Sample records for morphology enhances escape

  1. Predator-induced morphology enhances escape locomotion in crucian carp.

    PubMed

    Domenici, Paolo; Turesson, Håkan; Brodersen, Jakob; Brönmark, Christer

    2008-01-22

    Fishes show a remarkable diversity of shapes which have been associated with their swimming abilities and anti-predator adaptations. The crucian carp (Carassius carassius) provides an extreme example of phenotypic plasticity in body shape which makes it a unique model organism for evaluating the relationship between body form and function in fishes. In crucian carp, a deep body is induced by the presence of pike (Esox lucius), and this results in lower vulnerability to gape-limited predators, such as pike itself. Here, we demonstrate that deep-bodied crucian carp attain higher speed, acceleration and turning rate during anti-predator responses than shallow-bodied crucian carp. Therefore, a predator-induced morphology in crucian carp enhances their escape locomotor performance. The deep-bodied carp also show higher percentage of muscle mass. Therefore, their superior performance in escape swimming may be due to a combination of higher muscle power and higher thrust.

  2. Enhanced Endosomal Escape by Light-Fueled Liquid-Metal Transformer.

    PubMed

    Lu, Yue; Lin, Yiliang; Chen, Zhaowei; Hu, Quanyin; Liu, Yang; Yu, Shuangjiang; Gao, Wei; Dickey, Michael D; Gu, Zhen

    2017-04-12

    Effective endosomal escape remains as the "holy grail" for endocytosis-based intracellular drug delivery. To date, most of the endosomal escape strategies rely on small molecules, cationic polymers, or pore-forming proteins, which are often limited by the systemic toxicity and lack of specificity. We describe here a light-fueled liquid-metal transformer for effective endosomal escape-facilitated cargo delivery via a chemical-mechanical process. The nanoscale transformer can be prepared by a simple approach of sonicating a low-toxicity liquid-metal. When coated with graphene quantum dots (GQDs), the resulting nanospheres demonstrate the ability to absorb and convert photoenergy to drive the simultaneous phase separation and morphological transformation of the inner liquid-metal core. The morphological transformation from nanospheres to hollow nanorods with a remarkable change of aspect ratio can physically disrupt the endosomal membrane to promote endosomal escape of payloads. This metal-based nanotransformer equipped with GQDs provides a new strategy for facilitating effective endosomal escape to achieve spatiotemporally controlled drug delivery with enhanced efficacy.

  3. Enhancing endosomal escape for nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Da

    2014-05-01

    Gene therapy with siRNA is a promising biotechnology to treat cancer and other diseases. To realize siRNA-based gene therapy, a safe and efficient delivery method is essential. Nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery is of great importance to overcome biological barriers for systemic delivery in vivo. Based on recent discoveries, endosomal escape is a critical biological barrier to be overcome for siRNA delivery. This feature article focuses on endosomal escape strategies used for nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery, including cationic polymers, pH sensitive polymers, calcium phosphate, and cell penetrating peptides. Work has been done to develop different endosomal escape strategies based on nanoparticle types, administration routes, and target organ/cell types. Also, enhancement of endosomal escape has been considered along with other aspects of siRNA delivery to ensure target specific accumulation, high cell uptake, and low toxicity. By enhancing endosomal escape and overcoming other biological barriers, great progress has been achieved in nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery.

  4. Wind Enhanced Escape, Ion Pickup and the Evolution of Water on Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hartle, Richard

    1999-01-01

    Preferential loss of hydrogen over deuterium from Mars has produced a deuterium rich atmosphere possessing a D/B ratio 5.2 times that of terrestrial water. Rayleigh fractionation is applied, constrained by the deuterium enrichment factor, to determine the magnitudes of ancient and present water reservoirs on the planet. The dominant lose mechanisms of R and D from the current atmosphere are thought to be thermal escape and solar wind ion pickup of the neutral and ion forms of theme constituents, respectively. During an earlier martian epoch, only thermal escape was significant because Mars had a terrestrial sized magnetosphere that protected the atmosphere from solar wind scavenging processes. The magnitudes of present and ancient water reservoirs are estimated when thermal escape is considered alone and subsequently when the effects of ion pickup are added. The escape fluxes of R and D are significantly increased above the respective Jeans fluxes when the effects of thermospheric winds and planetary rotation are accounted for at the exobase. Such wind enhanced escape also increases as the mass of an escaping constituent increases; thus, the increase in the escape flux of D is greater than that of H. When the fractionation process is also constrained by the D/H ratio observed in hydrous minerals of SNC meteorites, an ancient crustal reservoir of Martian water in derived, tens of meters in global-equivalent depth, considerably exceeding that obtained with no winds. The reservoir becomes even larger when ion pickup processes are added.

  5. Hydrogen escape from Mars enhanced by deep convection in dust storms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heavens, Nicholas G.; Kleinböhl, Armin; Chaffin, Michael S.; Halekas, Jasper S.; Kass, David M.; Hayne, Paul O.; McCleese, Daniel J.; Piqueux, Sylvain; Shirley, James H.; Schofield, John T.

    2018-02-01

    Present-day water loss from Mars provides insight into Mars's past habitability1-3. Its main mechanism is thought to be Jeans escape of a steady hydrogen reservoir sourced from odd-oxygen reactions with near-surface water vapour2, 4,5. The observed escape rate, however, is strongly variable and correlates poorly with solar extreme-ultraviolet radiation flux6-8, which was predicted to modulate escape9. This variability has recently been attributed to hydrogen sourced from photolysed middle atmospheric water vapour10, whose vertical and seasonal distribution is only partly characterized and understood11-13. Here, we report multi-annual observational estimates of water content and dust and water transport to the middle atmosphere from Mars Climate Sounder data. We provide strong evidence that the transport of water vapour and ice to the middle atmosphere by deep convection in Martian dust storms can enhance hydrogen escape. Planet-encircling dust storms can raise the effective hygropause (where water content rapidly decreases to effectively zero) from 50 to 80 km above the areoid (the reference equipotential surface). Smaller dust storms contribute to an annual mode in water content at 40-50 km that may explain seasonal variability in escape. Our results imply that Martian atmospheric chemistry and evolution can be strongly affected by the meteorology of the lower and middle atmosphere of Mars.

  6. A faster escape does not enhance survival in zebrafish larvae

    PubMed Central

    Nair, Arjun; Nguyen, Christy

    2017-01-01

    An escape response is a rapid manoeuvre used by prey to evade predators. Performing this manoeuvre at greater speed, in a favourable direction, or from a longer distance have been hypothesized to enhance the survival of prey, but these ideas are difficult to test experimentally. We examined how prey survival depends on escape kinematics through a novel combination of experimentation and mathematical modelling. This approach focused on zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae under predation by adults and juveniles of the same species. High-speed three-dimensional kinematics were used to track the body position of prey and predator and to determine the probability of behavioural actions by both fish. These measurements provided the basis for an agent-based probabilistic model that simulated the trajectories of the animals. Predictions of survivorship by this model were found by Monte Carlo simulations to agree with our observations and we examined how these predictions varied by changing individual model parameters. Contrary to expectation, we found that survival may not be improved by increasing the speed or altering the direction of the escape. Rather, zebrafish larvae operate with sufficiently high locomotor performance due to the relatively slow approach and limited range of suction feeding by fish predators. We did find that survival was enhanced when prey responded from a greater distance. This is an ability that depends on the capacity of the visual and lateral line systems to detect a looming threat. Therefore, performance in sensing, and not locomotion, is decisive for improving the survival of larval fish prey. These results offer a framework for understanding the evolution of predator–prey strategy that may inform prey survival in a broad diversity of animals. PMID:28404783

  7. Wind-Induced Atmospheric Escape: Titan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hartle, Richard; Johnson, Robert; Sittler, Edward, Jr.; Sarantos, Menelaos; Simpson, David

    2012-01-01

    Rapid thermospheric flows can significantly enhance the estimates of the atmospheric loss rate and the structure of the atmospheric corona of a planetary body. In particular, rapid horizontal flow at the exobase can increase the corresponding constituent escape rate. Here we show that such corrections, for both thermal and non-thermal escape, cannot be ignored when calculating the escape of methane from Titan, for which drastically different rates have been proposed. Such enhancements are also relevant to Pluto and exoplanets.

  8. Intra-specific variation in wing morphology and its impact on take-off performance in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) during escape flights

    PubMed Central

    McFarlane, Laura; Altringham, John D.; Askew, Graham N.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Diurnal and seasonal increases in body mass and seasonal reductions in wing area may compromise a bird's ability to escape, as less of the power available from the flight muscles can be used to accelerate and elevate the animal's centre of mass. Here, we investigated the effects of intra-specific variation in wing morphology on escape take-off performance in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Flights were recorded using synchronised high-speed video cameras and take-off performance was quantified as the sum of the rates of change of the kinetic and potential energies of the centre of mass. Individuals with a lower wing loading, WL (WL=body weight/wing area) had higher escape take-off performance, consistent with the increase in lift production expected from relatively larger wings. Unexpectedly, it was found that the total power available from the flight muscles (estimated using an aerodynamic analysis) was inversely related to WL. This could simply be because birds with a higher WL have relatively smaller flight muscles. Alternatively or additionally, variation in the aerodynamic load on the wing resulting from differences in wing morphology will affect the mechanical performance of the flight muscles via effects on the muscle's length trajectory. Consistent with this hypothesis is the observation that wing beat frequency and relative downstroke duration increase with decreasing WL; both are factors that are expected to increase muscle power output. Understanding how wing morphology influences take-off performance gives insight into the potential risks associated with feather loss and seasonal and diurnal fluctuations in body mass. PMID:26994175

  9. Glycosylated Triterpenoids as Endosomal Escape Enhancers in Targeted Tumor Therapies

    PubMed Central

    Fuchs, Hendrik; Niesler, Nicole; Trautner, Alexandra; Sama, Simko; Jerz, Gerold; Panjideh, Hossein; Weng, Alexander

    2017-01-01

    Protein-based targeted toxins play an increasingly important role in targeted tumor therapies. In spite of their high intrinsic toxicity, their efficacy in animal models is low. A major reason for this is the limited entry of the toxin into the cytosol of the target cell, which is required to mediate the fatal effect. Target receptor bound and internalized toxins are mostly either recycled back to the cell surface or lysosomally degraded. This might explain why no antibody-targeted protein toxin has been approved for tumor therapeutic applications by the authorities to date although more than 500 targeted toxins have been developed within the last decades. To overcome the problem of insufficient endosomal escape, a number of strategies that make use of diverse chemicals, cell-penetrating or fusogenic peptides, and light-induced techniques were designed to weaken the membrane integrity of endosomes. This review focuses on glycosylated triterpenoids as endosomal escape enhancers and throws light on their structure, the mechanism of action, and on their efficacy in cell culture and animal models. Obstacles, challenges, opportunities, and future prospects are discussed. PMID:28536357

  10. Identification of a Peptide-Pheromone that Enhances Listeria monocytogenes Escape from Host Cell Vacuoles

    PubMed Central

    Xayarath, Bobbi; Alonzo, Francis; Freitag, Nancy E.

    2015-01-01

    Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen that invades mammalian cells and escapes from membrane-bound vacuoles to replicate within the host cell cytosol. Gene products required for intracellular bacterial growth and bacterial spread to adjacent cells are regulated by a transcriptional activator known as PrfA. PrfA becomes activated following L. monocytogenes entry into host cells, however the signal that stimulates PrfA activation has not yet been defined. Here we provide evidence for L. monocytogenes secretion of a small peptide pheromone, pPplA, which enhances the escape of L. monocytogenes from host cell vacuoles and may facilitate PrfA activation. The pPplA pheromone is generated via the proteolytic processing of the PplA lipoprotein secretion signal peptide. While the PplA lipoprotein is dispensable for pathogenesis, bacteria lacking the pPplA pheromone are significantly attenuated for virulence in mice and have a reduced efficiency of bacterial escape from the vacuoles of nonprofessional phagocytic cells. Mutational activation of PrfA restores virulence and eliminates the need for pPplA-dependent signaling. Experimental evidence suggests that the pPplA peptide may help signal to L. monocytogenes its presence within the confines of the host cell vacuole, stimulating the expression of gene products that contribute to vacuole escape and facilitating PrfA activation to promote bacterial growth within the cytosol. PMID:25822753

  11. Discrete Serotonin Systems Mediate Memory Enhancement and Escape Latencies after Unpredicted Aversive Experience in Drosophila Place Memory

    PubMed Central

    Sitaraman, Divya; Kramer, Elizabeth F.; Kahsai, Lily; Ostrowski, Daniela; Zars, Troy

    2017-01-01

    Feedback mechanisms in operant learning are critical for animals to increase reward or reduce punishment. However, not all conditions have a behavior that can readily resolve an event. Animals must then try out different behaviors to better their situation through outcome learning. This form of learning allows for novel solutions and with positive experience can lead to unexpected behavioral routines. Learned helplessness, as a type of outcome learning, manifests in part as increases in escape latency in the face of repeated unpredicted shocks. Little is known about the mechanisms of outcome learning. When fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster are exposed to unpredicted high temperatures in a place learning paradigm, flies both increase escape latencies and have a higher memory when given control of a place/temperature contingency. Here we describe discrete serotonin neuronal circuits that mediate aversive reinforcement, escape latencies, and memory levels after place learning in the presence and absence of unexpected aversive events. The results show that two features of learned helplessness depend on the same modulatory system as aversive reinforcement. Moreover, changes in aversive reinforcement and escape latency depend on local neural circuit modulation, while memory enhancement requires larger modulation of multiple behavioral control circuits. PMID:29321732

  12. Dual-responsive polyplexes with enhanced disassembly and endosomal escape for efficient delivery of siRNA.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Jia; Qiao, Mingxi; Wang, Qi; Ye, Yuqing; Ba, Shuang; Ma, Jingjing; Hu, Haiyang; Zhao, Xiuli; Chen, Dawei

    2018-04-01

    Despite the extracellular barriers for siRNA delivery have been overcome by utilizing advanced nanoparticle delivery systems, the key intracellular barriers after internalization including efficient disassembly of siRNA and endosomal escape still remains challenging. To address the issues, we developed a unique pH- and redox potential-responsive polyplex delivery system based on the copolymer of mPEG-b-PLA-PHis-ssPEI1.8 k, which is composed of a pH-responsive copolymer of PEG-b-PLA-PHis (Mw 5 k) and a branched PEI (Mw1.8 k) linked with redox cleavable disulfide bond. The copolymer showed excellent siRNA complexation and protection abilities against endogenous substances at the relatively low N/P ratio of 6. The siRNA release from the polyplexes (N/P 6) was markedly increased from 13.62% to 58.67% under conditions simulating the endosomal microenvironment. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) test also indicated a higher disassembly extent of siRNA from the copolymer. The accelerated siRNA release from the polyplexes was markedly restrained when the N/P ratio was raised above 10 due to the increasing of electrostatic interactions. The efficient endosomal escape of siRNA after internalization was confirmed by confocal microscopy, which was attributed to the cleavaged PEI chains inducing membrane destabilization, the "proton sponge effect" of PHis and PEI as well as the relative small size of after disassembly. The enhanced disassembly and endosomal escape were elucidated as the leading cause for polyplexes (N/P 6) showed more efficient Bcl-2 silencing (85.45%) than those polyplexes with higher N/P ratios (N/P 10 and 15). In vivo results further demonstrated that polyplexes (N/P 6) delivery of siBcl-2 significantly inhibited the MCF-7 breast tumor growth as compared to its counterparts. The incorporation of convertible non-electrical interactions at a balance with electrostatic interactions in complexation siRNA has been demonstrated as an effective

  13. Augmenting the Efficacy of Immunotoxins and Other Targeted Protein Toxins by Endosomal Escape Enhancers.

    PubMed

    Fuchs, Hendrik; Weng, Alexander; Gilabert-Oriol, Roger

    2016-07-01

    The toxic moiety of almost all protein-based targeted toxins must enter the cytosol of the target cell to mediate its fatal effect. Although more than 500 targeted toxins have been investigated in the past decades, no antibody-targeted protein toxin has been approved for tumor therapeutic applications by the authorities to date. Missing efficacy can be attributed in many cases to insufficient endosomal escape and therefore subsequent lysosomal degradation of the endocytosed toxins. To overcome this drawback, many strategies have been described to weaken the membrane integrity of endosomes. This comprises the use of lysosomotropic amines, carboxylic ionophores, calcium channel antagonists, various cell-penetrating peptides of viral, bacterial, plant, animal, human and synthetic origin, other organic molecules and light-induced techniques. Although the efficacy of the targeted toxins was typically augmented in cell culture hundred or thousand fold, in exceptional cases more than million fold, the combination of several substances harbors new problems including additional side effects, loss of target specificity, difficulties to determine the therapeutic window and cell type-dependent variations. This review critically scrutinizes the chances and challenges of endosomal escape enhancers and their potential role in future developments.

  14. Augmenting the Efficacy of Immunotoxins and Other Targeted Protein Toxins by Endosomal Escape Enhancers

    PubMed Central

    Fuchs, Hendrik; Weng, Alexander; Gilabert-Oriol, Roger

    2016-01-01

    The toxic moiety of almost all protein-based targeted toxins must enter the cytosol of the target cell to mediate its fatal effect. Although more than 500 targeted toxins have been investigated in the past decades, no antibody-targeted protein toxin has been approved for tumor therapeutic applications by the authorities to date. Missing efficacy can be attributed in many cases to insufficient endosomal escape and therefore subsequent lysosomal degradation of the endocytosed toxins. To overcome this drawback, many strategies have been described to weaken the membrane integrity of endosomes. This comprises the use of lysosomotropic amines, carboxylic ionophores, calcium channel antagonists, various cell-penetrating peptides of viral, bacterial, plant, animal, human and synthetic origin, other organic molecules and light-induced techniques. Although the efficacy of the targeted toxins was typically augmented in cell culture hundred or thousand fold, in exceptional cases more than million fold, the combination of several substances harbors new problems including additional side effects, loss of target specificity, difficulties to determine the therapeutic window and cell type-dependent variations. This review critically scrutinizes the chances and challenges of endosomal escape enhancers and their potential role in future developments. PMID:27376327

  15. Morphological rational multi-scale algorithm for color contrast enhancement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peregrina-Barreto, Hayde; Terol-Villalobos, Iván R.

    2010-01-01

    Contrast enhancement main goal consists on improving the image visual appearance but also it is used for providing a transformed image in order to segment it. In mathematical morphology several works have been derived from the framework theory for contrast enhancement proposed by Meyer and Serra. However, when working with images with a wide range of scene brightness, as for example when strong highlights and deep shadows appear in the same image, the proposed morphological methods do not allow the enhancement. In this work, a rational multi-scale method, which uses a class of morphological connected filters called filters by reconstruction, is proposed. Granulometry is used by finding the more accurate scales for filters and with the aim of avoiding the use of other little significant scales. The CIE-u'v'Y' space was used to introduce our results since it takes into account the Weber's Law and by avoiding the creation of new colors it permits to modify the luminance values without affecting the hue. The luminance component ('Y) is enhanced separately using the proposed method, next it is used for enhancing the chromatic components (u', v') by means of the center of gravity law of color mixing.

  16. Morphological rational operator for contrast enhancement.

    PubMed

    Peregrina-Barreto, Hayde; Herrera-Navarro, Ana M; Morales-Hernández, Luis A; Terol-Villalobos, Iván R

    2011-03-01

    Contrast enhancement is an important task in image processing that is commonly used as a preprocessing step to improve the images for other tasks such as segmentation. However, some methods for contrast improvement that work well in low-contrast regions affect good contrast regions as well. This occurs due to the fact that some elements may vanish. A method focused on images with different luminance conditions is introduced in the present work. The proposed method is based on morphological transformations by reconstruction and rational operations, which, altogether, allow a more accurate contrast enhancement resulting in regions that are in harmony with their environment. Furthermore, due to the properties of these morphological transformations, the creation of new elements on the image is avoided. The processing is carried out on luminance values in the u'v'Y color space, which avoids the creation of new colors. As a result of the previous considerations, the proposed method keeps the natural color appearance of the image.

  17. THERMALLY DRIVEN ATMOSPHERIC ESCAPE: TRANSITION FROM HYDRODYNAMIC TO JEANS ESCAPE

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

    Volkov, Alexey N.; Johnson, Robert E.; Tucker, Orenthal J.

    2011-03-10

    Thermally driven escape from planetary atmospheres changes in nature from an organized outflow (hydrodynamic escape) to escape on a molecule-by-molecule basis (Jeans escape) with increasing Jeans parameter, {lambda}, the ratio of the gravitational to thermal energy of the atmospheric molecules. This change is described here for the first time using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. When heating is predominantly below the lower boundary of the simulation region, R{sub 0}, and well below the exobase of a single-component atmosphere, the nature of the escape process changes over a surprisingly narrow range of Jeans parameters, {lambda}{sub 0}, evaluated at R{sub 0}.more » For an atomic gas, the transition occurs over {lambda}{sub 0} {approx} 2-3, where the lower bound, {lambda}{sub 0} {approx} 2.1, corresponds to the upper limit for isentropic, supersonic outflow. For {lambda}{sub 0} > 3 escape occurs on a molecule-by-molecule basis and we show that, contrary to earlier suggestions, for {lambda}{sub 0} > {approx}6 the escape rate does not deviate significantly from the familiar Jeans rate. In a gas composed of diatomic molecules, the transition shifts to {lambda}{sub 0} {approx} 2.4-3.6 and at {lambda}{sub 0} > {approx}4 the escape rate increases a few tens of percent over that for the monatomic gas. Scaling by the Jeans parameter and the Knudsen number, these results can be applied to thermally induced escape of the major species from solar and extrasolar planets.« less

  18. A New Paradigm for Evaluating Avoidance/Escape Motivation.

    PubMed

    Tsutsui-Kimura, Iku; Bouchekioua, Youcef; Mimura, Masaru; Tanaka, Kenji F

    2017-07-01

    Organisms have evolved to approach pleasurable opportunities and to avoid or escape from aversive experiences. These 2 distinct motivations are referred to as approach and avoidance/escape motivations and are both considered vital for survival. Despite several recent advances in understanding the neurobiology of motivation, most studies addressed approach but not avoidance/escape motivation. Here we develop a new experimental paradigm to quantify avoidance/escape motivation and examine the pharmacological validity. We set up an avoidance variable ratio 5 task in which mice were required to press a lever for variable times to avoid an upcoming aversive stimulus (foot shock) or to escape the ongoing aversive event if they failed to avoid it. We i.p. injected ketamine (0, 1, or 5 mg/kg) or buspirone (0, 5, or 10 mg/kg) 20 or 30 minutes before the behavioral task to see if ketamine enhanced avoidance/escape behavior and buspirone diminished it as previously reported. We found that the performance on the avoidance variable ratio 5 task was sensitive to the intensity of the aversive stimulus. Treatment with ketamine increased while that with buspirone decreased the probability of avoidance from an aversive stimulus in the variable ratio 5 task, being consistent with previous reports. Our new paradigm will prove useful for quantifying avoidance/escape motivation and will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of motivation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

  19. Competing Contingencies for Escape Behavior: Effects of Negative Reinforcement Magnitude and Quality

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hammond, Jennifer L.

    2009-01-01

    Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by social-negative reinforcement can be treated without escape extinction by enhancing the quality of positive reinforcement for an appropriate alternative response such as compliance. By contrast, negative reinforcement (escape) for compliance generally has been ineffective in the…

  20. Morphological operators for enhanced polarimetric image target detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Romano, João. M.; Rosario, Dalton S.

    2015-09-01

    We introduce an algorithm based on morphological filters with the Stokes parameters that augments the daytime and nighttime detection of weak-signal manmade objects immersed in a predominant natural background scene. The approach features a tailored sequence of signal-enhancing filters, consisting of core morphological operators (dilation, erosion) and higher level morphological operations (e.g., spatial gradient, opening, closing) to achieve a desired overarching goal. Using representative data from the SPICE database, the results show that the approach was able to automatically and persistently detect with a high confidence level the presence of three mobile military howitzer surrogates (targets) in natural clutter.

  1. Sharks modulate their escape behavior in response to predator size, speed and approach orientation.

    PubMed

    Seamone, Scott; Blaine, Tristan; Higham, Timothy E

    2014-12-01

    Escape responses are often critical for surviving predator-prey interactions. Nevertheless, little is known about how predator size, speed and approach orientation impact escape performance, especially in larger prey that are primarily viewed as predators. We used realistic shark models to examine how altering predatory behavior and morphology (size, speed and approach orientation) influences escape behavior and performance in Squalus acanthias, a shark that is preyed upon by apex marine predators. Predator models induced C-start escape responses, and increasing the size and speed of the models triggered a more intense response (increased escape turning rate and acceleration). In addition, increased predator size resulted in greater responsiveness from the sharks. Among the responses, predator approach orientation had the most significant impact on escapes, such that the head-on approach, as compared to the tail-on approach, induced greater reaction distances and increased escape turning rate, speed and acceleration. Thus, the anterior binocular vision in sharks renders them less effective at detecting predators approaching from behind. However, it appears that sharks compensate by performing high-intensity escapes, likely induced by the lateral line system, or by a sudden visual flash of the predator entering their field of view. Our study reveals key aspects of escape behavior in sharks, highlighting the modulation of performance in response to predator approach. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Advanced Crew Escape Suit.

    PubMed

    1995-09-01

    Design of the S1032 Launch Entry Suit (LES) began following the Challenger loss and NASA's decision to incorporate a Shuttle crew escape system. The LES (see Figure 1) has successfully supported Shuttle missions since NASA's Return to Flight with STS-26 in September 1988. In 1990, engineers began developing the S1035 Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES) to serve as a replacement for the LES. The ACES was designed to be a simplified, lightweight, low-bulk pressure suit which aided self donning/doffing, provided improved comfort, and enhanced overall performance to reduce crew member stress and fatigue. Favorable crew member evaluations of a prototype led to full-scale development and qualification of the S1035 ACES between 1990 and 1992. Production of the S1035 ACES began in February 1993, with the first unit delivered to NASA in May 1994. The S1035 ACES first flew aboard STS-68 in August 1994 and will become the primary crew escape suit when the S1032 LES ends its service life in late 1995. The primary goal of the S1035 development program was to provide improved performance over that of the S1032 to minimize the stress and fatigue typically experienced by crew members. To achieve this, five fundamental design objectives were established, resulting in various material/configuration changes.

  3. Martian Atmospheric and Ionospheric plasma Escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lundin, Rickard

    2016-04-01

    Solar forcing is responsible for the heating, ionization, photochemistry, and erosion processes in the upper atmosphere throughout the lifetime of the terrestrial planets. Of the four terrestrial planets, the Earth is the only one with a fully developed biosphere, while our kin Venus and Mars have evolved into arid inhabitable planets. As for Mars, there are ample evidences for an early Noachian, water rich period on Mars. The question is, what made Mars evolve so differently compared to the Earth? Various hydrosphere and atmospheric evolution scenarios for Mars have been forwarded based on surface morphology, chemical composition, simulations, semi-empiric (in-situ data) models, and the long-term evolution of the Sun. Progress has been made, but the case is still open regarding the changes that led to the present arid surface and tenuous atmosphere at Mars. This presentation addresses the long-term variability of the Sun, the solar forcing impact on the Martian atmosphere, and its interaction with the space environment - an electromagnetic wave and particle interaction with the upper atmosphere that has implications for its photochemistry, composition, and energization that governs thermal and non-thermal escape. Non-thermal escape implies an electromagnetic upward energization of planetary ions and molecules to velocities above escape velocity, a process governed by a combination of solar EUV radiation (ionization), and energy and momentum transfer by the solar wind. The ion escape issue dates back to the early Soviet and US-missions to Mars, but the first more accurate estimates of escape rates came with the Phobos-2 mission in 1989. Better-quality ion composition measurement results of atmospheric/ionospheric ion escape from Mars, obtained from ESA Mars Express (MEX) instruments, have improved our understanding of the ion escape mechanism. With the NASA MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars since Sept. 2014, dual in-situ measurement with plasma instruments are now

  4. Escape manoeuvres in the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias).

    PubMed

    Domenici, Paolo; Standen, Emily M; Levine, Robert P

    2004-06-01

    The locomotor performance of dogfish during escape responses was observed by means of high-speed video. Dogfish show C-type escape responses that are comparable with those shown previously in teleosts. Dogfish show high variability of turning rates of the anterior part of the body (head to centre of mass), i.e. with peak values from 434 to 1023 deg. s(-1). We suggest that this variability may be due to the presence of two types of escape manoeuvres, i.e. responses with high and low turning rates, as previously found in a teleost species. Fast responses (i.e. with high maximum turning rates, ranging between 766 and 1023 deg. s(-1)) showed significantly higher locomotor performance than slow responses (i.e. with low maximum turning rates, ranging between 434 and 593 deg. s(-1)) in terms of distance covered, speed and acceleration, although no differences were found in the turning radius of the centre of mass during the escape manoeuvres. The existence of two types of escape responses would have implications in terms of both neural control and muscular activation patterns. When compared with literature data for the locomotor performance of bony fishes, dogfish showed relatively low speed and acceleration, comparable turning rates and a turning radius that is in the low part of the range when compared with teleosts, indicating relatively high manoeuvrability. The locomotor performance observed in dogfish is consistent with their morphological characteristics: (1) low locomotor performance associated with low thrust developed by their relatively small posterior depth of section and (2) relatively high manoeuvrability associated with their high flexibility.

  5. Inhibition of chaotic escape from a potential well by incommensurate escape-suppressing excitations.

    PubMed

    Chacón, R; Martínez, J A

    2002-03-01

    Theoretical results are presented concerning the reduction of chaotic escape from a potential well by means of a harmonic parametric excitation that satisfies an ultrasubharmonic resonance condition with the escape-inducing excitation. The possibility of incommensurate escape-suppressing excitations is demonstrated by studying rational approximations to the irrational escape-suppressing frequency. The analytical predictions for the suitable amplitudes and initial phases of the escape-suppressing excitation are tested against numerical simulations based on a high-resolution grid of initial conditions. These numerical results indicate that the reduction of escape is reliably achieved for small amplitudes and at, and only at, the predicted initial phases. For the case of irrational escape-suppressing frequencies, the effective escape-reducing initial phases are found to lie close to the accumulation points of the set of suitable initial phases that are associated with the complete series of convergents up to the convergent giving the chosen rational approximation.

  6. Escape as Reinforcement and Escape Extinction in the Treatment of Feeding Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LaRue, Robert H.; Stewart, Victoria; Piazza, Cathleen C.; Volkert, Valerie M.; Patel, Meeta R.; Zeleny, Jason

    2011-01-01

    Given the effectiveness of putative escape extinction as treatment for feeding problems, it is surprising that little is known about the effects of escape as reinforcement for appropriate eating during treatment. In the current investigation, we examined the effectiveness of escape as reinforcement for mouth clean (a product measure of…

  7. Automated Escape Guidance Algorithms for An Escape Vehicle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Flanary, Ronald; Hammen, David; Ito, Daigoro; Rabalais, Bruce; Rishikof, Brian; Siebold, Karl

    2002-01-01

    An escape vehicle was designed to provide an emergency evacuation for crew members living on a space station. For maximum escape capability, the escape vehicle needs to have the ability to safely evacuate a station in a contingency scenario such as an uncontrolled (e.g., tumbling) station. This emergency escape sequence will typically be divided into three events: The fust separation event (SEP1), the navigation reconstruction event, and the second separation event (SEP2). SEP1 is responsible for taking the spacecraft from its docking port to a distance greater than the maximum radius of the rotating station. The navigation reconstruction event takes place prior to the SEP2 event and establishes the orbital state to within the tolerance limits necessary for SEP2. The SEP2 event calculates and performs an avoidance burn to prevent station recontact during the next several orbits. This paper presents the tools and results for the whole separation sequence with an emphasis on the two separation events. The fust challenge includes collision avoidance during the escape sequence while the station is in an uncontrolled rotational state, with rotation rates of up to 2 degrees per second. The task of avoiding a collision may require the use of the Vehicle's de-orbit propulsion system for maximum thrust and minimum dwell time within the vicinity of the station vicinity. The thrust of the propulsion system is in a single direction, and can be controlled only by the attitude of the spacecraft. Escape algorithms based on a look-up table or analytical guidance can be implemented since the rotation rate and the angular momentum vector can be sensed onboard and a-priori knowledge of the position and relative orientation are available. In addition, crew intervention has been provided for in the event of unforeseen obstacles in the escape path. The purpose of the SEP2 burn is to avoid re-contact with the station over an extended period of time. Performing this maneuver properly

  8. Express yourself: bold individuals induce enhanced morphological defences

    PubMed Central

    Hulthén, Kaj; Chapman, Ben B.; Nilsson, P. Anders; Hollander, Johan; Brönmark, Christer

    2014-01-01

    Organisms display an impressive array of defence strategies in nature. Inducible defences (changes in morphology and/or behaviour within a prey's lifetime) allow prey to decrease vulnerability to predators and avoid unnecessary costs of expression. Many studies report considerable interindividual variation in the degree to which inducible defences are expressed, yet what underlies this variation is poorly understood. Here, we show that individuals differing in a key personality trait also differ in the magnitude of morphological defence expression. Crucian carp showing risky behaviours (bold individuals) expressed a significantly greater morphological defence response when exposed to a natural enemy when compared with shy individuals. Furthermore, we show that fish of different personality types differ in their behavioural plasticity, with shy fish exhibiting greater absolute plasticity than bold fish. Our data suggest that individuals with bold personalities may be able to compensate for their risk-prone behavioural type by expressing enhanced morphological defences. PMID:24335987

  9. Hydrodynamic escape from planetary atmospheres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, Feng

    Hydrodynamic escape is an important process in the formation and evolution of planetary atmospheres. Due to the existence of a singularity point near the transonic point, it is difficult to find transonic steady state solutions by solving the time-independent hydrodynamic equations. In addition to that, most previous works assume that all energy driving the escape flow is deposited in one narrow layer. This assumption not only results in less accurate solutions to the hydrodynamic escape problem, but also makes it difficult to include other chemical and physical processes in the hydrodynamic escape models. In this work, a numerical model describing the transonic hydrodynamic escape from planetary atmospheres is developed. A robust solution technique is used to solve the time dependent hydrodynamic equations. The method has been validated in an isothermal atmosphere where an analytical solution is available. The hydrodynamic model is applied to 3 cases: hydrogen escape from small orbit extrasolar planets, hydrogen escape from a hydrogen rich early Earth's atmosphere, and nitrogen/methane escape from Pluto's atmosphere. Results of simulations on extrasolar planets are in good agreement with the observations of the transiting extrasolar planet HD209458b. Hydrodynamic escape of hydrogen from other hypothetical close-in extrasolar planets are simulated and the influence of hydrogen escape on the long-term evolution of these extrasolar planets are discussed. Simulations on early Earth suggest that hydrodynamic escape of hydrogen from a hydrogen rich early Earth's atmosphere is about two orders magnitude slower than the diffusion limited escape rate. A hydrogen rich early Earth's atmosphere could have been maintained by the balance between the hydrogen escape and the supply of hydrogen into the atmosphere by volcanic outgassing. Origin of life may have occurred in the organic soup ocean created by the efficient formation of prebiotic molecules in the hydrogen rich early

  10. Enhanced pathogenicity of diabetogenic T cells escaping a non-MHC gene-controlled near death experience.

    PubMed

    Choisy-Rossi, Caroline-Morgane; Holl, Thomas M; Pierce, Melissa A; Chapman, Harold D; Serreze, David V

    2004-09-15

    For unknown reasons, the common MHC class I variants encoded by the H2g7 haplotype (Kd, Db) aberrantly elicit autoreactive CD8 T cell responses essential to type 1 diabetes development when expressed in NOD mice, but not other strains. In this study, we show that interactive non-MHC genes allow a NOD-derived diabetogenic CD8 T cell clonotype (AI4) to be negatively selected at far greater efficiency in C57BL/6 mice congenically expressing H2g7 (B6.H2g7). However, the few AI4 T cells escaping negative selection in B6.H2g7 mice are exported from the thymus more efficiently, and are more functionally aggressive than those of NOD origin. This provides mechanistic insight to previous findings that resistant mouse strains carry some genes conferring greater diabetes susceptibility than the corresponding NOD allele. In the B6.H2g7 stock, non-MHC gene-controlled elevations in TCR expression are associated with both enhanced negative selection of diabetogenic CD8 T cells and increased aggressiveness of those escaping this process. An implication of this finding is that the same phenotype, in this case relatively high TCR expression levels, could have double-edged sword effects, contributing to type 1 diabetes resistance at one level of T cell development, but at another actually promoting pathogenesis. Copyright 2004 The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

  11. Escape driven by alpha-stable white noises.

    PubMed

    Dybiec, B; Gudowska-Nowak, E; Hänggi, P

    2007-02-01

    We explore the archetype problem of an escape dynamics occurring in a symmetric double well potential when the Brownian particle is driven by white Lévy noise in a dynamical regime where inertial effects can safely be neglected. The behavior of escaping trajectories from one well to another is investigated by pointing to the special character that underpins the noise-induced discontinuity which is caused by the generalized Brownian paths that jump beyond the barrier location without actually hitting it. This fact implies that the boundary conditions for the mean first passage time (MFPT) are no longer determined by the well-known local boundary conditions that characterize the case with normal diffusion. By numerically implementing properly the set up boundary conditions, we investigate the survival probability and the average escape time as a function of the corresponding Lévy white noise parameters. Depending on the value of the skewness beta of the Lévy noise, the escape can either become enhanced or suppressed: a negative asymmetry parameter beta typically yields a decrease for the escape rate while the rate itself depicts a non-monotonic behavior as a function of the stability index alpha that characterizes the jump length distribution of Lévy noise, exhibiting a marked discontinuity at alpha=1. We find that the typical factor of 2 that characterizes for normal diffusion the ratio between the MFPT for well-bottom-to-well-bottom and well-bottom-to-barrier-top no longer holds true. For sufficiently high barriers the survival probabilities assume an exponential behavior versus time. Distinct non-exponential deviations occur, however, for low barrier heights.

  12. ESCAPE AS REINFORCEMENT AND ESCAPE EXTINCTION IN THE TREATMENT OF FEEDING PROBLEMS

    PubMed Central

    LaRue, Robert H; Stewart, Victoria; Piazza, Cathleen C; Volkert, Valerie M; Patel, Meeta R; Zeleny, Jason

    2011-01-01

    Given the effectiveness of putative escape extinction as treatment for feeding problems, it is surprising that little is known about the effects of escape as reinforcement for appropriate eating during treatment. In the current investigation, we examined the effectiveness of escape as reinforcement for mouth clean (a product measure of swallowing), escape as reinforcement for mouth clean plus escape extinction (EE), and EE alone as treatment for the food refusal of 5 children. Results were similar to those of previous studies, in that reinforcement alone did not result in increases in mouth clean or decreases in inappropriate behavior (e.g., Piazza, Patel, Gulotta, Sevin, & Layer, 2003). Increases in mouth clean and decreases in inappropriate behavior occurred when the therapist implemented EE independent of the presence or absence of reinforcement. Results are discussed in terms of the role of negative reinforcement in the etiology and treatment of feeding problems. PMID:22219525

  13. Dust escape from Io

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flandes, Alberto

    2004-08-01

    The Dust ballerina skirt is a set of well defined streams composed of nanometric sized dust particles that escape from the Jovian system and may be accelerated up to >=200 km/s. The source of this dust is Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanically active body in the Solar system. The escape of dust grains from Jupiter requires first the escape of these grains from Io. This work is basically devoted to explain this escape given that the driving of dust particles to great heights and later injection into the ionosphere of Io may give the particles an equilibrium potential that allow the magnetic field to accelerate them away from Io. The grain sizes obtained through this study match very well to the values required for the particles to escape from the Jovian system.

  14. Can we apply the MRI BI-RADS lexicon morphology descriptors on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography?

    PubMed

    Kamal, Rasha M; Helal, Maha H; Mansour, Sahar M; Haggag, Marwa A; Nada, Omniya M; Farahat, Iman G; Alieldin, Nelly H

    2016-07-12

    To assess the feasibility of using the MRI breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) lexicon morphology descriptors to characterize enhancing breast lesions identified on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM). The study is a retrospective analysis of the morphology descriptors of 261 enhancing breast lesions identified on CESM in 239 patients. We presented the morphological categorization of the included lesions into focus, mass and non-mass. Further classifications included (1) the multiplicity for "focus" category, (2) the shape, margin and internal enhancement for "mass" category and (3) the distribution and internal enhancement for "non-mass" category. Each morphology descriptor was evaluated individually (irrespective of all other descriptors) by calculating its sensitivity, specificity, positive-predictive value (PPV) and negative-predictive value (NPV) and likelihood ratios (LRs). The study included 68/261 (26.1%) benign lesions and 193/261 (73.9%) malignant lesions. Intensely enhancing foci, whether single (7/12, 58.3%) or multiple (2/12, 16.7%), were malignant. Descriptors of "irregular"-shape (PPV: 92.4%) and "non-circumscribed" margin (odds ratio: 55.2, LR positive: 4.77; p-value: <0.001) were more compatible with malignancy. Internal mass enhancement patterns showed a very low specificity (58.0%) and NPV (40.0%). Non-mass enhancement (NME) was detected in 81/261 lesions. Asymmetrical NME in 81% (n = 52/81) lesions was malignant lesions and internal enhancement patterns indicative of malignancy were the heterogeneous and clumped ones. We can apply the MRI morphology descriptors to characterize lesions on CESM, but with few expectations. In many situations, irregular-shaped, non-circumscribed masses and NME with focal, ductal or segmental distribution and heterogeneous or clumped enhancement are the most suggestive descriptors of malignant pathologies. (1) The MRI BI-RADS lexicon morphology descriptors can be applied in the

  15. Escape from R-peptide deletion in a {gamma}-retrovirus

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

    Schneider, Irene C.; Eckhardt, Manon; Brynza, Julia

    2011-09-30

    The R peptide in the cytoplasmic tail (C-tail) of {gamma}-retroviral envelope proteins (Env) prevents membrane fusion before budding. To analyse its role in the formation of replication competent, infectious particles, we developed chimeric murine leukaemia viruses (MLV) with unmodified or R-peptide deleted Env proteins of the gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GaLV). While titres of these viruses were unaffected, R-peptide deficiency led to strongly impaired spreading. Most remarkably, we isolated an escape mutant which had restored an open reading frame for a C-terminal extension of the truncated C-tail. A reconstituted virus encoding this escape C-tail replicated in cell culture. In contrastmore » to R-peptide deficient Env, particle incorporation of the escape Env was effective due to an enhanced protein expression and restored intracellular co-localisation with Gag proteins. Our data demonstrate that the R peptide not only regulates membrane fusion but also mediates efficient Env protein particle incorporation in {gamma}-retrovirus infected cells.« less

  16. Feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic image based on multiscale analysis and morphology.

    PubMed

    Wu, Shibin; Yu, Shaode; Yang, Yuhan; Xie, Yaoqin

    2013-01-01

    A new algorithm for feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic images is proposed in this paper. The approach bases on multiscale transform and mathematical morphology. First of all, the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid operator is applied to transform the mammography into different scale subband images. In addition, the detail or high frequency subimages are equalized by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and low-pass subimages are processed by mathematical morphology. Finally, the enhanced image of feature and contrast is reconstructed from the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid coefficients modified at one or more levels by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and mathematical morphology, respectively. The enhanced image is processed by global nonlinear operator. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is effective for feature and contrast enhancement of mammogram. The performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is measured by contrast evaluation criterion for image, signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast improvement index (CII).

  17. Feature and Contrast Enhancement of Mammographic Image Based on Multiscale Analysis and Morphology

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Shibin; Xie, Yaoqin

    2013-01-01

    A new algorithm for feature and contrast enhancement of mammographic images is proposed in this paper. The approach bases on multiscale transform and mathematical morphology. First of all, the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid operator is applied to transform the mammography into different scale subband images. In addition, the detail or high frequency subimages are equalized by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and low-pass subimages are processed by mathematical morphology. Finally, the enhanced image of feature and contrast is reconstructed from the Laplacian Gaussian pyramid coefficients modified at one or more levels by contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization and mathematical morphology, respectively. The enhanced image is processed by global nonlinear operator. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm is effective for feature and contrast enhancement of mammogram. The performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is measured by contrast evaluation criterion for image, signal-noise-ratio (SNR), and contrast improvement index (CII). PMID:24416072

  18. 42 CFR 84.51 - Entry and escape, or escape only; classification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Entry and escape, or escape only; classification. 84.51 Section 84.51 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES APPROVAL OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES...

  19. 42 CFR 84.51 - Entry and escape, or escape only; classification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Entry and escape, or escape only; classification. 84.51 Section 84.51 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES APPROVAL OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES...

  20. 42 CFR 84.51 - Entry and escape, or escape only; classification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Entry and escape, or escape only; classification. 84.51 Section 84.51 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES APPROVAL OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES...

  1. 42 CFR 84.51 - Entry and escape, or escape only; classification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Entry and escape, or escape only; classification. 84.51 Section 84.51 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES APPROVAL OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES...

  2. 42 CFR 84.51 - Entry and escape, or escape only; classification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Entry and escape, or escape only; classification. 84.51 Section 84.51 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES APPROVAL OF RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES...

  3. Dynamical Effects on the Escape of H and D: Martian Water Reservoirs

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hartle, Richard E.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The evolution of water on Mars is dependent on the loss rates of H and D from its atmosphere, where the dominant loss mechanism for these constituents is Jeans escape. Throughout time, preferential escape of H over D has produced a deuterium rich atmosphere with a D/H ratio 5.2 times that of terrestrial water. Motion in the atmosphere of Mars is shown to change the Jeans escape rates of H and D in two important ways: (1) Atmospheric wind and rotation at the exobase increase the escape fluxes of H and D above the corresponding Jeans fluxes. (2) The percentage increase in escape flux due to motion is greatest for D. Recently, several models have been used to estimate the magnitudes of current and ancient crustal water reservoirs on Mars that freely exchange with its atmosphere. Differences in the reservoir sizes are influenced by differences in the composition at the exobase, thermal history of the atmosphere and the D/H ratio of earlier epochs as inferred from meteorites. When motion enhanced Jeans escape is applied to each of these models, it is shown in every case that factors (1) and (2) above lead to current and ancient crustal water reservoirs that are larger than those obtained without motion.

  4. Can we apply the MRI BI-RADS lexicon morphology descriptors on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography?

    PubMed Central

    Kamal, Rasha M; Helal, Maha H; Haggag, Marwa A; Nada, Omniya M; Farahat, Iman G; Alieldin, Nelly H

    2016-01-01

    Objective: To assess the feasibility of using the MRI breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) lexicon morphology descriptors to characterize enhancing breast lesions identified on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM). Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis of the morphology descriptors of 261 enhancing breast lesions identified on CESM in 239 patients. We presented the morphological categorization of the included lesions into focus, mass and non-mass. Further classifications included (1) the multiplicity for “focus” category, (2) the shape, margin and internal enhancement for “mass” category and (3) the distribution and internal enhancement for “non-mass” category. Each morphology descriptor was evaluated individually (irrespective of all other descriptors) by calculating its sensitivity, specificity, positive-predictive value (PPV) and negative-predictive value (NPV) and likelihood ratios (LRs). Results: The study included 68/261 (26.1%) benign lesions and 193/261 (73.9%) malignant lesions. Intensely enhancing foci, whether single (7/12, 58.3%) or multiple (2/12, 16.7%), were malignant. Descriptors of “irregular”-shape (PPV: 92.4%) and “non-circumscribed” margin (odds ratio: 55.2, LR positive: 4.77; p-value: <0.001) were more compatible with malignancy. Internal mass enhancement patterns showed a very low specificity (58.0%) and NPV (40.0%). Non-mass enhancement (NME) was detected in 81/261 lesions. Asymmetrical NME in 81% (n = 52/81) lesions was malignant lesions and internal enhancement patterns indicative of malignancy were the heterogeneous and clumped ones. Conclusion: We can apply the MRI morphology descriptors to characterize lesions on CESM, but with few expectations. In many situations, irregular-shaped, non-circumscribed masses and NME with focal, ductal or segmental distribution and heterogeneous or clumped enhancement are the most suggestive descriptors of malignant pathologies. Advances in knowledge

  5. An empirical investigation of time-out with and without escape extinction to treat escape-maintained noncompliance.

    PubMed

    Everett, Gregory E; Joe Olmi, D; Edwards, Ron P; Tingstrom, Daniel H; Sterling-Turner, Heather E; Christ, Theodore J

    2007-07-01

    The present study evaluates the effectiveness of two time-out (TO) procedures in reducing escape-maintained noncompliance of 4 children. Noncompliant behavioral function was established via a functional assessment (FA), including indirect and direct descriptive procedures and brief confirmatory experimental analyses. Following FA, parents were taught to consequate noncompliance with two different TO procedures, one without and one with escape extinction following TO release. Although results indicate TO without escape extinction is effective in increasing compliance above baseline levels, more optimal levels of compliance were obtained for all 4 children when escape extinction was added to the TO procedures already in place. Results indicate efficacy of TO with escape extinction when applied to escape-maintained noncompliance and are discussed as an initial example of the successful application of TO to behaviors maintained by negative reinforcement.

  6. Genetic evidence of hybridization between Onothera wolfii (Wolf's evening primrose) and O. glaziovana, a garden escape

    Treesearch

    Jennifer DeWoody; Leonel Arguello; David Imper; Robert D. Westfall; Valerie D. Hipkins

    2008-01-01

    Isozyme analysis of the rare Oenothera wolfii (Wolf's evening primrose) and the garden escape, O. glazioviana, indicates that hybridization between these species may be more widespread than morphological evidence indicates. Although both species contained low amounts of genetic variation, unique alleles were identified in...

  7. ZnO nanostructures with different morphology for enhanced photocatalytic activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peter, I. John; Praveen, E.; Vignesh, G.; Nithiananthi, P.

    2017-12-01

    ZnO nanomaterials of different morphologies have been synthesized and the effect of morphology on Photocatalytic activity on natural dye has been investigated. Crystalline size and lattice strain of the synthesized particles are determined by XRD analysis and Williamson-Hall (W-H) method respectively. All other important physical parameters such as strain, stress and energy density values are also calculated using W-H analysis using different models such as uniform deformation model, uniform deformation stress model and uniform deformation energy density model. A shift in the peak of FTIR spectrum of ZnO is observed due to morphology effects. The SEM analysis reveals that the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles appear as flake, rod and dot. ZnO quantum dot exhibits higher photocatalytic activity comparing to the other morphologies. Larger surface area, high adsorption rate, large charge separation and the slow recombination of electrons/holes in ZnO dots establish dots as favorable morphology for good photocatalysis. Among the three, ZnO quantum dot shows three-times enhancement in the kinetic rate constants of photocatalysis. The results confirm that availability of specific (active) surface area, photocatalytic potential and quantum confinement of photo-induced carriers differ with morphology.

  8. Relationship of scores on the Escapism Scale of the MMPI to escape from minimum security federal custody.

    PubMed

    White, R B

    1979-04-01

    Investigated the ability of the Escapism (Ec) scale of the MMPI to differentiate between escape and non-escape minimum security federal prisoners. At the .05 level there was no difference between the scores of the two groups on the Ec scale or on comparisons of other correctional data, age, and ethnic composition. It appears that the Ec scale alone or in combination with other data will be a poor predictor of escape. Also, the rate of escape was so low as to make accurate prediction from any criteria extremely unlikely.

  9. Escape of ionizing radiation from high redshift dwarf galaxies: role of AGN feedback

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trebitsch, Maxime; Volonteri, Marta; Dubois, Yohan; Madau, Piero

    2018-05-01

    While low mass, star forming galaxies are often considered as the primary driver of reionization, their actual contribution to the cosmic ultraviolet background is still uncertain, mostly because the escape fraction of ionizing photons is only poorly constrained. Theoretical studies have shown that efficient supernova feedback is a necessary condition to create paths through which ionizing radiation can escape into the intergalactic medium. We investigate the possibility that accreting supermassive black holes in early dwarf galaxies may provide additional feedback and enhance the leakage of ionizing radiation. We use a series of high resolution cosmological radiation hydrodynamics simulations where we isolate the different sources of feedback. We find that supernova feedback prevents the growth of the black hole, thus quenching its associated feedback. Even in cases where the black hole can grow, the structure of the interstellar medium is strongly dominated by supernova feedback. We conclude that, in the dwarf galaxy regime, supermassive black holes do not appear to play a significant role in enhancing the escape fraction and in contributing to the early UV background.

  10. Hydrodynamical Modeling of Hydrogen Escape from Rocky Planets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barringer, Daniel; Zugger, M.; Kasting, J.

    2013-01-01

    Hydrogen escape affects both the composition of primitive atmospheres of terrestrial planets and the planet’s state of oxidation. On Mars, hydrogen escape played a critical role in how long the planet remained in a warm wet state amenable to life. For both solar and extrasolar planets, hydrogen-rich atmospheres are better candidates for originating life by way of Miller-Urey-type prebiotic synthesis. However, calculating the rate of atmospheric hydrogen escape is difficult, for a number of reasons. First, the escape can be controlled either by diffusion through the homopause or by conditions in the upper atmosphere, whichever is slower. Second, both thermal and non-thermal escape mechanisms are typically important. Third, thermal escape itself can be subdivided into Jeans escape (thin upper atmosphere), and hydrodynamic escape, and hydrodynamic escape can be further subdivided into transonic escape and slower subsonic escape, depending on whether the exobase occurs above or below the sonic point. Additionally, the rate of escape for real terrestrial planet atmospheres, which are not 100% hydrogen, depends upon the concentration of infrared coolants, and upon heating and photochemistry driven largely by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. We have modified an existing 1-D model of hydrodynamic escape (F. Tian et al., JGR, 2008) to work in the high- hydrogen regime. Calculations are underway to determine hydrogen escape rates as a function of atmospheric H2 mixing ratio and the solar EUV flux. We will compare these rates with the estimated upper limit on the escape rate based on diffusion. Initial results for early Earth and Mars will later be extended to rocky exoplanets.

  11. Creating Engaging Escape Rooms for the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicholson, Scott

    2018-01-01

    Escape rooms are "live-action team-based games where players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal (usually escaping from the room) in a limited amount of time." Escape Rooms are one type of Escape Game, which are narrative-based challenges that use puzzles, tasks,…

  12. Radiative lifetimes for 29 N2+ and implications for planetary escape and isotope enrichment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guberman, Steven L.

    2017-07-01

    The Viking missions to Mars found that 15N/14N is enhanced by a factor of 1.62 compared to Earth and it was suggested that the cause was dissociative recombination (DR) of N2+. The high kinetic energy imparted to N in DR drives atmospheric escape. More recent models of the Martian ionosphere show that much of the N2+ is vibrationally excited. If DR of vibrationally excited 29N2+ is important, the energetics are such that the isotope enhancement would be greatly reduced. Here I show that at the Mars exobase electron temperature and density, the excited vibrational levels of 29N2+ radiate before they can recombine. The isotope enhancement arising from DR is due entirely to DR of 28N2+ with a small contribution to 14N escape arising from DR of the ground vibrational level of 29N2+.

  13. Fitness-Balanced Escape Determines Resolution of Dynamic Founder Virus Escape Processes in HIV-1 Infection

    PubMed Central

    Sunshine, Justine E.; Larsen, Brendan B.; Maust, Brandon; Casey, Ellie; Deng, Wenje; Chen, Lennie; Westfall, Dylan H.; Kim, Moon; Zhao, Hong; Ghorai, Suvankar; Lanxon-Cookson, Erinn; Rolland, Morgane; Collier, Ann C.; Maenza, Janine; Mullins, James I.

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT To understand the interplay between host cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses and the mechanisms by which HIV-1 evades them, we studied viral evolutionary patterns associated with host CTL responses in six linked transmission pairs. HIV-1 sequences corresponding to full-length p17 and p24 gag were generated by 454 pyrosequencing for all pairs near the time of transmission, and seroconverting partners were followed for a median of 847 days postinfection. T-cell responses were screened by gamma interferon/interleukin-2 (IFN-γ/IL-2) FluoroSpot using autologous peptide sets reflecting any Gag variant present in at least 5% of sequence reads in the individual's viral population. While we found little evidence for the occurrence of CTL reversions, CTL escape processes were found to be highly dynamic, with multiple epitope variants emerging simultaneously. We found a correlation between epitope entropy and the number of epitope variants per response (r = 0.43; P = 0.05). In cases in which multiple escape mutations developed within a targeted epitope, a variant with no fitness cost became fixed in the viral population. When multiple mutations within an epitope achieved fitness-balanced escape, these escape mutants were each maintained in the viral population. Additional mutations found to confer escape but undetected in viral populations incurred high fitness costs, suggesting that functional constraints limit the available sites tolerable to escape mutations. These results further our understanding of the impact of CTL escape and reversion from the founder virus in HIV infection and contribute to the identification of immunogenic Gag regions most vulnerable to a targeted T-cell attack. IMPORTANCE Rapid diversification of the viral population is a hallmark of HIV-1 infection, and understanding the selective forces driving the emergence of viral variants can provide critical insight into the interplay between host immune responses and viral evolution. We used

  14. Morphological diversity of nitroguanidine crystals with enhanced mechanical performance and thermodynamic stability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Zhilong; Cui, Yingdan; Dong, Weibing; Xu, Qipeng; Zou, Gaoxing; Kang, Chao; Hou, Baohong; Chen, Song; Gong, Junbo

    2017-12-01

    Nitroguanidine (NQ) is a commonly used explosive, which has been widely used for both civilian and military explosive applications. However, the weak flowability and mechanical performance limit its application. In this work, mechanical performance and thermodynamic stability of NQ crystals were improved by controlling crystal morphologies in the crystallization process. Typical NQ crystals with multiple morphologies and single crystal form were obtained in the presence of additives during the cooling crystallization. The morphology controlled NQ crystals showed higher density, unimodal crystal size distribution and enhanced flowability. The additives showed the inhibitory effect on the nucleation of NQ crystals by in-situ FBRM and PVM determination, and the mechanism was analyzed by means of morphological prediction and molecular simulation. Furthermore, the morphology controlled NQ crystals suggested higher thermodynamic stability according to the calculation of entropy, enthalpy, Gibbs free energy and apparent activation energy on the basis of DSC results.

  15. Post-molting development of wind-elicited escape behavior in the cricket.

    PubMed

    Sato, Nodoka; Shidara, Hisashi; Ogawa, Hiroto

    2017-11-01

    Arthropods including insects grow through several developmental stages by molting. The abrupt changes in their body size and morphology accompanying the molting are responsible for the developmental changes in behavior. While in holometabolous insects, larval behaviors are transformed into adult-specific behaviors with drastic changes in nervous system during the pupal stage, hemimetabolous insects preserve most innate behaviors whole life long, which allow us to trace the maturation process of preserved behaviors after the changes in body. Wind-elicited escape behavior is one of these behaviors and mediated by cercal system, which is a mechanosensory organ equipped by all stages of nymph in orthopteran insects like crickets. However, the maturation process of the escape behavior after the molt is unclear. In this study, we examined time-series of changes in the wind-elicited escape behavior just after the imaginal molt in the cricket. The locomotor activities are developed over the elapsed time, and matured 24h after the molt. In contrast, a stimulus-angle dependency of moving direction was unchanged over time, meaning that the cercal sensory system detecting airflow direction was workable immediately after the molt, independent from the behavioral maturation. The post-molting development of the wind-elicited behavior was considered to result not simply from maturation of the exoskeleton or musculature because the escape response to heat-shock stimulus did not change after the molt. No effect of a temporal immobilization after the imaginal molt on the maturation of the wind-elicited behavior also implies that the maturation may be innately programmed without experience of locomotion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Estimating Collisionally-Induced Escape Rates of Light Neutrals from Early Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gacesa, M.; Zahnle, K. J.

    2016-12-01

    Collisions of atmospheric gases with hot oxygen atoms constitute an important non-thermal mechanism of escape of light atomic and molecular species at Mars. In this study, we present revised theoretical estimates of non-thermal escape rates of neutral O, H, He, and H2 based on recent atmospheric density profiles obtained from the NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission and related theoretical models. As primary sources of hot oxygen, we consider dissociative recombination of O2+ and CO2+ molecular ions. We also consider hot oxygen atoms energized in primary and secondary collisions with energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) produced in charge-exchange of solar wind H+ and He+ ions with atmospheric gases1,2. Scattering of hot oxygen and atmospheric species of interest is modeled using fully-quantum reactive scattering formalism3. This approach allows us to construct distributions of vibrationally and rotationally excited states and predict the products' emission spectra. In addition, we estimate formation rates of excited, translationally hot hydroxyl molecules in the upper atmosphere of Mars. The escape rates are calculated from the kinetic energy distributions of the reaction products using an enhanced 1D model of the atmosphere for a range of orbital and solar parameters. Finally, by considering different scenarios, we estimate the influence of these escape mechanisms on the evolution of Mars's atmosphere throughout previous epochs and their impact on the atmospheric D/H ratio. M.G.'s research was supported by an appointment to the NASA Postdoctoral Program at the NASA Ames Research Center, administered by Universities Space Research Association under contract with NASA. 1N. Lewkow and V. Kharchenko, "Precipitation of Energetic Neutral Atoms and Escape Fluxes induced from the Mars Atmosphere", Astroph. J., 790, 98 (2014) 2M. Gacesa, N. Lewkow, and V. Kharchenko, "Non-thermal production and escape of OH from the upper atmosphere of Mars", arXiv:1607

  17. Physics escape room as an educational tool

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vörös, Alpár István Vita; Sárközi, Zsuzsa

    2017-12-01

    Escape rooms have flourished in the last decade. These are adventure games in which players work together to solve puzzles using hints, clues and a strategy to escape from a locked room. In many cases they use different phenomena related to physics. Hence the idea of using escape rooms in science centers or even in classroom activities. Escape rooms are designed for one single team of players, the method is more suitable for activities in a science centre. In our paper, we show that escape rooms' puzzle solving methods could be used in physics classroom activities as well, taking into account that several teams have to work together in the same room/place. We have developed an educational escape game for physics of fluids, as this topic is left out from the Romanian high-school curriculum. We have tried out our game during the project week called "Şcoala altfel" ("school in a different way") and in a physics camp for gifted students. We present the designed physics escape game and the results.

  18. Multi-scale Morphological Image Enhancement of Chest Radiographs by a Hybrid Scheme.

    PubMed

    Alavijeh, Fatemeh Shahsavari; Mahdavi-Nasab, Homayoun

    2015-01-01

    Chest radiography is a common diagnostic imaging test, which contains an enormous amount of information about a patient. However, its interpretation is highly challenging. The accuracy of the diagnostic process is greatly influenced by image processing algorithms; hence enhancement of the images is indispensable in order to improve visibility of the details. This paper aims at improving radiograph parameters such as contrast, sharpness, noise level, and brightness to enhance chest radiographs, making use of a triangulation method. Here, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization technique and noise suppression are simultaneously performed in wavelet domain in a new scheme, followed by morphological top-hat and bottom-hat filtering. A unique implementation of morphological filters allows for adjustment of the image brightness and significant enhancement of the contrast. The proposed method is tested on chest radiographs from Japanese Society of Radiological Technology database. The results are compared with conventional enhancement techniques such as histogram equalization, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization, Retinex, and some recently proposed methods to show its strengths. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method can remarkably improve the image contrast while keeping the sensitive chest tissue information so that radiologists might have a more precise interpretation.

  19. Multi-scale Morphological Image Enhancement of Chest Radiographs by a Hybrid Scheme

    PubMed Central

    Alavijeh, Fatemeh Shahsavari; Mahdavi-Nasab, Homayoun

    2015-01-01

    Chest radiography is a common diagnostic imaging test, which contains an enormous amount of information about a patient. However, its interpretation is highly challenging. The accuracy of the diagnostic process is greatly influenced by image processing algorithms; hence enhancement of the images is indispensable in order to improve visibility of the details. This paper aims at improving radiograph parameters such as contrast, sharpness, noise level, and brightness to enhance chest radiographs, making use of a triangulation method. Here, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization technique and noise suppression are simultaneously performed in wavelet domain in a new scheme, followed by morphological top-hat and bottom-hat filtering. A unique implementation of morphological filters allows for adjustment of the image brightness and significant enhancement of the contrast. The proposed method is tested on chest radiographs from Japanese Society of Radiological Technology database. The results are compared with conventional enhancement techniques such as histogram equalization, contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization, Retinex, and some recently proposed methods to show its strengths. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method can remarkably improve the image contrast while keeping the sensitive chest tissue information so that radiologists might have a more precise interpretation. PMID:25709942

  20. Effect of Ion Escape Velocity and Conversion Surface Material on H- Production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tarvainen, O.; Kalvas, T.; Komppula, J.; Koivisto, H.; Geros, E.; Stelzer, J.; Rouleau, G.; Johnson, K. F.; Carmichael, J.

    2011-09-01

    According to generally accepted models surface production of negative ions depends on ion escape velocity and work function of the surface. We have conducted an experimental study addressing the role of the ion escape velocity on H- production. A converter-type ion source at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center was employed for the experiment. The ion escape velocity was affected by varying the bias voltage of the converter electrode. It was observed that due to enhanced stripping of H- no direct gain of extracted beam current can be achieved by increasing the converter voltage. The conversion efficiency of H- was observed to vary with converter voltage and follow the existing theories in qualitative manner. We present calculations predicting relative H- yields from different cesiated surfaces with comparison to experimental observations from different types of H- ion sources. Utilizing materials exhibiting negative electron affinity and exposed to UV-light is considered for Cesium-free H-/D- production.

  1. 30 CFR 75.382 - Mechanical escape facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mechanical escape facilities. 75.382 Section 75... HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.382 Mechanical escape facilities. (a) Mechanical escape facilities shall be provided with overspeed, overwind, and automatic stop...

  2. Escape of magnetic toroids from the Sun

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bieber, John W.; Rust, David M.

    1995-01-01

    Analysis of heliospheric magnetic fields at 1 AU shows that 10(exp 24) Mx of net azimuthal flux escapes from the Sun per solar cycle. This rate is consistent with rates derived from other indicators of flux escape, including coronal mass ejections and filament eruptions. The toroidal flux escape rate is compared with the apparent rate of flux emergence at the solar surface, and it is concluded that escaping toroids will remove at least 20% of the emerging flux, and may remove as much as 100% of emerging flux if multiple eruptions occur on the toroids. The data imply that flux escapes the Sun with an efficiency far exceeding Parker's upper limit estimate of 3%. Toroidal flux escape is almost certainly the source of the observed overwinding of the interplanetary magnetic field spiral. Two mechanisms to facilitate net flux escape are discussed: helicity charging to push open the fields and flux transport with reconnection to close them off. We estimate the Sun will shed approximately 2 x 10(exp 45) of magnetic helicity per solar cycle, leading to a mean helicity density of 100 Mx(exp 2)cm(exp -3) at 1 AU, which agrees well with observations.

  3. The atmospheric escape at Mars: complementing the scenario

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lilensten, Jean; Simon, Cyril; Barthélémy, Mathieu; Thissen, Roland; Ehrenreich, David; Gronoff, Guillaume; Witasse, Olivier

    2013-04-01

    In the recent years, the presence of dications in the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, Earth and Titan has been modeled and assessed. These studies also suggested that these ions could participate to the escape of the planetary atmospheres because a large fraction of them is unstable and highly ener- getic. When they dissociate, their internal energy is transformed into kinetic energy which may be larger than the escape energy. This study assesses the impact of the doubly-charged ions in the escape of CO2-dominated planetary atmospheres and to compare it to the escape of thermal photo-ions.We solve a Boltzmann transport equation at daytime taking into account the dissociative states of CO++ for a simplified single constituent atmosphere of a 2 case-study planet. We compute the escape of fast ions using a Beer-Lambert approach. We study three test-cases. On a Mars-analog planet in today's conditions, we retrieve the measured electron escape flux. When comparing the two mechanisms (i.e. excluding solar wind effects, sputtering ...), the escape due to the fast ions issuing from the dissociation of dications may account for up to 6% of the total and the escape of thermal ions for the remaining. We show that these two mechanisms cannot explain the escape of the atmosphere since the magnetic field vanished but complement the other processes and allow writing the scenario of the Mars escape. We show that the atmosphere of a Mars analog planet would empty in another giga years and a half. At Venus orbit, the contribution of the dications in the escape rate is negligible.When simulating the hot Jupiter HD209458b, the two processes cannot explain the measured escape flux of C+.

  4. Orthographic Transparency Enhances Morphological Segmentation in Children Reading Hebrew Words.

    PubMed

    Haddad, Laurice; Weiss, Yael; Katzir, Tami; Bitan, Tali

    2017-01-01

    Morphological processing of derived words develops simultaneously with reading acquisition. However, the reader's engagement in morphological segmentation may depend on the language morphological richness and orthographic transparency, and the readers' reading skills. The current study tested the common idea that morphological segmentation is enhanced in non-transparent orthographies to compensate for the absence of phonological information. Hebrew's rich morphology and the dual version of the Hebrew script (with and without diacritic marks) provides an opportunity to study the interaction of orthographic transparency and morphological segmentation on the development of reading skills in a within-language design. Hebrew speaking 2nd ( N = 27) and 5th ( N = 29) grade children read aloud 96 noun words. Half of the words were simple mono-morphemic words and half were bi-morphemic derivations composed of a productive root and a morphemic pattern. In each list half of the words were presented in the transparent version of the script (with diacritic marks), and half in the non-transparent version (without diacritic marks). Our results show that in both groups, derived bi-morphemic words were identified more accurately than mono-morphemic words, but only for the transparent, pointed, script. For the un-pointed script the reverse was found, namely, that bi-morphemic words were read less accurately than mono-morphemic words, especially in second grade. Second grade children also read mono-morphemic words faster than bi-morphemic words. Finally, correlations with a standardized measure of morphological awareness were found only for second grade children, and only in bi-morphemic words. These results, showing greater morphological effects in second grade compared to fifth grade children suggest that for children raised in a language with a rich morphology, common and easily segmented morphemic units may be more beneficial for younger compared to older readers. Moreover, in

  5. Orthographic Transparency Enhances Morphological Segmentation in Children Reading Hebrew Words

    PubMed Central

    Haddad, Laurice; Weiss, Yael; Katzir, Tami; Bitan, Tali

    2018-01-01

    Morphological processing of derived words develops simultaneously with reading acquisition. However, the reader’s engagement in morphological segmentation may depend on the language morphological richness and orthographic transparency, and the readers’ reading skills. The current study tested the common idea that morphological segmentation is enhanced in non-transparent orthographies to compensate for the absence of phonological information. Hebrew’s rich morphology and the dual version of the Hebrew script (with and without diacritic marks) provides an opportunity to study the interaction of orthographic transparency and morphological segmentation on the development of reading skills in a within-language design. Hebrew speaking 2nd (N = 27) and 5th (N = 29) grade children read aloud 96 noun words. Half of the words were simple mono-morphemic words and half were bi-morphemic derivations composed of a productive root and a morphemic pattern. In each list half of the words were presented in the transparent version of the script (with diacritic marks), and half in the non-transparent version (without diacritic marks). Our results show that in both groups, derived bi-morphemic words were identified more accurately than mono-morphemic words, but only for the transparent, pointed, script. For the un-pointed script the reverse was found, namely, that bi-morphemic words were read less accurately than mono-morphemic words, especially in second grade. Second grade children also read mono-morphemic words faster than bi-morphemic words. Finally, correlations with a standardized measure of morphological awareness were found only for second grade children, and only in bi-morphemic words. These results, showing greater morphological effects in second grade compared to fifth grade children suggest that for children raised in a language with a rich morphology, common and easily segmented morphemic units may be more beneficial for younger compared to older readers. Moreover

  6. The escape of Lyman photons from a young starburst: the case of Haro11†

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayes, Matthew; Östlin, Göran; Atek, Hakim; Kunth, Daniel; Mas-Hesse, J. Miguel; Leitherer, Claus; Jiménez-Bailón, Elena; Adamo, Angela

    2007-12-01

    Lyman α (Lyα) is one of the dominant tools used to probe the star-forming galaxy population at high redshift (z). However, astrophysical interpretations of data drawn from Lyα alone hinge on the Lyα escape fraction which, due to the complex radiative transport, may vary greatly. Here, we map the Lyα emission from the local luminous blue compact galaxy Haro11, a known emitter of Lyα and the only known candidate for low-z Lyman continuum emission. To aid in the interpretation, we perform a detailed ultraviolet and optical multiwavelength analysis and model the stellar population, dust distribution, ionizing photon budget, and star-cluster population. We use archival X-ray observations to further constrain properties of the starburst and estimate the neutral hydrogen column density. The Lyα morphology is found to be largely symmetric around a single young star-forming knot and is strongly decoupled from other wavelengths. From general surface photometry, only very slight correlation is found between Lyα and Hα, E(B - V), and the age of the stellar population. Only around the central Lyα bright cluster do we find the Lyα/Hα ratio at values predicted by the recombination theory. The total Lyα escape fraction is found to be just 3 per cent. We compute that ~90 per cent of the Lyα photons that escape do so after undergoing multiple resonance scattering events, masking their point of origin. This leads to a largely symmetric distribution and, by increasing the distance that photons must travel to escape, decreases the escape probability significantly. While dust must ultimately be responsible for the destruction of Lyα, it plays a little role in governing the observed morphology, which is regulated more by interstellar medium kinematics and geometry. We find tentative evidence for local Lyα equivalent width in the immediate vicinity of star clusters being a function of cluster age, consistent with hydrodynamic studies. We estimate the intrinsic production

  7. Spacecraft Escape Capsule

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robertson, Edward A.; Charles, Dingell W.; Bufkin, Ann L.; Rodriggs, Liana M.; Peterson, Wayne; Cuthbert, Peter; Lee, David E.; Westhelle, Carlos

    2006-01-01

    A report discusses the Gumdrop capsule a conceptual spacecraft that would enable the crew to escape safely in the event of a major equipment failure at any time from launch through atmospheric re-entry. The scaleable Gumdrop capsule would comprise a command module (CM), a service module (SM), and a crew escape system (CES). The CM would contain a pressurized crew environment that would include avionic, life-support, thermal control, propulsive attitude control, and recovery systems. The SM would provide the primary propulsion and would also supply electrical power, life-support resources, and active thermal control to the CM. The CES would include a solid rocket motor, embedded within the SM, for pushing the CM away from the SM in the event of a critical thermal-protection-system failure or loss of control. The CM and SM would normally remain integrated with each other from launch through recovery, but could be separated using the CES, if necessary, to enable the safe recovery of the crew in the CM. The crew escape motor could be used, alternatively, as a redundant means of de-orbit propulsion for the CM in the event of a major system failure in the SM.

  8. Light weight escape capsule for fighter aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robert, James A.

    1988-01-01

    Emergency crew escape capabilities have been less than adequate for fighter aircraft since before WW II. From the over-the-side bailout of those days through the current ejection seat with a rocket catapult, escaping from a disabled aircraft has been risky at best. Current efforts are underway toward developing a high-tech, smart ejection seat that will give fighter pilots more room to live in the sky, but an escape capsule is needed to meet current and future fighter envelopes. Escape capsules have a bad reputation due to past examples of high weight, poor performance and great complexity. However, the advantages available demand that a capsule be developed. This capsule concept will minimize the inherent disavantages and incorporate the benefits while integrating all aspects of crew station design. The resulting design is appropriate for a crew station of the year 2010 and includes improved combat acceleration protection, chemical or biological combat capability, improved aircraft to escape system interaction, and the highest level of escape performance achievable. The capsule is compact, which can allow a reduced aircraft size and weighs only 1200 lb. The escape system weight penalty is only 120 lb higher than that for the next ejection seat and the capsule has a corresponding increase in performance.

  9. Dications and thermal ions in planetary atmospheric escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lilensten, J.; Simon Wedlund, C.; Barthélémy, M.; Thissen, R.; Ehrenreich, D.; Gronoff, G.; Witasse, O.

    2013-01-01

    In the recent years, the presence of dications in the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, Earth and Titan has been modeled and assessed. These studies also suggested that these ions could participate to the escape of the planetary atmospheres because a large fraction of them is unstable and highly energetic. When they dissociate, their internal energy is transformed into kinetic energy which may be larger than the escape energy. The goal of this study is to assess the impact of the doubly-charged ions in the escape of CO2-dominated planetary atmospheres and to compare it to the escape of thermal photo-ions. We solve a Boltzmann transport equation at daytime taking into account the dissociative states of CO2++ for a simplified single constituent atmosphere of a case-study planet. We compute the escape of fast ions using a Beer-Lambert approach. We study three test-cases. On a Mars-analog planet in today's conditions, we retrieve the measured electron escape flux. When comparing the two mechanisms (i.e. excluding solar wind effects, sputtering, etc.), the escape due to the fast ions issuing from the dissociation of dications may account for up to 6% of the total and the escape of thermal ions for the remaining. We show that these two mechanisms cannot explain the escape of the atmosphere since the magnetic field vanished and even contribute only marginally to this loss. We show that with these two mechanisms, the atmosphere of a Mars analog planet would empty in another giga years and a half. At Venus orbit, the contribution of the dications in the escape rate is negligible. When simulating the hot Jupiter HD 209458 b, the two processes cannot explain the measured escape flux of C+. This study shows that the dications may constitute a source of the escape of planetary atmospheres which had not been taken into account until now. This source, although marginal, is not negligible. The influence of the photoionization is of course large, but cannot explain alone the loss of Mars

  10. Plasmonic nanobubble-enhanced endosomal escape processes for selective and guided intracellular delivery of chemotherapy to drug-resistant cancer cells

    PubMed Central

    Lukianova-Hleb, Ekaterina Y.; Belyanin, Andrey; Kashinath, Shruti; Wu, Xiangwei; Lapotko, Dmitri O.

    2012-01-01

    Cancer chemotherapies suffer from multi drug resistance, high non-specific toxicity and heterogeneity of tumors. We report a method of plasmonic nanobubble-enhanced endosomal escape (PNBEE) for the selective, fast and guided intracellular delivery of drugs through a self-assembly by cancer cells of separately targeted gold nanoparticles and encapsulated drug (Doxil). The co-localized with Doxil plasmonic nanobubbles optically generated in cancer cells released the drug into the cytoplasm thus increasing the therapeutic efficacy against these drug-resistant cells by 31-fold, reducing drug dose by 20-fold, the treatment time by 3-fold and the non-specific toxicity by 10-fold compared to standard treatment. Thus the PNBEE mechanism provided selective, safe and efficient intracellular drug delivery in heterogeneous environment opening new opportunities for drug therapies. PMID:22137124

  11. Interspecific evaluation of octopus escape behavior.

    PubMed

    Wood, James B; Anderson, Roland C

    2004-01-01

    The well-known ability of octopuses to escape enclosures is a behavior that can be fatal and, therefore, is an animal welfare issue. This study obtained survey data from 38 participants-primarily scientists and public aquarists who work with octopuses-on 25 described species of octopus. The study demonstrates that the likeliness to escape is species specific (p =.001). The study gives husbandry techniques to keep captive octopuses contained. This first interspecific study of octopus escape behavior allows readers to make informed species-specific husbandry choices.

  12. Balancing cationic and hydrophobic content of PEGylated siRNA polyplexes enhances endosome escape, stability, blood circulation time, and bioactivity in vivo.

    PubMed

    Nelson, Christopher E; Kintzing, James R; Hanna, Ann; Shannon, Joshua M; Gupta, Mukesh K; Duvall, Craig L

    2013-10-22

    A family of pH-responsive diblock polymers composed of poly[(ethylene glycol)-b-[(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-co-(butyl methacrylate)], PEG-(DMAEMA-co-BMA), was reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) synthesized with 0-75 mol % BMA in the second polymer block. The relative mole % of DMAEMA and BMA was varied in order to identify a polymer that can be used to formulate PEGylated, siRNA-loaded polyplex nanoparticles (NPs) with an optimized balance of cationic and hydrophobic content in the NP core based on siRNA packaging, cytocompatibility, blood circulation half-life, endosomal escape, and in vivo bioactivity. The polymer with 50:50 mol % of DMAEMA:BMA (polymer "50 B") in the RAFT-polymerized block efficiently condensed siRNA into 100 nm NPs that displayed pH-dependent membrane disruptive behavior finely tuned for endosomal escape. In vitro delivery of siRNA with polymer 50 B produced up to 94% protein-level knockdown of the model gene luciferase. The PEG corona of the NPs blocked nonspecific interactions with constituents of human whole blood, and the relative hydrophobicity of polymer 50 B increased NP stability in the presence of human serum or the polyanion heparin. When injected intravenously, 50 B NPs enhanced blood circulation half-life 3-fold relative to more standard PEG-DMAEMA (0 B) NPs (p < 0.05), due to improved stability and a reduced rate of renal clearance. The 50 B NPs enhanced siRNA biodistribution to the liver and other organs and significantly increased gene silencing in the liver, kidneys, and spleen relative to the benchmark polymer 0 B (p < 0.05). These collective findings validate the functional significance of tuning the balance of cationic and hydrophobic content of polyplex NPs utilized for systemic siRNA delivery in vivo.

  13. Project Mercury Escape Tower Rockets Tests

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1960-04-21

    A Mercury capsule is mounted inside the Altitude Wind Tunnel for a test of its escape tower rockets at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. In October 1959 NASA’s Space Task Group allocated several Project Mercury assignments to Lewis. The Altitude Wind Tunnel was quickly modified so that its 51-foot diameter western leg could be used as a test chamber. The final round of tests in the Altitude Wind Tunnel sought to determine if the smoke plume from the capsule’s escape tower rockets would shroud or compromise the spacecraft. The escape tower, a 10-foot steel rig with three small rockets, was attached to the nose of the Mercury capsule. It could be used to jettison the astronaut and capsule to safety in the event of a launch vehicle malfunction on the pad or at any point prior to separation from the booster. Once actuated, the escape rockets would fire, and the capsule would be ejected away from the booster. After the capsule reached its apex of about 2,500 feet, the tower, heatshield, retropackage, and antenna would be ejected and a drogue parachute would be released. Flight tests of the escape system were performed at Wallops Island as part of the series of Little Joe launches. Although the escape rockets fired prematurely on Little Joe’s first attempt in August 1959, the January 1960 follow-up was successful.

  14. Practical application of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance mammography [CE-MRM] by an algorithm combining morphological and enhancement patterns.

    PubMed

    Potente, Giuseppe; Messineo, Daniela; Maggi, Claudia; Savelli, Sara

    2009-03-01

    The purpose of this article is to report our practical utilization of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance mammography [DCE-MRM] in the diagnosis of breast lesions. In many European centers, was preferred a high-temporal acquisition of both breasts simultaneously in a large FOV. We preferred to scan single breasts, with the aim to combine the analysis of the contrast intake and washout with the morphological evaluation of breast lesions. We followed an interpretation model, based upon a diagnostic algorithm, which combined contrast enhancement with morphological evaluation, in order to increase our confidence in diagnosis. DCE-MRM with our diagnostic algorithm has identified 179 malignant and 41 benign lesions; final outcome has identified 178 malignant and 42 benign lesions, 3 false positives and 2 false negatives. Sensitivity of CE-MRM was 98.3%; specificity, 95.1%; positive predictive value, 98.9%; negative predictive value, 92.8% and accuracy, 97.7%.

  15. Non-thermal escape of molecular hydrogen from Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gacesa, M.; Zhang, P.; Kharchenko, V.

    2012-05-01

    We present a detailed theoretical analysis of non-thermal escape of molecular hydrogen from Mars induced by collisions with hot atomic oxygen from the Martian corona. To accurately describe the energy transfer in O + H2(v, j) collisions, we performed extensive quantum-mechanical calculations of state-to-state elastic, inelastic, and reactive cross sections. The escape flux of H2 molecules was evaluated using a simplified 1D column model of the Martian atmosphere with realistic densities of atmospheric gases and hot oxygen production rates for low solar activity conditions. An average intensity of the non-thermal escape flux of H2 of 1.9 × 105 cm-2s-1 was obtained considering energetic O atoms produced in dissociative recombinations of O2+ ions. Predicted ro-vibrational distribution of the escaping H2 was found to contain a significant fraction of higher rotational states. While the non-thermal escape rate was found to be lower than Jeans rate for H2 molecules, the non-thermal escape rates of HD and D2 are significantly higher than their respective Jeans rates. The accurate evaluation of the collisional escape flux of H2 and its isotopes is important for understanding non-thermal escape of molecules from Mars, as well as for the formation of hot H2 Martian corona. The described molecular ejection mechanism is general and expected to contribute to atmospheric escape of H2 and other light molecules from planets, satellites, and exoplanetary bodies.

  16. A New Window into Escaping Exoplanet Atmospheres: 10830 Å Line of Helium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oklopčić, Antonija; Hirata, Christopher M.

    2018-03-01

    Observational evidence for escaping exoplanet atmospheres has been obtained for a few exoplanets to date. It comes from strong transit signals detected in the ultraviolet, most notably in the wings of the hydrogen Lyα (Lyα) line. However, the core of the Lyα line is often heavily affected by interstellar absorption and geocoronal emission, limiting the information about the atmosphere that can be extracted from that part of the spectrum. Transit observations in atomic lines that are (a) sensitive enough to trace the rarefied gas in the planetary wind and (b) do not suffer from significant extinction by the interstellar medium could enable more detailed observations, and thus provide better constraints on theoretical models of escaping atmospheres. The absorption line of a metastable state of helium at 10830 Å could satisfy both of these conditions for some exoplanets. We develop a simple 1D model of escaping planetary atmospheres containing hydrogen and helium. We use it to calculate the density profile of helium in the 23S metastable excited state and the expected in-transit absorption at 10830 Å for two exoplanets known to have escaping atmospheres. Our results indicate that exoplanets similar to GJ 436b and HD 209458b should exhibit enhanced transit depths at 10830 Å, with ∼8% and ∼2% excess absorption in the line core, respectively.

  17. Mechanisms of Ionospheric Mass Escape

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, T. E.; Khazanov, G. V.

    2010-01-01

    The dependence of ionospheric O+ escape flux on electromagnetic energy flux and electron precipitation into the ionosphere is derived for a hypothetical ambipolar pick-up process, powered the relative motion of plasmas and neutral upper atmosphere, and by electron precipitation, at heights where the ions are magnetized but influenced by photo-ionization, collisions with gas atoms, ambipolar and centrifugal acceleration. Ion pick-up by the convection electric field produces "ring-beam" or toroidal velocity distributions, as inferred from direct plasma measurements, from observations of the associated waves, and from the spectra of incoherent radar echoes. Ring-beams are unstable to plasma wave growth, resulting in rapid relaxation via transverse velocity diffusion, into transversely accelerated ion populations. Ion escape is substantially facilitated by the ambipolar potential, but is only weakly affected by centrifugal acceleration. If, as cited simulations suggest, ion ring beams relax into non-thermal velocity distributions with characteristic speed equal to the local ion-neutral flow speed, a generalized "Jeans escape" calculation shows that the escape flux of ionospheric O+ increases with Poynting flux and with precipitating electron density in rough agreement with observations.

  18. Survival in Emergency Escape from Passenger Aircraft,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    ESCAPE SYSTEMS, *TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT, ESCAPE SYSTEMS, CIVIL AVIATION, STATISTICAL DATA, AIRCRAFT DOORS, EVACUATION, MORTALITY RATE, ADULTS , CHILDREN, SEX, AIRCRAFT FIRES, AIRCRAFT CABINS, FEMALES, BEHAVIOR.

  19. Brain Volume Estimation Enhancement by Morphological Image Processing Tools.

    PubMed

    Zeinali, R; Keshtkar, A; Zamani, A; Gharehaghaji, N

    2017-12-01

    Volume estimation of brain is important for many neurological applications. It is necessary in measuring brain growth and changes in brain in normal/abnormal patients. Thus, accurate brain volume measurement is very important. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the method of choice for volume quantification due to excellent levels of image resolution and between-tissue contrast. Stereology method is a good method for estimating volume but it requires to segment enough MRI slices and have a good resolution. In this study, it is desired to enhance stereology method for volume estimation of brain using less MRI slices with less resolution. In this study, a program for calculating volume using stereology method has been introduced. After morphologic method, dilation was applied and the stereology method enhanced. For the evaluation of this method, we used T1-wighted MR images from digital phantom in BrainWeb which had ground truth. The volume of 20 normal brain extracted from BrainWeb, was calculated. The volumes of white matter, gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid with given dimension were estimated correctly. Volume calculation from Stereology method in different cases was made. In three cases, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was measured. Case I with T=5, d=5, Case II with T=10, D=10 and Case III with T=20, d=20 (T=slice thickness, d=resolution as stereology parameters). By comparing these results of two methods, it is obvious that RMSE values for our proposed method are smaller than Stereology method. Using morphological operation, dilation allows to enhance the estimation volume method, Stereology. In the case with less MRI slices and less test points, this method works much better compared to Stereology method.

  20. Infrared image enhancement based on the edge detection and mathematical morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Linlin; Zhao, Yuejin; Dong, Liquan; Liu, Xiaohua; Yu, Xiaomei; Hui, Mei; Chu, Xuhong; Gong, Cheng

    2010-11-01

    The development of the un-cooled infrared imaging technology from military necessity. At present, It is widely applied in industrial, medicine, scientific and technological research and so on. The infrared radiation temperature distribution of the measured object's surface can be observed visually. The collection of infrared images from our laboratory has following characteristics: Strong spatial correlation, Low contrast , Poor visual effect; Without color or shadows because of gray image , and has low resolution; Low definition compare to the visible light image; Many kinds of noise are brought by the random disturbances of the external environment. Digital image processing are widely applied in many areas, it can now be studied up close and in detail in many research field. It has become one kind of important means of the human visual continuation. Traditional methods for image enhancement cannot capture the geometric information of images and tend to amplify noise. In order to remove noise and improve visual effect. Meanwhile, To overcome the above enhancement issues. The mathematical model of FPA unit was constructed based on matrix transformation theory. According to characteristics of FPA, Image enhancement algorithm which combined with mathematical morphology and edge detection are established. First of all, Image profile is obtained by using the edge detection combine with mathematical morphological operators. And then, through filling the template profile by original image to get the ideal background image, The image noise can be removed on the base of the above method. The experiments show that utilizing the proposed algorithm can enhance image detail and the signal to noise ratio.

  1. Gene regulation network behind drought escape, avoidance and tolerance strategies in black poplar (Populus nigra L.).

    PubMed

    Yıldırım, Kubilay; Kaya, Zeki

    2017-06-01

    Drought is the major environmental problem limiting the productivity and survival of plant species. Here, previously identified three black poplar genotypes having contrasting response to drought were subjected to gradual soil water depletion in a pot trial to identify their physiological, morphological and antioxidation related adaptations. We also performed a microarray based transcriptome analyses on the leaves of genotypes by using Affymetrix poplar Genome Array containing 56,000 transcripts. Phenotypic analyses of each genotype confirmed their differential adaptations to drought that could be classified as drought escape, avoidance and tolerance. Comparative transcriptomic analysis indicated highly divergent gene expression patterns among the genotypes in response to drought and post drought re-watering (PDR). We identified 10641, 3824 and 9411 transcripts exclusively regulated in drought escape, avoidance and tolerant genotypes, respectively. The key genes involved in metabolic pathways, such as carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, lipid metabolism, generation of precursor metabolites/energy, protein folding, redox homeostasis, secondary metabolic process and cell wall component biogenesis, were affected by drought stresses in the leaves of these genotypes. Transcript isoforms showed increased expression specificity in the genes coding for bark storage proteins and small heat shock proteins in drought tolerant genotype. On the other hand, drought-avoiding genotype specifically induced the transcripts annotated to the genes functional in secondary metabolite production that linked to enhanced leaf water content and growth performance under drought stress. Transcriptome profiling of drought escape genotype indicated specific regulation of the genes functional in programmed cell death and leaf senescence. Specific upregulation of GTP cyclohydrolase II and transcription factors (WRKY and ERFs) in only this genotype were associated to ROS dependent signalling

  2. Titan impacts and escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korycansky, D. G.; Zahnle, Kevin J.

    2011-01-01

    We report on hydrodynamic calculations of impacts of large (multi-kilometer) objects on Saturn's moon Titan. We assess escape from Titan, and evaluate the hypothesis that escaping ejecta blackened the leading hemisphere of Iapetus and peppered the surface of Hyperion. We carried out two- and three-dimensional simulations of impactors ranging in size from 4 to 100 km diameter, impact velocities between 7 and 15 km s -1, and impact angles from 0° to 75° from the vertical. We used the ZEUSMP2 hydrocode for the calculations. Simulations were made using three different geometries: three-dimensional Cartesian, two-dimensional axisymmetric spherical polar, and two-dimensional plane polar. Three-dimensional Cartesian geometry calculations were carried out over a limited domain (e.g. 240 km on a side for an impactor of size di = 10 km), and the results compared to ones with the same parameters done by Artemieva and Lunine (2005); in general the comparison was good. Being computationally less demanding, two-dimensional calculations were possible for much larger domains, covering global regions of the satellite (from 800 km below Titan's surface to the exobase altitude 1700 km above the surface). Axisymmetric spherical polar calculations were carried out for vertical impacts. Two-dimensional plane-polar geometry calculations were made for both vertical and oblique impacts. In general, calculations among all three geometries gave consistent results. Our basic result is that the amount of escaping material is less than or approximately equal to the impactor mass even for the most favorable cases. Amounts of escaping material scaled most strongly as a function of velocity, with high-velocity impacts generating the largest amount, as expected. Dependence of the relative amount of escaping mass fesc = mesc/ Mi on impactor diameter di was weak. Oblique impacts (impact angle θi > 45°) were more effective than vertical or near-vertical impacts; ratios of mesc/ Mi ˜ 1-2 were

  3. Apollo experience report: Launch escape propulsion subsystem

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Townsend, N. A.

    1973-01-01

    The Apollo launch escape propulsion subsystem contained three solid rocket motors. The general design, development, and qualification of the solid-propellant pitch-control, tower-jettison, and launch-escape motors of the Apollo launch escape propulsion subsystem were completed during years 1961 to 1966. The launch escape system components are described in general terms, and the sequence of events through the ground-based test programs and flight-test programs is discussed. The initial ground rules established for this system were that it should use existing technology and designs as much as possible. The practicality of this decision is proved by the minimum number of problems that were encountered during the development and qualification program.

  4. 46 CFR 185.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 185.606 Section 185... 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Markings Required § 185.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency exits used as means of escape must be marked on both sides in clearly legible...

  5. 46 CFR 185.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 185.606 Section 185... 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Markings Required § 185.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency exits used as means of escape must be marked on both sides in clearly legible...

  6. 46 CFR 185.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 185.606 Section 185... 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Markings Required § 185.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency exits used as means of escape must be marked on both sides in clearly legible...

  7. 46 CFR 185.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 185.606 Section 185... 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Markings Required § 185.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency exits used as means of escape must be marked on both sides in clearly legible...

  8. 46 CFR 185.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 185.606 Section 185... 100 GROSS TONS) OPERATIONS Markings Required § 185.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency exits used as means of escape must be marked on both sides in clearly legible...

  9. Prosthetic Mitral Valve Leaflet Escape

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Darae; Hun, Sin Sang; Cho, In-Jeong; Shim, Chi-Young; Ha, Jong-Won; Chung, Namsik; Ju, Hyun Chul; Sohn, Jang Won

    2013-01-01

    Leaflet escape of prosthetic valve is rare but potentially life threatening. It is essential to make timely diagnosis in order to avoid mortality. Transesophageal echocardiography and cinefluoroscopy is usually diagnostic and the location of the missing leaflet can be identified by computed tomography (CT). Emergent surgical correction is mandatory. We report a case of fractured escape of Edward-Duromedics mitral valve 27 years after the surgery. The patient presented with symptoms of acute decompensated heart failure and cardiogenic shock. She was instantly intubated and mechanically ventilated. After prompt evaluation including transthoracic echocardiography and CT, the escape of the leaflet was confirmed. The patient underwent emergent surgery for replacement of the damaged prosthetic valves immediately. Eleven days after the surgery, the dislodged leaflet in iliac artery was removed safely and the patient recovered well. PMID:23837121

  10. Plasmonic nanobubble-enhanced endosomal escape processes for selective and guided intracellular delivery of chemotherapy to drug-resistant cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Lukianova-Hleb, Ekaterina Y; Belyanin, Andrey; Kashinath, Shruti; Wu, Xiangwei; Lapotko, Dmitri O

    2012-02-01

    Cancer chemotherapies suffer from multi drug resistance, high non-specific toxicity and heterogeneity of tumors. We report a method of plasmonic nanobubble-enhanced endosomal escape (PNBEE) for the selective, fast and guided intracellular delivery of drugs through a self-assembly by cancer cells of separately targeted gold nanoparticles and encapsulated drug (Doxil). The co-localized with Doxil plasmonic nanobubbles optically generated in cancer cells released the drug into the cytoplasm thus increasing the therapeutic efficacy against these drug-resistant cells by 31-fold, reducing drug dose by 20-fold, the treatment time by 3-fold and the non-specific toxicity by 10-fold compared to standard treatment. Thus the PNBEE mechanism provided selective, safe and efficient intracellular drug delivery in heterogeneous environment opening new opportunities for drug therapies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Risks incurred by hydrogen escaping from containers and conduits

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

    Swain, M.R.; Grilliot, E.S.

    1998-08-01

    This paper is a discussion of a method for hydrogen leak classification. Leaks are classified as; gas escapes into enclosed spaces, gas escapes into partially enclosed spaces (vented), and gas escapes into unenclosed spaces. Each of the three enclosure classifications is further divided into two subclasses; total volume of hydrogen escaped and flow rate of escaping hydrogen. A method to aid in risk assessment determination in partially enclosed spaces is proposed and verified for several enclosure geometries. Examples are discussed for additional enclosure geometries.

  12. 30 CFR 77.1101 - Escape and evacuation; plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... Fire Protection § 77.1101 Escape and evacuation; plan. (a) Before September 30, 1971, each operator of... event of a fire. (b) All employees shall be instructed on current escape and evacuation plans, fire alarm signals, and applicable procedures to be followed in case of fire. (c) Plans for escape and...

  13. 30 CFR 77.1101 - Escape and evacuation; plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Fire Protection § 77.1101 Escape and evacuation; plan. (a) Before September 30, 1971, each operator of... event of a fire. (b) All employees shall be instructed on current escape and evacuation plans, fire alarm signals, and applicable procedures to be followed in case of fire. (c) Plans for escape and...

  14. 30 CFR 77.1101 - Escape and evacuation; plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Fire Protection § 77.1101 Escape and evacuation; plan. (a) Before September 30, 1971, each operator of... event of a fire. (b) All employees shall be instructed on current escape and evacuation plans, fire alarm signals, and applicable procedures to be followed in case of fire. (c) Plans for escape and...

  15. 30 CFR 77.1101 - Escape and evacuation; plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Fire Protection § 77.1101 Escape and evacuation; plan. (a) Before September 30, 1971, each operator of... event of a fire. (b) All employees shall be instructed on current escape and evacuation plans, fire alarm signals, and applicable procedures to be followed in case of fire. (c) Plans for escape and...

  16. Enhancement of morphological and vascular features in OCT images using a modified Bayesian residual transform

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Bingyao; Wong, Alexander; Bizheva, Kostadinka

    2018-01-01

    A novel image processing algorithm based on a modified Bayesian residual transform (MBRT) was developed for the enhancement of morphological and vascular features in optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) images. The MBRT algorithm decomposes the original OCT image into multiple residual images, where each image presents information at a unique scale. Scale selective residual adaptation is used subsequently to enhance morphological features of interest, such as blood vessels and tissue layers, and to suppress irrelevant image features such as noise and motion artefacts. The performance of the proposed MBRT algorithm was tested on a series of cross-sectional and enface OCT and OCTA images of retina and brain tissue that were acquired in-vivo. Results show that the MBRT reduces speckle noise and motion-related imaging artefacts locally, thus improving significantly the contrast and visibility of morphological features in the OCT and OCTA images. PMID:29760996

  17. Narrow Escape of Interacting Diffusing Particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agranov, Tal; Meerson, Baruch

    2018-03-01

    The narrow escape problem deals with the calculation of the mean escape time (MET) of a Brownian particle from a bounded domain through a small hole on the domain's boundary. Here we develop a formalism which allows us to evaluate the nonescape probability of a gas of diffusing particles that may interact with each other. In some cases the nonescape probability allows us to evaluate the MET of the first particle. The formalism is based on the fluctuating hydrodynamics and the recently developed macroscopic fluctuation theory. We also uncover an unexpected connection between the narrow escape of interacting particles and thermal runaway in chemical reactors.

  18. Mars atmospheric escape and evolution; interaction with the solar wind

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chassefière, Eric; Leblanc, François

    2004-09-01

    This tutorial deals with the question of atmospheric escape on Mars. After a brief introduction describing the general context of Mars escape studies, we will present in Section 2 a simplified theory of thermal escape, of both Jeans and hydrodynamic types. The phenomenon of hydrodynamic escape, still hypothetical and not proved to have ever existed on terrestrial planets, will be treated with the help of two well known examples: (i) the isotopic fractionation of xenon in Mars and Earth atmospheres, (ii) the paradox of missing oxygen in Venus atmosphere. In Section 3, a simplified approach of non-thermal escape will be developed, treating in a specific way the different kinds of escape (photochemical escape, ion sputtering, ion escape and ionospheric outflow). As a matter of illustration, some calculations of the relative contributions of these mechanisms, and of their time evolutions, will be given, and the magnitude of the total amount of atmosphere lost by non-thermal escape will be estimated. Section 4 will present the state of knowledge concerning the constraints derived from Mars isotopic geochemistry in terms of past escape and evolution. Finally, a few conclusions, which are more interrogations, will be proposed.

  19. Cerebrospinal Fluid HIV Escape from Antiretroviral Therapy.

    PubMed

    Ferretti, Francesca; Gisslen, Magnus; Cinque, Paola; Price, Richard W

    2015-06-01

    CNS infection is a nearly constant facet of systemic CNS infection and is generally well controlled by suppressive systemic antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, there are instances when HIV can be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) despite suppression of plasma viruses below the clinical limits of measurement. We review three types of CSF viral escape: asymptomatic, neuro-symptomatic, and secondary. The first, asymptomatic CSF escape, is seemingly benign and characterized by lack of discernable neurological deterioration or subsequent CNS disease progression. Neuro-symptomatic CSF escape is an uncommon, but important, entity characterized by new or progressive CNS disease that is critical to recognize clinically because of its management implications. Finally, secondary CSF escape, which may be even more uncommon, is defined by an increase of CSF HIV replication in association with a concomitant non-HIV infection, as a consequence of the local inflammatory response. Understanding these CSF escape settings not only is important for clinical diagnosis and management but also may provide insight into the CNS HIV reservoir.

  20. Residential smoke alarms and fire escape plans.

    PubMed

    Harvey, P A; Sacks, J J; Ryan, G W; Bender, P F

    1998-01-01

    To estimate the proportion of U.S. homes with installed smoke alarms, smoke alarms on the same floor as occupants' bedrooms, and fire escape plans. The authors analyzed data on smoke alarm use and fire escape planning from a 1994 stratified random telephone survey of 5238 U.S. households. Respondents from 91% of surveyed households reported the presence of at least one installed smoke alarm, and 94% of respondents reported having an alarm on the same level of the home as their sleeping area. The prevalence of installed smoke alarms varied by highest education level in the household and income level. Sixty percent of all households had designed or discussed a fire escape plan at least once; only 17% of these households had actually practiced one. Although overall use of smoke alarms was high, certain population subgroups were less likely to have smoke alarms or to have them installed on the same floor as bedrooms. Fire escape planning, another important safety measure, was somewhat less common, and very few respondents reported having practiced a fire escape plan with the members of their household.

  1. MAVEN Observations of Escaping Planetary Ions from the Martian Atmosphere: Mass, Velocity, and Spatial Distributions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Yaxue; Fang, Xiaohua; Brain, D. A.; McFadden, James P.; Halekas, Jasper; Connerney, Jack

    2015-04-01

    The Mars-solar wind interaction accelerates and transports planetary ions away from the Martian atmosphere through a number of processes, including ‘pick-up’ by electromagnetic fields. The MAVEN spacecraft has made routine observations of escaping planetary ions since its arrival at Mars in September 2014. The SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) instrument measures the ion energy, mass, and angular spectra. It has detected energetic planetary ions during most of the spacecraft orbits, which are attributed to the pick-up process. We found significant variations in the escaping ion mass and velocity distributions from the STATIC data, which can be explained by factors such as varying solar wind conditions, contributions of particles from different source locations and different phases during the pick-up process. We also study the spatial distributions of different planetary ion species, which can provide insight into the physics of ion escaping process and enhance our understanding of atmospheric erosion by the solar wind. Our results will be further interpreted within the context of the upstream solar wind conditions measured by the MAVEN Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA) instrument and the magnetic field environment measured by the Magnetometer (MAG) instrument. Our study shows that the ion spatial distribution in the Mars-Sun-Electric-Field (MSE) coordinate system and the velocity space distribution with respect to the local magnetic field line can be used to distinguish the ions escaping through the polar plume and those through the tail region. The contribution of the polar plume ion escape to the total escape rate will also be discussed.

  2. Decompression illness in goats following simulated submarine escape: 1993-2006.

    PubMed

    Seddon, F M; Thacker, J C; Fisher, A S; Jurd, K M; White, M G; Loveman, G A M

    2014-01-01

    The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence commissioned work to define the relationship between the internal pressure of a distressed submarine (DISSUB), the depth from which escape is made and the risk of decompression illness (DCI). The program of work used an animal model (goat) to define these risks and this paper reports the incidence and type of DCI observed. A total of 748 pressure exposures comprising saturation only, escape only or saturation followed by escape were conducted in the submarine escape simulator between 1993 and 2006. The DCI following saturation exposures was predominantly limb pain, whereas following escape exposures the DCI predominantly involved the central nervous system and was fast in onset. There was no strong relationship between the risk of DCI and the range of escape depths investigated. The risk of DCI incurred from escape following saturation was greater than that obtained by combining the risks for the independent saturation only, and escape only, exposures. The output from this program of work has led to improved advice on the safety of submarine escape.

  3. Room Escape at Class: Escape Games Activities to Facilitate the Motivation and Learning in Computer Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borrego, Carlos; Fernández, Cristina; Blanes, Ian; Robles, Sergi

    2017-01-01

    Real-life room-escape games are ludic activities in which participants enter a room in order to get out of it only after solving some riddles. In this paper, we explain a Room Escape teaching experience developed in the Engineering School at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The goal of this activity is to increase student's motivation and to…

  4. Morphology of seahorse head hydrodynamically aids in capture of evasive prey.

    PubMed

    Gemmell, Brad J; Sheng, Jian; Buskey, Edward J

    2013-01-01

    Syngnathid fish (seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons) are slow swimmers yet capture evasive prey (copepods) using a technique known as the 'pivot' feeding, which involves rapid movement to overcome prey escape capabilities. However, this feeding mode functions only at short range and requires approaching very closely to hydrodynamically sensitive prey without triggering an escape. Here we investigate the role of head morphology on prey capture using holographic and particle image velocimetry (PIV). We show that head morphology functions to create a reduced fluid deformation zone, minimizing hydrodynamic disturbance where feeding strikes occur (above the end of the snout), and permits syngnathid fish to approach highly sensitive copepod prey (Acartia tonsa) undetected. The results explain how these animals can successfully employ short range 'pivot' feeding effectively on evasive prey. The need to approach prey with stealth may have selected for a head shape that produces lower deformation rates than other fish.

  5. Orbital and escape dynamics in barred galaxies - III. The 3D system: correlations between the basins of escape and the NHIMs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zotos, Euaggelos E.; Jung, Christof

    2018-01-01

    The escape dynamics of the stars in a barred galaxy composed of a spherically symmetric central nucleus, a bar, a flat thin disc and a dark matter halo component is investigated by using a realistic three degrees of freedom (3-d.o.f.) dynamical model. Modern colour-coded diagrams are used for distinguishing between bounded and escaping motion. In addition, the smaller alignment index method is deployed for determining the regular, sticky or chaotic nature of bounded orbits. We reveal the basins of escape corresponding to the escape through the two symmetrical escape channels around the Lagrange points L2 and L3 and also we relate them with the corresponding distribution of the escape times of the orbits. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the stable manifolds, around the index-1 saddle points, accurately define the fractal basin boundaries observed in the colour-coded diagrams. The development scenario of the fundamental vertical Lyapunov periodic orbit is thoroughly explored for obtaining a more complete view of the unfolding of the singular behaviour of the dynamics at the cusp values of the parameters. Finally, we examine how the combination of the most important parameters of the bar (such as the semimajor axis and the angular velocity) influences the observed stellar structures (rings and spirals), which are formed by escaping stars guided by the invariant manifolds near the saddle points.

  6. Residential smoke alarms and fire escape plans.

    PubMed Central

    Harvey, P A; Sacks, J J; Ryan, G W; Bender, P F

    1998-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of U.S. homes with installed smoke alarms, smoke alarms on the same floor as occupants' bedrooms, and fire escape plans. METHODS: The authors analyzed data on smoke alarm use and fire escape planning from a 1994 stratified random telephone survey of 5238 U.S. households. RESULTS: Respondents from 91% of surveyed households reported the presence of at least one installed smoke alarm, and 94% of respondents reported having an alarm on the same level of the home as their sleeping area. The prevalence of installed smoke alarms varied by highest education level in the household and income level. Sixty percent of all households had designed or discussed a fire escape plan at least once; only 17% of these households had actually practiced one. CONCLUSIONS: Although overall use of smoke alarms was high, certain population subgroups were less likely to have smoke alarms or to have them installed on the same floor as bedrooms. Fire escape planning, another important safety measure, was somewhat less common, and very few respondents reported having practiced a fire escape plan with the members of their household. PMID:9769771

  7. MAVEN Pickup Ion Constraints on Mars Neutral Escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahmati, A.; Larson, D. E.; Cravens, T.; Lillis, R. J.; Dunn, P.; Halekas, J. S.; McFadden, J. P.; Mitchell, D. L.; Thiemann, E.; Connerney, J. E. P.; DiBraccio, G. A.; Espley, J. R.; Eparvier, F. G.

    2017-12-01

    Mars is currently losing its atmosphere mainly due to the escape of neutral hydrogen and oxygen. Directly measuring the rate of escaping neutrals is difficult, because the neutral density in the Mars exosphere is dominated, up to several Martian radii, by atoms that are gravitationally bound to the planet. Neutral atoms in the Martian exosphere, however, can get ionized, picked up, and accelerated by the solar wind motional electric field and energized to energies high enough for particle detectors to measure them. The MAVEN SEP instrument detects O+ pickup ions that are created at altitudes where the escaping part of the exosphere is dominant. Fluxes of these ions reflect neutral densities in the distant exosphere of Mars, allowing us to constrain neutral oxygen escape rates. The MAVEN SWIA and STATIC instruments measure pickup H+ and O+ created closer to Mars; comparisons of these data with models can be used to constrain exospheric hot O and thermal H densities and escape rates. In this work, pickup ion measurements from SEP, SWIA, and STATIC, taken during the first 3 Earth years of the MAVEN mission, are compared to the outputs of a pickup ion model to constrain the variability of neutral escape at Mars. The model is based on data from six MAVEN instruments, namely, MAG providing magnetic field used in calculating pickup ion trajectories, SWIA providing solar wind velocity as well as 3D pickup H+ and O+ spectra, SWEA providing solar wind electron spectrum used in electron impact ionization rate calculations, SEP providing pickup O+ spectra, STATIC providing mass resolved 3D pickup H+ and O+ spectra, and EUVM providing solar EUV spectra used in photoionization rate calculations. A variability of less than a factor of two is observed in hot oxygen escape rates, whereas thermal escape of hydrogen varies by an order of magnitude with Mars season. This hydrogen escape variability challenges our understanding of the H cycle at Mars, but is consistent with other

  8. On the escape of oxygen and hydrogen from Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fox, J. L.

    1993-01-01

    Escape rates of oxygen atoms from dissociative recombination of O2(+) above the Martian exobase are computed in light of new information from ab initio calculations of the dissociative recombination process and our recently revised understanding of the Martian dayside ionosphere. Only about 60 percent of the dissociative recombinations occur in channels in which the O atoms are released with energies in excess of the escape velocity. Futhermore, we find that the computed escape fluxes for O depend greatly on the nature of the ion loss process that has been found necessary to reproduce the topside ion density profiles measured by Viking. If it is assumed that the ions are not lost from the gravitational field of the planet, as required by an analysis of nitrogen escape, the computed average O escape rate is 3 x 10 exp 6/sq cm/s, much less than half the H escape rates inferred from measurements of the Lyman-alpha dayglow, which are in the range (1-2) x 10 exp 8/sq cm/s. Suggestions for restoring the relative escape rates of H and O to the stoichiometric ratio of water are explored.

  9. Fire Won't Wait--Plan Your Escape!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    PTA Today, 1991

    1991-01-01

    Discusses the importance of home fire escape drills, detailing fire safety plans. Early detection and warning (smoke detectors) coupled with well-rehearsed escape plans help prevent serious injury. Children need to be taught about fire safety beginning at a very early age. (SM)

  10. Some Possible Cases of Escape Mimicry in Neotropical Butterflies.

    PubMed

    Pinheiro, C E G; Freitas, A V L

    2014-10-01

    The possibility that escape or evasive mimicry evolved in butterflies and other prey insects in a similar fashion to classical Batesian and Müllerian mimicry has long been advanced in the literature. However, there is a general disagreement among lepidopterists and evolutionary biologists on whether or not escape mimicry exists, as well as in which mimicry rings this form of mimicry has evolved. Here, we review some purported cases of escape mimicry in Neotropical butterflies and suggest new mimicry rings involving several species of Archaeoprepona, Prepona, and Doxocopa (the "bright blue bands" ring) and species of Colobura and Hypna (the "creamy bands" ring) where the palatability of butterflies, their ability to escape predator attacks, geographic distribution, relative abundance, and co-occurrence in the same habitats strongly suggest that escape mimicry is involved. In addition, we also indicate other butterfly taxa whose similarities of coloration patterns could be due to escape mimicry and would constitute important case studies for future investigation.

  11. Measurements of Lyman-Alpha Escape From HST Far-UV Spectral SNAP Survey of 33 Starforming Galaxies: Initial Results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Redwine, Keith

    2018-01-01

    This thesis will describe and analyze far-UV spectra from nearby starforming galaxies to investigate how line features like the hydrogen Lyman-alpha (Lyα) line at 1216 Å are related to the local properties of the host galaxy. It has been suggested that Lyα can be used as a proxy for the escape of Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation, the escape of of which from bright regions of galaxies is of particular interest. Most notably, the reionization epoch of neutral atomic hydrogen in the universe over a redshift range from z∼6 to z∼12, was highly dependent on the flux of ionizing LyC photons in the interstellar and intergalactic media. Expanding our understanding of the dynamics of the Lyα escape fraction (fLyα) from the local environment of its emission could be key to determining a total LyC escape fraction (fLyC) across all morphologies of galaxies. The wide range of Lyα emitters and absorbors (occasionally both) of this Cycle 22 SNAP survey observed by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) onboard Hubble Space Telescope (HST) provides a unique look at far-UV spectra in candidate LyC emitters. Lyα profiles are easily observable in short exposures, and line features discernable in the low-resolution G140L mode can inform and guide future observations by COS or other FUV spectroscopy.

  12. Fuzzy entropy thresholding and multi-scale morphological approach for microscopic image enhancement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Jiancan; Li, Yuexiang; Shen, Linlin

    2017-07-01

    Microscopic images provide lots of useful information for modern diagnosis and biological research. However, due to the unstable lighting condition during image capturing, two main problems, i.e., high-level noises and low image contrast, occurred in the generated cell images. In this paper, a simple but efficient enhancement framework is proposed to address the problems. The framework removes image noises using a hybrid method based on wavelet transform and fuzzy-entropy, and enhances the image contrast with an adaptive morphological approach. Experiments on real cell dataset were made to assess the performance of proposed framework. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed enhancement framework increases the cell tracking accuracy to an average of 74.49%, which outperforms the benchmark algorithm, i.e., 46.18%.

  13. Nociception and escape behavior in planarians

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schoetz Collins, Eva-Maria

    2015-03-01

    Planarians are famous and widely studied for their regenerative capabilities. When a moving planarian is cut through the middle, the resulting head and tail pieces instantaneously retract and exhibit a characteristic escape response that differs from normal locomotion. In asexual animals, a similar reaction is observed when the planarian undergoes fission, suggesting that reproduction through self-tearing is a rather traumatic event for the animal. Using a multiscale approach, we unravel the dynamics, mechanics, and functional aspects of the planarian escape response. This musculature-driven gait was found to be a dominating response that supersedes the urge to feed or reproduce and quantitatively differs from other modes of planarian locomotion (gliding, peristalsis). We show that this escape gait constitutes the animal's pain response mediated by TRP like receptors and the neurotransmitter histamine, and that it can be induced through adverse thermal, mechanical, electrical or chemical stimuli. Ultimately, we will examine the neuronal subpopulations involved in mediating escape reflexes in planarians and how they are functionally restored during regeneration, thereby gaining mechanistic insight into the neuronal circuits required for specific behaviors. Supported by BWF CASI and Sloan Foundation.

  14. Managing Pacific salmon escapements: The gaps between theory and reality

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Knudsen, E. Eric; Knudsen, E. Eric; Steward, Cleveland R.; MacDonald, Donald D.; Williams, Jack E.; Reiser, Dudley W.

    1999-01-01

    There are myriad challenges to estimating intrinsic production capacity for Pacific salmon populations that are heavily exploited and/or suffering from habitat alteration. Likewise, it is difficult to determine whether perceived decreases in production are due to harvest, habitat, or hatchery influences, natural variation, or some combination of all four. There are dramatic gaps between the true nature of the salmon spawner/recruit relationship and the theoretical basis for describing and understanding the relationship. Importantly, there are also extensive practical difficulties associated with gathering and interpreting accurate escapement and run-size information and applying it to population management. Paradoxically, certain aspects of salmon management may well be contributing to losses in abundance and biodiversity, including harvesting salmon in mixed population fisheries, grouping populations into management units subject to a common harvest rate, and fully exploiting all available hatchery fish at the expense of wild fish escapements. Information on U.S. Pacific salmon escapement goal-setting methods, escapement data collection methods and estimation types, and the degree to which stocks are subjected to mixed stock fisheries was summarized and categorized for 1,025 known management units consisting of 9,430 known populations. Using criteria developed in this study, only 1% of U.S. escapement goals are by methods rated as excellent. Escapement goals for 16% of management units were rated as good. Over 60% of escapement goals have been set by methods rated as either fair or poor and 22% of management units have no escapement goals at all. Of the 9,430 populations for which any information was available, 6,614 (70%) had sufficient information to categorize the method by which escapement data are collected. Of those, data collection methods were rated as excellent for 1%, good for 1%, fair for 2%, and poor for 52%. Escapement estimates are not made for 44

  15. Adaptive bill morphology for enhanced tool manipulation in New Caledonian crows

    PubMed Central

    Matsui, Hiroshi; Hunt, Gavin R.; Oberhofer, Katja; Ogihara, Naomichi; McGowan, Kevin J.; Mithraratne, Kumar; Yamasaki, Takeshi; Gray, Russell D.; Izawa, Ei-Ichi

    2016-01-01

    Early increased sophistication of human tools is thought to be underpinned by adaptive morphology for efficient tool manipulation. Such adaptive specialisation is unknown in nonhuman primates but may have evolved in the New Caledonian crow, which has sophisticated tool manufacture. The straightness of its bill, for example, may be adaptive for enhanced visually-directed use of tools. Here, we examine in detail the shape and internal structure of the New Caledonian crow’s bill using Principal Components Analysis and Computed Tomography within a comparative framework. We found that the bill has a combination of interrelated shape and structural features unique within Corvus, and possibly birds generally. The upper mandible is relatively deep and short with a straight cutting edge, and the lower mandible is strengthened and upturned. These novel combined attributes would be functional for (i) counteracting the unique loading patterns acting on the bill when manipulating tools, (ii) a strong precision grip to hold tools securely, and (iii) enhanced visually-guided tool use. Our findings indicate that the New Caledonian crow’s innovative bill has been adapted for tool manipulation to at least some degree. Early increased sophistication of tools may require the co-evolution of morphology that provides improved manipulatory skills. PMID:26955788

  16. 46 CFR 122.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 122.606 Section 122.606 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING... Markings Required § 122.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency...

  17. 46 CFR 122.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 122.606 Section 122.606 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING... Markings Required § 122.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency...

  18. 46 CFR 122.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 122.606 Section 122.606 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING... Markings Required § 122.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency...

  19. 46 CFR 122.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 122.606 Section 122.606 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING... Markings Required § 122.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency...

  20. 46 CFR 122.606 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 122.606 Section 122.606 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING... Markings Required § 122.606 Escape hatches and emergency exits. All escape hatches and other emergency...

  1. Escape from Mars

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-07-10

    This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows one of millions of small (10s of meters in diameter) craters and their ejecta material that dot the Elysium Planitia region of Mars. The small craters were likely formed when high-speed blocks of rock were thrown out by a much larger impact (about 10-kilometers in diameter) and fell back to the ground. Some of these blocks may actually escape Mars, which is how we get samples in the form of meteorites that fall to Earth. Other ejected blocks have insufficient velocity, or the wrong trajectory, to escape the Red Planet. As such, when one of these high-speed blocks impacts the surface, it makes what is called a "secondary" crater. These secondaries can form dense "chains" or "rays," which are radial to the crater that formed them. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21769

  2. Sex differences in lizard escape decisions vary with latitude, but not sexual dimorphism.

    PubMed

    Samia, Diogo S M; Møller, Anders Pape; Blumstein, Daniel T; Stankowich, Theodore; Cooper, William E

    2015-04-22

    Sexual selection is a powerful evolutionary mechanism that has shaped the physiology, behaviour and morphology of the sexes to the extent that it can reduce viability while promoting traits that enhance reproductive success. Predation is one of the underlying mechanisms accounting for viability costs of sexual displays. Therefore, we should expect that individuals of the two sexes adjust their anti-predator behaviour in response to changes in predation risk. We conducted a meta-analysis of 28 studies (42 species) of sex differences in risk-taking behaviour in lizards and tested whether these differences could be explained by sexual dichromatism, by sexual size dimorphism or by latitude. Latitude was the best predictor of the interspecific heterogeneity in sex-specific behaviour. Males did not change their escape behaviour with latitude, whereas females had increasingly reduced wariness at higher latitudes. We hypothesize that this sex difference in risk-taking behaviour is linked to sex-specific environmental constraints that more strongly affect the reproductive effort of females than males. This novel latitudinal effect on sex-specific anti-predator behaviour has important implications for responses to climate change and for the relative roles of natural and sexual selection in different species. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  3. Trapped as a Group, Escape as a Team: Applying Gamification to Incorporate Team-building Skills Through an 'Escape Room' Experience.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiao Chi; Lee, Hyunjoo; Rodriguez, Carlos; Rudner, Joshua; Chan, Teresa M; Papanagnou, Dimitrios

    2018-03-02

    Teamwork, a skill critical for quality patient care, is recognized as a core competency by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). To date, there is no consensus on how to effectively teach these skills in a forum that engages learners, immerses members in life-like activities, and builds both trust and rapport. Recreational 'Escape Rooms' have gained popularity in creating a life-like environment that rewards players for working together, solving puzzles, and completing successions of mind-bending tasks in order to effectively 'escape the room' in the time allotted. In this regard, escape rooms share many parallels with the multitasking and teamwork that is essential for a successful emergency department (ED) shift. A pilot group of nine emergency medicine (EM) residents and one senior EM faculty member underwent a commercial escape room as part of a team-building exercise in January 2018. The escape room required participants to practice teamwork, communication, task delegation, and critical thinking to tackle waves of increasingly complex puzzles, ranging from hidden objects, physical object assembly (i.e., jigsaw puzzles), and symbol matching. Activities required members to recognize and utilize the collective experiences, skills, knowledge base, and physical abilities of the group. After the game, players underwent a structured 'game-master' debriefing facilitated by an employee of the commercial escape room; this was followed by a post-event survey facilitated by a faculty member, which focused on participants' feelings, experiences, and problem-solving techniques. Escape rooms afford learners the opportunity to engage in an activity that rewards teamwork and effective leadership through experiences that directly link to specific ACGME milestones and educational learning theories. EM participants were engaged in the activity and felt that the escape room reproduced an environment analogous to the ED. The debriefing that followed

  4. GREEN PEA GALAXIES REVEAL SECRETS OF Lyα ESCAPE

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

    Yang, Huan; Wang, Junxian; Malhotra, Sangeeta

    2016-04-01

    We analyze archival Lyα spectra of 12 “Green Pea” galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope, model their Lyα profiles with radiative transfer models, and explore the dependence of the Lyα escape fraction on various properties. Green Pea galaxies are nearby compact starburst galaxies with [O iii] λ5007 equivalent widths (EWs) of hundreds of Å. All 12 Green Pea galaxies in our sample show Lyα lines in emission, with an Lyα EW distribution similar to high-redshift Lyα emitters. Combining the optical and UV spectra of Green Pea galaxies, we estimate their Lyα escape fractions and find correlations between Lyα escape fractionmore » and kinematic features of Lyα profiles. The escape fraction of Lyα in these galaxies ranges from 1.4% to 67%. We also find that the Lyα escape fraction depends strongly on metallicity and moderately on dust extinction. We compare their high-quality Lyα profiles with single H i shell radiative transfer models and find that the Lyα escape fraction anticorrelates with the derived H i column densities. Single-shell models fit most Lyα profiles well, but not the ones with the highest escape fractions of Lyα. Our results suggest that low H i column density and low metallicity are essential for Lyα escape and make a galaxy an Lyα emitter.« less

  5. Escape strategies for turboprop aircraft in microburst windshear

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bobbitt, Richard B.; Howard, Richard M.

    1991-01-01

    The dynamic reponse of a P-3 aircraft and a light twin-engine turboprop to a low-level microburst encounter is modeled. The response to the microburst is depicted for various escape maneuvers. Plots of altitude, velocity, and specific energy are shown for all cases. Takeoff escape strategies are discussed. The optimal escape procedure is found to be flying a constant value of pitch angle. Constant angle of attack maneuvers sometimes result in superior performance.

  6. Centrifugally Stimulated Exospheric Ion Escape at Mercury

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Delcourt, Dominique; Seki, K.; Terada, N.; Moore, Thomas E.

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the transport of ions in the low-altitude magnetosphere magnetosphere of Mercury. We show that, because of small spatial scales, the centrifugal effect due to curvature of the E B drift paths can lead to significant particle energization in the parallel direction. We demonstrate that because of this effect, ions with initial speed smaller than the escape speed such as those produced via thermal desorption can overcome gravity and escape into the magnetosphere. The escape route of this low-energy exosphere originating material is largely controlled by the magnetospheric convection rate. This escape route spreads over a narrower range of altitudes when the convection rate increases. Bulk transport of low-energy planetary material thus occurs within a limited region of space once moderate magnetospheric convection is established. These results suggest that, via release of material otherwise gravitationally trapped, the E B related centrifugal acceleration is an important mechanism for the net supply of plasma to the magnetosphere of Mercury.

  7. Photochemical Escape of Atomic Carbon from Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fox, J. L.; Hac, A. B.

    2009-12-01

    Determining the escape rate of C over time is necessary to reconstructing the time-dependent history of volatiles on Mars. We report initial results from a one-dimensional spherical Monte Carlo calculation of photochemical escape fluxes and rates of atomic carbon from the Martian atmosphere. This model has recently been used to estimate the photochemical escape flux of O from Mars. We include as sources photodissociation of CO, dissociative recombination of CO+, photoelectron-impact dissociation of CO, photodissociative ionization and photoelectron impact dissociative ionization. Dissociative recombination of CO2+ has been suggested as a source of C (in the channel that produces C + O2) but later studies have found that the yield of this channel is negligible. We test the potential importance of this reaction by comparing the final results produced by including it and excluding it. Finally we compare the range of the escape rate to that of C in ions that have been modeled or measured by ASPERA instruments on MEX and Phobos.

  8. 46 CFR 169.745 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 169.745 Section 169... VESSELS Vessel Control, Miscellaneous Systems, and Equipment Markings § 169.745 Escape hatches and emergency exits. Each escape hatch and other emergency exit must be marked on both sides using at least 1...

  9. 46 CFR 169.745 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 169.745 Section 169... VESSELS Vessel Control, Miscellaneous Systems, and Equipment Markings § 169.745 Escape hatches and emergency exits. Each escape hatch and other emergency exit must be marked on both sides using at least 1...

  10. 46 CFR 169.745 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 169.745 Section 169... VESSELS Vessel Control, Miscellaneous Systems, and Equipment Markings § 169.745 Escape hatches and emergency exits. Each escape hatch and other emergency exit must be marked on both sides using at least 1...

  11. 46 CFR 169.745 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 169.745 Section 169... VESSELS Vessel Control, Miscellaneous Systems, and Equipment Markings § 169.745 Escape hatches and emergency exits. Each escape hatch and other emergency exit must be marked on both sides using at least 1...

  12. 46 CFR 169.745 - Escape hatches and emergency exits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Escape hatches and emergency exits. 169.745 Section 169... VESSELS Vessel Control, Miscellaneous Systems, and Equipment Markings § 169.745 Escape hatches and emergency exits. Each escape hatch and other emergency exit must be marked on both sides using at least 1...

  13. DR-induced escape of O and C from early Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Jinjin; Tian, Feng; Ni, Yufang; Huang, Xiaomeng

    2017-03-01

    Energetic particles produced in Dissociative recombination (DR) reactions could escape planets with low gravity, such as Mars, if they could overcome collisions with the surrounding background gases. In this work, a 3-D Monte Carlo model is developed to study these photochemical escape processes on early Mars. Although the DR reaction rates of O2+, CO2+, and CO+ increase monotonically with solar soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) flux, the peak of the calculated DR-induced escape rates of O is near 3 × XUV, and the DR-induced escape rates of C increase with XUV until 10 × XUV. The non-monotonic behavior can be explained by the increased column densities of background species in high XUV conditions, which can deflect energetic particles through collisions more efficiently. At 20 × XUV, CO+ DR is the main source of escaping O and C, and the escape of secondary particles could contribute to 30∼40% and 10% of the total escape of O and C respectively. The time-integrated DR-induced escape of O and C is equivalent to 1 m of H2O and 20 mbar of CO2 escaping early Mars since 4.5 billion years ago. The accumulated CO2 loss is much lower than what's needed to explain the carbon isotopic ratios on Mars and much lower than the total CO2 needed to warm up early Mars. If more vigorous escape mechanisms were absent on early Mars, substantial inventories of volatiles have not been detected yet.

  14. Lunar mission safety and rescue: Escape/rescue analysis and plan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1971-01-01

    The results are presented of the technical analysis of escape/rescue/survival situations, crew survival techniques, alternate escape/rescue approaches and vehicles, and the advantages and disadvantages of each for advanced lunar exploration. Candidate escape/rescue guidelines are proposed and elements of a rescue plan developed. The areas of discussions include the following: lunar arrival/departure operations, lunar orbiter operations, lunar surface operations, lunar surface base escape/rescue analysis, lander tug location operations, portable airlock, emergency pressure suit, and the effects of no orbiting lunar station, no lunar surface base, and no foreign lunar orbit/surface operations on the escape/rescue plan.

  15. Tandem CAR T cells targeting HER2 and IL13Rα2 mitigate tumor antigen escape

    PubMed Central

    Mukherjee, Malini; Grada, Zakaria; Pignata, Antonella; Landi, Daniel; Navai, Shoba A.; Wakefield, Amanda; Bielamowicz, Kevin; Chow, Kevin K.H.; Brawley, Vita S.; Byrd, Tiara T.; Krebs, Simone; Gottschalk, Stephen; Wels, Winfried S.; Baker, Matthew L.; Dotti, Gianpietro; Mamonkin, Maksim; Brenner, Malcolm K.

    2016-01-01

    In preclinical models of glioblastoma, antigen escape variants can lead to tumor recurrence after treatment with CAR T cells that are redirected to single tumor antigens. Given the heterogeneous expression of antigens on glioblastomas, we hypothesized that a bispecific CAR molecule would mitigate antigen escape and improve the antitumor activity of T cells. Here, we created a CAR that joins a HER2-binding scFv and an IL13Rα2-binding IL-13 mutein to make a tandem CAR exodomain (TanCAR) and a CD28.ζ endodomain. We determined that patient TanCAR T cells showed distinct binding to HER2 or IL13Rα2 and had the capability to lyse autologous glioblastoma. TanCAR T cells exhibited activation dynamics that were comparable to those of single CAR T cells upon encounter of HER2 or IL13Rα2. We observed that TanCARs engaged HER2 and IL13Rα2 simultaneously by inducing HER2-IL13Rα2 heterodimers, which promoted superadditive T cell activation when both antigens were encountered concurrently. TanCAR T cell activity was more sustained but not more exhaustible than that of T cells that coexpressed a HER2 CAR and an IL13Rα2 CAR, T cells with a unispecific CAR, or a pooled product. In a murine glioblastoma model, TanCAR T cells mitigated antigen escape, displayed enhanced antitumor efficacy, and improved animal survival. Thus, TanCAR T cells show therapeutic potential to improve glioblastoma control by coengaging HER2 and IL13Rα2 in an augmented, bivalent immune synapse that enhances T cell functionality and reduces antigen escape. PMID:27427982

  16. Escape Geography--Developing Middle-School Students' Sense of Place.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Rodney F.; Molina, Laurie E. S.

    1992-01-01

    Suggests a social studies unit on escaping geography. Examines escape from dangerous places including an airliner, hotel fire, or war zone or from a social situation such as a boring speech or party. Describes historic escapes such as the Underground Railroad and the Berlin Wall. Lists learning strategies such as awareness of space and cognitive…

  17. The influence of panic on the efficiency of escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Jia-Quan; Wang, Xu-Wen; Jiang, Luo-Luo

    2018-02-01

    Whenever we (such as pedestrians) perceive a high density or imminent danger in a confined space, we tend to be panic, which can lead to severe injuries even in the absence of real dangers. Although it is difficult to measure panics in real conditions, we introduced a simple model to study the collective behaviors in condition of fire with dense smoke. Owing to blocking the sight with dense smoke, pedestrians in this condition have two strategies to escape: random-walking or walking along the wall. When the pedestrians are in moderate panic that mean the two types of behaviors are mixed(random-walking and walking along the wall). Our simulation results show that moderate panic, meaning that two escape strategies are mixed, reduces the escape time. In addition, the results indicate that moderate panic can improve the efficiency of escape, this theory also can be useful in a real escape situation. We hope that our research provides the theoretical understanding of underlying mechanisms of panic escape in the condition of poor sight.

  18. Modulation of Endosomal Escape of IRQ-PEGylated Nano-carrier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mudhakir, Diky; Akita, Hidetaka; Harashima, Hideyoshi

    2011-12-01

    The novel IRQ peptide is one of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) that has ability to induce endosomal escape. It has been demonstrated that IRQ ligand had ability to facilitate an escape of liposomes encapsulating siRNA from the endosomes presumably by fusion-independent mechanism [1,2]. In the present study, we attempted to modulate the intracellular trafficking of IRQ-modified nano-carrier in term of escaping process by changing the lipid composition. The peptide was attached to the terminal end of maleimide group of polyethylene glycol-modified liposomes (IRQ-PEG-Lip). The liposomes were composed of DOTAP, DOPE and cholesterol and it was labeled by water soluble sulpho-rhodamine B (Sr-B). The escape of PEG-coated liposomes was then observed by confocal laser scanning microscope after the endosomes were stained with Lysosensor. The results exhibited that IRQ-PEG-Lip was escaped from endosomal compartment after 1 h transfection when 40% of DOPE was incorporated into the nanostructure comparing to that of PEG-Lip. These results are consistent with the previous results that the IRQ facilitates endosomal escape via independent-mechanism. However, IRQ-PEG-Lip were then completely co-localized in the acidic compartment when density of DOPE was reduced approximately 20%. These results indicated that the utilizing of DOPE is important for the escape process even in the presence of hydrophilic PEG polymer. In conclusion, the regulation of endosomal escape ability of the PEGylated-IRQ nano-carrier was induced by fusion-independent manner as well as fusogenic lipid.

  19. 46 CFR 169.313 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Means of escape. 169.313 Section 169.313 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction and Arrangement Hull Structure § 169.313 Means of escape. (a) Except as provided by paragraph (f) of...

  20. MAVEN in situ measurements of photochemical escape of oxygen from Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lillis, Robert; Deighan, Justin; Fox, Jane; Bougher, Stephen; Lee, Yuni; Cravens, Thomas; Rahmati, Ali; Mahaffy, Paul; Benna, Mehdi; Groller, Hannes; Jakosky, Bruce

    2016-04-01

    One of the primary goals of the MAVEN mission is to characterize rates of atmospheric escape from Mars at the present epoch and relate those escape rates to solar drivers. One of the known escape processes is photochemical escape, where a) an exothermic chemical reaction in the atmosphere results in an upward-traveling neutral particle whose velocity exceeds planetary escape velocity and b) the particle is not prevented from escaping through subsequent collisions. At Mars, photochemical escape of oxygen is expected to be a significant channel for atmospheric escape, particularly in the early solar system when extreme ultraviolet (EUV) fluxes were much higher. Thus characterizing this escape process and its variability with solar drivers is central to understanding the role escape to space has played in Mars' climate evolution. We use near-periapsis (<400 km altitude) data from three MAVEN instruments: the Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW) instrument measures electron density and temperature, the Suprathermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) experiment measures ion temperature and the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) measures neutral and ion densities. For each profile of in situ measurements, we make several calculations, each as a function of altitude. The first uses electron and temperatures and simulates the dissociative recombination of both O2+ and CO2+ to calculate the probability distribution for the initial energies of the resulting hot oxygen atoms. The second is a Monte Carlo hot atom transport model that takes that distribution of initial O energies and the measured neutral density profiles and calculates the probability that a hot atom born at that altitude will escape. The third takes the measured electron and ion densities and electron temperatures and calculates the production rate of hot O atoms. We then multiply together the profiles of hot atom production and escape probability to get profiles of the production rate of escaping atoms

  1. The production and escape of nitrogen atoms on Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fox, J. L.

    1992-01-01

    The lack of agreement between our previously computed values and those measured by Viking of the N-15:N-14 isotope enhancement ratio has led us to reevaluate our model of the Martian ionosphere. In previous models, we were unable to reproduce the ion profiles measured by the RPA on Viking using electron temperatures that were higher that the ion temperatures. When we increased the electron temperatures to 2500-3000 K and with a zero flux upper boundary condition, the ion densities at high altitudes exceeded the measured values by a large factor. We found that we can better fit the observed profiles if we impose a loss process at the upper boundary of our model. If the horizontal fluxes of ions do not constitute a net loss of ions, then the escape of N due to dissociative recombination is also inhibited and better agreement with the measured isotope ratio is found. The production of escaping nitrogen atoms is closely related to the production of thermospheric odd nitrogen; therefore, the densities of NO measured by Viking provide a convenient check on our nitrogen escape model. Our standard model NO densities are less that the measured values by a factor of 2-3, as are those of previous models. We find that reasonable agreement can be obtained by assuming that the rate coefficient for loss of odd nitrogen in the reaction of N with NO is smaller at temperatures that prevail in the lower Martian thermosphere than the standard value, which applies to temperatures of 200-400 K. Other aspects of this investigation are presented.

  2. Orbiter escape pole

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goodrich, Winston D. (Inventor); Wesselski, Clarence J. (Inventor); Pelischek, Timothy E. (Inventor); Becker, Bruce H. (Inventor); Kahn, Jon B. (Inventor); Grimaldi, Margaret E. (Inventor); McManamen, John P. (Inventor); Castro, Edgar O. (Inventor)

    1989-01-01

    A Shuttle type of aircraft (10) with an escape hatch (12) has an arcuately shaped pole housing (16) attachable to an interior wall and ceiling with its open end adjacent to the escape hatch. The pole housing 16 contains a telescopically arranged and arcuately shaped primary pole member (22) and extension pole member (23) which are guided by roller assemblies (30,35). The extension pole member (23) is slidable and extendable relative to the primary pole member (22). For actuation, a spring actuated system includes a spring (52) in the pole housing. A locking member (90) engages both pole members (22,23) through notch portions (85,86) in the pole members. The locking member selectively releases the extension pole member (23) and the primary pole member (22). An internal one-way clutch or anti-return mechanism prevents retraction of the extension pole member from an extended position. Shock absorbers (54)(150,152) are for absoring the energy of the springs. A manual backup deployment system is provided which includes a canted ring (104) biased by a spring member (108). A lever member (100) with a slot and pin connection (102) permits the mechanical manipulation of the canted ring to move the primary pole member. The ring (104) also prevents retraction of the main pole. The crew escape mechanism includes a magazine (60) and a number of lanyards (62), each lanyard being mounted by a roller loop (68) over the primary pole member (22). The strap on the roller loop has stitching for controlled release, a protection sheath (74) to prevent tangling and a hook member (69) for attachment to a crew harness.

  3. Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography: Impact of the qualitative morphology descriptors on the diagnosis of breast lesions.

    PubMed

    Mohamed Kamal, Rasha; Hussien Helal, Maha; Wessam, Rasha; Mahmoud Mansour, Sahar; Godda, Iman; Alieldin, Nelly

    2015-06-01

    To analyze the morphology and enhancement characteristics of breast lesions on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) and to assess their impact on the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. This ethics committee approved study included 168 consecutive patients with 211 breast lesions over 18 months. Lesions classified as non-enhancing and enhancing and then the latter group was subdivided into mass and non-mass. Mass lesions descriptors included: shape, margins, pattern and degree of internal enhancement. Non-mass lesions descriptors included: distribution, pattern and degree of internal enhancement. The impact of each descriptor on diagnosis individually assessed using Chi test and the validity compared in both benign and malignant lesions. The overall performance of CESM were also calculated. The study included 102 benign (48.3%) and 109 malignant (51.7%) lesions. Enhancement was encountered in 145/211 (68.7%) lesions. They further classified into enhancing mass (99/145, 68.3%) and non-mass lesions (46/145, 31.7%). Contrast uptake was significantly more frequent in malignant breast lesions (p value ≤ 0.001). Irregular mass lesions with intense and heterogeneous enhancement patterns correlated with a malignant pathology (p value ≤ 0.001). CESM showed an overall sensitivity of 88.99% and specificity of 83.33%. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 5.34 and 0.13 respectively. The assessment of the morphology and enhancement characteristics of breast lesions on CESM enhances the performance of digital mammography in the differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Mechanics of the fast-start: muscle function and the role of intramuscular pressure in the escape behavior of amia calva and polypterus palmas

    PubMed

    Westneat; Hale; Mchenry; Long

    1998-11-01

    The fast-start escape response is a rapid, powerful body motion used to generate high accelerations of the body in virtually all fishes. Although the neurobiology and behavior of the fast-start are often studied, the patterns of muscle activity and muscle force production during escape are less well understood. We studied the fast-starts of two basal actinopterygian fishes (Amia calva and Polypterus palmas) to investigate the functional morphology of the fast-start and the role of intramuscular pressure (IMP) in escape behavior. Our goals were to determine whether IMP increases during fast starts, to look for associations between muscle activity and elevated IMP, and to determine the functional role of IMP in the mechanics of the escape response. We simultaneously recorded the kinematics, muscle activity patterns and IMP of four A. calva and three P. palmas during the escape response. Both species generated high IMPs of up to 90 kPa (nearly 1 atmosphere) above ambient during the fast-start. The two species showed similar pressure magnitudes but had significantly different motor patterns and escape performance. Stage 1 of the fast-start was generated by simultaneous contraction of locomotor muscle on both sides of the body, although electromyogram amplitudes on the contralateral (convex) side of the fish were significantly lower than on the ipsilateral (concave) side. Simultaneous recordings of IMP, escape motion and muscle activity suggest that pressure change is caused by the contraction and radial swelling of cone-shaped myomeres. We develop a model of IMP production that incorporates myomere geometry, the concept of constant-volume muscular hydrostats, the relationship between fiber angle and muscle force, and the forces that muscle fibers produce. The timing profile of pressure change, behavior and muscle action indicates that elevated muscle pressure is a mechanism of stiffening the body and functions in force transmission during the escape response.

  5. Trapped as a Group, Escape as a Team: Applying Gamification to Incorporate Team-building Skills Through an ‘Escape Room’ Experience

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Hyunjoo; Rodriguez, Carlos; Rudner, Joshua; Chan, Teresa M; Papanagnou, Dimitrios

    2018-01-01

    Teamwork, a skill critical for quality patient care, is recognized as a core competency by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). To date, there is no consensus on how to effectively teach these skills in a forum that engages learners, immerses members in life-like activities, and builds both trust and rapport. Recreational ‘Escape Rooms’ have gained popularity in creating a life-like environment that rewards players for working together, solving puzzles, and completing successions of mind-bending tasks in order to effectively ‘escape the room’ in the time allotted. In this regard, escape rooms share many parallels with the multitasking and teamwork that is essential for a successful emergency department (ED) shift. A pilot group of nine emergency medicine (EM) residents and one senior EM faculty member underwent a commercial escape room as part of a team-building exercise in January 2018. The escape room required participants to practice teamwork, communication, task delegation, and critical thinking to tackle waves of increasingly complex puzzles, ranging from hidden objects, physical object assembly (i.e., jigsaw puzzles), and symbol matching. Activities required members to recognize and utilize the collective experiences, skills, knowledge base, and physical abilities of the group. After the game, players underwent a structured ‘game-master’ debriefing facilitated by an employee of the commercial escape room; this was followed by a post-event survey facilitated by a faculty member, which focused on participants’ feelings, experiences, and problem-solving techniques. Escape rooms afford learners the opportunity to engage in an activity that rewards teamwork and effective leadership through experiences that directly link to specific ACGME milestones and educational learning theories. EM participants were engaged in the activity and felt that the escape room reproduced an environment analogous to the ED. The debriefing

  6. How moths escape bats: predicting outcomes of predator-prey interactions.

    PubMed

    Corcoran, Aaron J; Conner, William E

    2016-09-01

    What determines whether fleeing prey escape from attacking predators? To answer this question, biologists have developed mathematical models that incorporate attack geometries, pursuit and escape trajectories, and kinematics of predator and prey. These models have rarely been tested using data from actual predator-prey encounters. To address this problem, we recorded multi-camera infrared videography of bat-insect interactions in a large outdoor enclosure. We documented 235 attacks by four Myotis volans bats on a variety of moths. Bat and moth flight trajectories from 50 high-quality attacks were reconstructed in 3-D. Despite having higher maximum velocity, deceleration and overall turning ability, bats only captured evasive prey in 69 of 184 attacks (37.5%); bats captured nearly all moths not evading attack (50 of 51; 98%). Logistic regression indicated that prey radial acceleration and escape angle were the most important predictors of escape success (44 of 50 attacks correctly classified; 88%). We found partial support for the turning gambit mathematical model; however, it underestimated the escape threshold by 25% of prey velocity and did not account for prey escape angle. Whereas most prey escaping strikes flee away from predators, moths typically escaped chasing bats by turning with high radial acceleration toward 'safety zones' that flank the predator. This strategy may be widespread in prey engaged in chases. Based on these findings, we developed a novel geometrical model of predation. We discuss implications of this model for the co-evolution of predator and prey kinematics and pursuit and escape strategies. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  7. Chronic predation risk reduces escape speed by increasing oxidative damage: a deadly cost of an adaptive antipredator response.

    PubMed

    Janssens, Lizanne; Stoks, Robby

    2014-01-01

    Prey organisms evolved a multitude of plastic responses to avoid being eaten by predators. Besides the evolution of plastic morphological responses to escape predation, prey also evolved a set of physiological stress responses to avoid dying because of chronic predator stress per se due to disruption of cellular homeostasis. As physiological stress theory predicts increased energy consumption and the inhibition of essential nonemergency body functions, we tested whether chronic predation risk may increase oxidative damage thereby generating negative effects on escape performance. Specifically, we evaluated whether predation risk reduces escape swimming speed in damselfly larvae and whether this operates through stress-associated increases in oxidative damage. Counterintuitively and in contrast with many empirical studies, chronic predation risk decreased escape performance. This is however entirely consistent with the expectation of it being a long-term cost of responding to predation risk (e.g. by increasing respiration or upregulating the stress protein levels). The decreased swimming speed could be explained by an increased oxidative damage to proteins, thereby providing one of the poorly studied ecological links between oxidative damage and whole-animal performance. This likely widespread, understudied cost of chronic predation risk may provide an important pathway of non-consumptive predator effects on prey population dynamics. Moreover, it could play an evolutionary role by acting as a selective force causing prey organisms to adjust the magnitude of the physiological stress response and should be considered when evaluating life history trade-offs thought to be mediated by oxidative damage.

  8. Orbital Effects on Mercury's Escaping Sodium Exosphere

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schmidt, Carl A.; Wilson, Jody K.; Baumgardner, Jeffrey; Mendillo, Michael

    2009-01-01

    We present results from coronagraphic imaging of Mercury's sodium tail over a 7 deg field of view. Several sets of observations made at the McDonald Observatory since May 2007 show a tail of neutral sodium atoms stretching more than 1000 Mercury radii (R(sub m)) in length, or a full degree of sky. However, no tail was observed extending beyond 120 R(sub m) during the January 2008 MESSENGER Fly-by period, or during a similar orbital phase of Mercury in July 2008. Large changes in Mercury's heliocentric radial velocity cause Doppler shifts about the Fraunhofer absorption features; the resultant change in solar flux and radiation pressure is the primary cause of the observed variation in tail brightness. Smaller fluctuations in brightness may exist due to changing source rates at the surface, but we have no explicit evidence for such changes in this data set. The effects of radiation pressure on Mercury's escaping atmosphere are investigated using seven observations spanning different orbital phases. Total escape rates of atmospheric sodium are estimated to be between 5 and 13 x 10(exp 23) atoms/s and show a correlation to radiation pressure. Candidate sources of Mercury's sodium exosphere include desorption by UV sunlight, thermal desorption, solar wind channeled along Mercury's magnetic field lines, and micro-meteor impacts. Wide-angle observations of the full extent of Mercury's sodium tail offer opportunities to enhance our understanding of the time histories of these source rates.

  9. Learning from escaped prescribed fire reviews [Abstract

    Treesearch

    Anne Black; Dave Thomas; James Saveland

    2011-01-01

    Over the past decade, the wildland fire community has developed a number of innovative methods for conducting a review following escape of a prescribed fire. The stated purpose been to identify methods that not only meet policy requirements, but to reduce future escapes. Implicit is the assumption that a review leads to learning. Yet, as organizational learning expert...

  10. 46 CFR 177.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  11. 46 CFR 177.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  12. 46 CFR 177.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  13. 46 CFR 177.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  14. 46 CFR 116.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  15. 46 CFR 116.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  16. 46 CFR 116.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  17. 46 CFR 116.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  18. 46 CFR 116.500 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... this section, each space accessible to passengers or used by the crew on a regular basis, must have at... escape must be widely separated and, if possible, at opposite ends or sides of the space to minimize the... windows. (d) The number and dimensions of the means of escape from each space must be sufficient for rapid...

  19. Thermal escape from extrasolar giant planets.

    PubMed

    Koskinen, Tommi T; Lavvas, Panayotis; Harris, Matthew J; Yelle, Roger V

    2014-04-28

    The detection of hot atomic hydrogen and heavy atoms and ions at high altitudes around close-in extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) such as HD209458b implies that these planets have hot and rapidly escaping atmospheres that extend to several planetary radii. These characteristics, however, cannot be generalized to all close-in EGPs. The thermal escape mechanism and mass loss rate from EGPs depend on a complex interplay between photochemistry and radiative transfer driven by the stellar UV radiation. In this study, we explore how these processes change under different levels of irradiation on giant planets with different characteristics. We confirm that there are two distinct regimes of thermal escape from EGPs, and that the transition between these regimes is relatively sharp. Our results have implications for thermal mass loss rates from different EGPs that we discuss in the context of currently known planets and the detectability of their upper atmospheres.

  20. New insights on the collisional escape of light neutrals from Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gacesa, Marko; Zahnle, Kevin

    2017-04-01

    Photodissociative recombination (PDR) of atmospheric molecules on Mars is a major mechanism of production of hot (suprathermal) atoms with sufficient kinetic energy to either directly escape to space or to eject other atmospheric species. This collisional ejection mechanism is important for evaluating the escape rates of all light neutrals that are too heavy to escape via Jeans escape. In particular, it plays a role in estimating the total volume of escaped water constituents (i.e., O and H) from Mars, as well as influences evolution of the atmospheric [D]/[H] ratio1. We present revised estimates of total collisional escape rates of neutral light elements including H, He, and H2, based on recent (years 2015-2016) atmospheric density profiles obtained from the NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. We also estimate the contribution to the collisional escape from Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs) produced in charge-exchange of solar wind H+ and He+ ions with atmospheric gases2,3. Scattering of hot oxygen and atmospheric species of interest is modeled using fully-quantum reactive scattering formalism1,3. The escape rates are evaluated using a 1D model of the atmosphere supplemented with MAVEN measurements of the neutrals. Finally, new estimates of contributions of these non-thermal mechanisms to the estimated PDR escape rates from young Mars4 are presented. [1] M. Gacesa and V. Kharchenko, "Non-thermal escape of molecular hydrogen from Mars", Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L10203 (2012). [2] N. Lewkow and V. Kharchenko, "Precipitation of Energetic Neutral Atoms and Escape Fluxes induced from the Mars Atmosphere", Astroph. J., 790, 98 (2014). [3] M. Gacesa, N. Lewkow, and V. Kharchenko, "Non-thermal production and escape of OH from the upper atmosphere of Mars", Icarus 284, 90 (2017). [4] J. Zhao, F. Tian, Y. Ni, and X. Huang, "DR-induced escape of O and C from early Mars", Icarus 284, 305 (2017).

  1. Efficiently estimating salmon escapement uncertainty using systematically sampled data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Reynolds, Joel H.; Woody, Carol Ann; Gove, Nancy E.; Fair, Lowell F.

    2007-01-01

    Fish escapement is generally monitored using nonreplicated systematic sampling designs (e.g., via visual counts from towers or hydroacoustic counts). These sampling designs support a variety of methods for estimating the variance of the total escapement. Unfortunately, all the methods give biased results, with the magnitude of the bias being determined by the underlying process patterns. Fish escapement commonly exhibits positive autocorrelation and nonlinear patterns, such as diurnal and seasonal patterns. For these patterns, poor choice of variance estimator can needlessly increase the uncertainty managers have to deal with in sustaining fish populations. We illustrate the effect of sampling design and variance estimator choice on variance estimates of total escapement for anadromous salmonids from systematic samples of fish passage. Using simulated tower counts of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka escapement on the Kvichak River, Alaska, five variance estimators for nonreplicated systematic samples were compared to determine the least biased. Using the least biased variance estimator, four confidence interval estimators were compared for expected coverage and mean interval width. Finally, five systematic sampling designs were compared to determine the design giving the smallest average variance estimate for total annual escapement. For nonreplicated systematic samples of fish escapement, all variance estimators were positively biased. Compared to the other estimators, the least biased estimator reduced bias by, on average, from 12% to 98%. All confidence intervals gave effectively identical results. Replicated systematic sampling designs consistently provided the smallest average estimated variance among those compared.

  2. Split-second escape decisions in blue tits (Parus caeruleus)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lind, Johan; Kaby, Ulrika; Jakobsson, Sven

    2002-07-01

    Bird mortality is heavily affected by birds of prey. Under attack, take-off is crucial for survival and even minor mistakes in initial escape response can have devastating consequences. Birds may respond differently depending on the character of the predator's attack and these split-second decisions were studied using a model merlin (Falco columbarius) that attacked feeding blue tits (Parus caeruleus) from two different attack angles in two different speeds. When attacked from a low attack angle they took off more steeply than when attacked from a high angle. This is the first study to show that escape behaviour also depends on predator attack speed. The blue tits responded to a high-speed attack by dodging sideways more often than when attacked at a low speed. Escape speed was not significantly affected by the different treatments. Although they have only a split-second before escaping an attack, blue tits do adjust their escape strategy to the prevailing attack conditions.

  3. Species-specific escape of Plasmodium sporozoites from oocysts of avian, rodent, and human malarial parasites.

    PubMed

    Orfano, Alessandra S; Nacif-Pimenta, Rafael; Duarte, Ana P M; Villegas, Luis M; Rodrigues, Nilton B; Pinto, Luciana C; Campos, Keillen M M; Pinilla, Yudi T; Chaves, Bárbara; Barbosa Guerra, Maria G V; Monteiro, Wuelton M; Smith, Ryan C; Molina-Cruz, Alvaro; Lacerda, Marcus V G; Secundino, Nágila F C; Jacobs-Lorena, Marcelo; Barillas-Mury, Carolina; Pimenta, Paulo F P

    2016-08-02

    Malaria is transmitted when an infected mosquito delivers Plasmodium sporozoites into a vertebrate host. There are many species of Plasmodium and, in general, the infection is host-specific. For example, Plasmodium gallinaceum is an avian parasite, while Plasmodium berghei infects mice. These two parasites have been extensively used as experimental models of malaria transmission. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the most important agents of human malaria, a life-threatening disease of global importance. To complete their life cycle, Plasmodium parasites must traverse the mosquito midgut and form an oocyst that will divide continuously. Mature oocysts release thousands of sporozoites into the mosquito haemolymph that must reach the salivary gland to infect a new vertebrate host. The current understanding of the biology of oocyst formation and sporozoite release is mostly based on experimental infections with P. berghei, and the conclusions are generalized to other Plasmodium species that infect humans without further morphological analyses. Here, it is described the microanatomy of sporozoite escape from oocysts of four Plasmodium species: the two laboratory models, P. gallinaceum and P. berghei, and the two main species that cause malaria in humans, P. vivax and P. falciparum. It was found that sporozoites have species-specific mechanisms of escape from the oocyst. The two model species of Plasmodium had a common mechanism, in which the oocyst wall breaks down before sporozoites emerge. In contrast, P. vivax and P. falciparum sporozoites show a dynamic escape mechanism from the oocyst via polarized propulsion. This study demonstrated that Plasmodium species do not share a common mechanism of sporozoite escape, as previously thought, but show complex and species-specific mechanisms. In addition, the knowledge of this phenomenon in human Plasmodium can facilitate transmission-blocking studies and not those ones only based on the murine and avian models.

  4. Thermal escape from extrasolar giant planets

    PubMed Central

    Koskinen, Tommi T.; Lavvas, Panayotis; Harris, Matthew J.; Yelle, Roger V.

    2014-01-01

    The detection of hot atomic hydrogen and heavy atoms and ions at high altitudes around close-in extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) such as HD209458b implies that these planets have hot and rapidly escaping atmospheres that extend to several planetary radii. These characteristics, however, cannot be generalized to all close-in EGPs. The thermal escape mechanism and mass loss rate from EGPs depend on a complex interplay between photochemistry and radiative transfer driven by the stellar UV radiation. In this study, we explore how these processes change under different levels of irradiation on giant planets with different characteristics. We confirm that there are two distinct regimes of thermal escape from EGPs, and that the transition between these regimes is relatively sharp. Our results have implications for thermal mass loss rates from different EGPs that we discuss in the context of currently known planets and the detectability of their upper atmospheres. PMID:24664923

  5. Lyman-Werner escape fractions from the first galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schauer, Anna T. P.; Agarwal, Bhaskar; Glover, Simon C. O.; Klessen, Ralf S.; Latif, Muhammad A.; Mas-Ribas, Lluís; Rydberg, Claes-Erik; Whalen, Daniel J.; Zackrisson, Erik

    2017-05-01

    Direct collapse black holes forming in pristine, atomically cooling haloes at z ≈ 10-20 may act as the seeds of supermassive black holes (BHs) at high redshifts. In order to create a massive BH seed, the host halo needs to be prevented from forming stars. H2 therefore needs to be irradiated by a large flux of Lyman-Werner (LW) UV photons in order to suppress H2 cooling. A key uncertainty in this scenario is the escape fraction of LW radiation from first galaxies, which is the dominant source of UV photons at this epoch. To better constrain this escape fraction, we have performed radiation-hydrodynamical simulations of the growth of H II regions and their associated photodissociation regions in the first galaxies using the zeus-mp code. We find that the LW escape fraction crucially depends on the propagation of the ionization front (I-front). For an R-type I-front overrunning the halo, the LW escape fraction is always larger than 95 per cent. If the halo recombines later from the outside-in, due to a softened and weakened spectrum, the LW escape fraction in the rest frame of the halo (the near-field) drops to zero. A detailed and careful analysis is required to analyse slowly moving, D-type I-fronts, where the escape fraction depends on the microphysics and can be as small as 3 per cent in the near-field and 61 per cent in the far-field or as large as 100 per cent in both the near-field and the far-field.

  6. Unpredictability of escape trajectory explains predator evasion ability and microhabitat preference of desert rodents.

    PubMed

    Moore, Talia Y; Cooper, Kimberly L; Biewener, Andrew A; Vasudevan, Ramanarayan

    2017-09-05

    Mechanistically linking movement behaviors and ecology is key to understanding the adaptive evolution of locomotion. Predator evasion, a behavior that enhances fitness, may depend upon short bursts or complex patterns of locomotion. However, such movements are poorly characterized by existing biomechanical metrics. We present methods based on the entropy measure of randomness from Information Theory to quantitatively characterize the unpredictability of non-steady-state locomotion. We then apply the method by examining sympatric rodent species whose escape trajectories differ in dimensionality. Unlike the speed-regulated gait use of cursorial animals to enhance locomotor economy, bipedal jerboa (family Dipodidae) gait transitions likely enhance maneuverability. In field-based observations, jerboa trajectories are significantly less predictable than those of quadrupedal rodents, likely increasing predator evasion ability. Consistent with this hypothesis, jerboas exhibit lower anxiety in open fields than quadrupedal rodents, a behavior that varies inversely with predator evasion ability. Our unpredictability metric expands the scope of quantitative biomechanical studies to include non-steady-state locomotion in a variety of evolutionary and ecologically significant contexts.Biomechanical understanding of animal gait and maneuverability has primarily been limited to species with more predictable, steady-state movement patterns. Here, the authors develop a method to quantify movement predictability, and apply the method to study escape-related movement in several species of desert rodents.

  7. Light Absorption Enhancement of Black Carbon Aerosol Constrained by Particle Morphology.

    PubMed

    Wu, Yu; Cheng, Tianhai; Liu, Dantong; Allan, James D; Zheng, Lijuan; Chen, Hao

    2018-06-19

    The radiative forcing of black carbon aerosol (BC) is one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate change assessments. Contrasting results of BC absorption enhancement ( E abs ) after aging are estimated by field measurements and modeling studies, causing ambiguous parametrizations of BC solar absorption in climate models. Here we quantify E abs using a theoretical model parametrized by the complex particle morphology of BC in different aging scales. We show that E abs continuously increases with aging and stabilizes with a maximum of ∼3.5, suggesting that previous seemingly contrast results of E abs can be explicitly described by BC aging with corresponding particle morphology. We also report that current climate models using Mie Core-Shell model may overestimate E abs at a certain aging stage with a rapid rise of E abs , which is commonly observed in the ambient. A correction coefficient for this overestimation is suggested to improve model predictions of BC climate impact.

  8. Controlling filamentous fungi morphology with microparticles to enhanced β-mannanase production.

    PubMed

    Yatmaz, Ercan; Karahalil, Ercan; Germec, Mustafa; Ilgin, Merve; Turhan, İrfan

    2016-09-01

    β-mannanase was produced mainly by Aspergillus species and can degrade the β-1,4-mannose linkages of galactomannans. This study was undertaken to enhance mannanase production using talcum and aluminum oxide as the microparticles, which control cell morphology of recombinant Aspergillus sojae in glucose and carob extract medium. Both microparticles improved fungal growth in glucose and carob pod extract medium. Aluminum oxide (1 g/L) was the best agent for glucose medium which resulted in 514.0 U/ml. However, the highest mannanase activity was found as 568.7 U/ml with 5 g/L of talcum in carob extract medium. Increase in microparticle concentration resulted in decreasing the pellet size diameter. Furthermore, more than 10 g/L of talcum addition changed the filamentous fungi growth type from pellet to pellet/mycelium mixture. Results showed that right type and concentration of microparticle in fermentation media improved the mannanase activity and production rate by controlling the growth morphology.

  9. 75 FR 61386 - Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus Standards

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-05

    ...-0044, Notice No. 1] RIN 2130-AC14 Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus Standards AGENCY: Federal... breathing apparatus (EEBA) to the members of the train crew and certain other employees while they are... EEBA--emergency escape breathing apparatus FRA--Federal Railroad Administration FRSA--the former...

  10. High Resolution Observations of Escaping Ions in the Martian Magnetotail

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halekas, J. S.; Raman, C.; Brain, D.; DiBraccio, G. A.; Harada, Y.; McFadden, J. P.; Mitchell, D. L.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Jakosky, B. M.

    2016-12-01

    Ions escape from the Martian upper atmosphere via a number of channels, including the central plasmasheet of the magnetotail. Mars Express observations show that the heavy ions O+ and O2+ escaping through the central tail often have approximately the same energy, suggesting acceleration in a quasi-static electric field, which has been interpreted as a Hall electric field. The Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA) on MAVEN was designed to measure the upstream solar wind. However, during orbit segments with appropriate spacecraft attitude, SWIA can also make high resolution measurements of escaping ions in the tail. During the prime mission, these observations were only returned sporadically, during periods of intense escaping fluxes that fortuitously triggered a mode switch. Now, in the extended mission, we return high resolution observations from SWIA routinely. Some of these high resolution measurements reveal slight differences in both the direction and energy of escaping O+ and O2+ ions, which may help determine the acceleration process(es). We investigate the location and solar wind conditions for which the escaping ions separate in energy and angle and the systematics of their energies and flow vectors, and discuss the implications for ion acceleration and the overall picture of Martian atmospheric escape.

  11. Compensatory escape mechanism at low Reynolds number

    PubMed Central

    Gemmell, Brad J.; Sheng, Jian; Buskey, Edward J.

    2013-01-01

    Despite high predation pressure, planktonic copepods remain one of the most abundant groups on the planet. Their escape response provides one of most effective mechanisms to maximize evolutionary fitness. Owing to their small size (100 µm) compared with their predators (>1 mm), increasing viscosity is believed to have detrimental effects on copepods’ fitness at lower temperature. Using high-speed digital holography we acquire 3D kinematics of the nauplius escape including both location and detailed appendage motion. By independently varying temperature and viscosity we demonstrate that at natural thermal extremes, contrary to conventional views, nauplii achieve equivalent escape distance while maintaining optimal velocity. Using experimental results and kinematic simulations from a resistive force theory propulsion model, we demonstrate that a shift in appendage timing creates an increase in power stroke duration relative to recovery stroke duration. This change allows the nauplius to limit losses in velocity and maintain distance during escapes at the lower bound of its natural thermal range. The shift in power stroke duration relative to recovery stroke duration is found to be regulated by the temperature dependence of swimming appendage muscle groups, not a dynamic response to viscosity change. These results show that copepod nauplii have natural adaptive mechanisms to compensate for viscosity variations with temperature but not in situations in which viscosity varies independent of temperature, such as in some phytoplankton blooms. Understanding the robustness of escapes in the wake of environmental changes such as temperature and viscosity has implications in assessing the future health of performance compensation. PMID:23487740

  12. Dynamic morphology of gas hydrate on a methane bubble in water: Observations and new insights for hydrate film models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Warzinski, Robert P.; Lynn, Ronald; Haljasmaa, Igor; Leifer, Ira; Shaffer, Frank; Anderson, Brian J.; Levine, Jonathan S.

    2014-10-01

    Predicting the fate of subsea hydrocarbon gases escaping into seawater is complicated by potential formation of hydrate on rising bubbles that can enhance their survival in the water column, allowing gas to reach shallower depths and the atmosphere. The precise nature and influence of hydrate coatings on bubble hydrodynamics and dissolution is largely unknown. Here we present high-definition, experimental observations of complex surficial mechanisms governing methane bubble hydrate formation and dissociation during transit of a simulated oceanic water column that reveal a temporal progression of deep-sea controlling mechanisms. Synergistic feedbacks between bubble hydrodynamics, hydrate morphology, and coverage characteristics were discovered. Morphological changes on the bubble surface appear analogous to macroscale, sea ice processes, presenting new mechanistic insights. An inverse linear relationship between hydrate coverage and bubble dissolution rate is indicated. Understanding and incorporating these phenomena into bubble and bubble plume models will be necessary to accurately predict global greenhouse gas budgets for warming ocean scenarios and hydrocarbon transport from anthropogenic or natural deep-sea eruptions.

  13. Serotonin transporter deficient mice are vulnerable to escape deficits following inescapable shocks.

    PubMed

    Muller, J M; Morelli, E; Ansorge, M; Gingrich, J A

    2011-03-01

    Modulation of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) function causes changes in affective behavior, both in humans and rodents. Stressful life events likewise affect emotional behavior. In humans, a low-expressing genetic 5-htt variant, the s allele of the 5-htt linked promoter region, has been associated with increased risk for depression only where there was a history of stressful life events. To investigate this gene by environment interaction in mice, we compared the effects of inescapable shocks on the behavior of wild-type (5-htt+/+), heterozygote (5-htt+/-) and serotonin transporter deficient (5-htt-/-) mice. Inescapable shocks induce behavioral changes including a shock escape deficit, in a subsequent test when escape is possible. Confirming a gene by environment interaction, we found that stress increases escape latencies in a gene-dose dependent manner (5-htt-/->5-htt+/->5-htt +/+), where as there were no differences among the genotypes in the unstressed condition. The vulnerability to increased escape latency could not be accounted for by enhanced fear learning, as 5-htt-/- mice did not show heightened fear conditioning. The interaction of 5-htt genotype and stress appeared to produce a selective behavioral vulnerability, because no interaction of 5-htt genotype and stress was observed in other measures of anxiety and depression-linked behavior, including the open field, novelty suppressed feeding, and forced swim tests. We replicated prior findings that the 5-htt-/- displays heightened anxiety and depression-like behavior at baseline (unstressed condition). In conclusion, our data offer the possibility for future investigation of the neural basis underlying 5-htt genotype-by-stress interaction shown here. © 2010 The Authors. Genes, Brain and Behavior © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

  14. Single-File Escape of Colloidal Particles from Microfluidic Channels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Locatelli, Emanuele; Pierno, Matteo; Baldovin, Fulvio; Orlandini, Enzo; Tan, Yizhou; Pagliara, Stefano

    2016-07-01

    Single-file diffusion is a ubiquitous physical process exploited by living and synthetic systems to exchange molecules with their environment. It is paramount to quantify the escape time needed for single files of particles to exit from constraining synthetic channels and biological pores. This quantity depends on complex cooperative effects, whose predominance can only be established through a strict comparison between theory and experiments. By using colloidal particles, optical manipulation, microfluidics, digital microscopy, and theoretical analysis we uncover the self-similar character of the escape process and provide closed-formula evaluations of the escape time. We find that the escape time scales inversely with the diffusion coefficient of the last particle to leave the channel. Importantly, we find that at the investigated microscale, bias forces as tiny as 10-15 N determine the magnitude of the escape time by drastically reducing interparticle collisions. Our findings provide crucial guidelines to optimize the design of micro- and nanodevices for a variety of applications including drug delivery, particle filtering, and transport in geometrical constrictions.

  15. Verge and Foliot Clock Escapement: A Simple Dynamical System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Denny, Mark

    2010-09-01

    The earliest mechanical clocks appeared in Europe in the 13th century. From about 1250 CE to 1670 CE, these simple clocks consisted of a weight suspended from a rope or chain that was wrapped around a horizontal axle. To tell time, the weight must fall with a slow uniform speed, but, under the action of gravity alone, such a suspended weight would accelerate. To prevent this acceleration, an escapement mechanism was required. The best such escapement mechanism was called the verge and foliot escapement, and it was so successful that it lasted until about 1800 CE. These simple weight-driven clocks with verge and foliot escapements were accurate enough to mark the hours but not minutes or seconds. From 1670, significant improvements were made (principally by introducing pendulums and the newly invented anchor escapement) that justified the introduction of hands to mark minutes, and then seconds. By the end of the era of mechanical clocks, in the first half of the 20th century, these much-studied and much-refined machines were accurate to a millisecond a day.

  16. Inferring HIV Escape Rates from Multi-Locus Genotype Data

    DOE PAGES

    Kessinger, Taylor A.; Perelson, Alan S.; Neher, Richard A.

    2013-09-03

    Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize viral protein fragments displayed by major histocompatibility complex molecules on the surface of virally infected cells and generate an anti-viral response that can kill the infected cells. Virus variants whose protein fragments are not efficiently presented on infected cells or whose fragments are presented but not recognized by CTLs therefore have a competitive advantage and spread rapidly through the population. We present a method that allows a more robust estimation of these escape rates from serially sampled sequence data. The proposed method accounts for competition between multiple escapes by explicitly modeling the accumulation of escape mutationsmore » and the stochastic effects of rare multiple mutants. Applying our method to serially sampled HIV sequence data, we estimate rates of HIV escape that are substantially larger than those previously reported. The method can be extended to complex escapes that require compensatory mutations. We expect our method to be applicable in other contexts such as cancer evolution where time series data is also available.« less

  17. Behavioral analyses of wind-evoked escape of the cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus.

    PubMed

    Kanou, Masamichi; Konishi, Atsuko; Suenaga, Rie

    2006-04-01

    The wind-evoked escape behavior of the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus was investigated using an air puff stimulus. A high velocity air puff elicited the escape behavior in many crickets. The crickets tended to escape away from the stimulus source, but the direction was not accurately oriented 180 degrees from the stimulus. After bilateral cercal ablation, only a few crickets showed wind-evoked escape behavior, and their response rates did not increase even 19 days after ablation. Therefore, information on air motion detected by cercal filiform hairs is essential for triggering wind-evoked behavior. After unilateral cercal ablation, the 81.3% response rate of intact crickets decreased to 16.5%, that is, it decreased to almost 20% that of intact crickets. One week after unilateral cercal ablation, the response rate recovered to more than 60% that of intact crickets. However, the accuracy rate of the escape direction of G. sigillatus showed no change even immediately after the unilateral cercal ablation. Therefore, both cerci are not necessarily required to determine the escape direction. The behavioral characteristics of wind-evoked escape of G. sigillatus are compared with those of another species of cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. The two species of cricket employ different strategies for wind-evoked escape.

  18. European SpaceCraft for the study of Atmospheric Particle Escape (ESCAPE): a mission proposed in response to the ESA M5-call

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dandouras, Iannis; Yamauchi, Masatoshi; Rème, Henri; De Keyser, Johan; Marghitu, Octav; Fazakerley, Andrew; Grison, Benjamin; Kistler, Lynn; Milillo, Anna; Nakamura, Rumi; Paschalidis, Nikolaos; Paschalis, Antonis; Pinçon, Jean-Louis; Sakanoi, Takeshi; Wieser, Martin; Wurz, Peter; Yoshikawa, Ichiro; Häggström, Ingemar; Liemohn, Mike; Tian, Feng

    2017-04-01

    ESCAPE is a mission proposed in response to the ESA-M5 call that will quantitatively estimate the amount of escaping particles of the major atmospheric components (nitrogen and oxygen), as neutral and ionised species, escaping from the Earth as a magnetised planet. The spatial distribution and temporal variability of the flux of these species and their isotopic composition will be for the first time systematically investigated in an extended altitude range, from the exobase/upper ionosphere (500 km altitude) up to the magnetosphere. The goal is to understand the importance of each escape mechanism, its dependence on solar and geomagnetic activity, and to infer the history of the Earth's atmosphere over a long (geological scale) time period. Since the solar EUV and solar wind conditions during solar maximum at present are comparable to the solar minimum conditions 1-2 billion years ago, the escaping amount and the isotope and N/O ratios should be obtained as a function of external forcing (solar and geomagnetic conditions) to allow a scaling to the past. The result will be used as a reference to understand the atmospheric/ionospheric evolution of magnetised planets. To achieve this goal, a slowly spinning spacecraft is proposed equipped with a suite of instruments developed and supplied by an international consortium. These instruments will detect the upper atmosphere and magnetosphere escaping populations by a combination of in-situ measurements and of remote-sensing observations.

  19. 16. INTERIOR VIEW OF SUBMARINE SECTION AT 110FOOT LEVEL, ESCAPE ...

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

    16. INTERIOR VIEW OF SUBMARINE SECTION AT 110-FOOT LEVEL, ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING LADDER TO ESCAPE TANK, LOOKING SOUTH - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  20. Modelling the Evolution and Spread of HIV Immune Escape Mutants

    PubMed Central

    Fryer, Helen R.; Frater, John; Duda, Anna; Roberts, Mick G.; Phillips, Rodney E.; McLean, Angela R.

    2010-01-01

    During infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), immune pressure from cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) selects for viral mutants that confer escape from CTL recognition. These escape variants can be transmitted between individuals where, depending upon their cost to viral fitness and the CTL responses made by the recipient, they may revert. The rates of within-host evolution and their concordant impact upon the rate of spread of escape mutants at the population level are uncertain. Here we present a mathematical model of within-host evolution of escape mutants, transmission of these variants between hosts and subsequent reversion in new hosts. The model is an extension of the well-known SI model of disease transmission and includes three further parameters that describe host immunogenetic heterogeneity and rates of within host viral evolution. We use the model to explain why some escape mutants appear to have stable prevalence whilst others are spreading through the population. Further, we use it to compare diverse datasets on CTL escape, highlighting where different sources agree or disagree on within-host evolutionary rates. The several dozen CTL epitopes we survey from HIV-1 gag, RT and nef reveal a relatively sedate rate of evolution with average rates of escape measured in years and reversion in decades. For many epitopes in HIV, occasional rapid within-host evolution is not reflected in fast evolution at the population level. PMID:21124991

  1. Reporter Assay for Endo/Lysosomal Escape of Toxin-Based Therapeutics

    PubMed Central

    Gilabert-Oriol, Roger; Thakur, Mayank; von Mallinckrodt, Benedicta; Bhargava, Cheenu; Wiesner, Burkhard; Eichhorst, Jenny; Melzig, Matthias F.; Fuchs, Hendrik; Weng, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    Protein-based therapeutics with cytosolic targets are capable of exhibiting their therapeutic effect once they have escaped from the endosomes or lysosomes. In this study, the reporters—horseradish peroxidase (HRP), Alexa Fluor 488 (Alexa) and ricin A-chain (RTA)—were investigated for their capacity to monitor the endo/lysosomal escape of the ribosome-inactivating protein, saporin. The conjugates—saporin-HRP, Alexasaporin and saporin-KQ-RTA—were constructed, and the endo/lysosomal escape of these conjugates alone (lack of endo/lysosomal release) or in combination with certain structurally-specific triterpenoidal saponins (efficient endo/lysosomal escape) was characterized. HRP failed in reporting the endo/lysosomal escape of saporin. Contrastingly, Alexa Fluor 488 successfully allowed the report of the process at a toxin concentration of 1000 nM. In addition, single endo/lysosome analysis facilitated the determination of the amount of Alexasaporin released from each vesicle. RTA was also successful in reporting the endo/lysosomal escape of the enzymatically inactive mutant, saporin-KQ, but in this case, the sensitivity of the method reached a toxin concentration of 10 nM. In conclusion, the simultaneous usage of Alexa Fluor 488 and RTA as reporters may provide the possibility of monitoring the endo/lysosomal escape of protein-based therapeutics in the concentration range of 10–1000 nM. PMID:24859158

  2. Chronic Predation Risk Reduces Escape Speed by Increasing Oxidative Damage: A Deadly Cost of an Adaptive Antipredator Response

    PubMed Central

    Janssens, Lizanne; Stoks, Robby

    2014-01-01

    Prey organisms evolved a multitude of plastic responses to avoid being eaten by predators. Besides the evolution of plastic morphological responses to escape predation, prey also evolved a set of physiological stress responses to avoid dying because of chronic predator stress per se due to disruption of cellular homeostasis. As physiological stress theory predicts increased energy consumption and the inhibition of essential nonemergency body functions, we tested whether chronic predation risk may increase oxidative damage thereby generating negative effects on escape performance. Specifically, we evaluated whether predation risk reduces escape swimming speed in damselfly larvae and whether this operates through stress-associated increases in oxidative damage. Counterintuitively and in contrast with many empirical studies, chronic predation risk decreased escape performance. This is however entirely consistent with the expectation of it being a long-term cost of responding to predation risk (e.g. by increasing respiration or upregulating the stress protein levels). The decreased swimming speed could be explained by an increased oxidative damage to proteins, thereby providing one of the poorly studied ecological links between oxidative damage and whole-animal performance. This likely widespread, understudied cost of chronic predation risk may provide an important pathway of non-consumptive predator effects on prey population dynamics. Moreover, it could play an evolutionary role by acting as a selective force causing prey organisms to adjust the magnitude of the physiological stress response and should be considered when evaluating life history trade-offs thought to be mediated by oxidative damage. PMID:24968142

  3. Cold Ion Escape from the Martian Ionosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fränz, M.; Dubinin, E.; Wei, Y.; Woch, J.; Morgan, D.; Barabash, S.; Fedorov, A.

    2012-09-01

    It has always been challenging to observe the flux of ions with energies of less than 10eV escaping from the planetary ionospheres. We here report on new measurements of the ionospheric ion flows at Mars by the ASPERA-3 experiment on board Mars Express. We first use support from the MARSIS radar experiment for some orbits with fortunate observation geometry. Here we have observed a transterminator flow of O+ and O+ 2 ions with a super-sonic velocity of around 5km/s and fluxes of 0.8 · 109/cm2s. If we assume a symmetric flux around the terminator this corresponds to an ion flow of 3.1 ± 0.5 × 1025/s half of which is expected to escape from Mars (Fraenz et al, 2010). This escape flux is significantly higher than previously observed on the tailside of Mars, we discuss possible reasons for the difference. Since 2008 the MARSIS radar does nightside local plasma density measurement which often coincide with ASPERA-3 measurements. In a new analysis of the combined nightside datasets (Fig. 1) we show that the main escape channel is along the shadow boundary on the tailside of Mars. At a distance of about 0.5 R_M the flux settles at a constant value (Fig. 2) which indicates that about half of the transterminator ionospheric flow escapes from the planet. Possible mechanism to generate this flux can be the ionospheric pressure gradient between dayside and nightside or momentum transfer from the solar wind via the induced magnetic field since the flow velocity is in the Alfvénic regime.

  4. Cold Ion Escape from the Martian Ionosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fränz, Markus; Dubinin, Eduard; Wei, Yong; Morgan, David; Barabash, Stas; Lundin, Rickard; Fedorov, Andrei

    2013-04-01

    It has always been challenging to observe the flux of ions with energies of less than 10eV escaping from the planetary ionospheres. We here report on new measurements of the ionospheric ion flows at Mars by the ASPERA-3 experiment on board Mars Express. We first use support from the MARSIS radar experiment for some orbits with fortunate observation geometry. Here we have observed a transterminator flow of O+ and O2+ ions with a super-sonic velocity of around 5km/s and fluxes of 0.8 ? 109/cm2s. If we assume a symmetric flux around the terminator this corresponds to an ion flow of 3.1 ± 0.5 × 1025-s half of which is expected to escape from Mars (Fraenz et al, Plan.Space Sci., 2010). This escape flux is significantly higher than previously observed on the tailside of Mars, we discuss possible reasons for the difference. Since 2008 the MARSIS radar does nightside local plasma density measurements which often coincide with ASPERA-3 measurements. In a new analysis of the combined nightside datasets we show that the main escape channel is along the shadow boundary on the tailside of Mars. At a distance of half a Martian radius the flux settles at a constant value which indicates that about half of the transterminator ionospheric flow escapes from the planet. Possible mechanism to generate this flux can be the ionospheric pressure gradient between dayside and nightside or momentum transfer from the solar wind via the induced magnetic field since the flow velocity is in the Alfvénic regime.

  5. Life events and escape in conversion disorder.

    PubMed

    Nicholson, T R; Aybek, S; Craig, T; Harris, T; Wojcik, W; David, A S; Kanaan, R A

    2016-09-01

    Psychological models of conversion disorder (CD) traditionally assume that psychosocial stressors are identifiable around symptom onset. In the face of limited supportive evidence such models are being challenged. Forty-three motor CD patients, 28 depression patients and 28 healthy controls were assessed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule in the year before symptom onset. A novel 'escape' rating for events was developed to test the Freudian theory that physical symptoms of CD could provide escape from stressors, a form of 'secondary gain'. CD patients had significantly more severe life events and 'escape' events than controls. In the month before symptom onset at least one severe event was identified in 56% of CD patients - significantly more than 21% of depression patients [odds ratio (OR) 4.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56-13.70] and healthy controls (OR 5.81, 95% CI 1.86-18.2). In the same time period 53% of CD patients had at least one 'high escape' event - again significantly higher than 14% in depression patients (OR 6.90, 95% CI 2.05-23.6) and 0% in healthy controls. Previous sexual abuse was more commonly reported in CD than controls, and in one third of female patients was contextually relevant to life events at symptom onset. The majority (88%) of life events of potential aetiological relevance were not identified by routine clinical assessments. Nine per cent of CD patients had no identifiable severe life events. Evidence was found supporting the psychological model of CD, the Freudian notion of escape and the potential aetiological relevance of childhood traumas in some patients. Uncovering stressors of potential aetiological relevance requires thorough psychosocial evaluation.

  6. Photochemical escape of oxygen from Mars: constraints from MAVEN in situ measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lillis, R. J.; Deighan, J.; Fox, J. L.; Bougher, S. W.; Lee, Y.; Cravens, T.; Rahmati, A.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Andersson, L.; Combi, M. R.; Benna, M.; Jakosky, B. M.; Gröller, H.

    2016-12-01

    One of the primary goals of the MAVEN mission is to characterize rates of atmospheric escape from Mars at the present epoch and relate those escape rates to solar drivers. Photochemical escape of oxygen is expected to be a significant channel for atmospheric loss, particularly in the early solar system when extreme ultraviolet (EUV) fluxes were much higher. We use near-periapsis (<400 km altitude) data from three instruments. The Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW) instrument measures electron density and temperature, the Suprathermal And Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC) experiment measures ion temperature and the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) measures neutral and ion densities. For each profile of in situ measurements, we make a series of calculations, each as a function of altitude. The first uses electron and ion temperatures to calculate the probability distribution for initial energies of hot O atoms. The second calculates the probability that a hot atom born at that altitude will escape. The third takes calculates the production rate of the hot O atoms. We then multiply together the profiles of hot atom production and escape probability to get profiles of the production rate of escaping atoms. We integrate with respect to altitude to give us the escape flux of hot oxygen atoms for that periapsis pass. We will present escape fluxes and derived escape rates from the first Mars year of data collected. Total photochemical loss over time is not very useful to calculate from such escape fluxes derived from current conditions because a thicker atmosphere and much higher solar EUV in the past may change the dynamics of escape dramatically. In the future, we intend to use 3-D Monte Carlo models of global atmospheric escape, in concert with our in situ and remote measurements, to fully characterize photochemical escape under current conditions and carefully extrapolate back in time using further simulations with new boundary conditions.

  7. Escape from rich-to-lean transitions: Stimulus change and timeout.

    PubMed

    Retzlaff, Billie J; Parthum, Elizabeth T P; Pitts, Raymond C; Hughes, Christine E

    2017-01-01

    Extended pausing during discriminable transitions from rich-to-lean conditions can be viewed as escape (i.e., rich-to-lean transitions function aversively). In the current experiments, pigeons' key pecking was maintained by a multiple fixed-ratio fixed-ratio schedule of rich or lean reinforcers. Pigeons then were provided with another, explicit, mechanism of escape by changing the stimulus from the transition-specific stimulus used in the multiple schedule to a mixed-schedule stimulus (Experiment 1) or by producing a period of timeout in which the stimulus was turned off and the schedule was suspended (Experiment 2). Overall, escape was under joint control of past and upcoming reinforcer magnitudes, such that responses on the escape key were most likely during rich-to-lean transitions, and second-most likely during lean-to-lean transitions. Even though pigeons pecked the escape key, they paused before doing so, and the latency to begin the fixed ratio (i.e., the pause) remained extended during rich-to-lean transitions. These findings suggest that although the stimulus associated with rich-to-lean transitions functioned aversively, pausing is more than simply escape responding from the stimulus. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  8. Progesterone After Estradiol Modulates Shuttle-Cage Escape by Facilitating Volition

    PubMed Central

    Mayeaux, Darryl J.; Tandle, Sarah M.; Cilano, Sean M.; Fitzharris, Matthew J.

    2015-01-01

    In animal models of depression, depression is defined as performance on a learning task. That task is typically escaping a mild electric shock in a shuttle cage by moving from one side of the cage to the other. Ovarian hormones influence learning in other kinds of tasks, and these hormones are associated with depressive symptoms in humans. The role of these hormones in shuttle-cage escape learning, however, is less clear. This study manipulated estradiol and progesterone in ovariectomized female rats to examine their performance in shuttle-cage escape learning without intentionally inducing a depressive-like state. Progesterone, not estradiol, within four hours of testing affected latencies to escape. The improvement produced by progesterone was in the decision to act, not in the speed of learning or speed of escaping. This parallels depression in humans in that depressed people are slower in volition, in their decisions to take action. PMID:26823653

  9. Escape probability of the super-Penrose process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ogasawara, Kota; Harada, Tomohiro; Miyamoto, Umpei; Igata, Takahisa

    2017-06-01

    We consider a head-on collision of two massive particles that move in the equatorial plane of an extremal Kerr black hole, which results in the production of two massless particles. Focusing on a typical case, where both of the colliding particles have zero angular momenta, we show that a massless particle produced in such a collision can escape to infinity with arbitrarily large energy in the near-horizon limit of the collision point. Furthermore, if we assume that the emission of the produced massless particles is isotropic in the center-of-mass frame but confined to the equatorial plane, the escape probability of the produced massless particle approaches 5 /12 , and almost all escaping massless particles have arbitrarily large energy at infinity and an impact parameter approaching 2 G M /c2, where M is the mass of the black hole.

  10. Impact of enzyme replacement therapy on cardiac morphology and function and late enhancement in Fabry's cardiomyopathy.

    PubMed

    Beer, Meinrad; Weidemann, Frank; Breunig, Frank; Knoll, Anita; Koeppe, Sabrina; Machann, Wolfram; Hahn, Dietbert; Wanner, Christoph; Strotmann, Jörg; Sandstede, Jörn

    2006-05-15

    The present study evaluated the evolution of cardiac morphology, function, and late enhancement as a noninvasive marker of myocardial fibrosis, and their inter-relation during enzyme replacement therapy in patients with Fabry's disease using magnetic resonance imaging and color Doppler myocardial imaging. Late enhancement, which was present in up to 50% of patients, was associated with increased left ventricular mass, the failure of a significant regression of hypertrophy during enzyme replacement therapy, and worse segmental myocardial function. Late enhancement may predict the effect of enzyme replacement therapy on left ventricular mass and cardiac function.

  11. The Origins and Underpinning Principles of E-Scape

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kimbell, Richard

    2012-01-01

    In this article I describe the context within which we developed project e-scape and the early work that laid the foundations of the project. E-scape (e-solutions for creative assessment in portfolio environments) is centred on two innovations. The first concerns a web-based approach to portfolio building; allowing learners to build their…

  12. Quantification of simian immunodeficiency virus cytotoxic T lymphocyte escape mutant viruses.

    PubMed

    Loh, Liyen; Kent, Stephen J

    2008-08-01

    Escape from cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) pressure is common in HIV-1 infection of humans and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infections of macaques. CTL escape typically incurs a fitness cost as reversion back to wild-type can occur upon transmission. We utilized sequence-specific primers and DNA probes with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to sensitively and specifically track wild-type and escape mutant viremia at the Mane-A*17-restricted SIV Gag(371379) epitope AF9 in pigtail macaques. The generation of minor escape mutant populations is detected by the real-time PCR 2 weeks earlier than observed using standard sequencing techniques. We passaged the AF9 CTL escape mutant virus into two naïve Mane-A*17-negative pigtail macaques and showed that reversion to wild-type was rapid during acute infection and then slowed considerably at later stages of the infection. These data help refine our understanding of how CTL escape mutant viruses evolve.

  13. Staphylococcus aureus synthesizes adenosine to escape host immune responses

    PubMed Central

    Thammavongsa, Vilasack; Kern, Justin W.; Missiakas, Dominique M.

    2009-01-01

    Staphylococcus aureus infects hospitalized or healthy individuals and represents the most frequent cause of bacteremia, treatment of which is complicated by the emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus. We examined the ability of S. aureus to escape phagocytic clearance in blood and identified adenosine synthase A (AdsA), a cell wall–anchored enzyme that converts adenosine monophosphate to adenosine, as a critical virulence factor. Staphylococcal synthesis of adenosine in blood, escape from phagocytic clearance, and subsequent formation of organ abscesses were all dependent on adsA and could be rescued by an exogenous supply of adenosine. An AdsA homologue was identified in the anthrax pathogen, and adenosine synthesis also enabled escape of Bacillus anthracis from phagocytic clearance. Collectively, these results suggest that staphylococci and other bacterial pathogens exploit the immunomodulatory attributes of adenosine to escape host immune responses. PMID:19808256

  14. Light Activated Escape Circuits: A Behavior and Neurophysiology Lab Module using Drosophila Optogenetics

    PubMed Central

    Titlow, Josh S.; Johnson, Bruce R.; Pulver, Stefan R.

    2015-01-01

    The neural networks that control escape from predators often show very clear relationships between defined sensory inputs and stereotyped motor outputs. This feature provides unique opportunities for researchers, but it also provides novel opportunities for neuroscience educators. Here we introduce new teaching modules using adult Drosophila that have been engineered to express csChrimson, a red-light sensitive channelrhodopsin, in specific sets of neurons and muscles mediating visually guided escape behaviors. This lab module consists of both behavior and electrophysiology experiments that explore the neural basis of flight escape. Three preparations are described that demonstrate photo-activation of the giant fiber circuit and how to quantify these behaviors. One of the preparations is then used to acquire intracellular electrophysiology recordings from different flight muscles. The diversity of action potential waveforms and firing frequencies observed in the flight muscles make this a rich preparation to study the ionic basic of cellular excitability. By activating different cells within the giant fiber pathway we also demonstrate principles of synaptic transmission and neural circuits. Beyond conveying core neurobiological concepts it is also expected that using these cutting edge techniques will enhance student motivation and attitudes towards biological research. Data collected from students and educators who have been involved in development of the module are presented to support this notion. PMID:26240526

  15. Antibody escape kinetics of equine infectious anemia virus infection of horses.

    PubMed

    Schwartz, Elissa J; Nanda, Seema; Mealey, Robert H

    2015-07-01

    Lentivirus escape from neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) is not well understood. In this work, we quantified antibody escape of a lentivirus, using antibody escape data from horses infected with equine infectious anemia virus. We calculated antibody blocking rates of wild-type virus, fitness costs of mutant virus, and growth rates of both viruses. These quantitative kinetic estimates of antibody escape are important for understanding lentiviral control by antibody neutralization and in developing NAb-eliciting vaccine strategies. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  16. Danger detection and escape behaviour in wood crickets.

    PubMed

    Dupuy, Fabienne; Casas, Jérôme; Body, Mélanie; Lazzari, Claudio R

    2011-07-01

    The wind-sensitive cercal system of Orthopteroid insects that mediates the detection of the approach of a predator is a very sensitive sensory system. It has been intensively analysed from a behavioural and neurobiological point of view, and constitutes a classical model system in neuroethology. The escape behaviour is triggered in orthopteroids by the detection of air-currents produced by approaching objects, allowing these insects to keep away from potential dangers. Nevertheless, escape behaviour has not been studied in terms of success. Moreover, an attacking predator is more than "air movement", it is also a visible moving entity. The sensory basis of predator detection is thus probably more complex than the perception of air movement by the cerci. We have used a piston mimicking an attacking running predator for a quantitative evaluation of the escape behaviour of wood crickets Nemobius sylvestris. The movement of the piston not only generates air movement, but it can be seen by the insect and can touch it as a natural predator. This procedure allowed us to study the escape behaviour in terms of detection and also in terms of success. Our results showed that 5-52% of crickets that detected the piston thrust were indeed touched. Crickets escaped to stimulation from behind better than to a stimulation from the front, even though they detected the approaching object similarly in both cases. After cerci ablation, 48% crickets were still able to detect a piston approaching from behind (compared with 79% of detection in intact insects) and 24% crickets escaped successfully (compared with 62% in the case of intact insects). So, cerci play a major role in the detection of an approaching object but other mechanoreceptors or sensory modalities are implicated in this detection. It is not possible to assure that other sensory modalities participate (in the case of intact animals) in the behaviour; rather, than in the absence of cerci other sensory modalities can

  17. Launch Pad Escape System Design (Human Spaceflight)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maloney, Kelli

    2011-01-01

    A launch pad escape system for human spaceflight is one of those things that everyone hopes they will never need but is critical for every manned space program. Since men were first put into space in the early 1960s, the need for such an Emergency Escape System (EES) has become apparent. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has made use of various types of these EESs over the past 50 years. Early programs, like Mercury and Gemini, did not have an official launch pad escape system. Rather, they relied on a Launch Escape System (LES) of a separate solid rocket motor attached to the manned capsule that could pull the astronauts to safety in the event of an emergency. This could only occur after hatch closure at the launch pad or during the first stage of flight. A version of a LES, now called a Launch Abort System (LAS) is still used today for all manned capsule type launch vehicles. However, this system is very limited in that it can only be used after hatch closure and it is for flight crew only. In addition, the forces necessary for the LES/LAS to get the capsule away from a rocket during the first stage of flight are quite high and can cause injury to the crew. These shortcomings led to the development of a ground based EES for the flight crew and ground support personnel as well. This way, a much less dangerous mode of egress is available for any flight or ground personnel up to a few seconds before launch. The early EESs were fairly simple, gravity-powered systems to use when thing's go bad. And things can go bad very quickly and catastrophically when dealing with a flight vehicle fueled with millions of pounds of hazardous propellant. With this in mind, early EES designers saw such a passive/unpowered system as a must for last minute escapes. This and other design requirements had to be derived for an EES, and this section will take a look at the safety design requirements had to be derived for an EES, and this section will take a look at

  18. Escape of asteroids from the main belt

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Granvik, Mikael; Morbidelli, Alessandro; Vokrouhlický, David; Bottke, William F.; Nesvorný, David; Jedicke, Robert

    2017-02-01

    Aims: We locate escape routes from the main asteroid belt, particularly into the near-Earth-object (NEO) region, and estimate the relative fluxes for different escape routes as a function of object size under the influence of the Yarkovsky semimajor-axis drift. Methods: We integrated the orbits of 78 355 known and 14 094 cloned main-belt objects and Cybele and Hilda asteroids (hereafter collectively called MBOs) for 100 Myr and recorded the characteristics of the escaping objects. The selected sample of MBOs with perihelion distance q > 1.3 au and semimajor axis a < 4.1 au is essentially complete, with an absolute magnitude limit ranging from HV < 15.9 in the inner belt (a < 2.5 au) to HV < 14.4 in the outer belt (2.5 au < a < 4.1 au). We modeled the semimajor-axis drift caused by the Yarkovsky force and assigned four different sizes (diameters of 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 km) and random spin obliquities (either 0 deg or 180 deg) for each test asteroid. Results: We find more than ten obvious escape routes from the asteroid belt to the NEO region, and they typically coincide with low-order mean-motion resonances with Jupiter and secular resonances. The locations of the escape routes are independent of the semimajor-axis drift rate and thus are also independent of the asteroid diameter. The locations of the escape routes are likewise unaffected when we added a model for Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) cycles coupled with secular evolution of the rotation pole as a result of the solar gravitational torque. A Yarkovsky-only model predicts a flux of asteroids entering the NEO region that is too high compared to the observationally constrained flux, and the discrepancy grows larger for smaller asteroids. A combined Yarkovsky and YORP model predicts a flux of small NEOs that is approximately a factor of 5 too low compared to an observationally constrained estimate. This suggests that the characteristic timescale of the YORP cycle is longer than our canonical

  19. Mars H Escape is potentially dominated by a high-altitude water source

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaffin, Michael; Deighan, Justin; Schneider, Nick; Stewart, Ian

    2017-04-01

    H escape from the Mars atmosphere has removed a large part of Mars' initial water inventory. Until recently, this escape was thought to be slow and steady, sourced from long-lived molecular hydrogen whose lightness and volatility in comparison with water allow it to penetrate the upper atmosphere. Contradicting this thinking, observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and Mars Express, as well as more recent MAVEN measurements, indicate that H escape varies by at least a factor of ten over the Mars year and is largest in Southern Summer near perihelion. At the largest rates, H escape exceeds the ability of molecular hydrogen to supply the escape fluxes observed. At the same time in Southern Summer, Mars Express solar occultations have shown unexpectedly large concentrations of water at high altitude, potentially providing a source of escaping H unaccounted for in standard models. Here we show via photochemical modeling that the presence of this high altitude water can partially explain the large escape rates observed in Southern Summer. We further show that this escaping H is not in immediate balance with O escape, and therefore that short-term atmospheric dynamics can drive long-term variations in the oxidation balance and volatile content of planetary atmospheres. Future simultaneous observations by MAVEN, Mars Express, and the Trace Gas Orbiter may provide a direct test of this mechanism.

  20. Cold Ion Escape from Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fränz, M.; Dubinin, E.; Wei, Y.; Morgan, D.; Andrews, D.; Barabash, S.; Lundin, R.; Fedorov, A.

    2013-09-01

    It has always been challenging to observe the flux of ions with energies of less than 10eV escaping from the planetary ionospheres. We here report on new measurements of the ionospheric ion flows at Mars by the ASPERA-3 experiment on board Mars Express in combination with the MARSIS radar experiment. We first compare calculations of the mean ion flux observed by ASPERA-3 alone with previously published results. We then combine observations of the cold ion velocity by ASPERA-3 with observations of the cold plasma density by MARSIS since ASPERA-3 misses the cold core of the ion distribution. We show that the mean density of the nightside plasma observed by MARSIS is about two orders higher than observed by ASPERA-3 (Fig.1). Combining both datasets we show that the main escape channel is along the shadow boundary on the tailside of Mars (Fig. 2). At a distance of about 0.5 R_M the flux settles at a constant value (Fig. 3) which indicates that about half of the transterminator ionospheric flow escapes from the planet. Possible mechanism to generate this flux can be the ionospheric pressure gradient between dayside and nightside or momentum transfer from the solar wind via the induced magnetic field since the flow velocity is in the Alfvénic regime.

  1. Biocompatible mannosylated endosomal-escape nanoparticles enhance selective delivery of short nucleotide sequences to tumor associated macrophages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ortega, Ryan A.; Barham, Whitney J.; Kumar, Bharat; Tikhomirov, Oleg; McFadden, Ian D.; Yull, Fiona E.; Giorgio, Todd D.

    2014-12-01

    Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) can modify the tumor microenvironment to create a pro-tumor niche. Manipulation of the TAM phenotype is a novel, potential therapeutic approach to engage anti-cancer immunity. siRNA is a molecular tool for knockdown of specific mRNAs that is tunable in both strength and duration. The use of siRNA to reprogram TAMs to adopt an immunogenic, anti-tumor phenotype is an attractive alternative to ablation of this cell population. One current difficulty with this approach is that TAMs are difficult to specifically target and transfect. We report here successful utilization of novel mannosylated polymer nanoparticles (MnNP) that are capable of escaping the endosomal compartment to deliver siRNA to TAMs in vitro and in vivo. Transfection with MnNP-siRNA complexes did not significantly decrease TAM cell membrane integrity in culture, nor did it create adverse kidney or liver function in mice, even at repeated doses of 5 mg kg-1. Furthermore, MnNP effectively delivers labeled nucleotides to TAMs in mice with primary mammary tumors. We also confirmed TAM targeting in the solid tumors disseminated throughout the peritoneum of ovarian tumor bearing mice following injection of fluorescently labeled MnNP-nucleotide complexes into the peritoneum. Finally, we show enhanced uptake of MnNP in lung metastasis associated macrophages compared to untargeted particles when using an intubation delivery method. In summary, we have shown that MnNP specifically and effectively deliver siRNA to TAMs in vivo.

  2. European SpaceCraft for the study of Atmospheric Particle Escape (ESCAPE): a planetary mission to Earth, proposed in response to the ESA M5-call

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dandouras, I.; Yamauchi, M.; Rème, H.; De Keyser, J.; Marghitu, O.; Fazakerley, A.; Grison, B.; Kistler, L.; Milillo, A.; Nakamura, R.; Paschalidis, N.; Paschalis, A.; Pinçon, J.-L.; Sakanoi, T.; Wieser, M.; Wurz, P.; Yoshikawa, I.; Häggström, I.; Liemohn, M.; Tian, F.

    2017-09-01

    ESCAPE is a mission proposed in response to the ESA-M5 call that will quantitatively estimate the amount of escaping particles of the major atmospheric components (nitrogen and oxygen), as neutral and ionised species, escaping from the Earth as a magnetised planet. The goal is to understand the importance of each escape mechanism, its dependence on solar and geomagnetic activity, and to infer the history of the Earth's atmospheric composition over a long (geological scale) time period. Since the solar EUV and solar wind conditions during solar maximum at present are comparable to the solar minimum conditions 1-2 billion years ago, the escaping amount and the isotope and N/O ratios should be obtained as a function of external forcing (solar and geomagnetic conditions) to allow a scaling to the past. The result will be used as a reference to understand the atmospheric/ionospheric evolution of magnetised planets, which is essential for habitability.

  3. MO-DE-207B-10: Impact of Morphologic Characteristics On Radiomics Features From Contast-Enhanced CT for Primary Lung Tumors

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

    Fried, D; Zhang, L; Fave, X

    Purpose: Determine the impact of morphologic characteristics (e.g. necrosis, vascular enhancement, and cavitation) on radiomic features from contrast enhanced CT (CE-CT) in primary lung tumors. Methods: We developed an auto-segmentation algorithm to separate lung tumors on contrast-enhanced CT into cavitation (air), necrosis, tissue, and enhancing vessels using a combination of thresholding and region-growing. An auto-segmentation algorithm was also designed to identify necrosis on FDG-PET scans. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to determine if significant differences existed in radiomics features (histogram-uniformity and Laplacian-of-Gaussian average) from 249 patients, found to prognostic in previous work, based on the presence/absence of morphologic features. Featuremore » values were also compared between the original tumor contours and contours excluding a specific morphologic feature. Comparison of necrosis segmentation on CE-CT versus FDG-PET was performed in 78 patients to assess for agreement using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). Results: Tumors with cavitation and enhancing vasculature had lower uniformity values (p = 0.001 and p = 0.03, respectively). Tumors with enhancing vasculature and necrosis had higher Laplacian-of-Gaussian average values (measure of “edges” within the tumor) (p < 0.001). Removing these tissue types from regions-of-interest did not drastically alter either radiomic feature value (all scenarios had R{sup 2} > 0.8). This suggests there may be interactions between morphologic characteristics and the radiomic feature value of tumor tissue. Comparison of necrosis volume and percent necrosis volume of tumor were found to have CCC values of 0.85 and 0.76, respectively between CE-CT and FDG-PET segmentation methods. Conclusions: Tumors with enhancing vasculature, necrosis, and cavitation have higher radiomic feature values that are associated with poor prognosis than tumors without these features. Removing these

  4. Water-escape velocities in jumping blacktip sharks

    PubMed Central

    Brunnschweiler, Juerg M

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the first determination of water-escape velocities in free-ranging sharks. Two approximations are used to estimate the final swimming speed at the moment of penetrating the water surface. Blacktip sharks were videotaped from below the surface and parameters were estimated by analysing the sequences frame by frame. Water-escape velocities averaged 6.3 m s−1. These velocities for blacktip sharks seem accurate and are similar to estimates obtained for other shark species of similar size. PMID:16849197

  5. Engineering fungal morphology for enhanced production of hydrolytic enzymes by Aspergillus oryzae SBS50 using microparticles.

    PubMed

    Singh, Bijender

    2018-06-01

    Effect of microparticles and silver nanoparticles was studied on the production of hydrolytic enzymes by a potent phytase-producing mould, Aspergillus oryzae SBS50. Addition of microparticles, viz. talc powder and aluminum oxide enhanced phytase production from 2894 to 3903 and 2847 to 4204 U/L, cellulase from 2529 to 4931 and 2455 to 3444 U/L, xylanase from 9067 to 9642 and 9994 to 14,783 U/L, amylase from 5880 to 11,000 and 6130 to 13,145 U/L, respectively. Fungal morphology was also engineered by the use of microparticles. Fungal pellet size was significantly reduced (~ 90%) by the addition of microparticles. Fermentation time was reduced from 4 to 3 days after the addition of microparticles, thus increasing the productivity of the enzymes significantly. These results confirmed the importance of microparticles in engineering fungal morphology for enhanced production of hydrolytic enzymes.

  6. Ventilation and oxygen uptake during escape from a civil aircraft.

    PubMed

    Ross, J A; Watt, S J; Henderson, G D; Vant, J H

    1990-01-01

    To help develop a specification for equipment providing personal respiratory protection in the event of aircraft fire a study was carried out to quantify ventilation and oxygen consumption during escape from a Trident aircraft. Data were gathered using the P.K. Morgan 'Oxylog' apparatus after its response time to rapid changes in inspired to expired oxygen concentration difference was assessed using a bench test. The 'Oxylog' had a lag time of 30-32 s and a 5-95% response typified by a half time of 20 s. The data gathered were corrected in the light of these findings. Fourteen male subjects aged 17-38 years were studied under two conditions. Four mass evacuations each involving 40 people; a total of nine subjects escaping from the front rank over eight seats being monitored. Six evacuations each involving only two people escaping from the rear of the cabin; a total of 11 subjects escaping over 14 seats being monitored. Escape was made over the seat backs, down an escape chute to a position 12 m from the base of the chute. Resting minute ventilation (mean 16.7 1 STPD) and oxygen consumption (mean 0.41 min-1 STPD) were similar before both evacuations. There were no significant differences between the two conditions either during, or up to 180 s after escape. Ventilation and oxygen consumption were greatest in the recovery period. The highest oxygen consumption seen was 2.08 l min-1 and maximum minute ventilation was 641. Mean total oxygen consumption for the escape and a 150 s recovery period was 2.41 l (s.d. 0.64, max. 3.11) for the mass evacuation and 2.97 l (s.d. 0.68, max. 4.09) for the two person evacuation. The mean total amount of gas inhaled during the same time period was 89.3 l (s.d. 25.6, max. 121.3) for the mass evacuation and 99.01 (s.d. 26.2, max. 137.3) for the other. These was no correlation between ventilation or oxygen consumption and either escape time, body weight, height or age.

  7. Noise-induced escape in an excitable system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khovanov, I. A.; Polovinkin, A. V.; Luchinsky, D. G.; McClintock, P. V. E.

    2013-03-01

    We consider the stochastic dynamics of escape in an excitable system, the FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) neuronal model, for different classes of excitability. We discuss, first, the threshold structure of the FHN model as an example of a system without a saddle state. We then develop a nonlinear (nonlocal) stability approach based on the theory of large fluctuations, including a finite-noise correction, to describe noise-induced escape in the excitable regime. We show that the threshold structure is revealed via patterns of most probable (optimal) fluctuational paths. The approach allows us to estimate the escape rate and the exit location distribution. We compare the responses of a monostable resonator and monostable integrator to stochastic input signals and to a mixture of periodic and stochastic stimuli. Unlike the commonly used local analysis of the stable state, our nonlocal approach based on optimal paths yields results that are in good agreement with direct numerical simulations of the Langevin equation.

  8. Almost certain escape from black holes in final state projection models.

    PubMed

    Lloyd, Seth

    2006-02-17

    Recent models of the black-hole final state suggest that quantum information can escape from a black hole by a process akin to teleportation. These models rely on a controversial process called final-state projection. This Letter discusses the self-consistency of the final-state projection hypothesis and investigates escape from black holes for arbitrary final states and for generic interactions between matter and Hawking radiation. Quantum information escapes with fidelity approximately = (8/3pi)2: only half a bit of quantum information is lost on average, independent of the number of bits that escape from the hole.

  9. Three-Dimensional Morphology Control Yielding Enhanced Hole Mobility in Air-Processed Organic Photovoltaics: Demonstration with Grazing-Incidence Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering

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

    Moore, Levi M. J.; Bhattacharya, Mithun; Wu, Qi

    Polymer organic photovoltaic (OPV) device performance is defined by the three-dimensional morphology of the phase-separated domains in the active layer. Here, we determine the evolution of morphology through different stages of tailored solvent vapor and thermal annealing techniques in air-processed poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester-based OPV blends. A comparative evaluation of the effect of solvent type used for vapor annealing was performed using grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy to probe the active-layer morphology. A nonhalogenated orthogonal solvent was found to impart controlled morphological features within the exciton diffusion length scales, enhanced absorbance, greater crystallinity, increased paracrystallinemore » disorder, and improved charge-carrier mobility. Low-boiling, fast-diffusing isopropanol allowed the greatest control over the nanoscale structure of the solvents evaluated and yielded a cocontinuous morphology with narrowed domains and enhanced paths for the charge carrier to reach the anode.« less

  10. 14. DETAIL VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING HOLDDOWN RODS, ...

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

    14. DETAIL VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING HOLD-DOWN RODS, LOOKING SOUTH - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  11. Investigating the Lyman photon escape in local starburst galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernandez, Svea; Leitherer, Claus; Boquien, Médéric; Buat, Véronique; Burgarella, Denis; Calzetti, Daniela; Noll, Stefan

    2018-07-01

    We present a study of seven star-forming galaxies from the Cosmic Evolution Survey observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The galaxies are located at relatively low redshifts, z ˜ 0.3, with morphologies ranging from extended and disturbed to compact and smooth. To complement the HST observations, we also analyse observations taken with the Visible Multi-object Spectrograph (VIMOS) on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). In our galaxy sample, we identify three objects with double peak Lyman-α profiles similar to those seen in Green Pea compact galaxies and measure peak separations of 655, 374, and 275 km s-1. We measure Lyman-α escape fractions with values ranging between 5 per cent and 13 per cent. Given the low flux levels in the individual COS exposures, we apply a weighted stacking approach to obtain a single spectrum. From this COS combined spectrum, we infer upper limits for the absolute and relative Lyman continuum escape fractions of f_abs(LyC) = 0.4^{+10.1}_{-0.4} per cent and f_res(LyC) = 1.7^{+15.2}_{-1.7}per cent, respectively. Finally, we find that most of these galaxies have moderate ultraviolet and optical star formation rates (SFRs) (SFRs ≲10 M⊙ yr-1).

  12. 34. VIEW OF SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK PRIOR TO ADDITION ...

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

    34. VIEW OF SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK PRIOR TO ADDITION OF BLISTERS IN 1959, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  13. Teachers Offering Healthy Escape Options for Teenagers in Pain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaywell, Joan F.

    2005-01-01

    "[T]wenty-five percent of today's teenagers have inordinate emotional baggage beyond the normal angst of adolescence." This burden can lead to unhealthy escapes, including substance abuse, sexual activity, violence, eating disorders, and suicide. One healthy escape, however, lies in books, where students can read about teenagers living in painful…

  14. The Impact of Unresolved Turbulence on the Escape Fraction of Lyman Continuum Photons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Safarzadeh, M.; Scannapieco, E.

    2016-11-01

    We investigate the relation between the turbulent Mach number ({ M }) and the escape fraction of Lyman continuum photons ({f}{esc}) in high-redshift galaxies. Approximating the turbulence as isothermal and isotropic, we show that the increase in the variance in column densities from { M }=1 to { M }=10 causes {f}{esc} to increase by ≈ 25%, and the increase from { M }=1 to { M }=20 causes {f}{esc} to increases by ≈ 50% for a medium with opacity τ ≈ 1. At a fixed Mach number, the correction factor for escape fraction relative to a constant column density case scales exponentially with the opacity in the cell, which has a large impact for simulated star-forming regions. Furthermore, in simulations of isotropic turbulence with full atomic/ionic cooling and chemistry, the fraction of HI drops by a factor of ≈ 2.5 at { M }≈ 10 even when the mean temperature is ≈ 5× {10}3 {{K}}. If turbulence is unresolved, these effects together enhance {f}{esc} by a factor \\gt 3 at Mach numbers above 10. Such Mach numbers are common at high redshifts where vigorous turbulence is driven by supernovae, gravitational instabilities, and merger activity, as shown both by numerical simulations and observations. These results, if implemented in the current hydrodynamical cosmological simulations to account for unresolved turbulence, can boost the theoretical predictions of the Lyman Continuum photon escape fraction and further constrain the sources of reionization.

  15. 18. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ENCLOSED PASSAGEWAY FROM ...

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

    18. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ENCLOSED PASSAGEWAY FROM 50-FOOT LOCK TO ELEVATOR, LOOKING WEST - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  16. 21. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING INTERIOR OF CUPOLA ...

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

    21. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING INTERIOR OF CUPOLA AND TOP OF THE TANK, LOOKING NORTHEAST - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  17. 17. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ENCLOSED PASSAGEWAY FROM ...

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

    17. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ENCLOSED PASSAGEWAY FROM ELEVATOR TO 18-FOOT LOCK, LOOKING EAST - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  18. Seasonal variability of Martian ion escape through the plume and tail from MAVEN observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Y.; Fang, X.; Brain, D. A.; McFadden, J. P.; Halekas, J. S.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Eparvier, F.; Andersson, L.; Mitchell, D.; Jakosky, B. M.

    2017-04-01

    We study the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft observations of Martian planetary ion escape during two time periods: 11 November 2014 to 19 March 2015 and 4 June 2015 to 24 October 2015, with the focus on understanding the seasonal variability of Martian ion escape in response to the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux. We organize the >6 eV O+ ion data by the upstream electric field direction to estimate the escape rates through the plume and tail. To investigate the ion escape dependence on the solar EUV flux, we constrain the solar wind dynamic pressure and interplanetary magnetic filed strength and compare the ion escape rates through the plume and tail in different energy ranges under high and low EUV conditions. We found that the total >6 eV O+ escape rate increases from 2 to 3 × 1024 s-1 as the EUV irradiance increases by almost the same factor, mostly on the <1 keV tailward escape. The plume escape rate does not vary significantly with EUV. The relative contribution from the plume to the total escape varies between 30% and 20% from low to high EUV. Our results suggest that the Martian ion escape is sensitive to the seasonal EUV variation, and the contribution from plume escape becomes more important under low EUV conditions.

  19. Diversity of the Lyman continuum escape fractions of high-z galaxies and its origins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sumida, Takumi; Kashino, Daichi; Hasegawa, Kenji

    2018-04-01

    The Lyman continuum (LyC) escape fraction is a key quantity to determine the contribution of galaxies to cosmic reionization. It has been known that the escape fractions estimated by observations and numerical simulations show a large diversity. However, the origins of the diversity are still uncertain. In this work, to understand what quantities of galaxies are responsible for controlling the escape fraction, we numerically evaluate the escape fraction by performing ray-tracing calculation with simplified disc galaxy models. With a smooth disc model, we explore the dependence of the escape fraction on the disposition of ionizing sources and find that the escape fraction varies up to ˜3 orders of magnitude. It is also found that the halo mass dependence of disc scale height determines whether the escape fraction increases or decreases with halo mass. With a clumpy disc model, it turns out that the escape fraction increases as the clump mass fraction increases because the density in the inter-clump region decreases. In addition, we find that clumpiness regulates the escape fraction via two ways when the total clump mass dominates the total gas mass; the escape fraction is controlled by the covering factor of clumps if the clumps are dense sufficient to block LyC photons, otherwise the clumpiness works to reduce the escape fraction by increasing the total number of recombination events in a galaxy.

  20. Danger Comes from All Fronts: Predator-Dependent Escape Tactics of Túngara Frogs

    PubMed Central

    Bulbert, Matthew W.; Page, Rachel A.; Bernal, Ximena E.

    2015-01-01

    The escape response of an organism is generally its last line of defense against a predator. Because the effectiveness of an escape varies with the approach behaviour of the predator, it should be advantageous for prey to alter their escape trajectories depending on the mode of predator attack. To test this hypothesis we examined the escape responses of a single prey species, the ground-dwelling túngara frog (Engystomops pustulosus), to disparate predators approaching from different spatial planes: a terrestrial predator (snake) and an aerial predator (bat). Túngara frogs showed consistently distinct escape responses when attacked by terrestrial versus aerial predators. The frogs fled away from the snake models (Median: 131°). In stark contrast, the frogs moved toward the bat models (Median: 27°); effectively undercutting the bat’s flight path. Our results reveal that prey escape trajectories reflect the specificity of their predators’ attacks. This study emphasizes the flexibility of strategies performed by prey to outcompete predators with diverse modes of attack. PMID:25874798

  1. Triton: topside ionosphere and nitrogen escape.

    PubMed

    Yung, Y L; Lyons, J R

    1990-09-01

    The principal ion in the ionosphere of Triton is N+. Energetic electrons of magnetospheric origin are the primary source of ionization, with a smaller contribution due to photoionization. To explain the topside plasma scale height, we postulate that N+ ions escape from Triton. The loss rate is 3.4 x 10(7) cm-2 s-1 or 7.9 x 10(24) ions s-1. Dissociative recombination of N2+ produces neutral exothermic fragments that can escape from Triton. The rate is estimated to be 8.6 x 10(6) N cm-2 s-1 or 2.0 x 10(24) atoms s-1. Implications for the magnetosphere of Neptune and Triton's evolution are discussed.

  2. Heat-induced symmetry breaking in ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) escape behavior

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Yuan-Kai

    2017-01-01

    The collective egress of social insects is important in dangerous situations such as natural disasters or enemy attacks. Some studies have described the phenomenon of symmetry breaking in ants, with two exits induced by a repellent. However, whether symmetry breaking occurs under high temperature conditions, which are a common abiotic stress, remains unknown. In our study, we deposited a group of Polyrhachis dives ants on a heated platform and counted the number of escaping ants with two identical exits. We discovered that ants asymmetrically escaped through two exits when the temperature of the heated platform was >32.75°C. The degree of asymmetry increased linearly with the temperature of the platform. Furthermore, the higher the temperature of heated platform was, the more ants escaped from the heated platform. However, the number of escaping ants decreased for 3 min when the temperature was higher than the critical thermal limit (39.46°C), which is the threshold for ants to endure high temperature without a loss of performance. Moreover, the ants tended to form small groups to escape from the thermal stress. A preparatory formation of ant grouping was observed before they reached the exit, indicating that the ants actively clustered rather than accidentally gathered at the exits to escape. We suggest that a combination of individual and grouping ants may help to optimize the likelihood of survival during evacuation. PMID:28355235

  3. Elevated atmospheric escape of atomic hydrogen from Mars induced by high-altitude water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaffin, M. S.; Deighan, J.; Schneider, N. M.; Stewart, A. I. F.

    2017-01-01

    Atmospheric loss has controlled the history of Martian habitability, removing most of the planet’s initial water through atomic hydrogen and oxygen escape from the upper atmosphere to space. In standard models, H and O escape in a stoichiometric 2:1 ratio because H reaches the upper atmosphere via long-lived molecular hydrogen, whose abundance is regulated by a photochemical feedback sensitive to atmospheric oxygen content. The relatively constant escape rates these models predict are inconsistent with known H escape variations of more than an order of magnitude on seasonal timescales, variation that requires escaping H to have a source other than H2. The best candidate source is high-altitude water, detected by the Mars Express spacecraft in seasonally variable concentrations. Here we use a one-dimensional time-dependent photochemical model to show that the introduction of high-altitude water can produce a large increase in the H escape rate on a timescale of weeks, quantitatively linking these observations. This H escape pathway produces prompt H loss that is not immediately balanced by O escape, influencing the oxidation state of the atmosphere for millions of years. Martian atmospheric water loss may be dominated by escape via this pathway, which may therefore potentially control the planet’s atmospheric chemistry. Our findings highlight the influence that seasonal atmospheric variability can have on planetary evolution.

  4. Biomechanics of Tetrahymena escaping from a dead end

    PubMed Central

    Kikuchi, Kenji

    2018-01-01

    Understanding the behaviours of swimming microorganisms in various environments is important for understanding cell distribution and growth in nature and industry. However, cell behaviour in complex geometries is largely unknown. In this study, we used Tetrahymena thermophila as a model microorganism and experimentally investigated cell behaviour between two flat plates with a small angle. In this configuration, the geometry provided a ‘dead end' line where the two flat plates made contact. The results showed that cells tended to escape from the dead end line more by hydrodynamics than by a biological reaction. In the case of hydrodynamic escape, the cell trajectories were symmetric as they swam to and from the dead end line. Near the dead end line, T. thermophila cells were compressed between the two flat plates while cilia kept beating with reduced frequency; those cells again showed symmetric trajectories, although the swimming velocity decreased. These behaviours were well reproduced by our computational model based on biomechanics. The mechanism of hydrodynamic escape can be understood in terms of the torque balance induced by lubrication flow. We therefore conclude that a cell's escape from the dead end was assisted by hydrodynamics. These findings pave the way for understanding cell behaviour and distribution in complex geometries. PMID:29491169

  5. 23. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING NORTHWEST, SHOWING TWOLOCK ...

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

    23. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING NORTHWEST, SHOWING TWO-LOCK RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER IN PASSAGEWAY FROM ELEVATOR TO CUPOLA - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  6. 15. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING EAST ACROSS MEZZANINE, ...

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

    15. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING EAST ACROSS MEZZANINE, SHOWING ENTRANCE TO SUBMARINE SECTION AT 110-FOOT LEVEL - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  7. Behavioral regulation of gravity - Schedule effects under escape-avoidance procedures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clark, F. C.; Lange, K. O.; Belleville, R. E.

    1973-01-01

    Squirrel monkeys were restrained in a centrifuge capsule and trained to escape and avoid increases in artificial gravity. During escape-avoidance, lever responses reduced centrifugally simulated gravity or postponed scheduled increases. The effect of variation in the interval of postponement (equal to the duration of decrease produced by escape responses) was studied under a multiple schedule of four components. Three components were gravity escape-avoidance with postponement times of 20, 40, and 60 sec. The fourth component was extinction. Each component was associated with a different auditory stimulus. Rate of responding decreased with increasing postponement time and higher mean g-levels occurred at shorter intervals of postponement. Effects of the schedule parameter on response rate and mean g-level were similar to effects of the schedule on free-operant avoidance and on titration behavior maintained by shock.

  8. Escape Performance Following Exposure to Inescapable Shock: Deficits in Motor Response Maintenance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anisman, Hymie; And Others

    1978-01-01

    A series of 13 experiments employing mice systematically investigated shock-elicited activity in a circular field and escape performance in a shuttle box following exposure to either escapable or inescapable shock. Results show that escape interference induced by inescapable shock may be comfortably interpreted in terms of a decreased tendency for…

  9. Energy conversion through mass loading of escaping ionospheric ions for different Kp values

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamauchi, Masatoshi; Slapak, Rikard

    2018-01-01

    Fload. Since Fload significantly increases for increased flux of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, high EUV flux may significantly enhance this positive feedback. Therefore, the ion escape rate and the energy extraction by mass loading during ancient Earth, when the Sun is believed to have emitted much higher EUV flux than at present, could have been even higher than the currently available highest values based on Kp = 9. This raises a possibility that the ion escape has substantially contributed to the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere.

  10. An anticipative escape system for vehicles in water crashes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Chuanliang; Wang, Jiawei; Yin, Qi; Zhu, Yantao; Yang, Jiawei; Liao, Mengdi; Yang, Liming

    2017-07-01

    In this article, it designs an escape system for vehicles in water crashes. The structure mainly contains sensors, control organs and actuating mechanism for both doors and windows. Sensors judge whether the vehicle falls into water or is in the falling process. The actuating mechanism accepts the signal delivered by the control organs, then open the electronic central lock on doors and meanwhile lower the window. The water escape system is able to anticipate drowning situations for vehicles and controls both doors and windows in such an emergency. Under the premise of doors staying in an undamaged state, it is for sure that people in the vehicle can open the door while drowning in the water and safely escape.

  11. 22. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING WEST FROM EAST ...

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

    22. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING WEST FROM EAST SIDE OF CUPOLA TOWARD ELEVATOR. TWO-LOCK RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER AT REAR - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  12. Animal escapology II: escape trajectory case studies

    PubMed Central

    Domenici, Paolo; Blagburn, Jonathan M.; Bacon, Jonathan P.

    2011-01-01

    Summary Escape trajectories (ETs; measured as the angle relative to the direction of the threat) have been studied in many taxa using a variety of methodologies and definitions. Here, we provide a review of methodological issues followed by a survey of ET studies across animal taxa, including insects, crustaceans, molluscs, lizards, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. Variability in ETs is examined in terms of ecological significance and morpho-physiological constraints. The survey shows that certain escape strategies (single ETs and highly variable ETs within a limited angular sector) are found in most taxa reviewed here, suggesting that at least some of these ET distributions are the result of convergent evolution. High variability in ETs is found to be associated with multiple preferred trajectories in species from all taxa, and is suggested to provide unpredictability in the escape response. Random ETs are relatively rare and may be related to constraints in the manoeuvrability of the prey. Similarly, reports of the effect of refuges in the immediate environment are relatively uncommon, and mainly confined to lizards and mammals. This may be related to the fact that work on ETs carried out in laboratory settings has rarely provided shelters. Although there are a relatively large number of examples in the literature that suggest trends in the distribution of ETs, our understanding of animal escape strategies would benefit from a standardization of the analytical approach in the study of ETs, using circular statistics and related tests, in addition to the generation of large data sets. PMID:21753040

  13. How does ionizing radiation escape from galaxies?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Orlitova, Ivana

    2016-10-01

    Search for sources that reionized the Universe from z 15 to z 6 is one of the main drivers of present-day astronomy. Low-mass star-forming galaxies are the most favoured sources of ionizing photons, but the searches of escaping Lyman continuum (LyC) have not been extremely successful. Our team has recently detected prominent LyC escape from five Green Pea galaxies at redshift 0.3, using the HST/COS spectrograph, which represents a significant breakthrough. We propose here to study the LyC escape of the strongest among these leakers, J1152, with spatial resolution. From the comparison of the ionizing and non-ionizing radiation maps, and surface brightness profiles, we will infer the major mode in which LyC is escaping: from the strongest starburst, from the galaxy edge, through a hole along our line-of-sight, through clumpy medium, or directly from all the production sites due to highly ionized medium in the entire galaxy. In parallel, we will test the predictive power of two highly debated indirect indicators of LyC leakage: the [OIII]5007/[OII]3727 ratio, and Lyman-alpha. We predict that their spatial distribution should closely follow that of the ionizing continuum if column densities of the neutral gas are low. This combined study, which relies on the HST unique capabilities, will bring crucial information on the structure of the leaking galaxies, provide constraints for hydrodynamic simulations, and will lead to efficient future searches for LyC leakers across a large range of redshifts.

  14. How to Escape a Home Fire (Take This Safety Quiz).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    PTA Today, 1994

    1994-01-01

    A checklist/safety quiz from the National Fire Protection Association examines individual knowledge of how to escape if a home fire breaks out. The organization recommends that every household develop a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year. (SM)

  15. 29. VIEW OF SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK DURING CONSTRUCTION AT ...

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

    29. VIEW OF SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK DURING CONSTRUCTION AT POINT JUST ABOVE THE SUBMARINE SECTION AT THE 110-FOOT LEVEL 1929-1930 - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  16. 35. INTERIOR VIEW OF EQUIPMENT HOUSE, SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, ...

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

    35. INTERIOR VIEW OF EQUIPMENT HOUSE, SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, PRIOR TO ENLARGEMENT OF ROOM AND INSTALLATION OF TRIPLE-LOCK RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER IN 1957 - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  17. 31. VIEW OF SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK DURING CONSTRUCTION OF ...

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

    31. VIEW OF SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK DURING CONSTRUCTION OF THE ELEVATOR AND PASSAGEWAYS TO THE 18- AND 50-FOOT LOCKS AND CUPOLA 1932 - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  18. Perceived risk of home fire and escape plans in rural households.

    PubMed

    Yang, Jingzhen; Peek-Asa, Corinne; Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Zwerling, Craig; Lundell, John

    2006-01-01

    Homes in rural areas have a higher fire death rate. Although successful exit from a home fire could greatly reduce fire-related deaths and injuries, little is known about factors associated with behaviors of developing and practicing an escape plan. Between July 2003 and June 2004, a baseline survey was administered, in person, to 691 rural households. Information collected included a history of previous home fire, perceived risk of home fire, existing smoke alarms and their working status, and home fire safety practices, as well as home and occupant characteristics. The association of residents' perceived risk of home fire and fire escape plans was assessed. Forty-two percent of rural households reported having a fire escape plan. Of the households with a plan, less than two thirds (56.9%) discussed or practiced the plan. Households with children were more likely to develop and practice a fire escape plan. Households with an elderly or disabled person were less likely to develop or practice the plan. Compared to respondents who perceived low or very low risk of home fire, those who perceived a high or very high risk had 3.5 times greater odds of having a fire escape plan and 5.5 times greater odds of discussion or practicing their plan. Increasing awareness of the potential risk of home fires may help occupants develop and practice home fire escape plans. In order to reduce fire deaths and injuries, different strategies need to be developed for those households in which the occupants lack the ability to escape.

  19. Unsteady motion: escape jumps in planktonic copepods, their kinematics and energetics

    PubMed Central

    Kiørboe, Thomas; Andersen, Anders; Langlois, Vincent J.; Jakobsen, Hans H.

    2010-01-01

    We describe the kinematics of escape jumps in three species of 0.3–3.0 mm-sized planktonic copepods. We find similar kinematics between species with periodically alternating power strokes and passive coasting and a resulting highly fluctuating escape velocity. By direct numerical simulations, we estimate the force and power output needed to accelerate and overcome drag. Both are very high compared with those of other organisms, as are the escape velocities in comparison to startle velocities of other aquatic animals. Thus, the maximum weight-specific force, which for muscle motors of other animals has been found to be near constant at 57 N (kg muscle)−1, is more than an order of magnitude higher for the escaping copepods. We argue that this is feasible because most copepods have different systems for steady propulsion (feeding appendages) and intensive escapes (swimming legs), with the muscular arrangement of the latter probably adapted for high force production during short-lasting bursts. The resulting escape velocities scale with body length to power 0.65, different from the size-scaling of both similar sized and larger animals moving at constant velocity, but similar to that found for startle velocities in other aquatic organisms. The relative duration of the pauses between power strokes was observed to increase with organism size. We demonstrate that this is an inherent property of swimming by alternating power strokes and pauses. We finally show that the Strouhal number is in the range of peak propulsion efficiency, again suggesting that copepods are optimally designed for rapid escape jumps. PMID:20462876

  20. Venus, Earth, Mars: Comparative ion escape caused by the interaction with the solar wind

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barabash, Stas

    For the solar system planets the non-thermal atmospheric escape exceeds by far the Jean escape for particles heavier than helium. In this talk we consider only ion escape and compare the total ion escape rates for Venus, Earth, and Mars caused by the interaction with the solar wind. We review the most recent data on the escape rates based on measurements from Mars Express, Venus Express, and Cluster. The comparison of the available numbers show that despite large differences in the atmospheric masses between these three planets (a factor of 100 -200), different types of the interactions with the solar wind (magnetized and non-magnetized obstacles), the escape rates for Mars, Venus, and the Earth are within the range 1024 - 1025 s-1 . Surprisingly, the expected shielding of the Earth atmosphere by the intrinsic magnetic field is not as efficient as one may think. The reason for this is the non-thermal escape caused by the solar wind interaction is a energy -limited process. Indeed, normalizing the escape rates to the planet-dependent escape energy and power available in the solar wind results in the normalized escape rates deferring only on a factor between three planets. The larger Earth's magnetosphere intercepts and tunnels down to the ionosphere more energy from the solar wind than more compact interaction regions of non-magnetized planets.

  1. Why an intrinsic magnetic field does not protect a planet against atmospheric escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gunell, Herbert; Maggiolo, Romain; Nilsson, Hans; Stenberg Wieser, Gabriella; Slapak, Rikard; Lindkvist, Jesper; Hamrin, Maria; De Keyser, Johan

    2018-06-01

    The presence or absence of a magnetic field determines the nature of how a planet interacts with the solar wind and what paths are available for atmospheric escape. Magnetospheres form both around magnetised planets, such as Earth, and unmagnetised planets, like Mars and Venus, but it has been suggested that magnetised planets are better protected against atmospheric loss. However, the observed mass escape rates from these three planets are similar (in the approximate (0.5-2) kg s-1 range), putting this latter hypothesis into question. Modelling the effects of a planetary magnetic field on the major atmospheric escape processes, we show that the escape rate can be higher for magnetised planets over a wide range of magnetisations due to escape of ions through the polar caps and cusps. Therefore, contrary to what has previously been believed, magnetisation is not a sufficient condition for protecting a planet from atmospheric loss. Estimates of the atmospheric escape rates from exoplanets must therefore address all escape processes and their dependence on the planet's magnetisation.

  2. Effects of Visual Information on Wind-Evoked Escape Behavior of the Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus.

    PubMed

    Kanou, Masamichi; Matsuyama, Akane; Takuwa, Hiroyuki

    2014-09-01

    We investigated the effects of visual information on wind-evoked escape behavior in the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. Most agitated crickets were found to retreat into a shelter made of cardboard installed in the test arena within a short time. As this behavior was thought to be a type of escape, we confirmed how a visual image of a shelter affected wind-evoked escape behavior. Irrespective of the brightness of the visual background (black or white) or the absence or presence of a shelter, escape jumps were oriented almost 180° opposite to the source of the air puff stimulus. Therefore, the direction of wind-evoked escape depends solely depended on the direction of the stimulus air puff. In contrast, the turning direction of the crickets during the escape was affected by the position of the visual image of the shelter. During the wind-evoked escape jump, most crickets turned in the direction in which a shelter was presented. This behavioral nature is presumably necessary for crickets to retreat into a shelter within a short time after their escape jump.

  3. Investigating the Lyman photon escape in local starburst galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph ★

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernandez, Svea; Leitherer, Claus; Boquien, Médéric; Buat, Véronique; Burgarella, Denis; Calzetti, Daniela; Noll, Stefan

    2018-04-01

    We present a study of 7 star-forming galaxies from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The galaxies are located at relatively low redshifts, z ˜0.3, with morphologies ranging from extended and disturbed to compact and smooth. To complement the HST observations we also analyze observations taken with the VIMOS spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope (VLT). In our galaxy sample we identify three objects with double peak Lyman-α profiles similar to those seen in Green Pea compact galaxies and measure peak separations of 655, 374, and 275 km s-1. We measure Lyman-α escape fractions with values ranging between 5-13%. Given the low flux levels in the individual COS exposures we apply a weighted stacking approach to obtain a single spectrum. From this COS combined spectrum we infer upper limits for the absolute and relative Lyman continuum escape fractions of f_abs(LyC) = 0.4^{+10.1}_{-0.4}% and f_res(LyC) = 1.7^{+15.2}_{-1.7}%, respectively. Finally, we find that most of these galaxies have moderate UV and optical SFRs (SFRs ≲ 10 M⊙ yr-1).

  4. Removal of micrometer size morphological defects and enhancement of ultraviolet emission by thermal treatment of Ga-doped ZnO nanostructures.

    PubMed

    Manzoor, Umair; Kim, Do K; Islam, Mohammad; Bhatti, Arshad S

    2014-01-01

    Mixed morphologies of Ga-doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are synthesized by vapor transport method. Systematic scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies of different morphologies, after periodic heat treatments, gives direct evidence of sublimation. SEM micrographs give direct evidence that morphological defects of nanostructures can be removed by annealing. Ultra Violet (UV) and visible emission depends strongly on the annealing temperatures and luminescent efficiency of UV emission is enhanced significantly with each subsequent heat treatment. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) results suggest that crystal quality improved by annealing and phase separation may occur at high temperatures.

  5. 7. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING UP SOUTH SIDE ...

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

    7. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING UP SOUTH SIDE FROM 50-FOOT PASSAGEWAY, SHOWING 25-FOOT BLISTER AT LEFT, 18-FOOT PASSAGEWAY AND PLATFORM AT RIGHT - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  6. Xenon Fractionation and Archean Hydrogen Escape

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zahnle, K. J.

    2015-01-01

    Xenon is the heaviest gas found in significant quantities in natural planetary atmospheres. It would seem the least likely to escape. Yet there is more evidence for xenon escape from Earth than for any element other than helium and perhaps neon. The most straightforward evidence is that most of the radiogenic Xe from the decay of (129)I (half-life 15.7 Myr) and (244)Pu (half-life 81 Myr) that is Earth's birthright is missing. The missing xenon is often attributed to the impact erosion of early atmospheres of Earth and its ancestors. It is obvious that if most of the radiogenic xenon were driven off by impacts, most of the rest of the atmophiles fared the same fate. The other line of evidence is in the nonradiogenic isotopes of xenon and its silent partner, krypton. Atmospheric xenon is strongly mass fractionated (at about 4% per amu) compared to any known solar system source (Figure 1). This is in stark contrast to krypton, which may not be fractionated at all: atmospheric Kr is slightly heavier than solar Kr (at about 0.5% per amu), but it is the same as in carbonaceous chondrites. Nonradiogenic xenon is also under abundant relative to krypton (the so-called "missing xenon" problem). Together these observations imply that xenon has been subject to fractionating escape and krypton not.

  7. Effects of the crustal magnetic fields on the Martian atmospheric ion escape rate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramstad, Robin; Barabash, Stas; Futaana, Yoshifumi; Nilsson, Hans; Holmström, Mats

    2016-10-01

    Eight years (2007-2015) of ion flux measurements from Mars Express are used to statistically investigate the influence of the Martian magnetic crustal fields on the atmospheric ion escape rate. We combine all Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms/Ion Mass Analyzer (ASPERA-3/IMA) measurements taken during nominal upstream solar wind and solar extreme ultraviolet conditions to compute global average ion distribution functions, individually for the north/south hemispheres and for varying solar zenith angles (SZAs) of the strongest crustal magnetic field. Escape rates are subsequently calculated from each of the average distribution functions. The maximum escape rate (4.2 ± 1.2) × 1024s-1 is found for SZA = 60°-80°, while the minimum escape rate (1.7 ± 0.6) × 1024s-1 is found for SZA = 28°-60°, showing that the dayside orientation of the crustal fields significantly affects the global escape rate (p = 97%). However, averaged over time, independent of SZA, we find no statistically significant difference in the escape rates from the two hemispheres (escape from southern hemisphere 46% ± 18% of global rate).

  8. Escaping and Falling into Poverty in India Today.

    PubMed

    Thorat, Amit; Vanneman, Reeve; Desai, Sonalde; Dubey, Amaresh

    2017-05-01

    The study examines the dynamic nature of movements into and out of poverty over a period when poverty has fallen substantially in India. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. Using panel data from the India Human Development Survey for 2005 and 2012, we find that the risks of marginalized communities such as Dalits and Adivasis of falling into or remaining in poverty were higher than those for more privileged groups. Some, but not all of these higher risks are explained by educational, financial, and social disadvantages of these groups in 2005. Results from a logistic regression show that some factors that help people escape poverty differ from those that push people into it and that the strength of their effects varies.

  9. Escaping and Falling into Poverty in India Today

    PubMed Central

    Thorat, Amit; Vanneman, Reeve; Desai, Sonalde; Dubey, Amaresh

    2017-01-01

    The study examines the dynamic nature of movements into and out of poverty over a period when poverty has fallen substantially in India. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. The analysis identifies people who escaped poverty and those who fell into it over the period 2005 to 2012. Using panel data from the India Human Development Survey for 2005 and 2012, we find that the risks of marginalized communities such as Dalits and Adivasis of falling into or remaining in poverty were higher than those for more privileged groups. Some, but not all of these higher risks are explained by educational, financial, and social disadvantages of these groups in 2005. Results from a logistic regression show that some factors that help people escape poverty differ from those that push people into it and that the strength of their effects varies. PMID:28966435

  10. Effects of a dragonfly (Anax i.) homeopathic remedy on learning, memory and cell morphology in mice.

    PubMed

    Mutlu, Oguz; Ulak, Guner; Kokturk, Sibel; Komsuoglu Celikyurt, Ipek; Tanyeri, Pelin; Akar, Furuzan; Erden, Faruk

    2016-02-01

    Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which uses highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms similar to those exhibited by patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dragonfly (Anax imperator, Anax i.) on learning and memory in naive mice using the Morris water maze (MWM) test; moreover, the effects of dragonfly on MK-801-induced cognitive dysfunction were evaluated. Male balb-c mice were treated with dragonfly (30C and 200C) or MK-801 (0.2 mg/kg) alone or concurrently (n = 10). Dragonfly (D) and MK-801 were administered subchronically for 6 days intraperitoneally 60 min and 30 min, respectively, before the daily performance of the MWM test. This study revealed that in the familiarization session and first session of the MWM test, Anax i. D30 significantly decreased escape latency compared to the control group, although MK-801, D30 and D200 significantly increased escape latency at the end of five acquisition sessions. Anax i. combined with dizocilpine maleate (MK-801) also significantly decreased escape latency in the familiarization session and first session of the MWM test, although this combination increased escape latency compared to the MK-801 alone group at the end of the test. Time spent in escape platform's quadrant in the probe trial significantly decreased while mean distance to platform significantly increased in MK-801, D30 and D200 groups. In the MWM test, Anax i. combined with MK-801 significantly decreased speed of the animals compared to the MK-801 alone group. General cell morphology was disturbed in the MK-801 group while D30 and D200 seemed to improve cell damage in the MK-801 group. These results suggest that the homeopathic Anax i. can impair learning acquisition and reference memory, and it has beneficial effects on disturbed cell morphology. Copyright © 2015 The Faculty of Homeopathy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The influence of Mars' magnetic topology on atmospheric escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curry, S.; Luhmann, J. G.; DiBraccio, G. A.; Dong, C.; Xu, S.; Mitchell, D.; Gruesbeck, J.; Espley, J. R.; Connerney, J. E. P.; McFadden, J. P.; Ma, Y. J.; Brain, D.

    2017-12-01

    At weakly magnetized planets such as Mars and Venus, the solar wind directly interacts with the upper atmosphere where ions can be picked up and swept away by the background convection electric field. These pick-up ions have a gyroradius on the planetary scale that is largely dominated by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). But at Mars, their trajectory is also influenced by the existence of remanent crustal magnetic fields, which are thought to create a shielding effect for escaping planetary ions when they are on the dayside. Consequently, the magnetic topology changes at Mars as magnetic reconnection occurs between the draped (IMF) and the crustal magnetic fields (closed). The resulting topology includes open field lines in the solar wind with one footprint attached to the planet. Using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and test particle simulations, we will explore the influence of the magnetic topology on ion escape. We will present escape rates for planetary ions for different crustal field positions during different IMF configurations, with +/-BY and +/-BZ components in the Mars Sun Orbit (MSO) coordinate system. We will also compare global maps of ion outflow and escape with open / closed magnetic field line maps and compare our results with ion fluxes and magnetic field data from the Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission. Our results relating the dynamic magnetic field topology at Mars and planetary ion escape are an important aspect of magnetospheric physics and planetary evolution, both of which have applications to our own solar system and the increasing number of exoplanets discovered every year.

  12. Ancient village fire escape path planning based on improved ant colony algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Wei; Cao, Kang; Hu, QianChuan

    2017-06-01

    The roadways are narrow and perplexing in ancient villages, it brings challenges and difficulties for people to choose route to escape when a fire occurs. In this paper, a fire escape path planning method based on ant colony algorithm is presented according to the problem. The factors in the fire environment which influence the escape speed is introduced to improve the heuristic function of the algorithm, optimal transfer strategy, and adjustment pheromone volatile factor to improve pheromone update strategy adaptively, improve its dynamic search ability and search speed. Through simulation, the dynamic adjustment of the optimal escape path is obtained, and the method is proved to be feasible.

  13. 20. DETAIL VIEW IN 18FOOT LOCK, ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ...

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

    20. DETAIL VIEW IN 18-FOOT LOCK, ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING DOOR INTO TANK AT RIGHT - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  14. Escape fraction of ionizing photons during reionization: Effects due to supernova feedback and runaway ob stars

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

    Kimm, Taysun; Cen, Renyue

    2014-06-20

    The fraction of hydrogen ionizing photons escaping from galaxies into the intergalactic medium is a critical ingredient in the theory of reionization. We use two zoomed-in, high-resolution (4 pc), cosmological radiation hydrodynamic simulations with adaptive mesh refinement to investigate the impact of two physical mechanisms (supernova, SN, feedback, and runaway OB stars) on the escape fraction (f {sub esc}) at the epoch of reionization (z ≥ 7). We implement a new, physically motivated SN feedback model that can approximate the Sedov solutions at all (from the free expansion to snowplow) stages. We find that there is a significant time delaymore » of about ten million years between the peak of star formation and that of escape fraction, due to the time required for the build-up and subsequent destruction of the star-forming cloud by SN feedback. Consequently, the photon number-weighted mean escape fraction for dwarf galaxies in halos of mass 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10.5} M {sub ☉} is found to be 〈f{sub esc}〉∼11%, although instantaneous values of f {sub esc} > 20% are common when star formation is strongly modulated by the SN explosions. We find that the inclusion of runaway OB stars increases the mean escape fraction by 22% to 〈f{sub esc}〉∼14%. As SNe resulting from runaway OB stars tend to occur in less dense environments, the feedback effect is enhanced and star formation is further suppressed in halos with M{sub vir}≳10{sup 9} M{sub ⊙} in the simulation with runaway OB stars compared with the model without them. While both our models produce enough ionizing photons to maintain a fully ionized universe at z ≤ 7 as observed, a still higher amount of ionizing photons at z ≥ 9 appears necessary to accommodate the high observed electron optical depth inferred from cosmic microwave background observations.« less

  15. Immune-escape mutations and stop-codons in HBsAg develop in a large proportion of patients with chronic HBV infection exposed to anti-HBV drugs in Europe.

    PubMed

    Colagrossi, Luna; Hermans, Lucas E; Salpini, Romina; Di Carlo, Domenico; Pas, Suzan D; Alvarez, Marta; Ben-Ari, Ziv; Boland, Greet; Bruzzone, Bianca; Coppola, Nicola; Seguin-Devaux, Carole; Dyda, Tomasz; Garcia, Federico; Kaiser, Rolf; Köse, Sukran; Krarup, Henrik; Lazarevic, Ivana; Lunar, Maja M; Maylin, Sarah; Micheli, Valeria; Mor, Orna; Paraschiv, Simona; Paraskevis, Dimitros; Poljak, Mario; Puchhammer-Stöckl, Elisabeth; Simon, François; Stanojevic, Maja; Stene-Johansen, Kathrine; Tihic, Nijaz; Trimoulet, Pascale; Verheyen, Jens; Vince, Adriana; Lepej, Snjezana Zidovec; Weis, Nina; Yalcinkaya, Tülay; Boucher, Charles A B; Wensing, Annemarie M J; Perno, Carlo F; Svicher, Valentina

    2018-06-01

    HBsAg immune-escape mutations can favor HBV-transmission also in vaccinated individuals, promote immunosuppression-driven HBV-reactivation, and increase fitness of drug-resistant strains. Stop-codons can enhance HBV oncogenic-properties. Furthermore, as a consequence of the overlapping structure of HBV genome, some immune-escape mutations or stop-codons in HBsAg can derive from drug-resistance mutations in RT. This study is aimed at gaining insight in prevalence and characteristics of immune-associated escape mutations, and stop-codons in HBsAg in chronically HBV-infected patients experiencing nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA) in Europe. This study analyzed 828 chronically HBV-infected European patients exposed to ≥ 1 NA, with detectable HBV-DNA and with an available HBsAg-sequence. The immune-associated escape mutations and the NA-induced immune-escape mutations sI195M, sI196S, and sE164D (resulting from drug-resistance mutation rtM204 V, rtM204I, and rtV173L) were retrieved from literature and examined. Mutations were defined as an aminoacid substitution with respect to a genotype A or D reference sequence. At least one immune-associated escape mutation was detected in 22.1% of patients with rising temporal-trend. By multivariable-analysis, genotype-D correlated with higher selection of ≥ 1 immune-associated escape mutation (OR[95%CI]:2.20[1.32-3.67], P = 0.002). In genotype-D, the presence of ≥ 1 immune-associated escape mutations was significantly higher in drug-exposed patients with drug-resistant strains than with wild-type virus (29.5% vs 20.3% P = 0.012). Result confirmed by analysing drug-naïve patients (29.5% vs 21.2%, P = 0.032). Strong correlation was observed between sP120T and rtM204I/V (P < 0.001), and their co-presence determined an increased HBV-DNA. At least one NA-induced immune-escape mutation occurred in 28.6% of patients, and their selection correlated with genotype-A (OR[95%CI]:2.03[1.32-3.10],P = 0.001). Finally

  16. Active avoidance: escape and dodging behaviors for reactive control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arkin, Ronald C.; Carter, William M.

    1992-03-01

    New methods for producing avoidance behavior among moving obstacles within the context of reactive robotic control are described. These specifically include escape and dodging behaviors. Dodging is concerned with the avoidance of a ballistic projectile while escape is more useful within the context of chase. The motivation and formulation of these new reactive behaviors are presented. Simulation results of a robot in a cluttered and moving world are also provided.

  17. 36. VIEW OF CUPOLA, SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ROVING ...

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

    36. VIEW OF CUPOLA, SUBMARINE ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, SHOWING ROVING RESCUE BELL SUSPENDED ABOVE TANK, WITH TWO-LOCK RECOMPRESSION CHAMBER AT REAR, LOOKING WEST. Photo taken after installation of recompression chamber in 1956. - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  18. Plasma Clouds and Snowplows: Bulk Plasma Escape from Mars Observed by MAVEN

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Halekas, J. S.; Brain, D. A.; Ruhunusiri, S.; McFadden, J. P.; Mitchell, D. L.; Mazelle, C.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Harada, Y.; Hara, T.; Espley, J. R.; hide

    2016-01-01

    We present initial Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) observations and preliminary interpretation of bulk plasma loss from Mars. MAVEN particle and field measurements show that planetary heavy ions derived from the Martian atmosphere can escape in the form of discrete coherent structures or "clouds." The ions in these clouds are unmagnetized or weakly magnetized, have velocities well above the escape speed, and lie directly downstream from magnetic field amplifications, suggesting a "snowplow" effect. This postulated escape process, similar to that successfully used to explain the dynamics of active gas releases in the solar wind and terrestrial magnetosheath, relies on momentum transfer from the shocked solar wind protons to the planetary heavy ions, with the electrons and magnetic field acting as intermediaries. Fluxes of planetary ions on the order of 10(exp 7)/sq cm/s can escape by this process, and if it operates regularly, it could contribute 10-20% of the current ion escape from Mars.

  19. Removal of Micrometer Size Morphological Defects and Enhancement of Ultraviolet Emission by Thermal Treatment of Ga-Doped ZnO Nanostructures

    PubMed Central

    Manzoor, Umair; Kim, Do K.; Islam, Mohammad; Bhatti, Arshad S.

    2014-01-01

    Mixed morphologies of Ga-doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are synthesized by vapor transport method. Systematic scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies of different morphologies, after periodic heat treatments, gives direct evidence of sublimation. SEM micrographs give direct evidence that morphological defects of nanostructures can be removed by annealing. Ultra Violet (UV) and visible emission depends strongly on the annealing temperatures and luminescent efficiency of UV emission is enhanced significantly with each subsequent heat treatment. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) results suggest that crystal quality improved by annealing and phase separation may occur at high temperatures. PMID:24489725

  20. Behavioral regulation of gravity: schedule effects under escape-avoidance procedures1

    PubMed Central

    Clark, Fogle C.; Lange, Karl O.; Belleville, Richard E.

    1973-01-01

    Squirrel monkeys were restrained in a centrifuge capsule and trained to escape and avoid increases in artificial gravity. During escape-avoidance, lever responses reduced centrifugally simulated gravity or postponed scheduled increases. The effect of variation in the interval of postponement (equal to the duration of decrease produced by escape responses) was studied under a multiple schedule of four components. Three components were gravity escape-avoidance with postponement times of 20, 40, and 60 sec. The fourth component was extinction. Each component was associated with a different auditory stimulus. Rate of responding decreased with increasing postponement time and higher mean g-levels occurred at shorter intervals of postponement. Effects of the schedule parameter on response rate and mean g-level were similar to effects of the schedule on free-operant avoidance and on titration behavior maintained by shock. ImagesFig. 1. PMID:4202386

  1. The mechanism of lauric acid-modified protein nanocapsules escape from intercellular trafficking vesicles and its implication for drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Lijuan; Liang, Xin; Liu, Gan; Zhou, Yun; Ye, Xinyu; Chen, Xiuli; Miao, Qianwei; Gao, Li; Zhang, Xudong; Mei, Lin

    2018-11-01

    Protein nanocapsules have exhibited promising potential applications in the field of protein drug delivery. A major issue with various promising nano-sized biotherapeutics including protein nanocapsules is that owing to their particle size they are subject to cellular uptake via endocytosis, and become entrapped and then degraded within endolysosomes, which can significantly impair their therapeutic efficacy. In addition, many nano-sized biotherapeutics could be also sequestered by autophagosomes and degraded through the autolysosomal pathway. Thus, a limiting step in achieving an effective protein therapy is to facilitate the endosomal escape and auto-lysosomal escape to ensure cytosolic delivery of the protein drugs. Here, we prepared a protein nanocapsule based on BSA (nBSA) and the BSA nanocapsules modified with a bilayer of lauric acid (LA-nBSA) to investigate the escape effects from the endosome and autophagosome. The size distribution of nBSA and LA-nBSA analyzed using DLS presents a uniform diameter centered at 10 nm and 16 nm. The data also showed that FITC-labeled nBSA and LA-nBSA were taken up by the cells mainly through Arf-6-dependent endocytosis and Rab34-mediated macropinocytosis. In addition, LA-nBSA could efficiently escape from endosomal before the degradation in endo-lysosomes. Autophagy could also sequester the LA-nBSA through p62 autophagosome vesicles. These two types of nanocapsules underwent different intracellular destinies and lauric acid (LA) coating played a vital role in intracellular particle retention. In conclusion, the protein nanocapsules modified with LA could enhance the protein nanocapsules escape from intercellular trafficking vesicles, and protect the protein from degradation by the lysosomes.

  2. Recording Field Potentials From Zebrafish Larvae During Escape Responses

    PubMed Central

    Monesson-Olson, Bryan D.; Troconis, Eileen L.; Trapani, Josef G.

    2014-01-01

    Among vertebrates, startle responses are a ubiquitous method for alerting, and avoiding or escaping from alarming or dangerous stimuli. In zebrafish larvae, fast escape behavior is easily evoked through either acoustic or tactile stimuli. For example, a light touch to the head will excite trigeminal neurons that in turn excite a large reticulospinal neuron in the hindbrain called the Mauthner cell (M-cell). The M-cell action potential then travels down the contralateral trunk of the larva exciting motoneurons, which subsequently excite the entire axial musculature, producing a large amplitude body bend away from the source of the stimulus. This body conformation is known as the “C-bend” due to the shape of the larva during the behavior. As a result of the semi-synchronized activation of the M-cell, the population of motor neurons, and the axial trunk muscles, a large field potential is generated and can be recorded from free-swimming or fixed-position larvae. Undergraduate laboratories that record field potentials during escape responses in larval zebrafish are relatively simple to setup and allow students to observe and study the escape reflex circuit. Furthermore, by testing hypotheses, analyzing data and writing journal-style laboratory reports, students have multiple opportunities to learn about many neuroscience topics including vertebrate reflexes; sensory transduction; synaptic-, neuro-, and muscle-physiology; the M-cell mediated escape response; and the zebrafish as a model organism. Here, we detail the equipment, software, and recording setup necessary to observe field potentials in an undergraduate teaching lab. Additionally, we discuss potential advanced laboratory exercises and pedagogical outcomes. Finally, we note possible low-cost alternatives for recording field potentials. PMID:25565920

  3. 8. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING NORTHEAST FROM 50FOOT ...

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

    8. VIEW OF ESCAPE TRAINING TANK, LOOKING NORTHEAST FROM 50-FOOT PASSAGEWAY, SHOWING PORTION OF SPIRAL STAIR AND REPRESENTATIVE FLOOD LIGHT BLISTER - U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London Submarine Escape Training Tank, Albacore & Darter Roads, Groton, New London County, CT

  4. Escape Excel: A tool for preventing gene symbol and accession conversion errors.

    PubMed

    Welsh, Eric A; Stewart, Paul A; Kuenzi, Brent M; Eschrich, James A

    2017-01-01

    Microsoft Excel automatically converts certain gene symbols, database accessions, and other alphanumeric text into dates, scientific notation, and other numerical representations. These conversions lead to subsequent, irreversible, corruption of the imported text. A recent survey of popular genomic literature estimates that one-fifth of all papers with supplementary gene lists suffer from this issue. Here, we present an open-source tool, Escape Excel, which prevents these erroneous conversions by generating an escaped text file that can be safely imported into Excel. Escape Excel is implemented in a variety of formats (http://www.github.com/pstew/escape_excel), including a command line based Perl script, a Windows-only Excel Add-In, an OS X drag-and-drop application, a simple web-server, and as a Galaxy web environment interface. Test server implementations are accessible as a Galaxy interface (http://apostl.moffitt.org) and simple non-Galaxy web server (http://apostl.moffitt.org:8000/). Escape Excel detects and escapes a wide variety of problematic text strings so that they are not erroneously converted into other representations upon importation into Excel. Examples of problematic strings include date-like strings, time-like strings, leading zeroes in front of numbers, and long numeric and alphanumeric identifiers that should not be automatically converted into scientific notation. It is hoped that greater awareness of these potential data corruption issues, together with diligent escaping of text files prior to importation into Excel, will help to reduce the amount of Excel-corrupted data in scientific analyses and publications.

  5. Escape Excel: A tool for preventing gene symbol and accession conversion errors

    PubMed Central

    Stewart, Paul A.; Kuenzi, Brent M.; Eschrich, James A.

    2017-01-01

    Background Microsoft Excel automatically converts certain gene symbols, database accessions, and other alphanumeric text into dates, scientific notation, and other numerical representations. These conversions lead to subsequent, irreversible, corruption of the imported text. A recent survey of popular genomic literature estimates that one-fifth of all papers with supplementary gene lists suffer from this issue. Results Here, we present an open-source tool, Escape Excel, which prevents these erroneous conversions by generating an escaped text file that can be safely imported into Excel. Escape Excel is implemented in a variety of formats (http://www.github.com/pstew/escape_excel), including a command line based Perl script, a Windows-only Excel Add-In, an OS X drag-and-drop application, a simple web-server, and as a Galaxy web environment interface. Test server implementations are accessible as a Galaxy interface (http://apostl.moffitt.org) and simple non-Galaxy web server (http://apostl.moffitt.org:8000/). Conclusions Escape Excel detects and escapes a wide variety of problematic text strings so that they are not erroneously converted into other representations upon importation into Excel. Examples of problematic strings include date-like strings, time-like strings, leading zeroes in front of numbers, and long numeric and alphanumeric identifiers that should not be automatically converted into scientific notation. It is hoped that greater awareness of these potential data corruption issues, together with diligent escaping of text files prior to importation into Excel, will help to reduce the amount of Excel-corrupted data in scientific analyses and publications. PMID:28953918

  6. Photoelectron escape fluxes over the equatorial and midlatitude regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Narasingarao, B. C.; Singh, R. N.; Maier, E. J.

    1972-01-01

    Satellite measurements of photoelectron escape flux around noontime made by Explorer 31 in 600-800 km altitude range are reported for the equatorial and midlatitude regions. The pitch angle distributions and the spectral distributions are derived from the data. Analyzed data show that the flux for equatorial regions is lower by a factor 2 to 3 in comparison to that of midlatitude regions. Theoretical calculations are also made to compare with observed escape fluxes.

  7. Lise Meitner's escape from Germany

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sime, Ruth Lewin

    1990-03-01

    Lise Meitner (1878-1968) achieved prominence as a nuclear physicist in Germany; although of Jewish origin, her Austrian citizenship exempted her from Nazi racial laws until the annexation of Austria in 1938 precipitated her dismissal. Forbidden to emigrate, she narrowly escaped to the Netherlands with the help of concerned friends in the international physics community.

  8. Scrunching: a novel escape gait in planarians

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cochet-Escartin, Olivier; Mickolajczyk, Keith J.; Collins, Eva-Maria S.

    2015-10-01

    The ability to escape a predator or other life-threatening situations is central to animal survival. Different species have evolved unique strategies under anatomical and environmental constraints. In this study, we describe a novel musculature-driven escape gait in planarians, ‘scrunching’, which is quantitatively different from other planarian gaits, such as gliding and peristalsis. We show that scrunching is a conserved gait among different flatworm species, underlying its importance as an escape mechanism. We further demonstrate that it can be induced by a variety of physical stimuli, including amputation, high temperature, electric shock and low pH. We discuss the functional basis for scrunching as the preferential gait when gliding is impaired due to a disruption of mucus production. Finally, we show that the key mechanical features of scrunching are adequately captured by a simple biomechanical model that is solely based on experimental data from traction force microscopy and tissue rheology without fit parameters. Together, our results form a complete description of this novel form of planarian locomotion. Because scrunching has distinct dynamics, this gait can serve as a robust behavioral readout for studies of motor neuron and muscular functions in planarians and in particular the restoration of these functions during regeneration.

  9. Escape problem under stochastic volatility: The Heston model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masoliver, Jaume; Perelló, Josep

    2008-11-01

    We solve the escape problem for the Heston random diffusion model from a finite interval of span L . We obtain exact expressions for the survival probability (which amounts to solving the complete escape problem) as well as for the mean exit time. We also average the volatility in order to work out the problem for the return alone regardless of volatility. We consider these results in terms of the dimensionless normal level of volatility—a ratio of the three parameters that appear in the Heston model—and analyze their form in several asymptotic limits. Thus, for instance, we show that the mean exit time grows quadratically with large spans while for small spans the growth is systematically slower, depending on the value of the normal level. We compare our results with those of the Wiener process and show that the assumption of stochastic volatility, in an apparently paradoxical way, increases survival and prolongs the escape time. We finally observe that the model is able to describe the main exit-time statistics of the Dow-Jones daily index.

  10. Animal escapology I: theoretical issues and emerging trends in escape trajectories

    PubMed Central

    Domenici, Paolo; Blagburn, Jonathan M.; Bacon, Jonathan P.

    2011-01-01

    Summary Escape responses are used by many animal species as their main defence against predator attacks. Escape success is determined by a number of variables; important are the directionality (the percentage of responses directed away from the threat) and the escape trajectories (ETs) measured relative to the threat. Although logic would suggest that animals should always turn away from a predator, work on various species shows that these away responses occur only approximately 50–90% of the time. A small proportion of towards responses may introduce some unpredictability and may be an adaptive feature of the escape system. Similar issues apply to ETs. Theoretically, an optimal ET can be modelled on the geometry of predator–prey encounters. However, unpredictability (and hence high variability) in trajectories may be necessary for preventing predators from learning a simple escape pattern. This review discusses the emerging trends in escape trajectories, as well as the modulating key factors, such as the surroundings and body design. The main ET patterns identified are: (1) high ET variability within a limited angular sector (mainly 90–180 deg away from the threat; this variability is in some cases based on multiple peaks of ETs), (2) ETs that allow sensory tracking of the threat and (3) ETs towards a shelter. These characteristic features are observed across various taxa and, therefore, their expression may be mainly related to taxon-independent animal design features and to the environmental context in which prey live – for example whether the immediate surroundings of the prey provide potential refuges. PMID:21753039

  11. Hot oxygen escape from Mars: Simple scaling with solar EUV irradiance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cravens, T. E.; Rahmati, A.; Fox, Jane L.; Lillis, R.; Bougher, S.; Luhmann, J.; Sakai, S.; Deighan, J.; Lee, Yuni; Combi, M.; Jakosky, B.

    2017-01-01

    The evolution of the atmosphere of Mars and the loss of volatiles over the lifetime of the solar system is a key topic in planetary science. An important loss process for atomic species, such as oxygen, is ionospheric photochemical escape. Dissociative recombination of O2+ ions (the major ion species) produces fast oxygen atoms, some of which can escape from the planet. Many theoretical hot O models have been constructed over the years, although a number of uncertainties are present in these models, particularly concerning the elastic cross sections of O atoms with CO2. Recently, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission has been rapidly improving our understanding of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars and its interaction with the external environment (e.g., solar wind), allowing a new assessment of this important loss process. The purpose of the current paper is to take a simple analytical approach to the oxygen escape problem in order to (1) study the role that variations in solar radiation or solar wind fluxes could have on escape in a transparent fashion and (2) isolate the effects of uncertainties in oxygen cross sections on the derived oxygen escape rates. In agreement with several more elaborate numerical models, we find that the escape flux is directly proportional to the incident solar extreme ultraviolet irradiance and is inversely proportional to the backscatter elastic cross section. The amount of O lost due to ion transport in the topside ionosphere is found to be about 5-10% of the total.

  12. Generalized Jeans' Escape of Pick-Up Ions in Quasi-Linear Relaxation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, T. E.; Khazanov, G. V.

    2011-01-01

    Jeans escape is a well-validated formulation of upper atmospheric escape that we have generalized to estimate plasma escape from ionospheres. It involves the computation of the parts of particle velocity space that are unbound by the gravitational potential at the exobase, followed by a calculation of the flux carried by such unbound particles as they escape from the potential well. To generalize this approach for ions, we superposed an electrostatic ambipolar potential and a centrifugal potential, for motions across and along a divergent magnetic field. We then considered how the presence of superthermal electrons, produced by precipitating auroral primary electrons, controls the ambipolar potential. We also showed that the centrifugal potential plays a small role in controlling the mass escape flux from the terrestrial ionosphere. We then applied the transverse ion velocity distribution produced when ions, picked up by supersonic (i.e., auroral) ionospheric convection, relax via quasi-linear diffusion, as estimated for cometary comas [1]. The results provide a theoretical basis for observed ion escape response to electromagnetic and kinetic energy sources. They also suggest that super-sonic but sub-Alfvenic flow, with ion pick-up, is a unique and important regime of ion-neutral coupling, in which plasma wave-particle interactions are driven by ion-neutral collisions at densities for which the collision frequency falls near or below the gyro-frequency. As another possible illustration of this process, the heliopause ribbon discovered by the IBEX mission involves interactions between the solar wind ions and the interstellar neutral gas, in a regime that may be analogous [2].

  13. Extinction Correction Significantly Influences the Estimate of the Lyα Escape Fraction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    An, Fang Xia; Zheng, Xian Zhong; Hao, Cai-Na; Huang, Jia-Sheng; Xia, Xiao-Yang

    2017-02-01

    The Lyα escape fraction is a key measure to constrain the neutral state of the intergalactic medium and then to understand how the universe was fully reionized. We combine deep narrowband imaging data from the custom-made filter NB393 and the {{{H}}}2S1 filter centered at 2.14 μm to examine the Lyα emitters and Hα emitters at the same redshift z = 2.24. The combination of these two populations allows us to determine the Lyα escape fraction at z = 2.24. Over an area of 383 arcmin2 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (ECDFS), 124 Lyα emitters are detected down to NB393 = 26.4 mag at the 5σ level, and 56 Hα emitters come from An et al. Of these, four have both Lyα and Hα emissions (LAHAEs). We also collect the Lyα emitters and Hα emitters at z = 2.24 in the COSMOS field from the literature, and increase the number of LAHAEs to 15 in total. About one-third of them are AGNs. We measure the individual/volumetric Lyα escape fraction by comparing the observed Lyα luminosity/luminosity density to the extinction-corrected Hα luminosity/luminosity density. We revisit the extinction correction for Hα emitters using the Galactic extinction law with color excess for nebular emission. We also adopt the Calzetti extinction law together with an identical color excess for stellar and nebular regions to explore how the uncertainties in extinction correction affect the estimate of individual and global Lyα escape fractions. In both cases, an anti-correlation between the Lyα escape fraction and dust attenuation is found among the LAHAEs, suggesting that dust absorption is responsible for the suppression of the escaping Lyα photons. However, the estimated Lyα escape fraction of individual LAHAEs varies by up to ˜3 percentage points between the two methods of extinction correction. We find the global Lyα escape fraction at z = 2.24 to be (3.7 ± 1.4)% in the ECDFS. The variation in the color excess of the extinction causes a discrepancy of ˜1 percentage point

  14. Cold Ion Escape from the Martian Ionosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fraenz, M.; Dubinin, E.; Wei, Y.; Woch, J. G.; Morgan, D. D.; Barabash, S. V.; Lundin, R. N.; Fedorov, A.

    2012-12-01

    It has always been challenging to observe the flux of ions with energies of less than 10eV escaping from the planetary ionospheres. We here report on new measurements of the ionospheric ion flows at Mars by the ASPERA-3 experiment on board Mars Express. We first use support from the MARSIS radar experiment for some orbits with fortunate observation geometry. Here we have observed a transterminator flow of O+ and O2+ ions with a super-sonic velocity of around 5km/s and fluxes of 0.8x10^9/cm^2s. If we assume a symmetric flux around the terminator this corresponds to an ion flow of 3.1x10^25/s half of which is expected to escape from Mars (Fraenz et al, 2010). This escape flux is significantly higher than previously observed on the tailside of Mars, we discuss possible reasons for the difference. Since 2008 the MARSIS radar does nightside local plasma density measurement which often coincide with ASPERA-3 measurements. In a new analysis of the combined nightside datasets (Fig. 1) we show that the main escape channel is along the shadow boundary on the tailside of Mars. At a distance of about 0.5 R_M the flux settles at a constant value (Fig. 2) which indicates that about half of the transterminator ionospheric flow escapes from the planet. Possible mechanism to generate this flux can be the ionospheric pressure gradient between dayside and nightside or momentum transfer from the solar wind via the induced magnetic field since the flow velocity is in the Alfvenic regime.; Median oxygen ion flux reconstructed by combining ion velocity observations of the Mars Express ASPERA-3 IMA sensor and local plasma density observations by the MARSIS radar. Each bin value is the median from observations on about 3000 orbits between May 2007 and July 2011. Horizontal axis is MSO X-axis (Sun towards the left), vertical axis is vertical distance from MSO X-axis. ; Ring median flux of cylindrical ring regions of all bins shown in previous figure. The different colors show median fluxes

  15. Silver iodide microstructures of a uniform towerlike shape: morphology purification via a chemical dissolution, simultaneously boosted catalytic durability, and enhanced catalytic performances.

    PubMed

    Lei, Bin; Zhu, Mingshan; Chen, Penglei; Chen, Chuncheng; Ma, Wanhong; Li, Tiesheng; Liu, Minghua

    2014-03-26

    The fabrication of microstructures/nanostructures of a uniform yet well-defined morphology has attracted broad interest from a variety of fields of advanced functional materials, especially catalysts. Most of the conventional methods generally suffer from harsh synthesis conditions, requirement of bulky apparatus, or incapability of scalable production, etc. To meet these formidable challenges, it is strongly desired to develop a facile, cost-effective, scalable method to fulfill a morphology purification. By a precipitation reaction between AgNO3 and KI, we report that irregular AgI structures, or their mixture with towerlike AgI architectures could be fabricated. Compared to the former, the mixed structures exhibit enhanced catalytic reactivity toward the photodegradation of Methyl Orange pollutant. However, its catalytic durability, which is one of the most crucial criteria that are required by superior catalysts, is poor. We further show that the irregular structures could be facilely removed from the mixture via a KI-assisted chemical dissolution, producing AgI of a uniform towerlike morphology. Excitingly, after such simple morphology purification, our towerlike AgI displays not only a boosted catalytic durability but also an enhanced catalytic reactivity. Our chemical dissolution-based morphology purification protocol might be extended to other systems, wherein high-quality advanced functional materials of desired properties might be developed.

  16. Chemical and morphological characterization of sugarcane bagasse submitted to a delignification process for enhanced enzymatic digestibility

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background In recent years, biorefining of lignocellulosic biomass to produce multi-products such as ethanol and other biomaterials has become a dynamic research area. Pretreatment technologies that fractionate sugarcane bagasse are essential for the successful use of this feedstock in ethanol production. In this paper, we investigate modifications in the morphology and chemical composition of sugarcane bagasse submitted to a two-step treatment, using diluted acid followed by a delignification process with increasing sodium hydroxide concentrations. Detailed chemical and morphological characterization of the samples after each pretreatment condition, studied by high performance liquid chromatography, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, diffuse reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, is reported, together with sample crystallinity and enzymatic digestibility. Results Chemical composition analysis performed on samples obtained after different pretreatment conditions showed that up to 96% and 85% of hemicellulose and lignin fractions, respectively, were removed by this two-step method when sodium hydroxide concentrations of 1% (m/v) or higher were used. The efficient lignin removal resulted in an enhanced hydrolysis yield reaching values around 100%. Considering the cellulose loss due to the pretreatment (maximum of 30%, depending on the process), the total cellulose conversion increases significantly from 22.0% (value for the untreated bagasse) to 72.4%. The delignification process, with consequent increase in the cellulose to lignin ratio, is also clearly observed by nuclear magnetic resonance and diffuse reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy experiments. We also demonstrated that the morphological changes contributing to this remarkable improvement occur as a consequence of lignin removal from the sample. Bagasse unstructuring is favored by the loss of cohesion between neighboring cell walls, as

  17. On ion escape from Venus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jarvinen, R.

    2011-04-01

    This doctoral thesis is about the solar wind influence on the atmosphere of the planet Venus. A numerical plasma simulation model was developed for the interaction between Venus and the solar wind to study the erosion of charged particles from the Venus upper atmosphere. The developed model is a hybrid simulation where ions are treated as particles and electrons are modelled as a fluid. The simulation was used to study the solar wind induced ion escape from Venus as observed by the European Space Agency's Venus Express and NASA's Pioneer Venus Orbiter spacecraft. Especially, observations made by the ASPERA-4 particle instrument onboard Venus Express were studied. The thesis consists of an introductory part and four peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals. In the introduction Venus is presented as one of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System and the main findings of the work are discussed within the wider context of planetary physics.Venus is the closest neighbouring planet to the Earth and the most earthlike planet in its size and mass orbiting the Sun. Whereas the atmosphere of the Earth consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen, Venus has a hot carbon dioxide atmosphere, which is dominated by the greenhouse effect. Venus has all of its water in the atmosphere, which is only a fraction of the Earth's total water supply. Since planets developed presumably in similar conditions in the young Solar System, why Venus and Earth became so different in many respects?One important feature of Venus is that the planet does not have an intrinsic magnetic field. This makes it possible for the solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles from the Sun, to flow close to Venus and to pick up ions from the planet's upper atmosphere. The strong intrinsic magnetic field of the Earth dominates the terrestrial magnetosphere and deflects the solar wind flow far away from the atmosphere. The region around Venus where the planet's atmosphere interacts with the

  18. On ion escape from Venus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jarvinen, Riku

    2011-04-01

    This doctoral thesis is about the solar wind influence on the atmosphere of the planet Venus. A numerical plasma simulation model was developed for the interaction between Venus and the solar wind to study the erosion of charged particles from the Venus upper atmosphere. The developed model is a hybrid simulation where ions are treated as particles and electrons are modelled as a fluid. The simulation was used to study the solar wind induced ion escape from Venus as observed by the European Space Agency's Venus Express and NASA's Pioneer Venus Orbiter spacecraft. Especially, observations made by the ASPERA-4 particle instrument onboard Venus Express were studied. The thesis consists of an introductory part and four peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals. In the introduction Venus is presented as one of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System and the main findings of the work are discussed within the wider context of planetary physics. Venus is the closest neighbouring planet to the Earth and the most earthlike planet in its size and mass orbiting the Sun. Whereas the atmosphere of the Earth consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen, Venus has a hot carbon dioxide atmosphere, which is dominated by the greenhouse effect. Venus has all of its water in the atmosphere, which is only a fraction of the Earth's total water supply. Since planets developed presumably in similar conditions in the young Solar System, why Venus and Earth became so different in many respects? One important feature of Venus is that the planet does not have an intrinsic magnetic field. This makes it possible for the solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles from the Sun, to flow close to Venus and to pick up ions from the planet's upper atmosphere. The strong intrinsic magnetic field of the Earth dominates the terrestrial magnetosphere and deflects the solar wind flow far away from the atmosphere. The region around Venus where the planet's atmosphere interacts with the

  19. Strong plume fluxes at Mars observed by MAVEN: An important planetary ion escape channel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Y.; Fang, X.; Brain, D. A.; McFadden, J. P.; Halekas, J. S.; Connerney, J. E.; Curry, S. M.; Harada, Y.; Luhmann, J. G.; Jakosky, B. M.

    2015-11-01

    We present observations by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission of a substantial plume-like distribution of escaping ions from the Martian atmosphere, organized by the upstream solar wind convection electric field. From a case study of MAVEN particle-and-field data during one spacecraft orbit, we identified three escaping planetary ion populations: plume fluxes mainly along the upstream electric field over the north pole region of the Mars-Sun-Electric field (MSE) coordinate system, antisunward ion fluxes in the tail region, and much weaker upstream pickup ion fluxes. A statistical study of O+ fluxes using 3 month MAVEN data shows that the plume is a constant structure with strong fluxes widely distributed in the MSE northern hemisphere, which constitutes an important planetary ion escape channel. The escape rate through the plume is estimated to be ~30% of the tailward escape and ~23% of the total escape for > 25 eV O+ ions.

  20. Speed kills: ineffective avian escape responses to oncoming vehicles

    PubMed Central

    DeVault, Travis L.; Blackwell, Bradley F.; Seamans, Thomas W.; Lima, Steven L.; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban

    2015-01-01

    Animal–vehicle collisions cause high levels of vertebrate mortality worldwide, and what goes wrong when animals fail to escape and ultimately collide with vehicles is not well understood. We investigated alert and escape behaviours of captive brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in response to virtual vehicle approaches of different sizes and at speeds ranging from 60 to 360 km h−1. Alert and flight initiation distances remained similar across vehicle speeds, and accordingly, alert and flight initiation times decreased at higher vehicle speeds. Thus, avoidance behaviours in cowbirds appeared to be based on distance rather than time available for escape, particularly at 60–150 km h−1; however, at higher speeds (more than or equal to 180 km h−1) no trend in response behaviour was discernible. As vehicle speed increased, cowbirds did not have enough time to assess the approaching vehicle, and cowbirds generally did not initiate flight with enough time to avoid collision when vehicle speed exceeded 120 km h−1. Although potentially effective for evading predators, the decision-making process used by cowbirds in our study appears maladaptive in the context of avoiding fast-moving vehicles. Our methodological approach and findings provide a framework to assess how novel management strategies could affect escape rules, and the sensory and cognitive abilities animals use to avoid vehicle collisions. PMID:25567648

  1. Norovirus Escape from Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Is Limited to Allostery-Like Mechanisms

    PubMed Central

    Kolawole, Abimbola O.; Smith, Hong Q.; Svoboda, Sophia A.; Lewis, Madeline S.; Sherman, Michael B.; Lynch, Gillian C.; Pettitt, B. Montgomery

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Ideal antiviral vaccines elicit antibodies (Abs) with broad strain recognition that bind to regions that are difficult to mutate for escape. Using 10 murine norovirus (MNV) strains and 5 human norovirus (HuNoV) virus-like particles (VLPs), we identified monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2D3, which broadly neutralized all MNV strains tested. Importantly, escape mutants corresponding to this antibody were very slow to develop and were distal to those raised against our previously studied antibody, A6.2. To understand the atomic details of 2D3 neutralization, we determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the 2D3/MNV1 complex. Interestingly, 2D3 binds to the top of the P domain, very close to where A6.2 binds, but the only escape mutations identified to date fall well outside the contact regions of both 2D3 and A6.2. To determine how mutations in distal residues could block antibody binding, we used molecular dynamics flexible fitting simulations of the atomic structures placed into the density map to examine the 2D3/MNV1 complex and these mutations. Our findings suggest that the escape mutant, V339I, may stabilize a salt bridge network at the P-domain dimer interface that, in an allostery-like manner, affects the conformational relaxation of the P domain and the efficiency of binding. They further highlight the unusual antigenic surface bound by MAb 2D3, one which elicits cross-reactive antibodies but which the virus is unable to alter to escape neutralization. These results may be leveraged to generate norovirus (NoV) vaccines containing broadly neutralizing antibodies. IMPORTANCE The simplest and most common way for viruses to escape antibody neutralization is by mutating residues that are essential for antibody binding. Escape mutations are strongly selected for by their effect on viral fitness, which is most often related to issues of protein folding, particle assembly, and capsid function. The studies presented here demonstrated that a

  2. A comparison of positive and negative reinforcement for compliance to treat problem behavior maintained by escape.

    PubMed

    Slocum, Sarah K; Vollmer, Timothy R

    2015-09-01

    Previous research has shown that problem behavior maintained by escape can be treated using positive reinforcement. In the current study, we directly compared functional (escape) and nonfunctional (edible) reinforcers in the treatment of escape-maintained problem behavior for 5 subjects. In the first treatment, compliance produced a break from instructions. In the second treatment, compliance produced a small edible item. Neither treatment included escape extinction. Results suggested that the delivery of a positive reinforcer for compliance was effective for treating escape-maintained problem behavior for all 5 subjects, and the delivery of escape for compliance was ineffective for 3 of the 5 subjects. Implications and future directions related to the use of positive reinforcers in the treatment of escape behavior are discussed. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  3. Hepatitis A Virus Vaccine Escape Variants and Potential New Serotype Emergence

    PubMed Central

    Pérez-Sautu, Unai; Costafreda, M. Isabel; Caylà, Joan; Tortajada, Cecilia; Lite, Josep; Bosch, Albert

    2011-01-01

    Six hepatitis A virus antigenic variants that likely escaped the protective effect of available vaccines were isolated, mostly from men who have sex with men. The need to complete the proper vaccination schedules is critical, particularly in the immunocompromised population, to prevent the emergence of vaccine-escaping variants.

  4. Activation of the PD-1 pathway contributes to immune escape in EGFR-driven lung tumors

    PubMed Central

    Akbay, Esra A; Koyama, Shohei; Carretero, Julian; Altabef, Abigail; Tchaicha, Jeremy H; Christensen, Camilla L; Mikse, Oliver R; Cherniack, Andrew D; Beauchamp, Ellen M; Pugh, Trevor J; Wilkerson, Matthew D; Fecci, Peter E; Butaney, Mohit; Reibel, Jacob B; Soucheray, Margaret; Cohoon, Travis J; Janne, Pasi A; Meyerson, Matthew; Hayes, D. Neil; Shapiro, Geoffrey I; Shimamura, Takeshi; Sholl, Lynette M; Rodig, Scott J; Freeman, Gordon J; Hammerman, Peter S; Dranoff, Glenn; Wong, Kwok-Kin

    2013-01-01

    The success in lung cancer therapy with Programmed Death (PD)-1 blockade suggests that immune escape mechanisms contribute to lung tumor pathogenesis. We identified a correlation between Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) pathway activation and a signature of immunosuppression manifested by upregulation of PD-1, PD-L1, cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), and multiple tumor-promoting inflammatory cytokines. We observed decreased cytotoxic T cells and increased markers of T cell exhaustion in mouse models of EGFR-driven lung cancer. PD-1 antibody blockade improved the survival of mice with EGFR-driven adenocarcinomas by enhancing effector T cell function and lowering the levels of tumor-promoting cytokines. Expression of mutant EGFR in bronchial epithelial cells induced PD-L1, and PD-L1 expression was reduced by EGFR inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer cell lines with activated EGFR. These data suggest that oncogenic EGFR signaling remodels the tumor microenvironment to trigger immune escape, and mechanistically link treatment response to PD-1 inhibition. PMID:24078774

  5. A Nuclease from Streptococcus mutans Facilitates Biofilm Dispersal and Escape from Killing by Neutrophil Extracellular Traps

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Jia; Sun, Luping; Liu, Wei; Guo, Lihong; Liu, Zhaohui; Wei, Xi; Ling, Junqi

    2017-01-01

    Streptococcus mutans is the primary etiologic agent of dental caries and occasionally infective endocarditis, with the ability to form biofilms and disperse cells into distal sites to exacerbate and spread infection. In this study, we identified a nuclease (DeoC) as a S. mutans biofilm dispersal modulating factor through microarray analysis. In vitro assays revealed a dispersal defect of a deoC deletion mutant, and functional studies with purified protein were indicative of the biofilm dispersal activity of DeoC. Neutrophils are a key host response factor restraining bacterial spreading through the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which consist of a nuclear DNA backbone associated with antimicrobial peptides. Therefore, we hypothesized that the dispersed S. mutans might utilize DeoC to degrade NETs and escape killing by the immune system. It was found that S. mutans induced NET formation upon contact with neutrophils, while the presence of NETs in turn enhanced the deoC expression of S. mutans. Fluorescence microscopy inspection showed that deoC deletion resulted in a decreased NET degradation ability of S. mutans and enhanced susceptibility to neutrophil killing. Data obtained from this study assigned two important roles for DeoC in S. mutans: contributing to the spread of infection through mediating biofilm dispersal, and facilitating the escape of S. mutans from neutrophil killing through NET degradation. PMID:28401067

  6. A Nuclease from Streptococcus mutans Facilitates Biofilm Dispersal and Escape from Killing by Neutrophil Extracellular Traps.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jia; Sun, Luping; Liu, Wei; Guo, Lihong; Liu, Zhaohui; Wei, Xi; Ling, Junqi

    2017-01-01

    Streptococcus mutans is the primary etiologic agent of dental caries and occasionally infective endocarditis, with the ability to form biofilms and disperse cells into distal sites to exacerbate and spread infection. In this study, we identified a nuclease (DeoC) as a S. mutans biofilm dispersal modulating factor through microarray analysis. In vitro assays revealed a dispersal defect of a deoC deletion mutant, and functional studies with purified protein were indicative of the biofilm dispersal activity of DeoC. Neutrophils are a key host response factor restraining bacterial spreading through the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which consist of a nuclear DNA backbone associated with antimicrobial peptides. Therefore, we hypothesized that the dispersed S. mutans might utilize DeoC to degrade NETs and escape killing by the immune system. It was found that S. mutans induced NET formation upon contact with neutrophils, while the presence of NETs in turn enhanced the deoC expression of S. mutans . Fluorescence microscopy inspection showed that deoC deletion resulted in a decreased NET degradation ability of S. mutans and enhanced susceptibility to neutrophil killing. Data obtained from this study assigned two important roles for DeoC in S. mutans : contributing to the spread of infection through mediating biofilm dispersal, and facilitating the escape of S. mutans from neutrophil killing through NET degradation.

  7. Linking vertebral number to performance of aquatic escape responses in the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum).

    PubMed

    Ackerly, Kerri L; Ward, Andrea B

    2015-12-01

    Environmental conditions during early development in ectothermic vertebrates can lead to variation in vertebral number among individuals of the same species. It is often seen that individuals of a species raised at cooler temperatures have more vertebrae than individuals raised at warmer temperatures, although the functional consequences of this variation in vertebral number on swimming performance are relatively unclear. To investigate this relationship, we tested how vertebral number in axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) affected performance of aquatic escape responses (C-starts). Axolotls were reared at four temperatures (12-24°C) encompassing their natural thermal range and then transitioned to a mean temperature (18°C) three months before C-starts were recorded. Our results showed variation in vertebral number, but that variation was not significantly affected by developmental temperature. C-start performance among axolotls was significantly correlated with caudal vertebral number, and individuals with more caudal vertebrae were able to achieve greater curvature more quickly during their responses than individuals with fewer vertebrae. However, our results show that these individuals did not achieve greater displacements or velocities, and that developmental temperature did not have any effect on C-start performance. We highlight that the most important aspects of escape swim performance (i.e., how far individuals get from a threat and how quickly they move the most important parts of the body away from that threat) are consistent across individuals regardless of developmental temperature and morphological variation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  8. Time Intervals in Sequence Sampling, Not Data Modifications, Have a Major Impact on Estimates of HIV Escape Rates

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    The ability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to avoid recognition by humoral and cellular immunity (viral escape) is well-documented, but the strength of the immune response needed to cause such a viral escape remains poorly quantified. Several previous studies observed a more rapid escape of HIV from CD8 T cell responses in the acute phase of infection compared to chronic infection. The rate of HIV escape was estimated with the help of simple mathematical models, and results were interpreted to suggest that CD8 T cell responses causing escape in acute HIV infection may be more efficient at killing virus-infected cells than responses that cause escape in chronic infection, or alternatively, that early escapes occur in epitopes mutations in which there is minimal fitness cost to the virus. However, these conclusions were challenged on several grounds, including linkage and interference of multiple escape mutations due to a low population size and because of potential issues associated with modifying the data to estimate escape rates. Here we use a sampling method which does not require data modification to show that previous results on the decline of the viral escape rate with time since infection remain unchanged. However, using this method we also show that estimates of the escape rate are highly sensitive to the time interval between measurements, with longer intervals biasing estimates of the escape rate downwards. Our results thus suggest that data modifications for early and late escapes were not the primary reason for the observed decline in the escape rate with time since infection. However, longer sampling periods for escapes in chronic infection strongly influence estimates of the escape rate. More frequent sampling of viral sequences in chronic infection may improve our understanding of factors influencing the rate of HIV escape from CD8 T cell responses. PMID:29495443

  9. Time Intervals in Sequence Sampling, Not Data Modifications, Have a Major Impact on Estimates of HIV Escape Rates.

    PubMed

    Ganusov, Vitaly V

    2018-02-27

    The ability of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to avoid recognition by humoral and cellular immunity (viral escape) is well-documented, but the strength of the immune response needed to cause such a viral escape remains poorly quantified. Several previous studies observed a more rapid escape of HIV from CD8 T cell responses in the acute phase of infection compared to chronic infection. The rate of HIV escape was estimated with the help of simple mathematical models, and results were interpreted to suggest that CD8 T cell responses causing escape in acute HIV infection may be more efficient at killing virus-infected cells than responses that cause escape in chronic infection, or alternatively, that early escapes occur in epitopes mutations in which there is minimal fitness cost to the virus. However, these conclusions were challenged on several grounds, including linkage and interference of multiple escape mutations due to a low population size and because of potential issues associated with modifying the data to estimate escape rates. Here we use a sampling method which does not require data modification to show that previous results on the decline of the viral escape rate with time since infection remain unchanged. However, using this method we also show that estimates of the escape rate are highly sensitive to the time interval between measurements, with longer intervals biasing estimates of the escape rate downwards. Our results thus suggest that data modifications for early and late escapes were not the primary reason for the observed decline in the escape rate with time since infection. However, longer sampling periods for escapes in chronic infection strongly influence estimates of the escape rate. More frequent sampling of viral sequences in chronic infection may improve our understanding of factors influencing the rate of HIV escape from CD8 T cell responses.

  10. Neural circuits underlying visually evoked escapes in larval zebrafish

    PubMed Central

    Dunn, Timothy W.; Gebhardt, Christoph; Naumann, Eva A.; Riegler, Clemens; Ahrens, Misha B.; Engert, Florian; Del Bene, Filippo

    2015-01-01

    SUMMARY Escape behaviors deliver organisms away from imminent catastrophe. Here, we characterize behavioral responses of freely swimming larval zebrafish to looming visual stimuli simulating predators. We report that the visual system alone can recruit lateralized, rapid escape motor programs, similar to those elicited by mechanosensory modalities. Two-photon calcium imaging of retino-recipient midbrain regions isolated the optic tectum as an important center processing looming stimuli, with ensemble activity encoding the critical image size determining escape latency. Furthermore, we describe activity in retinal ganglion cell terminals and superficial inhibitory interneurons in the tectum during looming and propose a model for how temporal dynamics in tectal periventricular neurons might arise from computations between these two fundamental constituents. Finally, laser ablations of hindbrain circuitry confirmed that visual and mechanosensory modalities share the same premotor output network. Together, we establish a circuit for the processing of aversive stimuli in the context of an innate visual behavior. PMID:26804997

  11. Assessment of a New Procedure to Prevent Timeout Escape in Preschoolers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNeil, Cheryl Bodiford; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Many agencies provide parent training to groups for whom spanking as a response to timeout escape is not an option. An alternative was developed, the "two-chair hold" technique, which showed some success in decreasing timeout escape and improving overall behavior. Discusses clinical issues regarding use of this technique. (LKS)

  12. Sesquinary catenae on the Martian satellite Phobos from reaccretion of escaping ejecta

    PubMed Central

    Nayak, M.; Asphaug, E.

    2016-01-01

    The Martian satellite Phobos is criss-crossed by linear grooves and crater chains whose origin is unexplained. Anomalous grooves are relatively young, and crosscut tidally predicted stress fields as Phobos spirals towards Mars. Here we report strong correspondence between these anomalous features and reaccretion patterns of sesquinary ejecta from impacts on Phobos. Escaping ejecta persistently imprint Phobos with linear, low-velocity crater chains (catenae) that match the geometry and morphology of prominent features that do not fit the tidal model. We prove that these cannot be older than Phobos' current orbit inside Mars' Roche limit. Distinctive reimpact patterns allow sesquinary craters to be traced back to their source, for the first time across any planetary body, creating a novel way to probe planetary surface characteristics. For example, we show that catena-producing craters likely formed in the gravity regime, providing constraints on the ejecta velocity field and knowledge of source crater material properties. PMID:27575002

  13. Effects of metamorphosis on the aquatic escape response of the two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata).

    PubMed

    Azizi, Emanuel; Landberg, Tobias

    2002-03-01

    Although numerous studies have described the escape kinematics of fishes, little is known about the aquatic escape responses of salamanders. We compare the escape kinematics of larval and adult Eurycea bislineata, the two-lined salamander, to examine the effects of metamorphosis on aquatic escape performance. We hypothesize that shape changes associated with resorption of the larval tail fin at metamorphosis will affect aquatic locomotor performance. Escape responses were recorded using high-speed video, and the effects of life stage and total length on escape kinematics were analyzed statistically using analysis of covariance. Our results show that both larval and adult E. bislineata use a two-stage escape response (similar to the C-starts of fishes) that consists of a preparatory (stage 1) and a propulsive (stage 2) stroke. The duration of both kinematic stages and the distance traveled during stage 2 increased with total length. Both larval and adult E. bislineata had final escape trajectories that were directed away from the stimulus. The main kinematic difference between larvae and adults is that adults exhibit significantly greater maximum curvature during stage 1. Total escape duration and the distance traveled during stage 2 did not differ significantly between larvae and adults. Despite the significantly lower tail aspect ratio of adults, we found no significant decrease in the overall escape performance of adult E. bislineata. Our results suggest that adults may compensate for the decrease in tail aspect ratio by increasing their maximum curvature. These findings do not support the hypothesis that larvae exhibit better locomotor performance than adults as a result of stronger selective pressures on early life stages.

  14. Nanostructured polyurethane perylene bisimide ester assemblies with tuneable morphology and enhanced stability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Xiaoxiao; Gong, Tingyuan; Chi, Hong; Li, Tianduo

    2018-03-01

    Size control has been successfully achieved in inorganic materials, but it remains a challenge in polymer nanomaterials due to their polydispersity. Here, we report a facile approach to tailor the diameters of polyurethane (PU) nanoparticles (490 nm, 820 nm and 2.1 µm) via perylene bisimide (PBI) assisted self-assembly. The formed morphologies such as spindle, spherical and core-shell structures depend on the ratio of PBI and polymer concentrations. It is shown that the formation of PU nanoparticles is directed by π-π stacking of PBI and the morphology transition is not only affected by the amount of PBI incorporated, but also influenced by solvent, which controls the initial evaporation balance. Furthermore, the prepared PUs exhibit retained optical stability and enhanced thermal stability. The PUs, designed to have conjugated PBI segments in backbones, were synthesized via ring-opening and condensation reactions. Compared with the neat PU, gel permeation chromatography shows narrower molecular weight distribution. Fluorescence spectra and ultraviolet-visible spectra indicate retained maximum emission wavelength of PBI at 574 nm and 5.2% quantum yields. Thermo-gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry reveal 79°C higher decomposition temperature and 22°C higher glass transition temperature. This study provides a new way to fabricate well-defined nanostructures of functionalized PUs.

  15. Crew Escape Technologies (CREST) Mission Area Requirements Study Current and Future Crew Escape Requirements

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-02-01

    purchased from: National Tecnical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield VA 22161 Federal Governmet agencies and their contractors registered...Engineering Incpora:ted (IME) to organize and executi a tecnical approach to the QP= 14. SUIUECT TERMS Mission Area Requiremts, REST Escape SystM IS...the aerodynamic stabilization subsystems to become effective (drogue parachutes, or fins for the S4S), and the time required for the recovery parachute

  16. Several immune escape patterns in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

    PubMed Central

    Laurent, Camille; Charmpi, Konstantina; Gravelle, Pauline; Tosolini, Marie; Franchet, Camille; Ysebaert, Loïc; Brousset, Pierre; Bidaut, Alexandre; Ycart, Bernard; Fournié, Jean-Jacques

    2015-01-01

    Follicular Lymphomas (FL) and diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCL) must evolve some immune escape strategy to develop from lymphoid organs, but their immune evasion pathways remain poorly characterized. We investigated this issue by transcriptome data mining and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of FL and DLBCL lymphoma biopsies. A set of genes involved in cancer immune-evasion pathways (Immune Escape Gene Set, IEGS) was defined and the distribution of the expression levels of these genes was compared in FL, DLBCL and normal B cell transcriptomes downloaded from the GEO database. The whole IEGS was significantly upregulated in all the lymphoma samples but not in B cells or other control tissues, as shown by the overexpression of the PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2 and LAG3 genes. Tissue microarray immunostainings for PD-1, PD-L1, PD-L2 and LAG3 proteins on additional biopsies from 27 FL and 27 DLBCL patients confirmed the expression of these proteins. The immune infiltrates were more abundant in FL than DLBCL samples, and the microenvironment of FL comprised higher rates of PD-1+ lymphocytes. Further, DLBCL tumor cells comprised a higher proportion of PD-1+, PD-L1+, PD-L2+ and LAG3+ lymphoma cells than the FL tumor cells, confirming that DLBCL mount immune escape strategies distinct from FL. In addition, some cases of DLBCL had tumor cells co-expressing both PD-1, PD-L1 and PD-L2. Among the DLBCLs, the activated B cell (ABC) subtype comprised more PD-L1+ and PD-L2+ lymphoma cells than the GC subtype. Thus, we infer that FL and DLBCL evolved several pathways of immune escape. PMID:26405585

  17. Injury rate in a helicopter underwater escape trainer (HUET) from 2005-2012.

    PubMed

    Brooks, Christopher J; MacDonald, Conor V; Gibbs, Peter N A

    2014-08-01

    Helicopter underwater escape training (HUET) carries a potential for injury and this paper identifies the injury rate. A marine survival training school registry of all students trained between 2005-2012 in HUET and the coinciding accident records were examined. There were 8902 students trained in a helicopter underwater escape simulator for a total of 59,245 underwater escapes. There were 40 cases where only first-aid was required and 3 serious injuries (a laceration requiring 5 sutures, 1 dislocated shoulder, and 1 water aspiration requiring hospitalization). There were no deaths and no problems reported with using the Emergency Breathing System (EBS) or Air Pocket. Of the injuries, 11 were due to the student using a poor escape technique. The overall probability of injury was 0.74 per 1000 ascents. In HUET training, there is a very low injury rate with almost no significant severity. Although not scientifically proven, this would suggest that the low incident rate is due to good medical screening and the attention given by instructors to anxious students. Compared to other training such as diving, parachute jumping, and submarine escape training, the rate of injury was considerably lower.

  18. Escape Distance in Ground-Nesting Birds Differs with Individual Level of Camouflage.

    PubMed

    Wilson-Aggarwal, Jared K; Troscianko, Jolyon T; Stevens, Martin; Spottiswoode, Claire N

    2016-08-01

    Camouflage is one of the most widespread antipredator strategies in the animal kingdom, yet no animal can match its background perfectly in a complex environment. Therefore, selection should favor individuals that use information on how effective their camouflage is in their immediate habitat when responding to an approaching threat. In a field study of African ground-nesting birds (plovers, coursers, and nightjars), we tested the hypothesis that individuals adaptively modulate their escape behavior in relation to their degree of background matching. We used digital imaging and models of predator vision to quantify differences in color, luminance, and pattern between eggs and their background, as well as the plumage of incubating adult nightjars. We found that plovers and coursers showed greater escape distances when their eggs were a poorer pattern match to the background. Nightjars sit on their eggs until a potential threat is nearby, and, correspondingly, they showed greater escape distances when the pattern and color match of the incubating adult's plumage-rather than its eggs-was a poorer match to the background. Finally, escape distances were shorter in the middle of the day, suggesting that escape behavior is mediated by both camouflage and thermoregulation.

  19. Escape rate for nonequilibrium processes dominated by strong non-detailed balance force

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, Ying; Xu, Song; Ao, Ping

    2018-02-01

    Quantifying the escape rate from a meta-stable state is essential to understand a wide range of dynamical processes. Kramers' classical rate formula is the product of an exponential function of the potential barrier height and a pre-factor related to the friction coefficient. Although many applications of the rate formula focused on the exponential term, the prefactor can have a significant effect on the escape rate in certain parameter regions, such as the overdamped limit and the underdamped limit. There have been continuous interests to understand the effect of non-detailed balance on the escape rate; however, how the prefactor behaves under strong non-detailed balance force remains elusive. In this work, we find that the escape rate formula has a vanishing prefactor with decreasing friction strength under the strong non-detailed balance limit. We both obtain analytical solutions in specific examples and provide a derivation for more general cases. We further verify the result by simulations and propose a testable experimental system of a charged Brownian particle in electromagnetic field. Our study demonstrates that a special care is required to estimate the effect of prefactor on the escape rate when non-detailed balance force dominates.

  20. Transitions between three swimming gaits in Paramecium escape.

    PubMed

    Hamel, Amandine; Fisch, Cathy; Combettes, Laurent; Dupuis-Williams, Pascale; Baroud, Charles N

    2011-05-03

    Paramecium and other protists are able to swim at velocities reaching several times their body size per second by beating their cilia in an organized fashion. The cilia beat in an asymmetric stroke, which breaks the time reversal symmetry of small scale flows. Here we show that Paramecium uses three different swimming gaits to escape from an aggression, applied in the form of a focused laser heating. For a weak aggression, normal swimming is sufficient and produces a steady swimming velocity. As the heating amplitude is increased, a higher acceleration and faster swimming are achieved through synchronized beating of the cilia, which begin by producing oscillating swimming velocities and later give way to the usual gait. Finally, escape from a life-threatening aggression is achieved by a "jumping" gait, which does not rely on the cilia but is achieved through the explosive release of a group of trichocysts in the direction of the hot spot. Measurements through high-speed video explain the role of trichocysts in defending against aggressions while showing unexpected transitions in the swimming of microorganisms. These measurements also demonstrate that Paramecium optimizes its escape pattern by taking advantage of its inertia.

  1. Transitions between three swimming gaits in Paramecium escape

    PubMed Central

    Hamel, Amandine; Fisch, Cathy; Combettes, Laurent; Dupuis-Williams, Pascale; Baroud, Charles N.

    2011-01-01

    Paramecium and other protists are able to swim at velocities reaching several times their body size per second by beating their cilia in an organized fashion. The cilia beat in an asymmetric stroke, which breaks the time reversal symmetry of small scale flows. Here we show that Paramecium uses three different swimming gaits to escape from an aggression, applied in the form of a focused laser heating. For a weak aggression, normal swimming is sufficient and produces a steady swimming velocity. As the heating amplitude is increased, a higher acceleration and faster swimming are achieved through synchronized beating of the cilia, which begin by producing oscillating swimming velocities and later give way to the usual gait. Finally, escape from a life-threatening aggression is achieved by a “jumping” gait, which does not rely on the cilia but is achieved through the explosive release of a group of trichocysts in the direction of the hot spot. Measurements through high-speed video explain the role of trichocysts in defending against aggressions while showing unexpected transitions in the swimming of microorganisms. These measurements also demonstrate that Paramecium optimizes its escape pattern by taking advantage of its inertia. PMID:21464291

  2. Polyploidy Formation in Doxorubicin-Treated Cancer Cells Can Favor Escape from Senescence.

    PubMed

    Mosieniak, Grazyna; Sliwinska, Malgorzata A; Alster, Olga; Strzeszewska, Anna; Sunderland, Piotr; Piechota, Malgorzata; Was, Halina; Sikora, Ewa

    2015-12-01

    Cancer cells can undergo stress-induced premature senescence, which is considered to be a desirable outcome of anticancer treatment. However, the escape from senescence and cancer cell repopulation give rise to some doubts concerning the effectiveness of the senescence-induced anticancer therapy. Similarly, it is postulated that polyploidization of cancer cells is connected with disease relapse. We postulate that cancer cell polyploidization associated with senescence is the culprit of atypical cell divisions leading to cancer cell regrowth. Accordingly, we aimed to dissociate between these two phenomena. We induced senescence in HCT 116 cells by pulse treatment with doxorubicin and observed transiently increased ploidy, abnormal nuclear morphology, and various distributions of some proteins (e.g., p21, Ki-67, SA-β-galactosidase) in the subnuclei. Doxorubicin-treated HCT 116 cells displayed an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) possibly caused by an increased amount of mitochondria, which are characterized by low membrane potential. A decrease in the level of ROS by Trolox partially protected the cells from polyploidization but not from senescence. Interestingly, a decreased level of ROS prevented the cells from escaping senescence. We also show that MCF7 cells senesce, but this is not accompanied by the increase of ploidy upon doxorubicin treatment. Moreover, they were stably growth arrested, thus proving that polyploidy but not senescence per se enables to regain the ability to proliferate. Our preliminary results indicate that the different propensity of the HCT 116 and MCF7 cells to increase ploidy upon cell senescence could be caused by a different level of the mTOR and/or Pim-1 kinases. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Effects of photon escape on diagnostic diagrams for H II regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giammanco, C.; Beckman, J. E.; Cedrés, B.

    2005-08-01

    In this article we first outline the mounting evidence that a significant fraction of the ionizing photons emitted by OB stars within H ii regions escape from their immediate surroundings, i.e from what is normally defined as the H ii region, and explain how an H ii region structure containing high density contrast inhomogeneities facilitates this escape. Next we describe sets of models containing inhomogeneities which are used to predict tracks in the commonly used diagnostic diagrams (based on ratios of emission lines) whose only independent variable is the photon escape fraction, ξ. We show that the tracks produced by the models in two of the most cited of these diagrams conform well to the distribution of observed data points, with the models containing optically thick inhomogeneities (“CLUMPY” models) yielding somewhat better agreement than those with optically thin inhomogeneities (“FF” models). We show how variations in the ionization parameter U, derived from emission line ratios, could be due to photon escape, such that for a given region from which 50% of its ionizing photons leak out we would derive the same value of U as for a region with no photon escape but with an input ionizing flux almost an order of magnitude higher. This effect will occur whether the individual inhomogeneities are optically thick or thin. Photon escape will also lead to a change in the derived value of the radiation hardness parameter, and this change differs significantly between models with optically thin and optically thick clumps. Using a rather wide range of assumptions about the filling factor of dense clumps we find, for a selected set of regions observed in M 51 by Díaz et al. (1991) an extreme limiting range of computed photon escape fractions between near zero and 90%, but with the most plausible values ranging between 30% and 50%. We show, using oxygen as the test element, that models with different assumptions about the gas inhomogeneity will tend to give

  4. Shuttle crew escape systems test conducted in JSC Bldg 9A CCT

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1987-03-20

    Shuttle crew escape systems test is conducted by astronauts Steven R. Nagel (left) and Manley L. (Sonny) Carter in JSC One Gravity Mockup and Training Facilities Bldg 9A crew compartment trainer (CCT). Nagel and Carter are evaluating methods for crew escape during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight. JSC test was done in advance of tests scheduled for facilities in California and Utah. Here, Carter serves as test subject evaluating egress positioning for the tractor rocket escape method - one of the two systems currently being closely studied by NASA.

  5. Shear-induced enhancements of crystallization kinetics and morphological transformation for long chain branched polylactides with different branching degrees

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Junyang; Bai, Jing; Zhang, Yaqiong; Fang, Huagao; Wang, Zhigang

    2016-01-01

    The effects of long chain branching (LCB) degree on the shear-induced isothermal crystallization kinetics of a series of LCB polylactides (LCB PLAs) have been investigated by using rotational rheometer, polarized optical microscopy (POM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Dynamic viscoelastic properties obtained by small-amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) tests indicate that LCB PLAs show more broadened relaxation time spectra with increasing LCB degree. Upon a pre-shear at the shear rate of 1 s−1 LCB PLAs show much faster crystallization kinetics than linear PLA and the crystallization kinetics is enhanced with increasing LCB degree. By modeling the system as a suspension the quantitative evaluation of nucleation density can be derived from rheological experiments. The nucleation density is greatly enhanced with increasing LCB degree and a saturation in shear time is observed. Crystalline morphologies for LCB PLAs observed by POM and SEM demonstrate the enhancement of nucleation density with increasing LCB degree and a transformation from spherulitic to orientated crystalline morphologies. The observation can be ascribed to longer relaxation time of the longest macromolecular chains and broadened, complex relaxation behaviors due to the introduction of LCB into PLA, which is essential in stabilizing the orientated crystal nuclei after pre-shear. PMID:27246803

  6. Correction: Controlled synthesis of Bi25FeO40 with different morphologies: growth mechanism and enhanced photo-Fenton catalytic properties.

    PubMed

    Ji, Wenda; Li, Mingmeng; Zhang, Gaoke; Wang, Pei

    2017-03-14

    Correction for 'Controlled synthesis of Bi 25 FeO 40 with different morphologies: growth mechanism and enhanced photo-Fenton catalytic properties' by Wenda Ji et al., Dalton Trans., 2017, DOI: 10.1039/c6dt04864a.

  7. Development of three-layered rumen escapable capsules for cattle

    PubMed Central

    SEYAMA, Tomohiro; HIRAYASU, Hirofumi; YAMAWAKI, Kenji; ADACHI, Takuhiko; SUGIMOTO, Takayuki; KASAI, Koji

    2016-01-01

    A new rumen escapable tool is presented for cattle in prospect of developing medical treatment or supplementing trace elements for disease prevention. This tool consists of a three-layered capsule that dissolves in the lower digestive tract, but not in the rumen. The capsule was manufactured by capsule-forming techniques through the use of liquid surface tension. This method does not involve high-temperature treatment, so the capsule can contain not only lipophilic substances but also hydrophilic or heat-sensitive substances. Furthermore, the capsule has a specific gravity of 1.3 and diameter of 6.0 mm, which were previously shown to be appropriate to avoid rumination. The objective of this study was to confirm the effectiveness of the capsule pertinent to rumen escaping. In order to validate rumen escape, capsules containing 30 g of water-soluble vitamin (thiamine hydrochloride) per head were administered to four lactating cows assigned in a crossover trial. In the group administered encapsulated thiamine hydrochloride, blood thiamine levels increased from 12.4 ± 1.03 ng/ml before administration to 54.8 ± 2.21 ng/ml at 6 hr following administration, whereas the level remained at 13.3 ± 2.05 ng/ml in the control group administered via aqueous solution. This indicates that the three-layered capsules passed through the rumen and dissolved in the lower digestive tract, thus functioning as a rumen escapable tool. PMID:27546371

  8. Noise induced escape from a nonhyperbolic chaotic attractor of a periodically driven nonlinear oscillator

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

    Chen, Zhen, E-mail: czkillua@icloud.com, E-mail: xbliu@nuaa.edu.cn; Li, Yang; Liu, Xianbin, E-mail: czkillua@icloud.com, E-mail: xbliu@nuaa.edu.cn

    2016-06-15

    Noise induced escape from the domain of attraction of a nonhyperbolic chaotic attractor in a periodically excited nonlinear oscillator is investigated. The general mechanism of the escape in the weak noise limit is studied in the continuous case, and the fluctuational path is obtained by statistical analysis. Selecting the primary homoclinic tangency as the initial condition, the action plot is presented by parametrizing the set of escape trajectories and the global minimum gives rise to the optimal path. Results of both methods show good agreements. The entire process of escape is discussed in detail step by step using the fluctuationalmore » force. A structure of hierarchical heteroclinic crossings of stable and unstable manifolds of saddle cycles is found, and the escape is observed to take place through successive jumps through this deterministic hierarchical structure.« less

  9. A Substantial Plume of Escaping Planetary Ions in the MSE Northern Hemisphere Observed by MAVEN

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Y.; Fang, X.; Brain, D. A.; McFadden, J. P.; Halekas, J. S.; Connerney, J. E. P.; Curry, S.; Harada, Y.; Luhmann, J. G.; Jakosky, B. M.

    2015-12-01

    The Mars-solar wind interaction accelerates and transports planetary ions away from Mars through a number of processes, including pick-up by the electromagnetic fields. The Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft has frequently detected strong escaping planetary ion fluxes in both tailward and upstream solar wind motional electric field directions since the beginning of its science phase in November 2014. Our statistical study using three-month MAVEN data from November 2014 through February 2015 illustrates a substantial plume-like escaping planetary ion population organized by the upstream electric field with strong fluxes widely distributed in the northern hemisphere of the Mars-Sun-Electric-field (MSE) coordinate system, which is generally consistent with model predictions. The plume constitutes an important planetary ion escape channel from the Martian atmosphere in addition to the tailward escape. The >25eV O+ escape rate through the plume is estimated to be ~35% of the tailward escape and ~25% of the total escape. We will compare the dynamics of the plume and tailward escaping ions based on their velocity-space distributions with respect to the electromagnetic fields. We will also discuss the variations of the plume characteristics between different ion species (O+, O2+, and CO2+) and from the effect of different solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions.

  10. Energy transfer in O collisions with He isotopes and helium escape from Mars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bovino, S.; Zhang, P.; Kharchenko, V.; Dalgarno, A.

    2010-12-01

    Helium is one of the dominant constituents in the upper atmosphere of Mars [1]. Thermal (Jeans’) escape of He is negligible on Mars [2] and major mechanism of escape is related to the collisional ejection of He atoms by energetic oxygen. Collisional ejection dominates over ion-related mechanisms [3] and evaluation of the escape flux of neutral He becomes an important issue. The dissociative recombination of O2+ is considered to be the major source of energetic oxygen atoms [4]. We report accurate data on energy-transfer collisions between hot oxygen atoms and the atmospheric helium gas. Angular dependent scattering cross sections for elastic collisions of O(3P) and O(1D) atoms with helium gas have been calculated quantum mechanically and found to be surprisingly similar. Cross sections, computed for collisions with both helium isotopes, 3He and 4He, have been used to construct the kernel of the Boltzmann equation, describing the energy relaxation of hot oxygen atoms. Computed rates of energy transfer in O + He collisions have been used to evaluate the flux of He atoms escaping from the Mars atmosphere at different solar conditions. We have identified atmospheric layers mostly responsible for production of the He escape flux. Our results are consistent with recent data from Monte Carlo simulations of the escape of O atoms: strong angular anisotropy of atomic cross sections leads to an increased transparency of the upper atmosphere for escaping O flux [5] and stimulate the collisional ejection of He atoms. References [1] Krasnopolsky, V. A., and G. R. Gladstone (2005), Helium on Mars and Venus: EUVE observations and modeling, Icarus, 176, 395. [2] Chassefiere E. and F. Leblanc (2004), Mars atmospheric escape and evolution; interaction with the solar wind, Planetary and Space Science, 52, 1039 [3] Krasnopolsky, V. (2010), Solar activity variations of thermospheric temperatures on Mars and a problem of CO in the lower atmoshpere, Icarus, 207, 638. [4] Fox, J. L

  11. Escaping blood-fed malaria mosquitoes minimize tactile detection without compromising on take-off speed.

    PubMed

    Muijres, F T; Chang, S W; van Veen, W G; Spitzen, J; Biemans, B T; Koehl, M A R; Dudley, R

    2017-10-15

    To escape after taking a blood meal, a mosquito must exert forces sufficiently high to take off when carrying a load roughly equal to its body weight, while simultaneously avoiding detection by minimizing tactile signals exerted on the host's skin. We studied this trade-off between escape speed and stealth in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii using 3D motion analysis of high-speed stereoscopic videos of mosquito take-offs and aerodynamic modeling. We found that during the push-off phase, mosquitoes enhanced take-off speed using aerodynamic forces generated by the beating wings in addition to leg-based push-off forces, whereby wing forces contributed 61% of the total push-off force. Exchanging leg-derived push-off forces for wing-derived aerodynamic forces allows the animal to reduce peak force production on the host's skin. By slowly extending their long legs throughout the push-off, mosquitoes spread push-off forces over a longer time window than insects with short legs, thereby further reducing peak leg forces. Using this specialized take-off behavior, mosquitoes are capable of reaching take-off speeds comparable to those of similarly sized fruit flies, but with weight-normalized peak leg forces that were only 27% of those of the fruit flies. By limiting peak leg forces, mosquitoes possibly reduce the chance of being detected by the host. The resulting combination of high take-off speed and low tactile signals on the host might help increase the mosquito's success in escaping from blood-hosts, which consequently also increases the chance of transmitting vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, to future hosts. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  12. Escape from Albuquerque: An Apache Memorate.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenfeld, Philip J.

    2001-01-01

    Clarence Hawkins, a White Mountain Apache, escaped from the Albuquerque Indian School around 1920. His 300-mile trip home, made with two other boys, exemplifies the reaction of many Indian youths to the American government's plans for cultural assimilation. The tale is told in the form of traditional Apache narrative. (TD)

  13. Fluctuating bottleneck model studies on kinetics of DNA escape from α-hemolysin nanopores

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bian, Yukun; Wang, Zilin; Chen, Anpu; Zhao, Nanrong

    2015-11-01

    We have proposed a fluctuation bottleneck (FB) model to investigate the non-exponential kinetics of DNA escape from nanometer-scale pores. The basic idea is that the escape rate is proportional to the fluctuating cross-sectional area of DNA escape channel, the radius r of which undergoes a subdiffusion dynamics subjected to fractional Gaussian noise with power-law memory kernel. Such a FB model facilitates us to obtain the analytical result of the averaged survival probability as a function of time, which can be directly compared to experimental results. Particularly, we have applied our theory to address the escape kinetics of DNA through α-hemolysin nanopores. We find that our theoretical framework can reproduce the experimental results very well in the whole time range with quite reasonable estimation for the intrinsic parameters of the kinetics processes. We believe that FB model has caught some key features regarding the long time kinetics of DNA escape through a nanopore and it might provide a sound starting point to study much wider problems involving anomalous dynamics in confined fluctuating channels.

  14. Integrating geographical information and augmented reality techniques for mobile escape guidelines on nuclear accident sites.

    PubMed

    Tsai, Ming-Kuan; Lee, Yung-Ching; Lu, Chung-Hsin; Chen, Mei-Hsin; Chou, Tien-Yin; Yau, Nie-Jia

    2012-07-01

    During nuclear accidents, when radioactive materials spread into the environment, the people in the affected areas should evacuate immediately. However, few information systems are available regarding escape guidelines for nuclear accidents. Therefore, this study constructs escape guidelines on mobile phones. This application is called Mobile Escape Guidelines (MEG) and adopts two techniques. One technique is the geographical information that offers multiple representations; the other is the augmented reality that provides semi-realistic information services. When this study tested the mobile escape guidelines, the results showed that this application was capable of identifying the correct locations of users, showing the escape routes, filtering geographical layers, and rapidly generating the relief reports. Users could evacuate from nuclear accident sites easily, even without relief personnel, since using slim devices to access the mobile escape guidelines is convenient. Overall, this study is a useful reference for a nuclear accident emergency response. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Photochemical escape of oxygen from Mars: First results from MAVEN in situ data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lillis, Robert J.; Deighan, Justin; Fox, Jane L.; Bougher, Stephen W.; Lee, Yuni; Combi, Michael R.; Cravens, Thomas E.; Rahmati, Ali; Mahaffy, Paul R.; Benna, Mehdi; Elrod, Meredith K.; McFadden, James P.; Ergun, Robert. E.; Andersson, Laila; Fowler, Christopher M.; Jakosky, Bruce M.; Thiemann, Ed; Eparvier, Frank; Halekas, Jasper S.; Leblanc, François; Chaufray, Jean-Yves

    2017-03-01

    Photochemical escape of atomic oxygen is thought to be one of the dominant channels for Martian atmospheric loss today and played a potentially major role in climate evolution. Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) is the first mission capable of measuring, in situ, the relevant quantities necessary to calculate photochemical escape fluxes. We utilize 18 months of data from three MAVEN instruments: Langmuir Probe and Waves, Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer, and SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition. From these data, we calculate altitude profiles of the production rate of hot oxygen atoms from the dissociative recombination of O2+ and the probability that such atoms will escape the Mars atmosphere. From this, we determine escape fluxes for 815 periapsis passes. Derived average dayside hot O escape rates range from 1.2 to 5.5 × 1025 s-1, depending on season and EUV flux, consistent with several pre-MAVEN predictions and in broad agreement with estimates made with other MAVEN measurements. Hot O escape fluxes do not vary significantly with dayside solar zenith angle or crustal magnetic field strength but depend on CO2 photoionization frequency with a power law whose exponent is 2.6 ± 0.6, an unexpectedly high value which may be partially due to seasonal and geographic sampling. From this dependence and historical EUV measurements over 70 years, we estimate a modern-era average escape rate of 4.3 × 1025 s-1. Extrapolating this dependence to early solar system, EUV conditions gives total losses of 13, 49, 189, and 483 mbar of oxygen over 1-3 and 3.5 Gyr, respectively, with uncertainties significantly increasing with time in the past.

  16. The DYNAMO Orbiter Project: High Resolution Mapping of Gravity/Magnetic Fields and In Situ Investigation of Mars Atmospheric Escape

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smrekar, S.; Chassefiere, E.; Forget, F.; Reme, H.; Mazelle, C.; Blelly, P. -L.; Acuna, M.; Connerney, J.; Purucker, M.; Lin, R.

    2000-01-01

    /or enhanced effects over the several billion years of the solar system's life. If the detailed history of the Martian internal field could be traced back, and the current escape processes could be understood well enough to model the expected stronger losses under early Sun conditions, one could go a long way toward constraining this part of the mysterious history of Mars' atmosphere.

  17. The impact of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) on catch statistics in Scotland.

    PubMed

    Green, Darren M; Penman, David J; Migaud, Herve; Bron, James E; Taggart, John B; McAndrew, Brendan J

    2012-01-01

    In Scotland and elsewhere, there are concerns that escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) may impact on wild salmon stocks. Potential detrimental effects could arise through disease spread, competition, or inter-breeding. We investigated whether there is evidence of a direct effect of recorded salmon escape events on wild stocks in Scotland using anglers' counts of caught salmon (classified as wild or farmed) and sea trout (Salmo trutta L.). This tests specifically whether documented escape events can be associated with reduced or elevated escapes detected in the catch over a five-year time window, after accounting for overall variation between areas and years. Alternate model frameworks were somewhat inconsistent, however no robust association was found between documented escape events and higher proportion of farm-origin salmon in anglers' catch, nor with overall catch size. A weak positive correlation was found between local escapes and subsequent sea trout catch. This is in the opposite direction to what would be expected if salmon escapes negatively affected wild fish numbers. Our approach specifically investigated documented escape events, contrasting with earlier studies examining potentially wider effects of salmon farming on wild catch size. This approach is more conservative, but alleviates some potential sources of confounding, which are always of concern in observational studies. Successful analysis of anglers' reports of escaped farmed salmon requires high data quality, particularly since reports of farmed salmon are a relatively rare event in the Scottish data. Therefore, as part of our analysis, we reviewed studies of potential sensitivity and specificity of determination of farmed origin. Specificity estimates are generally high in the literature, making an analysis of the form we have performed feasible.

  18. The Impact of Escaped Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) on Catch Statistics in Scotland

    PubMed Central

    Green, Darren M.; Penman, David J.; Migaud, Herve; Bron, James E.; Taggart, John B.; McAndrew, Brendan J.

    2012-01-01

    In Scotland and elsewhere, there are concerns that escaped farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) may impact on wild salmon stocks. Potential detrimental effects could arise through disease spread, competition, or inter-breeding. We investigated whether there is evidence of a direct effect of recorded salmon escape events on wild stocks in Scotland using anglers' counts of caught salmon (classified as wild or farmed) and sea trout (Salmo trutta L.). This tests specifically whether documented escape events can be associated with reduced or elevated escapes detected in the catch over a five-year time window, after accounting for overall variation between areas and years. Alternate model frameworks were somewhat inconsistent, however no robust association was found between documented escape events and higher proportion of farm-origin salmon in anglers' catch, nor with overall catch size. A weak positive correlation was found between local escapes and subsequent sea trout catch. This is in the opposite direction to what would be expected if salmon escapes negatively affected wild fish numbers. Our approach specifically investigated documented escape events, contrasting with earlier studies examining potentially wider effects of salmon farming on wild catch size. This approach is more conservative, but alleviates some potential sources of confounding, which are always of concern in observational studies. Successful analysis of anglers' reports of escaped farmed salmon requires high data quality, particularly since reports of farmed salmon are a relatively rare event in the Scottish data. Therefore, as part of our analysis, we reviewed studies of potential sensitivity and specificity of determination of farmed origin. Specificity estimates are generally high in the literature, making an analysis of the form we have performed feasible. PMID:22970132

  19. Personality and morphological traits affect pigeon survival from raptor attacks.

    PubMed

    Santos, Carlos D; Cramer, Julia F; Pârâu, Liviu G; Miranda, Ana C; Wikelski, Martin; Dechmann, Dina K N

    2015-10-22

    Personality traits have recently been shown to impact fitness in different animal species, potentially making them similarly relevant drivers as morphological and life history traits along the evolutionary pathways of organisms. Predation is a major force of natural selection through its deterministic effects on individual survival, but how predation pressure has helped to shape personality trait selection, especially in free-ranging animals, remains poorly understood. We used high-precision GPS tracking to follow whole flocks of homing pigeons (Columba livia) with known personalities and morphology during homing flights where they were severely predated by raptors. This allowed us to determine how the personality and morphology traits of pigeons may affect their risk of being predated by raptors. Our survival model showed that individual pigeons, which were more tolerant to human approach, slower to escape from a confined environment, more resistant to human handling, with larger tarsi, and with lighter plumage, were more likely to be predated by raptors. We provide rare empirical evidence that the personality of prey influences their risk of being predated under free-ranging circumstances.

  20. Personality and morphological traits affect pigeon survival from raptor attacks

    PubMed Central

    Santos, Carlos D.; Cramer, Julia F.; Pârâu, Liviu G.; Miranda, Ana C.; Wikelski, Martin; Dechmann, Dina K. N.

    2015-01-01

    Personality traits have recently been shown to impact fitness in different animal species, potentially making them similarly relevant drivers as morphological and life history traits along the evolutionary pathways of organisms. Predation is a major force of natural selection through its deterministic effects on individual survival, but how predation pressure has helped to shape personality trait selection, especially in free-ranging animals, remains poorly understood. We used high-precision GPS tracking to follow whole flocks of homing pigeons (Columba livia) with known personalities and morphology during homing flights where they were severely predated by raptors. This allowed us to determine how the personality and morphology traits of pigeons may affect their risk of being predated by raptors. Our survival model showed that individual pigeons, which were more tolerant to human approach, slower to escape from a confined environment, more resistant to human handling, with larger tarsi, and with lighter plumage, were more likely to be predated by raptors. We provide rare empirical evidence that the personality of prey influences their risk of being predated under free-ranging circumstances. PMID:26489437

  1. Constraining Lyman continuum escape using Machine Learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giri, Sambit K.; Zackrisson, Erik; Binggeli, Christian; Pelckmans, Kristiaan; Cubo, Rubén; Mellema, Garrelt

    2018-05-01

    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will observe the rest-frame ultraviolet/optical spectra of galaxies from the epoch of reionization (EoR) in unprecedented detail. While escaping into the intergalactic medium, hydrogen-ionizing (Lyman continuum; LyC) photons from the galaxies will contribute to the bluer end of the UV slope and make nebular emission lines less prominent. We present a method to constrain leakage of the LyC photons using the spectra of high redshift (z >~ 6) galaxies. We simulate JWST/NIRSpec observations of galaxies at z =6-9 by matching the fluxes of galaxies observed in the Frontier Fields observations of galaxy cluster MACS-J0416. Our method predicts the escape fraction fesc with a mean absolute error Δfesc ~ 0.14. The method also predicts the redshifts of the galaxies with an error .

  2. Non-thermal escape rates of atmospheric H and D from Mars using MAVEN data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gacesa, M.; Zahnle, K. J.

    2017-12-01

    Geological evidence suggests that an ocean of liquid water existed on Mars until at least middle to late Noachian era (4.1 to 3.8 Ga) and possibly, at least episodically, as late as Hesperian. Between 67% and 87% of the total primordial amount of water, equal to about 70 to 110 meters equivalent (spread over the entire Mars' surface), is believed to have escape to space, while about 35 meters remains on or beneath the surface as water ice. Establishing better constraints on these numbers and identifying the responsible atmospheric loss processes remains the major objective of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission. The ratio of atmospheric Deuterium and Hydrogen (D/H) on Mars is one of the best indicators of water loss to space. While majority of H and D escape through thermal Jeans escape, up to 10% of D can escape to space via non-thermal mechanisms, such as collisions with superthermal neutral atoms. In this study, we present new estimates of non-thermal escape rates of light molecules of interest to the water evolution, including H2, HD, OH, and OD, based on recent measurements of atmospheric density and temperature profiles by MAVEN. The escape mechanisms considered include photochemical sources of hot O, as well as collisions with energetic neutral atoms produced in charge-exchange of solar wind ions with atmospheric gases1,2. Energy transport and escape rates are modeled using quantum reactive scattering formalism3 and seasonal variations are illustrated. Finally, a simple estimate of the role of the non-thermal escape mechanisms in previous eras is given. We conclude that D escape rates can be affected by the non-thermal processes with consequences on the estimates of primordial water inventory based on the D/H ratio. [1] N. Lewkow and V. Kharchenko, Astroph. J., 790, 98 (2014) [2] M. Gacesa, N. Lewkow, V. Kharchenko, Icarus 284, 90 (2017) [3] M. Gacesa and V. Kharchenko, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L10203 (2012)

  3. Studying Lyman-alpha escape and reionization in Green Pea galaxies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Huan; Malhotra, Sangeeta; Rhoads, James E.; Gronke, Max; Leitherer, Claus; Wofford, Aida; Dijkstra, Mark

    2017-01-01

    Green Pea galaxies are low-redshift galaxies with extreme [OIII]5007 emission line. We built the first statistical sample of Green Peas observed by HST/COS and used them as analogs of high-z Lyman-alpha emitters to study Ly-alpha escape and Ly-alpha sizes. Using the HST/COS 2D spectra, we found that Ly-alpha sizes of Green Peas are larger than the UV continuum sizes. We found many correlations between Ly-alpha escape fraction and galactic properties -- dust extinction, Ly-alpha kinematic features, [OIII]/[OII] ratio, and gas outflow velocities. We fit an empirical relation to predict Ly-alpha escape fraction from dust extinction and Ly-alpha red-peak velocity. In the JWST era, we can use this relation to derive the IGM HI column density along the line of sight of each high-z Ly-alpha emitter and probe the reionization process.

  4. Means of escape provisions and evacuation simulation of public building in Malaysia and Singapore

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samad, Muna Hanim Abdul; Taib, Nooriati; Ying, Choo Siew

    2017-10-01

    The Uniform Building By-law 1984 of Malaysia is the legal document governing fire safety requirements in buildings. Its prescriptive nature has made the requirements out dated from the viewpoint of current performance based approach in most developed countries. The means of escape provisions is a critical requirement to safeguard occupants' safety in fire especially in public buildings. As stipulated in the UBBL 1984, the means of escape provisions includes sufficient escape routes, travel distance, protection of escape routes, etc. designated as means to allow occupants to escape within a safe period of time. This research aims at investigating the effectiveness of those provisions in public buildings during evacuation process involving massive crowd during emergencies. This research includes a scenario-based study on evacuation processes using two software i.e. PyroSim, a crowd modelling software to conduct smoke study and Pathfinder to stimulate evacuation model of building in Malaysia and Singapore as comparative study. The results show that the buildings used as case study were designed according to Malaysian UBBL 1984 and Singapore Firecode, 2013 respectively provide relative safe means of escape. The simulations of fire and smoke and coupled with simulation of evacuation have demonstrated that although there are adequate exits designated according to fire requirements, the impact of the geometry of atriums on the behavior of fire and smoke have significant effect on escape time especially for unfamiliar user of the premises.

  5. Survival in emergency escape from passenger aircraft.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1970-10-01

    The human factors data from three aircraft accidents involving emergency evacuations are reviewed. Of the 261 passengers aboard, 105 died in attempts to escape during the 1- to 3-minutes prior to the build-up of a lethal thermotoxic environment withi...

  6. Antipsychotics Activate mTORC1-Dependent Translation to Enhance Neuronal Morphological Complexity

    PubMed Central

    Bowling, Heather; Zhang, Guoan; Bhattacharya, Aditi; Pérez-Cuesta, Luis M.; Deinhardt, Katrin; Hoeffer, Charles A.; Neubert, Thomas A.; Gan, Wen-biao; Klann, Eric; Chao, Moses V.

    2014-01-01

    Although antipsychotic drugs can reduce psychotic behavior within a few hours, full efficacy is not achieved for several weeks, implying that there may be rapid, short-term changes in neuronal function, which are consolidated into long-lasting changes. Here, we showed that the antipsychotic drug haloperidol, a dopamine receptor type 2 (D2R) antagonist, stimulated the kinase Akt to activate the mRNA translation pathway mediated by the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). In primary striatal D2R-positive neurons, haloperidol-mediated activation of mTORC1 resulted in increased phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 (S6) and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein (4E-BP). Proteomic mass spectrometry revealed marked changes in the pattern of protein synthesis after acute exposure of cultured striatal neurons to haloperidol, including increased abundance of cytoskeletal proteins and proteins associated with translation machinery. These proteomic changes coincided with increased morphological complexity of neurons that was diminished by inhibition of downstream effectors of mTORC1, suggesting that mTORC1-dependent translation enhances neuronal complexity in response to haloperidol. In vivo, we observed rapid morphological changes with a concomitant increase in the abundance of cytoskeletal proteins in cortical neurons of haloperidol-injected mice. These results suggest a mechanism for both the acute and long-term actions of antipsychotics. PMID:24425786

  7. Learning from escaped prescribed fire reviews

    Treesearch

    Anne E. Black; Dave Thomas; James Saveland; Jennifer D. Ziegler

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. wildland fire community has developed a number of innovative methods for conducting a review following escape of a prescribed fire (expanding on the typical regional or local reviews, to include more of a learning focus - expanded After Action Reviews, reviews that incorporate High Reliability Organizing, Facilitated Learning Analyses, etc). The stated purpose...

  8. Helium escape from the Earth's atmosphere - The charge exchange mechanism revisited

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lie-Svendsen, O.; Rees, M. H.; Stamnes, K.

    1992-01-01

    We have studied the escape of neutral helium from the terrestrial atmosphere through exothermic charge exchange reactions between He(+) ions and the major atmospheric constituents N2, O2 and O. Elastic collisions with the neutral background particles were treated quantitatively using a recently developed kinetic theory approach. An interhemispheric plasma transport model was employed to provide a global distribution of He(+) ions as a function of altitude, latitude and local solar time and for different levels of solar ionization. Combining these ion densities with neutral densities from an MSIS model and best estimates for the reaction rate coefficients of the charge exchange reactions, we computed the global distribution of the neutral He escape flux. The escape rates show large diurnal and latitudinal variations, while the global average does not vary by more than a factor of three over a solar cycle. We find that this escape mechanism is potentially important for the overall balance of helium in the Earth's atmosphere. However, more accurate values for the reaction rate coefficients of the charge exchange reactions are required to make a definitive assessment of its importance.

  9. Never ever? Characteristics, outcomes and motivations of patients who abscond or escape: A 5-year review of escapes and absconds from two medium and low secure forensic units.

    PubMed

    Mezey, Gillian; Durkin, Catherine; Dodge, Liam; White, Sarah

    2015-12-01

    Absconds and escapes by psychiatric patients from secure forensic psychiatric settings create public anxiety and are poorly understood. To describe secure hospital patients who escape from within the secure perimeter or abscond, and test for differences between these groups. Escapes and absconds between 2008 and 2012 from the medium and low secure forensic psychiatric inpatient units of two London National Health Service Trusts were identified through the Trusts' databases. Demographic, offending, mental health and incident data were extracted from records for each. Seventy-seven incidents, involving 54 patients, were identified over the five years. These were 13 escapes involving 12 patients, representing a rate of 0.04 per 1000 bed days, and 64 absconds involving 42 patients, a rate of 0.26 per 1000 bed days; 15 (28%) patients were absent without leave more than once. Over half of the patients came back voluntarily within 24 hours of leaving. Over 50% of them had drunk alcohol or taken drugs while away from the unit. Escapees were more likely to be transferred prisoners and to have planned their escape, less likely to return to the unit voluntarily and away longer than patients who absconded. Offending was rare during unauthorised leave--just three offences among the 77 incidents; self-harm was more likely. Motives for absconding included: wanting freedom or drink or drugs, family worries and/or dissatisfaction with aspects of treatment. Escapes or absconding from secure healthcare units have different characteristics, but may best be prevented by convergent strategies. Relational security is likely to be as important for foiling plans for the former as it is for reducing boredom, building strong family support and managing substance misuse in the latter. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. The escape problem for mortal walkers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grebenkov, D. S.; Rupprecht, J.-F.

    2017-02-01

    We introduce and investigate the escape problem for random walkers that may eventually die, decay, bleach, or lose activity during their diffusion towards an escape or reactive region on the boundary of a confining domain. In the case of a first-order kinetics (i.e., exponentially distributed lifetimes), we study the effect of the associated death rate onto the survival probability, the exit probability, and the mean first passage time. We derive the upper and lower bounds and some approximations for these quantities. We reveal three asymptotic regimes of small, intermediate, and large death rates. General estimates and asymptotics are compared to several explicit solutions for simple domains and to numerical simulations. These results allow one to account for stochastic photobleaching of fluorescent tracers in bio-imaging, degradation of mRNA molecules in genetic translation mechanisms, or high mortality rates of spermatozoa in the fertilization process. Our findings provide a mathematical ground for optimizing storage containers and materials to reduce the risk of leakage of dangerous chemicals or nuclear wastes.

  11. Centering Single Cells in Microgels via Delayed Crosslinking Supports Long-Term 3D Culture by Preventing Cell Escape.

    PubMed

    Kamperman, Tom; Henke, Sieger; Visser, Claas Willem; Karperien, Marcel; Leijten, Jeroen

    2017-06-01

    Single-cell-laden microgels support physiological 3D culture conditions while enabling straightforward handling and high-resolution readouts of individual cells. However, their widespread adoption for long-term cultures is limited by cell escape. In this work, it is demonstrated that cell escape is predisposed to off-center encapsulated cells. High-speed microscopy reveals that cells are positioned at the microgel precursor droplets' oil/water interface within milliseconds after droplet formation. In conventional microencapsulation strategies, the droplets are typically gelled immediately after emulsification, which traps cells in this off-center position. By delaying crosslinking, driving cells toward the centers of microgels is succeeded. The centering of cells in enzymatically crosslinked microgels prevents their escape during at least 28 d. It thereby uniquely enables the long-term culture of individual cells within <5-µm-thick 3D uniform hydrogel coatings. Single cell analysis of mesenchymal stem cells in enzymatically crosslinked microgels reveals unprecedented high cell viability (>90%), maintained metabolic activity (>70%), and multilineage differentiation capacity (>60%) over a period of 28 d. The facile nature of this microfluidic cell-centering method enables its straightforward integration into many microencapsulation strategies and significantly enhances control, reproducibility, and reliability of 3D single cell cultures. © 2017 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Effects of Serotonergic and Opioidergic Drugs on Escape Behaviors and Social Status of Male Crickets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dyakonova, V. E.; Schürmann, F.-W.; Sakharov, D. A.

    We examined the effects of selective serotonin depletion and opioid ligands on social rank and related escape behavior of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Establishment of social rank in a pair of males affected their escape reactions. Losers showed a lower and dominants a higher percentage of jumps in response to tactile cercal stimulation than before a fight. The serotonin-depleting drug α-methyltryptophan (AMTP) caused an activation of the escape reactivity in socially naive crickets. AMTP-treated animals also showed a lower ability to become dominants. With an initial 51.6+/-3.6% of wins in the AMTP group, the percentage decreased to 26+/-1.6% on day 5 after injection. The opiate receptor antagonist naloxone affected fight and escape similarly as AMTP. In contrast to naloxone, the opioid agonist [d-Ala2, N-Me-Phe4, Gly5-ol]-enkephalin decreased escape responsiveness to cercal stimulation in naive and subordinate crickets. We suggest that serotonergic and opioid systems are involved in the dominance induced depression of escape behavior.

  13. How Hospitable Are Space Weather Affected Habitable Zones? The Role of Ion Escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Airapetian, Vladimir S.; Glocer, Alex; Khazanov, George V.; Loyd, R. O. P.; France, Kevin; Sojka, Jan; Danchi, William C.; Liemohn, Michael W.

    2017-02-01

    Atmospheres of exoplanets in the habitable zones around active young G-K-M stars are subject to extreme X-ray and EUV (XUV) fluxes from their host stars that can initiate atmospheric erosion. Atmospheric loss affects exoplanetary habitability in terms of surface water inventory, atmospheric pressure, the efficiency of greenhouse warming, and the dosage of the UV surface irradiation. Thermal escape models suggest that exoplanetary atmospheres around active K-M stars should undergo massive hydrogen escape, while heavier species including oxygen will accumulate forming an oxidizing atmosphere. Here, we show that non-thermal oxygen ion escape could be as important as thermal, hydrodynamic H escape in removing the constituents of water from exoplanetary atmospheres under supersolar XUV irradiation. Our models suggest that the atmospheres of a significant fraction of Earth-like exoplanets around M dwarfs and active K stars exposed to high XUV fluxes will incur a significant atmospheric loss rate of oxygen and nitrogen, which will make them uninhabitable within a few tens to hundreds of Myr, given a low replenishment rate from volcanism or cometary bombardment. Our non-thermal escape models have important implications for the habitability of the Proxima Centauri’s terrestrial planet.

  14. Developing the E-Scape Software System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Derrick, Karim

    2012-01-01

    Most innovations have contextual pre-cursors that prompt new ways of thinking and in their turn help to give form to the new reality. This was the case with the e-scape software development process. The origins of the system existed in software components and ideas that we had developed through previous projects, but the ultimate direction we took…

  15. Automated guidance algorithms for a space station-based crew escape vehicle.

    PubMed

    Flanary, R; Hammen, D G; Ito, D; Rabalais, B W; Rishikof, B H; Siebold, K H

    2003-04-01

    An escape vehicle was designed to provide an emergency evacuation for crew members living on a space station. For maximum escape capability, the escape vehicle needs to have the ability to safely evacuate a station in a contingency scenario such as an uncontrolled (e.g., tumbling) station. This emergency escape sequence will typically be divided into three events: The first separation event (SEP1), the navigation reconstruction event, and the second separation event (SEP2). SEP1 is responsible for taking the spacecraft from its docking port to a distance greater than the maximum radius of the rotating station. The navigation reconstruction event takes place prior to the SEP2 event and establishes the orbital state to within the tolerance limits necessary for SEP2. The SEP2 event calculates and performs an avoidance burn to prevent station recontact during the next several orbits. This paper presents the tools and results for the whole separation sequence with an emphasis on the two separation events. The first challenge includes collision avoidance during the escape sequence while the station is in an uncontrolled rotational state, with rotation rates of up to 2 degrees per second. The task of avoiding a collision may require the use of the Vehicle's de-orbit propulsion system for maximum thrust and minimum dwell time within the vicinity of the station vicinity. The thrust of the propulsion system is in a single direction, and can be controlled only by the attitude of the spacecraft. Escape algorithms based on a look-up table or analytical guidance can be implemented since the rotation rate and the angular momentum vector can be sensed onboard and a-priori knowledge of the position and relative orientation are available. In addition, crew intervention has been provided for in the event of unforeseen obstacles in the escape path. The purpose of the SEP2 burn is to avoid re-contact with the station over an extended period of time. Performing this maneuver requires

  16. Intranasal administration of dopamine attenuates unconditioned fear in that it reduces restraint-induced ultrasound vocalizations and escape from bright light.

    PubMed

    Talbot, Teddy; Mattern, Claudia; de Souza Silva, Maria Angelica; Brandão, Marcus Lira

    2017-06-01

    Although substantial evidence suggests that dopamine (DA) enhances conditioned fear responses, few studies have examined the role of DA in unconditioned fear states. Whereas DA does not cross the blood-brain barrier, intranasally-applied dopamine reaches the brain directly via the nose-brain pathways in rodents, providing an alternative means of targeting DA receptors. Intranasal dopamine (IN-DA) has been demonstrated to bind to DA transporters and to increase extracellular DA in the striatum as well as having memory-promoting effects in rats. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of IN-DA in three tests of fear/anxiety. The three doses of DA hydrochloride (0.03, 0.3, or 1 mg/kg) were applied in a viscous castor oil gel in a volume of 5 µl to each of both nostrils of adult Wistar rats prior to testing of (a) escape from a bright light, using a two-chamber procedure, (b) restraint-induced 22 kHz ultrasound vocalizations (USVs), and (c) exploratory behavior in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). IN-DA dose-dependently reduced escape from bright light and the number of USV responses to restraint. It had no influence on the exploratory behavior in the EPM. IN-DA application reduced escape behavior in two tests of unconditioned fear (escape from bright light and USV response to immobilization). These findings may be interpreted in light of the known antidepressant action of IN-DA and DA reuptake blockers. The results also confirm the promise of the nasal route as an alternative means for targeting the brain's dopaminergic receptors with DA.

  17. The Escaping Upper Atmospheres of Hot Jupiters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davidson, Eric; Jones, Gabrielle; Uribe, Ana; Carson, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    Hot Jupiters are massive gaseous planets which orbit closely to their parent star. The strong stellar irradiation at these small orbital separations causes the temperature of the upper atmosphere of the planet to rise. This can cause the planet's atmosphere to escape into space, creating an exoplanet outflow. We ascertained which factors determine the presence and structure of these outflows by creating one dimensional simulations of the density, pressure, velocity, optical depth, and neutral fraction of hot Jupiter atmospheres. This was done for planets of masses and radii ranging from 0.5-1.5 Mj and 0.5-1.5 Rj. We found the outflow rate to be highest for a planet of 0.5 Mj and 1.5 Rj at 5.3×10-14 Mj/Yr. We also found that the higher the escape velocity, the lower the chance of the planet having an outflow.

  18. Detection of Escaping Lyman Continuum Radiation in Two Local Starbursts Using FUSE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leitet, E.; Bergvall, N.; Andersson, B.-G.; Zackrisson, E.

    2007-05-01

    Dwarf galaxies may play a significant role in the reionization history of the universe, and as such also for the history of structure formation. These galaxies are however too faint to be observed at high redshifts, and it is therefore important to establish the amount of Lyman continuum (LyC) radiation that escape local starbursting dwarf galaxies. The amount of leakage is important to know also in order to improve models of star formation and spectral evolution of galaxies, which if neglected, might lead to false conclusions about the properties of the galaxies themself. Previous attempts to directly observe the leakage of hydrogen-ionizing radiation from local galaxies has before this resulted only in one successful case. In Bergvall et al. (2006 A&A 448, 513) an escape fraction of 4-10 % for the blue compact galaxy Haro 11, was found. In this work the detection and quantification of the LyC escape fractions for two additional local starburst galaxies using the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, FUSE, is presented. The detections were made using FUSE archival data reduced with the latest, and much improved, pipeline. The LyC continuum can be seen as a faint structure between the Lyman limit of the target galaxies and the Milky Way. From line profile fitting it was found that both galaxies have high column densities of neutral gas, indicating that the LyC radiation is escaping through holes in the ISM. The escape fractions are calculated using spectral evolutionary models, based on the f(900Å), f(960Å) and f(Ha) fluxes. The fact that LyC leakage now is detected in three local starbursting dwarf galaxies is going to have a deep impact on future research on structure formation and galaxy evolution. The next challenge would be to statistically determine the escape fraction in extended surveys of starbursting dwarf galaxies.

  19. On the temperature prediction in a fire escape passage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Casano, G.; Piva, S.

    2017-11-01

    Fire safety engineering requires a detailed understanding of fire behaviour and of its effects on structures and people. Many factors may condition the fire scenario, as for example, heat transfer between the flame and the boundary structures. Currently advanced numerical codes for the prediction of the fire behaviour are available. However, these solutions often require heavy calculations and long times. In this context analytical solutions can be useful for a fast analysis of simplified schematizations. After that, it is more effective the final utilization of the advanced fire codes. In this contribution, the temperature in a fire escape passage, separated with a thermally resistant wall from a fire room, is analysed. The escape space is included in a building where the neighbouring rooms are at a constant undisturbed temperature. The presence of the neighbouring rooms is considered with an equivalent heat transfer coefficient, in a boundary condition of the third type. An analytical solution is used to predict the temperature distribution during the fire. It allows to obtain useful information on the temperature reached in the escape area in contact with a burning room; it is useful also for a fast choice of the thermal characteristics of a firewall.

  20. How single mutations affect viral escape from broad and narrow antibodies to H1 influenza hemagglutinin.

    PubMed

    Doud, Michael B; Lee, Juhye M; Bloom, Jesse D

    2018-04-11

    Influenza virus can escape most antibodies with single mutations. However, rare antibodies broadly neutralize many viral strains. It is unclear how easily influenza virus might escape such antibodies if there was strong pressure to do so. Here, we map all single amino-acid mutations that increase resistance to broad antibodies to H1 hemagglutinin. Our approach not only identifies antigenic mutations but also quantifies their effect sizes. All antibodies select mutations, but the effect sizes vary widely. The virus can escape a broad antibody to hemagglutinin's receptor-binding site the same way it escapes narrow strain-specific antibodies: via single mutations with huge effects. In contrast, broad antibodies to hemagglutinin's stalk only select mutations with small effects. Therefore, among the antibodies we examine, breadth is an imperfect indicator of the potential for viral escape via single mutations. Antibodies targeting the H1 hemagglutinin stalk are quantifiably harder to escape than the other antibodies tested here.

  1. European policymaking on the tobacco advertising ban: the importance of escape routes.

    PubMed

    Adamini, Sandra; Versluis, Esther; Maarse, Hans

    2011-01-01

    This article analyses the European Union policymaking process regarding tobacco advertising. While others already highlighted the importance of intergovernmental bargaining between member states to explain the outcome of the tobacco advertising case, the main aim of this article is to identify the use of escape routes by the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and interest groups that played an important role in overcoming the deadlock. When looking at the different institutions that structure policymaking, we argue that indeed focusing on escape routes provides a clear insight in the process and in what strategies were necessary to 'make Europe work'. In the end, it appears to be a combination of escape routes that resulted in the final decision.

  2. Morphology modification of gold nanoparticles from nanoshell to C-shape: Improved surface enhanced Raman scattering

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

    Xing, Ting-Yang; Zhu, Jian; Li, Jian-Jun

    Morphology modification of nanostructures is of great interest, because it can be used to fabricate nanostructures which are hard to be done using other methods. Different from traditional lithographic technique which is slow and expensive, morphology modification is easy, cheap, and reproducible. In this paper, modification of the optical and morphological properties of a hollow gold nanoshell (HGNS) is achieved by using H{sub 2}O{sub 2} as an oxidizer. The reshaping of these nanostructures has been demonstrated as a consequence of an oxidation process in which HGNSs are dissolved by H{sub 2}O{sub 2} under the acidic conditions provided by HCl. Wemore » investigate the oxidation process by a transmission electron microscope and propose a reshaping model involving four different shapes (HGNS, HGNS with hole, gold nanoring, and C-shaped gold nanoparticle) which are corresponding to the oxidation products of HGNSs at different pH values. Besides, the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of each oxidation product has been evaluated by using rhodamine 6G as the Raman active probe. It has been observed that the C-shaped gold nanoparticles which are corresponding to the oxidation products at the minimum pH value have the highest SERS activity and this result can also be interpreted by discrete-dipole approximation simulations. We demonstrate that the morphology modification of HGNSs becomes possible in a controlled manner using wet chemistry and can be used in preparation of gold nanoparticles such as HGNS with hole, gold nanoring, and C-shaped gold nanoparticle with large SERS activity. These nanostructures must have potential use in many plasmonic areas, including sensing, catalysis, and biomedicine.« less

  3. Developing Enhanced Morphological Awareness in Adolescent Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hendrix, Rebecca A.; Griffin, Robert A.

    2017-01-01

    Morphological awareness--knowledge of roots and affixes within language and their interactions with one another to create multitudes of words--is arguably a skill requiring extended study beyond the elementary grades. With the rigors of contemporary curriculum that gradually guide students into college and career readiness--and, essentially, into…

  4. A convergent and essential interneuron pathway for Mauthner-cell-mediated escapes.

    PubMed

    Lacoste, Alix M B; Schoppik, David; Robson, Drew N; Haesemeyer, Martin; Portugues, Ruben; Li, Jennifer M; Randlett, Owen; Wee, Caroline L; Engert, Florian; Schier, Alexander F

    2015-06-01

    The Mauthner cell (M-cell) is a command-like neuron in teleost fish whose firing in response to aversive stimuli is correlated with short-latency escapes [1-3]. M-cells have been proposed as evolutionary ancestors of startle response neurons of the mammalian reticular formation [4], and studies of this circuit have uncovered important principles in neurobiology that generalize to more complex vertebrate models [3]. The main excitatory input was thought to originate from multisensory afferents synapsing directly onto the M-cell dendrites [3]. Here, we describe an additional, convergent pathway that is essential for the M-cell-mediated startle behavior in larval zebrafish. It is composed of excitatory interneurons called spiral fiber neurons, which project to the M-cell axon hillock. By in vivo calcium imaging, we found that spiral fiber neurons are active in response to aversive stimuli capable of eliciting escapes. Like M-cell ablations, bilateral ablations of spiral fiber neurons largely eliminate short-latency escapes. Unilateral spiral fiber neuron ablations shift the directionality of escapes and indicate that spiral fiber neurons excite the M-cell in a lateralized manner. Their optogenetic activation increases the probability of short-latency escapes, supporting the notion that spiral fiber neurons help activate M-cell-mediated startle behavior. These results reveal that spiral fiber neurons are essential for the function of the M-cell in response to sensory cues and suggest that convergent excitatory inputs that differ in their input location and timing ensure reliable activation of the M-cell, a feedforward excitatory motif that may extend to other neural circuits. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Leaflet escape in a new bileaflet mechanical valve: TRI technologies.

    PubMed

    Bottio, Tomaso; Casarotto, Dino; Thiene, Gaetano; Caprili, Luca; Angelini, Annalisa; Gerosa, Gino

    2003-05-13

    Leaflet escape is a mode of structural valve failure for mechanical prostheses. This complication previously has been reported for both monoleaflet and bileaflet valve models. We report 2 leaflet escape occurrences observed in 2 patients who underwent valve replacement with a TRI Technologies valve prosthesis. At the University of Padua, between November 2000 and February 2002, 36 TRI Technologies valve prostheses (26 aortic and 10 mitral) were implanted in 34 patients (12 women and 22 men) with a mean age of 59.9+/-10.3 years (range, 30 to 75 years). There were 5 deaths: 3 in hospital, 1 early after discharge, and 1 late. Two patients experienced a catastrophic prosthetic leaflet escape; the first patient was a 52-year-old man who died 10 days after aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement, and the second was a 58-year-old man who underwent a successful emergency reoperation 20 months after mitral valve replacement. Examination of the explanted prostheses showed in both cases a leaflet escape caused by a leaflet's pivoting system fracture. Prophylactic replacement was then successfully accomplished so far in 12 patients, without evidence of structural valve failure in any of them. Among other significant postoperative complications, we observed 3 major thromboembolisms, 1 hemorrhage, and 1 paravalvular leak. These catastrophes prompted us to interrupt the implantation program, and they cast a shadow on the durability of the TRI Technologies valve prosthesis because of its high risk of structural failure.

  6. Flowing water affects fish fast-starts: escape performance of the Hawaiian stream goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni.

    PubMed

    Diamond, Kelly M; Schoenfuss, Heiko L; Walker, Jeffrey A; Blob, Richard W

    2016-10-01

    Experimental measurements of escape performance in fishes have typically been conducted in still water; however, many fishes inhabit environments with flow that could impact escape behavior. We examined the influences of flow and predator attack direction on the escape behavior of fish, using juveniles of the amphidromous Hawaiian goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni In nature, these fish must escape ambush predation while moving through streams with high-velocity flow. We measured the escape performance of juvenile gobies while exposing them to a range of water velocities encountered in natural streams and stimulating fish from three different directions. Frequency of response across treatments indicated strong effects of flow conditions and attack direction. Juvenile S. stimpsoni had uniformly high response rates for attacks from a caudal direction (opposite flow); however, response rates for attacks from a cranial direction (matching flow) decreased dramatically as flow speed increased. Mechanical stimuli produced by predators attacking in the same direction as flow might be masked by the flow environment, impairing the ability of prey to detect attacks. Thus, the likelihood of successful escape performance in fishes can depend critically on environmental context. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  7. 30 CFR 75.382 - Mechanical escape facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ....382 Mineral Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.382 Mechanical escape... shall be run through one complete cycle of operation to determine that it is operating properly. (d) A...

  8. On the run: mapping the escape speed across the Galaxy with SDSS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, Angus A.; Belokurov, Vasily; Casey, Andrew R.; Evans, N. Wyn

    2017-06-01

    We measure the variation of the escape speed of the Milky Way across a range of ˜40 kpc in Galactocentric radius. The local escape speed is found to be 521^{+46}_{-30}{ km s^{-1}}, in good agreement with other studies. We find that this has already fallen to 379^{+34}_{-28}{ km s^{-1}} at a radius of 50 kpc. Through measuring the escape speed and its variation, we obtain constraints on the Galactic mass profile and rotation curve. The gradient in the escape speed suggests that the total mass contained within 50 kpc is 30^{+7}_{-5}× 10^{10} M_{⊙}, implying a relatively light dark halo for the Milky Way. The local circular speed is found to be v_c(R_0) = 223^{+40}_{-34}{ km s^{-1}} and falls with radius as a power law with index -0.19 ± 0.05. Our method represents a novel way of estimating the mass of the Galaxy, and has very different systematics to more commonly used models of tracers, which are more sensitive to the central parts of the halo velocity distributions. Using our inference on the escape speed, we then investigate the orbits of high-speed Milky Way dwarf galaxies. For each considered dwarf, we predict small pericentre radii and large orbital eccentricities. This naturally explains the large observed ellipticities of two of the dwarfs, which are likely to have been heavily disrupted at pericentre.

  9. Fractionation of terrestrial neon by hydrodynamic hydrogen escape from ancient steam atmospheres

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zahnle, K.

    1991-01-01

    Atmospheric neon is isotopically heavier than mantle neon. By contrast, nonradiogenic mantle Ar, Kr, and Xe are not known to differ from the atmosphere. These observations are most easily explained by selective neon loss to space; however, neon is much too massive to escape from the modern atmosphere. Steam atmospheres are a likely, if intermittent, feature of the accreting Earth. They occur because, on average, the energy liberated during accretion places Earth above the runaway greenhouse threshold, so that liquid water is not stable at the surface. It is found that steam atmospheres should have lasted some ten to fifty million years. Hydrogen escape would have been vigorous, but abundant heavy constituents would have been retained. There is no lack of plausible candidates; CO2, N2, or CO could all suffice. Neon can escape because it is less massive than any of the likely pollutants. Neon fractionation would have been a natural byproduct. Assuming that the initial Ne-20/Ne-22 ratio was solar, it was found that it would have taken some ten million years to effect the observed neon fractionation in a 30 bar steam atmosphere fouled with 10 bars of CO. Thicker atmospheres would have taken longer; less CO, shorter. This mechanism for fractionating neon has about the right level of efficiency. Because the lighter isotope escapes much more readily, total neon loss is pretty minimal; less than half of the initial neon endowment escapes.

  10. Biomechanics of Tetrahymena escaping from dead ends

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ishikawa, Takuji; Kikuchi, Kenji

    2017-11-01

    Behaviors of swimming microorganisms in complex environments are important in understanding cells' distribution in nature and in industries. Although cell's swimming and spreading in an infinite fluid has been intensively investigated, that in a narrow region bounded by walls is still unclear. Thus, in this study, we used Tetrahymena thermophila as a model microorganism, and experimentally investigated its behavior between flat plates with an angle. The results showed that the cells tended to escape from the narrow region, and the swimming velocity and the radius of curvature of the trajectories decreased as they swam narrower region. We then developed a computational model of swimming Tetrahymena. The results showed that the escaping behavior could be well explained by fluid mechanics. The obtained knowledge is useful in understanding cells' behaviors in complex environments, such as in porous media and in a granular matter. This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grants, numbers 25000008 and 17H00853.

  11. Widespread Impact of HLA Restriction on Immune Control and Escape Pathways of HIV-1

    PubMed Central

    Listgarten, Jennifer; Pfeifer, Nico; Tan, Vincent; Kadie, Carl; Walker, Bruce D.; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Shapiro, Roger; Frater, John; Brumme, Zabrina L.; Goulder, Philip J. R.; Heckerman, David

    2012-01-01

    The promiscuous presentation of epitopes by similar HLA class I alleles holds promise for a universal T-cell-based HIV-1 vaccine. However, in some instances, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) restricted by HLA alleles with similar or identical binding motifs are known to target epitopes at different frequencies, with different functional avidities and with different apparent clinical outcomes. Such differences may be illuminated by the association of similar HLA alleles with distinctive escape pathways. Using a novel computational method featuring phylogenetically corrected odds ratios, we systematically analyzed differential patterns of immune escape across all optimally defined epitopes in Gag, Pol, and Nef in 2,126 HIV-1 clade C-infected adults. Overall, we identified 301 polymorphisms in 90 epitopes associated with HLA alleles belonging to shared supertypes. We detected differential escape in 37 of 38 epitopes restricted by more than one allele, which included 278 instances of differential escape at the polymorphism level. The majority (66 to 97%) of these resulted from the selection of unique HLA-specific polymorphisms rather than differential epitope targeting rates, as confirmed by gamma interferon (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assay (ELISPOT) data. Discordant associations between HLA alleles and viral load were frequently observed between allele pairs that selected for differential escape. Furthermore, the total number of associated polymorphisms strongly correlated with average viral load. These studies confirm that differential escape is a widespread phenomenon and may be the norm when two alleles present the same epitope. Given the clinical correlates of immune escape, such heterogeneity suggests that certain epitopes will lead to discordant outcomes if applied universally in a vaccine. PMID:22379086

  12. Little evidence for morphological change in a resilient endemic species following the introduction of a novel predator.

    PubMed

    Sharpe, D M T; Langerhans, R B; Low-Décarie, E; Chapman, L J

    2015-11-01

    Human activities, such as species introductions, are dramatically and rapidly altering natural ecological processes and often result in novel selection regimes. To date, we still have a limited understanding of the extent to which such anthropogenic selection may be driving contemporary phenotypic change in natural populations. Here, we test whether the introduction of the piscivorous Nile perch, Lates niloticus, into East Africa's Lake Victoria and nearby lakes coincided with morphological change in one resilient native prey species, the cyprinid fish Rastrineobola argentea. Drawing on prior ecomorphological research, we predicted that this novel predator would select for increased allocation to the caudal region in R. argentea to enhance burst-swimming performance and hence escape ability. To test this prediction, we compared body morphology of R. argentea across space (nine Ugandan lakes differing in Nile perch invasion history) and through time (before and after establishment of Nile perch in Lake Victoria). Spatial comparisons of contemporary populations only partially supported our predictions, with R. argentea from some invaded lakes having larger caudal regions and smaller heads compared to R. argentea from uninvaded lakes. There was no clear evidence of predator-associated change in body shape over time in Lake Victoria. We conclude that R. argentea have not responded to the presence of Nile perch with consistent morphological changes and that other factors are driving observed patterns of body shape variation in R. argentea. © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2015 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  13. On the relative contributions of noncontingent reinforcement and escape extinction in the treatment of food refusal.

    PubMed

    Reed, Gregory K; Piazza, Cathleen C; Patel, Meeta R; Layer, Stacy A; Bachmeyer, Melanie H; Bethke, Stephanie D; Gutshall, Katharine A

    2004-01-01

    In the current investigation, we evaluated the relative effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), escape extinction, and a combination of NCR and escape extinction as treatment for the feeding problems exhibited by 4 children. For each participant, consumption increased only when escape extinction was implemented, independent of whether NCR was present or absent. These results were consistent with prior research suggesting that positive reinforcement alone is insufficient for increasing consumption, and that escape extinction often is necessary to increase and maintain food acceptance. However, NCR appeared to decrease inappropriate behavior for some participants.

  14. Dependence of Photochemical Escape of Oxygen at Mars on Solar Radiation and Solar Wind Interaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cravens, T.; Rahmati, A.; Lillis, R. J.; Fox, J. L.; Bougher, S. W.; Jakosky, B. M.

    2016-12-01

    The evolution of the atmosphere of Mars and the loss of volatiles over the life of the solar system is a key topic in planetary science. An important loss process in the ionosphere is photochemical escape. In particular, dissociative recombination of O2+ ions (the major ion species) produces fast oxygen atoms, some of which can escape from the planet. Several theoretical models have been constructed over the years to study hot oxygen and its escape from Mars. These model have a number of uncertainties, particularly for the elastic cross sections of O collisions with target neutral species. Recently, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) mission has been rapidly improving our understanding of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars and its interaction with the external environment (e.g., the solar wind). The purpose of the current paper is to take a simple analytical approach to the oxygen escape problem in order to: (1) study the role that solar flux and solar wind variations have on escape and (2) isolate the effects of uncertainties in oxygen cross sections on the derived oxygen escape rates. Not surprisingly, we find, in agreement with more elaborate numerical models, that the escape flux is directly proportional to the incident solar extreme ultraviolet irradiance and is inversely proportional to the backscatter elastic cross section. The role for atmospheric loss that ion transport plays in the topside ionosphere and how the solar wind interaction drives this will also be discussed.

  15. Correlated evolution of personality, morphology and performance

    PubMed Central

    Kern, Elizabeth M. A.; Robinson, Detric; Gass, Erika; Godwin, John; Langerhans, R. Brian

    2018-01-01

    Evolutionary change in one trait can elicit evolutionary changes in other traits due to genetic correlations. This constrains the independent evolution of traits and can lead to unpredicted ecological and evolutionary outcomes. Animals might frequently exhibit genetic associations among behavioural and morphological-physiological traits, because the physiological mechanisms behind animal personality can have broad multitrait effects and because many selective agents influence the evolution of multiple types of traits. However, we currently know little about genetic correlations between animal personalities and nonbehavioural traits. We tested for associations between personality, morphology and locomotor performance by comparing zebrafish (Danio rerio) collected from the wild and then selectively bred for either a proactive or reactive stress coping style (‘bold’ or ‘shy’ phenotypes). Based on adaptive hypotheses of correlational selection in the wild, we predicted that artificial selection for boldness would produce correlated evolutionary responses of larger caudal regions and higher fast-start escape performance (and the opposite for shyness). After four to seven generations, morphology and locomotor performance differed between personality lines: bold zebrafish exhibited a larger caudal region and higher fast-start performance than fish in the shy line, matching predictions. Individual-level phenotypic correlations suggested that pleiotropy or physical gene linkage likely explained the correlated response of locomotor performance, while the correlated response of body shape may have reflected linkage disequilibrium, which is breaking down each generation in the laboratory. Our results indicate that evolution of personality can result in concomitant changes in morphology and whole-organism performance, and vice versa. PMID:29398712

  16. A New Maneuver for Escape Trajectories

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Adams, Robert B.

    2008-01-01

    This presentation put forth a new maneuver for escape trajectories and specifically sought to find an analytical approximation for medium thrust trajectories. In most low thrust derivations the idea is that escape velocity is best achieved by accelerating along the velocity vector. The reason for this is that change in specific orbital energy is a function of velocity and acceleration. However, Levin (1952) suggested that while this is a locally optimal solution it might not be a globally optimal one. Turning acceleration inward would drop periapse giving a higher velocity later in the trajectory. Acceleration at that point would be dotted against a higher magnitude V giving a greater rate of change of mechanical energy. The author then hypothesized that decelerating from the initial orbit and then accelerating at periapse would not lead to a gain in greater specific orbital energy--however, the hypothesis was incorrect. After considerable derivation it was determined that this new maneuver outperforms a direct burn when the overall DeltaV budget exceeds the initial orbital velocity (the author has termed this the Heinlein maneuver). The author provides a physical explanation for this maneuver and presents optimization analyses.

  17. Escape mechanisms of dust in Io

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flandes, A.

    The injection of material into the jovian magnetosphere through Io's volcanic activity makes possible the formation of structures such as the plasma torus and the dust ballerina skirt. Io's high temperature volcanism produces spectacular plumes, but even the tallest plumes, as those of Pelen Patera, will not produce enough energy to defeat the gravitational attraction of Io. The fact is that dust escapes from Io, which implies that a second mechanism is acting on the grains. Grains brought to the top of the highest plumes by the volcanic forces are still under Io's gravitational pull, but need only a minimum charge (~10-1 4 C) so that the Lorentz force due to the Jovian magnetic field equilibrates this attraction. In the volcanic vents, the escape velocity of the ejected material and its own density produces enough collisions to create charges. On top of the highest plumes (~500km) charged grains are exposed to the plasma torus that co-rotates rigidly with Jupiter and, due to the relative velocity among Io and the torus, the grains will be dragged away from Io. As it is well known, these dust grains will also be dragged away from Jupiter.

  18. Outlet strut fracture and leaflet escape of Bjork-Shiley convexo-concave valve.

    PubMed

    Uchino, Gaku; Yoshida, Hideo; Sakoda, Naoya; Hattori, Shigeru; Kawabata, Takuya; Saiki, Munehiro; Fujita, Yasufumi; Yunoki, Keiji; Hisamochi, Kunikazu; Mine, Yoshinari

    2017-06-01

    Prosthetic valve fracture is a serious complication and may arise in patient post-valve replacement. We experienced an outlet strut fracture and leaflet escape of a Bjork-Shiley convexo-concave valve. We performed an emergency redo mitral valve replacement and successfully retrieved the fractured strut and escaped leaflet from superficial femoral artery and the abdominal aorta. The patient showed an uneventful postoperative recovery.

  19. Heating and acceleration of escaping planetary ions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nilsson, Hans

    2010-05-01

    The magnetic field of the Earth acts like a shield against the solar wind, leading to a magnetopause position many planetary radii away from the planet, in contrast to the situation at non- or weakly magnetized planets such as Mars and Venus. Despite this there is significant ion outflow due to solar wind interaction from the cusp and polar cap regions of the Earth's ionosphere. Effective interaction regions form, in particular in the ionospheric projection of the cusp, where ionospheric plasma flows up along the field-lines in response to magnetospheric energy input. Strong wave-particle interaction at altitudes above the ionosphere further accelerates the particles so that gravity is overcome. For the particles to enter a direct escape path they must be accelerated along open magnetic field lines so that they cross the magnetopause or reach a distance beyond the region of return flow in the tail. This return flow may also be either lost to space or returned to the atmosphere. Throughout this transport chain the heating and acceleration experienced by the particles will have an influence on the final fate of the particles. We will present quantitative estimates of centrifugal acceleration and perpendicular heating along the escape path from the cusp, through the high altitude polar cap/mantle, based on Cluster spacecraft data. We will open up for a discussion on the benefits of a ponderomotive force description of the acceleration affecting the ion circulation and escape. Finally we will compare with the situation at the unmagnetized planets Mars and Venus and discuss to what extent a magnetic field protects an atmosphere from loss through solar wind interaction.

  20. Quantifying factors determining the rate of CTL escape and reversion during acute and chronic phases of HIV infection

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

    Ganusov, Vitaly V; Korber, Bette M; Perelson, Alan S

    Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often evades cytotoxic T cell (CTL) responses by generating variants that are not recognized by CTLs. However, the importance and quantitative details of CTL escape in humans are poorly understood. In part, this is because most studies looking at escape of HIV from CTL responses are cross-sectional and are limited to early or chronic phases of the infection. We use a novel technique of single genome amplification (SGA) to identify longitudinal changes in the transmitted/founder virus from the establishment of infection to the viral set point at 1 year after the infection. We find that HIVmore » escapes from virus-specific CTL responses as early as 30-50 days since the infection, and the rates of viral escapes during acute phase of the infection are much higher than was estimated in previous studies. However, even though with time virus acquires additional escape mutations, these late mutations accumulate at a slower rate. A poor correlation between the rate of CTL escape in a particular epitope and the magnitude of the epitope-specific CTL response suggests that the lower rate of late escapes is unlikely due to a low efficacy of the HIV-specific CTL responses in the chronic phase of the infection. Instead, our results suggest that late and slow escapes are likely to arise because of high fitness cost to the viral replication associated with such CTL escapes. Targeting epitopes in which virus escapes slowly or does not escape at all by CTL responses may, therefore, be a promising direction for the development of T cell based HIV vaccines.« less

  1. Prior Individual Training and Self-Organized Queuing during Group Emergency Escape of Mice from Water Pool

    PubMed Central

    Saloma, Caesar; Perez, Gay Jane; Gavile, Catherine Ann; Ick-Joson, Jacqueline Judith; Palmes-Saloma, Cynthia

    2015-01-01

    We study the impact of prior individual training during group emergency evacuation using mice that escape from an enclosed water pool to a dry platform via any of two possible exits. Experimenting with mice avoids serious ethical and legal issues that arise when dealing with unwitting human participants while minimizing concerns regarding the reliability of results obtained from simulated experiments using ‘actors’. First, mice were trained separately and their individual escape times measured over several trials. Mice learned quickly to swim towards an exit–they achieved their fastest escape times within the first four trials. The trained mice were then placed together in the pool and allowed to escape. No two mice were permitted in the pool beforehand and only one could pass through an exit opening at any given time. At first trial, groups of trained mice escaped seven and five times faster than their corresponding control groups of untrained mice at pool occupancy rate ρ of 11.9% and 4%, respectively. Faster evacuation happened because trained mice: (a) had better recognition of the available pool space and took shorter escape routes to an exit, (b) were less likely to form arches that blocked an exit opening, and (c) utilized the two exits efficiently without preference. Trained groups achieved continuous egress without an apparent leader-coordinator (self-organized queuing)—a collective behavior not experienced during individual training. Queuing was unobserved in untrained groups where mice were prone to wall seeking, aimless swimming and/or blind copying that produced circuitous escape routes, biased exit use and clogging. The experiments also reveal that faster and less costly group training at ρ = 4%, yielded an average individual escape time that is comparable with individualized training. However, group training in a more crowded pool (ρ = 11.9%) produced a longer average individual escape time. PMID:25693170

  2. Measuring behaviours for escaping from house fires: use of latent variable models to summarise multiple behaviours.

    PubMed

    Ploubidis, G B; Edwards, P; Kendrick, D

    2015-12-15

    This paper reports the development and testing of a construct measuring parental fire safety behaviours for planning escape from a house fire. Latent variable modelling of data on parental-reported fire safety behaviours and plans for escaping from a house fire and multivariable logistic regression to quantify the association between groups defined by the latent variable modelling and parental-report of having a plan for escaping from a house fire. Data comes from 1112 participants in a cluster randomised controlled trial set in children's centres in 4 study centres in the UK. A two class model provided the best fit to the data, combining responses to five fire safety planning behaviours. The first group ('more behaviours for escaping from a house fire') comprised 86% of participants who were most likely to have a torch, be aware of how their smoke alarm sounds, to have external door and window keys accessible, and exits clear. The second group ('fewer behaviours for escaping from a house fire') comprised 14% of participants who were less likely to report these five behaviours. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants allocated to the 'more behaviours for escaping from a house fire group were 2.5 times more likely to report having an escape plan (OR 2.48; 95% CI 1.59-3.86) than those in the "fewer behaviours for escaping from a house fire" group. Multiple fire safety behaviour questions can be combined into a single binary summary measure of fire safety behaviours for escaping from a house fire. Our findings will be useful to future studies wishing to use a single measure of fire safety planning behaviour as measures of outcome or exposure. NCT 01452191. Date of registration 13/10/2011.

  3. Morphology engineering of ZnO nanostructures for high performance supercapacitors: enhanced electrochemistry of ZnO nanocones compared to ZnO nanowires.

    PubMed

    He, Xiaoli; Yoo, Joung Eun; Lee, Min Ho; Bae, Joonho

    2017-06-16

    In this work, the morphology of ZnO nanostructures is engineered to demonstrate enhanced supercapacitor characteristics of ZnO nanocones (NCs) compared to ZnO nanowires (NWs). ZnO NCs are obtained by chemically etching ZnO NWs. Electrochemical characteristics of ZnO NCs and NWs are extensively investigated to demonstrate morphology dependent capacitive performance of one dimensional ZnO nanostructures. Cyclic voltammetry measurements on these two kinds of electrodes in a three-electrode cell confirms that ZnO NCs exhibit a high specific capacitance of 378.5 F g -1 at a scan rate of 20 mV s -1 , which is almost twice that of ZnO NWs (191.5 F g -1 ). The charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements also clearly result in enhanced capacitive performance of NCs as evidenced by higher specific capacitances and lower internal resistance. Asymmetric supercapacitors are fabricated using activated carbon (AC) as the negative electrode and ZnO NWs and NCs as positive electrodes. The ZnO NC⫽AC can deliver a maximum specific capacitance of 126 F g -1 at a current density of 1.33 A g -1 with an energy density of 25.2 W h kg -1 at the power density of 896.44 W kg -1 . In contrast, ZnO NW⫽AC displays 63% of the capacitance obtained from the ZnO NC⫽AC supercapacitor. The enhanced performance of NCs is attributed to the higher surface area of ZnO nanostructures after the morphology is altered from NWs to NCs.

  4. Morphology engineering of ZnO nanostructures for high performance supercapacitors: enhanced electrochemistry of ZnO nanocones compared to ZnO nanowires

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Xiaoli; Yoo, Joung Eun; Lee, Min Ho; Bae, Joonho

    2017-06-01

    In this work, the morphology of ZnO nanostructures is engineered to demonstrate enhanced supercapacitor characteristics of ZnO nanocones (NCs) compared to ZnO nanowires (NWs). ZnO NCs are obtained by chemically etching ZnO NWs. Electrochemical characteristics of ZnO NCs and NWs are extensively investigated to demonstrate morphology dependent capacitive performance of one dimensional ZnO nanostructures. Cyclic voltammetry measurements on these two kinds of electrodes in a three-electrode cell confirms that ZnO NCs exhibit a high specific capacitance of 378.5 F g-1 at a scan rate of 20 mV s-1, which is almost twice that of ZnO NWs (191.5 F g-1). The charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements also clearly result in enhanced capacitive performance of NCs as evidenced by higher specific capacitances and lower internal resistance. Asymmetric supercapacitors are fabricated using activated carbon (AC) as the negative electrode and ZnO NWs and NCs as positive electrodes. The ZnO NC⫽AC can deliver a maximum specific capacitance of 126 F g-1 at a current density of 1.33 A g-1 with an energy density of 25.2 W h kg-1 at the power density of 896.44 W kg-1. In contrast, ZnO NW⫽AC displays 63% of the capacitance obtained from the ZnO NC⫽AC supercapacitor. The enhanced performance of NCs is attributed to the higher surface area of ZnO nanostructures after the morphology is altered from NWs to NCs.

  5. Synchronous activity lowers the energetic cost of nest escape for sea turtle hatchlings.

    PubMed

    Rusli, Mohd Uzair; Booth, David T; Joseph, Juanita

    2016-05-15

    A potential advantage of group movement in animals is increased locomotion efficiency. This implies a reduced energetic cost for individuals that occur in larger groups such as herds, flocks and schools. When chelonian hatchlings hatch in the underground nest with finite energy for their post-hatching dispersal phase, they face the challenge of minimizing energetic expenditure while escaping the nest. The term 'social facilitation' has been used to describe the combined digging effort of sea turtle hatchlings during nest escape. Given that in a normal clutch, a substantial part of the energy reserve within the residual yolk is used by hatchlings in the digging out process, a decreased cohort size may reduce the energy reserve available to cross the beach and sustain the initial swimming frenzy. This hypothesis was experimentally tested by varying cohort size in hatchling green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and measuring energy expenditure during the nest escape process using open-flow respirometry. The energetic cost of escaping through 40 cm of sand was calculated to vary between 4.4 and 28.3 kJ per individual, the cost decreasing as the number of individuals in the cohort increased. This represents 11-68% of the energy contained in a hatchling's residual yolk at hatching. The reduced energetic cost associated with large cohorts resulted from both a lower metabolic rate per individual and a shortened nest escape time. We conclude that synchronous digging activity of many hatchlings during nest escape evolved not only to facilitate rapid nest emergence but also to reduce the energetic cost to individuals. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  6. Isolated Polynucleotides and Methods of Promoting a Morphology in a Fungus

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

    Lasure, Linda L; Dai, Ziyu

    2008-10-21

    The invention includes isolated polynucleotide molecules that are differentially expressed in a native fungus exhibiting a first morphology relative to the native fungus exhibiting a second morphology. The invention includes a method of enhancing a bioprocess utilizing a fungus. A transformed fungus is produced by transforming a fungus with a recombinant polynucleotide molecule. The recombinant polynucleotide molecule contains an isolated polynucleotide sequence linked operably to a promoter. The polynucleotide sequence is expressed to promote a first morphology. The first morphology of the transformed fungus enhances a bioprocess relative to the bioprocess utilizing a second morphology.

  7. The production and escape of nitrogen atoms on Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fox, J. L.

    1993-01-01

    Updated rate coefficients and a revised ionosphere-thermosphere model are used to compute the production rates and densities of odd nitrogen species in the Martian atmosphere. Computed density profiles for N(4S), N(2D), N(2P), and NO are presented. The model NO densities are found to be about a factor of 2-3 less than those measured by the Viking 1 mass spectrometer. Revised values for the escape rates of N atoms from dissociative recombination and ionospheric reactions are also computed. Dissociative recombination is found to be comparable in importance to photodissociation at low solar activity, but it is still the most important escape mechanism for N-14 at high solar activity.

  8. Kuiper Prize Lecture - Escape of atmospheres, ancient and modern

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hunten, D. M.

    1990-05-01

    A development history is presented for theories concerning planetary atmosphere gas-escape phenomena, which although firmly grounded in the kinetics of gases achieved truly productive results only after spacecraft remote sensing data for both the earth atmosphere and the planets became widely available. The most significant initial advances, encompassing diffusion-limited flow, nonthermal escape mechanisms, bound nonthermal coronas, and mass fractionation during early blowoff, followed from sounding rocket studies of the earth upper atmosphere, Mariner 5 results on hydrogen near Venus, and the nitrogen isotopic composition discovered by Viking in Mars. Attention has more recently been given to the xenon isotopic patterns in various atmospheres, as well as to the puzzling behavior of the Io atmosphere and plasma torus.

  9. The assessment of pore connectivity in hierarchical zeolites using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy: instrumental and morphological aspects.

    PubMed

    Zubiaga, Asier; Warringham, Robbie; Boltz, Marilyne; Cooke, David; Crivelli, Paolo; Gidley, David; Pérez-Ramírez, Javier; Mitchell, Sharon

    2016-04-07

    Recent studies demonstrated the power of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) to characterise the connectivity and corresponding effectiveness of hierarchical pore networks in zeolites. This was based on the fractional escape of ortho-positronium (Ps), formed within the micropore framework, to vacuum. To further develop this technique, here we assess the impact of the positron implantation energy and of the zeolite crystal size and the particle morphology. Conventional measurements using fast positrons and beam measurements applying moderated positrons both readily distinguish purely microporous ZSM-5 zeolites comprised of single crystals or crystal aggregates. Unlike beam measurements, however, conventional measurements fail to discriminate model hierarchical zeolites with open or constricted mesopore architectures. Several steps are taken to rationalise these observations. The dominant contribution of Ps diffusion to the PALS response is confirmed by capping the external surface of the zeolite crystals with tetraethylorthosilicate, which greatly enhances the sensitivity to the micropore network. A one-dimensional model is constructed to predict the out-diffusion of Ps from a zeolite crystal, which is validated experimentally by comparing coffin-shaped single crystals of varying size. Calculation of the trends expected on the application of fast or moderated positrons indicates that the distinctions in the initial distribution of Ps at the crystal level cannot explain the limited sensitivity of the former to the mesopore architecture. Instead, we propose that the greater penetration of fast positrons within the sample increases the probability of Ps re-entry from intercrystalline voids into mesopores connected with the external surface of zeolite crystals, thereby reducing their fractional escape.

  10. 46 CFR 169.313 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Means of escape. 169.313 Section 169.313 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction... apart, uniform for the length of the ladder; (3) At least 3 inches from the nearest permanent object in...

  11. 46 CFR 169.313 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Means of escape. 169.313 Section 169.313 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction... apart, uniform for the length of the ladder; (3) At least 3 inches from the nearest permanent object in...

  12. 46 CFR 169.313 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Means of escape. 169.313 Section 169.313 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction... apart, uniform for the length of the ladder; (3) At least 3 inches from the nearest permanent object in...

  13. 46 CFR 169.313 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Means of escape. 169.313 Section 169.313 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) NAUTICAL SCHOOLS SAILING SCHOOL VESSELS Construction... apart, uniform for the length of the ladder; (3) At least 3 inches from the nearest permanent object in...

  14. EscapeScape: Simulating Ecopedagogy for the Tourist

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nakagawa, Yoshifumi

    2018-01-01

    Environmental education as a theory and practice of ecopedagogical simulation positively acknowledges various accidental happenings in the learner's experience. By working with and on the accidents, the learner is encouraged to imagine the real object that escapes his/her experience and thus cannot be and should not be reduced into human…

  15. Effects of the crustal magnetic fields on the Martian atmospheric ion escape rate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramstad, R.; Barbash, S.; Futaana, Y.; Nilsson, H.; Holmstrom, M.

    2015-12-01

    Eight years (2007-2015) of ion flux measurements from Mars Express are used to empirically investigate the influence of the Martian crustal magnetic fields on the atmospheric ion escape rate. We combine ASPERA-3/IMA (Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms/Ion Mass Analyzer) measurements taken during nominal upstream solar wind and solar Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) conditions to compute global average ion distribution functions for varying solar zenith angles (SZA) of the strongest crustal field. Escape rates are subsequently calculated from each of the average distribution functions. A statistically significant increase in escape rate is found for high dayside SZA, compared to low SZA.

  16. Transcriptional control of behavior: Engrailed knockout changes cockroach escape trajectories

    PubMed Central

    Booth, David; Marie, Bruno; Domenici, Paolo; Blagburn, Jonathan M; Bacon, Jonathan P

    2009-01-01

    The cerci of the cockroach are covered with identified sensory hairs, which detect air movements. The sensory neurons which innervate these hairs synapse with giant interneurons (GIs) in the terminal ganglion which in turn synapse with interneurons and leg motorneurons in thoracic ganglia. This neural circuit mediates the animal's escape behavior. The transcription factor Engrailed (En) is expressed only in the medially born sensory neurons, which suggested it could work as a positional determinant of sensory neuron identity. Previously, we used dsRNA interference to abolish En expression, and found that the axonal arborization and synaptic outputs of an identified En-positive sensory neuron changed so that it came to resemble a nearby En-negative cell, which was itself unaffected. We thus demonstrated directly that En controls synaptic choice, as well as axon projections. Is escape behavior affected as a result of this mis-wiring? We recently showed that adult cockroaches keep each escape unpredictable by running along one of a set of preferred escape trajectories (ETs) at fixed angles from the direction of the threatening stimulus. The probability of selecting a particular ET is influenced by wind direction. In this present study we show that early instar juvenile cockroaches also use those same ETs. En knockout significantly perturbs the animals' perception of posterior wind, altering the choice of ETs to one more appropriate for anterior wind. This is the first time that it has been shown that knockout of a transcription factor controlling synaptic connectivity can alter the perception of a directional stimulus. PMID:19494140

  17. On the relative contributions of positive reinforcement and escape extinction in the treatment of food refusal.

    PubMed

    Piazza, Cathleen C; Patel, Meeta R; Gulotta, Charles S; Sevin, Bari M; Layer, Stacy A

    2003-01-01

    We compared the effects of positive reinforcement alone, escape extinction alone, and positive reinforcement with escape extinction in the treatment of the food and fluid refusal of 4 children who had been diagnosed with a pediatric feeding disorder. Consumption did not increase when positive reinforcement was implemented alone. By contrast, consumption increased for all participants when escape extinction was implemented, independent of the presence or absence of positive reinforcement. However, the addition of positive reinforcement to escape extinction was associated with beneficial effects (e.g., greater decreases in negative vocalizations and inappropriate behavior) for some participants.

  18. Do Lyman-alpha photons escape from star-forming galaxies through dust-holes?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wofford, Aida

    2012-10-01

    The hydrogen Lyman-alpha line is arguably the most important signature of galaxies undergoing their first violent burst of star formation. Although Lya photons are easily destroyed by dust, candidate Lya emitters have been detected at z>5. Thus the line can potentially be used to probe galaxy formation and evolution, as long as the astrophysical processes that regulate the escape of Lya photons from star-forming galaxies are well understood.We request 15 orbits for imaging in Lya and the FUV continuum with ACS/SBC, and in the H-beta/H-alpha ratio {proxy for dust extinction} with WFC3/UVIS, a sample of isolated non-AGN face-on spirals for which our team previously obtained and analyzed COS FUV spectroscopy of the central regions. Each target shows a different Lya profile, i.e., pure absorption, P-Cygni like, and multiple-emission. From the COS data, we already know the starburst phase and H I gas velocity. The images would greatly increase the impact of our spectroscopic study by enabling us to 1} conclusively determine if Lya photons escape through dust-holes, 2} assess the relative importance of dust extinction, ISM kinematics, and starburst phase in regulating the Lya escape, 3} clarify what we can really learn from the Lya equivalent width, and 4} provide constraints on the dust extinction to Lya 3D radiative transfer models. Ultimately this program will inform our understanding of the Lya escape at high redshift by providing spatially resolved views of the local conditions within star-forming galaxies that favor escape.

  19. X-chromosome inactivation and escape

    PubMed Central

    DISTECHE, CHRISTINE M.; BERLETCH, JOEL B.

    2016-01-01

    X-chromosome inactivation, which was discovered by Mary Lyon in 1961 results in random silencing of one X chromosome in female mammals. This review is dedicated to Mary Lyon, who passed away last year. She predicted many of the features of X inactivation, for e.g., the existence of an X inactivation center, the role of L1 elements in spreading of silencing and the existence of genes that escape X inactivation. Starting from her published work here we summarize advances in the field. PMID:26690513

  20. Rapid endosomal escape of prickly nanodiamonds: implications for gene delivery

    PubMed Central

    Chu, Zhiqin; Miu, Kaikei; Lung, Pingsai; Zhang, Silu; Zhao, Saisai; Chang, Huan-Cheng; Lin, Ge; Li, Quan

    2015-01-01

    The prickly nanodiamonds easily entered cells via endocytosis followed by unique intracellular translocation characteristics—quick endosomal escape followed by stable residence in cytoplasm. Endosomal membrane rupturing is identified as the major route of nanodiamonds’ escaping the vesicle confinement and to the cytoplasm. Little cytotoxicity is observed to associate with the nanodiamonds’ cytosolic release. Such features enable its application for gene delivery, which requires both effective cellular uptake and cytosolic release of the gene. Taking green fluorescent protein gene as an example, we demonstrate the successful cytosolic delivery and expression of such a gene using the prickly nanodiamonds as carrier. PMID:26123532

  1. Rapid endosomal escape of prickly nanodiamonds: implications for gene delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, Zhiqin; Miu, Kaikei; Lung, Pingsai; Zhang, Silu; Zhao, Saisai; Chang, Huan-Cheng; Lin, Ge; Li, Quan

    2015-06-01

    The prickly nanodiamonds easily entered cells via endocytosis followed by unique intracellular translocation characteristics—quick endosomal escape followed by stable residence in cytoplasm. Endosomal membrane rupturing is identified as the major route of nanodiamonds’ escaping the vesicle confinement and to the cytoplasm. Little cytotoxicity is observed to associate with the nanodiamonds’ cytosolic release. Such features enable its application for gene delivery, which requires both effective cellular uptake and cytosolic release of the gene. Taking green fluorescent protein gene as an example, we demonstrate the successful cytosolic delivery and expression of such a gene using the prickly nanodiamonds as carrier.

  2. Evolving Project E-Scape for National Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kimbell, Richard

    2012-01-01

    In the opening paper in this Special Edition I outlined the major issues that led to the establishment of "project e-scape". The project was intended to develop systems and approaches that enabled learners to build real-time web-based portfolios of their performance (initially) in design & technology and additionally to build systems…

  3. SU-F-T-661: Dependence of Gold Nano Particles Cluster Morphology On Dose Enhancement of Photon Radiation Therapy Apply for Radiation Biology Effect

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

    Ahn, S; Chung, K; Han, Y

    Purpose: Injected gold nano particles (GNPs) to a body for dose enhancement are known to form in the tumorcell cluster morphology. We investigated the dependence of dose enhancement on the morphology characteristic with an approximated morphology model by using Monte Carlo simulations. Methods: For MC simulation, TOPAS version 2.0P-03 was used. GNP cluster morphology was approximated as a body center cubic(BCC) model by placing 8 GNPs at the corner and one at the center of cube with length from 2.59 µm to 0.25 µm located in a 4 µm length water filled cube phantom. 4 µm length square shaped beamsmore » of poly-energetic 50, 260 kVp photons were irradiated to the water filled cube phantom with 100 nm diameter GNPs in it. Dose enhancement ratio(DER) was computed as a function of distance from the surface of the GNP at the cube center for 18 cubes geometries. For scoring particles, 10 nm width of concentric shell shaped detector was constructed up to 100 nm from the center. Total dose in a sphere of 100 nm radius of detector were normalized to 2.59 µm length cube morphology. To verified biological effect of BCC model applied to cell survival curve fitting. Results: DER increase as the distance of the GNPs reduces. DER was largest for 0.25 µm length cube. Dependence of GNP distance DER increment was 1.73, 1.60 for 50 kVp, 260 kVp photons, respectively. Also, Using BCC model applied to cell survival curve was well prediction. Conclusion: DER with GNPs was larger when they are closely packed in the phantom. Therefore, better therapeutic effects can be expected with close-packed GNPs. This research was supported by the NRF funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2012M3A9B6055201 and 2012R1A1A2042414), Samsung Medical Center grant[GFO1130081].« less

  4. NASA’s MAVEN Mission Observes Ups and Downs of Water Escape from Mars

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2017-12-08

    After investigating the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet for a full Martian year, NASA’s MAVEN mission has determined that the escaping water does not always go gently into space. Sophisticated measurements made by a suite of instruments on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft revealed the ups and downs of hydrogen escape – and therefore water loss. The escape rate peaked when Mars was at its closest point to the sun and dropped off when the planet was farthest from the sun. The rate of loss varied dramatically overall, with 10 times more hydrogen escaping at the maximum. “MAVEN is giving us unprecedented detail about hydrogen escape from the upper atmosphere of Mars, and this is crucial for helping us figure out the total amount of water lost over billions of years,” said Ali Rahmati, a MAVEN team member at the University of California at Berkeley who analyzed data from two of the spacecraft’s instruments. Hydrogen in Mars’ upper atmosphere comes from water vapor in the lower atmosphere. An atmospheric water molecule can be broken apart by sunlight, releasing the two hydrogen atoms from the oxygen atom that they had been bound to. Several processes at work in Mars’ upper atmosphere may then act on the hydrogen, leading to its escape. Read more: go.nasa.gov/2dAgAV4 NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

  5. Evaluating the potential ecological effects of transgene escape and persistence in constructed plant communities

    EPA Science Inventory

    To date, published studies with herbicide tolerant transgenic crops have failed to demonstrate that transgene escape to wild relatives results in more competitive hybrids. However, it is important to consider transgene escape in the context of the types of traits, which will lik...

  6. Effective simulations of gas diffusion through kinetically accessible tunnels in multisubunit proteins: O2 pathways and escape routes in T-state deoxyhemoglobin.

    PubMed

    Shadrina, Maria S; English, Ann M; Peslherbe, Gilles H

    2012-07-11

    The diffusion of small gases to special binding sites within polypeptide matrices pivotally defines the biochemical specificity and reactivity of proteins. We investigate here explicit O(2) diffusion in adult human hemoglobin (HbA) as a case study employing the recently developed temperature-controlled locally enhanced sampling (TLES) method and vary the parameters to greatly increase the simulation efficiency. The method is carefully validated against standard molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and available experimental structural and kinetic data on ligand diffusion in T-state deoxyHbA. The methodology provides a viable alternative approach to traditional MD simulations and/or potential of mean force calculations for: (i) characterizing kinetically accessible diffusion tunnels and escape routes for light ligands in porous proteins; (ii) very large systems when realistic simulations require the inclusion of multiple subunits of a protein; and (iii) proteins that access short-lived conformations relative to the simulation time. In the case of T-state deoxyHbA, we find distinct ligand diffusion tunnels consistent with the experimentally observed disparate Xe cavities in the α- and β-subunits. We identify two distal barriers including the distal histidine (E7) that control access to the heme. The multiple escape routes uncovered by our simulations call for a review of the current popular hypothesis on ligand escape from hemoglobin. Larger deviations from the crystal structure during simulated diffusion in isolated α- and β-subunits highlight the dampening effects of subunit interactions and the importance of including all subunits of multisubunit proteins to map realistic kinetically accessible diffusion tunnels and escape routes.

  7. 46 CFR 127.240 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... portholes, from each of the following spaces: (1) Each space accessible to offshore workers. (2) Crew accommodations and each space where the crew may normally be employed. (b) At least one of the two means of... sides of the space, to minimize the possibility that one incident will block both escapes. (d) Except as...

  8. 46 CFR 127.240 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... portholes, from each of the following spaces: (1) Each space accessible to offshore workers. (2) Crew accommodations and each space where the crew may normally be employed. (b) At least one of the two means of... sides of the space, to minimize the possibility that one incident will block both escapes. (d) Except as...

  9. 46 CFR 127.240 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... portholes, from each of the following spaces: (1) Each space accessible to offshore workers. (2) Crew accommodations and each space where the crew may normally be employed. (b) At least one of the two means of... sides of the space, to minimize the possibility that one incident will block both escapes. (d) Except as...

  10. 46 CFR 127.240 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... portholes, from each of the following spaces: (1) Each space accessible to offshore workers. (2) Crew accommodations and each space where the crew may normally be employed. (b) At least one of the two means of... sides of the space, to minimize the possibility that one incident will block both escapes. (d) Except as...

  11. 46 CFR 127.240 - Means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... portholes, from each of the following spaces: (1) Each space accessible to offshore workers. (2) Crew accommodations and each space where the crew may normally be employed. (b) At least one of the two means of... sides of the space, to minimize the possibility that one incident will block both escapes. (d) Except as...

  12. Escaping and repairing behaviors of the termite Odontotermes formosanus (Blattodea: Termitidae) in response to disturbance.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Hongpeng; Chen, Xuan; Wen, Yuzhen; Layne, Michael; Sun, Zhaohui; Ma, Tao; Wen, Xiujun; Wang, Cai

    2018-01-01

    The escaping behavior of termites has been documented under laboratory conditions; however, no study has been conducted in a field setting due to the difficulty of observing natural behaviors inside wood or structures (e.g., nests, tunnels, etc.). The black-winged termite, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki), is a subterranean macrotermitine species which builds extensive mud tubes on tree trunks. In the present study, 41 videos (totaling ∼2,700 min) were taken on 22 colonies/subcolonies of O. formosanus after their mud tubes were partially damaged by hand. In general, termites consistently demonstrated three phases of escape, including initiation (wandering near the mud-tube breach), individual escaping (single termites moving downward), and massive, unidirectional escaping flows (groups of termites moving downward). Downward moving and repairing were the dominant behavioral activities of individuals and were significantly more frequent than upward moving, turning/backward moving, or wandering. Interestingly, termites in escaping flows moved significantly faster than escaping individuals. Repairing behavior was observed shortly after the disturbance, and new mud tubes were preferentially constructed from the bottom up. When predators (i.e., ants) were present, however, termites stopped moving and quickly sealed the mud-tube openings by capping the broken ends. Our study provides an interesting example that documents an animal (besides humans) simultaneously carrying out pathway repairs and emergency evacuation without congestion.

  13. Escaping and repairing behaviors of the termite Odontotermes formosanus (Blattodea: Termitidae) in response to disturbance

    PubMed Central

    Wen, Yuzhen; Layne, Michael; Sun, Zhaohui; Ma, Tao

    2018-01-01

    The escaping behavior of termites has been documented under laboratory conditions; however, no study has been conducted in a field setting due to the difficulty of observing natural behaviors inside wood or structures (e.g., nests, tunnels, etc.). The black-winged termite, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki), is a subterranean macrotermitine species which builds extensive mud tubes on tree trunks. In the present study, 41 videos (totaling ∼2,700 min) were taken on 22 colonies/subcolonies of O. formosanus after their mud tubes were partially damaged by hand. In general, termites consistently demonstrated three phases of escape, including initiation (wandering near the mud-tube breach), individual escaping (single termites moving downward), and massive, unidirectional escaping flows (groups of termites moving downward). Downward moving and repairing were the dominant behavioral activities of individuals and were significantly more frequent than upward moving, turning/backward moving, or wandering. Interestingly, termites in escaping flows moved significantly faster than escaping individuals. Repairing behavior was observed shortly after the disturbance, and new mud tubes were preferentially constructed from the bottom up. When predators (i.e., ants) were present, however, termites stopped moving and quickly sealed the mud-tube openings by capping the broken ends. Our study provides an interesting example that documents an animal (besides humans) simultaneously carrying out pathway repairs and emergency evacuation without congestion. PMID:29576978

  14. Flow control by means of a traveling curvature wave in fishlike escape responses.

    PubMed

    Liu, Geng; Yu, Yong-Liang; Tong, Bing-Gang

    2011-11-01

    Fish usually bend their bodies into a ''C'' shape and then beat their tails one or more times to escape from predators (in nature) or stimuli (in experiments). The maneuvering behavior, i.e., the C-shape bending and the return flapping, is called C-start. In this paper, the escaping performance of fishlike C-start motions has been numerically investigated for a flow physics study by the use of a two-dimensional deformable foil bending and stretching quickly. The C-start motions, performed in the quiescent water and based on prescribed deforming modes, are predicted by a numerical method coupling the two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and the deforming body dynamic equations. It has been found earlier that a typical C-start motion consists of (1) a main C-shape bending and (2) a rearward travelling curvature wave which was seldom mentioned in previous studies. In order to reveal the flow control mechanism of the traveling curvature wave in a fish's C-start motion, two kinds of C-start flows with different deforming modes, namely the integrated mode (IM, a C-shape bending plus a travelling curvature wave) and the basic mode (BM, a C-shape bending only) are analyzed and compared in detail. According to the numerical results, it shows that if proper values of the travelling curvature wave parameters are chosen, the foil's escaping maneuverability presented in the IM is much better than that in the BM, i.e. the turn angle and the speed of the center of mass at the end of a C-start in the IM is almost twice as large as those in the BM. Further study shows that the travelling curvature wave not only can enhance the thrust and the centripetal force but also increase the propulsive efficiency. These results suggest that an efficient travelling curvature wave is of great significance in the flow control of a C-start motion. Finally, a parametric study finds that the phase difference between the C-shape bending and the travelling curvature wave (i.e., the

  15. Reconstructing the Alcatraz escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baart, F.; Hoes, O.; Hut, R.; Donchyts, G.; van Leeuwen, E.

    2014-12-01

    In the night of June 12, 1962 three inmates used a raft made of raincoatsto escaped the ultimate maximum security prison island Alcatraz in SanFrancisco, United States. History is unclear about what happened tothe escapees. At what time did they step into the water, did theysurvive, if so, where did they reach land? The fate of the escapees has been the subject of much debate: did theymake landfall on Angel Island, or did the current sweep them out ofthe bay and into the cold pacific ocean? In this presentation, we try to shed light on this historic case using avisualization of a high-resolution hydrodynamic simulation of the San Francisco Bay, combined with historical tidal records. By reconstructing the hydrodynamic conditions and using a particle based simulation of the escapees we show possible scenarios. The interactive model is visualized using both a 3D photorealistic and web based visualization. The "Escape from Alcatraz" scenario demonstrates the capabilities of the 3Di platform. This platform is normally used for overland flooding (1D/2D). The model engine uses a quad tree structure, resulting in an order of magnitude speedup. The subgrid approach takes detailed bathymetry information into account. The inter-model variability is tested by comparing the results with the DFlow Flexible Mesh (DFlowFM) San Francisco Bay model. Interactivity is implemented by converting the models from static programs to interactive libraries, adhering to the Basic ModelInterface (BMI). Interactive models are more suitable for answeringexploratory research questions such as this reconstruction effort. Although these hydrodynamic simulations only provide circumstantialevidence for solving the mystery of what happened during the foggy darknight of June 12, 1962, it can be used as a guidance and provides aninteresting testcase to apply interactive modelling.

  16. 50 CFR Figure 13 to Part 223 - Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening 13 Figure 13 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND.... 223, Fig. 13 Figure 13 to Part 223—Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening EC01JY91.060 [60 FR 15520, Mar...

  17. 50 CFR Figure 13 to Part 223 - Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening 13 Figure 13 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND.... 223, Fig. 13 Figure 13 to Part 223—Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening EC01JY91.060 [60 FR 15520, Mar...

  18. Computer Self-Efficacy, Competitive Anxiety and Flow State: Escaping from Firing Online Game

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hong, Jon-Chao; Pei-Yu, Chiu; Shih, Hsiao-Feng; Lin, Pei-Shin; Hong, Jon-Chao

    2012-01-01

    Flow state in game playing affected by computer self-efficacy and game competitive anxiety was studied. In order to examine the effect of those constructs with high competition, this study select "Escaping from firing online game" which require college students to escape from fire and rescue people and eliminate the fire damage along the way of…

  19. Influence of throat configuration and fish density on escapement of channel catfish from hoop nets

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Porath, Mark T.; Pape, Larry D.; Richters, Lindsey K.

    2011-01-01

    In recent years, several state agencies have adopted the use of baited, tandemset hoop nets to assess lentic channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus populations. Some level of escapement from the net is expected because an opening exists in each throat of the net, although factors influencing rates of escapement from hoop nets have not been quantified. We conducted experiments to quantify rates of escapement and to determine the influence of throat configuration and fish density within the net on escapement rates. An initial experiment to determine the rate of escapement from each net compartment utilized individually tagged channel catfish placed within the entrance (between the two throats) and cod (within the second throat) compartments of a single hoop net for overnight sets. From this experiment, the mean rate (±SE) of channel catfish escaping was 4.2% (±1.5) from the cod (cod throat was additionally restricted from the traditionally manufactured product), and 74% (±4.2) from the entrance compartments. In a subsequent experiment, channel catfish were placed only in the cod compartment with different throat configurations (restricted or unrestricted) and at two densities (low [6 fish per net] and high [60 fish per net]) for overnight sets to determine the influence of fish density and throat configuration on escapement rates. Escapement rates between throat configurations were doubled at low fish density (13.3 ± 5.4% restricted versus 26.7 ± 5.6% unrestricted) and tripled at high fish density (14.3 ± 4.9% restricted versus 51.9 ± 5.0% unrestricted). These results suggest that retention efficiency is high from cod compartments with restricted throat entrances. However, managers and researchers need to be aware that modification to the cod throats (restrictions) is needed for hoop nets ordered from manufacturers. Managers need to be consistent in their use and reporting of cod end throat configurations when using this gear.

  20. Escape and surveillance asymmetries in locusts exposed to a Guinea fowl-mimicking robot predator.

    PubMed

    Romano, Donato; Benelli, Giovanni; Stefanini, Cesare

    2017-10-09

    Escape and surveillance responses to predators are lateralized in several vertebrate species. However, little is known on the laterality of escapes and predator surveillance in arthropods. In this study, we investigated the lateralization of escape and surveillance responses in young instars and adults of Locusta migratoria during biomimetic interactions with a robot-predator inspired to the Guinea fowl, Numida meleagris. Results showed individual-level lateralization in the jumping escape of locusts exposed to the robot-predator attack. The laterality of this response was higher in L. migratoria adults over young instars. Furthermore, population-level lateralization of predator surveillance was found testing both L. migratoria adults and young instars; locusts used the right compound eye to oversee the robot-predator. Right-biased individuals were more stationary over left-biased ones during surveillance of the robot-predator. Individual-level lateralization could avoid predictability during the jumping escape. Population-level lateralization may improve coordination in the swarm during specific group tasks such as predator surveillance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of lateralized predator-prey interactions in insects. Our findings outline the possibility of using biomimetic robots to study predator-prey interaction, avoiding the use of real predators, thus achieving standardized experimental conditions to investigate complex and flexible behaviours.

  1. Morphology Control of Carbon-Free Spinel NiCo 2 O 4 Catalysts for Enhanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution in Alkaline Media

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

    Devaguptapu, Surya V.; Hwang, Sooyeon; Karakalos, Stavros

    Spinel NiCo 2O 4 is considered a promising precious metal-free catalyst that is also carbon-free for oxygen electrocatalysis. Current efforts mainly focus on optimal chemical doping and substituent to tune its electronic structures for enhanced activity. Here, we study its morphology control and elucidate the morphology-dependent catalyst performance for bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Three types of NiCo 2O 4 catalysts with significantly distinct morphologies were prepared using temple-free, Pluronic-123 (P-123) soft, and SiO 2 hard templates, respectively, via hydrothermal methods following by a calcination. While the hard-template yields sphere-like dense structures, soft-template assists themore » formation of a unique nano-needle cluster assembly containing abundant meso- and macro pores. Furthermore, the effect of morphology of NiCo 2O 4 on their corresponding bifunctional catalytic performance was systematically investigated. The flower-like nano-needle assembly NiCo 2O 4 catalyst via the soft template method exhibited the highest catalytic activity and stability for both ORR and OER. In particular, it exhibited an onset and half-wave potentials of 0.94 and 0.82 V vs. RHE, respectively, for the ORR in alkaline media. Although it is still inferior to Pt, the NiCo 2O 4 represents one of the best ORR catalyst compared to other reported carbon-free oxides. Meanwhile, remarkable OER activity and stability were achieved with an onset potential of 1.48 V and a current density of 15 mA/cm 2 at 1.6 V, showing no activity loss after 20,000 potential cycles (0 to 1.9 V). The demonstrated stability is even superior to Ir for the OER. The morphology-controlled approach provides an effective solution to create a robust 3D architecture with increased surface areas and enhanced mass transfer. More importantly, the soft template can yield high degree of spinel crystallinity with ideal stoichiometric ratios between Ni and Co

  2. Morphology Control of Carbon-Free Spinel NiCo 2 O 4 Catalysts for Enhanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution in Alkaline Media

    DOE PAGES

    Devaguptapu, Surya V.; Hwang, Sooyeon; Karakalos, Stavros; ...

    2017-12-06

    Spinel NiCo 2O 4 is considered a promising precious metal-free catalyst that is also carbon-free for oxygen electrocatalysis. Current efforts mainly focus on optimal chemical doping and substituent to tune its electronic structures for enhanced activity. Here, we study its morphology control and elucidate the morphology-dependent catalyst performance for bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Three types of NiCo 2O 4 catalysts with significantly distinct morphologies were prepared using temple-free, Pluronic-123 (P-123) soft, and SiO 2 hard templates, respectively, via hydrothermal methods following by a calcination. While the hard-template yields sphere-like dense structures, soft-template assists themore » formation of a unique nano-needle cluster assembly containing abundant meso- and macro pores. Furthermore, the effect of morphology of NiCo 2O 4 on their corresponding bifunctional catalytic performance was systematically investigated. The flower-like nano-needle assembly NiCo 2O 4 catalyst via the soft template method exhibited the highest catalytic activity and stability for both ORR and OER. In particular, it exhibited an onset and half-wave potentials of 0.94 and 0.82 V vs. RHE, respectively, for the ORR in alkaline media. Although it is still inferior to Pt, the NiCo 2O 4 represents one of the best ORR catalyst compared to other reported carbon-free oxides. Meanwhile, remarkable OER activity and stability were achieved with an onset potential of 1.48 V and a current density of 15 mA/cm 2 at 1.6 V, showing no activity loss after 20,000 potential cycles (0 to 1.9 V). The demonstrated stability is even superior to Ir for the OER. The morphology-controlled approach provides an effective solution to create a robust 3D architecture with increased surface areas and enhanced mass transfer. More importantly, the soft template can yield high degree of spinel crystallinity with ideal stoichiometric ratios between Ni and Co

  3. Autonomous Soft Robotic Fish Capable of Escape Maneuvers Using Fluidic Elastomer Actuators.

    PubMed

    Marchese, Andrew D; Onal, Cagdas D; Rus, Daniela

    2014-03-01

    In this work we describe an autonomous soft-bodied robot that is both self-contained and capable of rapid, continuum-body motion. We detail the design, modeling, fabrication, and control of the soft fish, focusing on enabling the robot to perform rapid escape responses. The robot employs a compliant body with embedded actuators emulating the slender anatomical form of a fish. In addition, the robot has a novel fluidic actuation system that drives body motion and has all the subsystems of a traditional robot onboard: power, actuation, processing, and control. At the core of the fish's soft body is an array of fluidic elastomer actuators. We design the fish to emulate escape responses in addition to forward swimming because such maneuvers require rapid body accelerations and continuum-body motion. These maneuvers showcase the performance capabilities of this self-contained robot. The kinematics and controllability of the robot during simulated escape response maneuvers are analyzed and compared with studies on biological fish. We show that during escape responses, the soft-bodied robot has similar input-output relationships to those observed in biological fish. The major implication of this work is that we show soft robots can be both self-contained and capable of rapid body motion.

  4. Anomalous barrier escape: The roles of noise distribution and correlation.

    PubMed

    Hu, Meng; Zhang, Jia-Ming; Bao, Jing-Dong

    2017-05-28

    We study numerically and analytically the barrier escape dynamics of a particle driven by an underlying correlated Lévy noise for a smooth metastable potential. A "quasi-monochrome-color" Lévy noise, i.e., the first-order derivative variable of a linear second-order differential equation subjected to a symmetric α-stable white Lévy noise, also called the harmonic velocity Lévy noise, is proposed. Note that the time-integral of the noise Green function of this kind is equal to zero. This leads to the existence of underlying negative time correlation and implies that a step in one direction is likely followed by a step in the other direction. By using the noise of this kind as a driving source, we discuss the competition between long flights and underlying negative correlations in the metastable dynamics. The quite rich behaviors in the parameter space including an optimum α for the stationary escape rate have been found. Remarkably, slow diffusion does not decrease the stationary rate while a negative correlation increases net escape. An approximate expression for the Lévy-Kramers rate is obtained to support the numerically observed dependencies.

  5. Anomalous barrier escape: The roles of noise distribution and correlation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Meng; Zhang, Jia-Ming; Bao, Jing-Dong

    2017-05-01

    We study numerically and analytically the barrier escape dynamics of a particle driven by an underlying correlated Lévy noise for a smooth metastable potential. A "quasi-monochrome-color" Lévy noise, i.e., the first-order derivative variable of a linear second-order differential equation subjected to a symmetric α-stable white Lévy noise, also called the harmonic velocity Lévy noise, is proposed. Note that the time-integral of the noise Green function of this kind is equal to zero. This leads to the existence of underlying negative time correlation and implies that a step in one direction is likely followed by a step in the other direction. By using the noise of this kind as a driving source, we discuss the competition between long flights and underlying negative correlations in the metastable dynamics. The quite rich behaviors in the parameter space including an optimum α for the stationary escape rate have been found. Remarkably, slow diffusion does not decrease the stationary rate while a negative correlation increases net escape. An approximate expression for the Lévy-Kramers rate is obtained to support the numerically observed dependencies.

  6. Highlights of the Global HIV-1 CSF Escape Consortium Meeting, 9 June 2016, Bethesda, MD, USA.

    PubMed

    Joseph, Jeymohan; Cinque, Paola; Colosi, Deborah; Dravid, Ameet; Ene, Luminita; Fox, Howard; Gabuzda, Dana; Gisslen, Magnus; Beth Joseph, Sarah; Letendre, Scott; Mukerji, Shibani S; Nath, Avindra; Perez-Valero, Ignacio; Persaud, Deborah; Price, Richard W; Rao, Vasudev R; Sacktor, Ned; Swanstrom, Ronald; Winston, Alan; Wojna, Valerie; Wright, Edwina; Spudich, Serena

    2016-10-05

    CSF HIV escape is a recently recognised phenomenon that suggests that despite suppressive treatment, HIV RNA may be detected in the CNS compartment in some individuals. In rare cases this is associated with clinical neurological disease, while in most cases, neurological consequences are not apparent. Attempts at characterising the biological substrates of CSF escape and further investigating the neurological consequences need to be made to better understand the implications of this condition for the HIV cure agenda as well as for clinical outcomes. The Global CSF HIV-1 Escape Consortium meeting, convened by the US National Institute of Mental Health, was a first step to gather investigators from diverse sites to discuss opportunities for future collaborative work on this emerging issue. To better understand CSF HIV escape and allow cross-site data reconciliation, it will be useful to reach a consensus set of definitions of the distinct forms of CSF escape, without which concerted cross-site efforts are difficult.

  7. Predators shape distribution and promote diversification of morphological defenses in Leucorrhinia , Odonata

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Petrin, Zlatko; Schilling, Emily Gaenzle; Loftin, Cyndy; Johansson, Frank

    2010-01-01

    Predators strongly influence species assemblages and shape morphological defenses of prey. Interestingly, adaptations that constitute effective defenses against one type of predator may render the prey susceptible to other types of predators. Hence, prey may evolve different strategies to escape predation, which may facilitate adaptive radiation of prey organisms. Larvae of different species in the dragonfly genus Leucorrhinia have various morphological defenses. We studied the distribution of these larvae in relation to the presence of predatory fish. In addition, we examined the variation in morphological defenses within species with respect to the occurrence of fish. We found that well-defended species, those with more and longer spines, were more closely associated with habitats inhabited by predatory fish and that species with weakly developed morphological defenses were more abundant in habitats without fish. The species predominantly connected to lakes with or without fish, respectively, were not restricted to a single clade in the phylogeny of the genus. Our data is suggestive of phenotypic plasticity in morphological defense in three of the studied species since these species showed longer spines in lakes with fish. We suggest that adaptive phenotypic plasticity may have broadened the range of habitats accessible to Leucorrhinia. It may have facilitated colonization of new habitats with different types of predators, and ultimately, speciation through adaptive radiation.

  8. Shuttle crew escape systems (CES) rocket test at Hurricane Mesa, Utah

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1987-11-12

    Shuttle crew escape systems (CES) tractor rocket tests conducted at Hurricane Mesa, Utah. This preliminary ground test of the tractor rocket will lead up to in-air evaluations. View shows tractor rocket as it is fired from side hatch mockup. The tractor rocket concept is one of two escape methods being studied to provide crew egress capability during Space Shuttle controlled gliding flight. In-air tests of the system, utilizing a Convair-240 aircraft, will begin 11-19-87 at the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California.

  9. Escapism among players of MMORPGs--conceptual clarification, its relation to mental health factors, and development of a new measure.

    PubMed

    Hagström, David; Kaldo, Viktor

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies show that the concept of escapism needs to be clarified and that its relation to problematic online gaming and other factors needs further examination. This study uses well-established, basic learning theory to clarify the concept of escapism, and examines its relation to problematic gaming, psychological distress, and satisfaction with life among players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). MMORPG players (n=201) answered an online questionnaire where these factors were measured and correlated with a previously developed scale on motivation to play (MTPI), including extra items to cover positive and negative aspects of escapism. Factor analysis and construct validation show that positive aspects of escapism are theoretically and empirically unstable and that escapism is best clarified as purely "negative escapism," corresponding to playing being negatively reinforced as a way of avoiding everyday hassles and distress. Negative escapism had a stronger relationship to symptoms of Internet addiction, psychological distress, and life satisfaction than other variables and other more positive motivations to play. Future studies should use the revised subscale for escapism (in the MTPI-R) presented in the present study, for example when screening for Internet addiction.

  10. Cold Ion Escape from the Martian Ionosphere - 2005-2014

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fränz, Markus; Dubinin, Eduard; Andrews, David; Nilsson, Hans; Fedorov, Andrei

    2015-04-01

    It has always been challenging to observe the flux of ions with energies of less than 10eV escaping from the planetary ionospheres. We here report on new measurements of the ionospheric ion flows at Mars by the ASPERA-3 experiment on board Mars Express. The ion sensor IMA of this experiment has in principle a low-energy cut-off at 10eV but in negative spacecraft charging cold ions are lifted into the range of measurement but the field of view is restricted to about 4x360 deg. In a recent paper Nilsson et al. (Earth Planets Space, 64, 135, 2012) tried to use the method of long-time averaged distribution functions to overcome these constraints. In this paper we first use the same method to show that we get results consistent with this when using ASPERA-3 observations only. But then we can show that these results are inconsistent with observations of the local plasma density by the MARSIS radar instrument on board Mars Express. We demonstrate that the method of averaged distribution function can deliver the mean flow speed of the plasma but the low-energy cut-off does usually not allow to reconstruct the density. We then combine measurements of the cold ion flow speed with the plasma density observations of MARSIS to derive the cold ion flux. In an analysis of the combined nightside datasets we show that the main escape channel is along the shadow boundary on the tailside of Mars. At a distance of about 0.5 RM the flux settles at a constant value which indicates that about half of the transterminator ionospheric flow escapes from the planet. To derive the mean escape flux we include all combined observations of ASPERA-3 and MARSIS from 2005 to 2014. Possible mechanism to generate this flux can be the ionospheric pressure gradient between dayside and nightside or momentum transfer from the solar wind via the induced magnetic field since the flow velocity is in the Alfvénic regime.

  11. Automated analysis of non-mass-enhancing lesions in breast MRI based on morphological, kinetic, and spatio-temporal moments and joint segmentation-motion compensation technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoffmann, Sebastian; Shutler, Jamie D.; Lobbes, Marc; Burgeth, Bernhard; Meyer-Bäse, Anke

    2013-12-01

    Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) represents an established method for the detection and diagnosis of breast lesions. While mass-like enhancing lesions can be easily categorized according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) MRI lexicon, a majority of diagnostically challenging lesions, the so called non-mass-like enhancing lesions, remain both qualitatively as well as quantitatively difficult to analyze. Thus, the evaluation of kinetic and/or morphological characteristics of non-masses represents a challenging task for an automated analysis and is of crucial importance for advancing current computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems. Compared to the well-characterized mass-enhancing lesions, non-masses have no well-defined and blurred tumor borders and a kinetic behavior that is not easily generalizable and thus discriminative for malignant and benign non-masses. To overcome these difficulties and pave the way for novel CAD systems for non-masses, we will evaluate several kinetic and morphological descriptors separately and a novel technique, the Zernike velocity moments, to capture the joint spatio-temporal behavior of these lesions, and additionally consider the impact of non-rigid motion compensation on a correct diagnosis.

  12. Choices between positive and negative reinforcement during treatment for escape-maintained behavior.

    PubMed

    DeLeon, I G; Neidert, P L; Anders, B M; Rodriguez-Catter, V

    2001-01-01

    Positive reinforcement was more effective than negative reinforcement in promoting compliance and reducing escape-maintained problem behavior for a child with autism. Escape extinction was then added while the child was given a choice between positive or negative reinforcement for compliance and the reinforcement schedule was thinned. When the reinforcement requirement reached 10 consecutive tasks, the treatment effects became inconsistent and reinforcer selection shifted from a strong preference for positive reinforcement to an unstable selection pattern.

  13. Competition between positive and negative reinforcement in the treatment of escape behavior.

    PubMed

    Lalli, J S; Vollmer, T R; Progar, P R; Wright, C; Borrero, J; Daniel, D; Barthold, C H; Tocco, K; May, W

    1999-01-01

    We compared the effects of reinforcing compliance with either positive reinforcement (edible items) or negative reinforcement (a break) on 5 participants' escape-maintained problem behavior. Both procedures were assessed with or without extinction. Results showed that compliance was higher and problem behavior was lower for all participants when compliance produced an edible item rather than a break. Treatment gains were achieved without the use of extinction. Results are discussed regarding the use of positive reinforcement to treat escape behavior.

  14. Space Dust Collisions as a Planetary Escape Mechanism.

    PubMed

    Berera, Arjun

    2017-12-01

    It is observed that hypervelocity space dust, which is continuously bombarding Earth, creates immense momentum flows in the atmosphere. Some of this fast space dust inevitably will interact with the atmospheric system, transferring energy and moving particles around, with various possible consequences. This paper examines, with supporting estimates, the possibility that by way of collisions the Earth-grazing component of space dust can facilitate planetary escape of atmospheric particles, whether they are atoms and molecules that form the atmosphere or larger-sized particles. An interesting outcome of this collision scenario is that a variety of particles that contain telltale signs of Earth's organic story, including microbial life and life-essential molecules, may be "afloat" in Earth's atmosphere. The present study assesses the capability of this space dust collision mechanism to propel some of these biological constituents into space. Key Words: Hypervelocity space dust-Collision-Planetary escape-Atmospheric constituents-Microbial life. Astrobiology 17, 1274-1282.

  15. Outgassing History and Escape of the Martian Atmosphere and Water Inventory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lammer, Helmut; Chassefière, Eric; Karatekin, Özgür; Morschhauser, Achim; Niles, Paul B.; Mousis, Olivier; Odert, Petra; Möstl, Ute V.; Breuer, Doris; Dehant, Véronique; Grott, Matthias; Gröller, Hannes; Hauber, Ernst; Pham, Lê Binh San

    2013-01-01

    The evolution and escape of the martian atmosphere and the planet's water inventory can be separated into an early and late evolutionary epoch. The first epoch started from the planet's origin and lasted ˜500 Myr. Because of the high EUV flux of the young Sun and Mars' low gravity it was accompanied by hydrodynamic blow-off of hydrogen and strong thermal escape rates of dragged heavier species such as O and C atoms. After the main part of the protoatmosphere was lost, impact-related volatiles and mantle outgassing may have resulted in accumulation of a secondary CO2 atmosphere of a few tens to a few hundred mbar around ˜4-4.3 Gyr ago. The evolution of the atmospheric surface pressure and water inventory of such a secondary atmosphere during the second epoch which lasted from the end of the Noachian until today was most likely determined by a complex interplay of various nonthermal atmospheric escape processes, impacts, carbonate precipitation, and serpentinization during the Hesperian and Amazonian epochs which led to the present day surface pressure.

  16. Morphological evolution of various fungal species in the presence and absence of aluminum oxide microparticles: Comparative and quantitative insights into microparticle-enhanced cultivation (MPEC).

    PubMed

    Kowalska, Anna; Boruta, Tomasz; Bizukojć, Marcin

    2018-03-05

    The application of microparticle-enhanced cultivation (MPEC) is an attractive method to control mycelial morphology, and thus enhance the production of metabolites and enzymes in the submerged cultivations of filamentous fungi. Unfortunately, most literature data deals with the spore-agglomerating species like aspergilli. Therefore, the detailed quantitative study of the morphological evolution of four different fungal species (Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium rubens, Chaetomium globosum, and Mucor racemosus) based on the digital analysis of microscopic images was presented in this paper. In accordance with the current knowledge, these species exhibit different mechanisms of agglomerates formation. The standard submerged shake flask cultivations (as a reference) and MPEC involving 10 μm aluminum oxide microparticles (6 g·L -1 ) were performed. The morphological parameters, including mean projected area, elongation, roughness, and morphology number were determined for the mycelial objects within the first 24 hr of growth. It occurred that heretofore observed and widely discussed effect of microparticles on fungi, namely the decrease in pellet size, was not observed for the species whose pellet formation mechanism is different from spore agglomeration. In the MPEC, C. globosum developed core-shell pellets, and M. racemosus, a nonagglomerative species, formed the relatively larger, compared to standard cultures, pellets with distinct cores. © 2018 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Investigating the Consequences of Interference between Multiple CD8+ T Cell Escape Mutations in Early HIV Infection

    PubMed Central

    Garcia, Victor; Feldman, Marcus W.; Regoes, Roland R.

    2016-01-01

    During early human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection multiple CD8+ T cell responses are elicited almost simultaneously. These responses exert strong selective pressures on different parts of HIV’s genome, and select for mutations that escape recognition and are thus beneficial to the virus. Some studies reveal that the later these escape mutations emerge, the more slowly they go to fixation. This pattern of escape rate decrease(ERD) can arise by distinct mechanisms. In particular, in large populations with high beneficial mutation rates interference among different escape strains –an effect that can emerge in evolution with asexual reproduction and results in delayed fixation times of beneficial mutations compared to sexual reproduction– could significantly impact the escape rates of mutations. In this paper, we investigated how interference between these concurrent escape mutations affects their escape rates in systems with multiple epitopes, and whether it could be a source of the ERD pattern. To address these issues, we developed a multilocus Wright-Fisher model of HIV dynamics with selection, mutation and recombination, serving as a null-model for interference. We also derived an interference-free null model assuming initial neutral evolution before immune response elicitation. We found that interference between several equally selectively advantageous mutations can generate the observed ERD pattern. We also found that the number of loci, as well as recombination rates substantially affect ERD. These effects can be explained by the underexponential decline of escape rates over time. Lastly, we found that the observed ERD pattern in HIV infected individuals is consistent with both independent, interference-free mutations as well as interference effects. Our results confirm that interference effects should be considered when analyzing HIV escape mutations. The challenge in estimating escape rates and mutation-associated selective coefficients posed by

  18. Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of Star-forming Dwarf Galaxies at z ˜ 1

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rutkowski, Michael J.; Scarlata, Claudia; Haardt, Francesco; Siana, Brian; Henry, Alaina; Rafelski, Marc; Hayes, Matthew; Salvato, Mara; Pahl, Anthony J.; Mehta, Vihang; Beck, Melanie; Malkan, Matthew; Teplitz, Harry I.

    2016-03-01

    To date, no direct detection of Lyman continuum emission has been measured for intermediate-redshift (z˜ 1) star-forming galaxies. We combine Hubble Space Telescope grism spectroscopy with GALEX UV and ground-based optical imaging to extend the search for escaping Lyman continuum to a large (˜600) sample of z˜ 1 low-mass ({log}(\\bar{M}) ≃ 9.3{M}⊙ ), moderately star-forming (\\bar{{{\\Psi }}} ≲ 10{M}⊙ yr-1) galaxies selected initially on Hα emission. The characteristic escape fraction of LyC from star-forming galaxies (SFGs) that populate this parameter space remains weakly constrained by previous surveys, but these faint (sub-L⋆) SFGs are assumed to play a significant role in the reionization of neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at high redshift z\\gt 6. We do not make an unambiguous detection of escaping LyC radiation from this z˜ 1 sample, individual non-detections to constrain the absolute Lyman continuum escape fraction, {f}{esc} \\lt 2.1% (3σ). We measure an upper limit of {f}{esc} \\lt 9.6% from a sample of SFGs selected on high Hα equivalent width (EW \\gt 200 {{\\mathringA }}), which are thought to be close analogs of high redshift sources of reionization. For reference, we also present an emissivity-weighted escape fraction that is useful for measuring the general contribution SFGs to the ionizing UV background. In the discussion, we consider the implications of these intermediate redshift constraints for the reionization of hydrogen in the IGM at high (z\\gt 6) redshift. If we assume our z˜ 1 SFGs, for which we measure this emissivity-weighted {f}{esc}, are analogs to the high redshift sources of reionization, we find it is difficult to reconcile reionization by faint ({M}{UV}≲ -13) SFGs with a low escape fraction ({f}{esc} \\lt 3%), with constraints from independent high redshift observations. If {f}{esc} evolves with redshift, reionization by SFGs may be consistent with observations from Planck.

  19. Escaping Embarrassment: Face-Work in the Rap Cipher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Jooyoung

    2009-01-01

    How do individuals escape embarrassing moments in interaction? Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and video recordings of weekly street corner ciphers (impromptu rap sessions), this paper expands Goffman's theory of defensive and protective face-work. The findings reveal formulaic and indirect dimensions of face-work. First,…

  20. 30 CFR 57.11053 - Escape and evacuation plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... from the date of the last review. The plan shall include: (a) Mine maps or diagrams showing directions of principal air flow, location of escape routes and locations of existing telephones, primary fans... maps or diagrams shall be posted at all shaft stations and in underground shops, lunchrooms, and...

  1. 30 CFR 57.11053 - Escape and evacuation plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... from the date of the last review. The plan shall include: (a) Mine maps or diagrams showing directions of principal air flow, location of escape routes and locations of existing telephones, primary fans... maps or diagrams shall be posted at all shaft stations and in underground shops, lunchrooms, and...

  2. 30 CFR 57.11053 - Escape and evacuation plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... from the date of the last review. The plan shall include: (a) Mine maps or diagrams showing directions of principal air flow, location of escape routes and locations of existing telephones, primary fans... maps or diagrams shall be posted at all shaft stations and in underground shops, lunchrooms, and...

  3. 30 CFR 57.11053 - Escape and evacuation plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... from the date of the last review. The plan shall include: (a) Mine maps or diagrams showing directions of principal air flow, location of escape routes and locations of existing telephones, primary fans... maps or diagrams shall be posted at all shaft stations and in underground shops, lunchrooms, and...

  4. 30 CFR 57.11053 - Escape and evacuation plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... from the date of the last review. The plan shall include: (a) Mine maps or diagrams showing directions of principal air flow, location of escape routes and locations of existing telephones, primary fans... maps or diagrams shall be posted at all shaft stations and in underground shops, lunchrooms, and...

  5. State may be liable for HIV exposure from inmate's escape.

    PubMed

    1999-09-03

    The Louisiana Court of Appeal is reviewing a case on whether the Louisiana prison system is liable to a private citizen who was exposed to HIV as a consequence of an inmate escape. The case questions whether the Department of Public Safety and Corrections had a duty to inform the local prison, where the inmate was transferred to, about his HIV infection and propensity to escape. The department requested a summary judgment stating that no such duty existed. This motion was rejected by the trial court. Affidavits were presented that questioned the facts and circumstances of the case. The department's duty to the prisoner and jail are in dispute and the trial court's denial has been deemed proper.

  6. A new insight into diffusional escape from a biased cylindrical trap

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berezhkovskii, Alexander M.; Dagdug, Leonardo; Bezrukov, Sergey M.

    2017-09-01

    Recent experiments with single biological nanopores, as well as single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and pulling studies of protein and nucleic acid folding raised a number of questions that stimulated theoretical and computational investigations of barrier crossing dynamics. The present paper addresses a closely related problem focusing on trajectories of Brownian particles that escape from a cylindrical trap in the presence of a force F parallel to the cylinder axis. To gain new insights into the escape dynamics, we analyze the "fine structure" of these trajectories. Specifically, we divide trajectories into two segments: a looping segment, when a particle unsuccessfully tries to escape returning to the trap bottom again and again, and a direct-transit segment, when it finally escapes moving without touching the bottom. Analytical expressions are derived for the Laplace transforms of the probability densities of the durations of the two segments. These expressions are used to find the mean looping and direct-transit times as functions of the biasing force F. It turns out that the force-dependences of the two mean times are qualitatively different. The mean looping time monotonically increases as F decreases, approaching exponential F-dependence at large negative forces pushing the particle towards the trap bottom. In contrast to this intuitively appealing behavior, the mean direct-transit time shows rather counterintuitive behavior: it decreases as the force magnitude, |F|, increases independently of whether the force pushes the particles to the trap bottom or to the exit from the trap, having a maximum at F = 0.

  7. The Efficacy of Noncontingent Escape for Decreasing Children's Disruptive Behavior during Restorative Dental Treatment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Callaghan, Patrick M.; Allen, Keith D.; Powell, Shawn; Salama, Fouad

    2006-01-01

    We evaluated the effectiveness of a dentist-implemented behavioral intervention in which brief escape from dental treatment was provided on a regular basis, independent of the child's behavior. Within a multiple baseline design across subjects, 5 children, ages 4 to 7 years, were provided with temporary escape from dental treatment on a fixed-time…

  8. Using behavioral science to improve fire escape behaviors in response to a smoke alarm.

    PubMed

    Thompson, N J; Waterman, M B; Sleet, D A

    2004-01-01

    Although the likelihood of fire-related death in homes with smoke alarms is about one-half that in homes without alarms, alarm effectiveness is limited by behavior. Only 16% of residents of homes with alarms have developed and practiced plans for escape when the alarm sounds. We reviewed literature to identify behavioral constructs that influence smoke alarm use. We then convened experts in the behavioral aspects of smoke alarms who reviewed the constructs and determined that the appropriate areas for behavioral focus were formulating, practicing, and implementing escape plans should an alarm sound. They subsequently identified important behaviors to be addressed by burn-prevention programs and incorporated the constructs into a behavioral model for use in such programs. Finally, we organized the available literature to support this model and make programmatic recommendations. Many gaps remain in behavioral research to improve fire escape planning and practice. Future research must select the target behavior, apply behavioral theories, and distinguish between initiation and maintenance of behaviors associated with planning, practicing, and implementing home fire escape plans.

  9. Orbiter fire rescue and crew escape training for EVA crew systems support

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1993-01-28

    Photos of orbiter fire rescue and crew escape training for extravehicular activity (EVA) crew systems support conducted in Bldg 9A Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT) and Fuel Fuselage Trainer (FFT) include views of CCT interior of middeck starboard fuselage showing middeck forward (MF) locker and COAS assembly filter, artiflex film and camcorder bag (26834); launch/entry suit (LES) helmet assembly, neckring and helmet hold-down assembly (26835-26836); middeck aft (MA) lockers (26837); area of middeck airlock and crew escape pole (26838); connectors of crew escape pole in the middeck (268390); three test subjects in LES in the flight deck (26840); emergency side hatch slide before inflated stowage (26841); area of below adjacent to floor panel MD23R (26842); a test subject in LES in the flight deck (26843); control board and also showing sign of "orbital maneuvering system (OMS) secure and OMS TK" (26844); test subject in the flight deck also showing chart of "ascent/abort summary" (26845).

  10. Brownian escape and force-driven transport through entropic barriers: Particle size effect.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Kuang-Ling; Sheng, Yu-Jane; Tsao, Heng-Kwong

    2008-11-14

    Brownian escape from a spherical cavity through small holes and force-driven transport through periodic spherical cavities for finite-size particles have been investigated by Brownian dynamic simulations and scaling analysis. The mean first passage time and force-driven mobility are obtained as a function of particle diameter a, hole radius R(H), cavity radius R(C), and external field strength. In the absence of external field, the escape rate is proportional to the exit effect, (R(H)R(C))(1-a2R(H))(32). In weak fields, Brownian diffusion is still dominant and the migration is controlled by the exit effect. Therefore, smaller particles migrate faster than larger ones. In this limit the relation between Brownian escape and force-driven transport can be established by the generalized Einstein-Smoluchowski relation. As the field strength is strong enough, the mobility becomes field dependent and grows with increasing field strength. As a result, the size selectivity diminishes.

  11. Aspergillus fumigatus morphology and dynamic host interactions.

    PubMed

    van de Veerdonk, Frank L; Gresnigt, Mark S; Romani, Luigina; Netea, Mihai G; Latgé, Jean-Paul

    2017-11-01

    Aspergillus fumigatus is an environmental filamentous fungus that can cause life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. The interactions between A. fumigatus and the host environment are dynamic and complex. The host immune system needs to recognize the distinct morphological forms of A. fumigatus to control fungal growth and prevent tissue invasion, whereas the fungus requires nutrients and needs to adapt to the hostile environment by escaping immune recognition and counteracting host responses. Understanding these highly dynamic interactions is necessary to fully understand the pathogenesis of aspergillosis and to facilitate the design of new therapeutics to overcome the morbidity and mortality caused by A. fumigatus. In this Review, we describe how A. fumigatus adapts to environmental change, the mechanisms of host defence, and our current knowledge of the interplay between the host immune response and the fungus.

  12. Frequent and Variable Cytotoxic-T-Lymphocyte Escape-Associated Fitness Costs in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype B Gag Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Boutwell, Christian L.; Carlson, Jonathan M.; Lin, Tien-Ho; Seese, Aaron; Power, Karen A.; Peng, Jian; Tang, Yanhua; Brumme, Zabrina L.; Heckerman, David; Schneidewind, Arne

    2013-01-01

    Cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) escape mutations undermine the durability of effective human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific CD8+ T cell responses. The rate of CTL escape from a given response is largely governed by the net of all escape-associated viral fitness costs and benefits. The observation that CTL escape mutations can carry an associated fitness cost in terms of reduced virus replication capacity (RC) suggests a fitness cost-benefit trade-off that could delay CTL escape and thereby prolong CD8 response effectiveness. However, our understanding of this potential fitness trade-off is limited by the small number of CTL escape mutations for which a fitness cost has been quantified. Here, we quantified the fitness cost of the 29 most common HIV-1B Gag CTL escape mutations using an in vitro RC assay. The majority (20/29) of mutations reduced RC by more than the benchmark M184V antiretroviral drug resistance mutation, with impacts ranging from 8% to 69%. Notably, the reduction in RC was significantly greater for CTL escape mutations associated with protective HLA class I alleles than for those associated with nonprotective alleles. To speed the future evaluation of CTL escape costs, we also developed an in silico approach for inferring the relative impact of a mutation on RC based on its computed impact on protein thermodynamic stability. These data illustrate that the magnitude of CTL escape-associated fitness costs, and thus the barrier to CTL escape, varies widely even in the conserved Gag proteins and suggest that differential escape costs may contribute to the relative efficacy of CD8 responses. PMID:23365420

  13. Cold Ion Escape from the Martian Ionosphere

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fränz, Markus; Dubinin, Eduard; Andrews, David; Nilsson, Hans; Fedorov, Andrei

    2014-05-01

    It has always been challenging to observe the flux of ions with energies of less than 10eV escaping from the planetary ionospheres. We here report on new measurements of the ionospheric ion flows at Mars by the ASPERA-3 experiment on board Mars Express. The ion sensor IMA of this experiment has in principle a low-energy cut-off at 10eV but in negative spacecraft charging cold ions are lifted into the range of measurement but the field of view is restricted to about 4x360 deg. In a recent paper Nilsson et al. (Earth Planets Space, 64, 135, 2012) tried to use the method of long-time averaged distribution functions to overcome these constraints. In this paper we first use the same method to show that we get results consistent with this when using ASPERA-3 observations only. But then we can show that these results are inconsistent with observations of the local plasma density by the MARSIS radar instrument on board Mars Express. We demonstrate that the method of averaged distribution function can deliver the mean flow speed of the plasma but the low-energy cut-off does usually not allow to reconstruct the density. We then combine measurements of the cold ion flow speed with the plasma density observations of MARSIS to derive the cold ion flux. In an analysis of the combined nightside datasets we show that the main escape channel is along the shadow boundary on the tailside of Mars. At a distance of about 0.5 Martian radii the flux settles at a constant value which indicates that about half of the transterminator ionospheric flow escapes from the planet. Possible mechanism to generate this flux can be the ionospheric pressure gradient between dayside and nightside or momentum transfer from the solar wind via the induced magnetic field since the flow velocity is in the Alfvénic regime.

  14. Comparative analysis of port tariffs in the ESCAP region

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2002-01-01

    Ports of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) region have long-established tariff structures. Some tariffs are extremely complex while others are relatively simple. There is, however, an increasing desire on the part of...

  15. Technical evaluation of the Aerospace Medical Panel Specialists Meeting on Escape Problems and Manoeuvres in Combat Aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, W. L.

    1974-01-01

    A technical evaluation of the papers presented at a conference on escape systems for helicopters and V/STOL aircraft was made. The subjects discussed include the following: (1) bioengineering aspects of spinal injury during ejection, (2) aerodynamic forces acting on crewman during escape, (3) operational practicality of fly away ejection seats, (4) helicopter survivability requirements, (5) ejection experience from V/STOL aircraft, and (6) research projects involving escape and retrieval systems.

  16. Distinct alterations in colonic morphology and physiology in two rat models of enhanced stress-induced anxiety and depression-like behaviour.

    PubMed

    O'Malley, Dervla; Julio-Pieper, Marcela; Gibney, Sinead M; Dinan, Timothy G; Cryan, John F

    2010-03-01

    Stress and anxiety are important causal and exacerbating factors in functional gastro-intestinal (GI) disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. Stress affects GI motility, faecal transit and visceral pain sensitivity. Additionally, permeability and function of the gut epithelium, which acts as a barrier between the external environment and the body's internal milieu is altered by stress. However, the effects of an enhanced stress response on colonic morphology require further investigation. We have used two animal models of stress and anxiety, the maternally separated (MS) and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats to examine colonic morphology. These rats exhibit increased anxiety behaviours, visceral hypersensitivity and increased stress-induced defecation in the open field arena. At a morphological level, increased mucus secretion and an associated elevation in the number of mucosal goblet cells was observed in the high anxiety rats. Additionally, the mucosal layer was flattened in MS and WKY rats, a finding indicative of mild mucosal damage. Furthermore, the muscular layer of the distal colon in these animals was thickened, an observation that may have implications for faecal transit and visceral pain perception. This study provides evidence of altered colonic function and morphology in two animal models with a heightened response to stress.

  17. How Hospitable Are Space Weather Affected Habitable Zones? The Role of Ion Escape

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

    Airapetian, Vladimir S.; Glocer, Alex; Khazanov, George V.

    Atmospheres of exoplanets in the habitable zones around active young G-K-M stars are subject to extreme X-ray and EUV (XUV) fluxes from their host stars that can initiate atmospheric erosion. Atmospheric loss affects exoplanetary habitability in terms of surface water inventory, atmospheric pressure, the efficiency of greenhouse warming, and the dosage of the UV surface irradiation. Thermal escape models suggest that exoplanetary atmospheres around active K-M stars should undergo massive hydrogen escape, while heavier species including oxygen will accumulate forming an oxidizing atmosphere. Here, we show that non-thermal oxygen ion escape could be as important as thermal, hydrodynamic H escapemore » in removing the constituents of water from exoplanetary atmospheres under supersolar XUV irradiation. Our models suggest that the atmospheres of a significant fraction of Earth-like exoplanets around M dwarfs and active K stars exposed to high XUV fluxes will incur a significant atmospheric loss rate of oxygen and nitrogen, which will make them uninhabitable within a few tens to hundreds of Myr, given a low replenishment rate from volcanism or cometary bombardment. Our non-thermal escape models have important implications for the habitability of the Proxima Centauri’s terrestrial planet.« less

  18. Retrieval of a leaflet escaped in a Tri-technologies bileaflet mechanical prosthetic valve.

    PubMed

    Cianciulli, Tomás F; Lax, Jorge A; Saccheri, María C; Guidoin, Robert; Salvado, César M; Fernández, Adrián J; Prezioso, Horacio A

    2008-01-01

    The escape of the prosthetic heart valve disc is one of the causes of prosthetic dysfunction that requires emergency surgery. The removal of the embolized disc should be carried out because of the risk of a progressive extrusion on the aortic wall. Several imaging techniques can be used for the detection of the missing disc localization. In this report we describe a 32-year-old man who underwent mitral valve replacement with a Tri-technologies bileaflet valve three years ago, and was admitted in cardiogenic shock. Transesophageal echocardiography showed acute-onset massive mitral regurgitation. The patient underwent emergency replacement of the prosthetic valve. Only one of the two leaflets remained in the removed prosthetic valve. The missing leaflet could not be found within the cardiac cavity. The abdominal fluoroscopic study and plain radiography were unable to detect the escaped leaflet. The abdominal computed tomography scan and the ultrasound showed the escaped leaflet in the terminal portion of the aortic bifurcation. To retrieve the embolized disc laparotomy and aortotomy were performed three months later. The escaped leaflet shows a fracture of one of the pivot systems caused by structural failure. This kind of failure mode is usually the result of high stress concentration.

  19. Learning from escaped prescribed fires - lessons for high reliability

    Treesearch

    Deirdre Dether; Anne Black

    2006-01-01

    Meeting national goals for hazardous fuels reduction and ecosystem restoration would be difficult - if not impossible - without utilizing prescribed fire. Suspension of prescribed fire programs, as often happens following an escape, limits Federal capacity to meet programmatic, social, and ecological goals.

  20. Transmission of HIV-1 CTL Escape Variants Provides HLA-Mismatched Recipients with a Survival Advantage

    PubMed Central

    Chopera, Denis R.; Woodman, Zenda; Mlisana, Koleka; Mlotshwa, Mandla; Martin, Darren P.; Seoighe, Cathal; Treurnicht, Florette; de Rosa, Debra Assis; Hide, Winston; Karim, Salim Abdool; Gray, Clive M.; Williamson, Carolyn

    2008-01-01

    One of the most important genetic factors known to affect the rate of disease progression in HIV-infected individuals is the genotype at the Class I Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) locus, which determines the HIV peptides targeted by cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). Individuals with HLA-B*57 or B*5801 alleles, for example, target functionally important parts of the Gag protein. Mutants that escape these CTL responses may have lower fitness than the wild-type and can be associated with slower disease progression. Transmission of the escape variant to individuals without these HLA alleles is associated with rapid reversion to wild-type. However, the question of whether infection with an escape mutant offers an advantage to newly infected hosts has not been addressed. Here we investigate the relationship between the genotypes of transmitted viruses and prognostic markers of disease progression and show that infection with HLA-B*57/B*5801 escape mutants is associated with lower viral load and higher CD4+ counts. PMID:18369479

  1. Modulation of terrestrial ion escape flux composition /by low-altitude acceleration and charge exchange chemistry/

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moore, T. E.

    1980-01-01

    Motivated by recent observations of highly variable hot plasma composition in the magnetosphere, control of the ionospheric escape flux composition by low-altitude particle dynamics and ion chemistry has been investigated for an e(-), H(+), O(+) ionosphere. It is found that the fraction of the steady state escape flux which is O(+) can be controlled very sensitively by the occurrence of parallel or transverse ion acceleration at altitudes below the altitude where the neutral oxygen density falls rapidly below the neutral hydrogen density and the ionospheric source of O(+) tends to be rapidly converted by charge exchange to H(+). The acceleration is required both to overcome the gravitational confinement of O(+) and to violate charge exchange equilibrium so that the neutral hydrogen atmosphere appears 'optically' thin to escaping O(+). Constraints are placed on the acceleration processes, and it is shown that O(+) escape is facilitated by observed ionospheric responses to magnetic activity.

  2. Project ESCAPE; A Performance-Based Teacher Education Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vigo County School Corp., Terre Haute, IN.

    Project ESCAPE is sponsored by the Vigo County School Corporation of Terre Haute, Indiana, with the cooperation of Indiana State University. The unique characteristic of this project is that it is a competency-based teacher education program that has been created, tested, and implemented by practicing professional teachers. It is based on the…

  3. Flow control by means of a traveling curvature wave in fishlike escape responses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Geng; Yu, Yong-Liang; Tong, Bing-Gang

    2011-11-01

    Fish usually bend their bodies into a ‘‘C’’ shape and then beat their tails one or more times to escape from predators (in nature) or stimuli (in experiments). The maneuvering behavior, i.e., the C-shape bending and the return flapping, is called C-start. In this paper, the escaping performance of fishlike C-start motions has been numerically investigated for a flow physics study by the use of a two-dimensional deformable foil bending and stretching quickly. The C-start motions, performed in the quiescent water and based on prescribed deforming modes, are predicted by a numerical method coupling the two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and the deforming body dynamic equations. It has been found earlier that a typical C-start motion consists of (1) a main C-shape bending and (2) a rearward travelling curvature wave which was seldom mentioned in previous studies. In order to reveal the flow control mechanism of the traveling curvature wave in a fish's C-start motion, two kinds of C-start flows with different deforming modes, namely the integrated mode (IM, a C-shape bending plus a travelling curvature wave) and the basic mode (BM, a C-shape bending only) are analyzed and compared in detail. According to the numerical results, it shows that if proper values of the travelling curvature wave parameters are chosen, the foil's escaping maneuverability presented in the IM is much better than that in the BM, i.e. the turn angle and the speed of the center of mass at the end of a C-start in the IM is almost twice as large as those in the BM. Further study shows that the travelling curvature wave not only can enhance the thrust and the centripetal force but also increase the propulsive efficiency. These results suggest that an efficient travelling curvature wave is of great significance in the flow control of a C-start motion. Finally, a parametric study finds that the phase difference between the C-shape bending and the travelling curvature wave (i

  4. Comparative pick-up ion distributions at Mars and Venus: Consequences for atmospheric deposition and escape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curry, Shannon M.; Luhmann, Janet; Ma, Yingjuan; Liemohn, Michael; Dong, Chuanfei; Hara, Takuya

    2015-09-01

    Without the shielding of a substantial intrinsic dipole magnetic field, the atmospheres of Mars and Venus are particularly susceptible to similar atmospheric ion energization and scavenging processes. However, each planet has different attributes and external conditions controlling its high altitude planetary ion spatial and energy distributions. This paper describes analogous test particle simulations in background MHD fields that allow us to compare the properties and fates, precipitation or escape, of the mainly O+ atmospheric pick-up ions at Mars and Venus. The goal is to illustrate how atmospheric and planetary scales affect the upper atmospheres and space environments of our terrestrial planet neighbors. The results show the expected convection electric field-related hemispheric asymmetries in both precipitation and escape, where the degree of asymmetry at each planet is determined by the planetary scale and local interplanetary field strength. At Venus, the kinetic treatment of O+ reveals a strong nightside source of precipitation while Mars' crustal fields complicate the simple asymmetry in ion precipitation and drive a dayside source of precipitation. The pickup O+ escape pattern at both Venus and Mars exhibits low energy tailward escape, but Mars exhibits a prominent, high energy 'polar plume' feature in the hemisphere of the upward convection electric field while the Venus ion wake shows only a modest poleward concentration. The overall escape is larger at Venus than Mars (2.1 ×1025 and 4.3 ×1024 at solar maximum, respectively), but the efficiency (likelihood) of O+ escaping is 2-3 times higher at Mars. The consequences of these comparisons for pickup ion related atmospheric energy deposition, loss rates, and detection on spacecraft including PVO, VEX, MEX and MAVEN are considered. In particular, both O+ precipitation and escape show electric field controlled asymmetries that grow with energy, while the O+ fluxes and energy spectra at selected spatial

  5. Successful despite poor flight performance: range expansion is associated with enhanced exploratory behaviour and fast development.

    PubMed

    Reim, Elisabeth; Blesinger, Simone; Förster, Lisa; Fischer, Klaus

    2018-05-29

    Anthropogenic interference forces species to respond to changing environmental conditions. One possible response is dispersal and concomitant range shifts, allowing individuals to escape unfavourable conditions or to track the shifting climate niche. Range expansions depend on both dispersal capacity and the ability to establish populations beyond the former range. We here compare well-established core populations with recently established edge populations in the currently northward expanding butterfly Lycaena tityrus. Edge populations were characterized by shorter development times and smaller size, a higher sensitivity to high temperature and an enhanced exploratory behaviour. The differences between core and edge populations found suggest adaptation to local climates and an enhanced dispersal ability in edge populations. In particular, enhanced exploratory behaviour may be advantageous in all steps of the dispersal process and may have facilitated the current range expansion. This study describes differences associated with a current range expansion, knowledge which might be useful for a better understanding of species responses to environmental change. We further report on variation between males and females in morphology and flight behaviour, with males showing a longer flight endurance and more pronounced exploratory behaviour than females. © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  6. Exospheric Escape: A Parametrical Study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Killen, Rosemary M.; Burger, Matthew H.; Farrell, William M.

    2017-01-01

    The study of exospheres can help us understand the long-term loss of volatiles from planetary bodies due to interactions of planets, satellites, and small bodies with the interplanetary medium, solar radiation, and internal forces including diffusion and outgassing. Recent evidence for water and OH on the Moon has spurred interest in processes involving chemistry and sequestration of volatile species at the poles and in voids. In recent years, NASA has sent spacecraft to asteroids including Vesta and Ceres, and ESA sent Rosetta to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the asteroids Lutetia and Steins. Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft returned a sample from asteroid Itakowa, and OSIRIS-REX will return a sample from a primitive asteroid, Bennu, to Earth. In a surface-bounded exosphere, the gases are derived from the surface and thus reflect the composition of the body's regolith, although not in a one-to-one ratio. Observation of an escaping exosphere, termed a corona, is challenging. We have therefore embarked on a parametrical study of exospheres as a function of mass of the exospheric species, mass of the primary body and source velocity distribution, specifically thermal (Maxwell-Boltzmann) and sputtering. The goal is to provide a quick look to determine under what conditions and for what mass of the primary body the species of interest are expected to be bound or escaping and to quickly estimate the observability of exospheric species. This work does not provide a comprehensive model but rather serves as a starting point for further study. These parameters will be useful for mission planning as well as for students beginning a study of planetary exospheres.

  7. Espisodic detachment of Martian crustal magnetic fields leading to bulk atmospheric plasma escape

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

    Brain, D A; Baker, A H; Briggs, J

    2009-06-02

    We present an analysis of magnetic field and suprathermal electron measurements from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that reveals isolated magnetic structures filled with Martian atmospheric plasma located downstream from strong crustal magnetic fields with respect to the flowing solar wind. The structures are characterized by magnetic field enhancements and rotations characteristic of magnetic flux ropes, and characteristic ionospheric electron energy distributions with angular distributions distinct from surrounding regions. These observations indicate that significant amounts of atmosphere are intermittently being carried away from Mars by a bulk removal process: the top portions of crustal field loops are stretched throughmore » interaction with the solar wind and detach via magnetic reconnection. This process occurs frequently and may account for as much as 10% of the total present-day ion escape from Mars.« less

  8. Yersinia pestis IS1541 transposition provides for escape from plague immunity.

    PubMed

    Cornelius, Claire A; Quenee, Lauriane E; Elli, Derek; Ciletti, Nancy A; Schneewind, Olaf

    2009-05-01

    Yersinia pestis is perhaps the most feared infectious agent due to its ability to cause epidemic outbreaks of plague disease in animals and humans with high mortality. Plague infections elicit strong humoral immune responses against the capsular antigen (fraction 1 [F1]) of Y. pestis, and F1-specific antibodies provide protective immunity. Here we asked whether Y. pestis generates mutations that enable bacterial escape from protective immunity and isolated a variant with an IS1541 insertion in caf1A encoding the F1 outer membrane usher. The caf1A::IS1541 insertion prevented assembly of F1 pili and provided escape from plague immunity via F1-specific antibodies without a reduction in virulence in mouse models of bubonic or pneumonic plague. F1-specific antibodies interfere with Y. pestis type III transport of effector proteins into host cells, an inhibitory effect that was overcome by the caf1A::IS1541 insertion. These findings suggest a model in which IS1541 insertion into caf1A provides for reversible changes in envelope structure, enabling Y. pestis to escape from adaptive immune responses and plague immunity.

  9. Low-temperature plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of 2-D MoS2: large area, thickness control and tuneable morphology.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Akhil; Verheijen, Marcel A; Wu, Longfei; Karwal, Saurabh; Vandalon, Vincent; Knoops, Harm C M; Sundaram, Ravi S; Hofmann, Jan P; Kessels, W M M Erwin; Bol, Ageeth A

    2018-05-10

    Low-temperature controllable synthesis of monolayer-to-multilayer thick MoS2 with tuneable morphology is demonstrated by using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD). The characteristic self-limiting ALD growth with a growth-per-cycle of 0.1 nm per cycle and digital thickness control down to a monolayer are observed with excellent wafer scale uniformity. The as-deposited films are found to be polycrystalline in nature showing the signature Raman and photoluminescence signals for the mono-to-few layered regime. Furthermore, a transformation in film morphology from in-plane to out-of-plane orientation of the 2-dimensional layers as a function of growth temperature is observed. An extensive study based on high-resolution transmission electron microscopy is presented to unravel the nucleation mechanism of MoS2 on SiO2/Si substrates at 450 °C. In addition, a model elucidating the film morphology transformation (at 450 °C) is hypothesized. Finally, the out-of-plane oriented films are demonstrated to outperform the in-plane oriented films in the hydrogen evolution reaction for water splitting applications.

  10. Escape and finite-size scaling in diffusion-controlled annihilation

    DOE PAGES

    Ben-Naim, Eli; Krapivsky, Paul L.

    2016-12-16

    In this paper, we study diffusion-controlled single-species annihilation with a finite number of particles. In this reaction-diffusion process, each particle undergoes ordinary diffusion, and when two particles meet, they annihilate. We focus on spatial dimensions d>2 where a finite number of particles typically survive the annihilation process. Using scaling techniques we investigate the average number of surviving particles, M, as a function of the initial number of particles, N. In three dimensions, for instance, we find the scaling law M ~ N 1/3 in the asymptotic regime N»1. We show that two time scales govern the reaction kinetics: the diffusionmore » time scale, T ~ N 2/3, and the escape time scale, τ ~ N 4/3. The vast majority of annihilation events occur on the diffusion time scale, while no annihilation events occur beyond the escape time scale.« less

  11. Treatment of Escape-Maintained Behavior with Positive Reinforcement: The Role of Reinforcement Contingency and Density

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ingvarsson, Einar T.; Hanley, Gregory P.; Welter, Katherine M.

    2009-01-01

    Functional analyses suggested that the disruptive behavior of three preschool children was maintained by escape from demands. While keeping the escape contingency intact, we conducted (a) a density analysis in which the children earned preferred items for task completion according to two schedules that varied in reinforcement density, and (b) a…

  12. Educational Gaming for Pharmacy Students - Design and Evaluation of a Diabetes-themed Escape Room.

    PubMed

    Eukel, Heidi N; Frenzel, Jeanne E; Cernusca, Dan

    2017-09-01

    Objective. To design an educational game that will increase third-year professional pharmacy students' knowledge of diabetes mellitus disease management and to evaluate their perceived value of the game. Methods. Faculty members created an innovative educational game, the diabetes escape room. An authentic escape room gaming environment was established through the use of a locked room, an escape time limit, and game rules within which student teams completed complex puzzles focused on diabetes disease management. To evaluate the impact, students completed a pre-test and post-test to measure the knowledge they've gained and a perception survey to identify moderating factors that could help instructors improve the game's effectiveness and utility. Results. Students showed statistically significant increases in knowledge after completion of the game. A one-sample t -test indicated that students' mean perception was statistically significantly higher than the mean value of the evaluation scale. This statically significant result proved that this gaming act offers a potential instructional benefit beyond its novelty. Conclusion. The diabetes escape room proved to be a valuable educational game that increased students' knowledge of diabetes mellitus disease management and showed a positive perceived overall value by student participants.

  13. Photon-enhanced thermionic emission from p-GaAs with nonequilibrium Cs overlayers

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

    Zhuravlev, A. G.; Romanov, A. S.; Alperovich, V. L., E-mail: alper@isp.nsc.ru

    2014-12-22

    Photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE), which is promising for increasing the efficiency of solar energy conversion, is studied during cesium deposition on the As- and Ga-rich p-GaAs(001) surfaces and subsequent relaxation in the nonequilibrium Cs overlayer by means of photoemission quantum yield spectroscopy adapted for systems with time-variable parameters. Along with direct photoemission of “hot” electrons excited by light above the vacuum level, the spectra contain PETE contribution of “thermalized” electrons, which are excited below the vacuum level and emit in vacuum due to thermalization up in energy by phonon absorption. Comparing the measured and calculated spectra, the effective electron affinitymore » and escape probabilities of hot and thermalized electrons are obtained as functions of submonolayer Cs coverage. The minima in the affinity and pronounced peaks in the escape probabilities are observed for Cs deposition on both the As- and Ga-rich surfaces. Possible reasons for the low mean values of the electron escape probabilities and for the observed enhancement of the probabilities at certain Cs coverages are discussed, along with the implications for the PETE device realization.« less

  14. Another Look at the Use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory as an Index to "Escapism"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Thomas C.; West, Judy E.

    1976-01-01

    Attempts to reevaluate Beall and Panton's MMPI escape scale on what presumably would be a more appropriate escapee sample than that used in previous studies. This would help to determine whether a revision of this escape scale should be undertaken. (Author/RK)

  15. Floor Proximity Emergency Escape Path Marking Systems Incorporating Photoluminescent Elements

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-07-24

    This advisory circular (AC) provides guidance material for use in demonstrating : compliance with the provisions of part 25 of the Federal Aviation Regulations : (FAR) regarding floor proximity emergency escape path marking systems (FPEEPMS) : which ...

  16. On the evolution of group-escape strategies of selfish prey.

    PubMed

    Eshel, Ilan; Sansone, Emilia; Shaked, Avner

    2011-09-01

    The phenomenon of group escape cannot be explained by an argument of risk dilution, applied to gregarious behaviour of passive prey whose risk of predation is equally shared by all group members (Hamilton, 1971). Instead, individuals at the tail of an escaping group suffer the bulk of the group's predation risk, and thus have the highest incentive to desert it. Just because of this, desertion, in this case, may serve as a signal of vulnerability for the pursuing predator. Under wide conditions, it is therefore shown that the predator is always expected to prefer the chasing of a deserter, whenever it is observed. Consequently, an individual who finds himself at the tail of the herd must compare the risk of remaining there with that of deserting the herd and thereby becoming a likely target for predation. If the first risk is higher than the latter, the herd disperses; if the latter is higher, the herd cohesively follows the fastest individuals in its lead (we deal also with cases in which only part of the herd disperses). We see, however, that the question which risk is higher depends not only on the terrain, but also on the route of escape that is decided by the fastest members at the lead of the herd, those that are least likely to be caught. Concentrating on herds without family structure, we assume that the route of escape is selfishly chosen by these ad hoc leaders to minimize their own predation risk, regardless of the others' welfare. However, the predation risk of the leader depends very much on the willingness of other herd members to follow him, thus providing a buffer between him and the pursuing predator. Consequently, when choosing an escape route, the leader has also to consider the cohesion of the herd, i.e., the reaction of slower individuals to his choice. Under some plausible conditions, this choice may force the herd to follow, while other conditions may lead to its dispersal. In some cases the leader may choose a route that serves the needs of

  17. Dynamics of the Pin Pallet Runaway Escapement

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-06-01

    for Continued Work 29 References 32 I Appendixes A Kinematics of Coupled Motion 34 B Differential Equation of Coupled Motion 38 f C Moment Arms 42 D...Expressions for these quantities are derived in appendix D. The differential equations for the free motion of the pallet and the escape-wheel are...Coupled Motion (location 100) To solve the differential equation of coupled motion (see equation .B (-10) of appendix B)- the main program calls on

  18. Novel rabies virus-neutralizing epitope recognized by human monoclonal antibody: fine mapping and escape mutant analysis.

    PubMed

    Marissen, Wilfred E; Kramer, R Arjen; Rice, Amy; Weldon, William C; Niezgoda, Michael; Faber, Milosz; Slootstra, Jerry W; Meloen, Rob H; Clijsters-van der Horst, Marieke; Visser, Therese J; Jongeneelen, Mandy; Thijsse, Sandra; Throsby, Mark; de Kruif, John; Rupprecht, Charles E; Dietzschold, Bernhard; Goudsmit, Jaap; Bakker, Alexander B H

    2005-04-01

    Anti-rabies virus immunoglobulin combined with rabies vaccine protects humans from lethal rabies infections. For cost and safety reasons, replacement of the human or equine polyclonal immunoglobulin is advocated, and the use of rabies virus-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) is recommended. We produced two previously described potent rabies virus-neutralizing human MAbs, CR57 and CRJB, in human PER.C6 cells. The two MAbs competed for binding to rabies virus glycoprotein. Using CR57 and a set of 15-mer overlapping peptides covering the glycoprotein ectodomain, a neutralization domain was identified between amino acids (aa) 218 and 240. The minimal binding region was identified as KLCGVL (aa 226 to 231), with key residues K-CGV- identified by alanine replacement scanning. The critical binding region of this novel nonconformational rabies virus epitope is highly conserved within rabies viruses of genotype 1. Subsequently, we generated six rabies virus variants escaping neutralization by CR57 and six variants escaping CRJB. The CR57 escape mutants were only partially covered by CRJB, and all CRJB-resistant variants completely escaped neutralization by CR57. Without exception, the CR57-resistant variants showed a mutation at key residues within the defined minimal binding region, while the CRJB escape viruses showed a single mutation distant from the CR57 epitope (N182D) combined with mutations in the CR57 epitope. The competition between CR57 and CRJB, the in vitro escape profile, and the apparent overlap between the recognized epitopes argues against including both CR57 and CRJB in a MAb cocktail aimed at replacing classical immunoglobulin preparations.

  19. Near-horizon Structure of Escape Zones of Electrically Charged Particles around Weakly Magnetized Rotating Black Hole

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kopáček, Ondřej; Karas, Vladimír

    2018-01-01

    An interplay of magnetic fields and gravitation drives accretion and outflows near black holes. However, a specific mechanism is still a matter of debate; it is very likely that different processes dominate under various conditions. In particular, for the acceleration of particles and their collimation in jets, an ordered component of the magnetic field seems to be essential. Here we discuss the role of large-scale magnetic fields in transporting the charged particles and dust grains from the bound orbits in the equatorial plane of a rotating (Kerr) black hole and the resulting acceleration along trajectories escaping the system in a direction parallel to the symmetry axis (perpendicular to the accretion disk). We consider a specific scenario of destabilization of circular geodesics of initially neutral matter by charging (e.g., due to photoionization). Some particles may be set on escaping trajectories and attain relativistic velocity. The case of charged particles differs from charged dust grains by their charge-to-mass ratio, but the acceleration mechanism operates in a similar manner. It appears that the chaotic dynamics controls the outflow and supports the formation of near-horizon escape zones. We employ the technique of recurrence plots to characterize the onset of chaos in the outflowing medium. We investigate the system numerically and construct the basin-boundary plots, which show the location and the extent of the escape zones. The effects of black hole spin and magnetic field strength on the formation and location of escape zones are discussed, and the maximal escape velocity is computed.

  20. The Morphologies of the Semiconductor Oxides and Their Gas-Sensing Properties

    PubMed Central

    Lv, Xin; Li, Shuang; Wang, Qingji

    2017-01-01

    Semiconductor oxide chemoresistive gas sensors are widely used for detecting deleterious gases due to low cost, simple preparation, rapid response and high sensitivity. The performance of gas sensor is greatly affected by the morphology of the semiconductor oxide. There are many semiconductor oxide morphologies, including zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional ones. The semiconductor oxides with different morphologies significantly enhance the gas-sensing performance. Among the various morphologies, hollow nanostructures and core-shell nanostructures are always the focus of research in the field of gas sensors due to their distinctive structural characteristics and superior performance. Herein the morphologies of semiconductor oxides and their gas-sensing properties are reviewed. This review also proposes a potential strategy for the enhancement of gas-sensing performance in the future. PMID:29189714

  1. 50 CFR Figure 12 to Part 223 - Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED 12 Figure 12 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... ANADROMOUS SPECIES Pt. 223, Fig. 12 Figure 12 to Part 223—Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED...

  2. 50 CFR Figure 12 to Part 223 - Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED 12 Figure 12 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL... ANADROMOUS SPECIES Pt. 223, Fig. 12 Figure 12 to Part 223—Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED...

  3. Observation hall along west side. Looking south to escape ladder. ...

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

    Observation hall along west side. Looking south to escape ladder. - Edwards Air Force Base, Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, Instrumentation & Control Building, Test Area 1-115, northwest end of Saturn Boulevard, Boron, Kern County, CA

  4. 40. Launch Area, Underground Missile Storage Structure, detail of escape ...

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

    40. Launch Area, Underground Missile Storage Structure, detail of escape hatch and decontamination shower VIEW WEST - NIKE Missile Battery PR-79, Launch Area, East Windsor Road south of State Route 101, Foster, Providence County, RI

  5. Electronic Escape Trails for Firefighters

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jorgensen, Charles; Schipper, John; Betts, Bradley

    2008-01-01

    A proposed wireless-communication and data-processing system would exploit recent advances in radio-frequency identification devices (RFIDs) and software to establish information lifelines between firefighters in a burning building and a fire chief at a control station near but outside the building. The system would enable identification of trails that firefighters and others could follow to escape from the building, including identification of new trails should previously established trails become blocked. The system would include a transceiver unit and a computer at the control station, portable transceiver units carried by the firefighters in the building, and RFID tags that the firefighters would place at multiple locations as they move into and through the building (see figure). Each RFID tag, having a size of the order of a few centimeters, would include at least standard RFID circuitry and possibly sensors for measuring such other relevant environmental parameters as temperature, levels of light and sound, concentration of oxygen, concentrations of hazardous chemicals in smoke, and/or levels of nuclear radiation. The RFID tags would be activated and interrogated by the firefighters and control-station transceivers. Preferably, RFID tags would be configured to communicate with each other and with the firefighters units and the control station in an ordered sequence, with built-in redundancy. In a typical scenario, as firefighters moved through a building, they would scatter many RFID tags into smoke-obscured areas by use of a compressed-air gun. Alternatively or in addition, they would mark escape trails by dropping RFID tags at such points of interest as mantraps, hot spots, and trail waypoints. The RFID tags could be of different types, operating at different frequencies to identify their functions, and possibly responding by emitting audible beeps when activated by signals transmitted by transceiver units carried by nearby firefighters.

  6. Tectonic escape in the evolution of the continental crust

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burke, K.; Sengor, C.

    1986-01-01

    The continental crust originated by processes similar to those operating today and continents consist of material most of which originated long ago in arc-systems that have later been modified, especially at Andean margins and in continental collisions where crustal thickening is common. Collision-related strike-slip motion is a general process in continental evolution. Because buoyant continental (or arc) material generally moves during collision toward a nearby oceanic margin where less buoyant lithosphere crops out, the process of major strike-slip dominated motion toward a 'free-face' is called 'tectonic escape'. Tectonic escape is and has been an element in continental evolution throughout recorded earth-history. It promotes: (1) rifting and the formation of rift-basins with thinning of thickened crust; (2) pervasive strike-slip faulting late in orogenic history which breaks up mountain belts across strike and may juxtapose unrelated sectors in cross-section; (3) localized compressional mountains and related foreland-trough basins.

  7. Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Adenovirus Membrane Rupture and Endosomal Escape

    PubMed Central

    Maier, Oana; Marvin, Shauna A.; Wodrich, Harald; Campbell, Edward M.

    2012-01-01

    A key step in adenovirus cell entry is viral penetration of cellular membranes to gain access to the cytoplasm and deliver the genome to the nucleus. Yet little is known about this important event in the adenoviral life cycle. Using the cytosolic protein galectin-3 (gal3) as a marker of membrane rupture with both live- and fixed-cell imaging, we demonstrate that in the majority of instances, exposure of pVI and recruitment of gal3 to ruptured membranes occur early at or near the cell surface and occur minimally in EEA-1-positive (EEA-1+) early endosomes or LAMP-1+ late endosomes/lysosomes. Live-cell imaging of Ad5 egress from gal3+ endosomes occurs most frequently from perinuclear locations. While the Ad5 capsid is observed escaping from gal3+ endosomes, pVI appears to remain associated with the gal3+ ruptured endosomes. Thus, Ad5 membrane rupture and endosomal escape appear to be both spatially and temporally distinct events. PMID:22855481

  8. 14. OBSERVATION HALL ALONG WEST SIDE. Looking south to escape ...

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

    14. OBSERVATION HALL ALONG WEST SIDE. Looking south to escape ladder. - Edwards Air Force Base, Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, Instrumentation & Control Building, Test Area 1-115, northwest end of Saturn Boulevard, Boron, Kern County, CA

  9. 42. Launch Area, Underground Missile Storage Structure, detail of escape ...

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

    42. Launch Area, Underground Missile Storage Structure, detail of escape hatch, elevator and air vent VIEW SOUTH - NIKE Missile Battery PR-79, Launch Area, East Windsor Road south of State Route 101, Foster, Providence County, RI

  10. The value of whole lesion ADC histogram profiling to differentiate between morphologically indistinguishable ring enhancing lesions-comparison of glioblastomas and brain abscesses.

    PubMed

    Horvath-Rizea, Diana; Surov, Alexey; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Garnov, Nikita; Vörkel, Cathrin; Kohlhof-Meinecke, Patricia; Ganslandt, Oliver; Bäzner, Hansjörg; Gihr, Georg Alexander; Kalman, Marcell; Henkes, Elina; Henkes, Hans; Schob, Stefan

    2018-04-06

    Morphologically similar appearing ring enhancing lesions in the brain parenchyma can be caused by a number of distinct pathologies, however, they consistently represent life-threatening conditions. The two most frequently encountered diseases manifesting as such are glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and brain abscess (BA), each requiring disparate therapeutical approaches. As a result of their morphological resemblance, essential treatment might be significantly delayed or even ommited, in case results of conventional imaging remain inconclusive. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate, whether ADC histogram profiling reliably can distinguish between both entities, thus enhancing the differential diagnostic process and preventing treatment failure in this highly critical context. 103 patients (51 BA, 52 GBM) with histopathologically confirmed diagnosis were enrolled. Pretreatment diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was obtained in a 1.5T system using b values of 0, 500, and 1000 s/mm 2 . Whole lesion ADC volumes were analyzed using a histogram-based approach. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23. All investigated parameters were statistically different in comparison of both groups. Most importantly, ADCp10 was able to differentiate reliably between BA and GBM with excellent accuracy (0.948) using a cutpoint value of 70 × 10 -5 mm 2 × s -1 . ADC whole lesion histogram profiling provides a valuable tool to differentiate between morphologically indistinguishable mass lesions. Among the investigated parameters, the 10th percentile of the ADC volume distinguished best between GBM and BA.

  11. The value of whole lesion ADC histogram profiling to differentiate between morphologically indistinguishable ring enhancing lesions–comparison of glioblastomas and brain abscesses

    PubMed Central

    Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Garnov, Nikita; Vörkel, Cathrin; Kohlhof-Meinecke, Patricia; Ganslandt, Oliver; Bäzner, Hansjörg; Gihr, Georg Alexander; Kalman, Marcell; Henkes, Elina; Henkes, Hans; Schob, Stefan

    2018-01-01

    Background Morphologically similar appearing ring enhancing lesions in the brain parenchyma can be caused by a number of distinct pathologies, however, they consistently represent life-threatening conditions. The two most frequently encountered diseases manifesting as such are glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and brain abscess (BA), each requiring disparate therapeutical approaches. As a result of their morphological resemblance, essential treatment might be significantly delayed or even ommited, in case results of conventional imaging remain inconclusive. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate, whether ADC histogram profiling reliably can distinguish between both entities, thus enhancing the differential diagnostic process and preventing treatment failure in this highly critical context. Methods 103 patients (51 BA, 52 GBM) with histopathologically confirmed diagnosis were enrolled. Pretreatment diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was obtained in a 1.5T system using b values of 0, 500, and 1000 s/mm2. Whole lesion ADC volumes were analyzed using a histogram-based approach. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23. Results All investigated parameters were statistically different in comparison of both groups. Most importantly, ADCp10 was able to differentiate reliably between BA and GBM with excellent accuracy (0.948) using a cutpoint value of 70 × 10−5 mm2 × s−1. Conclusions ADC whole lesion histogram profiling provides a valuable tool to differentiate between morphologically indistinguishable mass lesions. Among the investigated parameters, the 10th percentile of the ADC volume distinguished best between GBM and BA. PMID:29719596

  12. Fifty years of chasing lizards: new insights advance optimal escape theory.

    PubMed

    Samia, Diogo S M; Blumstein, Daniel T; Stankowich, Theodore; Cooper, William E

    2016-05-01

    Systematic reviews and meta-analyses often examine data from diverse taxa to identify general patterns of effect sizes. Meta-analyses that focus on identifying generalisations in a single taxon are also valuable because species in a taxon are more likely to share similar unique constraints. We conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic meta-analysis of flight initiation distance in lizards. Flight initiation distance (FID) is a common metric used to quantify risk-taking and has previously been shown to reflect adaptive decision-making. The past decade has seen an explosion of studies focused on quantifying FID in lizards, and, because lizards occur in a wide range of habitats, are ecologically diverse, and are typically smaller and differ physiologically from the better studied mammals and birds, they are worthy of detailed examination. We found that variables that reflect the costs or benefits of flight (being engaged in social interactions, having food available) as well as certain predator effects (predator size and approach speed) had large effects on FID in the directions predicted by optimal escape theory. Variables that were associated with morphology (with the exception of crypsis) and physiology had relatively small effects, whereas habitat selection factors typically had moderate to large effect sizes. Lizards, like other taxa, are very sensitive to the costs of flight. © 2015 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

  13. Escape rate of Brownian particles from a metastable potential well under time derivative Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bai, Zhan-Wu; Wang, Ping

    2016-03-01

    We investigate the escape rate of Brownian particles that move in a cubic metastable potential subjected to an internal time derivative Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise (DOUN). This noise can induce the ballistic diffusion of force-free Brownian particles. Some new features are found. The escape rate for DOUN shows qualitative different dependence on potential well width compared with OUN which induces normal diffusion. As the potential barrier height decreases, the escape rate of DOUN deviates from Arrhenius law considerably earlier than that of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise (OUN). The Brownian particles escape faster under DOUN than that under OUN. A quasi-periodic oscillation occurs in transient state. A solvable case is presented to demonstrate the significant cancellation behavior in the barrier region that governs most of these phenomena. The physical mechanism of the findings can be clarified by the noise features. These characteristics should be common for internal noises that induce superdiffusion, especially the ballistic diffusion.

  14. 46 CFR 108.445 - Alarm and means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Alarm and means of escape. 108.445 Section 108.445 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems Fixed Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.445...

  15. 46 CFR 108.445 - Alarm and means of escape.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Alarm and means of escape. 108.445 Section 108.445 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) A-MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT Fire Extinguishing Systems Fixed Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguishing Systems § 108.445...

  16. Pilot Fullerton dons ejection escape suit (EES) on middeck

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1982-03-30

    STS003-23-165 (22-30 March 1982) --- Astronaut Gordon Fullerton, STS-3 pilot, dons ejection escape suit (EES) (high altitude pressure garment) life preserver unit (LPU) on forward port side of middeck above potable water tank. Fullerton also adjusts lapbelt fitting and helmet holddown strap. Photo credit: NASA

  17. Evolution and morphology of microenvironment-enhanced malignancy of three-dimensional invasive solid tumors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiao, Yang; Torquato, Salvatore

    2013-05-01

    The emergence of invasive and metastatic behavior in malignant tumors can often lead to fatal outcomes for patients. The collective malignant tumor behavior resulting from the complex tumor-host interactions and the interactions between the tumor cells is currently poorly understood. In this paper, we employ a cellular automaton (CA) model to investigate microenvironment-enhanced malignant behaviors and morphologies of in vitro avascular invasive solid tumors in three dimensions. Our CA model incorporates a variety of microscopic-scale tumor-host interactions, including the degradation of the extracellular matrix by the malignant cells, nutrient-driven cell migration, pressure buildup due to the deformation of the microenvironment by the growing tumor, and its effect on the local tumor-host interface stability. Moreover, the effects of cell-cell adhesion on tumor growth are explicitly taken into account. Specifically, we find that while strong cell-cell adhesion can suppress the invasive behavior of the tumors growing in soft microenvironments, cancer malignancy can be significantly enhanced by harsh microenvironmental conditions, such as exposure to high pressure levels. We infer from the simulation results a qualitative phase diagram that characterizes the expected malignant behavior of invasive solid tumors in terms of two competing malignancy effects: the rigidity of the microenvironment and cell-cell adhesion. This diagram exhibits phase transitions between noninvasive and invasive behaviors. We also discuss the implications of our results for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of malignant tumors.

  18. Comparison of heavy metal levels of farmed and escaped farmed rainbow trout and health risk assessment associated with their consumption.

    PubMed

    Varol, Memet; Sünbül, Muhammet Raşit

    2017-10-01

    In this study, levels of ten metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc) in muscles of farmed and escaped farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Keban Dam Reservoir (Turkey) were determined. Also, human health risks associated with their consumption were assessed. Of ten metals, only Co and Fe levels in escaped rainbow trout were significantly higher than those in farmed rainbow trout. The metal levels in farmed and escaped rainbow trout were below the maximum permissible limits. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of each metal in both farmed and escaped farmed rainbow trout was much lower than the respective tolerable daily intake (TDI). The target hazard quotient (THQ) values for individual metal and the total THQ values for combined metals were lower than 1 in both farmed and escaped rainbow trout, indicating no health risk for humans. The cancer risk (CR) values estimated for inorganic As in both farmed and escaped rainbow trout indicated low carcinogenic risk to the consumers. According to the maximum allowable monthly consumption limits (CR mm) , adults may safely consume 24 meals of farmed rainbow trout per month or 39 meals of escaped rainbow trout per month, with minimal adverse carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects. This study revealed that the risk from consuming farmed and escaped farmed rainbow trout in the Keban Dam Reservoir due to these trace elements is minimal.

  19. From Morphology to Neural Information: The Electric Sense of the Skate

    PubMed Central

    Camperi, Marcelo; Tricas, Timothy C; Brown, Brandon R

    2007-01-01

    Morphology typically enhances the fidelity of sensory systems. Sharks, skates, and rays have a well-developed electrosense that presents strikingly unique morphologies. Here, we model the dynamics of the peripheral electrosensory system of the skate, a dorsally flattened batoid, moving near an electric dipole source (e.g., a prey organism). We compute the coincident electric signals that develop across an array of the skate's electrosensors, using electrodynamics married to precise morphological measurements of sensor location, infrastructure, and vector projection. Our results demonstrate that skate morphology enhances electrosensory information. Not only could the skate locate prey using a simple population vector algorithm, but its morphology also specifically leads to quick shifts in firing rates that are well-suited to the demonstrated bandwidth of the electrosensory system. Finally, we propose electrophysiology trials to test the modeling scheme. PMID:17571918

  20. Novel Rabies Virus-Neutralizing Epitope Recognized by Human Monoclonal Antibody: Fine Mapping and Escape Mutant Analysis†

    PubMed Central

    Marissen, Wilfred E.; Kramer, R. Arjen; Rice, Amy; Weldon, William C.; Niezgoda, Michael; Faber, Milosz; Slootstra, Jerry W.; Meloen, Rob H.; Clijsters-van der Horst, Marieke; Visser, Therese J.; Jongeneelen, Mandy; Thijsse, Sandra; Throsby, Mark; de Kruif, John; Rupprecht, Charles E.; Dietzschold, Bernhard; Goudsmit, Jaap; Bakker, Alexander B. H.

    2005-01-01

    Anti-rabies virus immunoglobulin combined with rabies vaccine protects humans from lethal rabies infections. For cost and safety reasons, replacement of the human or equine polyclonal immunoglobulin is advocated, and the use of rabies virus-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) is recommended. We produced two previously described potent rabies virus-neutralizing human MAbs, CR57 and CRJB, in human PER.C6 cells. The two MAbs competed for binding to rabies virus glycoprotein. Using CR57 and a set of 15-mer overlapping peptides covering the glycoprotein ectodomain, a neutralization domain was identified between amino acids (aa) 218 and 240. The minimal binding region was identified as KLCGVL (aa 226 to 231), with key residues K-CGV- identified by alanine replacement scanning. The critical binding region of this novel nonconformational rabies virus epitope is highly conserved within rabies viruses of genotype 1. Subsequently, we generated six rabies virus variants escaping neutralization by CR57 and six variants escaping CRJB. The CR57 escape mutants were only partially covered by CRJB, and all CRJB-resistant variants completely escaped neutralization by CR57. Without exception, the CR57-resistant variants showed a mutation at key residues within the defined minimal binding region, while the CRJB escape viruses showed a single mutation distant from the CR57 epitope (N182D) combined with mutations in the CR57 epitope. The competition between CR57 and CRJB, the in vitro escape profile, and the apparent overlap between the recognized epitopes argues against including both CR57 and CRJB in a MAb cocktail aimed at replacing classical immunoglobulin preparations. PMID:15795253

  1. Linearmycins Activate a Two-Component Signaling System Involved in Bacterial Competition and Biofilm Morphology

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Bacteria use two-component signaling systems to adapt and respond to their competitors and changing environments. For instance, competitor bacteria may produce antibiotics and other bioactive metabolites and sequester nutrients. To survive, some species of bacteria escape competition through antibiotic production, biofilm formation, or motility. Specialized metabolite production and biofilm formation are relatively well understood for bacterial species in isolation. How bacteria control these functions when competitors are present is not well studied. To address fundamental questions relating to the competitive mechanisms of different species, we have developed a model system using two species of soil bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Streptomyces sp. strain Mg1. Using this model, we previously found that linearmycins produced by Streptomyces sp. strain Mg1 cause lysis of B. subtilis cells and degradation of colony matrix. We identified strains of B. subtilis with mutations in the two-component signaling system yfiJK operon that confer dual phenotypes of specific linearmycin resistance and biofilm morphology. We determined that expression of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter yfiLMN operon, particularly yfiM and yfiN, is necessary for biofilm morphology. Using transposon mutagenesis, we identified genes that are required for YfiLMN-mediated biofilm morphology, including several chaperones. Using transcriptional fusions, we found that YfiJ signaling is activated by linearmycins and other polyene metabolites. Finally, using a truncated YfiJ, we show that YfiJ requires its transmembrane domain to activate downstream signaling. Taken together, these results suggest coordinated dual antibiotic resistance and biofilm morphology by a single multifunctional ABC transporter promotes competitive fitness of B. subtilis. IMPORTANCE DNA sequencing approaches have revealed hitherto unexplored diversity of bacterial species in a wide variety of environments that

  2. An investigation on the effect of street morphology to ambient air quality using six real-world cases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Jialei; Gao, Zhi; Ding, Wowo; Yu, Ying

    2017-09-01

    Street canyons are vulnerable to air pollution mainly caused by vehicle emissions, which are therefore closely related to pedestrians' health. Previous studies have showed that air quality in street canyons is associated with street morphology, though the majority of them have focused on idealized street models. This paper attempts to investigate the relationship of street morphology to air quality for 6 irregular real-world cases selected from America, Europe, and China, i.e. Manhattan, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, London and Nanjing. Each street is analyzed as a set of slices to propose a couple of morphology indices for quantitatively assessing the actual street morphology. Pollutant transport rate of mean flows and turbulent diffusion, net escape velocity and age of air are obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to assess the ventilations and pollutant dispersion within street canyons with a parallel approaching wind. The results show that the street morphology characteristics, including the street width, lateral openings and intersections, are closely related to the air flows in street canyons. The air quality improves with a decreasing aspect ratio of central street owing to a larger vertical exchange through the street roof, which suggests an open central street is of better air quality. The lateral openings and intersections of streets have important effects on the air flows in street canyons, and the effects are particularly pronounced when the street widths are similar. The street continuity ratio indicates street continuity. It relates to the openings and the symmetry of a street and impacts on the air flows and pollutant dispersion through the lateral openings of the central street. The street spatial closure ratio is determined by the street continuity ratio and the aspect ratio of the central street. When the aspect ratio of central street is not excessively high, higher values of street continuity ratio and spatial closure ratio

  3. 3. VIEW OF ESCAPE TUNNEL IN NORTH FACE OF LAUNCH ...

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

    3. VIEW OF ESCAPE TUNNEL IN NORTH FACE OF LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING. BUNKER PERISCOPE VISIBLE ABOVE RIGHT CORNER OF TUNNEL. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  4. 6. UNDERGROUND FIRING CONTROL ROOM, INTERIOR. Looking southeast to escape ...

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

    6. UNDERGROUND FIRING CONTROL ROOM, INTERIOR. Looking southeast to escape tunnel. - Edwards Air Force Base, Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory, Firing Control Building, Test Area 1-100, northeast end of Test Area 1-100 Road, Boron, Kern County, CA

  5. HIV-1 Viral Escape in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Subjects on Suppressive Antiretroviral Treatment

    PubMed Central

    Edén, Arvid; Fuchs, Dietmar; Hagberg, Lars; Nilsson, Staffan; Spudich, Serena; Svennerholm, Bo; Price, Richard W.; Gisslén, Magnus

    2010-01-01

    Background. Occasional cases of viral escape in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) despite suppression of plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA have been reported. We investigated CSF viral escape in subjects treated with commonly used antiretroviral therapy regimens in relation to intrathecal immune activation and central nervous system penetration effectiveness (CPE) rank. Methods. Sixty-nine neurologically asymptomatic subjects treated with antiretroviral therapy >6 months and plasma HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL were cross-sectionally included in the analysis. Antiretroviral therapy regimens included efavirenz, lopinavir/ritonavir or atazanavir/ritonavir combined with tenofovir, abacavir, or zidovudine and emtricitabine or lamivudine. HIV-1 RNA was analyzed with real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. Neopterin was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. Seven (10%) of the 69 subjects had detectable CSF HIV-1 RNA, in median 121 copies/mL (interquartile range, 54–213 copies/mL). Subjects with detectable CSF virus had significantly higher CSF neopterin and longer duration of treatment. Previous treatment interruptions were more common in subjects with CSF escape. Central nervous system penetration effectiveness rank was not a significant predictor of detectable CSF virus or CSF neopterin levels. Conclusions. Viral escape in CSF is more common than previously reported, suggesting that low-grade central nervous system infection may continue in treated patients. Although these findings need extension in longitudinal studies, they suggest the utility of monitoring CSF responses, as new treatment combinations and strategies modify clinical practice. PMID:21050119

  6. HIV-1 viral escape in cerebrospinal fluid of subjects on suppressive antiretroviral treatment.

    PubMed

    Edén, Arvid; Fuchs, Dietmar; Hagberg, Lars; Nilsson, Staffan; Spudich, Serena; Svennerholm, Bo; Price, Richard W; Gisslén, Magnus

    2010-12-15

    Occasional cases of viral escape in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) despite suppression of plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA have been reported. We investigated CSF viral escape in subjects treated with commonly used antiretroviral therapy regimens in relation to intrathecal immune activation and central nervous system penetration effectiveness (CPE) rank. Sixty-nine neurologically asymptomatic subjects treated with antiretroviral therapy >6 months and plasma HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL were cross-sectionally included in the analysis. Antiretroviral therapy regimens included efavirenz, lopinavir/ritonavir or atazanavir/ritonavir combined with tenofovir, abacavir, or zidovudine and emtricitabine or lamivudine. HIV-1 RNA was analyzed with real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. Neopterin was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Seven (10%) of the 69 subjects had detectable CSF HIV-1 RNA, in median 121 copies/mL (interquartile range, 54-213 copies/mL). Subjects with detectable CSF virus had significantly higher CSF neopterin and longer duration of treatment. Previous treatment interruptions were more common in subjects with CSF escape. Central nervous system penetration effectiveness rank was not a significant predictor of detectable CSF virus or CSF neopterin levels. Viral escape in CSF is more common than previously reported, suggesting that low-grade central nervous system infection may continue in treated patients. Although these findings need extension in longitudinal studies, they suggest the utility of monitoring CSF responses, as new treatment combinations and strategies modify clinical practice.

  7. Early evolution of HLA-associated escape mutations in variable Gag proteins predicts CD4+ decline in HIV-1 subtype C infected women

    PubMed Central

    Chopera, Denis R.; Ntale, Roman; Ndabambi, Nonkululeko; Garrett, Nigel; Gray, Clive M.; Matten, David; Karim, Quarraisha Abdool; Karim, Salim Abdool; Williamson, Carolyn

    2016-01-01

    Objective HIV-1 escape from cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) results in the accumulation of HLA-associated mutations in the viral genome. To understand the contribution of early escape to disease progression, this study investigated the evolution and pathogenic implications of CTL escape in a cohort followed from infection for five years. Methods Viral loads and CD4+ counts were monitored in 78 subtype C infected individuals from onset of infection until CD4+ decline to <350 cells/μl or five years post-infection. The gag gene was sequenced and HLA-associated changes between enrolment and 12 months post-infection were mapped. Results HLA-associated escape mutations were identified in 48 (62%) of the participants and were associated with CD4+ decline to <350 copies/ml (p=0.05). Escape mutations in variable Gag proteins (p17 and p7p6) had a greater impact on disease progression than escape in more conserved regions (p24) (p=0.03). The association between HLA-associated escape mutations and CD4+ decline was independent of protective HLA allele (B*57, B*58:01, B*81) expression. Conclusion The high frequency of escape contributed to rapid disease progression in this cohort. While HLA-adaption in both conserved and variable Gag domains in the first year of infection was detrimental to long term clinical outcome, escape in variable domains had greater impact. PMID:27755110

  8. Escape of X-linked miRNA genes from meiotic sex chromosome inactivation

    PubMed Central

    Sosa, Enrique; Flores, Luis; Yan, Wei; McCarrey, John R.

    2015-01-01

    Past studies have indicated that transcription of all X-linked genes is repressed by meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI) during the meiotic phase of spermatogenesis in mammals. However, more recent studies have shown an increase in steady-state levels of certain X-linked miRNAs in pachytene spermatocytes, suggesting that either synthesis of these miRNAs increases or that degradation of these miRNAs decreases dramatically in these cells. To distinguish between these possibilities, we performed RNA-FISH to detect nascent transcripts from multiple miRNA genes in various spermatogenic cell types. Our results show definitively that Type I X-linked miRNA genes are subject to MSCI, as are all or most X-linked mRNA genes, whereas Type II and III X-linked miRNA genes escape MSCI by continuing ongoing, active transcription in primary spermatocytes. We corroborated these results by co-localization of RNA-FISH signals with both a corresponding DNA-FISH signal and an immunofluorescence signal for RNA polymerase II. We also found that X-linked miRNA genes that escape MSCI locate non-randomly to the periphery of the XY body, whereas genes that are subject to MSCI remain located within the XY body in pachytene spermatocytes, suggesting that the mechanism of escape of X-linked miRNA genes from MSCI involves their relocation to a position outside of the repressive chromatin domain associated with the XY body. The fact that Type II and III X-linked miRNA genes escape MSCI suggests an immediacy of function of the encoded miRNAs specifically required during the meiotic stages of spermatogenesis. PMID:26395485

  9. 14. View inside Building 802, the "Escape Hatch" at the ...

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

    14. View inside Building 802, the "Escape Hatch" at the rear of the "Sleeping Quarters", facing south. - Naval Air Station Fallon, 100-man Fallout Shelter, 800 Complex, off Carson Road near intersection of Pasture & Berney Roads, Fallon, Churchill County, NV

  10. Escape from neutralization by the respiratory syncytial virus-specific neutralizing monoclonal antibody palivizumab is driven by changes in on-rate of binding to the fusion protein

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

    Bates, John T.; Keefer, Christopher J.; Slaughter, James C.

    2014-04-15

    The role of binding kinetics in determining neutralizing potency for antiviral antibodies is poorly understood. While it is believed that increased steady-state affinity correlates positively with increased virus-neutralizing activity, the relationship between association or dissociation rate and neutralization potency is unclear. We investigated the effect of naturally-occurring antibody resistance mutations in the RSV F protein on the kinetics of binding to palivizumab. Escape from palivizumab-mediated neutralization of RSV occurred with reduced association rate (K{sub on}) for binding to RSV F protein, while alteration of dissociation rate (K{sub off}) did not significantly affect neutralizing activity. Interestingly, linkage of reduced K{sub on}more » with reduced potency mirrored the effect of increased K{sub on} found in a high-affinity enhanced potency palivizumab variant (motavizumab). These data suggest that association rate is the dominant factor driving neutralization potency for antibodies to RSV F protein antigenic site A and determines the potency of antibody somatic variants or efficiency of escape of viral glycoprotein variants. - Highlights: • The relationship of affinity to neutralization for virus antibodies is uncertain. • Palivizumab binds to RSV escape mutant fusion proteins, but with reduced affinity. • Association rate (K{sub on}) correlated well with the potency of neutralization.« less

  11. Neuronal correlates of the visually elicited escape response of the crab Chasmagnathus upon seasonal variations, stimuli changes and perceptual alterations.

    PubMed

    Sztarker, Julieta; Tomsic, Daniel

    2008-06-01

    When confronted with predators, animals are forced to take crucial decisions such as the timing and manner of escape. In the case of the crab Chasmagnathus, cumulative evidence suggests that the escape response to a visual danger stimulus (VDS) can be accounted for by the response of a group of lobula giant (LG) neurons. To further investigate this hypothesis, we examined the relationship between behavioral and neuronal activities within a variety of experimental conditions that affected the level of escape. The intensity of the escape response to VDS was influenced by seasonal variations, changes in stimulus features, and whether the crab perceived stimuli monocularly or binocularly. These experimental conditions consistently affected the response of LG neurons in a way that closely matched the effects observed at the behavioral level. In other words, the intensity of the stimulus-elicited spike activity of LG neurons faithfully reflected the intensity of the escape response. These results support the idea that the LG neurons from the lobula of crabs are deeply involved in the decision for escaping from VDS.

  12. Parallel behavioral and morphological divergence in fence lizards on two college campuses

    PubMed Central

    Howe, Stephen; Hynes, Stephanie; Hobbs, Brooke; Handal, Karina

    2018-01-01

    The spread of urban development has dramatically altered natural habitats, modifying community relationships, abiotic factors, and structural features. Animal populations living in these areas must perish, emigrate, or find ways to adjust to a suite of new selective pressures. Those that successfully inhabit the urban environment may make behavioral, physiological, and/or morphological adjustments that represent either evolutionary change and/or phenotypic plasticity. We tested for effects of urbanization on antipredator behavior and associated morphology across an urban-wild gradient in the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) in two California counties, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We compared college campuses in both counties with adjacent rural habitats, conducting field trials that allowed us to characterize antipredator behavior in response to the acute stress of capture. We found notable divergence between campus and rural behavior, with campus lizards more frequently exhibiting diminished escape behavior, including tonic immobility, and lower sprint speeds. Furthermore, campus females had significantly shorter limbs, and while this did not explain variation in sprint speed, those with shorter limbs were more likely to show tonic immobility. We hypothesize that these parallel behavioral and morphological changes on both campuses reflect adjustment to a novel environment involving changes in predation and human presence. PMID:29444102

  13. Interactive Effects of Nutrient and Mechanical Stresses on Plant Morphology

    PubMed Central

    Puijalon, Sara; Lena, Jean-Paul; Bornette, Gudrun

    2007-01-01

    Background and Aims Plant species frequently encounter multiple stresses under natural conditions, and the way they cope with these stresses is a major determinant of their ecological breadth. The way mechanical (e.g. wind, current) and resource stresses act simultaneously on plant morphological traits has been poorly addressed, even if both stresses often interact. This paper aims to assess whether hydraulic stress affects plant morphology in the same way at different nutrient levels. Methods An examination was made of morphological variations of an aquatic plant species growing under four hydraulic stress (flow velocity) gradients located in four habitats distributed along a nutrient gradient. Morphological traits covering plant size, dry mass allocation, organ water content and foliage architecture were measured. Key Results Significant interactive effects of flow velocity and nutrient level were observed for all morphological traits. In particular, increased flow velocity resulted in size reductions under low nutrient conditions, suggesting an adaptive response to flow stress (escape strategy). On the other hand, moderate increases in flow velocity resulted in increased size under high nutrient conditions, possibly related to an inevitable growth response to a higher nutrient supply induced by water renewal at the plant surface. For some traits (e.g. dry mass allocation), a consistent sense of variation as a result of increasing flow velocity was observed, but the amount of variation was either reduced or amplified under nutrient-rich compared with nutrient-poor conditions, depending on the traits considered. Conclusions These results suggest that, for a given species, a stress factor may result, in contrasting patterns and hence strategies, depending on a second stress factor. Such results emphasize the relevance of studies on plant responses to multiple stresses for understanding the actual ecological breadth of species. PMID:17913725

  14. Space Weathering of Super-Earths: Model Simulations of Exospheric Sodium Escape from 61 Virgo b

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

    Yoneda, M.; Berdyugina, S.; Kuhn, J.

    Rocky exoplanets are expected to be eroded by space weather in a similar way as in the solar system. In particular, Mercury is one of the dramatically eroded planets whose material continuously escapes into its exosphere and further into space. This escape is well traced by sodium atoms scattering sunlight. Due to solar wind impact, micrometeorite impacts, photo-stimulated desorption and thermal desorption, sodium atoms are released from surface regolith. Some of these released sodium atoms are escaping from Mercury’s gravitational-sphere. They are dragged anti-Sun-ward and form a tail structure. We expect similar phenomena on exoplanets. The hot super-Earth 61 Virmore » b orbiting a G3V star at only 0.05 au may show a similar structure. Because of its small separation from the star, the sodium release mechanisms may be working more efficiently on hot super-Earths than on Mercury, although the strong gravitational force of Earth-sized or even more massive planets may be keeping sodium atoms from escaping from the planet. Here, we performed model simulations for Mercury (to verify our model) and 61 Vir b as a representative super-Earth. We have found that sodium atoms can escape from this exoplanet due to stellar wind sputtering and micrometeorite impacts, to form a sodium tail. However, in contrast to Mercury, the tail on this hot super-Earth is strongly aligned with the anti-starward direction because of higher light pressure. Our model suggests that 61 Vir b seems to have an exo-base atmosphere like that of Mercury.« less

  15. Damsel in distress: captured damselfish prey emit chemical cues that attract secondary predators and improve escape chances

    PubMed Central

    Lönnstedt, Oona M.; McCormick, Mark I.

    2015-01-01

    In aquatic environments, many prey animals possess damage-released chemical alarm cues that elicit antipredator behaviours in responsive con- and heterospecifics. Despite considerable study, the selective advantage of alarm cues remains unclear. In an attempt to investigate one of the more promising hypotheses concerning the evolution of alarm cues, we examined whether the cue functions in a fashion analogous to the distress vocalizations emitted by many terrestrial animals. Our results suggest that chemical alarm cues in damselfish (Pomacentridae) may have evolved to benefit the cue sender by attracting secondary predators who disrupt the predation event, allowing the prey a greater chance to escape. The coral reef piscivore, the dusky dottyback (Pseudochromis fuscus), chemically eavesdrops on predation events and uses chemical alarm cues from fish prey (lemon damselfish; Pomacentrus moluccensis) in an attempt to find and steal prey from primary predators. Field studies showed that Ps. fuscus aggregate at sites where prey alarm cue has been experimentally released. Furthermore, secondary predators attempted to steal captured prey of primary predators in laboratory trials and enhanced prey escape chances by 35–40%. These results are the first, to the best of our knowledge, to demonstrate a mechanism by which marine fish may benefit from the production and release of alarm cues, and highlight the complex and important role that semiochemicals play in marine predator–prey interactions. PMID:26511043

  16. 2. WEST REAR, WITH PORTHOLE ESCAPE HATCH ABOVE ENTRY DOOR. ...

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

    2. WEST REAR, WITH PORTHOLE ESCAPE HATCH ABOVE ENTRY DOOR. - Edwards Air Force Base, South Base Sled Track, Firing & Control Blockhouse for 10,000-foot Track, South of Sled Track at midpoint of 20,000-foot track, Lancaster, Los Angeles County, CA

  17. Escape behaviour elicited by a visual stimulus. A comparison between lateralised and non-lateralised female topminnows.

    PubMed

    Agrillo, Christian; Dadda, Marco; Bisazza, Angelo

    2009-05-01

    Studies over the past 30 years suggest that functional lateralisation occurs in many animal species. Preferential eye use is ubiquitous among fish, and recently some advantages of being lateralised have been reported in the golden topminnow, Girardinus falcatus, using fish from lines selected for high or low degrees of behavioural lateralisation. In the present paper we investigated whether non-lateralised fish differed from lateralised fish in escape behaviour elicited by a potentially dangerous stimulus. A total of 56 female topminnows were observed when swimming in an unknown environment in which the shape of a predator was presented on either the right or the left side of the visual field. We found no side differences in latency and efficiency of escape reaction and on the whole non-lateralised fish escaped as quickly as lateralised individuals. We discuss our results in the light of recent findings suggesting that the development of lateralisation in the fast escape response in fish may be controlled by a mechanism distinct from that controlling the asymmetric placement of most other cognitive functions.

  18. Increased Antibody Affinity Confers Broad In Vitro Protection against Escape Mutants of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

    PubMed Central

    Rani, Mridula; Bolles, Meagan; Donaldson, Eric F.; Van Blarcom, Thomas; Baric, Ralph; Iverson, Brent

    2012-01-01

    Even though the effect of antibody affinity on neutralization potency is well documented, surprisingly, its impact on neutralization breadth and escape has not been systematically determined. Here, random mutagenesis and DNA shuffling of the single-chain variable fragment of the neutralizing antibody 80R followed by bacterial display screening using anchored periplasmic expression (APEx) were used to generate a number of higher-affinity variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-neutralizing antibody 80R with equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) as low as 37 pM, a >270-fold improvement relative to that of the parental 80R single-chain variable fragment (scFv). As expected, antigen affinity was shown to correlate directly with neutralization potency toward the icUrbani strain of SARS-CoV. Additionally, the highest-affinity antibody fragment displayed 10-fold-increased broad neutralization in vitro and completely protected against several SARS-CoV strains containing substitutions associated with antibody escape. Importantly, higher affinity also led to the suppression of viral escape mutants in vitro. Escape from the highest-affinity variant required reduced selective pressure and multiple substitutions in the binding epitope. Collectively, these results support the hypothesis that engineered antibodies with picomolar dissociation constants for a neutralizing epitope can confer escape-resistant protection. PMID:22696652

  19. [The characteristics of RR-Lorenz plot in persistent atrial fibrillation patients complicating with escape beats and rhythm].

    PubMed

    Pan, Yunping; Zhang, Fangfang; Liu, Ru; Jing, Yan; Shen, Jihong; Li, Zhongjian; Zhu, Huaijie

    2014-06-01

    To explore the characteristics of RR-Lorenz plot in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) patients complicating with escape beats and rhythm though ambulatory electrocardiogram. The 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram of 291 persistent AF patients in second affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou university from July 2005 to April 2013 were retrospectively analyzed and the RR interval and the QRS wave were measured. Patients were divided into two groups according to the distribution of the RR-Lorenz point [AF without escape beats and rhythm group (Group A, n = 259) and AF with escape beats and rhythm group (Group B, n = 32)]. The characteristics of RR-Lorenz plot between the two groups were compared. (1) Fan-shaped RR-Lorenz plots were evidenced in Group A. (2)In Group B, 30 cases showed fan-shaped with L-shaped and a short dense rods along 45° line. The proportion of escape beats and rhythm was 0.28% (275/98 369) -14.06% (11 263/80 112) . The other 2 cases in group B showed no typical RR-Lorenz plots features. RR-Lorenz plot could help to quickly diagnose persistent AF complicating with escape beats and rhythm according to the typical RR-Lorenz plot characteristics in 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram.

  20. Genes That Escape X-Inactivation in Humans Have High Intraspecific Variability in Expression, Are Associated with Mental Impairment but Are Not Slow Evolving

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Yuchao; Castillo-Morales, Atahualpa; Jiang, Min; Zhu, Yufei; Hu, Landian; Urrutia, Araxi O.; Kong, Xiangyin; Hurst, Laurence D.

    2013-01-01

    In female mammals most X-linked genes are subject to X-inactivation. However, in humans some X-linked genes escape silencing, these escapees being candidates for the phenotypic aberrations seen in polyX karyotypes. These escape genes have been reported to be under stronger purifying selection than other X-linked genes. Although it is known that escape from X-inactivation is much more common in humans than in mice, systematic assays of escape in humans have to date employed only interspecies somatic cell hybrids. Here we provide the first systematic next-generation sequencing analysis of escape in a human cell line. We analyzed RNA and genotype sequencing data obtained from B lymphocyte cell lines derived from Europeans (CEU) and Yorubans (YRI). By replicated detection of heterozygosis in the transcriptome, we identified 114 escaping genes, including 76 not previously known to be escapees. The newly described escape genes cluster on the X chromosome in the same chromosomal regions as the previously known escapees. There is an excess of escaping genes associated with mental retardation, consistent with this being a common phenotype of polyX phenotypes. We find both differences between populations and between individuals in the propensity to escape. Indeed, we provide the first evidence for there being both hyper- and hypo-escapee females in the human population, consistent with the highly variable phenotypic presentation of polyX karyotypes. Considering also prior data, we reclassify genes as being always, never, and sometimes escape genes. We fail to replicate the prior claim that genes that escape X-inactivation are under stronger purifying selection than others. PMID:24023392