, these surface designs may be useful for applications such as phase-change heat transfer and electrochemical energy storage. Funding for this project is provided by the National Institutes of Health and the MIT Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy supported by the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

  12. New inhibitors of colony spreading in Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus anthracis.

    PubMed

    Hao, Xin; Nguyen, Tam; Kearns, Daniel B; Arpin, Carolynn C; Fall, Ray; Sammakia, Tarek

    2011-09-15

    We have recently characterized sliding motility in Bacillus subtilis strains that lack functional flagella, and here describe the discovery of inhibitors of colony spreading in these strains as well as the aflagellate pathogen, Bacillus anthracis. Aflagellate B. subtilis strains were used to screen for new types of antibacterials that might inhibit colony spreading on semi-solid media. From a diverse set of organic structures, p-nitrophenylglycerol (NPG), an agent used primarily in clinical laboratories to control Proteus swarming, was found to inhibit colony spreading. The four stereoisomers of NPG were synthesized and tested, and only the 1R,2S-(1R-anti) and 1R,2R-(1R-syn) NPG isomers had significant activity in a quantitative colony-spreading assay. Twenty-six NPG analogs and related structures were synthesized and tested to identify more active inhibitors. p-Methylsulfonylphenylglycerol (p-SPG), but not its ortho or meta analogs, was found to be the most effective of these compounds, and synthesis and testing of all four p-SPG stereoisomers showed that the 1R-anti-isomer was the most active with an average IC(50) of 16 μM (3-5 μg mL(-1)). For B. anthracis, the colony-spreading IC(50) values for 1R-anti-SPG and 1R-anti-NPG are 12 μM (2-4 μg mL(-1)) and >150 μM, respectively. For both Bacillus species tested, 1R-anti-SPG inhibits colony spreading of surface cultures on agar plates, but is not bacteriostatic or bacteriocidal in liquid cultures. Work is in progress to find the cellular target(s) of the NPG/SPG class of compounds, since this could lead to an understanding of the mechanism(s) of colony spreading as well as design and development of more potent inhibitors for the control of B. anthracis surface cultures. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Inhibition of HSV cell-to-cell spread by lactoferrin and lactoferricin.

    PubMed

    Jenssen, Håvard; Sandvik, Kjersti; Andersen, Jeanette H; Hancock, Robert E W; Gutteberg, Tore J

    2008-09-01

    The milk protein lactoferrin (Lf) has multiple functions, including immune stimulation and antiviral activity towards herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2); antiviral activity has also been reported for the N-terminal pepsin-derived fragment lactoferricin (Lfcin). The anti-HSV mode of action of Lf and Lfcin is assumed to involve, in part, their interaction with the cell surface glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate, thereby blocking of viral entry. In this study we investigated the ability of human and bovine Lf and Lfcin to inhibit viral cell-to-cell spread as well as the involvement of cell surface glycosaminoglycans during viral cell-to-cell spread. Lf and Lfcin from both human and bovine origin, inhibited cell-to-cell spread of both HSV-1 and HSV-2. Inhibition of cell-to-cell spread by bovine Lfcin involved cell surface chondroitin sulfate. Based on transmission electron microscopy studies, human Lfcin, like bovine Lfcin, was randomly distributed intracellularly, thus differences in their antiviral activity could not be explained by differences in their distribution. In contrast, the cellular localization of iron-saturated (holo)-Lf appeared to differ from that of apo-Lf, indicating that holo- and apo-Lf may exhibit different antiviral mechanisms.

  14. Wetting and spreading behavior of molten brazing filler metallic alloys on metallic substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kogi, Satoshi; Kajiura, Tetsurou; Hanada, Yukiakira; Miyazawa, Yasuyuki

    2014-08-01

    Wetting and spreading of molten brazing filler material are important factors that influence the brazing ability of a joint to be brazed. Several investigations into the wetting ability of a brazing filler alloy and its surface tension in molten state, in addition to effects of brazing time and temperature on the contact angle, have been carried out. In general, dissimilar-metals brazing technology and high-performance brazed joint are necessities for the manufacturing field in the near future. Therefore, to address this requirement, more such studies on wetting and spreading of filler material are required for a deeper understanding. Generally, surface roughness and surface conditions affect spreading of molten brazing filler material during brazing. Wetting by and interfacial reactions of the molten brazing filler material with the metallic substrate, especially, affect strongly the spreading of the filler material. In this study, the effects of surface roughness and surface conditions on the spreading of molten brazing filler metallic alloys were investigated. Ag-(40-x)Cu-xIn and Ag- (40-x)Cu-xSn (x=5, 10, 15, 20, 25) alloys were used as brazing filler materials. A mild-steel square plate (S45C (JIS); side: 30 mm; thickness: 3mm) was employed as the substrate. A few surfaces with varying roughness were prepared using emery paper. Brazing filler material and metallic base plate were first washed with acetone, and then a flux was applied to them. The filler, 50 mg, was placed on the center of the metallic base with the flux. A spreading test was performed under Ar gas using an electrically heated furnace, after which, the original spreading area, defined as the sessile drop area, and the apparent spreading area, produced by the capillary grooves, were both evaluated. It was observed that the spreading area decreased with increasing In and Sn content.

  15. Cortico-cortical evoked potentials for sites of early versus late seizure spread in stereoelectroencephalography.

    PubMed

    Lega, Bradley; Dionisio, Sasha; Flanigan, Patrick; Bingaman, William; Najm, Imad; Nair, Dileep; Gonzalez-Martinez, Jorge

    2015-09-01

    Cortico-cortical evoked potentials offer the possibility of understanding connectivity within seizure networks to improve diagnosis and more accurately identify candidates for seizure surgery. We sought to determine if cortico-cortical evoked potentials and post-stimulation oscillatory changes differ for sites of EARLY versus LATE ictal spread. 37 patients undergoing stereoelectroencephalography were tested using a cortico-cortical evoked potential paradigm. All electrodes were classified according to the speed of ictal spread. EARLY spread sites were matched to a LATE spread site equidistant from the onset zone. Root-mean-square was used to quantify evoked responses and post-stimulation gamma band power and coherence were extracted and compared. Sites of EARLY spread exhibited significantly greater evoked responses after stimulation across all patients (t(36)=2.973, p=0.004). Stimulation elicited enhanced gamma band activity at EARLY spread sites (t(36)=2.61, p=0.03, FDR corrected); this gamma band oscillation was highly coherent with the onset zone. Cortico-cortical evoked potentials and post-stimulation changes in gamma band activity differ between sites of EARLY versus LATE ictal spread. The oscillatory changes can help visualize connectivity within the seizure network. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Growing up Active: A Study into Physical Activity in Long Day Care Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cashmore, Aaron W.; Jones, Sandra C.

    2008-01-01

    The child care center is an ideal setting in which to implement strategies to promote physical activity and healthy weight, but there is a paucity of empirical evidence on factors that influence physical activity in these settings. The current study gathered initial qualitative data to explore these factors. Child care workers from five long day…

  17. Coordination sequences and information spreading in small-world networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrero, Carlos P.

    2002-10-01

    We study the spread of information in small-world networks generated from different d-dimensional regular lattices, with d=1, 2, and 3. With this purpose, we analyze by numerical simulations the behavior of the coordination sequence, e.g., the average number of sites C(n) that can be reached from a given node of the network in n steps along its bonds. For sufficiently large networks, we find an asymptotic behavior C(n)~ρn, with a constant ρ that depends on the network dimension d and on the rewiring probability p (which measures the disorder strength of a given network). A simple model of information spreading in these networks is studied, assuming that only a fraction q of the network sites are active. The number of active nodes reached in n steps has an asymptotic form λn, λ being a constant that depends on p and q, as well as on the dimension d of the underlying lattice. The information spreading presents two different regimes depending on the value of λ: For λ>1 the information propagates along the whole system, and for λ<1 the spreading is damped and the information remains confined in a limited region of the network. We discuss the connection of these results with site percolation in small-world networks.

  18. 9 CFR 319.762 - Ham spread, tongue spread, and similar products.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ham spread, tongue spread, and similar products. 319.762 Section 319.762 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE... AND VOLUNTARY INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS OF IDENTITY OR COMPOSITION Meat...

  19. 9 CFR 319.762 - Ham spread, tongue spread, and similar products.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Ham spread, tongue spread, and similar products. 319.762 Section 319.762 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE... AND VOLUNTARY INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION DEFINITIONS AND STANDARDS OF IDENTITY OR COMPOSITION Meat...

  20. Simulation of spread and control of lesions in brain.

    PubMed

    Thamattoor Raman, Krishna Mohan

    2012-01-01

    A simulation model for the spread and control of lesions in the brain is constructed using a planar network (graph) representation for the central nervous system (CNS). The model is inspired by the lesion structures observed in the case of multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease of the CNS. The initial lesion site is at the center of a unit square and spreads outwards based on the success rate in damaging edges (axons) of the network. The damaged edges send out alarm signals which, at appropriate intensity levels, generate programmed cell death. Depending on the extent and timing of the programmed cell death, the lesion may get controlled or aggravated akin to the control of wild fires by burning of peripheral vegetation. The parameter phase space of the model shows smooth transition from uncontrolled situation to controlled situation. The simulations show that the model is capable of generating a wide variety of lesion growth and arrest scenarios.

  1. PLGA-PEG Nanoparticles Coated with Anti-CD45RO and Loaded with HDAC Plus Protease Inhibitors Activate Latent HIV and Inhibit Viral Spread

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Xiaolong; Liang, Yong; Liu, Xinkuang; Zhou, Shuping; Liu, Liang; Zhang, Fujina; Xie, Chunmei; Cai, Shuyu; Wei, Jia; Zhu, Yongqiang; Hou, Wei

    2015-10-01

    Activating HIV-1 proviruses in latent reservoirs combined with inhibiting viral spread might be an effective anti-HIV therapeutic strategy. Active specific delivery of therapeutic drugs into cells harboring latent HIV, without the use of viral vectors, is a critical challenge to this objective. In this study, nanoparticles of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-polyethylene glycol diblock copolymers conjugated with anti-CD45RO antibody and loaded with the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and/or protease inhibitor nelfinavir (Nel) were tested for activity against latent virus in vitro. Nanoparticles loaded with SAHA, Nel, and SAHA + Nel were characterized in terms of size, surface morphology, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, drug release, and toxicity to ACH-2 cells. We show that SAHA- and SAHA + Nel-loaded nanoparticles can target latently infected CD4+ T-cells and stimulate virus production. Moreover, nanoparticles loaded with SAHA + NEL were capable of both activating latent virus and inhibiting viral spread. Taken together, these data demonstrate the potential of this novel reagent for targeting and eliminating latent HIV reservoirs.

  2. Large space antenna communications systems: Integrated Langley Research Center/Jet Propulsion Laboratory development activities. 2: Langley Research Center activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cambell, T. G.; Bailey, M. C.; Cockrell, C. R.; Beck, F. B.

    1983-01-01

    The electromagnetic analysis activities at the Langley Research Center are resulting in efficient and accurate analytical methods for predicting both far- and near-field radiation characteristics of large offset multiple-beam multiple-aperture mesh reflector antennas. The utilization of aperture integration augmented with Geometrical Theory of Diffraction in analyzing the large reflector antenna system is emphasized.

  3. Information spreading dynamics in hypernetworks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suo, Qi; Guo, Jin-Li; Shen, Ai-Zhong

    2018-04-01

    Contact pattern and spreading strategy fundamentally influence the spread of information. Current mathematical methods largely assume that contacts between individuals are fixed by networks. In fact, individuals are affected by all his/her neighbors in different social relationships. Here, we develop a mathematical approach to depict the information spreading process in hypernetworks. Each individual is viewed as a node, and each social relationship containing the individual is viewed as a hyperedge. Based on SIS epidemic model, we construct two spreading models. One model is based on global transmission, corresponding to RP strategy. The other is based on local transmission, corresponding to CP strategy. These models can degenerate into complex network models with a special parameter. Thus hypernetwork models extend the traditional models and are more realistic. Further, we discuss the impact of parameters including structure parameters of hypernetwork, spreading rate, recovering rate as well as information seed on the models. Propagation time and density of informed nodes can reveal the overall trend of information dissemination. Comparing these two models, we find out that there is no spreading threshold in RP, while there exists a spreading threshold in CP. The RP strategy induces a broader and faster information spreading process under the same parameters.

  4. GHRC: NASAs Hazardous Weather Distributed Active Archive Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ramachandran, Rahul; Bugbee, Kaylin

    2016-01-01

    The Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC; ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov) is one of NASA's twelve Distributed Active Archive Centers responsible for providing access to NASA's Earth science data to users worldwide. Each of NASA's twelve DAACs focuses on a specific science discipline within Earth science, provides data stewardship services and supports its research community's needs. Established in 1991 as the Marshall Space Flight Center DAAC and renamed GHRC in 1997, the data center's original mission focused on the global hydrologic cycle. However, over the years, data holdings, tools and expertise of GHRC have gradually shifted. In 2014, a User Working Group (UWG) was established to review GHRC capabilities and provide recommendations to make GHRC more responsive to the research community's evolving needs. The UWG recommended an update to the GHRC mission, as well as a strategic plan to move in the new direction. After a careful and detailed analysis of GHRC's capabilities, research community needs and the existing data landscape, a new mission statement for GHRC has been crafted: to provide a comprehensive active archive of both data and knowledge augmentation services with a focus on hazardous weather, its governing dynamical and physical processes, and associated applications. Within this broad mandate, GHRC will focus on lightning, tropical cyclones and storm-induced hazards through integrated collections of satellite, airborne, and in-situ data sets. The new mission was adopted at the recent 2015 UWG meeting. GHRC will retain its current name until such time as it has built substantial data holdings aligned with the new mission.

  5. Rac1 mediates cytokine-stimulated hemocyte spreading via prostaglandin biosynthesis in the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cell spreading is an integral component of insect hemocytic immune reactions to infections and invasions. Cell spreading is accomplished by cytoskeleton rearrangement, which is activated by three major immune mediators, biogenic monoamines, plasmatocyte-spreading peptide (PSP), and eicosanoids, part...

  6. Effective Strategies to Spread Redesigning Care Processes Among Healthcare Teams.

    PubMed

    Lavoie-Tremblay, Mélanie; O'Connor, Patricia; Lavigne, Geneviève L; Briand, Anaïck; Biron, Alain; Baillargeon, Sophie; MacGibbon, Brenda; Ringer, Justin; Cyr, Guylaine

    2015-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe how spread strategies facilitate the successful implementation of the Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) program and their impact on healthcare workers and patients in a major Canadian healthcare organization. This study used a qualitative and descriptive design with focus groups and individual interviews held in May 2014. Participants included managers and healthcare providers from eight TCAB units in a university health center in Quebec, Canada. The sample was composed of 43 individuals. The data were analyzed using NVivo according to the method proposed by Miles and Huberman. The first two themes that emerged from the analysis are related to context (organizational transition requiring many changes) and spread strategies for the TCAB program (senior management support, release time and facilitation, rotation of team members, learning from previous TCAB teams, and engaging patients). The last theme that emerged from the analysis is the impact on healthcare professionals (providing front-line staff and managers with the training they need to make changes, team leadership, and increasing receptivity to hearing patients' and families' needs and requests). This study describes the perspectives of managers and team members to provide a better understanding of how spread strategies can facilitate the successful implementation of the TCAB program in a Canadian healthcare organization. Spread strategies facilitate the implementation of changes to improve the quality and safety of care provided to patients. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  7. Soil fumigation to control spread of Fomes annosus: results of field trials

    Treesearch

    David R. Houston

    1975-01-01

    A field trial was run to test the hypothesis that a band of roots killed by soil fumigation with methyl bromide would be unsuitable for invasion by F. annosus and would block the underground spread of the fungus from diseased trees to healthy trees. Infection centers in red pine plantations from New York to Rhode Island were delineated on the basis...

  8. 34 CFR 350.32 - What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center conduct?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering... DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS AND CENTERS PROGRAM What Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Does the Secretary Assist? § 350.32 What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research...

  9. 34 CFR 350.32 - What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center conduct?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering... DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS AND CENTERS PROGRAM What Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Does the Secretary Assist? § 350.32 What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research...

  10. 34 CFR 350.32 - What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center conduct?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering... DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS AND CENTERS PROGRAM What Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Does the Secretary Assist? § 350.32 What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research...

  11. 34 CFR 350.32 - What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center conduct?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2011-07-01 2010-07-01 true What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering... DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS AND CENTERS PROGRAM What Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Does the Secretary Assist? § 350.32 What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research...

  12. 34 CFR 350.32 - What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center conduct?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering... DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS AND CENTERS PROGRAM What Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers Does the Secretary Assist? § 350.32 What activities must a Rehabilitation Engineering Research...

  13. An Ontology-Based Tourism Recommender System Based on Spreading Activation Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bahramian, Z.; Abbaspour, R. Ali

    2015-12-01

    A tourist has time and budget limitations; hence, he needs to select points of interest (POIs) optimally. Since the available information about POIs is overloading, it is difficult for a tourist to select the most appreciate ones considering preferences. In this paper, a new travel recommender system is proposed to overcome information overload problem. A recommender system (RS) evaluates the overwhelming number of POIs and provides personalized recommendations to users based on their preferences. A content-based recommendation system is proposed, which uses the information about the user's preferences and POIs and calculates a degree of similarity between them. It selects POIs, which have highest similarity with the user's preferences. The proposed content-based recommender system is enhanced using the ontological information about tourism domain to represent both the user profile and the recommendable POIs. The proposed ontology-based recommendation process is performed in three steps including: ontology-based content analyzer, ontology-based profile learner, and ontology-based filtering component. User's feedback adapts the user's preferences using Spreading Activation (SA) strategy. It shows the proposed recommender system is effective and improves the overall performance of the traditional content-based recommender systems.

  14. Carslberg Ridge and Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Slow-spreading Apparent Analogs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rona, P. A.; Murton, B. J.; Bostrom, K.; Widenfalk, L.; Melson, W. G.; O'Hearn, T.; Cronan, D. S.; Jenkins, W. J.

    2005-12-01

    We compare morphology, tectonics, petrology, and hydrothermal activity of a known section of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between the Kane and Atlantis fracture zones (full multi-beam coverage 21N to 31N) to the lesser known Carlsberg Ridge (CR; limited multi-beam coverage plus satellite altimetry). The CR extends from the Owen Fracture Zone (10N) to the Vityaz Fracture Zone (5S) and spreads at half-rates (~1.2-1.8 cm/yr) similar to the MAR: 1) Morphology: Both ridges exhibit distinct segmentation (primarily sinistral) and axial valleys with high floor to crest relief (range 1122-1771 m). Average lengths of segments (CR: 70 km; MAR: 50 km) and crest-to crest width of the axial valley are greater on the CR (40 km) than MAR (23 km). Axial volcanic ridges form the neovolcanic zone on both ridges, typically 2.6 km wide and 213 m high on the CR. Average water depth near segment centers is greater on the MAR (3933 m) than the CR (3564 m). V-shaped patterns oblique to the spreading axis are present on both ridges. 2) Tectonics: Segments on each ridge are predominantly separated by short-offset (<30 km) non-transform discontinuities with longer transform faults generally spaced hundreds of kilometers apart. Bulls-eye Mantle Bouguer Lows (-30 to -50 mgal) are present at centers of spreading segments on both ridges. Metamorphic core complexes of lower crust and upper mantle are present on the MAR section (at fracture zones) and at least at one locality at 58.33E on the CR. 3) Petrology: MORB composition from our 20 stations along the CR fall into the MORB family, with no evidence of hotspot inputs (no excess K or Nb), or extreme fractionation, similar to the MAR section. REE and trace element patterns between 57E and 61E on the CR indicate increasing melt depletion to the northwest, while glasses exhibit a striking systematic increase in MgO (decrease in fractionation) to the northwest and attain among the most primitive composition of any ocean ridge adjacent to the Owen

  15. Axial high topography and partial melt in the crust and mantle beneath the western Galápagos Spreading Center

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Blacic, Tanya M.; Ito, Garrett; Shah, Anjana K.; Canales, Juan Pablo; Lin, Jian

    2008-01-01

    The hot spot-influenced western Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) has an axial topographic high that reaches heights of ∼700 m relative to seafloor depth ∼25 km from the axis. We investigate the cause of the unusual size of the axial high using a model that determines the flexural response to loads resulting from the thermal and magmatic structure of the lithosphere. The thermal structure simulated is appropriate for large amounts of cooling by hydrothermal circulation, which tends to minimize the amount of partial melt needed to explain the axial topography. Nonetheless, results reveal that the large axial high near 92°W requires that either the crust below the magma lens contains >35% partial melt or that 20% melt is present in the lower crust and at least 3% in the mantle within a narrow column (<∼10 km wide) extending to depths of 45–65 km. Because melt fractions >35% in the crust are considered unreasonable, it is likely that much of the axial high region of the GSC is underlain by a narrow region of partially molten mantle of widths approaching those imaged seismically beneath the East Pacific Rise. A narrow zone of mantle upwelling and melting, driven largely by melt buoyancy, is a plausible explanation.

  16. Empirical study of the role of the topology in spreading on communication networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Medvedev, Alexey; Kertesz, Janos

    2017-03-01

    Topological aspects, like community structure, and temporal activity patterns, like burstiness, have been shown to severely influence the speed of spreading in temporal networks. We study the influence of the topology on the susceptible-infected (SI) spreading on time stamped communication networks, as obtained from a dataset of mobile phone records. We consider city level networks with intra- and inter-city connections. The networks using only intra-city links are usually sparse, where the spreading depends mainly on the average degree. The inter-city links serve as bridges in spreading, speeding up considerably the process. We demonstrate the effect also on model simulations.

  17. Quantitative Infrared Image Analysis Of Simultaneous Upstream and Downstream Microgravity Flame Spread over Thermally-Thin Cellulose in Low Speed Forced Flow

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Olson, S. L.; Lee, J. R.; Fujita, O.; Kikuchi, M.; Kashiwagi, T.

    2013-01-01

    The effect of low velocity forced flow on microgravity flame spread is examined using quantitative analysis of infrared video imaging. The objective of the quantitative analysis is to provide insight into the mechanisms of flame spread in microgravity where the flame is able to spread from a central location on the fuel surface, rather than from an edge. Surface view calibrated infrared images of ignition and flame spread over a thin cellulose fuel were obtained along with a color video of the surface view and color images of the edge view using 35 mm color film at 2 Hz. The cellulose fuel samples were mounted in the center of a 12 cm wide by 16 cm tall flow duct and were ignited in microgravity using a straight hot wire across the center of the 7.5 cm wide by 14 cm long samples. Four cases, at 1 atm. 35%O2 in N2, at forced flows from 2 cm/s to 20 cm/s are presented here. This flow range captures flame spread from strictly upstream spread at low flows, to predominantly downstream spread at high flow. Surface temperature profiles are evaluated as a function of time, and temperature gradients for upstream and downstream flame spread are measured. Flame spread rates from IR image data are compared to visible image spread rate data. IR blackbody temperatures are compared to surface thermocouple readings to evaluate the effective emissivity of the pyrolyzing surface. Preheat lengths and pyrolysis lengths are evaluated both upstream and downstream of the central ignition point. A surface energy balance estimates the net heat flux from the flame to the fuel surface along the length of the fuel. Surface radiative loss and gas-phase radiation from soot are measured relative to the net heat feedback from the flame. At high surface heat loss relative to heat feedback, the downstream flame spread does not occur.

  18. Reverse preferential spread in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toyoizumi, Hiroshi; Tani, Seiichi; Miyoshi, Naoto; Okamoto, Yoshio

    2012-08-01

    Large-degree nodes may have a larger influence on the network, but they can be bottlenecks for spreading information since spreading attempts tend to concentrate on these nodes and become redundant. We discuss that the reverse preferential spread (distributing information inversely proportional to the degree of the receiving node) has an advantage over other spread mechanisms. In large uncorrelated networks, we show that the mean number of nodes that receive information under the reverse preferential spread is an upper bound among any other weight-based spread mechanisms, and this upper bound is indeed a logistic growth independent of the degree distribution.

  19. Divergent plate boundaries and crustal spreading on Venus: Evidence from Aphrodite Terra

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Crumpler, L. S.; Head, James W.

    1989-01-01

    The modes of lithospheric heat transfer and the tectonic styles may differ between Earth and Venus, depending on how the high surface temperature (700 K = 430 C), dense and opaque atmosphere (approx. 10 MPa = 100 bars), lack of water oceans, and the other known ways in which Venus differs from Earth, influence basic lithospheric processes, thermal gradient, upper mantle temperature, thermal and chemical evolution, and convection. A fundamental question is whether the lithosphere of Venus is horizontally stable, like the other terrestrial planets, or is mobile like that on Earth. The variety of characteristics, their integrated relationships, and their predictable behavior throughout Western Aphrodite Terra are similar to those features known to occur in association with the terrestrial seafloor at spreading centers and divergent plate boundaries. It is concluded that Western Aphrodite Terra represents the site of crustal spreading centers and divergent plate boundaries. The extent of similar characteristics and processes elsewhere on Venus outside of the 13,000 km long Western and Eastern Aphrodite Terra rise is unknown at the present, but their presence in other areas of the equatorial highlands, suggested from recent analysis, may be tested with forthcoming Magellan data.

  20. Gravitational spreading of Danu, Freyja and Maxwell Montes, Venus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smrekar, Suzanne E.; Solomon, Sean C.

    1991-06-01

    The potential energy of elevated terrain tends to drive the collapse of the topography. This process of gravitational spreading is likely to be more important on Venus than on Earth because the higher surface temperature weakens the crust. The highest topography on Venus is Ishtar Terra. The high plateau of Lakshmi Planum has an average elevation of 3 km above mean planetary radius, and is surrounded by mountain belts. Freyja, Danu, and Maxwell Montes rise, on average, an additional 3, 0.5, and 5 km above the plateau, respectively. Recent high resolution Magellan radar images of this area, east of approx. 330 deg E, reveal widespread evidence for gravity spreading. Some observational evidence is described for gravity spreading and the implications are discussed in terms of simple mechanical models. Several simple models predict that gravity spreading should be an important process on Venus. One difficulty in using remote observations to infer interior properties is that the observed features may not have formed in response to stresses which are still active. Several causes of surface topography are briefly examined.

  1. How Is Mono Spread?

    MedlinePlus

    ... How Is Mono Spread? Print My sister has mononucleosis. I drank out of her drink before we ... that I have mono now? – Kyle* Mono, or mononucleosis, is spread through direct contact with saliva. This ...

  2. Projected changes in daily fire spread across Canada over the next century

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xianli; Parisien, Marc-André; Taylor, Steve W.; Candau, Jean-Noël; Stralberg, Diana; Marshall, Ginny A.; Little, John M.; Flannigan, Mike D.

    2017-02-01

    In the face of climate change, predicting and understanding future fire regimes across Canada is a high priority for wildland fire research and management. Due in large part to the difficulties in obtaining future daily fire weather projections, one of the major challenges in predicting future fire activity is to estimate how much of the change in weather potential could translate into on-the-ground fire spread. As a result, past studies have used monthly, annual, or multi-decadal weather projections to predict future fires, thereby sacrificing information relevant to day-to-day fire spread. Using climate projections from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), historical weather observations, MODIS fire detection data, and the national fire database of Canada, this study investigated potential changes in the number of active burning days of wildfires by relating ‘spread days’ to patterns of daily fire-conducive weather. Results suggest that climate change over the next century may have significant impacts on fire spread days in almost all parts of Canada’s forested landmass; the number of fire spread days could experience a 2-to-3-fold increase under a high CO2 forcing scenario in eastern Canada, and a greater than 50% increase in western Canada, where the fire potential is already high. The change in future fire spread is critical in understanding fire regime changes, but is also imminently relevant to fire management operations and in fire risk mitigation.

  3. Contact enhancement of locomotion in spreading cell colonies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    D'Alessandro, Joseph; Solon, Alexandre P.; Hayakawa, Yoshinori; Anjard, Christophe; Detcheverry, François; Rieu, Jean-Paul; Rivière, Charlotte

    2017-10-01

    The dispersal of cells from an initially constrained location is a crucial aspect of many physiological phenomena, ranging from morphogenesis to tumour spreading. In such processes, cell-cell interactions may deeply alter the motion of single cells, and in turn the collective dynamics. While contact phenomena like contact inhibition of locomotion are known to come into play at high densities, here we focus on the little explored case of non-cohesive cells at moderate densities. We fully characterize the spreading of micropatterned colonies of Dictyostelium discoideum cells from the complete set of individual trajectories. From data analysis and simulation of an elementary model, we demonstrate that contact interactions act to speed up the early population spreading by promoting individual cells to a state of higher persistence, which constitutes an as-yet unreported contact enhancement of locomotion. Our findings also suggest that the current modelling paradigm of memoryless active particles may need to be extended to account for the history-dependent internal state of motile cells.

  4. Focal hyperemia followed by spreading oligemia and impaired activation of rCBF in classic migraine

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Olesen, J.; Larsen, B.; Lauritzen, M.

    1981-04-01

    Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 254 areas of a hemisphere with the xenon 133 intraarterial injection method. Six cases of classic migraine were followed from the normal state into the prodromal phase, and in 3 cases further into the headache phase. One patient with common migraine was similarly followed during his only classic attack. The attacks were initiated by focal hyperemia in 3 patients. During prodromes all patients displayed occipitoparietal rCBF reduction (oligemia), but in only 1 case did the reduction approach critical values. Oligemia gradually spread anteriorly in the course of 15 to 45 minutes. Inmore » 4 patients a global oligemia was observed. In 4 patients severe headache was present concomitantly with oligemia and with no sign of hyperemia or nonhomogeneous brain perfusion. The normal rCBF increase during cortical activity (hand movement, speech, and similar activities) was impaired in 6 patients. The results indicate that the vasospastic model of the migraine attack is too simplistic.« less

  5. Effects of individual popularity on information spreading in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Lei; Li, Ruiqi; Shu, Panpan; Wang, Wei; Gao, Hui; Cai, Shimin

    2018-01-01

    In real world, human activities often exhibit preferential selection mechanism based on the popularity of individuals. However, this mechanism is seldom taken into account by previous studies about spreading dynamics on networks. Thus in this work, an information spreading model is proposed by considering the preferential selection based on individuals' current popularity, which is defined as the number of individuals' cumulative contacts with informed neighbors. A mean-field theory is developed to analyze the spreading model. Through systematically studying the information spreading dynamics on uncorrelated configuration networks as well as real-world networks, we find that the popularity preference has great impacts on the information spreading. On the one hand, the information spreading is facilitated, i.e., a larger final prevalence of information and a smaller outbreak threshold, if nodes with low popularity are preferentially selected. In this situation, the effective contacts between informed nodes and susceptible nodes are increased, and nodes almost have uniform probabilities of obtaining the information. On the other hand, if nodes with high popularity are preferentially selected, the final prevalence of information is reduced, the outbreak threshold is increased, and even the information cannot outbreak. In addition, the heterogeneity of the degree distribution and the structure of real-world networks do not qualitatively affect the results. Our research can provide some theoretical supports for the promotion of spreading such as information, health related behaviors, and new products, etc.

  6. Surgical center: challenges and strategies for nurses in managerial activities.

    PubMed

    Martins, Fabiana Zerbieri; Dall'Agnoll, Clarice Maria

    2017-02-23

    Analyze the challenges and strategies of nurses performing managerial activities in a surgical center. Exploratory, descriptive study with a qualitative approach, involving six nurses by means of the Focus Group Technique, between April and August 2013. Data were submitted to thematic content analysis. The main challenges noted were deficiency of material resources, communication noise, adequacy of personnel downsizing, and relationships with the multidisciplinary team. Key strategies include construction of co-management spaces to promote integration among professionals, conflict resolution and exchange of knowledge. Managerial activities involve the promotion of dialogic moments to coordinate the different processes in the surgical center to provide inputs to expand safety and quality of services provided.

  7. nem_spread Ver. 5.10

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    HENNIGAN, GARY; SHADID, JOHN; SJAARDEMA, GREGORY

    2009-06-08

    Nem_spread reads it's input command file (default name nem_spread.inp), takes the named ExodusII geometry definition and spreads out the geometry (and optionally results) contained in that file out to a parallel disk system. The decomposition is taken from a scalar Nemesis load balance file generated by the companion utility nem_slice.

  8. A study of design approach of spreading schemes for viral marketing based on human dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Jianmei; Zhuang, Dong; Xie, Weicong; Chen, Guangrong

    2013-12-01

    Before launching a real viral marketing campaign, it is needed to design a spreading scheme by simulations. Based on a categorization of spreading patterns in real world and models, we point out that the existing research (especially Yang et al. (2010) Ref. [16]) implicitly assume that if a user decides to post a received message (is activated), he/she will take the reposting action promptly (Prompt Action After Activation, or PAAA). After a careful analysis on a real dataset however, it is found that the observed time differences between action and activation exhibit a heavy-tailed distribution. A simulation model for heavy-tailed pattern is then proposed and performed. Similarities and differences of spreading processes between the heavy-tailed and PAAA patterns are analyzed. Consequently, a more practical design approach of spreading scheme for viral marketing on QQ platform is proposed. The design approach can be extended and applied to the contexts of non-heavy-tailed pattern, and viral marketing on other instant messaging platforms.

  9. Hybrid spread spectrum radio system

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Stephen F [London, TN; Dress, William B [Camas, WA

    2010-02-09

    Systems and methods are described for hybrid spread spectrum radio systems. A method, includes receiving a hybrid spread spectrum signal including: fast frequency hopping demodulating and direct sequence demodulating a direct sequence spread spectrum signal, wherein multiple frequency hops occur within a single data-bit time and each bit is represented by chip transmissions at multiple frequencies.

  10. Cortical spreading depression: An enigma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miura, R. M.; Huang, H.; Wylie, J. J.

    2007-08-01

    The brain is a complex organ with active components composed largely of neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels. There exists an enormous experimental and theoretical literature on the mechanisms involved in the functioning of the brain, but we still do not have a good understanding of how it works on a gross mechanistic level. In general, the brain maintains a homeostatic state with relatively small ion concentration changes, the major ions being sodium, potassium, and chloride. Calcium ions are present in smaller quantities but still play an important role in many phenomena. Cortical spreading depression (CSD for short) was discovered over 60 years ago by A.A.P. Leão, a Brazilian physiologist doing his doctoral research on epilepsy at Harvard University, “Spreading depression of activity in the cerebral cortex," J. Neurophysiol., 7 (1944), pp. 359-390. Cortical spreading depression is characterized by massive changes in ionic concentrations and slow nonlinear chemical waves, with speeds on the order of mm/min, in the cortex of different brain structures in various experimental animals. In humans, CSD is associated with migraine with aura, where a light scintillation in the visual field propagates, then disappears, and is followed by a sustained headache. To date, CSD remains an enigma, and further detailed experimental and theoretical investigations are needed to develop a comprehensive picture of the diverse mechanisms involved in producing CSD. A number of mechanisms have been hypothesized to be important for CSD wave propagation. In this paper, we briefly describe several characteristics of CSD wave propagation, and examine some of the mechanisms that are believed to be important, including ion diffusion, membrane ionic currents, osmotic effects, spatial buffering, neurotransmitter substances, gap junctions, metabolic pumps, and synaptic connections. Continuum models of CSD, consisting of coupled nonlinear diffusion equations for the ion concentrations, and

  11. Spreading granular material with a blade

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dressaire, Emilie; Singh, Vachitar; Grimaldi, Emma; Sauret, Alban

    2015-11-01

    The spreading of a complex fluid with a blade is encountered in applications that range from the bulldozing of granular material in construction projects to the coating of substrates with fluids in industrial applications. This spreading process is also present in everyday life, when we use a knife to turn a lump of peanut butter into a thin layer over our morning toast. In this study, we rely on granular media in a model experiment to describe the three-dimensional spreading of the material. Our experimental set-up allows tracking the spreading of a sandpile on a translating flat surface as the blade remains fixed. We characterize the spreading dynamics and the shape of the spread fluid layer when varying the tilt of the blade, its spacing with the surface and its speed. Our findings suggest that it is possible to tune the spreading parameters to optimize the coating.

  12. Modeling the effects of social impact on epidemic spreading in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ni, Shunjiang; Weng, Wenguo; Zhang, Hui

    2011-11-01

    We investigate by mean-field analysis and extensive simulations the effects of social impact on epidemic spreading in various typical networks with two types of nodes: active nodes and passive nodes, of which the behavior patterns are modeled according to the social impact theory. In this study, nodes are not only the media to spread the virus, but also disseminate their opinions on the virus-whether there is a need for certain self-protection measures to be taken to reduce the risk of being infected. Our results indicate that the interaction between epidemic spreading and opinion dynamics can have significant influences on the spreading of infectious diseases and related applications, such as the implementation of prevention and control measures against the infectious diseases.

  13. Community Information and Services Centers: Concepts for Activation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hopkins, Cleve

    An experimental program based on a study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development was activated to deliver services to urban residents via automated communications technology. Designed to contribute to improvement in the quality of life, the program of a Community Information and Services Center (CISC) included: outreach programs, i.e.,…

  14. Weighting for sex acts to understand the spread of STI on networks.

    PubMed

    Moslonka-Lefebvre, Mathieu; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian; Alizon, Samuel

    2012-10-21

    Human sexual networks exhibit a heterogeneous structure where few individuals have many partners and many individuals have few partners. Network theory predicts that the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) on such networks should exhibit striking properties (e.g. rapid spread). However, these properties cannot be found in epidemiological data. Current network models typically assume a constant STI transmission risk per partnership, which is unrealistic because it implies that sexual activity is proportional to the number of partners and that individuals have the same activity with each partner. We develop a framework that allows us to weight any sexual network based on biological assumptions. Our results indicate that STI spreading on the resulting weighted networks do not have heterogeneous-related properties, which is consistent with data and earlier studies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. NASA Stennis Space Center Test Technology Branch Activities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Solano, Wanda M.

    2000-01-01

    This paper provides a short history of NASA Stennis Space Center's Test Technology Laboratory and briefly describes the variety of engine test technology activities and developmental project initiatives. Theoretical rocket exhaust plume modeling, acoustic monitoring and analysis, hand held fire imaging, heat flux radiometry, thermal imaging and exhaust plume spectroscopy are all examples of current and past test activities that are briefly described. In addition, recent efforts and visions focused on accomodating second, third, and fourth generation flight vehicle engine test requirements are discussed.

  16. Spreading Activation in an Attractor Network with Latching Dynamics: Automatic Semantic Priming Revisited

    PubMed Central

    Lerner, Itamar; Bentin, Shlomo; Shriki, Oren

    2012-01-01

    Localist models of spreading activation (SA) and models assuming distributed-representations offer very different takes on semantic priming, a widely investigated paradigm in word recognition and semantic memory research. In the present study we implemented SA in an attractor neural network model with distributed representations and created a unified framework for the two approaches. Our models assumes a synaptic depression mechanism leading to autonomous transitions between encoded memory patterns (latching dynamics), which account for the major characteristics of automatic semantic priming in humans. Using computer simulations we demonstrated how findings that challenged attractor-based networks in the past, such as mediated and asymmetric priming, are a natural consequence of our present model’s dynamics. Puzzling results regarding backward priming were also given a straightforward explanation. In addition, the current model addresses some of the differences between semantic and associative relatedness and explains how these differences interact with stimulus onset asynchrony in priming experiments. PMID:23094718

  17. Heat Transfer to a Thin Solid Combustible in Flame Spreading at Microgravity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bhattacharjee, S.; Altenkirch, R. A.; Olson, S. L.; Sotos, R. G.

    1991-01-01

    The heat transfer rate to a thin solid combustible from an attached diffusion flame, spreading across the surface of the combustible in a quiescent, microgravity environment, was determined from measurements made in the drop tower facility at NASA-Lewis Research Center. With first-order Arrhenius pyrolysis kinetics, the solid-phase mass and energy equations along with the measured spread rate and surface temperature profiles were used to calculate the net heat flux to the surface. Results of the measurements are compared to the numerical solution of the complete set of coupled differential equations that describes the temperature, species, and velocity fields in the gas and solid phases. The theory and experiment agree on the major qualitative features of the heat transfer. Some fundamental differences are attributed to the neglect of radiation in the theoretical model.

  18. Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria Found at Slow-Spreading Ridge: a Case Study of Capelinhos Hydrothermal Vent (Lucky Strike, MAR 37°N)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henri, P. A.; Rommevaux, C.; Lesongeur, F.; Emerson, D.; Leleu, T.; Chavagnac, V.

    2015-12-01

    Iron-oxidizing bacteria becomes increasingly described in different geological settings from volcanically active seamounts, coastal waters, to diffuse hydrothermal vents near seafloor spreading centers [Emerson et al., 2010]. They have been mostly identified and described in Pacific Ocean, and have been only recently found in hydrothermal systems associated to slow spreading center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) [Scott et al., 2015]. During the MoMARSAT'13 cruise at Lucky Strike hydrothermal field (MAR), a new hydrothermal site was discovered at about 1.5 km eastward from the lava lake and from the main hydrothermal vents. This active venting site, named Capelinhos, is therefore the most distant from the volcano, features many chimneys, both focused and diffuses. The hydrothermal end-member fluids from Capelinhos are different from those of the other sites of Lucky Strike, showing the highest content of iron (Fe/Mn≈3.96) and the lowest chlorinity (270 mmol/l) [Leleu et al., 2015]. Most of the chimneys exhibit rust-color surfaces and bacterial mats near diffuse flows. During the MoMARSAT'15 cruise, an active chimney, a small inactive one, and rust-color bacterial mat near diffuse flow were sampled at Capelinhos. Observations by SEM of the hydrothermal samples revealed the presence of iron oxides in an assemblage of tubular "sheaths", assembled "stalks", helical "stalks" and amorphous aggregates. These features are similar to those described from the Loihi iron-mats deposits and argue for the occurrence of iron-oxidizing bacteria. Cultures under micro-aerobic and neutral pH conditions allowed us to isolate strains from the small inactive chimney. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of the isolates and environmental samples will soon be performed, which should confirm the presence of iron-oxidizing bacteria and reveal the organization of bacterial communities in this original and newly discovered hydrothermal site of the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Emerson

  19. Centers Made Simple: A Management and Activity Guide

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Laureen

    2005-01-01

    Drawing from her own experiences, teacher and author Laureen Reynolds shares management strategies, helpful suggestions, and quick tips to take the mystery out of setting up centers and demonstrates how to make the most of valuable classroom time. The activities outlined in this book are designed to appeal to students of all abilities, and range…

  20. Numerical simulations of hydrothermal circulation resulting from basalt intrusions in a buried spreading center

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fisher, A.T.; Narasimhan, T.N.

    1991-01-01

    A two-dimensional, one by two-kilometer section through the seafloor was simulated with a numerical model to investigate coupled fluid and heat flow resulting from basalt intrusions in a buried spreading center. Boundary and initial conditions and physical properties of both sediments and basalt were constrained by field surveys and drilling in the Guaymas Basin, central Gulf of California. Parametric variations in these studies included sediment and basalt permeability, anisotropy in sediment permeability, and the size of heat sources. Faults were introduced through new intrusions both before and after cooling.Background heat input caused fluid convection at velocities ≤ 3 cm a−1 through shallow sediments. Eighty to ninety percent of the heat introduced at the base of the simulations exited through the upper, horizontal surface, even when the vertical boundaries were made permeable to fluid flow. The simulated injection of a 25–50 m thick basalt intrusion at a depth of 250 m resulted in about 10 yr of pore-fluid expulsion through the sea-floor in all cases, leaving the sediments above the intrusions strongly underpressured. A longer period of fluid recharge followed, sometimes accompanied by reductions in total seafloor heat output of 10% in comparison to pre-intrusion values. Additional discharge-recharge events were dispersed chaotically through the duration of the cooling period. These cycles in heat and fluid flow resulted from the response of the simulated system to a thermodynamic shock, the sudden emplacement of a large heat source, and not from mechanical displacement of sediments and pore fluids, which was not simulated.Water/rock mass ratios calculated from numerical simulations are in good agreement with geochemical estimates from materials recovered from the Guaymas Basin, assuming a bulk basalt permeability value of at least 10−17 m2/(10−2 mD). The addition of faults through intrusions and sediments in these simulations did not facilitate

  1. Metagenomic resolution of microbial functions in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes across the Eastern Lau Spreading Center

    PubMed Central

    Anantharaman, Karthik; Breier, John A; Dick, Gregory J

    2016-01-01

    Microbial processes within deep-sea hydrothermal plumes affect ocean biogeochemistry on global scales. In rising hydrothermal plumes, a combination of microbial metabolism and particle formation processes initiate the transformation of reduced chemicals like hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, methane, iron, manganese and ammonia that are abundant in hydrothermal vent fluids. Despite the biogeochemical importance of this rising portion of plumes, it is understudied in comparison to neutrally buoyant plumes. Here we use metagenomics and bioenergetic modeling to describe the abundance and genetic potential of microorganisms in relation to available electron donors in five different hydrothermal plumes and three associated background deep-sea waters from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center located in the Western Pacific Ocean. Three hundred and thirty one distinct genomic ‘bins' were identified, comprising an estimated 951 genomes of archaea, bacteria, eukarya and viruses. A significant proportion of these genomes is from novel microorganisms and thus reveals insights into the energy metabolism of heretofore unknown microbial groups. Community-wide analyses of genes encoding enzymes that oxidize inorganic energy sources showed that sulfur oxidation was the most abundant and diverse chemolithotrophic microbial metabolism in the community. Genes for sulfur oxidation were commonly present in genomic bins that also contained genes for oxidation of hydrogen and methane, suggesting metabolic versatility in these microbial groups. The relative diversity and abundance of genes encoding hydrogen oxidation was moderate, whereas that of genes for methane and ammonia oxidation was low in comparison to sulfur oxidation. Bioenergetic-thermodynamic modeling supports the metagenomic analyses, showing that oxidation of elemental sulfur with oxygen is the most dominant catabolic reaction in the hydrothermal plumes. We conclude that the energy metabolism of microbial communities inhabiting

  2. Metagenomic resolution of microbial functions in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes across the Eastern Lau Spreading Center.

    PubMed

    Anantharaman, Karthik; Breier, John A; Dick, Gregory J

    2016-01-01

    Microbial processes within deep-sea hydrothermal plumes affect ocean biogeochemistry on global scales. In rising hydrothermal plumes, a combination of microbial metabolism and particle formation processes initiate the transformation of reduced chemicals like hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, methane, iron, manganese and ammonia that are abundant in hydrothermal vent fluids. Despite the biogeochemical importance of this rising portion of plumes, it is understudied in comparison to neutrally buoyant plumes. Here we use metagenomics and bioenergetic modeling to describe the abundance and genetic potential of microorganisms in relation to available electron donors in five different hydrothermal plumes and three associated background deep-sea waters from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center located in the Western Pacific Ocean. Three hundred and thirty one distinct genomic 'bins' were identified, comprising an estimated 951 genomes of archaea, bacteria, eukarya and viruses. A significant proportion of these genomes is from novel microorganisms and thus reveals insights into the energy metabolism of heretofore unknown microbial groups. Community-wide analyses of genes encoding enzymes that oxidize inorganic energy sources showed that sulfur oxidation was the most abundant and diverse chemolithotrophic microbial metabolism in the community. Genes for sulfur oxidation were commonly present in genomic bins that also contained genes for oxidation of hydrogen and methane, suggesting metabolic versatility in these microbial groups. The relative diversity and abundance of genes encoding hydrogen oxidation was moderate, whereas that of genes for methane and ammonia oxidation was low in comparison to sulfur oxidation. Bioenergetic-thermodynamic modeling supports the metagenomic analyses, showing that oxidation of elemental sulfur with oxygen is the most dominant catabolic reaction in the hydrothermal plumes. We conclude that the energy metabolism of microbial communities inhabiting rising

  3. Seafloor Spreading in the Lau-Havre Backarc Basins: From Fast to Ultra Slow

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martinez, F.; Dunn, R. A.; Sleeper, J. D.

    2013-12-01

    Seafloor spreading in the Lau Basin occurs along the well-organized Eastern Lau Spreading Center (ELSC) and Valu Fa Ridges (VFR) opening at 97-39 mm/yr. The ELSC/VFR produce two distinct crustal types sub-parallel to the ridge as a function of their separation from the arc volcanic front. Arc-proximal spreading forms a shallow, thick crust with arc-like lavas that abruptly changes to a deeper, thinner crust with backarc basin basalt (BABB)-like lavas as the ridges separate from the arc volcanic front. Southward in the Havre Trough opening rates decrease to 15 mm/yr and a well-organized spreading axis is largely absent. Instead, active volcanism appears to be distributed across a broad zone located asymmetrically near the arc side of the basin. Further, crustal accretion appears to have two distinct styles forming a shallower terrain floored by arc-like lavas and deeper rifted basins floored by more BABB-like lavas [Wysoczanski et al., 2010, G-cubed]. Although these crustal terrains broadly resemble those flanking the ELSC/VFR, in the Havre Trough they are organized into bands that trend across the basin with the shallower arc-like terrains typically trailing from Kermadec arc front volcanoes. We hypothesize that the variation in style of crustal accretion along the Lau-Havre backarc system is controlled by the southward decreasing rate of plate extension superimposed on a compositionally variable mantle wedge. Distinct hydrous and less-hydrous mantle domains have been proposed for the mantle wedge [Martinez & Taylor, 2002; Dunn & Martinez, 2011; Nature]. Within the hydrous domain (< about 50 km from the arc volcanic front) further compositional 'fingers' trailing basinward from arc front volcanoes have been interpreted in the Lau Basin based on ridge axis morphology and chemistry [Sleeper & Martinez, submitted]. In the Lau Basin, intermediate to fast spreading rates impose a 2D plate-driven advective regime in the mantle wedge constraining volcanic accretion to the

  4. Quantitative Infrared Image Analysis Of Thermally-Thin Cellulose Surface Temperatures During Upstream and Downstream Microgravity Flame Spread from A Central Ignition Line

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Olson, Sandra L.; Lee, J. R.; Fujita, O.; Kikuchi, M.; Kashiwagi, T.

    2012-01-01

    Surface view calibrated infrared images of ignition and flame spread over a thin cellulose fuel were obtained at 30 Hz during microgravity flame spread tests in the 10 second Japan Microgravity Center (JAMIC). The tests also used a color video of the surface view and color images of the edge view using 35 millimeter 1600 Kodak Ektapress film at 2 Hz. The cellulose fuel samples (50% long fibers from lumi pine and 50% short fibers from birch) were made with an area density of 60 grams per square meters. The samples were mounted in the center of a 12 centimeter wide by 16 centimeter tall flow duct that uses a downstream fan to draw the air through the flow duct. Samples were ignited after the experiment package was released using a straight hot wire across the center of the 7.5 centimeter wide by 14 centimeter long samples. One case, at 1 atmosphere 35%O2 in N2, at a forced flow of 10 centimeters per second, is presented here. In this case, as the test progresses, the single flame begins to separate into simultaneous upstream and downstream flames. Surface temperature profiles are evaluated as a function of time, and temperature gradients for upstream and downstream flame spread are measured. Flame spread rates from IR image data are compared to visible image spread rate data. IR blackbody temperatures are compared to surface thermocouple readings to evaluate the effective emissivity of the pyrolyzing surface. Preheat lengths are evaluated both upstream and downstream of the central ignition point. A surface energy balance estimates the net heat flux from the flame to the fuel surface along the length of the fuel.

  5. Modeling Viral Spread

    PubMed Central

    Graw, Frederik; Perelson, Alan S.

    2016-01-01

    The way in which a viral infection spreads within a host is a complex process that is not well understood. Different viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and hepatitis C virus, have evolved different strategies, including direct cell-to-cell transmission and cell-free transmission, to spread within a host. To what extent these two modes of transmission are exploited in vivo is still unknown. Mathematical modeling has been an essential tool to get a better systematic and quantitative understanding of viral processes that are difficult to discern through strictly experimental approaches. In this review, we discuss recent attempts that combine experimental data and mathematical modeling in order to determine and quantify viral transmission modes. We also discuss the current challenges for a systems-level understanding of viral spread, and we highlight the promises and challenges that novel experimental techniques and data will bring to the field. PMID:27618637

  6. Multi-site randomized controlled trial of a child-centered physical activity program, a parent-centered dietary-modification program, or both in overweight children: the HIKCUPS study.

    PubMed

    Okely, Anthony D; Collins, Clare E; Morgan, Philip J; Jones, Rachel A; Warren, Janet M; Cliff, Dylan P; Burrows, Tracy L; Colyvas, Kim; Steele, Julie R; Baur, Louise A

    2010-09-01

    To evaluate whether a child-centered physical activity program, combined with a parent-centered dietary program, was more efficacious than each treatment alone, in preventing unhealthy weight-gain in overweight children. An assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial involving 165 overweight/obese 5.5- to 9.9- year-old children. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 interventions: a parent-centered dietary program (Diet); a child-centered physical activity program (Activity); or a combination of both (Diet+Activity). All groups received 10 weekly face-to-face sessions followed by 3 monthly relapse-prevention phone calls. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. The primary outcome was change in body mass index z-score at 6 and 12 months (n=114 and 106, respectively). Body mass index z-scores were reduced at 12-months in all groups, with the Diet (mean [95% confidence interval]) (-0.39 [-0.51 to 0.27]) and Diet + Activity (-0.32, [-0.36, -0.23]) groups showing a greater reduction than the Activity group (-0.17 [-0.28, -0.06]) (P=.02). Changes in other outcomes (waist circumference and metabolic profile) were not statistically significant among groups. Relative body weight decreased at 6 months and was sustained at 12 months through treatment with a child-centered physical activity program, a parent-centered dietary program, or both. The greatest effect was achieved when a parent-centered dietary component was included. Copyright (c) 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Leishmania infection modulates beta-1 integrin activation and alters the kinetics of monocyte spreading over fibronectin.

    PubMed

    Figueira, Cláudio Pereira; Carvalhal, Djalma Gomes Ferrão; Almeida, Rafaela Andrade; Hermida, Micely d' El-Rei; Touchard, Dominique; Robert, Phillipe; Pierres, Anne; Bongrand, Pierre; dos-Santos, Washington L C

    2015-08-07

    Contact with Leishmania leads to a decreases in mononuclear phagocyte adherence to connective tissue. In this work, we studied the early stages of bond formation between VLA4 and fibronectin, measured the kinetics of membrane alignment and the monocyte cytoplasm spreading area over a fibronectin-coated surface, and studied the expression of high affinity integrin epitope in uninfected and Leishmania-infected human monocytes. Our results show that the initial VLA4-mediated interaction of Leishmania-infected monocyte with a fibronectin-coated surface is preserved, however, the later stage, leukocyte spreading over the substrate is abrogated in Leishmania-infected cells. The median of spreading area was 72 [55-89] μm(2) for uninfected and 41 [34-51] μm(2) for Leishmania-infected monocyte. This cytoplasm spread was inhibited using an anti-VLA4 blocking antibody. After the initial contact with the fibronectrin-coated surface, uninfected monocyte quickly spread the cytoplasm at a 15 μm(2) s(-1) ratio whilst Leishmania-infected monocytes only made small contacts at a 5.5 μm(2) s(-1) ratio. The expression of high affinity epitope by VLA4 (from 39 ± 21% to 14 ± 3%); and LFA1 (from 37 ± 32% to 18 ± 16%) molecules was reduced in Leishmania-infected monocytes. These changes in phagocyte function may be important for parasite dissemination and distribution of lesions in leishmaniasis.

  8. Quality-Assurance Plan for Water-Quality Activities in the USGS Ohio Water Science Center

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Francy, Donna S.; Shaffer, Kimberly H.

    2008-01-01

    In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Office of Water Quality in the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey, a quality-assurance plan has been written for use by the Ohio Water Science Center in conducting water-quality activities. This quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Ohio Water Science Center for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of water-quality data. The policies and procedures documented in this quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities are meant to complement the Ohio Water Science Center quality-assurance plans for water-quality monitors, the microbiology laboratory, and surface-water and ground-water activities.

  9. Origin of dipping structures in fast-spreading oceanic lower crust offshore Alaska imaged by multichannel seismic data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bécel, Anne; Shillington, Donna J.; Nedimović, Mladen R.; Webb, Spahr C.; Kuehn, Harold

    2015-08-01

    Multi-channel seismic (MCS) reflection profiles across the Pacific Plate south of the Alaska Peninsula reveal the internal structure of mature oceanic crust (48-56 Ma) formed at fast to intermediate spreading rates during and after a major plate re-organization. Oceanic crust formed at fast spreading rates (half spreading rate ∼ 74 mm /yr) has smoother basement topography, thinner sediment cover with less faulting, and an igneous section that is at least 1 km thicker than crust formed at intermediate spreading rates (half spreading rate ∼ 28- 34 mm /yr). MCS data across fast-spreading oceanic crust formed during plate re-organization contain abundant bright reflections, mostly confined to the lower crust above a highly reflective Moho transition zone, which has a reflection coefficient (RC) of ∼0.1. The lower crustal events dip predominantly toward the paleo-ridge axis at ∼10-30°. Reflections are also imaged in the uppermost mantle, which primarily dip away from the ridge at ∼10-25°, the opposite direction to those observed in the lower crust. Dipping events in both the lower crust and upper mantle are absent on profiles acquired across the oceanic crust formed at intermediate spreading rates emplaced after plate re-organization, where a Moho reflection is weak or absent. Our preferred interpretation is that the imaged lower crustal dipping reflections within the fast spread crust arise from shear zones that form near the spreading center in the region characterized by interstitial melt. The abundance and reflection amplitude strength of these events (RC ∼ 0.15) can be explained by a combination of solidified melt that was segregated within the shear structures, mylonitization of the shear zones, and crystal alignment, all of which can result in anisotropy and constructive signal interference. Formation of shear zones with this geometry requires differential motion between the crust and upper mantle, where the upper mantle moves away from the ridge

  10. ZmCCT and the genetic basis of day-length adaptation underlying the postdomestication spread of maize

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Teosinte, the progenitor of maize, is restricted to tropical environments in Mexico and Central America. The pre-Columbian spread of maize from its center of origin in tropical Southern Mexico to the higher latitudes of the Americas required post-domestication selection for adaptation to longer dayl...

  11. Fuel age and fire spread: Natural conditions versus opportunities for fire suppression

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Halsey, Richard W.; Keeley, Jon E.; Wilson, Kit

    2009-01-01

    Wildfires are driven and restrained by an interplay of variables that can lead to many potential outcomes. As every wildland firefighter learns in basic training, the ability of a fire to spread is determined by three basic variables: fuel type and condition, weather, and topography. Fire suppression obviously plays a significant role in determining fire spread as well, so firefighter activity becomes an additional variable.

  12. Cooperative spreading processes in multiplex networks.

    PubMed

    Wei, Xiang; Chen, Shihua; Wu, Xiaoqun; Ning, Di; Lu, Jun-An

    2016-06-01

    This study is concerned with the dynamic behaviors of epidemic spreading in multiplex networks. A model composed of two interacting complex networks is proposed to describe cooperative spreading processes, wherein the virus spreading in one layer can penetrate into the other to promote the spreading process. The global epidemic threshold of the model is smaller than the epidemic thresholds of the corresponding isolated networks. Thus, global epidemic onset arises in the interacting networks even though an epidemic onset does not arise in each isolated network. Simulations verify the analysis results and indicate that cooperative spreading processes in multiplex networks enhance the final infection fraction.

  13. [Research activities in Kobe-Indonesia Collaborative Research Centers].

    PubMed

    Utsumi, Takako; Hayashi, Yoshitake; Hotta, Hak

    2013-01-01

    Kobe-Indonesia Collaborative Research Center was established in Institute of Tropical Disease (ITD), Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia in 2007 under the program of ''Founding Research Centers for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases'' supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and then it has been under the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases (J-GRID) since 2010. Japanese researchers have been stationed at ITD, conducting joint researches on influenza, viral hepatitis, dengue and infectious diarrhea. Also, another Japanese researcher has been stationed at Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, carrying out joint researches on'' Identification of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) substances and development of HCV and dengue vaccines'' in collaboration with University of Indonesia and Airlangga University through the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since 2009. In this article, we briefly introduce the background history of Kobe University Research Center in Indonesia, and discuss the research themes and outcomes of J-GRID and SATREPS activities.

  14. Ischemia-induced spreading depolarization in the retina

    PubMed Central

    Srienc, Anja I; Biesecker, Kyle R; Shimoda, Angela M; Kur, Joanna

    2016-01-01

    Cortical spreading depolarization is a metabolically costly phenomenon that affects the brain in both health and disease. Following severe stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, or traumatic brain injury, cortical spreading depolarization exacerbates tissue damage and enlarges infarct volumes. It is not known, however, whether spreading depolarization also occurs in the retina in vivo. We report now that spreading depolarization episodes are generated in the in vivo rat retina following retinal vessel occlusion produced by photothrombosis. The properties of retinal spreading depolarization are similar to those of cortical spreading depolarization. Retinal spreading depolarization waves propagate at a velocity of 3.0 ± 0.1 mm/min and are associated with a negative shift in direct current potential, a transient cessation of neuronal spiking, arteriole constriction, and a decrease in tissue O2 tension. The frequency of retinal spreading depolarization generation in vivo is reduced by administration of the NMDA antagonist MK-801 and the 5-HT(1D) agonist sumatriptan. Branch retinal vein occlusion is a leading cause of vision loss from vascular disease. Our results suggest that retinal spreading depolarization could contribute to retinal damage in acute retinal ischemia and demonstrate that pharmacological agents can reduce retinal spreading depolarization frequency after retinal vessel occlusion. Blocking retinal spreading depolarization generation may represent a therapeutic strategy for preserving vision in branch retinal vein occlusion patients. PMID:27389181

  15. Solid surface combustion experiment flame spread in a quiescent, microgravity environment implications of spread rate and flame structure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bundy, Matthew; West, Jeff; Thomas, Peter C.; Bhattacharjee, Subrata; Tang, Lin; Altenkirch, Robert A.; Sacksteder, Kurt

    1995-01-01

    sequence upon activation by the Shuttle Crew. In this study we separate the SSCE data into two groups according to the fuel type: (1) thin cellulose; and (2) thick PMMA. The experimental spread rates are compared with prediction from a number of models in an effort to uncover the important physics that characterize microgravity flame spread. Both steady and unsteady solutions are employed to explore the flame evolution, especially for thick fuels. Finally, the flame structure in downward spread is compared with the microgravity flame structure and modeling results to delineate the difference between the two configurations and the influence of normal gravity.

  16. Nanotube Activities at NASA-Johnson Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arepalli, Sivaram

    2004-01-01

    Nanotube activities at NASA-Johnson Space Center include production, purification, characterization as well as applications of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). A parametric study of the pulsed laser ablation process is recently completed to monitor the effect of production parameters including temperature, buffer gas, flow rate, pressure, and laser fluence. Enhancement of production is achieved by rastering the graphite target and by increasing the target surface temperature with a cw laser. In-situ diagnostics during production included time resolved passive emission and laser induced fluorescence from the plume. The improvement of the purity by a variety of steps in the purification process is monitored by characterization techniques including SEM, TEM, Raman, UV-VIS-NIR and TGA. A recently established NASA-JSC protocol for SWCNT characterization is undergoing revision with feedback from nanotube community. Efforts at JSC over the past five years in composites have centered on structural polymer/nanotube systems. Recent activities broadened this focus to multifunctional materials, supercapacitors, fuel cells, regenerable CO2 absorbers, electromagnetic shielding, radiation dosimetry and thermal management systems of interest for human space flight. Preliminary tests indicate improvement of performance in most of these applications because of the large Surface area as well as high electrical and thermal conductivity exhibited by SWCNTs. Comparison with existing technologies and possible future improvements in the SWCNT materials sill be presented.

  17. Inhibition of Bacterial Rna Polymerase by Streptolydigin: Stabilization of A Straight-Bridge-Helix Active-Center Conformation

    PubMed Central

    Tuske, Steven; Sarafianos, Stefan G.; Wang, Xinyue; Hudson, Brian; Sineva, Elena; Mukhopadhyay, Jayanta; Birktoft, Jens J.; Leroy, Olivier; Ismail, Sajida; Clark, Arthur D.; Dharia, Chhaya; Napoli, Andrew; Laptenko, Oleg; Lee, Jookyung; Borukhov, Sergei; Ebright, Richard H.; Arnold, Eddy

    2009-01-01

    We define the target, mechanism, and structural basis of inhibition of bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) by the tetramic-acid antibiotic streptolydigin (Stl). Stl binds to a site adjacent to, but not overlapping, the RNAP active center and stabilizes an RNAP-active-center conformational state with a straight bridge helix. The results provide direct support for the proposals that alternative straight-bridge-helix and bent-bridge-helix RNAP-active-center conformations exist, and that cycling between straight-bridge-helix and bent-bridge-helix RNAP-active-center conformations is required for RNAP function. The results set bounds on models for RNAP function and suggest strategies for design of novel antibacterial agents. PMID:16122422

  18. Oxygen Activation at Mononuclear Nonheme Iron Centers: A Superoxo Perspective

    PubMed Central

    Mukherjee, Anusree; Cranswick, Matthew A.; Chakraborti, Mrinmoy; Paine, Tapan K.; Fujisawa, Kiyoshi; Münck, Eckard; Que, Lawrence

    2010-01-01

    Dioxygen activation by iron enzymes is responsible for many metabolically important transformations in biology. Often a high-valent iron-oxo oxidant is proposed to form upon dioxygen activation at a mononuclear nonheme iron center, presumably via intervening iron-superoxo and iron-peroxo species. While iron(IV)-oxo intermediates have been trapped and characterized in enzymes and models, less is known of the putative iron(III)-superoxo species. Utilizing a synthetic model for the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent monoiron enzymes, [(TpiPr2)FeII(O2CC(O)CH3)], we have obtained indirect evidence for the formation of the putative iron(III)-superoxo species, which can undergo one-electron reduction, hydrogen-atom transfer, or conversion to an iron(IV)-oxo species, depending on the reaction conditions. These results demonstrate the various roles the iron(III)-superoxo species can play in the course of dioxygen activation at a nonheme iron center. PMID:20380464

  19. Oxygen activation at mononuclear nonheme iron centers: a superoxo perspective.

    PubMed

    Mukherjee, Anusree; Cranswick, Matthew A; Chakrabarti, Mrinmoy; Paine, Tapan K; Fujisawa, Kiyoshi; Münck, Eckard; Que, Lawrence

    2010-04-19

    Dioxygen (O(2)) activation by iron enzymes is responsible for many metabolically important transformations in biology. Often a high-valent iron oxo oxidant is proposed to form upon O(2) activation at a mononuclear nonheme iron center, presumably via intervening iron superoxo and iron peroxo species. While iron(IV) oxo intermediates have been trapped and characterized in enzymes and models, less is known of the putative iron(III) superoxo species. Utilizing a synthetic model for the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent monoiron enzymes, [(Tp(iPr2))Fe(II)(O(2)CC(O)CH(3))], we have obtained indirect evidence for the formation of the putative iron(III) superoxo species, which can undergo one-electron reduction, hydrogen-atom transfer, or conversion to an iron(IV) oxo species, depending on the reaction conditions. These results demonstrate the various roles that the iron(III) superoxo species can play in the course of O(2) activation at a nonheme iron center.

  20. Fluorescent visualization of a spreading surfactant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fallest, David W.; Lichtenberger, Adele M.; Fox, Christopher J.; Daniels, Karen E.

    2010-07-01

    The spreading of surfactants on thin films is an industrially and medically important phenomenon, but the dynamics are highly nonlinear and visualization of the surfactant dynamics has been a long-standing experimental challenge. We perform the first quantitative, spatiotemporally resolved measurements of the spreading of an insoluble surfactant on a thin fluid layer. During the spreading process, we directly observe both the radial height profile of the spreading droplet and the spatial distribution of the fluorescently tagged surfactant. We find that the leading edge of a spreading circular layer of surfactant forms a Marangoni ridge in the underlying fluid, with a trough trailing the ridge as expected. However, several novel features are observed using the fluorescence technique, including a peak in the surfactant concentration that trails the leading edge, and a flat, monolayer-scale spreading film that differs from concentration profiles predicted by current models. Both the Marangoni ridge and the surfactant leading edge can be described to spread as R~tδ. We find spreading exponents δH≈0.30 and δΓ≈0.22 for the ridge peak and surfactant leading edge, respectively, which are in good agreement with theoretical predictions of δ=1/4. In addition, we observe that the surfactant leading edge initially leads the peak of the Marangoni ridge, with the peak later catching up to the leading edge.

  1. Leishmania infection modulates beta-1 integrin activation and alters the kinetics of monocyte spreading over fibronectin

    PubMed Central

    Figueira, Cláudio Pereira; Carvalhal, Djalma Gomes Ferrão; Almeida, Rafaela Andrade; Hermida, Micely d’ El-Rei; Touchard, Dominique; Robert, Phillipe; Pierres, Anne; Bongrand, Pierre; dos-Santos, Washington LC

    2015-01-01

    Contact with Leishmania leads to a decreases in mononuclear phagocyte adherence to connective tissue. In this work, we studied the early stages of bond formation between VLA4 and fibronectin, measured the kinetics of membrane alignment and the monocyte cytoplasm spreading area over a fibronectin-coated surface, and studied the expression of high affinity integrin epitope in uninfected and Leishmania-infected human monocytes. Our results show that the initial VLA4-mediated interaction of Leishmania-infected monocyte with a fibronectin-coated surface is preserved, however, the later stage, leukocyte spreading over the substrate is abrogated in Leishmania-infected cells. The median of spreading area was 72 [55–89] μm2 for uninfected and 41 [34–51] μm2 for Leishmania-infected monocyte. This cytoplasm spread was inhibited using an anti-VLA4 blocking antibody. After the initial contact with the fibronectrin-coated surface, uninfected monocyte quickly spread the cytoplasm at a 15 μm2 s−1 ratio whilst Leishmania-infected monocytes only made small contacts at a 5.5 μm2 s−1 ratio. The expression of high affinity epitope by VLA4 (from 39 ± 21% to 14 ± 3%); and LFA1 (from 37 ± 32% to 18 ± 16%) molecules was reduced in Leishmania-infected monocytes. These changes in phagocyte function may be important for parasite dissemination and distribution of lesions in leishmaniasis. PMID:26249106

  2. A high-temperature hydrothermal deposit on the seabed at a Gulf of California spreading center ( Guaymas Basin).

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lonsdale, P.F.; Bischoff, J.L.; Burns, V.M.; Kastner, M.; Sweeney, R.E.

    1980-01-01

    A submersible dive on a turbidite-covered spreading axis in Guaymas Basin photographed and sampled extensive terraces and ledges of talc. The rock contains siliceous microfossils, smectite, and euhedral pyrrhotite as well as rather pure iron-rich talc. S and O isotopes indicate precipitation around a hydrothermal vent, at about 2800C. - Authors

  3. Infrared Detector Activities at NASA Langley Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abedin, M. N.; Refaat, T. F.; Sulima, O. V.; Amzajerdian, F.

    2008-01-01

    Infrared detector development and characterization at NASA Langley Research Center will be reviewed. These detectors were intended for ground, airborne, and space borne remote sensing applications. Discussion will be focused on recently developed single-element infrared detector and future development of near-infrared focal plane arrays (FPA). The FPA will be applied to next generation space-based instruments. These activities are based on phototransistor and avalanche photodiode technologies, which offer high internal gain and relatively low noise-equivalent-power. These novel devices will improve the sensitivity of active remote sensing instruments while eliminating the need for a high power laser transmitter.

  4. AN OFF-CENTERED ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS IN NGC 3115

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Menezes, R. B.; Steiner, J. E.; Ricci, T. V., E-mail: robertobm@astro.iag.usp.br

    2014-11-20

    NGC 3115 is an S0 galaxy that has always been considered to have a pure absorption-line spectrum. Some recent studies have detected a compact radio-emitting nucleus in this object, coinciding with the photometric center and with a candidate for the X-ray nucleus. This is evidence of the existence of a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the galaxy, although no emission line has ever been observed. We report the detection of an emission-line spectrum of a type 1 AGN in NGC 3115, with an Hα luminosity of L {sub Hα} = (4.2 ± 0.4) × 10{sup 37} erg s{sup –1}. Our analysismore » revealed that this AGN is located at a projected distance of ∼0.''29 ± 0.''05 (corresponding to ∼14.3 ± 2.5 pc) from the stellar bulge center, which is coincident with the kinematic center of this object's stellar velocity map. The black hole corresponding to the observed off-centered AGN may form a binary system with a black hole located at the stellar bulge center. However, it is also possible that the displaced black hole is the merged remnant of the binary system coalescence, after the ''kick'' caused by the asymmetric emission of gravitational waves. We propose that certain features in the stellar velocity dispersion map are the result of perturbations caused by the off-centered AGN.« less

  5. Measuring trauma center injury prevention activity: an assessment and reporting tool.

    PubMed

    Sise, Michael J; Sise, Carol Beth

    2006-02-01

    To develop an assessment and reporting tool for a trauma center's community partnership strategy to deliver injury prevention programs in a large metropolitan area. The tool was designed to track prevention activity and serve as a reporting format for the parent health system, county designating agency, and the American College of Surgeons' Trauma Center Verification Process. The tool collected data including trauma center paid and volunteer personnel time, equipment, resource, and financial costs, community group and public agency contributions, number of community members receiving prevention material or presentations, impact on public policy, and print and broadcast media coverage. These measurements were incorporated in a reporting grid format. Six youth injury prevention programs were evaluated over a recent 2-year interval to demonstrate the tool's usefulness. Of six programs, three focused on motor vehicle injuries, one on teen suicide, one on firearm injuries, and one on drug and alcohol abuse. Trauma Center personnel asset allocation included 3% full-time equivalent by the Trauma Medical Director, 30% by the Injury Prevention and Community Outreach Coordinator, and 473 person hours (both work and volunteer) by physicians, nurses, and other personnel. Trauma Center equipment and fixed asset expenses totaled $3,950 and monetary contribution totaled $4,430. Community groups and public agencies contributed 20,400 person hours with estimated in-kind costs exceeding $750,000. Five of the six programs continued during the 2-year period. A gun-lock giveaway program was suspended because of a product recall. A total of over 29,000 youth received prevention material and presentations. Four public policy initiatives and 18 Trauma Center media stories with over 50 mentions and 37 new community partnerships resulted. The reports generated were easily incorporated in the trauma center's reports to local and national organizations and agencies. This assessment tool

  6. Off- and Along-Axis Slow Spreading Ridge Segment Characters: Insights From 3d Thermal Modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gac, S.; Tisseau, C.; Dyment, J.

    2001-12-01

    Many observations along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge segments suggest a correlation between surface characters (length, axial morphology) and the thermal state of the segment. Thibaud et al. (1998) classify segments according to their thermal state: "colder" segments shorter than 30 km show a weak magmatic activity, and "hotter" segments as long as 90 km show a robust magmatic activity. The existence of such a correlation suggests that the thermal structure of a slow spreading ridge segment explains most of the surface observations. Here we test the physical coherence of such an integrated thermal model and evaluate it quantitatively. The different kinds of segment would constitute different phases in a segment evolution, the segment evolving progressively from a "colder" to a "hotter" so to a "colder" state. Here we test the consistency of such an evolution scheme. To test these hypotheses we have developed a 3D numerical model for the thermal structure and evolution of a slow spreading ridge segment. The thermal structure is controlled by the geometry and the dimensions of a permanently hot zone, imposed beneath the segment center, where is simulated the adiabatic ascent of magmatic material. To compare the model with the observations several geophysic quantities which depend on the thermal state are simulated: crustal thickness variations along axis, gravity anomalies (reflecting density variations) and earthquake maximum depth (corresponding to the 750° C isotherm depth). The thermal structure of a particular segment is constrained by comparing the simulated quantities to the real ones. Considering realistic magnetization parameters, the magnetic anomalies generated from the same thermal structure and evolution reproduce the observed magnetic anomaly amplitude variations along the segment. The thermal structures accounting for observations are determined for each kind of segment (from "colder" to "hotter"). The evolution of the thermal structure from the "colder" to

  7. Who's Vulnerable in Infant Child Care Centers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kendall, Earline D.; Moukaddem, Virginia E.

    1992-01-01

    Maintains that infants and toddlers, parents, and child caregivers are vulnerable to a variety of infectious diseases from infant-toddler child care centers. These diseases include infectious diarrhea; rubella; cytomeglovirus; hepatitis A, and haemophilus influenza type B. Suggests ways to prevent the spread of such diseases. (BB)

  8. Corrosion Activities at the NASA Kennedy Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heidersbach, Robert H.

    2002-01-01

    This report documents summer faculty fellow efforts in the corrosion test bed at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. During the summer of 2002 efforts were concentrated on three activities: a short course on corrosion control for KSC personnel, evaluation of commercial wash additives used for corrosion control on Army aircraft, and improvements in the testing of a new cathodic protection system under development at KSC.

  9. Initial Identification and Characterization of an Emerging Zoonotic Influenza Prior to Pandemic Spread

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-11-01

    equally closely strains of both H1N2 influenza A virus of swine origin and H3N2 influenza A virus of avian origin. The expected matches for each of...Naval Health Research Center Initial Identification and Characterization of an Emerging Zoonotic Influenza Virus Prior to Pandemic Spread...10.1128/JCM.01336-10 PMCID: PMC3020883 Initial Identification and Characterization of an Emerging Zoonotic Influenza Virus Prior to Pandemic

  10. 21 CFR 133.175 - Pasteurized cheese spread.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Pasteurized cheese spread. 133.175 Section 133.175... Cheese and Related Products § 133.175 Pasteurized cheese spread. Pasteurized cheese spread is the food... statement of ingredients, prescribed for pasteurized process cheese spread by § 133.179, except that no...

  11. [Activities of voivodeship occupational medicine centers in workplace health promotion in 2008].

    PubMed

    Goszczyńska, Eliza

    2010-01-01

    The paper aims to present the activities of the largest Voivodeship Occupational Medicine Centers (VOMCs) in Poland in the area of workplace health promotion in 2008. It was compiled on the basis of written reports concerning these activities sent by the Centers to the Polish National Center for Workplace Health Promotion, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź. Their analysis shows a greatly varied level of engagement in and understanding of health promotion--from simple single actions (in the field of health education and screening) to long-running programs, including various ways of influencing people the programs are addressed to. In 2008, there were 78 such programs in the country, the most popular of them were those focused on occupational voice disorders and tobacco smoke). VOMCs perceive external factors, unfavorable or indifferent attitudes towards promoting health of their employees on the part of employers as well as financial constraints, as the most common obstacles in undertaking activities in the field of workplace health promotion. At the same time, they link achievements in this field mostly with their own activities, including effective cooperation with various partners and their well qualified and experienced employees.

  12. Very-low-energy-spread ion sources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Y.

    1997-05-01

    Ion beams with low axial energy spread are required in many applications such as ion projection lithography, isobaric separation in radioactive ion beam experiments, and ion beam deposition processes. In an ion source, the spread of the axial ion energy is caused by the nonuniformity of the plasma potential distribution along the source axis. Multicusp ion sources are capable of production positive and negative ions with good beam quality and relatively low energy spread. By intorducing a magnetic filter inside the multicusp source chamber, the axial plasma potential distribution is modified and the energy spread of positive hydrogen ions can be reduced to as low as 1 eV. The energy spread measurements of multicusp sources have been conducted by employing three different techniques: an electrostatic energy analyzer at the source exit; a magnetic deflection spectrometer; and a retarding-field energy analyzer for the accelerated beam. These different measurements confirmed tha! t ! the axial energy spread of positive and negative ions generated in the filter-equipped multicusp sources are small. New ion source configurations are now being investigated at LBNL with the purpose of achieving enen lower energy spread (<1eV) and of maximizing source performance such as reliability and lifetime.

  13. Episodic normal faulting and magmatism during the syn-spreading stage of the Baiyun sag in Pearl River Mouth Basin: response to the multi-phase seafloor spreading of the South China Sea

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Peng; Mei, Lianfu; Liu, Jun; Zheng, Jinyun; Liu, Minghui; Cheng, Zijie; Guo, Fengtai

    2018-03-01

    Considerable post-breakup extensional deformation is recorded in the continental margins of the South China Sea (SCS). To recognize the nature and origin of the significant deformation during the syn-spreading stage (32-15.5 Ma) in the SCS, we comprehensively analyzed the geometry and kinematics of the faults and contemporaneous magmas in the Baiyun sag, northern margin of the SCS, using high-resolution regional three-dimensional seismic data. The kinematic analyses indicate that the faults in the Baiyun sag are recently formed following the onset of seafloor spreading in the SCS. The faults exhibit multiple episodes of growth history, with three active episodes, 32-29, 23.8-21 and 18.5-16.5 Ma, separated by periods of inactivity. Four volcanic groups comprising 98 volcanic mounds have been identified and described, located separately in the northwestern, the central, the southeastern and the northern slope areas. The occurrence of multiple palaeo-seafloors, complemented by the biostratigraphic and K-Ar dating data, reveals multiple extrusive events of the syn-spreading magmas in the Baiyun sag, with three active periods of 23.8-21, 18.5-17.5 and 17.5-16.5 Ma. This study confirms that the normal faulting has a shared genetic origin with the contemporaneous magmatism during the syn-spreading stage in the deep-offshore Baiyun sag, northern margin of the SCS. The episodic fault growth and magmatic extrusive events reveal that the Baiyun sag has undergone at least three episodic tectonic events during the syn-spreading stage, which evolved in response to the multi-stage seafloor spreading of the SCS.

  14. Impact of Repeated Exposures on Information Spreading in Social Networks

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Cangqi; Zhao, Qianchuan; Lu, Wenbo

    2015-01-01

    Clustered structure of social networks provides the chances of repeated exposures to carriers with similar information. It is commonly believed that the impact of repeated exposures on the spreading of information is nontrivial. Does this effect increase the probability that an individual forwards a message in social networks? If so, to what extent does this effect influence people’s decisions on whether or not to spread information? Based on a large-scale microblogging data set, which logs the message spreading processes and users’ forwarding activities, we conduct a data-driven analysis to explore the answer to the above questions. The results show that an overwhelming majority of message samples are more probable to be forwarded under repeated exposures, compared to those under only a single exposure. For those message samples that cover various topics, we observe a relatively fixed, topic-independent multiplier of the willingness of spreading when repeated exposures occur, regardless of the differences in network structure. We believe that this finding reflects average people’s intrinsic psychological gain under repeated stimuli. Hence, it makes sense that the gain is associated with personal response behavior, rather than network structure. Moreover, we find that the gain is robust against the change of message popularity. This finding supports that there exists a relatively fixed gain brought by repeated exposures. Based on the above findings, we propose a parsimonious model to predict the saturated numbers of forwarding activities of messages. Our work could contribute to better understandings of behavioral psychology and social media analytics. PMID:26465749

  15. Spreading to localized targets in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Ye; Ma, Long; Zeng, An; Wang, Wen-Xu

    2016-12-01

    As an important type of dynamics on complex networks, spreading is widely used to model many real processes such as the epidemic contagion and information propagation. One of the most significant research questions in spreading is to rank the spreading ability of nodes in the network. To this end, substantial effort has been made and a variety of effective methods have been proposed. These methods usually define the spreading ability of a node as the number of finally infected nodes given that the spreading is initialized from the node. However, in many real cases such as advertising and news propagation, the spreading only aims to cover a specific group of nodes. Therefore, it is necessary to study the spreading ability of nodes towards localized targets in complex networks. In this paper, we propose a reversed local path algorithm for this problem. Simulation results show that our method outperforms the existing methods in identifying the influential nodes with respect to these localized targets. Moreover, the influential spreaders identified by our method can effectively avoid infecting the non-target nodes in the spreading process.

  16. Policy and Practice-Relevant Youth Physical Activity Research Center Agenda.

    PubMed

    Botchwey, Nisha; Floyd, Myron F; Pollack Porter, Keshia; Cutter, Carmen L; Spoon, Chad; Schmid, Tom L; Conway, Terry L; Hipp, J Aaron; Kim, Anna J; Umstattd Meyer, M Renee; Walker, Amanda L; Kauh, Tina J; Sallis, Jim F

    2018-06-08

    The Physical Activity Research Center developed a research agenda that addresses youth physical activity (PA) and healthy weight, and aligns with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health. This paper summarizes prioritized research studies with a focus on youth at higher risk for inactive lifestyles and childhood obesity in urban and rural communities. Systematic literature reviews, a survey, and discussions with practitioners and researchers provided guidance on research questions to build evidence and inform effective strategies to promote healthy weight and PA in youth across race, cultural, and economic groups. The research team developed a matrix of potential research questions, identified priority questions, and designed targeted studies to address some of the priority questions and inform advocacy efforts. The studies selected examine strategies advocating for activity-friendly communities, Play Streets, park use, and PA of youth in the summer. A broader set of research priorities for youth PA is proposed. Establishing the Physical Activity Research Center research agenda identified important initial and future research studies to promote and ensure healthy weight and healthy levels of PA for at-risk youth. Results will be disseminated with the goal of promoting equitable access to PA for youth.

  17. Spread F in the Midlatitude Ionosphere According to DPS-4 Ionosonde Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Panchenko, V. A.; Telegin, V. A.; Vorob'ev, V. G.; Zhbankov, G. A.; Yagodkina, O. I.; Rozhdestvenskaya, V. I.

    2018-03-01

    The results of studying spread F obtained from the DPS-4 ionosonde data at the observatory of the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation (Moscow) are presented. The methodical questions that arise during the study of a spread F phenomenon in the ionosphere are considered; the current results of terrestrial observations are compared with previously published data and the results of sounding onboard an Earth-satellite vehicle. The automated algorithm for estimation of the intensity of frequency spread F, which was developed by the authors and was successfully verified via comparison of the data of the digisonde DPS-4 and the results of manual processing, is described. The algorithm makes it possible to quantify the intensity of spread F in megahertz (the dFs parameter) and in the number of points (0, 1, 2, 3). The strongest spread (3 points) is shown to be most likely around midnight, while the weakest spread (0 points) is highly likely to occur during the daytime. The diurnal distribution of a 1-2 point spread F in the winter indicates the presence of additional maxima at 0300-0600 UT and 1400-1700 UT, which may appear due to the terminator. Despite the large volume of processed data, we can not definitively state that the appearance of spread F depends on the magnetic activity indices Kp, Dst, and AL, although the values of the dFs frequency spread interval strongly increased both at day and night during the magnetic storm of March 17-22, 2015, especially in the phase of storm recovery on March 20-22.

  18. Active-Learning versus Teacher-Centered Instruction for Learning Acids and Bases

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sesen, Burcin Acar; Tarhan, Leman

    2011-01-01

    Background and purpose: Active-learning as a student-centered learning process has begun to take more interest in constructing scientific knowledge. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of active-learning implementation on high-school students' understanding of "acids and bases". Sample: The sample of this…

  19. 34 CFR 350.22 - What activities must a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center conduct?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Training Center conduct? 350.22 Section 350.22 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH PROJECTS AND CENTERS PROGRAM What Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers Does the Secretary Assist? § 350.22 What activities must a Rehabilitation Research and Training...

  20. Physical Activity in Child-Care Centers: Do Teachers Hold the Key to the Playground?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Copeland, Kristen A.; Kendeigh, Cassandra A.; Saelens, Brian E.; Kalkwarf, Heidi J.; Sherman, Susan N.

    2012-01-01

    Many (56%) US children aged 3-5 years are in center-based childcare and are not obtaining recommended levels of physical activity. In order to determine what child-care teachers/providers perceived as benefits and barriers to children's physical activity in child-care centers, we conducted nine focus groups and 13 one-on-one interviews with 49…

  1. Flame spread across liquid pools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ross, Howard; Miller, Fletcher; Schiller, David; Sirignano, William A.

    1993-01-01

    For flame spread over liquid fuel pools, the existing literature suggests three gravitational influences: (1) liquid phase buoyant convection, delaying ignition and assisting flame spread; (2) hydrostatic pressure variation, due to variation in the liquid pool height caused by thermocapillary-induced convection; and (3) gas-phase buoyant convection in the opposite direction to the liquid phase motion. No current model accounts for all three influences. In fact, prior to this work, there was no ability to determine whether ignition delay times and flame spread rates would be greater or lesser in low gravity. Flame spread over liquid fuel pools is most commonly characterized by the relationship of the initial pool temperature to the fuel's idealized flash point temperature, with four or five separate characteristic regimes having been identified. In the uniform spread regime, control has been attributed to: (1) gas-phase conduction and radiation; (2) gas-phase conduction only; (3) gas-phase convection and liquid conduction, and most recently (4) liquid convection ahead of the flame. Suggestions were made that the liquid convection was owed to both vuoyancy and thermocapillarity. Of special interest to this work is the determination of whether, and under what conditions, pulsating spread can and will occur in microgravity in the absence of buoyant flows in both phases. The approach we have taken to resolving the importance of buoyancy for these flames is: (1) normal gravity experiments and advanced diagnostics; (2) microgravity experiments; and (3) numerical modelling at arbitrary gravitational level.

  2. Using a network model to assess risk of forest pest spread via recreational travel

    Treesearch

    Frank H. Koch; Denys Yemshanov; Robert A. Haack; Roger D. Magarey

    2014-01-01

    Long-distance dispersal pathways, which frequently relate to human activities, facilitate the spread of alien species. One pathway of concern in North America is the possible spread of forest pests in firewood carried by visitors to campgrounds or recreational facilities. We present a network model depicting the movement of campers and, by extension, potentially...

  3. Spreading gossip in social networks.

    PubMed

    Lind, Pedro G; da Silva, Luciano R; Andrade, José S; Herrmann, Hans J

    2007-09-01

    We study a simple model of information propagation in social networks, where two quantities are introduced: the spread factor, which measures the average maximal reachability of the neighbors of a given node that interchange information among each other, and the spreading time needed for the information to reach such a fraction of nodes. When the information refers to a particular node at which both quantities are measured, the model can be taken as a model for gossip propagation. In this context, we apply the model to real empirical networks of social acquaintances and compare the underlying spreading dynamics with different types of scale-free and small-world networks. We find that the number of friendship connections strongly influences the probability of being gossiped. Finally, we discuss how the spread factor is able to be applied to other situations.

  4. Spreading gossip in social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lind, Pedro G.; da Silva, Luciano R.; Andrade, José S., Jr.; Herrmann, Hans J.

    2007-09-01

    We study a simple model of information propagation in social networks, where two quantities are introduced: the spread factor, which measures the average maximal reachability of the neighbors of a given node that interchange information among each other, and the spreading time needed for the information to reach such a fraction of nodes. When the information refers to a particular node at which both quantities are measured, the model can be taken as a model for gossip propagation. In this context, we apply the model to real empirical networks of social acquaintances and compare the underlying spreading dynamics with different types of scale-free and small-world networks. We find that the number of friendship connections strongly influences the probability of being gossiped. Finally, we discuss how the spread factor is able to be applied to other situations.

  5. Point-spread imaging for measurement of skin translucency and scattering.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Zhi-xing; Kaplan, Peter D

    2008-08-01

    The translucency of skin has long been identified as an important cue for healthy and youthful looking skin. There is currently no universal definition for skin translucency let alone a measurement method. We propose that skin translucency is the light scattering beneath skin surface. We demonstrate the use of polarization gated point spreading imaging for non-invasive, in vivo measurement of the translucency and the reduced scattering coefficient m's of skin. We developed a polarization-gated point-spread imaging system to measure the spread of the incident pencil-thin laser beam on the skin. Skin translucency was calculated as the spread of the laser beam. From the measurement of the shift of the light diffuse center from the light injection point, the reduced scattering coefficient m's of the skin was calculated. We validated the measurement technique with milk as an in vitro model for skin. The measured m's of milk solution was found to be linearly proportional to the milk concentration, in agreement with Beer's law. The calculated translucency decreased as the milk concentration increased or as the reduced scattering coefficient m's increased. It was also found that the translucency decreased as the absorption coefficient of the milk solution increased. The measured translucency of a set of custom made clay tiles correlated well with the consumer perception of the incremental ranking of the translucency. In vivo measurement of skin translucency and the reduced scattering coefficient m's were carried out on several volunteers. The measured reduced scattering coefficient m's was in agreement with those in the literature. The measured skin translucency for different skin ethnicities of Caucasian, North Asian, South Asian and African American were in line with the expectation that skin translucency decreases as the skin color gets darker.

  6. Neurokinin-1 enables measles virus trans-synaptic spread in neurons

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Makhortova, Nina R.; Askovich, Peter; Patterson, Catherine E.

    2007-05-25

    Measles virus (MV), a morbillivirus that remains a significant human pathogen, can infect the central nervous system, resulting in rare but often fatal diseases, such as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Previous work demonstrated that MV was transmitted trans-synaptically and that, while a cellular receptor for the hemagglutinin (H) protein was required for MV entry, it was dispensable for subsequent cell-to-cell spread. Here, we explored what role the other envelope protein, fusion (F), played in trans-synaptic transport. We made the following observations: (1) MV-F expression in infected neurons was similar to that seen in infected fibroblasts; (2) fusion inhibitory peptide (FIP), anmore » inhibitor of MV fusion, prevented both infection and spread in primary neurons; (3) Substance P, a neurotransmitter with the same active site as FIP, also blocked neuronal MV spread; and (4) both genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of the Substance P receptor, neurokinin-1 (NK-1), reduced infection of susceptible mice. Together, these data implicate a role for NK-1 in MV CNS infection and spread, perhaps serving as an MV-F receptor or co-receptor on neurons.« less

  7. Radiation-Driven Flame Spread Over Thermally-Thick Fuels in Quiescent Microgravity Environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Honda, Linton K.; Son, Youngjin; Ronney, Paul D.; Olson, Sandra (Technical Monitor); Gokoglu, Suleyman (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Microgravity experiments on flame spread over thermally thick fuels were conducted using foam fuels to obtain low density and thermal conductivity, and thus large spread rate (Sf) compared to dense fuels such as PMMA. This scheme enabled meaningful results to lie obtained even in 2.2 second drop tower experiments. It was found that, in contrast conventional understanding; steady spread can occur over thick fuels in quiescent microgravity environments, especially when a radiatively active diluent gas such as CO2 is employed. This is proposed to be due to radiative transfer from the flame to the fuel surface. Additionally, the transition from thermally thick to thermally thin behavior with decreasing bed thickness is demonstrated.

  8. Mid-latitude spread-F structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meehan, D. H.; From, W. R.

    1988-07-01

    Observations of spread-F at frequencies of 1.98, 3.84, and 5.80 MHz and multiple angles of arrival have been obtained with an HF radar near Brisbane. It is suggested that the spreading of the ionogram trace is due to a spread in the arrival angles of echoes, and that the reflection process may involve total specular reflection rather than scattering. The results indicate that the structure cannot be purely frontal with purely linear movement. The velocities are found to be much less than for coexisting traveling ionospheric disturbances.

  9. 77 FR 20887 - Proposed Information Collection (National Acquisition Center Customer Response Survey) Activity...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-06

    ... information needed to measure customer satisfaction with delivered products and services. DATES: Written... (National Acquisition Center Customer Response Survey) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY: Office of...: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Acquisition Center Customer Response Survey, VA Form 0863. OMB...

  10. PNT Activities at NASA Glenn Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sands, Obed

    2017-01-01

    This presentation provides a review of Position Navigation and Timing activities at the Glenn Research Center. Topics include 1) contributions to simulation studies for the Space Service Volume of the Global Navigation Satellite System, 2) development and integration efforts for a Software Defined Radio (SDR) waveform for the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) testbed, currently onboard the International Space Station and 3) a GPS L5 testbed intended to explore terrain mapping capabilities with communications signals. Future directions are included and a brief discussion of NASA, GRC and the SCAN office.

  11. Revealing the dependence of cell spreading kinetics on its spreading morphology using microcontact printed fibronectin patterns

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Cheng-Kuang; Donald, Athene

    2015-01-01

    Since the dawn of in vitro cell cultures, how cells interact and proliferate within a given external environment has always been an important issue in the study of cell biology. It is now well known that mammalian cells typically exhibit a three-phase sigmoid spreading on encountering a substrate. To further this understanding, we examined the influence of cell shape towards the second rapid expansion phase of spreading. Specifically, 3T3 fibroblasts were seeded onto silicon elastomer films made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and micro-contact printed with fibronectin stripes of various dimensions. PDMS is adopted in our study for its biocompatibility, its ease in producing very smooth surfaces, and in the fabrication of micro-contact printing stamps. The substrate patterns are compared with respect to their influence on cell spreading over time. Our studies reveal, during the early rapid expansion phase, 3T3 fibroblasts are found to spread radially following a law; meanwhile, they proliferated in a lengthwise fashion on the striped patterns, following a law. We account for the observed differences in kinetics through a simple geometric analysis which predicted similar trends. In particular, a t2 law for radial spreading cells, and a t1 law for lengthwise spreading cells. PMID:25551146

  12. Enhanced and asymmetric melting beneath the southern Mariana back-arc spreading ridge under the influence of the Pacific plate subduction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsuno, T.; Seama, N.; Shindo, H.; Nogi, Y.; Okino, K.

    2017-12-01

    Back-arc spreading ridges in the southern Mariana Trough are slow-spreading ridges but have features suggesting enhanced melting beneath the ridges and influences on seafloor spreading processes by fluid derived from the subducted Pacific slab underlying the ridges. To reveal melting and dehydration processes and dynamics in the upper mantle in the southern Mariana Trough, we conducted a marine magnetotelluric (MT) experiment along a 120 km-length transect across a ridge segment at 13°N. We obtained electromagnetic field data at 9 stations along the transect, and analyzed them for estimating MT responses, striping seafloor topographic distortion from the responses, and imaging a 2-D electrical resistivity structure by 2-D inversion of TM-mode responses. A resultant 2-D inversion model showed 1) a conductive area at 10-20 km depth beneath the ridge center, the center of which slightly offsets to the trench side, 2) a moderately conductive area expanding asymmetrically around and under the conductor of 1), 3) a resistive area thickening from the ridge center up to about 40 km on the remnant arc side, and 4) a resistive area with a constant thickness of about 150 km on the trench side. These model features suggest 1) a melt body beneath the ridge center, possibly containing slab-derived water 2) water- and melt-retained mantle area produced by hydration of the back-arc mantle wedge and asymmetric passive decompression melting in the hydrous mantle wedge, 3) cooled and residual lithospheric mantle off the ridge center, and 4) mantle wedge and subducted Pacific lithospheric mantle that are both cold and depleted. The electrical resistivity structure obtained in the southern Mariana Trough, which clearly contrasts with the structure of the central Mariana Trough at 18°N in that this lacks a conductor beneath the ridge center, provides insights on the mantle dynamics and its relation to the characteristic tectonics and many kinds of observational results in the southern

  13. 77 FR 38398 - Agency Information Collection (National Acquisition Center Customer Response Survey) Activities...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-27

    ... Acquisition Center Customer Response Survey) Activities Under OMB Review AGENCY: Office of Acquisition and... INFORMATION: Title: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Acquisition Center Customer Response Survey... collection. Abstract: VA Form 0863 will be used to collect customer's feedback and suggestions on delivered...

  14. Influence of slope on fire spread rate

    Treesearch

    B.W. Butler; W.R. Anderson; E.A. Catchpole

    2007-01-01

    Data demonstrate the effect of slope on heading and backing fires burning through woody fuels. The data indicate that the upper limit of heading fire rate of spread is defined by the rate of spread up a vertical fuel array, and the lower limit is defined by the rate of spread of a backing fire burning downslope. The minimum spread rate is found to occur at nominally --...

  15. Multicarrier orthogonal spread-spectrum (MOSS) data communications

    DOEpatents

    Smith, Stephen F [London, TN; Dress, William B [Camas, WA

    2008-01-01

    Systems and methods are described for multicarrier orthogonal spread-spectrum (MOSS) data communication. A method includes individually spread-spectrum modulating at least two of a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed carriers, wherein the resulting individually spread-spectrum modulated at least two of a set of orthogonal frequency division multiplexed carriers are substantially mutually orthogonal with respect to both frequency division multiplexing and spread-spectrum modulation.

  16. Carbon Nanotube Activities at NASA-Johnson Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arepalli, Sivaram

    2006-01-01

    Research activities on carbon nanotubes at NASA-Johnson Space Center include production, purification, characterization and their applications for human space flight. In-situ diagnostics during nanotube production by laser oven process include collection of spatial and temporal data of passive emission and laser induced fluorescence from C2, C3 and Nickel atoms in the plume. Details of the results from the "parametric study" of the pulsed laser ablation process indicate the effect of production parameters including temperature, buffer gas, flow rate, pressure, and laser fluence. Improvement of the purity by a variety of steps in the purification process is monitored by characterization techniques including SEM, TEM, Raman, UV-VIS-NIR and TGA. A recently established NASA-JSC protocol for SWCNT characterization is undergoing revision with feedback from nanotube community. Efforts at JSC over the past five years in composites have centered on structural polymednanotube systems. Recent activities broadened this focus to multifunctional materials, supercapacitors, fuel cells, regenerable CO2 absorbers, electromagnetic shielding, radiation dosimetry and thermal management systems of interest for human space flight. Preliminary tests indicate improvement of performance in most of these applications because of the large surface area as well as high electrical and thermal conductivity exhibited by SWCNTs.

  17. Continuous versus Arrested Spreading of Biofilms at Solid-Gas Interfaces: The Role of Surface Forces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trinschek, Sarah; John, Karin; Lecuyer, Sigolène; Thiele, Uwe

    2017-08-01

    We introduce and analyze a model for osmotically spreading bacterial colonies at solid-air interfaces that includes wetting phenomena, i.e., surface forces. The model is based on a hydrodynamic description for liquid suspensions which is supplemented by bioactive processes. We show that surface forces determine whether a biofilm can expand laterally over a substrate and provide experimental evidence for the existence of a transition between continuous and arrested spreading for Bacillus subtilis biofilms. In the case of arrested spreading, the lateral expansion of the biofilm is confined, albeit the colony is biologically active. However, a small reduction in the surface tension of the biofilm is sufficient to induce spreading. The incorporation of surface forces into our hydrodynamic model allows us to capture this transition in biofilm spreading behavior.

  18. Diffusion, spread, and migration of botulinum toxin.

    PubMed

    Ramirez-Castaneda, Juan; Jankovic, Joseph; Comella, Cynthia; Dashtipour, Khashayar; Fernandez, Hubert H; Mari, Zoltan

    2013-11-01

    Botulinum toxin (BoNT) is an acetylcholine release inhibitor and a neuromuscular blocking agent used for the treatment of a variety of neurologic and medical conditions. The efficacy and safety of BoNT depends on accurate selection and identification of intended targets but also may be determined by other factors, including physical spread of the molecule from the injection site, passive diffusion, and migration to distal sites via axonal or hematogenous transport. The passive kinetic dispersion of the toxin away from the injection site in a gradient-dependent manner may also play a role in toxin spread. In addition to unique properties of the various BoNT products, volume and dilution may also influence local and systemic distribution of BoNT. Most of the local and remote complications of BoNT injections are thought to be due to unwanted spread or diffusion of the toxin's biologic activity into adjacent and distal muscles. Despite widespread therapeutic and cosmetic use of BoNT over more than three decades, there is a remarkable paucity of published data on the mechanisms of distribution and its effects on clinical outcomes. The primary aim of this article is to critically review the available experimental and clinical literature and place it in the practical context. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  19. Free energy analysis of cell spreading.

    PubMed

    McEvoy, Eóin; Deshpande, Vikram S; McGarry, Patrick

    2017-10-01

    In this study we present a steady-state adaptation of the thermodynamically motivated stress fiber (SF) model of Vigliotti et al. (2015). We implement this steady-state formulation in a non-local finite element setting where we also consider global conservation of the total number of cytoskeletal proteins within the cell, global conservation of the number of binding integrins on the cell membrane, and adhesion limiting ligand density on the substrate surface. We present a number of simulations of cell spreading in which we consider a limited subset of the possible deformed spread-states assumed by the cell in order to examine the hypothesis that free energy minimization drives the process of cell spreading. Simulations suggest that cell spreading can be viewed as a competition between (i) decreasing cytoskeletal free energy due to strain induced assembly of cytoskeletal proteins into contractile SFs, and (ii) increasing elastic free energy due to stretching of the mechanically passive components of the cell. The computed minimum free energy spread area is shown to be lower for a cell on a compliant substrate than on a rigid substrate. Furthermore, a low substrate ligand density is found to limit cell spreading. The predicted dependence of cell spread area on substrate stiffness and ligand density is in agreement with the experiments of Engler et al. (2003). We also simulate the experiments of Théry et al. (2006), whereby initially circular cells deform and adhere to "V-shaped" and "Y-shaped" ligand patches. Analysis of a number of different spread states reveals that deformed configurations with the lowest free energy exhibit a SF distribution that corresponds to experimental observations, i.e. a high concentration of highly aligned SFs occurs along free edges, with lower SF concentrations in the interior of the cell. In summary, the results of this study suggest that cell spreading is driven by free energy minimization based on a competition between decreasing

  20. Impacts of suppressing guide on information spreading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Jinghong; Zhang, Lin; Ma, Baojun; Wu, Ye

    2016-02-01

    It is quite common that guides are introduced to suppress the information spreading in modern society for different purposes. In this paper, an agent-based model is established to quantitatively analyze the impacts of suppressing guides on information spreading. We find that the spreading threshold depends on the attractiveness of the information and the topology of the social network with no suppressing guides at all. Usually, one would expect that the existence of suppressing guides in the spreading procedure may result in less diffusion of information within the overall network. However, we find that sometimes the opposite is true: the manipulating nodes of suppressing guides may lead to more extensive information spreading when there are audiences with the reversal mind. These results can provide valuable theoretical references to public opinion guidance on various information, e.g., rumor or news spreading.

  1. Tuning magnetofluidic spreading in microchannels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Zhaomeng; Varma, V. B.; Wang, Z. P.; Ramanujan, R. V.

    2015-12-01

    Magnetofluidic spreading (MFS) is a phenomenon in which a uniform magnetic field is used to induce spreading of a ferrofluid core cladded by diamagnetic fluidic streams in a three-stream channel. Applications of MFS include micromixing, cell sorting and novel microfluidic lab-on-a-chip design. However, the relative importance of the parameters which govern MFS is still unclear, leading to non-optimal control of MFS. Hence, in this work, the effect of various key parameters on MFS was experimentally and numerically studied. Our multi-physics model, which combines magnetic and fluidic analysis, showed excellent agreement between theory and experiment. It was found that spreading was mainly due to cross-sectional convection induced by magnetic forces, and can be enhanced by tuning various parameters. Smaller flow rate ratio, higher magnetic field, higher core stream or lower cladding stream dynamic viscosity, and larger magnetic particle size can increase MFS. These results can be used to tune magnetofluidic spreading in microchannels.

  2. Morphoregulatory functions of the RNA-binding motif protein 3 in cell spreading, polarity and migration.

    PubMed

    Pilotte, J; Kiosses, W; Chan, S W; Makarenkova, H P; Dupont-Versteegden, E; Vanderklish, P W

    2018-05-09

    RNA-binding proteins are emerging as key regulators of transitions in cell morphology. The RNA-binding motif protein 3 (RBM3) is a cold-inducible RNA-binding protein with broadly relevant roles in cellular protection, and putative functions in cancer and development. Several findings suggest that RBM3 has morphoregulatory functions germane to its roles in these contexts. For example, RBM3 helps maintain the morphological integrity of cell protrusions during cell stress and disease. Moreover, it is highly expressed in migrating neurons of the developing brain and in cancer invadopodia, suggesting roles in migration. We here show that RBM3 regulates cell polarity, spreading and migration. RBM3 was present in spreading initiation centers, filopodia and blebs that formed during cell spreading in cell lines and primary myoblasts. Reducing RBM3 triggered exaggerated spreading, increased RhoA expression, and a loss of polarity that was rescued by Rho kinase inhibition and overexpression of CRMP2. High RBM3 expression enhanced the motility of cells migrating by a mesenchymal mode involving extension of long protrusions, whereas RBM3 knockdown slowed migration, greatly reducing the ability of cells to extend protrusions and impairing multiple processes that require directional migration. These data establish novel functions of RBM3 of potential significance to tissue repair, metastasis and development.

  3. PSD-95 uncoupling from NMDA receptors by Tat- N-dimer ameliorates neuronal depolarization in cortical spreading depression.

    PubMed

    Kucharz, Krzysztof; Søndergaard Rasmussen, Ida; Bach, Anders; Strømgaard, Kristian; Lauritzen, Martin

    2017-05-01

    Cortical spreading depression is associated with activation of NMDA receptors, which interact with the postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) that binds to nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). Here, we tested whether inhibition of the nNOS/PSD-95/NMDA receptor complex formation by anti-ischemic compound, UCCB01-144 (Tat- N-dimer) ameliorates the persistent effects of cortical spreading depression on cortical function. Using in vivo two-photon microscopy in somatosensory cortex in mice, we show that fluorescently labelled Tat- N-dimer readily crosses blood-brain barrier and accumulates in nerve cells during the first hour after i.v. injection. The Tat- N-dimer suppressed stimulation-evoked synaptic activity by 2-20%, while cortical blood flow and cerebral oxygen metabolic (CMRO 2 ) responses were preserved. During cortical spreading depression, the Tat- N-dimer reduced the average amplitude of the negative shift in direct current potential by 33% (4.1 mV). Furthermore, the compound diminished the average depression of spontaneous electrocorticographic activity by 11% during first 40 min of post-cortical spreading depression recovery, but did not mitigate the suppressing effect of cortical spreading depression on cortical blood flow and CMRO 2 . We suggest that uncoupling of PSD-95 from NMDA receptors reduces overall neuronal excitability and the amplitude of the spreading depolarization wave. These findings may be of interest for understanding the neuroprotective effects of the nNOS/PSD-95 uncoupling in stroke.

  4. In-situ seismic record of potential sill intrusion at the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meier, M.; Schlindwein, V. S. N.

    2017-12-01

    Ultraslow spreading mid-ocean ridges with full spreading rates up to 15 mm/yr are described as the melt poor endmember of the entire mid-ocean ridge system. The melt supply along ultraslow spreading ridges is uneven resulting in the formation of volcanic centres and amagmatic segments. Amagmatic segments show thicker brittle lithosphere of up to 30 km, whereas magmatic segments have much thinner lithosphere of up to less than 15 km. It is supposed that melt travels along the lithosphere asthenosphere boundary from amagmatic segments to magmatic segments, where it can reach the seafloor and erupt. These spreading events are rare at ultraslow spreading ridges compared to faster spreading ridges and insitu observations hardly exist. During an ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) experiment at the eastern Southwest Indian Ridge two earthquake swarms were accidentally recorded. The swarms occurred in January and April 2013 and both lasted for a few days. The events of the earthquake swarms were relatively located with HypoDD for better spatial resolution. This unique dataset allowed for studying active spreading processes at an ultraslow spreading ridge. The earthquakes occurred in depths, where the magma chamber of the nearby Segment-8 volcano is located. This magma chamber potentially fed a sill intrusion, which was recorded as earthquake swarms. During the first hours of the first earthquake swarm a migration pattern was identified. The hypocentres migrated away from the Segment-8 volcanic centre and slightly downwards. Later events occurred more randomly in the active area. Simultaneously seismic tremor was recorded at the station closest to the swarm locations. The tremor lasted longer for the shorter earthquake swarm in April. During both tremor phases the signal was modulated with a 12 hour period. We speculate that a hydrothermal system was affected by the intrusion and fluid flow modulated by the tides produced the tremor signal.

  5. A stakeholder-driven agenda for advancing the science and practice of scale-up and spread in health.

    PubMed

    Norton, Wynne E; McCannon, C Joseph; Schall, Marie W; Mittman, Brian S

    2012-12-06

    Although significant advances have been made in implementation science, comparatively less attention has been paid to broader scale-up and spread of effective health programs at the regional, national, or international level. To address this gap in research, practice and policy attention, representatives from key stakeholder groups launched an initiative to identify gaps and stimulate additional interest and activity in scale-up and spread of effective health programs. We describe the background and motivation for this initiative and the content, process, and outcomes of two main phases comprising the core of the initiative: a state-of-the-art conference to develop recommendations for advancing scale-up and spread and a follow-up activity to operationalize and prioritize the recommendations. The conference was held in Washington, D.C. during July 2010 and attended by 100 representatives from research, practice, policy, public health, healthcare, and international health communities; the follow-up activity was conducted remotely the following year. Conference attendees identified and prioritized five recommendations (and corresponding sub-recommendations) for advancing scale-up and spread in health: increase awareness, facilitate information exchange, develop new methods, apply new approaches for evaluation, and expand capacity. In the follow-up activity, 'develop new methods' was rated as most important recommendation; expanding capacity was rated as least important, although differences were relatively minor. Based on the results of these efforts, we discuss priority activities that are needed to advance research, practice and policy to accelerate the scale-up and spread of effective health programs.

  6. Gossip spread in social network Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johansson, Tobias

    2017-04-01

    Gossip almost inevitably arises in real social networks. In this article we investigate the relationship between the number of friends of a person and limits on how far gossip about that person can spread in the network. How far gossip travels in a network depends on two sets of factors: (a) factors determining gossip transmission from one person to the next and (b) factors determining network topology. For a simple model where gossip is spread among people who know the victim it is known that a standard scale-free network model produces a non-monotonic relationship between number of friends and expected relative spread of gossip, a pattern that is also observed in real networks (Lind et al., 2007). Here, we study gossip spread in two social network models (Toivonen et al., 2006; Vázquez, 2003) by exploring the parameter space of both models and fitting them to a real Facebook data set. Both models can produce the non-monotonic relationship of real networks more accurately than a standard scale-free model while also exhibiting more realistic variability in gossip spread. Of the two models, the one given in Vázquez (2003) best captures both the expected values and variability of gossip spread.

  7. Perineural spread in head and neck tumors.

    PubMed

    Brea Álvarez, B; Tuñón Gómez, M

    2014-01-01

    Perineural spread is the dissemination of some types of head and neck tumors along nervous structures. Perineural spread has negative repercussions on treatment because it requires more extensive resection and larger fields of irradiation. Moreover, perineural spread is associated with increased local recurrence, and it is considered an independent indicator of poor prognosis in the TNM classification for tumor staging. However, perineural spread often goes undetected on imaging studies. In this update, we review the concept of perineural spread, its pathogenesis, and the main pathways and connections among the facial nerves, which are essential to understand this process. Furthermore, we discuss the appropriate techniques for imaging studies, and we describe and illustrate the typical imaging signs that help identify perineural spread on CT and MRI. Finally, we discuss the differential diagnosis with other entities. Copyright © 2013 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  8. Center for Space Telemetering and Telecommunications Systems, New Mexico State University

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Horan, Stephen; DeLeon, Phillip; Borah, Deva; Lyman, Ray

    2002-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation gives an overview of the Center for Space Telemetering and Telecommunications Systems activities at New Mexico State University. Presentations cover the following topics: (1) small satellite communications, including nanosatellite radio and virtual satellite development; (2) modulation and detection studies, including details on smooth phase interpolated keying (SPIK) spectra and highlights of an adaptive turbo multiuser detector; (3) decoupled approaches to nonlinear ISI compensation; (4) space internet testing; (4) optical communication; (5) Linux-based receiver for lightweight optical communications without a laser in space, including software design, performance analysis, and the receiver algorithm; (6) carrier tracking hardware; and (7) subband transforms for adaptive direct sequence spread spectrum receivers.

  9. The Effect of Person Centered Planning Activities on the IEP/Transition Planning Process.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miner, Craig A.; Bates, Paul E.

    1997-01-01

    A study of 22 students with mental retardation and their families evaluated the impact of person-centered planning activities on several variables related to a student's individual education program/transition planning meeting. Person-centered planning had a significant effect on parent participation in meetings, but not on discussion of…

  10. Land processes distributed active archive center product lifecycle plan

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Daucsavage, John C.; Bennett, Stacie D.

    2014-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Science Data System Program worked together to establish, develop, and operate the Land Processes (LP) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) to provide stewardship for NASA’s land processes science data. These data are critical science assets that serve the land processes science community with potential value beyond any immediate research use, and therefore need to be accounted for and properly managed throughout their lifecycle. A fundamental LP DAAC objective is to enable permanent preservation of these data and information products. The LP DAAC accomplishes this by bridging data producers and permanent archival resources while providing intermediate archive services for data and information products.

  11. Molecular mechanisms of cell-cell spread of intracellular bacterial pathogens.

    PubMed

    Ireton, Keith

    2013-07-17

    Several bacterial pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella flexneri and Rickettsia spp., have evolved mechanisms to actively spread within human tissues. Spreading is initiated by the pathogen-induced recruitment of host filamentous (F)-actin. F-actin forms a tail behind the microbe, propelling it through the cytoplasm. The motile pathogen then encounters the host plasma membrane, forming a bacterium-containing protrusion that is engulfed by an adjacent cell. Over the past two decades, much progress has been made in elucidating mechanisms of F-actin tail formation. Listeria and Shigella produce tails of branched actin filaments by subverting the host Arp2/3 complex. By contrast, Rickettsia forms tails with linear actin filaments through a bacterial mimic of eukaryotic formins. Compared with F-actin tail formation, mechanisms controlling bacterial protrusions are less well understood. However, recent findings have highlighted the importance of pathogen manipulation of host cell-cell junctions in spread. Listeria produces a soluble protein that enhances bacterial protrusions by perturbing tight junctions. Shigella protrusions are engulfed through a clathrin-mediated pathway at 'tricellular junctions'--specialized membrane regions at the intersection of three epithelial cells. This review summarizes key past findings in pathogen spread, and focuses on recent developments in actin-based motility and the formation and internalization of bacterial protrusions.

  12. Correlated Geophysical, Geochemical and Volcanological Manifestations of Plume-Ridge Interaction Along the Galápagos Spreading Center, 90.5-98° W

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sinton, J. M.; Detrick, R. S.; Canales, J. P.; Ito, G.; Behn, M.; Blacic, T.; Cushman, B.; Dixon, J.

    2001-12-01

    As the Galápagos plume is approached from the west along the Galápagos Spreading Center there are systematic increases in crustal thickness, and K/Ti and H2O content of recovered lavas. These increases correlate with progressive transitions from axial deep to axial high morphology along with decreases in axial depth, residual mantle Bouguer gravity anomaly (MBA), average swell depth, average lava Mg # (atomic MgO/(MgO+FeO)), and the frequency of isolated axial seamounts. Although K/Ti, H2O and Nb/Zr (likely indicators of plume source enrichment) show step-wise increases across the 95.5° W propagating offset, trends in crustal thickness, axial bathymetry, MBA, swell depth, and seamount frequency generally show either no effect or only local perturbations to regional trends. East of ~92.7° W, sharp increases in K/Ti, Nb/Zr, H2O, and Na8 (Na2O corrected for fractionation to 8 wt % MgO) coincide with the transition to axial high morphology, a rapid shoaling of axial magma chamber (AMC) seismic reflectors, and thinning of seismic layer 2A. Maximum values in K/Ti (>0.4), Nb/Zr (>0.10), H2O (>1.0 wt %), Na8 ( ~3.2) and crustal thickness (7.9 km), and minima in axial depth (<1700 m), Mg # (<40), and Ca8/Al8 (<0.7) all occur between 91.25° W and 92° W, whereas the minimum MBA (-25 mGal) and AMC depth ( ~0.5 sec 2-way travel time) are found near 92.25° W. These general correlations can be modeled by the combined effects of changes in source composition and melt generation processes on the thickness, composition and structure of the oceanic crust. Key elements of this model include: (1) compensation of the swell is partitioned between crustal thickening (2.3 km) between 98° W and 90.5° W [Ito et al., this meeting] and thermal and compositional buoyancy of the mantle [Canales et al., this meeting]; (2) increased melt production near the hotspot is associated with lower mean extents of melting from a larger region of an increasingly hydrous, and other incompatible

  13. Fc-receptor induced cell spreading during frustrated phagocytosis in J774A.1 macrophages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kovari, Daniel; Curtis, Jennifer; Wei, Wenbin

    2014-03-01

    Phagocytosis is the process where by cells engulf foreign particles. It is the primary mechanism through which macrophages and neutrophils (white blood cells) eliminate pathogens and debris from the body. The behavior is the result of a cascade of chemical and mechanical cues, which result in the actin-driven expansion of the cell's membrane around its target. For macrophages undergoing Fc-mediated phagocytosis, we show that above a minimum threshold the spreading rate and maximum cell-target contact area are independent of the target's opsonin density. Qualitatively, macrophage phagocytic spreading is similar to the spreading of other cell types (e.g. fibroblasts, lymphocytes, and Dict.d.). Early spreading is most likely the result of ``passive'' alignment of the cell to the target surface. This is followed by an active expansion period driven by actin. Finally upon reaching a maximum contact area, typically 2-3 times the size of ``non-activated'' cells, macrophages often undergo a period of rapid contraction not reported in other cell types. We hypothesize that this, as yet unexplained, transition may be specific to the chemical and mechanical machinery associated with phagocytosis. This work was funded by NSF grant PHYS 0848797 and NSF grant DMR 0820382.

  14. Impact of Policies on Physical Activity and Screen Time Practices in 50 Child-Care Centers in North Carolina.

    PubMed

    Erinosho, Temitope; Hales, Derek; Vaughn, Amber; Mazzucca, Stephanie; Ward, Dianne S

    2016-01-01

    This study assessed physical activity and screen time policies in child-care centers and their associations with physical activity and screen time practices and preschool children's (3-5 years old) physical activity. Data were from 50 child-care centers in North Carolina. Center directors reported on the presence/absence of written policies. Trained research assistants observed physical activity and screen time practices in at least 1 preschool classroom across 3 to 4 days. Children (N = 544) wore accelerometers to provide an objective measure of physical activity. Physical activity and screen time policies varied across centers. Observational data showed 82.7 min/d of active play opportunities were provided to children. Screen time provided did not exceed 30 min/d/child at 98% of centers. Accelerometer data showed children spent 38 min/d in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and 206 min/d in sedentary activity. Policies about staff supervision of media use were negatively associated with screen time (P < .05). Contrary to expectation, policies about physical activity were associated with less time in physical activity. Clear strategies are needed for translating physical activity policies to practice. Further research is needed to evaluate the quality of physical activity policies, their impact on practice, and ease of operationalization.

  15. CaMKII-dependent endoplasmic reticulum fission by whisker stimulation and during cortical spreading depolarization.

    PubMed

    Kucharz, Krzysztof; Lauritzen, Martin

    2018-04-01

    Cortical spreading depolarization waves, the cause underlying migraine aura, are also the markers and mechanism of pathology in the acutely injured human brain. Propagation of spreading depolarization wave uniquely depends on the interaction between presynaptic and postsynaptic glutamate N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). In the normally perfused brain, even a single wave causes a massive depolarization of neurons and glia, which results in transient loss of neuronal function and depression of the ongoing electrocorticographic activity. Endoplasmic reticulum is the cellular organelle of particular importance for modulation of neurotransmission. Neuronal endoplasmic reticulum structure is assumed to be persistently continuous in neurons, but is rapidly lost within 1 to 2 min of global cerebral ischaemia, i.e. the organelle disintegrates by fission. This phenomenon appears to be timed with the cardiac arrest-induced cortical spreading depolarizations, rather than ensuing cell death. To what extent NMDAR-dependent processes may trigger neuronal endoplasmic reticulum fission and whether fission is reversible in the normally perfused brain is unknown. We used two-photon microscopy to examine neuronal endoplasmic reticulum structural dynamics during whisker stimulation and cortical spreading depolarizations in vivo. Somatosensory stimulation triggered loss of endoplasmic reticulum continuity, a likely outcome of constriction and fission, in dendritic spines within less than 10 s of stimulation, which was spontaneously reversible and recovery to normal took 5 min. The endoplasmic reticulum fission was inhibited by blockade of NMDAR and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) activated downstream of the NMDARs, whereas inhibition of guanosine triphosphate hydrolases hindered regain of endoplasmic reticulum continuity, i.e. fusion. In contrast to somatosensory stimulation, endoplasmic reticulum fission during spreading depolarization was widespread and

  16. Building the oceanic crust: Insights on volcanic emplacement processes at the hotspot-influenced Galápagos Spreading Center, 92°W

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McClinton, J. T.; White, S. M.; Colman, A.; Sinton, J. M.

    2011-12-01

    The Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) displays a range of axial morphology due to increased magma supply from the adjacent Galápagos mantle plume. Over 30 years of scientific exploration has also documented the associated variations in volcanic terrain, crustal thickness, and geochemistry of erupted basalts, but until recently the fine-scale ("lava flow scale") volcanic features of the GSC had not been investigated. Using the Alvin submersible and aided by near-bottom photographic surveys by TowCam and sub-meter-scale sonar surveys by AUV Sentry, we mapped and sampled 12 individual eruptive units covering ~16km2 of seafloor on the ridge axis of the GSC at 92°W. Variations in AUV Sentry bathymetry and DSL-120A backscatter enabled us to characterize the fine-scale surface morphology within each eruptive unit. Lava flow morphologies within each unit were identified using a neuro-fuzzy classifier which assigns pixels as pillows, lobates, sheets, or fissures by using attributes derived from high-resolution sonar bathymetry and backscatter (McClinton et al., submitted PE&RS). An accuracy assessment indicates approximately 90% agreement between the lava morphology map and an independent set of visual observations. The result of this classification effort is that we are able to quantitatively examine the spatial distribution of lava flow morphology as it relates to the emplacement of lava flows within each eruptive unit at a mid-ocean ridge. Preliminary analyses show that a large, segment-centered volcanic cone which straddles the axial summit graben (the "Empanada") is constructed mostly of pillow lavas, while volcanism in the rifted center of the cone consists of lobate and sheet flows. Conversely, along the rest of the segment, on-axis eruptions consist mainly of pillow lava with most sheet and lobate flows found outside of a small axial summit graben. At least some of these sheet flows are fed by lava channels, suggesting emplacement over distances up to 1km, while

  17. Effect of Slow External Flow on Flame Spreading over Solid Material: Opposed Spreading over Polyethylene Wire Insulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fujita, O.; Nishizawa, K.; Ito, K.; Olson, S. L.; Kashigawa, T.

    2001-01-01

    The effect of slow external flow on solid combustion is very important from the view of fire safety in space because the solid material in spacecraft is generally exposed to the low air flow for ventilation. Further, the effect of low external flow on fuel combustion is generally fundamental information for industrial combustion system, such as gas turbine, boiler incinerator and so on. However, it is difficult to study the effect of low external flow on solid combustion in normal gravity, because the buoyancy-induced flow strongly disturbs the flow field, especially for low flow velocity. In this research therefore, the effect of slow external flow on opposed flame spreading over polyethylene (PE) wire insulation have been investigated in microgravity. The microgravity environment was provided by Japan Microgravity Center (JAMIC) in Japan and KC-135 at NASA GRC. The tested flow velocity range is 0-30cm/s with different oxygen concentration and inert gas component.

  18. Volcanism on the fossil Galapagos Rise spreading centre, SE Pacific

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haase, K. M.; Stroncik, N. A.

    2002-12-01

    A part of the fossil spreading centre of the Galapagos Rise at 10° S, 95° W in the SE Pacific Ocean was mapped and sampled. This spreading centre was active for about 12 Ma and was abandoned about 6.5 Ma ago when the spreading rate of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) increased. The aim of this study is to understand the tectonic and petrological implications of the ridge jump for the spreading centre and to gain insights into the processes in its melting column. Bathymetric swath mapping of a part of the Galapagos Rise revealed an elongated structure with a NNE-SSW strike direction which is bounded by a large fracture zone in the north. The mapped area can be divided into three segments, each of about 50 km length. The northernmost segment consists of an ~4400 m deep rift which shows similarities to a slow-spreading centre, e.g. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The southern two segments are volcanic ridges with numerous volcanic flank cones which reach water depths up to 490 m. This volcanic ridge is interpreted as the continuation of the fossil spreading axis. While the northernmost segment is magmatically starved, the volcanic ridges of the southern two segments apparently formed after cessation of spreading. The rock samples from the rift flanks in the north are incompatible element-depleted (K/Ti 0.08-0.28) and plagioclase-phyric basalts resembling typical mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). In contrast, the lavas from the two volcanic ridge segments in the south are highly vesicular incompatible element-enriched alkali basalts with K/Ti of 0.65-1.4. The depleted rift basalts have Sr isotope ratios below 0.7027 while the alkali basalts from the ridge range between 0.7029 and 0.7031. The rift basalts have significantly lower sodium contents than the alkali basalts and thus the southern lavas are probably derived by smaller degrees of partial melting. The relatively low Si contents of the alkali basalts also indicates formation deeper in the melting column than the northern MORB

  19. Uni-directional liquid spreading on asymmetric nanostructured surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, Kuang-Han; Xiao, Rong; Wang, Evelyn N.

    2010-05-01

    Controlling surface wettability and liquid spreading on patterned surfaces is of significant interest for a broad range of applications, including DNA microarrays, digital lab-on-a-chip, anti-fogging and fog-harvesting, inkjet printing and thin-film lubrication. Advancements in surface engineering, with the fabrication of various micro/nanoscale topographic features, and selective chemical patterning on surfaces, have enhanced surface wettability and enabled control of the liquid film thickness and final wetted shape. In addition, groove geometries and patterned surface chemistries have produced anisotropic wetting, where contact-angle variations in different directions resulted in elongated droplet shapes. In all of these studies, however, the wetting behaviour preserves left-right symmetry. Here, we demonstrate that we can harness the design of asymmetric nanostructured surfaces to achieve uni-directional liquid spreading, where the liquid propagates in a single preferred direction and pins in all others. Through experiments and modelling, we determined that the spreading characteristic is dependent on the degree of nanostructure asymmetry, the height-to-spacing ratio of the nanostructures and the intrinsic contact angle. The theory, based on an energy argument, provides excellent agreement with experimental data. The insights gained from this work offer new opportunities to tailor advanced nanostructures to achieve active control of complex flow patterns and wetting on demand.

  20. Development of Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) spread.

    PubMed

    Shakerardekani, Ahmad; Karim, Roselina; Ghazali, Hasanah Mohd; Chin, Nyuk Ling

    2013-03-01

    Pistachio nut (Pistacia vera L.) is one of the most delicious and nutritious nuts in the world. Pistachio spreads were developed using pistachio paste as the main component, icing sugar, soy protein isolate (SPI), and red palm oil (RPO), at different ratios. The highest mean scores of all the sensory attributes were depicted by spreads that were made without addition of SPI. It was found that the work of shear was 0 to 11.0 kg s for an acceptable spread. Sensory spreadability, overall texture, spreadability, and overall acceptability were negatively correlated (R > 0.83) with the work of shear of spreads. The findings indicated that the presence of RPO had a direct effect on the viscoelastic behavior of the pistachio spreads. The a values, which are related to the green color of the pistachio product ranged from 1.7 to 3.9 for spread without addition of RPO, and 4.0 to 5.3 in the presence of RPO. The development of pistachio spread would potentially increase the food uses of pistachio and introduce consumers with a healthier snack food. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®

  1. From neurons to epidemics: How trophic coherence affects spreading processes.

    PubMed

    Klaise, Janis; Johnson, Samuel

    2016-06-01

    Trophic coherence, a measure of the extent to which the nodes of a directed network are organised in levels, has recently been shown to be closely related to many structural and dynamical aspects of complex systems, including graph eigenspectra, the prevalence or absence of feedback cycles, and linear stability. Furthermore, non-trivial trophic structures have been observed in networks of neurons, species, genes, metabolites, cellular signalling, concatenated words, P2P users, and world trade. Here, we consider two simple yet apparently quite different dynamical models-one a susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model adapted to include complex contagion and the other an Amari-Hopfield neural network-and show that in both cases the related spreading processes are modulated in similar ways by the trophic coherence of the underlying networks. To do this, we propose a network assembly model which can generate structures with tunable trophic coherence, limiting in either perfectly stratified networks or random graphs. We find that trophic coherence can exert a qualitative change in spreading behaviour, determining whether a pulse of activity will percolate through the entire network or remain confined to a subset of nodes, and whether such activity will quickly die out or endure indefinitely. These results could be important for our understanding of phenomena such as epidemics, rumours, shocks to ecosystems, neuronal avalanches, and many other spreading processes.

  2. From neurons to epidemics: How trophic coherence affects spreading processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klaise, Janis; Johnson, Samuel

    2016-06-01

    Trophic coherence, a measure of the extent to which the nodes of a directed network are organised in levels, has recently been shown to be closely related to many structural and dynamical aspects of complex systems, including graph eigenspectra, the prevalence or absence of feedback cycles, and linear stability. Furthermore, non-trivial trophic structures have been observed in networks of neurons, species, genes, metabolites, cellular signalling, concatenated words, P2P users, and world trade. Here, we consider two simple yet apparently quite different dynamical models—one a susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model adapted to include complex contagion and the other an Amari-Hopfield neural network—and show that in both cases the related spreading processes are modulated in similar ways by the trophic coherence of the underlying networks. To do this, we propose a network assembly model which can generate structures with tunable trophic coherence, limiting in either perfectly stratified networks or random graphs. We find that trophic coherence can exert a qualitative change in spreading behaviour, determining whether a pulse of activity will percolate through the entire network or remain confined to a subset of nodes, and whether such activity will quickly die out or endure indefinitely. These results could be important for our understanding of phenomena such as epidemics, rumours, shocks to ecosystems, neuronal avalanches, and many other spreading processes.

  3. Current activities of medical centers for dementia in Japan.

    PubMed

    Awata, Shuichi

    2014-04-01

    We investigated the current activities of medical centers for dementia (MCD), and proposed recommendations for a national dementia strategy. A questionnaire was mailed to 172 hospitals designated as MCD as of 7 August 2012. Data from 117 MCD that adequately responded and were designated by 1 April 2012 were analyzed. The mean and median numbers of medical consultations per MCD were 1035 and 595/year (range 114-8541/year), those of patients diagnosed with dementia-related disorders were 266 and 231/year (range 3-1179/year), those of patients with dementia-related disorders admitted to the MCD hospital were 89 and 47/year (0-1176/year), and mean and median proportions of patients discharged within 2 months were 45.5 and 36.8% (range 0-100%). Outreach services in collaboration with a community general support center were provided in 23.9%, while training for community general support center staff members was carried out in 66.7%. Of MCD hospitals, 31.6% were designated as an emergency medical hospital, and of these, specialist liaison-team services for patients with dementia in the emergency room were provided in 56.8%. Most MCD are considered to function fairly well in line with the guidelines published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. However, there is a huge discrepancy in the number of patients diagnosed with dementia-related disorders and the length of stay for inpatient care among facilities. To make all MCD function adequately, the activity of MCD should be monitored longitudinally using the standardized assessment methods. © 2014 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  4. Spreading of Cholera through Surface Water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bertuzzo, E.; Casagrandi, R.; Gatto, M.; Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.; Rinaldo, A.

    2009-12-01

    Cholera epidemics are still a major public health concern to date in many areas of the world. In order to understand and forecast cholera outbreaks, one of the most important factors is the role played by the environmental matrix in which the disease spreads. We study how river networks, acting as environmental corridors for pathogens, affect the spreading of cholera epidemics. The environmental matrix in which the disease spreads is constituted by different human communities and their hydrologic interconnections. Each community is characterized by its spatial position, population size, water resources availability and hygiene conditions. By implementing a spatially explicit cholera model we seek the effects on epidemic dynamics of: i) the topology and metrics of the pathogens pathways that connect different communities; ii) the spatial distribution of the population size; and iii) the spatial distributions and quality of surface water resources and public health conditions, and how they vary with population size. The model has been applied to study the space-time evolution of a well documented cholera epidemic occurred in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The epidemic lasted for two years and involved about 140,000 confirmed cholera cases. The model does well in reproducing the distribution of the cholera cases during the two outbreaks as well as their spatial spreading. We further extend the model by deriving the speed of propagation of traveling fronts in the case of uniformly distributed systems for different topologies: one and two dimensional lattices and river networks. The derivation of the spreading celerity proves instrumental in establishing the overall conditions for the relevance of spatially explicit models. The conditions are sought by comparison between spreading and disease timescales. Consider a cholera epidemic that starts from a point and spreads throughout a finite size system, it is possible to identify two different timescales: i

  5. 34 CFR 426.7 - What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... Agriculture Action Centers? 426.7 Section 426.7 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM General § 426.7 What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers? The Secretary supports model Agriculture Action Centers that provide improved access to...

  6. 34 CFR 426.7 - What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Agriculture Action Centers? 426.7 Section 426.7 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM General § 426.7 What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers? The Secretary supports model Agriculture Action Centers that provide improved access to...

  7. 34 CFR 426.7 - What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Agriculture Action Centers? 426.7 Section 426.7 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM General § 426.7 What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers? The Secretary supports model Agriculture Action Centers that provide improved access to...

  8. 34 CFR 426.7 - What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Agriculture Action Centers? 426.7 Section 426.7 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM General § 426.7 What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers? The Secretary supports model Agriculture Action Centers that provide improved access to...

  9. 34 CFR 426.7 - What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Agriculture Action Centers? 426.7 Section 426.7 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM General § 426.7 What activities does the Secretary fund under the Agriculture Action Centers? The Secretary supports model Agriculture Action Centers that provide improved access to...

  10. Gifted and Talented Students' Views about Biology Activities in a Science and Art Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Özarslan, Murat; Çetin, Gülcan

    2018-01-01

    The aim of the study was to determine gifted and talented students' views about biology activities in a science and art center. The study was conducted with 26 gifted and talented students who studied at a science and art center in southwestern Turkey. Students studied animal and plant genus and species in biology activities. Data were collected…

  11. An updated rate-of-spread clock

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kolaks, Jeremy; Grabner, Keith W.; Hartman, George; Cutter, Bruce E.; Loewenstein, Edward F.

    2005-01-01

    Several years ago, Blank and Simard (1983) described an electronic timer, frequently referred to as a rate-of-spread (ROS) clock—a relatively simple instrument used in measuring fire spread. Although other techniques for measuring rate of spread are available (such as data loggers), the basic ROS clock remains a valuable and relatively inexpensive tool. However, several items described in the original article have changed. Therefore, we are describing an updated version of the ROS clock.

  12. Retrospective analysis of EAB spread: understanding the effect of landscape pattern on invasion and propagation

    Treesearch

    Susan J. Crocker; Greg C. Liknes; Dacia M. Meneguzzo

    2011-01-01

    Spread of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, EAB) in the United States has been rapid and extensive. Nearly 10 years after its initial detection near Detroit, Michigan, EAB is now found in 15 states spanning a radius greater than 500 miles. While human activity has been central to facilitating the spread of EAB over long distances, the...

  13. 21 CFR 133.175 - Pasteurized cheese spread.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Pasteurized cheese spread. 133.175 Section 133.175... FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION CHEESES AND RELATED CHEESE PRODUCTS Requirements for Specific Standardized Cheese and Related Products § 133.175 Pasteurized cheese spread. Pasteurized cheese spread is the food...

  14. 21 CFR 133.175 - Pasteurized cheese spread.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Pasteurized cheese spread. 133.175 Section 133.175... FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION CHEESES AND RELATED CHEESE PRODUCTS Requirements for Specific Standardized Cheese and Related Products § 133.175 Pasteurized cheese spread. Pasteurized cheese spread is the food...

  15. Controlling droplet spreading with topography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kant, P.; Hazel, A. L.; Dowling, M.; Thompson, A. B.; Juel, A.

    2017-09-01

    We present an experimental system that can be used to study the dynamics of a picoliter droplet (in-flight radius of 12.2 μ m ) as it spreads over substrates with topographic variations. We concentrate on the spreading of a droplet within a recessed stadium-shaped pixel, with applications to the manufacture of polymer organic light-emitting-diode displays, and find that the sloping sidewall of the pixel can either locally enhance or hinder spreading depending on whether the topography gradient ahead of the contact line is positive or negative, respectively. Locally enhanced spreading occurs via the formation of thin pointed rivulets along the sidewalls of the pixel through a mechanism similar to capillary rise in sharp corners. We demonstrate that a simplified model involving quasistatic surface-tension effects within the framework of a thin-film approximation combined with an experimentally measured dynamic spreading law, relating the speed of the contact line to the contact angle, provides excellent predictions of the evolving liquid morphologies. A key feature of the liquid-substrate interaction studied here is the presence of significant contact angle hysteresis, which enables the persistence of noncircular fluid morphologies. We also show that the spreading law for an advancing contact line can be adequately approximated by a Cox-Voinov law for the majority of the evolution. The model does not include viscous effects in the bulk of the droplet and hence the time scales for the propagation of the thin pointed rivulets are not captured. Nonetheless, this simple model can be used very effectively to predict the areas covered by the liquid and may serve as a useful design tool for systems that require precise control of liquid on substrates.

  16. Spreading of Emulsions on Glass Substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohammad Karim, Alireza; Kavehpour, Pirouz

    2012-11-01

    The wettability of emulsions is an important factor with explicit influence in an extensive variety of industrial applications ranging from the petroleum to food industries. Surprisingly, there is no comprehensive study of emulsion spreading to date; this is due to the complexity of the structure of the emulsions and non-homogeneity of the dispersed phase bubbles in size as well as distribution through the emulsion. The spreading of water/silicone oil emulsions on glass substrates was investigated. The emulsions were prepared with varying volume fractions of water dispersed in silicone oil, with addition of small amounts of surfactant to stabilize the emulsion structure. The time dependent variation of dynamic contact angle, base diameter, and the spreading rate of the droplets of an emulsion are different from a pure substance. The effect of water/silicone oil weight percentage as well as the droplet size and dispersed phase bubble size were also investigated. The weight percentage of water/silicone oil emulsion and droplet size did not have significant influence on the spreading dynamics; however the dispersed phase drop size affected the spreading dynamics substantially.

  17. Mid-latitude spread- F structure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    From, W. R.; Meehan, D. H.

    1988-07-01

    Spread- F has been observed at frequencies of 1.98, 3.84 and 5.80 MHz and multiple angles of arrival have been resolved using an HF radar near Brisbane (27°S, 153°E). The spreading of the ionogram trace has been shown to be due to a spread in angles of arrival of echoes, rather than any 'vertical' spreading. The reflection process appears to involve total specular reflection rather than scattering. The previously reported very strong bias for angles of arrival from the north-west at Brisbane is supported. The direction of movement of the reflection points is not radial and therefore, the structure cannot be purely frontal with purely linear movement, as is often supposed. The velocities are much less than for coexisting travelling ionospheric disturbances. The variations of angle of arrival, range and rate of change of range with frequency do not fit previously proposed ideas of the plasma distribution and an alternative is suggested in which the distortions of the isoionic surfaces resemble small, elongated, asymmetrical 'hills' or 'dips'.

  18. Architecture and evolution of Goddard Space Flight Center Distributed Active Archive Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bedet, Jean-Jacques; Bodden, Lee; Rosen, Wayne; Sherman, Mark; Pease, Phil

    1994-01-01

    The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) has been developed to enhance Earth Science research by improved access to remote sensor earth science data. Building and operating an archive, even one of a moderate size (a few Terabytes), is a challenging task. One of the critical components of this system is Unitree, the Hierarchical File Storage Management System. Unitree, selected two years ago as the best available solution, requires constant system administrative support. It is not always suitable as an archive and distribution data center, and has moderate performance. The Data Archive and Distribution System (DADS) software developed to monitor, manage, and automate the ingestion, archive, and distribution functions turned out to be more challenging than anticipated. Having the software and tools is not sufficient to succeed. Human interaction within the system must be fully understood to improve efficiency to improve efficiency and ensure that the right tools are developed. One of the lessons learned is that the operability, reliability, and performance aspects should be thoroughly addressed in the initial design. However, the GSFC DAAC has demonstrated that it is capable of distributing over 40 GB per day. A backup system to archive a second copy of all data ingested is under development. This backup system will be used not only for disaster recovery but will also replace the main archive when it is unavailable during maintenance or hardware replacement. The GSFC DAAC has put a strong emphasis on quality at all level of its organization. A Quality team has also been formed to identify quality issues and to propose improvements. The DAAC has conducted numerous tests to benchmark the performance of the system. These tests proved to be extremely useful in identifying bottlenecks and deficiencies in operational procedures.

  19. The global spread of HIV-1 subtype B epidemic.

    PubMed

    Magiorkinis, Gkikas; Angelis, Konstantinos; Mamais, Ioannis; Katzourakis, Aris; Hatzakis, Angelos; Albert, Jan; Lawyer, Glenn; Hamouda, Osamah; Struck, Daniel; Vercauteren, Jurgen; Wensing, Annemarie; Alexiev, Ivailo; Åsjö, Birgitta; Balotta, Claudia; Gomes, Perpétua; Camacho, Ricardo J; Coughlan, Suzie; Griskevicius, Algirdas; Grossman, Zehava; Horban, Anders; Kostrikis, Leondios G; Lepej, Snjezana J; Liitsola, Kirsi; Linka, Marek; Nielsen, Claus; Otelea, Dan; Paredes, Roger; Poljak, Mario; Puchhammer-Stöckl, Elizabeth; Schmit, Jean Claude; Sönnerborg, Anders; Staneková, Danica; Stanojevic, Maja; Stylianou, Dora C; Boucher, Charles A B; Nikolopoulos, Georgios; Vasylyeva, Tetyana; Friedman, Samuel R; van de Vijver, David; Angarano, Gioacchino; Chaix, Marie-Laure; de Luca, Andrea; Korn, Klaus; Loveday, Clive; Soriano, Vincent; Yerly, Sabine; Zazzi, Mauricio; Vandamme, Anne-Mieke; Paraskevis, Dimitrios

    2016-12-01

    Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was discovered in the early 1980s when the virus had already established a pandemic. For at least three decades the epidemic in the Western World has been dominated by subtype B infections, as part of a sub-epidemic that traveled from Africa through Haiti to United States. However, the pattern of the subsequent spread still remains poorly understood. Here we analyze a large dataset of globally representative HIV-1 subtype B strains to map their spread around the world over the last 50years and describe significant spread patterns. We show that subtype B travelled from North America to Western Europe in different occasions, while Central/Eastern Europe remained isolated for the most part of the early epidemic. Looking with more detail in European countries we see that the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland exchanged viral isolates with non-European countries than with European ones. The observed pattern is likely to mirror geopolitical landmarks in the post-World War II era, namely the rise and the fall of the Iron Curtain and the European colonialism. In conclusion, HIV-1 spread through specific migration routes which are consistent with geopolitical factors that affected human activities during the last 50years, such as migration, tourism and trade. Our findings support the argument that epidemic control policies should be global and incorporate political and socioeconomic factors. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Comparison of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Rake Receiver with a Maximum Ratio Combining Multicarrier Spread Spectrum Receiver

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Daryl Leon Wasden; Hussein Moradi; Behrouz Farhang-Broujeny

    2014-06-01

    This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the performance of a filter bank-based multicarrier spread spectrum (FB-MC-SS) system. We consider an FB-MC-SS setup where each data symbol is spread across multiple subcarriers, but there is no spreading in time. The results are then compared with those of the well-known direct sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) system with a rake receiver for its best performance. We compare the two systems when the channel noise is white. We prove that as the processing gains of the two systems tend to infinity both approach the same performance. However, numerical simulations show that, in practice,more » where processing gain is limited, FB-MC-SS outperforms DS-SS.« less

  1. Controlling spread of the oak wilt pathogen (Ceratocystis fagacearum) in a Minnesota urban forest park reserve

    Treesearch

    Jennifer Juzwik; Joseph O' Brien; Charles Evenson; Paul Castillo; Graham. Mahal

    2010-01-01

    Effectiveness of oak wilt control actions taken between 1997 and 1999 were evaluated for an urban forest park reserve in Minnesota, U.S. A high level of success (84% of evaluated disease centers) was achieved in controlling belowground spread of the vascular pathogen for four to six years by mechanically disrupting inter-tree root connections with the blade of a cable...

  2. Islamic Universities Spread through Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindow, Megan

    2007-01-01

    This article reports on new universities for Muslims, many supported by groups in the Middle East, which are spreading through the sub-Saharan region. The Islamic University in Uganda is a prime example of a new kind of institution that has slowly been spreading its way across the continent. Embracing both conservative Muslim values and modern…

  3. Heat transfer and fire spread

    Treesearch

    Hal E. Anderson

    1969-01-01

    Experimental testing of a mathematical model showed that radiant heat transfer accounted for no more than 40% of total heat flux required to maintain rate of spread. A reasonable prediction of spread was possible by assuming a horizontal convective heat transfer coefficient when certain fuel and flame characteristics were known. Fuel particle size had a linear relation...

  4. 77 FR 70211 - Agency Information Collection Activities (Call Center Satisfaction Survey) Under OMB Review

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0744] Agency Information Collection Activities (Call Center Satisfaction Survey) Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration...: VBA Call Center Satisfaction Survey. OMB Control Number: 2900-0744. Type of Review: Extension of a...

  5. Effects of sporadic E-layer characteristics on spread-F generation in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere: A climatological study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, C. C.; Chen, W. S.

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the effects of Es-layer characteristics on spread-F generation in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere. The Es-layer parameters and spread-F appearance of the 23rd solar cycle (1996-2008) are recorded by the Kokubunji ionosonde. The Es-layer parameters are foEs (critical frequency of Es-layer), fbEs (blanketing frequency of Es-layer), and Δf (≡foEs-fbEs). In order to completely explore the effects, the pre-midnight and post-midnight data are classified by seasons, solar activities, and geomagnetic conditions. Results show that the spread-F occurs more frequently in post-midnight and in summer. And, the occurrence probabilities of spread-F are greater, when the solar activity is lower. For the occurrence probabilities of spread-F versus foEs and Δf under geomagnetic quiet-conditions, the trend is increasing, when the associated probabilities are significant. These indicate that the spread-F occurrence increases with increasing foEs and/or Δf. Further, the increasing trends demonstrate that polarization electric fields generated in Es-layer would be helpful to generate spread-F, through the electrodynamical coupling of Es-layer and F-region. Moreover, this electrodynamical coupling is efficient not only under quiet-conditions but under disturbed-conditions, since the significant increasing trend can also be found under disturbed-conditions. Regarding the occurrence probabilities of spread-F versus fbEs, the evident trends are not in the majority. This implies that fbEs might not be a major factor for the spread-F formation.

  6. LASER APPLICATIONS AND OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: Influence of noise and spread of resonance frequencies on phase locking of optically coupled lasers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bel'dyugin, Igor'M.; Zolotarev, M. V.; Shinkareva, I. V.

    1991-12-01

    A statistical analysis was made of the simultaneous influence of an external noise and of the spread of resonance frequencies on the phase locking of optically coupled lasers under conditions of long-range and short-range interaction in terms of the theory of critical phenomena. Studies were made of the behavior of an order parameter (the total amplitude of the fields of an array of lasers), and of the stability and correlation relationships between lasers for cophasal and antiphase lasing regimes. It was found that the locking band of the lasers could be increased substantially by detuning the phase-locking frequency from the center of the active medium profile.

  7. Deterministic ripple-spreading model for complex networks.

    PubMed

    Hu, Xiao-Bing; Wang, Ming; Leeson, Mark S; Hines, Evor L; Di Paolo, Ezequiel

    2011-04-01

    This paper proposes a deterministic complex network model, which is inspired by the natural ripple-spreading phenomenon. The motivations and main advantages of the model are the following: (i) The establishment of many real-world networks is a dynamic process, where it is often observed that the influence of a few local events spreads out through nodes, and then largely determines the final network topology. Obviously, this dynamic process involves many spatial and temporal factors. By simulating the natural ripple-spreading process, this paper reports a very natural way to set up a spatial and temporal model for such complex networks. (ii) Existing relevant network models are all stochastic models, i.e., with a given input, they cannot output a unique topology. Differently, the proposed ripple-spreading model can uniquely determine the final network topology, and at the same time, the stochastic feature of complex networks is captured by randomly initializing ripple-spreading related parameters. (iii) The proposed model can use an easily manageable number of ripple-spreading related parameters to precisely describe a network topology, which is more memory efficient when compared with traditional adjacency matrix or similar memory-expensive data structures. (iv) The ripple-spreading model has a very good potential for both extensions and applications.

  8. [Physical activity in staff workers at Centers for Psychosocial Care in southern Brazil: temporal trends].

    PubMed

    Jerônimo, Jeferson Santos; Jardim, Vanda Maria da Rosa; Kantorski, Luciane Prado; Domingues, Marlos Rodrigues

    2014-12-01

    The aim of the study was to analyze temporal trends of physical activity among staff workers in Centers for Psychosocial Care and associated factors in southern Brazil from 2006 to 2011. This cross-sectional study was part of the Evaluation of Centers for Psychosocial Care in Southern Brazil/CAPSUL. Physical and mental health variables were collected using the Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and physical activity was measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Participation included 435 staff workers in 2006 and 546 in 2011. Total prevalence rates were: physical activity (≥ 150 minutes/week) 23.2% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2011 and minor psychiatric disorders 11% and 8.4%. There was no statistically significant difference in physical activity between men and women. In 2006, individuals with less schooling (p = 0.03) and lower income (p = 0.01) showed higher levels of physical activity. In 2011, staff workers in larger cities showed higher levels of physical activity (p = 0.02). Interventions are needed to promote physical activity in this population, especially among staff workers at Centers for Psychosocial Care in smaller municipalities.

  9. Pharmacological targeting of spreading depression in migraine

    PubMed Central

    Eikermann-Haerter, Katharina; Can, Anil; Ayata, Cenk

    2012-01-01

    Migraine, particularly with aura, is a genetically heterogeneous disorder of ion channels, pumps or transporters associated with increased cortical excitability. Spreading depression, as one reflection of hyperexcitability, is the electrophysiological event underlying aura symptoms and a trigger for headache. Endogenous (e.g., genes and hormones) and exogenous factors (e.g., drugs) modulating migraine susceptibility have also been shown to modulate spreading depression susceptibility concordantly, suggesting that spreading depression can be a relevant therapeutic target in migraine. In support of this, several migraine prophylactic drugs used in clinical practice have been shown to suppress spreading depression susceptibility as a probable mechanism of action, despite belonging to widely different pharmacological classes. Hence, susceptibility to spreading depression can be a useful preclinical model with good positive and negative predictive value for drug screening. PMID:22364328

  10. Low-frequency pulse propagation over 510 km in the Philippine Sea: A comparison of observed and theoretical pulse spreading.

    PubMed

    Andrew, Rex K; Ganse, Andrew; White, Andrew W; Mercer, James A; Dzieciuch, Matthew A; Worcester, Peter F; Colosi, John A

    2016-07-01

    Observations of the spread of wander-corrected averaged pulses propagated over 510 km for 54 h in the Philippine Sea are compared to Monte Carlo predictions using a parabolic equation and path-integral predictions. Two simultaneous m-sequence signals are used, one centered at 200 Hz, the other at 300 Hz; both have a bandwidth of 50 Hz. The internal wave field is estimated at slightly less than unity Garrett-Munk strength. The observed spreads in all the early ray-like arrivals are very small, <1 ms (for pulse widths of 17 and 14 ms), which are on the order of the sampling period. Monte Carlo predictions show similar very small spreads. Pulse spread is one consequence of scattering, which is assumed to occur primarily at upper ocean depths where scattering processes are strongest and upward propagating rays refract downward. If scattering effects in early ray-like arrivals accumulate with increasing upper turning points, spread might show a similar dependence. Real and simulation results show no such dependence. Path-integral theory prediction of spread is accurate for the earliest ray-like arrivals, but appears to be increasingly biased high for later ray-like arrivals, which have more upper turning points.

  11. Non-aqueous phase liquid spreading during soil vapor extraction

    PubMed Central

    Kneafsey, Timothy J.; Hunt, James R.

    2010-01-01

    Many non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) are expected to spread at the air – water interface, particularly under non-equilibrium conditions. In the vadose zone, this spreading should increase the surface area for mass transfer and the efficiency of volatile NAPL recovery by soil vapor extraction (SVE). Observations of spreading on water wet surfaces led to a conceptual model of oil spreading vertically above a NAPL pool in the vadose zone. Analysis of this model predicts that spreading can enhance the SVE contaminant recovery compared to conditions where the liquid does not spread. Experiments were conducted with spreading volatile oils hexane and heptane in wet porous media and capillary tubes, where spreading was observed at the scale of centimeters. Within porous medium columns up to a meter in height containing stagnant gas, spreading was less than ten centimeters and did not contribute significantly to hexane volatilization. Water film thinning and oil film pinning may have prevented significant oil film spreading, and thus did not enhance SVE at the scale of a meter. The experiments performed indicate that volatile oil spreading at the field scale is unlikely to contribute significantly to the efficiency of SVE. PMID:14734243

  12. Thermal Technology Development Activities at the Goddard Space Flight Center - 2001

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, Dan

    2002-01-01

    This presentation provides an overview of thermal technology development activities carried out at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center during 2001. Specific topics covered include: two-phase systems (heat pipes, capillary pumped loops, vapor compression systems and phase change materials), variable emittance systems, advanced coatings, high conductivity materials and electrohydrodynamic (EHD) thermal coatings. The application of these activities to specific space missions is also discussed.

  13. Paris Observatory Analysis Center (OPAR): Report on Activities, January - December 2012

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lambert, Sebastien; Barache, Christophe

    2013-01-01

    We report on activities of the Paris Observatory VLBI Analysis Center (OPAR) for calendar year 2012 concerning the development of operational tasks, the development of our Web site, and various other activities: monitoring of the Earth's free core nutation, measuring of the post-seismic displacements of some stations, and the analysis of the recent IVS R&D sessions, including observations of quasars close to the Sun.

  14. On the universality of Marangoni-driven spreading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Visser, Claas; van Capelleveen, Bram; Koldeweij, Robin; Lohse, Detlef

    2017-11-01

    When two liquids of different surface tensions come into contact, the liquid with lower surface tension spreads over the other. Here we measure the dynamics of this Marangoni-driven spreading in the drop-drop geometry, revealing universal behavior with respect to the control parameters as well as other geometries (such as spreading over a flat interface). The distance L over which the low-surface-tension liquid has covered the high-surface-tension droplet is measured as a function of time t, surface tension difference between the liquids Δσ , and viscosity η, revealing power-law behavior L(t) tα . The exponent α is discussed for the early and late spreading regimes. Spreading inhibition is observed at high viscosity, for which the threshold is discussed. Finally, we show that our results collapse onto a single curve of dimensionless L(t) as a function of dimensionless time, which also captures previous results for different geometries, surface tension modifiers, and miscibility. As this curve spans 7 orders of magnitude, Marangoni-induced spreading can be considered a universal phenomenon for many practically encountered liquid-liquid systems.

  15. Pulsations, interpulsations, and sea-floor spreading.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pessagno, E. A., Jr.

    1973-01-01

    It is postulated that worldwide transgressions (pulsations) and regressions (interpulsations) through the course of geologic time are related to the elevation and subsidence of oceanic ridge systems and to sea-floor spreading. Two multiple working hypotheses are advanced to explain major transgressions and regressions and the elevation and subsidence of oceanic ridge systems. One hypothesis interrelates the sea-floor spreading hypothesis to the hypothesis of sub-Mohorovicic serpentinization. The second hypothesis relates the sea-floor spreading hypothesis to a hypothesis involving thermal expansion and contraction.

  16. Scientists Discover Supernova May Control Activity in the Center of Our Galaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2001-02-01

    degrees by Chandra. Scientists believe the outward shock wave moved the cooler, heavier gas that comprises the intergalactic medium--compressing and plowing that gas past the black hole as the shock wave spread and feeding the black hole in the process. They believe the result was a period of intense feeding of material into the black hole, followed by a period of black hole "starvation." "The important question to be raised here is what effect the plowed gas has on its environment," said Frederick Baganoff, a research associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lead scientist for Chandra's Galactic Center project. "It is possible that the plowed gas has passed over the supermassive black hole at some time in the recent past. During the passage, a lot of gas could have been captured by the black hole." When black holes pull matter inward, they are able to accelerate those particles to almost the speed of light. The matter accreting into a black hole releases a great deal of energy, much of it in X rays that can ionize the surrounding gas and make it visible with instruments such as ACIS. Because X-ray emissions from the black hole are weak at this time, scientists believe the shock wave already has passed by the black hole. "Radio astronomers already found that the gas in a halo surrounding Sgr A East and the supermassive black hole is largely ionized," said Mark Morris, professor of astronomy and physics at the University of California at Los Angeles. "If the gas plowed by the supernova remnant was pushed past the black hole, the spectacular interaction would very possibly have occurred as recently as a few hundred years ago, and the resulting flash of energy would likely have irradiated and ionized the surrounding gas. This could explain why the ionization of the gas still survives." In a broader sense, that activity might serve as a model for other black holes and other phenomena throughout the universe because the Chandra scientists suggest supernova

  17. Rumor spreading model with the different attitudes towards rumors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Yuhan; Pan, Qiuhui; Hou, Wenbing; He, Mingfeng

    2018-07-01

    Rumor spreading has a profound influence on people's well-being and social stability. There are many factors influencing rumor spreading. In this paper, we recommended an assumption that among the common mass there are three attitudes towards rumors: to like rumor spreading, to dislike rumor spreading, and to be hesitant (or neutral) to rumor spreading. Based on such an assumption, a Susceptible-Hesitating-Affected-Resistant(SHAR) model is established, which considered individuals' different attitudes towards rumor spreading. We also analyzed the local and global stability of rumor-free equilibrium and rumor-existence equilibrium, calculated the basic reproduction number of our model. With numerical simulations, we illustrated the effect of parameter changes on rumor spreading, analyzing the parameter sensitivity of the model. The results of the theoretical analysis and numerical simulations illustrated the conclusions of this study. People having different attitudes towards rumors may play different roles in the process of rumor spreading. It was surprising to find, in our research, that people who hesitate to spread rumors have a positive effect on the spread of rumors.

  18. The quality of nutrition and physical activity environments of child-care centers across three states in the southern U.S.

    PubMed

    Erinosho, Temitope; Vaughn, Amber; Hales, Derek; Mazzucca, Stephanie; Gizlice, Ziya; Treadway, Cayla; Kelly, Alexandra; Ward, Dianne

    2018-04-29

    This cross-sectional study assessed the quality of nutrition and physical activity environments of child-care centers in three southern states and examined differences by rural versus urban location, participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Head Start status. The sample included 354 centers that enroll children aged 2-5: 154 centers from Georgia, 103 from Kentucky, and 97 centers from Mississippi. Directors and 1-2 teachers per center completed the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation Self-Report (EPAO-SR) tool that assesses nutrition and physical activity environments of child-care centers. The EPAO-SR items were scored to capture six nutrition domains and six physical activity domains that were averaged and then summed to create a combined nutrition and physical activity environment score (range = 0-36); higher scores indicated that centers met more best practices, which translated to higher-quality environments. Overall, the centers had an average combined nutrition and physical activity environment score of 20.2 out of 36. The scores did not differ between rural and urban centers (mean = 20.3 versus 20.2, p = 0.98). Centers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program had higher combined nutrition and physical activity environment scores than non-participating centers (mean = 20.6 versus 19.1, p < 0.01). Head Start centers also had higher combined environment scores than non-Head Start centers (mean = 22.3 versus 19.6, p < 0.01). Findings highlight the vital role of federal programs in supporting healthy child-care environments. Providing technical assistance and training to centers that are not enrolled in well-regulated, federally-funded programs might help to enhance the quality of their nutrition and physical activity environments. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Geochemical disturbance of soil cover in the nonferrous mining centers of the Selenga River basin.

    PubMed

    Timofeev, Ivan V; Kosheleva, Natalia E

    2017-08-01

    The anthropogenic geochemical transformation of soil cover in large nonferrous mining centers of the Selenga River basin was assessed. The results of the geochemical survey of 2010-2012 revealed the spatial distribution patterns and abundances of 18 hazardous heavy metals and metalloids in the soils of Erdenet (Mongolia) and Zakamensk (Buryat republic, Russian Federation). In both cities, mining activities disturbed soil cover which accumulates Mo, Cu, As, Sb, W in Erdenet and Bi, W, Cd, Be, Pb, Mo, Sb in Zakamensk. Maximum accumulation of elements in Erdenet is restricted to the industrial zone. In Zakamensk, it has spread on ½ of the territory with the degree of multielemental pollution exceeding the extremely dangerous level by 16 times. The effect of mining centers on the state of the river system is local and does not spread to the Selenga River. Downstream from Erdenet, an artificial pool intercepts heavy metal and metalloid flows of the Erdenetii-Gol River. By contrast, downstream from the tailing dumps of the Dzhida tungsten-molybdenum plant the concentrations of ore elements W and Mo and their accessories Bi and Cd in the Modonkul River exceed background values by 146, 20, 57, and 21 times, respectively, decreasing by an order of magnitude 30 km downstream.

  20. 9 CFR 147.27 - Procedures recommended to prevent the spread of disease by artificial insemination of turkeys.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... spread of disease by artificial insemination of turkeys. 147.27 Section 147.27 Animals and Animal... recommended to prevent the spread of disease by artificial insemination of turkeys. (a) The vehicle... diseased flock should be inseminated. If evidence of active disease is noted after insemination is begun...

  1. 9 CFR 147.27 - Procedures recommended to prevent the spread of disease by artificial insemination of turkeys.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... spread of disease by artificial insemination of turkeys. 147.27 Section 147.27 Animals and Animal... recommended to prevent the spread of disease by artificial insemination of turkeys. (a) The vehicle... diseased flock should be inseminated. If evidence of active disease is noted after insemination is begun...

  2. 77 FR 50520 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Application for Regional Center Under the Immigrant...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-21

    ...-0061] Agency Information Collection Activities: Application for Regional Center Under the Immigrant... collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor... behalf of an entity under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program. (5) An estimate of the total number of...

  3. Purpose, Principles, and Challenges of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gilbert, Michael G.

    2016-01-01

    NASA formed the NASA Engineering and Safety Center in 2003 following the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. It is an Agency level, program-independent engineering resource supporting NASA's missions, programs, and projects. It functions to identify, resolve, and communicate engineering issues, risks, and, particularly, alternative technical opinions, to NASA senior management. The goal is to help ensure fully informed, risk-based programmatic and operational decision-making processes. To date, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has conducted or is actively working over 600 technical studies and projects, spread across all NASA Mission Directorates, and for various other U.S. Government and non-governmental agencies and organizations. Since inception, NESC human spaceflight related activities, in particular, have transitioned from Shuttle Return-to-Flight and completion of the International Space Station (ISS) to ISS operations and Orion Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), Space Launch System (SLS), and Commercial Crew Program (CCP) vehicle design, integration, test, and certification. This transition has changed the character of NESC studies. For these development programs, the NESC must operate in a broader, system-level design and certification context as compared to the reactive, time-critical, hardware specific nature of flight operations support.

  4. Spreading dynamics in complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pei, Sen; Makse, Hernán A.

    2013-12-01

    Searching for influential spreaders in complex networks is an issue of great significance for applications across various domains, ranging from epidemic control, innovation diffusion, viral marketing, and social movement to idea propagation. In this paper, we first display some of the most important theoretical models that describe spreading processes, and then discuss the problem of locating both the individual and multiple influential spreaders respectively. Recent approaches in these two topics are presented. For the identification of privileged single spreaders, we summarize several widely used centralities, such as degree, betweenness centrality, PageRank, k-shell, etc. We investigate the empirical diffusion data in a large scale online social community—LiveJournal. With this extensive dataset, we find that various measures can convey very distinct information of nodes. Of all the users in the LiveJournal social network, only a small fraction of them are involved in spreading. For the spreading processes in LiveJournal, while degree can locate nodes participating in information diffusion with higher probability, k-shell is more effective in finding nodes with a large influence. Our results should provide useful information for designing efficient spreading strategies in reality.

  5. The Macro and Micro of it Is that Entropy Is the Spread of Energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phillips, Jeffrey A.

    2016-09-01

    While entropy is often described as "disorder," it is better thought of as a measure of how spread out energy is within a system. To illustrate this interpretation of entropy to introductory college or high school students, several activities have been created. Students first study the relationship between microstates and macrostates to better understand the probabilities involved. Then, each student observes how a system evolves as energy is allowed to move within it. By studying how the class's ensemble of systems evolves, the tendency of energy to spread, rather than concentrate, can be observed. All activities require minimal equipment and provide students with a tactile and visual experience with entropy.

  6. Climate Change Adaptation Science Activities at NASA Johnson Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stefanov, William L.; Lulla, Kamlesh

    2012-01-01

    The Johnson Space Center (JSC), located in the southeast metropolitan region of Houston, TX is the prime NASA center for human spaceflight operations and astronaut training, but it also houses the unique collection of returned extraterrestrial samples, including lunar samples from the Apollo missions. The Center's location adjacent to Clear Lake and the Clear Creek watershed, an estuary of Galveston Bay, puts it at direct annual risk from hurricanes, but also from a number of other climate-related hazards including drought, floods, sea level rise, heat waves, and high wind events all assigned Threat Levels of 2 or 3 in the most recent NASA Center Disaster/Risk Matrix produced by the Climate Adaptation Science Investigator Working Group. Based on prior CASI workshops at other NASA centers, it is recognized that JSC is highly vulnerable to climate-change related hazards and has a need for adaptation strategies. We will present an overview of prior CASI-related work at JSC, including publication of a climate change and adaptation informational data brochure, and a Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Risks Workshop that was held at JSC in early March 2012. Major outcomes of that workshop that form a basis for work going forward are 1) a realization that JSC is embedded in a regional environmental and social context, and that potential climate change effects and adaptation strategies will not, and should not, be constrained by the Center fence line; 2) a desire to coordinate data collection and adaptation planning activities with interested stakeholders to form a regional climate change adaptation center that could facilitate interaction with CASI; 3) recognition that there is a wide array of basic data (remotely sensed, in situ, GIS/mapping, and historical) available through JSC and other stakeholders, but this data is not yet centrally accessible for planning purposes.

  7. Predicting the evolution of spreading on complex networks

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Duan-Bing; Xiao, Rui; Zeng, An

    2014-01-01

    Due to the wide applications, spreading processes on complex networks have been intensively studied. However, one of the most fundamental problems has not yet been well addressed: predicting the evolution of spreading based on a given snapshot of the propagation on networks. With this problem solved, one can accelerate or slow down the spreading in advance if the predicted propagation result is narrower or wider than expected. In this paper, we propose an iterative algorithm to estimate the infection probability of the spreading process and then apply it to a mean-field approach to predict the spreading coverage. The validation of the method is performed in both artificial and real networks. The results show that our method is accurate in both infection probability estimation and spreading coverage prediction. PMID:25130862

  8. [Activities of Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gray, Joe

    2002-01-01

    The final report of NASA funded activities at Iowa State University (ISU) for the period between 1/96 and 1/99 includes two main areas of activity. The first is the development and delivery of an x-ray simulation package suitable for evaluating the impact of parameters affects the inspectability of an assembly of parts. The second area was the development of images processing tools to remove reconstruction artifacts in x-ray laminagraphy images. The x-ray simulation portion of this work was done by J. Gray and the x-ray laminagraphy work was done by J. Basart. The report is divided into two sections covering the two activities respectively. In addition to this work reported the funding also covered NASA's membership in the NSF University/Industrial Cooperative Research Center.

  9. Activity in the Mission Control Center during Apollo 14

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1971-02-04

    S71-17610 (4 Feb. 1971) --- Partial view of activity in the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center at the time the Apollo 14 S-IVB stage impacted on the lunar surface. The flight director's console is in the foreground. Eugene F. Kranz, chief of the MSC Flight Control Division, is in the right foreground. Seated at the console is Glynn S. Lunney, head of the Flight Director Office, Flight Control Division. Facing the camera is Gerald D. Griffin, flight director of the Third (Gold) Team. A seismic reading from the impact can be seen in the center background. The S-IVB impacted on the lunar surface at 1:40:54 a.m. (CST), Feb. 4, 1971, about 90 nautical miles south-southwest of the Apollo 12 passive seismometer. The energy release was comparable to 11 tons of TNT.

  10. Individual Information-Centered Approach for Handling Physical Activity Missing Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kang, Minsoo; Rowe, David A.; Barreira, Tiago V.; Robinson, Terrance S.; Mahar, Matthew T.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to validate individual information (II)-centered methods for handling missing data, using data samples of 118 middle-aged adults and 91 older adults equipped with Yamax SW-200 pedometers and Actigraph accelerometers for 7 days. We used a semisimulation approach to create six data sets: three physical activity outcome…

  11. Large Scale Flame Spread Environmental Characterization Testing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clayman, Lauren K.; Olson, Sandra L.; Gokoghi, Suleyman A.; Brooker, John E.; Ferkul, Paul V.; Kacher, Henry F.

    2013-01-01

    Under the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project (SFSDP), as a risk mitigation activity in support of the development of a large-scale fire demonstration experiment in microgravity, flame-spread tests were conducted in normal gravity on thin, cellulose-based fuels in a sealed chamber. The primary objective of the tests was to measure pressure rise in a chamber as sample material, burning direction (upward/downward), total heat release, heat release rate, and heat loss mechanisms were varied between tests. A Design of Experiments (DOE) method was imposed to produce an array of tests from a fixed set of constraints and a coupled response model was developed. Supplementary tests were run without experimental design to additionally vary select parameters such as initial chamber pressure. The starting chamber pressure for each test was set below atmospheric to prevent chamber overpressure. Bottom ignition, or upward propagating burns, produced rapid acceleratory turbulent flame spread. Pressure rise in the chamber increases as the amount of fuel burned increases mainly because of the larger amount of heat generation and, to a much smaller extent, due to the increase in gaseous number of moles. Top ignition, or downward propagating burns, produced a steady flame spread with a very small flat flame across the burning edge. Steady-state pressure is achieved during downward flame spread as the pressure rises and plateaus. This indicates that the heat generation by the flame matches the heat loss to surroundings during the longer, slower downward burns. One heat loss mechanism included mounting a heat exchanger directly above the burning sample in the path of the plume to act as a heat sink and more efficiently dissipate the heat due to the combustion event. This proved an effective means for chamber overpressure mitigation for those tests producing the most total heat release and thusly was determined to be a feasible mitigation

  12. Geochemistry of post-spreading lavas from fossil Mathematician and Galapagos spreading axes, revisited

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, L.; Castillo, P. R.; Hilton, D. R.

    2010-12-01

    The Mathematician Ridge, located west of the northern end of the EPR at about 10-20°N, 110°W, was abandoned during the Pliocene when the Pacific plate captured the Mathematician microplate. The Galapagos Rise, located east of the southern segment of the EPR at about 10-18°S, 95°W, ceased spreading after the Late Miocene capture of the Bauer microplate by the Nazca plate. Here we report new major and trace element and Sr, Nd and Pb isotope data for lavas dredged from seamounts and volcanic ridges along the crest of Mathematician Ridge [Batiza and Vanko, J. Petrol. 26, 1985] and from narrow volcanic ridges built along extinct segments of the Galapagos Rise [Batiza et al., Mar. Geol. 49, 1982]. These lavas consist predominantly of alkalic basalts and their differentiates, similar to the post-spreading alkalic lava series in other fossil spreading axes (e.g., Davidson Seamount, Guide Seamount, Socorro Island, and fossil spreading axes off Baja California Sur) and alkalic lavas from near-ridge seamounts in the eastern Pacific [Castillo et al., G3 11, 2010; Tian et al., sub. to G3]. Collectively, the alkalic lavas have higher incompatible trace element contents and highly/moderately incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Ba/Zr >1.3, La/Sm >2.7 and Nb/Zr >0.14) than EPR basalts, and are similar to average alkalic OIB. They also have similar 87Sr/86Sr (0.7027 - 0.7037), 143Nd/144Nd (0.51289 - 0.51306) and 206Pb/204Pb (18.70 - 19.84) compositions, which overlap with geochemically enriched (E-) MORB and ~depleted OIB from major hotspot volcanic chains such as Galapagos, Hawaii and Iceland. The new data suggest that intraplate lavas from fossil spreading axes and non-hotspot seamounts in the eastern Pacific share a common enriched source which is geographically dispersed in the upper mantle.

  13. Drop spreading and gelation of thermoresponsive polymers.

    PubMed

    de Ruiter, R; Royon, L; Snoeijer, J H; Brunet, P

    2018-04-25

    Spreading and solidification of liquid droplets are elementary processes of relevance for additive manufacturing. Here we investigate the effect of heat transfer on spreading of a thermoresponsive solution (Pluronic F127) that undergoes a sol-gel transition above a critical temperature Tm. By controlling the concentration of Pluronic F127 we systematically vary Tm, while also imposing a broad range of temperatures of the solid and the liquid. We subsequently monitor the spreading dynamics over several orders of magnitude in time and determine when solidification stops the spreading. It is found that the main parameter is the difference between the substrate temperature and Tm, pointing to a local mechanism for arrest near the contact line. Unexpectedly, the spreading is also found to stop below the gelation temperature, which we attribute to a local enhancement in polymer concentration due to evaporation near the contact line.

  14. Wetting and spreading at the molecular scale

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Koplik, Joel; Banavar, Jayanth R.

    1994-01-01

    We have studied the microscopic aspects of the spreading of liquid drops on a solid surface by molecular dynamics simulations of coexisting three-phase Lennard-Jones systems of liquid, vapor and solid. We consider both spherically symmetric atoms and chain-like molecules, and a range of interaction strengths. As the attraction between liquid and solid increases we observed a smooth transition in spreading regimes, from partial to complete to terraced wetting. In the terraced case, where distinct monomolecular layers spread with different velocities, the layers are ordered but not solid, with qualitative behavior resembling recent experimental findings, but with interesting differences in the spreading rate.

  15. Spreading of triboelectrically charged granular matter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Deepak; Sane, A.; Gohil, Smita.; Bandaru, P. R.; Bhattacharya, S.; Ghosh, Shankar

    2014-06-01

    We report on the spreading of triboelectrically charged glass particles on an oppositely charged surface of a plastic cylindrical container in the presence of a constant mechanical agitation. The particles spread via sticking, as a monolayer on the cylinder's surface. Continued agitation initiates a sequence of instabilities of this monolayer, which first forms periodic wavy-stripe-shaped transverse density modulation in the monolayer and then ejects narrow and long particle-jets from the tips of these stripes. These jets finally coalesce laterally to form a homogeneous spreading front that is layered along the spreading direction. These remarkable growth patterns are related to a time evolving frictional drag between the moving charged glass particles and the countercharges on the plastic container. The results provide insight into the multiscale time-dependent tribolelectric processes and motivates further investigation into the microscopic causes of these macroscopic dynamical instabilities and spatial structures.

  16. Nowcasting the spread of chikungunya virus in the Americas.

    PubMed

    Johansson, Michael A; Powers, Ann M; Pesik, Nicki; Cohen, Nicole J; Staples, J Erin

    2014-01-01

    In December 2013, the first locally-acquired chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infections in the Americas were reported in the Caribbean. As of May 16, 55,992 cases had been reported and the outbreak was still spreading. Identification of newly affected locations is paramount to intervention activities, but challenging due to limitations of current data on the outbreak and on CHIKV transmission. We developed models to make probabilistic predictions of spread based on current data considering these limitations. Branching process models capturing travel patterns, local infection prevalence, climate dependent transmission factors, and associated uncertainty estimates were developed to predict probable locations for the arrival of CHIKV-infected travelers and for the initiation of local transmission. Many international cities and areas close to where transmission has already occurred were likely to have received infected travelers. Of the ten locations predicted to be the most likely locations for introduced CHIKV transmission in the first four months of the outbreak, eight had reported local cases by the end of April. Eight additional locations were likely to have had introduction leading to local transmission in April, but with substantial uncertainty. Branching process models can characterize the risk of CHIKV introduction and spread during the ongoing outbreak. Local transmission of CHIKV is currently likely in several Caribbean locations and possible, though uncertain, for other locations in the continental United States, Central America, and South America. This modeling framework may also be useful for other outbreaks where the risk of pathogen spread over heterogeneous transportation networks must be rapidly assessed on the basis of limited information.

  17. Collective behavior in the spatial spreading of obesity

    PubMed Central

    Gallos, Lazaros K.; Barttfeld, Pablo; Havlin, Shlomo; Sigman, Mariano; Makse, Hernán A.

    2012-01-01

    Obesity prevalence is increasing in many countries at alarming levels. A difficulty in the conception of policies to reverse these trends is the identification of the drivers behind the obesity epidemics. Here, we implement a spatial spreading analysis to investigate whether obesity shows spatial correlations, revealing the effect of collective and global factors acting above individual choices. We find a regularity in the spatial fluctuations of their prevalence revealed by a pattern of scale-free long-range correlations. The fluctuations are anomalous, deviating in a fundamental way from the weaker correlations found in the underlying population distribution indicating the presence of collective behavior, i.e., individual habits may have negligible influence in shaping the patterns of spreading. Interestingly, we find the same scale-free correlations in economic activities associated with food production. These results motivate future interventions to investigate the causality of this relation providing guidance for the implementation of preventive health policies. PMID:22822425

  18. Collective behavior in the spatial spreading of obesity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallos, Lazaros K.; Barttfeld, Pablo; Havlin, Shlomo; Sigman, Mariano; Makse, Hernán A.

    2012-06-01

    Obesity prevalence is increasing in many countries at alarming levels. A difficulty in the conception of policies to reverse these trends is the identification of the drivers behind the obesity epidemics. Here, we implement a spatial spreading analysis to investigate whether obesity shows spatial correlations, revealing the effect of collective and global factors acting above individual choices. We find a regularity in the spatial fluctuations of their prevalence revealed by a pattern of scale-free long-range correlations. The fluctuations are anomalous, deviating in a fundamental way from the weaker correlations found in the underlying population distribution indicating the presence of collective behavior, i.e., individual habits may have negligible influence in shaping the patterns of spreading. Interestingly, we find the same scale-free correlations in economic activities associated with food production. These results motivate future interventions to investigate the causality of this relation providing guidance for the implementation of preventive health policies.

  19. From magma-poor Ocean Continent Transitions to steady state oceanic spreading: the balance between tectonic and magmatic processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gillard, Morgane; Manatschal, Gianreto; Autin, Julia; Decarlis, Alessandro; Sauter, Daniel

    2016-04-01

    spreading center. The interest of that definition is that it does not restrain the term oceanic crust to a basement composition and consequently does not exclude the creation of magma-poor oceanic crust, as observed at slow spreading ridges for example. Indeed, the initiation of steady state oceanic spreading is not necessarily magmatic (e.g. some segments of the Australian-Antarctic margins). In this case, drifting is accommodated by mantle exhumation. However, in this magma-poor transition, and without clear markers of a gradual increase of magmatism, it thus appears difficult to clearly differentiate an exhumed OCT basement and an exhumed oceanic basement. Some theoretical differences can be nevertheless considered: exhumed OCT basement should display a chemical evolution toward the ocean from a subcontinental to an oceanic signature. Moreover, extensional detachment faults are probably long-lived due to the poor influence of the asthenosphere at this stage. On the contrary, exhumed oceanic basement should only display an oceanic signature. In this case, extensional detachment faults are certainly short-lived, due to the strong influence of the asthenosphere, which tends to quickly re-localize the deformation above the spreading center.

  20. Incidence, hemodynamic, and electrical characteristics of spreading depolarization in a swine model are affected by local but not by intravenous application of magnesium.

    PubMed

    Santos, Edgar; León, Fiorella; Silos, Humberto; Sanchez-Porras, Renan; Shuttleworth, C William; Unterberg, Andreas; Sakowitz, Oliver W

    2016-12-01

    The aim was to characterize the effects of magnesium sulfate, using i.v. bolus and local administration, using intrinsic signal imaging, and on electrocorticographic activity during the induction and propagation of spreading depolarizations in the gyrencephalic porcine brain. Local application of magnesium sulfate led to a complete inhibition of spreading depolarizations. One hour after washing out the topical magnesium sulfate, re-incidence of the spreading depolarizations was observed in 50% of the hemispheres. Those spreading depolarizations showed attenuation in hemodynamic characteristics and speed in intrinsic optical signal imaging. The electrical amplitude decreased through electrocorticographic activity. Intravenous magnesium therapy showed no significant effects on spreading depolarization incidence and characteristics. © The Author(s) 2016.

  1. Asymmetrically interacting spreading dynamics on complex layered networks.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wei; Tang, Ming; Yang, Hui; Younghae Do; Lai, Ying-Cheng; Lee, GyuWon

    2014-05-29

    The spread of disease through a physical-contact network and the spread of information about the disease on a communication network are two intimately related dynamical processes. We investigate the asymmetrical interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics, each occurring on its own layer, by focusing on the two fundamental quantities underlying any spreading process: epidemic threshold and the final infection ratio. We find that an epidemic outbreak on the contact layer can induce an outbreak on the communication layer, and information spreading can effectively raise the epidemic threshold. When structural correlation exists between the two layers, the information threshold remains unchanged but the epidemic threshold can be enhanced, making the contact layer more resilient to epidemic outbreak. We develop a physical theory to understand the intricate interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics.

  2. Asymmetrically interacting spreading dynamics on complex layered networks

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Wei; Tang, Ming; Yang, Hui; Younghae Do; Lai, Ying-Cheng; Lee, GyuWon

    2014-01-01

    The spread of disease through a physical-contact network and the spread of information about the disease on a communication network are two intimately related dynamical processes. We investigate the asymmetrical interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics, each occurring on its own layer, by focusing on the two fundamental quantities underlying any spreading process: epidemic threshold and the final infection ratio. We find that an epidemic outbreak on the contact layer can induce an outbreak on the communication layer, and information spreading can effectively raise the epidemic threshold. When structural correlation exists between the two layers, the information threshold remains unchanged but the epidemic threshold can be enhanced, making the contact layer more resilient to epidemic outbreak. We develop a physical theory to understand the intricate interplay between the two types of spreading dynamics. PMID:24872257

  3. Recording, analysis, and interpretation of spreading depolarizations in neurointensive care: Review and recommendations of the COSBID research group.

    PubMed

    Dreier, Jens P; Fabricius, Martin; Ayata, Cenk; Sakowitz, Oliver W; William Shuttleworth, C; Dohmen, Christian; Graf, Rudolf; Vajkoczy, Peter; Helbok, Raimund; Suzuki, Michiyasu; Schiefecker, Alois J; Major, Sebastian; Winkler, Maren Kl; Kang, Eun-Jeung; Milakara, Denny; Oliveira-Ferreira, Ana I; Reiffurth, Clemens; Revankar, Gajanan S; Sugimoto, Kazutaka; Dengler, Nora F; Hecht, Nils; Foreman, Brandon; Feyen, Bart; Kondziella, Daniel; Friberg, Christian K; Piilgaard, Henning; Rosenthal, Eric S; Westover, M Brandon; Maslarova, Anna; Santos, Edgar; Hertle, Daniel; Sánchez-Porras, Renán; Jewell, Sharon L; Balança, Baptiste; Platz, Johannes; Hinzman, Jason M; Lückl, Janos; Schoknecht, Karl; Schöll, Michael; Drenckhahn, Christoph; Feuerstein, Delphine; Eriksen, Nina; Horst, Viktor; Bretz, Julia S; Jahnke, Paul; Scheel, Michael; Bohner, Georg; Rostrup, Egill; Pakkenberg, Bente; Heinemann, Uwe; Claassen, Jan; Carlson, Andrew P; Kowoll, Christina M; Lublinsky, Svetlana; Chassidim, Yoash; Shelef, Ilan; Friedman, Alon; Brinker, Gerrit; Reiner, Michael; Kirov, Sergei A; Andrew, R David; Farkas, Eszter; Güresir, Erdem; Vatter, Hartmut; Chung, Lee S; Brennan, K C; Lieutaud, Thomas; Marinesco, Stephane; Maas, Andrew Ir; Sahuquillo, Juan; Dahlem, Markus A; Richter, Frank; Herreras, Oscar; Boutelle, Martyn G; Okonkwo, David O; Bullock, M Ross; Witte, Otto W; Martus, Peter; van den Maagdenberg, Arn Mjm; Ferrari, Michel D; Dijkhuizen, Rick M; Shutter, Lori A; Andaluz, Norberto; Schulte, André P; MacVicar, Brian; Watanabe, Tomas; Woitzik, Johannes; Lauritzen, Martin; Strong, Anthony J; Hartings, Jed A

    2017-05-01

    Spreading depolarizations (SD) are waves of abrupt, near-complete breakdown of neuronal transmembrane ion gradients, are the largest possible pathophysiologic disruption of viable cerebral gray matter, and are a crucial mechanism of lesion development. Spreading depolarizations are increasingly recorded during multimodal neuromonitoring in neurocritical care as a causal biomarker providing a diagnostic summary measure of metabolic failure and excitotoxic injury. Focal ischemia causes spreading depolarization within minutes. Further spreading depolarizations arise for hours to days due to energy supply-demand mismatch in viable tissue. Spreading depolarizations exacerbate neuronal injury through prolonged ionic breakdown and spreading depolarization-related hypoperfusion (spreading ischemia). Local duration of the depolarization indicates local tissue energy status and risk of injury. Regional electrocorticographic monitoring affords even remote detection of injury because spreading depolarizations propagate widely from ischemic or metabolically stressed zones; characteristic patterns, including temporal clusters of spreading depolarizations and persistent depression of spontaneous cortical activity, can be recognized and quantified. Here, we describe the experimental basis for interpreting these patterns and illustrate their translation to human disease. We further provide consensus recommendations for electrocorticographic methods to record, classify, and score spreading depolarizations and associated spreading depressions. These methods offer distinct advantages over other neuromonitoring modalities and allow for future refinement through less invasive and more automated approaches.

  4. Recording, analysis, and interpretation of spreading depolarizations in neurointensive care: Review and recommendations of the COSBID research group

    PubMed Central

    Fabricius, Martin; Ayata, Cenk; Sakowitz, Oliver W; William Shuttleworth, C; Dohmen, Christian; Graf, Rudolf; Vajkoczy, Peter; Helbok, Raimund; Suzuki, Michiyasu; Schiefecker, Alois J; Major, Sebastian; Winkler, Maren KL; Kang, Eun-Jeung; Milakara, Denny; Oliveira-Ferreira, Ana I; Reiffurth, Clemens; Revankar, Gajanan S; Sugimoto, Kazutaka; Dengler, Nora F; Hecht, Nils; Foreman, Brandon; Feyen, Bart; Kondziella, Daniel; Friberg, Christian K; Piilgaard, Henning; Rosenthal, Eric S; Westover, M Brandon; Maslarova, Anna; Santos, Edgar; Hertle, Daniel; Sánchez-Porras, Renán; Jewell, Sharon L; Balança, Baptiste; Platz, Johannes; Hinzman, Jason M; Lückl, Janos; Schoknecht, Karl; Schöll, Michael; Drenckhahn, Christoph; Feuerstein, Delphine; Eriksen, Nina; Horst, Viktor; Bretz, Julia S; Jahnke, Paul; Scheel, Michael; Bohner, Georg; Rostrup, Egill; Pakkenberg, Bente; Heinemann, Uwe; Claassen, Jan; Carlson, Andrew P; Kowoll, Christina M; Lublinsky, Svetlana; Chassidim, Yoash; Shelef, Ilan; Friedman, Alon; Brinker, Gerrit; Reiner, Michael; Kirov, Sergei A; Andrew, R David; Farkas, Eszter; Güresir, Erdem; Vatter, Hartmut; Chung, Lee S; Brennan, KC; Lieutaud, Thomas; Marinesco, Stephane; Maas, Andrew IR; Sahuquillo, Juan; Dahlem, Markus A; Richter, Frank; Herreras, Oscar; Boutelle, Martyn G; Okonkwo, David O; Bullock, M Ross; Witte, Otto W; Martus, Peter; van den Maagdenberg, Arn MJM; Ferrari, Michel D; Dijkhuizen, Rick M; Shutter, Lori A; Andaluz, Norberto; Schulte, André P; MacVicar, Brian; Watanabe, Tomas; Woitzik, Johannes; Lauritzen, Martin; Strong, Anthony J; Hartings, Jed A

    2016-01-01

    Spreading depolarizations (SD) are waves of abrupt, near-complete breakdown of neuronal transmembrane ion gradients, are the largest possible pathophysiologic disruption of viable cerebral gray matter, and are a crucial mechanism of lesion development. Spreading depolarizations are increasingly recorded during multimodal neuromonitoring in neurocritical care as a causal biomarker providing a diagnostic summary measure of metabolic failure and excitotoxic injury. Focal ischemia causes spreading depolarization within minutes. Further spreading depolarizations arise for hours to days due to energy supply-demand mismatch in viable tissue. Spreading depolarizations exacerbate neuronal injury through prolonged ionic breakdown and spreading depolarization-related hypoperfusion (spreading ischemia). Local duration of the depolarization indicates local tissue energy status and risk of injury. Regional electrocorticographic monitoring affords even remote detection of injury because spreading depolarizations propagate widely from ischemic or metabolically stressed zones; characteristic patterns, including temporal clusters of spreading depolarizations and persistent depression of spontaneous cortical activity, can be recognized and quantified. Here, we describe the experimental basis for interpreting these patterns and illustrate their translation to human disease. We further provide consensus recommendations for electrocorticographic methods to record, classify, and score spreading depolarizations and associated spreading depressions. These methods offer distinct advantages over other neuromonitoring modalities and allow for future refinement through less invasive and more automated approaches. PMID:27317657

  5. The Epidemic History of HIV-1 CRF07_BC in Hetian Prefecture and the Role of It on HIV Spreading in China.

    PubMed

    Wu, Jianjun; Guo, Hongxiong; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Xiaoming; Ayoupu, Aideaierli; Shen, Yuelan; Miao, Lifeng; Tang, Jihai; Lei, Yanhua; Su, Bin

    2017-04-01

    CRF07_BC is one of the most prevalent HIV-1 strains in China, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has ever been considered to be a second epidemic center after Yunnan Province in previous studies. Here we use HIV-1 pol gene sequences identified from Hetian Prefecture located in Xinjiang Autonomous Region to reconstruct the epidemic history of HIV CRF07_BC strain circulating in this region. We found that CRF07_BC is the predominant HIV-1 form in Hetian Prefecture, and the estimated tMRCA analysis shows that there is no enough evidence supporting Xinjiang Autonomous Region as a second epidemic center of spreading HIV-1. It may imply that every city may be only a point among the HIV spreading network because of the frequent migration of population in the whole country nowadays.

  6. Significant Centers of Tectonic Activity as Identified by Wrinkle Ridges for the Western Hemisphere of Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, R.C.; Haldemann, A. F. C.; Golombek, M. P.; Franklin, B. J.; Dohm, J. M.; Lias, J.

    2000-01-01

    The western hemisphere region of Mars has been the site of numerous scientific investigations regarding its tectonic evolution. For this region of Mars, the dominant tectonic region is the Tharsis province. Tharsis is characterized by an enormous system of radiating grabens and a circumferential system of wrinkle ridges. Past investigations of grabens associated with Tharsis have identified specific centers of tectonic activity. A recent structural analysis of the western hemisphere region of Mars which includes the Tharsis region, utilized 25,000 structures to determine the history of local and regional centers of tectonic activity based primarily on the spatial and temporal relationships of extensional features. This investigation revealed that Tharsis is more structurally complex (heterogeneous) than has been previously identified: it consists of numerous regional and local centers of tectonic activity (some are more dominant and/or more long lived than others). Here we use the same approach as Anderson et al. to determine whether the centers of tectonic activity that formed the extensional features also contributed to wrinkle ridge (compressional) formation.

  7. Social Inequalities in Body Weight and Physical Activity: Exploring the Role of Fitness Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLaren, Lindsay; Rock, Melanie J.; McElgunn, Jamie

    2012-01-01

    Fitness centers are a viable option for physical activity, particularly in climates with significant weather variation. Due to variation in economic and social expressions of exclusivity, fitness centers may have some relation to social inequalities in physical inactivity and related health outcomes; thus, our objective was to explore this…

  8. Spreading Optics in the primary school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gargallo, Ana; Gómez-Varela, Ana I.; Gónzalez-Nuñez, Héctor; Delgado, Tamara; Almaguer, Citlalli; Cambronero, Ferran; García-Sánchez, Ángel; Pallarés, David; Aymerich, María; Aragón, Ángel L.; Flores-Arias, Maria T.

    2015-04-01

    The USC-OSA is a student chapter located at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) whose objective is to bring optics and photonics knowledge closer to general public. In order to arouse kids' interest in Optics we developed an activity called Funny Light. This activity consisted on a visit of some USC-OSA members to a several local primary schools where we organized several optics experiments. In this work we present the optics demonstrations and the reaction of the 6 years-old students. The activities with greater acceptance include an explanation of light properties as polarization, refraction or reflection, and the workshop where they learnt how to build their own kaleidoscope and made a chromatic disk. Besides, they also participated in a demonstration and explanation of color properties and some optical illusions. We think that this activity has several benefits including spreading Optics through children meanwhile they have fun and experiment science in real life, as well as helping teachers to explain some complex properties and Physics phenomena of light. Given the broad acceptance of this activity, we are intending to make it a routine event of our student chapter repeating it every year.

  9. Role of phospholipase Cgamma1 in cell spreading requires association with a beta-Pix/GIT1-containing complex, leading to activation of Cdc42 and Rac1.

    PubMed

    Jones, Neil P; Katan, Matilda

    2007-08-01

    The significance of multiprotein signaling complexes in cell motility is becoming increasingly important. We have previously shown that phospholipase Cgamma1 (PLCgamma1) is critical for integrin-mediated cell spreading and motility (N. Jones et al., J. Cell Sci. 118:2695-2706, 2005). In the current study we show that, on a basement membrane-type matrix, PLCgamma1 associates with the adaptor protein GIT1 and the Rac1/Cdc42 guanine exchange factor beta-Pix; GIT1 and beta-Pix form tight complexes independently of PLCgamma1. The association of PLCgamma1 with the complex requires both GIT1 and beta-Pix and the specific array region (gammaSA) of PLCgamma1. Mutations of PLCgamma1 within the gammaSA region reveal that association with this complex is essential for the phosphorylation of PLCgamma1 and the progression to an elongated morphology after integrin engagement. Short interfering RNA (siRNA) depletion of either beta-Pix or GIT1 inhibited cell spreading in a fashion similar to that seen with siRNA against PLCgamma1. Furthermore, siRNA depletion of PLCgamma1, beta-Pix, or GIT1 inhibited Cdc42 and Rac1 activation, while constitutively active forms of Cdc42 or Rac1, but not RhoA, were able to rescue the elongation of these cells. Signaling of the PLCgamma1/GIT1/beta-Pix complex to Cdc42/Rac1 was found to involve the activation of calpains, calcium-dependent proteases. Therefore, we propose that the association of PLCgamma1 with complexes containing GIT1 and beta-Pix is essential for its role in integrin-mediated cell spreading and motility. As a component of this complex, PLCgamma1 is also involved in the activation of Cdc42 and Rac1.

  10. Earthquake swarms and local crustal spreading along major strike-slip faults in California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Weaver, C.S.; Hill, D.P.

    1978-01-01

    Earthquake swarms in California are often localized to areas within dextral offsets in the linear trend in active fault strands, suggesting a relation between earthquake swarms and local crustal spreading. Local crustal spereading is required by the geometry of dextral offsets when, as in the San Andreas system, faults have dominantly strike-slip motion with right-lateral displacement. Three clear examples of this relation occur in the Imperial Valley, Coso Hot Springs, and the Danville region, all in California. The first two of these areas are known for their Holocene volcanism and geothermal potential, which is consistent with crustal spreading and magmatic intrusion. The third example, however, shows no evidence for volcanism or geothermal activity at the surface. ?? 1978 Birkha??user Verlag.

  11. Empirical Evidence for the Effect of Airline Travel on Inter-Regional Influenza Spread in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Brownstein, John S; Wolfe, Cecily J; Mandl, Kenneth D

    2006-01-01

    Background The influence of air travel on influenza spread has been the subject of numerous investigations using simulation, but very little empirical evidence has been provided. Understanding the role of airline travel in large-scale influenza spread is especially important given the mounting threat of an influenza pandemic. Several recent simulation studies have concluded that air travel restrictions may not have a significant impact on the course of a pandemic. Here, we assess, with empirical data, the role of airline volume on the yearly inter-regional spread of influenza in the United States. Methods and Findings We measured rate of inter-regional spread and timing of influenza in the United States for nine seasons, from 1996 to 2005 using weekly influenza and pneumonia mortality from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seasonality was characterized by band-pass filtering. We found that domestic airline travel volume in November (mostly surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday) predicts the rate of influenza spread (r 2 = 0.60; p = 0.014). We also found that international airline travel influences the timing of influenza mortality (r 2 = 0.59; p = 0.016). The flight ban in the US after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and the subsequent depression of the air travel market, provided a natural experiment for the evaluation of flight restrictions; the decrease in air travel was associated with a delayed and prolonged influenza season. Conclusions We provide the first empirical evidence for the role of airline travel in long-range dissemination of influenza. Our results suggest an important influence of international air travel on the timing of influenza introduction, as well as an influence of domestic air travel on the rate of inter-regional influenza spread in the US. Pandemic preparedness strategies should account for a possible benefit of airline travel restrictions on influenza spread. PMID:16968115

  12. Coding for spread spectrum packet radios

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Omura, J. K.

    1980-01-01

    Packet radios are often expected to operate in a radio communication network environment where there tends to be man made interference signals. To combat such interference, spread spectrum waveforms are being considered for some applications. The use of convolutional coding with Viterbi decoding to further improve the performance of spread spectrum packet radios is examined. At 0.00001 bit error rates, improvements in performance of 4 db to 5 db can easily be achieved with such coding without any change in data rate nor spread spectrum bandwidth. This coding gain is more dramatic in an interference environment.

  13. Energy spread minimization in a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator via velocity bunching

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhang, Zhijun; Li, Wentao; Wang, Wentao

    2016-05-15

    We propose a scheme to minimize the energy spread of an electron beam (e-beam) in a cascaded laser wakefield accelerator to the one-thousandth-level by inserting a stage to compress its longitudinal spatial distribution. In this scheme, three-segment plasma stages are designed for electron injection, e-beam length compression, and e-beam acceleration, respectively. The trapped e-beam in the injection stage is transferred to the zero-phase region at the center of one wakefield period in the compression stage where the length of the e-beam can be greatly shortened owing to the velocity bunching. After being seeded into the third stage for acceleration, themore » e-beam can be accelerated to a much higher energy before its energy chirp is compensated owing to the shortened e-beam length. A one-dimensional theory and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations have demonstrated this scheme and an e-beam with 0.2% rms energy spread and low transverse emittance could be generated without loss of charge.« less

  14. Duox, Flotillin-2, and Src42A Are Required to Activate or Delimit the Spread of the Transcriptional Response to Epidermal Wounds in Drosophila

    PubMed Central

    Juarez, Michelle T.; Patterson, Rachel A.; Sandoval-Guillen, Efren; McGinnis, William

    2011-01-01

    The epidermis is the largest organ of the body for most animals, and the first line of defense against invading pathogens. A breach in the epidermal cell layer triggers a variety of localized responses that in favorable circumstances result in the repair of the wound. Many cellular and genetic responses must be limited to epidermal cells that are close to wounds, but how this is regulated is still poorly understood. The order and hierarchy of epidermal wound signaling factors are also still obscure. The Drosophila embryonic epidermis provides an excellent system to study genes that regulate wound healing processes. We have developed a variety of fluorescent reporters that provide a visible readout of wound-dependent transcriptional activation near epidermal wound sites. A large screen for mutants that alter the activity of these wound reporters has identified seven new genes required to activate or delimit wound-induced transcriptional responses to a narrow zone of cells surrounding wound sites. Among the genes required to delimit the spread of wound responses are Drosophila Flotillin-2 and Src42A, both of which are transcriptionally activated around wound sites. Flotillin-2 and constitutively active Src42A are also sufficient, when overexpressed at high levels, to inhibit wound-induced transcription in epidermal cells. One gene required to activate epidermal wound reporters encodes Dual oxidase, an enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide. We also find that four biochemical treatments (a serine protease, a Src kinase inhibitor, methyl-ß-cyclodextrin, and hydrogen peroxide) are sufficient to globally activate epidermal wound response genes in Drosophila embryos. We explore the epistatic relationships among the factors that induce or delimit the spread of epidermal wound signals. Our results define new genetic functions that interact to instruct only a limited number of cells around puncture wounds to mount a transcriptional response, mediating local repair and

  15. Surplus men, sex work, and the spread of HIV in China.

    PubMed

    Tucker, Joseph D; Henderson, Gail E; Wang, Tian F; Huang, Ying Y; Parish, William; Pan, Sui M; Chen, Xiang S; Cohen, Myron S

    2005-03-24

    While 70% of HIV positive individuals live in sub-Saharan Africa, it is widely believed that the future of the epidemic depends on the magnitude of HIV spread in India and China, the world's most populous countries. China's 1.3 billion people are in the midst of significant social transformation, which will impact future sexual disease transmission. Soon approximately 8.5 million 'surplus men', unmarried and disproportionately poor and migrant, will come of age in China's cities and rural areas. Meanwhile, many millions of Chinese sex workers appear to represent a broad range of prices, places, and related HIV risk behaviors. Using demographic and behavioral data, this paper describes the combined effect of sexual practices, sex work, and a true male surplus on HIV transmission. Alongside a rapid increase in sexually transmitted disease incidence across developed parts of urban China, surplus men could become a significant new HIV risk group. The anticipated high sexual risk among many surplus men and injecting drug use use among a subgroup of surplus men may create bridging populations from high to low risk individuals. Prevention strategies that emphasize traditional measures--condom promotion, sex education, medical training--must be reinforced by strategies which acknowledge surplus men and sex workers. Reform within female sex worker mandatory re-education centers and site specific interventions at construction sites, military areas, or unemployment centers may hold promise in curbing HIV/sexually transmitted infections. From a sociological perspective, we believe that surplus men and sex workers will have a profound effect on the future of HIV spread in China and on the success or failure of future interventions.

  16. A maximum (non-extensive) entropy approach to equity options bid-ask spread

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tapiero, Oren J.

    2013-07-01

    The cross-section of options bid-ask spreads with their strikes are modelled by maximising the Kaniadakis entropy. A theoretical model results with the bid-ask spread depending explicitly on the implied volatility; the probability of expiring at-the-money and an asymmetric information parameter (κ). Considering AIG as a test case for the period between January 2006 and October 2008, we find that information flows uniquely from the trading activity in the underlying asset to its derivatives. Suggesting that κ is possibly an option implied measure of the current state of trading liquidity in the underlying asset.

  17. Epidemic spreading in time-varying community networks.

    PubMed

    Ren, Guangming; Wang, Xingyuan

    2014-06-01

    The spreading processes of many infectious diseases have comparable time scale as the network evolution. Here, we present a simple networks model with time-varying community structure, and investigate susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic spreading processes in this model. By both theoretic analysis and numerical simulations, we show that the efficiency of epidemic spreading in this model depends intensively on the mobility rate q of the individuals among communities. We also find that there exists a mobility rate threshold qc. The epidemic will survive when q > qc and die when q < qc. These results can help understanding the impacts of human travel on the epidemic spreading in complex networks with community structure.

  18. Elicitation of spreading depression by rose bengal photodynamic action.

    PubMed

    Netto, M; Martins-Ferreira, H

    1989-08-01

    Spreading depression refers to a slowly propagating depression of the ordinary electrical activity of the nervous tissue. It can be elicited by different types of physical or chemical non-specific stimuli. Various evidences suggest that transient alterations of cell membranes are involved. For this reason, and considering the action of free radicals on cell membranes, the elicitation of the reaction by dye photoactivation has been investigated. Isolated chick retina superfused in the dark with Ringer solution was able to regularly exhibit spreading depression when submitted to 1 microM rose bengal pulse of 5 min in duration, followed by 2.1 x 10(4) to 4.2 x 10(4) Jm-2 light pulse. The phenomenon was monitored either by visual inspection of the light-scattering milky wave that accompanies the reaction or by recording its characteristic slow voltage variation. The reaction was not triggered if the retina, superfused with the dye, was (a) maintained in the dark; (b) illuminated with red light (3.75 x 10(2) to 2.25 x 10(4) Jm-2), or (c) stimulated by white light but superfused with nitrogen-saturated solutions. It is concluded that, under the present conditions, the elicitation of spreading depression is contingent on the photoactivation of rose bengal in the presence of oxygen.

  19. Event ambiguity fuels the effective spread of rumors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Jiuping; Zhang, Yi

    2015-08-01

    In this paper, a new rumor spreading model which quantifies a specific rumor spreading feature is proposed. The specific feature focused on is the important role the event ambiguity plays in the rumor spreading process. To study the impact of this event ambiguity on the spread of rumors, the probability p(t) that an individual becomes a rumor spreader from an initially unaware person at time t is built. p(t) reflects the extent of event ambiguity, and a parameter c of p(t) is used to measure the speed at which the event moves from ambiguity to confirmation. At the same time, a principle is given to decide on the correct value for parameter c A rumor spreading model is then developed with this function added as a parameter to the traditional model. Then, several rumor spreading model simulations are conducted with different values for c on both regular networks and ER random networks. The simulation results indicate that a rumor spreads faster and more broadly when c is smaller. This shows that if events are ambiguous over a longer time, rumor spreading appears to be more effective, and is influenced more significantly by parameter c in a random network than in a regular network. We then determine parameters of this model through data fitting of the missing Malaysian plane, and apply this model to an analysis of the missing Malaysian plane. The simulation results demonstrate that the most critical time for authorities to control rumor spreading is in the early stages of a critical event.

  20. Transportation Management For Corridors And Activity Centers: Opportunities And Experiences, Final Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1986-05-01

    THIS REPORT CONSISTS OF TWO SECTIONS, TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT FOR CORRIDORS AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT FOR ACTIVITY CENTERS, THAT DESCRIBE TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCES IN THE UNITED STATES. : CASE STUDIES ARE THE FOCUS OF EACH SECTIO...

  1. Vehicle Engineering Development Activities at the Marshall Space Flight Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fisher, Mark F.; Champion, Robert H., Jr.

    1999-01-01

    New initiatives in the Space Transportation Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center include an emphasis on Vehicle Engineering to enhance the strong commitment to the Directorate's projects in the development of flight hardware and flight demonstrators for the advancement of space transportation technology. This emphasis can be seen in the activities of a newly formed organization in the Transportation Directorate, The Vehicle Subsystems Engineering Group. The functions and type of activities that this group works on are described. The current projects of this group are outlined including a brief description of the status and type of work that the group is performing. A summary section is included to describe future activities.

  2. Narrow Energy Spread Protons and Ions from High-Intensity, High-Contrast Laser Solid Target Interactions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dollar, Franklin; Matsuoka, Takeshi; McGuffey, Christopher

    2010-11-04

    Recent simulations show that an idealized, high intensity, short pulse laser can generate quasi-monoenergetic proton beams with energies over 100 MeV in an interaction with a thin film. However, most short pulse laser facilities with sufficient intensity have difficulty controlling the nanosecond and picosecond contrast necessary to realize such a regime. Experiments were performed to investigate proton and ion acceleration from a high contrast, short pulse laser by employing dual plasma mirrors along with a deformable mirror at the HERCULES laser facility at the Center for Ultrafast Optical Sciences, University of Michigan. Plasma mirrors were characterized, allowing a 50% throughputmore » with an intensity contrast increase of 105. The focal spot quality was also exceptional, showing a 1.1 micron full width at half maximum (FWHM) focal diameter. Experiments were done using temporally cleaned 30 TW, 32 fs pulses to achieve an intensity of up to 10{sup 21} Wcm{sup -2} on Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} and Mylar targets with thicknesses ranging 50 nm to 13 microns. Proton beams with energy spreads below 2 MeV were observed from all thicknesses, peaking with energies up to 10.3 MeV and an energy spread of 0.8 MeV. Similar narrow energy spreads were observed for oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon at the silicon nitride thickness of 50 nm with energies up to 24 MeV with an energy spread of 3 MeV, whereas the energy spread is greatly increased at a larger thickness. Maximum energies were confirmed with CR39 track detectors, while a Thomson ion spectrometer was used to gauge the monoenergetic nature of the beam.« less

  3. Wave directional spreading from point field measurements.

    PubMed

    McAllister, M L; Venugopal, V; Borthwick, A G L

    2017-04-01

    Ocean waves have multidirectional components. Most wave measurements are taken at a single point, and so fail to capture information about the relative directions of the wave components directly. Conventional means of directional estimation require a minimum of three concurrent time series of measurements at different spatial locations in order to derive information on local directional wave spreading. Here, the relationship between wave nonlinearity and directionality is utilized to estimate local spreading without the need for multiple concurrent measurements, following Adcock & Taylor (Adcock & Taylor 2009 Proc. R. Soc. A 465 , 3361-3381. (doi:10.1098/rspa.2009.0031)), with the assumption that directional spreading is frequency independent. The method is applied to measurements recorded at the North Alwyn platform in the northern North Sea, and the results compared against estimates of wave spreading by conventional measurement methods and hindcast data. Records containing freak waves were excluded. It is found that the method provides accurate estimates of wave spreading over a range of conditions experienced at North Alwyn, despite the noisy chaotic signals that characterize such ocean wave data. The results provide further confirmation that Adcock and Taylor's method is applicable to metocean data and has considerable future promise as a technique to recover estimates of wave spreading from single point wave measurement devices.

  4. Dynamic wind-tunnel testing of active controls by the NASA Langley Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abel, I.; Doggett, R. V.; Newsom, J. R.; Sandford, M.

    1984-01-01

    Dynamic wind-tunnel testing of active controls by the NASA Langley Research Center is presented. Seven experimental studies that were accomplished to date are described. Six of the studies focus on active flutter suppression. The other focuses on active load alleviation. In addition to presenting basic results for these experimental studies, topics including model design and construction, control law synthesis, active control system implementation, and wind-tunnel test techniques are discussed.

  5. Clinical process analysis and activity-based costing at a heart center.

    PubMed

    Ridderstolpe, Lisa; Johansson, Andreas; Skau, Tommy; Rutberg, Hans; Ahlfeldt, Hans

    2002-08-01

    Cost studies, productivity, efficiency, and quality of care measures, the links between resources and patient outcomes, are fundamental issues for hospital management today. This paper describes the implementation of a model for process analysis and activity-based costing (ABC)/management at a Heart Center in Sweden as a tool for administrative cost information, strategic decision-making, quality improvement, and cost reduction. A commercial software package (QPR) containing two interrelated parts, "ProcessGuide and CostControl," was used. All processes at the Heart Center were mapped and graphically outlined. Processes and activities such as health care procedures, research, and education were identified together with their causal relationship to costs and products/services. The construction of the ABC model in CostControl was time-consuming. However, after the ABC/management system was created, it opened the way for new possibilities including process and activity analysis, simulation, and price calculations. Cost analysis showed large variations in the cost obtained for individual patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. We conclude that a process-based costing system is applicable and has the potential to be useful in hospital management.

  6. Anion-π interactions in active centers of superoxide dismutases.

    PubMed

    Ribić, Vesna R; Stojanović, Srđan Đ; Zlatović, Mario V

    2018-01-01

    We investigated 1060 possible anion-π interactions in a data set of 41 superoxide dismutase active centers. Our observations indicate that majority of the aromatic residues are capable to form anion-π interactions, mainly by long-range contacts, and that there is preference of Trp over other aromatic residues in these interactions. Furthermore, 68% of total predicted interactions in the dataset are multiple anion-π interactions. Anion-π interactions are distance and orientation dependent. We analyzed the energy contribution resulting from anion-π interactions using ab initio calculations. The results showed that, while most of their interaction energies lay in the range from -0 to -4kcalmol -1 , those energies can be up to -9kcalmol -1 and about 34% of interactions were found to be repulsive. Majority of the suggested anion-π interacting residues in ternary complexes are metal-assisted. Stabilization centers for these proteins showed that all the six residues found in predicted anion-π interactions are important in locating one or more of such centers. The anion-π interacting residues in these proteins were found to be highly conserved. We hope that these studies might contribute useful information regarding structural stability and its interaction in future designs of novel metalloproteins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) MITIGATION AND MONITORING TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE: ACTIVITIES OF THE GHG TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION CENTER

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper discusses greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and monitoring technology performance activities of the GHG Technology Verification Center. The Center is a public/private partnership between Southern Research Institute and the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development. It...

  8. Temporal alteration of spreading depression by the glycine transporter type-1 inhibitors NFPS and Org-24461 in chicken retina.

    PubMed

    Kertesz, Szabolcs; Szabo, Geza; Udvari, Szabolcs; Levay, Gyorgy; Matyus, Peter; Harsing, Laszlo G

    2013-01-25

    We used isolated chicken retina to induce spreading depression by the glutamate receptor agonist N-methyl-d-aspartate. The N-methyl-d-aspartate-induced latency time of spreading depression was extended by the glycine(B) binding site competitive antagonist 7-chlorokynurenic acid. Addition of the glycine transporter type-1 inhibitors NFPS and Org-24461 reversed the inhibitory effect of 7-chlorokynurenic acid on N-methyl-d-aspartate-evoked spreading depression. The glycine uptake inhibitory activity of Org-24461, NFPS, and some newly synthesized analogs of NFPS was determined in CHO cells stably expressing human glycine transporter type-1b isoform. Compounds, which failed to inhibit glycine transporter type-1, also did not have effect on retinal spreading depression. These experiments indicate that the spreading depression model in chicken retina is a useful in vitro test to determine activity of glycine transporter type-1 inhibitors. In addition, our data serve further evidence for the role of glycine transporter type-1 in retinal neurotransmission and light processing. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Assessment of food, nutrition, and physical activity practices in Oklahoma child-care centers.

    PubMed

    Sisson, Susan B; Campbell, Janis E; May, Kellie B; Brittain, Danielle R; Monroe, Lisa A; Guss, Shannon H; Ladner, Jennifer L

    2012-08-01

    The purpose of the current study was to determine the obesogenic practices in all-day child-care centers caring for preschool-aged children. This study used a cross-sectional, self-reported survey mailed to centers across Oklahoma (n=314). Frequency of responses and χ(2) were calculated comparing region and star rating. Items where the majority of centers frequently report best practices include: daily fruits served (76%), daily nonfried vegetables served (71%), rarely/never served sugary drinks (92%), rarely/never used food to encourage good behaviors (88%), staff join children at table most of the time (81%), staff rarely eat different foods in view of children (69%), visible self-serve or request availability of water (93%), regular informal communication about healthy eating (86%), opportunities for outdoor play (95%), not withholding activity for punishment (91%), accessible play equipment (59% to 80% for different types of equipment), and minimization of extended sitting time (78%). Practices where centers can improve include increasing variety of vegetables (18%), reducing frequency of high-fat meats served (74% serve more than once per week), increasing high-fiber and whole-grain foods (35% offer daily), serving style of "seconds" (28% help kids determine whether they are still hungry), nonfood holiday celebrations (44% use nonfood treats), having toys and books that encourage healthy eating (27%) and physical activity (25%) in all rooms in the center, a standard nutrition (21%) and physical education (50%) curriculum, and following a written physical activity policy (43%). Practitioners can use these data to develop benchmarks and interventions, as this was the first study to assess statewide obesogenic practices in child care. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. In-situ resource utilization activities at the NASA Space Engineering Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ramohalli, Kumar

    1992-01-01

    The paper describes theoretical and experimental research activities at the NASA Space Engineering Research Center aimed at realizing significant cost savings in space missions through the use of locally available resources. The fundamental strategy involves idea generation, scientific screening, feasibility demonstrations, small-scale process plant design, extensive testing, scale-up to realistic production rates, associated controls, and 'packaging', while maintaining sufficient flexibility to respond to national needs in terms of specific applications. Aside from training, the principal activities at the Center include development of a quantitative figure-of-merit to quickly assess the overall mission impact of individual components that constantly change with advancing technologies, extensive tests on a single-cell test bed to produce oxygen from carbon dioxide, and the use of this spent stream to produce methane.

  11. Data Information for Global Change Studies: NASA's Distributed Active Archive Centers and Cooperating Data Centers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2000-01-01

    The Earth Observing System (EOS) is an integral part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). ESE is a long-term global change research program designed to improve our understanding of the Earth's interrelated processes involving the atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces, and polar regions. Data from EOS instruments and other Earth science measurement systems are useful in understanding the causes and processes of global climate change and the consequences of human activities. The EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) provides a structure for data management and user services for products derived from EOS satellite instruments and other NASA Earth science data. Within the EOSDIS framework, the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) have been established to provide expertise in one or more Earth science disciplines. The DAACs and cooperating data centers provide data and information services to support the global change research community. Much of the development of the DAACs has been in anticipation of the enormous amount of data expected from EOS instruments to be launched within the next two decades. Terra, the EOS flagship launched in December 1999, is the first of a series of EOS satellites to carry several instruments with multispectral capabilities. Some data products from these instruments are now available from several of the DAACs. These and other data products can be ordered through the EOS Data Gateway (EDG) and DAAC-specific online ordering systems.

  12. Lewis Research Center earth resources program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mark, H.

    1972-01-01

    The Lewis Research Center earth resources program efforts are in the areas of: (1) monitoring and rapid evaluation of water quality; (2) determining ice-type and ice coverage distribution to aid operations in a possible extension of the Great Lakes ice navigation and shipping season; (3) monitoring spread of crop viruses; and (4) extent of damage to strip mined areas as well as success of efforts to rehabilitate such areas for agriculture.

  13. Epidemic spreading in time-varying community networks

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ren, Guangming, E-mail: wangxy@dlut.edu.cn, E-mail: ren-guang-ming@163.com; Faculty of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024; Wang, Xingyuan, E-mail: wangxy@dlut.edu.cn, E-mail: ren-guang-ming@163.com

    2014-06-15

    The spreading processes of many infectious diseases have comparable time scale as the network evolution. Here, we present a simple networks model with time-varying community structure, and investigate susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic spreading processes in this model. By both theoretic analysis and numerical simulations, we show that the efficiency of epidemic spreading in this model depends intensively on the mobility rate q of the individuals among communities. We also find that there exists a mobility rate threshold q{sub c}. The epidemic will survive when q > q{sub c} and die when q < q{sub c}. These results can help understanding the impacts of human travel onmore » the epidemic spreading in complex networks with community structure.« less

  14. Cortactin Tyrosine Phosphorylation Promotes Its Deacetylation and Inhibits Cell Spreading

    PubMed Central

    Meiler, Eugenia; Nieto-Pelegrín, Elvira; Martinez-Quiles, Narcisa

    2012-01-01

    Background Cortactin is a classical Src kinase substrate that participates in actin cytoskeletal dynamics by activating the Arp2/3 complex and interacting with other regulatory proteins, including FAK. Cortactin has various domains that may contribute to the assembly of different protein platforms to achieve process specificity. Though the protein is known to be regulated by post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation and acetylation, how tyrosine phosphorylation regulates cortactin activity is poorly understood. Since the basal level of tyrosine phosphorylation is low, this question must be studied using stimulated cell cultures, which are physiologically relevant but unreliable and difficult to work with. In fact, their unreliability may be the cause of some contradictory findings about the dynamics of tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin in different processes. Methodology/Principal Findings In the present study, we try to overcome these problems by using a Functional Interaction Trap (FIT) system, which involves cotransfecting cells with a kinase (Src) and a target protein (cortactin), both of which are fused to complementary leucine-zipper domains. The FIT system allowed us to control precisely the tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin and explore its relationship with cortactin acetylation. Conclusions/Significance Using this system, we provide definitive evidence that a competition exists between acetylation and tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin and that phosphorylation inhibits cell spreading. We confirmed the results from the FIT system by examining endogenous cortactin in different cell types. Furthermore, we demonstrate that cell spreading promotes the association of cortactin and FAK and that tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin disrupts this interaction, which may explain how it inhibits cell spreading. PMID:22479425

  15. Theory of rumour spreading in complex social networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nekovee, M.; Moreno, Y.; Bianconi, G.; Marsili, M.

    2007-01-01

    We introduce a general stochastic model for the spread of rumours, and derive mean-field equations that describe the dynamics of the model on complex social networks (in particular, those mediated by the Internet). We use analytical and numerical solutions of these equations to examine the threshold behaviour and dynamics of the model on several models of such networks: random graphs, uncorrelated scale-free networks and scale-free networks with assortative degree correlations. We show that in both homogeneous networks and random graphs the model exhibits a critical threshold in the rumour spreading rate below which a rumour cannot propagate in the system. In the case of scale-free networks, on the other hand, this threshold becomes vanishingly small in the limit of infinite system size. We find that the initial rate at which a rumour spreads is much higher in scale-free networks than in random graphs, and that the rate at which the spreading proceeds on scale-free networks is further increased when assortative degree correlations are introduced. The impact of degree correlations on the final fraction of nodes that ever hears a rumour, however, depends on the interplay between network topology and the rumour spreading rate. Our results show that scale-free social networks are prone to the spreading of rumours, just as they are to the spreading of infections. They are relevant to the spreading dynamics of chain emails, viral advertising and large-scale information dissemination algorithms on the Internet.

  16. Person-Centered, Physical Activity for Patients with Low Back Pain: Piloting Service Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Bloxham, Saul; Barter, Phil; Scragg, Slafka; Peers, Charles; Jane, Ben; Layden, Joe

    2016-01-01

    Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common and costly conditions in industrialized countries. Exercise therapy has been used to treat LBP, although typically using only one mode of exercise. This paper describes the method and initial findings of a person-centered, group physical activity programme which featured as part of a multidisciplinary approach to treating LBP. Six participants (aged 50.7 ± 17 years) completed a six-week physical activity programme lasting two hours per week. A multicomponent approach to physical activity was adopted which included aerobic fitness, core activation, muscular strength and endurance, Nordic Walking, flexibility and exercise gaming. In addition, participants were required to use diary sheets to record physical activity completed at home. Results revealed significant (p < 0.05) improvements in back strength (23%), aerobic fitness (23%), negative wellbeing (32%) and disability (16%). Person’s Correlation Coefficient analysis revealed significant (p < 0.05) relationships between improvement in perceived pain and aerobic fitness (r = 0.93). It was concluded that a person-centered, multicomponent approach to physical activity may be optimal for supporting patients who self-manage LBP. PMID:27417616

  17. Usability Studies and User-Centered Design in Digital Libraries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comeaux, David J.

    2008-01-01

    Digital libraries continue to flourish. At the same time, the principles of user-centered design and the practice of usability testing have been growing in popularity, spreading their influence into the library sphere. This article explores the confluence of these two trends by surveying the current literature on usability studies of digital…

  18. Optimizing spread dynamics on graphs by message passing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Altarelli, F.; Braunstein, A.; Dall'Asta, L.; Zecchina, R.

    2013-09-01

    Cascade processes are responsible for many important phenomena in natural and social sciences. Simple models of irreversible dynamics on graphs, in which nodes activate depending on the state of their neighbors, have been successfully applied to describe cascades in a large variety of contexts. Over the past decades, much effort has been devoted to understanding the typical behavior of the cascades arising from initial conditions extracted at random from some given ensemble. However, the problem of optimizing the trajectory of the system, i.e. of identifying appropriate initial conditions to maximize (or minimize) the final number of active nodes, is still considered to be practically intractable, with the only exception being models that satisfy a sort of diminishing returns property called submodularity. Submodular models can be approximately solved by means of greedy strategies, but by definition they lack cooperative characteristics which are fundamental in many real systems. Here we introduce an efficient algorithm based on statistical physics for the optimization of trajectories in cascade processes on graphs. We show that for a wide class of irreversible dynamics, even in the absence of submodularity, the spread optimization problem can be solved efficiently on large networks. Analytic and algorithmic results on random graphs are complemented by the solution of the spread maximization problem on a real-world network (the Epinions consumer reviews network).

  19. Overview of Iodine Propellant Hall Thruster Development Activities at NASA Glenn Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kamhawi, Hani; Haag, Thomas; Benavides, Gabriel; Hickman, Tyler; Smith, Timothy; Williams, George; Myers, James; Polzin, Kurt; Dankanich, John; Byrne, Larry; hide

    2016-01-01

    NASA is continuing to invest in advancing Hall thruster technologies for implementation in commercial and government missions. There have been several recent iodine Hall propulsion system development activities performed by the team of the NASA Glenn Research Center, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Busek Co. Inc. In particular, the work focused on qualification of the 200 W Busek BHT-200-I and the continued development of the 600 W BHT-600-I Hall thruster propulsion systems. This paper presents an overview of these development activities and also reports on the results of short duration tests that were performed on the engineering model BHT-200-I and the development model BHT-600-I Hall thrusters.

  20. Overview of Iodine Propellant Hall Thruster Development Activities at NASA Glenn Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kamhawi, Hani; Benavides, Gabriel; Haag, Thomas; Hickman, Tyler; Smith, Timothy; Williams, George; Myers, James; Polzin, Kurt; Dankanich, John; Byrne, Larry; hide

    2016-01-01

    NASA is continuing to invest in advancing Hall thruster technologies for implementation in commercial and government missions. There have been several recent iodine Hall propulsion system development activities performed by the team of the NASA Glenn Research Center, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Busek Co. Inc. In particular, the work focused on qualification of the Busek BHT-200-I, 200 W and the continued development of the BHT-600-I Hall thruster propulsion systems. This presentation presents an overview of these development activities and also reports on the results of short duration tests that were performed on the engineering model BHT-200-I and the development model BHT-600-I Hall thrusters.

  1. Wave directional spreading from point field measurements

    PubMed Central

    Venugopal, V.; Borthwick, A. G. L.

    2017-01-01

    Ocean waves have multidirectional components. Most wave measurements are taken at a single point, and so fail to capture information about the relative directions of the wave components directly. Conventional means of directional estimation require a minimum of three concurrent time series of measurements at different spatial locations in order to derive information on local directional wave spreading. Here, the relationship between wave nonlinearity and directionality is utilized to estimate local spreading without the need for multiple concurrent measurements, following Adcock & Taylor (Adcock & Taylor 2009 Proc. R. Soc. A 465, 3361–3381. (doi:10.1098/rspa.2009.0031)), with the assumption that directional spreading is frequency independent. The method is applied to measurements recorded at the North Alwyn platform in the northern North Sea, and the results compared against estimates of wave spreading by conventional measurement methods and hindcast data. Records containing freak waves were excluded. It is found that the method provides accurate estimates of wave spreading over a range of conditions experienced at North Alwyn, despite the noisy chaotic signals that characterize such ocean wave data. The results provide further confirmation that Adcock and Taylor's method is applicable to metocean data and has considerable future promise as a technique to recover estimates of wave spreading from single point wave measurement devices. PMID:28484326

  2. Spreading in online social networks: the role of social reinforcement.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Muhua; Lü, Linyuan; Zhao, Ming

    2013-07-01

    Some epidemic spreading models are usually applied to analyze the propagation of opinions or news. However, the dynamics of epidemic spreading and information or behavior spreading are essentially different in many aspects. Centola's experiments [Science 329, 1194 (2010)] on behavior spreading in online social networks showed that the spreading is faster and broader in regular networks than in random networks. This result contradicts with the former understanding that random networks are preferable for spreading than regular networks. To describe the spreading in online social networks, a unknown-known-approved-exhausted four-status model was proposed, which emphasizes the effect of social reinforcement and assumes that the redundant signals can improve the probability of approval (i.e., the spreading rate). Performing the model on regular and random networks, it is found that our model can well explain the results of Centola's experiments on behavior spreading and some former studies on information spreading in different parameter space. The effects of average degree and network size on behavior spreading process are further analyzed. The results again show the importance of social reinforcement and are accordant with Centola's anticipation that increasing the network size or decreasing the average degree will enlarge the difference of the density of final approved nodes between regular and random networks. Our work complements the former studies on spreading dynamics, especially the spreading in online social networks where the information usually requires individuals' confirmations before being transmitted to others.

  3. Classroom Activities: Simple Strategies to Incorporate Student-Centered Activities within Undergraduate Science Lectures

    PubMed Central

    Lom, Barbara

    2012-01-01

    The traditional science lecture, where an instructor delivers a carefully crafted monolog to a large audience of students who passively receive the information, has been a popular mode of instruction for centuries. Recent evidence on the science of teaching and learning indicates that learner-centered, active teaching strategies can be more effective learning tools than traditional lectures. Yet most colleges and universities retain lectures as their central instructional method. This article highlights several simple collaborative teaching techniques that can be readily deployed within traditional lecture frameworks to promote active learning. Specifically, this article briefly introduces the techniques of: reader’s theatre, think-pair-share, roundtable, jigsaw, in-class quizzes, and minute papers. Each technique is broadly applicable well beyond neuroscience courses and easily modifiable to serve an instructor’s specific pedagogical goals. The benefits of each technique are described along with specific examples of how each technique might be deployed within a traditional lecture to create more active learning experiences. PMID:23494568

  4. Primary centers and secondary concentrations of tectonic activity through time in the western hemisphere of Mars

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Anderson, R.C.; Dohm, J.M.; Golombek, M.P.; Haldemann, A.F.C.; Franklin, B.J.; Tanaka, K.L.; Lias, J.; Peer, B.

    2001-01-01

    Five main stages of radial and concentric structures formed around Tharsis from the Noachian through the Amazonian as determined by geologic mapping of 24,452 structures within the stratigraphic framework of Mars and by testing their radial and concentric orientations. Tectonic activity peaked in the Noachian (stage 1) around the largest center, Claritas, an elongate center extending more than 20?? in latitude and defined by about half of the total grabens which are concentrated in the Syria Planum, Thaumasia, and Tempe Terra regions. During the Late Noachian and Early Hesperian (stage 2), extensional structures formed along the length of present-day Valles Marineris and in Thaumasia (with a secondary concentration near Warrego Vallis) radial to a region just to the south of the central margin of Valles Marineris. Early Hesperian (stage 3) radial grabens in Pavonis, Syria, Ulysses, and Tempe Terra and somewhat concentric wrinkle ridges in Lunae and Solis Plana and in Thaumasia, Sirenum, Memnonia, and Amazonis are centered northwest of Syria with secondary centers at Thaumasia, Tempe Terra, Ulysses Fossae, and western Valles Marineris. Late Hesperian/Early Amazonian (stage 4) structures around Alba Patera, the northeast trending alignment of Tharsis Montes, and Olympus Mons appears centered on Alba Patera. Stage 5 structures (Middle-Late Amazonian) represent the last pulse of Tharsis-related activity and are found around the large shield volcanoes and are centered near Pavonis Mons. Tectonic activity around Tharsis began in the Noachian and generally decreased through geologic time to the Amazonian. Statistically significant radial distributions of structures formed during each stage, centered at different locations within the higher elevations of Tharsis. Secondary centers of radial structures during many of the stages appear related to previously identified local magmatic centers that formed at different times and locations throughout Tharsis. Copyright 2001 by

  5. Powassan Virus: Vernal Spread During 1965

    PubMed Central

    McLean, D. M.; Smith, Patricia A.; Livingstone, Sandra E.; Wilson, W. E.; Wilson, A. G.

    1966-01-01

    Powassan virus was isolated from seven pools of Ixodes cookei ticks removed from groundhogs (Marmota monax) collected near North Bay, Ontario, between May and August 1965, including five pools obtained during spring. Tick pools, each comprising one to nine ticks, contained 2.0 to 5.5 log10 TCD50 of virus upon titration in monolayer cultures of primary swine kidney cells. Powassan virus neutralizing antibody prevalence in sera of the current season's groundhogs increased steadily from zero during May to 25% during August but remained relatively unchanged (42% to 58%) in the previous season's groundhogs, thereby confirming that active infection had occurred particularly amongst juvenile groundhogs mainly during spring 1965. Isolation of one strain of Silverwater virus from Haemaphysalis leporis-palustris ticks and detection of neutralizing antibody in three of nine snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) confirmed the active spread of this agent during 1965. PMID:5904925

  6. Powassan virus: vernal spread during 1965.

    PubMed

    McLean, D M; Smith, P A; Livingstone, S E; Wilson, W E; Wilson, A G

    1966-03-12

    Powassan virus was isolated from seven pools of Ixodes cookei ticks removed from groundhogs (Marmota monax) collected near North Bay, Ontario, between May and August 1965, including five pools obtained during spring. Tick pools, each comprising one to nine ticks, contained 2.0 to 5.5 log(10) TCD(50) of virus upon titration in monolayer cultures of primary swine kidney cells. Powassan virus neutralizing antibody prevalence in sera of the current season's groundhogs increased steadily from zero during May to 25% during August but remained relatively unchanged (42% to 58%) in the previous season's groundhogs, thereby confirming that active infection had occurred particularly amongst juvenile groundhogs mainly during spring 1965. Isolation of one strain of Silverwater virus from Haemaphysalis leporis-palustris ticks and detection of neutralizing antibody in three of nine snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) confirmed the active spread of this agent during 1965.

  7. 42 CFR 485.916 - Condition of participation: Treatment team, person-centered active treatment plan, and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Condition of participation: Treatment team, person... Health Centers (CMHCs) § 485.916 Condition of participation: Treatment team, person-centered active treatment plan, and coordination of services. The CMHC must designate an interdisciplinary treatment team...

  8. 78 FR 3044 - Exchange Traded Spreads Trust, et al.; Notice of Application

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-15

    ... Traded Spreads Trust, et al.; Notice of Application January 9, 2013. AGENCY: Securities and Exchange... Trust (``Trust''), and ALPS Distributors, Inc. (``Distributor''). SUMMARY: Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that permits: (a) Actively-managed series of the Trust to issue shares (``Shares...

  9. Social Distancing Strategies against Disease Spreading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valdez, L. D.; Buono, C.; Macri, P. A.; Braunstein, L. A.

    2013-12-01

    The recurrent infectious diseases and their increasing impact on the society has promoted the study of strategies to slow down the epidemic spreading. In this review we outline the applications of percolation theory to describe strategies against epidemic spreading on complex networks. We give a general outlook of the relation between link percolation and the susceptible-infected-recovered model, and introduce the node void percolation process to describe the dilution of the network composed by healthy individual, i.e., the network that sustain the functionality of a society. Then, we survey two strategies: the quenched disorder strategy where an heterogeneous distribution of contact intensities is induced in society, and the intermittent social distancing strategy where health individuals are persuaded to avoid contact with their neighbors for intermittent periods of time. Using percolation tools, we show that both strategies may halt the epidemic spreading. Finally, we discuss the role of the transmissibility, i.e., the effective probability to transmit a disease, on the performance of the strategies to slow down the epidemic spreading.

  10. Disease spreading in real-life networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallos, Lazaros; Argyrakis, Panos

    2002-08-01

    In recent years the scientific community has shown a vivid interest in the network structure and dynamics of real-life organized systems. Many such systems, covering an extremely wide range of applications, have been recently shown to exhibit scale-free character in their connectivity distribution, meaning that they obey a power law. Modeling of epidemics on lattices and small-world networks suffers from the presence of a critical infection threshold, above which the entire population is infected. For scale-free networks, the original assumption was that the formation of a giant cluster would lead to an epidemic spreading in the same way as in simpler networks. Here we show that modeling epidemics on a scale-free network can greatly improve the predictions on the rate and efficiency of spreading, as compared to lattice models and small-world networks. We also show that the dynamics of a disease are greatly influenced by the underlying population structure. The exact same model can describe a plethora of networks, such as social networks, virus spreading in the Web, rumor spreading, signal transmission etc.

  11. Active and Repressive Chromatin Are Interspersed without Spreading in an Imprinted Gene Cluster in the Mammalian Genome

    PubMed Central

    Regha, Kakkad; Sloane, Mathew A.; Huang, Ru; Pauler, Florian M.; Warczok, Katarzyna E.; Melikant, Balázs; Radolf, Martin; Martens, Joost H.A.; Schotta, Gunnar; Jenuwein, Thomas; Barlow, Denise P.

    2010-01-01

    SUMMARY The Igf2r imprinted cluster is an epigenetic silencing model in which expression of a ncRNA silences multiple genes in cis. Here, we map a 250 kb region in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells to show that histone modifications associated with expressed and silent genes are mutually exclusive and localized to discrete regions. Expressed genes were modified at promoter regions by H3K4me3 + H3K4me2 + H3K9Ac and on putative regulatory elements flanking active promoters by H3K4me2 + H3K9Ac. Silent genes showed two types of nonoverlapping profile. One type spread over large domains of tissue-specific silent genes and contained H3K27me3 alone. A second type formed localized foci on silent imprinted gene promoters and a nonexpressed pseudogene and contained H3K9me3 + H4K20me3 ± HP1. Thus, mammalian chromosome arms contain active chromatin interspersed with repressive chromatin resembling the type of heterochromatin previously considered a feature of centromeres, telomeres, and the inactive X chromosome. PMID:17679087

  12. Experiences Spreading Organic Solid Wastes on Forest Land

    Treesearch

    J.H. Wilhoit; L.J. Samuelson

    1998-01-01

    This paper reviews experiences spreading organic solid wastes on forest land over the past six years. Presented are some of the first-ever reported results on tree growth responses from fertilizing pine trees with poultry litter, spreader distribution pattern results for spreading in a pine plantation stand, and a discussion of equipment-related experiences spreading...

  13. Flame spread along thermally thick horizontal rods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Higuera, F. J.

    2002-06-01

    An analysis is carried out of the spread of a flame along a horizontal solid fuel rod, for which a weak aiding natural convection flow is established in the underside of the rod by the action of the axial gradient of the pressure variation that gravity generates in the warm gas surrounding the flame. The spread rate is determined in the limit of infinitely fast kinetics, taking into account the effect of radiative losses from the solid surface. The effect of a small inclination of the rod is discussed, pointing out a continuous transition between upward and downward flame spread. Flame spread along flat-bottomed solid cylinders, for which the gradient of the hydrostatically generated pressure drives the flow both along and across the direction of flame propagation, is also analysed.

  14. Epidemic spreading in a hierarchical social network.

    PubMed

    Grabowski, A; Kosiński, R A

    2004-09-01

    A model of epidemic spreading in a population with a hierarchical structure of interpersonal interactions is described and investigated numerically. The structure of interpersonal connections is based on a scale-free network. Spatial localization of individuals belonging to different social groups, and the mobility of a contemporary community, as well as the effectiveness of different interpersonal interactions, are taken into account. Typical relations characterizing the spreading process, like a range of epidemic and epidemic curves, are discussed. The influence of preventive vaccinations on the spreading process is investigated. The critical value of preventively vaccinated individuals that is sufficient for the suppression of an epidemic is calculated. Our results are compared with solutions of the master equation for the spreading process and good agreement of the character of this process is found.

  15. The Science Activity Center: An Alternative To the Traditional Science Fair.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Padwa, Linda; Krieger, Melanie

    1997-01-01

    Describes the Suffolk Activity Center for Science (SACS) built by middle school students for middle school students and enhanced by a partnership with the University of Stony Brook. Involves students from nine participating schools building an interactive hands-on exhibit dealing with the concept of energy. Discusses advantages and suggestions for…

  16. Longitudinal Variations in the Variability of Spread F Occurrence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Groves, K. M.; Bridgwood, C.; Carrano, C. S.

    2017-12-01

    The complex dynamics of the equatorial ionosphere have attracted the interest and attention of researchers for many decades. The relatively local processes that give rise to large meridional gradients have been well documented and the associated terminology has entered the common lexicon of ionospheric research (e.g., fountain effect, equatorial anomaly, bubbles, Spread F). Zonal variations have also been noted, principally at the level of determining longitudinal differences in seasonal activity patterns. Due to a historical lack of high resolution ground-based observations at low latitudes, the primary source of data for such analyses has been space-based observations from satellites such as ROCSAT, DMSP, C/NOFS that measure in situ electron density variations. An important longitudinal variation in electron density structure associated with non-migrating diurnal tides was discovered by Immel et al. in 2006 using data from the FUV sensor aboard the NASA IMAGE satellite. These satellite observations have been very helpful in identifying the structural characteristics of the equatorial ionosphere and the occurrence of Spread F, but they provide little insight into variations in scintillation features and potential differences in bubble development characteristics. Moreover space-based studies tend towards the statistics of occurrence frequency over periods of weeks to months. A recent analysis of daily spread F occurrence as determined by low latitude VHF scintillation activity shows that statistical results that are consistent with previous space-based observations, but the level of variability in the occurrence data show marked variations with longitude. For example, the American sector shows very low in-season variability while the African and Asian sectors exhibit true day-to-day variability regardless of seasonal variations. The results have significant implications for space weather as they suggest that long-term forecasts of equatorial scintillation may be

  17. [Prophylaxis of group B streptococcal infections in the birth centers of Emilia Romagna].

    PubMed

    Berardi, A; Rossi, K; Lugli, L; Tridapalli, E; Ferrari, F

    2004-01-01

    In the last decade several guidelines for prevention of neonatal group B streptococcal invasive disease have been published, mainly based on administration of intrapartum antibiotics. The spread of such recommendations yielded a reduction of the early-onset disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the practices for prophylaxis of neonatal infection in our region during the 2000 and to standardize them according to the new available evidence. We conducted a multicenter study in Emilia Romagna, sending by mail a detailed questionnaire to the 28 birth centers of our region. Fifteen centers answered to the questionnaire. The practices were often differing from the recommendations of scientific societies. The most sensitive methods to identify colonized women were not widely used. Colonized infants were frequently treated with antibiotics and discharged later from the nursery. The incidence of neonatal invasive diseases was low, but most centers did not regularly collect a blood culture before antibiotic treatment is started. Repeated meetings among centers promoted the diffusion of information, the implementation of a shared protocol and the spread of the practices. The results of such meetings will be evalued in the next months.

  18. Suppressing disease spreading by using information diffusion on multiplex networks.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wei; Liu, Quan-Hui; Cai, Shi-Min; Tang, Ming; Braunstein, Lidia A; Stanley, H Eugene

    2016-07-06

    Although there is always an interplay between the dynamics of information diffusion and disease spreading, the empirical research on the systemic coevolution mechanisms connecting these two spreading dynamics is still lacking. Here we investigate the coevolution mechanisms and dynamics between information and disease spreading by utilizing real data and a proposed spreading model on multiplex network. Our empirical analysis finds asymmetrical interactions between the information and disease spreading dynamics. Our results obtained from both the theoretical framework and extensive stochastic numerical simulations suggest that an information outbreak can be triggered in a communication network by its own spreading dynamics or by a disease outbreak on a contact network, but that the disease threshold is not affected by information spreading. Our key finding is that there is an optimal information transmission rate that markedly suppresses the disease spreading. We find that the time evolution of the dynamics in the proposed model qualitatively agrees with the real-world spreading processes at the optimal information transmission rate.

  19. Topographic Cues Reveal Two Distinct Spreading Mechanisms in Blood Platelets

    PubMed Central

    Sandmann, Rabea; Köster, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    Blood platelets are instrumental in blood clotting and are thus heavily involved in early wound closure. After adhering to a substrate they spread by forming protrusions like lamellipodia and filopodia. However, the interaction of these protrusions with the physical environment of platelets while spreading is not fully understood. Here we dynamically image platelets during this spreading process and compare their behavior on smooth and on structured substrates. In particular we analyze the temporal evolution of the spread area, the cell morphology and the dynamics of individual filopodia. Interestingly, the topographic cues enable us to distinguish two spreading mechanisms, one that is based on numerous persistent filopodia and one that rather involves lamellipodia. Filopodia-driven spreading coincides with a strong response of platelet morphology to the substrate topography during spreading, whereas lamellipodia-driven spreading does not. Thus, we quantify different degrees of filopodia formation in platelets and the influence of filopodia in spreading on structured substrates. PMID:26934830

  20. A comparison of command center activations versus disaster drills at three institutions from 2013 to 2015.

    PubMed

    Ebbeling, Laura G; Goralnick, Eric; Bivens, Matthew J; Femino, Meg; Berube, Claire G; Sears, Bryan; Sanchez, Leon D

    2016-01-01

    Disaster exercises often simulate rare, worst-case scenario events that range from mass casualty incidents to severe weather events. In actuality, situations such as information system downtimes and physical plant failures may affect hospital continuity of operations far more significantly. The objective of this study is to evaluate disaster drills at two academic and one community hospital to compare the frequency of planned drills versus real-world events that led to emergency management command center activation. Emergency management exercise and command center activation data from January 1, 2013 to October 1, 2015 were collected from a database. The activations and drills were categorized according to the nature of the event. Frequency of each type of event was compared to determine if the drills were representative of actual activations. From 2013 to 2015, there were a total of 136 command center activations and 126 drills at the three hospital sites. The most common reasons for command center activations included severe weather (25 percent, n = 34), maintenance failure (19.9 percent, n = 27), and planned mass gathering events (16.9 percent, n = 23). The most frequent drills were process tests (32.5 percent, n = 41), hazardous material-related events (22.2 percent, n = 28), and in-house fires (15.10 percent, n = 19). Further study of the reasons behind why hospitals activate emergency management plans may inform better preparedness drills. There is no clear methodology used among all hospitals to create drills and their descriptions are often vague. There is an opportunity to better design drills to address specific purposes and events.

  1. Assimilative and non-assimilative color spreading in the watercolor configuration.

    PubMed

    Kimura, Eiji; Kuroki, Mikako

    2014-01-01

    A colored line flanking a darker contour will appear to spread its color onto an area enclosed by the line (watercolor effect). The watercolor effect has been characterized as an assimilative effect, but non-assimilative color spreading has also been demonstrated in the same spatial configuration; e.g., when a black inner contour (IC) is paired with a blue outer contour (OC), yellow color spreading can be observed. To elucidate visual mechanisms underlying these different color spreading effects, this study investigated the effects of luminance ratio between the double contours on the induced color by systematically manipulating the IC and the OC luminance (Experiment 1) as well as the background luminance (Experiment 2). The results showed that the luminance conditions suitable for assimilative and non-assimilative color spreading were nearly opposite. When the Weber contrast of the IC to the background luminance (IC contrast) was smaller in size than that of the OC (OC contrast), the induced color became similar to the IC color (assimilative spreading). In contrast, when the OC contrast was smaller than or equal to the IC contrast, the induced color became yellow (non-assimilative spreading). Extending these findings, Experiment 3 showed that bilateral color spreading, i.e., assimilative spreading on one side and non-assimilative spreading on the other side, can also be observed in the watercolor configuration. These results suggest that the assimilative and the non-assimilative spreading were mediated by different visual mechanisms. The properties of the assimilative spreading are consistent with the model proposed to account for neon color spreading (Grossberg and Mingolla, 1985) and extended for the watercolor effect (Pinna and Grossberg, 2005). However, the present results suggest that additional mechanisms are needed to account for the non-assimilative color spreading.

  2. Astrocyte Sodium Signalling and Panglial Spread of Sodium Signals in Brain White Matter.

    PubMed

    Moshrefi-Ravasdjani, Behrouz; Hammel, Evelyn L; Kafitz, Karl W; Rose, Christine R

    2017-09-01

    In brain grey matter, excitatory synaptic transmission activates glutamate uptake into astrocytes, inducing sodium signals which propagate into neighboring astrocytes through gap junctions. These sodium signals have been suggested to serve an important role in neuro-metabolic coupling. So far, it is unknown if astrocytes in white matter-that is in brain regions devoid of synapses-are also able to undergo such intra- and intercellular sodium signalling. In the present study, we have addressed this question by performing quantitative sodium imaging in acute tissue slices of mouse corpus callosum. Focal application of glutamate induced sodium transients in SR101-positive astrocytes. These were largely unaltered in the presence of ionotropic glutamate receptors blockers, but strongly dampened upon pharmacological inhibition of glutamate uptake. Sodium signals induced in individual astrocytes readily spread into neighboring SR101-positive cells with peak amplitudes decaying monoexponentially with distance from the stimulated cell. In addition, spread of sodium was largely unaltered during pharmacological inhibition of purinergic and glutamate receptors, indicating gap junction-mediated, passive diffusion of sodium between astrocytes. Using cell-type-specific, transgenic reporter mice, we found that sodium signals also propagated, albeit less effectively, from astrocytes to neighboring oligodendrocytes and NG2 cells. Again, panglial spread was unaltered with purinergic and glutamate receptors blocked. Taken together, our results demonstrate that activation of sodium-dependent glutamate transporters induces sodium signals in white matter astrocytes, which spread within the astrocyte syncytium. In addition, we found a panglial passage of sodium signals from astrocytes to NG2 cells and oligodendrocytes, indicating functional coupling between these macroglial cells in white matter.

  3. MANUFACTURING FACILITY FOR ACTIVATED CARBON AND CERAMIC WATER FILTERS AT THE SONGHAI CENTER, BENIN

    EPA Science Inventory

    Ceramic filters will be manufactured at the Songhai Center in Porto-Novo, Benin for cost-effective drinking water treatment. The efficiency of the ceramic filters will be improved by adding activated carbon cartridges to remove organic and inorganic impurities. The activate...

  4. A simple physical model for forest fire spread

    Treesearch

    E. Koo; P. Pagni; J. Woycheese; S. Stephens; D. Weise; J. Huff

    2005-01-01

    Based on energy conservation and detailed heat transfer mechanisms, a simple physical model for fire spread is presented for the limit of one-dimensional steady-state contiguous spread of a line fire in a thermally-thin uniform porous fuel bed. The solution for the fire spread rate is found as an eigenvalue from this model with appropriate boundary conditions through a...

  5. Nutrition and physical activity randomized control trial in child care centers improves knowledge, policies, and children's body mass index.

    PubMed

    Alkon, Abbey; Crowley, Angela A; Neelon, Sara E Benjamin; Hill, Sherika; Pan, Yi; Nguyen, Viet; Rose, Roberta; Savage, Eric; Forestieri, Nina; Shipman, Linda; Kotch, Jonathan B

    2014-03-01

    To address the public health crisis of overweight and obese preschool-age children, the Nutrition And Physical Activity Self Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) intervention was delivered by nurse child care health consultants with the objective of improving child care provider and parent nutrition and physical activity knowledge, center-level nutrition and physical activity policies and practices, and children's body mass index (BMI). A seven-month randomized control trial was conducted in 17 licensed child care centers serving predominantly low income families in California, Connecticut, and North Carolina, including 137 child care providers and 552 families with racially and ethnically diverse children three to five years old. The NAP SACC intervention included educational workshops for child care providers and parents on nutrition and physical activity and consultation visits provided by trained nurse child care health consultants. Demographic characteristics and pre - and post-workshop knowledge surveys were completed by providers and parents. Blinded research assistants reviewed each center's written health and safety policies, observed nutrition and physical activity practices, and measured randomly selected children's nutritional intake, physical activity, and height and weight pre- and post-intervention. Hierarchical linear models and multiple regression models assessed individual- and center-level changes in knowledge, policies, practices and age- and sex-specific standardized body mass index (zBMI), controlling for state, parent education, and poverty level. Results showed significant increases in providers' and parents' knowledge of nutrition and physical activity, center-level improvements in policies, and child-level changes in children's zBMI based on 209 children in the intervention and control centers at both pre- and post-intervention time points. The NAP SACC intervention, as delivered by trained child health professionals such as child care

  6. Syncytial Mutations Do Not Impair the Specificity of Entry and Spread of a Glycoprotein D Receptor-Retargeted Herpes Simplex Virus

    PubMed Central

    Okubo, Yu; Wakata, Aika; Suzuki, Takuma; Shibata, Tomoko; Ikeda, Hitomi; Yamaguchi, Miki; Cohen, Justus B.; Glorioso, Joseph C.; Tagaya, Mitsuo; Hamada, Hirofumi; Tahara, Hideaki

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Membrane fusion, which is the key process for both initial cell entry and subsequent lateral spread of herpes simplex virus (HSV), requires the four envelope glycoproteins gB, gD, gH, and gL. Syncytial mutations, predominantly mapped to the gB and gK genes, confer hyperfusogenicity on HSV and cause multinucleated giant cells, termed syncytia. Here we asked whether interaction of gD with a cognate entry receptor remains indispensable for initiating membrane fusion of syncytial strains. To address this question, we took advantage of mutant viruses whose viral entry into cells relies on the uniquely specific interaction of an engineered gD with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We introduced selected syncytial mutations into gB and/or gK of the EGFR-retargeted HSV and found that these mutations, especially when combined, enabled formation of extensive syncytia by human cancer cell lines that express the target receptor; these syncytia were substantially larger than the plaques formed by the parental retargeted HSV strain. We assessed the EGFR dependence of entry and spread separately by using direct entry and infectious center assays, respectively, and we found that the syncytial mutations did not override the receptor specificity of the retargeted viruses at either stage. We discuss the implications of these results for the development of more effective targeted oncolytic HSV vectors. IMPORTANCE Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is investigated not only as a human pathogen but also as a promising agent for oncolytic virotherapy. We previously showed that both the initial entry and subsequent lateral spread of HSV can be retargeted to cells expressing tumor-associated antigens by single-chain antibodies fused to a receptor-binding-deficient envelope glycoprotein D (gD). Here we introduced syncytial mutations into the gB and/or gK gene of gD-retargeted HSVs to determine whether viral tropism remained dependent on the interaction of gD with the target receptor

  7. Microgravity Flame Spread in Exploration Atmospheres: Pressure, Oxygen, and Velocity Effects on Opposed and Concurrent Flame Spread

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Olson, Sandra L.; Ruff, Gary A.; Fletcher, J. Miller

    2008-01-01

    Microgravity tests of flammability and flame spread were performed in a low-speed flow tunnel to simulate spacecraft ventilation flows. Three thin fuels were tested for flammability (Ultem 1000 (General Electric Company), 10 mil film, Nomex (Dupont) HT90-40, and Mylar G (Dupont) and one fuel for flame spread testing (Kimwipes (Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.). The 1g Upward Limiting Oxygen Index (ULOI) and 1g Maximum Oxygen Concentration (MOC) are found to be greater than those in 0g, by up to 4% oxygen mole fraction, meaning that the fuels burned in 0g at lower oxygen concentrations than they did using the NASA Standard 6001 Test 1 protocol. Flame spread tests with Kimwipes were used to develop correlations that capture the effects of flow velocity, oxygen concentration, and pressure on flame spread rate. These correlations were used to determine that over virtually the entire range of spacecraft atmospheres and flow conditions, the opposed spread is faster, especially for normoxic atmospheres. The correlations were also compared with 1g MOC for various materials as a function of pressure and oxygen. The lines of constant opposed flow agreed best with the 1g MOC trends, which indicates that Test 1 limits are essentially dictated by the critical heat flux for ignition. Further evaluation of these and other materials is continuing to better understand the 0g flammability of materials and its effect on the oxygen margin of safety.

  8. Epidemic spread on interconnected metapopulation networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Bing; Tanaka, Gouhei; Suzuki, Hideyuki; Aihara, Kazuyuki

    2014-09-01

    Numerous real-world networks have been observed to interact with each other, resulting in interconnected networks that exhibit diverse, nontrivial behavior with dynamical processes. Here we investigate epidemic spreading on interconnected networks at the level of metapopulation. Through a mean-field approximation for a metapopulation model, we find that both the interaction network topology and the mobility probabilities between subnetworks jointly influence the epidemic spread. Depending on the interaction between subnetworks, proper controls of mobility can efficiently mitigate epidemics, whereas an extremely biased mobility to one subnetwork will typically cause a severe outbreak and promote the epidemic spreading. Our analysis provides a basic framework for better understanding of epidemic behavior in related transportation systems as well as for better control of epidemics by guiding human mobility patterns.

  9. Lateral Spread of Orientation Selectivity in V1 is Controlled by Intracortical Cooperativity

    PubMed Central

    Chavane, Frédéric; Sharon, Dahlia; Jancke, Dirk; Marre, Olivier; Frégnac, Yves; Grinvald, Amiram

    2011-01-01

    Neurons in the primary visual cortex receive subliminal information originating from the periphery of their receptive fields (RF) through a variety of cortical connections. In the cat primary visual cortex, long-range horizontal axons have been reported to preferentially bind to distant columns of similar orientation preferences, whereas feedback connections from higher visual areas provide a more diverse functional input. To understand the role of these lateral interactions, it is crucial to characterize their effective functional connectivity and tuning properties. However, the overall functional impact of cortical lateral connections, whatever their anatomical origin, is unknown since it has never been directly characterized. Using direct measurements of postsynaptic integration in cat areas 17 and 18, we performed multi-scale assessments of the functional impact of visually driven lateral networks. Voltage-sensitive dye imaging showed that local oriented stimuli evoke an orientation-selective activity that remains confined to the cortical feedforward imprint of the stimulus. Beyond a distance of one hypercolumn, the lateral spread of cortical activity gradually lost its orientation preference approximated as an exponential with a space constant of about 1 mm. Intracellular recordings showed that this loss of orientation selectivity arises from the diversity of converging synaptic input patterns originating from outside the classical RF. In contrast, when the stimulus size was increased, we observed orientation-selective spread of activation beyond the feedforward imprint. We conclude that stimulus-induced cooperativity enhances the long-range orientation-selective spread. PMID:21629708

  10. Lexical Ambiguity: Making a Case against Spread

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaplan, Jennifer J.; Rogness, Neal T.; Fisher, Diane G.

    2012-01-01

    We argue for decreasing the use of the word "spread" when describing the statistical idea of dispersion or variability in introductory statistics courses. In addition, we argue for increasing the use of the word "variability" as a replacement for "spread."

  11. Understanding the spreading patterns of mobile phone viruses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Pu; Gonzalez, Marta; Hidalgo, Cesar; Barabasi, Albert-Laszlo

    2009-03-01

    Mobile viruses are little more than a nuisance today, but given our increased reliance on wireless communication, in the near future they could pose more risk than their PC based counterparts. Despite of the more than three hundred mobile viruses known so far, little is known about their spreading pattern, partly due to a lack of data on the communication and travel patterns of mobile phone users. Starting from the traffic and the communication pattern of six million mobile phone users, we model the vulnerability of mobile communications against potential virus outbreaks. We show that viruses exploiting Bluetooth and multimedia messaging services (MMS) follow markedly different spreading patterns. The Bluetooth virus can reach all susceptible handsets, but spreads relatively slowly, as its spread is driven by human mobility. In contrast, an MMS virus can spread rapidly, but because the underlying social network is fragmented, it can reach only a small fraction of all susceptible users. This difference affects both their spreading rate, the number of infected users, as well as the defense measures one needs to take to protect the system against potential viral outbreak.

  12. Mapping lava morphology of the Galapagos Spreading Center at 92°W: fuzzy logic provides a classification of high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McClinton, J. T.; White, S. M.; Sinton, J. M.; Rubin, K. H.; Bowles, J. A.

    2010-12-01

    Differences in axial lava morphology along the Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC) can indicate variations in magma supply and emplacement dynamics due to the influence of the adjacent Galapagos hot spot. Unfortunately, the ability to discriminate fine-scale lava morphology has historically been limited to observations of the small coverage areas of towed camera surveys and submersible operations. This research presents a neuro-fuzzy approach to automated seafloor classification using spatially coincident, high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter data. The classification method implements a Sugeno-type fuzzy inference system trained by a multi-layered adaptive neural network and is capable of rapidly classifying seafloor morphology based on attributes of surface geometry and texture. The system has been applied to the 92°W segment of the western GSC in order to quantify coverage areas and distributions of pillow, lobate, and sheet lava morphology. An accuracy assessment has been performed on the classification results. The resulting classified maps provide a high-resolution view of GSC axial morphology and indicate the study area terrain is approximately 40% pillow flows, 40% lobate and sheet flows, and 10% fissured or faulted area, with about 10% of the study area unclassifiable. Fine-scale features such as eruptive fissures, tumuli, and individual pillowed lava flow fronts are also visible. Although this system has been applied to lava morphology, its design and implementation are applicable to other undersea mapping applications.

  13. Scientific Grid activities and PKI deployment in the Cybermedia Center, Osaka University.

    PubMed

    Akiyama, Toyokazu; Teranishi, Yuuichi; Nozaki, Kazunori; Kato, Seiichi; Shimojo, Shinji; Peltier, Steven T; Lin, Abel; Molina, Tomas; Yang, George; Lee, David; Ellisman, Mark; Naito, Sei; Koike, Atsushi; Matsumoto, Shuichi; Yoshida, Kiyokazu; Mori, Hirotaro

    2005-10-01

    The Cybermedia Center (CMC), Osaka University, is a research institution that offers knowledge and technology resources obtained from advanced researches in the areas of large-scale computation, information and communication, multimedia content and education. Currently, CMC is involved in Japanese national Grid projects such as JGN II (Japan Gigabit Network), NAREGI and BioGrid. Not limited to Japan, CMC also actively takes part in international activities such as PRAGMA. In these projects and international collaborations, CMC has developed a Grid system that allows scientists to perform their analysis by remote-controlling the world's largest ultra-high voltage electron microscope located in Osaka University. In another undertaking, CMC has assumed a leadership role in BioGrid by sharing its experiences and knowledge on the system development for the area of biology. In this paper, we will give an overview of the BioGrid project and introduce the progress of the Telescience unit, which collaborates with the Telescience Project led by the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR). Furthermore, CMC collaborates with seven Computing Centers in Japan, NAREGI and National Institute of Informatics to deploy PKI base authentication infrastructure. The current status of this project and future collaboration with Grid Projects will be delineated in this paper.

  14. Overview of Fluid Dynamics Activities at the Marshall Space Flight Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garcia, Roberto; Griffin, Lisa W.; Wang, Ten-See

    1999-01-01

    Since its inception 40 years ago, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has had the need to maintain and advance state-of-the-art flow analysis and cold-flow testing capability to support its roles and missions. This overview discusses the recent organizational changes that have occurred at MSFC with emphasis on the resulting three groups that form the core of fluid dynamics expertise at MSFC: the Fluid Physics and Dynamics Group, the Applied Fluid Dynamics Analysis Group, and the Experimental Fluid Dynamics Group. Recently completed activities discussed include the analysis and flow testing in support of the Fastrac engine design, the X-33 vehicle design, and the X34 propulsion system design. Ongoing activities include support of the RLV vehicle design, Liquid Fly Back Booster aerodynamic configuration definition, and RLV focused technologies development. Other ongoing activities discussed are efforts sponsored by the Center Director's Discretionary Fund (CDDF) to develop an advanced incompressible flow code and to develop optimization techniques. Recently initiated programs and their anticipated required fluid dynamics support are discussed. Based on recent experiences and on the anticipated program needs, required analytical and experimental technique improvements are presented. Due to anticipated budgetary constraints, there is a strong need to leverage activities and to pursue teaming arrangements in order to advance the state-of-the-art and to adequately support concept development. Throughout this overview there is discussion of the lessons learned and of the capabilities demonstrated and established in support of the hardware development programs.

  15. Effects of rewiring strategies on information spreading in complex dynamic networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ally, Abdulla F.; Zhang, Ning

    2018-04-01

    Recent advances in networks and communication services have attracted much interest to understand information spreading in social networks. Consequently, numerous studies have been devoted to provide effective and accurate models for mimicking information spreading. However, knowledge on how to spread information faster and more widely remains a contentious issue. Yet, most existing works are based on static networks which limit the reality of dynamism of entities that participate in information spreading. Using the SIR epidemic model, this study explores and compares effects of two rewiring models (Fermi-Dirac and Linear functions) on information spreading in scale free and small world networks. Our results show that for all the rewiring strategies, the spreading influence replenishes with time but stabilizes in a steady state at later time-steps. This means that information spreading takes-off during the initial spreading steps, after which the spreading prevalence settles toward its equilibrium, with majority of the population having recovered and thus, no longer affecting the spreading. Meanwhile, rewiring strategy based on Fermi-Dirac distribution function in one way or another impedes the spreading process, however, the structure of the networks mimic the spreading, even with a low spreading rate. The worst case can be when the spreading rate is extremely small. The results emphasize that despite a big role of such networks in mimicking the spreading, the role of the parameters cannot be simply ignored. Apparently, the probability of giant degree neighbors being informed grows much faster with the rewiring strategy of linear function compared to that of Fermi-Dirac distribution function. Clearly, rewiring model based on linear function generates the fastest spreading across the networks. Therefore, if we are interested in speeding up the spreading process in stochastic modeling, linear function may play a pivotal role.

  16. Spread of hospital-acquired infections: A comparison of healthcare networks

    PubMed Central

    Astagneau, Pascal; Crépey, Pascal

    2017-01-01

    Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), including emerging multi-drug resistant organisms, threaten healthcare systems worldwide. Efficient containment measures of HAIs must mobilize the entire healthcare network. Thus, to best understand how to reduce the potential scale of HAI epidemic spread, we explore patient transfer patterns in the French healthcare system. Using an exhaustive database of all hospital discharge summaries in France in 2014, we construct and analyze three patient networks based on the following: transfers of patients with HAI (HAI-specific network); patients with suspected HAI (suspected-HAI network); and all patients (general network). All three networks have heterogeneous patient flow and demonstrate small-world and scale-free characteristics. Patient populations that comprise these networks are also heterogeneous in their movement patterns. Ranking of hospitals by centrality measures and comparing community clustering using community detection algorithms shows that despite the differences in patient population, the HAI-specific and suspected-HAI networks rely on the same underlying structure as that of the general network. As a result, the general network may be more reliable in studying potential spread of HAIs. Finally, we identify transfer patterns at both the French regional and departmental (county) levels that are important in the identification of key hospital centers, patient flow trajectories, and regional clusters that may serve as a basis for novel wide-scale infection control strategies. PMID:28837555

  17. Influence of trust in the spreading of information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Hongrun; Arenas, Alex; Gómez, Sergio

    2017-01-01

    The understanding and prediction of information diffusion processes on networks is a major challenge in network theory with many implications in social sciences. Many theoretical advances occurred due to stochastic spreading models. Nevertheless, these stochastic models overlooked the influence of rational decisions on the outcome of the process. For instance, different levels of trust in acquaintances do play a role in information spreading, and actors may change their spreading decisions during the information diffusion process accordingly. Here, we study an information-spreading model in which the decision to transmit or not is based on trust. We explore the interplay between the propagation of information and the trust dynamics happening on a two-layer multiplex network. Actors' trustable or untrustable states are defined as accumulated cooperation or defection behaviors, respectively, in a Prisoner's Dilemma setup, and they are controlled by a memory span. The propagation of information is abstracted as a threshold model on the information-spreading layer, where the threshold depends on the trustability of agents. The analysis of the model is performed using a tree approximation and validated on homogeneous and heterogeneous networks. The results show that the memory of previous actions has a significant effect on the spreading of information. For example, the less memory that is considered, the higher is the diffusion. Information is highly promoted by the emergence of trustable acquaintances. These results provide insight into the effect of plausible biases on spreading dynamics in a multilevel networked system.

  18. Optimal waist-to-hip ratios in women activate neural reward centers in men.

    PubMed

    Platek, Steven M; Singh, Devendra

    2010-02-05

    Secondary sexual characteristics convey information about reproductive potential. In the same way that facial symmetry and masculinity, and shoulder-to-hip ratio convey information about reproductive/genetic quality in males, waist-to-hip-ratio (WHR) is a phenotypic cue to fertility, fecundity, neurodevelopmental resources in offspring, and overall health, and is indicative of "good genes" in women. Here, using fMRI, we found that males show activation in brain reward centers in response to naked female bodies when surgically altered to express an optimal (approximately 0.7) WHR with redistributed body fat, but relatively unaffected body mass index (BMI). Relative to presurgical bodies, brain activation to postsurgical bodies was observed in bilateral orbital frontal cortex. While changes in BMI only revealed activation in visual brain substrates, changes in WHR revealed activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area associated with reward processing and decision-making. When regressing ratings of attractiveness on brain activation, we observed activation in forebrain substrates, notably the nucleus accumbens, a forebrain nucleus highly involved in reward processes. These findings suggest that an hourglass figure (i.e., an optimal WHR) activates brain centers that drive appetitive sociality/attention toward females that represent the highest-quality reproductive partners. This is the first description of a neural correlate implicating WHR as a putative honest biological signal of female reproductive viability and its effects on men's neurological processing.

  19. Research and technology activities at Ames Research Center's Biomedical Research Division

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Martello, N.

    1985-01-01

    Various research and technology activities at Ames Research Center's Biomedical Research Division are described. Contributions to the Space Administration's goals in the life sciences include descriptions of research in operational medicine, cardiovascular deconditioning, motion sickness, bone alterations, muscle atrophy, fluid and electrolyte changes, radiation effects and protection, behavior and performance, gravitational biology, and life sciences flight experiments.

  20. Spatial and temporal distribution of the seismicity along two mid-oceanic ridges with contrasted spreading rates in the Indian Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsang-Hin-Sun, E.; Perrot, J.; Royer, J. Y.

    2015-12-01

    The seismicity of the ultra-slow spreading Southwest (14 mm/y) and intermediate spreading Southeast (60 mm/y) Indian ridges was monitored from February 2012 to March 2013 by the OHASISBIO array of 7 autonomous hydrophones. A total of 1471 events were located with 4 instruments or more, inside the array, with a median location uncertainty < 5 km and a completeness magnitude of mb = 3. Both ridges display similar average rates of seismicity, suggesting that there is no systematic relationship between seismicity and spreading rates. Accretion modes do differ, however, by the along-axis distribution of the seismic events. Along the ultra-slow Southwest Indian Ridge, events are sparse but regularly spaced and scattered up to 50 km off-axis. Along the fast Southeast Indian Ridge, events are irregularly distributed, focusing in narrow regions near the ridge axis at segment ends and along transform faults, whereas ridge-segment centers generally appear as seismic gaps (at the level of completeness of the array). Only two clusters, 6 months apart, are identified in a segment-center at 29°S. From the temporal distribution of the clustered events and comparisons with observations in similar mid-oceanic ridge setting, both clusters seem to have a volcanic origin and to be related to a dike emplacement or a possible eruption on the seafloor. Their onset time and migration rate are comparable to volcanic swarms recorded along the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Overall, the rate of seismicity along the two Indian spreading ridges correlates with the large-scale variations in the bathymetry and shear-wave velocity anomaly in the upper mantle, suggesting that the distribution of the low-magnitude seismicity is mainly controlled by along-axis variations in the lithosphere rheology and temperature.

  1. Substrate stress relaxation regulates cell spreading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaudhuri, Ovijit; Gu, Luo; Darnell, Max; Klumpers, Darinka; Bencherif, Sidi A.; Weaver, James C.; Huebsch, Nathaniel; Mooney, David J.

    2015-02-01

    Studies of cellular mechanotransduction have converged upon the idea that cells sense extracellular matrix (ECM) elasticity by gauging resistance to the traction forces they exert on the ECM. However, these studies typically utilize purely elastic materials as substrates, whereas physiological ECMs are viscoelastic, and exhibit stress relaxation, so that cellular traction forces exerted by cells remodel the ECM. Here we investigate the influence of ECM stress relaxation on cell behaviour through computational modelling and cellular experiments. Surprisingly, both our computational model and experiments find that spreading for cells cultured on soft substrates that exhibit stress relaxation is greater than cells spreading on elastic substrates of the same modulus, but similar to that of cells spreading on stiffer elastic substrates. These findings challenge the current view of how cells sense and respond to the ECM.

  2. Building A Cloud Based Distributed Active Data Archive Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ramachandran, Rahul; Baynes, Katie; Murphy, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    NASA's Earth Science Data System (ESDS) Program facilitates the implementation of NASA's Earth Science strategic plan, which is committed to the full and open sharing of Earth science data obtained from NASA instruments to all users. The Earth Science Data information System (ESDIS) project manages the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Data within EOSDIS are held at Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). One of the key responsibilities of the ESDS Program is to continuously evolve the entire data and information system to maximize returns on the collected NASA data.

  3. The spreading time in SIS epidemics on networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Zhidong; Van Mieghem, Piet

    2018-03-01

    In a Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) process, we investigate the spreading time Tm, which is the time when the number of infected nodes in the metastable state is first reached, starting from the outbreak of the epidemics. We observe that the spreading time Tm resembles a lognormal-like distribution, though with different deep tails, both for the Markovian and the non-Markovian infection process, which implies that the spreading time can be very long with a relatively high probability. In addition, we show that a stronger virus, with a higher effective infection rate τ or an earlier timing of the infection attempts, does not always lead to a shorter average spreading time E [Tm ] . We numerically demonstrate that the average spreading time E [Tm ] in the complete graph and the star graph scales logarithmically as a function of the network size N for a fixed fraction of infected nodes in the metastable state.

  4. Highly siderophile element systematics of abyssal peridotites from intermediate and fast spreading ridges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, D. B.; Day, J. M.; Waters, C. L.

    2016-12-01

    Abyssal peridotites are residues of both modern and ancient partial melt extraction at oceanic ridges and can be used to examine melting processes and mantle heterogeneity. The highly siderophile elements (HSE: Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd, Re, and the 187Re-187Os system embedded within them), are useful for investigating these issues, as they are generally strongly compatible. To date, limited data on HSE and Os isotopes has been obtained on abyssal peridotites from fast spreading centers. Here, we report new HSE abundance and 187Os/188Os data for Pacific Antarctic Ridge (PAR) and East Pacific Rise (EPR) abyssal peridotites. Samples from the PAR were dredged from two separate localities along the Udintsev Fracture Zone, and EPR samples were taken from Hess Deep. The PAR full spreading rate ranges from 54-83mm/year [1,2] and is 75 mm/year [2] at the Udintsev Fracture Zone. These spreading rates characterize the PAR as an intermediate spreading ridge, whereas the fast spreading EPR has a full rate ranging from 128-157 mm/year [3]. The 187Os/188Os ratios for whole-rocks from the PAR range from 0.114 to 0.134, with Re depletion ages (TRD) varying from 1 Ga to present. Despite the large variation in 187Os/188Os, HSE patterns are primitive mantle-like [4], with Ru/Ir ratios ranging from 1.5-2.1. Depletions in Re and Pd are present, as is expected in partial melt residues, and the samples have undergone 4-15% partial melting based on the rare earth elements (REE). The EPR exhibits higher levels of melt depletion ranging from 18-24%. New results show Hess Deep samples have 187Os/188Os ratios of 0.123 and 0.125 for whole-rocks. These findings indicate that PAR and EPR Os isotopic data overlap with the global record of abyssal peridotites from slower ridges and that Os isotopic heterogeneities are preserved across a wide range of spreading rates and degrees of melt extraction. [1] Géli, L., et al. (1997), Science, 278, 1281-1284; [2] Castillo, P.R., et al. (1998) EPSL, 154

  5. Delaying the international spread of pandemic influenza.

    PubMed

    Cooper, Ben S; Pitman, Richard J; Edmunds, W John; Gay, Nigel J

    2006-06-01

    The recent emergence of hypervirulent subtypes of avian influenza has underlined the potentially devastating effects of pandemic influenza. Were such a virus to acquire the ability to spread efficiently between humans, control would almost certainly be hampered by limited vaccine supplies unless global spread could be substantially delayed. Moreover, the large increases that have occurred in international air travel might be expected to lead to more rapid global dissemination than in previous pandemics. To evaluate the potential of local control measures and travel restrictions to impede global dissemination, we developed stochastic models of the international spread of influenza based on extensions of coupled epidemic transmission models. These models have been shown to be capable of accurately forecasting local and global spread of epidemic and pandemic influenza. We show that under most scenarios restrictions on air travel are likely to be of surprisingly little value in delaying epidemics, unless almost all travel ceases very soon after epidemics are detected. Interventions to reduce local transmission of influenza are likely to be more effective at reducing the rate of global spread and less vulnerable to implementation delays than air travel restrictions. Nevertheless, under the most plausible scenarios, achievable delays are small compared with the time needed to accumulate substantial vaccine stocks.

  6. Delaying the International Spread of Pandemic Influenza

    PubMed Central

    Cooper, Ben S; Pitman, Richard J; Edmunds, W. John; Gay, Nigel J

    2006-01-01

    Background The recent emergence of hypervirulent subtypes of avian influenza has underlined the potentially devastating effects of pandemic influenza. Were such a virus to acquire the ability to spread efficiently between humans, control would almost certainly be hampered by limited vaccine supplies unless global spread could be substantially delayed. Moreover, the large increases that have occurred in international air travel might be expected to lead to more rapid global dissemination than in previous pandemics. Methods and Findings To evaluate the potential of local control measures and travel restrictions to impede global dissemination, we developed stochastic models of the international spread of influenza based on extensions of coupled epidemic transmission models. These models have been shown to be capable of accurately forecasting local and global spread of epidemic and pandemic influenza. We show that under most scenarios restrictions on air travel are likely to be of surprisingly little value in delaying epidemics, unless almost all travel ceases very soon after epidemics are detected. Conclusions Interventions to reduce local transmission of influenza are likely to be more effective at reducing the rate of global spread and less vulnerable to implementation delays than air travel restrictions. Nevertheless, under the most plausible scenarios, achievable delays are small compared with the time needed to accumulate substantial vaccine stocks. PMID:16640458

  7. Toe spreading ability in men with chronic pelvic pain syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Yilmaz, Ugur; Rothman, Ivan; Ciol, Marcia A; Yang, Claire C; Berger, Richard E

    2005-01-01

    Background We examined toe-spreading ability in subjects with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) to test the hypothesis that subjects with CPPS could have deficiencies in lower extremity functions innervated by sacral spinal roots. Methods Seventy two subjects with CPPS and 98 volunteer controls were examined as part of a larger study on CPPS. All the subjects underwent a detailed urologic and neurological examination including a toe-spreading examination with a quantitative scoring system. We compared the groups in terms of ability of toe-spreading as either "complete" (all toes spreading) or "incomplete" (at least one interdigital space not spreading) and also by comparing the number of interdigital spaces. For CPPS subjects only, we also analyzed the variation of the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) scales by toe-spreading categories. Results CPPS subjects were less often able to spread all toes than subjects without CPPS (p = 0.005). None of the NIH-CPSI sub-scales (pain, urinary symptoms, and quality of life), nor the total score showed an association with toe spreading ability. Conclusion We found toe spreading to be diminished in subjects with CPPS. We hypothesize that incomplete toe spreading in subjects with CPPS may be related to subtle deficits involving the most caudal part of the spinal segments. PMID:15949041

  8. In Vivo Voltage-Sensitive Dye Study of Lateral Spreading of Cortical Activity in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex Induced by a Current Impulse

    PubMed Central

    Fehérvári, Tamás Dávid; Sawai, Hajime; Yagi, Tetsuya

    2015-01-01

    In the mammalian primary visual cortex (V1), lateral spreading of excitatory potentials is believed to be involved in spatial integrative functions, but the underlying cortical mechanism is not well understood. Visually-evoked population-level responses have been shown to propagate beyond the V1 initial activation site in mouse, similar to higher mammals. Visually-evoked responses are, however, affected by neuronal circuits prior to V1 (retina, LGN), making the separate analysis of V1 difficult. Intracortical stimulation eliminates these initial processing steps. We used in vivo RH1691 voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging and intracortical microstimulation in adult C57BL/6 mice to elucidate the spatiotemporal properties of population-level signal spreading in V1 cortical circuits. The evoked response was qualitatively similar to that measured in single-cell electrophysiological experiments in rodents: a fast transient fluorescence peak followed by a fast and a slow decrease or hyperpolarization, similar to EPSP and fast and slow IPSPs in single cells. The early cortical response expanded at speeds commensurate with long horizontal projections (at 5% of the peak maximum, 0.08–0.15 m/s) however, the bulk of the VSD signal propagated slowly (at half-peak maximum, 0.05–0.08 m/s) suggesting an important role of regenerative multisynaptic transmission through short horizontal connections in V1 spatial integrative functions. We also found a tendency for a widespread and fast cortical response suppression in V1, which was eliminated by GABAA-antagonists gabazine and bicuculline methiodide. Our results help understand the neuronal circuitry involved in lateral spreading in V1. PMID:26230520

  9. Eigen Spreading

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-02-27

    between the PHY layer and for example a host PC computer . The PC wants to generate and receive a sequence of data packets. The PC may also want to send...the testbed is quite similar. Given the intense computational requirements of SVD and other matrix mode operations needed to support eigen spreading a...platform for real time operation. This task is probably the major challenge in the development of the testbed. All compute intensive tasks will be

  10. Characterization of in vitro antifungal activities of small and American cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos L. and V. macrocarpon Aiton) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) concentrates in sugar reduced fruit spreads.

    PubMed

    Ermis, Ertan; Hertel, Christian; Schneider, Christin; Carle, Reinhold; Stintzing, Florian; Schmidt, Herbert

    2015-07-02

    In this study, cranberry and lingonberry concentrates were added to commercial sugar-reduced fruit spreads (raspberry-Aloe vera, strawberry-guava, and strawberry-lime), and tested for their antifungal activities. Selected strains of the species Absidia glauca, Penicillium brevicompactum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces bailii, as well as xerophilic environmental isolates of the genera Penicillium and Eurotium were used for challenge testing. Initially, varying concentrations of synthetic antifungal agents, such as sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and butyl 4-hydroxybenzoate were tested against these fungi on wort agar containing 31% fructose at different pH values. Subsequently, the experiments were conducted in fruit spreads containing different concentrations of cranberry and lingonberry concentrates. The results of this study demonstrate that these concentrates were able to inhibit growth of visible colonies of xerophilic and non-xerophilic fungi. Cranberry and lingonberry concentrates are interesting candidates for natural preservation against fungal growth in sugar reduced fruit spreads. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Dynamic properties of epidemic spreading on finite size complex networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ying; Liu, Yang; Shan, Xiu-Ming; Ren, Yong; Jiao, Jian; Qiu, Ben

    2005-11-01

    The Internet presents a complex topological structure, on which computer viruses can easily spread. By using theoretical analysis and computer simulation methods, the dynamic process of disease spreading on finite size networks with complex topological structure is investigated. On the finite size networks, the spreading process of SIS (susceptible-infected-susceptible) model is a finite Markov chain with an absorbing state. Two parameters, the survival probability and the conditional infecting probability, are introduced to describe the dynamic properties of disease spreading on finite size networks. Our results can help understanding computer virus epidemics and other spreading phenomena on communication and social networks. Also, knowledge about the dynamic character of virus spreading is helpful for adopting immunity policy.

  12. Spectral and spread-spectral teleportation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Humble, Travis S.

    2010-06-15

    We report how quantum information encoded into the spectral degree of freedom of a single-photon state may be teleported using a finite spectrally entangled biphoton state. We further demonstrate how the bandwidth of the teleported wave form can be controllably and coherently dilated using a spread-spectral variant of teleportation. We calculate analytical expressions for the fidelities of spectral and spread-spectral teleportation when complex-valued Gaussian states are transferred using a proposed experimental approach. Finally, we discuss the utility of these techniques for integrating broad-bandwidth photonic qubits with narrow-bandwidth receivers in quantum communication systems.

  13. Coherent Lidar Activities at NASA Langley Research Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kavaya, Michael J.; Amzajerdian, Farzin; Koch, Grady J.; Singh, Upendra N.; Yu, Jirong

    2007-01-01

    NASA Langley Research Center has been developing and using coherent lidar systems for many years. The current projects at LaRC are the Global Wind Observing Sounder (GWOS) mission preparation, the Laser Risk Reduction Program (LRRP), the Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) compact, rugged Doppler wind lidar project, the Autonomous precision Landing and Hazard detection and Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project for lunar landing, and the Skywalker project to find and use thermals to extend UAV flight time. These five projects encompass coherent lidar technology development; characterization, validation, and calibration facilities; compact, rugged packaging; computer simulation; trade studies; data acquisition, processing, and display development; system demonstration; and space mission design. This paper will further discuss these activities at LaRC.

  14. Epidemic spread in bipartite network by considering risk awareness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, She; Sun, Mei; Ampimah, Benjamin Chris; Han, Dun

    2018-02-01

    Human awareness plays an important role in the spread of infectious diseases and the control of propagation patterns. Exploring the interplay between human awareness and epidemic spreading is a topic that has been receiving increasing attention. Considering the fact, some well-known diseases only spread between different species we propose a theoretical analysis of the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) epidemic spread from the perspective of bipartite network and risk aversion. Using mean field theory, the epidemic threshold is calculated theoretically. Simulation results are consistent with the proposed analytic model. The results show that, the final infection density is negative linear with the value of individuals' risk awareness. Therefore, the epidemic spread could be effectively suppressed by improving individuals' risk awareness.

  15. Diffusional spread and confinement of newly exocytosed synaptic vesicle proteins

    PubMed Central

    Gimber, Niclas; Tadeus, Georgi; Maritzen, Tanja; Schmoranzer, Jan; Haucke, Volker

    2015-01-01

    Neurotransmission relies on the calcium-triggered exocytic fusion of non-peptide neurotransmitter-containing small synaptic vesicles (SVs) with the presynaptic membrane at active zones (AZs) followed by compensatory endocytic retrieval of SV membranes. Here, we study the diffusional fate of newly exocytosed SV proteins in hippocampal neurons by high-resolution time-lapse imaging. Newly exocytosed SV proteins rapidly disperse within the first seconds post fusion until confined within the presynaptic bouton. Rapid diffusional spread and confinement is followed by slow reclustering of SV proteins at the periactive endocytic zone. Confinement within the presynaptic bouton is mediated in part by SV protein association with the clathrin-based endocytic machinery to limit diffusional spread of newly exocytosed SV proteins. These data suggest that diffusion, and axonal escape of newly exocytosed vesicle proteins, are counteracted by the clathrin-based endocytic machinery together with a presynaptic diffusion barrier. PMID:26399746

  16. Diffusional spread and confinement of newly exocytosed synaptic vesicle proteins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gimber, Niclas; Tadeus, Georgi; Maritzen, Tanja; Schmoranzer, Jan; Haucke, Volker

    2015-09-01

    Neurotransmission relies on the calcium-triggered exocytic fusion of non-peptide neurotransmitter-containing small synaptic vesicles (SVs) with the presynaptic membrane at active zones (AZs) followed by compensatory endocytic retrieval of SV membranes. Here, we study the diffusional fate of newly exocytosed SV proteins in hippocampal neurons by high-resolution time-lapse imaging. Newly exocytosed SV proteins rapidly disperse within the first seconds post fusion until confined within the presynaptic bouton. Rapid diffusional spread and confinement is followed by slow reclustering of SV proteins at the periactive endocytic zone. Confinement within the presynaptic bouton is mediated in part by SV protein association with the clathrin-based endocytic machinery to limit diffusional spread of newly exocytosed SV proteins. These data suggest that diffusion, and axonal escape of newly exocytosed vesicle proteins, are counteracted by the clathrin-based endocytic machinery together with a presynaptic diffusion barrier.

  17. Spreading Characteristics and Thrust of Jets from Asymmetric Nozzles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zaman, K. B. M. Q.

    1995-01-01

    The spreading characteristics of jets from several asymmetric nozzles are studied in comparison to those of an axisymmetric jet, over the Mach number (M(sub J)) range of 0.3 to 1.96. The effect of tabs in two cases, the axisymmetric nozzle fitted with four tabs and a rectangular nozzle fitted with two large tabs, is also included in the comparison. Compared to the axisymmetric jet, the asymmetric jets spread only slightly faster at subsonic conditions, while at supersonic conditions, when screech occurs, they spread much faster. Screech profoundly increases the spreading of all jets. The effect varies in the different stages of screech, and the corresponding unsteady flowfield characteristics are documented via phase-averaged measurement of the fluctuating total pressure. An organization and intensification of the azimuthal vortical structures under the screeching condition is believed to be responsible for the increased spreading. Curiously, the jet from a 'lobed mixer' nozzle spreads much less at supersonic conditions compared to all other cases. This is due to the absence of screech with this nozzle. Jet spreading for the two tab configurations, on the other hand, is significantly more than any of the no-tab cases. This is true in the subsonic regime, as well as in the supersonic regime in spite of the fact that screech is essentially eliminated by the tabs. The dynamics of the streamwise vortex pairs produced by the tabs cause the most efficient jet spreading thus far observed in the study.

  18. More efficient swimming by spreading your fingers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van de Water, Willem; van Houwelingen, Josje; Willemsen, Dennis; Breugem, Wim Paul; Westerweel, Jerry; Delfos, Rene; Grift, Ernst Jan

    2016-11-01

    A tantalizing question in free-style swimming is whether the stroke efficiency during the pull phase depends on spreading the fingers. It is a subtle effect-not more than a few percent-but it could make a big difference in a race. We measure the drag of arm models with increasing finger spreading in a wind tunnel and compare forces and moments to the results of immersed boundary simulations. Virtual arms were used in the simulations and their 3D-printed real versions in the experiment. We find an optimal finger spreading, accompanied by a marked increase of coherent vortex shedding. A simple actuator disk model explains this optimum.

  19. Should We Let the Bomb Spread

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-11-01

    in national security policy formulation. iii v Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press SHOULD WE LET THE BOMB SPREAD? Henry D...the Bomb Don’t Think “More Is Better”..............25 W. Seth Carus 3. “At All Costs”: The Destructive Consequences of Anti-Proliferation Policy...In 1966, Leonard Beaton, a journalist and strategic scholar, published a short book that asked: Must the bomb spread?1 Mr. Beaton’s query

  20. Estimating wildland fire rate of spread in a spatially nonuniform environment

    Treesearch

    Francis M Fujioka

    1985-01-01

    Estimating rate of fire spread is a key element in planning for effective fire control. Land managers use the Rothermel spread model, but the model assumptions are violated when fuel, weather, and topography are nonuniform. This paper compares three averaging techniques--arithmetic mean of spread rates, spread based on mean fuel conditions, and harmonic mean of spread...