Alternative stable states and the sustainability of forests, grasslands, and agriculture

PubMed Central

Henderson, Kirsten A.; Bauch, Chris T.; Anand, Madhur

2016-01-01

Endangered forest–grassland mosaics interspersed with expanding agriculture and silviculture occur across many parts of the world, including the southern Brazilian highlands. This natural mosaic ecosystem is thought to reflect alternative stable states driven by threshold responses of recruitment to fire and moisture regimes. The role of adaptive human behavior in such systems remains understudied, despite its pervasiveness and the fact that such ecosystems can exhibit complex dynamics. We develop a nonlinear mathematical model of coupled human–environment dynamics in mosaic systems and social processes regarding conservation and economic land valuation. Our objective is to better understand how the coupled dynamics respond to changes in ecological and social conditions. The model is parameterized with southern Brazilian data on mosaic ecology, land-use profits, and questionnaire results concerning landowner preferences and conservation values. We find that the mosaic presently resides at a crucial juncture where relatively small changes in social conditions can generate a wide variety of possible outcomes, including complete loss of mosaics; large-amplitude, long-term oscillations between land states that preclude ecosystem stability; and conservation of the mosaic even to the exclusion of agriculture/silviculture. In general, increasing the time horizon used for conservation decision making is more likely to maintain mosaic stability. In contrast, increasing the inherent conservation value of either forests or grasslands is more likely to induce large oscillations—especially for forests—due to feedback from rarity-based conservation decisions. Given the potential for complex dynamics, empirically grounded nonlinear dynamical models should play a larger role in policy formulation for human–environment mosaic ecosystems. PMID:27956605

Alternative stable states and the sustainability of forests, grasslands, and agriculture.

PubMed

Henderson, Kirsten A; Bauch, Chris T; Anand, Madhur

2016-12-20

Endangered forest-grassland mosaics interspersed with expanding agriculture and silviculture occur across many parts of the world, including the southern Brazilian highlands. This natural mosaic ecosystem is thought to reflect alternative stable states driven by threshold responses of recruitment to fire and moisture regimes. The role of adaptive human behavior in such systems remains understudied, despite its pervasiveness and the fact that such ecosystems can exhibit complex dynamics. We develop a nonlinear mathematical model of coupled human-environment dynamics in mosaic systems and social processes regarding conservation and economic land valuation. Our objective is to better understand how the coupled dynamics respond to changes in ecological and social conditions. The model is parameterized with southern Brazilian data on mosaic ecology, land-use profits, and questionnaire results concerning landowner preferences and conservation values. We find that the mosaic presently resides at a crucial juncture where relatively small changes in social conditions can generate a wide variety of possible outcomes, including complete loss of mosaics; large-amplitude, long-term oscillations between land states that preclude ecosystem stability; and conservation of the mosaic even to the exclusion of agriculture/silviculture. In general, increasing the time horizon used for conservation decision making is more likely to maintain mosaic stability. In contrast, increasing the inherent conservation value of either forests or grasslands is more likely to induce large oscillations-especially for forests-due to feedback from rarity-based conservation decisions. Given the potential for complex dynamics, empirically grounded nonlinear dynamical models should play a larger role in policy formulation for human-environment mosaic ecosystems.

Study and characterization of tobacco mosaic virus head-to-tail assembly assisted by aniline polymerization.

PubMed

Niu, Zhongwei; Bruckman, Michael; Kotakadi, Venkata S; He, Jinbo; Emrick, Todd; Russell, Thomas P; Yang, Lin; Wang, Qian

2006-07-28

One-dimensional composite nanofibres with narrow dispersity, high aspect ratio and high processibility have been fabricated by head-to-tail self-assembly of rod-like tobacco mosaic virus assisted by aniline polymerization, which can promote many potential applications including electronics, optics, sensing and biomedical engineering.

Creative Mosaics, Art Education: 6683.14.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marinaccio, Louis M.

This quinmester guide describes a laboratory course designed to offer opportunities for experimentation in mosaic design by exploring uses of various techniques and materials. The course, which is offered to 7th through 12th grade pre-vocational students, emphasizes the use of design in relation to creative composition. Students learn to design,…

Synthesis and Characterization of Bionanoparticle-Silica Composites and Mesoporous Silica with Large Pores

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

Niu, Z.; Yang, L.; Kabisatpathy, S.

2009-03-24

A sol-gel process has been developed to incorporate bionanoparticles, such as turnip yellow mosaic virus, cowpea mosaic virus, tobacco mosaic virus, and ferritin into silica, while maintaining the integrity and morphology of the particles. The structures of the resulting materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, small angle X-ray scattering, and N{sub 2} adsorption-desorption analysis. The results show that the shape and surface morphology of the bionanoparticles are largely preserved after being embedded into silica. After removal of the bionanoparticles by calcination, mesoporous silica with monodisperse pores, having the shape and surface morphology of the bionanoparticles replicated inside the silica,more » was produced,. This study is expected to lead to both functional composite materials and mesoporous silica with structurally well-defined large pores.« less

Viking Lander Mosaics of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, E. C.

1985-01-01

The Viking Lander 1 and 2 cameras acquired many high-resolution pictures of the Chryse Planitia and Utopia Planitia landing sites. Based on computer-processed data of a selected number of these pictures, eight high-resolution mosaics were published by the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the Atlas of Mars, Miscellaneous Investigation Series. The mosaics are composites of the best picture elements (pixels) of all the Lander pictures used. Each complete mosaic extends 342.5 deg in azimuth, from approximately 5 deg above the horizon to 60 deg below, and incorporates approximately 15 million pixels. Each mosaic is shown in a set of five sheets. One sheet contains the full panorama from one camera taken in either morning or evening. The other four sheets show sectors of the panorama at an enlarged scale; when joined together they make a panorama approximately 2' X 9'.

Composite x-ray image assembly for large-field digital mammography with one- and two-dimensional positioning of a focal plane array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halama, G.; McAdoo, J.; Liu, H.

1998-01-01

To demonstrate the feasibility of a novel large-field digital mammography technique, a 1024 x 1024 pixel Loral charge-coupled device (CCD) focal plane array (FPA) was positioned in a mammographic field with one- and two-dimensional scan sequences to obtain 950 x 1800 pixel and 3600 x 3600 pixel composite images, respectively. These experiments verify that precise positioning of FPAs produced seamless composites and that the CCD mosaic concept has potential for high-resolution, large-field imaging. The proposed CCD mosaic concept resembles a checkerboard pattern with spacing left between the CCDs for the driver and readout electronics. To obtain a complete x-ray image, the mosaic must be repositioned four times, with an x-ray exposure at each position. To reduce the patient dose, a lead shield with appropriately patterned holes is placed between the x-ray source and the patient. The high-precision motorized translation stages and the fiber-coupled-scintillating-screen-CCD sensor assembly were placed in the position usually occupied by the film cassette. Because of the high mechanical precision, seamless composites were constructed from the subimages. This paper discusses the positioning, image alignment procedure, and composite image results. The paper only addresses the formation of a seamless composite image from subimages and will not consider the effects of the lead shield, multiple CCDs, or the speed of motion.

Land cover and forest formation distributions for St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Eustatius, Grenada and Barbados from decision tree classification of cloud-cleared satellite imagery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Helmer, E.H.; Kennaway, T.A.; Pedreros, D.H.; Clark, M.L.; Marcano-Vega, H.; Tieszen, L.L.; Ruzycki, T.R.; Schill, S.R.; Carrington, C.M.S.

2008-01-01

Satellite image-based mapping of tropical forests is vital to conservation planning. Standard methods for automated image classification, however, limit classification detail in complex tropical landscapes. In this study, we test an approach to Landsat image interpretation on four islands of the Lesser Antilles, including Grenada and St. Kitts, Nevis and St. Eustatius, testing a more detailed classification than earlier work in the latter three islands. Secondly, we estimate the extents of land cover and protected forest by formation for five islands and ask how land cover has changed over the second half of the 20th century. The image interpretation approach combines image mosaics and ancillary geographic data, classifying the resulting set of raster data with decision tree software. Cloud-free image mosaics for one or two seasons were created by applying regression tree normalization to scene dates that could fill cloudy areas in a base scene. Such mosaics are also known as cloud-filled, cloud-minimized or cloud-cleared imagery, mosaics, or composites. The approach accurately distinguished several classes that more standard methods would confuse; the seamless mosaics aided reference data collection; and the multiseason imagery allowed us to separate drought deciduous forests and woodlands from semi-deciduous ones. Cultivated land areas declined 60 to 100 percent from about 1945 to 2000 on several islands. Meanwhile, forest cover has increased 50 to 950%. This trend will likely continue where sugar cane cultivation has dominated. Like the island of Puerto Rico, most higher-elevation forest formations are protected in formal or informal reserves. Also similarly, lowland forests, which are drier forest types on these islands, are not well represented in reserves. Former cultivated lands in lowland areas could provide lands for new reserves of drier forest types. The land-use history of these islands may provide insight for planners in countries currently considering lowland forest clearing for agriculture. Copyright 2008 College of Arts and Sciences.

Nucleic acids encoding mosaic HIV-1 gag proteins

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

Korber, Bette T.; Perkins, Simon; Bhattacharya, Tanmoy

The disclosure generally relates to an immunogenic composition (e.g., a vaccine) and, in particular, to a polyvalent immunogenic composition, such as a polyvalent HIV vaccine, and to methods of using same.

Digital Mammography with a Mosaic of CCD Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jalink, Antony, Jr. (Inventor); McAdoo, James A. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A digital mammography device uses a mosaic of electronic digital imaging arrays to scan an x-ray image is discussed. The mosaic of arrays is repositioned several times to expose different portions of the image, until the entire image is scanned. The data generated by the arrays during each exposure is stored in a computer. After the final exposure, the computer combines data of the several partial images to produce a composite of the original x-ray image. An aperture plate is used to reduce scatter and the overall exposure of the patient to x-rays.

The Landsat Phenology Study (LaPS): Preliminary CONUS Results for 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henebry, Geoffrey M.; Roy, David P.; Ju, Junchang; Kovalskyy, Valeriy

2010-05-01

Most studies of land surface phenology (LSP) have used time series derived from moderate spatial resolution satellite sensor data (e.g., AVHRR, MODIS, VEGETATION) because these data are freely available and because they provide an acceptable trade-off between higher, near daily, temporal frequency of observation needed to reduce cloud contamination against lower (500m-5km) spatial resolution. The recent opening of the USGS Landsat archive to web-enabled access presents the opportunity to explore how well Landsat time series can portray LSPs at high spatial resolution. The NASA Web-enabled Landsat data (WELD) project (http://landsat.usgs.gov/WELD.php) has produced 30m composited mosaics for all the conterminous US (CONUS) from Landsat 7 ETM+ data. The composited mosaics are generated on monthly, seasonal, and annual basis and include spectral reflectance, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the acquisition date of each composited pixel. The WELD compositing approach is designed to select valid land surface observations with minimal cloud, snow, and atmospheric contamination. We extracted 30m pixel time series from the twelve monthly WELD composited mosaics for 2008 at 320 locations across the CONUS where we have ground phenological observations that are heterogeneous with respect to the types of plants observed, the phenophases recorded (predominantly spring green-up) and the ground sampling protocols used. The ground data came from several sources, including the cloned lilac/honeysuckle network, the Phenocam network, five LTER sites (H.J. Andrews, Harvard Forest, Jornada, Konza Prairie, and Sevilleta), and a private woodlot in Maine. Temporal profiles of the 30m WELD Landsat NDVI, the green NDVI (GNDVI), the normalized difference infrared index (NDII) derived from the composited reflectances, are compared to the ground observations. Results show that (i) inclusion of the Landsat acquisition date for each pixel improves the characterization of the LSP, (ii) the use of the NDII and GNDVI in conjunction with the NDVI improves identification of the onset both of canopy development and senescence, and (iii) the WELD compositing approach and the resulting mosaics provide a rich new data source for phenological investigations.

The Landsat Phenology Study (LaPS): Preliminary CONUS Results for 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henebry, G. M.; Roy, D.; Ju, J.; Kovalskyy, V.

2009-12-01

Most studies of land surface phenology (LSP) have used time series derived from moderate spatial resolution satellite sensor data (e.g., AVHRR, MODIS, VEGETATION) because these data are freely available and because they provide an acceptable trade-off between higher, near daily, temporal frequency of observation needed to reduce cloud contamination against lower (500m-5km) spatial resolution. The recent opening of the USGS Landsat archive to web-enabled access presents the opportunity to explore how well Landsat time series can portray LSPs at high spatial resolution. The NASA Web-enabled Landsat data (WELD) project has produced 30m composited mosaics for all the conterminous US (CONUS) from Landsat 7 ETM+ data. The composited mosaics are generated on monthly, seasonal, and annual basis and include spectral reflectance, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the acquisition date of each composited pixel. The WELD compositing approach is designed to select valid land surface observations with minimal cloud, snow, and atmospheric contamination. We extracted 30m pixel time series from the twelve monthly WELD composited mosaics for 2008 at 320 locations across the CONUS where we have ground phenological observations that are heterogeneous with respect to the types of plants observed, the phenophases recorded (predominantly spring green-up) and the ground sampling protocols used. The ground data came from several sources, including the cloned lilac/honeysuckle network, the Phenocam network, five LTER sites (H.J. Andrews, Harvard Forest, Jornada, Konza Prairie, and Sevilleta), and a private woodlot in New Hampshire. Temporal profiles of the 30m WELD Landsat NDVI and the normalized difference infrared index (NDII) derived from the composited reflectances, are compared to the ground observations. Results show that (i) inclusion of the Landsat acquisition date for each pixel improves the characterization of the LSP, (ii) the use of the NDII in conjunction with the NDVI improves identification of the onset both of canopy development and senescence, and (iii) the WELD compositing approach and the resulting mosaics provide a rich new data source for phenological investigations.

Beta-lactam resistance in the gram negatives: increasing complexity of conditional, composite and multiply resistant phenotypes.

PubMed

Iredell, Jon; Thomas, Lee; Espedido, Björn

2006-12-01

The greatest impact of microbiology data on clinical care is in the critically ill. Unfortunately, this is also the area in which microbiology laboratories are most often non-contributive. Attempts to move to rapid, culture-independent diagnostics are driven by the need to expedite urgent results. This is difficult in Gram-negative infection because of the complexity of the antibiotic resistance phenotype. Here, we discuss resistance to modern beta-lactams as a case in point. Recent outbreaks of transmissible carbapenem resistance among Gram-negative enteric pathogens in Sydney and Melbourne serve to illustrate the pitfalls of traditional phenotypical approaches. A better understanding of the epidemiology and mosaic nature of antibiotic resistance elements in the microflora is needed for us to move forward.

A study of structural properties of gene network graphs for mathematical modeling of integrated mosaic gene networks.

PubMed

Petrovskaya, Olga V; Petrovskiy, Evgeny D; Lavrik, Inna N; Ivanisenko, Vladimir A

2017-04-01

Gene network modeling is one of the widely used approaches in systems biology. It allows for the study of complex genetic systems function, including so-called mosaic gene networks, which consist of functionally interacting subnetworks. We conducted a study of a mosaic gene networks modeling method based on integration of models of gene subnetworks by linear control functionals. An automatic modeling of 10,000 synthetic mosaic gene regulatory networks was carried out using computer experiments on gene knockdowns/knockouts. Structural analysis of graphs of generated mosaic gene regulatory networks has revealed that the most important factor for building accurate integrated mathematical models, among those analyzed in the study, is data on expression of genes corresponding to the vertices with high properties of centrality.

Molecular characterisation of a mosaicism with a complex chromosome rearrangement: evidence for coincident chromosome healing by telomere capture and neo‐telomere formation

PubMed Central

Chabchoub, Elyes; Rodríguez, Laura; Galán, Enrique; Mansilla, Elena; Martínez‐Fernandez, Maria Luisa; Martínez‐Frías, Maria Luisa; Fryns, Jean‐Pierre; Vermeesch, Joris Robert

2007-01-01

Background Broken chromosomes must acquire new telomeric “caps” to be structurally stable. Chromosome healing can be mediated either by telomerase through neo‐telomere synthesis or by telomere capture. Aim To unravel the mechanism(s) generating complex chromosomal mosaicisms and healing broken chromosomes. Methods G banding, array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), fluorescence in‐situ hybridisation (FISH) and short tandem repeat analysis (STR) was performed on a girl presenting with mental retardation, facial dysmorphism, urogenital malformations and limb anomalies carrying a complex chromosomal mosaicism. Results & discussion The karyotype showed a de novo chromosome rearrangement with two cell lines: one cell line with a deletion 9pter and one cell line carrying an inverted duplication 9p and a non‐reciprocal translocation 5pter fragment. aCGH, FISH and STR analysis enabled the deduction of the most likely sequence of events generating this complex mosaic. During embryogenesis, a double‐strand break occurred on the paternal chromosome 9. Following mitotic separation of both broken sister chromatids, one acquired a telomere vianeo‐telomere formation, while the other generated a dicentric chromosome which underwent breakage during anaphase, giving rise to the del inv dup(9) that was subsequently healed by chromosome 5 telomere capture. Conclusion Broken chromosomes can coincidently be rescued by both telomere capture and neo‐telomere synthesis. PMID:17172463

Arctic systems in the Quaternary: Ecological collision, faunal mosaics and the consequences of wobbling climate

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Climate oscillations and episodic or recurrent processes interact with evolution, ecology and biogeography determining the structure and complex mosaic that is the biosphere. Parasites and parasite-host assemblages, within an expansive environmental matrix determined by climate, are key components...

Custom Sky-Image Mosaics from NASA's Information Power Grid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacob, Joseph; Collier, James; Craymer, Loring; Curkendall, David

2005-01-01

yourSkyG is the second generation of the software described in yourSky: Custom Sky-Image Mosaics via the Internet (NPO-30556), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 27, No. 6 (June 2003), page 45. Like its predecessor, yourSkyG supplies custom astronomical image mosaics of sky regions specified by requesters using client computers connected to the Internet. Whereas yourSky constructs mosaics on a local multiprocessor system, yourSkyG performs the computations on NASA s Information Power Grid (IPG), which is capable of performing much larger mosaicking tasks. (The IPG is high-performance computation and data grid that integrates geographically distributed 18 NASA Tech Briefs, September 2005 computers, databases, and instruments.) A user of yourSkyG can specify parameters describing a mosaic to be constructed. yourSkyG then constructs the mosaic on the IPG and makes it available for downloading by the user. The complexities of determining which input images are required to construct a mosaic, retrieving the required input images from remote sky-survey archives, uploading the images to the computers on the IPG, performing the computations remotely on the Grid, and downloading the resulting mosaic from the Grid are all transparent to the user

MOSAIC: An organic geochemical and sedimentological database for marine surface sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavagna, Maria Luisa; Usman, Muhammed; De Avelar, Silvania; Eglinton, Timothy

2015-04-01

Modern ocean sediments serve as the interface between the biosphere and the geosphere, play a key role in biogeochemical cycles and provide a window on how contemporary processes are written into the sedimentary record. Research over past decades has resulted in a wealth of information on the content and composition of organic matter in marine sediments, with ever-more sophisticated techniques continuing to yield information of greater detail and as an accelerating pace. However, there has been no attempt to synthesize this wealth of information. We are establishing a new database that incorporates information relevant to local, regional and global-scale assessment of the content, source and fate of organic materials accumulating in contemporary marine sediments. In the MOSAIC (Modern Ocean Sediment Archive and Inventory of Carbon) database, particular emphasis is placed on molecular and isotopic information, coupled with relevant contextual information (e.g., sedimentological properties) relevant to elucidating factors that influence the efficiency and nature of organic matter burial. The main features of MOSAIC include: (i) Emphasis on continental margin sediments as major loci of carbon burial, and as the interface between terrestrial and oceanic realms; (ii) Bulk to molecular-level organic geochemical properties and parameters, including concentration and isotopic compositions; (iii) Inclusion of extensive contextual data regarding the depositional setting, in particular with respect to sedimentological and redox characteristics. The ultimate goal is to create an open-access instrument, available on the web, to be utilized for research and education by the international community who can both contribute to, and interrogate the database. The submission will be accomplished by means of a pre-configured table available on the MOSAIC webpage. The information on the filled tables will be checked and eventually imported, via the Structural Query Language (SQL), into MOSAIC. MOSAIC is programmed with PostgreSQL, an open-source database management system. In order to locate geographically the data, each element/datum is associated to a latitude, longitude and depth, facilitating creation of a geospatial database which can be easily interfaced to a Geographic Information System (GIS). In order to make the database broadly accessible, a HTML-PHP language-based website will ultimately be created and linked to the database. Consulting the website will allow for both data visualization as well as export of data in txt format for utilization with common software solutions (e.g. ODV, Excel, Matlab, Python, Word, PPT, Illustrator…). In this very early stage, MOSAIC presently contains approximately 10000 analyses conducted on more than 1800 samples which were collected from over 1600 different geographical locations around the world. Through participation of the international research community, MOSAIC will rapidly develop into a rich archive and versatile tool for investigation of distribution and composition of organic matter accumulating in seafloor sediments. The present contribution will outline the structure of MOSAIC, provide examples of data output, and solicit feedback on desirable features to be included in the database and associated software tools.

All About That Basin

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-02-25

This mosaic of Caloris basin is an enhanced-color composite overlain on a monochrome mosaic featured in a previous post. The color mosaic is made up of WAC images obtained when both the spacecraft and the Sun were overhead, conditions best for discerning variations in albedo, or brightness. The monochrome mosaic is made up of WAC and NAC images obtained at off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and with visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features. The combination of the two datasets allows the correlation of geologic features with their color properties. In portions of the scene, color differences from image to image are apparent. Ongoing calibration efforts by the MESSENGER team strive to minimize these differences. Caloris basin has been flooded by lavas that appear orange in this mosaic. Post-flooding craters have excavated material from beneath the surface. The larger of these craters have exposed low-reflectance material (blue in this mosaic) from beneath the surface lavas, likely giving a glimpse of the original basin floor material. Analysis of these craters yields an estimate of the thickness of the volcanic layer: 2.5-3.5 km (1.6-2.2 mi.). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19216

Global, Frequent Landsat-class Mosaics for Real Time Crop Monitoring and Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varlyguin, D.; Crutchfield, J.; Hulina, S.; Reynolds, C. A.; Frantz, R.; Tetrault, R. L.

2016-12-01

The presentation will discuss the current status of GDA technology for operational, automated generation of near global mosaics of Landsat-class data for visualization, monitoring, and analysis. Current version of the mosaic combines Landsat 8 and Landsat 7. Sentinel-2A and ASTER imagery are to be added shortly. The mosaics are surface reflectance calibrated and are analysis ready. They offer full spatial resolution and all multi-spectral bands of the source imagery. Each mosaic covers all major agricultural regions of the world for the last 18 months with a 16 day frequency. The mosaics are updated in real-time, as soon as GDA downloads the imagery, calibrates it to the surface reflectances, and generates data gap masks (all typically under 10 minutes for a Landsat scene). Best pixel value from available opportunities is selected during the mosaic update. The technology eliminates the complex, multi-step, hands-on process of data preparation and provides imagery ready for repetitive, field-to-country analysis of crop conditions, progress, acreages, yield, and production. The mosaics are used for real-time, on-line interactive mapping and time series drilling via GeoSynergy webGIS platform and for off line in-season crop mapping. USDA FAS uses this product for persistent monitoring of selected countries and their croplands and for in-season crop analysis. The presentation will overview Landsat-class mosaics and their use in support of USDA FAS efforts.

Mosaic tetracycline resistance genes and their flanking regions in Bifidobacterium thermophilum and Lactobacillus johnsonii.

PubMed

van Hoek, Angela H A M; Mayrhofer, Sigrid; Domig, Konrad J; Flórez, Ana B; Ammor, Mohammed S; Mayo, Baltasar; Aarts, Henk J M

2008-01-01

For the first time, mosaic tetracycline resistance genes were identified in Lactobacillus johnsonii and in Bifidobacterium thermophilum strains. The L. johnsonii strain investigated contains a complex hybrid gene, tet(O/W/32/O/W/O), whereas the five bifidobacterial strains possess two different mosaic tet genes: i.e., tet(W/32/O) and tet(O/W). As reported by others, the crossover points of the mosaic tet gene segments were found at similar positions within the genes, suggesting a hot spot for recombination. Analysis of the sequences flanking these genes revealed that the upstream part corresponds to the 5' end of the mosaic open reading frame. In contrast, the downstream region was shown to be more variable. Surprisingly, in one of the B. thermophilum strains a third tet determinant was identified, coding for the efflux pump Tet(L).

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bindschadler, Robert; Vornberger, P.; Fleming, A.; Fox, A.; Mullins, J.; Binnie, D.; Paulsen, S.J.; Granneman, Brian J.; Gorodetzky, D.

2008-01-01

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) is the first true-color, high-spatial-resolution image of the seventh continent. It is constructed from nearly 1100 individually selected Landsat-7 ETM+ scenes. Each image was orthorectified and adjusted for geometric, sensor and illumination variations to a standardized, almost seamless surface reflectance product. Mosaicing to avoid clouds produced a high quality, nearly cloud-free benchmark data set of Antarctica for the International Polar Year from images collected primarily during 1999-2003. Multiple color composites and enhancements were generated to illustrate additional characteristics of the multispectral data including: the true appearance of the surface; discrimination between snow and bare ice; reflectance variations within bright snow; recovered reflectance values in regions of sensor saturation; and subtle topographic variations associated with ice flow. LIMA is viewable and individual scenes or user defined portions of the mosaic are downloadable at http://lima.usgs.gov. Educational materials associated with LIMA are available at http://lima.nasa.gov.

Placing the pieces: Reconstructing the original property mosaic in a warrant and patent watershed

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bain, D.J.; Brush, G.S.

2005-01-01

Recent research shows that land use history is an important determinant of current ecosystem function. In the United States, characterization of land use change following European settlement requires reconstruction of the original property mosaic. However, this task is difficult in unsystematically surveyed areas east of the Appalachian Mountains. The Gwynns Falls watershed (Baltimore, MD) was originally surveyed in the 1600-1700s under a system of warrants and patents (commonly known as 'metes and bounds'). A method for the reconstruction and mapping of warrant and patent properties is presented and used to map the original property mosaic in the Gwynns Falls watershed. Using the mapped mosaic, the persistence of properties and property lines in the current Gwynns Falls landscape is considered. The results of this research indicate that as in agricultural areas, the original property lines in the Gwynns Falls watershed are persistent. At the same time, the results suggest that the property mosaic in heavily urbanized/suburbanized areas is generally 'reset.' Further, trends in surveying technique, parcel size, and settlement patterns cause property line density and property shape complexity to increase in the less urbanized upper watershed. The persistence of original patterns may be damping expression of heterogeneity gradients in this urban landscape. This spatial pattern of complexity in the original mosaic is directly opposite of hypothesized patterns of landscape heterogeneity arising from urbanization. The technique reported here and the resulting observations are important for landscape pattern studies in areas settled under unsystematic survey systems, especially the heavily urbanized areas of the eastern United States. ?? 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Genetic characterization of North American populations of the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella) and dry bulb mite (Aceria tulipae)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella Keifer, transmits at least three harmful viruses, wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), high plains virus (HPV), and Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) throughout the Great Plains. This virus complex is considered to be the most serious d...

Investigation of LANDSAT imagery on correlations between ore deposits and major shield structures in Finland

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tuominen, H. V. (Principal Investigator); Kuosmanen, V.

1977-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Several regional lineaments appear to correlate with the distribution of ore deposits and showings. Combined study of LANDSAT summer and winter mosaics and color composites of geological, geomorphological, and geophysical maps makes the correlation more perceptible. The revealed pattern of significant lineaments in northern Finland is fairly regular. The most significant lineaments seen in LANDSAT mosaics are not detectable in single images.

Models and observations of Arctic melt ponds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golden, K. M.

2016-12-01

During the Arctic melt season, the sea ice surface undergoes a striking transformation from vast expanses of snow covered ice to complex mosaics of ice and melt ponds. Sea ice albedo, a key parameter in climate modeling, is largely determined by the complex evolution of melt pond configurations. In fact, ice-albedo feedback has played a significant role in the recent declines of the summer Arctic sea ice pack. However, understanding melt pond evolution remains a challenge to improving climate projections. It has been found that as the ponds grow and coalesce, the fractal dimension of their boundaries undergoes a transition from 1 to about 2, around a critical length scale of 100 square meters in area. As the ponds evolve they take complex, self-similar shapes with boundaries resembling space-filling curves. I will outline how mathematical models of composite materials and statistical physics, such as percolation and Ising models, are being used to describe this evolution and predict key geometrical parameters that agree very closely with observations.

Traditional cattle grazing in a mosaic alkali landscape: effects on grassland biodiversity along a moisture gradient.

PubMed

Török, Péter; Valkó, Orsolya; Deák, Balázs; Kelemen, András; Tóthmérész, Béla

2014-01-01

Extensively managed pastures are of crucial importance in sustaining biodiversity both in local- and landscape-level. Thus, re-introduction of traditional grazing management is a crucial issue in grassland conservation actions worldwide. Traditional grazing with robust cattle breeds in low stocking rates is considered to be especially useful to mimic natural grazing regimes, but well documented case-studies are surprisingly rare on this topic. Our goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional Hungarian Grey cattle grazing as a conservation action in a mosaic alkali landscape. We asked the following questions: (i) How does cattle grazing affect species composition and diversity of the grasslands? (ii) What are the effects of grazing on short-lived and perennial noxious species? (iii) Are there distinct effects of grazing in dry-, mesophilous- and wet grassland types? Vegetation of fenced and grazed plots in a 200-ha sized habitat complex (secondary dry grasslands and pristine mesophilous- and wet alkali grasslands) was sampled from 2006-2009 in East-Hungary. We found higher diversity scores in grazed plots compared to fenced ones in mesophilous- and wet grasslands. Higher cover of noxious species was typical in fenced plots compared to their grazed counterparts in the last year in every studied grassland type. We found an increasing effect of grazing from the dry- towards the wet grassland types. The year-to-year differences also followed similar pattern: the site-dependent effects were the lowest in the dry grassland and an increasing effect was detected along the moisture gradient. We found that extensive Hungarian Grey cattle grazing is an effective tool to suppress noxious species and to create a mosaic vegetation structure, which enables to maintain high species richness in the landscape. Hungarian Grey cattle can feed in open habitats along long moisture gradient, thus in highly mosaic landscapes this breed can be the most suitable livestock type.

AN INDICATOR OF FOREST DYNAMICS USING A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE MOSAIC

EPA Science Inventory

The composition of a landscape is a fundamental indicator in land-cover pattern assessments. The objective of this paper was to evaluate a landscape composition indicator called ‘landscape mosaic’ as a framework for interpreting land-cover dynamics over a 9-year period in a 360,...

Compositional patterns in the genomes of unicellular eukaryotes.

PubMed

Costantini, Maria; Alvarez-Valin, Fernando; Costantini, Susan; Cammarano, Rosalia; Bernardi, Giorgio

2013-11-05

The genomes of multicellular eukaryotes are compartmentalized in mosaics of isochores, large and fairly homogeneous stretches of DNA that belong to a small number of families characterized by different average GC levels, by different gene concentration (that increase with GC), different chromatin structures, different replication timing in the cell cycle, and other different properties. A question raised by these basic results concerns how far back in evolution the compartmentalized organization of the eukaryotic genomes arose. In the present work we approached this problem by studying the compositional organization of the genomes from the unicellular eukaryotes for which full sequences are available, the sample used being representative. The average GC levels of the genomes from unicellular eukaryotes cover an extremely wide range (19%-60% GC) and the compositional patterns of individual genomes are extremely different but all genomes tested show a compositional compartmentalization. The average GC range of the genomes of unicellular eukaryotes is very broad (as broad as that of prokaryotes) and individual compositional patterns cover a very broad range from very narrow to very complex. Both features are not surprising for organisms that are very far from each other both in terms of phylogenetic distances and of environmental life conditions. Most importantly, all genomes tested, a representative sample of all supergroups of unicellular eukaryotes, are compositionally compartmentalized, a major difference with prokaryotes.

The impact of human-environment interactions on the stability of forest-grassland mosaic ecosystems

PubMed Central

Innes, Clinton; Anand, Madhur; Bauch, Chris T.

2013-01-01

Forest-grassland mosaic ecosystems can exhibit alternative stables states, whereby under the same environmental conditions, the ecosystem could equally well reside either in one state or another, depending on the initial conditions. We develop a mathematical model that couples a simplified forest-grassland mosaic model to a dynamic model of opinions about conservation priorities in a population, based on perceptions of ecosystem rarity. Weak human influence increases the region of parameter space where alternative stable states are possible. However, strong human influence precludes bistability, such that forest and grassland either co-exist at a single, stable equilibrium, or their relative abundance oscillates. Moreover, a perturbation can shift the system from a stable state to an oscillatory state. We conclude that human-environment interactions can qualitatively alter the composition of forest-grassland mosaic ecosystems. The human role in such systems should be viewed as dynamic, responsive element rather than as a fixed, unchanging entity. PMID:24048359

Seasonal contrasts in the response of coffee ants to agroforestry shade-tree management.

PubMed

Teodoro, A V; Sousa-Souto, L; Klein, A-M; Tscharntke, T

2010-12-01

In many tropical landscapes, agroforestry systems are the last forested ecosystems, providing shade, having higher humidity, mitigating potential droughts, and possessing more species than any other crop system. Here, we tested the hypothesis that higher levels of shade and associated humidity in agroforestry enhance coffee ant richness more during the dry than rainy season, comparing ant richness in 22 plots of three coffee agroforestry types in coastal Ecuador: simple-shade agroforests (intensively managed with low tree species diversity), complex-shade agroforests (extensively managed with intermediate tree species diversity) and abandoned coffee agroforests (abandoned for 10-15 yr and resembling secondary forests). Seasonality affected responses of ant richness but not composition to agroforestry management, in that most species were observed in abandoned coffee agroforests in the dry season. In the rainy season, however, most species were found in simple-shade agroforests, and complex agroforestry being intermediate. Foraging coffee ants species composition did not change differently according to agroforestry type and season. Results show that shade appears to be most important in the dry seasons, while a mosaic of different land-use types may provide adequate environmental conditions to ant species, maximizing landscape-wide richness throughout the year. © 2010 Entomological Society of America

Connectivity and propagule sources composition drive ditch plant metacommunity structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Favre-Bac, Lisa; Ernoult, Aude; Mony, Cendrine; Rantier, Yann; Nabucet, Jean; Burel, Françoise

2014-11-01

The fragmentation of agricultural landscapes has a major impact on biodiversity. In addition to habitat loss, dispersal limitation increasingly appears as a significant driver of biodiversity decline. Landscape linear elements, like ditches, may reduce the negative impacts of fragmentation by enhancing connectivity for many organisms, in addition to providing refuge habitats. To characterize these effects, we investigated the respective roles of propagule source composition and connectivity at the landscape scale on hydrochorous and non-hydrochorous ditch bank plant metacommunities. Twenty-seven square sites (0.5 km2 each) were selected in an agricultural lowland of northern France. At each site, plant communities were sampled on nine ditch banks (totaling 243 ditches). Variables characterizing propagule sources composition and connectivity were calculated for landscape mosaic and ditch network models. The landscape mosaic influenced only non-hydrochorous species, while the ditch network impacted both hydrochorous and non-hydrochorous species. Non-hydrochorous metacommunities were dependent on a large set of land-use elements, either within the landscape mosaic or adjacent to the ditch network, whereas hydrochorous plant metacommunities were only impacted by the presence of ditches adjacent to crops and roads. Ditch network connectivity also influenced both hydrochorous and non-hydrochorous ditch bank plant metacommunity structure, suggesting that beyond favoring hydrochory, ditches may also enhance plant dispersal by acting on other dispersal vectors. Increasing propagule sources heterogeneity and connectivity appeared to decrease within-metacommunity similarity within landscapes. Altogether, our results suggest that the ditch network's composition and configuration impacts plant metacommunity structure by affecting propagule dispersal possibilities, with contrasted consequences depending on species' dispersal vectors.

Real Time, On Line Crop Monitoring and Analysis with Near Global Landsat-class Mosaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varlyguin, D.; Hulina, S.; Crutchfield, J.; Reynolds, C. A.; Frantz, R.

2015-12-01

The presentation will discuss the current status of GDA technology for operational, automated generation of 10-30 meter near global mosaics of Landsat-class data for visualization, monitoring, and analysis. Current version of the mosaic combines Landsat 8 and Landsat 7. Sentinel-2A imagery will be added once it is operationally available. The mosaics are surface reflectance calibrated and are analysis ready. They offer full spatial resolution and all multi-spectral bands of the source imagery. Each mosaic covers all major agricultural regions of the world and 16 day time window. 2014-most current dates are supported. The mosaics are updated in real-time, as soon as GDA downloads Landsat imagery, calibrates it to the surface reflectances, and generates data gap masks (all typically under 10 minutes for a Landsat scene). The technology eliminates the complex, multi-step, hands-on process of data preparation and provides imagery ready for repetitive, field-to-country analysis of crop conditions, progress, acreages, yield, and production. The mosaics can be used for real-time, on-line interactive mapping and time series drilling via GeoSynergy webGIS platform. The imagery is of great value for improved, persistent monitoring of global croplands and for the operational in-season analysis and mapping of crops across the globe in USDA FAS purview as mandated by the US government. The presentation will overview operational processing of Landsat-class mosaics in support of USDA FAS efforts and will look into 2015 and beyond.

Compositional variations on Mercury: Results from the Victoria quadrangle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zambon, Francesca; Carli, Cristian; Galluzzi, Valentina; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; Giacomini, Lorenza; Massironi, Matteo; Palumbo, Pasquale; Cremonese, Gabriele

2017-04-01

Mercury was recently explored by the MESSENGER mission that orbited around the planet from March 2011 until April 2015 allowing a complete coverage of its surface. The Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), mapped the Hermean surface at different spatial resolutions, due to variable altitude of the spacecraft from the surface. MDIS consists of two instruments: a Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) centered at 747nm, which acquired high-resolution images for the geological analysis, and the Wide Angle Camera (WAC), provided with 11 filters dedicated to the compositional analysis, operating in a range of wavelengths between 395 and 1040 nm. Mercury's surface has been divided into 15 quadrangles for mapping purposes. Here, we analyze the results obtained by the color composite mosaic of the quadrangle Victoria (H02) located at longitudes 270 ° - 360 ° E, and latitudes 22.5 ° N - 65 ° N. We produced a color mosaic, by using the images relative to the filters with the best spatial coverage. To obtain the 8-color mosaic of the Victoria quadrangle, we calibrated and georefenced the WAC raw images. Afterwards, we applied the Hapke photometric correction by using the parameters derived by Domingue et al. (2015). We projected and coregistered the data, and finally, we produced the mosaic. To analyze the compositional variations of the Victoria quadrangle, we consider different techniques of analysis, such as specific RGB color combinations and band ratios, which emphasize the different compositional characteristics of the surface. Furthermore, the use of clustering and classification methods allows for recognizing various terrain units, in terms of reflectance and spectral characteristics. In the H02 quadrangle, we observed a dichotomy in the RGB mosaic (R: second principal component (PC2), G: first principal component (PC1), B: 430/1000 nm; see Denevi et al. 2009) between the northern region of the quadrangle, dominated by smooth plains, and the southern part, characterized by intercrater plains. Moreover, we found a variation in terms of spectral slopes and reflectance within specific craters. The application of an unsupervised clustering method, such as the k-mean, to the obtained 8-color mosaic, allowed for identifying terrain units with similar reflectance. The application of this method to selected band ratios (628nm/433nm, 828nm/628nm, 996nm/828nm, 996nm/433nm), emphasizes areas with similar spectral characteristics, such as the Hokusai crater rays. This work, integrated to the 1:3M photo-interpreted geologic maps of Mercury based on MDIS data (Galluzzi et al., 2016), is fundamental for producing a complete and advanced geologic map of Hermean's surface. Moreover, the identification of regions of interest, and specific localized features, is useful to define possible targets for the SIMBIO-SYS instrument onboard the future BepiColombo mission. This work was supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) within the SIMBIO-SYS project (ASI-INAF agreement no. I/022/10/0). References: Domingue et al. (2015), Icarus 257, 477-488; Denevi et al. (2009), Science 324 (5927), 613-618; Galluzzi et al. (2016), Journal of Maps 12.

Influence of land mosaic composition and structure on patchy populations: the case of the water vole (Arvicola sapidus) in Mediterranean farmland.

PubMed

Pita, Ricardo; Mira, António; Beja, Pedro

2013-01-01

The ability of patchy populations to persist in human-dominated landscapes is often assessed using focal patch approaches, in which the local occurrence or abundance of a species is related to the properties of individual patches and the surrounding landscape context. However, useful additional insights could probably be gained through broader, mosaic-level approaches, whereby whole land mosaics with contrasting patch-network and matrix characteristics are the units of investigation. In this study we addressed this issue, analysing how the southern water vole (Arvicola sapidus) responds to variables describing patch-network and matrix properties within replicated Mediterranean farmland mosaics, across a gradient of agricultural intensification. Patch-network characteristics had a dominant effect, with the total amount of habitat positively influencing both the occurrence of water voles and the proportion of area occupied in land mosaics. The proportions of patches and area occupied by the species were positively influenced by mean patch size, and negatively so by patch isolation. Matrix effects were weak, although there was a tendency for a higher proportion of occupied patches in more intensive, irrigated agricultural landscapes, particularly during the dry season. In terms of conservation, results suggest that water voles may be able to cope well with, or even be favoured by, the on-going expansion of irrigated agriculture in Mediterranean dry-lands, provided that a number of patches of wet herbaceous vegetation are maintained within the farmland mosaic. Overall, our study suggests that the mosaic-level approach may provide a useful framework to understand the responses of patchy populations to land use change.

Intersection of diverse neuronal genomes and neuropsychiatric disease: The Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network.

PubMed

McConnell, Michael J; Moran, John V; Abyzov, Alexej; Akbarian, Schahram; Bae, Taejeong; Cortes-Ciriano, Isidro; Erwin, Jennifer A; Fasching, Liana; Flasch, Diane A; Freed, Donald; Ganz, Javier; Jaffe, Andrew E; Kwan, Kenneth Y; Kwon, Minseok; Lodato, Michael A; Mills, Ryan E; Paquola, Apua C M; Rodin, Rachel E; Rosenbluh, Chaggai; Sestan, Nenad; Sherman, Maxwell A; Shin, Joo Heon; Song, Saera; Straub, Richard E; Thorpe, Jeremy; Weinberger, Daniel R; Urban, Alexander E; Zhou, Bo; Gage, Fred H; Lehner, Thomas; Senthil, Geetha; Walsh, Christopher A; Chess, Andrew; Courchesne, Eric; Gleeson, Joseph G; Kidd, Jeffrey M; Park, Peter J; Pevsner, Jonathan; Vaccarino, Flora M

2017-04-28

Neuropsychiatric disorders have a complex genetic architecture. Human genetic population-based studies have identified numerous heritable sequence and structural genomic variants associated with susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disease. However, these germline variants do not fully account for disease risk. During brain development, progenitor cells undergo billions of cell divisions to generate the ~80 billion neurons in the brain. The failure to accurately repair DNA damage arising during replication, transcription, and cellular metabolism amid this dramatic cellular expansion can lead to somatic mutations. Somatic mutations that alter subsets of neuronal transcriptomes and proteomes can, in turn, affect cell proliferation and survival and lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. The long life span of individual neurons and the direct relationship between neural circuits and behavior suggest that somatic mutations in small populations of neurons can significantly affect individual neurodevelopment. The Brain Somatic Mosaicism Network has been founded to study somatic mosaicism both in neurotypical human brains and in the context of complex neuropsychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Rover's Wheel Churns Up Bright Martian Soil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired this mosaic on the mission's 1,202nd Martian day, or sol (May 21, 2007), while investigating the area east of the elevated plateau known as 'Home Plate' in the 'Columbia Hills.' The mosaic shows an area of disturbed soil, nicknamed 'Gertrude Weise' by scientists, made by Spirit's stuck right front wheel.

The trench exposed a patch of nearly pure silica, with the composition of opal. It could have come from either a hot-spring environment or an environment called a fumarole, in which acidic, volcanic steam rises through cracks. Either way, its formation involved water, and on Earth, both of these types of settings teem with microbial life.

Spirit acquired this mosaic with the panoramic camera's 753-nanometer, 535-nanometer, and 432-nanometer filters. The view presented here is an approximately true-color rendering.

Frugivorous bats maintain functional habitat connectivity in agricultural landscapes but rely strongly on natural forest fragments.

PubMed

Ripperger, Simon P; Kalko, Elisabeth K V; Rodríguez-Herrera, Bernal; Mayer, Frieder; Tschapka, Marco

2015-01-01

Anthropogenic changes in land use threaten biodiversity and ecosystem functioning by the conversion of natural habitat into agricultural mosaic landscapes, often with drastic consequences for the associated fauna. The first step in the development of efficient conservation plans is to understand movement of animals through complex habitat mosaics. Therefore, we studied ranging behavior and habitat use in Dermanura watsoni (Phyllostomidae), a frugivorous bat species that is a valuable seed disperser in degraded ecosystems. Radio-tracking of sixteen bats showed that the animals strongly rely on natural forest. Day roosts were exclusively located within mature forest fragments. Selection ratios showed that the bats foraged selectively within the available habitat and positively selected natural forest. However, larger daily ranges were associated with higher use of degraded habitats. Home range geometry and composition of focal foraging areas indicated that wider ranging bats performed directional foraging bouts from natural to degraded forest sites traversing the matrix over distances of up to three hundred meters. This behavior demonstrates the potential of frugivorous bats to functionally connect fragmented areas by providing ecosystem services between natural and degraded sites, and highlights the need for conservation of natural habitat patches within agricultural landscapes that meet the roosting requirements of bats.

Immunohistochemical Analysis Supports a Role for INI1/SMARCB1 in Hereditary Forms of Schwannomas, But Not in Solitary, Sporadic Schwannomas

PubMed Central

Patil, Sushama; Perry, Arie; MacCollin, Mia; Dong, Shumin; Betensky, Rebecca A.; Yeh, Tu-Hsueh; Gutmann, David H.; Stemmer-Rachamimov, Anat O.

2009-01-01

The INI1/SMARCB1 protein product (INI1), a component of a transcription complex, was recently implicated in the pathogenesis of schwannomas in two members of a single family with familial schwannomatosis1. Tumors were found to have both constitutional and somatic mutations of the SMARCB1 gene and showed a mosaic pattern of loss of INI1 expression by immunohistochemistry, suggesting a tumor composition of mixed null and haploinsufficient cells. To determine if this finding could be extended to all tumors arising in familial schwannomatosis, and how it compares to other multiple schwannoma syndromes (sporadic schwannomatosis and neurofibromatosis 2) as well as to sporadic, solitary schwannomas, we performed an immunohistochemistry analysis on 45 schwannomas from patients with multiple schwannoma syndromes and on 38 solitary, sporadic schwannomas from non-syndromic patients. A mosaic pattern of INI1 expression was seen in 93% of tumors from familial schwannomatosis patients, 55% of tumors from sporadic schwannomatosis, 83% of NF2-associated tumors and only 5% of solitary, sporadic schwannomas. These results confirm a role for INI1/SMARCB1 in multiple schwannoma syndromes and suggest that a different pathway of tumorigenesis occurs in solitary, sporadic tumors. PMID:18422762

Compositional patterns in the genomes of unicellular eukaryotes

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The genomes of multicellular eukaryotes are compartmentalized in mosaics of isochores, large and fairly homogeneous stretches of DNA that belong to a small number of families characterized by different average GC levels, by different gene concentration (that increase with GC), different chromatin structures, different replication timing in the cell cycle, and other different properties. A question raised by these basic results concerns how far back in evolution the compartmentalized organization of the eukaryotic genomes arose. Results In the present work we approached this problem by studying the compositional organization of the genomes from the unicellular eukaryotes for which full sequences are available, the sample used being representative. The average GC levels of the genomes from unicellular eukaryotes cover an extremely wide range (19%-60% GC) and the compositional patterns of individual genomes are extremely different but all genomes tested show a compositional compartmentalization. Conclusions The average GC range of the genomes of unicellular eukaryotes is very broad (as broad as that of prokaryotes) and individual compositional patterns cover a very broad range from very narrow to very complex. Both features are not surprising for organisms that are very far from each other both in terms of phylogenetic distances and of environmental life conditions. Most importantly, all genomes tested, a representative sample of all supergroups of unicellular eukaryotes, are compositionally compartmentalized, a major difference with prokaryotes. PMID:24188247

Global Color Views of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

About 1000 Viking Orbiter red- and violet-filter images have been processed to provide global color coverage of Mars at a scale of 1 km/pixel. Individual image frames acquired during a single spacecraft revolution were first processed through radiometric calibration, cosmetic cleanup, geometric control, reprojection, and mosaicing. We have produced a total of 57 'single-rev' mosaics. All of the mosaics are geometrically tied to the Mars Digital Image Mosaic, a black-and-white base map with a scale of 231 m/pixel. We selected a subset of single-rev mosaics that provide the best global coverage (least atmospheric obscuration and seasonal frost); photometric normalization was applied to remove atmospheric effects and normalize the variations in illumination and viewing angles. Finally, these normalized mosaics were combined into global mosaics. Global coverage is about 98% complete in the red-filter mosaic and 95% complete in the violet-filter mosaic. Gaps were filled by interpolation. A green-filter image was synthesized from an average of the red and violet filter data to complete a 3-color set. The Viking Orbiters acquired actual green-filter images for only about half of the Martian surface. The final mosaic has been reprojected into several map projections. The orthographic view shown here is centered at 20 degrees latitude and 60 degrees longitude. The orthographic view is most like the view seen by a distant observer looking through a telescope. The color balance selected for these images was designed to be close to natural color for the bright reddish regions such as Tharsis and Arabia, but the data have been 'stretched' such that the relatively dark regions appear darker and less reddish that their natural appearance. This stretching allows us to better see the color and brightness variations on Mars, which are related to the composition or physical structure of the surface materials, which include volcanic lava flows, wind- and water-deposited sedimentary rocks, and (at the poles) ice caps. The north polar cap is visible in this projection at the top of the image, the great equatorial canyon system (Valles Marineris) below center, and four huge Tharsis volcanoes (and several smaller ones) at left. Also note heavy impact cratering of the highlands (bottom and right portions of this mosaic) and the younger, less heavily cratered terrains elsewhere.

Influence of Land Mosaic Composition and Structure on Patchy Populations: The Case of the Water Vole (Arvicola sapidus) in Mediterranean Farmland

PubMed Central

Pita, Ricardo; Mira, António; Beja, Pedro

2013-01-01

The ability of patchy populations to persist in human-dominated landscapes is often assessed using focal patch approaches, in which the local occurrence or abundance of a species is related to the properties of individual patches and the surrounding landscape context. However, useful additional insights could probably be gained through broader, mosaic-level approaches, whereby whole land mosaics with contrasting patch-network and matrix characteristics are the units of investigation. In this study we addressed this issue, analysing how the southern water vole (Arvicola sapidus) responds to variables describing patch-network and matrix properties within replicated Mediterranean farmland mosaics, across a gradient of agricultural intensification. Patch-network characteristics had a dominant effect, with the total amount of habitat positively influencing both the occurrence of water voles and the proportion of area occupied in land mosaics. The proportions of patches and area occupied by the species were positively influenced by mean patch size, and negatively so by patch isolation. Matrix effects were weak, although there was a tendency for a higher proportion of occupied patches in more intensive, irrigated agricultural landscapes, particularly during the dry season. In terms of conservation, results suggest that water voles may be able to cope well with, or even be favoured by, the on-going expansion of irrigated agriculture in Mediterranean dry-lands, provided that a number of patches of wet herbaceous vegetation are maintained within the farmland mosaic. Overall, our study suggests that the mosaic-level approach may provide a useful framework to understand the responses of patchy populations to land use change. PMID:23875014

Composite View from Phoenix Lander

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-02

This mosaic of images from the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA Phoenix Mars Lander shows several trenches dug by Phoenix, plus a corner of the spacecraft deck and the Martian arctic plain stretching to the horizon.

Executive Overview of SEI MOSAIC: Managing for Success Using a Risk-Based Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

and pro - vides the lens through which all potential outcomes are viewed and interpreted. Defining the con - text is thus an essential first step when...Success Analysis and Improvement Crite- ria (SEI MOSAIC)—a suite of advanced analysis methods for assessing complex, distributed pro - grams, processes...achieve that set of objectives, four ac- tivities must be executed in the order shown, while also adhering to any cost and schedule con - straints. Process

'El Capitan's' Scientific Gems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

This mosaic of images taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the rock region dubbed 'El Capitan,' which lies within the larger outcrop near the rover's landing site. 'El Capitan' is being studied in great detail using the scientific instruments on the rover's arm; images from the panoramic camera help scientists choose the locations for this compositional work. The millimeter-scale detail of the lamination covering these rocks can be seen. The face of the rock to the right of the mosaic may be a future target for grinding with the rover's rock abrasion tool.

Global Mercator Mosaic

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-06-04

Io's volcanic plains are shown in this Voyager 1 image mosaic which covers the area roughly from latitude 60 degrees N. to latitude 60 degrees S. and longitude 100-345. North is up. Numerous volcanic calderas, lava flows, and volcanic eruption plumes are visible here. The composition of Io's volcanic plains and lava flows has not been determined, but they could consist dominantly of sulfur with surface frosts of sulfur dioxide or of silicates (such as basalt) encrusted with sulfur and sulfur dioxide condensates. The bright whitish patches probably consist of freshly deposited sulfur dioxide frost. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00319

Io, the Ra Patera, Mazda Catena, and Gibil Patera Area

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-06-04

Io's volcanic plains are shown in this Voyager 1 image mosaic. Also visible are numerous volcanic calderas and lava flows. Ra Patera with its multihued lava flows is below and right of the mosaic's center. This scene is about 1300 miles (2100 km) long. The composition of Io's volcanic plains and lava flows has not been determined, but they could consist dominantly of sulfur or of silicates (such as basalt) coated with sulfur condensates. The bright whitish patches probably consist of freshly deposited SO2 frost. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00321

Robust mosiacs of close-range high-resolution images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Ran; Szymanski, John E.

2008-03-01

This paper presents a robust algorithm which relies only on the information contained within the captured images for the construction of massive composite mosaic images from close-range and high-resolution originals, such as those obtained when imaging architectural and heritage structures. We first apply Harris algorithm to extract a selection of corners and, then, employ both the intensity correlation and the spatial correlation between the corresponding corners for matching them. Then we estimate the eight-parameter projective transformation matrix by the genetic algorithm. Lastly, image fusion using a weighted blending function together with intensity compensation produces an effective seamless mosaic image.

Cassini "Noodle" Mosaic of Saturn

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-24

This mosaic of images combines views captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft as it made the first dive of the mission's Grand Finale on April 26, 2017. It shows a vast swath of Saturn's atmosphere, from the north polar vortex to the boundary of the hexagon-shaped jet stream, to details in bands and swirls at middle latitudes and beyond. The mosaic is a composite of 137 images captured as Cassini made its first dive toward the gap between Saturn and its rings. It is an update to a previously released image product. In the earlier version, the images were presented as individual movie frames, whereas here, they have been combined into a single, continuous mosaic. The mosaic is presented as a still image as well as a video that pans across its length. Imaging scientists referred to this long, narrow mosaic as a "noodle" in planning the image sequence. The first frame of the mosaic is centered on Saturn's north pole, and the last frame is centered on a region at 18 degrees north latitude. During the dive, the spacecraft's altitude above the clouds changed from 45,000 to 3,200 miles (72,400 to 8374 kilometers), while the image scale changed from 5.4 miles (8.7 kilometers) per pixel to 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) per pixel. The bottom of the mosaic (near the end of the movie) has a curved shape. This is where the spacecraft rotated to point its high-gain antenna in the direction of motion as a protective measure before crossing Saturn's ring plane. The images in this sequence were captured in visible light using the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera. The original versions of these images, as sent by the spacecraft, have a size of 512 by 512 pixels. The small image size was chosen in order to allow the camera to take images quickly as Cassini sped over Saturn. These images of the planet's curved surface were projected onto a flat plane before being combined into a mosaic. Each image was mapped in stereographic projection centered at 55 degree north latitude. A movie is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21617

Mosaic HIV envelope immunogenic polypeptides

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

Korber, Bette T. M.; Gnanakaran, S.; Perkins, Simon

Disclosed herein are mosaic HIV envelope (Env) polypeptides that can elicit an immune response to HIV (such as cytotoxic T cell (CTL), helper T cell, and/or humoral responses). Also disclosed are sets of the disclosed mosaic Env polypeptides, which include two or more (for example, three) of the polypeptides. Also disclosed herein are methods for treating or inhibiting HIV in a subject including administering one or more of the disclosed immunogenic polypeptides or compositions to a subject infected with HIV or at risk of HIV infection. In some embodiments, the methods include inducing an immune response to HIV in amore » subject comprising administering to the subject at least one (such as two, three, or more) of the immunogenic polypeptides or at least one (such as two, three, or more) nucleic acids encoding at least one of the immunogenic polypeptides disclosed herein.« less

Habitat Heterogeneity Affects Plant and Arthropod Species Diversity and Turnover in Traditional Cornfields

PubMed Central

Martínez, Eliana; Rös, Matthias; Bonilla, María Argenis; Dirzo, Rodolfo

2015-01-01

The expansion of the agricultural frontier by the clearing of remnant forests has led to human-dominated landscape mosaics. Previous studies have evaluated the effect of these landscape mosaics on arthropod diversity at local spatial scales in temperate and tropical regions, but little is known about fragmentation effects in crop systems, such as the complex tropical traditional crop systems that maintain a high diversity of weeds and arthropods in low-Andean regions. To understand the factors that influence patterns of diversity in human-dominated landscapes, we investigate the effect of land use types on plant and arthropod diversity in traditionally managed cornfields, via surveys of plants and arthropods in twelve traditional cornfields in the Colombian Andes. We estimated alpha and beta diversity to analyze changes in diversity related to land uses within a radius of 100 m to 1 km around each cornfield. We observed that forests influenced alpha diversity of plants, but not of arthropods. Agricultural lands had a positive relationship with plants and herbivores, but a negative relationship with predators. Pastures positively influenced the diversity of plants and arthropods. In addition, forest cover seemed to influence changes in plant species composition and species turnover of herbivore communities among cornfields. The dominant plant species varied among fields, resulting in high differentiation of plant communities. Predator communities also exhibited high turnover among cornfields, but differences in composition arose mainly among rare species. The crop system evaluated in this study represents a widespread situation in the tropics, therefore, our results can be of broad significance. Our findings suggest that traditional agriculture may not homogenize biological communities, but instead could maintain the regional pool of species through high beta diversity. PMID:26197473

affy2sv: an R package to pre-process Affymetrix CytoScan HD and 750K arrays for SNP, CNV, inversion and mosaicism calling.

PubMed

Hernandez-Ferrer, Carles; Quintela Garcia, Ines; Danielski, Katharina; Carracedo, Ángel; Pérez-Jurado, Luis A; González, Juan R

2015-05-20

The well-known Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) had led to many scientific discoveries using SNP data. Even so, they were not able to explain the full heritability of complex diseases. Now, other structural variants like copy number variants or DNA inversions, either germ-line or in mosaicism events, are being studies. We present the R package affy2sv to pre-process Affymetrix CytoScan HD/750k array (also for Genome-Wide SNP 5.0/6.0 and Axiom) in structural variant studies. We illustrate the capabilities of affy2sv using two different complete pipelines on real data. The first one performing a GWAS and a mosaic alterations detection study, and the other detecting CNVs and performing an inversion calling. Both examples presented in the article show up how affy2sv can be used as part of more complex pipelines aimed to analyze Affymetrix SNP arrays data in genetic association studies, where different types of structural variants are considered.

Epitaxial growth of mosaic diamond: Mapping of stress and defects in crystal junction with a confocal Raman spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, Guoyang; Dai, Bing; Ralchenko, V. G.; Khomich, A. A.; Ashkinazi, E. E.; Bolshakov, A. P.; Bokova-Sirosh, S. N.; Liu, Kang; Zhao, Jiwen; Han, Jiecai; Zhu, Jiaqi

2017-04-01

We studied defects and stress distributions in mosaic epitaxial diamond film using a confocal Raman spectroscopy, with a special attention to the junction area between the crystals. The mosaics was grown by microwave plasma CVD on closely arranged (1 0 0)-oriented HPHT type Ib substrates. The width of stress affected and defect enriched region around the junction show a tendency of extending with the film thickness, from ≈40 μm on the film-substrate interface to ≈250 μm in the layer 500 μm above the substrate, as found from the mosaics analysis in cross-section. The stress field around the junction demonstrates a complex pattern, with mixed domains of tensile and compressive stress, with maximum value of σ ≈ 0.6 GPa. A similar non-uniform pattern was observed for defect distribution as well. No sign of amorphous sp2 carbon in the junction zone was revealed.

On the molecular basis of the receptor mosaic hypothesis of the engram.

PubMed

Agnati, Luigi F; Ferré, Sergi; Leo, Giuseppina; Lluis, Carme; Canela, Enric I; Franco, Rafael; Fuxe, Kjell

2004-08-01

1. This paper revisits the so-called "receptor mosaic hypothesis" for memory trace formation in the light of recent findings in "functional (or interaction) proteomics." The receptor mosaic hypothesis maintains that receptors may form molecular aggregates at the plasma membrane level representing part of the computational molecular networks. 2. Specific interactions between receptors occur as a consequence of the pattern of transmitter release from the source neurons, which release the chemical code impinging on the receptor mosaics of the target neuron. Thus, the decoding of the chemical message depends on the receptors forming the receptor mosaics and on the type of interactions among receptors and other proteins in the molecular network with novel long-term mosaics formed by their stabilization via adapter proteins formed in target neurons through the incoming neurotransmitter code. The internalized receptor heteromeric complexes or parts of them may act as transcription factors for the formation of such adapter proteins. 3. Receptor mosaics are formed both at the pre- and postsynaptic level of the plasma membranes and this phenomenon can play a role in the Hebbian behavior of some synaptic contacts. The appropriate "matching" of the pre- with the postsynaptic receptor mosaic can be thought of as the "clamping of the synapse to the external teaching signal." According to our hypothesis the behavior of the molecular networks at plasma membrane level to which the receptor mosaics belong can be set in a "frozen" conformation (i.e. in a frozen functional state) and this may represent a mechanism to maintain constant the input to a neuron. 4. Thus, we are suggesting that molecular networks at plasma membrane level may display multiple "attractors" each of which stores the memory of a specific neurotransmitter code due to a unique firing pattern. Hence, this mechanism may play a role in learning processes where the input to a neuron is likely to remain constant for a while.

Understanding the evolution of Mammalian brain structures; the need for a (new) cerebrotype approach.

PubMed

Willemet, Romain

2012-05-18

The mammalian brain varies in size by a factor of 100,000 and is composed of anatomically and functionally distinct structures. Theoretically, the manner in which brain composition can evolve is limited, ranging from highly modular ("mosaic evolution") to coordinated changes in brain structure size ("concerted evolution") or anything between these two extremes. There is a debate about the relative importance of these distinct evolutionary trends. It is shown here that the presence of taxa-specific allometric relationships between brain structures makes a taxa-specific approach obligatory. In some taxa, the evolution of the size of brain structures follows a unique, coordinated pattern, which, in addition to other characteristics at different anatomical levels, defines what has been called here a "taxon cerebrotype". In other taxa, no clear pattern is found, reflecting heterogeneity of the species' lifestyles. These results suggest that the evolution of brain size and composition depends on the complex interplay between selection pressures and constraints that have changed constantly during mammalian evolution. Therefore the variability in brain composition between species should not be considered as deviations from the normal, concerted mammalian trend, but in taxa and species-specific versions of the mammalian brain. Because it forms homogenous groups of species within this complex "space" of constraints and selection pressures, the cerebrotype approach developed here could constitute an adequate level of analysis for evo-devo studies, and by extension, for a wide range of disciplines related to brain evolution.

Understanding the Evolution of Mammalian Brain Structures; the Need for a (New) Cerebrotype Approach

PubMed Central

Willemet, Romain

2012-01-01

The mammalian brain varies in size by a factor of 100,000 and is composed of anatomically and functionally distinct structures. Theoretically, the manner in which brain composition can evolve is limited, ranging from highly modular (“mosaic evolution”) to coordinated changes in brain structure size (“concerted evolution”) or anything between these two extremes. There is a debate about the relative importance of these distinct evolutionary trends. It is shown here that the presence of taxa-specific allometric relationships between brain structures makes a taxa-specific approach obligatory. In some taxa, the evolution of the size of brain structures follows a unique, coordinated pattern, which, in addition to other characteristics at different anatomical levels, defines what has been called here a “taxon cerebrotype”. In other taxa, no clear pattern is found, reflecting heterogeneity of the species’ lifestyles. These results suggest that the evolution of brain size and composition depends on the complex interplay between selection pressures and constraints that have changed constantly during mammalian evolution. Therefore the variability in brain composition between species should not be considered as deviations from the normal, concerted mammalian trend, but in taxa and species-specific versions of the mammalian brain. Because it forms homogenous groups of species within this complex “space” of constraints and selection pressures, the cerebrotype approach developed here could constitute an adequate level of analysis for evo-devo studies, and by extension, for a wide range of disciplines related to brain evolution. PMID:24962772

Mosaic Structure and Molecular Evolution of the Leukotoxin Operon (lktCABD) in Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica, Mannheimia glucosida, and Pasteurella trehalosi

PubMed Central

Davies, Robert L.; Campbell, Susan; Whittam, Thomas S.

2002-01-01

The mosaic structure and molecular evolution of the leukotoxin operon (lktCABD) was investigated by nucleotide sequence comparison of the lktC, lktB, and lktD genes in 23 Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica, 6 Mannheimia glucosida, and 4 Pasteurella trehalosi strains. Sequence variation in the lktA gene has been described previously (R. L. Davies et al., J. Bacteriol. 183:1394–1404, 2001). The leukotoxin operon of M. haemolytica has a complex mosaic structure and has been derived by extensive inter- and intraspecies horizontal DNA transfer and intragenic recombination events. However, the pattern of recombination varies throughout the operon and among the different evolutionary lineages of M. haemolytica. The lktA and lktB genes have the most complex mosaic structures with segments derived from up to four different sources, including M. glucosida and P. trehalosi. In contrast, the lktD gene is highly conserved in M. haemolytica. The lktC, lktA, and lktB genes of strains representing the major ovine lineages contain recombinant segments derived from bovine or bovine-like serotype A2 strains. These findings support the previous conclusion that host switching of bovine A2 strains from cattle to sheep has played a major role in the evolution of the leukotoxin operon in ovine strains of M. haemolytica. Homologous segments of donor and recipient alleles are identical, or nearly identical, indicating that the recombinational exchanges occurred relatively recent in evolutionary terms. The 5′ and 3′ ends of the operon are highly conserved in M. haemolytica, which suggests that multiple horizontal exchanges of the complete operon have occurred by a common mechanism such as transduction. Although the lktA and lktB genes both have complex mosaic structures and high nucleotide substitution rates, the amino acid diversity of LktB is significantly lower than that of LktA due to a higher degree of evolutionary constraint against amino acid replacement. The recombinational exchanges within the leukotoxin operon have had greatest effect on LktA and probably provide an adaptive advantage against the host antibody response by generating novel antigenic variation at surface-exposed sites. PMID:11741868

Jupiter Equatorial Region

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-03-06

This photographic mosaic of images from NASA's Galileo spacecraft covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 13,600 miles) in Jupiter's equatorial region. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the site where the Galileo Probe parachuted into Jupiter's atmosphere in December 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where heat from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging camera system aboard Galileo. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00604

Exploring the links between social metabolism and biodiversity distribution across landscape gradients: A regional-scale contribution to the land-sharing versus land-sparing debate.

PubMed

Marull, Joan; Tello, Enric; Bagaria, Guillem; Font, Xavier; Cattaneo, Claudio; Pino, Joan

2018-04-01

The debate about the relative merits of the 'land-sparing' and 'land-sharing' approaches to biodiversity conservation is usually addressed at local scale. Here, however, we undertake a regional-scale approach to this issue by exploring the association between the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP) and biodiversity components (plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) across a gradient of human-transformed landscapes in Catalonia, Spain. We propose an Intermediate Disturbance Complexity (IDC) model to assess how human disturbance of the photosynthetic capacity affects the landscape patterns and processes that host biodiversity. This model enables us to explore the association between social metabolism (HANPP), landscape structure (composition and spatial configuration) and biodiversity (species richness) by using Negative Binomial Regression (NBR), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The empirical association between IDC and landscape complexity and HANPP in Catalonia confirms the expected values of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. There is some increase in biodiversity when high IDC values correspond to landscape mosaics. NBR and EFA show positive associations between species richness and increasing values of IDC and forest cover for all biodiversity groups except birds. SEM shows that total biodiversity is positively determined by forest cover and, to a lesser extent, by HANPP, and that both factors are negatively associated with each other. The results suggest that 'natural' landscapes (i.e. those dominated by forests) and agroforestry mosaics (i.e. heterogeneous landscapes characterized by a set of land uses possessing contrasting disturbances) provide a synergetic contribution to biodiversity conservation. This 'virtuous triangle' consisting of forest cover, HANPP and biodiversity illustrates the complex human-nature relationships that exist across landscape gradients of human transformation. This energy-landscape integrated analysis provides a robust assessment of the ecological impact of land-use policies at regional scale. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Moon - False Color Mosaic

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-01-29

This false-color photograph is a composite of 15 images of the Moon taken through three color filters NASA's Galileo solid-state imaging system during the spacecraft passage through the Earth-Moon system on December 8, 1992. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00132

Hippo in Super Resolution from Super Panorama

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-07-03

This view of the "Hippo," 25 meters to the west of the lander, was produced by combining the "Super Panorama" frames from the IMP camera. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of this rock and what it might tell us about its mode of origin. The composite color frames that make up this anaglyph were produced for both the right and left eye of the IMP. These composites consist of more than 15 frames per eye (because multiple sequences covered the same area), taken with different color filters that were enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be. These panchromatic frames were then colorized with the red, green, and blue filtered images from the same sequence. The color balance was adjusted to approximate the true color of Mars. The anaglyph view was produced by combining the left with the right eye color composite frames by assigning the left eye composite view to the red color plane and the right eye composite view to the green and blue color planes (cyan), to produce a stereo anaglyph mosaic. This mosaic can be viewed in 3-D on your computer monitor or in color print form by wearing red-blue 3-D glasses. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01421

Characterization of Large Structural Genetic Mosaicism in Human Autosomes

PubMed Central

Machiela, Mitchell J.; Zhou, Weiyin; Sampson, Joshua N.; Dean, Michael C.; Jacobs, Kevin B.; Black, Amanda; Brinton, Louise A.; Chang, I-Shou; Chen, Chu; Chen, Constance; Chen, Kexin; Cook, Linda S.; Crous Bou, Marta; De Vivo, Immaculata; Doherty, Jennifer; Friedenreich, Christine M.; Gaudet, Mia M.; Haiman, Christopher A.; Hankinson, Susan E.; Hartge, Patricia; Henderson, Brian E.; Hong, Yun-Chul; Hosgood, H. Dean; Hsiung, Chao A.; Hu, Wei; Hunter, David J.; Jessop, Lea; Kim, Hee Nam; Kim, Yeul Hong; Kim, Young Tae; Klein, Robert; Kraft, Peter; Lan, Qing; Lin, Dongxin; Liu, Jianjun; Le Marchand, Loic; Liang, Xiaolin; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lu, Lingeng; Magliocco, Anthony M.; Matsuo, Keitaro; Olson, Sara H.; Orlow, Irene; Park, Jae Yong; Pooler, Loreall; Prescott, Jennifer; Rastogi, Radhai; Risch, Harvey A.; Schumacher, Fredrick; Seow, Adeline; Setiawan, Veronica Wendy; Shen, Hongbing; Sheng, Xin; Shin, Min-Ho; Shu, Xiao-Ou; VanDen Berg, David; Wang, Jiu-Cun; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Wong, Maria Pik; Wu, Chen; Wu, Tangchun; Wu, Yi-Long; Xia, Lucy; Yang, Hannah P.; Yang, Pan-Chyr; Zheng, Wei; Zhou, Baosen; Abnet, Christian C.; Albanes, Demetrius; Aldrich, Melinda C.; Amos, Christopher; Amundadottir, Laufey T.; Berndt, Sonja I.; Blot, William J.; Bock, Cathryn H.; Bracci, Paige M.; Burdett, Laurie; Buring, Julie E.; Butler, Mary A.; Carreón, Tania; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Chung, Charles C.; Cook, Michael B.; Cullen, Michael; Davis, Faith G.; Ding, Ti; Duell, Eric J.; Epstein, Caroline G.; Fan, Jin-Hu; Figueroa, Jonine D.; Fraumeni, Joseph F.; Freedman, Neal D.; Fuchs, Charles S.; Gao, Yu-Tang; Gapstur, Susan M.; Patiño-Garcia, Ana; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Gaziano, J. Michael; Giles, Graham G.; Gillanders, Elizabeth M.; Giovannucci, Edward L.; Goldin, Lynn; Goldstein, Alisa M.; Greene, Mark H.; Hallmans, Goran; Harris, Curtis C.; Henriksson, Roger; Holly, Elizabeth A.; Hoover, Robert N.; Hu, Nan; Hutchinson, Amy; Jenab, Mazda; Johansen, Christoffer; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Koh, Woon-Puay; Kolonel, Laurence N.; Kooperberg, Charles; Krogh, Vittorio; Kurtz, Robert C.; LaCroix, Andrea; Landgren, Annelie; Landi, Maria Teresa; Li, Donghui; Liao, Linda M.; Malats, Nuria; McGlynn, Katherine A.; McNeill, Lorna H.; McWilliams, Robert R.; Melin, Beatrice S.; Mirabello, Lisa; Peplonska, Beata; Peters, Ulrike; Petersen, Gloria M.; Prokunina-Olsson, Ludmila; Purdue, Mark; Qiao, You-Lin; Rabe, Kari G.; Rajaraman, Preetha; Real, Francisco X.; Riboli, Elio; Rodríguez-Santiago, Benjamín; Rothman, Nathaniel; Ruder, Avima M.; Savage, Sharon A.; Schwartz, Ann G.; Schwartz, Kendra L.; Sesso, Howard D.; Severi, Gianluca; Silverman, Debra T.; Spitz, Margaret R.; Stevens, Victoria L.; Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael; Stram, Daniel; Tang, Ze-Zhong; Taylor, Philip R.; Teras, Lauren R.; Tobias, Geoffrey S.; Viswanathan, Kala; Wacholder, Sholom; Wang, Zhaoming; Weinstein, Stephanie J.; Wheeler, William; White, Emily; Wiencke, John K.; Wolpin, Brian M.; Wu, Xifeng; Wunder, Jay S.; Yu, Kai; Zanetti, Krista A.; Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Anne; Ziegler, Regina G.; de Andrade, Mariza; Barnes, Kathleen C.; Beaty, Terri H.; Bierut, Laura J.; Desch, Karl C.; Doheny, Kimberly F.; Feenstra, Bjarke; Ginsburg, David; Heit, John A.; Kang, Jae H.; Laurie, Cecilia A.; Li, Jun Z.; Lowe, William L.; Marazita, Mary L.; Melbye, Mads; Mirel, Daniel B.; Murray, Jeffrey C.; Nelson, Sarah C.; Pasquale, Louis R.; Rice, Kenneth; Wiggs, Janey L.; Wise, Anastasia; Tucker, Margaret; Pérez-Jurado, Luis A.; Laurie, Cathy C.; Caporaso, Neil E.; Yeager, Meredith; Chanock, Stephen J.

2015-01-01

Analyses of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data have revealed that detectable genetic mosaicism involving large (>2 Mb) structural autosomal alterations occurs in a fraction of individuals. We present results for a set of 24,849 genotyped individuals (total GWAS set II [TGSII]) in whom 341 large autosomal abnormalities were observed in 168 (0.68%) individuals. Merging data from the new TGSII set with data from two prior reports (the Gene-Environment Association Studies and the total GWAS set I) generated a large dataset of 127,179 individuals; we then conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the patterns of detectable autosomal mosaicism (n = 1,315 events in 925 [0.73%] individuals). Restricting to events >2 Mb in size, we observed an increase in event frequency as event size decreased. The combined results underscore that the rate of detectable mosaicism increases with age (p value = 5.5 × 10−31) and is higher in men (p value = 0.002) but lower in participants of African ancestry (p value = 0.003). In a subset of 47 individuals from whom serial samples were collected up to 6 years apart, complex changes were noted over time and showed an overall increase in the proportion of mosaic cells as age increased. Our large combined sample allowed for a unique ability to characterize detectable genetic mosaicism involving large structural events and strengthens the emerging evidence of non-random erosion of the genome in the aging population. PMID:25748358

Formation and mosaicity of coccolith segment calcite of the marine algae Emiliania huxleyi.

PubMed

Yin, Xiaofei; Ziegler, Andreas; Kelm, Klemens; Hoffmann, Ramona; Watermeyer, Philipp; Alexa, Patrick; Villinger, Clarissa; Rupp, Ulrich; Schlüter, Lothar; Reusch, Thorsten B H; Griesshaber, Erika; Walther, Paul; Schmahl, Wolfgang W

2018-02-01

Coccolithophores belong to the most abundant calcium carbonate mineralizing organisms. Coccolithophore biomineralization is a complex and highly regulated process, resulting in a product that strongly differs in its intricate morphology from the abiogenically produced mineral equivalent. Moreover, unlike extracellularly formed biological carbonate hard tissues, coccolith calcite is neither a hybrid composite, nor is it distinguished by a hierarchical microstructure. This is remarkable as the key to optimizing crystalline biomaterials for mechanical strength and toughness lies in the composite nature of the biological hard tissue and the utilization of specific microstructures. To obtain insight into the pathway of biomineralization of Emiliania huxleyi coccoliths, we examine intracrystalline nanostructural features of the coccolith calcite in combination with cell ultrastructural observations related to the formation of the calcite in the coccolith vesicle within the cell. With TEM diffraction and annular dark-field imaging, we prove the presence of planar imperfections in the calcite crystals such as planar mosaic block boundaries. As only minor misorientations occur, we attribute them to dislocation networks creating small-angle boundaries. Intracrystalline occluded biopolymers are not observed. Hence, in E. huxleyi calcite mosaicity is not caused by occluded biopolymers, as it is the case in extracellularly formed hard tissues of marine invertebrates, but by planar defects and dislocations which are typical for crystals formed by classical ion-by-ion growth mechanisms. Using cryo-preparation techniques for SEM and TEM, we found that the membrane of the coccolith vesicle and the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope are in tight proximity, with a well-controlled constant gap of ~4 nm between them. We describe this conspicuous connection as a not yet described interorganelle junction, the "nuclear envelope junction". The narrow gap of this junction likely facilitates transport of Ca 2+ ions from the nuclear envelope to the coccolith vesicle. On the basis of our observations, we propose that formation of the coccolith utilizes the nuclear envelope-endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ -store of the cell for the transport of Ca 2+ ions from the external medium to the coccolith vesicle and that E. huxleyi calcite forms by ion-by-ion growth rather than by a nanoparticle accretion mechanism. © 2017 Phycological Society of America.

Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in True Color (Time Set 3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers. This mosaic combines the violet (410 nanometers) and near infrared continuum (756 nanometers) filter images to create a mosaic similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundance of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere.

North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the mosaic. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Internal Structure of a Lobate Debris Apron Complex in Eastern Hellas: Evidence for Multiple Mid-Latitude Glaciations on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quartini, E.; Holt, J. W.; Brothers, T. C.

2011-03-01

The past depositional history of a lobate debris apron complex in eastern Hellas has been investigated by conducting a combined analysis of its surface morphology and subsurface structure using a CTX mosaic and orbital radar sounding data from SHARAD.

Using LANDIS II to study the effects of global change in Siberia

Treesearch

Eric J. Gustafson; Brian R. Sturtevant; Anatoly Z. Shvidenko; Robert M. Scheller

2010-01-01

Landscape dynamics are characterized by complex interactions among multiple disturbance regimes, anthropogenic use and management, and the mosaic of diverse ecological conditions. LANDIS-IT is a landscape forest succession and disturbance model that independently simulates multiple ecological and disturbance processes, accounting for complex interactions to predict...

Analysis of the landscape complexity and heterogeneity of the Pantanal wetland.

PubMed

Miranda, C S; Gamarra, R M; Mioto, C L; Silva, N M; Conceição Filho, A P; Pott, A

2018-05-01

This is the first report on analysis of habitat complexity and heterogeneity of the Pantanal wetland. The Pantanal encompasses a peculiar mosaic of environments, being important to evaluate and monitor this area concerning conservation of biodiversity. Our objective was to indirectly measure the habitat complexity and heterogeneity of the mosaic forming the sub-regions of the Pantanal, by means of remote sensing. We obtained free images of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the sensor MODIS and calculated the mean value (complexity) and standard deviation (heterogeneity) for each sub-region in the years 2000, 2008 and 2015. The sub-regions of Poconé, Canoeira, Paraguai and Aquidauana presented the highest values of complexity (mean NDVI), between 0.69 and 0.64 in the evaluated years. The highest horizontal heterogeneity (NDVI standard deviation) was observed in the sub-region of Tuiuiú, with values of 0.19 in the years 2000 and 2015, and 0.21 in the year 2008. We concluded that the use of NDVI to estimate landscape parameters is an efficient tool for assessment and monitoring of the complexity and heterogeneity of the Pantanal habitats, applicable in other regions.

Disturbance History,Spatial Variability, and Patterns of Biodiversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bendix, J.; Wiley, J. J.; Commons, M.

2012-12-01

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis predicts that species diversity will be maximized in environments experiencing intermediate intensity disturbance, after an intermediate timespan. Because many landscapes comprise mosaics with complex disturbance histories, the theory implies that each patch in those mosaics should have a distinct level of diversity reflecting combined impact of the magnitude of disturbance and the time since it occurred. We modeled the changing patterns of species richness across a landscape experiencing varied scenarios of simulated disturbance. Model outputs show that individual landscape patches have highly variable species richness through time, with the details reflecting the timing, intensity and sequence of their disturbance history. When the results are mapped across the landscape, the resulting temporal and spatial complexity illustrates both the contingent nature of diversity and the danger of generalizing about the impacts of disturbance.

On the existence of mosaic-skeleton approximations for discrete analogues of integral operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashirin, A. A.; Taltykina, M. Yu.

2017-09-01

Exterior three-dimensional Dirichlet problems for the Laplace and Helmholtz equations are considered. By applying methods of potential theory, they are reduced to equivalent Fredholm boundary integral equations of the first kind, for which discrete analogues, i.e., systems of linear algebraic equations (SLAEs) are constructed. The existence of mosaic-skeleton approximations for the matrices of the indicated systems is proved. These approximations make it possible to reduce the computational complexity of an iterative solution of the SLAEs. Numerical experiments estimating the capabilities of the proposed approach are described.

Digital Mammography with a Mosaic of CCD-Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jalink, Antony, Jr. (Inventor); McAdoo, James A. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

The present invention relates generally to a mammography device and method and more particularly to a novel digital mammography device and method to detect microcalcifications of precancerous tissue. A digital mammography device uses a mosaic of electronic digital imaging arrays to scan an x-ray image. The mosaic of arrays is repositioned several times to expose different portions of the image, until the entire image is scanned. The data generated by the arrays during each exposure is stored in a computer. After the final exposure, the computer combines data of the several partial images to produce a composite of the original x-ray image. An aperture plate is used to reduce scatter and the overall exposure of the patient to x-rays. The novelty of this invention is that it provides a digital mammography device with large field coverage, high spatial resolution, scatter rejection, excellent contrast characteristics and lesion detectability under clinical conditions. This device also shields the patient from excessive radiation, can detect extremely small calcifications and allows manipulation and storage of the image.

Assembly of tobacco mosaic virus into fibrous and macroscopic bundled arrays mediated by surface aniline polymerization.

PubMed

Niu, Zhongwei; Bruckman, Michael A; Li, Siqi; Lee, L Andrew; Lee, Byeongdu; Pingali, Sai Venkatesh; Thiyagarajan, P; Wang, Qian

2007-06-05

One-dimensional (1D) polyaniline/tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) composite nanofibers and macroscopic bundles of such fibers were generated via a self-assembly process of TMV assisted by in-situ polymerization of polyaniline on the surface of TMV. At near-neutral reaction pH, branched polyaniline formed on the surface of TMV preventing lateral association. Therefore, long 1D nanofibers were observed with high aspect ratios and excellent processibility. At a lower pH, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed that initially long nanofibers were formed which resulted in bundled structures upon long-time reaction, presumably mediated by the hydrophobic interaction because of the polyaniline on the surface of TMV. In-situ time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering study of TMV at different reaction conditions supported this mechanism. This novel strategy to assemble TMV into 1D and 3D supramolecular composites could be utilized in the fabrication of advanced materials for potential applications including electronics, optics, sensing, and biomedical engineering.

Jupiter Equatorial Region in a Methane Band Time Set 1

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-03-06

Mosaic of an equatorial "hotspot" on Jupiter at 889 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers. Light at 889 nm is strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of a hazy cloud layer tens of kilometers above Jupiter's main visible cloud deck. This haze varies in height but appears to be present over the entire region. Small patches of very bright clouds may be similar to terrestrial thunderstorms. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01200

Constitutional mosaicism for a chromosome 9 inversion resulting in recombinant aneusomy in an offspring

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

Shapira, S.K.; Gagos, S.; Shaffer, L.G.

We report on a case of constitutional mosaicism for a large pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 in a man whose daughter had recombinant aneusomy resulting in partial 9q duplication and partial 9p deletion. At age 6 months, the girl was evaluated because of dysmorphic congenital animal features and developmental delay. Chromosomal analysis on this infant showed a derivative chromosome 9 which was later determined to be a recombinant chromosome with trisomy of 9q34.1{r_arrow}qter and monosomy of pter{r_arrow}9p24. Chromosomal analysis in her father showed the presence of two cell lines; 75% of lymphocytes had a 46,XY pattern, and 25% had amore » 46,XY,inv(9)(p24q34.1) karyotype. The infant`s physical findings represent a composite of the reported cases of both trisomy 9q34.1{r_arrow}qter and monosomy pter{r_arrow}p24. The infant`s father was phenotypically and cognitively normal. This case broadens the spectrum of reported cases of mosaicism for an autosomal structural rearrangement generating unbalanced gametes, and further supports the tenet that constitutional mosaicism has clinical relevance for genetic counseling. 21 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.« less

Cellular automata and integrodifferential equation models for cell renewal in mosaic tissues

PubMed Central

Bloomfield, J. M.; Sherratt, J. A.; Painter, K. J.; Landini, G.

2010-01-01

Mosaic tissues are composed of two or more genetically distinct cell types. They occur naturally, and are also a useful experimental method for exploring tissue growth and maintenance. By marking the different cell types, one can study the patterns formed by proliferation, renewal and migration. Here, we present mathematical modelling suggesting that small changes in the type of interaction that cells have with their local cellular environment can lead to very different outcomes for the composition of mosaics. In cell renewal, proliferation of each cell type may depend linearly or nonlinearly on the local proportion of cells of that type, and these two possibilities produce very different patterns. We study two variations of a cellular automaton model based on simple rules for renewal. We then propose an integrodifferential equation model, and again consider two different forms of cellular interaction. The results of the continuous and cellular automata models are qualitatively the same, and we observe that changes in local environment interaction affect the dynamics for both. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the models reproduce some of the patterns seen in actual mosaic tissues. In particular, our results suggest that the differing patterns seen in organ parenchymas may be driven purely by the process of cell replacement under different interaction scenarios. PMID:20375040

Spatial complexity reduces interaction strengths in the meta-food web of a river floodplain mosaic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bellmore, James Ryan; Baxter, Colden Vance; Connolly, Patrick J.

2015-01-01

Theory states that both the spatial complexity of landscapes and the strength of interactions between consumers and their resources are important for maintaining biodiversity and the 'balance of nature.' Spatial complexity is hypothesized to promote biodiversity by reducing potential for competitive exclusion; whereas, models show weak trophic interactions can enhance stability and maintain biodiversity by dampening destabilizing oscillations associated with strong interactions. Here we show that spatial complexity can reduce the strength of consumer-resource interactions in natural food webs. By sequentially aggregating food webs of individual aquatic habitat patches across a floodplain mosaic, we found that increasing spatial complexity resulted in decreases in the strength of interactions between predators and prey, owing to a greater proportion of weak interactions and a reduced proportion of strong interactions in the meta-food web. The main mechanism behind this pattern was that some patches provided predation refugia for species which were often strongly preyed upon in other patches. If weak trophic interactions do indeed promote stability, then our findings may signal an additional mechanism by which complexity and stability are linked in nature. In turn, this may have implications for how the values of landscape complexity, and the costs of biophysical homogenization, are assessed.

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex of Brome mosaic virus: analysis of the molecular structure with monoclonal antibodies.

PubMed

Dohi, Koji; Mise, Kazuyuki; Furusawa, Iwao; Okuno, Tetsuro

2002-11-01

Viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) plays crucial roles in the genomic replication and subgenomic transcription of Brome mosaic virus (BMV), a positive-stranded RNA plant virus. BMV RdRp is a complex of virus-encoded 1a and 2a proteins and some cellular factors, and associates with the endoplasmic reticulum at an infection-specific structure in the cytoplasm of host cells. In this study, we investigate the gross structure of the active BMV RdRp complex using monoclonal antibodies raised against the 1a and 2a proteins. Immunoprecipitation experiments showed that the intermediate region between the N-terminal methyltransferase-like domain and the C-terminal helicase-like domain of 1a protein, and the N terminus region of 2a protein are exposed on the surface of the solubilized RdRp complex. Inhibition assays for membrane-bound RdRp suggested that the intermediate region between the methyltransferase-like and the helicase-like domains of 1a protein is located at the border of the region buried within a membrane structure or with membrane-associated material.

GLORIA mosaic of West Coast US Exclusive Economic Zone, northern sector

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

Hampton, M.A.; Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.

1986-05-01

The GLORIA (Geological Long-Range Inclined Asdic) side-scanning sonar system was used to compile an image-enhanced acoustic mosaic, similar to an aerial photograph, of the sea floor of the West Coast US Exclusive Economic Zone. The mosaic clearly shows the spreading centers, fracture zones, submarine fans and channels, and transform to convergent continental margins north of latitude 39/sup 0/N. The linear basement ridges originally generated at the Gorda and Juan de Fuca spreading centers are abruptly truncated by the Mendocino and Blanco fracture zones, and their subtle to distinct divergence, bending, and offset attests to past changes in spreading rate andmore » propagation of spreading centers. The major Delgada, Astoria, and Nitinat fans are traversed by lengthy channel-levee complexes extending from major canyons on the adjacent continental slope; areally extensive sediment-wave fields occur adjacent to the right side (facing down-channel) of these complexes. Other drainage features appear on the mosaic, and the range of channel sinuosity and continuity indicates fluvial-like processes at work on the sea floor. Submarine canyons on the continental slope are irregularly distributed; their range of maturity and relation to substrate type and geologic structure are manifest as variations in length, width, and relief, by changes in trend, and by the degree of sidewall gullying. Compressional and diapiric ridges characterize the continental slope in areas of plate convergence, whereas along the transform margin south of the Mendocino fracture zone, the slope is relatively smooth and featureless, except where incised by large canyon systems.« less

Soil resources and potential for agricultural development in Bahr El Jebel in southern Sudan, Jonglei Canal project area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, V. I.; Moore, D. G.; Abdel-Hady, M. A.; Abdel-Samie, A. G.; Elshazly, E. M. (Principal Investigator); Youvis, H.; Worcester, B. K.; Klingebiel, A. A.; Elshazly, M. M.; Hamad, M. A.

1978-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Fourteen LANDSAT scenes were used to produce mosaics of the 167, 474 sq km study area. These were black and white MSS 7 images and false color composite images. Five major soil-landscape units were delineated on the mosaics, and these were subdivided into a total of 40 soil mapping units. Aerial reconnaissance was useful in defining boundaries between mapping units and in estimating the proportion of the various soils which composed each mapping unit. Ground surveying permitted first-hand observation of major soils and sampling for quantitative laboratory analysis. Soil interpretations were made, including properties, potentials, and limitations.

Characterization of large structural genetic mosaicism in human autosomes.

PubMed

Machiela, Mitchell J; Zhou, Weiyin; Sampson, Joshua N; Dean, Michael C; Jacobs, Kevin B; Black, Amanda; Brinton, Louise A; Chang, I-Shou; Chen, Chu; Chen, Constance; Chen, Kexin; Cook, Linda S; Crous Bou, Marta; De Vivo, Immaculata; Doherty, Jennifer; Friedenreich, Christine M; Gaudet, Mia M; Haiman, Christopher A; Hankinson, Susan E; Hartge, Patricia; Henderson, Brian E; Hong, Yun-Chul; Hosgood, H Dean; Hsiung, Chao A; Hu, Wei; Hunter, David J; Jessop, Lea; Kim, Hee Nam; Kim, Yeul Hong; Kim, Young Tae; Klein, Robert; Kraft, Peter; Lan, Qing; Lin, Dongxin; Liu, Jianjun; Le Marchand, Loic; Liang, Xiaolin; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lu, Lingeng; Magliocco, Anthony M; Matsuo, Keitaro; Olson, Sara H; Orlow, Irene; Park, Jae Yong; Pooler, Loreall; Prescott, Jennifer; Rastogi, Radhai; Risch, Harvey A; Schumacher, Fredrick; Seow, Adeline; Setiawan, Veronica Wendy; Shen, Hongbing; Sheng, Xin; Shin, Min-Ho; Shu, Xiao-Ou; VanDen Berg, David; Wang, Jiu-Cun; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Wong, Maria Pik; Wu, Chen; Wu, Tangchun; Wu, Yi-Long; Xia, Lucy; Yang, Hannah P; Yang, Pan-Chyr; Zheng, Wei; Zhou, Baosen; Abnet, Christian C; Albanes, Demetrius; Aldrich, Melinda C; Amos, Christopher; Amundadottir, Laufey T; Berndt, Sonja I; Blot, William J; Bock, Cathryn H; Bracci, Paige M; Burdett, Laurie; Buring, Julie E; Butler, Mary A; Carreón, Tania; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Chung, Charles C; Cook, Michael B; Cullen, Michael; Davis, Faith G; Ding, Ti; Duell, Eric J; Epstein, Caroline G; Fan, Jin-Hu; Figueroa, Jonine D; Fraumeni, Joseph F; Freedman, Neal D; Fuchs, Charles S; Gao, Yu-Tang; Gapstur, Susan M; Patiño-Garcia, Ana; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Gaziano, J Michael; Giles, Graham G; Gillanders, Elizabeth M; Giovannucci, Edward L; Goldin, Lynn; Goldstein, Alisa M; Greene, Mark H; Hallmans, Goran; Harris, Curtis C; Henriksson, Roger; Holly, Elizabeth A; Hoover, Robert N; Hu, Nan; Hutchinson, Amy; Jenab, Mazda; Johansen, Christoffer; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Koh, Woon-Puay; Kolonel, Laurence N; Kooperberg, Charles; Krogh, Vittorio; Kurtz, Robert C; LaCroix, Andrea; Landgren, Annelie; Landi, Maria Teresa; Li, Donghui; Liao, Linda M; Malats, Nuria; McGlynn, Katherine A; McNeill, Lorna H; McWilliams, Robert R; Melin, Beatrice S; Mirabello, Lisa; Peplonska, Beata; Peters, Ulrike; Petersen, Gloria M; Prokunina-Olsson, Ludmila; Purdue, Mark; Qiao, You-Lin; Rabe, Kari G; Rajaraman, Preetha; Real, Francisco X; Riboli, Elio; Rodríguez-Santiago, Benjamín; Rothman, Nathaniel; Ruder, Avima M; Savage, Sharon A; Schwartz, Ann G; Schwartz, Kendra L; Sesso, Howard D; Severi, Gianluca; Silverman, Debra T; Spitz, Margaret R; Stevens, Victoria L; Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael; Stram, Daniel; Tang, Ze-Zhong; Taylor, Philip R; Teras, Lauren R; Tobias, Geoffrey S; Viswanathan, Kala; Wacholder, Sholom; Wang, Zhaoming; Weinstein, Stephanie J; Wheeler, William; White, Emily; Wiencke, John K; Wolpin, Brian M; Wu, Xifeng; Wunder, Jay S; Yu, Kai; Zanetti, Krista A; Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Anne; Ziegler, Regina G; de Andrade, Mariza; Barnes, Kathleen C; Beaty, Terri H; Bierut, Laura J; Desch, Karl C; Doheny, Kimberly F; Feenstra, Bjarke; Ginsburg, David; Heit, John A; Kang, Jae H; Laurie, Cecilia A; Li, Jun Z; Lowe, William L; Marazita, Mary L; Melbye, Mads; Mirel, Daniel B; Murray, Jeffrey C; Nelson, Sarah C; Pasquale, Louis R; Rice, Kenneth; Wiggs, Janey L; Wise, Anastasia; Tucker, Margaret; Pérez-Jurado, Luis A; Laurie, Cathy C; Caporaso, Neil E; Yeager, Meredith; Chanock, Stephen J

2015-03-05

Analyses of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data have revealed that detectable genetic mosaicism involving large (>2 Mb) structural autosomal alterations occurs in a fraction of individuals. We present results for a set of 24,849 genotyped individuals (total GWAS set II [TGSII]) in whom 341 large autosomal abnormalities were observed in 168 (0.68%) individuals. Merging data from the new TGSII set with data from two prior reports (the Gene-Environment Association Studies and the total GWAS set I) generated a large dataset of 127,179 individuals; we then conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the patterns of detectable autosomal mosaicism (n = 1,315 events in 925 [0.73%] individuals). Restricting to events >2 Mb in size, we observed an increase in event frequency as event size decreased. The combined results underscore that the rate of detectable mosaicism increases with age (p value = 5.5 × 10(-31)) and is higher in men (p value = 0.002) but lower in participants of African ancestry (p value = 0.003). In a subset of 47 individuals from whom serial samples were collected up to 6 years apart, complex changes were noted over time and showed an overall increase in the proportion of mosaic cells as age increased. Our large combined sample allowed for a unique ability to characterize detectable genetic mosaicism involving large structural events and strengthens the emerging evidence of non-random erosion of the genome in the aging population. Copyright © 2015 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A PROBABILITY SURVEY OF SUCCESSIONAL FOREST COMPOSITION AND CONDITION IN A GREAT RIVER FLOODPLAIN LANDSCAPE

EPA Science Inventory

Floodplains within the Great River Ecosystems (GREs) of the central U.S. are composed of dynamic mosaics of successional habitat that (when unmodified) are typically dominated by cottonwood forest (Populus ssp.). GRE riparian habitat condition and successional dynamics are linked...

Induced spatial heterogeneity in forest canopies: responses of small mammals.

Treesearch

A.B. Carey

2001-01-01

We hypothesized that creating a mosaic of interspersed patches of different densities of canopy trees in a second-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesiz) forest would accelerate development of biocomplexity (diversity in ecosystem structure, composition, and processes) by promoting spatial heterogeneity in understory, midstory, and canopy,...

ARC-1979-A79-7029

NASA Image and Video Library

1979-02-28

This mosaic of Jupiter was assembled from nine individual photos taken through an orange filter by Voyager 1 on Feb. 6, 1979, when the spacecraft was 4.7 million miles (7.8 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Distortion of the mosaic, especially where portions of the limb have been fitted together, is caused by rotation of the planet during the 96-second intervals between individual pictures. The large atmospheric feature just below and to the right of center is the Great Red Spot. The complex structure of the cloud formations seen over the entire planet gives some hint of the equally complex motions in the Voyager 1 time-lapse photography. The smallest atomospheric features seen in this view are approximately 85 miles (140 kilometers) across. Voyager project is managed and controlled by Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science. (JPL ref. No. P-21146)

Novel mutations in the CDKL5 gene in complex genotypes associated with West syndrome with variable phenotype: First description of somatic mosaic state.

PubMed

Jdila, Marwa Ben; Issa, Abir Ben; Khabou, Boudour; Rhouma, Bochra Ben; Kamoun, Fatma; Ammar-Keskes, Leila; Triki, Chahnez; Fakhfakh, Faiza

2017-10-01

West syndrome is a rare epileptic encephalopathy of early infancy, characterized by epileptic spasms, hypsarrhythmia, and psychomotor retardation beginning in the first year of life. The present study reports the clinical, molecular and bioinformatic investigation in the three studied West patients. The results revealed a complex genotype with more than one mutation in each patient including the known mutations c.1910C>G (P2, P3); c.2372A>C in P3 and c.2395C>G in P1 and novel variants including c.616G>A, shared by the three patients P1, P2 and P3; c.1403G>C shared by P2 and P3 and c.2288A>G in patient P1. All the mutations were at somatic mosaic state and were de novo in the patients except ones (c.2372A>C). To our knowledge; the somatic mosaic state is described for the first time in patients with West syndrome. Five identified mutations were located in the C-terminal domain of the protein, while the novel mutation (c.616G>A) was in the catalytic domain. Bioinformatic tools predicted that this latter is the most pathogenic substitution affecting 3D protein structure and the secondary mRNA structure. Complex genotype composed of different combinations of mutations in each patient seems to be related to the phenotype variability. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in True Color (Time Set 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers. This mosaic combines the violet (410 nanometers) and near infrared continuum (756 nanometers) filter images to create a mosaic similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundance of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere.

North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Deconvolving the Fate of Carbon in Coastal Sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van der Voort, Tessa S.; Mannu, Utsav; Blattmann, Thomas M.; Bao, Rui; Zhao, Meixun; Eglinton, Timothy I.

2018-05-01

Coastal oceans play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, and are increasingly affected by anthropogenic forcing. Understanding carbon cycling in coastal environments is hindered by convoluted sources and myriad processes that vary over a range of spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we deconvolve the complex mosaic of organic carbon manifested in Chinese Marginal Sea (CMS) sediments using a novel numerical clustering algorithm based on 14C and total OC content. Results reveal five regions that encompass geographically distinct depositional settings. Complementary statistical analyses reveal contrasting region-dependent controls on carbon dynamics and composition. Overall, clustering is shown to be highly effective in demarcating areas of distinct organic facies by disentangling intertwined organic geochemical patterns resulting from superimposed effects of OC provenance, reworking and deposition on a shelf region exhibiting pronounced spatial heterogeneity. This information will aid in constraining region-specific budgets of carbon burial and carbon cycle processes.

Importance of ecotone type to landscape dynamics at biome transition zones

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Landscapes in biome transition zones consist of a mosaic of patches dominated or codominated by species from adjacent biomes. Shifts in the vegetation composition and dynamics of a biome transition zone depend upon the underlying patch dynamics of the ecotones between these dominant species. Landsc...

Gradient modeling of conifer species using random forests

Treesearch

Jeffrey S. Evans; Samuel A. Cushman

2009-01-01

Landscape ecology often adopts a patch mosaic model of ecological patterns. However, many ecological attributes are inherently continuous and classification of species composition into vegetation communities and discrete patches provides an overly simplistic view of the landscape. If one adopts a nichebased, individualistic concept of biotic communities then it may...

Structural complexity and developmental stage after an intermediate-scale wind disturbance on an upland Quercus stand

Treesearch

Lauren E. Cox; Justin L. Hart; Callie J. Schweitzer; Daniel C. Dey

2017-01-01

Promoting stand structural complexity is an increasingly popular silvicultural objective, as complex structures are hypothesized to be more resistant and resilient to perturbations. On April 20, 2011 in Lawrence County, Alabama, an EF1 tornado tracked 5 km, leaving a patchwork mosaic of disturbed areas. In summer 2014, we established a 100 m × 200 m (2 ha) rectangular...

Generation of High-Resolution Geo-referenced Photo-Mosaics From Navigation Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delaunoy, O.; Elibol, A.; Garcia, R.; Escartin, J.; Fornari, D.; Humphris, S.

2006-12-01

Optical images of the ocean floor are a rich source of data to understand biological and geological processes. However, due to the attenuation of light in sea water, the area covered by the optical systems is very reduced, and a large number of images are then needed in order to cover an area of interest, as individually they do not provide a global view of the surveyed area. Therefore, generating a composite view (or photo-mosaic) from multiple overlapping images is usually the most practical and flexible solution to visually cover a wide area, allowing the analysis of the site in one single representation of the ocean floor. In most of the camera surveys which are carried out nowadays, some sort of positioning information is available (e.g., USBL, DVL, INS, gyros, etc). If it is a towed camera an estimation of the length of the tether and the mother ship GPS reading could also serve as navigation data. In any case, a photo-mosaic can be build just by taking into account the position and orientation of the camera. On the other hand, most of the regions of interest for the scientific community are quite large (>1Km2) and since better resolution is always required, the final photo-mosaic can be very large (>1,000,000 × 1,000,000 pixels), and cannot be handled by commonly available software. For this reason, we have developed a software package able to load a navigation file and the sequence of acquired images to automatically build a geo-referenced mosaic. This navigated mosaic provides a global view of the interest site, at the maximum available resolution. The developed package includes a viewer, allowing the user to load, view and annotate these geo-referenced photo-mosaics on a personal computer. A software library has been developed to allow the viewer to manage such very big images. Therefore, the size of the resulting mosaic is now only limited by the size of the hard drive. Work is being carried out to apply image processing techniques to the navigated mosaic, with the intention of locally improving image alignment. Tests have been conducted using the data acquired during the cruise LUSTRE'96 (LUcky STRike Exploration, 37°17'N 32°17'W) by WHOI. During this cruise, the ARGO-II tethered vehicle acquired ~21,000 images in a ~1Km2 area of the seafloor to map at high resolution the geology of this hydrothermal field. The obtained geo-referenced photo-mosaic has a resolution of 1.5cm per pixel, with a coverage of ~25% of the Lucky Strike area. Data and software will be made publicly available.

Unraveling complex viral infections in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) from Colombia.

PubMed

Carvajal-Yepes, Monica; Olaya, Cristian; Lozano, Ivan; Cuervo, Maritza; Castaño, Mauricio; Cuellar, Wilmer J

2014-06-24

In the Americas, different disease symptoms have been reported in cassava including leaf mosaics, vein clearings, mottles, ring spots, leaf distortions and undeveloped and deformed storage roots. Some viruses have been identified and associated with these symptoms while others have been reported in symptomless plants or latent infections. We observed that reoviruses associated with severe root symptoms (RS) of Cassava Frogskin Disease (CFSD) are not associated with leaf symptoms (LS) observed in the cassava indicator plant 'Secundina'. Neither were these LS associated with the previously characterized Cassava common mosaic virus, Cassava virus X, Cassava vein mosaic virus or phytoplasma, suggesting the presence of additional pathogens. In order to explain LS observed in cassava we used a combination of biological, serological and molecular tests. Here, we report three newly described viruses belonging to the families Secoviridae, Alphaflexiviridae and Luteoviridae found in cassava plants showing severe RS associated with CFSD. All tested plants were infected by a mix of viruses that induced distinct LS in 'Secundina'. Out of the three newly described viruses, a member of family Secoviridae could experimentally induce LS in single infection. Our results confirm the common occurrence of complex viral infections in cassava field-collected since the 1980s. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Titan's surface at 2.2-cm wavelength imaged by the Cassini RADAR radiometer: Calibration and first results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Janssen, M.A.; Lorenz, R.D.; West, R.; Paganelli, F.; Lopes, R.M.; Kirk, R.L.; Elachi, C.; Wall, S.D.; Johnson, W.T.K.; Anderson, Y.; Boehmer, R.A.; Callahan, P.; Gim, Y.; Hamilton, G.A.; Kelleher, K.D.; Roth, L.; Stiles, B.; Le, Gall A.

2009-01-01

The first comprehensive calibration and mapping of the thermal microwave emission from Titan's surface is reported based on radiometric data obtained at 2.2-cm wavelength by the passive radiometer included in the Cassini Radar instrument. The data reported were accumulated from 69 separate observational segments in Titan passes from Ta (October 2004) through T30 (May 2007) and include emission from 94% of Titan's surface. They are diverse in the key observing parameters of emission angle, polarization, and spatial resolution, and their reduction into calibrated global mosaic maps involved several steps. Analysis of the polarimetry obtained at low to moderate resolution (50+ km) enabled integration of the radiometry into a single mosaic of the equivalent brightness temperature at normal incidence with a relative precision of about 1 K. The Huygens probe measurement of Titan's surface temperature and radiometry obtained on Titan's dune fields allowed us to infer an absolute calibration estimated to be accurate to a level approaching 1 K. The results provide evidence for a surface that is complex and varied on large scales. The radiometry primarily constrains physical properties of the surface, where we see strong evidence for subsurface (volume) scattering as a dominant mechanism that determines the emissivity, with the possibility of a fluffy or graded-density surface layer in many regions. The results are consistent with, but not necessarily definitive of a surface composition resulting from the slow deposition and processing of organic compounds from the atmosphere. ?? 2008 Elsevier Inc.

Topographic and Bioclimatic Determinants of the Occurrence of Forest and Grassland in Tropical Montane Forest-Grassland Mosaics of the Western Ghats, India

PubMed Central

Das, Arundhati; Nagendra, Harini; Anand, Madhur; Bunyan, Milind

2015-01-01

The objective of this analysis was to identify topographic and bioclimatic factors that predict occurrence of forest and grassland patches within tropical montane forest-grassland mosaics. We further investigated whether interactions between topography and bioclimate are important in determining vegetation pattern, and assessed the role of spatial scale in determining the relative importance of specific topographic features. Finally, we assessed the role of elevation in determining the relative importance of diverse explanatory factors. The study area consists of the central and southern regions of the Western Ghats of Southern India, a global biodiversity hotspot. Random forests were used to assess prediction accuracy and predictor importance. Conditional inference classification trees were used to interpret predictor effects and examine potential interactions between predictors. GLMs were used to confirm predictor importance and assess the strength of interaction terms. Overall, topographic and bioclimatic predictors classified vegetation pattern with approximately 70% accuracy. Prediction accuracy was higher for grassland than forest, and for mosaics at higher elevations. Elevation was the most important predictor, with mosaics above 2000m dominated largely by grassland. Relative topographic position measured at a local scale (within a 300m neighbourhood) was another important predictor of vegetation pattern. In high elevation mosaics, northness and concave land surface curvature were important predictors of forest occurrence. Important bioclimatic predictors were: dry quarter precipitation, annual temperature range and the interaction between the two. The results indicate complex interactions between topography and bioclimate and among topographic variables. Elevation and topography have a strong influence on vegetation pattern in these mosaics. There were marked regional differences in the roles of various topographic and bioclimatic predictors across the range of study mosaics, indicating that the same pattern of grass and forest seems to be generated by different sets of mechanisms across the region, depending on spatial scale and elevation. PMID:26121353

Topographic and Bioclimatic Determinants of the Occurrence of Forest and Grassland in Tropical Montane Forest-Grassland Mosaics of the Western Ghats, India.

PubMed

Das, Arundhati; Nagendra, Harini; Anand, Madhur; Bunyan, Milind

2015-01-01

The objective of this analysis was to identify topographic and bioclimatic factors that predict occurrence of forest and grassland patches within tropical montane forest-grassland mosaics. We further investigated whether interactions between topography and bioclimate are important in determining vegetation pattern, and assessed the role of spatial scale in determining the relative importance of specific topographic features. Finally, we assessed the role of elevation in determining the relative importance of diverse explanatory factors. The study area consists of the central and southern regions of the Western Ghats of Southern India, a global biodiversity hotspot. Random forests were used to assess prediction accuracy and predictor importance. Conditional inference classification trees were used to interpret predictor effects and examine potential interactions between predictors. GLMs were used to confirm predictor importance and assess the strength of interaction terms. Overall, topographic and bioclimatic predictors classified vegetation pattern with approximately 70% accuracy. Prediction accuracy was higher for grassland than forest, and for mosaics at higher elevations. Elevation was the most important predictor, with mosaics above 2000 m dominated largely by grassland. Relative topographic position measured at a local scale (within a 300 m neighbourhood) was another important predictor of vegetation pattern. In high elevation mosaics, northness and concave land surface curvature were important predictors of forest occurrence. Important bioclimatic predictors were: dry quarter precipitation, annual temperature range and the interaction between the two. The results indicate complex interactions between topography and bioclimate and among topographic variables. Elevation and topography have a strong influence on vegetation pattern in these mosaics. There were marked regional differences in the roles of various topographic and bioclimatic predictors across the range of study mosaics, indicating that the same pattern of grass and forest seems to be generated by different sets of mechanisms across the region, depending on spatial scale and elevation.

[Congenital anomalies of poor prognosis. Genetics Consensus Committee].

PubMed

Pardo Vargas, Rosa A; Aracena, Mariana; Aravena, Teresa; Cares, Carolina; Cortés, Fanny; Faundes, Víctor; Mellado, Cecilia; Passalacqua, Cristóbal; Sanz, Patricia; Castillo Taucher, Silvia

The Genetic Branch of the Chilean Society of Paediatrics, given the draft Law governing the decriminalisation of abortion on three grounds, focusing on the second ground, which considers the "embryo or foetus suffering from a congenital structural anomaly or a genetic disorder incompatible with life outside the womb", met to discuss the scientific evidence according to which congenital anomalies (CA) may be included in this draft law. Experts in clinical genetics focused on 10 CA, reviewed the literature evidence, and met to discuss it. It was agreed not to use the term "incompatible with life outside the womb", as there are exceptions and longer survivals, and change to "congenital anomaly of poor prognosis (CAPP)". Ten CA were evaluated: serious defects of neural tube closure: anencephaly, iniencephaly and craniorachischisis, pulmonary hypoplasia, acardiac foetus, ectopia cordis, non-mosaic triploidy, "limb body wall" complex, "body stalk" anomaly, trisomy 13, trisomy 18, and bilateral renal agenesis. Findings on the prevalence, natural history, prenatal diagnostic methods, survival, and reported cases of prolonged survival were analysed. Post-natal survival, existence of treatments, and outcomes, as well as natural history without intervention, were taken into account in classifying a CA as a CAPP. A CAPP would be: anencephaly, severe pulmonary hypoplasia, acardiac foetus, cervical ectopia cordis, non-mosaic triploidy, limb body wall complex, body stalk anomaly, non-mosaic trisomy 13, non-mosaic trisomy 18, and bilateral renal agenesis. For their diagnosis, it is required that all pregnant women have access to assessments by foetal anatomy ultrasound and occasionally MRI, and cytogenetic and molecular testing. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Dating ancient mosaic glasses by luminescence: The case study of San Pietro in Vaticano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galli, A.; Martini, M.; Sibilia, E.; Vandini, M.; Villa, I.

2011-12-01

The preliminary results of a study on the dosimetric properties of a set of glass tesserae from the mosaics of the vaults of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome (late XVI century) are reported. The main goal of the research was to assess the possibility of dating them by means of luminescence techniques. The samples had already been extensively studied and investigated from a historical, artistic and compositional point of view. The period of the making of the mosaic was rather well known, and could be the basis to test the experimental procedures we used for dosimetry. The experiments also aimed at demonstrating the validity of the hypothesis we put forward, i.e. the positive link between the presence of micro-crystals and the luminescence sensitivity in mosaic glass: to this aim, the samples richer in crystalline inclusions were selected. The role of calcium antimonate and cassiterite was definitely demonstrated. For what concerns their thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics, a preliminary investigation suggested that the available configuration of the detection systems did not properly fit the wavelength of the emitted TL. Much more promising results have been achieved by the use of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), even if the measured absorbed doses were rather scattered. For one sample with high OSL sensitivity, it was possible to establish its recent age, relative to one of the documented restorations that took place during the last century.

MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby: A summary of scientific observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomon, Sean C.; McNutt, Ralph L.; Boynton, William V.; Evans, Larry G.; Head, James W.; Krimigis, Stamatios M.; Murchie, Scott; Phillips, Roger J.; Slavin, James A.; Zuber, Maria T.

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft, developed under NASA's Discovery Program, will be the first probe to orbit the planet Mercury in March 2011. Launched in August 2004, MESSENGER successfully completed the first of three flybys of Mercury in January 2008. The Mercury Dual Imaging System acquired an 11-color mosaic of part of the hemisphere not seen by Mariner 10, including the entire Caloris basin; several large monochrome mosaics at a range of resolutions; a series of color frames designed for photometric analysis; and inbound and outbound movies. The Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer obtained the first high-resolution spectral reflectance measurements (at ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths) of surface composition, conducted limb scans of exospheric species, and mapped the composition and structure of the tail region. The Magnetometer measured Mercury's internal field at low latitudes and documented the major plasma boundaries of Mercury's magnetosphere. The Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer made the first measurements of low-energy ions in Mercury's magnetosphere. The Mercury Laser Altimeter carried out the first space altimetric profile of the planet. Other instruments in the payload provided baseline measurements that will aid in the interpretation of data from the mission orbital phase. Together, the MESSENGER flyby observations have begun to advance our understanding of the innermost planet.

Can Integrated Micro-Optical Concentrator Technology Revolutionize Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Solar Energy Harvesting?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haney, Michael W.

2015-12-01

The economies-of-scale and enhanced performance of integrated micro-technologies have repeatedly delivered disruptive market impact. Examples range from microelectronics to displays to lighting. However, integrated micro-scale technologies have yet to be applied in a transformational way to solar photovoltaic panels. The recently announced Micro-scale Optimized Solar-cell Arrays with Integrated Concentration (MOSAIC) program aims to create a new paradigm in solar photovoltaic panel technology based on the incorporation of micro-concentrating photo-voltaic (μ-CPV) cells. As depicted in Figure 1, MOSAIC will integrate arrays of micro-optical concentrating elements and micro-scale PV elements to achieve the same aggregated collection area and high conversion efficiency of a conventional (i.e., macro-scale) CPV approach, but with the low profile and mass, and hopefully cost, of a conventional non-concentrated PV panel. The reduced size and weight, and enhanced wiring complexity, of the MOSAIC approach provide the opportunity to access the high-performance/low-cost region between the conventional CPV and flat-plate (1-sun) PV domains shown in Figure 2. Accessing this portion of the graph in Figure 2 will expand the geographic and market reach of flat-plate PV. This talk reviews the motivation and goals for the MOSAIC program. The diversity of the technical approaches to micro-concentration, embedded solar tracking, and hybrid direct/diffuse solar resource collection found in the MOSAIC portfolio of projects will also be highlighted.

Mineralogical and microstructural studies of mortars from the bath complex of the Roman villa rustica near Mosnje (Slovenia)

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

Kramar, Sabina, E-mail: sabina.kramar@rescen.si; Zalar, Vesna; Urosevic, Maja

This study deals with the characterization of mortars collected from bath complex of the Roman villa rustica from an archeological site near Mosnje (Slovenia). The mortar layers of the mosaics, wall paintings and mortar floors were investigated. A special aggregate consisting of brick fragments was present in the mortars studied. The mineralogical and petrographic compositions of the mortars were determined by means of optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy. Analysis of aggregate-binder interfaces using SEM-EDS revealed various types of reactivity rims. In order to assess the hydraulic characteristics of the mortars, the acid-soluble fractions were determined by ICP-OES.more » Furthermore, the results of Hg-porosimetry and gas sorption isotherms showed that mortars with a higher content of brick fragments particles exhibited a higher porosity and a greater BET surface area but a lower average pore diameter compared to mortars lacking this special aggregate. - Highlights: {yields} Mineral and microstructural characterizations of brick-lime mortars. {yields} Hydraulic character of mortars in Roman baths complex. {yields} Reaction rims were observed around brick fragments and dolomitic grains. {yields} Higher content of brick particles yielded a higher BET surface area. {yields} Addition of brick particles increased porosity and diminished pore size diameter.« less

Management strategies for the conservation of forest birds

Treesearch

Kathleen E. Franzreb; Deborah M. Finch; Petra Bohall Wood; David E. Capen

1999-01-01

We recommend that managers of forest-associated bird species follow a five-step hierarchy in establishing and implementing management programs. In essence, a manager must evaluate the composition and physiognomy of the landscape mosaic in the context of the regional and subregional goals and objectives. Then he/she can explore alternatives that allow manipulation of...

Cloud-Free Satellite Image Mosaics with Regression Trees and Histogram Matching.

Treesearch

E.H. Helmer; B. Ruefenacht

2005-01-01

Cloud-free optical satellite imagery simplifies remote sensing, but land-cover phenology limits existing solutions to persistent cloudiness to compositing temporally resolute, spatially coarser imagery. Here, a new strategy for developing cloud-free imagery at finer resolution permits simple automatic change detection. The strategy uses regression trees to predict...

Translingual Practice among African Immigrants in the US: Embracing the Mosaicness of the English Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kigamwa, James Chamwada; Ndemanu, Michael Takafor

2017-01-01

There is a need to embrace translingualism in order to avert covert tensions that emanate from the ascription of linguistic supremacy to "standard" English, especially among teachers of immigrant children and in overall public discourse. Drawing inspiration from the 1974 resolutions of the Conference on College Composition and…

The effect of heterogeneous landscape dynamics on ecotone types at two convergent semi-arid biomes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Landscapes in biome transition zones consist of a mosaic of patches dominated or codominated by species from adjacent biomes. Shifts in the vegetation composition and dynamics of a biome transition zone depend upon the underlying patch dynamics of the ecotones between these dominant species. Landsca...

Niche partitioning in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities in temperate grasslands: a lesson from adjacent serpentine and nonserpentine habitats.

PubMed

Kohout, Petr; Doubková, Pavla; Bahram, Mohammad; Suda, Jan; Tedersoo, Leho; Voříšková, Jana; Sudová, Radka

2015-04-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent an important soil microbial group playing a fundamental role in many terrestrial ecosystems. We explored the effects of deterministic (soil characteristics, host plant life stage, neighbouring plant communities) and stochastic processes on AMF colonization, richness and community composition in roots of Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae) plants from three serpentine grasslands and adjacent nonserpentine sites. Methodically, the study was based on 454-sequencing of the ITS region of rDNA. In total, we detected 81 molecular taxonomical operational units (MOTUs) belonging to the Glomeromycota. Serpentine character of the site negatively influenced AMF root colonization, similarly as higher Fe concentration. AMF MOTUs richness linearly increased along a pH gradient from 3.5 to 5.8. Contrary, K and Cr soil concentration had a negative influence on AMF MOTUs richness. We also detected a strong relation between neighbouring plant community composition and AMF MOTUs richness. Although spatial distance between the sampled sites (c. 0.3-3 km) contributed to structuring AMF communities in K. arvensis roots, environmental parameters were key factors in this respect. In particular, the composition of AMF communities was shaped by the complex of serpentine conditions, pH and available soil Ni concentration. The composition of AMF communities was also dependent on host plant life stage (vegetative vs. generative). Our study supports the dominance of deterministic factors in structuring AMF communities in heterogeneous environment composed of an edaphic mosaic of serpentine and nonserpentine soils. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Overexpression of PhEXPA1 increases cell size, modifies cell wall polymer composition and affects the timing of axillary meristem development in Petunia hybrida.

PubMed

Zenoni, Sara; Fasoli, Marianna; Tornielli, Giovanni Battista; Dal Santo, Silvia; Sanson, Andrea; de Groot, Peter; Sordo, Sara; Citterio, Sandra; Monti, Francesca; Pezzotti, Mario

2011-08-01

• Expansins are cell wall proteins required for cell enlargement and cell wall loosening during many developmental processes. The involvement of the Petunia hybrida expansin A1 (PhEXPA1) gene in cell expansion, the control of organ size and cell wall polysaccharide composition was investigated by overexpressing PhEXPA1 in petunia plants. • PhEXPA1 promoter activity was evaluated using a promoter-GUS assay and the protein's subcellular localization was established by expressing a PhEXPA1-GFP fusion protein. PhEXPA1 was overexpressed in transgenic plants using the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and chemical analysis were used for the quantitative analysis of cell wall polymers. • The GUS and GFP assays demonstrated that PhEXPA1 is present in the cell walls of expanding tissues. The constitutive overexpression of PhEXPA1 significantly affected expansin activity and organ size, leading to changes in the architecture of petunia plants by initiating premature axillary meristem outgrowth. Moreover, a significant change in cell wall polymer composition in the petal limbs of transgenic plants was observed. • These results support a role for expansins in the determination of organ shape, in lateral branching, and in the variation of cell wall polymer composition, probably reflecting a complex role in cell wall metabolism. © 2011 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2011 New Phytologist Trust.

Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of Jupiter's equatorial region at 727 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers. Light at 727 nm is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.

North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 4)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of Jupiter's equatorial region at 727 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers. Light at 727 nm is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper-tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.

North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Jupiter's Northern Hemisphere in Violet Light (Time Set 3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers. Light at 410 nanometers is affected by the sizes and compositions of cloud particles, as well as the trace chemicals that give Jupiter's clouds their colors. This mosaic shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and the hazy cloud layer above it.

North is at the top. The images are projected on a sphere, with features being foreshortened towards the north. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the mosaic. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on April 3, 1997, at a range of 1.4 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system (CCD) on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

The Fluid-Mosaic Model of Membrane Structure: still relevant to understanding the structure, function and dynamics of biological membranes after more than 40 years.

PubMed

Nicolson, Garth L

2014-06-01

In 1972 the Fluid-Mosaic Membrane Model of membrane structure was proposed based on thermodynamic principals of organization of membrane lipids and proteins and available evidence of asymmetry and lateral mobility within the membrane matrix [S. J. Singer and G. L. Nicolson, Science 175 (1972) 720-731]. After over 40years, this basic model of the cell membrane remains relevant for describing the basic nano-structures of a variety of intracellular and cellular membranes of plant and animal cells and lower forms of life. In the intervening years, however, new information has documented the importance and roles of specialized membrane domains, such as lipid rafts and protein/glycoprotein complexes, in describing the macrostructure, dynamics and functions of cellular membranes as well as the roles of membrane-associated cytoskeletal fences and extracellular matrix structures in limiting the lateral diffusion and range of motion of membrane components. These newer data build on the foundation of the original model and add new layers of complexity and hierarchy, but the concepts described in the original model are still applicable today. In updated versions of the model more emphasis has been placed on the mosaic nature of the macrostructure of cellular membranes where many protein and lipid components are limited in their rotational and lateral motilities in the membrane plane, especially in their natural states where lipid-lipid, protein-protein and lipid-protein interactions as well as cell-matrix, cell-cell and intracellular membrane-associated protein and cytoskeletal interactions are important in restraining the lateral motility and range of motion of particular membrane components. The formation of specialized membrane domains and the presence of tightly packed integral membrane protein complexes due to membrane-associated fences, fenceposts and other structures are considered very important in describing membrane dynamics and architecture. These structures along with membrane-associated cytoskeletal and extracellular structures maintain the long-range, non-random mosaic macro-organization of membranes, while smaller membrane nano- and submicro-sized domains, such as lipid rafts and protein complexes, are important in maintaining specialized membrane structures that are in cooperative dynamic flux in a crowded membrane plane. This Article is Part of a Special Issue Entitled: Membrane Structure and Function: Relevance in the Cell's Physiology, Pathology and Therapy. © 2013.

An Investigation of the Use of Real-time Image Mosaicing for Facilitating Global Spatial Awareness in Visual Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soung Yee, Anthony

Three experiments have been completed to investigate whether and how a software technique called real-time image mosaicing applied to a restricted field of view (FOV) might influence target detection and path integration performance in simulated aerial search scenarios, representing local and global spatial awareness tasks respectively. The mosaiced FOV (mFOV) was compared to single FOV (sFOV) and one with double the single size (dFOV). In addition to advancing our understanding of visual information in mosaicing, the present study examines the advantages and limitations of a number of metrics used to evaluate performance in path integration tasks, with particular attention paid to measuring performance in identifying complex routes. The highlights of the results are summarized as follows, according to Experiments 1 through 3 respectively. 1. A novel response method for evaluating route identification performance was developed. The surmised benefits of the mFOV relative to sFOV and dFOV revealed no significant differences in performance for the relatively simple route shapes tested. Compared to the mFOV and dFOV conditions, target detection performance in the local task was found to be superior in the sFOV condition. 2. In order to appropriately quantify the observed differences in complex route selections made by the participants, a novel analysis method was developed using the Thurstonian Paired Comparisons Method. 3. To investigate the effect of display size and elevation angle (EA) in a complex route environment, a 2x3 experiment was conducted for the two spatial tasks, at a height selected from Experiment 2. Although no significant differences were found in the target detection task, contrasts in the Paired Comparisons Method results revealed that route identification performance were as hypothesised: mFOV > dFOV > sFOV for EA = 90°. Results were similar for EA = 45°, but with mFOV being no different than dFOV. As hypothesised, EA was found to have an effect on route selection performance, with a top down view performing better than an angled view for the mFOV and sFOV conditions.

Molecular characterization of emaraviruses associated with Pigeonpea sterility mosaic disease.

PubMed

Kumar, Surender; Subbarao, B L; Hallan, Vipin

2017-09-19

Sterility Mosaic Disease (SMD) of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh) is a complex disease due to various factors including the presence of a mixed infection. Comparison of dsRNA profile and small RNA (sRNA) deep sequencing analysis of samples from three locations revealed the presence of Pigeonpea sterility mosaic virus-I and II (PPSMV-I and II) from Chevella and only PPSMV-II from Bengaluru and Coimbatore. PPSMV-I genome consisted of four while PPSMV-II encompassed six RNAs. The two viruses have modest sequence homology between their corresponding RNA 1-4 encoding RdRp, glycoprotein precursor, nucleocapsid and movement proteins and the corresponding orthologs of other emaraviruses. However, PPSMV-II is more related to Fig mosaic virus (FMV) than to PPSMV-I. ELISA based detection methodology was standardized to identify these two viruses, uniquely. Mite inoculation of sub-isolate Chevella sometimes resulted in few- to- many pigeonpea plants containing PPSMV-I alone. The study shows that (i) the N-terminal region of RdRp (SRD-1) of both the viruses contain "cap-snatching" endonuclease domain and a 13 AA cap binding site at the C-terminal, essential for viral cap-dependent transcription similar to the members of Bunyaviridae family and (ii) P4 is the movement protein and may belong to '30 K superfamily' of MPs.

Invasive Processes, Mosaics and the Structure of Helminth Parasite Faunas

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The biosphere in evolutionary and ecological time has been structured by episodes of geographic and host colonization that have determined distributions for complex assemblages of microparasites and macroparasites including helminths circulating among vertebrates. Biological invasion is an intricat...

Changes in soil solution chemistry of Andisols following invasion by bracken fern

Treesearch

J. L. Johnson-Maynard; P. A. McDaniel; D. E. Ferguson; A. L. Falen

1998-01-01

Disturbed areas within the Grand Fir Mosaic (GFM) ecosystem of northern Idaho show little to no natural conifer regeneration. Clear-cut sites are invaded quickly by bracken fern successional communities and seem to be in an arrested state of secondary succession. This study compared the soil solution composition of Andisols supporting bracken fern successional...

Trisomy 15 mosaicism and uniparental disomy (UPD) in a liveborn infant

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

Milunsky, J.M.; Wyandt, H.E.; Amos, J.A.

We describe a liveborn infant with UPD in association with trisomy 15 mosaicism. Third trimester amniocentesis was performed for suspected IUGR. Results revealed 46,XX/47,XX,+15. The infant initially had respiratory distress and fed poorly. Symmetrical growth retardation, craniofacial dysmorphism, excess nuchal folds, a heart murmur, hypermobile joints, minor limb abnormalities, absent spontaneous movement and an abnormal cry were noted. Further study showed complex heart defects, including VSD and PDA, a left choroid plexus cyst, 13 ribs bilaterally, abnormal optic discs, abnormal visual evoked potentials and abnormal auditory brain stem responses. The infant died at 6 weeks of life from cardio-respiratory complications.more » Blood chromosomes were normal, 46,XX in 100 cells. Parental blood chromosomes were normal. Skin biopsy revealed 46,XX/47,XX,+15 in 40/50 (80%) cells as did autopsy lung tissue. Molecular analysis of the infant`s blood revealed maternal uniparental heterodisomy for chromosome 15 in the 46,XX cell line. Microsatellite analysis demonstrated that the extra chromosome originated from a maternal meiosis I nondisjunction. To our knowledge, this is the first liveborn infant with mosaic trisomy 15 and UPD in the diploid cells. Trisomy 15, heretofore, has been regarded as nonviable, even in mosaic form. While maternal UPD is associated with the Prader-Willi syndrome phenotype, mosaicism for trisomy 15 has been reported only when confined to the placenta. UPD in this case generally complicated prediction of the phenotype and raises the question whether all cases with UPD 15 should have more than one tissue studied to determine undetected trisomy 15.« less

E4 True and False Color Hot Spot Mosaic

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-03-06

True and false color views of Jupiter from NASA's Galileo spacecraft show an equatorial "hotspot" on Jupiter. These images cover an area 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles). The top mosaic combines the violet and near infrared continuum filter images to create an image similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundances of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere. The bottom mosaic uses Galileo's three near-infrared wavelengths displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the deep cloud with an overlying thin haze. The light blue region to the left is covered by a very high haze layer. The multicolored region to the right has overlapping cloud layers of different heights. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging camera system aboard Galileo. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00602

Effect of Sugarcane Mosaic caused by Sorghum mosaic virus on sugarcane in Louisiana

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sugarcane mosaic is caused by two viruses, Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCVM) or Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV). In Louisiana, SrMV is the predominant mosaic pathogen affecting sugarcane. In a field experiment established in 2012, plots were planted with seed cane with or without mosaic symptoms. The mosaic...

Subsurface Implications of Spatially Variable Seafloor Character on the Atlantis Massif

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greene, J. A.; Tominaga, M.; Blackman, D. K.

2014-12-01

We documented and mapped the characteristics of the seafloor on the Atlantis Massif, an ocean core complex located at 30°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Our goal is to investigate the implications of these surficial features, particularly whether their spatial variations might reflect subsurface lithology and geological processes. We utilized data collected during the MARVEL 2000 cruise AT3-60, specifically Alvin videos and rock samples, Argo II digital still photos, and TOBI/DSL-120 side-scan sonar mosaic. The Alvin dives studied occurred over the Central Dome and Eastern Block, which is interpreted as the hanging wall to the detachment that unroofed the dome. We also studied two Argo II dives located over the Central Dome, one over the Eastern Block, and one over the Western Shoulder of the southern dome. The TOBI/DSL-120 side-scan sonar followed a widespread, looped track providing near total coverage of the massif. We classified the character of the seafloor based on imagery, the acoustic reflectivity, and the basic composition of rock samples. To aid in our classification, we merged Argo II still images to produce photo-mosaics displaying tens of meters long transects. We then classified the seafloor as unconsolidated sediment, lithified sediment (a carbonate crust or cap), exposed bedrock, or rubble. To obtain a broader understanding of the Atlantis Massif, we analyzed the distribution of these classes of seafloor. Over the Central Dome and Western Shoulder, we found most seafloor classes present in notable amounts, with many individual areas dominated by a particular type.

Foliar fungal communities strongly differ between habitat patches in a landscape mosaic

PubMed Central

Robin, Cécile; Capdevielle, Xavier; Delière, Laurent; Vacher, Corinne

2016-01-01

Background Dispersal events between habitat patches in a landscape mosaic can structure ecological communities and influence the functioning of agrosystems. Here we investigated whether short-distance dispersal events between vineyard and forest patches shape foliar fungal communities. We hypothesized that these communities homogenize between habitats over the course of the growing season, particularly along habitat edges, because of aerial dispersal of spores. Methods We monitored the richness and composition of foliar and airborne fungal communities over the season, along transects perpendicular to edges between vineyard and forest patches, using Illumina sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Results In contrast to our expectation, foliar fungal communities in vineyards and forest patches increasingly differentiate over the growing season, even along habitat edges. Moreover, the richness of foliar fungal communities in grapevine drastically decreased over the growing season, in contrast to that of forest trees. The composition of airborne communities did not differ between habitats. The composition of oak foliar fungal communities change between forest edge and centre. Discussion These results suggest that dispersal events between habitat patches are not major drivers of foliar fungal communities at the landscape scale. Selective pressures exerted in each habitat by the host plant, the microclimate and the agricultural practices play a greater role, and might account for the differentiation of foliar fugal communities between habitats. PMID:27833817

Multifocal nerve lesions and LZTR1 germline mutations in segmental schwannomatosis.

PubMed

Farschtschi, Said; Mautner, Victor-Felix; Pham, Mirko; Nguyen, Rosa; Kehrer-Sawatzki, Hildegard; Hutter, Sonja; Friedrich, Reinhard E; Schulz, Alexander; Morrison, Helen; Jones, David T W; Bendszus, Martin; Bäumer, Philipp

2016-10-01

Schwannomatosis is a genetic disorder characterized by the occurrence of multiple peripheral schwannomas. Segmental schwannomatosis is diagnosed when schwannomas are restricted to 1 extremity and is thought to be caused by genetic mosaicism. We studied 5 patients with segmental schwannomatosis through microstructural magnetic resonance neurography and mutation analysis of NF2, SMARCB1, and LZTR1. In 4 of 5 patients, subtle fascicular nerve lesions were detected in clinically unaffected extremities. Two patients exhibited LZTR1 germline mutations. This appears contrary to a simple concept of genetic mosaicism and suggests more complex and heterogeneous mechanisms underlying the phenotype of segmental schwannomatosis than previously thought. Ann Neurol 2016;80:625-628. © 2016 American Neurological Association.

Mineralogy of Mare Serenitatis on the near side of the Moon based on Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Prabhjot; Bhattacharya, Satadru; Chauhan, Prakash; Ajai; Kiran Kumar, A. S.

2013-01-01

Spectral analysis of Mare Serenitatis has been carried out using Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) data in order to map the compositional diversity of the basaltic units that exist in the basin. Mare Serenitatis is characterized by multiple basaltic flows of different ages indicating a prolonged volcanism subsequent to the basin formation event. Reflectance spectra of fresh craters from the Mare Serenitatis have been analyzed to study the nature and location of the spectral absorption features around 1- and 2-μm respectively, arising due to the electronic charge transition of Fe2+ in the crystal lattice of pyroxenes and/or olivine. Chandrayaan-1 M3 data have been utilized to obtain an Integrated Band Depth (IBD) mosaic of the Serenitatis basin. Based on the spectral variations observed in the IBD mosaic, 13 spectral units have been mapped in the Mare Serenitatis. In the present study, we have also derived spectral band parameters, namely, band center, band strength, band area and band area ratio from the M3 data to study the mineralogical and compositional variations amongst the basaltic units of the studied basin. On the basis of spectral band parameter analysis, the pyroxene compositions of the basaltic units have been determined, which vary from low to intermediate end of the high-Ca pyroxene and probably represent a sub-calcic to calcic augite compositional range. Detailed spectral analyses reveal little variations in the mafic mineralogy of the mare basalts in terms of pyroxene chemistry. The uniformity in pyroxene composition across the basaltic units of Mare Serenitatis, therefore, suggest a probably stable basaltic source region, which might not have experienced large-scale fractionation during the prolonged volcanism that resulted in filling of the large Serenitatis basin.

Concerted and mosaic evolution of functional modules in songbird brains

PubMed Central

DeVoogd, Timothy J.

2017-01-01

Vertebrate brains differ in overall size, composition and functional capacities, but the evolutionary processes linking these traits are unclear. Two leading models offer opposing views: the concerted model ascribes major dimensions of covariation in brain structures to developmental events, whereas the mosaic model relates divergent structures to functional capabilities. The models are often cast as incompatible, but they must be unified to explain how adaptive changes in brain structure arise from pre-existing architectures and developmental mechanisms. Here we show that variation in the sizes of discrete neural systems in songbirds, a species-rich group exhibiting diverse behavioural and ecological specializations, supports major elements of both models. In accordance with the concerted model, most variation in nucleus volumes is shared across functional domains and allometry is related to developmental sequence. Per the mosaic model, residual variation in nucleus volumes is correlated within functional systems and predicts specific behavioural capabilities. These comparisons indicate that oscine brains evolved primarily as a coordinated whole but also experienced significant, independent modifications to dedicated systems from specific selection pressures. Finally, patterns of covariation between species and brain areas hint at underlying developmental mechanisms. PMID:28490627

Invertebrate community response to a shifting mosaic of habitat

USGS Publications Warehouse

Engle, David M.; Fuhlendorf, S.D.; Roper, A.; Leslie, David M.

2008-01-01

Grazing management has focused largely on promoting vegetation homogeneity through uniform distribution of grazing to minimize area in a pasture that is either heavily disturbed or undisturbed. An alternative management model that couples grazing and fire (i.e., patch burning) to promote heterogeneity argues that grazing and fire interact through a series of positive and negative feedbacks to cause a shifting mosaic of vegetation composition and structure across the landscape. We compared patch burning with traditional homogeneity-based management in tallgrass prairie to determine the influence of the two treatments on the aboveground invertebrate community. Patch burning resulted in a temporal flush of invertebrate biomass in patches transitional between unburned and patches burned in the current year. Total invertebrate mass was about 50% greater in these transitional patches within patch-burned pastures as compared to pastures under traditional, homogeneity-based management. Moreover, the mosaic of patches in patch-burned pastures contained a wider range of invertebrate biomass and greater abundance of some invertebrate orders than did the traditionally managed pastures. Patch burning provides habitat that meets requirements for a broad range of invertebrate species, suggesting the potential for patch burning to benefit other native animal assemblages in the food chain.

It's All About That Basin

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-02-26

This mosaic of Caloris basin is an enhanced-color composite overlain on a monochrome mosaic featured in a previous post. The color mosaic is made up of WAC images obtained when both the spacecraft and the Sun were overhead, conditions best for discerning variations in albedo, or brightness. The monochrome mosaic is made up of WAC and NAC images obtained at off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and with visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features. The combination of the two datasets allows the correlation of geologic features with their color properties. In portions of the scene, color differences from image to image are apparent. Ongoing calibration efforts by the MESSENGER team strive to minimize these differences. Caloris basin has been flooded by lavas that appear orange in this mosaic. Post-flooding craters have excavated material from beneath the surface. The larger of these craters have exposed low-reflectance material (blue in this mosaic) from beneath the surface lavas, likely giving a glimpse of the original basin floor material. Analysis of these craters yields an estimate of the thickness of the volcanic layer: 2.5–3.5 km (1.6–2.2 mi.). The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. In the mission's more than three years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Turbulent Region Near Jupiter's Great Red Spot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

True and false color mosaics of the turbulent region west of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is on the planetary limb on the right hand side of each mosaic. The region west (left) of the Great Red Spot is characterized by large, turbulent structures that rapidly change in appearance. The turbulence results from the collision of a westward jet that is deflected northward by the Great Red Spot into a higher latitude eastward jet. The large eddies nearest to the Great Red Spot are bright, suggesting that convection and cloud formation are active there.

The top mosaic combines the violet (410 nanometers) and near infrared continuum (756 nanometers) filter images to create a mosaic similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundance of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere. The lower mosaic uses the Galileo imaging camera's three near-infrared (invisible) wavelengths (756 nanometers, 727 nanometers, and 889 nanometers displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Light blue clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are deep, and white clouds are high and thick. Purple most likely represents a high haze overlying a clear deep atmosphere. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter.

The mosaic is centered at 16.5 degrees south planetocentric latitude and 85 degrees west longitude. The north-south dimension of the Great Red Spot is approximately 11,000 kilometers. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. North is at the top of the picture. The images used were taken on June 26, 1997 at a range of 1.2 million kilometers (1.05 million miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov.

Jupiter's Equatorial Region in the Two Methane Bands (Time set 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaics of an equatorial 'hotspot' on Jupiter at 727 nanometers (top) and 889 nanometers (bottom). The mosaics cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers. The darker region near the center of each mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance.

Light at 727 nanometers (nm) is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This mosaic shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. Light at 889 nm is strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane. This mosaic shows the features of a hazy cloud layer tens of kilometers above Jupiter's main visible cloud deck. This haze varies in height but appears to be present over the entire region. Small patches of very bright clouds may be similar to terrestrial thunderstorms. Together images at these wavelengths provide a three dimensional view of the cloud layers in Jupiter's atmosphere.

North is at the top. The mosaics cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Re-analysis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 isolates from Cyprus and Greece, initially designated 'subtype I', reveals a unique complex A/G/H/K/? mosaic pattern.

PubMed

Paraskevis, D; Magiorkinis, M; Vandamme, A M; Kostrikis, L G; Hatzakis, A

2001-03-01

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been classified into three main groups and 11 distinct subtypes. Moreover, several circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) of HIV-1 have been recently documented to have spread widely causing extensive HIV-1 epidemics. A subtype, initially designated I (CRF04_cpx), was documented in Cyprus and Greece and was found to comprise regions of sequence derived from subtypes A and G as well as regions of unclassified sequence. Re-analysis of the three full-length CRF04_cpx sequences that were available revealed a mosaic genomic organization of unique complexity comprising regions of sequence from at least five distinct subtypes, A, G, H, K and unclassified regions. These strains account for approximately 2% of the total HIV-1-infected population in Greece, thus providing evidence of the great capability of HIV-1 to recombine and produce highly divergent strains which can be spread successfully through different infection routes.

Determinants of plant community assembly in a mosaic of landscape units in central Amazonia: ecological and phylogenetic perspectives.

PubMed

Umaña, María Natalia; Norden, Natalia; Cano, Angela; Stevenson, Pablo R

2012-01-01

The Amazon harbours one of the richest ecosystems on Earth. Such diversity is likely to be promoted by plant specialization, associated with the occurrence of a mosaic of landscape units. Here, we integrate ecological and phylogenetic data at different spatial scales to assess the importance of habitat specialization in driving compositional and phylogenetic variation across the Amazonian forest. To do so, we evaluated patterns of floristic dissimilarity and phylogenetic turnover, habitat association and phylogenetic structure in three different landscape units occurring in terra firme (Hilly and Terrace) and flooded forests (Igapó). We established two 1-ha tree plots in each of these landscape units at the Caparú Biological Station, SW Colombia, and measured edaphic, topographic and light variables. At large spatial scales, terra firme forests exhibited higher levels of species diversity and phylodiversity than flooded forests. These two types of forests showed conspicuous differences in species and phylogenetic composition, suggesting that environmental sorting due to flood is important, and can go beyond the species level. At a local level, landscape units showed floristic divergence, driven both by geographical distance and by edaphic specialization. In terms of phylogenetic structure, Igapó forests showed phylogenetic clustering, whereas Hilly and Terrace forests showed phylogenetic evenness. Within plots, however, local communities did not show any particular trend. Overall, our findings suggest that flooded forests, characterized by stressful environments, impose limits to species occurrence, whereas terra firme forests, more environmentally heterogeneous, are likely to provide a wider range of ecological conditions and therefore to bear higher diversity. Thus, Amazonia should be considered as a mosaic of landscape units, where the strength of habitat association depends upon their environmental properties.

Determinants of Plant Community Assembly in a Mosaic of Landscape Units in Central Amazonia: Ecological and Phylogenetic Perspectives

PubMed Central

Umaña, María Natalia; Norden, Natalia; Cano, Ángela; Stevenson, Pablo R.

2012-01-01

The Amazon harbours one of the richest ecosystems on Earth. Such diversity is likely to be promoted by plant specialization, associated with the occurrence of a mosaic of landscape units. Here, we integrate ecological and phylogenetic data at different spatial scales to assess the importance of habitat specialization in driving compositional and phylogenetic variation across the Amazonian forest. To do so, we evaluated patterns of floristic dissimilarity and phylogenetic turnover, habitat association and phylogenetic structure in three different landscape units occurring in terra firme (Hilly and Terrace) and flooded forests (Igapó). We established two 1-ha tree plots in each of these landscape units at the Caparú Biological Station, SW Colombia, and measured edaphic, topographic and light variables. At large spatial scales, terra firme forests exhibited higher levels of species diversity and phylodiversity than flooded forests. These two types of forests showed conspicuous differences in species and phylogenetic composition, suggesting that environmental sorting due to flood is important, and can go beyond the species level. At a local level, landscape units showed floristic divergence, driven both by geographical distance and by edaphic specialization. In terms of phylogenetic structure, Igapó forests showed phylogenetic clustering, whereas Hilly and Terrace forests showed phylogenetic evenness. Within plots, however, local communities did not show any particular trend. Overall, our findings suggest that flooded forests, characterized by stressful environments, impose limits to species occurrence, whereas terra firme forests, more environmentally heterogeneous, are likely to provide a wider range of ecological conditions and therefore to bear higher diversity. Thus, Amazonia should be considered as a mosaic of landscape units, where the strength of habitat association depends upon their environmental properties. PMID:23028844

Development of Self-Assembled Nanoscale Templates via Microphase Separation Induced by Polymer Brushes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Elza

Phase separation in soft matter has been the crucial element in generating hybrid materials, such as polymer blends and mixed polymer brushes. This dissertation discusses two methods of developing self-assembled nanoscale templates via microphase separation induced by polymer brush synthesis. This work introduces a novel soft substrate approach with renewable grafting sites where polyacrylamide is "grafted through" chitosan soft substrates. The mechanism of grafting leads to ordered arrays of filament-like nanostructures spanning the chitosan-air interface. Additionally, the chemical composition of the filaments allows for post-chemical modification to change the physical properties of the filaments, and subsequently tailor surfaces for specific application. Unlike traditional materials, multi-functional or "smart" materials, such as binary polymer brushes (BPB) are capable of spontaneously changing the spatial distribution of functional groups and morphology at the surface upon external stimuli. Although promising in principle, the limited range of available complementary polymers with common non-selective solvents confines the diversity of usable materials and restricts any further advancement in the field. This dissertation also covers the fabrication and characterization of responsive nanoscale polystyrene templates or "mosaic" brushes that are capable of changing interfacial composition upon exposure to varying solvent qualities. Using a "mosaic" brush template is a unique approach that allows the fabrication of strongly immiscible polymer BPB without the need for a common solvent. The synthesis of such BPB is exemplified by two strongly immiscible polymers, i.e. polystyrene (polar) and polyacrylamide (non-polar), where polyacrylamide brush is "graft through" a Si-substrate modified with the polystyrene collapsed "mosaic" brush. The surface exhibits solvent-triggered responses, as well as application potential for anti-biofouling.

Vegetation-site relationships and fire history of a savanna-glade-woodland mosaic in the Ozarks

Treesearch

Sean E. Jenkins; Richard Guyette; Alan J. Rebertus

1997-01-01

There is a growing interest in reconstructing past disturbance regimes and how they influenced plant composition, structure and landscape pattern. Such information is useful to resource managers for determining the effects of fire suppression on vegetation or tailoring prescribed fires to restore community and landscape diversity. In the spring of 1995, the National...

Wildlife adaptations and management in eastside interior forests with mixed severity fire regimes.

Treesearch

John F. Lehmkuhl

2004-01-01

Little is known about the effects of mixed severity fire on wildlife, but a population viability analysis framework that considers habitat quantity and quality, species life history, and species population structure can be used to analyze management options. Landscape-scale habitat patterns under a mixed severity fire regime are a mosaic of compositional and structural...

Canopy gaps and dead tree dynamics: poking holes in the forest.

Treesearch

Sally Duncan

2002-01-01

When large trees die, individually or in clumps, gaps are opened in the forest canopy. A shifting mosaic of patches, from small single-tree gaps to very large gaps caused by wildlife, is a natural part of the development of composition and structure in mature forests. Gaps increase the diversity of forests across the landscape and present local environments that...

Land use legacy effects on structure and composition of subtropical dry forests in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Treesearch

Emily E. Atkinson; Erika Marín-Spiotta

2015-01-01

Tropical dry forests are subject to intense human pressure and land change, including conversion to agricultural crops, pasture or agroforestry, and urban encroachment. Decades, and even centuries, of conversion, expansion, regrowth, and changing land-use practices can result in a mosaic of secondary growth patches with different land-use histories. Whereas post-...

Molecular breeding of transgenic white clover (Trifolium repens L.) with field resistance to Alfalfa mosaic virus through the expression of its coat protein gene.

PubMed

Panter, S; Chu, P G; Ludlow, E; Garrett, R; Kalla, R; Jahufer, M Z Z; de Lucas Arbiza, A; Rochfort, S; Mouradov, A; Smith, K F; Spangenberg, G

2012-06-01

Viral diseases, such as Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), cause significant reductions in the productivity and vegetative persistence of white clover plants in the field. Transgenic white clover plants ectopically expressing the viral coat protein gene encoded by the sub-genomic RNA4 of AMV were generated. Lines carrying a single copy of the transgene were analysed at the molecular, biochemical and phenotypic level under glasshouse and field conditions. Field resistance to AMV infection, as well as mitotic and meiotic stability of the transgene, were confirmed by phenotypic evaluation of the transgenic plants at two sites within Australia. The T(0) and T(1) generations of transgenic plants showed immunity to infection by AMV under glasshouse and field conditions, while the T(4) generation in an agronomically elite 'Grasslands Sustain' genetic background, showed a very high level of resistance to AMV in the field. An extensive biochemical study of the T(4) generation of transgenic plants, aiming to evaluate the level and composition of natural toxicants and key nutritional parameters, showed that the composition of the transgenic plants was within the range of variation seen in non-transgenic populations.

Suitability of low cost commercial off-the-shelf aerial platforms and consumer grade digital cameras for small format aerial photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turley, Anthony Allen

Many research projects require the use of aerial images. Wetlands evaluation, crop monitoring, wildfire management, environmental change detection, and forest inventory are but a few of the applications of aerial imagery. Low altitude Small Format Aerial Photography (SFAP) is a bridge between satellite and man-carrying aircraft image acquisition and ground-based photography. The author's project evaluates digital images acquired using low cost commercial digital cameras and standard model airplanes to determine their suitability for remote sensing applications. Images from two different sites were obtained. Several photo missions were flown over each site, acquiring images in the visible and near infrared electromagnetic bands. Images were sorted and analyzed to select those with the least distortion, and blended together with Microsoft Image Composite Editor. By selecting images taken within minutes apart, radiometric qualities of the images were virtually identical, yielding no blend lines in the composites. A commercial image stitching program, Autopano Pro, was purchased during the later stages of this study. Autopano Pro was often able to mosaic photos that the free Image Composite Editor was unable to combine. Using telemetry data from an onboard data logger, images were evaluated to calculate scale and spatial resolution. ERDAS ER Mapper and ESRI ArcGIS were used to rectify composite images. Despite the limitations inherent in consumer grade equipment, images of high spatial resolution were obtained. Mosaics of as many as 38 images were created, and the author was able to record detailed aerial images of forest and wetland areas where foot travel was impractical or impossible.

Temporal-spatial distribution of American bison (Bison bison) in a tallgrass prairie fire mosaic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schuler, K.L.; Leslie, David M.; Shaw, J.H.; Maichak, E.J.

2006-01-01

Fire and bison (Bison bison) are thought to be historically responsible for shaping prairie vegetation in North America. Interactions between temporal-spatial distributions of bison and prescribed burning protocols are important in current restoration of tallgrass prairies. We examined dynamics of bison distribution in a patch-burned tallgrass prairie in the south-central United States relative to bison group size and composition, and burn age and temporal distribution. Bison formed larger mixed groups during summer and smaller sexually segregated groups the rest of the year, and bison selected dormant-season burn patches in the 1st posture growing season most often during spring and summer. Large bison herds selecting recently burned areas resulted in seasonally variable and concentrated grazing pressure that may substantially alter site-specific vegetation. These dynamics must be considered when reintroducing bison and fire into tallgrass prairie because variable outcomes of floral richness and structural complexity are likely depending on temporal-spatial distribution of bison. ?? 2006 American Society of Mammalogists.

Specificity of Intramembrane Protein–Lipid Interactions

PubMed Central

Contreras, Francesc-Xabier; Ernst, Andreas Max; Wieland, Felix; Brügger, Britta

2011-01-01

Our concept of biological membranes has markedly changed, from the fluid mosaic model to the current model that lipids and proteins have the ability to separate into microdomains, differing in their protein and lipid compositions. Since the breakthrough in crystallizing membrane proteins, the most powerful method to define lipid-binding sites on proteins has been X-ray and electron crystallography. More recently, chemical biology approaches have been developed to analyze protein–lipid interactions. Such methods have the advantage of providing highly specific cellular probes. With the advent of novel tools to study functions of individual lipid species in membranes together with structural analysis and simulations at the atomistic resolution, a growing number of specific protein–lipid complexes are defined and their functions explored. In the present article, we discuss the various modes of intramembrane protein–lipid interactions in cellular membranes, including examples for both annular and nonannular bound lipids. Furthermore, we will discuss possible functional roles of such specific protein–lipid interactions as well as roles of lipids as chaperones in protein folding and transport. PMID:21536707

Rover's Wheel Churns Up Bright Martian Soil (Vertical)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired this mosaic on the mission's 1,202nd Martian day, or sol (May 21, 2007), while investigating the area east of the elevated plateau known as 'Home Plate' in the 'Columbia Hills.' The mosaic shows an area of disturbed soil, nicknamed 'Gertrude Weise' by scientists, made by Spirit's stuck right front wheel.

The trench exposed a patch of nearly pure silica, with the composition of opal. It could have come from either a hot-spring environment or an environment called a fumarole, in which acidic, volcanic steam rises through cracks. Either way, its formation involved water, and on Earth, both of these types of settings teem with microbial life.

The image is presented here as a vertical projection, as if looking straight down, and in false color, which brings out subtle color differences.

Rover's Wheel Churns Up Bright Martian Soil (False Color)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired this mosaic on the mission's 1,202nd Martian day, or sol (May 21, 2007), while investigating the area east of the elevated plateau known as 'Home Plate' in the 'Columbia Hills.' The mosaic shows an area of disturbed soil, nicknamed 'Gertrude Weise' by scientists, made by Spirit's stuck right front wheel.

The trench exposed a patch of nearly pure silica, with the composition of opal. It could have come from either a hot-spring environment or an environment called a fumarole, in which acidic, volcanic steam rises through cracks. Either way, its formation involved water, and on Earth, both of these types of settings teem with microbial life.

The image is presented here in false color that is used to bring out subtle differences in color.

Construction of physical crosslink-based chitosan/liquid crystal composite hydrogel and evaluation on their cytocompatibility

PubMed Central

Du, Lin; Yang, Xiaohui; Li, Wenqiang; Luo, Xuhui; Wu, Hao; Zhang, Jiaqing; Tu, Mei

2017-01-01

In order to provide a novel biomimetic composite substrate for tissue engineering and explore the interaction between cells and this type of material, we developed chitosan/liquid crystal (CS/LC) composite hydrogel with embedded LC phases by composing of cholesterol hydroxypropyl cellulose ester liquid crystalline material and CS. The micromorphology of CS/LC composite hydrogels exhibited ‘islands-sea’ phase separation structures similar to the ‘fluid mosaic model’ of biomembrane. In vitro cell compatibility study suggested that 3T3 is fibroblasts exhibited better initial cell adhesions and higher proliferation rates on the composite hydrogel than on the polystyrene control plate and the pure LC membrane. This novel CS/LC composite hydrogel provides more favorable interface for cell growth and proliferation and may serve as potentially active substrate for engineering interfaces to live cells. PMID:28149528

Association between the degree of mosaicism and the severity of syndrome in Turner mosaics and Klinefelter mosaics.

PubMed

Sarkar, R; Marimuthu, K M

1983-12-01

This study, based on the investigations carried on 82 cases of Turners of which 50 of them were mosaics and 85 cases of Klinefelters of which 70 of them were mosaics, is an attempt to explain the vast range of clinical variations observed in cytogenetically established Turner mosaics (45,X/46,XX) and Klinefelter mosaics (47,XXY/46,XY) in the light of the degree of mosaicism present in them. It was observed that the severity of the syndrome in Turner mosaics and Klinefelter mosaics increased with the relative increase in the abnormal cell line population.

Mercury compositional units inferred by MDIS. A comparison with the geology in support to the BepiColombo mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zambon, Francesca; Carli, Cristian; Galluzzi, Valentina; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; Filacchione, Gianrico; Giacomini, Lorenza; Massirioni, Matteo; Palumbo, Pasquale

2016-04-01

Mercury has been explored by two spatial missions. Mariner 10 acquired 45% of the surface during three Hermean flybys in 1974, giving a first close view of the planet. The recent MESSENGER mission globally mapped the planet and contributed to understand many unsolved issues about Mercury (Solomon et al., 2007). Nevertheless, even after MESSENGER, Mercury surface composition remains still unclear, and the correlation between morphology and compositional heterogeneity is not yet well understood. Thanks to the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), onboard MESSENGER, a global coverage of Mercury surface with variable spatial resolution has been done. MDIS is equipped with a Narrow Angle Camera (NAC), dedicated to the high-resolution study of the surface morphology and a Wide Angle Camera (WAC) with 12 filters useful to investigate the surface composition (Hawkins et al., 2007). Several works were focused on the different terrains present on Mercury, in particular, Denevi et al. (2013) observes that ~27% of Hermean surface is covered by volcanic origin smooth plains. These plains show differences in composition associated to spectral slope variation. High-reflectance red plains (HRP), with spectral slope greater than the average and low-reflectance blue plains (LBP), with spectral slope lesser than the average has been identified. This spectral variations could be correlated with different chemical composition. The X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) data show that HRP-type areas are associated with a low-Fe basalt-like composition, while the LBP are also Fe poor but are rich in Mg/Si and Ca/Si and with lower Al/Si and are interpreted as more ultramafic (Nittler et al., 2011; Weider et al., 2012; Denevi at al., 2013, Weider et al., 2014). In these work we produce high resolution multicolor mosaic to found a possible link between morphology and composition. The spectral properties have been used to define the principal units of Mercury's surface or to characterize other globally distributed distinct spectral units. Therefore, integrating the spectral variability to a well defined morpho-stratigraphic (photo-interpreted) map will permit to improve the geologic map itself, defining sub-units, and associating spectral properties to analogue deposits. We are working to produce quadrangles color mosaics and high resolution color mosaics of smaller areas to define color products (common planetary geologic map) and obtain an "advanced" geologic map. The mapping process permits integration of different geological surface information to better understand the planet crust formation and evolution. Merging data from different instruments provides additional information about lithological composition, contributing to the construction of a more complete geological map (e.g., Giacomini et al., 2012). These work has been done in support of the BepiColombo Mission, which has an innovative Spectrometer and Imagers Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS). SIMBIO-SYS is composed by three instruments, the visible-near-infrared imaging spectrometer (VIHI), the high-resolution imager (HRIC) and the stereo imaging system (STC) which will be albe to improve the knowledge of Mercury surface form the geological and compositional point of view. This research was supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) within the SIMBIOSYS project (ASI-INAF agreement no. I/022/10/0)

Quantification of Pea enation mosaic virus 1 and 2 during infection of Pisum sativum by one step real-time RT-PCR.

PubMed

Doumayrou, Juliette; Sheber, Melissa; Bonning, Bryony C; Miller, W Allen

2017-02-01

Pea enation mosaic virus 1 (PEMV1) and Pea enation mosaic virus 2 (PEMV2) are two viruses in an obligate symbiosis that cause pea enation mosaic disease mainly in plants in the Fabaceae family. This virus system is a valuable model to investigate plant virus replication, movement and vector transmission. Thus, here we describe growth conditions, virus detection methods, and virus accumulation behavior. To measure the accumulation and movement of PEMV1 and PEMV2 in plants during the course of infection, we developed a quantitative real-time one-step reverse transcription PCR procedure using the SYBR-green ® technology. Viral primers were designed that anneal to conserved but distinct regions in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene of each virus. Moreover, the normalization of viral accumulation was performed to correct for sample-to-sample variation by designing primers to two different Pisum sativum housekeeping genes: actin and β-tubulin. Transcript levels for these housekeeping genes did not change significantly in response to PEMV infection. Conditions were established for maximum PCR efficiency for each gene, and quantification using QuBit ® technology. Both viruses reached maximum accumulation around 21days post-inoculation of pea plants. These results provide valuable tools and knowledge to allow reproducible studies of this emerging model virus system virus complex. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape-scale food webs of fish nursery habitat along a river-coast mixing zone

EPA Science Inventory

We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to study connections between allochthonous energy use and ecological connectivity of fish larvae in a complex coastal mosaic. We quantified fish larvae support by autochthonous and allochthonous material in three coastal river-w...

40 CFR 174.514 - Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. 174.514... Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic...

40 CFR 174.514 - Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. 174.514... Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic...

40 CFR 174.514 - Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. 174.514... Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic...

40 CFR 174.514 - Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. 174.514... Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic...

Individual Differences in Pain: Understanding the Mosaic that Makes Pain Personal

PubMed Central

Fillingim, Roger B.

2016-01-01

The experience of pain is characterized by tremendous inter-individual variability. Multiple biological and psychosocial variables contribute to these individual differences in pain, including demographic variables, genetic factors, and psychosocial processes. For example, sex, age and ethnic group differences in the prevalence of chronic pain conditions have been widely reported. Moreover, these demographic factors have been associated with responses to experimentally-induced pain. Similarly, both genetic and psychosocial factors contribute to clinical and experimental pain responses. Importantly, these different biopsychosocial influences interact with each other in complex ways to sculpt the experience of pain. Some genetic associations with pain have been found to vary across sex and ethnic group. Moreover, genetic factors also interact with psychosocial factors, including stress and pain catastrophizing, to influence pain. The individual and combined influences of these biological and psychosocial variables results in a unique mosaic of factors that contributes pain in each individual. Understanding these mosaics is critically important in order to provide optimal pain treatment, and future research to further elucidate the nature of these biopsychosocial interactions is needed in order to provide more informed and personalized pain care. PMID:27902569

Applying circuit theory for corridor expansion and management at regional scales: tiling, pinch points, and omnidirectional connectivity.

PubMed

Pelletier, David; Clark, Melissa; Anderson, Mark G; Rayfield, Bronwyn; Wulder, Michael A; Cardille, Jeffrey A

2014-01-01

Connectivity models are useful tools that improve the ability of researchers and managers to plan land use for conservation and preservation. Most connectivity models function in a point-to-point or patch-to-patch fashion, limiting their use for assessing connectivity over very large areas. In large or highly fragmented systems, there may be so many habitat patches of interest that assessing connectivity among all possible combinations is prohibitive. To overcome these conceptual and practical limitations, we hypothesized that minor adaptation of the Circuitscape model can allow the creation of omnidirectional connectivity maps illustrating flow paths and variations in the ease of travel across a large study area. We tested this hypothesis in a 24,300 km(2) study area centered on the Montérégie region near Montréal, Québec. We executed the circuit model in overlapping tiles covering the study region. Current was passed across the surface of each tile in orthogonal directions, and then the tiles were reassembled to create directional and omnidirectional maps of connectivity. The resulting mosaics provide a continuous view of connectivity in the entire study area at the full original resolution. We quantified differences between mosaics created using different tile and buffer sizes and developed a measure of the prominence of seams in mosaics formed with this approach. The mosaics clearly show variations in current flow driven by subtle aspects of landscape composition and configuration. Shown prominently in mosaics are pinch points, narrow corridors where organisms appear to be required to traverse when moving through the landscape. Using modest computational resources, these continuous, fine-scale maps of nearly unlimited size allow the identification of movement paths and barriers that affect connectivity. This effort develops a powerful new application of circuit models by pinpointing areas of importance for conservation, broadening the potential for addressing intriguing questions about resource use, animal distribution, and movement.

Agroforestry versus farm mosaic systems - Comparing land-use efficiency, economic returns and risks under climate change effects.

PubMed

Paul, Carola; Weber, Michael; Knoke, Thomas

2017-06-01

Increasing land-use conflicts call for the development of land-use systems that reconcile agricultural production with the provisioning of multiple ecosystem services, including climate change mitigation. Agroforestry has been suggested as a global solution to increase land-use efficiency, while reducing environmental impacts and economic risks for farmers. Past research has often focused on comparing tree-crop combinations with agricultural monocultures, but agroforestry has seldom been systematically compared to other forms of land-use diversification, including a farm mosaic. This form of diversification mixes separate parcels of different land uses within the farm. The objective of this study was to develop a modelling approach to compare the performance of the agroforestry and farm mosaic diversification strategies, accounting for tree-crop interaction effects and economic and climate uncertainty. For this purpose, Modern Portfolio Theory and risk simulation were coupled with the process-based biophysical simulation model WaNuLCAS 4.0. For an example application, we used data from a field trial in Panama. The results show that the simulated agroforestry systems (Taungya, alley cropping and border planting) could outperform a farm mosaic approach in terms of cumulative production and return. Considering market and climate uncertainty, agroforestry showed an up to 21% higher economic return at the same risk level (i.e. standard deviation of economic returns). Farm compositions with large shares of land allocated to maize cultivation were also more severely affected by an increasing drought frequency in terms of both risks and returns. Our study demonstrates that agroforestry can be an economically efficient diversification strategy, but only if the design allows for economies of scope, beneficial interactions between trees and crops and higher income diversification compared to a farm mosaic. The modelling approach can make an important contribution to support land-use decisions at the farm level and reduce land-use conflicts at the landscape level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Global color and albedo variations on Io

USGS Publications Warehouse

McEwen, A.S.

1988-01-01

Three multispectral mosaics of Io have been produced from Voyager imaging data: a global mosaic from each of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 data sets and a high-resolution mosaic of the region surrounding the volcano Ra Patera. The mosaics are maps of normal albedo and color in accurate geometric map formats. Io's photometric behavior, mapped with a two-image technique, is spatially variable, especially in the bright white areas. The disk-integrated color and albedo of the satellite have been remarkably constant over recent decades, despite the volcanic activity and the many differences between Voyager 1 and 2 images (acquired just 4 months apart). This constancy is most likely due to the consistent occurrence of large Pele-type plumes with relatively dark, red deposits in the region from long 240 to 360??. A transient brightening southeast of Pele during the Voyager 1 encounter was probably due to real changes in surface and/or atmospheric materials, rather than to photometric behavior. The intrinsic spectral variability of Io, as seen in a series of two-dimensional histograms of the multispectral mosaics, consists of continuous variation among three major spectral end members. The data were mapped into five spectral units to compare them with laboratory measurements of candidate surface materials and to show the planimetric distributions. Unit 1 is best fit by the spectral reflectance of ordinary elemental sulfur, and it is closely associated with the Peletype plume deposits. Unit 2 is strongly confined to the polar caps above about latitude ??50??, but its composition is unknown. Unit 5 is probably SO2 with relatively minor contamination; it is concentrated in the equatorial region and near the long-lived Prometheus-type plumes. Units 3 and 4 are gradational between units 1 and 5. In addition to SO2 and elemental sulfur, other plausible components of the surface are polysulfur oxides, FeCl2, Na2S, and NaHS. ?? 1988.

Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of Jupiter's equatorial region at 727 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers. Light at 727 nm is moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of Jupiter's main visible cloud deck and upper-tropospheric haze, with higher features enhanced in brightness over lower features. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation.

North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the image. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

40 CFR 174.514 - Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic... Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus; exemption from the requirement for a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and Zucchini Yellow Mosaic...

Physical and Structural Studies on the Cryo-cooling of Insulin Crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lovelace, J.; Bellamy, H.; Snell, E. H.; Borgstahl, G.

2003-01-01

Reflection profiles were analyzed from microgravity-(mg) and earth-grown insulin crystals to measure mosaicity (h) and to reveal mosaic domain structure and composition. The effects of cryocooling on single and multi-domain crystals were compared. The effects of cryocooling on insulin structure were also re-examined. Microgravity crystals were larger, more homogeneous, and more perfect than earth crystals. Several mg crystals contained primarily a single mosaic domain with havg of 0.005deg. The earth crystals varied in quality and all contained multiple domains with havg of 0.031deg. Cryocooling caused a 43-fold increase in h for mg crystals (havg=0.217deg) and an %fold increase for earth crystals (havg=0.246deg). These results indicate that very well-ordered crystals are not completely protected from the stresses associated with cryocooling, especially when structural perturbations occur. However, there were differences in the reflection profiles. For multi-mosaic domain crystals, each domain individually broadened and separated from the other domains upon cryo-cooling. Cryo-cooling did not cause an increase in the number of domains. A crystal composed of a single domain retained this domain structure and the reflection profiles simply broadened. Therefore, an improved signal-to-noise ratio for each reflection was measured from cryo-cooled single domain crystals relative to cryo-cooled multi-domain crystals. This improved signal, along with the increase in crystal size, facilitated the measurement of the weaker high- resolution reflections. The observed broadening of reflection profiles indicates increased variation in unit cell dimensions which may be linked to cryo-cooling-associated structural changes and disorder.

Molecular Evolution and Mosaicism of Leptospiral Outer Membrane Proteins Involves Horizontal DNA Transfer

PubMed Central

Haake, David A.; Suchard, Marc A.; Kelley, Melissa M.; Dundoo, Manjula; Alt, David P.; Zuerner, Richard L.

2004-01-01

Leptospires belong to a genus of parasitic bacterial spirochetes that have adapted to a broad range of mammalian hosts. Mechanisms of leptospiral molecular evolution were explored by sequence analysis of four genes shared by 38 strains belonging to the core group of pathogenic Leptospira species: L. interrogans, L. kirschneri, L. noguchii, L. borgpetersenii, L. santarosai, and L. weilii. The 16S rRNA and lipL32 genes were highly conserved, and the lipL41 and ompL1 genes were significantly more variable. Synonymous substitutions are distributed throughout the ompL1 gene, whereas nonsynonymous substitutions are clustered in four variable regions encoding surface loops. While phylogenetic trees for the 16S, lipL32, and lipL41 genes were relatively stable, 8 of 38 (20%) ompL1 sequences had mosaic compositions consistent with horizontal transfer of DNA between related bacterial species. A novel Bayesian multiple change point model was used to identify the most likely sites of recombination and to determine the phylogenetic relatedness of the segments of the mosaic ompL1 genes. Segments of the mosaic ompL1 genes encoding two of the surface-exposed loops were likely acquired by horizontal transfer from a peregrine allele of unknown ancestry. Identification of the most likely sites of recombination with the Bayesian multiple change point model, an approach which has not previously been applied to prokaryotic gene sequence analysis, serves as a model for future studies of recombination in molecular evolution of genes. PMID:15090524

Cytosine methylation inhibits replication of African cassava mosaic virus by two distinct mechanisms.

PubMed Central

Ermak, G; Paszkowski, U; Wohlmuth, M; Scheid, O M; Paszkowski, J

1993-01-01

Extrachromosomally replicating viral DNA is usually free of cytosine methylation and viral templates methylated in vitro are poor substrates when used in replication assays. We have investigated the mechanism of inhibition of viral replication by DNA methylation using as a model the DNA A of African cassava mosaic virus. We have constructed two component helper systems which allow for separation of the transcriptional inhibition of viral genes necessary for replication from replication inhibition due to altered interaction between the replication complex and methylated viral DNA. Our results suggest that methylation-mediated reduction of viral replication is due to both repression mechanisms and that this provides two independent selection pressures for the maintenance of methylation-free replicons in infected cells. Images PMID:7688453

Copepod communities from surface and ground waters in the everglades, south Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bruno, M.C.; Cunningham, K.J.; Perry, S.A.

2003-01-01

We studied species composition and individual abundance of copepods in the surficial aquifer northeast of Everglades National Park. We identified the spatial distribution of subsurface habitats by assessing the depth of the high porosity layers in the limestone along a canal system, and we used copepods to assess the exchange between surface water and ground water along canal banks, at levels in the wells where high porosity connections to the canals exist. Surface- and ground-water taxa were defined, and species composition was related to areal position, sampling depth, and time. Subsurface copepod communities were dominated by surface copepods that disperse into the aquifer following the groundwater seepage along canal L-31N. The similarities in species composition between wells along canal reaches, suggest that copepods mainly enter ground water horizontally along canals via active and passive dispersal. Thus, the copepod populations indicate continuous connections between surface- and ground waters. The most abundant species were Orthocyclops modestus, Arctodiaptomus floridanus, Mesocyclops edax, and Thermocyclops parvus, all known in literature from surface habitats; however, these species have been collected in ground water in ENP. Only two stygophiles were collected: Diacylcops nearcticus and Diacyclops crassicaudis brachycercus. Restoration of the Everglades ecosystem requires a mosaic of data to reveal a complete picture of this complex system. The use of copepods as indicators of seepage could be a tool in helping to assess the direction and the duration of surface and ground water exchange.

Composition, Production and Procurement of Glass at San Vincenzo al Volturno: An Early Medieval Monastic Complex in Southern Italy

PubMed Central

Schibille, Nadine; Freestone, Ian C.

2013-01-01

136 glasses from the ninth-century monastery of San Vincenzo and its workshops have been analysed by electron microprobe in order to situate the assemblage within the first millennium CE glass making tradition. The majority of the glass compositions can be paralleled by Roman glass from the first to third centuries, with very few samples consistent with later compositional groups. Colours for trailed decoration on vessels, for vessel bodies and for sheet glass for windows were largely produced by melting the glass tesserae from old Roman mosaics. Some weakly-coloured transparent glass was obtained by re-melting Roman window glass, while some was produced by melting and mixing of tesserae, excluding the strongly coloured cobalt blues. Our data suggest that to feed the needs of the glass workshop, the bulk of the glass was removed as tesserae and windows from a large Roman building. This is consistent with a historical account according to which the granite columns of the monastic church were spolia from a Roman temple in the region. The purported shortage of natron from Egypt does not appear to explain the dependency of San Vincenzo on old Roman glass. Rather, the absence of contemporary primary glass may reflect the downturn in long-distance trade in the later first millennium C.E., and the role of patronage in the “ritual economy” founded upon donations and gift-giving of the time. PMID:24146876

Composition, production and procurement of glass at San Vincenzo Al Volturno: an early Medieval monastic complex in Southern Italy.

PubMed

Schibille, Nadine; Freestone, Ian C

2013-01-01

136 glasses from the ninth-century monastery of San Vincenzo and its workshops have been analysed by electron microprobe in order to situate the assemblage within the first millennium CE glass making tradition. The majority of the glass compositions can be paralleled by Roman glass from the first to third centuries, with very few samples consistent with later compositional groups. Colours for trailed decoration on vessels, for vessel bodies and for sheet glass for windows were largely produced by melting the glass tesserae from old Roman mosaics. Some weakly-coloured transparent glass was obtained by re-melting Roman window glass, while some was produced by melting and mixing of tesserae, excluding the strongly coloured cobalt blues. Our data suggest that to feed the needs of the glass workshop, the bulk of the glass was removed as tesserae and windows from a large Roman building. This is consistent with a historical account according to which the granite columns of the monastic church were spolia from a Roman temple in the region. The purported shortage of natron from Egypt does not appear to explain the dependency of San Vincenzo on old Roman glass. Rather, the absence of contemporary primary glass may reflect the downturn in long-distance trade in the later first millennium C.E., and the role of patronage in the "ritual economy" founded upon donations and gift-giving of the time.

Intercultural Communication and the Concept of Marginality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, Gladys David

The complex mosaic of cultural and racial heterogeneity in America throughout the twentieth century has given rise to various sociological perspectives to interpret the evolving interaction patterns and to give clues to the direction that policy decisions should take. The major theoretical frames of reference have been assimilation and cultural…

Host responses to historical climate change shape parasite communities in North America’s intermountain west

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Host-parasite co-speciation, in which parasite divergence occurs in response to host divergence, is commonly proposed as a driver of parasite diversification, yet few empirical examples of strict co-speciation exist. Host-parasite co-evolutionary histories commonly reflect complex mosaics of co-spe...

IMPLICATIONS OF INTER-HABITAT VARIATION FOR MONITORING GREAT RIVER ECOSYSTEMS: EMAP-UMR EXPERIENCE

EPA Science Inventory

Great River ecosystems (GREs) are complex mosaics of habitats that vary at multiple scales. GRE monitoring designs can capture some but not all of this variation. Each discrete habitat, however defined, must either be sampled as a separate strata or "resource population", combine...

Vegetation composition and structure of forest patches along urban-rural gradients

Treesearch

W.C. Zipperer; G.R. Guntenspergen

2009-01-01

The urban landscape is highly altered by human activities and is a mosaic of different land covers and land uses. Imbedded in this are forest patches of different origins (Zipperer et al .• 1997). How these patches influence and are influenced by the urban landscape is of ecological importance when managing the urban forest for ecosystem goods and services.

Computing Global Mosaics of Titan With the VIMS Imaging Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Mouelic, S.; Cornet, T.; Rodriguez, S.; Sotin, C.; Barnes, J. W.; Brown, R. H.; Baines, K. H.; Buratti, B. J.; Clark, R. N.; Nicholson, P. D.

2015-12-01

The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) onboard Cassini observes the surface of Titan in seven narrow atmospheric windows in the infrared at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.01, 2.68-2.78, and 4.9-5.1 microns. We have produced a global hyperspectral mosaic of the complete VIMS data set of Titan between T0 (July 2004) and T112 flyby (July 2015), by merging all the data cubes sorted by increasing spatial resolution, with the high resolution images on top of the mosaic and the low resolution images used as background. We filtered out the observing geometry in order to remove the pixels acquired in too extreme illuminating and viewing conditions, which systematically produce atmospheric artifacts. We used thresholds of 80° both on the incidence and emission angles, 100° on the phase angle, and 7 on the airmass. These thresholds corresponds to a trade-off between surface coverage and data quality. The viewing geometry is normalized at first order using a surface photometric function derived from the observation at 5 μm, where the atmospheric scattering is almost negligible. We also use the wings of the atmospheric windows as a proxy to correct for the amount of additive scattering present in the center of these windows, where the surface is seen by VIMS. Various color composites can then be produced using combinations of different wavelengths to emphasize surface heterogeneities. Among these, a RGB composite with red controlled by the 5 μm image, the green by the 2 μm image and the blue by the 1.27 μm, reveals the extent of equatorial dune fields appearing in brownish tones. Bluish areas corresponds to regions possibly enriched in water ice or other organic compounds. Composite of band ratios such as 1.59/1.27 μm, 2.03/1.27 μm and 1.27/1.08 also prove to be more useful to better emphasize surface variations, even if they are also more sensitive to residual artefacts due to atmospheric and geometric effects or calibration residuals.

Biological soil crusts: a fundamental organizing agent in global drylands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belnap, J.; Zhang, Y.

2013-12-01

Ecosystem function is profoundly affected by plant community composition, which is ultimately determined by factors that govern seed retention. Dryland ecosystems constitute ~35% of terrestrial surfaces, with most soils in these regions covered by biological soil crusts (biocrusts), a community whose autotrophs are dominated by cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses. Studies at 550 sites revealed that plant community composition was controlled by the interaction among biocrust type, disturbance regime, and external morphology of seeds. In bare soils (due to disturbance), all seed types were present in the seedbank and plant community. As biocrusts became better developed (i.e., the cover of lichens and mosses increased), they more strongly filtered out seeds with appendages. Thus, soils under late successional biocrusts contained seedbanks dominated by smooth seeds and vascular plants growing in late successional biocrusts were dominated by those with smooth seeds. Therefore, the tension between the removal of biocrusts by soil surface disturbance and their recovery creates a shifting mosaic of plant patch types in both space and time. Because changes in vascular plant communities reverberate throughout both below ground and above ground food webs and thus affect multiple trophic levels, we propose that biocrusts are a fundamental organizing agent in drylands worldwide. Future increased demand for resources will intensify land use both temporally and spatially, resulting in an increased rate of biocrust loss across larger areas. As a result, we can expect shifts in the composition and distribution of plant communities, accompanied by concomitant changes in many aspects of dryland ecosystems. Conceptual model of shifting dryland plant mosaics through space and time. Within the large circles, soil surface type changes with time in the same space, going from bare uncrusted soil (B) to cyanobacterial biocrust (C) to lichen/moss (L/M) biocrust. Disturbance (D) drives the cycle back towards U, and recovery (R) drives it towards L/M. Larger disturbances and dispersal of biocrust organisms among the larger circles result in mosaics that shift in space as well. The bar chart shows the proportion of smooth (left side) and rough (right side) seeds under different crust types.

Arctic systems in the Quaternary: ecological collision, faunal mosaics and the consequences of a wobbling climate.

PubMed

Hoberg, E P; Cook, J A; Agosta, S J; Boeger, W; Galbreath, K E; Laaksonen, S; Kutz, S J; Brooks, D R

2017-07-01

Climate oscillations and episodic processes interact with evolution, ecology and biogeography to determine the structure and complex mosaic that is the biosphere. Parasites and parasite-host assemblages are key components in a general explanatory paradigm for global biodiversity. We explore faunal assembly in the context of Quaternary time frames of the past 2.6 million years, a period dominated by episodic shifts in climate. Climate drivers cross a continuum from geological to contemporary timescales and serve to determine the structure and distribution of complex biotas. Cycles within cycles are apparent, with drivers that are layered, multifactorial and complex. These cycles influence the dynamics and duration of shifts in environmental structure on varying temporal and spatial scales. An understanding of the dynamics of high-latitude systems, the history of the Beringian nexus (the intermittent land connection linking Eurasia and North America) and downstream patterns of diversity depend on teasing apart the complexity of biotic assembly and persistence. Although climate oscillations have dominated the Quaternary, contemporary dynamics are driven by tipping points and shifting balances emerging from anthropogenic forces that are disrupting ecological structure. Climate change driven by anthropogenic forcing has supplanted a history of episodic variation and is eliminating ecological barriers and constraints on development and distribution for pathogen transmission. A framework to explore interactions of episodic processes on faunal structure and assembly is the Stockholm Paradigm, which appropriately shifts the focus from cospeciation to complexity and contingency in explanations of diversity.

Art with Stones: From the Cave Age until Today with Parallels Seen in the Artistic, Symbolic and Creative Development of Young Children's Mosaic Making.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matejovsky-Nikoltsos, Catherine

This paper first gives a historical overview of mosaics, discussing mosaic masks made by the Aztecs and floor mosaics made by the Greeks, as well as the Roman mosaics at Pompeii and the Byzantine decorative mosaics exemplified by those at Ravenna. The paper then elaborates on children's mosaic making observed during research conducted between 1986…

Application of remote sensing to the geological study of the alkaline complex region of Itatiaia. [Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Rodrigues, J. E.

1980-01-01

The methodology of remote sensing applied to geological study in a complex area was evaluated. Itatiaia was selected as a test area, which covers the alkaline massives and its precambrian basement. LANDSAT-MSS and radar mosaic of the RADAMBRASIL Project were used for photointerpretation. Previous geological works were consulted and many discrepancies in the distribution of stratigraphic units were found. Moreover, structural lineaments and talus deposits were clearly delineated.

Rover's Wheel Churns Up Bright Martian Soil (Stereo)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit acquired this mosaic on the mission's 1,202nd Martian day, or sol (May 21, 2007), while investigating the area east of the elevated plateau known as 'Home Plate' in the 'Columbia Hills.' The mosaic shows an area of disturbed soil, nicknamed 'Gertrude Weise' by scientists, made by Spirit's stuck right front wheel.

The trench exposed a patch of nearly pure silica, with the composition of opal. It could have come from either a hot-spring environment or an environment called a fumarole, in which acidic, volcanic steam rises through cracks. Either way, its formation involved water, and on Earth, both of these types of settings teem with microbial life.

Multiple images taken with Spirit's panoramic camera are combined here into a stereo view that appears three-dimensional when seen through red-blue glasses, with the red lens on the left.

Structure et caractérisation des matériaux utilisés dans la construction d'une mosaı̈que romaine de la cité de Volubilis (Maroc)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekayir, Abdelilah; Amouric, Marc; Olives, Juan; Parron, Claude; Nadiri, Abdelilah; Chergui, Abdelkader; El Hajraoui, M. Abdeljalil

2004-09-01

In Volubilis, Roman mosaics are very beautiful and reveal, from the bottom to the surface, three layers: ( i) 'hedgehog' layer, ( ii) coarse grain mortar layer (rudus + nucleus) and ( iii) tesselatum. Mineralogical analysis of coarse grain mortar sampled in Flavius Germanus mosaic shows that it consisted of quartz and calcite, with some feldspar and probably mica and dolomite. Fine-grained mortar in tesselatum is made from a mixture of calcite and quartz only. Limestone tesserae (white, pink and brown) show petrographic facies that change from micritic to oolithic limestone. Conversely, black and brick red tesserae are respectively made of marble, red sandstone and from fire clay. Other colours as yellow, blue, green and grey are obtained from artificial glass with different chemical compositions. To cite this article: A. Dekayir et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).

Turnip mosaic virus Moves Systemically through Both Phloem and Xylem as Membrane-Associated Complexes1

PubMed Central

Zheng, Huanquan

2015-01-01

Plant viruses move systemically in plants through the phloem. They move as virions or as ribonucleic protein complexes, although it is not clear what these complexes are made of. The approximately 10-kb RNA genome of Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) encodes a membrane protein, known as 6K2, that induces endomembrane rearrangements for the formation of viral replication factories. These factories take the form of vesicles that contain viral RNA (vRNA) and viral replication proteins. In this study, we report the presence of 6K2-tagged vesicles containing vRNA and the vRNA-dependent RNA polymerase in phloem sieve elements and in xylem vessels. Transmission electron microscopy observations showed the presence in the xylem vessels of vRNA-containing vesicles that were associated with viral particles. Stem-girdling experiments, which leave xylem vessels intact but destroy the surrounding tissues, confirmed that TuMV could establish a systemic infection of the plant by going through xylem vessels. Phloem sieve elements and xylem vessels from Potato virus X-infected plants also contained lipid-associated nonencapsidated vRNA, indicating that the presence of membrane-associated ribonucleic protein complexes in the phloem and xylem may not be limited to TuMV. Collectively, these studies indicate that viral replication factories could end up in the phloem and the xylem. PMID:25717035

Three-dimensional mosaicking of the South Korean radar network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berenguer, Marc; Sempere-Torres, Daniel; Lee, GyuWon

2016-04-01

Dense radar networks offer the possibility of improved Quantitative Precipitation Estimation thanks to the additional information collected in the overlapping areas, which allows mitigating errors associated with the Vertical Profile of Reflectivity or path attenuation by intense rain. With this aim, Roca-Sancho et al. (2014) proposed a technique to generate 3-D reflectivity mosaics from the multiple radars of a network. The technique is based on an inverse method that simulates the radar sampling of the atmosphere considering the characteristics (location, frequency and scanning protocol) of each individual radar. This technique has been applied to mosaic the observations of the radar network of South Korea (composed of 14 S-band radars), and integrate the observations of the small X-band network which to be installed near Seoul in the framework of a project funded by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA). The evaluation of the generated 3-D mosaics has been done by comparison with point measurements (i.e. rain gauges and disdrometers) and with the observations of independent radars. Reference: Roca-Sancho, J., M. Berenguer, and D. Sempere-Torres (2014), An inverse method to retrieve 3D radar reflectivity composites, Journal of Hydrology, 519, 947-965, doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.07.039.

Analytical characterization of glass tesserae from mosaics of early Christian basilicas in Albania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vataj, Esmeralda; Hobdari, Elio; Röhrs, Stefan; Vandenabele, Peter; Civici, Nikolla

2017-01-01

The present paper constitutes the first archaeometric study of the glass mosaic tesserae recovered from the archaeological excavation of the mosaics at the Early Christian basilicas in Bylis, Lin and Elbasan, belonging to fifth to sixth century AD. The main objective of the study is the characterization of the materials, glass matrix, colourants and opacifiers used for their production. A multi-analytical approach, which includes optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer, micro-X-ray fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy, is used during the investigation of 72 tesserae of different colours collected from the three sites. All the tesserae are opaque and have heterogeneous surfaces with several bubbles and crystalline inclusions. Most of the glass tesserae have the characteristic soda-lime-silica composition, and low concentrations of potash and magnesium indicate natron as soda source, which is typical for the Roman glass. Compounds containing Mn, Fe, Cu, Co, Pb and Sn are used as colourants in the tesserae of different colours. Mineral inclusions are mostly composed of undissolved raw materials, i.e., silicon-, calcium- and tin-rich particles. It is interesting to notice that SnO2 has been used as opacifier in all the tesserae. Thin layers of Au foil placed between two transparent glasses are identified in the gold-coloured tesserae.

[Cross-sectional study of intestinal parasitosis in child populations in Argentina].

PubMed

Navone, Graciela Teresa; Zonta, María Lorena; Cociancic, Paola; Garraza, Mariela; Gamboa, María Inés; Giambelluca, Luis Alberto; Dahinten, Silvia; Oyhenart, Evelia Edith

2017-06-08

Determine the distribution of intestinal parasitosis in children in nine provinces representative of Argentina's mosaic of contrasting environments. Descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study of preschool children (5 years old or under) and school-age children (6-14 years) in the provinces of Buenos Aires (sample taken between 2005 and 2013), Chubut (2010-2013), Corrientes (2012), Entre Ríos (2010-2012), Formosa (2014), La Pampa (2006), Mendoza (2008-2011), Misiones (2005-2008 and 2013), and Salta (2012-2013). Serial samples, fecal samples, and anal swabs were processed using concentration techniques. The results were analyzed by sex, age interval, and province. Frequency of parasitosis (monoparasitosis and multiple parasitoses), wealth of species, and Sørensen similarity coefficient were calculated. Misiones presented the highest frequency of parasitized children and Chubut the lowest (82.0% vs 38.4%; p < 0.01). The number of species was greatest in Misiones and Buenos Aires and lowest in Chubut and La Pampa. Men were parasitized more than women only in Buenos Aires. The highest frequencies were found in preschool children in Buenos Aires and schoolchildren in Mendoza and Misiones (p < 0.05). Monoparasitosis was most frequent in Chubut (67.9%) and multiple parasitosis in Formosa (69.2%). The most frequent species in the majority of provinces were Blastocystis sp. and Enterobius vermicularis. Misiones presented the highest frequency of soil-transmitted helminthes (23.3%) and Mendoza the lowest (0.6%); none were found in Chubut, La Pampa, or Salta. Buenos Aires, Formosa, and Misiones presented a similar species composition, as did Chubut and La Pampa. The frequency of parasitosis in Argentina corresponds to the country's complex mosaic of climatic and socioeconomic variability and shows a declining trend from north to south and from east to west.

Facies mosaic in a fiord: Carboniferous-Permian Talchir Formation, India

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

Bose, P.K.; Mukhopadhyay, G.; Bhattacharya, H.N.

1988-01-01

Facies analysis of the basal 37m of the Carboniferous-Permian Talchir Formation is a glacier-fed bedrock trough in Dudhi nala, Bihar, India, provides insight into the pattern of sedimentation of course gravels in a fiord. Rapid transitions between 11 recognized facies, together with their complex organization, random variability in bed thickness, and differences in clast, shape, size, and composition indicate coalescence of fans developed from numerous point sources bordering the elongated trough. Converging slide masses and lodgment tillites on the slopes flanking the trough give way to sediment gravity flow deposits composed of an array of conglomerates (matrix and clast supportedmore » with normal, inverse of absence of grading), attendant turbidite sands, and prodelta mud. The rheology of the in-trough flows ranged from plastic laminar to fluidal turbulent in response to flow from slope to floor of the trough. Rapid calving of icebergs during the onset of deglaciation established a wave regime at the mouth of the trough and deposited cross-stratified sandstone replete with dripstones. The impact of large dripstones landing triggered turbidity currents. Continued rise in water level led to eventual preservation of the fan complex under onlapping wave-built shoal facies that grade into a sequence of upward-thinning hummocky cross-stratified sandstone beds virtually devoid of dripstones.« less

The Application of the Montage Image Mosaic Engine To The Visualization Of Astronomical Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berriman, G. Bruce; Good, J. C.

2017-05-01

The Montage Image Mosaic Engine was designed as a scalable toolkit, written in C for performance and portability across *nix platforms, that assembles FITS images into mosaics. This code is freely available and has been widely used in the astronomy and IT communities for research, product generation, and for developing next-generation cyber-infrastructure. Recently, it has begun finding applicability in the field of visualization. This development has come about because the toolkit design allows easy integration into scalable systems that process data for subsequent visualization in a browser or client. The toolkit it includes a visualization tool suitable for automation and for integration into Python: mViewer creates, with a single command, complex multi-color images overlaid with coordinate displays, labels, and observation footprints, and includes an adaptive image histogram equalization method that preserves the structure of a stretched image over its dynamic range. The Montage toolkit contains functionality originally developed to support the creation and management of mosaics, but which also offers value to visualization: a background rectification algorithm that reveals the faint structure in an image; and tools for creating cutout and downsampled versions of large images. Version 5 of Montage offers support for visualizing data written in HEALPix sky-tessellation scheme, and functionality for processing and organizing images to comply with the TOAST sky-tessellation scheme required for consumption by the World Wide Telescope (WWT). Four online tutorials allow readers to reproduce and extend all the visualizations presented in this paper.

Origin and composition of cell-free DNA in spent medium from human embryo culture during preimplantation development.

PubMed

Vera-Rodriguez, M; Diez-Juan, A; Jimenez-Almazan, J; Martinez, S; Navarro, R; Peinado, V; Mercader, A; Meseguer, M; Blesa, D; Moreno, I; Valbuena, D; Rubio, C; Simon, C

2018-04-01

What is the origin and composition of cell-free DNA in human embryo spent culture media? Cell-free DNA from human embryo spent culture media represents a mix of maternal and embryonic DNA, and the mixture can be more complex for mosaic embryos. In 2016, ~300 000 human embryos were chromosomally and/or genetically analyzed using preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A) or monogenic disorders (PGT-M) before transfer into the uterus. While progress in genetic techniques has enabled analysis of the full karyotype in a single cell with high sensitivity and specificity, these approaches still require an embryo biopsy. Thus, non-invasive techniques are sought as an alternative. This study was based on a total of 113 human embryos undergoing trophectoderm biopsy as part of PGT-A analysis. For each embryo, the spent culture media used between Day 3 and Day 5 of development were collected for cell-free DNA analysis. In addition to the 113 spent culture media samples, 28 media drops without embryo contact were cultured in parallel under the same conditions to use as controls. In total, 141 media samples were collected and divided into two groups: one for direct DNA quantification (53 spent culture media and 17 controls), the other for whole-genome amplification (60 spent culture media and 11 controls) and subsequent quantification. Some samples with amplified DNA (N = 56) were used for aneuploidy testing by next-generation sequencing; of those, 35 samples underwent single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sequencing to detect maternal contamination. Finally, from the 35 spent culture media analyzed by SNP sequencing, 12 whole blastocysts were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to determine the level of mosaicism in each embryo, as a possible origin for discordance between sample types. Trophectoderm biopsies and culture media samples (20 μl) underwent whole-genome amplification, then libraries were generated and sequenced for an aneuploidy study. For SNP sequencing, triads including trophectoderm DNA, cell-free DNA, and follicular fluid DNA were analyzed. In total, 124 SNPs were included with 90 SNPs distributed among all autosomes and 34 SNPs located on chromosome Y. Finally, 12 whole blastocysts were fixed and individual cells were analyzed by FISH using telomeric/centromeric probes for the affected chromosomes. We found a higher quantity of cell-free DNA in spent culture media co-cultured with embryos versus control media samples (P ≤ 0.001). The presence of cell-free DNA in the spent culture media enabled a chromosomal diagnosis, although results differed from those of trophectoderm biopsy analysis in most cases (67%). Discordant results were mainly attributable to a high percentage of maternal DNA in the spent culture media, with a median percentage of embryonic DNA estimated at 8%. Finally, from the discordant cases, 91.7% of whole blastocysts analyzed by FISH were mosaic and 75% of the analyzed chromosomes were concordant with the trophectoderm DNA diagnosis instead of the cell-free DNA result. This study was limited by the sample size and the number of cells analyzed by FISH. This is the first study to combine chromosomal analysis of cell-free DNA, SNP sequencing to identify maternal contamination, and whole-blastocyst analysis for detecting mosaicism. Our results provide a better understanding of the origin of cell-free DNA in spent culture media, offering an important step toward developing future non-invasive karyotyping that must rely on the specific identification of DNA released from human embryos. This work was funded by Igenomix S.L. There are no competing interests.

Star Formation in the DR21 Region (B)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Annotated mosaic

Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is an exceptionally bright source of radio emission called DR21. Visible light images reveal no trace of what is happening in this region because of heavy dust obscuration. In fact, visible light is attenuated in DR21 by a factor of more than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (ten thousand trillion heptillion).

New images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope allow us to peek behind the cosmic veil and pinpoint one of the most massive natal stars yet seen in our Milky Way galaxy. The never-before-seen star is 100,000 times as bright as the Sun. Also revealed for the first time is a powerful outflow of hot gas emanating from this star and bursting through a giant molecular cloud.

The upper image is a large-scale mosaic assembled from individual photographs obtained with the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) aboard Spitzer. The image covers an area about two times that of a full moon. The mosaic is a composite of images obtained at mid-infrared wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red). The brightest infrared cloud near the top center corresponds to DR21, which presumably contains a cluster of newly forming stars at a distance of 10,000 light-years.

Protruding out from DR21 toward the bottom left of the image is a gaseous outflow (green), containing both carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen. Data from the Spitzer spectrograph, which breaks light into its constituent individual wavelengths, indicate the presence of hot steam formed as the outflow heats the surrounding molecular gas. Outflows are physical signatures of processes that create supersonic beams, or jets, of gas. They are usually accompanied by discs of material around the new star, which likely contain the materials from which future planetary systems are formed. Additional newborn stars, depicted in green, can be seen surrounding the DR21 region.

The red filaments stretching across this image denote the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These organic molecules, comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are excited by surrounding interstellar radiation and become luminescent at wavelengths near 8.0 microns. The complex pattern of filaments is caused by an intricate combination of radiation pressure, gravity and magnetic fields. The result is a tapestry in which winds, outflows and turbulence move and shape the interstellar medium.

To the lower left of the mosaic is a large bubble of gas and dust, which may represent the remnants of a past generation of stars.

The lower panel shows a 24-micron image mosaic, obtained with the Multiband Imaging Photometer aboard Spitzer (MIPS). This image maps the cooler infrared emission from interstellar dust found throughout the interstellar medium. The DR21 complex is clearly seen near the center of the strip, which covers about twice the area of the IRAC image.

Perhaps the most fascinating feature in this image is a long and shadowy linear filament extending towards the 10 o'clock position of DR21. This jet of cold and dense gas, nearly 50 light-years in extent, appears in silhouette against a warmer background. This filament is too long and massive to be a stellar jet and may have formed from a pre-existing molecular cloud core sculpted by DR21's strong winds. Regardless of its true nature, this jet and the numerous other arcs and wisps of cool dust signify the interstellar turbulence normally unseen by the human eye.

Global spread of wheat curl mite by the most polyphagous and pestiferous lineages

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella, is an important pest of wheat and other cereal crops that transmits wheat streak mosaic virus and several other plant viruses. WCM has long been considered a single polyphagous species, but recent studies in Poland revealed a complex of genetically disti...

Oak woodland vegetation dynamics: a state and transition approach

Treesearch

Melvin R. George; Maximo F. Alonso

2008-01-01

California’s oak-woodlands are a complex, often multi-layered mosaic of grassland, shrubland, and woodland patches. While soil type and depth, topography, aspect, and geological substrate influence the distribution of these patches, disturbance and biological interactions are also important determinants of the patchy distribution of these plant communities. Fire...

Food Webs without Borders? Watershed-coast Interactions Influence Diet Sources of Fish in the St. Louis River

EPA Science Inventory

Complex ecosystems form where coastal rivers enter the Laurentian Great Lakes. These ecosystems span a river-to-Great Lake transition zone encompassing a mosaic of river channel, drowned river mouth, littoral, wetland and coastal habitats. Our goals were to determine whether we c...

Visualization of heterogeneous forest structures following treatment in the southern Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

Wade T. Tinkham; Yvette Dickinson; Chad M. Hoffman; Mike A. Battaglia; Seth Ex; Jeffrey Underhill

2017-01-01

Manipulation of forest spatial patterns has become a common objective in restoration prescriptions throughout the central and southern Rocky Mountain dry-mixed conifer forest systems. Pre-Euro-American settlement forest reconstructions indicate that frequent-fire regimes developed forests with complex mosaics of individual trees, tree clumps of varying size, and...

Phenotype and genotype in 17 patients with Goltz-Gorlin syndrome.

PubMed

Maas, S M; Lombardi, M P; van Essen, A J; Wakeling, E L; Castle, B; Temple, I K; Kumar, V K A; Writzl, K; Hennekam, Raoul C M

2009-10-01

Goltz-Gorlin syndrome or focal dermal hypoplasia is a highly variable, X-linked dominant syndrome with abnormalities of ectodermal and mesodermal origin. In 2007, mutations in the PORCN gene were found to be causative in Goltz-Gorlin syndrome. A series of 17 patients with Goltz-Gorlin syndrome is reported on, and their phenotype and genotype are described. In 14 patients (13 females and one male), a PORCN mutation was found. Mutations included nonsense (n = 5), frameshift (n = 2), aberrant splicing (n = 2) and missense (n = 5) mutations. No genotype-phenotype correlation was found. All patients with the classical features of the syndrome had a detectable mutation. In three females with atypical signs, no mutation was found. The male patient had classical features and showed mosaicism for a PORCN nonsense mutation in fibroblasts. Two affected sisters had a mutation not detectable in their parents, supporting germline mosaicism. Their father had undergone radiation for testicular cancer in the past. Two classically affected females had three severely affected female fetuses which all had midline thoracic and abdominal wall defects, resembling the pentalogy of Cantrell and the limb-body wall complex. Thoracic and abdominal wall defects were also present in two surviving patients. PORCN mutations can possibly cause pentalogy of Cantrell and limb-body wall complexes as well. Therefore, particularly in cases with limb defects, it seems useful to search for these. PORCN mutations can be found in all classically affected cases of Goltz-Gorlin syndrome, including males. Somatic and germline mosaicism occur. There is no evident genotype-phenotype correlation.

Evolutionary analyses of non-genealogical bonds produced by introgressive descent.

PubMed

Bapteste, Eric; Lopez, Philippe; Bouchard, Frédéric; Baquero, Fernando; McInerney, James O; Burian, Richard M

2012-11-06

All evolutionary biologists are familiar with evolutionary units that evolve by vertical descent in a tree-like fashion in single lineages. However, many other kinds of processes contribute to evolutionary diversity. In vertical descent, the genetic material of a particular evolutionary unit is propagated by replication inside its own lineage. In what we call introgressive descent, the genetic material of a particular evolutionary unit propagates into different host structures and is replicated within these host structures. Thus, introgressive descent generates a variety of evolutionary units and leaves recognizable patterns in resemblance networks. We characterize six kinds of evolutionary units, of which five involve mosaic lineages generated by introgressive descent. To facilitate detection of these units in resemblance networks, we introduce terminology based on two notions, P3s (subgraphs of three nodes: A, B, and C) and mosaic P3s, and suggest an apparatus for systematic detection of introgressive descent. Mosaic P3s correspond to a distinct type of evolutionary bond that is orthogonal to the bonds of kinship and genealogy usually examined by evolutionary biologists. We argue that recognition of these evolutionary bonds stimulates radical rethinking of key questions in evolutionary biology (e.g., the relations among evolutionary players in very early phases of evolutionary history, the origin and emergence of novelties, and the production of new lineages). This line of research will expand the study of biological complexity beyond the usual genealogical bonds, revealing additional sources of biodiversity. It provides an important step to a more realistic pluralist treatment of evolutionary complexity.

Structure of Ce2RhIn8: an example of complementary use of high-resolution neutron powder diffraction and reciprocal-space mapping to study complex materials.

PubMed

Moshopoulou, E G; Ibberson, R M; Sarrao, J L; Thompson, J D; Fisk, Z

2006-04-01

The room-temperature crystal structure of the heavy fermion antiferromagnet Ce2RhIn8, dicerium rhodium octaindide, has been studied by a combination of high-resolution synchrotron X-ray reciprocal-space mapping of single crystals and high-resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction. The structure is disordered, exhibiting a complex interplay of non-periodic, partially correlated planar defects, coexistence and segregation of polytypic phases (induced by periodic planar ;defects'), mosaicity (i.e. domain misalignment) and non-uniform strain. These effects evolve as a function of temperature in a complicated way, but they remain down to low temperatures. The room-temperature diffraction data are best represented by a complex mixture of two polytypic phases, which are affected by non-periodic, partially correlated planar defects, differ slightly in their tetragonal structures, and exhibit different mosaicities and strain values. Therefore, Ce2RhIn8 approaches the paracrystalline state, rather than the classic crystalline state and thus several of the concepts of conventional single-crystal crystallography are inapplicable. The structural results are discussed in the context of the role of disorder in the heavy-fermion state and in the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism.

Crystallization mosaic effect generation by superpixels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Yuqi; Bo, Pengbo; Yuan, Ye; Wang, Kuanquan

2015-03-01

Art effect generation from digital images using computational tools has been a hot research topic in recent years. We propose a new method for generating crystallization mosaic effects from color images. Two key problems in generating pleasant mosaic effect are studied: grouping pixels into mosaic tiles and arrangement of mosaic tiles adapting to image features. To give visually pleasant mosaic effect, we propose to create mosaic tiles by pixel clustering in feature space of color information, taking compactness of tiles into consideration as well. Moreover, we propose a method for processing feature boundaries in images which gives guidance for arranging mosaic tiles near image features. This method gives nearly uniform shape of mosaic tiles, adapting to feature lines in an esthetic way. The new approach considers both color distance and Euclidean distance of pixels, and thus is capable of giving mosaic tiles in a more pleasing manner. Some experiments are included to demonstrate the computational efficiency of the present method and its capability of generating visually pleasant mosaic tiles. Comparisons with existing approaches are also included to show the superiority of the new method.

Phyllostomid Bat Occurrence in Successional Stages of Neotropical Dry Forests

PubMed Central

Avila-Cabadilla, Luis Daniel; Stoner, Kathryn Elizabeth; Nassar, Jafet M.; Espírito-Santo, Mario M.; Alvarez-Añorve, Mariana Yolotl; Aranguren, Carla I.; Henry, Mickael; González-Carcacía, José A.; Dolabela Falcão, Luiz A.; Sanchez-Azofeifa, Gerardo Arturo

2014-01-01

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are highly endangered tropical ecosystems being replaced by a complex mosaic of patches of different successional stages, agricultural fields and pasturelands. In this context, it is urgent to understand how taxa playing critical ecosystem roles respond to habitat modification. Because Phyllostomid bats provide important ecosystem services (e.g. facilitate gene flow among plant populations and promote forest regeneration), in this study we aimed to identify potential patterns on their response to TDF transformation in sites representing four different successional stages (initial, early, intermediate and late) in three Neotropical regions: México, Venezuela and Brazil. We evaluated bat occurrence at the species, ensemble (abundance) and assemblage level (species richness and composition, guild composition). We also evaluated how bat occurrence was modulated by the marked seasonality of TDFs. In general, we found high seasonal and regional specificities in phyllostomid occurrence, driven by specificities at species and guild levels. For example, highest frugivore abundance occurred in the early stage of the moistest TDF, while highest nectarivore abundance occurred in the same stage of the driest TDF. The high regional specificity of phyllostomid responses could arise from: (1) the distinctive environmental conditions of each region, (2) the specific behavior and ecological requirements of the regional bat species, (3) the composition, structure and phenological patterns of plant assemblages in the different stages, and (4) the regional landscape composition and configuration. We conclude that, in tropical seasonal environments, it is imperative to perform long-term studies considering seasonal variations in environmental conditions and plant phenology, as well as the role of landscape attributes. This approach will allow us to identify potential patterns in bat responses to habitat modification, which constitute an invaluable tool for not only bat biodiversity conservation but also for the conservation of the key ecological processes they provide. PMID:24404175

Response of maize (Zea mays L.) lines carrying Wsm1, Wsm2 and Wsm3 to the potyviruses Johnsongrass mosaic virus and Sorghum mosaic virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maize dwarf mosaic disease is one of the most important viral diseases of maize throughout the world. It is caused by a set of related viruses in the family Potyviridae, genus Potyvirus, including Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV), Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV), and S...

E4 True and false color hot spot mosaic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

True and false color views of Jupiter from NASA's Galileo spacecraft show an equatorial 'hotspot' on Jupiter. These images cover an area 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles). The top mosaic combines the violet and near infrared continuum filter images to create an image similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundances of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere. The bottom mosaic uses Galileo's three near-infrared wavelengths displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the deep cloud with an overlying thin haze. The light blue region to the left is covered by a very high haze layer. The multicolored region to the right has overlapping cloud layers of different heights. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter.

North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging camera system aboard Galileo. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at: http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at: http:/ /www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo.

Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of an equatorial 'hotspot' on Jupiter at 889 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers. Light at 889 nm is strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of a hazy cloud layer tens of kilometers above Jupiter's main visible cloud deck. This haze varies in height but appears to be present over the entire region. Small patches of very bright clouds may be similar to terrestrial thunderstorms. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance.

North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The planetary limb runs along the right edge of the image. Cloud patterns appear foreshortened as they approach the limb. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Jupiter's Equatorial Region in a Methane band (Time set 1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Mosaic of an equatorial 'hotspot' on Jupiter at 889 nanometers (nm). The mosaic covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers. Light at 889 nm is strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane. This image shows the features of a hazy cloud layer tens of kilometers above Jupiter's main visible cloud deck. This haze varies in height but appears to be present over the entire region. Small patches of very bright clouds may be similar to terrestrial thunderstorms. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial 'hotspot' similar to the Galileo Probe entry site. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance.

North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees West. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers by the Solid State Imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

Effects of conversion of dry tropical forest to agricultural mosaic on herpetofaunal assemblages.

PubMed

Suazo-Ortuño, Ireri; Alvarado-Díaz, Javier; Martínez-Ramos, Miguel

2008-04-01

We explored the impact of forest conversion to agricultural mosaic on anuran, lizard, snake, and turtle assemblages of Neotropical dry forests. Over 2 years, we sampled 6 small watersheds on the west coast of Mexico, 3 conserved and 3 disturbed. The disturbed watersheds were characterized by a mosaic of pastures and cultivated fields (corn, beans, squash) intermingled with patches of different successional stages of dry forest. In each watershed, we conducted 11 diurnal and nocturnal time-constrained searches in 10 randomly established plots. We considered vulnerability traits of species in relation to habitat modification. Eighteen anuran, 18 lizard, 23 snake, and 3 turtle species were recorded. Thirty-six species (58%) occurred in both forest conditions, and 14 (22%) and 12 species (19%) occurred only in the conserved and disturbed sites, respectively. Assemblages responded differently to disturbance. Species richness, diversity, and abundance of lizards were higher in disturbed forests. Anuran diversity and species richness were lower in disturbed forest but abundance was similar in both forest conditions. Diversity, richness, and abundance of turtles were lower in disturbed forest. The structure and composition of snake assemblages did not differ between forest conditions. We considered species disturbance sensitive if their abundance was significantly less in disturbed areas. Four anuran (22%), 2 lizard (11%), and 3 turtle (100%) species were sensitive to disturbance. No snake species was sensitive. The decline in abundance of disturbance-sensitive species was associated with the reduction of forest canopy cover, woody stem cover, roots, and litter-layer ground cover. Anuran species with small body size and direct embryonic development were especially sensitive to forest disturbance. An important goal for the conservation of herpetofauna should be the determination of species traits associated with extinction or persistence in agricultural mosaics.

Preliminary Geological Map of the Ac-H-3 Dantu Quadrangle of Ceres: An Integrated Mapping Study Using Dawn Spacecraft Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kneissl, T.; Schmedemann, N.; Neesemann, A.; Williams, D. A.; Crown, D. A.; Mest, S. C.; Buczkowski, D.; Scully, J. E. C.; Frigeri, A.; Ruesch, O.; Hiesinger, H.; Walter, S. H. G.; Jaumann, R.; Roatsch, T.; Preusker, F.; Nathues, A.; Platz, T.; Hoffmann, M.; Schäfer, M.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.; Kersten, E.; Naß, A.

2015-12-01

We are using Dawn spacecraft data to create a geologic map of the Ac-H-3 Dantu Quadrangle of dwarf planet Ceres. The quadrangle is located between 21-66˚N and 90-180˚E and includes the following dominant features: 1) the central and northern portion of the 124.6 km diameter impact crater Dantu; 2) crater chains and/or grooves oriented in an east-west direction; 3) a portion of the 84 km diameter impact crater Gaue, whose ejecta blanket covers the SW corner of the quadrangle. Dantu is a complex impact crater showing terraces, a central pit structure, concentric fractures, and smooth deposits on the crater floor. The materials interpreted to be ejecta deposits of Dantu show low crater frequencies and dominate the southern half of the quadrangle. These deposits appear to be relatively bright and correspond to parts of the #2 high albedo region observed by (1) with the HST indicating different composition and/or material properties than the surroundings. The east-west striking crater chains and grooves are mainly found in the southern half of the quadrangle. They seem to be connected to the crater chains found in Ac-H-4 Ezinu, the neighboring quadrangle to the east, and are potentially related to ballistic ejecta emplacement (see 2). Further work will be focused on Dantu crater and its complex interior and exterior. The current geologic map is based on Framing Camera (FC) image mosaics derived from Approach (~1.3 km/px) and Survey (~400 m/px) data as well as digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from stereo imagery. In the course of the mission, we will incorporate mosaics from the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (~140 m/px, Fall 2015) and Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (~35 m/px, Spring 2016) phases. We acknowledge the support of the Dawn Instrument, Operations, and Science Teams. This work is partly supported by the German Space Agency (DLR), grant 50 OW 1101. (1) Li, J-Y. et al. (2006), Icarus, 182, 143-160. (2) Scully, J.E.C. et al. (2015), this conference.

Female chromosome X mosaicism is age-related and preferentially affects the inactivated X chromosome.

PubMed

Machiela, Mitchell J; Zhou, Weiyin; Karlins, Eric; Sampson, Joshua N; Freedman, Neal D; Yang, Qi; Hicks, Belynda; Dagnall, Casey; Hautman, Christopher; Jacobs, Kevin B; Abnet, Christian C; Aldrich, Melinda C; Amos, Christopher; Amundadottir, Laufey T; Arslan, Alan A; Beane-Freeman, Laura E; Berndt, Sonja I; Black, Amanda; Blot, William J; Bock, Cathryn H; Bracci, Paige M; Brinton, Louise A; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Burdett, Laurie; Buring, Julie E; Butler, Mary A; Canzian, Federico; Carreón, Tania; Chaffee, Kari G; Chang, I-Shou; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Chen, Chu; Chen, Constance; Chen, Kexin; Chung, Charles C; Cook, Linda S; Crous Bou, Marta; Cullen, Michael; Davis, Faith G; De Vivo, Immaculata; Ding, Ti; Doherty, Jennifer; Duell, Eric J; Epstein, Caroline G; Fan, Jin-Hu; Figueroa, Jonine D; Fraumeni, Joseph F; Friedenreich, Christine M; Fuchs, Charles S; Gallinger, Steven; Gao, Yu-Tang; Gapstur, Susan M; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Gaudet, Mia M; Gaziano, J Michael; Giles, Graham G; Gillanders, Elizabeth M; Giovannucci, Edward L; Goldin, Lynn; Goldstein, Alisa M; Haiman, Christopher A; Hallmans, Goran; Hankinson, Susan E; Harris, Curtis C; Henriksson, Roger; Holly, Elizabeth A; Hong, Yun-Chul; Hoover, Robert N; Hsiung, Chao A; Hu, Nan; Hu, Wei; Hunter, David J; Hutchinson, Amy; Jenab, Mazda; Johansen, Christoffer; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kim, Hee Nam; Kim, Yeul Hong; Kim, Young Tae; Klein, Alison P; Klein, Robert; Koh, Woon-Puay; Kolonel, Laurence N; Kooperberg, Charles; Kraft, Peter; Krogh, Vittorio; Kurtz, Robert C; LaCroix, Andrea; Lan, Qing; Landi, Maria Teresa; Marchand, Loic Le; Li, Donghui; Liang, Xiaolin; Liao, Linda M; Lin, Dongxin; Liu, Jianjun; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lu, Lingeng; Magliocco, Anthony M; Malats, Nuria; Matsuo, Keitaro; McNeill, Lorna H; McWilliams, Robert R; Melin, Beatrice S; Mirabello, Lisa; Moore, Lee; Olson, Sara H; Orlow, Irene; Park, Jae Yong; Patiño-Garcia, Ana; Peplonska, Beata; Peters, Ulrike; Petersen, Gloria M; Pooler, Loreall; Prescott, Jennifer; Prokunina-Olsson, Ludmila; Purdue, Mark P; Qiao, You-Lin; Rajaraman, Preetha; Real, Francisco X; Riboli, Elio; Risch, Harvey A; Rodriguez-Santiago, Benjamin; Ruder, Avima M; Savage, Sharon A; Schumacher, Fredrick; Schwartz, Ann G; Schwartz, Kendra L; Seow, Adeline; Wendy Setiawan, Veronica; Severi, Gianluca; Shen, Hongbing; Sheng, Xin; Shin, Min-Ho; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Silverman, Debra T; Spitz, Margaret R; Stevens, Victoria L; Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael; Stram, Daniel; Tang, Ze-Zhong; Taylor, Philip R; Teras, Lauren R; Tobias, Geoffrey S; Van Den Berg, David; Visvanathan, Kala; Wacholder, Sholom; Wang, Jiu-Cun; Wang, Zhaoming; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Wheeler, William; White, Emily; Wiencke, John K; Wolpin, Brian M; Wong, Maria Pik; Wu, Chen; Wu, Tangchun; Wu, Xifeng; Wu, Yi-Long; Wunder, Jay S; Xia, Lucy; Yang, Hannah P; Yang, Pan-Chyr; Yu, Kai; Zanetti, Krista A; Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Anne; Zheng, Wei; Zhou, Baosen; Ziegler, Regina G; Perez-Jurado, Luis A; Caporaso, Neil E; Rothman, Nathaniel; Tucker, Margaret; Dean, Michael C; Yeager, Meredith; Chanock, Stephen J

2016-06-13

To investigate large structural clonal mosaicism of chromosome X, we analysed the SNP microarray intensity data of 38,303 women from cancer genome-wide association studies (20,878 cases and 17,425 controls) and detected 124 mosaic X events >2 Mb in 97 (0.25%) women. Here we show rates for X-chromosome mosaicism are four times higher than mean autosomal rates; X mosaic events more often include the entire chromosome and participants with X events more likely harbour autosomal mosaic events. X mosaicism frequency increases with age (0.11% in 50-year olds; 0.45% in 75-year olds), as reported for Y and autosomes. Methylation array analyses of 33 women with X mosaicism indicate events preferentially involve the inactive X chromosome. Our results provide further evidence that the sex chromosomes undergo mosaic events more frequently than autosomes, which could have implications for understanding the underlying mechanisms of mosaic events and their possible contribution to risk for chronic diseases.

Female chromosome X mosaicism is age-related and preferentially affects the inactivated X chromosome

PubMed Central

Machiela, Mitchell J.; Zhou, Weiyin; Karlins, Eric; Sampson, Joshua N.; Freedman, Neal D.; Yang, Qi; Hicks, Belynda; Dagnall, Casey; Hautman, Christopher; Jacobs, Kevin B.; Abnet, Christian C.; Aldrich, Melinda C.; Amos, Christopher; Amundadottir, Laufey T.; Arslan, Alan A.; Beane-Freeman, Laura E.; Berndt, Sonja I.; Black, Amanda; Blot, William J.; Bock, Cathryn H.; Bracci, Paige M.; Brinton, Louise A.; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Burdett, Laurie; Buring, Julie E.; Butler, Mary A.; Canzian, Federico; Carreón, Tania; Chaffee, Kari G.; Chang, I-Shou; Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Chen, Chu; Chen, Constance; Chen, Kexin; Chung, Charles C.; Cook, Linda S.; Crous Bou, Marta; Cullen, Michael; Davis, Faith G.; De Vivo, Immaculata; Ding, Ti; Doherty, Jennifer; Duell, Eric J.; Epstein, Caroline G.; Fan, Jin-Hu; Figueroa, Jonine D.; Fraumeni, Joseph F.; Friedenreich, Christine M.; Fuchs, Charles S.; Gallinger, Steven; Gao, Yu-Tang; Gapstur, Susan M.; Garcia-Closas, Montserrat; Gaudet, Mia M.; Gaziano, J. Michael; Giles, Graham G.; Gillanders, Elizabeth M.; Giovannucci, Edward L.; Goldin, Lynn; Goldstein, Alisa M.; Haiman, Christopher A.; Hallmans, Goran; Hankinson, Susan E.; Harris, Curtis C.; Henriksson, Roger; Holly, Elizabeth A.; Hong, Yun-Chul; Hoover, Robert N.; Hsiung, Chao A.; Hu, Nan; Hu, Wei; Hunter, David J.; Hutchinson, Amy; Jenab, Mazda; Johansen, Christoffer; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kim, Hee Nam; Kim, Yeul Hong; Kim, Young Tae; Klein, Alison P.; Klein, Robert; Koh, Woon-Puay; Kolonel, Laurence N.; Kooperberg, Charles; Kraft, Peter; Krogh, Vittorio; Kurtz, Robert C.; LaCroix, Andrea; Lan, Qing; Landi, Maria Teresa; Marchand, Loic Le; Li, Donghui; Liang, Xiaolin; Liao, Linda M.; Lin, Dongxin; Liu, Jianjun; Lissowska, Jolanta; Lu, Lingeng; Magliocco, Anthony M.; Malats, Nuria; Matsuo, Keitaro; McNeill, Lorna H.; McWilliams, Robert R.; Melin, Beatrice S.; Mirabello, Lisa; Moore, Lee; Olson, Sara H.; Orlow, Irene; Park, Jae Yong; Patiño-Garcia, Ana; Peplonska, Beata; Peters, Ulrike; Petersen, Gloria M.; Pooler, Loreall; Prescott, Jennifer; Prokunina-Olsson, Ludmila; Purdue, Mark P.; Qiao, You-Lin; Rajaraman, Preetha; Real, Francisco X.; Riboli, Elio; Risch, Harvey A.; Rodriguez-Santiago, Benjamin; Ruder, Avima M.; Savage, Sharon A.; Schumacher, Fredrick; Schwartz, Ann G.; Schwartz, Kendra L.; Seow, Adeline; Wendy Setiawan, Veronica; Severi, Gianluca; Shen, Hongbing; Sheng, Xin; Shin, Min-Ho; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Silverman, Debra T.; Spitz, Margaret R.; Stevens, Victoria L.; Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael; Stram, Daniel; Tang, Ze-Zhong; Taylor, Philip R.; Teras, Lauren R.; Tobias, Geoffrey S.; Van Den Berg, David; Visvanathan, Kala; Wacholder, Sholom; Wang, Jiu-Cun; Wang, Zhaoming; Wentzensen, Nicolas; Wheeler, William; White, Emily; Wiencke, John K.; Wolpin, Brian M.; Wong, Maria Pik; Wu, Chen; Wu, Tangchun; Wu, Xifeng; Wu, Yi-Long; Wunder, Jay S.; Xia, Lucy; Yang, Hannah P.; Yang, Pan-Chyr; Yu, Kai; Zanetti, Krista A.; Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Anne; Zheng, Wei; Zhou, Baosen; Ziegler, Regina G.; Perez-Jurado, Luis A.; Caporaso, Neil E.; Rothman, Nathaniel; Tucker, Margaret; Dean, Michael C.; Yeager, Meredith; Chanock, Stephen J.

2016-01-01

To investigate large structural clonal mosaicism of chromosome X, we analysed the SNP microarray intensity data of 38,303 women from cancer genome-wide association studies (20,878 cases and 17,425 controls) and detected 124 mosaic X events >2 Mb in 97 (0.25%) women. Here we show rates for X-chromosome mosaicism are four times higher than mean autosomal rates; X mosaic events more often include the entire chromosome and participants with X events more likely harbour autosomal mosaic events. X mosaicism frequency increases with age (0.11% in 50-year olds; 0.45% in 75-year olds), as reported for Y and autosomes. Methylation array analyses of 33 women with X mosaicism indicate events preferentially involve the inactive X chromosome. Our results provide further evidence that the sex chromosomes undergo mosaic events more frequently than autosomes, which could have implications for understanding the underlying mechanisms of mosaic events and their possible contribution to risk for chronic diseases. PMID:27291797

A 2014 nationwide survey of the distribution of Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), Soybean yellow mottle mosaic virus (SYMMV) and Soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV) major viruses in South Korean soybean fields, and changes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In 2014 symptomatic soybean samples were collected throughout Korea, and were tested for the most important soybean viruses found in Korea, namely Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), Soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV), and Soybean yellow mottle mosaic virus (SYMMV). SYMMV was most commonly detected,...

Sindbis virus proteins nsP1 and nsP2 contain homology to nonstructural proteins from several RNA plant viruses.

PubMed Central

Ahlquist, P; Strauss, E G; Rice, C M; Strauss, J H; Haseloff, J; Zimmern, D

1985-01-01

Although the genetic organization of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) differs considerably from that of the tripartite viruses (alfalfa mosaic virus [AlMV] and brome mosaic virus [BMV]), all of these RNA plant viruses share three domains of homology among their nonstructural proteins. One such domain, common to the AlMV and BMV 2a proteins and the readthrough portion of TMV p183, is also homologous to the readthrough protein nsP4 of Sindbis virus (Haseloff et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81:4358-4362, 1984). Two more domains are conserved among the AlMV and BMV 1a proteins and TMV p126. We show here that these domains have homology with portions of the Sindbis proteins nsP1 and nsP2, respectively. These results strengthen the view that the four viruses share mechanistic similarities in their replication strategies and may be evolutionarily related. These results also suggest that either the AlMV 1a, BMV 1a, and TMV p126 proteins are multifunctional or Sindbis proteins nsP1 and nsP2 function together as subunits in a single complex. PMID:3968720

Plants transformed with a tobacco mosaic virus nonstructural gene sequence are resistant to the virus.

PubMed Central

Golemboski, D B; Lomonossoff, G P; Zaitlin, M

1990-01-01

Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi nn plants were transformed with nucleotides 3472-4916 of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) strain U1. This sequence contains all but the three 3 terminal nucleotides of the TMV 54-kDa gene, which encodes a putative component of the replicase complex. These plants were resistant to infection when challenged with either TMV U1 virions or TMV U1 RNA at concentrations of up to 500 micrograms/ml or 300 micrograms/ml, respectively, the highest concentrations tested. Resistance was also exhibited when plants were inoculated at 100 micrograms/ml with the closely related TMV mutant YSI/1 but was not shown in plants challenged at the same concentrations with the more distantly related TMV strains U2 or L or cucumber mosaic virus. Although the copy number of the 54-kDa gene sequence varied in individual transformants from 1 to approximately 5, the level of resistance in plants was not dependent on the number of copies of the 54-kDa gene sequence integrated. The transformed plants accumulated a 54-kDa gene sequence-specific RNA transcript of the expected size, but no protein product was detected. Images PMID:2385595

A study of morphology, provenance, and movement of desert sand seas in Africa, Asia, and Australia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, E. D. (Principal Investigator); Breed, C. S.

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Recent acquisition of generally high quality color prints for most of the test sites has enabled the project to make significant advances in preparing mosaics of sand desert areas under study. Computer enhancement of imagery of selected sites, where details of complex dune forms need to be determined, has been achieved with arrival of computer-compatible ERTS-1 tapes. Further, a comparator, recently received, gives precise visual measurements of width, length, and spacing of sand bodies and so improves comparison of patterns in various test sites. Considerable additional meteorological data recently received on sand-moving winds in China, Pakistan, Libya and other areas enabled much progress to be made in developing overlays for the dune mosaics. These data show direction, speed, and frequency of winds. Other new data for use in preparing overlays used with ERTS-1 image mosaics include ground truth on moisture control, geologic settings, and plant distribution. With the addition of visual observation data and prints from hand-held photography now being obtained by the Skylab mission, much progress in interpreting the patterns of sand seas for 17 desert sites is anticipated.

A study of morphology, provenance, and movement of desert sand seas in Africa, Asia, and Australia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, E. D. (Principal Investigator); Breed, C. S.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Recent acquisition of generally high quality color prints for most of the test sites has enabled this project to make significant advances in preparing mosaics of sand desert areas under study. Computer enhancement of imagery, where details of complex dune forms need to be determined, has been achieved with arrival of computer-compatible ERTS-1 tapes. Further, a comparator, recently received, gives precise visual measurements of width, length, and spacing of sand bodies and so improves comparison of patterns in various test sites. Considerable additional meteorological data recently received on sand-moving winds in China, Pakistan, Libya, and other study areas enabled much progress to be made in developing overlays for the dune mosaics. These data show direction, speed, and frequency of winds. Other new data for use in preparing overlays used with ERTS-1 image mosaics include ground truth on moisture control, geologic settings, and plant distribution. With the addition of visual observation data and prints from hand-held photography now being obtained by the Skylab 4 mission, much progress in interpreting the patterns of sand seas for 17 desert sites is anticipated.

Genetic mechanisms of Maize dwarf mosaic virus resistance in maize

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maize resistance to viruses has been well-characterized at the genetic level, and loci responsible for resistance to potyviruses including Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV), Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV), and Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV), have been mapped in several ge...

Barnacle Bill in Super Resolution from Super Panorama

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-07-03

"Barnacle Bill" is a small rock immediately west-northwest of the Mars Pathfinder lander and was the first rock visited by the Sojourner Rover's alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) instrument. This image shows super resolution techniques applied to the first APXS target rock, which was never imaged with the rover's forward cameras. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of this rock and what it might tell us about its mode of origin. This view of Barnacle Bill was produced by combining the "Super Panorama" frames from the IMP camera. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of these rocks and what it might tell us about their mode of origin. The composite color frames that make up this anaglyph were produced for both the right and left eye of the IMP. The composites consist of 7 frames in the right eye and 8 frames in the left eye, taken with different color filters that were enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be. These panchromatic frames were then colorized with the red, green, and blue filtered images from the same sequence. The color balance was adjusted to approximate the true color of Mars. The anaglyph view was produced by combining the left with the right eye color composite frames by assigning the left eye composite view to the red color plane and the right eye composite view to the green and blue color planes (cyan), to produce a stereo anaglyph mosaic. This mosaic can be viewed in 3-D on your computer monitor or in color print form by wearing red-blue 3-D glasses. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01409

Floral and nesting resources, habitat structure, and fire influence bee distribution across an open-forest gradient

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grundel, R.; Jean, R.P.; Frohnapple, K.J.; Glowacki, G.A.; Scott, P.E.; Pavlovic, N.B.

2010-01-01

Given bees' central effect on vegetation communities, it is important to understand how and why bee distributions vary across ecological gradients. We examined how plant community composition, plant diversity, nesting suitability, canopy cover, land use, and fire history affected bee distribution across an open-forest gradient in northwest Indiana, USA, a gradient similar to the historic Midwest United States landscape mosaic. When considered with the other predictors, plant community composition was not a significant predictor of bee community composition. Bee abundance was negatively related to canopy cover and positively to recent fire frequency, bee richness was positively related to plant richness and abundance of potential nesting resources, and bee community composition was significantly related to plant richness, soil characteristics potentially related to nesting suitability, and canopy cover. Thus, bee abundance was predicted by a different set of environmental characteristics than was bee species richness, and bee community composition was predicted, in large part, by a combination of the significant predictors of bee abundance and richness. Differences in bee community composition along the woody vegetation gradient were correlated with relative abundance of oligolectic, or diet specialist, bees. Because oligoleges were rarer than diet generalists and were associated with open habitats, their populations may be especially affected by degradation of open habitats. More habitat-specialist bees were documented for open and forest/scrub habitats than for savanna/woodland habitats, consistent with bees responding to habitats of intermediate woody vegetation density, such as savannas, as ecotones rather than as distinct habitat types. Similarity of bee community composition, similarity of bee abundance, and similarity of bee richness between sites were not significantly related to proximity of sites to each other. Nestedness analysis indicated that species composition in species-poor sites was not merely a subset of species composition at richer sites. The lack of significant proximity or nestedness effects suggests that factors at a small spatial scale strongly influence bees' use of sites. The findings indicate that patterns of plant diversity, nesting resource availability, recent fire, and habitat shading, present at the scale of a few hundred meters, are key determinants of bee community patterns in the mosaic open-savanna-forest landscape. ?? 2010 by the Ecological Society of America.

The Viking Mosaic Catalog, Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, N.

1982-01-01

A collection of more than 500 mosaics prepared from Viking Orbiter images is given. Accompanying each mosaic is a footprint plot, which identifies by location, picture number, and order number, each frame in the mosaic. Corner coordinates and pertinent imaging information are also included. A short text provides the camera characteristics, image format, and data processing information necessary for using the mosaic plates as a research aide. Procedures for ordering mosaic enlargements and individual images are also provided.

Habitat mosaics and path analysis can improve biological conservation of aquatic biodiversity in ecosystems with low-head dams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hitchman, Sean M.; Mather, Martha E.; Smith, Joseph M.; Fencl, Jane S.

2018-01-01

Conserving native biodiversity depends on restoring functional habitats in the face of human-induced disturbances. Low-head dams are a ubiquitous human impact that degrades aquatic ecosystems worldwide. To improve our understanding of how low-head dams impact habitat and associated biodiversity, our research examined complex interactions among three spheres of the total environment. i.e., how low-head dams (anthroposphere) affect aquatic habitat (hydrosphere), and native biodiversity (biosphere) in streams and rivers. Creation of lake-like habitats upstream of low-head dams is a well-documented major impact of dams. Alterations downstream of low head dams also have important consequences, but these downstream dam effects are more challenging to detect. In a multidisciplinary field study at five dammed and five undammed sites within the Neosho River basin, KS, we tested hypotheses about two types of habitat sampling (transect and mosaic) and two types of statistical analyses (analysis of covariance and path analysis). We used fish as our example of biodiversity alteration. Our research provided three insights that can aid environmental professionals who seek to conserve and restore fish biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems threatened by human modifications. First, a mosaic approach identified habitat alterations below low-head dams (e.g. increased proportion of riffles) that were not detected using the more commonly-used transect sampling approach. Second, the habitat mosaic approach illustrated how low-head dams reduced natural variation in stream habitat. Third, path analysis, a statistical approach that tests indirect effects, showed how dams, habitat, and fish biodiversity interact. Specifically, path analysis revealed that low-head dams increased the proportion of riffle habitat below dams, and, as a result, indirectly increased fish species richness. Furthermore, the pool habitat that was created above low-head dams dramatically decreased fish species richness. As we show here, mosaic habitat sampling and path analysis can help conservation practitioners improve science-based management plans for disturbed aquatic systems worldwide.

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolaus, M.; Rex, M.; Dethloff, K.; Shupe, M.; Sommerfeld, A.

2016-12-01

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) is a key international flagship initiative under the auspices of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). The main aim of MOSAiC is to improve our understanding of the functioning of the Arctic coupled system with a complex interplay between processes in the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice and ecosystem coupled through bio-geochemical interactions. The main objective of MOSAiC is to develop a better understanding of these important coupled-system processes so they can be more accurately represented in regional- and global-scale weather- and climate models. Observations covering a full annual cycle over the Arctic Ocean of many critical parameters such as cloud properties, surface energy fluxes, atmospheric aerosols, small-scale sea-ice and oceanic processes, biological feedbacks with the sea-ice ice and ocean, and others have never been made in the central Arctic in all seasons, and certainly not in a coupled system fashion. The main scientific goals focus on data assimilation for numerical weather prediction models, improved sea ice forecasts and climate models, ground truth for satellite remote sensing, energy budget and fluxes through interfaces, sources, sinks and cycles of chemical species, boundary layer processes, habitat conditions and primary productivity and stakeholder services. The MOSAiC Observatory will be deployed in, and drift with, the Arctic sea-ice pack for a full annual cycle, starting in fall 2019 and ending in fall 2020. Initial drift plans are to start in the newly forming fall sea-ice in the East Siberian Sea and follow the Transpolar Drift. The German Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research will made a huge contribution with the icebreaker Polarstern to serve as the central drifting observatory for this year long drift, and the US Department of Energy has committed a comprehensive atmospheric measurement suite. Many other nations and agencies have expressed interest in participation and in gaining access to this unprecedented observational dataset.

Habitat mosaics and path analysis can improve biological conservation of aquatic biodiversity in ecosystems with low-head dams.

PubMed

Hitchman, Sean M; Mather, Martha E; Smith, Joseph M; Fencl, Jane S

2018-04-01

Conserving native biodiversity depends on restoring functional habitats in the face of human-induced disturbances. Low-head dams are a ubiquitous human impact that degrades aquatic ecosystems worldwide. To improve our understanding of how low-head dams impact habitat and associated biodiversity, our research examined complex interactions among three spheres of the total environment. i.e., how low-head dams (anthroposphere) affect aquatic habitat (hydrosphere), and native biodiversity (biosphere) in streams and rivers. Creation of lake-like habitats upstream of low-head dams is a well-documented major impact of dams. Alterations downstream of low head dams also have important consequences, but these downstream dam effects are more challenging to detect. In a multidisciplinary field study at five dammed and five undammed sites within the Neosho River basin, KS, we tested hypotheses about two types of habitat sampling (transect and mosaic) and two types of statistical analyses (analysis of covariance and path analysis). We used fish as our example of biodiversity alteration. Our research provided three insights that can aid environmental professionals who seek to conserve and restore fish biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems threatened by human modifications. First, a mosaic approach identified habitat alterations below low-head dams (e.g. increased proportion of riffles) that were not detected using the more commonly-used transect sampling approach. Second, the habitat mosaic approach illustrated how low-head dams reduced natural variation in stream habitat. Third, path analysis, a statistical approach that tests indirect effects, showed how dams, habitat, and fish biodiversity interact. Specifically, path analysis revealed that low-head dams increased the proportion of riffle habitat below dams, and, as a result, indirectly increased fish species richness. Furthermore, the pool habitat that was created above low-head dams dramatically decreased fish species richness. As we show here, mosaic habitat sampling and path analysis can help conservation practitioners improve science-based management plans for disturbed aquatic systems worldwide. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems in metropolitan Chicago and its surrounding, multi-state region

Treesearch

Jessica J. Hellmann; Knute J. Nadelhoffer; Louis R. Iverson; Lewis H. Ziska; Stephen N. Matthews; Philip Myers; Anantha M. Prasad; Matthew P. Peters

2010-01-01

This paper describes the potential impacts of warming temperatures and changing precipitation on plants, wildlife, invasive species, pests, and agricultural ecosystems across the multi-state region centered on Chicago, Illinois. We examine a geographic area that captures much of Lake Michigan, including a complex mosaic of urbanization and agriculture surrounding...

2.0 Introduction to the Delaware River Basin pilot study

Treesearch

Peter S. Murdoch; Jennifer C. Jenkins; Richard A. Birdsey

2008-01-01

The past 20 years of environmental research have shown that the environment is not made up of discrete components acting independently, but rather it is a mosaic of complex relationships among air, land, water, living resources, and human activities. The data collection and analytical capabilities of current ecosystem assessment and monitoring programs are insufficient...

The Messy Aerosol Submodel MADE3 (v2.0b): Description and a Box Model Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaiser, J. C.; Hendricks, J.; Righi, M.; Riemer, N.; Zaveri, R. A.; Metzger, S.; Aquila, Valentina

2014-01-01

We introduce MADE3 (Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe, adapted for global applications, 3rd generation), an aerosol dynamics submodel for application within the MESSy framework (Modular Earth Submodel System). MADE3 builds on the predecessor aerosol submodels MADE and MADE-in. Its main new features are the explicit representation of coarse particle interactions both with other particles and with condensable gases, and the inclusion of hydrochloric acid (HCl)chloride (Cl) partitioning between the gas and condensed phases. The aerosol size distribution is represented in the new submodel as a superposition of nine lognormal modes: one for fully soluble particles, one for insoluble particles, and one for mixed particles in each of three size ranges (Aitken, accumulation, and coarse mode size ranges). In order to assess the performance of MADE3 we compare it to its predecessor MADE and to the much more detailed particle-resolved aerosol model PartMC-MOSAIC in a box model simulation of an idealized marine boundary layer test case. MADE3 and MADE results are very similar, except in the coarse mode, where the aerosol is dominated by sea spray particles. Cl is reduced in MADE3 with respect to MADE due to the HClCl partitioning that leads to Cl removal from the sea spray aerosol in our test case. Additionally, aerosol nitrate concentration is higher in MADE3 due to the condensation of nitric acid on coarse particles. MADE3 and PartMC- MOSAIC show substantial differences in the fine particle size distributions (sizes about 2 micrometers) that could be relevant when simulating climate effects on a global scale. Nevertheless, the agreement between MADE3 and PartMC-MOSAIC is very good when it comes to coarse particle size distribution, and also in terms of aerosol composition. Considering these results and the well-established ability of MADE in reproducing observed aerosol loadings and composition, MADE3 seems suitable for application within a global model.

Late Holocene to present climatic and anthropogenic drivers affecting wetland plant communities, Florida Everglades, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernhardt, C. E.; Willard, D. A.

2011-12-01

We synthesize the paleoecological results of dozens of sediment cores to evaluate the complex interactions of regional climate variability and anthropogenic modifications during the late Holocene affecting the development, stability, and resilience of the Florida Everglades wetlands. The Everglades is a mosaic of wetland types whose distributions are controlled by water depth, hydroperiod, fire, and substrate. External stressors could trigger shifts in the vegetation composition and change the community structure. Episodic severe periods of aridity during the late Holocene caused regional shifts in vegetation including the initiation and development of tree islands and sawgrass ridges, which became established during abrupt drought events. While the timing varies site to site, most droughts occurred during well-documented global climate events like the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. However, slough vegetation is more resilient to climate variability and quickly returns to its original composition after droughts. Twentieth century modification to the natural Everglades hydrology saw the distribution wetlands severely altered. The response was not homogeneous. Some communities were drowned by prolonged hydroperiods whereas other communities, such as marl prairies became drier. However, slough vegetation in the ridge and slough landscape did not respond to 20th century land use but instead has been sensitive to changes in precipitation associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

Integrating landscape ecology and geoinformatics to decipher landscape dynamics for regional planning.

PubMed

Dikou, Angela; Papapanagiotou, Evangelos; Troumbis, Andreas

2011-09-01

We used remote sensing and GIS in conjunction with multivariate statistical methods to: (i) quantify landscape composition (land cover types) and configuration (patch density, diversity, fractal dimension, contagion) for five coastal watersheds of Kalloni gulf, Lesvos Island, Greece, in 1945, 1960, 1971, 1990 and 2002/2003, (ii) evaluate the relative importance of physical (slope, geologic substrate, stream order) and human (road network, population density) variables on landscape composition and configuration, and (iii) characterize processes that led to land cover changes through land cover transitions between these five successive periods in time. Distributions of land cover types did not differ among the five time periods at the five watersheds studied because the largest cumulative changes between 1945 and 2002/2003 did not take place at dominant land cover types. Landscape composition related primarily to the physical attributes of the landscape. Nevertheless, increase in population density and the road network were found to increase heterogeneity of the landscape mosaic (patchiness), complexity of patch shape (fractal dimension), and patch disaggregation (contagion). Increase in road network was also found to increase landscape diversity due to the creation of new patches. The main processes involved in land cover changes were plough-land abandonment and ecological succession. Landscape dynamics during the last 50 years corroborate the ecotouristic-agrotouristic model for regional development to reverse trends in agricultural land abandonment and human population decline and when combined with hypothetical regulatory approaches could predict how this landscape could develop in the future, thus, providing a valuable tool to regional planning.

Galaxies Gather at Great Distances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Distant Galaxy Cluster Infrared Survey Poster [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Bird's Eye View Mosaic Bird's Eye View Mosaic with Clusters [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] 9.1 Billion Light-Years 8.7 Billion Light-Years 8.6 Billion Light-Years

Astronomers have discovered nearly 300 galaxy clusters and groups, including almost 100 located 8 to 10 billion light-years away, using the space-based Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Ariz. The new sample represents a six-fold increase in the number of known galaxy clusters and groups at such extreme distances, and will allow astronomers to systematically study massive galaxies two-thirds of the way back to the Big Bang.

A mosaic portraying a bird's eye view of the field in which the distant clusters were found is shown at upper left. It spans a region of sky 40 times larger than that covered by the full moon as seen from Earth. Thousands of individual images from Spitzer's infrared array camera instrument were stitched together to create this mosaic. The distant clusters are marked with orange dots.

Close-up images of three of the distant galaxy clusters are shown in the adjoining panels. The clusters appear as a concentration of red dots near the center of each image. These images reveal the galaxies as they were over 8 billion years ago, since that's how long their light took to reach Earth and Spitzer's infrared eyes.

These pictures are false-color composites, combining ground-based optical images captured by the Mosaic-I camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak, with infrared pictures taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Blue and green represent visible light at wavelengths of 0.4 microns and 0.8 microns, respectively, while red indicates infrared light at 4.5 microns.

Kitt Peak National Observatory is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tuscon, Ariz.

Detection and quantitation of chromosomal mosaicism in human blastocysts using copy number variation sequencing.

PubMed

Ruttanajit, Tida; Chanchamroen, Sujin; Cram, David S; Sawakwongpra, Kritchakorn; Suksalak, Wanwisa; Leng, Xue; Fan, Junmei; Wang, Li; Yao, Yuanqing; Quangkananurug, Wiwat

2016-02-01

Currently, our understanding of the nature and reproductive potential of blastocysts associated with trophectoderm (TE) lineage chromosomal mosaicism is limited. The objective of this study was to first validate copy number variation sequencing (CNV-Seq) for measuring the level of mosaicism and second, examine the nature and level of mosaicism in TE biopsies of patient's blastocysts. TE biopy samples were analysed by array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and CNV-Seq to discriminate between euploid, aneuploid and mosaic blastocysts. Using artificial models of TE mosaicism for five different chromosomes, CNV-Seq accurately and reproducibly quantitated mosaicism at levels of 50% and 20%. In a comparative 24-chromosome study of 49 blastocysts by array CGH and CNV-Seq, 43 blastocysts (87.8%) had a concordant diagnosis and 6 blastocysts (12.2%) were discordant. The discordance was attributed to low to medium levels of chromosomal mosaicism (30-70%) not detected by array CGH. In an expanded study of 399 blastocysts using CNV-Seq as the sole diagnostic method, the proportion of diploid-aneuploid mosaics (34, 8.5%) was significantly higher than aneuploid mosaics (18, 4.5%) (p < 0.02). Mosaicism is a significant chromosomal abnormality associated with the TE lineage of human blastocysts that can be reliably and accurately detected by CNV-Seq. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A. David

2018-04-01

Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10-100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km2) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999-2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.

Functional metagenomic profiling of intestinal microbiome in extreme ageing.

PubMed

Rampelli, Simone; Candela, Marco; Turroni, Silvia; Biagi, Elena; Collino, Sebastiano; Franceschi, Claudio; O'Toole, Paul W; Brigidi, Patrizia

2013-12-01

Age-related alterations in human gut microbiota composition have been thoroughly described, but a detailed functional description of the intestinal bacterial coding capacity is still missing. In order to elucidate the contribution of the gut metagenome to the complex mosaic of human longevity, we applied shotgun sequencing to total fecal bacterial DNA in a selection of samples belonging to a well-characterized human ageing cohort. The age-related trajectory of the human gut microbiome was characterized by loss of genes for shortchain fatty acid production and an overall decrease in the saccharolytic potential, while proteolytic functions were more abundant than in the intestinal metagenome of younger adults. This altered functional profile was associated with a relevant enrichment in "pathobionts", i.e. opportunistic pro-inflammatory bacteria generally present in the adult gut ecosystem in low numbers. Finally, as a signature for long life we identified 116 microbial genes that significantly correlated with ageing. Collectively, our data emphasize the relationship between intestinal bacteria and human metabolism, by detailing the modifications in the gut microbiota as a consequence of and/or promoter of the physiological changes occurring in the human host upon ageing.

Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska.

PubMed

Lara, Mark J; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A David

2018-04-10

Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10-100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km 2 ) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999-2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.

Designing and researching of the virtual display system based on the prism elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasilev, V. N.; Grimm, V. A.; Romanova, G. E.; Smirnov, S. A.; Bakholdin, A. V.; Grishina, N. Y.

2014-05-01

Problems of designing of systems for virtual display systems for augmented reality placed near the observers eye (so called head worn displays) with the light guide prismatic elements are considered. Systems of augmented reality is the complex consists of the image generator (most often it's the microdisplay with the illumination system if the display is not self-luminous), the objective which forms the display image practically in infinity and the combiner which organizes the light splitting so that an observer could see the information of the microdisplay and the surrounding environment as the background at the same time. This work deals with the system with the combiner based on the composite structure of the prism elements. In the work three cases of the prism combiner design are considered and also the results of the modeling with the optical design software are presented. In the model the question of the large pupil zone was analyzed and also the discontinuous character (mosaic structure) of the angular field in transmission of the information from the microdisplay to the observer's eye with the prismatic structure are discussed.

Wavelet analysis applied to thermographic data for the detection of sub-superficial flaws in mosaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sfarra, Stefano; Regi, Mauro

2016-06-01

Up to now, the sun-pulse recorded during the heating (day) and cooling (night) phases has not yet been analyzed by using the infrared thermography (IRT) method through the complex wavelet transform (CWT) technique. CWT can be used with the sun-pulse data in a similar way as the discrete Fourier transform (DFT). In addition, CWT preserves the time information of the signal both in the phasegrams and in the amplitudegrams. In this work, a mosaic sample containing artificial flaws positioned at different depths was inspected into the long wave IR spectrum. It is possible to observe that by comparing defective and defect-free areas, a difference in phase during the thermal diffusion appears. The signal reference, measured on the defect-free area, was subtracted from the other measurement points. The resulting signal thermal contrast, representing the difference of the temporal evolutions of the surface temperature above the defective and defect-free positions, was also plotted. Subsequently, the wavelet phase contrast was computed. The solar radiation influencing the sample was estimated bearing in mind the sun path in the sky, the mosaic orientation and the inclination with respect to its local geographical coordinates. Finally, the ambient parameters have been recorded by a control unit. Although the CWT technique did not provided a sound visualization of the shape of the flaws, it permitted to reflect on the heat release coming from the bituminous material behind the statumen layer. Indeed, it is not atypical to find inclined mosaics to be restored.

Analysis of the Radiometric Response of Orange Tree Crown in Hyperspectral Uav Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imai, N. N.; Moriya, E. A. S.; Honkavaara, E.; Miyoshi, G. T.; de Moraes, M. V. A.; Tommaselli, A. M. G.; Näsi, R.

2017-10-01

High spatial resolution remote sensing images acquired by drones are highly relevant data source in many applications. However, strong variations of radiometric values are difficult to correct in hyperspectral images. Honkavaara et al. (2013) presented a radiometric block adjustment method in which hyperspectral images taken from remotely piloted aerial systems - RPAS were processed both geometrically and radiometrically to produce a georeferenced mosaic in which the standard Reflectance Factor for the nadir is represented. The plants crowns in permanent cultivation show complex variations since the density of shadows and the irradiance of the surface vary due to the geometry of illumination and the geometry of the arrangement of branches and leaves. An evaluation of the radiometric quality of the mosaic of an orange plantation produced using images captured by a hyperspectral imager based on a tunable Fabry-Pérot interferometer and applying the radiometric block adjustment method, was performed. A high-resolution UAV based hyperspectral survey was carried out in an orange-producing farm located in Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, state of São Paulo, Brazil. A set of 25 narrow spectral bands with 2.5 cm of GSD images were acquired. Trend analysis was applied to the values of a sample of transects extracted from plants appearing in the mosaic. The results of these trend analysis on the pixels distributed along transects on orange tree crown showed the reflectance factor presented a slightly trend, but the coefficients of the polynomials are very small, so the quality of mosaic is good enough for many applications.

The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the Self-Organizing Map algorithm.

PubMed

Dejean, Alain; Azémar, Frédéric; Céréghino, Régis; Leponce, Maurice; Corbara, Bruno; Orivel, Jérôme; Compin, Arthur

2016-08-01

Ants, the most abundant taxa among canopy-dwelling animals in tropical rainforests, are mostly represented by territorially dominant arboreal ants (TDAs) whose territories are distributed in a mosaic pattern (arboreal ant mosaics). Large TDA colonies regulate insect herbivores, with implications for forestry and agronomy. What generates these mosaics in vegetal formations, which are dynamic, still needs to be better understood. So, from empirical research based on 3 Cameroonian tree species (Lophira alata, Ochnaceae; Anthocleista vogelii, Gentianaceae; and Barteria fistulosa, Passifloraceae), we used the Self-Organizing Map (SOM, neural network) to illustrate the succession of TDAs as their host trees grow and age. The SOM separated the trees by species and by size for L. alata, which can reach 60 m in height and live several centuries. An ontogenic succession of TDAs from sapling to mature trees is shown, and some ecological traits are highlighted for certain TDAs. Also, because the SOM permits the analysis of data with many zeroes with no effect of outliers on the overall scatterplot distributions, we obtained ecological information on rare species. Finally, the SOM permitted us to show that functional groups cannot be selected at the genus level as congeneric species can have very different ecological niches, something particularly true for Crematogaster spp., which include a species specifically associated with B. fistulosa, nondominant species and TDAs. Therefore, the SOM permitted the complex relationships between TDAs and their growing host trees to be analyzed, while also providing new information on the ecological traits of the ant species involved. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Schiaparelli Hemisphere

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-06-03

This mosaic is composed of about 100 red- and violet- filter Viking Orbiter images, digitally mosaiced in an orthographic projection at a scale of 1 km/pixel. The images were acquired in 1980 during mid northern summer on Mars (Ls = 89 degrees). The center of the image is near the impact crater Schiaparelli (latitude -3 degrees, longitude 343 degrees). The limits of this mosaic are approximately latitude -60 to 60 degrees and longitude 280 to 30 degrees. The color variations have been enhanced by a factor of two, and the large-scale brightness variations (mostly due to sun-angle variations) have been normalized by large-scale filtering. The large circular area with a bright yellow color (in this rendition) is known as Arabia. The boundary between the ancient, heavily-cratered southern highlands and the younger northern plains occurs far to the north (latitude 40 degrees) on this side of the planet, just north of Arabia. The dark streaks with bright margins emanating from craters in the Oxia Palus region (to the left of Arabia) are caused by erosion and/or deposition by the wind. The dark blue area on the far right, called Syrtis Major Planum, is a low-relief volcanic shield of probable basaltic composition. Bright white areas to the south, including the Hellas impact basin at the lower right, are covered by carbon dioxide frost. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00004

Mosaic of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (Methane Filter)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Great Red Spot of Jupiter as seen through the methane (886 nm) filter of the Galileo imaging system. The image is a mosaic of six images that have been map-projected to a uniform grid of latitude and longitude. North is at the top. The mosaic was taken over a 76 second interval beginning at universal time 14 hours, 33 minutes, 22 seconds, on June 26, 1996. The Red Spot is 20,000 km long and has been followed by observers on Earth since the telescope was invented 300 years ago. It is a huge storm made visible by variations in the composition of the cloud particles. The Red Spot is not unique, but is simply the largest of a class of long-lived vortices, some of which are visible in the lower part of the image. The range is 1.46 million kilometers.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA s Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

The Contribution of Mosaic Variants to Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Freed, Donald; Pevsner, Jonathan

2016-09-01

De novo mutation is highly implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the contribution of post-zygotic mutation to ASD is poorly characterized. We performed both exome sequencing of paired samples and analysis of de novo variants from whole-exome sequencing of 2,388 families. While we find little evidence for tissue-specific mosaic mutation, multi-tissue post-zygotic mutation (i.e. mosaicism) is frequent, with detectable mosaic variation comprising 5.4% of all de novo mutations. We identify three mosaic missense and likely-gene disrupting mutations in genes previously implicated in ASD (KMT2C, NCKAP1, and MYH10) in probands but none in siblings. We find a strong ascertainment bias for mosaic mutations in probands relative to their unaffected siblings (p = 0.003). We build a model of de novo variation incorporating mosaic variants and errors in classification of mosaic status and from this model we estimate that 33% of mosaic mutations in probands contribute to 5.1% of simplex ASD diagnoses (95% credible interval 1.3% to 8.9%). Our results indicate a contributory role for multi-tissue mosaic mutation in some individuals with an ASD diagnosis.

Mosaic, self-similarity logic, and biological attraction principles: three explanatory instruments in biology.

PubMed

Agnati, Luigi F; Baluska, Frantisek; Barlow, Peter W; Guidolin, Diego

2009-11-01

From a structural standpoint, living organisms are organized like a nest of Russian matryoshka dolls, in which structures are buried within one another. From a temporal point of view, this type of organization is the result of a history comprised of a set of time backcloths which have accompanied the passage of living matter from its origins up to the present day. The aim of the present paper is to indicate a possible course of this 'passage through time, and suggest how today's complexity has been reached by living organisms. This investigation will employ three conceptual tools, namely the Mosaic, Self-Similarity Logic, and the Biological Attraction principles. Self-Similarity Logic indicates the self-consistency by which elements of a living system interact, irrespective of the spatiotemporal level under consideration. The term Mosaic indicates how, from the same set of elements assembled according to different patterns, it is possible to arrive at completely different constructions: hence, each system becomes endowed with different emergent properties. The Biological Attraction principle states that there is an inherent drive for association and merging of compatible elements at all levels of biological complexity. By analogy with the gravitation law in physics, biological attraction is based on the evidence that each living organism creates an attractive field around itself. This field acts as a sphere of influence that actively attracts similar fields of other biological systems, thereby modifying salient features of the interacting organisms. Three specific organizational levels of living matter, namely the molecular, cellular, and supracellular levels, have been considered in order to analyse and illustrate the interpretative as well as the predictive roles of each of these three explanatory principles.

Structural and mutational analyses of the receptor binding domain of botulinum D/C mosaic neurotoxin: Insight into the ganglioside binding mechanism

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

Nuemket, Nipawan; Tanaka, Yoshikazu; Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810

2011-07-29

Highlights: {yields} We determined the crystal structure of the receptor binding domain of BoNT in complex with 3'-sialyllactose. {yields} An electron density derived from the 3'-sialyllactose was confirmed at the cleft in the C-terminal subdomain. {yields} Alanine site-directed mutagenesis showed that GBS and GBL are important for ganglioside binding. {yields} A cell binding mechanism, which involves cooperative contribution of two sites, was proposed. -- Abstract: Clostridium botulinum type D strain OFD05, which produces the D/C mosaic neurotoxin, was isolated from cattle killed by the recent botulism outbreak in Japan. The D/C mosaic neurotoxin is the most toxic of the botulinummore » neurotoxins (BoNT) characterized to date. Here, we determined the crystal structure of the receptor binding domain of BoNT from strain OFD05 in complex with 3'-sialyllactose at a resolution of 3.0 A. In the structure, an electron density derived from the 3'-sialyllactose was confirmed at the cleft in the C-terminal subdomain. Alanine site-directed mutagenesis showed the significant contribution of the residues surrounding the cleft to ganglioside recognition. In addition, a loop adjoining the cleft also plays an important role in ganglioside recognition. In contrast, little effect was observed when the residues located around the surface previously identified as the protein receptor binding site in other BoNTs were substituted. The results of cell binding analysis of the mutants were significantly correlated with the ganglioside binding properties. Based on these observations, a cell binding mechanism of BoNT from strain OFD05 is proposed, which involves cooperative contribution of two ganglioside binding sites.« less

Mosaic, Self-Similarity Logic, and Biological Attraction principles

PubMed Central

Baluška, František; Barlow, Peter W; Guidolin, Diego

2009-01-01

From a structural standpoint, living organisms are organized like a nest of Russian matryoshka dolls, in which structures are buried within one another. From a temporal point of view, this type of organization is the result of a history comprised of a set of time backcloths which have accompanied the passage of living matter from its origins up to the present day. The aim of the present paper is to indicate a possible course of this ‘passage through time, and suggest how today’s complexity has been reached by living organisms. This investigation will employ three conceptual tools, namely the Mosaic, Self-Similarity Logic, and the Biological Attraction principles. Self-Similarity Logic indicates the self-consistency by which elements of a living system interact, irrespective of the spatiotemporal level under consideration. The term Mosaic indicates how, from the same set of elements assembled according to different patterns, it is possible to arrive at completely different constructions: hence, each system becomes endowed with different emergent properties. The Biological Attraction principle states that there is an inherent drive for association and merging of compatible elements at all levels of biological complexity. By analogy with the gravitation law in physics, biological attraction is based on the evidence that each living organism creates an attractive field around itself. This field acts as a sphere of influence that actively attracts similar fields of other biological systems, thereby modifying salient features of the interacting organisms. Three specific organizational levels of living matter, namely the molecular, cellular, and supracellular levels, have been considered in order to analyse and illustrate the interpretative as well as the predictive roles of each of these three explanatory principles. PMID:20195461

Geological control of floristic composition in Amazonian forests

PubMed Central

Higgins, Mark A; Ruokolainen, Kalle; Tuomisto, Hanna; Llerena, Nelly; Cardenas, Glenda; Phillips, Oliver L; Vásquez, Rodolfo; Räsänen, Matti

2011-01-01

Aim Conservation and land-use planning require accurate maps of patterns in species composition and an understanding of the factors that control them. Substantial doubt exists, however, about the existence and determinants of large-area floristic divisions in Amazonia. Here we ask whether Amazonian forests are partitioned into broad-scale floristic units on the basis of geological formations and their edaphic properties. Location Western and central Amazonia. Methods We used Landsat imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation data to identify a possible floristic and geological discontinuity of over 300 km in northern Peru. We then used plant inventories and soil sampling to document changes in species composition and soil properties across this boundary. Data were obtained from 138 sites distributed along more than 450 km of road and river. On the basis of our findings, we used broad-scale Landsat and SRTM mosaics to identify similar patterns across western and central Amazonia. Results The discontinuity identified in Landsat and SRTM data corresponded to a 15-fold change in soil cation concentrations and an almost total change in plant species composition. This discontinuity appears to be caused by the widespread removal of cation-poor surface sediments by river incision to expose cation-rich sediments beneath. Examination of broad-scale Landsat and SRTM mosaics indicated that equivalent processes have generated a north–south discontinuity of over 1500 km in western Brazil. Due to similarities with our study area, we suggest that this discontinuity represents a chemical and ecological limit between western and central Amazonia. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that Amazonian forests are partitioned into large-area units on the basis of geological formations and their edaphic properties. The evolution of these units through geological time may provide a general mechanism for biotic diversification in Amazonia. These compositional units, moreover, may correspond to broad-scale functional units. The existence of large-area compositional and functional units would suggest that protected-area, carbon sequestration, and other land-use strategies in Amazonia be implemented on a region-by-region basis. The methods described here can be used to map these patterns, and thus enable effective conservation and management of Amazonian forests. PMID:22247585

Southern marl prairies conceptual ecological model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, S.M.; Loftus, W.F.; Gaiser, E.E.; Huffman, A.E.

2005-01-01

About 190,000 ha of higher-elevation marl prairies flank either side of Shark River Slough in the southern Everglades. Water levels typically drop below the ground surface each year in this landscape. Consequently, peat soil accretion is inhibited, and substrates consist either of calcitic marl produced by algal periphyton mats or exposed limestone bedrock. The southern marl prairies support complex mosaics of wet prairie, sawgrass sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), tree islands, and tropical hammock communities and a high diversity of plant species. However, relatively short hydroperiods and annual dry downs provide stressful conditions for aquatic fauna, affecting survival in the dry season when surface water is absent. Here, we present a conceptual ecological model developed for this landscape through scientific concensus, use of empirical data, and modeling. The two major societal drivers affecting the southern marl prairies are water management practices and agricultural and urban development. These drivers lead to five groups of ecosystem stressors: loss of spatial extent and connectivity, shortened hydroperiod and increased drought severity, extended hydroperiod and drying pattern reversals, introduction and spread of non-native trees, and introduction and spread of non-native fishes. Major ecological attributes include periphyton mats, plant species diversity and community mosaic, Cape Sable seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis), marsh fishes and associated aquatic fauna prey base, American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), and wading bird early dry season foraging. Water management and development are hypothesized to have a negative effect on the ecological attributes of the southern marl prairies in the following ways. Periphyton mats have decreased in cover in areas where hydroperiod has been significantly reduced and changed in community composition due to inverse responses to increased nutrient availability. Plant species diversity and community mosaics have changed due to shifting gradients to more terrestrial or more aquatic communities, displacement of native communities by non-natives, expansion of woody plants, high-intensity dry season fires, tree-island burnout, and reduced microtopography resulting from alligator population decline. Cape Sable seaside sparrow populations are threatened by nest destruction resulting from extended hydroperiods, drying pattern reversals, and high intensity dry season fires, as well as by the expansion of woody plants into graminoid wetland habitats. Populations of marsh fishes and associated aquatic fauna that constitute the aquatic prey base for higher vertebrates have decreased in density and changed in species composition and size structure due to loss of wetland spatial extent, shortened hydroperiod, increased drought severity, loss of aquatic drought refugia in solution holes and alligator holes, and spread of exotic fishes. American alligator populations have declined in the Rocky Glades, and alligator holes have filled with sediment, as a result of shortened hydroperiod and increased drought severity. Habitat options for wading birds to forage during the early dry season and during unusually wet years have been reduced due to loss of spatial extent and shortened hydroperiod.

Cucurbits depicted in Byzantine mosaics from Israel, 350-600 ce.

PubMed

Avital, Anat; Paris, Harry S

2014-08-01

Thousands of floor mosaics were produced in lands across the Roman and Byzantine empires. Some mosaics contain depictions of agricultural produce, potentially providing useful information concerning the contemporary presence and popularity of crop plants in a particular geographical region. Hundreds of floor mosaics produced in Israel during the Byzantine period have survived. The objective of the present work was to search these mosaics for Cucurbitaceae in order to obtain a more complete picture of cucurbit crop history in the eastern Mediterranean region. Twenty-three mosaics dating from 350-600 ce were found that had images positively identifiable as cucurbits. The morphological diversity of the cucurbit fruits in the mosaics of Israel is greater than that appearing in mosaics from any other Roman or Byzantine provincial area. The depicted fruits vary in shape from oblate to extremely long, and some are furrowed, others are striped and others lack definite markings. The cucurbit taxa depicted in the mosaics are Cucumis melo (melon), Citrullus lanatus (watermelon), Luffa aegyptiaca (sponge gourd) and Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd). Cucumis melo is the most frequently found taxon in the mosaics and is represented by round dessert melons and long snake melons. Fruits of at least two cultivars of snake melons and of watermelons are represented. To our knowledge, images of sponge gourds have not been found in Roman and Byzantine mosaics elsewhere. Indeed, the mosaics of Israel contain what are probably the oldest depictions of Luffa aegyptiaca in Mediterranean lands. Sponge gourds are depicted often, in 11 of the mosaics at eight localities, and the images include both mature fruits, which are useful for cleaning and washing, and immature fruits, which are edible. Only one mosaic has images positively identifiable as of bottle gourds, and these were round-pyriform and probably used as vessels. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Cucurbits depicted in Byzantine mosaics from Israel, 350–600 ce

PubMed Central

Avital, Anat; Paris, Harry S.

2014-01-01

Background and Aims Thousands of floor mosaics were produced in lands across the Roman and Byzantine empires. Some mosaics contain depictions of agricultural produce, potentially providing useful information concerning the contemporary presence and popularity of crop plants in a particular geographical region. Hundreds of floor mosaics produced in Israel during the Byzantine period have survived. The objective of the present work was to search these mosaics for Cucurbitaceae in order to obtain a more complete picture of cucurbit crop history in the eastern Mediterranean region. Results and Conclusions Twenty-three mosaics dating from 350–600 ce were found that had images positively identifiable as cucurbits. The morphological diversity of the cucurbit fruits in the mosaics of Israel is greater than that appearing in mosaics from any other Roman or Byzantine provincial area. The depicted fruits vary in shape from oblate to extremely long, and some are furrowed, others are striped and others lack definite markings. The cucurbit taxa depicted in the mosaics are Cucumis melo (melon), Citrullus lanatus (watermelon), Luffa aegyptiaca (sponge gourd) and Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd). Cucumis melo is the most frequently found taxon in the mosaics and is represented by round dessert melons and long snake melons. Fruits of at least two cultivars of snake melons and of watermelons are represented. To our knowledge, images of sponge gourds have not been found in Roman and Byzantine mosaics elsewhere. Indeed, the mosaics of Israel contain what are probably the oldest depictions of Luffa aegyptiaca in Mediterranean lands. Sponge gourds are depicted often, in 11 of the mosaics at eight localities, and the images include both mature fruits, which are useful for cleaning and washing, and immature fruits, which are edible. Only one mosaic has images positively identifiable as of bottle gourds, and these were round–pyriform and probably used as vessels. PMID:24948671

Beagle-2 landing site atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michael, G.; Chicarro, A.; Rodionova, J.; Shevchenko, V.; Ilukhina, J.; Kozlova, K.

2003-04-01

The Beagle-2 lander of the Mars Express mission will come to rest on the surface of Isidis Planitia in late December 2003 to carry out a range of geochemistry and exobiology experi-ments. We are compiling an atlas of the presently available data products pertinent to the landing site at 11.6N 90.75E, which is intended for distribution both as a printed and an electronic resource. The atlas will include Viking and MOC-WA image mosaics, and a catalogue of high-resolution im-ages from MOC and THEMIS with location maps. There will be various MOLA topography-based products: colour-scaled, contoured, and shaded maps, slope, and detrended relief. Simulated camera panoramas from various potential landing locations may assist in determining the spacecraft’s position. Other maps, both raw, and in composites with image mosa-ics, will cover TES thermal inertia and spectroscopy, and Odyssey gamma and neutron spectroscopy. Maps at the scale of the Isidis context will additionally cover geology, tem-perature cycles, and atmospheric circulation. Sample are shown below.

Comparative analysis of nutritional compositions of transgenic RNAi-mediated virus-resistant bean (event EMB-PV051-1) with its non-transgenic counterpart.

PubMed

Carvalho, José L V; de Oliveira Santos, Juliana; Conte, Carmine; Pacheco, Sidney; Nogueira, Elsa O P L; Souza, Thiago L P O; Faria, Josias C; Aragão, Francisco J L

2015-10-01

Golden mosaic is among the most economically important diseases that severely reduce bean production in Latin America. In 2011, a transgenic bean event named Embrapa 5.1 (EMB-PV051-1), resistant to bean golden mosaic virus, was approved for commercial release in Brazil. The aim of this study was to measure and evaluate the nutritional components of the beans, as well as the anti-nutrient levels in the primary transgenic line and its derived near-isogenic lines after crosses and backcrosses with two commercial cultivars. Nutritional assessment of transgenic crops used for human consumption is an important aspect of safety evaluations. Results demonstrated that the transgenic bean event, cultivated under field conditions, was substantially equivalent to that of the non-transgenic bean plants. In addition, the amounts of the nutritional components are within the range of values observed for several bean commercial varieties grown across a range of environments and seasons.

Different But Similar: Student Teachers' Perspectives on the Use of L1 in Arab and Jewish EFL Classroom Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orland-Barak, Lily; Yinon, Hayuta

2005-01-01

The complex cultural mosaic of EFL teaching and teacher education in Israel calls for the need to explore how different ethnic and cultural backgrounds shape prospective EFL teachers' perspectives about their roles and practices as communicative teachers; an approach solidly entrenched in western, democratic views of teaching and learning.…

Separating the effects of habitat area, fragmentation and matrix resistance on genetic differentiation in complex landscapes

Treesearch

Samuel A. Cushman; Andrew J. Shirk; Erin L. Landguth

2012-01-01

Little is known about how variation in landscape mosaics affects genetic differentiation. The goal of this paper is to quantify the relative importance of habitat area and configuration, as well as the contrast in resistance between habitat and non-habitat, on genetic differentiation. We hypothesized that habitat configuration would be more influential than habitat...

Ecosystem engineering by seagrasses interacts with grazing to shape an intertidal landscape.

PubMed

van der Heide, Tjisse; Eklöf, Johan S; van Nes, Egbert H; van der Zee, Els M; Donadi, Serena; Weerman, Ellen J; Olff, Han; Eriksson, Britas Klemens

2012-01-01

Self-facilitation through ecosystem engineering (i.e., organism modification of the abiotic environment) and consumer-resource interactions are both major determinants of spatial patchiness in ecosystems. However, interactive effects of these two mechanisms on spatial complexity have not been extensively studied. We investigated the mechanisms underlying a spatial mosaic of low-tide exposed hummocks and waterlogged hollows on an intertidal mudflat in the Wadden Sea dominated by the seagrass Zostera noltii. A combination of field measurements, an experiment and a spatially explicit model indicated that the mosaic resulted from localized sediment accretion by seagrass followed by selective waterfowl grazing. Hollows were bare in winter, but were rapidly colonized by seagrass during the growth season. Colonized hollows were heavily grazed by brent geese and widgeon in autumn, converting these patches to a bare state again and disrupting sediment accretion by seagrass. In contrast, hummocks were covered by seagrass throughout the year and were rarely grazed, most likely because the waterfowl were not able to employ their preferred but water requiring feeding strategy ('dabbling') here. Our study exemplifies that interactions between ecosystem engineering by a foundation species (seagrass) and consumption (waterfowl grazing) can increase spatial complexity at the landscape level.

Inclusion bodies of aggregated hemosiderins in liver macrophages.

PubMed

Hayashi, Hisao; Tatsumi, Yasuaki; Wakusawa, Shinya; Shigemasa, Ryota; Koide, Ryoji; Tsuchida, Ken-Ichi; Morotomi, Natsuko; Yamashita, Tetsuji; Kumagai, Kotaro; Ono, Yukiya; Hayashi, Kazuhiko; Ishigami, Masatoshi; Goto, Hidemi; Kato, Ayako; Kato, Koichi

2017-12-01

Hemosiderin formation is a structural indication of iron overload. We investigated further adaptations of the liver to excess iron. Five patients with livers showing iron-rich inclusions larger than 2 µm were selected from our database. The clinical features of patients and structures of the inclusions were compared with those of 2 controls with mild iron overload. All patients had severe iron overload with more than 5000 ng/mL of serum ferritin. Etiologies were variable, from hemochromatosis to iatrogenic iron overload. Their histological stages were either portal fibrosis or cirrhosis. Inclusion bodies were ultra-structurally visualized as aggregated hemosiderins in the periportal macrophages. X-ray analysis always identified, in addition to a large amount of iron complexes including oxygen and phosphorus, a small amount of copper and sulfur in the mosaic matrixes of inclusions. There were no inclusions in the control livers. Inclusion bodies, when the liver is loaded with excess iron, may appear in the macrophages as isolated organella of aggregated hemosiderins. Trace amounts of copper-sulfur complexes were always identified in the mosaic matrices of the inclusions, suggesting cuproprotein induction against excess iron. In conclusion, inclusion formation in macrophages may be an adaptation of the liver loaded with excess iron.

Garden Mosaics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Ann Marie; Krasny, Marianne E.

2005-01-01

This article describes Garden Mosaics, a program funded by the National Science Foundation. Garden Mosaics combines science learning with intergenerational mentoring, multicultural understanding, and community service. The program's mission is "connecting youth and elders to explore the mosaics of plants, people, and cultures in gardens, to learn…

Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dethloff, Klaus; Rex, Markus; Shupe, Matthew

2016-04-01

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) is an international initiative under the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) umbrella that aims to improve numerical model representations of sea ice, weather, and climate processes through coupled system observations and modeling activities that link the central Arctic atmosphere, sea ice, ocean, and the ecosystem. Observations of many critical parameters such as cloud properties, surface energy fluxes, atmospheric aerosols, small-scale sea-ice and oceanic processes, biological feedbacks with the sea-ice ice and ocean, and others have never been made in the central Arctic in all seasons, and certainly not in a coupled system fashion. The primary objective of MOSAiC is to develop a better understanding of these important coupled-system processes so they can be more accurately represented in regional- and global-scale weather- and climate models. Such enhancements will contribute to improved modeling of global climate and weather, and Arctic sea-ice predictive capabilities. The MOSAiC observations are an important opportunity to gather the high quality and comprehensive observations needed to improve numerical modeling of critical, scale-dependent processes impacting Arctic predictability given diminished sea ice coverage and increased model complexity. Model improvements are needed to understand the effects of a changing Arctic on mid-latitude weather and climate. MOSAiC is specifically designed to provide the multi-parameter, coordinated observations needed to improve sub-grid scale model parameterizations especially with respect to thinner ice conditions. To facilitate, evaluate, and develop the needed model improvements, MOSAiC will employ a hierarchy of modeling approaches ranging from process model studies, to regional climate model intercomparisons, to operational forecasts and assimilation of real-time observations. Model evaluations prior to the field program will be used to identify specific gaps and parameterization needs. Preliminary modeling and operational forecasting will also be necessary to directly guide field planning and optimal implementation of field resources, and to support the safety of the project. The MOSAiC Observatory will be deployed in, and drift with, the Arctic sea-ice pack for at least a full annual cycle, starting in fall 2019 and ending in autumn 2020. Initial plans are for the drift to start in the newly forming autumn sea-ice in, or near, the East Siberian Sea. The specific location will be selected to allow for the observatory to follow the Transpolar Drift towards the North Pole and on to the Fram Strait. IASC has adopted MOSAiC as a key international activity, the German Alfred Wegener Institute has made the huge contribution of the icebreaker Polarstern to serve as the central drifting observatory for this year long endeavor, and the US Department of Energy has committed a comprehensive atmospheric measurement suite. Many other nations and agencies have expressed interest in participation and in gaining access to this unprecedented observational dataset. International coordination is needed to support this groundbreaking endeavor.

Mosaic male honey bees produced by queens inseminated with frozen spermatozoa.

PubMed

Harbo, J R

1980-01-01

Mosaic male honey bees were found as the progeny of queens that had been inseminated with spermatozoa stored in liquid nitrogen. The origins of these mosaics and the genotype of their gametes were determined by using mutant markers. The mosaics probably developed from an egg pronucleus and a sperm pronucleus that did not unite after the latter had entered the egg. Instead, both pronuclei produced haploid tissue independently. The three mosaics that were mated to queens all had mosaic testes. Therefore, these were situations in which a male honey bee produced two types of spermatozoa.

Mitotic instability in triploid and tetraploid one-year-old eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, assessed by cytogenetic and flow cytometry techniques.

PubMed

de Sousa, Joana Teixeira; Allen, Standish K; Wolfe, Brittany M; Small, Jessica Moss

2018-02-01

For commercial oyster aquaculture, triploidy has significant advantages. To produce triploids, the principal technology uses diploid × tetraploid crosses. The development of tetraploid brood stock for this purpose has been successful, but as more is understood about tetraploids, it seems clear that chromosome instability is a principal feature in oysters. This paper is a continuation of work to investigate chromosome instability in polyploid Crassostrea virginica. We established families between tetraploids-apparently stable (non-mosaic) and unstable (mosaic)-and normal reference diploids, creating triploid groups, as well as tetraploids between mosaic and non-mosaic tetraploids. Chromosome loss was about the same for triploid juveniles produced from either mosaic or non-mosaic tetraploids or from either male or female tetraploids. However, there was a statistically significant difference in chromosome loss in tetraploid juveniles produced from mosaic versus non-mosaic parents, with mosaics producing more unstable progeny. These results confirm that chromosome instability, as manifested in mosaic tetraploids, is of little concern for producing triploids, but it is clearly problematic for tetraploid breeding. Concordance between the results from cytogenetics and flow cytometry was also tested for the first time in oysters, by assessing the ploidy of individuals using both techniques. Results between the two were non-concordant.

The role of sexual and natural selection in shaping patterns of sexual dichromatism in the largest family of songbirds (Aves: Thraupidae).

PubMed

Shultz, Allison J; Burns, Kevin J

2017-04-01

Males and females can be under different evolutionary pressures if sexual and natural selection is differentially operating in each sex. As a result, many species have evolved sexual dichromatism, or differences in coloration between sexes. Although sexual dichromatism is often used as an index of the magnitude of sexual selection, sexual dichromatism is a composite trait. Here, we examine the evolution of sexual dichromatism in one of the largest and most ecologically diverse families of birds, the tanagers, using the avian visual perspective and a species-level phylogeny. Our results demonstrate that the evolutionary decreases of sexual dichromatism are more often associated with larger and more frequent changes in male plumage coloration, and evolutionary increases are not more often associated with larger changes in either sex. Furthermore, we show that the crown and ventral plumage regions are correlated with sexual dichromatism in males, and that only male plumage complexity is positively correlated with sexual dichromatism. Finally, we demonstrate that light environment is important in shaping both plumage brilliance and complexity. By conducting a multilevel analysis of plumage evolution in males and females, we show that sexual dichromatism evolves via a mosaic of sexual and natural selection in both sexes. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Occurrance in Korea of three major soybean viruses, Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), Soybean yellow mottle mosaic virus (SYCMV), and Soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV) revealed by a nationwide survey of soybean fields

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soybean yellow mottle mosaic virus (SYMMV) and soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV) were recently isolated in Korea, and it hasn’t been reported how these two viruses were dispersed in Korea. In 2012, we performed a nationwide survey of subsistence soybean farms in Korea. Leaves that appeared ...

Temporal variability of the surface and atmosphere of Mars: Viking Orbiter color observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcewen, A. S.

1992-01-01

We are near the final stages in the processing of a large Viking Orbiter global color dataset. Mosaics from 57 spacecraft revolutions (or 'revs' hereafter) were produced, most in both red and violet or red, green, and violet filters. Phase angles range from 13 deg to 85 deg. A total of approximately 2000 frames were processed through radiometric calibration, cosmetic cleanup, geometric control, reprojection, and mosaicking into single-rev mosaics at a scale of 1 km/pixel. All of the mosaics are geometrically tied to the 1/256 deg/pixel Mars Digital Image Mosaic (MDIM). Photometric normalization is in progress, to be followed by production of a 'best coverage' global mosaic at a scale of 1/64 deg/pixel (0.923 km/pixel). Global coverage is near 100 percent in red-filter mosaics and 98 percent and 60 percent in corresponding violet- and green-filter mosaics, respectively. Soon after completion, all final datasets (including single-rev mosaics) will be distributed to the planetary community on compact disks.

Web Map Services (WMS) Global Mosaic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Percivall, George; Plesea, Lucian

2003-01-01

The WMS Global Mosaic provides access to imagery of the global landmass using an open standard for web mapping. The seamless image is a mosaic of Landsat 7 scenes; geographically-accurate with 30 and 15 meter resolutions. By using the OpenGIS Web Map Service (WMS) interface, any organization can use the global mosaic as a layer in their geospatial applications. Based on a trade study, an implementation approach was chosen that extends a previously developed WMS hosting a Landsat 5 CONUS mosaic developed by JPL. The WMS Global Mosaic supports the NASA Geospatial Interoperability Office goal of providing an integrated digital representation of the Earth, widely accessible for humanity's critical decisions.

The mosaics of Mars: As seen by the Viking Lander cameras

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levinthal, E. C.; Jones, K. L.

1980-01-01

The mosaics and derivative products produced from many individual high resolution images acquired by the Viking Lander Camera Systems are described: A morning and afternoon mosaic for both cameras at the Lander 1 Chryse Planitia site, and a morning, noon, and afternoon camera pair at Utopia Planitia, the Lander 11 site. The derived products include special geometric projections of the mosaic data sets, polar stereographic (donut), stereoscopic, and orthographic. Contour maps and vertical profiles of the topography were overlaid on the mosaics from which they were derived. Sets of stereo pairs were extracted and enlarged from stereoscopic projections of the mosaics.

Confocal mosaicing microscopy of human skin ex vivo: spectral analysis for digital staining to simulate histology-like appearance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bini, Jason; Spain, James; Nehal, Kishwer; Hazelwood, Vikki; Dimarzio, Charles; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2011-07-01

Confocal mosaicing microscopy enables rapid imaging of large areas of fresh tissue, without the processing that is necessary for conventional histology. Mosaicing may offer a means to perform rapid histology at the bedside. A possible barrier toward clinical acceptance is that the mosaics are based on a single mode of grayscale contrast and appear black and white, whereas histology is based on two stains (hematoxylin for nuclei, eosin for cellular cytoplasm and dermis) and appears purple and pink. Toward addressing this barrier, we report advances in digital staining: fluorescence mosaics that show only nuclei, are digitally stained purple and overlaid on reflectance mosaics, which show only cellular cytoplasm and dermis, and are digitally stained pink. With digital staining, the appearance of confocal mosaics mimics the appearance of histology. Using multispectral analysis and color matching functions, red, green, and blue (RGB) components of hematoxylin and eosin stains in tissue were determined. The resulting RGB components were then applied in a linear algorithm to transform fluorescence and reflectance contrast in confocal mosaics to the absorbance contrast seen in pathology. Optimization of staining with acridine orange showed improved quality of digitally stained mosaics, with good correlation to the corresponding histology.

Heterogeneity in pepper isolates of cucumber mosaic virus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodriguez-Alvarado, G.; Kurath, G.; Dodds, J.A.

1995-01-01

Twenty-four cucumber mosaic cucumovirus (CMV) field isolates from pepper crops in Cali-fornia were characterized and compared by nucleic acid hybridization subgrouping, virion electrophoresis, and biological effects in several hosts. Isolates, belonging to subgroup I or subgroup II, were found that induced severe symptoms in mechanically inoculated bell pep-pers. Only two isolates, both from subgroup II, were mild. A group of 19 isolates collected from a single field were all in subgroup II and appeared identical by virion electrophoresis, but they exhibited varying degrees of symptom severity in peppers. As a more detailed indicator of heterogeneity, these 19 isolates were examined by RNase protection assays to delect sequence variation in the coat protein gene region of their genomes. The patterns of bands observed were complex and a high degree of genomic heterogeneity was detected between isolates, with no apparent correlation to symptomatology in bell pepper.

Variations in brain defects result from cellular mosaicism in the activation of heat shock signalling.

PubMed

Ishii, Seiji; Torii, Masaaki; Son, Alexander I; Rajendraprasad, Meenu; Morozov, Yury M; Kawasawa, Yuka Imamura; Salzberg, Anna C; Fujimoto, Mitsuaki; Brennand, Kristen; Nakai, Akira; Mezger, Valerie; Gage, Fred H; Rakic, Pasko; Hashimoto-Torii, Kazue

2017-05-02

Repetitive prenatal exposure to identical or similar doses of harmful agents results in highly variable and unpredictable negative effects on fetal brain development ranging in severity from high to little or none. However, the molecular and cellular basis of this variability is not well understood. This study reports that exposure of mouse and human embryonic brain tissues to equal doses of harmful chemicals, such as ethanol, activates the primary stress response transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (Hsf1) in a highly variable and stochastic manner. While Hsf1 is essential for protecting the embryonic brain from environmental stress, excessive activation impairs critical developmental events such as neuronal migration. Our results suggest that mosaic activation of Hsf1 within the embryonic brain in response to prenatal environmental stress exposure may contribute to the resulting generation of phenotypic variations observed in complex congenital brain disorders.

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

Smith, Donald F.; Schulz, Carl; Konijnenburg, Marco

High-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry imaging enables the spatial mapping and identification of biomolecules from complex surfaces. The need for long time-domain transients, and thus large raw file sizes, results in a large amount of raw data (“big data”) that must be processed efficiently and rapidly. This can be compounded by largearea imaging and/or high spatial resolution imaging. For FT-ICR, data processing and data reduction must not compromise the high mass resolution afforded by the mass spectrometer. The continuous mode “Mosaic Datacube” approach allows high mass resolution visualization (0.001 Da) of mass spectrometry imaging data, butmore » requires additional processing as compared to featurebased processing. We describe the use of distributed computing for processing of FT-ICR MS imaging datasets with generation of continuous mode Mosaic Datacubes for high mass resolution visualization. An eight-fold improvement in processing time is demonstrated using a Dutch nationally available cloud service.« less

Mirolydidae, a new family of Jurassic pamphilioid sawfly (Hymenoptera) highlighting mosaic evolution of lower Hymenoptera.

PubMed

Wang, Mei; Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P; Yang, Zhongqi; Shih, Chungkun; Wang, Hongbin; Ren, Dong

2017-03-07

We describe Pamphilioidea: Mirolydidae Wang, Rasnitsyn et Ren, fam. n., containing Mirolyda hirta Wang, Rasnitsyn et Ren, gen. et sp. n., from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new taxon is characterized by unique forewing venation with the presence of forewing SC, 1-RS almost as long as 1-M, M + Cu straight, 2r-rs strongly reclival, and antenna with homonomous flagellum, revealing new and important details in antennal evolutionary transformations. Thus, M. hirta with a combination of primitive and more derived characters highlights its transitional state in the Pamphilioidea and complex mosaic evolution within Pamphilioidea in the late Middle Jurassic. The body of this species is densely covered with thin and long setae, suggesting its possible habit of visiting gymnosperm reproductive organs for pollen feeding and/or pollination during the late Middle Jurassic, much earlier than the appearance of angiosperm flowers.

Macromolecule Crystal Quality Improvement in Microgravity: The Role of Impurities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Judge, Russell A.; Snell, Edward H.; Pusey, Marc L.; Sportiello, Michael G.; Todd, Paul; Bellamy, Henry; Borgstahl, Gloria E.; Pokros, Matt; Cassanto, John M.

2000-01-01

While macromolecule impurities may affect crystal size and morphology the over-riding question is; "How do macromolecule impurities effect crystal X-ray quality and diffraction resolution?" In the case of chicken egg white lysozyme, crystals can be grown in the presence of a number of impurities without affecting diffraction resolution. One impurity however, the lysozyme dimer, does negatively impact the X-ray crystal properties. Crystal quality improvement as a result of better partitioning of this impurity during crystallization in microgravity has been reported'. In our recent experimental work dimer partitioning was found to be not significantly different between the two environments. Mosaicity analysis of pure crystals showed a reduced mosaicity and increased signal to noise for the microgravity grown crystals. Dimer incorporation however, did greatly reduce the resolution limit in both ground and microgravity grown crystals. These results indicate that impurity effects in microgravity are complex and may rely on the conditions or techniques employed.

Global HRSC Image Mosaics of Mars: Dodging for High-Pass Filtering, Combined with Low-Pass-Filtered OMEGA Mosaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGuire, P. C.; Walter, S. H. G.; van Gasselt, S.; Dumke, A.; Dunker, T.; Gross, C.; Michael, G.; Wendt, L.; Audouard, J.; Ody, A.; Poulet, F.

2014-07-01

We discuss our approach towards automatically mosaicking hundreds of the HRSC panchromatic or RGB images together. Our best results consist of adding a high-pass-filtered HRSC mosaic to a low-pass-filtered OMEGA global mosaic.

Mosaic Horses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudecki, Maryanna

2009-01-01

This article describes a lesson inspired by Sicilian mosaics. The author first presented a PowerPoint presentation of mosaics from the Villa Romana del Casale and reviewed complementary and analogous colors. Students then created mosaics using a variety of art materials. They presented their work to their peers and discussed the thought and…

Pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 regulates the patterning of retinal mosaics

PubMed Central

Keeley, Patrick W.; Zhou, Cuiqi; Lu, Lu; Williams, Robert W.; Melmed, Shlomo; Reese, Benjamin E.

2014-01-01

Neurons are commonly organized as regular arrays within a structure, and their patterning is achieved by minimizing the proximity between like-type cells, but molecular mechanisms regulating this process have, until recently, been unexplored. We performed a forward genetic screen using recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from two parental A/J and C57BL/6J mouse strains to identify genomic loci controlling spacing of cholinergic amacrine cells, which is a subclass of retinal interneuron. We found conspicuous variation in mosaic regularity across these strains and mapped a sizeable proportion of that variation to a locus on chromosome 11 that was subsequently validated with a chromosome substitution strain. Using a bioinformatics approach to narrow the list of potential candidate genes, we identified pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 (Pttg1) as the most promising. Expression of Pttg1 was significantly different between the two parental strains and correlated with mosaic regularity across the RI strains. We identified a seven-nucleotide deletion in the Pttg1 promoter in the C57BL/6J mouse strain and confirmed a direct role for this motif in modulating Pttg1 expression. Analysis of Pttg1 KO mice revealed a reduction in the mosaic regularity of cholinergic amacrine cells, as well as horizontal cells, but not in two other retinal cell types. Together, these results implicate Pttg1 in the regulation of homotypic spacing between specific types of retinal neurons. The genetic variant identified creates a binding motif for the transcriptional activator protein 1 complex, which may be instrumental in driving differential expression of downstream processes that participate in neuronal spacing. PMID:24927528

Comparative symbiotic plasmid analysis indicates that symbiosis gene ancestor type affects plasmid genetic evolution.

PubMed

Wang, X; Zhao, L; Zhang, L; Wu, Y; Chou, M; Wei, G

2018-07-01

Rhizobial symbiotic plasmids play vital roles in mutualistic symbiosis with legume plants by executing the functions of nodulation and nitrogen fixation. To explore the gene composition and genetic constitution of rhizobial symbiotic plasmids, comparison analyses of 24 rhizobial symbiotic plasmids derived from four rhizobial genera was carried out. Results illustrated that rhizobial symbiotic plasmids had higher proportion of functional genes participating in amino acid transport and metabolism, replication; recombination and repair; carbohydrate transport and metabolism; energy production and conversion and transcription. Mesorhizobium amorphae CCNWGS0123 symbiotic plasmid - pM0123d had similar gene composition with pR899b and pSNGR234a. All symbiotic plasmids shared 13 orthologous genes, including five nod and eight nif/fix genes which participate in the rhizobia-legume symbiosis process. These plasmids contained nod genes from four ancestors and fix genes from six ancestors. The ancestral type of pM0123d nod genes was similar with that of Rhizobium etli plasmids, while the ancestral type of pM0123d fix genes was same as that of pM7653Rb. The phylogenetic trees constructed based on nodCIJ and fixABC displayed different topological structures mainly due to nodCIJ and fixABC ancestral type discordance. The study presents valuable insights into mosaic structures and the evolution of rhizobial symbiotic plasmids. This study compared 24 rhizobial symbiotic plasmids that included four genera and 11 species, illuminating the functional gene composition and symbiosis gene ancestor types of symbiotic plasmids from higher taxonomy. It provides valuable insights into mosaic structures and the evolution of symbiotic plasmids. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Most HIV Type 1 Non-B Infections in the Spanish Cohort of Antiretroviral Treatment-Naïve HIV-Infected Patients (CoRIS) Are Due to Recombinant Viruses

PubMed Central

Yebra, Gonzalo; de Mulder, Miguel; Martín, Leticia; Rodríguez, Carmen; Labarga, Pablo; Viciana, Isabel; Berenguer, Juan; Alemán, María Remedios; Pineda, Juan Antonio; García, Federico

2012-01-01

HIV-1 group M is classified into 9 subtypes, as well as recombinants favored by coinfection and superinfection events with different variants. Although HIV-1 subtype B is predominant in Europe, intersubtype recombinants are increasing in prevalence and complexity. In this study, phylogenetic analyses of pol sequences were performed to detect the HIV-1 circulating and unique recombinant forms (CRFs and URFs, respectively) in a Spanish cohort of antiretroviral treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients included in the Research Network on HIV/AIDS (CoRIS). Bootscanning and other methods were used to define complex recombinants not assigned to any subtype or CRF. A total of 670 available HIV-1 pol sequences from different patients were collected, of which 588 (87.8%) were assigned to HIV-1 subtype B and 82 (12.2%) to HIV-1 non-B variants. Recombinants caused the majority (71.9%) of HIV-1 non-B infections and were found in 8.8% of CoRIS patients. Eleven URFs (accounting for 13.4% of HIV-1 non-B infections), presenting complex mosaic patterns, were detected. Among them, 10 harbored subtype B fragments. Four of the 11 URFs were found in Spanish natives. A cluster of three B/CRF02_AG recombinants was detected. We conclude that complex variants, including unique recombinant forms, are being introduced into Spain through both immigrants and natives. An increase in the frequency of mosaic viruses, reflecting the increasing heterogeneity of the HIV epidemic in our country, is expected. PMID:22162552

Most HIV type 1 non-B infections in the Spanish cohort of antiretroviral treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients (CoRIS) are due to recombinant viruses.

PubMed

Yebra, Gonzalo; de Mulder, Miguel; Martín, Leticia; Rodríguez, Carmen; Labarga, Pablo; Viciana, Isabel; Berenguer, Juan; Alemán, María Remedios; Pineda, Juan Antonio; García, Federico; Holguín, Africa

2012-02-01

HIV-1 group M is classified into 9 subtypes, as well as recombinants favored by coinfection and superinfection events with different variants. Although HIV-1 subtype B is predominant in Europe, intersubtype recombinants are increasing in prevalence and complexity. In this study, phylogenetic analyses of pol sequences were performed to detect the HIV-1 circulating and unique recombinant forms (CRFs and URFs, respectively) in a Spanish cohort of antiretroviral treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients included in the Research Network on HIV/AIDS (CoRIS). Bootscanning and other methods were used to define complex recombinants not assigned to any subtype or CRF. A total of 670 available HIV-1 pol sequences from different patients were collected, of which 588 (87.8%) were assigned to HIV-1 subtype B and 82 (12.2%) to HIV-1 non-B variants. Recombinants caused the majority (71.9%) of HIV-1 non-B infections and were found in 8.8% of CoRIS patients. Eleven URFs (accounting for 13.4% of HIV-1 non-B infections), presenting complex mosaic patterns, were detected. Among them, 10 harbored subtype B fragments. Four of the 11 URFs were found in Spanish natives. A cluster of three B/CRF02_AG recombinants was detected. We conclude that complex variants, including unique recombinant forms, are being introduced into Spain through both immigrants and natives. An increase in the frequency of mosaic viruses, reflecting the increasing heterogeneity of the HIV epidemic in our country, is expected.

Strip mosaicing confocal microscopy for rapid imaging over large areas of excised tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abeytunge, Sanjee; Li, Yongbiao; Larson, Bjorg; Peterson, Gary; Toledo-Crow, Ricardo; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2012-03-01

Confocal mosaicing microscopy is a developing technology platform for imaging tumor margins directly in fresh tissue, without the processing that is required for conventional pathology. Previously, basal cell carcinoma margins were detected by mosaicing of confocal images of 12 x 12 mm2 of excised tissue from Mohs surgery. This mosaicing took 9 minutes. Recently we reported the initial feasibility of a faster approach called "strip mosaicing" on 10 x 10 mm2 of tissue that was demonstrated in 3 minutes. In this paper we report further advances in instrumentation and software. Rapid mosaicing of confocal images on large areas of fresh tissue potentially offers a means to perform pathology at the bedside. Thus, strip mosaicing confocal microscopy may serve as an adjunct to pathology for imaging tumor margins to guide surgery.

Genetic diversity of viruses causing mosaic in Louisiana sugarcane

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mosaic caused by Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) contributed to the near collapse of Louisiana’s sugarcane industry in the early 20th Century. By the 1950s, the cultivation of resistant cultivars eliminated mosaic as a major disease problem; however, new strains arose among previously resistant cultiv...

USAF Summer Research Program - 1995 Summer Faculty Research Program Final Reports, Volume 5A, Wright Laboratory

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-12-01

Certification. Oliver Wight Publications, Inc. Essex Junction. 1993. Ishikawa , Kaoru . (Translation by David J. Lu) What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese...approximation to the eight-harness satin weave (8H SW) is made, following the mosaic model ( Ishikawa and Chou, 1983) which treats woven composites as cross...K. W. and Bailey, J. E. (1978) Journal of Material Science, Vol. 13, pp. 195. Ishikawa , T. and Chou, T. W. (1983) One-dimensional micromechanical

Post-breeding habitat use by adult boreal toads (Bufo boreas boreas) after wildfire in Glacier National Park, USA

Treesearch

C. Gregory Guscio; Blake R. Hossack; Lisa A. Eby; Paul Stephen Corn

2008-01-01

Effects of wildfire on amphibians are complex, and some species may benefit from the severe disturbance of stand-replacing fire. Boreal Toads (Bufo boreas boreas) in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA increased in occurrence after fires in 2001 and 2003. We used radio telemetry to track adult B. boreas in a mosaic of terrestrial...

Fire history and landscape restoration in Douglas-fir ecosystems of western Oregon

Treesearch

J. E. Means; J. H. Cissel; F. J. Swanson

1996-01-01

For thousands of years fire has been a major, natural disturbance in the forest landscape from the Cascade Range westward to the coast in Oregon and Washington (Agee 1993; Brubaker 1991). Viewing the landscape of the central western Cascades in Oregon from a high point, one can see that fires of variable intensity and areal extent have created a complex mosaic of...

Restoring dry and moist forests of the inland northwestern United States [Chapter 23

Treesearch

Theresa B. Jain; Russell T. Graham

2015-01-01

The complex topography of the Inland Northwestern United States (58.4 million ha) interacts with soils and a highly variable climate to provide a mosaic of dry and moist mixed conifer forest settings. Approximately 20% of the area is covered by dry forests dominated by Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii and contains a diversity of lower vegetation ranging from a...

Forest attributes and fuel loads of riparian vs. upland stands in mountain pine beetle infested watersheds, southern Rocky Mountains [Chapter 13

Treesearch

Kathleen A. Dwire; Roberto A. Bazan; Robert Hubbard

2015-01-01

Extensive outbreaks of mountain pine beetle (MPB), spruce beetle (SB), and other insects are altering forest stand structure throughout the Western United States, and thereby increasing the natural heterogeneity of fuel distribution. Riparian forests frequently occur as narrow linear features in the landscape mosaic and can contribute to the spatial complexity of...

Spatial and temporal dimensions of fire activity in the fire-prone eastern Canadian taiga.

PubMed

Erni, Sandy; Arseneault, Dominique; Parisien, Marc-André; Bégin, Yves

2017-03-01

The forest age mosaic is a fundamental attribute of the North American boreal forest. Given that fires are generally lethal to trees, the time since last fire largely determines the composition and structure of forest stands and landscapes. Although the spatiotemporal dynamics of such mosaics has long been assumed to be random under the overwhelming influence of severe fire weather, no long-term reconstruction of mosaic dynamics has been performed from direct field evidence. In this study, we use fire length as a proxy for fire extent across the fire-prone eastern Canadian taiga and systematically reconstruct the spatiotemporal variability of fire extent and fire intervals, as well as the resulting forest age along a 340-km transect for the 1840-2013 time period. Our results indicate an extremely active fire regime over the last two centuries, with an overall burn rate of 2.1% of the land area yr -1 , mainly triggered by seasonal anomalies of high temperature and severe drought. However, the rejuvenation of the age mosaic was strongly patterned in space and time due to the intrinsically lower burn rates in wetland-dominated areas and, more importantly, to the much-reduced likelihood of burning of stands up to 50 years postfire. An extremely high burn rate of ~5% yr -1 would have characterized our study region during the last century in the absence of such fuel age effect. Although recent burn rates and fire sizes are within their range of variability of the last 175 years, a particularly severe weather event allowed a 2013 fire to spread across a large fire refuge, thus shifting the abundance of mature and old forest to a historic low. These results provide reference conditions to evaluate the significance and predict the spatiotemporal dynamics and impacts of the currently strengthening fire activity in the North American boreal forest. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Generalized parallel-perspective stereo mosaics from airborne video.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhigang; Hanson, Allen R; Riseman, Edward M

2004-02-01

In this paper, we present a new method for automatically and efficiently generating stereoscopic mosaics by seamless registration of images collected by a video camera mounted on an airborne platform. Using a parallel-perspective representation, a pair of geometrically registered stereo mosaics can be precisely constructed under quite general motion. A novel parallel ray interpolation for stereo mosaicing (PRISM) approach is proposed to make stereo mosaics seamless in the presence of obvious motion parallax and for rather arbitrary scenes. Parallel-perspective stereo mosaics generated with the PRISM method have better depth resolution than perspective stereo due to the adaptive baseline geometry. Moreover, unlike previous results showing that parallel-perspective stereo has a constant depth error, we conclude that the depth estimation error of stereo mosaics is in fact a linear function of the absolute depths of a scene. Experimental results on long video sequences are given.

A high throughput soybean gene identification system developed using soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soybean yellow common mosaic virus (SYCMV) was recently reported from Korea, and a subsequent survey of soybean fields found that SYCMV, Soybean yellow mottle mosaic virus (SYMMV), and Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) infections were widespread. SYCMV has recently been developed into a Virus Inducing Gene...

First report of Sugarcane mosaic virus infecting Columbus Grass (Sorghum almum) in the United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mosaic symptoms in sorghum can be caused by several potyviruses [family Potyviridae], including Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV). SrMV and SCMV are responsible for global economic losses in sorghum, maize, and sugarcane. Ten plants of Columbus grass (Sorghum almum) exhib...

First report of Apple necrotic mosaic virus infecting apple trees in Korea

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In September 2016, two apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh) cv. Shinano Sweet showing bright cream spot and mosaic patterns on leaves were observed in Pocheon, South Korea. Mosaic symptoms are common on leaves of apple trees infected with Apple mosaic virus (ApMV). Symptomatic leaves were tested by e...

Discoveries and controversies in cutaneous mosaicism.

PubMed

Castori, Marco; Tadini, Gianluca

2016-06-01

Genetic mosaicism is thought to be a common phenomenon in inherited skin disorders. It is the leading molecular mechanism explaining cutaneous hamartomas and nevoid disorders, skin manifestations of most X-linked genodermatoses and specific forms of clinical variability and topographic distribution in autosomal skin disorders. The developmental (in utero) origin and timing dependence are two major attributes for the current definition of cutaneous mosaicism. Chromosomal mosaicism, lyonization in X-linked genodermatoses, and various types of mosaicism (i.e. type 1, type 2 and revertant mosaicism) in autosomal skin disorders are mechanisms well defined at the molecular level. All these concepts have been fully included in the current medical terminology in dermatology and genetics. Mitotic crossing-over, paradominant inheritance, monoallelic expression of autosomal traits and mosaicism in acquired skin disorders remain without a formal molecular proof and still represent sources of debate in the scientific community. This review summarizes current concepts, discoveries and controversies in the field of cutaneous mosaicism for practitioners and clinical researchers to enhance their understanding of such a underestimated clinical phenomenon and its biological basis.

Application of remote sensing to the photogeologic mapping of the region of the Itatiaia alkaline complex. M.S. Thesis; [Minas Gerais, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Itatiaia, Brazil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Rodrigues, J. E.

1981-01-01

Remote sensing methods applied to geologically complex areas, through interaction of ground truth and information obtained from multispectral LANDSAT images and radar mosaics were evaluated. The test area covers parts of Minos Gerais, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo states and contains the alkaline complex of Itatiaia and surrounding Precambrian terrains. Geological and structural mapping was satisfactory; however, lithological varieties which form the massif's could not be identified. Photogeological lineaments were mapped, some of which represent the boundaries of stratigraphic units. Automatic processing was used to classify sedimentary areas, which includes the talus deposits of the alkaline massifs.

Confocal mosaicing microscopy of human skin ex vivo: spectral analysis for digital staining to simulate histology-like appearance

PubMed Central

Bini, Jason; Spain, James; Nehal, Kishwer; Hazelwood, Vikki; DiMarzio, Charles; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2011-01-01

Confocal mosaicing microscopy enables rapid imaging of large areas of fresh tissue, without the processing that is necessary for conventional histology. Mosaicing may offer a means to perform rapid histology at the bedside. A possible barrier toward clinical acceptance is that the mosaics are based on a single mode of grayscale contrast and appear black and white, whereas histology is based on two stains (hematoxylin for nuclei, eosin for cellular cytoplasm and dermis) and appears purple and pink. Toward addressing this barrier, we report advances in digital staining: fluorescence mosaics that show only nuclei, are digitally stained purple and overlaid on reflectance mosaics, which show only cellular cytoplasm and dermis, and are digitally stained pink. With digital staining, the appearance of confocal mosaics mimics the appearance of histology. Using multispectral analysis and color matching functions, red, green, and blue (RGB) components of hematoxylin and eosin stains in tissue were determined. The resulting RGB components were then applied in a linear algorithm to transform fluorescence and reflectance contrast in confocal mosaics to the absorbance contrast seen in pathology. Optimization of staining with acridine orange showed improved quality of digitally stained mosaics, with good correlation to the corresponding histology. PMID:21806269

Sex mosaics in a male dimorphic ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshizawa, Juri; Mimori, Kohei; Yamauchi, Katsusuke; Tsuchida, Koji

2009-01-01

Gynandromorphy, or the development of organisms with a combination of male and female morphological features, is common in Hymenoptera. The underlying mechanism is likely associated with the sex-determination system, and studying this phenomenon should lead to a deeper understanding of both embryonic development and sex determination. The reproductive capabilities of gynandromorphs (hereafter, sex mosaics) remain unclear. We studied gynandromorphy in the Malaysian ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi, which has sex mosaics of queens (gynandromorphs; mosaic of queens and winged male) and workers (ergatandromorphs; mosaic of worker and wingless ergatoid male). These sex mosaics were classified into seven morphological categories. Most individuals had more male than female body areas. Behavioral observations revealed that sex mosaics behave more in accordance with the “sex” of their brain than that of the reproductive organs (gaster). Relative DNA quantities showed that both female and male regions contained haploid and diploid nuclei, irrespective of their phenotypic appearance, indicating that external appearance did not reflect internal tissues. Nearly one third of the adults were sex mosaics and they were not infected with Wolbachia. Our results suggest that the production of sex mosaics in this species does not pose a substantial cost to colonies and that the underlying causes are therefore not strongly selected against.

Mixed mosaic membranes prepared by layer-by-layer assembly for ionic separations.

PubMed

Rajesh, Sahadevan; Yan, Yu; Chang, Hsueh-Chia; Gao, Haifeng; Phillip, William A

2014-12-23

Charge mosaic membranes, which possess distinct cationic and anionic domains that traverse the membrane thickness, are capable of selectively separating dissolved salts from similarly sized neutral solutes. Here, the generation of charge mosaic membranes using facile layer-by-layer assembly methodologies is reported. Polymeric nanotubes with pore walls lined by positively charged polyethylenimine moieties or negatively charged poly(styrenesulfonate) moieties were prepared via layer-by-layer assembly using track-etched membranes as sacrificial templates. Subsequently, both types of nanotubes were deposited on a porous support in order to produce mixed mosaic membranes. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrates that the facile deposition techniques implemented result in nanotubes that are vertically aligned without overlap between adjacent elements. Furthermore, the nanotubes span the thickness of the mixed mosaic membranes. The effects of this unique nanostructure are reflected in the transport characteristics of the mixed mosaic membranes. The hydraulic permeability of the mixed mosaic membranes in piezodialysis operations was 8 L m(-2) h(-1) bar(-1). Importantly, solute rejection experiments demonstrate that the mixed mosaic membranes are more permeable to ionic solutes than similarly sized neutral molecules. In particular, negative rejection of sodium chloride is observed (i.e., the concentration of NaCl in the solution that permeates through a mixed mosaic membrane is higher than in the initial feed solution). These properties illustrate the ability of mixed mosaic membranes to permeate dissolved ions selectively without violating electroneutrality and suggest their utility in ionic separations.

Barnacle Bill in Super Resolution from Insurance Panorama

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Barnacle Bill is a small rock immediately west-northwest of the Mars Pathfinder lander and was the first rock visited by the Sojourner Rover's alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) instrument. This image shows super resolution techniques applied to the first APXS target rock, which was never imaged with the rover's forward cameras. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of this rock and what it might tell us about its mode of origin.

This view of Barnacle Bill was produced by combining the 'Insurance Pan' frames taken while the IMP camera was still in its stowed position on sol2. The composite color frames that make up this anaglyph were produced for both the right and left eye of the IMP. The right eye composite consists of 5 frames, taken with different color filters, the left eye consists of only 1 frame. The resultant image from each eye was enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be. These panchromatic frames were then colorized with the red, green, and blue filtered images from the same sequence. The color balance was adjusted to approximate the true color of Mars.

The anaglyph view was produced by combining the left with the right eye color composite frames by assigning the left eye composite view to the red color plane and the right eye composite view to the green and blue color planes (cyan), to produce a stereo anaglyph mosaic. This mosaic can be viewed in 3-D on your computer monitor or in color print form by wearing red-blue 3-D glasses.

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. Barnacle Bill is a small rock immediately west-northwest of the Mars Pathfinder lander and was the first rock visited by the Sojourner Rover's alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) instrument.

Corona Enhancement and Mosaic Architecture for Prognosis and Selection Between of Liver Resection Versus Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization in Single Hepatocellular Carcinomas >5 cm Without Extrahepatic Metastases: An Imaging-Based Retrospective Study.

PubMed

Li, Meng; Xin, Yongjie; Fu, Sirui; Liu, Zaiyi; Li, Yong; Hu, Baoshan; Chen, Shuting; Liang, Changhong; Lu, Ligong

2016-01-01

Corona enhancement and mosaic architecture are 2 radiologic features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, neither their prognostic values nor their impacts on the selection of liver resection (LR) versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) as treatment modalities have been established.We retrospectively analyzed 275 patients with a single HCC lesion >5 cm without extrahepatic metastasis treated with LR or TACE. In LR patients, the overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) were compared between corona enhancement negative (corona-) versus positive (corona+) and mosaic architecture negative (mosaic-) versus positive (mosaic+) patients. Furthermore, by the combination of corona and mosaic, LR patients were divided into negative for both corona and mosaic patterns (LR-/-), positive for only 1 feature (LR+/-), and positive for both (LR+/+); their OS and TTP were compared to those of the TACE group. Cox regression was performed to identify independent factors for OS.In the survival plots for LR, corona- had better OS and TTP than corona+, and mosaic- had better OS than mosaic+. There was no significant difference in TTP between the subgroups. On Cox regression analysis, corona enhancement, but not mosaic architecture, was a significant factor for OS, whereas neither were a significant factor for TTP. In TACE patients, neither corona nor mosaic patterns had significant correlations with OS or TTP. In the whole population, LR-/ and LR+/- subgroups had similar OS, which was better than the LR+/+ and TACE groups. Moreover, LR-/- and LR+/- patients had better TTP than TACE patients, but there were no differences between the LR-/- versus LR+/-, LR-/ versus LR+/+, LR+/- versus LR+/+, and LR+/+ versus TACE groups. On Cox regression analysis, the presence of corona/mosaic patterns was an independent prognostic factor for OS.Our results showed that, for patients with a single HCC >5 cm without extrahepatic metastasis, corona and mosaic patterns are indicators of limited LR efficacy. When both of the features are present, TACE can be used instead of LR with no negative influence on survival.

High-Resolution Enceladus Atlas and Compositional Maps derived from Cassini ISS and VIMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roatsch, Thomas; Kersten, Elke; Wählisch, Marita; Hoffmeister, Angelika; Stephan, Katrin; Jaumann, Ralf

2010-05-01

The first version of the high-resolution Enceladus atlas was released in 2006 [1]. The Cassini Imaging Science Sub-system (ISS) acquired more high-resolution images (< 1 km/pixel) during five close flybys of Enceladus in 2008 and 2009. We combined these images with lower-resolution coverage taken between 2007 and 2009 to improve the high-resolution global mosaic of Enceladus. The whole mosaic was shifted by 3.5° to the West to be consistent with the IAU definition of the prime meridian location. This new global mosaic is the baseline for the second release of the high-resolution Enceladus atlas that consists again of 15 tiles mapped at a scale of 1:500,000. We proposed 29 additional names for features which will be used as nomenclature in the atlas. We are awaiting validation of the new nomenclature by the IAU. The new release of the atlas will be made available to the public through CICLOPS (http://ciclops.org) and PDS (http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov). The Cassini Visual and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VIMS) observed Enceladus during a couple of flybys between 2005 and 2009. This gave us the possibility to combine these data into a global VIMS mosaic. Based on this mosaic maps of Enceladus' spectral properties could be derived. Thus, global maps illustrating the spatial variations of the absorption band depth of water ice were calculated, which are indicative of varying sizes of the water ice particles [2]. The authors gratefully acknowledge the planning and operation work of their colleagues from the Cassini-ISS team lead by Carolyn Porco and from the Cassini-VIMS team lead by Robert Brown. [1] Roatsch, Th. et al., High-resolution Enceladus atlas derived from Cassini-ISS images. Planetary Space Sciences 56, 109-116, 2008. [2] Jaumann, R., Stephan, K., Hansen, G.B., Clark, R.N., Buratti, B.J., Brown, R.H., Baines, K.H., Newman, S.F., Bellucci, G., Filacchione, G., Coradini, A., Cruikshank, D.P., Griffith, C.A., Hibbitts, C.A., McCord, T.B., Nelson, R.M., Nicholson, P.D., Sotin, C., and Wagner, R., 2008: Distribution of icy particles across Enceladus' surface as derived from Cassini-VIMS measurements. Icarus 193.

Improved Subcell Model for the Prediction of Braided Composite Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cater, Christopher R.; Xinran, Xiao; Goldberg, Robert K.; Kohlman, Lee W.

2013-01-01

In this work, the modeling of triaxially braided composites was explored through a semi-analytical discretization. Four unique subcells, each approximated by a "mosaic" stacking of unidirectional composite plies, were modeled through the use of layered-shell elements within the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA. Two subcell discretizations were investigated: a model explicitly capturing pure matrix regions, and a novel model which absorbed pure matrix pockets into neighboring tow plies. The in-plane stiffness properties of both models, computed using bottom-up micromechanics, correlated well to experimental data. The absorbed matrix model, however, was found to best capture out-of- plane flexural properties by comparing numerical simulations of the out-of-plane displacements from single-ply tension tests to experimental full field data. This strong correlation of out-of-plane characteristics supports the current modeling approach as a viable candidate for future work involving impact simulations.

Triton Mosaic

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-08-25

Mosaic of Triton constructed from 16 individual images. After globally minimizing the camera pointing errors, the frames we reprocessed by map projections, photometric function removal and placement in the mosaic.

40 CFR 174.516 - Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus...-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Tolerances and Tolerance Exemptions § 174.516 Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Cucumber Mosaic Virus are exempt...

40 CFR 174.516 - Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus...-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Tolerances and Tolerance Exemptions § 174.516 Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Cucumber Mosaic Virus are exempt...

40 CFR 174.516 - Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus...-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Tolerances and Tolerance Exemptions § 174.516 Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Cucumber Mosaic Virus are exempt...

40 CFR 174.516 - Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus...-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Tolerances and Tolerance Exemptions § 174.516 Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Cucumber Mosaic Virus are exempt...

40 CFR 174.516 - Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus...-INCORPORATED PROTECTANTS Tolerances and Tolerance Exemptions § 174.516 Coat protein of cucumber mosaic virus; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Residues of Coat Protein of Cucumber Mosaic Virus are exempt...

Center of parcel with mosaics. Mosaics consist of everyday throwaway ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Center of parcel with mosaics. Mosaics consist of everyday throwaway objects of all kinds set in concrete mortar on ground. Leaning Tower of Bottle Village in front of Rumpus Room primary façade with 12' scale (in tenths). Camera facing north. - Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, 4595 Cochran Street, Simi Valley, Ventura County, CA

Mosaic anisotropy model for magnetic interactions in mesostructured crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldman, Abby R.; Asenath-Smith, Emily; Estroff, Lara A.

2017-10-01

We propose a new model for interpreting the magnetic interactions in crystals with mosaic texture called the mosaic anisotropy (MA) model. We test the MA model using hematite as a model system, comparing mosaic crystals to polycrystals, single crystal nanoparticles, and bulk single crystals. Vibrating sample magnetometry confirms the hypothesis of the MA model that mosaic crystals have larger remanence (Mr/Ms) and coercivity (Hc) compared to polycrystalline or bulk single crystals. By exploring the magnetic properties of mesostructured crystalline materials, we may be able to develop new routes to engineering harder magnets.

Barley stripe mosaic virus: Structure and relationship to the tobamoviruses

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

Kendall, Amy; Williams, Dewight; Bian, Wen

Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) is the type member of the genus Hordeivirus, rigid, rod-shaped viruses in the family Virgaviridae. We have used fiber diffraction and cryo-electron microscopy to determine the helical symmetry of BSMV to be 23.2 subunits per turn of the viral helix, and to obtain a low-resolution model of the virus by helical reconstruction methods. Features in the model support a structural relationship between the coat proteins of the hordeiviruses and the tobamoviruses. - Highlights: • We report a low-resolution structure of barley stripe mosaic virus. • Barley stripe mosaic virus has 23.2 subunits per turn ofmore » the viral helix. • We compare barley stripe mosaic virus with tobacco mosaic virus.« less

A MOSAIC for the Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fish, Vincent L.; Needles, M. M.; Rogers, A. E. E.; Costa, D.; Cadigan, J.; Clements, C.; May, S. K.

2011-01-01

MOSAIC (Mesospheric Ozone System for Atmospheric Investigations in the Classroom) is a project to engage secondary and undergraduate students in authentic inquiry-based science learning using a network of inexpensive spectrometers monitoring the mesospheric ozone concentration. The MOSAIC system observes the 11 GHz emission line of ozone using electronics built around satellite television equipment. The possibilities for student investigation are broad and scientifically significant. MOSAIC observations have confirmed diurnal variations in mesospheric ozone concentration and detected semiannual variations that may be due to inter-hemispheric meridional circulation of water vapor. Possible future projects include monitoring the temperature of the mesosphere and correlations with the solar cycle. Students are also encouraged to design their own investigations with MOSAIC data. Early results have been reported in a major scientific journal, and further scientific progress is likely as future MOSAIC systems are deployed -- increasing the sensitivity and geographic coverage of the network. Complete teaching units, including slides, laboratory activities, background information, student worksheets, and conformance with national and Massachusetts educational standards, have been developed to integrate MOSAIC into a classroom environment. One unit introduces the layers of the atmosphere, Earth's energy balance, the greenhouse effect, processes of ozone creation and destruction, noctilucent clouds, heat transfer, the laws of thermodynamics, radio waves (including radio astronomy), and fluid behavior. A second unit, currently being tested in classrooms, uses the MOSAIC system to motivate and deepen understanding of a large portion of electromagnetism in a conceptual physics class. MOSAIC has also been used in a local high school chemistry class. MOSAIC is still in development and is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Development of a reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for the detection of Sugarcane mosaic virus and Sorghum mosaic virus in sugarcane

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay was developed for detecting Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) and Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) in sugarcane. Six sets of four primers corresponding to the conserved coat protein gene were designed for each virus and their succ...

Association of a cucumber mosaic virus strain with mosaic disease of banana, Musa paradisiaca--an evidence using immuno/nucleic acid probe.

PubMed

Srivastava, A; Raj, S K; Haq, Q M; Srivastava, K M; Singh, B P; Sane, P V

1995-12-01

Virus causing severe chlorosis/mosaic disease of banana was identified as a strain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Association of CMV with the disease was established by Western immunoblot using polyclonal antibodies to CMV-T and slot blot hybridization with nucleic acid probe of CMV-P genome.

Environmental characteristics of the Grand Fir Mosaic and adjacent habitat types

Treesearch

Dennis E. Ferguson; John C. Byrne

2000-01-01

Grand Fir Mosaic habitats differ from adjacent forest habitats in their slow rate of secondary succession to woody vegetation. Remote monitoring stations were used to sample the environment at a Grand Fir Mosaic site and three adjacent habitat types. The Grand Fir Mosaic site has shorter growing seasons, cooler temperatures, and more soil moisture than the other sites...

Confocal mosaicing microscopy of basal-cell carcinomas ex vivo: progress in digital staining to simulate histology-like appearance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bini, Jason; Spain, James; Nehal, Kishwer; Hazelwood, Vikki; DiMarzio, Charles; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2011-03-01

Confocal mosaicing microscopy enables rapid imaging of large areas of fresh tissue, without the processing that is necessary for conventional histology. Using acridine orange (1 milliMolar, 20 seconds) to stain nuclei, basal cell carcinomas were detected in fluorescence confocal mosaics of Mohs surgical excisions with sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 89.2%. A possible barrier toward clinical acceptance is that confocal mosaics are based on a single mode of contrast and appear in grayscale, whereas histology is based on two (hematoxylin for nuclei, eosin for cellular cytoplasm and dermis) and appears purple-and-pink. Toward addressing this barrier, we report progress in developing a multispectral analytical model for digital staining: fluorescence confocal mosaics, which show only nuclei, are digitally stained purple and overlaid on reflectance confocal mosaics, which show only cellular cytoplasm and dermis, and digitally stained pink, to mimic the appearance of histology. Comparison of digitally stained confocal mosaics by our Mohs surgeon to the corresponding Mohs histology shows good correlation for normal and tumor detail. Digitally stained confocal mosaicing microscopy may allow direct examination of freshly excised tissue and serve as an adjunct for rapid pathology at-the-bedside.

Deep sequencing detects very-low-grade somatic mosaicism in the unaffected mother of siblings with nemaline myopathy.

PubMed

Miyatake, Satoko; Koshimizu, Eriko; Hayashi, Yukiko K; Miya, Kazushi; Shiina, Masaaki; Nakashima, Mitsuko; Tsurusaki, Yoshinori; Miyake, Noriko; Saitsu, Hirotomo; Ogata, Kazuhiro; Nishino, Ichizo; Matsumoto, Naomichi

2014-07-01

When an expected mutation in a particular disease-causing gene is not identified in a suspected carrier, it is usually assumed to be due to germline mosaicism. We report here very-low-grade somatic mosaicism in ACTA1 in an unaffected mother of two siblings affected with a neonatal form of nemaline myopathy. The mosaicism was detected by deep resequencing using a next-generation sequencer. We identified a novel heterozygous mutation in ACTA1, c.448A>G (p.Thr150Ala), in the affected siblings. Three-dimensional structural modeling suggested that this mutation may affect polymerization and/or actin's interactions with other proteins. In this family, we expected autosomal dominant inheritance with either parent demonstrating germline or somatic mosaicism. Sanger sequencing identified no mutation. However, further deep resequencing of this mutation on a next-generation sequencer identified very-low-grade somatic mosaicism in the mother: 0.4%, 1.1%, and 8.3% in the saliva, blood leukocytes, and nails, respectively. Our study demonstrates the possibility of very-low-grade somatic mosaicism in suspected carriers, rather than germline mosaicism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on Mosaic and Uniform Color Method of Satellite Image Fusion in Large Srea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, S.; Li, H.; Wang, X.; Guo, L.; Wang, R.

2018-04-01

Due to the improvement of satellite radiometric resolution and the color difference for multi-temporal satellite remote sensing images and the large amount of satellite image data, how to complete the mosaic and uniform color process of satellite images is always an important problem in image processing. First of all using the bundle uniform color method and least squares mosaic method of GXL and the dodging function, the uniform transition of color and brightness can be realized in large area and multi-temporal satellite images. Secondly, using Color Mapping software to color mosaic images of 16bit to mosaic images of 8bit based on uniform color method with low resolution reference images. At last, qualitative and quantitative analytical methods are used respectively to analyse and evaluate satellite image after mosaic and uniformity coloring. The test reflects the correlation of mosaic images before and after coloring is higher than 95 % and image information entropy increases, texture features are enhanced which have been proved by calculation of quantitative indexes such as correlation coefficient and information entropy. Satellite image mosaic and color processing in large area has been well implemented.

Mapping forest height, foliage height profiles and disturbance characteristics with time series of gap-filled Landsat and ALI imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helmer, E.; Ruzycki, T. S.; Wunderle, J. M.; Kwit, C.; Ewert, D. N.; Voggesser, S. M.; Brandeis, T. J.

2011-12-01

We mapped tropical dry forest height (RMSE = 0.9 m, R2 = 0.84, range 0.6-7 m) and foliage height profiles with a time series of gap-filled Landsat and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) imagery for the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas. We also mapped disturbance type and age with decision tree classification of the image time series. Having mapped these variables in the context of studies of wintering habitat of an endangered Nearctic-Neotropical migrant bird, the Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii), we then illustrated relationships between forest vertical structure, disturbance type and counts of forage species important to the Kirtland's Warbler. The ALI imagery and the Landsat time series were both critical to the result for forest height, which the strong relationship of forest height with disturbance type and age facilitated. Also unique to this study was that seven of the eight image time steps were cloud-gap-filled images: mosaics of the clear parts of several cloudy scenes, in which cloud gaps in a reference scene for each time step are filled with image data from alternate scenes. We created each cloud-cleared image, including a virtually seamless ALI image mosaic, with regression tree normalization of the image data that filled cloud gaps. We also illustrated how viewing time series imagery as red-green-blue composites of tasseled cap wetness (RGB wetness composites) aids reference data collection for classifying tropical forest disturbance type and age.

Mapping the surface characteristics of the Mojave with remote sensing for terrestrial habitat modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowicki, S. A.; Skuse, R. J.

2012-12-01

High-resolution ecological and climate modeling requires quantification of surface characteristics such as rock abundance, soil induration and surface roughness at fine-scale, since these features can affect the micro and macro habitat of a given area and ultimately determine the assemblage of plant and animal species that may occur there. Our objective is to develop quantitative data layers of thermophysical properties of the entire Mojave Desert Ecoregion for applications to habitat modeling being conducted by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center. These research efforts are focused on developing habitat models and a better physical understanding of the Mojave Desert, which have implications the development of solar and wind energy resources, military installation expansion and residential development planned for the Mojave. Thus there is a need to improve our understanding of the mechanical composition and thermal characteristics of natural and modified surfaces in the southwestern US at as high-resolution as possible. Since the Mojave is a sparsely-vegetated, arid landscape with little precipitation, remote sensing-based thermophysical analyses using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER) day and nighttime imagery are ideal for determining the physical properties of the surface. New mosaicking techniques for thermal imagery acquired at different dates, seasons and temperatures have allowed for the highest-resolution mosaics yet generated at 100m/pixel for thermal infrared wavelengths. Among our contributions is the development of seamless day and night ASTER mosaics of land surface temperatures that are calibrated to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) coincident observations to produce both a seamless mosaic and quantitative temperatures across the region that varies spectrally and thermophysically over a large number of orbit tracks. Products derived from this dataset include surface rock abundance, apparent thermal inertia, and diurnal/seasonal thermal regime. Additionally, the combination of moderate and high-resolution thermal observations are used to map the spatial and temporal variation of significant rain storms that intermittently increase the surface moisture. The resulting thermally-derived layers are in the process of being combined with composition, vegetation and surface reflectance datasets to map the Mojave at the highest VNIR resolution (20m/pixel) and compared to currently-available lower-resolution datasets.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: JCMT Gould Belt Survey: W40 complex (Rumble+, 2016)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rumble, D.; Hatchell, J.; Pattle, K.; Kirk, H.; Wilson, T.; Buckle, J.; Berry, D. S.; Broekhoven-Fiene, H.; Currie, M. J.; Fich, M.; Jenness, T.; Johnstone, D.; Mottram, J. C.; Nutter, D.; Pineda, J. E.; Quinn, C.; Salji, C.; Tisi, S.; Walker-Smith, S.; di, Francesco J.; Hogerheijde, M. R.; Ward-Thompson, D.; Bastien, P.; Bresnahan, D.; Butner, H.; Chen, M.; Chrysostomou, A.; Coude, S.; Davis, C. J.; Drabek-Maunder, E.; Duarte-Cabral, A.; Fiege, J.; Friberg, P.; Friesen, R.; Fuller, G. A.; Graves, S.; Greaves, J.; Gregson, J.; Holland, W.; Joncas, G.; Kirk, J. M.; Knee, L. B. G.; Mairs, S.; Marsh, K.; Matthews, B. C.; Moriarty-Schieven, G.; Mowat, C.; Rawlings, J.; Richer, J.; Robertson, D.; Rosolowsky, E.; Sadavoy, S.; Thomas, H.; Tothill, N.; Viti, S.; White, G. J.; Wouterloot, J.; Yates, J.; Zhu, M.

2017-11-01

Aquila was observed with SCUBA-2 (Holland et al., 2013MNRAS.430.2513H) between 2012 April 21 and July 5 as part of the JCMT GBS MJLSG33 SCUBA-2 Serpens Campaign. Four separate fully sampled 30 arcmin diameter circular continuum observations (PONG1800 mapping mode) were taken simultaneously at 850um and 450um, and subsequently combined into mosaics. (3 data files).

Alfalfa mosaic virus replicase proteins, P1 and P2, localize to the tonoplast in the presence of virus RNA

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

Ibrahim, Amr; Present address: Genomics Facility, Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12619; Hutchens, Heather M.

2012-11-25

To identify the virus components important for assembly of the Alfalfa mosaic virus replicase complex, we used live cell imaging of Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts that expressed various virus cDNAs encoding native and GFP-fusion proteins of P1 and P2 replicase proteins and full-length virus RNAs. Expression of P1-GFP alone resulted in fluorescent vesicle-like bodies in the cytoplasm that colocalized with FM4-64, an endocytic marker, and RFP-AtVSR2, RabF2a/Rha1-mCherry, and RabF2b/Ara7-mCherry, all of which localize to multivesicular bodies (MVBs), which are also called prevacuolar compartments, that mediate traffic to the lytic vacuole. GFP-P2 was driven from the cytosol to MVBs when expressed withmore » P1 indicating that P1 recruited GFP-P2. P1-GFP localized on the tonoplast, which surrounds the vacuole, in the presence of infectious virus RNA, replication competent RNA2, or P2 and replication competent RNA1 or RNA3. This suggests that a functional replication complex containing P1, P2, and a full-length AMV RNA assembles on MVBs to traffic to the tonoplast.« less

Rhabdoid tumor predisposition syndrome caused by SMARCB1 constitutional deletion: prenatal detection of new case of recurrence in siblings due to gonadal mosaicism.

PubMed

Gigante, Laura; Paganini, Irene; Frontali, Marina; Ciabattoni, Serena; Sangiuolo, Federica Carla; Papi, Laura

2016-01-01

Rhabdoid tumors are aggressive malignancies that show loss-of-function mutations of SMARCB1 gene, a member of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex controlling gene transcription. One-third of patients affected by rhabdoid tumor harbor a germ-line mutation of SMARCB1 defining a rhabdoid tumor predisposition syndrome. The occurrence of a second somatic mutation determines the development of neoplasia in a two-hit model. Most germ-line mutations occur de novo, and few cases of recurrence in a sibship have been described. Here we report on a new Italian family with recurrence of SMARCB1 germ-line deletion in two siblings due to gonadal mosaicism. The deletion was identified in the 9-month-old proband with malignant rhabdoid tumor of the right kidney and disseminated metastases. Testing of both parents confirmed the de novo origin of the mutation, but recurrence was then detected prenatally in a new pregnancy. This is the sixth family with malignant rhabdoid tumor predisposition syndrome with the recurrence of the same germ-line SMARCB1 mutation in the sibship but not in healthy parents, suggesting that gonadal mosaicism is a less rare event than supposed. The clinical outcome in our patient confirms previous data of poorer outcome in patients with rhabdoid tumor predisposition syndrome.

Turner Syndrome in Girls Presenting with Coarctation of the Aorta.

PubMed

Eckhauser, Aaron; South, Sarah T; Meyers, Lindsay; Bleyl, Steven B; Botto, Lorenzo D

2015-11-01

To evaluate the frequency of Turner syndrome in a population-based, statewide cohort of girls with coarctation of the aorta. The Utah Birth Defects Network was used to ascertain a cohort of girls between 1997 and 2011 with coarctation of the aorta. Livebirths with isolated coarctation of the aorta or transverse arch hypoplasia were included and patients with complex congenital heart disease not usually seen in Turner syndrome were excluded. Of 244 girls with coarctation of the aorta, 77 patients were excluded, leaving a cohort of 167 girls; 86 patients (51%) had chromosomal studies and 21 (12.6%) were diagnosed with Turner syndrome. All patients were diagnosed within the first 4 months of life and 5 (24%) were diagnosed prenatally. Fifteen patients (71%) had Turner syndrome-related findings in addition to coarctation of the aorta. Girls with mosaicism were less likely to have Turner syndrome-associated findings (3/6 mosaic girls compared with 12/17 girls with non-mosaic 45,X). Twelve girls (57%) diagnosed with Turner syndrome also had a bicommissural aortic valve. At least 12.6% of girls born with coarctation of the aorta have karyotype-confirmed Turner syndrome. Such a high frequency, combined with the clinical benefits of an early diagnosis, supports genetic screening for Turner syndrome in girls presenting with coarctation of the aorta. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Constitutional trisomy 8 mosaicism syndrome: case report and review

PubMed Central

Udayakumar, Achandira M.; Al-Kindy, Adila

2013-01-01

Trisomy 8 mosaicism (Warkany syndrome) is a rare viable condition with variable phenotypes, ranging from mild dysmorphic features to severe malformations. Karyotyping and fluorescence in-situ hybridization potentially help detecting this low mosaic clone to confirm the diagnosis of patients with classical and unusual clinical presentations. This report reviews few previous cases to describe our case - a boy who had trisomy 8 mosaicism with severe dysmorphic features, born to a consanguineous Arabic couple. This study concludes that careful cytogenetic diagnoses of trisomy 8 mosaicism is essential for appropriate management and follow up of this rare disorder. PMID:27625859

Constitutional trisomy 8 mosaicism syndrome: case report and review.

PubMed

Udayakumar, Achandira M; Al-Kindy, Adila

2013-12-01

Trisomy 8 mosaicism (Warkany syndrome) is a rare viable condition with variable phenotypes, ranging from mild dysmorphic features to severe malformations. Karyotyping and fluorescence in-situ hybridization potentially help detecting this low mosaic clone to confirm the diagnosis of patients with classical and unusual clinical presentations. This report reviews few previous cases to describe our case - a boy who had trisomy 8 mosaicism with severe dysmorphic features, born to a consanguineous Arabic couple. This study concludes that careful cytogenetic diagnoses of trisomy 8 mosaicism is essential for appropriate management and follow up of this rare disorder.

Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

PubMed Central

Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A. David

2018-01-01

Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10–100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km2) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999–2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling. PMID:29633984

Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A. David

2018-01-01

Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10–100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km2) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999–2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.

The Chromosomal Constitution of Embryos Arising from Monopronuclear Oocytes in Programmes of Assisted Reproduction

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

The assessment of oocytes showing only one pronucleus during assisted reproduction is associated with uncertainty. A compilation of data on the genetic constitution of different developmental stages shows that affected oocytes are able to develop into haploid, diploid, and mosaic embryos with more or less complex chromosomal compositions. In the majority of cases (~80%), haploidy appears to be caused by gynogenesis, whereas parthenogenesis or androgenesis is less common. Most of the diploid embryos result from a fertilization event involving asynchronous formation of the two pronuclei or pronuclear fusion at a very early stage. Uniparental diploidy may sometimes occur if one pronucleus fails to develop and the other pronucleus already contains a diploid genome or alternatively a haploid genome undergoes endoreduplication. In general, the chance of obtaining a biparental diploid embryo appears higher after conventional in vitro fertilization than after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. If a transfer of embryos obtained from monopronuclear oocytes is envisaged, it should be tried to culture them up to the blastocyst since most haploid embryos are not able to reach this stage. Comprehensive counselling of patients on potential risks is advisable before transfer and a preimplantation genetic diagnosis could be offered if available. PMID:25763399

Functional metagenomic profiling of intestinal microbiome in extreme ageing

PubMed Central

Rampelli, Simone; Candela, Marco; Turroni, Silvia; Biagi, Elena; Collino, Sebastiano; Franceschi, Claudio; O'Toole, Paul W; Brigidi, Patrizia

2013-01-01

Age-related alterations in human gut microbiota composition have been thoroughly described, but a detailed functional description of the intestinal bacterial coding capacity is still missing. In order to elucidate the contribution of the gut metagenome to the complex mosaic of human longevity, we applied shotgun sequencing to total fecal bacterial DNA in a selection of samples belonging to a well-characterized human ageing cohort. The age-related trajectory of the human gut microbiome was characterized by loss of genes for shortchain fatty acid production and an overall decrease in the saccharolytic potential, while proteolytic functions were more abundant than in the intestinal metagenome of younger adults. This altered functional profile was associated with a relevant enrichment in “pathobionts”, i.e. opportunistic pro-inflammatory bacteria generally present in the adult gut ecosystem in low numbers. Finally, as a signature for long life we identified 116 microbial genes that significantly correlated with ageing. Collectively, our data emphasize the relationship between intestinal bacteria and human metabolism, by detailing the modifications in the gut microbiota as a consequence of and/or promoter of the physiological changes occurring in the human host upon ageing. PMID:24334635

Characterization of the Triticum Mosaic Virus Genome and Interactions between Triticum Mosaic Virus and Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The complete genome sequence of Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) has been determined to be 10,266 nucleotides encoding a large polyprotein of 3,112 amino acids. The proteins of TriMV possess only 33-44% (with NIb protein) and 15-29% (with P1 protein) amino acid identity with the reported members of Pot...

A bench-scale, cost effective and simple method to elicit Lycopersicon esculentum cv. PKM1 (tomato) plants against Cucumber mosaic virus attack using ozone-mediated inactivated Cucumber mosaic virus inoculum.

PubMed

Sudhakar, N; Nagendra-Prasad, D; Mohan, N; Murugesan, K

2007-12-01

Studies were undertaken to evaluate ozone for inactivation of Cucumber mosaic virus present in the inoculum and to stimulate Lycopersicon esculentum cv. PKM1 (tomato) plants against Cucumber mosaic virus infection by using the inactivated Cucumber mosaic virus inoculum. Application of a T(4) (0.4mg/l) concentration of ozone to the inoculum containing Cucumber mosaic virus resulted in complete inactivation of the virus. The inactivated viral inoculum was mixed with a penetrator (delivery agent), referred to as T(4) preparation, and it was evaluated for the development of systemic acquired resistance in the tomato plants. Application of a T(4) preparation 5 days before inoculation with the Cucumber mosaic virus protected tomato plants from the effects of Cucumber mosaic virus. Among the components of the inactivated virus tested, coat protein subunits and aggregates were responsible for the acquired resistance in tomato plants. In field trials, the results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that, Cucumber mosaic virus accumulation was significantly less for all the test plants (16%) sprayed with the T(4) preparation than untreated control plants (89.5%) at 28 days postinoculation (dpi). A remarkable increase in the activities of the total soluble phenolics (10-fold) and salicylic acid (16-fold) was detected 5 days after the treatment in foliar extracts of test plants relative to untreated control plants. The results showed that treatment of tomato plants with inactivated viral inoculum led to a significant enhancement of protection against Cucumber mosaic virus attack in a manner that mimics a real pathogen and induces systemic acquired resistance.

A new mutation in MT-ND1 m.3928G>C p.V208L causes Leigh disease with infantile spasms.

PubMed

Wray, Carter D; Friederich, Marisa W; du Sart, Desiree; Pantaleo, Sarah; Smet, Joél; Kucera, Cathlin; Fenton, Laura; Scharer, Gunter; Van Coster, Rudy; Van Hove, Johan L K

2013-11-01

New mutations in mitochondrial DNA encoded genes of complex I are rarely reported. An infant developed Leigh disease with infantile spasms. Complex I enzyme activity was deficient and response to increasing coenzyme Q concentrations was reduced. Complex I assembly was intact. A new mutation in MT-ND1 m.3928G>C p.V208L, affecting a conserved amino acid in a critical domain, part of the coenzyme Q binding pocket, was present at high heteroplasmy. The unaffected mother did not carry measurable mutant mitochondrial DNA, but concern remained for gonadal mosaicism. Prenatal testing was possible for a subsequent sibling. The ND1 p.V208L mutation causes Leigh disease. © 2013.

Temperature-dependent Wsm1 and Wsm2 gene-specific blockage of viral long-distance transport provides resistance to Wheat streak mosaic virus and Triticum mosaic virus in wheat

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) are economically important viral pathogens of wheat. Wheat cultivars Mace with the resistance gene Wsm1 and Snowmass with the resistance gene Wsm2 are resistant to WSMV and TriMV, and WSMV, respectively. Viral resistance in both cult...

Parallel-Processing Software for Creating Mosaic Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimeck, Gerhard; Deen, Robert; McCauley, Michael; DeJong, Eric

2008-01-01

A computer program implements parallel processing for nearly real-time creation of panoramic mosaics of images of terrain acquired by video cameras on an exploratory robotic vehicle (e.g., a Mars rover). Because the original images are typically acquired at various camera positions and orientations, it is necessary to warp the images into the reference frame of the mosaic before stitching them together to create the mosaic. [Also see "Parallel-Processing Software for Correlating Stereo Images," Software Supplement to NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 31, No. 9 (September 2007) page 26.] The warping algorithm in this computer program reflects the considerations that (1) for every pixel in the desired final mosaic, a good corresponding point must be found in one or more of the original images and (2) for this purpose, one needs a good mathematical model of the cameras and a good correlation of individual pixels with respect to their positions in three dimensions. The desired mosaic is divided into slices, each of which is assigned to one of a number of central processing units (CPUs) operating simultaneously. The results from the CPUs are gathered and placed into the final mosaic. The time taken to create the mosaic depends upon the number of CPUs, the speed of each CPU, and whether a local or a remote data-staging mechanism is used.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Katawas mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter N in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Katawas mineral district, which has gold deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©AXA, 2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for Katawas) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Katawas study area, one subarea was designated for detailed field investigation (that is, the Gold subarea); this subarea was extracted from the area's image mosaic and is provided as a separate embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Balkhab mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter B in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Balkhab mineral district, which has copper deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2007,2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for Balkhab) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into two overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The two image tiles (or quadrants) for the Balkhab area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Balkhab study area, one subarea was designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the Balkhab Prospect subarea); this subarea was extracted from the area's image mosaic and is provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Case report: a successful pregnancy outcome in a patient with non-mosaic Turner syndrome (45, X) via in vitro fertilization.

PubMed

Sugawara, Nobuo; Kimura, Yasuyuki; Araki, Yasuhisa

2013-03-01

We describe a successful pregnancy outcome in a patient with non-mosaic Turner syndrome (45, X) via in vitro fertilization. The patient achieved a second pregnancy at 35 years of age. The her blood lymphocyte karyotype was examined by G-band and FISH. Furthermore, cumulus cells and her elbow skin cells were evaluated via FISH. Non-mosaic Turner syndrome was determined by G-banding [100 % (50/50) 45, X]. Lymphocytes were shown as 478/500 (95.6 %) cells of X sex chromosome signal, 15/500 (3.0 %) cells of XXX signal, and 7/500 (1.4 %) cells of XX signal. The cumulus cells were mosaic: 152/260 (58.5 %) were X; 84/260 (32.3 %) were XXX, 20/260 (7.7 %) were XX, and 4/260 (1.5 %) were XY. Moreover, skin cells included a mosaic karyotype [47, XXX(29)/46, XX(1)]. We conclude that the collection of a large number of blood lymphocytes can reveal different mosaic patterns (X, XX and XXX) by FISH in spite of non-mosaic Turner syndrome.

Trisomy 18 mosaicism in a woman with normal intelligence, pigmentary dysplasia, and an 18 trisomic daughter

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

Ukita, Masahiko; Hasegawa, Masaaki; Nakahori, Takashi

1997-01-20

Survival beyond the age of 10 years is rare among 18-trisomic individuals. Most of these long-term survivors, when more than one tissue is studied, are normal/trisomy mosaics. They are usually mentally severely retarded with a variety of anomalies. There is another group of mosaic individuals: 7 women and a 13-year-old girl, with a low frequency of 18-trisomic cells, normal or mildly retarded intelligence, and minor anomalies. Two of them were diagnosed after delivering malformed stillborn infants. One of them was the mother of a trisomy 18 patient who was coincidentally found to have trisomy 18 mosaicism. Pigmentary dysplasia, previously calledmore » hypomelanosis of Ito, is a disorder with linear, swirly, or patchy, hypo- or hyperpigmented areas of skin, resulting from migration and interaction of melanoblasts of different pigmentary potential. The disorder is often accompanied by mosaic chromosomal abnormalities, including mosaic trisomy 18. Here we report a 26-year-old woman with low frequency trisomy 18 mosaicism, normal intelligence, and pigmentary dysplasia, who gave birth to an 18-trisomic girl. 12 refs., 1 fig.« less

Voyager Cartography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batson, R. M.; Bridges, P. M.; Mullins, K. F.

1985-01-01

The Jovian and Saturnian satellites are being mapped at several scales from Voyager 1 and 2 data. The maps include specially formatted color mosaics, controlled photomosaics, and airbrush maps. More than 500 Voyager images of the Jovian and Saturnian satellites were radiometrically processed in preparation for cartographic processing. Of these images, 235 were geometrically transformed to map projections for base mosaic compilations. Special techniques for producing hybrid photomosaic/airbrush maps of Callisto are under investigation. The techniques involve making controlled computer mosaics of all available images with highest resolution images superimposed on lowest resolution images. The mosaics are then improved by airbrushing: seams and artifacts are removed, and image details enhanced that had been lost by saturation in some images. A controlled mosaic of the northern hemisphere of Rhea is complete, as is all processing for a similar mosaic of the equatorial region. Current plans and status of the various series are shown in a table.

Quantum knots and the number of knot mosaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Seungsang; Hong, Kyungpyo; Lee, Ho; Lee, Hwa Jeong

2015-03-01

Lomonaco and Kauffman developed a knot mosaic system to introduce a precise and workable definition of a quantum knot system. This definition is intended to represent an actual physical quantum system. A knot -mosaic is an matrix of mosaic tiles ( through depicted in the introduction) representing a knot or a link by adjoining properly that is called suitably connected. is the total number of all knot -mosaics. This value indicates the dimension of the Hilbert space of these quantum knot system. is already found for by the authors. In this paper, we construct an algorithm producing the precise value of for that uses recurrence relations of state matrices that turn out to be remarkably efficient to count knot mosaics. where matrices and are defined by for , with matrices and . Here denotes the sum of all entries of a matrix . For , means the identity matrix of size.

Hepatoblastoma in a mosaic trisomy 18 child with hemihypertrophy

PubMed Central

Wheeler, Kate; Stewart, Helen; Campbell, Carolyn

2016-01-01

To date, there are 12 reported cases of hepatoblastoma in trisomy 18 patients, three of whom had a mosaic chromosome pattern. We report on an 18-month-old child who had hemihypertrophy and developmental delay, was found to have hepatoblastoma on surveillance ultrasound scan, and was subsequently diagnosed with mosaic trisomy 18 on array comparative genomic hybridisation from a peripheral blood sample and molecular cytogenetic analysis of the tumour specimen. Although hemihypertrophy has been associated with mosaic trisomies, there are only a couple of published case reports of hemihypertrophy or asymmetry in mosaic trisomy 18 patients and none in the reported cases of hepatoblastoma in a mosaic trisomy 18 setting. We have reviewed the published case reports of hepatoblastoma in trisomy 18 patients and found that they seem to tolerate the intensive treatment very well if there are no significant comorbidities. PMID:26795740

Hepatoblastoma in a mosaic trisomy 18 child with hemihypertrophy.

PubMed

Ahmad, Naveed; Wheeler, Kate; Stewart, Helen; Campbell, Carolyn

2016-01-21

To date, there are 12 reported cases of hepatoblastoma in trisomy 18 patients, three of whom had a mosaic chromosome pattern. We report on an 18-month-old child who had hemihypertrophy and developmental delay, was found to have hepatoblastoma on surveillance ultrasound scan, and was subsequently diagnosed with mosaic trisomy 18 on array comparative genomic hybridisation from a peripheral blood sample and molecular cytogenetic analysis of the tumour specimen. Although hemihypertrophy has been associated with mosaic trisomies, there are only a couple of published case reports of hemihypertrophy or asymmetry in mosaic trisomy 18 patients and none in the reported cases of hepatoblastoma in a mosaic trisomy 18 setting. We have reviewed the published case reports of hepatoblastoma in trisomy 18 patients and found that they seem to tolerate the intensive treatment very well if there are no significant comorbidities. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Use of superparamagnetic beads for the isolation of a peptide with specificity to cymbidium mosaic virus.

PubMed

Ooi, Diana Jia Miin; Dzulkurnain, Adriya; Othman, Rofina Yasmin; Lim, Saw Hoon; Harikrishna, Jennifer Ann

2006-09-01

A modified method for the rapid isolation of specific ligands to whole virus particles is described. Biopanning against cymbidium mosaic virus was carried out with a commercial 12-mer random peptide display library. A solution phase panning method was devised using streptavidin-coated superparamagnetic beads. The solution based panning method was more efficient than conventional immobilized target panning when using whole viral particles of cymbidium mosaic virus as a target. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of cymbidium mosaic virus-binding peptides isolated from the library identified seven peptides with affinity for cymbidium mosaic virus and one peptide which was specific to cymbidium mosaic virus and had no significant binding to odontoglossum ringspot virus. This method should have broad application for the screening of whole viral particles towards the rapid development of diagnostic reagents without the requirement for cloning and expression of single antigens.

Comprehensive approach for the conservation of the mosaic floor of the saints Cosmas and Damian church of Jerash Greco-Roman City.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khrisat, Bilal; Hamarneh, Catrina; Majeed Mjalli, Abdul

The mosaic floor of Cosmas and Damian church was unearthed by the Yale University expedition in 1928 - 1929 and since then the mosaic floor has been exposed to the different agents of deterioration. In this paper a comprehensive approach of six phases is suggested to minimize the deterioration: documentation, deterioration diagnostics, treatment, conservation and management. Understanding the physical properties of the tesserae using petrographic technique was found to be useful for the understanding and conservation of the mosaic floors' materials. The use of diluted ammonia based solvent is proved to be the best workable treatment to remove the microorganism and to hinder the diffusion of the colonization of lichens on the mosaic floors in Jerash. With modification to suit local parameters, the comprehensive approach might be applied for mosaic floor with different context.

Distinct Patterns of Somatic Mosaicism in the APC Gene in Neoplasms From Patients With Unexplained Adenomatous Polyposis.

PubMed

Jansen, Anne M L; Crobach, Stijn; Geurts-Giele, Willemina R R; van den Akker, Brendy E W M; Garcia, Marina Ventayol; Ruano, Dina; Nielsen, Maartje; Tops, Carli M J; Wijnen, Juul T; Hes, Frederik J; van Wezel, Tom; Dinjens, Winand N M; Morreau, Hans

2017-02-01

We investigated the presence and patterns of mosaicism in the APC gene in patients with colon neoplasms not associated with any other genetic variants; we performed deep sequence analysis of APC in at least 2 adenomas or carcinomas per patient. We identified mosaic variants in APC in adenomas from 9 of the 18 patients with 21 to approximately 100 adenomas. Mosaic variants of APC were variably detected in leukocyte DNA and/or non-neoplastic intestinal mucosa of these patients. In a comprehensive sequence analysis of 1 patient, we found no evidence for mosaicism in APC in non-neoplastic intestinal mucosa. One patient was found to carry a mosaic c.4666dupA APC variant in only 10 of 16 adenomas, indicating the importance of screening 2 or more adenomas for genetic variants. Copyright © 2017 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biomass and fire dynamics in a temperate forest-grassland mosaic: Integrating multi-species herbivory, climate, and fire with the FireBGCv2/GrazeBGC system

Treesearch

Robert A. Riggs; Robert E. Keane; Norm Cimon; Rachel Cook; Lisa Holsinger; John Cook; Timothy DelCurto; L.Scott Baggett; Donald Justice; David Powell; Martin Vavra; Bridgett Naylor

2015-01-01

Landscape fire succession models (LFSMs) predict spatially-explicit interactions between vegetation succession and disturbance, but these models have yet to fully integrate ungulate herbivory as a driver of their processes. We modified a complex LFSM, FireBGCv2, to include a multi-species herbivory module, GrazeBGC. The system is novel in that it explicitly...

TXM-Wizard: a program for advanced data collection and evaluation in full-field transmission X-ray microscopy

PubMed Central

Liu, Yijin; Meirer, Florian; Williams, Phillip A.; Wang, Junyue; Andrews, Joy C.; Pianetta, Piero

2012-01-01

Transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) has been well recognized as a powerful tool for non-destructive investigation of the three-dimensional inner structure of a sample with spatial resolution down to a few tens of nanometers, especially when combined with synchrotron radiation sources. Recent developments of this technique have presented a need for new tools for both system control and data analysis. Here a software package developed in MATLAB for script command generation and analysis of TXM data is presented. The first toolkit, the script generator, allows automating complex experimental tasks which involve up to several thousand motor movements. The second package was designed to accomplish computationally intense tasks such as data processing of mosaic and mosaic tomography datasets; dual-energy contrast imaging, where data are recorded above and below a specific X-ray absorption edge; and TXM X-ray absorption near-edge structure imaging datasets. Furthermore, analytical and iterative tomography reconstruction algorithms were implemented. The compiled software package is freely available. PMID:22338691

The cell biology of Tobacco mosaic virus replication and movement

PubMed Central

Liu, Chengke; Nelson, Richard S.

2013-01-01

Successful systemic infection of a plant by Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) requires three processes that repeat over time: initial establishment and accumulation in invaded cells, intercellular movement, and systemic transport. Accumulation and intercellular movement of TMV necessarily involves intracellular transport by complexes containing virus and host proteins and virus RNA during a dynamic process that can be visualized. Multiple membranes appear to assist TMV accumulation, while membranes, microfilaments and microtubules appear to assist TMV movement. Here we review cell biological studies that describe TMV-membrane, -cytoskeleton, and -other host protein interactions which influence virus accumulation and movement in leaves and callus tissue. The importance of understanding the developmental phase of the infection in relationship to the observed virus-membrane or -host protein interaction is emphasized. Utilizing the latest observations of TMV-membrane and -host protein interactions within our evolving understanding of the infection ontogeny, a model for TMV accumulation and intracellular spread in a cell biological context is provided. PMID:23403525

A cell cycle-independent, conditional gene inactivation strategy for differentially tagging wild-type and mutant cells.

PubMed

Nagarkar-Jaiswal, Sonal; Manivannan, Sathiya N; Zuo, Zhongyuan; Bellen, Hugo J

2017-05-31

Here, we describe a novel method based on intronic MiMIC insertions described in Nagarkar-Jaiswal et al. (2015) to perform conditional gene inactivation in Drosophila . Mosaic analysis in Drosophila cannot be easily performed in post-mitotic cells. We therefore, therefore, developed Flip-Flop, a flippase -dependent in vivo cassette-inversion method that marks wild-type cells with the endogenous EGFP-tagged protein, whereas mutant cells are marked with mCherry upon inversion. We document the ease and usefulness of this strategy in differential tagging of wild-type and mutant cells in mosaics. We use this approach to phenotypically characterize the loss of SNF4Aγ , encoding the γ subunit of the AMP Kinase complex. The Flip-Flop method is efficient and reliable, and permits conditional gene inactivation based on both spatial and temporal cues, in a cell cycle-, and developmental stage-independent fashion, creating a platform for systematic screens of gene function in developing and adult flies with unprecedented detail.

Somatic APC mosaicism and oligogenic inheritance in genetically unsolved colorectal adenomatous polyposis patients.

PubMed

Ciavarella, Michele; Miccoli, Sara; Prossomariti, Anna; Pippucci, Tommaso; Bonora, Elena; Buscherini, Francesco; Palombo, Flavia; Zuntini, Roberta; Balbi, Tiziana; Ceccarelli, Claudio; Bazzoli, Franco; Ricciardiello, Luigi; Turchetti, Daniela; Piazzi, Giulia

2018-03-01

Germline variants in the APC gene cause familial adenomatous polyposis. Inherited variants in MutYH, POLE, POLD1, NTHL1, and MSH3 genes and somatic APC mosaicism have been reported as alternative causes of polyposis. However, ~30-50% of cases of polyposis remain genetically unsolved. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the genetic causes of unexplained adenomatous polyposis. Eight sporadic cases with >20 adenomatous polyps by 35 years of age or >50 adenomatous polyps by 55 years of age, and no causative germline variants in APC and/or MutYH, were enrolled from a cohort of 56 subjects with adenomatous colorectal polyposis. APC gene mosaicism was investigated on DNA from colonic adenomas by Sanger sequencing or Whole Exome Sequencing (WES). Mosaicism extension to other tissues (peripheral blood, saliva, hair follicles) was evaluated using Sanger sequencing and/or digital PCR. APC second hit was investigated in adenomas from mosaic patients. WES was performed on DNA from peripheral blood to identify additional polyposis candidate variants. We identified APC mosaicism in 50% of patients. In three cases mosaicism was restricted to the colon, while in one it also extended to the duodenum and saliva. One patient without APC mosaicism, carrying an APC in-frame deletion of uncertain significance, was found to harbor rare germline variants in OGG1, POLQ, and EXO1 genes. In conclusion, our restrictive selection criteria improved the detection of mosaic APC patients. In addition, we showed for the first time that an oligogenic inheritance of rare variants might have a cooperative role in sporadic colorectal polyposis onset.

Mosaicism

MedlinePlus

... both normal and abnormal cells. Exams and Tests Genetic testing can diagnose mosaicism. Tests will likely need to ... of mosaicism may cause confusion and uncertainty. A genetic counselor may help answer any questions about diagnosis and testing. Prevention There is currently no known way to ...

Complete Genome Sequence of Tomato Mosaic Virus Isolated from Jasmine in the United States

PubMed Central

Fillmer, Kornelia; Adkins, Scott; Pongam, Patchara

2015-01-01

Tomato mosaic virus was reported from jasmine in Florida. We present the first complete genome sequence of a tomato mosaic virus isolate from this woody perennial plant in the United States. PMID:26159525

CLONAL INHERITANCE OF A DIPLOID NUCLEAR GENOME BY A HYBRID FRESHWATER MINNOW (PHOXINUS EOS-NEOGAEUS, PISCES: CYPRINIDAE).

PubMed

Goddard, Kathryn Ann; Dawley, Robert M

1990-07-01

Hybrids between the minnows Phoxinus eos and Phoxinus neogaeus coexist with a population of P. eos in East Inlet Pond, Coos Co., New Hampshire. Chromosome counts and flow cytometric analysis of erythrocyte DNA indicate that these hybrids include diploids, triploids, and diploid-triploid mosaics. The mosaics have both diploid and triploid cells in their bodies, even within the same tissues. All three hybrid types are heterozygous at seven putative loci for which P. eos and P. neogaeus are fixed for different allozymes, indicating that the hybrids carry one eos and one neogaeus haploid genome. The diploid hybrids are therefore P. eos-neogaeus, whereas the triploids and mosaics are derived from P. eos-neogaeus but have an extra eos or neogaeus genome in all or some of their cells. Diploid, triploid, and mosaic hybrids accept tissue grafts from diploid hybrids, indicating that all individuals carry the identical eos-neogaeus diploid genome. Thus, one P. eos-neogaeus clone exists at East Inlet Pond. Grafts among the triploids and mosaics or from these individuals to diploid hybrids are rejected, indicating that the third genome is different in each triploid and mosaic individual. In this study, diploid and mosaic hybrids, carrying the clonal eos-neogaeus genome, were bred in the laboratory with males of P. eos or P. neogaeus. Both diploid and mosaic hybrids produced diploid, triploid, and mosaic offspring, revealing the source of the three hybrid types present at East Inlet Pond. These offspring accepted grafts from P. eos-neogaeus individuals, indicating that they all had inherited the identical eos-neogaeus genome. Most grafts among triploid and mosaic progeny, or from these individuals to their diploid broodmates, were rejected, indicating that the third genome was different in each triploid and mosaic (as was observed in the wild hybrids) and was contributed by sperm from males of P. eos or P. neogaeus. Diploid progeny are produced if sperm serves only to stimulate embryogenesis; triploid or mosaic progeny are produced if the sperm genome is incorporated. Although based on a mode of reproduction that by definition results in a genetically identical community of individuals, i.e., gynogenesis, reproduction in hybrid Phoxinus results in a variety of genetically distinct individuals by the incorporation of sperm into approximately 50% of the diploid ova produced. © 1990 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

MOSAIC: Software for creating mosaics from collections of images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varosi, F.; Gezari, D. Y.

1992-01-01

We have developed a powerful, versatile image processing and analysis software package called MOSAIC, designed specifically for the manipulation of digital astronomical image data obtained with (but not limited to) two-dimensional array detectors. The software package is implemented using the Interactive Data Language (IDL), and incorporates new methods for processing, calibration, analysis, and visualization of astronomical image data, stressing effective methods for the creation of mosaic images from collections of individual exposures, while at the same time preserving the photometric integrity of the original data. Since IDL is available on many computers, the MOSAIC software runs on most UNIX and VAX workstations with the X-Windows or Sun View graphics interface.

Mosaic generalized neurofibromatosis 1: report of two cases.

PubMed

Hardin, Jori; Behm, Allan; Haber, Richard M

2014-01-01

We report two cases of mosaic generalized neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) and review the history of the classification of segmental neurofibromatosis (SNF; Ricardi type NF-V). Somatic mutations giving rise to limited disease, such as segmental neurofibromatosis are manifestations of mosaicism. If the mutation occurs before tissue differentiation, the clinical phenotype will be generalized disease. Mutations that occur later in development give rise to disease that is confined to a single region. Segmental neurofibromatosis is caused by a somatic mutation of neurofibromatosis type 1, and should not be regarded as a distinct entity from neurofibromatosis 1. Cases previously referred to as unilateral or bilateral segmental neurofibromatosis are now best referred to as mosaic generalized or mosaic localized neurofibromatosis 1.

Trisomy 18 mosaicism in a 15-year-old boy with normal intelligence and short stature

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

NONE

We report a 15-year-old boy with mosaicism for trisomy 18 and normal intelligence. Approximately 50% of his leukocytes are trisomic. This patient represents the sixth report of an individual with trisomy 18 mosaicism and normal intelligence. Those individuals with trisomy 18 mosaicism and normal intelligence need to be advised of increased risks for offspring with chromosome abnormalities and offered the option of prenatal diagnosis for cytogenetic anomalies. 6 refs.

A universal PCR primer to detect members of the Potyviridae and its use to examine the taxonomic status of several members of the family.

PubMed

Chen, J; Chen, J; Adams, M J

2001-01-01

A universal primer (Sprimer: 5'-GGX AAY AAY AGY GGX CAZ CC-3', X = A, G, C or T; Y = T or C; Z = A or G), designed from the consensus sequences that code for the conserved sequence GNNSGQP in the NIb region of members of the family Potyviridae, was used to amplify by RT-PCR the 3'-terminal genome regions from infected plant samples representing 21 different viruses in the family. Sequencing of some of the fragments (c. 1.7 kb) showed that the type strain (ATTC PV-107) of Oat necrotic mottle virus is not a distinct species in the genus Rymovirus, but is synonymous with Brome streak mosaic virus (genus Tritimovirus) and that Celery mosaic virus is a distinct member of the genus Potyvirus not closely related to any other sequenced species. Potyviruses infecting crops in China were also investigated, showing that viruses on cowpea and maize in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province were respectively Bean common mosaic virus and Sugarcane mosaic virus and that one on garlic in Nanjing, Jiangsu province was Onion yellow dwarf virus. Fragments were also sequenced from Chinese isolates of Lettuce mosaic virus and Soybean mosaic virus (from Hangzhou), Turnip mosaic virus (2 different isolates from Zhejiang province) and RNA1 of Wheat yellow mosaic virus (from Rongcheng, Shandong province).

Amplicon Resequencing Identified Parental Mosaicism for Approximately 10% of “de novo” SCN1A Mutations in Children with Dravet Syndrome

PubMed Central

Xu, Xiaojing; Yang, Xiaoxu; Wu, Qixi; Liu, Aijie; Yang, Xiaoling; Ye, Adam Yongxin; Huang, August Yue; Li, Jiarui; Wang, Meng; Yu, Zhe; Wang, Sheng; Zhang, Zhichao; Wu, Xiru

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT The majority of children with Dravet syndrome (DS) are caused by de novo SCN1A mutations. To investigate the origin of the mutations, we developed and applied a new method that combined deep amplicon resequencing with a Bayesian model to detect and quantify allelic fractions with improved sensitivity. Of 174 SCN1A mutations in DS probands which were considered “de novo” by Sanger sequencing, we identified 15 cases (8.6%) of parental mosaicism. We identified another five cases of parental mosaicism that were also detectable by Sanger sequencing. Fraction of mutant alleles in the 20 cases of parental mosaicism ranged from 1.1% to 32.6%. Thirteen (65% of 20) mutations originated paternally and seven (35% of 20) maternally. Twelve (60% of 20) mosaic parents did not have any epileptic symptoms. Their mutant allelic fractions were significantly lower than those in mosaic parents with epileptic symptoms (P = 0.016). We identified mosaicism with varied allelic fractions in blood, saliva, urine, hair follicle, oral epithelium, and semen, demonstrating that postzygotic mutations could affect multiple somatic cells as well as germ cells. Our results suggest that more sensitive tools for detecting low‐level mosaicism in parents of families with seemingly “de novo” mutations will allow for better informed genetic counseling. PMID:26096185

Mosaicism for dominant collagen 6 mutations as a cause for intrafamilial phenotypic variability.

PubMed

Donkervoort, Sandra; Hu, Ying; Stojkovic, Tanya; Voermans, Nicol C; Foley, A Reghan; Leach, Meganne E; Dastgir, Jahannaz; Bolduc, Véronique; Cullup, Thomas; de Becdelièvre, Alix; Yang, Lin; Su, Hai; Meilleur, Katherine; Schindler, Alice B; Kamsteeg, Erik-Jan; Richard, Pascale; Butterfield, Russell J; Winder, Thomas L; Crawford, Thomas O; Weiss, Robert B; Muntoni, Francesco; Allamand, Valérie; Bönnemann, Carsten G

2015-01-01

Collagen 6-related dystrophies and myopathies (COL6-RD) are a group of disorders that form a wide phenotypic spectrum, ranging from severe Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy, intermediate phenotypes, to the milder Bethlem myopathy. Both inter- and intrafamilial variable expressivity are commonly observed. We present clinical, immunohistochemical, and genetic data on four COL6-RD families with marked intergenerational phenotypic heterogeneity. This variable expression seemingly masquerades as anticipation is due to parental mosaicism for a dominant mutation, with subsequent full inheritance and penetrance of the mutation in the heterozygous offspring. We also present an additional fifth simplex patient identified as a mosaic carrier. Parental mosaicism was confirmed in the four families through quantitative analysis of the ratio of mutant versus wild-type allele (COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3) in genomic DNA from various tissues, including blood, dermal fibroblasts, and saliva. Consistent with somatic mosaicism, parental samples had lower ratios of mutant versus wild-type allele compared with the fully heterozygote offspring. However, there was notable variability of the mutant allele levels between tissues tested, ranging from 16% (saliva) to 43% (fibroblasts) in one mosaic father. This is the first report demonstrating mosaicism as a cause of intrafamilial/intergenerational variability of COL6-RD, and suggests that sporadic and parental mosaicism may be more common than previously suspected. © 2014 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Potyviruses, novel and known, in cultivated and wild species of the family Apiaceae in Australia.

PubMed

Moran, J; van Rijswijk, B; Traicevski, V; Kitajima, E W; Mackenzie, A M; Gibbs, A J

2002-10-01

Three potyviruses were identified by gene sequencing and found to be widespread in species of Apiaceae in Australia. Only celery mosaic virus was found in celery crops and in one of 180 specimens of feral carrot ( Daucus carota). Another related but distinct novel potyvirus, carrot virus Y, was the only virus found in carrot crops and all except one feral carrot. A more distantly related novel potyvirus, apium virus Y, was found in plants of sea celery ( Apium prostratum), cultivated parsley ( Petroselinum crispum) and the immigrant weed species poison hemlock ( Conium maculatum). These three potyviruses, together with celery yellow mosaic virus of South America and the closely related carrot thin leaf virus and carrot virus B of North America, form a distinct subgenus of the Potyviridae most closely related to turnip mosaic virus and two potyviruses of yam; yam mosaic virus from the Ivory Coast and Japanese yam mosaic virus. Celery mosaic and carrot virus Y are probably recent migrants to Australia, but apium virus Y may have been endemic longer. In ELISA tests using polyclonal antibodies against virions of celery mosaic virus, some isolates of carrot virus Y were indistinguishable from celery mosaic virus, whereas others gave smaller absorbancy values, and those of apium virus Y did not react. This study shows the value of virus identification based on gene sequencing for planning control measures.

Corona Enhancement and Mosaic Architecture for Prognosis and Selection Between of Liver Resection Versus Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization in Single Hepatocellular Carcinomas >5 cm Without Extrahepatic Metastases

PubMed Central

Li, Meng; Xin, Yongjie; Fu, Sirui; Liu, Zaiyi; Li, Yong; Hu, Baoshan; Chen, Shuting; Liang, Changhong; Lu, Ligong

2016-01-01

Abstract Corona enhancement and mosaic architecture are 2 radiologic features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, neither their prognostic values nor their impacts on the selection of liver resection (LR) versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) as treatment modalities have been established. We retrospectively analyzed 275 patients with a single HCC lesion >5 cm without extrahepatic metastasis treated with LR or TACE. In LR patients, the overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) were compared between corona enhancement negative (corona−) versus positive (corona+) and mosaic architecture negative (mosaic−) versus positive (mosaic+) patients. Furthermore, by the combination of corona and mosaic, LR patients were divided into negative for both corona and mosaic patterns (LR−/−), positive for only 1 feature (LR+/−), and positive for both (LR+/+); their OS and TTP were compared to those of the TACE group. Cox regression was performed to identify independent factors for OS. In the survival plots for LR, corona− had better OS and TTP than corona+, and mosaic− had better OS than mosaic+. There was no significant difference in TTP between the subgroups. On Cox regression analysis, corona enhancement, but not mosaic architecture, was a significant factor for OS, whereas neither were a significant factor for TTP. In TACE patients, neither corona nor mosaic patterns had significant correlations with OS or TTP. In the whole population, LR−/ and LR+/− subgroups had similar OS, which was better than the LR+/+ and TACE groups. Moreover, LR−/− and LR+/− patients had better TTP than TACE patients, but there were no differences between the LR−/− versus LR+/−, LR−/ versus LR+/+, LR+/− versus LR+/+, and LR+/+ versus TACE groups. On Cox regression analysis, the presence of corona/mosaic patterns was an independent prognostic factor for OS. Our results showed that, for patients with a single HCC >5 cm without extrahepatic metastasis, corona and mosaic patterns are indicators of limited LR efficacy. When both of the features are present, TACE can be used instead of LR with no negative influence on survival. PMID:26765441

Direct interaction between the tobacco mosaic virus helicase domain and the ATP-bound resistance protein, N factor during the hypersensitive response in tobacco plants.

PubMed

Ueda, Hirokazu; Yamaguchi, Yube; Sano, Hiroshi

2006-05-01

Plants cope with pathogens with distinct mechanisms. One example is a gene-for-gene system, in which plants recognize the pathogen molecule by specified protein(s), this being called the R factor. However, mechanisms of interaction between proteins from the host and the pathogen are not completely understood. Here, we analyzed the mode of interaction between the N factor, a tobacco R factor, and the helicase domain (p50) of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). To this end, domain dissected proteins were prepared and subjected to Agroinfiltration into intact leaves, followed by yeast two hybrid and pull-down assays. The results pointed to three novel features. First, the N factor was found to directly bind to the p50 of TMV, second, ATP was pre-requisite for this interaction, with formation of an ATP/N factor complex, and third, the N factor was shown to possess ATPase activity, which is enhanced by the p50. Moreover, we found that intra- and/or inter-molecular interactions take place in the N factor molecule. This interaction required ATP, and was disrupted by the p50. Based on these results, we propose a following model for the TMV recognition mechanism in tobacco plants. The N factor forms a complex with ATP, to which the helicase domain interacts, and enhances ATP hydrolysis. The resulting ADP/N factor complex then changes its conformation, thereby facilitating further interaction with the down-stream signaling factor(s). This model is consistent with the idea of 'protein machine'.

Brittle-ductile deformation effects on zircon crystal-chemistry and U-Pb ages: an example from the Finero Mafic Complex (Ivrea-Verbano Zone, western Alps)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langone, Antonio; José Alberto, Padrón-Navarta; Zanetti, Alberto; Mazzucchelli, Maurizio; Tiepolo, Massimo; Giovanardi, Tommaso; Bonazzi, Mattia

2016-04-01

A detailed structural, geochemical and geochronological survey was performed on zircon grains from a leucocratic dioritic dyke discordantly intruded within meta-diorites/gabbros forming the External Gabbro unit of the Finero Mafic Complex. This latter is nowadays exposed as part of a near complete crustal section spanning from mantle rocks to upper crustal metasediments (Val Cannobina, Ivrea-Verbano Zone, Italy). The leucocratic dyke consists mainly of plagioclase (An18-24Ab79-82Or0.3-0.7) with subordinate amounts of biotite, spinel, zircon and corundum. Both the leucocratic dyke and the surrounding meta-diorites show evidence of ductile deformation occurred under amphibolite-facies conditions. Zircon grains (up to 2 mm in length) occur mainly as euhedral grains surrounded by fine grained plagioclase-dominated matrix and pressure shadows, typically filled by oxides. Fractures and cracks within zircon are common and can be associated with grain displacement or they can be filled by secondary minerals (oxides and chlorite). Cathodoluminescence (CL) images show that zircon grains have internal features typical of magmatic growth, but with local disturbances. However EBSD maps on two selected zircon grains revealed a profuse mosaic texture resulting in an internal misorientation of ca. 10o. The majority of the domains of the mosaic texture are related to parting and fractures, but some domains show no clear relation with brittle features. Rotation angles related to the mosaic texture are not crystallographically controlled. In addition, one of the analysed zircons shows clear evidence of plastic deformation at one of its corners due to indentation. Plastic deformation results in gradual misorientations of up to 12o, which are crystallographically controlled. Trace elements and U-Pb analyses were carried out by LA-ICP-MS directly on petrographic thin sections and designed to cover the entire exposed surface of selected grains. Such investigations revealed a strong correlation between internal zircon structures, chemistry, U-Pb isotope ratios and mylonitic fabric. U-Pb data return highly discordant and variable ages: in particular, the 206Pb/238U ages range from Carboniferous to Triassic within the same zircon grain. The youngest 206Pb/238U data derive from narrow axial stripes oriented parallel or at low angle with respect to the foliation planes. These stripes are characterized by an overall HREE, Y, U and Th enrichment possibly reflecting deformation of the grain in presence of interstitial fluid phases, likely related to a concomitant magmatic activity. Deformation related structures (cracks and fractures) within zircon grains acted as fast-diffusion pathways allowing fluids to modify the geochemistry and isotopic systems of zircon. Our results suggest that fluid-assisted brittle-ductile deformation can severely modify the trace elements and isotopic composition of zircon with unexpected patterns constrained by stress regime. In similar cases, our observations suggest that, for a more appropriate interpretation of the petrologic evolution and age variability, a direct characterization of the internal structures of zircons still placed in their microtextural site is highly recommended.

Biology, etiology, and control of virus diseases of banana and plantain.

PubMed

Kumar, P Lava; Selvarajan, Ramasamy; Iskra-Caruana, Marie-Line; Chabannes, Matthieu; Hanna, Rachid

2015-01-01

Banana and plantain (Musa spp.), produced in 10.3 million ha in the tropics, are among the world's top 10 food crops. They are vegetatively propagated using suckers or tissue culture plants and grown almost as perennial plantations. These are prone to the accumulation of pests and pathogens, especially viruses which contribute to yield reduction and are also barriers to the international exchange of germplasm. The most economically important viruses of banana and plantain are Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), a complex of banana streak viruses (BSVs) and Banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV). BBTV is known to cause the most serious economic losses in the "Old World," contributing to a yield reduction of up to 100% and responsible for a dramatic reduction in cropping area. The BSVs exist as episomal and endogenous forms are known to be worldwide in distribution. In India and the Philippines, BBrMV is known to be economically important but recently the virus was discovered in Colombia and Costa Rica, thus signaling its spread into the "New World." Banana and plantain are also known to be susceptible to five other viruses of minor significance, such as Abaca mosaic virus, Abaca bunchy top virus, Banana mild mosaic virus, Banana virus X, and Cucumber mosaic virus. Studies over the past 100 years have contributed to important knowledge on disease biology, distribution, and spread. Research during the last 25 years have led to a better understanding of the virus-vector-host interactions, virus diversity, disease etiology, and epidemiology. In addition, new diagnostic tools were developed which were used for surveillance and the certification of planting material. Due to a lack of durable host resistance in the Musa spp., phytosanitary measures and the use of virus-free planting material are the major methods of virus control. The state of knowledge on BBTV, BBrMV, and BSVs, and other minor viruses, disease spread, and control are summarized in this review. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Confocal microscopy with strip mosaicing for rapid imaging over large areas of excised tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abeytunge, Sanjee; Li, Yongbiao; Larson, Bjorg; Peterson, Gary; Seltzer, Emily; Toledo-Crow, Ricardo; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2013-06-01

Confocal mosaicing microscopy is a developing technology platform for imaging tumor margins directly in freshly excised tissue, without the processing required for conventional pathology. Previously, mosaicing on 12-×-12 mm2 of excised skin tissue from Mohs surgery and detection of basal cell carcinoma margins was demonstrated in 9 min. Last year, we reported the feasibility of a faster approach called "strip mosaicing," which was demonstrated on a 10-×-10 mm2 of tissue in 3 min. Here we describe further advances in instrumentation, software, and speed. A mechanism was also developed to flatten tissue in order to enable consistent and repeatable acquisition of images over large areas. We demonstrate mosaicing on 10-×-10 mm2 of skin tissue with 1-μm lateral resolution in 90 s. A 2.5-×-3.5 cm2 piece of breast tissue was scanned with 0.8-μm lateral resolution in 13 min. Rapid mosaicing of confocal images on large areas of fresh tissue potentially offers a means to perform pathology at the bedside. Imaging of tumor margins with strip mosaicing confocal microscopy may serve as an adjunct to conventional (frozen or fixed) pathology for guiding surgery.

An Analysis of Techno-Economic Requirements for MOSAIC CPV Systems to Achieve Cost Competitiveness

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

Horowitz, Kelsey A; Cunningham, David W.; Zahler, James

A comprehensive bottom-up cost model has been developed by NREL for ARPAE's MOSAIC micro-concentrator PV program. It will calculate LCOE for MOSAIC technologies and assess their cost competitiveness compared to traditional flat-plate systems.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the South Bamyan mineral district in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the South Bamyan mineral district, which has areas with a spectral reflectance anomaly that require field investigation. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2006,2007, 2008),but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for South Bamyan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics for the South Bamyan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Molecular characterization of a new begomovirus associated with leaf yellow mosaic disease of Jatropha curcas in India.

PubMed

Srivastava, Ashish; Kumar, S; Jaidi, Meraj; Raj, S K

2015-05-01

During a survey in June 2011, severe leaf yellow mosaic disease was observed on about 45 % plants of Jatropha curcas growing in the Katerniaghat wildlife sanctuary in India. An association of a begomovirus with disease was detected in 15 out of 20 samples by PCR using begomovirus genus-specific primers and total DNA isolated from symptomatic leaf samples. For identification of the begomovirus, the complete genome was amplified using a Phi-29 DNA-polymerase-based rolling-circle amplification kit and total DNA from five representative samples and then digested with BamHI. The linearized RCA products were cloned and sequenced. Their GenBank accession numbers are JN698954 (SKRK1) and JN135236 (SKRK2). The sequences of the two begomovirus isolates were 97 % identical to each other and no more than 86 % to those of jatropha mosaic India virus (JMIV, HM230683) and other begomoviruses reported worldwide. In phylogenetic analysis, SKRK1 and SKRK2 clustered together and showed distant relationships to jatropha mosaic India virus, Jatropha curcas mosaic virus, Indian cassava mosaic virus, Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus and other begomoviruses. Based on 86 % sequence identities and distant phylogenetic relationships to JMIV and other begomoviruses and the begomovirus species demarcation criteria of the ICTV (<89 % sequence identity of complete DNA-A genome), the begomovirus isolates associated with leaf yellow mosaic disease of J. curcas were identified as members of a new begomovirus species and provisionally designated as jatropha leaf yellow mosaic Katerniaghat virus (JLYMKV). Agroinfectious clones of the DNA molecule of the begomovirus isolate were also generated, and the fulfillment of Koch's postulates was demonstrated in J. curcas plants.

Divergence and Mosaicism among Virulent Soil Phages of the Burkholderia cepacia Complex‡

PubMed Central

Summer, Elizabeth J.; Gonzalez, Carlos F.; Bomer, Morgan; Carlile, Thomas; Embry, Addie; Kucherka, Amalie M.; Lee, Jonte; Mebane, Leslie; Morrison, William C.; Mark, Louise; King, Maria D.; LiPuma, John J.; Vidaver, Anne K.; Young, Ry

2006-01-01

We have determined the genomic sequences of four virulent myophages, Bcep1, Bcep43, BcepB1A, and Bcep781, whose hosts are soil isolates of the Burkholderia cepacia complex. Despite temporal and spatial separations between initial isolations, three of the phages (Bcep1, Bcep43, and Bcep781, designated the Bcep781 group) exhibit 87% to 99% sequence identity to one another and most coding region differences are due to synonymous nucleotide substitutions, a hallmark of neutral genetic drift. Phage BcepB1A has a very different genome organization but is clearly a mosaic with respect to many of the genes of the Bcep781 group, as is a defective prophage element in Photorhabdus luminescens. Functions were assigned to 27 out of 71 predicted genes of Bcep1 despite extreme sequence divergence. Using a lambda repressor fusion technique, 10 Bcep781-encoded proteins were identified for their ability to support homotypic interactions. While head and tail morphogenesis genes have retained canonical gene order despite extreme sequence divergence, genes involved in DNA metabolism and host lysis are not organized as in other phages. This unusual genome arrangement may contribute to the ability of the Bcep781-like phages to maintain a unified genomic type. However, the Bcep781 group phages can also engage in lateral gene transfer events with otherwise unrelated phages, a process that contributes to the broader-scale genomic mosaicism prevalent among the tailed phages. PMID:16352842

A probabilistic approach to segmentation and classification of neoplasia in uterine cervix images using color and geometric features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasan, Yeshwanth; Hernes, Dana; Tulpule, Bhakti; Yang, Shuyu; Guo, Jiangling; Mitra, Sunanda; Yagneswaran, Sriraja; Nutter, Brian; Jeronimo, Jose; Phillips, Benny; Long, Rodney; Ferris, Daron

2005-04-01

Automated segmentation and classification of diagnostic markers in medical imagery are challenging tasks. Numerous algorithms for segmentation and classification based on statistical approaches of varying complexity are found in the literature. However, the design of an efficient and automated algorithm for precise classification of desired diagnostic markers is extremely image-specific. The National Library of Medicine (NLM), in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is creating an archive of 60,000 digitized color images of the uterine cervix. NLM is developing tools for the analysis and dissemination of these images over the Web for the study of visual features correlated with precancerous neoplasia and cancer. To enable indexing of images of the cervix, it is essential to develop algorithms for the segmentation of regions of interest, such as acetowhitened regions, and automatic identification and classification of regions exhibiting mosaicism and punctation. Success of such algorithms depends, primarily, on the selection of relevant features representing the region of interest. We present color and geometric features based statistical classification and segmentation algorithms yielding excellent identification of the regions of interest. The distinct classification of the mosaic regions from the non-mosaic ones has been obtained by clustering multiple geometric and color features of the segmented sections using various morphological and statistical approaches. Such automated classification methodologies will facilitate content-based image retrieval from the digital archive of uterine cervix and have the potential of developing an image based screening tool for cervical cancer.

Recurrent SOX9 deletion campomelic dysplasia due to somatic mosaicism in the father.

PubMed

Smyk, M; Obersztyn, E; Nowakowska, B; Bocian, E; Cheung, S W; Mazurczak, T; Stankiewicz, P

2007-04-15

Haploinsufficiency of SOX9, a master gene in chondrogenesis and testis development, leads to the semi-lethal skeletal malformation syndrome campomelic dysplasia (CD), with or without XY sex reversal. We report on two children with CD and a phenotypically normal father, a carrier of a somatic mosaic SOX9 deletion. This is the first report of a mosaic deletion of SOX9; few familial CD cases with germline and somatic mutation mosaicism have been described. Our findings confirm the utility of aCGH and indicate that for a more accurate estimate of the recurrence risk for a completely penetrant autosomal dominant disorder, parental somatic mosaicism should be considered in healthy parents. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Occurrence and characterization of Bean common mosaic virus strain NL1 in Iowa

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) and the related Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) are widely distributed across the United States infecting primarily common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Eight characterized pathotypes have been distinguished on host differential cultivars. To further characteri...

False Color Mosaic of Jupiter Belt-Zone Boundary

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-12-18

This false color mosaic shows a belt-zone boundary near Jupiter equator. The images that make up the four quadrants of this mosaic were taken within a few minutes of each other. These images were taken on Nov. 5, 1996 by NASA Galileo orbiter.

Promoting Cas9 degradation reduces mosaic mutations in non-human primate embryos

PubMed Central

Tu, Zhuchi; Yang, Weili; Yan, Sen; Yin, An; Gao, Jinquan; Liu, Xudong; Zheng, Yinghui; Zheng, Jiezhao; Li, Zhujun; Yang, Su; Li, Shihua; Guo, Xiangyu; Li, Xiao-Jiang

2017-01-01

CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful new tool for genome editing, but this technique creates mosaic mutations that affect the efficiency and precision of its ability to edit the genome. Reducing mosaic mutations is particularly important for gene therapy and precision genome editing. Although the mechanisms underlying the CRSIPR/Cas9-mediated mosaic mutations remain elusive, the prolonged expression and activity of Cas9 in embryos could contribute to mosaicism in DNA mutations. Here we report that tagging Cas9 with ubiquitin-proteasomal degradation signals can facilitate the degradation of Cas9 in non-human primate embryos. Using embryo-splitting approach, we found that shortening the half-life of Cas9 in fertilized zygotes reduces mosaic mutations and increases its ability to modify genomes in non-human primate embryos. Also, injection of modified Cas9 in one-cell embryos leads to live monkeys with the targeted gene modifications. Our findings suggest that modifying Cas9 activity can be an effective strategy to enhance precision genome editing. PMID:28155910

Automated segmentation of retinal pigment epithelium cells in fluorescence adaptive optics images.

PubMed

Rangel-Fonseca, Piero; Gómez-Vieyra, Armando; Malacara-Hernández, Daniel; Wilson, Mario C; Williams, David R; Rossi, Ethan A

2013-12-01

Adaptive optics (AO) imaging methods allow the histological characteristics of retinal cell mosaics, such as photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, to be studied in vivo. The high-resolution images obtained with ophthalmic AO imaging devices are rich with information that is difficult and/or tedious to quantify using manual methods. Thus, robust, automated analysis tools that can provide reproducible quantitative information about the cellular mosaics under examination are required. Automated algorithms have been developed to detect the position of individual photoreceptor cells; however, most of these methods are not well suited for characterizing the RPE mosaic. We have developed an algorithm for RPE cell segmentation and show its performance here on simulated and real fluorescence AO images of the RPE mosaic. Algorithm performance was compared to manual cell identification and yielded better than 91% correspondence. This method can be used to segment RPE cells for morphometric analysis of the RPE mosaic and speed the analysis of both healthy and diseased RPE mosaics.

Spatial constraints underlying the retinal mosaics of two types of horizontal cells in cat and macaque.

PubMed

Eglen, Stephen J; Wong, James C T

2008-01-01

Most types of retinal neurons are spatially positioned in non-random patterns, termed retinal mosaics. Several developmental mechanisms are thought to be important in the formation of these mosaics. Most evidence to date suggests that homotypic constraints within a type of neuron are dominant, and that heterotypic interactions between different types of neuron are rare. In an analysis of macaque H1 and H2 horizontal cell mosaics, Wässle et al. (2000) suggested that the high regularity index of the combined H1 and H2 mosaic might be caused by heterotypic interactions during development. Here we use computer modeling to suggest that the high regularity index of the combined H1 and H2 mosaic is a by-product of the basic constraint that two neurons cannot occupy the same space. The spatial arrangement of type A and type B horizontal cells in cat retina also follow this same principle.

Systemic transport of Alfalfa mosaic virus can be mediated by the movement proteins of several viruses assigned to five genera of the 30K family.

PubMed

Fajardo, Thor V M; Peiró, Ana; Pallás, Vicente; Sánchez-Navarro, Jesús

2013-03-01

We previously showed that the movement protein (MP) gene of Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) is functionally exchangeable for the cell-to-cell transport of the corresponding genes of Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), Brome mosaic virus, Prunus necrotic ringspot virus, Cucumber mosaic virus and Cowpea mosaic virus. We have analysed the capacity of the heterologous MPs to systemically transport the corresponding chimeric AMV genome. All MPs were competent in systemic transport but required the fusion at their C terminus of the coat protein-interacting C-terminal 44 aa (A44) of the AMV MP. Except for the TMV MP, the presence of the hybrid virus in upper leaves correlated with the capacity to move locally. These results suggest that all the MPs assigned to the 30K superfamily should be exchangeable not only for local virus movement but also for systemic transport when the A44 fragment is present.

High-Resolution Photo-Mosaicing of the Rosebud Hydrothermal Vent Site and Surrounding Lava Flows, Galapagos Rift 86W: Techniques and Interpretations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rzhanov, Y.; Mayer, L.; Fornari, D.; Shank, T.; Humphris, S.; Scheirer, D.; Kinsey, J.; Whitcomb, L.

2003-12-01

The Rosebud hydrothermal vent field was discovered in May 2002 in the Galapagos Rift near 86W during a series of Alvin dives and ABE autonomous vehicle surveys. Vertical-incidence digital imaging using a 3.1 Mpixel digital camera and strobe illumination from altitudes of 3-5m was carried out during the Alvin dives. A complete survey of the Rosebud vent site was carried out on Alvin Dive 3790. Submersible position was determined by post-cruise integration of 1.2 MHz bottom-lock Doppler sonar velocity data logged at 5Hz, integrated with heading and attitude data from a north-seeking fiber-optic gyroscope logged at 10Hz, and initialized with a surveyed-in long-baseline transponder navigation system providing geodetic position fixes at 15s intervals. The photo-mosaicing process consisted of three main stages: pre-processing, pair-wise image co-registration, and global alignment. Excellent image quality allowed us to avoid lens distortion correction, so images only underwent histogram equalization. Pair-wise co-registration of sequential frames was done partially automatically (where overlap exceeded 70 percent we employed a frequency-domain based technique), and partially manually (when overlap did not exceed 15 percent and manual feature extraction was the only way to find transformations relating the frames). Partial mosaics allowed us to determine which non-sequential frames had substantial overlap, and the corresponding transformations were found via feature extraction. Global alignment of the images consisted of construction of a sparse, nonlinear over-constrained system of equations reflecting positions of the frames in real-world coordinates. This system was solved using least squares, and the solution provided globally optimal positions of the frames in the overall mosaic. Over 700 images were mosaiced resulting in resolution of ~3 mm per pixel. The mosaiced area covers approximately 50 m x 60 m and clearly shows several biological zonations and distribution of lava flow morphologies, including what is interpreted as the contact between older lobate lava and the young sheet flow that hosts Rosebud vent communities. Recruitment of tubeworms, mussels, and clams is actively occurring at more than five locations oriented on a NE-SW trend where vent emissions occur through small cracks in the sheet flow. Large-scale views of seafloor hydrothermal vent sites, such as the one produced for Rosebud, are critical to properly understanding spatial relationships between hydrothermal biological communities, sites of focused and diffuse fluid flow, and the complex array of volcanic and tectonic features at mid-ocean ridge crests. These high-resolution perspectives are also critical to time-series studies where quantitative documentation of changes can be related to variations in hydrothermal, magmatic and tectonic processes.

Circumscribing campo rupestre - megadiverse Brazilian rocky montane savanas.

PubMed

Alves, R J V; Silva, N G; Oliveira, J A; Medeiros, D

2014-05-01

Currently campo rupestre (CR) is a name accepted and used internationally by botanists, zoologists, and other naturalists, usually applied to a very specific ecosystem, despite the lack of a consensual published circumscription. We present a tentative geographic circumscription of the term, combining data on climate, geology, geomorphology, soil, flora, fauna and vegetation. The circumscription of campo rupestre proposed herein is based on the following premises: (1) the classification of vegetation is not an exact science, and it is difficult to attain a high degree of consensus to the circumscription of vegetation names; (2) despite this, vegetation classification is useful for conservation and management. It is thus desirable to circumscribe vegetation types with the greatest attainable precision; (3) there is a need to preserve all montane and rocky vegetation types, regardless of classification, biome, etc; (4) the CRs are formed by a complex mosaic of vegetation types including rock-dwelling, psammophilous, aquatic, epiphytic, and penumbral plant communities. Campos rupestres stricto sensu are a Neotropical, azonal vegetation complex endemic to Brazil, forming a mosaic of rocky mountaintop "archipelagos" inserted within a matrix of zonal vegetation, mainly in the Cerrado and Caatinga provinces of the Brazilian Shield (southeastern, northeastern and central-western regions), occurring mainly above 900 m asl. up to altitudes exceeding 2000 m, having measured annual precipitation between 800 and 1500 mm, and an arid season of two to five months.

SPECIFICITY OF THE PRECIPITIN REACTION IN TOBACCO MOSAIC DISEASE.

PubMed

Beale, H P

1931-09-30

1. Leaf extracts of Sudan grass, Hippeastrum equestre Herb., lily, and Abutilon striatum Dicks. (A. Thompsoni hort.), each affected with its respective mosaic disease, and peach affected with yellows disease, were tested for their ability to precipitate antiserum for virus extract of tobacco mosaic disease. No precipitate occurred. 2. Nicotiana glutinosa L., N. rustica L., and Martynia louisiana Mill. were added to the list of hosts of tobacco mosaic virus which have been tested with antiserum for the same virus in N. tabacum L. var. Turkish. The object was to determine the presence or absence of material reacting with the specific precipitins such as that already demonstrated in extracts of tomato, pepper, and petunia affected with the same virus. The presence of specific substances was demonstrated in every case. 3. The viruses of ringspot and cucumber mosaic diseases were multiplied in Turkish tobacco and leaf extracts of the affected plants were used in turn as antigens in precipitin tests with antiserum for tobacco mosaic virus extract of Turkish tobacco. A slight precipitation resulted in the tubes containing undiluted antiserum and virus extract such as occurs when juice from normal tobacco is used with undiluted antiserum. No precipitate was demonstrable that was specific for virus extracts of tobacco affected with either ringspot or cucumber mosaic disease. 4. The results favor the interpretation that the specific antigenic substance in virus extract of tobacco mosaic disease is foreign antigenic material, possibly virus itself, not altered host protein.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Takhar mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter Q in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Takhar mineral district, which has industrial evaporite deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA, 2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for Takhar) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics for the Takhar area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the North Takhar mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter D in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the North Takhar mineral district, which has placer gold deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2006,2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for North Takhar) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into nine overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The nine image tiles (or quadrants) for the North Takhar area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Baghlan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter P in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Baghlan mineral district, which has industrial clay and gypsum deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA, 2006, 2007, 2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for Baghlan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into two overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The two image tiles (or quadrants) for the Baghlan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Uruzgan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter V in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Uruzgan mineral district, which has tin and tungsten deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA, 2008, 2009), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for Uruzgan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into eight overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The eight image tiles (or quadrants) for the Uruzgan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the South Helmand mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter O in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the South Helmand mineral district, which has travertine deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA, 2008, 2010), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (41 for South Helmand) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into eight overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The eight image tiles (or quadrants) for the South Helmand area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Bakhud mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter U in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.; Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Bakhud mineral district, which has industrial fluorite deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2006,2007, 2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (41 for Bakhud) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into nine overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The nine image tiles (or quadrants) for the Bakhud area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Breeding Beans with Bruchid and Multiple Virus Resistance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) and bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) are worldwide threats to dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production. Beans planted in the lowlands of Central America and the Caribbean also need resistance to Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV). The common bean weev...

Simulating Fire Disturbance and Plant Mortality Using Antecedent Eco-hydrological Conditions to Inform a Physically Based Combustion Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atchley, A. L.; Linn, R.; Middleton, R. S.; Runde, I.; Coon, E.; Michaletz, S. T.

2016-12-01

Wildfire is a complex agent of change that both affects and depends on eco-hydrological systems, thereby constituting a tightly linked system of disturbances and eco-hydrological conditions. For example, structure, build-up, and moisture content of fuel are dependent on eco-hydrological regimes, which impacts fire spread and intensity. Fire behavior, on the other hand, determines the severity and extent of eco-hydrological disturbance, often resulting in a mosaic of untouched, stressed, damaged, or completely destroyed vegetation within the fire perimeter. This in turn drives new eco-hydrological system behavior. The cycles of disturbance and recovery present a complex evolving system with many unknowns especially in the face of climate change that has implications for fire risk, water supply, and forest composition. Physically-based numerical experiments that attempt to capture the complex linkages between eco-hydrological regimes that affect fire behavior and the echo-hydrological response from those fire disturbances help build the understanding required to project how fire disturbance and eco-hydrological conditions coevolve over time. Here we explore the use of FIRETEC—a physically-based 3D combustion model that solves conservation of mass, momentum, energy, and chemical species—to resolve fire spread over complex terrain and fuel structures. Uniquely, we couple a physically-based plant mortality model with FIRETEC and examine the resultant hydrologic impact. In this proof of concept demonstration we spatially distribute fuel structure and moisture content based on the eco-hydrological condition to use as input for FIRETEC. The fire behavior simulation then produces localized burn severity and heat injures which are used as input to a spatially-informed plant mortality model. Ultimately we demonstrate the applicability of physically-based models to explore integrated disturbance and eco-hydrologic response to wildfire behavior and specifically map how fire spread and intensity is affect by the antecedent eco-hydrological condition, which then affects the resulting tree mortality patterns.

First report of Sorghum mosaic virus causing mosaic in Miscanthus sinesis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Miscanthus is being evaluated as a bioenergy feedstock because of its potentially significant biomass production, perennial habit, and lack of major diseases and pests. It is also a valuable parent in the sugarcane breeding program as source of cold tolerance. Mosaic symptoms were observed on a clo...

Development, release and dissemination of "Sankara" black bean in Haiti

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production in the Caribbean is threatened by Bean Golden Yellow Mosaic Virus (BGYMV), Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) and Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis Virus (BCMNV). The University of Puerto Rico, the University of Nebraska, the USDA-ARS, Zamorano and the National ...

First report of Peach latent mosaic viroid inducing peach calico of peach trees in Korea

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd), a member of the genus Pelamoviroid in the family Avsunviroidae, causes yellow, chlorotic mosaic symptoms; delays foliation, flowering, and ripening; and causes deformed and discolored fruits. In June 2016, naturally infected peach trees (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch...

Soil-borne wheat mosaic virus infectious clone and manipulation for gene-carrying capacity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soilborne wheat mosaic virus (SBWMV) is a bipartite single stranded positive sense RNA virus with rigid-rod shaped virions. Taxonomically the virus is in the family Viragviridae, as are commonly used gene silencing or expression viral vectors, Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) and Barley stripe mosaic viru...

Plantago asiatica mosaic virus – data sheet

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plantago asiatica mosaic virus (PlAMV) is a potexvirus which was first described from the wild/weedy plant Plantago asiatica L. in the Russian Far East, and the Nandina mosaic isolate from cultivated Nandina domestica in the USA. PlAMV also naturally infects P. asiatica and Rehmannia glutinosa in Ko...

Atlas of Surveyor 5 television data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batson, R. M.; Jordan, R.; Larson, K. B.

1974-01-01

This atlas is a compendium of the Surveyor 5 television mosaics. It it divided into two main sections. The first consists of improved mosaics of panoramas and basic cartographic data used in investigating surface detail, and the second contains individual frame data, including photoindex mosaics and tabulations in which individual frames are identified. A short section containing a set of special-purpose mosaics assembled by the staff of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is also included. For more details about the Surveyor 5 mission, television data, or science results, a brief bibliography is included.

Chromosome mosaicism in hypomelanosis of Ito.

PubMed

Ritter, C L; Steele, M W; Wenger, S L; Cohen, B A

1990-01-01

Our finding of chromosome mosaicism with a ring 22 in a retarded black boy with hypomelanosis of Ito prompted a review of this "syndrome." Most patients have a variety of non-dermal defects, particularly those affecting CNS function. Among karyotyped patients, most are chromosome mosaics of one sort or another. Hypomelanosis of Ito turns out to be a causable non-specific phenotype, i.e., a clinical marker for chromosome mosaicism of all different types in individuals with a dark enough skin to show lighter patches. Consequently, cytogenetic evaluation is indicated in all patients with this skin finding.

A fast and automatic mosaic method for high-resolution satellite images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hongshun; He, Hui; Xiao, Hongyu; Huang, Jing

2015-12-01

We proposed a fast and fully automatic mosaic method for high-resolution satellite images. First, the overlapped rectangle is computed according to geographical locations of the reference and mosaic images and feature points on both the reference and mosaic images are extracted by a scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm only from the overlapped region. Then, the RANSAC method is used to match feature points of both images. Finally, the two images are fused into a seamlessly panoramic image by the simple linear weighted fusion method or other method. The proposed method is implemented in C++ language based on OpenCV and GDAL, and tested by Worldview-2 multispectral images with a spatial resolution of 2 meters. Results show that the proposed method can detect feature points efficiently and mosaic images automatically.

Parasol cell mosaics are unlikely to drive the formation of structured orientation maps in primary visual cortex.

PubMed

Hore, Victoria R A; Troy, John B; Eglen, Stephen J

2012-11-01

The receptive fields of on- and off-center parasol cell mosaics independently tile the retina to ensure efficient sampling of visual space. A recent theoretical model represented the on- and off-center mosaics by noisy hexagonal lattices of slightly different density. When the two lattices are overlaid, long-range Moiré interference patterns are generated. These Moiré interference patterns have been suggested to drive the formation of highly structured orientation maps in visual cortex. Here, we show that noisy hexagonal lattices do not capture the spatial statistics of parasol cell mosaics. An alternative model based upon local exclusion zones, termed as the pairwise interaction point process (PIPP) model, generates patterns that are statistically indistinguishable from parasol cell mosaics. A key difference between the PIPP model and the hexagonal lattice model is that the PIPP model does not generate Moiré interference patterns, and hence stimulated orientation maps do not show any hexagonal structure. Finally, we estimate the spatial extent of spatial correlations in parasol cell mosaics to be only 200-350 μm, far less than that required to generate Moiré interference. We conclude that parasol cell mosaics are too disordered to drive the formation of highly structured orientation maps in visual cortex.

Confocal microscopy with strip mosaicing for rapid imaging over large areas of excised tissue

PubMed Central

Li, Yongbiao; Larson, Bjorg; Peterson, Gary; Seltzer, Emily; Toledo-Crow, Ricardo; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2013-01-01

Abstract. Confocal mosaicing microscopy is a developing technology platform for imaging tumor margins directly in freshly excised tissue, without the processing required for conventional pathology. Previously, mosaicing on 12-×-12  mm2 of excised skin tissue from Mohs surgery and detection of basal cell carcinoma margins was demonstrated in 9 min. Last year, we reported the feasibility of a faster approach called “strip mosaicing,” which was demonstrated on a 10-×-10  mm2 of tissue in 3 min. Here we describe further advances in instrumentation, software, and speed. A mechanism was also developed to flatten tissue in order to enable consistent and repeatable acquisition of images over large areas. We demonstrate mosaicing on 10-×-10  mm2 of skin tissue with 1-μm lateral resolution in 90 s. A 2.5-×-3.5  cm2 piece of breast tissue was scanned with 0.8-μm lateral resolution in 13 min. Rapid mosaicing of confocal images on large areas of fresh tissue potentially offers a means to perform pathology at the bedside. Imaging of tumor margins with strip mosaicing confocal microscopy may serve as an adjunct to conventional (frozen or fixed) pathology for guiding surgery. PMID:23389736

Clementine High Resolution Camera Mosaicking Project. Volume 21; CL 6021; 80 deg S to 90 deg S Latitude, North Periapsis; 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Michael; Revine, Michael; Boyce, Joseph M. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

This compact disk (CD) is part of the Clementine I high resolution (HiRes) camera lunar image mosaics developed by Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS). These mosaics were developed through calibration and semi-automated registration against the recently released geometrically and photometrically controlled Ultraviolet/Visible (UV/Vis) Basemap Mosaic, which is available through the PDS, as CD-ROM volumes CL_3001-3015. The HiRes mosaics are compiled from non-uniformity corrected, 750 nanometer ("D") filter high resolution observations from the HiRes imaging system onboard the Clementine Spacecraft. The geometric control is provided by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Clementine Basemap Mosaic compiled from the 750 nm Ultraviolet/Visible Clementine imaging system. Calibration was achieved by removing the image nonuniformity largely caused by the HiRes system's light intensifier. Also provided are offset and scale factors, achieved by a fit of the HiRes data to the corresponding photometrically calibrated UV/Vis basemap that approximately transform the 8-bit HiRes data to photometric units. The mosaics on this CD are compiled from polar data (latitudes greater than 80 degrees), and are presented in the stereographic projection at a scale of 30 m/pixel at the pole, a resolution 5 times greater than that (150 m/pixel) of the corresponding UV/Vis polar basemap. This 5:1 scale ratio is in keeping with the sub-polar mosaic, in which the HiRes and UV/Vis mosaics had scales of 20 m/pixel and 100 m/pixel, respectively. The equal-area property of the stereographic projection made this preferable for the HiRes polar mosaic rather than the basemap's orthographic projection. Thus, a necessary first step in constructing the mosaic was the reprojection of the UV/Vis basemap to the stereographic projection. The HiRes polar data can be naturally grouped according to the orbital periapsis, which was in the south during the first half of the mapping mission and in the north during the second half. Images in each group have generally uniform intrinsic resolution, illumination, exposure and gain. Rather than mingle data from the two periapsis epochs, separate mosaics are provided for each, a total of 4 polar mosaics. The mosaics are divided into 100 square tiles of 2250 pixels (approximately 2.2 deg near the pole) on a side. Not all squares of this grid contain HiRes mosaic data, some inevitably since a square is not a perfect representation of a (latitude) circle, others due to the lack of HiRes data. This CD also contains ancillary data files that support the HiRes mosaic. These files include browse images with UV/Vis context stored in a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format, index files ('imgindx.tab' and 'srcindx.tab') that tabulate the contents of the CD, and documentation files. For more information on the contents and organization of the CD volume set refer to the "FILES, DIRECTORIES AND DISK CONTENTS" section of this document. The image files are organized according to NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. An image file (tile) is organized as a PDS labeled file containing an "image object".

Pepino mosaic virus genotype shift in North America and development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rapid genotype identification

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Pepino mosaic, once an emerging disease a decade ago, has become endemic on greenhouse tomatoes worldwide in recent years. Three distinct genotypes of Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV), including EU, US1 and CH2 have been recognized. Our earlier study conducted in 2006–2007 demonstrated a predominant EU genotype in Canada and United States. The objective of the present study was to monitor the dynamic of PepMV genetic composition and its current status in North America. Results Through yearly monitoring efforts in 2009–2012, we detected a dramatic shift in the prevalent genotype of PepMV from the genotype EU to CH2 in North America since early 2010, with another shift from CH2 to US1 occurring in Mexico only two years later. Through genetic diversity analysis using the coat protein gene, such genotype shifting of PepMV in North America was linked to the positive identification of similar sequence variants in two different commercial tomato seed sources used for scion and rootstock, respectively. To allow for a quick identification, a reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) system was developed and demonstrated to achieve a rapid identification for each of the three genotypes of PepMV, EU, US1 and CH2. Conclusion Through systemic yearly monitoring and genetic diversity analysis, we identified a linkage between the field epidemic isolates and those from commercial tomato seed lots as the likely sources of initial PepMV inoculum that resulted in genetic shifting as observed on greenhouse tomatoes in North America. Application of the genotype-specific RT-LAMP system would allow growers to efficiently determine the genetic diversity on their crops. PMID:23587202

Super Resolution Image of Yogi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Yogi is a meter-size rock about 5 meters northwest of the Mars Pathfinder lander and was the second rock visited by the Sojourner Rover's alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS) instrument. This mosaic shows super resolution techniques applied to the second APXS target rock, which was poorly illuminated in the rover's forward camera view taken before the instrument was deployed. Super resolution was applied to help to address questions about the texture of this rock and what it might tell us about its mode of origin.

This mosaic of Yogi was produced by combining four 'Super Pan' frames taken with the IMP camera. This composite color mosaic consists of 7 frames from the right eye, taken with different color filters that were enlarged by 500% and then co-added using Adobe Photoshop to produce, in effect, a super-resolution panchromatic frame that is sharper than an individual frame would be. This panchromatic frame was then colorized with the red, green, and blue filtered images from the same sequence. The color balance was adjusted to approximate the true color of Mars. Shadows were processed separately from the rest of the rock and combined with the rest of the scene to bring out details in the shadow of Yogi that would be too dark to view at the same time as the sunlit surfaces.

Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Characterization of a photometric anomaly in lunar Mare Nubium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korokhin, Viktor; Shkuratov, Yuriy; Kaydash, Vadym; Basilevsky, Alexander; Rohachova, Larysa; Velikodsky, Yuri; Opanasenko, Nickolay; Videen, Gorden; Stankevich, Dmitry; Kaluhina, Olena

2016-03-01

A novel approach of constructing photometrically seamless mosaics of reflectance, color-ratios, and phase-curve slopes using LROC WAC images has been developed, which can be used to map the photometric parameters of the lunar surface. The approach takes into account both geometric corrections with data on local topography and photometric conjunctions using our simple photometric model. New mosaics obtained with the technique allow more reliable studies of structural and chemical characteristics of the lunar surface. This approach has been applied to analyze the photometric anomaly (21.6 S, 17.7 W, ~40 km in size) in Mare Nubium detected earlier with our Earth-based observations. For each point of the scene the parameters were calculated using the least-square method for several tens of source WAC images. Clementine mosaics also were used in the analysis, e.g., in order to estimate the parameter of maturity degree Is/FeO. The anomaly has low FeO and TiO2 abundance and reveals a higher slope of the phase function than surroundings. Thermal data from LRO Diviner measurements do not show anomalies in this region. We consider this area as a shallow flooding of an elevated formation of highland composition, the material of which could have been excavated and mixed up with upper layers of the lunar surface through meteoroid impacts. The anomalous behavior of the phase function can be explained by the difference of surface structure in the anomaly and surrounding regions on the scale of less than several centimeters. This may be due to larger quantities of small fragments of rocks and clumps on the surface and/or the presence of agglomerates having open structure.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Nalbandon mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter L in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Nalbandon mineral district, which has lead and zinc deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA, 2007, 2008, 2010), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (41 for Nalbandon) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into ten overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The ten image tiles (or quadrants) for the Nalbandon area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Nalbandon study area, two subareas were designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the Nalbandon District and Gharghananaw-Gawmazar subareas); these subareas were extracted from the area’s image mosaic and are provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Zarkashan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter G in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Zarkashan mineral district, which has copper and gold deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2006,2007, 2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for Zarkashan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into two overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The two image tiles (or quadrants) for the Zarkashan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Zarkashan study area, three subareas were designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the Mine Area, Bolo Gold Prospect, and Luman-Tamaki Gold Prospect subareas); these subareas were extracted from the area’s image mosaic and are provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Kandahar mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter Z in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Kandahar mineral district, which has bauxite deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ((c)JAXA,2006,2007,2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar- elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image- registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative- reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area- enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for Kandahar) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into eight overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The eight image tiles (or quadrants) for the Kandahar area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Kandahar study area, two subareas were designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the Obatu-Shela and Sekhab-Zamto Kalay subareas); these subareas were extracted from the area's image mosaic and are provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Khanneshin mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter A in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.; Arko, Scott A.; Harbin, Michelle L.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Khanneshin mineral district, which has uranium, thorium, rare-earth-element, and apatite deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2007,2008,2010), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (41 for Khanneshin) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into nine overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The nine image tiles (or quadrants) for the Khanneshin area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Khanneshin study area, one subarea was designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the Khanneshin volcano subarea); this subarea was extracted from the area's image mosaic and is provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Panjsher Valley mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter M in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Cagney, Laura E.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Panjsher Valley mineral district, which has emerald and silver-iron deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA, 2009, 2010), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 315-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for Panjsher Valley) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into two overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The two image tiles (or quadrants) for the Panjsher Valley area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Panjsher Valley study area, two subareas were designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the Emerald and Silver-Iron subareas); these subareas were extracted from the area’s image mosaic and are provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Farah mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter FF in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Farah mineral district, which has spectral reflectance anomalies indicative of copper, zinc, lead, silver, and gold deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ((c)JAXA, 2007, 2008, 2010), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (41 for Farah) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into four overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The four image tiles (or quadrants) for the Farah area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Within the Farah study area, five subareas were designated for detailed field investigations (that is, the FarahA through FarahE subareas); these subareas were extracted from the area’s image mosaic and are provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Forest fragmentation and landscape transformation in a reindeer husbandry area in Sweden.

PubMed

Kivinen, Sonja; Berg, Anna; Moen, Jon; Ostlund, Lars; Olofsson, Johan

2012-02-01

Reindeer husbandry and forestry are two main land users in boreal forests in northern Sweden. Modern forestry has numerous negative effects on the ground-growing and arboreal lichens that are crucial winter resources for reindeer husbandry. Using digitized historical maps, we examined changes in the forest landscape structure during the past 100 years, and estimated corresponding changes in suitability of forest landscape mosaics for the reindeer winter grazing. Cover of old coniferous forests, a key habitat type of reindeer herding system, showed a strong decrease during the study period, whereas clear-cutting and young forests increased rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century. The dominance of young forests and fragmentation of old-growth forests (decreased patch sizes and increased isolation) reflect decreased amount of arboreal lichens as well as a lowered ability of the landscape to sustain long-term persistence of lichens. The results further showed that variation in ground lichen cover among sites was mainly related to soil moisture conditions, recent disturbances, such as soil scarification and prescribed burning, and possibly also to forest history. In general, the results suggest that the composition and configuration of the forest landscape mosaic has become less suitable for sustainable reindeer husbandry.

Horizontal Transfer of Segments of the 16S rRNA Genes between Species of the Streptococcus anginosus Group

PubMed Central

Schouls, Leo M.; Schot, Corrie S.; Jacobs, Jan A.

2003-01-01

The nature in variation of the 16S rRNA gene of members of the Streptococcus anginosus group was investigated by hybridization and DNA sequencing. A collection of 708 strains was analyzed by reverse line blot hybridization. This revealed the presence of distinct reaction patterns representing 11 different hybridization groups. The 16S rRNA genes of two strains of each hybridization group were sequenced to near-completion, and the sequence data confirmed the reverse line blot hybridization results. Closer inspection of the sequences revealed mosaic-like structures, strongly suggesting horizontal transfer of segments of the 16S rRNA gene between different species belonging to the Streptococcus anginosus group. Southern blot hybridization further showed that within a single strain all copies of the 16S rRNA gene had the same composition, indicating that the apparent mosaic structures were not PCR-induced artifacts. These findings indicate that the highly conserved rRNA genes are also subject to recombination and that these events may be fixed in the population. Such recombination may lead to the construction of incorrect phylogenetic trees based on the 16S rRNA genes. PMID:14645285

A GLOBAL GEOLOGIC MAP OF GANYMEDE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson, G.; Collins, G. C.; Head, J. W.; Pappalardo, R. T.; Prockter, L. M.; Lucchitta, B. K.

2009-12-01

Ganymede is a planet-sized world, the solar system’s largest satellite with a radius of 2631 km. Its physiography, geology, geophysics, surface composition, and evolution are correspondingly planet-like in intricacy. We have completed a global geological map of Ganymede that represents the most recent understanding of the satellite on the basis of Galileo mission results. This contribution builds on important previous accomplishments in the study of Ganymede utilizing Voyager data and incorporates the many new discoveries that were brought about by examination of Galileo data. Material units have been defined, structural landforms have been identified, and an approximate stratigraphy has been determined utilizing a global mosaic of the surface with a nominal resolution of 1 km/pixel assembled by the USGS. This mosaic incorporates the best available Voyager and Galileo regional coverage and high resolution imagery (100-200 m/pixel) of characteristic features and terrain types obtained by the Galileo spacecraft. This effort has provided a more complete understanding of: 1) the major geological processes operating on Ganymede, 2) the characteristics of the geological units making up its surface, 3) the stratigraphic relationships of geological units and structures, and 4) the geological history inferred from these relationships.

Human and Animal Dirofilariasis: the Emergence of a Zoonotic Mosaic

PubMed Central

Siles-Lucas, Mar; Morchón, Rodrigo; González-Miguel, Javier; Mellado, Isabel; Carretón, Elena; Montoya-Alonso, Jose Alberto

2012-01-01

Summary: Dirofilariasis represents a zoonotic mosaic, which includes two main filarial species (Dirofilaria immitis and D. repens) that have adapted to canine, feline, and human hosts with distinct biological and clinical implications. At the same time, both D. immitis and D. repens are themselves hosts to symbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia, the study of which has resulted in a profound shift in the understanding of filarial biology, the mechanisms of the pathologies that they produce in their hosts, and issues related to dirofilariasis treatment. Moreover, because dirofilariasis is a vector-borne transmitted disease, their distribution and infection rates have undergone significant modifications influenced by global climate change. Despite advances in our knowledge of D. immitis and D. repens and the pathologies that they inflict on different hosts, there are still many unknown aspects of dirofilariasis. This review is focused on human and animal dirofilariasis, including the basic morphology, biology, protein composition, and metabolism of Dirofilaria species; the climate and human behavioral factors that influence distribution dynamics; the disease pathology; the host-parasite relationship; the mechanisms involved in parasite survival; the immune response and pathogenesis; and the clinical management of human and animal infections. PMID:22763636

Phoenix Checks out its Work Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Click on image for animation

This animation shows a mosaic of images of the workspace reachable by the scoop on the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, along with some measurements of rock sizes.

Phoenix was able to determine the size of the rocks based on three-dimensional views from stereoscopic images taken by the lander's 7-foot mast camera, called the Surface Stereo Imager. The stereo pair of images enable depth perception, much the way a pair of human eyes enable people to gauge the distance to nearby objects.

The rock measurements were made by a visualization tool known as Viz, developed at NASA's Ames Research Laboratory. The shadow cast by the camera on the Martian surface appears somewhat disjointed because the camera took the images in the mosaic at different times of day.

Scientists do not yet know the origin or composition of the flat, light-colored rocks on the surface in front of the lander.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

X chromosome regulation: diverse patterns in development, tissues and disease

PubMed Central

Deng, Xinxian; Berletch, Joel B.; Nguyen, Di K.; Disteche, Christine M.

2014-01-01

Genes on the mammalian X chromosome are present in one copy in males and two copies in females. The complex mechanisms that regulate the X chromosome lead to evolutionary and physiological variability in gene expression between species, the sexes, individuals, developmental stages, tissues and cell types. In early development, delayed and incomplete X chromosome inactivation (XCI) in some species causes variability in gene expression. Additional diversity stems from escape from XCI and from mosaicism or XCI skewing in females. This causes sex-specific differences that manifest as differential gene expression and associated phenotypes. Furthermore, the complexity and diversity of X dosage regulation affect the severity of diseases caused by X-linked mutations. PMID:24733023

Discolored Fracture Zones in Martian Sandstone

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-12-17

This view from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows an example of discoloration closely linked to fractures in the Stimson formation sandstone on lower Mount Sharp. The pattern is evident along two perpendicular fractures. Curiosity's Navigation Camera (Navcam) acquired the component images of this mosaic on Aug. 23, 2015, during the 1.083rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The location is along the rover's path between "Marias Pass" and "Bridger Basin." In this region, the rover has found fracture zones to be associated with rock compositions enriched in silica, relative to surrounding bedrock. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20268

Heading South on 'Erebus Highway'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is currently traveling southward over a pavement of outcrop dubbed the 'Erebus Highway.' 'Erebus Crater,' the rover's next target, lies less than 100 meters (328 feet) south of its current position. This view is a mosaic produced from from frames taken by the rover's navigation camera during Opportunity's 582nd martian day, or sol (Sept. 13, 2005). It shows fractured blocks of ancient sedimentary rock separated by recent sand dunes. Mars Exploration Rover team scientists are investigating both the composition of the rocks and the processes by which the distinctive fracture pattern arose.

Mosaic stunting in bareroot Pinus banksiana seedlings is unrelated to colonization by mycorrhizal fungi

Treesearch

Lynette R. Potvin; Martin F. Jurgensen; R. Kasten Dumroese; Dana L. Richter; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese

2014-01-01

Mosaic stunting, the occurrence of random patches of chlorotic seedlings with reduced shoot and diameter growth amidst more robust cohorts within bareroot nurseries, is classically associated with poor colonization by mycorrhizal fungi. We examined possible relationships among soil fertility, mycorrhizas, and random patches of mosaic stunting in bareroot Pinus...

Molecular, serological and biological characterization of the emerging tomato mottle mosaic virus on tomato

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For many years, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) are the two major tobamoviruses that have a serious impact on tomato productions worldwide. These seed-borne and mechanically transmitted viruses are difficult to control. The most effective disease management has been the u...

Elimination of five sugarcane viruses from sugarcane using in vitro culture of axillary bud and apical meristem

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Procedures were developed for the in vitro elimination of Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV), Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV), Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) and Fiji disease virus (FDV) from infected sugarcane. In vitro shoot regeneration, elongation and virus el...

Fire drives transcontinental variation in tree birch defense against browsing by snowshoe hares

Treesearch

John P. Bryant; Thomas P. Clausen; Robert K. Swihart; Simon M. Landhäusser; Michael T. Stevens; Christopher D. B. Hawkins; Suzanne Carrière; Andrei P. Kirilenko; Alasdair M. Veitch; Richard A. Popko; David T. Cleland; Joseph H. Williams; Walter J. Jakubas; Michael R. Carlson; Karin Lehmkuhl Bodony; Merben Cebrian; Thomas F. Paragi; Peter M. Picone; Jeffery E. Moore; Edmond C. Packee; Thomas Malone

2009-01-01

Fire has been the dominant disturbance in boreal America since the Pleistocene, resulting in a spatial mosaic in which the most fire occurs in the continental northwest. Spatial variation in snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) density reflects the fire mosaic. Because fire initiates secondary forest succession, a fire mosaic creates...

75 FR 53730 - Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “The Roman Mosaic from Lod...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-01

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7145] Culturally Significant Object Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``The Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following... object to be included in the exhibition ``The Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel,'' imported from abroad for...

No evidence for mosaic pathogenic copy number variations in cardiac tissue from patients with congenital heart malformations.

PubMed

Winberg, Johanna; Berggren, Håkan; Malm, Torsten; Johansson, Sune; Johansson Ramgren, Jens; Nilsson, Boris; Liedén, Agne; Nordenskjöld, Agneta; Gustavsson, Peter; Nordgren, Ann

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to investigate if pathogenic copy number variations (CNVs) are present in mosaic form in patients with congenital heart malformations. We have collected cardiac tissue and blood samples from 23 patients with congenital heart malformations that underwent cardiac surgery and screened for mosaic gene dose alterations restricted to cardiac tissue using array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH). We did not find evidence of CNVs in mosaic form after array CGH analysis. Pathogenic CNVs that were present in both cardiac tissue and blood were detected in 2/23 patients (9%), and in addition we found several constitutional CNVs of unclear clinical significance. This is the first study investigating mosaicism for CNVs in heart tissue compared to peripheral blood and the results do not indicate that pathogenic mosaic copy number changes are common in patients with heart malformations. Importantly, in line with previous studies, our results show that constitutional pathogenic CNVs are important factors contributing to congenital heart malformations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Mosaic structure in epitaxial thin films having large lattice mismatch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srikant, V.; Speck, J. S.; Clarke, D. R.

1997-11-01

Epitaxial films having a large lattice mismatch with their substrate invariably form a mosaic structure of slightly misoriented sub-grains. The mosaic structure is usually characterized by its x-ray rocking curve on a surface normal reflection but this is limited to the out-of-plane component unless off-axis or transmission experiments are performed. A method is presented by which the in-plane component of the mosaic misorientation can be determined from the rocking curves of substrate normal and off-axis reflections. Results are presented for two crystallographically distinct heteroepitaxial systems, ZnO, AlN, and GaN (wurtzite crystal structure) on c-plane sapphire and MgO (rock salt crystal structure) on (001) GaAs. The differences in the mosaic structure of these films are attributed to the crystallographic nature of their lattice dislocations.

Mosaic-shaped cathode for highly durable solid oxide fuel cell under thermal stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Jong Hoon; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Se Young; Yoo, Chung-Yul; Jung, Doh Won; Park, Hee Jung; Kwak, Chan; Yu, Ji Haeng

2014-02-01

In this study, we propose a novel "mosaic structure" for a SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) cathode with high thermal expansion to improve the stability against thermal stress. Self-organizing mosaic-shaped cathode has been successfully achieved by controlling the amount of binder in the dip-coating solution. The anode-supported cell with mosaic-shaped cathode shows itself to be highly durable performance for rapid thermal cycles, however, the performance of the cell with a non-mosaic cathode exhibits severe deterioration originated from the delamination at the cathode/electrolyte interface after 7 thermal cycles. The thermal stability of an SOFC cathode can be evidently improved by controlling the surface morphology. In view of the importance of the thermal expansion properties of the cathode, the effects of cathode morphology on the thermal stress stability are discussed.

45,X/46,XY Mosaicism and Possible Association With Hypothyroidism in Males.

PubMed

Hojat, Leila; Schweiger, Michelle

2016-06-01

Mosaicism has a wide phenotypic spectrum but frequently manifests as the normal male phenotype. Its association with short stature has been well recognized and appears to respond effectively to growth hormone therapy. We present 2 phenotypically normal males who both initially presented with short stature and were found to have hypothyroidism. They were treated for hypothyroidism but their growth did not improve as expected. Further testing revealed 45,X/46,XY mosaicism in both males. We propose that a potential link exists between 45,X/46,XY mosaicism and hypothyroidism, which has not been previously described in the literature. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to evaluate for other disorders such as 45,X/46,XY mosaicism in young males with short stature and hypothyroidism if their growth does not improve once they become euthyroid. © The Author(s) 2015.

Monitoring boreal ecosystem phenology with integrated active/passive microwave remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McDonald, K. C.; Njoku, E.; Kimball, J.; Running, S.; Thompson, C.; Lee, J. K.

2002-01-01

The important role of the high latitudes in the functioning of global processes is becoming well established. The size and remoteness of arctic and boreal ecosystems, however, pose a challenge to quantification of both terrestrial ecosystem processes and their feedbacks to regional and global climate conditions. Boreal and arctic regions form a complex land cover mosaic where vegetation structure, condition and distribution are strongly regulated by environmental factors such as moisture availability, permafrost, growing season length, disturbance and soil nutrients.

Nursery of Giants

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-13

Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is a stellar nursery called DR21, which is giving birth to some of the most massive stars in our galaxy. Visible light images reveal no trace of this interstellar cauldron because of heavy dust obscuration. In fact, visible light is attenuated in DR21 by a factor of more than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (ten thousand trillion heptillion). New images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope allow us to peek behind the cosmic veil and pinpoint one of the most massive natal stars yet seen in our Milky Way galaxy. The never-before-seen star is 100,000 times as bright as the Sun. Also revealed for the first time is a powerful outflow of hot gas emanating from this star and bursting through a giant molecular cloud. This image is a large-scale mosaic assembled from individual photographs obtained with the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) aboard Spitzer. The image covers an area about two times that of a full moon. The mosaic is a composite of images obtained at mid-infrared wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red). The brightest infrared cloud near the top center corresponds to DR21, which presumably contains a cluster of newly forming stars at a distance of 10,000 light-years. Protruding out from DR21 toward the bottom left of the image is a gaseous outflow (green), containing both carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen. Data from the Spitzer spectrograph, which breaks light into its constituent individual wavelengths, indicate the presence of hot steam formed as the outflow heats the surrounding molecular gas. Outflows are physical signatures of processes that create supersonic beams, or jets, of gas. They are usually accompanied by discs of material around the new star, which likely contain the materials from which future planetary systems are formed. Additional newborn stars, depicted in green, can be seen surrounding the DR21 region. The red filaments stretching across this image denote the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These organic molecules, comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are excited by surrounding interstellar radiation and become luminescent at wavelengths near 8.0 microns. The complex pattern of filaments is caused by an intricate combination of radiation pressure, gravity and magnetic fields. The result is a tapestry in which winds, outflows and turbulence move and shape the interstellar medium. To the lower left of the mosaic is a large bubble of gas and dust, which may represent the remnants of a past generation of stars. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05732

Nursery of Giants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is a stellar nursery called DR21, which is giving birth to some of the most massive stars in our galaxy. Visible light images reveal no trace of this interstellar cauldron because of heavy dust obscuration. In fact, visible light is attenuated in DR21 by a factor of more than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (ten thousand trillion heptillion).

New images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope allow us to peek behind the cosmic veil and pinpoint one of the most massive natal stars yet seen in our Milky Way galaxy. The never-before-seen star is 100,000 times as bright as the Sun. Also revealed for the first time is a powerful outflow of hot gas emanating from this star and bursting through a giant molecular cloud.

This image is a large-scale mosaic assembled from individual photographs obtained with the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) aboard Spitzer. The image covers an area about two times that of a full moon. The mosaic is a composite of images obtained at mid-infrared wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red). The brightest infrared cloud near the top center corresponds to DR21, which presumably contains a cluster of newly forming stars at a distance of 10,000 light-years.

Protruding out from DR21 toward the bottom left of the image is a gaseous outflow (green), containing both carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen. Data from the Spitzer spectrograph, which breaks light into its constituent individual wavelengths, indicate the presence of hot steam formed as the outflow heats the surrounding molecular gas. Outflows are physical signatures of processes that create supersonic beams, or jets, of gas. They are usually accompanied by discs of material around the new star, which likely contain the materials from which future planetary systems are formed. Additional newborn stars, depicted in green, can be seen surrounding the DR21 region.

The red filaments stretching across this image denote the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These organic molecules, comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are excited by surrounding interstellar radiation and become luminescent at wavelengths near 8.0 microns. The complex pattern of filaments is caused by an intricate combination of radiation pressure, gravity and magnetic fields. The result is a tapestry in which winds, outflows and turbulence move and shape the interstellar medium.

To the lower left of the mosaic is a large bubble of gas and dust, which may represent the remnants of a past generation of stars.

Copyright Ownership in a Networked Multimedia Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Vernon E.

1994-01-01

The explosion of computer communications in the United States has spurred the development of many new technologies. One of these new technologies is Mosaic and the World-Wide Web. Mosaic is a user interface that uses the internet as a backbone for communications. The Mosaic interface enables a user to manipulate text, images and graphics produced by different authors. The flexibility that Mosaic offers raises significant copyright issues. This paper attempts to analyze these issues using current copyright law as a framework. The author then goes on to offer a different analysis that may result from future developments in copyright law.

Pre-Columbian agricultural landscapes, ecosystem engineers, and self-organized patchiness in Amazonia.

PubMed

McKey, Doyle; Rostain, Stéphen; Iriarte, José; Glaser, Bruno; Birk, Jago Jonathan; Holst, Irene; Renard, Delphine

2010-04-27

The scale and nature of pre-Columbian human impacts in Amazonia are currently hotly debated. Whereas pre-Columbian people dramatically changed the distribution and abundance of species and habitats in some parts of Amazonia, their impact in other parts is less clear. Pioneer research asked whether their effects reached even further, changing how ecosystems function, but few in-depth studies have examined mechanisms underpinning the resilience of these modifications. Combining archeology, archeobotany, paleoecology, soil science, ecology, and aerial imagery, we show that pre-Columbian farmers of the Guianas coast constructed large raised-field complexes, growing on them crops including maize, manioc, and squash. Farmers created physical and biogeochemical heterogeneity in flat, marshy environments by constructing raised fields. When these fields were later abandoned, the mosaic of well-drained islands in the flooded matrix set in motion self-organizing processes driven by ecosystem engineers (ants, termites, earthworms, and woody plants) that occur preferentially on abandoned raised fields. Today, feedbacks generated by these ecosystem engineers maintain the human-initiated concentration of resources in these structures. Engineer organisms transport materials to abandoned raised fields and modify the structure and composition of their soils, reducing erodibility. The profound alteration of ecosystem functioning in these landscapes coconstructed by humans and nature has important implications for understanding Amazonian history and biodiversity. Furthermore, these landscapes show how sustainability of food-production systems can be enhanced by engineering into them follows that maintain ecosystem services and biodiversity. Like anthropogenic dark earths in forested Amazonia, these self-organizing ecosystems illustrate the ecological complexity of the legacy of pre-Columbian land use.

Pre-Columbian agricultural landscapes, ecosystem engineers, and self-organized patchiness in Amazonia

PubMed Central

McKey, Doyle; Rostain, Stéphen; Iriarte, José; Glaser, Bruno; Birk, Jago Jonathan; Holst, Irene; Renard, Delphine

2010-01-01

The scale and nature of pre-Columbian human impacts in Amazonia are currently hotly debated. Whereas pre-Columbian people dramatically changed the distribution and abundance of species and habitats in some parts of Amazonia, their impact in other parts is less clear. Pioneer research asked whether their effects reached even further, changing how ecosystems function, but few in-depth studies have examined mechanisms underpinning the resilience of these modifications. Combining archeology, archeobotany, paleoecology, soil science, ecology, and aerial imagery, we show that pre-Columbian farmers of the Guianas coast constructed large raised-field complexes, growing on them crops including maize, manioc, and squash. Farmers created physical and biogeochemical heterogeneity in flat, marshy environments by constructing raised fields. When these fields were later abandoned, the mosaic of well-drained islands in the flooded matrix set in motion self-organizing processes driven by ecosystem engineers (ants, termites, earthworms, and woody plants) that occur preferentially on abandoned raised fields. Today, feedbacks generated by these ecosystem engineers maintain the human-initiated concentration of resources in these structures. Engineer organisms transport materials to abandoned raised fields and modify the structure and composition of their soils, reducing erodibility. The profound alteration of ecosystem functioning in these landscapes coconstructed by humans and nature has important implications for understanding Amazonian history and biodiversity. Furthermore, these landscapes show how sustainability of food-production systems can be enhanced by engineering into them fallows that maintain ecosystem services and biodiversity. Like anthropogenic dark earths in forested Amazonia, these self-organizing ecosystems illustrate the ecological complexity of the legacy of pre-Columbian land use. PMID:20385814

Dynamic of Plant Composition and Regeneration following Windthrow in a Temperate Beech Forest

PubMed Central

Mollaei Darabi, Sakineh; Kooch, Yahya; Hosseini, Seyed Mohsen

2014-01-01

The effects of soil pedoturbation (i.e., pit and mound microtopography, PM) on development of herbaceous plant species and woody species regeneration were examined in a temperate beech forest (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in northern Iran. We recorded the vegetation in 20 pairs of disturbed and adjacent undisturbed plots and established a chronosequence of PM ages to study the effect of time since microsite formation on cover percent of herbaceous plants and woody regeneration status. According to our findings, Carex acutiformis L., Sambucus ebulus L., Brachypodium pinnatum L., and Cyclamen coum L. are found only in the PM microsites, whereas the Equisetum ramosissimum L. is recorded only under closed canopy. The coverage percent of Rubus caesius L. increased in PM microsites compared to closed canopy intensively. In addition, Albizia julibrissin Durazz. is detected in PM microsite, whereas the Acer cappadocicum B. and Prunus persica L. species were recorded only under closed canopy. We found significant differences in understory species diversity between different ages of PM, and disturbed and adjacent undisturbed plots. Our study supports that the PM complex will create a mosaic of environmental conditions. This environmental heterogeneity could be responsible for the diversity of herbaceous plant species and regeneration of woody species. PMID:27379260

Panel-based whole exome sequencing identifies novel mutations in microphthalmia and anophthalmia patients showing complex Mendelian inheritance patterns.

PubMed

Riera, Marina; Wert, Ana; Nieto, Isabel; Pomares, Esther

2017-11-01

Microphthalmia and anophthalmia (MA) are congenital eye abnormalities that show an extremely high clinical and genetic complexity. In this study, we evaluated the implementation of whole exome sequencing (WES) for the genetic analysis of MA patients. This approach was used to investigate three unrelated families in which previous single-gene analyses failed to identify the molecular cause. A total of 47 genes previously associated with nonsyndromic MA were included in our panel. WES was performed in one affected patient from each family using the AmpliSeq TM Exome technology and the Ion Proton TM platform. A novel heterozygous OTX2 missense mutation was identified in a patient showing bilateral anophthalmia who inherited the variant from a parent who was a carrier, but showed no sign of the condition. We also describe a new PAX6 missense variant in an autosomal-dominant pedigree affected by mild bilateral microphthalmia showing high intrafamiliar variability, with germline mosaicism determined to be the most plausible molecular cause of the disease. Finally, a heterozygous missense mutation in RBP4 was found to be responsible in an isolated case of bilateral complex microphthalmia. This study highlights that panel-based WES is a reliable and effective strategy for the genetic diagnosis of MA. Furthermore, using this technique, the mutational spectrum of these diseases was broadened, with novel variants identified in each of the OTX2, PAX6, and RBP4 genes. Moreover, we report new cases of reduced penetrance, mosaicism, and variable phenotypic expressivity associated with MA, further demonstrating the heterogeneity of such disorders. © 2017 The Authors. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tri-modal confocal mosaics detect residual invasive squamous cell carcinoma in Mohs surgical excisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gareau, Dan; Bar, Anna; Snaveley, Nicholas; Lee, Ken; Chen, Nathaniel; Swanson, Neil; Simpson, Eric; Jacques, Steve

2012-06-01

For rapid, intra-operative pathological margin assessment to guide staged cancer excisions, multimodal confocal mosaic scan image wide surgical margins (approximately 1 cm) with sub-cellular resolution and mimic the appearance of conventional hematoxylin and eosin histopathology (H&E). The goal of this work is to combine three confocal imaging modes: acridine orange fluorescence (AO) for labeling nuclei, eosin fluorescence (Eo) for labeling cytoplasm, and endogenous reflectance (R) for marking collagen and keratin. Absorption contrast is achieved by alternating the excitation wavelength: 488 nm (AO fluorescence) and 532 nm (Eo fluorescence). Superposition and false-coloring of these modes mimics H&E, enabling detection of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). The sum of mosaic Eo+R is false-colored pink to mimic the appearance of eosin, while the AO mosaic is false-colored purple to mimic the appearance of hematoxylin in H&E. In this study, mosaics of 10 Mohs surgical excisions containing invasive SCC, and five containing only normal tissue were subdivided for digital presentation equivalent to 4× histology. Of the total 50 SCC and 25 normal sub-mosaics presented, two reviewers made two and three type-2 errors (false positives), respectively. Limitations to precisely mimic H&E included occasional elastin staining by AO. These results suggest that confocal mosaics may effectively guide staged SCC excisions in skin and other tissues.

Tri-modal confocal mosaics detect residual invasive squamous cell carcinoma in Mohs surgical excisions

PubMed Central

Bar, Anna; Snaveley, Nicholas; Lee, Ken; Chen, Nathaniel; Swanson, Neil; Simpson, Eric; Jacques, Steve

2012-01-01

Abstract. For rapid, intra-operative pathological margin assessment to guide staged cancer excisions, multimodal confocal mosaic scan image wide surgical margins (approximately 1 cm) with sub-cellular resolution and mimic the appearance of conventional hematoxylin and eosin histopathology (H&E). The goal of this work is to combine three confocal imaging modes: acridine orange fluorescence (AO) for labeling nuclei, eosin fluorescence (Eo) for labeling cytoplasm, and endogenous reflectance (R) for marking collagen and keratin. Absorption contrast is achieved by alternating the excitation wavelength: 488 nm (AO fluorescence) and 532 nm (Eo fluorescence). Superposition and false-coloring of these modes mimics H&E, enabling detection of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). The sum of mosaic Eo+R is false-colored pink to mimic the appearance of eosin, while the AO mosaic is false-colored purple to mimic the appearance of hematoxylin in H&E. In this study, mosaics of 10 Mohs surgical excisions containing invasive SCC, and five containing only normal tissue were subdivided for digital presentation equivalent to 4× histology. Of the total 50 SCC and 25 normal sub-mosaics presented, two reviewers made two and three type-2 errors (false positives), respectively. Limitations to precisely mimic H&E included occasional elastin staining by AO. These results suggest that confocal mosaics may effectively guide staged SCC excisions in skin and other tissues. PMID:22734774

Peculiarities of the irisation in precious opals in view of their mosaic-cluster (frustumation) inner fabric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Povarennykh, M. Yu.; Knot'ko, A. V.; Matvienko, E. N.; Plechov, P. Yu.; Burmistrov, A. A.; Luksha, V. L.

2016-04-01

A direct correlation was shown for the first time between mosaic irisation patterns in synthetic and natural precious opals (from Australia, Ethiopia, Honduras, Slovakia, and Russia) and their frustumational (lump or mosaic-cluster) inner structure by means of photoluminescence, X-ray phase analysis, IR and Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.

Evaluation of the tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) CIAT germplasm collection for response to common bacterial blight and bean common mosaic necrosis virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aphid-transmitted Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis Virus (BCMNV) and Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) are potyvirus that cause production losses in common and tepary beans. Developing resistance to viruses, specifically BCMV, BCMNV and BGYMV, will be critical for expanding tepary bean production. This stu...

Error Estimation Techniques to Refine Overlapping Aerial Image Mosaic Processes via Detected Parameters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bond, William Glenn

2012-01-01

In this paper, I propose to demonstrate a means of error estimation preprocessing in the assembly of overlapping aerial image mosaics. The mosaic program automatically assembles several hundred aerial images from a data set by aligning them, via image registration using a pattern search method, onto a GIS grid. The method presented first locates…

40 CFR 180.1279 - Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. 180.1279 Section 180.1279 Protection of... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1279 Zucchini yellow mosaic virus—weak...

40 CFR 180.1279 - Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. 180.1279 Section 180.1279 Protection of... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1279 Zucchini yellow mosaic virus—weak...

40 CFR 180.1279 - Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. 180.1279 Section 180.1279 Protection of... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1279 Zucchini yellow mosaic virus—weak...

40 CFR 180.1279 - Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. 180.1279 Section 180.1279 Protection of... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1279 Zucchini yellow mosaic virus—weak...

40 CFR 180.1279 - Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Zucchini yellow mosaic virus-weak strain; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. 180.1279 Section 180.1279 Protection of... PESTICIDE CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD Exemptions From Tolerances § 180.1279 Zucchini yellow mosaic virus—weak...

Mosaic Stunting in jack pine seedlings in a northern Michigan bareroot nursery

Treesearch

Lynette Potvin; R. Kasten Dumroese; Martin F. Jurgensen; Dana Richter

2010-01-01

Mosaic, or patchy, stunting of bareroot conifer seedlings is thought to be caused by deficiencies of mycorrhizal fungi following fumigation, resulting in reduced nutrient uptake, particularly phosphorus. Mosaic stunting of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) seedlings was observed in 2005 at the USDA Forest Service JW Toumey Nursery in Watersmeet, MI. We initiated a study to...

Relationships between early spring wheat streak mosaic severity levels and grain yield: Implications for management decisions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wheat streak mosaic (WSM) caused by Wheat streak mosaic virus, which is transmitted by the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella), is a major yield-limiting disease in the Texas High Plains. In addition to its impact on grain production, the disease reduces water-use efficiency by affecting root develo...

Tracking Changes in Dissolved Organic Matter Patterns in Perennial Headwater Streams Throughout a Hydrologic Year Using In-situ Sensors and Optical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armstrong, A.; Epting, S.; Hosen, J. D.; Palmer, M.

2015-12-01

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a central role in freshwater streams but key questions remain unanswered about temporal patterns in its quantity and composition. DOM in perennial streams in the temperate zone is a complex mixture reflecting a variety of sources such as leached plant material, organic matter from surrounding soils, and microbial processes in the streams themselves. Headwater perennial streams in the Tuckahoe Creek watershed of the Atlantic coastal plain (Maryland, USA) drain a mosaic of land cover types including row crops, forests, and both forested and marshy small depressional wetlands. Wetland-stream surface hydrologic connections generally occur between mid-fall and late spring, coinciding with peak wetland hydrologic expression (i.e. highest groundwater levels and surface inundation extent). When inundated, these wetlands contain high DOM concentrations, and surface connections may serve as conduits for downstream export. We hypothesized that changes in wetland-stream surface hydrologic connectivity would affect patterns of DOM concentration and composition in these streams. We deployed 6 sondes equipped with fluorescent DOM sensors in 4 perennial streams, 1 forested wetland, and the larger downstream channel draining all study sites for the 2015 water year. The 4 headwater streams drain areas containing forested wetlands and have documented temporary channel connections. Combined with baseflow and stormflow sampling, the sondes provided 15 minute estimates of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. This resolution provided insights into patterns of DOC concentration across temporal scales from daily rhythms to seasonal changes, during both baseflow and storm conditions. Discrete measurements of absorbance and fluorescence provided information about DOM composition throughout the study. Together these measurements give a detailed record of DOM dynamics in multiple perennial headwater streams for an entire year. This information could inform future studies, such as investigations into stream network scale thresholds in DOM cycling, carbon cycling modelling for the study region, or understanding the impact of wetlands sometimes considered geographically isolated on downstream ecosystems.

Comparing Bioenergy Production Sites in the Southeastern US Regarding Ecosystem Service Supply and Demand

PubMed Central

Meyer, Markus A.; Chand, Tanzila; Priess, Joerg A.

2015-01-01

Biomass for bioenergy is debated for its potential synergies or tradeoffs with other provisioning and regulating ecosystem services (ESS). This biomass may originate from different production systems and may be purposefully grown or obtained from residues. Increased concerns globally about the sustainable production of biomass for bioenergy has resulted in numerous certification schemes focusing on best management practices, mostly operating at the plot/field scale. In this study, we compare the ESS of two watersheds in the southeastern US. We show the ESS tradeoffs and synergies of plantation forestry, i.e., pine poles, and agricultural production, i.e., wheat straw and corn stover, with the counterfactual natural or semi-natural forest in both watersheds. The plantation forestry showed less distinct tradeoffs than did corn and wheat production, i.e., for carbon storage, P and sediment retention, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity. Using indicators of landscape composition and configuration, we showed that landscape planning can affect the overall ESS supply and can partly determine if locally set environmental thresholds are being met. Indicators on landscape composition, configuration and naturalness explained more than 30% of the variation in ESS supply. Landscape elements such as largely connected forest patches or more complex agricultural patches, e.g., mosaics with shrub and grassland patches, may enhance ESS supply in both of the bioenergy production systems. If tradeoffs between biomass production and other ESS are not addressed by landscape planning, it may be reasonable to include rules in certification schemes that require, e.g., the connectivity of natural or semi-natural forest patches in plantation forestry or semi-natural landscape elements in agricultural production systems. Integrating indicators on landscape configuration and composition into certification schemes is particularly relevant considering that certification schemes are governance tools used to ensure comparable sustainability standards for biomass produced in countries with variable or absent legal frameworks for landscape planning. PMID:25768660

THEMIS Global Mosaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelick, N. S.; Christensen, P. R.

2005-12-01

We have developed techniques to make seamless, controlled global mosaics from the more than 50,000 multi-spectral infrared images of the Mars returned by the THEMIS instrument aboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. These images cover more than 95% of the surface at 100m/pixel resolution at both day and night local times. Uncertainties in the position and pointing of the spacecraft, varying local time, and imaging artifacts make creating well-registered mosaics from these datasets a challenging task. In preparation for making global mosaics, many full-resolution regional mosaics have been made. These mosaics typically cover an area 10x10 degrees or smaller, and are constructed from only a few hundred images. To make regional mosaics, individual images are geo-rectified using the USGS ISIS software. This dead-reckoning is sufficient to approximate position to within 400m in cases where the SPICE information was downlinked. Further coregistration of images is handled in two ways: grayscale differences minimization in overlapping regions through integer pixel shifting, or through automatic tie-point generation using a radial symmetry transformation (RST). The RST identifies points within an image that exhibit 4-way symmetry. Martian craters tend to to be very radially symmetric, and the RST can pin-point a crater center to sub-pixel accuracy in both daytime and nighttime images, independent of lighting, time of day, or seasonal effects. Additionally, the RST works well on visible-light images, and in a 1D application, on MOLA tracks, to provide precision tie-points across multiple data sets. The RST often finds many points of symmetry that aren't related to surface features. These "false-hits" are managed using a clustering algorithm that identifies constellations of points that occur in multiple images, independent of scaling or other affine transformations. This technique is able to make use of data in which the "good" tie-points comprise even less than 1% of total candidate tie-points. Once tie-points have been identified, the individual images are warped into their final shape and position, and then mosaiced and blended. To make seamless mosaics, each image can be level adjusted to normalize its values using histogram-fitting, but in most cases a linear contrast stretch to a fixed standard deviation is sufficient, although it destroys the absolute radiometry of the mosaic. For very large mosaics, using a high-pass/low-pass separation, and blending the two pieces separately before recombining them has also provided positive results.

Perspectives for induced pluripotent stem cell technology: new insights into human physiology involved in somatic mosaicism.

PubMed

Nagata, Naoki; Yamanaka, Shinya

2014-01-31

Induced pluripotent stem cell technology makes in vitro reprogramming of somatic cells from individuals with various genetic backgrounds possible. By applying this technology, it is possible to produce pluripotent stem cells from biopsy samples of arbitrarily selected individuals with various genetic backgrounds and to subsequently maintain, expand, and stock these cells. From these induced pluripotent stem cells, target cells and tissues can be generated after certain differentiation processes. These target cells/tissues are expected to be useful in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, drug screening, toxicology testing, and proof-of-concept studies in drug development. Therefore, the number of publications concerning induced pluripotent stem cells has recently been increasing rapidly, demonstrating that this technology has begun to infiltrate many aspects of stem cell biology and medical applications. In this review, we discuss the perspectives of induced pluripotent stem cell technology for modeling human diseases. In particular, we focus on the cloning event occurring through the reprogramming process and its ability to let us analyze the development of complex disease-harboring somatic mosaicism.

The Effect of TIMP-1 on the Cone Mosaic in the Retina of the Rat Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa

PubMed Central

Ji, Yerina; Yu, Wan-Qing; Eom, Yun Sung; Bruce, Farouk; Craft, Cheryl Mae; Grzywacz, Norberto M.; Lee, Eun-Jin

2015-01-01

Purpose. The array of photoreceptors found in normal retinas provides uniform and regular sampling of the visual space. In contrast, cones in retinas of the S334ter-line-3 rat model for RP migrate to form a mosaic of rings, leaving large holes with few or no photoreceptors. Similar mosaics appear in human patients with other forms of retinal dystrophy. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) on the mosaic of cones in S334ter-line-3 rat retinas. We focused on TIMP-1 because it is one of the regulators of the extracellular matrix important for cellular migration. Methods. Immunohistochemistry was performed to reveal M-opsin cone cells (M-cone) and the results were quantified to test statistically whether or not TIMP-1 restores the mosaics to normal. In particular, the tests focused on the Voronoi and nearest-neighbor distance analyses. Results. Our tests indicated that TIMP-1 led to significant disruption of the M-opsin cone rings in S334ter-line-3 rat retinas and resulted in almost complete homogeneous mosaics. In addition, TIMP-1 induced the M-cone spatial distribution to become closer to random with decreased regularity in S334ter-line-3 rat retinas. Conclusions. These findings confirm that TIMP-1 induced M-cone mosaics in S334ter-line-3 to gain homogeneity without reaching the degree of regularity seen in normal retinal mosaics. Even if TIMP-1 fails to promote regularity, the effects of this drug on homogeneity appear to be so dramatic that TIMP-1 may be a potential therapeutic agent. TIMP-1 improves sampling of the visual field simply by causing homogeneity. PMID:25515575

Calibrated Color and Albedo Maps of Mercury

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, M. S.; Lucey, P. G.

1996-03-01

In order to determine the albedo and color of the mercurian surface, we are completing calibrated mosaics of Mariner 10 image data. A set of clear filter mosaics is being compiled in such a way as to maximize the signal-to-noise-ratio of the data and to allow for a quantitative measure of the precision of the data on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Three major imaging sequences of Mercury were acquired by Mariner 10: incoming first encounter (centered at 20S, 2E), outgoing first encounter (centered at 20N, 175E), and southern hemisphere second encounter (centered at 40S, 100E). For each sequence we are making separate mosaics for each camera (A and B) in order to have independent measurements. For each mosaic, regions of overlap from frame-to-frame are being averaged and the attendant standard deviations are being calculated. Due to the highly redundant nature of the data, each pixel in each mosaic will be an average calculated from 1-10 images. Each mosaic will have a corresponding standard deviation and n (number of measurements) map. A final mosaic will be created by averaging the six independent mosaics. This procedure lessens the effects of random noise and calibration residuals. From these data an albedo map will be produced using an improved photometric function for the Moon. A similar procedure is being followed for the lower resolution color sequences (ultraviolet, blue, orange, ultraviolet polarized). These data will be calibrated to absolute units through comparison of Mariner 10 images acquired of the Moon and Jupiter. Spectral interpretation of these new color and albedo maps will be presented with an emphasis on comparison with the Moon.

Low-level APC mutational mosaicism is the underlying cause in a substantial fraction of unexplained colorectal adenomatous polyposis cases.

PubMed

Spier, Isabel; Drichel, Dmitriy; Kerick, Martin; Kirfel, Jutta; Horpaopan, Sukanya; Laner, Andreas; Holzapfel, Stefanie; Peters, Sophia; Adam, Ronja; Zhao, Bixiao; Becker, Tim; Lifton, Richard P; Perner, Sven; Hoffmann, Per; Kristiansen, Glen; Timmermann, Bernd; Nöthen, Markus M; Holinski-Feder, Elke; Schweiger, Michal R; Aretz, Stefan

2016-03-01

In 30-50% of patients with colorectal adenomatous polyposis, no germline mutation in the known genes APC, causing familial adenomatous polyposis, MUTYH, causing MUTYH-associated polyposis, or POLE or POLD1, causing polymerase-proofreading-associated polyposis can be identified, although a hereditary aetiology is likely. This study aimed to explore the impact of APC mutational mosaicism in unexplained polyposis. To comprehensively screen for somatic low-level APC mosaicism, high-coverage next-generation sequencing of the APC gene was performed using DNA from leucocytes and a total of 53 colorectal tumours from 20 unrelated patients with unexplained sporadic adenomatous polyposis. APC mosaicism was assumed if the same loss-of-function APC mutation was present in ≥ 2 anatomically separated colorectal adenomas/carcinomas per patient. All mutations were validated using diverse methods. In 25% (5/20) of patients, somatic mosaicism of a pathogenic APC mutation was identified as underlying cause of the disease. In 2/5 cases, the mosaic level in leucocyte DNA was slightly below the sensitivity threshold of Sanger sequencing; while in 3/5 cases, the allelic fraction was either very low (0.1-1%) or no mutations were detectable. The majority of mosaic mutations were located outside the somatic mutation cluster region of the gene. The present data indicate a high prevalence of pathogenic mosaic APC mutations below the detection thresholds of routine diagnostics in adenomatous polyposis, even if high-coverage sequencing of leucocyte DNA alone is taken into account. This has important implications for both routine work-up and strategies to identify new causative genes in this patient group. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Recent advances in the study of somatic mosaicism and diseases other than cancer.

PubMed

Erickson, Robert P

2014-06-01

Somatic mosaicism is well appreciated as a cause of cancer and, possibly, aging. Somatic mosaicism as the cause of other diseases is becoming more appreciated. It is especially important in the causation of deforming diseases (e.g., Proteus syndrome; Sturge-Weber syndrome) which are not inherited because early developmental expression is lethal. It also known to make an important contribution to neurological, dermatological, hematological and other diseases (and probably all diseases but many in which it is harder to detect). There have been exciting recent advances in the detection of somatic mosaicism. In particular, for many diseases of somatic overgrowth in which somatic mosaicism as the sole cause was predicted, the gene somatically mutated has been found. A limited number of pathways seem involved in these disorders, some of which are also implicated in cancer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Replication of pea enation mosaic virus RNA in isolated pea nuclei

PubMed Central

Powell, C. A.; Zoeten, G. A. de

1977-01-01

Isolated nuclei from healthy pea plants were primed with pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV), southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV), radish mosaic virus (RdMV), tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), PEMV RNA, SBMV RNA, RdMV RNA, or TMV RNA. RNA replication occurred only with PEMV RNA and not with intact PEMV or any of the other viruses or RNAs, as judged by ensuing actinomycin D-insensitive polymerase activity. Molecular hybridization experiments showed that some of the product of the polymerase was PEMV-specific (-)RNA. The substrate and ionic requirements of this polymerase were the same as those for the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase present in nuclei isolated from PEMV-infected pea plants. No virus particles could be recovered from nuclei primed with PEMV RNA. These results are discussed in relation to the possible mechanism for in vivo infection of pea cells. PMID:16592421

Mosaic vaccines elicit CD8+ T cell responses in monkeys that confer immune coverage of diverse HIV strains

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

Fischer, Will; Korber, Bette

2009-01-01

Creation of a successful HIV vaccine will require the development of a strategy to generate cellular immunity with sufficient cross-clade breadth to deal with the extreme genetic diversity of the virus. Polyvalent mosaic immunogens derived from in silica recombination of natural strains of HIV are designed to induce cellular immune responses that maximally cover the sequence diversity of circulating virus isolates. Immunization of rhesus monkeys with plasmid DNA and recombinant vaccinia virus vaccine constructs expressing either consensus immunogens or polyvalent mosaic immunogens elicited a CD4+ T lymphocyte-biased response with comparably broad epitope-specific total T lymphocyte specificities. However, immunization with themore » mosaic immunogens induced HIV-specific CD8+ T lymphocyte responses with markedly greater depth and breadth. Therefore, the use of polyvalent mosaic immunogens is a promising strategy for a global vaccine for HIV.« less

Preparing for Themis Controlled Global Mars Mosaics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Archinal, B. A.; Weller, L.; Sides, S.; Cushing, G.; Kirk, R. L.; Soderblom, L. A.; Duxbury, T. C.

2004-01-01

We have begun work to prepare for producing controlled 2001 Mars Odyssey THEMIS infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) global mosaics of Mars. This effort is being coordinated with colleagues from Arizona State University and on the THEMIS team who plan to address radiometric issues in making such mosaics. We are concentrating on geometric issues. Several areas of investigation are now in progress, including: a) characterizing the absolute pointing accuracy of THEMIS images; b) investigating whether automatic tie point matching algorithms could be used to provide connections between overlapping THEMIS images; c) developing algorithms to allow for the photogrammetric (bundle) adjustment of the THEMIS IR (line scanner) camera images. Our primary goal in this pilot study effort will be to make several test control THEMIS mosaics and better determine which methods could be used, which require development, and what level of effort is required, in order to make large regional or global controlled THEMIS mosaics.

The steady-state mosaic of disturbance and succession across an old-growth Central Amazon forest landscape.

PubMed

Chambers, Jeffrey Q; Negron-Juarez, Robinson I; Marra, Daniel Magnabosco; Di Vittorio, Alan; Tews, Joerg; Roberts, Dar; Ribeiro, Gabriel H P M; Trumbore, Susan E; Higuchi, Niro

2013-03-05

Old-growth forest ecosystems comprise a mosaic of patches in different successional stages, with the fraction of the landscape in any particular state relatively constant over large temporal and spatial scales. The size distribution and return frequency of disturbance events, and subsequent recovery processes, determine to a large extent the spatial scale over which this old-growth steady state develops. Here, we characterize this mosaic for a Central Amazon forest by integrating field plot data, remote sensing disturbance probability distribution functions, and individual-based simulation modeling. Results demonstrate that a steady state of patches of varying successional age occurs over a relatively large spatial scale, with important implications for detecting temporal trends on plots that sample a small fraction of the landscape. Long highly significant stochastic runs averaging 1.0 Mg biomass⋅ha(-1)⋅y(-1) were often punctuated by episodic disturbance events, resulting in a sawtooth time series of hectare-scale tree biomass. To maximize the detection of temporal trends for this Central Amazon site (e.g., driven by CO2 fertilization), plots larger than 10 ha would provide the greatest sensitivity. A model-based analysis of fractional mortality across all gap sizes demonstrated that 9.1-16.9% of tree mortality was missing from plot-based approaches, underscoring the need to combine plot and remote-sensing methods for estimating net landscape carbon balance. Old-growth tropical forests can exhibit complex large-scale structure driven by disturbance and recovery cycles, with ecosystem and community attributes of hectare-scale plots exhibiting continuous dynamic departures from a steady-state condition.

Complex mosaic CDKL5 deletion with two distinct mutant alleles in a 4-year-old girl.

PubMed

Boutry-Kryza, Nadia; Ville, Dorothée; Labalme, Audrey; Calender, Alain; Dupont, Jean-Michel; Touraine, Renaud; Edery, Patrick; des Portes, Vincent; Sanlaville, Damien; Lesca, Gaetan

2014-08-01

Mutations of the CDKL5 gene cause early epileptic encephalopathy. Patients manifest refractory epilepsy, beginning before the age of 3 months, which is associated with severe psychomotor delay and features that overlap with Rett syndrome. We report here a patient with mosaicism for CDKL5 exonic deletion, with the presence of two mutant alleles. The affected 4-year-old girl presented with infantile spasms, beginning at the age of 9 months, but subsequent progression of the disease was consistent with the classical CDKL5-related phenotype. A deletion of exons 17 and 18 was suspected on the basis of Multiplex Ligation Probe Amplification analysis, but unexpected results for cDNA analysis, which showed the presence of an abnormal transcript with the deletion of exon 18 only, led us to suspect that two distinct events might have occurred. We used custom array-CGH to determine the size and breakpoints of these deletions. Exon 18 was deleted from one of the abnormal alleles, and exon 17 was deleted from the other. A Fork Stalling and Template Switching (FoSTeS) mechanism was proposed to explain the two events, given the presence of regions of microhomology at the breakpoints. We propose here an original involvement of the FoSTeS mechanism to explain the co-occurrence of these two events in the CDKL5 gene in a single patient. This patient highlights the difficulties involved in the detection of such abnormalities, particularly when they occur in a mosaic state and involve two distinct mutational events in a single gene. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Morphology and growth pattern of Amazon deep-sea fan: a computer-processed GLORIA side-scan mosaic

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

Flood, R.D.; Damuth, J.E.

1984-04-01

Deep-sea fans have become increasingly important targets for exploration because of their favorable facies associations. A better understanding of deep-sea fans is needed to successfully exploit these complex sediment bodies. Recent studies of the Amazon fan, using long-range side-scan sonar (GLORIA) and single-channel seismic data, provide an overall view of channel patterns of this fan and demonstrate the relationship between successive channel/levee systems. The digitally collected GLORIA data have been computer processed to produce a mosaic of the fan. Computer processing has corrected the records for slant range and ship navigation, and targets have been enhanced. Many features of themore » modern fan system are readily apparent on the sonar mosaic. The 1.5 to 0.5-km (5000 to 1600-ft) wide channels meander intensely across the fan with sinuosities up to 2.5. Because of these meanders, the channel gradients decrease regularly across the fan despite changes in regional slope. Other channel-related targets include cutoff meanders, overbank deposits (especially small debris flows), and channel branchings. Other debris flows cover large areas of the fan and override channel/levee systems. Air-gun records show that this fan is built of a series of channel/levee systems that overlay one another. Channels from at least 6 of these systems are visible at the surface now, but apparently only one channel at a time has been active. The length of time needed to build a single channel/levee system is not known, but it appears to be rapid.« less

Sonograph mosaic of northern California and southern Oregon Exclusive Economic Zone

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

Cacchione, D.A.; Drake, D.E.; Clarke, S.H.

1985-02-01

During June 15 to July 9, 1984, the third leg of the cooperative US Geological Survey-Institute of Oceanographic Sciences GLORIA survey of the conterminous US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) collected digital acoustic data off northern California and southern Oregon. The region covered during leg 3 extends from the 200-m isobath westward to the 375-km (200-nmi) EEZ boundary and from about 39/sup 0/ to 43/sup 0/N. The survey used the IOS GLORIA long-range side-scan sonar, a 2-channel airgun seismic reflection system, and 3.5 kHz and 10 kHz high-resolution seismic systems. The GLORIA data were collected in a pattern that permitted overlappingmore » coverage so that a mosaic of the sonographs could be constructed. These sonographs were slant-range and anamorphically corrected aboard ship, and a mosaic was constructed at a scale of 1:375,000. Among the most striking geomorphic features revealed in this segment of the EEZ is the Mendocino transform fault, which extends for more than 120 nmi along the northern base of the Mendocino fracture zone and delineates the southern boundary of the Gorda plate. Other features clearly revealed are the complex geometry of the Gorda rift valley, and the subparallel flanking ridges and dramatically deformed base of the continental slope at the eastern boundary of the Gorda plate. The data are presently being processed by image analytical techniques to enhance the fine-scale features such as sediment waves, slumps, and areas of differing sedimentary facies.« less

Retrieval of forest biomass for tropical deciduous mixed forest using ALOS PALSAR mosaic imagery and field plot data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ningthoujam, Ramesh K.; Joshi, P. K.; Roy, P. S.

2018-07-01

Tropical forest is an important ecosystem rich in biodiversity and structural complexity with high woody biomass content. Longer wavelength radar data at L-band sensor provides improved forest biomass (AGB) information due to its higher penetration level and sensitivity to canopy structure. The study presents a regression based woody biomass estimation for tropical deciduous mixed forest dominated by Shorea robusta using ALOS PALSAR mosaic (HH, HV) and field data at the lower Himalayan belt of Northern India. For the purpose of understanding the scattering mechanisms at L-band from this forest type, Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering model (MIMICS-I) was parameterized with field data to simulate backscatter across polarization and incidence range. Regression analysis between field measured forest biomass and L-band backscatter data from PALSAR mosaic show retrieval of woody biomass up to 100 Mg ha-1 with error between 92 and 94 Mg ha-1 and coefficient of determination (r2) between 0.53 and 0.55 for HH and HH + HV polarized channel at 0.25 ha resolution. This positive relationship could be due to strong volume scattering from ground/trunk interaction at HH-polarized while in combination with direct canopy scattering for HV-polarization at ALOS specific incidence angles as predicted by MIMICS-I model. This study has found that L-band SAR data from currently ALOS-1/-2 and upcoming joint NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) are suitable for mapping forest biomass ≤100 Mg ha-1 at 25 m resolution in far incidence range in dense deciduous mixed forest of Northern India.

Comparing potential recharge estimates from three Land Surface Models across the Western US

PubMed Central

NIRAULA, REWATI; MEIXNER, THOMAS; AJAMI, HOORI; RODELL, MATTHEW; GOCHIS, DAVID; CASTRO, CHRISTOPHER L.

2018-01-01

Groundwater is a major source of water in the western US. However, there are limited recharge estimates available in this region due to the complexity of recharge processes and the challenge of direct observations. Land surface Models (LSMs) could be a valuable tool for estimating current recharge and projecting changes due to future climate change. In this study, simulations of three LSMs (Noah, Mosaic and VIC) obtained from the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2) are used to estimate potential recharge in the western US. Modeled recharge was compared with published recharge estimates for several aquifers in the region. Annual recharge to precipitation ratios across the study basins varied from 0.01–15% for Mosaic, 3.2–42% for Noah, and 6.7–31.8% for VIC simulations. Mosaic consistently underestimates recharge across all basins. Noah captures recharge reasonably well in wetter basins, but overestimates it in drier basins. VIC slightly overestimates recharge in drier basins and slightly underestimates it for wetter basins. While the average annual recharge values vary among the models, the models were consistent in identifying high and low recharge areas in the region. Models agree in seasonality of recharge occurring dominantly during the spring across the region. Overall, our results highlight that LSMs have the potential to capture the spatial and temporal patterns as well as seasonality of recharge at large scales. Therefore, LSMs (specifically VIC and Noah) can be used as a tool for estimating future recharge rates in data limited regions. PMID:29618845

Does avian species richness in natural patch mosaics follow the forest fragmentation paradigm?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pavlacky, D.C.; Anderson, S.H.

2007-01-01

As one approaches the north-eastern limit of pinyon (Pinus spp.) juniper (Juniperus spp.) vegetation on the Colorado Plateau, USA, woodland patches become increasingly disjunct, grading into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-dominated landscapes. Patterns of avian species richness in naturally heterogeneous forests may or may not respond to patch discontinuity in the same manner as bird assemblages in fragmented agricultural systems. We used observational data from naturally patchy woodlands and predictions derived from studies of human-modified agricultural forests to estimate the effects of patch area, shape, isolation and distance to contiguous woodland on avian species richness. We predicted that patterns of species richness in naturally patchy juniper woodlands would differ from those observed in fragmented agricultural systems. Our objectives were to (1) estimate the effect of naturally occurring patch structure on avian species richness with respect to habitat affinity and migratory strategy and (2) assess the concordance of the effects to predictions from agricultural forest systems. We used the analogy between populations and communities to estimate species richness, where species are treated as individuals in the application of traditional capture-recapture theory. Information-theoretic model selection showed that overall species richness was explained primarily by the species area relationship. There was some support for a model with greater complexity than the equilibrium theory of island biogeography where the isolation of large patches resulted in greater species richness. Species richness of woodland-dwelling birds was best explained by the equilibrium hypothesis with partial landscape complementation by open-country species in isolated patches. Species richness within specific migratory strategies showed concomitant increases and no shifts in species composition along the patch area gradient. Our results indicate that many patterns of species richness considered to be fragmentation effects may be general consequences of patch discontinuity and are ubiquitous in naturally heterogeneous systems. There was no evidence for the effects of patch shape and distance to contiguous woodland in juniper woodland, suggesting edge effects and dependence upon regional species pools are characteristics of fragmented agricultural systems. Natural patch mosaics may provide benchmarks for evaluating fragmentation effects and managing forests by mimicking natural landscape patterns. ?? 2007 The Zoological Society of London.

The floodplain food web mosaic: a study of its importance to salmon and steelhead with implications for their recovery

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bellmore, J. Ryan; Baxter, Colden V.; Martens, Kyle; Connolly, Patrick J.

2013-01-01

Although numerous studies have attempted to place species of interest within the context of food webs, such efforts have generally occurred at small scales or disregard potentially important spatial heterogeneity. If food web approaches are to be employed to manage species, studies are needed that evaluate the multiple habitats and associated webs of interactions in which these species participate. Here, we quantify the food webs that sustain rearing salmon and steelhead within a floodplain landscape of the Methow River, Washington, USA, a location where restoration has been proposed to restore side channels in an attempt to recover anadromous fishes. We combined year-long measures of production, food demand, and diet composition for the fish assemblage with estimates of invertebrate prey productivity to quantify food webs within the main channel and five different, intact, side channels; ranging from channels that remained connected to the main channel at low flow to those reduced to floodplain ponds. Although we found that habitats within the floodplain had similar invertebrate prey production, these habitats hosted different local food webs. In the main channel, 95% of total prey consumption flowed to fishes that are not the target of proposed restoration. These fishes consumed 64% and 47% of the prey resources that were found to be important to fueling chinook and steelhead production in the main channel, respectively. Conversely, in side channels, a greater proportion of prey was consumed by anadromous salmonids. As a result, carrying capacity estimates based on food were 251% higher, on average, for anadromous salmonids in side channels than the main channel. However, salmon and steelhead production was generally well below estimated capacity in both the main and side channels, suggesting these habitats are under-seeded with respect to food, and that much larger populations could be supported. Overall, this study demonstrates that floodplain heterogeneity is associated with the occurrence of a mosaic of food webs, all of which were utilized by anadromous salmonids, and all of which may be important to their recovery and persistence. In the long term, these and other fishes would likely benefit from restoring the processes that maintain floodplain complexity.

Mobility and generation of mosaic non-autonomous transposons by Tn3-derived inverted-repeat miniature elements (TIMEs).

PubMed

Szuplewska, Magdalena; Ludwiczak, Marta; Lyzwa, Katarzyna; Czarnecki, Jakub; Bartosik, Dariusz

2014-01-01

Functional transposable elements (TEs) of several Pseudomonas spp. strains isolated from black shale ore of Lubin mine and from post-flotation tailings of Zelazny Most in Poland, were identified using a positive selection trap plasmid strategy. This approach led to the capture and characterization of (i) 13 insertion sequences from 5 IS families (IS3, IS5, ISL3, IS30 and IS1380), (ii) isoforms of two Tn3-family transposons--Tn5563a and Tn4662a (the latter contains a toxin-antitoxin system), as well as (iii) non-autonomous TEs of diverse structure, ranging in size from 262 to 3892 bp. The non-autonomous elements transposed into AT-rich DNA regions and generated 5- or 6-bp sequence duplications at the target site of transposition. Although these TEs lack a transposase gene, they contain homologous 38-bp-long terminal inverted repeat sequences (IRs), highly conserved in Tn5563a and many other Tn3-family transposons. The simplest elements of this type, designated TIMEs (Tn3 family-derived Inverted-repeat Miniature Elements) (262 bp), were identified within two natural plasmids (pZM1P1 and pLM8P2) of Pseudomonas spp. It was demonstrated that TIMEs are able to mobilize segments of plasmid DNA for transposition, which results in the generation of more complex non-autonomous elements, resembling IS-driven composite transposons in structure. Such transposon-like elements may contain different functional genetic modules in their core regions, including plasmid replication systems. Another non-autonomous element "captured" with a trap plasmid was a TIME derivative containing a predicted resolvase gene and a res site typical for many Tn3-family transposons. The identification of a portable site-specific recombination system is another intriguing example confirming the important role of non-autonomous TEs of the TIME family in shuffling genetic information in bacterial genomes. Transposition of such mosaic elements may have a significant impact on diversity and evolution, not only of transposons and plasmids, but also of other types of mobile genetic elements.

Effects of dams and geomorphic context on riparian forests of the Elwha River, Washington

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shafroth, Patrick B.; Perry, Laura G; Rose, Chanoane A; Braatne, Jeffrey H

2016-01-01

Understanding how dams affect the shifting habitat mosaic of river bottomlands is key for protecting the many ecological functions and related goods and services that riparian forests provide and for informing approaches to riparian ecosystem restoration. We examined the downstream effects of two large dams on patterns of forest composition, structure, and dynamics within different geomorphic contexts and compared them to upstream reference conditions along the Elwha River, Washington, USA. Patterns of riparian vegetation in river segments downstream of the dams were driven largely by channel and bottomland geomorphic responses to a dramatically reduced sediment supply. The river segment upstream of both dams was the most geomorphically dynamic, whereas the segment between the dams was the least dynamic due to substantial channel armoring, and the segment downstream of both dams was intermediate due to some local sediment supply. These geomorphic differences were linked to altered characteristics of the shifting habitat mosaic, including older forest age structure and fewer young Populus balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa stands in the relatively static segment between the dams compared to more extensive early-successional forests (dominated by Alnus rubra and Salix spp.) and pioneer seedling recruitment upstream of the dams. Species composition of later-successional forest communities varied among river segments as well, with greater Pseudotsuga menziesii and Tsuga heterophylla abundance upstream of both dams, Acer spp. abundance between the dams, and P. balsamifera subsp. trichocarpa and Thuja plicata abundance below both dams. Riparian forest responses to the recent removal of the two dams on the Elwha River will depend largely on channel and geomorphic adjustments to the release, transport, and deposition of the large volume of sediment formerly stored in the reservoirs, together with changes in large wood dynamics.

Brain scaling in mammalian evolution as a consequence of concerted and mosaic changes in numbers of neurons and average neuronal cell size

PubMed Central

Herculano-Houzel, Suzana; Manger, Paul R.; Kaas, Jon H.

2014-01-01

Enough species have now been subject to systematic quantitative analysis of the relationship between the morphology and cellular composition of their brain that patterns begin to emerge and shed light on the evolutionary path that led to mammalian brain diversity. Based on an analysis of the shared and clade-specific characteristics of 41 modern mammalian species in 6 clades, and in light of the phylogenetic relationships among them, here we propose that ancestral mammal brains were composed and scaled in their cellular composition like modern afrotherian and glire brains: with an addition of neurons that is accompanied by a decrease in neuronal density and very little modification in glial cell density, implying a significant increase in average neuronal cell size in larger brains, and the allocation of approximately 2 neurons in the cerebral cortex and 8 neurons in the cerebellum for every neuron allocated to the rest of brain. We also propose that in some clades the scaling of different brain structures has diverged away from the common ancestral layout through clade-specific (or clade-defining) changes in how average neuronal cell mass relates to numbers of neurons in each structure, and how numbers of neurons are differentially allocated to each structure relative to the number of neurons in the rest of brain. Thus, the evolutionary expansion of mammalian brains has involved both concerted and mosaic patterns of scaling across structures. This is, to our knowledge, the first mechanistic model that explains the generation of brains large and small in mammalian evolution, and it opens up new horizons for seeking the cellular pathways and genes involved in brain evolution. PMID:25157220

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the North Bamyan mineral district in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the North Bamyan mineral district, which has copper deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2006,2007, 2008), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for North Bamyan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into two overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The two image tiles (or quadrants) for the North Bamyan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Parwan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter CC in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Parwan mineral district, which has gold and copper deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2006, 2007), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band’s picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area’s local zone (42 for Parwan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into two overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The two image tiles (or quadrants) for the North Bamyan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ghazni2 mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter EE in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Ghazni2 mineral district, which has spectral reflectance anomalies indicative of gold, mercury, and sulfur deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ((c)JAXA, 2008, 2009), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for Ghazni2) and the WGS84 datum. The images for the Ghazni2 area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ahankashan mineral district in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.; Davis, Philip A.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Ahankashan mineral district, which has copper and gold deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420–500 nanometer, nm), green (520–600 nm), red (610–690 nm), and near-infrared (760–890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520–770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (©JAXA,2007,2008, 2009, 2010),but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (41 for Ahankashan) and the WGS84 datum. The final image mosaics were subdivided into five overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target area. The five image tiles (or quadrants) for the Ahankashan area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ghazni1 mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter DD in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This part of the DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for the Ghazni1 mineral district, which has spectral reflectance anomalies indicative of clay, aluminum, gold, silver, mercury, and sulfur deposits. ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ((c)JAXA, 2008, 2009), but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using the SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within the resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a 500-m radius. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (42 for Ghazni1) and the WGS84 datum. The images for the Ghazni1 area are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image.

Global Digital Image Mosaics of Mars: Assessment of Geodetic Accuracy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirk, R.; Archinal, B. A.; Lee, E. M.; Davies, M. E.; Colvin, T. R.; Duxbury, T. C.

2001-01-01

A revised global image mosaic of Mars (MDIM 2.0) was recently completed by USGS. Comparison with high-resolution gridded Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) digital image mosaics will allow us to quantify its geodetic errors; linking the next MDIM to the MOLA data will help eliminate those errors. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Seamless Image Mosaicking via Synchronization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santellani, E.; Maset, E.; Fusiello, A.

2018-05-01

This paper proposes an innovative method to create high-quality seamless planar mosaics. The developed pipeline ensures good robustness against many common mosaicking problems (e.g., misalignments, colour distortion, moving objects, parallax) and differs from other works in the literature because a global approach, known as synchronization, is used for image registration and colour correction. To better conceal the mosaic seamlines, images are cut along specific paths, computed using a Voronoi decomposition of the mosaic area and a shortest path algorithm. Results obtained on challenging real datasets show that the colour correction mitigates significantly the colour variations between the original images and the seams on the final mosaic are not evident.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Spitzer photometry of ~1million stars in M31 & 15 gal. (Khan, 2017)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, R.

2017-03-01

For M31, we used the IRAC 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8um mosaics produced by Mould+ (2008, J/ApJ/687/230) and the MIPS 24um mosaic produced by Gordon+ (2006ApJ...638L..87G). For the other galaxies, we used the IRAC and MIPS mosaics produced by the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS; Kennicutt+ 2003PASP..115..928K) and the Local Volume Legacy Survey (LVL; Dale+ 2009, J/ApJ/703/517). We utilize the full mosaics available for each galaxy. (17 data files).

The genomes of four novel begomoviruses and a new Sida micrantha mosaic virus strain from Bolivian weeds.

PubMed

Wyant, Patrícia Soares; Gotthardt, Diether; Schäfer, Benjamin; Krenz, Björn; Jeske, Holger

2011-02-01

Begomovirus is the largest genus within the family Geminiviridae and includes economically important plant DNA viruses infecting a broad range of plant species and causing devastating crop diseases, mainly in subtropical and tropical countries. Besides cultivated plants, many weeds act as virus reservoirs. Eight begomovirus isolates from Bolivian weeds were examined using rolling-circle amplification (RCA) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). An efficient, novel cloning strategy using limited Sau3A digestion to obtain tandem-repeat inserts allowed the sequencing of the complete genomes. The viruses were classified by phylogenetic analysis as typical bipartite New World begomoviruses. Four of them represented distinct new virus species, for which the names Solanum mosaic Bolivia virus, Sida mosaic Bolivia virus 1, Sida mosaic Bolivia virus 2, and Abutilon mosaic Bolivia virus are proposed. Three were variants of a new strain of Sida micrantha mosaic virus (SimMV), SimMV-rho[BoVi07], SimMV-rho[Bo:CF1:07] and SimMV-rho[Bo:CF2:07], and one was a new variant of a previously described SimMV, SimMV-MGS2:07-Bo.

A Cost-Benefit Study of Doing Astrophysics On The Cloud: Production of Image Mosaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berriman, G. B.; Good, J. C. Deelman, E.; Singh, G. Livny, M.

2009-09-01

Utility grids such as the Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 clouds offer computational and storage resources that can be used on-demand for a fee by compute- and data-intensive applications. The cost of running an application on such a cloud depends on the compute, storage and communication resources it will provision and consume. Different execution plans of the same application may result in significantly different costs. We studied via simulation the cost performance trade-offs of different execution and resource provisioning plans by creating, under the Amazon cloud fee structure, mosaics with the Montage image mosaic engine, a widely used data- and compute-intensive application. Specifically, we studied the cost of building mosaics of 2MASS data that have sizes of 1, 2 and 4 square degrees, and a 2MASS all-sky mosaic. These are examples of mosaics commonly generated by astronomers. We also study these trade-offs in the context of the storage and communication fees of Amazon S3 when used for long-term application data archiving. Our results show that by provisioning the right amount of storage and compute resources cost can be significantly reduced with no significant impact on application performance.

Sensitivity and specificity for detecting basal cell carcinomas in Mohs excisions with confocal fluorescence mosaicing microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gareau, Daniel S.; Karen, Julie K.; Dusza, Stephen W.; Tudisco, Marie; Nehal, Kishwer S.; Rajadhyaksha, Milind

2009-05-01

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of confocal fluorescence mosaicing microscopy to rapidly detect basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) directly in thick and fresh Mohs surgical excisions. Mosaics of confocal images display large areas of tissue with high resolution and magnification equivalent to 2×, which is the standard magnification when examining pathology. Comparison of mosaics to Mohs frozen histopathology was shown to be excellent for all types of BCCs. However, comparisons in the previous studies were visual and qualitative. In this work, we report the results of a semiquantitative preclinical study in which 45 confocal mosaics are blindly evaluated for the presence (or absence) of BCC tumor. The evaluations are made by two clinicians: a senior Mohs surgeon with prior expertise in interpreting confocal images, and a novice Mohs fellow with limited experience. The blinded evaluation is compared to the gold standard of frozen histopathology. BCCs are detected with an overall sensitivity of 96.6%, specificity of 89.2%, positive predictive value of 93.0%, and negative predictive value of 94.7%. The results demonstrate the potential clinical utility of confocal mosaicing microscopy toward rapid surgical pathology at the bedside to expedite and guide surgery.

Remote sensing of potential lunar resources. I - Near-side compositional properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Larson, Stephen M.; Singer, Robert B.

1991-01-01

Using telescopic CCD multispectral images of the lunar near side and the results of 330-870 nm spectroscopy of selected regions, the compositional differences relevant to the locations of potential lunar resources (such as ilmenite, FeTiO3, and solar-wind-implanted He-3 and H) are estimated. The 400/560 nm CCD ratio images were converted to weight percent TiO2, and the values were used to construct a new TiO2 abundance map which can be used to estimate the areas potentially rich in ilmenite. A 950/560 nm CCD ratio mosaic of the full moon provides estimates of relative surface maturity. Since high He-3 concentrations correlate with mature ilmenite-rich soils, a combination of relative surface maturity maps and the TiO2 abundance maps can be used to estimate distributions of He-3 (and possibly H) on local scales.

A study of morphology, provenance, and movement of desert sand seas in Africa, Asia, and Australia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckee, E. D.; Breed, C. S.; Harris, L. F. (Principal Investigator)

1973-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The assembling of photomosaics from color prints of ERTS images has made possible the recognition and description of san patterns, and these are to be the basis of a worldwide classification of sand bodies. Progress has been as rapid as the acquisition of the bulk composite images will permit and for some areas the mosaics are now nearly complete. A second step, which consists of the accumulation and analysis of regional wind data, to be plotted as overlays for the dune patterns, is now underway and should soon give tangible results. Other aspects of the project include the gathering of ground truth in the form of air photographs, needed to interpret geomorphic forms and the sampling of sand deposits for analyzing the texture and composition of sand bodies. A start has been made on these studies in several selected areas.

Course 6: Physics of Composite Cell Membrane and Actin Based Cytoskeleton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sackmann, E.; Bausch, A. R.; Vonna, L.

1 Architecture of composite cell membranes 1.1 The lipid/protein bilayer is a multicomponent smectic phase with mosaic like architecture 1.2 The spectrin/actin cytoskeleton as hyperelastic cell stabilizer 1.3 The actin cortex: Architecture and function 2 Physics of the actin based cytoskeleton 2.1 Actin is a living semiflexible polymer 2.2 Actin network as viscoelastic body 2.3 Correlation between macroscopic viscoelasticity and molecular 3 Heterogeneous actin gels in cells and biological function 3.1 Manipulation of actin gels 3.2 Control of organization and function of actin cortex by cell signalling 4 Micromechanics and microrheometry of cells 5 Activation of endothelial cells: On the possibility of formation of stress fibers as phase transition of actin-network triggered by cell signalling pathways 6 On cells as adaptive viscoplastic bodies 7 Controll of cellular protrusions controlled by actin/myosin cortex

Microstructure characterization of multi-phase composites and utilization of phase change materials and recycled rubbers in cementitious materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meshgin, Pania

2011-12-01

This research focuses on two important subjects: (1) Characterization of heterogeneous microstructure of multi-phase composites and the effect of microstructural features on effective properties of the material. (2) Utilizations of phase change materials and recycled rubber particles from waste tires to improve thermal properties of insulation materials used in building envelopes. Spatial pattern of multi-phase and multidimensional internal structures of most composite materials are highly random. Quantitative description of the spatial distribution should be developed based on proper statistical models, which characterize the morphological features. For a composite material with multi-phases, the volume fraction of the phases as well as the morphological parameters of the phases have very strong influences on the effective property of the composite. These morphological parameters depend on the microstructure of each phase. This study intends to include the effect of higher order morphological details of the microstructure in the composite models. The higher order statistics, called two-point correlation functions characterize various behaviors of the composite at any two points in a stochastic field. Specifically, correlation functions of mosaic patterns are used in the study for characterizing transport properties of composite materials. One of the most effective methods to improve energy efficiency of buildings is to enhance thermal properties of insulation materials. The idea of using phase change materials and recycled rubber particles such as scrap tires in insulation materials for building envelopes has been studied.

Brain reorganization, not relative brain size, primarily characterizes anthropoid brain evolution.

PubMed

Smaers, J B; Soligo, C

2013-05-22

Comparative analyses of primate brain evolution have highlighted changes in size and internal organization as key factors underlying species diversity. It remains, however, unclear (i) how much variation in mosaic brain reorganization versus variation in relative brain size contributes to explaining the structural neural diversity observed across species, (ii) which mosaic changes contribute most to explaining diversity, and (iii) what the temporal origin, rates and processes are that underlie evolutionary shifts in mosaic reorganization for individual branches of the primate tree of life. We address these questions by combining novel comparative methods that allow assessing the temporal origin, rate and process of evolutionary changes on individual branches of the tree of life, with newly available data on volumes of key brain structures (prefrontal cortex, frontal motor areas and cerebrocerebellum) for a sample of 17 species (including humans). We identify patterns of mosaic change in brain evolution that mirror brain systems previously identified by electrophysiological and anatomical tract-tracing studies in non-human primates and functional connectivity MRI studies in humans. Across more than 40 Myr of anthropoid primate evolution, mosaic changes contribute more to explaining neural diversity than changes in relative brain size, and different mosaic patterns are differentially selected for when brains increase or decrease in size. We identify lineage-specific evolutionary specializations for all branches of the tree of life covered by our sample and demonstrate deep evolutionary roots for mosaic patterns associated with motor control and learning.

Brain reorganization, not relative brain size, primarily characterizes anthropoid brain evolution

PubMed Central

Smaers, J. B.; Soligo, C.

2013-01-01

Comparative analyses of primate brain evolution have highlighted changes in size and internal organization as key factors underlying species diversity. It remains, however, unclear (i) how much variation in mosaic brain reorganization versus variation in relative brain size contributes to explaining the structural neural diversity observed across species, (ii) which mosaic changes contribute most to explaining diversity, and (iii) what the temporal origin, rates and processes are that underlie evolutionary shifts in mosaic reorganization for individual branches of the primate tree of life. We address these questions by combining novel comparative methods that allow assessing the temporal origin, rate and process of evolutionary changes on individual branches of the tree of life, with newly available data on volumes of key brain structures (prefrontal cortex, frontal motor areas and cerebrocerebellum) for a sample of 17 species (including humans). We identify patterns of mosaic change in brain evolution that mirror brain systems previously identified by electrophysiological and anatomical tract-tracing studies in non-human primates and functional connectivity MRI studies in humans. Across more than 40 Myr of anthropoid primate evolution, mosaic changes contribute more to explaining neural diversity than changes in relative brain size, and different mosaic patterns are differentially selected for when brains increase or decrease in size. We identify lineage-specific evolutionary specializations for all branches of the tree of life covered by our sample and demonstrate deep evolutionary roots for mosaic patterns associated with motor control and learning. PMID:23536600

Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for each of the 24 mineral project areas (referred to herein as areas of interest), whose locality names, locations, and main mineral occurrences are shown on the index map of Afghanistan (fig. 1). ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA ALOS data, such that original image values cannot be recreated from this DS. As such, the DS products match JAXA criteria for value added products, which are not copyrighted, according to the ALOS end-user license agreement. The selection criteria for the satellite imagery used in our mosaics were images having (1) the highest solar-elevation angles (near summer solstice) and (2) the least cloud, cloud-shadow, and snow cover. The multispectral and panchromatic data were orthorectified with ALOS satellite ephemeris data, a process which is not as accurate as orthorectification using digital elevation models (DEMs); however, the ALOS processing center did not have a precise DEM. As a result, the multispectral and panchromatic image pairs were generally not well registered to the surface and not coregistered well enough to perform resolution enhancement on the multispectral data. Therefore, it was necessary to (1) register the 10-m AVNIR multispectral imagery to a well-controlled Landsat image base, (2) mosaic the individual multispectral images into a single image of the entire area of interest, (3) register each panchromatic image to the registered multispectral image base, and (4) mosaic the individual panchromatic images into a single image of the entire area of interest. The two image-registration steps were facilitated using an automated control-point algorithm developed by the USGS that allows image coregistration to within one picture element. PRISM image orthorectification for one-half of the target areas was performed by the Alaska Satellite Facility, applying its photogrammetric software to PRISM stereo images with vertical control points obtained from the digital elevation database produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (Farr and others, 2007) and horizontal adjustments based on a controlled Landsat image base (Davis, 2006). Before rectification, the multispectral and panchromatic images were converted to radiance values and then to relative-reflectance values using the methods described in Davis (2006). Mosaicking the multispectral or panchromatic images started with the image with the highest sun-elevation angle and the least atmospheric scattering, which was treated as the standard image. The band-reflectance values of all other multispectral or panchromatic images within the area were sequentially adjusted to that of the standard image by determining band-reflectance correspondence between overlapping images using linear least-squares analysis. The resolution of the multispectral image mosaic was then increased to that of the panchromatic image mosaic using SPARKLE logic, which is described in Davis (2006). Each of the four-band images within each resolution-enhanced image mosaic was individually subjected to a local-area histogram stretch algorithm (described in Davis, 2007), which stretches each band's picture element based on the digital values of all picture elements within a specified radius that was usually 500 m. The final databases, which are provided in this DS, are three-band, color-composite images of the local-area-enhanced, natural-color data (the blue, green, and red wavelength bands) and color-infrared data (the green, red, and near-infrared wavelength bands). All image data were initially projected and maintained in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map projection using the target area's local zone (either 41 or 42) and the WGS84 datum. Most final image mosaics were subdivided into overlapping tiles or quadrants because of the large size of the target areas. The image tiles (or quadrants) for each area of interest are provided as embedded geotiff images, which can be read and used by most geographic information system (GIS) and image-processing software. The tiff world files (tfw) are provided, even though they are generally not needed for most software to read an embedded geotiff image. Approximately one-half of the study areas have at least one subarea designated for detailed field investigations; the subareas were extracted from the area's image mosaic and are provided as separate embedded geotiff images.

Star Formation in the DR21 Region (A)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Annotated mosaic

Hidden behind a shroud of dust in the constellation Cygnus is a stellar nursery called DR21, which is giving birth to some of the most massive stars in our galaxy. Visible light images reveal no trace of this interstellar cauldron because of heavy dust obscuration. In fact, visible light is attenuated in DR21 by a factor of more than 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (ten thousand trillion heptillion).

New images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope allow us to peek behind the cosmic veil and pinpoint one of the most massive natal stars yet seen in our Milky Way galaxy. The never-before-seen star is 100,000 times as bright as the Sun. Also revealed for the first time is a powerful outflow of hot gas emanating from this star and bursting through a giant molecular cloud.

The colorful image (top panel) is a large-scale composite mosaic assembled from data collected at a variety of different wavelengths. Views at visible wavelengths appear blue, near-infrared light is depicted as green, and mid-infrared data from the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) aboard NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is portrayed as red. The result is a contrast between structures seen in visible light (blue) and those observed in the infrared (yellow and red). A quick glance shows that most of the action in this image is revealed to the unique eyes of Spitzer. The image covers an area about two times that of a full moon.

Each of the constituent images is shown below the large mosaic. The Digital Sky Survey (DSS) image (lower left) provides a familiar view of deep space, with stars scattered around a dark field. The reddish hue is from gas heated by foreground stars in this region. This fluorescence fades away in the near-infrared Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) image (lower center), but other features start to appear through the obscuring clouds of dust, now increasingly transparent. Many more stars are discerned in this image because near-infrared light pierces through some of the obscuration of the interstellar dust. Note that some stars seen as very bright in the visible image are muted in the near-infrared image, whereas other stars become more prominent. Embedded nebulae revealed in the Spitzer image are only hinted at in this picture.

The Spitzer image (lower right) provides a vivid contrast to the other component images, revealing star-forming complexes and large-scale structures otherwise hidden from view. The Spitzer image is composed of photographs obtained at four wavelengths: 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8 microns (red). The brightest infrared cloud near the top center corresponds to DR21, which presumably contains a cluster of newly forming stars at a distance of nearly 10,000 light-years.

The red filaments stretching across the Spitzer image denote the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These organic molecules, comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are excited by surrounding interstellar radiation and become luminescent at wavelengths near 8 microns. The complex pattern of filaments is caused by an intricate combination of radiation pressure, gravity, and magnetic fields. The result is a tapestry in which winds, outflows, and turbulence move and shape the interstellar medium.

Morphology and Composition of Localized Lunar Dark Mantle Deposits With LROC Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gustafson, O.; Bell, J. F.; Gaddis, L. R.; Hawke, B. R.; Robinson, M. S.; LROC Science Team

2010-12-01

Clementine color (ultraviolet, visible or UVVIS) and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Wide Angle (WAC) and Narrow Angle (NAC) camera data provide the means to investigate localized lunar dark-mantle deposits (DMDs) of potential pyroclastic origin. Our goals are to (1) examine the morphology and physical characteristics of these deposits with LROC WAC and NAC data; (2) extend methods used in earlier studies of lunar DMDs with Clementine spectral reflectance (CSR) data; (3) use LRO WAC multispectral data to complement and extend the CSR data for compositional analyses; and (4) apply these results to identify the likely mode of emplacement and study the diversity of compositions among these deposits. Pyroclastic deposits have been recognized all across the Moon, identified by their low albedo, smooth texture, and mantling relationship to underlying features. Gaddis et al. (2003) presented a compositional analysis of 75 potential lunar pyroclastic deposits (LPDs) based on CSR measurements. New LRO camera (LROC) data permit more extensive analyses of such deposits than previously possible. Our study began with six sites on the southeastern limb of the Moon that contain nine of the cataloged 75 potential pyroclastic deposits: Humboldt (4 deposits), Petavius, Barnard, Abel B, Abel C, and Titius. Our analysis found that some of the DMDs exhibit qualities characteristic of fluid emplacement, such as flat surfaces, sharp margins, embaying relationships, and flow textures. We conclude that the localized DMDs are a complex class of features, many of which may have formed by a combination of effusive and pyroclastic emplacement mechanisms. We have extended this analysis to include additional localized DMDs from the catalog of 75 potential pyroclastic deposits. We have examined high resolution (up to 0.5 m/p) NAC images as they become available to assess the mode of emplacement of the deposits, locate potential volcanic vents, and assess physical characteristics of the DMDs such as thickness, roughness, and rock abundance. Within and around each DMD, the Clementine UVVIS multispectral mosaic (100 m/p, 5 bands at 415, 750, 900, 950, and 1000 nm) and LROC WAC multispectral image cubes (75 to 400 m/p, 7 bands at 320, 360, 415, 565, 605, 645, and 690 nm) have been used to extract spectral reflectance data. Spectral ratio plots were prepared to compare deposits and draw conclusions regarding compositional differences, such as mafic mineral or titanium content and distribution, both within and between DMDs. The result of the study will be an improved classification of these deposits in terms of emplacement mechanisms and composition, including identifying compositional affinities among DMDs and between DMDs and other volcanic deposits.

Templated self-assembly of quantum dots from aqueous solution using protein scaffolds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szuchmacher Blum, Amy; Soto, Carissa M.; Wilson, Charmaine D.; Whitley, Jessica L.; Moore, Martin H.; Sapsford, Kim E.; Lin, Tianwei; Chatterji, Anju; Johnson, John E.; Ratna, Banahalli R.

2006-10-01

Short, histidine-containing peptides can be conjugated to lysine-containing protein scaffolds to controllably attach quantum dots (QDs) to the scaffold, allowing for generic attachment of quantum dots to any protein without the use of specially engineered domains. This technique was used to bind quantum dots from aqueous solution to both chicken IgG and cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), a 30 nm viral particle. These quantum dot protein assemblies were studied in detail. The IgG QD complexes were shown to retain binding specificity to their antigen after modification. The CPMV QD complexes have a local concentration of quantum dots greater than 3000 nmol ml-1, and show a 15% increase in fluorescence quantum yield over free quantum dots in solution.

Clinical review: Extracorporeal blood purification in severe sepsis

PubMed Central

Venkataraman, Ramesh; Subramanian, Sanjay; Kellum, John A

2003-01-01

Sepsis and septic shock are the leading causes of acute renal failure, multiple organ system dysfunction, and death in the intensive care unit. The pathogenesis of sepsis is complex and comprises a mosaic of interconnected pathways. Several attempts to improve patient outcomes by targeting specific components of this network have been unsuccessful. For these reasons, the ideal immunomodulating strategy would be one that restores immunologic stability rather than blindly inhibiting or stimulating one or another component of this complex network. Hence, the recent focus of immunomodulatory therapy in sepsis has shifted to nonspecific methods of influencing the entire inflammatory response without suppressing it. Here, we discuss the various modalities of extracorporeal blood purification, the existing evidence, and future prospects. PMID:12720560

Evaluation of the tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) diversity panel for response to the NL 3 strain of Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis Virus (BCMNV) and for biological nitrogen fixation with Bradyrhizobium strains

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aphid-transmitted Bean Common Mosaic Necrosis Virus (BCMNV) and Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) are potyviruses that are seed transmitted in tepary bean. Developing resistance to these viruses will be critical for expanding production in areas where they are endemic. Biological nitrogen fixation (BN...

Resistance to Cucumber mosaic virus in Gladiolus plants transformed with either a defective replicase of coat protein subgroup II gene from Cucumber mosaic virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Transgenic Gladiolus plants that contain either Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) subgroup I coat protein, CMV subgroup II coat protein, CMV replicase, a combination of the CMV subgroups I and II coat proteins, or a combination of the CMV subgroup II coat protein and replicase genes were developed. These...

Registration of PR0633-10 and PR0737-1 red mottled dry bean germplasm lines with resistance to BGYMB, BCMV, BCMNV, and common bacterial blight

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV) is an important disease of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Central America and the Caribbean. Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) and bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) pose a threat to common bean production throughout the world. The development an...

43. CUTTING APART PIECES OF A MOSAIC. WHEN SEPARATED, THE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

43. CUTTING APART PIECES OF A MOSAIC. WHEN SEPARATED, THE PIECES CAN BE INDIVIDUALLY GLAZED, SMOKED, OR FINISH FIRED TO PRODUCE A MULTI-COLORED IMAGE WHEN REASSEMBLED. NOTE THE SUBSTITUTION OF BUFF FOR RED CLAY IN SEVERAL PIECES OF MOSAIC ON THE LEFT. - Moravian Pottery & Tile Works, Southwest side of State Route 313 (Swamp Road), Northwest of East Court Street, Doylestown, Bucks County, PA

An Analysis of Techno-Economic Requirements for MOSAIC CPV Systems to Achieve Cost Competitiveness

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

Horowitz, Kelsey A; Cunningham, Daniel; Zahler, James

A comprehensive bottom-up cost model has been developed by NREL for ARPAE's MOSAIC micro-concentrator PV program. In this presentation, we use this model to examine the potential competitiveness of MOSAIC systems compared to incumbent technologies in different markets. We also provide an example of how these models can be used by awardees to assess different aspects of their design.

Mars Image Collection Mosaic Builder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plesea, Lucian; Hare, Trent

2008-01-01

A computer program assembles images from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Observer Camera Narrow Angle (MOCNA) collection to generate a uniform-high-resolution, georeferenced, uncontrolled mosaic image of the Martian surface. At the time of reporting the information for this article, the mosaic covered 7 percent of the Martian surface and contained data from more than 50,000 source images acquired under various light conditions at various resolutions.

Aircraft Survivability: Aircraft Battle Damage and Repair, Summer 2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

Modeling and Analysis Program ( TMAP ) Missile Modeling System for Advanced Investigation of Countermeasures (MOSAIC) & Joint Surface-to-Air Missle... TMAP Threat System Models (TSM) into engagement simulations (MOSAIC [IR] and JSAMS [RF]). This 3-year project will integrate and fully test six...three per engagement simulation) JASC priority TMAP TSMs in official releases of MOSAIC and JSAMS. Project Engineers— Luke Borntrager (USAF, AFRL) and

Geographic mosaics of species' association: a definition and an example driven by plant-insect phenological synchrony.

PubMed

Singer, Michael C; McBride, Carolyn S

2012-12-01

Spatial mosaics occur in both evolutionary and ecological properties of species' interactions. Studies of these patterns have facilitated description and prediction of evolutionary responses of interacting species to each other and to changing environments. We propose seeking complementary understanding of community assembly and dynamics by studying ecological and mechanistic properties of mosaics. We define "species' association mosaics" as deviations from a null model in which spatial variation in the extent to which particular species interact ecologically is explained solely by variation in their densities. In extreme deviations from the null, a focal species interacts exclusively with different partners at different sites despite similar abundances of potential partners. We investigate this type of mosaic involving the butterfly Euphydryas editha and its hosts, the perennial Pedicularis semibarbata (Psem) and the ephemeral annual Collinsia torreyi (Ctor). A reciprocal transplant experiment showed that the proximate, mechanistic driver of the mosaic was variation in butterfly oviposition preference: the identity of the preferred host species depended on the site of origin of the insects, not that of the plants. In contrast, the evolutionary driver was phenological asynchrony between the insects and Ctor. Censuses showed that larvae hatching from eggs laid on Ctor would have suffered significantly greater mortality from host senescence at five sites where Ctor was avoided than at two sites where it was used. These differences among sites in phenological synchrony were caused by variation in life span of Ctor. At sites where Ctor was avoided, natural selection on host preference was stabilizing because Ctor life span was too short to accommodate the development time of most larvae. At sites where Ctor was used, selection on preference was also stabilizing because larvae lacked physiological adaptation to feed on Psem. These reciprocal forces of stabilizing selection formed a mosaic maintaining spatial variation in insect host preference that was the proximate cause of the species-association mosaic. In the Discussion, we examine the extent to which our findings hindcast an observed anthropogenic host shift by E. editha from Psem to Ctor. This example shows that elucidation of species-association mosaics can facilitate understanding of community evolution and dynamics.

Molecular characterization and experimental host range of an isolate of Wissadula golden mosaic St. Thomas virus.

PubMed

Collins, A M; Mujaddad-ur-Rehman, Malik; Brown, J K; Reddy, C; Wang, A; Fondong, V; Roye, M E

2009-12-01

Partial genome segments of a begomovirus were previously amplified from Wissadula amplissima exhibiting yellow-mosaic and leaf-curl symptoms in the parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica and this isolate assigned to a tentative begomovirus species, Wissadula golden mosaic St. Thomas virus. To clone the complete genome of this isolate of Wissadula golden mosaic St. Thomas virus, abutting primers were designed to PCR amplify its full-length DNA-A and DNA-B components. Sequence analysis of the complete begomovirus genome obtained, confirmed that it belongs to a distinct begomovirus species and this isolate was named Wissadula golden mosaic St. Thomas virus-[Jamaica:Albion:2005] (WGMSTV-[JM:Alb:05]). The genome of WGMSTV-[JM:Alb:05] is organized similar to that of other bipartite Western Hemisphere begomoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses placed the genome components of WGMSTV-[JM:Alb:05] in the Abutilon mosaic virus clade and showed that the DNA-A component is most closely related to four begomovirus species from Cuba, Tobacco leaf curl Cuba virus, Tobacco leaf rugose virus, Tobacco mottle leaf curl virus, and Tomato yellow distortion leaf virus. The putative Rep-binding-site motif in the common region of WGMSTV-[JM:Alb:05] was observed to be identical to that of Chino del tomate virus-Tomato [Mexico:Sinaloa:1983], Sida yellow mosaic Yucatan virus-[Mexico:Yucatan:2005], and Tomato leaf curl Sinaloa virus-[Nicaragua:Santa Lucia], suggesting that WGMSTV-[JM:Alb:05] is capable of forming viable pseudo-recombinants with these begomoviruses, but not with other members of the Abutilon mosaic virus clade. Biolistic inoculation of test plant species with partial dimers of the WGMSTV-[JM:Alb:05] DNA-A and DNA-B components showed that the virus was infectious to Nicotiana benthamiana and W. amplissima and the cultivated species Phaseolus vulgaris (kidney bean) and Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato). Infected W. amplissima plants developed symptoms similar to symptoms observed under field conditions, confirming that this virus is a causal agent of Wissadula yellow mosaic disease in W. amplissima.

Bypass of lethality with mosaic mice generated by Cre-loxP-mediated recombination.

PubMed

Betz, U A; Vosshenrich, C A; Rajewsky, K; Müller, W

1996-10-01

The analysis of gene function based on the generation of mutant mice by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells is limited if gene disruption results in embryonic lethality. Mosaic mice, which contain a certain proportion of mutant cells in all organs, allow lethality to be circumvented and the potential of mutant cells to contribute to different cell lineages to be analyzed. To generate mosaic animals, we used the bacteriophage P1-derived Cre-loxP recombination system, which allows gene alteration by Cre-mediated deletion of loxP-flanked gene segments. We generated nestin-cre transgenic mouse lines, which expressed the Cre recombinase under the control of the rat nestin promoter and its second intron enhancer. In crosses to animals carrying a loxP-flanked target gene, partial deletion of the loxP-flanked allele occurred before day 10.5 post coitum and was detectable in all adult organs examined, including germ-line cells. Using this approach, we generated mosaic mice containing cells deficient in the gamma-chain of the interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R gamma); in these animals, the IL-2R gamma-deficient cells were underrepresented in the thymus and spleen. Because mice deficient in DNA polymerase beta die perinatally, we studied the effects of DNA polymerase beta deficiency in mosaic animals. We found that some of the mosaic polymerase beta-deficient animals were viable, but were often reduced in size and weight. The fraction of DNA polymerase beta-deficient cells in mosaic embryos decreased during embryonic development, presumably because wild-type cells had a competitive advantage. The nestin-cre transgenic mice can be used to generate mosaic animals in which target genes are mutated by Cre-mediated recombination of loxP-flanked target genes. By using mosaic animals, embryonic lethality can be bypassed and cell lineages for whose development a given target gene is critical can be identified. In the case of DNA polymerase beta, deficient cells are already selected against during embryonic development, demonstrating the general importance of this protein in multiple cell types.

Habitat Association and Seasonality in a Mosaic and Bimodal Hybrid Zone between Chorthippus brunneus and C. jacobsi (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

PubMed Central

Tatsuta, Haruki; Butlin, Roger K.

2012-01-01

Understanding why some hybrid zones are bimodal and others unimodal can aid in identifying barriers to gene exchange following secondary contact. The hybrid zone between the grasshoppers Chorthippus brunneus and C. jacobsi contains a mix of allopatric parental populations and inter-mingled bimodal and unimodal sympatric populations, and provides an ideal system to examine the roles of local selection and gene flow between populations in maintaining bimodality. However, it is first necessary to confirm, over a larger spatial scale, previously identified associations between population composition and season and habitat. Here we use cline-fitting of one morphological and one song trait along two valley transects, and intervening mountains, to confirm previously identified habitat associations (mountain versus valley) and seasonal changes in population composition. As expected from previous findings of studies on a smaller spatial scale, C. jacobsi dominated mountain habitats and mixed populations dominated valleys, and C. brunneus became more prevalent in August. Controlling for habitat and incorporating into the analysis seasonal changes in cline parameters and the standard errors of parental trait values revealed wider clines than previous studies (best estimates of 6.4 to 24.5 km in our study versus 2.8 to 4.7 km in previous studies) and increased percentage of trait variance explained (52.7% and 61.5% for transects 1 and 2 respectively, versus 17.6%). Revealing such strong and consistent patterns within a complex hybrid zone will allow more focused examination of the causes of variation in bimodality in mixed populations, in particular the roles of local selection versus habitat heterogeneity and gene flow between differentiated populations. PMID:22675485

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of aquatic and terrestrial plants of the San Francisco Bay estuarine system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloern, J.E.; Canuel, E.A.; Harris, D.

2002-01-01

We report measurements of seasonal variability in the C-N stable isotope ratios of plants collected across the habitat mosaic of San Francisco Bay, its marshes, and its tributary river system. Analyses of 868 plant samples were binned into 10 groups (e.g., terrestrial riparian, freshwater phytoplankton, salt marsh) to determine whether C-N isotopes can be used as biomarkers for tracing the origins of organic matter in this river-marsh-estuary complex. Variability of ??13C and ??15N was high (???5-10???) within each plant group, and we identified three modes of variability: (1) between species and their microhabitats, (2) over annual cycles of plant growth and senescence, and (3) between living and decomposing biomass. These modes of within-group variability obscure any source-specific isotopic signatures, confounding the application of C-N isotopes for identifying the origins of organic matter. A second confounding factor was large dissimilarity between the ??13C-??15N of primary producers and the organic-matter pools in the seston and sediments. Both confounding factors impede the application of C-N isotopes to reveal the food supply to primary consumers in ecosystems supporting diverse autotrophs and where the isotopic composition of organic matter has been transformed and become distinct from that of its parent plant sources. Our results support the advice of others: variability of C-N stable isotopes within all organic-matter pools is high and must be considered in applications of these isotopes to trace trophic linkages from primary producers to primary consumers. Isotope-based approaches are perhaps most powerful when used to complement other tools, such as molecular biomarkers, bioassays, direct measures of production, and compilations of organic-matter budgets.

An image mosaic method based on corner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Zetao; Nie, Heting

2015-08-01

In view of the shortcomings of the traditional image mosaic, this paper describes a new algorithm for image mosaic based on the Harris corner. Firstly, Harris operator combining the constructed low-pass smoothing filter based on splines function and circular window search is applied to detect the image corner, which allows us to have better localisation performance and effectively avoid the phenomenon of cluster. Secondly, the correlation feature registration is used to find registration pair, remove the false registration using random sampling consensus. Finally use the method of weighted trigonometric combined with interpolation function for image fusion. The experiments show that this method can effectively remove the splicing ghosting and improve the accuracy of image mosaic.