Valence holes observed in nanodiamonds dispersed in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petit, Tristan; Pflüger, Mika; Tolksdorf, Daniel; Xiao, Jie; Aziz, Emad F.

2015-02-01

Colloidal dispersion is essential for most nanodiamond applications, but its influence on nanodiamond electronic properties remains unknown. Here we have probed the electronic structure of oxidized detonation nanodiamonds dispersed in water by using soft X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopies at the carbon and oxygen K edges. Upon dispersion in water, the π* transitions from sp2-hybridized carbon disappear, and holes in the valence band are observed.Colloidal dispersion is essential for most nanodiamond applications, but its influence on nanodiamond electronic properties remains unknown. Here we have probed the electronic structure of oxidized detonation nanodiamonds dispersed in water by using soft X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopies at the carbon and oxygen K edges. Upon dispersion in water, the π* transitions from sp2-hybridized carbon disappear, and holes in the valence band are observed. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental methods, details on XAS/XES normalization and background correction procedures. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr06639a

Integrated Force Method for Indeterminate Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hopkins, Dale A.; Halford, Gary R.; Patnaik, Surya N.

2008-01-01

Two methods of solving indeterminate structural-mechanics problems have been developed as products of research on the theory of strain compatibility. In these methods, stresses are considered to be the primary unknowns (in contrast to strains and displacements being considered as the primary unknowns in some prior methods). One of these methods, denoted the integrated force method (IFM), makes it possible to compute stresses, strains, and displacements with high fidelity by use of modest finite-element models that entail relatively small amounts of computation. The other method, denoted the completed Beltrami Mitchell formulation (CBMF), enables direct determination of stresses in an elastic continuum with general boundary conditions, without the need to first calculate displacements as in traditional methods. The equilibrium equation, the compatibility condition, and the material law are the three fundamental concepts of the theory of structures. For almost 150 years, it has been commonly supposed that the theory is complete. However, until now, the understanding of the compatibility condition remained incomplete, and the compatibility condition was confused with the continuity condition. Furthermore, the compatibility condition as applied to structures in its previous incomplete form was inconsistent with the strain formulation in elasticity.

Perceptions and Use of Social Networking Sites in the United States and Ecuador: A Mixed-Methods Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pumper, Megan A.; Yaeger, Jeffery P.; Moreno, Megan A.

2013-01-01

Social networking sites are globally popular. In the United States, these types of sites are perceived positively by users and used at high rates, which has likely yielded personal health behavior displays such as substance abuse and depression. Due to possible cultural influence present on these sites, it remains unknown if SNS could be utilized…

Algebraic solution for the forward displacement analysis of the general 6-6 stewart mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Feng; Wei, Shimin; Zhang, Ying; Liao, Qizheng

2016-01-01

The solution for the forward displacement analysis(FDA) of the general 6-6 Stewart mechanism(i.e., the connection points of the moving and fixed platforms are not restricted to lying in a plane) has been extensively studied, but the efficiency of the solution remains to be effectively addressed. To this end, an algebraic elimination method is proposed for the FDA of the general 6-6 Stewart mechanism. The kinematic constraint equations are built using conformal geometric algebra(CGA). The kinematic constraint equations are transformed by a substitution of variables into seven equations with seven unknown variables. According to the characteristic of anti-symmetric matrices, the aforementioned seven equations can be further transformed into seven equations with four unknown variables by a substitution of variables using the Gröbner basis. Its elimination weight is increased through changing the degree of one variable, and sixteen equations with four unknown variables can be obtained using the Gröbner basis. A 40th-degree univariate polynomial equation is derived by constructing a relatively small-sized 9´9 Sylvester resultant matrix. Finally, two numerical examples are employed to verify the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method can effectively improve the efficiency of solution and reduce the computational burden because of the small-sized resultant matrix.

Inverse transport calculations in optical imaging with subspace optimization algorithms

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

Ding, Tian, E-mail: tding@math.utexas.edu; Ren, Kui, E-mail: ren@math.utexas.edu

2014-09-15

Inverse boundary value problems for the radiative transport equation play an important role in optics-based medical imaging techniques such as diffuse optical tomography (DOT) and fluorescence optical tomography (FOT). Despite the rapid progress in the mathematical theory and numerical computation of these inverse problems in recent years, developing robust and efficient reconstruction algorithms remains a challenging task and an active research topic. We propose here a robust reconstruction method that is based on subspace minimization techniques. The method splits the unknown transport solution (or a functional of it) into low-frequency and high-frequency components, and uses singular value decomposition to analyticallymore » recover part of low-frequency information. Minimization is then applied to recover part of the high-frequency components of the unknowns. We present some numerical simulations with synthetic data to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.« less

Detection and analysis of protein ISGylation.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Tomoharu; Yokosawa, Hideyoshi

2008-01-01

ISG15 is a ubiquitin-like modifi er that is conjugated to target proteins by a sequential reaction catalyzed by E1/E2/E3 enzymes (protein ISGylation). ISG15 and protein ISGylation are upregulated by interferon stimuli. ISG15 functions as an antiviral protein against Sindbis virus and HIV-1, but the molecular mechanism remains unknown. Here we describe in detail methods for detecting and analyzing protein ISGylation. The methods consist of plasmid transfection and affi nity purifi cation of ISGylated proteins. In addition, we describe a method for detecting ISGylation of a target protein, Ubc13.

Description of a Method to Obtain Complete One-Year Follow-Up in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry.

PubMed

Wooley, Jordan; Neatherlin, Holly; Mahoney, Cecile; Squiers, John J; Tabachnick, Deborah; Suresh, Mitta; Huff, Eleanor; Basra, Sukhdeep S; DiMaio, J Michael; Brown, David L; Mack, Michael J; Holper, Elizabeth M

2018-03-15

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services National Coverage Determination requires centers performing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) to report clinical outcomes up to 1 year. Many sites encounter challenges in obtaining complete 1-year follow-up. We report our process to address this challenge. A multidisciplinary process involving clinical personnel, data and quality managers, and research coordinators was initiated to collect TAVI data at baseline, 30 days, and 1 year. This process included (1) planned clinical follow-up of all patients at 30 days and 1 year; (2) query of health-care system-wide integrated data warehouse (IDW) to ascertain last date of clinical contact within the system for all patients; (3) online obituary search, cross-referencing for unique patient identifiers to determine if mortality occurred in remaining unknown patients; and (4) phone calls to remaining unknown patients or patients' families. Between January 2012 and December 2016, 744 patients underwent TAVI. All 744 patients were eligible for 30-day follow-up and 546 were eligible for 1-year follow-up. At routine clinical follow-up of 22 of 744 (3%) patients at 30 days and 180 of 546 (33%) patients at 1 year had unknown survival status. The integrated data warehouse query confirmed status-alive for an additional 1 of 22 patients at 30 days (55%) and 91 of 180 patients at 1 year (51%). Obituaries were identified for 23 of 180 additional patients at 1 year (13%). Phone contact identified the remaining unknown patients at 30 days and 1 year, resulting in 100% known survival status for patients at 30 days (744 of 744) and at 1 year (546 of 546). In conclusion, using a comprehensive approach, we were able to determine survival status in 100% of patients who underwent TAVI. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unicameral bone cysts: general characteristics and management controversies.

PubMed

Pretell-Mazzini, Juan; Murphy, Robert Francis; Kushare, Indranil; Dormans, John P

2014-05-01

Unicameral bone cysts are benign bone lesions that are often asymptomatic and commonly develop in the proximal humerus and femur of skeletally immature patients. The etiology of these lesions remains unknown. Most patients present with a pathologic fracture, but these cysts can be discovered incidentally, as well. Radiographically, a unicameral bone cyst appears as a radiolucent lesion with cortical thinning and is centrally located within the metaphysis. Although diagnosis is frequently straightforward, management remains controversial. Because the results of various management methods are heterogeneous, no single method has emerged as the standard of care. New minimally invasive techniques involve cyst decompression with bone grafting and instrumentation. These techniques have yielded promising results, with low rates of complications and recurrence reported; however, prospective clinical trials are needed to compare these techniques with current evidence-based treatments.

Remaining useful life prediction of degrading systems subjected to imperfect maintenance: Application to draught fans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhao-Qiang; Hu, Chang-Hua; Si, Xiao-Sheng; Zio, Enrico

2018-02-01

Current degradation modeling and remaining useful life prediction studies share a common assumption that the degrading systems are not maintained or maintained perfectly (i.e., to an as-good-as new state). This paper concerns the issues of how to model the degradation process and predict the remaining useful life of degrading systems subjected to imperfect maintenance activities, which can restore the health condition of a degrading system to any degradation level between as-good-as new and as-bad-as old. Toward this end, a nonlinear model driven by Wiener process is first proposed to characterize the degradation trajectory of the degrading system subjected to imperfect maintenance, where negative jumps are incorporated to quantify the influence of imperfect maintenance activities on the system's degradation. Then, the probability density function of the remaining useful life is derived analytically by a space-scale transformation, i.e., transforming the constructed degradation model with negative jumps crossing a constant threshold level to a Wiener process model crossing a random threshold level. To implement the proposed method, unknown parameters in the degradation model are estimated by the maximum likelihood estimation method. Finally, the proposed degradation modeling and remaining useful life prediction method are applied to a practical case of draught fans belonging to a kind of mechanical systems from steel mills. The results reveal that, for a degrading system subjected to imperfect maintenance, our proposed method can obtain more accurate remaining useful life predictions than those of the benchmark model in literature.

Characteristic Cytokine and Chemokine Profiles in Encephalitis of Infectious, Immune-Mediated, and Unknown Aetiology

PubMed Central

Michael, Benedict D.; Griffiths, Michael J.; Granerod, Julia; Brown, David; Davies, Nicholas W. S.; Borrow, Ray; Solomon, Tom

2016-01-01

Background Encephalitis is parenchymal brain inflammation due to infectious or immune-mediated processes. However, in 15–60% the cause remains unknown. This study aimed to determine if the cytokine/chemokine-mediated host response can distinguish infectious from immune-mediated cases, and whether this may give a clue to aetiology in those of unknown cause. Methods We measured 38 mediators in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients from the Health Protection Agency Encephalitis Study. Of serum from 78 patients, 38 had infectious, 20 immune-mediated, and 20 unknown aetiology. Of CSF from 37 patients, 20 had infectious, nine immune-mediated and eight unknown aetiology. Results Heat-map analysis of CSF mediator interactions was different for infectious and immune-mediated cases, and that of the unknown aetiology group was similar to the infectious pattern. Higher myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations were found in infectious than immune-mediated cases, in serum and CSF (p = 0.01 and p = 0.006). Serum MPO was also higher in unknown than immune-mediated cases (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis selected serum MPO; classifying 31 (91%) as infectious (p = 0.008) and 17 (85%) as unknown (p = 0.009) as opposed to immune-mediated. CSF data also selected MPO classifying 11 (85%) as infectious as opposed to immune-mediated (p = 0.036). CSF neutrophils were detected in eight (62%) infective and one (14%) immune-mediated cases (p = 0.004); CSF MPO correlated with neutrophils (p<0.0001). Conclusions Mediator profiles of infectious aetiology differed from immune-mediated encephalitis; and those of unknown cause were similar to infectious cases, raising the hypothesis of a possible undiagnosed infectious cause. Particularly, neutrophils and MPO merit further investigation. PMID:26808276

Current Management Strategy for Active Surveillance in Prostate Cancer.

PubMed

Syed, Jamil S; Javier-Desloges, Juan; Tatzel, Stephanie; Bhagat, Ansh; Nguyen, Kevin A; Hwang, Kevin; Kim, Sarah; Sprenkle, Preston C

2017-02-01

Active surveillance has been increasingly utilized as a strategy for the management of favorable-risk, localized prostate cancer. In this review, we describe contemporary management strategies of active surveillance, with a focus on traditional stratification schemes, new prognostic tools, and patient outcomes. Patient selection, follow-up strategy, and indication for delayed intervention for active surveillance remain centered around PSA, digital rectal exam, and biopsy findings. Novel tools which include imaging, biomarkers, and genetic assays have been investigated as potential prognostic adjuncts; however, their role in active surveillance remains institutionally dependent. Although 30-50% of patients on active surveillance ultimately undergo delayed treatment, the vast majority will remain free of metastasis with a low risk of dying from prostate cancer. The optimal method for patient selection into active surveillance is unknown; however, cancer-specific mortality rates remain excellent. New prognostication tools are promising, and long-term prospective, randomized data regarding their use in active surveillance will be beneficial.

Label-assisted mass spectrometry for the acceleration of reaction discovery and optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera-Pardo, Jaime R.; Chai, David I.; Liu, Song; Mrksich, Milan; Kozmin, Sergey A.

2013-05-01

The identification of new reactions expands our knowledge of chemical reactivity and enables new synthetic applications. Accelerating the pace of this discovery process remains challenging. We describe a highly effective and simple platform for screening a large number of potential chemical reactions in order to discover and optimize previously unknown catalytic transformations, thereby revealing new chemical reactivity. Our strategy is based on labelling one of the reactants with a polyaromatic chemical tag, which selectively undergoes a photoionization/desorption process upon laser irradiation, without the assistance of an external matrix, and enables rapid mass spectrometric detection of any products originating from such labelled reactants in complex reaction mixtures without any chromatographic separation. This method was successfully used for high-throughput discovery and subsequent optimization of two previously unknown benzannulation reactions.

[Clinical electro-ophthalmology at the Max Planck Institute of the Frankfurt University Ophthalmology Clinic 1970-1991].

PubMed

Lorenz, R; Baier, M; Eckl, G; Raile, A

1996-07-01

The survey shows the frequency and distribution of diseases evaluated by electroophthalmological methods. Patients with retinal diseases (51.2%) and those with diseases of the optic nerve (21.8%) were examined most frequently. In a high percentage these investigations lead to a clinically useful assessment: described as confirmation or exclusion of a clinical diagnosis, as establishing a possible differential diagnosis or clearing up formerly unknown aspects of a disease. In cases of hereditary retinal disorders only 11% remained unclear, with presumed optic neuritis only 6%. The importance of electroophthalmological investigations is there ability to assess functional deficits in the visual system especially in somehow more rare retinal and centrally located disorders, functional deficits of unknown origins or in general diseases including the visual system.

Critical Assessment of Small Molecule Identification 2016: automated methods.

PubMed

Schymanski, Emma L; Ruttkies, Christoph; Krauss, Martin; Brouard, Céline; Kind, Tobias; Dührkop, Kai; Allen, Felicity; Vaniya, Arpana; Verdegem, Dries; Böcker, Sebastian; Rousu, Juho; Shen, Huibin; Tsugawa, Hiroshi; Sajed, Tanvir; Fiehn, Oliver; Ghesquière, Bart; Neumann, Steffen

2017-03-27

The fourth round of the Critical Assessment of Small Molecule Identification (CASMI) Contest ( www.casmi-contest.org ) was held in 2016, with two new categories for automated methods. This article covers the 208 challenges in Categories 2 and 3, without and with metadata, from organization, participation, results and post-contest evaluation of CASMI 2016 through to perspectives for future contests and small molecule annotation/identification. The Input Output Kernel Regression (CSI:IOKR) machine learning approach performed best in "Category 2: Best Automatic Structural Identification-In Silico Fragmentation Only", won by Team Brouard with 41% challenge wins. The winner of "Category 3: Best Automatic Structural Identification-Full Information" was Team Kind (MS-FINDER), with 76% challenge wins. The best methods were able to achieve over 30% Top 1 ranks in Category 2, with all methods ranking the correct candidate in the Top 10 in around 50% of challenges. This success rate rose to 70% Top 1 ranks in Category 3, with candidates in the Top 10 in over 80% of the challenges. The machine learning and chemistry-based approaches are shown to perform in complementary ways. The improvement in (semi-)automated fragmentation methods for small molecule identification has been substantial. The achieved high rates of correct candidates in the Top 1 and Top 10, despite large candidate numbers, open up great possibilities for high-throughput annotation of untargeted analysis for "known unknowns". As more high quality training data becomes available, the improvements in machine learning methods will likely continue, but the alternative approaches still provide valuable complementary information. Improved integration of experimental context will also improve identification success further for "real life" annotations. The true "unknown unknowns" remain to be evaluated in future CASMI contests. Graphical abstract .

Application of Control Method on a West Antarctic Glacier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmeltz, M.; Rignot, E. J.; Macayeal, D. R.

2002-12-01

We use surface velocity inferred with Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar and a control method to estimate unknown basal characteristics of a fast-moving glacier in West Antarctica, Pine Island Glacier. Previous modelling experiments on Pine Island Glacier have shown that using a coupled ice-stream/ice-shelf flow model in a forward approach (trial and error method) we were able to reproduce fairly well the surface velocity. Some discrepancies remained, however, that are partly due to uncertainties in the thickness map and incertainty in our chosen basal stress distribution (because of the non-unicity of the solution). The control method allow us to take the basal stress (or basal friction, since they are related through the velocity), as an unknown parameter. Results given by the control method should provide better reliable inputs for further modelling experiments. We investigate the results' sensitivity to the initial value of the basal stress. The inferred ratio basal drag/driving stress seems to be always low upstream, 60 to 80 km upstream of the grounding line, as if the ice stream was behaving like an ice shelf, and also reveals the presence of a snake shape channel of low ratio basal drag/driving stress, surrounded by a higher ratio, in the main flow of increasing velocity, from 20 to 40 km upstream of the grounding line.

Conformational transition of membrane-associated terminally-acylated HIV-1 Nef

PubMed Central

Akgun, Bulent; Satija, Sushil; Nanda, Hirsh; Pirrone, Gregory F.; Shi, Xiaomeng; Engen, John R.; Kent, Michael S.

2013-01-01

Many proteins are post-translationally modified by acylation targetting them to lipid membranes. While methods such as X-ray crystallography and NMR are available to determine the structure of folded proteins in solution, the precise position of folded domains relative to a membrane remains largely unknown. We used neutron and X-ray reflection methods to measure the displacement of the core domain of HIV Nef from lipid membranes upon insertion of the N-terminal myristate group. Nef is one of several HIV-1 accessory proteins and an essential factor in AIDS progression. Upon insertion of the myristate and residues from the N-terminal arm, Nef transitions from a closed to open conformation that positions the core domain 70 Å from the lipid headgroups. This work rules out speculation that the Nef core remains closely associated with the membrane to optimize interactions with the cytoplasmic domain of MHC-1. PMID:24035710

Development of an enumeration method for arsenic methylating bacteria from mixed culture samples.

PubMed

Islam, S M Atiqul; Fukushi, Kensuke; Yamamoto, Kazuo

2005-12-01

Bacterial methylation of arsenic converts inorganic arsenic into volatile and non-volatile methylated species. It plays an important role in the arsenic cycle in the environment. Despite the potential environmental significance of AsMB, an assessment of their population size and activity remains unknown. This study has now established a protocol for enumeration of AsMB by means of the anaerobic-culture-tube, most probable number (MPN) method. Direct detection of volatile arsenic species is then done by GC-MS. This method is advantageous as it can simultaneously enumerate AsMB and acetate and formate-utilizing methanogens. The incubation time for this method was determined to be 6 weeks, sufficient time for AsMB growth.

Fluorometric imaging methods for palladium and platinum and the use of palladium for imaging biomolecules.

PubMed

Tracey, Matthew P; Pham, Dianne; Koide, Kazunori

2015-07-21

Neither palladium nor platinum is an endogenous biological metal. Imaging palladium in biological samples, however, is becoming increasingly important because bioorthogonal organometallic chemistry involves palladium catalysis. In addition to being an imaging target, palladium has been used to fluorometrically image biomolecules. In these cases, palladium species are used as imaging-enabling reagents. This review article discusses these fluorometric methods. Platinum-based drugs are widely used as anticancer drugs, yet their mechanism of action remains largely unknown. We discuss fluorometric methods for imaging or quantifying platinum in cells or biofluids. These methods include the use of chemosensors to directly detect platinum, fluorescently tagging platinum-based drugs, and utilizing post-labeling to elucidate distribution and mode of action.

Emerging New Strategies for Successful Metabolite Identification in Metabolomics

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

Bingol, Ahmet K.; Bruschweiler-Li, Lei; Li, Dawei

2016-02-26

NMR is a very powerful tool for the identification of known and unknown (or unnamed) metabolites in complex mixtures as encountered in metabolomics. Known compounds can be reliably identified using 2D NMR methods, such as 13C-1H HSQC, for which powerful web servers with databases are available for semi-automated analysis. For the identification of unknown compounds, new combinations of NMR with MS have been developed recently that make synergistic use of the mutual strengths of the two techniques. The use of chemical additives to the NMR tube, such as reactive agents, paramagnetic ions, or charged silica nanoparticles, permit the identification ofmore » metabolites with specific physical chemical properties. In the following sections, we give an overview of some of the recent advances in metabolite identification and discuss remaining challenges.« less

Crowdfunding for cardiovascular research.

PubMed

Krittanawong, Chayakrit; Zhang, HongJu Janet; Aydar, Mehmet; Wang, Zhen; Sun, Tao

2018-01-01

The competition for public cardiovascular research grants has recently increased. Independent researchers are facing increasing competition for public research grant support and ultimately may need to seek alternative funding sources. Crowdfunding, a financing method of raising funds online by pooling together small donations from the online community to support a specific initiative, seems to have significant potential. However, the feasibility of crowdfunding for cardiovascular research remains unknown. Here, we performed exploratory data analysis of the feasibility of online crowdfunding in cardiovascular research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genomic and genotyping characterization of haplotype-based polymorphic microsatellites in Prunus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Efficient utilization of microsatellites in genetic studies remains impeded largely due to the unknown status of their primer reliability, chromosomal location, and allele polymorphism. Discovery and characterization of microsatellite polymorphisms in a taxon will disclose the unknowns and gain new ...

Causal mapping of emotion networks in the human brain: Framework and initial findings.

PubMed

Dubois, Julien; Oya, Hiroyuki; Tyszka, J Michael; Howard, Matthew; Eberhardt, Frederick; Adolphs, Ralph

2017-11-13

Emotions involve many cortical and subcortical regions, prominently including the amygdala. It remains unknown how these multiple network components interact, and it remains unknown how they cause the behavioral, autonomic, and experiential effects of emotions. Here we describe a framework for combining a novel technique, concurrent electrical stimulation with fMRI (es-fMRI), together with a novel analysis, inferring causal structure from fMRI data (causal discovery). We outline a research program for investigating human emotion with these new tools, and provide initial findings from two large resting-state datasets as well as case studies in neurosurgical patients with electrical stimulation of the amygdala. The overarching goal is to use causal discovery methods on fMRI data to infer causal graphical models of how brain regions interact, and then to further constrain these models with direct stimulation of specific brain regions and concurrent fMRI. We conclude by discussing limitations and future extensions. The approach could yield anatomical hypotheses about brain connectivity, motivate rational strategies for treating mood disorders with deep brain stimulation, and could be extended to animal studies that use combined optogenetic fMRI. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification of proteins likely to be involved in morphogenesis, cell division, and signal transduction in Planctomycetes by comparative genomics.

PubMed

Jogler, Christian; Waldmann, Jost; Huang, Xiaoluo; Jogler, Mareike; Glöckner, Frank Oliver; Mascher, Thorsten; Kolter, Roberto

2012-12-01

Members of the Planctomycetes clade share many unusual features for bacteria. Their cytoplasm contains membrane-bound compartments, they lack peptidoglycan and FtsZ, they divide by polar budding, and they are capable of endocytosis. Planctomycete genomes have remained enigmatic, generally being quite large (up to 9 Mb), and on average, 55% of their predicted proteins are of unknown function. Importantly, proteins related to the unusual traits of Planctomycetes remain largely unknown. Thus, we embarked on bioinformatic analyses of these genomes in an effort to predict proteins that are likely to be involved in compartmentalization, cell division, and signal transduction. We used three complementary strategies. First, we defined the Planctomycetes core genome and subtracted genes of well-studied model organisms. Second, we analyzed the gene content and synteny of morphogenesis and cell division genes and combined both methods using a "guilt-by-association" approach. Third, we identified signal transduction systems as well as sigma factors. These analyses provide a manageable list of candidate genes for future genetic studies and provide evidence for complex signaling in the Planctomycetes akin to that observed for bacteria with complex life-styles, such as Myxococcus xanthus.

76 FR 75907 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Bemidji, MN

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-05

...''). History and Description of the Remains At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two.... SUMMARY: The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council has completed an inventory of human remains and associated... tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the Minnesota...

The Molecular Biology of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma

PubMed Central

Liu, Jia; Shao, Chunbo; Tan, Marietta L.; Mu, David; Ferris, Robert L.; Ha, Patrick K.

2011-01-01

Background Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is an unusual salivary gland malignancy that remains poorly understood. Standard treatment, including surgery with postoperative radiation therapy have attained reasonable local control rates, but the propensity for distant metastases has limited any improvement in survival over time. Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving adenoid cystic carcinoma is quite rudimentary, due to the infrequent nature of its occurrence. Methods An extensive literature review was performed on salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma and basic science research findings. Results This review highlights many findings that are emerging about the carcinogenesis of ACC including cytogenetics, tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial alterations, and biomarker studies. Conclusions While there have been many discoveries, much still remains unknown about this rare malignancy. PMID:22006498

Online feature selection with streaming features.

PubMed

Wu, Xindong; Yu, Kui; Ding, Wei; Wang, Hao; Zhu, Xingquan

2013-05-01

We propose a new online feature selection framework for applications with streaming features where the knowledge of the full feature space is unknown in advance. We define streaming features as features that flow in one by one over time whereas the number of training examples remains fixed. This is in contrast with traditional online learning methods that only deal with sequentially added observations, with little attention being paid to streaming features. The critical challenges for Online Streaming Feature Selection (OSFS) include 1) the continuous growth of feature volumes over time, 2) a large feature space, possibly of unknown or infinite size, and 3) the unavailability of the entire feature set before learning starts. In the paper, we present a novel Online Streaming Feature Selection method to select strongly relevant and nonredundant features on the fly. An efficient Fast-OSFS algorithm is proposed to improve feature selection performance. The proposed algorithms are evaluated extensively on high-dimensional datasets and also with a real-world case study on impact crater detection. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithms achieve better compactness and higher prediction accuracy than existing streaming feature selection algorithms.

Dissection of C. elegans behavioral genetics in 3-D environments

PubMed Central

Kwon, Namseop; Hwang, Ara B.; You, Young-Jai; V. Lee, Seung-Jae; Ho Je, Jung

2015-01-01

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely used model for genetic dissection of animal behaviors. Despite extensive technical advances in imaging methods, it remains challenging to visualize and quantify C. elegans behaviors in three-dimensional (3-D) natural environments. Here we developed an innovative 3-D imaging method that enables quantification of C. elegans behavior in 3-D environments. Furthermore, for the first time, we characterized 3-D-specific behavioral phenotypes of mutant worms that have defects in head movement or mechanosensation. This approach allowed us to reveal previously unknown functions of genes in behavioral regulation. We expect that our 3-D imaging method will facilitate new investigations into genetic basis of animal behaviors in natural 3-D environments. PMID:25955271

78 FR 2433 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Fort Collins, CO

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-11

... Discovery). Although specific provenience of the human remains is unknown, osteological analysis conducted by physical anthropologists and by independent forensic scientists determined that the remains are of...

Recent Advances in Targeted and Untargeted Metabolomics by NMR and MS/NMR Methods

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

Bingol, Kerem

Metabolomics has made significant progress in multiple fronts in the last 18 months. This minireview aimed to give an overview of these advancements in the light of their contribution to targeted and untargeted metabolomics. New computational approaches have emerged to overcome manual absolute quantitation step of metabolites in 1D 1H NMR spectra. This provides more consistency between inter-laboratory comparisons. Integration of 2D NMR metabolomics databases under a unified web server allowed very accurate identification of the metabolites that have been catalogued in these databases. For the remaining uncatalogued and unknown metabolites, new cheminformatics approaches have been developed by combining NMRmore » and mass spectrometry. These hybrid NMR/MS approaches accelerated the identification of unknowns in untargeted studies, and now they are allowing to profile ever larger number of metabolites in application studies.« less

Analysis of mammalian gene function through broad based phenotypic screens across a consortium of mouse clinics

PubMed Central

Adams, David J; Adams, Niels C; Adler, Thure; Aguilar-Pimentel, Antonio; Ali-Hadji, Dalila; Amann, Gregory; André, Philippe; Atkins, Sarah; Auburtin, Aurelie; Ayadi, Abdel; Becker, Julien; Becker, Lore; Bedu, Elodie; Bekeredjian, Raffi; Birling, Marie-Christine; Blake, Andrew; Bottomley, Joanna; Bowl, Mike; Brault, Véronique; Busch, Dirk H; Bussell, James N; Calzada-Wack, Julia; Cater, Heather; Champy, Marie-France; Charles, Philippe; Chevalier, Claire; Chiani, Francesco; Codner, Gemma F; Combe, Roy; Cox, Roger; Dalloneau, Emilie; Dierich, André; Di Fenza, Armida; Doe, Brendan; Duchon, Arnaud; Eickelberg, Oliver; Esapa, Chris T; El Fertak, Lahcen; Feigel, Tanja; Emelyanova, Irina; Estabel, Jeanne; Favor, Jack; Flenniken, Ann; Gambadoro, Alessia; Garrett, Lilian; Gates, Hilary; Gerdin, Anna-Karin; Gkoutos, George; Greenaway, Simon; Glasl, Lisa; Goetz, Patrice; Da Cruz, Isabelle Goncalves; Götz, Alexander; Graw, Jochen; Guimond, Alain; Hans, Wolfgang; Hicks, Geoff; Hölter, Sabine M; Höfler, Heinz; Hancock, John M; Hoehndorf, Robert; Hough, Tertius; Houghton, Richard; Hurt, Anja; Ivandic, Boris; Jacobs, Hughes; Jacquot, Sylvie; Jones, Nora; Karp, Natasha A; Katus, Hugo A; Kitchen, Sharon; Klein-Rodewald, Tanja; Klingenspor, Martin; Klopstock, Thomas; Lalanne, Valerie; Leblanc, Sophie; Lengger, Christoph; le Marchand, Elise; Ludwig, Tonia; Lux, Aline; McKerlie, Colin; Maier, Holger; Mandel, Jean-Louis; Marschall, Susan; Mark, Manuel; Melvin, David G; Meziane, Hamid; Micklich, Kateryna; Mittelhauser, Christophe; Monassier, Laurent; Moulaert, David; Muller, Stéphanie; Naton, Beatrix; Neff, Frauke; Nolan, Patrick M; Nutter, Lauryl MJ; Ollert, Markus; Pavlovic, Guillaume; Pellegata, Natalia S; Peter, Emilie; Petit-Demoulière, Benoit; Pickard, Amanda; Podrini, Christine; Potter, Paul; Pouilly, Laurent; Puk, Oliver; Richardson, David; Rousseau, Stephane; Quintanilla-Fend, Leticia; Quwailid, Mohamed M; Racz, Ildiko; Rathkolb, Birgit; Riet, Fabrice; Rossant, Janet; Roux, Michel; Rozman, Jan; Ryder, Ed; Salisbury, Jennifer; Santos, Luis; Schäble, Karl-Heinz; Schiller, Evelyn; Schrewe, Anja; Schulz, Holger; Steinkamp, Ralf; Simon, Michelle; Stewart, Michelle; Stöger, Claudia; Stöger, Tobias; Sun, Minxuan; Sunter, David; Teboul, Lydia; Tilly, Isabelle; Tocchini-Valentini, Glauco P; Tost, Monica; Treise, Irina; Vasseur, Laurent; Velot, Emilie; Vogt-Weisenhorn, Daniela; Wagner, Christelle; Walling, Alison; Weber, Bruno; Wendling, Olivia; Westerberg, Henrik; Willershäuser, Monja; Wolf, Eckhard; Wolter, Anne; Wood, Joe; Wurst, Wolfgang; Yildirim, Ali Önder; Zeh, Ramona; Zimmer, Andreas; Zimprich, Annemarie

2015-01-01

The function of the majority of genes in the mouse and human genomes remains unknown. The mouse ES cell knockout resource provides a basis for characterisation of relationships between gene and phenotype. The EUMODIC consortium developed and validated robust methodologies for broad-based phenotyping of knockouts through a pipeline comprising 20 disease-orientated platforms. We developed novel statistical methods for pipeline design and data analysis aimed at detecting reproducible phenotypes with high power. We acquired phenotype data from 449 mutant alleles, representing 320 unique genes, of which half had no prior functional annotation. We captured data from over 27,000 mice finding that 83% of the mutant lines are phenodeviant, with 65% demonstrating pleiotropy. Surprisingly, we found significant differences in phenotype annotation according to zygosity. Novel phenotypes were uncovered for many genes with unknown function providing a powerful basis for hypothesis generation and further investigation in diverse systems. PMID:26214591

[Maximilian Mehl and the treatment with concentrated sunlight].

PubMed

Heyll, U

2006-12-22

In 1889, a chance observation made by Maximilian Mehl, an officer of the Berlin police force, lead him to develop a new method of treating Lupus Vulgaris with concentrated sunlight. Although first therapies proved the efficacy of this method, scientific medicine showed little interest. But Mehl found recognition among supporters of natural healing methods who saw their principles confirmed by his discovery. Mehl's tentative therapy was superseded by technological methods of sunlight treatment, as developed by the Danish doctor Niels Ryberg Finsen. In 1903 Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work while Mehl's discovery remained practically unknown. This episode in the history of medicine demonstrates how the recognition of a new method not only depends on criteria of its efficacy, but equally so on the degree of its conformity with preconceived notions and accepted standards.

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

MacMartin, Douglas G.; Kravitz, Ben; Long, Jane C. S.

Any well-informed future decision on whether and how to deploy solar geoengineering requires balancing the impacts (both intended and unintended) of intervening in the climate against the impacts of not doing so. In spite of the tremendous progress in the last decade, the current state of knowledge remains insufficient to support an assessment of this balance, even for stratospheric aerosol geoengineering (SAG), arguably the best understood (practical) geoengineering method. We then articulate key unknowns associated with SAG, including both climate-science and design questions, as an essential step toward developing a future strategic research program that could address outstanding uncertainties.

[Pseudomigraine with pleocytosis].

PubMed

Pariso, Gabriela S; Parisi, Virginia L; Persi, Gabriel G; Canto, Lucila; Rugilo, Carlos A; Gatto, Emilia M

2006-01-01

The syndrome of transient headache and neurological deficits with cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis or pseudomigraine with temporary neurological symptoms and lymphocytic pleocytosis (HaNDL) is a syndrome consisting of recurrent headaches, reversible neurological deficit, lymphocytic pleocytosis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), variable duration over time and spontaneous resolution. Although several etiopathogenic mechanisms have been suggested (vascular, infectous, immunological and calcium channelopthy), its etiology remains unknown. We describe a 28 year old female, with recurrent migraine with pleocytosis, confusional syndrome and transient neurological deficit. The clinical remission was achieved within two months. Although its etiology remains unknown the differential diagnosis is discussed in order to keep in mind this syndrome.

A study revealing the key aroma compounds of steamed bread made by Chinese traditional sourdough*

PubMed Central

Zhang, Guo-hua; Wu, Tao; Sadiq, Faizan A.; Yang, Huan-yi; Liu, Tong-jie; Ruan, Hui; He, Guo-qing

2016-01-01

Aroma of Chinese steamed bread (CSB) is one of the important parameters that determines the overall quality attributes and consumer acceptance. However, the aroma profile of CSB still remains poorly understood, mainly because of relying on only a single method for aroma extraction in previous studies. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the volatile aroma compounds of five different samples of CSB using three different aroma extraction methods, namely solid-phase microextraction (SPME), simultaneous distillation–extraction (SDE), and purge and trap (P&T). All samples showed a unique aroma profile, which could be attributed to their unique microbial consortia. (E)-2-Nonenal and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal were the most prevalent aromatic compounds revealed by SDE, which have not been reported previously, while ethanol and acetic acid proved to be the most dominant compounds by both SPME and P&T. Our approach of combining three different aroma extraction methods provided better insights into the aroma profile of CSB, which had remained largely unknown in previous studies. PMID:27704748

Employing Machine-Learning Methods to Study Young Stellar Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Nicholas

2018-01-01

Vast amounts of data exist in the astronomical data archives, and yet a large number of sources remain unclassified. We developed a multi-wavelength pipeline to classify infrared sources. The pipeline uses supervised machine learning methods to classify objects into the appropriate categories. The program is fed data that is already classified to train it, and is then applied to unknown catalogues. The primary use for such a pipeline is the rapid classification and cataloging of data that would take a much longer time to classify otherwise. While our primary goal is to study young stellar objects (YSOs), the applications extend beyond the scope of this project. We present preliminary results from our analysis and discuss future applications.

Prosthodontics an “arsenal” in forensic dentistry

PubMed Central

Bathala, Lakshmana Rao; Rachuri, Narendra Kumar; Rayapati, Srinivas Rao; Kondaka, Sudheer

2016-01-01

After major disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, tsunami, bomb blasts or terrorist attacks, accurate, and early identification of the dead and injured becomes an utmost importance. Restorations, cariesteeth, missingteeth and/or prostheses are most useful aids for the dental identification. At times, only identifiable remains are a victim's partial or complete dentures. The central principle of dental identification is that postmortem dental remains can be compared with antemortem dental records which include, studycasts, radiographs, etc., to confirm the identity of the victims. Marking/labeling dentures have been considered an important aid in forensic dentistry. Other than finger printing, when compared with all the methods, the marking/labeling of dentures is an accurate and rapid method to identify the unknown victims. There are no standardized methods to follow, but dental practitioners needs to maintain some dental records of their patients. This may include documentation of the “marking of dentures.” The preparedness is the key to success in mass disaster identification. The aim of this review article is to discuss the methods of denture identification, advantages of denture labeling for the rapid identification during major disasters/accidents and the importance of maintaining the patient records. PMID:28123274

A Hybrid RANS/LES Approach for Predicting Jet Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, Marvin E.

2006-01-01

Hybrid acoustic prediction methods have an important advantage over the current Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) based methods in that they only involve modeling of the relatively universal subscale motion and not the configuration dependent larger scale turbulence. Unfortunately, they are unable to account for the high frequency sound generated by the turbulence in the initial mixing layers. This paper introduces an alternative approach that directly calculates the sound from a hybrid RANS/LES flow model (which can resolve the steep gradients in the initial mixing layers near the nozzle lip) and adopts modeling techniques similar to those used in current RANS based noise prediction methods to determine the unknown sources in the equations for the remaining unresolved components of the sound field. The resulting prediction method would then be intermediate between the current noise prediction codes and previously proposed hybrid noise prediction methods.

A study of cell electrophoresis as a means of purifying growth hormone secreting cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plank, Lindsay D.; Hymer, W. C.; Kunze, M. Elaine; Marks, Gary M.; Lanham, J. Wayne

1983-01-01

Growth hormone secreting cells of the rat anterior pituitary are heavily laden with granules of growth hormone and can be partialy purified on the basis of their resulting high density. Two methods of preparative cell electrophoresis were investigated as methods of enhancing the purification of growth hormone producing cells: density gradient electrophoresis and continuous flow electrophoresis. Both methods provided a two- to four-fold enrichment in growth hormone production per cell relative to that achieved by previous methods. Measurements of electrophoretic mobilities by two analytical methods, microscopic electrophoresis and laser-tracking electrophoresis, revealed very little distinction between unpurified anterior pituitary cell suspensions and somatotroph-enriched cell suspensions. Predictions calculated on the basis of analytical electrophoretic data are consistent with the hypothesis that sedimentation plays a significant role in both types of preparative electrophoresis and the electrophoretic mobility of the growth hormone secreting subpopulation of cells remains unknown.

Bayesian methods for characterizing unknown parameters of material models

DOE PAGES

Emery, J. M.; Grigoriu, M. D.; Field Jr., R. V.

2016-02-04

A Bayesian framework is developed for characterizing the unknown parameters of probabilistic models for material properties. In this framework, the unknown parameters are viewed as random and described by their posterior distributions obtained from prior information and measurements of quantities of interest that are observable and depend on the unknown parameters. The proposed Bayesian method is applied to characterize an unknown spatial correlation of the conductivity field in the definition of a stochastic transport equation and to solve this equation by Monte Carlo simulation and stochastic reduced order models (SROMs). As a result, the Bayesian method is also employed tomore » characterize unknown parameters of material properties for laser welds from measurements of peak forces sustained by these welds.« less

Bayesian methods for characterizing unknown parameters of material models

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

Emery, J. M.; Grigoriu, M. D.; Field Jr., R. V.

A Bayesian framework is developed for characterizing the unknown parameters of probabilistic models for material properties. In this framework, the unknown parameters are viewed as random and described by their posterior distributions obtained from prior information and measurements of quantities of interest that are observable and depend on the unknown parameters. The proposed Bayesian method is applied to characterize an unknown spatial correlation of the conductivity field in the definition of a stochastic transport equation and to solve this equation by Monte Carlo simulation and stochastic reduced order models (SROMs). As a result, the Bayesian method is also employed tomore » characterize unknown parameters of material properties for laser welds from measurements of peak forces sustained by these welds.« less

Methodological issues regarding power of classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT)-based approaches for the comparison of patient-reported outcomes in two groups of patients - a simulation study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Patients-Reported Outcomes (PRO) are increasingly used in clinical and epidemiological research. Two main types of analytical strategies can be found for these data: classical test theory (CTT) based on the observed scores and models coming from Item Response Theory (IRT). However, whether IRT or CTT would be the most appropriate method to analyse PRO data remains unknown. The statistical properties of CTT and IRT, regarding power and corresponding effect sizes, were compared. Methods Two-group cross-sectional studies were simulated for the comparison of PRO data using IRT or CTT-based analysis. For IRT, different scenarios were investigated according to whether items or person parameters were assumed to be known, to a certain extent for item parameters, from good to poor precision, or unknown and therefore had to be estimated. The powers obtained with IRT or CTT were compared and parameters having the strongest impact on them were identified. Results When person parameters were assumed to be unknown and items parameters to be either known or not, the power achieved using IRT or CTT were similar and always lower than the expected power using the well-known sample size formula for normally distributed endpoints. The number of items had a substantial impact on power for both methods. Conclusion Without any missing data, IRT and CTT seem to provide comparable power. The classical sample size formula for CTT seems to be adequate under some conditions but is not appropriate for IRT. In IRT, it seems important to take account of the number of items to obtain an accurate formula. PMID:20338031

A numerical technique for linear elliptic partial differential equations in polygonal domains.

PubMed

Hashemzadeh, P; Fokas, A S; Smitheman, S A

2015-03-08

Integral representations for the solution of linear elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs) can be obtained using Green's theorem. However, these representations involve both the Dirichlet and the Neumann values on the boundary, and for a well-posed boundary-value problem (BVPs) one of these functions is unknown. A new transform method for solving BVPs for linear and integrable nonlinear PDEs usually referred to as the unified transform ( or the Fokas transform ) was introduced by the second author in the late Nineties. For linear elliptic PDEs, this method can be considered as the analogue of Green's function approach but now it is formulated in the complex Fourier plane instead of the physical plane. It employs two global relations also formulated in the Fourier plane which couple the Dirichlet and the Neumann boundary values. These relations can be used to characterize the unknown boundary values in terms of the given boundary data, yielding an elegant approach for determining the Dirichlet to Neumann map . The numerical implementation of the unified transform can be considered as the counterpart in the Fourier plane of the well-known boundary integral method which is formulated in the physical plane. For this implementation, one must choose (i) a suitable basis for expanding the unknown functions and (ii) an appropriate set of complex values, which we refer to as collocation points, at which to evaluate the global relations. Here, by employing a variety of examples we present simple guidelines of how the above choices can be made. Furthermore, we provide concrete rules for choosing the collocation points so that the condition number of the matrix of the associated linear system remains low.

Positive dental identification using tooth anatomy and digital superimposition.

PubMed

Johansen, Raymond J; Michael Bowers, C

2013-03-01

Dental identification of unknown human remains continues to be a relevant and reliable adjunct to forensic investigations. The advent of genomic and mitochondrial DNA procedures has not displaced the practical use of dental and related osseous structures remaining after destructive incidents that can render human remains unrecognizable, severely burned, and fragmented. The ability to conclusively identify victims of accident and homicide is based on the availability of antemortem records containing substantial and unambiguous proof of dental and related osseous characteristics. This case report documents the use of digital comparative analysis of antemortem dental models and postmortem dentition, to determine a dental identification. Images of dental models were digitally analyzed using Adobe Photoshop(TM) software. Individual tooth anatomy was compared between the antemortem and postmortem images. Digital superimposition techniques were also used for the comparison. With the absence of antemortem radiographs, this method proved useful to reach a positive identification in this case. © 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Social network analysis: Presenting an underused method for nursing research.

PubMed

Parnell, James Michael; Robinson, Jennifer C

2018-06-01

This paper introduces social network analysis as a versatile method with many applications in nursing research. Social networks have been studied for years in many social science fields. The methods continue to advance but remain unknown to most nursing scholars. Discussion paper. English language and interpreted literature was searched from Ovid Healthstar, CINAHL, PubMed Central, Scopus and hard copy texts from 1965 - 2017. Social network analysis first emerged in nursing literature in 1995 and appears minimally through present day. To convey the versatility and applicability of social network analysis in nursing, hypothetical scenarios are presented. The scenarios are illustrative of three approaches to social network analysis and include key elements of social network research design. The methods of social network analysis are underused in nursing research, primarily because they are unknown to most scholars. However, there is methodological flexibility and epistemological versatility capable of supporting quantitative and qualitative research. The analytic techniques of social network analysis can add new insight into many areas of nursing inquiry, especially those influenced by cultural norms. Furthermore, visualization techniques associated with social network analysis can be used to generate new hypotheses. Social network analysis can potentially uncover findings not accessible through methods commonly used in nursing research. Social networks can be analysed based on individual-level attributes, whole networks and subgroups within networks. Computations derived from social network analysis may stand alone to answer a research question or incorporated as variables into robust statistical models. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

76 FR 14051 - Notice of Inventory Completion: San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-15

..., pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), that there is a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably... the Tubatulabals of Kern Valley, a non-Federally recognized Indian group. On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one individual were removed from an unknown site (Ca-Ker-UNK (Lake...

Aeromagnetic Survey in Afghanistan: A Website for Distribution of Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Abraham, Jared D.; Anderson, Eric D.; Drenth, Benjamin J.; Finn, Carol A.; Kucks, Robert P.; Lindsay, Charles R.; Phillips, Jeffrey D.; Sweeney, Ronald E.

2007-01-01

Afghanistan's geologic setting indicates significant natural resource potential While important mineral deposits and petroleum resources have been identified, much of the country's potential remains unknown. Airborne geophysical surveys are a well accepted and cost effective method for obtaining information of the geological setting of an area without the need to be physically located on the ground. Due to the security situation and the large areas of the country of Afghanistan that has not been covered with geophysical exploration methods a regional airborne geophysical survey was proposed. Acting upon the request of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of Mines, the U.S. Geological Survey contracted with the Naval Research Laboratory to jointly conduct an airborne geophysical and remote sensing survey of Afghanistan.

Four Chemical Trends Will Shape the Next Decade's Directions in Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Research.

PubMed

Kotthoff, Matthias; Bücking, Mark

2018-01-01

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a versatile group of ubiquitously occurring chemicals of increasing regulatory concern. The past years lead to an ever expanding portfolio of detected anthropogenic PFAS in numerous products encountered in daily life. Yet no clear picture of the full range of individual substance that comprise PFAS is available and this challenges analytical and engineering sciences. Authorities struggle to cope with uncertainties in managing risk of harm posed by PFAS. This is a result of an incomplete understanding of the range of compounds that they comprise in differing products. There are analytical uncertainties identifying PFAS and estimating the concentrations of the total PFAS load individual molecules remain unknown. There are four major trends from the chemical perspective that will shape PFAS research for the next decade. Mobility: A wide and dynamic distribution of short chain PFAS due to their high polarity, persistency and volatility.Substitution of regulated substances: The ban or restrictions of individual molecules will lead to a replacement with substitutes of similar concern.Increase in structural diversity of existing PFAS molecules: Introduction of e.g., hydrogens and chlorine atoms instead of fluorine, as well as branching and cross-linking lead to a high versatility of unknown target molecules.Unknown "Dark Matter": The amount, identity, formation pathways, and transformation dynamics of polymers and PFAS precursors are largely unknown. These directions require optimized analytical setups, especially multi-methods, and semi-specific tools to determine PFAS-sum parameters in any relevant matrix.

Four Chemical Trends Will Shape the Next Decade's Directions in Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Research

PubMed Central

Kotthoff, Matthias; Bücking, Mark

2018-01-01

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a versatile group of ubiquitously occurring chemicals of increasing regulatory concern. The past years lead to an ever expanding portfolio of detected anthropogenic PFAS in numerous products encountered in daily life. Yet no clear picture of the full range of individual substance that comprise PFAS is available and this challenges analytical and engineering sciences. Authorities struggle to cope with uncertainties in managing risk of harm posed by PFAS. This is a result of an incomplete understanding of the range of compounds that they comprise in differing products. There are analytical uncertainties identifying PFAS and estimating the concentrations of the total PFAS load individual molecules remain unknown. There are four major trends from the chemical perspective that will shape PFAS research for the next decade. Mobility: A wide and dynamic distribution of short chain PFAS due to their high polarity, persistency and volatility.Substitution of regulated substances: The ban or restrictions of individual molecules will lead to a replacement with substitutes of similar concern.Increase in structural diversity of existing PFAS molecules: Introduction of e.g., hydrogens and chlorine atoms instead of fluorine, as well as branching and cross-linking lead to a high versatility of unknown target molecules.Unknown “Dark Matter”: The amount, identity, formation pathways, and transformation dynamics of polymers and PFAS precursors are largely unknown. These directions require optimized analytical setups, especially multi-methods, and semi-specific tools to determine PFAS-sum parameters in any relevant matrix. PMID:29675408

Ensemble gene function prediction database reveals genes important for complex I formation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Hansen, Bjoern Oest; Meyer, Etienne H; Ferrari, Camilla; Vaid, Neha; Movahedi, Sara; Vandepoele, Klaas; Nikoloski, Zoran; Mutwil, Marek

2018-03-01

Recent advances in gene function prediction rely on ensemble approaches that integrate results from multiple inference methods to produce superior predictions. Yet, these developments remain largely unexplored in plants. We have explored and compared two methods to integrate 10 gene co-function networks for Arabidopsis thaliana and demonstrate how the integration of these networks produces more accurate gene function predictions for a larger fraction of genes with unknown function. These predictions were used to identify genes involved in mitochondrial complex I formation, and for five of them, we confirmed the predictions experimentally. The ensemble predictions are provided as a user-friendly online database, EnsembleNet. The methods presented here demonstrate that ensemble gene function prediction is a powerful method to boost prediction performance, whereas the EnsembleNet database provides a cutting-edge community tool to guide experimentalists. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

On the statistical equivalence of restrained-ensemble simulations with the maximum entropy method

PubMed Central

Roux, Benoît; Weare, Jonathan

2013-01-01

An issue of general interest in computer simulations is to incorporate information from experiments into a structural model. An important caveat in pursuing this goal is to avoid corrupting the resulting model with spurious and arbitrary biases. While the problem of biasing thermodynamic ensembles can be formulated rigorously using the maximum entropy method introduced by Jaynes, the approach can be cumbersome in practical applications with the need to determine multiple unknown coefficients iteratively. A popular alternative strategy to incorporate the information from experiments is to rely on restrained-ensemble molecular dynamics simulations. However, the fundamental validity of this computational strategy remains in question. Here, it is demonstrated that the statistical distribution produced by restrained-ensemble simulations is formally consistent with the maximum entropy method of Jaynes. This clarifies the underlying conditions under which restrained-ensemble simulations will yield results that are consistent with the maximum entropy method. PMID:23464140

Rib biomechanical properties exhibit diagnostic potential for accurate ageing in forensic investigations

PubMed Central

Bonicelli, Andrea; Xhemali, Bledar; Kranioti, Elena F.

2017-01-01

Age estimation remains one of the most challenging tasks in forensic practice when establishing a biological profile of unknown skeletonised remains. Morphological methods based on developmental markers of bones can provide accurate age estimates at a young age, but become highly unreliable for ages over 35 when all developmental markers disappear. This study explores the changes in the biomechanical properties of bone tissue and matrix, which continue to change with age even after skeletal maturity, and their potential value for age estimation. As a proof of concept we investigated the relationship of 28 variables at the macroscopic and microscopic level in rib autopsy samples from 24 individuals. Stepwise regression analysis produced a number of equations one of which with seven variables showed an R2 = 0.949; a mean residual error of 2.13 yrs ±0.4 (SD) and a maximum residual error value of 2.88 yrs. For forensic purposes, by using only bench top machines in tests which can be carried out within 36 hrs, a set of just 3 variables produced an equation with an R2 = 0.902 a mean residual error of 3.38 yrs ±2.6 (SD) and a maximum observed residual error 9.26yrs. This method outstrips all existing age-at-death methods based on ribs, thus providing a novel lab based accurate tool in the forensic investigation of human remains. The present application is optimised for fresh (uncompromised by taphonomic conditions) remains, but the potential of the principle and method is vast once the trends of the biomechanical variables are established for other environmental conditions and circumstances. PMID:28520764

Population-based incidence, treatment and survival of patients with peritoneal metastases of unknown origin.

PubMed

Thomassen, Irene; Verhoeven, Rob H A; van Gestel, Yvette R B M; van de Wouw, Agnes J; Lemmens, Valery E P P; de Hingh, Ignace H J T

2014-01-01

Until recently, peritoneal metastases (PM) were regarded as an untreatable condition, regardless of the organ of origin. Currently, promising treatment options are available for selected patients with PM from colorectal, appendiceal, ovarian or gastric carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, treatment and survival of patients presenting with PM in whom the origin of PM remains unknown. Data from patients diagnosed with PM of unknown origin during 1984-2010 were extracted from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. European age-standardised incidence rates were calculated and data on treatment and survival were analysed. In total 1051 patients were diagnosed with PM of unknown origin. In 606 patients (58%) the peritoneum was the only site of metastasis, and 445 patients also had other metastases. Chemotherapy usage has increased from 8% in the earliest period to 16% in most recent years (p=.016). Median survival was extremely poor with only 42days (95% confidence interval (CI) 39-47days) and did not change over time. Median survival of patients not receiving chemotherapy was significantly worse than of those receiving chemotherapy (36 versus 218days, p<.0001). The prognosis of PM of unknown origin is extremely poor and did not improve over time. Given the recent progress that has been achieved in selected patients presenting with PM, maximum efforts should be undertaken in order to diagnose the origin of PM as accurately as possible. Potentially effective treatment strategies should be further explored for patients in whom the organ of origin remains unknown. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A chemical proteomics approach for global analysis of lysine monomethylome profiling.

PubMed

Wu, Zhixiang; Cheng, Zhongyi; Sun, Mingwei; Wan, Xuelian; Liu, Ping; He, Tieming; Tan, Minjia; Zhao, Yingming

2015-02-01

Methylation of lysine residues on histone proteins is known to play an important role in chromatin structure and function. However, non-histone protein substrates of this modification remain largely unknown. An effective approach for system-wide analysis of protein lysine methylation, particularly lysine monomethylation, is lacking. Here we describe a chemical proteomics approach for global screening for monomethyllysine substrates, involving chemical propionylation of monomethylated lysine, affinity enrichment of the modified monomethylated peptides, and HPLC/MS/MS analysis. Using this approach, we identified with high confidence 446 lysine monomethylation sites in 398 proteins, including three previously unknown histone monomethylation marks, representing the largest data set of protein lysine monomethylation described to date. Our data not only confirms previously discovered lysine methylation substrates in the nucleus and spliceosome, but also reveals new substrates associated with diverse biological processes. This method hence offers a powerful approach for dynamic study of protein lysine monomethylation under diverse cellular conditions and in human diseases. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

EIF2AK4 Mutations in Pulmonary Capillary Hemangiomatosis

PubMed Central

Best, D. Hunter; Sumner, Kelli L.; Austin, Eric D.; Chung, Wendy K.; Brown, Lynette M.; Borczuk, Alain C.; Rosenzweig, Erika B.; Bayrak-Toydemir, Pinar; Mao, Rong; Cahill, Barbara C.; Tazelaar, Henry D.; Leslie, Kevin O.; Hemnes, Anna R.; Robbins, Ivan M.

2014-01-01

Background: Pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PCH) is a rare disease of capillary proliferation of unknown cause and with a high mortality. Families with multiple affected individuals with PCH suggest a heritable cause although the genetic etiology remains unknown. Methods: We used exome sequencing to identify a candidate gene for PCH in a family with two affected brothers. We then screened 11 unrelated patients with familial (n = 1) or sporadic (n = 10) PCH for mutations. Results: Using exome sequencing, we identified compound mutations in eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 α kinase 4 (EIF2AK4) (formerly known as GCN2) in both affected brothers. Both parents and an unaffected sister were heterozygous carriers. In addition, we identified two EIF2AK4 mutations in each of two of 10 unrelated individuals with sporadic PCH. EIF2AK4 belongs to a family of kinases that regulate angiogenesis in response to cellular stress. Conclusions: Mutations in EIF2AK4 are likely to cause autosomal-recessive PCH in familial and some nonfamilial cases. PMID:24135949

Analysis of mammalian gene function through broad-based phenotypic screens across a consortium of mouse clinics.

PubMed

de Angelis, Martin Hrabě; Nicholson, George; Selloum, Mohammed; White, Jacqui; Morgan, Hugh; Ramirez-Solis, Ramiro; Sorg, Tania; Wells, Sara; Fuchs, Helmut; Fray, Martin; Adams, David J; Adams, Niels C; Adler, Thure; Aguilar-Pimentel, Antonio; Ali-Hadji, Dalila; Amann, Gregory; André, Philippe; Atkins, Sarah; Auburtin, Aurelie; Ayadi, Abdel; Becker, Julien; Becker, Lore; Bedu, Elodie; Bekeredjian, Raffi; Birling, Marie-Christine; Blake, Andrew; Bottomley, Joanna; Bowl, Mike; Brault, Véronique; Busch, Dirk H; Bussell, James N; Calzada-Wack, Julia; Cater, Heather; Champy, Marie-France; Charles, Philippe; Chevalier, Claire; Chiani, Francesco; Codner, Gemma F; Combe, Roy; Cox, Roger; Dalloneau, Emilie; Dierich, André; Di Fenza, Armida; Doe, Brendan; Duchon, Arnaud; Eickelberg, Oliver; Esapa, Chris T; El Fertak, Lahcen; Feigel, Tanja; Emelyanova, Irina; Estabel, Jeanne; Favor, Jack; Flenniken, Ann; Gambadoro, Alessia; Garrett, Lilian; Gates, Hilary; Gerdin, Anna-Karin; Gkoutos, George; Greenaway, Simon; Glasl, Lisa; Goetz, Patrice; Da Cruz, Isabelle Goncalves; Götz, Alexander; Graw, Jochen; Guimond, Alain; Hans, Wolfgang; Hicks, Geoff; Hölter, Sabine M; Höfler, Heinz; Hancock, John M; Hoehndorf, Robert; Hough, Tertius; Houghton, Richard; Hurt, Anja; Ivandic, Boris; Jacobs, Hughes; Jacquot, Sylvie; Jones, Nora; Karp, Natasha A; Katus, Hugo A; Kitchen, Sharon; Klein-Rodewald, Tanja; Klingenspor, Martin; Klopstock, Thomas; Lalanne, Valerie; Leblanc, Sophie; Lengger, Christoph; le Marchand, Elise; Ludwig, Tonia; Lux, Aline; McKerlie, Colin; Maier, Holger; Mandel, Jean-Louis; Marschall, Susan; Mark, Manuel; Melvin, David G; Meziane, Hamid; Micklich, Kateryna; Mittelhauser, Christophe; Monassier, Laurent; Moulaert, David; Muller, Stéphanie; Naton, Beatrix; Neff, Frauke; Nolan, Patrick M; Nutter, Lauryl Mj; Ollert, Markus; Pavlovic, Guillaume; Pellegata, Natalia S; Peter, Emilie; Petit-Demoulière, Benoit; Pickard, Amanda; Podrini, Christine; Potter, Paul; Pouilly, Laurent; Puk, Oliver; Richardson, David; Rousseau, Stephane; Quintanilla-Fend, Leticia; Quwailid, Mohamed M; Racz, Ildiko; Rathkolb, Birgit; Riet, Fabrice; Rossant, Janet; Roux, Michel; Rozman, Jan; Ryder, Ed; Salisbury, Jennifer; Santos, Luis; Schäble, Karl-Heinz; Schiller, Evelyn; Schrewe, Anja; Schulz, Holger; Steinkamp, Ralf; Simon, Michelle; Stewart, Michelle; Stöger, Claudia; Stöger, Tobias; Sun, Minxuan; Sunter, David; Teboul, Lydia; Tilly, Isabelle; Tocchini-Valentini, Glauco P; Tost, Monica; Treise, Irina; Vasseur, Laurent; Velot, Emilie; Vogt-Weisenhorn, Daniela; Wagner, Christelle; Walling, Alison; Weber, Bruno; Wendling, Olivia; Westerberg, Henrik; Willershäuser, Monja; Wolf, Eckhard; Wolter, Anne; Wood, Joe; Wurst, Wolfgang; Yildirim, Ali Önder; Zeh, Ramona; Zimmer, Andreas; Zimprich, Annemarie; Holmes, Chris; Steel, Karen P; Herault, Yann; Gailus-Durner, Valérie; Mallon, Ann-Marie; Brown, Steve Dm

2015-09-01

The function of the majority of genes in the mouse and human genomes remains unknown. The mouse embryonic stem cell knockout resource provides a basis for the characterization of relationships between genes and phenotypes. The EUMODIC consortium developed and validated robust methodologies for the broad-based phenotyping of knockouts through a pipeline comprising 20 disease-oriented platforms. We developed new statistical methods for pipeline design and data analysis aimed at detecting reproducible phenotypes with high power. We acquired phenotype data from 449 mutant alleles, representing 320 unique genes, of which half had no previous functional annotation. We captured data from over 27,000 mice, finding that 83% of the mutant lines are phenodeviant, with 65% demonstrating pleiotropy. Surprisingly, we found significant differences in phenotype annotation according to zygosity. New phenotypes were uncovered for many genes with previously unknown function, providing a powerful basis for hypothesis generation and further investigation in diverse systems.

13-fold resolution gain through turbid layer via translated unknown speckle illumination

PubMed Central

Guo, Kaikai; Zhang, Zibang; Jiang, Shaowei; Liao, Jun; Zhong, Jingang; Eldar, Yonina C.; Zheng, Guoan

2017-01-01

Fluorescence imaging through a turbid layer holds great promise for various biophotonics applications. Conventional wavefront shaping techniques aim to create and scan a focus spot through the turbid layer. Finding the correct input wavefront without direct access to the target plane remains a critical challenge. In this paper, we explore a new strategy for imaging through turbid layer with a large field of view. In our setup, a fluorescence sample is sandwiched between two turbid layers. Instead of generating one focus spot via wavefront shaping, we use an unshaped beam to illuminate the turbid layer and generate an unknown speckle pattern at the target plane over a wide field of view. By tilting the input wavefront, we raster scan the unknown speckle pattern via the memory effect and capture the corresponding low-resolution fluorescence images through the turbid layer. Different from the wavefront-shaping-based single-spot scanning, the proposed approach employs many spots (i.e., speckles) in parallel for extending the field of view. Based on all captured images, we jointly recover the fluorescence object, the unknown optical transfer function of the turbid layer, the translated step size, and the unknown speckle pattern. Without direct access to the object plane or knowledge of the turbid layer, we demonstrate a 13-fold resolution gain through the turbid layer using the reported strategy. We also demonstrate the use of this technique to improve the resolution of a low numerical aperture objective lens allowing to obtain both large field of view and high resolution at the same time. The reported method provides insight for developing new fluorescence imaging platforms and may find applications in deep-tissue imaging. PMID:29359102

Evidence of West Nile virus infection in Nepal.

PubMed

Rutvisuttinunt, Wiriya; Chinnawirotpisan, Piyawan; Klungthong, Chonticha; Shrestha, Sanjaya Kumar; Thapa, Amod Bahadur; Pant, Arjun; Yingst, Samuel L; Yoon, In-Kyu; Fernandez, Stefan; Pavlin, Julie A

2014-11-27

Acute febrile illness is common among those seeking medical care and is frequently treated empirically with the underlying illness remaining undiagnosed in resource-poor countries. A febrile illness study was conducted 2009-2010 to identify known and unknown pathogens circulating in Nepal. Study methods included diagnostic testing and preliminary ELISA screening of acute and convalescent samples for diseases both known and unknown to be circulating in Nepal, including West Nile virus (WNV). The molecular assays including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Sanger sequencing and ultra deep sequencing on MiSeq Illumina Platform were conducted to further confirm the presence of WNV. The study enrolled 2,046 patients presenting undifferentiated febrile illness with unknown etiology. Sera from 14 out of 2,046 patients were tested positive for west nile virus (WNV) by nested Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Only two out of 14 cases were confirmed for the presence of WNV by sequencing and identified as WNV lineage 1 phylogentically. The two patients were adult males with fever and no neurological symptoms from Kathmandu and Bharatpur, Nepal. Two out of 2,046 serum samples contained fragments of WNV genome resembling WNV lineage 1, which is evidence of the continued spread of WNV which should be considered a possible illness cause in Nepal.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Have a Nutritionally Significant Impact on Micronutrient Intakes of Older Adults Attending Senior Centers

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Older adults frequently report use of vitamin and mineral (VM) supplements, though the impact of supplements on dietary adequacy remains largely unknown. Despite possible improvements in dietary intake, concern remains over potential excessive nutrient consumption from VM supplement us...

Nurses' attitudes towards the reporting of violence in the emergency department.

PubMed

Hogarth, Kathryn M; Beattie, Jill; Morphet, Julia

2016-05-01

The incidence of workplace violence against nurses in emergency departments is underreported. Thus, the true nature and frequency of violent incidents remains unknown. It is therefore difficult to address the problem. To identify the attitudes, barriers and enablers of emergency nurses to the reporting of workplace violence. Using a phenomenological approach, two focus groups were conducted at a tertiary emergency department. The data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Violent incidents in this emergency department were underreported. Nurses accepted violence as part of their normal working day, and therefore were less likely to report it. Violent incidents were not defined as 'violence' if no physical injury was sustained, therefore it was not reported. Nurses were also motivated to report formally in order to protect themselves from any possible future complaints made by perpetrators. The current formal reporting system was a major barrier to reporting because it was difficult and time consuming to use. Nurses reported violence using methods other than the designated reporting system. While emergency nurses do report violence, they do not use the formal reporting system. When they did use the formal reporting system they were motivated to do so in order to protect themselves. As a consequence of underreporting, the nature and extent of workplace violence remains unknown. Copyright © 2015 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forensic Facial Reconstruction: The Final Frontier.

PubMed

Gupta, Sonia; Gupta, Vineeta; Vij, Hitesh; Vij, Ruchieka; Tyagi, Nutan

2015-09-01

Forensic facial reconstruction can be used to identify unknown human remains when other techniques fail. Through this article, we attempt to review the different methods of facial reconstruction reported in literature. There are several techniques of doing facial reconstruction, which vary from two dimensional drawings to three dimensional clay models. With the advancement in 3D technology, a rapid, efficient and cost effective computerized 3D forensic facial reconstruction method has been developed which has brought down the degree of error previously encountered. There are several methods of manual facial reconstruction but the combination Manchester method has been reported to be the best and most accurate method for the positive recognition of an individual. Recognition allows the involved government agencies to make a list of suspected victims'. This list can then be narrowed down and a positive identification may be given by the more conventional method of forensic medicine. Facial reconstruction allows visual identification by the individual's family and associates to become easy and more definite.

No novel, high penetrant gene might remain to be found in Japanese patients with unknown MODY.

PubMed

Horikawa, Yukio; Hosomichi, Kazuyoshi; Enya, Mayumi; Ishiura, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Yutaka; Tsuji, Shoji; Sugano, Sumio; Inoue, Ituro; Takeda, Jun

2018-07-01

MODY 5 and 6 have been shown to be low-penetrant MODYs. As the genetic background of unknown MODY is assumed to be similar, a new analytical strategy is applied here to elucidate genetic predispositions to unknown MODY. We examined to find whether there are major MODY gene loci remaining to be identified using SNP linkage analysis in Japanese. Whole-exome sequencing was performed with seven families with typical MODY. Candidates for novel MODY genes were examined combined with in silico network analysis. Some peaks were found only in either parametric or non-parametric analysis; however, none of these peaks showed a LOD score greater than 3.7, which is approved to be the significance threshold of evidence for linkage. Exome sequencing revealed that three mutated genes were common among 3 families and 42 mutated genes were common in two families. Only one of these genes, MYO5A, having rare amino acid mutations p.R849Q and p.V1601G, was involved in the biological network of known MODY genes through the intermediary of the INS. Although only one promising candidate gene, MYO5A, was identified, no novel, high penetrant MODY genes might remain to be found in Japanese MODY.

Off-Policy Actor-Critic Structure for Optimal Control of Unknown Systems With Disturbances.

PubMed

Song, Ruizhuo; Lewis, Frank L; Wei, Qinglai; Zhang, Huaguang

2016-05-01

An optimal control method is developed for unknown continuous-time systems with unknown disturbances in this paper. The integral reinforcement learning (IRL) algorithm is presented to obtain the iterative control. Off-policy learning is used to allow the dynamics to be completely unknown. Neural networks are used to construct critic and action networks. It is shown that if there are unknown disturbances, off-policy IRL may not converge or may be biased. For reducing the influence of unknown disturbances, a disturbances compensation controller is added. It is proven that the weight errors are uniformly ultimately bounded based on Lyapunov techniques. Convergence of the Hamiltonian function is also proven. The simulation study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed optimal control method for unknown systems with disturbances.

Implementation of an improved adaptive-implicit method in a thermal compositional simulator

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

Tan, T.B.

1988-11-01

A multicomponent thermal simulator with an adaptive-implicit-method (AIM) formulation/inexact-adaptive-Newton (IAN) method is presented. The final coefficient matrix retains the original banded structure so that conventional iterative methods can be used. Various methods for selection of the eliminated unknowns are tested. AIM/IAN method has a lower work count per Newtonian iteration than fully implicit methods, but a wrong choice of unknowns will result in excessive Newtonian iterations. For the problems tested, the residual-error method described in the paper for selecting implicit unknowns, together with the IAN method, had an improvement of up to 28% of the CPU time over the fullymore » implicit method.« less

[Chronic elevation of enzymes of pancreatic origin in asymptomatic patients].

PubMed

Quílez, C; Martínez, J; Gómez, A; Trigo, C; Palazón, J M; Belda, G; Pérez-Mateo, M

1998-05-01

Chronic asymptomatic elevation of pancreatic enzymes is a well known entity although little has been reported. In most cases chronic asymptomatic elevation of amylase is due to a salival isoamylase increase or macroamylasemia. However, we have studied 10 cases with an increase in amylases due to pancreatic isoamylase and an increase in the remaining pancreatic enzymes which remained elevated during the follow up period ranging from 2 to 60 months. The amylase values ranged from 186 to 1,600; the lipase from 176 to 3,989, trypsin from 476 to 2,430 and pancreatic isoamylase from 122 to 1,263. In all patients CT and echography were carried out, which discarded structural damage. Nonetheless, an indirect test of pancreatic function presented unexplained pathologic values in 4 out of 10 patients. In conclusion, we suggest that chronic asymptomatic elevation of pancreatic enzymes is of unknown etiology with no associated structural pancreatic pathology demonstrable by the usual study methods.

75 FR 52021 - Notice of Inventory Completion: New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-24

... University College of Dentistry, New York, NY AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. Notice... University College of Dentistry, New York, NY. The human remains were removed from an unknown location. This... the human remains was made by New York University College of Dentistry professional staff in...

Evaluation of the ruminal bacterial diversity of cattle fed diets containing citrus pulp pellets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The rumen microbial ecosystem remains a mystery from a quantitative perspective. Dietary components and changes cause shifts in the ruminal microbial ecology that can play a role in animal health and productivity, but the magnitude of these changes remains unknown. The objective of this study was ...

75 FR 67999 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Anthropological Studies Center, Archaeological Collections...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-04

... occupation between A.D. 1500 and 1856. Although the exact age and identity of the individual is unknown, more... relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native American human remains... January 1982, human remains representing a minimum of one individual were removed from the Diamond H...

77 FR 2082 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Bemidji, MN

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-13

.... The remains were removed during construction of a building and subsequently transferred to Bemidji.... At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were recovered from a road construction project on Hwy 197 in Beltrami County, MN, and transferred to the Minnesota Office of the State...

Aeromagnetic surveys in Afghanistan: An updated website for distribution of data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shenwary, Ghulam Sakhi; Kohistany, Abdul Hakim; Hussain, Sardar; Ashan, Said; Mutty, Abdul Salam; Daud, Mohammad Ahmad; Wussow, Michael D.; Sweeney, Ronald E.; Phillips, Jeffrey D.; Lindsay, Charles R.; Kucks, Robert P.; Finn, Carol A.; Drenth, Benjamin J.; Anderson, Eric D.; Abraham, Jared D.; Liang, Robert T.; Jarvis, James L.; Gardner, Joan M.; Childers, Vicki A.; Ball, David C.; Brozena, John M.

2011-01-01

Because of its geologic setting, Afghanistan has the potential to contain substantial natural resources. Although valuable mineral deposits and petroleum resources have been identified, much of the country's potential remains unknown. Airborne geophysical surveys are a well accepted and cost effective method for obtaining information about the geological setting of an area without the need to be physically located on the ground. Owing to the current security situation and the large areas of the country that have not been evaluated by geophysical exploration methods, a regional airborne geophysical survey was proposed. Acting upon the request of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ministry of Mines, the U.S. Geological Survey contracted with the Naval Research Laboratory to jointly conduct an airborne geophysical and remote sensing survey of Afghanistan.

Standardised Benchmarking in the Quest for Orthologs

PubMed Central

Altenhoff, Adrian M.; Boeckmann, Brigitte; Capella-Gutierrez, Salvador; Dalquen, Daniel A.; DeLuca, Todd; Forslund, Kristoffer; Huerta-Cepas, Jaime; Linard, Benjamin; Pereira, Cécile; Pryszcz, Leszek P.; Schreiber, Fabian; Sousa da Silva, Alan; Szklarczyk, Damian; Train, Clément-Marie; Bork, Peer; Lecompte, Odile; von Mering, Christian; Xenarios, Ioannis; Sjölander, Kimmen; Juhl Jensen, Lars; Martin, Maria J.; Muffato, Matthieu; Gabaldón, Toni; Lewis, Suzanna E.; Thomas, Paul D.; Sonnhammer, Erik; Dessimoz, Christophe

2016-01-01

The identification of evolutionarily related genes across different species—orthologs in particular—forms the backbone of many comparative, evolutionary, and functional genomic analyses. Achieving high accuracy in orthology inference is thus essential. Yet the true evolutionary history of genes, required to ascertain orthology, is generally unknown. Furthermore, orthologs are used for very different applications across different phyla, with different requirements in terms of the precision-recall trade-off. As a result, assessing the performance of orthology inference methods remains difficult for both users and method developers. Here, we present a community effort to establish standards in orthology benchmarking and facilitate orthology benchmarking through an automated web-based service (http://orthology.benchmarkservice.org). Using this new service, we characterise the performance of 15 well-established orthology inference methods and resources on a battery of 20 different benchmarks. Standardised benchmarking provides a way for users to identify the most effective methods for the problem at hand, sets a minimal requirement for new tools and resources, and guides the development of more accurate orthology inference methods. PMID:27043882

Using Inverse Problem Methods with Surveillance Data in Pneumococcal Vaccination

PubMed Central

Sutton, Karyn L.; Banks, H. T.; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos

2010-01-01

The design and evaluation of epidemiological control strategies is central to public health policy. While inverse problem methods are routinely used in many applications, this remains an area in which their use is relatively rare, although their potential impact is great. We describe methods particularly relevant to epidemiological modeling at the population level. These methods are then applied to the study of pneumococcal vaccination strategies as a relevant example which poses many challenges common to other infectious diseases. We demonstrate that relevant yet typically unknown parameters may be estimated, and show that a calibrated model may used to assess implemented vaccine policies through the estimation of parameters if vaccine history is recorded along with infection and colonization information. Finally, we show how one might determine an appropriate level of refinement or aggregation in the age-structured model given age-stratified observations. These results illustrate ways in which the collection and analysis of surveillance data can be improved using inverse problem methods. PMID:20209093

Has the connection between polyploidy and diversification actually been tested?

PubMed

Kellogg, Elizabeth A

2016-04-01

Many major clades of angiosperms have several whole genome duplications (polyploidization events) in their distant past, suggesting that polyploidy drives or at least permits diversification. However, data on recently diverged groups are more equivocal, finding little evidence of elevated diversification following polyploidy. The discrepancy may be attributable at least in part to methodology. Many studies use indirect methods, such as chromosome numbers, genome size, and Ks plots, to test polyploidy, although these approaches can be misleading, and often lack sufficient resolution. A direct test of diversification following polyploidy requires a sequence-based approach that traces the history of nuclear genomes rather than species. These methods identify the point of coalescence of ancestral genomes, but may be misleading about the time and thus the extent of diversification. Limitations of existing methods mean that the connection between polyploidy and diversification has not been rigorously tested and remains unknown. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Ablowitz–Ladik system on a finite set of integers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Baoqiang

2018-07-01

We show how to solve initial-boundary value problems for integrable nonlinear differential–difference equations on a finite set of integers. The method we employ is the discrete analogue of the unified transform (Fokas method). The implementation of this method to the Ablowitz–Ladik system yields the solution in terms of the unique solution of a matrix Riemann–Hilbert problem, which has a jump matrix with explicit -dependence involving certain functions referred to as spectral functions. Some of these functions are defined in terms of the initial value, while the remaining spectral functions are defined in terms of two sets of boundary values. These spectral functions are not independent but satisfy an algebraic relation called global relation. We analyze the global relation to characterize the unknown boundary values in terms of the given initial and boundary values. We also discuss the linearizable boundary conditions.

Entropy generation in Gaussian quantum transformations: applying the replica method to continuous-variable quantum information theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagatsos, Christos N.; Karanikas, Alexandros I.; Kordas, Georgios; Cerf, Nicolas J.

2016-02-01

In spite of their simple description in terms of rotations or symplectic transformations in phase space, quadratic Hamiltonians such as those modelling the most common Gaussian operations on bosonic modes remain poorly understood in terms of entropy production. For instance, determining the quantum entropy generated by a Bogoliubov transformation is notably a hard problem, with generally no known analytical solution, while it is vital to the characterisation of quantum communication via bosonic channels. Here we overcome this difficulty by adapting the replica method, a tool borrowed from statistical physics and quantum field theory. We exhibit a first application of this method to continuous-variable quantum information theory, where it enables accessing entropies in an optical parametric amplifier. As an illustration, we determine the entropy generated by amplifying a binary superposition of the vacuum and a Fock state, which yields a surprisingly simple, yet unknown analytical expression.

Teaching history-taking: where are we?

PubMed Central

Nardone, D. A.; Reuler, J. B.; Girard, D. E.

1980-01-01

Knowledge in history-taking has increased rapidly over the last twenty years. Currently the principles to be taught include "conduct," "content," and "diagnostic reasoning." However, inattentiveness of medical schools, reluctance of busy faculty to be involved, and increasing enrollments have resulted in difficulties in teaching these skills. Studies have shown a beneficial short-term effect of teaching these materials on interview performance but it is unknown whether this effect is long-lasting. The methods for instruction include the bedside and videotape models utilizing the concept of the fifteen-minute interview technique, programmed instruction, patient instructors, and direct student feedback. Future research should focus on identifying strategies in diagnostic reasoning, developing graduated competency criteria for trainees at different levels of their education, refining methods to evaluate large numbers of students, measuring outcomes of effective training such as compliance, and comparing costs and effectiveness of various methods. In addition, there remains the need to establish an association of course directors. PMID:7405275

Culture care theory: a major contribution to advance transcultural nursing knowledge and practices.

PubMed

Leininger, Madeleine

2002-07-01

This article is focused on the major features of the Culture Care Diversity and Universality theory as a central contributing theory to advance transcultural nursing knowledge and to use the findings in teaching, research, practice, and consultation. It remains one of the oldest, most holistic, and most comprehensive theories to generate knowledge of diverse and similar cultures worldwide. The theory has been a powerful means to discover largely unknown knowledge in nursing and the health fields. It provides a new mode to assure culturally competent, safe, and congruent transcultural nursing care. The purpose, goal, assumptive premises, ethnonursing research method, criteria, and some findings are highlighted.

Four chemical trends will shape the next decade's directions in Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotthoff, Matthias; Bücking, Mark

2018-04-01

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a versatile group of ubiquitously occurring chemicals of increasing regulatory concern. The past years lead to an ever expanding portfolio of detected anthropogenic PFAS in numerous products encountered in daily life. Yet no clear picture of the full range of individual substance that comprise PFAS is available and this challenges analytical and engineering sciences. Authorities struggle to cope with uncertainties in managing risk of harm posed by PFAS.This is a result of an incomplete understanding of the range of compounds that they comprise in differing products. There are analytical uncertainties identifying PFAS and estimating the concentrations of the total PFAS loadindividual molecules remain unknown. There are four major trends from the chemical perspective that will shape PFAS research for the next decade. 1.Mobility: A wide and dynamic distribution of short chain PFAS due to their high polarity, persistency and volatility. 2.Substitution of regulated substances: The ban or restrictions of individual molecules will lead to a replacement with substitutes of similar concern. 3.Increase in structural diversity of existing PFAS molecules: Introduction of e.g. hydrogens and chlorine atoms instead of fluorine, as well as branching and cross-linking lead to a high versatility of unknown target molecules. 4. Unknown “Dark Matter”: The amount, identity, formation pathways, and transformation dynamics of polymers and PFAS precursors are largely unknown. These directions require optimized analytical setups, especially multi-methods, and semi-specific tools to determine PFAS-sum parameters in any relevant matrix.

Geometric morphometric methods for three-dimensional virtual reconstruction of a fragmented cranium: the case of Angelo Poliziano.

PubMed

Benazzi, S; Stansfield, E; Milani, C; Gruppioni, G

2009-07-01

The process of forensic identification of missing individuals is frequently reliant on the superimposition of cranial remains onto an individual's picture and/or facial reconstruction. In the latter, the integrity of the skull or a cranium is an important factor in successful identification. Here, we recommend the usage of computerized virtual reconstruction and geometric morphometrics for the purposes of individual reconstruction and identification in forensics. We apply these methods to reconstruct a complete cranium from facial remains that allegedly belong to the famous Italian humanist of the fifteenth century, Angelo Poliziano (1454-1494). Raw data was obtained by computed tomography scans of the Poliziano face and a complete reference skull of a 37-year-old Italian male. Given that the amount of distortion of the facial remains is unknown, two reconstructions are proposed: The first calculates the average shape between the original and its reflection, and the second discards the less preserved left side of the cranium under the assumption that there is no deformation on the right. Both reconstructions perform well in the superimposition with the original preserved facial surface in a virtual environment. The reconstruction by means of averaging between the original and reflection yielded better results during the superimposition with portraits of Poliziano. We argue that the combination of computerized virtual reconstruction and geometric morphometric methods offers a number of advantages over traditional plastic reconstruction, among which are speed, reproducibility, easiness of manipulation when superimposing with pictures in virtual environment, and assumptions control.

77 FR 2084 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Bemidji, MN

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-13

... individual were removed from site 21-AN-1, Howard Lake, Anoka County, MN, by unknown person(s) and attached... Woodland Tradition. In 1950, L.A. Wilford of the University of Minnesota excavated human remains... the University of Minnesota. In 1999, the human remains were transferred to the MIAC (H355). No known...

Should nevirapine be used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV among women of unknown serostatus?

PubMed Central

Sint, Tin Tin; Dabis, François; Kamenga, Claude; Shaffer, Nathan; de Zoysa, Isabelle F.

2005-01-01

At present, HIV testing and counselling during pregnancy represent the key entry point for women to learn their serostatus and for them to access, if they are HIV-positive, specific interventions to reduce mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. However, the provision and uptake of testing and counselling services are inadequate, and many pregnant women in countries most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic remain unaware of their HIV status. The offer of single-dose nevirapine prophylaxis to women whose HIV status is unknown at the time of delivery has been proposed to circumvent these problems in high-prevalence settings. The potential advantages and disadvantages of three different programme approaches are considered: targeted programmes in which antiretroviral drugs are offered only to women who are known to be HIV-positive; combined programmes in which nevirapine prophylaxis is offered to women whose serostatus remains unknown at the time of delivery despite targeted programme inputs; and universal nevirapine prophylaxis programmes in which HIV testing and counselling are not available and all pregnant women, regardless of their serostatus, are offered nevirapine prophylaxis. PMID:15798847

Intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis in patients with symptomatic epilepsy and epilepsy of unknown etiology ('cryptogenic').

PubMed

Fauser, S; Soellner, C; Bien, C G; Tumani, H

2017-09-01

To compare the frequency of intrathecal immunoglobulin (Ig) synthesis in patients with symptomatic epilepsy and epilepsy of unknown etiology ('cryptogenic'). Patients with epileptic (n = 301) and non-epileptic (n = 10) seizures were retrospectively screened for autochthonous intrathecal Ig synthesis and oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in the cerebrospinal fluid. Intrathecal IgG/OCBs were detected in 8% of patients with epilepsies of unknown etiology, 5% of patients with first seizures of unknown cause and 0-4% of patients with epilepsy due to brain tumors, cerebrovascular disease or other etiologies. Intrathecal IgG/OCBs were not seen in patients with psychogenic seizures. Identical OCBs in serum and cerebrospinal fluid were more common in all patient groups (10-40% depending on underlying etiology). Intrathecal IgG synthesis/OCBs were observed slightly more frequently in patients with 'cryptogenic' epilepsy and with first seizures of unknown etiology than in other patient groups. However, this remained an infrequent finding and thus we could not confirm humoral immunity as a leading disease mechanism in patients with epilepsy in general or with unknown etiology in particular. © 2017 EAN.

Selective therapy in equine parasite control--application and limitations.

PubMed

Nielsen, M K; Pfister, K; von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G

2014-05-28

Since the 1960s equine parasite control has relied heavily on frequent anthelmintic treatments often applied with frequent intervals year-round. However, increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomins and Parascaris equorum are now forcing the equine industry to change to a more surveillance-based treatment approach to facilitate a reduction in treatment intensity. The principle of selective therapy has been implemented with success in small ruminant parasite control, and has also found use in horse populations. Typically, egg counts are performed from all individuals in the population, and those exceeding a predetermined cutoff threshold are treated. Several studies document the applicability of this method in populations of adult horses, where the overall cyathostomin egg shedding can be controlled by only treating about half the horses. However, selective therapy has not been evaluated in foals and young horses, and it remains unknown whether the principle is adequate to also provide control over other important parasites such as tapeworms, ascarids, and large strongyles. One recent study associated selective therapy with increased occurrence of Strongylus vulgaris. Studies are needed to evaluate potential health risks associated with selective therapy, and to assess to which extent development of anthelmintic resistance can be delayed with this approach. The choice of strongyle egg count cutoff value for anthelmintic treatment is currently based more on tradition than science, and a recent publication illustrated that apparently healthy horses with egg counts below 100 eggs per gram (EPG) can harbor cyathostomin burdens in the range of 100,000 luminal worms. It remains unknown whether leaving such horses untreated constitutes a potential threat to equine health. The concept of selective therapy has merit for equine strongyle control, but several questions remain as it has not been fully scientifically evaluated. There is a great need for new and improved methods for diagnosis and surveillance to supplement or replace the fecal egg counts, and equine health parameters need to be included in studies evaluating any parasite control program. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ratbot automatic navigation by electrical reward stimulation based on distance measurement in unknown environments.

PubMed

Gao, Liqiang; Sun, Chao; Zhang, Chen; Zheng, Nenggan; Chen, Weidong; Zheng, Xiaoxiang

2013-01-01

Traditional automatic navigation methods for bio-robots are constrained to configured environments and thus can't be applied to tasks in unknown environments. With no consideration of bio-robot's own innate living ability and treating bio-robots in the same way as mechanical robots, those methods neglect the intelligence behavior of animals. This paper proposes a novel ratbot automatic navigation method in unknown environments using only reward stimulation and distance measurement. By utilizing rat's habit of thigmotaxis and its reward-seeking behavior, this method is able to incorporate rat's intrinsic intelligence of obstacle avoidance and path searching into navigation. Experiment results show that this method works robustly and can successfully navigate the ratbot to a target in the unknown environment. This work might put a solid base for application of ratbots and also has significant implication of automatic navigation for other bio-robots as well.

Comparative study of methods for recognition of an unknown person's action from a video sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hori, Takayuki; Ohya, Jun; Kurumisawa, Jun

2009-02-01

This paper proposes a Tensor Decomposition Based method that can recognize an unknown person's action from a video sequence, where the unknown person is not included in the database (tensor) used for the recognition. The tensor consists of persons, actions and time-series image features. For the observed unknown person's action, one of the actions stored in the tensor is assumed. Using the motion signature obtained from the assumption, the unknown person's actions are synthesized. The actions of one of the persons in the tensor are replaced by the synthesized actions. Then, the core tensor for the replaced tensor is computed. This process is repeated for the actions and persons. For each iteration, the difference between the replaced and original core tensors is computed. The assumption that gives the minimal difference is the action recognition result. For the time-series image features to be stored in the tensor and to be extracted from the observed video sequence, the human body silhouette's contour shape based feature is used. To show the validity of our proposed method, our proposed method is experimentally compared with Nearest Neighbor rule and Principal Component analysis based method. Experiments using 33 persons' seven kinds of action show that our proposed method achieves better recognition accuracies for the seven actions than the other methods.

Chitin-Like Molecules Associate with Cryptococcus neoformans Glucuronoxylomannan To Form a Glycan Complex with Previously Unknown Properties

PubMed Central

Ramos, Caroline L.; Fonseca, Fernanda L.; Rodrigues, Jessica; Guimarães, Allan J.; Cinelli, Leonardo P.; Miranda, Kildare; Nimrichter, Leonardo; Casadevall, Arturo; Travassos, Luiz R.

2012-01-01

In prior studies, we demonstrated that glucuronoxylomannan (GXM), the major capsular polysaccharide of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, interacts with chitin oligomers at the cell wall-capsule interface. The structural determinants regulating these carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions, as well as the functions of these structures, have remained unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that glycan complexes composed of chitooligomers and GXM are formed during fungal growth and macrophage infection by C. neoformans. To investigate the required determinants for the assembly of chitin-GXM complexes, we developed a quantitative scanning electron microscopy-based method using different polysaccharide samples as inhibitors of the interaction of chitin with GXM. This assay revealed that chitin-GXM association involves noncovalent bonds and large GXM fibers and depends on the N-acetyl amino group of chitin. Carboxyl and O-acetyl groups of GXM are not required for polysaccharide-polysaccharide interactions. Glycan complex structures composed of cryptococcal GXM and chitin-derived oligomers were tested for their ability to induce pulmonary cytokines in mice. They were significantly more efficient than either GXM or chitin oligomers alone in inducing the production of lung interleukin 10 (IL-10), IL-17, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). These results indicate that association of chitin-derived structures with GXM through their N-acetyl amino groups generates glycan complexes with previously unknown properties. PMID:22562469

Bayesian statistics and Monte Carlo methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, K. R.

2018-03-01

The Bayesian approach allows an intuitive way to derive the methods of statistics. Probability is defined as a measure of the plausibility of statements or propositions. Three rules are sufficient to obtain the laws of probability. If the statements refer to the numerical values of variables, the so-called random variables, univariate and multivariate distributions follow. They lead to the point estimation by which unknown quantities, i.e. unknown parameters, are computed from measurements. The unknown parameters are random variables, they are fixed quantities in traditional statistics which is not founded on Bayes' theorem. Bayesian statistics therefore recommends itself for Monte Carlo methods, which generate random variates from given distributions. Monte Carlo methods, of course, can also be applied in traditional statistics. The unknown parameters, are introduced as functions of the measurements, and the Monte Carlo methods give the covariance matrix and the expectation of these functions. A confidence region is derived where the unknown parameters are situated with a given probability. Following a method of traditional statistics, hypotheses are tested by determining whether a value for an unknown parameter lies inside or outside the confidence region. The error propagation of a random vector by the Monte Carlo methods is presented as an application. If the random vector results from a nonlinearly transformed vector, its covariance matrix and its expectation follow from the Monte Carlo estimate. This saves a considerable amount of derivatives to be computed, and errors of the linearization are avoided. The Monte Carlo method is therefore efficient. If the functions of the measurements are given by a sum of two or more random vectors with different multivariate distributions, the resulting distribution is generally not known. TheMonte Carlo methods are then needed to obtain the covariance matrix and the expectation of the sum.

TMDIM: an improved algorithm for the structure prediction of transmembrane domains of bitopic dimers.

PubMed

Cao, Han; Ng, Marcus C K; Jusoh, Siti Azma; Tai, Hio Kuan; Siu, Shirley W I

2017-09-01

[Formula: see text]-Helical transmembrane proteins are the most important drug targets in rational drug development. However, solving the experimental structures of these proteins remains difficult, therefore computational methods to accurately and efficiently predict the structures are in great demand. We present an improved structure prediction method TMDIM based on Park et al. (Proteins 57:577-585, 2004) for predicting bitopic transmembrane protein dimers. Three major algorithmic improvements are introduction of the packing type classification, the multiple-condition decoy filtering, and the cluster-based candidate selection. In a test of predicting nine known bitopic dimers, approximately 78% of our predictions achieved a successful fit (RMSD <2.0 Å) and 78% of the cases are better predicted than the two other methods compared. Our method provides an alternative for modeling TM bitopic dimers of unknown structures for further computational studies. TMDIM is freely available on the web at https://cbbio.cis.umac.mo/TMDIM . Website is implemented in PHP, MySQL and Apache, with all major browsers supported.

TMDIM: an improved algorithm for the structure prediction of transmembrane domains of bitopic dimers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Han; Ng, Marcus C. K.; Jusoh, Siti Azma; Tai, Hio Kuan; Siu, Shirley W. I.

2017-09-01

α-Helical transmembrane proteins are the most important drug targets in rational drug development. However, solving the experimental structures of these proteins remains difficult, therefore computational methods to accurately and efficiently predict the structures are in great demand. We present an improved structure prediction method TMDIM based on Park et al. (Proteins 57:577-585, 2004) for predicting bitopic transmembrane protein dimers. Three major algorithmic improvements are introduction of the packing type classification, the multiple-condition decoy filtering, and the cluster-based candidate selection. In a test of predicting nine known bitopic dimers, approximately 78% of our predictions achieved a successful fit (RMSD <2.0 Å) and 78% of the cases are better predicted than the two other methods compared. Our method provides an alternative for modeling TM bitopic dimers of unknown structures for further computational studies. TMDIM is freely available on the web at https://cbbio.cis.umac.mo/TMDIM. Website is implemented in PHP, MySQL and Apache, with all major browsers supported.

Spondylitis Association of America

MedlinePlus

... Spondyloarthritis affects more people than Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Autism, yet it remains relatively unknown. MS (400,000) Rheumatoid Arthritis (1.3million) Autism (1.5million) Spondyloarthritis (2.7million) ...

Using high-order polynomial basis in 3-D EM forward modeling based on volume integral equation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruglyakov, Mikhail; Kuvshinov, Alexey

2018-05-01

3-D interpretation of electromagnetic (EM) data of different origin and scale becomes a common practice worldwide. However, 3-D EM numerical simulations (modeling)—a key part of any 3-D EM data analysis—with realistic levels of complexity, accuracy and spatial detail still remains challenging from the computational point of view. We present a novel, efficient 3-D numerical solver based on a volume integral equation (IE) method. The efficiency is achieved by using a high-order polynomial (HOP) basis instead of the zero-order (piecewise constant) basis that is invoked in all routinely used IE-based solvers. We demonstrate that usage of the HOP basis allows us to decrease substantially the number of unknowns (preserving the same accuracy), with corresponding speed increase and memory saving.

Interactive Social Neuroscience to Study Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Rolison, Max J.; Naples, Adam J.; McPartland, James C.

2015-01-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate difficulty with social interactions and relationships, but the neural mechanisms underlying these difficulties remain largely unknown. While social difficulties in ASD are most apparent in the context of interactions with other people, most neuroscience research investigating ASD have provided limited insight into the complex dynamics of these interactions. The development of novel, innovative “interactive social neuroscience” methods to study the brain in contexts with two interacting humans is a necessary advance for ASD research. Studies applying an interactive neuroscience approach to study two brains engaging with one another have revealed significant differences in neural processes during interaction compared to observation in brain regions that are implicated in the neuropathology of ASD. Interactive social neuroscience methods are crucial in clarifying the mechanisms underlying the social and communication deficits that characterize ASD. PMID:25745371

Interactive social neuroscience to study autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Rolison, Max J; Naples, Adam J; McPartland, James C

2015-03-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate difficulty with social interactions and relationships, but the neural mechanisms underlying these difficulties remain largely unknown. While social difficulties in ASD are most apparent in the context of interactions with other people, most neuroscience research investigating ASD have provided limited insight into the complex dynamics of these interactions. The development of novel, innovative "interactive social neuroscience" methods to study the brain in contexts with two interacting humans is a necessary advance for ASD research. Studies applying an interactive neuroscience approach to study two brains engaging with one another have revealed significant differences in neural processes during interaction compared to observation in brain regions that are implicated in the neuropathology of ASD. Interactive social neuroscience methods are crucial in clarifying the mechanisms underlying the social and communication deficits that characterize ASD.

The restoration of a maxillary central incisor fracture with the original crown fragment using a glass fiber-reinforced post: a clinical report.

PubMed

Durkan, Rukiye Kaplan; Ozel, M Birol; Celik, Davut; Bağiş, Bora

2008-12-01

This report describes an esthetic, conservative, and economical alternative restoration technique for a fractured central incisor using the patient's own tooth crown piece and a bondable reinforcement glass fiber. Although the long-term durability of this adhesive post core restoration remains unknown, it remains successful after 1 year.

Evaluation of the ruminal bacterial diversity of cattle fed diets containing citrus pulp pellets (CPP) using bacterial tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The rumen microbial ecosystem has been extensively studied, but remains a mystery from a quantitative perspective. Dietary components and changes cause shifts in the ruminal microflora that can affect animal health and productivity, but the majority of these changes remain unknown. The objective of ...

A Risk-Based Multi-Objective Optimization Concept for Early-Warning Monitoring Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bode, F.; Loschko, M.; Nowak, W.

2014-12-01

Groundwater is a resource for drinking water and hence needs to be protected from contaminations. However, many well catchments include an inventory of known and unknown risk sources which cannot be eliminated, especially in urban regions. As matter of risk control, all these risk sources should be monitored. A one-to-one monitoring situation for each risk source would lead to a cost explosion and is even impossible for unknown risk sources. However, smart optimization concepts could help to find promising low-cost monitoring network designs.In this work we develop a concept to plan monitoring networks using multi-objective optimization. Our considered objectives are to maximize the probability of detecting all contaminations and the early warning time and to minimize the installation and operating costs of the monitoring network. A qualitative risk ranking is used to prioritize the known risk sources for monitoring. The unknown risk sources can neither be located nor ranked. Instead, we represent them by a virtual line of risk sources surrounding the production well.We classify risk sources into four different categories: severe, medium and tolerable for known risk sources and an extra category for the unknown ones. With that, early warning time and detection probability become individual objectives for each risk class. Thus, decision makers can identify monitoring networks which are valid for controlling the top risk sources, and evaluate the capabilities (or search for least-cost upgrade) to also cover moderate, tolerable and unknown risk sources. Monitoring networks which are valid for the remaining risk also cover all other risk sources but the early-warning time suffers.The data provided for the optimization algorithm are calculated in a preprocessing step by a flow and transport model. Uncertainties due to hydro(geo)logical phenomena are taken into account by Monte-Carlo simulations. To avoid numerical dispersion during the transport simulations we use the particle-tracking random walk method.

Frontal Lobe Seizures

MedlinePlus

... cause of frontal lobe epilepsy remains unknown. Complications Status epilepticus. Frontal lobe seizures tend to occur in clusters and may provoke a dangerous condition called status epilepticus — in which seizure activity lasts much longer than ...

Geoengineering with stratospheric aerosols: What do we not know after a decade of research?: GEOENGINEERING: WHAT DO WE NOT KNOW?

DOE PAGES

MacMartin, Douglas G.; Kravitz, Ben; Long, Jane C. S.; ...

2016-11-17

Any well-informed future decision on whether and how to deploy solar geoengineering requires balancing the impacts (both intended and unintended) of intervening in the climate against the impacts of not doing so. In spite of the tremendous progress in the last decade, the current state of knowledge remains insufficient to support an assessment of this balance, even for stratospheric aerosol geoengineering (SAG), arguably the best understood (practical) geoengineering method. We then articulate key unknowns associated with SAG, including both climate-science and design questions, as an essential step toward developing a future strategic research program that could address outstanding uncertainties.

Kidney regeneration and stem cells.

PubMed

Takaori, Koji; Yanagita, Motoko

2014-01-01

The kidney has the capacity to recover from ischemic and toxic insults. Although there has been debate about the origin of cells that replace injured epithelial cells, it is now widely recognized that intrinsic surviving tubular cells are responsible for the repair. On the other hand, the cells, which have stem cell-like characteristics, have been isolated in the kidney using various methods, but it remains unknown if these stem cells actually exist in the adult kidney and if they are involved in kidney regeneration. This review will focus on the pathophysiology of kidney regeneration and the contribution of renal stem cells. We also discuss possible therapeutic applications to kidney disease. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Three-Component Reaction Discovery Enabled by Mass Spectrometry of Self-Assembled Monolayers

PubMed Central

Montavon, Timothy J.; Li, Jing; Cabrera-Pardo, Jaime R.; Mrksich, Milan; Kozmin, Sergey A.

2011-01-01

Multi-component reactions have been extensively employed in many areas of organic chemistry. Despite significant progress, the discovery of such enabling transformations remains challenging. Here, we present the development of a parallel, label-free reaction-discovery platform, which can be used for identification of new multi-component transformations. Our approach is based on the parallel mass spectrometric screening of interfacial chemical reactions on arrays of self-assembled monolayers. This strategy enabled the identification of a simple organic phosphine that can catalyze a previously unknown condensation of siloxy alkynes, aldehydes and amines to produce 3-hydroxy amides with high efficiency and diastereoselectivity. The reaction was further optimized using solution phase methods. PMID:22169871

An overview of heavy-atom derivatization of protein crystals

PubMed Central

Pike, Ashley C. W.; Garman, Elspeth F.; Krojer, Tobias; von Delft, Frank; Carpenter, Elisabeth P.

2016-01-01

Heavy-atom derivatization is one of the oldest techniques for obtaining phase information for protein crystals and, although it is no longer the first choice, it remains a useful technique for obtaining phases for unknown structures and for low-resolution data sets. It is also valuable for confirming the chain trace in low-resolution electron-density maps. This overview provides a summary of the technique and is aimed at first-time users of the method. It includes guidelines on when to use it, which heavy atoms are most likely to work, how to prepare heavy-atom solutions, how to derivatize crystals and how to determine whether a crystal is in fact a derivative. PMID:26960118

Pedophilia and sexual offenses against children.

PubMed

Seto, Michael C

2004-01-01

This article reviews the definition and assessment of pedophilia, describes the relationship between pedophilia and sexual offenses against children, and provides an overview of our current theoretical understanding of the etiology of pedophilia. A great deal is known about the assessment of pedophilia--attributable to public and professional concerns regarding the empirical association between pedophilia and sexual offenses against children--but much remains to be learned about pedophilia, including its prevalence in the general population, cross-cultural manifestations, developmental trajectories, and causes. Recent research suggests that neurodevelopmental problems and childhood sexual abuse play a role in the etiology of pedophilia, but the mechanisms that are involved are unknown. Future directions for research on assessment methods and etiology are highlighted.

TYPES AND QUANTITIES OF LEFTOVER DRUGS ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

BACKGROUND: Pharmaceuticals designed for humans and animals often remain unused. Leftover and accumulated drugs represent suboptimal delivery of health care and environmentally unsound disposal, which can pose exposure risks for humans and wildlife.OBJECTIVES: A major unknown with respect to drugs as pollutants is what fractions of drug residues occurring in the ambient environment result from discarding leftover drugs. To gauge the significance of leftover drugs as potential pollutants, data are needed on the types, quantities, and frequencies with which drugs accumulate. Absence of this data has prevented assessments of the significance of drug accumulation and disposal as a contributing source of drug residues in the environment.METHODS: One particular source of drug accumulation is those drugs that become

Metagenomic ventures into outer sequence space.

PubMed

Dutilh, Bas E

Sequencing DNA or RNA directly from the environment often results in many sequencing reads that have no homologs in the database. These are referred to as "unknowns," and reflect the vast unexplored microbial sequence space of our biosphere, also known as "biological dark matter." However, unknowns also exist because metagenomic datasets are not optimally mined. There is a pressure on researchers to publish and move on, and the unknown sequences are often left for what they are, and conclusions drawn based on reads with annotated homologs. This can cause abundant and widespread genomes to be overlooked, such as the recently discovered human gut bacteriophage crAssphage. The unknowns may be enriched for bacteriophage sequences, the most abundant and genetically diverse component of the biosphere and of sequence space. However, it remains an open question, what is the actual size of biological sequence space? The de novo assembly of shotgun metagenomes is the most powerful tool to address this question.

Known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns in prokaryotic transposition.

PubMed

Siguier, Patricia; Gourbeyre, Edith; Chandler, Michael

2017-08-01

Although the phenomenon of transposition has been known for over 60 years, its overarching importance in modifying and streamlining genomes took some time to recognize. In spite of a robust understanding of transposition of some TE, there remain a number of important TE groups with potential high genome impact and unknown transposition mechanisms and yet others, only recently identified by bioinformatics, yet to be formally confirmed as mobile. Here, we point to some areas of limited understanding concerning well established important TE groups with DDE Tpases, to address central gaps in our knowledge of characterised Tn with other types of Tpases and finally, to highlight new potentially mobile DNA species. It is not exhaustive. Examples have been chosen to provide encouragement in the continued exploration of the considerable prokaryotic mobilome especially in light of the current threat to public health posed by the spread of multiple Ab R . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improved mapping of radio sources from VLBI data by least-square fit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodemich, E. R.

1985-01-01

A method is described for producing improved mapping of radio sources from Very Long Base Interferometry (VLBI) data. The method described is more direct than existing Fourier methods, is often more accurate, and runs at least as fast. The visibility data is modeled here, as in existing methods, as a function of the unknown brightness distribution and the unknown antenna gains and phases. These unknowns are chosen so that the resulting function values are as near as possible to the observed values. If researchers use the radio mapping source deviation to measure the closeness of this fit to the observed values, they are led to the problem of minimizing a certain function of all the unknown parameters. This minimization problem cannot be solved directly, but it can be attacked by iterative methods which we show converge automatically to the minimum with no user intervention. The resulting brightness distribution will furnish the best fit to the data among all brightness distributions of given resolution.

Increased clinical anticipation with maternal transmission in benign adult familial myoclonus epilepsy in Japan.

PubMed

Hitomi, Takefumi; Kobayashi, Katsuya; Jingami, Naoto; Nakagawa, Tomokazu; Imamura, Hisaji; Matsumoto, Riki; Kondo, Takayuki; Chin, Kazuo; Takahashi, Ryosuke; Ikeda, Akio

2013-12-01

We recently reported clinical anticipation in Japanese families with benign adult familial myoclonus epilepsy (BAFME). However, it remains unknown whether clinical anticipation is predominantly associated with paternal or maternal transmission. We investigated the relationship between gender of the transmitting parent and clinical anticipation in nine BAFME families. Clinical anticipation regarding either cortical tremor or generalised seizures was observed in all 12 parent/child pairs (8 mother/child pairs and 4 father/child pairs). Moreover, a higher degree of clinical anticipation was associated with maternal transmission than with paternal transmission (p=0.03). Although a causative gene for BAFME still remains unknown, our finding suggests that BAFME and diseases with unstable expanding repeats, including those in non-coding regions, might share a similar molecular mechanism because such diseases often show clinical anticipation with maternal transmission.

A multiwave range test for obstacle reconstructions with unknown physical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potthast, Roland; Schulz, Jochen

2007-08-01

We develop a new multiwave version of the range test for shape reconstruction in inverse scattering theory. The range test [R. Potthast, et al., A `range test' for determining scatterers with unknown physical properties, Inverse Problems 19(3) (2003) 533-547] has originally been proposed to obtain knowledge about an unknown scatterer when the far field pattern for only one plane wave is given. Here, we extend the method to the case of multiple waves and show that the full shape of the unknown scatterer can be reconstructed. We further will clarify the relation between the range test methods, the potential method [A. Kirsch, R. Kress, On an integral equation of the first kind in inverse acoustic scattering, in: Inverse Problems (Oberwolfach, 1986), Internationale Schriftenreihe zur Numerischen Mathematik, vol. 77, Birkhauser, Basel, 1986, pp. 93-102] and the singular sources method [R. Potthast, Point sources and multipoles in inverse scattering theory, Habilitation Thesis, Gottingen, 1999]. In particular, we propose a new version of the Kirsch-Kress method using the range test and a new approach to the singular sources method based on the range test and potential method. Numerical examples of reconstructions for all four methods are provided.

Enhanced litter input rather than changes in litter chemistry drive soil carbon and nitrogen cycles under elevated CO2: a microcosm study

Treesearch

Lingli Lui; John S. King; Fitzgerald L. Booker; Christian P. Giardina; H. Lee Allen; Shuijin Hu

2009-01-01

Elevated CO2 has been shown to stimulate plant productivity and change litter chemistry. These changes in substrate availability may then alter soil microbial processes and possibly lead to feedback effects on N availability. However, the strength of this feedback, and even its direction, remains unknown. Further, uncertainty remains whether...

A perspective on the structural studies of inner membrane electrochemical potential-driven transporters.

PubMed

Lemieux, M Joanne

2008-09-01

Electrochemical potential-driven transporters represent a vast array of proteins with varied substrate specificities. While diverse in size and substrate specificity, they are all driven by electrochemical potentials. Over the past five years there have been increasing numbers of X-ray structures reported for this family of transporters. Structural information is available for five subfamilies of electrochemical potential-driven transporters. No structural information exists for the remaining 91 subfamilies. In this review, the various subfamilies of electrochemical potential-driven transporters are discussed. The seven reported structures for the electrochemical potential-driven transporters and the methods for their crystallization are also presented. With a few exceptions, overall crystallization trends have been very similar for the transporters despite their differences in substrate specificity and topology. Also discussed is why the structural studies on these transporters were successful while others are not as fruitful. With the plethora of transporters with unknown structures, this review provides incentive for crystallization of transporters in the remaining subfamilies for which no structural information exists.

Consequences of Decontamination Procedures in Forensic Hair Analysis Using Metal-Assisted Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analysis.

PubMed

Cuypers, Eva; Flinders, Bryn; Boone, Carolien M; Bosman, Ingrid J; Lusthof, Klaas J; Van Asten, Arian C; Tytgat, Jan; Heeren, Ron M A

2016-03-15

Today, hair testing is considered to be the standard method for the detection of chronic drug abuse. Nevertheless, the differentiation between systemic exposure and external contamination remains a major challenge in the forensic interpretation of hair analysis. Nowadays, it is still impossible to directly show the difference between external contamination and use-related incorporation. Although the effects of washing procedures on the distribution of (incorporated) drugs in hair remain unknown, these decontamination procedures prior to hair analysis are considered to be indispensable in order to exclude external contamination. However, insights into the effect of decontamination protocols on levels and distribution of drugs incorporated in hair are essential to draw the correct forensic conclusions from hair analysis; we studied the consequences of these procedures on the spatial distribution of cocaine in hair using imaging mass spectrometry. Additionally, using metal-assisted secondary ion mass spectrometry, we are the first to directly show the difference between cocaine-contaminated and user hair without any prior washing procedure.

Precise orbit determination based on raw GPS measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zehentner, Norbert; Mayer-Gürr, Torsten

2016-03-01

Precise orbit determination is an essential part of the most scientific satellite missions. Highly accurate knowledge of the satellite position is used to geolocate measurements of the onboard sensors. For applications in the field of gravity field research, the position itself can be used as observation. In this context, kinematic orbits of low earth orbiters (LEO) are widely used, because they do not include a priori information about the gravity field. The limiting factor for the achievable accuracy of the gravity field through LEO positions is the orbit accuracy. We make use of raw global positioning system (GPS) observations to estimate the kinematic satellite positions. The method is based on the principles of precise point positioning. Systematic influences are reduced by modeling and correcting for all known error sources. Remaining effects such as the ionospheric influence on the signal propagation are either unknown or not known to a sufficient level of accuracy. These effects are modeled as unknown parameters in the estimation process. The redundancy in the adjustment is reduced; however, an improvement in orbit accuracy leads to a better gravity field estimation. This paper describes our orbit determination approach and its mathematical background. Some examples of real data applications highlight the feasibility of the orbit determination method based on raw GPS measurements. Its suitability for gravity field estimation is presented in a second step.

Benign, Pathogenic and Copy Number Variations of Unknown Clinical Significance in Patients with Congenital Malformations and Developmental Delay.

PubMed

Mihaylova, M; Staneva, R; Toncheva, D; Pancheva, M; Hadjidekova, S

2017-06-30

The high frequency (3.0-5.0%) of congenital anomalies (CA) and intellectual disabilities (IDs), make them a serious problem, responsible for a high percentage (33.0%) of neonatal mortality. The genetic cause remains unclear in 40.0% of cases. Recently, molecular karyotyping has become the most powerful method for detection of pathogenic imbalances in patients with multiple CAs and IDs. This method is with high resolution and gives us the opportunity to investigate and identify candidate genes that could explain the genotype-phenotype correlations. This article describes the results from analysis of 81 patients with congenital malformations (CMs), developmental delay (DD) and ID, in which we utilized the CytoChip ISCA oligo microarray, 4 × 44 k, covering the whole genome with a resolution of 70 kb. In the selected group of patients with CAs, 280 copy number variations (CNVs) have been proven, 41 were pathogenic, 118 benign and 121 of unknown clinical significance (average number of variations 3.5). In six patients with established pathogenic variations, our data revealed eight pathogenic aberrations associated with the corresponding phenotype. The interpretation of the other CNVs was made on the basis of their frequency in the investigated group, the size of the variation, content of genes in the region and the type of the CNVs (deletion or duplication).

[The changing spectrum of fever of unknown origin: trends and comparison with previous series at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Nutrition].

PubMed

Molina-Gamboa, J; Rivera-Morales, I; Camacho-Mezquita, E; Ponce-de-León, S

1994-01-01

We reviewed 400 medical records of patients admitted because of fever at the National Institute of Nutrition Salvador Zubirán between January 1, 1988 to December 31, 1992. Patient characteristics, diagnostic methods, final diagnosis and patient progress were analyzed, comparing these data with the previous series of the institute. We found 77 cases of fever of unknown origin (FUO), 47 males and 30 females, between 14 to 87 years of age. The final diagnosis encountered were: infections (40%), neoplasias (23%), collagen diseases (13%), and other diagnosis (8%). Sixteen percent of the cases remained without a final diagnosis. The most frequent infections were HIV infection (19%), tuberculosis (19%) and endocarditis (13%). The most common neoplasia was lymphoma (55.6%), with 90% of Hodgkin's disease. SLE was the most common autoimmune disease found. The methods to establish a final diagnosis were: biopsies (52%), serology (17%), cultures (12%), image (11%), and clinical (8%). Final diagnosis by serology tests increased from 2 to 17% in comparison with previous reports. Eight laparotomies were done, which is a less frequent practice than previously (10 vs 35%). We saw only one case of amebic hepatic abscess and had no cases of malaria and salmonellosis as final diagnosis of FUO; HIV infection was found to be a new major cause of FUO.

A fast and robust computational method for the ionization cross sections of the driven Schrödinger equation using an O (N) multigrid-based scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cools, S.; Vanroose, W.

2016-03-01

This paper improves the convergence and robustness of a multigrid-based solver for the cross sections of the driven Schrödinger equation. Adding a Coupled Channel Correction Step (CCCS) after each multigrid (MG) V-cycle efficiently removes the errors that remain after the V-cycle sweep. The combined iterative solution scheme (MG-CCCS) is shown to feature significantly improved convergence rates over the classical MG method at energies where bound states dominate the solution, resulting in a fast and scalable solution method for the complex-valued Schrödinger break-up problem for any energy regime. The proposed solver displays optimal scaling; a solution is found in a time that is linear in the number of unknowns. The method is validated on a 2D Temkin-Poet model problem, and convergence results both as a solver and preconditioner are provided to support the O (N) scalability of the method. This paper extends the applicability of the complex contour approach for far field map computation (Cools et al. (2014) [10]).

Robust Fault Detection for Switched Fuzzy Systems With Unknown Input.

PubMed

Han, Jian; Zhang, Huaguang; Wang, Yingchun; Sun, Xun

2017-10-03

This paper investigates the fault detection problem for a class of switched nonlinear systems in the T-S fuzzy framework. The unknown input is considered in the systems. A novel fault detection unknown input observer design method is proposed. Based on the proposed observer, the unknown input can be removed from the fault detection residual. The weighted H∞ performance level is considered to ensure the robustness. In addition, the weighted H₋ performance level is introduced, which can increase the sensibility of the proposed detection method. To verify the proposed scheme, a numerical simulation example and an electromechanical system simulation example are provided at the end of this paper.

The reliability of forensic osteology--a case in point. Case study.

PubMed

Kemkes-Grottenthaler, A

2001-03-01

The medico-legal investigation of skeletons is a trans-disciplinary effort by forensic scientists as well as physical anthropologists. The advent of DNA extraction and amplification from bones and teeth has led to the assumption that morphological assessment of skeletal remains might soon become obsolete. But despite the introduction and success of molecular biology, the analysis of skeletal biology will remain an integral part of the identification process. This is due to the fact, that the skeletal record allows relatively fast and accurate inferences about the identity of the victim. Moreover, a standard biological profile may be established to effectively narrow the police investigator's search parameters. The following study demonstrates how skeletal biology may collaborate in the forensic investigation and support DNA fingerprinting evidence. In this case, the information gained from standard morphological methods about the unknown person's sex, age and heritage immediately led the police to suspect, that the remains were that of a young man from Vietnam, who had been missing for 2.5 years. The investigation then quickly shifted to prove the victim's identity via DNA extraction and mtDNA sequence analysis and biostatistical calculations involving questions of kinship [4].

Parkinson's Disease

MedlinePlus

... in sexual desire or performance. Prevention Because the cause of Parkinson's is unknown, proven ways to prevent the disease also remain a mystery. However, some research has shown that caffeine — which is found in coffee, tea and cola — ...

Correlates of Unknown HIV Status Among MSM Participating in the 2014 American Men's Internet Survey (AMIS).

PubMed

Traynor, S M; Brincks, A M; Feaster, D J

2017-08-29

Increasing serostatus awareness is a key HIV prevention strategy. Despite expanded testing efforts, some men who have sex with men (MSM) remain unaware of their HIV status. This study explored demographic characteristics, sexual identity, sexual role, and behavioral factors associated with unknown HIV status among MSM in the United States. Data from 9170 MSM in the 2014 American Men's Internet Survey were analyzed using logistic regression to identify correlates of unknown HIV status. Young age, race, low education, rural residence, and lack of recent healthcare visits were significantly associated with unknown HIV status. In addition, nondisclosure of one's sexual orientation (OR = 3.70, 95% CI 2.99-4.59) and a self-identified sexual role as "bottom" (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.24-1.70) were predictors of unknown HIV status. Post-hoc analysis showed HIV-negative MSM not tested in the last year had fewer self-reported risk behaviors than recent testers, suggesting that repeat testing among MSM may be aligned with individual risk.

Picomolar quantitation of free sulfite in foods by means of [57Co]hydroxocobalamin and radiometric chromatography of [57Co]sulfitocobalamin. Method, applications and significance of coexisting sulfides.

PubMed

Beck, R A; Anes, J M; Savini, L M; Mateer, R A

2000-06-09

The concentration dependent reaction of sulfite with 57Co-labeled hydroxocobalamin (OH57CoCbl) to produce a sulfitocobalamin (SO(3)57CoCbl) adduct served as a quantification strategy for foodborne sulfite residues freely extracted into pH 5.2, 0.05 M acetate buffer. SO(3)57CoCbl was then resolved using SP-Sephadex C-25 gel chromatography and its radiometric detection allowed calculation of a standard logit plot from which unknown sulfite concentrations could be determined. The sulfite detection range was 6.0 nM-0.3 pM with respective relative standard deviations of 4.4-29.4% for 50-microl samples. Individual incidences of foodborne sulfite intolerances provoked by L-cysteine or sulfite additive use in bakery products, which remained undetected using conventional sulfite analytical methods, underscored the quantitative value of the method. The analytical significance and occurrences of detectable sulfides coexisting with foodborne sulfite residues was also addressed.

Computational mass spectrometry for small molecules

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The identification of small molecules from mass spectrometry (MS) data remains a major challenge in the interpretation of MS data. This review covers the computational aspects of identifying small molecules, from the identification of a compound searching a reference spectral library, to the structural elucidation of unknowns. In detail, we describe the basic principles and pitfalls of searching mass spectral reference libraries. Determining the molecular formula of the compound can serve as a basis for subsequent structural elucidation; consequently, we cover different methods for molecular formula identification, focussing on isotope pattern analysis. We then discuss automated methods to deal with mass spectra of compounds that are not present in spectral libraries, and provide an insight into de novo analysis of fragmentation spectra using fragmentation trees. In addition, this review shortly covers the reconstruction of metabolic networks using MS data. Finally, we list available software for different steps of the analysis pipeline. PMID:23453222

Computing Prediction and Functional Analysis of Prokaryotic Propionylation.

PubMed

Wang, Li-Na; Shi, Shao-Ping; Wen, Ping-Ping; Zhou, Zhi-You; Qiu, Jian-Ding

2017-11-27

Identification and systematic analysis of candidates for protein propionylation are crucial steps for understanding its molecular mechanisms and biological functions. Although several proteome-scale methods have been performed to delineate potential propionylated proteins, the majority of lysine-propionylated substrates and their role in pathological physiology still remain largely unknown. By gathering various databases and literatures, experimental prokaryotic propionylation data were collated to be trained in a support vector machine with various features via a three-step feature selection method. A novel online tool for seeking potential lysine-propionylated sites (PropSeek) ( http://bioinfo.ncu.edu.cn/PropSeek.aspx ) was built. Independent test results of leave-one-out and n-fold cross-validation were similar to each other, showing that PropSeek is a stable and robust predictor with satisfying performance. Meanwhile, analyses of Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, and protein-protein interactions implied a potential role of prokaryotic propionylation in protein synthesis and metabolism.

Left globus pallidus abnormality in never-medicated patients with schizophrenia

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

Early, T.S.; Reiman, E.M.; Raichle, M.E.

1987-01-01

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by onset in young adulthood, the occurrence of hallucinations and delusions, and the development of enduring psychosocial disability. The pathophysiology of this disorder remains unknown. Studies of cerebral blood flow and metabolism designed to identify brain abnormalities in schizophrenia have been limited by inadequate methods of anatomical localization and the possibility of persistent medication effects. The authors have now used positron emission tomography and a validated method of anatomical localization in an attempt to identify abnormalities of regional cerebral blood flow in newly diagnosed never-medicated patients with schizophrenia. An exploratory study of 5more » patients and 10 normal control subjects identified abnormally high blood flow in the left globus pallidus of patients with schizophrenia. A replication study of 5 additional patients and 10 additional control subjects confirmed this finding. No other abnormalities were found.« less

Dynamic functional connectivity using state-based dynamic community structure: method and application to opioid analgesia.

PubMed

Robinson, Lucy F; Atlas, Lauren Y; Wager, Tor D

2015-03-01

We present a new method, State-based Dynamic Community Structure, that detects time-dependent community structure in networks of brain regions. Most analyses of functional connectivity assume that network behavior is static in time, or differs between task conditions with known timing. Our goal is to determine whether brain network topology remains stationary over time, or if changes in network organization occur at unknown time points. Changes in network organization may be related to shifts in neurological state, such as those associated with learning, drug uptake or experimental conditions. Using a hidden Markov stochastic blockmodel, we define a time-dependent community structure. We apply this approach to data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment examining how contextual factors influence drug-induced analgesia. Results reveal that networks involved in pain, working memory, and emotion show distinct profiles of time-varying connectivity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive Output-Feedback Neural Control of Switched Uncertain Nonlinear Systems With Average Dwell Time.

PubMed

Long, Lijun; Zhao, Jun

2015-07-01

This paper investigates the problem of adaptive neural tracking control via output-feedback for a class of switched uncertain nonlinear systems without the measurements of the system states. The unknown control signals are approximated directly by neural networks. A novel adaptive neural control technique for the problem studied is set up by exploiting the average dwell time method and backstepping. A switched filter and different update laws are designed to reduce the conservativeness caused by adoption of a common observer and a common update law for all subsystems. The proposed controllers of subsystems guarantee that all closed-loop signals remain bounded under a class of switching signals with average dwell time, while the output tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin. As an application of the proposed design method, adaptive output feedback neural tracking controllers for a mass-spring-damper system are constructed.

Gene and translation initiation site prediction in metagenomic sequences

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

Hyatt, Philip Douglas; LoCascio, Philip F; Hauser, Loren John

2012-01-01

Gene prediction in metagenomic sequences remains a difficult problem. Current sequencing technologies do not achieve sufficient coverage to assemble the individual genomes in a typical sample; consequently, sequencing runs produce a large number of short sequences whose exact origin is unknown. Since these sequences are usually smaller than the average length of a gene, algorithms must make predictions based on very little data. We present MetaProdigal, a metagenomic version of the gene prediction program Prodigal, that can identify genes in short, anonymous coding sequences with a high degree of accuracy. The novel value of the method consists of enhanced translationmore » initiation site identification, ability to identify sequences that use alternate genetic codes and confidence values for each gene call. We compare the results of MetaProdigal with other methods and conclude with a discussion of future improvements.« less

Integrated quantification and identification of aldehydes and ketones in biological samples.

PubMed

Siegel, David; Meinema, Anne C; Permentier, Hjalmar; Hopfgartner, Gérard; Bischoff, Rainer

2014-05-20

The identification of unknown compounds remains to be a bottleneck of mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics screening experiments. Here, we present a novel approach which facilitates the identification and quantification of analytes containing aldehyde and ketone groups in biological samples by adding chemical information to MS data. Our strategy is based on rapid autosampler-in-needle-derivatization with p-toluenesulfonylhydrazine (TSH). The resulting TSH-hydrazones are separated by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and detected by electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time-of-flight (ESI-QqTOF) mass spectrometry using a SWATH (Sequential Window Acquisition of all Theoretical Fragment-Ion Spectra) data-independent high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) approach. Derivatization makes small, poorly ionizable or retained analytes amenable to reversed phase chromatography and electrospray ionization in both polarities. Negatively charged TSH-hydrazone ions furthermore show a simple and predictable fragmentation pattern upon collision induced dissociation, which enables the chemo-selective screening for unknown aldehydes and ketones via a signature fragment ion (m/z 155.0172). By means of SWATH, targeted and nontargeted application scenarios of the suggested derivatization route are enabled in the frame of a single UHPLC-ESI-QqTOF-HR-MS workflow. The method's ability to simultaneously quantify and identify molecules containing aldehyde and ketone groups is demonstrated using 61 target analytes from various compound classes and a (13)C labeled yeast matrix. The identification of unknowns in biological samples is detailed using the example of indole-3-acetaldehyde.

The study of deep-sea cephalopods.

PubMed

Hoving, Henk-Jan T; Perez, Jose Angel A; Bolstad, Kathrin S R; Braid, Heather E; Evans, Aaron B; Fuchs, Dirk; Judkins, Heather; Kelly, Jesse T; Marian, José E A R; Nakajima, Ryuta; Piatkowski, Uwe; Reid, Amanda; Vecchione, Michael; Xavier, José C C

2014-01-01

"Deep-sea" cephalopods are here defined as cephalopods that spend a significant part of their life cycles outside the euphotic zone. In this chapter, the state of knowledge in several aspects of deep-sea cephalopod research are summarized, including information sources for these animals, diversity and general biogeography and life cycles, including reproduction. Recommendations are made for addressing some of the remaining knowledge deficiencies using a variety of traditional and more recently developed methods. The types of oceanic gear that are suitable for collecting cephalopod specimens and images are reviewed. Many groups of deep-sea cephalopods require taxonomic reviews, ideally based on both morphological and molecular characters. Museum collections play a vital role in these revisions, and novel (molecular) techniques may facilitate new use of old museum specimens. Fundamental life-cycle parameters remain unknown for many species; techniques developed for neritic species that could potentially be applied to deep-sea cephalopods are discussed. Reproductive tactics and strategies in deep-sea cephalopods are very diverse and call for comparative evolutionary and experimental studies, but even in the twenty-first century, mature individuals are still unknown for many species. New insights into diet and trophic position have begun to reveal a more diverse range of feeding strategies than the typically voracious predatory lifestyle known for many cephalopods. Regular standardized deep-sea cephalopod surveys are necessary to provide insight into temporal changes in oceanic cephalopod populations and to forecast, verify and monitor the impacts of global marine changes and human impacts on these populations. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

Will Systems Biology Deliver Its Promise and Contribute to the Development of New or Improved Vaccines? What Really Constitutes the Study of "Systems Biology" and How Might Such an Approach Facilitate Vaccine Design.

PubMed

Germain, Ronald N

2017-10-16

A dichotomy exists in the field of vaccinology about the promise versus the hype associated with application of "systems biology" approaches to rational vaccine design. Some feel it is the only way to efficiently uncover currently unknown parameters controlling desired immune responses or discover what elements actually mediate these responses. Others feel that traditional experimental, often reductionist, methods for incrementally unraveling complex biology provide a more solid way forward, and that "systems" approaches are costly ways to collect data without gaining true insight. Here I argue that both views are inaccurate. This is largely because of confusion about what can be gained from classical experimentation versus statistical analysis of large data sets (bioinformatics) versus methods that quantitatively explain emergent properties of complex assemblies of biological components, with the latter reflecting what was previously called "physiology." Reductionist studies will remain essential for generating detailed insight into the functional attributes of specific elements of biological systems, but such analyses lack the power to provide a quantitative and predictive understanding of global system behavior. But by employing (1) large-scale screening methods for discovery of unknown components and connections in the immune system ( omics ), (2) statistical analysis of large data sets ( bioinformatics ), and (3) the capacity of quantitative computational methods to translate these individual components and connections into models of emergent behavior ( systems biology ), we will be able to better understand how the overall immune system functions and to determine with greater precision how to manipulate it to produce desired protective responses. Copyright © 2017 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

A Case Study in Transnational Crime: Ukraine and Modern Slavery

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

remained unable to appropriate resources or plan efficiently. The full extent of the decline remains unknown, because statistics were manipulated to hide...information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and...maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of

A new application of the phase-field method for understanding the mechanisms of nuclear architecture reorganization.

PubMed

Lee, S Seirin; Tashiro, S; Awazu, A; Kobayashi, R

2017-01-01

Specific features of nuclear architecture are important for the functional organization of the nucleus, and chromatin consists of two forms, heterochromatin and euchromatin. Conventional nuclear architecture is observed when heterochromatin is enriched at nuclear periphery, and it represents the primary structure in the majority of eukaryotic cells, including the rod cells of diurnal mammals. In contrast to this, inverted nuclear architecture is observed when the heterochromatin is distributed at the center of the nucleus, which occurs in the rod cells of nocturnal mammals. The inverted architecture found in the rod cells of the adult mouse is formed through the reorganization of conventional architecture during terminal differentiation. Although a previous experimental approach has demonstrated the relationship between these two nuclear architecture types at the molecular level, the mechanisms underlying long-range reorganization processes remain unknown. The details of nuclear structures and their spatial and temporal dynamics remain to be elucidated. Therefore, a comprehensive approach, using mathematical modeling, is required, in order to address these questions. Here, we propose a new mathematical approach to the understanding of nuclear architecture dynamics using the phase-field method. We successfully recreated the process of nuclear architecture reorganization, and showed that it is robustly induced by physical features, independent of a specific genotype. Our study demonstrates the potential of phase-field method application in the life science fields.

Adjustment technique without explicit formation of normal equations /conjugate gradient method/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saxena, N. K.

1974-01-01

For a simultaneous adjustment of a large geodetic triangulation system, a semiiterative technique is modified and used successfully. In this semiiterative technique, known as the conjugate gradient (CG) method, original observation equations are used, and thus the explicit formation of normal equations is avoided, 'huge' computer storage space being saved in the case of triangulation systems. This method is suitable even for very poorly conditioned systems where solution is obtained only after more iterations. A detailed study of the CG method for its application to large geodetic triangulation systems was done that also considered constraint equations with observation equations. It was programmed and tested on systems as small as two unknowns and three equations up to those as large as 804 unknowns and 1397 equations. When real data (573 unknowns, 965 equations) from a 1858-km-long triangulation system were used, a solution vector accurate to four decimal places was obtained in 2.96 min after 1171 iterations (i.e., 2.0 times the number of unknowns).

Half-blind remote sensing image restoration with partly unknown degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Meihua; Yan, Fengxia

2017-01-01

The problem of image restoration has been extensively studied for its practical importance and theoretical interest. This paper mainly discusses the problem of image restoration with partly unknown kernel. In this model, the degraded kernel function is known but its parameters are unknown. With this model, we should estimate the parameters in Gaussian kernel and the real image simultaneity. For this new problem, a total variation restoration model is put out and an intersect direction iteration algorithm is designed. Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index Measurement (SSIM) are used to measure the performance of the method. Numerical results show that we can estimate the parameters in kernel accurately, and the new method has both much higher PSNR and much higher SSIM than the expectation maximization (EM) method in many cases. In addition, the accuracy of estimation is not sensitive to noise. Furthermore, even though the support of the kernel is unknown, we can also use this method to get accurate estimation.

PET Index of Bone Glucose Metabolism (PIBGM) Classification of PET/CT Data for Fever of Unknown Origin Diagnosis

PubMed Central

Yang, Jian; Liu, Xinxin; Ai, Danni; Fan, Jingfan; Zheng, Youjing; Li, Fang; Huo, Li; Wang, Yongtian

2015-01-01

Objectives Fever of unknown origin (FUO) remains a challenge in clinical practice. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is helpful in diagnosing the etiology of FUO. This paper aims to develop a completely automatic classification method based on PET/CT data for the computer-assisted diagnosis of FUO. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the FDG PET/CT scan of 175 FUO patients, 79 males and 96 females. The final diagnosis of all FUO patients was achieved through pathology or clinical evaluation, including 108 normal patients and 67 FUO patients. CT anatomic information was used to acquire bone functional information from PET images. The skeletal system of FUO patients was classified by analyzing the standardized uptake value (SUV) and the PET index of bone glucose metabolism (PIBGM). The SUV distributions in the bone marrow and the bone cortex were also studied in detail. Results The SUV and PIBGM of the bone marrow only slightly differed between the FUO patients and normal people, whereas the SUV of whole bone structures and the PIBGM of the bone cortex significantly differed between the normal people and FUO patients. The method detected 43 patients from 67 FUO patients, with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of 64.18%, 95%, 93.48%, 72.73%, and 83.33%, respectively. Conclusion The experimental results demonstrate that the study can achieve automatic classification of FUO patients by the proposed novel biomarker of PIBGM, which has the potential to be utilized in clinical practice. PMID:26076139

Supervised de novo reconstruction of metabolic pathways from metabolome-scale compound sets

PubMed Central

Kotera, Masaaki; Tabei, Yasuo; Yamanishi, Yoshihiro; Tokimatsu, Toshiaki; Goto, Susumu

2013-01-01

Motivation: The metabolic pathway is an important biochemical reaction network involving enzymatic reactions among chemical compounds. However, it is assumed that a large number of metabolic pathways remain unknown, and many reactions are still missing even in known pathways. Therefore, the most important challenge in metabolomics is the automated de novo reconstruction of metabolic pathways, which includes the elucidation of previously unknown reactions to bridge the metabolic gaps. Results: In this article, we develop a novel method to reconstruct metabolic pathways from a large compound set in the reaction-filling framework. We define feature vectors representing the chemical transformation patterns of compound–compound pairs in enzymatic reactions using chemical fingerprints. We apply a sparsity-induced classifier to learn what we refer to as ‘enzymatic-reaction likeness’, i.e. whether compound pairs are possibly converted to each other by enzymatic reactions. The originality of our method lies in the search for potential reactions among many compounds at a time, in the extraction of reaction-related chemical transformation patterns and in the large-scale applicability owing to the computational efficiency. In the results, we demonstrate the usefulness of our proposed method on the de novo reconstruction of 134 metabolic pathways in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Our comprehensively predicted reaction networks of 15 698 compounds enable us to suggest many potential pathways and to increase research productivity in metabolomics. Availability: Softwares are available on request. Supplementary material are available at http://web.kuicr.kyoto-u.ac.jp/supp/kot/ismb2013/. Contact: goto@kuicr.kyoto-u.ac.jp PMID:23812977

Associations of endothelial function and air temperature in diabetic subjects

EPA Science Inventory

Background and Objective: Epidemiological studies consistently show that air temperature is associated with changes in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the biological mechanisms underlying the association remain largely unknown. As one index of endothelial functio...

Irreversible temperature gating in trpv1 sheds light on channel activation

PubMed Central

Sánchez-Moreno, Ana; Guevara-Hernández, Eduardo; Contreras-Cervera, Ricardo; Rangel-Yescas, Gisela; Ladrón-de-Guevara, Ernesto; Rosenbaum, Tamara

2018-01-01

Temperature-activated TRP channels or thermoTRPs are among the only proteins that can directly convert temperature changes into changes in channel open probability. In spite of a wealth of functional and structural information, the mechanism of temperature activation remains unknown. We have carefully characterized the repeated activation of TRPV1 by thermal stimuli and discovered a previously unknown inactivation process, which is irreversible. We propose that this form of gating in TRPV1 channels is a consequence of the heat absorption process that leads to channel opening. PMID:29869983

Scattering of electromagnetic plane wave from a perfect electric conducting strip placed at interface of topological insulator-chiral medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shoukat, Sobia; Naqvi, Qaisar A.

2016-12-01

In this manuscript, scattering from a perfect electric conducting strip located at planar interface of topological insulator (TI)-chiral medium is investigated using the Kobayashi Potential method. Longitudinal components of electric and magnetic vector potential in terms of unknown weighting function are considered. Use of related set of boundary conditions yields two algebraic equations and four dual integral equations (DIEs). Integrand of two DIEs are expanded in terms of the characteristic functions with expansion coefficients which must satisfy, simultaneously, the discontinuous property of the Weber-Schafheitlin integrals, required edge and boundary conditions. The resulting expressions are then combined with algebraic equations to express the weighting function in terms of expansion coefficients, these expansion coefficients are then substituted in remaining DIEs. The projection is applied using the Jacobi polynomials. This treatment yields matrix equation for expansion coefficients which is solved numerically. These unknown expansion coefficients are used to find the scattered field. The far zone scattering width is investigated with respect to different parameters of the geometry, i.e, chirality of chiral medium, angle of incidence, size of the strip. Significant effects of different parameters including TI parameter on the scattering width are noted.

Evaluation of age determination techniques for gray wolves

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landon, D.B.; Waite, C.A.; Peterson, R.O.; Mech, L.D.

1998-01-01

We evaluated tooth wear, cranial suture fusion, closure of the canine pulp cavity, and cementum annuli as methods of age determination for known- and unknown-age gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Alaska, Minnesota, Ontario, and Isle Royale, Michigan. We developed age classes for cranial suture closure and tooth wear. We used measurement data obtained from known-age captive and wild wolves to generate a regression equation to predict age based on the degree of closure of the canine pulp cavity. Cementum annuli were studied in known- and unknown-age animals, and calcified, unstained thin sections were found to provide clear annulus patterns under polarized transmitted light. Annuli counts varied among observers, partly because of variation in the pattern of annuli in different regions of the cementum. This variation emphasizes the need for standardized models of cementum analysis. Cranial suture fusion is of limited utility in age determination, while tooth wear can be used to estimate age of adult wolves within 4 years. Wolves lt 7 years old could be aged to within 13 years with the regression equation for closure of the canine pulp cavity. Although inaccuracy remains a problem, cementum-annulus counts were the most promising means of estimating age for gray wolves.

PRESTO-Tango as an open-source resource for interrogation of the druggable human GPCRome.

PubMed

Kroeze, Wesley K; Sassano, Maria F; Huang, Xi-Ping; Lansu, Katherine; McCorvy, John D; Giguère, Patrick M; Sciaky, Noah; Roth, Bryan L

2015-05-01

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are essential mediators of cellular signaling and are important targets of drug action. Of the approximately 350 nonolfactory human GPCRs, more than 100 are still considered to be 'orphans' because their endogenous ligands remain unknown. Here, we describe a unique open-source resource that allows interrogation of the druggable human GPCRome via a G protein-independent β-arrestin-recruitment assay. We validate this unique platform at more than 120 nonorphan human GPCR targets, demonstrate its utility for discovering new ligands for orphan human GPCRs and describe a method (parallel receptorome expression and screening via transcriptional output, with transcriptional activation following arrestin translocation (PRESTO-Tango)) for the simultaneous and parallel interrogation of the entire human nonolfactory GPCRome.

New control concepts for uncertain water resources systems: 1. Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgakakos, Aris P.; Yao, Huaming

1993-06-01

A major complicating factor in water resources systems management is handling unknown inputs. Stochastic optimization provides a sound mathematical framework but requires that enough data exist to develop statistical input representations. In cases where data records are insufficient (e.g., extreme events) or atypical of future input realizations, stochastic methods are inadequate. This article presents a control approach where input variables are only expected to belong in certain sets. The objective is to determine sets of admissible control actions guaranteeing that the system will remain within desirable bounds. The solution is based on dynamic programming and derived for the case where all sets are convex polyhedra. A companion paper (Yao and Georgakakos, this issue) addresses specific applications and problems in relation to reservoir system management.

Statistically qualified neuro-analytic failure detection method and system

DOEpatents

Vilim, Richard B.; Garcia, Humberto E.; Chen, Frederick W.

2002-03-02

An apparatus and method for monitoring a process involve development and application of a statistically qualified neuro-analytic (SQNA) model to accurately and reliably identify process change. The development of the SQNA model is accomplished in two stages: deterministic model adaption and stochastic model modification of the deterministic model adaptation. Deterministic model adaption involves formulating an analytic model of the process representing known process characteristics, augmenting the analytic model with a neural network that captures unknown process characteristics, and training the resulting neuro-analytic model by adjusting the neural network weights according to a unique scaled equation error minimization technique. Stochastic model modification involves qualifying any remaining uncertainty in the trained neuro-analytic model by formulating a likelihood function, given an error propagation equation, for computing the probability that the neuro-analytic model generates measured process output. Preferably, the developed SQNA model is validated using known sequential probability ratio tests and applied to the process as an on-line monitoring system. Illustrative of the method and apparatus, the method is applied to a peristaltic pump system.

Determination of the Effective Detector Area of an Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer at the Scanning Electron Microscope Using Experimental and Theoretical X-Ray Emission Yields.

PubMed

Procop, Mathias; Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan; Terborg, Ralf; Berger, Dirk

2016-12-01

A method is proposed to determine the effective detector area for energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometers (EDS). Nowadays, detectors are available for a wide range of nominal areas ranging from 10 up to 150 mm2. However, it remains in most cases unknown whether this nominal area coincides with the "net active sensor area" that should be given according to the related standard ISO 15632, or with any other area of the detector device. Moreover, the specific geometry of EDS installation may further reduce a given detector area. The proposed method can be applied to most scanning electron microscope/EDS configurations. The basic idea consists in a comparison of the measured count rate with the count rate resulting from known X-ray yields of copper, titanium, or silicon. The method was successfully tested on three detectors with known effective area and applied further to seven spectrometers from different manufacturers. In most cases the method gave an effective area smaller than the area given in the detector description.

Component spectra extraction from terahertz measurements of unknown mixtures.

PubMed

Li, Xian; Hou, D B; Huang, P J; Cai, J H; Zhang, G X

2015-10-20

The aim of this work is to extract component spectra from unknown mixtures in the terahertz region. To that end, a method, hard modeling factor analysis (HMFA), was applied to resolve terahertz spectral matrices collected from the unknown mixtures. This method does not require any expertise of the user and allows the consideration of nonlinear effects such as peak variations or peak shifts. It describes the spectra using a peak-based nonlinear mathematic model and builds the component spectra automatically by recombination of the resolved peaks through correlation analysis. Meanwhile, modifications on the method were made to take the features of terahertz spectra into account and to deal with the artificial baseline problem that troubles the extraction process of some terahertz spectra. In order to validate the proposed method, simulated wideband terahertz spectra of binary and ternary systems and experimental terahertz absorption spectra of amino acids mixtures were tested. In each test, not only the number of pure components could be correctly predicted but also the identified pure spectra had a good similarity with the true spectra. Moreover, the proposed method associated the molecular motions with the component extraction, making the identification process more physically meaningful and interpretable compared to other methods. The results indicate that the HMFA method with the modifications can be a practical tool for identifying component terahertz spectra in completely unknown mixtures. This work reports the solution to this kind of problem in the terahertz region for the first time, to the best of the authors' knowledge, and represents a significant advance toward exploring physical or chemical mechanisms of unknown complex systems by terahertz spectroscopy.

Experimental inoculation of house flies Musca domestica with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis serovar equi

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (Actinomycetales: Corynebacteriaceae) infection in horses causes external abscesses, infection of internal organs and ulcerative lymphangitis. The exact mechanism of infection remains unknown, but fly transmission is suspected. Scientists at Auburn University and U...

Molecular toolbox for the identification of unknown genetically modified organisms.

PubMed

Ruttink, Tom; Demeyer, Rolinde; Van Gulck, Elke; Van Droogenbroeck, Bart; Querci, Maddalena; Taverniers, Isabel; De Loose, Marc

2010-03-01

Competent laboratories monitor genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products derived thereof in the food and feed chain in the framework of labeling and traceability legislation. In addition, screening is performed to detect the unauthorized presence of GMOs including asynchronously authorized GMOs or GMOs that are not officially registered for commercialization (unknown GMOs). Currently, unauthorized or unknown events are detected by screening blind samples for commonly used transgenic elements, such as p35S or t-nos. If (1) positive detection of such screening elements shows the presence of transgenic material and (2) all known GMOs are tested by event-specific methods but are not detected, then the presence of an unknown GMO is inferred. However, such evidence is indirect because it is based on negative observations and inconclusive because the procedure does not identify the causative event per se. In addition, detection of unknown events is hampered in products that also contain known authorized events. Here, we outline alternative approaches for analytical detection and GMO identification and develop new methods to complement the existing routine screening procedure. We developed a fluorescent anchor-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the identification of the sequences flanking the p35S and t-nos screening elements. Thus, anchor-PCR fingerprinting allows the detection of unique discriminative signals per event. In addition, we established a collection of in silico calculated fingerprints of known events to support interpretation of experimentally generated anchor-PCR GM fingerprints of blind samples. Here, we first describe the molecular characterization of a novel GMO, which expresses recombinant human intrinsic factor in Arabidopsis thaliana. Next, we purposefully treated the novel GMO as a blind sample to simulate how the new methods lead to the molecular identification of a novel unknown event without prior knowledge of its transgene sequence. The results demonstrate that the new methods complement routine screening procedures by providing direct conclusive evidence and may also be useful to resolve masking of unknown events by known events.

Method for identifying known materials within a mixture of unknowns

DOEpatents

Wagner, John S.

2000-01-01

One or both of two methods and systems are used to determine concentration of a known material in an unknown mixture on the basis of the measured interaction of electromagnetic waves upon the mixture. One technique is to utilize a multivariate analysis patch technique to develop a library of optimized patches of spectral signatures of known materials containing only those pixels most descriptive of the known materials by an evolutionary algorithm. Identity and concentration of the known materials within the unknown mixture is then determined by minimizing the residuals between the measurements from the library of optimized patches and the measurements from the same pixels from the unknown mixture. Another technique is to train a neural network by the genetic algorithm to determine the identity and concentration of known materials in the unknown mixture. The two techniques may be combined into an expert system providing cross checks for accuracy.

Multiple concurrent recursive least squares identification with application to on-line spacecraft mass-property identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Edward (Inventor)

2006-01-01

The present invention is a method for identifying unknown parameters in a system having a set of governing equations describing its behavior that cannot be put into regression form with the unknown parameters linearly represented. In this method, the vector of unknown parameters is segmented into a plurality of groups where each individual group of unknown parameters may be isolated linearly by manipulation of said equations. Multiple concurrent and independent recursive least squares identification of each said group run, treating other unknown parameters appearing in their regression equation as if they were known perfectly, with said values provided by recursive least squares estimation from the other groups, thereby enabling the use of fast, compact, efficient linear algorithms to solve problems that would otherwise require nonlinear solution approaches. This invention is presented with application to identification of mass and thruster properties for a thruster-controlled spacecraft.

Design of a DNA chip for detection of unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

PubMed

Nesvold, Håvard; Kristoffersen, Anja Bråthen; Holst-Jensen, Arne; Berdal, Knut G

2005-05-01

Unknown genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have not undergone a risk evaluation, and hence might pose a danger to health and environment. There are, today, no methods for detecting unknown GMOs. In this paper we propose a novel method intended as a first step in an approach for detecting unknown genetically modified (GM) material in a single plant. A model is designed where biological and combinatorial reduction rules are applied to a set of DNA chip probes containing all possible sequences of uniform length n, creating probes capable of detecting unknown GMOs. The model is theoretically tested for Arabidopsis thaliana Columbia, and the probabilities for detecting inserts and receiving false positives are assessed for various parameters for this organism. From a theoretical standpoint, the model looks very promising but should be tested further in the laboratory. The model and algorithms will be available upon request to the corresponding author.

Method and apparatus for sensor fusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishen, Kumar (Inventor); Shaw, Scott (Inventor); Defigueiredo, Rui J. P. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

Method and apparatus for fusion of data from optical and radar sensors by error minimization procedure is presented. The method was applied to the problem of shape reconstruction of an unknown surface at a distance. The method involves deriving an incomplete surface model from an optical sensor. The unknown characteristics of the surface are represented by some parameter. The correct value of the parameter is computed by iteratively generating theoretical predictions of the radar cross sections (RCS) of the surface, comparing the predicted and the observed values for the RCS, and improving the surface model from results of the comparison. Theoretical RCS may be computed from the surface model in several ways. One RCS prediction technique is the method of moments. The method of moments can be applied to an unknown surface only if some shape information is available from an independent source. The optical image provides the independent information.

Measuring solids concentration in stormwater runoff: comparison of analytical methods.

PubMed

Clark, Shirley E; Siu, Christina Y S

2008-01-15

Stormwater suspended solids typically are quantified using one of two methods: aliquot/subsample analysis (total suspended solids [TSS]) or whole-sample analysis (suspended solids concentration [SSC]). Interproject comparisons are difficult because of inconsistencies in the methods and in their application. To address this concern, the suspended solids content has been measured using both methodologies in many current projects, but the question remains about how to compare these values with historical water-quality data where the analytical methodology is unknown. This research was undertaken to determine the effect of analytical methodology on the relationship between these two methods of determination of the suspended solids concentration, including the effect of aliquot selection/collection method and of particle size distribution (PSD). The results showed that SSC was best able to represent the known sample concentration and that the results were independent of the sample's PSD. Correlations between the results and the known sample concentration could be established for TSS samples, but they were highly dependent on the sample's PSD and on the aliquot collection technique. These results emphasize the need to report not only the analytical method but also the particle size information on the solids in stormwater runoff.

A novel sensitivity-based method for damage detection of structures under unknown periodic excitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naseralavi, S. S.; Salajegheh, E.; Fadaee, M. J.; Salajegheh, J.

2014-06-01

This paper presents a technique for damage detection in structures under unknown periodic excitations using the transient displacement response. The method is capable of identifying the damage parameters without finding the input excitations. We first define the concept of displacement space as a linear space in which each point represents displacements of structure under an excitation and initial condition. Roughly speaking, the method is based on the fact that structural displacements under free and forced vibrations are associated with two parallel subspaces in the displacement space. Considering this novel geometrical viewpoint, an equation called kernel parallelization equation (KPE) is derived for damage detection under unknown periodic excitations and a sensitivity-based algorithm for solving KPE is proposed accordingly. The method is evaluated via three case studies under periodic excitations, which confirm the efficiency of the proposed method.

Sensitivity and specificity of the Streptococcus pneumoniae urinary antigen test for unconcentrated urine from adult patients with pneumonia: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Horita, Nobuyuki; Miyazawa, Naoki; Kojima, Ryota; Kimura, Naoko; Inoue, Miyo; Ishigatsubo, Yoshiaki; Kaneko, Takeshi

2013-11-01

Studies on the sensitivity and specificity of the Binax Now Streptococcus pneumonia urinary antigen test (index test) show considerable variance of results. Those written in English provided sufficient original data to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the index test using unconcentrated urine to identify S. pneumoniae infection in adults with pneumonia. Reference tests were conducted with at least one culture and/or smear. We estimated sensitivity and two specificities. One was the specificity evaluated using only patients with pneumonia of identified other aetiologies ('specificity (other)'). The other was the specificity evaluated based on both patients with pneumonia of unknown aetiology and those with pneumonia of other aetiologies ('specificity (unknown and other)') using a fixed model for meta-analysis. We found 10 articles involving 2315 patients. The analysis of 10 studies involving 399 patients yielded a pooled sensitivity of 0.75 (95% confidence interval: 0.71-0.79) without heterogeneity or publication bias. The analysis of six studies involving 258 patients yielded a pooled specificity (other) of 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.92-0.98) without no heterogeneity or publication bias. We attempted to conduct a meta-analysis with the 10 studies involving 1916 patients to estimate specificity (unknown and other), but it remained unclear due to moderate heterogeneity and possible publication bias. In our meta-analysis, sensitivity of the index test was moderate and specificity (other) was high; however, the specificity (unknown and other) remained unclear. © 2013 The Authors. Respirology © 2013 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

“A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down”: Bitter Masking by Sucrose Among Children and Adults

PubMed Central

Reed, Danielle R.; Mathew, Phoebe S.; Roberts, Kristi M.; Mansfield, Corrine J.

2015-01-01

Sweeteners are often added to liquid formulations of drugs but whether they merely make them better tasting or actually reduce the perception of bitterness remains unknown. In a group of children and adults, we determined whether adding sucrose to urea, caffeine, denatonium benzoate, propylthiouracil (PROP), and quinine would reduce their bitterness using a forced-choice method of paired comparisons. To better understand individual differences, adults also rated each solution using a more complex test (general Labeled Magnitude Scale [gLMS]) and were genotyped for the sweet taste receptor gene TAS1R3 and the bitter receptor TAS2R38. Sucrose suppressed the bitterness of each agent in children and adults. In adults, sucrose was effective in reducing the bitterness ratings from moderate to weak for all compounds tested, but those with the sensitive form of the sweet receptor reported greater reduction for caffeine and quinine. For PROP, sucrose was most effective for those who were genetically the most sensitive, although this did not attain statistical significance. Not only is the paired comparison method a valid tool to study how sucrose improves the taste of pediatric medicines among children but knowledge gleaned from basic research in bitter taste and how to alleviate it remains an important public health priority. PMID:25381313

Characteristic Cytokine and Chemokine Profiles in Encephalitis of Infectious, Immune-Mediated, and Unknown Aetiology.

PubMed

Michael, Benedict D; Griffiths, Michael J; Granerod, Julia; Brown, David; Davies, Nicholas W S; Borrow, Ray; Solomon, Tom

2016-01-01

Encephalitis is parenchymal brain inflammation due to infectious or immune-mediated processes. However, in 15-60% the cause remains unknown. This study aimed to determine if the cytokine/chemokine-mediated host response can distinguish infectious from immune-mediated cases, and whether this may give a clue to aetiology in those of unknown cause. We measured 38 mediators in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients from the Health Protection Agency Encephalitis Study. Of serum from 78 patients, 38 had infectious, 20 immune-mediated, and 20 unknown aetiology. Of CSF from 37 patients, 20 had infectious, nine immune-mediated and eight unknown aetiology. Heat-map analysis of CSF mediator interactions was different for infectious and immune-mediated cases, and that of the unknown aetiology group was similar to the infectious pattern. Higher myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentrations were found in infectious than immune-mediated cases, in serum and CSF (p = 0.01 and p = 0.006). Serum MPO was also higher in unknown than immune-mediated cases (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis selected serum MPO; classifying 31 (91%) as infectious (p = 0.008) and 17 (85%) as unknown (p = 0.009) as opposed to immune-mediated. CSF data also selected MPO classifying 11 (85%) as infectious as opposed to immune-mediated (p = 0.036). CSF neutrophils were detected in eight (62%) infective and one (14%) immune-mediated cases (p = 0.004); CSF MPO correlated with neutrophils (p<0.0001). Mediator profiles of infectious aetiology differed from immune-mediated encephalitis; and those of unknown cause were similar to infectious cases, raising the hypothesis of a possible undiagnosed infectious cause. Particularly, neutrophils and MPO merit further investigation.

Engineering calcium oxalate crystal formation in Arabidopsis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Many plants accumulate crystals of calcium oxalate. Just how these crystals form remains unknown. To gain insight into the mechanisms regulating calcium oxalate crystal formation, a crystal engineering approach was initiated utilizing the non-crystal accumulating plant, Arabidopsis. The success of t...

77 FR 59647 - Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, CA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-28

... hair. At an unknown date, the remains were acquired by the California Department of Parks and... of the two clusters of hair. The Wounded Knee Massacre was the last major armed conflict between...

Mechanisms of anti-atherosclerotic functions of soy-based diets

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soy-based diets have been reported to protect against the deelopment of atherosclerosis. However, the underlying mechanism (s) for this protection remains unknown. Althought atherosclerosis was traditionally considered a disease associated with impaired lipid metabolism, in recent years the infla...

Quantitative real-time imaging of glutathione

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Glutathione plays many important roles in biological processes; however, the dynamic changes of glutathione concentrations in living cells remain largely unknown. Here, we report a reversible reaction-based fluorescent probe—designated as RealThiol (RT)—that can quantitatively monitor the real-time ...

The caprine abomasal microbiome

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Parasitism is considered the number one health problem in small ruminants. The barber's pole worm Haemonchus contortus infection in goats elicits a strong host immune response. However, the effect of the parasitic infection on the structure and function of the gut microbiome remains largely unknown....

Corals diseases are a major cause of coral death

EPA Science Inventory

Corals, like humans, are susceptible to diseases. Some coral diseases are associated with pathogenic bacteria; however, the causes of most remain unknown. Some diseases trigger rapid and extensive mortality, while others slowly cause localized color changes or injure coral tiss...

WHAT HAPPENS TO FLUOROTELOMER POLYMER PRODUCTS DURING WASTEWATER TREATMENT?

EPA Science Inventory

Fluorotelomer based polymers formulate numerous products relied upon by society. Despite their widespread use and high opportunity for down-the-drain disposal, the fate and stability of fluorotelomer polymer products in wastewater treatment systems remains unknown. To address thi...

A Novel In-Beam Delayed Neutron Counting Technique for Characterization of Special Nuclear Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bentoumi, G.; Rogge, R. B.; Andrews, M. T.; Corcoran, E. C.; Dimayuga, I.; Kelly, D. G.; Li, L.; Sur, B.

2016-12-01

A delayed neutron counting (DNC) system, where the sample to be analyzed remains stationary in a thermal neutron beam outside of the reactor, has been developed at the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor of the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) at Chalk River. The new in-beam DNC is a novel approach for non-destructive characterization of special nuclear materials (SNM) that could enable identification and quantification of fissile isotopes within a large and shielded sample. Despite the orders of magnitude reduction in neutron flux, the in-beam DNC method can be as informative as the conventional in-core DNC for most cases while offering practical advantages and mitigated risk when dealing with large radioactive samples of unknown origin. This paper addresses (1) the qualification of in-beam DNC using a monochromatic thermal neutron beam in conjunction with a proven counting apparatus designed originally for in-core DNC, and (2) application of in-beam DNC to an examination of large sealed capsules containing unknown radioactive materials. Initial results showed that the in-beam DNC setup permits non-destructive analysis of bulky and gamma shielded samples. The method does not lend itself to trace analysis, and at best could only reveal the presence of a few milligrams of 235U via the assay of in-beam DNC total counts. Through analysis of DNC count rates, the technique could be used in combination with other neutron or gamma techniques to quantify isotopes present within samples.

Identification of signalling cascades involved in red blood cell shrinkage and vesiculation.

PubMed

Kostova, Elena B; Beuger, Boukje M; Klei, Thomas R L; Halonen, Pasi; Lieftink, Cor; Beijersbergen, Roderick; van den Berg, Timo K; van Bruggen, Robin

2015-04-16

Even though red blood cell (RBC) vesiculation is a well-documented phenomenon, notably in the context of RBC aging and blood transfusion, the exact signalling pathways and kinases involved in this process remain largely unknown. We have established a screening method for RBC vesicle shedding using the Ca(2+) ionophore ionomycin which is a rapid and efficient method to promote vesiculation. In order to identify novel pathways stimulating vesiculation in RBC, we screened two libraries: the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC) and the Selleckchem Kinase Inhibitor Library for their effects on RBC from healthy donors. We investigated compounds triggering vesiculation and compounds inhibiting vesiculation induced by ionomycin. We identified 12 LOPAC compounds, nine kinase inhibitors and one kinase activator which induced RBC shrinkage and vesiculation. Thus, we discovered several novel pathways involved in vesiculation including G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt (protein kinase B) pathway, the Jak-STAT (Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription) pathway and the Raf-MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase)-ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated a link between casein kinase 2 (CK2) and RBC shrinkage via regulation of the Gardos channel activity. In addition, our data showed that inhibition of several kinases with unknown functions in mature RBC, including Alk (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), induced RBC shrinkage and vesiculation.

Identification of signalling cascades involved in red blood cell shrinkage and vesiculation

PubMed Central

Kostova, Elena B.; Beuger, Boukje M.; Klei, Thomas R.L.; Halonen, Pasi; Lieftink, Cor; Beijersbergen, Roderick; van den Berg, Timo K.; van Bruggen, Robin

2015-01-01

Even though red blood cell (RBC) vesiculation is a well-documented phenomenon, notably in the context of RBC aging and blood transfusion, the exact signalling pathways and kinases involved in this process remain largely unknown. We have established a screening method for RBC vesicle shedding using the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin which is a rapid and efficient method to promote vesiculation. In order to identify novel pathways stimulating vesiculation in RBC, we screened two libraries: the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC) and the Selleckchem Kinase Inhibitor Library for their effects on RBC from healthy donors. We investigated compounds triggering vesiculation and compounds inhibiting vesiculation induced by ionomycin. We identified 12 LOPAC compounds, nine kinase inhibitors and one kinase activator which induced RBC shrinkage and vesiculation. Thus, we discovered several novel pathways involved in vesiculation including G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)–Akt (protein kinase B) pathway, the Jak–STAT (Janus kinase–signal transducer and activator of transcription) pathway and the Raf–MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase)–ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated a link between casein kinase 2 (CK2) and RBC shrinkage via regulation of the Gardos channel activity. In addition, our data showed that inhibition of several kinases with unknown functions in mature RBC, including Alk (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), induced RBC shrinkage and vesiculation. PMID:25757360

Non-convex optimization for self-calibration of direction-dependent effects in radio interferometric imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Repetti, Audrey; Birdi, Jasleen; Dabbech, Arwa; Wiaux, Yves

2017-10-01

Radio interferometric imaging aims to estimate an unknown sky intensity image from degraded observations, acquired through an antenna array. In the theoretical case of a perfectly calibrated array, it has been shown that solving the corresponding imaging problem by iterative algorithms based on convex optimization and compressive sensing theory can be competitive with classical algorithms such as clean. However, in practice, antenna-based gains are unknown and have to be calibrated. Future radio telescopes, such as the Square Kilometre Array, aim at improving imaging resolution and sensitivity by orders of magnitude. At this precision level, the direction-dependency of the gains must be accounted for, and radio interferometric imaging can be understood as a blind deconvolution problem. In this context, the underlying minimization problem is non-convex, and adapted techniques have to be designed. In this work, leveraging recent developments in non-convex optimization, we propose the first joint calibration and imaging method in radio interferometry, with proven convergence guarantees. Our approach, based on a block-coordinate forward-backward algorithm, jointly accounts for visibilities and suitable priors on both the image and the direction-dependent effects (DDEs). As demonstrated in recent works, sparsity remains the prior of choice for the image, while DDEs are modelled as smooth functions of the sky, I.e. spatially band-limited. Finally, we show through simulations the efficiency of our method, for the reconstruction of both images of point sources and complex extended sources. matlab code is available on GitHub.

Method for genetic identification of unknown organisms

DOEpatents

Colston, Jr., Billy W.; Fitch, Joseph P.; Hindson, Benjamin J.; Carter, Chance J.; Beer, Neil Reginald

2016-08-23

A method of rapid, genome and proteome based identification of unknown pathogenic or non-pathogenic organisms in a complex sample. The entire sample is analyzed by creating millions of emulsion encapsulated microdroplets, each containing a single pathogenic or non-pathogenic organism sized particle and appropriate reagents for amplification. Following amplification, the amplified product is analyzed.

ShiftNMFk 1.2

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

Alexandrov, Boian S.; Vesselinov, Velimir V.; Stanev, Valentin

The ShiftNMFk1.2 code, or as we call it, GreenNMFk, represents a hybrid algorithm combining unsupervised adaptive machine learning and Green's function inverse method. GreenNMFk allows an efficient and high performance de-mixing and feature extraction of a multitude of nonnegative signals that change their shape propagating through the medium. The signals are mixed and recorded by a network of uncorrelated sensors. The code couples Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) and inverse-analysis Green's functions method. GreenNMF synergistically performs decomposition of the recorded mixtures, finds the number of the unknown sources and uses the Green's function of the governing partial differential equation to identifymore » the unknown sources and their charecteristics. GreenNMF can be applied directly to any problem controlled by a known partial-differential parabolic equation where mixtures of an unknown number of sources are measured at multiple locations. Full GreenNMFk method is a subject LANL U.S. Patent application S133364.000 August, 2017. The ShiftNMFk 1.2 version here is a toy version of this method that can work with a limited number of unknown sources (4 or less).« less

Numerical solution to generalized Burgers'-Fisher equation using Exp-function method hybridized with heuristic computation.

PubMed

Malik, Suheel Abdullah; Qureshi, Ijaz Mansoor; Amir, Muhammad; Malik, Aqdas Naveed; Haq, Ihsanul

2015-01-01

In this paper, a new heuristic scheme for the approximate solution of the generalized Burgers'-Fisher equation is proposed. The scheme is based on the hybridization of Exp-function method with nature inspired algorithm. The given nonlinear partial differential equation (NPDE) through substitution is converted into a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (NODE). The travelling wave solution is approximated by the Exp-function method with unknown parameters. The unknown parameters are estimated by transforming the NODE into an equivalent global error minimization problem by using a fitness function. The popular genetic algorithm (GA) is used to solve the minimization problem, and to achieve the unknown parameters. The proposed scheme is successfully implemented to solve the generalized Burgers'-Fisher equation. The comparison of numerical results with the exact solutions, and the solutions obtained using some traditional methods, including adomian decomposition method (ADM), homotopy perturbation method (HPM), and optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM), show that the suggested scheme is fairly accurate and viable for solving such problems.

Numerical Solution to Generalized Burgers'-Fisher Equation Using Exp-Function Method Hybridized with Heuristic Computation

PubMed Central

Malik, Suheel Abdullah; Qureshi, Ijaz Mansoor; Amir, Muhammad; Malik, Aqdas Naveed; Haq, Ihsanul

2015-01-01

In this paper, a new heuristic scheme for the approximate solution of the generalized Burgers'-Fisher equation is proposed. The scheme is based on the hybridization of Exp-function method with nature inspired algorithm. The given nonlinear partial differential equation (NPDE) through substitution is converted into a nonlinear ordinary differential equation (NODE). The travelling wave solution is approximated by the Exp-function method with unknown parameters. The unknown parameters are estimated by transforming the NODE into an equivalent global error minimization problem by using a fitness function. The popular genetic algorithm (GA) is used to solve the minimization problem, and to achieve the unknown parameters. The proposed scheme is successfully implemented to solve the generalized Burgers'-Fisher equation. The comparison of numerical results with the exact solutions, and the solutions obtained using some traditional methods, including adomian decomposition method (ADM), homotopy perturbation method (HPM), and optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM), show that the suggested scheme is fairly accurate and viable for solving such problems. PMID:25811858

Helping to combat chronic wasting disease

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2003-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a disease of the nervous system that results in distinctive brain lesions. CWD affects elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer, but has not been documented in livestock or humans. The origins of the disease, as well as the modes of transmission, remain unknown. Infected deer and elk appear robust and healthy in the early stages of CWD; clinical signs might not show for years. Mortality typically occurs within months after the appearance of clinical signs. The route of transmission is unknown; likely routes include direct transmission between infected and noninfected animals and infected animals contaminating local environments.

Irreversible temperature gating in trpv1 sheds light on channel activation.

PubMed

Sánchez-Moreno, Ana; Guevara-Hernández, Eduardo; Contreras-Cervera, Ricardo; Rangel-Yescas, Gisela; Ladrón-de-Guevara, Ernesto; Rosenbaum, Tamara; Islas, León D

2018-06-05

Temperature-activated TRP channels or thermoTRPs are among the only proteins that can directly convert temperature changes into changes in channel open probability. In spite of a wealth of functional and structural information, the mechanism of temperature activation remains unknown. We have carefully characterized the repeated activation of TRPV1 by thermal stimuli and discovered a previously unknown inactivation process, which is irreversible. We propose that this form of gating in TRPV1 channels is a consequence of the heat absorption process that leads to channel opening. © 2018, Sánchez-Moreno et al.

New species from the Galoka and Kalabenono massifs: two unknown and severely threatened mountainous areas in NW Madagascar

PubMed Central

Callmander, Martin W.; Rakotovao, Charles; Razafitsalama, Jeremi; Phillipson, Peter B.; Buerki, Sven; Hong-Wa, Cynthia; Rakotoarivelo, Nivo; Andriambololonera, Sylvie; Koopman, Margaret M.; Johnson, David M.; Deroin, Thierry; Ravoahangy, Andriamandranto; Solo, Serge; Labat, Jean-Noël; Lowry, Porter P.

2011-01-01

The Galoka mountain chain, comprising principally the Galoka and Kalabenono massifs, situated at the northern edge of the Sambirano Region in NW Madagascar is an area that was virtually unknown botanically. It was visited three times between 2005 and 2007 as part of a floristic inventory. Both massifs contain the last remaining primary forests in the Galoka chain, which extends parallel to the coastline from South of Ambilobe to North of Ambanja. Several new species have been discovered amongst the collections, eight of which are described here. PMID:21857767

Investigation of Human Cancers for Retrovirus by Low-Stringency Target Enrichment and High-Throughput Sequencing.

PubMed

Vinner, Lasse; Mourier, Tobias; Friis-Nielsen, Jens; Gniadecki, Robert; Dybkaer, Karen; Rosenberg, Jacob; Langhoff, Jill Levin; Cruz, David Flores Santa; Fonager, Jannik; Izarzugaza, Jose M G; Gupta, Ramneek; Sicheritz-Ponten, Thomas; Brunak, Søren; Willerslev, Eske; Nielsen, Lars Peter; Hansen, Anders Johannes

2015-08-19

Although nearly one fifth of all human cancers have an infectious aetiology, the causes for the majority of cancers remain unexplained. Despite the enormous data output from high-throughput shotgun sequencing, viral DNA in a clinical sample typically constitutes a proportion of host DNA that is too small to be detected. Sequence variation among virus genomes complicates application of sequence-specific, and highly sensitive, PCR methods. Therefore, we aimed to develop and characterize a method that permits sensitive detection of sequences despite considerable variation. We demonstrate that our low-stringency in-solution hybridization method enables detection of <100 viral copies. Furthermore, distantly related proviral sequences may be enriched by orders of magnitude, enabling discovery of hitherto unknown viral sequences by high-throughput sequencing. The sensitivity was sufficient to detect retroviral sequences in clinical samples. We used this method to conduct an investigation for novel retrovirus in samples from three cancer types. In accordance with recent studies our investigation revealed no retroviral infections in human B-cell lymphoma cells, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or colorectal cancer biopsies. Nonetheless, our generally applicable method makes sensitive detection possible and permits sequencing of distantly related sequences from complex material.

Infection-derived lipids elicit a novel immune deficiency circuitry in arthropods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The insect Immune Deficiency (IMD) pathway resembles the tumor necrosis factor receptor network in mammals and senses diaminopimelic-type peptidoglycans present in Gram-negative bacteria. Whether unidentified chemical moieties elicit the IMD signaling cascade remains unknown. Here, we disclose thoug...

Ozone Exposure Increases Circulating Stress Hormones and Lipid Metabolites in Humans

EPA Science Inventory

RATIONALE: Air pollution has been associated with increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes; however, the mechanisms remain unknown. We have shown that acute ozone exposure in rats induces release of stress hormones, hyperglycemia, leptinemia, and gluoose intolerance that are assoc...

Suppression of NADPH oxidases prevents chronic ethanol-induced bone loss

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since the molecular mechanisms through which chronic excessive alcohol consumption induces osteopenia and osteoporosis are largely unknown, potential treatments for prevention of alcohol-induced bone loss remain unclear. We have previously demonstrated that, chronic ethanol (EtOH) treatment leads to...

Applied research on glucansucrases

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although glycansucrases have been known for over 70 years, they remain relatively unknown except to a small group of researchers. Practical, applied research on glycansucrases has been focused on certain key areas. The earliest of these was the development of blood plasma extenders from dextran, d...

DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF PM 2.5 SOURCE APPORTIONMENT METHODOLOGIES

EPA Science Inventory

The receptor model called Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) has been extensively used to apportion sources of ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), but the accuracy of source apportionment results currently remains unknown. In addition, air quality forecast model...

UPREGULATION OF TISSUE FACTOR IN HUMAN ENDOTHELIAL CELLS FOLLOWING ULTRAFINE PARTICLE EXPOSURE

EPA Science Inventory

Epidemiology studies have linked the exposure to air pollutant particles with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, but the mechanisms remain unknown. In our laboratory we have tested the hypothesis that the ultrafine fraction of ambient pollutant particles would cau...

Orbital metastases in Italy

PubMed Central

Magliozzi, Patrizio; Strianese, Diego; Bonavolontà, Paola; Ferrara, Mariantonia; Ruggiero, Pasquale; Carandente, Raffaella; Bonavolontà, Giulio; Tranfa, Fausto

2015-01-01

AIM To describe a series of Italian patients with orbital metastasis focusing on the outcomes in relation to the different primary site of malignancy. METHODS Retrospective chart review of 93 patients with orbital metastasis collected in a tertiary referral centre in a period of 38y and review of literature. RESULTS Out of 93 patients, 52 were females and 41 were males. Median age at diagnosis was 51y (range 1 to 88y). The patients have been divided into four groups on the basis of the year of diagnosis. The frequency of recorded cases had decreased significantly (P<0.05) during the last 9.5y. Primary tumor site was breast in 36 cases (39%), kidney in 10 (11%), lung in 8 (9%), skin in 6 (6%); other sites were less frequent. In 16 case (17%) the primary tumor remained unknown. The most frequent clinical findings were proptosis (73%), limited ocular motility (55%), blepharoptosis (46%) and blurred vision (43%). The diagnosis were established by history, ocular and systemic evaluation, orbital imaging studies and open biopsy or fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Treatment included surgical excision, irradiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or observation. Ninety-one percent of patients died of metastasis with an overall mean survival time (OMST) after the orbital diagnosis of 13.5mo. CONCLUSION Breast, kidney and lung are the most frequent primary sites of cancer leading to an orbital metastasis. When the primary site is unknown, gastrointestinal tract should be carefully investigated. In the last decade a decrease in the frequency of orbital metastasis has been observed. Surgery provides a local palliation. Prognosis remains poor with a OMST of 13.5mo ranging from the 3mo in the lung cancer to 24mo in the kidney tumor. PMID:26558220

Alcohol-induced tolerance and physical dependence in mice with ethanol insensitive α1 GABAA receptors

PubMed Central

Werner, David F.; Swihart, Andrew R.; Ferguson, Carolyn; Lariviere, William R.; Harrison, Neil L.; Homanics, Gregg E.

2009-01-01

Background Although many people consume alcohol (ethanol), it remains unknown why some become addicted. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of tolerance and physical dependence (withdrawal) may provide insight into alcohol addiction. While the exact molecular mechanisms of ethanol action are unclear, γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAA-Rs) have been extensively implicated in ethanol action. The α1 GABAA-R subunit is associated with tolerance and physical dependence, but its exact role remains unknown. In this report, we tested the hypothesis that α1-GABAA-Rs mediate in part these effects of ethanol. Methods Ethanol-induced behavioral responses related to tolerance and physical dependence were investigated in knockin mice that have ethanol-insensitive α1 GABAA-Rs and wildtype controls. Acute functional tolerance (AFT) was assessed using the stationary dowel and loss of righting reflex assays. Chronic tolerance was assessed on the loss of righting reflex, fixed speed rotarod, hypothermia, and radiant tail flick assays following ten consecutive days of ethanol exposure. Withdrawal-related hyperexcitability was assessed by handling-induced convulsions following 3 cycles of ethanol vapor exposure/withdrawal. Immunoblots were used to assess α1 protein levels. Results Compared to controls, knockin mice displayed decreased AFT and chronic tolerance to ethanol-induced motor ataxia, and also displayed heightened ethanol-withdrawal hyperexcitability. No differences between wildtype and knockin mice were seen in other ethanol-induced behavioral measures. Following chronic exposure to ethanol, control mice displayed reductions in α1 protein levels, but knockins did not. Conclusions We conclude that α1-GABAA-Rs play a role in tolerance to ethanol-induced motor ataxia and withdrawal-related hyperexcitability. However, other aspects of behavioral tolerance and physical dependence do not rely on α1-containing GABAA-Rs. PMID:19032579

Fever of Unknown Origin in Children: A 6 year- Experience in a Tertiary Pediatric Egyptian Hospital

PubMed Central

Hassan, Rasha H; Fouda, Ashraf E; Kandil, Shaimaa M

2014-01-01

Background Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is among the most conditions which poses challenge in diagnosis. The presence of information on regional patterns of FUO will shorten the time for diagnosis and reduces health services costs. There are almost no previous studies describing the etiology of FUO in children of Egypt or nearby countries. Aim of the Study To determine different causes of FUO and the possible diagnostic procedures. Methods Data of patients with FUO, presented to the Infectious Diseases Unit of Mansoura University Children Hospital, were retrospectively collected in a 6 year-period from May 2006 to May 2011. The study included children with a fever of 38.3° C or more documented by a health care provider and for which the cause could not be identified after 3 weeks of evaluation as an outpatient or after a week of evaluation in hospital. Patients were then categorized into 5 groups. Results 127 patients met the diagnostic criteria. Infectious diseases were the commonest causes of FUO in 46 cases (36.22%) followed by the miscellaneous causes in 38 cases (29.9%). Meanwhile, collagen vascular diseases and malignancy were diagnosed in 13 cases (10.2%) and 10 cases (7.87%) respectively. While, 20 cases (15.75%) remained undiagnosed. Conclusions Infectious diseases are the commonest cause of FUO. The delay in diagnosis was due to atypical presentations or inappropriate use of antibiotic prior to the referral. Non infectious causes, malignancy and collagen or vascular disorders were diagnosed in rest of the patients. However, about 15% of our patients remained undiagnosed. The diagnosis was established by non-invasive means in more than two-third of the cases. PMID:24899875

Three-dimensional printed upper-limb prostheses lack randomised controlled trials: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Diment, Laura E; Thompson, Mark S; Bergmann, Jeroen HM

2017-01-01

Background: Three-dimensional printing provides an exciting opportunity to customise upper-limb prostheses. Objective: This review summarises the research that assesses the efficacy and effectiveness of three-dimensional printed upper-limb prostheses. Study design: Systematic review. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science and OVID were systematically searched for studies that reported human trials of three-dimensional printed upper-limb prostheses. The studies matching the language, peer-review and relevance criteria were ranked by level of evidence and critically appraised using the Downs and Black Quality Index. Results: After removing duplicates, 321 records were identified. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria. No studies used controls; five were case studies and three were small case-series studies. All studies showed promising results, but none demonstrated external validity, avoidance of bias or statistically significant improvements over conventional prostheses. The studies demonstrated proof-of-concept rather than assessing efficacy, and the devices were designed to prioritise reduction of manufacturing costs, not customisability for comfort and function. Conclusion: The potential of three-dimensional printing for individual customisation has yet to be fully realised, and the efficacy and effectiveness to be rigorously assessed. Until randomised controlled trials with follow-up are performed, the comfort, functionality, durability and long-term effects on quality of life remain unknown. Clinical relevance Initial studies suggest that three-dimensional printing shows promise for customising low-cost upper-limb prosthetics. However, the efficacy and effectiveness of these devices have yet to be rigorously assessed. Until randomised controlled trials with follow-up are performed, the comfort, functionality, durability and long-term effects on patient quality of life remain unknown. PMID:28649911

Wire connector classification with machine vision and a novel hybrid SVM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauhan, Vedang; Joshi, Keyur D.; Surgenor, Brian W.

2018-04-01

A machine vision-based system has been developed and tested that uses a novel hybrid Support Vector Machine (SVM) in a part inspection application with clear plastic wire connectors. The application required the system to differentiate between 4 different known styles of connectors plus one unknown style, for a total of 5 classes. The requirement to handle an unknown class is what necessitated the hybrid approach. The system was trained with the 4 known classes and tested with 5 classes (the 4 known plus the 1 unknown). The hybrid classification approach used two layers of SVMs: one layer was semi-supervised and the other layer was supervised. The semi-supervised SVM was a special case of unsupervised machine learning that classified test images as one of the 4 known classes (to accept) or as the unknown class (to reject). The supervised SVM classified test images as one of the 4 known classes and consequently would give false positives (FPs). Two methods were tested. The difference between the methods was that the order of the layers was switched. The method with the semi-supervised layer first gave an accuracy of 80% with 20% FPs. The method with the supervised layer first gave an accuracy of 98% with 0% FPs. Further work is being conducted to see if the hybrid approach works with other applications that have an unknown class requirement.

An Adaptive Moving Target Imaging Method for Bistatic Forward-Looking SAR Using Keystone Transform and Optimization NLCS.

PubMed

Li, Zhongyu; Wu, Junjie; Huang, Yulin; Yang, Haiguang; Yang, Jianyu

2017-01-23

Bistatic forward-looking SAR (BFSAR) is a kind of bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system that can image forward-looking terrain in the flight direction of an aircraft. Until now, BFSAR imaging theories and methods for a stationary scene have been researched thoroughly. However, for moving-target imaging with BFSAR, the non-cooperative movement of the moving target induces some new issues: (I) large and unknown range cell migration (RCM) (including range walk and high-order RCM); (II) the spatial-variances of the Doppler parameters (including the Doppler centroid and high-order Doppler) are not only unknown, but also nonlinear for different point-scatterers. In this paper, we put forward an adaptive moving-target imaging method for BFSAR. First, the large and unknown range walk is corrected by applying keystone transform over the whole received echo, and then, the relationships among the unknown high-order RCM, the nonlinear spatial-variances of the Doppler parameters, and the speed of the mover, are established. After that, using an optimization nonlinear chirp scaling (NLCS) technique, not only can the unknown high-order RCM be accurately corrected, but also the nonlinear spatial-variances of the Doppler parameters can be balanced. At last, a high-order polynomial filter is applied to compress the whole azimuth data of the moving target. Numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

[Fast discrimination of edible vegetable oil based on Raman spectroscopy].

PubMed

Zhou, Xiu-Jun; Dai, Lian-Kui; Li, Sheng

2012-07-01

A novel method to fast discriminate edible vegetable oils by Raman spectroscopy is presented. The training set is composed of different edible vegetable oils with known classes. Based on their original Raman spectra, baseline correction and normalization were applied to obtain standard spectra. Two characteristic peaks describing the unsaturated degree of vegetable oil were selected as feature vectors; then the centers of all classes were calculated. For an edible vegetable oil with unknown class, the same pretreatment and feature extraction methods were used. The Euclidian distances between the feature vector of the unknown sample and the center of each class were calculated, and the class of the unknown sample was finally determined by the minimum distance. For 43 edible vegetable oil samples from seven different classes, experimental results show that the clustering effect of each class was more obvious and the class distance was much larger with the new feature extraction method compared with PCA. The above classification model can be applied to discriminate unknown edible vegetable oils rapidly and accurately.

Genetic Identification of Communist Crimes' Victims (1944-1956) Based on the Analysis of One of Many Mass Graves Discovered on the Powazki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland.

PubMed

Ossowski, Andrzej; Diepenbroek, Marta; Kupiec, Tomasz; Bykowska-Witowska, Milena; Zielińska, Grażyna; Dembińska, Teresa; Ciechanowicz, Andrzej

2016-11-01

As the result of the communist terror in Poland, during years 1944-1956 more than 50,000 people died. Their bodies were buried secretly, and most places are still unknown. The research presents the results of identification of people buried in one of many mass graves, which were found at the cemetery Powązki Military in Warsaw, Poland. Exhumation revealed the remains of eight people, among which seven were identified genetically. Well-preserved molars were used for the study. Reference material was collected from the closest living relatives. In one case, an exhumation of victim's parents had to be performed. DNA from swabs was extracted with a PrepFiler ® BTA Forensic DNA Extraction Kit and organic method. Autosomal, Y-STR amplification, and mtDNA sequencing were performed. The biostatistical calculations resulted in LR values from 1608 to 928 × 10 18 . So far, remains of more than 50 victims were identified. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Neural Reward and Punishment Sensitivity in Cigarette Smokers

PubMed Central

Potts, Geoffrey F.; Bloom, Erika; Evans, David E.; Drobes, David J.

2014-01-01

Background Nicotine addiction remains a major public health problem but the neural substrates of addictive behavior remain unknown. One characteristic of smoking behavior is impulsive choice, selecting the immediate reward of smoking despite the potential long-term negative consequences. This suggests that drug users, including cigarette smokers, may be more sensitive to rewards and less sensitive to punishment. Methods We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to test the hypothesis that smokers are more responsive to reward signals and less responsive to punishment, potentially predisposing them to risky behavior. We conducted two experiments, one using a reward prediction design to elicit a Medial Frontal Negativity (MFN) and one using a reward- and punishment-motivated flanker task to elicit an Error Related Negativity (ERN), ERP components thought to index activity in the cortical projection of the dopaminergic reward system. Results and Conclusions The smokers had a greater MFN response to unpredicted rewards, and non-smokers, but not smokers, had a larger ERN on punishment motivated trials indicating that smokers are more reward sensitive and less punishment sensitive than nonsmokers, overestimating the appetitive value and underestimating aversive outcomes of stimuli and actions. PMID:25292454

Reachable set estimation for Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems against unknown output delays with application to tracking control of AUVs.

PubMed

Zhong, Zhixiong; Zhu, Yanzheng; Ahn, Choon Ki

2018-07-01

In this paper, we address the problem of reachable set estimation for continuous-time Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy systems subject to unknown output delays. Based on the reachable set concept, a new controller design method is also discussed for such systems. An effective method is developed to attenuate the negative impact from the unknown output delays, which likely degrade the performance/stability of systems. First, an augmented fuzzy observer is proposed to capacitate a synchronous estimation for the system state and the disturbance term owing to the unknown output delays, which ensures that the reachable set of the estimation error is limited via the intersection operation of ellipsoids. Then, a compensation technique is employed to eliminate the influence on the system performance stemmed from the unknown output delays. Finally, the effectiveness and correctness of the obtained theories are verified by the tracking control of autonomous underwater vehicles. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Survivorship analysis when cure is a possibility: a Monte Carlo study.

PubMed

Goldman, A I

1984-01-01

Parametric survivorship analyses of clinical trials commonly involves the assumption of a hazard function constant with time. When the empirical curve obviously levels off, one can modify the hazard function model by use of a Gompertz or Weibull distribution with hazard decreasing over time. Some cancer treatments are thought to cure some patients within a short time of initiation. Then, instead of all patients having the same hazard, decreasing over time, a biologically more appropriate model assumes that an unknown proportion (1 - pi) have constant high risk whereas the remaining proportion (pi) have essentially no risk. This paper discusses the maximum likelihood estimation of pi and the power curves of the likelihood ratio test. Monte Carlo studies provide results for a variety of simulated trials; empirical data illustrate the methods.

Concise Review: Methods and Cell Types Used to Generate Down Syndrome Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

PubMed Central

Hibaoui, Youssef; Feki, Anis

2015-01-01

Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21), is the most common viable chromosomal disorder, with an incidence of 1 in 800 live births. Its phenotypic characteristics include intellectual impairment and several other developmental abnormalities, for the majority of which the pathogenetic mechanisms remain unknown. Several models have been used to investigate the mechanisms by which the extra copy of chromosome 21 leads to the DS phenotype. In the last five years, several laboratories have been successful in reprogramming patient cells carrying the trisomy 21 anomaly into induced pluripotent stem cells, i.e., T21-iPSCs. In this review, we summarize the different T21-iPSCs that have been generated with a particular interest in the technical procedures and the somatic cell types used for the reprogramming. PMID:26239351

HIV-1 dynamics revisited: biphasic decay by cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing?

PubMed Central

Arnaout, R A; Nowak, M A; Wodarz, D

2000-01-01

The biphasic decay of blood viraemia in patients being treated for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection has been explained as the decay of two distinct populations of cells: the rapid death of productively infected cells followed by the much slower elimination of a second population the identity of which remains unknown. Here we advance an alternative explanation based on the immune response against a single population of infected cells. We show that the biphasic decay can be explained simply, without invoking multiple compartments: viral load falls quickly while cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are still abundant, and more slowly as CTL disappear. We propose a method to test this idea, and develop a framework that is readily applicable to treatment of other infections. PMID:10972131

Spatial organization of chromatin domains and compartments in single chromosomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Siyuan; Su, Jun-Han; Beliveau, Brian; Bintu, Bogdan; Moffitt, Jeffrey; Wu, Chao-Ting; Zhuang, Xiaowei

The spatial organization of chromatin critically affects genome function. Recent chromosome-conformation-capture studies have revealed topologically associating domains (TADs) as a conserved feature of chromatin organization, but how TADs are spatially organized in individual chromosomes remains unknown. Here, we developed an imaging method for mapping the spatial positions of numerous genomic regions along individual chromosomes and traced the positions of TADs in human interphase autosomes and X chromosomes. We observed that chromosome folding deviates from the ideal fractal-globule model at large length scales and that TADs are largely organized into two compartments spatially arranged in a polarized manner in individual chromosomes. Active and inactive X chromosomes adopt different folding and compartmentalization configurations. These results suggest that the spatial organization of chromatin domains can change in response to regulation.

Green genes: bioinformatics and systems-biology innovations drive algal biotechnology.

PubMed

Reijnders, Maarten J M F; van Heck, Ruben G A; Lam, Carolyn M C; Scaife, Mark A; dos Santos, Vitor A P Martins; Smith, Alison G; Schaap, Peter J

2014-12-01

Many species of microalgae produce hydrocarbons, polysaccharides, and other valuable products in significant amounts. However, large-scale production of algal products is not yet competitive against non-renewable alternatives from fossil fuel. Metabolic engineering approaches will help to improve productivity, but the exact metabolic pathways and the identities of the majority of the genes involved remain unknown. Recent advances in bioinformatics and systems-biology modeling coupled with increasing numbers of algal genome-sequencing projects are providing the means to address this. A multidisciplinary integration of methods will provide synergy for a systems-level understanding of microalgae, and thereby accelerate the improvement of industrially valuable strains. In this review we highlight recent advances and challenges to microalgal research and discuss future potential. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flagellation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in newly divided cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Kun; Lee, Calvin; Anda, Jaime; Wong, Gerard

2015-03-01

For monotrichous bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, after cell division, one daughter cell inherits the old flagellum from its mother cell, and the other grows a new flagellum during or after cell division. It had been shown that the new flagellum grows at the distal pole of the dividing cell when the two daughter cells haven't completely separated. However, for those daughter cells who grow new flagella after division, it still remains unknown at which pole the new flagellum will grow. Here, by combining our newly developed bacteria family tree tracking techniques with genetic manipulation method, we showed that for the daughter cell who did not inherit the old flagellum, a new flagellum has about 90% chances to grow at the newly formed pole. We proposed a model for flagellation of P. aeruginosa.

Simultaneous live imaging of the transcription and nuclear position of specific genes

PubMed Central

Ochiai, Hiroshi; Sugawara, Takeshi; Yamamoto, Takashi

2015-01-01

The relationship between genome organization and gene expression has recently been established. However, the relationships between spatial organization, dynamics, and transcriptional regulation of the genome remain unknown. In this study, we developed a live-imaging method for simultaneous measurements of the transcriptional activity and nuclear position of endogenous genes, which we termed the ‘Real-time Observation of Localization and EXpression (ROLEX)’ system. We demonstrated that ROLEX is highly specific and does not affect the expression level of the target gene. ROLEX enabled detection of sub-genome-wide mobility changes that depended on the state of Nanog transactivation in embryonic stem cells. We believe that the ROLEX system will become a powerful tool for exploring the relationship between transcription and nuclear dynamics in living cells. PMID:26092696

Measurement-based perturbation theory and differential equation parameter estimation with applications to satellite gravimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Peiliang

2018-06-01

The numerical integration method has been routinely used by major institutions worldwide, for example, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), to produce global gravitational models from satellite tracking measurements of CHAMP and/or GRACE types. Such Earth's gravitational products have found widest possible multidisciplinary applications in Earth Sciences. The method is essentially implemented by solving the differential equations of the partial derivatives of the orbit of a satellite with respect to the unknown harmonic coefficients under the conditions of zero initial values. From the mathematical and statistical point of view, satellite gravimetry from satellite tracking is essentially the problem of estimating unknown parameters in the Newton's nonlinear differential equations from satellite tracking measurements. We prove that zero initial values for the partial derivatives are incorrect mathematically and not permitted physically. The numerical integration method, as currently implemented and used in mathematics and statistics, chemistry and physics, and satellite gravimetry, is groundless, mathematically and physically. Given the Newton's nonlinear governing differential equations of satellite motion with unknown equation parameters and unknown initial conditions, we develop three methods to derive new local solutions around a nominal reference orbit, which are linked to measurements to estimate the unknown corrections to approximate values of the unknown parameters and the unknown initial conditions. Bearing in mind that satellite orbits can now be tracked almost continuously at unprecedented accuracy, we propose the measurement-based perturbation theory and derive global uniformly convergent solutions to the Newton's nonlinear governing differential equations of satellite motion for the next generation of global gravitational models. Since the solutions are global uniformly convergent, theoretically speaking, they are able to extract smallest possible gravitational signals from modern and future satellite tracking measurements, leading to the production of global high-precision, high-resolution gravitational models. By directly turning the nonlinear differential equations of satellite motion into the nonlinear integral equations, and recognizing the fact that satellite orbits are measured with random errors, we further reformulate the links between satellite tracking measurements and the global uniformly convergent solutions to the Newton's governing differential equations as a condition adjustment model with unknown parameters, or equivalently, the weighted least squares estimation of unknown differential equation parameters with equality constraints, for the reconstruction of global high-precision, high-resolution gravitational models from modern (and future) satellite tracking measurements.

Epithelial cells from smokers modify dendritic cell responses in the context of influenza infection

EPA Science Inventory

Epidemiologic evidence suggests that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for infection with influenza, but the mechanisms underlying this susceptibility remain unknown. To ascertain if airway epithelial cells from smokers demonstrate a decreased ability to orchestrate an influenza...

Persistence of enteric viruses within oysters (Crassostrea virginica)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

It is well known that water-borne enteric viruses are concentrated by bivalves. Why these viruses are selectively retained and remain infectious within shellfish tissues for extended periods is unknown. Our current hypothesis is that phagocytic hemocytes (blood cells) are a site of virus persiste...

A Comparison of three chromatographic retention time prediction models (ACS 2017 Fall meeting 2 of 3)

EPA Science Inventory

High resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) data has revolutionized the identification of environmental contaminants through non-targeted analyses (NTA). However, data processing and chemical identification and prioritization remain challenging due to the vast number of unknowns ob...

Estimating inbreeding rates in Northern Spotted Owls: insights from pedigrees and spatio-demographic models

EPA Science Inventory

The federally-threatened Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) has a substantial influence on management of federal lands. Despite decades of investigation, important details about its status and habits remain unknown. In particular, determining the frequency of inbre...

BROMINATED-FLAME RETARDANTS (BFRS) IN CATS – POSSIBLE LINKAGE TO FELINE HYPERTHYROIDISM?

EPA Science Inventory

Coincident with global introduction of BFRs into house¬hold consumer products nearly 30 years ago, hyperthyroidism in cats has increased considerably. The etiopathogenesis of feline hyperthyroidism remains unknown. We hypothesized that increasing exposure of pet cats to BFRs such...

IDENTIFICATION OF NEW BROMINATED ACIDS IN DRINKING WATER

EPA Science Inventory

Since chloroform was identified as the first disinfection by-product (DBP) in drinking water, there has been more than 25 years of research on DBPs. Despite these efforts, more than 50% of the total organic halide (TOX) formed in chlorinated drinking water remains unknown. Ther...

Vinpocetine Attenuates the Osteoblastic Differentiation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

PubMed

Ma, Yun-Yun; Sun, Lin; Chen, Xiu-Juan; Wang, Na; Yi, Peng-Fei; Song, Min; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Yu-Zhong; Liang, Qiu-Hua

2016-01-01

Vascular calcification is an active process of osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells; however, its definite mechanism remains unknown. Vinpocetine, a derivative of the alkaloid vincamine, has been demonstrated to inhibit the high glucose-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells; however, it remains unknown whether vinpocetine can affect the osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. We hereby investigated the effect of vinpocetine on vascular calcification using a beta-glycerophosphate-induced cell model. Our results showed that vinpocetine significantly reduced the osteoblast-like phenotypes of vascular smooth muscle cells including ALP activity, osteocalcin, collagen type I, Runx2 and BMP-2 expression as well as the formation of mineralized nodule. Vinpocetine, binding to translocation protein, induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase and Akt and thus inhibited the translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B into the nucleus. Silencing of translocator protein significantly attenuated the inhibitory effect of vinpocetine on osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Taken together, vinpocetine may be a promising candidate for the clinical therapy of vascular calcification.

Diverse and highly recombinant anelloviruses associated with Weddell seals in Antarctica

PubMed Central

Fahsbender, Elizabeth; Kim, Stacy; Kraberger, Simona; Frankfurter, Greg; Eilers, Alice A.; Shero, Michelle R.; Beltran, Roxanne; Kirkham, Amy; McCorkell, Robert; Berngartt, Rachel K.; Male, Maketalena F.; Ballard, Grant; Ainley, David G.; Breitbart, Mya

2017-01-01

Abstract The viruses circulating among Antarctic wildlife remain largely unknown. In an effort to identify viruses associated with Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) inhabiting the Ross Sea, vaginal and nasal swabs, and faecal samples were collected between November 2014 and February 2015. In addition, a Weddell seal kidney and South Polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) faeces were opportunistically sampled. Using high throughput sequencing, we identified and recovered 152 anellovirus genomes that share 63–70% genome-wide identities with other pinniped anelloviruses. Genome-wide pairwise comparisons coupled with phylogenetic analysis revealed two novel anellovirus species, tentatively named torque teno Leptonychotes weddellii virus (TTLwV) -1 and -2. TTLwV-1 (n = 133, genomes encompassing 40 genotypes) is highly recombinant, whereas TTLwV-2 (n = 19, genomes encompassing three genotypes) is relatively less recombinant. This study documents ubiquitous TTLwVs among Weddell seals in Antarctica with frequent co-infection by multiple genotypes, however, the role these anelloviruses play in seal health remains unknown. PMID:28744371

Diverse and highly recombinant anelloviruses associated with Weddell seals in Antarctica.

PubMed

Fahsbender, Elizabeth; Burns, Jennifer M; Kim, Stacy; Kraberger, Simona; Frankfurter, Greg; Eilers, Alice A; Shero, Michelle R; Beltran, Roxanne; Kirkham, Amy; McCorkell, Robert; Berngartt, Rachel K; Male, Maketalena F; Ballard, Grant; Ainley, David G; Breitbart, Mya; Varsani, Arvind

2017-01-01

The viruses circulating among Antarctic wildlife remain largely unknown. In an effort to identify viruses associated with Weddell seals ( Leptonychotes weddellii ) inhabiting the Ross Sea, vaginal and nasal swabs, and faecal samples were collected between November 2014 and February 2015. In addition, a Weddell seal kidney and South Polar skua ( Stercorarius maccormicki ) faeces were opportunistically sampled. Using high throughput sequencing, we identified and recovered 152 anellovirus genomes that share 63-70% genome-wide identities with other pinniped anelloviruses. Genome-wide pairwise comparisons coupled with phylogenetic analysis revealed two novel anellovirus species, tentatively named torque teno Leptonychotes weddellii virus (TTLwV) -1 and -2. TTLwV-1 ( n  = 133, genomes encompassing 40 genotypes) is highly recombinant, whereas TTLwV-2 ( n  = 19, genomes encompassing three genotypes) is relatively less recombinant. This study documents ubiquitous TTLwVs among Weddell seals in Antarctica with frequent co-infection by multiple genotypes, however, the role these anelloviruses play in seal health remains unknown.

Two areas for familiar face recognition in the primate brain.

PubMed

Landi, Sofia M; Freiwald, Winrich A

2017-08-11

Familiarity alters face recognition: Familiar faces are recognized more accurately than unfamiliar ones and under difficult viewing conditions when unfamiliar face recognition fails. The neural basis for this fundamental difference remains unknown. Using whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found that personally familiar faces engage the macaque face-processing network more than unfamiliar faces. Familiar faces also recruited two hitherto unknown face areas at anatomically conserved locations within the perirhinal cortex and the temporal pole. These two areas, but not the core face-processing network, responded to familiar faces emerging from a blur with a characteristic nonlinear surge, akin to the abruptness of familiar face recognition. In contrast, responses to unfamiliar faces and objects remained linear. Thus, two temporal lobe areas extend the core face-processing network into a familiar face-recognition system. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Boosting Endogenous Resistance of Brain to Ischemia

PubMed Central

Sun, Fen; Johnson, Stephen R.; Jin, Kunlin; Uteshev, Victor V.

2016-01-01

Most survivors of ischemic stroke remain physically disabled and require prolonged rehabilitation. However, some stroke victims achieve a full neurological recovery suggesting that human brain can defend itself against ischemic injury, but the protective mechanisms are unknown. This study used selective pharmacological agents and a rat model of cerebral ischemic stroke to detect endogenous brain protective mechanisms that require activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). This endogenous protection was found to be: 1) limited to less severe injuries; 2) significantly augmented by intranasal administration of a positive allosteric modulator of α7 nAChRs, significantly reducing brain injury and neurological deficits after more severe ischemic injuries; and 3) reduced by inhibition of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase-II. The physiological role of α7 nAChRs remains largely unknown. The therapeutic activation of α7 nAChRs after cerebral ischemia may serve as an important physiological responsibility of these ubiquitous receptors and holds a significant translational potential. PMID:26910820

A putative vesicular transporter expressed in Drosophila mushroom bodies that mediates sexual behavior may define a novel neurotransmitter system

PubMed Central

Brooks, Elizabeth S.; Greer, Christina L.; Romero-Calderón, Rafael; Serway, Christine N.; Grygoruk, Anna; Haimovitz, Jasmine M.; Nguyen, Bac T.; Najibi, Rod; Tabone, Christopher J.; de Belle, J. Steven; Krantz, David E.

2011-01-01

Summary Storage and release of classical and amino acid neurotransmitters requires vesicular transporters. Some neurons lack known vesicular transporters, suggesting additional neurotransmitter systems remain unidentified. Insect mushroom bodies (MBs) are critical for several behaviors, including learning, but the neurotransmitters released by the intrinsic Kenyon cells (KCs) remain unknown. Likewise, KCs do not express a known vesicular transporter. We report the identification of a novel Drosophila gene portabella (prt) that is structurally similar to known vesicular transporters. Both larval and adult brains express PRT in the KCs of the MBs. Additional PRT cells project to the central complex and optic ganglia. prt mutation causes an olfactory learning deficit and an unusual defect in the male’s position during copulation that is rescued by expression in KCs. Since prt is expressed in neurons that lack other known vesicular transporters or neurotransmitters, it may define a previously unknown neurotransmitter system responsible for sexual behavior and a component of olfactory learning. PMID:22017990

CB5C affects the glucosinolate profile in Arabidopsis thaliana

PubMed Central

Vik, Daniel; Crocoll, Christoph; Andersen, Tonni Grube; Burow, Meike; Halkier, Barbara Ann

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Cytochrome b5 (CB5) proteins are small heme-binding proteins, that influence cytochrome P450 activity. While only one CB5 isoform is found in mammals, higher plants have several isoforms of these proteins. The roles of the many CB5 isoforms in plants remain unknown. We hypothesized that CB5 proteins support the cytochrome P450 enzymes of plant specialized metabolism and found CB5C from Arabidopsis thaliana to co-express with glucosinolate biosynthetic genes. We characterized the glucosinolate profiles of 2 T-DNA insertion mutants of CB5C, and found that long-chained aliphatic glucosinolates were reduced in one of the mutant lines – a phenotype that was exaggerated upon methyl-jasmonate treatment. These results support the hypothesis, that CB5C influences glucosinolate biosynthesis, however, the mode of action remains unknown. Furthermore, the mutants differed in their biomass response to methyl jasmonate treatment. Thereby, our results highlight the varying effects of T-DNA insertion sites, as the 2 analyzed alleles show different phenotypes. PMID:27454255

Recent Developments in the Classification, Evaluation, Pathophysiology, and Management of Scleroderma Renal Crisis.

PubMed

Ghossein, Cybele; Varga, John; Fenves, Andrew Z

2016-01-01

Scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) is an uncommon complication of systemic sclerosis. Despite the advent of angiotensin-converting inhibitor therapy, SRC remains a life-threatening complication. Recent studies have contributed to a better understanding of SRC, but much remains unknown regarding its pathophysiology, risk factors, and optimal management. Genetic studies provide evidence that immune dysregulation might be a contributing factor, providing hope that further research in this direction might illuminate pathogenesis and provide novel predictors for this complication.

The Quest to Understand the Pioneer Anomaly

ScienceCinema

Nieto, Michael

2017-12-09

The Pioneer 10/11 missions, launched in 1972 and 1973, and their navigation are reviewed. Beginning in about 1980 an unmodeled force of {approx} 8 x 10{sup -8} cm/s{sup 2} appeared in the tracking data, it later being verified. The cause remains unknown, although radiant heat remains a likely origin. A set of efforts to find the solution are underway: (a) analyzing in detail all available data, (b) using data from the New Horizons mission, and (c) considering an ESA dedicated mission.

Refractive index-based determination of detergent concentration and its application to the study of membrane proteins

PubMed Central

Strop, Pavel; Brunger, Axel T.

2005-01-01

The concentration of detergent in membrane protein preparations can have a critical role on protein stability, function, and the potential for crystallization. Unfortunately, dialysis or protein concentration can lead to an unknown amount of detergent in the final membrane protein preparations. Here we present a method for the determination of detergent concentration based on refractive index of the detergent solution. This method was applied to quantitate the amount of detergent remaining in solution after concentration in various concentrators. We found that the ability of the tested detergents to pass through the molecular weight cutoff membrane correlates well with detergent micelle size. Therefore, the micelle size can be used as a rough guide to estimate the retention of a given detergent in various molecular weight cutoff concentrators. The refractive index method is exceptionally informative when coupled with size exclusion chromatography and light scattering, and can be used to determine the oligomeric state of the membrane protein, the size of a protein-associated micelle, as well as the amount and size of the unbound detergent micelle. PMID:16046633

Refractive index-based determination of detergent concentration and its application to the study of membrane proteins.

PubMed

Strop, Pavel; Brunger, Axel T

2005-08-01

The concentration of detergent in membrane protein preparations can have a critical role on protein stability, function, and the potential for crystallization. Unfortunately, dialysis or protein concentration can lead to an unknown amount of detergent in the final membrane protein preparations. Here we present a method for the determination of detergent concentration based on refractive index of the detergent solution. This method was applied to quantitate the amount of detergent remaining in solution after concentration in various concentrators. We found that the ability of the tested detergents to pass through the molecular weight cutoff membrane correlates well with detergent micelle size. Therefore, the micelle size can be used as a rough guide to estimate the retention of a given detergent in various molecular weight cutoff concentrators. The refractive index method is exceptionally informative when coupled with size exclusion chromatography and light scattering, and can be used to determine the oligomeric state of the membrane protein, the size of a protein-associated micelle, as well as the amount and size of the unbound detergent micelle.

A Simulation Study Comparison of Bayesian Estimation with Conventional Methods for Estimating Unknown Change Points

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lijuan; McArdle, John J.

2008-01-01

The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the performance of a Bayesian approach for estimating unknown change points using Monte Carlo simulations. The univariate and bivariate unknown change point mixed models were presented and the basic idea of the Bayesian approach for estimating the models was discussed. The performance of Bayesian…

Kinematic equations for control of the redundant eight-degree-of-freedom advanced research manipulator 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Robert L., II

1992-01-01

The forward position and velocity kinematics for the redundant eight-degree-of-freedom Advanced Research Manipulator 2 (ARM2) are presented. Inverse position and velocity kinematic solutions are also presented. The approach in this paper is to specify two of the unknowns and solve for the remaining six unknowns. Two unknowns can be specified with two restrictions. First, the elbow joint angle and rate cannot be specified because they are known from the end-effector position and velocity. Second, one unknown must be specified from the four-jointed wrist, and the second from joints that translate the wrist, elbow joint excluded. There are eight solutions to the inverse position problem. The inverse velocity solution is unique, assuming the Jacobian matrix is not singular. A discussion of singularities is based on specifying two joint rates and analyzing the reduced Jacobian matrix. When this matrix is singular, the generalized inverse may be used as an alternate solution. Computer simulations were developed to verify the equations. Examples demonstrate agreement between forward and inverse solutions.

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma uncovered after a 10-year follow up as anemia of unknown cause.

PubMed

Koyama, Asumi; Shiotani, Chieko; Kurihara, Toshio; Mushino, Toshiki; Okamoto, Yukiharu; Tamaki, Tatsunori; Ozaki, Takashi; Ohshima, Kouichi; Tamura, Shinobu

2017-01-01

A 75-year-old man was referred to our hospital for evaluation of persistent anemia. Despite repeated diagnostic tests, including bone marrow aspiration, the cause of his anemia remained unknown. On each occasion, computed tomography had revealed neither swollen lymph nodes nor splenomegaly. After a 10-year follow-up period, he was admitted with general fatigue and had developed splenomegaly as well as the anemia. Bone marrow biopsy revealed increased abnormal lymphocytes with short villi that were positive for CD11c, CD19, CD20, and kappa chain, but not for CD5, CD10, CD23, or cyclin D1, according to flow cytometry. The bone marrow biopsy sample showed nodular proliferation of small to medium-sized abnormal lymphocytes. Based on these findings, the patient was diagnosed as having splenic marginal zone lymphoma, a rare indolent B-cell neoplasm. Although his splenomegaly diminished after eight cycles of weekly rituximab monotherapy, the anemia did not improve, and abnormal lymphocytes remained detectable in his bone marrow. The patient was then treated with bendamustine monotherapy for six cycles, after which the anemia resolved, and he has since been in good condition. Although rare, it is important to consider splenic marginal zone lymphoma during the differential diagnosis of patients with a long history of anemia of unknown cause.

Iterative Adaptive Dynamic Programming for Solving Unknown Nonlinear Zero-Sum Game Based on Online Data.

PubMed

Zhu, Yuanheng; Zhao, Dongbin; Li, Xiangjun

2017-03-01

H ∞ control is a powerful method to solve the disturbance attenuation problems that occur in some control systems. The design of such controllers relies on solving the zero-sum game (ZSG). But in practical applications, the exact dynamics is mostly unknown. Identification of dynamics also produces errors that are detrimental to the control performance. To overcome this problem, an iterative adaptive dynamic programming algorithm is proposed in this paper to solve the continuous-time, unknown nonlinear ZSG with only online data. A model-free approach to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation is developed based on the policy iteration method. Control and disturbance policies and value are approximated by neural networks (NNs) under the critic-actor-disturber structure. The NN weights are solved by the least-squares method. According to the theoretical analysis, our algorithm is equivalent to a Gauss-Newton method solving an optimization problem, and it converges uniformly to the optimal solution. The online data can also be used repeatedly, which is highly efficient. Simulation results demonstrate its feasibility to solve the unknown nonlinear ZSG. When compared with other algorithms, it saves a significant amount of online measurement time.

A Node Localization Algorithm Based on Multi-Granularity Regional Division and the Lagrange Multiplier Method in Wireless Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Shang, Fengjun; Jiang, Yi; Xiong, Anping; Su, Wen; He, Li

2016-11-18

With the integrated development of the Internet, wireless sensor technology, cloud computing, and mobile Internet, there has been a lot of attention given to research about and applications of the Internet of Things. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is one of the important information technologies in the Internet of Things; it integrates multi-technology to detect and gather information in a network environment by mutual cooperation, using a variety of methods to process and analyze data, implement awareness, and perform tests. This paper mainly researches the localization algorithm of sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network. Firstly, a multi-granularity region partition is proposed to divide the location region. In the range-based method, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength indicator, RSSI) is used to estimate distance. The optimal RSSI value is computed by the Gaussian fitting method. Furthermore, a Voronoi diagram is characterized by the use of dividing region. Rach anchor node is regarded as the center of each region; the whole position region is divided into several regions and the sub-region of neighboring nodes is combined into triangles while the unknown node is locked in the ultimate area. Secondly, the multi-granularity regional division and Lagrange multiplier method are used to calculate the final coordinates. Because nodes are influenced by many factors in the practical application, two kinds of positioning methods are designed. When the unknown node is inside positioning unit, we use the method of vector similarity. Moreover, we use the centroid algorithm to calculate the ultimate coordinates of unknown node. When the unknown node is outside positioning unit, we establish a Lagrange equation containing the constraint condition to calculate the first coordinates. Furthermore, we use the Taylor expansion formula to correct the coordinates of the unknown node. In addition, this localization method has been validated by establishing the real environment.

Chemical Analysis of the Chinese Liquor Luzhoulaojiao by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Yao, Feng; Yi, Bin; Shen, Caihong; Tao, Fei; Liu, Yumin; Lin, Zhixin; Xu, Ping

2015-01-01

Luzhoulaojiao liquor is a type of Chinese liquor that dates back hundreds of years, but whose precise chemical composition remains unknown. This paper describes the screening of the liquor and the identification of its compounds using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/TOF-MS). Samples were prepared by both liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction, which facilitated the detection of thousands of compounds in the liquor, thus demonstrating the superior performance of the proposed method over those reported in previous studies. A total of 320 compounds were common to all 18 types of Luzhoulaojiao liquor studied here, and 13 abundant and potentially bioactive compounds were further quantified. The results indicated that the high-performance method presented here is well suited for the detection and identification of compounds in liquors. This study also contributes to enriching our knowledge of the contents of Chinese liquors. PMID:25857434

Breathing gas perfluorocarbon measurements using an absorber filled with zeolites.

PubMed

Proquitté, H; Rüdiger, M; Wauer, R R; Schmalisch, G

2003-11-01

Perfluorocarbon (PFC) has been widely used in the treatment of respiratory diseases; however, PFC content of the breathing gases remains unknown. Therefore, we developed an absorber using PFC selective zeolites for PFC measurement in gases and investigated its accuracy. To generate a breathing gas with different PFC contents a heated flask was rinsed with a constant air flow of 4 litre x min(-1) and 1, 5, 10, and 20 ml of PFC were infused over 20 min using an infusor. The absorber was placed on an electronic scale and the total PFC volume was calculated from the weight gain. Steady-state increase in weight was achieved 3.5 min after stopping the infusion. The calculated PFC volume was slightly underestimated but the measuring error did not exceed -1% for PFC less than 1 ml. The measurement error decreased with increasing PFC volume. This zeolite absorber is an accurate method to quantitatively determine PFC in breathing gases and can be used as a reference method to validate other PFC sensors.

Chemical Analysis of the Chinese Liquor Luzhoulaojiao by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Feng; Yi, Bin; Shen, Caihong; Tao, Fei; Liu, Yumin; Lin, Zhixin; Xu, Ping

2015-04-01

Luzhoulaojiao liquor is a type of Chinese liquor that dates back hundreds of years, but whose precise chemical composition remains unknown. This paper describes the screening of the liquor and the identification of its compounds using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC/TOF-MS). Samples were prepared by both liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction, which facilitated the detection of thousands of compounds in the liquor, thus demonstrating the superior performance of the proposed method over those reported in previous studies. A total of 320 compounds were common to all 18 types of Luzhoulaojiao liquor studied here, and 13 abundant and potentially bioactive compounds were further quantified. The results indicated that the high-performance method presented here is well suited for the detection and identification of compounds in liquors. This study also contributes to enriching our knowledge of the contents of Chinese liquors.

Epiphyseal union of the cervical vertebral centra: its relationship to skeletal age and maturation of thoracic vertebral centra.

PubMed

Albert, Midori A; Maier, Christopher A

2013-11-01

Epiphyseal union stages for cervical vertebral centra (ring epiphyses) were documented for 55 individuals (females and males, ages 14-27 years) from the Terry Collection, using the Albert and Maples method 1, to examine both its relationship to age at death and to thoracic data collected from the same individuals using the same method. Results showed a moderate correlation between cervical ring union and age (r = 0.63, p = 0.000), and a fairly low correlation between cervical and thoracic ring union (r = 0.41, p = 0.002). Paired samples t-tests yielded a statistically significant difference between cervical and thoracic union mean values (p = 0.01). Union progressed earlier in cervical vertebrae and in females. Results indicated fairly substantial variation in both sexes. Findings may serve as a basic guideline for estimating a general age range at death for unknown skeletal remains and to corroborate findings from other skeletal age indicators. © 2013 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

A method to identify the main mode of machine tool under operating conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Daming; Pan, Yabing

2017-04-01

The identification of the modal parameters under experimental conditions is the most common procedure when solving the problem of machine tool structure vibration. However, the influence of each mode on the machine tool vibration in real working conditions remains unknown. In fact, the contributions each mode makes to the machine tool vibration during machining process are different. In this article, an active excitation modal analysis is applied to identify the modal parameters in operational condition, and the Operating Deflection Shapes (ODS) in frequencies of high level vibration that affect the quality of machining in real working conditions are obtained. Then, the ODS is decomposed by the mode shapes which are identified in operational conditions. So, the contributions each mode makes to machine tool vibration during machining process are got by decomposition coefficients. From the previous steps, we can find out the main modes which effect the machine tool more significantly in working conditions. This method was also verified to be effective by experiments.

An analysis of parameter sensitivities of preference-inspired co-evolutionary algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Rui; Mansor, Maszatul M.; Purshouse, Robin C.; Fleming, Peter J.

2015-10-01

Many-objective optimisation problems remain challenging for many state-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms. Preference-inspired co-evolutionary algorithms (PICEAs) which co-evolve the usual population of candidate solutions with a family of decision-maker preferences during the search have been demonstrated to be effective on such problems. However, it is unknown whether PICEAs are robust with respect to the parameter settings. This study aims to address this question. First, a global sensitivity analysis method - the Sobol' variance decomposition method - is employed to determine the relative importance of the parameters controlling the performance of PICEAs. Experimental results show that the performance of PICEAs is controlled for the most part by the number of function evaluations. Next, we investigate the effect of key parameters identified from the Sobol' test and the genetic operators employed in PICEAs. Experimental results show improved performance of the PICEAs as more preferences are co-evolved. Additionally, some suggestions for genetic operator settings are provided for non-expert users.

Structural Elements and Cough Suppressing Activity of Polysaccharides from Zingiber officinale Rhizome.

PubMed

Bera, K; Nosalova, G; Sivova, V; Ray, B

2016-01-01

Zingiber officinale is used for the management of fever, bronchial asthma and cough for thousands of years. While the link to a particular indication has been established in human, the active principle of the formulation remains unknown. Herein, we have investigated a water extracted polysaccharides (WEP) containing fraction from its rhizome. Utilizing a traditional aqueous extraction protocol and using chemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods a fraction containing a branched glucan and polygalaturonan in a ratio of 59:1 was characterized. This glucan, which has a molecular mass of 36 kDa, is made up of terminal-, (1,4)- and (1,4,6)-linked α-Glcp residues. Oral administration of WEP in doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg body weight significantly inhibited the number of citric acid-induced cough efforts in guinea pigs. It does not alter the specific airway smooth muscle reactivity significantly. Thus, traditional aqueous extraction method provides molecular entities, which induces antitussive activity without addiction. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Statistically Qualified Neuro-Analytic system and Method for Process Monitoring

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

Vilim, Richard B.; Garcia, Humberto E.; Chen, Frederick W.

1998-11-04

An apparatus and method for monitoring a process involves development and application of a statistically qualified neuro-analytic (SQNA) model to accurately and reliably identify process change. The development of the SQNA model is accomplished in two steps: deterministic model adaption and stochastic model adaptation. Deterministic model adaption involves formulating an analytic model of the process representing known process characteristics,augmenting the analytic model with a neural network that captures unknown process characteristics, and training the resulting neuro-analytic model by adjusting the neural network weights according to a unique scaled equation emor minimization technique. Stochastic model adaptation involves qualifying any remaining uncertaintymore » in the trained neuro-analytic model by formulating a likelihood function, given an error propagation equation, for computing the probability that the neuro-analytic model generates measured process output. Preferably, the developed SQNA model is validated using known sequential probability ratio tests and applied to the process as an on-line monitoring system.« less

Self-guided method to search maximal Bell violations for unknown quantum states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Li-Kai; Chen, Geng; Zhang, Wen-Hao; Peng, Xing-Xiang; Yu, Shang; Ye, Xiang-Jun; Li, Chuan-Feng; Guo, Guang-Can

2017-11-01

In recent decades, a great variety of research and applications concerning Bell nonlocality have been developed with the advent of quantum information science. Providing that Bell nonlocality can be revealed by the violation of a family of Bell inequalities, finding maximal Bell violation (MBV) for unknown quantum states becomes an important and inevitable task during Bell experiments. In this paper we introduce a self-guided method to find MBVs for unknown states using a stochastic gradient ascent algorithm (SGA), by parametrizing the corresponding Bell operators. For three investigated systems (two qubit, three qubit, and two qutrit), this method can ascertain the MBV of general two-setting inequalities within 100 iterations. Furthermore, we prove SGA is also feasible when facing more complex Bell scenarios, e.g., d -setting d -outcome Bell inequality. Moreover, compared to other possible methods, SGA exhibits significant superiority in efficiency, robustness, and versatility.

Two similar cases of elderly women with moderate abdominal pain and pneumoperitoneum of unknown origin: a surgeon's successful conservative management.

PubMed

Vinzens, Fabrizio; Zumstein, Valentin; Bieg, Christian; Ackermann, Christoph

2016-05-26

Patients presenting with abdominal pain and pneumoperitoneum in radiological examination usually require emergency explorative laparoscopy or laparotomy. Pneumoperitoneum mostly associates with gastrointestinal perforation. There are very few cases where surgery can be avoided. We present 2 cases of pneumoperitoneum with unknown origin and successful conservative treatment. Both patients were elderly women presenting to our emergency unit, with moderate abdominal pain. There was neither medical intervention nor trauma in their medical history. Physical examination revealed mild abdominal tenderness, but no clinical sign of peritonitis. Cardiopulmonary examination remained unremarkable. Blood studies showed only slight abnormalities, in particular, inflammation parameters were not significantly increased. Finally, obtained CTs showed free abdominal gas of unknown origin in both cases. We performed conservative management with nil per os, nasogastric tube, total parenteral nutrition and prophylactic antibiotics. After 2 weeks, both were discharged home. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

Development of a GC/Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer, Part I: Design and Characterization

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Identification of unknown compounds is of critical importance in GC/MS applications (metabolomics, environmental toxin identification, sports doping, petroleomics, and biofuel analysis, among many others) and remains a technological challenge. Derivation of elemental composition is the first step to determining the identity of an unknown compound by MS, for which high accuracy mass and isotopomer distribution measurements are critical. Here, we report on the development of a dedicated, applications-grade GC/MS employing an Orbitrap mass analyzer, the GC/Quadrupole-Orbitrap. Built from the basis of the benchtop Orbitrap LC/MS, the GC/Quadrupole-Orbitrap maintains the performance characteristics of the Orbitrap, enables quadrupole-based isolation for sensitive analyte detection, and includes numerous analysis modalities to facilitate structural elucidation. We detail the design and construction of the instrument, discuss its key figures-of-merit, and demonstrate its performance for the characterization of unknown compounds and environmental toxins. PMID:25208235

Non-destructive identification of unknown minor phases in polycrystalline bulk alloys using three-dimensional X-ray diffraction

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

Yang, Yiming, E-mail: yangyiming1988@outlook.com

Minor phases make considerable contributions to the mechanical and physical properties of metals and alloys. Unfortunately, it is difficult to identify unknown minor phases in a bulk polycrystalline material using conventional metallographic methods. Here, a non-destructive method based on three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3DXRD) is developed to solve this problem. Simulation results demonstrate that this method is simultaneously able to identify minor phase grains and reveal their positions, orientations and sizes within bulk alloys. According to systematic simulations, the 3DXRD method is practicable for an extensive sample set, including polycrystalline alloys with hexagonal, orthorhombic and cubic minor phases. Experiments were alsomore » conducted to confirm the simulation results. The results for a bulk sample of aluminum alloy AA6061 show that the crystal grains of an unexpected γ-Fe (austenite) phase can be identified, three-dimensionally and nondestructively. Therefore, we conclude that the 3DXRD method is a powerful tool for the identification of unknown minor phases in bulk alloys belonging to a variety of crystal systems. This method also has the potential to be used for in situ observations of the effects of minor phases on the crystallographic behaviors of alloys. - Highlights: •A method based on 3DXRD is developed for identification of unknown minor phase. •Grain position, orientation and size, is simultaneously acquired. •A systematic simulation demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method. •Experimental results on a AA6061 sample confirmed the practicability of the method.« less

Forensic DNA Phenotyping: Predicting human appearance from crime scene material for investigative purposes.

PubMed

Kayser, Manfred

2015-09-01

Forensic DNA Phenotyping refers to the prediction of appearance traits of unknown sample donors, or unknown deceased (missing) persons, directly from biological materials found at the scene. "Biological witness" outcomes of Forensic DNA Phenotyping can provide investigative leads to trace unknown persons, who are unidentifiable with current comparative DNA profiling. This intelligence application of DNA marks a substantially different forensic use of genetic material rather than that of current DNA profiling presented in the courtroom. Currently, group-specific pigmentation traits are already predictable from DNA with reasonably high accuracies, while several other externally visible characteristics are under genetic investigation. Until individual-specific appearance becomes accurately predictable from DNA, conventional DNA profiling needs to be performed subsequent to appearance DNA prediction. Notably, and where Forensic DNA Phenotyping shows great promise, this is on a (much) smaller group of potential suspects, who match the appearance characteristics DNA-predicted from the crime scene stain or from the deceased person's remains. Provided sufficient funding being made available, future research to better understand the genetic basis of human appearance will expectedly lead to a substantially more detailed description of an unknown person's appearance from DNA, delivering increased value for police investigations in criminal and missing person cases involving unknowns. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The origin of aliphatic hydrocarbons in olive oil.

PubMed

Pineda, Manuel; Rojas, María; Gálvez-Valdivieso, Gregorio; Aguilar, Miguel

2017-11-01

There are many substances that can interfere with olive oil quality. Some of them are well characterized, but many others have an unknown origin. Saturated hydrocarbons make an extraordinary complex family of numerous molecules, some of them present naturally in vegetable oils. When major natural saturated hydrocarbons are analyzed by standard chromatographic methods, this complex mixture of saturated hydrocarbons appears as a hump in the chromatogram and is commonly named as unresolved complex mixture (UCM), whose origin remains unknown. In this work we studied the occurrence and the origin of aliphatic saturated hydrocarbons in olive oil. Hydrocarbons were analyzed in olive oil and along the industrial process of oil extraction. We also analyzed n-alkanes and the UCM fraction of hydrocarbons in leaf, fruit and oil from different varieties and different locations, and we also analyzed the soils at these locations. We conclude that the hydrocarbons present in olive oil do not necessarily have their origin in a contamination during olive oil elaboration; they seem to have a natural origin, as a result of olive tree metabolism and/or as the result of an intake and accumulation by the olive tree directly from the environment during its entire life cycle. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

BENZENE OXIDE PROTEIN ADDUCTS AS BIOMARKERS OF BENZENE EXPOSURE

EPA Science Inventory

Benzene is known to be hematotoxic and carcinogenic in animals and humans. While metabolism is required for toxicity, the identity of the ultimate carcinogen(s) remains unknown. Benzene oxide (BO) is the first and most abundant of the metabolites, but very little is known about...

Anxiety, Depression, Hostility and General Psychopathology: An Arabian Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, Abdel-Sattar; Ibrahim, Radwa M.

In Arabian cultures, the psychosocial characteristics of psychopathological trends, including depression, anxiety, and hostility remain largely unknown. Scales measuring depression, anxiety, and hostility were administered to a voluntary sample of 989 Saudi Arabian men and 1,024 Saudi women coming from different social, economical, and educational…

A Molecular Dissociation between Cued and Contextual Appetitive Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kheirbek, Mazen A.; Beeler, Jeff A.; Chi, Wanhao; Ishikawa, Yoshihiro; Zhuang, Xiaoxi

2010-01-01

In appetitive Pavlovian learning, animals learn to associate discrete cues or environmental contexts with rewarding outcomes, and these cues and/or contexts can potentiate an ongoing instrumental response for reward. Although anatomical substrates underlying cued and contextual learning have been proposed, it remains unknown whether specific…

The effects of girdling on the ectomycorrhizal fungal community associated with tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus)

Treesearch

Sarah Bergermann; Nicholas Kordesch; Matteo Garbelotto; Timothy Metz

2006-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum was identified as the lethal agent of tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), black oak (Quercus kelloggii) and coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) in central areas of California. Although the geographic origin remains unknown, its severe impact on tanoaks and Quercus...

Oral exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles effects iron absorption

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The use of engineered nanoparticles in food and pharmaceuticals is expected to increase, but the impact of chronic oral exposure to nanoparticles on human health remains unknown. Here, we show that chronic and acute oral exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles can influence iron uptake and iron trans...

Ecological Regional Analysis Applied to Campus Sustainability Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Shana; Newman, Julie; Hill, Adam

2017-01-01

Purpose: Sustainability performance in higher education is often evaluated at a generalized large scale. It remains unknown to what extent campus efforts address regional sustainability needs. This study begins to address this gap by evaluating trends in performance through the lens of regional environmental characteristics.…

Early postnatal nutrition determines adult physical activity and energy expenditure in female mice

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Decades of research in rodent models has shown that early postnatal overnutrition induces excess adiposity and other components of metabolic syndrome that persist into adulthood. The specific biologic mechanisms explaining the persistence of these effects, however, remain unknown. On postnatal day 1...

Small heterodimer partner (NROB2) coordinates nutrient signaling and the circadian clock in mice

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Circadian rhythm regulates multiple metabolic processes and in turn is readily entrained by feeding-fasting cycles. However, the molecular mechanisms by which the peripheral clock senses nutrition availability remain largely unknown. Bile acids are under circadian control and also increase postprand...

Exposure of agricultural crops to nanoparticle CeO2 in biochar-amended soil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biochar is seeing increased usage as an amendment in agricultural soils but the significance of nanoscale interactions between this additive and engineered nanoparticles (ENP) remains largely unknown. In the present study, corn (Zea mays), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), soybean (Glycine max) and zucchini...

The intrinsic circadian clock within the cardiomyocyte directly regulates myocardial gene expression, metabolism, and contractile function

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Virtually every mammalian cell, including cardiomyocytes, possesses an intrinsic circadian clock. The role of this transcriptionally based molecular mechanism in cardiovascular biology remains unknown. We hypothesized that circadian clock within the cardiomyocyte plays a role in regulating myocardia...

The intrinsic circadian clock within the cardiomyocyte directly regulates myocardial gene expression, metabolism, and contractile function

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Virtually every mammalian cell, including cardiomyocytes, possesses an intrinsic circadian clock. The role of this transcriptionally based molecular mechanism in cardiovascular biology remains unknown. We hypothesized that the circadian clock within the cardiomyocyte plays a role in regulating myo...

UP-REGULATION OF TISSUE FACTOR IN HUMAN PULMONARY ARTERY ENDOTHELIAL CELLS AFTER ULTRAFINE PARTICLE EXPOSURE

EPA Science Inventory

Background: Epidemiology studies have linked exposure to pollutant particles to

increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, but the mechanisms remain unknown.

Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that the ultrafine fraction of ambient pollutant

particle...

Effects of Cognitive Demand on Word Encoding in Adults Who Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Pei-Tzu

2011-01-01

The etiology of persistent stuttering is unknown, but stuttering has been attributed to multiple potential factors, including difficulty in processing language-related information, but findings remain inconclusive regarding any "specific" linguistic deficit potentially causing stuttering. One particular challenge in drawing conclusions is the…

Dynamic Modeling from Flight Data with Unknown Time Skews

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morelli, Eugene A.

2016-01-01

A method for estimating dynamic model parameters from flight data with unknown time skews is described and demonstrated. The method combines data reconstruction, nonlinear optimization, and equation-error parameter estimation in the frequency domain to accurately estimate both dynamic model parameters and the relative time skews in the data. Data from a nonlinear F-16 aircraft simulation with realistic noise, instrumentation errors, and arbitrary time skews were used to demonstrate the approach. The approach was further evaluated using flight data from a subscale jet transport aircraft, where the measured data were known to have relative time skews. Comparison of modeling results obtained from time-skewed and time-synchronized data showed that the method accurately estimates both dynamic model parameters and relative time skew parameters from flight data with unknown time skews.

Avoid lost discoveries, because of violations of standard assumptions, by using modern robust statistical methods.

PubMed

Wilcox, Rand; Carlson, Mike; Azen, Stan; Clark, Florence

2013-03-01

Recently, there have been major advances in statistical techniques for assessing central tendency and measures of association. The practical utility of modern methods has been documented extensively in the statistics literature, but they remain underused and relatively unknown in clinical trials. Our objective was to address this issue. STUDY DESIGN AND PURPOSE: The first purpose was to review common problems associated with standard methodologies (low power, lack of control over type I errors, and incorrect assessments of the strength of the association). The second purpose was to summarize some modern methods that can be used to circumvent such problems. The third purpose was to illustrate the practical utility of modern robust methods using data from the Well Elderly 2 randomized controlled trial. In multiple instances, robust methods uncovered differences among groups and associations among variables that were not detected by classic techniques. In particular, the results demonstrated that details of the nature and strength of the association were sometimes overlooked when using ordinary least squares regression and Pearson correlation. Modern robust methods can make a practical difference in detecting and describing differences between groups and associations between variables. Such procedures should be applied more frequently when analyzing trial-based data. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Big Events in Greece and HIV Infection Among People Who Inject Drugs

PubMed Central

Nikolopoulos, Georgios K.; Sypsa, Vana; Bonovas, Stefanos; Paraskevis, Dimitrios; Malliori-Minerva, Melpomeni; Hatzakis, Angelos; Friedman, Samuel R.

2015-01-01

Big Events are processes like macroeconomic transitions that have lowered social well-being in various settings in the past. Greece has been hit by the global crisis and experienced an HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs. Since the crisis began (2008), Greece has seen population displacement, inter-communal violence, cuts in governmental expenditures, and social movements. These may have affected normative regulation, networks, and behaviors. However, most pathways to risk remain unknown or unmeasured. We use what is known and unknown about the Greek HIV outbreak to suggest modifications in Big Events models and the need for additional research. PMID:25723309

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Known Causes, Unknown Effects.

PubMed

Iacono, Diego; Shively, Sharon B; Edlow, Brian L; Perl, Daniel P

2017-05-01

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neuropathologic diagnosis typically made in human brains with a history of repetitive traumatic brain injury (rTBI). It remains unknown whether CTE occurs exclusively after rTBI, or whether a single TBI (sTBI) can cause CTE. Similarly, it is unclear whether impact (eg, motor vehicle accidents) and non-impact (eg, blasts) types of energy transfer trigger divergent or common pathologies. While it is established that a history of rTBI increases the risk of multiple neurodegenerative diseases (eg, dementia, parkinsonism, and CTE), the possible pathophysiologic and molecular mechanisms underlying these risks have yet to be elucidated. Published by Elsevier Inc.

On the centenary of Charcot: hysteria, suggestibility and hypnosis.

PubMed

Chertok, L

1984-06-01

In studying hysteria by means of hypnosis, Charcot placed emphasis on the psychological aetiology of the neuroses. Among his pupils, Freud alone grasped this epistemological turning-point, from which he made his great discoveries. But hysteria and hypnosis still remain today largely unknown. We have not yet elucidated the 'mysterious leap' between the psychological and the somatic for the former, and between the relational and the instrumental for the latter. While psychoanalysts have constantly concerned themselves with hysteria, they have shown a lack of interest in hypnosis after Freud abandoned its practice. According to Freud, thanks to transference, affect would be controlled by cognition, a viewpoint eminently suited to satisfy his rationalistic outlook. Affect, however, remains an unknown realm. The affective relationship has, at all events, acquired an ever-increasing importance in psychoanalysis during the last few years, with the emphasis on the early mother-child relationship. The 'affective locus' remains the basic, as well as the most obscure, element in the hypno-suggestive relationship. The behaviourist approach, which quantifies the 'vertical' dimension in depth, is a limited one. The study of the 'horizontal' dimension of subjective experience represents a new line of research, which may make it possible to distinguish different forms of hypnosis. The understanding of hypno-suggestion may throw light on psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and the human sciences in general.

Sequence Elucidation of an Unknown Cyclic Peptide of High Doping Potential by ETD and CID Tandem Mass Spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Fuyu; Uboh, Cornelius E.; Soma, Lawrence R.; Rudy, Jeffrey

2011-04-01

Identification of an unknown substance without any information remains a daunting challenge despite advances in chemistry and mass spectrometry. However, an unknown cyclic peptide in a sample with very limited volume seized at a Pennsylvania racetrack has been successfully identified. The unknown sample was determined by accurate mass measurements to contain a small unknown peptide as the major component. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the unknown peptide revealed the presence of Lys (not Gln, by accurate mass), Phe, and Arg residues, and absence of any y-type product ion. The latter, together with the tryptic digestion results of the unusual deamidation and absence of any tryptic cleavage, suggests a cyclic structure for the peptide. Electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) of the unknown peptide indicated the presence of Gln (not Lys, by the unusual deamidation), Phe, and Arg residues and their connectivity. After all the results were pieced together, a cyclic tetrapeptide, cyclo[Arg-Lys-N(C6H9)Gln-Phe], is proposed for the unknown peptide. Observations of different amino acid residues from CID and ETD experiments for the peptide were interpreted by a fragmentation pathway proposed, as was preferential CID loss of a Lys residue from the peptide. ETD was used for the first time in sequencing of a cyclic peptide; product ions resulting from ETD of the peptide identified were categorized into two types and named pseudo-b and pseudo-z ions that are important for sequencing of cyclic peptides. The ETD product ions were interpreted by fragmentation pathways proposed. Additionally, multi-stage CID mass spectrometry cannot provide complete sequence information for cyclic peptides containing adjacent Arg and Lys residues. The identified cyclic peptide has not been documented in the literature, its pharmacological effects are unknown, but it might be a "designer" drug with athletic performance-enhancing effects.

Method for calibrating a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer

DOEpatents

Smith, Richard D.; Masselon, Christophe D.; Tolmachev, Aleksey

2003-08-19

A method for improving the calibration of a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer wherein the frequency spectrum of a sample has been measured and the frequency (f) and intensity (I) of at least three species having known mass to charge (m/z) ratios and one specie having an unknown (m/z) ratio have been identified. The method uses the known (m/z) ratios, frequencies, and intensities at least three species to calculate coefficients A, B, and C, wherein the mass to charge ratio of a least one of the three species (m/z).sub.i is equal to ##EQU1## wherein f.sub.i is the detected frequency of the specie, G(I.sub.i) is a predetermined function of the intensity of the species, and Q is a predetermined exponent. Using the calculated values for A, B, and C, the mass to charge ratio of the unknown specie (m/z).sub.ii is calculated as the sum of ##EQU2## wherein f.sub.ii is the measured frequency of the unknown specie, and (I.sub.ii) is the measured intensity of the unknown specie.

From Intensity Profile to Surface Normal: Photometric Stereo for Unknown Light Sources and Isotropic Reflectances.

PubMed

Lu, Feng; Matsushita, Yasuyuki; Sato, Imari; Okabe, Takahiro; Sato, Yoichi

2015-10-01

We propose an uncalibrated photometric stereo method that works with general and unknown isotropic reflectances. Our method uses a pixel intensity profile, which is a sequence of radiance intensities recorded at a pixel under unknown varying directional illumination. We show that for general isotropic materials and uniformly distributed light directions, the geodesic distance between intensity profiles is linearly related to the angular difference of their corresponding surface normals, and that the intensity distribution of the intensity profile reveals reflectance properties. Based on these observations, we develop two methods for surface normal estimation; one for a general setting that uses only the recorded intensity profiles, the other for the case where a BRDF database is available while the exact BRDF of the target scene is still unknown. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations are conducted using both synthetic and real-world scenes, which show the state-of-the-art accuracy of smaller than 10 degree without using reference data and 5 degree with reference data for all 100 materials in MERL database.

"A Marriage on the Rocks": An Unknown Letter by William H. Kilpatrick about His Project Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knoll, Michael

2010-01-01

William H. Kilpatrick is worldwide known as "Mr. Project Method." But the origin of his celebrated paper of 1918 has never been explored. The discovery of a hitherto unknown letter reveals that Kilpatrick was an educational entrepreneur who, without regard for language and tradition, adopted the term "project" and used it in a provocative new way…

Increasing incidence of pyogenic spondylodiscitis: a 14-year population-based study.

PubMed

Kehrer, Michala; Pedersen, Court; Jensen, Thøger G; Lassen, Annmarie T

2014-04-01

Smaller studies indicate that the incidence of pyogenic spondylodiscitis is increasing, possible related to a growing elderly population. Data supporting this is sparse, and we therefore studied patient characteristics and changes in spondylodiscitis incidence 1995-2008. In a population-based study we identified all patients aged ≥18 years treated for pyogenic spondylodiscitis in Funen County, Denmark (population 483 123). Annual incidences were determined. Demographics, symptoms and diagnostic methods were recorded. We found 192 cases: median age 66.6 years; 57.3% men; 76.6% culture positive cases. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen (55.1%). During 1995-2008 the overall incidence, incidence of culture negative cases, and incidence of cases due to S. aureus increased 2.2-5.8, 0.3-1.8, and 1.6-2.5 cases per 100 000 person years, respectively. The elderly had the highest incidence compared to those aged ≤70 years (rate ratio for men 5.9 (95% CI: 4.2-8.5) and for women 3.5 (95% CI: 2.3-5.3)). During 1995-2008 the overall incidence of S. aureus and culture negative cases of spondylodiscitis increased and remained highest among the elderly. Whether the increase is real or is a result of improved diagnostic methods and workup remains unknown. Copyright © 2013 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sex determination from the calcaneus in a 20th century Greek population using discriminant function analysis.

PubMed

Peckmann, Tanya R; Orr, Kayla; Meek, Susan; Manolis, Sotiris K

2015-12-01

The skull and post-cranium have been used for the determination of sex for unknown human remains. However, in forensic cases where skeletal remains often exhibit postmortem damage and taphonomic changes the calcaneus may be used for the determination of sex as it is a preservationally favored bone. The goal of the present research was to derive discriminant function equations from the calcaneus for estimation of sex from a contemporary Greek population. Nine parameters were measured on 198 individuals (103 males and 95 females), ranging in age from 20 to 99 years old, from the University of Athens Human Skeletal Reference Collection. The statistical analyses showed that all variables were sexually dimorphic. Discriminant function score equations were generated for use in sex determination. The average accuracy of sex classification ranged from 70% to 90% for the univariate analysis, 82.9% to 87.5% for the direct method, and 86.2% for the stepwise method. Comparisons to other populations were made. Overall, the cross-validated accuracies ranged from 48.6% to 56.1% with males most often identified correctly and females most often misidentified. The calcaneus was shown to be useful for sex determination in the twentieth century Greek population. Copyright © 2015 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sex estimation from the patella in an African American population.

PubMed

Peckmann, Tanya R; Fisher, Brooke

2018-02-01

The skull and pelvis have been used for the estimation of sex for unknown human remains. However, in forensic cases where skeletal remains often exhibit postmortem damage and taphonomic changes the patella may be used for the estimation of sex as it is a preservationally favoured bone. The goal of the present research was to derive discriminant function equations from the patella for estimation of sex from an historic African American population. Six parameters were measured on 200 individuals (100 males and 100 females), ranging in age from 20 to 80 years old, from the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Skeleton Collection. The statistical analyses showed that all variables were sexually dimorphic. Discriminant function score equations were generated for use in sex estimation. The overall accuracy of sex classification ranged from 80.0% to 85.0% for the direct method and 80.0%-84.5% for the stepwise method. Overall, when the Spanish and Black South African discriminant functions were applied to the African American population they showed low accuracy rates for sexing the African American sample. However, when the White South African discriminant functions were applied to the African American sample they displayed high accuracy rates for sexing the African American population. The patella was shown to be accurate for sex estimation in the historic African American population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

EEG Functional Connectivity Prior to Sleepwalking: Evidence of Interplay Between Sleep and Wakefulness

PubMed Central

Desjardins, Marie-Ève; Carrier, Julie; Lina, Jean-Marc; Fortin, Maxime; Gosselin, Nadia; Montplaisir, Jacques

2017-01-01

Abstract Study Objectives: Although sleepwalking (somnambulism) affects up to 4% of adults, its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Sleepwalking can be preceded by fluctuations in slow-wave sleep EEG signals, but the significance of these pre-episode changes remains unknown and methods based on EEG functional connectivity have yet to be used to better comprehend the disorder. Methods: We investigated the sleep EEG of 27 adult sleepwalkers (mean age: 29 ± 7.6 years) who experienced a somnambulistic episode during slow-wave sleep. The 20-second segment of sleep EEG immediately preceding each patient’s episode was compared with the 20-second segment occurring 2 minutes prior to episode onset. Results: Results from spectral analyses revealed increased delta and theta spectral power in the 20 seconds preceding the episodes’ onset as compared to the 20 seconds occurring 2 minutes before the episodes. The imaginary part of the coherence immediately prior to episode onset revealed (1) decreased delta EEG functional connectivity in parietal and occipital regions, (2) increased alpha connectivity over a fronto-parietal network, and (3) increased beta connectivity involving symmetric inter-hemispheric networks implicating frontotemporal, parietal and occipital areas. Conclusions: Taken together, these modifications in EEG functional connectivity suggest that somnambulistic episodes are preceded by brain processes characterized by the co-existence of arousal and deep sleep. PMID:28204773

Using a higher criticism statistic to detect modest effects in a genome-wide study of rheumatoid arthritis

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

In high-dimensional studies such as genome-wide association studies, the correction for multiple testing in order to control total type I error results in decreased power to detect modest effects. We present a new analytical approach based on the higher criticism statistic that allows identification of the presence of modest effects. We apply our method to the genome-wide study of rheumatoid arthritis provided in the Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 Problem 1 data set. There is evidence for unknown bias in this study that could be explained by the presence of undetected modest effects. We compared the asymptotic and empirical thresholds for the higher criticism statistic. Using the asymptotic threshold we detected the presence of modest effects genome-wide. We also detected modest effects using 90th percentile of the empirical null distribution as a threshold; however, there is no such evidence when the 95th and 99th percentiles were used. While the higher criticism method suggests that there is some evidence for modest effects, interpreting individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms with significant higher criticism statistics is of undermined value. The goal of higher criticism is to alert the researcher that genetic effects remain to be discovered and to promote the use of more targeted and powerful studies to detect the remaining effects. PMID:20018032

A combined Fisher and Laplacian score for feature selection in QSAR based drug design using compounds with known and unknown activities.

PubMed

Valizade Hasanloei, Mohammad Amin; Sheikhpour, Razieh; Sarram, Mehdi Agha; Sheikhpour, Elnaz; Sharifi, Hamdollah

2018-02-01

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is an effective computational technique for drug design that relates the chemical structures of compounds to their biological activities. Feature selection is an important step in QSAR based drug design to select the most relevant descriptors. One of the most popular feature selection methods for classification problems is Fisher score which aim is to minimize the within-class distance and maximize the between-class distance. In this study, the properties of Fisher criterion were extended for QSAR models to define the new distance metrics based on the continuous activity values of compounds with known activities. Then, a semi-supervised feature selection method was proposed based on the combination of Fisher and Laplacian criteria which exploits both compounds with known and unknown activities to select the relevant descriptors. To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed semi-supervised feature selection method in selecting the relevant descriptors, we applied the method and other feature selection methods on three QSAR data sets such as serine/threonine-protein kinase PLK3 inhibitors, ROCK inhibitors and phenol compounds. The results demonstrated that the QSAR models built on the selected descriptors by the proposed semi-supervised method have better performance than other models. This indicates the efficiency of the proposed method in selecting the relevant descriptors using the compounds with known and unknown activities. The results of this study showed that the compounds with known and unknown activities can be helpful to improve the performance of the combined Fisher and Laplacian based feature selection methods.

A combined Fisher and Laplacian score for feature selection in QSAR based drug design using compounds with known and unknown activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valizade Hasanloei, Mohammad Amin; Sheikhpour, Razieh; Sarram, Mehdi Agha; Sheikhpour, Elnaz; Sharifi, Hamdollah

2018-02-01

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is an effective computational technique for drug design that relates the chemical structures of compounds to their biological activities. Feature selection is an important step in QSAR based drug design to select the most relevant descriptors. One of the most popular feature selection methods for classification problems is Fisher score which aim is to minimize the within-class distance and maximize the between-class distance. In this study, the properties of Fisher criterion were extended for QSAR models to define the new distance metrics based on the continuous activity values of compounds with known activities. Then, a semi-supervised feature selection method was proposed based on the combination of Fisher and Laplacian criteria which exploits both compounds with known and unknown activities to select the relevant descriptors. To demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed semi-supervised feature selection method in selecting the relevant descriptors, we applied the method and other feature selection methods on three QSAR data sets such as serine/threonine-protein kinase PLK3 inhibitors, ROCK inhibitors and phenol compounds. The results demonstrated that the QSAR models built on the selected descriptors by the proposed semi-supervised method have better performance than other models. This indicates the efficiency of the proposed method in selecting the relevant descriptors using the compounds with known and unknown activities. The results of this study showed that the compounds with known and unknown activities can be helpful to improve the performance of the combined Fisher and Laplacian based feature selection methods.

Exploring the Self-Ownership Effect: Separating Stimulus and Response Biases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golubickis, Marius; Falben, Johanna K.; Cunningham, William A.; Macrae, C. Neil

2018-01-01

Although ownership is acknowledged to exert a potent influence on various aspects of information processing, the origin of these effects remains largely unknown. Based on the demonstration that self-relevance facilitates perceptual judgments (i.e., the self-prioritization effect), here we explored the possibility that ownership enhances object…

Infant iron status affects iron absorption in Peruvian breastfed infants at 2 and 5 mo of age

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Effects of prenatal iron supplementation on maternal postpartum iron status and early infant iron homeostasis remain largely unknown. We examined iron absorption and growth in exclusively breastfed infants in relation to fetal iron exposure and iron status during early infancy. Longitudinal, paired ...

Leadership Development in Higher Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eddy, Pamela; Rao, Michael

2009-01-01

A doctorate is increasingly a credential for community college leaders, yet much remains unknown about the structure of doctoral programs and links between course requirements and practitioner needs. Programs awarding an Ed.D. more often focus on skill-oriented coursework, whereas Ph.D. programs have greater emphasis on research. This study…

Application of a plasmid classification system to determine prevalence of replicon families among multidrug resistant enterococci

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The presence and transfer of plasmids from commensal bacteria to more pathogenic bacteria may contribute to dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. However, prevalence of plasmids from commensal bacteria in food animals such as the enterococci remains largely unknown. In this study, the prevale...

Iatrogenic Buschke's disease (Michelin man syndrome)

PubMed

Ahmad, N; Lawrence, J R; Macdonald, J W

1988-02-01

Scleredema [corrected] adultorum as originally described by Buschke in 1900, is cutaneous thickening of unknown aetiology. Since then several cases have been reported which have illustrated different aspects of the disease but the exact aetiology, pathogenesis and prognosis remain uncertain. Disease of possible iatrogenic origin appears not to have been described previously.

Specifying the Links between Household Chaos and Preschool Children's Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Anne; Razza, Rachel A.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2012-01-01

Household chaos has been linked to poorer cognitive, behavioural, and self-regulatory outcomes in young children, but the mechanisms responsible remain largely unknown. Using a diverse sample of families in Chicago, the present study tests for the independent contributions made by five indicators of household chaos: noise, crowding, family…

Active taste compounds in juice from oranges symptomatic for Huanglongbing (HLB) citrus greening disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), compromises the quality of citrus fruit and juice, causing increased bitterness, metallic taste, astringency and a burning mouthfeel. The chemical basis responsible for these changes remains largely unknown other than the roles of the bitte...

Mapping quantitative trait loci associated with chilling requirement, heat requirement and bloom date in peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Chilling requirement (CR), together with heat requirement (HR), determines blooming date (BD) and climatic distribution of genotypes of temperate tree species. However, information on the genetic components underlying these important traits remains unknown or fragmentary. Here the identification o...

Novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi.

PubMed

Alexander, Kathleen A; Laver, Pete N; Michel, Anita L; Williams, Mark; van Helden, Paul D; Warren, Robin M; Gey van Pittius, Nicolaas C

2010-08-01

Seven outbreaks involving increasing numbers of banded mongoose troops and high death rates have been documented. We identified a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi sp. nov., as the causative agent among banded mongooses that live near humans in Chobe District, Botswana. Host spectrum and transmission dynamics remain unknown.

Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation Changes Velopharyngeal Control in Parkinson's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammer, Michael J.; Barlow, Steven M.; Lyons, Kelly E.; Pahwa, Rajesh

2011-01-01

Purpose: Adequate velopharyngeal control is essential for speech, but may be impaired in Parkinson's disease (PD). Bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) improves limb function in PD, but the effects on velopharyngeal control remain unknown. We tested whether STN DBS would change aerodynamic measures of velopharyngeal…

Intercultural Identity and Intercultural Experiences of American Students in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tian, Mei; Lowe, John Anthony

2014-01-01

The number of international students in China is increasing rapidly, but their experiences in China remain largely unknown. This article reports an intensive longitudinal multiple case study that explores eight American students' intercultural experiences and the impacts of such experiences on individual identity during their study in a Chinese…

Vygotsky's Legacy: A Foundation for Research and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gredler, Margaret E.; Shields, Carolyn Claytor

2007-01-01

Most educators are familiar with Lev Vygotsky's concept of the "zone of proximal development," yet the bulk of Vygotsky's pioneering theory of cognitive development largely remains unknown. This volume provides a systematic, authoritative overview of Vygotsky's work and its implications for educational research and practice. Major topics include…

Potentially Novel Ehrlichia Species in Horses, Nicaragua

PubMed Central

O’Nion, Victoria L.; Montilla, Hernan J.; Qurollo, Barbara A.; Maggi, Ricardo G.; Hegarty, Barbara C.; Tornquist, Susan J.

2015-01-01

Ehrlichia sp. DNA was amplified from 4 Ehrlichia-seroreactive horses from Mérida, Nicaragua. Sequencing of 16S rDNA, sodB, and groEL genes indicated that the bacterium is most likely a novel Ehrlichia species. The tick vector and the potential for canine and human infection remain unknown. PMID:25625228

Information Technology: Perspectives and Trends.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Doug

The full impact of the current information technology and networking revolution remains unknown, but the experiences of organizations and individuals who are using the tools and resources offered by information technology suggest that it may change our social fabric. Some of the current and emerging trends in information technology include: the…

Site-specific circadian expression of leptin and its receptor in human adipose tissue

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Circadian variability of circulating leptin levels has been well established over the last decade. However, the circadian behavior of leptin in human adipose tissue remains unknown. This also applies to the soluble leptin receptor. We investigated the ex vivo circadian behavior of leptin and its rec...

Suicide Prevention in Juvenile Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Lindsay M.

2000-01-01

Youth suicide is recognized as a serious public health problem, but suicide within juvenile facilities has not received comparable attention, and the extent and nature of these deaths remain unknown. This article utilizes an example of a young man in a juvenile justice facility who succeeded in committing suicide to illustrate these points.…

Students' Perception of Homework Assignments and What Influences Their Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Letterman, Denise

2013-01-01

Authors have researched the effects of homework, but few studies have delved into the idea of students' attitude towards homework. Consequently, students' perception of homework, the principal participants, remains largely unknown. Students' experience in homework that started as early as elementary school has influenced their ideas of homework.…

Socioeconomic Status and Executive Function: Developmental Trajectories and Mediation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hackman, Daniel A.; Gallop, Robert; Evans, Gary W.; Farah, Martha J.

2015-01-01

Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) predicts executive function (EF), but fundamental aspects of this relation remain unknown: the developmental course of the SES disparity, its continued sensitivity to SES changes during that course, and the features of childhood experience responsible for the SES-EF relation. Regarding course, early disparities…

Hippocampal Shape Abnormalities of Patients with Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia and Their Unaffected Siblings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Sarah L. M.; Wang, Lei; Alpert, Kathryn I.; Greenstein, Deanna; Clasen, Liv; Lalonde, Francois; Miller, Rachel; Rapoport, Judith; Gogtay, Nitin

2013-01-01

Objective: The hippocampus has been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and hippocampal volume deficits have been a consistently reported abnormality, but the subregional specificity of the deficits remains unknown. The authors explored the nature and developmental trajectory of subregional shape abnormalities of the hippocampus in…

Brown adipose tissue activation is linked to distinct systemic effects on lipid metabolism in humans

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Recent studies suggest that brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a role in energy and glucose metabolism in humans. However, the physiological significance of human BAT in lipid metabolism remains unknown. We studied 16 overweight/obese men during prolonged, non-shivering cold and thermoneutral conditio...

Exposure to pairs of Aeromonas strains enhances virulence in the Caenorhabditis elegans infection model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aeromonad virulence remains poorly understood, and is difficult to predict from strain characteristics. In addition, infections are often polymicrobial (i.e., are mixed infections), and 5 -10% of such infections include two distinct aeromonads, which has an unknown impact on virulence. In this work,...

Acute esophageal necrosis and liver pathology, a rare combination

PubMed Central

Khan, Amir Maqbul; Hundal, Rangit; Ramaswamy, Vijaya; Korsten, Mark; Dhuper, Sunil

2004-01-01

Acute esophageal necrosis (AEN) or “black esophagus” is a clinical condition found at endoscopy. It is a rare entity the exact etiology of which remains unknown. We describe a case of ‘black esophagus’, first of its kind, in the setting of liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy. PMID:15285044

Longitudinal Associations of Student-Teacher Relationships and Behavioural and Emotional Strengths on Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sointu, Erkko T.; Savolainen, Hannu; Lappalainen, Kristiina; Lambert, Matthew C.

2017-01-01

Positive student-teacher relationships are related to students' academic achievement and behavioural and emotional adjustment. How a student's behavioural and emotional strengths are associated with these relationships and how the relationships influence students' academic performance remains unknown. We examined this framework using a…

Evaluating the impacts of the Panama Canal Expansion on Texas gulf ports.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

This report covers a four-year period after contractors started work on the third set of locks, which in 2015 will effectively double the size of the ship using the Panama Canal. Many of the impacts linked to the new locks remain unknown (like lock f...

A maize caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase gene confers quantitative resistance to multiple pathogens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Alleles that confer multiple disease resistance (MDR) are valuable in crop improvement though molecular mechanisms underlying their functions remain largely unknown. A QTL, qMdr9.02, associated with resistance to three important foliar maize diseases, southern leaf blight (SLB), gray leaf spot (GLS)...

56. AVALON DAM Photographic copy of historic photo, December ...

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

56. AVALON DAM - Photographic copy of historic photo, December 18, 1905 (original print located at the Carlsbad Irrigation District offices, Carlsbad, New Mexico) photographer unknown 'REMAINING PORTIONS OF WASHED OUT TEMPORARY DAM' - Carlsbad Irrigation District, Avalon Dam, On Pecos River, 4 miles North of Carlsbad, Carlsbad, Eddy County, NM

Cross-Situational Learning of Minimal Word Pairs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Escudero, Paola; Mulak, Karen E.; Vlach, Haley A.

2016-01-01

"Cross-situational statistical learning" of words involves tracking co-occurrences of auditory words and objects across time to infer word-referent mappings. Previous research has demonstrated that learners can infer referents across sets of very phonologically distinct words (e.g., WUG, DAX), but it remains unknown whether learners can…

Everyday Cognitive Failures and Memory Problems in Parkinson's Patients without Dementia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poliakoff, Ellen; Smith-Spark, James H.

2008-01-01

There is growing evidence that Parkinson's disease patients without dementia exhibit cognitive deficits in some executive, memory and selective attention tasks. However, the impact of these deficits on their everyday cognitive functioning remains largely unknown. This issue was explored using self-report questionnaires. Twenty-four Parkinson's…

Dietary rice protein isolate attenuates atherosclerosis in apoE-deficient mice by upregulating antioxidant enzymes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Rice-based diets may have been reported to protect against the development of atherosclerosis; however, the underlying mechanism(s) for this protection remains unknown. In this report, the mechanism(s) contributing to the atheroprotective effects of rice-based diet was addressed using the apolipopro...

USING THE MEDAKA EMBRYO ASSAY TO INVESTIGATE DEVELOPMENTAL ETHANOL TOXICITY.

EPA Science Inventory

Ethanol (EtOH) is a well-known developmental toxicant that produces a range of abnormal phenotypes. While the toxic potential of developmental EtOH exposure is well characterized, the effect of the timing of exposure on the extent of toxicity remains unknown. Fish models such as ...

Optimum Detection Of Slow-Frequency-Hopping Signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levitt, Barry K.; Cheng, Unjeng

1994-01-01

Two papers present theoretical analyses of various schemes for coherent and noncoherent detection of M-ary-frequency-shift-keyed (MFSK) signals with slow frequency hopping. Special attention focused on continuous-phase-modulation (CPM) subset of SFH/MFSK signals, for which frequency modulation such carrier phase remains continuous (albeit unknown) during each hop.

Phylogenetic analysis of of Sarcocystis nesbitti (Coccidia: Sarcocystidae) suggests a snake as its probable definitive host

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sarcocystis nesbitti was first described by Mandour in 1969 from rhesus monkey muscle. Its definitive host remains unknown. 18SrRNA gene of Sarcocystis nesbitti was amplified, sequenced, and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Among those congeners available for comparison, it shares closest affinit...

77 FR 55091 - National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, 2012

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-06

... Proclamation Every year, thousands of children across America are diagnosed with cancer--an often life-threatening illness that remains the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 15. The causes of pediatric cancer are still largely unknown, and though new discoveries are resulting in new...

Preschoolers' Fantasy-Reality Distinctions of Emotional Events

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrick, Nathalie; Ramirez, Madisenne

2012-01-01

Research suggests that emotions influence children's ability to discern fantasy from reality; however, reasons for this association remain unknown. The current research sought to better understand the mechanisms underlying children's distinctions by examining the roles discrete emotions and context have in 3- to 5-year-olds' evaluations of fantasy…

Striatal Sensitivity during Reward Processing in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paloyelis, Yannis; Mehta, Mitul A.; Faraone, Stephen V.; Asherson, Philip; Kuntsi, Jonna

2012-01-01

Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been linked to deficits in the dopaminergic reward-processing circuitry; yet, existing evidence is limited, and the influence of genetic variation affecting dopamine signaling remains unknown. We investigated striatal responsivity to rewards in ADHD combined type (ADHD-CT) using…

Gene expression profiling in chicken heterophils with Salmonella enteritidis stimulation using a chicken 44 K Agilent microarray

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) is one of the most common food-borne pathogens that cause human salmonellosis and usually results from the consumption of contaminated poultry products. The mechanism of SE resistance in chickens remains largely unknown. Previously, heterophils isolated...

Mounier-Kuhn syndrome: a case of tracheal smooth muscle remodeling.

PubMed

Cook, Daniel P; Adam, Ryan J; Abou Alaiwa, Mahmoud H; Eberlein, Michael; Klesney-Tait, Julia A; Parekh, Kalpaj R; Meyerholz, David K; Stoltz, David A

2017-02-01

Mounier-Kuhn syndrome is a rare clinical disorder characterized by tracheobronchial dilation and recurrent lower respiratory tract infections. While the etiology of the disease remains unknown, histopathological analysis of Mounier-Kuhn airways demonstrates that the disease is, in part, characterized by cellular changes in airway smooth muscle.

Drosophila Kruppel homolog 1 represses lipolysis through interactions with dFOXO

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key endocrine signal involved in insect molting and metamorphosis. Recent studies suggest that JH is involved in not only development programming, but also in metabolic control. However, how JH modulates metabolism remains largely unknown. It has been shown that JH induces...

Dyadic Processes in Early Marriage: Attributions, Behavior, and Marital Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durtschi, Jared A.; Fincham, Frank D.; Cui, Ming; Lorenz, Frederick O.; Conger, Rand D.

2011-01-01

Marital processes in early marriage are important for understanding couples' future marital quality. Spouses' attributions about a partner's behavior have been linked to marital quality, yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unknown. When we used couple data from the Family Transitions Project (N = 280 couples) across the…

Vascular Effects of a Subchronic Inhalation Exposure to Concentrated Ambient Air Particles in Atherosclerosis Susceptible Mice

EPA Science Inventory

Numerous studies have reported the adverse effects of particulate air pollution on cardiovascular function and disease. The causal physiochemical properties of particles and their mechanisms of action/injury remain unknown. This study examined the vascular effects in 15 wk old ma...

Programmatic Factors Associated with Undergraduate Athletic Training Student Retention and Attrition Decisions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowman, Thomas G.; Hertel, Jay; Wathington, Heather D.

2015-01-01

Context: Athletic training programs (ATPs) are charged with meeting an increased demand for athletic trainers with adequate graduates. Currently, the retention rate of athletic training students in ATPs nationwide and the programmatic factors associated with these retention rates remain unknown. Objective: Determine the retention rate for athletic…

Population structure and molecular characterization of Nigerian field genebank collections of cacao, Theobroma cacao L

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over the last 130 years since cacao introduction into Nigeria, genetic variability in cacao cultivated which has increased as a result of further introduction and breeding activities, remain largely unknown. To determine the genetic diversity and population structure of cacao populations, 13 cacao ...

Radiocarbon Evidence That Millennial and Fast-Cycling Soil Carbon are Equally Sensitive to Warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaughn, L. S.; Torn, M. S.; Porras, R. C.

2017-12-01

Within the century, the Arctic is expected to shift from a sink to a source of atmospheric CO2 due to climate-induced increases in soil carbon mineralization. The magnitude of this effect remains uncertain, due in large part to unknown temperature sensitivities of organic matter decomposition. In particular, the distribution of temperature sensitivities across soil carbon pools remains unknown. New experimental approaches are needed, because studies that fit multi-pool models to CO2 flux measurements may be sensitive to model assumptions, statistical effects, and non-steady-state changes in substrate availability or microbial activity. In this study, we developed a new methodology using natural abundance radiocarbon to evaluate temperature sensitivities across soil carbon pools. In two incubation experiments with soils from Barrow, AK, we (1) evaluated soil carbon age and decomposability, (2) disentangled the effects of temperature and substrate depletion on carbon mineralization, and (3) compared the temperature sensitivities of fast- and slow-cycling soil carbon pools. From a long-term incubation, both respired CO2 and the remaining soil organic matter were highly depleted in radiocarbon. At 20 cm depth, median Δ14C values were -167‰ in respired CO2 and -377‰ in soil organic matter, corresponding to turnover times of 1800 and 4800 years, respectively. Such negative Δ14C values indicate both storage and decomposition of old, stabilized carbon, while radiocarbon differences between the mineralized and non-mineralized fractions suggest that decomposability varies along a turnover time gradient. Applying a new analytical method combining CO2 flux and Δ14C, we found that fast- and slow-cycling carbon pools were equally sensitive to temperature, with a Q10 of 2 irrespective of turnover time. We conclude that in these Arctic soils, ancient soil carbon is vulnerable to warming under thawed, aerobic conditions. In contrast to many previous studies, we found no difference in temperature sensitivity of decomposition between fast- and slow-cycling pools. These findings suggest that in these soils, carbon stabilization mechanisms other than chemical recalcitrance mediate temperature sensitivities, and even old SOC will be readily decomposable as climate warms.

Target Capturing Control for Space Robots with Unknown Mass Properties: A Self-Tuning Method Based on Gyros and Cameras.

PubMed

Li, Zhenyu; Wang, Bin; Liu, Hong

2016-08-30

Satellite capturing with free-floating space robots is still a challenging task due to the non-fixed base and unknown mass property issues. In this paper gyro and eye-in-hand camera data are adopted as an alternative choice for solving this problem. For this improved system, a new modeling approach that reduces the complexity of system control and identification is proposed. With the newly developed model, the space robot is equivalent to a ground-fixed manipulator system. Accordingly, a self-tuning control scheme is applied to handle such a control problem including unknown parameters. To determine the controller parameters, an estimator is designed based on the least-squares technique for identifying the unknown mass properties in real time. The proposed method is tested with a credible 3-dimensional ground verification experimental system, and the experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Target Capturing Control for Space Robots with Unknown Mass Properties: A Self-Tuning Method Based on Gyros and Cameras

PubMed Central

Li, Zhenyu; Wang, Bin; Liu, Hong

2016-01-01

Satellite capturing with free-floating space robots is still a challenging task due to the non-fixed base and unknown mass property issues. In this paper gyro and eye-in-hand camera data are adopted as an alternative choice for solving this problem. For this improved system, a new modeling approach that reduces the complexity of system control and identification is proposed. With the newly developed model, the space robot is equivalent to a ground-fixed manipulator system. Accordingly, a self-tuning control scheme is applied to handle such a control problem including unknown parameters. To determine the controller parameters, an estimator is designed based on the least-squares technique for identifying the unknown mass properties in real time. The proposed method is tested with a credible 3-dimensional ground verification experimental system, and the experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. PMID:27589748

System and method for motor parameter estimation

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

Luhrs, Bin; Yan, Ting

2014-03-18

A system and method for determining unknown values of certain motor parameters includes a motor input device connectable to an electric motor having associated therewith values for known motor parameters and an unknown value of at least one motor parameter. The motor input device includes a processing unit that receives a first input from the electric motor comprising values for the known motor parameters for the electric motor and receive a second input comprising motor data on a plurality of reference motors, including values for motor parameters corresponding to the known motor parameters of the electric motor and values formore » motor parameters corresponding to the at least one unknown motor parameter value of the electric motor. The processor determines the unknown value of the at least one motor parameter from the first input and the second input and determines a motor management strategy for the electric motor based thereon.« less

Direct Solve of Electrically Large Integral Equations for Problem Sizes to 1M Unknowns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaeffer, John

2008-01-01

Matrix methods for solving integral equations via direct solve LU factorization are presently limited to weeks to months of very expensive supercomputer time for problems sizes of several hundred thousand unknowns. This report presents matrix LU factor solutions for electromagnetic scattering problems for problem sizes to one million unknowns with thousands of right hand sides that run in mere days on PC level hardware. This EM solution is accomplished by utilizing the numerical low rank nature of spatially blocked unknowns using the Adaptive Cross Approximation for compressing the rank deficient blocks of the system Z matrix, the L and U factors, the right hand side forcing function and the final current solution. This compressed matrix solution is applied to a frequency domain EM solution of Maxwell's equations using standard Method of Moments approach. Compressed matrix storage and operations count leads to orders of magnitude reduction in memory and run time.

Disregarding population specificity: its influence on the sex assessment methods from the tibia.

PubMed

Kotěrová, Anežka; Velemínská, Jana; Dupej, Ján; Brzobohatá, Hana; Pilný, Aleš; Brůžek, Jaroslav

2017-01-01

Forensic anthropology has developed classification techniques for sex estimation of unknown skeletal remains, for example population-specific discriminant function analyses. These methods were designed for populations that lived mostly in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Their level of reliability or misclassification is important for practical use in today's forensic practice; it is, however, unknown. We addressed the question of what the likelihood of errors would be if population specificity of discriminant functions of the tibia were disregarded. Moreover, five classification functions in a Czech sample were proposed (accuracies 82.1-87.5 %, sex bias ranged from -1.3 to -5.4 %). We measured ten variables traditionally used for sex assessment of the tibia on a sample of 30 male and 26 female models from recent Czech population. To estimate the classification accuracy and error (misclassification) rates ignoring population specificity, we selected published classification functions of tibia for the Portuguese, south European, and the North American populations. These functions were applied on the dimensions of the Czech population. Comparing the classification success of the reference and the tested Czech sample showed that females from Czech population were significantly overestimated and mostly misclassified as males. Overall accuracy of sex assessment significantly decreased (53.6-69.7 %), sex bias -29.4-100 %, which is most probably caused by secular trend and the generally high variability of body size. Results indicate that the discriminant functions, developed for skeletal series representing geographically and chronologically diverse populations, are not applicable in current forensic investigations. Finally, implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Detecting the Diversity of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma Endosymbionts Hosted by Trichomonas vaginalis Isolates

PubMed Central

Ioannidis, Anastasios; Papaioannou, Panagiota; Magiorkinis, Emmanouil; Magana, Maria; Ioannidou, Vasiliki; Tzanetou, Konstantina; Burriel, Angeliki R.; Tsironi, Maria; Chatzipanagiotou, Stylianos

2017-01-01

Objectives: The symbiosis of Trichomonas vaginalis and Mycoplasma hominis is the first described association between two obligate human parasites. Trichomonas is the niche and the vector for the transmission of M. hominis infection. This clinically significant symbiosis may affect T. vaginalis virulence and susceptibility to treatment. The aims of this study were to investigate the intracellularly present Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species in T. vaginalis strains isolated from the vaginal discharge of infected women as well as to trace the diversity pattern among the species detected in the isolated strains. Methods: Hundred pure T. vaginalis cultures were isolated from ~7,500 patient specimens presented with clinical purulent vaginitis. PCR and sequencing for Mycoplasma/Ureaplasma spp. were performed in DNA extracted from the pure cultures. In addition, vaginal discharge samples were cultured for the presence of M. hominis and U. urealyticum. Phylogenetic analysis assisted the identification of interspecies relationships between the Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma isolates. Results: Fifty four percentage of T. vaginalis isolates were harboring Mycoplasma spp. Phylogenetic analysis revealed three distinct clusters, two with already characterized M. hominis and Ureaplasma spp. (37% of total Mycoplasma spp.), whereas one group formed a distinct cluster matched with the newly identified species Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii (59.3%) and one or more unknown Mycoplasma spp. (3.7%). Conclusions: T. vaginalis strains associated with vaginal infection might host intracellular mycoplasmas or ureaplasmas. Intracellular Mollicutes that remain undetected in the extracellular environment when conventional diagnostic methods are implemented may comprise either novel species, such as Candidatus M. giredii, or unknown species with yet unexplored clinical significance. PMID:28702014

Combination of geophysical prospecting techniques into areas of high protection value: Identification of shallow volcanic structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez-Ortiz, David; Montesinos, Fuensanta G.; Martín-Crespo, Tomás; Solla, Mercedes; Arnoso, José; Vélez, Emilio

2014-10-01

Timanfaya National Park is a volcanic area located in the southwest of Lanzarote Island (Canary Islands, Spain). Several lava tubes have been found in the lava flows but many others remain unknown. Its location and identification are important to mitigate collapse hazards in this touristic area. We present a new study about the location of recent lava tubes by the analysis and joint interpretation of ground penetrating radar (GPR), microgravity and electromagnetic induction (EMI) data along the same profile over an area not previously surveyed. GPR data display a complex pattern of reflections up to ~ 10 m depth. The strongest hyperbolic reflections can be grouped in four different areas. Visual inspections carried out in the field allow confirming the occurrence of lava tubes at two of them. These reflections have been interpreted as the effect of the roof and bottom interfaces of several lava tubes. The microgravity survey defines a wide gravity low with several over-imposed minor highs and lows. Using the GPR data, a 2.5D gravity model has been obtained revealing four lava tubes. EMI data have been used to obtain an inverted resistivity model that displays four high resistivity areas that closely match the locations of the lava tubes derived from the previous methods. This resistivity model exhibits the lower resolution although reaches a deeper investigation depth (~ 20 m). The comparison of the results has revealed that joint interpretation of GPR, microgravity and EMI methods provides reliable models useful for the detection of unknown shallow lava tubes.

Surface Induced Dissociation Coupled with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Unveils Heterogeneity of a 211 kDa Multicopper Oxidase Protein Complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Mowei; Yan, Jing; Romano, Christine A.; Tebo, Bradley M.; Wysocki, Vicki H.; Paša-Tolić, Ljiljana

2018-01-01

Manganese oxidation is an important biogeochemical process that is largely regulated by bacteria through enzymatic reactions. However, the detailed mechanism is poorly understood due to challenges in isolating and characterizing these unknown enzymes. A manganese oxidase, Mnx, from Bacillus sp. PL-12 has been successfully overexpressed in active form as a protein complex with a molecular mass of 211 kDa. We have recently used surface induced dissociation (SID) and ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to release and detect folded subcomplexes for determining subunit connectivity and quaternary structure. The data from the native mass spectrometry experiments led to a plausible structural model of this multicopper oxidase, which has been difficult to study by conventional structural biology methods. It was also revealed that each Mnx subunit binds a variable number of copper ions. Becasue of the heterogeneity of the protein and limited mass resolution, ambiguities in assigning some of the observed peaks remained as a barrier to fully understanding the role of metals and potential unknown ligands in Mnx. In this study, we performed SID in a modified Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. The high mass accuracy and resolution offered by FTICR unveiled unexpected artificial modifications on the protein that had been previously thought to be iron bound species based on lower resolution spectra. Additionally, isotopically resolved spectra of the released subcomplexes revealed the metal binding stoichiometry at different structural levels. This method holds great potential for in-depth characterization of metalloproteins and protein-ligand complexes. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Diversity and Habitat Preferences of Cultivated and Uncultivated Aerobic Methanotrophic Bacteria Evaluated Based on pmoA as Molecular Marker

PubMed Central

Knief, Claudia

2015-01-01

Methane-oxidizing bacteria are characterized by their capability to grow on methane as sole source of carbon and energy. Cultivation-dependent and -independent methods have revealed that this functional guild of bacteria comprises a substantial diversity of organisms. In particular the use of cultivation-independent methods targeting a subunit of the particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) as functional marker for the detection of aerobic methanotrophs has resulted in thousands of sequences representing “unknown methanotrophic bacteria.” This limits data interpretation due to restricted information about these uncultured methanotrophs. A few groups of uncultivated methanotrophs are assumed to play important roles in methane oxidation in specific habitats, while the biology behind other sequence clusters remains still largely unknown. The discovery of evolutionary related monooxygenases in non-methanotrophic bacteria and of pmoA paralogs in methanotrophs requires that sequence clusters of uncultivated organisms have to be interpreted with care. This review article describes the present diversity of cultivated and uncultivated aerobic methanotrophic bacteria based on pmoA gene sequence diversity. It summarizes current knowledge about cultivated and major clusters of uncultivated methanotrophic bacteria and evaluates habitat specificity of these bacteria at different levels of taxonomic resolution. Habitat specificity exists for diverse lineages and at different taxonomic levels. Methanotrophic genera such as Methylocystis and Methylocaldum are identified as generalists, but they harbor habitat specific methanotrophs at species level. This finding implies that future studies should consider these diverging preferences at different taxonomic levels when analyzing methanotrophic communities. PMID:26696968

Active vibration control for piezoelectricity cantilever beam: an adaptive feedforward control method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qiao; Yue, Jun-Zhou; Liu, Wei-Qun; Wang, Xu-Dong; Chen, Jun; Hu, Guang-Di

2017-04-01

This work is focused on the active vibration control of piezoelectric cantilever beam, where an adaptive feedforward controller (AFC) is utilized to reject the vibration with unknown multiple frequencies. First, the experiment setup and its mathematical model are introduced. Due to that the channel between the disturbance and the vibration output is unknown in practice, a concept of equivalent input disturbance (EID) is employed to put an equivalent disturbance into the input channel. In this situation, the vibration control can be achieved by setting the control input be the identified EID. Then, for the EID with known multiple frequencies, the AFC is introduced to perfectly reject the vibration but is sensitive to the frequencies. In order to accurately identify the unknown frequencies of EID in presence of the random disturbances and un-modeled nonlinear dynamics, the time-frequency-analysis (TFA) method is employed to precisely identify the unknown frequencies. Consequently, a TFA-based AFC algorithm is proposed to the active vibration control with unknown frequencies. Finally, four cases are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed TFA-based AFC algorithm by experiment.

An efficient and flexible Abel-inversion method for noisy data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antokhin, Igor I.

2016-12-01

We propose an efficient and flexible method for solving the Abel integral equation of the first kind, frequently appearing in many fields of astrophysics, physics, chemistry, and applied sciences. This equation represents an ill-posed problem, thus solving it requires some kind of regularization. Our method is based on solving the equation on a so-called compact set of functions and/or using Tikhonov's regularization. A priori constraints on the unknown function, defining a compact set, are very loose and can be set using simple physical considerations. Tikhonov's regularization in itself does not require any explicit a priori constraints on the unknown function and can be used independently of such constraints or in combination with them. Various target degrees of smoothness of the unknown function may be set, as required by the problem at hand. The advantage of the method, apart from its flexibility, is that it gives uniform convergence of the approximate solution to the exact solution, as the errors of input data tend to zero. The method is illustrated on several simulated models with known solutions. An example of astrophysical application of the method is also given.

Fast Markerless Tracking for Augmented Reality in Planar Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basori, Ahmad Hoirul; Afif, Fadhil Noer; Almazyad, Abdulaziz S.; AbuJabal, Hamza Ali S.; Rehman, Amjad; Alkawaz, Mohammed Hazim

2015-12-01

Markerless tracking for augmented reality should not only be accurate but also fast enough to provide a seamless synchronization between real and virtual beings. Current reported methods showed that a vision-based tracking is accurate but requires high computational power. This paper proposes a real-time hybrid-based method for tracking unknown environments in markerless augmented reality. The proposed method provides collaboration of vision-based approach with accelerometers and gyroscopes sensors as camera pose predictor. To align the augmentation relative to camera motion, the tracking method is done by substituting feature-based camera estimation with combination of inertial sensors with complementary filter to provide more dynamic response. The proposed method managed to track unknown environment with faster processing time compared to available feature-based approaches. Moreover, the proposed method can sustain its estimation in a situation where feature-based tracking loses its track. The collaboration of sensor tracking managed to perform the task for about 22.97 FPS, up to five times faster than feature-based tracking method used as comparison. Therefore, the proposed method can be used to track unknown environments without depending on amount of features on scene, while requiring lower computational cost.

Previously unknown species of Aspergillus.

PubMed

Gautier, M; Normand, A-C; Ranque, S

2016-08-01

The use of multi-locus DNA sequence analysis has led to the description of previously unknown 'cryptic' Aspergillus species, whereas classical morphology-based identification of Aspergillus remains limited to the section or species-complex level. The current literature highlights two main features concerning these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species. First, the prevalence of such species in clinical samples is relatively high compared with emergent filamentous fungal taxa such as Mucorales, Scedosporium or Fusarium. Second, it is clearly important to identify these species in the clinical laboratory because of the high frequency of antifungal drug-resistant isolates of such Aspergillus species. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently been shown to enable the identification of filamentous fungi with an accuracy similar to that of DNA sequence-based methods. As MALDI-TOF MS is well suited to the routine clinical laboratory workflow, it facilitates the identification of these 'cryptic' Aspergillus species at the routine mycology bench. The rapid establishment of enhanced filamentous fungi identification facilities will lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology and clinical importance of these emerging Aspergillus species. Based on routine MALDI-TOF MS-based identification results, we provide original insights into the key interpretation issues of a positive Aspergillus culture from a clinical sample. Which ubiquitous species that are frequently isolated from air samples are rarely involved in human invasive disease? Can both the species and the type of biological sample indicate Aspergillus carriage, colonization or infection in a patient? Highly accurate routine filamentous fungi identification is central to enhance the understanding of these previously unknown Aspergillus species, with a vital impact on further improved patient care. Copyright © 2016 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radar Cross Section Prediction for Coated Perfect Conductors with Arbitrary Geometries.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-01-01

equivalent electric and magnetic surface currents as the desired unknowns. Triangular patch modelling is ap- plied to the boundary surfaces. The method of...matrix inversion for the unknown surface current coefficients. Huygens’ principle is again applied to calculate the scattered electric field produced...differential equations with the equivalent electric and magnetic surface currents as the desired unknowns. Triangular patch modelling is ap- plied to the

New Finite Difference Methods Based on IIM for Inextensible Interfaces in Incompressible Flows

PubMed Central

Li, Zhilin; Lai, Ming-Chih

2012-01-01

In this paper, new finite difference methods based on the augmented immersed interface method (IIM) are proposed for simulating an inextensible moving interface in an incompressible two-dimensional flow. The mathematical models arise from studying the deformation of red blood cells in mathematical biology. The governing equations are incompressible Stokes or Navier-Stokes equations with an unknown surface tension, which should be determined in such a way that the surface divergence of the velocity is zero along the interface. Thus, the area enclosed by the interface and the total length of the interface should be conserved during the evolution process. Because of the nonlinear and coupling nature of the problem, direct discretization by applying the immersed boundary or immersed interface method yields complex nonlinear systems to be solved. In our new methods, we treat the unknown surface tension as an augmented variable so that the augmented IIM can be applied. Since finding the unknown surface tension is essentially an inverse problem that is sensitive to perturbations, our regularization strategy is to introduce a controlled tangential force along the interface, which leads to a least squares problem. For Stokes equations, the forward solver at one time level involves solving three Poisson equations with an interface. For Navier-Stokes equations, we propose a modified projection method that can enforce the pressure jump condition corresponding directly to the unknown surface tension. Several numerical experiments show good agreement with other results in the literature and reveal some interesting phenomena. PMID:23795308

SU-E-T-207: Comparison of Integrated Tissue Air Ratio (ITAR) to Traditional TAR for Kilovoltage Pencil-Beams

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

Hanlon, J; Koruga, I; Chell, E

2015-06-15

Purpose: Clinically viable depth dose determination in kilovoltage pencil-beams is a great challenge that resulted in a published dosimetry method called ITAR, which involves measurement of air kerma and attenuation with a detector in a low scatter environment coupled with MCNP scatter calculations. The objective of this work is to compare ITAR to traditional TAR using inherently water-proof microchambers that have only recently become commercially available. Methods: An Exradin A26 microchamber was centered 150 mm from a 100 kVp x-ray source with 2 mm aluminum HVL. Depth dose in water from 16 to 24 mm in 2 mm increments wasmore » determined by: (1) placing blocks of Plastic Water LR near the source to minimize scatter and using previously published conversion coefficients [ITAR method] and (2) submerging the detector in a water tank with 2 mm thick Plastic Water LR walls and jogging the tank with motor controllers while keeping the detector position fixed [traditional TAR method]. Each method was repeated four to five times. For each repetition, dose was measured free in-air to normalize the data for exponential regression. Results: Traditional TAR indicated higher depth dose than ITAR; differences ranged from 2.1% at 24 mm depth to 2.5% at 16 mm depth. However, the results of traditional TAR did not include a correction for Pq,cham because it is unknown for this detector type in these conditions. It is estimated that the component of Pq,cham due to the effect of water displacement alone is ∼0.94, but Pq,cham is likely several percent larger than 0.94 due to the energy dependency of the microchamber in the presence of low energy scatter that is not present during in-air calibration. Conclusion: The ITAR method remains preferable for clinical depth dose determination in kilovoltage pencil-beams due to Pq,cham being unknown for suitable detectors in relevant conditions. All four of the authors are either current full time employees, which include stock option grants, or consultants of Oraya Therapeutics Inc.« less

Mass spectrometry for identification of proteins that specifically bind to a distal enhancer of the Oct4 gene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakhmet, E. I.; Nazarov, I. B.; Artamonova, T. O.; Khodorkovsky, M. A.; Tomilin, A. N.

2017-11-01

Transcription factor Oct4 is a marker of pluripotent stem cells and has a significant role in their self-renewal. Oct4 gene is controlled by three cis-regulatory elements - proximal promoter, proximal enhancer and distal enhancer. All of these elements are targets for binding of regulatory proteins. Distal enhancer is in our research focus because of its activity in early stages of embryonic development. There are two main sequences called site 2A and site 2B that are presented in distal enhancer. For this moment proteins which bind to a site 2A (CCCCTCCCCCC) remain unknown. Using combination of in vitro method electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and mass spectromery we identified several candidates that can regulate Oct4 gene expression through site 2A.

A Bayesian method for inferring transmission chains in a partially observed epidemic.

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

Marzouk, Youssef M.; Ray, Jaideep

2008-10-01

We present a Bayesian approach for estimating transmission chains and rates in the Abakaliki smallpox epidemic of 1967. The epidemic affected 30 individuals in a community of 74; only the dates of appearance of symptoms were recorded. Our model assumes stochastic transmission of the infections over a social network. Distinct binomial random graphs model intra- and inter-compound social connections, while disease transmission over each link is treated as a Poisson process. Link probabilities and rate parameters are objects of inference. Dates of infection and recovery comprise the remaining unknowns. Distributions for smallpox incubation and recovery periods are obtained from historicalmore » data. Using Markov chain Monte Carlo, we explore the joint posterior distribution of the scalar parameters and provide an expected connectivity pattern for the social graph and infection pathway.« less

Notes on interpretation of geophysical data over areas of mineralization in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drenth, Benjamin J.

2011-01-01

Afghanistan has the potential to contain substantial metallic mineral resources. Although valuable mineral deposits have been identified, much of the country's potential remains unknown. Geophysical surveys, particularly those conducted from airborne platforms, are a well-accepted and cost-effective method for obtaining information on the geological setting of a given area. This report summarizes interpretive findings from various geophysical surveys over selected mineral targets in Afghanistan, highlighting what existing data tell us. These interpretations are mainly qualitative in nature, because of the low resolution of available geophysical data. Geophysical data and simple interpretations are included for these six areas and deposit types: (1) Aynak: Sedimentary-hosted copper; (2) Zarkashan: Porphyry copper; (3) Kundalan: Porphyry copper; (4) Dusar Shaida: Volcanic-hosted massive sulphide; (5) Khanneshin: Carbonatite-hosted rare earth element; and (6) Chagai Hills: Porphyry copper.

From orientation to magnitudes in paleostress determinations using fault slip data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angelier, Jacques

Determinations of reduced stress tensors using fault slip data yield the orientation of principal stress axes and the ratio Φ of the differences between principal stress magnitudes. The use of rupture and friction laws allows determination of the two remaining unknowns, that is, the reconstruction of the complete stress tensor. Taking into account the depth of overburden brings an additional constraint. The method is applied and discussed in the case of the Hoover Dam site (western U.S.A.), where large data sets and rock mechanics information are available. Differences between intact sample and rock mass properties account for apparent disagreements between paleostress levels determined in similar tectonic environments. Pore pressure plays an important role; where information about pore pressure is absent, zero and hydrostatic pore pressure cases should be considered as limits.

Heralded noiseless amplification for single-photon entangled state with polarization feature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dan-Dan; Jin, Yu-Yu; Qin, Sheng-Xian; Zu, Hao; Zhou, Lan; Zhong, Wei; Sheng, Yu-Bo

2018-03-01

Heralded noiseless amplification is a promising method to overcome the transmission photon loss in practical noisy quantum channel and can effectively lengthen the quantum communication distance. Single-photon entanglement is an important resource in current quantum communications. Here, we construct two single-photon-assisted heralded noiseless amplification protocols for the single-photon two-mode entangled state and single-photon three-mode W state, respectively, where the single-photon qubit has an arbitrary unknown polarization feature. After the amplification, the fidelity of the single-photon entangled state can be increased, while the polarization feature of the single-photon qubit can be well remained. Both the two protocols only require the linear optical elements, so that they can be realized under current experimental condition. Our protocols may be useful in current and future quantum information processing.

A single footshock causes long-lasting hypoactivity in unknown environments that is dependent on the development of contextual fear conditioning.

PubMed

Daviu, Núria; Fuentes, Silvia; Nadal, Roser; Armario, Antonio

2010-09-01

Exposure to a single session of footshocks induces long-lasting inhibition of activity in unknown environments that markedly differ from the shock context. Interestingly, these effects are not necessarily associated to an enhanced anxiety and interpretation of this hypoactivity remains unclear. In the present experiment we further studied this phenomenon in male Sprague-Dawley rats. In a first experiment, a session of three shocks resulted in hypoactivity during exposure, 6-12days later, to three different unknown environments. This altered behaviour was not accompanied by a greater hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation, although greater HPA activation paralleling higher levels of freezing was observed in the shock context. In a second experiment we used a single shock and two procedures, one with pre-exposure to the context before the shock and another with immediate shock that did not induce contextual fear conditioning. Hypoactivity and a certain level of generalization of fear (freezing) to the unknown environments only appeared in the group that developed fear conditioning, but no evidence for enhanced anxiety in the elevated plus-maze was found in any group. The results suggest that if animals are able to associate an aversive experience with a distinct unknown environment, they would display more cautious behaviour in any unknown environment and such strategy persists despite repeated experience with different environments. This long-lasting cautious behaviour was not associated to greater HPA response to the unknown environment that was however observed in the shock context. The present findings raised some concerns about interpretation of long-lasting behavioural changes caused by brief stressors. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What is that mysterious booming sound?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hill, David P.

2011-01-01

The residents of coastal North Carolina are occasionally treated to sequences of booming sounds of unknown origin. The sounds are often energetic enough to rattle windows and doors. A recent sequence occurred in early January 2011 during clear weather with no evidence of local thunder storms. Queries by a local reporter (Colin Hackman of the NBC affiliate WETC in Wilmington, North Carolina, personal communication 2011) seemed to eliminate common anthropogenic sources such as sonic booms or quarry blasts. So the commonly asked question, “What's making these booming sounds?” remained (and remains) unanswered.

PubMed Central

Lang, Jean-Yves

1983-01-01

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the connective tissue, affecting many organs of the body. The cause of SLE remains unknown, but the results of recent immunologic research have enlighted the characteristics of this disease and have contributed to improve the prognosis over the years. The renal and central nervous system involvement, as well as infection, remain high in the list of mortality causes. The usual treatment includes acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), antimalarials and corticosteroids. Main factors known to induce SLE are: sun exposures, pregnancy, therapeutic abortion, infection and several drugs. PMID:21283476

Effective implementation of the weak Galerkin finite element methods for the biharmonic equation

DOE PAGES

Mu, Lin; Wang, Junping; Ye, Xiu

2017-07-06

The weak Galerkin (WG) methods have been introduced in [11, 12, 17] for solving the biharmonic equation. The purpose of this paper is to develop an algorithm to implement the WG methods effectively. This can be achieved by eliminating local unknowns to obtain a global system with significant reduction of size. In fact this reduced global system is equivalent to the Schur complements of the WG methods. The unknowns of the Schur complement of the WG method are those defined on the element boundaries. The equivalence of theWG method and its Schur complement is established. The numerical results demonstrate themore » effectiveness of this new implementation technique.« less

Effective implementation of the weak Galerkin finite element methods for the biharmonic equation

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

Mu, Lin; Wang, Junping; Ye, Xiu

The weak Galerkin (WG) methods have been introduced in [11, 12, 17] for solving the biharmonic equation. The purpose of this paper is to develop an algorithm to implement the WG methods effectively. This can be achieved by eliminating local unknowns to obtain a global system with significant reduction of size. In fact this reduced global system is equivalent to the Schur complements of the WG methods. The unknowns of the Schur complement of the WG method are those defined on the element boundaries. The equivalence of theWG method and its Schur complement is established. The numerical results demonstrate themore » effectiveness of this new implementation technique.« less

Snow water equivalent measured with cosmic-ray neutrons: reviving a little known but highly successful field method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desilets, D.

2012-12-01

Secondary cosmic-ray neutrons are attenuated strongly by water in either solid or liquid form, suggesting a method for measuring snow water equivalent that has several advantages over alternative technologies. The cosmic-ray attenuation method is passive, portable, highly adaptable, and operates over an exceptionally large range of snow pack thicknesses. But despite promising initial observations made in the 1970s, the technique today remains practically unknown to snow hydrologists. Side-by-side measurements performed over the past several years with a snow pillow and a submerged cosmic-ray probe demonstrate that the cosmic-ray attenuation method merits consideration for a wide range of applications—especially those where alternative methods are made problematic by dense vegetation, rough terrain, deep snowpack or a lack of vehicular access. During the snow-free season, the instrumentation can be used to monitor soil moisture, thus providing another widely sought field measurement. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, C.A., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

[The application of X-ray imaging in forensic medicine].

PubMed

Kučerová, Stěpánka; Safr, Miroslav; Ublová, Michaela; Urbanová, Petra; Hejna, Petr

2014-07-01

X-ray is the most common, basic and essential imaging method used in forensic medicine. It serves to display and localize the foreign objects in the body and helps to detect various traumatic and pathological changes. X-ray imaging is valuable in anthropological assessment of an individual. X-ray allows non-invasive evaluation of important findings before the autopsy and thus selection of the optimal strategy for dissection. Basic indications for postmortem X-ray imaging in forensic medicine include gunshot and explosive fatalities (identification and localization of projectiles or other components of ammunition, visualization of secondary missiles), sharp force injuries (air embolism, identification of the weapon) and motor vehicle related deaths. The method is also helpful for complex injury evaluation in abused victims or in persons where abuse is suspected. Finally, X-ray imaging still remains the gold standard method for identification of unknown deceased. With time modern imaging methods, especially computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, are more and more applied in forensic medicine. Their application extends possibilities of the visualization the bony structures toward a more detailed imaging of soft tissues and internal organs. The application of modern imaging methods in postmortem body investigation is known as digital or virtual autopsy. At present digital postmortem imaging is considered as a bloodless alternative to the conventional autopsy.

Reflective topical autobiography: an under utilised interpretive research method in nursing.

PubMed

Johnstone, M J

1999-01-01

Reflective topical autobiography (an autobiographical method) belongs to the genre of testimonial research and is located within the postpositivist interpretive research paradigm. Despite the (reflective) topical autobiographical method enjoying a 'rebirth' in recent years and being utilised by a range of researchers in the human and literary disciplines, it remains largely unknown and under utilised in nursing research domains. In this article it is proposed that reflective topical autobiography is an important research method in its own right, and one which promises to make a substantive contribution to the overall project of advancing nursing inquiry and knowledge. This is particularly so where nursing research shares in the affirming projects of interpretive research generally and the relatively new sociology of the emotions in particular apropos: (i) increasing understanding of subjectivity and making subjective experiences more visible and intelligible, (ii) the search for meaning and increasing understanding of the commonality of existential human experience, and (iii) decentring the detached observer and his/her privileging the objectivist illusion in the hierarchy of research discourses, paving the way for the admission of multiple realities and interpretations of lived experience. In this article, a coherent reflective topical autobiographical research method is advanced for use in nursing education and research contexts.

Evaluating the use of stable isotope analysis to infer the feeding ecology of a growing US gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) population.

PubMed

Lerner, Jacob E; Ono, Kathryn; Hernandez, Keith M; Runstadler, Jonathan A; Puryear, Wendy B; Polito, Michael J

2018-01-01

Gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) have been rapidly recolonizing the Northeast US coast, eliciting concern from the fishing industry. However, the ecological effect of this recovery is still unknown and as such, research is needed to better understand how the diet composition of gray seals in US waters will contribute to the ecological impact. While previous research on seal diets has focused on the analysis of hard prey remains, stable isotope analysis presents an alternative method that can be used to describe marine mammal diets when direct observation is impossible. To address this issue, we used stable isotope analysis of gray seal pup vibrissae and lanugo from Monomoy Island, Cape Cod, MA during the 2015/2016 winter breeding season to estimate adult female diet composition during pregnancy. Stable isotope mixing models (SIMM) suggested adult female gray seals were consuming greater amounts of cephalopod prey and less sand lance than previously indicated from analysis of hard prey remains. However, using SIMMs to estimate the diet composition of gray seals remains difficult due to the large number of isotopically similar prey species and uncertainty in tissue-specific, stable isotope trophic enrichment factors. Even so, by combining prey sources into ecologically informative groups and integrating prior information into SIMMs it is possible to obtain additional insights into the diet of this generalist predator.

The natural history of occult or angiodysplastic gastrointestinal bleeding in von Willebrand disease.

PubMed

Makris, M; Federici, A B; Mannucci, P M; Bolton-Maggs, P H B; Yee, T T; Abshire, T; Berntorp, E

2015-05-01

Recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the most challenging complications encountered in the management of patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD). The commonest cause is angiodysplasia, but often no cause is identified due to the difficulty in making the diagnosis. The optimal treatment to prevent recurrences remains unknown. We performed a retrospective study of VWD patients with occult or angiodysplastic bleeding within the setting of the von Willebrand Disease Prophylaxis Network (VWD PN) to describe diagnostic and treatment strategies. Centres participating in the VWD PN recruited subjects under their care with a history of congenital VWD and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding due to angiodysplasia, or cases in which the cause was not identified despite investigation. Patients with acquired von Willebrand syndrome or those for whom the GI bleeding was due to another cause were excluded. Forty-eight patients from 18 centres in 10 countries were recruited. Seven individuals had a family history of GI bleeding and all VWD types except 2N were represented. Angiodysplasia was confirmed in 38%, with video capsule endoscopy and GI tract endoscopies being the most common methods of making the diagnosis. Recurrent GI bleeding in VWD is associated with significant morbidity and required hospital admission on up to 30 occasions. Patients were treated with multiple pharmacological agents with prophylactic von Willebrand factor concentrate being the most efficient in preventing recurrence of the GI bleeding. The diagnosis and treatment of recurrent GI bleeding in congenital VWD remains challenging and is associated with significant morbidity. Prophylactic treatment with von Willebrand factor concentrate was the most effective method of preventing recurrent bleeding but its efficacy remains to be confirmed in a prospective study. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A highly precise frequency-based method for estimating the tension of an inclined cable with unknown boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Lin

2017-11-01

This paper develops a method for precisely determining the tension of an inclined cable with unknown boundary conditions. First, the nonlinear motion equation of an inclined cable is derived, and a numerical model of the motion of the cable is proposed using the finite difference method. The proposed numerical model includes the sag-extensibility, flexural stiffness, inclination angle and rotational stiffness at two ends of the cable. Second, the influence of the dynamic parameters of the cable on its frequencies is discussed in detail, and a method for precisely determining the tension of an inclined cable is proposed based on the derivatives of the eigenvalues of the matrices. Finally, a multiparameter identification method is developed that can simultaneously identify multiple parameters, including the rotational stiffness at two ends. This scheme is applicable to inclined cables with varying sag, varying flexural stiffness and unknown boundary conditions. Numerical examples indicate that the method provides good precision. Because the parameters of cables other than tension (e.g., the flexural stiffness and rotational stiffness at the ends) are not accurately known in practical engineering, the multiparameter identification method could further improve the accuracy of cable tension measurements.

Atmospheric turbulence profiling with unknown power spectral density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helin, Tapio; Kindermann, Stefan; Lehtonen, Jonatan; Ramlau, Ronny

2018-04-01

Adaptive optics (AO) is a technology in modern ground-based optical telescopes to compensate for the wavefront distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence. One method that allows to retrieve information about the atmosphere from telescope data is so-called SLODAR, where the atmospheric turbulence profile is estimated based on correlation data of Shack-Hartmann wavefront measurements. This approach relies on a layered Kolmogorov turbulence model. In this article, we propose a novel extension of the SLODAR concept by including a general non-Kolmogorov turbulence layer close to the ground with an unknown power spectral density. We prove that the joint estimation problem of the turbulence profile above ground simultaneously with the unknown power spectral density at the ground is ill-posed and propose three numerical reconstruction methods. We demonstrate by numerical simulations that our methods lead to substantial improvements in the turbulence profile reconstruction compared to the standard SLODAR-type approach. Also, our methods can accurately locate local perturbations in non-Kolmogorov power spectral densities.

Archaeology Through Computational Linguistics: Inscription Statistics Predict Excavation Sites of Indus Valley Artifacts.

PubMed

Recchia, Gabriel L; Louwerse, Max M

2016-11-01

Computational techniques comparing co-occurrences of city names in texts allow the relative longitudes and latitudes of cities to be estimated algorithmically. However, these techniques have not been applied to estimate the provenance of artifacts with unknown origins. Here, we estimate the geographic origin of artifacts from the Indus Valley Civilization, applying methods commonly used in cognitive science to the Indus script. We show that these methods can accurately predict the relative locations of archeological sites on the basis of artifacts of known provenance, and we further apply these techniques to determine the most probable excavation sites of four sealings of unknown provenance. These findings suggest that inscription statistics reflect historical interactions among locations in the Indus Valley region, and they illustrate how computational methods can help localize inscribed archeological artifacts of unknown origin. The success of this method offers opportunities for the cognitive sciences in general and for computational anthropology specifically. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

[Local Regression Algorithm Based on Net Analyte Signal and Its Application in Near Infrared Spectral Analysis].

PubMed

Zhang, Hong-guang; Lu, Jian-gang

2016-02-01

Abstract To overcome the problems of significant difference among samples and nonlinearity between the property and spectra of samples in spectral quantitative analysis, a local regression algorithm is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, net signal analysis method(NAS) was firstly used to obtain the net analyte signal of the calibration samples and unknown samples, then the Euclidean distance between net analyte signal of the sample and net analyte signal of calibration samples was calculated and utilized as similarity index. According to the defined similarity index, the local calibration sets were individually selected for each unknown sample. Finally, a local PLS regression model was built on each local calibration sets for each unknown sample. The proposed method was applied to a set of near infrared spectra of meat samples. The results demonstrate that the prediction precision and model complexity of the proposed method are superior to global PLS regression method and conventional local regression algorithm based on spectral Euclidean distance.

Predictive hypotheses are ineffectual in resolving complex biochemical systems.

PubMed

Fry, Michael

2018-03-20

Scientific hypotheses may either predict particular unknown facts or accommodate previously-known data. Although affirmed predictions are intuitively more rewarding than accommodations of established facts, opinions divide whether predictive hypotheses are also epistemically superior to accommodation hypotheses. This paper examines the contribution of predictive hypotheses to discoveries of several bio-molecular systems. Having all the necessary elements of the system known beforehand, an abstract predictive hypothesis of semiconservative mode of DNA replication was successfully affirmed. However, in defining the genetic code whose biochemical basis was unclear, hypotheses were only partially effective and supplementary experimentation was required for its conclusive definition. Markedly, hypotheses were entirely inept in predicting workings of complex systems that included unknown elements. Thus, hypotheses did not predict the existence and function of mRNA, the multiple unidentified components of the protein biosynthesis machinery, or the manifold unknown constituents of the ubiquitin-proteasome system of protein breakdown. Consequently, because of their inability to envision unknown entities, predictive hypotheses did not contribute to the elucidation of cation theories remained the sole instrument to explain complex bio-molecular systems, the philosophical question of alleged advantage of predictive over accommodative hypotheses became inconsequential.

Clinical pictures of unknown origin in neurology: past, present and future usefulness of artificial intelligence.

PubMed

Conti, Andrea A; Conti, Antonio; Masoni, Marco; Gensini, Gian Franco

2005-01-01

Although, in the course of the last 50 years, the achievements in the medical field have been astonishing, at the beginning of the third millennium a number of clinical pictures are still left without a precise nosographic origin. In the past, the delay in scientific communication was the main explanation presented for the lack of understanding of clinical pictures of unknown nosographic origin. The history of medicine provides excellent examples of this dispersion of human capital, even if the history of clinical neurology presents "exceptions" (the pictures that we now call de la Tourette's syndrome and Parkinson's disease) that indicate that major clinical syndromes could be clearly detected and relatively rapidly diffused even in the 19th century. Contrary to the past, the delay in scientific communication no longer seems an obstacle to the sharing of medical knowledge. Nevertheless, the problem of the in-depth comprehension of clinical pictures of unknown nosographic origin still remains dominant, mainly because of the limited spread of ample and flexible online accessible databases of unknown nosographic origin clinical syndromes. The need for interactive electronic archives and other artificial intelligence resources in order to promote progress in clinical knowledge is discussed in this paper.

Improving semi-text-independent method of writer verification using difference vector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Ding, Xiaoqing

2009-01-01

The semi-text-independent method of writer verification based on the linear framework is a method that can use all characters of two handwritings to discriminate the writers in the condition of knowing the text contents. The handwritings are allowed to just have small numbers of even totally different characters. This fills the vacancy of the classical text-dependent methods and the text-independent methods of writer verification. Moreover, the information, what every character is, is used for the semi-text-independent method in this paper. Two types of standard templates, generated from many writer-unknown handwritten samples and printed samples of each character, are introduced to represent the content information of each character. The difference vectors of the character samples are gotten by subtracting the standard templates from the original feature vectors and used to replace the original vectors in the process of writer verification. By removing a large amount of content information and remaining the style information, the verification accuracy of the semi-text-independent method is improved. On a handwriting database involving 30 writers, when the query handwriting and the reference handwriting are composed of 30 distinct characters respectively, the average equal error rate (EER) of writer verification reaches 9.96%. And when the handwritings contain 50 characters, the average EER falls to 6.34%, which is 23.9% lower than the EER of not using the difference vectors.

A new method for parameter estimation in nonlinear dynamical equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Liu; He, Wen-Ping; Liao, Le-Jian; Wan, Shi-Quan; He, Tao

2015-01-01

Parameter estimation is an important scientific problem in various fields such as chaos control, chaos synchronization and other mathematical models. In this paper, a new method for parameter estimation in nonlinear dynamical equations is proposed based on evolutionary modelling (EM). This will be achieved by utilizing the following characteristics of EM which includes self-organizing, adaptive and self-learning features which are inspired by biological natural selection, and mutation and genetic inheritance. The performance of the new method is demonstrated by using various numerical tests on the classic chaos model—Lorenz equation (Lorenz 1963). The results indicate that the new method can be used for fast and effective parameter estimation irrespective of whether partial parameters or all parameters are unknown in the Lorenz equation. Moreover, the new method has a good convergence rate. Noises are inevitable in observational data. The influence of observational noises on the performance of the presented method has been investigated. The results indicate that the strong noises, such as signal noise ratio (SNR) of 10 dB, have a larger influence on parameter estimation than the relatively weak noises. However, it is found that the precision of the parameter estimation remains acceptable for the relatively weak noises, e.g. SNR is 20 or 30 dB. It indicates that the presented method also has some anti-noise performance.

Neural Activity during Encoding Predicts False Memories Created by Misinformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okado, Yoko; Stark, Craig E. L.

2005-01-01

False memories are often demonstrated using the misinformation paradigm, in which a person's recollection of a witnessed event is altered after exposure to misinformation about the event. The neural basis of this phenomenon, however, remains unknown. The authors used fMRI to investigate encoding processes during the viewing of an event and…

Disambiguation of Novel Labels and Referential Facts: A Developmental Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalashnikova, Marina; Mattock, Karen; Monaghan, Padraic

2014-01-01

Disambiguation refers to children's tendency to assign novel labels to unfamiliar rather than familiar referents. It is employed as a word-learning strategy, but it remains unknown whether it is a domain-specific phenomenon or a manifestation of more general pragmatic competence. To assess the domain-specificity and development of disambiguation,…

76 FR 80395 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Bemidji, MN

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-23

... Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin; Bois Forte... Daily News Nov. 25th (Sat) 1911.'' Bags that contained the human remains were marked as MHS Unknown 1...

Active Music Classes in Infancy Enhance Musical, Communicative and Social Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerry, David; Unrau, Andrea; Trainor, Laurel J.

2012-01-01

Previous studies suggest that musical training in children can positively affect various aspects of development. However, it remains unknown as to how early in development musical experience can have an effect, the nature of any such effects, and whether different types of music experience affect development differently. We found that random…

Argentate(i) and (iii) complexes as intermediates in silver-mediated cross-coupling reactions.

PubMed

Weske, Sebastian; Hardin, Richard A; Auth, Thomas; O'Hair, Richard A J; Koszinowski, Konrad; Ogle, Craig A

2018-04-30

Despite the potential of silver to mediate synthetically valuable cross-coupling reactions, the operating mechanisms have remained unknown. Here, we use a combination of rapid-injection NMR spectroscopy, electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry, and quantum chemical calculations to demonstrate that these transformations involve argentate(i) and (iii) complexes as key intermediates.

Polydactyly in the central pacific gecko, Lepidodactylus sp. (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bauer, A.M.; Hathaway, S.A.; Fisher, R.N.

2009-01-01

We report the first known case of naturally occurring polydactyly in a gekkotan lizard. A single individual from Palmyra Atoll exhibited a triplication of digit III of the m hand. No obvious teratogenic sources are present on the atoll and the causal factors of polydactyly in Lepidodactylus sp. remain unknown.

Impaired Overt Facial Mimicry in Response to Dynamic Facial Expressions in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoshimura, Sayaka; Sato, Wataru; Uono, Shota; Toichi, Motomi

2015-01-01

Previous electromyographic studies have reported that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibited atypical patterns of facial muscle activity in response to facial expression stimuli. However, whether such activity is expressed in visible facial mimicry remains unknown. To investigate this issue, we videotaped facial responses in…

Dyslexia and Psycho-Social Functioning: An Exploratory Study of the Role of Self-Esteem and Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terras, Melody M.; Thompson, Lucy C.; Minnis, Helen

2009-01-01

Individuals with dyslexia may have lower self-esteem and exhibit more emotional and behavioural difficulties than those without reading problems. However, the nature of any relationship between self-esteem and psychopathology remains unknown. This exploratory study assessed levels of self-esteem using the "Self-Perception Profile for…

Constraints on Statistical Computations at 10 Months of Age: The Use of Phonological Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez-Gomez, Nayeli; Nazzi, Thierry

2015-01-01

Recently, several studies have argued that infants capitalize on the statistical properties of natural languages to acquire the linguistic structure of their native language, but the kinds of constraints which apply to statistical computations remain largely unknown. Here we explored French-learning infants' perceptual preference for…

An Investigation of the Mechanism Underlying Teacher Aggression: Testing I[superscript 3] Theory and the General Aggression Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montuoro, Paul; Mainhard, Tim

2017-01-01

Background: Considerable research has investigated the deleterious effects of teachers responding aggressively to students who misbehave, but the mechanism underlying this dysfunctional behaviour remains unknown. Aims: This study investigated whether the mechanism underlying teacher aggression follows I[superscript 3] theory or General Aggression…

First comprehensive inventory of a tropical site for a megadiverse group of insects, the true flies (Diptera)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tropical insect biodiversity remains largely unknown for most research sites in the world, due to the overwhelming number of species and lack of focus by taxonomists. Single-site studies are necessary, however to establish baselines for comparative studies across space, and as the basis for ecologic...

Blood and Brain Glutamate Levels in Children with Autistic Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassan, Tamer H.; Abdelrahman, Hadeel M.; Fattah, Nelly R. Abdel; El-Masry, Nagda M.; Hashim, Haitham M.; El-Gerby, Khaled M.; Fattah, Nermin R. Abdel

2013-01-01

Despite of the great efforts that move forward to clarify the pathophysiologic mechanisms in autism, the cause of this disorder, however, remains largely unknown. There is an increasing body of literature concerning neurochemical contributions to the pathophysiology of autism. We aimed to determine blood and brain levels of glutamate in children…

Silver speciation and release in commercial antimicrobial textiles as influenced by washing

EPA Science Inventory

The use of nanoscale Ag in textiles is one the most often mentioned uses of nano-Ag. It has previously been shown that significant amounts of the Ag in the textiles are released upon washing. However, the form of Ag present in the textiles remains largely unknown as product label...

Role of the Ventral Tegmental Area in Methamphetamine Extinction: AMPA Receptor-Mediated Neuroplasticity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen Han-Ting; Chen, Jin-Chung

2015-01-01

The molecular mechanisms underlying drug extinction remain largely unknown, although a role for medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) glutamate neurons has been suggested. Considering that the mPFC sends glutamate efferents to the ventral tegmental area (VTA), we tested whether the VTA is involved in methamphetamine (METH) extinction via conditioned…

Rett'S syndrome : a case report.

PubMed

Gupta, V

2001-01-01

Rett's syndrome is a rare condition affecting only the girl child. It presents as a pervasive developmental disorder with a remarkable behavioural phenotype. The cause for this remains unknown but genetic factors and brain dysfunction have been implicated. This case report emphasises the importance of being aware of rare yet significant disorders of interest to neuro-developmental psychiatrists.

Recent human history governs global ant invasion dynamics

Treesearch

Cleo Bertelsmeier; Sébastien Ollier; Andrew Liebhold; Laurent Keller

2017-01-01

Human trade and travel are breaking down biogeographic barriers, resulting in shifts in the geographical distribution of organisms, yet it remains largely unknown whether different alien species generally follow similar spatiotemporal colonization patterns and how such patterns are driven by trends in global trade. Here, we analyse the global distribution of 241 alien...

Cooperation between the Hippocampus and the Striatum during Episodic Encoding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadeh, Talya; Shohamy, Daphna; Levy, Dana Rubi; Reggev, Niv; Maril, Anat

2011-01-01

The hippocampus and the striatum are thought to play distinct roles in learning and memory, each supporting an independent memory system. A fundamental question is whether, and how, these systems interact to jointly contribute to learning and memory. In particular, it remains unknown whether the striatum contributes selectively to implicit,…

Student Engagement in Long-Term Collaborative EFL Storytelling Activities: An Analysis of Learners with English Proficiency Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yun-Yin; Liu, Chen-Chung; Wang, Yu; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Lin, Hung-Ming

2017-01-01

English proficiency difference among students is a challenging pedagogical issue in EFL classrooms worldwide. Collaborative digital storytelling has been adopted in language learning settings to increase motivation and engagement, especially for young learners. However, it remains unknown whether students of different proficiency levels can…

Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability and Monocyte Infiltration in Experimental Allergic Encephalomyelitis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Floris, S.; Blezer, E. L. A.; Schreibelt, G.; Dopp, E.; van der Pol, S. M. A.; Schadee-Eestermans, I. L.; Nicolay, K.; Dijkstra, C. D.; de Vries, H. E.

2004-01-01

Enhanced cerebrovascular permeability and cellular infiltration mark the onset of early multiple sclerosis lesions. So far, the precise sequence of these events and their role in lesion formation and disease progression remain unknown. Here we provide quantitative evidence that blood-brain barrier leakage is an early event and precedes massive…

A CRTCal link between energy and life span.

PubMed

Brunet, Anne

2011-04-06

Cutting down calories prolongs life, but how this works remains largely unknown. A recent study in Nature (Mair et al., 2011) shows that life span extension triggered by the energy-sensing protein kinase AMPK is mediated by an evolutionarily conserved transcriptional circuit involving CRTC-1 and CREB. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ground Ant Diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Iberá Nature Reserve, the Largest Wetland of Argentina

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Iberá Nature Reserve in northeastern Argentina protects one of the largest freshwater wetlands and reservoirs of species in South America. However, key invertebrate groups such as the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) remain almost unknown. The main objective of this work was to study the ground an...

Toward Professional Integration in the Humanities: One Teacher-Researcher's Experience with Portraiture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Lisa Marie

2011-01-01

This article is both an argument for and an example of portraiture, a methodology for conducting and presenting qualitative research which, though familiar to many social scientists and educational researchers, remains relatively unknown within the humanities. The author details one kind of practice within the scholarship of teaching and…

Inhibition of snowshoe hare succinate dehydrogenase activity as a mechanism of deterrence for papyriferic acid in birch

Treesearch

Jennifer Sorensen Forbey; Xinzhu Pu; Dong Xu; Knut Kielland; John Bryant

2011-01-01

The plant secondary metabolite papyriferic acid (PA) deters browsing by snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) on the juvenile developmental stage of the Alaska paper birch (Betula neoalaskana). However, the physiological mechanism that reduces browsing remains unknown. We used pharmacological assays and molecular modeling to test the...

Dietary Soy Protein Isolate Ameliorates Atherosclerotic Lesions in Apolipoprotein E-Deficient Mice Potentially by Inhibiting Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Expression

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soy-based diets reportedly protect against the development of atherosclerosis; however, the underlying mechanism(s) for this protection remains unknown. In this report, the mechanism(s) contributing to the atheroprotective effects of a soy-based diet was addressed using the apolipoprotein E knockout...

The ERa-PI3K cascade in proopiomelanocortin progenitor neurons regulates feeding and glucose balance in female mice

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Estrogens act upon estrogen receptor (ER)a to inhibit feeding and improve glucose homeostasis in female animals. However, the intracellular signals that mediate these estrogenic actions remain unknown. Here, we report that anorexigenic effects of estrogens are blunted in female mice that lack ERa sp...

Long-term skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with hypermetabolism in severely burned children

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The long-term impact of burn trauma on skeletal muscle bioenergetics remains unknown. Here, we determined respiratory capacity and function of skeletal muscle mitochondria in healthy individuals and in burn victims for up to two years post-injury. Biopsies were collected from the m. vastus lateralis...

76 FR 78925 - Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-20

... Project Asthma Education Study: Making Health Care Providers Better Asthma Educators--New-National Center... disorder. Asthma accounts for 17 million health care visits and more than 3,400 deaths per year. All of... causes of asthma remain unknown, and there exists no cure. In the absence of means to eliminate the...

Understanding Immigrant College Students: Applying a Developmental Ecology Framework to the Practice of Academic Advising

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stebleton, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Immigrant college student populations continue to grow, but the complexity of their unique needs and issues remain relatively unknown. To gain a better understanding of the multiple contextual factors impacting immigrant students from a systems-based approach, I applied Bronfenbrenner's (1977) human ecology framework to the study. Students…

Process and Outcome in Cardiac Rehabilitation: An Examination of Cross-Lagged Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evon, Donna M.; Burns, John W.

2004-01-01

Cardiac rehabilitation patients improve cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life, yet therapeutic processes that produce these changes remain unknown. A cross-lagged panel design was used to determine whether early-treatment enhancement of self-efficacy regarding abilities to change diet and exercise habits and the quality of the…

Understory Restoration in Longleaf Pine Plantations: Overstory Effects of Competition and Needlefall

Treesearch

Christa M. Dagley; Timothy B. Harrington; M. Boyd Edwards

2002-01-01

Overstory and midstory vegetation layers strongly limit abundance and species richness of understory herbaceous plants in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) plantations. However, the separate effects of overstory competition and needlefall remain unknown and are the subject of this study. Four levels of overstory thinning were applied to 0.10-...

Preschool Children with and without Developmental Delay: Risk, Parenting, and Child Demandingness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Mallory A.; McIntyre, Laura Lee; Crnic, Keith A.; Baker, Bruce L.; Blacher, Jan

2011-01-01

Although past literature has established relations between early child risk factors, negative parenting, and problematic child behavior, the nature of these interrelations and pathways of influence over time remains largely unknown, especially in children with developmental delays or disabilities. In the current study, data were drawn from the…

Distributed Learning Enhances Relational Memory Consolidation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Litman, Leib; Davachi, Lila

2008-01-01

It has long been known that distributed learning (DL) provides a mnemonic advantage over massed learning (ML). However, the underlying mechanisms that drive this robust mnemonic effect remain largely unknown. In two experiments, we show that DL across a 24 hr interval does not enhance immediate memory performance but instead slows the rate of…

An RNA-seq transcriptome analysis of orthophosphate-deficient white lupin reveals novel insights into phosphorus acclimation in plants

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Phosphorus (P) is one of the most limiting macronutrients in soils for plant growth and development. However, the whole genome molecular mechanisms contributing to plant acclimation to Pi-deficiency remains largely unknown. White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) has evolved unique adaptation systems for gro...

Oxalic acid biosynthesis is encoded by an operon in Burkholderia glumae

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although the biosynthesis of oxalic acid is known to occur in a number of bacteria, the mechanism(s) regulating its production remains largely unknown. To date, there is no report on the identification of an oxalic acid biosynthetic pathway gene from bacteria. In an attempt to identify such a gene...

Investigating Chinese Preschool Teachers' Beliefs in Mathematics Teaching from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Xia; Liu, Song; DeBey, Mary; McFadden, Karen; Pan, Yue-Juan

2018-01-01

In China, preschool curriculum has undergone reform and profound changes. Much remains unknown, however, regarding preschool teachers' teaching beliefs after 30 years of curriculum reform and adaptation. This study aimed to address the issue and investigate teachers' beliefs concerning teaching mathematics. Twelve preschool teachers in China…

Musicality Correlates with Sociability and Emotionality in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Rowena; Lai, Philip; Levitin, Daniel J.; Bellugi, Ursula

2013-01-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder characterized by peaks and valleys of cognitive abilities. One peak that has been understudied is the affinity that many individuals with WS have with music. It remains unknown whether their high levels of musical interest, skill, and expressivity are related to their sociable…

Emotional Creativity and Real-Life Involvement in Different Types of Creative Leisure Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trnka, Radek; Zahradnik, Martin; Kuška, Martin

2016-01-01

The role of emotional creativity in practicing creative leisure activities and in the preference of college majors remains unknown. This study aims to explore how emotional creativity measured by the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI; Averill, 1999) is interrelated with the real-life involvement in different types of specific creative leisure…

GAP-43 Gene Expression Regulates Information Storage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holahan, Matthew R.; Honegger, Kyle S.; Tabatadze, Nino; Routtenberg, Aryeh

2007-01-01

Previous reports have shown that overexpression of the growth- and plasticity-associated protein GAP-43 improves memory. However, the relation between the levels of this protein to memory enhancement remains unknown. Here, we studied this issue in transgenic mice (G-Phos) overexpressing native, chick GAP-43. These G-Phos mice could be divided at…

Behavioral Parent Training in Child Welfare: Maintenance and Booster Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Camp, Carole M.; Montgomery, Jan L.; Vollmer, Timothy R.; Kosarek, Judith A.; Happe, Shawn; Burgos, Vanessa; Manzolillo, Anthony

2008-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of a 30-hr behavioral parent training program at increasing skill accuracy. However, it remains unknown whether skills acquisitions are maintained on a long-term basis. Few studies have evaluated the maintenance of skills learned during behavioral parent training for foster parents. The purpose of…

Exposures to Emissions from Combustion of Biodiesel Fuels (B100/B20) Elicit Differential Responses in Redox-Sensitive Pathways

EPA Science Inventory

Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) is associated with higher risk for cardiopulmonary diseases but mechanisms for the effects remain unknown. Combustion of biodiesel fuels (BD) is associated with lower emission of PM but the health consequences of exposure to exhaust fr...

Competitive Food Sales in Schools and Childhood Obesity: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Hook, Jennifer; Altman, Claire E.

2012-01-01

The vast majority of American middle schools and high schools sell what are known as "competitive foods," such as soft drinks, candy bars, and chips, to children. The relationship between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and snacks and childhood obesity is well established, but it remains unknown whether competitive food sales in…

Autistic Symptomatology, Face Processing Abilities, and Eye Fixation Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirchner, Jennifer C.; Hatri, Alexander; Heekeren, Hauke R.; Dziobek, Isabel

2011-01-01

Deviant gaze behavior is a defining characteristic of autism. Its relevance as a pathophysiological mechanism, however, remains unknown. In the present study, we compared eye fixations of 20 adults with autism and 21 controls while they were engaged in taking the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). Additional measures of face emotion and identity…

Apo-10'-lycopenoic acid inhibits cancer cell migration and angiogenesis and induces peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Scope: We have previously shown that apo-10'-lycopenoic acid (ALA), a derivative of lycopene through cleavage by carotene-9',10'-oxygenase, inhibits tumor progression and metastasis in both liver and lung cancer animal models. The underlying mechanism remains unknown. We hypothesized that ALA inhibi...

Mechanisms Underlying Lexical Access in Native and Second Language Processing of Gender and Number Agreement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romanova, Natalia

2013-01-01

Despite considerable evidence suggesting that second language (L2) learners experience difficulties when processing morphosyntactic aspects of L2 in online tasks, the mechanisms underlying these difficulties remain unknown. The aim of this dissertation is to explore possible causes for the difficulties by comparing attentional mechanisms engaged…

Patients "Embodied" and "As-a-Body" within Bedside Teaching Encounters: A Video Ethnographic Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elsey, Christopher; Challinor, Alexander; Monrouxe, Lynn V.

2017-01-01

Bedside teaching encounters (BTEs) involve doctor-patient-student interactions, providing opportunities for students to learn with, from and about patients. How the differing concerns of patient care and student education are balanced in situ remains largely unknown and undefined. This video ethnographic study explores "patient…

Relating Stress of Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities to Family-School Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Meghan M.; Hodapp, Robert M.

2014-01-01

Although mothers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high levels of stress and schools constitute an important resource, the relation remains unknown between maternal stress and educational services. Responding to a national, web-based survey, 965 mothers of students with disabilities completed a 163-item…

Teachers' Capacities to Meet Students' Additional Support Needs in Mainstream Primary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruggink, M.; Goei, S. L.; Koot, H. M.

2016-01-01

Mainstream primary school teachers generally acknowledge the need to implement adaptive teaching; however, meeting a variety of students' needs is a challenge. Studies have addressed the conditions under which teachers attribute their (in)capacities, but these have mainly involved vignettes. Therefore, it remains unknown whether teachers are…

Time-Varying Effects of Family Ethnic Socialization on Ethnic-Racial Identity Development among Latino Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglass, Sara; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.

2016-01-01

Previous research has established that family ethnic socialization messages promote ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development, yet it is unknown whether these effects remain constant throughout adolescence. The current study examined the time-varying effects of family ethnic socialization on ERI exploration and resolution among Latino adolescents…

When Autism and Deafness Coexist in Children: What We Know Now

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szymanski, Christen; Brice, Patrick J.

2008-01-01

While many explanations have been offered for the increased rate of autism, the true cause remains unknown. Nonetheless, in the United States, "diagnoses of autism are increasing faster than any other diagnosis of developmental disability in children." But this statement, like others pertaining to the characteristics of autism and the relevant…

Vinpocetine Attenuates the Osteoblastic Differentiation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiu-Juan; Wang, Na; Yi, Peng-Fei; Song, Min; Zhang, Bo; Wang, Yu-Zhong; Liang, Qiu-Hua

2016-01-01

Vascular calcification is an active process of osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells; however, its definite mechanism remains unknown. Vinpocetine, a derivative of the alkaloid vincamine, has been demonstrated to inhibit the high glucose-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells; however, it remains unknown whether vinpocetine can affect the osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. We hereby investigated the effect of vinpocetine on vascular calcification using a beta-glycerophosphate-induced cell model. Our results showed that vinpocetine significantly reduced the osteoblast-like phenotypes of vascular smooth muscle cells including ALP activity, osteocalcin, collagen type I, Runx2 and BMP-2 expression as well as the formation of mineralized nodule. Vinpocetine, binding to translocation protein, induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase and Akt and thus inhibited the translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B into the nucleus. Silencing of translocator protein significantly attenuated the inhibitory effect of vinpocetine on osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Taken together, vinpocetine may be a promising candidate for the clinical therapy of vascular calcification. PMID:27589055

Mechanisms of right heart disease in pulmonary hypertension (2017 Grover Conference Series).

PubMed

Asosingh, Kewal; Erzurum, Serpil

2018-01-01

Current dogma is that pathological hypertrophy of the right ventricle is a direct consequence of pulmonary vascular remodeling. However, progression of right ventricle dysfunction is not always lung-dependent. Increased afterload caused by pulmonary vascular remodeling initiates the right ventricle hypertrophy, but determinants leading to adaptive or maladaptive hypertrophy and failure remain unknown. Ischemia in a hypertrophic right ventricle may directly contribute to right heart failure. Rapidly enlarging cardiomyocytes switch from aerobic to anaerobic energy generation resulting in cell growth under relatively hypoxic conditions. Cardiac muscle reacts to an increased afterload by over-activation of the sympathetic system and uncoupling and downregulation of β-adrenergic receptors. Recent studies suggest that β blocker therapy in PH is safe, well tolerated, and preserves right ventricle function and cardiac output by reducing right ventricular glycolysis. Fibrosis, an evolutionary conserved process in host defense and wound healing, is dysregulated in maladaptive cardiac tissue contributing directly to right ventricle failure. Despite several mechanisms having been suggested in right heart disease, the causes of maladaptive cardiac remodeling remain unknown and require further research.

Molecular Architecture of Full-length TRF1 Favors Its Interaction with DNA.

PubMed

Boskovic, Jasminka; Martinez-Gago, Jaime; Mendez-Pertuz, Marinela; Buscato, Alberto; Martinez-Torrecuadrada, Jorge Luis; Blasco, Maria A

2016-10-07

Telomeres are specific DNA-protein structures found at both ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that protect the genome from degradation and from being recognized as double-stranded breaks. In vertebrates, telomeres are composed of tandem repeats of the TTAGGG sequence that are bound by a six-subunit complex called shelterin. Molecular mechanisms of telomere functions remain unknown in large part due to lack of structural data on shelterins, shelterin complex, and its interaction with the telomeric DNA repeats. TRF1 is one of the best studied shelterin components; however, the molecular architecture of the full-length protein remains unknown. We have used single-particle electron microscopy to elucidate the structure of TRF1 and its interaction with telomeric DNA sequence. Our results demonstrate that full-length TRF1 presents a molecular architecture that assists its interaction with telometic DNA and at the same time makes TRFH domains accessible to other TRF1 binding partners. Furthermore, our studies suggest hypothetical models on how other proteins as TIN2 and tankyrase contribute to regulate TRF1 function. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Clinical implications of basic science discoveries: nociceptive neurons as targets to control immunity--potential relevance for transplantation.

PubMed

Larregina, A T; Divito, S J; Morelli, A E

2015-06-01

Increasing evidence indicates the existence of a complex cross-regulation between the most important biosensors of the human body: The immune and nervous systems. Cytokines control body temperature and trigger autoimmune disorders in the central nervous system, whereas neuropeptides released in peripheral tissues and lymphoid organs modulate inflammatory (innate) and adaptive immune responses. Surprisingly, the effects of nerve fibers and the antidromic release of its pro-inflammatory neuropeptides on the leukocytes of the immune system that mediate graft rejection are practically unknown. In the transplantation field, such area of research remains practically unexplored. A recent study by Riol-Blanco et al has revealed new details on how nociceptive nerves regulate the pro-inflammatory function of leukocytes in peripheral tissues. Although the mechanism(s) by which neuroinflammation affects the immune response against the allograft remains unknown, recent data suggest that this new area of research is worth exploring for potential development of novel complementary therapies for prevention/treatment of graft rejection. © Copyright 2015 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Adaptive and Innate Immune Responsiveness to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Exposed Asymptomatic Children and Children with Previous Clinical Lyme Borreliosis

PubMed Central

Skogman, Barbro H.; Hellberg, Sandra; Ekerfelt, Christina; Jenmalm, Maria C.; Forsberg, Pia; Ludvigsson, Johnny; Bergström, Sven; Ernerudh, Jan

2012-01-01

Why some individuals develop clinical manifestations in Lyme borreliosis (LB) while others remain asymptomatic is largely unknown. Therefore, we wanted to investigate adaptive and innate immune responsiveness to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in exposed Borrelia-antibody-positive asymptomatic children (n = 20), children with previous clinical LB (n = 24), and controls (n = 20). Blood samples were analyzed for Borrelia-specific interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-4, and IL-17 secretion by ELISPOT and Borrelia-induced IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12(p70), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) secretion by Luminex. We found no significant differences in cytokine secretion between groups, but a tendency towards an increased spontaneous secretion of IL-6 was found among children with previous clinical LB. In conclusion, the adaptive or innate immune responsiveness to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was similar in Borrelia-exposed asymptomatic children and children with previous clinical LB. Thus, the immunological mechanisms of importance for eradicating the spirochete effectively without developing clinical manifestations of LB remain unknown. PMID:22190976

Gentamicin: effect on E. coli in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kacena, M. A.; Todd, P.

1999-01-01

Previous investigations have shown that liquid bacterial cultures grown in space flight were not killed as effectively by antibiotic treatments as were cultures grown on Earth. However, the cause for the decreased antibiotic effectiveness remains unknown. Possible explanations include modified cell proliferation and modified antibiotic transport in the culture medium. Escherichia coli cultures were grown in space flight (STS-69 and STS-73), with and without gentamicin, on a solid agar substrate thus eliminating fluid effects and reducing the unknowns associated with space-flight bacterial cultures in suspension. This research showed that E. coli cultures grown in flight on agar for 24 to 27 hours experienced a heightened growth compared to simultaneous controls. However, addition of gentamicin to the agar killed the bacteria such that both flight and ground control E. coli samples had similar final cell concentrations. Therefore, while the reported existence of a decrease in antibiotic effectiveness in liquid cultures remains unexplained, these data suggest that gentamicin in space flight was at least as effective as, if not more effective than, on Earth, when E. coli cells were grown on agar.

Molecular Architecture of Full-length TRF1 Favors Its Interaction with DNA*

PubMed Central

Boskovic, Jasminka; Martinez-Gago, Jaime; Mendez-Pertuz, Marinela; Buscato, Alberto; Martinez-Torrecuadrada, Jorge Luis; Blasco, Maria A.

2016-01-01

Telomeres are specific DNA-protein structures found at both ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that protect the genome from degradation and from being recognized as double-stranded breaks. In vertebrates, telomeres are composed of tandem repeats of the TTAGGG sequence that are bound by a six-subunit complex called shelterin. Molecular mechanisms of telomere functions remain unknown in large part due to lack of structural data on shelterins, shelterin complex, and its interaction with the telomeric DNA repeats. TRF1 is one of the best studied shelterin components; however, the molecular architecture of the full-length protein remains unknown. We have used single-particle electron microscopy to elucidate the structure of TRF1 and its interaction with telomeric DNA sequence. Our results demonstrate that full-length TRF1 presents a molecular architecture that assists its interaction with telometic DNA and at the same time makes TRFH domains accessible to other TRF1 binding partners. Furthermore, our studies suggest hypothetical models on how other proteins as TIN2 and tankyrase contribute to regulate TRF1 function. PMID:27563064

Metagenomic chromosome conformation capture (meta3C) unveils the diversity of chromosome organization in microorganisms

PubMed Central

Marbouty, Martial; Cournac, Axel; Flot, Jean-François; Marie-Nelly, Hervé; Mozziconacci, Julien; Koszul, Romain

2014-01-01

Genomic analyses of microbial populations in their natural environment remain limited by the difficulty to assemble full genomes of individual species. Consequently, the chromosome organization of microorganisms has been investigated in a few model species, but the extent to which the features described can be generalized to other taxa remains unknown. Using controlled mixes of bacterial and yeast species, we developed meta3C, a metagenomic chromosome conformation capture approach that allows characterizing individual genomes and their average organization within a mix of organisms. Not only can meta3C be applied to species already sequenced, but a single meta3C library can be used for assembling, scaffolding and characterizing the tridimensional organization of unknown genomes. By applying meta3C to a semi-complex environmental sample, we confirmed its promising potential. Overall, this first meta3C study highlights the remarkable diversity of microorganisms chromosome organization, while providing an elegant and integrated approach to metagenomic analysis. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03318.001 PMID:25517076

Ureaplasma Transmitted From Donor Lungs Is Pathogenic After Lung Transplantation.

PubMed

Fernandez, Ramiro; Ratliff, Amy; Crabb, Donna; Waites, Ken B; Bharat, Ankit

2017-02-01

Hyperammonemia is a highly fatal syndrome in lung recipients that is usually refractory to medical therapy. We recently reported that infection by a Mollicute, Ureaplasma, is causative for hyperammonemia and can be successfully treated with antimicrobial agents. However, it remains unknown whether the pathogenic strain of Ureaplasma is donor or recipient derived. Here we provide evidence that donor-derived Ureaplasma infection can be pathogenic. As such, we uncover a previously unknown lethal donor-derived opportunistic infection in lung recipients. Given the high mortality associated with hyperammonemia, strategies for routine donor screening or prophylaxis should be further evaluated in prospective studies. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Off-Policy Integral Reinforcement Learning Method to Solve Nonlinear Continuous-Time Multiplayer Nonzero-Sum Games.

PubMed

Song, Ruizhuo; Lewis, Frank L; Wei, Qinglai

2017-03-01

This paper establishes an off-policy integral reinforcement learning (IRL) method to solve nonlinear continuous-time (CT) nonzero-sum (NZS) games with unknown system dynamics. The IRL algorithm is presented to obtain the iterative control and off-policy learning is used to allow the dynamics to be completely unknown. Off-policy IRL is designed to do policy evaluation and policy improvement in the policy iteration algorithm. Critic and action networks are used to obtain the performance index and control for each player. The gradient descent algorithm makes the update of critic and action weights simultaneously. The convergence analysis of the weights is given. The asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system and the existence of Nash equilibrium are proved. The simulation study demonstrates the effectiveness of the developed method for nonlinear CT NZS games with unknown system dynamics.

Neuro-adaptive backstepping control of SISO non-affine systems with unknown gain sign.

PubMed

Ramezani, Zahra; Arefi, Mohammad Mehdi; Zargarzadeh, Hassan; Jahed-Motlagh, Mohammad Reza

2016-11-01

This paper presents two neuro-adaptive controllers for a class of uncertain single-input, single-output (SISO) nonlinear non-affine systems with unknown gain sign. The first approach is state feedback controller, so that a neuro-adaptive state-feedback controller is constructed based on the backstepping technique. The second approach is an observer-based controller and K-filters are designed to estimate the system states. The proposed method relaxes a priori knowledge of control gain sign and therefore by utilizing the Nussbaum-type functions this problem is addressed. In these methods, neural networks are employed to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions. The proposed adaptive control schemes guarantee that all the closed-loop signals are semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB). Finally, the theoretical results are numerically verified through simulation examples. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Copyright © 2016 ISA. All rights reserved.

Sustainable intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface-a critical view on the status quo.

PubMed

Vienken, T; Schelenz, S; Rink, K; Dietrich, P

2015-01-01

Thermal use of the shallow subsurface for heat generation, cooling, and thermal energy storage is increasingly gaining importance in reconsideration of future energy supplies. Shallow geothermal energy use is often promoted as being of little or no costs during operation, while simultaneously being environmentally friendly. Hence, the number of installed systems has rapidly risen over the last few decades, especially among newly built houses. While the carbon dioxide reduction potential of this method remains undoubted, concerns about sustainability and potential negative effects on the soil and groundwater due to an intensified use have been raised-even as far back as 25 years ago. Nevertheless, consistent regulation and management schemes for the intensified thermal use of the shallow subsurface are still missing-mainly due to a lack of system understanding and process knowledge. In the meantime, large geothermal applications, for example, residential neighborhoods that are entirely dependent up on shallow geothermal energy use or low enthalpy aquifer heat storage, have been developed throughout Europe. Potential negative effects on the soil and groundwater due to an intensive thermal use of the shallow subsurface as well as the extent of potential system interaction still remain unknown. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

Potomac horse fever.

PubMed

Palmer, J E

1993-08-01

E. risticii, the cause of classic Potomac horse fever, is now known to produce two disease syndromes: EEC and EEA. The pathogen appears to commonly infect horses based on seroepidemiologic studies; however, the method of transmission remains unknown. The most common clinical disease is EEC, commonly called Potomac horse fever, which presents a wide spectrum of clinical signs. Diagnosis is currently dependent on serology, which frequently does not lead to a definitive diagnosis and at best results in a retrospective diagnosis. A new diagnostic approach, polymerase chain reaction, may offer a rapid and accurate diagnostic test but is yet to be proven. Antimicrobials found to be highly effective in treating EEC include intravenous oxytetracycline and the oral combination of erythromycin and rifampin. Without an understanding of the mode of transmission, prevention of EEC will remain impossible. Although two commercial bacterins are available, vaccination does not result in complete protection. EEA is a recently recognized clinical syndrome caused by E. risticii. After recovery from EEC, pregnant mares may abort. Based on histologic examination, the aborted fetus appears to be a victim of an ehrlichial colitis as well as placentitis. The effect of antimicrobials and vaccination on the occurrence of EEA has yet to be investigated.

Bicarbonate diffusion through mucus.

PubMed

Livingston, E H; Miller, J; Engel, E

1995-09-01

The mucus layer overlying duodenal epithelium maintains a pH gradient against high luminal acid concentrations. Despite these adverse conditions, epithelial surface pH remains close to neutrality. The exact nature of the gradient-forming barrier remains unknown. The barrier consists of mucus into which HCO3- is secreted. Quantification of the ability of HCO3- to establish and maintain the gradient depends on accurate measurement of this ion's diffusion coefficient through mucus. We describe new experimental and mathematical methods for diffusion measurement and report diffusion coefficients for HCO3- diffusion through saline, 5% mucin solutions, and rat duodenal mucus. The diffusion coefficients were 20.2 +/- 0.10, 3.02 +/- 0.31, and 1.81 +/- 0.12 x 10(-6) cm2/s, respectively. Modeling of the mucobicarbonate layer with this latter value suggests that for conditions of high luminal acid strength the neutralization of acid by HCO3- occurs just above the epithelial surface. Under these conditions the model predicts that fluid convection toward the lumen could be important in maintaining the pH gradient. In support of this hypothesis we were able to demonstrate a net luminal fluid flux of 5 microliters.min-1.cm-2 after perfusion of 0.15 N HCl in the rat duodenum.

Quantification of the impact of precipitation spatial distribution uncertainty on predictive uncertainty of a snowmelt runoff model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacquin, A. P.

2012-04-01

This study is intended to quantify the impact of uncertainty about precipitation spatial distribution on predictive uncertainty of a snowmelt runoff model. This problem is especially relevant in mountain catchments with a sparse precipitation observation network and relative short precipitation records. The model analysed is a conceptual watershed model operating at a monthly time step. The model divides the catchment into five elevation zones, where the fifth zone corresponds to the catchment's glaciers. Precipitation amounts at each elevation zone i are estimated as the product between observed precipitation at a station and a precipitation factor FPi. If other precipitation data are not available, these precipitation factors must be adjusted during the calibration process and are thus seen as parameters of the model. In the case of the fifth zone, glaciers are seen as an inexhaustible source of water that melts when the snow cover is depleted.The catchment case study is Aconcagua River at Chacabuquito, located in the Andean region of Central Chile. The model's predictive uncertainty is measured in terms of the output variance of the mean squared error of the Box-Cox transformed discharge, the relative volumetric error, and the weighted average of snow water equivalent in the elevation zones at the end of the simulation period. Sobol's variance decomposition (SVD) method is used for assessing the impact of precipitation spatial distribution, represented by the precipitation factors FPi, on the models' predictive uncertainty. In the SVD method, the first order effect of a parameter (or group of parameters) indicates the fraction of predictive uncertainty that could be reduced if the true value of this parameter (or group) was known. Similarly, the total effect of a parameter (or group) measures the fraction of predictive uncertainty that would remain if the true value of this parameter (or group) was unknown, but all the remaining model parameters could be fixed. In this study, first order and total effects of the group of precipitation factors FP1- FP4, and the precipitation factor FP5, are calculated separately. First order and total effects of the group FP1- FP4 are much higher than first order and total effects of the factor FP5, which are negligible This situation is due to the fact that the actual value taken by FP5 does not have much influence in the contribution of the glacier zone to the catchment's output discharge, mainly limited by incident solar radiation. In addition to this, first order effects indicate that, in average, nearly 25% of predictive uncertainty could be reduced if the true values of the precipitation factors FPi could be known, but no information was available on the appropriate values for the remaining model parameters. Finally, the total effects of the precipitation factors FP1- FP4 are close to 41% in average, implying that even if the appropriate values for the remaining model parameters could be fixed, predictive uncertainty would be still quite high if the spatial distribution of precipitation remains unknown. Acknowledgements: This research was funded by FONDECYT, Research Project 1110279.

Harnessing Diversity towards the Reconstructing of Large Scale Gene Regulatory Networks

PubMed Central

Yamanaka, Ryota; Kitano, Hiroaki

2013-01-01

Elucidating gene regulatory network (GRN) from large scale experimental data remains a central challenge in systems biology. Recently, numerous techniques, particularly consensus driven approaches combining different algorithms, have become a potentially promising strategy to infer accurate GRNs. Here, we develop a novel consensus inference algorithm, TopkNet that can integrate multiple algorithms to infer GRNs. Comprehensive performance benchmarking on a cloud computing framework demonstrated that (i) a simple strategy to combine many algorithms does not always lead to performance improvement compared to the cost of consensus and (ii) TopkNet integrating only high-performance algorithms provide significant performance improvement compared to the best individual algorithms and community prediction. These results suggest that a priori determination of high-performance algorithms is a key to reconstruct an unknown regulatory network. Similarity among gene-expression datasets can be useful to determine potential optimal algorithms for reconstruction of unknown regulatory networks, i.e., if expression-data associated with known regulatory network is similar to that with unknown regulatory network, optimal algorithms determined for the known regulatory network can be repurposed to infer the unknown regulatory network. Based on this observation, we developed a quantitative measure of similarity among gene-expression datasets and demonstrated that, if similarity between the two expression datasets is high, TopkNet integrating algorithms that are optimal for known dataset perform well on the unknown dataset. The consensus framework, TopkNet, together with the similarity measure proposed in this study provides a powerful strategy towards harnessing the wisdom of the crowds in reconstruction of unknown regulatory networks. PMID:24278007

As solid as a rock-comparison of CE- and MPS-based analyses of the petrosal bone as a source of DNA for forensic identification of challenging cranial bones.

PubMed

Kulstein, Galina; Hadrys, Thorsten; Wiegand, Peter

2018-01-01

Short tandem repeat (STR) typing from skeletal remains can be a difficult task. Dependent on the environmental conditions of the provenance of the bones, DNA can be degraded and STR typing inhibited. Generally, dense and compact bones are known to preserve DNA better. Several studies already proved that femora and teeth have high DNA typing success rates. Unfortunately, these elements are not present in all cases involving skeletal remains. Processing partial or singular skeletal elements, it is favorable to select bone areas where DNA preservation is comparably higher. Especially, cranial bones are often accidentally discovered during criminal investigations. The cranial bone is composed of multiple parts. In this examination, we evaluated the potential of the petrous bone for human identification of skeletal remains in forensic case work. Material from different sections of eight unknown cranial bones and-where available-additionally other skeletal elements, collected at the DNA department of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Ulm, Germany, from 2010 to 2017, were processed with an optimized DNA extraction and STR typing strategy. The results highlight that STR typing from the petrous bones leads to reportable profiles in all individuals, even in cases where the analysis of the parietal bone failed. Moreover, the comparison of capillary electrophorese (CE) typing to massively parallel sequencing (MPS) analysis shows that MPS has the potential to analyze degraded human remains and is even capable to provide additional information about phenotype and ancestry of unknown individuals.

Clinical manifestations and enzymatic activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes in Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome with 3-methylglutaconic aciduria: a case report and literature review.

PubMed

Sato, Takeshi; Muroya, Koji; Hanakawa, Junko; Iwano, Reiko; Asakura, Yumi; Tanaka, Yukichi; Murayama, Kei; Ohtake, Akira; Hasegawa, Tomonobu; Adachi, Masanori

2015-12-01

Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome (PS) is a rare mitochondrial disorder. Impaired mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (MRCC) differ among individuals and organs, which accounts for variable clinical pictures. A subset of PS patients develop 3-methylglutaconic aciduria (3-MGA-uria), but the characteristic symptoms and impaired MRCC remain unknown. Our patient, a girl, developed pancytopenia, hyperlactatemia, steatorrhea, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, liver dysfunction, Fanconi syndrome, and 3-MGA-uria. She died from cerebral hemorrhage at 3 years of age. We identified a novel 5.4-kbp deletion of mitochondrial DNA. The enzymatic activities of MRCC I and IV were markedly reduced in the liver and muscle and mildly reduced in skin fibroblasts and the heart. To date, urine organic acid analysis has been performed on 29 PS patients, including our case. Eight patients had 3-MGA-uria, while only one patient did not. The remaining 20 patients were not reported to have 3-MGA-uria. In this paper, we included these 20 patients as PS patients without 3-MGA-uria. PS patients with and without 3-MGA-uria have similar manifestations. Only a few studies have examined the enzymatic activities of MRCC. No clinical characteristics distinguish between PS patients with and without 3-MGA-uria. The correlation between 3-MGA-uria and the enzymatic activities of MRCC remains to be elucidated. • The clinical characteristics of patients with Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome and 3-methylglutaconic aciduria remain unknown. • No clinical characteristics distinguish between Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome patients with and without 3-methylglutaconic aciduria.

MoCha: Molecular Characterization of Unknown Pathways.

PubMed

Lobo, Daniel; Hammelman, Jennifer; Levin, Michael

2016-04-01

Automated methods for the reverse-engineering of complex regulatory networks are paving the way for the inference of mechanistic comprehensive models directly from experimental data. These novel methods can infer not only the relations and parameters of the known molecules defined in their input datasets, but also unknown components and pathways identified as necessary by the automated algorithms. Identifying the molecular nature of these unknown components is a crucial step for making testable predictions and experimentally validating the models, yet no specific and efficient tools exist to aid in this process. To this end, we present here MoCha (Molecular Characterization), a tool optimized for the search of unknown proteins and their pathways from a given set of known interacting proteins. MoCha uses the comprehensive dataset of protein-protein interactions provided by the STRING database, which currently includes more than a billion interactions from over 2,000 organisms. MoCha is highly optimized, performing typical searches within seconds. We demonstrate the use of MoCha with the characterization of unknown components from reverse-engineered models from the literature. MoCha is useful for working on network models by hand or as a downstream step of a model inference engine workflow and represents a valuable and efficient tool for the characterization of unknown pathways using known data from thousands of organisms. MoCha and its source code are freely available online under the GPLv3 license.

Dynamic modelling and adaptive robust tracking control of a space robot with two-link flexible manipulators under unknown disturbances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xinxin; Ge, Shuzhi Sam; He, Wei

2018-04-01

In this paper, both the closed-form dynamics and adaptive robust tracking control of a space robot with two-link flexible manipulators under unknown disturbances are developed. The dynamic model of the system is described with assumed modes approach and Lagrangian method. The flexible manipulators are represented as Euler-Bernoulli beams. Based on singular perturbation technique, the displacements/joint angles and flexible modes are modelled as slow and fast variables, respectively. A sliding mode control is designed for trajectories tracking of the slow subsystem under unknown but bounded disturbances, and an adaptive sliding mode control is derived for slow subsystem under unknown slowly time-varying disturbances. An optimal linear quadratic regulator method is proposed for the fast subsystem to damp out the vibrations of the flexible manipulators. Theoretical analysis validates the stability of the proposed composite controller. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the performance of the closed-loop flexible space robot system.

Model Reduction via Principe Component Analysis and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, R.; Chen, J.; Hoversten, M. G.; Luo, J.

2011-12-01

Geophysical and hydrogeological inverse problems often include a large number of unknown parameters, ranging from hundreds to millions, depending on parameterization and problems undertaking. This makes inverse estimation and uncertainty quantification very challenging, especially for those problems in two- or three-dimensional spatial domains. Model reduction technique has the potential of mitigating the curse of dimensionality by reducing total numbers of unknowns while describing the complex subsurface systems adequately. In this study, we explore the use of principal component analysis (PCA) and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling methods for model reduction through the use of synthetic datasets. We compare the performances of three different but closely related model reduction approaches: (1) PCA methods with geometric sampling (referred to as 'Method 1'), (2) PCA methods with MCMC sampling (referred to as 'Method 2'), and (3) PCA methods with MCMC sampling and inclusion of random effects (referred to as 'Method 3'). We consider a simple convolution model with five unknown parameters as our goal is to understand and visualize the advantages and disadvantages of each method by comparing their inversion results with the corresponding analytical solutions. We generated synthetic data with noise added and invert them under two different situations: (1) the noised data and the covariance matrix for PCA analysis are consistent (referred to as the unbiased case), and (2) the noise data and the covariance matrix are inconsistent (referred to as biased case). In the unbiased case, comparison between the analytical solutions and the inversion results show that all three methods provide good estimates of the true values and Method 1 is computationally more efficient. In terms of uncertainty quantification, Method 1 performs poorly because of relatively small number of samples obtained, Method 2 performs best, and Method 3 overestimates uncertainty due to inclusion of random effects. However, in the biased case, only Method 3 correctly estimates all the unknown parameters, and both Methods 1 and 2 provide wrong values for the biased parameters. The synthetic case study demonstrates that if the covariance matrix for PCA analysis is inconsistent with true models, the PCA methods with geometric or MCMC sampling will provide incorrect estimates.

A reactive, scalable, and transferable model for molecular energies from a neural network approach based on local information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unke, Oliver T.; Meuwly, Markus

2018-06-01

Despite the ever-increasing computer power, accurate ab initio calculations for large systems (thousands to millions of atoms) remain infeasible. Instead, approximate empirical energy functions are used. Most current approaches are either transferable between different chemical systems, but not particularly accurate, or they are fine-tuned to a specific application. In this work, a data-driven method to construct a potential energy surface based on neural networks is presented. Since the total energy is decomposed into local atomic contributions, the evaluation is easily parallelizable and scales linearly with system size. With prediction errors below 0.5 kcal mol-1 for both unknown molecules and configurations, the method is accurate across chemical and configurational space, which is demonstrated by applying it to datasets from nonreactive and reactive molecular dynamics simulations and a diverse database of equilibrium structures. The possibility to use small molecules as reference data to predict larger structures is also explored. Since the descriptor only uses local information, high-level ab initio methods, which are computationally too expensive for large molecules, become feasible for generating the necessary reference data used to train the neural network.

Single reaction, real time RT-PCR detection of all known avian and human metapneumoviruses.

PubMed

Lemaitre, E; Allée, C; Vabret, A; Eterradossi, N; Brown, P A

2018-01-01

Current molecular methods for the detection of avian and human metapneumovirus (AMPV, HMPV) are specifically targeted towards each virus species or individual subgroups of these. Here a broad range SYBR Green I real time RT-PCR was developed which amplified a highly conserved fragment of sequence in the N open reading frame. This method was sufficiently efficient and specific in detecting all MPVs. Its validation according to the NF U47-600 norm for the four AMPV subgroups estimated low limits of detection between 1000 and 10copies/μL, similar with detection levels described previously for real time RT-PCRs targeting specific subgroups. RNA viruses present a challenge for the design of durable molecular diagnostic test due to the rate of change in their genome sequences which can vary substantially in different areas and over time. The fact that the regions of sequence for primer hybridization in the described method have remained sufficiently conserved since the AMPV and HMPV diverged, should give the best chance of continued detection of current subgroups and of potential unknown or future emerging MPV strains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Camera pose estimation for augmented reality in a small indoor dynamic scene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frikha, Rawia; Ejbali, Ridha; Zaied, Mourad

2017-09-01

Camera pose estimation remains a challenging task for augmented reality (AR) applications. Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)-based methods are able to estimate the six degrees of freedom camera motion while constructing a map of an unknown environment. However, these methods do not provide any reference for where to insert virtual objects since they do not have any information about scene structure and may fail in cases of occlusion of three-dimensional (3-D) map points or dynamic objects. This paper presents a real-time monocular piece wise planar SLAM method using the planar scene assumption. Using planar structures in the mapping process allows rendering virtual objects in a meaningful way on the one hand and improving the precision of the camera pose and the quality of 3-D reconstruction of the environment by adding constraints on 3-D points and poses in the optimization process on the other hand. We proposed to benefit from the 3-D planes rigidity motion in the tracking process to enhance the system robustness in the case of dynamic scenes. Experimental results show that using a constrained planar scene improves our system accuracy and robustness compared with the classical SLAM systems.

Life-History Traits of the Model Organism Pristionchus pacificus Recorded Using the Hanging Drop Method: Comparison with Caenorhabditis elegans.

PubMed

Gilarte, Patricia; Kreuzinger-Janik, Bianca; Majdi, Nabil; Traunspurger, Walter

2015-01-01

The nematode Pristionchus pacificus is of growing interest as a model organism in evolutionary biology. However, despite multiple studies of its genetics, developmental cues, and ecology, the basic life-history traits (LHTs) of P. pacificus remain unknown. In this study, we used the hanging drop method to follow P. pacificus at the individual level and thereby quantify its LHTs. This approach allowed direct comparisons with the LHTs of Caenorhabditis elegans recently determined using this method. When provided with 5×10(9) Escherichia coli cells ml(-1) at 20°C, the intrinsic rate of natural increase of P. pacificus was 1.125 (individually, per day); mean net production was 115 juveniles produced during the life-time of each individual, and each nematode laid an average of 270 eggs (both fertile and unfertile). The mean age of P. pacificus individuals at first reproduction was 65 h, and the average life span was 22 days. The life cycle of P. pacificus is therefore slightly longer than that of C. elegans, with a longer average life span and hatching time and the production of fewer progeny.

Towards de novo identification of metabolites by analyzing tandem mass spectra.

PubMed

Böcker, Sebastian; Rasche, Florian

2008-08-15

Mass spectrometry is among the most widely used technologies in proteomics and metabolomics. Being a high-throughput method, it produces large amounts of data that necessitates an automated analysis of the spectra. Clearly, database search methods for protein analysis can easily be adopted to analyze metabolite mass spectra. But for metabolites, de novo interpretation of spectra is even more important than for protein data, because metabolite spectra databases cover only a small fraction of naturally occurring metabolites: even the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has a large number of enzymes whose substrates and products remain unknown. The field of bio-prospection searches biologically diverse areas for metabolites which might serve as pharmaceuticals. De novo identification of metabolite mass spectra requires new concepts and methods since, unlike proteins, metabolites possess a non-linear molecular structure. In this work, we introduce a method for fully automated de novo identification of metabolites from tandem mass spectra. Mass spectrometry data is usually assumed to be insufficient for identification of molecular structures, so we want to estimate the molecular formula of the unknown metabolite, a crucial step for its identification. The method first calculates all molecular formulas that explain the parent peak mass. Then, a graph is build where vertices correspond to molecular formulas of all peaks in the fragmentation mass spectra, whereas edges correspond to hypothetical fragmentation steps. Our algorithm afterwards calculates the maximum scoring subtree of this graph: each peak in the spectra must be scored at most once, so the subtree shall contain only one explanation per peak. Unfortunately, finding this subtree is NP-hard. We suggest three exact algorithms (including one fixed parameter tractable algorithm) as well as two heuristics to solve the problem. Tests on real mass spectra show that the FPT algorithm and the heuristics solve the problem suitably fast and provide excellent results: for all 32 test compounds the correct solution was among the top five suggestions, for 26 compounds the first suggestion of the exact algorithm was correct. http://www.bio.inf.uni-jena.de/tandemms

Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Introduction In the last two decades, chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has emerged as a significant contributor to the burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in rural Sri Lanka. It is characterized by the absence of identified causes for CKD. The prevalence of CKDu is 15.1–22.9% in some Sri Lankan districts, and previous research has found an association with farming occupations. Methods A systematic literature review in Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, and Lilacs databases identified 46 eligible peer-reviewed articles and one conference abstract. Results Geographical mapping indicates a relationship between CKDu and agricultural irrigation water sources. Health mapping studies, human biological studies, and environment-based studies have explored possible causative agents. Most studies focused on likely causative agents related to agricultural practices, geographical distribution based on the prevalence and incidence of CKDu, and contaminants identified in drinking water. Nonetheless, the link between agrochemicals or heavy metals and CKDu remains to be established. No definitive cause for CKDu has been identified. Discussion Evidence to date suggests that the disease is related to one or more environmental agents, however pinpointing a definite cause for CKDu is challenging. It is plausible that CKDu is multifactorial. No specific guidelines or recommendations exist for treatment of CKDu, and standard management protocols for CKD apply. Changes in agricultural practices, provision of safe drinking water, and occupational safety precautions are recommended by the World Health Organization. PMID:27399161

Systematic discovery of novel eukaryotic transcriptional regulators using sequence homology independent prediction.

PubMed

Bossi, Flavia; Fan, Jue; Xiao, Jun; Chandra, Lilyana; Shen, Max; Dorone, Yanniv; Wagner, Doris; Rhee, Seung Y

2017-06-26

The molecular function of a gene is most commonly inferred by sequence similarity. Therefore, genes that lack sufficient sequence similarity to characterized genes (such as certain classes of transcriptional regulators) are difficult to classify using most function prediction algorithms and have remained uncharacterized. To identify novel transcriptional regulators systematically, we used a feature-based pipeline to screen protein families of unknown function. This method predicted 43 transcriptional regulator families in Arabidopsis thaliana, 7 families in Drosophila melanogaster, and 9 families in Homo sapiens. Literature curation validated 12 of the predicted families to be involved in transcriptional regulation. We tested 33 out of the 195 Arabidopsis putative transcriptional regulators for their ability to activate transcription of a reporter gene in planta and found twelve coactivators, five of which had no prior literature support. To investigate mechanisms of action in which the predicted regulators might work, we looked for interactors of an Arabidopsis candidate that did not show transactivation activity in planta and found that it might work with other members of its own family and a subunit of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 to regulate transcription. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of assigning molecular function to proteins of unknown function without depending on sequence similarity. In particular, we identified novel transcriptional regulators using biological features enriched in transcription factors. The predictions reported here should accelerate the characterization of novel regulators.

Stochastic reduced order models for inverse problems under uncertainty

PubMed Central

Warner, James E.; Aquino, Wilkins; Grigoriu, Mircea D.

2014-01-01

This work presents a novel methodology for solving inverse problems under uncertainty using stochastic reduced order models (SROMs). Given statistical information about an observed state variable in a system, unknown parameters are estimated probabilistically through the solution of a model-constrained, stochastic optimization problem. The point of departure and crux of the proposed framework is the representation of a random quantity using a SROM - a low dimensional, discrete approximation to a continuous random element that permits e cient and non-intrusive stochastic computations. Characterizing the uncertainties with SROMs transforms the stochastic optimization problem into a deterministic one. The non-intrusive nature of SROMs facilitates e cient gradient computations for random vector unknowns and relies entirely on calls to existing deterministic solvers. Furthermore, the method is naturally extended to handle multiple sources of uncertainty in cases where state variable data, system parameters, and boundary conditions are all considered random. The new and widely-applicable SROM framework is formulated for a general stochastic optimization problem in terms of an abstract objective function and constraining model. For demonstration purposes, however, we study its performance in the specific case of inverse identification of random material parameters in elastodynamics. We demonstrate the ability to efficiently recover random shear moduli given material displacement statistics as input data. We also show that the approach remains effective for the case where the loading in the problem is random as well. PMID:25558115

What are the appropriate methods for analyzing patient-reported outcomes in randomized trials when data are missing?

PubMed

Hamel, J F; Sebille, V; Le Neel, T; Kubis, G; Boyer, F C; Hardouin, J B

2017-12-01

Subjective health measurements using Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) are increasingly used in randomized trials, particularly for patient groups comparisons. Two main types of analytical strategies can be used for such data: Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory models (IRT). These two strategies display very similar characteristics when data are complete, but in the common case when data are missing, whether IRT or CTT would be the most appropriate remains unknown and was investigated using simulations. We simulated PRO data such as quality of life data. Missing responses to items were simulated as being completely random, depending on an observable covariate or on an unobserved latent trait. The considered CTT-based methods allowed comparing scores using complete-case analysis, personal mean imputations or multiple-imputations based on a two-way procedure. The IRT-based method was the Wald test on a Rasch model including a group covariate. The IRT-based method and the multiple-imputations-based method for CTT displayed the highest observed power and were the only unbiased method whatever the kind of missing data. Online software and Stata® modules compatibles with the innate mi impute suite are provided for performing such analyses. Traditional procedures (listwise deletion and personal mean imputations) should be avoided, due to inevitable problems of biases and lack of power.

Photographic copy of photograph, photographer unknown, August 1912 (original print ...

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

Photographic copy of photograph, photographer unknown, August 1912 (original print located at U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Upper Columbia Area Office, Yakima, Washington). "A VIEW OF METHOD OF DAM CONSTRUCTION" - Kachess Dam, Kachess River, 1.5 miles north of Interstate 90, Easton, Kittitas County, WA

SCENERY: a web application for (causal) network reconstruction from cytometry data

PubMed Central

Papoutsoglou, Georgios; Athineou, Giorgos; Lagani, Vincenzo; Xanthopoulos, Iordanis; Schmidt, Angelika; Éliás, Szabolcs; Tegnér, Jesper

2017-01-01

Abstract Flow and mass cytometry technologies can probe proteins as biological markers in thousands of individual cells simultaneously, providing unprecedented opportunities for reconstructing networks of protein interactions through machine learning algorithms. The network reconstruction (NR) problem has been well-studied by the machine learning community. However, the potentials of available methods remain largely unknown to the cytometry community, mainly due to their intrinsic complexity and the lack of comprehensive, powerful and easy-to-use NR software implementations specific for cytometry data. To bridge this gap, we present Single CEll NEtwork Reconstruction sYstem (SCENERY), a web server featuring several standard and advanced cytometry data analysis methods coupled with NR algorithms in a user-friendly, on-line environment. In SCENERY, users may upload their data and set their own study design. The server offers several data analysis options categorized into three classes of methods: data (pre)processing, statistical analysis and NR. The server also provides interactive visualization and download of results as ready-to-publish images or multimedia reports. Its core is modular and based on the widely-used and robust R platform allowing power users to extend its functionalities by submitting their own NR methods. SCENERY is available at scenery.csd.uoc.gr or http://mensxmachina.org/en/software/. PMID:28525568

Suspended sediment assessment by combining sound attenuation and backscatter measurements - analytical method and experimental validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerrero, Massimo; Di Federico, Vittorio

2018-03-01

The use of acoustic techniques has become common for estimating suspended sediment in water environments. An emitted beam propagates into water producing backscatter and attenuation, which depend on scattering particles concentration and size distribution. Unfortunately, the actual particles size distribution (PSD) may largely affect the accuracy of concentration quantification through the unknown coefficients of backscattering strength, ks2, and normalized attenuation, ζs. This issue was partially solved by applying the multi-frequency approach. Despite this possibility, a relevant scientific and practical question remains regarding the possibility of using acoustic methods to investigate poorly sorted sediment in the spectrum ranging from clay to fine sand. The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of combining the measurement of sound attenuation and backscatter to determine ζs for the suspended particles and the corresponding concentration. The proposed method is moderately dependent from actual PSD, thus relaxing the need of frequent calibrations to account for changes in ks2 and ζs coefficients. Laboratory tests were conducted under controlled conditions to validate this measurement technique. With respect to existing approaches, the developed method more accurately estimates the concentration of suspended particles ranging from clay to fine sand and, at the same time, gives an indication on their actual PSD.

Effects of processing steps on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of beer.

PubMed

Leitao, Céline; Marchioni, Eric; Bergaentzlé, Martine; Zhao, Minjie; Didierjean, Luc; Taidi, Behnam; Ennahar, Saïd

2011-02-23

A new analytical method (liquid chromatography-antioxidant, LC-AOx) was used that is intended to separate beer polyphenols and to determine the potential antioxidant activity of these constituents after they were allowed to react online with a buffered solution of the radical cation 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS(•+)). Using the LC-AOx method, it was possible to demonstrate that the extent of the antioxidant activity was very much dependent on the phenolic compound considered. The method was also applied to the analysis of beer extracts and allowed the evaluation of their antioxidant activity at different steps of beer processing: brewing, boiling, and fermentation. This study showed that the total antioxidant activity remained unchanged throughout beer processing, as opposed to the polyphenolic content, which showed a 3-fold increase. Hopping and fermentation steps were the main causes of this increase. However, the increase measured after fermentation was attributed to a better extraction of polyphenols due to the presence of ethanol, rather than to a real increase in their content. Moreover, this method allowed the detection of three unknown antioxidant compounds, which accounted for 64 ± 4% of the total antioxidant activity of beer and were individually more efficient than caffeic acid and epicatechin.

M-MRAC Backstepping for Systems with Unknown Virtual Control Coefficients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stepanyan, Vahram; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje

2015-01-01

The paper presents an over-parametrization free certainty equivalence state feedback backstepping adaptive control design method for systems of any relative degree with unmatched uncertainties and unknown virtual control coefficients. It uses a fast prediction model to estimate the unknown parameters, which is independent of the control design. It is shown that the system's input and output tracking errors can be systematically decreased by the proper choice of the design parameters. The benefits of the approach are demonstrated in numerical simulations.

Unknown sequence amplification: Application to in vitro genome walking in Chlamydia trachomatis L2

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

Copley, C.G.; Boot, C.; Bundell, K.

1991-01-01

A recently described technique, Chemical Genetics' unknown sequence amplification method, which requires only one specific oligonucleotide, has broadened the applicability of the polymerase chain reaction to DNA of unknown sequence. The authors have adapted this technique to the study of the genome of Chlamydia trachomatis, an obligate intracellular bacterium, and describe modifications that significantly improve the utility of this approach. These techniques allow for rapid genomic analysis entirely in vitro, using DNA of limited quantity of purity.

Known unknowns: indirect energy effects of information and communication technology

DOE PAGES

Horner, Nathaniel C.; Shehabi, Arman; Azevedo, Ines L.

2016-10-05

There has been sustained and growing interest in characterizing the net energy impact of information and communication technology (ICT), which results from indirect effects offsetting (or amplifying) the energy directly consumed by ICT equipment. These indirect effects may be either positive or negative, and there is considerable disagreement as to the direction of this sign as well as the effect magnitude. Literature in this area ranges from studies focused on a single service (such as e-commerce versus traditional retail) to macroeconomic studies attempting to characterize the overall impact of ICT. Methods. We review the literature on the indirect energy effectmore » of ICT found via Google Scholar, our own research, and input from other researchers in the field. The various studies are linked to an effect taxonomy, which is synthesized from several different hierarchies present in the literature. References are further grouped according to ICT service (e.g., e-commerce, telework) and summarized by scope, method, and quantitative and qualitative findings. Review results. Uncertainty persists in understanding the net energy effects of ICT. Results of indirect energy effect studies are highly sensitive to scoping decisions and assumptions made by the analyst. Uncertainty increases as the impact scope broadens, due to complex and interconnected effects. However, there is general agreement that ICT has large energy savings potential, but that the realization of this potential is highly dependent on deployment details and user behavior. Discussion. While the overall net effect of ICT is likely to remain unknown, this review suggests several guidelines for improving research quality in this area, including increased data collection, enhancing traditional modeling studies with sensitivity analysis, greater care in scoping, less confidence in characterizing aggregate impacts, more effort on understanding user behavior, and more contextual integration across the different levels of the effect taxonomy.« less

Surface Induced Dissociation Coupled with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Unveils Heterogeneity of a 211 kDa Multicopper Oxidase Protein Complex

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

Zhou, Mowei; Yan, Jing; Romano, Christine A.

Manganese oxidation is an important biogeochemical process that is largely regulated by bacteria through enzymatic reactions. However, the detailed mechanism is poorly understood due to challenges in isolating and characterizing these unknown enzymes. A manganese oxidase Mnx from Bacillus sp. PL-12 has been successfully overexpressed in active form, unexpectedly, as a protein complex with a molecular weight of 211 kDa with no homology to known proteins in the database. We have recently used surface induced dissociation (SID) and ion mobility – mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to release and detect folded subcomplexes for determining subunit connectivity and quaternary structure. The data frommore » the native mass spectrometry experiment led to a plausible model of this unknown multicopper oxidase which has been difficult to study by conventional structural biology methods. However, because each subunit of Mnx binds copper ions as cofactor at varying ratios, there were remaining ambiguities in assigning some of the observed peaks to metal-binding species because of the sample heterogeneity and limited mass resolution. In this study, we performed SID in a modified Fourier transform – ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer for obtaining the ultimate resolution on the released subcomplexes of Mnx. The high mass accuracy and resolution unveiled unexpected artificial modifications in the protein that have been previously thought to be iron bound species based on lower resolution data. Additionally, most released subcomplexes were isotopically resolved for defining metal binding stoichiometry at each structural level. This method holds great potential for in-depth characterization of metalloproteins and protein-ligand complexes.« less

Known unknowns: indirect energy effects of information and communication technology

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

Horner, Nathaniel C.; Shehabi, Arman; Azevedo, Ines L.

There has been sustained and growing interest in characterizing the net energy impact of information and communication technology (ICT), which results from indirect effects offsetting (or amplifying) the energy directly consumed by ICT equipment. These indirect effects may be either positive or negative, and there is considerable disagreement as to the direction of this sign as well as the effect magnitude. Literature in this area ranges from studies focused on a single service (such as e-commerce versus traditional retail) to macroeconomic studies attempting to characterize the overall impact of ICT. Methods. We review the literature on the indirect energy effectmore » of ICT found via Google Scholar, our own research, and input from other researchers in the field. The various studies are linked to an effect taxonomy, which is synthesized from several different hierarchies present in the literature. References are further grouped according to ICT service (e.g., e-commerce, telework) and summarized by scope, method, and quantitative and qualitative findings. Review results. Uncertainty persists in understanding the net energy effects of ICT. Results of indirect energy effect studies are highly sensitive to scoping decisions and assumptions made by the analyst. Uncertainty increases as the impact scope broadens, due to complex and interconnected effects. However, there is general agreement that ICT has large energy savings potential, but that the realization of this potential is highly dependent on deployment details and user behavior. Discussion. While the overall net effect of ICT is likely to remain unknown, this review suggests several guidelines for improving research quality in this area, including increased data collection, enhancing traditional modeling studies with sensitivity analysis, greater care in scoping, less confidence in characterizing aggregate impacts, more effort on understanding user behavior, and more contextual integration across the different levels of the effect taxonomy.« less

Known unknowns: indirect energy effects of information and communication technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horner, Nathaniel C.; Shehabi, Arman; Azevedo, Inês L.

2016-10-01

Background. There has been sustained and growing interest in characterizing the net energy impact of information and communication technology (ICT), which results from indirect effects offsetting (or amplifying) the energy directly consumed by ICT equipment. These indirect effects may be either positive or negative, and there is considerable disagreement as to the direction of this sign as well as the effect magnitude. Literature in this area ranges from studies focused on a single service (such as e-commerce versus traditional retail) to macroeconomic studies attempting to characterize the overall impact of ICT. Methods. We review the literature on the indirect energy effect of ICT found via Google Scholar, our own research, and input from other researchers in the field. The various studies are linked to an effect taxonomy, which is synthesized from several different hierarchies present in the literature. References are further grouped according to ICT service (e.g., e-commerce, telework) and summarized by scope, method, and quantitative and qualitative findings. Review results. Uncertainty persists in understanding the net energy effects of ICT. Results of indirect energy effect studies are highly sensitive to scoping decisions and assumptions made by the analyst. Uncertainty increases as the impact scope broadens, due to complex and interconnected effects. However, there is general agreement that ICT has large energy savings potential, but that the realization of this potential is highly dependent on deployment details and user behavior. Discussion. While the overall net effect of ICT is likely to remain unknown, this review suggests several guidelines for improving research quality in this area, including increased data collection, enhancing traditional modeling studies with sensitivity analysis, greater care in scoping, less confidence in characterizing aggregate impacts, more effort on understanding user behavior, and more contextual integration across the different levels of the effect taxonomy.

IN VIVO EVIDENCE OF FREE RADICAL FORMATION IN THE RAT LUNG AFTER EXPOSURE TO AN EMISSION SOURCE AIR POLLUTION PARTICLE

EPA Science Inventory

Exposure to air pollution particles can be associated with increased human morbidity and mortality. The mechanism(s) of lung injury remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that lung exposure to oil fly ash (an emission source air pollution particle) causes in vivo free radical ...

Modeling landscape net ecosystem productivity (LandNEP) under alternative management regimes

Treesearch

Eugenie S. Euskirchen; Jiquan Chen; Harbin Li; Eric J. Gustafson; Thomas R. Crow

2002-01-01

Forests have been considered as a major carbon sink within the global carbon budget. However, a fragmented forest landscape varies significantly in its composition and age structure, and the amount of carbon sequestered at this level remains generally unknown to the scientific community. More precisely, the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of net ecosystem...

Forest-floor disturbance reduces chipmunk (Tamias spp.) abundance two years after variable-retention harvest of Pacific Northwestern forests

Treesearch

Randall J. Wilk; Timothy B. Harrington; Robert A. Gitzen; Chris C. Maguire

2015-01-01

We evaluated the two-year effects of variable-retention harvest on chipmunk (Tamias spp.) abundance (N^) and habitat in mature coniferous forests in western Oregon and Washington because wildlife responses to density/pattern of retained trees remain largely unknown. In a randomized complete-block design, six...

Systematic Review of Service-Learning in Youth Physical Activity Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, Russell L.; Raguse, Allison L.

2014-01-01

The extent to which service-learning exists in the field of kinesiology broadly, and more specifically related to the physical activity of youth, remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the service-learning literature in kinesiology, with a specific focus on youth physical activity settings.…

What Do We Know about "How" to Promote Physical Activity to Adolescents? A Mapping Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bush, Paula Louise; García Bengoechea, Enrique

2015-01-01

To date, adolescent physical activity (PA) intervention research has focused on the school setting and suggests a need to extend interventions beyond this setting to influence teenagers' overall level of PA. But, the relative effectiveness of PA promotion strategies that can be part of such multi-setting interventions remains unknown. We completed…

Learning from Interpersonal Interactions during the Practicum: A Case Study of Non-Native ESL Student Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Zhengdong

2014-01-01

Although research reveals that pre-service student teachers often regard their relationships with their significant others as an important element of their initial teaching practice experience, much remains unknown about the influence of significant others on non-native English as a Second Language (ESL) student teachers' professional learning…

Impact of Conscious Intent on Chunking during Motor Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Song, Sunbin; Cohen, Leonardo

2014-01-01

Humans and other mammals learn sequences of movements by splitting them into smaller "chunks." Such chunks are defined by the faster speed of performance of groups of movements. The purpose of this report is to determine how conscious intent to learn impacts chunking, an issue that remains unknown. Here, we studied 80 subjects who either…

Assessing Academic Risk of Student-Athletes: Applicability of the NCAA Graduation Risk Overview Model to GPA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, James

2013-01-01

In an effort to standardize academic risk assessment, the NCAA developed the graduation risk overview (GRO) model. Although this model was designed to assess graduation risk, its ability to predict grade-point average (GPA) remained unknown. Therefore, 134 individual risk assessments were made to determine GRO model effectiveness in the…

RETT'S SYNDROME : A CASE REPORT

PubMed Central

Gupta, Vinay

2001-01-01

Rett's syndrome is a rare condition affecting only the girl child. It presents as a pervasive developmental disorder with a remarkable behavioural phenotype. The cause for this remains unknown but genetic factors and brain dysfunction have been implicated. This case report emphasises the importance of being aware of rare yet significant disorders of interest to neuro-developmental psychiatrists. PMID:21407847

Diverse genomic location and sequence content of a Listeria monocytogenes chromosomal island harboring heavy metal resistance and other genes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Listeria monocytogenes remains a major foodborne pathogen with three serotype 4b clonal groups (ECI, ECII, ECIa) repeatedly implicated in human listeriosis. For reasons that are unknown, many of these strains are also resistant to heavy metals, i.e. cadmium and arsenic. The acquisition and fitness i...

Geometric Cues, Reference Frames, and the Equivalence of Experienced-Aligned and Novel-Aligned Views in Human Spatial Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Jonathan W.; Sjolund, Lori A.; Sturz, Bradley R.

2013-01-01

Spatial memories are often organized around reference frames, and environmental shape provides a salient cue to reference frame selection. To date, however, the environmental cues responsible for influencing reference frame selection remain relatively unknown. To connect research on reference frame selection with that on orientation via…

Transforming Leaders into Stewards of Teaching Excellence: Building and Sustaining an Academic Culture through Leadership Immersion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Candice; Bassell, Kellie; Fillmore, Laura; Stephenson, Winsome

2018-01-01

Nursing must transform education and practice to meet the changing healthcare environment; yet, steps to desired change remain unknown. Academic leaders are well-positioned to initiate change and transform the academic landscape. However, many advance to leadership positions with minimal orientation to the role. Moreover, leaders in academic…

Definition of Intercultural Competence According to Undergraduate Students at an International University in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odag, Özen; Wallin, Hannah R.; Kedzior, Karina K.

2016-01-01

University graduates are required to possess intercultural competence in addition to strong academic skills in today's globalized world. Although such competence has been defined in various theoretical models by intercultural scholars, it remains unknown how the recipients of higher education (the students) define this concept. A total of 130…

12-Month Follow-Up of Fluoxetine and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Binge Eating Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grilo, Carlos M.; Crosby, Ross D.; Wilson, G. Terence; Masheb, Robin M.

2012-01-01

Objective: The longer term efficacy of medication treatments for binge-eating disorder (BED) remains unknown. This study examined the longer term effects of fluoxetine and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) either with fluoxetine (CBT + fluoxetine) or with placebo (CBT + placebo) for BED through 12-month follow-up after completing treatments.…

Conditional vulnerability of plant diversity to atmospheric nitrogen deposition across the United States

Treesearch

Samuel M. Simkin; Edith B. Allen; William D. Bowman; Christopher M. Clark; Jayne Belnap; Matthew L. Brooks; Brian S. Cade; Scott L. Collins; Linda H. Geiser; Frank S. Gilliam; Sarah E. Jovan; Linda H. Pardo; Bethany K. Schulz; Carly J. Stevens; Katharine N. Suding; Heather L. Throop; Donald M. Waller

2016-01-01

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been shown to decrease plant species richness along regional deposition gradients in Europe and in experimental manipulations. However, the general response of species richness to N deposition across different vegetation types, soil conditions, and climates remains largely unknown even though responses may be contingent on these...

The Structural Plasticity of White Matter Networks Following Anterior Temporal Lobe Resection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yogarajah, Mahinda; Focke, Niels K.; Bonelli, Silvia B.; Thompson, Pamela; Vollmar, Christian; McEvoy, Andrew W.; Alexander, Daniel C.; Symms, Mark R.; Koepp, Matthias J.; Duncan, John S.

2010-01-01

Anterior temporal lobe resection is an effective treatment for refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. The structural consequences of such surgery in the white matter, and how these relate to language function after surgery remain unknown. We carried out a longitudinal study with diffusion tensor imaging in 26 left and 20 right temporal lobe epilepsy…

Long-distance dispersal helps germinating mahogany seedlings escape defoliation by a specialist caterpillar

Treesearch

Julian M. Norghauer; James Grogan; Jay R. Malcolm; Jeanine M. Felfili

2010-01-01

Herbivores and pathogens with acute host specificity may promote high tree diversity in tropical forests by causing distance- and density-dependent mortality of seedlings, but evidence is scarce. Although Lepidoptera larvae are the most abundant and host-specific guild of herbivores in these forests, their impact upon seedling distributions remains largely unknown. A...

The Repetition Paradigm: Enhancement of Novel Metaphors and Suppression of Conventional Metaphors in the Left Inferior Parietal Lobe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subramaniam, Karuna; Faust, Miriam; Beeman, Mark; Mashal, Nira

2012-01-01

The neural mechanisms underlying the process of understanding novel and conventional metaphoric expressions remain unclear largely because the specific brain regions that support the formation of novel semantic relations are still unknown. A well established way to study distinct cognitive processes specifically associated with an event of…

Popular Criteria for the Welfare Deservingness of Disability Pensioners: The Influence of Structural and Cultural Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeene, Marjolein; van Oorschot, Wim; Uunk, Wilfred

2013-01-01

Research has shown that several criteria underlie people's opinions about the welfare deservingness of benefit recipients. However, it remains unknown which factors are associated with the emphasis that people place on such criteria. Using a 2006 Dutch national survey on the welfare deservingness of disability pension recipients, we study the…

Reports of sensorineural deafness after measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation.

PubMed Central

Stewart, B J; Prabhu, P U

1993-01-01

There have been nine reports of sensorineural hearing loss after measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) immunisation. In three cases the deafness was unrelated to MMR immunisation. In six cases the cause was unknown and MMR remained a possible aetiology. Any risk associated with attenuated viruses must be weighed against the risks of the natural diseases. PMID:8024302

Trajectories Leading to Autism Spectrum Disorders Are Affected by Paternal Age: Findings from Two Nationally Representative Twin Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundstrom, Sebastian; Haworth, Claire M. A.; Carlstrom, Eva; Gillberg, Christopher; Mill, Jonathan; Rastam, Maria; Hultman, Christina M.; Ronald, Angelica; Anckarsater, Henrik; Plomin, Robert; Lichtenstein, Paul; Reichenberg, Abraham

2010-01-01

Background: Despite extensive efforts, the causes of autism remain unknown. Advancing paternal age has been associated with various neurodevelopmental disorders. We aim to investigate three unresolved questions: (a) What is the association between paternal age and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)?; (b) Does paternal age moderate the genetic and…

Invertase SUC2 Is the key hydrolase for inulin degradation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

PubMed

Wang, Shi-An; Li, Fu-Li

2013-01-01

Specific Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were recently found to be capable of efficiently utilizing inulin, but genetic mechanisms of inulin hydrolysis in yeast remain unknown. Here we report functional characteristics of invertase SUC2 from strain JZ1C and demonstrate that SUC2 is the key enzyme responsible for inulin metabolism in S. cerevisiae.

Early Child Development and Care in Tanzania: Challenges for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mtahabwa, Lyabwene

2009-01-01

Much remains unknown about the status of early child development and care in Tanzania. The little information available has never been put together to provide a holistic picture of the progress so far made in this important area. This paper intends to synchronise the information available in Tanzania for the purpose of depicting the country's…

Predictive Movements and Human Reinforcement Learning of Sequential Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Kleijn, Roy; Kachergis, George; Hommel, Bernhard

2018-01-01

Sequential action makes up the bulk of human daily activity, and yet much remains unknown about how people learn such actions. In one motor learning paradigm, the serial reaction time (SRT) task, people are taught a consistent sequence of button presses by cueing them with the next target response. However, the SRT task only records keypress…

σ 54-dependent regulome in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough

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

Kazakov, Alexey E.; Rajeev, Lara; Chen, Amy

2015-11-10

The σ 54 subunit controls a unique class of promoters in bacteria. Such promoters, without exception, require enhancer binding proteins (EBPs) for transcription initiation. Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough, a model bacterium for sulfate reduction studies, has a high number of EBPs, more than most sequenced bacteria. Finally, the cellular processes regulated by many of these EBPs remain unknown.

Observational Learning in Mice Can Be Prevented by Medial Prefrontal Cortex Stimulation and Enhanced by Nucleus Accumbens Stimulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jurado-Parras, M. Teresa; Gruart, Agnes; Delgado-Garcia, Jose M.

2012-01-01

The neural structures involved in ongoing appetitive and/or observational learning behaviors remain largely unknown. Operant conditioning and observational learning were evoked and recorded in a modified Skinner box provided with an on-line video recording system. Mice improved their acquisition of a simple operant conditioning task by…

Factors That May Explain Differences between Home and Clinic Meal Preparation Task Assessments in Frail Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Provencher, Veronique; Demers, Louise; Gelinas, Isabelle

2012-01-01

Meal preparation assessments conducted in clinical environments (such as rehabilitation settings) might not reflect frail patients' performance at home. In addition, factors that may explain differences in performance between settings remain unknown. The aim of this study was to compare home and clinic performance on meal preparation tasks in…

Studies on Sam68 a cell factor involved in the life cycle of foot-and-mouth disease virus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As with other RNA viruses, Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) recruits various host cell factors to assist in translation and replication of the virus genome. While FMDV translation has been thoroughly investigated, much remains unknown regarding replication of the positive-sense RNA genome. In th...

Retinoic acid: an educational "vitamin elixir" for gut-seeking T cells.

PubMed

Mora, J Rodrigo; von Andrian, Ulrich H

2004-10-01

T cell priming by dendritic cells (DC) from gut-associated lymphoid tissues gives rise to effector cells with pronounced gut tropism. The mechanism for DC-dependent imprinting of gut specificity has remained unknown. New findings point to retinoic acid, which is uniquely produced by intestinal DC, but not by DC from other lymphoid organs.

76 FR 18822 - Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-05

... of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such... episode of a non-epileptic seizure or loss of consciousness of unknown cause which did not require anti... equivalent to the level of safety obtained by complying with the regulation because he has remained seizure...

Reactive Attachment Disorder in Adopted and Foster Care Children: Implications for Mental Health Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stinehart, Michelle A.; Scott, David A.; Barfield, Hannah G.

2012-01-01

A disruption in the initial attachment formed between an infant and a primary caregiver often leads to some type of disordered or disorganized attachment. While research has been conducted on the etiology, symptoms, and effective forms of therapy regarding this disorder, much definitive information remains unknown or unclear. With the increasing…

The Effects of Task Complexity on Heritage and L2 Spanish Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Julio

2018-01-01

Manipulating cognitive demands on second language (L2) tasks, along with the provision of recasts and its effects on L2 development, has motivated recent inquiry within task-based research. However, empirical evidence remains inconclusive as to the impact of task complexity, and it is unknown how it may affect heritage language (HL) development.…

How Executive Functions Are Related to Intelligence in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osorio, Ana; Cruz, Raquel; Sampaio, Adriana; Garayzabal, Elena; Martinez-Regueiro, Rocio; Goncalves, Oscar F.; Carracedo, Angel; Fernandez-Prieto, Montse

2012-01-01

Williams syndrome is characterized by impairments in executive functions (EFs). However, it remains unknown how distinct types of EFs relate to intelligence in this syndrome. The present study analyzed performance on working memory, inhibiting and shifting, and its links to IQ in a sample of 17 individuals with WS, and compared them with a group…

Communicating to Learn: Infants' Pointing Gestures Result in Optimal Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucca, Kelsey; Wilbourn, Makeba Parramore

2018-01-01

Infants' pointing gestures are a critical predictor of early vocabulary size. However, it remains unknown precisely how pointing relates to word learning. The current study addressed this question in a sample of 108 infants, testing one mechanism by which infants' pointing may influence their learning. In Study 1, 18-month-olds, but not…

Stimulation of Hippocampal Adenylyl Cyclase Activity Dissociates Memory Consolidation Processes for Response and Place Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martel, Guillaume; Millard, Annabelle; Jaffard, Robert; Guillou, Jean-Louis

2006-01-01

Procedural and declarative memory systems are postulated to interact in either a synergistic or a competitive manner, and memory consolidation appears to be a highly critical stage for this process. However, the precise cellular mechanisms subserving these interactions remain unknown. To investigate this issue, 24-h retention performances were…

Family Background, Parental Involvement, and Parent Child Interactions as Predictors of Fifth-Graders Behavior Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Tamala P.

2012-01-01

Many studies have been conducted to address childhood behavior problems, but much remains unknown regarding the causes and factors that affect internalizing and externalizing problems in children. The purpose of the current research study was to examine the relationships between children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and (a)…

The Linkage between Secondary Victimization by Law Enforcement and Rape Case Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patterson, Debra

2011-01-01

Prior research has suggested that almost half of rape victims are treated by law enforcement in ways that they experience as upsetting (termed "secondary victimization"). However, it remains unknown why some victims have negative experiences with law enforcement and others do not. The purpose of this study is to explore victims' experiences with…

The importance of tree size and fecundity for wind dispersal of big-leaf mahogany

Treesearch

Julian M. Norghauer; Charles A. Nock; James Grogan

2011-01-01

Seed dispersal by wind is a critical yet poorly understood process in tropical forest trees. How tree size and fecundity affect this process at the population level remains largely unknown because of insufficient replication across adults. We measured seed dispersal by the endangered neotropical timber species big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King, Meliaceae)...

Understanding Participation in E-Learning in Organizations: A Large-Scale Empirical Study of Employees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garavan, Thomas N.; Carbery, Ronan; O'Malley, Grace; O'Donnell, David

2010-01-01

Much remains unknown in the increasingly important field of e-learning in organizations. Drawing on a large-scale survey of employees (N = 557) who had opportunities to participate in voluntary e-learning activities, the factors influencing participation in e-learning are explored in this empirical paper. It is hypothesized that key variables…

Defective Number Sense or Impaired Access? Differential Impairments in Different Subgroups of Children with Mathematics Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Terry T.-Y.; Ho, Connie S.-H.; Tang, Joey

2017-01-01

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a specific learning disability in mathematics that affects around 6% of the population. Currently, the core deficit of DD remains unknown. While the number sense deficit hypothesis suggests that the core deficit of DD lies in the inability to represent nonsymbolic numerosity, the access deficit hypothesis suggests…

Effects of repeated burning on snag abundance in shortleaf pine woodlands

Treesearch

Roger W. Perry; Phillip N. Jordan; Virginia L. McDaniel

2017-01-01

Forest managers are restoring and maintaining forest woodlands across substantial areas of the United States, and these efforts typically require the use of frequent prescribed fire. The effects of frequent prescribed fire on important habitat components such as snags remain unknown. We conducted a study to determine how snag densities are affected by repeated...

Determination of sex from the patella in a contemporary Spanish population.

PubMed

Peckmann, Tanya R; Meek, Susan; Dilkie, Natasha; Rozendaal, Andrew

2016-11-01

The skull and pelvis have been used for the determination of sex for unknown human remains. However, in forensic cases where skeletal remains often exhibit postmortem damage and taphonomic changes the patella may be used for the determination of sex as it is a preservationally favoured bone. The goal of the present research was to derive discriminant function equations from the patella for estimation of sex from a contemporary Spanish population. Six parameters were measured on 106 individuals (55 males and 51 females), ranging in age from 22 to 85 years old, from the Granada Osteological Collection. The statistical analyses showed that all variables were sexually dimorphic. Discriminant function score equations were generated for use in sex determination. The overall accuracy of sex classification ranged from 75.2% to 84.8% for the direct method and 75.5%-83.8% for the stepwise method. When the South African White discriminant functions were applied to the Spanish sample they showed high accuracy rates for sexing female patellae (90%-95.9%) and low accuracy rates for sexing male patellae (52.7%-58.2%). When the South African Black discriminant functions were applied to the Spanish sample they showed high accuracy rates for sexing male patellae (90.9%) and low accuracy rates for sexing female patellae (70%-75.5%). The patella was shown to be useful for sex determination in the contemporary Spanish population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Use of stable isotope-labelled cells to identify active grazers of picocyanobacteria in ocean surface waters.

PubMed

Frias-Lopez, Jorge; Thompson, Anne; Waldbauer, Jacob; Chisholm, Sallie W

2009-02-01

Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are the two most abundant marine cyanobacteria. They represent a significant fraction of the total primary production of the world oceans and comprise a major fraction of the prey biomass available to phagotrophic protists. Despite relatively rapid growth rates, picocyanobacterial cell densities in open-ocean surface waters remain fairly constant, implying steady mortality due to viral infection and consumption by predators. There have been several studies on grazing by specific protists on Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus in culture, and of cell loss rates due to overall grazing in the field. However, the specific sources of mortality of these primary producers in the wild remain unknown. Here, we use a modification of the RNA stable isotope probing technique (RNA-SIP), which involves adding labelled cells to natural seawater, to identify active predators that are specifically consuming Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus in the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean. Four major groups were identified as having their 18S rRNA highly labelled: Prymnesiophyceae (Haptophyta), Dictyochophyceae (Stramenopiles), Bolidomonas (Stramenopiles) and Dinoflagellata (Alveolata). For the first three of these, the closest relative of the sequences identified was a photosynthetic organism, indicating the presence of mixotrophs among picocyanobacterial predators. We conclude that the use of RNA-SIP is a useful method to identity specific predators for picocyanobacteria in situ, and that the method could possibly be used to identify other bacterial predators important in the microbial food-web.

Persistent fibrosis, hypertrophy and sarcomere disorganisation after endoscopy-guided heart resection in adult Xenopus

PubMed Central

Girardot, Fabrice; Péricard, Louise; Demeneix, Barbara A.; Coen, Laurent; Chai, Norin

2017-01-01

Models of cardiac repair are needed to understand mechanisms underlying failure to regenerate in human cardiac tissue. Such studies are currently dominated by the use of zebrafish and mice. Remarkably, it is between these two evolutionary separated species that the adult cardiac regenerative capacity is thought to be lost, but causes of this difference remain largely unknown. Amphibians, evolutionary positioned between these two models, are of particular interest to help fill this lack of knowledge. We thus developed an endoscopy-based resection method to explore the consequences of cardiac injury in adult Xenopus laevis. This method allowed in situ live heart observation, standardised tissue amputation size and reproducibility. During the first week following amputation, gene expression of cell proliferation markers remained unchanged, whereas those relating to sarcomere organisation decreased and markers of inflammation, fibrosis and hypertrophy increased. One-month post-amputation, fibrosis and hypertrophy were evident at the injury site, persisting through 11 months. Moreover, cardiomyocyte sarcomere organisation deteriorated early following amputation, and was not completely recovered as far as 11 months later. We conclude that the adult Xenopus heart is unable to regenerate, displaying cellular and molecular marks of scarring. Our work suggests that, contrary to urodeles and teleosts, with the exception of medaka, adult anurans share a cardiac injury outcome similar to adult mammals. This observation is at odds with current hypotheses that link loss of cardiac regenerative capacity with acquisition of homeothermy. PMID:28278282

Ofuji disease: a rare dermatosis and its challenging therapeutic approach*

PubMed Central

de Brito, Fernanda Freitas; Martelli, Antonio Carlos Ceribelli; Cavalcante, Maria Lopes Lamenha Lins; Pinto, Ana Cecília Versiani Duarte; Itimura, Gabriela; Soares, Cleverson Teixeira

2016-01-01

Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF) or Ofuji disease is a rare dermatosis, prone to recurrence and chronicity. The peak incidence occurs in the third decade of life and its exact etiology remains unknown. Evidence suggests that the expression of adhesion molecules and the production of cytokines activate the follicular unit, but the stimulus that triggers these changes remains unclear. The three clinical variants reported in the literature include classic EPF, immunosuppression-associated EPF, and infancy-associated EPF. We report a case of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis with peculiar epidemiological characteristics, which represents a challenging therapeutic scenario. PMID:27828641

Effects of heat stress on baroreflex function in humans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crandall, Craig G.; Cui, Jian; Wilson, Thad E.

2003-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Heat stress significantly reduces orthostatic tolerance in humans. The mechanism(s) causing this response remain unknown. The purpose of this review article is to present data pertaining to the hypothesis that reduced orthostatic tolerance in heat stressed individuals is a result of heat stress induced alterations in baroflex function. METHODS: In both normothermic and heat stressed conditions baroreflex responsiveness was assessed via pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. In addition, the effects of heat stress on post-synaptic vasoconstrictor responsiveness were assessed. RESULTS: Generally, whole body heating did not alter baroreflex sensitivity defined as the gain of the linear portion of the baroreflex curve around the operating point. However, whole body heating shifted the baroreflex curve to the prevailing (i.e. elevated) heart rate and muscle sympathetic nerve activity. Finally, the heat stress impaired vasoconstrictor responses to exogenous administration of adrenergic agonists. CONCLUSION: Current data do not support the hypothesis that reduced orthostatic tolerance associated with heat stress in humans is due to impaired baroreflex responsiveness. This phenomenon may be partially due to the effects of heat stress on reducing vasoconstrictor responsiveness.

Gaussian process based modeling and experimental design for sensor calibration in drifting environments

PubMed Central

Geng, Zongyu; Yang, Feng; Chen, Xi; Wu, Nianqiang

2016-01-01

It remains a challenge to accurately calibrate a sensor subject to environmental drift. The calibration task for such a sensor is to quantify the relationship between the sensor’s response and its exposure condition, which is specified by not only the analyte concentration but also the environmental factors such as temperature and humidity. This work developed a Gaussian Process (GP)-based procedure for the efficient calibration of sensors in drifting environments. Adopted as the calibration model, GP is not only able to capture the possibly nonlinear relationship between the sensor responses and the various exposure-condition factors, but also able to provide valid statistical inference for uncertainty quantification of the target estimates (e.g., the estimated analyte concentration of an unknown environment). Built on GP’s inference ability, an experimental design method was developed to achieve efficient sampling of calibration data in a batch sequential manner. The resulting calibration procedure, which integrates the GP-based modeling and experimental design, was applied on a simulated chemiresistor sensor to demonstrate its effectiveness and its efficiency over the traditional method. PMID:26924894