Synaptonemal Complex Components Are Required for Meiotic Checkpoint Function in Caenorhabditis elegans

PubMed Central

Bohr, Tisha; Ashley, Guinevere; Eggleston, Evan; Firestone, Kyra; Bhalla, Needhi

2016-01-01

Synapsis involves the assembly of a proteinaceous structure, the synaptonemal complex (SC), between paired homologous chromosomes, and is essential for proper meiotic chromosome segregation. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the synapsis checkpoint selectively removes nuclei with unsynapsed chromosomes by inducing apoptosis. This checkpoint depends on pairing centers (PCs), cis-acting sites that promote pairing and synapsis. We have hypothesized that the stability of homolog pairing at PCs is monitored by this checkpoint. Here, we report that SC components SYP-3, HTP-3, HIM-3, and HTP-1 are required for a functional synapsis checkpoint. Mutation of these components does not abolish PC function, demonstrating they are bona fide checkpoint components. Further, we identify mutant backgrounds in which the instability of homolog pairing at PCs does not correlate with the synapsis checkpoint response. Altogether, these data suggest that, in addition to homolog pairing, SC assembly may be monitored by the synapsis checkpoint. PMID:27605049

Vortex-soliton complexes in coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations with unequal dispersion coefficients.

PubMed

Charalampidis, E G; Kevrekidis, P G; Frantzeskakis, D J; Malomed, B A

2016-08-01

We consider a two-component, two-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger system with unequal dispersion coefficients and self-defocusing nonlinearities, chiefly with equal strengths of the self- and cross-interactions. In this setting, a natural waveform with a nonvanishing background in one component is a vortex, which induces an effective potential well in the second component, via the nonlinear coupling of the two components. We show that the potential well may support not only the fundamental bound state, but also multiring excited radial state complexes for suitable ranges of values of the dispersion coefficient of the second component. We systematically explore the existence, stability, and nonlinear dynamics of these states. The complexes involving the excited radial states are weakly unstable, with a growth rate depending on the dispersion of the second component. Their evolution leads to transformation of the multiring complexes into stable vortex-bright solitons ones with the fundamental state in the second component. The excited states may be stabilized by a harmonic-oscillator trapping potential, as well as by unequal strengths of the self- and cross-repulsive nonlinearities.

A Catalog of Galaxy Clusters Observed by XMM-Newton

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snowden, S. L.; Mushotzky, R. M.; Kuntz, K. D.; Davis, David S.

2007-01-01

Images and the radial profiles of the temperature, abundance, and brightness for 70 clusters of galaxies observed by XMM-Newton are presented along with a detailed discussion of the data reduction and analysis methods, including background modeling, which were used in the processing. Proper consideration of the various background components is vital to extend the reliable determination of cluster parameters to the largest possible cluster radii. The various components of the background including the quiescent particle background, cosmic diffuse emission, soft proton contamination, and solar wind charge exchange emission are discussed along with suggested means of their identification, filtering, and/or their modeling and subtraction. Every component is spectrally variable, sometimes significantly so, and all components except the cosmic background are temporally variable as well. The distributions of the events over the FOV vary between the components, and some distributions vary with energy. The scientific results from observations of low surface brightness objects and the diffuse background itself can be strongly affected by these background components and therefore great care should be taken in their consideration.

The Use of Graphing Technology to Promote Transfer of Learning: the Interpretation of Graphs in Physics.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichols, Jeri Ann

This study examined the relationship between mathematics background and performance on graph-related problems in physics before and after instruction on the graphical analysis of motion and several microcomputer-based laboratory experiences. Students identified as either having or not having a graphing technology enhanced precalculus mathematics background were further categorized into one of four groups according to mathematics placement at the university. The performances of these groups were compared to identity differences. Pre- and Post-test data were collected from 589 students and 312 students during Autumn Quarter 1990 and Winter Quarter 1991 respectively. Background information was collected from each student. Significant differences were found between students with the technology enhanced mathematics background and those without when considering the entire populations both quarters. The students with the technology background were favored Autumn quarter and students without the technology background were favored Winter quarter. However, the entire population included an underrepresentation of students at the highest and lowest placements; hence, these were eliminated from the analyses. No significant differences were found between the technology/no technology groups after the elimination of the underrepresented groups. All categories of students increased their mean scores from pretest to post-test; the average increase was 8.23 points Autumn Quarter and 11.41 points Winter Quarter. Males consistently outperformed females on both the pretest and the post-test Autumn 1990. All students found questions involving the concept of acceleration more difficult than questions involving velocity or distance. Questions requiring students to create graphs were more difficult than questions requiring students to interpret graphs. Further research involving a qualitative component is recommended to identify the specific skills students use when solving graph-related physics problems. In addition, it is recommended that a similar study be conducted to include a control group not participating in the microcomputer -based laboratory experiments.

Involvement of Mismatch Repair in the Reciprocal Control of Motility and Adherence of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Cooper, Lauren A.; Simmons, Lyle A.

2012-01-01

Type 1 fimbriae and flagella, two surface organelles critical for colonization of the urinary tract by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), mediate opposing virulence objectives. Type 1 fimbriae facilitate adhesion to mucosal cells and promote bacterial persistence in the urinary tract, while flagella propel bacteria through urine and along mucous layers during ascension to the upper urinary tract. Using a transposon screen of the E. coli CFT073 fim locked-ON (L-ON) mutant, a construct that constitutively expresses type 1 fimbriae and represses motility, we identified six mutants that exhibited a partial restoration of motility. Among these six mutated genes was mutS, which encodes a component of the methyl-directed mismatch repair (MMR) system. When complemented with mutS in trans, motility was again repressed. To determine whether the MMR system, in general, is involved in this reciprocal control, we characterized the effects of gene deletions of other MMR components on UPEC motility. Isogenic deletions of mutS, mutH, and mutL were constructed in both wild-type CFT073 and fim L-ON backgrounds. All MMR mutants showed an increase in motility in the wild-type background, and ΔmutH and ΔmutS mutations increased motility in the fim L-ON background. Cochallenge of the wild-type strain with an MMR-defective strain showed a subtle but significant competitive advantage in the bladder and spleen for the MMR mutant using the murine model of ascending urinary tract infection after 48 h. Our findings demonstrate that the MMR system generally affects the reciprocal regulation of motility and adherence and thus could contribute to UPEC pathogenesis during urinary tract infections. PMID:22473602

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study (REDS-III): A research program striving to improve blood donor and transfusion recipient outcomes

PubMed Central

Kleinman, Steven; Busch, Michael P; Murphy, Edward L; Shan, Hua; Ness, Paul; Glynn, Simone A.

2014-01-01

Background The Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study -III (REDS-III) is a 7-year multicenter transfusion safety research initiative launched in 2011 by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Study design The domestic component involves 4 blood centers, 12 hospitals, a data coordinating center, and a central laboratory. The international component consists of distinct programs in Brazil, China, and South Africa which involve US and in-country investigators. Results REDS-III is using two major methods to address key research priorities in blood banking/transfusion medicine. First, there will be numerous analyses of large “core” databases; the international programs have each constructed a donor/donation database while the domestic program has established a detailed research database that links data from blood donors and their donations, the components made from these donations, and data extracts from the electronic medical records of the recipients of these components. Secondly, there are more than 25 focused research protocols involving transfusion recipients, blood donors, or both that are either in progress or scheduled to begin within the next 3 years. Areas of study include transfusion epidemiology and blood utilization; transfusion outcomes; non-infectious transfusion risks; HIV-related safety issues (particularly in the international programs); emerging infectious agents; blood component quality; donor health and safety; and other donor issues. Conclusions It is intended that REDS-III serve as an impetus for more widespread recipient and linked donor-recipient research in the US as well as to help assure a safe and available blood supply in the US and in international locations. PMID:24188564

Food allergy phenotypes: The key to personalized therapy.

PubMed

Deschildre, A; Lejeune, S; Cap, M; Flammarion, S; Jouannic, L; Amat, F; Just, J

2017-09-01

Food allergies (FAs) are of increasing public health concern and are characterized by a large spectrum of diseases. Their diversity is well known for immunologic pathways (IgE, non-IgE-mediated FAs) and natural history. Many other factors and patient characteristics are involved including type of food, exposure route, allergic comorbidities, gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds, cofactors and health conditions. Food allergen components and sensitization profiles are also involved in FA phenotypes. A new approach to chronic disorders based on the identification of phenotypes through extensive knowledge of all the complex components is also applicable to FAs and could lead towards integrative care management. Diagnostic biomarkers for FAs are emerging which also contribute to better care modalities. The aim of this article was to highlight current knowledge regarding the phenotypic diversity of FA. This review will focus on IgE-mediated FAs and how identifying phenotypes may help to better understand the pathophysiological complexity, improve diagnosis and lead to personalized treatment strategies. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Delphi study to identify the core components of nurse to nurse handoff.

PubMed

O'Rourke, Jennifer; Abraham, Joanna; Riesenberg, Lee Ann; Matson, Jeff; Lopez, Karen Dunn

2018-03-08

The aim of this study was to identify the core components of nurse-nurse handoffs. Patient handoffs involve a process of passing information, responsibility and control from one caregiver to the next during care transitions. Around the globe, ineffective handoffs have serious consequences resulting in wrong treatments, delays in diagnosis, longer stays, medication errors, patient falls and patient deaths. To date, the core components of nurse-nurse handoff have not been identified. This lack of identification is a significant gap in moving towards a standardized approach for nurse-nurse handoff. Mixed methods design using the Delphi technique. From May 2016 - October 2016, using a series of iterative steps, a panel of handoff experts gave feedback on the nurse-nurse handoff core components and the content in each component to be passed from one nurse to the next during a typical unit-based shift handoff. Consensus was defined as 80% agreement or higher. After three rounds of participant review, 17 handoff experts with backgrounds in clinical nursing practice, academia and handoff research came to consensus on the core components of handoff: patient summary, action plan and nurse-nurse synthesis. This is the first study to identify the core components of nurse-nurse handoff. Subsequent testing of the core components will involve evaluating the handoff approach in a simulated and then actual patient care environment. Our long-term goal is to improve patient safety outcomes by validating an evidence-based handoff framework and handoff curriculum for pre-licensure nursing programmes that strengthen the quality of their handoff communication as they enter clinical practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of background radiation dose contributions in the United Arab Emirates.

PubMed

Goddard, Braden; Bosc, Emmanuel; Al Hasani, Sarra; Lloyd, Cody

2018-09-01

The natural background radiation consists of three main components; cosmic, terrestrial, and skyshine. Although there are currently methods available to measure the total dose rate from background radiation, no established methods exist that allow for the measurement of each component the background radiation. This analysis consists of a unique methodology in which the dose rate contribution from each component of the natural background radiation is measured and calculated. This project evaluates the natural background dose rate in the Abu Dhabi City region from all three of these components using the developed methodology. Evaluating and understanding the different components of background radiation provides a baseline allowing for the detection, and possibly attribution, of elevated radiation levels. Measurements using a high-pressure ion chamber with different shielding configurations and two offshore measurements provided dose rate information that were attributed to the different components of the background radiation. Additional spectral information was obtained using an HPGe detector to verify and quantify the presence of terrestrial radionuclides. By evaluating the dose rates of the different shielding configurations the comic, terrestrial, and skyshine contribution in the Abu Dhabi City region were determined to be 33.0 ± 1.7, 15.7 ± 2.5, and 2.4 ± 2.1 nSv/h, respectively. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Service user involvement in undergraduate mental health nursing in New Zealand.

PubMed

Schneebeli, Carole; O'Brien, Anthony; Lampshire, Debra; Hamer, Helen P

2010-02-01

This paper describes a service user role in the mental health component of an undergraduate nursing programme in New Zealand. The paper provides a background to mental health nursing education in New Zealand and discusses the implications of recent reforms in the mental health sector. The undergraduate nursing programme at the University of Auckland has a strong commitment to service user involvement. The programme aims to educate nurses to be responsive and skillful in meeting the mental health needs of service users in all areas of the health sector and to present mental health nursing as an attractive option for nurses upon graduation. We outline the mental health component of the programme, with an emphasis on the development of the service user role. In the second half of the paper, we present a summary of responses to a student satisfaction questionnaire. The responses indicate that the service user role is an important element of the programme and is well received by a substantial proportion of students. We consider the implications for nursing education and for recruitment into mental health nursing. Finally, we discuss some issues related to service user involvement in the development of new models of mental health service delivery.

On the origin of the soft X-ray background. [in cosmological observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Q. D.; Mccray, Richard

1993-01-01

The angular autocorrelation function and spectrum of the soft X-ray background is studied below a discrete source detection limit, using two deep images from the Rosat X-ray satellite. The average spectral shape of pointlike sources, which account for 40 to 60 percent of the background intensity, is determined by using the autocorrelation function. The background spectrum, in the 0.5-0.9 keV band (M band), is decomposed into a pointlike source component characterized by a power law and a diffuse component represented by a two-temperature plasma. These pointlike sources cannot contribute more than 60 percent of the X-ray background intensity in the M band without exceeding the total observed flux in the R7 band. Spectral analysis has shown that the local soft diffuse component, although dominating the background intensity at energies not greater than 0.3 keV, contributes only a small fraction of the M band background intensity. The diffuse component may represent an important constituent of the interstellar or intergalactic medium.

Target detection using the background model from the topological anomaly detection algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorado Munoz, Leidy P.; Messinger, David W.; Ziemann, Amanda K.

2013-05-01

The Topological Anomaly Detection (TAD) algorithm has been used as an anomaly detector in hyperspectral and multispectral images. TAD is an algorithm based on graph theory that constructs a topological model of the background in a scene, and computes an anomalousness ranking for all of the pixels in the image with respect to the background in order to identify pixels with uncommon or strange spectral signatures. The pixels that are modeled as background are clustered into groups or connected components, which could be representative of spectral signatures of materials present in the background. Therefore, the idea of using the background components given by TAD in target detection is explored in this paper. In this way, these connected components are characterized in three different approaches, where the mean signature and endmembers for each component are calculated and used as background basis vectors in Orthogonal Subspace Projection (OSP) and Adaptive Subspace Detector (ASD). Likewise, the covariance matrix of those connected components is estimated and used in detectors: Constrained Energy Minimization (CEM) and Adaptive Coherence Estimator (ACE). The performance of these approaches and the different detectors is compared with a global approach, where the background characterization is derived directly from the image. Experiments and results using self-test data set provided as part of the RIT blind test target detection project are shown.

Can the cosmic x ray and gamma ray background be due to reflection of a steep power law spectrum and Compton scattering by relativistic electrons?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zycki, Piotr T.; Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Svensson, Roland

1991-01-01

We reconsider the recent model for the origin in the cosmic X-ray and gamma-ray background by Rogers and Field. The background in the model is due to an unresolved population of AGNs. An individual AGN spectrum contains three components: a power law with the energy index of alpha = 1.1, an enhanced reflection component, and a component from Compton scattering by relativistic electrons with a low energy cutoff at some minimum Lorentz factor, gamma(sub min) much greater than 1. The MeV bump seen in the gamma-ray background is then explained by inverse Compton emission by the electrons. We show that the model does not reproduce the shape of the observed X-ray and gamma-ray background below 10 MeV and that it overproduces the background at larger energies. Furthermore, we find the assumptions made for the Compton component to be physically inconsistent. Relaxing the inconsistent assumptions leads to model spectra even more different from that of the observed cosmic background. Thus, we can reject the hypothesis that the high-energy cosmic background is due to the described model.

Shape and texture fused recognition of flying targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovács, Levente; Utasi, Ákos; Kovács, Andrea; Szirányi, Tamás

2011-06-01

This paper presents visual detection and recognition of flying targets (e.g. planes, missiles) based on automatically extracted shape and object texture information, for application areas like alerting, recognition and tracking. Targets are extracted based on robust background modeling and a novel contour extraction approach, and object recognition is done by comparisons to shape and texture based query results on a previously gathered real life object dataset. Application areas involve passive defense scenarios, including automatic object detection and tracking with cheap commodity hardware components (CPU, camera and GPS).

Three-dimensional mapping in the electrophysiological laboratory.

PubMed

Maury, Philippe; Monteil, Benjamin; Marty, Lilian; Duparc, Alexandre; Mondoly, Pierre; Rollin, Anne

2018-06-07

Investigation and catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias are currently still based on optimal knowledge of arrhythmia mechanisms in relation to the cardiac anatomy involved, in order to target their crucial components. Currently, most complex arrhythmias are investigated using three-dimensional electroanatomical navigation systems, because these are felt to optimally integrate both the anatomical and electrophysiological features of a given arrhythmia in a given patient. In this article, we review the technical background of available three-dimensional electroanatomical navigation systems, and their potential use in complex ablations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Neutrino Oscillations as a Probe of Light Scalar Dark Matter.

PubMed

Berlin, Asher

2016-12-02

We consider a class of models involving interactions between ultralight scalar dark matter and standard model neutrinos. Such couplings modify the neutrino mass splittings and mixing angles to include additional components that vary in time periodically with a frequency and amplitude set by the mass and energy density of the dark matter. Null results from recent searches for anomalous periodicities in the solar neutrino flux strongly constrain the dark matter-neutrino coupling to be orders of magnitude below current and projected limits derived from observations of the cosmic microwave background.

Incremental principal component pursuit for video background modeling

DOEpatents

Rodriquez-Valderrama, Paul A.; Wohlberg, Brendt

2017-03-14

An incremental Principal Component Pursuit (PCP) algorithm for video background modeling that is able to process one frame at a time while adapting to changes in background, with a computational complexity that allows for real-time processing, having a low memory footprint and is robust to translational and rotational jitter.

Why involve families in acute mental healthcare? A collaborative conceptual review

PubMed Central

Sandhu, Sima; Giacco, Domenico; Barrett, Katherine; Bennison, Gerry; Collinson, Sue; Priebe, Stefan

2017-01-01

Objectives Family involvement is strongly recommended in clinical guidelines but suffers from poor implementation. To explore this topic at a conceptual level, a multidisciplinary review team including academics, clinicians and individuals with lived experience undertook a review to explore the theoretical background of family involvement models in acute mental health treatment and how this relates to their delivery. Design A conceptual review was undertaken, including a systematic search and narrative synthesis. Included family models were mapped onto the most commonly referenced underlying theories: the diathesis–stress model, systems theories and postmodern theories of mental health. Common components of the models were summarised and compared. Lastly, a thematic analysis was undertaken to explore the role of patients and families in the delivery of the approaches. Setting General adult acute mental health treatment. Results Six distinct family involvement models were identified: Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models, ERIC (Equipe Rapide d’Intervention de Crise), Family Psychoeducation Models, Family Systems Approach, Open Dialogue and the Somerset Model. Findings indicated that despite wide variation in the theoretical models underlying family involvement models, there were many commonalities in their components, such as a focus on communication, language use and joint decision-making. Thematic analysis of the role of patients and families identified several issues for implementation. This included potential harms that could emerge during delivery of the models, such as imposing linear ‘patient–carer’ relationships and the risk of perceived coercion. Conclusions We conclude that future staff training may benefit from discussing the chosen family involvement model within the context of other theories of mental health. This may help to clarify the underlying purpose of family involvement and address the diverse needs and world views of patients, families and professionals in acute settings. PMID:28963308

Regional and local background ozone in Houston during Texas Air Quality Study 2006

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langford, A. O.; Senff, C. J.; Banta, R. M.; Hardesty, R. M.; Alvarez, R. J.; Sandberg, Scott P.; Darby, Lisa S.

2009-04-01

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used to isolate the common modes of behavior in the daily maximum 8-h average ozone mixing ratios measured at 30 Continuous Ambient Monitoring Stations in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area during the Second Texas Air Quality Study field intensive (1 August to 15 October 2006). Three principal components suffice to explain 93% of the total variance. Nearly 84% is explained by the first component, which is attributed to changes in the "regional background" determined primarily by the large-scale winds. The second component (6%) is attributed to changes in the "local background," that is, ozone photochemically produced in the Houston area and spatially and temporally averaged by local circulations. Finally, the third component (3.5%) is attributed to short-lived plumes containing high ozone originating from industrial areas along Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. Regional background ozone concentrations derived using the first component compare well with mean ozone concentrations measured above the Gulf of Mexico by the tunable profiler for aerosols and ozone lidar aboard the NOAA Twin Otter. The PCA regional background values also agree well with background values derived using the lowest daily 8-h maximum method of Nielsen-Gammon et al. (2005), provided the Galveston Airport data (C34) are omitted from that analysis. The differences found when Galveston is included are caused by the sea breeze, which depresses ozone at Galveston relative to sites further inland. PCA removes the effects of this and other local circulations to obtain a regional background value representative of the greater Houston area.

A systematic analysis of the XMM-Newton background: III. Impact of the magnetospheric environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghizzardi, Simona; Marelli, Martino; Salvetti, David; Gastaldello, Fabio; Molendi, Silvano; De Luca, Andrea; Moretti, Alberto; Rossetti, Mariachiara; Tiengo, Andrea

2017-12-01

A detailed characterization of the particle induced background is fundamental for many of the scientific objectives of the Athena X-ray telescope, thus an adequate knowledge of the background that will be encountered by Athena is desirable. Current X-ray telescopes have shown that the intensity of the particle induced background can be highly variable. Different regions of the magnetosphere can have very different environmental conditions, which can, in principle, differently affect the particle induced background detected by the instruments. We present results concerning the influence of the magnetospheric environment on the background detected by EPIC instrument onboard XMM-Newton through the estimate of the variation of the in-Field-of-View background excess along the XMM-Newton orbit. An important contribution to the XMM background, which may affect the Athena background as well, comes from soft proton flares. Along with the flaring component a low-intensity component is also present. We find that both show modest variations in the different magnetozones and that the soft proton component shows a strong trend with the distance from Earth.

Authentication of Herbal Supplements Using Next-Generation Sequencing

PubMed Central

Braukmann, Thomas W. A.; Borisenko, Alex V.; Zakharov, Evgeny V.

2016-01-01

Background DNA-based testing has been gaining acceptance as a tool for authentication of a wide range of food products; however, its applicability for testing of herbal supplements remains contentious. Methods We utilized Sanger and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) for taxonomic authentication of fifteen herbal supplements representing three different producers from five medicinal plants: Echinacea purpurea, Valeriana officinalis, Ginkgo biloba, Hypericum perforatum and Trigonella foenum-graecum. Experimental design included three modifications of DNA extraction, two lysate dilutions, Internal Amplification Control, and multiple negative controls to exclude background contamination. Ginkgo supplements were also analyzed using HPLC-MS for the presence of active medicinal components. Results All supplements yielded DNA from multiple species, rendering Sanger sequencing results for rbcL and ITS2 regions either uninterpretable or non-reproducible between the experimental replicates. Overall, DNA from the manufacturer-listed medicinal plants was successfully detected in seven out of eight dry herb form supplements; however, low or poor DNA recovery due to degradation was observed in most plant extracts (none detected by Sanger; three out of seven–by NGS). NGS also revealed a diverse community of fungi, known to be associated with live plant material and/or the fermentation process used in the production of plant extracts. HPLC-MS testing demonstrated that Ginkgo supplements with degraded DNA contained ten key medicinal components. Conclusion Quality control of herbal supplements should utilize a synergetic approach targeting both DNA and bioactive components, especially for standardized extracts with degraded DNA. The NGS workflow developed in this study enables reliable detection of plant and fungal DNA and can be utilized by manufacturers for quality assurance of raw plant materials, contamination control during the production process, and the final product. Interpretation of results should involve an interdisciplinary approach taking into account the processes involved in production of herbal supplements, as well as biocomplexity of plant-plant and plant-fungal biological interactions. PMID:27227830

Pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma with a dedifferentiation-like appearance in the kidney: case report and literature review.

PubMed

Tajima, Shogo; Waki, Michihiko; Fukuyama, Masashi

2016-12-01

Although primary leiomyosarcoma of the kidney is extremely rare, it is the most common sarcoma of the kidney. Leiomyosarcoma with a large pleomorphic component is designated as pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma. The pleomorphic component is usually similar to undifferentiated high-grade pleomorphic sarcoma, although it variably expresses smooth muscle markers on immunohistochemistry. In the few reported cases of pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma of the kidney, cases with the pleomorphic component showing distinct nodularity similar to dedifferentiated leiomyosarcoma have not been described, to the best of our knowledge. Herein, we present a case of a 49-year-old woman with pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma in the kidney showing distinct nodularity of smooth muscle marker-expressing pleomorphic cells within a background of classic leiomyosarcoma. Along with the classification as a pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma, suggesting aggressive clinical behavior, the renal origin itself might also be a predictor of poor prognosis, as shown in a previous study. This case also involved concomitant distant metastases, already present during the initial detection of the renal tumor.

X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine originating depth of electrons that form an inelastic background of Auger electron spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isomura, Noritake; Cui, Yi-Tao; Murai, Takaaki; Oji, Hiroshi; Kimoto, Yasuji

2017-07-01

In Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), the spectral background is mainly due to inelastic scattering of Auger electrons that lose their kinetic energy in a sample bulk. To investigate the spectral components within this background for SiO2(19.3 nm)/Si(100) with known layer thickness, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was used in the partial-electron-yield (PEY) mode at several electron kinetic energies to probe the background of the Si KLL Auger peak. The Si K-edge PEY-XAS spectra constituted of both Si and SiO2 components at each kinetic energy, and their component fractions were approximately the same as those derived from the simulated AES background for the same sample structure. The contributions of Auger electrons originating from layers at different depths to the inelastic background could thus be identified experimentally.

Characterising variation in wheat traits under hostile soil conditions in India

PubMed Central

Khokhar, Jaswant S.; Sareen, Sindhu; Tyagi, Bhudeva S.; Singh, Gyanendra; Chowdhury, Apurba K.; Dhar, Tapamay; Singh, Vinod; King, Ian P.; Young, Scott D.

2017-01-01

Intensive crop breeding has increased wheat yields and production in India. Wheat improvement in India typically involves selecting yield and component traits under non-hostile soil conditions at regional scales. The aim of this study is to quantify G*E interactions on yield and component traits to further explore site-specific trait selection for hostile soils. Field experiments were conducted at six sites (pH range 4.5–9.5) in 2013–14 and 2014–15, in three agro-climatic regions of India. At each site, yield and component traits were measured on 36 genotypes, representing elite varieties from a wide genetic background developed for different regions. Mean grain yields ranged from 1.0 to 5.5 t ha-1 at hostile and non-hostile sites, respectively. Site (E) had the largest effect on yield and component traits, however, interactions between genotype and site (G*E) affected most traits to a greater extent than genotype alone. Within each agro-climatic region, yield and component traits correlated positively between hostile and non-hostile sites. However, some genotypes performed better under hostile soils, with site-specific relationships between yield and component traits, which supports the value of ongoing site-specific selection activities. PMID:28604800

A general introduction to aeroacoustics and atmospheric sound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lighthill, James

1992-01-01

A single unifying principle (based upon the nonlinear 'momentum-flux' effects produced when different components of a motion transport different components of its momentum) is used to give a broad scientific background to several aspects of the interaction between airflows and atmospheric sound. First, it treats the generation of sound by airflows of many different types. These include, for example, jet-like flows involving convected turbulent motions (with the resulting aeroacoustic radiation sensitively dependent on the Mach number of convection) and they include, as an extreme case, the supersonic 'boom' (shock waves generated by a supersonically convected flow pattern). Next, an analysis is given of sound propagation through nonuniformly moving airflows, and the exchange is quantified of energy between flow and sound; while, finally, problems are examined of how sound waves 'on their own' may generate the airflows known as acoustic streaming.

Interprofessional anatomy education in the United Kingdom and Ireland: Perspectives from students and teachers.

PubMed

Smith, Claire F; Hall, Samuel; Border, Scott; Adds, Philip J; Finn, Gabrielle M

2015-01-01

There is increasing recognition of multiprofessional learning in anatomy and its role in medical and healthcare professions. This study utilized two components to investigate anatomy interprofessional education (AIPE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland. First, a survey involving qualitative and quantitative components asked Heads of Anatomy to report on their institutions' uptake of AIPE. Second, a series of case studies explored the experiences of students by using evaluation forms and an in-depth analysis of thematic concepts to understand the learners' perspectives on designing and delivering AIPE. Out of the 13 institutions that took part in the survey, eight did not offer an AIPE program. Between the remaining five institutions that deliver AIPE programs, 10 different modules are offered with the majority involving healthcare professions. The AIPE component is rated highly by students. The themes from the case studies highlight how valuable AIPE is from the student perspective both in terms of engaging them in anatomy as well as in the broader skills of teamwork and communication. The case studies also revealed how AIPE can be engaging for groups of students who might not have previously had access to cadaveric anatomy, for example, engineers and archeologists. The results of this study have implications for curriculum design in medicine and healthcare but also for further engagement of professional groups from non-healthcare backgrounds. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Background-Source Cosmic-Photon Elevation Scaling and Cosmic-Neutron/Photon Date Scaling in MCNP6

DOE PAGES

Tutt, James Robert; Anderson, Casey Alan; McKinney, Gregg Walter

2017-10-26

Here, cosmic neutron and photon fluxes are known to scale exponentially with elevation. Consequently, cosmic neutron elevation scaling was implemented for use with the background-source option shortly after its introduction into MCNP6, whereby the neutron flux weight factor was adjusted by the elevation scaling factor when the user-specified elevation differed from the selected background.dat grid-point elevation. At the same time, an elevation scaling factor was suggested for the cosmic photon flux, however, cosmic photon elevation scaling is complicated by the fact that the photon background consists of two components: cosmic and terrestrial. Previous versions of the background.dat file did notmore » provide any way to separate these components. With Rel. 4 of this file in 2015, two new columns were added that provide the energy grid and differential cosmic photon flux separately from the total photon flux. Here we show that the cosmic photon flux component can now be scaled independently and combined with the terrestrial component to form the total photon flux at a user-specified elevation in MCNP6.« less

Background-Source Cosmic-Photon Elevation Scaling and Cosmic-Neutron/Photon Date Scaling in MCNP6

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

Tutt, James Robert; Anderson, Casey Alan; McKinney, Gregg Walter

Here, cosmic neutron and photon fluxes are known to scale exponentially with elevation. Consequently, cosmic neutron elevation scaling was implemented for use with the background-source option shortly after its introduction into MCNP6, whereby the neutron flux weight factor was adjusted by the elevation scaling factor when the user-specified elevation differed from the selected background.dat grid-point elevation. At the same time, an elevation scaling factor was suggested for the cosmic photon flux, however, cosmic photon elevation scaling is complicated by the fact that the photon background consists of two components: cosmic and terrestrial. Previous versions of the background.dat file did notmore » provide any way to separate these components. With Rel. 4 of this file in 2015, two new columns were added that provide the energy grid and differential cosmic photon flux separately from the total photon flux. Here we show that the cosmic photon flux component can now be scaled independently and combined with the terrestrial component to form the total photon flux at a user-specified elevation in MCNP6.« less

Development and content validity of the CENA Program for Educational Training on the Neuropsychology of Learning, with an emphasis on executive functions and attention.

PubMed

Pureza, Janice R; Fonseca, Rochele P

2017-01-01

The importance of executive functions (EF) in childhood development, and their role as indicators of health, well-being, professional and academic success have been demonstrated by several studies in the literature. FE are cognitive processes that aim to control and manage behavior to achieve specific goal and included skills planning, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, (executive) attention and the central executive component of working memory (WM). In the context of education, the EF are crucial for continued learning and efficient academic performance due to their involvement in several components of the educational process. The aim of this article was to describe the development and content validity of the CENA Program for Educational Training on the Neuropsychology of Learning, with an emphasis on executive functions and attention. The study involved seven specialists (four responsible for evaluating the program, and three involved in brainstorming), and was carried out in three stages:Background research: neuropsychology and education;Program development - author brainstorming andEvaluation by expert judges The goals, language and methods. CENA Program were considered adequate, attesting to its content validity as a school-based neuropsychological intervention. Teacher training in school neuropsychology may be an important area for future investment and contribute to academic achievement and student development in the Brazilian education system.

Development and content validity of the CENA Program for Educational Training on the Neuropsychology of Learning, with an emphasis on executive functions and attention

PubMed Central

Pureza, Janice R.; Fonseca, Rochele P.

2017-01-01

Introduction The importance of executive functions (EF) in childhood development, and their role as indicators of health, well-being, professional and academic success have been demonstrated by several studies in the literature. FE are cognitive processes that aim to control and manage behavior to achieve specific goal and included skills planning, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, (executive) attention and the central executive component of working memory (WM). In the context of education, the EF are crucial for continued learning and efficient academic performance due to their involvement in several components of the educational process. Objective The aim of this article was to describe the development and content validity of the CENA Program for Educational Training on the Neuropsychology of Learning, with an emphasis on executive functions and attention. Methods The study involved seven specialists (four responsible for evaluating the program, and three involved in brainstorming), and was carried out in three stages: Background research: neuropsychology and education; Program development - author brainstorming and Evaluation by expert judges The goals, language and methods. Results CENA Program were considered adequate, attesting to its content validity as a school-based neuropsychological intervention. Conclusion Teacher training in school neuropsychology may be an important area for future investment and contribute to academic achievement and student development in the Brazilian education system. PMID:29213497

Protein kinase GCN2 mediates responses to glyphosate in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Faus, Isabel; Zabalza, Ana; Santiago, Julia; Nebauer, Sergio G; Royuela, Mercedes; Serrano, Ramon; Gadea, Jose

2015-01-21

The increased selection pressure of the herbicide glyphosate has played a role in the evolution of glyphosate-resistance in weedy species, an issue that is becoming a threat to global agriculture. The molecular components involved in the cellular toxicity response to this herbicide at the expression level are still unidentified. In this study, we identify the protein kinase GCN2 as a cellular component that fosters the action of glyphosate in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparative studies using wild-type and gcn2 knock-out mutant seedlings show that the molecular programme that the plant deploys after the treatment with the herbicide, is compromised in gcn2. Moreover, gcn2 adult plants show a lower inhibition of photosynthesis, and both seedlings and adult gcn2 plants accumulate less shikimic acid than wild-type after treatment with glyphosate. These results points to an unknown GCN2-dependent factor involved in the cascade of events triggered by glyphosate in plants. Data suggest either that the herbicide does not equally reach the target-enzyme in a gcn2 background, or that a decreased flux in the shikimate pathway in a gcn2 plants minimize the impact of enzyme inhibition.

Angular power spectrum of the FASTICA cosmic microwave background component from Background Emission Anisotropy Scanning Telescope data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donzelli, S.; Maino, D.; Bersanelli, M.; Childers, J.; Figueiredo, N.; Lubin, P. M.; Meinhold, P. R.; O'Dwyer, I. J.; Seiffert, M. D.; Villela, T.; Wandelt, B. D.; Wuensche, C. A.

2006-06-01

We present the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) component extracted with FASTICA from the Background Emission Anisotropy Scanning Telescope (BEAST) data. BEAST is a 2.2-m off-axis telescope with a focal plane comprising eight elements at Q (38-45 GHz) and Ka (26-36 GHz) bands. It operates from the UC (University of California) White Mountain Research Station at an altitude of 3800 m. The BEAST CMB angular power spectrum has already been calculated by O'Dwyer et al. using only the Q-band data. With two input channels, FASTICA returns two possible independent components. We found that one of these two has an unphysical spectral behaviour, while the other is a reasonable CMB component. After a detailed calibration procedure based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, we extracted the angular power spectrum for the identified CMB component and found a very good agreement with the already published BEAST CMB angular power spectrum and with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data.

Using dynamic mode decomposition for real-time background/foreground separation in video

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

Kutz, Jose Nathan; Grosek, Jacob; Brunton, Steven

The technique of dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is disclosed herein for the purpose of robustly separating video frames into background (low-rank) and foreground (sparse) components in real-time. Foreground/background separation is achieved at the computational cost of just one singular value decomposition (SVD) and one linear equation solve, thus producing results orders of magnitude faster than robust principal component analysis (RPCA). Additional techniques, including techniques for analyzing the video for multi-resolution time-scale components, and techniques for reusing computations to allow processing of streaming video in real time, are also described herein.

Skyshine Contribution to Gamma Ray Background Between 0 and 4 MeV

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

Mitchell, Allison L.; Borgardt, James D.; Kouzes, Richard T.

2009-08-14

Natural gamma-ray background is composed of four components; which include cosmic rays, cosmic ray produced atmospheric activity, terrestrial sources, and skyshine from terrestrial sources. Skyshine is radiation scattered from the air above a source that can produce a signal in radiation detection instrumentation. Skyshine has been studied for many years but its contribution to the natural background observed in a detector has not been studied. A large NaI(Tl) detector was used to investigate each of the four components of the natural background using a series of 48-hour measurements and appropriate lead shielding configured to discriminate contributions from each component. Itmore » was found that while the contribution from skyshine decreases rapidly with energy, it represents a significant portion of the background spectrum below ~500keV. A similar campaign of measurements using a HPGe detector is underway.« less

Monte Carlo Simulations of Background Spectra in Integral Imager Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armstrong, T. W.; Colborn, B. L.; Dietz, K. L.; Ramsey, B. D.; Weisskopf, M. C.

1998-01-01

Predictions of the expected gamma-ray backgrounds in the ISGRI (CdTe) and PiCsIT (Csl) detectors on INTEGRAL due to cosmic-ray interactions and the diffuse gamma-ray background have been made using a coupled set of Monte Carlo radiation transport codes (HETC, FLUKA, EGS4, and MORSE) and a detailed, 3-D mass model of the spacecraft and detector assemblies. The simulations include both the prompt background component from induced hadronic and electromagnetic cascades and the delayed component due to emissions from induced radioactivity. Background spectra have been obtained with and without the use of active (BGO) shielding and charged particle rejection to evaluate the effectiveness of anticoincidence counting on background rejection.

Adolescents' knowledge and beliefs about pregnancy: the impact of "ENABL".

PubMed

Arnold, E M; Smith, T E; Harrison, D F; Springer, D W

2000-01-01

Finding effective ways to prevent adolescent pregnancy is a concern of public health officials, educators, social workers, parents, and legislators. Numerous programs exist, but there is debate as to whether it is the specific program itself or other factors that are responsible for participants' successful outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study sought to determine which factors predicted changes in knowledge and beliefs among middle school students (N = 1,450) after exposure to Postponing Sexual Involvement (PSI), the curricular component of Education Now and Babies Later (ENABL), a pregnancy prevention program. It was found that the single most important predictor of improvement in knowledge and beliefs about pregnancy prevention was PSI itself, not background variables. The findings contradict some of the previous studies on factors impacting teenage pregnancy and lend support for the continued examination of ENABL as a promising component of pregnancy prevention efforts.

Existential experiences and needs related to induced abortion in a group of Swedish women: a quantitative investigation.

PubMed

Stålhandske, Maria Liljas; Makenzius, Marlene; Tydén, Tanja; Larsson, Margareta

2012-06-01

To investigate the prevalence of existential experiences and needs among women who have requested an induced abortion. A questionnaire was used to collect information from 499 women who had requested an induced abortion. A principle component analysis resulted in three components of existential experiences and needs: existential thoughts, existential practices, and humanisation of the foetus. These components were analysed in relation to background data and other data from the questionnaire. Existential experiences and needs were common. For 61% of women existential thoughts about life and death, meaning and morality were related to the abortion experience. Almost 50% of women reported a need for special acts in relation to the abortion; 67% of women thought of the pregnancy in terms of a child. A higher presence of existential components correlated to difficulty in making the abortion decision and poor psychological wellbeing after the abortion. Women's experiences of abortion can include existential thoughts about life, death, meaning and morality, feelings of attachment to the foetus, and the need for symbolic expression. This presents a challenge for abortion personnel, as the situation involves complex aspects over and above medical procedures and routines.

Mixed Methods in CAM Research: A Systematic Review of Studies Published in 2012

PubMed Central

Bishop, Felicity L.; Holmes, Michelle M.

2013-01-01

Background. Mixed methods research uses qualitative and quantitative methods together in a single study or a series of related studies. Objectives. To review the prevalence and quality of mixed methods studies in complementary medicine. Methods. All studies published in the top 10 integrative and complementary medicine journals in 2012 were screened. The quality of mixed methods studies was appraised using a published tool designed for mixed methods studies. Results. 4% of papers (95 out of 2349) reported mixed methods studies, 80 of which met criteria for applying the quality appraisal tool. The most popular formal mixed methods design was triangulation (used by 74% of studies), followed by embedded (14%), sequential explanatory (8%), and finally sequential exploratory (5%). Quantitative components were generally of higher quality than qualitative components; when quantitative components involved RCTs they were of particularly high quality. Common methodological limitations were identified. Most strikingly, none of the 80 mixed methods studies addressed the philosophical tensions inherent in mixing qualitative and quantitative methods. Conclusions and Implications. The quality of mixed methods research in CAM can be enhanced by addressing philosophical tensions and improving reporting of (a) analytic methods and reflexivity (in qualitative components) and (b) sampling and recruitment-related procedures (in all components). PMID:24454489

Component separation of a isotropic Gravitational Wave Background

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

Parida, Abhishek; Jhingan, Sanjay; Mitra, Sanjit, E-mail: abhishek@jmi.ac.in, E-mail: sanjit@iucaa.in, E-mail: sjhingan@jmi.ac.in

2016-04-01

A Gravitational Wave Background (GWB) is expected in the universe from the superposition of a large number of unresolved astrophysical sources and phenomena in the early universe. Each component of the background (e.g., from primordial metric perturbations, binary neutron stars, milli-second pulsars etc.) has its own spectral shape. Many ongoing experiments aim to probe GWB at a variety of frequency bands. In the last two decades, using data from ground-based laser interferometric gravitational wave (GW) observatories, upper limits on GWB were placed in the frequency range of 0∼ 50−100 Hz, considering one spectral shape at a time. However, one strong componentmore » can significantly enhance the estimated strength of another component. Hence, estimation of the amplitudes of the components with different spectral shapes should be done jointly. Here we propose a method for 'component separation' of a statistically isotropic background, that can, for the first time, jointly estimate the amplitudes of many components and place upper limits. The method is rather straightforward and needs negligible amount of computation. It utilises the linear relationship between the measurements and the amplitudes of the actual components, alleviating the need for a sampling based method, e.g., Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) or matched filtering, which are computationally intensive and cumbersome in a multi-dimensional parameter space. Using this formalism we could also study how many independent components can be separated using a given dataset from a network of current and upcoming ground based interferometric detectors.« less

Why involve families in acute mental healthcare? A collaborative conceptual review.

PubMed

Dirik, Aysegul; Sandhu, Sima; Giacco, Domenico; Barrett, Katherine; Bennison, Gerry; Collinson, Sue; Priebe, Stefan

2017-09-27

Family involvement is strongly recommended in clinical guidelines but suffers from poor implementation. To explore this topic at a conceptual level, a multidisciplinary review team including academics, clinicians and individuals with lived experience undertook a review to explore the theoretical background of family involvement models in acute mental health treatment and how this relates to their delivery. A conceptual review was undertaken, including a systematic search and narrative synthesis. Included family models were mapped onto the most commonly referenced underlying theories: the diathesis-stress model, systems theories and postmodern theories of mental health. Common components of the models were summarised and compared. Lastly, a thematic analysis was undertaken to explore the role of patients and families in the delivery of the approaches. General adult acute mental health treatment. Six distinct family involvement models were identified: Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models, ERIC (Equipe Rapide d'Intervention de Crise), Family Psychoeducation Models, Family Systems Approach, Open Dialogue and the Somerset Model. Findings indicated that despite wide variation in the theoretical models underlying family involvement models, there were many commonalities in their components, such as a focus on communication, language use and joint decision-making. Thematic analysis of the role of patients and families identified several issues for implementation. This included potential harms that could emerge during delivery of the models, such as imposing linear 'patient-carer' relationships and the risk of perceived coercion. We conclude that future staff training may benefit from discussing the chosen family involvement model within the context of other theories of mental health. This may help to clarify the underlying purpose of family involvement and address the diverse needs and world views of patients, families and professionals in acute settings. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The EPIC-MOS Particle-Induced Background Spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuntz, K. D.; Sowden, S. L.

2007-01-01

In order to analyse diffuse emission that fills the field of view, one must accurately characterize the instrumental backgrounds. For the XMM-Newton EPIC instrument these backgrounds include a temporally variable "quiescent" component. as well as the strongly variable soft proton contamination. We have characterized the spectral and spatial response of the EPIC detectors to these background components and have developed tools to remove these backgrounds from observations. The "quiescent" component was characterized using a combination of the filter-wheel-closed data and a database of unexposed-region data. The soft proton contamination was characterized by differencing images and spectra taken during flared and flare-free intervals. After application of our modeled backgrounds, the differences between independent observations of the same region of "blank sky" are consistent with the statistical uncertainties except when there is clear spectral evidence of solar wind charge exchange emission. Using a large sample of blank sky data, we show that strong magnetospheric SWCX emission requires elevated solar wind fluxes; observations through the densest part of the magnetosheath are not necessarily strongly contaminated with SWCX emission.

Sheared E×B flow and plasma turbulence viscosity in a Reversed Field Pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vianello, N.; Antoni, V.; Spada, E.; Spolaore, M.; Serianni, G.; Regnoli, G.; Zuin, M.; Cavazzana, R.; Bergsåker, H.; Cecconello, M.; Drake, J. R.

2004-11-01

The relationship between electromagnetic turbulence and sheared plasma flow in Reversed Field Pinch configuration is addressed. The momentum balance equation for a compressible plasma is considered and the terms involved are measured in the outer region of Extrap-T2R RFP device. It results that electrostatic fluctuations determine the plasma flow through the electrostatic component of Reynolds Stress tensor. This term involves spatial and temporal scales comparable to those of MHD activity. The derived experimental perpendicular viscosity is consistent with anomalous diffusion, the latter being discussed in terms of electrostatic turbulence background and coherent structures emerging from fluctuations. The results indicate a dynamical interplay between turbulence, anomalous transport and mean E×B profiles. The momentum balance has been studied also in non-stationary condition during the application of Pulsed Poloidal Current Drive, which is known to reduce the amplitude of MHD modes.

CO Component Estimation Based on the Independent Component Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichiki, Kiyotomo; Kaji, Ryohei; Yamamoto, Hiroaki; Takeuchi, Tsutomu T.; Fukui, Yasuo

2014-01-01

Fast Independent Component Analysis (FastICA) is a component separation algorithm based on the levels of non-Gaussianity. Here we apply FastICA to the component separation problem of the microwave background, including carbon monoxide (CO) line emissions that are found to contaminate the PLANCK High Frequency Instrument (HFI) data. Specifically, we prepare 100 GHz, 143 GHz, and 217 GHz mock microwave sky maps, which include galactic thermal dust, NANTEN CO line, and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) emissions, and then estimate the independent components based on the kurtosis. We find that FastICA can successfully estimate the CO component as the first independent component in our deflection algorithm because its distribution has the largest degree of non-Gaussianity among the components. Thus, FastICA can be a promising technique to extract CO-like components without prior assumptions about their distributions and frequency dependences.

CO component estimation based on the independent component analysis

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

Ichiki, Kiyotomo; Kaji, Ryohei; Yamamoto, Hiroaki

2014-01-01

Fast Independent Component Analysis (FastICA) is a component separation algorithm based on the levels of non-Gaussianity. Here we apply FastICA to the component separation problem of the microwave background, including carbon monoxide (CO) line emissions that are found to contaminate the PLANCK High Frequency Instrument (HFI) data. Specifically, we prepare 100 GHz, 143 GHz, and 217 GHz mock microwave sky maps, which include galactic thermal dust, NANTEN CO line, and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) emissions, and then estimate the independent components based on the kurtosis. We find that FastICA can successfully estimate the CO component as the first independentmore » component in our deflection algorithm because its distribution has the largest degree of non-Gaussianity among the components. Thus, FastICA can be a promising technique to extract CO-like components without prior assumptions about their distributions and frequency dependences.« less

Background matching by means of dorsal color change in treefrog populations (Hyla japonica).

PubMed

Choi, Noori; Jang, Yikweon

2014-02-01

Treefrogs change dorsal coloration to match background colors, presumably for predator avoidance. Dorsal coloration in treefrogs results from rearrangement of pigment granules in dermal chromatophores. This physiological basis for color change suggests that brightness and chroma are the color components that may change in response to background color. However, results of experiments are conflicting in that there is no consensus as to which color component is critical for color change in treefrogs. We tested predictions of the physiological model for color change in treefrogs by investigating dorsal color change under five background colors in three different populations of the treefrog Hyla japonica. Differences in color components between background colors and frogs were used as a measure of background matching. Throughout a 1-week experimental period, brightness and chroma differences decreased monotonically, while hue difference remained constant for all background colors. Chroma differences were smaller with the natural colors such as green and brown than with achromatic colors. Moreover, variation in color change among frogs from three localities that differed in land cover suggested that chroma change capacity may be sensitive to environmental conditions. Under the white background color, however, decreasing brightness difference seemed to be crucial to background matching. Furthermore, chroma difference and brightness difference did not decrease indefinitely, suggesting a trade-off between chroma difference and brightness difference under the white background. Thus, background matching may generally occur by decreasing chroma difference under most background colors in H. japonica, but brightness matching may be important under the white color. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

On the contribution of circumferential resonance modes in acoustic radiation force experienced by cylindrical shells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajabi, Majid; Behzad, Mehdi

2014-10-01

A body insonified by a constant (time-varying) intensity sound field is known to experience a steady (oscillatory) force that is called the steady-state (dynamic) acoustic radiation force. Using the classical resonance scattering theorem (RST) which suggests the scattered field as a superposition of a resonance field and a background (non-resonance) component, we show that the radiation force acting on a cylindrical shell may be synthesized as a composition of three components: background part, resonance part and their interaction. The background component reveals the pure geometrical reflection effects and illustrates a regular behavior with respect to frequency, while the others demonstrate a singular behavior near the resonance frequencies. The results illustrate that the resonance effects associated to partial waves can be isolated by the subtraction of the background component from the total (steady-state or dynamic) radiation force function (i.e., residue component). In the case of steady-state radiation force, the components are exerted on the body as static forces. For the case of oscillatory amplitude excitation, the components are exerted at the modulation frequency with frequency-dependant phase shifts. The results demonstrate the dominant contribution of the non-resonance component of dynamic radiation force at high frequencies with respect to the residue component, which offers the potential application of ultrasound stimulated vibro-acoustic spectroscopy technique in low frequency resonance spectroscopy purposes. Furthermore, the proposed formulation may be useful essentially due to its intrinsic value in physical acoustics. In addition, it may unveil the contribution of resonance modes in the dynamic radiation force experienced by the cylindrical objects and its underlying physics.

Identification of signaling components required for the prediction of cytokine release in RAW 264.7 macrophages

PubMed Central

Pradervand, Sylvain; Maurya, Mano R; Subramaniam, Shankar

2006-01-01

Background Release of immuno-regulatory cytokines and chemokines during inflammatory response is mediated by a complex signaling network. Multiple stimuli produce different signals that generate different cytokine responses. Current knowledge does not provide a complete picture of these signaling pathways. However, using specific markers of signaling pathways, such as signaling proteins, it is possible to develop a 'coarse-grained network' map that can help understand common regulatory modules for various cytokine responses and help differentiate between the causes of their release. Results Using a systematic profiling of signaling responses and cytokine release in RAW 264.7 macrophages made available by the Alliance for Cellular Signaling, an analysis strategy is presented that integrates principal component regression and exhaustive search-based model reduction to identify required signaling factors necessary and sufficient to predict the release of seven cytokines (G-CSF, IL-1α, IL-6, IL-10, MIP-1α, RANTES, and TNFα) in response to selected ligands. This study provides a model-based quantitative estimate of cytokine release and identifies ten signaling components involved in cytokine production. The models identified capture many of the known signaling pathways involved in cytokine release and predict potentially important novel signaling components, like p38 MAPK for G-CSF release, IFNγ- and IL-4-specific pathways for IL-1a release, and an M-CSF-specific pathway for TNFα release. Conclusion Using an integrative approach, we have identified the pathways responsible for the differential regulation of cytokine release in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Our results demonstrate the power of using heterogeneous cellular data to qualitatively and quantitatively map intermediate cellular phenotypes. PMID:16507166

Background-Source Cosmic-Photon Elevation Scaling and Cosmic-Neutron/Photon Date Scaling in MCNP6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tutt, J.; Anderson, C.; McKinney, G.

Cosmic neutron and photon fluxes are known to scale exponentially with elevation. Consequently, cosmic neutron elevation scaling was implemented for use with the background-source option shortly after its introduction into MCNP6, whereby the neutron flux weight factor was adjusted by the elevation scaling factor when the user-specified elevation differed from the selected background.dat grid-point elevation. At the same time, an elevation scaling factor was suggested for the cosmic photon flux, however, cosmic photon elevation scaling is complicated by the fact that the photon background consists of two components: cosmic and terrestrial. Previous versions of the background.dat file did not provide any way to separate these components. With Rel. 4 of this file in 2015, two new columns were added that provide the energy grid and differential cosmic photon flux separately from the total photon flux. Here we show that the cosmic photon flux component can now be scaled independently and combined with the terrestrial component to form the total photon flux at a user-specified elevation in MCNP6. Cosmic background fluxes also scale with the solar cycle due to solar modulation. This modulation has been shown to be nearly sinusoidal over time, with an inverse effect - increased modulation leads to a decrease in cosmic fluxes. This effect was initially included with the cosmic source option in MCNP6 and has now been extended for use with the background source option when: (1) the date is specified in the background.dat file, and (2) when the user specifies a date on the source definition card. A description of the cosmic-neutron/photon date scaling feature will be presented along with scaling results for past and future date extrapolations.

SMALL ACIDIC PROTEIN1 acts with RUB modification components, the COP9 signalosome, and AXR1 to regulate growth and development of Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Nakasone, Akari; Fujiwara, Masayuki; Fukao, Yoichiro; Biswas, Kamal Kanti; Rahman, Abidur; Kawai-Yamada, Maki; Narumi, Issay; Uchimiya, Hirofumi; Oono, Yutaka

2012-09-01

Previously, a dysfunction of the SMALL ACIDIC PROTEIN1 (SMAP1) gene was identified as the cause of the anti-auxin resistant1 (aar1) mutant of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). SMAP1 is involved in the response pathway of synthetic auxin, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and functions upstream of the auxin/indole-3-acetic acid protein degradation step in auxin signaling. However, the exact mechanism by which SMAP1 functions in auxin signaling remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that SMAP1 is required for normal plant growth and development and the root response to indole-3-acetic acid or methyl jasmonate in the auxin resistant1 (axr1) mutation background. Deletion analysis and green fluorescent protein/glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays showed that SMAP1 physically interacts with the CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC9 SIGNALOSOME (CSN) via the SMAP1 F/D region. The extremely dwarf phenotype of the aar1-1 csn5a-1 double mutant confirms the functional role of SMAP1 in plant growth and development under limiting CSN functionality. Our findings suggest that SMAP1 is involved in the auxin response and possibly in other cullin-RING ubiquitin ligase-regulated signaling processes via its interaction with components associated with RELATED TO UBIQUITIN modification.

Spatial-frequency spectrum of patterns changes the visibility of spatial-phase differences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawton, T. B.

1985-01-01

It is shown that spatial-frequency components over a 4-octave range affected the visibility of spatial-phase differences. Contrast thresholds were measured for discrimination between two (+45- and -45-deg) spatial phases of a sinusoidal test grating added to a background grating. The background could contain one or several sinusoidal components, all in 0-deg phase. Phase differences between the test and the background were visible at lower contrasts when test and background frequencies were harmonically related than when they were not, when test and background frequencies were within 1 octave than when they were farther apart, when the fundamental frequency of the background was low than when it was high, and for some discriminations more than for others, after practice. The visibility of phase differences was not affected by additional components in the background if the fundamental and difference frequencies of the background remained unchanged. Observers' reports of their strategies gave information about the types of attentive processing that were used to discriminate phase differences. Attentive processing facilitated phase discrimination for multifrequency gratings spanning a much wider range of spatial frequencies than would be possible by using only local preattentive processing. These results were consistent with the visibility of phase differences being processed by some combination of even- and odd-symmetric simple cells tuned to a wide range of different spatial frequencies.

Amplification of a high-frequency electromagnetic wave by a relativistic plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoon, Peter H.

1990-01-01

The amplification of a high-frequency transverse electromagnetic wave by a relativistic plasma component, via the synchrotron maser process, is studied. The background plasma that supports the transverse wave is considered to be cold, and the energetic component whose density is much smaller than that of the background component has a loss-cone feature in the perpendicular momentum space and a finite field-aligned drift speed. The ratio of the background plasma frequency squared to the electron gyrofrequency squared is taken to be sufficiently larger than unity. Such a parameter regime is relevant to many space and astrophysical situations. A detailed study of the amplification process is carried out over a wide range of physical parameters including the loss-cone index, the ratio of the electron mass energy to the temperature of the energetic component, the field-aligned drift speed, the normalized density, and the wave propagation angle.

A systematic analysis of the XMM-Newton background: I. Dataset and extraction procedures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marelli, Martino; Salvetti, David; Gastaldello, Fabio; Ghizzardi, Simona; Molendi, Silvano; Luca, Andrea De; Moretti, Alberto; Rossetti, Mariachiara; Tiengo, Andrea

2017-12-01

XMM-Newton is the direct precursor of the future ESA ATHENA mission. A study of its particle-induced background provides therefore significant insight for the ATHENA mission design. We make use of ˜12 years of data, products from the third XMM-Newton catalog as well as FP7 EXTraS project to avoid celestial sources contamination and to disentangle the different components of the XMM-Newton particle-induced background. Within the ESA R&D AREMBES collaboration, we built new analysis pipelines to study the different components of this background: this covers time behavior as well as spectral and spatial characteristics.

Randomized subspace-based robust principal component analysis for hyperspectral anomaly detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Weiwei; Yang, Gang; Li, Jialin; Zhang, Dianfa

2018-01-01

A randomized subspace-based robust principal component analysis (RSRPCA) method for anomaly detection in hyperspectral imagery (HSI) is proposed. The RSRPCA combines advantages of randomized column subspace and robust principal component analysis (RPCA). It assumes that the background has low-rank properties, and the anomalies are sparse and do not lie in the column subspace of the background. First, RSRPCA implements random sampling to sketch the original HSI dataset from columns and to construct a randomized column subspace of the background. Structured random projections are also adopted to sketch the HSI dataset from rows. Sketching from columns and rows could greatly reduce the computational requirements of RSRPCA. Second, the RSRPCA adopts the columnwise RPCA (CWRPCA) to eliminate negative effects of sampled anomaly pixels and that purifies the previous randomized column subspace by removing sampled anomaly columns. The CWRPCA decomposes the submatrix of the HSI data into a low-rank matrix (i.e., background component), a noisy matrix (i.e., noise component), and a sparse anomaly matrix (i.e., anomaly component) with only a small proportion of nonzero columns. The algorithm of inexact augmented Lagrange multiplier is utilized to optimize the CWRPCA problem and estimate the sparse matrix. Nonzero columns of the sparse anomaly matrix point to sampled anomaly columns in the submatrix. Third, all the pixels are projected onto the complemental subspace of the purified randomized column subspace of the background and the anomaly pixels in the original HSI data are finally exactly located. Several experiments on three real hyperspectral images are carefully designed to investigate the detection performance of RSRPCA, and the results are compared with four state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results show that the proposed RSRPCA outperforms four comparison methods both in detection performance and in computational time.

Illusory bending of a rigidly moving line segment: effects of image motion and smooth pursuit eye movements.

PubMed

Thaler, Lore; Todd, James T; Spering, Miriam; Gegenfurtner, Karl R

2007-04-20

Four experiments in which observers judged the apparent "rubberiness" of a line segment undergoing different types of rigid motion are reported. The results reveal that observers perceive illusory bending when the motion involves certain combinations of translational and rotational components and that the illusion is maximized when these components are presented at a frequency of approximately 3 Hz with a relative phase angle of approximately 120 degrees . Smooth pursuit eye movements can amplify or attenuate the illusion, which is consistent with other results reported in the literature that show effects of eye movements on perceived image motion. The illusion is unaffected by background motion that is in counterphase with the motion of the line segment but is significantly attenuated by background motion that is in-phase. This is consistent with the idea that human observers integrate motion signals within a local frame of reference, and it provides strong evidence that visual persistency cannot be the sole cause of the illusion as was suggested by J. R. Pomerantz (1983). An analysis of the motion patterns suggests that the illusory bending motion may be due to an inability of observers to accurately track the motions of features whose image displacements undergo rapid simultaneous changes in both space and time. A measure of these changes is presented, which is highly correlated with observers' numerical ratings of rubberiness.

Ultraviolet-B component of sunlight stimulates photosynthesis and flavonoid accumulation in variegated Plectranthus coleoides leaves depending on background light.

PubMed

Vidović, Marija; Morina, Filis; Milić, Sonja; Zechmann, Bernd; Albert, Andreas; Winkler, Jana Barbro; Veljović Jovanović, Sonja

2015-05-01

We used variegated Plectranthus coleoides as a model plant with the aim of clarifying whether the effects of realistic ultraviolet-B (UV-B) doses on phenolic metabolism in leaves are mediated by photosynthesis. Plants were exposed to UV-B radiation (0.90 W m(-2) ) combined with two photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) intensities [395 and 1350 μmol m(-2)  s(-1) , low light (LL) and high light (HL)] for 9 d in sun simulators. Our study indicates that UV-B component of sunlight stimulates CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance, depending on background light. UV-B-specific induction of apigenin and cyanidin glycosides was observed in both green and white tissues. However, all the other phenolic subclasses were up to four times more abundant in green leaf tissue. Caffeic and rosmarinic acids, catechin and epicatechin, which are endogenous peroxidase substrates, were depleted at HL in green tissue. This was correlated with increased peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase activities and increased ascorbate content. The UV-B supplement to HL attenuated antioxidative metabolism and partly recovered the phenolic pool indicating stimulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway. In summary, we propose that ortho-dihydroxy phenolics are involved in antioxidative defence in chlorophyllous tissue upon light excess, while apigenin and cyanidin in white tissue have preferentially UV-screening function. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Restructuring the CS 1 classroom: Examining the effect of open laboratory-based classes vs. closed laboratory-based classes on Computer Science 1 students' achievement and attitudes toward computers and computer courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Jean Foster

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of classroom restructuring involving computer laboratories on student achievement and student attitudes toward computers and computer courses. The effects of the targeted student attributes of gender, previous programming experience, math background, and learning style were also examined. The open lab-based class structure consisted of a traditional lecture class with a separate, unscheduled lab component in which lab assignments were completed outside of class; the closed lab-based class structure integrated a lab component within the lecture class so that half the class was reserved for lecture and half the class was reserved for students to complete lab assignments by working cooperatively with each other and under the supervision and guidance of the instructor. The sample consisted of 71 students enrolled in four intact classes of Computer Science I during the fall and spring semesters of the 2006--2007 school year at two southern universities: two classes were held in the fall (one at each university) and two classes were held in the spring (one at each university). A counterbalanced repeated measures design was used in which all students experienced both class structures for half of each semester. The order of control and treatment was rotated among the four classes. All students received the same amount of class and instructor time. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) via a multiple regression strategy was used to test the study's hypotheses. Although the overall MANOVA model was statistically significant, independent follow-up univariate analyses relative to each dependent measure found that the only significant research factor was math background: Students whose mathematics background was at the level of Calculus I or higher had significantly higher student achievement than students whose mathematics background was less than Calculus I. The results suggest that classroom structures that incorporate an open laboratory setting are just as effective on student achievement and attitudes as classroom structures that incorporate a closed laboratory setting. The results also suggest that math background is a strong predictor of student achievement in CS 1.

Identification of ER Proteins Involved in the Functional Organisation of the Early Secretory Pathway in Drosophila Cells by a Targeted RNAi Screen

PubMed Central

Kondylis, Vangelis; Tang, Yang; Fuchs, Florian; Boutros, Michael; Rabouille, Catherine

2011-01-01

Background In Drosophila, the early secretory apparatus comprises discrete paired Golgi stacks in close proximity to exit sites from the endoplasmic reticulum (tER sites), thus forming tER-Golgi units. Although many components involved in secretion have been identified, the structural components sustaining its organisation are less known. Here we set out to identify novel ER resident proteins involved in the of tER-Golgi unit organisation. Results To do so, we designed a novel screening strategy combining a bioinformatics pre-selection with an RNAi screen. We first selected 156 proteins exhibiting known or related ER retention/retrieval signals from a list of proteins predicted to have a signal sequence. We then performed a microscopy-based primary and confirmation RNAi screen in Drosophila S2 cells directly scoring the organisation of the tER-Golgi units. We identified 49 hits, most of which leading to an increased number of smaller tER-Golgi units (MG for “more and smaller Golgi”) upon depletion. 16 of them were validated and characterised, showing that this phenotype was not due to an inhibition in secretion, a block in G2, or ER stress. Interestingly, the MG phenotype was often accompanied by an increase in the cell volume. Out of 6 proteins, 4 were localised to the ER. Conclusions This work has identified novel proteins involved in the organisation of the Drosophila early secretory pathway. It contributes to the effort of assigning protein functions to gene annotation in the secretory pathway, and analysis of the MG hits revealed an enrichment of ER proteins. These results suggest a link between ER localisation, aspects of cell metabolism and tER-Golgi structural organisation. PMID:21383842

Use of an identification system based on biometric data for patients requiring transfusions guarantees transfusion safety and traceability

PubMed Central

Bennardello, Francesco; Fidone, Carmelo; Cabibbo, Sergio; Calabrese, Salvatore; Garozzo, Giovanni; Cassarino, Grazia; Antolino, Agostino; Tavolino, Giuseppe; Zisa, Nuccio; Falla, Cadigia; Drago, Giuseppe; Di Stefano, Giovanna; Bonomo, Pietro

2009-01-01

Background One of the most serious risks of blood transfusions is an error in ABO blood group compatibility, which can cause a haemolytic transfusion reaction and, in the most severe cases, the death of the patient. The frequency and type of errors observed suggest that these are inevitable, in that mistakes are inherent to human nature, unless significant changes, including the use of computerised instruments, are made to procedures. Methods In order to identify patients who are candidates for the transfusion of blood components and to guarantee the traceability of the transfusion, the Securblood system (BBS srl) was introduced. This system records the various stages of the transfusion process, the health care workers involved and any immediate transfusion reactions. The patients and staff are identified by fingerprinting or a bar code. The system was implemented within Ragusa hospital in 16 operative units (ordinary wards, day hospital, operating theatres). Results In the period from August 2007 to July 2008, 7282 blood components were transfused within the hospital, of which 5606 (77%) using the Securblood system. Overall, 1777 patients were transfused. In this year of experience, no transfusion errors were recorded and each blood component was transfused to the right patient. We recorded 33 blocks of the terminals (involving 0.6% of the transfused blood components) which required the intervention of staff from the Service of Immunohaematology and Transfusion Medicine (SIMT). Most of the blocks were due to procedural errors. Conclusions The Securblood system guarantees complete traceability of the transfusion process outside the SIMT and eliminates the possibility of mistaken identification of patients or blood components. The use of fingerprinting to identify health care staff (nurses and doctors) and patients obliges the staff to carry out the identification procedures directly in the presence of the patient and guarantees the presence of the doctor at the start of the transfusion. PMID:19657483

The Heliospheric Cataloguing, Analysis and Techniques Service (HELCATS) project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes, D.; Harrison, R. A.; Davies, J. A.; Perry, C. H.; Moestl, C.; Rouillard, A.; Bothmer, V.; Rodriguez, L.; Eastwood, J. P.; Kilpua, E.; Gallagher, P.; Odstrcil, D.

2017-12-01

Understanding solar wind evolution is fundamental to advancing our knowledge of energy and mass transport in the solar system, whilst also being crucial to space weather and its prediction. The advent of truly wide-angle heliospheric imaging has revolutionised the study of solar wind evolution, by enabling direct and continuous observation of both transient and background components of the solar wind as they propagate from the Sun to 1 AU and beyond. The recently completed, EU-funded FP7 Heliospheric Cataloguing, Analysis and Techniques Service (HELCATS) project (1st May 2014 - 30th April 2017) combined European expertise in heliospheric imaging, built up over the last decade in particular through leadership of the Heliospheric Imager (HI) instruments aboard NASA's STEREO mission, with expertise in solar and coronal imaging as well as the interpretation of in-situ and radio diagnostic measurements of solar wind phenomena. HELCATS involved: (1) the cataloguing of transient (coronal mass ejections) and background (stream/corotating interaction regions) solar wind structures observed by the STEREO/HI instruments, including estimates of their kinematic properties based on a variety of modelling techniques; (2) the verification of these kinematic properties through comparison with solar source observations and in-situ measurements at multiple points throughout the heliosphere; (3) the assessment of the potential for initialising numerical models based on the derived kinematic properties of transient and background solar wind components; and (4) the assessment of the complementarity of radio observations (Type II radio bursts and interplanetary scintillation) in the detection and analysis of heliospheric structure in combination with heliospheric imaging observations. In this presentation, we provide an overview of the HELCATS project emphasising, in particular, the principal achievements and legacy of this unprecedented project.

PAMPs, PRRs, effectors and R-genes associated with citrus–pathogen interactions

PubMed Central

Dalio, Ronaldo J. D.; Magalhães, Diogo M.; Rodrigues, Carolina M.; Arena, Gabriella D.; Oliveira, Tiago S.; Souza-Neto, Reinaldo R.; Picchi, Simone C.; Martins, Paula M. M.; Santos, Paulo J. C.; Maximo, Heros J.; Pacheco, Inaiara S.; De Souza, Alessandra A.

2017-01-01

Abstract Background Recent application of molecular-based technologies has considerably advanced our understanding of complex processes in plant–pathogen interactions and their key components such as PAMPs, PRRs, effectors and R-genes. To develop novel control strategies for disease prevention in citrus, it is essential to expand and consolidate our knowledge of the molecular interaction of citrus plants with their pathogens. Scope This review provides an overview of our understanding of citrus plant immunity, focusing on the molecular mechanisms involved in the interactions with viruses, bacteria, fungi, oomycetes and vectors related to the following diseases: tristeza, psorosis, citrus variegated chlorosis, citrus canker, huanglongbing, brown spot, post-bloom, anthracnose, gummosis and citrus root rot. PMID:28065920

Evaluation of high temperature superconductive thermal bridges for space-borne cryogenic infrared detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Elaine P.

1993-01-01

The focus of this research is on the reduction of the refrigeration requirements for infrared sensors operating in space through the use of high temperature superconductive (HTS) materials as electronic leads between the cooled sensors and the relatively warmer data acquisition components. Specifically, this initial study was directed towards the design of an experiment to quantify the thermal performance of these materials in the space environment. First, an intensive review of relevant literature was undertaken, and then, design requirements were formulated. From this background information, a preliminary experimental design was developed. Additional studies will involve a thermal analysis of the experiment and further modifications of the experimental design.

Mapping gravitational-wave backgrounds using methods from CMB analysis: Application to pulsar timing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gair, Jonathan; Romano, Joseph D.; Taylor, Stephen; Mingarelli, Chiara M. F.

2014-10-01

We describe an alternative approach to the analysis of gravitational-wave backgrounds, based on the formalism used to characterize the polarization of the cosmic microwave background. In contrast to standard analyses, this approach makes no assumptions about the nature of the background and so has the potential to reveal much more about the physical processes that generated it. An arbitrary background can be decomposed into modes whose angular dependence on the sky is given by gradients and curls of spherical harmonics. We derive the pulsar timing overlap reduction functions for the individual modes, which are given by simple combinations of spherical harmonics evaluated at the pulsar locations. We show how these can be used to recover the components of an arbitrary background, giving explicit results for both isotropic and anisotropic uncorrelated backgrounds. We also find that the response of a pulsar timing array to curl modes is identically zero, so half of the gravitational-wave sky will never be observed using pulsar timing, no matter how many pulsars are included in the array. An isotropic, unpolarized and uncorrelated background can be accurately represented using only three modes, and so a search of this type will be only slightly more complicated than the standard cross-correlation search using the Hellings and Downs overlap reduction function. However, by measuring the components of individual modes of the background and checking for consistency with isotropy, this approach has the potential to reveal much more information. Each individual mode on its own describes a background that is correlated between different points on the sky. A measurement of the components that indicates the presence of correlations in the background on large angular scales would suggest startling new physics.

Does Parental Homework Involvement Mediate the Relationship between Family Background and Educational Outcomes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dumont, Hanna; Trautwein, Ulrich; Ludtke, Oliver; Neumann, Marko; Niggli, Alois; Schnyder, Inge

2012-01-01

This research examines whether parental homework involvement mediates the relationship between family background and educational outcomes such as academic achievement and academic self-concept. Data from two studies in which grade 8 students (N = 1274 and N = 1911) described their parents' involvement in the homework process were reanalyzed via…

3. VIEW LOOKING NORTH, COMPONENTS TEST LABORATORY, DYNAMIC TEST FACILITY ...

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

3. VIEW LOOKING NORTH, COMPONENTS TEST LABORATORY, DYNAMIC TEST FACILITY (SATURN V IN BACKGROUND). - Marshall Space Flight Center, East Test Area, Components Test Laboratory, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

B2B collaboration method through trust values for e-supply chain integrator: a case study of Malaysian construction industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ab. Aziz, Norshakirah; Ahmad, Rohiza; Dhanapal Durai, Dominic

2011-12-01

Limited trust, cooperation and communication have been identified as some of the issues that hinder collaboration among business partners. These one also true in the acceptance of e-supply chain integrator among organizations that involve in the same industry. On top of that, the huge number of components in supply chain industry also makes it impossible to include entire supply chain components in the integrator. Hence, this study intends to propose a method for identifying "trusted" collaborators for inclusion into an e-supply chain integrator. For the purpose of constructing and validating the method, the Malaysian construction industry is chosen as the case study due to its size and importance to the economy. This paper puts forward the background of the research, some relevant literatures which lead to trust values elements formulation, data collection from Malaysian Construction Supply Chain and a glimpse of the proposed method for trusted partner selection. Future work is also presented to highlight the next step of this research.

The X-ray background contributed by QSOs ejected from galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burbidge, G.; Hoyle, F.

1996-01-01

The X-ray background can be explained as coming from the integrated effect of X-ray emitting quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) ejected from spiral galaxies. The model developed to interpret the observations is summarized. The redshift of the QSOs consisted of an intrinsic component and of a cosmological component. The QSOs have a spatial density proportional to that of normal galaxies.

Image and Processing Models for Satellite Detection in Images Acquired by Space-based Surveillance-of-Space Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

external sources ‘L1’ like zodiacal light (or diffuse nebula ) or stray light ‘L2’ and these components change with the telescope pointing. Bk (T,t...Astronomical scene background (zodiacal light, diffuse nebulae , etc.). L2(P A(tk), t): Image background component caused by stray light. MS

Compounds from Silicones Alter Enzyme Activity in Curing Barnacle Glue and Model Enzymes

PubMed Central

Rittschof, Daniel; Orihuela, Beatriz; Harder, Tilmann; Stafslien, Shane; Chisholm, Bret; Dickinson, Gary H.

2011-01-01

Background Attachment strength of fouling organisms on silicone coatings is low. We hypothesized that low attachment strength on silicones is, in part, due to the interaction of surface available components with natural glues. Components could alter curing of glues through bulk changes or specifically through altered enzyme activity. Methodology/Principal Findings GC-MS analysis of silicone coatings showed surface-available siloxanes when the coatings were gently rubbed with a cotton swab for 15 seconds or given a 30 second rinse with methanol. Mixtures of compounds were found on 2 commercial and 8 model silicone coatings. The hypothesis that silicone components alter glue curing enzymes was tested with curing barnacle glue and with commercial enzymes. In our model, barnacle glue curing involves trypsin-like serine protease(s), which activate enzymes and structural proteins, and a transglutaminase which cross-links glue proteins. Transglutaminase activity was significantly altered upon exposure of curing glue from individual barnacles to silicone eluates. Activity of purified trypsin and, to a greater extent, transglutaminase was significantly altered by relevant concentrations of silicone polymer constituents. Conclusions/Significance Surface-associated silicone compounds can disrupt glue curing and alter enzyme properties. Altered curing of natural glues has potential in fouling management. PMID:21379573

Techniques to improve the accuracy of noise power spectrum measurements in digital x-ray imaging based on background trends removal.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhongxing; Gao, Feng; Zhao, Huijuan; Zhang, Lixin

2011-03-01

Noise characterization through estimation of the noise power spectrum (NPS) is a central component of the evaluation of digital x-ray systems. Extensive works have been conducted to achieve accurate and precise measurement of NPS. One approach to improve the accuracy of the NPS measurement is to reduce the statistical variance of the NPS results by involving more data samples. However, this method is based on the assumption that the noise in a radiographic image is arising from stochastic processes. In the practical data, the artifactuals always superimpose on the stochastic noise as low-frequency background trends and prevent us from achieving accurate NPS. The purpose of this study was to investigate an appropriate background detrending technique to improve the accuracy of NPS estimation for digital x-ray systems. In order to achieve the optimal background detrending technique for NPS estimate, four methods for artifactuals removal were quantitatively studied and compared: (1) Subtraction of a low-pass-filtered version of the image, (2) subtraction of a 2-D first-order fit to the image, (3) subtraction of a 2-D second-order polynomial fit to the image, and (4) subtracting two uniform exposure images. In addition, background trend removal was separately applied within original region of interest or its partitioned sub-blocks for all four methods. The performance of background detrending techniques was compared according to the statistical variance of the NPS results and low-frequency systematic rise suppression. Among four methods, subtraction of a 2-D second-order polynomial fit to the image was most effective in low-frequency systematic rise suppression and variances reduction for NPS estimate according to the authors' digital x-ray system. Subtraction of a low-pass-filtered version of the image led to NPS variance increment above low-frequency components because of the side lobe effects of frequency response of the boxcar filtering function. Subtracting two uniform exposure images obtained the worst result on the smoothness of NPS curve, although it was effective in low-frequency systematic rise suppression. Subtraction of a 2-D first-order fit to the image was also identified effective for background detrending, but it was worse than subtraction of a 2-D second-order polynomial fit to the image according to the authors' digital x-ray system. As a result of this study, the authors verified that it is necessary and feasible to get better NPS estimate by appropriate background trend removal. Subtraction of a 2-D second-order polynomial fit to the image was the most appropriate technique for background detrending without consideration of processing time.

Discoveries far from the lamppost with matrix elements and ranking

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

Debnath, Dipsikha; Gainer, James S.; Matchev, Konstantin T.

2015-04-01

The prevalence of null results in searches for new physics at the LHC motivates the effort to make these searches as model-independent as possible. We describe procedures for adapting the Matrix Element Method for situations where the signal hypothesis is not known a priori. We also present general and intuitive approaches for performing analyses and presenting results, which involve the flattening of background distributions using likelihood information. The first flattening method involves ranking events by background matrix element, the second involves quantile binning with respect to likelihood (and other) variables, and the third method involves reweighting histograms by the inversemore » of the background distribution.« less

The beam stop array method to measure object scatter in digital breast tomosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Haeng-hwa; Kim, Ye-seul; Park, Hye-Suk; Kim, Hee-Joung; Choi, Jae-Gu; Choi, Young-Wook

2014-03-01

Scattered radiation is inevitably generated in the object. The distribution of the scattered radiation is influenced by object thickness, filed size, object-to-detector distance, and primary energy. One of the investigations to measure scatter intensities involves measuring the signal detected under the shadow of the lead discs of a beam-stop array (BSA). The measured scatter by BSA includes not only the scattered radiation within the object (object scatter), but also the external scatter source. The components of external scatter source include the X-ray tube, detector, collimator, x-ray filter, and BSA. Excluding background scattered radiation can be applied to different scanner geometry by simple parameter adjustments without prior knowledge of the scanned object. In this study, a method using BSA to differentiate scatter in phantom (object scatter) from external background was used. Furthermore, this method was applied to BSA algorithm to correct the object scatter. In order to confirm background scattered radiation, we obtained the scatter profiles and scatter fraction (SF) profiles in the directions perpendicular to the chest wall edge (CWE) with and without scattering material. The scatter profiles with and without the scattering material were similar in the region between 127 mm and 228 mm from chest wall. This result indicated that the measured scatter by BSA included background scatter. Moreover, the BSA algorithm with the proposed method could correct the object scatter because the total radiation profiles of object scatter correction corresponded to original image in the region between 127 mm and 228 mm from chest wall. As a result, the BSA method to measure object scatter could be used to remove background scatter. This method could apply for different scanner geometry after background scatter correction. In conclusion, the BSA algorithm with the proposed method is effective to correct object scatter.

Measurements of the cosmic background radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lubin, P.; Villela, T.

1987-01-01

Maps of the large scale structure (theta is greater than 6 deg) of the cosmic background radiation covering 90 percent of the sky are now available. The data show a very strong 50-100 sigma (statistical error) dipole component, interpreted as being due to our motion, with a direction of alpha = 11.5 + or - 0.15 hours, sigma = -5.6 + or - 2.0 deg. The inferred direction of the velocity of our galaxy relative to the cosmic background radiation is alpha = 10.6 + or - 0.3 hours, sigma = -2.3 + or - 5 deg. This is 44 deg from the center of the Virgo cluster. After removing the dipole component, the data show a galactic signature but no apparent residual structure. An autocorrelation of the residual data, after substraction of the galactic component from a combined Berkeley (3 mm) and Princeton (12 mm) data sets, show no apparent structure from 10 to 180 deg with a rms of 0.01 mK(sup 2). At 90 percent confidence level limit of .00007 is placed on a quadrupole component.

The relative importance of reproductive assurance and automatic selection as hypotheses for the evolution of self-fertilization

PubMed Central

Busch, Jeremiah W.; Delph, Lynda F.

2012-01-01

Background The field of plant mating-system evolution has long been interested in understanding why selfing evolves from outcrossing. Many possible mechanisms drive this evolutionary trend, but most research has focused upon the transmission advantage of selfing and its ability to provide reproductive assurance when cross-pollination is uncertain. We discuss the shared conceptual framework of these ideas and their empirical support that is emerging from tests of their predictions over the last 25 years. Scope These two hypotheses are derived from the same strategic framework. The transmission advantage hypothesis involves purely gene-level selection, with reproductive assurance involving an added component of individual-level selection. Support for both of these ideas has been garnered from population-genetic tests of their predictions. Studies in natural populations often show that selfing increases seed production, but it is not clear if this benefit is sufficient to favour the evolution of selfing, and the ecological agents limiting outcross pollen are often not identified. Pollen discounting appears to be highly variable and important in systems where selfing involves multiple floral adaptations, yet seed discounting has rarely been investigated. Although reproductive assurance appears likely as a leading factor facilitating the evolution of selfing, studies must account for both seed and pollen discounting to adequately test this hypothesis. Conclusions The transmission advantage and reproductive assurance ideas describe components of gene transmission that favour selfing. Future work should move beyond their dichotomous presentation and focus upon understanding whether selection through pollen, seed or both explains the spread of selfing-rate modifiers in plant populations. PMID:21937484

Evidence for photosensitised hydrogen production from water in the absence of precious metals, redox-mediators and co-catalysts.

PubMed

Salzl, S; Ertl, M; Knör, G

2017-03-22

The water-soluble zinc porphyrin complex Zn(TPPS) 4- with TPPS = tetrakis-(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin surprisingly was found to produce significant amounts of hydrogen from aqueous sulfite or amine solutions under visible-light exposure without requiring any other components such as electron relays or additional proton reduction catalysts. Although the production rates and total amounts of chemically stored fuel obtained under these conditions are still much too low to be relevant for practical applications, the background of this unprecedented observation was further studied in its own right. Since the central metal zinc is unlikely to be involved in proton-coupled electron transfer steps upon long-wavelength irradiation and the process does not seem to be much affected by variations of the electron donor added, the mechanism of photocatalytic H 2 release is suggested to involve previously neglected redox features of the in situ generated hydroporphyrin ligand system in aqueous solution.

Analysis of river health variation under the background of urbanization based on entropy weight and matter-element model: A case study in Huzhou City in the Yangtze River Delta, China.

PubMed

Pan, Guangbo; Xu, Youpeng; Yu, Zhihui; Song, Song; Zhang, Yuan

2015-05-01

Maintaining the health of the river ecosystem is an essential ecological and environmental guarantee for regional sustainable development and one of the basic objectives in water resource management. With the rapid development of urbanization, the river health situation is deteriorating, especially in urban areas. The river health evaluation is a complex process that involves various natural and social components; eight eco-hydrological indicators were selected to establish an evaluation system, and the variation of river health status under the background of urbanization was explored based on entropy weight and matter-element model. The comprehensive correlative degrees of urban river health of Huzhou City in 2001, 2006 and 2010 were then calculated. The results indicated that river health status of the study area was in the direction of pathological trend, and the impact of limiting factors (such as Shannon's diversity index and agroforestry output growth rate) played an important role in river health. The variation of maximum correlative degree could be classified into stationary status, deterioration status, deterioration-to-improvement status, and improvement-to-deterioration status. There was a severe deterioration situation of river health under the background of urbanization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Real Time Intelligent Target Detection and Analysis with Machine Vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Ayanna; Padgett, Curtis; Brown, Kenneth

2000-01-01

We present an algorithm for detecting a specified set of targets for an Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) application. ATR involves processing images for detecting, classifying, and tracking targets embedded in a background scene. We address the problem of discriminating between targets and nontarget objects in a scene by evaluating 40x40 image blocks belonging to an image. Each image block is first projected onto a set of templates specifically designed to separate images of targets embedded in a typical background scene from those background images without targets. These filters are found using directed principal component analysis which maximally separates the two groups. The projected images are then clustered into one of n classes based on a minimum distance to a set of n cluster prototypes. These cluster prototypes have previously been identified using a modified clustering algorithm based on prior sensed data. Each projected image pattern is then fed into the associated cluster's trained neural network for classification. A detailed description of our algorithm will be given in this paper. We outline our methodology for designing the templates, describe our modified clustering algorithm, and provide details on the neural network classifiers. Evaluation of the overall algorithm demonstrates that our detection rates approach 96% with a false positive rate of less than 0.03%.

The Neural Correlates of Emotional Prosody Comprehension: Disentangling Simple from Complex Emotion

PubMed Central

Alba-Ferrara, Lucy; Hausmann, Markus; Mitchell, Rachel L.; Weis, Susanne

2011-01-01

Background Emotional prosody comprehension (EPC), the ability to interpret another person's feelings by listening to their tone of voice, is crucial for effective social communication. Previous studies assessing the neural correlates of EPC have found inconsistent results, particularly regarding the involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). It remained unclear whether the involvement of the mPFC is linked to an increased demand in socio-cognitive components of EPC such as mental state attribution and if basic perceptual processing of EPC can be performed without the contribution of this region. Methods fMRI was used to delineate neural activity during the perception of prosodic stimuli conveying simple and complex emotion. Emotional trials in general, as compared to neutral ones, activated a network comprising temporal and lateral frontal brain regions, while complex emotion trials specifically showed an additional involvement of the mPFC, premotor cortex, frontal operculum and left insula. Conclusion These results indicate that the mPFC and premotor areas might be associated, but are not crucial to EPC. However, the mPFC supports socio-cognitive skills necessary to interpret complex emotion such as inferring mental states. Additionally, the premotor cortex involvement may reflect the participation of the mirror neuron system for prosody processing particularly of complex emotion. PMID:22174872

The Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project: Outcomes From a Community Prevention Trial*

PubMed Central

Treno, Andrew J.; Gruenewald, Paul J.; Lee, Juliet P.; Remer, Lillian G.

2014-01-01

Objective This article reports the results of the Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project (SNAPP). SNAPP set as its goal the reduction of alcohol access, drinking, and related problems in two low-income, predominantly ethnic minority neighborhoods, focusing on individuals between the ages 15 and 29, an age group identified with high rates of alcohol-involved problems. Method Two neighborhoods in Sacramento were selected to be the intervention sites because they were economically and ethnically diverse and had high rates of crime and other drinking-related problems. The quasi-experimental design of the study took a “phased” approach to program implementation and statistical examination of outcome data. Outcome-related data were collected in the intervention sites as well as in the Sacramento community at large. Five project interventions included a mobilization component to support the overall project, a community awareness component, a responsible beverage-service component, an underage-access law enforcement component, and an intoxicated-patron law enforcement component. Archival data were collected to measure and evaluate study outcomes and to provide background and demographic information for the study. Results Overall, we found significant (p < .05) reductions in assaults as reported by police, aggregate emergency medical services (EMS) outcomes, EMS assaults, and EMS motor vehicle accidents. Conclusions Results from the Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project demonstrate the effectiveness of neighborhood-based interventions in the reduction of alcohol-related problems such as assaults, motor vehicle crashes, and sale of alcohol to minors. PMID:17286338

Characterization of cytokinin signaling and homeostasis gene families in two hardwood tree species: Populus trichocarpa and Prunus persica

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Through the diversity of cytokinin regulated processes, this phytohormone has a profound impact on plant growth and development. Cytokinin signaling is involved in the control of apical and lateral meristem activity, branching pattern of the shoot, and leaf senescence. These processes influence several traits, including the stem diameter, shoot architecture, and perennial life cycle, which define the development of woody plants. To facilitate research about the role of cytokinin in regulation of woody plant development, we have identified genes associated with cytokinin signaling and homeostasis pathways from two hardwood tree species. Results Taking advantage of the sequenced black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and peach (Prunus persica) genomes, we have compiled a comprehensive list of genes involved in these pathways. We identified genes belonging to the six families of cytokinin oxidases (CKXs), isopentenyl transferases (IPTs), LONELY GUY genes (LOGs), two-component receptors, histidine containing phosphotransmitters (HPts), and response regulators (RRs). All together 85 Populus and 45 Prunus genes were identified, and compared to their Arabidopsis orthologs through phylogenetic analyses. Conclusions In general, when compared to Arabidopsis, differences in gene family structure were often seen in only one of the two tree species. However, one class of genes associated with cytokinin signal transduction, the CKI1-like family of two-component histidine kinases, was larger in both Populus and Prunus than in Arabidopsis. PMID:24341635

Summary of the development of a signature for detection of residual dust from collapse of the World Trade Center buildings

PubMed Central

Lowers, Heather A; Meeker, Gregory P; Lioy, Paul J; Lippmann, Morton

2014-01-01

The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on September 11, 2001, caused lower Manhattan and adjacent areas to be covered in millimeters to centimeters of dust. WTC dust penetrated into indoor spaces, and public health concerns remain regarding exposure to possible residual dust in the affected areas. The goal of the studies outlined in this review was to determine which, if any, components of the bulk WTC dust are sufficiently above typical background dust levels in New York City to develop an analytical method to screen for the component(s). Components of the <150-µm-size fraction of the dust are gypsum, phases compatible with crushed concrete, man-made vitreous fibers (MMVFs), silica, lead, chrysotile asbestos, and other materials. Slag wool was the most common WTC MMVF, whereas soda-lime glass and rock wool were minor to trace constituents. Most background samples also contained gypsum, phases compatible with concrete, and MMVF. However, the proportions of the various MMVF in background samples are typically unlike those characteristic of bulk WTC dust. Results indicate that slag wool can be used as a signature marker to identify areas that contain potential residual WTC dust contamination at concentrations that are less than average background levels for the material. PMID:18478046

8(th) Symposium on Hemostasis: Translational and Basic Science Discoveries.

PubMed

Margaritis, Paris; Key, Nigel S

2016-05-01

It has been 14 years since the first symposium on hemostasis at UNC Chapel Hill that focused primarily on the tissue factor (TF) and Factor VIIa (FVIIa) biology, biochemistry and translational work for the treatment of bleeding. Concepts, mechanistic data and therapeutic agents have since emerged that permeate not only aspects of the TF and FVIIa functions, but also broader processes in hemostasis and thrombosis. These processes involve circulating proteins, receptors, cells and cellular components that interact within the coagulation system as well as with additional systems that are dysregulated in disorders seemingly unrelated to bleeding/thrombosis. The reviews in this symposium provide the research background to understand such interactions and integrations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clementine, Deep Space Program Science Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

Clementine, also called the Deep Space Program Science Experiment, is a joint Department of Defense (DoD)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission with the dual goal of testing small spacecraft, subsystems, and sensors in the deep space environment and also providing a nominal science return. The Clementine mission will provide technical demonstrations of innovative lightweight spacecraft components and sensors, will be launced on a spacecraft developed within 2 years of program start, and will point a way for new planetary mission options under consideration by NASA. This booklet gives the background of the Clementine mission (including the agencies involved), the mission objectives, the mission scenario, the instruments that the mission will carry, and how the data will be analyzed and made accessible.

Means and method of detection in chemical separation procedures

DOEpatents

Yeung, Edward S.; Koutny, Lance B.; Hogan, Barry L.; Cheung, Chan K.; Ma, Yinfa

1993-03-09

A means and method for indirect detection of constituent components of a mixture separated in a chemical separation process. Fluorescing ions are distributed across the area in which separation of the mixture will occur to provide a generally uniform background fluorescence intensity. For example, the mixture is comprised of one or more charged analytes which displace fluorescing ions where its constituent components separate to. Fluorescing ions of the same charge as the charged analyte components cause a displacement. The displacement results in the location of the separated components having a reduced fluorescence intensity to the remainder of the background. Detection of the lower fluorescence intensity areas can be visually, by photographic means and methods, or by automated laser scanning.

Means and method of detection in chemical separation procedures

DOEpatents

Yeung, E.S.; Koutny, L.B.; Hogan, B.L.; Cheung, C.K.; Yinfa Ma.

1993-03-09

A means and method are described for indirect detection of constituent components of a mixture separated in a chemical separation process. Fluorescing ions are distributed across the area in which separation of the mixture will occur to provide a generally uniform background fluorescence intensity. For example, the mixture is comprised of one or more charged analytes which displace fluorescing ions where its constituent components separate to. Fluorescing ions of the same charge as the charged analyte components cause a displacement. The displacement results in the location of the separated components having a reduced fluorescence intensity to the remainder of the background. Detection of the lower fluorescence intensity areas can be visually, by photographic means and methods, or by automated laser scanning.

Praying for Mr. Right? Religion, Family Background, and Marital Expectations among College Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellison, Christopher G.; Burdette, Amy M.; Glenn, Norval D.

2011-01-01

This study explores the relationship between multiple aspects of religious involvement--affiliation, church attendance, subjective religiosity--and marital expectations among college women. In addition, the authors investigate whether religious involvement mediates the link between family background and marital expectations. These issues are…

Scattering volume in the collective Thomson scattering measurement using high power gyrotron in the LHD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubo, S.; Nishiura, M.; Tanaka, K.; Moseev, D.; Ogasawara, S.; Shimozuma, T.; Yoshimura, Y.; Igami, H.; Takahashi, H.; Tsujimura, T. I.; Makino, R.

2016-06-01

High-power gyrotrons prepared for the electron cyclotron heating at 77 GHz has been used for a collective Thomson scattering (CTS) study in LHD. Due to the difficulty in removing fundamental and/or second harmonic resonance in the viewing line of sight, the subtraction of the background ECE from measured signal was performed by modulating the probe beam power from a gyrotron. The separation of the scattering component from the background has been performed successfully taking into account the response time difference between both high-energy and bulk components. The other separation was attempted by fast scanning the viewing beam across the probing beam. It is found that the intensity of the scattered spectrum corresponding to the bulk and high energy components were almost proportional to the calculated scattering volume in the relatively low density region, while appreciable background scattered component remains even in the off volume in some high density cases. The ray-trace code TRAVIS is used to estimate the change in the scattering volume due to probing and receiving beam deflection effect.

The Chandra Source Catalog: Background Determination and Source Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCollough, Michael; Rots, Arnold; Primini, Francis A.; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Hain, Roger; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Danny G. Gibbs, II; Grier, John D.; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.; Zografou, Panagoula

2009-09-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a major project in which all of the pointed imaging observations taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are used to generate one of the most extensive X-ray source catalog produced to date. Early in the development of the CSC it was recognized that the ability to estimate local background levels in an automated fashion would be critical for essential CSC tasks such as source detection, photometry, sensitivity estimates, and source characterization. We present a discussion of how such background maps are created directly from the Chandra data and how they are used in source detection. The general background for Chandra observations is rather smoothly varying, containing only low spatial frequency components. However, in the case of ACIS data, a high spatial frequency component is added that is due to the readout streaks of the CCD chips. We discuss how these components can be estimated reliably using the Chandra data and what limitations and caveats should be considered in their use. We will discuss the source detection algorithm used for the CSC and the effects of the background images on the detection results. We will also touch on some the Catalog Inclusion and Quality Assurance criteria applied to the source detection results. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

Chandra Source Catalog: Background Determination and Source Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCollough, Michael L.; Rots, A. H.; Primini, F. A.; Evans, I. N.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Hain, R.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E.; Gibbs, D. G.; Grier, J. D.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; Van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

2009-01-01

The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a major project in which all of the pointed imaging observations taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory will used to generate the most extensive X-ray source catalog produced to date. Early in the development of the CSC it was recognized that the ability to estimate local background levels in an automated fashion would be critical for essential CSC tasks such as source detection, photometry, sensitivity estimates, and source characterization. We present a discussion of how such background maps are created directly from the Chandra data and how they are used in source detection. The general background for Chandra observations is rather smoothly varying, containing only low spatial frequency components. However, in the case of ACIS data, a high spatial frequency component is added that is due to the readout streaks of the CCD chips. We discuss how these components can be estimated reliably using the Chandra data and what limitations and caveats should be considered in their use. We will discuss the source detection algorithm used for the CSC and the effects of the background images on the detection results. We will also touch on some the Catalog Inclusion and Quality Assurance criteria applied to the source detection results. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

A Component Analysis of Positive Behaviour Support Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClean, Brian; Grey, Ian

2012-01-01

Background: Positive behaviour support (PBS) emphasises multi-component interventions by natural intervention agents to help people overcome challenging behaviours. This paper investigates which components are most effective and which factors might mediate effectiveness. Method: Sixty-one staff working with individuals with intellectual disability…

Mexican-Origin Parents' Involvement in Adolescent Peer Relationships: A Pattern Analytic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Killoren, Sarah E.; Thayer, Shawna M.

2007-01-01

The cultural backgrounds and experiences of Mexican-origin mothers and fathers (including their Anglo and Mexican cultural orientations and their familism values) and their socioeconomic background (parental education, family income, neighborhood poverty rate) are linked to the nature of their involvement in adolescent peer relationships.

Mexican-Origin Parents’ Involvement in Adolescent Peer Relationships: A Pattern Analytic Approach

PubMed Central

Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Killoren, Sarah E.; Thayer, Shawna M.

2008-01-01

The cultural backgrounds and experiences of Mexican-origin mothers and fathers (including their Anglo and Mexican cultural orientations and their familism values) and their socioeconomic background (parental education, family income, neighborhood poverty rate) are linked to the nature of their involvement in adolescent peer relationships. PMID:17623405

"Las Siete Historias": Perceptions of Parent Involvement among Mexican Immigrant Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas-Duckwitz, Claire M.; Hess, Robyn S.; Atcherly, Elsa

2013-01-01

This multiple case study examined parent involvement perspectives among seven immigrant mothers from Mexico. All the participants came from limited educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, and reported that they immigrated to the United States for greater opportunity. These background experiences seemed to shape their current role…

NASA Science Mission Directorate Education and Public Outreach: Engaging with Scientists and Educators through the Higher Education Working Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, Gregory R.; Gross, Nicholas; Buxner, Sanlyn; Low, Russanne; Moldwin, Mark; Fraknoi, Andrew; Grier, Jennifer A.

2015-01-01

The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Education and Public Outreach (EPO) Forums have established a Higher Education Working Group (HEWG), which has explored and surveyed the higher education landscape with regard to different subjects, such as community colleges and diversity. The HEWG is composed of representatives from each of the SMD EPO Forums, along with 'external' members who have rotated in and out, and the co-authors here constitute the present membership, chaired by Nicholas Gross. Most recently, the HEWG has worked to identify the key characteristics of higher education STEM programs that reach diverse populations. While increasing the involvement of students from diverse backgrounds in SMD EPO is a core goal for our community, engaging these students meaningfully requires a dedicated strategy using proven techniques. In reality, while most educational programs have this goal, undertaking it meaningfully is more challenging. For higher education, diversity is a long-standing issue, and the working group could have taken many different paths to explore this important topic. The HEWG has undertaken a review of programs that involve engaging undergraduates from diverse backgrounds in SMD-related research internships or hands-on STEM experiments. This information will be synthesized and documented so that future education efforts can incorporate the most valuable components. Meanwhile, the working group is exploring ways that NASA SMD can be more helpful to higher education faculty and students, and community input is solicited as part of this presentation.

Boundary layer noise subtraction in hydrodynamic tunnel using robust principal component analysis.

PubMed

Amailland, Sylvain; Thomas, Jean-Hugh; Pézerat, Charles; Boucheron, Romuald

2018-04-01

The acoustic study of propellers in a hydrodynamic tunnel is of paramount importance during the design process, but can involve significant difficulties due to the boundary layer noise (BLN). Indeed, advanced denoising methods are needed to recover the acoustic signal in case of poor signal-to-noise ratio. The technique proposed in this paper is based on the decomposition of the wall-pressure cross-spectral matrix (CSM) by taking advantage of both the low-rank property of the acoustic CSM and the sparse property of the BLN CSM. Thus, the algorithm belongs to the class of robust principal component analysis (RPCA), which derives from the widely used principal component analysis. If the BLN is spatially decorrelated, the proposed RPCA algorithm can blindly recover the acoustical signals even for negative signal-to-noise ratio. Unfortunately, in a realistic case, acoustic signals recorded in a hydrodynamic tunnel show that the noise may be partially correlated. A prewhitening strategy is then considered in order to take into account the spatially coherent background noise. Numerical simulations and experimental results show an improvement in terms of BLN reduction in the large hydrodynamic tunnel. The effectiveness of the denoising method is also investigated in the context of acoustic source localization.

Airborne Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Combined with Region Segmentation

PubMed Central

Zuo, Yujia; Liu, Jinghong; Bai, Guanbing; Wang, Xuan; Sun, Mingchao

2017-01-01

This paper proposes an infrared (IR) and visible image fusion method introducing region segmentation into the dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) region. This method should effectively improve both the target indication and scene spectrum features of fusion images, and the target identification and tracking reliability of fusion system, on an airborne photoelectric platform. The method involves segmenting the region in an IR image by significance, and identifying the target region and the background region; then, fusing the low-frequency components in the DTCWT region according to the region segmentation result. For high-frequency components, the region weights need to be assigned by the information richness of region details to conduct fusion based on both weights and adaptive phases, and then introducing a shrinkage function to suppress noise; Finally, the fused low-frequency and high-frequency components are reconstructed to obtain the fusion image. The experimental results show that the proposed method can fully extract complementary information from the source images to obtain a fusion image with good target indication and rich information on scene details. They also give a fusion result superior to existing popular fusion methods, based on eithers subjective or objective evaluation. With good stability and high fusion accuracy, this method can meet the fusion requirements of IR-visible image fusion systems. PMID:28505137

Airborne Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Combined with Region Segmentation.

PubMed

Zuo, Yujia; Liu, Jinghong; Bai, Guanbing; Wang, Xuan; Sun, Mingchao

2017-05-15

This paper proposes an infrared (IR) and visible image fusion method introducing region segmentation into the dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) region. This method should effectively improve both the target indication and scene spectrum features of fusion images, and the target identification and tracking reliability of fusion system, on an airborne photoelectric platform. The method involves segmenting the region in an IR image by significance, and identifying the target region and the background region; then, fusing the low-frequency components in the DTCWT region according to the region segmentation result. For high-frequency components, the region weights need to be assigned by the information richness of region details to conduct fusion based on both weights and adaptive phases, and then introducing a shrinkage function to suppress noise; Finally, the fused low-frequency and high-frequency components are reconstructed to obtain the fusion image. The experimental results show that the proposed method can fully extract complementary information from the source images to obtain a fusion image with good target indication and rich information on scene details. They also give a fusion result superior to existing popular fusion methods, based on eithers subjective or objective evaluation. With good stability and high fusion accuracy, this method can meet the fusion requirements of IR-visible image fusion systems.

Characterization of AcrD, a Resistance-Nodulation-Cell Division-type multidrug efflux pump from the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Multidrug efflux pumps are membrane translocases that have the ability to extrude a variety of structurally unrelated compounds from the cell. AcrD, a resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) transporter, was shown to be involved in efflux of highly hydrophilic aminoglycosides and a limited number of amphiphilic compounds in E. coli. Here, a homologue of AcrD in the plant pathogen and causal agent of fire blight disease Erwinia amylovora was identified. Results The substrate specificity of AcrD was studied by overexpression of the corresponding gene from a high-copy plasmid in E. amylovora Ea1189-3, which is hypersensitive to many drugs due to a deficiency of the major multidrug pump AcrB. AcrD mediated resistance to several amphiphilic compounds including clotrimazole and luteolin, two compounds hitherto not described as substrates of AcrD in enterobacteria. However, AcrD was not able to expel aminoglycosides. An acrD mutant exhibited full virulence on apple rootstock and immature pear fruits. RT-PCR analysis revealed an induction of acrD expression in infected apple tissue but not on pear fruits. Moreover, a direct binding of BaeR, the response regulator of the two-component regulatory system BaeSR, to the acrD promoter was observed as has already been shown in other enterobacteria. Conclusions AcrD from E. amylovora is involved in resistance to a limited number of amphiphilic compounds, but in contrast to AcrD of E. coli, it is not involved in resistance to aminoglycosides. The expression of acrD was up-regulated by addition of the substrates deoxycholate, naringenin, tetracycline and zinc. AcrD appears to be regulated by the BaeSR two-component system, an envelope stress signal transduction pathway. PMID:24443882

Finding a BETTER way: A qualitative study exploring the prevention practitioner intervention to improve chronic disease prevention and screening in family practice

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Our randomized controlled trial (The BETTER Trial) found that training a clinician to become a Prevention Practitioner (PP) in family practices improved chronic disease prevention and screening (CDPS). PPs were trained on CDPS and provided prevention prescriptions tailored to participating patients. For this embedded qualitative study, we explored perceptions of this new role to understand the PP intervention. Methods We used grounded theory methodology and purposefully sampled participants involved in any capacity with the BETTER Trial. Two physicians and one coordinator in each of two cities (Toronto, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta) conducted eight individual semi-structured interviews and seven focus groups. We used an interview guide and documented research activities through an audit trail, journals, field notes and memos. We analyzed the data using the constant comparative method throughout open coding followed by theoretical coding. Results A framework and process involving external and internal practice facilitation using the new role of PP was thought to impact CDPS. The PP facilitated CDPS through on-going relationships with patients and practice team members. Key components included: 1) approaching CDPS in a comprehensive manner, 2) an individualized and personalized approach at multiple levels, 3) integrated continuity that included linking the patients and practices to CPDS resources, and 4) adaptability to different practices and settings. Conclusions The BETTER framework and key components are described as impacting CDPS through a process that involved a new role, the PP. The introduction of a novel role of a clinician within the primary care practice with skills in CDPS could appropriately address gaps in prevention and screening. PMID:24720686

Generalized Background Error covariance matrix model (GEN_BE v2.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Descombes, G.; Auligné, T.; Vandenberghe, F.; Barker, D. M.

2014-07-01

The specification of state background error statistics is a key component of data assimilation since it affects the impact observations will have on the analysis. In the variational data assimilation approach, applied in geophysical sciences, the dimensions of the background error covariance matrix (B) are usually too large to be explicitly determined and B needs to be modeled. Recent efforts to include new variables in the analysis such as cloud parameters and chemical species have required the development of the code to GENerate the Background Errors (GEN_BE) version 2.0 for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) community model to allow for a simpler, flexible, robust, and community-oriented framework that gathers methods used by meteorological operational centers and researchers. We present the advantages of this new design for the data assimilation community by performing benchmarks and showing some of the new features on data assimilation test cases. As data assimilation for clouds remains a challenge, we present a multivariate approach that includes hydrometeors in the control variables and new correlated errors. In addition, the GEN_BE v2.0 code is employed to diagnose error parameter statistics for chemical species, which shows that it is a tool flexible enough to involve new control variables. While the generation of the background errors statistics code has been first developed for atmospheric research, the new version (GEN_BE v2.0) can be easily extended to other domains of science and be chosen as a testbed for diagnostic and new modeling of B. Initially developed for variational data assimilation, the model of the B matrix may be useful for variational ensemble hybrid methods as well.

Instrumental background in balloon-borne gamma-ray spectrometers and techniques for its reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, N.

1985-01-01

Instrumental background in balloon-borne gamma-ray spectrometers is presented. The calculations are based on newly available interaction cross sections and new analytic techniques, and are the most detailed and accurate published to date. Results compare well with measurements made in the 20 keV to 10 MeV energy range by the Goddard Low Energy Gamma-ray Spectrometer (LEGS). The principal components of the continuum background in spectrometers with GE detectors and thick active shields are: (1) elastic neutron scattering of atmospheric neutrons on the Ge nuclei; (2) aperture flux of atmospheric and cosmic gamma rays; (3) beta decays of unstable nuclides produced by nuclear interactions of atmospheric protons and neutrons with Ge nuclei; and (4) shield leakage of atmospheric gamma rays. The improved understanding of these components leads to several recommended techniques for reducing the background.

Increased Contextual Fear Conditioning in iNOS Knockout Mice: Additional Evidence for the Involvement of Nitric Oxide in Stress-Related Disorders and Contribution of the Endocannabinoid System

PubMed Central

Gomes, Felipe V.; Silva, Andréia L.; Uliana, Daniela L.; Camargo, Laura H. A.; Guimarães, Francisco S.; Cunha, Fernando Q.; Joca, Sâmia R. L.; Resstel, Leonardo B. M.

2015-01-01

Background: Inducible or neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene deletion increases or decreases anxiety-like behavior in mice, respectively. Since nitric oxide and endocannabinoids interact to modulate defensive behavior, the former effect could involve a compensatory increase in basal brain nitric oxide synthase activity and/or changes in the endocannabinoid system. Thus, we investigated the expression and extinction of contextual fear conditioning of inducible nitric oxide knockout mice and possible involvement of endocannabinoids in these responses. Methods: We evaluated the effects of a preferential neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, 7-nitroindazol, nitric oxide synthase activity, and mRNA changes of nitrergic and endocannabinoid systems components in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of wild-type and knockout mice. The effects of URB597, an inhibitor of the fatty acid amide hydrolase enzyme, which metabolizes the endocannabinoid anandamide, WIN55,212-2, a nonselective cannabinoid agonist, and AM281, a selective CB1 antagonist, on contextual fear conditioning were also evaluated. Results: Contextual fear conditioning expression was similar in wild-type and knockout mice, but the latter presented extinction deficits and increased basal nitric oxide synthase activity in the medial prefrontal cortex. 7-Nitroindazol decreased fear expression and facilitated extinction in wild-type and knockout mice. URB597 decreased fear expression in wild-type and facilitated extinction in knockout mice, whereas WIN55,212-2 and AM281 increased it in wild-type mice. Nonconditioned knockout mice showed changes in the mRNA expression of nitrergic and endocannabinoid system components in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus that were modified by fear conditioning. Conclusion: These data reinforce the involvement of the nitric oxide and endocannabinoids (anandamide) in stress-related disorders and point to a deregulation of the endocannabinoid system in situations where nitric oxide signaling is increased. PMID:25618404

Location, Location, Location: Eye-Tracking Evidence that Consumers Preferentially View Prominently Positioned Nutrition Information

PubMed Central

Graham, Dan J.; Jeffery, Robert W.

2012-01-01

Background Nutrition Facts labels can keep consumers better informed about their diets' nutritional composition, however, consumers currently do not understand these labels well or use them often. Thus, modifying existing labels may benefit public health. Objective The present study tracked the visual attention of individuals making simulated food-purchasing decisions to assess Nutrition Facts label viewing. Primary research questions were how self-reported viewing of Nutrition Facts labels and their components relates to measured viewing and whether locations of labels and specific label components relate to viewing. Design The study involved a simulated grocery shopping exercise conducted on a computer equipped with an eye-tracking camera. A post-task survey assessed self-reported nutrition information viewing, health behaviors, and demographics. Subjects/setting Individuals 18 years old and older and capable of reading English words on a computer (n=203) completed the 1-hour protocol at the University of Minnesota during Spring 2010. Statistical analyses Primary analyses included χ2, analysis of variance, and t tests comparing self-reported and measured viewing of label components in different presentation configurations. Results Self-reported viewing of Nutrition Facts label components was higher than objectively measured viewing. Label components at the top of the label were viewed more than those at the bottom, and labels positioned in the center of the screen were viewed more than those located on the sides. Conclusions Nutrition Facts label position within a viewing area and position of specific components on a label relate to viewing. Eye tracking is a valuable technology for evaluating consumers' attention to nutrition information, informing nutrition labeling policy (eg, front-of-pack labels), and designing labels that best support healthy dietary decisions. PMID:22027053

Novelty's effect on memory encoding.

PubMed

Rangel-Gomez, Mauricio; Janenaite, Sigita; Meeter, Martijn

2015-07-01

It is often thought that novelty benefits memory formation. However, support for this idea mostly comes from paradigms that are open to alternative explanations. In the present study we manipulated novelty in a word-learning task through task-irrelevant background images. These background images were either standard (presented repeatedly), or novel (presented only once). Two types of background images were used: Landscape pictures and fractals. EEG was also recorded during encoding. Contrary to the idea that novelty aids memory formation, memory performance was not affected by the novelty of the background. In the evoked response potentials, we found evidence of distracting effects of novelty: both the N1 and P3b components were smaller to words studied with novel backgrounds, and the amplitude of the N2b component correlated negatively with subsequent retrieval. We conclude that although evidence from other studies does suggest benefits on a longer time scale, novelty has no instantaneous benefits for learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Small-Scale Spatial Fluctuations in the Soft X-Ray Background. Degree awarded by Maryland Univ., 2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuntz, K. D.; White, Nicolas E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In order to isolate the diffuse extragalactic component of the soft X-ray background, we have used a combination of ROSAT All-Sky Survey and IRAS 100 micron data to separate the soft X-ray background into five components. We find a Local Hot Bubble similar to that described by Snowden et al (1998). We make a first calculation of the contribution by unresolved Galactic stars to the diffuse background. We constrain the normalization of the Extragalactic Power Law (the contribution of the unresolved extragalactic point sources such as AGN, QSO'S, and normal galaxies) to 9.5 +/- 0.9 keV/(sq cm s sr keV), assuming a power-law index of 1.46. We show that the remaining emission, which is some combination of Galactic halo emission and the putative diffuse extragalactic emission, must be composed of at least two components which we have characterized by thermal spectra. The softer component has log T - 6.08 and a patchy distribution; thus it is most probably part of the Galactic halo. The harder component has log T - 6.46 and is nearly isotropic; some portion may be due to the Galactic halo and some portion may be due to the diffuse extragalactic emission. The maximum upper limit to the strength of the emission by the diffuse extragalactic component is the total of the hard component, approx. 7.4 +/- 1.0 keV/(sq cm s sr keV) in the 3/4 keV band. We have made the first direct measure of the fluctuations due to the diffuse extragalactic emission in the 3/4 keV band. Physical arguments suggest that small angular scale (approx. 10') fluctuations in the Local Hot Bubble or the Galactic halo will have very short dissipation times (about 10(exp 5) years). Therefore, the fluctuation spectrum of the soft X-ray background should measure the distribution of the diffuse extragalactic emission. Using mosaics of deep, overlapping PSPC pointings, we find an autocorrelation function value of approx. 0.0025 for 10' < theta < 20', and a value consistent with zero on larger scales. Measurement of the fluctuations with a delta I/I method produces consistent results.

Visualizing individual microtubules by bright field microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutiérrez-Medina, Braulio; Block, Steven M.

2010-11-01

Microtubules are slender (˜25 nm diameter), filamentous polymers involved in cellular structure and organization. Individual microtubules have been visualized via fluorescence imaging of dye-labeled tubulin subunits and by video-enhanced, differential interference-contrast microscopy of unlabeled polymers using sensitive CCD cameras. We demonstrate the imaging of unstained microtubules using a microscope with conventional bright field optics in conjunction with a webcam-type camera and a light-emitting diode illuminator. The light scattered by microtubules is image-processed to remove the background, reduce noise, and enhance contrast. The setup is based on a commercial microscope with a minimal set of inexpensive components, suitable for implementation in a student laboratory. We show how this approach can be used in a demonstration motility assay, tracking the gliding motions of microtubules driven by the motor protein kinesin.

Joint federal research and development process to meet state and local needs. Part 1. Science and technology and political decision making

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

Wise, H F; Smith, L K; Einsweiler, R C

This part of the handbook addresses the basic how to do it - how states and local governments can identify complex and cross-cutting issues and develop and manage scientific and technical resources in seeking policy solutions to such issues. The following subjects are discussed: background statement of the issue; the research/decision-making process; defining problems and identifying research components; research and decision-making strategies; how to identify existing knowledge or ongoing research in the area of policy concern; and managing multi-disciplinary research. The fourteen agencies involved in this effort include: US Departments of Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protectionmore » Agency, and National Science Foundation. (PSB)« less

Hippocampal Plasticity During the Progression of Alzheimer’s disease

PubMed Central

Mufson, Elliott J.; Mahady, Laura; Waters, Diana; Counts, Scott E.; Perez, Sylvia E.; DeKosky, Steven; Ginsberg, Stephen D.; Ikonomovic, Milos D.; Scheff, Stephen; Binder, Lester

2015-01-01

Neuroplasticity involves molecular changes in central nervous system (CNS) synaptic structure and function throughout life. The concept of neural organization allows for synaptic remodeling as a compensatory mechanism to the early pathobiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in an attempt to maintain brain function and cognition during the onset of dementia. The hippocampus, a crucial component of the medial temporal lobe memory circuit, is affected early in AD and displays synaptic and intraneuronal molecular remodeling against a pathological background of extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition and intracellular neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) formation in the early stages of AD. Here we discuss human clinical pathological findings supporting the concept that the hippocampus is capable of neural plasticity during mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage of AD and early stage AD. PMID:25772787

How to develop a Standard Operating Procedure for sorting unfixed cells

PubMed Central

Schmid, Ingrid

2012-01-01

Written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are an important tool to assure that recurring tasks in a laboratory are performed in a consistent manner. When the procedure covered in the SOP involves a high-risk activity such as sorting unfixed cells using a jet-in-air sorter, safety elements are critical components of the document. The details on sort sample handling, sorter set-up, validation, operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance, personal protective equipment (PPE), and operator training, outlined in the SOP are to be based on careful risk assessment of the procedure. This review provides background information on the hazards associated with sorting of unfixed cells and the process used to arrive at the appropriate combination of facility design, instrument placement, safety equipment, and practices to be followed. PMID:22381383

Cosmic acceleration and the helicity-0 graviton

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

Rham, Claudia de; Heisenberg, Lavinia; Gabadadze, Gregory

2011-05-15

We explore cosmology in the decoupling limit of a nonlinear covariant extension of Fierz-Pauli massive gravity obtained recently in arXiv:1007.0443. In this limit the theory is a scalar-tensor model of a unique form defined by symmetries. We find that it admits a self-accelerated solution, with the Hubble parameter set by the graviton mass. The negative pressure causing the acceleration is due to a condensate of the helicity-0 component of the massive graviton, and the background evolution, in the approximation used, is indistinguishable from the {Lambda}CDM model. Fluctuations about the self-accelerated background are stable for a certain range of parameters involved.more » Most surprisingly, the fluctuation of the helicity-0 field above its background decouples from an arbitrary source in the linearized theory. We also show how massive gravity can remarkably screen an arbitrarily large cosmological constant in the decoupling limit, while evading issues with ghosts. The obtained static solution is stable against small perturbations, suggesting that the degravitation of the vacuum energy is possible in the full theory. Interestingly, however, this mechanism postpones the Vainshtein effect to shorter distance scales. Hence, fifth force measurements severely constrain the value of the cosmological constant that can be neutralized, making this scheme phenomenologically not viable for solving the old cosmological constant problem. We briefly speculate on a possible way out of this issue.« less

Cyber Power Potential of the Army’s Reserve Component

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

and could extend logically to include electric power, water, food, railway, gas pipelines , and so forth. One consideration to note is that in cases...29 CHAPTER FOUR Army Reserve Component Cyber Inventory Analysis .......................... 31...Background and Analytical Framework ........................................................... 31 Army Reserve Component Cyber Inventory Analysis , 2015

Combining RNA interference and kinase inhibitors against cell signalling components involved in cancer

PubMed Central

O'Grady, Michael; Raha, Debasish; Hanson, Bonnie J; Bunting, Michaeline; Hanson, George T

2005-01-01

Background The transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP-1) has been implicated in a large variety of biological processes including oncogenic transformation. The tyrosine kinases of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) constitute the beginning of one signal transduction cascade leading to AP-1 activation and are known to control cell proliferation and differentiation. Drug discovery efforts targeting this receptor and other pathway components have centred on monoclonal antibodies and small molecule inhibitors. Resistance to such inhibitors has already been observed, guiding the prediction of their use in combination therapies with other targeted agents such as RNA interference (RNAi). This study examines the use of RNAi and kinase inhibitors for qualification of components involved in the EGFR/AP-1 pathway of ME180 cells, and their inhibitory effects when evaluated individually or in tandem against multiple components of this important disease-related pathway. Methods AP-1 activation was assessed using an ME180 cell line stably transfected with a beta-lactamase reporter gene under the control of AP-1 response element following epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation. Immunocytochemistry allowed for further quantification of small molecule inhibition on a cellular protein level. RNAi and RT-qPCR experiments were performed to assess the amount of knockdown on an mRNA level, and immunocytochemistry was used to reveal cellular protein levels for the targeted pathway components. Results Increased potency of kinase inhibitors was shown by combining RNAi directed towards EGFR and small molecule inhibitors acting at proximal or distal points in the pathway. After cellular stimulation with EGF and analysis at the level of AP-1 activation using a β-lactamase reporter gene, a 10–12 fold shift or 2.5–3 fold shift toward greater potency in the IC50 was observed for EGFR and MEK-1 inhibitors, respectively, in the presence of RNAi targeting EGFR. Conclusion EGFR pathway components were qualified as targets for inhibition of AP-1 activation using RNAi and small molecule inhibitors. The combination of these two targeted agents was shown to increase the efficacy of EGFR and MEK-1 kinase inhibitors, leading to possible implications for overcoming or preventing drug resistance, lowering effective drug doses, and providing new strategies for interrogating cellular signalling pathways. PMID:16202132

Design of a cryogenic test facility for evaluating the performance of interferometric components of the SPICA/SAFARI instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veenendaal, Ian T.; Naylor, David A.; Gom, Brad G.

2014-08-01

The Japanese SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), a 3 m class telescope cooled to ~ 6 K, will provide extremely low thermal background far-infrared observations. An imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (SAFARI) is being developed to exploit the low background provided by SPICA. Evaluating the performance of the interferometer translation stage and key optical components requires a cryogenic test facility. In this paper we discuss the design challenges of a pulse tube cooled cryogenic test facility that is under development for this purpose. We present the design of the cryostat and preliminary results from component characterization and external optical metrology.

Radiopurity assessment of the energy readout for the NEXT double beta decay experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cebrián, S.; Pérez, J.; Bandac, I.; Labarga, L.; Álvarez, V.; Azevedo, C. D. R.; Benlloch-Rodríguez, J. M.; Borges, F. I. G. M.; Botas, A.; Cárcel, S.; Carrión, J. V.; Conde, C. A. N.; Díaz, J.; Diesburg, M.; Escada, J.; Esteve, R.; Felkai, R.; Fernandes, L. M. P.; Ferrario, P.; Ferreira, A. L.; Freitas, E. D. C.; Goldschmidt, A.; Gómez-Cadenas, J. J.; González-Díaz, D.; Gutiérrez, R. M.; Hauptman, J.; Henriques, C. A. O.; Hernandez, A. I.; Hernando Morata, J. A.; Herrero, V.; Jones, B. J. P.; Laing, A.; Lebrun, P.; Liubarsky, I.; López-March, N.; Losada, M.; Martín-Albo, J.; Martínez-Lema, G.; Martínez, A.; McDonald, A. D.; Monrabal, F.; Monteiro, C. M. B.; Mora, F. J.; Moutinho, L. M.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Musti, M.; Nebot-Guinot, M.; Novella, P.; Nygren, D. R.; Palmeiro, B.; Para, A.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Ripoll, L.; Rodríguez, J.; Rogers, L.; Santos, F. P.; dos Santos, J. M. F.; Simón, A.; Sofka, C.; Sorel, M.; Stiegler, T.; Toledo, J. F.; Torrent, J.; Tsamalaidze, Z.; Veloso, J. F. C. A.; Villar, J. A.; Webb, R.; White, J. T.; Yahlali, N.

2017-08-01

The "Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon Time-Projection Chamber" (NEXT) experiment intends to investigate the neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe, and therefore requires a severe suppression of potential backgrounds. An extensive material screening and selection process was undertaken to quantify the radioactivity of the materials used in the experiment. Separate energy and tracking readout planes using different sensors allow us to combine the measurement of the topological signature of the event for background discrimination with the energy resolution optimization. The design of radiopure readout planes, in direct contact with the gas detector medium, was especially challenging since the required components typically have activities too large for experiments demanding ultra-low background conditions. After studying the tracking plane, here the radiopurity control of the energy plane is presented, mainly based on gamma-ray spectroscopy using ultra-low background germanium detectors at the Laboratorio Subterr&aposaneo de Canfranc (Spain). All the available units of the selected model of photomultiplier have been screened together with most of the components for the bases, enclosures and windows. According to these results for the activity of the relevant radioisotopes, the selected components of the energy plane would give a contribution to the overall background level in the region of interest of at most 2.4×10-4 counts keV-1 kg-1 y-1, satisfying the sensitivity requirements of the NEXT experiment.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depressed Adults with Mild Intellectual Disability: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Hartley, Sigan L; Esbensen, Anna J; Shalev, Rebecca; Vincent, Lori B; Mihaila, Iulia; Bussanich, Paige

2015-01-01

Background There is a paucity of research on psychosocial treatments for depression in adults with intellectual disability (ID). In this pilot study, we explored the efficacy of a group CBT treatment that involved a caregiver component in adults with mild ID with a depressive disorder. Method Sixteen adults with mild ID and a depressive disorder participated in a 10-week group CBT treatment and 8 adults with mild ID with a depressive disorder served as a treatment as usual (TAU) control group. Adults with mild ID and caregivers completed measures of depressive symptoms, behavior problems, and social skills at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and a 3-month follow-up. Adults with mild ID also completed a series of tasks to measure their understanding of the principles of cognitive therapy pre- and post-treatment. Results The CBT group demonstrated significant decreases in depressive symptoms and behavior problems from pre-treatment to post-treatment and these effects were maintained at a 3-month follow-up. The CBT group demonstrated significant improvements in their ability to infer emotions and thoughts based on various situation-thought-emotion pairings from pre-treatment to post-treatment. Conclusions Findings indicate that adults with mild ID with a depressive disorder benefitted from a group CBT treatment with a caregiver component. Moreover, adults with mild ID appeared to benefit, at least in part, from the cognitive therapy components of the treatment, in addition to the behavior therapy components. PMID:26925187

Constructivism in Practice: an Exploratory Study of Teaching Patterns and Student Motivation in Physics Classrooms in Finland, Germany and Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beerenwinkel, Anne; von Arx, Matthias

2017-04-01

For the last three decades, moderate constructivism has become an increasingly prominent perspective in science education. Researchers have defined characteristics of constructivist-oriented science classrooms, but the implementation of such science teaching in daily classroom practice seems difficult. Against this background, we conducted a sub-study within the tri-national research project Quality of Instruction in Physics (QuIP) analysing 60 videotaped physics classes involving a large sample of students ( N = 1192) from Finland, Germany and Switzerland in order to investigate the kinds of constructivist components and teaching patterns that can be found in regular classrooms without any intervention. We applied a newly developed coding scheme to capture constructivist facets of science teaching and conducted principal component and cluster analyses to explore which components and patterns were most prominent in the classes observed. Two underlying components were found, resulting in two scales—Structured Knowledge Acquisition and Fostering Autonomy—which describe key aspects of constructivist teaching. Only the first scale was rather well established in the lessons investigated. Classes were clustered based on these scales. The analysis of the different clusters suggested that teaching physics in a structured way combined with fostering students' autonomy contributes to students' motivation. However, our regression models indicated that content knowledge is a more important predictor for students' motivation, and there was no homogeneous pattern for all gender- and country-specific subgroups investigated. The results are discussed in light of recent discussions on the feasibility of constructivism in practice.

Multiple brain networks underpinning word learning from fluent speech revealed by independent component analysis.

PubMed

López-Barroso, Diana; Ripollés, Pablo; Marco-Pallarés, Josep; Mohammadi, Bahram; Münte, Thomas F; Bachoud-Lévi, Anne-Catherine; Rodriguez-Fornells, Antoni; de Diego-Balaguer, Ruth

2015-04-15

Although neuroimaging studies using standard subtraction-based analysis from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have suggested that frontal and temporal regions are involved in word learning from fluent speech, the possible contribution of different brain networks during this type of learning is still largely unknown. Indeed, univariate fMRI analyses cannot identify the full extent of distributed networks that are engaged by a complex task such as word learning. Here we used Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to characterize the different brain networks subserving word learning from an artificial language speech stream. Results were replicated in a second cohort of participants with a different linguistic background. Four spatially independent networks were associated with the task in both cohorts: (i) a dorsal Auditory-Premotor network; (ii) a dorsal Sensory-Motor network; (iii) a dorsal Fronto-Parietal network; and (iv) a ventral Fronto-Temporal network. The level of engagement of these networks varied through the learning period with only the dorsal Auditory-Premotor network being engaged across all blocks. In addition, the connectivity strength of this network in the second block of the learning phase correlated with the individual variability in word learning performance. These findings suggest that: (i) word learning relies on segregated connectivity patterns involving dorsal and ventral networks; and (ii) specifically, the dorsal auditory-premotor network connectivity strength is directly correlated with word learning performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parental involvement and association with adolescents' fruit and vegetable intake at follow-up: Process evaluation results from the multi-component school-based Boost intervention.

PubMed

Jørgensen, Sanne Ellegård; Jørgensen, Thea Suldrup; Aarestrup, Anne Kristine; Due, Pernille; Krølner, Rikke

2016-10-26

Based on the assumption of parental influence on adolescent behavior, multicomponent school-based dietary interventions often include a parental component. The effect of this intervention component is seldom reported and the evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a systematic process evaluation of the parental component and examined whether the leveal of parental involvement in a large multi-component intervention: the Boost study was associated with adolescents' fruit and vegetable (FV) intake at follow-up. The Boost study was targeting FV intake among 1,175 Danish 7 th graders (≈13- year-olds) in the school year 2010/11. The study included a school component: free FV in class and curricular activities; a local community component: fact sheets for sports- and youth clubs; and a parental component: presentation of Boost at a parent-school meeting, 6 newsletters to parents, 3 guided student-parent curricular activities, and a student-parent Boost event. Students whose parent replied to the follow-up survey (n = 347). Questionnaire data from students, parents and teachers at 20 intervention schools. Process evaluation measures: dose delivered, dose received, appreciation and level of parental involvement. Parental involvement was trichotomized into: low/no (0-2 points), medium (3 points) and high (4-6 points). The association between level of parental involvement and self-reported FV intake (24-h recall), was analyzed using multilevel regression analyses. The Boost study was presented at a parent-school meeting at all intervention schools. The dose delivered was low to moderate for the three other parental elements. Most parents appreciated the intervention and talked with their child about Boost (83.5 %). High, medium and low parental involvement was found among 30.5 %, 29.6 % and 39.4 % of the students respectively. Parental involvement was highest among women. More men agreed that the parental newsletters provided new information. Students with a medium and high level of parental involvement ate 47.5 and 95.2 g more FV per day compared to students with low level/no parental involvement (p = 0.02). Students with a high level of parental involvement ate significantly more FV at follow-up compared to students with a low level/no parental involvement. Parental involvement in interventions may improve adolescents' FV intake if challenges of implementation can be overcome. ISRCTN11666034 . Registered 06/01/2012. Retrospectively registered.

Technical note: An improved approach to determining background aerosol concentrations with PILS sampling on aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukami, Christine S.; Sullivan, Amy P.; Ryan Fulgham, S.; Murschell, Trey; Borch, Thomas; Smith, James N.; Farmer, Delphine K.

2016-07-01

Particle-into-Liquid Samplers (PILS) have become a standard aerosol collection technique, and are widely used in both ground and aircraft measurements in conjunction with off-line ion chromatography (IC) measurements. Accurate and precise background samples are essential to account for gas-phase components not efficiently removed and any interference in the instrument lines, collection vials or off-line analysis procedures. For aircraft sampling with PILS, backgrounds are typically taken with in-line filters to remove particles prior to sample collection once or twice per flight with more numerous backgrounds taken on the ground. Here, we use data collected during the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ) to demonstrate that not only are multiple background filter samples are essential to attain a representative background, but that the chemical background signals do not follow the Gaussian statistics typically assumed. Instead, the background signals for all chemical components analyzed from 137 background samples (taken from ∼78 total sampling hours over 18 flights) follow a log-normal distribution, meaning that the typical approaches of averaging background samples and/or assuming a Gaussian distribution cause an over-estimation of background samples - and thus an underestimation of sample concentrations. Our approach of deriving backgrounds from the peak of the log-normal distribution results in detection limits of 0.25, 0.32, 3.9, 0.17, 0.75 and 0.57 μg m-3 for sub-micron aerosol nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), ammonium (NH4+), sulfate (SO42-), potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca2+), respectively. The difference in backgrounds calculated from assuming a Gaussian distribution versus a log-normal distribution were most extreme for NH4+, resulting in a background that was 1.58× that determined from fitting a log-normal distribution.

New Thermal Infrared Hyperspectral Imagers

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

involve imaging systems based on both MCT and microbolometer detector . All the systems base on push-broom imaging spectrograph with transmission grating...application requirements. The studies involve imaging systems based on both MCT and microbolometer detector . All the systems base on push-broom...remote sensing imager utilizes MCT detector combined with BMC-technique (background monitoring on-chip), background suppression and temperature

Isotope-ratio-monitoring gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: methods for isotopic calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merritt, D. A.; Brand, W. A.; Hayes, J. M.

1994-01-01

In trial analyses of a series of n-alkanes, precise determinations of 13C contents were based on isotopic standards introduced by five different techniques and results were compared. Specifically, organic-compound standards were coinjected with the analytes and carried through chromatography and combustion with them; or CO2 was supplied from a conventional inlet and mixed with the analyte in the ion source, or CO2 was supplied from an auxiliary mixing volume and transmitted to the source without interruption of the analyte stream. Additionally, two techniques were investigated in which the analyte stream was diverted and CO2 standards were placed on a near-zero background. All methods provided accurate results. Where applicable, methods not involving interruption of the analyte stream provided the highest performance (sigma = 0.00006 at.% 13C or 0.06% for 250 pmol C as CO2 reaching the ion source), but great care was required. Techniques involving diversion of the analyte stream were immune to interference from coeluting sample components and still provided high precision (0.0001 < or = sigma < or = 0.0002 at.% or 0.1 < or = sigma < or = 0.2%).

Innovative Research Program: Supershields for Gamma-Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hailey, Charles J.

2000-01-01

The supershield project evaluated the importance of novel shield configurations for suppressing neutron induced background in new classes of gamma-ray detectors such as CZT. The basic concept was to use a two-part shield. The outer shield material heavily moderates the incoming neutron spectrum. This moderated neutron beam is then more easily absorbed by the inner material, which is an efficient neutron absorber. This approach is, in principle, more efficient than that in previous attempts to make neutron shields. These previous attempts involved biatomic, monlithic shields (eg. LiH) in which the shield consisted of a single material but with two types of atoms - one for moderating and one for absorbing. The problem with this type of monolithic shield is that moderating neutrons, without the efficient absorption of them, leads to the leakage into the detector of neutrons with a low energy component (approx. 10-100 KeV). These energy neutrons are particularly problematic for many types of detectors. The project was roughly divided into phases. In the first phase we attempted to carefully define the neutron source function incident on any space instrument. This is essential since the design of any shield depends on the shape of the incident neutron spectrum. We found that approximations commonly used in gamma-ray astronomy for photon background is inadequate. In addition, we found that secondary neutrons produced in any passive shield, and dominated by inelastic neutron scattering, are far more important than background due to neutron activation. The second phase of our work involved design of supershield geometries (one and three dimensional) in order to compare different shield configurations and materials for their effectiveness as neutron shields. Moreover we wanted to compare these supershields with previous neutron shields to confirm the performance differences between the supershield (two material) and monolithic (one material) designs and to understand the physics origins of these differences more clearly. The third phase of the supershield program involved the benchmarking of the supershield designs through direct experimental verification. This required fabricating various supershields and exposing them to beams of neutrons to directly characterize their performance. With explicit verification that our modeling procedures can be used with confidence, we are now in a position to design shields for realistic space geometries. Using the supershield modeling capacity developed as part of this program we are attempting to evaluate their utility for a specific proposed mission--the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST). It is anticipated that this experiment, which is limited by internal background at high energies, might benefit from a neutron shield.

Combined analgesics in (headache) pain therapy: shotgun approach or precise multi-target therapeutics?

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Pain in general and headache in particular are characterized by a change in activity in brain areas involved in pain processing. The therapeutic challenge is to identify drugs with molecular targets that restore the healthy state, resulting in meaningful pain relief or even freedom from pain. Different aspects of pain perception, i.e. sensory and affective components, also explain why there is not just one single target structure for therapeutic approaches to pain. A network of brain areas ("pain matrix") are involved in pain perception and pain control. This diversification of the pain system explains why a wide range of molecularly different substances can be used in the treatment of different pain states and why in recent years more and more studies have described a superior efficacy of a precise multi-target combination therapy compared to therapy with monotherapeutics. Discussion In this article, we discuss the available literature on the effects of several fixed-dose combinations in the treatment of headaches and discuss the evidence in support of the role of combination therapy in the pharmacotherapy of pain, particularly of headaches. The scientific rationale behind multi-target combinations is the therapeutic benefit that could not be achieved by the individual constituents and that the single substances of the combinations act together additively or even multiplicatively and cooperate to achieve a completeness of the desired therapeutic effect. As an example the fixesd-dose combination of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), paracetamol (acetaminophen) and caffeine is reviewed in detail. The major advantage of using such a fixed combination is that the active ingredients act on different but distinct molecular targets and thus are able to act on more signalling cascades involved in pain than most single analgesics without adding more side effects to the therapy. Summary Multitarget therapeutics like combined analgesics broaden the array of therapeutic options, enable the completeness of the therapeutic effect, and allow doctors (and, in self-medication with OTC medications, the patients themselves) to customize treatment to the patient's specific needs. There is substantial clinical evidence that such a multi-component therapy is more effective than mono-component therapies. PMID:21453539

First Stars or Stray Stars? A Cosmic Infrared Mystery

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-06

Our sky is filled with a diffuse background glow, known as the cosmic infrared background. Much of the light is from galaxies we know about, but previous Spitzer measurements have shown an extra component of unknown origin.

An exploration in acoustic radiation force experienced by cylindrical shells via resonance scattering theory.

PubMed

Rajabi, Majid; Behzad, Mehdi

2014-04-01

In nonlinear acoustic regime, a body insonified by a sound field is known to experience a steady force that is called the acoustic radiation force (RF). This force is a second-order quantity of the velocity potential function of the ambient medium. Exploiting the sufficiency of linear solution representation of potential function in RF formulation, and following the classical resonance scattering theorem (RST) which suggests the scattered field as a superposition of the resonant field and a background (non-resonant) component, we will show that the radiation force is a composition of three components: background part, resonant part and their interaction. Due to the nonlinearity effects, each part contains the contribution of pure partial waves in addition to their mutual interaction. The numerical results propose the residue component (i.e., subtraction of the background component from the RF) as a good indicator of the contribution of circumferential surface waves in RF. Defining the modal series of radiation force function and its components, it will be shown that within each partial wave, the resonance contribution can be synthesized as the Breit-Wigner form for adequately none-close resonant frequencies. The proposed formulation may be helpful essentially due to its inherent value as a canonical subject in physical acoustics. Furthermore, it may make a tunnel through the circumferential resonance reducing effects on radiation forces. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantitative interaction screen of telomeric repeat-containing RNA reveals novel TERRA regulators

PubMed Central

Scheibe, Marion; Arnoult, Nausica; Kappei, Dennis; Buchholz, Frank; Decottignies, Anabelle; Butter, Falk; Mann, Matthias

2013-01-01

Telomeres are actively transcribed into telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), which has been implicated in the regulation of telomere length and heterochromatin formation. Here, we applied quantitative mass spectrometry (MS)–based proteomics to obtain a high-confidence interactome of TERRA. Using SILAC-labeled nuclear cell lysates in an RNA pull-down experiment and two different salt conditions, we distinguished 115 proteins binding specifically to TERRA out of a large set of background binders. While TERRA binders identified in two previous studies showed little overlap, using quantitative mass spectrometry we obtained many candidates reported in these two studies. To test whether novel candidates found here are involved in TERRA regulation, we performed an esiRNA-based interference analysis for 15 of them. Knockdown of 10 genes encoding candidate proteins significantly affected total cellular levels of TERRA, and RNAi of five candidates perturbed TERRA recruitment to telomeres. Notably, depletion of SRRT/ARS2, involved in miRNA processing, up-regulated both total and telomere-bound TERRA. Conversely, knockdown of MORF4L2, a component of the NuA4 histone acetyltransferase complex, reduced TERRA levels both globally and for telomere-bound TERRA. We thus identified new proteins involved in the homeostasis and telomeric abundance of TERRA, extending our knowledge of TERRA regulation. PMID:23921659

Deconvolution of trace element (As, Cr, Mo, Th, U) sources and pathways to surface waters of a gold mining-influenced watershed.

PubMed

Grosbois, C; Schäfer, J; Bril, H; Blanc, G; Bossy, A

2009-03-01

The Upper Isle River (SW France) drains the second most productive gold-mining district of France. A high resolution survey during one hydrological year of As, Cl(-), Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, SO(4)(2-), Th and U dissolved concentrations in surface water aimed to better understand pathways of trace element export to the river system downstream from the mining district. Dissolved concentrations of As (up to 35000 ng/L) and Mo (up to 292 ng/L) were about 3-fold higher than the regional dissolved background and showed a negative logarithmic relation with discharge. Dissolved concentrations of Cr (up to 483 ng/L), Th (up to 48 ng/L) and U (up to 184 ng/L) increased with discharge. Geochemical relationships between molar ratios in surface water, geochemical background as well as rain- and groundwater data were combined. The contrasting behavior of distinct element groups was explained by a scenario involving three seasonal components: (i) The high flow component is poorly concentrated in As and Mo but highly concentrated in Cr, Th, U. This has been attributed to diffuse sources such as water-soil interactions, atmospheric inputs, bedrock and bed sediment weathering. Although this component probably also includes a contribution by weathering of sulfide veins, this signal is masked by dilution. (ii) One low flow component presents high SO(4)(2-), Fe, As and Mo and moderate Cr, Th and U concentrations. This component has been attributed to point sources such as mine gallery effluents, mining waste weathering and groundwater inputs from natural and/or mining-induced sulfide oxidation in the ore deposit. (iii) A second low flow component showing high As plus Mo concentrations associated with very low SO(4)(2-), Fe, Cr, Th and U concentrations, probably reflects trace element scavenging by ferric oxyhydroxide formation in the adjacent aquifer. This is supported by the decrease of Fe, Cr, Th and U in surface waters. Flux estimates suggest contrasting element-specific impacts on annual dissolved fluxes. Runoff may account for the major part of annual dissolved As, Mo, Th and U fluxes in the Upper Isle River. Inputs related to sulfide oxidation respectively contributed approximately 30% and approximately 24% to annual As and Mo fluxes. The formation of ferric oxyhydroxides strongly retained Cr, Th and U during the low flow, limiting their dissolved concentrations in surface waters. If this process may eventually decrease As mobility, its impact on dissolved As concentrations in surface water may be limited or/and counterbalanced by As release during sulfide oxidation.

TIMSS 2011 User Guide for the International Database. Supplement 2: National Adaptations of International Background Questionnaires

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foy, Pierre, Ed.; Arora, Alka, Ed.; Stanco, Gabrielle M., Ed.

2013-01-01

This supplement describes national adaptations made to the international version of the TIMSS 2011 background questionnaires. This information provides users with a guide to evaluate the availability of internationally comparable data for use in secondary analyses involving the TIMSS 2011 background variables. Background questionnaire adaptations…

Beyond an Operational Reserve

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

Background, and Bibliography, (New York: Nova Science Pub Inc, 2002), 72. 46 components, the first in 1993 and later in 1997, to discuss the...8 George Bennett, The United States Army: Issues, Background, and Bibliography, (New York: Nova Science Pub Inc, 2002), 71...George Bennett, The United States Army: Issues, Background, and Bibliography, (New York: Nova Science Pub Inc, 2002), 74. 11 Angelo, M. Reserve

Improvement of LOD in Fluorescence Detection with Spectrally Nonuniform Background by Optimization of Emission Filtering.

PubMed

Galievsky, Victor A; Stasheuski, Alexander S; Krylov, Sergey N

2017-10-17

The limit-of-detection (LOD) in analytical instruments with fluorescence detection can be improved by reducing noise of optical background. Efficiently reducing optical background noise in systems with spectrally nonuniform background requires complex optimization of an emission filter-the main element of spectral filtration. Here, we introduce a filter-optimization method, which utilizes an expression for the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as a function of (i) all noise components (dark, shot, and flicker), (ii) emission spectrum of the analyte, (iii) emission spectrum of the optical background, and (iv) transmittance spectrum of the emission filter. In essence, the noise components and the emission spectra are determined experimentally and substituted into the expression. This leaves a single variable-the transmittance spectrum of the filter-which is optimized numerically by maximizing SNR. Maximizing SNR provides an accurate way of filter optimization, while a previously used approach based on maximizing a signal-to-background ratio (SBR) is the approximation that can lead to much poorer LOD specifically in detection of fluorescently labeled biomolecules. The proposed filter-optimization method will be an indispensable tool for developing new and improving existing fluorescence-detection systems aiming at ultimately low LOD.

Musical Home Environment, Family Background, and Parenting Style on Success in School Music and in School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zdzinski, Stephen; Dell, Charlene; Gumm, Alan; Rinnert, Nathan; Orzolek, Douglas; Yap, Ching Ching; Cooper, Shelly; Keith, Timothy; Russell, Brian

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine influences of parental involvement-home music environment, family background, and parenting style factors on success in school music and in school. Participants (N = 1114) were music students in grades 4-12 from six regions of the United States. Data were gathered about parental involvement-home environment…

Tight regulation of plant immune responses by combining promoter and suicide exon elements

DOE PAGES

Gonzalez, Tania L.; Liang, Yan; Nguyen, Bao N.; ...

2015-07-02

Effector-triggered immunity (ETI) is activated when plant disease resistance (R) proteins recognize the presence of pathogen effector proteins delivered into host cells. The ETI response generally encompasses a defensive ‘hypersensitive response’ (HR) that involves programmed cell death at the site of pathogen recognition. While many R protein and effector protein pairs are known to trigger HR, other components of the ETI signaling pathway remain elusive. Effector genes regulated by inducible promoters cause background HR due to leaky protein expression, preventing the generation of relevant transgenic plant lines. By employing the HyP5SM suicide exon, we have developed a strategy to tightlymore » regulate effector proteins such that HR is chemically inducible and non-leaky. This alternative splicing-based gene regulation system was shown to successfully control Bs2/AvrBs2-dependent and RPP1/ATR1Δ51-dependent HR in Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana tabacum, respectively. It was also used to generate viable and healthy transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that inducibly initiate HR. In conclusion, beyond enabling studies on the ETI pathway, our regulatory strategy is generally applicable to reduce or eliminate undesired background expression of transgenes.« less

Tight regulation of plant immune responses by combining promoter and suicide exon elements

PubMed Central

Gonzalez, Tania L.; Liang, Yan; Nguyen, Bao N.; Staskawicz, Brian J.; Loqué, Dominique; Hammond, Ming C.

2015-01-01

Effector-triggered immunity (ETI) is activated when plant disease resistance (R) proteins recognize the presence of pathogen effector proteins delivered into host cells. The ETI response generally encompasses a defensive ‘hypersensitive response’ (HR) that involves programmed cell death at the site of pathogen recognition. While many R protein and effector protein pairs are known to trigger HR, other components of the ETI signaling pathway remain elusive. Effector genes regulated by inducible promoters cause background HR due to leaky protein expression, preventing the generation of relevant transgenic plant lines. By employing the HyP5SM suicide exon, we have developed a strategy to tightly regulate effector proteins such that HR is chemically inducible and non-leaky. This alternative splicing-based gene regulation system was shown to successfully control Bs2/AvrBs2-dependent and RPP1/ATR1Δ51-dependent HR in Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana tabacum, respectively. It was also used to generate viable and healthy transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that inducibly initiate HR. Beyond enabling studies on the ETI pathway, our regulatory strategy is generally applicable to reduce or eliminate undesired background expression of transgenes. PMID:26138488

Tight regulation of plant immune responses by combining promoter and suicide exon elements

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

Gonzalez, Tania L.; Liang, Yan; Nguyen, Bao N.

Effector-triggered immunity (ETI) is activated when plant disease resistance (R) proteins recognize the presence of pathogen effector proteins delivered into host cells. The ETI response generally encompasses a defensive ‘hypersensitive response’ (HR) that involves programmed cell death at the site of pathogen recognition. While many R protein and effector protein pairs are known to trigger HR, other components of the ETI signaling pathway remain elusive. Effector genes regulated by inducible promoters cause background HR due to leaky protein expression, preventing the generation of relevant transgenic plant lines. By employing the HyP5SM suicide exon, we have developed a strategy to tightlymore » regulate effector proteins such that HR is chemically inducible and non-leaky. This alternative splicing-based gene regulation system was shown to successfully control Bs2/AvrBs2-dependent and RPP1/ATR1Δ51-dependent HR in Nicotiana benthamiana and Nicotiana tabacum, respectively. It was also used to generate viable and healthy transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that inducibly initiate HR. In conclusion, beyond enabling studies on the ETI pathway, our regulatory strategy is generally applicable to reduce or eliminate undesired background expression of transgenes.« less

Coexisting rogue waves within the (2+1)-component long-wave-short-wave resonance.

PubMed

Chen, Shihua; Soto-Crespo, Jose M; Grelu, Philippe

2014-09-01

The coexistence of two different types of fundamental rogue waves is unveiled, based on the coupled equations describing the (2+1)-component long-wave-short-wave resonance. For a wide range of asymptotic background fields, each family of three rogue wave components can be triggered by using a slight deterministic alteration to the otherwise identical background field. The ability to trigger markedly different rogue wave profiles from similar initial conditions is confirmed by numerical simulations. This remarkable feature, which is absent in the scalar nonlinear Schrödinger equation, is attributed to the specific three-wave interaction process and may be universal for a variety of multicomponent wave dynamics spanning from oceanography to nonlinear optics.

DETERMINATION OF THE BACKGROUND WHILE MEASURING ACTIVITIES OF THE ORDER OF 10$sup -11$ TO 10$sup -13$ CURIE (in Russian)

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

Artem'ev, V.V.

1962-11-01

Activity measurements must be occasionally carried out in presence of a background radiation with a higher value than the radiation under study. Such cases are encountered in geological prospecting, biological and medical experiments with isotopes having half life periods longer than 10 years, requiring instruments with sensisitivities exceeding the 10/sup -13/ to 10/sup - 14/ curie range. Measurement of activities from 10/sup -11/ to 10/sup -13/ curie with an error of less than 1% requires tens of hours during which the background may vary radically because of the variations of cosmic rays and solar flares. In radiochemical dating studies themore » background usually consists of a constant component due to natural radioactive materials such as KID, and decay products of the U and Th series, and of a variable component primarily controlled by the cosmic radiation. Multiple scattering and absorption events cause a spreading of the spectral lines in neighboring portions of the spectrum of the background radiation; the changes in the second component may be determined by decomposing the count rate. The method was used successfully in mass determinations of C/sup 14/ in geological and archeological samples. The C sample was used to prepare ethyl benzene in which scintillating compounds, such as 2,5 diphenyl oxazol and 1,4-STAdi2,5 phenyl oxazolyl! benzene were dissolved, measuring the activity by means of a scintillation counter and a photomultiplier. (TTT)« less

Atmospheric aerosol compositions and sources at two national background sites in northern and southern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qiao; He, Ling-Yan; Huang, Xiao-Feng; Cao, Li-Ming; Gong, Zhao-Heng; Wang, Chuan; Zhuang, Xin; Hu, Min

2016-08-01

Although China's severe air pollution has become a focus in the field of atmospheric chemistry and the mechanisms of urban air pollution there have been researched extensively, few field sampling campaigns have been conducted at remote background sites in China, where air pollution characteristics on a larger scale are highlighted. In this study, an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), together with an Aethalometer, was deployed at two of China's national background sites in northern (Lake Hongze site; 33.23° N, 118.33° E; altitude 21 m) and southern (Mount Wuzhi site; 18.84° N, 109.49° E; altitude 958 m) China in the spring seasons in 2011 and 2015, respectively, in order to characterize submicron aerosol composition and sources. The campaign-average PM1 concentration was 36.8 ± 19.8 µg m-3 at the northern China background (NCB) site, which was far higher than that at the southern China background (SCB) site (10.9 ± 7.8 µg m-3). Organic aerosol (OA) (27.2 %), nitrate (26.7 %), and sulfate (22.0 %) contributed the most to the PM1 mass at NCB, while OA (43.5 %) and sulfate (30.5 %) were the most abundant components of the PM1 mass at SCB, where nitrate only constituted a small fraction (4.7 %) and might have contained a significant amount of organic nitrates (5-11 %). The aerosol size distributions and organic aerosol elemental compositions all indicated very aged aerosol particles at both sites. The OA at SCB was more oxidized with a higher average oxygen to carbon (O / C) ratio (0.98) than that at NCB (0.67). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis was used to classify OA into three components, including a hydrocarbon-like component (HOA, attributed to fossil fuel combustion) and two oxygenated components (OOA1 and OOA2, attributed to secondary organic aerosols from different source areas) at NCB. PMF analysis at SCB identified a semi-volatile oxygenated component (SV-OOA) and a low-volatility oxygenated component (LV-OOA), both of which were found to be secondary species and could be formed from precursors co-emitted with BC. Using the total potential source contribution function model, the likely source areas of the major PM1 components at both sites were a on large regional scale in East Asia. The possible sources may include not only emissions from the Chinese mainland but also emissions from ocean-going cargo ships and biomass burning in neighboring countries.

Community Involvement Components in Culturally-Oriented Teacher Preparation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahan, James M.

1982-01-01

Describes community involvement components in culturally oriented teacher education program, i.e., preservice and inservice community agency assignments, oncampus cultural preparation. Reveals that cultural immersion student teacher programs are attractive and professionally advantageous. (AH)

Premolis semirufa (Walker, 1856) Envenomation, Disease Affecting Rubber Tappers of the Amazon: Searching for Caterpillar-Bristles Toxic Components

PubMed Central

Villas-Boas, Isadora Maria; Gonçalves-de-Andrade, Rute Maria; Pidde-Queiroz, Giselle; Assaf, Suely Lucia Muro Rais; Portaro, Fernanda C. V.; Sant'Anna, Osvaldo A.; van den Berg, Carmen W.; Tambourgi, Denise V.

2012-01-01

Background The caterpillar of the moth Premolis semirufa (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae), commonly named Pararama, is endemic of the Amazon basin. Accidental contact with these caterpillar bristles causes local symptoms such as intense heat, pain, edema and itching which last for three to seven days; however, after multiples contacts, it may induce joint-space narrowing and bone alteration, as well as degeneration of the articular cartilage and immobilization of the affected joints. Specific treatment for this disease does not exist, but corticosteroids are frequently administered. Despite of the public health hazard of Premolis semirufa caterpillar poisoning, little is known about the nature of the toxic components involved in the induction of the pathology. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we have investigated the biological and immunochemical characteristics of the caterpillar's bristles components. Analysis of the bristles extract in in vitro assays revealed the presence of proteolytic and hyaluronidase activities but no phospholipase A2 activity. In vivo, it was observed that the bristles extract is not lethal but can induce an intense inflammatory process, characterized by the presence of neutrophils in the paw tissues of injected mice. Furthermore, the bristles components stimulated an intense and specific antibody response but autoantibodies such as anti-DNA or anti-collagen type II were not detected. Conclusion The results suggest that Premolis semirufa caterpillar bristles secretion contains a mixture of different enzymes that may act together in the generation and development of the clinical manifestations of the Pararama envenomation. Moreover, the high immunogenicity of the caterpillar bristles components, as shown by the generation of high antibody titers, may also contribute to the induction and establishment of the inflammatory disease. PMID:22389740

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus mutants expressing reduced susceptibility to common house-cleaners

PubMed Central

Davis, A.O.; O’Leary, J.O.; Muthaiyan, A.; Langevin, M.J.; Delgado, A.; Abalos, A.T.; Fajardo, A.R.; Marek, J.; Wilkinson, B.J.; Gustafson, J.E.

2013-01-01

Aims To characterize mutants of Staphylococcus aureus expressing reduced susceptibility to house cleaners (HC), assess the impact of the alternative sigma factor SigB on HC susceptibility, and determine the MIC of clinical methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) to a HC. Methods and Results Susceptibility to HC, HC components, H2O2, vancomycin and oxacillin and physiological parameters were determined for HC-reduced susceptibility (HCRS) mutants, parent strain COL and COLsigB::kan. HCRS mutants selected with three HC expressed reduced susceptibility to multiple HC, HC components, H2O2 and vancomycin. Two unique HCRS mutants also lost the methicillin resistance determinant. In addition, all HCRS mutants exhibited better growth at two temperatures, and one HCRS mutant expressed reduced carotenoid production. COLsigB::kan demonstrated increased susceptibility to all HC and many HC components. sigB operon mutations were not detected in one HCRS mutant background. Of 76 clinical MRSA, 20 exhibited reduced susceptibility to a HC. Conclusions HCRS mutants demonstrate altered susceptibility to multiple antimicrobials. While sigB is required for full HC resistance, one HCRS mechanism does not involve sigB operon mutations. Clinical MRSA expressing reduced susceptibility to a common HC were detected. Significance and Impact of the Study This study suggests that HCRS mutants are not protected against, nor selected by, practical HC concentrations. PMID:15659191

The Cosmic Background Explorer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulkis, Samuel; And Others

1990-01-01

Outlines the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) mission to measure celestial radiation. Describes the instruments used and experiments involving differential microwave radiometers, and a far infrared absolute spectrophotometer. (YP)

GPS-based tracking system for TOPEX orbit determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melbourne, W. G.

1984-01-01

A tracking system concept is discussed that is based on the utilization of the constellation of Navstar satellites in the Global Positioning System (GPS). The concept involves simultaneous and continuous metric tracking of the signals from all visible Navstar satellites by approximately six globally distributed ground terminals and by the TOPEX spacecraft at 1300-km altitude. Error studies indicate that this system could be capable of obtaining decimeter position accuracies and, most importantly, around 5 cm in the radial component which is key to exploiting the full accuracy potential of the altimetric measurements for ocean topography. Topics covered include: background of the GPS, the precision mode for utilization of the system, past JPL research for using the GPS in precision applications, the present tracking system concept for high accuracy satellite positioning, and results from a proof-of-concept demonstration.

How to develop a standard operating procedure for sorting unfixed cells.

PubMed

Schmid, Ingrid

2012-07-01

Written standard operating procedures (SOPs) are an important tool to assure that recurring tasks in a laboratory are performed in a consistent manner. When the procedure covered in the SOP involves a high-risk activity such as sorting unfixed cells using a jet-in-air sorter, safety elements are critical components of the document. The details on sort sample handling, sorter set-up, validation, operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance, personal protective equipment (PPE), and operator training, outlined in the SOP are to be based on careful risk assessment of the procedure. This review provides background information on the hazards associated with sorting of unfixed cells and the process used to arrive at the appropriate combination of facility design, instrument placement, safety equipment, and practices to be followed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tutorial on the Role of Cyclopentadienyl Ligands in the Discovery of Molecular Complexes of the Rare-Earth and Actinide Metals in New Oxidation States

DOE PAGES

Evans, William J.

2016-09-15

A fundamental aspect of any element is the range of oxidation states accessible for useful chemistry. This tutorial describes the recent expansion of the number of oxidation states available to the rare-earth and actinide metals in molecular complexes that has resulted through organometallic chemistry involving the cyclopentadienyl ligand. These discoveries demonstrate that the cyclopentadienyl ligand, which has been a key component in the development of organometallic chemistry since the seminal discovery of ferrocene in the 1950s, continues to contribute to the advancement of science. Lastly, we present background information on the rare-earth and actinide elements, as well as the sequencemore » of events that led to these unexpected developments in the oxidation state chemistry of these metals.« less

Tutorial on the Role of Cyclopentadienyl Ligands in the Discovery of Molecular Complexes of the Rare-Earth and Actinide Metals in New Oxidation States

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

Evans, William J.

A fundamental aspect of any element is the range of oxidation states accessible for useful chemistry. This tutorial describes the recent expansion of the number of oxidation states available to the rare-earth and actinide metals in molecular complexes that has resulted through organometallic chemistry involving the cyclopentadienyl ligand. These discoveries demonstrate that the cyclopentadienyl ligand, which has been a key component in the development of organometallic chemistry since the seminal discovery of ferrocene in the 1950s, continues to contribute to the advancement of science. Lastly, we present background information on the rare-earth and actinide elements, as well as the sequencemore » of events that led to these unexpected developments in the oxidation state chemistry of these metals.« less

Vocabulary Acquisition through Cloze Exercises, Sentence-Writing and Composition-Writing: Extending the Evaluation Component of the Involvement Load Hypothesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zou, Di

2017-01-01

This research inspects the allocation of involvement load to the evaluation component of the involvement load hypothesis, examining how three typical approaches to evaluation (cloze-exercises, sentence-writing, and composition-writing) promote word learning. The results of this research were partially consistent with the predictions of the…

Elimination of autofluorescence background from fluorescence tissue images by use of time-gated detection and the AzaDiOxaTriAngulenium (ADOTA) fluorophore.

PubMed

Rich, Ryan M; Stankowska, Dorota L; Maliwal, Badri P; Sørensen, Thomas Just; Laursen, Bo W; Krishnamoorthy, Raghu R; Gryczynski, Zygmunt; Borejdo, Julian; Gryczynski, Ignacy; Fudala, Rafal

2013-02-01

Sample autofluorescence (fluorescence of inherent components of tissue and fixative-induced fluorescence) is a significant problem in direct imaging of molecular processes in biological samples. A large variety of naturally occurring fluorescent components in tissue results in broad emission that overlaps the emission of typical fluorescent dyes used for tissue labeling. In addition, autofluorescence is characterized by complex fluorescence intensity decay composed of multiple components whose lifetimes range from sub-nanoseconds to a few nanoseconds. For these reasons, the real fluorescence signal of the probe is difficult to separate from the unwanted autofluorescence. Here we present a method for reducing the autofluorescence problem by utilizing an azadioxatriangulenium (ADOTA) dye with a fluorescence lifetime of approximately 15 ns, much longer than those of most of the components of autofluorescence. A probe with such a long lifetime enables us to use time-gated intensity imaging to separate the signal of the targeting dye from the autofluorescence. We have shown experimentally that by discarding photons detected within the first 20 ns of the excitation pulse, the signal-to-background ratio is improved fivefold. This time-gating eliminates over 96 % of autofluorescence. Analysis using a variable time-gate may enable quantitative determination of the bound probe without the contributions from the background.

Current Source Mapping by Spontaneous MEG and ECoG in Piglets Model

PubMed Central

Gao, Lin; Wang, Jue; Stephen, Julia; Zhang, Tongsheng

2016-01-01

The previous research reveals the presence of relatively strong spatial correlations from spontaneous activity over cortex in Electroencephalography (EEG) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurement. A critical obstacle in MEG current source mapping is that strong background activity masks the relatively weak local information. In this paper, the hypothesis is that the dominant components of this background activity can be captured by the first Principal Component (PC) after employing Principal Component Analysis (PCA), thus discarding the first PC before the back projection would enhance the exposure of the information carried by a subset of sensors that reflects the local neuronal activity. By detecting MEG signals densely (one measurement per 2×2 mm2) in three piglets neocortical models over an area of 18×26 mm2 with a special shape of lesion by means of a μSQUID, this basic idea was demonstrated by the fact that a strong activity could be imaged in the lesion region after removing the first PC in Delta, Theta and Alpha band, while the original recordings did not show such activity clearly. Thus, the PCA decomposition can be employed to expose the local activity, which is around the lesion in the piglets’ neocortical models, by removing the dominant components of the background activity. PMID:27570537

The Shock Pulse Index and Its Application in the Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Element Bearings

PubMed Central

Sun, Peng; Liao, Yuhe; Lin, Jin

2017-01-01

The properties of the time domain parameters of vibration signals have been extensively studied for the fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings (REBs). Parameters like kurtosis and Envelope Harmonic-to-Noise Ratio are the most widely applied in this field and some important progress has been made. However, since only one-sided information is contained in these parameters, problems still exist in practice when the signals collected are of complicated structure and/or contaminated by strong background noises. A new parameter, named Shock Pulse Index (SPI), is proposed in this paper. It integrates the mutual advantages of both the parameters mentioned above and can help effectively identify fault-related impulse components under conditions of interference of strong background noises, unrelated harmonic components and random impulses. The SPI optimizes the parameters of Maximum Correlated Kurtosis Deconvolution (MCKD), which is used to filter the signals under consideration. Finally, the transient information of interest contained in the filtered signal can be highlighted through demodulation with the Teager Energy Operator (TEO). Fault-related impulse components can therefore be extracted accurately. Simulations show the SPI can correctly indicate the fault impulses under the influence of strong background noises, other harmonic components and aperiodic impulse and experiment analyses verify the effectiveness and correctness of the proposed method. PMID:28282883

Ferris Wheels and Filling Bottles: A Case of a Student's Transfer of Covariational Reasoning across Tasks with Different Backgrounds and Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Heather Lynn; McClintock, Evan; Hornbein, Peter

2017-01-01

Using an actor-oriented perspective on transfer, we report a case of a student's transfer of covariational reasoning across tasks involving different backgrounds and features. In this study, we investigated the research question: How might a student's covariational reasoning on Ferris wheel tasks, involving attributes of distance, width, and…

How Bullying Involvement Is Associated with the Distribution of Parental Background and with Subjective Health Complaints among Swedish Boys and Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlerby, Heidi; Viitasara, Eija; Knutsson, Anders; Gadin, Katja Gillander

2013-01-01

This study aimed to analyze how bullying involvement is associated with the distribution of parental background and with subjective health complaints (SHC) among Swedish boys and girls. Data were collected from the World Health Organization, Health Behavior in School-aged Children (WHO/HBSC) survey, measurement years 1997/1998, 2001/2002 and…

Describing Students' Talk about Physical Science Phenomena outside and inside the Classroom: A Case of Secondary School Students from Maragoli, Western Region of Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orado, Grace N.

2014-01-01

Because of cultural and linguistic influences on science learning involving students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, calls have been made for teachers to enact teaching that is sensitive to these students' backgrounds. However, most of the research involving such students has tended to focus on students at elementary grade levels…

Injection drug users’ involvement in drug dealing in the downtown eastside of Vancouver: Social organization and systemic violence

PubMed Central

Small, Will; Maher, Lisa; Lawlor, Jeff; Wood, Evan; Shannon, Kate; Kerr, Thomas

2014-01-01

Background Illicit drug markets are a key component of the risk environment surrounding injection drug use. However, relatively few studies have explored how injection drug users’ (IDUs) involvement in drug dealing shapes their experiences of drug market-related harm. This exploratory qualitative study aims to understand IDUs’ dealing activities and roles, as well as the perceived benefits and risks related to participation in illicit drug markets, including experiences of drug market violence. Methods Ten IDUs with extensive involvement in drug dealing activities were recruited from the Vancouver Injection Drug User Study (VIDUS) and participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews, which elicited discussion of experiences dealing drugs, perceived benefits and hazards related to dealing, and understandings of drug market violence. Results Participant's involvement in drug market activities included corporate sales, freelance or independent sales, and opportunistic sales termed “middling” as well as drug market-related hustles entailing selling bogus drugs and robbing dealers. Participants primarily dealt drugs to support their own illicit drug use, and we found that arrest and criminal justice involvement, hazards stemming from drug debts, and drug market-related violence were key risks related to dealing activities. Conclusion The challenges of managing personal consumption while selling drugs exacerbates the hazards associated with drug dealing. Efforts to address drug dealing among IDUs should consider both drug dependency and the material conditions that propel drug users towards dealing activities. Interventions should explore the potential of combining enhanced drug treatment programs with low threshold employment and alternative income generation opportunities. PMID:23664788

Transcriptome Sequencing of Codonopsis pilosula and Identification of Candidate Genes Involved in Polysaccharide Biosynthesis

PubMed Central

Gao, Jian Ping; Wang, Dong; Cao, Ling Ya; Sun, Hai Feng

2015-01-01

Background Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf. is one of the most widely used medicinal plants. Although chemical and pharmacological studies have shown that codonopsis polysaccharides (CPPs) are bioactive compounds and that their composition is variable, their biosynthetic pathways remain largely unknown. Next-generation sequencing is an efficient and high-throughput technique that allows the identification of candidate genes involved in secondary metabolism. Principal Findings To identify the components involved in CPP biosynthesis, a transcriptome library, prepared using root and other tissues, was assembled with the help of Illumina sequencing. A total of 9.2 Gb of clean nucleotides was obtained comprising 91,175,044 clean reads, 102,125 contigs, and 45,511 unigenes. After aligning the sequences to the public protein databases, 76.1% of the unigenes were annotated. Among these annotated unigenes, 26,189 were assigned to Gene Ontology categories, 11,415 to Clusters of Orthologous Groups, and 18,848 to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. Analysis of abundance of transcripts in the library showed that genes, including those encoding metallothionein, aquaporin, and cysteine protease that are related to stress responses, were in the top list. Among genes involved in the biosynthesis of CPP, those responsible for the synthesis of UDP-L-arabinose and UDP-xylose were highly expressed. Significance To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide a public transcriptome dataset prepared from C. pilosula and an outline of the biosynthetic pathway of polysaccharides in a medicinal plant. Identified candidate genes involved in CPP biosynthesis provide understanding of the biosynthesis and regulation of CPP at the molecular level. PMID:25719364

Auditory alert systems with enhanced detectability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Begault, Durand R. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

Methods and systems for distinguishing an auditory alert signal from a background of one or more non-alert signals. In a first embodiment, a prefix signal, associated with an existing alert signal, is provided that has a signal component in each of three or more selected frequency ranges, with each signal component in each of three or more selected level at least 3-10 dB above an estimated background (non-alert) level in that frequency range. The alert signal may be chirped within one or more frequency bands. In another embodiment, an alert signal moves, continuously or discontinuously, from one location to another over a short time interval, introducing a perceived spatial modulation or jitter. In another embodiment, a weighted sum of background signals adjacent to each ear is formed, and the weighted sum is delivered to each ear as a uniform background; a distinguishable alert signal is presented on top of this weighted sum signal at one ear, or distinguishable first and second alert signals are presented at two ears of a subject.

Modulation of Gene Expression in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Exposed to Bronchoalveolar Fluid

PubMed Central

Lone, Abdul G.; Deslandes, Vincent; Nash, John H. E.; Jacques, Mario; MacInnes, Janet I.

2009-01-01

Background Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine contagious pleuropneumonia, is an important pathogen of swine throughout the world. It must rapidly overcome the innate pulmonary immune defenses of the pig to cause disease. To better understand this process, the objective of this study was to identify genes that are differentially expressed in a medium that mimics the lung environment early in the infection process. Methods and Principal Findings Since bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) contains innate immune and other components found in the lungs, we examined gene expression of a virulent serovar 1 strain of A. pleuropneumoniae after a 30 min exposure to BALF, using DNA microarrays and real-time PCR. The functional classes of genes found to be up-regulated most often in BALF were those encoding proteins involved in energy metabolism, especially anaerobic metabolism, and in cell envelope, DNA, and protein biosynthesis. Transcription of a number of known virulence genes including apxIVA and the gene for SapF, a protein which is involved in resistance to antimicrobial peptides, was also up-regulated in BALF. Seventy-nine percent of the genes that were up-regulated in BALF encoded a known protein product, and of these, 44% had been reported to be either expressed in vivo and/or involved in virulence. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that in early stages of infection, A. pleuropneumoniae may modulate expression of genes involved in anaerobic energy generation and in the synthesis of proteins involved in cell wall biogenesis, as well as established virulence factors. Given that many of these genes are thought to be expressed in vivo or involved in virulence, incubation in BALF appears, at least partially, to simulate in vivo conditions and may provide a useful medium for the discovery of novel vaccine or therapeutic targets. PMID:19578537

Hen uterine gene expression profiling during eggshell formation reveals putative proteins involved in the supply of minerals or in the shell mineralization process

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The chicken eggshell is a natural mechanical barrier to protect egg components from physical damage and microbial penetration. Its integrity and strength is critical for the development of the embryo or to ensure for consumers a table egg free of pathogens. This study compared global gene expression in laying hen uterus in the presence or absence of shell calcification in order to characterize gene products involved in the supply of minerals and / or the shell biomineralization process. Results Microarrays were used to identify a repertoire of 302 over-expressed genes during shell calcification. GO terms enrichment was performed to provide a global interpretation of the functions of the over-expressed genes, and revealed that the most over-represented proteins are related to reproductive functions. Our analysis identified 16 gene products encoding proteins involved in mineral supply, and allowed updating of the general model describing uterine ion transporters during eggshell calcification. A list of 57 proteins potentially secreted into the uterine fluid to be active in the mineralization process was also established. They were classified according to their potential functions (biomineralization, proteoglycans, molecular chaperone, antimicrobials and proteases/antiproteases). Conclusions Our study provides detailed descriptions of genes and corresponding proteins over-expressed when the shell is mineralizing. Some of these proteins involved in the supply of minerals and influencing the shell fabric to protect the egg contents are potentially useful biological markers for the genetic improvement of eggshell quality. PMID:24649854

Involvement of mesolimbic dopaminergic network in neuropathic pain relief by treadmill exercise

PubMed Central

Wakaizumi, Kenta; Kondo, Takashige; Hamada, Yusuke; Narita, Michiko; Kawabe, Rui; Narita, Hiroki; Watanabe, Moe; Kato, Shigeki; Senba, Emiko; Kobayashi, Kazuto; Yamanaka, Akihiro

2016-01-01

Background Exercise alleviates pain and it is a central component of treatment strategy for chronic pain in clinical setting. However, little is known about mechanism of this exercise-induced hypoalgesia. The mesolimbic dopaminergic network plays a role in positive emotions to rewards including motivation and pleasure. Pain negatively modulates these emotions, but appropriate exercise is considered to activate the dopaminergic network. We investigated possible involvement of this network as a mechanism of exercise-induced hypoalgesia. Methods In the present study, we developed a protocol of treadmill exercise, which was able to recover pain threshold under partial sciatic nerve ligation in mice, and investigated involvement of the dopaminergic reward network in exercise-induced hypoalgesia. To temporally suppress a neural activation during exercise, a genetically modified inhibitory G-protein-coupled receptor, hM4Di, was specifically expressed on dopaminergic pathway from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens. Results The chemogenetic-specific neural suppression by Gi-DREADD system dramatically offset the effect of exercise-induced hypoalgesia in transgenic mice with hM4Di expressed on the ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons. Additionally, anti-exercise-induced hypoalgesia effect was significantly observed under the suppression of neurons projecting out of the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens as well. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the dopaminergic pathway from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens is involved in the anti-nociception under low-intensity exercise under a neuropathic pain-like state. PMID:27909152

Chromatic illumination discrimination ability reveals that human colour constancy is optimised for blue daylight illuminations.

PubMed

Pearce, Bradley; Crichton, Stuart; Mackiewicz, Michal; Finlayson, Graham D; Hurlbert, Anya

2014-01-01

The phenomenon of colour constancy in human visual perception keeps surface colours constant, despite changes in their reflected light due to changing illumination. Although colour constancy has evolved under a constrained subset of illuminations, it is unknown whether its underlying mechanisms, thought to involve multiple components from retina to cortex, are optimised for particular environmental variations. Here we demonstrate a new method for investigating colour constancy using illumination matching in real scenes which, unlike previous methods using surface matching and simulated scenes, allows testing of multiple, real illuminations. We use real scenes consisting of solid familiar or unfamiliar objects against uniform or variegated backgrounds and compare discrimination performance for typical illuminations from the daylight chromaticity locus (approximately blue-yellow) and atypical spectra from an orthogonal locus (approximately red-green, at correlated colour temperature 6700 K), all produced in real time by a 10-channel LED illuminator. We find that discrimination of illumination changes is poorer along the daylight locus than the atypical locus, and is poorest particularly for bluer illumination changes, demonstrating conversely that surface colour constancy is best for blue daylight illuminations. Illumination discrimination is also enhanced, and therefore colour constancy diminished, for uniform backgrounds, irrespective of the object type. These results are not explained by statistical properties of the scene signal changes at the retinal level. We conclude that high-level mechanisms of colour constancy are biased for the blue daylight illuminations and variegated backgrounds to which the human visual system has typically been exposed.

A genome-wide screen of bacterial mutants that enhance dauer formation in C. elegans.

PubMed

Khanna, Amit; Kumar, Jitendra; Vargas, Misha A; Barrett, LaKisha; Katewa, Subhash; Li, Patrick; McCloskey, Tom; Sharma, Amit; Naudé, Nicole; Nelson, Christopher; Brem, Rachel; Killilea, David W; Mooney, Sean D; Gill, Matthew; Kapahi, Pankaj

2016-12-13

Molecular pathways involved in dauer formation, an alternate larval stage that allows Caenorhabditis elegans to survive adverse environmental conditions during development, also modulate longevity and metabolism. The decision to proceed with reproductive development or undergo diapause depends on food abundance, population density, and temperature. In recent years, the chemical identities of pheromone signals that modulate dauer entry have been characterized. However, signals derived from bacteria, the major source of nutrients for C. elegans, remain poorly characterized. To systematically identify bacterial components that influence dauer formation and aging in C. elegans, we utilized the individual gene deletion mutants in E. coli (K12). We identified 56 diverse E. coli deletion mutants that enhance dauer formation in an insulin-like receptor mutant (daf-2) background. We describe the mechanism of action of a bacterial mutant cyaA, that is defective in the production of cyclic AMP, which extends lifespan and enhances dauer formation through the modulation of TGF-β (daf-7) signaling in C. elegans. Our results demonstrate the importance of bacterial components in influencing developmental decisions and lifespan in C. elegans. Furthermore, we demonstrate that C. elegans is a useful model to study bacterial-host interactions.

Antimutagenic potential of harpagoside and Harpagophytum procumbens against 1-nitropyrene

PubMed Central

Manon, Luigi; Béatrice, Baghdikian; Thierry, Orsière; Jocelyne, Pompili; Fathi, Mabrouki; Evelyne, Ollivier; Alain, Botta

2015-01-01

Background: 1-nitropyrene (1-NPy) is one of the most abundant nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons particularly in diesel exhausts. It is a mutagenic and carcinogenic pollutant very widespread in the environment. So the discovery of antimutagenic agents is essential. Harpagophytum procumbens (HP) is traditionally used as anti-inflammatory and analgesic particularly against painful osteoarthritis. Harpagoside (HS), its major iridoid glycoside, is considered as the main active component. Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimutagenic activity of HS and HP extracts against mutagenic activity of 1-NPy. Materials and Methods: The antimutagenic activity was investigated using the in vitro cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay in cultured human lymphocytes. Cells were exposed to HS or HP extracts before (pretreatment), during (co-treatment), and after (posttreatment) treatment with 1-NPy. Results: Results showed that HS significantly reduced the mutagenicity of 1-NPy in pretreatment and particularly in co-treatment, whereas all HP extracts significantly reduced the genotoxicity in the three protocols. Conclusion: These results suggested that HS was strongly involved in antimutagenic activity of HP extracts in co-treatment, but other components in HP extracts participated in this activity in pre- and post-treatment. PMID:26109771

Socioscientific Argumentation of Pre-Service Teachers about Genetically Modified Organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herawati, D.; Ardianto, D.

2017-09-01

This study aims to investigate socioscientific argumentation of pre-service teachers of science and non-science major regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) issue. We used descriptive study and involved second-year pre-service teachers from two major, 28 pre-service science teachers (PSTs) and 28 pre-service non-science teachers (PNSTs) as participants. Paper and pencil test was administered in order to obtain the data of PSTs’ and PNSTs’ argument about GMOs. All of the data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. We applied Toulmin Argumentation Pattern (TAP) as a basic framework to identify the argumentation component. The result showed that both PSTs and PNSTs were able to propose an argument with a claim, data, and/or warrant.. Most of their argument contain data which provided in the text, without any further reasoning or relevant scientific knowledge. So, the coherency between argumentation component in both PSTs and PNSTs was limited. However, PSTs are more able to propose coherent arguments than PNSTs. These findings indicated that educational background and learning experiences may influence to pre-service teacher argumentation in the context of GMOs. Beside that, teaching and learning process which focused on the socioscientific issues is necessary to develop pre-service teachers’ argumentation

Supplemental Instruction in Introductory Biology I: Enhancing the Performance and Retention of Underrepresented Minority Students

PubMed Central

Peterfreund, Alan R.; Xenos, Samuel P.; Bayliss, Frank; Carnal, Nancy

2007-01-01

Supplemental instruction classes have been shown in many studies to enhance performance in the supported courses and even to improve graduation rates. Generally, there has been little evidence of a differential impact on students from different ethnic/racial backgrounds. At San Francisco State University, however, supplemental instruction in the Introductory Biology I class is associated with even more dramatic gains among students from underrepresented minority populations than the gains found among their peers. These gains do not seem to be the product of better students availing themselves of supplemental instruction or other outside factors. The Introductory Biology I class consists of a team-taught lecture component, taught in a large lecture classroom, and a laboratory component where students participate in smaller lab sections. Students are expected to master an understanding of basic concepts, content, and vocabulary in biology as well as gain laboratory investigation skills and experience applying scientific methodology. In this context, supplemental instruction classes are cooperative learning environments where students participate in learning activities that complement the course material, focusing on student misconceptions and difficulties, construction of a scaffolded knowledge base, applications involving problem solving, and articulation of constructs with peers. PMID:17785403

Selection of a Data Acquisition and Controls System Communications and Software Architecture for Johnson Space Center's Space Environment Simulation Laboratory Thermal and Vacuum Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, Eric A.

2004-01-01

Upgrade of data acquisition and controls systems software at Johnson Space Center's Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) involved the definition, evaluation and selection of a system communication architecture and software components. A brief discussion of the background of the SESL and its data acquisition and controls systems provides a context for discussion of the requirements for each selection. Further framework is provided as upgrades to these systems accomplished in the 1990s and in 2003 are compared to demonstrate the role that technological advances have had in their improvement. Both of the selections were similar in their three phases; 1) definition of requirements, 2) identification of candidate products and their evaluation and testing and 3) selection by comparison of requirement fulfillment. The candidates for the communication architecture selection embraced several different methodologies which are explained and contrasted. Requirements for this selection are presented and the selection process is described. Several candidates for the software component of the data acquisition and controls system are identified, requirements for evaluation and selection are presented, and the evaluation process is described.

Laminin and integrin expression in the ventral ectodermal ridge of the mouse embryo: implications for regulation of BMP signalling

PubMed Central

Lopez-Escobar, Beatriz; de Felipe, Beatriz; Sanchez-Alcazar, Jose Antonio; Sasaki, Takako; Copp, Andrew J.; Ybot-Gonzalez, Patricia

2013-01-01

Background The ventral ectodermal ridge (VER) is an important signalling centre in the mouse tail-bud following completion of gastrulation. BMP regulation is essential for VER function, but how these signals are transmitted between adjacent tissues is unclear. Results We investigated the idea that extracellular matrix components might be involved, using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation to detect all known α, β and γ laminin chains and their mRNAs in the early tail bud. We identified an apparently novel laminin variant, comprising α5, β3 and γ2 chains, as a major component of the VER basement membrane at E9.5. Strikingly, only the mRNAs for these chains were co-expressed in VER cells, suggesting that lamin532 may be the sole basement membrane laminin at this stage. Since α6 integrin was also expressed in VER cells, this raises the possibility of cell-matrix interactions regulating BMP signalling at this site of caudal morphogenesis. Conclusions Laminin532 could interact with α6-containing integrin to direct differentiation of the specialised VER cells from surface ectoderm. PMID:22911573

An Empirical Decomposition of Near-IR Emission into Galactic and Extragalactic Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dwek, Eli; Arendt, Richard G.

2002-01-01

We decompose the COBE/DIRBE observations of the near-IR sky brightness (minus zodiacal light) into Galactic stellar and interstellar medium (ISM) components and an extragalactic background. This empirical procedure allows us to estimate the 4.9 micron cosmic infrared background (CIB) as a function of the CIB intensity at shorter wavelengths. A weak indication of a rising CIB intensity at wavelengths greater than 3.5$ microns hints at interesting astrophysics in the CIB spectrum, or warns that the foreground zodiacal emission may be incompletely subtracted. Subtraction of only the stellar component from the zodiacal-light-subtracted all--sky map reveals the clearest 3.5 micron ISM emission map, which is found to be tightly correlated with the ISM emission at far-IR wavelengths.

Innovative dengue vector control interventions in Latin America: what do they cost?

PubMed Central

Basso, César; Beltrán-Ayala, Efraín; Mitchell-Foster, Kendra; Cortés, Sebastián; Manrique-Saide, Pablo; Guillermo-May, Guillermo; Carvalho de Lima, Edilmar

2016-01-01

Background Five studies were conducted in Fortaleza (Brazil), Girardot (Colombia), Machala (Ecuador), Acapulco (Mexico), and Salto (Uruguay) to assess dengue vector control interventions tailored to the context. The studies involved the community explicitly in the implementation, and focused on the most productive breeding places for Aedes aegypti. This article reports the cost analysis of these interventions. Methods We conducted the costing from the perspective of the vector control program. We collected data on quantities and unit costs of the resources used to deliver the interventions. Comparable information was requested for the routine activities. Cost items were classified, analyzed descriptively, and aggregated to calculate total costs, costs per house reached, and incremental costs. Results Cost per house of the interventions were $18.89 (Fortaleza), $21.86 (Girardot), $30.61 (Machala), $39.47 (Acapulco), and $6.98 (Salto). Intervention components that focused mainly on changes to the established vector control programs seem affordable; cost savings were identified in Salto (−21%) and the clean patio component in Machala (−12%). An incremental cost of 10% was estimated in Fortaleza. On the other hand, there were also completely new components that would require sizeable financial efforts (installing insecticide-treated nets in Girardot and Acapulco costs $16.97 and $24.96 per house, respectively). Conclusions The interventions are promising, seem affordable and may improve the cost profile of the established vector control programs. The costs of the new components could be considerable, and should be assessed in relation to the benefits in reduced dengue burden. PMID:26924235

Binding Properties of General Odorant Binding Proteins from the Oriental Fruit Moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

PubMed Central

Li, Guangwei; Chen, Xiulin; Li, Boliao; Zhang, Guohui; Li, Yiping; Wu, Junxiang

2016-01-01

Background The oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta is a host-switching pest species. The adults highly depend on olfactory cues in locating optimal host plants and oviposition sites. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to be responsible for recognizing and transporting hydrophobic odorants across the aqueous sensillum lymph to stimulate the odorant receptors (ORs) within the antennal sensilla and activate the olfactory signal transduction pathway. Exploring the physiological function of these OBPs could facilitate understanding insect chemical communications. Methodology/Principal Finding Two antennae-specific general OBPs (GOBPs) of G. molesta were expressed and purified in vitro. The binding affinities of G. molesta GOBP1 and 2 (GmolGOBP1 and 2) for sex pheromone components and host plant volatiles were measured by fluorescence ligand-binding assays. The distribution of GmolGOBP1 and 2 in the antennal sensillum were defined by whole mount fluorescence immunohistochemistry (WM-FIHC) experiments. The binding sites of GmolGOBP2 were predicted using homology modeling, molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis. Both GmolGOBP1 and 2 are housing in sensilla basiconica and with no differences in male and female antennae. Recombinant GmolGOBP1 (rGmolGOBP1) exhibited broad binding properties towards host plant volatiles and sex pheromone components; rGmolGOBP2 could not effectively bind host plant volatiles but showed specific binding affinity with a minor sex pheromone component dodecanol. We chose GmolGOBP2 and dodecanol for further homology modeling, molecular docking, and site-directed mutagenesis. Binding affinities of mutants demonstrated that Thr9 was the key binding site and confirmed dodecanol bonding to protein involves a hydrogen bond. Combined with the pH effect on binding affinities of rGmolGOBP2, ligand binding and release of GmolGOBP2 were related to a pH-dependent conformational transition. Conclusion Two rGmolGOBPs exhibit different binding characteristics for tested ligands. rGmolGOBP1 has dual functions in recognition of host plant volatiles and sex pheromone components, while rGmolGOBP2 is mainly involved in minor sex pheromone component dodecanol perception. This study also provides empirical evidence for the predicted functions of key amino acids in recombinant protein ligand-binding characteristics. PMID:27152703

Kinematic foot types in youth with equinovarus secondary to hemiplegia

PubMed Central

Krzak, Joseph J.; Corcos, Daniel M.; Damiano, Diane L.; Graf, Adam; Hedeker, Donald; Smith, Peter A.; Harris, Gerald F.

2015-01-01

Background Elevated kinematic variability of the foot and ankle segments exists during gait among individuals with equinovarus secondary to hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP). Clinicians have previously addressed such variability by developing classification schemes to identify subgroups of individuals based on their kinematics. Objective To identify kinematic subgroups among youth with equinovarus secondary to CP using 3-dimensional multi-segment foot and ankle kinematics during locomotion as inputs for principal component analysis (PCA), and K-means cluster analysis. Methods In a single assessment session, multi-segment foot and ankle kinematics using the Milwaukee Foot Model (MFM) were collected in 24 children/adolescents with equinovarus and 20 typically developing children/adolescents. Results PCA was used as a data reduction technique on 40 variables. K-means cluster analysis was performed on the first six principal components (PCs) which accounted for 92% of the variance of the dataset. The PCs described the location and plane of involvement in the foot and ankle. Five distinct kinematic subgroups were identified using K-means clustering. Participants with equinovarus presented with variable involvement ranging from primary hindfoot or forefoot deviations to deformtiy that included both segments in multiple planes. Conclusion This study provides further evidence of the variability in foot characteristics associated with equinovarus secondary to hemiplegic CP. These findings would not have been detected using a single segment foot model. The identification of multiple kinematic subgroups with unique foot and ankle characteristics has the potential to improve treatment since similar patients within a subgroup are likely to benefit from the same intervention(s). PMID:25467429

Pollen-Stigma Adhesion in Kale Is Not Dependent on the Self-(In)Compatibility Genotype.

PubMed Central

Luu, D. T.; Heizmann, P.; Dumas, C.

1997-01-01

The adhesion of pollen on the stigmas of flowering plants is a critical step for the success of reproduction in angiosperms, long considered to present some specificity in terms of self-incompatibility. We carried out quantitative measurements of the pollen-stigma adhesion (expressed in Newtons) in kale (Brassica oleracea), using the flotation force of Archimedes exerted by dense sucrose solutions (50%, w/v) to release pollen grains fixed on the surface of stigmas. We demonstrate that pollen adhesion varies with the genotypes of the plants used as partners, but increases with time in all cases for about 30 to 60 min after pollination. There is no correlation with the self- or cross-status of the pollinations, nor with the self-compatible or -incompatible genotypes of the parents. Only late events of pollination, after the germination or arrest of the pollen tube, depend on compatibility type. Biochemical and physiological dissection of pollen-stigma adhesion points to major components of this interaction: among male components, the pollen coating, eliminated by delipidation (or modified by mutation in the case of the cer mutants of the related species Arabidopsis thaliana), plays a major role in adhesion; the genetic background of the pollen parent is also of some importance. On the female side, the developmental stage of the stigma and the protein constituents of the stigmatic pellicle are critical for pollen capture. The SLG and SLR1 proteins are not involved in the initial stages of pollen adhesion on the stigma but one or both may be involved in the later stages. PMID:12223868

Evaluation of interventions on road traffic injuries in Peru: a qualitative approach

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Evaluation of interventions on road traffic injuries (RTI) going beyond the assessment of impact to include factors underlying success or failure is an important complement to standard impact evaluations. We report here how we used a qualitative approach to assess current interventions implemented to reduce RTIs in Peru. Methods We performed in-depth interviews with policymakers and technical officers involved in the implementation of RTI interventions to get their insight on design, implementation and evaluation aspects. We then conducted a workshop with key stakeholders to analyze the results of in-depth interviews, and to further discuss and identify key programmatic considerations when designing and implementing RTI interventions. We finally performed brainstorming sessions to assess potential system-wide effects of a selected intervention (Zero Tolerance), and to identify adaptation and redesign needs for this intervention. Results Key programmatic components were consistently identified that should be considered when designing and implementing RTI interventions. They include effective and sustained political commitment and planning; sufficient and sustained budget allocation; training, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of implemented policies; multisectoral participation; and strong governance and accountability. Brainstorming sessions revealed major negative effects of the selected intervention on various system building blocks. Conclusions Our approach revealed substantial caveats in current RTI interventions in Peru, and fundamental negative effects on several components of the sectors and systems involved. It also highlighted programmatic issues that should be applied to guarantee an effective implementation and evaluation of these policies. The findings from this study were discussed with key stakeholders for consideration in further designing and planning RTI control interventions in Peru. PMID:22269578

Genome-wide linkage scan for loci of musical aptitude in Finnish families: evidence for a major locus at 4q22

PubMed Central

Pulli, K; Karma, K; Norio, R; Sistonen, P; Göring, H H H; Järvelä, I

2008-01-01

Background: Music perception and performance are comprehensive human cognitive functions and thus provide an excellent model system for studying human behaviour and brain function. However, the molecules involved in mediating music perception and performance are so far uncharacterised. Objective: To unravel the biological background of music perception, using molecular and statistical genetic approaches. Methods: 15 Finnish multigenerational families (with a total of 234 family members) were recruited via a nationwide search. The phenotype of all family members was determined using three tests used in defining musical aptitude: a test for auditory structuring ability (Karma Music test; KMT) commonly used in Finland, and the Seashore pitch and time discrimination subtests (SP and ST respectively) used internationally. We calculated heritabilities and performed a genome-wide variance components-based linkage scan using genotype data for 1113 microsatellite markers. Results: The heritability estimates were 42% for KMT, 57% for SP, 21% for ST and 48% for the combined music test scores. Significant evidence of linkage was obtained on chromosome 4q22 (LOD 3.33) and suggestive evidence of linkage at 8q13-21 (LOD 2.29) with the combined music test scores, using variance component linkage analyses. The major contribution of the 4q22 locus was obtained for the KMT (LOD 2.91). Interestingly, a positive LOD score of 1.69 was shown at 18q, a region previously linked to dyslexia (DYX6) using combined music test scores. Conclusion: Our results show that there is a genetic contribution to musical aptitude that is likely to be regulated by several predisposing genes or variants. PMID:18424507

Authentication of Herbal Supplements Using Next-Generation Sequencing.

PubMed

Ivanova, Natalia V; Kuzmina, Maria L; Braukmann, Thomas W A; Borisenko, Alex V; Zakharov, Evgeny V

2016-01-01

DNA-based testing has been gaining acceptance as a tool for authentication of a wide range of food products; however, its applicability for testing of herbal supplements remains contentious. We utilized Sanger and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) for taxonomic authentication of fifteen herbal supplements representing three different producers from five medicinal plants: Echinacea purpurea, Valeriana officinalis, Ginkgo biloba, Hypericum perforatum and Trigonella foenum-graecum. Experimental design included three modifications of DNA extraction, two lysate dilutions, Internal Amplification Control, and multiple negative controls to exclude background contamination. Ginkgo supplements were also analyzed using HPLC-MS for the presence of active medicinal components. All supplements yielded DNA from multiple species, rendering Sanger sequencing results for rbcL and ITS2 regions either uninterpretable or non-reproducible between the experimental replicates. Overall, DNA from the manufacturer-listed medicinal plants was successfully detected in seven out of eight dry herb form supplements; however, low or poor DNA recovery due to degradation was observed in most plant extracts (none detected by Sanger; three out of seven-by NGS). NGS also revealed a diverse community of fungi, known to be associated with live plant material and/or the fermentation process used in the production of plant extracts. HPLC-MS testing demonstrated that Ginkgo supplements with degraded DNA contained ten key medicinal components. Quality control of herbal supplements should utilize a synergetic approach targeting both DNA and bioactive components, especially for standardized extracts with degraded DNA. The NGS workflow developed in this study enables reliable detection of plant and fungal DNA and can be utilized by manufacturers for quality assurance of raw plant materials, contamination control during the production process, and the final product. Interpretation of results should involve an interdisciplinary approach taking into account the processes involved in production of herbal supplements, as well as biocomplexity of plant-plant and plant-fungal biological interactions.

Correlations and sum rules in a half-space for a quantum two-dimensional one-component plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jancovici, B.; Šamaj, L.

2007-05-01

This paper is the continuation of a previous one (Šamaj and Jancovici, 2007 J. Stat. Mech. P02002); for a nearly classical quantum fluid in a half-space bounded by a plain plane hard wall (no image forces), we had generalized the Wigner Kirkwood expansion of the equilibrium statistical quantities in powers of Planck's constant \\hbar . As a model system for a more detailed study, we consider the quantum two-dimensional one-component plasma: a system of charged particles of one species, interacting through the logarithmic Coulomb potential in two dimensions, in a uniformly charged background of opposite sign, such that the total charge vanishes. The corresponding classical system is exactly solvable in a variety of geometries, including the present one of a half-plane, when βe2 = 2, where β is the inverse temperature and e is the charge of a particle: all the classical n-body densities are known. In the present paper, we have calculated the expansions of the quantum density profile and truncated two-body density up to order \\hbar ^2 (instead of only to order \\hbar as in the previous paper). These expansions involve the classical n-body densities up to n = 4; thus we obtain exact expressions for these quantum expansions in this special case. For the quantum one-component plasma, two sum rules involving the truncated two-body density (and, for one of them, the density profile) have been derived, a long time ago, by using heuristic macroscopic arguments: one sum rule concerns the asymptotic form along the wall of the truncated two-body density; the other one concerns the dipole moment of the structure factor. In the two-dimensional case at βe2 = 2, we now have explicit expressions up to order \\hbar^2 for these two quantum densities; thus we can microscopically check the sum rules at this order. The checks are positive, reinforcing the idea that the sum rules are correct.

16 CFR § 1406.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... BURNING APPLIANCES-NOTIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL DATA § 1406.2 Background. (a) Fire data... burning appliances. Many of these cases involve improper installation of the appliances, especially where...

Child Care: State Requirements for Background Checks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagnoni, Cynthia

Background checks involve gathering information from state and federal databases to determine if child care providers have a history of child abuse or other criminal convictions that would make them unacceptable for working with children. Background checks include state criminal history checks, state child abuse registry checks, and Federal Bureau…

Human response to high-background radiation environments on Earth and in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durante, M.; Manti, L.

2008-09-01

The main long-term objective of the space exploration program is the colonization of the planets of the Solar System. The high cosmic radiation equivalent dose rate represents an inescapable problem for the safe establishment of permanent human settlements on these planets. The unshielded equivalent dose rate on Mars ranges between 100 and 200 mSv/year, depending on the Solar cycle and altitude, and can reach values as high as 360 mSv/year on the Moon. The average annual effective dose on Earth is about 3 mSv, nearly 85% of which comes from natural background radiation, reduced to less than 1 mSv if man-made sources and the internal exposure to Rn daughters are excluded. However, some areas on Earth display anomalously high levels of background radiation, as is the case with thorium-rich monazite bearing sand deposits where values 200 400 times higher than the world average can be found. About 2% of the world’s population live above 3 km and receive a disproportionate 10% of the annual effective collective dose due to cosmic radiation, with a net contribution to effective dose by the neutron component which is 3 4 fold that at sea level. Thus far, epidemiological studies have failed to show any adverse health effects in the populations living in these terrestrial high-background radiation areas (HBRA), which provide an unique opportunity to study the health implications of an environment that, as closely as possibly achievable on Earth, resembles the chronic exposure of future space colonists to higher-than-normal levels of ionizing radiation. Chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes from the HBRA residents have been measured in several studies because chromosomal damage represents an early biomarker of cancer risk. Similar cytogenetic studies have been recently performed in a cohort of astronauts involved in single or repeated space flights over many years. The cytogenetic findings in populations exposed to high dose-rate background radiation on Earth or in space will be discussed.

Characterizing performance of ultra-sensitive accelerometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sebesta, Henry

1990-01-01

An overview is given of methodology and test results pertaining to the characterization of ultra sensitive accelerometers. Two issues are of primary concern. The terminology ultra sensitive accelerometer is used to imply instruments whose noise floors and resolution are at the state of the art. Hence, the typical approach of verifying an instrument's performance by measuring it with a yet higher quality instrument (or standard) is not practical. Secondly, it is difficult to find or create an environment with sufficiently low background acceleration. The typical laboratory acceleration levels will be at several orders of magnitude above the noise floor of the most sensitive accelerometers. Furthermore, this background must be treated as unknown since the best instrument available is the one to be tested. A test methodology was developed in which two or more like instruments are subjected to the same but unknown background acceleration. Appropriately selected spectral analysis techniques were used to separate the sensors' output spectra into coherent components and incoherent components. The coherent part corresponds to the background acceleration being measured by the sensors being tested. The incoherent part is attributed to sensor noise and data acquisition and processing noise. The method works well for estimating noise floors that are 40 to 50 dB below the motion applied to the test accelerometers. The accelerometers being tested are intended for use as feedback sensors in a system to actively stabilize an inertial guidance component test platform.

The Use of Principal Component Analysis for Source Identification of PM2.5 from Selected Urban and Regional Background Sites in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Błaszczak, Barbara

2018-01-01

The paper reports the results of the measurements of water-soluble ions and carbonaceous matter content in the fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as the contributions of major sources in PM2.5. Daily PM2.5 samples were collected during heating and non-heating season of the year 2013 in three different locations in Poland: Szczecin (urban background), Trzebinia (urban background) and Złoty Potok (regional background). The concentrations of PM2.5, and its related components, exhibited clear spatiotemporal variability with higher levels during the heating period. The share of the total carbon (TC) in PM2.5 exceeded 40% and was primarily determined by fluctuations in the share of OC. Sulfates (SO42-), nitrates (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) dominated in the ionic composition of PM2.5 and accounted together 34% (Szczecin), 30% (Trzebinia) and 18% (Złoty Potok) of PM2.5 mass. Source apportionment analysis, performed by PCA-MLRA model (Principal Component Analysis - Multilinear Regression Analysis), revealed that secondary aerosol, whose presence is related to oxidation of gaseous precursors emitted from fuel combustion and biomass burning, had the largest contribution in observed PM2.5 concentrations. In addition, the contribution of traffic sources together with road dust resuspension, was observed. The share of natural sources (sea spray, crustal dust) was generally lower.

Innovative Training in Pediatrics, General Psychiatry, and Child Psychiatry: Background, Outcomes, and Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gleason, Mary Margaret; Fritz, Gregory K.

2009-01-01

Objectives: The authors describe the history, rationale, and outcomes of combined training programs in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child psychiatry ("triple board"), including narrative feedback from graduates and reflections upon the important components of the program. Methods: This article reviews the background and experiences of triple board…

Teacher Pensions: A Background Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Janet S.

2008-01-01

Pensions are an important but comparatively unexamined component of human resource policies in education. In an increasingly competitive world where employees are more mobile than ever, pension policies that were designed in the last century may be out of step with the needs of both individuals and schools. This background paper aims to foster…

The background in a balloon-borne fluorescence-gated proportional counter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramsey, B. D.; Bower, C. R.; Dietz, K. L.; Weisskopf, M. C.

1990-01-01

The results of an analysis of the background in a fluorescence-gated proportional counter operating over the energy range 3-150 keV are presented. It is found that the dominant background component is that produced by high energy qamma-rays that penetrate the shields and undergo multiple scattering in the detector body, resulting in photoelectric absorption in the detector gas. A careful choice of materials and thickness can move the peak of this emission outside of the detector sensitive range, thereby dramatically reducing the residual background.

A quantitative estimation of the exhaust, abrasion and resuspension components of particulate traffic emissions using electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinbruch, Stephan; Worringen, Annette; Ebert, Martin; Scheuvens, Dirk; Kandler, Konrad; Pfeffer, Ulrich; Bruckmann, Peter

2014-12-01

The contribution of the three traffic-related components exhaust, abrasion, and resuspension to kerbside and urban background PM10 and PM1 levels was quantified based on the analysis of individual particles by scanning electron microscopy. A total of 160 samples was collected on 38 days between February and September 2009 at a kerbside and an urban background station in the urban/industrial Ruhr area (Germany). Based on size, morphology, chemical composition and stability under electron bombardment, the 111,003 particles studied in detail were classified into the following 14 particle classes: traffic/exhaust, traffic/abrasion, traffic/resuspension, carbonaceous/organic, industry/metallurgy, industry/power plants, secondary particles, (aged) sea salt, silicates, Ca sulfates, carbonates, Fe oxides/hydroxides, biological particles, and other particles. The traffic/exhaust component consists predominantly of externally mixed soot particles and soot internally mixed with secondary particles. The traffic/abrasion component contains all particles with characteristic tracer elements (Fe, Cu, Ba, Sb, Zn) for brake and tire abrasion. The traffic/resuspension component is defined by the mixing state and comprises all internally mixed particles with a high proportion of silicates or Fe oxides/hydroxides which contain soot or abrasion particles as minor constituent. In addition, silicates and Fe oxides/hydroxides internally mixed with chlorine and sulphur containing particles were also assigned to the traffic/resuspension component. The total contribution of traffic to PM10 was found to be 27% at the urban background station and 48% at the kerbside station, the corresponding values for PM1 are 15% and 39%. These values lie within the range reported in previous literature. The relative share of the different traffic components for PM10 at the kerbside station was 27% exhaust, 15% abrasion, and 58% resuspension (38%, 8%, 54% for PM1). For the urban background, the following relative shares were obtained for PM10: 22% exhaust, 22% abrasion and 56% resuspension (40%, 27%, 33% for PM1). Compared to previous publications we have observed a significantly lower portion of exhaust particles and a significantly higher portion of resuspension particles. The high abundance of resuspension particles underlines their significance for the observed adverse health effects of traffic emissions and for mitigation measures.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon components contribute to the mitochondria-antiapoptotic effect of fine particulate matter on human bronchial epithelial cells via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Nowadays, effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are well-documented and related to oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory response. Nevertheless, epidemiological studies show that PM2.5 exposure is correlated with an increase of pulmonary cancers and the remodeling of the airway epithelium involving the regulation of cell death processes. Here, we investigated the components of Parisian PM2.5 involved in either the induction or the inhibition of cell death quantified by different parameters of apoptosis and delineated the mechanism underlying this effect. Results In this study, we showed that low levels of Parisian PM2.5 are not cytotoxic for three different cell lines and primary cultures of human bronchial epithelial cells. Conversely, a 4 hour-pretreatment with PM2.5 prevent mitochondria-driven apoptosis triggered by broad spectrum inducers (A23187, staurosporine and oligomycin) by reducing the mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss, the subsequent ROS production, phosphatidylserine externalization, plasma membrane permeabilization and typical morphological outcomes (cell size decrease, massive chromatin and nuclear condensation, formation of apoptotic bodies). The use of recombinant EGF and specific inhibitor led us to rule out the involvement of the classical EGFR signaling pathway as well as the proinflammatory cytokines secretion. Experiments performed with different compounds of PM2.5 suggest that endotoxins as well as carbon black do not participate to the antiapoptotic effect of PM2.5. Instead, the water-soluble fraction, washed particles and organic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) could mimic this antiapoptotic activity. Finally, the activation or silencing of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) showed that it is involved into the molecular mechanism of the antiapoptotic effect of PM2.5 at the mitochondrial checkpoint of apoptosis. Conclusions The PM2.5-antiapoptotic effect in addition to the well-documented inflammatory response might explain the maintenance of a prolonged inflammation state induced after pollution exposure and might delay repair processes of injured tissues. PMID:20663163

Experiences of community pharmacists involved in the delivery of a specialist asthma service in Australia

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The role of community pharmacists in disease state management has been mooted for some years. Despite a number of trials of disease state management services, there is scant literature into the engagement of, and with, pharmacists in such trials. This paper reports pharmacists’ feedback as providers of a Pharmacy Asthma Management Service (PAMS), a trial coordinated across four academic research centres in Australia in 2009. We also propose recommendations for optimal involvement of pharmacists in academic research. Methods Feedback about the pharmacists’ experiences was sought via their participation in either a focus group or telephone interview (for those unable to attend their scheduled focus group) at one of three time points. A semi-structured interview guide focused discussion on the pharmacists’ training to provide the asthma service, their interactions with health professionals and patients as per the service protocol, and the future for this type of service. Focus groups were facilitated by two researchers, and the individual interviews were shared between three researchers, with data transcribed verbatim and analysed manually. Results Of 93 pharmacists who provided the PAMS, 25 were involved in a focus group and seven via telephone interview. All pharmacists approached agreed to provide feedback. In general, the pharmacists engaged with both the service and research components, and embraced their roles as innovators in the trial of a new service. Some experienced challenges in the recruitment of patients into the service and the amount of research-related documentation, and collaborative patient-centred relationships with GPs require further attention. Specific service components, such as the spirometry, were well received by the pharmacists and their patients. Professional rewards included satisfaction from their enhanced practice, and pharmacists largely envisaged a future for the service. Conclusions The PAMS provided pharmacists an opportunity to become involved in an innovative service delivery model, supported by the researchers, yet trained and empowered to implement the clinical service throughout the trial period and beyond. The balance between support and independence appeared crucial in the pharmacists’ engagement with the trial. Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive, while useful suggestions were identified for future academic trials. PMID:22709371

Utilizing Culture to Improve Communication and School Involvement with Parents from Diverse Backgrounds as a Means to Improve Student Achievement Levels in the United States: A National Focus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Karen Dupre; Kritsonis, William Allan

2007-01-01

School leadership in communicating to parents and students from diverse backgrounds is a problem in education that must be addressed. As the population of the United States is becoming more and more diverse, school administrators must develop new ways to reach their stakeholders. All families must be involved in their children's academic progress…

A systematic review of the international published literature relating to quality of institutional care for people with longer term mental health problems

PubMed Central

Taylor, Tatiana L; Killaspy, Helen; Wright, Christine; Turton, Penny; White, Sarah; Kallert, Thomas W; Schuster, Mirjam; Cervilla, Jorge A; Brangier, Paulette; Raboch, Jiri; Kališová, Lucie; Onchev, Georgi; Dimitrov, Hristo; Mezzina, Roberto; Wolf, Kinou; Wiersma, Durk; Visser, Ellen; Kiejna, Andrzej; Piotrowski, Patryk; Ploumpidis, Dimitri; Gonidakis, Fragiskos; Caldas-de-Almeida, José; Cardoso, Graça; King, Michael B

2009-01-01

Background A proportion of people with mental health problems require longer term care in a psychiatric or social care institution. However, there are no internationally agreed quality standards for institutional care and no method to assess common care standards across countries. We aimed to identify the key components of institutional care for people with longer term mental health problems and the effectiveness of these components. Methods We undertook a systematic review of the literature using comprehensive search terms in 11 electronic databases and identified 12,182 titles. We viewed 550 abstracts, reviewed 223 papers and included 110 of these. A "critical interpretative synthesis" of the evidence was used to identify domains of institutional care that are key to service users' recovery. Results We identified eight domains of institutional care that were key to service users' recovery: living conditions; interventions for schizophrenia; physical health; restraint and seclusion; staff training and support; therapeutic relationship; autonomy and service user involvement; and clinical governance. Evidence was strongest for specific interventions for the treatment of schizophrenia (family psychoeducation, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and vocational rehabilitation). Conclusion Institutions should, ideally, be community based, operate a flexible regime, maintain a low density of residents and maximise residents' privacy. For service users with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, specific interventions (CBT, family interventions involving psychoeducation, and supported employment) should be provided through integrated programmes. Restraint and seclusion should be avoided wherever possible and staff should have adequate training in de-escalation techniques. Regular staff supervision should be provided and this should support service user involvement in decision making and positive therapeutic relationships between staff and service users. There should be clear lines of clinical governance that ensure adherence to evidence-based guidelines and attention should be paid to service users' physical health through regular screening. PMID:19735562

Plant and algal cell walls: diversity and functionality

PubMed Central

Popper, Zoë A.; Ralet, Marie-Christine; Domozych, David S.

2014-01-01

Background Although plants and many algae (e.g. the Phaeophyceae, brown, and Rhodophyceae, red) are only very distantly related they are united in their possession of carbohydrate-rich cell walls, which are of integral importance being involved in many physiological processes. Furthermore, wall components have applications within food, fuel, pharmaceuticals, fibres (e.g. for textiles and paper) and building materials and have long been an active topic of research. As shown in the 27 papers in this Special Issue, as the major deposit of photosynthetically fixed carbon, and therefore energy investment, cell walls are of undisputed importance to the organisms that possess them, the photosynthetic eukaryotes (plants and algae). The complexities of cell wall components along with their interactions with the biotic and abiotic environment are becoming increasingly revealed. Scope The importance of plant and algal cell walls and their individual components to the function and survival of the organism, and for a number of industrial applications, are illustrated by the breadth of topics covered in this issue, which includes papers concentrating on various plants and algae, developmental stages, organs, cell wall components, and techniques. Although we acknowledge that there are many alternative ways in which the papers could be categorized (and many would fit within several topics), we have organized them as follows: (1) cell wall biosynthesis and remodelling, (2) cell wall diversity, and (3) application of new technologies to cell walls. Finally, we will consider future directions within plant cell wall research. Expansion of the industrial uses of cell walls and potentially novel uses of cell wall components are both avenues likely to direct future research activities. Fundamentally, it is the continued progression from characterization (structure, metabolism, properties and localization) of individual cell wall components through to defining their roles in almost every aspect of plant and algal physiology that will present many of the major challenges in future cell wall research. PMID:25453142

Immunological network signatures of cancer progression and survival

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The immune contribution to cancer progression is complex and difficult to characterize. For example in tumors, immune gene expression is detected from the combination of normal, tumor and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. Profiling the immune component of tumors may facilitate the characterization of the poorly understood roles immunity plays in cancer progression. However, the current approaches to analyze the immune component of a tumor rely on incomplete identification of immune factors. Methods To facilitate a more comprehensive approach, we created a ranked immunological relevance score for all human genes, developed using a novel strategy that combines text mining and information theory. We used this score to assign an immunological grade to gene expression profiles, and thereby quantify the immunological component of tumors. This immunological relevance score was benchmarked against existing manually curated immune resources as well as high-throughput studies. To further characterize immunological relevance for genes, the relevance score was charted against both the human interactome and cancer information, forming an expanded interactome landscape of tumor immunity. We applied this approach to expression profiles in melanomas, thus identifying and grading their immunological components, followed by identification of their associated protein interactions. Results The power of this strategy was demonstrated by the observation of early activation of the adaptive immune response and the diversity of the immune component during melanoma progression. Furthermore, the genome-wide immunological relevance score classified melanoma patient groups, whose immunological grade correlated with clinical features, such as immune phenotypes and survival. Conclusions The assignment of a ranked immunological relevance score to all human genes extends the content of existing immune gene resources and enriches our understanding of immune involvement in complex biological networks. The application of this approach to tumor immunity represents an automated systems strategy that quantifies the immunological component in complex disease. In so doing, it stratifies patients according to their immune profiles, which may lead to effective computational prognostic and clinical guides. PMID:21453479

Radiological Health Protection Issues Associated with Use of Active Detection Technology Systems for Detection of Radioactive Threat Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-01

detection system available will simply register events resulting from natural background radiation if a suitable source emission is not employed. The...random fluctuations in the natural background radiation level. Noise within the detection system can result from any of the various components that...Uritani et al., 1994). Nothing can generally be done to reduce or stabilize the amount of natural background radiation present for nonstationary

Polyenergetic known-component CT reconstruction with unknown material compositions and unknown x-ray spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, S.; Uneri, A.; Khanna, A. Jay; Siewerdsen, J. H.; Stayman, J. W.

2017-04-01

Metal artifacts can cause substantial image quality issues in computed tomography. This is particularly true in interventional imaging where surgical tools or metal implants are in the field-of-view. Moreover, the region-of-interest is often near such devices which is exactly where image quality degradations are largest. Previous work on known-component reconstruction (KCR) has shown the incorporation of a physical model (e.g. shape, material composition, etc) of the metal component into the reconstruction algorithm can significantly reduce artifacts even near the edge of a metal component. However, for such approaches to be effective, they must have an accurate model of the component that include energy-dependent properties of both the metal device and the CT scanner, placing a burden on system characterization and component material knowledge. In this work, we propose a modified KCR approach that adopts a mixed forward model with a polyenergetic model for the component and a monoenergetic model for the background anatomy. This new approach called Poly-KCR jointly estimates a spectral transfer function associated with known components in addition to the background attenuation values. Thus, this approach eliminates both the need to know component material composition a prior as well as the requirement for an energy-dependent characterization of the CT scanner. We demonstrate the efficacy of this novel approach and illustrate its improved performance over traditional and model-based iterative reconstruction methods in both simulation studies and in physical data including an implanted cadaver sample.

Running vacuum cosmological models: linear scalar perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perico, E. L. D.; Tamayo, D. A.

2017-08-01

In cosmology, phenomenologically motivated expressions for running vacuum are commonly parameterized as linear functions typically denoted by Λ(H2) or Λ(R). Such models assume an equation of state for the vacuum given by bar PΛ = - bar rhoΛ, relating its background pressure bar PΛ with its mean energy density bar rhoΛ ≡ Λ/8πG. This equation of state suggests that the vacuum dynamics is due to an interaction with the matter content of the universe. Most of the approaches studying the observational impact of these models only consider the interaction between the vacuum and the transient dominant matter component of the universe. We extend such models by assuming that the running vacuum is the sum of independent contributions, namely bar rhoΛ = Σibar rhoΛi. Each Λ i vacuum component is associated and interacting with one of the i matter components in both the background and perturbation levels. We derive the evolution equations for the linear scalar vacuum and matter perturbations in those two scenarios, and identify the running vacuum imprints on the cosmic microwave background anisotropies as well as on the matter power spectrum. In the Λ(H2) scenario the vacuum is coupled with every matter component, whereas the Λ(R) description only leads to a coupling between vacuum and non-relativistic matter, producing different effects on the matter power spectrum.

Elimination of autofluorescence background from fluorescence tissue images by use of time-gated detection and the AzaDiOxaTriAngulenium (ADOTA) fluorophore

PubMed Central

Rich, Ryan M.; Stankowska, Dorota L.; Maliwal, Badri P.; Sørensen, Thomas Just; Laursen, Bo W.; Krishnamoorthy, Raghu R.; Gryczynski, Zygmunt; Borejdo, Julian

2013-01-01

Sample autofluorescence (fluorescence of inherent components of tissue and fixative-induced fluorescence) is a significant problem in direct imaging of molecular processes in biological samples. A large variety of naturally occurring fluorescent components in tissue results in broad emission that overlaps the emission of typical fluorescent dyes used for tissue labeling. In addition, autofluorescence is characterized by complex fluorescence intensity decay composed of multiple components whose lifetimes range from sub-nanoseconds to a few nanoseconds. For these reasons, the real fluorescence signal of the probe is difficult to separate from the unwanted autofluorescence. Here we present a method for reducing the autofluorescence problem by utilizing an azadioxatriangulenium (ADOTA) dye with a fluorescence lifetime of approximately 15 ns, much longer than those of most of the components of autofluorescence. A probe with such a long lifetime enables us to use time-gated intensity imaging to separate the signal of the targeting dye from the autofluorescence. We have shown experimentally that by discarding photons detected within the first 20 ns of the excitation pulse, the signal-to-background ratio is improved fivefold. This time-gating eliminates over 96 % of autofluorescence. Analysis using a variable time-gate may enable quantitative determination of the bound probe without the contributions from the background. PMID:23254457

Comparing International and American Students: Involvement in College Life and Overall Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Ji; Cole, Darnell

2017-01-01

Using longitudinal survey data, this study compares 191 international and 409 American students' involvement in college life, the extent to which the involvement is influenced by race/ethnicity, gender, and language background, and the extent to which the involvement influences overall satisfaction. Major findings include: International and…

Distance learning for University Physics in South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cilliers, J. A.; Basson, I.

1997-03-01

The University of South Africa (Unisa) is one of the largest distance education universities in the world. Teaching physics at a distance is a complex and multifaceted problem which is compounded in the South African context by the diversity of educational backgrounds of the learners involved. The fact that students are distributed over a vast geographical area, presents unique problems for the incorporation of the practical component into the curriculum. Current research involves a fundamental evaluation of the aims and objectives of the introductory laboratory. The project is based on the notion that practicals, as they have been used in most physics curricula, are not particularly effective or efficient, although they are costly both financially and logistically. Design, development and delivery of efficient study material imply that there should be agreement between what the student knows and can do, and what the material offers. An in depth profile that takes into account biographic as well as cognitive characteristics of the target group, is therefore being compiled. This paper gives an overview of the specific problems and circumstances that were identified for distance education in physics in a multi-cultural society, and proposes a new model for the incorporation of the introductory laboratory into the curriculum.

A new dynamic 3D virtual methodology for teaching the mechanics of atrial septation as seen in the human heart

PubMed Central

Schleich, Jean-Marc; Dillenseger, Jean-Louis; Houyel, Lucile; Almange, Claude; Anderson, Robert H.

2009-01-01

Background Learning embryology remains difficult, since it requires understanding of many complex phenomena. The temporal evolution of developmental events has classically been illustrated using cartoons, which create difficulty in linking spatial and temporal aspects, such correlation being the keystone of descriptive embryology. Methods We synthesized the bibliographic data from recent studies of atrial septal development. On the basis of this synthesis, consensus on the stages of atrial septation as seen in the human heart has been reached by a group of experts in cardiac embryology and paediatric cardiology. This has permitted the preparation of three-dimensional (3-D) computer graphic objects for the anatomical components involved in the different stages of normal human atrial septation. Results We have provided a virtual guide to the process of normal atrial septation, the animation providing an appreciation of the temporal and morphologic events necessary to separate the systemic and pulmonary venous returns. Conclusion We have shown that our animations of normal human atrial septation increase significantly the teaching of the complex developmental processes involved, and provide a new dynamic for the process of learning. PMID:19363807

Attenuated Signature-Tagged Mutagenesis Mutants of Brucella melitensis Identified during the Acute Phase of Infection in Mice

PubMed Central

Lestrate, P.; Dricot, A.; Delrue, R.-M.; Lambert, C.; Martinelli, V.; De Bolle, X.; Letesson, J.-J.; Tibor, A.

2003-01-01

For this study, we screened 1,152 signature-tagged mutagenesis mutants of Brucella melitensis 16M in a mouse model of infection and found 36 of them to be attenuated in vivo. Molecular characterization of transposon insertion sites showed that for four mutants, the affected genes were only present in Rhizobiaceae. Another mutant contained a disruption in a gene homologous to mosA, which is involved in rhizopine biosynthesis in some strains of Rhizobium, suggesting that this sugar may be involved in Brucella pathogenicity. A mutant was disrupted in a gene homologous to fliF, a gene potentially coding for the MS ring, a basal component of the flagellar system. Surprisingly, a mutant was affected in the rpoA gene, coding for the essential α-subunit of the RNA polymerase. This disruption leaves a partially functional protein, impaired for the activation of virB transcription, as demonstrated by the absence of induction of the virB promoter in the Tn5::rpoA background. The results presented here highlight the fact that the ability of Brucella to induce pathogenesis shares similarities with the molecular mechanisms used by both Rhizobium and Agrobacterium to colonize their hosts. PMID:14638795

A functional TOC complex contributes to gravity signal transduction in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Strohm, Allison K.; Barrett-Wilt, Greg A.; Masson, Patrick H.

2014-01-01

Although plastid sedimentation has long been recognized as important for a plant's perception of gravity, it was recently shown that plastids play an additional function in gravitropism. The Translocon at the Outer envelope membrane of Chloroplasts (TOC) complex transports nuclear-encoded proteins into plastids, and a receptor of this complex, Toc132, was previously hypothesized to contribute to gravitropism either by directly functioning as a gravity signal transducer or by indirectly mediating the plastid localization of a gravity signal transducer. Here we show that mutations in multiple genes encoding TOC complex components affect gravitropism in a genetically sensitized background and that the cytoplasmic acidic domain of Toc132 is not required for its involvement in this process. Furthermore, mutations in TOC132 enhance the gravitropic defect of a mutant whose amyloplasts lack starch. Finally, we show that the levels of several nuclear-encoded root proteins are altered in toc132 mutants. These data suggest that the TOC complex indirectly mediates gravity signal transduction in Arabidopsis and support the idea that plastids are involved in gravitropism not only through their ability to sediment but also as part of the signal transduction mechanism. PMID:24795735

A functional TOC complex contributes to gravity signal transduction in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Strohm, Allison K; Barrett-Wilt, Greg A; Masson, Patrick H

2014-01-01

Although plastid sedimentation has long been recognized as important for a plant's perception of gravity, it was recently shown that plastids play an additional function in gravitropism. The Translocon at the Outer envelope membrane of Chloroplasts (TOC) complex transports nuclear-encoded proteins into plastids, and a receptor of this complex, Toc132, was previously hypothesized to contribute to gravitropism either by directly functioning as a gravity signal transducer or by indirectly mediating the plastid localization of a gravity signal transducer. Here we show that mutations in multiple genes encoding TOC complex components affect gravitropism in a genetically sensitized background and that the cytoplasmic acidic domain of Toc132 is not required for its involvement in this process. Furthermore, mutations in TOC132 enhance the gravitropic defect of a mutant whose amyloplasts lack starch. Finally, we show that the levels of several nuclear-encoded root proteins are altered in toc132 mutants. These data suggest that the TOC complex indirectly mediates gravity signal transduction in Arabidopsis and support the idea that plastids are involved in gravitropism not only through their ability to sediment but also as part of the signal transduction mechanism.

Epsilon Aurigae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Rebecca; Price, A.; Henden, A.

2009-05-01

The IYA 2009 working group on Research Experiences for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists is planning a multi-year project involving the bright star Eps Aur. The project will go beyond simple observing and also include a major data analysis component. The goal is to introduce the participant to the full scientific process from background research to paper writing for a peer-reviewed journal. It begins with a 10 Star Training Program of several types of binary and transient variable stars that are easy to observe from suburban locations with the naked eye. Participants will be trained both in observing and also in basic data analysis of photometric datasets (light curve and period analysis). Eventually it will lead to a capstone project: monitoring the rare and mysterious 2009-2011 eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae. In the summer of IYA 2009, third-magnitude Eps Aur will experience its next eclipse, which occurs every 27.1 years and lasts 714 days, nearly two years. The star is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from most urban areas. If fully funded, the project will also involve two public workshops on observing and data analysis in the summers of 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Compassion Fatigue and Burnout Amongst Clinicians: A Medical Exploratory Study

PubMed Central

Bhutani, Jaikrit; Bhutani, Sukriti; Balhara, Yatan Pal Singh; Kalra, Sanjay

2012-01-01

Background: Compassion fatigue is a broad term comprising of two components – burnout and secondary traumatic stress. The current study is aimed at identifying ‘burnout’ and ‘compassion fatigue’ among clinicians involved in care of individuals suffering from medical illness. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 clinicians were included in the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to gather information related to personal, professional, anthropometric, and metabolic profile of the study participants. Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL Version V) was used to assess burnout, compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress. Analysis was carried out using the SPSS version 19.0. Results: The mean age of clinicians was 46.68±11.06 (range 26-67 years). Burnout score was significantly higher in those involved in diabetology practice. Similarly, compassion satisfaction score was greater among those with greater years of practice as well as among those in private practice. Clinicians who reported a poor working condition, as opposed to good, had more burnout and less compassion satisfaction. Conclusion: The current study suggests that it is important to find out ways of decreasing burnout and compassion fatigue among clinicians. PMID:23723540

Listening to Students from Refugee Backgrounds: Lessons for Education Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mthethwa-Sommers, Shirley; Kisiara, Otieno

2015-01-01

This article is based on a study that examined how students from refugee backgrounds cope with victimization and bullying in three urban high schools in the United States. Qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were employed. Twelve high school students from refugee backgrounds participated in the study, which involved focus group…

Personal Background Knowledge Influences Cross-Cultural Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Xiaodong; Bransford, John D.

2010-01-01

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study was to investigate how two types of videos, personal background knowledge (PBK) and general background knowledge (GBK), affect people's interpretation of a classroom problem case that involved a disconnection between a foreign college professor and her students. The PBK video described the professor's…

Infrared and visible image fusion based on robust principal component analysis and compressed sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jun; Song, Minghui; Peng, Yuanxi

2018-03-01

Current infrared and visible image fusion methods do not achieve adequate information extraction, i.e., they cannot extract the target information from infrared images while retaining the background information from visible images. Moreover, most of them have high complexity and are time-consuming. This paper proposes an efficient image fusion framework for infrared and visible images on the basis of robust principal component analysis (RPCA) and compressed sensing (CS). The novel framework consists of three phases. First, RPCA decomposition is applied to the infrared and visible images to obtain their sparse and low-rank components, which represent the salient features and background information of the images, respectively. Second, the sparse and low-rank coefficients are fused by different strategies. On the one hand, the measurements of the sparse coefficients are obtained by the random Gaussian matrix, and they are then fused by the standard deviation (SD) based fusion rule. Next, the fused sparse component is obtained by reconstructing the result of the fused measurement using the fast continuous linearized augmented Lagrangian algorithm (FCLALM). On the other hand, the low-rank coefficients are fused using the max-absolute rule. Subsequently, the fused image is superposed by the fused sparse and low-rank components. For comparison, several popular fusion algorithms are tested experimentally. By comparing the fused results subjectively and objectively, we find that the proposed framework can extract the infrared targets while retaining the background information in the visible images. Thus, it exhibits state-of-the-art performance in terms of both fusion effects and timeliness.

Hemispheric Connectivity and the Visual-Spatial Divergent-Thinking Component of Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Dana W.; Bhadelia, Rafeeque A.; Billings, Rebecca L.; Fulwiler, Carl; Heilman, Kenneth M.; Rood, Kenneth M. J.; Gansler, David A.

2009-01-01

Background/hypothesis: Divergent thinking is an important measurable component of creativity. This study tested the postulate that divergent thinking depends on large distributed inter- and intra-hemispheric networks. Although preliminary evidence supports increased brain connectivity during divergent thinking, the neural correlates of this…

Attention to Novelty in Behaviorally Inhibited Adolescents Moderates Risk for Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reeb-Sutherland, Bethany C.; Vanderwert, Ross E.; Degnan, Kathryn A.; Marshall, Peter J.; Perez-Edgar, Koraly; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Pine, Daniel S.; Fox, Nathan A.

2009-01-01

Background: Individual differences in specific components of attention contribute to behavioral reactivity and regulation. Children with the temperament of behavioral inhibition (BI) provide a good context for considering the manner in which certain components of attention shape behavior. Infants and children characterized as behaviorally…

Space and surface power for the space exploration initiative: Results from project outreach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shipbaugh, C.; Solomon, K.; Gonzales, D.; Juncosa, M.; Bauer, T.; Salter, R.

1991-01-01

The analysis and evaluations of the Space and Surface Power panel, one of eight panels created by RAND to screen and analyze submissions to the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) Outreach Program, is documented. In addition to managing and evaluating the responses, or submissions, to this public outreach program, RAND conducted its own analysis and evaluation relevent to SEI mission concepts, systems, and technologies. The Power panel screened and analyzed submissions for which a substantial portion of the concepts involved power generation sources, transmission, distribution, thermal management, and handling of power (including conditioning, conversion, packaging, and enhancements in system components). A background discussion of the areas the Power panel covered and the issues the reviewers considered pertinent to the analysis of power submissions are presented. An overview of each of the highest-ranked submissions and then a discussion of these submissions is presented. The results of the analysis is presented.

Reconstruction of cytosolic fumaric acid biosynthetic pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Fumaric acid is a commercially important component of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and industrial materials, yet the current methods of production are unsustainable and ecologically destructive. Results In this study, the fumarate biosynthetic pathway involving reductive reactions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle was exogenously introduced in S. cerevisiae by a series of simple genetic modifications. First, the Rhizopus oryzae genes for malate dehydrogenase (RoMDH) and fumarase (RoFUM1) were heterologously expressed. Then, expression of the endogenous pyruvate carboxylase (PYC2) was up-regulated. The resultant yeast strain, FMME-001 ↑PYC2 + ↑RoMDH, was capable of producing significantly higher yields of fumarate in the glucose medium (3.18 ± 0.15 g liter-1) than the control strain FMME-001 empty vector. Conclusions The results presented here provide a novel strategy for fumarate biosynthesis, which represents an important advancement in producing high yields of fumarate in a sustainable and ecologically-friendly manner. PMID:22335940

Multi-scaling modelling in financial markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ruipeng; Aste, Tomaso; Di Matteo, T.

2007-12-01

In the recent years, a new wave of interest spurred the involvement of complexity in finance which might provide a guideline to understand the mechanism of financial markets, and researchers with different backgrounds have made increasing contributions introducing new techniques and methodologies. In this paper, Markov-switching multifractal models (MSM) are briefly reviewed and the multi-scaling properties of different financial data are analyzed by computing the scaling exponents by means of the generalized Hurst exponent H(q). In particular we have considered H(q) for price data, absolute returns and squared returns of different empirical financial time series. We have computed H(q) for the simulated data based on the MSM models with Binomial and Lognormal distributions of the volatility components. The results demonstrate the capacity of the multifractal (MF) models to capture the stylized facts in finance, and the ability of the generalized Hurst exponents approach to detect the scaling feature of financial time series.

Alternating evolutionary pressure in a genetic algorithm facilitates protein model selection

PubMed Central

Offman, Marc N; Tournier, Alexander L; Bates, Paul A

2008-01-01

Background Automatic protein modelling pipelines are becoming ever more accurate; this has come hand in hand with an increasingly complicated interplay between all components involved. Nevertheless, there are still potential improvements to be made in template selection, refinement and protein model selection. Results In the context of an automatic modelling pipeline, we analysed each step separately, revealing several non-intuitive trends and explored a new strategy for protein conformation sampling using Genetic Algorithms (GA). We apply the concept of alternating evolutionary pressure (AEP), i.e. intermediate rounds within the GA runs where unrestrained, linear growth of the model populations is allowed. Conclusion This approach improves the overall performance of the GA by allowing models to overcome local energy barriers. AEP enabled the selection of the best models in 40% of all targets; compared to 25% for a normal GA. PMID:18673557

Higher-order gravitational lensing reconstruction using Feynman diagrams

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

Jenkins, Elizabeth E.; Manohar, Aneesh V.; Yadav, Amit P.S.

2014-09-01

We develop a method for calculating the correlation structure of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) using Feynman diagrams, when the CMB has been modified by gravitational lensing, Faraday rotation, patchy reionization, or other distorting effects. This method is used to calculate the bias of the Hu-Okamoto quadratic estimator in reconstructing the lensing power spectrum up to  O (φ{sup 4}) in the lensing potential φ. We consider both the diagonal noise TT TT, EB EB, etc. and, for the first time, the off-diagonal noise TT TE, TB EB, etc. The previously noted large  O (φ{sup 4}) term in the second order noise ismore » identified to come from a particular class of diagrams. It can be significantly reduced by a reorganization of the φ expansion. These improved estimators have almost no bias for the off-diagonal case involving only one B component of the CMB, such as EE EB.« less

University-Affiliated Alcohol Marketing Enhances the Incentive Salience of Alcohol Cues.

PubMed

Bartholow, Bruce D; Loersch, Chris; Ito, Tiffany A; Levsen, Meredith P; Volpert-Esmond, Hannah I; Fleming, Kimberly A; Bolls, Paul; Carter, Brooke K

2018-01-01

We tested whether affiliating beer brands with universities enhances the incentive salience of those brands for underage drinkers. In Study 1, 128 undergraduates viewed beer cues while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Results showed that beer cues paired with in-group backgrounds (logos for students' universities) evoked an enhanced P3 ERP component, a neural index of incentive salience. This effect varied according to students' levels of identification with their university, and the amplitude of the P3 response prospectively predicted alcohol use over 1 month. In Study 2 ( N = 104), we used a naturalistic advertisement exposure to experimentally create in-group brand associations and found that this manipulation caused an increase in the incentive salience of the beer brand. These data provide the first evidence that marketing beer via affiliating it with students' universities enhances the incentive salience of the brand for underage students and that this effect has implications for their alcohol involvement.

Can MOND type hypotheses be tested in a free fall laboratory environment?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Saurya; Patitsas, S. N.

2013-05-01

The extremely small accelerations of objects required for the onset of modified Newtonian dynamics, or modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), makes testing the hypothesis in conventional terrestrial laboratories virtually impossible. This is due to the large background acceleration of Earth, which is transmitted to the acceleration of test objects within an apparatus. We show, however, that it may be possible to test MOND-type hypotheses with experiments using a conventional apparatus capable of tracking very small accelerations of its components but performed in locally inertial frames such as artificial satellites and other freely falling laboratories. For example, experiments involving an optical interferometer or a torsion balance in these laboratories would show nonlinear dynamics and displacement amplitudes larger than expected. These experiments may also be able to test potential violations of the strong equivalence principle by MOND and to distinguish between its two possible interpretations (modified inertia and modified gravity).

Case management in an acute-care hospital: collaborating for quality, cost-effective patient care.

PubMed

Grootveld, Kim; Wen, Victoria; Bather, Michelle; Park, Joan

2014-01-01

Case management has recently been advanced as a valuable component in achieving quality patient care that is also cost-effective. At St. Michael's Hospital, in Toronto, Ontario, case managers from a variety of professional backgrounds are central to a new care initiative--Rapid Assessment and Planning to Inform Disposition (RAPID)--in the General Internal Medicine (GIM) Unit that is designed to improve patient care and reconcile high emergency department volumes through "smart bed spacing." Involved in both planning and RAPID, GIM's case managers are the link between patient care and utilization management. These stewards of finite resources strive to make the best use of dollars spent while maintaining a commitment to quality care. Collaborating closely with physicians and others across the hospital, GIM's case managers have been instrumental in bringing about significant improvements in care coordination, utilization management and process redesign. Copyright © 2014 Longwoods Publishing.

Theoretical predictions for the phase stability of dense binary mixtures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macfarlane, J. J.

1983-08-01

A new approach is developed for evaluating the mixing properties of binary solutions at high pressure. This involves solving Poisson's equation throughout three-dimensional cubic lattices, consistent with Thomas-Fermi-Dirac (TFD) theory. Zero temperature calculations are carried out for a variety of compositions and crystal structures in 3 pressure groups relevant to Jovian planetary interiors. Pseudopotentials based on the two-component-plasma model (with a uniform electron background) are fitted to the solid-state results, and are then used in liquid-state calculations using hard-sphere perturbation theory. TFD results if H-He solutions find critical temperatures (above which all compositions are soluble) to be approx. 0.500, and 1500 K at pressures of 10, 100, and 1000 Mbar, respectively. These temperatures are much lower than those obtained using free electron perturbation theory, where Tcrit approx. 10,000 K at 10 Mbar.

Functional annotation of chemical libraries across diverse biological processes.

PubMed

Piotrowski, Jeff S; Li, Sheena C; Deshpande, Raamesh; Simpkins, Scott W; Nelson, Justin; Yashiroda, Yoko; Barber, Jacqueline M; Safizadeh, Hamid; Wilson, Erin; Okada, Hiroki; Gebre, Abraham A; Kubo, Karen; Torres, Nikko P; LeBlanc, Marissa A; Andrusiak, Kerry; Okamoto, Reika; Yoshimura, Mami; DeRango-Adem, Eva; van Leeuwen, Jolanda; Shirahige, Katsuhiko; Baryshnikova, Anastasia; Brown, Grant W; Hirano, Hiroyuki; Costanzo, Michael; Andrews, Brenda; Ohya, Yoshikazu; Osada, Hiroyuki; Yoshida, Minoru; Myers, Chad L; Boone, Charles

2017-09-01

Chemical-genetic approaches offer the potential for unbiased functional annotation of chemical libraries. Mutations can alter the response of cells in the presence of a compound, revealing chemical-genetic interactions that can elucidate a compound's mode of action. We developed a highly parallel, unbiased yeast chemical-genetic screening system involving three key components. First, in a drug-sensitive genetic background, we constructed an optimized diagnostic mutant collection that is predictive for all major yeast biological processes. Second, we implemented a multiplexed (768-plex) barcode-sequencing protocol, enabling the assembly of thousands of chemical-genetic profiles. Finally, based on comparison of the chemical-genetic profiles with a compendium of genome-wide genetic interaction profiles, we predicted compound functionality. Applying this high-throughput approach, we screened seven different compound libraries and annotated their functional diversity. We further validated biological process predictions, prioritized a diverse set of compounds, and identified compounds that appear to have dual modes of action.

Separate cortical networks involved in music perception: preliminary functional MRI evidence for modularity of music processing.

PubMed

Schmithorst, Vincent J

2005-04-01

Music perception is a quite complex cognitive task, involving the perception and integration of various elements including melody, harmony, pitch, rhythm, and timbre. A preliminary functional MRI investigation of music perception was performed, using a simplified passive listening task. Group independent component analysis (ICA) was used to separate out various components involved in music processing, as the hemodynamic responses are not known a priori. Various components consistent with auditory processing, expressive language, syntactic processing, and visual association were found. The results are discussed in light of various hypotheses regarding modularity of music processing and its overlap with language processing. The results suggest that, while some networks overlap with ones used for language processing, music processing may involve its own domain-specific processing subsystems.

Transcriptome Analysis and Discovery of Genes Involved in Immune Pathways from Hepatopancreas of Microbial Challenged Mitten Crab Eriocheir sinensis

PubMed Central

Li, Xihong; Cui, Zhaoxia; Liu, Yuan; Song, Chengwen; Shi, Guohui

2013-01-01

Background The Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis is an important economic crustacean and has been seriously attacked by various diseases, which requires more and more information for immune relevant genes on genome background. Recently, high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology provides a powerful and efficient method for transcript analysis and immune gene discovery. Methods/Principal Findings A cDNA library from hepatopancreas of E. sinensis challenged by a mixture of three pathogen strains (Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus, Gram-negative bacteria Vibrio alginolyticus and fungi Pichia pastoris; 108 cfu·mL−1) was constructed and randomly sequenced using Illumina technique. Totally 39.76 million clean reads were assembled to 70,300 unigenes. After ruling out short-length and low-quality sequences, 52,074 non-redundant unigenes were compared to public databases for homology searching and 17,617 of them showed high similarity to sequences in NCBI non-redundant protein (Nr) database. For function classification and pathway assignment, 18,734 (36.00%) unigenes were categorized to three Gene Ontology (GO) categories, 12,243 (23.51%) were classified to 25 Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG), and 8,983 (17.25%) were assigned to six Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Potentially, 24, 14, 47 and 132 unigenes were characterized to be involved in Toll, IMD, JAK-STAT and MAPK pathways, respectively. Conclusions/Significance This is the first systematical transcriptome analysis of components relating to innate immune pathways in E. sinensis. Functional genes and putative pathways identified here will contribute to better understand immune system and prevent various diseases in crab. PMID:23874555

Pervasive antagonistic interactions among hybrid incompatibility loci

PubMed Central

Josway, Sarah

2017-01-01

Species barriers, expressed as hybrid inviability and sterility, are often due to epistatic interactions between divergent loci from two lineages. Theoretical models indicate that the strength, direction, and complexity of these genetic interactions can strongly affect the expression of interspecific reproductive isolation and the rates at which new species evolve. Nonetheless, empirical analyses have not quantified the frequency with which loci are involved in interactions affecting hybrid fitness, and whether these loci predominantly interact synergistically or antagonistically, or preferentially involve loci that have strong individual effects on hybrid fitness. We systematically examined the prevalence of interactions between pairs of short chromosomal regions from one species (Solanum habrochaites) co-introgressed into a heterospecific genetic background (Solanum lycopersicum), using lines containing pairwise combinations of 15 chromosomal segments from S. habrochaites in the background of S. lycopersicum (i.e., 95 double introgression lines). We compared the strength of hybrid incompatibility (either pollen sterility or seed sterility) expressed in each double introgression line to the expected additive effect of its two component single introgressions. We found that epistasis was common among co-introgressed regions. Interactions for hybrid dysfunction were substantially more prevalent in pollen fertility compared to seed fertility phenotypes, and were overwhelmingly antagonistic (i.e., double hybrids were less unfit than expected from additive single introgression effects). This pervasive antagonism is expected to attenuate the rate at which hybrid infertility accumulates among lineages over time (i.e., giving diminishing returns as more reproductive isolation loci accumulate), as well as decouple patterns of accumulation of sterility loci and hybrid incompatibility phenotypes. This decoupling effect might explain observed differences between pollen and seed fertility in their fit to theoretical predictions of the accumulation of isolation loci, including the ‘snowball’ effect. PMID:28604770

Coparenting and Parental School Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berryhill, M. Blake

2017-01-01

Background: Parental school involvement is associated with social, psychological, and academic child outcomes. Beyond school, demographic, and individual influences, research on the relationship between family level processes and parental school involvement is limited. Coparenting is a unique family level relationship that influences parental…

Involving patients in setting priorities for healthcare improvement: a cluster randomized trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Patients are increasingly seen as active partners in healthcare. While patient involvement in individual clinical decisions has been extensively studied, no trial has assessed how patients can effectively be involved in collective healthcare decisions affecting the population. The goal of this study was to test the impact of involving patients in setting healthcare improvement priorities for chronic care at the community level. Methods Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial. Local communities were randomized in intervention (priority setting with patient involvement) and control sites (no patient involvement). Setting: Communities in a canadian region were required to set priorities for improving chronic disease management in primary care, from a list of 37 validated quality indicators. Intervention: Patients were consulted in writing, before participating in face-to-face deliberation with professionals. Control: Professionals established priorities among themselves, without patient involvement. Participants: A total of 172 individuals from six communities participated in the study, including 83 chronic disease patients, and 89 health professionals. Outcomes: The primary outcome was the level of agreement between patients’ and professionals’ priorities. Secondary outcomes included professionals’ intention to use the selected quality indicators, and the costs of patient involvement. Results Priorities established with patients were more aligned with core generic components of the Medical Home and Chronic Care Model, including: access to primary care, self-care support, patient participation in clinical decisions, and partnership with community organizations (p < 0.01). Priorities established by professionals alone placed more emphasis on the technical quality of single disease management. The involvement intervention fostered mutual influence between patients and professionals, which resulted in a 41% increase in agreement on common priorities (95%CI: +12% to +58%, p < 0.01). Professionals’ intention to use the selected quality indicators was similar in intervention and control sites. Patient involvement increased the costs of the prioritization process by 17%, and required 10% more time to reach consensus on common priorities. Conclusions Patient involvement can change priorities driving healthcare improvement at the population level. Future research should test the generalizability of these findings to other contexts, and assess its impact on patient care. Trial registration The Netherlands National Trial Register #NTR2496. PMID:24555508

Separation of gravitational-wave and cosmic-shear contributions to cosmic microwave background polarization.

PubMed

Kesden, Michael; Cooray, Asantha; Kamionkowski, Marc

2002-07-01

Inflationary gravitational waves (GW) contribute to the curl component in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Cosmic shear--gravitational lensing of the CMB--converts a fraction of the dominant gradient polarization to the curl component. Higher-order correlations can be used to map the cosmic shear and subtract this contribution to the curl. Arcminute resolution will be required to pursue GW amplitudes smaller than those accessible by the Planck surveyor mission. The blurring by lensing of small-scale CMB power leads with this reconstruction technique to a minimum detectable GW amplitude corresponding to an inflation energy near 10(15) GeV.

Low-background germanium radioassay for the MAJORANA Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trimble, James E., Jr.

The focus of the MAJORANA COLLABORATION is the search for nuclear neutrinoless double beta decay. If discovered, this process would prove that the neutrino is its own anti-particle, or a M AJORANA particle. Being constructed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR aims to show that a background rate of 3 counts per region of interest (ROI) per tonne per year in the 4 keV ROI surrounding the 2039-keV Q-value energy of 76Ge is achievable and to demonstrate the technological feasibility of building a tonne-scale Ge-based experiment. Because of the rare nature of this process, detectors in the system must be isolated from ionizing radiation backgrounds as much as possible. This involved building the system with materials containing very low levels of naturally- occurring and anthropogenic radioactive isotopes at a deep underground site. In order to measure the levels of radioactive contamination in some components, the Majorana Demonstrator uses a low background counting facility managed by the Experimental Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics (ENAP) group at UNC. The UNC low background counting (LBC) facility is located at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF) located in Ripplemead, VA. The facility was used for a neutron activation analysis of samples of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) tubing intended for use in the Demonstrator. Calculated initial activity limits (90% C.L.) of 238U and 232Th in the 0.002-in PTFE samples were 7.6 ppt and 5.1 ppt, respectively. The same limits in the FEP tubing sample were 150 ppt and 45 ppt, respectively. The UNC LBC was also used to gamma-assay a modified stainless steel flange to be used as a vacuum feedthrough. Trace activities of both 238U and 232Th were found in the sample, but all were orders of magnitude below the acceptable threshold for the Majorana experiment. Also discussed is a proposed next generation ultra-low background system designed to utilize technology designed for the Majorana Demonstrator. Fi- nally, a discussion is presented on the design and construction of an azimuthal scanner used by the Majorana collaboration.

A perfectly conducting surface in electrodynamics with Lorentz symmetry breaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borges, L. H. C.; Barone, F. A.

2017-10-01

In this paper we consider a model which exhibits explicit Lorentz symmetry breaking due to the presence of a single background vector v^{μ } coupled to the gauge field. We investigate such a theory in the vicinity of a perfectly conducting plate for different configurations of v^{μ }. First we consider no restrictions on the components of the background vector and we treat it perturbatively up to second order. Next, we treat v^{μ } exactly for two special cases: the first one is when it has only components parallel to the plate, and the second one when it has a single component perpendicular to the plate. For all these configurations, the propagator for the gauge field and the interaction force between the plate and a point-like electric charge are computed. Surprisingly, it is shown that the image method is valid in our model and we argue that it is a non-trivial result. We show there arises a torque on the mirror with respect to its positioning in the background field when it interacts with a point-like charge. It is a new effect with no counterpart in theories with Lorentz symmetry in the presence of a perfect mirror.

Effect of ELMs on deuterium-loaded-tungsten plasma facing components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umstadter, K. R.; Rudakov, D. L.; Wampler, W.; Watkins, J. G.; Wong, C. P. C.

2011-08-01

Prior heat pulse testing of plasma facing components (PFCs) has been completed in vacuum environments without the presence of background plasma. Edge localized modes (ELMs) will not be this kind of isolated event and one should know the effect of a plasma background during these transients. Heat-pulse experiments have been conducted in the PISCES-A device utilizing laser heating in a divertor-like plasma background. Initial results indicate that the erosion of PFCs is enhanced as compared to heat pulse or plasma only tests. To determine if the enhanced erosion effect is a phenomena only witnessed in the laboratory PISCES device, tungsten and graphite samples were exposed to plasmas in the lower divertor of the DIII-D tokamak using the Divertor Material Evaluation System (DiMES). Mass loss analysis indicates that materials that contain significant deuterium prior to experiencing a transient heating event will erode faster than those that have no or little retained deuterium.

Variability and Spectral Studies of Luminous Seyfert 1 Galaxy Fairall 9. Search for the Reflection Component is a Quasar: RXTE and ASCA Observation of a Nearby Radio-Quiet Quasar MR 2251-178

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leighly, Karen M.

1999-01-01

Monitoring observations with interval of 3 days using RXTE (X Ray Timing Explorer) of the luminous Seyfert 1 galaxy Fairall 9 were performed for one year. The purpose of the observations were to study the variability of Fairall 9 and compare the results with those from the radio-loud object 3C 390.3. The data has been received and analysis is underway, using the new background model. An observation of the quasar MR 2251-178 was made in order to determine whether or not it has a reflection component. Older background models gave an unacceptable subtraction and analysis is underway using the new background model. The observation of NGC 6300 showed that the X-ray spectrum from this Seyfert 2 galaxy appears to be dominated by Compton reflection.

Traffic and Driving Simulator Based on Architecture of Interactive Motion.

PubMed

Paz, Alexander; Veeramisti, Naveen; Khaddar, Romesh; de la Fuente-Mella, Hanns; Modorcea, Luiza

2015-01-01

This study proposes an architecture for an interactive motion-based traffic simulation environment. In order to enhance modeling realism involving actual human beings, the proposed architecture integrates multiple types of simulation, including: (i) motion-based driving simulation, (ii) pedestrian simulation, (iii) motorcycling and bicycling simulation, and (iv) traffic flow simulation. The architecture has been designed to enable the simulation of the entire network; as a result, the actual driver, pedestrian, and bike rider can navigate anywhere in the system. In addition, the background traffic interacts with the actual human beings. This is accomplished by using a hybrid mesomicroscopic traffic flow simulation modeling approach. The mesoscopic traffic flow simulation model loads the results of a user equilibrium traffic assignment solution and propagates the corresponding traffic through the entire system. The microscopic traffic flow simulation model provides background traffic around the vicinities where actual human beings are navigating the system. The two traffic flow simulation models interact continuously to update system conditions based on the interactions between actual humans and the fully simulated entities. Implementation efforts are currently in progress and some preliminary tests of individual components have been conducted. The implementation of the proposed architecture faces significant challenges ranging from multiplatform and multilanguage integration to multievent communication and coordination.

Traffic and Driving Simulator Based on Architecture of Interactive Motion

PubMed Central

Paz, Alexander; Veeramisti, Naveen; Khaddar, Romesh; de la Fuente-Mella, Hanns; Modorcea, Luiza

2015-01-01

This study proposes an architecture for an interactive motion-based traffic simulation environment. In order to enhance modeling realism involving actual human beings, the proposed architecture integrates multiple types of simulation, including: (i) motion-based driving simulation, (ii) pedestrian simulation, (iii) motorcycling and bicycling simulation, and (iv) traffic flow simulation. The architecture has been designed to enable the simulation of the entire network; as a result, the actual driver, pedestrian, and bike rider can navigate anywhere in the system. In addition, the background traffic interacts with the actual human beings. This is accomplished by using a hybrid mesomicroscopic traffic flow simulation modeling approach. The mesoscopic traffic flow simulation model loads the results of a user equilibrium traffic assignment solution and propagates the corresponding traffic through the entire system. The microscopic traffic flow simulation model provides background traffic around the vicinities where actual human beings are navigating the system. The two traffic flow simulation models interact continuously to update system conditions based on the interactions between actual humans and the fully simulated entities. Implementation efforts are currently in progress and some preliminary tests of individual components have been conducted. The implementation of the proposed architecture faces significant challenges ranging from multiplatform and multilanguage integration to multievent communication and coordination. PMID:26491711

Ayurveda: Between Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine

PubMed Central

Kessler, C.; Wischnewsky, M.; Michalsen, A.; Eisenmann, C.; Melzer, J.

2013-01-01

Ayurveda is playing a growing part in Europe. Questions regarding the role of religion and spirituality within Ayurveda are discussed widely. Yet, there is little data on the influence of religious and spiritual aspects on its European diffusion. Methods. A survey was conducted with a new questionnaire. It was analysed by calculating frequency variables and testing differences in distributions with the χ 2-Test. Principal Component Analyses with Varimax Rotation were performed. Results. 140 questionnaires were analysed. Researchers found that individual religious and spiritual backgrounds influence attitudes and expectations towards Ayurveda. Statistical relationships were found between religious/spiritual backgrounds and decisions to offer/access Ayurveda. Accessing Ayurveda did not exclude the simultaneous use of modern medicine and CAM. From the majority's perspective Ayurveda is simultaneously a science, medicine, and a spiritual approach. Conclusion. Ayurveda seems to be able to satisfy the individual needs of therapists and patients, despite worldview differences. Ayurvedic concepts are based on anthropologic assumptions including different levels of existence in healing approaches. Thereby, Ayurveda can be seen in accordance with the prerequisites for a Whole Medical System. As a result of this, intimate and individual therapist-patient relationships can emerge. Larger surveys involving bigger participant numbers with fully validated questionnaires are warranted to support these results. PMID:24368928

Graviton propagator from background-independent quantum gravity.

PubMed

Rovelli, Carlo

2006-10-13

We study the graviton propagator in Euclidean loop quantum gravity. We use spin foam, boundary-amplitude, and group-field-theory techniques. We compute a component of the propagator to first order, under some approximations, obtaining the correct large-distance behavior. This indicates a way for deriving conventional spacetime quantities from a background-independent theory.

Noise in the Classroom: Understanding the Problem.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lilly, Jerry G.

2000-01-01

Presents guidelines for designing classroom HVAC systems that will be able to achieve lower background noise levels that conform to the NC-30 background noise rating level. Guidelines for both central and dedicated systems are offered revealing that the use of conventional HVAC system components can be used to achieve sound levels comparable to…

The isotropic radio background revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fornengo, Nicolao; Lineros, Roberto A.; Regis, Marco; Taoso, Marco

2014-04-01

We present an extensive analysis on the determination of the isotropic radio background. We consider six different radio maps, ranging from 22 MHz to 2.3 GHz and covering a large fraction of the sky. The large scale emission is modeled as a linear combination of an isotropic component plus the Galactic synchrotron radiation and thermal bremsstrahlung. Point-like and extended sources are either masked or accounted for by means of a template. We find a robust estimate of the isotropic radio background, with limited scatter among different Galactic models. The level of the isotropic background lies significantly above the contribution obtained by integrating the number counts of observed extragalactic sources. Since the isotropic component dominates at high latitudes, thus making the profile of the total emission flat, a Galactic origin for such excess appears unlikely. We conclude that, unless a systematic offset is present in the maps, and provided that our current understanding of the Galactic synchrotron emission is reasonable, extragalactic sources well below the current experimental threshold seem to account for the majority of the brightness of the extragalactic radio sky.

The SHOOT cryogenic components - Testing and applicability to other flight programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dipirro, Michael J.; Schein, Michael E.; Boyle, Robert F.; Figueroa, Orlando; Lindauer, David A.; Mchugh, Daniel C.; Shirron, P. J.

1990-01-01

Cryogenic components and techniques for the superfluid helium on-orbit transfer (SHOOT) flight demonstration are described. Instrumentation for measuring liquid quantity, position, flow rate, temperature, and pressure has been developed using the data obtained from the IRAS, Cosmic Background Explorer, and Spacelab 2 helium dewars. Topics discussed include valves and burst disks, fluid management devices, structural/thermal components, instrumentation, and ground support equipment and performance test apparatus.

Service-Learning in a Capstone Modeling Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkove, Ethan

2013-01-01

A capstone course is often synthetic, bringing together many components of a student's educational background. For this reason, a project-based course in mathematical modeling makes a great capstone, as modeling problems often require a broad collection of mathematical tools for their solution. The addition of a service-learning component can…

Distributed Training for the Reserve Component: Instructor Handbook for Computer Conferencing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harbour, J.; And Others

The purpose of this handbook is to provide background and teaching recommendations for instructors who will be remotely conducting Reserve Component training using asynchronous computer conferencing techniques. The recommendations in this handbook are based on an international review of the literature in distance learning and experience gained…

The Comprehensive Career Education System: System Administrators Component K-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Educational Properties Inc., Irvine, CA.

Using the example of a Career Education Model developed by the Orange County, California Consortium, the document provides guidelines for setting up career education programs in local educational agencies. Component levels, a definition of career education, and Consortium program background are discussed. Subsequent chapters include: Program…

A Thyroid Hormone Challenge in Hypothyroid Rats Identifies T3 Regulated Genes in the Hypothalamus and in Models with Altered Energy Balance and Glucose Homeostasis

PubMed Central

Herwig, Annika; Campbell, Gill; Mayer, Claus-Dieter; Boelen, Anita; Anderson, Richard A.; Ross, Alexander W.; Mercer, Julian G.

2014-01-01

Background: The thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) is known to affect energy balance. Recent evidence points to an action of T3 in the hypothalamus, a key area of the brain involved in energy homeostasis, but the components and mechanisms are far from understood. The aim of this study was to identify components in the hypothalamus that may be involved in the action of T3 on energy balance regulatory mechanisms. Methods: Sprague Dawley rats were made hypothyroid by giving 0.025% methimazole (MMI) in their drinking water for 22 days. On day 21, half the MMI-treated rats received a saline injection, whereas the others were injected with T3. Food intake and body weight measurements were taken daily. Body composition was determined by magnetic resonance imaging, gene expression was analyzed by in situ hybridization, and T3-induced gene expression was determined by microarray analysis of MMI-treated compared to MMI-T3-injected hypothalamic RNA. Results: Post mortem serum thyroid hormone levels showed that MMI treatment decreased circulating thyroid hormones and increased thyrotropin (TSH). MMI treatment decreased food intake and body weight. Body composition analysis revealed reduced lean and fat mass in thyroidectomized rats from day 14 of the experiment. MMI treatment caused a decrease in circulating triglyceride concentrations, an increase in nonesterified fatty acids, and decreased insulin levels. A glucose tolerance test showed impaired glucose clearance in the thyroidectomized animals. In the brain, in situ hybridization revealed marked changes in gene expression, including genes such as Mct8, a thyroid hormone transporter, and Agrp, a key component in energy balance regulation. Microarray analysis revealed 110 genes to be up- or downregulated with T3 treatment (±1.3-fold change, p<0.05). Three genes chosen from the differentially expressed genes were verified by in situ hybridization to be activated by T3 in cells located at or close to the hypothalamic ventricular ependymal layer and differentially expressed in animal models of long- and short-term body weight regulation. Conclusion: This study identified genes regulated by T3 in the hypothalamus, a key area of the brain involved in homeostasis and neuroendocrine functions. These include genes hitherto not known to be regulated by thyroid status. PMID:25087834

Putative pathway of sex pheromone biosynthesis and degradation by expression patterns of genes identified from female pheromone gland and adult antenna of Sesamia inferens (Walker).

PubMed

Zhang, Ya-Nan; Xia, Yi-Han; Zhu, Jia-Yao; Li, Sheng-Yun; Dong, Shuang-Lin

2014-05-01

The general pathway of biosynthesis and degradation for Type-I sex pheromones in moths is well established, but some genes involved in this pathway remain to be characterized. The purple stem borer, Sesamia inferens, employs a pheromone blend containing components with three different terminal functional groups (Z11-16:OAc, Z11-16:OH, and Z11-16:Ald) of Type-I sex pheromones. Thus, it provides a good model to study the diversity of genes involved in pheromone biosynthesis and degradation pathways. By analyzing previously obtained transcriptomic data of the sex pheromone glands and antennae, we identified 73 novel genes that are possibly related to pheromone biosynthesis (46 genes) or degradation (27 genes). Gene expression patterns and phylogenetic analysis revealed that one desaturase (SinfDes4), one fatty acid reductase (SinfFAR2), and one fatty acid xtransport protein (SinfFATP1) genes were predominantly expressed in pheromone glands, and clustered with genes involved in pheromone synthesis in other moth species. Ten genes including five carboxylesterases (SinfCXE10, 13, 14, 18, and 20), three aldehyde oxidases (SinfAOX1, 2 and 3), and two alcohol dehydrogenases (SinfAD1 and 3) were expressed specifically or predominantly in antennae, and could be candidate genes involved in pheromone degradation. SinfAD1 and 3 are the first reported alcohol dehydrogenase genes with antennae-biased expression. Based on these results we propose a pathway involving these potential enzyme-encoding gene candidates in sex pheromone biosynthesis and degradation in S. inferens. This study provides robust background information for further elucidation of the genetic basis of sex pheromone biosynthesis and degradation, and ultimately provides potential targets to disrupt sexual communication in S. inferens for control purposes.

Egg Viability, Mating Frequency and Male Mating Ability Evolve in Populations of Drosophila melanogaster Selected for Resistance to Cold Shock

PubMed Central

Singh, Karan; Kochar, Ekta; Prasad, N. G.

2015-01-01

Background Ability to resist temperature shock is an important component of fitness of insects and other ectotherms. Increased resistance to temperature shock is known to affect life-history traits. Temperature shock is also known to affect reproductive traits such as mating ability and viability of gametes. Therefore selection for increased temperature shock resistance can affect the evolution of reproductive traits. Methods We selected replicate populations of Drosophila melanogaster for resistance to cold shock. We then investigated the evolution of reproductive behavior along with other components of fitness- larval survivorship, adult mortality, fecundity, egg viability in these populations. Results We found that larval survivorship, adult mortality and fecundity post cold shock were not significantly different between selected and control populations. However, compared to the control populations, the selected populations laid significantly higher percentage of fertile eggs (egg viability) 24 hours post cold shock. The selected populations had higher mating frequency both with and without cold shock. After being subjected to cold shock, males from the selected populations successfully mated with significantly more non-virgin females and sired significantly more progeny compared to control males. Conclusions A number of studies have reported the evolution of survivorship in response to selection for temperature shock resistance. Our results clearly indicate that adaptation to cold shock can involve changes in components of reproductive fitness. Our results have important implications for our understanding of how reproductive behavior can evolve in response to thermal stress. PMID:26065704

Developing an Experiential Definition of Recovery: Participatory Research with Recovering Substance Abusers from Multiple Pathways

PubMed Central

Borkman, Thomasina J.; Stunz, Aina; Kaskutas, Lee Ann

2016-01-01

Background The What is Recovery? (WIR) study identified specific elements of a recovery definition that people in substance abuse recovery from multiple pathways would endorse. Objectives To explain how participatory research contributed to the development of a comprehensive pool of items defining recovery; and to identify the commonality between the specific items endorsed by participants as defining recovery and the abstract components of recovery found in four important broad recovery definitions Methods A four-step, mixed-methods, iterative process was used to develop and pretest items (August 2010 to February 2012). Online survey recruitment (n=238) was done via email lists of individuals in recovery and electronic advertisements; 54 were selected for in-depth telephone interviews. Analyses using experientially-based and survey research criteria resulted in a revised item pool of 47 refined and specific items. The WIR items were matched with the components of four important definitions. Results Recovering participants (1) proposed and validated new items; (2) developed an alternative response category to the Likert; (3) suggested criteria for eliminating items irrelevant to recovery. The matching of WIR items with the components of important abstract definitions revealed extensive commonality. Conclusions, importance The WIR items define recovery as ways of being, as a growth and learning process involving internal values and self-awareness with moral dimensions. This is the first wide-scale research identifying specific items defining recovery, which can be used to guide service provision in Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care. PMID:27159851

Early forest fire detection using principal component analysis of infrared video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saghri, John A.; Radjabi, Ryan; Jacobs, John T.

2011-09-01

A land-based early forest fire detection scheme which exploits the infrared (IR) temporal signature of fire plume is described. Unlike common land-based and/or satellite-based techniques which rely on measurement and discrimination of fire plume directly from its infrared and/or visible reflectance imagery, this scheme is based on exploitation of fire plume temporal signature, i.e., temperature fluctuations over the observation period. The method is simple and relatively inexpensive to implement. The false alarm rate is expected to be lower that of the existing methods. Land-based infrared (IR) cameras are installed in a step-stare-mode configuration in potential fire-prone areas. The sequence of IR video frames from each camera is digitally processed to determine if there is a fire within camera's field of view (FOV). The process involves applying a principal component transformation (PCT) to each nonoverlapping sequence of video frames from the camera to produce a corresponding sequence of temporally-uncorrelated principal component (PC) images. Since pixels that form a fire plume exhibit statistically similar temporal variation (i.e., have a unique temporal signature), PCT conveniently renders the footprint/trace of the fire plume in low-order PC images. The PC image which best reveals the trace of the fire plume is then selected and spatially filtered via simple threshold and median filter operations to remove the background clutter, such as traces of moving tree branches due to wind.

Generating demand and community support for sexual and reproductive health services for young people: A review of the Literature and Programs

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background This review investigates the effectiveness of interventions aimed at generating demand for and use of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services by young people; and interventions aimed at generating wider community support for their use. Methods Reports and publications were found in the peer-reviewed and grey literature through academic search engines; web searches; the bibliographies of known conference proceedings and papers; and consultation with experts. The studies were reviewed against a set of inclusion criteria and those that met these were explored in more depth. Results The evidence-base for interventions aimed at both generating demand and community support for SRH services for young people was found under-developed and many available studies do not provide strong evidence. However, the potential of several methods to increase youth uptake has been demonstrated, this includes the linking of school education programs with youth friendly services, life skills approaches and social marketing and franchising. There is also evidence that the involvement of key community gatekeepers such as parents and religious leaders is vital to generating wider community support. In general a combined multi-component approach seems most promising with several success stories to build on. Conclusions Many areas for further research have been highlighted and there is a great need for more rigorous evaluation of programmes in this area. In particular, further evaluation of individual components within a multi-component approach is needed to elucidate the most effective interventions. PMID:20863411

Self-sustained vibrations in volcanic areas extracted by Independent Component Analysis: a review and new results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Lauro, E.; de Martino, S.; Falanga, M.; Palo, M.

2011-12-01

We investigate the physical processes associated with volcanic tremor and explosions. A volcano is a complex system where a fluid source interacts with the solid edifice so generating seismic waves in a regime of low turbulence. Although the complex behavior escapes a simple universal description, the phases of activity generate stable (self-sustained) oscillations that can be described as a non-linear dynamical system of low dimensionality. So, the system requires to be investigated with non-linear methods able to individuate, decompose, and extract the main characteristics of the phenomenon. Independent Component Analysis (ICA), an entropy-based technique is a good candidate for this purpose. Here, we review the results of ICA applied to seismic signals acquired in some volcanic areas. We emphasize analogies and differences among the self-oscillations individuated in three cases: Stromboli (Italy), Erebus (Antarctica) and Volcán de Colima (Mexico). The waveforms of the extracted independent components are specific for each volcano, whereas the similarity can be ascribed to a very general common source mechanism involving the interaction between gas/magma flow and solid structures (the volcanic edifice). Indeed, chocking phenomena or inhomogeneities in the volcanic cavity can play the same role in generating self-oscillations as the languid and the reed do in musical instruments. The understanding of these background oscillations is relevant not only for explaining the volcanic source process and to make a forecast into the future, but sheds light on the physics of complex systems developing low turbulence.

Breathers and solitons on two different backgrounds in a generalized coupled Hirota system with four wave mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Han-Xiang; Yang, Zhan-Ying; Zhao, Li-Chen; Duan, Liang; Yang, Wen-Li

2018-07-01

We study breathers and solitons on different backgrounds in optical fiber system, which is governed by generalized coupled Hirota equations with four wave mixing effect. On plane wave background, a transformation between different types of solitons is discovered. Then, on periodic wave background, we find breather-like nonlinear localized waves of which formation mechanism are related to the energy conversion between two components. The energy conversion results from four wave mixing. Furthermore, we prove that this energy conversion is controlled by amplitude and period of backgrounds. Finally, solitons on periodic wave background are also exhibited. These results would enrich our knowledge of nonlinear localized waves' excitation in coupled system with four wave mixing effect.

[Raman spectroscopy fluorescence background correction and its application in clustering analysis of medicines].

PubMed

Chen, Shan; Li, Xiao-ning; Liang, Yi-zeng; Zhang, Zhi-min; Liu, Zhao-xia; Zhang, Qi-ming; Ding, Li-xia; Ye, Fei

2010-08-01

During Raman spectroscopy analysis, the organic molecules and contaminations will obscure or swamp Raman signals. The present study starts from Raman spectra of prednisone acetate tablets and glibenclamide tables, which are acquired from the BWTek i-Raman spectrometer. The background is corrected by R package baselineWavelet. Then principle component analysis and random forests are used to perform clustering analysis. Through analyzing the Raman spectra of two medicines, the accurate and validity of this background-correction algorithm is checked and the influences of fluorescence background on Raman spectra clustering analysis is discussed. Thus, it is concluded that it is important to correct fluorescence background for further analysis, and an effective background correction solution is provided for clustering or other analysis.

Parents' Involvement among the Arab Ethnic Minority in the State of Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zedan, Raed F.

2012-01-01

This study examined parent involvement in children's education among the Israeli Arab population and the degree of influence of various background factors on their involvement. The correlations between parent involvement and pupil achievement were examined in relation to the characteristics of the pupils (i.e., age, gender). About 400 parents…

Communicative Interaction Processes Involving Non-Vocal Physically Handicapped Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Deberah

1982-01-01

Communication prostheses are critical components of the nonvocal child's communication process, but are only one component. This article focuses on the steps involved in communicative interaction processes and the potential barriers to the development of effective interaction and analysis of nonvocal communicative interactions. A discussion of the…

49 CFR 579.23 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of 5,000 or more motorcycles annually.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports which involve the systems and components..., consumer complaints, warranty claims, or field reports, respectively, that involves the systems or components or fire indicated by the code. If an underlying property damage claim, consumer complaint...

49 CFR 579.23 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of 5,000 or more motorcycles annually.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports which involve the systems and components..., consumer complaints, warranty claims, or field reports, respectively, that involves the systems or components or fire indicated by the code. If an underlying property damage claim, consumer complaint...

49 CFR 579.23 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of 5,000 or more motorcycles annually.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports which involve the systems and components..., consumer complaints, warranty claims, or field reports, respectively, that involves the systems or components or fire indicated by the code. If an underlying property damage claim, consumer complaint...

Background Noise Acceptance and Personality Factors Involved in Library Environment Choices by College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon-Hickey, Susan; Lemley, Trey

2012-01-01

For decades, academic libraries made efforts to provide study environments differing in acoustic environment. The present study aimed to provide an evidence basis for this practice by comparing background noise acceptance and personality factors of two groups of college-aged students self identified as preferring quiet or background noise when…

Contrast in air pollution components between major streets and background locations: Particulate matter mass, black carbon, elemental composition, nitrogen oxide and ultrafine particle number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boogaard, Hanna; Kos, Gerard P. A.; Weijers, Ernie P.; Janssen, Nicole A. H.; Fischer, Paul H.; van der Zee, Saskia C.; de Hartog, Jeroen J.; Hoek, Gerard

2011-01-01

Policies to reduce outdoor air pollution concentrations are often assessed on the basis of the regulated pollutants. Whether these are the most appropriate components to assess the potential health benefits is questionable, as other health-relevant pollutants may be more strongly related to traffic. The aim of this study is to compare the contrast in concentration between major roads and (sub)urban background for a large range of pollutants and to analyze the magnitude of the measured difference in the street - background for major streets with different street configurations. Measurements of PM 10, PM 2.5, particle number concentrations (PNC), black carbon (BC), elemental composition of PM 10 and PM 2.5 and NO x were conducted simultaneously in eight major streets and nine (sub)urban background locations in the Netherlands. Measurements were done six times for a week during a six month period in 2008. High contrasts between busy streets and background locations in the same city were found for chromium, copper and iron (factor 2-3). These elements were especially present in the coarse fraction of PM. In addition, high contrasts were found for BC and NO x (factor 1.8), typically indicators of direct combustion emissions. The contrast for PNC was similar to BC. NO 2 contrast was lower (factor 1.5). The largest contrast was found for two street canyons and two streets with buildings at one side of the street only. The contrast between busy streets and urban background in NO 2 was less than the contrast found for BC, PNC and elements indicative of non-exhaust emissions, adding evidence that NO 2 is not representing (current) traffic well. The study supports a substantial role for non-exhaust emissions including brake- and tyre wear and road dust in addition to direct combustion emissions. Significant underestimation of disease burden may occur when relying too much on the regulated components.

Effect of Background Pressure on the Plasma Oscillation Characteristics of the HiVHAc Hall Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Wensheng; Kamhawi, Hani; Lobbia, Robert B.; Brown, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

During a component compatibility test of the NASA HiVHAc Hall thruster, a high-speed camera and a set of high-speed Langmuir probes were implemented to study the effect of varying facility background pressure on thruster operation. The results show a rise in the oscillation frequency of the breathing mode with rising background pressure, which is hypothesized to be due to a shortening accelerationionization zone. An attempt is made to apply a simplified ingestion model to the data. The combined results are used to estimate the maximum acceptable background pressure for performance and wear testing.

Anomalous cosmic-microwave-background polarization and gravitational chirality.

PubMed

Contaldi, Carlo R; Magueijo, João; Smolin, Lee

2008-10-03

We consider the possibility that gravity breaks parity, with left and right-handed gravitons coupling to matter with a different Newton's constant and show that this would affect their zero-point vacuum fluctuations during inflation. Should there be a cosmic background of gravity waves, the effect would translate into anomalous cosmic microwave background polarization. Nonvanishing temperature-magnetic (TB) mode [and electric-magnetic mode] components emerge, revealing interesting experimental targets. Indeed, if reasonable chirality is present a TB measurement would provide the easiest way to detect a gravitational wave background. We speculate on the theoretical implications of such an observation.

Calculating the bidirectional reflectance of natural vegetation covers using Boolean models and geometric optics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strahler, Alan H.; Li, Xiao-Wen; Jupp, David L. B.

1991-01-01

The bidirectional radiance or reflectance of a forest or woodland can be modeled using principles of geometric optics and Boolean models for random sets in a three dimensional space. This model may be defined at two levels, the scene includes four components; sunlight and shadowed canopy, and sunlit and shadowed background. The reflectance of the scene is modeled as the sum of the reflectances of the individual components as weighted by their areal proportions in the field of view. At the leaf level, the canopy envelope is an assemblage of leaves, and thus the reflectance is a function of the areal proportions of sunlit and shadowed leaf, and sunlit and shadowed background. Because the proportions of scene components are dependent upon the directions of irradiance and exitance, the model accounts for the hotspot that is well known in leaf and tree canopies.

Community governance in primary health care: towards an international Ideal Type.

PubMed

Meads, Geoffrey; Russell, Grant; Lees, Amanda

2017-10-01

Against a global background of increased resource management responsibilities for primary health care agencies, general medical practices, in particular, are increasingly being required to demonstrate the legitimacy of their decision making in market oriented environments. In this context a scoping review explores the potential utility for health managers in primary health care of community governance as a policy concept. The review of recent research suggests that applied learning from international health systems with enhanced approaches to public and patient involvement may contribute to meeting this requirement. Such approaches often characterise local health systems in Latin America and North West Europe where innovative models are beginning to respond effectively to the growing demands on general practice. The study design draws on documentary and secondary data analyses to identify common components of community governance from the countries in these regions, supplemented by other relevant international studies and sources where appropriate. Within a comprehensive framework of collaborative governance the components are aggregated in an Ideal Type format to provide a point of reference for possible adaptation and transferable learning across market oriented health systems. Each component is illustrated with international exemplars from recent organisational practices in primary health care. The application of community governance is considered for the particular contexts of GP led Clinical Commissioning Groups in England and Primary Health Networks in Australia. Some components of the Ideal Type possess potentially powerful negative as well as positive motivational effects, with PPI at practice levels sometimes hindering the development of effective local governance. This highlights the importance of careful and competent management of the growing resources attributed to primary health care agencies, which possess an increasingly diverse range of non-governmental status. Future policy and research priorities are outlined. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Necrotic and inflammatory changes in metal-on-metal resurfacing hip arthroplasties

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Necrosis and inflammation in peri-implant soft tissues have been described in failed second-generation metal-on-metal (MoM) resurfacing hip arthroplasties and in the pseudotumors associated with these implants. The precise frequency and significance of these tissue changes is unknown. Method We analyzed morphological and immunophenotypic changes in the periprosthetic soft tissues and femoral heads of 52 revised MoM arthroplasties (fracture in 21, pseudotumor in 13, component loosening in 9, and other causes in 9 cases). Results Substantial necrosis was observed in the periprosthetic connective tissue in 28 of the cases, including all pseudotumors, and 5 cases of component loosening. A heavy, diffuse inflammatory cell infiltrate composed mainly of HLA-DR+/CD14+/CD68+ macrophages and CD3+ T cells was seen in 45 of the cases. Perivascular lymphoid aggregates composed of CD3+ cells and CD20+ B cells were noted in 27 of the cases, but they were not seen in all cases of component loosening or pseudotumors. Plasma cells were noted in 30 cases. Macrophage granulomas were noted in 6 cases of component loosening. In the bone marrow of the femoral head, a macrophage and T cell response was seen in 31 of the cases; lymphoid aggregates were noted in 19 of the cases and discrete granulomas in 1 case. Interpretation Our findings indicate that there is a spectrum of necrotic and inflammatory changes in response to the deposition of cobalt-chrome (Co-Cr) wear particles in periprosthetic tissues. Areas of extensive coagulative necrosis and a macrophage and T lymphocyte response occur in implant failure and pseudotumors, in which there is also granuloma formation. The pathogenesis of these changes is uncertain but it may involve both a cytotoxic response and a delayed hypersensitivity (type IV) response to Co-Cr particles. PMID:19995315

Exploring the role of community engagement in improving the health of disadvantaged populations: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Cyril, Sheila; Smith, Ben J.; Possamai-Inesedy, Alphia; Renzaho, Andre M. N.

2015-01-01

Background Although community engagement (CE) is widely used in health promotion, components of CE models associated with improved health are poorly understood. This study aimed to examine the magnitude of the impact of CE on health and health inequalities among disadvantaged populations, which methodological approaches maximise the effectiveness of CE, and components of CE that are acceptable, feasible, and effective when used among disadvantaged populations. Design The systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We carried out methodological assessments of the included studies using rating scales. The analysis focussed on model synthesis to identify the key CE components linked to positive study outcomes and comparative analysis between positive study outcomes, processes, and quality indicators of CE. Results Out of 24 studies that met our inclusion criteria, 21 (87.5%) had positively impacted health behaviours, public health planning, health service access, health literacy, and a range of health outcomes. More than half of the studies (58%) were of good quality, whereas 71% and 42% of studies showed good community involvement in research and achieved high levels of CE, respectively. Key CE components that affected health outcomes included real power-sharing, collaborative partnerships, bidirectional learning, incorporating the voice and agency of beneficiary communities in research protocol, and using bicultural health workers for intervention delivery. Conclusions The findings suggest that CE models can lead to improved health and health behaviours among disadvantaged populations if designed properly and implemented through effective community consultation and participation. We also found several gaps in the current measurement of CE in health intervention studies, which suggests the importance of developing innovative approaches to measure CE impact on health outcomes in a more rigorous way. PMID:26689460

Genome-Wide Transcriptome Analyses of Silicon Metabolism in Phaeodactylum tricornutum Reveal the Multilevel Regulation of Silicic Acid Transporters

PubMed Central

Sapriel, Guillaume; Quinet, Michelle; Heijde, Marc; Jourdren, Laurent; Tanty, Véronique; Luo, Guangzuo; Le Crom, Stéphane; Lopez, Pascal Jean

2009-01-01

Background Diatoms are largely responsible for production of biogenic silica in the global ocean. However, in surface seawater, Si(OH)4 can be a major limiting factor for diatom productivity. Analyzing at the global scale the genes networks involved in Si transport and metabolism is critical in order to elucidate Si biomineralization, and to understand diatoms contribution to biogeochemical cycles. Methodology/Principal Findings Using whole genome expression analyses we evaluated the transcriptional response to Si availability for the model species Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Among the differentially regulated genes we found genes involved in glutamine-nitrogen pathways, encoding putative extracellular matrix components, or involved in iron regulation. Some of these compounds may be good candidates for intracellular intermediates involved in silicic acid storage and/or intracellular transport, which are very important processes that remain mysterious in diatoms. Expression analyses and localization studies gave the first picture of the spatial distribution of a silicic acid transporter in a diatom model species, and support the existence of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulations. Conclusions/Significance Our global analyses revealed that about one fourth of the differentially expressed genes are organized in clusters, underlying a possible evolution of P. tricornutum genome, and perhaps other pennate diatoms, toward a better optimization of its response to variable environmental stimuli. High fitness and adaptation of diatoms to various Si levels in marine environments might arise in part by global regulations from gene (expression level) to genomic (organization in clusters, dosage compensation by gene duplication), and by post-transcriptional regulation and spatial distribution of SIT proteins. PMID:19829693

Stakeholder involvement in the design of a patient-centered comparative effectiveness trial of the “On the Move” group exercise program in community-dwelling older adults

PubMed Central

Brach, Jennifer S.; Perera, Subashan; Gilmore, Sandra; VanSwearingen, Jessie M.; Brodine, Deborah; Wert, David; Nadkarni, Neelesh K.; Ricci, Edmund

2016-01-01

Background Group exercise programs for older adults often exclude the timing and coordination of movement. Stakeholder involvement in the research process is strongly encouraged and improves the relevance and adoption of findings. We describe stakeholder involvement in the design of a clinical trial of a group-based exercise program that incorporates timing and coordination of movement into the exercises. Methods The study was a cluster randomized, single-blind intervention trial to compare the effects on function, disability and mobility of a standard group exercise program and the “On the Move” group exercise program in older adults residing in independent living facilities and senior apartment buildings, and attending community centers. Exercise classes were twice weekly for 12 weeks delivered by study exercise leaders and facility activity staff personnel. Outcomes The primary outcomes function, disability and mobility were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Function and disability were assessed using the Late Life Function and Disability Instrument, and mobility using the Six-Minute Walk Test and gait speed. Stakeholders Patient and provider stakeholders had significant input into the study aims, design, sample, intervention, outcomes and operational considerations. Summary A community-based exercise program to improve walking can be developed to address both investigator identified missing components in current exercise to improve walking and stakeholder defined needs and interest for the activity program. Involvement of stakeholders substantially improves the relevance of research questions, increases the transparency of research activities and may accelerate the adoption of research into practice. PMID:27521806

Proteins involved in difference of sorbitol fermentation rates of the toxigenic and nontoxigenic Vibrio cholerae El Tor strains revealed by comparative proteome analysis

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background The nontoxigenic V. cholerae El Tor strains ferment sorbitol faster than the toxigenic strains, hence fast-fermenting and slow-fermenting strains are defined by sorbitol fermentation test. This test has been used for more than 40 years in cholera surveillance and strain analysis in China. Understanding of the mechanisms of sorbitol metabolism of the toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains may help to explore the genome and metabolism divergence in these strains. Here we used comparative proteomic analysis to find the proteins which may be involved in such metabolic difference. Results We found the production of formate and lactic acid in the sorbitol fermentation medium of the nontoxigenic strain was earlier than of the toxigenic strain. We compared the protein expression profiles of the toxigenic strain N16961 and nontoxigenic strain JS32 cultured in sorbitol fermentation medium, by using fructose fermentation medium as the control. Seventy-three differential protein spots were found and further identified by MALDI-MS. The difference of product of fructose-specific IIA/FPR component gene and mannitol-1-P dehydrogenase, may be involved in the difference of sorbitol transportation and dehydrogenation in the sorbitol fast- and slow-fermenting strains. The difference of the relative transcription levels of pyruvate formate-lyase to pyruvate dehydrogenase between the toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains may be also responsible for the time and ability difference of formate production between these strains. Conclusion Multiple factors involved in different metabolism steps may affect the sorbitol fermentation in the toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains of V. cholerae El Tor. PMID:19589152

Chromatic Illumination Discrimination Ability Reveals that Human Colour Constancy Is Optimised for Blue Daylight Illuminations

PubMed Central

Pearce, Bradley; Crichton, Stuart; Mackiewicz, Michal; Finlayson, Graham D.; Hurlbert, Anya

2014-01-01

The phenomenon of colour constancy in human visual perception keeps surface colours constant, despite changes in their reflected light due to changing illumination. Although colour constancy has evolved under a constrained subset of illuminations, it is unknown whether its underlying mechanisms, thought to involve multiple components from retina to cortex, are optimised for particular environmental variations. Here we demonstrate a new method for investigating colour constancy using illumination matching in real scenes which, unlike previous methods using surface matching and simulated scenes, allows testing of multiple, real illuminations. We use real scenes consisting of solid familiar or unfamiliar objects against uniform or variegated backgrounds and compare discrimination performance for typical illuminations from the daylight chromaticity locus (approximately blue-yellow) and atypical spectra from an orthogonal locus (approximately red-green, at correlated colour temperature 6700 K), all produced in real time by a 10-channel LED illuminator. We find that discrimination of illumination changes is poorer along the daylight locus than the atypical locus, and is poorest particularly for bluer illumination changes, demonstrating conversely that surface colour constancy is best for blue daylight illuminations. Illumination discrimination is also enhanced, and therefore colour constancy diminished, for uniform backgrounds, irrespective of the object type. These results are not explained by statistical properties of the scene signal changes at the retinal level. We conclude that high-level mechanisms of colour constancy are biased for the blue daylight illuminations and variegated backgrounds to which the human visual system has typically been exposed. PMID:24586299

Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background due to Primordial Binary Black Hole Mergers.

PubMed

Mandic, Vuk; Bird, Simeon; Cholis, Ilias

2016-11-11

Recent Advanced LIGO detections of binary black hole mergers have prompted multiple studies investigating the possibility that the heavy GW150914 binary system was of primordial origin, and hence could be evidence for dark matter in the form of black holes. We compute the stochastic background arising from the incoherent superposition of such primordial binary black hole systems in the Universe and compare it to the similar background spectrum due to binary black hole systems of stellar origin. We investigate the possibility of detecting this background with future gravitational-wave detectors, and conclude that constraining the dark matter component in the form of black holes using stochastic gravitational-wave background measurements will be very challenging.

Integration of Component Knowledge in Penalized-Likelihood Reconstruction with Morphological and Spectral Uncertainties.

PubMed

Stayman, J Webster; Tilley, Steven; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H

2014-01-01

Previous investigations [1-3] have demonstrated that integrating specific knowledge of the structure and composition of components like surgical implants, devices, and tools into a model-based reconstruction framework can improve image quality and allow for potential exposure reductions in CT. Using device knowledge in practice is complicated by uncertainties in the exact shape of components and their particular material composition. Such unknowns in the morphology and attenuation properties lead to errors in the forward model that limit the utility of component integration. In this work, a methodology is presented to accommodate both uncertainties in shape as well as unknown energy-dependent attenuation properties of the surgical devices. This work leverages the so-called known-component reconstruction (KCR) framework [1] with a generalized deformable registration operator and modifications to accommodate a spectral transfer function in the component model. Moreover, since this framework decomposes the object into separate background anatomy and "known" component factors, a mixed fidelity forward model can be adopted so that measurements associated with projections through the surgical devices can be modeled with much greater accuracy. A deformable KCR (dKCR) approach using the mixed fidelity model is introduced and applied to a flexible wire component with unknown structure and composition. Image quality advantages of dKCR over traditional reconstruction methods are illustrated in cone-beam CT (CBCT) data acquired on a testbench emulating a 3D-guided needle biopsy procedure - i.e., a deformable component (needle) with strong energy-dependent attenuation characteristics (steel) within a complex soft-tissue background.

Genetic variation and co-variation for fitness between intra-population and inter-population backgrounds in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

PubMed Central

Drury, Douglas W.; Wade, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Hybrids from crosses between populations of the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, express varying degrees of inviability and morphological abnormalities. The proportion of allopatric population hybrids exhibiting these negative hybrid phenotypes varies widely, from 3% to 100%, depending upon the pair of populations crossed. We crossed three populations and measured two fitness components, fertility and adult offspring numbers from successful crosses, to determine how genes segregating within populations interact in inter-population hybrids to cause the negative phenotypes. With data from crosses of 40 sires from each of three populations to groups of 5 dams from their own and two divergent populations, we estimated the genetic variance and covariance for breeding value of fitness between the intra- and inter-population backgrounds and the sire × dam-population interaction variance. The latter component of the variance in breeding values estimates the change in genic effects between backgrounds owing to epistasis. Interacting genes with a positive effect, prior to fixation, in the sympatric background but a negative effect in the hybrid background cause reproductive incompatibility in the Dobzhansky-Muller speciation model. Thus, the sire × dam-population interaction provides a way to measure the progress toward speciation of genetically differentiating populations on a trait by trait basis using inter-population hybrids. PMID:21044199

Is hepatic lipid metabolism of beef cattle influenced by breed and dietary silage level?

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background In ruminants, unsaturated dietary fatty acids are biohydrogenated in the rumen and are further metabolised in various tissues, including liver, which has an important role in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. Therefore, manipulation of muscle fatty acid composition should take into account liver metabolism. In the present study, the influence of breed and diet on liver lipid composition and gene expression was investigated in order to clarify the role of this organ in the lipid metabolism of ruminants. Forty purebred young bulls from two phylogenetically distant autochthonous cattle breeds, Alentejana and Barrosã, were assigned to two different diets (low vs. high silage) and slaughtered at 18 months of age. Liver fatty acid composition, mRNA levels of enzymes and transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism, as well as the plasma lipid profile, were assessed. Results In spite of similar plasma non-esterified fatty acids levels, liver triacylglycerols content was higher in Barrosã than in Alentejana bulls. Moreover, the fatty acid composition of liver was clearly distinct from the remaining tissues involved in fatty acid metabolism of ruminants, as shown by Principal Components Analysis. The hepatic tissue is particularly rich in α-linolenic acid and their products of desaturation and elongation. Results indicate that DGAT1, ELOVL2, FADS1 and FADS2 genes influence the fatty acid composition of the liver the most. Moreover, genes such as DGAT1 and ELOVL2 appear to be more sensitive to genetic background than to dietary manipulation, whereas genes encoding for desaturases, such as FADS1, appear to be modulated by dietary silage level. Conclusions Our results indicate that liver plays an important role in the biosynthesis of n-3 LC-PUFA. It is also suggested that dietary silage level influences the hepatic fatty acid metabolism in a breed-dependent manner, through changes in the expression of genes encoding for enzymes associated with the desaturation and elongation pathway. The importance of devising custom-made feeding strategies taking into account the genetic background is, therefore, stressed by the results from this experiment. PMID:24621212

Genetic background effects in Neuroligin-3 mutant mice: Minimal behavioral abnormalities on C57 background.

PubMed

Jaramillo, Thomas C; Escamilla, Christine Ochoa; Liu, Shunan; Peca, Lauren; Birnbaum, Shari G; Powell, Craig M

2018-02-01

Neuroligin-3 (NLGN3) is a postsynaptic cell adhesion protein that interacts with presynaptic ligands including neurexin-1 (NRXN1) [Ichtchenko et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 271, 2676-2682, 1996]. Mice harboring a mutation in the NLGN3 gene (NL3R451C) mimicking a mutation found in two brothers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were previously generated and behaviorally phenotyped for autism-related behaviors. In these NL3R451C mice generated and tested on a hybrid C57BL6J/129S2/SvPasCrl background, we observed enhanced spatial memory and reduced social interaction [Tabuchi et al., Science, 318, 71-76, 2007]. Curiously, an independently generated second line of mice harboring the same mutation on a C57BL6J background exhibited minimal aberrant behavior, thereby providing apparently discrepant results. To investigate the origin of the discrepancy, we previously replicated the original findings of Tabuchi et al. by studying the same NL3R451C mutation on a pure 129S2/SvPasCrl genetic background. Here we complete the behavioral characterization of the NL3R451C mutation on a pure C57BL6J genetic background to determine if background genetics play a role in the discrepant behavioral outcomes involving NL3R451C mice. NL3R451C mutant mice on a pure C57BL6J background did not display spatial memory enhancements or social interaction deficits. We only observed a decreased startle response and mildly increased locomotor activity in these mice suggesting that background genetics influences behavioral outcomes involving the NL3R451C mutation. Autism Res 2018, 11: 234-244. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Behavioral symptoms of autism can be highly variable, even in cases that involve identical genetic mutations. Previous studies in mice with a mutation of the Neuroligin-3 gene showed enhanced learning and social deficits. We replicated these findings on the same and different genetic backgrounds. In this study, however, the same mutation in mice on a different genetic background did not reproduce our previous findings. Our results suggest that genetic background influences behavioral symptoms of this autism-associated mutation. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Tracking quintessence and k-essence in a general cosmological background

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

Das, Rupam; Kephart, Thomas W.; Scherrer, Robert J.

We derive conditions for stable tracker solutions for both quintessence and k-essence in a general cosmological background, H{sup 2}{proportional_to}f({rho}). We find that tracker solutions are possible only when {eta}{identical_to}dlnf/dln{rho}{approx_equal}constant, aside from a few special cases, which are enumerated. Expressions for the quintessence or k-essence equation of state are derived as a function of {eta} and the equation of state of the dominant background component.

Long-term variations in the gamma-ray background on SMM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurfess, J. D.; Share, G. H.; Kinzer, R. L.; Johnson, W. N.; Adams, J. H., Jr.

1989-01-01

Long-term temporal variations in the various components of the background radiation detected by the gamma-ray spectrometer on the Solar Maximum Mission are presented. The SMM gamma-ray spectrometer was launched in February, 1980 and continues to operate normally. The extended period of mission operations has provided a large data base in which it is possible to investigate a variety of environmental and instrumental background effects. In particular, several effects associated with orbital precession are introduced and discussed.

Coexpression of Nuclear Receptors and Histone Methylation Modifying Genes in the Testis: Implications for Endocrine Disruptor Modes of Action

PubMed Central

Anderson, Alison M.; Carter, Kim W.; Anderson, Denise; Wise, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Background Endocrine disruptor chemicals elicit adverse health effects by perturbing nuclear receptor signalling systems. It has been speculated that these compounds may also perturb epigenetic mechanisms and thus contribute to the early origin of adult onset disease. We hypothesised that histone methylation may be a component of the epigenome that is susceptible to perturbation. We used coexpression analysis of publicly available data to investigate the combinatorial actions of nuclear receptors and genes involved in histone methylation in normal testis and when faced with endocrine disruptor compounds. Methodology/Principal Findings The expression patterns of a set of genes were profiled across testis tissue in human, rat and mouse, plus control and exposed samples from four toxicity experiments in the rat. Our results indicate that histone methylation events are a more general component of nuclear receptor mediated transcriptional regulation in the testis than previously appreciated. Coexpression patterns support the role of a gatekeeper mechanism involving the histone methylation modifiers Kdm1, Prdm2, and Ehmt1 and indicate that this mechanism is a common determinant of transcriptional integrity for genes critical to diverse physiological endpoints relevant to endocrine disruption. Coexpression patterns following exposure to vinclozolin and dibutyl phthalate suggest that coactivity of the demethylase Kdm1 in particular warrants further investigation in relation to endocrine disruptor mode of action. Conclusions/Significance This study provides proof of concept that a bioinformatics approach that profiles genes related to a specific hypothesis across multiple biological settings can provide powerful insight into coregulatory activity that would be difficult to discern at an individual experiment level or by traditional differential expression analysis methods. PMID:22496781

An efficient method to detect periodic behavior in botnet traffic by analyzing control plane traffic

PubMed Central

AsSadhan, Basil; Moura, José M.F.

2013-01-01

Botnets are large networks of bots (compromised machines) that are under the control of a small number of bot masters. They pose a significant threat to Internet’s communications and applications. A botnet relies on command and control (C2) communications channels traffic between its members for its attack execution. C2 traffic occurs prior to any attack; hence, the detection of botnet’s C2 traffic enables the detection of members of the botnet before any real harm happens. We analyze C2 traffic and find that it exhibits a periodic behavior. This is due to the pre-programmed behavior of bots that check for updates to download them every T seconds. We exploit this periodic behavior to detect C2 traffic. The detection involves evaluating the periodogram of the monitored traffic. Then applying Walker’s large sample test to the periodogram’s maximum ordinate in order to determine if it is due to a periodic component or not. If the periodogram of the monitored traffic contains a periodic component, then it is highly likely that it is due to a bot’s C2 traffic. The test looks only at aggregate control plane traffic behavior, which makes it more scalable than techniques that involve deep packet inspection (DPI) or tracking the communication flows of different hosts. We apply the test to two types of botnet, tinyP2P and IRC that are generated by SLINGbot. We verify the periodic behavior of their C2 traffic and compare it to the results we get on real traffic that is obtained from a secured enterprise network. We further study the characteristics of the test in the presence of injected HTTP background traffic and the effect of the duty cycle on the periodic behavior. PMID:25685512

Comparative Toxicogenomic Responses to the Flame Retardant mITP in Developing Zebrafish.

PubMed

Haggard, Derik E; Das, Siba R; Tanguay, Robert L

2017-02-20

Monosubstituted isopropylated triaryl phosphate (mITP) is a major component of Firemaster 550, an additive flame retardant mixture commonly used in polyurethane foams. Developmental toxicity studies in zebrafish established mITP as the most toxic component of FM 550, which causes pericardial edema and heart looping failure. Mechanistic studies showed that mITP is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligand; however, the cardiotoxic effects of mITP were independent of the AhR. We performed comparative whole genome transcriptomics in wild-type and ahr2 hu3335 zebrafish, which lack functional ahr2, to identify transcriptional signatures causally involved in the mechanism of mITP-induced cardiotoxicity. Regardless of ahr2 status, mITP exposure resulted in decreased expression of transcripts related to the synthesis of all-trans-retinoic acid and a host of Hox genes. Clustered gene ontology enrichment analysis showed unique enrichment in biological processes related to xenobiotic metabolism and response to external stimuli in wild-type samples. Transcript enrichments overlapping both genotypes involved the retinoid metabolic process and sensory/visual perception biological processes. Examination of the gene-gene interaction network of the differentially expressed transcripts in both genetic backgrounds demonstrated a strong AhR interaction network specific to wild-type samples, with overlapping genes regulated by retinoic acid receptors (RARs). A transcriptome analysis of control ahr2-null zebrafish identified potential cross-talk among AhR, Nrf2, and Hif1α. Collectively, we confirmed that mITP is an AhR ligand and present evidence in support of our hypothesis that mITP's developmental cardiotoxic effects are mediated by inhibition at the RAR level.

Pathways: a school-based, randomized controlled trial for the prevention of obesity in American Indian schoolchildren

PubMed Central

Caballero, Benjamin; Clay, Theresa; Davis, Sally M.; Ethelbah, Becky; Rock, Bonnie Holy; Lohman, Timothy; Norman, James; Story, Mary; Stone, Elaine J.; Stephenson, Larry; Stevens, June

2016-01-01

Background Childhood obesity is a major public health problem in the United States, particularly among American Indian communities. Objective The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based, multicomponent intervention for reducing percentage body fat in American Indian schoolchildren. Design This study was a randomized, controlled, school-based trial involving 1704 children in 41 schools and was conducted over 3 consecutive years, from 3rd to 5th grades, in schools serving American Indian communities in Arizona, New Mexico, and South Dakota. The intervention had 4 components: 1) change in dietary intake, 2) increase in physical activity, 3) a classroom curriculum focused on healthy eating and lifestyle, and 4) a family-involvement program. The main outcome was percentage body fat; other outcomes included dietary intake, physical activity, and knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Results The intervention resulted in no significant reduction in percentage body fat. However, a significant reduction in the percentage of energy from fat was observed in the intervention schools. Total energy intake (by 24-h dietary recall) was significantly reduced in the intervention schools but energy intake (by direct observation) was not. Motion sensor data showed similar activity levels in both the intervention and control schools. Several components of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors were also positively and significantly changed by the intervention. Conclusions These results document the feasibility of implementing a multicomponent program for obesity prevention in elementary schools serving American Indian communities. The program produced significant positive changes in fat intake and in food- and health-related knowledge and behaviors. More intense or longer interventions may be needed to significantly reduce adiposity in this population. PMID:14594792

Concept and properties of an infrared hybrid single-beam spectrum and its application to eliminate solvent bands and other background interferences.

PubMed

Chen, Yujing; Wang, Hai-Shui; Morisawa, Yusuke; Ozaki, Yukihiro

2014-02-01

For infrared (IR) spectral measurements, if a quality single-beam background spectrum with desired intensity could be obtained, the contributions from solvent and other background components could be completely suppressed and their bands would not appear in a final transmittance/absorbance spectrum. In order to achieve this ideal but difficult goal, the concept of hybrid single-beam spectrum is introduced in this paper. The hybrid single-beam spectrum (φ h) is defined as a mixture of two single-beam spectra (φ b1 and φ b2) of the same sample but with different pathlengths (b1 and b2), namely, φ h = αφ b1+(1-α)φ b2, where α (0 ≤ α ≤ 1) is the component factor. The properties of the hybrid spectrum have been investigated. Under conditions of b2 > b1 ≥ 0.7 b2 and A max ≤ 0.60 (Amax is the maximum absorbance of b2 sample in the spectral range of interest), all the synthesized hybrid spectra are free from significant distortion regardless of the component factor. Therefore, the hybrid single-beam spectrum with desired intensity can be easily obtained simply by choosing an appropriate component factor. The proposed methodology has been demonstrated experimentally by the complete removal of the interference from the atmospheric water vapor and solvent. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Running vacuum cosmological models: linear scalar perturbations

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

Perico, E.L.D.; Tamayo, D.A., E-mail: elduartep@usp.br, E-mail: tamayo@if.usp.br

In cosmology, phenomenologically motivated expressions for running vacuum are commonly parameterized as linear functions typically denoted by Λ( H {sup 2}) or Λ( R ). Such models assume an equation of state for the vacuum given by P-bar {sub Λ} = - ρ-bar {sub Λ}, relating its background pressure P-bar {sub Λ} with its mean energy density ρ-bar {sub Λ} ≡ Λ/8π G . This equation of state suggests that the vacuum dynamics is due to an interaction with the matter content of the universe. Most of the approaches studying the observational impact of these models only consider the interactionmore » between the vacuum and the transient dominant matter component of the universe. We extend such models by assuming that the running vacuum is the sum of independent contributions, namely ρ-bar {sub Λ} = Σ {sub i} ρ-bar {sub Λ} {sub i} . Each Λ i vacuum component is associated and interacting with one of the i matter components in both the background and perturbation levels. We derive the evolution equations for the linear scalar vacuum and matter perturbations in those two scenarios, and identify the running vacuum imprints on the cosmic microwave background anisotropies as well as on the matter power spectrum. In the Λ( H {sup 2}) scenario the vacuum is coupled with every matter component, whereas the Λ( R ) description only leads to a coupling between vacuum and non-relativistic matter, producing different effects on the matter power spectrum.« less

Developing a Scale to Investigate In-Service Special Education Teacher Efficacy for Serving Students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Szu-Yin

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the scale designed to investigate special education teachers' perceptions of their culturally responsive teaching (CRT) efficacy for teaching students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. The scale includes three components: collective teacher efficacy, CRT…

Learning the Way: Teaching and Learning with and for Youth from Refugee Backgrounds on Prince Edward Island

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacNevin, Joanne

2012-01-01

This article presents one component of a qualitative study that explored teaching and learning with and for youth from refugee backgrounds in Prince Edward Island (PEI) intermediate and high schools. Specifically, this article presents data and discussion regarding some of the challenges and professional development needs of teachers working with…

GPS Observations of Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances over New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsuka, Y.; Lee, C.; Shiokawa, K.; Tsugawa, T.; Nishioka, M.

2014-12-01

Using the GPS data obtained from dual-frequency GPS receivers in New Zealand, we have made two-dimensional maps of total electron content (TEC) in 2012 in order to reveal statistical characteristics of MSTIDs at mid-latitudes in southern hemisphere. As of 2012, approximately 40 GPS receivers are in operation in New Zealand. We found that most of the MSITDs over New Zealand propagate northwestward during nighttime in summer and northeastward during daytime in winter. The propagation direction of the nighttime MSTIDs is consistent with the theory that polarization electric fields play an important role in the generating MSTIDs. Because the daytime MSTIDs propagate equatorward, we can speculate that they could be caused by atmospheric gravity waves in the thermosphere. The propagation direction of the daytime MSTIDs also has an eastward component in addition to the equatorward component. This feature is consistent with the daytime MSTIDs observed at mid-latitudes in both northern and southern hemispheres. By carrying out model calculations, we have shown that the eastward component of the MSTID propagation direction during daytime is attributed to an interaction of gravity waves to the background neutral winds. Because most of the daytime MSTIDs appear before 14 LT, the background neutral winds could blow westward. According to the dispersion relation for atmospheric gravity waves, vertical wavelength of the gravity waves becomes larger when the gravity wave propagates in the direction opposite to the background winds. Consequently, the gravity waves having an eastward component of the propagation direction could cause larger amplitude of TEC variations compared to the gravity waves propagating westward. This could be a reason why the propagation direction of the dime MSTIDs has an eastward component.

Relationship between Prior Legal Involvement and Current Crisis for Adults with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunsky, Yona; Raina, Poonam; Jones, Jessica

2012-01-01

Background: Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and legal involvement are a unique population with complex needs. To date, there has been limited research exploring the demographic and clinical profiles of individuals with ID and legal involvement that are in crisis and how they differ to individuals with ID without legal involvement.…

Parental Involvement in Homework: Relations with Parent and Student Achievement-Related Motivational Beliefs and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonida, Eleftheria N.; Cortina, Kai S.

2014-01-01

Background: Parental involvement in homework is a home-based type of involvement in children's education. Research and theory suggest that it is beneficial for learning and achievement under certain conditions and for particular groups of individuals. Aims: The study examined whether different types of parents' involvement in homework…

Broadening Public Participation in Systematic Reviews: A Case Example Involving Young People in Two Configurative Reviews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Kathryn; Rees, Rebecca; Brady, Louca-Mai; Kavanagh, Josephine; Oliver, Sandy; Thomas, James

2015-01-01

Background: Arguments supporting the involvement of users in research have even more weight when involving the public in systematic reviews of research. We aimed to explore the potential for public involvement in systematic reviews of observational and qualitative studies. Methods: Two consultative workshops were carried out with a group of young…

Synthesis of zwitterionic salts of pyridinium-Meldrum acid and barbiturate through unique four-component reactions.

PubMed

Wang, Qi-Fang; Hui, Li; Hou, Hong; Yan, Chao-Guo

2010-03-08

An efficient synthetic procedure for the preparation of the unusual charge-separated pyridinium-Meldrum acid and N,N-dimethylbarbiturate acid zwitterionic salts was developed though a unique one-pot four-component reaction involving pyridine, aromatic aldehyde, Meldrum acid or N,N-dimethylbarbituric acid, and p-nitrobenzyl bromide in acetonitrile. By varying combinations of four components involving nitrogen-containing heterocycles, we conveniently established reactive alpha-halomethylene compounds, aldehydes and beta-dicarbonyl compounds a library of zwitterionic salts.

Implementation and Qualifications Lessons Learned for Space Flight Photonic Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ott, Melanie N.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the process for implementation and qualification of space flight photonic components. It discusses the causes for most common anomalies for the space flight components, design compatibility, a specific failure analysis of optical fiber that occurred in a cable in 1999-2000, and another ExPCA connector anomaly involving pins that broke off. It reviews issues around material selection, quality processes and documentation, and current projects that the Photonics group is involved in. The importance of good documentation is stressed.

Tips and Tulips: A Resource Manual for Teachers of Bilingual Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reifenrath, Gloria; Rowch, Nancy

Written to assist the classroom teacher of limited or non-English speaking students, this manual suggests ways to teach the four components of language--listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each component is handled in a separate section that provides theoretical background followed by suggestions for instruction that can be adapted for…

Distributed Training for the Reserve Component: Course Conversion and Implementation Guidelines for Computer Conferencing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hahn, H. A.; And Others

The purpose of this handbook is to provide background and guidelines for course designers and instructional developers who will be developing Reserve Component training for the United States military using asynchronous computer conferencing techniques. The recommendations in this report are based on an international review of the literature in…

Effects of Methylphenidate on Working Memory Components: Influence of Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bedard, Anne-Claude; Jain, Umesh; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Tannock, Rosemary

2007-01-01

Background: To investigate the effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on components of working memory (WM) in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and determine the responsiveness of WM measures to MPH. Methods: Participants were a clinical sample of 50 children and adolescents with ADHD, aged 6 to 16 years old, who participated in an acute…

Alternative method for determining the constant offset in lidar signal

Treesearch

Vladimir A. Kovalev; Cyle Wold; Alexander Petkov; Wei Min Hao

2009-01-01

We present an alternative method for determining the total offset in lidar signal created by a daytime background-illumination component and electrical or digital offset. Unlike existing techniques, here the signal square-range-correction procedure is initially performed using the total signal recorded by lidar, without subtraction of the offset component. While...

Emotional processing modulates attentional capture of irrelevant sound input in adolescents.

PubMed

Gulotta, B; Sadia, G; Sussman, E

2013-04-01

The main goal of this study was to investigate how emotional processing modulates the allocation of attention to irrelevant background sound events in adolescence. We examined the effect of viewing positively and negatively valenced video clips on components of event-related brain potentials (ERPs), while irrelevant sounds were presented to the ears. All sounds evoked the P1, N1, P2, and N2 components. The infrequent, randomly occurring novel environmental sounds evoked the P3a component in all trial types. The main finding was that the P3a component was larger in amplitude when evoked by salient, distracting background sound events when participants were watching negatively charged video clips, compared to when viewing of the positive or neutral video clips. The results suggest that the threshold for involuntary attention to the novel sounds was lowered during viewing of the negative movie contexts. This indicates a survival mechanism, which would be needed for more automatic processing of irrelevant sounds to monitor the unattended environment in situations perceived as more threatening. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

24 +24 real scalar multiplet in four dimensional N =2 conformal supergravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegde, Subramanya; Lodato, Ivano; Sahoo, Bindusar

2018-03-01

Starting from the 48 +48 component multiplet of supercurrents for a rigid N =2 tensor multiplet in four spacetime dimensions, we obtain the transformation of the linearized supergravity multiplet which couples to this supercurrent multiplet. At the linearized level, this 48 +48 component supergravity multiplet decouples into the 24 +24 component linearized standard Weyl multiplet and a 24 +24 component irreducible matter multiplet containing a real scalar field. By a consistent application of the supersymmetry algebra with field-dependent structure constants appropriate to N =2 conformal supergravity, we find the full transformation law for this multiplet in a conformal supergravity background. By performing a suitable field redefinition, we find that the multiplet is a generalization of the flat space multiplet, obtained by Howe et al. in Nucl. Phys. B214, 519 (1983), 10.1016/0550-3213(83)90249-3, to a conformal supergravity background. We also present a set of constraints which can be consistently imposed on this multiplet to obtain a restricted minimal 8 +8 off-shell matter multiplet. We also show, as an example, the precise embedding of the tensor multiplet inside this multiplet.

Chandra ACIS-I particle background: an analytical model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartalucci, I.; Mazzotta, P.; Bourdin, H.; Vikhlinin, A.

2014-06-01

Aims: Imaging and spectroscopy of X-ray extended sources require a proper characterisation of a spatially unresolved background signal. This background includes sky and instrumental components, each of which are characterised by its proper spatial and spectral behaviour. While the X-ray sky background has been extensively studied in previous work, here we analyse and model the instrumental background of the ACIS-I detector on board the Chandra X-ray observatory in very faint mode. Methods: Caused by interaction of highly energetic particles with the detector, the ACIS-I instrumental background is spectrally characterised by the superimposition of several fluorescence emission lines onto a continuum. To isolate its flux from any sky component, we fitted an analytical model of the continuum to observations performed in very faint mode with the detector in the stowed position shielded from the sky, and gathered over the eight-year period starting in 2001. The remaining emission lines were fitted to blank-sky observations of the same period. We found 11 emission lines. Analysing the spatial variation of the amplitude, energy and width of these lines has further allowed us to infer that three lines of these are presumably due to an energy correction artefact produced in the frame store. Results: We provide an analytical model that predicts the instrumental background with a precision of 2% in the continuum and 5% in the lines. We use this model to measure the flux of the unresolved cosmic X-ray background in the Chandra deep field south. We obtain a flux of 10.2+0.5-0.4 × 10-13 erg cm-2 deg-2 s-1 for the [1-2] keV band and (3.8 ± 0.2) × 10-12 erg cm-2 deg-2 s-1 for the [2-8] keV band.

Cross-National Comparisons of Background and Confidence in Visual Arts and Music Education of Pre-Service Primary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell-Bowie, Deirdre

2010-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a study on pre-service teachers' background and confidence in music and visual arts education. The study involved 939 non-specialist pre-service primary teachers from five countries. Initially the paper identifies the students' perceptions of their background and confidence in relation to music and visual arts…

Development of a Self-Observation Mastery Intervention Programme for Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Kevin; Kingston, Kieran

2008-01-01

Background: Two goal perspectives predominate in achievement settings such as physical education (PE), namely task involvement, focused on self-referenced effort and improvement, and ego involvement, focused on normative ability comparisons. A task (mastery) involving motivational climate is associated with adaptive motivational responses, whereas…

A tool to estimate the Fermi Large Area Telescope background for short-duration observations

DOE PAGES

Vasileiou, Vlasios

2013-07-25

Here, the proper estimation of the background is a crucial component of data analyses in astrophysics, such as source detection, temporal studies, spectroscopy, and localization. For the case of the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi spacecraft, approaches to estimate the background for short (≲1000 s duration) observations fail if they ignore the strong dependence of the LAT background on the continuously changing observational conditions. We present a (to be) publicly available background-estimation tool created and used by the LAT Collaboration in several analyses of Gamma Ray Bursts. This tool can accurately estimate the expected LAT background formore » any observational conditions, including, for example, observations with rapid variations of the Fermi spacecraft’s orientation occurring during automatic repointings.« less

Demonstration of theoretical and experimental simulations in fiber optics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Tianfu; Wang, Xiaolin; Shi, Jianhua; Lei, Bing; Liu, Wei; Wang, Wei; Hu, Haojun

2017-08-01

"Fiber optics" course plays a supporting effect in the curriculum frame of optics and photonics at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Moreover, the course can be treated as compulsory for students specialized in the fiber-related field, such as fiber communication, fiber sensing and fiber light source. The corresponding content in fiber optics requires the knowledge of geometrical and physical optics as background, including basic optical theory and fiber components in practice. Thus, to help the students comprehend the relatively abundant and complex content, it is necessary to investigate novel teaching method assistant the classic lectures. In this paper, we introduce the multidimensional pattern in fiber-optics teaching involving theoretical and laboratory simulations. First, the theoretical simulations is demonstrated based on the self-developed software named "FB tool" which can be installed in both smart phone with Android operating system and personal computer. FB tool covers the fundamental calculations relating to transverse modes, fiber lasers and nonlinearities and so on. By comparing the calculation results with other commercial software like COMSOL, SFTool shows high accuracy with high speed. Then the laboratory simulations are designed including fiber coupling, Erbium doped fiber amplifiers, fiber components and so on. The simulations not only supports students understand basic knowledge in the course, but also provides opportunities to develop creative projects in fiber optics.

A baseline drift detrending technique for fast scan cyclic voltammetry.

PubMed

DeWaele, Mark; Oh, Yoonbae; Park, Cheonho; Kang, Yu Min; Shin, Hojin; Blaha, Charles D; Bennet, Kevin E; Kim, In Young; Lee, Kendall H; Jang, Dong Pyo

2017-11-06

Fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) has been commonly used to measure extracellular neurotransmitter concentrations in the brain. Due to the unstable nature of the background currents inherent in FSCV measurements, analysis of FSCV data is limited to very short amounts of time using traditional background subtraction. In this paper, we propose the use of a zero-phase high pass filter (HPF) as the means to remove the background drift. Instead of the traditional method of low pass filtering across voltammograms to increase the signal to noise ratio, a HPF with a low cutoff frequency was applied to the temporal dataset at each voltage point to remove the background drift. As a result, the HPF utilizing cutoff frequencies between 0.001 Hz and 0.01 Hz could be effectively used to a set of FSCV data for removing the drifting patterns while preserving the temporal kinetics of the phasic dopamine response recorded in vivo. In addition, compared to a drift removal method using principal component analysis, this was found to be significantly more effective in reducing the drift (unpaired t-test p < 0.0001, t = 10.88) when applied to data collected from Tris buffer over 24 hours although a drift removal method using principal component analysis also showed the effective background drift reduction. The HPF was also applied to 5 hours of FSCV in vivo data. Electrically evoked dopamine peaks, observed in the nucleus accumbens, were clearly visible even without background subtraction. This technique provides a new, simple, and yet robust, approach to analyse FSCV data with an unstable background.

Induced vacuum energy-momentum tensor in the background of a cosmic string

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitenko, Yu A.; Vlasii, N. D.

2012-05-01

A massive scalar field is quantized in the background of a cosmic string which is generalized to a static flux-carrying codimension-2 brane in the locally flat multidimensional spacetime. We find that the finite energy-momentum tensor is induced in the vacuum. The dependence of the tensor components on the brane flux and tension, as well as on the coupling to the spacetime curvature scalar, is comprehensively analyzed. The tensor components are holomorphic functions of space dimension, decreasing exponentially with the distance from the brane. The case of the massless quantized scalar field is also considered, and the relevance of Bernoulli’s polynomials of even order for this case is discussed.

Hybrid 3D reconstruction and image-based rendering techniques for reality modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sequeira, Vitor; Wolfart, Erik; Bovisio, Emanuele; Biotti, Ester; Goncalves, Joao G. M.

2000-12-01

This paper presents a component approach that combines in a seamless way the strong features of laser range acquisition with the visual quality of purely photographic approaches. The relevant components of the system are: (i) Panoramic images for distant background scenery where parallax is insignificant; (ii) Photogrammetry for background buildings and (iii) High detailed laser based models for the primary environment, structure of exteriors of buildings and interiors of rooms. These techniques have a wide range of applications in visualization, virtual reality, cost effective as-built analysis of architectural and industrial environments, building facilities management, real-estate, E-commerce, remote inspection of hazardous environments, TV production and many others.

Patterns of Food Parenting Practices and Children's Intake of Energy-Dense Snack Foods.

PubMed

Gevers, Dorus W M; Kremers, Stef P J; de Vries, Nanne K; van Assema, Patricia

2015-05-27

Most previous studies of parental influences on children's diets included just a single or a few types of food parenting practices, while parents actually employ multiple types of practices. Our objective was to investigate the clustering of parents regarding food parenting practices and to characterize the clusters in terms of background characteristics and children's intake of energy-dense snack foods. A sample of Dutch parents of children aged 4-12 was recruited by a research agency to fill out an online questionnaire. A hierarchical cluster analysis (n = 888) was performed, followed by k-means clustering. ANOVAs, ANCOVAs and chi-square tests were used to investigate associations between cluster membership, parental and child background characteristics, as well as children's intake of energy-dense snack foods. Four distinct patterns were discovered: "high covert control and rewarding", "low covert control and non-rewarding", "high involvement and supportive" and "low involvement and indulgent". The "high involvement and supportive" cluster was found to be most favorable in terms of children's intake. Several background factors characterized cluster membership. This study expands the current knowledge about parental influences on children's diets. Interventions should focus on increasing parental involvement in food parenting.

Using probe genotypes to dissect QTL × environment interactions for grain yield components in winter wheat.

PubMed

Zheng, Bing Song; Le Gouis, Jacques; Leflon, Martine; Rong, Wen Ying; Laperche, Anne; Brancourt-Hulmel, Maryse

2010-11-01

Yield is known to be a complex trait, the expression of which interacts strongly with environmental conditions. Understanding the genetic basis of these genotype × environment interactions, particularly under limited input levels, is a key objective when selecting wheat genotypes adapted to specific environments. Our principal objectives were thus: (1) to identify genomic regions [quantitative trait loci (QTL)] involving QTL × environment interactions (QEI) and (2) to develop a strategy to understand the specificity of these regions to certain environments. The two main components of yield were studied: kernel number (KN) and thousand-kernel weight (TKW). The Arche × Récital doubled-haploid population of 222 lines was grown in replicated field trials during 2000 and 2001 at three locations in France, under two nitrogen levels. The 12 environments were characterized in terms of water deficit, radiation, temperature and nitrogen stress based on measurements conducted on the four-probe genotypes: Arche, Récital, Ritmo and Soissons. A four-step strategy was developed to explain QTL specificity to some environments: (1) the detection of QTL for KN and TKW in each environment; (2) the estimation of genotypic sensitivities as the factorial regression slope of KN and TKW to environmental covariates and the detection of QTL for these genotypic sensitivities; (3) study of the co-locations of QTL for KN and TKW and of the QTL for sensitivities; in the event of a co-location partitioning the QEI, appropriate covariates were employed; (4) a description of the environments where QTL were detected for KN and TKW using the environmental covariates. A total of 131 QTL were found to be associated with KN, TKW and their sensitivity to environmental covariates across the 12 environments. Four of these QTL, for both KN and TKW, were located on linkage groups 1B, 2D1, 4B and 5A1, and displayed pleiotropic effects. Factorial regression explained from 15.1 to 83.2% of the QEI for KN and involved three major environmental covariates: cumulative radiation-days ±3 days at meiosis, cumulative degree-days >25°C ±3 days at meiosis and nitrogen stress at flowering. For TKW, 13.5-81.8% of the effect of the QEI was partitioned and involved three major environmental covariates: water deficit from flowering to the milk stage, cumulative degree-days >0°C from the milk stage to maturity and soil water deficit at maturity. A comparative analysis was then performed on the QTL detected during this and previous studies published on QEI and some interacting QTL may be common to different genetic backgrounds. Focusing on these QTL common to different genetic backgrounds would give some guidance to understand genotype × environment interaction.

Factors associated with successful transition among children with disabilities in eight European countries

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Introduction This research paper aims to assess factors reported by parents associated with the successful transition of children with complex additional support requirements that have undergone a transition between school environments from 8 European Union member states. Methods Quantitative data were collected from 306 parents within education systems from 8 EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and the UK). The data were derived from an online questionnaire and consisted of 41 questions. Information was collected on: parental involvement in their child’s transition, child involvement in transition, child autonomy, school ethos, professionals’ involvement in transition and integrated working, such as, joint assessment, cooperation and coordination between agencies. Survey questions that were designed on a Likert-scale were included in the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), additional survey questions, along with the results from the PCA, were used to build a logistic regression model. Results Four principal components were identified accounting for 48.86% of the variability in the data. Principal component 1 (PC1), ‘child inclusive ethos,’ contains 16.17% of the variation. Principal component 2 (PC2), which represents child autonomy and involvement, is responsible for 8.52% of the total variation. Principal component 3 (PC3) contains questions relating to parental involvement and contributed to 12.26% of the overall variation. Principal component 4 (PC4), which involves transition planning and coordination, contributed to 11.91% of the overall variation. Finally, the principal components were included in a logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between inclusion and a successful transition, as well as whether other factors that may have influenced transition. All four principal components were significantly associated with a successful transition, with PC1 being having the most effect (OR: 4.04, CI: 2.43–7.18, p<0.0001). Discussion To support a child with complex additional support requirements through transition from special school to mainstream, governments and professionals need to ensure children with additional support requirements and their parents are at the centre of all decisions that affect them. It is important that professionals recognise the educational, psychological, social and cultural contexts of a child with additional support requirements and their families which will provide a holistic approach and remove barriers for learning. PMID:28636649

Factors associated with successful transition among children with disabilities in eight European countries.

PubMed

Ravenscroft, John; Wazny, Kerri; Davis, John M

2017-01-01

This research paper aims to assess factors reported by parents associated with the successful transition of children with complex additional support requirements that have undergone a transition between school environments from 8 European Union member states. Quantitative data were collected from 306 parents within education systems from 8 EU member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and the UK). The data were derived from an online questionnaire and consisted of 41 questions. Information was collected on: parental involvement in their child's transition, child involvement in transition, child autonomy, school ethos, professionals' involvement in transition and integrated working, such as, joint assessment, cooperation and coordination between agencies. Survey questions that were designed on a Likert-scale were included in the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), additional survey questions, along with the results from the PCA, were used to build a logistic regression model. Four principal components were identified accounting for 48.86% of the variability in the data. Principal component 1 (PC1), 'child inclusive ethos,' contains 16.17% of the variation. Principal component 2 (PC2), which represents child autonomy and involvement, is responsible for 8.52% of the total variation. Principal component 3 (PC3) contains questions relating to parental involvement and contributed to 12.26% of the overall variation. Principal component 4 (PC4), which involves transition planning and coordination, contributed to 11.91% of the overall variation. Finally, the principal components were included in a logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between inclusion and a successful transition, as well as whether other factors that may have influenced transition. All four principal components were significantly associated with a successful transition, with PC1 being having the most effect (OR: 4.04, CI: 2.43-7.18, p<0.0001). To support a child with complex additional support requirements through transition from special school to mainstream, governments and professionals need to ensure children with additional support requirements and their parents are at the centre of all decisions that affect them. It is important that professionals recognise the educational, psychological, social and cultural contexts of a child with additional support requirements and their families which will provide a holistic approach and remove barriers for learning.

"Daddy, Read to Me": Fathers Helping Their Young Children Learn to Read.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortiz, Robert W.; McCarty, Laurie L.

1997-01-01

Reports that not much is known about the role of fathers' involvement in their children's early reading development. Provides background information concerning research into fathers' involvement in early literacy development. Offers various suggestions on encouraging fathers to become involved with their children's early literacy activities. (PA)

Transgender in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jun, Pi

2010-01-01

This autobiographical essay of a Chinese transgender who has grown up in a special social background involves the Chinese family, religion, and some social background to demonstrate the current situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups, especially the condition of female-to-male transgender.

Component Test Facility (Comtest) Phase 1 Engineering For 760°C (1400°F) Advanced Ultrasupercritical (A-USC) Steam Generator Development

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

Weitzel, Paul

2016-05-13

The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) performed a Pre-Front End Engineering Design (Pre-FEED) of an A-USC steam superheater for a proposed component test program achieving 760°C (1400°F) steam temperature. This would lead to follow-on work in a Phase 2 and Phase 3 that would involve detail design, manufacturing, construction and operation of the ComTest. Phase 1 results have provided the engineering data necessary for proceeding to the next phase of ComTest. The steam generator superheater would subsequently supply the steam to an A-USC prototype intermediate pressure steam turbine. The ComTest program is important in that it will place functioning A-USCmore » components in operation and in coordinated boiler and turbine service. It is also important to introduce the power plant operation and maintenance personnel to the level of skills required and provide the first background experience with hands-on training. The project will provide a means to exercise the complete supply chain events required in order to practice and perfect the process for A-USC power plant design, supply, manufacture, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance. Representative participants will then be able to transfer knowledge and recommendations to the industry. ComTest is conceived in the manner of using a separate standalone plant facility that will not jeopardize the host facility or suffer from conflicting requirements in the host plant’s mission that could sacrifice the nickel alloy components and not achieve the testing goals. ComTest will utilize smaller quantities of the expensive materials and reduce the risk in the first operational practice for A-USC technology in the United States. Components at suitable scale in ComTest provide more assurance before putting them into practice in the full size A-USC demonstration plant.« less

Community outreach: from measuring the difference to making a difference with health information*

PubMed Central

Ottoson, Judith M.; Green, Lawrence W.

2005-01-01

Background: Community-based outreach seeks to move libraries beyond their traditional institutional boundaries to improve both access to and effectiveness of health information. The evaluation of such outreach needs to involve the community in assessing the program's process and outcomes. Purpose: Evaluation of community-based library outreach programs benefits from a participatory approach. To explain this premise of the paper, three components of evaluation theory are paired with relevant participatory strategies. Concepts: The first component of evaluation theory is also a standard of program evaluation: use. Evaluation is intended to be useful for stakeholders to make decisions. A useful evaluation is credible, timely, and of adequate scope. Participatory approaches to increase use of evaluation findings include engaging end users early in planning the program itself and in deciding on the outcomes of the evaluation. A second component of evaluation theory seeks to understand what is being evaluated, such as specific aspects of outreach programs. A transparent understanding of the ways outreach achieves intended goals, its activities and linkages, and the context in which it operates precedes any attempt to measure it. Participatory approaches to evaluating outreach include having end users, such as health practitioners in other community-based organizations, identify what components of the outreach program are most important to their work. A third component of evaluation theory is concerned with the process by which value is placed on outreach. What will count as outreach success or failure? Who decides? Participatory approaches to valuing include assuring end-user representation in the formulation of evaluation questions and in the interpretation of evaluation results. Conclusions: The evaluation of community-based outreach is a complex process that is not made easier by a participatory approach. Nevertheless, a participatory approach is more likely to make the evaluation findings useful, ensure that program knowledge is shared, and make outreach valuing transparent. PMID:16239958

Genome plasticity and systems evolution in Streptomyces

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Streptomycetes are filamentous soil-dwelling bacteria. They are best known as the producers of a great variety of natural products such as antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, and anticancer agents and the decomposers of organic substances for carbon recycling. They are also model organisms for the studies of gene regulatory networks, morphological differentiation, and stress response. The availability of sets of genomes from closely related Streptomyces strains makes it possible to assess the mechanisms underlying genome plasticity and systems adaptation. Results We present the results of a comprehensive analysis of the genomes of five Streptomyces species with distinct phenotypes. These streptomycetes have a pan-genome comprised of 17,362 orthologous families which includes 3,096 components in the core genome, 5,066 components in the dispensable genome, and 9,200 components that are uniquely present in only one species. The core genome makes up about 33%-45% of each genome repertoire. It contains important genes for Streptomyces biology including those involved in gene regulation, secretion, secondary metabolism and morphological differentiation. Abundant duplicate genes have been identified, with 4%-11% of the whole genomes composed of lineage-specific expansions (LSEs), suggesting that frequent gene duplication or lateral gene transfer events play a role in shaping the genome diversification within this genus. Two patterns of expansion, single gene expansion and chromosome block expansion are observed, representing different scales of duplication. Conclusions Our results provide a catalog of genome components and their potential functional roles in gene regulatory networks and metabolic networks. The core genome components reveal the minimum requirement for streptomycetes to sustain a successful lifecycle in the soil environment, reflecting the effects of both genome evolution and environmental stress acting upon the expressed phenotypes. A better understanding of the LSE gene families will, on the other hand, bring a wealth of new insights into the mechanisms underlying strain-specific phenotypes, such as the production of novel antibiotics, pathogenesis, and adaptive response to environmental challenges. PMID:22759432

The development of Drink Less: an alcohol reduction smartphone app for excessive drinkers.

PubMed

Garnett, Claire; Crane, David; West, Robert; Brown, Jamie; Michie, Susan

2018-05-04

Excessive alcohol consumption poses a serious problem for public health. Digital behavior change interventions have the potential to help users reduce their drinking. In accordance with Open Science principles, this paper describes the development of a smartphone app to help individuals who drink excessively to reduce their alcohol consumption. Following the UK Medical Research Council's guidance and the Multiphase Optimization Strategy, development consisted of two phases: (i) selection of intervention components and (ii) design and development work to implement the chosen components into modules to be evaluated further for inclusion in the app. Phase 1 involved a scoping literature review, expert consensus study and content analysis of existing alcohol apps. Findings were integrated within a broad model of behavior change (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behavior). Phase 2 involved a highly iterative process and used the "Person-Based" approach to promote engagement. From Phase 1, five intervention components were selected: (i) Normative Feedback, (ii) Cognitive Bias Re-training, (iii) Self-monitoring and Feedback, (iv) Action Planning, and (v) Identity Change. Phase 2 indicated that each of these components presented different challenges for implementation as app modules; all required multiple iterations and design changes to arrive at versions that would be suitable for inclusion in a subsequent evaluation study. The development of the Drink Less app involved a thorough process of component identification with a scoping literature review, expert consensus, and review of other apps. Translation of the components into app modules required a highly iterative process involving user testing and design modification.

Stakeholder involvement in water management: necessity or luxury?

PubMed

Morrison, K

2003-01-01

Stakeholder involvement in water management is widely recognized as an important component of the design and implementation of sustainable water management initiatives. Despite this, there remains a deep-rooted resistance to the widespread implementation of programs to prioritize such involvement (as witnessed by, for example, the low priority given to the public involvement element of the European Union Water Framework Directive). This paper addresses the issue of stakeholder involvement by first confronting the fact that it is not a water issue, per se. Such diverse fields as economics, agriculture, public health, pollution prevention, business and education have also identified stakeholder involvement as a difficult but necessary component of successful action in their fields. For the water sector, the issue of stakeholder involvement as either a necessity for sustainable water management, or a luxury to be used to complement traditional approaches, is discussed.

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is pathologically similar to pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma: suggestions of similar background and development.

PubMed

Nakanuma, Yasuni; Sato, Yasunori

2014-07-01

Routine experiences suggest that cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) show different clinicopathological behaviors along the biliary tree, and hilar CCA apparently resembles pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Herein, the backgrounds for these similarities were reviewed. While all cases of PDAC, hilar CCA, intrahepatic CCA (ICCA) and CCA components of combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHC-CCA) were adenocarcinomas, micropapillary patterns and columnar carcinoma cells were common in PDAC and hilar CCA, and trabecular components and cuboidal carcinoma cells were common in ICCA and CCA components of cHC-CCA. Anterior gradient protein-2 and S100P were frequently expressed in perihilar CCA and PDAC, while neural cell adhesion molecule and luminal epithelial membrane antigen were common in CCA components of c-HC-CCA. Pdx1 and Hes1 were frequently and markedly expressed aberrantly in PDAC and perihilar CCA, although their expression was rare and mild in CCA components in cHC-CCA and ICCA. Hilar CCA showed a similar postoperative prognosis to PDAC but differed from ICCA and cHC-CCA. Taken together, hilar CCA may differ from ICCA and CCA components of cHC-CCA but have a similar development to PDAC. These similarities may be explained by the unique anatomical, embryological and reactive nature of the pancreatobiliary tract. Further studies of these intractable malignancies are warranted. © 2014 Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.

Modeling spatiotemporal covariance for magnetoencephalography or electroencephalography source analysis.

PubMed

Plis, Sergey M; George, J S; Jun, S C; Paré-Blagoev, J; Ranken, D M; Wood, C C; Schmidt, D M

2007-01-01

We propose a new model to approximate spatiotemporal noise covariance for use in neural electromagnetic source analysis, which better captures temporal variability in background activity. As with other existing formalisms, our model employs a Kronecker product of matrices representing temporal and spatial covariance. In our model, spatial components are allowed to have differing temporal covariances. Variability is represented as a series of Kronecker products of spatial component covariances and corresponding temporal covariances. Unlike previous attempts to model covariance through a sum of Kronecker products, our model is designed to have a computationally manageable inverse. Despite increased descriptive power, inversion of the model is fast, making it useful in source analysis. We have explored two versions of the model. One is estimated based on the assumption that spatial components of background noise have uncorrelated time courses. Another version, which gives closer approximation, is based on the assumption that time courses are statistically independent. The accuracy of the structural approximation is compared to an existing model, based on a single Kronecker product, using both Frobenius norm of the difference between spatiotemporal sample covariance and a model, and scatter plots. Performance of ours and previous models is compared in source analysis of a large number of single dipole problems with simulated time courses and with background from authentic magnetoencephalography data.

Helpful Components Involved in the Cognitive-Experiential Model of Dream Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tien, Hsiu-Lan Shelley; Chen, Shuh-Chi; Lin, Chia-Huei

2009-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the helpful components involved in the Hill's cognitive-experiential dream work model. Participants were 27 volunteer clients from colleges and universities in northern and central parts of Taiwan. Each of the clients received 1-2 sessions of dream interpretations. The cognitive-experiential dream work model…

Integrating ARCS Motivational Theory into the Component Display Theory of Instructional Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marovitz, Mitchell E.; Buckley, Jeanne

A two-stage study was conducted to determine the effects of motivational components in the learning experience. The first stage involved administration of a survey instrument to 150 teachers in the New York City area to obtain information on the means by which teachers incorporate motivation into their instruction. The second stage involved the…

A New Determination of the Extragalactic Diffuse X-Ray Background from EGRET Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strong, Andrew W.; Moskalenko, Igor V.; Reimer, Olaf

2004-01-01

We use the GALPROP model for cosmic-ray propagation to obtain a new estimate of the Galactic component of gamma rays, and show that away from the Galactic plane it gives an accurate prediction of the observed EGRET intensities in the energy range 30 MeV - 50 GeV. On this basis we re-evaluate the extragalactic gamma-ray background. We find that for some energies previous work underestimated the Galactic contribution at high latitudes and hence overestimated the background. Our new background spectrum shows a positive curvature similar to that expected for models of the extragalactic emission based on the blazar population.

On-Orbit Sky Background Measurements with the FOS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lyons, R. W.; Baity, W. A.; Beaver, E. A.; Cohen, R. D.; Junkkarinen, V. T.; Linsky, J. B.; Bohlin, R. C.

1993-01-01

Observations of the sky background obtained with the Faint Object Spectrograph during 1991-1992 are discussed. Sky light can be an important contributor to the observed count rate in several of the instrument configurations especially when large apertures are used. In general, the sky background is consistent with the pre-launch expectations and showed the expected effects of zodiacal light and diffuse galactic light. In addition to these sources, there is, particularly during the daytime, a highly variable airglow component which includes a number of emission lines. The sky background will have an impact on the reduction and possibly the interpretation of some spectra.

Expected background in the LZ experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudryavtsev, Vitaly A.

2015-08-01

The LZ experiment, featuring a 7-tonne active liquid xenon target, is aimed at achieving unprecedented sensitivity to WIMPs with the background expected to be dominated by astrophysical neutrinos. To reach this goal, extensive simulations are carried out to accurately calculate the electron recoil and nuclear recoil rates in the detector. Both internal (from target material) and external (from detector components and surrounding environment) backgrounds are considered. A very efficient suppression of background rate is achieved with an outer liquid scintillator veto, liquid xenon skin and fiducialisation. Based on the current measurements of radioactivity of different materials, it is shown that LZ can achieve the reduction of a total background for a WIMP search down to about 2 events in 1000 live days for 5.6 tonne fiducial mass.

The Relationship between Background Demographics and Motivational Orientation for Learning of Adult Education Students and Their Career Choices and Educational Aspirations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bostwick, Dana T.

2010-01-01

This study investigated what components of background demographics and motivation orientation in learning impact career selection and educational aspirations for adult students participating in a post-secondary institution in West Virginia, one of the Washington, DC, metropolitan areas. The research boundaries set for the area of learning…

Icon flickering, flicker rate, and color combinations of an icon's symbol/background in visual search performance.

PubMed

Huang, Kuo-Chen; Chiang, Shu-Ying; Chen, Chen-Fu

2008-02-01

The effects of color combinations of an icon's symbol/background and components of flicker and flicker rate on visual search performance on a liquid crystal display screen were investigated with 39 subjects who searched for a target icon in a circular stimulus array (diameter = 20 cm) including one target and 19 distractors. Analysis showed that the icon's symbol/background color significantly affected search time. The search times for icons with black/red and white/blue were significantly shorter than for white/yellow, black/yellow, and black/blue. Flickering of different components of the icon significantly affected the search time. Search time for an icon's border flickering was shorter than for an icon symbol flickering; search for flicker rates of 3 and 5 Hz was shorter than that for 1 Hz. For icon's symbol/background color combinations, search error rate for black/blue was greater than for black/red and white/blue combinations, and the error rate for an icon's border flickering was lower than for an icon's symbol flickering. Interactions affected search time and error rate. Results are applicable to design of graphic user interfaces.

Background recovery via motion-based robust principal component analysis with matrix factorization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Peng; Wang, Yongli; Zhou, Mingyuan; Sun, Zhipeng; He, Guoping

2018-03-01

Background recovery is a key technique in video analysis, but it still suffers from many challenges, such as camouflage, lighting changes, and diverse types of image noise. Robust principal component analysis (RPCA), which aims to recover a low-rank matrix and a sparse matrix, is a general framework for background recovery. The nuclear norm is widely used as a convex surrogate for the rank function in RPCA, which requires computing the singular value decomposition (SVD), a task that is increasingly costly as matrix sizes and ranks increase. However, matrix factorization greatly reduces the dimension of the matrix for which the SVD must be computed. Motion information has been shown to improve low-rank matrix recovery in RPCA, but this method still finds it difficult to handle original video data sets because of its batch-mode formulation and implementation. Hence, in this paper, we propose a motion-assisted RPCA model with matrix factorization (FM-RPCA) for background recovery. Moreover, an efficient linear alternating direction method of multipliers with a matrix factorization (FL-ADM) algorithm is designed for solving the proposed FM-RPCA model. Experimental results illustrate that the method provides stable results and is more efficient than the current state-of-the-art algorithms.

Neutrino production in electromagnetic cascades: An extra component of cosmogenic neutrino at ultrahigh energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kai; Liu, Ruo-Yu; Li, Zhuo; Dai, Zi-Gao

2017-03-01

Muon pairs can be produced in the annihilation of ultrahigh energy (UHE, E ≳1 018 eV ) photons with low energy cosmic background radiation in the intergalactic space, giving birth to neutrinos. Although the branching ratio of muon pair production is low, products of other channels, which are mainly electron/positron pairs, will probably transfer most of their energies into the new generated UHE photon in the subsequent interaction with the cosmic background radiation via Compton scattering in deep Klein-Nishina regime. The regeneration of these new UHE photons then provides a second chance to produce the muon pairs, enhancing the neutrino flux. We investigate the neutrino production in the propagation of UHE photons in the intergalactic space at different redshifts, considering various competing processes such as pair production, double pair production for UHE photons, and triplet production and synchrotron radiation for UHE electrons. Following the analytic method raised by Gould and Rephaeli, we firstly study the electromagnetic cascade initiated by an UHE photon, with paying particular attention to the leading particle in the cascade process. Regarding the least energetic outgoing particles as energy loss, we obtain the effective penetration length of the leading particle, as well as energy loss rate including the neutrino emission rate in the cascade process. Finally, we find that an extra component of UHE neutrinos will arise from the propagation of UHE cosmic rays due to the generated UHE photons and electron/positrons. However, the flux of this component is quite small, with a flux of at most 10% of that of the conventional cosmogenic neutrino at a few EeV, in the absence of a strong intergalactic magnetic field and a strong cosmic radio background. The precise contribution of extra component depends on several factors, e.g., cosmic radio background, intergalactic magnetic field, and the spectrum of proton, which are discussed in this work.

Tested Demonstrations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, George L., Ed.

1985-01-01

Background information, procedures, and typical results obtained are provided for two demonstrations. The first involves the colorful complexes of copper(II). The second involves reverse-phase separation of Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD & C) dyes using a solvent gradient. (JN)

And Then They Asked for Hamlet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollard, Barbara

1989-01-01

A teacher in an inner-city London school describes how she involves low income, minority group students in learning classics such as Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." Emphasizes cooperative learning and active student involvement using their urban background. (FMW)

An investigation of the cosmic diffuse X-ray background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

John, Tomykkutty Velliyedathu

2016-03-01

The cosmic diffuse X-ray background (CXB), which is only second to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) in prominence, has challenged astrophysicists ever since its serendipitous discovery in 1962. In the past five decades, we have made considerable progress unraveling its mysterious origins. Nevertheless, precise identification of its various components and their individual contributions still remains a puzzling task. The bulk of the XRB comes from the integrated flux of the most luminous astronomical objects- Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)- as well as the emission from starburst and normal galaxies and can account for most of the emission above 1 keV. In the energy range below 1 keV, several components can be identified besides the dominant extragalactic component. While two thermal components, one at about one million K and the other at about 2.3 million K adequately account for the emission from hot gas in collisional ionization equilibrium, solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) makes a substantial contribution to the SXRB. One of the biggest challenges is to separate the contributions of individual components. This is made difficult by the fact that the spectral structure of all the Galactic components is similar. Shadow experiments have been used to discriminate the various constituents; however, these have only limited use owing to their dependence on estimates of cloud parameters. The best way to make reliable inferences on the contributions of DXB components is to apply good models to valid data with high statistics. With this in mind, for this work, we selected high quality data, from the well-surveyed sky direction- the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S)- with 4 Ms of observing time, analyzed them and using several models, derived the important parameters for the various DXB constituents obtaining very good constraints. In addition, we used the same data, spread over a period of nine years, to make a systematic analysis of the temporal variation of heliospheric SWCX. Finally, using the results of the DXB analysis we extracted the spectra of the Chandra point sources of the CDF-S and obtained important information about the spectral parameters for the different source types.

Telomerase RNA Component (TERC) genetic variants interact with the mediterranean diet modifying the inflammatory status and its relationship with aging: CORDIOPREV study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) attrition has been associated with age-related diseases. Telomerase RNA Component (TERC) genetic variants have been associated with LTL; whereas fatty acids (FAs) can interact with genetic factors and influence in aging. We explore whether variability at t...

Family Functioning in Families with a Child with Down Syndrome: A Mixed Methods Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Povee, K.; Roberts, L.; Bourke, J.; Leonard, H.

2012-01-01

Background: This study aimed to explore the factors that predict functioning in families with a child with Down syndrome using a mixed methods design. The quantitative component examined the effect of maladaptive and autism-spectrum behaviours on the functioning of the family while the qualitative component explored the impact of having a child…

Metacognition in Speech and Language Therapy for Children with Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorders: Implications for a Theory of Therapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaile, Jacqueline; Adams, Catherine

2018-01-01

Background: Metacognition is a significant component of complex interventions for children who have developmental language disorders. Research into how metacognition operates in the content or process of developmental language therapy delivery is limited. Identification and description of proposed active therapy components, such as metacognition,…

A Multi-Component Social Skills Intervention for Children with Asperger Syndrome: The Junior Detective Training Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaumont, Renae; Sofronoff, Kate

2008-01-01

Background: The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a new multi-component social skills intervention for children with Asperger syndrome (AS): The Junior Detective Training Program. This 7-week program included a computer game, small group sessions, parent training sessions and teacher handouts. Method: Forty-nine children with AS were…

Bacterial components are the major contributors to the macrophage stimulating activity exhibited by extracts of common edible mushrooms

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Recent studies have indicated that a major contributor to the innate immune enhancing properties of some medicinal plants derive from the cell wall components of bacteria colonizing these plants. Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to assess if the bacteria present within edib...

Bacterial components are the major contributors to the macrophage stimulating activity exhibited by extracts of common edible mushrooms

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Recent studies have indicated that a major contributor to the innate immune enhancing properties of some medicinal plants is derived from the cell wall components of bacteria colonizing these plants. Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to assess if the bacteria present withi...

Educational Choice. A Background Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quality Education for Minorities Network, Washington, DC.

This paper addresses school choice, one proposal to address parental involvement concerns, focusing on historical background, definitions, rationale for advocating choice, implementation strategies, and implications for minorities and low-income families. In the past, transfer payment programs such as tuition tax credits and vouchers were…

Cross-Cultural Mentoring: A Pathway to Making Excellence Inclusive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crutcher, Betty Neal

2014-01-01

Cross-cultural mentoring involves an ongoing, intentional, and mutually enriching relationship with someone of a different race, gender, ethnicity, religion, cultural background, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, or nationality. Generally more experienced, the cross-cultural mentor guides the intellectual and personal development of…

NASA's Human Planetary Landing Systems Capability Roadmap Development: General Background and Introduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Rob

2005-01-01

General Background and Introduction of Capability Roadmaps Agency Objective. Strategic Planning Transformation. Advanced Planning Organizational Roles. Public Involvement in Strategic Planning. Strategic Roadmaps and Schedule. Capability Roadmaps and Schedule. Purpose of NRC Review. Capability Roadmap Development (Progress to Date)

16 CFR 1406.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Background. 1406.2 Section 1406.2 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT REGULATIONS COAL AND WOOD BURNING... Consumer Product Safety Commission disclose a number of incidents involving coal and wood burning...

16 CFR 1406.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Background. 1406.2 Section 1406.2 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT REGULATIONS COAL AND WOOD BURNING... Consumer Product Safety Commission disclose a number of incidents involving coal and wood burning...

16 CFR 1406.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Background. 1406.2 Section 1406.2 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT REGULATIONS COAL AND WOOD BURNING... Consumer Product Safety Commission disclose a number of incidents involving coal and wood burning...

16 CFR 1406.2 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Background. 1406.2 Section 1406.2 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT REGULATIONS COAL AND WOOD BURNING... Consumer Product Safety Commission disclose a number of incidents involving coal and wood burning...

Critical-thinking ability in respiratory care students and its correlation with age, educational background, and performance on national board examinations.

PubMed

Wettstein, Richard B; Wilkins, Robert L; Gardner, Donna D; Restrepo, Ruben D

2011-03-01

Critical thinking is an important characteristic to develop in respiratory care students. We used the short-form Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal instrument to measure critical-thinking ability in 55 senior respiratory care students in a baccalaureate respiratory care program. We calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient to assess the relationships between critical-thinking score, age, and student performance on the clinical-simulation component of the national respiratory care boards examination. We used chi-square analysis to assess the association between critical-thinking score and educational background. There was no significant relationship between critical-thinking score and age, or between critical-thinking score and student performance on the clinical-simulation component. There was a significant (P = .04) positive association between a strong science-course background and critical-thinking score, which might be useful in predicting a student's ability to perform in areas where critical thinking is of paramount importance, such as clinical competencies, and to guide candidate-selection for respiratory care programs.

Strong field QED in lepton colliders and electron/laser interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartin, Anthony

2018-05-01

The studies of strong field particle physics processes in electron/laser interactions and lepton collider interaction points (IPs) are reviewed. These processes are defined by the high intensity of the electromagnetic fields involved and the need to take them into account as fully as possible. Thus, the main theoretical framework considered is the Furry interaction picture within intense field quantum field theory. In this framework, the influence of a background electromagnetic field in the Lagrangian is calculated nonperturbatively, involving exact solutions for quantized charged particles in the background field. These “dressed” particles go on to interact perturbatively with other particles, enabling the background field to play both macroscopic and microscopic roles. Macroscopically, the background field starts to polarize the vacuum, in effect rendering it a dispersive medium. Particles encountering this dispersive vacuum obtain a lifetime, either radiating or decaying into pair particles at a rate dependent on the intensity of the background field. In fact, the intensity of the background field enters into the coupling constant of the strong field quantum electrodynamic Lagrangian, influencing all particle processes. A number of new phenomena occur. Particles gain an intensity-dependent rest mass shift that accounts for their presence in the dispersive vacuum. Multi-photon events involving more than one external field photon occur at each vertex. Higher order processes which exchange a virtual strong field particle resonate via the lifetimes of the unstable strong field states. Two main arenas of strong field physics are reviewed; those occurring in relativistic electron interactions with intense laser beams, and those occurring in the beam-beam physics at the interaction point of colliders. This review outlines the theory, describes its significant novel phenomenology and details the experimental schema required to detect strong field effects and the simulation programs required to model them.

Analysis of XMM-Newton Data from Extended Sources and the Diffuse X-Ray Background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snowden, Steven

2011-01-01

Reduction of X-ray data from extended objects and the diffuse background is a complicated process that requires attention to the details of the instrumental response as well as an understanding of the multiple background components. We present methods and software that we have developed to reduce data from XMM-Newton EPIC imaging observations for both the MOS and PN instruments. The software has now been included in the Science Analysis System (SAS) package available through the XMM-Newton Science Operations Center (SOC).

Health promotion programme design and efficacy in relation to ageing persons with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Lood, Qarin; Häggblom-Kronlöf, Greta; Dahlin-Ivanoff, Synneve

2015-12-16

Health promotion has the potential to empower people to develop or maintain healthy lifestyles. However, previous research has visualised serious health and healthcare inequities associated with ageing, cultural affiliations and linguistic preferences. Therefore, this study was part of a larger health promotion project, set out to bridge barriers to health for ageing persons who have migrated to Sweden. More specifically, the present study aimed to elucidate the content and effects of multidimensional health promotion programmes in the context of ageing persons with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Databases were systematically searched to identify relevant randomised controlled trial publications. All potentially relevant publications were assessed for relevance and design and after this screening, a final sample of eight publications could be included in the review. Those publications evaluated six different programmes and a mixed-methods approach to data analysis was applied, using a combination of narrative synthesis, meta-analyses and evidence grading. The findings suggest a multidimensional health promotion programme design for ageing persons with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, involving culturally and linguistically modified activities and health information that should be provided by professionals with a person-centred approach. In addition, the meta-analyses revealed statistically significant effects in favour of health promotion on: general health, depression, mental health, physical health, and vitality. However, the evidence for the identified effects is low, and further research findings are likely to change the estimations. The present study provides an aggregation of health promotion intervention research with older persons with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; a group of people who are commonly excluded from research, and marginalised when it comes to health and healthcare. By visualising the core components of health promotion programmes with proven efficacy, the findings provide guidance for further explorations of how health promotion should be designed to minimise inequities in health.

Mitochondrial-Nuclear Epistasis: Implications for Human Aging and Longevity

PubMed Central

Tranah, Gregory

2010-01-01

There is substantial evidence that mitochondria are involved in the aging process. Mitochondrial function requires the coordinated expression of hundreds of nuclear genes and a few dozen mitochondrial genes, many of which have been associated with either extended or shortened life span. Impaired mitochondrial function resulting from mtDNA and nuclear DNA variation is likely to contribute to an imbalance in cellular energy homeostasis, increased vulnerability to oxidative stress, and an increased rate of cellular senescence and aging. The complex genetic architecture of mitochondria suggests that there may be an equally complex set of gene interactions (epistases) involving genetic variation in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Results from Drosophila suggest that the effects of mtDNA haplotypes on longevity vary among different nuclear allelic backgrounds, which could account for the inconsistent associations that have been observed between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups and survival in humans. A diversity of pathways may influence the way mitochondria and nuclear – mitochondrial interactions modulate longevity, including: oxidative phosphorylation; mitochondrial uncoupling; antioxidant defenses; mitochondrial fission and fusion; and sirtuin regulation of mitochondrial genes. We hypothesize that aging and longevity, as complex traits having a significant genetic component, are likely to be controlled by nuclear gene variants interacting with both inherited and somatic mtDNA variability. PMID:20601194

Genome-wide copy number variation (CNV) in patients with autoimmune Addison's disease

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Addison's disease (AD) is caused by an autoimmune destruction of the adrenal cortex. The pathogenesis is multi-factorial, involving genetic components and hitherto unknown environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate if gene dosage in the form of copy number variation (CNV) could add to the repertoire of genetic susceptibility to autoimmune AD. Methods A genome-wide study using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 was conducted in 26 patients with AD. CNVs in selected genes were further investigated in a larger material of patients with autoimmune AD (n = 352) and healthy controls (n = 353) by duplex Taqman real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. Results We found that low copy number of UGT2B28 was significantly more frequent in AD patients compared to controls; conversely high copy number of ADAM3A was associated with AD. Conclusions We have identified two novel CNV associations to ADAM3A and UGT2B28 in AD. The mechanism by which this susceptibility is conferred is at present unclear, but may involve steroid inactivation (UGT2B28) and T cell maturation (ADAM3A). Characterization of these proteins may unravel novel information on the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. PMID:21851588

Regulation of a maize HD-ZIP IV transcription factor by a non-conventional RDR2-dependent small RNA.

PubMed

Klein-Cosson, Catherine; Chambrier, Pierre; Rogowsky, Peter M; Vernoud, Vanessa

2015-03-01

Small non-coding RNAs are versatile riboregulators that control gene expression at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level, governing many facets of plant development. Here we present evidence for the existence of a 24 nt small RNA (named small1) that is complementary to the 3' UTR of OCL1 (Outer Cell Layer1), the founding member of the maize HD-ZIP IV gene family encoding plant-specific transcription factors that are mainly involved in epidermis differentiation and specialization. The biogenesis of small1 depends on DICER-like 3 (DCL3), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 2 (RDR2) and RNA polymerase IV, components that are usually required for RNA-dependent DNA-methylation. Unexpectedly, GFP sensor experiments in transient and stable transformation systems revealed that small1 may regulate its target at the post-transcriptional level, mainly through translational repression. This translational repression is attenuated in an rdr2 mutant background in which small1 does not accumulate. Our experiments further showed the possible involvement of a secondary stem-loop structure present in the 3' UTR of OCL1 for efficient target repression, suggesting the existence of several regulatory mechanisms affecting OCL1 mRNA stability and translation. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Persulfidation proteome reveals the regulation of protein function by hydrogen sulfide in diverse biological processes in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Aroca, Angeles; Benito, Juan M; Gotor, Cecilia; Romero, Luis C

2017-10-13

Hydrogen sulfide-mediated signaling pathways regulate many physiological and pathophysiological processes in mammalian and plant systems. The molecular mechanism by which hydrogen sulfide exerts its action involves the post-translational modification of cysteine residues to form a persulfidated thiol motif, a process called protein persulfidation. We have developed a comparative and quantitative proteomic analysis approach for the detection of endogenous persulfidated proteins in wild-type Arabidopsis and L-CYSTEINE DESULFHYDRASE 1 mutant leaves using the tag-switch method. The 2015 identified persulfidated proteins were isolated from plants grown under controlled conditions, and therefore, at least 5% of the entire Arabidopsis proteome may undergo persulfidation under baseline conditions. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that persulfidated cysteines participate in a wide range of biological functions, regulating important processes such as carbon metabolism, plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses, plant growth and development, and RNA translation. Quantitative analysis in both genetic backgrounds reveals that protein persulfidation is mainly involved in primary metabolic pathways such as the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolysis, and the Calvin cycle, suggesting that this protein modification is a new regulatory component in these pathways. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Clinical field follow-up of high density polyethylene (HDPE)-Jaipur prosthetic technology for trans-femoral amputees.

PubMed

Jensen, J S; Craig, J G; Mtalo, L B; Zelaya, C M

2004-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcome of the application of the high density polyethylene (HDPE)-Jaipur prosthetic construction in fitting trans-femoral amputees in a number of projects throughout the developing world. Projects in Honduras, Uganda and India were included. One hundred and fifty eight (158) patients had been provided with the HDPE-Jaipur prosthesis and of these 72 were seen for a clinical and technical follow-up after a median of 32 months. More than half the amputees seen had amputation due to trauma and the remainder due to disease. Fabrication and fitting in the three projects was carried out by individuals who had undertaken a three week training course provided by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti limb centre in Jaipur. The individuals involved had limited background training in prosthetics. Craftsmanship and fit were assessed as being poor in 86% of cases. Failure requiring replacement of components was observed in 50% of cases. There was low patient satisfaction (58%) and patient compliance (65%). The outcome was considered unsatisfactory both technically and clinically. This was a reflection of the inadequacies of the prosthetic construction, particularly the knee joint, and the inadequate training of those involved in fitting and fabrication of the devices.

Auditory-Motor Interactions in Pediatric Motor Speech Disorders: Neurocomputational Modeling of Disordered Development

PubMed Central

Terband, H.; Maassen, B.; Guenther, F.H.; Brumberg, J.

2014-01-01

Background/Purpose Differentiating the symptom complex due to phonological-level disorders, speech delay and pediatric motor speech disorders is a controversial issue in the field of pediatric speech and language pathology. The present study investigated the developmental interaction between neurological deficits in auditory and motor processes using computational modeling with the DIVA model. Method In a series of computer simulations, we investigated the effect of a motor processing deficit alone (MPD), and the effect of a motor processing deficit in combination with an auditory processing deficit (MPD+APD) on the trajectory and endpoint of speech motor development in the DIVA model. Results Simulation results showed that a motor programming deficit predominantly leads to deterioration on the phonological level (phonemic mappings) when auditory self-monitoring is intact, and on the systemic level (systemic mapping) if auditory self-monitoring is impaired. Conclusions These findings suggest a close relation between quality of auditory self-monitoring and the involvement of phonological vs. motor processes in children with pediatric motor speech disorders. It is suggested that MPD+APD might be involved in typically apraxic speech output disorders and MPD in pediatric motor speech disorders that also have a phonological component. Possibilities to verify these hypotheses using empirical data collected from human subjects are discussed. PMID:24491630

Citizen Sky, Solving the Mystery of epsilon Aurigae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Rebecca; Price, A.; Kloppenborg, B.; Henden, A.

2010-01-01

Citizen Sky is a multi-year, NSF funded citizen science project involving the bright star eps Aur. The project was conceived by the IYA 2009 working group on Research Experiences for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists. Citizen Sky goes beyond simple observing to include a major data analysis component. The goal is to introduce the participant to the full scientific process from background research to paper writing for a peer-reviewed journal. It begins with a 10 Star Training Program of several types of binary and transient variable stars that are easy to observe from suburban locations with the naked eye. Participants then move on to monitoring the rare and mysterious 2009-2011 eclipse (already underway) of epsilon Aurigae. This object undergoes eclipses only every 27.1 years and each eclipse lasts nearly two years. The star is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from most urban areas. Training will be provided in observing techniques as well as basic data analysis of photometric and visual datasets (light curve and period analysis). The project also involves two public workshops, one on observing (already held in August of 2009) and one on data analysis and scientific paper writing (to be held in 2010.) This project has been made possible by the National Science Foundation.

What is a virtual multidisciplinary team (vMDT)?

PubMed Central

Munro, A J; Swartzman, S

2013-01-01

Background: Multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTs), also known as tumour boards or multidisciplinary case conferences, are an integral component of contemporary cancer care. There are logistical problems with setting up and maintaining participation in these meetings. An ill-defined concept, the virtual MDT (vMDT), has arisen in response to these difficulties. We have, in order to provide clarity and to generate discussion, attempted to define the concept of the vMDT, outline its advantages and disadvantages, and consider some of the practical aspects involved in setting up a virtual MDT. Methods: This is an unstructured review of published evidence and personal experience relating to virtual teams in general, and to MDTs in particular. Results: We have devised a simple taxonomy for MDTs, discussed some of the practicalities involved in setting up a vMDT, and described some of the potential advantages and disadvantages associated with vMDTs. Conclusion: The vMDT may be useful for discussions concerning rare or unusual tumours, or for helping guide the assessment and management of patients with uncommon complications related to treatment. However, the vMDT is a niche concept and is currently unlikely to replace the more traditional face-to-face MDT in the management of common tumours at specific sites. PMID:23756866

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Measurements for Model Systems Related to Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass

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

Jasperson, Louis V.; McDougal, Rubin J.; Diky, Vladimir

Here in this paper we report liquid-liquid mutual solubilities for binary aqueous mixtures involving 2-, 3-, and 4-ethylphenol, 2-, 3-, and 4-methoxyphenol, benzofuran, and 1H-indene for the temperature range (300 < T/K < 360). Measurements in the water-rich phase for (2-ethylphenol + water) were extended to T = 440 K to facilitate comparison with literature values. Liquid-liquid equilibrium tie-line determinations were made for four ternary systems involving (water + toluene) mixed with a third component; phenol, 3-ethylphenol, 4-methoxyphenol, or 2,4-dimethylphenol. Literature values at higher temperatures are available for the three (ethylphenol + water) systems, and, in general, good agreement ismore » seen. The ternary system (water + toluene + phenol) has been studied previously with inconsistent results reported in the literature, and one report is shown to be anomalous. All systems are modeled with the predictive methods NIST-Modified-UNIFAC and NIST-COSMO-SAC, with generally good success in the temperature range of interest (300 < T/K < 360). This work is part of a larger project on the testing and development of predictive phase equilibrium models for compound types occurring in catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass, and background information for the larger project is provided.« less

Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium Measurements for Model Systems Related to Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Biomass

DOE PAGES

Jasperson, Louis V.; McDougal, Rubin J.; Diky, Vladimir; ...

2016-11-02

Here in this paper we report liquid-liquid mutual solubilities for binary aqueous mixtures involving 2-, 3-, and 4-ethylphenol, 2-, 3-, and 4-methoxyphenol, benzofuran, and 1H-indene for the temperature range (300 < T/K < 360). Measurements in the water-rich phase for (2-ethylphenol + water) were extended to T = 440 K to facilitate comparison with literature values. Liquid-liquid equilibrium tie-line determinations were made for four ternary systems involving (water + toluene) mixed with a third component; phenol, 3-ethylphenol, 4-methoxyphenol, or 2,4-dimethylphenol. Literature values at higher temperatures are available for the three (ethylphenol + water) systems, and, in general, good agreement ismore » seen. The ternary system (water + toluene + phenol) has been studied previously with inconsistent results reported in the literature, and one report is shown to be anomalous. All systems are modeled with the predictive methods NIST-Modified-UNIFAC and NIST-COSMO-SAC, with generally good success in the temperature range of interest (300 < T/K < 360). This work is part of a larger project on the testing and development of predictive phase equilibrium models for compound types occurring in catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass, and background information for the larger project is provided.« less

Evaluating physiological responses of plants to salinity stress

PubMed Central

Negrão, S.; Schmöckel, S. M.; Tester, M.

2017-01-01

Background Because soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint affecting crop yield, much research has been conducted to develop plants with improved salinity tolerance. Salinity stress impacts many aspects of a plant’s physiology, making it difficult to study in toto. Instead, it is more tractable to dissect the plant’s response into traits that are hypothesized to be involved in the overall tolerance of the plant to salinity. Scope and conclusions We discuss how to quantify the impact of salinity on different traits, such as relative growth rate, water relations, transpiration, transpiration use efficiency, ionic relations, photosynthesis, senescence, yield and yield components. We also suggest some guidelines to assist with the selection of appropriate experimental systems, imposition of salinity stress, and obtaining and analysing relevant physiological data using appropriate indices. We illustrate how these indices can be used to identify relationships amongst the proposed traits to identify which traits are the most important contributors to salinity tolerance. Salinity tolerance is complex and involves many genes, but progress has been made in studying the mechanisms underlying a plant’s response to salinity. Nevertheless, several previous studies on salinity tolerance could have benefited from improved experimental design. We hope that this paper will provide pertinent information to researchers on performing proficient assays and interpreting results from salinity tolerance experiments. PMID:27707746

Interdependence of Depressive Symptoms, School Involvement, and Academic Performance between Adolescent Friends: A Dyadic Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chow, Chong Man; Tan, Cin Cin; Buhrmester, Duane

2015-01-01

Background: Friendships play an important role in the development of school involvement and academic performance during adolescence. This study examined the interdependence of depressive symptoms, school involvement, and academic performance between adolescent same-sex friends. Aims: Using cross-sectional data, we examined whether the link between…

How Parents Were Involved in a Special School in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Shun Wing; Lee, Tai Hoi Theodore

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study of 93 parents' attitude toward their involvement at various levels of school education in a special school. It also examines the relations between parents' education backgrounds and different levels of parental involvement. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted quantitative…

26 CFR 301.6110-1 - Public inspection of written determinations and background file documents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... section, relating to technical advice memoranda involving civil fraud and criminal investigations, and... section 6110(d)(3) and (f)(4). (2) Technical advice memoranda involving civil fraud and criminal... § 301.6110-2(f) involving any matter that is the subject of a civil fraud or criminal investigation, a...

Involving Parents in the Delivery of Services to Handicapped Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grogan, Marian; And Others

The state of the art in involving parents in the education of their handicapped children is reviewed, and model program approaches for increasing their participation are described. Background aspects considered include research findings that demonstrate the importance of parent involvement, and a review of legislative mandates on the topic. The…

Functional remediation components: A conceptual method of evaluating the effects of remediation on risks to ecological receptors.

PubMed

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Bunn, Amoret; Downs, Janelle; Jeitner, Christian; Pittfield, Taryn; Salisbury, Jennifer

2016-01-01

Governmental agencies, regulators, health professionals, tribal leaders, and the public are faced with understanding and evaluating the effects of cleanup activities on species, populations, and ecosystems. While engineers and managers understand the processes involved in different remediation types such as capping, pump and treat, and natural attenuation, there is often a disconnect between (1) how ecologists view the influence of different types of remediation, (2) how the public perceives them, and (3) how engineers understand them. The overall goal of the present investigation was to define the components of remediation types (= functional remediation). Objectives were to (1) define and describe functional components of remediation, regardless of the remediation type, (2) provide examples of each functional remediation component, and (3) explore potential effects of functional remediation components in the post-cleanup phase that may involve continued monitoring and assessment. Functional remediation components include types, numbers, and intensity of people, trucks, heavy equipment, pipes, and drill holes, among others. Several components may be involved in each remediation type, and each results in ecological effects, ranging from trampling of plants, to spreading invasive species, to disturbing rare species, and to creating fragmented habitats. In some cases remediation may exert a greater effect on ecological receptors than leaving the limited contamination in place. A goal of this conceptualization is to break down functional components of remediation such that managers, regulators, and the public might assess the effects of timing, extent, and duration of different remediation options on ecological systems.

Difficulty understanding speech in noise by the hearing impaired: underlying causes and technological solutions.

PubMed

Healy, Eric W; Yoho, Sarah E

2016-08-01

A primary complaint of hearing-impaired individuals involves poor speech understanding when background noise is present. Hearing aids and cochlear implants often allow good speech understanding in quiet backgrounds. But hearing-impaired individuals are highly noise intolerant, and existing devices are not very effective at combating background noise. As a result, speech understanding in noise is often quite poor. In accord with the significance of the problem, considerable effort has been expended toward understanding and remedying this issue. Fortunately, our understanding of the underlying issues is reasonably good. In sharp contrast, effective solutions have remained elusive. One solution that seems promising involves a single-microphone machine-learning algorithm to extract speech from background noise. Data from our group indicate that the algorithm is capable of producing vast increases in speech understanding by hearing-impaired individuals. This paper will first provide an overview of the speech-in-noise problem and outline why hearing-impaired individuals are so noise intolerant. An overview of our approach to solving this problem will follow.

Designers' models of the human-computer interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillan, Douglas J.; Breedin, Sarah D.

1993-01-01

Understanding design models of the human-computer interface (HCI) may produce two types of benefits. First, interface development often requires input from two different types of experts: human factors specialists and software developers. Given the differences in their backgrounds and roles, human factors specialists and software developers may have different cognitive models of the HCI. Yet, they have to communicate about the interface as part of the design process. If they have different models, their interactions are likely to involve a certain amount of miscommunication. Second, the design process in general is likely to be guided by designers' cognitive models of the HCI, as well as by their knowledge of the user, tasks, and system. Designers do not start with a blank slate; rather they begin with a general model of the object they are designing. The author's approach to a design model of the HCI was to have three groups make judgments of categorical similarity about the components of an interface: human factors specialists with HCI design experience, software developers with HCI design experience, and a baseline group of computer users with no experience in HCI design. The components of the user interface included both display components such as windows, text, and graphics, and user interaction concepts, such as command language, editing, and help. The judgments of the three groups were analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis and Pathfinder. These methods indicated, respectively, how the groups categorized the concepts, and network representations of the concepts for each group. The Pathfinder analysis provides greater information about local, pairwise relations among concepts, whereas the cluster analysis shows global, categorical relations to a greater extent.

Patient-Centered Imaging: Shared Decision Making for Cardiac Imaging Procedures with Exposure to Ionizing Radiation

PubMed Central

Einstein, Andrew J.; Berman, Daniel S.; Min, James K.; Hendel, Robert C.; Gerber, Thomas C.; Carr, J. Jeffrey; Cerqueira, Manuel D.; Cullom, S. James; DeKemp, Robert; Dickert, Neal; Dorbala, Sharmila; Garcia, Ernest V.; Gibbons, Raymond J.; Halliburton, Sandra S.; Hausleiter, Jörg; Heller, Gary V.; Jerome, Scott; Lesser, John R.; Fazel, Reza; Raff, Gilbert L.; Tilkemeier, Peter; Williams, Kim A.; Shaw, Leslee J.

2014-01-01

Objective To identify key components of a radiation accountability framework fostering patient-centered imaging and shared decision-making in cardiac imaging. Background An NIH-NHLBI/NCI-sponsored symposium was held in November 2012 to address these issues. Methods Symposium participants, working in three tracks, identified key components of a framework to target critical radiation safety issues for the patient, the laboratory, and the larger population of patients with known or suspected cardiovascular disease. Results Use of ionizing radiation during an imaging procedure should be disclosed to all patients by the ordering provider at the time of ordering, and reinforced by the performing provider team. An imaging protocol with effective dose ≤3mSv is considered very low risk, not warranting extensive discussion or written consent. However, a protocol effective dose <20mSv was proposed as a level requiring particular attention in terms of shared decision-making and either formal discussion or written informed consent. Laboratory reporting of radiation dosimetry is a critical component of creating a quality laboratory fostering a patient-centered environment with transparent procedural methodology. Efforts should be directed to avoiding testing involving radiation, in patients with inappropriate indications. Standardized reporting and diagnostic reference levels for computed tomography and nuclear cardiology are important for the goal of public reporting of laboratory radiation dose levels in conjunction with diagnostic performance. Conclusions The development of cardiac imaging technologies revolutionized cardiology practice by allowing routine, noninvasive assessment of myocardial perfusion and anatomy. It is now incumbent upon the imaging community to create an accountability framework to safely drive appropriate imaging utilization. PMID:24530677

Schizophrenia as Failure of Left Hemispheric Dominance for the Phonological Component of Language

PubMed Central

Angrilli, Alessandro; Spironelli, Chiara; Elbert, Thomas; Crow, Timothy J.; Marano, Gianfranco; Stegagno, Luciano

2009-01-01

Background T. J. Crow suggested that the genetic variance associated with the evolution in Homo sapiens of hemispheric dominance for language carries with it the hazard of the symptoms of schizophrenia. Individuals lacking the typical left hemisphere advantage for language, in particular for phonological components, would be at increased risk of the typical symptoms such as auditory hallucinations and delusions. Methodology/Principal Findings Twelve schizophrenic patients treated with low levels of neuroleptics and twelve matched healthy controls participated in an event-related potential experiment. Subjects matched word-pairs in three tasks: rhyming/phonological, semantic judgment and word recognition. Slow evoked potentials were recorded from 26 scalp electrodes, and a laterality index was computed for anterior and posterior regions during the inter stimulus interval. During phonological processing individuals with schizophrenia failed to achieve the left hemispheric dominance consistently observed in healthy controls. The effect involved anterior (fronto-temporal) brain regions and was specific for the Phonological task; group differences were small or absent when subjects processed the same stimulus material in a Semantic task or during Word Recognition, i.e. during tasks that typically activate more widespread areas in both hemispheres. Conclusions/Significance We show for the first time how the deficit of lateralization in the schizophrenic brain is specific for the phonological component of language. This loss of hemispheric dominance would explain typical symptoms, e.g. when an individual's own thoughts are perceived as an external intruding voice. The change can be interpreted as a consequence of “hemispheric indecision”, a failure to segregate phonological engrams in one hemisphere. PMID:19223971

In Pursuit of Change: Youth Response to Intensive Goal Setting Embedded in a Serious Video Game

PubMed Central

Thompson, Debbe; Baranowski, Tom; Buday, Richard; Baranowski, Janice; Juliano, Melissa; Frazior, McKee; Wilsdon, Jon; Jago, Russell

2007-01-01

Background Type 2 diabetes has increased in prevalence among youth, paralleling the increase in pediatric obesity. Helping youth achieve energy balance by changing diet and physical activity behaviors should decrease the risk for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Goal setting and goal review are critical components of behavior change. Theory-informed video games that emphasize development and refinement of goal setting and goal review skills provide a method for achieving energy balance in an informative, entertaining format. This article reports alpha-testing results of early versions of theory-informed goal setting and reviews components of two diabetes and obesity prevention video games for preadolescents. Method Two episodes each of two video games were alpha tested with 9- to 11-year-old youth from multiple ethnic groups. Alpha testing included observed game play followed by a scripted interview. The staff was trained in observation and interview techniques prior to data collection. Results Although some difficulties were encountered, alpha testers generally understood goal setting and review components and comprehended they were setting personal goals. Although goal setting and review involved multiple steps, youth were generally able to complete them quickly, with minimal difficulty. Few technical issues arose; however, several usability and comprehension problems were identified. Conclusions Theory-informed video games may be an effective medium for promoting youth diabetes and obesity prevention. Alpha testing helps identify problems likely to have a negative effect on functionality, usability, and comprehension during development, thereby providing an opportunity to correct these issues prior to final production. PMID:19885165

The theoretical background to BS7167: 1990 - specification for Bordeaux connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorley, T. A. E.

1992-03-01

The theoretical background to the specification of Bordeaux connections (components of lifting gear used to join together wire rope and a chain, or two lengths of wire rope, where the joined lengths have to run over a sheave as in the case of grabbing cranes) is documented. Decisions taken in the drafting of earlier specifications are not documented. The design criteria for BS7167:1990 are addressed. The various parts of the Bordeaux connection specified in the standard are discussed in turn: the link portion, the rope portion, and the grab shackle. Some tests on the new design undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive confirm the new design criteria to be adequate for the strengths of rope to be used with this component.

Diffuse Gamma Rays Galactic and Extragalactic Diffuse Emission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moskalenko, Igor V.; Strong, Andrew W.; Reimer, Olaf

2004-01-01

Diffuse gamma rays consist of several components: truly diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, the extragalactic background, whose origin is not firmly established yet, and the contribution from unresolved and faint Galactic point sources. One approach to unravel these components is to study the diffuse emission from the interstellar medium, which traces the interactions of high energy particles with interstellar gas and radiation fields. Because of its origin such emission is potentially able to reveal much about the sources and propagation of cosmic rays. The extragalactic background, if reliably determined, can be used in cosmological and blazar studies. Studying the derived average spectrum of faint Galactic sources may be able to give a clue to the nature of the emitting objects.

Differences in Krox20-dependent regulation of Hoxa2 and Hoxb2 during hindbrain development.

PubMed

Maconochie, M K; Nonchev, S; Manzanares, M; Marshall, H; Krumlauf, R

2001-05-15

During hindbrain development, segmental regulation of the paralogous Hoxa2 and Hoxb2 genes in rhombomeres (r) 3 and 5 involves Krox20-dependent enhancers that have been conserved during the duplication of the vertebrate Hox clusters from a common ancestor. Examining these evolutionarily related control regions could provide important insight into the degree to which the basic Krox20-dependent mechanisms, cis-regulatory components, and their organization have been conserved. Toward this goal we have performed a detailed functional analysis of a mouse Hoxa2 enhancer capable of directing reporter expression in r3 and r5. The combined activities of five separate cis-regions, in addition to the conserved Krox20 binding sites, are involved in mediating enhancer function. A CTTT (BoxA) motif adjacent to the Krox20 binding sites is important for r3/r5 activity. The BoxA motif is similar to one (Box1) found in the Hoxb2 enhancer and indicates that the close proximity of these Box motifs to Krox20 sites is a common feature of Krox20 targets in vivo. Two other rhombomeric elements (RE1 and RE3) are essential for r3/r5 activity and share common TCT motifs, indicating that they interact with a similar cofactor(s). TCT motifs are also found in the Hoxb2 enhancer, suggesting that they may be another common feature of Krox20-dependent control regions. The two remaining Hoxa2 cis-elements, RE2 and RE4, are not conserved in the Hoxb2 enhancer and define differences in some of components that can contribute to the Krox20-dependent activities of these enhancers. Furthermore, analysis of regulatory activities of these enhancers in a Krox20 mutant background has uncovered differences in their degree of dependence upon Krox20 for segmental expression. Together, this work has revealed a surprising degree of complexity in the number of cis-elements and regulatory components that contribute to segmental expression mediated by Krox20 and sheds light on the diversity and evolution of Krox20 target sites and Hox regulatory elements in vertebrates. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Single-cell and coupled GRN models of cell patterning in the Arabidopsis thaliana root stem cell niche

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Recent experimental work has uncovered some of the genetic components required to maintain the Arabidopsis thaliana root stem cell niche (SCN) and its structure. Two main pathways are involved. One pathway depends on the genes SHORTROOT and SCARECROW and the other depends on the PLETHORA genes, which have been proposed to constitute the auxin readouts. Recent evidence suggests that a regulatory circuit, composed of WOX5 and CLE40, also contributes to the SCN maintenance. Yet, we still do not understand how the niche is dynamically maintained and patterned or if the uncovered molecular components are sufficient to recover the observed gene expression configurations that characterize the cell types within the root SCN. Mathematical and computational tools have proven useful in understanding the dynamics of cell differentiation. Hence, to further explore root SCN patterning, we integrated available experimental data into dynamic Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) models and addressed if these are sufficient to attain observed gene expression configurations in the root SCN in a robust and autonomous manner. Results We found that an SCN GRN model based only on experimental data did not reproduce the configurations observed within the root SCN. We developed several alternative GRN models that recover these expected stable gene configurations. Such models incorporate a few additional components and interactions in addition to those that have been uncovered. The recovered configurations are stable to perturbations, and the models are able to recover the observed gene expression profiles of almost all the mutants described so far. However, the robustness of the postulated GRNs is not as high as that of other previously studied networks. Conclusions These models are the first published approximations for a dynamic mechanism of the A. thaliana root SCN cellular pattering. Our model is useful to formally show that the data now available are not sufficient to fully reproduce root SCN organization and genetic profiles. We then highlight some experimental holes that remain to be studied and postulate some novel gene interactions. Finally, we suggest the existence of a generic dynamical motif that can be involved in both plant and animal SCN maintenance. PMID:20920363

Interaction in the dark sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

del Campo, Sergio; Herrera, Ramón; Pavón, Diego

2015-06-01

It may well happen that the two main components of the dark sector of the Universe, dark matter and dark energy, do not evolve separately but interact nongravitationally with one another. However, given our current lack of knowledge of the microscopic nature of these two components, there is no clear theoretical path to determine their interaction. Yet, over the years, phenomenological interaction terms have been proposed on mathematical simplicity and heuristic arguments. In this paper, based on the likely evolution of the ratio between the energy densities of these dark components, we lay down reasonable criteria to obtain phenomenological, useful, expressions of the said term independent of any gravity theory. We illustrate this with different proposals which seem compatible with the known evolution of the Universe at the background level. Likewise, we show that two possible degeneracies with noninteracting models are only apparent as they can be readily broken at the background level. Further, we analyze some interaction terms that appear in the literature.

Correlated adiabatic and isocurvature cosmic microwave background fluctuations in the wake of the results from the wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe.

PubMed

Väliviita, Jussi; Muhonen, Vesa

2003-09-26

In general correlated models, in addition to the usual adiabatic component with a spectral index n(ad1) there is another adiabatic component with a spectral index n(ad2) generated by entropy perturbation during inflation. We extend the analysis of a correlated mixture of adiabatic and isocurvature cosmic microwave background fluctuations of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) group, who set the two adiabatic spectral indices equal. Allowing n(ad1) and n(ad2) to vary independently we find that the WMAP data favor models where the two adiabatic components have opposite spectral tilts. Using the WMAP data only, the 2sigma upper bound for the isocurvature fraction f(iso) of the initial power spectrum at k(0)=0.05 Mpc(-1) increases somewhat, e.g., from 0.76 of n(ad2)=n(ad1) models to 0.84 with a prior n(iso)<1.84 for the isocurvature spectral index.

The effectiveness of community-based coordinating interventions in dementia care: a meta-analysis and subgroup analysis of intervention components.

PubMed

Backhouse, Amy; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Richards, David A; McCabe, Rose; Watkins, Ross; Dickens, Chris

2017-11-13

Interventions aiming to coordinate services for the community-based dementia population vary in components, organisation and implementation. In this review we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of community-based care coordinating interventions on health outcomes and investigate whether specific components of interventions influence their effects. We searched four databases from inception to April 2017: Medline, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE and PsycINFO. This was aided by a search of four grey literature databases, and backward and forward citation tracking of included papers. Title and abstract screening was followed by a full text screen by two independent reviewers, and quality was assessed using the CASP appraisal tool. We then conducted meta-analyses and subgroup analyses. A total of 14 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 10,372 participants were included in the review. Altogether we carried out 12 meta-analyses and 19 subgroup analyses. Meta-analyses found coordinating interventions showed a statistically significant improvement in both patient behaviour measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) (mean difference (MD) = -9.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): -18.1 to -1.0; p = 0.03; number of studies (n) = 4; I 2  = 88%) and caregiver burden (standardised mean difference (SMD) = -0.54; 95% CI: -1.01 to -0.07; p = 0.02; n = 5, I 2  = 92%) compared to the control group. Subgroup analyses found interventions using a case manager with a nursing background showed a greater positive effect on caregiver quality of life than those that used case managers from other professional backgrounds (SMD = 0.94 versus 0.03, respectively; p < 0.001). Interventions that did not provide supervision for the case managers showed greater effectiveness for reducing the percentage of patients that are institutionalised compared to those that provided supervision (odds ratio (OR) = 0.27 versus 0.96 respectively; p = 0.02). There was little evidence of effects on other outcomes, or that other intervention components modify the intervention effects. Results show that coordinating interventions in dementia care has a positive impact on some outcomes, namely patient behaviour and caregiver burden, but the evidence is inconsistent and results were not strong enough to draw definitive conclusions on general effectiveness. With the rising prevalence of dementia, effective complex interventions will be necessary to provide high quality and effective care for patients, and facilitate collaboration of health, social and third sector services.

Regional Morphology Analysis Package (RMAP): Empirical Orthogonal Function Analysis, Background and Examples

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-10-01

1984. Complex principal component analysis : Theory and examples. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 23: 1660-1673. Hotelling, H. 1933...Sediments 99. ASCE: 2,566-2,581. Von Storch, H., and A. Navarra. 1995. Analysis of climate variability. Applications of statistical techniques. Berlin...ERDC TN-SWWRP-07-9 October 2007 Regional Morphology Empirical Analysis Package (RMAP): Orthogonal Function Analysis , Background and Examples by

Descriptive analysis of context evaluation instrument for technical oral presentation skills evaluation: A case study in English technical communication course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Abdullah-Adnan; Asmawi, Adelina; Hamid, Mohd Rashid Ab; Mustafa, Zainol bin

2015-02-01

This paper reports a pilot study of Context Evaluation using a self-developed questionnaire distributed among engineering undergraduates at a university under study. The study aims to validate the self-developed questionnaires used in the Context evaluation, a component in the CIPP Model. The Context evaluation assesses background information for needs, assets, problems and opportunities relevant to beneficiaries of the study in a defined environment. Through the questionnaire, background information for the assessment of needs, assets and problems related to the engineering undergraduates' perceptions on the teaching and learning of technical oral presentation skills was collected and analysed. The questionnaire was developed using 5-points Likert scale to measure the constructs under study. They were distributed to 100 respondents with 79 returned. The respondents consisted of engineering undergraduates studied at various faculties at one technical university in Malaysia. The descriptive analysis of data for each item which makes up the construct for Context evaluation is found to be high. This implied that engineering undergraduates showed high interest in teaching and learning of technical oral presentation skills, thus their needs are met. Also, they agreed that assets and facilities are conducive to their learning. In conclusion, the context evaluation involving needs and assets factors are both considerably important; their needs are met and the assets and facilities do support their technical oral presentation skills learning experience.

Reappraising Abstract Paintings after Exposure to Background Information

PubMed Central

Park, Seongmin A.; Yun, Kyongsik; Jeong, Jaeseung

2015-01-01

Can knowledge help viewers when they appreciate an artwork? Experts’ judgments of the aesthetic value of a painting often differ from the estimates of naïve viewers, and this phenomenon is especially pronounced in the aesthetic judgment of abstract paintings. We compared the changes in aesthetic judgments of naïve viewers while they were progressively exposed to five pieces of background information. The participants were asked to report their aesthetic judgments of a given painting after each piece of information was presented. We found that commentaries by the artist and a critic significantly increased the subjective aesthetic ratings. Does knowledge enable experts to attend to the visual features in a painting and to link it to the evaluative conventions, thus potentially causing different aesthetic judgments? To investigate whether a specific pattern of attention is essential for the knowledge-based appreciation, we tracked the eye movements of subjects while viewing a painting with a commentary by the artist and with a commentary by a critic. We observed that critics’ commentaries directed the viewers’ attention to the visual components that were highly relevant to the presented commentary. However, attention to specific features of a painting was not necessary for increasing the subjective aesthetic judgment when the artists’ commentary was presented. Our results suggest that at least two different cognitive mechanisms may be involved in knowledge- guided aesthetic judgments while viewers reappraise a painting. PMID:25945789

Gene Expression Profiling in Pachyonychia Congenita Skin

PubMed Central

Cao, Yu-An; Hickerson, Robyn P.; Seegmiller, Brandon L.; Grapov, Dmitry; Gross, Maren M.; Bessette, Marc R.; Phinney, Brett S.; Flores, Manuel A.; Speaker, Tycho J.; Vermeulen, Annaleen; Bravo, Albert A.; Bruckner, Anna L.; Milstone, Leonard M.; Schwartz, Mary E.; Rice, Robert H.; Kaspar, Roger L.

2015-01-01

Background Pachyonychia congenita (PC) is a skin disorder resulting from mutations in keratin (K) proteins including K6a, K6b, K16, and K17. One of the major symptoms is painful plantar keratoderma. The pathogenic sequelae resulting from the keratin mutations remain unclear. Objective To better understand PC pathogenesis. Methods RNA profiling was performed on biopsies taken from PC-involved and uninvolved plantar skin of seven genotyped PC patients (two K6a, one K6b, three K16, and one K17) as well as from control volunteers. Protein profiling was generated from tape-stripping samples. Results A comparison of PC-involved skin biopsies to adjacent uninvolved plantar skin identified 112 differentially-expressed mRNAs common to patient groups harboring K6 (i.e., both K6a and K6b) and K16 mutations. Among these mRNAs, 25 encode structural proteins including keratins, small proline-rich and late cornified envelope proteins, 20 are related to metabolism and 16 encode proteases, peptidases, and their inhibitors including kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs), and serine protease inhibitors (SERPINs). mRNAs were also identified to be differentially expressed only in K6 (81) or K16 (141) patient samples. Furthermore, 13 mRNAs were identified that may be involved in pain including nociception and neuropathy. Protein profiling, comparing three K6a plantar tape-stripping samples to non-PC controls, showed changes in the PC corneocytes similar, but not identical, to the mRNA analysis. Conclusion Many differentially-expressed genes identified in PC-involved skin encode components critical for skin barrier homeostasis including keratinocyte proliferation, differentiation, cornification, and desquamation. The profiling data provide a foundation for unraveling the pathogenesis of PC and identifying targets for developing effective PC therapeutics. PMID:25656049

Role of regulatory micro RNAs in type 2 diabetes mellitus-related inflammation.

PubMed

Hamar, Péter

2012-10-01

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs with the function of post-transcriptional gene expression regulation. Micro RNAs may function in networks, forming a complex relationship with diseases. Alterations of specific miRNA levels have significant correlation with diseases of divergent origin, such as diabetes. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has an increasing worldwide epidemic with serious complications. However, T2DM is a chronic process, and from early metabolic alterations to manifest complications decades may pass, during which our diagnostic arsenal is limited. Micro RNAs may thus serve as novel diagnostic tools as well as therapeutic targets in pre-diabetes. Recent Fundings: Micro RNAs (miRNAs) involved in inflammatory processes contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) published mostly in the past 2 years. MiRNAs are involved in such early diabetic processes as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and inflammation of the visceral adipose tissue. Evidence is emerging regarding the continuous spectrum between type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and T2DM being just 2 endpoints of the same disease with different genetic background. Thus, miRNA regulation of autoimmune components in T2DM may shed new light on pathogenesis. Finally, the involvement of miRNAs in inflammation as a key driving force of diabetic complications is also summarized. Inflammation is emerging as a central pathophysiological process in the development of T2DM. Visceral adipose tissue inflammation and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis together with insulitis are probably the first events leading to a complex metabolic disorder. These early events may be diagnosed or even influenced through our increasing knowledge about the involvement of post-transcriptional gene regulation by miRNAs.

Four Weeks of Balance Training does not Affect Ankle Joint Stiffness in Subjects with Unilateral Chronic Ankle Instability

PubMed Central

Jain, Tarang Kumar; Wauneka, Clayton N.; Liu, Wen

2016-01-01

Background Balance training has been shown to be effective in preventing ankle sprain recurrences in subjects with chronic ankle instability (CAI) but the biomechanical pathways underlying the clinical outcomes are still unknown. This study was conducted to determine if a 4-week balance training intervention can alter the mechanical characteristics in ankles with CAI. Methods Twenty-two recreationally active subjects with unilateral CAI were randomized to either a control (n = 11, 35.1 ± 9.3 years) or intervention (n = 11, 33.5 ± 6.6 years) group. Subjects in the intervention group were trained on the affected limb with static and dynamic components using a Biodex balance stability system for 4-weeks. The ankle joint stiffness and neutral zone in inversion and eversion directions on the involved and uninvolved limbs was measured at baseline and post-intervention using a dynamometer. Results At baseline, the mean values of the inversion stiffness (0.69 ± 0.37 Nm/degree) in the involved ankle was significantly lower (p < 0.011, 95% CI [0.563, 0.544]) than that of uninvolved contralateral ankle (0.99 ± 0.41 Nm/degree). With the available sample size, the eversion stiffness, inversion neutral zone, and eversion neutral zone were not found to be significantly different between the involved and uninvolved contralateral ankles. The 4-week balance training intervention failed to show any significant effect on the passive ankle stiffness and neutral zones in inversion and eversion. Conclusion Decreased inversion stiffness in the involved chronic unstable ankle was found that of uninvolved contralateral ankle. The 4-week balance training program intervention was ineffective in altering the mechanical characteristics of ankles with CAI. Level of evidence Randomized controlled clinical trial; Level of evidence, 1. PMID:27642647

Patient Safety Culture and the Second Victim Phenomenon: Connecting Culture to Staff Distress in Nurses

PubMed Central

Quillivan, Rebecca R.; Burlison, Jonathan D.; Browne, Emily K.; Scott, Susan D.; Hoffman, James M.

2017-01-01

Background Second victim experiences can affect the well-being of healthcare providers and compromise patient safety. Many factors associated with improved coping afer patient safety event involvement are also components of a strong patient safety culture, so that supportive patient safety cultures may reduce second victim–related trauma. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted to assess the influence of patient safety culture on second victim–related distress, in which associations among patient safety culture dimensions, organizational support, and second victim distress were investigated. Methods The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) and the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST), which was developed to assess organizational support and personal and professional distress after involvement in a patient safety event, were administered to nurses involved in direct patient care. Results Of 358 nurses, 155 (41%) responded, of whom 144 completed both surveys. Hierarchical linear regression demonstrated that the patient safety culture survey dimension nonpunitive response to errors was significantly associated with reductions in the second victim survey dimensions psychological, physical, and professional distress (p <.001). As a mediator, organizational support fully explained the nonpunitive response to errors–physical distress and nonpunitive response to errors–professional distress relationships and partially explained the nonpunitive response to error–psychological distress relationship. Conclusions A nonpunitive response to errors may mitigate the negative effects of involvement in a patient safety event by encouraging supportive interactions. Also, perceptions of second victim–related distress may be less severe when hospital cultures are characterized by nonpunitive response to errors. Reducing punitive response to error and encouraging supportive coworker, supervisor, and institutional interactions may be useful strategies to manage the severity of second victim experiences. PMID:27456420

Iterative development of Stand Up Australia: a multi-component intervention to reduce workplace sitting

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Sitting, particularly in prolonged, unbroken bouts, is widespread within the office workplace, yet few interventions have addressed this newly-identified health risk behaviour. This paper describes the iterative development process and resulting intervention procedures for the Stand Up Australia research program focusing on a multi-component workplace intervention to reduce sitting time. Methods The development of Stand Up Australia followed three phases. 1) Conceptualisation: Stand Up Australia was based on social cognitive theory and social ecological model components. These were operationalised via a taxonomy of intervention strategies and designed to target multiple levels of influence including: organisational structures (e.g. via management consultation), the physical work environment (via provision of height-adjustable workstations), and individual employees (e.g. via face-to-face coaching). 2) Formative research: Intervention components were separately tested for their feasibility and acceptability. 3) Pilot studies: Stand Up Comcare tested the integrated intervention elements in a controlled pilot study examining efficacy, feasibility and acceptability. Stand Up UQ examined the additional value of the organisational- and individual-level components over height-adjustable workstations only in a three-arm controlled trial. In both pilot studies, office workers’ sitting time was measured objectively using activPAL3 devices and the intervention was refined based on qualitative feedback from managers and employees. Results Results and feedback from participants and managers involved in the intervention development phases suggest high efficacy, acceptance, and feasibility of all intervention components. The final version of the Stand Up Australia intervention includes strategies at the organisational (senior management consultation, representatives consultation workshop, team champions, staff information and brainstorming session with information booklet, and supportive emails from managers to staff), environmental (height-adjustable workstations), and individual level (face-to-face coaching session and telephone support). Stand Up Australia is currently being evaluated in the context of a cluster-randomised controlled trial at the Department of Human Services (DHS) in Melbourne, Australia. Conclusions Stand Up Australia is an evidence-guided and systematically developed workplace intervention targeting reductions in office workers’ sitting time. PMID:24559162

Linking the Components of a University Program to the Qualification Profile of Graduates: The Case of a Sustainability-Oriented Environmental Science Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansmann, Ralf

2009-01-01

A university Environmental Sciences curriculum is described against the background of requirements for environmental problem solving for sustainability and then analyzed using data from regular surveys of graduates (N = 373). Three types of multiple regression models examine links between qualifications and curriculum components in order to derive…

Domain-Specificity of Self-Concept and Parent Expectation Influences on Short-Term and Long-Term Learning of Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeung, Alexander Seeshing; Kuppan, Loganantham; Foong, See Kit; Wong, Darren Jon Sien; Kadir, Munirah Shaik; Lee, Paul Choon Keat; Yau, Che Ming

2010-01-01

Background: Students' academic self-concepts are known to be domain specific. Researchers have also identified two related components of self-concept:cognitive (how competent students feel about a subject domain) and affective (their interest in the subject). This paper examines whether both components are domain specific. Research has also shown…

Heterogeneity and Plasticity in the Development of Language: A 17-Year Follow-Up of Children Referred Early for Possible Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pickles, Andrew; Anderson, Deborah K.; Lord, Catherine

2014-01-01

Background: Delayed, abnormal language is a common feature of autism and language therapy often a significant component of recommended treatment. However, as with other disorders with a language component, we know surprisingly little about the language trajectories and how varied these might be across different children. Thus, we know little about…

Expected background in the LZ experiment

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

Kudryavtsev, Vitaly A.

2015-08-17

The LZ experiment, featuring a 7-tonne active liquid xenon target, is aimed at achieving unprecedented sensitivity to WIMPs with the background expected to be dominated by astrophysical neutrinos. To reach this goal, extensive simulations are carried out to accurately calculate the electron recoil and nuclear recoil rates in the detector. Both internal (from target material) and external (from detector components and surrounding environment) backgrounds are considered. A very efficient suppression of background rate is achieved with an outer liquid scintillator veto, liquid xenon skin and fiducialisation. Based on the current measurements of radioactivity of different materials, it is shown thatmore » LZ can achieve the reduction of a total background for a WIMP search down to about 2 events in 1000 live days for 5.6 tonne fiducial mass.« less

Background in X-ray astronomy proportional counters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bower, C. R.; Dietz, K. L.; Ramsey, B. D.; Weisskopf, M. C.

1991-01-01

The authors report the results of an investigation into the nature of background events in proportional counters sensitive to X-ray photons having energy of less than 150 keV. Even with the use of thick shields composed of high-atomic-number material, a significant flux background in the detector's energy region can result from multiple Compton scattering in the mass surrounding the active region of the detector. The importance of the selection of detector components in the reduction of the background by more than an order of magnitude is emphasized. Experimental results are shown to agree qualitatively with Monte Carlo simulations. It is concluded that escape gating is a powerful means of determining the nature of background in flight detectors: the single/pair ratios reveal whether the detected events are charged particles or photons.

Darboux transformation of the coupled nonisospectral Gross-Pitaevskii system and its multi-component generalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Tao; Chen, Yong

2018-04-01

In this paper, we extend the one-component Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation to the two-component coupled GP system including damping term, linear and parabolic density profiles. The Lax pair with nonisospectral parameter and infinitely-many conservation laws of this coupled GP system are presented. Actually, the Darboux transformation (DT) for this kind of nonautonomous system is essentially different from the autonomous case. Consequently, we construct the DT of the coupled GP equations, besides, nonautonomous multi-solitons, one-breather and the first-order rogue wave are also obtained. Various kinds of one-soliton solution are constructed, which include stationary one-soliton and nonautonomous one-soliton propagating along the negative (positive) direction of x-axis. The interaction of two solitons and two-soliton bound state are demonstrated respectively. We get the nonautonomous one-breather on a curved background and this background is completely controlled by the parameter β. Using a limiting process, the nonautonomous first-order rogue wave can be obtained. Furthermore, some dynamic structures of these analytical solutions are discussed in detail. In addition, the multi-component generalization of GP equations are given, then the corresponding Lax pair and DT are also constructed.

A GENERALIZED TWO-COMPONENT MODEL OF SOLAR WIND TURBULENCE AND AB INITIO DIFFUSION MEAN-FREE PATHS AND DRIFT LENGTHSCALES OF COSMIC RAYS

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

Wiengarten, T.; Fichtner, H.; Kleimann, J.

2016-12-10

We extend a two-component model for the evolution of fluctuations in the solar wind plasma so that it is fully three-dimensional (3D) and also coupled self-consistently to the large-scale magnetohydrodynamic equations describing the background solar wind. The two classes of fluctuations considered are a high-frequency parallel-propagating wave-like piece and a low-frequency quasi-two-dimensional component. For both components, the nonlinear dynamics is dominanted by quasi-perpendicular spectral cascades of energy. Driving of the fluctuations by, for example, velocity shear and pickup ions is included. Numerical solutions to the new model are obtained using the Cronos framework, and validated against previous simpler models. Comparing results frommore » the new model with spacecraft measurements, we find improved agreement relative to earlier models that employ prescribed background solar wind fields. Finally, the new results for the wave-like and quasi-two-dimensional fluctuations are used to calculate ab initio diffusion mean-free paths and drift lengthscales for the transport of cosmic rays in the turbulent solar wind.« less

Liberty Centennial Student Campaign Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, New York, NY.

Background readings and project ideas to involve elementary and secondary school students in fundraising for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty are provided. Materials can be divided into two sections. The first section, background readings, contains President Ronald Reagan's opening remarks at the ceremony introducing the Statue of…

Background Checks on School Personnel. ERIC Digest Series EA 55.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baas, Alan

Although it is relatively simple to check on applicants' basic professional competency, ensuring the moral competency of potential school employees is much more difficult. This digest examines major legal issues, district liabilities and responsibilities, suggested guidelines, and information sources involving employee background checks. Of more…

Monitoring Intracellular Redox Changes in Ozone-exposed airway epithelial cells

EPA Science Inventory

Background: The toxicity of many compounds involves oxidative injury to cells. Direct assessment of mechanistic events involved in xenobiotic-induced oxidative stress is not easily achievable. Development of genetically-encoded probes designed for monitoring intracellular redox s...

Deep sequencing-based transcriptome profiling analysis of bacteria-challenged Lateolabrax japonicus reveals insight into the immune-relevant genes in marine fish

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Systematic research on fish immunogenetics is indispensable in understanding the origin and evolution of immune systems. This has long been a challenging task because of the limited number of deep sequencing technologies and genome backgrounds of non-model fish available. The newly developed Solexa/Illumina RNA-seq and Digital gene expression (DGE) are high-throughput sequencing approaches and are powerful tools for genomic studies at the transcriptome level. This study reports the transcriptome profiling analysis of bacteria-challenged Lateolabrax japonicus using RNA-seq and DGE in an attempt to gain insights into the immunogenetics of marine fish. Results RNA-seq analysis generated 169,950 non-redundant consensus sequences, among which 48,987 functional transcripts with complete or various length encoding regions were identified. More than 52% of these transcripts are possibly involved in approximately 219 known metabolic or signalling pathways, while 2,673 transcripts were associated with immune-relevant genes. In addition, approximately 8% of the transcripts appeared to be fish-specific genes that have never been described before. DGE analysis revealed that the host transcriptome profile of Vibrio harveyi-challenged L. japonicus is considerably altered, as indicated by the significant up- or down-regulation of 1,224 strong infection-responsive transcripts. Results indicated an overall conservation of the components and transcriptome alterations underlying innate and adaptive immunity in fish and other vertebrate models. Analysis suggested the acquisition of numerous fish-specific immune system components during early vertebrate evolution. Conclusion This study provided a global survey of host defence gene activities against bacterial challenge in a non-model marine fish. Results can contribute to the in-depth study of candidate genes in marine fish immunity, and help improve current understanding of host-pathogen interactions and evolutionary history of immunogenetics from fish to mammals. PMID:20707909

Collaboration of Antibody and Inflammation in Clearance of Rabies Virus from the Central Nervous System

PubMed Central

Hooper, D. Craig; Morimoto, Kinjiro; Bette, Michael; Weihe, Eberhard; Koprowski, Hilary; Dietzschold, Bernhard

1998-01-01

To investigate the involvement of various cellular and humoral aspects of immunity in the clearance of rabies virus from the central nervous system, (CNS), we studied the development of clinical signs and virus clearance from the CNS in knockout mice lacking either B and T cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, B cells, alpha/beta interferon (IFN-α/β) receptors, IFN-γ receptors, or complement components C3 and C4. Following intranasal infection with the attenuated rabies virus CVS-F3, normal adult mice of different genetic backgrounds developed a transient disease characterized by loss of body weight and appetite depression which peaked at 13 days postinfection (p.i.). While these animals had completely recovered by day 21 p.i., mice lacking either B and T cells or B cells alone developed a progressive disease and succumbed to infection. Mice lacking either CD8+ T cells, IFN receptors, or complement components C3 and C4 showed no significant differences in the development of clinical signs by comparison with intact counterparts having the same genetic background. However, while infectious virus and viral RNA could be detected in normal control mice only until day 8 p.i., in all of the gene knockout mice studied except those lacking C3 and C4, virus infection persisted through day 21 p.i. Analysis of rabies virus-specific antibody production together with histological assessment of brain inflammation in infected animals revealed that clearance of CVS-F3 by 21 days p.i. correlated with both a strong inflammatory response in the CNS early in the infection (day 8 p.i.), and the rapid (day 10 p.i.) production of significant levels of virus-neutralizing antibody (VNA). These studies confirm that rabies VNA is an absolute requirement for clearance of an established rabies virus infection. However, for the latter to occur in a timely fashion, collaboration between VNA and inflammatory mechanisms is necessary. PMID:9557653

Deconstructing the Spectrum of the Soft X-ray Background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuntz, K. D.; Snowden, S. L.

2000-01-01

The soft X-ray background in the 0.1-1.0 keV band is known to be produced by at least three sources; the Local Hot Bubble (LHB), the extragalactic power law (EPL), and a seemingly galactic component that lies outside the bulk of the absorption that is due to the ISM of the galactic disk. This last component, which we call the Trans-Absorption Emission (TAE), has been modeled by a number of groups who have derived disparate measures of its temperature. The differences have arisen from differing assumptions about the structure of the emitting gas and unrecognized methodological difficulties. In particular, spectral fitting methods do not uniquely separate the TAE from the foreground emission that is due the LHB. This "degeneracy" can be resolved using the angular variation of the absorption of the TAE. We show that the TAE cannot be characterized by a single thermal component; no single-component model can be consistent with both the spectral energy distribution of the TAE emission and the angular variation due to absorption by the galactic disk. We use the angular anticorrelation of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey with the galactic absorption to separate local from distant emission components, and to fit the spectral energy distribution of the resulting distant emission. We find that the emission is best described by a two-thermal-component model with logT(sub S) = 6.06(sup +0.14, sub -0.12) and log T(sub H) = 6.42(sup +0.14, sub -0.12). This two-thermal-component TAE fits the ROSAT spectral energy distribution significantly better than single-component models, and is consistent with both angular variation and spectral constraints.

Breadth and depth involvement: Understanding Internet gambling involvement and its relationship to gambling problems.

PubMed

LaPlante, Debi A; Nelson, Sarah E; Gray, Heather M

2014-06-01

The "involvement effect" refers to the finding that controlling for gambling involvement often reduces or eliminates frequently observed game-specific associations with problem gambling. In other words, broader patterns of gambling behavior, particularly the number of types of games played over a defined period, contribute more to problem gambling than playing specific games (e.g., lottery, casino, Internet gambling). This study extends this burgeoning area of inquiry in three primary ways. First, it tests independently and simultaneously the predictive power of two gambling patterns: breadth involvement (i.e., the number of games an individual plays) and depth involvement (i.e., the number of days an individual plays). Second, it includes the first involvement analyses of actual betting activity records that are associated with clinical screening information. Third, it evaluates and compares the linearity of breadth and depth effects. We conducted analyses of the actual gambling activity of 1,440 subscribers to the bwin.party gambling service who completed an online gambling disorder screen. In all, 11 of the 16 games we examined had a significant univariate association with a positive screen for gambling disorder. However, after controlling for breadth involvement, only Live Action Internet sports betting retained a significant relationship with potential gambling-related problems. Depth involvement, though significantly related to potential problems, did not impact game-based gambling disorder associations as much as breadth involvement. Finally, breadth effects appeared steeply linear, with a slight quadratic component manifesting beyond four games played, but depth effects appeared to have a strong linear component and a slight cubic component.

State Variability and Psychopathological Attractors: the Behavioural Complexity as Discriminating Factor Between the Pathology and Normality Profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marconi, Pier Luigi

369 patients, selected within a set of 1215 outpatients, were studied. The data were clustered into two set: the baseline set and the endpoint set. The clinical parameters had a higher variability at the baseline than at the endpoint. 4 to 5 factors were extracted in total group and 3 subgroups (190 "affective", 34 type-B personality, 166 without any of both disorders). In all subgroups there was a background pattern of 6 components: 3 components confirming the trifactorial temperamental model of Cloninger; 1 component related to the quality of social relationships; 2 components (that are the main components of factorial model about in all groups) relating to quality of life and adjustment self perceived by patients, and to pattern of dysfunctional behavior, inner feelings, and thought processes externally evaluated. These background components seem to aggregate differently in the subgroups in accordance to the clinical diagnosis. These patterns may be interpreted as expression of an increased "coherence" among parameters due to a lack of flexibility caused by the illness. The different class of illness can be further distinguished by intensity of maladjustment, that is related to the intensity of clinical signs just only at the baseline. These data suggest that the main interfering factors are clinical psychopathology at baseline and stable personality traits at endpoint. This persistent chronic maladjustment personality-driven is evidenced after the clinical disorder was cured by treatment. An interpretative model is presented by the author.

Development of a Technique for Separating Raman Scattering Signals from Background Emission with Single-Shot Measurement Potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartfield, Roy J., Jr.; Dobson, Chris; Eskridge, Richard; Wehrmeyer, Joseph A.

1997-01-01

A novel technique for extracting Q-branch Raman signals scattered by a diatomic species from the emission spectrum resulting from the irradiation of combustion products using a broadband excimer laser has been developed. This technique is based on the polarization characteristics of vibrational Raman scattering and can be used for both single-shot Raman extraction and time-averaged data collection. The Q-branch Raman signal has a unique set of polarization characteristics which depend on the direction of the scattering while fluorescence signals are unpolarized. For the present work, a calcite crystal is used to separate the horizonal component of a collected signal from the vertical component. The two components are then sent through a UV spectrometer and imaged onto an intensified CCD camera separately. The vertical component contains both the Raman signal and the interfering fluorescence signal. The horizontal component contains the fluorescence signal and a very weak component of the Raman signal; hence, the Raman scatter can be extracted by taking the difference between the two signals. The separation of the Raman scatter from interfering fluorescence signals is critically important to the interpretation of the Raman for cases in which a broadband ultraviolet (UV) laser is used as an excitation source in a hydrogen-oxygen flame and in all hydrocarbon flames. The present work provides a demonstration of the separation of the Raman scatter from the fluorescence background in real time.

Effect of Background Pressure on the Plasma Oscillation Characteristics of the HiVHAc Hall Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Wensheng; Kamhawi, Hani; Lobbia, Robert B.; Brown, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

During a component compatibility test of the NASA HiVHAc Hall thruster, a number of plasma diagnostics were implemented to study the effect of varying facility background pressure on thruster operation. These diagnostics characterized the thruster performance, the plume, and the plasma oscillations in the thruster. Thruster performance and plume characteristics as functions of background pressure were previously published. This paper focuses on changes in the plasma oscillation characteristics with changing background pressure. The diagnostics used to study plasma oscillations include a high-speed camera and a set of high-speed Langmuir probes. The results show a rise in the oscillation frequency of the "breathing" mode with rising background pressure, which is hypothesized to be due to a shortening acceleration/ionization zone. An attempt is made to apply a simplified ingestion model to the data. The combined results are used to estimate the maximum acceptable background pressure for performance and wear testing.

A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Children's Theory of Mind and Adolescent Involvement in Bullying

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shakoor, Sania; Jaffee, Sara R.; Bowes, Lucy; Ouellet-Morin, Isabelle; Andreou, Penelope; Happe, Francesca; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Arseneault, Louise

2012-01-01

Background: Theory of mind (ToM) allows the understanding and prediction of other people's behaviours based on their mental states (e.g. beliefs). It is important for healthy social relationships and thus may contribute towards children's involvement in bullying. The present study investigated whether children involved in bullying during early…

Fostering Emotion Expression and Affective Involvement with Communication Partners in People with Congenital Deafblindness and Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martens, Marga A. W.; Janssen, Marleen J.; Ruijssenaars, Wied A. J. J. M.; Huisman, Mark; Riksen-Walraven, J. Marianne

2017-01-01

Background: Recent studies have shown that it is possible to foster affective involvement between people with congenital deafblindness and their communication partners. Affective involvement is crucial for well-being, and it is important to know whether it can also be fostered with people who have congenital deafblindness and intellectual…

The Salience of the Subtle Aspects of Parental Involvement and Encouraging that Involvement: Implications for School-Based Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeynes, William H.

2010-01-01

Background/Context: For many years, educators, parents, and social scientists have conceptualized engaged parents as those who help their children with their homework, frequently attend school functions, and maintain household rules that dictate when their young engage in schoolwork and leisure. Recent meta-analyses on parental involvement confirm…

Political Involvement. Community Involvement/Career Education: An Experience-based Social Studies Program, Volume III.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyle, James; And Others

This collection of materials and ideas is designed for the high school student who wants to try to influence society. The guide provides background information and descriptions of experience-based learning activities for use by students as they explore political involvement opportunities in their communities. The purposes of the materials are to…

Community Involvement of Young Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Their Experiences and Perspectives on Inclusion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Sarah A.

2017-01-01

Background: Inclusion in the community is essential to enhancing a person's quality of life. Although people with intellectual disabilities have a desire to be more involved in activities, they experience barriers that limit their inclusion. Methods: The purpose of this study was to describe the community involvement of young adults with…

Profits, Commercial Food Supplier Involvement, and School Vending Machine Snack Food Availability: Implications for Implementing the New Competitive Foods Rule

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terry-McElrath, Yvonne M.; Hood, Nancy E.; Colabianchi, Natalie; O'Malley, Patrick M.; Johnston, Lloyd D.

2014-01-01

Background: The 2013-2014 school year involved preparation for implementing the new US Department of Agriculture (USDA) competitive foods nutrition standards. An awareness of associations between commercial supplier involvement, food vending practices, and food vending item availability may assist schools in preparing for the new standards.…

Using the intervention mapping protocol to reduce European preschoolers’ sedentary behavior, an application to the ToyBox-Study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background High levels of sedentary behavior are often measured in preschoolers, but only a few interventions have been developed to counteract this. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of interventions in preschoolers targeting different forms of sedentary behavior could not be located in the literature. The aim of the present paper was to describe the different steps of the Intervention Mapping Protocol used towards the development of an intervention component of the ToyBox-study focusing on decreasing preschoolers’ sedentary behavior. The ToyBox-study focuses on the prevention of overweight in 4- to 6-year-old children by implementing a multi-component kindergarten-based intervention with family involvement in six different European countries. Methods Applying the Intervention Mapping Protocol, six different steps were systematically completed for the structured planning and development of the intervention. A literature search and results from focus groups with parents/caregivers and kindergarten teachers were used as a guide during the development of the intervention and the intervention materials. Results The application of the different steps in the Intervention Mapping Protocol resulted in the creation of matrices of change objectives, followed by the selection of practical applications for five different intervention tools that could be used at the individual level of the preschool child, at the interpersonal level (i.e., parents/caregivers) and at the organizational level (i.e., kindergarten teachers). No cultural differences regarding preschoolers’ sedentary behavior were identified between the participating countries during the focus groups, so cultural and local adaptations of the intervention materials were not necessary to improve the adoption and implementation of the intervention. Conclusions A systematic and evidence-based approach was used for the development of this kindergarten-based family-involved intervention targeting preschoolers, with the inclusion of parental involvement. The application of the Intervention Mapping Protocol may lead to the development of more effective interventions. The detailed intervention matrices that were developed as part of the ToyBox-study can be used by other researchers as an aid in order to avoid repetitive work for the design of similar interventions. PMID:24552138

Epigenetic Mechanisms Regulate MHC and Antigen Processing Molecules in Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

PubMed Central

Suárez-Álvarez, Beatriz; Rodriguez, Ramón M.; Calvanese, Vincenzo; Blanco-Gelaz, Miguel A.; Suhr, Steve T.; Ortega, Francisco; Otero, Jesus; Cibelli, Jose B.; Moore, Harry; Fraga, Mario F.; López-Larrea, Carlos

2010-01-01

Background Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are an attractive resource for new therapeutic approaches that involve tissue regeneration. hESCs have exhibited low immunogenicity due to low levels of Mayor Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class-I and absence of MHC class-II expression. Nevertheless, the mechanisms regulating MHC expression in hESCs had not been explored. Methodology/Principal Findings We analyzed the expression levels of classical and non-classical MHC class-I, MHC class-II molecules, antigen-processing machinery (APM) components and NKG2D ligands (NKG2D-L) in hESCs, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and NTera2 (NT2) teratocarcinoma cell line. Epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of these genes were investigated by bisulfite sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. We showed that low levels of MHC class-I molecules were associated with absent or reduced expression of the transporter associated with antigen processing 1 (TAP-1) and tapasin (TPN) components in hESCs and iPSCs, which are involved in the transport and load of peptides. Furthermore, lack of β2-microglobulin (β2m) light chain in these cells limited the expression of MHC class I trimeric molecule on the cell surface. NKG2D ligands (MICA, MICB) were observed in all pluripotent stem cells lines. Epigenetic analysis showed that H3K9me3 repressed the TPN gene in undifferentiated cells whilst HLA-B and β2m acquired the H3K4me3 modification during the differentiation to embryoid bodies (EBs). Absence of HLA-DR and HLA-G expression was regulated by DNA methylation. Conclusions/Significance Our data provide fundamental evidence for the epigenetic control of MHC in hESCs and iPSCs. Reduced MHC class I and class II expression in hESCs and iPSCs can limit their recognition by the immune response against these cells. The knowledge of these mechanisms will further allow the development of strategies to induce tolerance and improve stem cell allograft acceptance. PMID:20419139

Relevance of the two-component sensor protein CiaH to acid and oxidative stress responses in Streptococcus pyogenes.

PubMed

Tatsuno, Ichiro; Isaka, Masanori; Okada, Ryo; Zhang, Yan; Hasegawa, Tadao

2014-03-28

The production of virulence proteins depends on environmental factors, and two-component regulatory systems are involved in sensing these factors. We previously established knockout strains in all suspected two-component regulatory sensor proteins of the emm1 clinical strain of S. pyogenes and examined their relevance to acid stimuli in a natural atmosphere. In the present study, their relevance to acid stimuli was re-examined in an atmosphere containing 5% CO2. The spy1236 (which is identical to ciaHpy) sensor knockout strain showed significant growth reduction compared with the parental strain in broth at pH 6.0, suggesting that the Spy1236 (CiaHpy) two-component sensor protein is involved in acid response of S. pyogenes. CiaH is also conserved in Streptococcus pneumoniae, and it has been reported that deletion of the gene for its cognate response regulator (ciaRpn) made the pneumococcal strains more sensitive to oxidative stress. In this report, we show that the spy1236 knockout mutant of S. pyogenes is more sensitive to oxidative stress than the parental strain. These results suggest that the two-component sensor protein CiaH is involved in stress responses in S. pyogenes.

Spectroscopic limits to an extragalactic far-ultraviolet background.

PubMed

Martin, C; Hurwitz, M; Bowyer, S

1991-10-01

We use a spectrum of the lowest intensity diffuse far-ultraviolet background obtained from a series of observations in a number of celestial view directions to constrain the properties of the extragalactic FUV background. The mean continuum level, IEG = 280 +/- 35 photons cm-2 s-1 angstrom-1 sr-1, was obtained in a direction with very low H I column density, and this represents a firm upper limit to any extragalactic background in the 1400-1900 angstroms band. Previous work has demonstrated that the far-ultraviolet background includes (depending on a view direction) contributions from dust-scattered Galactic light, high-ionization emission lines, two-photon emission from H II, H2 fluorescence, and the integrated light of spiral galaxies. We find no evidence in the spectrum of line or continuum features that would signify additional extragalactic components. Motivated by the observation of steep BJ and U number count distributions, we have made a detailed comparison of galaxy evolution models to optical and UV data. We find that the observations are difficult to reconcile with a dominant contribution from unclustered, starburst galaxies at low redshifts. Our measurement rules out large ionizing fluxes at z = 0, but cannot strongly constrain the QSO background light, which is expected to be 0.5%-4% of IEG. We present improved limits on radiative lifetimes of massive neutrinos. We demonstrated with a simple model that IGM radiation is unlikely to make a significant contribution to IEG. Since dust scattering could produce a significant part of the continuum in this lowest intensity spectrum, we carried out a series of tests to evaluate this possibility. We find that the spectrum of a nearby target with higher NH I, when corrected for H2 fluorescence, is very similar to the spectrum obtained in the low H I view direction. This is evidence that the majority of the continuum observed at low NH I is also dust reflection, indicating either the existence of a hitherto unidentified dust component, or of a large enhancement in dust scattering efficiency in low-density gas. We also review the effects of an additional dust component on the far-infrared background and on extragalactic FUV observations. We conclude that dust reflection, combined with modest contributions from H II two-photon emission and from the integrated light of late-type galaxies, may account for virtually all of the FUV background in low H I column density directions.

Why do general dental practitioners become involved in clinical teaching? A pilot study exploring the views of part-time practitioner teachers, King's College London.

PubMed

Davies, B R; Leung, A N; Dunne, S M

2013-05-01

Dental schools in the United Kingdom are becoming increasingly reliant on the services of part-time teachers to deliver the clinical educational component of the dental course. Their background is predominantly from general dental practice but the opportunities to progress in the system are limited. The aim of this study was to ascertain the views and perceptions of such teachers at a dental school. An anonymous, non-incentivised online survey was used to obtain both qualitative and quantitative views of the part timers. The department has n = 40 part-time teachers and there was a response rate of 78%. Overall 73% were satisfied with their current teaching position, whereas the remaining 27% of teachers were seeking higher rewards both in terms of recognition and status. This study demonstrated the need for formal teaching skills and training to be made available to part-time clinical teachers. Allied to this is the requirement for a clearly defined and achievable career pathway.

Interactions between genetic background, insulin resistance and β-cell function.

PubMed

Kahn, S E; Suvag, S; Wright, L A; Utzschneider, K M

2012-10-01

An interaction between genes and the environment is a critical component underlying the pathogenesis of the hyperglycaemia of type 2 diabetes. The development of more sophisticated techniques for studying gene variants and for analysing genetic data has led to the discovery of some 40 genes associated with type 2 diabetes. Most of these genes are related to changes in β-cell function, with a few associated with decreased insulin sensitivity and obesity. Interestingly, using quantitative traits based on continuous measures rather than dichotomous ones, it has become evident that not all genes associated with changes in fasting or post-prandial glucose are also associated with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Identification of these gene variants has provided novel insights into the physiology and pathophysiology of the β-cell, including the identification of molecules involved in β-cell function that were not previously recognized as playing a role in this critical cell. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Ceramics in Restorative and Prosthetic DENTISTRY1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, J. Robert

1997-08-01

This review is intended to provide the ceramic engineer with information about the history and current use of ceramics in dentistry, contemporary research topics, and potential research agenda. Background material includes intra-oral design considerations, descriptions of ceramic dental components, and the origin, composition, and microstructure of current dental ceramics. Attention is paid to efforts involving net-shape processing, machining as a forming method, and the analysis of clinical failure. A rationale is presented for the further development of all-ceramic restorative systems. Current research topics receiving attention include microstructure/processing/property relationships, clinical failure mechanisms and in vitro testing, wear damage and wear testing, surface treatments, and microstructural modifications. The status of the field is critically reviewed with an eye toward future work. Significant improvements seem possible in the clinical use of ceramics based on engineering solutions derived from the study of clinically failed restorations, on the incorporation of higher levels of "biomimicry" in new systems, and on the synergistic developments in dental cements and adhesive dentin bonding.

Use of direct gradient analysis to uncover biological hypotheses in 16s survey data and beyond.

PubMed

Erb-Downward, John R; Sadighi Akha, Amir A; Wang, Juan; Shen, Ning; He, Bei; Martinez, Fernando J; Gyetko, Margaret R; Curtis, Jeffrey L; Huffnagle, Gary B

2012-01-01

This study investigated the use of direct gradient analysis of bacterial 16S pyrosequencing surveys to identify relevant bacterial community signals in the midst of a "noisy" background, and to facilitate hypothesis-testing both within and beyond the realm of ecological surveys. The results, utilizing 3 different real world data sets, demonstrate the utility of adding direct gradient analysis to any analysis that draws conclusions from indirect methods such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA). Direct gradient analysis produces testable models, and can identify significant patterns in the midst of noisy data. Additionally, we demonstrate that direct gradient analysis can be used with other kinds of multivariate data sets, such as flow cytometric data, to identify differentially expressed populations. The results of this study demonstrate the utility of direct gradient analysis in microbial ecology and in other areas of research where large multivariate data sets are involved.

Pure E and B polarization maps via Wiener filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunn, Emory F.; Wandelt, Benjamin

2017-08-01

In order to draw scientific conclusions from observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization, it is necessary to separate the contributions of the E and B components of the data. For data with incomplete sky coverage, there are ambiguous modes, which can be sourced by either E or B signals. Techniques exist for producing "pure" E and B maps, which are guaranteed to be free of cross-contamination, although the standard method, which involves constructing an eigenbasis, has a high computational cost. We show that such pure maps can be thought of as resulting from the application of a Wiener filter to the data. This perspective leads to far more efficient methods of producing pure maps. Moreover, by expressing the idea of purification in the general framework of Wiener filtering (i.e., maximization of a posterior probability), it leads to a variety of generalizations of the notion of pure E and B maps, e.g., accounting for noise or other contaminants in the data as well as correlations with temperature anisotropy.

The Vanderbilt Professional Nursing Practice Program, part 3: managing an advancement process.

PubMed

Steaban, Robin; Fudge, Mitzie; Leutgens, Wendy; Wells, Nancy

2003-11-01

Consistency of performance standards across multiple clinical settings is an essential component of a credible advancement system. Our advancement process incorporates a central committee, composed of nurses from all clinical settings within the institution, to ensure consistency of performance in inpatient, outpatient, and procedural settings. An analysis of nurses advanced during the first 18 months of the program indicates that performance standards are applicable to nurses in all clinical settings. The first article (September 2003) in this 3-part series described the foundation for and the philosophical background of the Vanderbilt Professional Nursing Practice Program (VPNPP), the career advancement program underway at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Part 2 described the development of the evaluation tools used in the VPNPP, the implementation and management of this new system, program evaluation, and improvements since the program's inception. The purpose of this article is to review the advancement process, review the roles of those involved in the process, and to describe outcomes and lessons learned.

Mucinous cystic neoplasms of the mesentery: a case report and review of the literature

PubMed Central

Metaxas, Georgios; Tangalos, Athanasios; Pappa, Polyxeni; Papageorgiou, Irene

2009-01-01

Background Mucinous cystic neoplasms arise in the ovary and various extra-ovarian sites. While their pathogenesis remains conjectural, their similarities suggest a common pathway of development. There have been rare reports involving the mesentery as a primary tumour site. Case presentation A cystic mass of uncertain origin was demonstrated radiologically in a 22 year old female with chronic abdominal pain. At laparotomy, the mass was fixed within the colonic mesentery. Histology demonstrated a benign mucinous cystadenoma. Methods and results We review the literature on mucinous cystic neoplasms of the mesentery and report on the pathogenesis, biologic behavior, diagnosis and treatment of similar extra-ovarian tumors. We propose an updated classification of mesenteric cysts and cystic tumors. Conclusion Mucinous cystic neoplasms of the mesentery present almost exclusively in women and must be considered in the differential diagnosis of mesenteric tumors. Only full histological examination of a mucinous cystic neoplasm can exclude a borderline or malignant component. An updated classification of mesenteric cysts and cystic tumors is proposed. PMID:19454018

Clostridium sordellii Toxic Shock Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Savage, Beverley A.; Vaccarello, Luis

1996-01-01

Background: Since the 1980s, there have been isolated reports of a toxic shock syndrome associated with Clostridium sordellii necrotizing subcutaneous infections during the puerperium. Relatively localized fascial and muscle necrosis is noted at the surgical incision sites. However, circulating toxins produce marked edema, resulting in shock and cardiovascular collapse. Despite aggressive surgical and supportive therapy, all postpartum cases thus far have been fatal. Case: A 24-year-old primipara developed an episiotomy infection which progressed to involve the underlying fascia and muscle. Despite early and adequate debridement of the devitalized tissue, she developed anasarca, marked leukocytosis, refractory hypotension, hypothermia, and a persistent coagulopathy, and expired on postpartum day 5. The cultures from the excised tissue grew C. sordellii All blood cultures were negative. Conclusion: Treatment modalities aimed solely at the eradication of the microbe and removal of necrotic tissue, although essential components of therapy, have proved inadequate. Future efforts should be directed toward neutralization or elimination of the circulating exotoxins responsible for the systemic shock. PMID:18476062

Collagen Membrane and Immune Response in Guided Bone Regeneration: Recent Progress and Perspectives.

PubMed

Chu, Chenyu; Deng, Jia; Sun, Xianchang; Qu, Yili; Man, Yi

2017-10-01

Collagen is one of the important components of collagen membranes as well as the extracellular matrix (ECM). Most previous studies have focused on combining collagen membranes with various cross-linking agents, grafting materials, and cytokines to enhance their mechanical properties and bioactivities. Moreover, collagen membranes are often designed to minimize foreign body reactions involving macrophages. However, macrophages were recently found to play a pivotal role during bone regeneration based on their polarization into both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory phenotypes. Because of the abilities to modulate macrophage polarization and mediate the balance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory microenvironments, immune-responsive collagen membranes may be an innovative strategy for promoting bone regeneration. Herein, following a brief review of collagen membranes and the background of macrophages, recent modulations and studies of immune-responsive collagen are described to express the potential of collagen interacting with macrophages and the necessity of further studies in the field of immune-responsive collagen membranes.

Gestational surrogacy and the role of routine embryo screening: Current challenges and future directions for preimplantation genetic testing.

PubMed

Sills, E Scott; Anderson, Robert E; McCaffrey, Mary; Li, Xiang; Arrach, Nabil; Wood, Samuel H

2016-03-01

Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) is a component of IVF entailing selection of an embryo for transfer on the basis of chromosomal normalcy. If PGS were integrated with single embryo transfer (SET) in a surrogacy setting, this approach could improve pregnancy rates, minimize miscarriage risk, and limit multiple gestations. Even without PGS, pregnancy rates for IVF surrogacy cases are generally satisfactory, especially when treatment utilizes embryos derived from young oocytes and transferred to a healthy surrogate. However, there could be a more general role for PGS in surrogacy, since background aneuploidy in embryos remains a major factor driving implantation failure and miscarriage for all infertility patients. At present, the proportion of IVF cases involving GS is limited, while the number of IVF patients requesting PGS appears to be increasing. In this report, the relevance of PGS for surrogacy in the rapidly changing field of assisted fertility medicine is discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Construction and fed-batch cultivation of Candida famata with enhanced riboflavin production.

PubMed

Dmytruk, Kostyantyn; Lyzak, Oleksy; Yatsyshyn, Valentyna; Kluz, Maciej; Sibirny, Vladimir; Puchalski, Czeslaw; Sibirny, Andriy

2014-02-20

Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is an essential nutrition component serving as a precursor of coenzymes FMN and FAD that are involved mostly in reactions of oxidative metabolism. Riboflavin is produced in commercial scale and is used in feed and food industries, and in medicine. The yeast Candida famata (Candida flareri) belongs to the group of so called "flavinogenic yeasts" which overproduce riboflavin under iron limitation. Three genes SEF1, RIB1 and RIB7 coding for a putative transcription factor, GTP cyclohydrolase II and riboflavin synthase, respectively were simultaneously overexpressed in the background of a non-reverting riboflavin producing mutant AF-4, obtained earlier in our laboratory using methods of classical selection (Dmytruk et al. (2011), Metabolic Engineering 13, 82-88). Cultivation conditions of the constructed strain were optimized for shake-flasks and bioreactor cultivations. The constructed strain accumulated up to 16.4g/L of riboflavin in optimized medium in a 7L laboratory bioreactor during fed-batch fermentation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Productivity Dilemma in Workplace Health Promotion

PubMed Central

Cherniack, Martin

2015-01-01

Background. Worksite-based programs to improve workforce health and well-being (Workplace Health Promotion (WHP)) have been advanced as conduits for improved worker productivity and decreased health care costs. There has been a countervailing health economics contention that return on investment (ROI) does not merit preventive health investment. Methods/Procedures. Pertinent studies were reviewed and results reconsidered. A simple economic model is presented based on conventional and alternate assumptions used in cost benefit analysis (CBA), such as discounting and negative value. The issues are presented in the format of 3 conceptual dilemmas. Principal Findings. In some occupations such as nursing, the utility of patient survival and staff health is undervalued. WHP may miss important components of work related health risk. Altering assumptions on discounting and eliminating the drag of negative value radically change the CBA value. Significance. Simple monetization of a work life and calculation of return on workforce health investment as a simple alternate opportunity involve highly selective interpretations of productivity and utility. PMID:26380374

System-wide lean implementation in health care: A multiple case study.

PubMed

Centauri, Federica; Mazzocato, Pamela; Villa, Stefano; Marsilio, Marta

2018-05-01

Background Lean practices have been widely used by health care organizations to meet efficiency, performance and quality improvement needs. The lean health care literature shows that the effective implementation of lean requires a holistic system-wide approach. However, there is still limited evidence on what drives effective system-wide lean implementation in health care. The existing literature suggests that a deeper understanding of how lean interventions interact with the organizational context is necessary to identify the critical variables to successfully sustain system-wide lean strategies. Purpose and methodology: A multiple case study of three Italian hospitals is conducted with the aim to explore the organizational conditions that are relevant for an effective system-wide lean implementation. A conceptual framework, built on socio-technical system schemas, is used to guide data collection and analysis. The analysis points out the importance to support lean implementation with an integrated and coordinated strategy involving the social, technical, and external components of the overall hospital system.

Electrophysiological effects of tachykinin analogues on ganglion cell activity in cyprinid fish retina.

PubMed

Downing, J E; Djamgoź, M B

1993-02-01

Electrical spike activity of ganglion cells has been recorded extracellularly in the teleost (roach) retina, and effects of a variety of tachykinins studied at a working concentration of 1 microM. Application of substance P mostly caused a slow and prolonged increase in background activity. In contrast, the response to carbachol was very brisk and short-lasting. Substance P and physalaemin predominantly induced an enhancement of 'On' and 'Off' components of light-evoked responses, whilst eledoisin and neurokinin A were mostly inhibitory. All effects were independent of chromatic and spatial aspects of the responses. Interestingly, in the presence of a tachykinin antagonist, 'Spantide' [D-Arg1,D-Pro2, D-Trp7.9, Leu11]SP, the profile of the effect of substance P reversed, inhibitory actions becoming much more common. Taken together, the results suggest that a tachykinin system utilising two subtypes of the receptor may be active in the roach retina and these may be involved in differential control of visual sensitivity.

Facial and semantic emotional interference: A pilot study on the behavioral and cortical responses to the dual valence association task

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Integration of compatible or incompatible emotional valence and semantic information is an essential aspect of complex social interactions. A modified version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) called Dual Valence Association Task (DVAT) was designed in order to measure conflict resolution processing from compatibility/incompatibly of semantic and facial valence. The DVAT involves two emotional valence evaluative tasks which elicits two forms of emotional compatible/incompatible associations (facial and semantic). Methods Behavioural measures and Event Related Potentials were recorded while participants performed the DVAT. Results Behavioural data showed a robust effect that distinguished compatible/incompatible tasks. The effects of valence and contextual association (between facial and semantic stimuli) showed early discrimination in N170 of faces. The LPP component was modulated by the compatibility of the DVAT. Conclusions Results suggest that DVAT is a robust paradigm for studying the emotional interference effect in the processing of simultaneous information from semantic and facial stimuli. PMID:21489277

Matching food security analysis to context: the experience of the Somalia food security assessment unit.

PubMed

Hemrich, Günter

2005-06-01

This case study reviews the experience of the Somalia Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU) of operating a food security information system in the context of a complex emergency. In particular, it explores the linkages between selected features of the protracted crisis environment in Somalia and conceptual and operational aspects of food security information work. The paper specifically examines the implications of context characteristics for the establishment and operations of the FSAU field monitoring component and for the interface with information users and their diverse information needs. It also analyses the scope for linking food security and nutrition analysis and looks at the role of conflict and gender analysis in food security assessment work. Background data on the food security situation in Somalia and an overview of some key features of the FSAU set the scene for the case study. The paper is targeted at those involved in designing, operating and funding food security information activities.

Evaluation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia by oligonucleotide-based microarray analysis uncovers novel aberrations not detected by FISH or cytogenetic analysis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Cytogenetic evaluation is a key component of the diagnosis and prognosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We performed oligonucleotide-based comparative genomic hybridization microarray analysis on 34 samples with CLL and known abnormal karyotypes previously determined by cytogenetics and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results Using a custom designed microarray that targets >1800 genes involved in hematologic disease and other malignancies, we identified additional cryptic aberrations and novel findings in 59% of cases. These included gains and losses of genes associated with cell cycle regulation, apoptosis and susceptibility loci on 3p21.31, 5q35.2q35.3, 10q23.31q23.33, 11q22.3, and 22q11.23. Conclusions Our results show that microarray analysis will detect known aberrations, including microscopic and cryptic alterations. In addition, novel genomic changes will be uncovered that may become important prognostic predictors or treatment targets for CLL in the future. PMID:22087757

Antioxidative Activities of Both Oleic Acid and Camellia tenuifolia Seed Oil Are Regulated by the Transcription Factor DAF-16/FOXO in Caenorhabditis elegans

PubMed Central

Wei, Chia-Cheng; Yen, Pei-Ling; Chang, Shang-Tzen; Cheng, Pei-Ling; Lo, Yi-Chen; Liao, Vivian Hsiu-Chuan

2016-01-01

Background Tea seed oil is a high quality edible oil, yet lacking sufficient scientific evidences to support the nutritional and medical purposes. We identified major and minor components in Camellia tenuifolia seed oil and investigated the antioxidative activity and its underlying mechanisms in Caenorhabditis elegans. Principal Findings The results showed that the major constitutes in C. tenuifolia seed oil were unsaturated fatty acids (~78.4%). Moreover, two minor compounds, β-amyrin and β-sitosterol, were identified and their antioxidative activity was examined. We found that oleic acid was the major constitute in C. tenuifolia seed oil and plays a key role in the antioxidative activity of C. tenuifolia seed oil in C. elegans. Conclusions This study found evidences that the transcription factor DAF-16/FOXO was involved in both oleic acid- and C. tenuifolia seed oil-mediated oxidative stress resistance in C. elegans. This study suggests the potential of C. tenuifolia seed oil as nutrient or functional foods. PMID:27275864

Managers’ Perceptions of the Value and Impact of HAZWOPER Worker Health and Safety Training

PubMed Central

Riley, Kevin; Slatin, Craig; Rice, Carol; Rosen, Mitchel; Weidner, B. Louise; Fleishman, Jane; Alerding, Linda; Delp, Linda

2018-01-01

Background Worker training is a core component of the OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard, but few studies have considered what motivates managers to provide HAZWOPER training to employees or what they value in that training. Methods In 2012, four university-based programs conducted an exploratory survey of managers who sent employees to HAZWOPER courses. Results from 109 respondents were analyzed. Results Forty-two percent of respondents cited regulations as the most important reason to provide HAZWOPER training; many indicated they would provide less training if there were no standard in place. Three-quarters (74%) reported training had improved workplace conditions. Fewer than half said they were likely to involve trained employees in aspects of the organization’s H&S program. Discussion Compliance with regulatory requirements is an important factor shaping managers’ training delivery decisions. Managers recognize positive impacts of training. These impacts could be enhanced by further leveraging employee H&S knowledge and skills. PMID:26010141

Citizen Sky, IYA 2009 and What's To Come

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Rebecca; Price, A.; Henden, A.

2010-01-01

Citizen Sky is a multi-year, NSF funded citizen science project involving the bright and mysterious variable star eps Aur. The project was conceived by the IYA 2009 working group on Research Experiences for Students, Teachers, and Citizen-Scientists. Citizen Sky is going beyond simple observing to include a major data analysis component. The goal is to introduce the participant to the full scientific process from background research to paper writing for a peer-reviewed journal. During IYA 2009 the Citizen Sky team was fully assembled, the website was developed and put online, and the first of two participant workshops was held. However, Citizen Sky does not stop or even slow down with the conclusion of IYA 2009. The project will continue to grow in the coming years. New participants are being recruited and trained as the observing phase of the project continues, a second participant workshop is planned for 2010, and the data analysis phase of the project will begin in earnest.

The first pictures: perceptual foundations of Paleolithic art.

PubMed

Halverson, J

1992-01-01

Paleolithic representational art has a number of consistent characteristics: the subjects are almost always animals, depicted without scenic background, usually in profile, and mostly in outline; the means of representation are extremely economical, often consisting of only a few strokes that indicate the salient features of the animal which are sufficient to suggest the whole form; and it is naturalistic to a degree, but lacks anything like photographic realism. Two elementary questions are raised in this essay: (i) why did the earliest known attempts at depiction have just these characteristics and not others? and (ii) how are objects so minimally represented recognizable? The answers seem to lie with certain fundamental features of visual perception, especially figure-ground distinction, Gestalt principles of closure and good continuation, line surrogacy, component feature analysis, and canonical imaging. In the earliest pictures the graphic means used are such that they evoke the same visual responses as those involved in the perception of real-world forms, but eschew redundancies of color, texture, linear perspective, and completeness of representation.

A new design of groundwater sampling device and its application.

PubMed

Tsai, Yih-jin; Kuo, Ming-ching T

2005-01-01

Compounds in the atmosphere contaminate samples of groundwater. An inexpensive and simple method for collecting groundwater samples is developed to prevent contamination when the background concentration of contaminants is high. This new design of groundwater sampling device involves a glass sampling bottle with a Teflon-lined valve at each end. A cleaned and dried sampling bottle was connected to a low flow-rate peristaltic pump with Teflon tubing and was filled with water. No headspace volume was remained in the sampling bottle. The sample bottle was then packed in a PVC bag to prevent the target component from infiltrating into the water sample through the valves. In this study, groundwater was sampled at six wells using both the conventional method and the improved method. The analysis of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) concentrations at these six wells indicates that all the groundwater samples obtained by the conventional sampling method were contaminated by CFC-11 from the atmosphere. The improved sampling method greatly eliminated the problems of contamination, preservation and quantitative analysis of natural water.

Molecular Characterization of the NLRC4 Expression in Relation to Interleukin-18 Levels

PubMed Central

Zeller, Tanja; Haase, Tina; Müller, Christian; Riess, Helene; Lau, Denise; Zeller, Simon; Krause, Jasmin; Baumert, Jens; Pless, Ole; Dupuis, Josée; Wild, Philipp S.; Eleftheriadis, Medea; Waldenberger, Melanie; Zeilinger, Sonja; Ziegler, Andreas; Peters, Annette; Tiret, Laurence; Proust, Carole; Marzi, Carola; Munzel, Thomas; Strauch, Konstantin; Prokisch, Holger; Lackner, Karl J.; Herder, Christian; Thorand, Barbara; Benjamin, Emilia J.; Blankenberg, Stefan; Koenig, Wolfgang; Schnabel, Renate B.

2015-01-01

Background Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pleiotropic cytokine centrally involved in the cytokine cascade with complex immunomodulatory functions in innate and acquired immunity. Circulating IL-18 concentrations are associated with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular events and diverse inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Methods and Results To identify causal variants affecting circulating IL-18 concentrations, we applied various omics and molecular biology approaches. By GWAS, we confirmed association of IL-18 levels with a SNP in the untranslated exon 2 of the inflammasome component NLRC4 (NLR family, CARD domain containing 4) gene on chromosome 2 (rs385076, P=2.4×10−45). Subsequent molecular analyses by gene expression analysis and reporter gene assays indicated an effect of rs385076 on NLRC4 expression and differential isoform usage by modulating binding of the transcription factor PU.1. Conclusions Our study provides evidence for the functional causality of SNP rs385076 within the NLRC4 gene in relation to IL-18 activation. PMID:26362438

Treatment of Adolescent Substance Use Disorders and Co-Occurring Internalizing Disorders: A Critical Review and Proposed Model

PubMed Central

Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Quinn, Patrick D.; Scott, Eric L.

2016-01-01

Background The past several decades have seen dramatic growth in empirically supported treatments for adolescent substance use disorders (SUDs), yet even the most well-established approaches struggle to produce large or long-lasting improvements. These difficulties may stem, in part, from the high rates of comorbidity between SUDs and other psychiatric disorders. Method We critically reviewed the treatment outcome literature for adolescents with co-occurring SUDs and internalizing disorders. Results Our review identified components of existing treatments that might be included in an integrated, evidence-based approach to the treatment of SUDs and internalizing disorders. An effective program may involve careful assessment, inclusion of parents or guardians, and tailoring of interventions via a modular strategy. Conclusions The existing literature guides the development of a conceptual evidence-based, modular treatment model targeting adolescents with co-occurring internalizing and SUDs. With empirical study, such a model may better address treatment outcomes for both disorder types in adolescents. PMID:25973718

Family Environment, Educational Aspirations, and Academic Achievement in Two Cultural Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seginer, Rachel; Vermulst, Ad

2002-01-01

Tested a four-step model involving family background parental support and demandingness, educational aspirations, and academic achievement. Data came from Israeli eighth graders within two cultural settings: transition to modernity (Arabs) and Western (Jews). Family background directly and indirectly affected academic achievement among Arabs but…

A journal club as a teaching and learning strategy in nurse teacher education.

PubMed

Sheehan, J

1994-03-01

An account of the operation of a journal club in a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course for teachers of nursing is reported here. The paper is based on three issues: the background to journal clubs, the process involved in the operation of the club concerned, and the expected outcomes. The origins of journal clubs and the reading habits of nurses are considered in the background section through a review of some of the relevant literature. The negotiation involved, the frequency of meetings and the ethos in which they were conducted are discussed in the section on the processes involved. In the final section, both the tangible and personal outcomes are discussed and the conclusion reached is that a journal club is a worthwhile educational activity.

Background Predictors and Event-Specific Characteristics of Sexual Aggression Incidents: The Roles of Alcohol and Other Factors.

PubMed

Davis, Kelly Cue; Danube, Cinnamon L; Stappenbeck, Cynthia A; Norris, Jeanette; George, William H

2015-08-01

Sexual assault in the United States is an important public health concern. Using prospective longitudinal methods and responses from 217 community men, we examined whether background characteristics predicted subsequent sexual aggression (SA) perpetration during a 3-month follow-up period. We also examined event-specific characteristics of reported SA occurrences. Consistent with predictions, SA perpetration history, aggressive and impulsive personality traits, rape myth attitudes, and alcohol expectancies predicted SA (both non- and alcohol-involved) at follow-up. In addition, alcohol-involved assaults occurred more often with casual (vs. steady) partners but were more likely to involve condom use with casual (vs. steady) partners. Results suggest important avenues for future research and SA prevention efforts. © The Author(s) 2015.

Independent component model for cognitive functions of multiple subjects using [15O]H2O PET images.

PubMed

Park, Hae-Jeong; Kim, Jae-Jin; Youn, Tak; Lee, Dong Soo; Lee, Myung Chul; Kwon, Jun Soo

2003-04-01

An independent component model of multiple subjects' positron emission tomography (PET) images is proposed to explore the overall functional components involved in a task and to explain subject specific variations of metabolic activities under altered experimental conditions utilizing the Independent component analysis (ICA) concept. As PET images represent time-compressed activities of several cognitive components, we derived a mathematical model to decompose functional components from cross-sectional images based on two fundamental hypotheses: (1) all subjects share basic functional components that are common to subjects and spatially independent of each other in relation to the given experimental task, and (2) all subjects share common functional components throughout tasks which are also spatially independent. The variations of hemodynamic activities according to subjects or tasks can be explained by the variations in the usage weight of the functional components. We investigated the plausibility of the model using serial cognitive experiments of simple object perception, object recognition, two-back working memory, and divided attention of a syntactic process. We found that the independent component model satisfactorily explained the functional components involved in the task and discuss here the application of ICA in multiple subjects' PET images to explore the functional association of brain activations. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

77 FR 36419 - Feasibility of Enumerating “Specially Designed” Components

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-19

... feasibility of positively identifying ``specially designed'' ``components'' on the Commerce Control List (CCL... exhaustive lists of the ``specially designed'' ``components'' referred to in certain Export Control... project involving minimizing the use of the term ``specially designed'' on the current Commerce Control...

ESEA Title I Migrant. Final Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin Independent School District, TX. Office of Research and Evaluation.

The 1981-82 Austin (Texas) Independent School District Title I Migrant Program consisted of seven components: three instructional components--prekindergarten, communication skills, and summer school; and four support components--health services, parental involvement, migrant student record transfer system (MSRTS), and evaluation. The major…

Treatment of erythemato-telangiectatic rosacea with brimonidine alone or combined with vascular laser based on preliminary instrumental evaluation of the vascular component.

PubMed

Micali, Giuseppe; Dall'Oglio, Federica; Verzì, Anna Elisa; Luppino, Ivano; Bhatt, Karishma; Lacarrubba, Francesco

2017-09-09

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcome of a series of patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (ETR) affected by persistent erythema and varying degree of telangiectasias being treated with brimonidine alone or combined with a vascular laser based on the type of vascular components preliminarily evaluated by clinical and instrumental observation. Ten patients affected by ETR were enrolled in a pilot, open study. Instrumental evaluation included erythema-directed digital photography by VISIA-CR™ system and X10 dermoscopy. Those patients showing marked background erythema and minimal telangiectasias (group A) were treated with a single application of brimonidine 0.33% gel, while patients showing both marked background erythema and marked telangiectasias (group B) were treated with a session of Nd:YAG laser and reevaluated 1 month later after a single application of brimonidine. An Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) of treatment outcome was performed at the end of treatment in both groups. In group A, 6 h after brimonidine application, a marked reduction of the background erythema was observed in all patients, and IGA was rated as excellent. In group B, 6 h following the application of brimonidine, a marked reduction of the background erythema was observed in all cases, while telangiectasias remained unchanged. A further treatment with brimonidine 1 month after the Nd:YAG laser session determined complete clearing of facial erythema, and IGA was rated as excellent. In conclusion, a preliminary evaluation of the vascular component by erythema-directed digital photography and dermoscopy in ETR may be helpful to select the most appropriate therapeutic strategy.

[Hypovitaminosis D and metabolic syndrome].

PubMed

Miñambres, Inka; de Leiva, Alberto; Pérez, Antonio

2014-12-23

Metabolic syndrome and hypovitaminosis D are 2 diseases with high prevalence that share several risk factors, while epidemiological evidence shows they are associated. Although the mechanisms involved in this association are not well established, hypovitaminosis D is associated with insulin resistance, decreased insulin secretion and activation of the renin-angiotensin system, mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome. However, the apparent ineffectiveness of vitamin D supplementation on metabolic syndrome components, as well as the limited information about the effect of improving metabolic syndrome components on vitamin D concentrations, does not clarify the direction and the mechanisms involved in the causal relationship between these 2 pathologies. Overall, because of the high prevalence and the epidemiological association between both diseases, hypovitaminosis D could be considered a component of the metabolic syndrome. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Functional remediation components: A conceptual method of evaluating the effects of remediation on risks to ecological receptors

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

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Bunn, Amoret

2016-08-30

Governmental agencies, regulators, health professionals, tribal leaders, and the public are faced with understanding and evaluating the effects of cleanup activities on species, populations, and ecosystems. While engineers and managers understand the processes involved in different remediation types such as capping, pump and treat, and natural attenuation, there is often a disconnect between (1) how ecologists view the influence of different types of remediation, (2) how the public perceives them, and (3) how engineers understand them. The overall goal of the present investigation was to define the components of remediation types (= functional remediation). Objectives were to (1) define andmore » describe functional components of remediation, regardless of the remediation type, (2) provide examples of each functional remediation component, and (3) explore potential effects of functional remediation components in the post-cleanup phase that may involve continued monitoring and assessment. Functional remediation components include types, numbers, and intensity of people, trucks, heavy equipment, pipes, and drill holes, among others. Several components may be involved in each remediation type, and each results in ecological effects, ranging from trampling of plants, to spreading invasive species, to disturbing rare species, and to creating fragmented habitats. In some cases remediation may exert a greater effect on ecological receptors than leaving the limited contamination in place. A goal of this conceptualization is to break down functional components of remediation such that managers, regulators, and the public might assess the effects of timing, extent, and duration of different remediation options on ecological systems.« less

An examination of effect estimation in factorial and standardly-tailored designs

PubMed Central

Allore, Heather G; Murphy, Terrence E

2012-01-01

Background Many clinical trials are designed to test an intervention arm against a control arm wherein all subjects are equally eligible for all interventional components. Factorial designs have extended this to test multiple intervention components and their interactions. A newer design referred to as a ‘standardly-tailored’ design, is a multicomponent interventional trial that applies individual interventional components to modify risk factors identified a priori and tests whether health outcomes differ between treatment arms. Standardly-tailored designs do not require that all subjects be eligible for every interventional component. Although standardly-tailored designs yield an estimate for the net effect of the multicomponent intervention, it has not yet been shown if they permit separate, unbiased estimation of individual component effects. The ability to estimate the most potent interventional components has direct bearing on conducting second stage translational research. Purpose We present statistical issues related to the estimation of individual component effects in trials of geriatric conditions using factorial and standardly-tailored designs. The medical community is interested in second stage translational research involving the transfer of results from a randomized clinical trial to a community setting. Before such research is undertaken, main effects and synergistic and or antagonistic interactions between them should be identified. Knowledge of the relative strength and direction of the effects of the individual components and their interactions facilitates the successful transfer of clinically significant findings and may potentially reduce the number of interventional components needed. Therefore the current inability of the standardly-tailored design to provide unbiased estimates of individual interventional components is a serious limitation in their applicability to second stage translational research. Methods We discuss estimation of individual component effects from the family of factorial designs and this limitation for standardly-tailored designs. We use the phrase ‘factorial designs’ to describe full-factorial designs and their derivatives including the fractional factorial, partial factorial, incomplete factorial and modified reciprocal designs. We suggest two potential directions for designing multicomponent interventions to facilitate unbiased estimates of individual interventional components. Results Full factorial designs and their variants are the most common multicomponent trial design described in the literature and differ meaningfully from standardly-tailored designs. Factorial and standardly-tailored designs result in similar estimates of net effect with different levels of precision. Unbiased estimation of individual component effects from a standardly-tailored design will require new methodology. Limitations Although clinically relevant in geriatrics, previous applications of standardly-tailored designs have not provided unbiased estimates of the effects of individual interventional components. Discussion Future directions to estimate individual component effects from standardly-tailored designs include applying D-optimal designs and creating independent linear combinations of risk factors analogous to factor analysis. Conclusion Methods are needed to extract unbiased estimates of the effects of individual interventional components from standardly-tailored designs. PMID:18375650

STS-132 crew during their PDRS N-TSK MRM training in the building 16 cupola trainer.

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-12-22

JSC2009-E-286974 (22 Dec. 2009) --- Astronauts Ken Ham (left background), STS-132 commander; Tony Antonelli (right background), pilot; and Mike Good, mission specialist, participate in an exercise in the systems engineering simulator in the Avionics Systems Laboratory at NASA?s Johnson Space Center. The facility includes moving scenes of full-sized International Space Station components over a simulated Earth.

Sea Surface Signature of Tropical Cyclones Using Microwave Remote Sensing

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

due to the ionosphere and troposphere, which have to be compensated for, and components due to the galactic and cosmic background radiation those...and corrections for sun glint, galactic and cosmic background radiation, and Stokes effects of the ionosphere. The accuracy of a given retrieval...RESPONSIBLE PERSON 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) Sea surface signature of tropical cyclones using microwave remote sensing Bumjun Kil

Field background odour should be taken into account when formulating a pest attractant based on plant volatiles

PubMed Central

Cai, Xiaoming; Bian, Lei; Xu, Xiuxiu; Luo, Zongxiu; Li, Zhaoqun; Chen, Zongmao

2017-01-01

Attractants for pest monitoring and controlling can be developed based on plant volatiles. Previously, we showed that tea leafhopper (Empoasca onukii) preferred grapevine, peach plant, and tea plant odours to clean air. In this research, we formulated three blends with similar attractiveness to leafhoppers as peach, grapevine, and tea plant volatiles; these blends were composed of (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (E)-ocimene, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, benzaldehyde, and ethyl benzoate. Based on these five compounds, we developed two attractants, formula-P and formula-G. The specific component relative to tea plant volatiles in formula-P was benzaldehyde, and that in formula-G was ethyl benzoate. These two compounds played a role in attracting leafhoppers. In laboratory assays, the two attractants were more attractive than tea plant volatiles to the leafhoppers, and had a similar level of attractiveness. However, the leafhoppers were not attracted to formula-P in the field. A high concentration of benzaldehyde was detected in the background odour of the tea plantations. In laboratory tests, benzaldehyde at the field concentration was attractive to leafhoppers. Our results indicate that the field background odour can interfere with a point-releasing attractant when their components overlap, and that a successful attractant must differ from the field background odour. PMID:28150728

Stability of an ion-ring distribution in a multi-ion component plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mithaiwala, Manish; Rudakov, Leonid; Ganguli, Gurudas

2010-04-01

The stability of a cold ion-ring velocity distribution in a thermal plasma is analyzed. In particular, the effect of plasma temperature and density on the instability is considered. A high ring density (compared to the background plasma) neutralizes the stabilizing effect of the warm background plasma and the ring is unstable to the generation of waves below the lower-hybrid frequency even for a very high temperature plasma. For ring densities lower than the background plasma density, there is a slow instability where the growth rate is less than the background-ion cyclotron frequency and, consequently, the background-ion response is magnetized. This is in addition to the widely discussed fast instability where the wave growth rate exceeds the background-ion cyclotron frequency and hence the background ions are effectively unmagnetized. Thus, even a low density ring is unstable to waves around the lower-hybrid frequency range for any ring speed. This implies that effectively there is no velocity threshold for a sufficiently cold ring.

Chemosensory Gene Families in Ectropis grisescens and Candidates for Detection of Type-II Sex Pheromones.

PubMed

Li, Zhao-Qun; Luo, Zong-Xiu; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bian, Lei; Xin, Zhao-Jun; Liu, Yan; Chu, Bo; Chen, Zong-Mao

2017-01-01

Tea grey geometrid ( Ectropis grisescens ), a devastating chewing pest in tea plantations throughout China, produces Type-II pheromone components. Little is known about the genes encoding proteins involved in the perception of Type-II sex pheromone components. To investigate the olfaction genes involved in E . grisescens sex pheromones and plant volatiles perception, we sequenced female and male antennae transcriptomes of E . grisescens . After assembly and annotation, we identified 153 candidate chemoreception genes in E. grisescens , including 40 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 30 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 59 odorant receptors (ORs), and 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs). The results of phylogenetic, qPCR, and mRNA abundance analyses suggested that three candidate pheromone-binding proteins (EgriOBP2, 3, and 25), two candidate general odorant-binding proteins (EgriOBP1 and 29), six pheromone receptors (EgriOR24, 25, 28, 31, 37, and 44), and EgriCSP8 may be involved in the detection of Type-II sex pheromone components. Functional investigation by heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes revealed that EgriOR31 was robustly tuned to the E . grisescens sex pheromone component (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-octadecatriene and weakly to the other sex pheromone component (Z,Z)-3,9-6,7-epoxyoctadecadiene. Our results represent a systematic functional analysis of the molecular mechanism of olfaction perception in E . grisescens with an emphasis on gene encoding proteins involved in perception of Type-II sex pheromones, and provide information that will be relevant to other Lepidoptera species.

Chemosensory Gene Families in Ectropis grisescens and Candidates for Detection of Type-II Sex Pheromones

PubMed Central

Li, Zhao-Qun; Luo, Zong-Xiu; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bian, Lei; Xin, Zhao-Jun; Liu, Yan; Chu, Bo; Chen, Zong-Mao

2017-01-01

Tea grey geometrid (Ectropis grisescens), a devastating chewing pest in tea plantations throughout China, produces Type-II pheromone components. Little is known about the genes encoding proteins involved in the perception of Type-II sex pheromone components. To investigate the olfaction genes involved in E. grisescens sex pheromones and plant volatiles perception, we sequenced female and male antennae transcriptomes of E. grisescens. After assembly and annotation, we identified 153 candidate chemoreception genes in E. grisescens, including 40 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 30 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 59 odorant receptors (ORs), and 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs). The results of phylogenetic, qPCR, and mRNA abundance analyses suggested that three candidate pheromone-binding proteins (EgriOBP2, 3, and 25), two candidate general odorant-binding proteins (EgriOBP1 and 29), six pheromone receptors (EgriOR24, 25, 28, 31, 37, and 44), and EgriCSP8 may be involved in the detection of Type-II sex pheromone components. Functional investigation by heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes revealed that EgriOR31 was robustly tuned to the E. grisescens sex pheromone component (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-octadecatriene and weakly to the other sex pheromone component (Z,Z)-3,9-6,7-epoxyoctadecadiene. Our results represent a systematic functional analysis of the molecular mechanism of olfaction perception in E. grisescens with an emphasis on gene encoding proteins involved in perception of Type-II sex pheromones, and provide information that will be relevant to other Lepidoptera species. PMID:29209233

Characterization of γ-ray background at IMAT beamline of ISIS Spallation Neutron Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Festa, G.; Andreani, C.; Arcidiacono, L.; Burca, G.; Kockelmann, W.; Minniti, T.; Senesi, R.

2017-08-01

The environmental γ -ray background on the IMAT beamline at ISIS Spallation Neutron Source, Target Station 2, is characterized via γ spectroscopy. The measurements include gamma exposure at the imaging detector position, along with the gamma background inside the beamline. Present results are discussed and compared with previous measurements recorded at INES and VESUVIO beamlines operating at Target Station 1. They provide new outcome for expanding and optimizing the PGAA experimental capability at the ISIS neutron source for the investigation of materials, engineering components and cultural heritage objects at the ISIS neutron source.

A slowly moving foreground can capture an observer's self-motion--a report of a new motion illusion: inverted vection.

PubMed

Nakamura, S; Shimojo, S

2000-01-01

We investigated interactions between foreground and background stimuli during visually induced perception of self-motion (vection) by using a stimulus composed of orthogonally moving random-dot patterns. The results indicated that, when the foreground moves with a slower speed, a self-motion sensation with a component in the same direction as the foreground is induced. We named this novel component of self-motion perception 'inverted vection'. The robustness of inverted vection was confirmed using various measures of self-motion sensation and under different stimulus conditions. The mechanism underlying inverted vection is discussed with regard to potentially relevant factors, such as relative motion between the foreground and background, and the interaction between the mis-registration of eye-movement information and self-motion perception.

Contributions to the initial development of a microelectromechanical loop heat pipe, which is based on coherent porous silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cytrynowicz, Debra G.

The research project itself was the initiation of the development of a planar miniature loop heat pipe based on a capillary wick structure made of coherent porous silicon. Work on this project fell into four main categories, which were component fabrication, test system construction, characterization testing and test data collection, performance analysis and thermal modeling. Component fabrication involved the production of various components for the evaporator. When applicable, these components were to be produced by microelectronic and MEMS or microelectromechanical fabrication techniques. Required work involved analyses and, where necessary, modifications to the wafer processing sequence, the photo-electrochemical etching process, system and controlling computer program to make it more reliable, flexible and efficient. The development of more than one wick production process was also extremely necessary in the event of equipment failure. Work on developing this alternative also involved investigations into various details of the photo-electrochemical etching process itself. Test system construction involved the actual assembly of open and closed loop test systems. Characterization involved developing and administering a series of tests to evaluate the performance of the wicks and test systems. Although there were some indications that the devices were operating according to loop heat pipe theory, they were transient and unstable. Performance analysis involved the construction of a transparent evaporator, which enabled the visual observation of the phenomena, which occurred in the evaporator during operation. It also involved investigating the effect of the quartz wool secondary wick on the operation of the device. Observations made during the visualization study indicated that the capillary and boiling limits were being reached at extremely low values of input power. The work was performed in a collaborative effort between the Biomedical Nanotechnology Research Laboratory at the University of Toledo, the Center for Microelectronics and Sensors and MEMS at the University of Cincinnati and the Thermo-Mechanical Systems Branch of the Power and On-Board Propulsion Division at the John H. Glenn Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Cleveland, Ohio. Work on the project produced six publications, which presented various details on component fabrication, tests system construction and characterization and thermal modeling.

Source apportionment of aerosol particles near a steel plant by electron microscopy.

PubMed

Ebert, Martin; Müller-Ebert, Dörthe; Benker, Nathalie; Weinbruch, Stephan

2012-12-01

The size, morphology and chemical composition of 37,715 individual particles collected over 22 sampling days in the vicinity of a large integrated steel production were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Based on the morphology, chemistry and beam stability the particles were classified into the following fourteen groups: silicates, sea salt, calcium sulfates, calcium carbonates, carbonate-silicate mixtures, sulfate-silicate mixtures, iron oxides, iron mixtures, metal oxide-metals, complex secondary particles, soot, Cl-rich particles, P-rich particles, and other particles. The majority of iron oxide (≈85%) and metal oxide-metal (≈70%) particles as well as ≈20% of the silicate particles are fly ashes from high temperature processes. The emissions from the steel work are dominated by iron oxide particles. For source apportionment, seven source categories and two sectors of local wind direction (industrial and urban background) were distinguished. In both sectors PM₁₀ consists of four major source categories: 35% secondary, 20% industrial, 17% soil and 16% soot in the urban background sector compared to 45% industrial, 20% secondary, 13% soil, and 9% soot in the industrial sector. As the secondary and the soot components are higher in the urban background sector than in the industrial sector, it is concluded that both components predominantly originate from urban background sources (traffic, coal burning, and domestic heating). Abatement measures should not only focus on the steel work but should also include the urban background aerosol.

Controlling Low-Rate Signal Path Microdischarge for an Ultra-Low-Background Proportional Counter

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

Mace, Emily K.; Aalseth, Craig E.; Bonicalzi, Ricco

2013-05-01

ABSTRACT Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has developed an ultra-low-background proportional counter (ULBPC) made of high purity copper. These detectors are part of an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS) in the newly constructed shallow underground laboratory at PNNL (at a depth of ~30 meters water-equivalent). To control backgrounds, the current preamplifier electronics are located outside the ULBCS shielding. Thus the signal from the detector travels through ~1 meter of cable and is potentially susceptible to high voltage microdischarge and other sources of electronic noise. Based on initial successful tests, commercial cables and connectors were used for this critical signal path. Subsequentmore » testing across different batches of commercial cables and connectors, however, showed unwanted (but still low) rates of microdischarge noise. To control this noise source, two approaches were pursued: first, to carefully validate cables, connectors, and other commercial components in this critical signal path, making modifications where necessary; second, to develop a custom low-noise, low-background preamplifier that can be integrated with the ULBPC and thus remove most commercial components from the critical signal path. This integrated preamplifier approach is based on the Amptek A250 low-noise charge-integrating preamplifier module. The initial microdischarge signals observed are presented and characterized according to the suspected source. Each of the approaches for mitigation is described, and the results from both are compared with each other and with the original performance seen with commercial cables and connectors.« less

Teaching Software Componentization: A Bar Chart Java Bean

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitri, Michel

2010-01-01

In the current object-oriented paradigm, software construction increasingly involves creating and utilizing "software components". These components can serve a variety of functions, from common algorithmic processes to database connectivity to graphical interfaces. The advantage of component architectures is that programmers can use pre-existing…

Ladybirds as Teaching Aids: 2. Potential for Practical and Project Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Majerus, M. E. N.; And Others

1989-01-01

Presented are several ideas for projects involving ladybird beetles. Discussed is background information about the insects; and projects involving life histories, intra-specific variation, taxonomy, genetics, behavior, ecology, habitat surveys, population biology, and overwintering biology. Lists 12 references. (CW)

The Voice Handicap Index with Post-Laryngectomy Male Voices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Eryl; Carding, Paul; Drinnan, Michael

2009-01-01

Background: Surgical treatment for advanced laryngeal cancer involves complete removal of the larynx ("laryngectomy") and initial total loss of voice. Post-laryngectomy rehabilitation involves implementation of different means of "voicing" for these patients wherever possible. There is little information about laryngectomees'…

Reassessing the causal structure of enduring involvement

Treesearch

Jinhee Jun; Gerard T. Kyle; James D. Absher; William E. Hammitt

2009-01-01

Guided by tenets of identity theory, we hypothesized a causal structure of enduring involvement suggesting that self-relevant components precede the other dimensions. We used Kyle et al.'s (2004a) Modified Involvement Scale, in which leisure involvement is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of identity affirmation, identity expression,...

Quantifying primary and secondary source contributions to ultrafine particles in the UK urban background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hama, S. M. L.; Cordell, R. L.; Monks, P. S.

2017-10-01

Total particle number (TNC, ≥7 nm diameter), particulate matter (PM2.5), equivalent black carbon (eBC) and gaseous pollutants (NO, NO2, NOx, O3, CO) have been measured at an urban background site in Leicester over two years (2014 and 2015). A derived chemical climatology for the pollutants showed maximum concentrations for all pollutants during the cold period except O3 which peaked during spring. Quantification of primary and secondary sources of ultrafine particles (UFPs) was undertaken using eBC as a tracer for the primary particle number concentration in the Leicester urban area. At the urban background site, which is influenced by fresh vehicle exhaust emissions, TNC was segregated into two components, TNC = N1 + N2. The component N1 represents components directly emitted as particles and compounds which nucleate immediately after emission. The component N2 represents the particles formed during the dilution and cooling of vehicle exhaust emissions and by in situ new particle formation (NPF). The values of highest N1 (49%) were recorded during the morning rush hours (07:00-09:00 h), correlating with NOx, while the maximum contribution of N2 to TNC was found at midday (11:00-14:00 h), at around 62%, correlated with O3. Generally, the percentage of N2 (57%) was greater than the percentage of N1 (43%) for all days at the AURN site over the period of the study. For the first time the impact of wind speed and direction on N1 and N2 was explored. The overall data analysis shows that there are two major sources contributing to TNC in Leicester: primary sources (traffic emissions) and secondary sources, with the majority of particles being of secondary origin.

A Model Parental Involvement Program for Bilingual/Bicultural Developmental Day Care.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Avila, Marcia Freedman

Parental involvement in migrant education is now being mandated across the country. Parental involvement in bilingual/bicultural day care is just as, if not more, important than involvement at the public school level. This study was conducted to test whether or not parental involvement could become an active component in a bilingual/bicultural day…

Method of using infrared radiation for assembling a first component with a second component

DOEpatents

Sikka, Vinod K.; Whitson, Barry G.; Blue, Craig A.

1999-01-01

A method of assembling a first component for assembly with a second component involves a heating device which includes an enclosure having a cavity for inserting a first component. An array of infrared energy generators is disposed within the enclosure. At least a portion of the first component is inserted into the cavity, exposed to infrared energy and thereby heated to a temperature wherein the portion of the first component is sufficiently softened and/or expanded for assembly with a second component.

Mixture Modeling for Background and Sources Separation in x-ray Astronomical Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guglielmetti, Fabrizia; Fischer, Rainer; Dose, Volker

2004-11-01

A probabilistic technique for the joint estimation of background and sources in high-energy astrophysics is described. Bayesian probability theory is applied to gain insight into the coexistence of background and sources through a probabilistic two-component mixture model, which provides consistent uncertainties of background and sources. The present analysis is applied to ROSAT PSPC data (0.1-2.4 keV) in Survey Mode. A background map is modelled using a Thin-Plate spline. Source probability maps are obtained for each pixel (45 arcsec) independently and for larger correlation lengths, revealing faint and extended sources. We will demonstrate that the described probabilistic method allows for detection improvement of faint extended celestial sources compared to the Standard Analysis Software System (SASS) used for the production of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) catalogues.

Provider connectedness and communication patterns: extending continuity of care in the context of the circle of care

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Continuity is an important aspect of quality of care, especially for complex patients in the community. We explored provider perceptions of continuity through a system’s lens. The circle of care was used as the system. Methods Soft systems methodology was used to understand and improve continuity for end of life patients in two communities. Participants: Physicians, nurses, pharmacists in two communities in British Columbia, involved in end of life care. Two debates/discussion groups were completed after the interviews and initial analysis to confirm findings. Interview recordings were qualitatively analyzed to extract components and enablers of continuity. Results 32 provider interviews were completed. Findings from this study support the three types of continuity described by Haggerty and Reid (information, management, and relationship continuity). This work extends their model by adding features of the circle of care that influence and enable continuity: Provider Connectedness the sense of knowing and trust between providers who share care of a patient; a set of ten communication patterns that are used to support continuity across the circle of care; and environmental factors outside the circle that can indirectly influence continuity. Conclusions We present an extended model of continuity of care. The components in the model can support health planners consider how health care is organized to promote continuity and by researchers when considering future continuity research. PMID:23941179

Greater antioxidant and respiratory metabolism in field-grown soybean exposed to elevated O3 under both ambient and elevated CO2.

PubMed

Gillespie, Kelly M; Xu, Fangxiu; Richter, Katherine T; McGrath, Justin M; Markelz, R J Cody; Ort, Donald R; Leakey, Andrew D B; Ainsworth, Elizabeth A

2012-01-01

Antioxidant metabolism is responsive to environmental conditions, and is proposed to be a key component of ozone (O(3)) tolerance in plants. Tropospheric O(3) concentration ([O(3)]) has doubled since the Industrial Revolution and will increase further if precursor emissions rise as expected over this century. Additionally, atmospheric CO(2) concentration ([CO(2)]) is increasing at an unprecedented rate and will surpass 550 ppm by 2050. This study investigated the molecular, biochemical and physiological changes in soybean exposed to elevated [O(3) ] in a background of ambient [CO(2)] and elevated [CO(2)] in the field. Previously, it has been difficult to demonstrate any link between antioxidant defences and O(3) stress under field conditions. However, this study used principle components analysis to separate variability in [O(3)] from variability in other environmental conditions (temperature, light and relative humidity). Subsequent analysis of covariance determined that soybean antioxidant metabolism increased with increasing [O(3)], in both ambient and elevated [CO(2)]. The transcriptional response was dampened at elevated [CO(2)], consistent with lower stomatal conductance and lower O(3) flux into leaves. Energetically expensive increases in antioxidant metabolism and tetrapyrrole synthesis at elevated [O(3)] were associated with greater transcript levels of enzymes involved in respiratory metabolism. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Altered hepatic lipid metabolism in mice lacking both the melanocortin type 4 receptor and low density lipoprotein receptor.

PubMed

Lede, Vera; Meusel, Andrej; Garten, Antje; Popkova, Yulia; Penke, Melanie; Franke, Christin; Ricken, Albert; Schulz, Angela; Kiess, Wieland; Huster, Daniel; Schöneberg, Torsten; Schiller, Jürgen

2017-01-01

Obesity is often associated with dyslipidemia and hepatosteatosis. A number of animal models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are established but they significantly differ in the molecular and biochemical changes depending on the genetic modification and diet used. Mice deficient for melanocortin type 4 receptor (Mc4rmut) develop hyperphagia, obesity, and subsequently NAFLD already under regular chow and resemble more closely the energy supply-driven obesity found in humans. This animal model was used to assess the molecular and biochemical consequences of hyperphagia-induced obesity on hepatic lipid metabolism. We analyzed transcriptome changes in Mc4rmut mice by RNA sequencing and used high resolution 1H magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to assess changes in the lipid composition. On the transcriptomic level we found significant changes in components of the triacylglycerol metabolism, unsaturated fatty acids biosynthesis, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathways, and lipid transport and storage compared to the wild-type. These findings were supported by increases in triacylglycerol, monounsaturated fatty acid, and arachidonic acid levels. The transcriptome signatures significantly differ from those of other NAFLD mouse models supporting the concept of hepatic subphenotypes depending on the genetic background and diet. Comparative analyses of our data with previous studies allowed for the identification of common changes and genotype-specific components and pathways involved in obesity-associated NAFLD.

Intravital multiphoton imaging reveals multicellular streaming as a crucial component of in vivo cell migration in human breast tumors

PubMed Central

Patsialou, Antonia; Bravo-Cordero, Jose Javier; Wang, Yarong; Entenberg, David; Liu, Huiping; Clarke, Michael; Condeelis, John S.

2014-01-01

Metastasis is the main cause of death in breast cancer patients. Cell migration is an essential component of almost every step of the metastatic cascade, especially the early step of invasion inside the primary tumor. In this report, we have used intravital multiphoton microscopy to visualize the different migration patterns of human breast tumor cells in live primary tumors. We used xenograft tumors of MDA-MB-231 cells as well as a low passage xenograft tumor from orthotopically injected patient-derived breast tumor cells. Direct visualization of human tumor cells in vivo shows two patterns of high-speed migration inside primary tumors: a. single cells and b. multicellular streams (i.e., cells following each other in a single file but without cohesive cell junctions). Critically, we found that only streaming and not random migration of single cells was significantly correlated with proximity to vessels, with intravasation and with numbers of elevated circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream. Finally, although the two human tumors were derived from diverse genetic backgrounds, we found that their migratory tumor cells exhibited coordinated gene expression changes that led to the same end-phenotype of enhanced migration involving activating actin polymerization and myosin contraction. Our data are the first direct visualization and assessment of in vivo migration within a live patient-derived breast xenograft tumor. PMID:25013744

Sustainability of the integrated chronic disease management model at primary care clinics in South Africa

PubMed Central

Asmall, Shaidah

2016-01-01

Background An integrated chronic disease management (ICDM) model consisting of four components (facility reorganisation, clinical supportive management, assisted self-supportive management and strengthening of support systems and structures outside the facility) has been implemented across 42 primary health care clinics in South Africa with a view to improve the operational efficiency and patient clinical outcomes. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the sustainability of the facility reorganisation and clinical support components 18 months after the initiation. Setting The study was conducted at 37 of the initiating clinics across three districts in three provinces of South Africa. Methods The National Health Service (NHS) Institute for Innovation and Improvement Sustainability Model (SM) self-assessment tool was used to assess sustainability. Results Bushbuckridge had the highest mean sustainability score of 71.79 (95% CI: 63.70–79.89) followed by West Rand Health District (70.25 (95% CI: 63.96–76.53)) and Dr Kenneth Kaunda District (66.50 (95% CI: 55.17–77.83)). Four facilities (11%) had an overall sustainability score of less than 55. Conclusion The less than optimal involvement of clinical leadership (doctors), negative staff behaviour towards the ICDM, adaptability or flexibility of the model to adapt to external factors and infrastructure limitation have the potential to negatively affect the sustainability and scale-up of the model. PMID:28155314

Keratinocyte cytoskeletal roles in cell sheet engineering

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background There is an increasing need to understand cell-cell interactions for cell and tissue engineering purposes, such as optimizing cell sheet constructs, as well as for examining adhesion defect diseases. For cell-sheet engineering, one major obstacle to sheet function is that cell sheets in suspension are fragile and, over time, will contract. While the role of the cytoskeleton in maintaining the structure and adhesion of cells cultured on a rigid substrate is well-characterized, a systematic examination of the role played by different components of the cytoskeleton in regulating cell sheet contraction and cohesion in the absence of a substrate has been lacking. Results In this study, keratinocytes were cultured until confluent and cell sheets were generated using dispase to remove the influence of the substrate. The effects of disrupting actin, microtubules or intermediate filaments on cell-cell interactions were assessed by measuring cell sheet cohesion and contraction. Keratin intermediate filament disruption caused comparable effects on cell sheet cohesion and contraction, when compared to actin or microtubule disruption. Interfering with actomyosin contraction demonstrated that interfering with cell contraction can also diminish cell cohesion. Conclusions All components of the cytoskeleton are involved in maintaining cell sheet cohesion and contraction, although not to the same extent. These findings demonstrate that substrate-free cell sheet biomechanical properties are dependent on the integrity of the cytoskeleton network. PMID:23442760

Association of CAD, a multifunctional protein involved in pyrimidine synthesis, with mLST8, a component of the mTOR complexes

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background mTOR is a genetically conserved serine/threonine protein kinase, which controls cell growth, proliferation, and survival. A multifunctional protein CAD, catalyzing the initial three steps in de novo pyrimidine synthesis, is regulated by the phosphorylation reaction with different protein kinases, but the relationship with mTOR protein kinase has not been known. Results CAD was recovered as a binding protein with mLST8, a component of the mTOR complexes, from HEK293 cells transfected with the FLAG-mLST8 vector. Association of these two proteins was confirmed by the co-immuoprecipitaiton followed by immunoblot analysis of transfected myc-CAD and FLAG-mLST8 as well as that of the endogenous proteins in the cells. Analysis using mutant constructs suggested that CAD has more than one region for the binding with mLST8, and that mLST8 recognizes CAD and mTOR in distinct ways. The CAD enzymatic activity decreased in the cells depleted of amino acids and serum, in which the mTOR activity is suppressed. Conclusion The results obtained indicate that mLST8 bridges between CAD and mTOR, and plays a role in the signaling mechanism where CAD is regulated in the mTOR pathway through the association with mLST8. PMID:23594158

Integrating cancer survivors' experiences into UK cancer registries: design and development of the ePOCS system (electronic Patient-reported Outcomes from Cancer Survivors)

PubMed Central

Ashley, L; Jones, H; Thomas, J; Forman, D; Newsham, A; Morris, E; Johnson, O; Velikova, G; Wright, P

2011-01-01

Background: Understanding the psychosocial challenges of cancer survivorship, and identifying which patients experience ongoing difficulties, is a key priority. The ePOCS (electronic patient-reported outcomes from cancer survivors) project aims to develop and evaluate a cost-efficient, UK-scalable electronic system for collecting patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), at regular post-diagnostic timepoints, and linking these with clinical data in cancer registries. Methods: A multidisciplinary team developed the system using agile methods. Design entailed process mapping the system's constituent parts, data flows and involved human activities, and undertaking usability testing. Informatics specialists built new technical components, including a web-based questionnaire tool and tracking database, and established component-connecting data flows. Development challenges were overcome, including patient usability and data linkage and security. Results: We have developed a system in which PROMs are completed online, using a secure questionnaire administration tool, accessed via a public-facing website, and the responses are linked and stored with clinical registry data. Patient monitoring and communications are semiautomated via a tracker database, and patient correspondence is primarily Email-based. The system is currently honed for clinician-led hospital-based patient recruitment. Conclusions: A feasibility test study is underway. Although there are possible challenges to sustaining and scaling up ePOCS, the system has potential to support UK epidemiological PROMs collection and clinical data linkage. PMID:22048035

The Intracellular Trafficking Pathway of Transferrin

PubMed Central

Mayle, Kristine M.; Le, Alexander M.; Kamei, Daniel T.

2011-01-01

Background Transferrin (Tf) is an iron-binding protein that facilitates iron-uptake in cells. Iron-loaded Tf first binds to the Tf receptor (TfR) and enters the cell through clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Inside the cell, Tf is trafficked to early endosomes, delivers iron, and then is subsequently directed to recycling endosomes to be taken back to the cell surface. Scope of Review We aim to review the various methods and techniques that researchers have employed for elucidating the Tf trafficking pathway and the cell-machinery components involved. These experimental methods can be categorized as microscopy, radioactivity, and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Major Conclusions Qualitative experiments, such as total internal reflectance fluorescence (TIRF), electron, laser-scanning confocal, and spinning-disk confocal microscopy, have been utilized to determine the roles of key components in the Tf trafficking pathway. These techniques allow temporal resolution and are useful for imaging Tf endocytosis and recycling, which occur on the order of seconds to minutes. Additionally, radiolabeling and SPR methods, when combined with mathematical modeling, have enabled researchers to estimate quantitative kinetic parameters and equilibrium constants associated with Tf binding and trafficking. General Significance Both qualitative and quantitative data can be used to analyze the Tf trafficking pathway. The valuable information that is obtained about the Tf trafficking pathway can then be combined with mathematical models to identify design criteria to improve the ability of Tf to deliver anticancer drugs. PMID:21968002

Updating working memory in aircraft noise and speech noise causes different fMRI activations

PubMed Central

Sætrevik, Bjørn; Sörqvist, Patrik

2015-01-01

The present study used fMRI/BOLD neuroimaging to investigate how visual-verbal working memory is updated when exposed to three different background-noise conditions: speech noise, aircraft noise and silence. The number-updating task that was used can distinguish between “substitution processes,” which involve adding new items to the working memory representation and suppressing old items, and “exclusion processes,” which involve rejecting new items and maintaining an intact memory set. The current findings supported the findings of a previous study by showing that substitution activated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the posterior medial frontal cortex and the parietal lobes, whereas exclusion activated the anterior medial frontal cortex. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex was activated more by substitution processes when exposed to background speech than when exposed to aircraft noise. These results indicate that (a) the prefrontal cortex plays a special role when task-irrelevant materials should be denied access to working memory and (b) that, when compensating for different types of noise, either different cognitive mechanisms are involved or those cognitive mechanisms that are involved are involved to different degrees. PMID:25352319

Technology-Related Involvement: The Effect of the MASHOV System on Parent Involvement in Israeli Junior Highs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidovitch, Nitza; Yavich, Roman

2015-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine differences in parental involvement between two high schools that use the MASHOV program (an online learning management system) and one high school where parents receive updates regarding their children in other ways, with attention to parents' background variables: sex, income, and schooling. The study…

Melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) is involved in the regulation of growth hormone in Cichlasoma dimerus (Cichlidae, Teleostei).

PubMed

Pérez Sirkin, D I; Cánepa, M M; Fossati, M; Fernandino, J I; Delgadin, T; Canosa, L F; Somoza, G M; Vissio, P G

2012-03-01

Growth hormone (GH) is the main pituitary hormone involved in somatic growth. In fish, the neuroendocrine control of GH is multifactorial due to the interaction of multiple inhibitors and stimulators. Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is a cyclic peptide involved in skin color regulation of fish. In addition, MCH has been related to the regulation of food intake in both mammals and fish. There is only one report presenting evidences on the GH release stimulation by MCH in mammals in experiments in vitro, but there are no data on non-mammals. In the present work, we report for the first time the sequence of MCH and GH cDNA in Cichlasoma dimerus, a freshwater South American cichlid fish. We detected contacts between MCH fibers and GH cells in the proximal pars distalis region of the pituitary gland by double label confocal immunofluorescence indicating a possible functional relationship. Besides, we found that MCH increased GH transcript levels and stimulated GH release in pituitary cultures. Additionally, C. dimerus exposed to a white background had a greater number of MCH neurons with a larger nuclear area and higher levels of MCH transcript than those fish exposed to a black background. Furthermore, fish reared for 3 months in a white background showed a greater body weight and total length compared to those from black background suggesting that MCH might be related to somatic growth in C. dimerus. Our results report for the first time, that MCH is involved in the regulation of the synthesis and release of GH in vitro in C. dimerus, and probably in the fish growth rate. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The acquisition of molecular determinants involved in potato virus Y necrosis capacity leads to fitness reduction in tobacco plants.

PubMed

Rolland, Mathieu; Kerlan, Camille; Jacquot, Emmanuel

2009-01-01

The prevalence of necrotic potato virus Y (PVY) in natural populations could reflect increased fitness of necrotic isolates. In this paper, the effects of the acquisition of molecular determinants (A/G(2213) and A/C(2271)) involved in necrosis capacity on both the number of progeny produced and the competitiveness of PVY were characterized. The relationship between necrosis and fitness was tested using (i) Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi and Nicotiana clevelandii, (ii) necrotic PVY(N)-605 and non-necrotic PVY(O)-139 isolates, (iii) single-mutated (PVY(KR) and PVY(ED)) and double-mutated (PVY(KRED)) versions of PVY(N)-605 and (iv) three quantitative PCR assays specific for nt A(2213), G(2213) and A(2271) of the PVY genome. The data demonstrated effects of both the genetic background and nt 2213 and 2271 on the fitness of PVY. Quantification of PVY RNA in singly infected plants revealed that both the PVY(N)-605 genetic background and the acquisition of necrotic capacity resulted in a decrease in the number of progeny produced. Competition experiments revealed that the genetic background of PVY(N) had a positive impact on competitiveness. In contrast, nucleotides involved in necrotic properties were associated with decreased fitness. Finally, in the host that did not respond to infection with necrosis, the benefit associated with the PVY(N)-605 genetic background was higher than the cost associated with the acquisition of molecular determinants involved in necrosis capacity. The opposite result was obtained in the host responding to the infection with necrosis. These results indicate that the emergence of necrotic isolates from a non-necrotic population is unlikely in tobacco.

The facilitated component of intestinal glucose absorption

PubMed Central

Kellett, George L

2001-01-01

Over the last decade, a debate has developed about the mechanism of the passive or ‘diffusive’ component of intestinal glucose absorption and, indeed, whether it even exists. Pappenheimer and colleagues have proposed that paracellular solvent drag contributes a passive component, which, at high concentrations of sugars similar to those in the jejunal lumen immediately after a meal, is severalfold greater than the active component mediated by the Na+-glucose cotransporter SGLT1. On the other hand, Ferraris & Diamond maintain that the kinetics of glucose absorption can be explained solely in terms of SGLT1 and that a passive or paracellular component plays little, if any, part. Recently, we have provided new evidence that the passive component of glucose absorption exists, but is in fact facilitated since it is mediated by the rapid, glucose-dependent activation and recruitment of the facilitative glucose transporter GLUT2 to the brush-border membrane; regulation involves a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent pathway activated by glucose transport through SGLT1 and also involves mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) signalling pathways. This topical review seeks to highlight the significant points of the debate, to show how our proposals on GLUT2 impact on different aspects of the debate and to look at the regulatory events that are likely to be involved in the short-term regulation of sugar absorption during the assimilation of a meal. PMID:11251042

Effects of in-plane magnetic field on the transport of 2D electron vortices in non-uniform plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angus, Justin; Richardson, Andrew; Schumer, Joseph; Pulsed Power Team

2015-11-01

The formation of electron vortices in current-carrying plasmas is observed in 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the plasma-opening switch. In the presence of a background density gradient in Cartesian systems, vortices drift in the direction found by crossing the magnetic field with the background density gradient as a result of the Hall effect. However, most of the 2D simulations where electron vortices are seen and studied only allow for in-plane currents and thus only an out-of-plane magnetic field. Here we present results of numerical simulations of 2D, seeded electron vortices in an inhomogeneous background using the generalized 2D electron-magneto-hydrodynamic model that additionally allows for in-plane components of the magnetic field. By seeding vortices with a varying axial component of the velocity field, so that the vortex becomes a corkscrew, it is found that a pitch angle of around 20 degrees is sufficient to completely prevent the vortex from propagating due to the Hall effect for typical plasma parameters. This work is supported by the NRL Base Program.

Measurement of 0.511-MeV gamma rays with a balloon-borne Ge/Li/ spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ling, J. C.; Mahoney, W. A.; Willett, J. B.; Jacobson, A. S.

1977-01-01

A collimated high-resolution gamma ray spectrometer was flown on a balloon over Palestine, Texas, on June 10, 1974, to obtain measurements of the terrestrial and extraterrestrial 0.511-MeV gamma rays. The spectrometer consists of four 40-cu-cm Ge(Li) crystals operating in the energy range 0.06-10 MeV; this cluster of detectors is surrounded by a CsI(Na) anticoincidence shield. This system is used primarily to allow measurements of the two escape peaks associated with high-energy gamma ray lines. It also allows a measurement of the background component of the 0.511-MeV flux produced by beta(+) decays in materials inside the CsI(Na) shield. It is shown that the measurements of the atmospheric fluxes are consistent with earlier results after allowance is made for an additional component of the background due to beta(+) decays produced by neutron- and proton-initiated interactions with materials in and near the detector. Results of the extraterrestrial flux require an extensive detailed analysis of the time-varying background because of activation buildup and balloon spatial drifts.

Electric pulses used in electrochemotherapy and electrogene therapy do not significantly change the expression profile of genes involved in the development of cancer in malignant melanoma cells

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Electroporation is a versatile method for in vitro or in vivo delivery of different molecules into cells. However, no study so far has analysed the effects of electric pulses used in electrochemotherapy (ECT pulses) or electric pulses used in electrogene therapy (EGT pulses) on malignant cells. We studied the effect of ECT and EGT pulses on human malignant melanoma cells in vitro in order to understand and predict the possible effect of electric pulses on gene expression and their possible effect on cell behaviour. Methods We used microarrays with 2698 different oligonucleotides to obtain the expression profile of genes involved in apoptosis and cancer development in a malignant melanoma cell line (SK-MEL28) exposed to ECT pulses and EGT pulses. Results Cells exposed to ECT pulses showed a 68.8% average survival rate, while cells exposed to EGT pulses showed a 31.4% average survival rate. Only seven common genes were found differentially expressed in cells 16 h after exposure to ECT and EGT pulses. We found that ECT and EGT pulses induce an HSP70 stress response mechanism, repress histone protein H4, a major protein involved in chromatin assembly, and down-regulate components involved in protein synthesis. Conclusion Our results show that electroporation does not significantly change the expression profile of major tumour suppressor genes or oncogenes of the cell cycle. Moreover, electroporation also does not changes the expression of genes involved in the stability of DNA, supporting current evidence that electroporation is a safe method that does not promote tumorigenesis. However, in spite of being considered an isothermal method, it does to some extent induce stress, which resulted in the expression of the environmental stress response mechanism, HSP70. PMID:19709437

Toxic organic substances and marker compounds in size-segregated urban particulate matter - Implications for involvement in the in vitro bioactivity of the extractable organic matter.

PubMed

Besis, Athanasios; Tsolakidou, Alexandra; Balla, Dimitra; Samara, Constantini; Voutsa, Dimitra; Pantazaki, Anastasia; Choli-Papadopoulou, Theodora; Lialiaris, Theodore S

2017-11-01

Toxic organic substances and polar organic marker compounds, i.e. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitro-derivatives (N-PAHs), as well as dicarboxylic acids (DCAs) and sugars/sugar anhydrites (S/SAs) were analyzed in size-segregated PM samples (<0.49, 0.49-0.97, 0.97-3 and >3 μm) collected at two urban sites (urban traffic and urban background) during the cold and the warm season. The potential associations between the organic PM determinants and the adverse cellular effects (i.e. cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, DNA damage, oxidative DNA adduct formation, and inflammatory response) induced by the extractable organic matter (EOM) of PM, previously measured in Velali et al. (2016b), were investigated by bivariate correlations and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Partial Least Square regression analysis (PLS) was also employed in order to identify the chemical classes mainly involved in the EOM-induced toxicological endpoints in the various particle size fractions. Results indicated that particle size range <0.49 μm was the major carrier of PM mass and organic compounds at both sites. All toxic organic compounds exhibited higher concentrations at the urban traffic site, except PCBs and OCPs that did not exhibit intra-urban variations. Conversely, wintertime levels of levoglucosan were significantly higher at the urban background site as a result of residential biomass burning. The PLS regression analysis allowed quite good prediction of the EOM-induced cytotoxicity and genotoxicity based on the determined organic chemical classes, particularly for the finest size fraction of PM. Nevertheless, it is expected that other chemical constituents, not determined here, also contribute to the measured toxicological responses. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Examining the Genetic Background of Porcine Muscle Growth and Development Based on Transcriptome and miRNAome Data.

PubMed

Ropka-Molik, Katarzyna; Pawlina-Tyszko, Klaudia; Żukowski, Kacper; Piórkowska, Katarzyna; Żak, Grzegorz; Gurgul, Artur; Derebecka, Natalia; Wesoły, Joanna

2018-04-16

Recently, selection in pigs has been focused on improving the lean meat content in carcasses; this focus has been most evident in breeds constituting a paternal component in breeding. Such sire-breeds are used to improve the meat quantity of cross-breed pig lines. However, even in one breed, a significant variation in the meatiness level can be observed. In the present study, the comprehensive analysis of genes and microRNA expression profiles in porcine muscle tissue was applied to identify the genetic background of meat content. The comparison was performed between whole gene expression and miRNA profiles of muscle tissue collected from two sire-line pig breeds (Pietrain, Hampshire). The RNA-seq approach allowed the identification of 627 and 416 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between pig groups differing in terms of loin weight between Pietrain and Hampshire breeds, respectively. The comparison of miRNA profiles showed differential expression of 57 microRNAs for Hampshire and 34 miRNAs for Pietrain pigs. Next, 43 genes and 18 miRNAs were selected as differentially expressed in both breeds and potentially related to muscle development. According to Gene Ontology analysis, identified DEGs and microRNAs were involved in the regulation of the cell cycle, fatty acid biosynthesis and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. The most deregulated pathways dependent on muscle mass were the Hippo signalling pathway connected with the TGF-β signalling pathway and controlling organ size via the regulation of ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, cell proliferation and apoptosis. The identified target genes were also involved in pathways such as the FoxO signalling pathway, signalling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells and the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway. The obtained results indicate molecular mechanisms controlling porcine muscle growth and development. Identified genes ( SOX2 , SIRT1 , KLF4 , PAX6 and genes belonging to the transforming growth factor beta superfamily) could be considered candidate genes for determining muscle mass in pigs.

Measurement of low radioactivity background in a high voltage cable by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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

Vacri, M. L. di; Nisi, S.; Balata, M.

2013-08-08

The measurement of naturally occurring low level radioactivity background in a high voltage (HV) cable by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR ICP MS) is presented in this work. The measurements were performed at the Chemistry Service of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory. The contributions to the radioactive background coming from the different components of the heterogeneous material were separated. Based on the mass fraction of the cable, the whole contamination was calculated. The HR ICP MS results were cross-checked by gamma ray spectroscopy analysis that was performed at the low background facility STELLA (Sub Terranean Low Levelmore » Assay) of the LNGS underground lab using HPGe detectors.« less

Designing Transition Programs for Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cote, Debra L.; Jones, Vita L.; Sparks, Shannon L.; Aldridge, Patricia A.

2012-01-01

Parents from culturally diverse backgrounds need to feel that they play a vital role in the future success of their sons or daughters with disabilities. Differences in culture and ethnicity can affect families' involvement in transition planning and the goals that they emphasize for their children. Families of diverse backgrounds were surveyed and…

Rockets: A Teacher's Guide with Activities in Science, Mathematics, and Technology. Grades K-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shearer, Deborah A.; Vogt, Gregory L.

This guide contains activities that emphasize hands-on involvement, prediction, data collection and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. It begins with background information on the history of rocketry, scientific principles, and practical rocketry. Following the background sections are a series of activities that demonstrate the basic…

National Research Council Dialogue to Assess Progress on NASA's Title of CRM Capability Roadmap Development: General Background and Introduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crooke, Julie A.

2005-01-01

Contents include the following: General Background and Introduction of Capability Roadmaps "Title." Agency Objective. Strategic Planning Transformation. Advanced Planning Organizational Roles. Public Involvement in Strategic Planning. Strategic Roadmaps and Schedule. Capability Roadmaps and Schedule. Purpose of NRC Review. Capability Roadmap Development (Progress to Date).

48 CFR 352.237-72 - Crime Control Act-requirement for background checks.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... of 1990 (Act), requires that all individuals involved with the provision of child care services to children under the age of 18 undergo a criminal background check. “Child care services” include, but are not limited to, social services, health and mental health care, child (day) care, education (whether...

48 CFR 352.237-72 - Crime Control Act-requirement for background checks.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... of 1990 (Act), requires that all individuals involved with the provision of child care services to children under the age of 18 undergo a criminal background check. “Child care services” include, but are not limited to, social services, health and mental health care, child (day) care, education (whether...

48 CFR 352.237-72 - Crime Control Act-requirement for background checks.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... of 1990 (Act), requires that all individuals involved with the provision of child care services to children under the age of 18 undergo a criminal background check. “Child care services” include, but are not limited to, social services, health and mental health care, child (day) care, education (whether...