Sample records for selectivity filter sf
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Analytic expression for the giant fieldlike spin torque in spin-filter magnetic tunnel junctions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tang, Y.-H.; Huang, Z.-W.; Huang, B.-H.
2017-08-01
We propose analytic expressions for fieldlike, T⊥, and spin-transfer, T∥, spin torque components in the spin-filter-based magnetic tunnel junction (SFMTJ), by using the single-band tight-binding model with the nonequilibrium Keldysh formalism. In consideration of multireflection processes between noncollinear magnetization of the spin-filter (SF) barrier and the ferromagnetic (FM) electrode, the central spin-selective SF barrier plays an active role in the striking discovery T⊥≫T∥ , which can be further identified by the unusual barrier thickness dependence of giant T⊥. Our general expressions reveal the sinusoidal angular dependence of both spin torque components, even in the presence of the SF barrier.
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Euler, André; Obmann, Markus M; Szucs-Farkas, Zsolt; Mileto, Achille; Zaehringer, Caroline; Falkowski, Anna L; Winkel, David J; Marin, Daniele; Stieltjes, Bram; Krauss, Bernhard; Schindera, Sebastian T
2018-02-19
To compare image quality and radiation dose of abdominal split-filter dual-energy CT (SF-DECT) combined with monoenergetic imaging to single-energy CT (SECT) with automatic tube voltage selection (ATVS). Two-hundred single-source abdominal CT scans were performed as SECT with ATVS (n = 100) and SF-DECT (n = 100). SF-DECT scans were reconstructed and subdivided into composed images (SF-CI) and monoenergetic images at 55 keV (SF-MI). Objective and subjective image quality were compared among single-energy images (SEI), SF-CI and SF-MI. CNR and FOM were separately calculated for the liver (e.g. CNR liv ) and the portal vein (CNR pv ). Radiation dose was compared using size-specific dose estimate (SSDE). Results of the three groups were compared using non-parametric tests. Image noise of SF-CI was 18% lower compared to SEI and 48% lower compared to SF-MI (p < 0.001). Composed images yielded higher CNR liv over single-energy images (23.4 vs. 20.9; p < 0.001), whereas CNR pv was significantly lower (3.5 vs. 5.2; p < 0.001). Monoenergetic images overcame this inferiority in CNR pv and achieved similar results compared to single-energy images (5.1 vs. 5.2; p > 0.628). Subjective sharpness was equal between single-energy and monoenergetic images and diagnostic confidence was equal between single-energy and composed images. FOM liv was highest for SF-CI. FOM pv was equal for SEI and SF-MI (p = 0.78). SSDE was significant lower for SF-DECT compared to SECT (p < 0.022). The combined use of split-filter dual-energy CT images provides comparable objective and subjective image quality at lower radiation dose compared to single-energy CT with ATVS. • Split-filter dual-energy results in 18% lower noise compared to single-energy with ATVS. • Split-filter dual-energy results in 11% lower SSDE compared to single-energy with ATVS. • Spectral shaping of split-filter dual-energy leads to an increased dose-efficiency.
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Dual Control of Giant Field-like Spin Torque in Spin Filter Tunnel Junctions
Tang, Y. -H.; Chu, F. -C.; Kioussis, Nicholas
2015-01-01
We predict a giant field-like spin torque, , in spin-filter (SF) barrier tunnel junctions in sharp contrast to existing junctions based on nonmagnetic passive barriers. We demonstrate that has linear bias behavior, is independent of the SF thickness, and has odd parity with respect to the SF’s exchange splitting. Thus, it can be selectively controlled via external bias or external magnetic field which gives rise to sign reversal of via magnetic field switching. The underlying mechanism is the interlayer exchange coupling between the noncollinear magnetizations of the SF and free ferromagnetic electrode via the nonmagnetic insulating (I) spacer giving rise to giant spin-dependent reflection at the SF/I interface. These findings suggest that the proposed field-like-spin-torque MRAM may provide promising dual functionalities for both ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ processes which require lower critical current densities and faster writing and reading speeds. PMID:26095146
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Attentional selection of relative SF mediates global versus local processing: evidence from EEG.
Flevaris, Anastasia V; Bentin, Shlomo; Robertson, Lynn C
2011-06-13
Previous research on functional hemispheric differences in visual processing has associated global perception with low spatial frequency (LSF) processing biases of the right hemisphere (RH) and local perception with high spatial frequency (HSF) processing biases of the left hemisphere (LH). The Double Filtering by Frequency (DFF) theory expanded this hypothesis by proposing that visual attention selects and is directed to relatively LSFs by the RH and relatively HSFs by the LH, suggesting a direct causal relationship between SF selection and global versus local perception. We tested this idea in the current experiment by comparing activity in the EEG recorded at posterior right and posterior left hemisphere sites while participants' attention was directed to global or local levels of processing after selection of relatively LSFs versus HSFs in a previous stimulus. Hemispheric asymmetry in the alpha band (8-12 Hz) during preparation for global versus local processing was modulated by the selected SF. In contrast, preparatory activity associated with selection of SF was not modulated by the previously attended level (global/local). These results support the DFF theory that top-down attentional selection of SF mediates global and local processing.
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Selectivity Mechanism of the Voltage-gated Proton Channel, HV1
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dudev, Todor; Musset, Boris; Morgan, Deri; Cherny, Vladimir V.; Smith, Susan M. E.; Mazmanian, Karine; Decoursey, Thomas E.; Lim, Carmay
2015-05-01
Voltage-gated proton channels, HV1, trigger bioluminescence in dinoflagellates, enable calcification in coccolithophores, and play multifarious roles in human health. Because the proton concentration is minuscule, exquisite selectivity for protons over other ions is critical to HV1 function. The selectivity of the open HV1 channel requires an aspartate near an arginine in the selectivity filter (SF), a narrow region that dictates proton selectivity, but the mechanism of proton selectivity is unknown. Here we use a reduced quantum model to elucidate how the Asp-Arg SF selects protons but excludes other ions. Attached to a ring scaffold, the Asp and Arg side chains formed bidentate hydrogen bonds that occlude the pore. Introducing H3O+ protonated the SF, breaking the Asp-Arg linkage and opening the conduction pathway, whereas Na+ or Cl- was trapped by the SF residue of opposite charge, leaving the linkage intact, thus preventing permeation. An Asp-Lys SF behaved like the Asp-Arg one and was experimentally verified to be proton-selective, as predicted. Hence, interacting acidic and basic residues form favorable AspH0-H2O0-Arg+ interactions with hydronium but unfavorable Asp--X-/X+-Arg+ interactions with anions/cations. This proposed mechanism may apply to other proton-selective molecules engaged in bioenergetics, homeostasis, and signaling.
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Subangstrom resolution X-ray structure details aquaporin-water interactions.
Eriksson, Urszula Kosinska; Fischer, Gerhard; Friemann, Rosmarie; Enkavi, Giray; Tajkhorshid, Emad; Neutze, Richard
2013-06-14
Aquaporins are membrane channels that facilitate the flow of water across biological membranes. Two conserved regions are central for selective function: the dual asparagine-proline-alanine (NPA) aquaporin signature motif and the aromatic and arginine selectivity filter (SF). Here, we present the crystal structure of a yeast aquaporin at 0.88 angstrom resolution. We visualize the H-bond donor interactions of the NPA motif's asparagine residues to passing water molecules; observe a polarized water-water H-bond configuration within the channel; assign the tautomeric states of the SF histidine and arginine residues; and observe four SF water positions too closely spaced to be simultaneously occupied. Strongly correlated movements break the connectivity of SF waters to other water molecules within the channel and prevent proton transport via a Grotthuss mechanism.
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Liu, Xingbin; Mei, Wenbo; Du, Huiqian
2018-02-13
In this paper, a detail-enhanced multimodality medical image fusion algorithm is proposed by using proposed multi-scale joint decomposition framework (MJDF) and shearing filter (SF). The MJDF constructed with gradient minimization smoothing filter (GMSF) and Gaussian low-pass filter (GLF) is used to decompose source images into low-pass layers, edge layers, and detail layers at multiple scales. In order to highlight the detail information in the fused image, the edge layer and the detail layer in each scale are weighted combined into a detail-enhanced layer. As directional filter is effective in capturing salient information, so SF is applied to the detail-enhanced layer to extract geometrical features and obtain directional coefficients. Visual saliency map-based fusion rule is designed for fusing low-pass layers, and the sum of standard deviation is used as activity level measurement for directional coefficients fusion. The final fusion result is obtained by synthesizing the fused low-pass layers and directional coefficients. Experimental results show that the proposed method with shift-invariance, directional selectivity, and detail-enhanced property is efficient in preserving and enhancing detail information of multimodality medical images. Graphical abstract The detailed implementation of the proposed medical image fusion algorithm.
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Yin, Mojuan; Huang, Shenghong; Lu, Baole; Chen, Haowei; Ren, Zhaoyu; Bai, Jintao
2013-09-20
A high-slope-efficiency single-frequency (SF) ytterbium-doped fiber laser, based on a Sagnac loop mirror filter (LMF), was demonstrated. It combined a simple linear cavity with a Sagnac LMF that acted as a narrow-bandwidth filter to select the longitudinal modes. And we introduced a polarization controller to restrain the spatial hole burning effect in the linear cavity. The system could operate at a stable SF oscillating at 1064 nm with the obtained maximum output power of 32 mW. The slope efficiency was found to be primarily dependent on the reflectivity of the fiber Bragg grating. The slope efficiency of multi-longitudinal modes was higher than 45%, and the highest slope efficiency of the single longitudinal mode we achieved was 33.8%. The power stability and spectrum stability were <2% and <0.1%, respectively, and the signal-to-noise ratio measured was around 60 dB.
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Impact of fine mesh sieve primary treatment on nitrogen removal in moving bed biofilm reactors.
Rusten, B; Razafimanantsoa, V A; Andriamiarinjaka, M A; Otis, C L; Sahu, A K; Bilstad, T
2016-01-01
The purpose of this project was to investigate the effect of selective particle removal during primary treatment on nitrogen removal in moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs). Two small MBBR pilot plants were operated in parallel, where one train treated 2 mm screened municipal wastewater and the other train treated wastewater that had passed through a Salsnes Filter SF1000 rotating belt sieve (RBS) with a 33 µs sieve cloth. The SF1000 was operated without a filter mat on the belt. The tests confirmed that, for the wastewater characteristics at the test plant, Salsnes Filter primary treatment with a 33 µs RBS and no filter mat produced a primary effluent that was close to optimum. Removal of organic matter with the 33 µs sieve had no negative effect on the denitrification process. Nitrification rates improved by 10-15% in the train with 33 µs RBS primary treatment. Mass balance calculations showed that without RBS primary treatment, the oxygen demand in the biological system was 36% higher. Other studies have shown that the sludge produced by RBS primary treatment is beneficial for biogas production and will also significantly improve sludge dewatering of the combined primary and biological sludge.
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Optimal Divergence-Free Hatch Filter for GNSS Single-Frequency Measurement.
Park, Byungwoon; Lim, Cheolsoon; Yun, Youngsun; Kim, Euiho; Kee, Changdon
2017-02-24
The Hatch filter is a code-smoothing technique that uses the variation of the carrier phase. It can effectively reduce the noise of a pseudo-range with a very simple filter construction, but it occasionally causes an ionosphere-induced error for low-lying satellites. Herein, we propose an optimal single-frequency (SF) divergence-free Hatch filter that uses a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) message to reduce the ionospheric divergence and applies the optimal smoothing constant for its smoothing window width. According to the data-processing results, the overall performance of the proposed filter is comparable to that of the dual frequency (DF) divergence-free Hatch filter. Moreover, it can reduce the horizontal error of 57 cm to 37 cm and improve the vertical accuracy of the conventional Hatch filter by 25%. Considering that SF receivers dominate the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) market and that most of these receivers include the SBAS function, the filter suggested in this paper is of great value in that it can make the differential GPS (DGPS) performance of the low-cost SF receivers comparable to that of DF receivers.
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Optimal Divergence-Free Hatch Filter for GNSS Single-Frequency Measurement
Park, Byungwoon; Lim, Cheolsoon; Yun, Youngsun; Kim, Euiho; Kee, Changdon
2017-01-01
The Hatch filter is a code-smoothing technique that uses the variation of the carrier phase. It can effectively reduce the noise of a pseudo-range with a very simple filter construction, but it occasionally causes an ionosphere-induced error for low-lying satellites. Herein, we propose an optimal single-frequency (SF) divergence-free Hatch filter that uses a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) message to reduce the ionospheric divergence and applies the optimal smoothing constant for its smoothing window width. According to the data-processing results, the overall performance of the proposed filter is comparable to that of the dual frequency (DF) divergence-free Hatch filter. Moreover, it can reduce the horizontal error of 57 cm to 37 cm and improve the vertical accuracy of the conventional Hatch filter by 25%. Considering that SF receivers dominate the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) market and that most of these receivers include the SBAS function, the filter suggested in this paper is of great value in that it can make the differential GPS (DGPS) performance of the low-cost SF receivers comparable to that of DF receivers. PMID:28245584
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Dynamics of the EAG1 K+ channel selectivity filter assessed by molecular dynamics simulations.
Bernsteiner, Harald; Bründl, Michael; Stary-Weinzinger, Anna
2017-02-26
EAG1 channels belong to the KCNH family of voltage gated potassium channels. They are expressed in several brain regions and increased expression is linked to certain cancer types. Recent cryo-EM structure determination finally revealed the structure of these channels in atomic detail, allowing computational investigations. In this study, we performed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the ion binding sites and the dynamical behavior of the selectivity filter. Our simulations suggest that sites S2 and S4 form stable ion binding sites, while ions placed at sites S1 and S3 rapidly switched to sites S2 and S4. Further, ions tended to dissociate away from S0 within less than 20 ns, due to increased filter flexibility. This was followed by water influx from the extracellular side, leading to a widening of the filter in this region, and likely non-conductive filter configurations. Simulations with the inactivation-enhancing mutant Y464A or Na + ions lead to trapped water molecules behind the SF, suggesting that these simulations captured early conformational changes linked to C-type inactivation. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Sadhu, Biswajit; Sundararajan, Mahesh; Bandyopadhyay, Tusar
2017-10-18
The bacterial NaK ion channel is distinctly different from other known ion channels due to its inherent non-selective feature. One of the unexplored and rather interesting features is its ability to permeate divalent metal ions (such as Ca 2+ and Ba 2+ ) and not monovalent alkali metal ions. Several intriguing questions about the energetics and structural aspects still remain unanswered. For instance, what causes Ca 2+ to permeate as well as block the selectivity filter (SF) of the NaK ion channel and act as a "permeating blocker"? How and at what energetic cost does another chemical congener, Sr 2+ , as well as Ba 2+ , a potent blocker of the K + ion channel, permeate through the SF of the NaK ion channel? Finally, how do their translocation energetics differ from those of monovalent ions such as K + ? Here, in an attempt to address these outstanding issues, we elucidate the structure, binding and selectivity of divalent ions (Ca 2+ , Sr 2+ and Ba 2+ ) as they permeate through the SF of the NaK ion channel using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory based calculations. We unveil mechanistic insight into this translocation event using well-tempered metadynamics simulations in a polarizable environment using the mean-field model of water and incorporating electronic continuum corrections for ions via charge rescaling. The results show that, akin to K + coordination, Sr 2+ and Ba 2+ bind at the SF in a very similar fashion and remain octa-coordinated at all sites. Interestingly, differing from its local hydration structure, Ca 2+ interacts with eight carbonyls to remain at the middle of the S3 site. Furthermore, the binding of divalent metals at SF binding sites is more favorable than the binding of K + . However, their permeation through the extracellular entrance faces a considerably higher energetic barrier compared to that for K + , which eventually manifests their inherent blocking feature.
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Repetition Blindness for Natural Images of Objects with Viewpoint Changes
Buffat, Stéphane; Plantier, Justin; Roumes, Corinne; Lorenceau, Jean
2013-01-01
When stimuli are repeated in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), observers sometimes fail to report the second occurrence of a target. This phenomenon is referred to as “repetition blindness” (RB). We report an RSVP experiment with photographs in which we manipulated object viewpoints between the first and second occurrences of a target (0°, 45°, or 90° changes), and spatial frequency (SF) content. Natural images were spatially filtered to produce low, medium, or high SF stimuli. RB was observed for all filtering conditions. Surprisingly, for full-spectrum (FS) images, RB increased significantly as the viewpoint reached 90°. For filtered images, a similar pattern of results was found for all conditions except for medium SF stimuli. These findings suggest that object recognition in RSVP are subtended by viewpoint-specific representations for all spatial frequencies except medium ones. PMID:23346069
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Processing of Fear and Anger Facial Expressions: The Role of Spatial Frequency
Comfort, William E.; Wang, Meng; Benton, Christopher P.; Zana, Yossi
2013-01-01
Spatial frequency (SF) components encode a portion of the affective value expressed in face images. The aim of this study was to estimate the relative weight of specific frequency spectrum bandwidth on the discrimination of anger and fear facial expressions. The general paradigm was a classification of the expression of faces morphed at varying proportions between anger and fear images in which SF adaptation and SF subtraction are expected to shift classification of facial emotion. A series of three experiments was conducted. In Experiment 1 subjects classified morphed face images that were unfiltered or filtered to remove either low (<8 cycles/face), middle (12–28 cycles/face), or high (>32 cycles/face) SF components. In Experiment 2 subjects were adapted to unfiltered or filtered prototypical (non-morphed) fear face images and subsequently classified morphed face images. In Experiment 3 subjects were adapted to unfiltered or filtered prototypical fear face images with the phase component randomized before classifying morphed face images. Removing mid frequency components from the target images shifted classification toward fear. The same shift was observed under adaptation condition to unfiltered and low- and middle-range filtered fear images. However, when the phase spectrum of the same adaptation stimuli was randomized, no adaptation effect was observed. These results suggest that medium SF components support the perception of fear more than anger at both low and high level of processing. They also suggest that the effect at high-level processing stage is related more to high-level featural and/or configural information than to the low-level frequency spectrum. PMID:23637687
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A Robust Image Watermarking in the Joint Time-Frequency Domain
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Öztürk, Mahmut; Akan, Aydın; Çekiç, Yalçın
2010-12-01
With the rapid development of computers and internet applications, copyright protection of multimedia data has become an important problem. Watermarking techniques are proposed as a solution to copyright protection of digital media files. In this paper, a new, robust, and high-capacity watermarking method that is based on spatiofrequency (SF) representation is presented. We use the discrete evolutionary transform (DET) calculated by the Gabor expansion to represent an image in the joint SF domain. The watermark is embedded onto selected coefficients in the joint SF domain. Hence, by combining the advantages of spatial and spectral domain watermarking methods, a robust, invisible, secure, and high-capacity watermarking method is presented. A correlation-based detector is also proposed to detect and extract any possible watermarks on an image. The proposed watermarking method was tested on some commonly used test images under different signal processing attacks like additive noise, Wiener and Median filtering, JPEG compression, rotation, and cropping. Simulation results show that our method is robust against all of the attacks.
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Sheliga, Boris M.; Quaia, Christian; FitzGibbon, Edmond J.; Cumming, Bruce G.
2016-01-01
White noise stimuli are frequently used to study the visual processing of broadband images in the laboratory. A common goal is to describe how responses are derived from Fourier components in the image. We investigated this issue by recording the ocular-following responses (OFRs) to white noise stimuli in human subjects. For a given speed we compared OFRs to unfiltered white noise with those to noise filtered with band-pass filters and notch filters. Removing components with low spatial frequency (SF) reduced OFR magnitudes, and the SF associated with the greatest reduction matched the SF that produced the maximal response when presented alone. This reduction declined rapidly with SF, compatible with a winner-take-all operation. Removing higher SF components increased OFR magnitudes. For higher speeds this effect became larger and propagated toward lower SFs. All of these effects were quantitatively well described by a model that combined two factors: (a) an excitatory drive that reflected the OFRs to individual Fourier components and (b) a suppression by higher SF channels where the temporal sampling of the display led to flicker. This nonlinear interaction has an important practical implication: Even with high refresh rates (150 Hz), the temporal sampling introduced by visual displays has a significant impact on visual processing. For instance, we show that this distorts speed tuning curves, shifting the peak to lower speeds. Careful attention to spectral content, in the light of this nonlinearity, is necessary to minimize the resulting artifact when using white noise patterns undergoing apparent motion. PMID:26762277
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Information about the SFBWQP Fremont Tree-Well Filter Spine project, part of an EPA competitive grant program to improve SF Bay water quality focused on restoring impaired waters and enhancing aquatic resources.
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Single-frequency TEA CO2 laser with a bleaching spectral intracavity filter
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sorochenko, V. R.
2017-02-01
The regime of single-frequency operation is realised in a TEA CO2 laser with a spectral filter inside the cavity (a cell filled with SF6) on P(12)-P(24) lines of the 10P band. The minimal scatter of the peak powers of the laser pulses in a series of ‘shots’ and the maximal ratio of the output energies in the single-frequency and free running regimes (greater than 0.84) are obtained on the P(16) line at an optimal SF6 pressure in the cell. Experimental results qualitatively agree with the absorption spectrum of SF6 calculated from the SPECTRA information-analytical system. It is shown that the high ratio of energies in two regimes is achived due to gas bleaching in the cell.
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Sharma, Avnish Kumar; Patidar, Rajesh Kumar; Daiya, Deepak; Joshi, Anandverdhan; Naik, Prasad Anant; Gupta, Parshotam Dass
2013-04-20
In this paper, a new method for alignment of the pinhole of a spatial filter (SF) has been proposed and demonstrated experimentally. The effect of the misalignment of the pinhole on the laser beam profiles has been calculated for circular and elliptical Gaussian laser beams. Theoretical computation has been carried out to illustrate the effect of an intensity mask, placed before the focusing lens of the SF, on the spatial beam profile after the pinhole of the SF. It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that a simple intensity mask, consisting of a black dot, can be used to visually align the pinhole with a high accuracy of 5% of the pinhole diameter. The accuracy may be further improved using a computer-based image processing algorithm. Finally, the proposed technique has been demonstrated to align a vacuum SF of a compact 40 J Nd:phosphate glass laser system.
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Effect of Temporal Constraints on Hemispheric Asymmetries during Spatial Frequency Processing
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Peyrin, Carole; Mermillod, Martial; Chokron, Sylvie; Marendaz, Christian
2006-01-01
Studies on functional hemispheric asymmetries have suggested that the right vs. left hemisphere should be predominantly involved in low vs. high spatial frequency (SF) analysis, respectively. By manipulating exposure duration of filtered natural scene images, we examined whether the temporal characteristics of SF analysis (i.e., the temporal…
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Exact Bayesian Inference for Phylogenetic Birth-Death Models.
Parag, K V; Pybus, O G
2018-04-26
Inferring the rates of change of a population from a reconstructed phylogeny of genetic sequences is a central problem in macro-evolutionary biology, epidemiology, and many other disciplines. A popular solution involves estimating the parameters of a birth-death process (BDP), which links the shape of the phylogeny to its birth and death rates. Modern BDP estimators rely on random Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling to infer these rates. Such methods, while powerful and scalable, cannot be guaranteed to converge, leading to results that may be hard to replicate or difficult to validate. We present a conceptually and computationally different parametric BDP inference approach using flexible and easy to implement Snyder filter (SF) algorithms. This method is deterministic so its results are provable, guaranteed, and reproducible. We validate the SF on constant rate BDPs and find that it solves BDP likelihoods known to produce robust estimates. We then examine more complex BDPs with time-varying rates. Our estimates compare well with a recently developed parametric MCMC inference method. Lastly, we performmodel selection on an empirical Agamid species phylogeny, obtaining results consistent with the literature. The SF makes no approximations, beyond those required for parameter quantisation and numerical integration, and directly computes the posterior distribution of model parameters. It is a promising alternative inference algorithm that may serve either as a standalone Bayesian estimator or as a useful diagnostic reference for validating more involved MCMC strategies. The Snyder filter is implemented in Matlab and the time-varying BDP models are simulated in R. The source code and data are freely available at https://github.com/kpzoo/snyder-birth-death-code. kris.parag@zoo.ox.ac.uk. Supplementary material is available at Bioinformatics online.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pietrzyk, Mariusz W.; McEntee, Mark; Evanoff, Michael G.; Brennan, Patrick C.
2012-02-01
Aim: This study evaluates the assumption that global impression is created based on low spatial frequency components of posterior-anterior chest radiographs. Background: Expert radiologists precisely and rapidly allocate visual attention on pulmonary nodules chest radiographs. Moreover, the most frequent accurate decisions are produced in the shortest viewing time, thus, the first hundred milliseconds of image perception seems be crucial for correct interpretation. Medical image perception model assumes that during holistic analysis experts extract information based on low spatial frequency (SF) components and creates a mental map of suspicious location for further inspection. The global impression results in flagged regions for detailed inspection with foveal vision. Method: Nine chest experts and nine non-chest radiologists viewed two sets of randomly ordered chest radiographs under 2 timing conditions: (1) 300ms; (2) free search in unlimited time. The same radiographic cases of 25 normal and 25 abnormal digitalized chest films constituted two image sets: low-pass filtered and unfiltered. Subjects were asked to detect nodules and rank confidence level. MRMC ROC DBM analyses were conducted. Results: Experts had improved ROC AUC while high SF components are displayed (p=0.03) or while low SF components were viewed under unlimited time (p=0.02) compared with low SF 300mSec viewings. In contrast, non-chest radiologists showed no significant changes when high SF are displayed under flash conditions compared with free search or while low SF components were viewed under unlimited time compared with flash. Conclusion: The current medical image perception model accurately predicted performance for non-chest radiologists, however chest experts appear to benefit from high SF features during the global impression.
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A study of quantum mechanical probabilities in the classical Hodgkin-Huxley model.
Moradi, N; Scholkmann, F; Salari, V
2015-03-01
The Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model is a powerful model to explain different aspects of spike generation in excitable cells. However, the HH model was proposed in 1952 when the real structure of the ion channel was unknown. It is now common knowledge that in many ion-channel proteins the flow of ions through the pore is governed by a gate, comprising a so-called "selectivity filter" inside the ion channel, which can be controlled by electrical interactions. The selectivity filter (SF) is believed to be responsible for the selection and fast conduction of particular ions across the membrane of an excitable cell. Other (generally larger) parts of the molecule such as the pore-domain gate control the access of ions to the channel protein. In fact, two types of gates are considered here for ion channels: the "external gate", which is the voltage sensitive gate, and the "internal gate" which is the selectivity filter gate (SFG). Some quantum effects are expected in the SFG due to its small dimensions, which may play an important role in the operation of an ion channel. Here, we examine parameters in a generalized model of HH to see whether any parameter affects the spike generation. Our results indicate that the previously suggested semi-quantum-classical equation proposed by Bernroider and Summhammer (BS) agrees strongly with the HH equation under different conditions and may even provide a better explanation in some cases. We conclude that the BS model can refine the classical HH model substantially.
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Giant tunneling magnetoresistance in spin-filter van der Waals heterostructures
Song, Tiancheng; Cai, Xinghan; Tu, Matisse Wei-Yuan; ...
2018-05-03
Magnetic multilayer devices that exploit magnetoresistance are the backbone of magnetic sensing and data storage technologies. Here, we report multiple-spin-filter magnetic tunnel junctions (sf-MTJs) based on van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures in which atomically thin chromium triiodide (CrI3) acts as a spin-filter tunnel barrier sandwiched between graphene contacts. We demonstrate tunneling magnetoresistance which is drastically enhanced with increasing CrI 3 layer thickness, reaching a record 19,000% for magnetic multilayer structures using four-layer sf-MTJs at low temperatures. Using magnetic circular dichroism measurements, we attribute these effects to the intrinsic layer-by-layer antiferromagnetic ordering of the atomically thin CrI 3. In conclusion, ourmore » work reveals the possibility to push magnetic information storage to the atomically thin limit and highlights CrI 3 as a superlative magnetic tunnel barrier for vdW heterostructure spintronic devices.« less
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Giant tunneling magnetoresistance in spin-filter van der Waals heterostructures
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Song, Tiancheng; Cai, Xinghan; Tu, Matisse Wei-Yuan
Magnetic multilayer devices that exploit magnetoresistance are the backbone of magnetic sensing and data storage technologies. Here, we report multiple-spin-filter magnetic tunnel junctions (sf-MTJs) based on van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures in which atomically thin chromium triiodide (CrI3) acts as a spin-filter tunnel barrier sandwiched between graphene contacts. We demonstrate tunneling magnetoresistance which is drastically enhanced with increasing CrI 3 layer thickness, reaching a record 19,000% for magnetic multilayer structures using four-layer sf-MTJs at low temperatures. Using magnetic circular dichroism measurements, we attribute these effects to the intrinsic layer-by-layer antiferromagnetic ordering of the atomically thin CrI 3. In conclusion, ourmore » work reveals the possibility to push magnetic information storage to the atomically thin limit and highlights CrI 3 as a superlative magnetic tunnel barrier for vdW heterostructure spintronic devices.« less
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2016-06-01
index. The covariance matrix associated with the disctrete-time process noise vector [ ωdφ(k) ωdf (k) ]T is Qdt (k) = [ SφT + T 3 3 Sf T 2 2 Sf T 2 2 Sf...time process noise covariance matrix , scaled to metres, is shown on page 153 of [1]. It is Qd (k) = c 2Qdt (k) = [ 0.0114 0.0019 0.0019 0.0039 ] (8...somewhat, a shorthand notation is used where appropriate; viz., consider an m × n matrix A, with elements aij (k) , i = 1, ..,m, j = 1, .., n, then
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lin, D.; Jarzabek-Rychard, M.; Schneider, D.; Maas, H.-G.
2018-05-01
An automatic building façade thermal texture mapping approach, using uncooled thermal camera data, is proposed in this paper. First, a shutter-less radiometric thermal camera calibration method is implemented to remove the large offset deviations caused by changing ambient environment. Then, a 3D façade model is generated from a RGB image sequence using structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques. Subsequently, for each triangle in the 3D model, the optimal texture is selected by taking into consideration local image scale, object incident angle, image viewing angle as well as occlusions. Afterwards, the selected textures can be further corrected using thermal radiant characteristics. Finally, the Gauss filter outperforms the voted texture strategy at the seams smoothing and thus for instance helping to reduce the false alarm rate in façade thermal leakages detection. Our approach is evaluated on a building row façade located at Dresden, Germany.
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Characterization of scatter in digital mammography from physical measurements
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Leon, Stephanie M., E-mail: Stephanie.Leon@uth.tmc.edu; Wagner, Louis K.; Brateman, Libby F.
2014-06-15
Purpose: That scattered radiation negatively impacts the quality of medical radiographic imaging is well known. In mammography, even slight amounts of scatter reduce the high contrast required for subtle soft-tissue imaging. In current clinical mammography, image contrast is partially improved by use of an antiscatter grid. This form of scatter rejection comes with a sizeable dose penalty related to the concomitant elimination of valuable primary radiation. Digital mammography allows the use of image processing as a method of scatter correction that might avoid effects that negatively impact primary radiation, while potentially providing more contrast improvement than is currently possible withmore » a grid. For this approach to be feasible, a detailed characterization of the scatter is needed. Previous research has modeled scatter as a constant background that serves as a DC bias across the imaging surface. The goal of this study was to provide a more substantive data set for characterizing the spatially-variant features of scatter radiation at the image detector of modern mammography units. Methods: This data set was acquired from a model of the radiation beam as a matrix of very narrow rays or pencil beams. As each pencil beam penetrates tissue, the pencil widens in a predictable manner due to the production of scatter. The resultant spreading of the pencil beam at the detector surface can be characterized by two parameters: mean radial extent (MRE) and scatter fraction (SF). The SF and MRE were calculated from measurements obtained using the beam stop method. Two digital mammography units were utilized, and the SF and MRE were found as functions of target, filter, tube potential, phantom thickness, and presence or absence of a grid. These values were then used to generate general equations allowing the SF and MRE to be calculated for any combination of the above parameters. Results: With a grid, the SF ranged from a minimum of about 0.05 to a maximum of about 0.16, and the MRE ranged from about 3 to 13 mm. Without a grid, the SF ranged from a minimum of 0.25 to a maximum of 0.52, and the MRE ranged from about 20 to 45 mm. The SF with a grid demonstrated a mild dependence on target/filter combination and kV, whereas the SF without a grid was independent of these factors. The MRE demonstrated a complex relationship as a function of kV, with notable difference among target/filter combinations. The primary source of change in both the SF and MRE was phantom thickness. Conclusions: Because breast tissue varies spatially in physical density and elemental content, the effective thickness of breast tissue varies spatially across the imaging field, resulting in a spatially-variant scatter distribution in the imaging field. The data generated in this study can be used to characterize the scatter contribution on a point-by-point basis, for a variety of different techniques.« less
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Vandermaesen, Johanna; Lievens, Bart; Springael, Dirk
The microbial community in sand filters (SFs) of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) likely contributes to SF functionalities, such as organic carbon removal through heterotrophic metabolism. However, the dynamics and functionality of the SF microbiome and microbial communities in oligotrophic freshwater environments in general, are poorly understood. Therefore, the availability of bacterial strains from these oligotrophic environments is of great interest, but such organisms are currently underrepresented in culture collections. Focusing on heterotrophic carbon metabolism, bacteria were isolated from SFs using conventional media and media that contained SF extracts to mimic the SF environment. The majority of isolates belonged to Betaproteobacteria, more specifically to the families Comamonadaceae (genera Acidovorax, Curvibacter, Hydrogenophaga, Simplicispira, Paucibacter, Pelomonas, Piscinibacter and Rhodoferax) and Oxalobacteraceae (Undibacterium). Additionally, members of Alphaproteobacteria (Mesorhizobium), Gammaproteobacteria (Aeromonas and Perlucidibaca) and Actinobacteria (Rhodococcus and Brachybacterium) were isolated. Several of those genera have only rarely been described, but appear typical inhabitants of oligotrophic freshwater environments. In this regard, the Comamonadaceae isolates are of particular interest. Our study shows that bacteria representative of oligotrophic environments can be isolated using simple isolation procedures. The isolates provide a microbial framework for extending our knowledge of the taxonomy, physiology and functionality of oligotrophic freshwater microbiomes and their interactions with possible invaders. Copyright © 2017 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Hays, Steve; Piekarz, Henryk; Pfeffer, Howie
2007-06-01
Recently proposed fast cycling accelerators for proton drivers (SF-SPS, CERN and SF-MR, SF-BOOSTER, FNAL) neutrino sources require development of new magnet technology. In support of this magnet development a power supply system will need to be developed that can support the high current and high rate of power swing required by the fast cycling (1 sec rise and fall in the SF-MR, 5Hz in Booster). This paper will outline a design concept for a +/- 2000 V and 100,000 A fast ramping power supply system. This power supply design is in support of a 6.44 km magnet system at 0.020more » H and 330 m 5 Hz, 0.00534 H superconducting loads. The design description will include the layout and plan for extending the present FNAL Main Injector style ramping power supply to the higher currents needed for this operation. This will also include the design for a harmonic filter and power factor corrector that will be needed to control the large power swings caused by the fast cycle time. A conceptual design for the current regulation system and control will also be outlined. The power circuit design will include the bridge, filter and transformer plan based on existing designs.« less
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Alexander, Joshua M.
2016-01-01
By varying parameters that control nonlinear frequency compression (NFC), this study examined how different ways of compressing inaudible mid- and/or high-frequency information at lower frequencies influences perception of consonants and vowels. Twenty-eight listeners with mild to moderately severe hearing loss identified consonants and vowels from nonsense syllables in noise following amplification via a hearing aid simulator. Low-pass filtering and the selection of NFC parameters fixed the output bandwidth at a frequency representing a moderately severe (3.3 kHz, group MS) or a mild-to-moderate (5.0 kHz, group MM) high-frequency loss. For each group (n = 14), effects of six combinations of NFC start frequency (SF) and input bandwidth [by varying the compression ratio (CR)] were examined. For both groups, the 1.6 kHz SF significantly reduced vowel and consonant recognition, especially as CR increased; whereas, recognition was generally unaffected if SF increased at the expense of a higher CR. Vowel recognition detriments for group MS were moderately correlated with the size of the second formant frequency shift following NFC. For both groups, significant improvement (33%–50%) with NFC was confined to final /s/ and /z/ and to some VCV tokens, perhaps because of listeners' limited exposure to each setting. No set of parameters simultaneously maximized recognition across all tokens. PMID:26936574
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Research on technology of online gas chromatograph for SF6 decomposition products
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Li, L.; Fan, X. P.; Zhou, Y. Y.; Tang, N.; Zou, Z. L.; Liu, M. Z.; Huang, G. J.
2017-12-01
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) decomposition products were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by several gas chromatographs in the laboratory. Test conditions and methods were selected and optimized to minimize and eliminate the SF6’ influences on detection of other trace components. The effective separation and detection of selected characteristic gases were achieved. And by comparison among different types of gas chromatograph, it was found that GPTR-S101 can effectively separate and detect SF6 decomposition products and has best the best detection limit and sensitivity. On the basis of GPTR-S101, online gas chromatograph for SF6decomposition products (GPTR-S201) was developed. It lays the foundation for further online monitoring and diagnosis of SF6.
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Spin-Polarization in Quasi-Magnetic Tunnel Junctions
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Xie, Zheng-Wei; Li, Ling
2017-05-01
Spin polarization in ferromagnetic metal/insulator/spin-filter barrier/nonmagnetic metal, referred to as quasi-magnetic tunnel junctions, is studied within the free-electron model. Our results show that large positive or negative spin-polarization can be obtained at high bias in quasi-magnetic tunnel junctions, and within large bias variation regions, the degree of spin-polarization can be linearly tuned by bias. These linear variation regions of spin-polarization with bias are influenced by the barrier thicknesses, barrier heights and molecular fields in the spin-filter (SF) layer. Among them, the variations of thickness and heights of the insulating and SF barrier layers have influence on the value of spin-polarization and the linear variation regions of spin-polarization with bias. However, the variations of molecular field in the SF layer only have influence on the values of the spin-polarization and the influences on the linear variation regions of spin-polarization with bias are slight. Supported by the Key Natural Science Fund of Sichuan Province Education Department under Grant Nos 13ZA0149 and 16ZA0047, and the Construction Plan for Scientific Research Innovation Team of Universities in Sichuan Province under Grant No 12TD008.
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Ah Lee, Seung; Ou, Xiaoze; Lee, J Eugene; Yang, Changhuei
2013-06-01
We demonstrate a silo-filter (SF) complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor for a chip-scale fluorescence microscope. The extruded pixel design with metal walls between neighboring pixels guides fluorescence emission through the thick absorptive filter to the photodiode of a pixel. Our prototype device achieves 13 μm resolution over a wide field of view (4.8 mm × 4.4 mm). We demonstrate bright-field and fluorescence longitudinal imaging of living cells in a compact, low-cost configuration.
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Monte, Andrea; Muollo, Valentina; Nardello, Francesca; Zamparo, Paola
2017-02-01
The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in selected biomechanical variables in 80-m maximal sprint runs while imposing changes in step frequency (SF) and to investigate if these adaptations differ based on gender and training level. A total of 40 athletes (10 elite men and 10 women, 10 intermediate men and 10 women) participated in this study; they were requested to perform 5 trials at maximal running speed (RS): at the self-selected frequency (SF s ) and at SF ±15% and ±30%SF s . Contact time (CT) and flight time (FT) as well as step length (SL) decreased with increasing SF, while k vert increased with it. At SF s , k leg was the lowest (a 20% decrease at ±30%SF s ), while RS was the largest (a 12% decrease at ±30%SF s ). Only small changes (1.5%) in maximal vertical force (F max ) were observed as a function of SF, but maximum leg spring compression (ΔL) was largest at SF s and decreased by about 25% at ±30%SF s . Significant differences in F max , Δy, k leg and k vert were observed as a function of skill and gender (P < 0.001). Our results indicate that RS is optimised at SF s and that, while k vert follows the changes in SF, k leg is lowest at SF s .
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Loreggia, D.; Tataranni, F.; Trivero, P.; Biamino, W.; Di Matteo, L.
2017-10-01
We present the implementation of a procedure to adapt an Asymmetric Wiener Filtering (AWF) methodology aimed to detect and discard ghost signal due to azimuth ambiguities in SAR images to the case for X-band Cosmo Sky Med (CSK) images in the framework of SEASAFE (Slick Emissions And Ship Automatic Features Extraction) project, developed at the Department of Science and Technology Innovation of the University of Piemonte Orientale, Alessandria, Italy. SAR is a useful tool to daily and nightly monitoring of the sea surface in all weather conditions. SEASAFE project is a software platform developed in IDL language able to process data in C- Land X-band SAR images with enhanced algorithm modules for land masking, sea pollution (oil spills) and ship detection; wind and wave evaluation are also available. In this contest, the need to individuate and discard false alarms is a critical requirement. The azimuth ambiguity is one of the main causes that generate false alarm in the ship detection procedure. Many methods to face with this problem were proposed and presented in recent literature. After a review of different approach to this problem, we describe the procedure to adapt the AWF approach presented in [1,2] to the case of X-band CSK images by implementing a selective blocks approach.
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Kokinous, Jenny; Tavano, Alessandro; Kotz, Sonja A; Schröger, Erich
2017-02-01
The role of spatial frequencies (SF) is highly debated in emotion perception, but previous work suggests the importance of low SFs for detecting emotion in faces. Furthermore, emotion perception essentially relies on the rapid integration of multimodal information from faces and voices. We used EEG to test the functional relevance of SFs in the integration of emotional and non-emotional audiovisual stimuli. While viewing dynamic face-voice pairs, participants were asked to identify auditory interjections, and the electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Audiovisual integration was measured as auditory facilitation, indexed by the extent of the auditory N1 amplitude suppression in audiovisual compared to an auditory only condition. We found an interaction of SF filtering and emotion in the auditory response suppression. For neutral faces, larger N1 suppression ensued in the unfiltered and high SF conditions as compared to the low SF condition. Angry face perception led to a larger N1 suppression in the low SF condition. While the results for the neural faces indicate that perceptual quality in terms of SF content plays a major role in audiovisual integration, the results for angry faces suggest that early multisensory integration of emotional information favors low SF neural processing pathways, overruling the predictive value of the visual signal per se. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Buntner, D; Spanjers, H; van Lier, J B
2014-03-15
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of excess aerobic sludge on the specific methanogenic activity (SMA), in order to establish the maximum allowable aerobic sludge loading. In batch tests, different ratios of aerobic sludge to anaerobic inoculum were used, i.e. 0.03, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15, showing that low ratios led to an increased SMA. However, the ratio 0.15 caused more than 20% SMA decrease. In addition to the SMA tests, the potential influence of biopolymers and extracellular substances, that are generated as a result of excess aerobic sludge hydrolysis, on membrane performance was determined by assessing the fouling potential of the liquid broth, taking into account parameters such as specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and supernatant filterability (SF). Addition of aerobic sludge to the anaerobic biomass resulted in a high membrane fouling potential. The increase in biopolymers could be ascribed to aerobic sludge hydrolysis. A clear positive correlation between the concentration of the colloidal fraction of biopolymer clusters (cBPC) and the SRF was observed and a negative correlation between the cBPC and the SF measured at the end of the above described SMA tests. The latter implies that sludge filtration resistance increases when more aerobic sludge is hydrolyzed, and thus more cBPC is released. During AnMBR operation, proteins significantly contributed to sludge filterability decrease expressed as SRF and SF, whereas the carbohydrate fraction of SMP was of less importance due to low concentrations. On the contrary, carbohydrates seemed to improve filterability and diminish SRF of the sludge. Albeit, cBPC increase caused an increase in mean TMP during the AnMBR operation, confirming that cBPC is positively correlated to membrane fouling. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Pramanik, Biplob Kumar; Kajol, Annaduzzaman; Suja, Fatihah; Md Zain, Shahrom
2017-03-01
Biological aerated filter (BAF), sand filtration (SF), alum and Moringa oleifera coagulation were investigated as a pre-treatment for reducing the organic and biofouling potential component of an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane in the treatment of lake water. The carbohydrate content was mainly responsible for reversible fouling of the UF membrane compared to protein or dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content. All pre-treatment could effectively reduce these contents and led to improve the UF filterability. Both BAF and SF markedly led to improvement in flux than coagulation processes, and alum gave greater flux than M. oleifera. This was attributed to the effective removal and/or breakdown of high molecular weight (MW) organics by biofilters. BAF led to greater improvement in flux than SF, due to greater breakdown of high MW organics, and this was also confirmed by the attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Coagulation processes were ineffective in removing biofouling potential components, whereas both biofilters were very effective as shown by the reduction of low MW organics, biodegradable dissolved organic carbon and assimilable organic carbon contents. This study demonstrated the potential of biological pre-treatments for reducing organic and biofouling potential component and thus improving flux for the UF of lake water treatment.
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Accelerating separable footprint (SF) forward and back projection on GPU
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Xie, Xiaobin; McGaffin, Madison G.; Long, Yong; Fessler, Jeffrey A.; Wen, Minhua; Lin, James
2017-03-01
Statistical image reconstruction (SIR) methods for X-ray CT can improve image quality and reduce radiation dosages over conventional reconstruction methods, such as filtered back projection (FBP). However, SIR methods require much longer computation time. The separable footprint (SF) forward and back projection technique simplifies the calculation of intersecting volumes of image voxels and finite-size beams in a way that is both accurate and efficient for parallel implementation. We propose a new method to accelerate the SF forward and back projection on GPU with NVIDIA's CUDA environment. For the forward projection, we parallelize over all detector cells. For the back projection, we parallelize over all 3D image voxels. The simulation results show that the proposed method is faster than the acceleration method of the SF projectors proposed by Wu and Fessler.13 We further accelerate the proposed method using multiple GPUs. The results show that the computation time is reduced approximately proportional to the number of GPUs.
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Relative Spatial Frequency Processing Drives Hemispheric Asymmetry in Conscious Awareness
Piazza, Elise A.; Silver, Michael A.
2017-01-01
Visual stimuli with different spatial frequencies (SFs) are processed asymmetrically in the two cerebral hemispheres. Specifically, low SFs are processed relatively more efficiently in the right hemisphere than the left hemisphere, whereas high SFs show the opposite pattern. In this study, we ask whether these differences between the two hemispheres reflect a low-level division that is based on absolute SF values or a flexible comparison of the SFs in the visual environment at any given time. In a recent study, we showed that conscious awareness of SF information (i.e., visual perceptual selection from multiple SFs simultaneously present in the environment) differs between the two hemispheres. Building upon that result, here we employed binocular rivalry to test whether this hemispheric asymmetry is due to absolute or relative SF processing. In each trial, participants viewed a pair of rivalrous orthogonal gratings of different SFs, presented either to the left or right of central fixation, and continuously reported which grating they perceived. We found that the hemispheric asymmetry in perception is significantly influenced by relative processing of the SFs of the simultaneously presented stimuli. For example, when a medium SF grating and a higher SF grating were presented as a rivalry pair, subjects were more likely to report that they initially perceived the medium SF grating when the rivalry pair was presented in the left visual hemifield (right hemisphere), compared to the right hemifield. However, this same medium SF grating, when it was paired in rivalry with a lower SF grating, was more likely to be perceptually selected when it was in the right visual hemifield (left hemisphere). Thus, the visual system’s classification of a given SF as “low” or “high” (and therefore, which hemisphere preferentially processes that SF) depends on the other SFs that are present, demonstrating that relative SF processing contributes to hemispheric differences in visual perceptual selection. PMID:28469585
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EVALUATION OF NANOFILTRATION PRETREATMENTS FOR FLUX LOSS CONTROL
Differing nanofiltration pretreatment approaches for Ohio River water were evaluated withthe intent of producing systems with varying degrees of biological fouling. The membrane feed water was alum-coagulated, settled, and filtered Ohio River water (SF-ORW). Five 1.8" x 12" N...
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Willenbockel, Verena; Lepore, Franco; Nguyen, Dang Khoa; Bouthillier, Alain; Gosselin, Frédéric
2012-01-01
Previous studies have shown that complex visual stimuli, such as emotional facial expressions, can influence brain activity independently of the observers’ awareness. Little is known yet, however, about the “informational correlates” of consciousness – i.e., which low-level information correlates with brain activation during conscious vs. non-conscious perception. Here, we investigated this question in the spatial frequency (SF) domain. We examined which SFs in disgusted and fearful faces modulate activation in the insula and amygdala over time and as a function of awareness, using a combination of intracranial event-related potentials (ERPs), SF Bubbles (Willenbockel et al., 2010a), and Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS; Tsuchiya and Koch, 2005). Patients implanted with electrodes for epilepsy monitoring viewed face photographs (13° × 7°) that were randomly SF filtered on a trial-by-trial basis. In the conscious condition, the faces were visible; in the non-conscious condition, they were rendered invisible using CFS. The data were analyzed by performing multiple linear regressions on the SF filters from each trial and the transformed ERP amplitudes across time. The resulting classification images suggest that many SFs are involved in the conscious and non-conscious perception of emotional expressions, with SFs between 6 and 10 cycles per face width being particularly important early on. The results also revealed qualitative differences between the awareness conditions for both regions. Non-conscious processing relied on low SFs more and was faster than conscious processing. Overall, our findings are consistent with the idea that different pathways are employed for the processing of emotional stimuli under different degrees of awareness. The present study represents a first step to mapping how SF information “flows” through the emotion-processing network with a high temporal resolution and to shedding light on the informational correlates of consciousness in general. PMID:23055988
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BORIS/CTCFL mRNA isoform expression and epigenetic regulation in epithelial ovarian cancer
Link, Petra A.; Zhang, Wa; Odunsi, Kunle; Karpf, Adam R.
2013-01-01
Cancer germline (CG) genes are normally expressed in germ cells and aberrantly expressed in a variety of cancers; their immunogenicity has led to the widespread development of cancer vaccines targeting these antigens. BORIS/CTCFL is an autosomal CG antigen and promising cancer vaccine target. BORIS is the only known paralog of CTCF, a gene intimately involved in genomic imprinting, chromatin insulation, and nuclear regulation. We have previously shown that BORIS is expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and that its expression coincides with promoter and global DNA hypomethylation. Recently, 23 different BORIS mRNA variants have been described, and have been functionally grouped into six BORIS isoform families (sf1–sf6). In the present study, we have characterized the expression of BORIS isoform families in normal ovary (NO) and EOC, the latter of which were selected to include two groups with widely varying global DNA methylation status. We find selective expression of BORIS isoform families in NO, which becomes altered in EOC, primarily by the activation of BORIS sf1 in EOC. When comparing EOC samples based on methylation status, we find that BORIS sf1 and sf2 isoform families are selectively activated in globally hypomethylated tumors. In contrast, CTCF is downregulated in EOC, and the ratio of BORIS sf1, sf2, and sf6 isoform families as a function of CTCF is elevated in hypomethylated tumors. Finally, the expression of all BORIS isoform families was induced to varying extents by epigenetic modulatory drugs in EOC cell lines, particularly when DNMT and HDAC inhibitors were used in combination. PMID:23390377
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Gating, Regulation, and Structure in K2P K+ Channels: In Varietate Concordia?
Niemeyer, María Isabel; Cid, L Pablo; González, Wendy; Sepúlveda, Francisco V
2016-09-01
K2P K(+) channels with two pore domains in tandem associate as dimers to produce so-called background conductances that are regulated by a variety of stimuli. Whereas gating in K2P channels has been poorly understood, recent developments have provided important clues regarding the gating mechanism for this family of proteins. Two modes of gating present in other K(+) channels have been considered. The first is the so-called activation gating that occurs by bundle crossing and the splaying apart of pore-lining helices commanding ion passage. The second mode involves a change in conformation at the selectivity filter (SF), which impedes ion flow at this narrow portion of the conduction pathway and accounts for extracellular pH modulation of several K2P channels. Although some evidence supports the existence of an activation gate in K2P channels, recent results suggest that perhaps all stimuli, even those sensed at a distant location in the protein, are also mediated by SF gating. Recently resolved crystal structures of K2P channels in conductive and nonconductive conformations revealed that the nonconductive state is reached by blockade by a lipid acyl chain that gains access to the channel cavity through intramembrane fenestrations. Here we discuss whether this novel type of gating, proposed so far only for membrane tension gating, might mediate gating in response to other stimuli or whether SF gating is the only type of opening/closing mechanism present in K2P channels. Copyright © 2016 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
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Duan, Jinming; Fang, Hongda; Su, Bing; Chen, Jinfang; Lin, Jinmei
2015-03-01
A novel halophilic bacterium capable of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification was isolated from marine sediments and identified as Vibrio diabolicus SF16. It had ability to remove 91.82% of NH4(+)-N (119.77 mg/L) and 99.71% of NO3(-)-N (136.43 mg/L). The nitrogen balance showed that 35.83% of initial NH4(+)-N (119.77 mg/L) was changed to intracellular nitrogen, and 53.98% of the initial NH4(+)-N was converted to gaseous denitrification products. The existence of napA gene further proved the aerobic denitrification ability of strain SF16. The optimum culture conditions were salinity 1-5%, sodium acetate as carbon source, C/N 10, and pH 7.5-9.5. When an aerated biological filter system inoculated with strain SF16 was employed to treat saline wastewater, the average removal efficiency of NH4(+)-N and TN reached 97.14% and 73.92%, respectively, indicating great potential of strain SF16 for future full-scale applications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Brewer, Shannon K.
2013-01-01
This study examined how spring-flow (SF) contributions to streams related to the distribution and abundance of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu in a predominately pasture landscape in Missouri, USA. Stream segments (N=13) with similar landscape characters were classified by SF volume into high SF (HSF) or low SF (LSF) groups. The densities of smallmouth bass, channel unit (CU) use and temperature-selection patterns were assessed for several life stages and frequency distributions for age 0 fish. More smallmouth bass were present in stream segments with HSF influence. Age 0 fish were twice as likely to be present in HSF stream segments. Older age classes were present in stream reaches independent of SF contribution. For all age classes, the use of particular CUs did not depend on SF influence. All age classes were more likely to be present in pools than other CUs. Microhabitat temperature selection differed among age classes. Age 0 fish selected warmer temperatures with a gradual shift towards cooler temperatures for older age classes. The length frequency of age 0 fish was skewed towards larger individuals in streams with limited SF influence, whereas the length frequency in HSF stream segments was skewed towards smaller individuals. The benefits of significant groundwater via SF influence seem to be related to increased hatch or survival of age 0 fish and the availability of optimal temperatures for adult smallmouth bass growth. Thermal refugia and stable flows provided by springs should be recognised for their biological potential to provide suitable habitat as climate change and other land-use alterations increase temperature regimes and alter flow patterns.
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Optimal stride frequencies in running at different speeds.
van Oeveren, Ben T; de Ruiter, Cornelis J; Beek, Peter J; van Dieën, Jaap H
2017-01-01
During running at a constant speed, the optimal stride frequency (SF) can be derived from the u-shaped relationship between SF and heart rate (HR). Changing SF towards the optimum of this relationship is beneficial for energy expenditure and may positively change biomechanics of running. In the current study, the effects of speed on the optimal SF and the nature of the u-shaped relation were empirically tested using Generalized Estimating Equations. To this end, HR was recorded from twelve healthy (4 males, 8 females) inexperienced runners, who completed runs at three speeds. The three speeds were 90%, 100% and 110% of self-selected speed. A self-selected SF (SFself) was determined for each of the speeds prior to the speed series. The speed series started with a free-chosen SF condition, followed by five imposed SF conditions (SFself, 70, 80, 90, 100 strides·min-1) assigned in random order. The conditions lasted 3 minutes with 2.5 minutes of walking in between. SFself increased significantly (p<0.05) with speed with averages of 77, 79, 80 strides·min-1 at 2.4, 2.6, 2.9 m·s-1, respectively). As expected, the relation between SF and HR could be described by a parabolic curve for all speeds. Speed did not significantly affect the curvature, nor did it affect optimal SF. We conclude that over the speed range tested, inexperienced runners may not need to adapt their SF to running speed. However, since SFself were lower than the SFopt of 83 strides·min-1, the runners could reduce HR by increasing their SFself.
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Is the standard SF-12 health survey valid and equivalent for a Chinese population?
Lam, Cindy L K; Tse, Eileen Y Y; Gandek, Barbara
2005-03-01
Chinese is the world's largest ethnic group but few health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures have been tested on them. The aim of this study was to determine if the standard SF-12 was valid and equivalent for a Chinese population. The SF-36 data of 2410 Chinese adults randomly selected from the general population of Hong Kong (HK) were analysed. The Chinese (HK) specific SF-12 items and scoring algorithm were derived from the HK Chinese population data by multiple regressions. The SF-36 PCS and MCS scores were used as criteria to assess the content and criterion validity of the SF-12. The standard and Chinese (HK) specific SF-12 PCS and MCS scores were compared for equivalence. The standard SF-12 explained 82% and 89% of the variance of the SF-36 PCS and MCS scores, respectively, and the effect size differences between the standard SF-36 and SF-12 scores were less than 0.3. Six of the Chinese (HK) specific SF-12 items were different from those of the standard SF-12, but the effect size differences between the Chinese (HK) specific and standard SF-12 scores were mostly less than 0.3. The standard SF-12 was valid and equivalent for the Chinese, which would enable more Chinese to be included in clinical trials that measure HRQoL.
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Magnetoresistance of antiferromagnetic Ir22Mn78-pinned spin filter specular spin valves
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hwang, J. Y.; Kim, M. Y.; Rhee, J. R.; Lee, S. S.; Hwang, D. G.; Yu, S. C.; Lee, H. B.
2004-06-01
Specular spin valves (SSVs) having the spin filter layer (SFL) in contact with the ultrathin free layer of composition Ta3/NiFe2/IrMn7/CoFe1/(NOL1)/CoFe2/Cu1.8/CoFe(tF)/Cu(tSF)/(NOL2)/Ta3.5 (in nm) deposited by magnetron sputtering were studied. For these antiferromagnetic Ir22Mn78-pinned spin filter specular spin valve (SFSSV) films, an optimal magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of 11.9% was obtained when both the free layer thickness (tF) and the SFL thickness (tSF) were 1.5 nm, and a MR ratio higher than 11% was maintained even when tF was reduced to 1.0 nm. This was due to an increase of specular electrons by the nano-oxide layer (NOL) and of current shunting through the SFL. Moreover, the interlayer coupling field (Hint) between the free layer and pinned layer could be explained by considering the RKKY and magnetostatic coupling. The coercivity of the free layer (Hcf) was significantly reduced as compared to traditional spin valves (TSV), and remained as low as 4 Oe when tF varied from 1 to 4 nm. It was found that the SFL made it possible to reduce the free layer thickness and enhance the MR ratio without degrading the soft magnetic property of the free layer.
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D'Souza, Dany V; Auer, Tibor; Frahm, Jens; Strasburger, Hans; Lee, Barry B
2016-03-01
Psychophysical sensitivity to red-green chromatic modulation decreases with visual eccentricity, compared to sensitivity to luminance modulation, even after appropriate stimulus scaling. This is likely to occur at a central, rather than a retinal, site. Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to stimuli designed to separately stimulate different afferent channels' [red-green, luminance, and short-wavelength (S)-cone] circular gratings were recorded as a function of visual eccentricity (±10 deg) and spatial frequency (SF) in human primary visual cortex (V1) and further visual areas (V2v, V3v). In V1, the SF tuning of BOLD fMRI responses became coarser with eccentricity. For red-green and luminance gratings, similar SF tuning curves were found at all eccentricities. The pattern for S-cone modulation differed, with SF tuning changing more slowly with eccentricity than for the other two modalities. This may be due to the different retinal distribution with eccentricity of this receptor type. A similar pattern held in V2v and V3v. This would suggest that transformation or spatial filtering of the chromatic (red-green) signal occurs beyond these areas.
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Mitigation of multipath effect in GNSS short baseline positioning by the multipath hemispherical map
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dong, D.; Wang, M.; Chen, W.; Zeng, Z.; Song, L.; Zhang, Q.; Cai, M.; Cheng, Y.; Lv, J.
2016-03-01
Multipath is one major error source in high-accuracy GNSS positioning. Various hardware and software approaches are developed to mitigate the multipath effect. Among them the MHM (multipath hemispherical map) and sidereal filtering (SF)/advanced SF (ASF) approaches utilize the spatiotemporal repeatability of multipath effect under static environment, hence they can be implemented to generate multipath correction model for real-time GNSS data processing. We focus on the spatial-temporal repeatability-based MHM and SF/ASF approaches and compare their performances for multipath reduction. Comparisons indicate that both MHM and ASF approaches perform well with residual variance reduction (50 %) for short span (next 5 days) and maintains roughly 45 % reduction level for longer span (next 6-25 days). The ASF model is more suitable for high frequency multipath reduction, such as high-rate GNSS applications. The MHM model is easier to implement for real-time multipath mitigation when the overall multipath regime is medium to low frequency.
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Design and modeling of flower like microring resonator
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Razaghi, Mohammad; Laleh, Mohammad Sayfi
2016-05-01
This paper presents a novel multi-channel optical filter structure. The proposed design is based on using a set of microring resonators (MRRs) in new formation, named flower like arrangement. It is shown that instead of using 18 MRRs, by using only 5 MRRs in recommended formation, same filtering operation can be achieved. It is shown that with this structure, six filters and four integrated demultiplexers (DEMUXs) are obtained. The simplicity, extensibility and compactness of this structure make it usable in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks. Filter's characteristics such as shape factor (SF), free spectral range (FSR) and stopband rejection ratio can be designed by adjusting microrings' radii and coupling coefficients. To model this structure, signal flow graph method (SFG) based on Mason's rule is used. The modeling method is discussed in depth. Furthermore, the accuracy and applicability of this method are verified through examples and comparison with other modeling schemes.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Trouille, Laura; Barger, Amy; Tremonti, Christy
2014-07-01
The Baldwin, Phillips, and Terlevich emission-line ratio diagnostic ([OIII]/Hβ versus [NII]/Hα, hereafter BPT diagram) efficiently separates galaxies whose signal is dominated by star formation (BPT-SF) from those dominated by AGN activity (BPT-AGN). Yet the BPT diagram is limited to z<0.5, the redshift at which [NII]λ6584 leaves the optical spectral window. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we construct a new diagnostic, or TBT diagram, that is based on rest-frame g-z color, [NeIII]λ3869, and [OII]λλ3726+3729 and can be used for galaxies out to z<1.4. The TBT diagram identifies 98.7% of the SDSS BPT-AGN as TBT-AGN and 97% of the SDSS BPT-SF as TBT-SF. Furthermore, it identifies 97% of the OPTX Chandra X-ray selected AGNs as TBT-AGN. This is in contrast to the BPT diagram, which misidentifies 20% of X-ray selected AGNs as BPT-SF.
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HGF/scatter factor selectively promotes cell invasion by increasing integrin avidity.
Trusolino, L; Cavassa, S; Angelini, P; Andó, M; Bertotti, A; Comoglio, P M; Boccaccio, C
2000-08-01
Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) controls a genetic program known as 'invasive growth', which involves as critical steps cell adhesion, migration, and trespassing of basement membranes. We show here that in MDA-MB-231 carcinoma cells, these steps are elicited by HGF/SF but not by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Neither factor substantially alters the production or activity of extracellular matrix proteases. HGF/SF, but not EGF, selectively promotes cell adhesion on laminins 1 and 5, fibronectin, and vitronectin through a PI3-K-dependent mechanism. Increased adhesion is followed by enhanced invasiveness through isolated matrix proteins as well as through reconstituted basement membranes. Inhibition assays using function-blocking antibodies show that this phenomenon is mediated by multiple integrins including beta1, beta3, beta4, and beta5. HGF/SF triggers clustering of all these integrins at actin-rich adhesive sites and lamellipodia but does not quantitatively modify their membrane expression. These data suggest that HGF/SF promotes cell adhesion and invasiveness by increasing the avidity of integrins for their specific ligands.
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SF-6D population norms for the Hong Kong Chinese general population.
Wong, Carlos K H; Mulhern, Brendan; Cheng, Garvin H L; Lam, Cindy L K
2018-05-24
To estimate population norms for the SF-6D health preference (utility) scores derived from the MOS SF-36 version 1 (SF-36v1), SF-36 version 2 (SF-36v2), and (SF-12v2) health surveys collected from a representative adult sample in Hong Kong, and to assess differences in SF-6D scores across sociodemographic subgroups. A random telephone survey of 2410 Chinese adults was conducted. All respondents completed questionnaires on sociodemographics and presence of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, chronic rheumatism, chronic lung diseases, stroke, and mental illness), and the short-form 36-item health survey (SF-36) version 1, and selected items of the SF-36v2 that were different from those of SF-36v1. Responses of short-form 12-item health survey (SF-12) were extracted from responses of the SF-36 items. SF-6D health utility scores were derived from SF-36 version 1 (SF-6D SF-36v1 ), SF-36 version 2 (SF-6D SF-36v2 ), and SF-12 version 2 (SF-6D SF-12v2 ) using Hong Kong SF-6D value set. Population norms of SF-6D SF-36v1 , SF-6D SF-36v2 , and SF-6D SF-12v2 for the Hong Kong Chinese were 0.7947 (± 0.0048), 0.7862 (± 0.0049), and 0.8147 (± 0.0050), respectively. Three SF-6D scores were highly correlated (0.861-0.954), and had a high degree of reliability and absolute agreement. Males had higher health utility scores (SF-6D SF-36v1 : 0.0025; SF-6D SF-36v2 : 0.025; SF-6D SF-12v2 : 0.018) but reported less problems in all the dimensions than women. Respondents with a higher number of chronic diseases had lower SF-6D scores. Among all respondents with one or more chronic diseases, those with hypertension scored the highest whereby those with mental illness scored the least. The SF-6D utility scores derived from different SF-36 or SF-12 health surveys were different. The population norms based on these three health surveys enable the normative comparisons of health utility scores from specific population or patient groups, and provide estimates of age-gender adjusted health utility scores for health economic evaluations.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tortop, Hasan Said
2014-01-01
This study aimed at examining the predictors of quality of science fair (SF) projects in the light of pre-service teachers' evaluation of SF rubric' domains. These projects were selected by judges in A city for the A Regional Exhibition of Science and Mathematics Project Study for Primary School Students: The SF projects were evaluated by thirty…
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Highly selective dry etching of GaP in the presence of AlxGa1–xP with a SiCl4/SF6 plasma
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hönl, Simon; Hahn, Herwig; Baumgartner, Yannick; Czornomaz, Lukas; Seidler, Paul
2018-05-01
We present an inductively coupled-plasma reactive-ion etching process that simultaneously provides both a high etch rate and unprecedented selectivity for gallium phosphide (GaP) in the presence of aluminum gallium phosphide (AlxGa1–xP). Utilizing mixtures of silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), selectivities exceeding 2700:1 are achieved at GaP etch rates above 3000 nm min‑1. A design of experiments has been employed to investigate the influence of the inductively coupled-plasma power, the chamber pressure, the DC bias and the ratio of SiCl4 to SF6. The process enables the use of thin AlxGa1–xP stop layers even at aluminum contents of a few percent.
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Sodium Binding Sites and Permeation Mechanism in the NaChBac Channel: A Molecular Dynamics Study.
Guardiani, Carlo; Rodger, P Mark; Fedorenko, Olena A; Roberts, Stephen K; Khovanov, Igor A
2017-03-14
NaChBac was the first discovered bacterial sodium voltage-dependent channel, yet computational studies are still limited due to the lack of a crystal structure. In this work, a pore-only construct built using the NavMs template was investigated using unbiased molecular dynamics and metadynamics. The potential of mean force (PMF) from the unbiased run features four minima, three of which correspond to sites IN, CEN, and HFS discovered in NavAb. During the run, the selectivity filter (SF) is spontaneously occupied by two ions, and frequent access of a third one is often observed. In the innermost sites IN and CEN, Na + is fully hydrated by six water molecules and occupies an on-axis position. In site HFS sodium interacts with a glutamate and a serine from the same subunit and is forced to adopt an off-axis placement. Metadynamics simulations biasing one and two ions show an energy barrier in the SF that prevents single-ion permeation. An analysis of the permeation mechanism was performed both computing minimum energy paths in the axial-axial PMF and through a combination of Markov state modeling and transition path theory. Both approaches reveal a knock-on mechanism involving at least two but possibly three ions. The currents predicted from the unbiased simulation using linear response theory are in excellent agreement with single-channel patch-clamp recordings.
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Development and Validation of a High-Density SNP Genotyping Array for African Oil Palm.
Kwong, Qi Bin; Teh, Chee Keng; Ong, Ai Ling; Heng, Huey Ying; Lee, Heng Leng; Mohamed, Mohaimi; Low, Joel Zi-Bin; Apparow, Sukganah; Chew, Fook Tim; Mayes, Sean; Kulaveerasingam, Harikrishna; Tammi, Martti; Appleton, David Ross
2016-08-01
High-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays are powerful tools that can measure the level of genetic polymorphism within a population. To develop a whole-genome SNP array for oil palms, SNP discovery was performed using deep resequencing of eight libraries derived from 132 Elaeis guineensis and Elaeis oleifera palms belonging to 59 origins, resulting in the discovery of >3 million putative SNPs. After SNP filtering, the Illumina OP200K custom array was built with 170 860 successful probes. Phenetic clustering analysis revealed that the array could distinguish between palms of different origins in a way consistent with pedigree records. Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium declined more slowly for the commercial populations (ranging from 120 kb at r(2) = 0.43 to 146 kb at r(2) = 0.50) when compared with the semi-wild populations (19.5 kb at r(2) = 0.22). Genetic fixation mapping comparing the semi-wild and commercial population identified 321 selective sweeps. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) detected a significant peak on chromosome 2 associated with the polygenic component of the shell thickness trait (based on the trait shell-to-fruit; S/F %) in tenera palms. Testing of a genomic selection model on the same trait resulted in good prediction accuracy (r = 0.65) with 42% of the S/F % variation explained. The first high-density SNP genotyping array for oil palm has been developed and shown to be robust for use in genetic studies and with potential for developing early trait prediction to shorten the oil palm breeding cycle. Copyright © 2016 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Purification-Free, Target-Selective Immobilization of a Protein from Cell Lysates.
Cha, Jaehyun; Kwon, Inchan
2018-02-27
Protein immobilization has been widely used for laboratory experiments and industrial processes. Preparation of a recombinant protein for immobilization usually requires laborious and expensive purification steps. Here, a novel purification-free, target-selective immobilization technique of a protein from cell lysates is reported. Purification steps are skipped by immobilizing a target protein containing a clickable non-natural amino acid (p-azidophenylalanine) in cell lysates onto alkyne-functionalized solid supports via bioorthogonal azide-alkyne cycloaddition. In order to achieve a target protein-selective immobilization, p-azidophenylalanine was introduced into an exogenous target protein, but not into endogenous non-target proteins using host cells with amber codon-free genomic DNAs. Immobilization of superfolder fluorescent protein (sfGFP) from cell lysates is as efficient as that of the purified sfGFP. Using two fluorescent proteins (sfGFP and mCherry), the authors also demonstrated that the target proteins are immobilized with a minimal immobilization of non-target proteins (target-selective immobilization). © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Identification of a Novel Rhabdovirus in Spodoptera frugiperda Cell Lines
Ma, Hailun; Galvin, Teresa A.; Glasner, Dustin R.; Shaheduzzaman, Syed
2014-01-01
ABSTRACT The Sf9 cell line, derived from Spodoptera frugiperda, is used as a cell substrate for biological products, and no viruses have been reported in this cell line after extensive testing. We used degenerate PCR assays and massively parallel sequencing (MPS) to identify a novel RNA virus belonging to the order Mononegavirales in Sf9 cells. Sequence analysis of the assembled virus genome showed the presence of five open reading frames (ORFs) corresponding to the genes for the N, P, M, G, and L proteins in other rhabdoviruses and an unknown ORF of 111 amino acids located between the G- and L-protein genes. BLAST searches indicated that the S. frugiperda rhabdovirus (Sf-rhabdovirus) was related in a limited region of the L-protein gene to Taastrup virus, a newly discovered member of the Mononegavirales from a leafhopper (Hemiptera), and also to plant rhabdoviruses, particularly in the genus Cytorhabdovirus. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences in the L-protein gene indicated that Sf-rhabdovirus is a novel virus that branched with Taastrup virus. Rhabdovirus morphology was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy of filtered supernatant samples from Sf9 cells. Infectivity studies indicated potential transient infection by Sf-rhabdovirus in other insect cell lines, but there was no evidence of entry or virus replication in human cell lines. Sf-rhabdovirus sequences were also found in the Sf21 parental cell line of Sf9 cells but not in other insect cell lines, such as BT1-TN-5B1-4 (Tn5; High Five) cells and Schneider's Drosophila line 2 [D.Mel.(2); SL2] cells, indicating a species-specific infection. The results indicate that conventional methods may be complemented by state-of-the-art technologies with extensive bioinformatics analysis for identification of novel viruses. IMPORTANCE The Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cell line is used as a cell substrate for the development and manufacture of biological products. Extensive testing has not previously identified any viruses in this cell line. This paper reports on the identification and characterization of a novel rhabdovirus in Sf9 cells. This was accomplished through the use of next-generation sequencing platforms, de novo assembly tools, and extensive bioinformatics analysis. Rhabdovirus identification was further confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Infectivity studies showed the lack of replication of Sf-rhabdovirus in human cell lines. The overall study highlights the use of a combinatorial testing approach including conventional methods and new technologies for evaluation of cell lines for unexpected viruses and use of comprehensive bioinformatics strategies for obtaining confident next-generation sequencing results. PMID:24672045
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[Assessing quality of life in an urban population in Chengdu using the SF-12].
Li, Ning-xiu; Liu, Dan-ping; Liu, Chao-jie; Ren, Xiao-hui; Gao, Bo
2010-11-01
To assess the health-related quality of life in an urban population in Chengdu China using the SF-12. A random sampling strategy stratified by age and sex was adopted to select the participants in Chengdu. A total of 1365 respondents with an age of older than 18 years completed the interviewer-administered SF-12 survey. The physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary measures of the SF-12 were calculated using the standard US scoring method and compared to the urban population norms of Hong Kong and Australia. Similar PCS and MCS scores were obtained for the urban Chengdu population compared to the Hong Kong and Australian population norms, albeit a closer similarity between the Chengdu and Hong Kong populations. The PCS and MCS scores of the SF-12 changed with sex and age. The age- and sex-adjusted PCS and MCS scores of the SF-12 in the urban Chengdu population can serve as a reference for future studies using the SF-12 in China.
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Shishir, Md Asaduzzaman; Mamun, Md Al; Mian, Md Mahmuduzzaman; Ferdous, Umme Tamanna; Akter, Noor Jahan; Suravi, Rajia Sultana; Datta, Suvamoy; Kabir, Md Ehsanul
2018-01-01
The scarcity of hygienic drinking water is a normal phenomenon in the coastal areas of Bangladesh due to the high salinity of ground water. The inhabitants of this locality, therefore, live on alternative supplies of water including rain-fed pond water, and rainwater with persistent complex microbial interactions therein, often contaminated with life-threatening pathogens. Hence, this study was aimed at analyzing the prevalence of Vibrio cholerae ( Vc ) in the alternative drinking waters of Mathbaria, a coastal subdistrict neighboring the Bay of Bengal, the efficacy of pond sand filter (PSF) and the co-association among Bacillus -like spore formers (Sf) and Vc . Vc presumably entrapped into the membrane filter was enriched in alkaline peptone water medium and was isolated on selective thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose and taurocholate-tellurite-gelatin agar media. They were finally identified by immunochromatographic one step rapid test and serology test. A total of 26% Vc positive samples were obtained out of 100 [ponds-48, household (HH)-29, and PSFs-23] where 13% cases were pathogenic ( Vc O1) and 13% were non-pathogenic ( Vc non-O1/non-O139). The distribution of Vc as observed was 33, 26, and 13.8% in waters derived from pond surface, PSF, and HH reservoirs, respectively, and for pathogenic type, it was 62.5%, 50%, and nil, respectively. Although none of the samples was identified with pathogenic Vc O139, the statistics represents a significant and augmentative risk of cholera outbreak in the focused area. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern in this study resembled the trend observed during last few years for Vc . The PSF demonstrated its inability to remove Vc from any of the samples and in addition, the filter itself was evidenced to be the source of pathogens and spores in further contamination and transmission. The development of biofilm in the PSF could be hypothesized as the reservoir in contaminating pathogen-free water samples. From the test of homogeneity, the risk levels of alternative water sources were estimated equal regarding Vc . Simultaneously, it was determined statistically that the prevalence of Vc , by no means, is influenced by Bacillus -like Sf be it for pond surface, HH, or PSF derived water.
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Shishir, Md. Asaduzzaman; Mamun, Md. Al; Mian, Md. Mahmuduzzaman; Ferdous, Umme Tamanna; Akter, Noor Jahan; Suravi, Rajia Sultana; Datta, Suvamoy; Kabir, Md. Ehsanul
2018-01-01
The scarcity of hygienic drinking water is a normal phenomenon in the coastal areas of Bangladesh due to the high salinity of ground water. The inhabitants of this locality, therefore, live on alternative supplies of water including rain-fed pond water, and rainwater with persistent complex microbial interactions therein, often contaminated with life-threatening pathogens. Hence, this study was aimed at analyzing the prevalence of Vibrio cholerae (Vc) in the alternative drinking waters of Mathbaria, a coastal subdistrict neighboring the Bay of Bengal, the efficacy of pond sand filter (PSF) and the co-association among Bacillus-like spore formers (Sf) and Vc. Vc presumably entrapped into the membrane filter was enriched in alkaline peptone water medium and was isolated on selective thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose and taurocholate-tellurite-gelatin agar media. They were finally identified by immunochromatographic one step rapid test and serology test. A total of 26% Vc positive samples were obtained out of 100 [ponds—48, household (HH)—29, and PSFs—23] where 13% cases were pathogenic (Vc O1) and 13% were non-pathogenic (Vc non-O1/non-O139). The distribution of Vc as observed was 33, 26, and 13.8% in waters derived from pond surface, PSF, and HH reservoirs, respectively, and for pathogenic type, it was 62.5%, 50%, and nil, respectively. Although none of the samples was identified with pathogenic Vc O139, the statistics represents a significant and augmentative risk of cholera outbreak in the focused area. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern in this study resembled the trend observed during last few years for Vc. The PSF demonstrated its inability to remove Vc from any of the samples and in addition, the filter itself was evidenced to be the source of pathogens and spores in further contamination and transmission. The development of biofilm in the PSF could be hypothesized as the reservoir in contaminating pathogen-free water samples. From the test of homogeneity, the risk levels of alternative water sources were estimated equal regarding Vc. Simultaneously, it was determined statistically that the prevalence of Vc, by no means, is influenced by Bacillus-like Sf be it for pond surface, HH, or PSF derived water. PMID:29536001
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MYSST: Mapping Young Stars in Space and Time - The HII Complex N44 in the LMC
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gouliermis, Dimitrios
2016-10-01
The stellar initial mass function (IMF), and the timescale and lengthscale of star formation (SF) are critical issues for our understanding of how stars form. Low-mass pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars, having typical contraction times on the order of a few 10 Myr, are the live chronometers of the SF process and primary informants on the low-mass IMF of their host clusters. Our studies show that young star clusters, embedded in star-forming regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), encompass rich samples of PMS stars, sufficient to study clustered SF in low-metallicities with optical HST photometry. Yet, the lack of a complete comprehensive stellar sample retains important questions about the universality of the IMF, and the time- and length-scale of SF across a typical molecular cloud unanswered. We propose to address these issues by employing both ACS and WFC3 with their high sensitivity and spatial resolving power to obtain deep photometry (m_555 29 mag) of the LMC star-forming complex N44. We will accomplish a detailed mapping of PMS stars that will trace the whole hierarchy of star formation springing from one giant molecular cloud. Our analysis will provide an unbiased determination of the timescale for SF and the sub-solar IMF down to the hydrogen burning limit in a variety of clustering scales for the first time. Our findings will have a significant impact on our comprehensive understanding of SF in the low-metallicity environment of the LMC. We maximize the HST observing efficiency using both ACS/WFC and WFC3/UVIS in parallel for the simultaneous observations of N44, its ensemble of HII regions and their young stellar clusters in the same F555W and F814W filters.
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115. ARAI Details of hot cell section of building ARA626. ...
115. ARA-I Details of hot cell section of building ARA-626. Shows location of high density concrete, viewing windows, filters, monorail crane, bridge crane, and other details. Norman Engineering Company 961-area/SF-626-MS-1. Date: January 1959. Ineel index code no. 068-0626-40-613-102737. - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Army Reactors Experimental Area, Scoville, Butte County, ID
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Avulsion research using flume experiments and highly accurate and temporal-rich SfM datasets
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Javernick, L.; Bertoldi, W.; Vitti, A.
2017-12-01
SfM's ability to produce high-quality, large-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) of complicated and rapidly evolving systems has made it a valuable technique for low-budget researchers and practitioners. While SfM has provided valuable datasets that capture single-flood event DEMs, there is an increasing scientific need to capture higher temporal resolution datasets that can quantify the evolutionary processes instead of pre- and post-flood snapshots. However, flood events' dangerous field conditions and image matching challenges (e.g. wind, rain) prevent quality SfM-image acquisition. Conversely, flume experiments offer opportunities to document flood events, but achieving consistent and accurate DEMs to detect subtle changes in dry and inundated areas remains a challenge for SfM (e.g. parabolic error signatures).This research aimed at investigating the impact of naturally occurring and manipulated avulsions on braided river morphology and on the encroachment of floodplain vegetation, using laboratory experiments. This required DEMs with millimeter accuracy and precision and at a temporal resolution to capture the processes. SfM was chosen as it offered the most practical method. Through redundant local network design and a meticulous ground control point (GCP) survey with a Leica Total Station in red laser configuration (reported 2 mm accuracy), the SfM residual errors compared to separate ground truthing data produced mean errors of 1.5 mm (accuracy) and standard deviations of 1.4 mm (precision) without parabolic error signatures. Lighting conditions in the flume were limited to uniform, oblique, and filtered LED strips, which removed glint and thus improved bed elevation mean errors to 4 mm, but errors were further reduced by means of an open source software for refraction correction. The obtained datasets have provided the ability to quantify how small flood events with avulsion can have similar morphologic and vegetation impacts as large flood events without avulsion. Further, this research highlights the potential application of SfM in the laboratory and ability to document physical and biological processes at greater spatial and temporal resolution. Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship: River-HMV, 656917
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Rennie, Bryan; Filion, Lionel G; Smart, Nonie
2010-11-09
Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, afflicts approximately 50 million cattle worldwide and is detected by the tuberculin skin test (TST). While it has long been recognized that purified protein derivative (PPD) tuberculin is composed of a mixture of M. bovis derived protein components, little is known about the quality, relative quantity and identity of the proteins that make up PPD tuberculin. We manufactured a sterile filtered PPD tuberculin (SF-PPD) from a nine-week-old M. bovis culture supernatant in order to characterise the culture filtrate proteins (CFP) which make up M. bovis PPD tuberculin and to compare the antibody response of M. bovis infected versus M. bovis sensitized cattle. SF-PPD resolved into approximately 200 discrete spots using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) while fewer than 65 spots could be discerned from 2-DE gels of tuberculin derived from autoclaved culture supernatant. Two dimensional Western blot analyses indicated that sera from M. bovis sensitized cattle recognized additional SF-PPD antigens as compared to M. bovis infected cattle at seven weeks post infection/sensitization. However, application of a comparative tuberculin skin test resulted in an antibody boosting response to the same set of M. bovis CFPs in both the M. bovis infected and M. bovis sensitized cattle. We concluded that it is the heat sterilization of the M. bovis CFPs that causes severe structural changes to the M. bovis proteins. This work suggests that M. bovis infected cattle and cattle artificially sensitized to M. bovis with an injection of heat killed cells exhibit similar antibody responses to M. bovis antigens.
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Lemieux, Chantal L; Collin, Charles A; Nelson, Elizabeth A
2015-02-01
In two experiments, we examined the effects of varying the spatial frequency (SF) content of face images on eye movements during the learning and testing phases of an old/new recognition task. At both learning and testing, participants were presented with face stimuli band-pass filtered to 11 different SF bands, as well as an unfiltered baseline condition. We found that eye movements varied significantly as a function of SF. Specifically, the frequency of transitions between facial features showed a band-pass pattern, with more transitions for middle-band faces (≈5-20 cycles/face) than for low-band (≈<5 cpf) or high-band (≈>20 cpf) ones. These findings were similar for the learning and testing phases. The distributions of transitions across facial features were similar for the middle-band, high-band, and unfiltered faces, showing a concentration on the eyes and mouth; conversely, low-band faces elicited mostly transitions involving the nose and nasion. The eye movement patterns elicited by low, middle, and high bands are similar to those previous researchers have suggested reflect holistic, configural, and featural processing, respectively. More generally, our results are compatible with the hypotheses that eye movements are functional, and that the visual system makes flexible use of visuospatial information in face processing. Finally, our finding that only middle spatial frequencies yielded the same number and distribution of fixations as unfiltered faces adds more evidence to the idea that these frequencies are especially important for face recognition, and reveals a possible mediator for the superior performance that they elicit.
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Yokozaki, H; Tahara, H; Oue, N; Tahara, E
2000-01-01
A new transcription variant of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) was cloned from human gastric cancer cell line HSC-39. Northern blot analysis of eight human gastric cancer cell lines (TMK-1, MKN-1, MKN-7, MKN-28, MKN-45, MKN-74, KATO-III and HSC-39) demonstrated that HSC-39 cells expressed a 1.3 kb abnormal HGF/SF transcript. Screening of 1 x 10(6) colonies of cDNA library from HSC-39 constructed in pAP3neo mammalian expression vector selected four positive clones containing HGF/SF transcript. Among them, two contained a 1.3 kbp insert detecting the identical transcript to that obtained with HGF/SF probe by Northern blotting. Deoxynucleotide sequencing of the 1.3 kbp insert revealed that it was composed of a part of HGF/SF cDNA from exon 14 to exon 18, corresponding to the whole sequence of HGF/SF light chain, with 5' 75 nucleotides unrelated to any sequence involved in HGF/SF.
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Balvers, Rutger K.; Kleijn, Anne; Kloezeman, Jenneke J.; French, Pim J.; Kremer, Andreas; van den Bent, Martin J.; Dirven, Clemens M. F.; Leenstra, Sieger; Lamfers, Martine L. M.
2013-01-01
Background Recent molecular characterization studies have identified clinically relevant molecular subtypes to coexist within the same histological entities of glioma. Comparative studies between serum-supplemented and serum-free (SF) culture conditions have demonstrated that SF conditions select for glioma stem-like cells, which superiorly conserve genomic alterations. However, neither the representation of molecular subtypes within SF culture assays nor the molecular distinctions between successful and nonsuccessful attempts have been elucidated. Methods A cohort of 261 glioma samples from varying histological grades was documented for SF culture success and clinical outcome. Gene expression and single nucleotide polymorphism arrays were interrogated on a panel of tumors for comparative analysis of SF+ (successful cultures) and SF− (unsuccessful cultures). Results SF culture outcome was correlated with tumor grade, while no relation was found between SF+ and patient overall survival. Copy number–based hierarchical clustering revealed an absolute separation between SF+ and SF− parental tumors. All SF+ cultures are derived from tumors that are isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) wild type, chromosome 7 amplified, and chromosome 10q deleted. SF− cultures derived from IDH1 mutant tumors demonstrated a fade-out of mutated cells during the first passages. SF+ tumors were enriched for The Cancer Genome Atlas Classical subtype and intrinsic glioma subtype-18. Comparative gene ontology analysis between SF+ and SF− tumors demonstrated enrichment for modules associated with extracellular matrix composition, Hox-gene signaling, and inflammation. Conclusion SF cultures are derived from a subset of parental tumors with a shared molecular background including enrichment for extracellular matrix–associated gene modules. These results provide leads to develop enhanced culture protocols for glioma samples not propagatable under current SF conditions. PMID:24046260
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Vila-Rodriguez, F; Ochoa, S; Autonell, J; Usall, J; Haro, J M
2011-12-01
Social functioning (SF) is the ultimate target aimed in treatment plans in schizophrenia, thus it is critical to know what are the factors that determine SF. Gender is a well-established variable influencing SF, yet it is not known how social variables and symptoms interact in schizophrenia patients. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the interaction between social variables and symptoms is different in men compared to women. Our aim is to test whether social variables are better predictors of SF in community-dwelled individuals with schizophrenia, and whether men and women differ in how symptoms and social variables interact to impact SF. Community-dwelling individuals with schizophrenia (N = 231) were randomly selected from a register. Participants were assessed with symptom measures (PANSS), performance-based social scale (LSP), objective social and demographic variables. Stratification by gender and stepwise multivariate regression analyses by gender were used to find the best-fitting models that predict SF in both gender. Men had poorer SF than women in spite of showing similar symptom scores. On stepwise regression analyses, gender was the main variable explaining SF, with a significant contribution by disorganized and excitatory symptoms. Age of onset made a less marked, yet significant, contribution to explain SF. When the sample was stratified by gender, disorganized symptoms and 'Income' variable entered the model and accounted for a 30.8% of the SF variance in women. On the other hand, positive and disorganized symptoms entered the model and accounted for a 36.1% of the SF variance in men. Community-dwelling men and women with schizophrenia differ in the constellation of variables associated with SF. Symptom scores still account for most of the variance in SF in both genders.
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Identification of a novel rhabdovirus in Spodoptera frugiperda cell lines.
Ma, Hailun; Galvin, Teresa A; Glasner, Dustin R; Shaheduzzaman, Syed; Khan, Arifa S
2014-06-01
The Sf9 cell line, derived from Spodoptera frugiperda, is used as a cell substrate for biological products, and no viruses have been reported in this cell line after extensive testing. We used degenerate PCR assays and massively parallel sequencing (MPS) to identify a novel RNA virus belonging to the order Mononegavirales in Sf9 cells. Sequence analysis of the assembled virus genome showed the presence of five open reading frames (ORFs) corresponding to the genes for the N, P, M, G, and L proteins in other rhabdoviruses and an unknown ORF of 111 amino acids located between the G- and L-protein genes. BLAST searches indicated that the S. frugiperda rhabdovirus (Sf-rhabdovirus) was related in a limited region of the L-protein gene to Taastrup virus, a newly discovered member of the Mononegavirales from a leafhopper (Hemiptera), and also to plant rhabdoviruses, particularly in the genus Cytorhabdovirus. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences in the L-protein gene indicated that Sf-rhabdovirus is a novel virus that branched with Taastrup virus. Rhabdovirus morphology was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy of filtered supernatant samples from Sf9 cells. Infectivity studies indicated potential transient infection by Sf-rhabdovirus in other insect cell lines, but there was no evidence of entry or virus replication in human cell lines. Sf-rhabdovirus sequences were also found in the Sf21 parental cell line of Sf9 cells but not in other insect cell lines, such as BT1-TN-5B1-4 (Tn5; High Five) cells and Schneider's Drosophila line 2 [D.Mel.(2); SL2] cells, indicating a species-specific infection. The results indicate that conventional methods may be complemented by state-of-the-art technologies with extensive bioinformatics analysis for identification of novel viruses. The Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cell line is used as a cell substrate for the development and manufacture of biological products. Extensive testing has not previously identified any viruses in this cell line. This paper reports on the identification and characterization of a novel rhabdovirus in Sf9 cells. This was accomplished through the use of next-generation sequencing platforms, de novo assembly tools, and extensive bioinformatics analysis. Rhabdovirus identification was further confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Infectivity studies showed the lack of replication of Sf-rhabdovirus in human cell lines. The overall study highlights the use of a combinatorial testing approach including conventional methods and new technologies for evaluation of cell lines for unexpected viruses and use of comprehensive bioinformatics strategies for obtaining confident next-generation sequencing results. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kralik, Martin; Vergnaud, Virginie; Uriostegui, Stephanie; Esser, Bradley
2016-04-01
To provide an emergency drinking water supply in case of catastrophic events (regional chemical accidents, floods, earth quakes etc.), wells and springs should be known which are fed by a large reservoir. Such reservoirs provide a good filtering capacity and long Mean Residence Times (MRTs) of the raw water. Their existence allows to use these resources for longer periods excluding the danger of contamination. This provides the water authorities the necessary time to set measures to protect the general water supply. After preselection of 16 wells and springs all over the territory of the province of Vorarlberg at the western end of Austria by the local water authority, these wells and springs were measured (water temperature, electric conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen content) and sampled monthly for δ 18O/2H measurements over the winter half-year 2013/14. At the same time the tritium concentrations of the October and March samples were measured as well. Based on the variation of the monthly on-site measurements and the δ 18O/2H results 12 wells and springs were selected for further investigations. On these sites samples for 3H/3He, CFC-11/12/113, SF6 and sulphur-35 measurements were collected in August 2014. As expected from a humid alpine area, non of the selected springs or wells showed really long MRTs. Five out of 16 investigated sites are regarded as well suited to be used as emergency water source with a range of MRTs of 9 - 30 years. Five springs and wells are regarded of limited suitability due to the shorter MRTs of 5 - 9 years. In two springs the 3H/3He method could not be applied due to He-degassing in a karst-system and during sampling. CFC and SF6 excess at some sites with anthropogenic and geogenic sources hampered the utilisation of these gases as dating tool, but they were useful as source tracers. Sulphur-35 was detected in two wells only, indicating contribution of very young water (< 1 year). In both cases MRTs of 13 - 17 years, calculated from the other applied tracers, otherwise would have supported the suitability of these wells as emergency drinking water supply. In general, the combination of tracers measured here over the period of one year are well suited to select and confirm springs or wells to be used as emergency drinking water supply, even situated in areas with fast groundwater cycles.
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[Early warning for various internal faults of GIS based on ultraviolet spectroscopy].
Zhao, Yu; Wang, Xian-pei; Hu, Hong-hong; Dai, Dang-dang; Long, Jia-chuan; Tian, Meng; Zhu, Guo-wei; Huang, Yun-guang
2015-02-01
As the basis of accurate diagnosis, fault early-warning of gas insulation switchgear (GIS) focuses on the time-effectiveness and the applicability. It would be significant to research the method of unified early-warning for partial discharge (PD) and overheated faults in GIS. In the present paper, SO2 is proposed as the common and typical by-product. The unified monitoring could be achieved through ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV) detection of SO2. The derivative method and Savitzky-Golay filtering are employed for baseline correction and smoothing. The wavelength range of 290-310 nm is selected for quantitative detection of SO2. Through UV method, the spectral interference of SF6 and other complex by-products, e.g., SOF2 and SOF2, can be avoided and the features of trace SO2 in GIS can be extracted. The detection system is featured by compacted structure, low maintenance and satisfactory suitability in filed surveillance. By conducting SF6 decomposition experiments, including two types of PD faults and the overheated faults between 200-400 degrees C, the feasibility of proposed UV method has been verified. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography methods can be used for subsequent fault diagnosis. The different decomposition features in two kinds of faults are confirmed and the diagnosis strategy has been briefly analyzed. The main by-products under PD are SOF2 and SO2F2. The generated SO2 is significantly less than SOF2. More carbonous by-products will be generated when PD involves epoxy. By contrast, when the material of heater is stainless steel, SF6 decomposes at about 300 "C and the main by-products in overheated faults are SO2 and SO2F2. When heated over 350 degrees C, SO2 is generated much faster. SOz content stably increases when the GIS fault lasts. The faults types could be preliminarily identified based on the generation features of SO2.
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Borziak, Kirill; Álvarez-Fernández, Aitor; L. Karr, Timothy; Pizzari, Tommaso; Dorus, Steve
2016-01-01
Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are emerging as fundamental contributors to sexual selection given their role in post-mating reproductive events, particularly in polyandrous species where the ejaculates of different males compete for fertilisation. SFP identification however remains taxonomically limited and little is known about avian SFPs, despite extensive work on sexual selection in birds. We characterize the SF proteome of the polyandrous Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, the wild species that gave rise to the domestic chicken. We identify 1,141 SFPs, including proteins involved in immunity and antimicrobial defences, sperm maturation, and fertilisation, revealing a functionally complex SF proteome. This includes a predominant contribution of blood plasma proteins that is conserved with human SF. By comparing the proteome of young and old males with fast or slow sperm velocity in a balanced design, we identify proteins associated with ageing and sperm velocity, and show that old males that retain high sperm velocity have distinct proteome characteristics. SFP comparisons with domestic chickens revealed both qualitative and quantitative differences likely associated with domestication and artificial selection. Collectively, these results shed light onto the functional complexity of avian SF, and provide a platform for molecular studies of fertility, reproductive ageing, and domestication. PMID:27804984
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Borziak, Kirill; Álvarez-Fernández, Aitor; L Karr, Timothy; Pizzari, Tommaso; Dorus, Steve
2016-11-02
Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are emerging as fundamental contributors to sexual selection given their role in post-mating reproductive events, particularly in polyandrous species where the ejaculates of different males compete for fertilisation. SFP identification however remains taxonomically limited and little is known about avian SFPs, despite extensive work on sexual selection in birds. We characterize the SF proteome of the polyandrous Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, the wild species that gave rise to the domestic chicken. We identify 1,141 SFPs, including proteins involved in immunity and antimicrobial defences, sperm maturation, and fertilisation, revealing a functionally complex SF proteome. This includes a predominant contribution of blood plasma proteins that is conserved with human SF. By comparing the proteome of young and old males with fast or slow sperm velocity in a balanced design, we identify proteins associated with ageing and sperm velocity, and show that old males that retain high sperm velocity have distinct proteome characteristics. SFP comparisons with domestic chickens revealed both qualitative and quantitative differences likely associated with domestication and artificial selection. Collectively, these results shed light onto the functional complexity of avian SF, and provide a platform for molecular studies of fertility, reproductive ageing, and domestication.
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IR multiphoton absorption of SF6 in flow with Ar at moderate energy fluences
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Makarov, G. N.; Ronander, E.; van Heerden, S. P.; Gouws, M.; van der Merwe, K.
1997-10-01
IR multiple photon absorption (MPA) of SF6 in flow with Ar (SF6: Ar=1:100) in conditions of a large vibrational/rotational temperature difference (TV𪒮 K, TR䏐 K) was studied at moderate energy fluences from ۂ.1 to 𪐬 mJ/cm2, which are of interest for isotope selective two-step dissociation of molecules. A 50 cm Laval-type slit nozzle for the flow cooling, and a TEA CO2-laser for excitation of molecules were used in the experiments. The laser energy fluence dependences of the SF6 MPA were studied for several CO2-laser lines which are in a good resonance with the linear absorption spectrum of the Ƚ vibration of SF6 at low temperature. The effect of the laser pulse duration (intensity) on MPA of flow cooled SF6 with Ar was also studied. The results are compared with those obtained in earlier studies.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yonezawa, A.; Kuroda, R.; Teramoto, A.; Obara, T.; Sugawa, S.
2014-03-01
We evaluated effective time constants of random telegraph noise (RTN) with various operation timings of in-pixel source follower transistors statistically, and discuss the dependency of RTN time constants on the duty ratio (on/off ratio) of MOSFET which is controlled by the gate to source voltage (VGS). Under a general readout operation of CMOS image sensor (CIS), the row selected pixel-source followers (SFs) turn on and not selected pixel-SFs operate at different bias conditions depending on the select switch position; when select switch locate in between the SF driver and column output line, SF drivers nearly turn off. The duty ratio and cyclic period of selected time of SF driver depends on the operation timing determined by the column read out sequence. By changing the duty ratio from 1 to 7.6 x 10-3, time constant ratio of RTN (time to capture <τc<)/(time to emission <τe<) of a part of MOSFETs increased while RTN amplitudes were almost the same regardless of the duty ratio. In these MOSFETs, <τc< increased and the majority of <τe< decreased and the minority of <τe< increased by decreasing the duty ratio. The same tendencies of behaviors of <τc< and <τe< were obtained when VGS was decreased. This indicates that the effective <τc< and <τe< converge to those under off state as duty ratio decreases. These results are important for the noise reduction, detection and analysis of in pixel-SF with RTN.
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Piao, Wei; Wang, Li; Zhang, Ting; Wang, Zhen; Shangguan, Shaofang; Sun, Jing; Huo, Junsheng
2017-01-01
Associations between genetic variants in the hepcidin regulation pathway and iron status have been reported in previous studies. Most of these studies were conducted in populations of European descent and relatively few studies have been conducted in Chinese populations. In this study, we evaluated associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the hepcidin regulation pathway, serum ferritin (SF) and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) in Chinese adolescents. In total, 692 students from rural boarding schools were selected from six cities in China. The participants were divided into case and control groups according to criteria for SF and sTfR. Furthermore, 33 SNPs in TMPRSS6, TF, TFR2, BMP2, BMP4, HJV, CYBRD1, HFE, IL6, PCSK7, HAMP, KIAA1468, and SRPRB were selected. Associations between the genetic variants and SF or sTfR were detected. For SF, rs4820268 in TMPRSS6 was associated with an SF <25 ng/mL status. Carriers of the G/G genotype of rs4820268 exhibited significantly lower SF levels than A allele carriers did (p=0.047). For sTfR, rs1880669 in TF, rs4901474 in BMP4, and rs7536827 in HJV were significantly associated with an sTfR >=4.4 mg/L status. However, in general linear model analysis, after adjustment for age, sex, and location, only rs1880669 exhibited a stable association with higher sTfR levels (p=0.032). We found rs4820268, in TMPRSS6 that was associated with a low SF level, as previously reported, and a new association between 1880669 in TF and sTfR.
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Application of solid-phase extraction to agar-supported fermentation.
Le Goff, Géraldine; Adelin, Emilie; Cortial, Sylvie; Servy, Claudine; Ouazzani, Jamal
2013-09-01
Agar-supported fermentation (Ag-SF), a variant of solid-state fermentation, has recently been improved by the development of a dedicated 2 m(2) scale pilot facility, Platotex. We investigated the application of solid-phase extraction (SPE) to Ag-SF in order to increase yields and minimize the contamination of the extracts with agar constituents. The selection of the appropriate resin was conducted on liquid-state fermentation and Diaion HP-20 exhibited the highest recovery yield and selectivity for the metabolites of the model fungal strains Phomopsis sp. and Fusarium sp. SPE applied to Ag-SF resulted in a particular compartmentalization of the culture. The mycelium that requires oxygen to grow migrates to the top layer and formed a thick biofilm. The resin beads intercalate between the agar surface and the mycelium layer, and trap directly the compounds secreted by the mycelium through a "solid-solid extraction" (SSE) process. The resin/mycelium layer is easily recovered by scraping the surface and the target metabolites extracted by methanol. Ag-SF associated to SSE represents an ideal compromise for the production of bioactive secondary metabolites with limited economic and environmental impact.
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Jeffery, Diana D.; Barbera, Lisa; Andersen, Barbara L.; Siston, Amy K.; Jhingran, Anuja; Baron, Shirley R.; Reese, Jennifer Barsky; Coady, Deborah J.; Carter, Jeanne; Flynn, Kathryn E.
2016-01-01
Background A systematic review was conducted to identify and characterize self-reported sexual function (SF) measures administered to women with a history of cancer. Methods Using 2009 PRISMA guidelines, we searched electronic bibliographic databases for quantitative studies published January 2008–September 2014 that used a self-reported measure of SF, or a quality of life (QOL) measure that contained at least one item pertaining to SF. Results Of 1,487 articles initially identified, 171 were retained. The studies originated in 36 different countries with 23% from U.S.-based authors. Most studies focused on women treated for breast, gynecologic, or colorectal cancer. About 70% of the articles examined SF as the primary focus; the remaining examined QOL, menopausal symptoms, or compared treatment modalities. We identified 37 measures that assessed at least one domain of SF, eight of which were dedicated SF measures developed with cancer patients. Almost one-third of the studies used EORTC QLQ modules to assess SF, and another third used the Female Sexual Function Inventory. There were few commonalities among studies, though nearly all demonstrated worse SF after cancer treatment or compared to healthy controls. Conclusions QOL measures are better suited to screening while dedicated SF questionnaires provide data for more in depth assessment. This systematic review will assist oncology clinicians and researchers in their selection of measures of SF and encourage integration of this quality of life domain in patient care. PMID:25997102
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The Human Splicing Factor ASF/SF2 can Specifically Recognize Pre-mRNA 5' Splice Sites
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zuo, Ping; Manley, James L.
1994-04-01
ASF/SF2 is a human protein previously shown to function in in vitro pre-mRNA splicing as an essential factor necessary for all splices and also as an alternative splicing factor, capable of switching selection of 5' splice sites. To begin to study the protein's mechanism of action, we have investigated the RNA binding properties of purified recombinant ASF/SF2. Using UV crosslinking and gel shift assays, we demonstrate that the RNA binding region of ASF/SF2 can interact with RNA in a sequence-specific manner, recognizing the 5' splice site in each of two different pre-mRNAs. Point mutations in the 5' splice site consensus can reduce binding by as much as a factor of 100, with the largest effects observed in competition assays. These findings support a model in which ASF/SF2 aids in the recognition of pre-mRNA 5' splice sites.
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Camera system considerations for geomorphic applications of SfM photogrammetry
Mosbrucker, Adam; Major, Jon J.; Spicer, Kurt R.; Pitlick, John
2017-01-01
The availability of high-resolution, multi-temporal, remotely sensed topographic data is revolutionizing geomorphic analysis. Three-dimensional topographic point measurements acquired from structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry have been shown to be highly accurate and cost-effective compared to laser-based alternatives in some environments. Use of consumer-grade digital cameras to generate terrain models and derivatives is becoming prevalent within the geomorphic community despite the details of these instruments being largely overlooked in current SfM literature. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.A practical discussion of camera system selection, configuration, and image acquisition is presented. The hypothesis that optimizing source imagery can increase digital terrain model (DTM) accuracy is tested by evaluating accuracies of four SfM datasets conducted over multiple years of a gravel bed river floodplain using independent ground check points with the purpose of comparing morphological sediment budgets computed from SfM- and lidar-derived DTMs. Case study results are compared to existing SfM validation studies in an attempt to deconstruct the principle components of an SfM error budget. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Greater information capacity of source imagery was found to increase pixel matching quality, which produced 8 times greater point density and 6 times greater accuracy. When propagated through volumetric change analysis, individual DTM accuracy (6–37 cm) was sufficient to detect moderate geomorphic change (order 100,000 m3) on an unvegetated fluvial surface; change detection determined from repeat lidar and SfM surveys differed by about 10%. Simple camera selection criteria increased accuracy by 64%; configuration settings or image post-processing techniques increased point density by 5–25% and decreased processing time by 10–30%. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Regression analysis of 67 reviewed datasets revealed that the best explanatory variable to predict accuracy of SfM data is photographic scale. Despite the prevalent use of object distance ratios to describe scale, nominal ground sample distance is shown to be a superior metric, explaining 68% of the variability in mean absolute vertical error.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Trouille, L.; Barger, A. J.; Tremonti, C.
The Baldwin, Phillips, and Terlevich emission-line ratio diagnostic ([O III]/H{beta} versus [N II]/H{alpha}, hereafter BPT diagram) efficiently separates galaxies whose signal is dominated by star formation (BPT-SF) from those dominated by active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity (BPT-AGN). Yet this BPT diagram is limited to z < 0.5, the redshift at which [N II]{lambda}6584 leaves the optical spectral window. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we construct a new diagnostic, or TBT diagram, that is based on rest-frame g - z color, [Ne III]{lambda}3869, and [O II]{lambda}{lambda}3726 + 3729 and can be used for galaxies out to z < 1.4.more » The TBT diagram identifies 98.7% of the SDSS BPT-AGN as TBT-AGN and 97% of the SDSS BPT-SF as TBT-SF. Furthermore, it identifies 97% of the OPTX Chandra X-ray-selected AGNs as TBT-AGN. This is in contrast to the BPT diagram, which misidentifies 20% of X-ray-selected AGNs as BPT-SF. We use the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North and Lockman Hole galaxy samples, with their accompanying deep Chandra imaging, to perform X-ray and infrared stacking analyses to further validate our TBT-AGN and TBT-SF selections; that is, we verify the dominance of AGN activity in the former and star formation activity in the latter. Finally, we address the inclusion of the majority of the BPT-comp (sources lying between the BPT-SF and BPT-AGN regimes) in our TBT-AGN regime. We find that the stacked BPT-comp source is X-ray hard (({Gamma}{sub eff}) = 1.0{sup +0.4}{sub -0.4}) and has a high X-ray luminosity to total infrared luminosity ratio. This suggests that, on average, the X-ray signal in BPT-comp is dominated by obscured or low accretion rate AGN activity rather than by star formation, supporting their inclusion in the TBT-AGN regime.« less
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Murphy, Gloria A [French Camp, CA
2010-09-07
A biological sample collector is adapted to a collect several biological samples in a plurality of filter wells. A biological sample collector may comprise a manifold plate for mounting a filter plate thereon, the filter plate having a plurality of filter wells therein; a hollow slider for engaging and positioning a tube that slides therethrough; and a slide case within which the hollow slider travels to allow the tube to be aligned with a selected filter well of the plurality of filter wells, wherein when the tube is aligned with the selected filter well, the tube is pushed through the hollow slider and into the selected filter well to sealingly engage the selected filter well and to allow the tube to deposit a biological sample onto a filter in the bottom of the selected filter well. The biological sample collector may be portable.
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Wen, Zhi-Chao; Ma, Shu-Hua; Zheng, Shi-Li; Zhang, Yi; Liang, Yan
2016-06-01
Red mud storage facility (RM-SF) pollution remains a serious problem in China mainly due to the RM's huge quantity, little recyclability, and high alkalinity. And, there is also a risk of dam failure because almost all RM-SFs are processed by damming. In order to address this challenge and improve the level of risk management, it is necessary to evaluate the environmental risk of RM-SFs systematically. So, this paper firstly designs a comprehensive evaluation index system with a three-level evaluation index in the terms of RM characteristics, RM-SF characteristics, ambient environment of RM-SF, the management of RM-SF, and the application aspect of RM by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Then, a case of RM-SF from a typical alumina production enterprise is studied according to this system, as is assisted by several experts from different fields when determining the weights of all indicators. The results show that the risk of selected RM-SF primarily depends on the former factors, that is, RM and RM-SF characteristics, while the contributions of the other factors are quite smaller.
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SF3M 2.0: improvement of 3D photo-reconstruction interface based on freely available software
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Castillo, Carlos; James, Michael R.; Pérez, Rafael; Gómez, Jose A.
2016-04-01
During recent years, a number of tools based on Structure-from-Motion algorithms have been released for full image-based 3D reconstruction either freely (e.g. Bundler, PMVS2, VisualSFM, MicMac) or commercially (e.g. Agisoft PhotoScan). The SF3M interface was developed in Matlab® to use link software developments (VisualSFM, CloudCompare) and new applications to create a semi-automated workflow including reconstruction, georeferencing and point-cloud filtering, and has been tested for gully erosion assessment with terrestrial images (Castillo et al., 2015). The main aim of this work to provide an improved freely-available and easy-to-use alternative for 3D reconstruction intended for public agencies, non-profit organisations, researchers and other stakeholders interested in 3D modelling. In this communication we present SF3M 2.0, a new version of the graphical user interface. In this case, the SfM module is based on MicMac, an open-software tool (Pierrot-Deseilligny and Cléry, 2011) which provides advanced features such as camera calibration and constrained bundle adjustment using ground control points. SF3M 2.0 will be tested in two scenarios: a) using the same ground-based image set tested in Castillo et al. (2015) to compare the performance of both versions and b) using aerial images taken from a helium balloon to assess a gully network in a 40-hectares catchment. In this study we explore the advantages of SF3M 2.0, explain its operation and evaluate its accuracy and performance. This tool will be also available for free download. References Castillo, C., James, M.R., Redel-Macías, M. D., Pérez, R., and Gómez, J.A.: SF3M software: 3-D photo-reconstruction for non-expert users and its application to a gully network, SOIL, 1, 583-594. Pierrot-Deseilligny, M and Cléry, I. APERO, an Open Source Bundle Adjusment Software for Automatic Calibration and Orientation of a Set of Images. Proceedings of the ISPRS Commission V Symposium, Image Engineering and Vision Metrology, Trento, Italy, 2-4 March 2011.
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Development and validation of the alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire Short Form (EQ-SF).
Mezquita, Laura; Camacho, Laura; Suso-Ribera, Carlos; Ortet, Generós; Ibáñez, Manuel I
2018-01-15
Alcohol expectancies are proximal variables to alcohol use and misuse. In recent decades, different measures have been developed to assess this construct. One of the most frequently used and recommended instruments is the Expectancy Questionnaire (EQ; Leigh y Stacy, 1993). Our aim is to develop a short version of the EQ (EQ-SF) for suitable use in time-limited administrations. Two samples, adolescents (N = 514, 57.20% females) and adults (N = 548, 61.50% females), completed the EQ together with alcohol-use measures. Different item selection strategies were applied to select the 24 items. The EQ-SF structure was explored using confirmatory factor analysis, and measurement invariance was tested running a multi-group analysis comparing groups by sex and age. Reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha and omega coefficients. Concurrent validity was investigated with regression analyses. The EQ-SF showed acceptable between-groups measurement invariance. Alphas and omegas ranged from .77 to .93. Positive expectancies predicted both alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Negative expectancies predicted alcohol-related problems. Sex and age moderated these associations. Males with high positive alcohol expectancies showed higher alcohol consumption than females, while adults with high negative alcohol expectancies showed greater alcohol-related problems than adolescents. Different evidence on the validity and reliability of the EQ-SF suggest that it is a suitable instrument to assess alcohol expectancies in the Spanish population.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Mor, Rivay; Netzer, Hagai; Trakhtenbrot, Benny
We report new Herschel observations of 25 z {approx_equal} 4.8 extremely luminous optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Five of the sources have extremely large star-forming (SF) luminosities, L{sub SF}, corresponding to SF rates (SFRs) of 2800-5600 M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1} assuming a Salpeter initial mass function. The remaining sources have only upper limits on their SFRs, but stacking their Herschel images results in a mean SFR of 700 {+-} 150 M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}. The higher SFRs in our sample are comparable to the highest observed values so far at any redshift. Our sample does not contain obscured AGNs,more » which enables us to investigate several evolutionary scenarios connecting supermassive black holes and SF activity in the early universe. The most probable scenario is that we are witnessing the peak of SF activity in some sources and the beginning of the post-starburst decline in others. We suggest that all 25 sources, which are at their peak AGN activity, are in large mergers. AGN feedback may be responsible for diminishing the SF activity in 20 of them, but is not operating efficiently in 5 others.« less
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Starek, M. J.
2016-02-01
Small-scale Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) enable the integration of light weight, low-cost imaging payloads providing a flexible and efficient means for conducting localized littoral surveys. Through exploitation of high imagery overlap and minimal aiding technology, photogrammetric techniques and structure from motion (SfM) methods can be applied to derive accurate 2D and 3D geospatial data about the observed terrain. Furthermore, small-scale UAS enable rapid response capabilities and provide the potential for collecting repeated observations at high temporal frequency making them an exceptional tool for monitoring dynamic coastal environments. This study examines the accuracy of topographic and bathymetric data derived from a UAS-based photogrammetric survey of a low-energy, shallow-water littoral zone. The study site is, an engineered and restored beach, located on Ward Island in Corpus Christi Bay, TX. Two UAS surveys were conducted roughly two months apart using a system called the SenseFly eBee. The eBee is an ultra-lightweight ( 0.7 kg) fully autonomous platform and it was equipped with a 16 megapixel RGB camera. The objectives were to: (1) assess accuracy differences in SfM derived point clouds over exposed and submerged beach; (2) evaluate effects of scene-to-scene variability and flight design on derived data products. Several key components were analyzed in order to assess the accuracy and usefulness of elevation data derived from the UAS/SfM approach. First, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the impacts of image scale and match constraints on the fidelity of 3D point cloud data derived from the SfM processing workflow. Evaluation focused on differences in accuracy and density of point data over exposed and submerged beach. Second, a noise filter was developed to remove non-subtrate returns from the SfM cloud for bathymetric modeling. Finally, a bathymetric inversion approach was applied to derive an estimate of water depth. Results show that bathymetric inversion is a promising method in shallow-water when calibration data is present. SfM tends to breakdown resulting in noiser data with many spurious returns. Data fusion of the SfM product with the bathymetric inversion product enabled generation of a seamless DEM of the exposed and submerged topography.
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Cespedes, Carlos L; Pavon, Natalia; Dominguez, Mariana; Alarcon, Julio; Balbontin, Cristian; Kubo, Isao; El-Hafidi, Mohammed; Avila, Jose G
2017-10-01
The effects of phytochemicals occurred in fractions and extracts of fruits of "Maqui-berry" (Aristotelia chilensis), on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible-nitric oxide synthases (iNOS) and the production of proinflammatory mediators were investigated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated murine macrophage RAW-264 cells, as well as their antioxidant activities. The MeOH extract (A), acetone/methanol extract (B), fractions F3, F4, subfractions (SF4-SF6, SF7, SF8-SF10, SF11-SF15, SF16-SF20), quercetin, gallic acid, luteolin, myricetin, mixtures M1, M2 and M3 exhibited potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. The results indicated that anthocyanins, flavonoids and its mixtures suppressed the LPS induced production of nitric oxide (NO), through the down-regulation of iNOS and COX-2 protein expressions and showed a potent antioxidant activity against SOD, ABTS, TBARS, ORAC, FRAP and DCFH. The inhibition of enzymes and NO production by selected fractions and compounds was dose-dependent with significant effects seen at concentration as low as 1.0-50.0 (ppm) and 5.0-10.0 μM, for samples (extracts, fractions, subfractions and mixtures) and pure compounds, respectively. Thus, the phenolics (anthocyanins, flavonoids, and organic acids) as the fractions and mixtures may provide a potential therapeutic approach for inflammation associated disorders and therefore might be used as antagonizing agents to ameliorate the effects of oxidative stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic... filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic precipitator, or a... than a wet scrubber, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, fabric filter, an...
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Stamate, E.; Draghici, M.
2012-04-15
A large area plasma source based on 12 multi-dipolar ECR plasma cells arranged in a 3 x 4 matrix configuration was built and optimized for silicon etching by negative ions. The density ratio of negative ions to electrons has exceeded 300 in Ar/SF{sub 6} gas mixture when a magnetic filter was used to reduce the electron temperature to about 1.2 eV. Mass spectrometry and electrostatic probe were used for plasma diagnostics. The new source is free of density jumps and instabilities and shows a very good stability for plasma potential, and the dominant negative ion species is F{sup -}. Themore » magnetic field in plasma volume is negligible and there is no contamination by filaments. The etching rate by negative ions measured in Ar/SF{sub 6}/O{sub 2} mixtures was almost similar with that by positive ions reaching 700 nm/min.« less
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AN OBJECTIVE DEFINITION FOR THE MAIN SEQUENCE OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Renzini, Alvio; Peng, Ying-jie, E-mail: alvio.renzini@oapd.inaf.it, E-mail: y.peng@mrao.cam.ac.uk
The main sequence (MS) of star-forming (SF) galaxies plays a fundamental role in driving galaxy evolution and our efforts to understand it. However, different studies find significant differences in the normalization, slope, and shape of the MS. These discrepancies arise mainly from the different selection criteria adopted to isolate SF galaxies, which may include or exclude galaxies with a specific star formation rate (SFR) substantially below the MS value. To obviate this limitation of all current criteria, we propose an objective definition of the MS that does not rely at all on a pre-selection of SF galaxies. Constructing the 3Dmore » SFR–mass–number plot, the MS is then defined as the ridge line of the SF peak, as illustrated with various figures. The advantages of such a definition are manifold. If generally adopted, it will facilitate the inter-comparison of results from different groups using the same SFR and stellar mass diagnostics, or it will highlight the relative systematics of different diagnostics. All of this could help to understand MS galaxies as systems in a quasi-steady state equilibrium and would also provide a more objective criterion for identifying quenching galaxies.« less
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Talwar, Sameer; Roopwani, Rahul; Anderson, Carl A; Buckner, Ira S; Drennen, James K
2017-08-01
Near-infrared chemical imaging (NIR-CI) combines spectroscopy with digital imaging, enabling spatially resolved analysis and characterization of pharmaceutical samples. Hardness and relative density are critical quality attributes (CQA) that affect tablet performance. Intra-sample density or hardness variability can reveal deficiencies in formulation design or the tableting process. This study was designed to develop NIR-CI methods to predict spatially resolved tablet density and hardness. The method was implemented using a two-step procedure. First, NIR-CI was used to develop a relative density/solid fraction (SF) prediction method for pure microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) compacts only. A partial least squares (PLS) model for predicting SF was generated by regressing the spectra of certain representative pixels selected from each image against the compact SF. Pixel selection was accomplished with a threshold based on the Euclidean distance from the median tablet spectrum. Second, micro-indentation was performed on the calibration compacts to obtain hardness values. A univariate model was developed by relating the empirical hardness values to the NIR-CI predicted SF at the micro-indented pixel locations: this model generated spatially resolved hardness predictions for the entire tablet surface.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
McIntosh, Daniel H.; CANDELS Collaboration
2017-01-01
The premiere HST/WFC3 Treasury program CANDELS (Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey) has produced detailed visual classifications for statistically useful samples of bright (H>24.5mag) galaxies during and after z~2, the epoch of peak galaxy development. By averaging multiple classifications per galaxy that encompass spheroid-only, bulge-dominated, disk-dominated, disk-only, and irregular/peculiar appearances at visible rest-frame wavelengths, we find that 90% of massive (>1e10 Msun) galaxies at 0.6
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Saab, Sammy; Bownik, Hillary; Ayoub, Noel; Younossi, Zobair; Durazo, Francisco; Han, Steven; Hong, Johnny C; Farmer, Douglas; Busuttil, Ronald W
2011-05-01
One of the current ultimate goals of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the improvement of patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to look at the effects of socioeconomic and demographic differences on the short-term and long-term HRQOL outcomes of OLT recipients. Three hundred three adult OLT recipients who were seen at the University of California Los Angeles were administered the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36), the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ), and a demographic survey. A parsimonious model of 12 socioeconomic and demographic predictors was identified. Their simultaneous influence on each SF-36 and CLDQ HRQOL domain score was evaluated with multivariate linear regression and backward selection. Hepatitis C virus impaired HRQOL; this was shown in the SF-36 Vitality and Bodily Pain domains and in most CLDQ domains. Females experienced more HRQOL impairment only within the CLDQ Abdominal Symptoms domain. OLT recipients who were married had better SF-36 Role-Emotion domain scores. OLT recipients with more than 12 years of education had better SF-36 Physical Functioning scores. Employed OLT recipients had less HRQOL impairment; this was evidenced by better scores in multiple domains of the SF-36 and the CLDQ. OLT patients with health maintenance organization or preferred provider organization insurance had higher HRQOL scores within almost all SF-36 and CLDQ domains. Patients with a mix of public and private insurance had significantly higher HRQOL scores in comparison with those with only public insurance. Identifying patients at higher risk for worse HRQOL scores, less satisfaction with OLT results, and greater problems with fatigue or mental health stressors will assist transplant centers in using their medical teams to develop early interventions and multidisciplinary approaches to improve HRQOL outcomes after OLT. Copyright © 2011 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
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Duan, Y; Guttman, S I; Oris, J T; Bailer, A J
2001-09-01
The survival functions (SF) during acute exposures to cadmium, zinc or low pH were examined for amphipods exhibiting variation at three loci. Significant differences were observed in eight of nine locus/toxicant combinations. Two general types of survival curve patterns were identified when genotype-related SF differences were observed. In the first pattern, the survival differences between genotypes were immediately apparent with two SF curves separated at the beginning of exposure with little or no overlap. For the second pattern, both genotypes had similar SF for a period of time, during which the two survival curves crossed or overlapped. After this period, the survival probability of one genotype dropped sharply relative to the other. While SF was related to genotype, it was not related to heterozygosity. Genetic distance analysis showed that exposure to cadmium, zinc or low pH each resulted in directional selection, suggesting the potential use of genetic distance as a bioindicator.
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Zhang, Xiaoxing; Yu, Lei; Tie, Jing; Dong, Xingchen
2014-01-01
The analysis to SF6 decomposed component gases is an efficient diagnostic approach to detect the partial discharge in gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) for the purpose of accessing the operating state of power equipment. This paper applied the Au-doped TiO2 nanotube array sensor (Au-TiO2 NTAs) to detect SF6 decomposed components. The electrochemical constant potential method was adopted in the Au-TiO2 NTAs' fabrication, and a series of experiments were conducted to test the characteristic SF6 decomposed gases for a thorough investigation of sensing performances. The sensing characteristic curves of intrinsic and Au-doped TiO2 NTAs were compared to study the mechanism of the gas sensing response. The results indicated that the doped Au could change the TiO2 nanotube arrays' performances of gas sensing selectivity in SF6 decomposed components, as well as reducing the working temperature of TiO2 NTAs. PMID:25330053
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Sciuto, Tracey E.; Merley, Anne; Lin, Chi-Iou
2015-09-25
Transmembrane-4 L-six family member-1 (TM4SF1) is a small plasma membrane-associated glycoprotein that is highly and selectively expressed on the plasma membranes of tumor cells, cultured endothelial cells, and, in vivo, on tumor-associated endothelium. Immunofluorescence microscopy also demonstrated TM4SF1 in cytoplasm and, tentatively, within nuclei. With monoclonal antibody 8G4, and the finer resolution afforded by immuno-nanogold transmission electron microscopy, we now demonstrate TM4SF1 in uncoated cytoplasmic vesicles, nuclear pores and nucleoplasm. Because of its prominent surface location on tumor cells and tumor-associated endothelium, TM4SF1 has potential as a dual therapeutic target using an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) approach. For ADC to bemore » successful, antibodies reacting with cell surface antigens must be internalized for delivery of associated toxins to intracellular targets. We now report that 8G4 is efficiently taken up into cultured endothelial cells by uncoated vesicles in a dynamin-dependent, clathrin-independent manner. It is then transported along microtubules through the cytoplasm and passes through nuclear pores into the nucleus. These findings validate TM4SF1 as an attractive candidate for cancer therapy with antibody-bound toxins that have the capacity to react with either cytoplasmic or nuclear targets in tumor cells or tumor-associated vascular endothelium. - Highlights: • Anti-TM4SF1 antibody 8G4 was efficiently taken up by cultured endothelial cells. • TM4SF1–8G4 internalization is dynamin-dependent but clathrin-independent. • TM4SF1–8G4 complexes internalize along microtubules to reach the perinuclear region. • Internalized TM4SF1–8G4 complexes pass through nuclear pores into the nucleus. • TM4SF1 is an attractive candidate for ADC cancer therapy.« less
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Asakura, Tetsuo; Isobe, Kotaro; Kametani, Shunsuke; Ukpebor, Obehi T; Silverstein, Moshe C; Boutis, Gregory S
2017-03-01
The mechanical properties of Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF), such as elasticity and tensile strength, change remarkably upon hydration. However, the microscopic interaction with water is not currently well understood on a molecular level. In this work, the dynamics of water molecules interacting with SF was studied by 2 H solution NMR relaxation and exchange measurements. Additionally, the conformations of hydrated [3- 13 C]Ala-, [3- 13 C]Ser-, and [3- 13 C]Tyr-SF fibers and films were investigated by 13 C DD/MAS NMR. Using an inverse Laplace transform algorithm, we were able to identify four distinct components in the relaxation times for water in SF fiber. Namely, A: bulk water outside the fiber, B: water molecules trapped weakly on the surface of the fiber, C: bound water molecules located in the inner surface of the fiber, and D: bound water molecules located in the inner part of the fiber were distinguishable. In addition, four components were also observed for water in the SF film immersed in methanol for 30s, while only two components for the film immersed in methanol for 24h. The effects of hydration on the conformation of Ser and Tyr residues in the site-specific crystalline and non-crystalline domains of 13 C selectively labeled SF, respectively, could be determined independently. Our measurements provide new insight relating the characteristics of water and the hydration structure of silk, which are relevant in light of current interest in the design of novel silk-based biomaterials. The mechanical properties of Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) change remarkably upon hydration. However, the microscopic interaction between SF and water is not currently well understood on a molecular level. We were able to identify four distinct components in the relaxation times for water in SF fiber by 2 H solution NMR relaxation and exchange measurements. In addition, the effects of hydration on the conformation of Ser and Tyr residues in the site-specific crystalline and non-crystalline domains of 13 C selectively labeled SF, respectively, could be determined independently. Thus, our measurements provide new insight relating the characteristics of water and the hydration structure of silk, which are relevant in light of current interest in the design of novel silk-based biomaterials. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ledder, Ruth G; Sreenivasan, Prem K; DeVizio, William; McBain, Andrew J
2010-12-01
The microbiological effects of biocidal products used for the enhancement of oral hygiene relate to the active compound(s) as well as other formulation components. Here, we test the specificities of selected actives in the absence of multiple excipients. Salivary ecosystems were maintained in tissue culture plate-based hydroxyapatite disc models (HDMs) and modified drip-flow biofilm reactors (MDFRs). Test compounds stannous fluoride (SF), SDS, triclosan (TCS), zinc lactate (ZL) and ZL with SF in combination (ZLSF) were delivered to the HDMs once and four times daily for 6 days to MDFRs. Plaques were characterized by differential viable counting and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). TCS and SDS were the most effective compounds against HDM plaques, significantly reducing total viable counts (P<0.05), whilst SF, ZL and ZLSF were comparatively ineffective. TCS exhibited specificity for streptococci (P<0.01) and Gram-negative anaerobes (P<0.01) following a single dosing and also on repeated dosing in MDFRs. In contrast to single exposures, multiple dosing with ZLSF also significantly reduced all bacterial groups, whilst SF and ZL caused significant but transient reductions. According to PCR-DGGE analyses, significant (P<0.05) reductions in eubacterial diversity occurred following 6 day dosing with both TCS and ZLSF. Concordance of MDFR eubacterial profiles with salivary inocula ranged between 58 and 97%. TCS and ZL(SF) exhibited similar specificities to those reported for formulations. TCS was the most potent antibacterial, after single and multiple dosage regimens.
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Test wells SF-1A, 1B, 1C, and SF-2A, 2B, 2C, Santa Fe County, New Mexico
Hart, D.L.
1989-01-01
Two well nests, SF-1 and SF-2, were drilled in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, to monitor the hydraulic head within selected zones of the aquifer. Each well nest consists of three piezometers of shallow, middle, and deep completion within the aquifer. Each set of wells was drilled to a depth of about 2,000 ft before actual construction of the piezometers. Each piezometer was completed using either 5 or 10 ft of wire-wrapped screen. These piezometers were constructed as part of a larger ongoing program with the Santa Fe Metropolitan Water Board and New Mexico State Engineer Office to establish a regional observation-well network and to define better the groundwater flow system in the vicinity of Santa Fe and Santa Fe well fields. (USGS)
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Increasing cell-device adherence using cultured insect cells for receptor-based biosensors
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Terutsuki, Daigo; Mitsuno, Hidefumi; Sakurai, Takeshi; Okamoto, Yuki; Tixier-Mita, Agnès; Toshiyoshi, Hiroshi; Mita, Yoshio; Kanzaki, Ryohei
2018-03-01
Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors have a wide range of applications, and a bio-FET odorant sensor, based on insect (Sf21) cells expressing insect odorant receptors (ORs) with sensitivity and selectivity, has emerged. To fully realize the practical application of bio-FET odorant sensors, knowledge of the cell-device interface for efficient signal transfer, and a reliable and low-cost measurement system using the commercial complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) foundry process, will be indispensable. However, the interfaces between Sf21 cells and sensor devices are largely unknown, and electrode materials used in the commercial CMOS foundry process are generally limited to aluminium, which is reportedly toxic to cells. In this study, we investigated Sf21 cell-device interfaces by developing cross-sectional specimens. Calcium imaging of Sf21 cells expressing insect ORs was used to verify the functions of Sf21 cells as odorant sensor elements on the electrode materials. We found that the cell-device interface was approximately 10 nm wide on average, suggesting that the adhesion mechanism of Sf21 cells may differ from that of other cells. These results will help to construct accurate signal detection from expressed insect ORs using FETs.
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Increasing cell–device adherence using cultured insect cells for receptor-based biosensors
Mitsuno, Hidefumi; Sakurai, Takeshi; Okamoto, Yuki; Tixier-Mita, Agnès; Toshiyoshi, Hiroshi; Mita, Yoshio; Kanzaki, Ryohei
2018-01-01
Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors have a wide range of applications, and a bio-FET odorant sensor, based on insect (Sf21) cells expressing insect odorant receptors (ORs) with sensitivity and selectivity, has emerged. To fully realize the practical application of bio-FET odorant sensors, knowledge of the cell–device interface for efficient signal transfer, and a reliable and low-cost measurement system using the commercial complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) foundry process, will be indispensable. However, the interfaces between Sf21 cells and sensor devices are largely unknown, and electrode materials used in the commercial CMOS foundry process are generally limited to aluminium, which is reportedly toxic to cells. In this study, we investigated Sf21 cell–device interfaces by developing cross-sectional specimens. Calcium imaging of Sf21 cells expressing insect ORs was used to verify the functions of Sf21 cells as odorant sensor elements on the electrode materials. We found that the cell–device interface was approximately 10 nm wide on average, suggesting that the adhesion mechanism of Sf21 cells may differ from that of other cells. These results will help to construct accurate signal detection from expressed insect ORs using FETs. PMID:29657822
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S-F graphic representation analysis of photoelectric facula focometer poroo-plate glass
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tong, Yilin; Han, Xuecai
2016-10-01
Optical system focal length is usually based on the magnification method with focal length measurement poroo-plate glass is used as base element measuring focal length of focometer. On the basis of using analysis of magnification method to measure the accuracy of optical lens focal length, an expression between the ruling span of poroo-plate glass and the focal length of measured optical system was deduced, an efficient method to work out S-F graph with AUTOCAD was developed, the selecting principle of focometer parameter was analyzed, and Applied examples for designing poroo-plate glass in S-F figure was obtained.
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Wong, Carlos K H; Lang, Brian H H; Yu, Hill M S; Lam, Cindy L K
2017-08-01
The aim of this study was to examine the acceptability, validity, and reliability of the EuroQoL Five-Dimension Five-Level (EQ-5D-5L) and Short-Form Six-Dimension (SF-6D) health utility measures in patients with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules. Data from a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02398721) of 294 patients with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules were utilized for this psychometric evaluation of health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) measurement. Three HR-QOL questionnaires-the generic 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12v2), EQ-5D-5L, and SF-6D-were interviewer-administered at baseline and 2 weeks afterwards. Responses to SF-6D were transformed to SF-6D utility scores using a Hong Kong population scoring algorithm derived by standard gamble, whereas responses to EQ-5D-5L were mapped onto EQ-5D-3L response via interim mapping algorithms and then converted to EQ-5D-5L utility scores using a Chinese-specific value set. Construct validity was determined by evaluating Spearman correlation between SF-12v2 scores and utility scores. Two-week test-retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficient. No significant (>15%) floor and ceiling effects were observed for SF-6D utility scores. The SF-6D utility scores had a moderate Spearman rank correlation with the SF-12v2 domain score providing evidence for adequate construct validity. The SF-6D utility scores showed good test-retest reliability (0.794; range 0.696-0.860). Better reliability was observed in SF-6D utility scores than in EQ-5D-5L utility scores. While the EQ-5D-5L instrument was less reproducible, the SF-6D instrument appeared to be an applicable, valid, and reliable measure in assessing the HR-QOL of Chinese patients with symptomatic benign thyroid nodules. The impact of utility score selection on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of clinical interventions targeted to these patients needs further exploration. NCT02398721, ClinicalTrials.gov.
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Construct validity of SF-6D health state utility values in an employed population.
Baxter, Siyan; Sanderson, Kristy; Venn, Alison; Otahal, Petr; Palmer, Andrew J
2015-04-01
Health utility values permit cost utility analysis in workplace health promotion; however, utility measures of working populations have not been validated. To investigate construct validity of SF-6D health utility in a public service workforce. SF-12v2 Health Survey was administered to 3,408 randomly selected public service employees in Australia in 2010. SF-12 scores were converted to SF-6D health utility values. Associations and correlates of SF-6D with health, socio-demographic and work characteristics [comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), Kessler-10 psychological distress (K10), education, salary, effort-reward imbalance (ERI), absenteeism] were explored. Ceiling effects were analysed. Nationally representative employee SF-6D values from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey (n = 11,234) were compared. All analyses were stratified by sex. Mean (SE) age was 45.7 (0.35) males; 44.5 (0.22) females. Females represented 72 % of the sample. Mean (SE) health utility 0.792 (0.004); 0.771 (0.003) was higher in males. SF-6D demonstrated both a significant inverse association (p < 0.01) and negative correlations (female; male) with K10 (r = -0.63; r = -0.66), comorbidity count (r = -0.40; r = -0.33), ERI (r = -0.37; r = -0.34) and absenteeism (p < 0.005, r = -0.25; r = -0.21). Mean (SE) SF-6D in HILDA was 0.792 (0.002); 0.775 (0.003) males; females. Correlates and associations in all samples were similar. The general employed demonstrated a significant inverse association with age and positive association with salary. SF-6D was independent of BMI. Psychological distress, comorbidity, effort-reward imbalance and absenteeism are negatively associated with employee health. SF-6D is a valid measure of perceived health states in working populations.
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Acerbi, F; Restelli, F; Broggi, M; Schiariti, M; Ferroli, P
2016-07-01
The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of simultaneous Sodium Fluorescein (SF) and Indocyanine Green (ICG) injection during neurosurgical procedures. Three patients harboring a high-grade glioma (HGG) were retrospectively identified in the surgical database of the Neurosurgical Unit 2 at the Foundation IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta in Milan, by having received intraoperatively both SF for tumor resection and ICG for vasculature angiographic studies in the same surgical procedure. We identified 2 males and 1 female (age range 25-60). Lesions were located in the left temporo-polar area and hippocampus (1 case), right superior frontal gyrus (1 case), left supplementary motor area (1 case). All the three lesions showed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) characteristics of HGG and, for this reason, in all patients a fluorescein-guided tumor removal was proposed. In the same surgical procedure ICG videoangiography was considered necessary in order to study arterial and venous vasculature, given by the strict relation of the tumor with an unexpected Posterior Communicating Artery (PComA) aneurysm in one case and with cortical drainage veins complexes in the other two cases. In all cases a microscope equipped with both YELLOW560 and IR800 integrated filters (Pentero 900, Carl Zeiss, Oberkorchen, Germany) was used. Fluorescein was i.v. injected at a dose of 5mg/kg immediately after patient intubation. ICG was i.v. injected in bolus on demand of the operating surgeon at a dose of 12.5mg. No side-effects related to simultaneous injection of SF and ICG were identified. In all three cases, the use of SF allowed to better visualize the tumor areas during surgical removal, thus leading to a radical resection until no macroscopic appearance of residual tumor mass and no fluorescence was visible in the surgical cavity. ICG videoangiography confirmed the patency of branches of internal carotid artery after clipping of an unexpected small PComA aneurysm found intraoperatively during tumor removal in one case, while in patient 2 and 3 it allowed to evaluate patency and study flow pattern in cortical drainage veins that were intimately related to the tumors and the way of the surgical approach. Postoperative MRI showed a Gross Total Resection of the tumors in all cases. This study showed for the first time the feasibility of intravenous SF injection and ICG videoangiography in the same surgical procedure. The presence of different fluorescence filters on the same surgical microscope allows the surgeon to recognize and safely resect the tumor and simultaneously evaluate local brain vascularization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kávási, Norbert; Vigh, Tamás; Németh, Csaba; Ishikawa, Tetsuo; Omori, Yasutaka; Janik, Miroslaw; Yonehara, Hidenori
2014-02-01
During a one-year long measurement period, radon and thoron data obtained by two different passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors were compared at subsurface workplaces in Hungary, such as mines (bauxite and manganese ore) and caves (medical and touristic). These workplaces have special environmental conditions, such as, stable and high relative humidity (100%), relatively stable temperature (12°C-21°C), low or high wind speed (max. 2.4 m s-1) and low or elevated aerosol concentration (130-60 000 particles m-3). The measured radon and thoron concentrations fluctuated in a wide range among the different workplaces. The respective annual average radon concentrations and their standard deviations (in brackets) measured by the passive radon-thoron discriminative monitor with cellulose filter (CF) and the passive radon-thoron discriminative monitor with sponge filter (SF) were: 350(321) Bq m-3 and 550(497) Bq m-3 in the bauxite mine; 887(604) Bq m-3 and 1258(788) Bq m-3 in the manganese ore mine; 2510(2341) Bq m-3 and 3403(3075) Bq m-3 in the medical cave (Hospital Cave of Tapolca); and 6239(2057) Bq m-3 and 8512(1955) Bq m-3 in the touristic cave (Lake Cave of Tapolca). The respective average thoron concentrations and their standard deviation (in brackets) measured by CF and SF monitors were: 154(210) Bq m-3 and 161(148) Bq m-3 in the bauxite mine; 187(191) Bq m-3 and 117(147) Bq m-3 in the manganese-ore mine; 360(524) Bq m-3 and 371(789) Bq m-3 in the medical cave (Hospital Cave of Tapolca); and 1420(1184) Bq m-3 and 1462(3655) Bq m-3 in the touristic cave (Lake Cave of Tapolca). Under these circumstances, comparison of the radon data for the SF and CF monitors showed the former were consistently 51% higher in the bauxite mine, 38% higher in the manganese ore mine, and 34% higher in the caves. Consequently, correction is required on previously obtained radon data acquired by CF monitors at subsurface workplaces to gain comparable data for SF monitors. In the case of thoron, the data were unreliable and no significant tendency was seen during the comparison therefore comparison of previously obtained thoron data acquired by either CF or SF is doubtful. There was probable influence by relative humidity on the detection response; however, the effects of the high wind speed and elevated aerosol concentration could not be excluded. The results of this study call attention to the importance of calibration under extreme environmental conditions and the need for using reliable radon-thoron monitors for subsurface workplaces.
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Wu, Yan; Aarts, Ronald M.
2018-01-01
A recurring problem regarding the use of conventional comb filter approaches for elimination of periodic waveforms is the degree of selectivity achieved by the filtering process. Some applications, such as the gradient artefact correction in EEG recordings during coregistered EEG-fMRI, require a highly selective comb filtering that provides effective attenuation in the stopbands and gain close to unity in the pass-bands. In this paper, we present a novel comb filtering implementation whereby the iterative filtering application of FIR moving average-based approaches is exploited in order to enhance the comb filtering selectivity. Our results indicate that the proposed approach can be used to effectively approximate the FIR moving average filter characteristics to those of an ideal filter. A cascaded implementation using the proposed approach shows to further increase the attenuation in the filter stopbands. Moreover, broadening of the bandwidth of the comb filtering stopbands around −3 dB according to the fundamental frequency of the stopband can be achieved by the novel method, which constitutes an important characteristic to account for broadening of the harmonic gradient artefact spectral lines. In parallel, the proposed filtering implementation can also be used to design a novel notch filtering approach with enhanced selectivity as well. PMID:29599955
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Stråhlman, Christian, E-mail: Christian.Strahlman@maxlab.lu.se; Sankari, Rami; Nyholm, Ralf
2016-01-15
We present a newly constructed spectrometer for negative–ion/positive–ion coincidence spectroscopy of gaseous samples. The instrument consists of two time–of–flight ion spectrometers and a magnetic momentum filter for deflection of electrons. The instrument can measure double and triple coincidences between mass–resolved negative and positive ions with high detection efficiency. First results include identification of several negative–ion/positive–ion coincidence channels following inner-shell photoexcitation of sulfur hexafluoride (SF{sub 6})
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Influence of the Selectivity Filter Properties on Proton Selectivity in the Influenza A M2 Channel.
Dudev, Todor; Grauffel, Cédric; Lim, Carmay
2016-10-05
The homotetrameric M2 proton channel of influenza A plays a crucial role in the viral life cycle and is thus an important therapeutic target. It selectively conducts protons against a background of other competing cations whose concentrations are up to a million times greater than the proton concentration. Its selectivity is largely determined by a constricted region of its open pore known as the selectivity filter, which is lined by four absolutely conserved histidines. While the mechanism of proton transport through the channel has been studied, the physical principles underlying the selectivity for protons over other cations in the channel's His 4 selectivity filter remain elusive. Furthermore, it is not known if proton selectivity absolutely requires all four histidines with two of the four histidines protonated and if other titratable amino acid residues in lieu of the histidines could bind protons and how they affect proton selectivity. Here, we elucidate how the competition between protons and rival cations such as Na + depends on the selectivity filter's (1) histidine protonation state, (2) solvent exposure, (3) oligomeric state (the number of protein chains and thus the number of His ligands), and (4) ligand composition by evaluating the free energies for replacing monovalent Na + with H 3 O + in various model selectivity filters. We show that tetrameric His 4 filters are more proton-selective than their trimeric His 3 counterparts, and a dicationic His 4 filter where two of the four histidines are protonated is more proton-selective than tetrameric filters with other charge states/composition (different combinations of His protonation states or different metal-ligating ligands). The [His 4 ] 2+ filter achieves proton selectivity by providing suboptimal binding conditions for rival cations such as Na + , which prefers a neutral or negatively charged filter instead of a dicationic one, and three rather than four ligands with oxygen-ligating atoms.
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic... use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an... reduction, fabric filter, an electrostatic precipitator, or a dry scrubber or limit emissions in some other...
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an electrostatic... use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, an... reduction, fabric filter, an electrostatic precipitator, or a dry scrubber or limit emissions in some other...
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Huang, Guoqiang; Dong, Shuanglin; Wang, Fang
2005-01-01
Attractabilities of different diets and dietary selectivity of Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis were studied through behavior observation and feeding experiment, respectively. The five diets used in the experiment are: Fish Flesh (FF), Shrimp Flesh (SF), Clam Foot (CF), Polychaete Worm (PW), and Formulated Diet (FD). No significant differences of attractability exist between any two different diets when every two natural diets or all five diets are provided simultaneously. On the other hand, significant differences of attractability exist between FD and every single natural diet when they are provided simultaneously. Results of behavioral observation indicate that natural diets are more attractive than FD. In feeding experiment, Chinese shrimp has distinct selectivity on different diets. It positively selects CF and PW, negatively selects FF and SF, and excludes FD absolutely. The results of the present studies indicate that the dietary selectivity of shrimp was based not only on the attractabilities of the diets, but also on the responses such as growth and food conversion.
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Villalon, M; Vachon, V; Brousseau, R; Schwartz, J L; Laprade, R
1998-01-05
The size and ionic selectivity of the pores formed by the insecticidal crystal protein Cry1C from Bacillus thuringiensis in the plasma membrane of Sf9 cells, an established cell line derived from the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda, were analyzed with a video imaging technique. Changes in the permeability of the membrane were estimated from the rate of osmotic swelling of the cells. In the presence of Cry1C, which is toxic to Sf9 cells, the permeability of the cell membrane to KCl and glucose increased in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, Cry1Aa, Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac, toxins to which Sf9 cells are not susceptible, had no detectable effect. Pores formed by Cry1C allowed the diffusion of sucrose, but were impermeable to the trisaccharide raffinose. On the basis of the hydrodynamic radii of these substances, the diameter of the pores was estimated to be 1.0-1.2 nm. In the presence of salts, the rate of swelling of cells exposed to Cry1C was about equally influenced by the size of the anion as by that of the cation, indicating that the ionic selectivity of the pores is low.
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Sustained Sleep Fragmentation Induces Sleep Homeostasis in Mice
Baud, Maxime O.; Magistretti, Pierre J.; Petit, Jean-Marie
2015-01-01
Study Objectives: Sleep fragmentation (SF) is an integral feature of sleep apnea and other prevalent sleep disorders. Although the effect of repetitive arousals on cognitive performance is well documented, the effects of long-term SF on electroencephalography (EEG) and molecular markers of sleep homeostasis remain poorly investigated. To address this question, we developed a mouse model of chronic SF and characterized its effect on EEG spectral frequencies and the expression of genes previously linked to sleep homeostasis including clock genes, heat shock proteins, and plasticity-related genes. Design: N/A. Setting: Animal sleep research laboratory. Participants : Sixty-six C57BL6/J adult mice. Interventions: Instrumental sleep disruption at a rate of 60/h during 14 days Measurements and Results: Locomotor activity and EEG were recorded during 14 days of SF followed by recovery for 2 days. Despite a dramatic number of arousals and decreased sleep bout duration, SF minimally reduced total quantity of sleep and did not significantly alter its circadian distribution. Spectral analysis during SF revealed a homeostatic drive for slow wave activity (SWA; 1–4 Hz) and other frequencies as well (4–40 Hz). Recordings during recovery revealed slow wave sleep consolidation and a transient rebound in SWA, and paradoxical sleep duration. The expression of selected genes was not induced following chronic SF. Conclusions: Chronic sleep fragmentation (SF) increased sleep pressure confirming that altered quality with preserved quantity triggers core sleep homeostasis mechanisms. However, it did not induce the expression of genes induced by sleep loss, suggesting that these molecular pathways are not sustainably activated in chronic diseases involving SF. Citation: Baud MO, Magistretti PJ, Petit JM. Sustained sleep fragmentation induces sleep homeostasis in mice. SLEEP 2015;38(4):567–579. PMID:25325477
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Nath, Kavindra; Nelson, David S; Putt, Mary E; Leeper, Dennis B; Garman, Bradley; Nathanson, Katherine L; Glickson, Jerry D
2016-01-01
Previous NMR studies demonstrated that lonidamine (LND) selectively diminishes the intracellular pH (pHi) of DB-1 melanoma and mouse xenografts of a variety of other prevalent human cancers while decreasing their bioenergetic status (tumor βNTP/Pi ratio) and enhancing the activities of melphalan and doxorubicin in these cancer models. Since melphalan and doxorubicin are highly toxic agents, we have examined three other nitrogen (N)-mustards, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide and bendamustine, to determine if they exhibit similar potentiation by LND. As single agents LND, melphalan and these N-mustards exhibited the following activities in DB-1 melanoma xenografts; LND: 100% tumor surviving fraction (SF); chlorambucil: 100% SF; cyclophosphamide: 100% SF; bendamustine: 79% SF; melphalan: 41% SF. When combined with LND administered 40 min prior to administration of the N-mustard (to maximize intracellular acidification) the following responses were obtained; chlorambucil: 62% SF; cyclophosphamide: 42% SF; bendamustine: 36% SF; melphalan: 10% SF. The effect of LND on the activities of these N-mustards is generally attributed to acid stabilization of the aziridinium active intermediate, acid inhibition of glutathione-S-transferase, which acts as a scavenger of aziridinium, and acid inhibition of DNA repair by O6-alkyltransferase. Depletion of ATP by LND may also decrease multidrug resistance and increase tumor response. At similar maximum tolerated doses, our data indicate that melphalan is the most effective N-mustard in combination with LND when treating DB-1 melanoma in mice, but the choice of N-mustard for coadministration with LND will also depend on the relative toxicities of these agents, and remains to be determined.
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Nath, Kavindra; Nelson, David S.; Putt, Mary E.; Leeper, Dennis B.; Garman, Bradley; Nathanson, Katherine L.; Glickson, Jerry D.
2016-01-01
Previous NMR studies demonstrated that lonidamine (LND) selectively diminishes the intracellular pH (pHi) of DB-1 melanoma and mouse xenografts of a variety of other prevalent human cancers while decreasing their bioenergetic status (tumor βNTP/Pi ratio) and enhancing the activities of melphalan and doxorubicin in these cancer models. Since melphalan and doxorubicin are highly toxic agents, we have examined three other nitrogen (N)-mustards, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide and bendamustine, to determine if they exhibit similar potentiation by LND. As single agents LND, melphalan and these N-mustards exhibited the following activities in DB-1 melanoma xenografts; LND: 100% tumor surviving fraction (SF); chlorambucil: 100% SF; cyclophosphamide: 100% SF; bendamustine: 79% SF; melphalan: 41% SF. When combined with LND administered 40 min prior to administration of the N-mustard (to maximize intracellular acidification) the following responses were obtained; chlorambucil: 62% SF; cyclophosphamide: 42% SF; bendamustine: 36% SF; melphalan: 10% SF. The effect of LND on the activities of these N-mustards is generally attributed to acid stabilization of the aziridinium active intermediate, acid inhibition of glutathione-S-transferase, which acts as a scavenger of aziridinium, and acid inhibition of DNA repair by O6-alkyltransferase. Depletion of ATP by LND may also decrease multidrug resistance and increase tumor response. At similar maximum tolerated doses, our data indicate that melphalan is the most effective N-mustard in combination with LND when treating DB-1 melanoma in mice, but the choice of N-mustard for coadministration with LND will also depend on the relative toxicities of these agents, and remains to be determined. PMID:27285585
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Human attention filters for single colors.
Sun, Peng; Chubb, Charles; Wright, Charles E; Sperling, George
2016-10-25
The visual images in the eyes contain much more information than the brain can process. An important selection mechanism is feature-based attention (FBA). FBA is best described by attention filters that specify precisely the extent to which items containing attended features are selectively processed and the extent to which items that do not contain the attended features are attenuated. The centroid-judgment paradigm enables quick, precise measurements of such human perceptual attention filters, analogous to transmission measurements of photographic color filters. Subjects use a mouse to locate the centroid-the center of gravity-of a briefly displayed cloud of dots and receive precise feedback. A subset of dots is distinguished by some characteristic, such as a different color, and subjects judge the centroid of only the distinguished subset (e.g., dots of a particular color). The analysis efficiently determines the precise weight in the judged centroid of dots of every color in the display (i.e., the attention filter for the particular attended color in that context). We report 32 attention filters for single colors. Attention filters that discriminate one saturated hue from among seven other equiluminant distractor hues are extraordinarily selective, achieving attended/unattended weight ratios >20:1. Attention filters for selecting a color that differs in saturation or lightness from distractors are much less selective than attention filters for hue (given equal discriminability of the colors), and their filter selectivities are proportional to the discriminability distance of neighboring colors, whereas in the same range hue attention-filter selectivity is virtually independent of discriminabilty.
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Li, Sui-Xian
2018-05-07
Previous research has shown that the effectiveness of selecting filter sets from among a large set of commercial broadband filters by a vector analysis method based on maximum linear independence (MLI). However, the traditional MLI approach is suboptimal due to the need to predefine the first filter of the selected filter set to be the maximum ℓ₂ norm among all available filters. An exhaustive imaging simulation with every single filter serving as the first filter is conducted to investigate the features of the most competent filter set. From the simulation, the characteristics of the most competent filter set are discovered. Besides minimization of the condition number, the geometric features of the best-performed filter set comprise a distinct transmittance peak along the wavelength axis of the first filter, a generally uniform distribution for the peaks of the filters and substantial overlaps of the transmittance curves of the adjacent filters. Therefore, the best-performed filter sets can be recognized intuitively by simple vector analysis and just a few experimental verifications. A practical two-step framework for selecting optimal filter set is recommended, which guarantees a significant enhancement of the performance of the systems. This work should be useful for optimizing the spectral sensitivity of broadband multispectral imaging sensors.
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Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
..., fabric filter, activated carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, or an electrostatic... Limitations and Operating Limits § 60.2115 What if I do not use a wet scrubber, fabric filter, activated... carbon injection, selective noncatalytic reduction, fabric filter, or an electrostatic precipitator or...
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Jong, Edmund C; Macek, Paul V; Perera, Inoka E; Luxbacher, Kray D; McNair, Harold M
2015-07-01
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is widely used as a tracer gas because of its detectability at low concentrations. This attribute of SF6 allows the quantification of both small-scale flows, such as leakage, and large-scale flows, such as atmospheric currents. SF6's high detection sensitivity also facilitates greater usage efficiency and lower operating cost for tracer deployments by reducing quantity requirements. The detectability of SF6 is produced by its high molecular electronegativity. This property provides a high potential for negative ion formation through electron capture thus naturally translating to selective detection using negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (NCI-MS). This paper investigates the potential of using gas chromatography (GC) with NCI-MS for the detection of SF6. The experimental parameters for an ultra-trace SF6 detection method utilizing minimal customizations of the analytical instrument are detailed. A method for the detection of parts per trillion (ppt) level concentrations of SF6 for the purpose of underground ventilation tracer gas analysis was successfully developed in this study. The method utilized a Shimadzu gas chromatography with negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry system equipped with an Agilent J&W HP-porous layer open tubular column coated with an alumina oxide (Al2O3) S column. The method detection limit (MDL) analysis as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency of the tracer data showed the method MDL to be 5.2 ppt. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gao, Zhouzheng; Ge, Maorong; Shen, Wenbin; Zhang, Hongping; Niu, Xiaoji
2017-11-01
Single-frequency precise point positioning (SF-PPP) is a potential precise positioning technique due to the advantages of the high accuracy in positioning after convergence and the low cost in operation. However, there are still challenges limiting its applications at present, such as the long convergence time, the low reliability, and the poor satellite availability and continuity in kinematic applications. In recent years, the achievements in the dual-frequency PPP have confirmed that its performance can be significantly enhanced by employing the slant ionospheric delay and receiver differential code bias (DCB) constraint model, and the multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) data. Accordingly, we introduce the slant ionospheric delay and receiver DCB constraint model, and the multi-GNSS data in SF-PPP modular together. In order to further overcome the drawbacks of SF-PPP in terms of reliability, continuity, and accuracy in the signal easily blocking environments, the inertial measurements are also adopted in this paper. Finally, we form a new approach to tightly integrate the multi-GNSS single-frequency observations and inertial measurements together to ameliorate the performance of the ionospheric delay and receiver DCB-constrained SF-PPP. In such model, the inter-system bias between each two GNSS systems, the inter-frequency bias between each two GLONASS frequencies, the hardware errors of the inertial sensors, the slant ionospheric delays of each user-satellite pair, and the receiver DCB are estimated together with other parameters in a unique Kalman filter. To demonstrate its performance, the multi-GNSS and low-cost inertial data from a land-borne experiment are analyzed. The results indicate that visible positioning improvements in terms of accuracy, continuity, and reliability can be achieved in both open-sky and complex conditions while using the proposed model in this study compared to the conventional GPS SF-PPP.
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Sanchez-Santos, Maria T.; Davey, Trish; Leyland, Kirsten M.; Allsopp, Adrian J.; Lanham-New, Susan A.; Judge, Andrew; Arden, Nigel K.; Fallowfield, Joanne L.
2017-01-01
Background: Stress fractures (SFs) are one of the more severe overuse injuries in military training, and therefore, knowledge of potential risk factors is needed to assist in developing mitigating strategies. Purpose: To develop a prediction model for risk of SF in Royal Marines (RM) recruits during an arduous military training program. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: RM recruits (N = 1082; age range, 16-33 years) who enrolled between September 2009 and July 2010 were prospectively followed through the 32-week RM training program. SF diagnosis was confirmed from a positive radiograph or magnetic resonance imaging scan. Potential risk factors assessed at week 1 included recruit characteristics, anthropometric assessment, dietary supplement use, lifestyle habits, fitness assessment, blood samples, 25(OH)D, bone strength as measured by heel broadband ultrasound attention, history of physical activity, and previous and current food intake. A logistic least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression with 10-fold cross-validation was used to select potential predictors among 47 candidate variables. Model performance was assessed using measures of discrimination (c-index) and calibration. Bootstrapping was used for internal validation of the developed model and to quantify optimism. Results: A total of 86 (8%) volunteer recruits presented at least 1 SF during training. Twelve variables were identified as the most important risk factors of SF. Variables strongly associated with SF were age, body weight, pretraining weightbearing exercise, pretraining cycling, and childhood intake of milk and milk products. The c-index for the prediction model, which represents the model performance in future volunteers, was 0.73 (optimism-corrected c-index, 0.68). Although 25(OH)D and VO2max had only a borderline statistically significant association with SF, the inclusion of these factors improved the performance of the model. Conclusion: These findings will assist in identifying recruits at greater risk of SF during training and will support interventions to mitigate this injury risk. However, external validation of the model is still required. PMID:28804727
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Human attention filters for single colors
Sun, Peng; Chubb, Charles; Wright, Charles E.; Sperling, George
2016-01-01
The visual images in the eyes contain much more information than the brain can process. An important selection mechanism is feature-based attention (FBA). FBA is best described by attention filters that specify precisely the extent to which items containing attended features are selectively processed and the extent to which items that do not contain the attended features are attenuated. The centroid-judgment paradigm enables quick, precise measurements of such human perceptual attention filters, analogous to transmission measurements of photographic color filters. Subjects use a mouse to locate the centroid—the center of gravity—of a briefly displayed cloud of dots and receive precise feedback. A subset of dots is distinguished by some characteristic, such as a different color, and subjects judge the centroid of only the distinguished subset (e.g., dots of a particular color). The analysis efficiently determines the precise weight in the judged centroid of dots of every color in the display (i.e., the attention filter for the particular attended color in that context). We report 32 attention filters for single colors. Attention filters that discriminate one saturated hue from among seven other equiluminant distractor hues are extraordinarily selective, achieving attended/unattended weight ratios >20:1. Attention filters for selecting a color that differs in saturation or lightness from distractors are much less selective than attention filters for hue (given equal discriminability of the colors), and their filter selectivities are proportional to the discriminability distance of neighboring colors, whereas in the same range hue attention-filter selectivity is virtually independent of discriminabilty. PMID:27791040
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Spatial Frequency Selectivity Is Impaired in Dopamine D2 Receptor Knockout Mice
Souza, Bruno Oliveira Ferreira; Abou Rjeili, Mira; Quintana, Clémentine; Beaulieu, Jean M.; Casanova, Christian
2018-01-01
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter implicated in several brain functions, including vision. In the present study, we investigated the impacts of the lack of D2 dopamine receptors on the structure and function of the primary visual cortex (V1) of D2-KO mice using optical imaging of intrinsic signals. Retinotopic maps were generated in order to measure anatomo-functional parameters such as V1 shape, cortical magnification factor, scatter, and ocular dominance. Contrast sensitivity and spatial frequency selectivity (SF) functions were computed from responses to drifting gratings. When compared to control mice, none of the parameters of the retinotopic maps were affected by D2 receptor loss of function. While the contrast sensitivity function of D2-KO mice did not differ from their wild-type counterparts, SF selectivity function was significantly affected as the optimal SF and the high cut-off frequency (p < 0.01) were higher in D2-KO than in WT mice. These findings show that the lack of function of D2 dopamine receptors had no influence on cortical structure whereas it had a significant impact on the spatial frequency selectivity and high cut-off. Taken together, our results suggest that D2 receptors play a specific role on the processing of spatial features in early visual cortex while they do not seem to participate in its development. PMID:29379422
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Perry, Mallory; Starkweather, Angela; Baumbauer, Kyle; Young, Erin
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is the most common spinal deformity among children and adolescents and the most frequent reason for corrective spinal fusion (SF). Of the children and adolescents who undergo SF, a significant number will experience persistent postoperative pain (PPP). This integrative literature review was conducted to identify and synthesize perioperative factors that may contribute to risk of developing PPP. Articles which addressed PPP within the last 10years and primary research on postoperative pain outcomes in adolescents after SF were selected for review. 15 articles which met eligibility criteria were included. Preoperative pain intensity was the most significant factor identified in the development of PPP and increased postoperative pain. Social function and psychological factors also have role in the development of PPP. There were no theoretical models or frameworks for evaluating PPP incidence in adolescent with AIS after SF. Perioperative factors such as, preoperative pain, correction magnitude, pain coping, anxiety and social functioning are vital to understanding a child's risk of PPP following SF. There is a need for theoretically-based studies to assess PPP among children and adolescents with AIS after SF surgery. The Biobehavioral Pain Network (BPN) model was proposed, to encompass biological, social and psychological domains which may be responsible for incidence of PPP in children undergoing SF. Such a model can be used to systematically develop and evaluate personalized postoperative pain management strategies for this patient population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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An application of the SF-6D to create heath values in Portuguese working age adults.
Ferreira, Lara Noronha; Ferreira, Pedro Lopes; Pereira, Luís Nobre; Brazier, John
2008-01-01
This study describes the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the Portuguese working age population and investigates sociodemographic differences. Subjects randomly selected from the working age population (n=2,459) were assessed using the SF-36v2 and converted into the preference-based SF-6D. The mean SF-6D utility value was 0.70 (range 0.63-0.73). The mean utility value was lower for the lower educational level than for the highest. Women, people living in rural areas and older adults reported lower levels of utility values. Non-parametric tests showed that health utility values were significantly related to employment; unskilled manual workers reported utility values lower than non-manual workers. For different diseases, mean utility values ranged from 0.58 (sexual diseases) to 0.66 (hepatic conditions). Cluster analysis was adopted to classify individuals into three groups according to their answers to the SF-6D dimensions. Multinomial logit regression was used to detect sociodemographic characteristics affecting the probability of following each cluster pattern. This study yielded normative data by age and gender for the SF-6D. The authors conclude that SF-6D is an effective tool for measuring HRQOL in the community so that different population groups can be compared. The preference-based measure used seems to discriminate adequately across sociodemographic differences. These results allow a better understanding of the impact of sociodemographic variables on the burden of illness perception.
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Non-specific filtering of beta-distributed data.
Wang, Xinhui; Laird, Peter W; Hinoue, Toshinori; Groshen, Susan; Siegmund, Kimberly D
2014-06-19
Non-specific feature selection is a dimension reduction procedure performed prior to cluster analysis of high dimensional molecular data. Not all measured features are expected to show biological variation, so only the most varying are selected for analysis. In DNA methylation studies, DNA methylation is measured as a proportion, bounded between 0 and 1, with variance a function of the mean. Filtering on standard deviation biases the selection of probes to those with mean values near 0.5. We explore the effect this has on clustering, and develop alternate filter methods that utilize a variance stabilizing transformation for Beta distributed data and do not share this bias. We compared results for 11 different non-specific filters on eight Infinium HumanMethylation data sets, selected to span a variety of biological conditions. We found that for data sets having a small fraction of samples showing abnormal methylation of a subset of normally unmethylated CpGs, a characteristic of the CpG island methylator phenotype in cancer, a novel filter statistic that utilized a variance-stabilizing transformation for Beta distributed data outperformed the common filter of using standard deviation of the DNA methylation proportion, or its log-transformed M-value, in its ability to detect the cancer subtype in a cluster analysis. However, the standard deviation filter always performed among the best for distinguishing subgroups of normal tissue. The novel filter and standard deviation filter tended to favour features in different genome contexts; for the same data set, the novel filter always selected more features from CpG island promoters and the standard deviation filter always selected more features from non-CpG island intergenic regions. Interestingly, despite selecting largely non-overlapping sets of features, the two filters did find sample subsets that overlapped for some real data sets. We found two different filter statistics that tended to prioritize features with different characteristics, each performed well for identifying clusters of cancer and non-cancer tissue, and identifying a cancer CpG island hypermethylation phenotype. Since cluster analysis is for discovery, we would suggest trying both filters on any new data sets, evaluating the overlap of features selected and clusters discovered.
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The OPTX Project. V. Identifying Distant Active Galactic Nuclei
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Trouille, L.; Barger, A. J.; Tremonti, C.
2011-11-01
The Baldwin, Phillips, and Terlevich emission-line ratio diagnostic ([O III]/Hβ versus [N II]/Hα, hereafter BPT diagram) efficiently separates galaxies whose signal is dominated by star formation (BPT-SF) from those dominated by active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity (BPT-AGN). Yet this BPT diagram is limited to z < 0.5, the redshift at which [N II]λ6584 leaves the optical spectral window. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we construct a new diagnostic, or TBT diagram, that is based on rest-frame g - z color, [Ne III]λ3869, and [O II]λλ3726 + 3729 and can be used for galaxies out to z < 1.4. The TBT diagram identifies 98.7% of the SDSS BPT-AGN as TBT-AGN and 97% of the SDSS BPT-SF as TBT-SF. Furthermore, it identifies 97% of the OPTX Chandra X-ray-selected AGNs as TBT-AGN. This is in contrast to the BPT diagram, which misidentifies 20% of X-ray-selected AGNs as BPT-SF. We use the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North and Lockman Hole galaxy samples, with their accompanying deep Chandra imaging, to perform X-ray and infrared stacking analyses to further validate our TBT-AGN and TBT-SF selections; that is, we verify the dominance of AGN activity in the former and star formation activity in the latter. Finally, we address the inclusion of the majority of the BPT-comp (sources lying between the BPT-SF and BPT-AGN regimes) in our TBT-AGN regime. We find that the stacked BPT-comp source is X-ray hard (langΓeffrang = 1.0+0.4 -0.4) and has a high X-ray luminosity to total infrared luminosity ratio. This suggests that, on average, the X-ray signal in BPT-comp is dominated by obscured or low accretion rate AGN activity rather than by star formation, supporting their inclusion in the TBT-AGN regime. Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
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On selecting satellite conjunction filter parameters
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Alfano, Salvatore; Finkleman, David
2014-06-01
This paper extends concepts of signal detection theory to predict the performance of conjunction screening techniques and guiding the selection of keepout and screening thresholds. The most efficient way to identify satellites likely to collide is to employ filters to identify orbiting pairs that should not come close enough over a prescribed time period to be considered hazardous. Such pairings can then be eliminated from further computation to accelerate overall processing time. Approximations inherent in filtering techniques include screening using only unperturbed Newtonian two body astrodynamics and uncertainties in orbit elements. Therefore, every filtering process is vulnerable to including objects that are not threats and excluding some that are threats, Type I and Type II errors. The approach in this paper guides selection of the best operating point for the filters suited to a user's tolerance for false alarms and unwarned threats. We demonstrate the approach using three archetypal filters with an initial three-day span, select filter parameters based on performance, and then test those parameters using eight historical snapshots of the space catalog. This work provides a mechanism for selecting filter parameters but the choices depend on the circumstances.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Netzer, Hagai; Mor, Rivay; Trakhtenbrot, Benny
We report Herschel/SPIRE, Spitzer and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer observations of 44 z ≅ 4.8 optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This flux-limited sample contains the highest mass black holes (BHs) at this redshift. Ten of the objects were detected by Herschel and five show emission that is not clearly associated with the AGNs. The star formation (SF) luminosity (L{sub SF}) obtained by fitting the spectral energy distribution (SED) with standard SF templates, taking into account AGN contribution, is in the range 10{sup 46.62}-10{sup 47.21} erg s{sup –1} corresponding to SF rates of 1090-4240 M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. Fitting withmore » very luminous submillimeter galaxy SEDs gives SF rates that are smaller by 0.05 dex when using all bands and 0.1 dex when ignoring the 250 μm band. A 40 K graybody fits to only the 500 μm fluxes reduce L{sub SF} by about a factor of two. A stacking analysis of 29 undetected sources gives significant signals in all three bands. A SF template fit indicates L{sub SF} = 10{sup 46.19-46.23} erg s{sup –1} depending on the assumed AGN contribution. A 40 K fit to the stacked 500 μm flux gives L{sub SF} = 10{sup 45.95} erg s{sup –1}. The mean BH mass (M{sub BH}) and AGN luminosity (L{sub AGN}) of the detected sources are significantly higher than those of the undetected ones. The spectral differences are seen all the way from UV to far infrared wavelengths. The mean optical-UV spectra are similar to those predicted for thin accretion disks around BHs with similar masses and accretion rates. We suggest two alternative explanations to the correlation of L{sub SF}, L{sub AGN} and M{sub BH}, one involving no AGN feedback and the second involving moderate feedback that affects, but does not totally quench, SF in three-quarters of the sources. We compare our L{sub SF} and L{sub AGN} to lower redshift samples and show a new correlation between L{sub SF} and M{sub BH}. We also examine several rather speculative ideas about the host galaxy properties including the possibility that the detected sources are above the SF mass sequence (MS) at z ≅ 4.8, perhaps in mergers, and most of the undetected sources are on the MS.« less
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Zhang, Xiaoxing; Chen, Qinchuan; Tang, Ju; Hu, Weihua; Zhang, Jinbin
2014-01-01
The detection of partial discharge by analyzing the components of SF6 gas in gas-insulated switchgears is important to the diagnosis and assessment of the operational state of power equipment. A gas sensor based on anatase TiO2 is used to detect decomposed gases in SF6. In this paper, first-principle density functional theory calculations are adopted to analyze the adsorption of SO2, SOF2, and SO2F2, the primary decomposition by-products of SF6 under partial discharge, on anatase (101) and (001) surfaces. Simulation results show that the perfect anatase (001) surface has a stronger interaction with the three gases than that of anatase (101), and both surfaces are more sensitive and selective to SO2 than to SOF2 and SO2F2. The selection of a defect surface to SO2, SOF2, and SO2F2 differs from that of a perfect surface. This theoretical result is corroborated by the sensing experiment using a TiO2 nanotube array (TNTA) gas sensor. The calculated values are analyzed to explain the results of the Pt-doped TNTA gas sensor sensing experiment. The results imply that the deposited Pt nanoparticles on the surface increase the active sites of the surface and the gas molecules may decompose upon adsorption on the active sites. PMID:24755845
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Haugum, Kjersti; Lindstedt, Bjørn-Arne; Løbersli, Inger; Kapperud, Georg; Brandal, Lin Thorstensen
2012-04-01
Sorbitol-fermenting Escherichia coli O157:NM (SF O157) is an emerging pathogen suggested to be more virulent than nonsorbitol-fermenting Escherichia coli O157:H7 (NSF O157). Important virulence factors are the Shiga toxins (stx), encoded by stx1 and/or stx2 located within prophages integrated in the bacterial genome. The stx genes are expressed from p(R) (') as a late protein, and anti-terminator activity from the Q protein is necessary for read through of the late terminator t(R) (') and activation of p(R) (') . We investigated the regulation of stx2(EDL933) expression at the genomic level in 17 Norwegian SF O157. Sequencing of three selected SF O157 strains revealed that the anti-terminator q gene and genes upstream of stx2(EDL933) were identical or similar to the ones observed in the E. coli O111:H- strain AP010960, but different from the ones observed in the NSF O157 strain EDL933 (AE005174). This suggested divergent stx2(EDL933) -encoding bacteriophages between NSF O157 and the SF O157 strains (FR874039-41). Furthermore, different DNA structures were detected in the SF O157 strains, suggesting diversity among bacteriophages also within the SF O157 group. Further investigations are needed to elucidate whether the q(O111:H) (-) gene observed in all our SF O157 contributes to the increased virulence seen in SF O157 compared to NSF O157. An assay for detecting q(O111:H) (-) was developed. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Kwan, Yu Heng; Fong, Warren Weng Seng; Lui, Nai Lee; Yong, Si Ting; Cheung, Yin Bun; Malhotra, Rahul; Østbye, Truls; Thumboo, Julian
2016-12-01
The Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) is a popular health-related quality of life (HrQoL) tool. However, few studies have assessed its psychometric properties in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA). We therefore aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the SF-36 in patients with SpA in Singapore. Cross-sectional data from a registry of 196 SpA patients recruited from a dedicated tertiary referral clinic in Singapore from 2011 to 2014 was used. Analyses were guided by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments framework. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed through 33 a priori hypotheses by correlations of the eight subscales and two summary scores of SF-36 with other health outcomes. Known-group construct validity was assessed by comparison of the means of the subscales and summary scores of the SF-36 of SpA patients and the general population of Singapore using student's t tests. Among 196 patients (155 males (79.0 %), median (range) age: 36 (17-70), 166 Chinese (84.6 %)), SF-36 scales showed high internal consistency ranging from 0.88 to 0.90. Convergent construct validity was supported as shown by fulfillment of all hypotheses. Divergent construct validity was supported, as SF-36 MCS was not associated with PGA, pain and HAQ. Known-group construct validity showed SpA patients had lower scores of 3.8-12.5 when compared to the general population at p < 0.001. This study supports the SF-36 as a valid and reliable measure of HrQoL for use in patients with SpA at a single time point.
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Sex dimorphism in late gestational sleep fragmentation and metabolic dysfunction in offspring mice.
Khalyfa, Abdelnaby; Carreras, Alba; Almendros, Isaac; Hakim, Fahed; Gozal, David
2015-04-01
Excessive sleep fragmentation (SF) is common in pregnant women. Adult-onset metabolic disorders may begin during early development and exhibit substantial sex dimorphism. We hypothesized that metabolic dysfunction induced by gestational SF in male mice would not be apparent in female littermates. Body weight and food consumption were measured weekly in male and female offspring after late gestational SF or control sleep (SC). At 20 weeks, plasma leptin, adiponectin, lipid profiles, and insulin and glucose tolerance tests were assessed. Leptin and adiponectin, M1, and M2 macrophage messenger RNA expression and polarity were examined. Adiponectin gene promoter methylation levels in several tissues were assessed. Food intake, body weight, visceral fat mass, and insulin resistance were higher, and adiponectin levels lower in male but not female offspring exposed to gestational SF. However, dyslipidemia was apparent in both male and female offspring exposed to SF, albeit of lesser magnitude. In visceral fat, leptin messenger RNA expression was selectively increased and adiponectin expression was decreased in male offspring exposed to gestational SF, but adiponectin was increased in exposed female offspring. Differences in adipokine expression also emerged in liver, subcutaneous fat, and muscle. Increased M1 macrophage markers were present in male offspring exposed to SF (SFOM) while increased M2 markers emerged in SF in female offspring (SFOF). Similarly, significant differences emerged in the methylation patterns of adiponectin promoter in SFOM and SFOF. Gestational sleep fragmentation increases the susceptibility to obesity and metabolic syndrome in male but not in female offspring, most likely via epigenetic changes. Thus, sleep perturbations impose long-term detrimental effects to the fetus manifesting as sex dimorphic metabolic dysfunction in adulthood. © 2015 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.
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Software Would Largely Automate Design of Kalman Filter
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Chuang, Jason C. H.; Negast, William J.
2005-01-01
Embedded Navigation Filter Automatic Designer (ENFAD) is a computer program being developed to automate the most difficult tasks in designing embedded software to implement a Kalman filter in a navigation system. The most difficult tasks are selection of error states of the filter and tuning of filter parameters, which are timeconsuming trial-and-error tasks that require expertise and rarely yield optimum results. An optimum selection of error states and filter parameters depends on navigation-sensor and vehicle characteristics, and on filter processing time. ENFAD would include a simulation module that would incorporate all possible error states with respect to a given set of vehicle and sensor characteristics. The first of two iterative optimization loops would vary the selection of error states until the best filter performance was achieved in Monte Carlo simulations. For a fixed selection of error states, the second loop would vary the filter parameter values until an optimal performance value was obtained. Design constraints would be satisfied in the optimization loops. Users would supply vehicle and sensor test data that would be used to refine digital models in ENFAD. Filter processing time and filter accuracy would be computed by ENFAD.
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Sadeghi, Seyed Mohammad Moein; Attarod, Pedram; Van Stan, John Toland; Pypker, Thomas Grant
2016-10-15
As plantations become increasingly important sources of wood and fiber in arid/semiarid places, they have also become increasingly criticized for their hydrological impacts. An examination and comparison of gross rainfall (GR) partitioning across commonly-planted tree species (Pinus eldarica, Cupressus arizonica, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Fraxinus rotundifolia) in semiarid regions has great value for watershed and forest managers interested in managing canopy hydrological processes for societal benefit. Therefore, we performed a field study examining GR partitioning into throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF), and rainfall interception (I) for these species in the semiarid Chitgar Forest Park, Tehran, Iran. An advantage to our study is that we explore the effects of forest structural differences in plantation forests experiencing similar climatic factors and storm conditions. As such, variability in GR partitioning due to different meteorological conditions is minimized, allowing comparison of structural attributes across plantations. Our results show that commonly-selected afforestation species experiencing the same climate produced differing stand structures that differentially partition GR into TF, SF, and I. P. eldarica might be the best of the four species to plant if the primary goal of afforestation is to limit erosion and stormwater runoff as it intercepted more rainfall than other species. However, the high SF generation from F. rotundifolia, and low GR necessary to initiate SF, could maximize retention of water in the soils since SF has been shown to infiltrate along root pathways and access groundwater. A consideration of GR partitioning should be considered when selecting a species for afforestation/reforestation in water-limited ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Fu, Jinling; Nagashima, Mikiko; Guo, Chuanyu; Raymond, Pamela A; Wei, Xiangyun
2018-01-01
Human Crb1 is implicated in some forms of retinal degeneration, suggesting a role in photoreceptor maintenance. Multiple Crumbs (Crb) polarity genes are expressed in vertebrate retina, although their functional roles are not well understood. To gain further insight into Crb and photoreceptor maintenance, we compared retinal cell densities between wild-type and Tg(RH2-2:Crb2b-sfEX/RH2-2:GFP)pt108b transgenic zebrafish, in which the extracellular domain of Crb2b-short form (Crb2b-sfEX) is expressed in the retina as a secreted protein, which disrupts the planar organization of RGB cones (red, green, and blue) by interfering with Crb2a/2b-based cone-cone adhesion. We used standard morphometric techniques to assess age-related changes in retinal cell densities in adult zebrafish (3 to 27 months old), and to assess effects of the Crb2b-sfEX transgene on retinal structure and photoreceptor densities. Linear cell densities were measured in all retinal layers in radial sections with JB4-Feulgen histology. Planar (surface) densities of cones were determined in retinal flat-mounts. Cell counts from wild-type and pt108b transgenic fish were compared with both a "photoreceptor maintenance index" and statistical analysis of cell counts. Age-related changes in retinal cell linear densities and cone photoreceptor planar densities in wild-type adult zebrafish provided a baseline for analysis. Expression of Crb2b-sfEX caused progressive and selective degeneration of RGB cones, but had no effect on ultraviolet-sensitive (UV) cones, and increased numbers of rod photoreceptors. These differential responses of RGB cones, UV cones, and rods to sustained exposure to Crb2b-sfEX suggest that Crb-based photoreceptor maintenance mechanisms are highly selective.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sacchi, E.; Cignoni, M.; Aloisi, A.; Tosi, M.; Calzetti, D.; Lee, J. C.; Adamo, A.; Annibali, F.; Dale, D. A.; Elmegreen, B. G.; Gouliermis, D. A.; Grasha, K.; Grebel, E. K.; Hunter, D. A.; Sabbi, E.; Smith, L. J.; Thilker, D. A.; Ubeda, L.; Whitmore, B. C.
2018-04-01
We present a detailed study of the Magellanic irregular galaxy NGC 4449 based on both archival and new photometric data from the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3. Thanks to its proximity (D = 3.82 ± 0.27 Mpc), we reach stars 3 mag fainter than the tip of the red giant branch in the F814W filter. The recovered star formation history (SFH) spans the whole Hubble time, but due to the age–metallicity degeneracy of the red giant branch stars, it is robust only over the lookback time reached by our photometry, i.e., ∼3 Gyr. The most recent peak of star formation (SF) is around 10 Myr ago. The average surface density SF rate over the whole galaxy lifetime is 0.01 M ⊙ yr‑1 kpc‑2. From our study, it emerges that NGC 4449 has experienced a fairly continuous SF regime in the last 1 Gyr, with peaks and dips whose SF rates differ only by a factor of a few. The very complex and disturbed morphology of NGC 4449 makes it an interesting galaxy for studies of the relationship between interactions and starbursts, and our detailed and spatially resolved analysis of its SFH does indeed provide some hints on the connection between these two phenomena in this peculiar dwarf galaxy. Based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
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2017-01-01
Background Various scales have been used to perform a quick and first level nutritional assessment, and the MNA is one of the most used and recommended by experts in the elderly in all areas. This scale has a short form, the MNA-SF, revised and validated in 2009, which has two versions: the BMI-MNA-SF contains the first six items of the full scale including Body Mass Index while the CC-MNA-SF includes Calf Circumference instead of BMI. Objective To evaluate the predictive ability for nutritional status of the two versions of the MNA-SF against the MNA in free-living elderly in the province of Valencia. Methods Cross-sectional study of 660 free-living elderly in the province of Valencia selected in 12 community centres using stratified sampling by blocks. Inclusion criteria: being aged 65 or over, living at home, having functional autonomy, residing in the province of study for more than one year, regularly attending community centres and voluntarily wanting to take part. Results Of the 660 subjects studied, 319 were men (48.3%) and 341 (51.7%) women with a mean age of 74.3 years (SD = 6.6). In terms of nutritional assessment, using the BMI-MNA-SF and the CC-MNA-SF we found that 26.5% and 26.2% were at risk of malnutrition and 0.9% and 1.5% were malnourished respectively. With the full MNA, 23.3% were at risk of malnutrition. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients indicate a high association between the full MNA score and the MNA-SFs scores (BMI-MNA-SF: ρ = 0.78p < 0.001; CC-MNA-SF: ρ = 0.78p < 0.001). In addition we obtained a very high correlation between the two MNA-SFs (ρ = 0.96p < 0.001). We evaluated the agreement between the full MNA and the MNA-SFs classification in three nutritional categories (normal nutritional status, risk of malnutrition, malnutrition) with Cohen’s kappa coefficients (BMI-MNA-SF: κ = 0.54p < 0.001; CC-MNA-SF: κ = 0.52p < 0.001). These values indicate moderate agreement with the full MNA. There is very good agreement between the BMI-MNA-SF and CC-MNA-SF (κ = 0.88p < 0.001). In order to determine the ability of both MNA-SFs to identify subjects not requiring any nutritional intervention, we considered the dichotomised categorisation of the full MNA and the MNA-SFs as “normal nutritional status” vs. “malnutrition and risk of malnutrition” Areas under the ROC curves using MNA as the gold standard indicate moderately high prognostic accuracy (BMI-MNA-SF: AUC = 0.88p < 0.001; CC-MNA-SF: AUC = 0.87 p < 0.001). Both versions of the MNA-SF showed similar sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic effectiveness (BMI-MNA-SF: 73.4%, 86.6%, 83.5%; CC-MNA-SF 73.4%, 86.2%, 83.2%). Conclusions In its two versions the MNA-SF presents useful predictive ability against the MNA. The advantage of the CC-MNA-SF is that using it requires fewer resources and less time in primary care, although always the characteristics of the population must take into account to make the right decision based on the MNA-SF scales. PMID:28533984
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Chen, Xiaohua; Du, Hua; Liu, Binjian; Zou, Li; Chen, Wei; Yang, Yang; Zhu, Ying; Gong, Yajie; Tian, Jianbo; Li, Feng; Zhong, Shan
2015-01-01
Aberrant alternative splicing included alterations in components of the mRNA splicing machinery often occurred in colon cancer. However, the role of SF3A1, one key component of the mRNA splicing machinery, on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk was still not elucidated. We performed a hospital-based case-control study containing 801 CRC patients and 817 cancer-free controls to examine the association between SF3A1 polymorphisms and CRC risk in a Chinese population. Four candidate SNPs (rs10376, rs5753073, rs2839998 and rs2074733) were selected based on bioinformatics analysis and previous findings. The results showed no significant associations between these SNPs and CRC risk (P > 0.05). Besides, the stratified analysis based on the smoking and alcohol use status obtained no statistically significant results. Our study was the first one to investigate the association between SF3A1 polymorphisms and CRC risk. The results suggested these four SNPs in SF3A1 were not associated with CRC risk in a Chinese population, however, further more studies are needed to confirm our findings.
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Tang, Zhishu; Li, Guolong; Yang, Jie; Duan, Jinao; Qian, Dawei; Guo, Jianming; Zhu, Zhenhua; Song, Zhongxing
2015-06-26
A rapid, selective and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS assay was established to determine the plasma concentrations of four steroidal saponins. Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to four groups which were orally administered Anemarrhena asphodeloides extracts (ASE), ASE combined with macromolecular fraction (ASE-MF), ASE combined with small molecule fraction (ASE-SF) and ASE combined with small molecule and macromolecular fraction (ASE-SF-MF) containing approximately the same dose of ASE. At different time points, the concentration of timosaponin BII, anemarsaponin BIII, timosaponin AIII and timosaponin E1 in rat plasma were determined and main pharmacokinetic parameters including Cmax, Tmax, T1/2, AUC were calculated using the DAS 3.2 software package. The statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t-test with p < 0.05 as the level of significance. MF had no effect on the pharmacokinetic behaviors and parameters of four steroidal saponins. It was found that Cmax and AUC of four steroidal saponins in group ASE-SF and ASE-SF-MF, were significantly increased compared with those in group ASE. These results indicate that SF in A. asphodeloides extracts could increase the absorption and improve the bioavailability of the steroidal saponins.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Nadeau, Jeremy S.; Wright, Bob W.; Synovec, Robert E.
2010-04-15
A critical comparison of methods for correcting severely retention time shifted gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) data is presented. The method reported herein is an adaptation to the Piecewise Alignment Algorithm to quickly align severely shifted one-dimensional (1D) total ion current (TIC) data, then applying these shifts to broadly align all mass channels throughout the separation, referred to as a TIC shift function (SF). The maximum shift varied from (-) 5 s in the beginning of the chromatographic separation to (+) 20 s toward the end of the separation, equivalent to a maximum shift of over 5 peak widths. Implementing themore » TIC shift function (TIC SF) prior to Fisher Ratio (F-Ratio) feature selection and then principal component analysis (PCA) was found to be a viable approach to classify complex chromatograms, that in this study were obtained from GC-MS separations of three gasoline samples serving as complex test mixtures, referred to as types C, M and S. The reported alignment algorithm via the TIC SF approach corrects for large dynamic shifting in the data as well as subtle peak-to-peak shifts. The benefits of the overall TIC SF alignment and feature selection approach were quantified using the degree-of-class separation (DCS) metric of the PCA scores plots using the type C and M samples, since they were the most similar, and thus the most challenging samples to properly classify. The DCS values showed an increase from an initial value of essentially zero for the unaligned GC-TIC data to a value of 7.9 following alignment; however, the DCS was unchanged by feature selection using F-Ratios for the GC-TIC data. The full mass spectral data provided an increase to a final DCS of 13.7 after alignment and two-dimensional (2D) F-Ratio feature selection.« less
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Zorn, Kevin C; Gofrit, Ofer N; Steinberg, Gary P; Taxy, Jerome B; Zagaja, Gregory P; Shalhav, Arieh L
2008-06-01
The main objective of radical prostatectomy (RP) is optimal oncologic resection with preservation of sexual function (SF). During our initial experience with robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RLRP), we noted a high rate of posterolateral location of positive surgical margins (PSM) with nerve preservation (NP). With its magnified view of the surgical field and improved instrument precision, one potential advantage of RLRP is the ability to tailor the degree of NP. We evaluated the effect of a protocol for side-specific NP based on preoperative variables on PSM rates and SF outcomes. Between June and November 2006, 150 consecutive RLRPs were performed using a surgical protocol to select side-specific NP techniques (interfascial [IF], partial extrafascial [pEF], and wide extrafascial resection [WEFR]) based on preoperative risk factors (clinical stage, biopsy Gleason score, percentage of positive cores and maximal core cancer percentage, and preoperative PSA). Pathologic and SF outcomes in these patients were compared with those of a control group of 245 consecutive RLRPs in whom non-selective IF dissection was performed. All data were prospectively collected. Mean patient age, PSA, clinical stage, biopsy Gleason score and positive core involvement, pathologic Gleason score, and stage were comparable among the two groups. The overall PSM rate (12.6% nu 20.4%; P = 0.04) and posterolateral location of PSMs (37% nu 70%; P = 0.04) were significantly lower in the study group. At 12 months, potency was reported in 80%, 67%, and 11% of men undergoing bilateral IFNP, partial extrafascial nerve preservation (pEFNP), and WEFR, respectively (P = 0.27). Planning side-specific NP during RLRP, according to selected preoperative variables, can significantly reduce overall and posterolateral PSM rates. Furthermore, partial nerve sparing (pEFNP) also appears to confer favorable early SF outcomes.
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Merriwether, Ericka N; Rakel, Barbara A; Zimmerman, Miriam B; Dailey, Dana L; Vance, Carol G T; Darghosian, Leon; Golchha, Meenakshi; Geasland, Katherine M; Chimenti, Ruth; Crofford, Leslie J; Sluka, Kathleen A
2017-08-01
The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) was developed to standardize measurement of clinically relevant patient-reported outcomes. This study evaluated the reliability and construct validity of select PROMIS static short-form (SF) instruments in women with fibromyalgia. Analysis of baseline data from the Fibromyalgia Activity Study with TENS (FAST), a randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Dual site, university-based outpatient clinics. Women aged 20 to 67 years diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Participants completed the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and 10 PROMIS static SF instruments. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach alpha. Convergent validity was examined against the FIQR using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. PROMIS static SF instruments had fair to high internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.58 to 0.94, P < 0.05). PROMIS 'physical function' domain score was highly correlated with FIQR 'function' score (r = -0.73). The PROMIS 'total' score was highly correlated with the FIQR total score (r = -0.72). Correlations with FIQR total score of each of the three PROMIS domain scores were r = -0.65 for 'physical function,' r = -0.63 for 'global,' and r = -0.57 for 'symptom' domain. PROMIS 'physical function,' 'global,' and 'symptom' scores explained 58% of the FIQR total score variance. Select PROMIS static SF instruments demonstrate convergent validity with the FIQR, a legacy measure of fibromyalgia disease severity. These results highlight the potential utility of select PROMIS static SFs for assessment and tracking of patient-reported outcomes in fibromyalgia. © 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
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Initial steps of inactivation at the K+ channel selectivity filter
Thomson, Andrew S.; Heer, Florian T.; Smith, Frank J.; Hendron, Eunan; Bernèche, Simon; Rothberg, Brad S.
2014-01-01
K+ efflux through K+ channels can be controlled by C-type inactivation, which is thought to arise from a conformational change near the channel’s selectivity filter. Inactivation is modulated by ion binding near the selectivity filter; however, the molecular forces that initiate inactivation remain unclear. We probe these driving forces by electrophysiology and molecular simulation of MthK, a prototypical K+ channel. Either Mg2+ or Ca2+ can reduce K+ efflux through MthK channels. However, Ca2+, but not Mg2+, can enhance entry to the inactivated state. Molecular simulations illustrate that, in the MthK pore, Ca2+ ions can partially dehydrate, enabling selective accessibility of Ca2+ to a site at the entry to the selectivity filter. Ca2+ binding at the site interacts with K+ ions in the selectivity filter, facilitating a conformational change within the filter and subsequent inactivation. These results support an ionic mechanism that precedes changes in channel conformation to initiate inactivation. PMID:24733889
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Perry, Matthew D.; Ng, Chai Ann; Vandenberg, Jamie I.
2013-01-01
Proteins that form ion-selective pores in the membrane of cells are integral to many rapid signaling processes, including regulating the rhythm of the heartbeat. In potassium channels, the selectivity filter is critical for both endowing an exquisite selectivity for potassium ions, as well as for controlling the flow of ions through the pore. Subtle rearrangements in the complex hydrogen-bond network that link the selectivity filter to the surrounding pore helices differentiate conducting (open) from nonconducting (inactivated) conformations of the channel. Recent studies suggest that beyond the selectivity filter, inactivation involves widespread rearrangements of the channel protein. Here, we use rate equilibrium free energy relationship analysis to probe the structural changes that occur during selectivity filter gating in Kv11.1 channels, at near atomic resolution. We show that the pore helix plays a crucial dynamic role as a bidirectional interface during selectivity filter gating. We also define the molecular bases of the energetic coupling between the pore helix and outer helix of the pore domain that occurs early in the transition from open to inactivated states, as well as the coupling between the pore helix and inner helix late in the transition. Our data demonstrate that the pore helices are more than just static structural elements supporting the integrity of the selectivity filter; instead they play a crucial dynamic role during selectivity filter gating. PMID:23471968
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Tanaka, Kiyoshi; Fujii, Ayano; Kuwabara, Akiko
2012-02-01
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) , abbreviated as QOL, can be evaluated by various questionnaires, which are classified as generic and disease-targeted ones. Generic questionnaires are further subdivided into profile-type and preference-based ones. SF-36 and EQ-5D are the best known examples for the former and the latter, respectively. In SF-36 and its shortened one SF-8, the subjects' QOL is expressed by several profiles or subscales. Their advantages include well-conducted validation and availability of national norms. In EQ-5D, a single value representing the subjects' QOL status (utility) is obtained through 5 questions. These generic questionnaires are applicable to patients with various diseases or even to healthy citizens. In contrast, disease-targeted questionnaires lack such features, but can include items that are specifically related to the disease but devoid of general applicability. Thus, generic and disease-targeted questionnaires have their own pros and cons. Selection of the questionnaires depends on the object of the study.
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Adsorption behaviour of SF6 decomposed species onto Pd4-decorated single-walled CNT: a DFT study
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cui, Hao; Zhang, Xiaoxing; Zhang, Jun; Tang, Ju
2018-07-01
Metal nanocluster decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) with improved adsorption behaviour towards gaseous molecules compared with intrinsic ones, have been widely accepted as a workable media for gas interaction due to their strong catalysis. In this work, Pd4 cluster is determined as a catalytic centre to theoretically study the adsorption property of Pd4-decorated SWCNT upon SF6 decomposed species. Results indicate that Pd4-SWCNT possessing good responses and sensitivities towards three composed species of SF6 could realise selective detection for them according to the different conductivity changes resulting from the varying adsorption ability. The response of Pd4-SWCNT upon three molecules in order is SOF2 > H2S > SO2, and the conductivity of the proposed material is about to increase in SOF2 and H2S systems, while declining in SO2 system. Such conclusions would be helpful for experimentalists to explore novel SWCNT-based sensors in evaluating the operating state of SF6 insulation devices.
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Does pelvic floor muscle training improve female sexual function? A systematic review.
Ferreira, Cristine Homsi Jorge; Dwyer, Peter L; Davidson, Melissa; De Souza, Alison; Ugarte, Julio Alvarez; Frawley, Helena C
2015-12-01
We performed a review of the literature reporting on the effects of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on female sexual function (SF). Pubmed (from 1946 to December 2014), Ovid Medline (from 1946 to December 2014), CINAHL (from 1937 to December 2014), PsycINFO (from 1805 to December 2014), Scopus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched by two independent reviewers. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the impact of PFMT on women's SF published in English were included. Methodological quality was scored using the PEDro scale. Data were analysed qualitatively and interpreted. A total of 1341 women were included in the eight RCTs covered by this review. The studies were published between 1997 and 2014. Methodological scores were between 4 and 7. The sample included derived from heterogeneous populations of women. In only one study was SF the primary outcome measure. Pelvic floor dysfunction was an inclusion criterion in the majority of studies. Most studies reported a significant improvement in SF score after PFMT between control and intervention groups. Although most studies indicated an improvement of at least one sexual variable in women with pelvic floor dysfunction, and one study demonstrated an improvement in SF in postpartum women selected independently of their continence status, the results need to be interpreted with caution. High-quality RCTs specifically designed to investigate the impact of PFMT on women's SF are required.
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Characterization of Endogenous Plasmids from Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118▿ †
Fang, Fang; Flynn, Sarah; Li, Yin; Claesson, Marcus J.; van Pijkeren, Jan-Peter; Collins, J. Kevin; van Sinderen, Douwe; O'Toole, Paul W.
2008-01-01
The genome of Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118 comprises a 1.83-Mb chromosome, a 242-kb megaplasmid (pMP118), and two smaller plasmids of 20 kb (pSF118-20) and 44 kb (pSF118-44). Annotation and bioinformatic analyses suggest that both of the smaller plasmids replicate by a theta replication mechanism. Furthermore, it appears that they are transmissible, although neither possesses a complete set of conjugation genes. Plasmid pSF118-20 encodes a toxin-antitoxin system composed of pemI and pemK homologs, and this plasmid could be cured when PemI was produced in trans. The minimal replicon of pSF118-20 was determined by deletion analysis. Shuttle vector derivatives of pSF118-20 were generated that included the replication region (pLS203) and the replication region plus mobilization genes (pLS208). The plasmid pLS203 was stably maintained without selection in Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus fermentum, and the pSF118-20-cured derivative strain of L. salivarius UCC118 (strain LS201). Cloning in pLS203 of genes encoding luciferase and green fluorescent protein, and expression from a constitutive L. salivarius promoter, demonstrated the utility of this vector for the expression of heterologous genes in Lactobacillus. This study thus expands the knowledge base and vector repertoire of probiotic lactobacilli. PMID:18390685
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Monnerat, Rose; Martins, Erica; Macedo, Cristina; Queiroz, Paulo; Praça, Lilian; Soares, Carlos Marcelo; Moreira, Helio; Grisi, Isabella; Silva, Joseane; Soberon, Mario; Bravo, Alejandra
2015-01-01
Brazil ranked second only to the United States in hectares planted to genetically modified crops in 2013. Recently corn producers in the Cerrado region reported that the control of Spodoptera frugiperda with Bt corn expressing Cry1Fa has decreased, forcing them to use chemicals to reduce the damage caused by this insect pest. A colony of S. frugiperda was established from individuals collected in 2013 from Cry1Fa corn plants (SfBt) in Brazil and shown to have at least more than ten-fold higher resistance levels compared with a susceptible colony (Sflab). Laboratory assays on corn leaves showed that in contrast to SfLab population, the SfBt larvae were able to survive by feeding on Cry1Fa corn leaves. The SfBt population was maintained without selection for eight generations and shown to maintain high levels of resistance to Cry1Fa toxin. SfBt showed higher cross-resistance to Cry1Aa than to Cry1Ab or Cry1Ac toxins. As previously reported, Cry1A toxins competed the binding of Cry1Fa to brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from SfLab insects, explaining cross-resistance to Cry1A toxins. In contrast Cry2A toxins did not compete Cry1Fa binding to SfLab-BBMV and no cross-resistance to Cry2A was observed, although Cry2A toxins show low toxicity to S. frugiperda. Bioassays with Cry1AbMod and Cry1AcMod show that they are highly active against both the SfLab and the SfBt populations. The bioassay data reported here show that insects collected from Cry1Fa corn in the Cerrado region were resistant to Cry1Fa suggesting that resistance contributed to field failures of Cry1Fa corn to control S. frugiperda. PMID:25830928
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Monnerat, Rose; Martins, Erica; Macedo, Cristina; Queiroz, Paulo; Praça, Lilian; Soares, Carlos Marcelo; Moreira, Helio; Grisi, Isabella; Silva, Joseane; Soberon, Mario; Bravo, Alejandra
2015-01-01
Brazil ranked second only to the United States in hectares planted to genetically modified crops in 2013. Recently corn producers in the Cerrado region reported that the control of Spodoptera frugiperda with Bt corn expressing Cry1Fa has decreased, forcing them to use chemicals to reduce the damage caused by this insect pest. A colony of S. frugiperda was established from individuals collected in 2013 from Cry1Fa corn plants (SfBt) in Brazil and shown to have at least more than ten-fold higher resistance levels compared with a susceptible colony (Sflab). Laboratory assays on corn leaves showed that in contrast to SfLab population, the SfBt larvae were able to survive by feeding on Cry1Fa corn leaves. The SfBt population was maintained without selection for eight generations and shown to maintain high levels of resistance to Cry1Fa toxin. SfBt showed higher cross-resistance to Cry1Aa than to Cry1Ab or Cry1Ac toxins. As previously reported, Cry1A toxins competed the binding of Cry1Fa to brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from SfLab insects, explaining cross-resistance to Cry1A toxins. In contrast Cry2A toxins did not compete Cry1Fa binding to SfLab-BBMV and no cross-resistance to Cry2A was observed, although Cry2A toxins show low toxicity to S. frugiperda. Bioassays with Cry1AbMod and Cry1AcMod show that they are highly active against both the SfLab and the SfBt populations. The bioassay data reported here show that insects collected from Cry1Fa corn in the Cerrado region were resistant to Cry1Fa suggesting that resistance contributed to field failures of Cry1Fa corn to control S. frugiperda.
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Passband switchable microwave photonic multiband filter
Ge, Jia; Fok, Mable P.
2015-01-01
A reconfigurable microwave photonic (MWP) multiband filter with selectable and switchable passbands is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, with a maximum of 12 simultaneous passbands evenly distributed from 0 to 10 GHz. The scheme is based on the generation of tunable optical comb lines using a two-stage Lyot loop filter, such that various filter tap spacings and spectral combinations are obtained for the configuration of the MWP filter. Through polarization state adjustment inside the Lyot loop filter, an optical frequency comb with 12 different comb spacings is achieved, which corresponds to a MWP filter with 12 selectable passbands. Center frequencies of the filter passbands are switchable, while the number of simultaneous passbands is tunable from 1 to 12. Furthermore, the MWP multiband filter can either work as an all-block, single-band or multiband filter with various passband combinations, which provide exceptional operation flexibility. All the passbands have over 30 dB sidelobe suppression and 3-dB bandwidth of 200 MHz, providing good filter selectivity. PMID:26521693
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Passband switchable microwave photonic multiband filter.
Ge, Jia; Fok, Mable P
2015-11-02
A reconfigurable microwave photonic (MWP) multiband filter with selectable and switchable passbands is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, with a maximum of 12 simultaneous passbands evenly distributed from 0 to 10 GHz. The scheme is based on the generation of tunable optical comb lines using a two-stage Lyot loop filter, such that various filter tap spacings and spectral combinations are obtained for the configuration of the MWP filter. Through polarization state adjustment inside the Lyot loop filter, an optical frequency comb with 12 different comb spacings is achieved, which corresponds to a MWP filter with 12 selectable passbands. Center frequencies of the filter passbands are switchable, while the number of simultaneous passbands is tunable from 1 to 12. Furthermore, the MWP multiband filter can either work as an all-block, single-band or multiband filter with various passband combinations, which provide exceptional operation flexibility. All the passbands have over 30 dB sidelobe suppression and 3-dB bandwidth of 200 MHz, providing good filter selectivity.
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Gralewicz, Grzegorz; Owczarek, Grzegorz; Kubrak, Janusz
2017-03-01
This article presents a comparison of the test results of selected mechanical parameters (hardness, Young's modulus, critical force for delamination) for protective filters intended for eye protection against harmful infrared radiation. Filters with reflective metallic films were studied, as well as interference filters developed at the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute (CIOP-PIB). The test results of the selected mechanical parameters were compared with the test results, conducted in accordance with a standardised method, of simulating filter surface destruction that occurs during use.
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Vilagut, Gemma; Ferrer, Montse; Rajmil, Luis; Rebollo, Pablo; Permanyer-Miralda, Gaietà; Quintana, José M; Santed, Rosalía; Valderas, José M; Ribera, Aida; Domingo-Salvany, Antonia; Alonso, Jordi
2005-01-01
The Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) is one of the most widely used and evaluated generic health-related quality of life (HRQL) questionnaires. After almost a decade of use in Spain, the present article critically reviews the content and metric properties of the Spanish version, as well as its new developments. A review of indexed articles that used the Spanish version of the SF-36 was performed in Medline (PubMed), the Spanish bibliographic databases IBECS and IME. Articles that provided information on the measurement model, reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change of the instrument were selected. Seventy-nine articles were found, of which 17 evaluated the metric characteristics of the questionnaire. The reliability of the SF-36 scales was higher than the suggested standard (Cronbach's alpha) of 0.7 in 96% of the evaluations. Grouped evaluations obtained by meta-analysis were higher than 0.7 in all cases. The SF-36 showed good discrimination among severity groups, moderate correlations with clinical indicators, and high correlations with other HRQL instruments. Moreover, questionnaire scores predicted mortality and were able to detect improvement due to therapeutic interventions such as coronary angioplasty, benign prostatic hyperplasia surgery, and non-invasive positive pressure home ventilation. The new developments (norm-based scoring, version 2, the SF-12 and SF-8) improved both the metric properties and interpretation of the questionnaire. The Spanish version of the SF-36 and its recently developed versions is a suitable instrument for use in medical research, as well as in clinical practice.
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The Properties of the Massive Star-forming Galaxies with an Outside-in Assembly Mode
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wang, Enci; Kong, Xu; Wang, Huiyuan; Wang, Lixin; Lin, Lin; Gao, Yulong; Liu, Qing
2017-08-01
Previous findings show that massive ({M}* > {10}10 {M}⊙ ) star-forming (SF) galaxies usually have an “inside-out” stellar mass assembly mode. In this paper, we have for the first time selected a sample of 77 massive SF galaxies with an “outside-in” assembly mode (called the “targeted sample”) from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at the Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey. For comparison, two control samples are constructed from the MaNGA sample matched in stellar mass: a sample of 154 normal SF galaxies and a sample of 62 quiescent galaxies. In contrast to normal SF galaxies, the targeted galaxies appear to be smoother and more bulge-dominated and have a smaller size and higher concentration, star formation rate, and gas-phase metallicity as a whole. However, they have a larger size and lower concentration than quiescent galaxies. Unlike the normal SF sample, the targeted sample exhibits a slightly positive gradient of the 4000 Å break and a pronounced negative gradient of Hα equivalent width. Furthermore, the median surface mass density profile is between those of the normal SF and quiescent samples, indicating that the gas accretion of quiescent galaxies is not likely to be the main approach for the outside-in assembly mode. Our results suggest that the targeted galaxies are likely in the transitional phase from normal SF galaxies to quiescent galaxies, with rapid ongoing central stellar mass assembly (or bulge growth). We discuss several possible formation mechanisms for the outside-in mass assembly mode.
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Silicon cells made by self-aligned selective-emitter plasma-etchback process
Ruby, Douglas S.; Schubert, William K.; Gee, James M.; Zaidi, Saleem H.
2000-01-01
Photovoltaic cells and methods for making them are disclosed wherein the metallized grids of the cells are used to mask portions of cell emitter regions to allow selective etching of phosphorus-doped emitter regions. The preferred etchant is SF.sub.6 or a combination of SF.sub.6 and O.sub.2. This self-aligned selective etching allows for enhanced blue response (versus cells with uniform heavy doping of the emitter) while preserving heavier doping in the region beneath the gridlines needed for low contact resistance. Embodiments are disclosed for making cells with or without textured surfaces. Optional steps include plasma hydrogenation and PECVD nitride deposition, each of which are suited to customized applications for requirements of given cells to be manufactured. The techniques disclosed could replace expensive and difficult alignment methodologies used to obtain selectively etched emitters, and they may be easily integrated with existing plasma processing methods and techniques of the invention may be accomplished in a single plasma-processing chamber.
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Major, Kevin J; Poutous, Menelaos K; Ewing, Kenneth J; Dunnill, Kevin F; Sanghera, Jasbinder S; Aggarwal, Ishwar D
2015-09-01
Optical filter-based chemical sensing techniques provide a new avenue to develop low-cost infrared sensors. These methods utilize multiple infrared optical filters to selectively measure different response functions for various chemicals, dependent on each chemical's infrared absorption. Rather than identifying distinct spectral features, which can then be used to determine the identity of a target chemical, optical filter-based approaches rely on measuring differences in the ensemble response between a given filter set and specific chemicals of interest. Therefore, the results of such methods are highly dependent on the original optical filter choice, which will dictate the selectivity, sensitivity, and stability of any filter-based sensing method. Recently, a method has been developed that utilizes unique detection vector operations defined by optical multifilter responses, to discriminate between volatile chemical vapors. This method, comparative-discrimination spectral detection (CDSD), is a technique which employs broadband optical filters to selectively discriminate between chemicals with highly overlapping infrared absorption spectra. CDSD has been shown to correctly distinguish between similar chemicals in the carbon-hydrogen stretch region of the infrared absorption spectra from 2800-3100 cm(-1). A key challenge to this approach is how to determine which optical filter sets should be utilized to achieve the greatest discrimination between target chemicals. Previous studies used empirical approaches to select the optical filter set; however this is insufficient to determine the optimum selectivity between strongly overlapping chemical spectra. Here we present a numerical approach to systematically study the effects of filter positioning and bandwidth on a number of three-chemical systems. We describe how both the filter properties, as well as the chemicals in each set, affect the CDSD results and subsequent discrimination. These results demonstrate the importance of choosing the proper filter set and chemicals for comparative discrimination, in order to identify the target chemical of interest in the presence of closely matched chemical interferents. These findings are an integral step in the development of experimental prototype sensors, which will utilize CDSD.
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Grosse Brinkhaus, A; Bee, G; Silacci, P; Kreuzer, M; Dohme-Meier, F
2016-06-01
The objective of the study was to determine the effect of feeding sainfoin (SF; Onobrychis viciifolia) and birdsfoot trefoil (BT; Lotus corniculatus), 2 temperate climate forage legumes that contain condensed tannins (CT), on ruminal fermentation and N turnover in dairy cows. Six ruminally cannulated multiparous dairy cows (milk yield=40kg/d; 36 d in milk) were used in a replicated 3×3 Latin square design. All animals were fed basal diets containing 20% pelleted SF (223g of CT/kg of dry matter), BT (30.3g of CT/kg of dry matter), or alfalfa (AL) and concentrate to meet their predicted nutrient requirements. Each experimental period consisted of a 21-d adaptation period in a tiestall, followed by a 7-d collection period in metabolic crates, where feces and urine were collected quantitatively. During the 7-d period, milk yield was recorded daily and milk samples were taken at each milking. Blood, ruminal fluid, and papillae were sampled on d 2 and 5. The relative abundance of selected bacterial strains in ruminal fluid and the gene expression of transporter genes in the papillae were determined with quantitative PCR. Total volatile fatty acids and the abundance of the cellulolytic bacteria Prevotella spp. and Ruminococcus flavefaciens decreased with SF compared with AL. The relative gene expression of the monocarboxylate transporter 1 was increased with BT compared with AL and SF. Total yields of milk, milk fat, and milk protein were similar among treatments. The proportion of 18:3n-3 in milk fat was greater and those of 22:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 were lower with SF than with BT. The contents of urea N in blood (2.71, 3.45, and 3.90mmol/L for SF, AL, and BT, respectively), milk (79.8, 100.1, and 110.9mg/kg for SF, AL, and BT, respectively), and urine were lower with SF than with AL and BT, and a trend toward a lower ruminal ammonia content occurred with SF compared with BT. Intake and excretion of N with milk were similar among treatments, but urine N was lower with SF than with AL. The N excretion to N intake relation showed a shift in a part of urine N (17.5, 20.8, and 19.5% for SF, AL, and BT, respectively) to fecal N (45.2, 41.3, and 38.5% for SF, AL, and BT respectively) with SF compared with AL and BT. In conclusion, SF and BT differed in their effects on fermentation and milk fatty acid profile and SF also showed potential to decrease metabolic and environmental loads. The main reason for the different efficiency was likely a higher CT content of SF compared with BT. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Self-limiting filters for band-selective interferer rejection or cognitive receiver protection
Nordquist, Christopher; Scott, Sean Michael; Custer, Joyce Olsen; Leonhardt, Darin; Jordan, Tyler Scott; Rodenbeck, Christopher T.; Clem, Paul G.; Hunker, Jeff; Wolfley, Steven L.
2017-03-07
The present invention related to self-limiting filters, arrays of such filters, and methods thereof. In particular embodiments, the filters include a metal transition film (e.g., a VO.sub.2 film) capable of undergoing a phase transition that modifies the film's resistivity. Arrays of such filters could allow for band-selective interferer rejection, while permitting transmission of non-interferer signals.
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Zhang, Qiuzhao; Yang, Wei; Zhang, Shubi; Liu, Xin
2018-01-12
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) carrier phase measurement for short baseline meets the requirements of deformation monitoring of large structures. However, the carrier phase multipath effect is the main error source with double difference (DD) processing. There are lots of methods to deal with the multipath errors of Global Position System (GPS) carrier phase data. The BeiDou navigation satellite System (BDS) multipath mitigation is still a research hotspot because the unique constellation design of BDS makes it different to mitigate multipath effects compared to GPS. Multipath error periodically repeats for its strong correlation to geometry of satellites, reflective surface and antenna which is also repetitive. We analyzed the characteristics of orbital periods of BDS satellites which are consistent with multipath repeat periods of corresponding satellites. The results show that the orbital periods and multipath periods for BDS geostationary earth orbit (GEO) and inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) satellites are about one day but the periods of MEO satellites are about seven days. The Kalman filter (KF) and Rauch-Tung-Striebel Smoother (RTSS) was introduced to extract the multipath models from single difference (SD) residuals with traditional sidereal filter (SF). Wavelet filter and Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) were also used to mitigate multipath effects. The experimental results show that the three filters methods all have obvious effect on improvement of baseline accuracy and the performance of KT-RTSS method is slightly better than that of wavelet filter and EMD filter. The baseline vector accuracy on east, north and up (E, N, U) components with KF-RTSS method were improved by 62.8%, 63.6%, 62.5% on day of year 280 and 57.3%, 53.4%, 55.9% on day of year 281, respectively.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Momot, M. V.; Politsinskaia, E. V.; Sushko, A. V.; Semerenko, I. A.
2016-08-01
The paper considers the problem of mathematical filter selection, used for balancing of wheeled robot in conditions of limited computational resources. The solution based on complementary filter is proposed.
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Sodium and potassium competition in potassium-selective and non-selective channels
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sauer, David B.; Zeng, Weizhong; Canty, John; Lam, Yeeling; Jiang, Youxing
2013-11-01
Potassium channels selectively conduct K+, primarily to the exclusion of Na+, despite the fact that both ions can bind within the selectivity filter. Here we perform crystallographic titration and single-channel electrophysiology to examine the competition of Na+ and K+ binding within the filter of two NaK channel mutants; one is the potassium-selective NaK2K mutant and the other is the non-selective NaK2CNG, a CNG channel pore mimic. With high-resolution structures of these engineered NaK channel constructs, we explicitly describe the changes in K+ occupancy within the filter upon Na+ competition by anomalous diffraction. Our results demonstrate that the non-selective NaK2CNG still retains a K+-selective site at equilibrium, whereas the NaK2K channel filter maintains two high-affinity K+ sites. A double-barrier mechanism is proposed to explain K+ channel selectivity at low K+ concentrations.
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Adaptive marginal median filter for colour images.
Morillas, Samuel; Gregori, Valentín; Sapena, Almanzor
2011-01-01
This paper describes a new filter for impulse noise reduction in colour images which is aimed at improving the noise reduction capability of the classical vector median filter. The filter is inspired by the application of a vector marginal median filtering process over a selected group of pixels in each filtering window. This selection, which is based on the vector median, along with the application of the marginal median operation constitutes an adaptive process that leads to a more robust filter design. Also, the proposed method is able to process colour images without introducing colour artifacts. Experimental results show that the images filtered with the proposed method contain less noisy pixels than those obtained through the vector median filter.
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Peters, Judith C; Vlamings, Petra; Kemner, Chantal
2013-05-01
Face perception in adults depends on skilled processing of interattribute distances ('configural' processing), which is disrupted for faces presented in inverted orientation (face inversion effect or FIE). Children are not proficient in configural processing, and this might relate to an underlying immaturity to use facial information in low spatial frequency (SF) ranges, which capture the coarse information needed for configural processing. We hypothesized that during adolescence a shift from use of high to low SF information takes place. Therefore, we studied the influence of SF content on neural face processing in groups of children (9-10 years), adolescents (14-15 years) and young adults (21-29 years) by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) to upright and inverted faces which varied in SF content. Results revealed that children show a neural FIE in early processing stages (i.e. P1; generated in early visual areas), suggesting a superficial, global facial analysis. In contrast, ERPs of adults revealed an FIE at later processing stages (i.e. N170; generated in face-selective, higher visual areas). Interestingly, adolescents showed FIEs in both processing stages, suggesting a hybrid developmental stage. Furthermore, adolescents and adults showed FIEs for stimuli containing low SF information, whereas such effects were driven by both low and high SF information in children. These results indicate that face processing has a protracted maturational course into adolescence, and is dependent on changes in SF processing. During adolescence, sensitivity to configural cues is developed, which aids the fast and holistic processing that is so special for faces. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Bost, James E; Williams, Brian A; Bottegal, Matthew T; Dang, Qianyu; Rubio, Doris M
2007-12-01
We evaluated the validity and responsiveness of three instruments: the numeric rating scale (NRS) pain score, the 8-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8), and the 40-item Quality of Recovery from Anesthesia (QoR) Survey in 154 outpatients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The objective was to provide a robust psychometric basis for outcome survey selection for surgical outpatients undergoing regional anesthesia without general anesthesia. Patients undergoing ACLR with a standardized spinal anesthesia plan were randomized to receive a perineural catheter with either placebo injection-infusion, or injection-infusion with levobupivacaine. Patients completed the NRS, SF-8, and QoR instruments for four postoperative days to evaluate pain, physical function, and mental function. Regarding pain, neither the NRS nor the QoR offered advantages over the SF-8. Regarding physical function, the QoR physical independence composite offered no advantage over the SF-8 physical component summary. The QoR physical comfort composite assessed short-term changes in treatment-related side effects, and thus provided information not covered by the SF-8. Regarding mental function, the SF-8 mental component summary and QoR emotional state composite showed little change over the four days, although the latter measure showed higher responsiveness to change. For ACLR outpatients receiving regional anesthesia, the SF-8 is sufficient to assess postoperative pain and physical function. Adding the QoR physical comfort composite will help assess short-term side effects.
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Dittmann, Marie T; Runge, Ullrich; Ortmann, Sylvia; Lang, Richard A; Moser, Dario; Galeffi, Cordula; Schwarm, Angela; Kreuzer, Michael; Clauss, Marcus
2015-07-01
The mean retention times (MRT) of solute or particles in the gastrointestinal tract and the forestomach (FS) are crucial determinants of digestive physiology in herbivores. Besides ruminants, camelids are the only herbivores that have evolved rumination as an obligatory physiological process consisting of repeated mastication of large food particles, which requires a particle sorting mechanism in the FS. Differences between camelids and ruminants have hardly been investigated so far. In this study we measured MRTs of solute and differently sized particles (2, 10, and 20 mm) and the ratio of large-to-small particle MRT, i.e. the selectivity factors (SF(10/2mm), SF(20/2mm), SF(20/10mm)), in three camelid species: alpacas (Vicugna pacos), llamas (Llama glama), and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus). The camelid data were compared with literature data from ruminants and non-ruminant foregut fermenters (NRFF). Camelids and ruminants both had higher SF(10/2mm)FS than NRFF, suggesting convergence in the function of the FS sorting mechanism in contrast to NRFF, in which such a sorting mechanism is absent. The SF(20/10mm)FS did not differ between ruminants and camelids, indicating that there is a particle size threshold of about 1 cm in both suborders above which particle retention is not increased. Camelids did not differ from ruminants in MRT(2mm)FS, MRTsoluteFS, and the ratio MRT(2mm)FS/MRTsoluteFS, but they were more similar to 'cattle-' than to 'moose-type' ruminants. Camelids had higher SF(10/2mm)FS and higher SF(20/2mm)FS than ruminants, indicating a potentially slower particle sorting in camelids than in ruminants, with larger particles being retained longer in relation to small particles.
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Attention to Hierarchical Level Influences Attentional Selection of Spatial Scale
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Flevaris, Anastasia V.; Bentin, Shlomo; Robertson, Lynn C.
2011-01-01
Ample evidence suggests that global perception may involve low spatial frequency (LSF) processing and that local perception may involve high spatial frequency (HSF) processing (Shulman, Sullivan, Gish, & Sakoda, 1986; Shulman & Wilson, 1987; Robertson, 1996). It is debated whether SF selection is a low-level mechanism associating global…
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Silicon oxide nanoparticles doped PQ-PMMA for volume holographic imaging filters.
Luo, Yuan; Russo, Juan M; Kostuk, Raymond K; Barbastathis, George
2010-04-15
Holographic imaging filters are required to have high Bragg selectivity, namely, narrow angular and spectral bandwidth, to obtain spatial-spectral information within a three-dimensional object. In this Letter, we present the design of holographic imaging filters formed using silicon oxide nanoparticles (nano-SiO(2)) in phenanthrenquinone-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PQ-PMMA) polymer recording material. This combination offers greater Bragg selectivity and increases the diffraction efficiency of holographic filters. The holographic filters with optimized ratio of nano-SiO(2) in PQ-PMMA can significantly improve the performance of Bragg selectivity and diffraction efficiency by 53% and 16%, respectively. We present experimental results and data analysis demonstrating this technique in use for holographic spatial-spectral imaging filters.
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Tikhonov, Denis B; Zhorov, Boris S
2011-01-28
In the absence of x-ray structures of sodium and calcium channels their homology models are used to rationalize experimental data and design new experiments. A challenge is to model the outer-pore region that folds differently from potassium channels. Here we report a new model of the outer-pore region of the NaV1.4 channel, which suggests roles of highly conserved residues around the selectivity filter. The model takes from our previous study (Tikhonov, D. B., and Zhorov, B. S. (2005) Biophys. J. 88, 184-197) the general disposition of the P-helices, selectivity filter residues, and the outer carboxylates, but proposes new intra- and inter-domain contacts that support structural stability of the outer pore. Glycine residues downstream from the selectivity filter are proposed to participate in knob-into-hole contacts with the P-helices and S6s. These contacts explain the adapted tetrodotoxin resistance of snakes that feed on toxic prey through valine substitution of isoleucine in the P-helix of repeat IV. Polar residues five positions upstream from the selectivity filter residues form H-bonds with the ascending-limb backbones. Exceptionally conserved tryptophans are engaged in inter-repeat H-bonds to form a ring whose π-electrons would facilitate passage of ions from the outer carboxylates to the selectivity filter. The outer-pore model of CaV1.2 derived from the NaV1.4 model is also stabilized by the ring of exceptionally conservative tryptophans and H-bonds between the P-helices and ascending limbs. In this model, the exceptionally conserved aspartate downstream from the selectivity-filter glutamate in repeat II facilitates passage of calcium ions to the selectivity-filter ring through the tryptophan ring. Available experimental data are discussed in view of the models.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dhakshnamoorthy, Balasundaresan; Rohaim, Ahmed; Rui, Huan; Blachowicz, Lydia; Roux, Benoît
2016-09-01
The selectivity filter is an essential functional element of K+ channels that is highly conserved both in terms of its primary sequence and its three-dimensional structure. Here, we investigate the properties of an ion channel from the Gram-positive bacterium Tsukamurella paurometabola with a selectivity filter formed by an uncommon proline-rich sequence. Electrophysiological recordings show that it is a non-selective cation channel and that its activity depends on Ca2+ concentration. In the crystal structure, the selectivity filter adopts a novel conformation with Ca2+ ions bound within the filter near the pore helix where they are coordinated by backbone oxygen atoms, a recurrent motif found in multiple proteins. The binding of Ca2+ ion in the selectivity filter controls the widening of the pore as shown in crystal structures and in molecular dynamics simulations. The structural, functional and computational data provide a characterization of this calcium-gated cationic channel.
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Prolactin rs1341239 T allele may have protective role against the brick tea type skeletal fluorosis.
Li, Bing-Yun; Yang, Yan-Mei; Liu, Yang; Sun, Jing; Ye, Yan; Liu, Xiao-Na; Liu, Hong-Xu; Sun, Zhen-Qi; Li, Mang; Cui, Jing; Sun, Dian-Jun; Gao, Yan-Hui
2017-01-01
Prolactin (PRL) has been reported to be associated with increased bone turnover, and increased bone turnover is also a feature of skeletal fluorosis (SF). Autocrine/paracrine production of PRL is regulated by the extrapituitary promoter and a polymorphism in the extrapituitary PRL promoter at -1149 (rs1341239) is associated with disturbances of bone metabolism in other diseases. Here, we have investigated the possibility that the rs1341239 polymorphism is associated with SF, which results from the consumption of brick tea. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Sinkiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia in China. Demography survey questionnaires were completed and physical examination and X-ray diagnoses were used to diagnose SF. Brick tea water fluoride intake (IF) and urinary fluoride (UF) were tested by an F-ion selective electrode method. A Sequenom MassARRAY system was used to determine PRL gene polymorphisms. Subjects who were younger than 45 years of age and carried the T allele had a significantly decreased risk of SF [OR = 0.279 (95%CI, 0.094-0.824)] compared to those carrying the homozygous G allele. This phenomenon was only observed in Kazakh subjects [OR = 0.127 (95%CI, 0.025-0.646)]. Kazakh females who carried T alleles has a decreased risk of SF [OR = 0.410 (95%CI, 0.199-0.847)]. For Kazakh subjects which IF is less than 3.5 mg/d, a decreased risk of SF was observed among the participants who carried T alleles [OR = 0.118 (95%CI, 0.029-0.472)]. Overall, subjects with 1.6-3.2 mg/L UF and carried T alleles had a significantly decreased risk of SF [OR = 0.476 (95%CI, 0.237-0.955)] compared to homozygous G allele carriers. This phenomenon was only observed in Kazakh subjects [OR = 0.324 (95%CI, 0.114-0.923)]. Our results suggested that the PRL rs1341239 T allele decreases the risk of brick tea SF.
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Clegg; Jackson; Van Hoa N; Sorgeloos
2000-09-05
Cysts (encysted gastrula embryos) of Artemia franciscana collected from salterns in San Francisco Bay, California, USA (SF) were inoculated into much warmer growth ponds in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam (V) in 1996. V adults arising directly from these cysts during 17 April to 15 May produced their own cysts, which were collected, processed and stored until shipped to the USA for study. Adults grown in the laboratory from SF cysts (those used for the inoculation) were less resistant to high temperature than adults cultured from V cysts. V cysts produced heat-resistant adults, even though cultured under the same laboratory conditions as SF animals, at much lower temperatures than they ever experienced in Vietnam. Differences in thermal performance between SF and V adults were retained in the second generation, cultured from cysts produced in the laboratory by first generation adults, suggesting a genetic basis for the better heat resistance of V adults. We propose that the operation of natural selection in the Vietnam growth ponds produced adults with improved thermal tolerance, and that the basis for this tolerance was incorporated into the developmental program of their cysts. Surprisingly, differences in heat resistance of laboratory reared animals were not reflected in constitutive levels of the hsp70 family which were similar in first generation SF and V adults. A conditioning heat shock (HS, 37 degrees C, 30 min) led to the same level of induced thermotolerance in SF and V first generation adults when evaluated 24 h post-HS. Levels of hsp70 were also up-regulated at that time, but to about the same extent in SF and V adults. Developmental rates of SF cysts used for the inoculation were faster than those of cysts produced in Vietnam when both were incubated at 21+/-1 degrees C, suggesting that V cysts have become adapted to develop at higher temperatures.
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Warne, Charles D; Zaloumis, Sophie G; Bertalli, Nadine A; Delatycki, Martin B; Nicoll, Amanda J; McLaren, Christine E; Hopper, John L; Giles, Graham G; Anderson, Greg J; Olynyk, John K; Powell, Lawrie W; Allen, Katrina J; Gurrin, Lyle C
2017-04-01
Women who are homozygous for the p.C282Y mutation in the HFE gene are at much lower risk of iron overload-related disease than p.C282Y homozygous men, presumably because of the iron-depleting effects of menstruation and pregnancy. We used data from a population cohort study to model the impact of menstruation cessation at menopause on serum ferritin (SF) levels in female p.C282Y homozygotes, with p.C282Y/p.H63D simple or compound heterozygotes and those with neither p.C282Y nor p.H63D mutations (HFE wild types) as comparison groups. A sample of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study was selected for the "HealthIron" study (n = 1438) including all HFE p.C282Y homozygotes plus a random sample stratified by HFE-genotype (p.C282Y and p.H63D). The relationship between the natural logarithm of SF and time since menopause was examined using linear mixed models incorporating spline smoothing. For p.C282Y homozygotes, SF increased by a factor of 3.6 (95% CI (1.8, 7.0), P < 0.001) during the first 10 years postmenopause, after which SF continued to increase but at less than half the previous rate. In contrast, SF profiles for other HFE genotype groups increase more gradually and did not show a distinction between premenopausal and postmenopausal SF levels. Only p.C282Y homozygotes had predicted SF exceeding 200 μg/L postmenopause, but the projected SF did not increase the risk of iron overload-related disease. These data provide the first documented evidence that physiological blood loss is a major factor in determining the marked gender difference in expression of p.C282Y homozygosity. © 2016 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
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Sex Dimorphism in Late Gestational Sleep Fragmentation and Metabolic Dysfunction in Offspring Mice
Khalyfa, Abdelnaby; Carreras, Alba; Almendros, Isaac; Hakim, Fahed; Gozal, David
2015-01-01
Background: Excessive sleep fragmentation (SF) is common in pregnant women. Adult-onset metabolic disorders may begin during early development and exhibit substantial sex dimorphism. We hypothesized that metabolic dysfunction induced by gestational SF in male mice would not be apparent in female littermates. Methods: Body weight and food consumption were measured weekly in male and female offspring after late gestational SF or control sleep (SC). At 20 weeks, plasma leptin, adiponectin, lipid profiles, and insulin and glucose tolerance tests were assessed. Leptin and adiponectin, M1, and M2 macrophage messenger RNA expression and polarity were examined. Adiponectin gene promoter methylation levels in several tissues were assessed. Results: Food intake, body weight, visceral fat mass, and insulin resistance were higher, and adiponectin levels lower in male but not female offspring exposed to gestational SF. However, dyslipidemia was apparent in both male and female offspring exposed to SF, albeit of lesser magnitude. In visceral fat, leptin messenger RNA expression was selectively increased and adiponectin expression was decreased in male offspring exposed to gestational SF, but adiponectin was increased in exposed female offspring. Differences in adipokine expression also emerged in liver, subcutaneous fat, and muscle. Increased M1 macrophage markers were present in male offspring exposed to SF (SFOM) while increased M2 markers emerged in SF in female offspring (SFOF). Similarly, significant differences emerged in the methylation patterns of adiponectin promoter in SFOM and SFOF. Conclusion: Gestational sleep fragmentation increases the susceptibility to obesity and metabolic syndrome in male but not in female offspring, most likely via epigenetic changes. Thus, sleep perturbations impose long-term detrimental effects to the fetus manifesting as sex dimorphic metabolic dysfunction in adulthood. Citation: Khalyfa A, Carreras A, Almendros I, Hakim F, Gozal D. Sex dimorphism in late gestational sleep fragmentation and metabolic dysfunction in offspring mice. SLEEP 2015;38(4):545–557. PMID:25325475
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2011-01-01
Introduction The purpose of this study was to correlate the level of anabolic and catabolic biomarkers in synovial fluid (SF) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and asymptomatic organ donors. Methods SF was collected from the knees of 45 OA, 22 RA patients and 20 asymptomatic organ donors. Eight biomarkers were selected and analyzed by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-11; leukemia-inhibitory factor (LIF); cartilage oligomeric protein (COMP); osteocalcin; and osteogenic protein 1 (OP-1). Data are expressed as medians (interquartile ranges). The effects of sex and disease activity were assessed on the basis of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities index score for patients with OA and on the basis of white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein level for patients with RA. Results The mean ages (± SD) of the patients were as follows: 53 ± 9 years for patients with OA, 54 ± 11 years for patients with RA and 52 ± 7 years for asymptomatic organ donors. No effect of participants' sex was identified. In the SF of patients with RA, four of five cytokines were higher than those in the SF of patients with OA and those of asymptomatic organ donors. The most significant differences were found for IL-6 and IL-8, where IL-6 concentration in SF of patients with RA was almost threefold higher than that in patients with OA and fourfold higher than that in asymptomatic donor controls: 354.7 pg/ml (1,851.6) vs. 119.4 pg/ml (193.2) vs. 86.97 pg/ml (82.0) (P < 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively). IL-8 concentrations were higher in SF of patients with RA than that in patients with OA as well as that in asymptomatic donor controls: 583.6 pg/ml (1,086.4) vs. 429 pg/ml (87.3) vs. 451 pg/ml (170.1) (P < 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively). No differences were found for IL-11 in the SF of patients with RA and that of patients with OA, while a 1.4-fold difference was detected in the SF of patients with OA and that of asymptomatic donor controls: 296.2 pg/ml (257.2) vs. 211.6 pg/ml (40.8) (P < 0.05). IL-1 concentrations were the highest in the SF of RA patients (9.26 pg/ml (11.1)); in the SF of asymptomatic donors, it was significantly higher than that in patients with OA (9.083 pg/ml (1.6) vs. 7.76 pg/ml (2.6); P < 0.05). Conversely, asymptomatic donor control samples had the highest LIF concentrations: 228.5 pg/ml (131.6) vs. 128.4 pg/ml (222.7) in the SF of patients with RA vs. 107.5 pg/ml (136.9) in the SF of patients with OA (P < 0.05). OP-1 concentrations were twofold higher in the SF of patients with RA than those in patients with OA and threefold higher than those in asymptomatic donor control samples (167.1 ng/ml (194.8) vs. 81.79 ng/ml (116.0) vs. 54.49 ng/ml (29.3), respectively; P < 0.05). The differences in COMP and osteocalcin were indistinguishable between the groups, as were the differences between active and inactive OA and RA. Conclusions Activation of selected biomarkers corresponds to the mechanisms that drive each disease. IL-11, LIF and OP-1 may be viewed as a cluster of biomarkers significant for OA; while profiling of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, LIF and OP-1 may be more significant in RA. Larger, better-defined patient cohorts are necessary to develop a biomarker algorithm for prognostic use. PMID:21435227
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Telephone vs. mail survey gives different SF-36 quality-of-life scores among cancer survivors.
Buskirk, Trent D; Stein, Kevin D
2008-10-01
To assess whether SF-36 quality-of-life (QOL) subscale scores varied across two survey modes controlling for cancer type and diagnosis cohort. Stratified random samples of 720 cancer survivors from six cancer types and three time-since diagnosis cohorts were selected from two state cancer registries. Selected survivors were randomly assigned to mail, telephone, or choice of these for survey administration. This study analyzes completed questionnaires obtained from 140 and 155 survivors who were assigned to telephone and mail, respectively. A significant multivariate effect for survey mode was noted. Mean levels for each subscale controlling for age and accounting for cancer type were higher for telephone compared to mail respondents; significant differences were noted for vitality, role physical, and mental health. The impact of cancer type on QOL subscales was not significant, and the effect of mode was consistent across cancer type. Previous findings in mode effects for the SF-36 are reproduced here among cancer survivors who may feel more comfortable revealing physical and emotional deficits via mail rather than by telephone. For cancer survivors, it may be that "social desirability" favors responses implying more functioning be it perceived, mental, or physical.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Subramanyam, Guru; Vignesparamoorthy, Sivaruban; Mueller, Carl; VanKeuls, Fred; Warner, Joseph; Miranda, Felix A.
2001-01-01
The main purpose of this work is to study the effect of a selectively etched ferroelectric thin film layer on the performance of an electrically tunable filter. An X-band tunable filter was designed, fabricated and tested on a selectively etched Barium Strontium Titanate (BSTO) ferroelectric thin film layer. Tunable filters with varying lengths of BSTO thin-film in the input and output coupling gaps were modeled, as well as experimentally tested. Experimental results showed that filters with coupling gaps partially filled with BSTO maintained frequency tunability and improved the insertion loss by approx. 2dB. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the first experimental demonstration of the advantages of selective etching in the performance of thin film ferroelectric-based tunable microwave components.
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Sorsdahl, Katherine; Stein, Dan J; Myers, Bronwyn
2017-04-01
The Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised Short-Form (SPSI-R:SF) has been used in several countries to identify problem-solving deficits among clinical and general populations in order to guide cognitive-behavioural interventions. Yet, very few studies have evaluated its psychometric properties. Three language versions of the questionnaire were administered to a general population sample comprising 1000 participants (771 English-, 178 Afrikaans- and 101 Xhosa-speakers). Of these participants, 210 were randomly selected to establish test-retest reliability (70 in each language). Principal component analysis was performed to examine the applicability of the factor structure of the original questionnaire to the South African data. Supplementary psychometric analyses were performed, including internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Collectively, results provide initial evidence of the reliability and validity of the SPSI-R:SF for the assessment of problem solving deficits in South Africa. Further studies that explore how the Afrikaans language version of the SPSI-R:SF can be improved and that establish the predictive validity of scores on the SPSI-R:SF are needed. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.
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Brazilian normative data for the Short Form 36 questionnaire, version 2.
Laguardia, Josue; Campos, Monica Rodrigues; Travassos, Claudia; Najar, Alberto Lopes; Anjos, Luiz Antonio dos; Vasconcellos, Miguel Murat
2013-12-01
The study Pesquisa Dimensões Sociais das Desigualdades (PDSD) (Social Dimensions of Inequalities) involves 12,423 randomly selected Brazilian men and women aged 18 years old or more from urban and rural areas of the five Brazilian regions, and the information collected included the SF-36 as a measure of health-related quality of life. This provided a unique opportunity to develop age and gender-adjusted normative data for the Brazilian population. Brazilian men scored substantially higher than women on all eight domains and the two summary component scales of the SF-36. Brazilians scored less than their international counterparts on almost all of SF-36 domains and both summary component scales, except on general health status (US), pain (UK) and vitality (Australia, US and Canada). The differences in the SF-36 scores between age groups, genders and countries confirm that these Brazilian norms are necessary for comparative purposes. The data will be useful for assessing the health status of the general population and of patient populations, and the effect of interventions on health-related quality of life.
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SHARDS: A Global View of the Star Formation Activity at z ~ 0.84 and z ~ 1.23
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cava, Antonio; Pérez-González, Pablo G.; Eliche-Moral, M. Carmen; Ricciardelli, Elena; Vidal-García, Alba; Alcalde Pampliega, Belen; Alonso-Herrero, Almudena; Barro, Guillermo; Cardiel, Nicolas; Cenarro, A. Javier; Charlot, Stephane; Daddi, Emanuele; Dessauges-Zavadsky, Miroslava; Domínguez Sánchez, Helena; Espino-Briones, Nestor; Esquej, Pilar; Gallego, Jesus; Hernán-Caballero, Antonio; Huertas-Company, Marc; Koekemoer, Anton M.; Muñoz-Tunon, Casiana; Rodriguez-Espinosa, Jose M.; Rodríguez-Muñoz, Lucia; Tresse, Laurence; Villar, Victor
2015-10-01
In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at intermediate redshifts (z ˜ 1). We combine the ultra-deep optical spectro-photometric data from the Survey for High-z Absorption Red and Dead Sources (SHARDS) with deep UV-to-FIR observations in the GOODS-N field. Exploiting two of the 25 SHARDS medium-band filters, F687W17 and F823W17, we select [O ii] emission line galaxies at z ˜ 0.84 and z ˜ 1.23 and characterize their physical properties. Their rest-frame equivalent widths (EWrf([O ii])), line fluxes, luminosities, star formation rates (SFRs), and dust attenuation properties are investigated. The evolution of EWrf([O ii]) closely follows the SFR density evolution of the universe, with a trend of EWrf([O ii]) \\propto (1 + z)3 up to redshift z ≃ 1, followed by a possible flattening. The SF properties of the galaxies selected on the basis of their [O ii] emission are compared with complementary samples of SFGs selected by their MIR and FIR emission, and also with a general mass-selected sample of galaxies at the same redshifts. We demonstrate observationally that the UVJ diagram (or, similarly, a cut in the specific SFR) is only partially able to distinguish the quiescent galaxies from the SFGs. The SFR-M* relation is investigated for the different samples, yielding a logarithmic slope ˜1, in good agreement with previous results. The dust attenuations derived from different SFR indicators (UV(1600), UV(2800), [O ii], IR) are compared and show clear trends with respect to both the stellar mass and total SFR, with more massive and highly star-forming galaxies being affected by stronger dust attenuation.
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Extending Spent Fuel Storage until Transport for Reprocessing or Disposal
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Carlsen, Brett; Chiguer, Mustapha; Grahn, Per
Spent fuel (SF) must be stored until an end point such as reprocessing or geologic disposal is imple-mented. Selection and implementation of an end point for SF depends upon future funding, legisla-tion, licensing and other factors that cannot be predicted with certainty. Past presumptions related to the availability of an end point have often been wrong and resulted in missed opportunities for properly informing spent fuel management policies and strategies. For example, dry cask storage systems were originally conceived to free up needed space in reactor spent fuel pools and also to provide SFS of up to 20 years untilmore » reprocessing and/or deep geological disposal became available. Hundreds of dry cask storage systems are now employed throughout the world and will be relied upon well beyond the originally envisioned design life. Given present and projected rates for the use of nuclear power coupled with projections for SF repro-cessing and disposal capacities, one concludes that SF storage will be prolonged, potentially for several decades. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently considered 300 years of storage to be appropriate for the characterization and prediction of ageing effects and ageing management issues associated with extending SF storage and subsequent transport. This paper encourages addressing the uncertainty associated with the duration of SF storage by de-sign – rather than by default. It suggests ways that this uncertainty may be considered in design, li-censing, policy, and strategy decisions and proposes a framework for safely extending spent fuel storage until SF can be transported for reprocessing or disposal – regardless of how long that may be. The paper however is not intended to either encourage or facilitate needlessly extending spent fuel storage durations. Its intent is to ensure a design and safety basis with sufficient margin to accommodate the full range of potential future scenarios. Although the focus is primarily on storage of SF from commercial operation, the principles described are equally applicable to SF from research and production reactors as well as high-level radioactive waste.« less
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Change Detection via Selective Guided Contrasting Filters
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Vizilter, Y. V.; Rubis, A. Y.; Zheltov, S. Y.
2017-05-01
Change detection scheme based on guided contrasting was previously proposed. Guided contrasting filter takes two images (test and sample) as input and forms the output as filtered version of test image. Such filter preserves the similar details and smooths the non-similar details of test image with respect to sample image. Due to this the difference between test image and its filtered version (difference map) could be a basis for robust change detection. Guided contrasting is performed in two steps: at the first step some smoothing operator (SO) is applied for elimination of test image details; at the second step all matched details are restored with local contrast proportional to the value of some local similarity coefficient (LSC). The guided contrasting filter was proposed based on local average smoothing as SO and local linear correlation as LSC. In this paper we propose and implement new set of selective guided contrasting filters based on different combinations of various SO and thresholded LSC. Linear average and Gaussian smoothing, nonlinear median filtering, morphological opening and closing are considered as SO. Local linear correlation coefficient, morphological correlation coefficient (MCC), mutual information, mean square MCC and geometrical correlation coefficients are applied as LSC. Thresholding of LSC allows operating with non-normalized LSC and enhancing the selective properties of guided contrasting filters: details are either totally recovered or not recovered at all after the smoothing. These different guided contrasting filters are tested as a part of previously proposed change detection pipeline, which contains following stages: guided contrasting filtering on image pyramid, calculation of difference map, binarization, extraction of change proposals and testing change proposals using local MCC. Experiments on real and simulated image bases demonstrate the applicability of all proposed selective guided contrasting filters. All implemented filters provide the robustness relative to weak geometrical discrepancy of compared images. Selective guided contrasting based on morphological opening/closing and thresholded morphological correlation demonstrates the best change detection result.
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Gralewicz, Grzegorz; Owczarek, Grzegorz
2016-09-01
The paper analyses the selected optical parameters of protective optic filters used for protection of the eyes against hazardous radiation within the visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) spectrum range. The indexes characterizing transmission and reflection of optic radiation incident on the filter are compared. As it follows from the completed analysis, the newly developed interference filters provide more effective blocking of infrared radiation in comparison with the currently used protective filters.
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Beigi, Farideh; Bertucci, Carlo; Zhu, Weizhong; Chakir, Khalid; Wainer, Irving W; Xiao, Rui-Ping; Abernethy, Darrell R
2006-11-01
rac-Fenoterol is a beta2-adrenoceptor agonist (beta2-AR) used in the treatment of asthma. It has two chiral centers and is marketed as a racemic mixture of R,R'- and S,S'-fenoterol (R-F and S-F). Here we report the separation of the R-F and S-F enantiomers and the evaluation of their binding to and activation of the beta2-AR. R-F and S-F were separated from the enantiomeric mixture by chiral chromatography and absolute configuration determined by circular dichroism. Beta2-AR binding was evaluated using frontal affinity chromatography with a stationary phase containing immobilized membranes from HEK-293 cells that express human beta2-AR and standard membrane binding studies using the same membranes. The effect of R-F and S-F on cardiomyocyte contractility was also investigated using freshly isolated adult rat cardiomyocytes. Chiral chromatography of rac-fenoterol yielded separated peaks with an enantioselectivity factor of 1.21. The less retained peak was assigned the absolute configuration of S-F and the more retained peak R-F. Frontal chromatography using membrane-bound beta2-AR as the stationary phase and rac-3H-fenoterol as a marker ligand showed that addition of increasing concentrations of R-F to the mobile phase produced concentration-dependent decreases in rac-3H-fenoterol retention, while similar addition of S-F produced no change in rac-3H-fenoterol retention. The calculated dissociation constant of R-F was 472 nM and the number of available binding sites 176 pmol/column, which was consistent with the results from the membrane binding study 460 +/- 55 nM (R-F) and 109,000 +/- 10,400 nM (S-F). In the cardiomyocytes, R-F increased maximum contractile response from (265 +/- 11.6)% to (306 +/- 11.8)% of resting cell length (P < 0.05) and reduced EC50 from -7.0 +/- 0.270 to -7.1 +/- 0.2 log[M] (P < 0.05), while S-F had no significant effect. Previous studies have shown that rac-fenoterol acts as an apparent beta2-AR/G(s) selective agonist and fully restores diminished beta2-AR contractile response in cardiomyocytes from failing hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Here we report the separation of the enantiomers of rac-fenoterol and that R-F is the active component of rac-fenoterol. Further evaluation of R-F will determine if it has enhanced selectivity and specificity for beta2-AR/G(s) activation and if it can be used in the treatment of congestive heart failure. Published 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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A selective-update affine projection algorithm with selective input vectors
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kong, NamWoong; Shin, JaeWook; Park, PooGyeon
2011-10-01
This paper proposes an affine projection algorithm (APA) with selective input vectors, which based on the concept of selective-update in order to reduce estimation errors and computations. The algorithm consists of two procedures: input- vector-selection and state-decision. The input-vector-selection procedure determines the number of input vectors by checking with mean square error (MSE) whether the input vectors have enough information for update. The state-decision procedure determines the current state of the adaptive filter by using the state-decision criterion. As the adaptive filter is in transient state, the algorithm updates the filter coefficients with the selected input vectors. On the other hand, as soon as the adaptive filter reaches the steady state, the update procedure is not performed. Through these two procedures, the proposed algorithm achieves small steady-state estimation errors, low computational complexity and low update complexity for colored input signals.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Kávási, Norbert, E-mail: norbert@fml.nirs.go.jp; Social Organization for Radioecological Cleanliness, Veszprém; Vigh, Tamás
During a one-year long measurement period, radon and thoron data obtained by two different passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors were compared at subsurface workplaces in Hungary, such as mines (bauxite and manganese ore) and caves (medical and touristic). These workplaces have special environmental conditions, such as, stable and high relative humidity (100%), relatively stable temperature (12°C–21°C), low or high wind speed (max. 2.4 m s{sup −1}) and low or elevated aerosol concentration (130–60 000 particles m{sup −3}). The measured radon and thoron concentrations fluctuated in a wide range among the different workplaces. The respective annual average radon concentrations and their standard deviations (inmore » brackets) measured by the passive radon-thoron discriminative monitor with cellulose filter (CF) and the passive radon-thoron discriminative monitor with sponge filter (SF) were: 350(321) Bq m{sup −3} and 550(497) Bq m{sup −3} in the bauxite mine; 887(604) Bq m{sup −3} and 1258(788) Bq m{sup −3} in the manganese ore mine; 2510(2341) Bq m{sup −3} and 3403(3075) Bq m{sup −3} in the medical cave (Hospital Cave of Tapolca); and 6239(2057) Bq m{sup −3} and 8512(1955) Bq m{sup −3} in the touristic cave (Lake Cave of Tapolca). The respective average thoron concentrations and their standard deviation (in brackets) measured by CF and SF monitors were: 154(210) Bq m{sup −3} and 161(148) Bq m{sup −3} in the bauxite mine; 187(191) Bq m{sup −3} and 117(147) Bq m{sup −3} in the manganese-ore mine; 360(524) Bq m{sup −3} and 371(789) Bq m{sup −3} in the medical cave (Hospital Cave of Tapolca); and 1420(1184) Bq m{sup −3} and 1462(3655) Bq m{sup −3} in the touristic cave (Lake Cave of Tapolca). Under these circumstances, comparison of the radon data for the SF and CF monitors showed the former were consistently 51% higher in the bauxite mine, 38% higher in the manganese ore mine, and 34% higher in the caves. Consequently, correction is required on previously obtained radon data acquired by CF monitors at subsurface workplaces to gain comparable data for SF monitors. In the case of thoron, the data were unreliable and no significant tendency was seen during the comparison therefore comparison of previously obtained thoron data acquired by either CF or SF is doubtful. There was probable influence by relative humidity on the detection response; however, the effects of the high wind speed and elevated aerosol concentration could not be excluded. The results of this study call attention to the importance of calibration under extreme environmental conditions and the need for using reliable radon-thoron monitors for subsurface workplaces.« less
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Role of one N-linked oligosaccharide chain on canine herpesvirus gD in its biological activity.
Maeda, K; Yokoyama, N; Fujita, K; Xuan, X; Mikami, T
1997-12-01
The YP11mu strain of a plaque-selected canine herpesvirus (CHV) encoded a smaller molecular weight (MW) of gD than those of other strains including YP2 strain (Xuan et al., 1990). When nucleotide sequence of the mutated gD of YP11mu strain (gD(YP11mu)) was compared with that of gDs of other CHV strains, gD(YP11mu) lacked 12 nucleotides encoding 4 amino acids, NKTI, including one predicted potential N-linked glycosylation site and no other change was found in other regions. When the gD(YP11mu) and gD of YP2 strain (gD(YP2)) expressed in COS-7 and insect (Spodoptera frugiperda; Sf9) cells were compared each other, both gDs reacted with a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against CHV gD by indirect immunofluorescence analysis and the gD(YP11mu) possessed an MW of approximately 47-51 and 39-44 kDa in COS-7 and Sf9 cells, respectively, which were smaller than the expressed gD(YP2) (approximately 51-55 and 41-46 kDa, respectively) by immunoblot analysis. After treatment with tunicamycin, the MW of both gDs in Sf9 cells became approximately 37 kDa. When hemagglutination (HA) test using canine red blood cells (RBC) were carried out, lysates of Sf9 cells expressing CHV gDs agglutinated canine RBC. Serum from mice inoculated with lysates of Sf9 cells expressing the gDs possessed a high titer of virus-neutralizing (VN) activities against CHV. These results indicated that the deletion of 4 amino acids possessing approximately 4 kDa of glyco-chain from gD of CHV in mammalian cells does not affect HA activity and VN antibody-inducing activity and that this deletion of gD(YP11mu) might be a good selective marker for development of recombinant viruses as a live vaccine.
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Kitjaruwankul, Sunan; Wapeesittipan, Pattama; Boonamnaj, Panisak; Sompornpisut, Pornthep
2016-01-28
Structural data of CorA Mg(2+) channels show that the five Gly-Met-Asn (GMN) motifs at the periplasmic loop of the pentamer structure form a molecular scaffold serving as a selectivity filter. Unfortunately, knowledge about the cation selectivity of Mg(2+) channels remains limited. Since Mg(2+) in aqueous solution has a strong first hydration shell and apparent second hydration sphere, the coordination structure of Mg(2+) in a CorA selectivity filter is expected to be different from that in bulk water. Hence, this study investigated the hydration structure and ligand coordination of Mg(2+) in a selectivity filter of CorA using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The simulations reveal that the inner-shell structure of Mg(2+) in the filter is not significantly different from that in aqueous solution. The major difference is the characteristic structural features of the outer shell. The GMN residues engage indirectly in the interactions with the metal ion as ligands in the second shell of Mg(2+). Loss of hydrogen bonds between inner- and outer-shell waters observed from Mg(2+) in bulk water is mostly compensated by interactions between waters in the first solvation shell and the GMN motif. Some water molecules in the second shell remain in the selectivity filter and become less mobile to support the metal binding. Removal of Mg(2+) from the divalent cation sensor sites of the protein had an impact on the structure and metal binding of the filter. From the results, it can be concluded that the GMN motif enhances the affinity of the metal binding site in the CorA selectivity filter by acting as an outer coordination ligand.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Makarov, G N; Petin, A N
2016-03-31
We report the results of studies on the isotope-selective infrared multiphoton dissociation (IR MFD) of SF{sub 6} and CF{sub 3}I molecules in a pulsed, gas-dynamically cooled molecular flow interacting with a solid surface. The productivity of this method in the conditions of a specific experiment (by the example of SF{sub 6} molecules) is evaluated. A number of low-energy methods of molecular laser isotope separation based on the use of infrared lasers for selective excitation of molecules are analysed and their productivity is estimated. The methods are compared with those of selective dissociation of molecules in the flow interacting with amore » surface. The advantages of this method compared to the low-energy methods of molecular laser isotope separation and the IR MPD method in the unperturbed jets and flows are shown. It is concluded that this method could be a promising alternative to the low-energy methods of molecular laser isotope separation. (laser separation of isotopes)« less
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Attentional bias towards and away from fearful faces is modulated by developmental amygdala damage.
Pishnamazi, Morteza; Tafakhori, Abbas; Loloee, Sogol; Modabbernia, Amirhossein; Aghamollaii, Vajiheh; Bahrami, Bahador; Winston, Joel S
2016-08-01
The amygdala is believed to play a major role in orienting attention towards threat-related stimuli. However, behavioral studies on amygdala-damaged patients have given inconsistent results-variously reporting decreased, persisted, and increased attention towards threat. Here we aimed to characterize the impact of developmental amygdala damage on emotion perception and the nature and time-course of spatial attentional bias towards fearful faces. We investigated SF, a 14-year-old with selective bilateral amygdala damage due to Urbach-Wiethe disease (UWD), and ten healthy controls. Participants completed a fear sensitivity questionnaire, facial expression classification task, and dot-probe task with fearful or neutral faces for spatial cueing. Three cue durations were used to assess the time-course of attentional bias. SF expressed significantly lower fear sensitivity, and showed a selective impairment in classifying fearful facial expressions. Despite this impairment in fear recognition, very brief (100 msec) fearful cues could orient SF's spatial attention. In healthy controls, the attentional bias emerged later and persisted longer. SF's attentional bias was due solely to facilitated engagement to fear, while controls showed the typical phenomenon of difficulty in disengaging from fear. Our study is the first to demonstrate the separable effects of amygdala damage on engagement and disengagement of spatial attention. The findings indicate that multiple mechanisms contribute in biasing attention towards fear, which vary in their timing and dependence on amygdala integrity. It seems that the amygdala is not essential for rapid attention to emotion, but probably has a role in assessment of biological relevance. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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Anxiety and Depression Screening for Youth in a Primary Care Population
Katon, Wayne; Joan, Russo; Richardson, Laura; McCauley, Elizabeth; Lozano, Paula
2008-01-01
Objective Prior studies have shown a low rate of accurate identification by primary care physicians of mental health disorders in youth. This study tested the psychometric properties of two brief mental health screening questionnaires, the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire – Short Form (MFQ-SF) and Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), in a large sample of youth. Methods In a sample of 1375 youth age 11 to 17 (779 with asthma, 596 randomly selected controls) enrolled in an HMO, the psychometric properties (optimum cutoffs on Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) curves, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) of two brief anxiety and depression screens were examined versus a “gold standard” structured psychiatric interview. Results Both the MFQ-SF and ASI performed well on ROC analysis for screening youth for one or more DSM-IV anxiety or depressive disorders. The MFQ-SF performed better on ROC analysis than the ASI for youth with major depression (area under the curve of 0.84 vs 0.77). For screening youth with anxiety disorders ROC curves showed that both the MFQ-SF and ASI only performed in the fair range (area under the curve of 0.76). Conclusion The MFQ-SF and ASI are two relatively brief questionnaires that performed well for screening youth for one or more DSM-IV anxiety or depressive disorders. The MFQ-SF performed better than the ASI for screening youth with major depression. Use of these instruments could increase the accuracy of identification of mental health disorders in youth by primary care physicians. PMID:18501865
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Ion-binding properties of a K+ channel selectivity filter in different conformations.
Liu, Shian; Focke, Paul J; Matulef, Kimberly; Bian, Xuelin; Moënne-Loccoz, Pierre; Valiyaveetil, Francis I; Lockless, Steve W
2015-12-08
K(+) channels are membrane proteins that selectively conduct K(+) ions across lipid bilayers. Many voltage-gated K(+) (KV) channels contain two gates, one at the bundle crossing on the intracellular side of the membrane and another in the selectivity filter. The gate at the bundle crossing is responsible for channel opening in response to a voltage stimulus, whereas the gate at the selectivity filter is responsible for C-type inactivation. Together, these regions determine when the channel conducts ions. The K(+) channel from Streptomyces lividians (KcsA) undergoes an inactivation process that is functionally similar to KV channels, which has led to its use as a practical system to study inactivation. Crystal structures of KcsA channels with an open intracellular gate revealed a selectivity filter in a constricted conformation similar to the structure observed in closed KcsA containing only Na(+) or low [K(+)]. However, recent work using a semisynthetic channel that is unable to adopt a constricted filter but inactivates like WT channels challenges this idea. In this study, we measured the equilibrium ion-binding properties of channels with conductive, inactivated, and constricted filters using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). EPR spectroscopy was used to determine the state of the intracellular gate of the channel, which we found can depend on the presence or absence of a lipid bilayer. Overall, we discovered that K(+) ion binding to channels with an inactivated or conductive selectivity filter is different from K(+) ion binding to channels with a constricted filter, suggesting that the structures of these channels are different.
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SU-F-J-200: An Improved Method for Event Selection in Compton Camera Imaging for Particle Therapy
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Mackin, D; Beddar, S; Polf, J
2016-06-15
Purpose: The uncertainty in the beam range in particle therapy limits the conformality of the dose distributions. Compton scatter cameras (CC), which measure the prompt gamma rays produced by nuclear interactions in the patient tissue, can reduce this uncertainty by producing 3D images confirming the particle beam range and dose delivery. However, the high intensity and short time windows of the particle beams limit the number of gammas detected. We attempt to address this problem by developing a method for filtering gamma ray scattering events from the background by applying the known gamma ray spectrum. Methods: We used a 4more » stage Compton camera to record in list mode the energy deposition and scatter positions of gammas from a Co-60 source. Each CC stage contained a 4×4 array of CdZnTe crystal. To produce images, we used a back-projection algorithm and four filtering Methods: basic, energy windowing, delta energy (ΔE), or delta scattering angle (Δθ). Basic filtering requires events to be physically consistent. Energy windowing requires event energy to fall within a defined range. ΔE filtering selects events with the minimum difference between the measured and a known gamma energy (1.17 and 1.33 MeV for Co-60). Δθ filtering selects events with the minimum difference between the measured scattering angle and the angle corresponding to a known gamma energy. Results: Energy window filtering reduced the FWHM from 197.8 mm for basic filtering to 78.3 mm. ΔE and Δθ filtering achieved the best results, FWHMs of 64.3 and 55.6 mm, respectively. In general, Δθ filtering selected events with scattering angles < 40°, while ΔE filtering selected events with angles > 60°. Conclusion: Filtering CC events improved the quality and resolution of the corresponding images. ΔE and Δθ filtering produced similar results but each favored different events.« less
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Radiant zone heated particulate filter
Gonze, Eugene V [Pinckney, MI
2011-12-27
A system includes a particulate matter (PM) filter including an upstream end for receiving exhaust gas and a downstream end. A radiant zoned heater includes N zones, where N is an integer greater than one, wherein each of the N zones includes M sub-zones, where M is an integer greater than or equal to one. A control module selectively activates at least a selected one of the N zones to initiate regeneration in downstream portions of the PM filter from the one of the N zones, restricts exhaust gas flow in a portion of the PM filter that corresponds to the selected one of the N zones, and deactivates non-selected ones of the N zones.
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Theory of Alike Selectivity in Biological Channels
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Luchinsky, Dmitry G.; Gibby, Will A. T.; Kaufman, Igor Kh.; Eisenberg, Robert S.; McClintock, Peter V. E.
2016-01-01
We introduce a statistical mechanical model of the selectivity filter that accounts for the interaction between ions within the channel and derive Eisenman equation of the filter selectivity directly from the condition of barrier-less conduction.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Koyama, Yusei; Hayashi, Masao; Tanaka, Masayuki; Kodama, Tadayuki; Shimakawa, Rhythm; Yamamoto, Moegi; Nakata, Fumiaki; Tanaka, Ichi; Suzuki, Tomoko L.; Tadaki, Ken-ichi; Nishizawa, Atsushi J.; Yabe, Kiyoto; Toba, Yoshiki; Lin, Lihwai; Jian, Hung-Yu; Komiyama, Yutaka
2018-01-01
We present the environmental dependence of color, stellar mass, and star formation (SF) activity in Hα-selected galaxies along the large-scale structure at z = 0.4 hosting twin clusters in the DEEP2-3 field, discovered by the Subaru Strategic Program of Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC SSP). By combining photo-z-selected galaxies and Hα emitters selected with broadband and narrowband (NB) data from the recent data release of HSC SSP (DR1), we confirm that galaxies in higher-density environments or galaxies in cluster central regions show redder colors. We find that there still remains a possible color-density and color-radius correlation even if we restrict the sample to Hα-selected galaxies, probably due to the presence of massive Hα emitters in denser regions. We also find a hint of increased star formation rates (SFR) amongst Hα emitters toward the highest-density environment, again primarily driven by the excess of red/massive Hα emitters in high-density environments, while their specific SFRs do not significantly change with environment. This work demonstrates the power of the HSC SSP NB data for studying SF galaxies across environments in the distant universe.
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Design considerations for near-infrared filter photometry: effects of noise sources and selectivity.
Tarumi, Toshiyasu; Amerov, Airat K; Arnold, Mark A; Small, Gary W
2009-06-01
Optimal filter design of two-channel near-infrared filter photometers is investigated for simulated two-component systems consisting of an analyte and a spectrally overlapping interferent. The degree of overlap between the analyte and interferent bands is varied over three levels. The optimal design is obtained for three cases: a source or background flicker noise limited case, a shot noise limited case, and a detector noise limited case. Conventional photometers consist of narrow-band optical filters with their bands located at discrete wavelengths. However, the use of broadband optical filters with overlapping responses has been proposed to obtain as much signal as possible from a weak and broad analyte band typical of near-infrared absorptions. One question regarding the use of broadband optical filters with overlapping responses is the selectivity achieved by such filters. The selectivity of two-channel photometers is evaluated on the basis of the angle between the analyte and interferent vectors in the space spanned by the relative change recorded for each of the two detector channels. This study shows that for the shot noise limited or detector noise limited cases, the slight decrease in selectivity with the use of broadband optical filters can be compensated by the higher signal-to-noise ratio afforded by the use of such filters. For the source noise limited case, the best quantitative results are obtained with the use of narrow-band non-overlapping optical filters.
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Spin-filter specular spin valves
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lu, Z. Q.; Pan, G.; Jibouri, A. A.; Zheng, Yaunkai
2002-01-01
Both a thin free layer and high magnetoresistance (MR) ratio are required in spin valves for high magnetic density recording heads. In traditional spin valve structures, reducing the free layer normally results in a reduction in MR. We report here on a spin-filter specular spin valve with structure Ta 3.5 nm/NiFe 2 nm/IrMn 6 nm/CoFe 1.5 nm/Nol/CoFe 2 nm/Cu 2.2 nm/CoFe tF/Cu tSF/Nol2/Ta 3 nm, which is demonstrated to maintain MR ratio higher than 12% even when the CoFe free layer is reduced to 1 nm. The semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation was used to simulate MR ratio. An optimized MR ratio of ˜14.5% was obtained when tF was about 1.5 nm and tSF about 1.0 nm as a result of the balance between the increase in electron mean free path difference and current shunting through conducting layer. It is found that the Cu enhancing layer not only enhances the MR ratio but also improves soft magnetic properties of CoFe free layer due to the low atomic intermixing observed between Co and Cu. The CoFe free layer of 1-4 nm exhibits a low coercivity of ˜3 Oe even after annealing at 270 °C for 7 h in a field of 1 kOe. Furthermore, the interlayer coupling field Hint between free layer and pinned layer can be controlled by balancing the Rudermann-Kittel-(Kasuya)-Yosida and magnetostatic coupling. Such a thin soft CoFe free layer is particularly attractive for high density read sensor application.
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Influence of speed and step frequency during walking and running on motion sensor output.
Rowlands, Ann V; Stone, Michelle R; Eston, Roger G
2007-04-01
Studies have reported strong linear relationships between accelerometer output and walking/running speeds up to 10 km x h(-1). However, ActiGraph uniaxial accelerometer counts plateau at higher speeds. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships of triaxial accelerometry, uniaxial accelerometry, and pedometry with speed and step frequency (SF) across a range of walking and running speeds. Nine male runners wore two ActiGraph uniaxial accelerometers, two RT3 triaxial accelerometers (all set at a 1-s epoch), and two Yamax pedometers. Each participant walked for 60 s at 4 and 6 km x h(-1), ran for 60 s at 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 km x h(-1), and ran for 30 s at 20, 22, 24, and 26 km x h(-1). Step frequency was recorded by a visual count. ActiGraph counts peaked at 10 km x h(-10 (2.5-3.0 Hz SF) and declined thereafter (r=0.02, P>0.05). After correction for frequency-dependent filtering, output plateaued at 10 km x h(-1) but did not decline (r=0.77, P<0.05). Similarly, RT3 vertical counts plateaued at speeds > 10 km x h(-1) (r=0.86, P<0.01). RT3 vector magnitude and anteroposterior and mediolateral counts maintained a linear relationship with speed (r>0.96, P<0.001). Step frequency assessed by pedometry compared well with actual step frequency up to 20 km x h(-1) (approximately 3.5 Hz) but then underestimated actual steps (Yamax r=0.97; ActiGraph pedometer r=0.88, both P<0.001). Increasing underestimation of activity by the ActiGraph as speed increases is related to frequency-dependent filtering and assessment of acceleration in the vertical plane only. RT3 vector magnitude was strongly related to speed, reflecting the predominance of horizontal acceleration at higher speeds. These results indicate that high-intensity activity is underestimated by the ActiGraph, even after correction for frequency-dependent filtering, but not by the RT3. Pedometer output is highly correlated with step frequency.
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Characteristics of spectro-temporal modulation frequency selectivity in humans.
Oetjen, Arne; Verhey, Jesko L
2017-03-01
There is increasing evidence that the auditory system shows frequency selectivity for spectro-temporal modulations. A recent study of the authors has shown spectro-temporal modulation masking patterns that were in agreement with the hypothesis of spectro-temporal modulation filters in the human auditory system [Oetjen and Verhey (2015). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 137(2), 714-723]. In the present study, that experimental data and additional data were used to model this spectro-temporal frequency selectivity. The additional data were collected to investigate to what extent the spectro-temporal modulation-frequency selectivity results from a combination of a purely temporal amplitude-modulation filter and a purely spectral amplitude-modulation filter. In contrast to the previous study, thresholds were measured for masker and target modulations with opposite directions, i.e., an upward pointing target modulation and a downward pointing masker modulation. The comparison of this data set with previous corresponding data with the same direction from target and masker modulations indicate that a specific spectro-temporal modulation filter is required to simulate all aspects of spectro-temporal modulation frequency selectivity. A model using a modified Gabor filter with a purely temporal and a purely spectral filter predicts the spectro-temporal modulation masking data.
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Wang, Yaxian; Ma, Ruilong; Hu, Kesong; Kim, Sunghan; Fang, Guangqiang; Shao, Zhengzhong; Tsukruk, Vladimir V
2016-09-21
We demonstrate that stronger and more robust nacre-like laminated GO (graphene oxide)/SF (silk fibroin) nanocomposite membranes can be obtained by selectively tailoring the interfacial interactions between "bricks"-GO sheets and "mortar"-silk interlayers via controlled water vapor annealing. This facial annealing process relaxes the secondary structure of silk backbones confined between flexible GO sheets. The increased mobility leads to a significant increase in ultimate strength (by up to 41%), Young's modulus (up to 75%) and toughness (up to 45%). We suggest that local silk recrystallization is initiated in the proximity to GO surface by the hydrophobic surface regions serving as nucleation sites for β-sheet domains formation and followed by SF assembly into nanofibrils. Strong hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions between GO layers with SF nanofibrils result in enhanced shear strength of layered packing. This work presented here not only gives a better understanding of SF and GO interfacial interactions, but also provides insight on how to enhance the mechanical properties for the nacre-mimic nanocomposites by focusing on adjusting the delicate interactions between heterogeneous "brick" and adaptive "mortar" components with water/temperature annealing routines.
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Scattering property based contextual PolSAR speckle filter
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mullissa, Adugna G.; Tolpekin, Valentyn; Stein, Alfred
2017-12-01
Reliability of the scattering model based polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) speckle filter depends upon the accurate decomposition and classification of the scattering mechanisms. This paper presents an improved scattering property based contextual speckle filter based upon an iterative classification of the scattering mechanisms. It applies a Cloude-Pottier eigenvalue-eigenvector decomposition and a fuzzy H/α classification to determine the scattering mechanisms on a pre-estimate of the coherency matrix. The H/α classification identifies pixels with homogeneous scattering properties. A coarse pixel selection rule groups pixels that are either single bounce, double bounce or volume scatterers. A fine pixel selection rule is applied to pixels within each canonical scattering mechanism. We filter the PolSAR data and depending on the type of image scene (urban or rural) use either the coarse or fine pixel selection rule. Iterative refinement of the Wishart H/α classification reduces the speckle in the PolSAR data. Effectiveness of this new filter is demonstrated by using both simulated and real PolSAR data. It is compared with the refined Lee filter, the scattering model based filter and the non-local means filter. The study concludes that the proposed filter compares favorably with other polarimetric speckle filters in preserving polarimetric information, point scatterers and subtle features in PolSAR data.
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Prolactin rs1341239 T allele may have protective role against the brick tea type skeletal fluorosis
Li, Bing-Yun; Yang, Yan-Mei; Liu, Yang; Sun, Jing; Ye, Yan; Liu, Xiao-Na; Liu, Hong-Xu; Sun, Zhen-Qi; Li, Mang; Cui, Jing; Sun, Dian-Jun; Gao, Yan-Hui
2017-01-01
Objective Prolactin (PRL) has been reported to be associated with increased bone turnover, and increased bone turnover is also a feature of skeletal fluorosis (SF). Autocrine/paracrine production of PRL is regulated by the extrapituitary promoter and a polymorphism in the extrapituitary PRL promoter at -1149 (rs1341239) is associated with disturbances of bone metabolism in other diseases. Here, we have investigated the possibility that the rs1341239 polymorphism is associated with SF, which results from the consumption of brick tea. Design We conducted a cross-sectional study in Sinkiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia in China. Demography survey questionnaires were completed and physical examination and X-ray diagnoses were used to diagnose SF. Brick tea water fluoride intake (IF) and urinary fluoride (UF) were tested by an F-ion selective electrode method. A Sequenom MassARRAY system was used to determine PRL gene polymorphisms. Results Subjects who were younger than 45 years of age and carried the T allele had a significantly decreased risk of SF [OR = 0.279 (95%CI, 0.094–0.824)] compared to those carrying the homozygous G allele. This phenomenon was only observed in Kazakh subjects [OR = 0.127 (95%CI, 0.025–0.646)]. Kazakh females who carried T alleles has a decreased risk of SF [OR = 0.410 (95%CI, 0.199–0.847)]. For Kazakh subjects which IF is less than 3.5 mg/d, a decreased risk of SF was observed among the participants who carried T alleles [OR = 0.118 (95%CI, 0.029–0.472)]. Overall, subjects with 1.6–3.2 mg/L UF and carried T alleles had a significantly decreased risk of SF [OR = 0.476 (95%CI, 0.237–0.955)] compared to homozygous G allele carriers. This phenomenon was only observed in Kazakh subjects [OR = 0.324 (95%CI, 0.114–0.923)]. Conclusions Our results suggested that the PRL rs1341239 T allele decreases the risk of brick tea SF. PMID:28152004
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Taylor, David L.; McNamee, Jason; Lake, John; Gervasi, Carissa L.; Palance, Danial G.
2016-01-01
This study evaluated the relative importance of the N arragansett Bay estuary (RI and MA, USA), and associated tidal rivers and coastal lagoons, as nurseries for juvenile winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, and summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus. Winter flounder (WF) and summer flounder (SF) abundance and growth were measured from May to October (2009–2013) and served as indicators for the use and quality of shallow-water habitats (water depth < 1.5–3.0 m). These bioindicators were then analyzed with respect to physiochemical conditions to determine the mechanisms underlying intra-specific habitat selection. WF and SF abundances were greatest in late May and June (maximum monthly mean = 4.9 and 0.55 flounder/m2 for WF and SF, respectively), and were significantly higher in the tidal rivers relative to the bay and lagoons. Habitat-related patterns in WF and SF abundance were primarily governed by their preferences for oligohaline (0.1–5 ppt) and mesohaline (6–18 ppt) waters, but also their respective avoidance of hypoxic conditions (< 4 mg DO/L) and warm water temperatures (> 25 °C). Flounder habitat usage was also positively related to sediment organic content, which may be due to these substrates having sufficiently high prey densities. WF growth rates (mean = 0.25 ± 0.14 mm/d) were negatively correlated with the abundance of conspecifics, whereas SF growth (mean = 1.39 ± 0.46 mm/d) was positively related to temperature and salinity. Also, contrary to expectations, flounder occupied habitats that offered no ostensible advantage in intra-specific growth rates. WF and SF exposed to low salinities in certain rivers likely experienced increased osmoregulatory costs, thereby reducing energy for somatic growth. Low-salinity habitats, however, may benefit flounder by providing refugia from predation or reduced competition with other estuarine fishes and macro-invertebrates. Examining WF and SF abundance and growth across each species’ broader geographic distribution revealed that southern New England habitats may constitute functionally significant nurseries. These results also indicated that juvenile SF have a geographic range extending further north than previously recognized. PMID:27746705
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Face crack reduction strategy for particulate filters
Gonze, Eugene V [Pinckney, MI; Bhatia, Garima [Bangalore, IN
2012-01-31
A system comprises a particulate matter (PM) filter that comprises an upstream end for receiving exhaust gas, a downstream end and at least one portion. A control module initiates combustion of PM in the PM filter using a heater and selectively adjusts oxygen levels of the exhaust gas to adjust a temperature of combustion adjacent to the at least one portion of the PM filter. A method comprises providing a particulate matter (PM) filter that comprises an upstream end for receiving exhaust gas, a downstream end and at least one portion; initiating combustion of PM in the PM filter using a heater; selectively adjusting oxygen levels of the exhaust gas to adjust a temperature of combustion adjacent to the at least one portion of the PM filter.
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Dziendziel, Randolph J [Middle Grove, NY; DePoy, David Moore [Clifton Park, NY; Baldasaro, Paul Francis [Clifton Park, NY
2007-01-23
This invention relates to the field of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) direct energy conversion. In particular, TPV systems use filters to minimize parasitic absorption of below bandgap energy. This invention constitutes a novel combination of front surface filters to increase TPV conversion efficiency by reflecting useless below bandgap energy while transmitting a very high percentage of the useful above bandgap energy. In particular, a frequency selective surface is used in combination with an interference filter. The frequency selective surface provides high transmission of above bandgap energy and high reflection of long wavelength below bandgap energy. The interference filter maintains high transmission of above bandgap energy and provides high reflection of short wavelength below bandgap energy and a sharp transition from high transmission to high reflection.
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Dziendziel, Randolph J [Middle Grove, NY; Baldasaro, Paul F [Clifton Park, NY; DePoy, David M [Clifton Park, NY
2010-09-07
This invention relates to the field of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) direct energy conversion. In particular, TPV systems use filters to minimize parasitic absorption of below bandgap energy. This invention constitutes a novel combination of front surface filters to increase TPV conversion efficiency by reflecting useless below bandgap energy while transmitting a very high percentage of the useful above bandgap energy. In particular, a frequency selective surface is used in combination with an interference filter. The frequency selective surface provides high transmission of above bandgap energy and high reflection of long wavelength below bandgap energy. The interference filter maintains high transmission of above bandgap energy and provides high reflection of short wavelength below bandgap energy and a sharp transition from high transmission to high reflection.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Fujii, M.
2017-07-01
Two variations of a depth-selective back-projection filter for functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) systems are introduced. The filter comprises a depth-selective algorithm that uses inverse problems applied to an optically diffusive multilayer medium. In this study, simultaneous signal reconstruction of both superficial and deep tissue from fNIRS experiments of the human forehead using a prototype of a CW-NIRS system is demonstrated.
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Role of CXCL13 and CCL20 in the recruitment of B cells to inflammatory foci in chronic arthritis.
Armas-González, Estefanía; Domínguez-Luis, María Jesús; Díaz-Martín, Ana; Arce-Franco, Mayte; Castro-Hernández, Javier; Danelon, Gabriela; Hernández-Hernández, Vanesa; Bustabad-Reyes, Sagrario; Cantabrana, Alberto; Uguccioni, Mariagrazia; Díaz-González, Federico
2018-06-07
B cells exert their pathogenic action in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) locally in the synovium. This study was undertaken to elucidate the chemokines responsible for the recruitment of B cells in the inflamed synovium, taking into account that the rich chemokine milieu present in the synovial tissue can fine-tune modulate discrete chemokine receptors. Expression levels of chemokine receptors from the CC and CXC family, as well as CD27, were assessed by flow cytometry in CD20 + mononuclear cells isolated from the peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of RA and psoriatic arthritis patients. Transwell experiments were used to study migration of B cells in response to a chemokine or in the presence of multiple chemokines. B cells from the SF of arthritis patients showed a significant increase in the surface expression of CCR1, CCR2, CCR4, CCR5 and CXCR4 with respect to PB. Conversely, SF B cells expressed consistently lower amounts of CXCR5, CXCR7 and CCR6, independent of CD27 expression. Analysis of permeabilized B cells suggested internalization of CXCR5 and CCR6 in SF B cells. In Transwell experiments, CCL20 and CXCL13, ligands of CCR6 and CXCR5, respectively, caused a significantly higher migration of B cells from PB than of those from SF of RA patients. Together, these two chemokines synergistically increased B-cell migration from PB, but not from SF. These results suggest that CXCL13 and CCL20 might play major roles in RA pathogenesis by acting singly on their selective receptors and synergistically in the accumulation of B cells within the inflamed synovium.
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Initial clinical results with the ThermoCool® SmartTouch® Surround Flow catheter.
Gonna, Hanney; Domenichini, Giulia; Zuberi, Zia; Norman, Mark; Kaba, Riyaz; Grimster, Alexander; Gallagher, Mark M
2017-08-01
The Biosense Webster ThermoCool® SmartTouch® Surround Flow (STSF) catheter is a recently developed ablation catheter incorporating Surround Flow (SF) technology to ensure efficient cooling and force sensing to quantify tissue contact. In our unit, it superseded the ThermoCool® SF catheter from the time of its introduction in May 2015. Procedure-related data were collected prospectively for the first 100 ablation procedures performed in our department using the STSF catheter. From a database of 654 procedures performed in our unit using the SF catheter, we selected one to match each STSF procedure, matching for procedure type, operator experience, patient age, and gender. The groups were well matched for patient age, gender, and procedure type. Procedure duration was similar in both groups (mean 225.5 vs. 221.4 min, IQR 106.5 vs. 91.5, P = 0.55), but fluoroscopy duration was shorter in the STSF group (mean 25.8 vs. 30.0, IQR 19.6 vs. 18.5, P = 0.03). No complication occurred in the STSF group. Complications occurred in two cases in the SF group (one pericardial effusion requiring drainage and one need for permanent pacing). Complete procedural success was achieved in 98 cases in the STSF group and 94 cases in the SF group (P = 0.15). The composite endpoint of procedure failure or acute complication was less common in the STSF group (2 vs. 8, P = 0.05). The STSF catheter is safe and effective in treating a range of arrhythmias. Compared with the SF catheter, it shows a trend towards improved safety-efficacy balance. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2016. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Kharroubi, Samer A; Brazier, John E; McGhee, Sarah
2014-06-01
There is interest in the extent to which valuations of health may differ between different countries and cultures, but few studies have compared preference values of health states obtained in different countries. The present study applies a nonparametric model to estimate and compare two HK and UK standard gamble values for six-dimensional health state short form (derived from short-form 36 health survey) (SF-6D) health states using Bayesian methods. The data set is the HK and UK SF-6D valuation studies in which two samples of 197 and 249 states defined by the SF-6D were valued by representative samples of the HK and UK general populations, respectively, both using the standard gamble technique. We estimated a function applicable across both countries that explicitly accounts for the differences between them, and is estimated using the data from both countries. The results suggest that differences in SF-6D health state valuations between the UK and HK general populations are potentially important. In particular, the valuations of Hong Kong were meaningfully higher than those of the United Kingdom for most of the selected SF-6D health states. The magnitude of these country-specific differences in health state valuation depended, however, in a complex way on the levels of individual dimensions. The new Bayesian nonparametric method is a powerful approach for analyzing data from multiple nationalities or ethnic groups to understand the differences between them and potentially to estimate the underlying utility functions more efficiently. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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A methodology to select galaxies just after the quenching of star formation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Citro, Annalisa; Pozzetti, Lucia; Quai, Salvatore; Moresco, Michele; Vallini, Livia; Cimatti, Andrea
2017-08-01
We propose a new methodology aimed at finding star-forming galaxies in the phase which immediately follows the star-formation (SF) quenching, based on the use of high- to low-ionization emission line ratios. These ratios rapidly disappear after the SF halt, due to the softening of the UV ionizing radiation. We focus on [O III] λ5007/Hα and [Ne III] λ3869/[O II] λ3727, studying them with simulations obtained with the cloudy photoionization code. If a sharp quenching is assumed, we find that the two ratios are very sensitive tracers as they drop by a factor of ˜ 10 within ˜10 Myr from the interruption of the SF; instead, if a smoother and slower SF decline is assumed (I.e. an exponentially declining SF history with e-folding time τ = 200 Myr), they decrease by a factor of ˜2 within ˜80 Myr. We mitigate the ionization-metallicity degeneracy affecting our methodology using pairs of emission line ratios separately related to metallicity and ionization, adopting the [N II] λ6584/[O II] λ3727 ratio as metallicity diagnostic. Using a Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy sample, we identify 10 examples among the most extreme quenching candidates within the [O III] λ5007/Hα versus [N II] λ6584/[O II] λ3727 plane, characterized by low [O III] λ5007/Hα, faint [Ne III] λ3869, and by blue dust-corrected spectra and (u - r) colours, as expected if the SF quenching has occurred in the very recent past. Our results also suggest that the observed fractions of quenching candidates can be used to constrain the quenching mechanism at work and its time-scales.
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Lin, Benjamin C; Suzawa, Miyuki; Blind, Raymond D; Tobias, Sandra C; Bulun, Serdar E; Scanlan, Thomas S; Ingraham, Holly A
2009-07-01
Estrogens and selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulators such as tamoxifen are known to increase uterine cell proliferation. Mounting evidence suggests that estrogen signaling is mediated not only by ERalpha and ERbeta nuclear receptors, but also by GPR30 (GPER), a seven transmembrane (7TM) receptor. Here, we report that primary human endometriotic H-38 cells express high levels of GPR30 with no detectable ERalpha or ERbeta. Using a novel tamoxifen analogue, STX, which activates GPR30 but not ERs, significant stimulation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways was observed in H-38 cells and in Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells expressing GPR30; a similar effect was observed in JEG3 choriocarcinoma cells. STX treatment also increased cellular pools of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5) triphosphate, a proposed ligand for the nuclear hormone receptor SF-1 (NR5A1). Consistent with these findings, STX, tamoxifen, and the phytoestrogen genistein were able to increase SF-1 transcription, promote Ishikawa cell proliferation, and induce the SF-1 target gene aromatase in a GPR30-dependent manner. Our findings suggest a novel signaling paradigm that is initiated by estrogen activation of the 7TM receptor GPR30, with signal transduction cascades (PI3K and MAPK) converging on nuclear hormone receptors (SF-1/LRH-1) to modulate their transcriptional output. We propose that this novel GPR30/SF-1 pathway increases local concentrations of estrogen, and together with classic ER signaling, mediate the proliferative effects of synthetic estrogens such as tamoxifen, in promoting endometriosis and endometrial cancers.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Desiraju, Naveen Kumar; Doclo, Simon; Wolff, Tobias
2017-12-01
Acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) is a key speech enhancement technology in speech communication and voice-enabled devices. AEC systems employ adaptive filters to estimate the acoustic echo paths between the loudspeakers and the microphone(s). In applications involving surround sound, the computational complexity of an AEC system may become demanding due to the multiple loudspeaker channels and the necessity of using long filters in reverberant environments. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the approach of partially updating the AEC filters is considered in this paper. In particular, we investigate tap selection schemes which exploit the sparsity present in the loudspeaker channels for partially updating subband AEC filters. The potential for exploiting signal sparsity across three dimensions, namely time, frequency, and channels, is analyzed. A thorough analysis of different state-of-the-art tap selection schemes is performed and insights about their limitations are gained. A novel tap selection scheme is proposed which overcomes these limitations by exploiting signal sparsity while not ignoring any filters for update in the different subbands and channels. Extensive simulation results using both artificial as well as real-world multichannel signals show that the proposed tap selection scheme outperforms state-of-the-art tap selection schemes in terms of echo cancellation performance. In addition, it yields almost identical echo cancellation performance as compared to updating all filter taps at a significantly reduced computational cost.
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An Ensemble Framework Coping with Instability in the Gene Selection Process.
Castellanos-Garzón, José A; Ramos, Juan; López-Sánchez, Daniel; de Paz, Juan F; Corchado, Juan M
2018-03-01
This paper proposes an ensemble framework for gene selection, which is aimed at addressing instability problems presented in the gene filtering task. The complex process of gene selection from gene expression data faces different instability problems from the informative gene subsets found by different filter methods. This makes the identification of significant genes by the experts difficult. The instability of results can come from filter methods, gene classifier methods, different datasets of the same disease and multiple valid groups of biomarkers. Even though there is a wide number of proposals, the complexity imposed by this problem remains a challenge today. This work proposes a framework involving five stages of gene filtering to discover biomarkers for diagnosis and classification tasks. This framework performs a process of stable feature selection, facing the problems above and, thus, providing a more suitable and reliable solution for clinical and research purposes. Our proposal involves a process of multistage gene filtering, in which several ensemble strategies for gene selection were added in such a way that different classifiers simultaneously assess gene subsets to face instability. Firstly, we apply an ensemble of recent gene selection methods to obtain diversity in the genes found (stability according to filter methods). Next, we apply an ensemble of known classifiers to filter genes relevant to all classifiers at a time (stability according to classification methods). The achieved results were evaluated in two different datasets of the same disease (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), in search of stability according to the disease, for which promising results were achieved.
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Egorov, V N; Razumnikova, O M; Perfil'ev, A M; Stupak, V V
2015-01-01
To compare parameters of attention in healthy people and patients with neoplasms in different regions of the cerebral cortex and to evaluate quality of life (QoL) indices with regard to impairment of different attention systems. Twenty patients with oncological lesions of the brain (mean age 56.5±8.8 years) who did not undergo surgery were studied. Tumor localization was confirmed using contrast-enhanced computed tomography, the tumor type was histologically verified. A control group included 18 healthy people matched for age, sex and education level. To determine attention system functions, we developed a computed version of the Attention Network Test. Error rate and reaction time for correct responses to the target stimulus, displayed along with neutral, congruent and incongruent signals, were the indicators of the efficacy of selective processes. QoL indices were assessed using SF-36 health survey questionnaire. The readiness to respond to incoming stimuli was mostly impaired in patients with brain tumors. Efficacy of executive attention, assessed as the increase in the number of errors in selection of visual stimuli, was decreased while temporary parameters of the functions of this system were not changed in patients compared to controls. The SF-36 total score was stable in patients with marked reduction in scores on the Role and Emotional Functioning scales. The most severe health impairment measured on the SF-36 scales of role/social emotional functioning and viability was recorded in patients with the lesions of frontal cortical areas compared to temporal/parietal areas. The relationship between SF-36 Health self-rating and attention systems was found. This finding puts the question of the importance of attention characteristics and QoL for survival prognosis of patients with brain tumors.
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Combined selective emitter and filter for high performance incandescent lighting
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Leroy, Arny; Bhatia, Bikram; Wilke, Kyle; Ilic, Ognjen; Soljačić, Marin; Wang, Evelyn N.
2017-08-01
The efficiency of incandescent light bulbs (ILBs) is inherently low due to the dominant emission at infrared wavelengths, diminishing its popularity today. ILBs with cold-side filters that transmit visible light but reflect infrared radiation back to the filament can surpass the efficiency of state-of-the-art light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, practical challenges such as imperfect geometrical alignment (view factor) between the filament and cold-side filters can limit the maximum achievable efficiency and make the use of cold-side filters ineffective. In this work, we show that by combining a cold-side optical filter with a selective emitter, the effect of the imperfect view factor between the filament and filter on the system efficiency can be minimized. We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate energy savings of up to 67% compared to a bare tungsten emitter at 2000 K, representing a 34% improvement over a bare tungsten filament with a filter. Our work suggests that this approach can be competitive with LEDs in both luminous efficiency and color rendering index (CRI) when using selective emitters and filters already demonstrated in the literature, thus paving the way for next-generation high-efficiency ILBs.
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Combined selective emitter and filter for high performance incandescent lighting
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Leroy, Arny; Bhatia, Bikram; Wilke, Kyle
The efficiency of incandescent light bulbs (ILBs) is inherently low due to the dominant emission at infrared wavelengths, diminishing its popularity today. ILBs with cold-side filters that transmit visible light but reflect infrared radiation back to the filament can surpass the efficiency of state-of-the- art light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, practical challenges such as imperfect geometrical alignment (view factor) between the filament and cold-side filters can limit the maximum achievable efficiency and make the use of cold-side filters ineffective. Here in this work, we show that by combining a cold-side optical filter with a selective emitter, the effect of the imperfectmore » view factor between the filament and filter on the system efficiency can be minimized. We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate energy savings of up to 67% compared to a bare tungsten emitter at 2000 K, representing a 34% improvement over a bare tungsten filament with a filter. Our work suggests that this approach can be competitive with LEDs in both luminous efficiency and color rendering index (CRI) when using selective emitters and filters already demonstrated in the literature, thus paving the way for next-generation high-efficiency ILBs.« less
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Combined selective emitter and filter for high performance incandescent lighting
Leroy, Arny; Bhatia, Bikram; Wilke, Kyle; ...
2017-09-01
The efficiency of incandescent light bulbs (ILBs) is inherently low due to the dominant emission at infrared wavelengths, diminishing its popularity today. ILBs with cold-side filters that transmit visible light but reflect infrared radiation back to the filament can surpass the efficiency of state-of-the- art light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, practical challenges such as imperfect geometrical alignment (view factor) between the filament and cold-side filters can limit the maximum achievable efficiency and make the use of cold-side filters ineffective. Here in this work, we show that by combining a cold-side optical filter with a selective emitter, the effect of the imperfectmore » view factor between the filament and filter on the system efficiency can be minimized. We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate energy savings of up to 67% compared to a bare tungsten emitter at 2000 K, representing a 34% improvement over a bare tungsten filament with a filter. Our work suggests that this approach can be competitive with LEDs in both luminous efficiency and color rendering index (CRI) when using selective emitters and filters already demonstrated in the literature, thus paving the way for next-generation high-efficiency ILBs.« less
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nazifah, A.; Norhanna, S.; Shah, S. I.; Zakaria, A.
2014-11-01
This study aimed to investigate the effects of material filter technique on Tc-99m spectra and performance parameters of Philip ADAC forte dual head gamma camera. Thickness of material filter was selected on the basis of percentage attenuation of various gamma ray energies by different thicknesses of zinc material. A cylindrical source tank of NEMA single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) Triple Line Source Phantom filled with water and Tc-99m radionuclide injected was used for spectra, uniformity and sensitivity measurements. Vinyl plastic tube was used as a line source for spatial resolution. Images for uniformity were reconstructed by filtered back projection method. Butterworth filter of order 5 and cut off frequency 0.35 cycles/cm was selected. Chang's attenuation correction method was applied by selecting 0.13/cm linear attenuation coefficient. Count rate was decreased with material filter from the compton region of Tc-99m energy spectrum, also from the photopeak region. Spatial resolution was improved. However, uniformity of tomographic image was equivocal, and system volume sensitivity was reduced by material filter. Material filter improved system's spatial resolution. Therefore, the technique may be used for phantom studies to improve the image quality.
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Peters, Judith C; Kemner, Chantal
2017-10-01
Rapid decoding of emotional expressions is essential for social communication. Fast processing of facial expressions depends on the adequate (subcortical) processing of important global face cues in the low spatial frequency (LSF) ranges. However, children below 9 years of age extract fearful expression information from local details represented by high SF (HSF) image content. Our ERP study investigated at which developmental stage this ineffective HSF-driven processing is replaced by the proficient and rapid LSF-driven perception of fearful faces, in which adults are highly skilled. We examined behavioral and neural responses to high- and low-pass filtered faces with a fearful or neutral expression in groups of children on the verge of pre-adolescence (9-10 years), adolescents (14-15 years), and young adults (20-28 years). Our results suggest that the neural emotional face processing network has a protracted maturational course into adolescence, which is related to changes in SF processing. In mid-adolescence, increased sensitivity to emotional LSF cues is developed, which aids the fast and adequate processing of fearful expressions that might signal impending danger. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Physical and chemical processes of sulphur dioxide in the plume from an oil-fired power station.
Flyger, H; Lewin, E; Thomsen, E L; Fenger, J; Lyck, E; Gryning, S E
1977-03-01
The Danish contribution to the EUROCOP COST 61a project is described. Work concerned the physical and chemical reactions of sulphur dioxide released from a power station. The investigation was based on the application of two tracers. Inactive, inert SF6 is used to monitor the dispersion of and deposition from the plume; it was intended to use radioactive 35SO2 to determine the degree of oxidation of sulphur released from the stack; so far, however, public reaction has prevented the use of a release of activity in field experiments. The report describes the construction and testing of airborne instruments for continuous registration of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and the tracer SF6, as well as for measurements of temperature and humidity. Sulphur samples were collected on filter paper in a specially constructed low volume air sampler, and the subsequentchemical analysis in the laboratory is described. Finally, the problem of navigation is treated. It is shown that nitrogen oxides may be used as an internal tracer in plume experiments. Preliminary experiments based on inactive analysis only indicated an overall half-life for SO2 in the plume of about half an hour.
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Methodology for Developing and Evaluating the PROMIS® Smoking Item Banks
Cai, Li; Stucky, Brian D.; Tucker, Joan S.; Shadel, William G.; Edelen, Maria Orlando
2014-01-01
Introduction: This article describes the procedures used in the PROMIS® Smoking Initiative for the development and evaluation of item banks, short forms (SFs), and computerized adaptive tests (CATs) for the assessment of 6 constructs related to cigarette smoking: nicotine dependence, coping expectancies, emotional and sensory expectancies, health expectancies, psychosocial expectancies, and social motivations for smoking. Methods: Analyses were conducted using response data from a large national sample of smokers. Items related to each construct were subjected to extensive item factor analyses and evaluation of differential item functioning (DIF). Final item banks were calibrated, and SF assessments were developed for each construct. The performance of the SFs and the potential use of the item banks for CAT administration were examined through simulation study. Results: Item selection based on dimensionality assessment and DIF analyses produced item banks that were essentially unidimensional in structure and free of bias. Simulation studies demonstrated that the constructs could be accurately measured with a relatively small number of carefully selected items, either through fixed SFs or CAT-based assessment. Illustrative results are presented, and subsequent articles provide detailed discussion of each item bank in turn. Conclusions: The development of the PROMIS smoking item banks provides researchers with new tools for measuring smoking-related constructs. The use of the calibrated item banks and suggested SF assessments will enhance the quality of score estimates, thus advancing smoking research. Moreover, the methods used in the current study, including innovative approaches to item selection and SF construction, may have general relevance to item bank development and evaluation. PMID:23943843
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Rock Slope Monitoring from 4D Time-Lapse Structure from Motion Analysis
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kromer, Ryan; Abellan, Antonio; Chyz, Alex; Hutchinson, Jean
2017-04-01
Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry has become an important tool for studying earth surface processes because of its flexibility, ease of use, low cost and its capability of producing high quality 3-D surface models. A major benefit of SfM is that model accuracy is fit for purpose and surveys can be designed to meet a large range of spatial and temporal scales. In the Earth sciences, research in time-lapse SfM photogrammetry or videogrammetry is an area that is difficult to undertake due to complexities in acquiring, processing and managing large 4D datasets and represents an area with significant advancement potential (Eltner et al. 2016). In this study, we investigate the potential of 4D time-lapse SfM to monitor unstable rock slopes. We tested an array of statically mounted cameras collecting time-lapse photos of a limestone rock slope located along a highway in Canada. Our setup consisted of 8 DSLR cameras with 50 mm prime lenses spaced 2-3 m apart at a distance of 10 m from the slope. The portion of the rock slope monitored was 20 m wide and 6 m high. We collected data in four phases, each having 50 photographs taken simultaneously by each camera. The first phase of photographs was taken of the stable slope. In each successive phase, we gradually moved small, discrete blocks within the rock slope by 5-15 mm, simulating pre-failure deformation of rockfall. During the last phase we also removed discrete rock blocks, simulating rockfall. We used Agisoft Photoscan's 4D processing functionality and timeline tools to create 3D point clouds from the time-lapse photographs. These tools have the benefit of attaining better accuracy photo alignments as a greater number of photos are used. For change detection, we used the 4D filtering and calibration technique proposed by Kromer et al. (2015), which takes advantage of high degrees of spatial and temporal point redundancy to decrease measurement uncertainty. Preliminary results show that it is possible to attain more accurate 3D models using time-lapse photos taken from an array of cameras than photos taken from a single camera from multiple positions. For this survey setup, it was possible to detect mm to cm level of changes, which is of sufficient accuracy to detect the pre-failure stage of rockfalls, as well as small rockfall events. Additionally, cameras mounted in a static array can be operated remotely and automatically. Time-lapse SfM photogrammetry can be a cost effective alternative to terrestrial laser scanning for rockfall prone areas and facilitates the study of surface processes with high spatial and temporal detail. We gratefully acknowledge support from the NSERC collaborative research and development grant. References Eltner, A., Kaiser, A., Castillo, C.; Rock, G., Neugirg, F., Abellán, A. Image-based surface reconstruction in geomorphometry—Merits, limits and developments. Earth Surf. Dyn. 2016, 4, 359-389. Kromer, R. A., Abellán, A., Hutchinson, D. J., Lato, M., Edwards, T., & Jaboyedoff, M. A 4D filtering and calibration technique for small-scale point cloud change detection with a terrestrial laser scanner. Remote Sensing 2015, 7(10), 13029-13052.
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Numerical simulation of DPF filter for selected regimes with deposited soot particles
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lávička, David; Kovařík, Petr
2012-04-01
For the purpose of accumulation of particulate matter from Diesel engine exhaust gas, particle filters are used (referred to as DPF or FAP filters in the automotive industry). However, the cost of these filters is quite high. As the emission limits become stricter, the requirements for PM collection are rising accordingly. Particulate matters are very dangerous for human health and these are not invisible for human eye. They can often cause various diseases of the respiratory tract, even what can cause lung cancer. Performed numerical simulations were used to analyze particle filter behavior under various operating modes. The simulations were especially focused on selected critical states of particle filter, when engine is switched to emergency regime. The aim was to prevent and avoid critical situations due the filter behavior understanding. The numerical simulations were based on experimental analysis of used diesel particle filters.
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Defence against Black Hole and Selective Forwarding Attacks for Medical WSNs in the IoT †
Mathur, Avijit; Newe, Thomas; Rao, Muzaffar
2016-01-01
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are being used to facilitate monitoring of patients in hospital and home environments. These systems consist of a variety of different components/sensors and many processes like clustering, routing, security, and self-organization. Routing is necessary for medical-based WSNs because it allows remote data delivery and it facilitates network scalability in large hospitals. However, routing entails several problems, mainly due to the open nature of wireless networks, and these need to be addressed. This paper looks at two of the problems that arise due to wireless routing between the nodes and access points of a medical WSN (for IoT use): black hole and selective forwarding (SF) attacks. A solution to the former can readily be provided through the use of cryptographic hashes, while the latter makes use of a neighbourhood watch and threshold-based analysis to detect and correct SF attacks. The scheme proposed here is capable of detecting a selective forwarding attack with over 96% accuracy and successfully identifying the malicious node with 83% accuracy. PMID:26797620
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Defence against Black Hole and Selective Forwarding Attacks for Medical WSNs in the IoT.
Mathur, Avijit; Newe, Thomas; Rao, Muzaffar
2016-01-19
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are being used to facilitate monitoring of patients in hospital and home environments. These systems consist of a variety of different components/sensors and many processes like clustering, routing, security, and self-organization. Routing is necessary for medical-based WSNs because it allows remote data delivery and it facilitates network scalability in large hospitals. However, routing entails several problems, mainly due to the open nature of wireless networks, and these need to be addressed. This paper looks at two of the problems that arise due to wireless routing between the nodes and access points of a medical WSN (for IoT use): black hole and selective forwarding (SF) attacks. A solution to the former can readily be provided through the use of cryptographic hashes, while the latter makes use of a neighbourhood watch and threshold-based analysis to detect and correct SF attacks. The scheme proposed here is capable of detecting a selective forwarding attack with over 96% accuracy and successfully identifying the malicious node with 83% accuracy.
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Insausti, Matías; Gomes, Adriano A; Cruz, Fernanda V; Pistonesi, Marcelo F; Araujo, Mario C U; Galvão, Roberto K H; Pereira, Claudete F; Band, Beatriz S F
2012-08-15
This paper investigates the use of UV-vis, near infrared (NIR) and synchronous fluorescence (SF) spectrometries coupled with multivariate classification methods to discriminate biodiesel samples with respect to the base oil employed in their production. More specifically, the present work extends previous studies by investigating the discrimination of corn-based biodiesel from two other biodiesel types (sunflower and soybean). Two classification methods are compared, namely full-spectrum SIMCA (soft independent modelling of class analogies) and SPA-LDA (linear discriminant analysis with variables selected by the successive projections algorithm). Regardless of the spectrometric technique employed, full-spectrum SIMCA did not provide an appropriate discrimination of the three biodiesel types. In contrast, all samples were correctly classified on the basis of a reduced number of wavelengths selected by SPA-LDA. It can be concluded that UV-vis, NIR and SF spectrometries can be successfully employed to discriminate corn-based biodiesel from the two other biodiesel types, but wavelength selection by SPA-LDA is key to the proper separation of the classes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Milovanovic, Lazar; Kennedy, Sean A.; Midia, Mehran
2015-01-01
Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters are commonly used in select high-risk patients for the prevention of pulmonary embolism. Potentially serious complications can arise from the use of IVC filters, including thrombosis of the filter itself and filter fragment embolization. This article discusses the utility of IVC filters and reviews the management of two cases of filter-related complications. PMID:25762846
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Liu, Hao; Wu, Andong; Mei, Long; Liu, Qingzhen
2016-01-01
Sf9, a cell line derived from Spodoptera frugiperda, is an ideal model organism for studying insect apoptosis. The first notable study that attempted to identify the apoptotic pathway in Sf9 was performed in 1997 and included the discovery of Sf-caspase-1, an effector caspase of Sf9. However, it was not until 2013 that the first initiator caspase in Sf9, SfDronc, was discovered, and the apoptotic pathway in Sf9 became clearer. In this study, we report another caspase of Sf9, SfDredd. SfDredd is highly similar to insect initiator caspase Dredd homologs. Experimentally, recombinant SfDredd underwent autocleavage and exhibited different efficiencies in cleavage of synthetic caspase substrates. This was attributed to its caspase activity for the predicted active site mutation blocked the above autocleavage and synthetic caspase substrates cleavage activity. SfDredd was capable of not only cleaving Sf-caspase-1 in vitro but also cleaving Sf-caspase-1 and inducing apoptosis when it was co-expressed with Sf-caspase-1 in Sf9 cells. The protein level of SfDredd was increased when Sf9 cells were treated by Actinomycin D, whereas silencing of SfDredd reduced apoptosis and Sf-caspase-1 cleavage induced by Actinomycin D treatment. These results clearly indicate that SfDredd functioned as an apoptotic initiator caspase. Apoptosis induced in Sf9 cells by overexpression of SfDredd alone was not as obvious as that induced by SfDronc alone, and the cleavage sites of Sf-caspase-1 for SfDredd and SfDronc are different. In addition, despite sharing a sequence homology with initiator caspases and possessing weak activity on initiator caspase substrates, SfDredd showed strong activity on effector caspase substrates, making it the only insect caspase reported so far functioning similar to human caspase-2 in this aspect. We believe that the discovery of SfDredd, and its different properties from SfDronc, will improve the understanding of apoptosis pathway in Sf9 cells. PMID:26977926
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Yang, Zhouning; Zhou, Ke; Liu, Hao; Wu, Andong; Mei, Long; Liu, Qingzhen
2016-01-01
Sf9, a cell line derived from Spodoptera frugiperda, is an ideal model organism for studying insect apoptosis. The first notable study that attempted to identify the apoptotic pathway in Sf9 was performed in 1997 and included the discovery of Sf-caspase-1, an effector caspase of Sf9. However, it was not until 2013 that the first initiator caspase in Sf9, SfDronc, was discovered, and the apoptotic pathway in Sf9 became clearer. In this study, we report another caspase of Sf9, SfDredd. SfDredd is highly similar to insect initiator caspase Dredd homologs. Experimentally, recombinant SfDredd underwent autocleavage and exhibited different efficiencies in cleavage of synthetic caspase substrates. This was attributed to its caspase activity for the predicted active site mutation blocked the above autocleavage and synthetic caspase substrates cleavage activity. SfDredd was capable of not only cleaving Sf-caspase-1 in vitro but also cleaving Sf-caspase-1 and inducing apoptosis when it was co-expressed with Sf-caspase-1 in Sf9 cells. The protein level of SfDredd was increased when Sf9 cells were treated by Actinomycin D, whereas silencing of SfDredd reduced apoptosis and Sf-caspase-1 cleavage induced by Actinomycin D treatment. These results clearly indicate that SfDredd functioned as an apoptotic initiator caspase. Apoptosis induced in Sf9 cells by overexpression of SfDredd alone was not as obvious as that induced by SfDronc alone, and the cleavage sites of Sf-caspase-1 for SfDredd and SfDronc are different. In addition, despite sharing a sequence homology with initiator caspases and possessing weak activity on initiator caspase substrates, SfDredd showed strong activity on effector caspase substrates, making it the only insect caspase reported so far functioning similar to human caspase-2 in this aspect. We believe that the discovery of SfDredd, and its different properties from SfDronc, will improve the understanding of apoptosis pathway in Sf9 cells.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Takacs, Lawrence L.; Sawyer, William; Suarez, Max J. (Editor); Fox-Rabinowitz, Michael S.
1999-01-01
This report documents the techniques used to filter quantities on a stretched grid general circulation model. Standard high-latitude filtering techniques (e.g., using an FFT (Fast Fourier Transformations) to decompose and filter unstable harmonics at selected latitudes) applied on a stretched grid are shown to produce significant distortions of the prognostic state when used to control instabilities near the pole. A new filtering technique is developed which accurately accounts for the non-uniform grid by computing the eigenvectors and eigenfrequencies associated with the stretching. A filter function, constructed to selectively damp those modes whose associated eigenfrequencies exceed some critical value, is used to construct a set of grid-spaced weights which are shown to effectively filter without distortion. Both offline and GCM (General Circulation Model) experiments are shown using the new filtering technique. Finally, a brief examination is also made on the impact of applying the Shapiro filter on the stretched grid.
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Yao, Meng-Zhu; Huang-Fu, Ming-Yi; Liu, Hui-Na; Wang, Xia-Rong; Sheng, Xiaoxia; Gao, Jian-Qing
2016-01-01
Nano-hydroxyapatite/polyamide 66 (nHA/PA66) porous scaffolds were fabricated by a phase inversion method. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and silk fibroin (SF) were used to modify the surface of the nHA/PA66 scaffolds by freeze-drying and cross-linking. Dexamethasone was absorbed to the CNTs to promote the osteogenic differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The cell viability of BMSCs was investigated by changing the concentration of the CNT dispersion, and the most biocompatible scaffold was selected. In addition, the morphology and mechanical property of the scaffolds were investigated. The results showed that the nHA/PA66 scaffolds modified with CNTs and SF met the requirements of bone tissue engineering scaffolds. The dexamethasone-loaded CNT/SF-nHA/PA66 composite scaffold promoted the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and the drug-loaded scaffolds are expected to function as effective bone tissue engineering scaffolds. PMID:27920525
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Attentional Selection in Object Recognition
1993-02-01
order. It also affects the choice of strategies in both the 24 A Computational Model of Attentional Selection filtering and arbiter stages. The set...such processing. In Treisman’s model this was hidden in the concept of the selection filter . Later computational models of attention tried to...This thesis presents a novel approach to the selection problem by propos. ing a computational model of visual attentional selection as a paradigm for
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Convergent validity between SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF in older adults
Castro, Paula Costa; Driusso, Patrícia; Oishi, Jorge
2014-01-01
OBJECTIVE To compare the reliability and convergent validity of instruments assessing quality of life in Brazilian older adults. METHODS Cross-sectional study of 278 literate, community-dwelling older adults attending a municipal university for the elderly in Sao Carlos, SP, Southeastern Brazil between 2006 and 2008. The Brazilian versions of the SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF instruments to assess quality of life were compared. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to estimate reliability and Pearson’s correlation for comparison between the two scales. RESULTS Most of participants were women (87.8%) with a mean age of 63.83±7.22 years. Both scales showed an acceptable internal consistency – WHOQOL-BREF Cronbach’s alpha was 0.832 and SF-36 was 0.868. There was a weak (r ≤ 0.6) correlation between the related fields in the two questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS The SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF are reliable instruments for clinical and research uses in Brazilian older women. To select one, researchers should consider which aspects of quality of life they aim to capture because of weak convergent validity signs. This study’s results indicate that WHOQOL-BREF may be more relevant to evaluate changes in the quality of life of older women because it prioritizes responses to the aging process and avoids focusing on impairment. PMID:24789638
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stapel, D.; Brox, O.; Benninghoven, A.
1999-02-01
The influence of primary ion energy, mass and composition on sputtering and secondary ion emission of arachidic acid Langmuir-Blodgett mono- and multilayers, deposited on gold substrates, has been investigated. Ga +, Ar +, 129Xe+ and SF 5+ in the energy range 5-25 keV were used as primary ions. Yields Y, damage cross-sections σ, and ion formation efficiencies E have been determined for selected secondary ions, characterizing the molecular overlayer, the overlayer substrate interface and the substrate. We found a strong influence of layer thickness and of primary ion energy, mass and composition on Y, σ and E. Information depth increases with increasing ion energy and decreasing mass of primary ions, being higher for SF 5+ than for Xe +. Y, σ and E increase with increasing primary ion mass. They are considerably higher for a molecular (SF 5+) than for atomic ions of comparable mass ( 129Xe+). The experimental results supply information on the extension of impact cascades, generated in different substrate materials by different primary ion species and different energies. They demonstrate that in analytical SIMS application information depths can be minimized and yields and ion formation efficiencies can be maximized by the use of molecular primary ions.
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Nonequal iteration directional filters permit selective clearance of ripples in passband circuits
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Kurpis, G. P.
1970-01-01
Modified directional filter is comprised of alternate pairs of dielectric and air gap filter sections with unequal electrical lengths. Filter provides more flexibility in choosing dielectric material thickness and permits switching from specially ground to standard thicknesses.
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Brodsky, M H; Schiemann, D A
1976-01-01
Pfizer selective enterococcus (PSE) and KF agars were compared for their recovery of fecal streptococci from sewage effluent on membrane filters. The results showed that PSE agar is highly selective for the enterococci. The tan color resulting from esculin hydrolysis, which was not always visible on the surfaces of the colonies, is not considered a necessary differential characteristic on PSE agar since more than 90% of all colonies recovered on membrane filters were confirmed as fecal streptococci and 86% were confirmed as enterococci. The detection of esculin hydrolysis on membrane filters was not improved by using the new Millipore type HC filter. KF agar recovered significantly greater numbers of organisms but was not as selective, with 83% of the typical colonies being confirmed as fecal streptococci and 54% as enterococci. An attempt to improve the selectivity of KF agar while retaining its inclusiveness by incubation at 45 C was not successful. PMID:818956
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Limited utility of residue masking for positive-selection inference.
Spielman, Stephanie J; Dawson, Eric T; Wilke, Claus O
2014-09-01
Errors in multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) can reduce accuracy in positive-selection inference. Therefore, it has been suggested to filter MSAs before conducting further analyses. One widely used filter, Guidance, allows users to remove MSA positions aligned with low confidence. However, Guidance's utility in positive-selection inference has been disputed in the literature. We have conducted an extensive simulation-based study to characterize fully how Guidance impacts positive-selection inference, specifically for protein-coding sequences of realistic divergence levels. We also investigated whether novel scoring algorithms, which phylogenetically corrected confidence scores, and a new gap-penalization score-normalization scheme improved Guidance's performance. We found that no filter, including original Guidance, consistently benefitted positive-selection inferences. Moreover, all improvements detected were exceedingly minimal, and in certain circumstances, Guidance-based filters worsened inferences. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Altaf, Mohammed; Zubedi, Ayesha Mubeen; Nazneen, Fareesa; Kareemulla, Shaik; Ali, Syed Amir; Aleemuddin, N M; Hannan Hazari, Md Abdul
2015-01-01
This study aims at simplifying the practical patient management and offers some general indications for pharmacotherapeutic choice by the implementation of (Global Initiative for Chronic Lung Disease) guidelines. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical and economic consequences of salmeterol/fluticasone (SF), formoterol/budesonide (FB), and formoterol/fluticasone (FF) in severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The aim was to find out the most cost-effective drug combination between the three combinations (SF/FB/FF) in COPD patients. A prospective observational comparative study (cost-effectiveness analysis), in which 90 severe (30 ≤ forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] <50% predicted) and very severe (FEV1 < 30% predicted) COPD patients (outpatients/inpatients) who are prescribed with any one of the following combinations (SF/FB/FF) were selected. In our study, we have divided 90 COPD patients into three groups (Group I, Group II, and Group III) each group consisting of 30 patients. Group I was prescribed with medication SF, Group II with medication FB, and Group III with medication FF. We used five different parameters such as spirometry test (mean FEV1 initial and final visit), number of symptom-free days (SFDs), number of moderate and severe exacerbations, Number of days of hospitalization and direct, indirect, and total cost to assess the cost-effectiveness of SF/FB/FF. Comparison of cost and effects was done during the period of 6 months of using SF/FB/FF. The average FEV1 for Group I, Group II, and Group III subjects at initial visit was 33.47%, 33.73%, and 33.20% and was increased to 36.60%, 35.8%, and 33.4%, respectively. A 3% increment in FEV1 was reported for Group I subjects (SF) and was highly significant statistically (t = -8.833, P = 0.000) at 95% CI. For Group II subjects (FB), a 2% increment in FEV1 was reported and was highly significant statistically (t = -9.001, P = 0.000) at 95% CI. For Group III (FF) subjects 0.2% increment in FEV1. The overall mean total cost for Group I, Group II, and Group III subjects during the 6 months period was found to be Rs. 29,725/-, Rs. 32,602/- and Rs. 37,155/-. Incremental cost-effectiveness of FB versus SF was Rs. 37,781/- per avoided exacerbation and Rs. 661/-per SFD. This study highlights the favorable therapeutic performance of combined inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids (SF/FB/FF), thus suggesting that healthcare costs would be also affected positively. Results from our study showed that SF and FB were the most effective strategies in the treatment of COPD, with a slight clinical superiority of SF. The FF strategy was not much effective (i.e. associated with fewer outcomes and higher costs).
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Psychometric Evaluation of the Hypogonadism Impact of Symptoms Questionnaire Short Form (HIS-Q-SF).
Gelhorn, Heather L; Roberts, Laurie J; Khandelwal, Nikhil; Revicki, Dennis A; DeRogatis, Leonard R; Dobs, Adrian; Hepp, Zsolt; Miller, Michael G
2017-08-01
The Hypogonadism Impact of Symptoms Questionnaire Short Form (HIS-Q-SF) is a patient-reported outcome measurement designed to evaluate the symptoms of hypogonadism. The HIS-Q-SF is an abbreviated version including17 items from the original 28-item HIS-Q. To conduct item analyses and reduction, evaluate the psychometric properties of the HIS-Q-SF, and provide guidance on score interpretation. A 12-week observational longitudinal study of hypogonadal men was conducted as part of the original HIS-Q psychometric evaluation. Participants completed the original HIS-Q every 2 weeks. Blood samples were collected to evaluate testosterone levels. Participants completed the Aging Male's Symptoms Scale, the International Index of Erectile Function, the Short Form-12, and the PROMIS Sexual Activity, Satisfaction with Sex Life, Sleep Disturbance, and Applied Cognition Scales (baseline and weeks 6 and 12). Clinicians completed the Clinical Global Impression of Severity and Change scales and a clinical form. Item performance was evaluated using descriptive statistics and Rasch analyses. Reliability (internal consistency and test-retest), validity (concurrent and know groups), and responsiveness were assessed. One hundred seventy-seven men participated (mean age = 54.1 years, range = 23-83). Similar to the full HIS-Q, the final abbreviated HIS-Q-SF instrument includes five domains (sexual, energy, sleep, cognition, and mood) with two sexual subdomains (libido and sexual function). For key domains, test-retest reliability was very good, and construct validity was good for all domains. Known-groups validity was demonstrated for all domain scores, subdomain scores, and total score based on the Clinical Global Impression-Severity. All domains and subdomains were responsive to change based on patient-rated anchor questions. The HIS-Q-SF could be a useful tool in clinical practice, epidemiologic studies, and other academic research settings. Careful consideration was given to the selection of the final HIS-Q-SF items based on quantitative data and clinical expert feedback. Overall, the reduced set of items demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Testosterone levels for the participating men were not as low as anticipated, which could have limited the ability to examine the relations between the HIS-Q-SF and testosterone levels. Further, the analyses used data collected through administration of the full HIS-Q, and future studies should administer the standalone HIS-Q-SF to replicate the psychometric analyses reported in the present study. Similar to the original HIS-Q, the HIS-Q-SF has evidence supporting reliability, validity, and responsiveness. The short form includes a smaller set of items that might be more suitable for use in clinical practice or academic research settings. Gelhorn HL, Roberts LJ, Khandelwal N, et al. Psychometric Evaluation of the Hypogonadism Impact of Symptoms Questionnaire Short Form (HIS-Q-SF). J Sex Med 2017;14:1046-1058. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Mechanism of activation at the selectivity filter of the KcsA K+ channel
Heer, Florian T; Posson, David J; Wojtas-Niziurski, Wojciech
2017-01-01
Potassium channels are opened by ligands and/or membrane potential. In voltage-gated K+ channels and the prokaryotic KcsA channel, conduction is believed to result from opening of an intracellular constriction that prevents ion entry into the pore. On the other hand, numerous ligand-gated K+ channels lack such gate, suggesting that they may be activated by a change within the selectivity filter, a narrow region at the extracellular side of the pore. Using molecular dynamics simulations and electrophysiology measurements, we show that ligand-induced conformational changes in the KcsA channel removes steric restraints at the selectivity filter, thus resulting in structural fluctuations, reduced K+ affinity, and increased ion permeation. Such activation of the selectivity filter may be a universal gating mechanism within K+ channels. The occlusion of the pore at the level of the intracellular gate appears to be secondary. PMID:28994652
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Selection vector filter framework
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lukac, Rastislav; Plataniotis, Konstantinos N.; Smolka, Bogdan; Venetsanopoulos, Anastasios N.
2003-10-01
We provide a unified framework of nonlinear vector techniques outputting the lowest ranked vector. The proposed framework constitutes a generalized filter class for multichannel signal processing. A new class of nonlinear selection filters are based on the robust order-statistic theory and the minimization of the weighted distance function to other input samples. The proposed method can be designed to perform a variety of filtering operations including previously developed filtering techniques such as vector median, basic vector directional filter, directional distance filter, weighted vector median filters and weighted directional filters. A wide range of filtering operations is guaranteed by the filter structure with two independent weight vectors for angular and distance domains of the vector space. In order to adapt the filter parameters to varying signal and noise statistics, we provide also the generalized optimization algorithms taking the advantage of the weighted median filters and the relationship between standard median filter and vector median filter. Thus, we can deal with both statistical and deterministic aspects of the filter design process. It will be shown that the proposed method holds the required properties such as the capability of modelling the underlying system in the application at hand, the robustness with respect to errors in the model of underlying system, the availability of the training procedure and finally, the simplicity of filter representation, analysis, design and implementation. Simulation studies also indicate that the new filters are computationally attractive and have excellent performance in environments corrupted by bit errors and impulsive noise.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Uozumi, Koichi; Sugihara, Kei; Kinoshita, Kensuke; Koyama, Tadafumi; Tsukada, Takeshi; Terai, Takayuki; Suzuki, Akihiro
2014-04-01
The behaviors of anion fission product (FP) elements to be absorbed into zeolite in molten LiCl-KCl eutectic salt were studied using iodine, bromine, and tellurium. First, the type-A zeolite was selected as the most suitable type of zeolite among type-A, type-X, and type-Y zeolites through experiments in which zeolites were heated together with LiCl-KCl-KI salt. As the next step, experiments in which the type-A zeolite was immersed in molten LiCl-KCl salt containing various concentrations of iodine, bromine, or tellurium were performed. The degree of absorption of the anion FP elements was evaluated using the separation factor (SF) value versus chlorine. Although the SF values for iodine and tellurium were higher than 1.0, which meant that these elements were absorbed into the type-A zeolite more intensively than chlorine in the salt, the corresponding value for bromine was approximately 1.0. The effects of coexisting cation FPs were also examined using cesium, strontium, and neodymium, and it was revealed that the SF values for iodine were less than those in the case without cation addition. On the other hand, the SF values for tellurium were not affected by the coexistence of cesium and strontium. Finally, the feasibility of the present pyroprocess flowsheet was evaluated by calculating the inventory of each anion FP in an electrorefiner based on the obtained SF values instead of temporary values for the anion FPs absorption, which were set due to lack of experimental data.
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Wrestlers' minimal weight: anthropometry, bioimpedance, and hydrostatic weighing compared.
Oppliger, R A; Nielsen, D H; Vance, C G
1991-02-01
The need for accurate assessment of minimal wrestling weight among interscholastic wrestlers has been well documented. Previous research has demonstrated the validity of anthropometric methods for this purpose, but little research has examined the validity of bioelectrical impedance (BIA) measurements. Comparisons between BIA systems has received limited attention. With these two objectives, we compared the prediction of minimal weight (MW) among 57 interscholastic wrestlers using three anthropometric methods (skinfolds (SF) and two skeletal dimensions equations) and three BIA systems (Berkeley Medical Research (BMR), RJL, and Valhalla (VAL]. All methods showed high correlations (r values greater than 0.92) with hydrostatic weighting (HW) and between methods (r values greater than 0.90). The standard errors of estimate (SEE) were relatively small for all methods, especially for SF and the three BIA systems (SEE less than 0.70 kg). The total errors of prediction (E) for RJL and VAL (E = 4.4 and 3.9 kg) were significantly larger than observed nonsignificant BMR and SF values (E = 2.3 and 1.8 kg, respectively). Significant mean differences were observed between HW, RJL, VAL, and the two skeletal dimensions equations, but nonsignificant differences were observed between HW, BMR, and SF. BMR differed significantly from the RJL and VAL systems. The results suggest that RJL and VAL have potential application for this subpopulation. Prediction equation refinement with the addition of selected anthropometric measurement or moderating variables may enhance their utility. However, within the scope of our study, SF and BMR BIA appear to be the most valid methods for determining MW in interscholastic wrestlers.
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Femtosecond pulse inscription of a selective mode filter in large mode area fibers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Krämer, Ria G.; Voigtländer, Christian; Freier, Erik; Liem, Andreas; Thomas, Jens U.; Richter, Daniel; Schreiber, Thomas; Tünnermann, Andreas; Nolte, Stefan
2013-02-01
We present a selective mode filter inscribed with ultrashort pulses directly into a few mode large mode area (LMA) fiber. The mode filter consists of two refractive index modifications alongside the fiber core in the cladding. The refractive index modifications, which were of approximately the same order of magnitude as the refractive index difference between core and cladding have been inscribed by nonlinear absorption of femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm wavelength, 120 fs pulse duration). If light is guided in the core, it will interact with the inscribed modifications causing modes to be coupled out of the core. In order to characterize the mode filter, we used a femtosecond inscribed fiber Bragg grating (FBG), which acts as a wavelength and therefore mode selective element in the LMA fiber. Since each mode has different Bragg reflection wavelengths, an FBG in a multimode fiber will exhibit multiple Bragg reflection peaks. In our experiments, we first inscribed the FBG using the phase mask scanning technique. Then the mode filter was inscribed. The reflection spectrum of the FBG was measured in situ during the inscription process using a supercontinuum source. The reflectivities of the LP01 and LP11 modes show a dependency on the length of the mode filter. Two stages of the filter were obtained: one, in which the LP11 mode was reduced by 60% and one where the LP01 mode was reduced by 80%. The other mode respectively showed almost no losses. In conclusion, we could selectively filter either the fundamental or higher order modes.
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Takeda, Mihoko; Nakaya, Makoto; Kikuchi, Yoko; Inoue, Sayaka; Kamata, Tomoyuki
2018-01-01
We investigated the Japanese WAIS-III short form utility in mild neurocognitive disorder and dementia. Our sample consisted of 108 old patients (ages: 65-89; mean age = 78.3). Fifteen short forms (SFs) and full-scale (FS) IQs were compared. The SFs included Dyads (SF1, SF2), Triads (SF3), Tetrads (SF4, SF5, SF6, SF7), Pentad (SF8), Six-subtest (SF9), Seven-subtests (SF10(a)(b), SF11(a)(b), SF12), and Nine-subtest (SF13). Correlations between SFIQs and FSIQ were all significant. Significant differences also were found in paired t-test between FSIQ and 5 SFIQs (SF2: t = -4.16, SF5: t = -7.06, SF7; t = 2.59, SF10(a): t = 2.56, SF12: t = -4.82; p < .05). On the point of clinical accuracy, two SFs led to an appropriate estimated IQ (SF11(a): 84.3%, SF13: 91.7%; within 95% confidence interval and 2 standard error of measurements of FSIQ). However, SF13 was considered to still have a long administration time. The present results suggest that SF11(a) could be the most useful to estimate IQ for Japanese speaking patients with mild neurocognitive disorder and dementia. SF11(a) consists of seven subtests of Similarities, Arithmetic, Digit Span, Information, Picture Completion, Digit Symbol-Coding, and Matrix Reasoning (Ryan & Ward, 1999), and the formula (Axelrod et al., 2001) should be adopted to convert scaled scores into estimated IQ scores. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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CMOS analog switches for adaptive filters
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Dixon, C. E.
1980-01-01
Adaptive active low-pass filters incorporate CMOS (Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) analog switches (such as 4066 switch) that reduce variation in switch resistance when filter is switched to any selected transfer function.
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Methodology for developing and evaluating the PROMIS smoking item banks.
Hansen, Mark; Cai, Li; Stucky, Brian D; Tucker, Joan S; Shadel, William G; Edelen, Maria Orlando
2014-09-01
This article describes the procedures used in the PROMIS Smoking Initiative for the development and evaluation of item banks, short forms (SFs), and computerized adaptive tests (CATs) for the assessment of 6 constructs related to cigarette smoking: nicotine dependence, coping expectancies, emotional and sensory expectancies, health expectancies, psychosocial expectancies, and social motivations for smoking. Analyses were conducted using response data from a large national sample of smokers. Items related to each construct were subjected to extensive item factor analyses and evaluation of differential item functioning (DIF). Final item banks were calibrated, and SF assessments were developed for each construct. The performance of the SFs and the potential use of the item banks for CAT administration were examined through simulation study. Item selection based on dimensionality assessment and DIF analyses produced item banks that were essentially unidimensional in structure and free of bias. Simulation studies demonstrated that the constructs could be accurately measured with a relatively small number of carefully selected items, either through fixed SFs or CAT-based assessment. Illustrative results are presented, and subsequent articles provide detailed discussion of each item bank in turn. The development of the PROMIS smoking item banks provides researchers with new tools for measuring smoking-related constructs. The use of the calibrated item banks and suggested SF assessments will enhance the quality of score estimates, thus advancing smoking research. Moreover, the methods used in the current study, including innovative approaches to item selection and SF construction, may have general relevance to item bank development and evaluation. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
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Langford, Katherine H; Reid, Malcolm J; Fjeld, Eirik; Øxnevad, Sigurd; Thomas, Kevin V
2015-07-01
Eight organic UV filters and stabilizers were quantitatively determined in wastewater sludge and effluent, landfill leachate, sediments, and marine and freshwater biota. Crab, prawn and cod from Oslofjord, and perch, whitefish and burbot from Lake Mjøsa were selected in order to evaluate the potential for trophic accumulation. All of the cod livers analysed were contaminated with at least 1 UV filter, and a maximum concentration of almost 12 μg/g wet weight for octocrylene (OC) was measured in one individual. 80% of the cod livers contained OC, and approximately 50% of cod liver and prawn samples contained benzophenone (BP3). Lower concentrations and detection frequencies were observed in freshwater species and the data of most interest is the 4 individual whitefish that contained both BP3 and ethylhexylmethoxycinnamate (EHMC) with maximum concentrations of almost 200 ng/g wet weight. The data shows a difference in the loads of UV filters entering receiving water dependent on the extent of wastewater treatment. Primary screening alone is insufficient for the removal of selected UV filters (BP3, Padimate, EHMC, OC, UV-234, UV-327, UV-328, UV-329). Likely due in part to the hydrophobic nature of the majority of the UV filters studied, particulate loading and organic carbon content appear to be related to concentrations of UV filters in landfill leachate and an order of magnitude difference in these parameters correlates with an order of magnitude difference in the effluent concentrations of selected UV filters (Fig. 2). From the data, it is possible that under certain low flow conditions selected organic UV filters may pose a risk to surface waters but under the present conditions the risk is low, but some UV filters will potentially accumulate through the trophic food chain. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Biological hydrogels as selective diffusion barriers.
Lieleg, Oliver; Ribbeck, Katharina
2011-09-01
The controlled exchange of molecules between organelles, cells, or organisms and their environment is crucial for life. Biological gels such as mucus, the extracellular matrix (ECM), and the biopolymer barrier within the nuclear pore are well suited to achieve such a selective exchange, allowing passage of particular molecules while rejecting many others. Although hydrogel-based filters are integral parts of biology, clear concepts of how their barrier function is controlled at a microscopic level are still missing. We summarize here our current understanding of how selective filtering is established by different biopolymer-based hydrogels. We ask if the modulation of microscopic particle transport in biological hydrogels is based on a generic filtering principle which employs biochemical/biophysical interactions with the filtered molecules rather than size-exclusion effects. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Modeling the topography of shallow braided rivers using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Javernick, L.; Brasington, J.; Caruso, B.
2014-05-01
Recent advances in computer vision and image analysis have led to the development of a novel, fully automated photogrammetric method to generate dense 3d point cloud data. This approach, termed Structure-from-Motion or SfM, requires only limited ground-control and is ideally suited to imagery obtained from low-cost, non-metric cameras acquired either at close-range or using aerial platforms. Terrain models generated using SfM have begun to emerge recently and with a growing spectrum of software now available, there is an urgent need to provide a robust quality assessment of the data products generated using standard field and computational workflows. To address this demand, we present a detailed error analysis of sub-meter resolution terrain models of two contiguous reaches (1.6 and 1.7 km long) of the braided Ahuriri River, New Zealand, generated using SfM. A six stage methodology is described, involving: i) hand-held image acquisition from an aerial platform, ii) 3d point cloud extraction modeling using Agisoft PhotoScan, iii) georeferencing on a redundant network of GPS-surveyed ground-control points, iv) point cloud filtering to reduce computational demand as well as reduce vegetation noise, v) optical bathymetric modeling of inundated areas; and vi) data fusion and surface modeling to generate sub-meter raster terrain models. Bootstrapped geo-registration as well as extensive distributed GPS and sonar-based bathymetric check-data were used to quantify the quality of the models generated after each processing step. The results obtained provide the first quantified analysis of SfM applied to model the complex terrain of a braided river. Results indicate that geo-registration errors of 0.04 m (planar) and 0.10 m (elevation) and vertical surface errors of 0.10 m in non-vegetation areas can be achieved from a dataset of photographs taken at 600 m and 800 m above the ground level. These encouraging results suggest that this low-cost, logistically simple method can deliver high quality terrain datasets competitive with those obtained with significantly more expensive laser scanning, and suitable for geomorphic change detection and hydrodynamic modeling.
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Optoelectronic simulation of GaAs solar cells with angularly selective filters
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Kraus, Tobias, E-mail: tobias.kraus@ise.fraunhofer.de; Höhn, Oliver; Hauser, Hubert
We discuss the influence of angularly selective filters on thin film gallium arsenide solar cells. For this reason, the detailed balance model was refined to fit our needs with respect to Auger recombination, reflection, transmission, and realistic absorption. For calculating real systems, an approach was made to include optical effects of angularly selective filters into electron-hole dynamic equations implemented in PC1D, a one dimensional solar cell calculation tool. With this approach, we find a relative V{sub oc} increase of 5% for an idealized 100 nm GaAs cell, including Auger recombination.
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Maximal power output by solar cells with angular confinement.
Höhn, Oliver; Kraus, Tobias; Bauhuis, Gerard; Schwarz, Ulrich T; Bläsi, Benedikt
2014-05-05
Angularly selective filters can increase the efficiency of radiatively limited solar cells. A restriction of the acceptance angle is linked to the kind of utilizable solar spectrum (global or direct radiation). This has to be considered when calculating the potential enhancement of both the efficiency and the power output. In this paper, different concepts to realize angularly selective filters are compared regarding their limits for efficiency and power output per unit area. First experimental results of a promising system based on a thin-film filter as the angularly selective element are given to demonstrate the practical relevance of such systems.
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Star Formation Suppression in Compact Group Galaxies: A New Path to Quenching?
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Alatalo, K.; Appleton, P. N.; Lisenfeld, U.; Bitsakis, T.; Lanz, L.; Lacy, M.; Charmandaris, V.; Cluver, M.; Dopita, M. A.; Guillard, P.; Jarrett, T.; Kewley, L. J.; Nyland, K.; Ogle, P. M.; Rasmussen, J.; Rich, J. A.; Verdes-Montenegro, L.; Xu, C. K.; Yun, M.
2015-10-01
We present CO(1-0) maps of 12 warm H2-selected Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs), covering 14 individually imaged warm H2 bright galaxies, with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter Astronomy. We found a variety of molecular gas distributions within the HCGs, including regularly rotating disks, bars, rings, tidal tails, and possibly nuclear outflows, though the molecular gas morphologies are more consistent with spirals and early-type galaxies than mergers and interacting systems. Our CO-imaged HCG galaxies, when plotted on the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation, shows star formation (SF) suppression of < {S} > =10+/- 5, distributed bimodally, with five objects exhibiting suppressions of {S} ≳ 10 and depletion timescales ≳10 Gyr. This SF inefficiency is also seen in the efficiency per freefall time of Krumholz et al. We investigate the gas-to-dust ratios of these galaxies to determine if an incorrect LCO-M(H2) conversion caused the apparent suppression and find that HCGs have normal gas-to-dust ratios. It is likely that the cause of the apparent suppression in these objects is associated with shocks injecting turbulence into the molecular gas, supported by the fact that the required turbulent injection luminosity is consistent with the bright H2 luminosity reported by Cluver et al. Galaxies with high SF suppression ({S} ≳ 10) also appear to be those in the most advanced stages of transition across both optical and infrared color space. This supports the idea that at least some galaxies in HCGs are transitioning objects, where a disruption of the existing molecular gas in the system suppresses SF by inhibiting the molecular gas from collapsing and forming stars efficiently. These observations, combined with recent work on poststarburst galaxies with molecular reservoirs, indicates that galaxies do not need to expel their molecular reservoirs prior to quenching SF and transitioning from blue spirals to red early-type galaxies. This may imply that SF quenching can occur without the need to starve a galaxy of cold gas first.
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Environmental impacts on dust temperature of star-forming galaxies in the local Universe
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Matsuki, Yasuhiro; Koyama, Yusei; Nakagawa, Takao; Takita, Satoshi
2017-04-01
We present infrared views of the environmental effects on the dust properties in star-forming (SF) galaxies at z ˜ 0, using the AKARI Far-Infrared Surveyor all-sky map and the large spectroscopic galaxy sample from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7). We restrict the sample to those within the redshift range of 0.05 < z < 0.07 and the stellar mass range of 9.2 < log 10(M*/M⊙). We select SF galaxies based on their Hα equivalent width (EWHα > 4 Å) and emission line flux ratios. We perform far-infrared (FIR) stacking analyses by splitting the SDSS SF galaxy sample according to their stellar mass, specific star formation rate (SSFRSDSS), and environment. We derive total infrared luminosity (LIR) for each subsample using the average flux densities at WIDE-S (90 μm) and WIDE-L (140 μm) bands, and then compute infrared (IR)-based SFR (SFRIR) from LIR. We find a mild decrease of IR-based SSFR (SSFRIR) amongst SF galaxies with increasing local density (˜0.1-dex level at maximum), which suggests that environmental effects do not instantly shut down the SF activity in galaxies. We also derive average dust temperature (Tdust) using the flux densities at 90 and 140 μm bands. We confirm a strong positive correlation between Tdust and SSFRIR, consistent with recent studies. The most important finding of this study is that we find a marginal trend that Tdust increases with increasing environmental galaxy density. Although the environmental trend is much milder than the SSFR-Tdust correlation, our results suggest that the environmental density may affect the dust temperature in SF galaxies, and that the physical mechanism which is responsible for this phenomenon is not necessarily specific to cluster environments because the environmental dependence of Tdust holds down to relatively low-density environments.
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Beperet, Inés; Simón, Oihane; Williams, Trevor; López-Ferber, Miguel; Caballero, Primitivo
2015-05-01
The "11K" gene family is notable for having homologs in both baculoviruses and entomopoxviruses and is classified as either type 145 or type 150, according to their similarity with the ac145 or ac150 genes of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). One homolog of ac145 (sf138) and two homologs of ac150 (sf68 and sf95) are present in Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV). Recombinant bacmids lacking sf68, sf95 or sf138 (Sf68null, Sf95null and Sf138null, respectively) and the respective repair bacmids were generated from a bacmid comprising the complete virus genome. Occlusion bodies (OBs) of the Sf138null virus were ∼15-fold less orally infective to insects, which was attributed to a 100-fold reduction in ODV infectious titer. Inoculation of insects with Sf138null OBs in mixtures with an optical brightener failed to restore the pathogenicity of Sf138null OBs to that of the parental virus, indicating that the effects of sf138 deletion on OB pathogenicity were unlikely to involve an interaction with the gut peritrophic matrix. In contrast, deletion of sf68 and sf95 resulted in a slower speed-of-kill by 9h, and a concurrent increase in the yield of OBs. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that sf68 and sf95 were not generated after a duplication event of an ancestral gene homologous to the ac150 gene. We conclude that type 145 genes modulate the primary infection process of the virus, whereas type 150 genes appear to have a role in spreading systemic infection within the insect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Infectivity of Sf-rhabdovirus variants in insect and mammalian cell lines.
Maghodia, Ajay B; Jarvis, Donald L
2017-12-01
Sf-rhabdovirus was only recently identified as an adventitious agent of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf) cell lines used as hosts for baculovirus vectors. As such, we still know little about its genetic variation, infectivity, and the potential impact of variation on the Sf-rhabdovirus-host interaction. Here, we characterized Sf-rhabdoviruses from two widely used Sf cell lines to confirm and extend information on Sf-rhabdovirus variation. We then used our novel Sf-rhabdovirus-negative (Sf-RVN) Sf cell line to assess the infectivity of variants with and without a 320bp X/L deletion and found both established productive persistent infections in Sf-RVN cells. We also assessed their infectivity using heterologous insect and mammalian cell lines and found neither established productive persistent infections in these cells. These results are the first to directly demonstrate Sf-rhabdoviruses are infectious for Sf cells, irrespective of the X/L deletion. They also confirm and extend previous results indicating Sf-rhabdoviruses have a narrow host range. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Modular microfluidic system for biological sample preparation
Rose, Klint A.; Mariella, Jr., Raymond P.; Bailey, Christopher G.; Ness, Kevin Dean
2015-09-29
A reconfigurable modular microfluidic system for preparation of a biological sample including a series of reconfigurable modules for automated sample preparation adapted to selectively include a) a microfluidic acoustic focusing filter module, b) a dielectrophoresis bacteria filter module, c) a dielectrophoresis virus filter module, d) an isotachophoresis nucleic acid filter module, e) a lyses module, and f) an isotachophoresis-based nucleic acid filter.
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40 CFR 1065.1107 - Sample media and sample system preparation; sample system assembly.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
...) For capturing PM, we recommend using pure quartz filters with no binder. Select the filter diameter to minimize filter change intervals, accounting for the expected PM emission rate, sample flow rate, and... filter without replacing the sorbent or otherwise disassembling the batch sampler. In those cases...
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Frey, Laurent; Masarotto, Lilian; D'Aillon, Patrick Gros; Pellé, Catherine; Armand, Marilyn; Marty, Michel; Jamin-Mornet, Clémence; Lhostis, Sandrine; Le Briz, Olivier
2014-07-10
Filter technologies implemented on CMOS image sensors for spectrally selective applications often use a combination of on-chip organic resists and an external substrate with multilayer dielectric coatings. The photopic-like and near-infrared bandpass filtering functions respectively required by ambient light sensing and user proximity detection through time-of-flight can be fully integrated on chip with multilayer metal-dielectric filters. Copper, silicon nitride, and silicon oxide are the materials selected for a technological proof-of-concept on functional wafers, due to their immediate availability in front-end semiconductor fabs. Filter optical designs are optimized with respect to specific performance criteria, and the robustness of the designs regarding process errors are evaluated for industrialization purposes.
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Li, Jing; Boulanger, Eliot; Rui, Huan; Perozo, Eduardo; Roux, Benoît
2017-01-01
In many K+ channels, prolonged activating stimuli lead to a time-dependent reduction in ion conduction, a phenomenon known as C-type inactivation. X-ray structures of the KcsA channel suggest that this inactivated state corresponds to a “constricted” conformation of the selectivity filter. However, the functional significance of the constricted conformation has become a matter of debate. Functional and structural studies based on chemically modified semisynthetic KcsA channels along the selectivity filter led to the conclusion that the constricted conformation does not correspond to the C-type inactivated state. The main results supporting this view include the observation that C-type inactivation is not suppressed by a substitution of D-alanine at Gly77, even though this modification is believed to lock the selectivity filter into its conductive conformation, whereas it is suppressed following amide-to-ester backbone substitutions at Gly77 and Tyr78, even though these structure-conserving modifications are not believed to prevent the selectivity filter from adopting the constricted conformation. However, several untested assumptions about the structural and functional impact of these chemical modifications underlie these arguments. To make progress, molecular dynamics simulations based on atomic models of the KcsA channel were performed. The computational results support the notion that the constricted conformation of the selectivity filter corresponds to the functional C-type inactivated state of the KcsA. Importantly, MD simulations reveal that the semisynthetic KcsAD-ala77 channel can adopt an asymmetrical constricted-like nonconductive conformation and that the amide-to-ester backbone substitutions at Gly77 and Tyr78 perturb the hydrogen bonding involving the buried water molecules stabilizing the constricted conformation. PMID:28973956
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Diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease Based on Support Vector Machine by Feature Selection Methods.
Polat, Huseyin; Danaei Mehr, Homay; Cetin, Aydin
2017-04-01
As Chronic Kidney Disease progresses slowly, early detection and effective treatment are the only cure to reduce the mortality rate. Machine learning techniques are gaining significance in medical diagnosis because of their classification ability with high accuracy rates. The accuracy of classification algorithms depend on the use of correct feature selection algorithms to reduce the dimension of datasets. In this study, Support Vector Machine classification algorithm was used to diagnose Chronic Kidney Disease. To diagnose the Chronic Kidney Disease, two essential types of feature selection methods namely, wrapper and filter approaches were chosen to reduce the dimension of Chronic Kidney Disease dataset. In wrapper approach, classifier subset evaluator with greedy stepwise search engine and wrapper subset evaluator with the Best First search engine were used. In filter approach, correlation feature selection subset evaluator with greedy stepwise search engine and filtered subset evaluator with the Best First search engine were used. The results showed that the Support Vector Machine classifier by using filtered subset evaluator with the Best First search engine feature selection method has higher accuracy rate (98.5%) in the diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease compared to other selected methods.
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Maghodia, Ajay B; Geisler, Christoph; Jarvis, Donald L
2016-06-01
Cell lines derived from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf), are widely used as hosts for recombinant protein production in the baculovirus-insect cell system (BICS). However, it was recently discovered that these cell lines are contaminated with a virus, now known as Sf-rhabdovirus [1]. The detection of this adventitious agent raised a potential safety issue that could adversely impact the BICS as a commercial recombinant protein production platform. Thus, we examined the properties of Sf-RVN, an Sf-rhabdovirus-negative Sf cell line, as a potential alternative host. Nested RT-PCR assays showed Sf-RVN cells had no detectable Sf-rhabdovirus over the course of 60 passages in continuous culture. The general properties of Sf-RVN cells, including their average growth rates, diameters, morphologies, and viabilities after baculovirus infection, were virtually identical to those of Sf9 cells. Baculovirus-infected Sf-RVN and Sf9 cells produced equivalent levels of three recombinant proteins, including an intracellular prokaryotic protein and two secreted eukaryotic glycoproteins, and provided similar N-glycosylation patterns. In fact, except for the absence of Sf-rhabdovirus, the only difference between Sf-RVN and Sf9 cells was SF-RVN produced higher levels of infectious baculovirus progeny. These results show Sf-RVN cells can be used as improved, alternative hosts to circumvent the potential safety hazard associated with the use of Sf-rhabdovirus-contaminated Sf cells for recombinant protein manufacturing with the BICS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Filtering device. [removing electromagnetic noise from voice communication signals
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Edwards, T. R.; Zeanah, H. W. (Inventor)
1976-01-01
An electrical filter for removing noise from a voice communications signal is reported; seven sample values of the signal are obtained continuously, updated and subjected to filtering. Filtering is accomplished by adding balanced, with respect to a mid-point sample, spaced pairs of the sampled values, and then multiplying each pair by a selected filter constant. The signal products thus obtained are summed to provide a filtered version of the original signal.
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Safarinejad, Mohammad Reza
2010-09-01
To determine the safety and efficacy of adjunctive bupropion sustained-release (SR) on male sexual dysfunction (SD) induced by a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), as SD is a common side-effect of SSRIs and the most effective treatments have yet to be determined. The randomized sample consisted of 234 euthymic men who were receiving some type of SSRI. The men were randomly assigned to bupropion SR (150 mg twice daily, 117) or placebo (twice daily, 117) for 12 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated using the Clinical Global Impression-Sexual Function (CGI-SF; the primary outcome measure), the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX), and Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction (EDITS) (secondary outcome measures). Participants were followed biweekly during study period. After 12 weeks of treatment, the mean (sd) scores for CGI-SF were significantly lower, i.e. better, in patients on bupropion SR, at 2.4 (1.2), than in the placebo group, at 3.9 (1.1) (P= 0.01). Men who received bupropion had a significant increase in the total IIEF score (54.4% vs 1.2%; P= 0.003), and in the five different domains of the IIEF. Total ASEX scores were significantly lower, i.e. better, among men who received bupropion than placebo, at 15.5 (4.3) vs 21.5 (4.7) (P= 0.002). The EDITS scores were 67.4 (10.2) for the bupropion and 36.3 (11.7) for the placebo group (P= 0.001). The ASEX score and CGI-SF score were correlated (P= 0.003). In linear regression analyses the CGI-SF score was not affected significantly by the duration of SD, type of SSRI used and age. Bupropion is an effective treatment for male SD induced by SSRIs. These results provide empirical support for conducting a further study of bupropion.
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Rizo, Arantxa; Fuentes, Ana; Barat, José M; Fernández-Segovia, Isabel
2018-05-01
Food manufacturers need to reduce sodium content to meet consumer and public health demands. In the present study, the use of sodium-free (SF) salt and KCl to develop a novel smoke-flavoured salmon product with reduced sodium content was evaluated. Fifty percent of NaCl was replaced with 50% of SF salt or 50% KCl in the salmon smoke-flavouring process, which was carried out using water vapour permeable bags. Triangle tests showed that samples with either SF salt or KCl were statistically similar to the control samples (100% NaCl). Because no sensorial advantage in using SF salt was found compared to KCl and given the lower price of KCl, the KCl-NaCl samples were selected for the next phase. The changes of physicochemical and microbial parameters in smoke-flavoured salmon during 42 days showed that partial replacement of NaCl with KCl did not significantly affect the quality and shelf-life of smoke-flavoured salmon, which was over 42 days. Smoke-flavoured salmon with 37% sodium reduction was developed without affecting the sensory features and shelf-life. This is an interesting option for reducing the sodium content in such products to help meet the needs set by both health authorities and consumers. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Russell, David G.; Kimura, Melissa N.; Cowie, Harriet R.; de Groot, Caroline M.M.; McMinn, Elise A.P.; Sherson, Matthew W.
2016-01-01
Objective The purpose of this case series is to report on symptomatic and quality of life (QoL) changes in 7 older adult chiropractic patients who were receiving care using Activator Methods Chiropractic Technique (AMCT). Clinical Features Seven patients were selected from 2 chiropractic offices in Auckland, New Zealand. Patients were included if they were older adults receiving AMCT care and for whom at least 2 QoL assessments had been performed. The patients, aged 69-80 years, primarily received care for a variety of musculoskeletal complaints. Intervention and Outcomes The patients reported improvements in their presenting complaints as well as a number of nonmusculoskeletal symptoms. Each patient demonstrated clinical improvements in their RAND 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) results. The average improvement in QoL measured using a SF-36 questionnaire was 8.0 points in the physical component and 4.1 points in the mental component. Four cases had a second progress evaluation using the SF-36 and showed an overall improvement of 5.2 in the physical and 9.8 in the mental components from baseline. Conclusion This case series describes an improvement in QoL, as measured by the SF-36 instrument, as well as subjectively reported improvements in both musculoskeletal and nonmusculoskeletal symptoms in 7 older adults receiving chiropractic care. PMID:27069434
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Identification and Characteristics of microRNAs from Army Worm, Spodoptera frugiperda Cell Line Sf21
Kakumani, Pavan Kumar; Chinnappan, Mahendran; Singh, Ashok K.; Malhotra, Pawan; Mukherjee, Sunil K.; Bhatnagar, Raj K.
2015-01-01
microRNAs play important regulatory role in all intrinsic cellular functions. Amongst lepidopteran insects, miRNAs from only Bombyx mori have been studied extensively with a little focus on Spodoptera sp. In the present study, we identified a total of 226 miRNAs from Spodoptera frugiperda cell line Sf21. Of the total, 116 miRNAs were well conserved within other insects, like B. mori, Drosophila melanogaster and Tribolium castenum while the remaining 110 miRNAs were identified as novel based on comparative analysis with the insect miRNA data set. Landscape distribution analysis based on Sf21 genome assembly revealed clustering of few novel miRNAs. A total of 5 miRNA clusters were identified and the largest one encodes 5 miRNA genes. In addition, 12 miRNAs were validated using northern blot analysis and putative functional role assignment for 6 Sf miRNAs was investigated by examining their relative abundance at different developmental stages of Spodoptera litura and body parts of 6th instar larvae. Further, we identified a total of 809 potential target genes with GO terms for selected miRNAs, involved in different metabolic and signalling pathways of the insect. The newly identified miRNAs greatly enrich the repertoire of insect miRNAs and analysis of expression profiles reveal their involvement at various steps of biochemical pathways of the army worm. PMID:25693181
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Kakumani, Pavan Kumar; Chinnappan, Mahendran; Singh, Ashok K; Malhotra, Pawan; Mukherjee, Sunil K; Bhatnagar, Raj K
2015-01-01
microRNAs play important regulatory role in all intrinsic cellular functions. Amongst lepidopteran insects, miRNAs from only Bombyx mori have been studied extensively with a little focus on Spodoptera sp. In the present study, we identified a total of 226 miRNAs from Spodoptera frugiperda cell line Sf21. Of the total, 116 miRNAs were well conserved within other insects, like B. mori, Drosophila melanogaster and Tribolium castenum while the remaining 110 miRNAs were identified as novel based on comparative analysis with the insect miRNA data set. Landscape distribution analysis based on Sf21 genome assembly revealed clustering of few novel miRNAs. A total of 5 miRNA clusters were identified and the largest one encodes 5 miRNA genes. In addition, 12 miRNAs were validated using northern blot analysis and putative functional role assignment for 6 Sf miRNAs was investigated by examining their relative abundance at different developmental stages of Spodoptera litura and body parts of 6th instar larvae. Further, we identified a total of 809 potential target genes with GO terms for selected miRNAs, involved in different metabolic and signalling pathways of the insect. The newly identified miRNAs greatly enrich the repertoire of insect miRNAs and analysis of expression profiles reveal their involvement at various steps of biochemical pathways of the army worm.
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2009-01-01
Background Symptom-based surveys suggest that the prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases is lower in China than in Western countries. The aim of this study was to validate a methodology for the epidemiological investigation of gastrointestinal symptoms and endoscopic findings in China. Methods A randomized, stratified, multi-stage sampling methodology was used to select 18 000 adults aged 18-80 years from Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Participants from Shanghai were invited to provide blood samples and undergo upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. All participants completed Chinese versions of the Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) and the modified Rome II questionnaire; 20% were also invited to complete the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The psychometric properties of the questionnaires were evaluated statistically. Results The study was completed by 16 091 individuals (response rate: 89.4%), with 3219 (89.4% of those invited) completing the SF-36 and ESS. All 3153 participants in Shanghai provided blood samples and 1030 (32.7%) underwent endoscopy. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.89, 0.89, 0.80 and 0.91, respectively, for the RDQ, modified Rome II questionnaire, ESS and SF-36, supporting internal consistency. Factor analysis supported construct validity of all questionnaire dimensions except SF-36 psychosocial dimensions. Conclusion This population-based study has great potential to characterize the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and endoscopic findings in China. PMID:19925662
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Yan, Xiaoyan; Wang, Rui; Zhao, Yanfang; Ma, Xiuqiang; Fang, Jiqian; Yan, Hong; Kang, Xiaoping; Yin, Ping; Hao, Yuantao; Li, Qiang; Dent, John; Sung, Joseph; Zou, Duowu; Johansson, Saga; Halling, Katarina; Liu, Wenbin; He, Jia
2009-11-19
Symptom-based surveys suggest that the prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases is lower in China than in Western countries. The aim of this study was to validate a methodology for the epidemiological investigation of gastrointestinal symptoms and endoscopic findings in China. A randomized, stratified, multi-stage sampling methodology was used to select 18,000 adults aged 18-80 years from Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Participants from Shanghai were invited to provide blood samples and undergo upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. All participants completed Chinese versions of the Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) and the modified Rome II questionnaire; 20% were also invited to complete the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The psychometric properties of the questionnaires were evaluated statistically. The study was completed by 16,091 individuals (response rate: 89.4%), with 3219 (89.4% of those invited) completing the SF-36 and ESS. All 3153 participants in Shanghai provided blood samples and 1030 (32.7%) underwent endoscopy. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.89, 0.89, 0.80 and 0.91, respectively, for the RDQ, modified Rome II questionnaire, ESS and SF-36, supporting internal consistency. Factor analysis supported construct validity of all questionnaire dimensions except SF-36 psychosocial dimensions. This population-based study has great potential to characterize the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and endoscopic findings in China.
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Harel, Assaf; Bentin, Shlomo
2013-01-01
A much-debated question in object recognition is whether expertise for faces and expertise for non-face objects utilize common perceptual information. We investigated this issue by assessing the diagnostic information required for different types of expertise. Specifically, we asked whether face categorization and expert car categorization at the subordinate level relies on the same spatial frequency (SF) scales. Fifteen car experts and fifteen novices performed a category verification task with spatially filtered images of faces, cars, and airplanes. Images were categorized based on their basic (e.g. "car") and subordinate level (e.g. "Japanese car") identity. The effect of expertise was not evident when objects were categorized at the basic level. However, when the car experts categorized faces and cars at the subordinate level, the two types of expertise required different kinds of SF information. Subordinate categorization of faces relied on low SFs more than on high SFs, whereas subordinate expert car categorization relied on high SFs more than on low SFs. These findings suggest that expertise in the recognition of objects and faces do not utilize the same type of information. Rather, different types of expertise require different types of diagnostic visual information.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Dai, Yuanshun; Baek, Seung H.; Garcia-Diza, Alberto
2012-01-01
This paper designs a comprehensive approach based on the engineering machine/system concept, to model, analyze, and assess the level of CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, which is an important factor in understanding changes in global climate. The focus of this article is on spatial patterns and on the correlation between levels of CO2 fluxes and a variety of influencing factors in eco-environments. The engineering/machine concept used is a system protocol that includes the sequential activities of design, test, observe, and model. This concept is applied to explicitly include various influencing factors and interactions associated with CO2 fluxes.more » To formulate effective models of a large and complex climate system, this article introduces a modeling technique that will be referred to as Stochastic Filtering Analysis of Variance (SFANOVA). The CO2 flux data observed from some sites of AmeriFlux are used to illustrate and validate the analysis, prediction and globalization capabilities of the proposed engineering approach and the SF-ANOVA technology. The SF-ANOVA modeling approach was compared to stepwise regression, ridge regression, and neural networks. The comparison indicated that the proposed approach is a valid and effective tool with similar accuracy and less complexity than the other procedures.« less
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Harel, Assaf; Bentin, Shlomo
2013-01-01
A much-debated question in object recognition is whether expertise for faces and expertise for non-face objects utilize common perceptual information. We investigated this issue by assessing the diagnostic information required for different types of expertise. Specifically, we asked whether face categorization and expert car categorization at the subordinate level relies on the same spatial frequency (SF) scales. Fifteen car experts and fifteen novices performed a category verification task with spatially filtered images of faces, cars, and airplanes. Images were categorized based on their basic (e.g. “car”) and subordinate level (e.g. “Japanese car”) identity. The effect of expertise was not evident when objects were categorized at the basic level. However, when the car experts categorized faces and cars at the subordinate level, the two types of expertise required different kinds of SF information. Subordinate categorization of faces relied on low SFs more than on high SFs, whereas subordinate expert car categorization relied on high SFs more than on low SFs. These findings suggest that expertise in the recognition of objects and faces do not utilize the same type of information. Rather, different types of expertise require different types of diagnostic visual information. PMID:23826188
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Conformational plasticity in the selectivity filter of the TRPV2 ion channel.
Zubcevic, Lejla; Le, Son; Yang, Huanghe; Lee, Seok-Yong
2018-05-01
Transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels are activated by ligands and heat and are involved in various physiological processes. In contrast to the architecturally related voltage-gated cation channels, TRPV1 and TRPV2 subtypes possess another activation gate at the selectivity filter that can open widely enough to permeate large organic cations. Despite recent structural advances, the mechanism of selectivity filter gating and permeation for both metal ions and large molecules by TRPV1 or TRPV2 is not well known. Here, we determined two crystal structures of rabbit TRPV2 in its Ca 2+ -bound and resiniferatoxin (RTx)- and Ca 2+ -bound forms, to 3.9 Å and 3.1 Å, respectively. Notably, our structures show that RTx binding leads to two-fold symmetric opening of the selectivity filter of TRPV2 that is wide enough for large organic cation permeation. Combined with functional characterizations, our studies reveal a structural basis for permeation of Ca 2+ and large organic cations in TRPV2.
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Comb-based radiofrequency photonic filters with rapid tunability and high selectivity
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Supradeepa, V. R.; Long, Christopher M.; Wu, Rui; Ferdous, Fahmida; Hamidi, Ehsan; Leaird, Daniel E.; Weiner, Andrew M.
2012-03-01
Photonic technologies have received considerable attention regarding the enhancement of radiofrequency electrical systems, including high-frequency analogue signal transmission, control of phased arrays, analog-to-digital conversion and signal processing. Although the potential of radiofrequency photonics for the implementation of tunable electrical filters over broad radiofrequency bandwidths has been much discussed, the realization of programmable filters with highly selective filter lineshapes and rapid reconfigurability has faced significant challenges. A new approach for radiofrequency photonic filters based on frequency combs offers a potential route to simultaneous high stopband attenuation, fast tunability and bandwidth reconfiguration. In one configuration, tuning of the radiofrequency passband frequency is demonstrated with unprecedented (~40 ns) speed by controlling the optical delay between combs. In a second, fixed filter configuration, cascaded four-wave mixing simultaneously broadens and smoothes the comb spectra, resulting in Gaussian radiofrequency filter lineshapes exhibiting an extremely high (>60 dB) main lobe to sidelobe suppression ratio and (>70 dB) stopband attenuation.
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Spatial filter with volume gratings for high-peak-power multistage laser amplifiers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tan, Yi-zhou; Yang, Yi-sheng; Zheng, Guang-wei; Shen, Ben-jian; Pan, Heng-yue; Liu, Li
2010-08-01
The regular spatial filters comprised of lens and pinhole are essential component in high power laser systems, such as lasers for inertial confinement fusion, nonlinear optical technology and directed-energy weapon. On the other hand the pinhole is treated as a bottleneck of high power laser due to harmful plasma created by the focusing beam. In this paper we present a spatial filter based on angular selectivity of Bragg diffraction grating to avoid the harmful focusing effect in the traditional pinhole filter. A spatial filter consisted of volume phase gratings in two-pass amplifier cavity were reported. Two-dimensional filter was proposed by using single Pi-phase-shifted Bragg grating, numerical simulation results shown that its angular spectrum bandwidth can be less than 160urad. The angular selectivity of photo-thermorefractive glass and RUGATE film filters, construction stability, thermal stability and the effects of misalignments of gratings on the diffraction efficiencies under high-pulse-energy laser operating condition are discussed.
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Li, Jiangeng; Su, Lei; Pang, Zenan
2015-12-01
Feature selection techniques have been widely applied to tumor gene expression data analysis in recent years. A filter feature selection method named marginal Fisher analysis score (MFA score) which is based on graph embedding has been proposed, and it has been widely used mainly because it is superior to Fisher score. Considering the heavy redundancy in gene expression data, we proposed a new filter feature selection technique in this paper. It is named MFA score+ and is based on MFA score and redundancy excluding. We applied it to an artificial dataset and eight tumor gene expression datasets to select important features and then used support vector machine as the classifier to classify the samples. Compared with MFA score, t test and Fisher score, it achieved higher classification accuracy.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Arend, Anna M.; Zimmer, Hubert D.
2012-01-01
In this training study, we aimed to selectively train participants' filtering mechanisms to enhance visual working memory (WM) efficiency. The highly restricted nature of visual WM capacity renders efficient filtering mechanisms crucial for its successful functioning. Filtering efficiency in visual WM can be measured via the lateralized change…
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Smolčić, V.; Schinnerer, E.; Scodeggio, M.; Franzetti, P.; Aussel, H.; Bondi, M.; Brusa, M.; Carilli, C. L.; Capak, P.; Charlot, S.; Ciliegi, P.; Ilbert, O.; Ivezić, Ž.; Jahnke, K.; McCracken, H. J.; Obrić, M.; Salvato, M.; Sanders, D. B.; Scoville, N.; Trump, J. R.; Tremonti, C.; Tasca, L.; Walcher, C. J.; Zamorani, G.
2008-07-01
We explore the properties of the submillijansky radio population at 20 cm by applying a newly developed optical color-based method to separate star-forming (SF) from active galactic nucleus (AGN) galaxies at intermediate redshifts (zlesssim 1.3). Although optical rest-frame colors are used, our separation method is shown to be efficient and not biased against dusty starburst galaxies. This classification method has been calibrated and tested on a local radio-selected optical sample. Given accurate multiband photometry and redshifts, it carries the potential to be generally applicable to any galaxy sample where SF and AGN galaxies are the two dominant populations. In order to quantify the properties of the submillijansky radio population, we have analyzed ~2,400 radio sources, detected at 20 cm in the VLA-COSMOS survey; 90% of these have submillijansky flux densities. We classify the objects into (1) star candidates, (2) quasi-stellar objects, (3) AGN, (4) SF, and (5) high-redshift (z > 1.3) galaxies. We find, for the composition of the submillijansky radio population, that SF galaxies are not the dominant population at submillijansky flux levels, as previously often assumed, but that they make up an approximately constant fraction of 30%-40% in the flux density range of ~50 μJy to 0.7 mJy. In summary, based on the entire VLA-COSMOS radio population at 20 cm, we find that the radio population at these flux densities is a mixture of roughly 30%-40% of SF and 50%-60% of AGN galaxies, with a minor contribution (~10%) of QSOs.
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Merker, Vanessa L; Bredella, Miriam A; Cai, Wenli; Kassarjian, Ara; Harris, Gordon J; Muzikansky, Alona; Nguyen, Rosa; Mautner, Victor F; Plotkin, Scott R
2014-06-01
Patients with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), NF2, and schwannomatosis share a predisposition to develop multiple nerve sheath tumors. Previous studies have demonstrated that patients with NF1 and NF2 have reduced quality of life (QOL), but no studies have examined the relationship between whole-body tumor burden and QOL in these patients. We administered a QOL questionnaire (the SF-36) and a visual analog pain scale (VAS) to a previously described cohort of adult neurofibromatosis patients undergoing whole-body MRI. One-sample t-tests were used to compare norm-based SF-36 scores to weighted population means. Spearman correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analyses controlling for demographic and disease-specific clinical variable were used to relate whole-body tumor volume to QOL scales. Two hundred forty-five patients (142 NF1, 53 NF2, 50 schwannomatosis) completed the study. Subjects showed deficits in selected subscales of the SF-36 compared to adjusted general population means. In bivariate analysis, increased tumor volume was significantly associated with pain in schwannomatosis patients, as measured by the SF-36 bodily pain subscale (rho = -0.287, P = 0.04) and VAS (rho = 0.34, P = 0.02). Regression models for NF2 patients showed a positive relationship between tumor burden and increased pain, as measured by the SF-36 (P = 0.008). Patients with NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis suffer from reduced QOL, although only pain shows a clear relationship to patient's overall tumor burden. These findings suggest that internal tumor volume is not a primary contributor to QOL and emphasize the need for comprehensive treatment approaches that go beyond tumor-focused therapies such as surgery by including psychosocial interventions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Mhatre, Minal; Srinivas, Lingam; Ganapathi, Thumballi R
2011-12-01
Pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr., cv. "Queen") leaf bases were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA 105 harboring the pSF and pEFESF plasmids with soybean ferritin cDNA. Four to eight percent of the co-cultivated leaf bases produced multiple shoots 6 weeks after transfer to Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with α-naphthalene acetic acid 1.8 mg/l, indole-3-butyric acid 2.0 mg/l, kinetin 2.0 mg/l, cefotaxime 400 mg/l, and kanamycin 50 mg/l. Putatively transformed shoots (1-2 cm) were selected and multiplied on medium of the same composition and elongated shoots (5 cm) were rooted on liquid rooting medium supplemented with cefotaxime 400 mg/l and kanamycin 100 mg/l. The rooted plants were analyzed through PCR, genomic Southern analysis, and reverse transcription PCR. The results clearly confirmed the integration and expression of soybean ferritin gene in the transformed plants. Atomic absorption spectroscopic analysis carried out with six independently transformed lines of pSF and pEFE-SF revealed a maximum of 5.03-fold increase in iron and 2.44-fold increase in zinc accumulation in the leaves of pSF-transformed plants. In pEFE-SF-transformed plants, a 3.65-fold increase in iron and 2.05-fold increase in zinc levels was observed. Few of the transgenic plants were hardened in the greenhouse and are being grown to maturity to determine the enhanced iron and zinc accumulation in the fruits. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the transformation of pineapple with soybean ferritin for enhanced accumulation of iron and zinc content in the transgenic plants.
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Impact of the serum ferritin concentration in liver transplantation.
Wakiya, Taiichi; Sanada, Yukihiro; Urahashi, Taizen; Ihara, Yoshiyuki; Yamada, Naoya; Okada, Noriki; Hirata, Yuta; Hakamada, Kenichi; Yasuda, Yoshikazu; Mizuta, Koichi
2015-11-01
The serum ferritin (SF) concentration is a widely available and objective laboratory parameter. SF is also widely recognized as an acute-phase reactant. The purpose of the present study was to identify the chronological changes in the recipient's SF concentration during liver transplantation (LT) and to clarify factors having an effect on the recipient's intraoperative SF level. In addition, the study retrospectively evaluated the usefulness of measuring SF during LT. Ninety-eight pediatric recipients were retrospectively analyzed. The data were analyzed and compared according to the SF level in the recipient. Patients were classified into 2 groups based on the intraoperative peak SF levels of ≤ 1000 ng/mL (low-SF group) or >1000 ng/mL (high-SF group). The SF value increased dramatically after reperfusion and fell to normal levels within the early postoperative period. The warm ischemia time (WIT) was significantly longer in the high-SF group (47.0 versus 58.5 minutes; P = 0.003). In addition, a significant positive correlation was observed between the peak SF value and WIT (r = 0.35; P < 0.001). There were significant positive correlations between the peak SF value and the donors' preoperative laboratory data, including transaminases, cholinesterase, hemoglobin, transferrin saturation, and SF, of which SF showed the strongest positive correlation (r = 0.74; P < 0.001). The multivariate analysis revealed that WIT and donor's SF level were a significant risk factor for high SF level in the recipient (P = 0.007 and 0.02, respectively). In conclusion, the SF measurement can suggest the degree of ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI). A high SF level in the donor is associated with the risk of further acute reactions, such as IRI, in the recipient. © 2015 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
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Wireless zoned particulate matter filter regeneration control system
Gonze, Eugene V [Pinckney, MI; Kirby, Kevin W [Calabasas Hills, CA; Phelps, Amanda [Malibu, CA; Gregoire, Daniel J [Thousand Oaks, CA
2011-10-04
An assembly includes a particulate matter (PM) filter that comprises an upstream end for receiving exhaust gas, a downstream end and multiple zones. An absorbing layer absorbs microwave energy in one of N frequency ranges and is arranged with the upstream end. N is an integer. A frequency selective filter has M frequency selective segments and receives microwave energy in the N frequency ranges. M is an integer. One of the M frequency selective segments permits passage of the microwave energy in one of the N frequency ranges and does not permit passage of microwave energy in the other of the N frequency ranges.
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Filtering the Net in Libraries: The Case (Mostly) in Favor.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Banks, Michael A.
1998-01-01
Examines issues and decision-making involved in restricting Internet access in libraries, for the most part favoring filtering devices. Questions to consider when selecting a filtering program are provided. Some of the better filtering programs are described, and Web addresses are included for each. Security risks associated with Java and…
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Symmetric/Asymmetrical SIRs Dual-Band BPF Design for WLAN Applications
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ho, Min-Hua; Ho, Hao-Hung; Chen, Mingchih
This paper presents the dual-band bandpass filters (BPFs) design composed of λ/2 and symmetrically/asymmetrically paired λ/4 stepped impedance resonators (SIRs) for the WLAN applications. The filters cover both the operating frequencies of 2.45 and 5.2GHz. The dual-coupling mechanism is used in the filter design to provide alternative routes for signals of selected frequencies. A prototype filter is composed of λ/2 and symmetrical λ/4 SIRs. The enhanced wide-stopband filter is then developed from the filter with the symmetrical λ/4 SIRs replaced by the asymmetrical ones. The asymmetrical λ/4 SIRs have their higher resonances frequencies isolated from the adjacent I/O SIRs and extend the enhanced filter an upper stopband limit beyond ten time the fundamental frequency. Also, the filter might possess a cross-coupling structure which introduces transmission zeros by the passband edges to improve the signal selectivity. The tapped-line feed is adopted in this circuit to create additional attenuation poles for improving the stopband rejection levels. Experiments are conducted to verify the circuit performance.
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Electron beam selectively seals porous metal filters
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Snyder, J. A.; Tulisiak, G.
1968-01-01
Electron beam welding selectively seals the outer surfaces of porous metal filters and impedances used in fluid flow systems. The outer surface can be sealed by melting a thin outer layer of the porous material with an electron beam so that the melted material fills all surface pores.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Dermody, D.L.; Peez, R.F.; Bergbreiter, D.E.
1999-02-02
The authors report a new molecular-filter approach for enhancing the selectivity of chemical sensors. Specifically, they describe electrochemical sensors prepared from Au electrodes coated with {beta}-cyclodextrin-functionalized, hyperbranched poly(acrylic acid)(PAA) films capped with a chemically grafted, ultrathin polyamine layer. The hyperbranched PAA film is a highly functionalized framework for covalently binding the {beta}-cyclodextrin molecular receptors. The thin, grafted polyamine overlayer acts as a pH-sensitive molecular filter that selectively passes suitably charged analytes. Poly(amidoamine) dendrimers or poly-D-lysine is used as 10--15-nm-thick filter layers. The results show that at low pH, when the polyamines are fully protonated, positively charged redox probe molecules, suchmore » as benzyl viologen (BV), do not permeate the filter layer. However, at high pH, when the filter layer is uncharged, BV penetrates the filter layer and is reduced at the electrode. The opposite pH dependence is observed for negatively charged redox molecules such as anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQS). Both BV and AQS specifically interact with the {beta}-cyclodextrin receptors underlying the polyamine filter layers.« less
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A 15-pole high temperature superconductor filter for radar applications
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Yu, Xiao; Xi, Weibin; Wu, Songtao
2018-06-01
This paper presents a compact and high first harmonic frequency resonator. The characteristics of this resonator are theoretically analyzed. A highly selective 15-pole Chebyshev high temperature superconducting ultra-high frequency narrowband filter for radar applications was fabricated by using this resonator. The filter has a center frequency of 495 MHz and a fractional bandwidth of 1%. The first harmonic frequency is more than 3.3 times the fundamental frequency. The measured filter shows excellent selectivity, better than 85 dB/1 MHz skirt slopes, and more than 85 dB of rejection at 497.5 MHz from the band edge. The filter was fabricated on a 2 inch YBCO thin film with a 0.5 mm thick MgO substrate. The experimental results are consistent with the simulations.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Li, Yifan; Liang, Xihui; Lin, Jianhui; Chen, Yuejian; Liu, Jianxin
2018-02-01
This paper presents a novel signal processing scheme, feature selection based multi-scale morphological filter (MMF), for train axle bearing fault detection. In this scheme, more than 30 feature indicators of vibration signals are calculated for axle bearings with different conditions and the features which can reflect fault characteristics more effectively and representatively are selected using the max-relevance and min-redundancy principle. Then, a filtering scale selection approach for MMF based on feature selection and grey relational analysis is proposed. The feature selection based MMF method is tested on diagnosis of artificially created damages of rolling bearings of railway trains. Experimental results show that the proposed method has a superior performance in extracting fault features of defective train axle bearings. In addition, comparisons are performed with the kurtosis criterion based MMF and the spectral kurtosis criterion based MMF. The proposed feature selection based MMF method outperforms these two methods in detection of train axle bearing faults.
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Hoffman, D L; Dukes, E M
2008-01-01
Objective The current review describes how the health status profile of people with fibromyalgia (FM) compares to that of people in the general population and patients with other health conditions. Methods A review of 37 studies of FM that measured health status with the 36-item Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) or the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Results Studies performed worldwide showed that FM groups were significantly more impaired than people in the general population on all eight health status domains assessed. These domains include physical functioning, role functioning difficulties caused by physical problems, bodily pain, general health, vitality (energy vs. fatigue), social functioning, role functioning difficulties caused by emotional problems and mental health. FM groups had mental health summary scores that fell 1 standard deviation (SD) below the general population mean, and physical health summary scores that fell 2 SD below the general population mean. FM groups also had a poorer overall health status compared to those with other specific pain conditions. FM groups had similar or significantly lower (poorer) physical and mental health status scores compared to those with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, myofacial pain syndrome, primary Sjögren's syndrome and others. FM groups scored significantly lower than the pain condition groups mentioned above on domains of bodily pain and vitality. Health status impairments in pain and vitality are consistent with core features of FM. Conclusions People with FM had an overall health status burden that was greater in magnitude compared to people with other specific pain conditions that are widely accepted as impairing. Review Criteria Studies in this review were identified through a search of electronic databases (MEDLINE: 1990–2006; EMBASE: 1990–2006). Search terms included: ‘fibromyalgia’, ‘health status’, ‘quality of life’, ‘SF-36’ and ‘SF-12’. Reference lists from published articles were also searched. Studies were selected if they were published in the English language between 1990 and (March) 2006 and assessed health status with a validated version of the SF-36 or the SF-12. Message for the Clinic Although FM is a controversial construct, studies performed worldwide showed that the health status profile of people with FM was remarkably consistent. People with FM had significant impairments in both mental and physical health status domains. People with FM had a poorer overall health status than people with specific pain conditions that are widely accepted as impairing. PMID:18039330
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Khandekar, Sanjay S; Yi, Tracey; Dul, Ed; Wright, Lois L; Chen, Susan; Scott, Gilbert F; Smith, Gary K; Lee, Dennis; Hu, Erding; Kirkpatrick, Robert B
2006-01-01
Rho Kinase I (ROCK I) is a serine/threonine kinase that is involved in diverse cellular signaling. To further understand the physiological role of ROCK I and to identify and develop potent and selective inhibitors of ROCK I, we have overexpressed and purified a constitutively active dimeric human ROCK I (3-543) kinase domain using the Sf9-baculovirus expression system. In addition, using a limited proteolysis technique, we have identified a minimal functional subdomain of ROCK I that can be used in crystallization studies. The availability of multimilligram amounts of purified and well characterized functional human ROCK I kinase domains will be useful in screening and structural studies.
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2008-01-01
expression vector. The purified bacoluvirus DNA, containing PSG11, was purified and used to transfect Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-9) cells (Invitrogen) to...proteins in Spodoptera frugiperda cells using biotin acceptor peptides. Anal Biochem, 1998. 262(2): p. 122-8. 175. Hirt, B., Selective extraction of
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Simmons, R B; Crow, S A
1995-01-01
New and used cellulosic air filters for HVAC systems including those treated with antimicrobials were suspended in vessels with a range of relative humidities (55-99%) and containing non-sterile potting soil which stimulates fungal growth. Most filters yielded fungi prior to suspension in the chambers but only two of 14 nontreated filters demonstrated fungal colonization following use in HVAC systems. Filters treated with antimicrobials, particularly a phosphated amine complex, demonstrated markedly less fungal colonization than nontreated filters. In comparison with nontreated cellulosic filters, fungal colonization of antimicrobial-treated cellulosic filters was selective and delayed.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhao, Yun-wei; Zhu, Zi-qiang; Lu, Guang-yin; Han, Bo
2018-03-01
The sine and cosine transforms implemented with digital filters have been used in the Transient electromagnetic methods for a few decades. Kong (2007) proposed a method of obtaining filter coefficients, which are computed in the sample domain by Hankel transform pair. However, the curve shape of Hankel transform pair changes with a parameter, which usually is set to be 1 or 3 in the process of obtaining the digital filter coefficients of sine and cosine transforms. First, this study investigates the influence of the parameter on the digital filter algorithm of sine and cosine transforms based on the digital filter algorithm of Hankel transform and the relationship between the sine, cosine function and the ±1/2 order Bessel function of the first kind. The results show that the selection of the parameter highly influences the precision of digital filter algorithm. Second, upon the optimal selection of the parameter, it is found that an optimal sampling interval s also exists to achieve the best precision of digital filter algorithm. Finally, this study proposes four groups of sine and cosine transform digital filter coefficients with different length, which may help to develop the digital filter algorithm of sine and cosine transforms, and promote its application.
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Evaluating low pass filters on SPECT reconstructed cardiac orientation estimation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Dwivedi, Shekhar
2009-02-01
Low pass filters can affect the quality of clinical SPECT images by smoothing. Appropriate filter and parameter selection leads to optimum smoothing that leads to a better quantification followed by correct diagnosis and accurate interpretation by the physician. This study aims at evaluating the low pass filters on SPECT reconstruction algorithms. Criteria for evaluating the filters are estimating the SPECT reconstructed cardiac azimuth and elevation angle. Low pass filters studied are butterworth, gaussian, hamming, hanning and parzen. Experiments are conducted using three reconstruction algorithms, FBP (filtered back projection), MLEM (maximum likelihood expectation maximization) and OSEM (ordered subsets expectation maximization), on four gated cardiac patient projections (two patients with stress and rest projections). Each filter is applied with varying cutoff and order for each reconstruction algorithm (only butterworth used for MLEM and OSEM). The azimuth and elevation angles are calculated from the reconstructed volume and the variation observed in the angles with varying filter parameters is reported. Our results demonstrate that behavior of hamming, hanning and parzen filter (used with FBP) with varying cutoff is similar for all the datasets. Butterworth filter (cutoff > 0.4) behaves in a similar fashion for all the datasets using all the algorithms whereas with OSEM for a cutoff < 0.4, it fails to generate cardiac orientation due to oversmoothing, and gives an unstable response with FBP and MLEM. This study on evaluating effect of low pass filter cutoff and order on cardiac orientation using three different reconstruction algorithms provides an interesting insight into optimal selection of filter parameters.
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Nitrite oxidizing bacteria for water treatment in coastal aquaculture system
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Noorak, S.; Rakkhiaw, S.; Limjirakhajornt, K.; Uppabullung, A.; Keawtawee, T.; Sangnoi, Y.
2018-04-01
This research aimed to isolate and characterize nitrite oxidizing bacteria and to study their capability for water quality improvement. Fourteen strains of bacteria with nitrite-oxidizing character were isolated after 21 days of enrichment in Pep-Beef-NOB medium contained NaNO2. Two strains, SF-1 and SF-5, showed highest nitrite removal rate for 42.42% and 37.2%, respectively. These strains were determined an efficiency of open-system wastewater treatment for 14 days. The results showed that control, SF-1 and SF-5 had remove ammonia from day 1 to day 6. At the end of the study, ammonia was removed by the control, SF-1 and SF-5 for 81.27%, 70.1% and 69.82%, respectively. Nitrite concentration was lowest at day 8 with removal rate of 98.73%, 98.3% and 97.24% from control, SF-1 and SF-5, respectively. However, nitrite concentration in control experiment was increased again at day 11 whereas in SF-1 and SF-5 were increased at day 13. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) was decreased by 77.78%, 73.50% and 78.63% in the control, SF-1 and SF-5, respectively. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the control, SF-1 and SF-5 were reduced by 85.92%, 79.53% and 82.09%, respectively. Based on 16S rRNA gene, SF-1 and SF-5 were identified as Bacillus vietnamensis and B. firmus, respectively.
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NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Wells, Jeffrey M.; Jones, Thomas W.; Danehy, Paul M.
2005-01-01
Techniques for enhancing photogrammetric measurement of reflective surfaces by reducing noise were developed utilizing principles of light polarization. Signal selectivity with polarized light was also compared to signal selectivity using chromatic filters. Combining principles of linear cross polarization and color selectivity enhanced signal-to-noise ratios by as much as 800 fold. More typical improvements with combining polarization and color selectivity were about 100 fold. We review polarization-based techniques and present experimental results comparing the performance of traditional retroreflective targeting materials, cornercube targets returning depolarized light, and color selectivity.
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Backus, Sterling J [Erie, CO; Kapteyn, Henry C [Boulder, CO
2007-07-10
A method for optimizing multipass laser amplifier output utilizes a spectral filter in early passes but not in later passes. The pulses shift position slightly for each pass through the amplifier, and the filter is placed such that early passes intersect the filter while later passes bypass it. The filter position may be adjust offline in order to adjust the number of passes in each category. The filter may be optimized for use in a cryogenic amplifier.
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Barrera, Gloria; Williams, Trevor; Villamizar, Laura; Caballero, Primitivo; Simón, Oihane
2013-01-01
A Colombian field isolate (SfCOL-wt) of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SfMNPV) is a mixture of different genotypes. To evaluate the insecticidal properties of the different genotypic variants, 83 plaque purified virus were characterized. Ten distinct genotypes were identified (named A through J). SfCOL-A was the most prevalent (71±2%; mean ± SE) showing a PstI restriction profile indistinguishable to that of SfCOL-wt. The remaining nine genotypes presented genomic deletions of 3.8 - 21.8 Kb located mainly between nucleotides 11,436 and 33,883 in the reference genome SfMNPV-B, affecting the region between open reading frames (ORFs) sf20 and sf33. The insecticidal activity of each genotype from SfCOL-wt and several mixtures of genotypes was compared to that of SfCOL-wt. The potency of SfCOL-A occlusion bodies (OBs) was 4.4-fold higher than SfCOL-wt OBs, whereas the speed of kill of SfCOL-A was similar to that of SfCOL-wt. Deletion genotype OBs were similarly or less potent than SfCOL-wt but six deletion genotypes were faster killing than SfCOL-wt. The potency of genotype mixtures co-occluded within OBs were consistently reduced in two-genotype mixtures involving equal proportions of SfCOL-A and one of three deletion genotypes (SfCOL-C, -D or -F). Speed of kill and OB production were improved only when the certain genotype mixtures were co-occluded, although OB production was higher in the SfCOL-wt isolate than in any of the component genotypes, or mixtures thereof. Deleted genotypes reduced OB potency but increased OB production of the SfCOL-wt population, which is structured to maximize the production of OBs in each infected host. PMID:24116220
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Park, Y; Sharp, G
2014-06-15
Purpose: Gain calibration for X-ray imaging systems with movable flat panel detectors (FPD) and intrinsic crosshairs is a challenge due to the geometry dependence of the heel effect and crosshair artifact. This study aims to develop a gain correction method for such systems by implementing the multi-acquisition gain image correction (MAGIC) technique. Methods: Raw flat-field images containing crosshair shadows and heel effect were acquired in 4 different FPD positions with fixed exposure parameters. The crosshair region was automatically detected and substituted with interpolated values from nearby exposed regions, generating a conventional single-image gain-map for each FPD position. Large kernel-based correctionmore » was applied to these images to correct the heel effect. A mask filter was used to invalidate the original cross-hair regions previously filled with the interpolated values. A final, seamless gain-map was created from the processed images by either the sequential filling (SF) or selective averaging (SA) techniques developed in this study. Quantitative evaluation was performed based on detective quantum efficiency improvement factor (DQEIF) for gain-corrected images using the conventional and proposed techniques. Results: Qualitatively, the MAGIC technique was found to be more effective in eliminating crosshair artifacts compared to the conventional single-image method. The mean DQEIF over the range of frequencies from 0.5 to 3.5 mm-1 were 1.09±0.06, 2.46±0.32, and 3.34±0.36 in the crosshair-artifact region and 2.35±0.31, 2.33±0.31, and 3.09±0.34 in the normal region, for the conventional, MAGIC-SF, and MAGIC-SA techniques, respectively. Conclusion: The introduced MAGIC technique is appropriate for gain calibration of an imaging system associated with a moving FPD and an intrinsic crosshair. The technique showed advantages over a conventional single image-based technique by successfully reducing residual crosshair artifacts, and higher image quality with respect to DQE.« less
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Lu, Linling; Qian, Dawei; Guo, Jianming; Qian, Yefei; Xu, Boyi; Sha, Mei; Duan, Jinao
2013-07-30
Abelmoschi Corolla is a well-known herbal medicine used for the treatment of chronic renal disease. Flavonoids are the major bioactive ingredients of Abelmoschi Corolla, but some non-flavonoid components also exist in this herb. In order to clarify the influences of non-flavonoid components on the pharmacokinetics profile of the flavonoid fraction from Abelmoschi Corolla (FFA), an investigation was carried out to compare the pharmacokinetic parameters of seven flavonoid components after administration of FFA and after administration of FFA combined with different non-flavonoid fractions. A selective and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method was established to determine the plasma concentrations of the seven compounds. Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to four groups which orally administered FFA, FFA combined with macromolecular fraction (FFA-MF), FFA combined with small molecule fraction (FFA-SF) and FFA combined with MF-SF (FFA-MF-SF) with approximately the same dose of FFA. At different time points, the concentration of rutin (1), hyperoside (2), isoquercitrin (3), hibifolin (4), myricetin (5), quercetin-3'-O-glucose (6), quercetin (7) in rat plasma were determined and main pharmacokinetic parameters including T(1/2), T(max), AUC and C(max) were calculated using the DAS 2.0 software package. The statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t-test with P<0.05 as the level of significance. Flavonoids almost had similar pharmacokinetics profile that were rapidly absorbed, reached the peak concentration at 30-60 min in group A, but the pharmacokinetic profiles and parameters of these flavonoids changed when co-administered with non-flavonoid components. It was found that AUC of five flavonoids but not hibifolin and quercetin in group FFA-SF and group FFA-MF-SF increased (P<0.05) in comparison with group FFA while the tendency was not observed in group FFA-MF. Moreover, seven flavonoids had varying degrees of differences in the pharmacokinetics parameters such as C(max), T(max) and T(1/2) (P<0.05) in group FFA-MF, FFA-SF and FFA-MF-SF by comparison with group FFA. These results indicate that non-flavonoid components could improve the bioavailability and delay the elimination of some flavonoids in rat. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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1992-09-21
describt systeiii- atic methodologies for selecting nonlitinr transformiations for blind equal- ization algorithins ,and thus new types of culnulants...nonlinearity is inside the adaptive filter, i.e., the nonlinear filter or neural network. ’We describe methodologies for selecting nonlinear...which do riot require any known training sequence during the startup period. 4 The paper describes systematic methodologies for selecting the
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The impact of orientation filtering on face-selective neurons in monkey inferior temporal cortex.
Taubert, Jessica; Goffaux, Valerie; Van Belle, Goedele; Vanduffel, Wim; Vogels, Rufin
2016-02-16
Faces convey complex social signals to primates. These signals are tolerant of some image transformations (e.g. changes in size) but not others (e.g. picture-plane rotation). By filtering face stimuli for orientation content, studies of human behavior and brain responses have shown that face processing is tuned to selective orientation ranges. In the present study, for the first time, we recorded the responses of face-selective neurons in monkey inferior temporal (IT) cortex to intact and scrambled faces that were filtered to selectively preserve horizontal or vertical information. Guided by functional maps, we recorded neurons in the lateral middle patch (ML), the lateral anterior patch (AL), and an additional region located outside of the functionally defined face-patches (CONTROL). We found that neurons in ML preferred horizontal-passed faces over their vertical-passed counterparts. Neurons in AL, however, had a preference for vertical-passed faces, while neurons in CONTROL had no systematic preference. Importantly, orientation filtering did not modulate the firing rate of neurons to phase-scrambled face stimuli in any recording region. Together these results suggest that face-selective neurons found in the face-selective patches are differentially tuned to orientation content, with horizontal tuning in area ML and vertical tuning in area AL.
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Brunet, J; Pauly, A; Dubois, M; Rodriguez-Mendez, M L; Ndiaye, A L; Varenne, C; Guérin, K
2014-09-01
A new and original gas sensor-system dedicated to the selective monitoring of nitrogen dioxide in air and in the presence of ozone, has been successfully achieved. Because of its high sensitivity and its partial selectivity towards oxidizing pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone), copper phthalocyanine-based chemoresistors are relevant. The selectivity towards nitrogen dioxide results from the implementation of a high efficient and selective ozone filter upstream the sensing device. Thus, a powdered indigo/nanocarbons hybrid material has been developed and investigated for such an application. If nanocarbonaceous material acts as a highly permeable matrix with a high specific surface area, immobilized indigo nanoparticles are involved into an ozonolysis reaction with ozone leading to the selective removal of this analytes from air sample. The filtering yields towards each gas have been experimentally quantified and establish the complete removal of ozone while having the concentration of nitrogen dioxide unchanged. Long-term gas exposures reveal the higher durability of hybrid material as compared to nanocarbons and indigo separately. Synthesis, characterizations by many complementary techniques and tests of hybrid filters are detailed. Results on sensor-system including CuPc-based chemoresistors and indigo/carbon nanotubes hybrid material as in-line filter are illustrated. Sensing performances will be especially discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Gourlay, Louise J; Peano, Clelia; Deantonio, Cecilia; Perletti, Lucia; Pietrelli, Alessandro; Villa, Riccardo; Matterazzo, Elena; Lassaux, Patricia; Santoro, Claudio; Puccio, Simone; Sblattero, Daniele; Bolognesi, Martino
2015-11-01
The 1.8 Å resolution crystal structure of a conserved domain of the potential Burkholderia pseudomallei antigen and trimeric autotransporter BPSL2063 is presented as a structural vaccinology target for melioidosis vaccine development. Since BPSL2063 (1090 amino acids) hosts only one conserved domain, and the expression/purification of the full-length protein proved to be problematic, a domain-filtering library was generated using β-lactamase as a reporter gene to select further BPSL2063 domains. As a result, two domains (D1 and D2) were identified and produced in soluble form in Escherichia coli. Furthermore, as a general tool, a genomic open reading frame-filtering library from the B. pseudomallei genome was also constructed to facilitate the selection of domain boundaries from the entire ORFeome. Such an approach allowed the selection of three potential protein antigens that were also produced in soluble form. The results imply the further development of ORF-filtering methods as a tool in protein-based research to improve the selection and production of soluble proteins or domains for downstream applications such as X-ray crystallography.
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Highly Selective and Rapid Breath Isoprene Sensing Enabled by Activated Alumina Filter.
van den Broek, Jan; Güntner, Andreas T; Pratsinis, Sotiris E
2018-03-23
Isoprene is a versatile breath marker for noninvasive monitoring of high blood cholesterol levels as well as for influenza, end-stage renal disease, muscle activity, lung cancer, and liver disease with advanced fibrosis. Its selective detection in complex human breath by portable devices (e.g., metal-oxide gas sensors), however, is still challenging. Here, we present a new filter concept based on activated alumina powder enabling fast and highly selective detection of isoprene at the ppb level and high humidity. The filter contains high surface area adsorbents that retain hydrophilic compounds (e.g., ketones, alcohols, ammonia) representing major interferants in breath while hydrophobic isoprene is not affected. As a proof-of-concept, filters of commercial activated alumina powder are combined with highly sensitive but rather nonspecific, nanostructured Pt-doped SnO 2 sensors. This results in fast (10 s) measurement of isoprene down to 5 ppb at 90% relative humidity with outstanding selectivity (>100) to breath-relevant acetone, ammonia, ethanol, and methanol, superior to state-of-the-art isoprene sensors. Most importantly, when exposed continuously to simulated breath mixtures (four analytes) for 8 days, this filter-sensor system showed stable performance. It can be incorporated readily into a portable breath isoprene analyzer promising for simple-in-use monitoring of blood cholesterol or other patho/physiological conditions.
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Eštočinová, Jana; Lo Gerfo, Emanuele; Della Libera, Chiara; Chelazzi, Leonardo; Santandrea, Elisa
2016-11-01
Visual selective attention (VSA) optimizes perception and behavioral control by enabling efficient selection of relevant information and filtering of distractors. While focusing resources on task-relevant information helps counteract distraction, dedicated filtering mechanisms have recently been demonstrated, allowing neural systems to implement suitable policies for the suppression of potential interference. Limited evidence is presently available concerning the neural underpinnings of these mechanisms, and whether neural circuitry within the visual cortex might play a causal role in their instantiation, a possibility that we directly tested here. In two related experiments, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied over the lateral occipital cortex of healthy humans at different times during the execution of a behavioral task which entailed varying levels of distractor interference and need for attentional engagement. While earlier TMS boosted target selection, stimulation within a restricted time epoch close to (and in the course of) stimulus presentation engendered selective enhancement of distractor suppression, by affecting the ongoing, reactive instantiation of attentional filtering mechanisms required by specific task conditions. The results attest to a causal role of mid-tier ventral visual areas in distractor filtering and offer insights into the mechanisms through which TMS may have affected ongoing neural activity in the stimulated tissue. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Image enhancement using the hypothesis selection filter: theory and application to JPEG decoding.
Wong, Tak-Shing; Bouman, Charles A; Pollak, Ilya
2013-03-01
We introduce the hypothesis selection filter (HSF) as a new approach for image quality enhancement. We assume that a set of filters has been selected a priori to improve the quality of a distorted image containing regions with different characteristics. At each pixel, HSF uses a locally computed feature vector to predict the relative performance of the filters in estimating the corresponding pixel intensity in the original undistorted image. The prediction result then determines the proportion of each filter used to obtain the final processed output. In this way, the HSF serves as a framework for combining the outputs of a number of different user selected filters, each best suited for a different region of an image. We formulate our scheme in a probabilistic framework where the HSF output is obtained as the Bayesian minimum mean square error estimate of the original image. Maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters are determined from an offline fully unsupervised training procedure that is derived from the expectation-maximization algorithm. To illustrate how to apply the HSF and to demonstrate its potential, we apply our scheme as a post-processing step to improve the decoding quality of JPEG-encoded document images. The scheme consistently improves the quality of the decoded image over a variety of image content with different characteristics. We show that our scheme results in quantitative improvements over several other state-of-the-art JPEG decoding methods.
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2014-01-01
Introduction Silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds have been shown to be a suitable substrate for tissue engineering and to improve tissue regeneration when cellularized with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). We here demonstrate, for the first time, that electrospun nanofibrous SF patches cellularized with human adipose-derived MSCs (Ad-MSCs-SF), or decellularized (D-Ad-MSCs-SF), are effective in the treatment of skin wounds, improving skin regeneration in db/db diabetic mice. Methods The conformational and structural analyses of SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches were performed by scanning electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Wounds were performed by a 5 mm punch biopsy tool on the mouse’s back. Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches were transplanted and the efficacy of treatments was assessed by measuring the wound closure area, by histological examination and by gene expression profile. We further investigated the in vitro angiogenic properties of Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches by affecting migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), keratinocytes (KCs) and dermal fibroblasts (DFs), through the aortic ring assay and, finally, by evaluating the release of angiogenic factors. Results We found that Ad-MSCs adhere and grow on SF, maintaining their phenotypic mesenchymal profile and differentiation capacity. Conformational and structural analyses on SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF samples, showed that sterilization, decellularization, freezing and storing did not affect the SF structure. When grafted in wounds of diabetic mice, both Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF significantly improved tissue regeneration, reducing the wound area respectively by 40% and 35%, within three days, completing the process in around 10 days compared to 15–17 days of controls. RT2 gene profile analysis of the wounds treated with Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF showed an increment of genes involved in angiogenesis and matrix remodeling. Finally, Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF co-cultured with HUVECs, DFs and KCs, preferentially enhanced the HUVECs’ migration and the release of angiogenic factors stimulating microvessel outgrowth in the aortic ring assay. Conclusions Our results highlight for the first time that D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches are almost as effective as Ad-MSCs-SF patches in the treatment of diabetic wounds, acting through a complex mechanism that involves stimulation of angiogenesis. Our data suggest a potential use of D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches in chronic diabetic ulcers in humans. PMID:24423450
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Navone, Stefania Elena; Pascucci, Luisa; Dossena, Marta; Ferri, Anna; Invernici, Gloria; Acerbi, Francesco; Cristini, Silvia; Bedini, Gloria; Tosetti, Valentina; Ceserani, Valentina; Bonomi, Arianna; Pessina, Augusto; Freddi, Giuliano; Alessandrino, Antonio; Ceccarelli, Piero; Campanella, Rolando; Marfia, Giovanni; Alessandri, Giulio; Parati, Eugenio Agostino
2014-01-14
Silk fibroin (SF) scaffolds have been shown to be a suitable substrate for tissue engineering and to improve tissue regeneration when cellularized with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). We here demonstrate, for the first time, that electrospun nanofibrous SF patches cellularized with human adipose-derived MSCs (Ad-MSCs-SF), or decellularized (D-Ad-MSCs-SF), are effective in the treatment of skin wounds, improving skin regeneration in db/db diabetic mice. The conformational and structural analyses of SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches were performed by scanning electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Wounds were performed by a 5 mm punch biopsy tool on the mouse's back. Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches were transplanted and the efficacy of treatments was assessed by measuring the wound closure area, by histological examination and by gene expression profile. We further investigated the in vitro angiogenic properties of Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches by affecting migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), keratinocytes (KCs) and dermal fibroblasts (DFs), through the aortic ring assay and, finally, by evaluating the release of angiogenic factors. We found that Ad-MSCs adhere and grow on SF, maintaining their phenotypic mesenchymal profile and differentiation capacity. Conformational and structural analyses on SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF samples, showed that sterilization, decellularization, freezing and storing did not affect the SF structure. When grafted in wounds of diabetic mice, both Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF significantly improved tissue regeneration, reducing the wound area respectively by 40% and 35%, within three days, completing the process in around 10 days compared to 15-17 days of controls. RT2 gene profile analysis of the wounds treated with Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF showed an increment of genes involved in angiogenesis and matrix remodeling. Finally, Ad-MSCs-SF and D-Ad-MSCs-SF co-cultured with HUVECs, DFs and KCs, preferentially enhanced the HUVECs' migration and the release of angiogenic factors stimulating microvessel outgrowth in the aortic ring assay. Our results highlight for the first time that D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches are almost as effective as Ad-MSCs-SF patches in the treatment of diabetic wounds, acting through a complex mechanism that involves stimulation of angiogenesis. Our data suggest a potential use of D-Ad-MSCs-SF patches in chronic diabetic ulcers in humans.
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Miniature spectrally selective dosimeter
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Adams, R. R.; Macconochie, I. O.; Poole, B. D., Jr. (Inventor)
1980-01-01
A miniature spectrally selective dosimeter capable of measuring selected bandwidths of radiation exposure on small mobile areas is described. This is achieved by the combination of photovoltaic detectors, electrochemical integrators (E-cells) and filters in a small compact case which can be easily attached in close proximity to and substantially parallel to the surface being measured. In one embodiment two photovoltaic detectors, two E-cells, and three filters are packaged in a small case with attaching means consisting of a safety pin. In another embodiment, two detectors, one E-cell, three filters are packaged in a small case with attaching means consisting of a clip to clip over a side piece of an eye glass frame.
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Novel cell-based odorant sensor elements based on insect odorant receptors.
Mitsuno, Hidefumi; Sakurai, Takeshi; Namiki, Shigehiro; Mitsuhashi, Hiroyuki; Kanzaki, Ryohei
2015-03-15
Development of cell-based odorant sensor elements combined not only high degree of sensitivity and selectivity but also long-term stability is crucial for their practical applications. Here we report the development of a novel cell-based odorant sensor element that sensitively and selectively detects odorants and displays increased fluorescent intensities over a long period of time. Our odorant sensor elements, based on Sf21 cell lines expressing insect odorant receptors, are sensitive to the level of several tens of parts per billion in solution, can selectively distinguish between different types of odorants based on the odorant selectivity intrinsic to the expressed receptors, and have response times of approximately 13s. Specifically, with the use of Sf21 cells and insect odorant receptors, we demonstrated that the established cell lines stably expressing insect odorant receptors are able to detect odorants with consistent responsiveness for at least 2 months, thus exceeding the short life-span normally associated with cell-based sensors. We also demonstrated the development of a compact odorant sensor chip by integrating the established insect cell lines into a microfluidic chip. The methodology we established in this study, in conjunction with the large repertoire of insect odorant receptors, will aid in the development of practical cell-based odorant sensors for various applications, including food administration and health management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Effect of spatial filtering on crosstalk reduction in surface EMG recordings.
Mesin, Luca; Smith, Stuart; Hugo, Suzanne; Viljoen, Suretha; Hanekom, Tania
2009-04-01
Increasing the selectivity of the detection system in surface electromyography (EMG) is beneficial in the collection of information of a specific portion of the investigated muscle and to reduce the contribution of undesired components, such as non-propagating components (due to generation or end-of-fibre effects) or crosstalk from nearby muscles. A comparison of the ability of different spatial filters to reduce the amount of crosstalk in surface EMG measurements was conducted in this paper using simulated signals. It focused on the influence of different properties of the muscle anatomy (changing subcutaneous layer thickness, skin conductivity, fibre length) and detection system (single, double and normal double differential, with two inter-electrode distances - IED) on the amount of crosstalk present in the measurements. A cylindrical multilayer (skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, bone) analytical model was used to simulate single fibre action potentials (SFAPs). Fibres were grouped together in motor units (MUs) and motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) were obtained by adding the SFAPs of the corresponding fibres. Interference surface EMG signals were obtained, modelling the recruitment of MUs and rate coding. The average rectified value (ARV) and mean frequency (MNF) content of the EMG signals were studied and used as a basis for determining the selectivity of each spatial filter. From these results it was found that the selectivity of each spatial filter varies depending on the transversal location of the measurement electrodes and on the anatomy. An increase in skin conductivity favourably affects the selectivity of normal double differential filters as does an increase in subcutaneous layer thickness. An increase in IED decreases the selectivity of all the analysed filters.
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Production of silk sericin/silk fibroin blend nanofibers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zhang, Xianhua; Tsukada, Masuhiro; Morikawa, Hideaki; Aojima, Kazuki; Zhang, Guangyu; Miura, Mikihiko
2011-08-01
Silk sericin (SS)/silk fibroin (SF) blend nanofibers have been produced by electrospinning in a binary SS/SF trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution system, which was prepared by mixing 20 wt.% SS TFA solution and 10 wt.% SF TFA solution to give different compositions. The diameters of the SS/SF nanofibers ranged from 33 to 837 nm, and they showed a round cross section. The surface of the SS/SF nanofibers was smooth, and the fibers possessed a bead-free structure. The average diameters of the SS/SF (75/25, 50/50, and 25/75) blend nanofibers were much thicker than that of SS and SF nanofibers. The SS/SF (100/0, 75/25, and 50/50) blend nanofibers were easily dissolved in water, while the SS/SF (25/75 and 0/100) blend nanofibers could not be completely dissolved in water. The SS/SF blend nanofibers could not be completely dissolved in methanol. The SS/SF blend nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and differential thermal analysis. FTIR showed that the SS/SF blend nanofibers possessed a random coil conformation and ß-sheet structure.
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Foltyn, Stephen R.
1988-01-01
The disclosure relates to low loss, high power variable attenuators comprng one or more transmissive and/or reflective multilayer dielectric filters. The attenuator is particularly suitable to use with unpolarized lasers such as excimer lasers. Beam attenuation is a function of beam polarization and the angle of incidence between the beam and the filter and is controlled by adjusting the angle of incidence the beam makes to the filter or filters. Filters are selected in accordance with beam wavelength.
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Manová, Eva; von Goetz, Natalie; Hauri, Urs; Bogdal, Christian; Hungerbühler, Konrad
2013-07-01
Organic ultraviolet (UV) filters are a group of compounds designed to absorb UV radiation and hence protect our skin against UV-induced damage. Apart from traditional sunscreens, they can be found in many other categories of personal care products (PCPs). These include skin care, facial makeup and lip care products, which are often used simultaneously, and on a regular basis. The frequency of occurrence as well as concentrations of organic UV filters contained in PCPs change over time. Furthermore, in Switzerland the exact UV filter concentrations are confidential. To date, only limited data are available for the levels of organic UV filters in PCPs, and these data refer mainly to sunscreens. In this paper, we provide an up-to-date frequency of occurrence and concentrations of organic UV filters in PCPs, including for the first time PCPs used in everyday life. A total of 116 PCPs was selected on the basis of a product-use questionnaire and distributed among seven PCP categories: lip care products, lipsticks, face creams, liquid makeup foundations, aftershaves, hand creams, and sunscreens. Concentrations of 22 organic UV filters were measured in the selected PCPs. The most frequently occurring UV filters were butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (BMBM) detected in 82 products (71%), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC) in 59 products (51%) and octocrylene (OCT) in 50 products (43%). BMBM, EHMC and OCT concentrations averaged 2.6%, 4.0%, and 6.0%, respectively. Overall, UV filter concentrations in PCPs applied regularly throughout the year can be as high as those in sunscreens that are primarily used for sun protection and hence applied only on selected days. PCPs that are used on a regular basis, and often simultaneously, thus represent an important and, as yet, unquantified source of UV filter exposure. This study provides essential information for aggregate exposure assessments that combine data on concentrations of individual UV filters widely used in a variety of PCP categories. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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Coaxial charged particle energy analyzer
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Kelly, Michael A. (Inventor); Bryson, III, Charles E. (Inventor); Wu, Warren (Inventor)
2011-01-01
A non-dispersive electrostatic energy analyzer for electrons and other charged particles having a generally coaxial structure of a sequentially arranged sections of an electrostatic lens to focus the beam through an iris and preferably including an ellipsoidally shaped input grid for collimating a wide acceptance beam from a charged-particle source, an electrostatic high-pass filter including a planar exit grid, and an electrostatic low-pass filter. The low-pass filter is configured to reflect low-energy particles back towards a charged particle detector located within the low-pass filter. Each section comprises multiple tubular or conical electrodes arranged about the central axis. The voltages on the lens are scanned to place a selected energy band of the accepted beam at a selected energy at the iris. Voltages on the high-pass and low-pass filters remain substantially fixed during the scan.
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SfDronc, an initiator caspase involved in apoptosis in the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda
Huang, Ning; Civciristov, Srgjan; Hawkins, Christine J.; Clem, Rollie J.
2013-01-01
Initiator caspases are the first caspases that are activated following an apoptotic stimulus, and are responsible for cleaving and activating downstream effector caspases, which directly cause apoptosis. We have cloned a cDNA encoding an ortholog of the initiator caspase Dronc in the lepidopteran insect Spodoptera frugiperda. The SfDronc cDNA encodes a predicted protein of 447 amino acids with a molecular weight of 51 kDa. Overexpression of SfDronc induced apoptosis in Sf9 cells, while partial silencing of SfDronc expression in Sf9 cells reduced apoptosis induced by baculovirus infection or by treatment with UV or actinomycin D. Recombinant SfDronc exhibited several expected biochemical characteristics of an apoptotic initiator caspase: 1) SfDronc efficiently cleaved synthetic initiator caspase substrates, but had very little activity against effector caspase substrates; 2) mutation of a predicted cleavage site at position D340 blocked autoprocessing of recombinant SfDronc and reduced enzyme activity by approximately 10-fold; 3) SfDronc cleaved the effector caspase Sf-caspase-1 at the expected cleavage site, resulting in Sf-caspase-1 activation; and 4) SfDronc was strongly inhibited by the baculovirus caspase inhibitor SpliP49, but not by the related protein AcP35. These results indicate that SfDronc is an initiator caspase involved in caspase-dependent apoptosis in S. frugiperda, and as such is likely to be responsible for the initiator caspase activity in S. frugiperda cells known as Sf-caspase-X. PMID:23474489
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The Cross-Entropy Based Multi-Filter Ensemble Method for Gene Selection.
Sun, Yingqiang; Lu, Chengbo; Li, Xiaobo
2018-05-17
The gene expression profile has the characteristics of a high dimension, low sample, and continuous type, and it is a great challenge to use gene expression profile data for the classification of tumor samples. This paper proposes a cross-entropy based multi-filter ensemble (CEMFE) method for microarray data classification. Firstly, multiple filters are used to select the microarray data in order to obtain a plurality of the pre-selected feature subsets with a different classification ability. The top N genes with the highest rank of each subset are integrated so as to form a new data set. Secondly, the cross-entropy algorithm is used to remove the redundant data in the data set. Finally, the wrapper method, which is based on forward feature selection, is used to select the best feature subset. The experimental results show that the proposed method is more efficient than other gene selection methods and that it can achieve a higher classification accuracy under fewer characteristic genes.
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Contributions of depth filter components to protein adsorption in bioprocessing.
Khanal, Ohnmar; Singh, Nripen; Traylor, Steven J; Xu, Xuankuo; Ghose, Sanchayita; Li, Zheng J; Lenhoff, Abraham M
2018-04-16
Depth filtration is widely used in downstream bioprocessing to remove particulate contaminants via depth straining and is therefore applied to harvest clarification and other processing steps. However, depth filtration also removes proteins via adsorption, which can contribute variously to impurity clearance and to reduction in product yield. The adsorption may occur on the different components of the depth filter, that is, filter aid, binder, and cellulose filter. We measured adsorption of several model proteins and therapeutic proteins onto filter aids, cellulose, and commercial depth filters at pH 5-8 and ionic strengths <50 mM and correlated the adsorption data to bulk measured properties such as surface area, morphology, surface charge density, and composition. We also explored the role of each depth filter component in the adsorption of proteins with different net charges, using confocal microscopy. Our findings show that a complete depth filter's maximum adsorptive capacity for proteins can be estimated by its protein monolayer coverage values, which are of order mg/m 2 , depending on the protein size. Furthermore, the extent of adsorption of different proteins appears to depend on the nature of the resin binder and its extent of coating over the depth filter surface, particularly in masking the cation-exchanger-like capacity of the siliceous filter aids. In addition to guiding improved depth filter selection, the findings can be leveraged in inspiring a more intentional selection of components and design of depth filter construction for particular impurity removal targets. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Star Observations by Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera (AMICA) on Hayabusa (MUSES-C) Cruising Phase
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Saito, J.; Hashimoto, T.; Kubota, T.; Hayabusa AMICA Team
Muses-C is the first Japanese asteroid mission and also a technology demonstration one to the S-type asteroid, 25143 Itokawa (1998SF36). It was launched at May 9, 2003, and renamed Hayabusa after the spacecraft was confirmed to be on the interplanetary orbit. This spacecraft has the event of the Earth-swingby for gravitational assist in the way to Itokawa on 2004 May. The arrival to Itokawa is scheduled on 2005 summer. During the visit to Itokawa, the remote-sensing observation with AMICA, NIRS (Near Infrared Spectrometer), XRS (X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer), and LIDAR are performed, and the spacecraft descends and collects the surface samples at the touch down to the surface. The captured asteroid sample will be returned to the Earth in the middle of 2007. The telescopic optical navigation camera (ONC-T) with seven bandpass filters (and one wide-band filter) and polarizers is called AMICA (Asteroid Multiband Imaging CAmera) when ONC-T is used for scientific observations. The AMICA's seven bandpass filters are nearly equivalent to the seven filters of the ECAS (Eight Color Asteroid Survey) system. Obtained spectroscopic data will be compared with previously obtained ECAS observations. AMICA also has four polarizers, which are located on one edge of the CCD chip (covering 1.1 x 1.1 degrees each). Using the polarizers of AMICA, we can obtain polarimetric information of the target asteroid's surface. Since last November, we planned the test observations of some stars and planets by AMICA and could successfully obtain these images. Here, we briefly report these observations and its calibration by the ground-based observational data. In addition, we also present a current status of AMICA.
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Leukocyte-reduced blood components: patient benefits and practical applications.
Higgins, V L
1996-05-01
To review the various types of filters used for red blood cell and platelet transfusions and to explain the trend in the use of leukocyte removal filters, practical information about their use, considerations in the selection of a filtration method, and cost-effectiveness issues. Published articles, books, and the author's experience. Leukocyte removal filters are used to reduce complications associated with transfused white blood cells that are contained in units of red blood cells and platelets. These complications include nonhemolytic febrile transfusion reactions (NHFTRs), alloimmunization and refractoriness to platelet transfusion, transfusion-transmitted cytomegalovirus (CMV), and immunomodulation. Leukocyte removal filters may be used at the bedside, in a hospital blood bank, or in a blood collection center. Factors that affect the flow rate of these filters include the variations in the blood component, the equipment used, and filter priming. Studies on the cost-effectiveness of using leukocyte-reduced blood components demonstrate savings based on the reduction of NHFTRs, reduction in the number of blood components used, and the use of filtered blood components as the equivalent of CMV seronegative-screened products. The use of leukocyte-reduced blood components significantly diminishes or prevents many of the adverse transfusion reactions associated with donor white blood cells. Leukocyte removal filters are cost-effective, and filters should be selected based on their ability to consistently achieve low leukocyte residual levels as well as their ease of use. Physicians may order leukocyte-reduced blood components for specific patients, or the components may be used because of an established institutional transfusion policy. Nurses often participate in deciding on a filtration method, primarily based on ease of use. Understanding the considerations in selecting a filtration method will help nurses make appropriate decisions to ensure quality patient care.
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Diaz, Ernesto; Sarkis, Jorge E Souza; Viebig, Sônia; Saldiva, Paulo
2012-01-10
The present study aimed determines lead (Pb), antimony (Sb) and barium (Ba) as the major elements present in GSR in the environmental air of the Ballistics Laboratory of the São Paulo Criminalistics Institute (I.C.-S.P.), São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Micro environmental monitors (mini samplers) were located at selected places. The PM(2.5) fraction of this airborne was collected in, previously weighted filters, and analyzed by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (SF-HR-ICP-MS). The higher values of the airborne lead, antimony and barium, were found at the firing range (lead (Pb): 58.9 μg/m(3); barium (Ba): 6.9 μg/m(3); antimony (Sb): 7.3 μg/m(3)). The mean value of the airborne in this room during 6 monitored days was Pb: 23.1 μg/m(3); Ba: 2.2 μg/m(3); Sb: 1.5 μg/m(3). In the water tank room, the air did not show levels above the limits of concern. In general the airborne lead changed from day to day, but the barium and antimony remained constant. Despite of that, the obtained values suggest that the workers may be exposed to airborne lead concentration that can result in an unhealthy environment and could increase the risk of chronic intoxication. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Optimal Tuner Selection for Kalman Filter-Based Aircraft Engine Performance Estimation
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Simon, Donald L.; Garg, Sanjay
2010-01-01
A linear point design methodology for minimizing the error in on-line Kalman filter-based aircraft engine performance estimation applications is presented. This technique specifically addresses the underdetermined estimation problem, where there are more unknown parameters than available sensor measurements. A systematic approach is applied to produce a model tuning parameter vector of appropriate dimension to enable estimation by a Kalman filter, while minimizing the estimation error in the parameters of interest. Tuning parameter selection is performed using a multi-variable iterative search routine which seeks to minimize the theoretical mean-squared estimation error. This paper derives theoretical Kalman filter estimation error bias and variance values at steady-state operating conditions, and presents the tuner selection routine applied to minimize these values. Results from the application of the technique to an aircraft engine simulation are presented and compared to the conventional approach of tuner selection. Experimental simulation results are found to be in agreement with theoretical predictions. The new methodology is shown to yield a significant improvement in on-line engine performance estimation accuracy
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Predicting preference-based SF-6D index scores from the SF-8 health survey.
Wang, P; Fu, A Z; Wee, H L; Lee, J; Tai, E S; Thumboo, J; Luo, N
2013-09-01
To develop and test functions for predicting the preference-based SF-6D index scores from the SF-8 health survey. This study was a secondary analysis of data collected in a population health survey in which respondents (n = 7,529) completed both the SF-36 and the SF-8 questionnaires. We examined seven ordinary least-square estimators for their performance in predicting SF-6D scores from the SF-8 at both the individual and the group levels. In general, all functions performed similarly well in predicting SF-6D scores, and the predictions at the group level were better than predictions at the individual level. At the individual level, 42.5-51.5% of prediction errors were smaller than the minimally important difference (MID) of the SF-6D scores, depending on the function specifications, while almost all prediction errors of the tested functions were smaller than the MID of SF-6D at the group level. At both individual and group levels, the tested functions predicted lower than actual scores at the higher end of the SF-6D scale. Our study developed functions to generate preference-based SF-6D index scores from the SF-8 health survey, the first of its kind. Further research is needed to evaluate the performance and validity of the prediction functions.
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High performance incandescent lighting using a selective emitter and nanophotonic filters
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Leroy, Arny; Bhatia, Bikram; Wilke, Kyle; Ilic, Ognjen; Soljačić, Marin; Wang, Evelyn N.
2017-09-01
Previous approaches for improving the efficiency of incandescent light bulbs (ILBs) have relied on tailoring the emitted spectrum using cold-side interference filters that reflect the infrared energy back to the emitter while transmitting the visible light. While this approach has, in theory, potential to surpass light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in terms of luminous efficiency while conserving the excellent color rendering index (CRI) inherent to ILBs, challenges such as low view factor between the emitter and filter, high emitter (>2800 K) and filter temperatures and emitter evaporation have significantly limited the maximum efficiency. In this work, we first analyze the effect of non-idealities in the cold-side filter, the emitter and the view factor on the luminous efficiency. Second, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the loss in efficiency associated with low view factors can be minimized by using a selective emitter (e.g., high emissivity in the visible and low emissivity in the infrared) with a filter. Finally, we discuss the challenges in achieving a high performance and long-lasting incandescent light source including the emitter and filter thermal stability as well as emitter evaporation.
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2011-01-03
... (``Town''), for the purchase of GreensandPlus pressure filter media, manufactured in Brazil, for six pressure filters. This is a project specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified product... different types of pressure filter media selecting GreensandPlus filter media. The ARRA funded project is...
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Multispectral Image Enhancement Through Adaptive Wavelet Fusion
2016-09-14
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT This research developed a multiresolution image fusion scheme based on guided filtering . Guided filtering can...effectively reduce noise while preserving detail boundaries. When applied in an iterative mode, guided filtering selectively eliminates small scale...details while restoring larger scale edges. The proposed multi-scale image fusion scheme achieves spatial consistency by using guided filtering both at
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Inferior Vena Cava Filters: Guidelines, Best Practice, and Expanding Indications
DeYoung, Elliot; Minocha, Jeet
2016-01-01
Vena caval interruption, currently accomplished by percutaneous image-guided insertion of an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter, is an important therapeutic option in the management of selected patients with venous thromboembolism. The availability of optional (or retrievable) filters, in particular, has altered the practice patterns for IVC filters, with a shift to these devices and expansion of indications for filter placement. As new devices have become available and clinicians have become more familiar and comfortable with IVC filters, the indications for filter placement have continued to evolve and expand. This article reviews current guidelines and expanding indications for IVC filter placement. PMID:27247472
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40 CFR 98.453 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to site after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (Pounds of SF6 contained...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to suppliers) + (Pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (Pounds of SF6 sent... including for recycling, for destruction or to be returned to suppliers using Equation SS-2 of this section...
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40 CFR 98.453 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to site after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (Pounds of SF6 contained...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to suppliers) + (Pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (Pounds of SF6 sent... including for recycling, for destruction or to be returned to suppliers using Equation SS-2 of this section...
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40 CFR 98.453 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to site after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (Pounds of SF6 contained...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to suppliers) + (Pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (Pounds of SF6 sent... including for recycling, for destruction or to be returned to suppliers using Equation SS-2 of this section...
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40 CFR 98.453 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to site after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (Pounds of SF6 contained...) + (Pounds of SF6 returned to suppliers) + (Pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (Pounds of SF6 sent... including for recycling, for destruction or to be returned to suppliers using Equation SS-2 of this section...
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NUCLEAR RADIATION DOSIMETER USING COMPOSITE FILTER AND A SINGLE ELEMENT FILTER
Storm, E.; Shlaer, S.
1964-04-21
A nuclear radiation dosimeter is described that uses, in combination, a composite filter and a single element filter. The composite filter contains a plurality of comminuted metals having K-edges evenly distributed over the energy range of interest and the quantity of each of the metals is selected to result in filtering in an amount inversely proportional to the sensitivity of the film in the range over l00 kev. A copper filter is used that has a thickness to contribute the necessary additional correction in the interval between 40 and 100 kev. (AEC)
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Mastbergen, Simon C; Jones, Elena; Calder, Stuart J; Lafeber, Floris P J G; McGonagle, Dennis
2016-01-01
Objectives Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a novel, but poorly understood, treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) associated with remarkable ‘spontaneous’ cartilage repair in which resident synovial fluid (SF) multipotential mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may play a role. We hypothesised that SF hyaluronic acid (HA) inhibited the initial interaction between MSCs and cartilage, a key first step to integration, and postulate that KJD environment favoured MSC/cartilage interactions. Methods Attachment of dual-labelled SF-MSCs were assessed in a novel in vitro human cartilage model using OA and rheumatoid arthritic (RA) SF. SF was digested with hyaluronidase (hyase) and its effect on adhesion was observed using confocal microscopy. MRI and microscopy were used to image autologous dual-labelled MSCs in an in vivo canine model of KJD. SF-HA was investigated using gel electrophoresis and densitometry. Results Osteoarthritic-synovial fluid (OA-SF) and purified high molecular weight (MW) HA inhibited SF-MSC adhesion to plastic, while hyase treatment of OA-SF but not RA-SF significantly increased MSC adhesion to cartilage (3.7-fold, p<0.05) These differences were linked to the SF mediated HA-coat which was larger in OA-SF than in RA-SF. OA-SF contained >9 MDa HA and this correlated with increases in adhesion (r=0.880). In the canine KJD model, MSC adhesion to cartilage was evident and also dependent on HA MW. Conclusions These findings highlight an unappreciated role of SF-HA on MSC interactions and provide proof of concept that endogenous SF-MSCs are capable of adhering to cartilage in a favourable biochemical and biomechanical environment in OA distracted joints, offering novel one-stage strategies towards joint repair. PMID:25948596
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Nam, Seo Hee; Cheong, Jin-Gyu; Jeong, Doyoung; Lee, Seo-Jin; Pan, Cheol-Ho; Jung, Jae Woo; Kim, Hye-Jin; Ryu, Jihye; Kim, Ji Eon; Kim, Somi; Cho, Chang Yun; Kang, Min-Kyung; Lee, Kyung-Min; Lee, Jung Weon
2017-01-01
Transmembrane 4 L six family member 5 (TM4SF5) is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and enhances migration in two-dimensional environments. Here, we investigated how TM4SF5 is involved in diverse pro-metastatic phenotypes in in vivo-like three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix gels. TM4SF5-positive cells aggressively formed invasive foci in 3D Matrigel, depending on TM4SF5-mediated signaling activity, cytoskeletal organization, and matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) 2-mediated extracellular remodeling, whereas TM4SF5-null cells did not. The TM4SF5-null cells did, however, form invasive foci in 3D Matrigel following inhibition of Rho-associated protein kinase or addition of collagen I, suggesting that collagen I compensated for TM4SF5 expression. Similarly, TM4SF5-positive cells expressing vascular endothelial-cadherin formed network-like vasculogenic mimicry in 3D Matrigel and collagen I mixture gels, whereas TM4SF5-negative cells in the mixture gels displayed the network structures only upon further treatment with epidermal growth factor. The foci formation also required MMP2-mediated remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Co-cultures exhibited TM4SF5-positive or cancer-associated fibroblasts at the outward edges of TM4SF5-null cell clusters. Compared with TM4SF5-null cells, TM4SF5-positive cells in 3D collagen gels showed a more invasive outgrowth with dramatic invadopodia. These observations suggest that TM4SF5 plays roles in the promotion of diverse metastatic properties with fewer environmental requirements than TM4SF5-negative cells. PMID:29137358
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Xu, Minjie; Yu, Chia-Yuan; Lee, Chanam; Frank, Lawrence D
2018-01-01
This study investigated the resilience of single-family housing values in walkable versus unwalkable neighborhoods during the economic downturn from 2008 to 2012 in Dallas, Texas. Using propensity score matching and difference in differences methods, this study established a natural experimental design to compare before-and-after value changes of single-family (SF) homes in walkable neighborhoods with unwalkable neighborhoods during the Great Recession. Two thousand seven hundred ninety-nine SF homes within 18 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts were categorized into walkable (Walk Score ≥50) and unwalkable (<50) groups. Six hundred twenty-four dwellings in walkable neighborhoods were matched with the most identical ones in the unwalkable neighborhoods by controlling for the selected structural and residential location variables. Relative average treatment effects were examined for SF values in walkable and unwalkable neighborhoods. On average, the SF homes in walkable neighborhoods held $4566 (2.08%) more value than their how walkable counterparts. This study aims to help planners and decision-makers by documenting the unmet demand for walkable communities and their sustained economic benefit. Increased awareness of the sustained value of walkable communities can be used by lenders who finance and by policy makers who regulate placemaking. Results from this study can be integrated with research that demonstrates health-care cost savings of walkable environments to create an even more comprehensive set of evidence-based interventions to increase their supply.
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Camats, Núria; Fernández-Cancio, Mónica; Audí, Laura; Schaller, André; Flück, Christa E
2018-06-11
SF-1/NR5A1 is a transcriptional regulator of adrenal and gonadal development. NR5A1 disease-causing variants cause disorders of sex development (DSD) and adrenal failure, but most affected individuals show a broad DSD/reproductive phenotype only. Most NR5A1 variants show in vitro pathogenic effects, but not when tested in heterozygote state together with wild-type NR5A1 as usually seen in patients. Thus, the genotype-phenotype correlation for NR5A1 variants remains an unsolved question. We analyzed heterozygous 46,XY SF-1/NR5A1 patients by whole exome sequencing and used an algorithm for data analysis based on selected project-specific DSD- and SF-1-related genes. The variants detected were evaluated for their significance in literature, databases and checked in silico using webtools. We identified 19 potentially deleterious variants (one to seven per patient) in 18 genes in four 46,XY DSD subjects carrying heterozygous NR5A1 disease-causing variants. We constructed a scheme of all these hits within the landscape of currently known genes involved in male sex determination and differentiation. Our results suggest that the broad phenotype in these heterozygous NR5A1 46,XY DSD subjects may well be explained by an oligogenic mode of inheritance, in which multiple hits, individually non-deleterious, may contribute to a DSD phenotype unique to each heterozygous SF-1/NR5A1 individual.
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Yanagi, Ayaka; Murase, Mai; Sumita, Yuka I; Taniguchi, Hisashi
2017-06-01
The aims of this study were to reveal the nutritional status of patients after head and neck tumour treatment by using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) and to analyse the factors affecting nutritional status in patients with head and neck tumour. Elderly patients with loss of teeth and maxillary/mandibular bone due to head and neck tumour treatment could be at high risk of malnutrition. However, there are few reports on the nutritional status of these patients. Forty-six participants (average age 74.7 years) were selected from patients who visited the maxillofacial prosthetics clinic of Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital Faculty of Dentistry in Japan. Nutritional status was evaluated using the MNA-SF. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify predictors affecting MNA-SF score. The candidate explanatory variables were age, sex, maxillofacial prosthesis use, number of residual teeth, resection side, neck dissection and treatment option. The results showed that approximately half of the patients were at risk of malnutrition, and a regression equation for MNA-SF score was developed using two predictors: maxillofacial prosthesis use and neck dissection. Use of a maxillofacial prosthesis can improve nutritional status. On the other hand, a medical history of neck dissection can decrease nutritional status. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S and The Gerodontology Association. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Do modern total knee replacements offer better value for money? A health economic analysis.
Hamilton, David F; Clement, Nicholas D; Burnett, Richard; Patton, James T; Moran, Mathew; Howie, Colin R; Simpson, A H R W; Gaston, Paul
2013-11-01
Cost effectiveness is an increasingly important factor in today's healthcare environment, and selection of arthroplasty implant is not exempt from such concerns. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are the typical tool for this type of evaluation. Using this methodology, joint arthroplasty has been shown to be cost effective; however, studies directly comparing differing prostheses are lacking. Data was gathered in a single-centre prospective double-blind randomised controlled trial comparing the outcome of modern and traditional knee implants, using the Short Form 6 dimensional (SF-6D) score and quality adjusted life year (QALY) methodology. There was significant improvement in the SF-6D score for both groups at one year (p < 0.0001). The calculated overall life expectancy for the study cohort was 15.1 years, resulting in an overall QALY gain of 2.144 (95% CI 1.752-2.507). The modern implant group demonstrated a small improvement in SF-6D score compared to the traditional design at one year (0.141 versus 0.143, p = 0.94). This difference resulted in the modern implant costing £298 less per QALY at one year. This study demonstrates that modern implant technology does not influence the cost-effectiveness of TKA using the SF-6D and QALY methodology. This type of analysis however assesses health status, and is not sensitive to joint specific function. Evolutionary design changes in implant technology are thus unlikely to influence QALY analysis following joint replacement, which has important implications for implant procurement.
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Rurality and mental health: an Australian primary care study.
Campbell, A; Manoff, T; Caffery, J
2006-01-01
Until recently, there has been a significant gap in the literature exploring the issues of the mental health needs for rural communities in Australia. In this study we investigated the prevalence of diagnosable psychological disorders in both a rural and a non-rural primary care sample in far north Queensland, Australia. In a previous study we had screened some 300 GP attendees, on a number of sociodemographic variables and measures of psychological wellbeing, from four rural GP practices and one regional GP practice. Of these, 130 participants agreed to further follow up. In this study, 118 of the participants were selected and contacted by phone to complete the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form (CIDI-SF). The CIDI-SF diagnosis was then analysed in relation to the sociodemographic indicators that had previously been collected. The prevalence of diagnosable mental health disorders in the rural sample was found to be higher in comparison with the regional urban sample. The sociodemographic factors of rural residence, gender, and length of residence were associated with having a CIDI-SF diagnosis. Although there were a number of methodological limitations to this study, there did appear to be a significant relationship between rural location and the likelihood of receiving a CIDI-SF diagnosis. Why this might be the case is not clear, and we consider a number of explanations, but our finding suggests that further research in mental health should consider the issue of rurality as a key feature to be explored.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ferraro, A.; Zografopoulos, D. C.; Caputo, R.; Beccherelli, R.
2017-04-01
The spectral response of a terahertz (THz) filter is investigated in detail for different angles of incidence and polarization of the incoming THz wave. The filter is fabricated by patterning an aluminum frequency-selective surface of cross-shaped apertures on a thin foil of the low-loss cyclo-olefin polymer Zeonor. Two different types of resonances are observed, namely, a broadline resonance stemming from the transmittance of the slot apertures and a series of narrowline guided-mode resonances, with the latter being investigated by employing the grating theory. Numerical simulations of the filter transmittance based on the finite-element method agree with experimental measurements by means of THz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). The results reveal extensive possibilities for tuning the guided-mode resonances by mechanically adjusting the incidence or polarization angle, while the fundamental broadline resonance is not significantly affected. Such filters are envisaged as functional elements in emerging THz systems for filtering or sensing applications.
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Multi-Bandwidth Frequency Selective Surfaces for Near Infrared Filtering: Design and Optimization
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Cwik, Tom; Fernandez, Salvador; Ksendzov, A.; LaBaw, Clayton C.; Maker, Paul D.; Muller, Richard E.
1999-01-01
Frequency selective surfaces are widely used in the microwave and millimeter wave regions of the spectrum for filtering signals. They are used in telecommunication systems for multi-frequency operation or in instrument detectors for spectroscopy. The frequency selective surface operation depends on a periodic array of elements resonating at prescribed wavelengths producing a filter response. The size of the elements is on the order of half the electrical wavelength, and the array period is typically less than a wavelength for efficient operation. When operating in the optical region, diffraction gratings are used for filtering. In this regime the period of the grating may be several wavelengths producing multiple orders of light in reflection or transmission. In regions between these bands (specifically in the infrared band) frequency selective filters consisting of patterned metal layers fabricated using electron beam lithography are beginning to be developed. The operation is completely analogous to surfaces made in the microwave and millimeter wave region except for the choice of materials used and the fabrication process. In addition, the lithography process allows an arbitrary distribution of patterns corresponding to resonances at various wavelengths to be produced. The design of sub-millimeter filters follows the design methods used in the microwave region. Exacting modal matching, integral equation or finite element methods can be used for design. A major difference though is the introduction of material parameters and thicknesses tha_ may not be important in longer wavelength designs. This paper describes the design of multi-bandwidth filters operating in the I-5 micrometer wavelength range. This work follows on previous design [1,2]. In this paper extensions based on further optimization and an examination of the specific shape of the element in the periodic cell will be reported. Results from the design, manufacture and test of linear wedge filters built using micro-lithographic techniques and used ir spectral imaging applications will be presented.
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Multi-Bandwidth Frequency Selective Surfaces for Near Infrared Filtering: Design and Optimization
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Cwik, Tom; Fernandez, Salvador; Ksendzov, A.; LaBaw, Clayton C.; Maker, Paul D.; Muller, Richard E.
1998-01-01
Frequency selective surfaces are widely used in the microwave and millimeter wave regions of the spectrum for filtering signals. They are used in telecommunication systems for multi-frequency operation or in instrument detectors for spectroscopy. The frequency selective surface operation depends on a periodic array of elements resonating at prescribed wavelengths producing a filter response. The size of the elements is on the order of half the electrical wavelength, and the array period is typically less than a wavelength for efficient operation. When operating in the optical region, diffraction gratings are used for filtering. In this regime the period of the grating may be several wavelengths producing multiple orders of light in reflection or transmission. In regions between these bands (specifically in the infrared band) frequency selective filters consisting of patterned metal layers fabricated using electron beam lithography are beginning to be developed. The operation is completely analogous to surfaces made in the microwave and millimeter wave region except for the choice of materials used and the fabrication process. In addition, the lithography process allows an arbitrary distribution of patterns corresponding to resonances at various wavelengths to be produced. The design of sub-millimeter filters follows the design methods used in the microwave region. Exacting modal matching, integral equation or finite element methods can be used for design. A major difference though is the introduction of material parameters and thicknesses that may not be important in longer wavelength designs. This paper describes the design of multi- bandwidth filters operating in the 1-5 micrometer wavelength range. This work follows on a previous design. In this paper extensions based on further optimization and an examination of the specific shape of the element in the periodic cell will be reported. Results from the design, manufacture and test of linear wedge filters built using microlithographic techniques and used in spectral imaging applications will be presented.
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Takahashi, Hiro; Nemoto, Takeshi; Yoshida, Teruhiko; Honda, Hiroyuki; Hasegawa, Tadashi
2006-01-01
Background Recent advances in genome technologies have provided an excellent opportunity to determine the complete biological characteristics of neoplastic tissues, resulting in improved diagnosis and selection of treatment. To accomplish this objective, it is important to establish a sophisticated algorithm that can deal with large quantities of data such as gene expression profiles obtained by DNA microarray analysis. Results Previously, we developed the projective adaptive resonance theory (PART) filtering method as a gene filtering method. This is one of the clustering methods that can select specific genes for each subtype. In this study, we applied the PART filtering method to analyze microarray data that were obtained from soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients for the extraction of subtype-specific genes. The performance of the filtering method was evaluated by comparison with other widely used methods, such as signal-to-noise, significance analysis of microarrays, and nearest shrunken centroids. In addition, various combinations of filtering and modeling methods were used to extract essential subtype-specific genes. The combination of the PART filtering method and boosting – the PART-BFCS method – showed the highest accuracy. Seven genes among the 15 genes that are frequently selected by this method – MIF, CYFIP2, HSPCB, TIMP3, LDHA, ABR, and RGS3 – are known prognostic marker genes for other tumors. These genes are candidate marker genes for the diagnosis of STS. Correlation analysis was performed to extract marker genes that were not selected by PART-BFCS. Sixteen genes among those extracted are also known prognostic marker genes for other tumors, and they could be candidate marker genes for the diagnosis of STS. Conclusion The procedure that consisted of two steps, such as the PART-BFCS and the correlation analysis, was proposed. The results suggest that novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets for STS can be extracted by a procedure that includes the PART filtering method. PMID:16948864
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Bucur, Anca; van Leeuwen, Jasper; Chen, Njin-Zu; Claerhout, Brecht; de Schepper, Kristof; Perez-Rey, David; Paraiso-Medina, Sergio; Alonso-Calvo, Raul; Mehta, Keyur; Krykwinski, Cyril
2016-01-01
This paper describes a new Cohort Selection application implemented to support streamlining the definition phase of multi-centric clinical research in oncology. Our approach aims at both ease of use and precision in defining the selection filters expressing the characteristics of the desired population. The application leverages our standards-based Semantic Interoperability Solution and a Groovy DSL to provide high expressiveness in the definition of filters and flexibility in their composition into complex selection graphs including splits and merges. Widely-adopted ontologies such as SNOMED-CT are used to represent the semantics of the data and to express concepts in the application filters, facilitating data sharing and collaboration on joint research questions in large communities of clinical users. The application supports patient data exploration and efficient collaboration in multi-site, heterogeneous and distributed data environments. PMID:27570644
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Ferrante, Oscar; Patacca, Alessia; Di Caro, Valeria; Della Libera, Chiara; Santandrea, Elisa; Chelazzi, Leonardo
2018-05-01
The cognitive system has the capacity to learn and make use of environmental regularities - known as statistical learning (SL), including for the implicit guidance of attention. For instance, it is known that attentional selection is biased according to the spatial probability of targets; similarly, changes in distractor filtering can be triggered by the unequal spatial distribution of distractors. Open questions remain regarding the cognitive/neuronal mechanisms underlying SL of target selection and distractor filtering. Crucially, it is unclear whether the two processes rely on shared neuronal machinery, with unavoidable cross-talk, or they are fully independent, an issue that we directly addressed here. In a series of visual search experiments, participants had to discriminate a target stimulus, while ignoring a task-irrelevant salient distractor (when present). We systematically manipulated spatial probabilities of either one or the other stimulus, or both. We then measured performance to evaluate the direct effects of the applied contingent probability distribution (e.g., effects on target selection of the spatial imbalance in target occurrence across locations) as well as its indirect or "transfer" effects (e.g., effects of the same spatial imbalance on distractor filtering across locations). By this approach, we confirmed that SL of both target and distractor location implicitly bias attention. Most importantly, we described substantial indirect effects, with the unequal spatial probability of the target affecting filtering efficiency and, vice versa, the unequal spatial probability of the distractor affecting target selection efficiency across locations. The observed cross-talk demonstrates that SL of target selection and distractor filtering are instantiated via (at least partly) shared neuronal machinery, as further corroborated by strong correlations between direct and indirect effects at the level of individual participants. Our findings are compatible with the notion that both kinds of SL adjust the priority of specific locations within attentional priority maps of space. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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SfDronc, an initiator caspase involved in apoptosis in the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda.
Huang, Ning; Civciristov, Srgjan; Hawkins, Christine J; Clem, Rollie J
2013-05-01
Initiator caspases are the first caspases that are activated following an apoptotic stimulus, and are responsible for cleaving and activating downstream effector caspases, which directly cause apoptosis. We have cloned a cDNA encoding an ortholog of the initiator caspase Dronc in the lepidopteran insect Spodoptera frugiperda. The SfDronc cDNA encodes a predicted protein of 447 amino acids with a molecular weight of 51 kDa. Overexpression of SfDronc induced apoptosis in Sf9 cells, while partial silencing of SfDronc expression in Sf9 cells reduced apoptosis induced by baculovirus infection or by treatment with UV or actinomycin D. Recombinant SfDronc exhibited several expected biochemical characteristics of an apoptotic initiator caspase: 1) SfDronc efficiently cleaved synthetic initiator caspase substrates, but had very little activity against effector caspase substrates; 2) mutation of a predicted cleavage site at position D340 blocked autoprocessing of recombinant SfDronc and reduced enzyme activity by approximately 10-fold; 3) SfDronc cleaved the effector caspase Sf-caspase-1 at the expected cleavage site, resulting in Sf-caspase-1 activation; and 4) SfDronc was strongly inhibited by the baculovirus caspase inhibitor SpliP49, but not by the related protein AcP35. These results indicate that SfDronc is an initiator caspase involved in caspase-dependent apoptosis in S. frugiperda, and as such is likely to be responsible for the initiator caspase activity in S. frugiperda cells known as Sf-caspase-X. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ji, Dongsheng; Cui, Yang; Li, Liang; He, Jun; Wang, Lili; Zhang, Hongliang; Wang, Wan; Zhou, Luxi; Maenhaut, Willy; Wen, Tianxue; Wang, Yuesi
2018-07-01
The Spring Festival (SF) is the most important holiday in China for family reunion and tourism. During the 2015 SF an intensive observation campaign of air quality was conducted to study the impact of the anthropogenic activities and the dynamic characteristics of the sources. During the study period, pollution episodes frequently occurred with 12days exceeding the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standards for 24-h average PM 2.5 (75μg/m 3 ), even 8days with exceeding 150μg/m 3 . The daily maximum PM 2.5 concentration reached 350μg/m 3 while the hourly minimum visibility was <0.8km. Three pollution episodes were selected for detailed analysis including chemical characterization and diurnal variation of the PM 2.5 and its chemical composition, and sources were identified using the Positive Matrix Factorization model. The first episode occurring before the SF was characterized by more formation of SO 4 2- and NO 3 - and high crustal enrichment factors for Ag, As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se and Zn and seven categories of pollution sources were identified, whereby vehicle emission contributed 38% to the PM 2.5 . The second episode occurring during the SF was affected heavily by large-scale firework emissions, which led to a significant increase in SO 4 2- , Cl - , OC, K and Ba; these emissions were the largest contributor to the PM 2.5 accounting for 36%. During the third episode occurring after the SF, SO 4 2- , NO 3 - , NH 4 + and OC were the major constituents of the PM 2.5 and the secondary source was the dominant source with a contribution of 46%. The results provide a detailed understanding on the variation in occurrence, chemical composition and sources of the PM 2.5 as well as of the gaseous pollutants affected by the change in anthropogenic activities in Beijing throughout the SF. They highlight the need for limiting the firework emissions during China's most important traditional festival. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Snyder, Claire F; Mathias, Susan D; Cella, David; Isitt, John J; Wu, Albert W; Young, Joan
2008-10-01
To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) patients. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study comparing ITP patients' HRQOL to age and gender matched controls. ITP patients from the Platelet Disorder Support Association were recruited until 1000 surveys had been completed. Controls were randomly sampled from the Harris Interactive Online Panel. ITP patients and controls completed a one-time web-based survey, including a comprehensive HRQOL assessment. ITP patients completed the SF-36, the EQ-5D, and the ITP-Patient Assessment Questionnaire (ITP-PAQ). Controls completed the SF-36 and EQ-5D only. ITP patients' SF-36 and EQ-5D scores were compared to controls in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Associations between splenectomy status, duration of illness, and platelet count with ITP patients' HRQOL scores were also examined. This analysis included 1002 ITP patients and 1031 controls. ITP patients scored worse on seven of eight SF-36 domains and the Physical and Mental Summary scores (all p < 0.05) and on the EQ-5D visual analog scale (65.5 vs. 82.3; p = 0.002). ITP patients who had undergone splenectomy had similar SF-36 and EQ-5D scores to non-splenectomy patients but scored significantly worse on 5 of 10 ITP-PAQ scales: Bother, Psychological, Fear, Social Activity, and Work (all p < 0.05). ITP patients diagnosed within the past 5 years had worse Bother and Overall Quality of Life scores than less recently diagnosed patients but were similar on other ITP-PAQ scales. Lower platelet count was consistently associated with worse ITP-PAQ scores and had weaker associations with SF-36 and EQ-5D scores. ITP was associated with consistent and statistically significant deficits on generic HRQOL measures. The ITP-PAQ demonstrated differences based on disease severity and treatments. The self-selection bias in the two samples limits the generalizability of the results to all patients with ITP. Further research is needed in more generalizable samples.
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Foltyn, S.R.
1987-05-29
The disclosure relates to low loss, high power variable attenuators comprising one or more transmissive and/or reflective multilayer dielectric filters. The attenuator is particularly suitable to use with unpolarized lasers such as excimer lasers. Beam attenuation is a function of beam polarization and the angle of incidence between the beam and the filter and is controlled by adjusting the angle of incidence the beam makes to the filter or filters. Filters are selected in accordance with beam wavelength. 9 figs.
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Electrically heated particulate filter propagation support methods and systems
Gonze, Eugene V [Pinckney, MI; Ament, Frank [Troy, MI
2011-06-07
A control system that controls regeneration of a particulate filter is provided. The system generally includes a regeneration module that controls current to the particulate filter to initiate combustion of particulate matter in the particulate filter. A propagation module estimates a propagation status of the combustion of the particulate matter based on a combustion temperature. A temperature adjustment module controls the combustion temperature by selectively increasing a temperature of exhaust that passes through the particulate filter.
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2008-02-01
Feng YQ et al. Anti-beta s- ribozyme reduces beta s mRNA levels in transgenic mice: Potential application to the gene therapy of sickle cell anemia... ribozymes . RNA 2003;9:1254–1263. 13 Pace BS, Qian X, Ofori-Acquah SF. Selective inhibition of beta-globin RNA transcripts by antisense RNA molecules. Cell
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Production of silk sericin/silk fibroin blend nanofibers
2011-01-01
Silk sericin (SS)/silk fibroin (SF) blend nanofibers have been produced by electrospinning in a binary SS/SF trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) solution system, which was prepared by mixing 20 wt.% SS TFA solution and 10 wt.% SF TFA solution to give different compositions. The diameters of the SS/SF nanofibers ranged from 33 to 837 nm, and they showed a round cross section. The surface of the SS/SF nanofibers was smooth, and the fibers possessed a bead-free structure. The average diameters of the SS/SF (75/25, 50/50, and 25/75) blend nanofibers were much thicker than that of SS and SF nanofibers. The SS/SF (100/0, 75/25, and 50/50) blend nanofibers were easily dissolved in water, while the SS/SF (25/75 and 0/100) blend nanofibers could not be completely dissolved in water. The SS/SF blend nanofibers could not be completely dissolved in methanol. The SS/SF blend nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and differential thermal analysis. FTIR showed that the SS/SF blend nanofibers possessed a random coil conformation and ß-sheet structure. PMID:21867508
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Recursive Algorithms for Real-Time Digital CR-RCn Pulse Shaping
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Nakhostin, M.
2011-10-01
This paper reports on recursive algorithms for real-time implementation of CR-(RC)n filters in digital nuclear spectroscopy systems. The algorithms are derived by calculating the Z-transfer function of the filters for filter orders up to n=4 . The performances of the filters are compared with the performance of the conventional digital trapezoidal filter using a noise generator which separately generates pure series, 1/f and parallel noise. The results of our study enable one to select the optimum digital filter for different noise and rate conditions.
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Underweight and malnutrition in home care: A multicenter study.
Lahmann, Nils A; Tannen, Antje; Suhr, Ralf
2016-10-01
This study aimed to provide representative figures about the prevalence of underweight and malnutrition among home care clients, and to determine the associated risk factors and the provided nutritional nursing interventions. In 2012, a multicenter point prevalence study was conducted among 878 randomly selected clients from 100 randomly selected home care services across Germany. Following a standardized study protocol, demographics, nutritional assessments (Body Mass Index, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Mini nutritional Assessment - short form (MNA-sf), nurses' clinical judgment on nutritional status) and interventions were assessed. Common nutritional risk factors for underweight and malnutrition were analyzed in a logistic regression model. Malnutrition figures varied between 4.8% (MNA-sf) and 6.8% (MUST), underweight between 8.7% (BMI < 20 kg/m(2)) and 10.2% (clinical judgment). Missing values were high in both malnutrition assessments (MNA-sf 48.8%, MUST 39.1%) due to a lack of information on many clients' loss of weight within the past 3-6 months. Regular weighing was performed in 33.6-57.3% of all clients, depending on weight and nutritional status. Mental overload (OR 8.1/4.4), needs help with feeding (OR 5.0/2.8) and loss of appetite (OR 3.6/3.9) were highly associated with malnutrition/underweight. Malnutrition and underweight are important issues in home care clients. Regular weighing should be performed in all home care clients so that a potential weight loss can be detected in time. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.
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Haller, Christine A; Anderson, Ilene B; Kim, Susan Y; Blanc, Paul D
2002-01-01
There has been a recent proliferation of medical reference texts intended to guide practitioners whose patients use herbal therapies. We systematically assessed six herbal reference texts to evaluate the information they contain on herbal toxicity. We selected six major herbal references published from 1996 to 2000 to evaluate the adequacy of their toxicological information in light of published adverse events. To identify herbs most relevant to toxicology, we reviewed herbal-related calls to our regional California Poison Control System, San Francisco division (CPCS-SF) in 1998 and identified the 12 herbs (defined as botanical dietary supplements) most frequently involved in these CPCS-SF referrals. We searched Medline (1966 to 2000) to identify published reports of adverse effects potentially related to these same 12 herbs. We scored each herbal reference text on the basis of information inclusiveness for the target 12 herbs, with a maximal overall score of 3. The herbs, identified on the basis of CPCS-SF call frequency were: St John's wort, ma huang, echinacea, guarana, ginkgo, ginseng, valerian, tea tree oil, goldenseal, arnica, yohimbe and kava kava. The overall herbal reference scores ranged from 2.2 to 0.4 (median 1.1). The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database received the highest overall score and was the most complete and useful reference source. All of the references, however, lacked sufficient information on management of herbal medicine overdose, and several had incorrect overdose management guidelines that could negatively impact patient care. Current herbal reference texts do not contain sufficient information for the assessment and management of adverse health effects of botanical therapies.
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dos Santos, Fernanda Bastos; Esteves, Katharina Eichbaum
2015-08-01
A multimetric, fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was developed and tested to assess the ecological status of streams with different riparian conditions in the Piracicaba River Basin. Nine streams with three categories of riparian zone preservation were selected: native forest (NF) with preserved forest, secondary forest (SF) with forest in an advanced state of regeneration and surrounded by sugarcane plantations, and sugarcane (SC) without riparian vegetation and surrounded by SC crops. A continuous scoring system was employed, and candidate metrics were tested for range, responsiveness, and redundancy, resulting in the selection of eight metrics to compose the index. The final IBI score was positively correlated with an Environmental Index both in the dry (Spearman's rho = 0.76; P = 0.01) and rainy seasons (Spearman's rho = 0.66; P = 0.04), suggesting that this IBI is a suitable tool for the assessment of the biological conditions of these streams. The highest IBI values were observed in the rainy season at the NF and SF sites, with significant differences between the NF and SC sites (Kruskal-Wallis test: P = 0.03). The results indicated some variability in the biological integrity at SF and SC sites, suggesting a relationship with the intensity of the management of this crop. Patterns were consistent with other studies that have shown the effects of agriculture on the environmental quality of streams, which indicate the importance of the riparian zone to the maintenance of ecosystem integrity and supports the use of the IBI for biological monitoring in similar regions.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
dos Santos, Fernanda Bastos; Esteves, Katharina Eichbaum
2015-08-01
A multimetric, fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was developed and tested to assess the ecological status of streams with different riparian conditions in the Piracicaba River Basin. Nine streams with three categories of riparian zone preservation were selected: native forest (NF) with preserved forest, secondary forest (SF) with forest in an advanced state of regeneration and surrounded by sugarcane plantations, and sugarcane (SC) without riparian vegetation and surrounded by SC crops. A continuous scoring system was employed, and candidate metrics were tested for range, responsiveness, and redundancy, resulting in the selection of eight metrics to compose the index. The final IBI score was positively correlated with an Environmental Index both in the dry (Spearman's rho = 0.76; P = 0.01) and rainy seasons (Spearman's rho = 0.66; P = 0.04), suggesting that this IBI is a suitable tool for the assessment of the biological conditions of these streams. The highest IBI values were observed in the rainy season at the NF and SF sites, with significant differences between the NF and SC sites (Kruskal-Wallis test: P = 0.03). The results indicated some variability in the biological integrity at SF and SC sites, suggesting a relationship with the intensity of the management of this crop. Patterns were consistent with other studies that have shown the effects of agriculture on the environmental quality of streams, which indicate the importance of the riparian zone to the maintenance of ecosystem integrity and supports the use of the IBI for biological monitoring in similar regions.
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Chemoproteomics-Aided Medicinal Chemistry for the Discovery of EPHA2 Inhibitors.
Heinzlmeir, Stephanie; Lohse, Jonas; Treiber, Tobias; Kudlinzki, Denis; Linhard, Verena; Gande, Santosh Lakshmi; Sreeramulu, Sridhar; Saxena, Krishna; Liu, Xiaofeng; Wilhelm, Mathias; Schwalbe, Harald; Kuster, Bernhard; Médard, Guillaume
2017-06-21
The receptor tyrosine kinase EPHA2 has gained attention as a therapeutic drug target for cancer and infectious diseases. However, EPHA2 research and EPHA2-based therapies have been hampered by the lack of selective small-molecule inhibitors. Herein we report the synthesis and evaluation of dedicated EPHA2 inhibitors based on the clinical BCR-ABL/SRC inhibitor dasatinib as a lead structure. We designed hybrid structures of dasatinib and the previously known EPHA2 binders CHEMBL249097, PD-173955, and a known EPHB4 inhibitor in order to exploit both the ATP pocket entrance as well as the ribose pocket as binding epitopes in the kinase EPHA2. Medicinal chemistry and inhibitor design were guided by a chemical proteomics approach, allowing early selectivity profiling of the newly synthesized inhibitor candidates. Concomitant protein crystallography of 17 inhibitor co-crystals delivered detailed insight into the atomic interactions that underlie the structure-affinity relationship. Finally, the anti-proliferative effect of the inhibitor candidates was confirmed in the glioblastoma cell line SF-268. In this work, we thus discovered a novel EPHA2 inhibitor candidate that features an improved selectivity profile while maintaining potency against EPHA2 and anticancer activity in SF-268 cells. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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The effect of SF6 addition in a Cl2/Ar inductively coupled plasma for deep titanium etching
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Laudrel, E.; Tillocher, T.; Meric, Y.; Lefaucheux, P.; Boutaud, B.; Dussart, R.
2018-05-01
Titanium is a material of interest for the biomedical field and more particularly for body implantable devices. Titanium deep etching by plasma was carried out in an inductively coupled plasma with a chlorine-based chemistry for the fabrication of titanium-based microdevices. Bulk titanium etch rate was first studied in Cl2/Ar plasma mixture versus the source power and the self-bias voltage. The plasma was characterized by Langmuir probe and by optical emission spectroscopy. The addition of SF6 in the plasma mixture was investigated. Titanium etch rate was optimized and reached a value of 2.4 µm · min-1. The nickel hard mask selectivity was also enhanced. The etched titanium surface roughness was reduced significantly.
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Probing plasma fluorinated graphene via spectromicroscopy.
Struzzi, C; Scardamaglia, M; Reckinger, N; Sezen, H; Amati, M; Gregoratti, L; Colomer, J-F; Ewels, C; Snyders, R; Bittencourt, C
2017-11-29
Plasma fluorination of graphene is studied using a combination of spectroscopy and microscopy techniques, giving insight into the yield and fluorination mechanism for functionalization of supported graphene with both CF 4 and SF 6 gas precursors. Ion acceleration during fluorination is used to probe the effect on grafting functionalities. Adatom clustering, which occurs with CF 4 plasma treatment, is suppressed when higher kinetic energy is supplied to the ions. During SF 6 plasma functionalization, the sulfur atoms tend to bond to bare copper areas instead of affecting the graphene chemistry, except when the kinetic energy of the ions is restricted. Using scanning photoelectron microscopy, with a 100 nm spatial resolution, the chemical bonding environment is evaluated in the fluorinated carbon network at selected regions and the functionalization homogeneity is controlled in individual graphene flakes.
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Malikova, Jana; Camats, Núria; Fernández-Cancio, Mónica; Heath, Karen; González, Isabel; Caimarí, María; del Campo, Miguel; Albisu, Marian; Kolouskova, Stanislava; Audí, Laura; Flück, Christa E.
2014-01-01
Context Human NR5A1/SF-1 mutations cause 46,XY disorder of sex development (DSD) with broad phenotypic variability, and rarely cause adrenal insufficiency although SF-1 is an important transcription factor for many genes involved in steroidogenesis. In addition, the Sf-1 knockout mouse develops obesity with age. Obesity might be mediated through Sf-1 regulating activity of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an important regulator of energy balance in the ventromedial hypothalamus. Objective To characterize novel SF-1 gene variants in 4 families, clinical, genetic and functional studies were performed with respect to steroidogenesis and energy balance. Patients 5 patients with 46,XY DSD were found to harbor NR5A1/SF-1 mutations including 2 novel variations. One patient harboring a novel mutation also suffered from adrenal insufficiency. Methods SF-1 mutations were studied in cell systems (HEK293, JEG3) for impact on transcription of genes involved in steroidogenesis (CYP11A1, CYP17A1, HSD3B2) and in energy balance (BDNF). BDNF regulation by SF-1 was studied by promoter assays (JEG3). Results Two novel NR5A1/SF-1 mutations (Glu7Stop, His408Profs*159) were confirmed. Glu7Stop is the 4th reported SF-1 mutation causing DSD and adrenal insufficiency. In vitro studies revealed that transcription of the BDNF gene is regulated by SF-1, and that mutant SF-1 decreased BDNF promoter activation (similar to steroid enzyme promoters). However, clinical data from 16 subjects carrying SF-1 mutations showed normal birth weight and BMI. Conclusions Glu7Stop and His408Profs*159 are novel SF-1 mutations identified in patients with 46,XY DSD and adrenal insufficiency (Glu7Stop). In vitro, SF-1 mutations affect not only steroidogenesis but also transcription of BDNF which is involved in energy balance. However, in contrast to mice, consequences on weight were not found in humans with SF-1 mutations. PMID:25122490
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Malikova, Jana; Camats, Núria; Fernández-Cancio, Mónica; Heath, Karen; González, Isabel; Caimarí, María; del Campo, Miguel; Albisu, Marian; Kolouskova, Stanislava; Audí, Laura; Flück, Christa E
2014-01-01
Human NR5A1/SF-1 mutations cause 46,XY disorder of sex development (DSD) with broad phenotypic variability, and rarely cause adrenal insufficiency although SF-1 is an important transcription factor for many genes involved in steroidogenesis. In addition, the Sf-1 knockout mouse develops obesity with age. Obesity might be mediated through Sf-1 regulating activity of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), an important regulator of energy balance in the ventromedial hypothalamus. To characterize novel SF-1 gene variants in 4 families, clinical, genetic and functional studies were performed with respect to steroidogenesis and energy balance. 5 patients with 46,XY DSD were found to harbor NR5A1/SF-1 mutations including 2 novel variations. One patient harboring a novel mutation also suffered from adrenal insufficiency. SF-1 mutations were studied in cell systems (HEK293, JEG3) for impact on transcription of genes involved in steroidogenesis (CYP11A1, CYP17A1, HSD3B2) and in energy balance (BDNF). BDNF regulation by SF-1 was studied by promoter assays (JEG3). Two novel NR5A1/SF-1 mutations (Glu7Stop, His408Profs*159) were confirmed. Glu7Stop is the 4th reported SF-1 mutation causing DSD and adrenal insufficiency. In vitro studies revealed that transcription of the BDNF gene is regulated by SF-1, and that mutant SF-1 decreased BDNF promoter activation (similar to steroid enzyme promoters). However, clinical data from 16 subjects carrying SF-1 mutations showed normal birth weight and BMI. Glu7Stop and His408Profs*159 are novel SF-1 mutations identified in patients with 46,XY DSD and adrenal insufficiency (Glu7Stop). In vitro, SF-1 mutations affect not only steroidogenesis but also transcription of BDNF which is involved in energy balance. However, in contrast to mice, consequences on weight were not found in humans with SF-1 mutations.
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He, Shihan; Ni, Shuang; Hegde, Shailaja; Wang, Xin; Sharda, Daniel R.; August, Avery; Paulson, Robert F.; Hankey, Pamela A.
2010-01-01
Friend virus induces an erythroleukemia in susceptible mice that is initiated by the interaction of the Friend virus-encoded glycoprotein gp55 with the erythropoietin (Epo) receptor and the product of the host Fv2 gene, a naturally occurring truncated form of the Stk receptor tyrosine kinase (Sf-Stk). We have previously demonstrated that the activation of Sf-Stk, recruitment of a Grb2/Gab2/Stat3 signaling complex, and induction of Pu.1 expression by Stat3 are required for the development of the early stage of Friend disease both in vitro and in vivo. Here we demonstrate that the interaction of gp55 with Sf-Stk is dependent on cysteine residues in the ecotropic domain of gp55 and the extracellular domain of Sf-Stk. Point mutation of these cysteine residues or deletion of these domains inhibits the ability of gp55 to interact with Sf-Stk, resulting in the inability of these proteins to promote the Epo-independent growth of erythroid progenitor cells. We also demonstrate that the interaction of gp55 with Sf-Stk does not promote dimerization of Sf-Stk but results in enhanced phosphorylation of Sf-Stk and the relocalization of Sf-Stk from the cytosol to the plasma membrane. Finally, we demonstrate that a constitutively active form of Sf-Stk (Sf-StkM330T), as well as its human counterpart, Sf-Ron, promotes Epo-independent colony formation in the absence of gp55 and that this response is also dependent on the cysteines in the extracellular domains of Sf-StkM330T and Sf-Ron. These data suggest that the cysteines in the extracellular domains of Sf-Stk and Sf-Ron may also mediate the interaction of these truncated receptors with other cellular factors that regulate their ability to promote cytokine-independent growth. PMID:20016000
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Meckley, Trevor D.; Holbrook, Christopher M.; Wagner, C. Michael; Binder, Thomas R.
2014-01-01
The use of position precision estimates that reflect the confidence in the positioning process should be considered prior to the use of biological filters that rely on a priori expectations of the subject’s movement capacities and tendencies. Position confidence goals should be determined based upon the needs of the research questions and analysis requirements versus arbitrary selection, in which filters of previous studies are adopted. Data filtering with this approach ensures that data quality is sufficient for the selected analyses and presents the opportunity to adjust or identify a different analysis in the event that the requisite precision was not attained. Ignoring these steps puts a practitioner at risk of reporting errant findings.
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A Compact Band-Pass Filter with High Selectivity and Second Harmonic Suppression
Hadarig, Ramona Cosmina; de Cos Gomez, Maria Elena; Las-Heras, Fernando
2013-01-01
The design of a novel band-pass filter with narrow-band features based on an electromagnetic resonator at 6.4 GHz is presented. A prototype is manufactured and characterized in terms of transmission and reflection coefficient. The selective passband and suppression of the second harmonic make the filter suitable to be used in a C band frequency range for radar systems and satellite/terrestrial applications. To avoid substantial interference for this kind of applications, passive components with narrow band features and small dimensions are required. Between 3.6 GHz and 4.2 GHz the band-pass filter with harmonic suppression should have an attenuation of at least 35 dB, whereas for a passband, less than 10% is sufficient. PMID:28788412
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Wang, Shan; Eccleston, Christopher; Keogh, Edmund
2017-11-01
Spatial frequency (SF) information contributes to the recognition of facial expressions, including pain. Low-SF encodes facial configuration and structure and often dominates over high-SF information, which encodes fine details in facial features. This low-SF preference has not been investigated within the context of pain. In this study, we investigated whether perpetual preference differences exist for low-SF and high-SF pain information. A novel hybrid expression paradigm was used in which 2 different expressions, one containing low-SF information and the other high-SF information, were combined in a facial hybrid. Participants are instructed to identify the core expression contained within the hybrid, allowing for the measurement of SF information preference. Three experiments were conducted (46 participants in each) that varied the expressions within the hybrid faces: respectively pain-neutral, pain-fear, and pain-happiness. In order to measure the temporal aspects of image processing, each hybrid image was presented for 33, 67, 150, and 300 ms. As expected, identification of pain and other expressions was dominated by low-SF information across the 3 experiments. The low-SF preference was largest when the presentation of hybrid faces was brief and reduced as the presentation duration increased. A sex difference was also found in experiment 1. For women, the low-SF preference was dampened by high-SF pain information, when viewing low-SF neutral expressions. These results not only confirm the role that SF information has in the recognition of pain in facial expressions but suggests that in some situations, there may be sex differences in how pain is communicated.
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Application of an Optimal Tuner Selection Approach for On-Board Self-Tuning Engine Models
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Simon, Donald L.; Armstrong, Jeffrey B.; Garg, Sanjay
2012-01-01
An enhanced design methodology for minimizing the error in on-line Kalman filter-based aircraft engine performance estimation applications is presented in this paper. It specific-ally addresses the under-determined estimation problem, in which there are more unknown parameters than available sensor measurements. This work builds upon an existing technique for systematically selecting a model tuning parameter vector of appropriate dimension to enable estimation by a Kalman filter, while minimizing the estimation error in the parameters of interest. While the existing technique was optimized for open-loop engine operation at a fixed design point, in this paper an alternative formulation is presented that enables the technique to be optimized for an engine operating under closed-loop control throughout the flight envelope. The theoretical Kalman filter mean squared estimation error at a steady-state closed-loop operating point is derived, and the tuner selection approach applied to minimize this error is discussed. A technique for constructing a globally optimal tuning parameter vector, which enables full-envelope application of the technology, is also presented, along with design steps for adjusting the dynamic response of the Kalman filter state estimates. Results from the application of the technique to linear and nonlinear aircraft engine simulations are presented and compared to the conventional approach of tuner selection. The new methodology is shown to yield a significant improvement in on-line Kalman filter estimation accuracy.
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Human Pathophysiological Adaptations to the Space Environment
Demontis, Gian C.; Germani, Marco M.; Caiani, Enrico G.; Barravecchia, Ivana; Passino, Claudio; Angeloni, Debora
2017-01-01
Space is an extreme environment for the human body, where during long-term missions microgravity and high radiation levels represent major threats to crew health. Intriguingly, space flight (SF) imposes on the body of highly selected, well-trained, and healthy individuals (astronauts and cosmonauts) pathophysiological adaptive changes akin to an accelerated aging process and to some diseases. Such effects, becoming manifest over a time span of weeks (i.e., cardiovascular deconditioning) to months (i.e., loss of bone density and muscle atrophy) of exposure to weightlessness, can be reduced through proper countermeasures during SF and in due time are mostly reversible after landing. Based on these considerations, it is increasingly accepted that SF might provide a mechanistic insight into certain pathophysiological processes, a concept of interest to pre-nosological medicine. In this article, we will review the main stress factors encountered in space and their impact on the human body and will also discuss the possible lessons learned with space exploration in reference to human health on Earth. In fact, this is a productive, cross-fertilized, endeavor in which studies performed on Earth yield countermeasures for protection of space crew health, and space research is translated into health measures for Earth-bound population. PMID:28824446
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Expression and Purification of EPHA2 Tyrosine Kinase Domain for Crystallographic and NMR Studies.
Gande, Santosh L; Saxena, Krishna; Sreeramulu, Sridhar; Linhard, Verena; Kudlinzki, Denis; Heinzlmeir, Stephanie; Reichert, Andreas J; Skerra, Arne; Kuster, Bernhard; Schwalbe, Harald
2016-12-02
The receptor tyrosine kinase EPHA2 is overexpressed in several cancers (breast, head and neck, non-small-cell lung cancer). Small-molecule-based inhibition of the EPHA2 kinase domain (KD) is seen as an important strategy for therapeutic intervention. However, obtaining structural information by crystallography or NMR spectroscopy for drug discovery is severely hampered by the lack of pure, homogeneous protein. Here, different fragments of the EPHA2 KD were expressed and purified from both bacterial (Escherichia coli, BL21(DE3) cells) and insect cells (Spodoptera frugiperda, Sf9 cells). 1 H, 15 N HSQC was used to determine the proper folding and homogeneity of all the constructs. Protein from E. coli was well-folded but unstable, and it did not crystallize. However, a construct (D596-G900) produced in Sf9 cells yielded homogenous, well-folded protein that crystallized readily, thereby resulting in eleven new EPHA2-ligand crystal structures. We have also established a strategy for selective and uniform 15 N-amino acid labeling of EPHA2 KD in Sf9 cells for investigating dynamics and EPHA2-drug interactions by NMR. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
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Tountas, Yannis; Manios, Yannis; Dimitrakaki, Christine; Tzavara, Chara
2007-01-01
The study aimed to explore the association between the presence of several protective health behaviors and physical and mental wellbeing/functioning among healthy hospital employees in Greece. A randomly selected representative sample of 395 employees working in seven hospitals, both public and private, within the wider region of Athens participated in the study. Participants were assigned to the following professional categories: administrative, auxiliary and technical personnel, medical doctors and nurses. Four basic protective health behaviors were examined: following the Mediterranean diet, exercising, no smoking and moderate alcohol drinking. Employees' health related quality of life was assessed with the self-administered SF-36 generic health status measure. Technical and administrative hospital personnel reported more healthy behaviors than medical and auxiliary personnel. There was an increased likelihood of scoring higher in almost all SF-36 Physical health subscales in the accumulation of the above four protective heath behaviors. In terms of mental health, even the presence of two or more protective health behaviors significantly increase the score on most SF-36 Mental health subscales. Results indicate that the protective role of basic health behaviors extends beyond physical health to mental wellbeing.
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Human Pathophysiological Adaptations to the Space Environment.
Demontis, Gian C; Germani, Marco M; Caiani, Enrico G; Barravecchia, Ivana; Passino, Claudio; Angeloni, Debora
2017-01-01
Space is an extreme environment for the human body, where during long-term missions microgravity and high radiation levels represent major threats to crew health. Intriguingly, space flight (SF) imposes on the body of highly selected, well-trained, and healthy individuals (astronauts and cosmonauts) pathophysiological adaptive changes akin to an accelerated aging process and to some diseases. Such effects, becoming manifest over a time span of weeks (i.e., cardiovascular deconditioning) to months (i.e., loss of bone density and muscle atrophy) of exposure to weightlessness, can be reduced through proper countermeasures during SF and in due time are mostly reversible after landing. Based on these considerations, it is increasingly accepted that SF might provide a mechanistic insight into certain pathophysiological processes, a concept of interest to pre-nosological medicine. In this article, we will review the main stress factors encountered in space and their impact on the human body and will also discuss the possible lessons learned with space exploration in reference to human health on Earth. In fact, this is a productive, cross-fertilized, endeavor in which studies performed on Earth yield countermeasures for protection of space crew health, and space research is translated into health measures for Earth-bound population.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Loh, K. K.; Yeo, K. S.; Shee, Y. G.
2015-04-24
A microwave photonic filter based on double-Brillouin-frequency spaced multiwavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser (BEFL) is experimentally demonstrated. The filter selectivity can be easily adjusted by tuning and apodizing the optical taps generated from the multiwavelength BEFL. Reconfiguration of different frequency responses are demonstrated.
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Image search engine with selective filtering and feature-element-based classification
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Li, Qing; Zhang, Yujin; Dai, Shengyang
2001-12-01
With the growth of Internet and storage capability in recent years, image has become a widespread information format in World Wide Web. However, it has become increasingly harder to search for images of interest, and effective image search engine for the WWW needs to be developed. We propose in this paper a selective filtering process and a novel approach for image classification based on feature element in the image search engine we developed for the WWW. First a selective filtering process is embedded in a general web crawler to filter out the meaningless images with GIF format. Two parameters that can be obtained easily are used in the filtering process. Our classification approach first extract feature elements from images instead of feature vectors. Compared with feature vectors, feature elements can better capture visual meanings of the image according to subjective perception of human beings. Different from traditional image classification method, our classification approach based on feature element doesn't calculate the distance between two vectors in the feature space, while trying to find associations between feature element and class attribute of the image. Experiments are presented to show the efficiency of the proposed approach.
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Zhang, Yu; Zhou, Guoxu; Jin, Jing; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej
2015-11-30
Common spatial pattern (CSP) has been most popularly applied to motor-imagery (MI) feature extraction for classification in brain-computer interface (BCI) application. Successful application of CSP depends on the filter band selection to a large degree. However, the most proper band is typically subject-specific and can hardly be determined manually. This study proposes a sparse filter band common spatial pattern (SFBCSP) for optimizing the spatial patterns. SFBCSP estimates CSP features on multiple signals that are filtered from raw EEG data at a set of overlapping bands. The filter bands that result in significant CSP features are then selected in a supervised way by exploiting sparse regression. A support vector machine (SVM) is implemented on the selected features for MI classification. Two public EEG datasets (BCI Competition III dataset IVa and BCI Competition IV IIb) are used to validate the proposed SFBCSP method. Experimental results demonstrate that SFBCSP help improve the classification performance of MI. The optimized spatial patterns by SFBCSP give overall better MI classification accuracy in comparison with several competing methods. The proposed SFBCSP is a potential method for improving the performance of MI-based BCI. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Baboolal, Thomas G; Mastbergen, Simon C; Jones, Elena; Calder, Stuart J; Lafeber, Floris P J G; McGonagle, Dennis
2016-05-01
Knee joint distraction (KJD) is a novel, but poorly understood, treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) associated with remarkable 'spontaneous' cartilage repair in which resident synovial fluid (SF) multipotential mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may play a role. We hypothesised that SF hyaluronic acid (HA) inhibited the initial interaction between MSCs and cartilage, a key first step to integration, and postulate that KJD environment favoured MSC/cartilage interactions. Attachment of dual-labelled SF-MSCs were assessed in a novel in vitro human cartilage model using OA and rheumatoid arthritic (RA) SF. SF was digested with hyaluronidase (hyase) and its effect on adhesion was observed using confocal microscopy. MRI and microscopy were used to image autologous dual-labelled MSCs in an in vivo canine model of KJD. SF-HA was investigated using gel electrophoresis and densitometry. Osteoarthritic-synovial fluid (OA-SF) and purified high molecular weight (MW) HA inhibited SF-MSC adhesion to plastic, while hyase treatment of OA-SF but not RA-SF significantly increased MSC adhesion to cartilage (3.7-fold, p<0.05) These differences were linked to the SF mediated HA-coat which was larger in OA-SF than in RA-SF. OA-SF contained >9 MDa HA and this correlated with increases in adhesion (r=0.880). In the canine KJD model, MSC adhesion to cartilage was evident and also dependent on HA MW. These findings highlight an unappreciated role of SF-HA on MSC interactions and provide proof of concept that endogenous SF-MSCs are capable of adhering to cartilage in a favourable biochemical and biomechanical environment in OA distracted joints, offering novel one-stage strategies towards joint repair. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/
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Ion-binding properties of the ClC chloride selectivity filter
Lobet, Séverine; Dutzler, Raimund
2006-01-01
The ClC channels are members of a large protein family of chloride (Cl−) channels and secondary active Cl− transporters. Despite their diverse functions, the transmembrane architecture within the family is conserved. Here we present a crystallographic study on the ion-binding properties of the ClC selectivity filter in the close homolog from Escherichia coli (EcClC). The ClC selectivity filter contains three ion-binding sites that bridge the extra- and intracellular solutions. The sites bind Cl− ions with mM affinity. Despite their close proximity within the filter, the three sites can be occupied simultaneously. The ion-binding properties are found conserved from the bacterial transporter EcClC to the human Cl− channel ClC-1, suggesting a close functional link between ion permeation in the channels and active transport in the transporters. In resemblance to K+ channels, ions permeate the ClC channel in a single file, with mutual repulsion between the ions fostering rapid conduction. PMID:16341087
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Xie, Yiwei; Geng, Zihan; Zhuang, Leimeng; Burla, Maurizio; Taddei, Caterina; Hoekman, Marcel; Leinse, Arne; Roeloffzen, Chris G. H.; Boller, Klaus-J.; Lowery, Arthur J.
2017-12-01
Integrated optical signal processors have been identified as a powerful engine for optical processing of microwave signals. They enable wideband and stable signal processing operations on miniaturized chips with ultimate control precision. As a promising application, such processors enables photonic implementations of reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) filters with wide design flexibility, large bandwidth, and high-frequency selectivity. This is a key technology for photonic-assisted RF front ends that opens a path to overcoming the bandwidth limitation of current digital electronics. Here, the recent progress of integrated optical signal processors for implementing such RF filters is reviewed. We highlight the use of a low-loss, high-index-contrast stoichiometric silicon nitride waveguide which promises to serve as a practical material platform for realizing high-performance optical signal processors and points toward photonic RF filters with digital signal processing (DSP)-level flexibility, hundreds-GHz bandwidth, MHz-band frequency selectivity, and full system integration on a chip scale.
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Miniaturized LTCC elliptic-function lowpass filters with side stopbands
Hsieh, Lung -Hwa; Dai, Steve Xunhu
2015-05-28
A compact, high-selectivity, and wide stopband lowpass filter is highly demanded in wireless communication systems to suppress adjacent harmonics and unwanted signals. In this letter, a new miniaturized lowpass filter with elliptic-function frequency response is introduced. The filter is fabricated in multilayer low temperature cofired ceramics. The size of the miniaturized filter is 5.5 × 3.9 × 1.72 mm3. As a result, the measured insertion loss of the filter is better than 0.37 dB from DC to 1.28 GHz and the measured stopband of the filter is great than 22 dB from 2.3 to 7.5 GHz.
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Reappraisal of solid selective emitters
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Chubb, Donald L.
1990-01-01
New rare earth oxide emitters show greater efficiency than previous emitters. As a result, based on a simple model the efficiency of these emitters was calculated. Results indicate that the emission band of the selective emitter must be at relatively low energy (less than or equal to .52 eV) to obtain maximum efficiency at moderate emitter temperatures (less than or equal to 1500 K). Thus low bandgap energy PV materials are required to obtain an efficient thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system. Of the 4 specific rare earths (Nd, Ho, Er, Yb) studied Ho has the largest efficiency at moderate temperatures (72 percent at 1500 K). A comparison was made between a selective emitter TPV system and a TPV system that uses a thermal emitter plus a band pass filter to make the thermal emitter behave like a selective emitter. Results of the comparison indicate that only for very optimistic filter and thermal emitter properties will the filter TPV system have a greater efficiency than the selective emitter system.
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Communication Policies in Knowledge Networks
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ioannidis, Evangelos; Varsakelis, Nikos; Antoniou, Ioannis
2018-02-01
Faster knowledge attainment within organizations leads to improved innovation, and therefore competitive advantage. Interventions on the organizational network may be risky or costly or time-demanding. We investigate several communication policies in knowledge networks, which reduce the knowledge attainment time without interventions. We examine the resulting knowledge dynamics for real organizational networks, as well as for artificial networks. More specifically, we investigate the dependence of knowledge dynamics on: (1) the Selection Rule of agents for knowledge acquisition, and (2) the Order of implementation of "Selection" and "Filtering". Significant decrease of the knowledge attainment time (up to -74%) can be achieved by: (1) selecting agents of both high knowledge level and high knowledge transfer efficiency, and (2) implementing "Selection" after "Filtering" in contrast to the converse, implicitly assumed, conventional prioritization. The Non-Commutativity of "Selection" and "Filtering", reveals a Non-Boolean Logic of the Network Operations. The results demonstrate that significant improvement of knowledge dynamics can be achieved by implementing "fruitful" communication policies, by raising the awareness of agents, without any intervention on the network structure.
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Developing topic-specific search filters for PubMed with click-through data.
Li, J; Lu, Z
2013-01-01
Search filters have been developed and demonstrated for better information access to the immense and ever-growing body of publications in the biomedical domain. However, to date the number of filters remains quite limited because the current filter development methods require significant human efforts in manual document review and filter term selection. In this regard, we aim to investigate automatic methods for generating search filters. We present an automated method to develop topic-specific filters on the basis of users' search logs in PubMed. Specifically, for a given topic, we first detect its relevant user queries and then include their corresponding clicked articles to serve as the topic-relevant document set accordingly. Next, we statistically identify informative terms that best represent the topic-relevant document set using a background set composed of topic irrelevant articles. Lastly, the selected representative terms are combined with Boolean operators and evaluated on benchmark datasets to derive the final filter with the best performance. We applied our method to develop filters for four clinical topics: nephrology, diabetes, pregnancy, and depression. For the nephrology filter, our method obtained performance comparable to the state of the art (sensitivity of 91.3%, specificity of 98.7%, precision of 94.6%, and accuracy of 97.2%). Similarly, high-performing results (over 90% in all measures) were obtained for the other three search filters. Based on PubMed click-through data, we successfully developed a high-performance method for generating topic-specific search filters that is significantly more efficient than existing manual methods. All data sets (topic-relevant and irrelevant document sets) used in this study and a demonstration system are publicly available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/downloads/CQ_filter/
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Developing Topic-Specific Search Filters for PubMed with Click-Through Data
Li, Jiao; Lu, Zhiyong
2013-01-01
Summary Objectives Search filters have been developed and demonstrated for better information access to the immense and ever-growing body of publications in the biomedical domain. However, to date the number of filters remains quite limited because the current filter development methods require significant human efforts in manual document review and filter term selection. In this regard, we aim to investigate automatic methods for generating search filters. Methods We present an automated method to develop topic-specific filters on the basis of users’ search logs in PubMed. Specifically, for a given topic, we first detect its relevant user queries and then include their corresponding clicked articles to serve as the topic-relevant document set accordingly. Next, we statistically identify informative terms that best represent the topic-relevant document set using a background set composed of topic irrelevant articles. Lastly, the selected representative terms are combined with Boolean operators and evaluated on benchmark datasets to derive the final filter with the best performance. Results We applied our method to develop filters for four clinical topics: nephrology, diabetes, pregnancy, and depression. For the nephrology filter, our method obtained performance comparable to the state of the art (sensitivity of 91.3%, specificity of 98.7%, precision of 94.6%, and accuracy of 97.2%). Similarly, high-performing results (over 90% in all measures) were obtained for the other three search filters. Conclusion Based on PubMed click-through data, we successfully developed a high-performance method for generating topic-specific search filters that is significantly more efficient than existing manual methods. All data sets (topic-relevant and irrelevant document sets) used in this study and a demonstration system are publicly available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/downloads/CQ_filter/ PMID:23666447
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[Health-related quality of life in Chilean patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].
Collado-Mateo, Daniel; Adsuar, José C; Olivares, Pedro R; García-Gordillo, Miguel Ángel
2017-02-01
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a relevant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Short Form 6 dimensions (SF-6D) quality of life tool allows researchers to calculate preference-based utilities using data from SF-12 or SF-36 questionnaires. To provide normative values of SF-6D derived from SF-12 for Chilean patients with COPD. SF-6D utility index was calculated using data from the 2009/2010 Chilean National Health Survey. Sixty-nine male and 120 female patients with COPD participated in the survey. Data was stratified by gender, age, region, marital status, smoking status, monthly incomes, educational level and area. The mean (± SD) SF-6D utility index for Chilean patients with COPD was 0.65 ± 0.15. The scores for men and women were 0.68 ± 0.15 and 0.64 ± 0.15, respectively. Patients with high incomes and educational level reported higher SF-6D scores. Ceiling effect was not a limitation when SF-6D was used in these Chilean patients. The current study provides normative values of SF-6D derived from SF-12 for Chilean patients with COPD.
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Wu, Jingjing; Liu, Jiaoyan; Shi, Yanmei; Wan, Ying
2016-12-01
Silk fibroin (SF) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were incorporated into chitosan/glycerophosphate (GP) system to prepare new types of hydrogels. The formulated chitosan/SF/GP and chitosan/SF/HA/GP solutions were found to be injectable at room temperature, and able to form into hydrogels at near-physiological temperature and pH. Rheological measurements showed that elastic modulus of certain chitosan/SF/GP and chitosan/SF/HA/GP gels could reach around 1.8 and 15kPa, respectively, and was much higher than their respective viscous modulus. Compressive measurements revealed that some chitosan/SF/GP and chitosan/SF/HA/GP gels had 8 and 20-fold modulus and strength higher than the chitosan/GP gel, respectively, confirming that compressive properties of these gels were greatly improved. Results obtained from in vivo degradation demonstrated that degradation endurance of the optimized chitosan/SF/GP and chitosan/SF/HA/GP gels was significantly enhanced as compared to the chitosan/GP gel, and the degradation rate of the gels could be regulated by the SF component alone or by the combination of SF and HA components. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Hadoux, Xavier; Kumar, Dinesh Kant; Sarossy, Marc G; Roger, Jean-Michel; Gorretta, Nathalie
2016-05-19
Visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectra are generated by the combination of numerous low resolution features. Spectral variables are thus highly correlated, which can cause problems for selecting the most appropriate ones for a given application. Some decomposition bases such as Fourier or wavelet generally help highlighting spectral features that are important, but are by nature constraint to have both positive and negative components. Thus, in addition to complicating the selected features interpretability, it impedes their use for application-dedicated sensors. In this paper we have proposed a new method for feature selection: Application-Dedicated Selection of Filters (ADSF). This method relaxes the shape constraint by enabling the selection of any type of user defined custom features. By considering only relevant features, based on the underlying nature of the data, high regularization of the final model can be obtained, even in the small sample size context often encountered in spectroscopic applications. For larger scale deployment of application-dedicated sensors, these predefined feature constraints can lead to application specific optical filters, e.g., lowpass, highpass, bandpass or bandstop filters with positive only coefficients. In a similar fashion to Partial Least Squares, ADSF successively selects features using covariance maximization and deflates their influences using orthogonal projection in order to optimally tune the selection to the data with limited redundancy. ADSF is well suited for spectroscopic data as it can deal with large numbers of highly correlated variables in supervised learning, even with many correlated responses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Tuning the ion selectivity of two-pore channels
Guo, Jiangtao; Zeng, Weizhong; Jiang, Youxing
2017-01-01
Organellar two-pore channels (TPCs) contain two copies of a Shaker-like six-transmembrane (6-TM) domain in each subunit and are ubiquitously expressed in plants and animals. Interestingly, plant and animal TPCs share high sequence similarity in the filter region, yet exhibit drastically different ion selectivity. Plant TPC1 functions as a nonselective cation channel on the vacuole membrane, whereas mammalian TPC channels have been shown to be endo/lysosomal Na+-selective or Ca2+-release channels. In this study, we performed systematic characterization of the ion selectivity of TPC1 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtTPC1) and compared its selectivity with the selectivity of human TPC2 (HsTPC2). We demonstrate that AtTPC1 is selective for Ca2+ over Na+, but nonselective among monovalent cations (Li+, Na+, and K+). Our results also confirm that HsTPC2 is a Na+-selective channel activated by phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate. Guided by our recent structure of AtTPC1, we converted AtTPC1 to a Na+-selective channel by mimicking the selectivity filter of HsTPC2 and identified key residues in the TPC filters that differentiate the selectivity between AtTPC1 and HsTPC2. Furthermore, the structure of the Na+-selective AtTPC1 mutant elucidates the structural basis for Na+ selectivity in mammalian TPCs. PMID:28096396
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Tuning the ion selectivity of two-pore channels
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Guo, Jiangtao; Zeng, Weizhong; Jiang, Youxing
Organellar two-pore channels (TPCs) contain two copies of a Shaker-like six-transmembrane (6-TM) domain in each subunit and are ubiquitously expressed in plants and animals. Interestingly, plant and animal TPCs share high sequence similarity in the filter region, yet exhibit drastically different ion selectivity. Plant TPC1 functions as a nonselective cation channel on the vacuole membrane, whereas mammalian TPC channels have been shown to be endo/lysosomal Na+-selective or Ca2+-release channels. In this study, we performed systematic characterization of the ion selectivity of TPC1 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtTPC1) and compared its selectivity with the selectivity of human TPC2 (HsTPC2). We demonstrate thatmore » AtTPC1 is selective for Ca2+ over Na+, but nonselective among monovalent cations (Li+, Na+, and K+). Our results also confirm that HsTPC2 is a Na+-selective channel activated by phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate. Guided by our recent structure of AtTPC1, we converted AtTPC1 to a Na+-selective channel by mimicking the selectivity filter of HsTPC2 and identified key residues in the TPC filters that differentiate the selectivity between AtTPC1 and HsTPC2. Furthermore, the structure of the Na+-selective AtTPC1 mutant elucidates the structural basis for Na+ selectivity in mammalian TPCs.« less
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THE ARECIBO LEGACY FAST ALFA SURVEY: THE GALAXY POPULATION DETECTED BY ALFALFA
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Huang, Shan; Haynes, Martha P.; Giovanelli, Riccardo
Making use of H I 21 cm line measurements from the ALFALFA survey ({alpha}.40) and photometry from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), we investigate the global scaling relations and fundamental planes linking stars and gas for a sample of 9417 common galaxies: the {alpha}.40-SDSS-GALEX sample. In addition to their H I properties derived from the ALFALFA data set, stellar masses (M{sub *}) and star formation rates (SFRs) are derived from fitting the UV-optical spectral energy distributions. 96% of the {alpha}.40-SDSS-GALEX galaxies belong to the blue cloud, with the average gas fraction f{sub HI} {identical_to}more » M{sub HI}/M{sub *} {approx} 1.5. A transition in star formation (SF) properties is found whereby below M{sub *} {approx} 10{sup 9.5} M{sub Sun }, the slope of the star-forming sequence changes, the dispersion in the specific star formation rate (SSFR) distribution increases, and the star formation efficiency (SFE) mildly increases with M{sub *}. The evolutionary track in the SSFR-M{sub *} diagram, as well as that in the color-magnitude diagram, is linked to the H I content; below this transition mass, the SF is regulated strongly by the H I. Comparison of H I and optically selected samples over the same restricted volume shows that the H I-selected population is less evolved and has overall higher SFR and SSFR at a given stellar mass, but lower SFE and extinction, suggesting either that a bottleneck exists in the H I-to-H{sub 2} conversion or that the process of SF in the very H I-dominated galaxies obeys an unusual, low-efficiency SF law. A trend is found that, for a given stellar mass, high gas fraction galaxies reside preferentially in dark matter halos with high spin parameters. Because it represents a full census of H I-bearing galaxies at z {approx} 0, the scaling relations and fundamental planes derived for the ALFALFA population can be used to assess the H I detection rate by future blind H I surveys and intensity mapping experiments at higher redshift.« less
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[Factors affecting biological removal of iron and manganese in groundwater].
Xue, Gang; He, Sheng-Bing; Wang, Xin-Ze
2006-01-01
Factors affecting biological process for removing iron and manganese in groundwater were analyzed. When DO and pH in groundwater after aeration were 7.0 - 7.5 mg/L and 6.8 - 7.0 respectively, not only can the activation of Mn2+ oxidizing bacteria be maintained, but also the demand of iron and manganese removal can be satisfied. A novel inoculating approach of grafting mature filter material into filter bed, which is easier to handle than selective culture media, was employed in this research. However, this approach was only suitable to the filter material of high-quality manganese sand with strong Mn2+ adsorption capacity. For the filter material of quartz sand with weak adsorption capacity, only culturing and domesticating Mn2+ oxidizing bacteria by selective culture media can be adopted as inoculation in filter bed. The optimal backwashing rate of biological filter bed filled with manganese sand and quartz sand should be kept at a relatively low level of 6 - 9 L/(m2 x s) and 7 -11 L/( m2 x s), respectively. Then the stability of microbial phase in filter bed was not disturbed, and iron and manganese removal efficiency recovered in less than 5h. Moreover, by using filter material with uniform particle size of 1.0 - 1.2 mm in filter bed, the filtration cycle reached as long as 35 - 38h.
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Anizan, Nadège; Carlier, Thomas; Hindorf, Cecilia; Barbet, Jacques; Bardiès, Manuel
2012-02-13
Noninvasive multimodality imaging is essential for preclinical evaluation of the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of radionuclide therapy and for monitoring tumor response. Imaging with nonstandard positron-emission tomography [PET] isotopes such as 124I is promising in that context but requires accurate activity quantification. The decay scheme of 124I implies an optimization of both acquisition settings and correction processing. The PET scanner investigated in this study was the Inveon PET/CT system dedicated to small animal imaging. The noise equivalent count rate [NECR], the scatter fraction [SF], and the gamma-prompt fraction [GF] were used to determine the best acquisition parameters for mouse- and rat-sized phantoms filled with 124I. An image-quality phantom as specified by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NU 4-2008 protocol was acquired and reconstructed with two-dimensional filtered back projection, 2D ordered-subset expectation maximization [2DOSEM], and 3DOSEM with maximum a posteriori [3DOSEM/MAP] algorithms, with and without attenuation correction, scatter correction, and gamma-prompt correction (weighted uniform distribution subtraction). Optimal energy windows were established for the rat phantom (390 to 550 keV) and the mouse phantom (400 to 590 keV) by combining the NECR, SF, and GF results. The coincidence time window had no significant impact regarding the NECR curve variation. Activity concentration of 124I measured in the uniform region of an image-quality phantom was underestimated by 9.9% for the 3DOSEM/MAP algorithm with attenuation and scatter corrections, and by 23% with the gamma-prompt correction. Attenuation, scatter, and gamma-prompt corrections decreased the residual signal in the cold insert. The optimal energy windows were chosen with the NECR, SF, and GF evaluation. Nevertheless, an image quality and an activity quantification assessment were required to establish the most suitable reconstruction algorithm and corrections for 124I small animal imaging.
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Optimal Filter Estimation for Lucas-Kanade Optical Flow
Sharmin, Nusrat; Brad, Remus
2012-01-01
Optical flow algorithms offer a way to estimate motion from a sequence of images. The computation of optical flow plays a key-role in several computer vision applications, including motion detection and segmentation, frame interpolation, three-dimensional scene reconstruction, robot navigation and video compression. In the case of gradient based optical flow implementation, the pre-filtering step plays a vital role, not only for accurate computation of optical flow, but also for the improvement of performance. Generally, in optical flow computation, filtering is used at the initial level on original input images and afterwards, the images are resized. In this paper, we propose an image filtering approach as a pre-processing step for the Lucas-Kanade pyramidal optical flow algorithm. Based on a study of different types of filtering methods and applied on the Iterative Refined Lucas-Kanade, we have concluded on the best filtering practice. As the Gaussian smoothing filter was selected, an empirical approach for the Gaussian variance estimation was introduced. Tested on the Middlebury image sequences, a correlation between the image intensity value and the standard deviation value of the Gaussian function was established. Finally, we have found that our selection method offers a better performance for the Lucas-Kanade optical flow algorithm.
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Interaction of attention and acoustic factors in dichotic listening for fused words.
McCulloch, Katie; Lachner Bass, Natascha; Dial, Heather; Hiscock, Merrill; Jansen, Ben
2017-07-01
Two dichotic listening experiments examined the degree to which the right-ear advantage (REA) for linguistic stimuli is altered by a "top-down" variable (i.e., directed attention) in conjunction with selected "bottom-up" (acoustic) variables. Halwes fused dichotic words were administered to 99 right-handed adults with instructions to attend to the left or right ear, or to divide attention equally. Stimuli in Experiment 1 were presented without noise or mixed with noise that was high-pass or low-pass filtered, or unfiltered. The stimuli themselves in Experiment 2 were high-pass or low-pass filtered, or unfiltered. The initial consonants of each dichotic pair were categorized according to voice onset time (VOT) and place of articulation (PoA). White noise extinguished both the REA and selective attention, and filtered noise nullified selective attention without extinguishing the REA. Frequency filtering of the words themselves did not alter performance. VOT effects were inconsistent across experiments but PoA analyses indicated that paired velar consonants (/k/ and /g/) yield a left-ear advantage and paradoxical selective-attention results. The findings show that ear asymmetry and the effectiveness of directed attention can be altered by bottom-up variables.
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Kozlowski, L T; O'Connor, R J; Giovino, G A; Whetzel, C A; Pauly, J; Cummings, K M
2006-01-01
Filter ventilation is the dominant design feature of the modern cigarette that determines yields of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide on smoking machine tests. The commercial use of filter ventilation was precipitated by the 1964 United States Surgeon‐General's report, further advanced by the adoption of an official Federal Trade Commission test in 1967, and still further advanced by the inclusion of a gas phase (carbon monoxide) measure in 1979. The first vented‐filter brand on the market in the United States (Carlton) in 1964 and the second major vented‐filter brand (True) in 1966 illustrate this. Ultimately, filter ventilation became a virtually required way to make very low tar cigarettes (less than 10 mg or, even more so, less than 5 mg tar). The key to the lower tar cigarette was not, in effect, the advanced selective filtration design characteristics or sophisticated tobacco selection or processing as envisioned by experts (although these techniques were and are used); the key to the very much lower tar cigarette was simply punching holes in the filter. We propose that the banning of filter vents, coupled with low maximum standard tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide yields, would contribute to making cigarettes much less palatable and foster smoking cessation or the use of clearly less hazardous nicotine delivery systems. It may be necessary to link low maximum yields with the banning of filter ventilation to achieve public health benefit from such maxima. PMID:16728759
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Nameki, Nobukazu; Tsuda, Kengo; Takahashi, Mari; Sato, Atsuko; Tochio, Naoya; Inoue, Makoto; Terada, Takaho; Kigawa, Takanori; Kobayashi, Naohiro; Shirouzu, Mikako; Ito, Takuhiro; Sakamoto, Taiichi; Wakamatsu, Kaori; Güntert, Peter; Takahashi, Seizo; Yokoyama, Shigeyuki
2016-01-01
Abstract The spliceosomal protein SF3b49, a component of the splicing factor 3b (SF3b) protein complex in the U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein, contains two RNA recognition motif (RRM) domains. In yeast, the first RRM domain (RRM1) of Hsh49 protein (yeast orthologue of human SF3b49) reportedly interacts with another component, Cus1 protein (orthologue of human SF3b145). Here, we solved the solution structure of the RRM1 of human SF3b49 and examined its mode of interaction with a fragment of human SF3b145 using NMR methods. Chemical shift mapping showed that the SF3b145 fragment spanning residues 598–631 interacts with SF3b49 RRM1, which adopts a canonical RRM fold with a topology of β1‐α1‐β2‐β3‐α2‐β4. Furthermore, a docking model based on NOESY measurements suggests that residues 607–616 of the SF3b145 fragment adopt a helical structure that binds to RRM1 predominantly via α1, consequently exhibiting a helix–helix interaction in almost antiparallel. This mode of interaction was confirmed by a mutational analysis using GST pull‐down assays. Comparison with structures of all RRM domains when complexed with a peptide found that this helix–helix interaction is unique to SF3b49 RRM1. Additionally, all amino acid residues involved in the interaction are well conserved among eukaryotes, suggesting evolutionary conservation of this interaction mode between SF3b49 RRM1 and SF3b145. PMID:27862552
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Simón, Oihane; Williams, Trevor; Asensio, Aaron C.; Ros, Sarhay; Gaya, Andrea; Caballero, Primitivo; Possee, Robert D.
2008-01-01
The genome of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) was inserted into a bacmid (Sfbac) and used to produce a mutant lacking open reading frame 29 (Sf29null). Sf29null bacmid DNA was able to generate an infection in S. frugiperda. Approximately six times less DNA was present in occlusion bodies (OBs) produced by the Sf29null bacmid in comparison to viruses containing this gene. This reduction in DNA content was consistent with fewer virus particles being packaged within Sf29null bacmid OBs, as determined by fractionation of dissolved polyhedra and comparison of occlusion-derived virus (ODV) infectivity in cell culture. DNA from Sfbac, Sf29null, or Sf29null-repair, in which the gene deletion had been repaired, were equally infectious when used to transfect S. frugiperda. All three viruses produced similar numbers of OBs, although those from Sf29null were 10-fold less infectious than viruses with the gene. Insects infected with Sf29null bacmid died ∼24 h later than positive controls, consistent with the reduced virus particle content of Sf29null OBs. Transcripts from Sf29 were detected in infected insects 12 h prior to those from the polyhedrin gene. Homologs to Sf29 were present in other group II NPVs, and similar sequences were present in entomopoxviruses. Analysis of the Sf29 predicted protein sequence revealed signal peptide and transmembrane domains, but the presence of 12 potential N-glycosylation sites suggest that it is not an ODV envelope protein. Other motifs, including zinc-binding and threonine-rich regions, suggest degradation and adhesion functions. We conclude that Sf29 is a viral factor that determines the number of ODVs occluded in each OB. PMID:18550678
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Kim, Hyung Hwan; Park, Jong Bo; Kang, Min Ji; Park, Young Hwan
2014-09-01
Silk fibroin/hydroxyapatite (SF/HAp) composite hydrogels were fabricated in this study, having different HAp contents (0-33 wt%) in SF matrix hydrogel. Surface modification of HAp nanoparticle with hyaluronic acid (HA)-dopamine (DA) conjugate improved a dispersibility of HAp in aqueous SF solution due to its negatively charged surface and therefore, fabrication of the SF composite hydrogel having HAp nanoparticles inside could be possible. Zeta potential of surface-modified HAP was examined by ELS. It demonstrates that surface of HAp was well modified to a negative charge with HA-DA. Morphological structure of SF hydrogel containing surface-modified HAp was examined by FE-SEM for analyzing pore structure of hydrogel and deposition of HAp nanoparticle in SF hydrogel. It was found that HAp nanoparticles were uniformly deposited on the pore wall of SF hydrogel. Structural characteristics of SF/HAp composite hydrogel was performed using X-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis. It was found that β-sheet crystal conformation of SF was significantly influenced by the HAp content during gelation of a mixture of SF and HAp. As a result of MTT assay, the SF/HAp composite hydrogel showed excellent cell proliferation ability. Therefore, it is expected that SF hydrogel containing HAp nanoparticles has a high potential as bone regeneration scaffold. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Lee, Doohyung; Lee, Jung Weon
2015-01-01
Tumor metastasis involves circulating and tumor-initiating capacities of metastatic cancer cells. Hepatic TM4SF5 promotes EMT for malignant growth and migration. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) biomarkers remain unexplored for metastatic potential throughout metastasis. Here, novel TM4SF5/CD44 interaction-mediated self-renewal and circulating tumor cell (CTC) capacities were mechanistically explored. TM4SF5-dependent sphere growth was correlated with CD133+, CD24-, ALDH activity, and a physical association between CD44 and TM4SF5. The TM4SF5/CD44 interaction activated c-Src/STAT3/ Twist1/ B mi1 signaling for spheroid formation, while disturbing the interaction, expression, or activity of any component in this signaling pathway inhibited spheroid formation. In serial xenografts of less than 5,000 cells/injection, TM4SF5-positive tumors exhibited locally-increased CD44 expression, suggesting tumor cell differentiation. TM4SF5-positive cells were identified circulating in blood 4 to 6 weeks after orthotopic liver-injection. Anti-TM4SF reagents blocked their metastasis to distal intestinal organs. Altogether, our results provide evidence that TM4SF5 promotes self-renewal and CTC properties supported by CD133+/TM4SF5+/CD44+(TM4SF5-bound)/ALDH+/ CD24- markers during HCC metastasis. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(3): 127-128] PMID:25772760
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Göertz, G P; Fros, J J; Miesen, P; Vogels, C B F; van der Bent, M L; Geertsema, C; Koenraadt, C J M; van Rij, R P; van Oers, M M; Pijlman, G P
2016-11-15
Flaviviruses, such as Zika virus, yellow fever virus, dengue virus, and West Nile virus (WNV), are a serious concern for human health. Flaviviruses produce an abundant noncoding subgenomic flavivirus RNA (sfRNA) in infected cells. sfRNA results from stalling of the host 5'-3' exoribonuclease XRN1/Pacman on conserved RNA structures in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the viral genomic RNA. sfRNA production is conserved in insect-specific, mosquito-borne, and tick-borne flaviviruses and flaviviruses with no known vector, suggesting a pivotal role for sfRNA in the flavivirus life cycle. Here, we investigated the function of sfRNA during WNV infection of Culex pipiens mosquitoes and evaluated its role in determining vector competence. An sfRNA1-deficient WNV was generated that displayed growth kinetics similar to those of wild-type WNV in both RNA interference (RNAi)-competent and -compromised mosquito cell lines. Small-RNA deep sequencing of WNV-infected mosquitoes indicated an active small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based antiviral response for both the wild-type and sfRNA1-deficient viruses. Additionally, we provide the first evidence that sfRNA is an RNAi substrate in vivo Two reproducible small-RNA hot spots within the 3' UTR/sfRNA of the wild-type virus mapped to RNA stem-loops SL-III and 3' SL, which stick out of the three-dimensional (3D) sfRNA structure model. Importantly, we demonstrate that sfRNA-deficient WNV displays significantly decreased infection and transmission rates in vivo when administered via the blood meal. Finally, we show that transmission and infection rates are not affected by sfRNA after intrathoracic injection, thereby identifying sfRNA as a key driver to overcome the mosquito midgut infection barrier. This is the first report to describe a key biological function of sfRNA for flavivirus infection of the arthropod vector, providing an explanation for the strict conservation of sfRNA production. Understanding the flavivirus transmission cycle is important to identify novel targets to interfere with disease and to aid development of virus control strategies. Flaviviruses produce an abundant noncoding viral RNA called sfRNA in both arthropod and mammalian cells. To evaluate the role of sfRNA in flavivirus transmission, we infected mosquitoes with the flavivirus West Nile virus and an sfRNA-deficient mutant West Nile virus. We demonstrate that sfRNA determines the infection and transmission rates of West Nile virus in Culex pipiens mosquitoes. Comparison of infection via the blood meal versus intrathoracic injection, which bypasses the midgut, revealed that sfRNA is important to overcome the mosquito midgut barrier. We also show that sfRNA is processed by the antiviral RNA interference machinery in mosquitoes. This is the first report to describe a pivotal biological function of sfRNA in arthropods. The results explain why sfRNA production is evolutionarily conserved. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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Göertz, G. P.; Fros, J. J.; Miesen, P.; Vogels, C. B. F.; van der Bent, M. L.; Geertsema, C.; Koenraadt, C. J. M.; van Oers, M. M.
2016-01-01
ABSTRACT Flaviviruses, such as Zika virus, yellow fever virus, dengue virus, and West Nile virus (WNV), are a serious concern for human health. Flaviviruses produce an abundant noncoding subgenomic flavivirus RNA (sfRNA) in infected cells. sfRNA results from stalling of the host 5′-3′ exoribonuclease XRN1/Pacman on conserved RNA structures in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the viral genomic RNA. sfRNA production is conserved in insect-specific, mosquito-borne, and tick-borne flaviviruses and flaviviruses with no known vector, suggesting a pivotal role for sfRNA in the flavivirus life cycle. Here, we investigated the function of sfRNA during WNV infection of Culex pipiens mosquitoes and evaluated its role in determining vector competence. An sfRNA1-deficient WNV was generated that displayed growth kinetics similar to those of wild-type WNV in both RNA interference (RNAi)-competent and -compromised mosquito cell lines. Small-RNA deep sequencing of WNV-infected mosquitoes indicated an active small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based antiviral response for both the wild-type and sfRNA1-deficient viruses. Additionally, we provide the first evidence that sfRNA is an RNAi substrate in vivo. Two reproducible small-RNA hot spots within the 3′ UTR/sfRNA of the wild-type virus mapped to RNA stem-loops SL-III and 3′ SL, which stick out of the three-dimensional (3D) sfRNA structure model. Importantly, we demonstrate that sfRNA-deficient WNV displays significantly decreased infection and transmission rates in vivo when administered via the blood meal. Finally, we show that transmission and infection rates are not affected by sfRNA after intrathoracic injection, thereby identifying sfRNA as a key driver to overcome the mosquito midgut infection barrier. This is the first report to describe a key biological function of sfRNA for flavivirus infection of the arthropod vector, providing an explanation for the strict conservation of sfRNA production. IMPORTANCE Understanding the flavivirus transmission cycle is important to identify novel targets to interfere with disease and to aid development of virus control strategies. Flaviviruses produce an abundant noncoding viral RNA called sfRNA in both arthropod and mammalian cells. To evaluate the role of sfRNA in flavivirus transmission, we infected mosquitoes with the flavivirus West Nile virus and an sfRNA-deficient mutant West Nile virus. We demonstrate that sfRNA determines the infection and transmission rates of West Nile virus in Culex pipiens mosquitoes. Comparison of infection via the blood meal versus intrathoracic injection, which bypasses the midgut, revealed that sfRNA is important to overcome the mosquito midgut barrier. We also show that sfRNA is processed by the antiviral RNA interference machinery in mosquitoes. This is the first report to describe a pivotal biological function of sfRNA in arthropods. The results explain why sfRNA production is evolutionarily conserved. PMID:27581979
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The LOFAR window on star-forming galaxies and AGNs - curved radio SEDs and IR-radio correlation at 0
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Calistro Rivera, G.; Williams, W. L.; Hardcastle, M. J.; Duncan, K.; Röttgering, H. J. A.; Best, P. N.; Brüggen, M.; Chyży, K. T.; Conselice, C. J.; de Gasperin, F.; Engels, D.; Gürkan, G.; Intema, H. T.; Jarvis, M. J.; Mahony, E. K.; Miley, G. K.; Morabito, L. K.; Prandoni, I.; Sabater, J.; Smith, D. J. B.; Tasse, C.; van der Werf, P. P.; White, G. J.
2017-08-01
We present a study of the low-frequency radio properties of star-forming (SF) galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) up to redshift z = 2.5. The new spectral window probed by the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) allows us to reconstruct the radio continuum emission from 150 MHz to 1.4 GHz to an unprecedented depth for a radio-selected sample of 1542 galaxies in ˜ 7 deg2 of the LOFAR Boötes field. Using the extensive multiwavelength data set available in Boötes and detailed modelling of the far-infrared to ultraviolet spectral energy distribution (SED), we are able to separate the star formation (N = 758) and the AGN (N = 784) dominated populations. We study the shape of the radio SEDs and their evolution across cosmic time and find significant differences in the spectral curvature between the SF galaxy and AGN populations. While the radio spectra of SF galaxies exhibit a weak but statistically significant flattening, AGN SEDs show a clear trend to become steeper towards lower frequencies. No evolution of the spectral curvature as a function of redshift is found for SF galaxies or AGNs. We investigate the redshift evolution of the infrared-radio correlation for SF galaxies and find that the ratio of total infrared to 1.4-GHz radio luminosities decreases with increasing redshift: q1.4 GHz = (2.45 ± 0.04) (1 + z)-0.15 ± 0.03. Similarly, q150 MHz shows a redshift evolution following q150 GHz = (1.72 ± 0.04) (1 + z)-0.22 ± 0.05. Calibration of the 150 MHz radio luminosity as a star formation rate tracer suggests that a single power-law extrapolation from q1.4 GHz is not an accurate approximation at all redshifts.
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Hou, Keyong; Li, Jinxu; Qu, Tuanshuai; Tang, Bin; Zhu, Liping; Huang, Yunguang; Li, Haiyang
2016-08-01
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) is an essential piece of electrical equipment in a substation, and the concentration of the SF6 decomposition products are directly relevant to the security and reliability of the substation. The detection of SF6 decomposition products can be used to diagnosis the condition of the GIS. The decomposition products of SO2 , SO2 F2 , and SOF2 were selected as indicators for the diagnosis. A suitcase time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) was designed to perform online GIS failure analysis. An RF VUV lamp was used as the photoelectron ion source; the sampling inlet, ion einzel lens, and vacuum system were well designed to improve the performance. The limit of detection (LOD) of SO2 and SO2 F2 within 200 s was 1 ppm, and the sensitivity was estimated to be at least 10-fold more sensitive than the previous design. The high linearity of SO2 , SO2 F2 in the range of 5-100 ppm has excellent linear correlation coefficient R(2) at 0.9951 and 0.9889, respectively. The suitcase TOFMS using orthogonal acceleration and reflecting mass analyzer was developed. It has the size of 663 × 496 × 338 mm and a weight of 34 kg including the battery and consumes only 70 W. The suitcase TOFMS was applied to analyze real decomposition products of SF6 inside a GIS and succeeded in finding out the hidden dangers. The suitcase TOFMS has wide application prospects for establishing an early-warning for the failure of the GIS. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Cationic Polyamidoamine Dendrimers as Modulators of EGFR Signaling In Vitro and In Vivo
Akhtar, Saghir; Al-Zaid, Bashayer; El-Hashim, Ahmed Z.; Chandrasekhar, Bindu; Attur, Sreeja; Yousif, Mariam H. M.; Benter, Ibrahim F.
2015-01-01
Cationic polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are branch-like spherical polymers being investigated for a variety of applications in nanomedicine including nucleic acid drug delivery. Emerging evidence suggests they exhibit intrinsic biological and toxicological effects but little is known of their interactions with signal transduction pathways. We previously showed that the activated (fragmented) generation (G) 6 PAMAM dendrimer, Superfect (SF), stimulated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase signaling—an important signaling cascade that regulates cell growth, survival and apoptosis- in cultured human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cells. Here, we firstly studied the in vitro effects of Polyfect (PF), a non-activated (intact) G6 PAMAM dendrimer, on EGFR tyrosine kinase signaling via extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in cultured HEK 293 cells and then compared the in vivo effects of a single administration (10mg/kg i.p) of PF or SF on EGFR signaling in the kidneys of normal and diabetic male Wistar rats. Polyfect exhibited a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of EGFR, ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation in HEK-293 cells similar to AG1478, a selective EGFR inhibitor. Administration of dendrimers to non-diabetic or diabetic animals for 24h showed that PF inhibited whereas SF stimulated EGFR phosphorylation in the kidneys of both sets of animals. PF-mediated inhibition of EGFR phosphorylation as well as SF or PF-mediated apoptosis in HEK 293 cells could be significantly reversed by co-treatment with antioxidants such as tempol implying that both these effects involved an oxidative stress-dependent mechanism. These results show for the first time that SF and PF PAMAM dendrimers can differentially modulate the important EGFR signal transduction pathway in vivo and may represent a novel class of EGFR modulators. These findings could have important clinical implications for the use of PAMAM dendrimers in nanomedicine. PMID:26167903
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
White, L. D.; Snow, M. K.; Davis, J.; Serpa, L. F.
2005-05-01
Since 2001, faculty and graduate students in the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University (SFSU) have coordinated a program to encourage high school students from traditionally underrepresented groups to pursue the geosciences. The SF-ROCKS (Reaching Out to Communities and Kids with Science in San Francisco) program is a multifaceted NSF-funded program that includes curriculum enhancement, teacher in-service training, summer and academic year research experiences for high school students, and field excursions to national parks. Six faculty, five graduate students, and several undergraduate students work together to develop program activities. Working with 9th grade integrated science courses, the students are introduced to SF-ROCKS through lesson plans and activities that focus on the unique geologic environments that surround the schools. Each year a group of twelve to fifteen students is selected to participate in a summer and academic year research institute at the SFSU campus. In the four years of our program, twenty-seven ninth and tenth-grade students have participated in the summer and academic year research experiences. We have observed increased interest and skill development as the high school students work closely with university faculty and students. As SF-ROCKS continues to expand, we are exploring ways to partner with other diversity programs such as the long-standing University of New Orleans (UNO) Minority Geoscience summer field program. The UNO program is successful because it combines field exposure and mentoring with scholarship opportunities for students making it more likely they will study geosciences in college. SF-ROCKS is creating additional ways to further enhance the students' perspective of the geosciences through meaningful field and scientific research experiences by focusing on local and regional geologic environments and also on the geology of national parks.
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ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gao, Zaifeng; Bentin, Shlomo
2011-01-01
Face perception studies investigated how spatial frequencies (SF) are extracted from retinal display while forming a perceptual representation, or their selective use during task-imposed categorization. Here we focused on the order of encoding low-spatial frequencies (LSF) and high-spatial frequencies (HSF) from perceptual representations into…
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Integration of Natural Polymers and Synthetic Nanostructures
2014-11-20
interphase reinforcement. Reconstituted silk fibroin from Bombyx Mori silkworm silks is an mass- production available source of the excellent biopolymeric ...we replaced traditional synthetic binders in GO papers with universal biopolymer “binder”-silk fibroin. The fabrication of GO-SF microfilms using ...selectively patterning its secondary structure using capillary transfer lithography (CTL) and solvent-assisted micro -contact molding (SAMIM) (Figure
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48 CFR 53.201-1 - Contracting authority and responsibilities (SF 1402).
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-10-01
... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contracting authority and responsibilities (SF 1402). 53.201-1 Section 53.201-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION... responsibilities (SF 1402). SF 1402 (10/83), Certificate of Appointment. SF 1402 is prescribed for use in...
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Zhang, Qihong; Yu, Jingbo; Zhang, Leifang; Hu, Meiqun; Xu, Yan; Su, Weike
2016-12-01
Four water-soluble polysaccharides, designated as SF1, SF2, SF3 and SF4, were efficiently extracted from the roots of Sophora flavescens by mechanochemistry under the conditions of rotational speed of 400rpm, grinding time of 10min, powder to ball weight ratio of 1:20, and Na 2 CO 3 loading of 7wt%. The results obtained indicated that all of these four acid heteropolysaccharides are composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose and galactose, with the average molecular weights of 400.9, 98.6, 99.3, 42.7kDa, respectively. In vitro, SF4 showed the most significant scavenging activity on superoxide radical, ABTS, and DPPH radical, while SF3 had the most significant scavenging activity on hydroxyl radical. Immunological tests demonstrated that SF1, SF2, SF3 and SF4 significantly stimulated nitric oxide production without cytotoxicity in macrophages and promoted splenocyte proliferation. These data suggest that the four polysaccharides fractions have the potential as novel natural sources of antioxidative and immunopotentiating agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Sensor failure detection system. [for the F100 turbofan engine
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Beattie, E. C.; Laprad, R. F.; Mcglone, M. E.; Rock, S. M.; Akhter, M. M.
1981-01-01
Advanced concepts for detecting, isolating, and accommodating sensor failures were studied to determine their applicability to the gas turbine control problem. Five concepts were formulated based upon such techniques as Kalman filters and a screening process led to the selection of one advanced concept for further evaluation. The selected advanced concept uses a Kalman filter to generate residuals, a weighted sum square residuals technique to detect soft failures, likelihood ratio testing of a bank of Kalman filters for isolation, and reconfiguring of the normal mode Kalman filter by eliminating the failed input to accommodate the failure. The advanced concept was compared to a baseline parameter synthesis technique. The advanced concept was shown to be a viable concept for detecting, isolating, and accommodating sensor failures for the gas turbine applications.
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High Voltage Design Guide. Volume IV. Aircraft
1983-01-01
35.5 35.5 354 XS 80 42.5 M 46 05 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5 100 90. 60.0 74 8 9 89 as Be 89 Be 89 s9 s9 20 98.0 103 120 160 168 170 170...THE GAS PRESSURE IS 1 ATM. 41 400 400 350 SF6 -N2 1 100%SF 6 350 SF6 .AIR 2= 50% SF 6 UNIFORM FIELD .00 3- 20% SF6 D4=I 3%SF, 00 1cm SPACING 5 A0...BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES AS A FIGURE 118 BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES AS A FUNCTION OF GAS PRESSURE FUNCTION OF GAS PRESSURE MIXTURES FOR SF6 -AR MIXTURES 400 SF 6 "C02 350
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Optimized tuner selection for engine performance estimation
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Simon, Donald L. (Inventor); Garg, Sanjay (Inventor)
2013-01-01
A methodology for minimizing the error in on-line Kalman filter-based aircraft engine performance estimation applications is presented. This technique specifically addresses the underdetermined estimation problem, where there are more unknown parameters than available sensor measurements. A systematic approach is applied to produce a model tuning parameter vector of appropriate dimension to enable estimation by a Kalman filter, while minimizing the estimation error in the parameters of interest. Tuning parameter selection is performed using a multi-variable iterative search routine which seeks to minimize the theoretical mean-squared estimation error. Theoretical Kalman filter estimation error bias and variance values are derived at steady-state operating conditions, and the tuner selection routine is applied to minimize these values. The new methodology yields an improvement in on-line engine performance estimation accuracy.
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Approach to in-process tool wear monitoring in drilling: Application of Kalman filter theory
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
He, Ning; Zhang, Youzhen; Pan, Liangxian
1993-05-01
The two parameters often used in adaptive control, tool wear and wear rate, are the important factors affecting machinability. In this paper, it is attempted to use the modern cybernetics to solve the in-process tool wear monitoring problem by applying the Kalman filter theory to monitor drill wear quantitatively. Based on the experimental results, a dynamic model, a measuring model and a measurement conversion model suitable for Kalman filter are established. It is proved that the monitoring system possesses complete observability but does not possess complete controllability. A discriminant for selecting the characteristic parameters is put forward. The thrust force Fz is selected as the characteristic parameter in monitoring the tool wear by this discriminant. The in-process Kalman filter drill wear monitoring system composed of force sensor microphotography and microcomputer is well established. The results obtained by the Kalman filter, the common indirect measuring method and the real drill wear measured by the aid of microphotography are compared. The result shows that the Kalman filter has high precision of measurement and the real time requirement can be satisfied.
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An Improved Filtering Method for Quantum Color Image in Frequency Domain
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Li, Panchi; Xiao, Hong
2018-01-01
In this paper we investigate the use of quantum Fourier transform (QFT) in the field of image processing. We consider QFT-based color image filtering operations and their applications in image smoothing, sharpening, and selective filtering using quantum frequency domain filters. The underlying principle used for constructing the proposed quantum filters is to use the principle of the quantum Oracle to implement the filter function. Compared with the existing methods, our method is not only suitable for color images, but also can flexibly design the notch filters. We provide the quantum circuit that implements the filtering task and present the results of several simulation experiments on color images. The major advantages of the quantum frequency filtering lies in the exploitation of the efficient implementation of the quantum Fourier transform.
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Hod, Nir; Ashkenazi, Isaac; Levi, Yeheskel; Fire, Gil; Drori, Moshe; Cohen, Israel; Bernstine, Hanna; Horne, Tifha
2006-12-01
Clinical surveys on stress fractures (SF) in female military recruits are scarce. The aim of this study was to characterize the scintigraphic findings and classify the distribution and pattern of SF in a group of female recruits of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The bone scans of 146 female recruits (age range, 19-20.6 years) with suspected SF were assessed retrospectively. The SF lesions were classified qualitatively into 4 grades of bone response according to the classification criteria introduced by Zwas et al. SF location and distribution were analyzed, and in several cases, the abnormalities were correlated radiographically. One hundred forty-six female recruits were examined, of which 93 (64%) had bone scan findings of SF with a total of 247 SF. Forty-eight patients (with or without SF) had shin splints, 32 had thigh splints, and 34 had normal scans. Several SF were detected in sites that were not clinically suspected. Thirty-nine percent of the SF were located in the feet (tarsal bones 22.7%, metatarsal 16.2%), 36.8% in tibiae (predominantly in the midthird), 15.7% in femurs, 6.5% in the pubic and sacroiliac regions, and 2% in the fibula. SF in the tibiae and femurs were mainly located in the posterior aspect of the medial cortical region. Forty-nine percent of the patients had bilateral SF. The SF were classified on a 4-grade scale: 41.3% were grade I, 37.2% grade II, 15.8% grade III, and 5.7% grade IV. Thirty-three percent of the patients had one site of SF, 31% had 2 sites, 7.5% had 3 sites, 12% had 4 sites, 7.5% had 5 sites, and 9% had more than 5 sites of SF. Different grades of lesions were often found in the same patient. Sixty-five percent of the patients had SF in the feet, 59% in the tibiae, 26% in the femurs, 14% in the pubic or sacroiliac regions, and 5% in the fibula. Radiography was performed in 15% of the patients. Only one patient had a positive finding on radiography. This study shows that lower leg SF are not uncommon in female military recruits. We clearly distinguished between SF and shin splints, which have important clinical consequences on treatment. Most of the SF were mild (grade I and II) located in the feet and tibiae. This study supports the experience gained in other studies, and emphasizes the significant number of pubic and sacroiliac SF in female soldiers, which is significantly higher in comparison with previous reports on male soldiers.
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Stephens, Robert F.; Guan, W.; Zhorov, Boris S.; Spafford, J. David
2015-01-01
How nature discriminates sodium from calcium ions in eukaryotic channels has been difficult to resolve because they contain four homologous, but markedly different repeat domains. We glean clues from analyzing the changing pore region in sodium, calcium and NALCN channels, from single-cell eukaryotes to mammals. Alternative splicing in invertebrate homologs provides insights into different structural features underlying calcium and sodium selectivity. NALCN generates alternative ion selectivity with splicing that changes the high field strength (HFS) site at the narrowest level of the hourglass shaped pore where the selectivity filter is located. Alternative splicing creates NALCN isoforms, in which the HFS site has a ring of glutamates contributed by all four repeat domains (EEEE), or three glutamates and a lysine residue in the third (EEKE) or second (EKEE) position. Alternative splicing provides sodium and/or calcium selectivity in T-type channels with extracellular loops between S5 and P-helices (S5P) of different lengths that contain three or five cysteines. All eukaryotic channels have a set of eight core cysteines in extracellular regions, but the T-type channels have an infusion of 4–12 extra cysteines in extracellular regions. The pattern of conservation suggests a possible pairing of long loops in Domains I and III, which are bridged with core cysteines in NALCN, Cav, and Nav channels, and pairing of shorter loops in Domains II and IV in T-type channel through disulfide bonds involving T-type specific cysteines. Extracellular turrets of increasing lengths in potassium channels (Kir2.2, hERG, and K2P1) contribute to a changing landscape above the pore selectivity filter that can limit drug access and serve as an ion pre-filter before ions reach the pore selectivity filter below. Pairing of extended loops likely contributes to the large extracellular appendage as seen in single particle electron cryo-microscopy images of the eel Nav1 channel. PMID:26042044
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Cryogenic filter wheel design for an infrared instrument
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Azcue, Joaquín.; Villanueva, Carlos; Sánchez, Antonio; Polo, Cristina; Reina, Manuel; Carretero, Angel; Torres, Josefina; Ramos, Gonzalo; Gonzalez, Luis M.; Sabau, Maria D.; Najarro, Francisco; Pintado, Jesús M.
2014-09-01
In the last two decades, Spain has built up a strong IR community which has successfully contributed to space instruments, reaching Co-PI level in the SPICA mission (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics). Under the SPICA mission, INTA, focused on the SAFARI instrument requirements but highly adaptable to other missions has designed a cryogenic low dissipation filter wheel with six positions, taking as starting point the past experience of the team with the OSIRIS instrument (ROSETTA mission) filter wheels and adapting the design to work at cryogenic temperatures. One of the main goals of the mechanism is to use as much as possible commercial components and test them at cryogenic temperature. This paper is focused on the design of the filter wheel, including the material selection for each of the main components of the mechanism, the design of elastic mount for the filter assembly, a positioner device designed to provide positional accuracy and repeatability to the filter, allowing the locking of the position without dissipation. In order to know the position of the wheel on every moment a position sensor based on a Hall sensor was developed. A series of cryogenic tests have been performed in order to validate the material configuration selected, the ball bearing lubrication and the selection of the motor. A stepper motor characterization campaign was performed including heat dissipation measurements. The result is a six position filter wheel highly adaptable to different configurations and motors using commercial components. The mechanism was successfully tested at INTA facilities at 20K at breadboard level.
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Takahashi, Hiro; Honda, Hiroyuki
2006-07-01
Considering the recent advances in and the benefits of DNA microarray technologies, many gene filtering approaches have been employed for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. In our previous study, we developed a new filtering method, namely, the projective adaptive resonance theory (PART) filtering method. This method was effective in subclass discrimination. In the PART algorithm, the genes with a low variance in gene expression in either class, not both classes, were selected as important genes for modeling. Based on this concept, we developed novel simple filtering methods such as modified signal-to-noise (S2N') in the present study. The discrimination model constructed using these methods showed higher accuracy with higher reproducibility as compared with many conventional filtering methods, including the t-test, S2N, NSC and SAM. The reproducibility of prediction was evaluated based on the correlation between the sets of U-test p-values on randomly divided datasets. With respect to leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer, the correlation was high; a difference of >0.13 was obtained by the constructed model by using <50 genes selected by S2N'. Improvement was higher in the smaller genes and such higher correlation was observed when t-test, NSC and SAM were used. These results suggest that these modified methods, such as S2N', have high potential to function as new methods for marker gene selection in cancer diagnosis using DNA microarray data. Software is available upon request.
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WWII (World War II) Era Building Demolition and Renovation Cost Estimator (ESTER) 1.0 User’s Manual
1988-07-01
S.F., fiberglass, R-13 */ Idefine BLO F R19 0.91 /* S.F., fiberglass, R-19 */ Idefine B M RII 0.54 /* S.F., mineral wool , R-1l 1i /define W M RI13...0.81 /* S.F., mineral wool , R-13 */ idefine BLOMR19 1.16 /* S.F., mineral wool , R-19 */ .define BSW C R26 0.91 /* S.F., cellulose, R-26 */ Idefine BL
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A Critical Review of Available Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava Filters and Future Directions
Montgomery, Jennifer P.; Kaufman, John A.
2016-01-01
Inferior vena cava filters have been placed in patients for decades for protection against pulmonary embolism. The widespread use of filters has dramatically increased owing at least in part to the approval of retrievable vena cava filters. Retrievable filters have the potential to protect against pulmonary embolism and then be retrieved once no longer needed to avoid potential long-term complications. There are several retrievable vena cava filters available for use. This article discusses the different filter designs as well as the published data on these available filters. When selecting a filter for use, it is important to consider the potential short-term complications and the filters' window for retrieval. Understanding potential long-term complications is also critical, as these devices are approved for permanent placement and many filters are not retrieved. Finally, this article will address research into new designs that may be the future of vena cava filtration. PMID:27247475
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A Critical Review of Available Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava Filters and Future Directions.
Montgomery, Jennifer P; Kaufman, John A
2016-06-01
Inferior vena cava filters have been placed in patients for decades for protection against pulmonary embolism. The widespread use of filters has dramatically increased owing at least in part to the approval of retrievable vena cava filters. Retrievable filters have the potential to protect against pulmonary embolism and then be retrieved once no longer needed to avoid potential long-term complications. There are several retrievable vena cava filters available for use. This article discusses the different filter designs as well as the published data on these available filters. When selecting a filter for use, it is important to consider the potential short-term complications and the filters' window for retrieval. Understanding potential long-term complications is also critical, as these devices are approved for permanent placement and many filters are not retrieved. Finally, this article will address research into new designs that may be the future of vena cava filtration.
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Burley, Thomas E.; Asquith, William H.; Brooks, Donald L.
2011-01-01
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Texas Tech University, constructed a dataset of selected reservoir storage (daily and instantaneous values), reservoir elevation (daily and instantaneous values), and water-quality data from 59 reservoirs throughout Texas. The period of record for the data is as large as January 1965-January 2010. Data were acquired from existing databases, spreadsheets, delimited text files, and hard-copy reports. The goal was to obtain as much data as possible; therefore, no data acquisition restrictions specifying a particular time window were used. Primary data sources include the USGS National Water Information System, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Surface Water-Quality Management Information System, and the Texas Water Development Board monthly Texas Water Condition Reports. Additional water-quality data for six reservoirs were obtained from USGS Texas Annual Water Data Reports. Data were combined from the multiple sources to create as complete a set of properties and constituents as the disparate databases allowed. By devising a unique per-reservoir short name to represent all sites on a reservoir regardless of their source, all sampling sites at a reservoir were spatially pooled by reservoir and temporally combined by date. Reservoir selection was based on various criteria including the availability of water-quality properties and constituents that might affect the trophic status of the reservoir and could also be important for understanding possible effects of climate change in the future. Other considerations in the selection of reservoirs included the general reservoir-specific period of record, the availability of concurrent reservoir storage or elevation data to match with water-quality data, and the availability of sample depth measurements. Additional separate selection criteria included historic information pertaining to blooms of golden algae. Physical properties and constituents were water temperature, reservoir storage, reservoir elevation, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, unfiltered salinity, unfiltered total nitrogen, filtered total nitrogen, unfiltered nitrate plus nitrite, unfiltered phosphorus, filtered phosphorus, unfiltered carbon, carbon in suspended sediment, total hardness, unfiltered noncarbonate hardness, filtered noncarbonate hardness, unfiltered calcium, filtered calcium, unfiltered magnesium, filtered magnesium, unfiltered sodium, filtered sodium, unfiltered potassium, filtered potassium, filtered chloride, filtered sulfate, unfiltered fluoride, and filtered fluoride. When possible, USGS and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality water-quality properties and constituents were matched using the database parameter codes for individual physical properties and constituents, descriptions of each physical property or constituent, and their reporting units. This report presents a collection of delimited text files of source-aggregated, spatially pooled, depth-dependent, instantaneous water-quality data as well as instantaneous, daily, and monthly storage and elevation reservoir data.
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Time of Decline in Sexual Function After External Beam Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Siglin, Joshua; Kubicek, Gregory J.; Leiby, Benjamin
Purpose: Erectile dysfunction is one of the most concerning toxicities for patients in the treatment of prostate cancer. The inconsistent evaluation of sexual function (SF) and limited follow-up data have necessitated additional study to clarify the rate and timing of erectile dysfunction after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: A total of 143 men completed baseline data on SF before treatment and at the subsequent follow-up visits. A total of 1187 validated SF inventories were analyzed from the study participants. Multiple domains of SF (sex drive, erectile function, ejaculatory function, and overall satisfaction) were analyzed formore » <=8 years of follow-up. Results: The median follow-up was 4.03 years. The strongest predictor of SF after EBRT was SF before treatment. For all domains of SF, the only statistically significant decrease in function occurred in the first 24 months after EBRT. SF stabilized 2 years after treatment completion, with no statistically significant change in any area of SF >2 years after the end of EBRT. Conclusion: These data suggest that SF does not have a continuous decline after EBRT. Instead, SF decreases maximally within the first 24 months after EBRT, with no significant changes thereafter.« less
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Complete study demonstrating the absence of rhabdovirus in a distinct Sf9 cell line.
Hashimoto, Yoshifumi; Macri, Daniel; Srivastava, Indresh; McPherson, Clifton; Felberbaum, Rachael; Post, Penny; Cox, Manon
2017-01-01
A putative novel rhabdovirus (SfRV) was previously identified in a Spodoptera frugiperda cell line (Sf9 cells [ATCC CRL-1711 lot 58078522]) by next generation sequencing and extensive bioinformatic analysis. We performed an extensive analysis of our Sf9 cell bank (ATCC CRL-1711 lot 5814 [Sf9L5814]) to determine whether this virus was already present in cells obtained from ATCC in 1987. Inverse PCR of DNA isolated from Sf9 L5814 cellular DNA revealed integration of SfRV sequences in the cellular genome. RT-PCR of total RNA showed a deletion of 320 nucleotides in the SfRV RNA that includes the transcriptional motifs for genes X and L. Concentrated cell culture supernatant was analyzed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and revealed a single band at a density of 1.14 g/ml. This fraction was further analysed by electron microscopy and showed amorphous and particulate debris that did not resemble a rhabdovirus in morphology or size. SDS-PAGE analysis confirmed that the protein composition did not contain the typical five rhabdovirus structural proteins and LC-MS/MS analysis revealed primarily of exosomal marker proteins, the SfRV N protein, and truncated forms of SfRV N, P, and G proteins. The SfRV L gene fragment RNA sequence was recovered from the supernatant after ultracentrifugation of the 1.14 g/ml fraction treated with diethyl ether suggesting that the SfRV L gene fragment sequence is not associated with a diethyl ether resistant nucleocapsid. Interestingly, the 1.14 g/ml fraction was able to transfer baculovirus DNA into Sf9L5814 cells, consistent with the presence of functional exosomes. Our results demonstrate the absence of viral particles in ATCC CRL-1711 lot 5814 Sf9 cells in contrast to a previous study that suggested the presence of infectious rhabdoviral particles in Sf9 cells from a different lot. This study highlights how cell lines with different lineages may present different virosomes and therefore no general conclusions can be drawn across Sf9 cells from different laboratories.
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Structural implications of weak Ca2+ block in Drosophila cyclic nucleotide–gated channels
Lam, Yee Ling; Zeng, Weizhong; Derebe, Mehabaw Getahun
2015-01-01
Calcium permeability and the concomitant calcium block of monovalent ion current (“Ca2+ block”) are properties of cyclic nucleotide–gated (CNG) channel fundamental to visual and olfactory signal transduction. Although most CNG channels bear a conserved glutamate residue crucial for Ca2+ block, the degree of block displayed by different CNG channels varies greatly. For instance, the Drosophila melanogaster CNG channel shows only weak Ca2+ block despite the presence of this glutamate. We previously constructed a series of chimeric channels in which we replaced the selectivity filter of the bacterial nonselective cation channel NaK with a set of CNG channel filter sequences and determined that the resulting NaK2CNG chimeras displayed the ion selectivity and Ca2+ block properties of the parent CNG channels. Here, we used the same strategy to determine the structural basis of the weak Ca2+ block observed in the Drosophila CNG channel. The selectivity filter of the Drosophila CNG channel is similar to that of most other CNG channels except that it has a threonine at residue 318 instead of a proline. We constructed a NaK chimera, which we called NaK2CNG-Dm, which contained the Drosophila selectivity filter sequence. The high resolution structure of NaK2CNG-Dm revealed a filter structure different from those of NaK and all other previously investigated NaK2CNG chimeric channels. Consistent with this structural difference, functional studies of the NaK2CNG-Dm chimeric channel demonstrated a loss of Ca2+ block compared with other NaK2CNG chimeras. Moreover, mutating the corresponding threonine (T318) to proline in Drosophila CNG channels increased Ca2+ block by 16 times. These results imply that a simple replacement of a threonine for a proline in Drosophila CNG channels has likely given rise to a distinct selectivity filter conformation that results in weak Ca2+ block. PMID:26283200
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Structural implications of weak Ca2+ block in Drosophila cyclic nucleotide-gated channels.
Lam, Yee Ling; Zeng, Weizhong; Derebe, Mehabaw Getahun; Jiang, Youxing
2015-09-01
Calcium permeability and the concomitant calcium block of monovalent ion current ("Ca(2+) block") are properties of cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channel fundamental to visual and olfactory signal transduction. Although most CNG channels bear a conserved glutamate residue crucial for Ca(2+) block, the degree of block displayed by different CNG channels varies greatly. For instance, the Drosophila melanogaster CNG channel shows only weak Ca(2+) block despite the presence of this glutamate. We previously constructed a series of chimeric channels in which we replaced the selectivity filter of the bacterial nonselective cation channel NaK with a set of CNG channel filter sequences and determined that the resulting NaK2CNG chimeras displayed the ion selectivity and Ca(2+) block properties of the parent CNG channels. Here, we used the same strategy to determine the structural basis of the weak Ca(2+) block observed in the Drosophila CNG channel. The selectivity filter of the Drosophila CNG channel is similar to that of most other CNG channels except that it has a threonine at residue 318 instead of a proline. We constructed a NaK chimera, which we called NaK2CNG-Dm, which contained the Drosophila selectivity filter sequence. The high resolution structure of NaK2CNG-Dm revealed a filter structure different from those of NaK and all other previously investigated NaK2CNG chimeric channels. Consistent with this structural difference, functional studies of the NaK2CNG-Dm chimeric channel demonstrated a loss of Ca(2+) block compared with other NaK2CNG chimeras. Moreover, mutating the corresponding threonine (T318) to proline in Drosophila CNG channels increased Ca(2+) block by 16 times. These results imply that a simple replacement of a threonine for a proline in Drosophila CNG channels has likely given rise to a distinct selectivity filter conformation that results in weak Ca(2+) block. © 2015 Lam et al.
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The role of solid feed amount and composition and of milk replacer supply in veal calf welfare.
Webb, L E; van Reenen, C G; Berends, H; Engel, B; de Boer, I J M; Gerrits, W J J; Bokkers, E A M
2015-08-01
Diets used in veal production were linked with welfare problems: that is, behavioral and gastrointestinal health disorders. This study aimed to determine how indicators of calf welfare, that is, behavior and some characteristics of the feces reflecting gastrointestinal health status, are affected by (1) different amounts and compositions of solid feed (SF), (2) the addition of ad libitum long straw to a typical veal diet, and (3) milk replacer (MR) being fed via automated milk dispensers (AMD). Two-week-old Holstein-Friesian bull calves (n=270) were used in this study. In a 4×2 factorial design, 32 pens (5 calves per pen) were allocated to different levels of SF (SF1, SF2, SF3, or SF4) and roughage-to-concentrate ratios (20:80 or 50:50). The experimental period (13 to 29wk of age) was preceded by an adaptation period (3 to 12wk of age). Targeted total dry matter (DM) intake from SF during the experimental period was 20 kg of DM for SF1, 100 kg of DM for SF2, 180 kg of DM for SF3, and 260 kg of DM for SF4. The roughage part of the SF was 50% maize silage and 50% chopped wheat straw (on a DM basis). Ten additional pens were allocated to 2 treatments with ad libitum SF, with either (1) SF components in separate troughs (SEP) or (2) SF components mixed, with the composition being equal to the choice of SEP calves in the preceding week (MIX). Another 4 pens were fitted with racks filled with long wheat straw (STR) and fed SF2 with a roughage-to-concentrate ratio of 20:80. All the aforementioned pens received MR in buckets. Finally, 8 pens were allocated to 1 of 2 SF levels: SF1 or SF2 (with a roughage-to-concentrate ratio of 50:50) and fed MR via an AMD. Milk replacer provision was adjusted every 2wk to achieve similar rates of carcass gain across treatments (excluding SEP, MIX, and STR). Behavior was recorded at 15 and 24wk using instantaneous scan sampling. The prevalence of diarrhea and clay-like feces, which signal ruminal drinking, was monitored at 14 and 25wk. More roughage, but not concentrate, increased rumination and decreased tongue playing. The STR calves had higher rumination and lower abnormal behavior levels compared with calves without ad libitum straw. Offering MR via an AMD reduced tongue playing at 15wk. Tongue playing frequency was related to both roughage amount and AMD feeding, suggesting 2 separate motivations (i.e., rumination and sucking) underlying the development of this behavior. Only SF amount affected aspects of feces: SF1 calves had the highest diarrhea incidence. No effect of diet was found on clay-like feces. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ferrer, Victor; Errea, Paz; Alonso, Esteban; Gómez-Gutiérrez, Álvaro; Nadal-Romero, Estela
2017-04-01
We used three different methods Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS), terrestrial Structure from Motion photogrammetry (SfM) and aerial SfM photogrammetry with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to analyse geomorphological processes in a semiarid badland landscape. Los Aguarales badlands, located in the Ebro Depression (Spain), occur in the Holocene sediment accumulated in a wide valley infilled with silt and clay. The morphology of Los Aguarales badlands is complex, making the geomorphological interpretation a difficult task. Los Aguarales badlands are characterized by the sequence of incision and piping processes developing an abrupt and complex landscape. Three different representative and small study sites were selected to carry out a detailed analysis of the geomorphological processes. Moreover, the capability of the three methods to produce high resolution point clouds was evaluated. The obtained topographical changes were very low during the first 6 months (March-October 2016). Measured topographical changes, with TLS and terrestrial SfM, were very low, and these values fall within the range of the acquisition error of the devices used (2-6 cm). The preliminary results indicated the possibilities of a multiscale approach using new technologies to study geomorphological and erosion processes, although long-term studies will be necessary to obtain erosion rates in this semiarid badland area. Acknowledgement This research was supported by ESPAS and eTERA 3D projects (CGL2015- 65569-R and CGL2014-54822-R, funded by the MINECO-FEDER). Estela Nadal-Romero is the recipient of a Ramón y Cajal postdoctoral contract (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness).
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Development and validation of a short form of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory--the GAI-SF.
Byrne, Gerard J; Pachana, Nancy A
2011-02-01
Anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among older people and are associated with considerable disability burden. While several instruments now exist to measure anxiety in older people, there is a need for a very brief self-report scale to measure anxiety symptoms in epidemiological surveys, in primary care and in acute geriatric medical settings. Accordingly, we undertook the development of such a scale, based on the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory. This is a cross-sectional study of randomly selected, community-residing, older women (N = 284; mean age 72.2 years) using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. DSM-IV diagnostic interviews were undertaken using the Mini International Diagnostic Interview, fifth edition (MINI-V). We developed a 5-item version of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, which we have termed the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory - Short Form (GAI-SF). We found that a score of three or greater was optimal for the detection of DSM-IV Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in this community sample. At this cut-point, sensitivity was 75%, specificity was 87%, and 86% of participants were correctly classified. GAI-SF score was not related to age, MMSE score, level of education or perceived income adequacy. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's α = 0.81) and concurrent validity against the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was good (rs = 0.48, p < 0.001). The GAI-SF is a short form of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, which we recommend for use in epidemiological studies. It may also be useful in primary care and acute geriatric medical settings.
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34 CFR 74.52 - Financial reporting.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... funds for all nonconstruction projects or programs. The Secretary may not require the SF-269 or SF-269A... final SF-269 or SF-269A is required at the completion of the project when the SF-270 is used only for... determines the frequency of the Financial Status Report for each project or program, considering the size and...
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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-06-17
...; Special Conditions No. 23-248-SC] Special Conditions: Cirrus Design Corporation Model SF50 Airplane... granting special conditions for the Cirrus Design Corporation model SF50 airplane. We are withdrawing... Special Condition No. 23-248- SC for the Cirrus Design Corporation new model SF50 ``Vision'' Jet. The SF50...
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The Ability to Process Abstract Information.
1983-09-01
Responses Associated with Stress . .. 8 2. Filter Theories: A. Broadbent’s filter model . . . . 12 B. Treisaman’s attentuation model . . . 12 3... model has been proposed by Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) and Shiffrin and Schneider (1977). Unlike Broadbent’s filter models Schneider and Shiffrin...allows for processing to take place only on the input "selected". This filter model is shown in Figure 2A. According to this theory, any information
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The effect of call libraries and acoustic filters on the identification of bat echolocation.
Clement, Matthew J; Murray, Kevin L; Solick, Donald I; Gruver, Jeffrey C
2014-09-01
Quantitative methods for species identification are commonly used in acoustic surveys for animals. While various identification models have been studied extensively, there has been little study of methods for selecting calls prior to modeling or methods for validating results after modeling. We obtained two call libraries with a combined 1556 pulse sequences from 11 North American bat species. We used four acoustic filters to automatically select and quantify bat calls from the combined library. For each filter, we trained a species identification model (a quadratic discriminant function analysis) and compared the classification ability of the models. In a separate analysis, we trained a classification model using just one call library. We then compared a conventional model assessment that used the training library against an alternative approach that used the second library. We found that filters differed in the share of known pulse sequences that were selected (68 to 96%), the share of non-bat noises that were excluded (37 to 100%), their measurement of various pulse parameters, and their overall correct classification rate (41% to 85%). Although the top two filters did not differ significantly in overall correct classification rate (85% and 83%), rates differed significantly for some bat species. In our assessment of call libraries, overall correct classification rates were significantly lower (15% to 23% lower) when tested on the second call library instead of the training library. Well-designed filters obviated the need for subjective and time-consuming manual selection of pulses. Accordingly, researchers should carefully design and test filters and include adequate descriptions in publications. Our results also indicate that it may not be possible to extend inferences about model accuracy beyond the training library. If so, the accuracy of acoustic-only surveys may be lower than commonly reported, which could affect ecological understanding or management decisions based on acoustic surveys.
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The effect of call libraries and acoustic filters on the identification of bat echolocation
Clement, Matthew J; Murray, Kevin L; Solick, Donald I; Gruver, Jeffrey C
2014-01-01
Quantitative methods for species identification are commonly used in acoustic surveys for animals. While various identification models have been studied extensively, there has been little study of methods for selecting calls prior to modeling or methods for validating results after modeling. We obtained two call libraries with a combined 1556 pulse sequences from 11 North American bat species. We used four acoustic filters to automatically select and quantify bat calls from the combined library. For each filter, we trained a species identification model (a quadratic discriminant function analysis) and compared the classification ability of the models. In a separate analysis, we trained a classification model using just one call library. We then compared a conventional model assessment that used the training library against an alternative approach that used the second library. We found that filters differed in the share of known pulse sequences that were selected (68 to 96%), the share of non-bat noises that were excluded (37 to 100%), their measurement of various pulse parameters, and their overall correct classification rate (41% to 85%). Although the top two filters did not differ significantly in overall correct classification rate (85% and 83%), rates differed significantly for some bat species. In our assessment of call libraries, overall correct classification rates were significantly lower (15% to 23% lower) when tested on the second call library instead of the training library. Well-designed filters obviated the need for subjective and time-consuming manual selection of pulses. Accordingly, researchers should carefully design and test filters and include adequate descriptions in publications. Our results also indicate that it may not be possible to extend inferences about model accuracy beyond the training library. If so, the accuracy of acoustic-only surveys may be lower than commonly reported, which could affect ecological understanding or management decisions based on acoustic surveys. PMID:25535563
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The effect of call libraries and acoustic filters on the identification of bat echolocation
Clement, Matthew; Murray, Kevin L; Solick, Donald I; Gruver, Jeffrey C
2014-01-01
Quantitative methods for species identification are commonly used in acoustic surveys for animals. While various identification models have been studied extensively, there has been little study of methods for selecting calls prior to modeling or methods for validating results after modeling. We obtained two call libraries with a combined 1556 pulse sequences from 11 North American bat species. We used four acoustic filters to automatically select and quantify bat calls from the combined library. For each filter, we trained a species identification model (a quadratic discriminant function analysis) and compared the classification ability of the models. In a separate analysis, we trained a classification model using just one call library. We then compared a conventional model assessment that used the training library against an alternative approach that used the second library. We found that filters differed in the share of known pulse sequences that were selected (68 to 96%), the share of non-bat noises that were excluded (37 to 100%), their measurement of various pulse parameters, and their overall correct classification rate (41% to 85%). Although the top two filters did not differ significantly in overall correct classification rate (85% and 83%), rates differed significantly for some bat species. In our assessment of call libraries, overall correct classification rates were significantly lower (15% to 23% lower) when tested on the second call library instead of the training library. Well-designed filters obviated the need for subjective and time-consuming manual selection of pulses. Accordingly, researchers should carefully design and test filters and include adequate descriptions in publications. Our results also indicate that it may not be possible to extend inferences about model accuracy beyond the training library. If so, the accuracy of acoustic-only surveys may be lower than commonly reported, which could affect ecological understanding or management decisions based on acoustic surveys.
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Han, Don-Hee; Lee, Jinheon
2005-10-01
Korean certification regulation for particulate filtering respirators requires inward leakage (IL) or total inward leakage (TIL) testing according to European Standard EN 13274-1, and the standard levels of compliance are similar to those of the European Standard. This study was conducted to evaluate particulate filtering respirators being commercially used in the Korean market using an IL or TIL test and the validity of standard level in Korea. Three half masks and 10 filtering facepieces (two top class, four 1st class and four 2nd class)-a total of 13 brand name respirators-were selected for the test with panels of 10 subjects. Each subject was classified with nine facial dimension grid squares in accordance with face length and lip length. IL or TIL testing was conducted at the laboratory of the 3M Innovation Center in which the experimental instruments and systems were established in compliance with European standards. The testing procedure followed EN 13274-1 (2001). As expected, leakages of half masks were less than those of filtering facepieces and the latter were significantly different among brands. TILs of the 1st class filtering facepieces were found to be much more than those of the 2nd class and the result may cause a wearer to get confused when selecting a mask. The main route leakage for filtering facepieces may not be the filter medium but the face seal. Therefore, it is necessary to develop well-fitting filtering facepieces for Koreans. Because leakages were significantly different for different facial dimensions, a defined test panel for IL or TIL testing according to country or race should be developed. A more precise method to demonstrate fit, for example, fit testing such as in the US regulations, will be needed before IL or TIL testing or when selecting a respirator. Another finding implies that geometric mean of five exercises for IL or TIL may be better than arithmetic mean to establish a standard individual subject mean.
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Prasong, S; Nuanchai, K; Wilaiwan, S
2009-09-15
This study aimed to prepare Eri (Philosamia ricini) Silk Fibroin (SF)/chitosan (CS) blend films by a solvent evaporation method and to compare the blend films with both native SF and CS films. Influence of SF ratios on the morphology, secondary structure and thermal decomposition of the CS blend films were investigated. The native SF and CS films were uniform and homogeneous without phase separation. For the blend films, the uniform can be found less than 60% of SF composition. All of SF/CS blend films showed both SF and CS characteristics. FT-IR results showed that the blend films composed of both random coil and beta-sheet with predominant of beta-sheet form. Interaction of intermolecular between SF and CS have occurred which were measured by thermogravimetric thermograms. Increasing of SF contents was leading to the increase of beta-sheet structures which were enhanced the thermal stability of the CS blend films.
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Busenberg, Eurybiades; Plummer, Niel
2010-01-01
A rapid headspace method for the simultaneous laboratory determination of intentionally introduced hydrologic tracers, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (SF5CF3), Halon 1211 (CF2ClBr), and other halocarbons in water and gases is described. The high sensitivity of the procedure allows for introduction of minimal tracer mass (a few grams) into hydrologic systems with a large dynamic range of analytical detection (dilutions to 1:108). Analysis times by gas chromatography with electron capture detector are less than 1 min for SF6; about 2 min for SF6 and SF5CF3; and 4 min for SF6, SF5CF3, and Halon 1211. Many samples can be rapidly collected, preserved in stoppered septum bottles, and analyzed at a later time in the laboratory. Examples are provided showing the effectiveness of the gas tracer test studies in varied hydrogeological settings.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Busenberg, Eurybiades; Plummer, L. Niel
2010-11-01
A rapid headspace method for the simultaneous laboratory determination of intentionally introduced hydrologic tracers, sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (SF5CF3), Halon 1211 (CF2ClBr), and other halocarbons in water and gases is described. The high sensitivity of the procedure allows for introduction of minimal tracer mass (a few grams) into hydrologic systems with a large dynamic range of analytical detection (dilutions to 1:108). Analysis times by gas chromatography with electron capture detector are less than 1 min for SF6; about 2 min for SF6 and SF5CF3; and 4 min for SF6, SF5CF3, and Halon 1211. Many samples can be rapidly collected, preserved in stoppered septum bottles, and analyzed at a later time in the laboratory. Examples are provided showing the effectiveness of the gas tracer test studies in varied hydrogeological settings.
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Yang, Ming-Hui; Chung, Tze-Wen; Lu, Yi-Shan; Chen, Yi-Ling; Tsai, Wan-Chi; Jong, Shiang-Bin; Yuan, Shyng-Shiou; Liao, Pao-Chi; Lin, Po-Chiao; Tyan, Yu-Chang
2015-01-01
Silk fibroin (SF) is a protein with bulky hydrophobic domains and can be easily purified as sericin-free silk-based biomaterial. Silk fibroin modified chitosan nanoparticle (SF-CSNP), a biocompatible material, has been widely used as a potential drug delivery system. Our current investigation studied the bio-effects of the SF-CSNP uptake by liver cells. In this experiment, the characterizations of SF-CSNPs were measured by particle size analysis and protein assay. The average size of the SF-CSNP was 311.9 ± 10.7 nm, and the average zeta potential was +13.33 ± 0.3 mV. The SF coating on the SF-CSNP was 6.27 ± 0.17 μg/mL. Moreover, using proteomic approaches, several proteins involved in the ubiquitin proteasome pathway were identified by analysis of differential protein expressions of HepG2 cell uptake the SF-CSNP. Our experimental results have demonstrated that the SF-CSNP may be involved in liver cancer cell survival and proliferation. PMID:25588218
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Zhang, Dingguo; Xu, Heng; Shull, Peter B; Liu, Jianrong; Zhu, Xiangyang
2015-05-02
Transcutaneous electrical stimulation can provide amputees with tactile feedback for better manipulating an advanced prosthesis. In general, there are two ways to transfer the stimulus to the skin: somatotopical feedback (SF) that stimulates the phantom digit somatotopy on the stump and non-somatotopical feedback (NF) that stimulates other positions on the human body. To investigate the difference between SF and NF, electrotactile experiments were conducted on seven amputees. Electrical stimulation was applied via a complete phantom map to the residual limb (SF) and to the upper arm (NF) separately. The behavior results of discrimination accuracy and response time were used to examine: 1) performance differences between SF and NF for discriminating position, type and strength of tactile feedback; 2) performance differences between SF and NF for one channel (1C), three channels (3C), and five channels (5C). NASA-TLX standardized testing was used to determine differences in mental workload between SF and NF. The grand-averaged discrimination accuracy for SF was 6% higher than NF, and the average response time for SF was 600 ms faster than NF. SF is better than NF for position, type, strength, and the overall modality regarding both accuracy and response time except for 1C modality (p<0.001). Among the six modalities of stimulation channels, performance of 1C/SF was the best, which was similar to that of 1C/NF and 3C/SF; performance of 3C/NF was similar to that of 5C/SF; performance of 5C/NF was the worst. NASA-TLX scores indicated that mental workload increased as the number of stimulation channels increased. We quantified the difference between SF and NF, and the influence of different number of stimulation channels. SF was better than NF in general, but the practical issues such as the limited area of stumps could constrain the use of SF. We found that more channels increased the amount and richness of information to the amputee while fewer channels resulted in higher performance, and thus the 3C/SF modality was a good compromise. Based on this study, we provide possible solutions to the practical problems involving the implementation of tactile feedback for amputees. These results are expected to promote the application of SF and NF tactile feedback for amputees in the future.
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The contribution of diet and genotype to iron status in women: a classical twin study.
Fairweather-Tait, Susan J; Guile, Geoffrey R; Valdes, Ana M; Wawer, Anna A; Hurst, Rachel; Skinner, Jane; Macgregor, Alexander J
2013-01-01
This is the first published report examining the combined effect of diet and genotype on body iron content using a classical twin study design. The aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors in determining iron status. The population was comprised of 200 BMI- and age-matched pairs of MZ and DZ healthy twins, characterised for habitual diet and 15 iron-related candidate genetic markers. Variance components analysis demonstrated that the heritability of serum ferritin (SF) and soluble transferrin receptor was 44% and 54% respectively. Measured single nucleotide polymorphisms explained 5% and selected dietary factors 6% of the variance in iron status; there was a negative association between calcium intake and body iron (p = 0.02) and SF (p = 0.04).
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A Flight Control System for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tunik, A. A.; Nadsadnaya, O. I.
2018-03-01
The program adaptation of the controller for the flight control system (FCS) of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is considered. Linearized flight dynamic models depend mainly on the true airspeed of the UAV, which is measured by the onboard air data system. This enables its use for program adaptation of the FCS over the full range of altitudes and velocities, which define the flight operating range. FCS with program adaptation, based on static feedback (SF), is selected. The SF parameters for every sub-range of the true airspeed are determined using the linear matrix inequality approach in the case of discrete systems for synthesis of a suboptimal robust H ∞-controller. The use of the Lagrange interpolation between true airspeed sub-ranges provides continuous adaptation. The efficiency of the proposed approach is shown against an example of the heading stabilization system.
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Protection of cooled blades of complex internal structure
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Glamiche, P.
1977-01-01
The problem of general protection of cooled blades of complex internal structure was solved by a method called SF technique which makes possible the protection of both external and internal surfaces, as well as those of the orifices of cooling air, whatever their diameter. The SF method is most often applied in the case of pack process, at controlled or high activity; it can be of use on previously uncoated parts, but also on pieces already coated by a thermochemical, chemical or PVD method. The respective thickness of external and internal coatings may be precisely predetermined, no parasitic particle being liable to remain inside the parts after application of the protecting treatment. Results obtained to date by application of this method are illustrated by the presentation and examination of a various selection of advanced turbo engines.
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... during water tank construction. He wore a charcoal filter respirator while sandblasting, but it was the wrong ... properly fitted and selected respirator (e.g. particulate filter or airline supplied air respirator) designated for protection ...
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Effects of electric field on the maximum electro-spinning rate of silk fibroin solutions.
Park, Bo Kyung; Um, In Chul
2017-02-01
Owing to the excellent cyto-compatibility of silk fibroin (SF) and the simple fabrication of nano-fibrous webs, electro-spun SF webs have attracted much research attention in numerous biomedical fields. Because the production rate of electro-spun webs is strongly dependent on the electro-spinning rate used, the electro-spinning rate becomes more important. In the present study, to improve the electro-spinning rate of SF solutions, various electric fields were applied during electro-spinning of SF, and its effects on the maximum electro-spinning rate of SF solution as well as diameters and molecular conformations of the electro-spun SF fibers were examined. As the electric field was increased, the maximum electro-spinning rate of the SF solution also increased. The maximum electro-spinning rate of a 13% SF solution could be increased 12×by increasing the electric field from 0.5kV/cm (0.25mL/h) to 2.5kV/cm (3.0mL/h). The dependence of the fiber diameter on the present electric field was not significant when using less-concentrated SF solutions (7-9% SF). On the other hand, at higher SF concentrations the electric field had a greater effect on the resulting fiber diameter. The electric field had a minimal effect of the molecular conformation and crystallinity index of the electro-spun SF webs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Mammalian splicing factor SF1 interacts with SURP domains of U2 snRNP-associated proteins
Crisci, Angela; Raleff, Flore; Bagdiul, Ivona; Raabe, Monika; Urlaub, Henning; Rain, Jean-Christophe; Krämer, Angela
2015-01-01
Splicing factor 1 (SF1) recognizes the branch point sequence (BPS) at the 3′ splice site during the formation of early complex E, thereby pre-bulging the BPS adenosine, thought to facilitate subsequent base-pairing of the U2 snRNA with the BPS. The 65-kDa subunit of U2 snRNP auxiliary factor (U2AF65) interacts with SF1 and was shown to recruit the U2 snRNP to the spliceosome. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments of SF1-interacting proteins from HeLa cell extracts shown here are consistent with the presence of SF1 in early splicing complexes. Surprisingly almost all U2 snRNP proteins were found associated with SF1. Yeast two-hybrid screens identified two SURP domain-containing U2 snRNP proteins as partners of SF1. A short, evolutionarily conserved region of SF1 interacts with the SURP domains, stressing their role in protein–protein interactions. A reduction of A complex formation in SF1-depleted extracts could be rescued with recombinant SF1 containing the SURP-interaction domain, but only partial rescue was observed with SF1 lacking this sequence. Thus, SF1 can initially recruit the U2 snRNP to the spliceosome during E complex formation, whereas U2AF65 may stabilize the association of the U2 snRNP with the spliceosome at later times. In addition, these findings may have implications for alternative splicing decisions. PMID:26420826
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Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Spectroscopic Studies of SF6 Hydrate in NaCl Electrolyte Solution.
Seo, Youngrok; Moon, Donghyun; Lee, Changho; Park, Jeong-Woo; Kim, Byeong-Soo; Lee, Gang-Woo; Dotel, Pratik; Lee, Jong-Won; Cha, Minjun; Yoon, Ji-Ho
2015-05-19
Many studies have focused on desalination via hydrate formation; however, for their potential application, knowledge pertaining to thermodynamic stability, formation kinetics, and guest occupation behavior in clathrate hydrates needs to be determined. Herein, the phase equilibria of SF6 hydrates in the presence of NaCl solutions (0, 2, 4, and 10 wt %) were monitored in the temperature range of 277-286 K and under pressures of up to 1.4 MPa. The formation kinetics of SF6 hydrates in the presence of NaCl solutions (0, 2, and 4 wt %) was also investigated. Gas consumption curves of SF6 hydrates showed that a pure SF6 hydrate system allowed fast hydrate growth as well as high conversion yield, whereas SF6 hydrate in the presence of NaCl solutions showed retarded hydrate growth rate as well as low conversion yield. In addition, structural identification of SF6 hydrates with and without NaCl solutions was performed using spectroscopic tools such as Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The Raman spectrometer was also used to evaluate the temperature-dependent release behavior of guest molecules in SF6 and SF6 + 4 wt % NaCl hydrates. The results indicate that whereas SF6 hydrate starts to decompose at around 240 K, the escape of SF6 molecules in SF6 + 4 wt % NaCl hydrate is initiated rapidly at around 205 K. The results of this study can provide a better understanding of guest-host interaction in electrolyte-containing systems.
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Kumar, Shiu; Sharma, Alok; Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko
2017-12-28
Common spatial pattern (CSP) has been an effective technique for feature extraction in electroencephalography (EEG) based brain computer interfaces (BCIs). However, motor imagery EEG signal feature extraction using CSP generally depends on the selection of the frequency bands to a great extent. In this study, we propose a mutual information based frequency band selection approach. The idea of the proposed method is to utilize the information from all the available channels for effectively selecting the most discriminative filter banks. CSP features are extracted from multiple overlapping sub-bands. An additional sub-band has been introduced that cover the wide frequency band (7-30 Hz) and two different types of features are extracted using CSP and common spatio-spectral pattern techniques, respectively. Mutual information is then computed from the extracted features of each of these bands and the top filter banks are selected for further processing. Linear discriminant analysis is applied to the features extracted from each of the filter banks. The scores are fused together, and classification is done using support vector machine. The proposed method is evaluated using BCI Competition III dataset IVa, BCI Competition IV dataset I and BCI Competition IV dataset IIb, and it outperformed all other competing methods achieving the lowest misclassification rate and the highest kappa coefficient on all three datasets. Introducing a wide sub-band and using mutual information for selecting the most discriminative sub-bands, the proposed method shows improvement in motor imagery EEG signal classification.
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Greenhouse Gas Reductions: SF6
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Anderson, Diana
2012-04-20
Argonne National Laboratory is leading the way in greenhouse gas reductions, particularly with the recapture and recycling of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). SF6 is a gas used in industry as an anti-arcing agent. It is an extremely potent greenhouse gas — one pound of SF6 is equivalent to 12 tons of carbon dioxide. While the U.S. does not currently regulate SF6 emissions, Argonne is proactively and voluntarily recovering and recycling to reduce SF6 emissions. Argonne saves over 16,000 tons of SF6 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year, and by recycling the gas rather than purchasing it new, we savemore » taxpayers over $208,000 each year.« less
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Greenhouse Gas Reductions: SF6
Anderson, Diana
2018-05-18
Argonne National Laboratory is leading the way in greenhouse gas reductions, particularly with the recapture and recycling of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). SF6 is a gas used in industry as an anti-arcing agent. It is an extremely potent greenhouse gas â one pound of SF6 is equivalent to 12 tons of carbon dioxide. While the U.S. does not currently regulate SF6 emissions, Argonne is proactively and voluntarily recovering and recycling to reduce SF6 emissions. Argonne saves over 16,000 tons of SF6 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year, and by recycling the gas rather than purchasing it new, we save taxpayers over $208,000 each year.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gonzalez, Pablo J.
2017-04-01
Automatic interferometric processing of satellite radar data has emerged as a solution to the increasing amount of acquired SAR data. Automatic SAR and InSAR processing ranges from focusing raw echoes to the computation of displacement time series using large stacks of co-registered radar images. However, this type of interferometric processing approach demands the pre-described or adaptive selection of multiple processing parameters. One of the interferometric processing steps that much strongly influences the final results (displacement maps) is the interferometric phase filtering. There are a large number of phase filtering methods, however the "so-called" Goldstein filtering method is the most popular [Goldstein and Werner, 1998; Baran et al., 2003]. The Goldstein filter needs basically two parameters, the size of the window filter and a parameter to indicate the filter smoothing intensity. The modified Goldstein method removes the need to select the smoothing parameter based on the local interferometric coherence level, but still requires to specify the dimension of the filtering window. An optimal filtered phase quality usually requires careful selection of those parameters. Therefore, there is an strong need to develop automatic filtering methods to adapt for automatic processing, while maximizing filtered phase quality. Here, in this paper, I present a recursive adaptive phase filtering algorithm for accurate estimation of differential interferometric ground deformation and local coherence measurements. The proposed filter is based upon the modified Goldstein filter [Baran et al., 2003]. This filtering method improves the quality of the interferograms by performing a recursive iteration using variable (cascade) kernel sizes, and improving the coherence estimation by locally defringing the interferometric phase. The method has been tested using simulations and real cases relevant to the characteristics of the Sentinel-1 mission. Here, I present real examples from C-band interferograms showing strong and weak deformation gradients, with moderate baselines ( 100-200 m) and variable temporal baselines of 70 and 190 days over variable vegetated volcanoes (Mt. Etna, Hawaii and Nyragongo-Nyamulagira). The differential phase of those examples show intense localized volcano deformation and also vast areas of small differential phase variation. The proposed method outperforms the classical Goldstein and modified Goldstein filters by preserving subtle phase variations where the deformation fringe rate is high, and effectively suppressing phase noise in smoothly phase variation regions. Finally, this method also has the additional advantage of not requiring input parameters, except for the maximum filtering kernel size. References: Baran, I., Stewart, M.P., Kampes, B.M., Perski, Z., Lilly, P., (2003) A modification to the Goldstein radar interferogram filter. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 41, No. 9., doi:10.1109/TGRS.2003.817212 Goldstein, R.M., Werner, C.L. (1998) Radar interferogram filtering for geophysical applications, Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 25, No. 21, 4035-4038, doi:10.1029/1998GL900033
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Shao, X.; Liang, Y. C.; Chen, X. Y.
We compare the host galaxies of 902 supernovae (SNe), including SNe Ia, SNe II, and SNe Ibc, which are selected by cross-matching the Asiago Supernova Catalog with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7. We selected an additional 213 galaxies by requiring the light fraction of spectral observations to be >15%, which could represent well the global properties of the galaxies. Among these 213 galaxies, 135 appear on the Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagram, which allows us to compare the hosts in terms of whether they are star-forming (SF) galaxies, active galactic nuclei (AGNs; including composites, LINERs, and Seyfert 2s) ormore » absorption-line galaxies (Absorps; i.e., their related emission lines are weak or non-existent). The diagrams related to the parameters D{sub n}(4000), Hδ{sub A}, stellar masses, star formation rates (SFRs), and specific SFRs for the SNe hosts show that almost all SNe II and most of the SNe Ibc occur in SF galaxies, which have a wide range of stellar masses and low D{sub n}(4000). The SNe Ia hosts as SF galaxies following similar trends. A significant fraction of SNe Ia occurs in AGNs and absorption-line galaxies, which are massive and have high D{sub n}(4000). The stellar population analysis from spectral synthesis fitting shows that the hosts of SNe II have a younger stellar population than hosts of SNe Ia. These results are compared with those of the 689 comparison galaxies where the SDSS fiber captures less than 15% of the total light. These comparison galaxies appear biased toward higher 12+log(O/H) (∼0.1 dex) at a given stellar mass. Therefore, we believe the aperture effect should be kept in mind when the properties of the hosts for different types of SNe are discussed.« less
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Robinson, E; Keystone, E C; Schall, T J; Gillett, N; Fish, E N
1995-01-01
Earlier studies from this laboratory provided evidence for restricted cytokine expression in the T cell population in RA tissues. Specifically, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) gene expression levels were low. The selective chemoattractant and activation effects of chemokines on leucocytes identify them as potentially ideal candidates in mediating selective inflammatory processes in RA. Accordingly, we undertook studies to examine constitutive chemokine gene expression in RA tissues. RANTES, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and MIP-1 beta gene expression was examined in both the T and non-T cell populations in RA peripheral blood (PB), synovial fluid (SF) and synovial tissues (ST). Our results identified elevated levels of both RANTES and MIP-1 beta gene expression in circulating RA PB and SF T cells. By contrast, MCP-1 expression was virtually absent in RA PB, yet elevated MCP-1 mRNA levels were detected primarily in the non-T cell populations of the SF and ST samples. Histological examination of affected rheumatoid joints revealed extensive RANTES and MIP-1 beta expression in sites of lymphocyte infiltration and cell proliferation, namely the synovial lining and sublining layers. Fractionation or RA ST patient samples revealed that RANTES expression was restricted to the T cells, whereas MIP-1 beta expression was detected in both T and non-T fractions. These data suggest that MCP-1, MIP-1 beta and RANTES may have a central role in the trafficking of reactive molecules involved in immunoregulation and in the inflammatory processes in RA. Images Fig. 4 PMID:7545093
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Al-Radaideh, Ali; Tayyem, Reema; Al-Fayomi, Kholoud; Nimer, Nisreen; Malkawi, Amer; Al-Zu Bi, Rana; Agraib, Lana; Athamneh, Imad; Hijjawi, Nawal
2016-12-01
To measure the abdominal subcutaneous fat (SF) and visceral fat (VF) volumes using high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to investigate their association with selected anthropometric and biochemical parameters among obese and nonobese apparently healthy participants. A cross-sectional study was conducted by recruiting 167 healthy participants. Abdominal scans were acquired at 3T MRI, and the SF and VF were segmented and their volumes were calculated. Selected anthropometric and biochemical measurements were also determined. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed between normal body weight and overweight and obese participants for SF and VF, total abdominal fat volumes, leptin, resistin, adiponectin and waist circumference. Waist circumferences were measured by tape and MRI. Findings revealed that MRI-measured fat volumes were different between males and females and had a significant (P < 0.01) strong positive correlation with body mass index, leptin, resistin and WC and had a negative correlation with adiponectin level. MRI-measured fat volumes were found to correlate moderately with interleukin-6 and weakly with cholesterol, serum triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein. Except for cholesterol, all measured biochemical variables and abdominal fat volumes in the current study were significantly associated with body mass index. All anthropometric and biochemical parameters showed weak-to-strong associations with the MRI-measured fat volumes. Abdominal fat distribution was different between males and females and their correlations with some lipid profiles were found to be sex dependent. These findings revealed that MRI can be used as an alternative tool for obesity assessment. Copyright © 2016 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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78 FR 75936 - Federal Property Suitable as Facilities To Assist the Homeless
Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
2013-12-13
... 4: 986 sf.; storage: 7,488 sf.; office 5: 12,250 sf.; office 6: 3,720 sf.; Two Gatehouses: 507 sf....; storage; moderate conditions; 60+ months vacant; asbestos & lead Wisconsin Wausau Army Reserve Ctr. 1300... homeless use for a period of 60 days from the date of this Notice. Where property is described as for ``off...
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Effects of spatial frequency bands on perceptual decision: it is not the stimuli but the comparison.
Rotshtein, Pia; Schofield, Andrew; Funes, María J; Humphreys, Glyn W
2010-08-24
Observers performed three between- and two within-category perceptual decisions with hybrid stimuli comprising low and high spatial frequency (SF) images. We manipulated (a) attention to, and (b) congruency of information in the two SF bands. Processing difficulty of the different SF bands varied across different categorization tasks: house-flower, face-house, and valence decisions were easier when based on high SF bands, while flower-face and gender categorizations were easier when based on low SF bands. Larger interference also arose from response relevant distracters that were presented in the "preferred" SF range of the task. Low SF effects were facilitated by short exposure durations. The results demonstrate that decisions are affected by an interaction of task and SF range and that the information from the non-attended SF range interfered at the decision level. A further analysis revealed that overall differences in the statistics of image features, in particular differences of orientation information between two categories, were associated with decision difficulty. We concluded that the advantage of using information from one SF range over another depends on the specific task requirements that built on the differences of the statistical properties between the compared categories.
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Oh, Hea Lin; Lee, Jun Ah; Kim, Dong Ho; Lim, Jung Sub
2018-03-01
Ferritin reference values vary by age, gender, and ethnicity. We aimed to determine reference values of serum ferritin (SF) and the percentage of transferrin saturation (TSAT) for Korean children and adolescents. We analyzed data from 2,487 participants (1,311 males and 1,176 females) aged 10-20 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012). We calculated age- and gender-stratified means and percentile values for SF and TSAT. We first plotted mean SF and TSAT by gender and according to age. In males, mean SF tended to be relatively constant among participants aged 10 to 14 years, with an upward trend thereafter. Mean SF trended downward among female participants until the age of 15 years and remained constant thereafter. Thus, significant gender differences in ferritin exist from the age of 14 years. High levels of SF were associated with obesity, and lower SF levels were associated with anemia and menarche status. We established reference values of SF and TSAT according to age and gender. The reference values for SF calculated in this study can be used to test the association between SF values and other defined diseases in Korean children and adolescents.
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STAR FORMATION AND SUPERCLUSTER ENVIRONMENT OF 107 NEARBY GALAXY CLUSTERS
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Cohen, Seth A.; Hickox, Ryan C.; Wegner, Gary A.
We analyze the relationship between star formation (SF), substructure, and supercluster environment in a sample of 107 nearby galaxy clusters using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Previous works have investigated the relationships between SF and cluster substructure, and cluster substructure and supercluster environment, but definitive conclusions relating all three of these variables has remained elusive. We find an inverse relationship between cluster SF fraction ( f {sub SF}) and supercluster environment density, calculated using the Galaxy luminosity density field at a smoothing length of 8 h {sup −1} Mpc (D8). The slope of f {sub SF} versus D8more » is −0.008 ± 0.002. The f {sub SF} of clusters located in low-density large-scale environments, 0.244 ± 0.011, is higher than for clusters located in high-density supercluster cores, 0.202 ± 0.014. We also divide superclusters, according to their morphology, into filament- and spider-type systems. The inverse relationship between cluster f {sub SF} and large-scale density is dominated by filament- rather than spider-type superclusters. In high-density cores of superclusters, we find a higher f {sub SF} in spider-type superclusters, 0.229 ± 0.016, than in filament-type superclusters, 0.166 ± 0.019. Using principal component analysis, we confirm these results and the direct correlation between cluster substructure and SF. These results indicate that cluster SF is affected by both the dynamical age of the cluster (younger systems exhibit higher amounts of SF); the large-scale density of the supercluster environment (high-density core regions exhibit lower amounts of SF); and supercluster morphology (spider-type superclusters exhibit higher amounts of SF at high densities).« less
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Sexual function after cervical spine surgery: Independent predictors of functional impairment.
Keefe, Malla K; Zygourakis, Corinna C; Theologis, Alexander A; Canepa, Emma; Shaw, Jeremy D; Goldman, Lauren H; Burch, Shane; Berven, Sigurd; Chou, Dean; Tay, Bobby; Mummaneni, Praveen; Deviren, Vedat; Ames, Christopher P
2017-02-01
Sexual function (SF) is an important component of patient-focused health related quality of life (HRQoL), but it has not been well studied in spine surgery. This study aims to assess SF after cervical spine surgery and identify predictors of SF. This single-center retrospective study evaluates SF of adults who underwent cervical spine surgery 2007-2012. Predictor variables included demographics, medical/surgical history, operative information, HRQoL measures (Neck Disability Index, SF-12), validated SF surveys [Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Brief Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI) for males], and a study-specific SF questionnaire. 59 patients (31M, 28F; mean age=56±8.4) had significantly lower SF scores compared to age-matched peers: average BSFI = 2.26±1.22 (vs. 06±0.74), average FSFI=13.05±11.42 (<26.55 indicating sexual dysfunction). In men, lower mental SF-12 and higher NDI, back pain, and number of operated levels were associated with lower BSFI scores (all p<0.05). In women, higher total number of medications and pain medications were associated with lower FSFI scores (both p<0.05). 46% of patients reported difficulty performing a sexual position after surgery that they had previously enjoyed. 39% of men had difficulty on top during intercourse, and 32% of participants reported difficulty performing oral sex. 39% of patients reported worse SF, while only 5% reported an improvement in postoperative SF. Men and women who underwent cervical spine surgery had lower SF scores than age-matched peers, likely attributable to general mental health, regional neck disability, back pain, and medications. A large portion of patients reported subjectively worsened SF after surgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Ryu, Jihye; Kang, Minkyung; Lee, Mi-Sook; Kim, Hye-Jin; Nam, Seo Hee; Song, Haeng Eun; Lee, Doohyung; Lee, Jung Weon
2014-08-01
TM4SF5 overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma activates focal adhesion kinase (FAK) during tumor cell migration. However, it remains unknown how TM4SF5 in hepatocellular carcinoma cells compromises with immune actions initiated by extracellular cytokines. Normal and cancerous hepatocytes with or without TM4SF5 expression were analyzed for the effects of cytokine signaling activity on TM4SF5/FAK signaling and metastatic potential. We found that interleukin-6 (IL-6) was differentially expressed in hepatocytes depending on cancerous malignancy and TM4SF5 expression. IL-6 treatment activated FAK and STAT3 and enhanced focal adhesion (FA) formation in TM4SF5-null cells, but it decreased TM4SF5-dependent FAK activity and FA formation in SNU761-TM4SF5 cells. STAT3 suppression abolished the IL-6-mediated effects in normal Chang cells, but it did not recover the TM4SF5-dependent FAK activity that was inhibited by IL-6 treatment in cancerous SNU761-TM4SF5 cells. In addition, modulation of FAK activity did not change the IL-6-mediated STAT3 activity in either the Chang or SNU761 cell system. TM4SF5 expression in SNU761 cells caused invasive extracellular matrix degradation negatively depending on IL-6/IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) signaling. Thus, it is likely that hepatic cancer cells adopt TM4SF5-dependent FAK activation and metastatic potential by lowering IL-6 expression and avoiding its immunological action through the IL-6-STAT3 pathway. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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40 CFR 98.303 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... switchgear) + (pounds of SF6 returned to facility after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (pounds... to suppliers) + (pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (pounds of SF6 sent off-site for...
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40 CFR 98.303 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... switchgear) + (pounds of SF6 returned to facility after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (pounds... to suppliers) + (pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (pounds of SF6 sent off-site for...
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40 CFR 98.303 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... switchgear) + (pounds of SF6 returned to facility after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (pounds... to suppliers) + (pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (pounds of SF6 sent off-site for...
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40 CFR 98.303 - Calculating GHG emissions.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... switchgear) + (pounds of SF6 returned to facility after off-site recycling). Disbursements of SF6 = (pounds... to suppliers) + (pounds of SF6 sent off site for recycling) + (pounds of SF6 sent off-site for...
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11. Historic American Buildings Survey S.F. Chronicle Library Collection, S.F. ...
11. Historic American Buildings Survey S.F. Chronicle Library Collection, S.F. WALLS AND TOWER AFTER DISASTER OF 1906 - St. Mary's Church, 660 California Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA
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LHCb Kalman Filter cross architecture studies
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cámpora Pérez, Daniel Hugo
2017-10-01
The 2020 upgrade of the LHCb detector will vastly increase the rate of collisions the Online system needs to process in software, in order to filter events in real time. 30 million collisions per second will pass through a selection chain, where each step is executed conditional to its prior acceptance. The Kalman Filter is a fit applied to all reconstructed tracks which, due to its time characteristics and early execution in the selection chain, consumes 40% of the whole reconstruction time in the current trigger software. This makes the Kalman Filter a time-critical component as the LHCb trigger evolves into a full software trigger in the Upgrade. I present a new Kalman Filter algorithm for LHCb that can efficiently make use of any kind of SIMD processor, and its design is explained in depth. Performance benchmarks are compared between a variety of hardware architectures, including x86_64 and Power8, and the Intel Xeon Phi accelerator, and the suitability of said architectures to efficiently perform the LHCb Reconstruction process is determined.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kwak, J. S.; Lee, J. H.; Kim, C. O.; Hong, J. P.; Han, S. K.; Char, K.
2002-07-01
Highly selective high-temperature superconducting band-pass filters based on spiral meander line structures have been developed for base transceiver station applications of digital cellular communication systems. The filter comprised 12-pole microstrip line resonators with a circuit size of 0.5 × 17 × 41 mm3. The filter was designed to have a bandwidth of 25 MHz at a centre frequency of 834 MHz. Particularly, the physical size of each resonator was chosen not only to reduce far-field radiation, but also to have reasonable tunability in the filter. Device characteristics exhibited a low insertion loss of 0.4 dB with a 0.2 dB ripple and a return loss better than 10 dB in the pass-band at 65 K. The out-of-band signals were attenuated better than 60 dB at about 3.5 MHz from the lower band edge, and 3.8 MHz from the higher band edge.
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Triple-Quantum Filtered NMR Imaging of Sodium -23 in the Human Brain
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Keltner, John Robinson
In the past multiple-quantum filtered imaging of biexponential relaxation sodium-23 nuclei in the human brain has been limited by low signal to noise ratios; this thesis demonstrates that such imaging is feasible when using a modified gradient-selected triple-quantum filter at a repetition time which maximizes the signal to noise ratio. Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of biexponential relaxation sodium-23 (^{23}Na) nuclei in the human brain may be useful for detecting ischemia, cancer, and pathophysiology related to manic-depression. Multiple -quantum filters may be used to selectively image biexponential relaxation ^{23}Na signals since these filters suppress single-exponential relaxation ^{23}Na signals. In this thesis, the typical repetition times (200 -300 ms) used for in vivo multiple-quantum filtered ^{23}Na experiments are shown to be approximately 5 times greater than the optimal repetition time which maximizes multiple-quantum filtered SNR. Calculations and experimental verification show that the gradient-selected triple-quantum (GS3Q) filtered SNR for ^ {23}Na in a 4% agarose gel increases by a factor of two as the repetition time decreases from 300 ms to 55 ms. It is observed that a simple reduction of repetition time also increases spurious single-quantum signals from GS3Q filtered experiments. Irreducible superoperator calculations have been used to design a modified GS3Q filter which more effectively suppresses the spurious single-quantum signals. The modified GS3Q filter includes a preparatory crusher gradient and two-step-phase cycling. Using the modified GS3Q filter and a repetition time of 70 ms, a three dimensional triple-quantum filtered image of a phantom modelling ^{23} Na in the brain was obtained. The phantom consisted of two 4 cm diameter spheres inside of a 8.5 cm x 7 cm ellipsoid. The two spheres contained 0.012 and 0.024 M ^{23}Na in 4% agarose gel. Surrounding the spheres and inside the ellipsoid was 0.03 M aqueous ^{23}Na. The image dimensions were 16 x 16 x 16 voxels with the dimension of a voxel being 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 cm^3. The signal to noise ratio for the GS3Q filtered ^ {23}Na signal from the 0.012 and 0.024 M ^{23}Na spheres was 17 and 30 for a 54 minute experiment at 2.35 T. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).
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Digital Filters for Digital Phase-locked Loops
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Simon, M.; Mileant, A.
1985-01-01
An s/z hybrid model for a general phase locked loop is proposed. The impact of the loop filter on the stability, gain margin, noise equivalent bandwidth, steady state error and time response is investigated. A specific digital filter is selected which maximizes the overall gain margin of the loop. This filter can have any desired number of integrators. Three integrators are sufficient in order to track a phase jerk with zero steady state error at loop update instants. This filter has one zero near z = 1.0 for each integrator. The total number of poles of the filter is equal to the number of integrators plus two.
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Smith, Joyce A; Siegel, John H; Siddiqi, Shabana Q
2005-07-01
To examine the effect of change in velocity (DeltaV) and energy dissipation (IE) on impact, above and below the test levels for Federal MVC Safety Standards, on the incidence of spine fractures (SF), spinal cord injury (SCI)), SF mortality and the associated injury patterns in Frontal (F) and Lateral (L) MVCs. Comparison of 214 patients with SF or SCI with 938 patients who did not have SF or SCI. 1152 MVC adult drivers or front-seat passengers (701 F & 451 L) evaluated at 10 Level I CIREN study Trauma Centers together with vehicle and crash scene engineering reconstruction. Patient seat belt (SB) and/or airbag (AB) use correlated with clinical, or autopsy findings. The relationship between DeltaV and IE rose exponentially as DeltaV increased. Of the 1152 patients, all with AIS> or =3 injuries, there were 214 patients with spine fractures of AIS > or =2. In FMVCs there were more SF patients with Cervical SF than in LMVCs (68F versus 64 L) and more Thoracic (35F versus 21L) and Lumbar (39F versus 16L) SF. However, the incidence of spinal cord injury was greatest in the Cervical SF (33%), compared with the Thoracic SF (18%), or Lumbar SF (2%). Most important, in FMVCs 49% of SF, 47% of SCI and 71% of the SF deaths (p < 0.05) occurred at > mean of 47.4 kph. In contrast, in LMVCs 51% of SF, 52% of SCI and 67% of the SF deaths occurred at DeltaV > mean of 35.3 kph. However, 80% of all deaths in SCI occurred in Cervical SF cases, in these 74% also had a brain injury. In contrast, the deaths in Thoracic SF were due to combinations of brain (45%), thorax (95%) or associated pelvic fracture injuries (50%). Airbag (AB), or Seat belt (SB) restraints appeared to protect FMVC SF patients from SCI at lower DeltaV, but 84% of Cervical SCI patients at DeltaV > 47 kph had AB protection and in a few cases the AB appeared responsible for the SCI. In contrast, 82% of Lumbar SF patients had SB, but in FMVCs where jackknifing due to backloading occurred, improper SB positioning may have contributed to the SF. The implication for SCI in both front seat drivers and passengers in either FMVC or LMVC crashes above their respective DeltaV means is that improved spine fracture protection is necessary at higher DeltaV levels. More effective safety systems to prevent Cervical SCIs should be developed using two-level frontal and side AB & SB+pretensioner devices, which protect against SF at DeltaV both at and 1SD above the FMVC (47 & 72 kph = 30 & 45 mph) and LMVC (35 & 54 kph =22 & 34 mph) means.
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Mmopelwa, Tiro; Ayhan, Selim; Yuksel, Selcen; Nabiyev, Vugar; Niyazi, Asli; Pellise, Ferran; Alanay, Ahmet; Sanchez Perez Grueso, Francisco Javier; Kleinstuck, Frank; Obeid, Ibrahim; Acaroglu, Emre
2018-03-01
To identify the factors that affect SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) at the time of presentation, and to analyse the effect of SF-36 MCS on clinical outcomes in surgically treated patients. Prospectively collected data from a multicentric ASD database was analysed for baseline parameters. Then, the same database for surgically treated patients with a minimum of 1-year follow-up was analysed to see the effect of baseline SF-36 MCS on treatment results. A clinically useful SF-36 MCS was determined by ROC Curve analysis. A total of 229 patients with the baseline parameters were analysed. A strong correlation between SF-36 MCS and SRS-22, ODI, gender, and diagnosis were found (p < 0.05). For the second part of the study, a total of 186 surgically treated patients were analysed. Only for SF-36 PCS, the un-improved cohort based on minimum clinically important differences had significantly lower mean baseline SF-36 MCS (p < 0.001). SF-36 MCS was found to have an odds ratio of 0.914 in improving SF-36 PCS score (unit by unit) (p < 0.001). A cut-off point of 43.97 for SF-36 MCS was found to be predictive of SF-36 PCS (AUC = 0.631; p < 0.001). The factors effective on the baseline SF-36 MCS in an ASD population are other HRQOL parameters such as SRS-22 and ODI as well as the baseline thoracic kyphosis and gender. This study has also demonstrated that baseline SF-36 MCS does not necessarily have any effect on the treatment results by surgery as assessed by SRS-22 or ODI. Level III, prognostic study. Copyright © 2018 Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Capes, Deborah L; Arcisio-Miranda, Manoel; Jarecki, Brian W; French, Robert J; Chanda, Baron
2012-02-14
Voltage-dependent ion channels are crucial for generation and propagation of electrical activity in biological systems. The primary mechanism for voltage transduction in these proteins involves the movement of a voltage-sensing domain (D), which opens a gate located on the cytoplasmic side. A distinct conformational change in the selectivity filter near the extracellular side has been implicated in slow inactivation gating, which is important for spike frequency adaptation in neural circuits. However, it remains an open question whether gating transitions in the selectivity filter region are also actuated by voltage sensors. Here, we examine conformational coupling between each of the four voltage sensors and the outer pore of a eukaryotic voltage-dependent sodium channel. The voltage sensors of these sodium channels are not structurally symmetric and exhibit functional specialization. To track the conformational rearrangements of individual voltage-sensing domains, we recorded domain-specific gating pore currents. Our data show that, of the four voltage sensors, only the domain IV voltage sensor is coupled to the conformation of the selectivity filter region of the sodium channel. Trapping the outer pore in a particular conformation with a high-affinity toxin or disulphide crossbridge impedes the return of this voltage sensor to its resting conformation. Our findings directly establish that, in addition to the canonical electromechanical coupling between voltage sensor and inner pore gates of a sodium channel, gating transitions in the selectivity filter region are also coupled to the movement of a voltage sensor. Furthermore, our results also imply that the voltage sensor of domain IV is unique in this linkage and in the ability to initiate slow inactivation in sodium channels.
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A wideband UHF high-temperature superconducting filter system with a fractional bandwidth over 108%
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Huang, Haibo; Wu, Yun; Wang, Jia; Bian, Yongbo; Wang, Xu; Li, Guoqiang; Zhang, Xueqiang; Li, Chunguang; Sun, Liang; He, Yusheng
2018-07-01
A High-temperature superconducting (HTS) bandpass filter system containing a lowpass filter, a highpass filter and an LNA has been fabricated to meet the demands of wideband wireless signal receiving system. The filter system has an ultimate fractional bandwidth over 108% with the passband from 820 MHz to 2750 MHz. Besides, the filter system showed good frequency selectivity and out-of-band rejection. The 40 dB to 3 dB rectangle coefficient of our filter system is 1.4, which is better than that of an 8-pole Chebyshev filter, and the out-of-band rejection is better than 40 dB. Through systematical optimization, a return loss of better than 9.8 dB was received in the filter system. This system also showed advantages in design and fabrication precision.
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Design of order statistics filters using feedforward neural networks
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Maslennikova, Yu. S.; Bochkarev, V. V.
2016-08-01
In recent years significant progress have been made in the development of nonlinear data processing techniques. Such techniques are widely used in digital data filtering and image enhancement. Many of the most effective nonlinear filters based on order statistics. The widely used median filter is the best known order statistic filter. Generalized form of these filters could be presented based on Lloyd's statistics. Filters based on order statistics have excellent robustness properties in the presence of impulsive noise. In this paper, we present special approach for synthesis of order statistics filters using artificial neural networks. Optimal Lloyd's statistics are used for selecting of initial weights for the neural network. Adaptive properties of neural networks provide opportunities to optimize order statistics filters for data with asymmetric distribution function. Different examples demonstrate the properties and performance of presented approach.
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NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wei, Linsheng; Xu, Min; Yuan, Dingkun; Zhang, Yafang; Hu, Zhaoji; Tan, Zhihong
2014-10-01
The electron drift velocity, electron energy distribution function (EEDF), density-normalized effective ionization coefficient and density-normalized longitudinal diffusion velocity are calculated in SF6-O2 and SF6-Air mixtures. The experimental results from a pulsed Townsend discharge are plotted for comparison with the numerical results. The reduced field strength varies from 40 Td to 500 Td (1 Townsend=10-17 V·cm2) and the SF6 concentration ranges from 10% to 100%. A Boltzmann equation associated with the two-term spherical harmonic expansion approximation is utilized to gain the swarm parameters in steady-state Townsend. Results show that the accuracy of the Boltzmann solution with a two-term expansion in calculating the electron drift velocity, electron energy distribution function, and density-normalized effective ionization coefficient is acceptable. The effective ionization coefficient presents a distinct relationship with the SF6 content in the mixtures. Moreover, the E/Ncr values in SF6-Air mixtures are higher than those in SF6-O2 mixtures and the calculated value E/Ncr in SF6-O2 and SF6-Air mixtures is lower than the measured value in SF6-N2. Parametric studies conducted on these parameters using the Boltzmann analysis offer substantial insight into the plasma physics, as well as a basis to explore the ozone generation process.
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DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Li, Yong; Choi, Mihwa; Cavey, Greg
The orphan nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) regulates the differentiation and function of endocrine glands. Although SF-1 is constitutively active in cell-based assays, it is not known whether this transcriptional activity is modulated by ligands. Here, we describe the 1.5 {angstrom} crystal structure of the SF-1 ligand binding domain in complex with an LXXLL motif from a coregulator protein. The structure reveals the presence of a phospholipid ligand in a surprisingly large pocket ({approx}1600 {angstrom}{sup 3}), with the receptor adopting the canonical active conformation. The bound phospholipid is readily exchanged and modulates SF-1 interactions with coactivators. Mutations designed tomore » reduce the size of the SF-1 pocket or to disrupt hydrogen bonds with the phospholipid abolish SF-1/coactivator interactions and significantly reduce SF-1 transcriptional activity. These findings provide evidence that SF-1 is regulated by endogenous ligands and suggest an unexpected relationship between phospholipids and endocrine development and function.« less
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Acousto-Optic–Based Wavelength-Comb-Swept Laser for Extended Displacement Measurements
Park, Nam Su; Chun, Soo Kyung; Han, Ga-Hee; Kim, Chang-Seok
2017-01-01
We demonstrate a novel wavelength-comb-swept laser based on two intra-cavity filters: an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) and a Fabry-Pérot etalon filter. The AOTF is used for the tunable selection of the output wavelength with time and the etalon filter for the narrowing of the spectral linewidth to extend the coherence length. Compared to the conventional wavelength-swept laser, the acousto-optic–based wavelength-comb-swept laser (WCSL) can extend the measureable range of displacement measurements by decreasing the sensitivity roll-off of the point spread function. Because the AOTF contains no mechanical moving parts to select the output wavelength acousto-optically, the WCSL source has a high wavenumber (k) linearity of R2 = 0.9999 to ensure equally spaced wavelength combs in the wavenumber domain. PMID:28362318
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Automated selection of the most epithelium-rich areas in gynecologic tumor sections.
Schipper, N W; Baak, J P; Smeulders, A W
1991-12-01
The paper describes an image analysis technique for automated selection of the epithelium-rich areas in standard paraffin tissue sections of ovarian and endometrial premalignancies and malignancies. Two staining procedures were evaluated, Feulgen (pararosanilin) and CAM 5.2, demonstrating the presence of cytokeratin 8 and 18; both were counterstained with naphthol yellow. The technique is based on the corresponding image processing method of automated estimation of the percentage of epithelium in interactively selected microscope fields. With the technique, one image is recorded with a filter to demonstrate where epithelium and stroma lie. This filter is chosen according to the type of staining: it is yellow (lambda = 552 nm) for Feulgen and blue (lambda = 470 nm) for anticytokeratin CAM 5.2. When stroma cannot be distinguished from lumina with the green filter or from epithelium with the blue filter, a second image is recorded from the same microscope field, with a blue filter (lambda = 420 nm) for Feulgen and a yellow filter (lambda = 576 nm) for anticytokeratin CAM 5.2. Discrimination between epithelium and stroma is based on the image contrast range and the packing of nuclei in the yellow image and on the automated classification of the gray value histogram peaks in the blue image. For Feulgen stain the method was evaluated on 30 ovarian tumors of the common epithelial types (8 borderline tumors and 22 carcinomas with various degrees of differentiation) and 30 endometrial carcinomas of different grades.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Updates to WFC3/UVIS Filter-Dependent and Filter-Distinct Distortion Corrections
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Martlin, Catherine; Kozhurina-Platais, Vera; McKay, Myles; Sabbi, Elena
2018-06-01
The WFC3/UVIS filter wheel contains 63 filters that cover a large range of wavelengths from near ultraviolet to the near infrared. Previously, analysis was completed on the 14 most used UVIS filters to calibrate geometric distortions. These distortions are due to a combination of the optical assembly of HST as well as the variabilities in the composition of individual filters. We report recent updates to reference files that aid in correcting for these distortions of an additional 22 UVIS narrow and medium band filters and 4 unique UVIS filters. They were created following a calibration of the large-scale optical distortions and fine-scale filter-dependent distortions. Furthermore, we present results on a study into a selection of unique polynomial coefficient terms from all solved filters which allows us to better investigate the filter-dependent patterns across a large range of wavelengths.These updates will provide important enhancements for HST/WFC3 users as they allow more accurate alignment of images across the range of UVIS filters.
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UV filters for lighting of plants
DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
Doehring, T.; Koefferlein, M.; Thiel, S.
1994-12-31
Different filter glasses are available which provide absorption properties suitable for gradual changes of the spectral UV-B illumination of artificial lighting. Using a distinct set of lamps and filter glasses an acceptable simulation of the UV-B part of natural global radiation can be achieved. The ageing of these and other filter materials under the extreme UV radiation in the lamphouse of a solar simulator is presently unavoidable. This instability can be dealt with only by a precise spectral monitoring and by replacing the filters accordingly. For this reason attempts would be useful to develop real ozone filters which can replacemore » glass filters. In any case chamber experiments require a careful selection of the filter material used and must be accompanied by a continuous UV-B monitoring.« less
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Rakesh, Ramachandran; Joseph, Agnel Praveen; Bhaskara, Ramachandra M.; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy
2016-01-01
ABSTRACT Pre-mRNA splicing in eukaryotes is performed by the spliceosome, a highly complex macromolecular machine. SF3b is a multi-protein complex which recognizes the branch point adenosine of pre-mRNA as part of a larger U2 snRNP or U11/U12 di-snRNP in the dynamic spliceosome machinery. Although a cryo-EM map is available for human SF3b complex, the structure and relative spatial arrangement of all components in the complex are not yet known. We have recognized folds of domains in various proteins in the assembly and generated comparative models. Using an integrative approach involving structural and other experimental data, guided by the available cryo-EM density map, we deciphered a pseudo-atomic model of the closed form of SF3b which is found to be a “fuzzy complex” with highly flexible components and multiplicity of folds. Further, the model provides structural information for 5 proteins (SF3b10, SF3b155, SF3b145, SF3b130 and SF3b14b) and localization information for 4 proteins (SF3b10, SF3b145, SF3b130 and SF3b14b) in the assembly for the first time. Integration of this model with the available U11/U12 di-snRNP cryo-EM map enabled elucidation of an open form. This now provides new insights on the mechanistic features involved in the transition between closed and open forms pivoted by a hinge region in the SF3b155 protein that also harbors cancer causing mutations. Moreover, the open form guided model of the 5′ end of U12 snRNA, which includes the branch point duplex, shows that the architecture of SF3b acts as a scaffold for U12 snRNA: pre-mRNA branch point duplex formation with potential implications for branch point adenosine recognition fidelity. PMID:27618338
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2013-01-01
Background Shigella flexneri is the major cause of shigellosis in the developing countries. The O-antigen component of the lipopolysaccharide is one of the key virulence determinants required for the pathogenesis of S. flexneri. The glucosyltransferase and/or acetyltransferase genes responsible for the modification of the O-antigen are encoded by temperate serotype converting bacteriophage present in the S. flexneri genome. Several serotype converting phages have previously been isolated and characterized, however, attempts to isolate a serotype converting phage which encodes the modification genes of serotypes 4a strain have not been successful. Results In this study, a novel temperate serotype converting bacteriophage SfIV was isolated. Lysogenisation of phage SfIV converted serotype Y strain to serotype 4a. Electron microscopy indicated that SfIV belongs to Myoviridae family. The 39,758 bp genome of phage SfIV encompasses 54 open reading frames (orfs). Protein level comparison of SfIV with other serotype converting phages of S. flexneri revealed that SfIV is similar to phage SfII and SfV. The comparative analysis also revealed that SfIV phage contained five proteins which were not found in any other phages of S. flexneri. These proteins were: a tail fiber assembly protein, two hypothetical proteins with no clear function, and two other unknown proteins which were encoded by orfs present on a moron, that presumably got introduced in SfIV genome from another species via a transposon. These unique proteins of SfIV may play a role in the pathogenesis of the host. Conclusions This study reports the isolation and complete genome sequence analysis of bacteriophage SfIV. The SfIV phage has a host range significantly different from the other phages of Shigella. Comparative genome analysis identified several proteins unique to SfIV, which may potentially be involved in the survival and pathogenesis of its host. These findings will further our understanding on the evolution of these phages, and will also facilitate studies on development of new phage vectors and therapeutic agents to control infections caused by S. flexneri. PMID:24090466
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Multichannel Networked Phasemeter Readout and Analysis
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Edmonds, Karina
2008-01-01
Netmeter software reads a data stream from up to 250 networked phasemeters, synchronizes the data, saves the reduced data to disk (after applying a low-pass filter), and provides a Web server interface for remote control. Unlike older phasemeter software that requires a special, real-time operating system, this program can run on any general-purpose computer. It needs about five percent of the CPU (central processing unit) to process 20 channels because it adds built-in data logging and network-based GUIs (graphical user interfaces) that are implemented in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). Netmeter runs on Linux and Windows. It displays the instantaneous displacements measured by several phasemeters at a user-selectable rate, up to 1 kHz. The program monitors the measure and reference channel frequencies. For ease of use, levels of status in Netmeter are color coded: green for normal operation, yellow for network errors, and red for optical misalignment problems. Netmeter includes user-selectable filters up to 4 k samples, and user-selectable averaging windows (after filtering). Before filtering, the program saves raw data to disk using a burst-write technique.
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An efficient implementation of a high-order filter for a cubed-sphere spectral element model
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kang, Hyun-Gyu; Cheong, Hyeong-Bin
2017-03-01
A parallel-scalable, isotropic, scale-selective spatial filter was developed for the cubed-sphere spectral element model on the sphere. The filter equation is a high-order elliptic (Helmholtz) equation based on the spherical Laplacian operator, which is transformed into cubed-sphere local coordinates. The Laplacian operator is discretized on the computational domain, i.e., on each cell, by the spectral element method with Gauss-Lobatto Lagrange interpolating polynomials (GLLIPs) as the orthogonal basis functions. On the global domain, the discrete filter equation yielded a linear system represented by a highly sparse matrix. The density of this matrix increases quadratically (linearly) with the order of GLLIP (order of the filter), and the linear system is solved in only O (Ng) operations, where Ng is the total number of grid points. The solution, obtained by a row reduction method, demonstrated the typical accuracy and convergence rate of the cubed-sphere spectral element method. To achieve computational efficiency on parallel computers, the linear system was treated by an inverse matrix method (a sparse matrix-vector multiplication). The density of the inverse matrix was lowered to only a few times of the original sparse matrix without degrading the accuracy of the solution. For better computational efficiency, a local-domain high-order filter was introduced: The filter equation is applied to multiple cells, and then the central cell was only used to reconstruct the filtered field. The parallel efficiency of applying the inverse matrix method to the global- and local-domain filter was evaluated by the scalability on a distributed-memory parallel computer. The scale-selective performance of the filter was demonstrated on Earth topography. The usefulness of the filter as a hyper-viscosity for the vorticity equation was also demonstrated.
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Kanokpanont, Sorada; Damrongsakkul, Siriporn; Ratanavaraporn, Juthamas; Aramwit, Pornanong
2013-04-01
Silk fibroin (SF) has been widely used as a wound dressing material due to its suitable physical and biological characteristics. In this study, a non-adhesive wound dressing which applies to cover the wound surface as an absorbent pad that would absorb wound fluid while accelerate wound healing was developed. The modification of SF fabrics by wax coating was purposed to prepare the non-adhesive wound dressing that is required in order to minimize pain and risk of repeated injury. SF woven fabrics were coated with different types of waxes including shellac wax, beeswax, or carnauba wax. Physical and mechanical properties of the wax-coated SF fabrics were characterized. It was clearly observed that all waxes could be successfully coated on the SF fabrics, possibly due to the hydrophobic interactions between hydrophobic domains of SF and waxes. The wax coating improved tensile modulus and percentage of elongation of the SF fabrics due to the denser structure and the thicker fibers coated. The in vitro degradation study demonstrated that all wax-coated SF fabrics remained up to 90% of their original weights after 7 weeks of incubation in lysozyme solution under physiological conditions. The wax coating did not affect the degradation behavior of the SF fabrics. A peel test of the wax-coated SF fabrics was carried out in the partial- and full-thickness wounds of porcine skin in comparison to that of the commercial wound dressing. Any wax-coated SF fabrics were less adhesive than the control, as confirmed by less number of cells attached and less adhesive force. This might be that the wax-coated SF fabrics showed the hydrophobic property, allowing the loosely adherence to the hydrophilic wound surface. In addition, the in vivo biocompatibility test of the wax-coated SF fabrics was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats with subcutaneous model. The irritation scores indicated that the carnauba wax-coated SF fabric was not irritant while the shellac wax or beeswax-coated SF fabrics were slightly irritant, comparing with the commercial wound dressing. Therefore, SF fabrics coated with waxes, particularly carnauba wax, would be promising choices of non-adhesive wound dressing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Efficient removal of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) through reacting with recycled electroplating sludge.
Zhang, Jia; Zhou, Ji Zhi; Liu, Qiang; Qian, Guangren; Xu, Zhi Ping
2013-06-18
This paper reports that recycled electroplating sludge is able to efficiently remove greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The removal process involves various reactions of SF6 with the recycled sludge. Remarkably, the sludge completely removed SF6 at a capacity of 1.10 mmol/g (SF6/sludge) at 600 °C. More importantly, the evolved gases were SO2, SiF4, and a limited amount of HF, with no toxic SOF4, SO2F2, or SF4 being detected. These generated gases can be readily captured and removed by NaOH solution. The reacted solids were further found to be various metal fluorides, thus revealing that SF6 removal takes place by reacting with various metal oxides and silicate in the sludge. Moreover, the kinetic investigation revealed that the SF6 reaction with the sludge is a first-order chemically controlled process. This research thus demonstrates that the waste electroplating sludge can be potentially used as an effective removal agent for one of the notorious greenhouse gases, SF6.
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Testicular differentiation factor SF-1 is required for human spleen development
Zangen, David; Kaufman, Yotam; Banne, Ehud; Weinberg-Shukron, Ariella; Abulibdeh, Abdulsalam; Garfinkel, Benjamin P.; Dweik, Dima; Kanaan, Moein; Camats, Núria; Flück, Christa; Renbaum, Paul; Levy-Lahad, Ephrat
2014-01-01
The transcription factor steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1; also known as NR5A1) is a crucial mediator of both steroidogenic and nonsteroidogenic tissue differentiation. Mutations within SF1 underlie different disorders of sexual development (DSD), including sex reversal, spermatogenic failure, ovarian insufficiency, and adrenocortical deficiency. Here, we identified a recessive mutation within SF1 that resulted in a substitution of arginine to glutamine at codon 103 (R103Q) in a child with both severe 46,XY-DSD and asplenia. The R103Q mutation decreased SF-1 transactivation of TLX1, a transcription factor that has been shown to be essential for murine spleen development. Additionally, the SF1 R103Q mutation impaired activation of steroidogenic genes, without affecting synergistic SF-1 and sex-determining region Y (SRY) coactivation of the testis development gene SOX9. Together, our data provide evidence that SF-1 is required for spleen development in humans via transactivation of TLX1 and that mutations that only impair steroidogenesis, without altering the SF1/SRY transactivation of SOX9, can lead to 46,XY-DSD. PMID:24905461
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von Rohden, Christoph; Kreuzer, Andreas; Chen, Zongyu; Aeschbach-Hertig, Werner
2010-09-01
We employed environmental tracers ((3)H-(3)He, SF(6)) in a study investigating the groundwater recharge in the North China Plain (NCP), a sedimentary aquifer system consisting of fluvial and alluvial river deposits near the city of Shijiazhuang. The (3)H-(3)He dating method revealed reasonable results for the young groundwater with ages covering the range of recent to ~40 a. SF(6) samples were taken in parallel for independent dating and to compare the applicability of both methods. However, the SF(6)-results are influenced and, in part, dominated by a systematic non-atmospheric component, revealing that the dating with SF(6) is unreliable in this region. A correlation of non-atmospheric SF(6) and (3)H-(3)He ages suggests a continuous accumulation of natural SF(6) in the groundwater of the NCP aquifers. Although terrigenic SF(6) has previously been associated with crystalline or igneous rocks, our results indicate that it can also be accumulated in sandy aquifers on the timescale relevant for SF(6) dating.