The critical role of the external carotid artery in cerebral perfusion of patients with total occlusion of the internal carotid artery.

PubMed

Dalainas, I; Avgerinos, E D; Daskalopoulos, M E; Papapetrou, A; Papasideris, C P; Katsikas, V; Xiromeritis, K; Moulakakis, K; Gianakopoulos, T; Liapis, C D

2012-02-01

The ipsilateral external carotid artery (ECA) can potentially provide an important collateral pathway for cerebral blood flow in the presence of occlusion or severe stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA), recovering up to 15% of the middle cerebral arterial flow. The aim of the study is to elucidate the role of ECA in cerebral flow of patients with total ICA occlusion. Retrospective study of prospectively collected data of 139 patients with total ICA occlusions. The patients were divided to symptomatic and asymptomatic and were categorized in four subgroups according to the stenosis rates: A) ipsilateral ECA<70% and contralateral internal carotid artery stenosis <70%; B) ipsilateral ECA stenosis <70% and contralateral internal carotid artery stenosis ≥70%; C) ipsilateral ECA stenosis ≥70% and contralateral ICA stenosis <70%; D) ipsilateral ECA stenosis ≥70% and contralateral ICA stenosis ≥75%. Fifty eight (41.7%) patients were asymptomatic. The highest rate (48.2%) of asymptomatic patients was in Group A. Among patients with strokes, the highest rate belonged in groups C and D (44.4% and 50% respectively) where ipsilateral ECA stenosis was ≥70% irrespectively of the contralateral ICA patency. Ipsilateral external carotid artery stenosis ≥70% proved to be and independent risk factor for symptom presentation (P=0.013). The study reveals the significant role of ECA patency in cerebral flow in patients with ICA occlusion.

Mast cells in Canine parvovirus-2-associated enteritis with crypt abscess.

PubMed

Woldemeskel, M W; Saliki, J T; Blas-Machado, U; Whittington, L

2013-11-01

The role of mast cells (MCs) in allergic reactions and parasitic infections is well established. Their involvement in host immune response against bacterial and viral infections is reported. In this study, investigation is made to determine if MCs are associated with Canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2)-induced enteritis with crypt abscess (ECA). Mast cell count (MCC) was made on toluidine blue-stained intestinal sections from a total of 34 dogs. These included 16 dogs exhibiting ECA positive for CPV-2 and negative for Canine distemper virus and Canine coronavirus by immunohistochemistry and fluorescent antibody test, 12 dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and 6 non-ECA/non-IBD (control) dogs. The average total MCC per high-power field in ECA (40.8 ± 2.2) and IBD (24.7 ± 2.1) was significantly higher (P < .05) than in the control (3.4 ± 0.6). Although not significant (P > .05), MCC was also higher in ECA than in IBD. The present study for the first time has documented significantly increased MCs in CPV-2-associated ECA as was previously reported for IBD, showing that MCs may also play an important role in CPV-2-associated ECA. Further studies involving more CPV-infected dogs are recommended to substantiate the findings.

Graphene-Decorated Nanocomposites for Printable Electrodes in Thin Wafer Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakhshizadeh, N.; Sivoththaman, S.

2017-12-01

Printable electrodes that induce less stress and require lower curing temperatures compared to traditional screen-printed metal pastes are needed in thin wafer devices such as future solar cells, and in flexible electronics. The synthesis of nanocomposites by incorporating graphene nanopowders as well as silver nanowires into epoxy-based electrically conductive adhesives (ECA) is examined to improve electrical conductivity and to develop alternate printable electrode materials that induce less stress on the wafer. For the synthesized graphene and Ag nanowire-decorated ECA nanocomposites, the curing kinetics were studied by dynamic and isothermal differential scanning calorimetry measurements. Thermogravimetric analysis on ECA, ECA-AG and ECA/graphene nanopowder nanocomposites showed that the temperatures for onset of decomposition are higher than their corresponding glass transition temperature ( T g) indicating an excellent thermal resistance. Printed ECA/Ag nanowire nanocomposites showed 90% higher electrical conductivity than ECA films, whereas the ECA/graphene nanocomposites increased the conductivity by over two orders of magnitude. Scanning electron microscopy results also revealed the effect of fillers morphology on the conductivity improvement and current transfer mechanisms in nanocomposites. Residual stress analysis performed on Si wafers showed that the ECA and nanocomposite printed wafers are subjected to much lower stress compared to those printed with metallic pastes. The observed parameters of low curing temperature, good thermal resistance, reasonably high conductivity, and low residual stress in the ECA/graphene nanocomposite makes this material a promising alternative in screen-printed electrode formation in thin substrates.

Induction of keratinocyte migration by ECa 233 is mediated through FAK/Akt, ERK, and p38 MAPK signaling.

PubMed

Singkhorn, Sawana; Tantisira, Mayuree H; Tanasawet, Supita; Hutamekalin, Pilaiwanwadee; Wongtawatchai, Tulaporn; Sukketsiri, Wanida

2018-03-13

Centella asiatica is widely considered the most important medicinal plant for treating and relieving skin diseases. Recently developed standardized extract of Centella asiatica ECa 233 has demonstrated positive effects on wound healing of incision and burn wound in rats. However, knowledge associated with wound healing mechanism of ECa 233 was scare. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect and underlying molecular mechanisms of ECa 233 on the migration of a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) using scratch wound healing assay. Formation of filopodia, a key protein in cell migration as well as signaling pathways possibly involved were subsequently assessed. It was found that HaCaT cell migration was significantly enhanced by ECa 233 in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The filopodia formations were accordingly increased in exposure to ECa 233 at concentrations of 0.1-100 μg/ml. Furthermore, ECa 233 was found to significantly upregulate the expression of Rac1 and RhoA and to induce phosphorylation of FAK and Akt as well as ERK and p38 MAPK. Taken all together, it is suggestive that ECa 233 induces cell migration and subsequently promotes wound healing activity, through the activation of FAK, Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways thereby supporting the role of ECa 233 to be further developed for the clinical treatment of wound. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

External carotid artery stenosis after internal and common carotid stenting.

PubMed

Siracuse, Jeffrey J; Epelboym, Irene; Li, Boyangzi; Hoque, Rahima; Catz, Diana; Morrissey, Nicholas J

2015-04-01

The external carotid artery (ECA) can be an important collateral for cerebral perfusion in the presence of severe internal carotid artery (ICA) disease. ICA stenting that covers the ECA origin may put the ECA at increased risk of stenosis. Our objective was to determine the rate of ECA stenosis secondary to ICA stenting, determine predictive factors, and describe any subsequent associated symptoms. We retrospectively reviewed clinical data on all ICA stents crossing the origin of the ECA placed by vascular surgeons at our institution. We analyzed patient demographics, comorbidities, stent type and sizes, as well as medication profile to determine predictors of ECA stenosis. Between 2005 and 2013, there were 72 (out of 119 total ICA stenting) patients (mean age 71, 68% male) who underwent placement of ICA stents that also crossed the origin of the ECA. Six patients (8.3%) had a significantly increased ECA stenosis postprocedure. There were no occlusions. All patients with ECA stenosis maintained patency of their ICA stent and were asymptomatic. Age, gender, comorbidities, stent type and size, and medication profile were not associated with ECA stenosis after stenting. ECA stenosis after ICA stenting covering the ECA origin is uncommon and not clinically significant in patients with patent ICA stents. The clinical significance of concurrent ECA and ICA stenosis after stenting is unclear as it is not captured here. The potential for ECA stenosis should not deter stenting across the ECA origin if necessary. Patient and stent factors are not predictive of ECA stenosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Novel External Carotid Arterial Sheath System for Intra-arterial Infusion Chemotherapy of Head and Neck Cancer.

PubMed

Ii, Noriko; Fuwa, Nobukazu; Toyomasu, Yutaka; Takada, Akinori; Nomura, Miwako; Kawamura, Tomoko; Sakuma, Hajime; Nomoto, Yoshihito

2017-07-01

The purpose of this study was to describe a novel system for treating advanced head and neck cancer consisting of an external carotid arterial sheath (ECAS) and a microcatheter to inject drugs retrogradely into multiple feeding arteries through the superficial temporal artery (STA). Four consecutive patients with head and neck cancer that had more than one feeding artery were enrolled in this study. The ECAS was made of polyurethane and surface-coated with heparin resin to prevent thrombus formation, allowing it to remain in place for a prolonged period of time. The ECAS was inserted through the STA, and its tip was placed between the maxillary artery and facial artery. The tumor-feeding arteries were selected using a hooked-shaped microcatheter through the ECAS. A total of 13 target arteries were selected in the four patients. The microcatheter inserted via the ECAS was used to catheterize ten arteries (five lingual arteries and five facial arteries). The remaining three lingual arteries were directly selected by the catheter without ECAS. All of the target arteries were able to be catheterized superselectively. The technical success rate was 100%. Vascular occlusion, which might have been caused by the ECAS, was observed in one patient. No neurologic toxicities occurred. This ECAS system is a new approach for retrograde superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy that covers the entire tumor with anticancer drugs. It has the potential to increase the effectiveness of therapy for advanced head and neck cancer. Level 4, Case Series.

Fertilization effects on the electrical conductivity measured by EMI, ERT, and GPR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weihermueller, L.; Kaufmann, M.; Steinberger, P.; Pätzold, S.; Vereecken, H.; Van Der Kruk, J.

2017-12-01

Near surface geophysics such as electromagnetic induction (EMI), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and ground penetrating radar (GPR) are widely used for field characterization, to delineate soil units, and to estimate soil texture, bulk densities and/or soil water contents. Hereby, the measured soil apparent conductivity (ECa) is often used. Soil ECa is governed by horizontal and vertical changes in soil texture, mineralogy, soil water content, and temperature, and the single contributions are not easy to disentangle. Within single fields and between fields fertilization management may vary spatially, which holds especially for field trials. As a result, ECa might vary due to differences in electrolyte concentration and subsequent pore fluid conductivity, but secondary fertilization effects might also play a major role in ECa differences such as differences in soil water uptake by growing plants. To study the direct effect of mineral fertilization on ECa, a field experiment was performed on 21 bare soil plots each of a size of 9 m2, where 7 different fertilization treatments were established in triplicates. As mineral fertilizers, commercial calcium ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride were chosen and applied in dosages of 200, 400, and 2000 kg ha-1 N equivalent. Additionally, soil water, soil temperature, and EC were recorded in a pit at different depths using commercial sensors. Changes in ECa were measured every 10 days using EMI and monthly using GPR and ERT. Additionally, soil samples were monthly taken at all plots and nitrate, chloride, and potassium contents were measured in the lab. The poster will show the effect of ECa changes due to fertilization and corresponding leaching of the fertilized elements over time. The experimental results provide information of how fertilization is influencing ECa readings and how long the fertilizers are influencing ECa measurements with geophysical instruments. This study helps to overcome restricted interpretation of ECa measurements on managed agricultural soils.

Evoked Cavernous Activity: Normal Values

PubMed Central

Yang, Claire C.; Yilmaz, Ugur; Vicars, Brenda G.

2009-01-01

Purpose We present normative data for evoked cavernous activity (ECA), an electrodiagnostic test that evaluates the autonomic innervation of the corpora cavernosa. Material and Methods We enrolled 37 healthy, sexually active and potent men for the study. Each subject completed an IIEF questionnaire and underwent simultaneous ECA and hand and foot sympathetic skin response (SSR) testing. The sympathetic skin response tests were performed as autonomic controls. Results Thirty six men had discernible ECA and SSRs. The mean IIEF erectile domain score was 27. ECA is a low frequency wave that is morphologically and temporally similar in both corpora. The amplitudes of the responses were highly variable. The latencies, although variable, always occurred after the hand SSR. There was no change in the quality or the latency of the ECA with age. Conclusions ECA is measurable in healthy, potent men in a wide range of ages. Similar to other evoked responses of the autonomic nervous system, the measured waveform is highly variable, but its presence is consistent. The association between ECA and erectile function is to be determined. PMID:18423763

The Effect of Long-Term Storage on the Physiochemical and Bactericidal Properties of Electrochemically Activated Solutions

PubMed Central

Robinson, Gareth; Thorn, Robin; Reynolds, Darren

2013-01-01

Electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS) are generated by electrolysis of NaCl solutions, and demonstrate broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and high environmental compatibility. The biocidal efficacy of ECAS at the point of production is widely reported in the literature, as are its credentials as a “green biocide.” Acidic ECAS are considered most effective as biocides at the point of production and ill suited for extended storage. Acidic ECAS samples were stored at 4 °C and 20 °C in glass and polystyrene containers for 398 days, and tested for free chlorine, pH, ORP and bactericidal activity throughout. ORP and free chlorine (mg/L) in stored ECAS declined over time, declining at the fastest rate when stored at 20 °C in polystyrene and at the slowest rate when stored at 4 °C in glass. Bactericidal efficacy was also affected by storage and ECAS failed to produce a 5 log10 reduction on five occasions when stored at 20 °C. pH remained stable throughout the storage period. This study represents the longest storage evaluation of the physiochemical parameters and bactericidal efficacy of acidic ECAS within the published literature and reveals that acidic ECAS retain useful bactericidal activity for in excess of 12 months, widening potential applications. PMID:23263673

The effect of long-term storage on the physiochemical and bactericidal properties of electrochemically activated solutions.

PubMed

Robinson, Gareth; Thorn, Robin; Reynolds, Darren

2012-12-24

Electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS) are generated by electrolysis of NaCl solutions, and demonstrate broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and high environmental compatibility. The biocidal efficacy of ECAS at the point of production is widely reported in the literature, as are its credentials as a "green biocide." Acidic ECAS are considered most effective as biocides at the point of production and ill suited for extended storage. Acidic ECAS samples were stored at 4 °C and 20 °C in glass and polystyrene containers for 398 days, and tested for free chlorine, pH, ORP and bactericidal activity throughout. ORP and free chlorine (mg/L) in stored ECAS declined over time, declining at the fastest rate when stored at 20 °C in polystyrene and at the slowest rate when stored at 4 °C in glass. Bactericidal efficacy was also affected by storage and ECAS failed to produce a 5 log(10) reduction on five occasions when stored at 20 °C. pH remained stable throughout the storage period. This study represents the longest storage evaluation of the physiochemical parameters and bactericidal efficacy of acidic ECAS within the published literature and reveals that acidic ECAS retain useful bactericidal activity for in excess of 12 months, widening potential applications.

Spatial interpolation of soil organic carbon using apparent electrical conductivity as secondary information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, G.; Vanderlinden, K.; Ordóñez, R.; Muriel, J. L.

2009-04-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) spatial characterization is necessary to evaluate under what circumstances soil acts as a source or sink of carbon dioxide. However, at the field or catchment scale it is hard to accurately characterize its spatial distribution since large numbers of soil samples are necessary. As an alternative, near-surface geophysical sensor-based information can improve the spatial estimation of soil properties at these scales. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors provide non-invasive and non-destructive measurements of the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa), which depends under non-saline conditions on clay content, water content or SOC, among other properties that determine the electromagnetic behavior of the soil. This study deals with the possible use of ECa-derived maps to improve SOC spatial estimation by Simple Kriging with varying local means (SKlm). Field work was carried out in a vertisol in SW Spain. The field is part of a long-term tillage experiment set up in 1982 with three replicates of conventional tillage (CT) and Direct Drilling (DD) plots with unitary dimensions of 15x65m. Shallow and deep (up to 0.8m depth) apparent electrical conductivity (ECas and ECad, respectively) was measured using the EM38-DD EMI sensor. Soil samples were taken from the upper horizont and analyzed for their SOC content. Correlation coefficients of ECas and ECad with SOC were low (0.331 and 0.175) due to the small range of SOC values and possibly also to the different support of the ECa and SOC data. Especially the ECas values were higher in the DD plots. The normalized ECa difference (ΔECa), calculated as the difference between the normalized ECas and ECad values, distinguished clearly the CT and DD plots, with the DD plots showing positive ΔECa values and CT plots ΔECa negative values. The field was stratified using fuzzy k-means (FKM) classification of ΔECa (FKM1), and ECas and ECad (FKM2). The FKM1 map mainly showed the difference between CT and DD plots, while the FKM2 map showed both differences between CT and DD and topography-associated features. Using the FKM1 and FKM2 maps as secondary information accounted for 30% of the total SOC variability, whereas plot and management average SOC explained 44 and 41%, respectively. Cross validation of SKlm using FKM2 reduced the RMSE by 8% and increased the efficiency index almost 70% as compared to Ordinary Kriging. This work shows how ECa can improve the spatial characterization of SOC, despite its low correlation and the small size of the plots used in this study.

Efficacy of etidronate and sequential monofluorophosphate in severe postmenopausal osteoporosis: a pilot study.

PubMed

Ringe, J D; Dorst, A; Faber, H; Kipshoven, C; Rovati, L C; Setnikar, I

2005-05-01

In a three-year pilot study on 52 women with severe postmenopausal osteoporosis, treatment with etidronate followed by calcium and vitamin D (ECaD) was compared to etidronate followed by monofluorophosphate, calcium and vitamin D (EFCaD). BMD in lumbar spine, total hip and femoral neck increased significantly more with EFCaD than with ECaD. Pain-mobility score decreased significantly more with EFCaD than with ECaD (p=0.006). New vertebral fractures occurred in three patients under EFCaD (12%) and in nine under ECaD (35%), (p=0.048). Three patients under EFCaD (12%) and 15 under ECaD (58%) did not respond to therapy (p of difference=0.001). Mild or moderate adverse reactions were reported by 25 patients, with no significant difference between the two groups. The pilot study suggests that etidronate, sequentially followed by monofluorophosphate, could be a safe, effective and relatively inexpensive therapy in severe postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Using Multivariate Geostatistics to Assess Patterns of Spatial Dependence of Apparent Soil Electrical Conductivity and Selected Soil Properties

PubMed Central

Siqueira, Glécio Machado; Dafonte, Jorge Dafonte; Valcárcel Armesto, Montserrat; Silva, Ênio Farias França e

2014-01-01

The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was continuously recorded in three successive dates using electromagnetic induction in horizontal (ECa-H) and vertical (ECa-V) dipole modes at a 6 ha plot located in Northwestern Spain. One of the ECa data sets was used to devise an optimized sampling scheme consisting of 40 points. Soil was sampled at the 0.0–0.3 m depth, in these 40 points, and analyzed for sand, silt, and clay content; gravimetric water content; and electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste. Coefficients of correlation between ECa and gravimetric soil water content (0.685 for ECa-V and 0.649 for ECa-H) were higher than those between ECa and clay content (ranging from 0.197 to 0.495, when different ECa recording dates were taken into account). Ordinary and universal kriging have been used to assess the patterns of spatial variability of the ECa data sets recorded at successive dates and the analyzed soil properties. Ordinary and universal cokriging methods have improved the estimation of gravimetric soil water content using the data of ECa as secondary variable with respect to the use of ordinary kriging. PMID:25614893

Using multivariate geostatistics to assess patterns of spatial dependence of apparent soil electrical conductivity and selected soil properties.

PubMed

Siqueira, Glécio Machado; Dafonte, Jorge Dafonte; Valcárcel Armesto, Montserrat; França e Silva, Ênio Farias

2014-01-01

The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was continuously recorded in three successive dates using electromagnetic induction in horizontal (ECa-H) and vertical (ECa-V) dipole modes at a 6 ha plot located in Northwestern Spain. One of the ECa data sets was used to devise an optimized sampling scheme consisting of 40 points. Soil was sampled at the 0.0-0.3 m depth, in these 40 points, and analyzed for sand, silt, and clay content; gravimetric water content; and electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste. Coefficients of correlation between ECa and gravimetric soil water content (0.685 for ECa-V and 0.649 for ECa-H) were higher than those between ECa and clay content (ranging from 0.197 to 0.495, when different ECa recording dates were taken into account). Ordinary and universal kriging have been used to assess the patterns of spatial variability of the ECa data sets recorded at successive dates and the analyzed soil properties. Ordinary and universal cokriging methods have improved the estimation of gravimetric soil water content using the data of ECa as secondary variable with respect to the use of ordinary kriging.

TOPICAL REVIEW: Electric current activated/assisted sintering (ECAS): a review of patents 1906-2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grasso, Salvatore; Sakka, Yoshio; Maizza, Giovanni

2009-10-01

The electric current activated/assisted sintering (ECAS) is an ever growing class of versatile techniques for sintering particulate materials. Despite the tremendous advances over the last two decades in ECASed materials and products there is a lack of comprehensive reviews on ECAS apparatuses and methods. This paper fills the gap by tracing the progress of ECAS technology from 1906 to 2008 and surveys 642 ECAS patents published over more than a century. It is found that the ECAS technology was pioneered by Bloxam (1906 GB Patent No. 9020) who developed the first resistive sintering apparatus. The patents were searched by keywords or by cross-links and were withdrawn from the Japanese Patent Office (342 patents), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (175 patents), the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office of P.R.C. (69 patents) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (12 patents). A subset of 119 (out of 642) ECAS patents on methods and apparatuses was selected and described in detail with respect to their fundamental concepts, physical principles and importance in either present ECAS apparatuses or future ECAS technologies for enhancing efficiency, reliability, repeatability, controllability and productivity. The paper is divided into two parts, the first deals with the basic concepts, features and definitions of basic ECAS and the second analyzes the auxiliary devices/peripherals. The basic ECAS is classified with reference to discharge time (fast and ultrafast ECAS). The fundamental principles and definitions of ECAS are outlined in accordance with the scientific and patent literature.

77 FR 65543 - Energy Corporation of America; Eastern American Energy Corporation; First ECA Midstream LLC...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-29

... Corporation of America; Eastern American Energy Corporation; First ECA Midstream LLC; Notice of Application Take notice that on October 16, 2012, Energy Corporation of America and Eastern American Energy Corporation (collectively, ECA), and First ECA Midstream LLC (First ECA Midstream), 501 56th Street SE...

Electric current activated/assisted sintering (ECAS): a review of patents 1906–2008

PubMed Central

Grasso, Salvatore; Sakka, Yoshio; Maizza, Giovanni

2009-01-01

The electric current activated/assisted sintering (ECAS) is an ever growing class of versatile techniques for sintering particulate materials. Despite the tremendous advances over the last two decades in ECASed materials and products there is a lack of comprehensive reviews on ECAS apparatuses and methods. This paper fills the gap by tracing the progress of ECAS technology from 1906 to 2008 and surveys 642 ECAS patents published over more than a century. It is found that the ECAS technology was pioneered by Bloxam (1906 GB Patent No. 9020) who developed the first resistive sintering apparatus. The patents were searched by keywords or by cross-links and were withdrawn from the Japanese Patent Office (342 patents), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (175 patents), the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office of P.R.C. (69 patents) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (12 patents). A subset of 119 (out of 642) ECAS patents on methods and apparatuses was selected and described in detail with respect to their fundamental concepts, physical principles and importance in either present ECAS apparatuses or future ECAS technologies for enhancing efficiency, reliability, repeatability, controllability and productivity. The paper is divided into two parts, the first deals with the basic concepts, features and definitions of basic ECAS and the second analyzes the auxiliary devices/peripherals. The basic ECAS is classified with reference to discharge time (fast and ultrafast ECAS). The fundamental principles and definitions of ECAS are outlined in accordance with the scientific and patent literature. PMID:27877308

Self-Guided Web-Based Interventions: Scoping Review on User Needs and the Potential of Embodied Conversational Agents to Address Them

PubMed Central

Kelders, Saskia M; Van Gemert-Pijnen, Julia EWC

2017-01-01

Background Web-based mental health interventions have evolved from innovative prototypes to evidence-based and clinically applied solutions for mental diseases such as depression and anxiety. Open-access, self-guided types of these solutions hold the promise of reaching and treating a large population at a reasonable cost. However, a considerable factor that currently hinders the effectiveness of these self-guided Web-based interventions is the high level of nonadherence. The absence of a human caregiver apparently has a negative effect on user adherence. It is unknown to what extent this human support can be handed over to the technology of the intervention to mitigate this negative effect. Objective The first objective of this paper was to explore what is known in literature about what support a user needs to stay motivated and engaged in an electronic health (eHealth) intervention that requires repeated use. The second objective was to explore the current potential of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) to provide this support. Methods This study reviews and interprets the available literature on (1) support within eHealth interventions that require repeated use and (2) the potential of ECAs by means of a scoping review. The rationale for choosing a scoping review is that the subject is broad, diverse, and largely unexplored. Themes for (1) and (2) were proposed based on grounded theory and mapped on each other to find relationships. Results The results of the first part of this study suggest the presence of user needs that largely remain implicit and unaddressed. These support needs can be categorized as task-related support and emotion-related support. The results of the second part of this study suggest that ECAs are capable of engaging and motivating users of information technology applications in the domains of learning and behavioral change. Longitudinal studies must be conducted to determine under what circumstances ECAs can create and maintain a productive user relationship. Mapping the user needs on the ECAs’ capabilities suggests that different kinds of ECAs may provide different solutions for improving the adherence levels. Conclusions Autonomous ECAs that do not respond to a user’s expressed emotion in real time but take on empathic roles may be sufficient to motivate users to some extent. It is unclear whether those types of ECAs are competent enough and create sufficient believability among users to address the user’s deeper needs for support and empathy. Responsive ECAs may offer a better solution. However, at present, most of these ECAs have difficulties to assess a user’s emotional state in real time during an open dialogue. By conducting future research with relationship theory–based ECAs, the added value of ECAs toward user needs can be better understood. PMID:29146567

Screening for cognitive dysfunction in ALS: validation of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) using age and education adjusted normative data.

PubMed

Pinto-Grau, Marta; Burke, Tom; Lonergan, Katie; McHugh, Caroline; Mays, Iain; Madden, Caoifa; Vajda, Alice; Heverin, Mark; Elamin, Marwa; Hardiman, Orla; Pender, Niall

2017-02-01

Cognitive and behavioural changes are an important aspect in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS) briefly assesses these changes in ALS. To validate the ECAS against a standardised neuropsychological battery and assess its sensitivity and specificity using age and education adjusted cut-off scores. 30 incident ALS cases were assessed on both, ECAS and neuropsychological battery. Age and education adjusted cut-off scores were created from a sample of 82 healthy controls. ECAS composite scores (Total, ALS Specific and Non-Specific) were highly correlated with battery composite scores. High correlations were also observed between ECAS and full battery cognitive domains and subtests. The ECAS Total, ALS Specific and Non-Specific scores were highly sensitive to cognitive impairment. ECAS ALS-Specific cognitive domains also evidenced high sensitivity. Individual subtest sensitivity was medium to low, suggesting that caution should be used when interpreting these scores. Low positive predictive values indicated the presence of false positives. Psychometric properties of the ECAS using age and education adjusted norms indicate that the ECAS, when used as an overall measure of cognitive decline, is highly sensitive. Further comprehensive assessment is required for patients that present as impaired on the ECAS.

Enhancing science education through extracurricular activities: A retrospective study of "Suzy Science and the Whiz Kids(c)"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kralina, Linda M.

Extracurricular activities (ECA) are informal settings offering free-choice experiences that are generally voluntary, open-ended, non-sequential, self-directed, hands-on, and evaluation-free. This mixed methods study investigates participation in a high school science ECA by collecting the memories of former student members for their perceptions of engagement as well as social positioning. First, this study examines the levels in which the science club engaged these members, particularly females, in science and teaching. Second, the study also ascertains how participation in the club allowed members to explore new identities and fostered the development of new skills, actions and behaviors, expanding possible future trajectories of identification, specifically in science- and education-related career fields. Based on a review of the related literature regarding engagement and identity formation and the reconstructed reality from the memories of these students and sponsor, a theoretical framework has been constructed, based on seven essential elements of informal learning for an engaging as well as a socially constructive high school science ECA. The most significant findings are (1) the high correlation between engagement, specifically, cognitive engagement with social positioning, (2) the important role of emotional engagement in science ECA, (3) the major perception roadblocks to science learning that can be overcome, particularly for females in physical science, and (4) the importance of the teacher-student interactions in science ECA. Articulating a theoretical framework to legitimate the power of informal learning structures may help other educators to understand the potential benefits of science ECA and thus, increase opportunities for such experiential activities in order to enhance engagement and expand positioning of their students in science. More engaging, socially constructive science ECA have the potential to enhance science education.

Late presentation of esophageal cancer: observations in a multiracial South-East Asian population.

PubMed

Abdullah, Muhammad; Karim, Adil Abdel; Goh, Khean-Lee

2010-02-01

Esophageal cancer (ECA) is an important cancer in Malaysia. The aim of the study is to review the demographic data and clinical presentation of patients with ECA seen at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Patients with histologically proven ECA were recruited for the study. Patients' case notes, endoscopy and operating theater records were reviewed. All cases were histologically confirmed. A total of 143 patients with ECA was diagnosed between 1998 and 2003. The mean age of the patients was 63.1 +/- 12.1 years with a male : female ratio of 1.8:1. Of these 50.3 percent were Indians, 32.9 percent, Chinese and 16.8 percent Malays. The overall hospital-based prevalence rates per 100 000 admissions according to races were: Malay; 23.5, Chinese; 57.4 and Indian; 134.1. The location of the tumors was: upper; 16 (11.2%) middle; 52 (36.4%) and lower; 75 (52.4%). The histological type of ECA were: squamous cell carcinomas; 113 (79.0%) and adenocarcinomas; 30 (21.0%). The ECA stage at diagnosis, was: II; 18 (12.6%), III; 23 (16.1%) and IV; 102 (71.3%). Only 24 (16.8%) patients underwent surgery and13 (9.1%) were considered curative. Overall 114 (79.7%) patients underwent palliative endoscopic stenting and six (4.2%) were given other palliative therapy including radiotherapy. Squamous cell cancer was the predominant type. ECA presents late in our patients and only a minority of patients underwent curative surgery.

Assessing the value of multi-receiver low-frequency electromagnetic-induction (EMI) measurement for assessing variation in soil moisture content in field experiments with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shanahan, Peter; Binley, Andrew; Dodd, Ian; Whalley, Richard; Watts, Chris; Ashton, Rhys; Ober, Eric

2014-05-01

In large plant breeding field trials with multiple genotypes, measuring soil water status (an indicator of crop water uptake) by conventional techniques (e.g. core extraction and penetration resistance) is limited by the cost and effort needed to achieve sufficient replication to apply robust statistical analysis. Geophysical methods may provide a more cost-effective means of more assessing valuable information about soil water status for such studies. We present here results from a field experiment using geophysical techniques for remote mapping of soil water content on sandy loam and silt loam soils in spring/summer 2013 in the UK. The aim of the study was to assess electromagnetic-induction (EMI) conductivity measurements for sensitivity to variations in shallow soil electrical properties and the spatial and temporal mapping of soil water. The CMD Mini-Explorer (GF Instruments) operates with three receiver coils at fixed distances from a transmitter coil (0.32 m, 0.71 m, 1.2 m). Measurement of magnetic field quadrature in horizontal coplanar (HC) and vertical coplanar (VC) of the three receiver coils provides six depths of investigation for the given coil spacing cumulative sensitivities. At the two field sites the instrument was applied to measuring apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) below 7.0 x 1.8 m plots consisting of 23 rain fed winter wheat cultivars and bare soil fallow control plots. These plots were sown in March 2013 and organised into a randomised block design. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys along 15 m transects were also conducted at the two sites in order to compare EMI measured ECa. Our results show that progressive soil drying at both sites due to crop uptake significantly decreased (p<0.05) soil ECa. The difference in soil ECa as a result of water uptake between cultivars was found to be significant (p<0.05) from one of the coil configurations (coil spacing 1.8m in HC mode), and only at the silty loam site (no significant difference was found in data from the sandy loam site). The difference in soil ECa over time was expected owing to crop root development and low rainfall during the growing season. It was expected that soil ECa between certain cultivars in the June and July would differ over all investigation depths at both sites. It was not possible in this study to produce calibrations for EMI measured ECa from the ERT data. Our study confirms the suitability of multi-core EMI devices for efficient and repeatable measurements of soil ECa in trials of winter wheat cultivars, providing data on soil ECa with minimal user requirements and instrument error. Differences in soil ECa as a result of crop water uptake was, however, not fully conclusive, since water extraction by the different cultivars is difficult to detect with the instrument, especially on sandy textured soils. The full-depth of investigation (1.8 m) of the instrument used on silt loam soil textures can provide qualitative data on crop performance. Over time, with gradual soil drying, the instrument detected reductions in ECa at all depths of investigation in both sandy and silt textured soils. Further analysis will be done using profiles of electrical conductivity determined from inversions of measured ECa values. ERT data calibration of EMI measured ECa was not possible due to lower than expected variation in ECa measured along the 15 m transect over the field season. This has meant a change in the methodology by having transects crossing soil with greater vertical variation in ECa (determined from field EMI surveys) and surface conditions (e.g. bare and cropped soil).

The relationship between extracurricular activities assessed during selection and during medical school and performance.

PubMed

Urlings-Strop, Louise C; Themmen, Axel P N; Stegers-Jager, Karen M

2017-05-01

Several medical schools include candidates' extracurricular activities in their selection procedure, with promising results regarding their predictive value for achievement during the clinical years of medical school. This study aims to reveal whether the better achievement in clinical training of students selected on the basis of their extracurricular activities could be explained by persistent participation in extracurricular activities during medical school (msECAs). Lottery-admitted and selected student admission groups were compared on their participation in three types of msECAs: (1) research master, (2) important board positions or (3) additional degree programme. Logistic regression was used to measure the effect of admission group on participation in any msECA, adjusted for pre-university GPA. Two-way ANCOVA was used to examine the inter-relationships between admission group, participation in msECAs and clerkship grade, with pre-university GPA as covariate. Significantly more selected students compared to lottery-admitted students participated in any msECA. Participation in msECAs was associated with a higher pre-university GPA for lottery-admitted students only, whereas participation in msECAs was associated with higher clerkship grades for selected students only. These results suggest that persistent participation in extracurricular activities of selected students favours better clinical achievement, supporting the inclusion of ECAs in the selection procedure. More insight in the rationale behind participation in extracurricular activities during medical school may explain differences found between lottery-admitted and selected students.

Lectin binding assays for in-process monitoring of sialylation in protein production.

PubMed

Xu, Weiduan; Chen, Jianmin; Yamasaki, Glenn; Murphy, John E; Mei, Baisong

2010-07-01

Many therapeutic proteins require appropriate glycosylation for their biological activities and plasma half life. Coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) is a glycoprotein which has extensive post-translational modification by N-linked glycosylation. The terminal sialic acid in the N-linked glycans of FVIII is required for maximal circulatory half life. The extent of FVIII sialylation can be determined by high pH anion-exchange chromatography coupled with a pulse electrochemical detector (HPAEC-PED), but this requires a large amount of purified protein. Using FVIII as a model, the objective of the present study was to develop assays that enable detection and prediction of sialylation deficiency at an early stage in the process and thus prevent downstream product quality excursions. Lectin ECA (Erythrina Cristagalli) binds to unsialylated Galbeta1-4 GlcNAc and the ECA-binding level (i.e., terminal Gal(beta1-4) exposure) is inversely proportional to the level of sialylation. By using ECA, a cell-based assay was developed to measure the global sialylation profile in FVIII producing cells. To examine the Galbeta1-4 exposure on the FVIII molecule in bioreactor tissue culture fluid (TCF), an ELISA-based ECA-FVIII binding assay was developed. The ECA-binding specificity in both assays was assessed by ECA-specific sugar inhibitors and neuraminidase digestion. The ECA-binding specificity was also independently confirmed by a ST3GAL4 siRNA knockdown experiment. To establish the correlation between Galbeta1-4 exposure and the HPAEC-PED determined FVIII sialylation value, the FVIII containing bioreactor TCF and the purified FVIII samples were tested with ECA ELISA binding assay. The results indicated an inverse correlation between ECA binding and the corresponding HPAEC-PED sialylation value. The ECA-binding assays are cost effective and can be rapidly performed, thereby making them effective for in-process monitoring of protein sialylation.

The application of embodied conversational agents for mentoring African American STEM doctoral students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gosha, Kinnis

This dissertation presents the design, development and short-term evaluation of an embodied conversational agent designed to mentor human users. An embodied conversational agent (ECA) was created and programmed to mentor African American computer science majors on their decision to pursue graduate study in computing. Before constructing the ECA, previous research in the fields of embodied conversational agents, relational agents, mentorship, telementorship and successful mentoring programs and practices for African American graduate students were reviewed. A survey used to find areas of interest of the sample population. Experts were then interviewed to collect information on those areas of interest and a dialogue for the ECA was constructed based on the interview's transcripts. A between-group, mixed method experiment was conducted with 37 African American male undergraduate computer science majors where one group used the ECA mentor while the other group pursued mentoring advice from a human mentor. Results showed no significant difference between the ECA and human mentor when dealing with career mentoring functions. However, the human mentor was significantly better than the ECA mentor when addressing psychosocial mentoring functions.

Association of Inter-arm Blood Pressure Difference with Asymptomatic Intracranial and Extracranial Arterial Stenosis in Hypertension Patients.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Zhang, Jin; Qian, Yuesheng; Tang, Xiaofeng; Ling, Huawei; Chen, Kemin; Li, Yan; Gao, Pingjin; Zhu, Dingliang

2016-07-14

Inter-arm blood pressure (BP) difference has been associated with ischemic stroke. Local atherosclerosis of stroke differ among vulnerable individuals, whereas intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) is more frequently affected Asians, and extracranial arterial stenosis (ECAS) is more prevalent among whites. We hereby sought to explore the association of inter-arm BP difference with ICAS and ECAS in stroke-free hypertensive patients in Chinese population. All the 885 subjects were evaluated of ICAS and ECAS through computerized tomographic angiography. Both arm BP was measured simultaneously by Vascular Profiler-1000 device. In the continuous study, ICAS was significantly associated with age, male, average brachial SBP, diabetes, anti-hypertensive treatment and inter-arm DBP difference. ECAS was associated with age, inter-arm SBP and LDL. In the categorical study, subjects with the top quartile of inter-arm DBP difference (≥4 mmHg) showed significantly higher risk of ICAS (OR = 2.109; 95% CI, 1.24-3.587). And the participants with the top quartile of inter-arm SBP difference (≥6 mmHg) showed significantly higher risk of ECAS (OR = 2.288; 95% CI, 1.309-3.998). In conclusion, we reported a diverse association of inter-arm SBP/DBP difference with the ICAS/ECAS. Inter-arm DBP difference might be the early symbol of ICAS in Chinese population, which need further verification in long-term cohort study.

76 FR 14712 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Global Connections...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-17

... to coordinate program activities with Post and ECA, keeping all involved parties informed of program... include one extra copy of the completed SF-424 form and place it in an envelope addressed to ``ECA/EX/PM..., ECA-IIP/EX/PM, Ref.: ECA/PE/C/PY-11- 32, SA-5, Floor 4, Department of State, 2200 C Street, NW...

Geophysical characterization of soil moisture spatial patterns in a tillage experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, G.; Vanderlinden, K.; Giráldez, J. V.; Muriel, J. L.

2009-04-01

Knowledge on the spatial soil moisture pattern can improve the characterisation of the hydrological response of either field-plots or small watersheds. Near-surface geophysical methods, such as electromagnetic induction (EMI), provide a means to map such patterns using non-invasive and non-destructive measurements of the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa. In this study ECa was measured using an EMI sensor and used to characterize spatially the hydrologic response of a cropped field to an intense shower. The study site is part of a long-term tillage experiment in Southern Spain in which Conventional Tillage (CT), Direct Drilling (DD) and Minimum Tillage (MT) are being evaluated since 1982. Soil ECa was measured before and after a rain event of 115 mm, near the soil surface and at deeper depth (ECas and ECad, respectively) using the EM38-DD EMI sensor. Simultaneously, elevation data were collected at each sampling point to generate a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Soil moisture during the first survey was close to permanent wilting point and near field capacity during the second survey. For the first survey, both ECas and ECad, were higher in the CT and MT than in the DD plots. After the rain event, rill erosion appeared only in CT and MT plots were soil was uncovered, matching the drainage lines obtained from the DEM. Apparent electrical conductivity increased all over the field plot with higher increments in the DD plots. These plots showed the highest ECas and ECad values, in contrast to the spatial pattern found during the first sampling. Difference maps obtained from the two ECas and ECad samplings showed a clear difference between DD plots and CT and MT plots due to their distinct hydrologic response. Water infiltration was higher in the soil of the DD plots than in the MT and CT plots, as reflected by their ECad increment. Higher ECa increments were observed in the depressions of the terrain, where water and sediments accumulated. On the contrary, the most elevated places of the field showed lower ECa increments. When soil is wet topography dominates the hydrologic response of the field, while under drier conditions, hydraulic conductivity controls the soil water dynamics. These results show that when static soil properties, e.g. clay content, are spatially uniform, ECa can detect changes in dynamic properties like soil moisture content, characterizing their spatial pattern.

Ship Compliance in Emission Control Areas: Technology Costs and Policy Instruments.

PubMed

Carr, Edward W; Corbett, James J

2015-08-18

This paper explores whether a Panama Canal Authority pollution tax could be an effective economic instrument to achieve Emission Control Area (ECA)-like reductions in emissions from ships transiting the Panama Canal. This tariff-based policy action, whereby vessels in compliance with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ECA standards pay a lower transit tariff than noncompliant vessels, could be a feasible alternative to petitioning for a Panamanian ECA through the IMO. A $4.06/container fuel tax could incentivize ECA-compliant emissions reductions for nearly two-thirds of Panama Canal container vessels, mainly through fuel switching; if the vessel(s) also operate in IMO-defined ECAs, exhaust-gas treatment technologies may be cost-effective. The RATES model presented here compares current abatement technologies based on hours of operation within an ECA, computing costs for a container vessel to comply with ECA standards in addition to computing the Canal tax that would reduce emissions in Panama. Retrofitted open-loop scrubbers are cost-effective only for vessels operating within an ECA for more than 4500 h annually. Fuel switching is the least-cost option to industry for vessels that operate mostly outside of ECA regions, whereas vessels operating entirely within an ECA region could reduce compliance cost with exhaust-gas treatment technology (scrubbers).

Characterization of soil spatial variability for site-specific management using soil electrical conductivity and other remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bang, Jisu

Field-scale characterization of soil spatial variability using remote sensing technology has potential for achieving the successful implementation of site-specific management (SSM). The objectives of this study were to: (i) examine the spatial relationships between apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC a) and soil chemical and physical properties to determine if EC a could be useful to characterize soil properties related to crop productivity in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont of North Carolina; (ii) evaluate the effects of in-situ soil moisture variation on ECa mapping as a basis for characterization of soil spatial variability and as a data layer in cluster analysis as a means of delineating sampling zones; (iii) evaluate clustering approaches using different variable sets for management zone delineation to characterize spatial variability in soil nutrient levels and crop yields. Studies were conducted in two fields in the Piedmont and three fields in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Spatial measurements of ECa via electromagnetic induction (EMI) were compared with soil chemical parameters (extractable P, K, and micronutrients; pH, cation exchange capacity [CEC], humic matter or soil organic matter; and physical parameters (percentage sand, silt, and clay; and plant-available water [PAW] content; bulk density; cone index; saturated hydraulic conductivity [Ksat] in one of the coastal plain fields) using correlation analysis across fields. We also collected ECa measurements in one coastal plain field on four days with significantly different naturally occurring soil moisture conditions measured in five increments to 0.75 m using profiling time-domain reflectometry probes to evaluate the temporal variability of ECa associated with changes in in-situ soil moisture content. Nonhierarchical k-means cluster analysis using sensor-based field attributes including vertical ECa, near-infrared (NIR) radiance of bare-soil from an aerial color infrared (CIR) image, elevation, slope, and their combinations was performed to delineate management zones. The strengths and signs of the correlations between ECa and measured soil properties varied among fields. Few strong direct correlations were found between ECa and the soil chemical and physical properties studied (r2 < 0.50), but correlations improved considerably when zone mean ECa and zone means of selected soil properties among ECa zones were compared. The results suggested that field-scale ECa survey is not able to directly predict soil nutrient levels at any specific location, but could delimit distinct zones of soil condition among which soil nutrient levels differ, providing an effective basis for soil sampling on a zone basis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Differential Expression of Serum MicroRNAs Supports CD4+ T Cell Differentiation into Th2/Th17 Cells in Severe Equine Asthma

PubMed Central

Kraft, Matthias F.; Gerber, Vincent

2017-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate post-transcriptional gene expression and may be exported from cells via exosomes or in partnership with RNA-binding proteins. MiRNAs in body fluids can act in a hormone-like manner and play important roles in disease initiation and progression. Hence, miRNAs are promising candidates as biomarkers. To identify serum miRNA biomarkers in the equine model of asthma we investigated small RNA derived from the serum of 34 control and 37 asthmatic horses. These samples were used for next generation sequencing, novel miRNA identification and differential miRNA expression analysis. We identified 11 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs between case and control horses: eca-miR-128, eca-miR-744, eca-miR-197, eca-miR-103, eca-miR-107a, eca-miR-30d, eca-miR-140-3p, eca-miR-7, eca-miR-361-3p, eca-miR-148b-3p and eca-miR-215. Pathway enrichment using experimentally validated target genes of the human homologous miRNAs showed a significant enrichment in the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (key player in airway remodeling in asthma) and the phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-triphosphate (PIP3) signaling pathway (modulator of CD4+ T cell maturation and function). Downregulated miR-128 and miR-744 supports a Th2/Th17 type immune response in severe equine asthma. PMID:29231896

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), General Electric Phase 1. Volume 2: Advanced energy conversion systems. Part 1: Open-cycle gas turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, D. H.; Corman, J. C.

1976-01-01

Ten energy conversion systems are defined and analyzed in terms of efficiency. These include: open-cycle gas turbine recuperative; open-cycle gas turbine; closed-cycle gas turbine; supercritical CO2 cycle; advanced steam cycle; liquid metal topping cycle; open-cycle MHD; closed-cycle inert gas MHD; closed-cycle liquid metal MHD; and fuel cells. Results are presented.

Regulating Intracellular Calcium in Plants: From Molecular Genetics to Physiology

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

Heven Sze

To grow, develop, adapt, and reproduce, plants have evolved mechanisms to regulate the uptake, translocation and sorting of calcium ions into different cells and subcellular compartments. Yet how plants accomplish this remarkable feat is still poorly understood. The spatial and temporal changes in intracellular [Ca2+] during growth and during responses to hormonal and environmental stimuli indicate that Ca2+ influx and efflux transporters are diverse and tightly regulated in plants. The specific goals were to determine the biological roles of multiple Ca pumps (ECAs) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We had pioneered the use of K616 yeast strain to functionallymore » express plant Ca pumps, and demonstrated two distinct types of Ca pumps in plants (Sze et al., 2000. Annu Rev Plant Biol. 51,433). ACA2 represented one type that was auto-inhibited by the N-terminal region and stimulated by calmodulin. ECA1 represented another type that was not sensitive to calmodulin and phylogenetically distinct from ACAs. The goal to determine the biological roles of multiple ECA-type Ca pumps in Arabidopsis has been accomplished. Although we demonstrated ECA1 was a Ca pump by functional expression in yeast, the in vivo roles of ECAs was unclear. A few highlights are described. ECA1 and/or ECA4 are Ca/Mn pumps localized to the ER and are highly expressed in all cell types. Using homozygous T-DNA insertional mutants of eca1, we demonstrated that the ER-bound ECA1 supports growth and confers tolerance of plants growing on medium low in Ca or containing toxic levels of Mn. This is the first genetic study to determine the in vivo function of a Ca pump in plants. A phylogenetically distinct ECA3 is also a Ca/Mn pump that is localized to endosome, such as post-Golgi compartments. Although it is expressed at lower levels than ECA1, eca3 mutants are impaired in Ca-dependent root growth and in pollen tube elongation. Increased secretion of wall proteins in mutants suggests that Ca and Mn homeostasis in post-Golgi compartments are critical for secretory activities. Moreover, perturbation of the secretory machinery limits growth possibly by upsetting the synthesis, processing and assembly of cell wall components. Analyses of whole genome transcriptome of pollen shows that a subset of Ca pump genes are developmentally regulated. Each ECA Ca pump is localized to distinct endomembrane compartments and regulate Ca and Mn homeostasis required for optimal growth and for tolerance to high Mn stress. Ca and Mn levels within endomembrane lumen appear to be critical for activities of the secretory machinery including post-Golgi compartments that coordinate membrane traffic and sorting of materials to the vacuole and the cell wall. Significance: Thus sorting of Ca/Mn by ECA pumps in endomembranes is critical for membrane trafficking pattern which serves as a central coordinator of plant growth, development and adaptation to abiotic and biotic stress.« less

Association of Inter-arm Blood Pressure Difference with Asymptomatic Intracranial and Extracranial Arterial Stenosis in Hypertension Patients

PubMed Central

Wang, Yan; Zhang, Jin; Qian, Yuesheng; Tang, Xiaofeng; Ling, Huawei; Chen, Kemin; Li, Yan; Gao, Pingjin; Zhu, Dingliang

2016-01-01

Inter-arm blood pressure (BP) difference has been associated with ischemic stroke. Local atherosclerosis of stroke differ among vulnerable individuals, whereas intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) is more frequently affected Asians, and extracranial arterial stenosis (ECAS) is more prevalent among whites. We hereby sought to explore the association of inter-arm BP difference with ICAS and ECAS in stroke-free hypertensive patients in Chinese population. All the 885 subjects were evaluated of ICAS and ECAS through computerized tomographic angiography. Both arm BP was measured simultaneously by Vascular Profiler-1000 device. In the continuous study, ICAS was significantly associated with age, male, average brachial SBP, diabetes, anti-hypertensive treatment and inter-arm DBP difference. ECAS was associated with age, inter-arm SBP and LDL. In the categorical study, subjects with the top quartile of inter-arm DBP difference (≥4 mmHg) showed significantly higher risk of ICAS (OR = 2.109; 95% CI, 1.24–3.587). And the participants with the top quartile of inter-arm SBP difference (≥6 mmHg) showed significantly higher risk of ECAS (OR = 2.288; 95% CI, 1.309–3.998). In conclusion, we reported a diverse association of inter-arm SBP/DBP difference with the ICAS/ECAS. Inter-arm DBP difference might be the early symbol of ICAS in Chinese population, which need further verification in long-term cohort study. PMID:27412818

Ultrasound guided transarterial coil placement in the internal and external carotid artery in horses.

PubMed

Muñoz, Juan; Iglesias, Manuel; Chao, Eduardo Lloret; Bussy, Christian

2015-04-01

To assess ultrasound guided transarterial coil placement (UGTACP) for occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and external carotid artery (ECA) in horses. Cadaveric and in vivo study. Cadaveric horses (n = 10), healthy horses (3), and 1 clinical case. Cadaveric and in vivo (healthy horses): UGTACP was performed in the caudal part of the ICA and ECA. Coil placement in the rostral part of the ICA was performed blindly and controlled by conventional radiography. No coils were placed in the rostral part of the ECA. UGTACP of the ICA was in a horse with guttural pouch mycosis of the left guttural pouch. Accurate ultrasound-guided catheterization of the ICA and ECA was performed in all specimens. Ultrasound-guided coil placement was successfully performed in all cases except 1. No complications occurred in the in vivo study. The clinical case fully recovered and returned to its intended use. Based on our study, UGTACP of the ICA and ECA caudal part is a feasible alternative to fluoroscopy. An advantage of this technique is the accuracy with which you can catheterize both ICA and ECA and the ability to identify unusual branching at the origin of the ICA. Regarding the rostral part of the ICA, angiographic catheter guidance in this region is probably more precise using fluoroscopy as it is performed blindly. In a clinical situation, combination of US and fluoroscopy guidance can result in reduction of radiation exposure time. © Copyright 2014 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

A first approach to a neuropsychological screening tool using eye-tracking for bedside cognitive testing based on the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen.

PubMed

Keller, Jürgen; Krimly, Amon; Bauer, Lisa; Schulenburg, Sarah; Böhm, Sarah; Aho-Özhan, Helena E A; Uttner, Ingo; Gorges, Martin; Kassubek, Jan; Pinkhardt, Elmar H; Abrahams, Sharon; Ludolph, Albert C; Lulé, Dorothée

2017-08-01

Reliable assessment of cognitive functions is a challenging task in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients unable to speak and write. We therefore present an eye-tracking based neuropsychological screening tool based on the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS), a standard screening tool for cognitive deficits in ALS. In total, 46 ALS patients and 50 healthy controls matched for age, gender and education were tested with an oculomotor based and a standard paper-and-pencil version of the ECAS. Significant correlation between both versions was observed for ALS patients and healthy controls in the ECAS total score and in all of its ALS-specific domains (all r > 0.3; all p < 0.05). The eye-tracking version of the ECAS reliably distinguished between ALS patients and healthy controls in the ECAS total score (p < 0.05). Also, cognitively impaired and non-impaired patients could be reliably distinguished with a specificity of 95%. This study provides first evidence that the eye-tracking based ECAS version is a promising approach for assessing cognitive deficits in ALS patients who are unable to speak or write.

openECA Detailed Design Document

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

Robertson, Russell

This document describes the functional and non-functional requirements for: The openECA platform The included analytic systems that will: Validate the operational readiness and performance of the openECA platform Provide out-of-box value to those that implement the openECA platform with an initial collection of analytics

Mutations in subunit interface and B-cell epitopes improve antileukemic activities of Escherichia coli asparaginase-II: evaluation of immunogenicity in mice.

PubMed

Mehta, Ranjit Kumar; Verma, Shikha; Pati, Rashmirekha; Sengupta, Mitali; Khatua, Biswajit; Jena, Rabindra Kumar; Sethy, Sudha; Kar, Santosh K; Mandal, Chitra; Roehm, Klaus H; Sonawane, Avinash

2014-02-07

L-Asparaginase-II from Escherichia coli (EcA) is a central component in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, the therapeutic efficacy of EcA is limited due to immunogenicity and a short half-life in the patient. Here, we performed rational mutagenesis to obtain EcA variants with a potential to improve ALL treatment. Several variants, especially W66Y and Y176F, killed the ALL cells more efficiently than did wild-type EcA (WT-EcA), although nonleukemic peripheral blood monocytes were not affected. Several assays, including Western blotting, annexin-V/propidium iodide binding, comet, and micronuclei assays, showed that the reduction in viability of leukemic cells is due to the increase in caspase-3, cytochrome c release, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation, down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-XL, an arrest of the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, and eventually apoptosis. Both W66Y and Y176F induced significantly more apoptosis in lymphocytes derived from ALL patients. In addition, Y176F and Y176S exhibited greatly decreased glutaminase activity, whereas K288S/Y176F, a variant mutated in one of the immunodominant epitopes, showed reduced antigenicity. Further in vivo immunogenicity studies in mice showed that K288S/Y176F was 10-fold less immunogenic as compared with WT-EcA. Moreover, sera obtained from WT-EcA immunized mice and ALL patients who were given asparaginase therapy for several weeks recognized the K288S/Y176F mutant significantly less than the WT-EcA. Further mechanistic studies revealed that W66Y, Y176F, and K288S/Y176F rapidly depleted asparagine and also down-regulated the transcription of asparagine synthetase as compared with WT-EcA. These highly desirable attributes of these variants could significantly advance asparaginase therapy of leukemia in the future.

Mutations in Subunit Interface and B-cell Epitopes Improve Antileukemic Activities of Escherichia coli Asparaginase-II

PubMed Central

Mehta, Ranjit Kumar; Verma, Shikha; Pati, Rashmirekha; Sengupta, Mitali; Khatua, Biswajit; Jena, Rabindra Kumar; Sethy, Sudha; Kar, Santosh K.; Mandal, Chitra; Roehm, Klaus H.; Sonawane, Avinash

2014-01-01

l-Asparaginase-II from Escherichia coli (EcA) is a central component in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, the therapeutic efficacy of EcA is limited due to immunogenicity and a short half-life in the patient. Here, we performed rational mutagenesis to obtain EcA variants with a potential to improve ALL treatment. Several variants, especially W66Y and Y176F, killed the ALL cells more efficiently than did wild-type EcA (WT-EcA), although nonleukemic peripheral blood monocytes were not affected. Several assays, including Western blotting, annexin-V/propidium iodide binding, comet, and micronuclei assays, showed that the reduction in viability of leukemic cells is due to the increase in caspase-3, cytochrome c release, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation, down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-XL, an arrest of the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, and eventually apoptosis. Both W66Y and Y176F induced significantly more apoptosis in lymphocytes derived from ALL patients. In addition, Y176F and Y176S exhibited greatly decreased glutaminase activity, whereas K288S/Y176F, a variant mutated in one of the immunodominant epitopes, showed reduced antigenicity. Further in vivo immunogenicity studies in mice showed that K288S/Y176F was 10-fold less immunogenic as compared with WT-EcA. Moreover, sera obtained from WT-EcA immunized mice and ALL patients who were given asparaginase therapy for several weeks recognized the K288S/Y176F mutant significantly less than the WT-EcA. Further mechanistic studies revealed that W66Y, Y176F, and K288S/Y176F rapidly depleted asparagine and also down-regulated the transcription of asparagine synthetase as compared with WT-EcA. These highly desirable attributes of these variants could significantly advance asparaginase therapy of leukemia in the future. PMID:24297177

Psychological Manifestations of Early Childhood Adversity in the Context of Chronic Hematologic Malignancy.

PubMed

McFarland, Daniel C; Shen, Megan Johnson; Polizzi, Heather; Mascarenhas, John; Kremyanskaya, Marina; Holland, Jimmie; Hoffman, Ronald

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a group of chronic hematologic malignancies, carry significant physical and psychological symptom burdens that significantly affect patients' quality of life. We sought to identify the relationship between early childhood adversity (ECA) and psychological distress in patients with MPNs, as ECA may compound symptom burden. Patients with MPNs were assessed for ECA (i.e., the Risky Families Questionnaire-subscales include abuse/neglect/chaotic home environment), distress (i.e., Distress Thermometer and Problem List), anxiety (i.e., Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety [HADS-A]), depression (i.e., Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression [HADS-D]), meeting standardized cutoff thresholds for distress (i.e., Distress Thermometer and Problem List≥ 4 or ≥ 7)/anxiety (HADS-A ≥8)/depression (HADS-D ≥ 8), and demographic factors. A total of 117 participants completed the study (78% response rate). ECA was associated with depression (p < 0.000), anxiety (p < 0.000), and distress (p < 0.000) and problem list variables emotional (p < 0.000), physical (p = 0.004), family (p = 0.01), and spiritual (p = 0.01) by bivariate analysis and only with distress (HADS) (p = 0.038) on multivariate analysis. ECA was associated with meeting cutoff threshold criteria for distress (p = 0.007), anxiety (p = 0.001), and depression (p = 0.02). ECA subscale variables abuse and chaotic home environment were associated with psychological outcomes. ECA was higher based on disease subtypes with greater symptom burden (other > polycythemia vera > myelofibrosis > essential thrombocythemia) (p = 0.047) and taking an antidepressant (p = 0.011). ECA is associated with psychological distress and meets screening criteria for anxiety and depression in patients with MPNs. ECA may help to explain individual patient trajectories, and further understanding may enhance patient-centered care among patients with MPNs. Copyright © 2017 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acceptability of a Virtual Patient Educator for Hispanic Women.

PubMed

Wells, Kristen J; Vàzquez-Otero, Coralia; Bredice, Marissa; Meade, Cathy D; Chaet, Alexis; Rivera, Maria I; Arroyo, Gloria; Proctor, Sara K; Barnes, Laura E

2015-01-01

There are few Spanish language interactive, technology-driven health education programs. Objectives of this feasibility study were to (a) learn more about computer and technology usage among Hispanic women living in a rural community and (b) evaluate acceptability of the concept of using an embodied conversational agent (ECA) computer application among this population. A survey about computer usage history and interest in computers was administered to a convenience sample of 26 women. A sample video prototype of a hospital discharge ECA was administered followed by questions to gauge opinion about the ECA. Data indicate women exhibited both a high level of computer experience and enthusiasm for the ECA. Feedback from community is essential to ensure equity in state of the art dissemination of health information.

Equal contributions and credit: an emerging trend in the characterization of authorship in major spine journals during a 10-year period.

PubMed

Jia, Zhiwei; Wu, Yaohong; Tang, Yong; Ji, Wei; Li, Wei; Zhao, Xiyan; Li, Hao; He, Qing; Ruan, Dike

2016-03-01

The practice of giving certain authors equal credit in scientific publications has become increasingly common in some medical specialties. However, whether this trend also exists in major spine journals remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of the practice of giving authors equal credit in major spine journals. Manual searches were performed to identify original research articles with equally credited authors (ECA) published between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2013 in three major spine journals: Spine, European Spine Journal, and The Spine Journal. The number of authors with ECA and their positions in the byline, total number of authors, year of publication, and country of origin were analysed. The practice of ECA was found in all three journals. Articles with ECA comprised a greater proportion of the total number of publications in each journal in 2013 versus 2004 (Spine, 7.2 vs. 0.2%; European Spine Journal, 7.5 vs. 0.0%; and The Spine Journal, 6.2 vs. 0.0%). There was a statistically significant increasing trend in the annual proportion of papers with ECA for all three spine journals (p < 0.0001). The practice of ECA was applied in nearly every position in the byline, and the first two authors received equal credit in most cases. Articles with ECA were published by authors from various countries and regions around the world. However, none of the three spine journals provided specific guidance on this practice in their author instructions. The practice of ECA in original research articles is increasingly common in major spine journals. A guideline for authors regarding when and how to designate equal credit is warranted in the future.

A comparative study of sensor fault diagnosis methods based on observer for ECAS system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xing; Wang, Wei; Zou, Nannan; Chen, Long; Cui, Xiaoli

2017-03-01

The performance and practicality of electronically controlled air suspension (ECAS) system are highly dependent on the state information supplied by kinds of sensors, but faults of sensors occur frequently. Based on a non-linearized 3-DOF 1/4 vehicle model, different methods of fault detection and isolation (FDI) are used to diagnose the sensor faults for ECAS system. The considered approaches include an extended Kalman filter (EKF) with concise algorithm, a strong tracking filter (STF) with robust tracking ability, and the cubature Kalman filter (CKF) with numerical precision. We propose three filters of EKF, STF, and CKF to design a state observer of ECAS system under typical sensor faults and noise. Results show that three approaches can successfully detect and isolate faults respectively despite of the existence of environmental noise, FDI time delay and fault sensitivity of different algorithms are different, meanwhile, compared with EKF and STF, CKF method has best performing FDI of sensor faults for ECAS system.

DNA methylation enzyme inhibitor RG108 suppresses the radioresistance of esophageal cancer

PubMed Central

Ou, Yao; Zhang, Quan; Tang, Yiting; Lu, Zhonghua; Lu, Xujing; Zhou, Xifa; Liu, Changmin

2018-01-01

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the eighth most common highly aggressive cancer worldwide. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor RG108 on the radiosensitivity of EC cells. MTT and clonogenic assays were performed to assess the effect of RG108 on the proliferation and radiosensitivity of Eca-109 and TE-1 human EC cells. The cell cycle progression and alterations in apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. For the in vivo analysis, the Eca-109 cells were inoculated into nude mice to establish tumors. Tissues from xenografts were obtained to detect changes to microvessels and tumor growth by immunohistochemistry (IHC). RNA-seq was used to identify differentially expressed genes. We found that RG108 increased the radiosensitivity of EC cells. Apoptosis and G2/M-phase arrest were induced by X-ray irradiation and were significantly enhanced by RG108. In addition, growth of tumor xenografts from the Eca-109 cells was significantly inhibited by irradiation in combination with RG108. The RNA-seq analysis revealed that, compared with radiation alone, X-ray irradiation in combination with RG108 altered the expression of 121 genes in multiple pathways, including the TGF-β signaling pathway and the Epstein-Barr virus infection pathway. In conclusion, RG108 induced radiosensitivity in EC cells both in vitro and in vivo. PMID:29328411

Application of digital soil mapping in Argentina: An example using apparent soil electrical conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domenech, Marisa; Castro Franco, Mauricio; Costa, Jose Luis; Aparicio, Virginia

2017-04-01

Apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) has been used to capture soil data in several Argentinean Pampas locations. The aim of this study was to generate digital soil mapping on the basis of understanding the relation among ECa and soil properties in three farming fields of the southeast Buenos Aires province. We carried out a geostatistical analysis using ECa data obtained at two depths 0-30cm (ECa_30cm) and 0-90cm (ECa_90cm). Then, two zones derived from ECa measurements were delimited in each field. A soil-sampling scheme was applied in each zone using two depths: 0-30cm and 30-90cm. Texture, Organic Matter Content (OMC), cation-exchange capacity (CEC), pH, saturated paste electrical conductivity (ECe) and effective depth were analyzed. The relation between zones and soil properties were studied using nested factor ANOVA. Our results indicated that clay content and effective depth showed significant differences among ECa_30 zones in all fields. In Argentine Pampas, the presence of petrocalcic horizons limits the effective soil depth at field scale. These horizons vary in depth, structure, hardness and carbonates content. In addition, they influence the spatial pattern of clay content. The relation among other physical and chemical soil properties was not consistent. Two soil unit maps were delimited in each field. These results might support irrigation management due to clay content and effective depth would be controlling soil water storage. Our findings highlight the high accuracy use of soil sensors in developing digital soil mapping at field scale, irrigation management zones, precision agriculture and hydrological modeling in Pampas region conditions.

Effect of spatial variability on solute velocity and dispersion in two soils of the Argentinian Pampas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aparicio, Virginia; Costa, José; Domenech, Marisa; Castro Franco, Mauricio

2013-04-01

Predicting how solutes move through the unsaturated zone is essential to determine the potential risk of groundwater contamination (Costa et al., 1994). The estimation of the spatial variability of solute transport parameters, such as velocity and dispersion, enables a more accurate understanding of transport processes. Apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) has been used to characterize the spatial behavior of soil properties. The objective of this study was to characterize the spatial variability of soil transport parameters at field scale using ECa measurements. ECa measurements of 42 ha (Tres Arroyos) and 50 ha (Balcarce) farms were collected for the top 0-30 cm (ECa(s)) soil using the Veris® 3100. ECa maps were generated using geostatistical interpolation techniques. From these maps, three general areas were delineated, named high, medium, and low ECa zones. At each zone, three sub samples were collected. Soil samples were taken at 0-30 cm. Clay content and organic matter (OM) was analyzed. The transport assay was performed in the laboratory using undisturbed soil columns, under controlled conditions of T ° (22 ° C).Br- determinations were performed with a specific Br- electrode. The breakthrough curves were fitted using the model CXTFIT 2.1 (Toride et al., 1999) to estimate the transport parameters Velocity (V) and Dispersion (D). In this study we found no statistical significant differences for V and D between treatments. Also, there were no differences in V and D between sites. The average V and D value was 9.3 cm h-1 and 357.5 cm2 h-2, respectively. Despite finding statistically significant differences between treatments for the other measured physical and chemical properties, in our work it was not possible to detect the spatial variability of solute transport parameters.

EVOKED CAVERNOUS ACTIVITY: NEUROANATOMIC IMPLICATIONS

PubMed Central

Yilmaz, Ugur; Vicars, Brenda; Yang, Claire C.

2013-01-01

We investigated the autonomic innervation of the penis by using evoked cavernous activity (ECA). We recruited 7 males with thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) and sexual dysfunction and 6 males who were scheduled to have pelvic surgery (PS), specifically non-nerve-sparing radical cystoprostatectomy. In the PS subjects, ECA was performed both pre- and postoperatively. The left median nerve was electrically stimulated and ECA was recorded with two concentric electromyography needles placed into the right and left cavernous bodies. We simultaneously recorded hand and foot sympathetic skin responses (SSRs) as controls. In the SCI group, all but one subject had reproducible hand SSRs. None of these subjects had ECA or foot SSRs. All the PS subjects had reproducible ECA and SSRs, both preoperatively and postoperatively. There was no difference in the latency and amplitude measurements of ECA and SSRs in the postoperative compared to the preoperative period (p>0.05). In conclusion, ECA is absent in men with SCI above the sympathetic outflow to the genitalia. In men following radical pelvic surgery, ECA is preserved, indicating the preservation of sympathetic fibers. PMID:19609298

40 CFR 80.541-80.549 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....541-80.549 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Geographic Phase-in Provisions §§ 80.541-80.549 [Reserved] Small Refiner...

40 CFR 80.537-80.539 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....537-80.539 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option §§ 80.537-80.539 [Reserved] Geographic Phase...

Extracurricular activities in young applicants' résumés: what are the motives behind their involvement?

PubMed

Roulin, Nicolas; Bangerter, Adrian

2013-01-01

Applicants use résumés to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) to recruiters, through education and job-related or non-job-related experiences. But research suggests that the situation for young applicants is especially competitive, since they increasingly enter the labour market with similar educational credentials and limited job-related experience. They may thus use non-job-related experiences, such as participation in extracurricular activities (ECAs) during their studies, to demonstrate KSAOs to recruiters, but also to add distinction and value to their credentials. ECAs may therefore become more important in the selection of young applicants. Yet few studies have undertaken a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the relationships students have with these activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent students' involvement in ECAs is due to internal (e.g., passion) or external (e.g., résumé-building) motives, and what factors influence these motives. Results from a study with 197 students suggest that students engage in ECAs mainly out of internal motives. But external motives are stronger for activities started closer to entering the labour market, for students active in associative or volunteering activities (as compared to sports or artistic activities), and for students holding leadership positions in their activities. Our results suggest that labour market pressure may be a key component of applicants' involvement in ECAs. Also, organizations and recruiters may want to consider that students tend not to engage in ECAs purely out of internal motives, but also to add value to their credentials and match employers' expectations. The authors thank Anna Ambrosetti for her help with the data collection.

Effect of strain-path change on the anisotropic mechanical properties of a commercially pure aluminum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, P. L.; Huang, S. J.

2017-07-01

Samples of commercially pure aluminum were subjected to equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) using a 90° square die by routes A and C, where the specimens are not rotated and are rotated 180° between extrusion passes, respectively. Qualitatively similar anisotropic responses under compressive loading along the three orthogonal directions of the ECAE billet are seen in both cases. The plastic anisotropy is related to the effect of strain-path change, namely that different slip activities are induced for specimens loaded along different directions with respect to the last ECAE pass. The anisotropic mechanical behavior is more evident in the sample deformed by route C. Considering the shear patterns imposed in each ECAE route, the characteristics of dislocations introduced in ECAE should affect the mechanical response in post-ECAE loading. It is suggested that during the ECAE process, dislocations on fewer slip systems are activated in route C than in route A, and therefore, a stronger plastic anisotropy results in this sample. The as-ECAE specimens were also heat treated to achieve a recovery-annealed state. The plastic anisotropy persists in the annealed specimens to slightly reduced extent, which can be ascribed to partial annihilation of preexisting dislocations.

Modification of the ECAS reference steam power generating plant to comply with the EPA 1979 new source performance standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fogelson, S. A.; Chait, I. L.; Bradley, W. J.; Benson, W.

1980-01-01

Detailed capital cost estimates for the ECAS and modified reference plants in mid-1978 dollars for both 250 and 175 F (394 and 353 K) stack gas reheat temperatures based on the cost estimates developed for the ECAS study are presented. The scope of the work included technical assessment of sulfur dioxide scrubber system design, on site calcination versus purchased lime, reheat of stack gas, effect of sulfur dioxide scrubber on particulate emission, and control of nitrogen oxides.

Near-Surface Geophysical Mapping of the Hydrological Response to an Intense Rainfall Event at the Field Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez, G.; Vanderlinden, K.; Giraldez, J. V.; Espejo, A. J.; Muriel, J. L.

2009-12-01

Soil moisture plays an important role in a wide variety of biogeochemical fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system and governs the (eco)hydrological response of a catchment to an external forcing such as rainfall. Near-surface electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors that measure the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) provide a fast and non-invasive means for characterizing this response at the field or catchment scale through high-resolution time-lapse mapping. Here we show how ECa maps, obtained before and after an intense rainfall event of 125 mm h-1, elucidate differences in soil moisture patterns and hydrologic response of an experimental field as a consequence of differed soil management. The dryland field (Vertisol) was located in SW Spain and cropped with a typical wheat-sunflower-legume rotation. Both, near-surface and subsurface ECa (ECas and ECad, respectively), were measured using the EM38-DD EMI sensor in a mobile configuration. Raw ECa measurements and Mean Relative Differences (MRD) provided information on soil moisture patterns while time-lapse maps were used to evaluate the hydrologic response of the field. ECa maps of the field, measured before and after the rainfall event showed similar patterns. The field depressions where most of water and sediments accumulated had the highest ECa and MRD values. The SE-oriented soil, which was deeper and more exposed to sun and wind, showed the lowest ECa and MRD. The largest differences raised in the central part of the field where a high ECa and MRD area appeared after the rainfall event as a consequence of the smaller soil depth and a possible subsurface flux concentration. Time-lapse maps of both ECa and MRD were also similar. The direct drill plots showed higher increments of ECa and MRD as a result of the smaller runoff production. Time-lapse ECa increments showed a bimodal distribution differentiating clearly the direct drill from the conventional and minimum tillage plots. However this kind of distribution could not be shown using MRD differences since they come from standardized distributions. Field-extend time-lapse ECa maps can provide useful images of the hydrological response of agricultural fields which can be used to evaluate different soil management strategies or to aid the assessment of biogeochemical fluxes at the field scale.

76 FR 78072 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-15

... exceed participants by more than a factor of two-to-one. 10. Return Travel Allowance. A return travel... include one extra copy of the completed SF-424 form and place it in an envelope addressed to ``ECA/EX/PM..., Program Management Division, ECA-IIP/EX/PM, Ref.: ECA/PE/C/SU-12-15, SA-5, Floor 4, Department of State...

Transscleral diffusion of ethacrynic acid and sodium fluorescein

PubMed Central

Lin, Cheng-Wen; Wang, Yong; Challa, Pratap; Epstein, David L.

2007-01-01

Purpose One of the current limitations in developing novel glaucoma drugs that target the trabecular meshwork (TM) is the induced corneal toxicity from eyedrop formulations. To avoid the corneal toxicity, an alternative approach would be to deliver TM drugs through the sclera. To this end, we quantified ex vivo diffusion coefficient of a potential TM drug, ethacrynic acid (ECA), and investigated mechanisms of ECA transport in the sclera. Methods An Ussing-type diffusion apparatus was built to measure the apparent diffusion coefficient of ECA in fresh porcine sclera at 4 °C. To understand mechanisms of ECA transport, we quantified the transscleral transport of a fluorescent tracer, sodium fluorescein (NaF), that has a similar molecular weight but is more hydrophilic compared to ECA. Furthermore, we developed a mathematical model to simulate the transport processes and used it to analyze the experimental data. The model was also used to investigate the dependence of diffusion coefficients on volume fraction of viable cells and the binding of NaF and ECA to scleral tissues. Results The diffusion coefficients of ECA and NaF in the sclera were 48.5±15.1x10-7 cm2/s (n=9) and 5.23±1.93x10-7 cm2/s (n=8), respectively. Both diffusion coefficients were insensitive to cell shrinkage caused by ECA during the diffusion experiments and cell damage caused by the storage of tissues ex vivo before the experiments. Binding of ECA to scleral tissues could not be detected. The apparent maximum binding capacity and the apparent equilibrium dissociation constant for NaF were 80±5 mM and 2.5±0.5 mM (n=3), respectively. Conclusions These data demonstrated that ECA diffusion was minimally hindered by structures in the sclera, presumably due to the lack of cells and binding sites for ECA in the sclera. PMID:17356511

AIRS Subpixel Cloud Characterization Using MODIS Cloud Products.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jun; Menzel, W. Paul; Sun, Fengying; Schmit, Timothy J.; Gurka, James

2004-08-01

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) measurements from the Earth Observing System's (EOS's) Aqua satellite enable improved global monitoring of the distribution of clouds. MODIS is able to provide, at high spatial resolution (1 5 km), a cloud mask, surface and cloud types, cloud phase, cloud-top pressure (CTP), effective cloud amount (ECA), cloud particle size (CPS), and cloud optical thickness (COT). AIRS is able to provide CTP, ECA, CPS, and COT at coarser spatial resolution (13.5 km at nadir) but with much better accuracy using its high-spectral-resolution measurements. The combined MODIS AIRS system offers the opportunity for improved cloud products over those possible from either system alone. The key steps for synergistic use of imager and sounder radiance measurements are 1) collocation in space and time and 2) imager cloud amount, type, and phase determination within the sounder pixel. The MODIS and AIRS measurements from the EOS Aqua satellite provide the opportunity to study the synergistic use of advanced imager and sounder measurements. As the first step, the MODIS classification procedure is applied to identify various surface and cloud types within an AIRS footprint. Cloud-layer information (lower, midlevel, or high clouds) and phase information (water, ice, or mixed-phase clouds) within the AIRS footprint are sorted and characterized using MODIS 1-km-spatial-resolution data. The combined MODIS and AIRS data for various scenes are analyzed to study the utility of the synergistic use of high-spatial-resolution imager products and high-spectral-resolution sounder radiance measurements. There is relevance to the optimal use of data from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES) systems, which are to fly on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R.

76 FR 71425 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the United...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-17

... for Grant Proposals: Study of the United States Institutes for Student Leaders on U.S. History and... Study of the United States, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), invites proposal submissions for the design and implementation of six (6) Study of the U.S...

Acceptability of an Embodied Conversational Agent-based Computer Application for Hispanic Women

PubMed Central

Wells, Kristen J.; Vázquez-Otero, Coralia; Bredice, Marissa; Meade, Cathy D.; Chaet, Alexis; Rivera, Maria I.; Arroyo, Gloria; Proctor, Sara K.; Barnes, Laura E.

2015-01-01

There are few Spanish language interactive, technology-driven health education programs. Objectives of this feasibility study were to: 1) learn more about computer and technology usage among Hispanic women living in a rural community; and 2) evaluate acceptability of the concept of using an embodied conversational agent (ECA) computer application among this population. A survey about computer usage history and interest in computers was administered to a convenience sample of 26 women. A sample video prototype of a hospital discharge ECA was administered followed by questions to gauge opinion about the ECA. Data indicate women exhibited both a high level of computer experience and enthusiasm for the ECA. Feedback from community is essential to ensure equity in state of the art dissemination of health information. Hay algunos programas interactivos en español que usan la tecnología para educar sobre la salud. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: 1) aprender más sobre el uso de computadoras y tecnología entre mujeres Hispanas que viven en comunidades rurales y 2) evaluar la aceptabilidad del concepto de usar un programa de computadora utilizando un agente de conversación encarnado (ECA) en esta población. Se administro una encuesta sobre el historial de uso y del interés de aprender sobre computadoras fue a 26 mujeres por muestreo de conveniencia. Un ejemplo del prototipo ECA en forma de video de un alta hospitalaria fue administrado y fue seguido por preguntas sobre la opinión que tenían del ECA. Los datos indican que las mujeres mostraron un alto nivel de experiencia con las computadoras y un alto nivel de entusiasmo sobre el ECA. La retroalimentación de la comunidad es esencial para asegurar equidad en la diseminación de información sobre la salud con tecnología de punta. PMID:26671558

Investigation of blood flow rheology using second-grade viscoelastic model (Phan-Thien-Tanner) within carotid artery.

PubMed

Ramiar, Abas; Larimi, Morsal Momenti; Ranjbar, Ali Akbar

2017-01-01

Hemodynamic factors, such as Wall Shear Stress (WSS), play a substantial role in arterial diseases. In the larger arteries, such as the carotid artery, interaction between the vessel wall and blood flow affects the distribution of hemodynamic factors. The fluid is considered to be non-Newtonian, whose flow is governed by the equation of a second-grade viscoelastic fluid and the effects of viscoelastic on blood flow in carotid artery is investigated. Pulsatile flow studies were carried out in a 3D model of carotid artery. The governing equations were solved using finite volume C++ based on open source code, OpenFOAM. To describe blood flow, conservation of mass and momentum, a constitutive relation of simplified Phan-Thien-Tanner (sPTT), and appropriate relations were used to explain shear thinning behavior. The first recirculation was observed at t = 0.2 s, in deceleration phase. In the acceleration phase from t = 0.3 s to t = 0.5 s, vortex and recirculation sizes in bulb regions in both ECA and ICA gradually increased. As is observed in the line graphs based on extracted data from ICA, at t = 0.2 s, τyy is the maximum amount of wall shear stress and τxy the minimum one. The maximum shear stress occurred in the inner side of the main branch (inner side of ICA and ECA) because the velocity of blood flow in the inner side of the bulb region was maximum due to the created recirculation zone in the opposite side in this area. The rheology of blood flow and shear stress in various important parts (the area that are in higher rates of WSS such as bifurcation region and the regions after bulb areas in both branches, Line1-4 in Fig. 7) were also analyzed. The investigation of velocity stream line, velocity profile and shear stress in various sections of carotid artery showed that the maximum shear stress occurred in acceleration phase and in the bifurcation region between ECA and ICA which is due to velocity gradients and changes in thinning behavior of blood and increasing strain rate in Newtonian stress part.

Autophagy inhibition enhances radiosensitivity of Eca-109 cells via the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway

PubMed Central

Tao, Hua; Qian, Pudong; Lu, Jincheng; Guo, Yesong; Zhu, Huanfeng; Wang, Feijiang

2018-01-01

Autophagy inhibition is crucial for the improvement of the efficacy of radiotherapy in cancer. The aim of the present study was to determine the potential therapeutic value of autophagy and its correlation with mitochondria in human esophageal carcinoma cells following treatment with ionizing radiation (IR). Autophagy in Eca-109 cells was induced under poor nutrient conditions. The formation of autophagic vacuoles was monitored using electron microscopy. In addition, cell apoptosis after IR and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were analyzed by flow cytometry. LC3, beclin-1, cytochrome c and apoptosis-related proteins were assayed by western blotting. A nude mouse xenograft model was also employed to verify the biological effects and mechanisms underlying autophagy in vivo. The formed autophagic vesicles and increased LC3 II/LC3 I ratio indicated marked induction of autophagy by Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) in Eca-109 cells. 3-Methyladenine or LY294002 significantly antagonized EBSS-induced autophagy and increased apoptosis of irradiated cells, suggesting that autophagy inhibition conferred radiosensitivity in vitro. Notably, IR induced prominent release of cytochrome c and Bax activation, and decreased Bcl-2 and MMP expression in Eca-109 cells under poor nutrient conditions. Of note, these changes were more prominent following pretreatment with autophagy inhibitors. In vivo, IR treatment mildly delayed tumor growth, but the radiotherapeutic effect was improved significantly by abolishing autophagy. Furthermore, mitochondrial signaling was investigated in the Eca-109 xenograft nude mice model, and the results were consistent with the in vitro study. Therefore, the mitochondrial pathway may be associated with improvement of radiosensitivity in Eca-109 cells. PMID:29620258

Boolean linear differential operators on elementary cellular automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martín Del Rey, Ángel

2014-12-01

In this paper, the notion of boolean linear differential operator (BLDO) on elementary cellular automata (ECA) is introduced and some of their more important properties are studied. Special attention is paid to those differential operators whose coefficients are the ECA with rule numbers 90 and 150.

Evaluation of Electromagnetic Induction to Characterize and Map Sodium-Affected Soils in the Northern Great Plains of the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, E. C.; Heilig, J.; Kempenich, J.; Doolittle, J.; Ulmer, M.

2012-04-01

Sodium-affected soils (SAS) cover over 4 million hectares in the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Improving the classification, interpretation, and mapping of SAS is a major goal of the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) as Northern Great Plains soil surveys are updated. Apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) as measured with ground conductivity meters has shown promise for mapping SAS, however, this use of this geophysical tool needs additional evaluation. This study used an EM-38 MK2-2 meter (Geonics Limited, Mississauga, Ontario), a Trimble AgGPS 114 L-band DGPS (Trimble, Sunnyvale, CA) and the RTmap38MK2 program (Geomar Software, Inc., Mississauga, Ontario) on an Allegro CX field computer (Juniper Systems, North Logan, UT) to collect, observe, and interpret ECa data in the field. The ECa map generated on-site was then used to guide collection of soil samples for soil characterization and to evaluate the influence of soil properties in SAS on ECa as measured with the EM-38MK2-2. Stochastic models contained in the ESAP software package were used to estimate the SAR and salinity levels from the measured ECa data in 30 cm depth intervals to a depth of 90 cm and for the bulk soil (0 to 90 cm). This technique showed promise, with meaningful spatial patterns apparent in the ECa data. However, many of the stochastic models used for salinity and SAR for individual depth intervals and for the bulk soil had low R-squared values. At both sites, significant variability in soil clay and water contents along with a small number of soil samples taken to calibrate the ECa values to soil properties likely contributed to these low R-squared values.

Expectations and Integration of Early Career Academics into the Teaching Career: Empirical Evidence from Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alabi, Goski; Abdulai, Munkaila

2016-01-01

The preparation and induction of Early Career Academics (ECAs) in Ghana has been investigated using a qualitative study that employed an enumerative-ethnographic approach. The study combined reviews of policy documents, interviews of 50 Deans and Heads of Departments and surveys of ECAs in five purposively selected universities in Ghana to capture…

Enhancing Science Education through Extracurricular Activities: A Retrospective Study of "Suzy Science and the Whiz Kids[C]"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kralina, Linda M.

2009-01-01

Extracurricular activities (ECA) are informal settings offering free-choice experiences that are generally voluntary, open-ended, non-sequential, self-directed, hands-on, and evaluation-free. This mixed methods study investigates participation in a high school science ECA by collecting the memories of former student members for their perceptions…

Extracurricular Activities and Their Effect on the Student's Grade Point Average: Statistical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakoban, R. A.; Aljarallah, S. A.

2015-01-01

Extracurricular activities (ECA) are part of students' everyday life; they play important roles in students' lives. Few studies have addressed the question of how student engagements to ECA affect student's grade point average (GPA). This research was conducted to know whether the students' grade point average in King Abdulaziz University,…

The face of Ebola: changing frequency of haemorrhage in the West African compared with Eastern-Central African outbreaks.

PubMed

Petti, Stefano; Messano, Giuseppe Alessio; Vingolo, Enzo Maria; Marsella, Luigi Tonino; Scully, Crispian

2015-12-11

The West-African (WA) Zaire Ebolavirus disease (EVD) outbreak was characterized by an exceptionally high number of cases and deaths as compared with the Eastern-Central African (ECA) outbreaks. Despite the Zaire Ebolavirus being the most lethal for humans, case-fatality rate, close to 80 % in ECA outbreaks, almost halved to 47 % in Guinea-Liberia-Sierra Leone (WA). Such an improvement was due to the remarkable implementation of international humanitarian aids. Some studies also suggested that the long human-to-human transmission cycle occurred in WA, gave rise to human adaptation and consequent immune escape. Haemorrhage, the main feature in seriously infected EVD patients, is due to the immune system that triggers the infected endothelial cells which expose the spike-like glycoprotein (GP) of the virion on their surface. If the human adaptation hypothesis holds true, the proportion of EVD patients with haemorrhage in the WA outbreak should be lower than in the ECA outbreaks due to immune escape. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the relative frequencies of three typical haemorrhagic symptoms (conjunctival -CB, nasal -NB, gingival -GB- bleedings) in the ECA and WA outbreaks. Literature searches were performed through PubMed and Scopus using generic keywords; surveys including at least ten patients reporting CB, NB, GB relative frequencies were extracted and split into ECA and WA. The meta-analytical methods chosen were based on the levels of between-study heterogeneity and publication bias. Pooled CB, NB, GB relative frequencies in ECA and WA were estimated and compared. Subgroup analysis including only studies on Zaire Ebolavirus also was performed. Fifteen studies (10 ECA, 5 WA) were located with 4,867 (CB), 3,859 (NB), 4,278 (GB) EVD patients overall. GB pooled relative frequency was 45.3 % (95 % confidence interval -95 CI, 34.7-56.1 %) and 18.0 % (95 CI, 6.0-34.5 %), in ECA and WA; NB was 10.6 % (95 CI, 5.7-16.8 %) and 1.3 % (1.0-1.8 %); GB was 24.2 % (95 CI, 11.9-39.2 %) and 1.9 % (95 CI, 1.4-2.4 %). Subgroup analysis confirmed these results. During the WA outbreak the relative frequency of GB decreased by two thirds, while NB and GB almost disappeared, suggesting that the Zaire Ebolavirus human adaptation hypothesis is plausible.

Variations of carbonaceous aerosols from open crop residue burning with transport and its implication to estimate their lifetimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, X. L.; Kanaya, Y.; Wang, Z. F.; Komazaki, Y.; Taketani, F.; Akimoto, H.; Pochanart, P.

2013-08-01

Studying the correlations of carbonaceous aerosols (element carbon, EC, and organic carbon, OC) from open biomass burning helps to reduce uncertainties in emission inventories and provides necessary constraints for model simulations. In the present study, we measured apparent elemental carbon (ECa) and OC concentrations at the summit of Mount Tai (Mt. Tai) during intensive open crop residue burning (OCRB) episodes using a Sunset OCEC analyzer. In the fine particle mode, OC and ECa showed strong correlations (r > 0.9) with carbon monoxide (CO). Footprint analysis using the FLEXPART_WRF model indicated that OCRB in Central East China had a significant influence on ambient carbonaceous aerosol loadings at the summit of Mt. Tai. During campaign, ΔECa/ΔCO ratios of OCRB plumes were found to be 14.3 ± 1.0 ng m-3 ppbv at Mt. Tai. This ratio was twice larger than those for urban pollution in CEC, demonstrating that significant emissions of soot particles emitted from OCRB. ΔOC/ΔCO ratio of OCRB plumes was found to be 41.9 ± 2.6 ng m-3 ppbv averagely. The transport time of smoke particles was estimated using the FLEXPART_WRF tracer model by releasing particles from the ground layer inside geographical regions where large numbers of hotspots were detected by the MODIS sensor. The relationship between transport time and observed ΔECa/ΔCO and ΔOC/ΔCO ratios was fitted by an e-folding exponential function. Results showed that the loss rate of OC (normalized by CO) with transport was much quicker than that of ECa mass, and the corresponding lifetime of OC mass was estimated to be 28.0-44.2 h (1.2-1.8 days), much shorter than that 98.4-136.9 h (4.1-5.7 days) of ECa. Lifetime of ECa estimated for the OCRB events in CEC in the study was comparably lower than the values normally calculated by the transport models. Short lifetime of OC highlighted its vulnerability to cloud scavenging in the presence of water-soluble organic species from biomass combustion.

Dysfunction in gastric myoelectric and motor activity in Helicobacter pylori positive gastritis patients with non-ulcer dyspesia.

PubMed

Thor, P; Lorens, K; Tabor, S; Herman, R; Konturek, J W; Konturek, S J

1996-09-01

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection has been shown to affect gastric acid secretion and the somatostatin-gastrin ratio but its effects on gastric motility have not been evaluated. This study was carried out in 12 patients (10 males and 2 females, mean age 33 +/- 6 yrs) who underwent endoscopy and Campylobacter-like Organism (CLO)-test. All patients were found initially to be Hp positive according to CLO-test. Gastric emptying was evaluated by measuring antral diameter with ultrasonography (Hitachi EUB 240) in fasted and fed patients. Electrogastrography (EGG) with antral manometry were done 5 h before and 4 h after a meal before the therapy and one month after the eradication with triple therapy (lanzoprazole 30 mg daily- 2 x 250 mg clarithromycin 500 mg t.i.d.-3 x 500 mg and metronidazole 500 mg b.i.d.-2 x 500 mg). In Hp positive patients before the triple therapy the mean fasted antral diameter was 4.3 cm2, initial EGG showed significant dysrhythmia of electrical control activity (ECA) with tachygastria up to 25% of recording time in 9 of 12 Hp positive patients without normal increase of the power of signal in any of tested subjects. In 7 Hp positive fasted antral manometry failed to exhibit gastric phases III of the migrating motor complex (MMC). Hp eradication was accomplished in 10 of 12 examined patients and this was followed by a decrease in tachygastria to 3 cpm rhythm with an increase of the ECA power after meal. Phase III of MMC was observed again in 7 Hp negative patients with a decrease of fasted antral diameter (p < 0.05). Fasted and fed antral motility pattern increased after eradication. Two patients remained Hp positive after standard therapy. We conclude that most symptomatic non ulcer dyspeptic Hp positive patients show changes in ECA and antral hypomotility that are associated with Hp infections.

Analysis of copy number variants by three detection algorithms and their association with body size in horses.

PubMed

Metzger, Julia; Philipp, Ute; Lopes, Maria Susana; da Camara Machado, Artur; Felicetti, Michela; Silvestrelli, Maurizio; Distl, Ottmar

2013-07-18

Copy number variants (CNVs) have been shown to play an important role in genetic diversity of mammals and in the development of many complex phenotypic traits. The aim of this study was to perform a standard comparative evaluation of CNVs in horses using three different CNV detection programs and to identify genomic regions associated with body size in horses. Analysis was performed using the Illumina Equine SNP50 genotyping beadchip for 854 horses. CNVs were detected by three different algorithms, CNVPartition, PennCNV and QuantiSNP. Comparative analysis revealed 50 CNVs that affected 153 different genes mainly involved in sensory perception, signal transduction and cellular components. Genome-wide association analysis for body size showed highly significant deleted regions on ECA1, ECA8 and ECA9. Homologous regions to the detected CNVs on ECA1 and ECA9 have also been shown to be correlated with human height. Comparative analysis of CNV detection algorithms was useful to increase the specificity of CNV detection but had certain limitations dependent on the detection tool. GWAS revealed genome-wide associated CNVs for body size in horses.

The use of ECAS in plant protection: a green and efficient antimicrobial approach that primes selected defense genes.

PubMed

Zarattini, Marco; De Bastiani, Morena; Bernacchia, Giovanni; Ferro, Sergio; De Battisti, Achille

2015-11-01

The use of highly polluting chemicals for plant and crop protection is one of the components of the negative environmental impact of agricultural activities. In the present paper, an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticide application has been studied, based on the so-called electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS). Experiments have been carried out, by applying ECAS having different contents of active ingredients, on tobacco plants at a laboratory scale and on apple trees at fruit garden scale. The results, accumulated during a couple of years, have shown that properly selected dilute solutions of chlorides, once activated by an electrochemical treatment, exhibit a very effective protecting action of plants, irrespective of their nature. Extension of the research has shown that the observed effect is the result of two distinct factors: the expected anti-microbial action of the electrochemically synthesized oxidants, and an unexpected priming of immune plant defenses, which is clearly due to the treatment with ECAS. Interestingly, the repetition of ECAS application triggers an even stronger activation of defense genes. No oxidative damages, due to the use of the activated solutions, could be detected.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 3: Combustors, furnaces and low-BTU gasifiers. [used in coal gasification and coal liquefaction (equipment specifications)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamm, J. R.

1976-01-01

Information is presented on the design, performance, operating characteristics, cost, and development status of coal preparation equipment, combustion equipment, furnaces, low-Btu gasification processes, low-temperature carbonization processes, desulfurization processes, and pollution particulate removal equipment. The information was compiled for use by the various cycle concept leaders in determining the performance, capital costs, energy costs, and natural resource requirements of each of their system configurations.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), General Electric Phase 1. Volume 3: Energy conversion subsystems and components. Part 3: Gasification, process fuels, and balance of plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boothe, W. A.; Corman, J. C.; Johnson, G. G.; Cassel, T. A. V.

1976-01-01

Results are presented of an investigation of gasification and clean fuels from coal. Factors discussed include: coal and coal transportation costs; clean liquid and gas fuel process efficiencies and costs; and cost, performance, and environmental intrusion elements of the integrated low-Btu coal gasification system. Cost estimates for the balance-of-plant requirements associated with advanced energy conversion systems utilizing coal or coal-derived fuels are included.

Using the Electromagnetic Induction Method to Connect Spatial Vegetation Distributions with Soil Water and Salinity Dynamics on Steppe Grassland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Z.; Li, X.; Wu, H.

2014-12-01

In arid and semi-arid areas, plant growth and productivity are obviously affected by soil water and salinity. But it is not easy to acquire the spatial and temporal dynamics of soil water and salinity by traditional field methods because of the heterogeneity in their patterns. Electromagnetic induction (EMI), for its rapid character, can provide a useful way to solve this problem. Grassland dominated by Achnatherum splendens is an important ecosystem near the Qinghai-Lake watershed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwestern China. EMI surveys were conducted for electrical conductivity (ECa) at an intermediate habitat scale (a 60×60 m experimental area) of A. splendens steppe for 18 times (one day only for one time) during the 2013 growing season. And twenty sampling points were established for the collection of soil samples for soil water and salinity, which were used for calibration of ECa. In addition, plant species, biomass and spatial patterns of vegetation were also sampled. The results showed that ECa maps exhibited distinctly spatial differences because of variations in soil moisture. And soil water was the main factor to drive salinity patterns, which in turn affected ECa values. Moreover, soil water and salinity could explain 82.8% of ECa changes due to there was a significant correlation (P<0.01) between ECa, soil water and salinity. Furthermore, with higher ECa values closer to A. splendens patches at the experimental site, patterns of ECa images showed clearly temporal stability, which were extremely corresponding with the spatial pattern of vegetation. A. splendens patches that accumulated infiltrating water and salinity and thus changed long-term soil properties, which were considered as "reservoirs" and were deemed responsible for the temporal stability of ECa images. Hence, EMI could be an indicator to locate areas of decreasing or increasing of water and to reveal soil water and salinity dynamics through repeated ECa surveys.

"Swim or Sink": State of Induction in the Deployment of Early Career Academics into Teaching at Makerere University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ssempebwa, Jude; Teferra, Damtew; Bakkabulindi, Fred Edward K.

2016-01-01

Conducted as part of a multi-country study of the teaching-related experiences and expectations of early career academics (ECAs) in Africa, this study investigated the major influences on the teaching practice of ECAs at Makerere University; the mechanisms by which these academics learn to teach; the teaching-related challenges they experience;…

Using Soil Apparent Electrical Conductivity to Optimize Sampling of Soil Penetration Resistance and to Improve the Estimations of Spatial Patterns of Soil Compaction

PubMed Central

Siqueira, Glécio Machado; Dafonte, Jorge Dafonte; Bueno Lema, Javier; Valcárcel Armesto, Montserrat; Silva, Ênio Farias França e

2014-01-01

This study presents a combined application of an EM38DD for assessing soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and a dual-sensor vertical penetrometer Veris-3000 for measuring soil electrical conductivity (ECveris) and soil resistance to penetration (PR). The measurements were made at a 6 ha field cropped with forage maize under no-tillage after sowing and located in Northwestern Spain. The objective was to use data from ECa for improving the estimation of soil PR. First, data of ECa were used to determine the optimized sampling scheme of the soil PR in 40 points. Then, correlation analysis showed a significant negative relationship between soil PR and ECa, ranging from −0.36 to −0.70 for the studied soil layers. The spatial dependence of soil PR was best described by spherical models in most soil layers. However, below 0.50 m the spatial pattern of soil PR showed pure nugget effect, which could be due to the limited number of PR data used in these layers as the values of this parameter often were above the range measured by our equipment (5.5 MPa). The use of ECa as secondary variable slightly improved the estimation of PR by universal cokriging, when compared with kriging. PMID:25610899

Lightcurve, Color and Phase Function Photometry of the OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroid (101955) Bennu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hergenrother, Carl W.; Nolan, Michael C.; Binzel, Richard P.; Cloutis, Edward A.; Barucci, Maria Antonietta; Michel, Patrick; Scheeres, Daniel J.; d'Aubigny, Christian Drouet; Lazzaro, Daniela; Pinilla-Alonso, Noemi; Campins, Humberto; Licandro, Javier; Clark, Beth E.; Rizk, Bashar; Beshore, Edward C.; Lauretta, Dante S.

2013-09-01

The NASA OSIRIS-REx mission will retrieve a sample of the carbonaceous near-Earth Asteroid (101955) Bennu and return it to Earth in 2023. Photometry in the Eight Color Asteroid Survey (ECAS) filter system and Johnson-Cousins V and R filters were conducted during the two most recent apparitions in 2005/2006 and 2011/2012. Lightcurve observations over the nights of September 14-17, 2005 yielded a synodic rotation period of 4.2905 ± 0.0065 h, which is consistent with the results of Nolan et al. (2013). ECAS color measurements made during the same nights confirm the B-type classification of Clark et al. (Clark, B.E., Binzel, R.P., Howell, E.S., Cloutis, E.A., Ockert-Bell, M., Christensen, P., Barucci, M.A., DeMeo, F., Lauretta, D.S., Connolly, H., Soderberg, A., Hergenrother, C., Lim, L., Emery, J., Mueller, M. [2011]. Icarus 216, 462-475). A search for the 0.7 μm hydration feature using the method of Vilas (Vilas, F. [1994]. Icarus 111, 456-467) did not reveal its presence. Photometry was obtained over a range of phase angles from 15° to 96° between 2005 and 2012. The resulting phase function slope of 0.040 magnitudes per degree is consistent with the phase slopes of other low albedo near-Earth asteroids (Belskaya, I.N., Shevchenko, V.G. [2000]. Icarus 147, 94-105).

Use of electromagnetic induction surveys to delimit zones of contrasting tree development in an irrigated olive orchard in Southern Spain.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedrera, Aura; Vanderlinden, Karl; Jesús Espejo-Pérez, Antonio; Gómez, José Alfonso; Giráldez, Juan Vicente

2014-05-01

Olives are historically closely linked to Mediterranean culture and have nowadays important societal and economical implications. Improving yield and preventing infestation by soil-borne pathogens are crucial issues in maintaining olive cropping competitive. In order to assess both issues properly at the farm or field scale, accurate knowledge of the spatial distribution of soil physical properties and associated water dynamics is required. Conventional soil surveying is generally prohibitive at commercial farms, but electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors, measuring soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) provide a suitable alternative. ECa depends strongly on soil texture and water content and has been used exhaustively in precision agriculture to delimit management zones. The aim of this study was to delimit areas with unsatisfactory tree development in an olive orchard using EMI, and to identify the underlying relationships between ECa and the soil properties driving the spatial tree development pattern. An experimental catchment in S. Spain dedicated to irrigated olive cropping was surveyed for ECa under dry and wet soil conditions (0.06 vs. 0.22 g/g, respectively), using a Dualem 21-S EMI sensor. In addition, ECa and gravimetric soil water content (SWC) was measured at 45 locations throughout the catchment during each survey. At each of these locations, soil profile samples were collected to determine textural class including coarse particles content, organic matter (OM), and bulk density. Measurements for dry soil conditions with the perpendicular coil configuration with a separation of 2.1 m (P2.1) were chosen to make a first assessment of the orchard-growth variability. According to the shape of the histogram, the P2.1 ECa values were classified to delimit three areas in the field for which canopy coverage was estimated. Combining the 4 ECa signals for the wet and dry surveys, a principal component (PC) analysis showed that 91% of the total variance could be explained by the first PC, representing a common pattern in the ECa data and showing a correlation of 0.98 with the P2.1 signal. The spatial pattern of canopy coverage corresponded well with the pattern of the ECa P2.1 signal. The area with the lowest ECa (Zone A) showed optimal tree growth and presented significantly lower average clay content than the area with intermediate and highest ECa (Zones B and C, respectively). Zone B, located in the lowest area of the field, with the highest profile-averaged soil-water, stone and OM contents, showed deficient tree development and tree die-off as a result of soil-borne pathogens. EMI surveys reflecting subtle differences in soil properties provided a useful information to delimit areas with tree development problems. This information can be used in conjunction with topographic surveys to identify before planting areas with potential tree development problems, including soil-borne pathogens.

The Application of Embodied Conversational Agents for Mentoring African American STEM Doctoral Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gosha, Kinnis

2013-01-01

This dissertation presents the design, development and short-term evaluation of an embodied conversational agent designed to mentor human users. An embodied conversational agent (ECA) was created and programmed to mentor African American computer science majors on their decision to pursue graduate study in computing. Before constructing the ECA,…

The Phenomenology of Late Life Depression.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blazer, Dan; And Others

The paper reports results of one project from the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) Program: the Duke ECA study (also known as the Piedmont Health Survey). To determine if depressive symptoms are different in the depressed elderly, 46 community subjects, over 60 years of age with a current diagnosis of…

A genome-wide association study identifies risk loci to equine recurrent uveitis in German warmblood horses.

PubMed

Kulbrock, Maike; Lehner, Stefanie; Metzger, Julia; Ohnesorge, Bernhard; Distl, Ottmar

2013-01-01

Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a common eye disease affecting up to 3-15% of the horse population. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the Illumina equine SNP50 bead chip was performed to identify loci conferring risk to ERU. The sample included a total of 144 German warmblood horses. A GWAS showed a significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on horse chromosome (ECA) 20 at 49.3 Mb, with IL-17A and IL-17F being the closest genes. This locus explained a fraction of 23% of the phenotypic variance for ERU. A GWAS taking into account the severity of ERU, revealed a SNP on ECA18 nearby to the crystalline gene cluster CRYGA-CRYGF. For both genomic regions on ECA18 and 20, significantly associated haplotypes containing the genome-wide significant SNPs could be demonstrated. In conclusion, our results are indicative for a genetic component regulating the possible critical role of IL-17A and IL-17F in the pathogenesis of ERU. The associated SNP on ECA18 may be indicative for cataract formation in the course of ERU.

Geophysical Sensing Applications on Claypan Soils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maps of apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) of the soil profile are widely used in precision agriculture practice and research. A number of ECa sensors are commercially available, each with a unique response function (i.e., the relative contribution of soil at each depth to the integrated ECa rea...

Screen for intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulae with carotid duplex sonography.

PubMed

Tsai, L-K; Yeh, S-J; Chen, Y-C; Liu, H-M; Jeng, J-S

2009-11-01

Early diagnosis and management of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulae (DAVF) may prevent the occurrence of stroke. This study aimed to identify the best carotid duplex sonography (CDS) parameters for screening DAVF. 63 DAVF patients and 170 non-DAVF patients received both CDS and conventional angiography. The use of seven CDS haemodynamic parameter sets related to the resistance index (RI) of the external carotid artery (ECA) for the diagnosis of DAVF was validated and the applicability of the best CDS parameter set in 20 400 patients was tested. The CDS parameter set (ECA RI (cut-off point = 0.7) and internal carotid artery (ICA) to ECA RI ratio (cut-off point = 0.9)) had the highest specificity (99%) for diagnosis of DAVF with moderate sensitivity (51%). Location of the DAVF was a significant determinant of sensitivity of detection, which was 70% for non-cavernous DAVF and 0% for cavernous sinus DAVF (p<0.001). The above parameter set detected abnormality in 92 of 20 400 patients. These abnormalities included DAVF (n = 25), carotid stenosis (n = 32), vertebral artery stenosis (n = 7), intracranial arterial stenosis (n = 6), head and neck tumour (n = 3) and unknown aetiology (n = 19). Combined CDS parameters of ECA RI and ICA to ECA RI ratio can be used as a screening tool for the diagnosis of DAVF.

Outsourcing Extra-Curricular Activities: A Management Strategy in a Time of Neoliberal Influence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Shun Wing; Chan, Tsan Ming Kenneth; Yuen, Wai Kwan Gail

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on an exploratory study designed to illuminate the complexity of outsourcing extra-curricular activities (ECAs) in primary schools in a time of neoliberal influence and to examine the views of teaching professionals on the reasons, issues and considerations of outsourcing ECAs such as the dynamic…

Early Childhood Adversity and its Associations With Anxiety, Depression, and Distress in Women With Breast Cancer.

PubMed

McFarland, Daniel C; Andreotti, Charissa; Harris, Kirk; Mandeli, John; Tiersten, Amy; Holland, Jimmie

2016-01-01

Certain vulnerability factors have been found to place patients at risk for depression and anxiety, especially within the context of medical illness. We sought to describe the relationships among early childhood adversity (ECA) and anxiety, depression and distress in patients with breast cancer. Patients with breast cancer (stages 0-IV) were assessed for ECA (i.e., the Risky Families Questionnaire subscales include Abuse/Neglect/Chaotic Home Environment), distress (i.e., Distress Thermometer and Problem List), anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety), depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression), meeting standardized cut-off thresholds for distress (Distress Thermometer and Problem List ≥4 or ≥7)/anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety ≥8)/depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression ≥8) and demographic factors. A total of 125 participants completed the study (78% response rate). ECA was associated with depression (p <0.001), anxiety (p = 0.001), and distress (p = 0.006), meeting cut-off threshold criteria for distress (p = 0.024), anxiety (p = 0.048), and depression (p = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, only depression (p = 0.04) and emotional issues (i.e., component of Distress Thermometer and Problem List) (p = 0.001) were associated with ECA. Neglect, but not Abuse and Chaotic Home Environment, was associated with depression (β = 0.442, p < 0.001), anxiety (β = 0.342, p = 0.002), and self-identified problems with family (β = 0.288, p = 0.022), emotion (β = 0.345, p = 0.004), and physical issues (β = 0.408, p < 0.001). ECA and neglect are associated with multiple psychologic symptoms, but most specifically depression in the setting of breast cancer. ECA contributes to psychologic burden as a vulnerability factor. ECA may help to explain individual patient trajectories and influence the provision of patient-centered care for psychologic symptoms in patients with breast cancer. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early Childhood Adversity and Its Associations with Anxiety, Depression, and Distress in Women with Breast Cancer

PubMed Central

McFarland, Daniel C; Andreotti, Charissa; Harris, Kirk; Mandeli, John; Tiersten, Amy; Holland, Jimmie

2016-01-01

Introduction Certain vulnerability factors have been found to place patients at risk for depression and anxiety, especially within the context of medical illness. Early childhood adversity (ECA) primes adults to become more vulnerable to depression by enhancing their reactivity to stress; this relationship is not adequately described in patients with breast cancer. Methods Breast cancer patients (Stage 0-IV) were assessed for ECA (i.e., the Risky Families Questionnaire [RFQ]-subscales include Abuse/Neglect/Chaotic Home Environment), distress (i.e., Distress Thermometer and Problem List [DT&PL]), anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety [HADS-A]), depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression [HADS-D]), meeting standardized cut-off thresholds for distress (DT&PL ≥4 or ≥7)/anxiety (HADS-A ≥8)/depression (HADS-D ≥8), and demographic factors. Results One hundred twenty-five participants completed the study (78% response rate). ECA was associated with depression (p<.001), anxiety (p=.001), and distress (p=.006) and with meeting cut-off threshold criteria for distress (p=.024), anxiety (p=.048), and depression (p=.001). On Multivariate analysis, only depression (p=.04) and emotional issues (i.e, component of DT&PL)(p=.001) were associated with ECA. Neglect, but not Abuse and Chaotic Home Environment, was associated with depression (β=.442, p<.001), anxiety (β=.342, p=.002), and self-identified problems with family (β−.288, p=.022), emotion (β=.345, p=.004), and physical issues (β=.408, p<.001). Conclusion ECA and neglect are associated with multiple psychological symptoms but most specifically depression in the setting of breast cancer. ECA contributes to psychological burden as a vulnerability factor. ECA may help to explain individual patient trajectories and influence the provision of patient centered care for psychological symptoms in patients with breast cancer. PMID:26876888

Shape Memory Characteristics of Ti(sub 49.5)Ni(sub 25)Pd(sub 25)Sc(sub 0.5) High-Temperature Shape Memory Alloy After Severe Plastic Deformation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atli, K. C.; Karaman, I.; Noebe, R. D.; Garg, A.; Chumlyakov, Y. I.; Kireeva, I. V.

2011-01-01

A Ti(49.5)Ni25Pd25Sc(0.5) high-temperature shape memory alloy is thermomechanically processed to obtain enhanced shape-memory characteristics: in particular, dimensional stability upon repeated thermal cycles under constant loads. This is accomplished using severe plastic deformation via equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) and post-processing annealing heat treatments. The results of the thermomechanical experiments reveal that the processed materials display enhanced shape memory response, exhibiting higher recoverable transformation and reduced irrecoverable strain levels upon thermal cycling compared with the unprocessed material. This improvement is attributed to the increased strength and resistance of the material against defect generation upon phase transformation as a result of the microstructural refinement due to the ECAE process, as supported by the electron microscopy observations.

Improvement of Strength and Energy Absorption Properties of Porous Aluminum Alloy with Aligned Unidirectional Pores Using Equal-Channel Angular Extrusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Tomonori; Muto, Daiki; Tamai, Tomoya; Suzuki, Shinsuke

2018-04-01

Porous aluminum alloy with aligned unidirectional pores was fabricated by dipping A1050 tubes into A6061 semi-solid slurry. The porous aluminum alloy was processed through Equal-channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) while preventing cracking and maintaining both the pore size and porosity by setting the insert material and loading back pressure. The specific compressive yield strength of the sample aged after 13 passes of ECAE was approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. Both the energy absorption E V and energy absorption efficiency η V after four passes of ECAE were approximately 1.2 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. The specific yield strength was improved via work hardening and precipitation following dynamic aging during ECAE. E V was improved by the application of high compressive stress at the beginning of the compression owing to work hardening via ECAE. η V was improved by a steep increase of stress at low compressive strain and by a gradual increase of stress in the range up to 50 pct of compressive strain. The gradual increase of stress was caused by continuous shear fracture in the metallic part, which was due to the high dislocation density and existence of unidirectional pores parallel to the compressive direction in the structure.

Improvement of Strength and Energy Absorption Properties of Porous Aluminum Alloy with Aligned Unidirectional Pores Using Equal-Channel Angular Extrusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Tomonori; Muto, Daiki; Tamai, Tomoya; Suzuki, Shinsuke

2018-06-01

Porous aluminum alloy with aligned unidirectional pores was fabricated by dipping A1050 tubes into A6061 semi-solid slurry. The porous aluminum alloy was processed through Equal-channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) while preventing cracking and maintaining both the pore size and porosity by setting the insert material and loading back pressure. The specific compressive yield strength of the sample aged after 13 passes of ECAE was approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. Both the energy absorption E V and energy absorption efficiency η V after four passes of ECAE were approximately 1.2 times higher than that of the solid-solutionized sample without ECAE. The specific yield strength was improved via work hardening and precipitation following dynamic aging during ECAE. E V was improved by the application of high compressive stress at the beginning of the compression owing to work hardening via ECAE. η V was improved by a steep increase of stress at low compressive strain and by a gradual increase of stress in the range up to 50 pct of compressive strain. The gradual increase of stress was caused by continuous shear fracture in the metallic part, which was due to the high dislocation density and existence of unidirectional pores parallel to the compressive direction in the structure.

Effectiveness of Higher Diploma Program for Early Career Academics in Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gebru, Demewoz Admasu

2016-01-01

Unprecedented expansion of the public higher education sector in Ethiopia has brought about masses of early career academics (ECAs) to take up teaching and research in the sector. In recognition of a multitude of responsibilities and challenges these ECAs would face, a higher diploma program (HDP) was introduced in 2004 both for ECAs and senior…

75 FR 27041 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Edmund S. Muskie...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-13

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7001] Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program Announcement Type: New Cooperative Agreement. Funding Opportunity Number: ECA/A/E/EUR 11-01. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 19.011 Key Dates: Application Deadline: Jun...

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Risk Loci to Equine Recurrent Uveitis in German Warmblood Horses

PubMed Central

Kulbrock, Maike; Lehner, Stefanie; Metzger, Julia; Ohnesorge, Bernhard; Distl, Ottmar

2013-01-01

Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a common eye disease affecting up to 3–15% of the horse population. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the Illumina equine SNP50 bead chip was performed to identify loci conferring risk to ERU. The sample included a total of 144 German warmblood horses. A GWAS showed a significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on horse chromosome (ECA) 20 at 49.3 Mb, with IL-17A and IL-17F being the closest genes. This locus explained a fraction of 23% of the phenotypic variance for ERU. A GWAS taking into account the severity of ERU, revealed a SNP on ECA18 nearby to the crystalline gene cluster CRYGA-CRYGF. For both genomic regions on ECA18 and 20, significantly associated haplotypes containing the genome-wide significant SNPs could be demonstrated. In conclusion, our results are indicative for a genetic component regulating the possible critical role of IL-17A and IL-17F in the pathogenesis of ERU. The associated SNP on ECA18 may be indicative for cataract formation in the course of ERU. PMID:23977091

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 6: Closed-cycle gas turbine systems. [energy conversion efficiency in electric power plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amos, D. J.; Fentress, W. K.; Stahl, W. F.

1976-01-01

Both recuperated and bottomed closed cycle gas turbine systems in electric power plants were studied. All systems used a pressurizing gas turbine coupled with a pressurized furnace to heat the helium for the closed cycle gas turbine. Steam and organic vapors are used as Rankine bottoming fluids. Although plant efficiencies of over 40% are calculated for some plants, the resultant cost of electricity was found to be 8.75 mills/MJ (31.5 mills/kWh). These plants do not appear practical for coal or oil fired plants.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 10: Liquid-metal MHD systems. [energy conversion efficiency of electric power plants using liquid metal magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holman, R. R.; Lippert, T. E.

1976-01-01

Electric Power Plant costs and efficiencies are presented for two basic liquid-metal cycles corresponding to 922 and 1089 K (1200 and 1500 F) for a commercial applications using direct coal firing. Sixteen plant designs are considered for which major component equipment were sized and costed. The design basis for each major component is discussed. Also described is the overall systems computer model that was developed to analyze the thermodynamics of the various cycle configurations that were considered.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 1: Introduction and summary and general assumptions. [energy conversion systems for electric power plants using coal - feasibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beecher, D. T.

1976-01-01

Nine advanced energy conversion concepts using coal or coal-derived fuels are summarized. They are; (1) open-cycle gas turbines, (2) combined gas-steam turbine cycles, (3) closed-cycle gas turbines, (4) metal vapor Rankine topping, (5) open-cycle MHD; (6) closed-cycle MHD; (7) liquid-metal MHD; (8) advanced steam; and (9) fuel cell systems. The economics, natural resource requirements, and performance criteria for the nine concepts are discussed.

The Complex Interplay Between Depression/Anxiety and Executive Functioning: Insights From the ECAS in a Large ALS Population

PubMed Central

Solca, Federica; Faini, Andrea; Madotto, Fabiana; Lafronza, Annalisa; Monti, Alessia; Zago, Stefano; Doretti, Alberto; Ciammola, Andrea; Ticozzi, Nicola; Silani, Vincenzo; Poletti, Barbara

2018-01-01

Introduction: The observed association between depressive symptoms and cognitive performances has not been previously clarified in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (pALS). In fact, the use of cognitive measures often not accommodating for motor disability has led to heterogeneous and not conclusive findings about this issue. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between cognitive and depressive/anxiety symptoms by means of the recently developed Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS), a brief assessment specifically designed for pALS. Methods: Sample included 168 pALS (114 males, 54 females); they were administered two standard cognitive screening tools (FAB; MoCA) and the ECAS, assessing different cognitive domains, including ALS-specific (executive functions, verbal fluency, and language tests) and ALS non-specific subtests (memory and visuospatial tests). Two psychological questionnaires for depression and anxiety (BDI; STAI/Y) were also administered to patients. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the degree of association between cognitive and psychological measures. Results: Depression assessment negatively correlated with the ECAS, more significantly with regard to the executive functions subdomain. In particular, Sentence Completion and Social Cognition subscores were negatively associated with depression levels measured by BDI total score and Somatic-Performance symptoms subscore. Conversely, no significant correlations were observed between depression level and cognitive functions as measured by traditional screening tools for frontal abilities (FAB) and global cognition (MoCA) assessment. Finally, no significant correlations were observed between state/trait anxiety and the ECAS. Discussion and conclusion: This represents the first study focusing on the relationship between cognitive and psychological components in pALS by means of the ECAS, the current gold standard for ALS cognitive-behavioral assessment. If confirmed by further investigations, the observed association between depression and executive functions suggests the need for a careful screening and treatment of depression, to avoid overestimation of cognitive involvement and possibly improve cognitive performances in ALS. PMID:29674987

Persuasive Dialogue Based on a Narrative Theory: An ECA Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavazza, Marc; Smith, Cameron; Charlton, Daniel; Crook, Nigel; Boye, Johan; Pulman, Stephen; Moilanen, Karo; Pizzi, David; de La Camara, Raul Santos; Turunen, Markku

Embodied Conversational Agents (ECA) are poised to constitute a specific category within persuasive systems, in particular through their ability to support affective dialogue. One possible approach consists in using ECA as virtual coaches or personal assistants and to make persuasion part of a dialogue game implementing specific argumentation or negotiation features. In this paper, we explore an alternative framework, which emerges from the long-term development of ECA as "Companions" supporting free conversation with the user, rather than task-oriented dialogue. Our system aims at influencing user attitudes as part of free conversation, albeit on a limited set of topics. We describe the implementation of a Companion ECA to which the user reports on his working day, and which can assess the user's emotional attitude towards daily events in the office, trying to influence such attitude using affective strategies derived from a narrative model. This discussion is illustrated through examples from a first fully-implemented prototype.

Rooting depth explains [CO2] x drought interaction in Eucalyptus saligna.

PubMed

Duursma, Remko A; Barton, Craig V M; Eamus, Derek; Medlyn, Belinda E; Ellsworth, David S; Forster, Michael A; Tissue, David T; Linder, Sune; McMurtrie, Ross E

2011-09-01

Elevated atmospheric [CO(2)] (eC(a)) often decreases stomatal conductance, which may delay the start of drought, as well as alleviate the effect of dry soil on plant water use and carbon uptake. We studied the interaction between drought and eC(a) in a whole-tree chamber experiment with Eucalyptus saligna. Trees were grown for 18 months in their C(a) treatments before a 4-month dry-down. Trees grown in eC(a) were smaller than those grown in ambient C(a) (aC(a)) due to an early growth setback that was maintained throughout the duration of the experiment. Pre-dawn leaf water potentials were not different between C(a) treatments, but were lower in the drought treatment than the irrigated control. Counter to expectations, the drought treatment caused a larger reduction in canopy-average transpiration rates for trees in the eC(a) treatment compared with aC(a). Total tree transpiration over the dry-down was positively correlated with the decrease in soil water storage, measured in the top 1.5 m, over the drying cycle; however, we could not close the water budget especially for the larger trees, suggesting soil water uptake below 1.5 m depth. Using neutron probe soil water measurements, we estimated fractional water uptake to a depth of 4.5 m and found that larger trees were able to extract more water from deep soil layers. These results highlight the interaction between rooting depth and response of tree water use to drought. The responses of tree water use to eC(a) involve interactions between tree size, root distribution and soil moisture availability that may override the expected direct effects of eC(a). It is essential that these interactions be considered when interpreting experimental results.

40 CFR 80.607 - What are the requirements for obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes? (a) Written request for a research and development exemption. Any person may receive an exemption...

40 CFR 80.607 - What are the requirements for obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes? (a) Written request for a research and development exemption. Any person may receive an exemption...

40 CFR 80.607 - What are the requirements for obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes? (a) Written request for a research and development exemption. Any person may receive an exemption...

40 CFR 80.607 - What are the requirements for obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes... obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for research, development or testing purposes? (a) Written request for a research and development exemption. Any person may receive an exemption...

40 CFR 80.608 - What requirements apply to diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel for use in the Territories?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What requirements apply to diesel fuel... Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Exemptions § 80.608 What requirements apply to diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel for use in the Territories? The...

40 CFR 80.608 - What requirements apply to diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel for use in the Territories?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What requirements apply to diesel fuel... Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Exemptions § 80.608 What requirements apply to diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel for use in the Territories? The...

40 CFR 80.574 - What labeling requirements apply to retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers of ECA marine...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers of ECA marine fuel beginning June 1, 2014? 80.574 Section 80.574... purchaser-consumers of ECA marine fuel beginning June 1, 2014? (a) Any retailer or wholesale purchaser... bold type, printed in a color contrasting with the background: (1) From June 1, 2014, and beyond, for...

"Letters to an Early Career Academic": Learning from the Advice of the Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Professoriate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enright, Eimear; Rynne, Steven B.; Alfrey, Laura

2017-01-01

Taking our lead from Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet," this project represents our attempt to stimulate dialogue between 30 physical education and sport pedagogy (PESP) early career academics (ECAs) and 11 PESP professors. First, the ECAs were invited to write a narrative around their experiences as PESP ECAs. Second, a narrative…

Spatial relationship between the productivity of cane sugar and soil electrical conductivity measured by electromagnetic induction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siqueira, Glecio; Silva, Jucicléia; Bezerra, Joel; Silva, Enio; Montenegro, Abelardo

2013-04-01

The cultivation of sugar cane in Brazil occupies a prominent place in national production chain, because the country is the main world producer of sugar and ethanol. Accordingly, studies are needed that allow an integrated production and technified, and especially that estimates of crops are consistent with the actual production of each region. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial relationship between the productivity of cane sugar and soil electrical conductivity measured by electromagnetic induction. The field experiment was conducted at an agricultural research site located in Goiana municipality, Pernambuco State, north-east of Brazil (Latitude 07 ° 34 '25 "S, Longitude 34 ° 55' 39" W). The surface of the studied field is 6.5 ha, and its mean height 8.5 m a.s.l. This site has been under sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum sp.) monoculture during the last 24 years and it was managed burning the straw each year after harvesting, renewal of plantation was performed every 7 years. Studied the field is located 10 km east from Atlantic Ocean and it is representative of the regional landscape lowlands, whose soils are affected by salinity seawater, sugarcane plantations with the main economical activity. Soil was classified an orthic the Podsol. The productivity of cane sugar and electrical conductivity were measured in 90 sampling points. The productivity of cane sugar was determined in each of the sampling points in plots of 9 m2. The Apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa, mS m-1) was measured with an electromagnetic induction device EM38-DD (Geonics Limited). The equipment consists of two units of measurement, one in a horizontal dipole (ECa-H) to provide effective measurement distance of 1.5 m approximately and other one in vertical dipole (ECa-V) with an effective measurement depth of approximately 0.75 m. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and geostatistical tools. The results showed that productivity in the study area reached values above 200 t ha-1, with higher values of productivity are concentrated in the region northern terrain. The maps of soil electrical conductivity (ECa-V and ECa-H) showed behavior similar to the productivity of cane sugar. The linear correlation showed values of 0.74 (yield x ECa-H) and 0.85 (yield x ECa-V). The adjusted semivariograms showed no similarity in the spatial pattern of pairs of semivariance. The electrical conductivity measured by electromagnetic induction has been shown as an important tool for predicting the productivity of sugar cane, however more studies are needed to determine the magnitude of the differences between such attributes.

Endovascular revascularization of external carotid artery occlusion causing tongue infarction: case report.

PubMed

Kagami, Hiroshi; Inaba, Makoto; Ichimura, Shinya; Hara, Koichi; Inamasu, Joji

2012-01-01

A 62-year-old man with diabetes and a history of ischemic coronary disease visited the emergency department complaining of acute pain and swelling of the tongue. Physical examination found subtle swelling and pallor of the right side of the tongue, and he was initially diagnosed with glossitis. However, his symptoms were progressive, and the tongue had sustained serious tissue damage before the correct diagnosis was established. Digital subtraction angiography of the cervical vessels revealed occlusion of the right external carotid artery (ECA) and lingual artery without collateral circulation to the right side of the tongue from the contralateral ECA or ipsilateral vertebral artery (VA). Endovascular revascularization was performed to restore blood flow to the tongue using balloon angioplasty of the proximal segment of the right ECA followed by deployment of a self-expanding stent. Tongue pain subsided shortly after the procedure, and configuration of the tongue returned to normal 4 months after intervention. Tongue infarction is rare and usually associated with systemic vasculitides. Tongue infarction due to unilateral occlusion of the ECA is extremely rare because of the rich collateral circulation to the tongue from the ipsilateral VA and contralateral ECA. Atherothrombotic unilateral occlusion of the ECA should be included in the differential diagnosis of tongue infarction. Revascularization of the occluded ECA is worth attempting despite substantial tissue damage because of the viability of the tongue muscles and the minimal risk of complications in experienced hands.

The Impact of External Employment on 12th Grade Student Participation in Extracurricular Activities as a Function of School Size

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia, Miguel A.

2012-01-01

Data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 were used to compare 11,000 high school students on school size, time spent participating in extracurricular activities (ECA), and hours spent in employment. Findings indicated that students from small schools spent more time participating in ECA than students from larger schools for equivalent…

Relationship between apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) and soil attributes at an experimental parcel under pasture in a region of Galicia, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinho, M. D.; Paz-Gonzalez, A.; Dafonte, J. D.; Armesto, M. V.; Raposo, J. R.

2012-12-01

Spatial characterization of the variability of soil properties is a central point in site-specific agricultural management and precision agriculture. Geospatial measures of geophysical attributes are useful not only to rapidly characterize the spatial variability of soil properties but also for soil sampling optimization. This work reports partial results obtained at an experimental parcel under pasture located at Castro de Ribeira do Lea (Lugo/ Galicia/ Spain). An ECa automated survey was conducted in September 2011 employing an EM-38 DD (Geonics Ltd.) installed in a nonmetallic car, according to parallel lines spaced 10m one from each other and oriented at the east-west direction. The ECa values were recorded every second with a field computer and the locations were geo-referenced using a GPS. The entire survey was carried out in 1hour and 45 minutes and corrections due to differences in temperature were made. A total of 9.581 ECa registers were retained, configuring a sampling intensity of approximately 1 register per 1.5 m2. Employing the software ESAP 2.35 and the computational tool ESAP-RSSD, eighty positions were selected at the field to extract disturbed and undisturbed soil samples at two depths: 0.0-0.2m, 0.2-0.4m. Ten physical attributes (clay, silt, total sand, coarse sand and fine sand contents, soil bulk density, particle density, total porosity, soil water content, percentage of gravels) and 17 chemical attributes (soil organic matter-SOM, pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, Al, H+Al, Sum of bases-S, Cation exchange capacity-CEC, Base saturation-V%, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined. The relationship between the geophysical variables and the soil attributes was performed using statistical and spatial analysis. There were significant correlations (p<0.01) between the geophysical variables and the textural attributes clay, silt, total sand and coarse sand contents. The biggest correlation (0.5623) was between ECa-V (vertical component) and clay content. Also, significant correlations (p<0.05) were found between the ECa-V and soil bulk density, total porosity, percentage of gravels and soil water content. Considering the chemical attributes, significant correlations (p< 0.01) were found between ECa-V and SOM and Cd, and between ECa-H (horizontal component) and SOM and Fe. Other significant correlations (p<0.05) were found between ECa-V and 6 soil chemical attributes: P, Ca, S, Fe, Ni and Pb. The biggest correlation was between ECa-V and SOM (-0.5942). In resume, clay content, SOM, Cd and Fe are the soil attributes better correlated with the observed variation of the ECa at the field. Additional analysis should be performed to compare the spatial patterns of these soil attributes and the ECa as a tool to proper define management zones in the area.

40 CFR 80.510 - What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel? 80.510 Section 80.510 Protection of Environment... Information § 80.510 What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel...

40 CFR 80.510 - What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel? 80.510 Section 80.510 Protection of Environment... Information § 80.510 What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel...

[Effects and its mechanism of Nimotuzumab on radiosensitivity of esophageal carcinoma ECA-109 and TE-13 cell lines].

PubMed

Wang, J; Wang, W; Guo, Y; Jing, S W; Shang, K; Miao, M C; Wang, J; Wu, Y J; Liu, L N; Yu, J M

2016-10-23

Objective: To investigate the effects of nimotuzumab on radiosensitivity of ECA-109 and TE-13 esophageal carcinoma cell lines and explore its possible mechanism. Methods: The ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were divided into control group, irradiation group, medicine group, and combined group (irradiation + medicine). In the combined group, ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were treated with nimotuzumab for 24 h before irradiation, and the cells were collected 2 h after irradiation. The radiosensitizing effects of nimotuzumab on ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were evaluated by clone formation assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expression of EGFR, p-EGFR, DNA-PKcs, p-DNA-PKcs and γH2AX. Results: The values of D q (quasithreshold dose), D 0 (mean lethal dose)and SF 2 (surviving fraction at 2 Gy) of ECA-109 and TE-13 cells in the combined group were significantly lower than those of the radiation group (for ECA-109 cells, 1.11 vs. 1.72, 1.40 vs. 2.14, 0.42 vs. 0.66, respectively; for TE-13 cells, 0.41 vs. 0.46, 0.43 vs. 0.65, 0.40 vs. 0.71, respectively (all P <0.05). The sensitivity enhancement ratio (SER) of ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were 1.35 and 1.43, respectively. Flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rate of ECA-109 and TE-13 cells in the combined group were significantly higher than those of the radiation group [for ECA-109 cells, (41.31±1.52)% vs. (9.54±0.52)%; for TE-13 cells, (46.28±0.28)% vs. (11.32±0.31)%, both P <0.01]. Western blotting showed that the expression levels of EGFR and DNA-PKcs were not significantly different in all groups (all P >0.05). Compared with those of the control group, p-EGFR and p-DNA-PKcs of the radiation group were significantly higher in both cell lines ( P <0.05), and the γH2AX levels in the radiation group and medicine group were significantly higher than that of the control group ( P <0.05). Compared with those of the radiation group and medicine group, p-EGFR and p-DNA-PKcs protein expression in the combined group were decreased significantly ( P <0.05), while γH2AX protein expression was significantly increased ( P <0.05). Conclusions: Nimotuzumab can enhance the radiosensitivity of esophageal cancer ECA-109 and TE-13 cells. The potential mechanism may be related to the inhibition of EGFR phosphorylation and down-regulation of DNA damage repair proteins. The radiosensitizing effect of nimotuzumab is greater on poorly differentiated esophageal cancer cells.

Development of user guidelines for ECAS display design, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dodson, D. W.; Shields, N. L., Jr.

1978-01-01

Experiment computer application software (ECAS) display design and command usage guidelines were developed, which if followed by spacelab experiments, would standardize methods and techniques for data presentation and commanding via ECAS. These guidelines would provide some commonality among experiments which would enhance crew training and flight operations. The guidelines are applicable to all onboard experiment displays, whether allocated by ECAS or a dedicated experiment processor. A brief description of the spacelab data display system characteristics and of the services provided by the experiment computer operating system is included. Guidelines concerning data presentation and layout of alphanumeric and graphic information are presented along with guidelines concerning keyboard commanding and command feedback.

Ultraspectral sounding retrieval error budget and estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Daniel K.; Larar, Allen M.; Liu, Xu; Smith, William L.; Strow, Larrabee L.; Yang, Ping

2011-11-01

The ultraspectral infrared radiances obtained from satellite observations provide atmospheric, surface, and/or cloud information. The intent of the measurement of the thermodynamic state is the initialization of weather and climate models. Great effort has been given to retrieving and validating these atmospheric, surface, and/or cloud properties. Error Consistency Analysis Scheme (ECAS), through fast radiative transfer model (RTM) forward and inverse calculations, has been developed to estimate the error budget in terms of absolute and standard deviation of differences in both spectral radiance and retrieved geophysical parameter domains. The retrieval error is assessed through ECAS without assistance of other independent measurements such as radiosonde data. ECAS re-evaluates instrument random noise, and establishes the link between radiometric accuracy and retrieved geophysical parameter accuracy. ECAS can be applied to measurements of any ultraspectral instrument and any retrieval scheme with associated RTM. In this paper, ECAS is described and demonstration is made with the measurements of the METOP-A satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI).

Ultraspectral Sounding Retrieval Error Budget and Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Daniel K.; Larar, Allen M.; Liu, Xu; Smith, William L.; Strow, L. Larrabee; Yang, Ping

2011-01-01

The ultraspectral infrared radiances obtained from satellite observations provide atmospheric, surface, and/or cloud information. The intent of the measurement of the thermodynamic state is the initialization of weather and climate models. Great effort has been given to retrieving and validating these atmospheric, surface, and/or cloud properties. Error Consistency Analysis Scheme (ECAS), through fast radiative transfer model (RTM) forward and inverse calculations, has been developed to estimate the error budget in terms of absolute and standard deviation of differences in both spectral radiance and retrieved geophysical parameter domains. The retrieval error is assessed through ECAS without assistance of other independent measurements such as radiosonde data. ECAS re-evaluates instrument random noise, and establishes the link between radiometric accuracy and retrieved geophysical parameter accuracy. ECAS can be applied to measurements of any ultraspectral instrument and any retrieval scheme with associated RTM. In this paper, ECAS is described and demonstration is made with the measurements of the METOP-A satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)..

Environmental and health benefits from designating the Marmara Sea and the Turkish Straits as an emission control area (ECA).

PubMed

Viana, M; Fann, N; Tobías, A; Querol, X; Rojas-Rueda, D; Plaza, A; Aynos, G; Conde, J A; Fernández, L; Fernández, C

2015-03-17

Ship emissions degrade air quality and affect human health, and are increasingly becoming a matter of concern. Sulfur emission control areas (ECA), specific coastal regions where only low-sulfur fuels may be consumed by ocean-going ships, have proven to be useful tools to reduce ship-sourced air pollution along the North American, Canadian, and European North and Baltic Sea coastlines. The present work assesses the environmental and health benefits which would derive from designating an ECA in the Marmara Sea and the Turkish Straits (50 000 ships/year; 23 million inhabitants). Results show evidence that implementing an ECA would be technically viable and that it would reduce ship-sourced PM10 and PM2.5 ambient concentrations in Istanbul by 67%, and SO2 by 90%. The reduction of the air pollution burden on health was quantified as 210 hospital admissions from exposure to PM10, 290 hospital admissions from exposure to SO2, and up to 30 premature deaths annually due to ECA emission controls. Consequently, the designation of an ECA in the Marmara Sea and the Turkish Straits is evaluated as a positive, technically viable and real-world measure to reduce air pollution from ships in Turkey.

Temporal changes of spatial soil moisture patterns: controlling factors explained with a multidisciplinary approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martini, Edoardo; Wollschläger, Ute; Kögler, Simon; Behrens, Thorsten; Dietrich, Peter; Reinstorf, Frido; Schmidt, Karsten; Weiler, Markus; Werban, Ulrike; Zacharias, Steffen

2016-04-01

Characterizing the spatial patterns of soil moisture is critical for hydrological and meteorological models, as soil moisture is a key variable that controls matter and energy fluxes and soil-vegetation-atmosphere exchange processes. Deriving detailed process understanding at the hillslope scale is not trivial, because of the temporal variability of local soil moisture dynamics. Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to provide adequate information on the temporal variability of soil moisture and its controlling factors. Recent advances in wireless sensor technology allow monitoring of soil moisture dynamics with high temporal resolution at varying scales. In addition, mobile geophysical methods such as electromagnetic induction (EMI) have been widely used for mapping soil water content at the field scale with high spatial resolution, as being related to soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). The objective of this study was to characterize the spatial and temporal pattern of soil moisture at the hillslope scale and to infer the controlling hydrological processes, integrating well established and innovative sensing techniques, as well as new statistical methods. We combined soil hydrological and pedological expertise with geophysical measurements and methods from digital soil mapping for designing a wireless soil moisture monitoring network. For a hillslope site within the Schäfertal catchment (Central Germany), soil water dynamics were observed during 14 months, and soil ECa was mapped on seven occasions whithin this period of time using an EM38-DD device. Using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient, we described the temporal persistence of a dry and a wet characteristic state of soil moisture as well as the switching mechanisms, inferring the local properties that control the observed spatial patterns and the hydrological processes driving the transitions. Based on this, we evaluated the use of EMI for mapping the spatial pattern of soil moisture under different hydrologic conditions and the factors controlling the temporal variability of the ECa-soil moisture relationship. The approach provided valuable insight into the time-varying contribution of local and nonlocal factors to the characteristic spatial patterns of soil moisture and the transition mechanisms. The spatial organization of soil moisture was controlled by different processes in different soil horizons, and the topsoil's moisture did not mirror processes that take place within the soil profile. Results show that, for the Schäfertal hillslope site which is presumed to be representative for non-intensively managed soils with moderate clay content, local soil properties (e.g., soil texture and porosity) are the major control on the spatial pattern of ECa. In contrast, the ECa-soil moisture relationship is small and varies over time indicating that ECa is not a good proxy for soil moisture estimation at the investigated site.Occasionally observed stronger correlations between ECa and soil moisture may be explained by background dependencies of ECa to other state variables such as pore water electrical conductivity. The results will help to improve conceptual understanding for hydrological model studies at similar or smaller scales, and to transfer observation concepts and process understanding to larger or less instrumented sites, as well as to constrain the use of EMI-based ECa data for hydrological applications.

Whole-cell and single channel monovalent cation currents through the novel rabbit epithelial Ca2+ channel ECaC

PubMed Central

Nilius, Bernd; Vennekens, Rudi; Prenen, Jean; Hoenderop, Joost G J; Bindels, René J M; Droogmans, Guy

2000-01-01

This study describes properties of monovalent cation currents through ECaC, a recently cloned epithelial Ca2+-permeable channel from rabbit. The kinetics of currents through ECaC was strongly modulated by divalent cations. Currents were inhibited in the presence of extracellular Ca2+. They showed an initial voltage-dependent decay in the presence of 1 mm Mg2+ at hyperpolarizing steps in Ca2+-free solutions, which represents a voltage-dependent Mg2+ block through binding of Mg2+ to a site localized in the electrical field of the membrane (δ = 0.31) and a voltage-dependent binding constant (at 0 mV 3.1 mm Ca2+, obtained from a Woodhull type analysis). Currents were only stable in the absence of divalent cations and showed under these conditions a small time- and voltage-dependent component of activation. Single channel currents in cell-attached and inside-out patches had a conductance of 77.5 ± 4.9 pS (n = 11) and reversed at +14.8 ± 1.6 mV (n = 9) in the absence of divalent cations. The permeation sequence for monovalent cations through ECaC was Na+ > Li+ > K+ > Cs+ > NMDG+ which is identical to the Eisenmann sequence X for a strong field-strength binding site. It is concluded that the permeation profile of ECaC for monovalent cations suggests a strong field-strength binding site that may be involved in Ca2+ permeation and Mg2+ block. PMID:10970426

Emulsion Liquid Membrane Removal of Arsenic and Strontium from Wastewater: AN Experimental and Theoretical Study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Ding-Wei

The emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) technique has been successfully applied on the removal of arsenic (As) from metallurgical wastewater and the removal of strontium (Sr) from radioactive wastewater. This study consisted of experimental work and mathematical modeling. Extraction of arsenic by an emulsion liquid membrane was firstly investigated. The liquid membrane used was composed of 2-ethylhexyl alcohol (2EHA) as the extractant, ECA4360J as the surfactant, and Exxsol D-80 solvent (or heptane) as the diluent. The sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions were used as the external and internal phases, respectively. The arsenic removal efficiency reached 92% within 15 minutes in one stage. Extraction and stripping chemistries were postulated and investigated. It was observed that extraction efficiency and rate increase with the increase of acidic strength and alkali strength in the external and internal phases, respectively. It was also observed that the removal selectivity of arsenic over copper is extremely high. Strontium-90 is one of the major radioactive metals appearing in nuclear wastewater. The emulsion liquid membrane process was investigated as a separation method by using the non-radioactive ^{87}Sr as its substitute. In our study, the membrane phase was composed of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the extractant, ECA4360J as the surfactant and Exxsol D-80 as the diluent. A sulfuric acid solution was used in the internal phase as the stripping agent. The pH range in the external phase was determined by the extraction isotherm. Under the most favorable operating condition, the strontium removal efficiency can reach 98% in two minutes. Mass transfer of the emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) system was modeled mathematically. Our model took into account the following: mass transfer of solute across the film between the external phase and the membrane phase, chemical equilibrium of the extraction reaction at the external phase-membrane interface, simultaneous diffusion of the solute-carrier complex inside the globule membrane phase and stripping of the complex at the membrane-internal phase interface, chemical equilibrium of the stripping reaction at the membrane-internal phase interface and leakage of the solute from the internal phase to the external phase. Resulting simultaneous partial differential equations were solved analytically by the Laplace transform method. Four dimensionless groups were found with special physical meanings to characterize the emulsion liquid membrane systems. It not only predicted the concentration of solute in the external phase versus time, but also gave the concentration profile inside the membrane globule and the interfacial concentration at the external-membrane phase interface at different time. The model predicted very well the experimental data obtained from the removal of arsenic and strontium by the emulsion liquid membranes.

Relationship between apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) and soil attributes at an experimental parcel under pasture in a region of Galicia, Spain.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinho, Mara de A.; Dafonte, Jorge D.; Armesto, Montserrat V.; Paz-González, Antonio; Raposo, Juan R.

2013-04-01

Spatial characterization of the variability of soil properties is a central point in site-specific agricultural management and precision agriculture. Geospatial measures of geophysical attributes are useful not only to rapidly characterize the spatial variability of soil properties but also for soil sampling optimization. This work reports partial results obtained at an experimental parcel under pasture located at Castro de Ribeira do Lea (Lugo/ Galicia/ Spain). An ECa automated survey was conducted in September 2011 employing an EM-38 DD (Geonics Ltd.) installed in a nonmetallic car, according to parallel lines spaced 10m one from each other and oriented at the east-west direction. The ECa values were recorded every second with a field computer and the locations were geo-referenced using a GPS. The entire survey was carried out in 1hour and 45 minutes and corrections due to differences in temperature were made. A total of 9.581 ECa registers were retained, configuring a sampling intensity of approximately 1 register per 1.5 m2. Employing the software ESAP 2.35 and the computational tool ESAP-RSSD, eighty positions were selected at the field to extract disturbed and undisturbed soil samples at two depths: 0.0-0.2m, 0.2-0.4m. Ten physical attributes (clay, silt, total sand, coarse sand and fine sand contents, soil bulk density, particle density, total porosity, soil water content, percentage of gravels) and 17 chemical attributes (soil organic matter-SOM, pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, Al, H+Al, Sum of bases-S, Cation exchange capacity-CEC, Base saturation-V%, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined. The relationship between the geophysical variables and the soil attributes was performed using statistical and spatial analysis. There were significant correlations (p<0.01) between the geophysical variables and the textural attributes clay, silt, total sand and coarse sand contents. The biggest correlation (0.5623) was between ECa-V (vertical component) and clay content. Also, significant correlations (p<0.05) were found between the ECa-V and soil bulk density, total porosity, percentage of gravels and soil water content. Considering the chemical attributes, significant correlations (p< 0.01) were found between ECa-V and SOM and Cd, and between ECa-H (horizontal component) and SOM and Fe. Other significant correlations (p<0.05) were found between ECa-V and 6 soil chemical attributes: P, Ca, S, Fe, Ni and Pb. The biggest correlation was between ECa-V and SOM (-0.5942). In resume, clay content, SOM, Cd and Fe are the soil attributes better correlated with the observed variation of the ECa at the field. Additional analysis should be performed to compare the spatial patterns of these soil attributes and the ECa as a tool to proper define management zones in the area. Acknowledgements: This work was funded in part by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) in the frame of project CGL2009-13700-C02. Financial support from CAPES/GOV., Brazil, is also acknowledged by Prof. M. de A. Marinho.

Efficacy of 2-(1-hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide-a in photodynamic therapy of human esophageal squamous cancer cells.

PubMed

Wu, Dengpan; Liu, Zhen; Fu, Yanni; Zhang, Yuan; Tang, Nan; Wang, Qin; Tao, Liang

2013-10-01

The present study investigated the effects of 2-(1-hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinylpyro pheophorbide-a (HPPH)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) on in vitro cell survival and in vivo tumor growth derived from human esophageal squamous cancer cells (Eca109). A cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) assay was used to assess the phototoxicity of HPPH-mediated PDT in cultured Eca109 cells. The inhibition of tumor growth was determined by the changes in the relative tumor volume (RTV) and tumor weight. The results revealed that HPPH, in the range of 0.005-1 μg/ml, exhibited no cytotoxicity in the Eca109 cells without light exposure and that the in vitro efficiency of HPPH-mediated PDT was higher compared with that of Photofrin ® -mediated PDT. The in vivo results indicated that graded doses of HPPH-mediated PDT significantly inhibited the xenograft tumor growth derived from the Eca109 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition efficacy of 0.6 and 1.0 mg/kg HPPH-mediated PDT was similar to that of 10 mg/kg Photofrin-mediated PDT. Furthermore, HPPH possessed a lower toxicity than Photofrin at the dose that achieved the same efficacy in mice bearing Eca109 subcutaneous tumors. The histopathological findings indicated that the tumor tissues in the photosensitizer (PS)-treated mice demonstrated varying degrees of necrosis. HPPH and Photofrin exhibited vascular cytotoxicity on the treated tumors. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the phototoxicity of HPPH-mediated PDT is higher than that of Photofrin-mediated PDT of the same dose. HPPH possessed lower toxicity than Photofrin at the dose that achieved the same efficacy. Therefore, HPPH may be a promising agent for treating human esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC).

Efficacy of 2-(1-hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide-a in photodynamic therapy of human esophageal squamous cancer cells

PubMed Central

WU, DENGPAN; LIU, ZHEN; FU, YANNI; ZHANG, YUAN; TANG, NAN; WANG, QIN; TAO, LIANG

2013-01-01

The present study investigated the effects of 2-(1-hexyloxyethyl)-2-devinylpyro pheophorbide-a (HPPH)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) on in vitro cell survival and in vivo tumor growth derived from human esophageal squamous cancer cells (Eca109). A cell counting kit 8 (CCK8) assay was used to assess the phototoxicity of HPPH-mediated PDT in cultured Eca109 cells. The inhibition of tumor growth was determined by the changes in the relative tumor volume (RTV) and tumor weight. The results revealed that HPPH, in the range of 0.005–1 μg/ml, exhibited no cytotoxicity in the Eca109 cells without light exposure and that the in vitro efficiency of HPPH-mediated PDT was higher compared with that of Photofrin®-mediated PDT. The in vivo results indicated that graded doses of HPPH-mediated PDT significantly inhibited the xenograft tumor growth derived from the Eca109 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibition efficacy of 0.6 and 1.0 mg/kg HPPH-mediated PDT was similar to that of 10 mg/kg Photofrin-mediated PDT. Furthermore, HPPH possessed a lower toxicity than Photofrin at the dose that achieved the same efficacy in mice bearing Eca109 subcutaneous tumors. The histopathological findings indicated that the tumor tissues in the photosensitizer (PS)-treated mice demonstrated varying degrees of necrosis. HPPH and Photofrin exhibited vascular cytotoxicity on the treated tumors. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the phototoxicity of HPPH-mediated PDT is higher than that of Photofrin-mediated PDT of the same dose. HPPH possessed lower toxicity than Photofrin at the dose that achieved the same efficacy. Therefore, HPPH may be a promising agent for treating human esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC). PMID:24137473

Downregulation of MicroRNA eca-mir-128 in Seminal Exosomes and Enhanced Expression of CXCL16 in the Stallion Reproductive Tract Are Associated with Long-Term Persistence of Equine Arteritis Virus.

PubMed

Carossino, Mariano; Dini, Pouya; Kalbfleisch, Theodore S; Loynachan, Alan T; Canisso, Igor F; Shuck, Kathleen M; Timoney, Peter J; Cook, R Frank; Balasuriya, Udeni B R

2018-05-01

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) can establish long-term persistent infection in the reproductive tract of stallions and is shed in the semen. Previous studies showed that long-term persistence is associated with a specific allele of the CXCL16 gene ( CXCL16S ) and that persistent infection is maintained despite the presence of a local inflammatory and humoral and mucosal antibody responses. In this study, we demonstrated that equine seminal exosomes (SEs) are enriched in a small subset of microRNAs (miRNAs). Most importantly, we demonstrated that long-term EAV persistence is associated with the downregulation of an SE-associated miRNA (eca-mir-128) and with an enhanced expression of CXCL16 in the reproductive tract, a putative target of eca-mir-128. The findings presented here suggest that SE eca-mir-128 is implicated in the regulation of the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the reproductive tract of persistently infected stallions, a chemokine axis strongly implicated in EAV persistence. This is a novel finding and warrants further investigation to identify its specific mechanism in modulating the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the reproductive tract of the EAV long-term carrier stallion. IMPORTANCE Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has the ability to establish long-term persistent infection in the stallion reproductive tract and to be shed in semen, which jeopardizes its worldwide control. Currently, the molecular mechanisms of viral persistence are being unraveled, and these are essential for the development of effective therapeutics to eliminate persistent infection. Recently, it has been determined that long-term persistence is associated with a specific allele of the CXCL16 gene ( CXCL16S ) and is maintained despite induction of local inflammatory, humoral, and mucosal antibody responses. This study demonstrated that long-term persistence is associated with the downregulation of seminal exosome miRNA eca-mir-128 and enhanced expression of its putative target, CXCL16, in the reproductive tract. For the first time, this study suggests complex interactions between eca-mir-128 and cellular elements at the site of EAV persistence and implicates this miRNA in the regulation of the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the reproductive tract during long-term persistence. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Classifying elementary cellular automata using compressibility, diversity and sensitivity measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ninagawa, Shigeru; Adamatzky, Andrew

2014-10-01

An elementary cellular automaton (ECA) is a one-dimensional, synchronous, binary automaton, where each cell update depends on its own state and states of its two closest neighbors. We attempt to uncover correlations between the following measures of ECA behavior: compressibility, sensitivity and diversity. The compressibility of ECA configurations is calculated using the Lempel-Ziv (LZ) compression algorithm LZ78. The sensitivity of ECA rules to initial conditions and perturbations is evaluated using Derrida coefficients. The generative morphological diversity shows how many different neighborhood states are produced from a single nonquiescent cell. We found no significant correlation between sensitivity and compressibility. There is a substantial correlation between generative diversity and compressibility. Using sensitivity, compressibility and diversity, we uncover and characterize novel groupings of rules.

Biological significance of PinX1 telomerase inhibitor in esophageal carcinoma treatment

PubMed Central

Fan, Xiang-Kui; Yan, Rui-Hua; Geng, Xiang-Qun; Li, Jing-Shan; Chen, Xiang-Ming; Li, Jian-Zhe

2016-01-01

In the present study, to investigate the expression of PinX1 gene and its functional effects in human esophageal carcinoma (Eca)-109 cell line, expression vectors of human PinX1 (pEGFP-C3-PinX1) and its small interfering RNA (PinX1-FAM-siRNA) were constructed and transfected into Eca-109 cells using Lipofectamine 2000. Firstly, the mRNA expression level of PinX1 was examined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Once successful transfection was achieved, the effects on the mRNA level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), telomerase activity, cell proliferation and apoptosis were examined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, stretch PCR, MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Analysis of restriction and sequencing demonstrated that the recombining plasmids were successfully constructed. The results also indicated that transfection with pEGFP-C3-PinX1 and PinX1-FAM-siRNA into Eca-109 cells significantly increased PinX1 mRNA, decreased hTERT mRNA by 29.9% (P<0.05), and significantly reduced telomerase activity (P<0.05), inhibited cell growth, and increased the cell apoptotic index from 19.27±0.76 to 49.73±2%. The transfected PinX1-FAM-SiRNA exhibited PinX1 mRNA expression levels that were significantly decreased by 70% (P<0.05), whereas the remaining characteristics of Eca-109 cells, including cell growth, mRNA level of hTERT, telomerase activity and cell apoptotic index were not altered. Exogenous PinX1 has been demonstrated to be highly expressed in human Eca. PinX1 can inhibit human telomerase activity and the expression of hTERT mRNA, reduce tumor cell growth and induce apoptosis. Notably, these inhibitory functions were inhibited by silencing PinX1 in Eca with PinX1-FAM-siRNA. PinX1 was successfully increased and decreased in the present study, demonstrating that it may be a potential telomerase activity inhibitor. As PinX1 is an endogenous telomerase inhibitor, it may be used as a novel tumor-targeted gene therapy. PMID:27698711

Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Process Loads on Incremental Severe Plastic Deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okan Görtan, Mehmet

2017-05-01

From the processing point of view, friction is a major problem in the severe plastic deformation (SPD) using equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) process. Incremental ECAP can be used in order to optimize frictional effects during SPD. A new incremental ECAP has been proposed recently. This new process called as equal channel angular swaging (ECAS) combines the conventional ECAP and the incremental bulk metal forming method rotary swaging. ECAS tool system consists of two dies with an angled channel that contains two shear zones. During ECAS process, two forming tool halves, which are concentrically arranged around the workpiece, perform high frequency radial movements with short strokes, while samples are pushed through these. The oscillation direction nearly coincides with the shearing direction in the workpiece. The most important advantages in comparison to conventional ECAP are a significant reduction in the forces in material feeding direction plus the potential to be extended to continuous processing. In the current study, the mechanics of the ECAS process is investigated using slip line field approach. An analytical model is developed to predict process loads. The proposed model is validated using experiments and FE simulations.

[Electrogastrography and gastric emptying in non organic dyspepsia].

PubMed

López Gastón, A R; López De Luise, G A; Sarmiento, A

1996-01-01

Electrogastrography allows to determinate the dominant frequency of gastric E.C.A. (electrical control activity). The aim was to investigate the gastric E.C.A. in a population of patients suffering from non-organic dispepsia (N.O.D.). Eighteen controls (9 males, 9 females, mean age 46.4 years old, SEM 3.72, range 24-72) and 52 dyspeptic patients (18 males, 34 females, mean age 54.19 years old, SEM 2.38, range 17-86) were studied. Two skin surface electrodes Ag-2ClAg were placed on epigastric area following a probabilistic antral axe. Reference electrode was placed on the right quadrant skin. In 5 patients, recordings with needle and cutaneous electrode were compared. Analogic waves were filtered, digitalized and processed. Signals were analyzed using F.F.T. (Fast Fourier Transformated) Only the predominant frequency in each block was considered, and percentage of total abnormalities on total recording time lesser than 2 c.p.m. or more than 4 c.p.m. was accepted. Recording were taken in fast time during 30 minutes, and 30 minutes after a meal containing 230 Cal. Running spectral analysis with F.F.T. In 43 non-selected patients the gastric emptying time of a mixed meal marked with 99 Tc in the solid phase was studied. 60.45% showed delayed gastric emptying. Mean of fast E.C.A. was 2.99 c.p.m. in controls, Vs 3.34 c.p.m. in dispeptic patients (p > 0.001). In the post-prandial period, mean of E.C.A. was 3.53 c.p.m. in N.O.D., and these differences were not significatives ("t", NS). 22% of controls showed isolated periods of tachygastria, but never more than 8% of the total recording time. It was seen seven six and forty five percent of arrhythmias were observed (71.15% tachygastria, 4.76% bradygastria, and 19.23% mixed) during post prandial recording in N.O.D. 48% of tachygastrias were between the range 30-60% of the time recording. Ninety six and one percent of patients with abnormal gastric emptying had gastric arrhythmias (0.05 > p > 0.02) Vs 50% in patients with normal gastric emptying. Needle recording increased about 200-300% the signal power. It would be the better choice in cases of hairy abdominal skin. a) More than 76% of patients with N.O.D. had abnormal recording of E.C.A. beyond these observed in controls; b) tachygastria was the more frequent abnormality observed; c) the more severe clinical cases were associated with bradygastria; d) No association between symptoms and abnormal gastric emptying was found; e) E.G.G. abnormalities were seen in 96% of patients with abnormal gastric emptying, Vs 50% in normal gastric emptying; f) Needle electrodes let a better recording of E.G.G. signal; g) No association was found between abnormalities in gastric emptying and/or E.G.G., and clinical subtypes of Dyspepsia.

Does the growth response of woody plants to elevated CO2 increase with temperature? A model-oriented meta-analysis.

PubMed

Baig, Sofia; Medlyn, Belinda E; Mercado, Lina M; Zaehle, Sönke

2015-12-01

The temperature dependence of the reaction kinetics of the Rubisco enzyme implies that, at the level of a chloroplast, the response of photosynthesis to rising atmospheric CO2 concentration (Ca ) will increase with increasing air temperature. Vegetation models incorporating this interaction predict that the response of net primary productivity (NPP) to elevated CO2 (eCa ) will increase with rising temperature and will be substantially larger in warm tropical forests than in cold boreal forests. We tested these model predictions against evidence from eCa experiments by carrying out two meta-analyses. Firstly, we tested for an interaction effect on growth responses in factorial eCa  × temperature experiments. This analysis showed a positive, but nonsignificant interaction effect (95% CI for above-ground biomass response = -0.8, 18.0%) between eCa and temperature. Secondly, we tested field-based eCa experiments on woody plants across the globe for a relationship between the eCa effect on plant biomass and mean annual temperature (MAT). This second analysis showed a positive but nonsignificant correlation between the eCa response and MAT. The magnitude of the interactions between CO2 and temperature found in both meta-analyses were consistent with model predictions, even though both analyses gave nonsignificant results. Thus, we conclude that it is not possible to distinguish between the competing hypotheses of no interaction vs. an interaction based on Rubisco kinetics from the available experimental database. Experiments in a wider range of temperature zones are required. Until such experimental data are available, model predictions should aim to incorporate uncertainty about this interaction. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Application of EM38: Determination of Soil Parameters, Selection of Soil Sampling Points and Use in Agriculture and Archaeology

PubMed Central

Heil, Kurt

2017-01-01

Fast and accurate assessment of within-field variation is essential for detecting field-wide heterogeneity and contributing to improvements in the management of agricultural lands. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of field scale characterization by electromagnetic induction, firstly with a focus on the applications of EM38 to salinity, soil texture, water content and soil water turnover, soil types and boundaries, nutrients and N-turnover and soil sampling designs. Furthermore, results concerning special applications in agriculture, horticulture and archaeology are included. In addition to these investigations, this survey also presents a wide range of practical methods for use. Secondly, the effectiveness of conductivity readings for a specific target in a specific locality is determined by the intensity at which soil factors influence these values in relationship to the desired information. The interpretation and utility of apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) readings are highly location- and soil-specific, so soil properties influencing the measurement of ECa must be clearly understood. From the various calibration results, it appears that regression constants for the relationships between ECa, electrical conductivity of aqueous soil extracts (ECe), texture, yield, etc., are not necessarily transferable from one region to another. The modelling of ECa, soil properties, climate and yield are important for identifying the location to which specific utilizations of ECa technology (e.g., ECa−texture relationships) can be appropriately applied. In general, the determination of absolute levels of ECa is frequently not possible, but it appears to be quite a robust method to detect relative differences, both spatially and temporally. Often, the use of ECa is restricted to its application as a covariate or the use of the readings in a relative sense rather than as absolute terms. PMID:29113048

Design Concepts for Hardened Communications Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-01

air . Based on this background, a family of structures was designed that can protect whip and directional antennae from the blast and shock effects from...Ground Surface Air Overpressure with Range, 1-MT Weapon, HOB - 0 and 500 ft ........................................... 25 5 Positive Phase Duration...design included the crater size, the e*eca field, airblast, and ground shock for ground surface air overpressure levels ranging from :5,000 to 500 psi. As

Error Consistency Analysis Scheme for Infrared Ultraspectral Sounding Retrieval Error Budget Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Daniel K.; Larar, Allen M.; Liu, Xu; Smith, William L.; Strow, Larry, L.

2013-01-01

Great effort has been devoted towards validating geophysical parameters retrieved from ultraspectral infrared radiances obtained from satellite remote sensors. An error consistency analysis scheme (ECAS), utilizing fast radiative transfer model (RTM) forward and inverse calculations, has been developed to estimate the error budget in terms of mean difference and standard deviation of error in both spectral radiance and retrieval domains. The retrieval error is assessed through ECAS without relying on other independent measurements such as radiosonde data. ECAS establishes a link between the accuracies of radiances and retrieved geophysical parameters. ECAS can be applied to measurements from any ultraspectral instrument and any retrieval scheme with its associated RTM. In this manuscript, ECAS is described and demonstrated with measurements from the MetOp-A satellite Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). This scheme can be used together with other validation methodologies to give a more definitive characterization of the error and/or uncertainty of geophysical parameters retrieved from ultraspectral radiances observed from current and future satellite remote sensors such as IASI, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), and the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS).

Revealing spatial distribution of soil organic carbon contents and stocks of a disturbed bog relict by in-situ NIR and apparent EC mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bechtold, Michel; Tiemeyer, Bärbel; Don, Axel; Altdorff, Daniel; van der Kruk, Jan; Huisman, Johan A.

2013-04-01

Previous studies showed that in-situ visible near-infrared (vis-NIR) spectroscopy can overcome the limitations of conventional soil sampling. Costs can be reduced and spatial resolution enhanced when mapping field-scale variability of soil organic carbon (SOC). Detailed maps can help to improve SOC management and lead to better estimates of field-scale total carbon stocks. Knowledge of SOC field patterns may also help to reveal processes and factors controlling SOC variability. In this study, we apply in situ vis-NIR and apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) mapping to a disturbed bog relict. The major question of this application study was how field-scale in-situ vis-NIR mapping performs for a very heterogeneous area and under difficult grassland conditions and under highly-variable water content conditions. Past intensive peat cutting and deep ploughing in some areas, in combination with a high background heterogeneity of the underlying mineral sediments, have led to a high variability of SOC content (5.6 to 41.3 %), peat layer thickness (25 to 60 cm) and peat degradation states (from nearly fresh to amorphous). Using a field system developed by Veris Technologies (Salina KS, USA), we continuously collected vis-NIR spectra at 10 cm depth (measurement range: 350 nm to 2200 nm) over an area of around 12 ha with a line spacing of about 12 m. The system includes a set of discs for measuring ECa of the first 30 and 90 cm of the soil. The same area was also mapped with a non-invasive electro-magnetic induction (EMI) setup that provided ECa data of the first 25, 50 and 100 cm. For calibration and validation of the spatial data, we took 30 representative soil samples and 15 soil cores of about 90 cm depth, for which peat thickness, water content, pore water EC, bulk density (BD), as well as C and N content were determined for various depths. Preliminary results of the calibration of the NIR spectra to the near-surface SOC contents indicate good data quality despite the challenging site conditions. Bore hole data indicates that the peat layer is characterized by lower BD, higher pore water EC, higher SOC content, and higher water contents compared to the underlying mineral sediments. This ECa contrast at the peat-sand interface is promising for using the various ECa investigation depths as predictors for peat thickness. Preliminary EMI results also show a correlation between ECa and SOC content, most strongly for the 25 cm EMI signal. We evaluate how vis-NIR and ECa data can be used in a joined approach to estimate SOC content as well as SOC stock distribution.

Edge charge asymmetry in top pair production at the LHC

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

Xiao Bo; Wang Youkai; Zhou Zhongqiu

2011-03-01

In this brief report, we propose a new definition of charge asymmetry in top pair production at the LHC, namely, the edge charge asymmetry (ECA). ECA utilizes the information of drifting direction only for single top (or antitop) with hadronic decay. Therefore, ECA can be free from the uncertainty arising from the missing neutrino in the tt event reconstruction. Moreover, rapidity Y of top (or antitop) is required to be greater than a critical value Y{sub C} in order to suppress the symmetric tt events mainly due to the gluon-gluon fusion process. In this paper, ECA is calculated up tomore » next-to-leading order QCD in the standard model and the choice of the optimal Y{sub C} is investigated.« less

Multi-frequency Electromagnetic Induction Survey for Archaeological Prospection: Approach and Results in Han Hangu Pass and Xishan Yang in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Panpan; Chen, Fulong; Jiang, Aihui; Zhou, Wei; Wang, Hongchao; Leucci, Giovanni; de Giorgi, Lara; Sileo, Maria; Luo, Rupeng; Lasaponara, Rosa; Masini, Nicola

2018-04-01

This study presents the potential of multi-frequency electromagnetic induction (EMI) in archaeology. EMI is currently less employed for archaeological prospection with respect to other geophysical techniques. It is capable of identifying shallow subsurface relics by simultaneously measuring the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and apparent magnetic susceptibility (MSa). Moreover, frequency sounding is able to quantify the depths and vertical shapes of buried structures. In this study, EMI surveys with five frequencies were performed at two heritage sites with different geological conditions: Han Hangu Pass characterized by cinnamon soil and Xishan Yang by sandy loams. In the first site, high ECa values were observed with variations in depth correlated to archaeological remains. Moreover, electromagnetic anomalies related to an ancient road and five kiln caves were identified. In the second site, an ancient tomb, indicating extremely low ECa and high MSa, was discovered. Its electromagnetic properties are attributed to the cavity and ferroferric oxides.

Development and Evaluation of e-CA, an Electronic Mobile-Based Food Record

PubMed Central

Bucher Della Torre, Sophie; Carrard, Isabelle; Farina, Eddy; Danuser, Brigitta; Kruseman, Maaike

2017-01-01

Measures that capture diet as validly and reliably as possible are cornerstones of nutritional research, and mobile-based devices offer new opportunities to improve and simplify data collection. The balance between precision and acceptability of these data collection tools remains debated, and rigorous validations are warranted. Our objective was to develop and evaluate an electronic mobile-based food record for a research setting. We developed e-CA, which includes almost 900 foods and beverages classified in 14 categories and 60 subcategories. e-CA was evaluated using three different methods: (1) usability and acceptability through a logbook and qualitative interviews; (2) dietary intake accuracy through comparison with 2 unannounced 24-h phone recalls on overlapping days; and (3) reliability and process comparison with a paper-based food record in a laboratory setting with a randomized design. e-CA proved to be intuitive and practical and was perceived as modern, trendy, and fun. Comparisons of e-CA with 24-h telephone recalls or paper-based food records in a laboratory setting with two small convenient samples showed good agreement but highlighted the well-known difficulty of estimating portion sizes and a necessary learning time to use the app. e-CA is a functional tool that has the potential to facilitate food intake measurement for research by increasing the pleasure of using the food record tool and reducing the perceived burden for the participants. It also decreases the workload, costs and the risk of transcription errors for researchers. PMID:28106767

Development and Evaluation of e-CA, an Electronic Mobile-Based Food Record.

PubMed

Bucher Della Torre, Sophie; Carrard, Isabelle; Farina, Eddy; Danuser, Brigitta; Kruseman, Maaike

2017-01-18

Measures that capture diet as validly and reliably as possible are cornerstones of nutritional research, and mobile-based devices offer new opportunities to improve and simplify data collection. The balance between precision and acceptability of these data collection tools remains debated, and rigorous validations are warranted. Our objective was to develop and evaluate an electronic mobile-based food record for a research setting. We developed e-CA, which includes almost 900 foods and beverages classified in 14 categories and 60 subcategories. e-CA was evaluated using three different methods: (1) usability and acceptability through a logbook and qualitative interviews; (2) dietary intake accuracy through comparison with 2 unannounced 24-h phone recalls on overlapping days; and (3) reliability and process comparison with a paper-based food record in a laboratory setting with a randomized design. e-CA proved to be intuitive and practical and was perceived as modern, trendy, and fun. Comparisons of e-CA with 24-h telephone recalls or paper-based food records in a laboratory setting with two small convenient samples showed good agreement but highlighted the well-known difficulty of estimating portion sizes and a necessary learning time to use the app. e-CA is a functional tool that has the potential to facilitate food intake measurement for research by increasing the pleasure of using the food record tool and reducing the perceived burden for the participants. It also decreases the workload, costs and the risk of transcription errors for researchers.

Evaluating Corrosion in SAVY Containers using Non-Destructive Techniques

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

Davenport, Matthew Nicholas; Vaidya, Rajendra U.; Abeyta, Adrian Anthony

Powerpoint presentation on Ultrasonic and Eddy Current NDT; UT Theory; Eddy current (ECA): How it works; Controlled Corrosion at NM Tech; Results – HCl Corrosion; Waveform Data for 10M HCl; Accuracy Statistics; Results – FeCl 3 Pitting; Waveforms for Anhydrous FeCl 3; Analyzing Corroded Stainless Steel 316L Plates; 316L Plate to Imitate Pitting; ECA Pit Depth Calibration Curve; C Scan Imaging; UT Pit Detection; SST Containers: Ultrasonic (UT) vs. CMM; UT Data Analysis; UT Conclusions and Observations; ECA Conclusions; Automated System Vision.

Variable rate application of nematicides on cotton fields: a promising site-specific management strategy.

PubMed

Ortiz, Brenda V; Perry, Calvin; Sullivan, Dana; Lu, Ping; Kemerait, Robert; Davis, Richard F; Smith, Amanda; Vellidis, George; Nichols, Robert

2012-03-01

Field tests were conducted to determine if differences in response to nematicide application (i.e., root-knot nematode (RKN) populations, cotton yield, and profitability) occurred among RKN management zones (MZ). The MZ were delineated using fuzzy clustering of five terrain (TR) and edaphic (ED) field features related to soil texture: apparent soil electrical conductivity shallow (ECa-shallow) and deep (ECa-deep), elevation (EL), slope (SL), and changes in bare soil reflectance. Zones with lowest mean values of ECa- shallow, ECa- deep, NDVI, and SL were designated as at greater risk for high RKN levels. Nematicide-treated plots (4 rows wide and 30 m long) were established in a randomized complete block design within each zone, but the number of replications in each zone varied from four to six depending on the size of the zone.The nematicides aldicarb (Temik 15 G) and 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D,Telone II) were applied at two rates (0.51 and 1.0 kg a.i./ha for aldicarb, and 33.1 and 66.2 kg a.i./ha for 1,3-D) to RKN MZ in commercial fields between 2007 and 2009. A consolidated analysis over the entire season showed that regardless of the zone, there were not differences between aldicarb rates and 1,3-D rates. The result across zones showed that 1,3-D provided better RKN control than did aldicarb in zones with low ECa values (high RKN risk zones exhibiting more coarse-textured sandy soils). In contrast, in low risk zones with relatively higher ECa values (heavier textured soil), the effects of 1,3-D and aldicarb were equal and application of any of the treatments provided sufficient control. In low RKN risk zones, a farmer would often have lost money if a high rate of 1,3-D was applied. This study showed that the effect of nematicide type and rate on RKN control and cotton yield varied across management zones (MZ) with the most expensive treatment likely to provide economic benefit only in zones with coarser soil texture. This study demonstrates the value of site specific application of nematicides based on management zones, although this approach might not be economically beneficial in fields with little variability in soil texture.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 8: Open-cycle MHD. [energy conversion efficiency and design analysis of electric power plants employing magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoover, D. Q.

1976-01-01

Electric power plant costs and efficiencies are presented for three basic open-cycle MHD systems: (1) direct coal fired system, (2) a system with a separately fired air heater, and (3) a system burning low-Btu gas from an integrated gasifier. Power plant designs were developed corresponding to the basic cases with variation of major parameters for which major system components were sized and costed. Flow diagrams describing each design are presented. A discussion of the limitations of each design is made within the framework of the assumptions made.

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance angiography in the evaluation of aberrant origin of the external carotid artery branches.

PubMed

Cappabianca, Salvatore; Scuotto, Assunta; Iaselli, Francesco; Pignatelli di Spinazzola, Nicoletta; Urraro, Fabrizio; Sarti, Giuseppe; Montemarano, Marcella; Grassi, Roberto; Rotondo, Antonio

2012-07-01

Aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of aberrant origin of the branches of the external carotid artery (ECA) in 97 patients by computed tomography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and to compare the accuracy of these two techniques in the visualization of the ECA system. All patients underwent CTA and MRA examination of the head and neck. Multiplanar and volumetric reformations were obtained in all cases. For each set of images, the presence of aberrant origin of the branches of the external carotid artery was investigated. MRA and CTA images of each patient were compared to define their information content. Anatomical anomalies were found in 88 heminecks, with a prevalence of 53.3%. In the 61 patients in whom the CTA was performed before the MRA, the latter method showed only 92% of abnormalities detected at the first examination; in the 36 patients in whom MRA was performed first, CTA identified all of the anomalies highlighted by the former, adding 12 new. Knowledge of the anomalies of origin of the ECA branches is essential for the head and neck surgeon; the high prevalence of anomalies found in our series as in the previous studies indicates the opportunity to perform a CTA or a MRA of the head and neck before any surgical or interventional procedure. CTA is the method of choice in the evaluation of anomalies of origin of the branches of the ECA and in the definition of their course.

Near Surface Investigation of Agricultural Soils using a Multi-Frequency Electromagnetic Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadatcharam, K.; Unc, A.; Krishnapillai, M.; Cheema, M.; Galagedara, L.

2017-12-01

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors have been used as precision agricultural tools over decades. They are being used to measure spatiotemporal variability of soil properties and soil stratification in the sense of apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). We mapped the ECa variability by horizontal coplanar (HCP) and by vertical coplanar (VCP) orientation of a multi-frequency EMI sensor and identified its interrelation with physical properties of soil. A broadband, multi-frequency handheld EMI sensor (GEM-2) was used on a loamy sand soil cultivated with silage-corn in western Newfoundland, Canada. Log and line spaced, three frequency ranges (weak, low, and high), based on the factory calibration were tested using HCP and VCP orientation to produce spatiotemporal data of ECa. In parallel, we acquired data on soil moisture content, texture and bulk density. We then assessed the statistical significance of the relationship between ECa and soil physical properties. The test site had three areas of distinct soil properties corresponding to the elevation, in particular. The same spatial variability was also identified by ECa mapping at different frequencies and the two modes of coil orientations. Data analysis suggested that the high range frequency (38 kHz (log-spaced) and 49 kHz (line-spaced)) for both HCP and VCP orientations produced accurate ECa maps, better than the weak and low range frequencies tested. Furthermore, results revealed that the combined effects of soil texture, moisture content and bulk density affect ECameasurements as obtained by both frequencies and two coil orientations. Keywords: Apparent electrical conductivity, Electromagnetic induction, Horizontal coplanar, Soil properties, Vertical coplanar

Engaging women with an embodied conversational agent to deliver mindfulness and lifestyle recommendations: A feasibility randomized control trial.

PubMed

Gardiner, Paula M; McCue, Kelly D; Negash, Lily M; Cheng, Teresa; White, Laura F; Yinusa-Nyahkoon, Leanne; Jack, Brian W; Bickmore, Timothy W

2017-09-01

This randomized controlled trial evaluates the feasibility of using an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) to teach lifestyle modifications to urban women. Women were randomized to either 1) an ECA (content included: mindfulness, stress management, physical activity, and healthy eating) or 2) patient education sheets mirroring same content plus a meditation CD/MP3 once a day for one month. General outcome measures included: number of stress management techniques used, physical activity levels, and eating patterns. Sixty-one women ages 18 to 50 were enrolled. On average, 51% identified as white, 26% as black, 23% as other races; and 20% as Hispanic. The major stress management techniques reported at baseline were: exercise (69%), listening to music (70%), and social support (66%). After one month, women randomized to the ECA significantly decreased alcohol consumption to reduce stress (p=0.03) and increased daily fruit consumption by an average of 2 servings compared to the control (p=0.04). It is feasible to use an ECA to promote health behaviors on stress management and healthy eating among diverse urban women. Compared to patient information sheets, ECAs provide promise as a way to teach healthy lifestyle behaviors to diverse urban women. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Grain refinement and texture development of cast bismuth-antimony alloy via severe plastic deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Im, Jae-Taek

The purpose of this work was to study learn about grain refinement mechanisms and texture development in cast n-type Bi90Sb10 alloy caused by severe plastic deformation. The practical objective is to produce a fine grained and textured microstructure in Bi90Sb10 alloy with enhanced thermoelectric performance and mechanical strength. In the study, twelve millimeter diameter cast bars of Bi90Sb 10 alloy were encapsulated in square cross section aluminum 6061 alloy containers. The composite bars were equal channel angular (ECAE) extruded through a 90 degree angle die at high homologous temperature. Various extrusion conditions were studied including punch speed (0.1, 0.3 and 0.6 in/min), extrusion temperature (220, 235 and 250°C), number of extrusion passes (1, 2 and 4), route (A, BC and C), and exit channel area reduction ratio (half and quarter area of inlet channel). The affect of an intermediate long term heat treatment (for 100 hours at 250°C under 10-3 torr vacuum) was explored. Processed materials were characterized by optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, wavelength dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Texture was analyzed using the {006} reflection plane to identify the orientation of the basal poles in processed materials. The cast grains were irregularly shaped, had a grain size of hundreds-of-microns to millimeters, and showed inhomogeneous chemical composition. Severe plastic deformation refines the cast grains through dynamic recrystallization and causes the development of a bimodal microstructure consisting of fine grains (5-30 micron) and coarse grains (50-300 micron). ECAE processing of homogenizied Bi-Sb alloy causes grain refinement and produces a more uniform microstructure. Texture results show that ECAE route C processing gives a similar or slightly stronger texture than ECAE route A processing. In both cases, the basal-plane poles become aligned with the shear direction. Reduction area exit channel extrusion is more effective for both grain refinement and texture enhancement than simple ECAE processing.

76 FR 68243 - Youth Leadership Program: TechGirls

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-03

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7671] Youth Leadership Program: TechGirls Overview Information Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership Program... Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition for the new Youth Leadership Program ``TechGirls...

Effect of a ban on extracurricular sports activities by secondary school teachers on physical activity levels of adolescents: a multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Pabayo, Roman; O'Loughlin, Jennifer; Gauvin, Lise; Paradis, Gilles; Gray-Donald, Katherine

2006-10-01

To study the effect of a teachers' ban on supervising sports-related extracurricular physical activities (ECAs), levels of physical activity among 979 grade 7 students (mean age=12.7 [0.5] years at baseline) were compared during and after the ban in seven schools that fully implemented the ban, and three schools that did not implement the ban fully. On average, schools offered 18.0 (SD=5.1) ECAs during a no-ban school year. Students attending full implementation schools were significantly more likely than students in nonimplementation schools to be active after the ban ended (odds ratio for being active=1.89 [95% confidence interval: 1.39, 2.58]). They also increased the number of physical activities in which they participated (coefficient=4.04; SE=1.01). Ending a teachers' ban on sports-related ECAs was associated with increased involvement in physical activity among secondary school students.

Mainstreaming gender equality in the sustainable development process: 1992-1996.

PubMed

1997-01-01

One of the major contributions of Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in the mainstreaming of gender equality into a sustainable development process was organizing the 5th African Regional Conference on Women in November 1994, in which a comprehensive policy document was formulated and adopted by all African governments. The policy contained in a document entitled the African Platform for Action (APA), which promotes the advancement of women through sustainable development. Its recommendations are being implemented together with the Global Platform for Action (GPA). To ensure the implementation of APA and GPA, ECA has set up various monitoring and implementation-coordinating groups such as the African Regional Coordinating Committee and the African Women's Communications and Development Network. In addition, ECA also facilitated the creation of the African Women Committee for Peace in November 1996, which will ensure the participation of women in the peace process at the highest level. All work programs of the ECA are expected to mainstream gender in their plans and activities.

Assessment of gridded observations used for climate model validation in the Mediterranean region: the HyMeX and MED-CORDEX framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flaounas, Emmanouil; Drobinski, Philippe; Borga, Marco; Calvet, Jean-Christophe; Delrieu, Guy; Morin, Efrat; Tartari, Gianni; Toffolon, Roberta

2012-06-01

This letter assesses the quality of temperature and rainfall daily retrievals of the European Climate Assessment and Dataset (ECA&D) with respect to measurements collected locally in various parts of the Euro-Mediterranean region in the framework of the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX), endorsed by the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). The ECA&D, among other gridded datasets, is very often used as a reference for model calibration and evaluation. This is for instance the case in the context of the WCRP Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) and its Mediterranean declination MED-CORDEX. This letter quantifies ECA&D dataset uncertainties associated with temperature and precipitation intra-seasonal variability, seasonal distribution and extremes. Our motivation is to help the interpretation of the results when validating or calibrating downscaling models by the ECA&D dataset in the context of regional climate research in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

High-resolution elemental records of Glycymeris glycymeris (Bivalvia) shells from the Iberian upwelling system: Ontogeny and environmental control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, Pedro; Richardson, Christopher; Chenery, Simon; Butler, Paul; Reynolds, David; Gaspar, Miguel; Scourse, James

2015-04-01

The great potential of bivalve shells as a high-resolution geochemical proxy archive of environmental conditions at the time of growth has been known for several decades. The elemental composition of bivalve shells has been studied with the purpose of reconstructing environmental conditions: e.g. seawater temperature (Sr and Mg), primary productivity (Li, Mn, Mo and Ba), redox conditions (Mn and Mo), terrigenous inputs (Li) and pollution (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb). However, the interpretation of such records remains extremely challenging and complex, with processes affecting element incorporation in the shell (e.g. crystal fabrics, organic matrix, shell formation mechanisms and physiological processes) and the influence of more than one environmental parameter affecting elemental composition of bivalve shells. Nevertheless, bivalve shells remain an underused source of information on environmental conditions, with the potential to record high-resolution (sub-weekly to annually), multi-centennial time series of geochemical proxy data. The relatively long-lived bivalve (>100 years) Glycymeris glycymeris occurs in coastal shelf seas of Europe and North West Africa and is a valid annually resolved sclerochronological archive for palaeonvironmental reconstructions. The temporal framework provided by absolute annually dated shell material makes Glycymeris glycymeris a valuable, albeit unexplored, resource for investigating sub-annually resolved geochemical proxies. We present a first evaluation on the potential of Ba, P and U, the latter two elements rarely studied in bivalves, in Glycymeris glycymeris shells to record variations in the environmental conditions, respectively primary productivity, dissolved inorganic phosphorus and carbonate ion concentration/pH. High-resolution (31 to 77 samples per year) profiles of elemental/Ca ratios (E/Ca) over four years of growth (2001 to 2004) were obtained by LA-ICP-MS on two shells (13 and 16 years old) live-collected in 2010 at 30 m water depth on the Iberia upwelling system. In both shells, clear E/Ca annual cycles with significant higher-frequency variability (weekly to sub-monthly) were observed over the four years of growth analysed. However, E/Ca ratios and the amplitude of the annual E/Ca cycles were lower in the older shell and showed decreasing trends with age (ontogenetic effects). E/Ca ratios were age-detrended using statistical techniques derived from dendrochronology, resulting in similar and coherent profiles in both shells. It seems unlikely that enough variability in E/Ca ratios will be recorded in the shell after 15 to 20 years of age to allow the retrieval of an environmental signal by age-detrending E/Ca ratios. Detrended P/Ca, Ba/Ca and U/Ca in Glycymeris glycymeris shells showed coherent variations with coeval modelled and instrumental oceanographic series from the Iberia upwelling system that suggest a robust potential as an archive of environmental conditions in the first 15 to 20 years of growth. Nevertheless a robust calibration is required to distinguish between the influences of multiple environmental parameters. This study was financed and conducted in the frame of the Portuguese FCT GLYCY Project (contract PTDC/AAC-CLI/118003/2010).

Standardization of soil apparent electrical conductivity using multi-temporal surveys across multiple production fields

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) is an efficient technique for understanding within-field variability of physical and chemical soil characteristics. Commercial devices are readily available for collecting ECa on whole fields and used broadly for crop management in precision agriculture; h...

A simplified regional-scale electromagnetic induction - Salinity calibration model using ANOCOVA modeling techniques

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Directed soil sampling based on geospatial measurements of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) is a potential means of characterizing the spatial variability of any soil property that influences ECa including soil salinity, water content, texture, bulk density, organic matter, and cation exc...

Multi-configuration electromagnetic induction measurements at long term agricultural test sites in Germany with different fertilizer and irrigation managements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufmann, Manuela Sarah; von Hebel, Christian; Brogi, Cosimo; Baumecker, Michael; Döring, Thomas; Amelung, Wulf; Vereecken, Harry; van der Kruk, Jan

2017-04-01

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) data are often being used to investigate large scale soil properties including clay content, soil water content, and salinity changes for a wide range of applications. For agricultural sites, different management practices such as organic/mineral fertilization, tillage, and/or irrigation are important when interpreting the measured apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). Here, we present EMI data recorded at two long term field experiment (LTFE) agricultural test sites in Thyrow near Berlin (Germany), where different long term fertilizer and irrigation management practices were applied. We used two fixed-boom multi-coil EMI instruments that simultaneously measure over nine different depths of investigation (DOI), recording information ranging between the very shallow (0-0.25 m) ploughing zone including the organic matter and the surface soil (A-Horizon) down to the relatively deep (0-2.7 m) subsoil (B-Horizon) or even substratum (C-Horizon). At both test sites, the prevailing sandy to silty sand in the A- and B-Horizon is underlain by a glacial till C-Horizon resulting in generally low ECa values between 0.5 and 5 mS/m. At one test site, a "static nutrient deficiency experiment" is performed since 1937, where organic fertilizer (farm yard manure) and mineral fertilizers (nitrogen-phosphate-potassium (NPK) and liming) are applied at specific grids. Comparing the fertilizer application grid to the measured EMI data, the lowest ECa values coincide to unfertilized grids whereas the ECa values increase with liming, farm yard manure, and NPK. The visually observed correlation between ECa and the liming treatment was possibly due to the increased pH of the soil, because the fertilizer application increases ion contents that increase the soil electrical conductivity. At the second test site, a "Static Irrigation and Fertilizer Experiment" is conducted, where next to the fertilizer treatment (farm yard manure and nitrogen) part of the field is irrigated with a yearly average of 78 mm. Preliminary results show that for the irrigated area, the ECa values increased up to 80% compared to the non-irrigated zones for the deepest sensing coils, whereas farm yard manure increased ECa up to 10% for coils with intermediate DOI. These results obtained at the two LTFE sites strongly indicate that irrigation and fertilizer treatments influence the ion contents of soils from A- to B-Horizons as reflected by the higher apparent electrical conductivities measured with EMI and should be considered when interpreting ECa measurements to obtain soil properties of interest.

Genome-wide analysis of wheat calcium ATPases and potential role of selected ACAs and ECAs in calcium stress.

PubMed

Aslam, Roohi; Williams, Lorraine E; Bhatti, Muhammad Faraz; Virk, Nasar

2017-10-27

P 2 - type calcium ATPases (ACAs-auto inhibited calcium ATPases and ECAs-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases) belong to the P- type ATPase family of active membrane transporters and are significantly involved in maintaining accurate levels of Ca 2+ , Mn 2+ and Zn 2+ in the cytosol as well as playing a very important role in stress signaling, stomatal opening and closing and pollen tube growth. Here we report the identification and possible role of some of these ATPases from wheat. In this study, ACA and ECA sequences of six species (belonging to Poaceae) were retrieved from different databases and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. A high degree of evolutionary relatedness was observed among P 2 sequences characterized in this study. Members of the respective groups from different plant species were observed to fall under the same clade. This pattern highlights the common ancestry of P 2- type calcium ATPases. Furthermore, qRT-PCR was used to analyse the expression of selected ACAs and ECAs from Triticum aestivum (wheat) under calcium toxicity and calcium deficiency. The data indicated that expression of ECAs is enhanced under calcium stress, suggesting possible roles of these ATPases in calcium homeostasis in wheat. Similarly, the expression of ACAs was significantly different in plants grown under calcium stress as compared to plants grown under control conditions. This gives clues to the role of ACAs in signal transduction during calcium stress in wheat. Here we concluded that wheat genome consists of nine P 2B and three P 2A -type calcium ATPases. Moreover, gene loss events in wheat ancestors lead to the loss of a particular homoeolog of a gene in wheat. To elaborate the role of these wheat ATPases, qRT-PCR was performed. The results indicated that when plants are exposed to calcium stress, both P 2A and P 2B gene expression get enhanced. This further gives clues about the possible role of these ATPases in wheat in calcium management. These findings can be useful in future for genetic manipulations as well as in wheat genome annotation process.

40 CFR 80.502 - What definitions apply for purposes of this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... this subpart? 80.502 Section 80.502 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY...; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel General Information § 80.502 What... loading terminal means any facility that dyes NRLM diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel, pays taxes on motor...

76 FR 22429 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: “American Film...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-21

... for Grant Proposals: ``American Film Showcase--Contemporary Voices in Documentary and Fiction Film... agreement to administer the ``American Film Showcase--Contemporary Voices in Documentary and Fiction Film.'' Through this program, ECA seeks to bring award-winning independent American documentaries and narrative...

76 FR 14737 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: One Beat

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-17

... selected and provide contact information at posts to award recipient; Advise selected countries for... participants to ECA for review and approval; Inform posts of final selections. Program Development and... programs, and then advise posts on the application, recruitment and participant selection process. Outlines...

Maternal obesogenic diet induces endometrial hyperplasia, an early hallmark of endometrial cancer, in a diethylstilbestrol mouse model.

PubMed

Owuor, Theresa O; Reid, Michaela; Reschke, Lauren; Hagemann, Ian; Greco, Suellen; Modi, Zeel; Moley, Kelle H

2018-01-01

Thirty-eight percent of US adult women are obese, meaning that more children are now born of overweight and obese mothers, leading to an increase in predisposition to several adult onset diseases. To explore this phenomenon, we developed a maternal obesity animal model by feeding mice a diet composed of high fat/ high sugar (HF/HS) and assessed both maternal diet and offspring diet on the development of endometrial cancer (ECa). We show that maternal diet by itself did not lead to ECa initiation in wildtype offspring of the C57Bl/6J mouse strain. While offspring fed a HF/HS post-weaning diet resulted in poor metabolic health and decreased uterine weight (regardless of maternal diet), it did not lead to ECa. We also investigated the effects of the maternal obesogenic diet on ECa development in a Diethylstilbestrol (DES) carcinogenesis mouse model. All mice injected with DES had reproductive tract lesions including decreased number of glands, condensed and hyalinized endometrial stroma, and fibrosis and increased collagen deposition that in some mice extended into the myometrium resulting in extensive disruption and loss of the inner and outer muscular layers. Fifty percent of DES mice that were exposed to maternal HF/HS diet developed several features indicative of the initial stages of carcinogenesis including focal glandular and atypical endometrial hyperplasia versus 0% of their Chow counterparts. There was an increase in phospho-Akt expression in DES mice exposed to maternal HF/HS diet, a regulator of persistent proliferation in the endometrium, and no difference in total Akt, phospho-PTEN and total PTEN expression. In summary, maternal HF/HS diet exposure induces endometrial hyperplasia and other precancerous phenotypes in mice treated with DES. This study suggests that maternal obesity alone is not sufficient for the development of ECa, but has an additive effect in the presence of a secondary insult such as DES.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 7: Metal vapor Rankine topping-steam bottoming cycles. [energy conversion efficiency in electric power plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deegan, P. B.

1976-01-01

Adding a metal vapor Rankine topper to a steam cycle was studied as a way to increase the mean temperature at which heat is added to the cycle to raise the efficiency of an electric power plant. Potassium and cesium topping fluids were considered. Pressurized fluidized bed or pressurized (with an integrated low-Btu gasifier) boilers were assumed. Included in the cycles was a pressurizing gas turbine with its associated recuperator, and a gas economizer and feedwater heater. One of the ternary systems studied shows plant efficiency of 42.3% with a plant capitalization of $66.7/kW and a cost of electricity of 8.19 mills/MJ (29.5 mills/kWh).

Energy Conservation Alternatives Study (ECAS): Conceptual Design and Implementation Assessment of a Utility Steam Plant with Conventional Furnace and Wet Lime Stack Gas Scrubbers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Dale H.

1976-01-01

A study was performed to estimate the technical/economic characteristics of a steam power plant (3500 pounds per square inch gauge, 1000 degrees Fahrenheit / 1000 degrees Fahrenheit) with a coal-burning radiant furnace and a wet lime stack gas scrubber to control sulfur emissions. Particulate emissions were controlled by an electrostatic precipitator operating at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The stack gas from the scrubber was reheated from 125 degrees Fahrenheit to 250 degrees Fahrenheit as a base case, and from 125 degrees Fahrenheit to 175 degrees Fahrenheit as an alternate case. The study was performed on a basis consistent with the General Electric ECAS Phase II evaluation of advanced energy conversion systems for electric utility baseload applications using coal or coal-derived fuels. A conceptual design of the power plant was developed, including the on-site calcination of limestone to lime and the provision of sludge ponds to store the products of flue gas scrubbing. From this design, estimates were derived for power plant efficiency, capital cost, environmental intrusion characteristics, natural resource requirements, and cost of electricity at an assumed capacity factor of 65 percent. An implementation assessment was performed where factors affecting applicability of the conceptual design power plant in electric utility generation systems were appraised. At 250 degrees Fahrenheit and 175 degrees Fahrenheit stack gas temperatures respectively, the plants showed a cost of electricity of 39.8 and 37.0 mills per kilowatt-hours and overall plant efficiencies of 32 percent and 34 percent.

Preparedness to Teach: Experiences of the University of Ibadan Early Career Academics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Udegbe, I. Bola

2016-01-01

This research examined the experiences of early career academics (ECAs) in terms of their preparedness to teach. Using a survey design involving 104 ECAs in a large Nigeria university, quantitative and qualitative data were obtained to address the research questions raised. Findings showed that (1) prior experience and training impacted on…

76 FR 25734 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-05

... for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership Program Announcement Type: New Cooperative Agreement. Funding... Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition for the Youth Leadership... leadership development, and to support follow-on projects in their home communities. U.S. Embassies in the...

Identifying and Exploring Factors Affecting Embodied Conversational Agent Social Presence for Interpersonal Skills Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chuah, Joon Hao

2013-01-01

Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) have been used as virtual conversational partners in interpersonal skills training applications such as medical interviews, military decision making, and cultural training. Ideally, in interpersonal skills training users will perceive and treat the ECAs the same as they would real people. The perception and…

The Impact of Engagement with Extracurricular Activities on the Student Experience and Graduate Outcomes for Widening Participation Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stuart, Mary; Lido, Catherine; Morgan, Jessica; Solomon, Lucy; May, Steve

2011-01-01

This research examined extracurricular activity (ECA) effects on students' experiences, outcomes and future job prospects. A survey of diverse undergraduate students, along with alumni and potential employer interviews, revealed differences in students' engagement with ECAs beyond the classroom. Variations between "traditional" and…

75 FR 27046 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Offices of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-13

... for the overseas management of ECA's Fulbright Program in Russia and Ukraine respectively, including... located in Russia and Ukraine, and administration of alumni and other activities. Please refer to http://fulbright.state.gov for information about the Fulbright student and scholar programs in Russia and Ukraine...

Early Career Academics Learning the Game in Whackademia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKay, Loraine; Monk, Sue

2017-01-01

The initial years as an early career academic (ECA) are challenging times as those new to the academy attempt to balance the three aspects of their role: teaching, research and service, while also coming to terms with both overt and hidden expectations. Formal mentoring arrangements for ECAs are threatened by competing demands on time.…

A Literature Review of the Impact of Extracurricular Activities Participation on Students' Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seow, Poh-Sun; Pan, Gary

2014-01-01

Extracurricular activities (ECA) have become an important component of students' school life and many schools have invested significant resources on extracurricular activities. The authors suggest three major theoretical frameworks (zero-sum, developmental, and threshold) to explain the impact of ECA participation on students' academic…

Gene expression levels of elastin and fibulin-5 according to differences between carotid plaque regions.

PubMed

Sivrikoz, Emre; Timirci-Kahraman, Özlem; Ergen, Arzu; Zeybek, Ümit; Aksoy, Murat; Yanar, Fatih; İsbir, Turgay; Kurtoğlu, Mehmet

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gene expression levels of elastin and fibulin-5 according to differences between carotid plaque regions and to correlate it with clinical features of plaque destabilization. The study included 44 endarterectomy specimens available from operated symptomatic carotid artery stenoses. The specimens were separated according to anatomic location: internal carotid artery (ICA), external carotid artery (ECA) and common carotid artery (CCA), and then stored in liquid nitrogen. The amounts of cDNA for elastin and fibulin-5 were determined by Quantitative real-time PCR (Q-RT-PCR). Target gene copy numbers were normalized using hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT1) gene. The delta-delta CT method was applied for relative quantification. Q-RT-PCR data showed that relative fibulin-5 gene expression was increased in ICA plaque regions when compared to CCA regions but not reaching significance (p=0.061). At the same time, no differences were observed in elastin mRNA level between different anatomic plaque regions (p>0.05). Moreover, elastin and fibulin-5 mRNA expression and clinical parameters were compared in ICA plaques versus CCA and ECA regions, respectively. Up-regulation of elastin and fibulin-5 mRNA levels in ICA were strongly correlated with family history of cardiovascular disease when compared to CCA (p<0.05). Up-regulation of fibulin-5 in ICA was significantly associated with diabetes, and elevated triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) when compared to ECA (p<0.05). The clinical significance is the differences between the proximal and distal regions of the lesion, associated with the ICA, CCA and ECA respectively, with increased fibulin-5 in the ICA region. Copyright © 2015 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

Carotid artery and lower cranial nerve exposure with increasing surgical complexity to the parapharyngeal space.

PubMed

Lemos-Rodriguez, Ana M; Sreenath, Satyan B; Rawal, Rounak B; Overton, Lewis J; Farzal, Zainab; Zanation, Adam M

2017-03-01

To investigate the extent of carotid artery exposure attained, including the identification of the external carotid branches and lower cranial nerves in five sequential external approaches to the parapharyngeal space, and to provide an anatomical algorithm. Anatomical study. Six latex-injected adult cadaver heads were dissected in five consecutive approaches: transcervical approach with submandibular gland removal, posterior extension of the transcervical approach, transcervical approach with parotidectomy, parotidectomy with lateral mandibulotomy, and parotidectomy with mandibulectomy. The degree of carotid artery exposure attained, external carotid branches, and lower cranial nerves visualized was documented. The transcervical approach exposed 1.5 cm (Standard Deviation (SD) 0.5) of internal carotid artery (ICA) and 1.25 cm (SD 0.25) of external carotid artery (ECA). The superior thyroid and facial arteries and cranial nerve XII and XI were identified. The posterior extension exposed 2.9 cm (SD 0.7) of ICA and 2.7 cm (SD 1.0) of ECA. Occipital and ascending pharyngeal arteries were visualized. The transparotid approach exposed 4.0 cm (SD 1.1) of ICA and 3.98 cm (SD 1.8) of ECA. Lateral mandibulotomy exposed the internal maxillary artery, cranial nerve X, the sympathetic trunk, and 4.6 cm (SD 2.4) of ICA. Mandibulectomy allowed for complete ECA exposure, cranial nerve IX, lingual nerve, and 6.9 cm (SD 1.3) of ICA. Approaches for the parapharyngeal space must be based on anatomic and biological patient factors. This study provides a guide for the skull base surgeon for an extended approach based on the desired anatomic exposure. N/A. Laryngoscope, 127:585-591, 2017. © 2017 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Whole-genome scan identifies quantitative trait loci for chronic pastern dermatitis in German draft horses.

PubMed

Mittmann, E Henrike; Mömke, Stefanie; Distl, Ottmar

2010-02-01

Chronic pastern dermatitis (CPD), also known as chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL), is a skin disease that affects draft horses. This disease causes painful lower-leg swelling, nodule formation, and skin ulceration, interfering with movement. The aim of this whole-genome scan was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for CPD in German draft horses. We recorded clinical data for CPD in 917 German draft horses and collected blood samples from these horses. Of these 917 horses, 31 paternal half-sib families comprising 378 horses from the breeds Rhenish German, Schleswig, Saxon-Thuringian, and South German were chosen for genotyping. Each half-sib family was constituted by only one draft horse breed. Genotyping was done for 318 polymorphic microsatellites evenly distributed on all equine autosomes and the X chromosome with a mean distance of 7.5 Mb. An across-breed multipoint linkage analysis revealed chromosome-wide significant QTL on horse chromosomes (ECA) 1, 9, 16, and 17. Analyses by breed confirmed the QTL on ECA1 in South German and the QTL on ECA9, 16, and 17 in Saxon-Thuringian draft horses. For the Rhenish German and Schleswig draft horses, additional QTL on ECA4 and 10 and for the South German draft horses an additional QTL on ECA7 were found. This is the first whole-genome scan for CPD in draft horses and it is an important step toward the identification of candidate genes.

Efficacies of quorum sensing inhibitors, piericidin A and glucopiericidin A, produced by Streptomyces xanthocidicus KPP01532 for the control of potato soft rot caused by Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica.

PubMed

Kang, Ji Eun; Han, Jae Woo; Jeon, Byeong Jun; Kim, Beom Seok

2016-03-01

To discover potential inhibitors of the quorum sensing (QS) system, a library of microbial culture extracts was screened with Chromobacterium violaceumCV026 strain. The culture extract of Streptomyces xanthocidicus KPP01532 contained quorum-sensing inhibitors (QSIs) of the CV026 strain. The active constituents of the culture extract of strain KPP01532 were purified using a series of chromatographic procedures, and based on data from NMR and mass spectroscopy, piericidin A and glucopiericidin A were identified. Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca) is a plant pathogen that causes blackleg and soft rot diseases on potato stems and tubers. The virulence factors of Eca are regulated by QS. The expression of virulence genes (pelC, pehA, celV and nip) under the control of QS was monitored using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The transcription levels of the four genes were significantly lower when Eca was exposed to piericidin A or glucopiericidin A. These two compounds displayed similar control efficacies against soft rot caused by Eca in potato slices as furanone C-30. Therefore, piericidin A and glucopiericidin A are potential QSIs that suppress the expression of the virulence genes of Eca, suggesting that they could have potential use as control agents of soft rot disease on potato tubers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Esophageal sensation in premature human neonates: temporal relationships and implications of aerodigestive reflexes and electrocortical arousals

PubMed Central

Parks, Vanessa N.; Peng, Juan; Dzodzomenyo, Samuel; Fernandez, Soledad; Shaker, Reza; Splaingard, Mark

2012-01-01

Electrocortical arousal (ECA) as an effect of visceral provocation or of its temporal relationships with aerodigestive reflexes in premature neonates is not known. We tested the hypothesis that esophageal provocation results in both esophageal reflex responses and ECAs during sleep and that ECAs are dependent on the frequency characteristics of esophageal neuromotor responses. We defined the spatiotemporal relationship of ECAs in relation to 1) spontaneous pharyngoesophageal swallow sequences and gastroesophageal reflux (GER) events and 2) sensory-motor characteristics of esophageal reflexes. Sixteen healthy premature neonates born at 27.9 ± 3.4 wk were tested at 36.8 ± 1.9 wk postmenstrual age. Ninety-five midesophageal and 31 sham stimuli were given in sleep during concurrent manometry and videopolysomnography. With stimulus onset as reference point, we scored the response latency, frequency occurrence and duration of arousals, peristaltic reflex, and upper esophageal sphincter contractile reflex (UESCR). Changes in polysomnography-respiratory patterns and esophageal sensory-motor parameters were scored by blinded observers. Significantly (for each characteristic listed, P < 0.05), swallow sequences were associated with arousals and sleep state changes, and arousals were associated with incomplete peristalsis, response delays to lower esophageal sphincter relaxation, and prolonged esophageal clearance. GER events (73.5%) provoked arousals, and arousals were associated with response delays to peristaltic reflexes or clearance, sleep state modification, and prolonged respiratory arousal. Midesophageal stimuli (54%) provoked arousals and were associated with increased frequency, prolonged latency, prolonged response duration of peristaltic reflexes and UESCR, and increased frequency of sleep state changes and respiratory arousals. In human neonates, ECAs are provoked upon esophageal stimulation; the sensory-motor characteristics of esophageal reflexes are distinct when accompanied by arousals. Aerodigestive homeostasis is defended by multiple tiers of aerodigestive safety mechanisms, and when esophageal reflexes are delayed, cortical hypervigilance (ECAs) occurs. PMID:21852361

40 CFR 80.583 - What alternative sampling and testing requirements apply to importers who transport motor vehicle...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... requirements apply to importers who transport motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM diesel fuel, or ECA marine fuel... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Sampling and Testing § 80.583 What...

Hidden Challenges to Education Systems in Transition Economies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berryman, Sue E.

This book, published by the World Bank, sounds the alarm for education in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). It describes how the transition from communism to free-market economies has left many countries' educational systems in disarray. At the start of transition, ECA education systems had solved problems that plagued other regions of the world,…

40 CFR 80.602 - What records must be kept by entities in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel additive production, importation, and... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel... fuel additive production, importation, and distribution systems? (a) Records that must be kept by...

40 CFR 80.602 - What records must be kept by entities in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel additive production, importation, and... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel... fuel additive production, importation, and distribution systems? (a) Records that must be kept by...

40 CFR 80.602 - What records must be kept by entities in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel additive production, importation, and... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel... fuel additive production, importation, and distribution systems? (a) Records that must be kept by...

40 CFR 80.602 - What records must be kept by entities in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel additive production, importation, and... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel... fuel additive production, importation, and distribution systems? (a) Records that must be kept by...

40 CFR 80.602 - What records must be kept by entities in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... in the NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel, and diesel fuel additive production, importation, and... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel... fuel additive production, importation, and distribution systems? (a) Records that must be kept by...

78 FR 5854 - Notification of the First Meetings of the U.S.-Korea FTA Environmental Affairs Council and ECA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-28

... cooperation and will develop an environmental cooperation Work Program for the 2012-2015 period. All... the ECA, the Governments state that they plan to meet to develop and update, as appropriate, a Work Program for Environmental Cooperation. The Work Program will identify and outline environmental...

75 FR 60490 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-30

... Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division Survey Question Bank. OMB Control Number: 1405-0158. Type of... Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division (ECA/P/ V). Form Number: New surveys...-ROM submissions): ECA/P/V, SA-5, 5th Floor, Department of State, Washington, DC 20522-0505. Fax: 202...

A summary of the ECAS performance and cost results for MHD system. [Energy Conversion Alternatives Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seikel, G. R.; Sovie, R. J.; Burns, R. K.; Barna, G. J.; Burkhart, J. A.; Nainiger, J. J.; Smith, J. M.

1976-01-01

The interagency-funded, NASA-coordinated Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS) has studied the potential of various advanced power plant concepts using coal and coal-derived fuel. Principle studies were conducted through prime contracts with the General Electric Company and the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The results indicate that open-cycle coal-fired direct-preheat MHD systems have potentially one of the highest coal-pile-to-bus-bar efficiencies and also one of the lowest costs of electricity (COE) of the systems studied. Closed-cycle MHD systems may have the potential to approach the efficiency and COE of open-cycle MHD. The 1200-1500 F liquid-metal MHD systems studied do not appear to have the potential of exceeding the efficiency or competing with the COE of advanced steam plants.

Relationship between personality disorder dimensions and verbal memory functioning in a community population.

PubMed

Park, Subin; Hong, Jin Pyo; Lee, Hochang B; Samuels, Jack; Bienvenu, O Joseph; Chung, Hye Yoon; Eaton, William W; Costa, Paul T; Nestadt, Gerald

2012-03-30

Based on the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) follow-up survey, we examined relationships between dimensions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) personality disorders and both subjective and objective memory functioning in a community population. Our study subjects consisted of 736 individuals from the ECA follow-up study of the original Baltimore ECA cohort, conducted between 1993 and 1996 and available for assessment in the Hopkins Epidemiology Study of Personality Disorders from 1997 to 1999. Subjects were assessed for DSM-IV personality disorders using a semi-structured instrument, the International Personality Disorder Examination, and were asked about a subjective appraisal of memory. Verbal memory function, including immediate recall, delayed recall, and recognition, were also evaluated. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine associations between personality dimensions of DSM-IV Axis II traits and subjective and objective memory functioning. Scores on schizoid and schizotypal personality dimensions were associated with subjective and objective memory dysfunction, both with and without adjustment for Axis I disorders. Borderline, antisocial, avoidant, and dependent personality disorder scores were associated with subjective memory impairment only, both with and without adjustment for Axis I disorders. This study suggests that subjective feelings of memory impairment and/or objective memory dysfunction are associated with specific personality disorder dimensions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetic risk factors for insidious equine recurrent uveitis in Appaloosa horses.

PubMed

Fritz, K L; Kaese, H J; Valberg, S J; Hendrickson, J A; Rendahl, A K; Bellone, R R; Dynes, K M; Wagner, M L; Lucio, M A; Cuomo, F M; Brinkmeyer-Langford, C L; Skow, L C; Mickelson, J R; Rutherford, M S; McCue, M E

2014-06-01

Appaloosa horses are predisposed to equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), an immune-mediated disease characterized by recurring inflammation of the uveal tract in the eye, which is the leading cause of blindness in horses. Nine genetic markers from the ECA1 region responsible for the spotted coat color of Appaloosa horses, and 13 microsatellites spanning the equine major histocompatibility complex (ELA) on ECA20, were evaluated for association with ERU in a group of 53 Appaloosa ERU cases and 43 healthy Appaloosa controls. Three markers were significantly associated (corrected P-value <0.05): a SNP within intron 11 of the TRPM1 gene on ECA1, an ELA class I microsatellite located near the boundary of the ELA class III and class II regions and an ELA class II microsatellite located in intron 1 of the DRA gene. Association between these three genetic markers and the ERU phenotype was confirmed in a second population of 24 insidious ERU Appaloosa cases and 16 Appaloosa controls. The relative odds of being an ERU case for each allele of these three markers were estimated by fitting a logistic mixed model with each of the associated markers independently and with all three markers simultaneously. The risk model using these markers classified ~80% of ERU cases and 75% of controls in the second population as moderate or high risk, and low risk respectively. Future studies to refine the associations at ECA1 and ELA loci and identify functional variants could uncover alleles conferring susceptibility to ERU in Appaloosa horses. © 2014 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Andrographolide radiosensitizes human esophageal cancer cell line ECA109 to radiation in vitro.

PubMed

Wang, Z-M; Kang, Y-H; Yang, X; Wang, J-F; Zhang, Q; Yang, B-X; Zhao, K-L; Xu, L-P; Yang, L-P; Ma, J-X; Huang, G-H; Cai, J; Sun, X-C

2016-01-01

To explore the radiosensitivity of andrographolide on esophageal cancer cell line ECA109. The inhibition effects of andrographolide were measured using 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Clonogenic survival assay was used to evaluate the effects of andrographolide on the radiosensitivity of esophageal cancer cells. Immunofluorescence was employed to examine Bax expression. The changes in cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were assayed using flow cytometry. The expression of NF-κb/Cleaved-Caspase3/Bax/Bcl-2 was measured using Western blot analysis. DNA damage was detected via γ-H2AX foci counting. With a clear dose and time effects, andrographolide was found to inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cell line ECA109. The results of the clonogenic survival assay show that andrographolide could markedly enhance radiosensitivity (P < 0.05) with a sensitizing enhancement ratio of 1.28. Andrographolide caused a dose-dependent increase in Cleaved-Caspase3/Bax protein expression and a decrease in Bcl-2/NF-κb expression. Apoptosis in andrographolide-treated ECA-109 increased significantly compared with the apoptosis in the simple drug and radiation combined with drug groups (P < 0.001; P < 0.05). Moreover, compared with the independent radiation group, the andrographolide combined with radiation group increased the number of DNA double chain breaks. Andrographolide can increase the radiosensitivity of esophageal cell line ECA109. This result may be associated with the decrease in the NF-κb level and the induced apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells. © 2014 International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.

A practicable process for phenol removal with liquid surfactant membrane permeation column

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

Kataoka, Takeshi; Osaki, Katsuhiko; Nishiki, Tadaaki

1997-05-01

A practicable liquid surfactant membrane process for phenol removal is proposed with a stirred countercurrent column used as the liquid membrane contact equipment. The constituents of liquid membranes, such as internal aqueous phase and surfactant, the type of column, and the operating conditions for efficient and continuous performance of the liquid surfactant membrane process, have been examined. When NaOH solution was used as the internal aqueous phase and ECA4360J was used as the surfactant, the W/O emulsion was stable for the duration of column operation. More than 97% phenol could be removed from the feed solution. Nearly complete demulsification wasmore » also achieved by gentle agitation with an electrostatic demulsifier.« less

Teachers' Perceptions of the Use of an External Change Agent in School Curriculum Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smeed, Judy; Bourke, Terri

2012-01-01

An external change agent (ECA) was recently employed in three Queensland schools to align the school curriculum with the requirements of the state's high stakes test known as the Queensland Core Skills test (QCS). This paper reports on the teachers' perceptions of a change process led by an ECA. With the ever-increasing implementation of high…

40 CFR 80.581 - What are the batch testing and sample retention requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... retention requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM diesel fuel, and ECA marine fuel? 80.581 Section...) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel... requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM diesel fuel, and ECA marine fuel? (a) Beginning on June 1...

40 CFR 80.581 - What are the batch testing and sample retention requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... retention requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM diesel fuel, and ECA marine fuel? 80.581 Section...) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel... requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel, NRLM diesel fuel, and ECA marine fuel? (a) Beginning on June 1...

Defining Quality in Visual Art Education for Young Children: Building on the Position Statement of the Early Childhood Art Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClure, Marissa; Tarr, Patricia; Thompson, Christine Marmé; Eckhoff, Angela

2017-01-01

This article reflects the collective voices of four early childhood visual arts educators, each of whom is a member of the Early Childhood Art Educators (ECAE) Issues Group of the National Arts Educators Association. The authors frame the article around the ECAE position statement, "Art: Essential for Early Learning" (2016), which…

Generation and partial characterization of an eosinophil chemotactic cytokine produced by sensitized equine mononuclear cells stimulated with Strongylus vulgaris antigen.

PubMed

Dennis, V A; Klei, T R; Chapman, M R

1993-07-01

Supernatants generated by stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from Strongylus vulgaris sensitized or immunized ponies were assayed in vitro for eosinophil chemotactic activity (ECA) using the filter system in blind well chambers. The supernatants from these cultures were chemotactic for eosinophils, but not for neutrophils. Supernates from cultures of unsensitized PBMC stimulated with S. vulgaris antigen were not chemotactic for eosinophils. ECA was first detected in culture supernatants after 1.5 h of incubation and was dependent on both antigen and PBMC concentrations, but independent of serum concentrations. Both female and male S. vulgaris worm antigens stimulated ECA production from sensitized PBMC. ECA was not induced by in vitro stimulation of sensitized S. vulgaris PBMC by female Strongylus edentatus worm antigen. Partial characterization of the eosinophil chemotactic cytokine showed it to be nondialyzable, greater than 8000 molecular weight (MW), and sensitive to heating (56 and 95 degrees C), trypsin, and sodium metaperiodate treatments, suggesting that the cytokine is a protein containing some essential carbohydrate moieties. The cytokine described in this paper could partially contribute to the in vivo blood and tissue eosinophilia in experimental S. vulgaris infection.

Extracerebral Tissue Damage in the Intraluminal Filament Mouse Model of Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion

PubMed Central

Vaas, Markus; Ni, Ruiqing; Rudin, Markus; Kipar, Anja; Klohs, Jan

2017-01-01

Middle cerebral artery occlusion is the most common model of focal cerebral ischemia in the mouse. In the surgical procedure, the external carotid artery (ECA) is ligated; however, its effect on the tissue supplied by the vessel has not been described so far. C57BL/6 mice underwent 1 h of transient MCAO (tMCAO) or sham surgery. Multi-spectral optoacoustic tomography was employed at 30 min after surgery to assess oxygenation in the temporal muscles. Microstructural changes were assessed with magnetic resonance imaging and histological examination at 24 h and 48 h after surgery. Ligation of the ECA resulted in decreased oxygenation of the left temporal muscle in most sham-operated and tMCAO animals. Susceptible mice of both groups exhibited increased T2 relaxation times in the affected muscle with histological evidence of myofibre degeneration, interstitial edema, and neutrophil influx. Ligatures had induced an extensive neutrophil-dominated inflammatory response. ECA ligation leads to distinct hypoxic degenerative changes in the tissue of the ECA territory and to ligature-induced inflammatory processes. An impact on outcome needs to be considered in this stroke model. PMID:28348545

Foretinib Enhances the Radiosensitivity in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Inhibiting Phosphorylation of c-Met

PubMed Central

Chen, Guang-Zong; Dai, Wang-Shu; Zhu, Hong-Cheng; Song, Hong-Mei; Yang, Xi; Wang, Yuan-Dong; Min, Hua; Lu, Qian; Liu, Shu; Sun, Xin-Chen; Zeng, Xiao-Ning

2017-01-01

As a crucial event involved in the metastasis and relapse of esophageal cancer, c-Met overexpression has been considered as one of the culprits responsible for the failure in patients who received radiochemotherapy. Since c-Met has been confirmed to be pivotal for cell survival, proliferation and migration, little is known about its impact on the regulation of radiosensitivity in esophageal cancer. The present study investigated the radiosensitization effects of c-Met inhibitor foretinib in ECA-109 and TE-13 cell lines. Foretinib inhibited c-Met signaling in a dose-dependent manner resulting in decreases in the cell viability of ECA-109 and TE-13. Pretreatment with foretinib synergistically prompted cell apoptosis and G2/M arrest induced by irradiation. Moreover, decreases ability of DNA damage repair was also observed. In vivo studies confirmed that the combinatorial use of foretinib with irradiation significantly diminishes tumor burden compared to either treatment alone. The present findings implied a crucial role of c-Met in the modulation of radiosensitization in esophageal cancer, and foretinib increased the radiosensitivity in ECA-109 and TE-13 cells mainly via c-Met signaling, highlighting a novel profile of foretinib as a potential radiosensitizer for the treatment of esophageal cancer. PMID:28529610

Association of sleep-wake habits in older people with changes in output of circadian pacemaker

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Czeisler, C. A.; Dumont, M.; Duffy, J. F.; Steinberg, J. D.; Richardson, G. S.; Brown, E. N.; Sanchez, R.; Rios, C. D.; Ronda, J. M.

1992-01-01

Many elderly people complain of disturbed sleep patterns but there is not evidence that the need to sleep decreases with age; it seems rather that the timing and consolidation of sleep change. We tried to find out whether there is a concurrent change in the output of the circadian pacemaker with age. The phase and amplitude of the pacemaker's output were assessed by continuous measurement of the core body temperature during 40 h of sustained wakefulness under constant behavioural and environmental conditions. 27 young men (18-31 years) were compared with 21 older people (65-85 years; 11 men, 10 women); all were healthy and without sleep complaints. The mean amplitude of the endogenous circadian temperature oscillation (ECA) was 40% greater in young men than in the older group. Older men had a lower mean temperature ECA than older women. The minimum of the endogenous phase of the circadian temperature oscillation (ECP) occurred 1 h 52 min earlier in the older than in the young group. Customary bedtimes and waketimes were also earlier in the older group, as was their daily alertness peak. There was a close correlation between habitual waketime and temperature ECP in young men, which may lose precision with age, especially among women. These findings provide evidence for systematic age-related changes in the output of the human circadian pacemaker. We suggest that these changes may underlie the common complaints of sleep disturbance among elderly people. These changes could reflect the observed age-related deterioration of the hypothalamic nuclei that drive mammalian circadian rhythms.

78 FR 145 - Suggestions for Environmental Cooperation Pursuant to the United States-Korea Environmental...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-02

... suggestions should be emailed to [email protected] or faxed to (202) 647-5947 to the attention of Deborah... Agreement. In Articles 3 and 4 of the ECA, the Governments state that they plan to meet to develop and.... Please refer to Article 4 of the ECA for a list of possible areas for cooperation. We are requesting...

A Cocktail of Extracurricular Activities (ECAs): Different ECA Combinations and Their Association with Heavy Drinking in Two College Cohorts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Julia A.; Johnson, Douglas N.; Jones, Jane A.

2015-01-01

The activities that students participate in are important to college life and outcomes. With regard to the problem outcome of heavy drinking, some activities pose risks (e.g., fraternity/sorority life) and others are protective (e.g., religious groups), yet students often participate in multiple activities. We estimated the odds of frequent heavy…

HIF-1α induces VE-cadherin expression and modulates vasculogenic mimicry in esophageal carcinoma cells

PubMed Central

Tang, Na-Na; Zhu, Hong; Zhang, Hong-Jie; Zhang, Wei-Feng; Jin, Hai-Lin; Wang, Lu; Wang, Pin; He, Gui-Jun; Hao, Bo; Shi, Rui-Hua

2014-01-01

AIM: To investigate whether hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α modulates vasculogenic mimicry (VM) by upregulating VE-cadherin expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: Esophageal squamous cancer cell lines Eca109 and TE13 were transfected with plasmids harboring small interfering RNAs targeting HIF-1α or VE-cadherin. The proliferation and invasion of esophageal carcinoma cells were detected by MTT and Transwell migration assays. The formation of tubular networks of cells was analyzed by 3D culture in vitro. BALB/c nude mice were used to observe xenograft tumor formation. The relationship between the expression of HIF-1α and VE-cadherin, ephrinA2 (EphA2) and laminin5γ2 (LN5γ2) was measured by Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Knockdown of HIF-1α inhibited cell proliferation (32.3% ± 6.1% for Eca109 cells and 38.6% ± 6.8% for TE13 cells, P < 0.05). Both Eca109 and TE13 cells formed typical tubular networks. The number of tubular networks markedly decreased when HIF-1α or VE-cadherin was knocked down. Expression of VE-cadherin, EphA2 and LN5γ2 was dramatically inhibited, but the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 had no obvious change in HIF-1α-silenced cells. Knockdown of VE-cadherin significantly decreased expression of both EphA2 and LN5γ2 (P < 0.05), while HIF-1α expression was unchanged. The time for xenograft tumor formation was 6 ± 1.2 d for Eca109 cells and Eca109 cells transfected with HIF-1α Neo control short hairpin RNA (shRNA) vector, and 8.4 ± 2.1 d for Eca109 cells transfected with an shRNA against HIF-1α. Knockdown of HIF-1α inhibited vasculogenic mimicry (VM) and tumorigenicity in vivo. CONCLUSION: HIF-1α may modulate VM in ESCC by regulating VE-cadherin expression, which affects VM formation through EphA2 and LN5γ2. PMID:25548487

Cokriging of Electromagnetic Induction Soil Electrical Conductivity Measurements and Soil Textural Properties to Demarcate Sub-field Management Zones for Precision Irrigation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, R.; Cruz, L.; Whitney, J.; Telenko, D.; Oware, E. K.

2017-12-01

There is the growing need for the development of efficient irrigation management practices due to increasing irrigation water scarcity as a result of growing population and changing climate. Soil texture primarily controls the water-holding capacity of soils, which determines the amount of irrigation water that will be available to the plant. However, while there are significant variabilities in the textural properties of the soil across a field, conventional irrigation practices ignore the underlying variability in the soil properties, resulting in over- or under-irrigation. Over-irrigation leaches plant nutrients beyond the root-zone leading to fertilizer, energy, and water wastages with dire environmental consequences. Under-irrigation, in contrast, causes water stress of the plant, thereby reducing plant quality and yield. The goal of this project is to leverage soil textural map of a field to create water management zones (MZs) to guide site-specific precision irrigation. There is increasing application of electromagnetic induction methods to rapidly and inexpensively map spatially continuous soil properties in terms of the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) of the soil. ECa is a measure of the bulk soil properties, including soil texture, moisture, salinity, and cation exchange capacity, making an ECa map a pseudo-soil map. Data for the project were collected from a farm site at Eden, NY. The objective is to leverage high-resolution ECa map to predict spatially dense soil textural properties from limited measurements of soil texture. Thus, after performing ECa mapping, we conducted particle-size analysis of soil samples to determine the textural properties of soils at selected locations across the field. We cokriged the high-resolution ECa measurements with the sparse soil textural data to estimate a soil texture map for the field. We conducted irrigation experiments at selected locations to calibrate representative water-holding capacities of each estimated soil textural unit. Estimated soil units with similar water-holding characteristics were merged to create sub-field water MZs to guide precision irrigation of each MZ, instructed by each MZ's calibrated water-holding properties.

Effect of Intensive Plastic Deformation on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakhadilov, Bauyrzhan; Uazyrkhanova, Gulzhaz; Myakinin, Alexandr; Uazyrkhanova, Zhuldyz

2016-08-01

In work it was studied the influence of intensive plastic deformation on structure and mechanical properties of aluminum alloys. Intensive plastic deformation was carried out by using equal-channel angular extrusion. It is shown that the most efficient angle of intersection of the channels is the angle of Φ=120°, which ensures defect-free parts at the highest possible level of accumulated strain (e=8). It is established that the intensive milling grain structures in aluminum alloys AMG6 and AMC occurs at ECAE-12 passes, while the intersection angle of the channels of 120°. After ECAE-12 in aluminum alloys the grain refinement reaches to the size of ∼⃒1.0-1.5 gm. It is determined that as a result of equal channel angular pressing, the microhardness of alloy AMG6 increases almost 4 times in comparison with the initial state, the microhardness of alloy AMC increases by almost 4.5 times in comparison with the initial state. It is shown that ECAE-12 mass loss is reduced to 5.4 and 5.6 mg, which shows an increase in wear-resistance of aluminum alloys AMG6 and AMC 13-14 %.

A new theory of plant-microbe nutrient competition resolves inconsistencies between observations and model predictions.

PubMed

Zhu, Qing; Riley, William J; Tang, Jinyun

2017-04-01

Terrestrial plants assimilate anthropogenic CO 2 through photosynthesis and synthesizing new tissues. However, sustaining these processes requires plants to compete with microbes for soil nutrients, which therefore calls for an appropriate understanding and modeling of nutrient competition mechanisms in Earth System Models (ESMs). Here, we survey existing plant-microbe competition theories and their implementations in ESMs. We found no consensus regarding the representation of nutrient competition and that observational and theoretical support for current implementations are weak. To reconcile this situation, we applied the Equilibrium Chemistry Approximation (ECA) theory to plant-microbe nitrogen competition in a detailed grassland 15 N tracer study and found that competition theories in current ESMs fail to capture observed patterns and the ECA prediction simplifies the complex nature of nutrient competition and quantitatively matches the 15 N observations. Since plant carbon dynamics are strongly modulated by soil nutrient acquisition, we conclude that (1) predicted nutrient limitation effects on terrestrial carbon accumulation by existing ESMs may be biased and (2) our ECA-based approach may improve predictions by mechanistically representing plant-microbe nutrient competition. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

In vitro synthesis of intermediates involved in the assembly of enterobacterial common antigen (ECA)

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

Barr, K.; Wolski, S.; Kroto, J.

1986-05-01

ECA is a cell surface antigen found in all bacteria belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. The serological specificity of ECA is determined by a linear heteropolysaccharide comprised of trisaccharide repeat units; the component sugars are N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc), N-acetyl-D-mannosaminuronic acid (ManNAcUA), and 4-acetamido-D-fucose (Fuc4NAc). In vivo studies have suggested that GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylundecaprenol (GlcNAc-PP-lipid) is an intermediate in ECA synthesis. More recently, they have demonstrated UDP-GlcNAc:undecaprenylphosphate GlcNAc-1-phosphate transferase activity in cell envelope preparations of E. coli. Radioactivity from UDP-(/sup 3/H)Glc-NAc was incorporated into endogenous lipid acceptor, and the labeled product was characterized as GlcNAc-PP-lipid (lipid I). Transferase activity was inhibited by tunicamycin andmore » UMP, but it was unaffected by UDP. The reaction was reversible, and the synthesis of UDP-(/sup 3/H)GlcNAc from UMP and (/sup 3/H)GlcNAc-PP-lipid was also sensitive to tunicamycin. The simultaneous addition of UDP-(/sup 14/C)ManNAcUA and UDP-(/sup 3/H)GlcNAc to cell envelope preparations resulted in the synthesis of a more polar lipid (lipid II) that contained both labeled sugars in equimolar amounts. Synthesis of lipid II was dependent on prior synthesis of lipid I. Accordingly, (/sup 3/H)GlcNAc-PP-lipid that had been synthesized in vivo served as an acceptor in vitro of ManNAcUA residues from UDP-ManNAcUA. Lipid II has been tentatively identified as ManNAcUA-GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylundecaprenol.« less

EFFECT OF CARBONIC ANHYDRASE INHIBITORS ON THE INORGANIC CARBON UPTAKE BY PHYTOPLANKTON NATURAL ASSEMBLAGES(1).

PubMed

Mercado, Jesús M; Ramírez, Teodoro; Cortés, Dolores; Liger, Esperanza

2009-02-01

The role of carbonic anhydrase (CA) in inorganic carbon acquisition (dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC) was examined in Alboran Sea phytoplankton assemblages. The study area was characterized by a relatively high variability in nutrient concentration and in abundance and taxonomic composition of phytoplankton. Therefore, the relationship between environmental variability and capacity for using HCO3 (-) via external CA (eCA) was examined. Acetazolamide (AZ, an inhibitor of eCA) inhibited the primary productivity (PP) in 50% of the samples, with inhibition percentages ranging from 13% to 60%. The AZ effect was more prominent in the samples that exhibited PP >1 mg C · m(-3)  · h(-1) , indicating that the contribution of eCA to the DIC photosynthetic flux was irrelevant at low PP. The inhibition of primary productivity by AZ was significantly correlated to the abundance of diatoms. However, there was no a relationship between AZ effect and CO2 partial pressure (pCO2 ) or nutrient concentration, indicating that the variability in the PP percentage supported by eCA was mainly due to differences in taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton assemblages. Ethoxyzolamide (EZ, an inhibitor of both external and internal CA) affected 13 of 14 analyzed samples, with PP inhibition percentages varying from 50% to 95%. The effects of AZ and EZ were partially reversed by doubling DIC concentration. These results imply that CA activity (external and/or internal) was involved in inorganic carbon acquisition in most the samples. However, EZ effect was not correlated with pCO2 or taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton. © 2009 Phycological Society of America.

Does bibliometric research confer legitimacy to research assessment practice? A sociological study of reputational control, 1972-2016

PubMed Central

Jappe, Arlette; Pithan, David

2018-01-01

The use of bibliometric measures in the evaluation of research has increased considerably based on expertise from the growing research field of evaluative citation analysis (ECA). However, mounting criticism of such metrics suggests that the professionalization of bibliometric expertise remains contested. This paper investigates why impact metrics, such as the journal impact factor and the h-index, proliferate even though their legitimacy as a means of professional research assessment is questioned. Our analysis is informed by two relevant sociological theories: Andrew Abbott’s theory of professions and Richard Whitley’s theory of scientific work. These complementary concepts are connected in order to demonstrate that ECA has failed so far to provide scientific authority for professional research assessment. This argument is based on an empirical investigation of the extent of reputational control in the relevant research area. Using three measures of reputational control that are computed from longitudinal inter-organizational networks in ECA (1972–2016), we show that peripheral and isolated actors contribute the same number of novel bibliometric indicators as central actors. In addition, the share of newcomers to the academic sector has remained high. These findings demonstrate that recent methodological debates in ECA have not been accompanied by the formation of an intellectual field in the sociological sense of a reputational organization. Therefore, we conclude that a growing gap exists between an academic sector with little capacity for collective action and increasing demand for routine performance assessment by research organizations and funding agencies. This gap has been filled by database providers. By selecting and distributing research metrics, these commercial providers have gained a powerful role in defining de-facto standards of research excellence without being challenged by expert authority. PMID:29902239

Effect of treated-sewage contamination upon bacterial energy charge, adenine nucleotides, and DNA content in a sandy aquifer on cape cod

USGS Publications Warehouse

Metge, D.W.; Brooks, M.H.; Smith, R.L.; Harvey, R.W.

1993-01-01

Changes in adenylate energy charge (EC(A)) and in total adenine nucleotides (A(T)) and DNA content (both normalized to the abundance of free- living, groundwater bacteria) in response to carbon loading were determined for a laboratory-grown culture and for a contaminated aquifer. The latter study involved a 3-km-long transect through a contaminant plume resulting from continued on-land discharge of secondary sewage to a shallow, sandy aquifer on Cape Cod, Mass. With the exception of the most contaminated groundwater immediately downgradient from the contaminant source, DNA and adenylate levels correlated strongly with bacterial abundance and decreased exponentially with increasing distance downgradient. EC(A)s (0.53 to 0.60) and the ratios of ATP to DNA (0.001 to 0.003) were consistently low, suggesting that the unattached bacteria in this groundwater study are metabolically stressed, despite any eutrophication that might have occurred. Elevated EC(A)s (up to 0.74) were observed in glucose-amended groundwater, confirming that the metabolic state of this microbial community could be altered. In general, per-bacterium DNA and ATP contents were approximately twofold higher in the plume than in surrounding groundwater, although EC(A) and per-bacterium levels of A(T) differed little in the plume and the surrounding uncontaminated groundwater. However, per-bacterium levels of DNA and A(T) varied six- and threefold, respectively, during a 6-h period of decreasing growth rate for an unidentified pseudomonad isolated from contaminated groundwater and grown in batch culture. These data suggest that the DNA content of groundwater bacteria may be more sensitive than their A(T) to the degree of carbon loading, which may have significant ramifications in the use of nucleic acids and adenine nucleotides for estimating the metabolic status of bacterial communities within more highly contaminated aquifers.

In-Situ Anomalous Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Studies of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Catalyst Degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilbert, James Andrew

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a promising high efficiency energy conversion technology, but their cost effective implementation, especially for automotive power, has been hindered by degradation of the electrochemically-active surface area (ECA) of the Pt nanoparticle electrocatalysts. While numerous studies using ex-situ post-mortem techniques have provided insight into the effect of operating conditions on ECA loss, the governing mechanisms and underlying processes are not fully understood. Toward the goal of elucidating the electrocatalyst degradation mechanisms, we have followed particle size distribution (PSD) growth evolutions of Pt and Pt-alloy nanoparticle catalysts during potential cycling in an aqueous acidic environment (with and without flow of electrolyte) and in a fuel cell environment using in-situ anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering (ASAXS). The results of this thesis show a surface area loss mechanism of Pt nanoparticles supported on carbon to be predominantly controlled by Pt dissolution, the particle size dependence of Pt dissolution, the loss of dissolved Pt into the membrane and electrolyte, and, to a lesser extent, the re-deposition of dissolved Pt onto larger particles. The relative extent of these loss mechanisms are shown to be dependent on the environment, the temperature, and the potential cycling conditions. Correlation of ASAXS-determined particle growth with both calculated and voltammetrically-determined oxide coverages demonstrates that the oxide coverage is playing a key role in the dissolution process and in the corresponding growth of the mean Pt nanoparticle size and loss of ECA. This understanding potentially reduces the complex changes in PSDs and ECA resulting from various voltage profiles to the response to a single variable, oxide coverage. A better understanding of the degradation mechanisms of Pt and Pt-alloy nanoparticle distributions could lead to more stable electrocatalysts while simultaneously reducing the cost of the materials, thereby supporting more durable and lower cost PEMFCs.

78 FR 66990 - Additional Designations, Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-07

...) [SDNTK] (Linked To: ARRENDADORA TURIN, S.A.; Linked To: DESARROLLOS BIO GAS, S.A. DE C.V.; Linked To: ECA...] (Linked To: BLUE POINT SALT, S.A. DE C.V.; Linked To: DESARROLLOS BIO GAS, S.A. DE C.V.; Linked To: ECA ENERGETICOS, S.A. DE C.V.; Linked To: ORGANIC SALT, S.A. DE C.V.; Linked To: PETRO BIO, S. DE R.L. DE C.V...

Regional drought shifts (1710-2010) in East Central Asia and linkages with atmospheric circulation recorded in tree-ring δ18O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Guobao; Liu, Xiaohong; Trouet, Valerie; Treydte, Kerstin; Wu, Guoju; Chen, Tuo; Sun, Weizhen; An, Wenling; Wang, Wenzhi; Zeng, Xiaomin; Qin, Dahe

2018-04-01

Drought occurrence and duration in central Asia are of important socioeconomic, ecological, and geophysical significance and have received increasing research attention in recent years. Understanding long-term drought trends and their driving forces require reliable records of past drought variability with broad spatial representativeness. Here, we compiled four tree-ring δ18O records from eastern central Asia (ECA) and composited them into a drought-sensitive proxy to explore regional ECA moisture variations over the past 301 years (1710-2010 CE). A robust regional standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI) reconstruction was established based on the tree-ring cellulose δ18O fractionation mechanism and statistically significant proxy-climate relationships. We identified prominent droughts in 1710-1770, 1810-1830, and the beginning of the twenty-first century, and a regime shift to a persistently wet period from the 1880s to 2000. Our reconstruction reveals the impact of drought and pluvial patterns on the decline of Zhungar Empire, and on historical agricultural and socio-economical activities, including increased migration into ECA during the 1770-1800 pluvial. Our findings also suggest that wet conditions in the twentieth century in ECA were related to a strengthening of the westerly circulation and thus shed light on large-scale atmospheric circulation dynamics in central Asia.

Incorporation of Mg, Sr, Ba, U, and B in High-Mg Calcite Benthic Foraminifers Cultured Under Controlled pCO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Not, C.; Thibodeau, B.; Yokoyama, Y.

2018-01-01

Measurement of elemental ratios (E/Ca) has been performed in two symbiont-bearing species of high-Mg calcite benthic foraminifers (hyaline, Baculogypsina sphaerulata and porcelaneous, Amphisorus hemprichii), cultured under five pCO2 levels, representing preindustrial, modern, and three predicted future values. E/Ca ratios were analyzed by Laser Ablation coupled with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS). We measured several E/Ca, such as Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, U/Ca, and B/Ca simultaneously. We observed that high-Mg calcite benthic foraminifers possess higher E/Ca than low-Mg calcite foraminifers, irrespective of their calcification mode (hyaline or porcelaneous). In both modes of calcification, Mg, Sr, Ba, U, and B incorporation could be controlled by Rayleigh fractionation. However, more data are needed to validate and quantify the relative importance of this process and closely investigate the presence/absence of other mechanism. Therefore, it highlights the need for a multielemental approach when looking at trace element incorporation. Finally, no significant relationship was observed between the different ratios and the pCO2 of the water, suggesting that none of the Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, U/Ca, and B/Ca is sensitive to bottom water pCO2 or pH for these species.

Synergistic use of MODIS cloud products and AIRS radiance measurements for retrieval of cloud parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, J.; Menzel, W.; Sun, F.; Schmit, T.

2003-12-01

The Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) measurements from the Earth Observing System's (EOS) Aqua satellite will enable global monitoring of the distribution of clouds. MODIS is able to provide at high spatial resolution (1 ~ 5km) the cloud mask, surface and cloud types, cloud phase, cloud-top pressure (CTP), effective cloud amount (ECA), cloud particle size (CPS), and cloud water path (CWP). AIRS is able to provide CTP, ECA, CPS, and CWP within the AIRS footprint with much better accuracy using its greatly enhanced hyperspectral remote sensing capability. The combined MODIS / AIRS system offers the opportunity for cloud products improved over those possible from either system alone. The algorithm developed was applied to process the AIRS longwave cloudy radiance measurements; results are compared with MODIS cloud products, as well as with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) sounder cloud products, to demonstrate the advantage of synergistic use of high spatial resolution MODIS cloud products and high spectral resolution AIRS sounder radiance measurements for optimal cloud retrieval. Data from ground-based instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Cloud and Radiation Test Bed (CART) in Oklahoma were used for the validation; results show that AIRS improves the MODIS cloud products in certain cases such as low-level clouds.

PD-L1 Expression Promotes Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition in Human Esophageal Cancer.

PubMed

Chen, Lujun; Xiong, Yuqi; Li, Jing; Zheng, Xiao; Zhou, Qi; Turner, Abbey; Wu, Changping; Lu, Binfeng; Jiang, Jingting

2017-01-01

PD-L1 (Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1, PD-L1), an essential immune checkpoint molecule in the tumor microenvironment, is an important target for cancer immunotherapy. We have previously reported that its expression in human gastric and esophageal cancer tissues is significantly associated with cancer progression and patients' postoperative prognoses. Its expression in cancer cells is well known to inhibit the T cell-mediated anti-tumor response, and this mechanism of action has been targeted for cancer immunotherapy. As of now, the autonomous effect of PD-L1 on cancer cells is not well understood, thus our present study aimed to examine the role of PD-L1 intervention in cellular biological functions, especially epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), of the human esophageal cancer cell line, Eca-109 cells. Immunohistochemistry assay was used to investigate the correlation between expression of PD-L1 and EMT markers in human esophageal cancer tissues. Intervention of PD-L1 by using RNAi and over-expression methods were used to study the role of PD-L1 in regulation of biological behaviors and EMT in Eca-109 cells. Our clinical and pathological data demonstrated that tumor samples in the EMT positive subgroup had higher PD-L1 expression than those in the EMT negative subgroup. By manipulating PD-L1 expression in Eca-109 cells either through ablation or overexpression of wild type and the cytoplasmic domain-truncated mutant, we demonstrated that PD-L1 expression significantly promoted the cell viability, migration and EMT phenotype. Furthermore, our study also indicated that PD-1 fusion protein mediated stimulation of PD-L1 and the cytoplasmic domain of PD-L1 played a critical role in promoting EMT phenotype of Eca-109 cells, thereby suggesting that PD-1 receptor usually by triggering the reverse signaling can effect PD-L1 mediated regulation of esophageal cancer cell response. Our present study reveals a tumor cell-autonomous role of PD-L1 signaling in promoting EMT in human esophageal cancer. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Microstructural Effects on the Spall Properties of ECAE-Processed AZ31B Magnesium Alloy

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

ARL-RP-0580 ● OCT 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Microstructural Effects on the Spall Properties of ECAE-Processed AZ31B...not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents. Citation of manufacturer’s...return it to the originator. ARL-RP-0580 ● OCT 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Microstructural Effects on the Spall Properties

Development of Rolling Schedules for Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE)-Processed AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

Processed AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Sheet by Laszlo J Kecskes, Vincent H Hammond, Michael Eichhorst, Norman Herzig, and Lothar Meyer...Angular Extrusion (ECAE)–Processed AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Sheet by Laszlo J Kecskes and Vincent H Hammond Weapons and Materials Research...successfully reduced into 1.5-mm-thick sheets . Two sets of plates, each with a different texture type, were evaluated. Microscopic examination of

Enrichment of Extracellular Carbonic Anhydrase in the Sea Surface Microlayer and Its Effect on Air-Sea CO2 Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mustaffa, N. I. H.; Striebel, M.; Wurl, O.

2017-12-01

This paper describes the quantification of extracellular carbonic anhydrase (eCA) concentrations in the sea surface microlayer (SML), the boundary layer between the ocean and the atmosphere of the Indo-West Pacific. We demonstrated that the SML is enriched with eCA by 1.5 ± 0.7 compared to the mixed underlying water. Enrichment remains up to a wind speed of 7 m s-1 (i.e., under typical oceanic conditions). As eCA catalyzes the interconversion of HCO3- and CO2, it has been hypothesized that its enrichment in the SML enhances the air-sea CO2 exchange. We detected concentrations in the range of 0.12 to 0.76 nM, which can enhance the exchange by up to 15% based on the model approach described in the literature.

Radiation-induced autophagy promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell survival via the LKB1 pathway.

PubMed

Lu, Chi; Xie, Conghua

2016-06-01

Radiotherapy is an important treatment modality for esophageal cancer; however, the clinical efficacy of radiotherapy is limited by tumor radioresistance. In the present study, we explored the hypothesis that radiation induces tumor cell autophagy as a cytoprotective adaptive response, which depends on liver kinase B1 (LKB1) also known as serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11). Radiation-induced Eca-109 cell autophagy was found to be dependent on signaling through the LKB1 pathway, and autophagy inhibitors that disrupted radiation-induced Eca-109 cell autophagy increased cell cycle arrest and cell death in vitro. Inhibition of autophagy also reduced the clonogenic survival of the Eca-109 cells. When treated with radiation alone, human esophageal carcinoma xenografts showed increased LC3B and p-LKB1 expression, which was decreased by the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine. In vivo inhibition of autophagy disrupted tumor growth and increased tumor apoptosis when combined with 6 Gy of ionizing radiation. In summary, our findings elucidate a novel mechanism of resistance to radiotherapy in which radiation-induced autophagy, via the LKB1 pathway, promotes tumor cell survival. This indicates that inhibition of autophagy can serve as an adjuvant treatment to improve the curative effect of radiotherapy.

Visible/Near-Infrared Spectral Properties of MUSES C Target Asteroid 25143 Itokawa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarvis, K. S.; Vilas, F.; Kelley, M. S.; Abell, P. A.

2004-01-01

The Japanese MUSES C mission launched the Hayabusa spacecraft last May 15, 2003, to encounter and study the near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa. The spacecraft will obtain visible images through broadband filters similar to the ECAS filters, and near-infrared spectra from 0.85 - 2.1 microns. In preparation for this encounter, opportunities to study the asteroid with Earth-based telescopes have been fully leveraged. Visible and near-infrared spectral observations were made of asteroid 25143 Itokawa during several nights of March, 2001, around the last apparition. We report here on the results of extensive spectral observations made to address the questions of compositional variations across the surface of the asteroid (as determined by the rotational period and shape model); variations in phase angle (Sun-Itokawa-Earth angle) on spectral characteristics; and predictions of Itokawa observations by Hayabusa based on the spectral resolution and responsivity of the NIRS and AMICA instruments.

Mapping of the chromosome of bacteria Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica 3-2

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

Nikolaichik, E.A.; Pesnyakevich, A.G.

1995-07-01

Two Hfr-like donor strains of bacteria Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica (Eca) 3-2 were developed by integration into the chromosome of the conjugative plasmid R471a via homology with transposon Tn9. Using these and two donor strains created earlier, we constructed the genetic map of a fragment of the chromosome of strain Eca 3-2. The location of 14 loci is shown in this map. 15 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

Genome-Wide Linkage and Association Analysis Identifies Major Gene Loci for Guttural Pouch Tympany in Arabian and German Warmblood Horses

PubMed Central

Metzger, Julia; Ohnesorge, Bernhard; Distl, Ottmar

2012-01-01

Equine guttural pouch tympany (GPT) is a hereditary condition affecting foals in their first months of life. Complex segregation analyses in Arabian and German warmblood horses showed the involvement of a major gene as very likely. Genome-wide linkage and association analyses including a high density marker set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were performed to map the genomic region harbouring the potential major gene for GPT. A total of 85 Arabian and 373 German warmblood horses were genotyped on the Illumina equine SNP50 beadchip. Non-parametric multipoint linkage analyses showed genome-wide significance on horse chromosomes (ECA) 3 for German warmblood at 16–26 Mb and 34–55 Mb and for Arabian on ECA15 at 64–65 Mb. Genome-wide association analyses confirmed the linked regions for both breeds. In Arabian, genome-wide association was detected at 64 Mb within the region with the highest linkage peak on ECA15. For German warmblood, signals for genome-wide association were close to the peak region of linkage at 52 Mb on ECA3. The odds ratio for the SNP with the highest genome-wide association was 0.12 for the Arabian. In conclusion, the refinement of the regions with the Illumina equine SNP50 beadchip is an important step to unravel the responsible mutations for GPT. PMID:22848553

Towards Practical Application of Paper based Printed Circuits: Capillarity Effectively Enhances Conductivity of the Thermoplastic Electrically Conductive Adhesives

PubMed Central

Wu, Haoyi; Chiang, Sum Wai; Lin, Wei; Yang, Cheng; Li, Zhuo; Liu, Jingping; Cui, Xiaoya; Kang, Feiyu; Wong, Ching Ping

2014-01-01

Direct printing nanoparticle-based conductive inks onto paper substrates has encountered difficulties e.g. the nanoparticles are prone to penetrate into the pores of the paper and become partially segmented, and the necessary low-temperature-sintering process is harmful to the dimension-stability of paper. Here we prototyped the paper-based circuit substrate in combination with printed thermoplastic electrically conductive adhesives (ECA), which takes the advantage of the capillarity of paper and thus both the conductivity and mechanical robustness of the printed circuitsweredrastically improved without sintering process. For instance, the electrical resistivity of the ECA specimen on a pulp paper (6 × 10−5Ω·cm, with 50 wt% loading of Ag) was only 14% of that on PET film than that on PET film. This improvement has been found directly related to the sizing degree of paper, in agreement with the effective medium approximation simulation results in this work. The thermoplastic nature also enables excellent mechanical strength of the printed ECA to resist repeated folding. Considering the generality of the process and the wide acceptance of ECA technique in the modern electronic packages, this method may find vast applications in e.g. circuit boards, capacitive touch pads, and radio frequency identification antennas, which have been prototyped in the manuscript. PMID:25182052

Fabrication and characterization of a biodegradable Mg-2Zn-0.5Ca/1β-TCP composite.

PubMed

Huang, Yan; Liu, Debao; Anguilano, Lorna; You, Chen; Chen, Minfang

2015-09-01

A biodegradable magnesium matrix and beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) particles reinforced composite Mg-2Zn-0.5Ca/1beta-TCP (wt.%) was fabricated for biomedical applications by the novel route of combined high shear solidification (HSS) and equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE). The as-cast composite obtained by HSS showed a fine and equiaxed grain structure with globally uniformly distributed β-TCP particles in aggregates of 2-25 μm in size. The ECAE processing at 300 °C resulted in further microstructural refinement and the improvement of β-TCP particle distribution. During ECAE, the β-TCP aggregates were broken into smaller ones or individual particles, forming a dispersion in the matrix. Such fabricated composite exhibited enhanced hardness and in vitro corrosion resistance. The enhanced hardness was attributed to both the addition of β-TCP particles and grain refinement while the development of a Ca-P rich surface layer from β-TCP during corrosion was responsible for the improvement in corrosion resistance. The composite was characterized in terms of microstructural evolution during fabrication, mechanical properties and electrochemical performance during polarization and immersion tests in a simulated body fluid. Discussions are made on the benefits of both HSS and ECAE and the mechanisms responsible for the enhanced corrosion resistance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hot Corrosion Behavior of Ti-48Al and Ti-48Al-2Cr Intermetallic Alloys Produced by Electric Current Activated Sintering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garip, Y.; Ozdemir, O.

2018-06-01

In this study, Ti-48Al and Ti-48Al-2Cr (at. pct) intermetallic alloys were produced by electric current activated sintering (ECAS). In order to characterize the phase formation and microstructures of these alloys, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used. The XRD result shows that the intermetallic alloys are composed of γ-TiAl and α 2-Ti3Al phases. The microstructure is dense with a low amount of porosity. The hot corrosion behavior of intermetallic alloys was carried out in a salt mixture of 25 wt pct K2SO4 and 75 wt pct Na2SO4 at 700 °C for 180 hours. The morphology of corroded surfaces was observed by SEM-EDS and XRD. Corrosion phases were identified as TiO2 and Al2O3. Well-adhering oxide scale was detected on the corroded sample surface at the end of 180 hours, and no spallation was observed. In addition, a parabolic curve was obtained at the weight change rate vs time.

First results of the seven-color asteroid survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Beth E.; Bell, Jeffrey F.; Fanale, Fraser P.; Lucey, Paul G.

1993-03-01

The new Seven-Color infrared filter system (SCAS), designed specifically to capture the essential mineralogical information present in asteroid spectra, is composed of seven broad-band filters which allow for IR observations of objects as faint as 17th magnitude. The first test of the SCAS system occurred in Jul. 1992. In four nights at the IRTF on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, over 67 objects were observed. Five of the observations were to test the new system for accuracy relative to previous observations with the high-resolution 52 Color Infrared Survey and with the Eight-Color Asteroid Survey (ECAS). In three cases, the match with previous data was good. In two cases, the match to previous observations was not as good. In addition, sixty S-Type asteroids were measured with the SCAS system. Forty of those asteroids were also observed with the ECAS system. Among the new observations is infrared data of 371 Bohemia, a main belt asteroid which was classified 'QSV' according to its UBV colors in the taxonomic system of D.J. Tholen. There are no corresponding ECAS data for 371. Q-type asteroids are of special interest as they are proposed to be the elusive parent bodies of the ordinary chondrite meteorites. Most Q-types are Earth-crossing asteroids and have not yet been observed in the infrared (except, perhaps, 371). Positive identification of a large main belt Q-type would be of major importance in the scheme of the geological structure of the asteroid belt. Without visible wavelength data, however, the classification of 371 Bohemia remains ambiguous. An attempt to conjoin Bohemia SCAS data with ECAS data of both a typical Q-Type asteroid and an average S-Type asteroid is shown. This figure thus illustrates the importance of visible wavelength data to the SCAS system. In other words, without ECAS data of 371 Bohemia we cannot use its spectral characteristics to identify it as a possible parent body of ordinary chondrite meteorites.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 4: Open recuperated and bottomed gas turbine cycles. [performance prediction and energy conversion efficiency of gas turbines in electric power plants (thermodynamic cycles)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amos, D. J.; Grube, J. E.

1976-01-01

Open-cycle recuperated gas turbine plant with inlet temperatures of 1255 to 1644 K (1800 to 2500 F) and recuperators with effectiveness values of 0, 70, 80 and 90% are considered. A 1644 K (2500 F) gas turbine would have a 33.5% plant efficiency in a simple cycle, 37.6% in a recuperated cycle and 47.6% when combined with a sulfur dioxide bottomer. The distillate burning recuperated plant was calculated to produce electricity at a cost of 8.19 mills/MJ (29.5 mills/kWh). Due to their low capital cost $170 to 200 $/kW, the open cycle gas turbine plant should see duty for peaking and intermediate load duty.

A full computation-relevant topological dynamics classification of elementary cellular automata.

PubMed

Schüle, Martin; Stoop, Ruedi

2012-12-01

Cellular automata are both computational and dynamical systems. We give a complete classification of the dynamic behaviour of elementary cellular automata (ECA) in terms of fundamental dynamic system notions such as sensitivity and chaoticity. The "complex" ECA emerge to be sensitive, but not chaotic and not eventually weakly periodic. Based on this classification, we conjecture that elementary cellular automata capable of carrying out complex computations, such as needed for Turing-universality, are at the "edge of chaos."

openECA Platform and Analytics Alpha Test Results

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

Robertson, Russell

The objective of the Open and Extensible Control and Analytics (openECA) Platform for Phasor Data project is to develop an open source software platform that significantly accelerates the production, use, and ongoing development of real-time decision support tools, automated control systems, and off-line planning systems that (1) incorporate high-fidelity synchrophasor data and (2) enhance system reliability while enabling the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) operating functions of reliability coordinator, transmission operator, and/or balancing authority to be executed more effectively.

openECA Platform and Analytics Beta Demonstration Results

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

Robertson, Russell

The objective of the Open and Extensible Control and Analytics (openECA) Platform for Phasor Data project is to develop an open source software platform that significantly accelerates the production, use, and ongoing development of real-time decision support tools, automated control systems, and off-line planning systems that (1) incorporate high-fidelity synchrophasor data and (2) enhance system reliability while enabling the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) operating functions of reliability coordinator, transmission operator, and/or balancing authority to be executed more effectively.

Enhanced Colorimetric Immunoassay Accompanying with Enzyme Cascade Amplification Strategy for Ultrasensitive Detection of Low-Abundance Protein

PubMed Central

Gao, Zhuangqiang; Hou, Li; Xu, Mingdi; Tang, Dianping

2014-01-01

Methods based on enzyme labels have been developed for colorimetric immunoassays, but most involve poor sensitivity and are unsuitable for routine use. Herein, we design an enhanced colorimetric immunoassay for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) coupling with an enzyme-cascade-amplification strategy (ECAS-CIA). In the presence of target PSA, the labeled alkaline phosphatase on secondary antibody catalyzes the formation of palladium nanostructures, which catalyze 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine-H2O2 system to produce the colored products, thus resulting in the signal cascade amplification. Results indicated that the ECAS-CIA presents good responses toward PSA, and allows detection of PSA at a concentration as low as 0.05 ng mL−1. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation are below 9.5% and 10.7%, respectively. Additionally, the methodology is validated for analysis of clinical serum specimens with consistent results obtained by PSA ELISA kit. Importantly, the ECAS-CIA opens a new horizon for protein diagnostics and biosecurity. PMID:24509941

Severe wind gust thresholds for Meteoalarm derived from uniform return periods in ECA&D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepek, A.; Wijnant, I. L.; van der Schrier, G.; van den Besselaar, E. J. M.; Klein Tank, A. M. G.

2012-06-01

In this study we present an alternative wind gust warning guideline for Meteoalarm, the severe weather warning website for Europe. There are unrealistically large differences in levels and issuing frequencies of all warning levels currently in use between neighbouring Meteoalarm countries. This study provides a guide for the Meteoalarm community to review their wind gust warning thresholds. A more uniform warning system is achieved by using one pan-European return period per warning level. The associated return values will be different throughout Europe because they depend on local climate conditions, but they will not change abruptly at country borders as is currently the case for the thresholds. As return values are a measure of the possible danger of an event and its impact on society, they form an ideal basis for a warning system. Validated wind gust measurements from the European Climate Assessment and Dataset (ECA&D, http://www.ecad.eu) were used to calculate return values of the annual maximum wind gust. The current thresholds are compared with return values for 3 different return periods: 10 times a year return periods for yellow warnings, 2 yr periods for orange and 5 yr periods for red warnings. So far 10 countries provide wind gust data to ECA&D. Due to the ECA&D completeness requirements and the fact that some countries provided too few stations to be representative for that country, medians of the return values of annual maximum wind gust could be calculated for 6 of the 10 countries. Alternative guideline thresholds are presented for Norway, Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain and the need to distinguish between coastal, inland and mountainous regions is demonstrated. The new thresholds based on uniform return periods differ significantly from the current ones, particularly for coastal and mountainous areas. We are aware of other, sometimes binding factors (e.g. laws) that prevent participating counties from implementing this climatology based warning system.

Corrosion barriers processed by Al electroplating and their resistance against flowing Pb-15.7Li

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krauss, Wolfgang; Konys, Jürgen; Wulf, Sven-Erik

2014-12-01

In the HCLL blanket design, ferritic-martensitic steels are in direct contact with the flowing liquid breeder Pb-15.7Li and have to withstand severe corrosion attack. Beyond corrosion, T-permeation from the breeder into the RAFM-steels is also an important issue and has to be reduced significantly. Earlier work showed that Al-based coatings can act as barriers for both, however, applied processes e.g. HDA or VPS exhibited strong drawbacks in the past. Meanwhile new industrial relevant coating processes, using electroplating technology are under development and called ECA (electrochemical aluminization) and ECX (electrochemical deposition from ionic liquids) process. In this study electrochemically Al-coated and heat-treated Eurofer samples were tested in PICOLO loop for exposure times up to 12,000 h (ECA) and 2000 h (first results ECX) respectively to determine corrosion properties in flowing Pb-15.7Li (550 °C, 0.1 m/s). Cross section analysis afterward corrosion testing proved the ability of thin Al-based barriers made by electrochemical techniques to protect the bare Eurofer from corrosion attack even at exposure times of 12,000 h. Determined radial corrosion rates lay between 10 and 20 μm/a. First results for ECX coated samples (2000 h) revealed more homogeneous corrosion behavior of the barrier layer itself compared to ECA.

Dual effects of 8-Br-cAMP on differentiation and apoptosis of human esophageal cancer cell line Eca-109

PubMed Central

Wang, Hong-Mei; Zheng, Nai-Gang; Wu, Jing-Lan; Gong, Cui-Cui; Wang, Yi-Ling

2005-01-01

AIM: To investigate the effects of 8-Br-cAMP on differentiation and apoptosis of human esophageal cancer cell line Eca-109, and the related gene expression. METHODS: The cultured Eca-109 cells were divided into four groups: E1 group (co-cultured with 8-Br-cAMP for 24 h); E2 group (co-cultured with 8-Br-cAMP for 48 h); C1 group (treated without 8-Br-cAMP for 24 h); and C2 group (treated without 8-Br-cAMP for 48 h). The same concentration of cell suspension of each group was dropped separately onto the slides and nitrocellulose membranes (NCM). The biotin-labeled cDNA probes for c-myc, wild-type (wt) p53, bcl-2 and iNOS were prepared for in situ hybridization. The expressions of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), p38 kinase, FAS, FasL and caspase-3 were detected using immunocytochemistry, and the NOS activity and the ratio of differentiated cells/proliferating cells were examined by cytochemistry. Immunocytochemistry, cytochemistry, and in situ hybridization were separately carried out on both slides and NCM specimens for each group. In addition, TUNEL was used to detect the cell apoptosis rate in each group. RESULTS: The apoptotic rate of E2 group was significantly higher compared to E1 group, while there was no difference in the ratio of differentiated cells/proliferating cells between E1 and E2 groups. The signals of wt p53 and iNOS were markedly stronger, while the signals of c-myc and EGFR were obviously weaker in E1 group than those in C1 group (P<0.05). Moreover, the signals of wt p53, iNOS, p38 kinase, caspase-3 and NOS activity were significantly stronger, whereas, the signals of bcl-2, c-myc and Fas/FasL were markedly weaker in E2 group than those in C2 group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The differentiation and apoptosis of human esophageal cancer cell Eca-109 can be induced after 24- and 48-h treatment with 8-Br-cAMP, respectively. Upregulation of wt p53, iNOS and downregulation of c-myc may be associated with differentiation and apoptosis of Eca-109 cells. Furthermore, upregulation of FasL, p38 kinase and caspase-3 as well as downregulation of bcl-2, and Fas may be involved in the apoptosis of Eca-109 cells. PMID:16425431

75 FR 56645 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the United...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-16

... and other experts throughout the United States. Participants: Participants will be nominated by U.S... Office of the Legal Adviser or by other Department elements. Final funding decisions are at the...

Concentration Effects of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Degradation Products on Oxygen Reduction Activity for Three Platinum Catalysts

DOE PAGES

Christ, J. M.; Neyerlin, K. C.; Richards, R.; ...

2014-10-04

A rotating disk electrode (RDE) along with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), were used to investigate the impact of two model compounds representing degradation products of Nafion and 3M perfluorinated sulfonic acid membranes on the electrochemical surface area (ECA) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of polycrystalline Pt, nano-structured thin film (NSTF) Pt (3M), and Pt/Vulcan carbon (Pt/Vu) (TKK) electrodes. ORR kinetic currents (measured at 0.9 V and transport corrected) were found to decrease linearly with the log of concentration for both model compounds on all Pt surfaces studied. Ultimately, model compound adsorption effects on ECA weremore » more abstruse due to competitive organic anion adsorption on Pt surfaces superimposing with the hydrogen underpotential deposition (HUPD) region.« less

Energy conversion alternatives study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shure, L. T.

1979-01-01

Comparison of coal based energy systems is given. Study identifies and compares various advanced energy conversion systems using coal or coal derived fuels for baselaoad electric power generation. Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS) reports provede government, industry, and general public with technically consistent basis for comparison of system's options of interest for fossilfired electric-utility application.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), General Electric Phase 1. Volume 1: Executive summary. [using coal or coal derived fuels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corman, J. C.

1976-01-01

A data base for the comparison of advanced energy conversion systems for utility applications using coal or coal-derived fuels was developed. Estimates of power plant performance (efficiency), capital cost, cost of electricity, natural resource requirements, and environmental intrusion characteristics were made for ten advanced conversion systems. Emphasis was on the energy conversion system in the context of a base loaded utility power plant. All power plant concepts were premised on meeting emission standard requirements. A steam power plant (3500 psig, 1000 F) with a conventional coal-burning furnace-boiler was analyzed as a basis for comparison. Combined cycle gas/steam turbine system results indicated competitive efficiency and a lower cost of electricity compared to the reference steam plant. The Open-Cycle MHD system results indicated the potential for significantly higher efficiency than the reference steam plant but with a higher cost of electricity.

Progression of external and internal carotid artery stenosis is associated with a higher risk of ischemic neurologic events in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis.

PubMed

Masoomi, Reza; Shah, Zubair; Dawn, Buddhadeb; Vamanan, Karthik; Nanjundappa, Aravinda; Gupta, Kamal

2017-10-01

A small percentage of patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (ACAS) who are on optimal medical management do go on to develop ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attacks (IS/TIA). Several diagnostic tools have been studied to identify those patients who are at increased risk. However, most of these diagnostic tools are not available for routine clinical use or are resource intensive. We performed a retrospective study to assess the incremental value of external carotid artery stenosis progression (ECASP) along with internal carotid artery stenosis progression (ICASP) in predicting risk of ipsilateral IS/TIA in a cohort of patients with ACAS. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with ACAS who had at least two serial duplex ultrasounds (DUS) at our center. A total of 356 patients (712 carotid arteries) were included in the study (mean age 74.7±9 years, 49.2% male) with a mean follow-up of 60.7±32.7 months. In univariate analysis, concurrent progression of ICA and ECA stenosis on the same side arteries was associated with a very significant increased risk of ipsilateral IS/TIA (14.7% vs 4.6%, p<0.001). Also, multivariable regression analysis showed that concurrent ECA/ICA progression was an independent predictor of IS/TIA (OR=3.6, 95% CI 1.64-7.8; p=0.001). ECASP along with ICASP is significantly associated with increased risk of ipsilateral IS/TIA and provides incremental risk stratification over that provided by ICASP alone. The ECA is routinely evaluated in clinical practice, and it could serve as an additional marker for identifying higher risk patients with ACAS.

76 FR 49826 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the United...

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2011-08-11

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75 FR 70764 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the U.S...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-18

..., journalistic ethics, the media's relationship to the public interest, and media business models. The Institute... following fields: Journalism, media studies, communication studies, and/or other disciplines or sub... for Grant Proposals: Study of the U.S. Institutes for Student Leaders on New Media in Journalism...

Environmental Cost Analysis System (ECAS) Status and Compliance Requirements for EM Consolidated Business Center Contracts - 13204

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

Sanford, P.C.; Moe, M.A.; Hombach, W.G.

2013-07-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has developed a web-accessible database to collect actual cost data from completed EM projects to support cost estimating and analysis. This Environmental Cost Analysis System (ECAS) database was initially deployed in early 2009 containing the cost and parametric data from 77 decommissioning, restoration, and waste management projects completed under the Rocky Flats Closure Project. In subsequent years we have added many more projects to ECAS and now have a total of 280 projects from 8 major DOE sites. This data is now accessible to DOE users through a web-based reportingmore » tool that allows users to tailor report outputs to meet their specific needs. We are using it as a principal resource supporting the EM Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC) and the EM Applied Cost Engineering (ACE) team cost estimating and analysis efforts across the country. The database has received Government Accountability Office review as supporting its recommended improvements in DOE's cost estimating process, as well as review from the DOE Office of Acquisition and Project Management (APM). Moving forward, the EMCBC has developed a Special Contract Requirement clause or 'H-Clause' to be included in all current and future EMCBC procurements identifying the process that contractors will follow to provide DOE their historical project data in a format compatible with ECAS. Changes to DOE O 413.3B implementation are also in progress to capture historical costs as part of the Critical Decision project closeout process. (authors)« less

Equal channel angular extrusion for bulk processing of Fe–Co–2V soft magnetic alloys, part II: Texture analysis and magnetic properties

DOE PAGES

Kustas, Andrew B.; Michael, Joseph R.; Susan, Don F.; ...

2018-06-04

In Part I, equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) was demonstrated as a novel, simple-shear deformation process for producing bulk forms of the low ductility Fe–Co–2V (Hiperco 50A®) soft ferromagnetic alloy with refined grain sizes. Microstructures and mechanical properties were discussed. In this Part II contribution, the crystallographic textures and quasi-static magnetic properties of ECAE-processed Hiperco were characterized. The textures were of a simple-shear character defined by partial {110} and <111> fibers inclined relative to the extrusion direction, in agreement with the expectations for simple-shear deformation textures of BCC metals. These textures were observed throughout all processing conditions and only slightlymore » reduced in intensity by subsequent recrystallization heat treatments. Characterization of the magnetic properties revealed a lower coercivity and higher permeability for ECAE-processed Hiperco specimens relative to the conventionally processed and annealed Hiperco bar. In conclusion, the effects of the resultant microstructure and texture on the coercivity and permeability magnetic properties are discussed.« less

Equal channel angular extrusion for bulk processing of Fe–Co–2V soft magnetic alloys, part II: Texture analysis and magnetic properties

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

Kustas, Andrew B.; Michael, Joseph R.; Susan, Don F.

In Part I, equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) was demonstrated as a novel, simple-shear deformation process for producing bulk forms of the low ductility Fe–Co–2V (Hiperco 50A®) soft ferromagnetic alloy with refined grain sizes. Microstructures and mechanical properties were discussed. In this Part II contribution, the crystallographic textures and quasi-static magnetic properties of ECAE-processed Hiperco were characterized. The textures were of a simple-shear character defined by partial {110} and <111> fibers inclined relative to the extrusion direction, in agreement with the expectations for simple-shear deformation textures of BCC metals. These textures were observed throughout all processing conditions and only slightlymore » reduced in intensity by subsequent recrystallization heat treatments. Characterization of the magnetic properties revealed a lower coercivity and higher permeability for ECAE-processed Hiperco specimens relative to the conventionally processed and annealed Hiperco bar. In conclusion, the effects of the resultant microstructure and texture on the coercivity and permeability magnetic properties are discussed.« less

Tensile properties and water absorption assessment of linear low-Density Polyethylene/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)/Kenaf composites: effect of eco-friendly coupling agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, A. L.; Ismail, H.; Abu Bakar, A.

2018-02-01

Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE)/poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) filled with untreated kenaf (UT-KNF) and eco-friendly coupling agent (ECA)-treated kenaf (ECAT-KNF) were prepared using ThermoHaake internal mixer, respectively. Filler loadings of UT-KNF and ECAT-KNF used in this study are 10 and 40 parts per hundred parts of resin (phr). The effect of ECA on tensile properties and water absorption of LLDPE/PVOH/KNF composites were investigated. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis was applied to visualize filler-matrix adhesion. The results indicate LLDPE/PVOH/ECAT-KNF composites possess higher tensile strength and tensile modulus, but lower elongation at break compared to LLDPE/PVOH/UT-KNF composites. The morphological studies of tensile fractured surfaces using FESEM support the increment in tensile properties of LLDPE/PVOH/ECAT-KNF composites. Nevertheless, LLDPE/PVOH/UT-KNF composites reveal higher water absorption compared to LLDPE/PVOH/ECAT-KNF composites.

76 FR 4978 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: National Security...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-27

... of 15 and 18 at the start of the program), in intensive, substantive overseas foreign language study... the learning and use of foreign languages by creating and optimizing overseas language study..., speaking, reading and writing), as verified through pre- and post- program assessment with a standardized...

Towards measuring the semantic capacity of a physical medium demonstrated with elementary cellular automata.

PubMed

Dittrich, Peter

2018-02-01

The organic code concept and its operationalization by molecular codes have been introduced to study the semiotic nature of living systems. This contribution develops further the idea that the semantic capacity of a physical medium can be measured by assessing its ability to implement a code as a contingent mapping. For demonstration and evaluation, the approach is applied to a formal medium: elementary cellular automata (ECA). The semantic capacity is measured by counting the number of ways codes can be implemented. Additionally, a link to information theory is established by taking multivariate mutual information for quantifying contingency. It is shown how ECAs differ in their semantic capacities, how this is related to various ECA classifications, and how this depends on how a meaning is defined. Interestingly, if the meaning should persist for a certain while, the highest semantic capacity is found in CAs with apparently simple behavior, i.e., the fixed-point and two-cycle class. Synergy as a predictor for a CA's ability to implement codes can only be used if context implementing codes are common. For large context spaces with sparse coding contexts synergy is a weak predictor. Concluding, the approach presented here can distinguish CA-like systems with respect to their ability to implement contingent mappings. Applying this to physical systems appears straight forward and might lead to a novel physical property indicating how suitable a physical medium is to implement a semiotic system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Production of Dense Compact Billet From Ti-Alloy Powder Using Equal Channel Angular Extrusion

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-06

dry lubricant 2 175 RT 95.3 dry lubricant 3 262 RT 95.6 dry lubricant 4 21 100 95.4 dry lubricant 5 43 100 96 dry lubricant 6 175 100 96.2 dry...175 98.1 371 3 262 98.2 426 4 350 98.3 412 ECAE compaction with Al tubes 5 350 97.4 415 6 393 97.8 419 7 436 97.6 438 8* 480 98.6 431 ECAE...PRODUCTION OF DENSE COMPACT BILLET FROM Ti-ALLOY POWDER USING EQUAL CHANNEL ANGULAR EXTRUSION Final Report 4 /06/2007

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 5: Combined gas-steam turbine cycles. [energy conversion efficiency in electric power plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amos, D. J.; Foster-Pegg, R. W.; Lee, R. M.

1976-01-01

The energy conversion efficiency of gas-steam turbine cycles was investigated for selected combined cycle power plants. Results indicate that it is possible for combined cycle gas-steam turbine power plants to have efficiencies several point higher than conventional steam plants. Induction of low pressure steam into the steam turbine is shown to improve the plant efficiency. Post firing of the boiler of a high temperature combined cycle plant is found to increase net power but to worsen efficiency. A gas turbine pressure ratio of 12 to 1 was found to be close to optimum at all gas turbine inlet temperatures that were studied. The coal using combined cycle plant with an integrated low-Btu gasifier was calculated to have a plant efficiency of 43.6%, a capitalization of $497/kW, and a cost of electricity of 6.75 mills/MJ (24.3 mills/kwh). This combined cycle plant should be considered for base load power generation.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 11: Advanced steam systems. [energy conversion efficiency for electric power plants using steam

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolfe, R. W.

1976-01-01

A parametric analysis was made of three types of advanced steam power plants that use coal in order to have a comparison of the cost of electricity produced by them a wide range of primary performance variables. Increasing the temperature and pressure of the steam above current industry levels resulted in increased energy costs because the cost of capital increased more than the fuel cost decreased. While the three plant types produced comparable energy cost levels, the pressurized fluidized bed boiler plant produced the lowest energy cost by the small margin of 0.69 mills/MJ (2.5 mills/kWh). It is recommended that this plant be designed in greater detail to determine its cost and performance more accurately than was possible in a broad parametric study and to ascertain problem areas which will require development effort. Also considered are pollution control measures such as scrubbers and separates for particulate emissions from stack gases.

Simplifying field-scale assessment of spatiotemporal changes of soil salinity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Monitoring soil salinity (ECe) is important to properly plan agronomic and irrigation practices. Salinity can be readily measured through soil sampling directed by geospatial measurements of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa). Using data from a long-term (1999-2012) monitoring study at a 32...

Stability of spatial distributions of stink bugs, boll injury, and NDVI in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A two-year study was conducted to determine the degree of aggregation of thrips, stink bugs, and aphids in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., and their spatial association with soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa), a multispectral vegetation index (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI]), ...

Vitamin D receptor and megalin gene polymorphisms are associated with central adiposity status and changes among US adults.

PubMed

Beydoun, May A; Tanaka, Toshiko; Beydoun, Hind A; Ding, Eric L; Ferrucci, Luigi; Zonderman, Alan B

2013-01-01

We examined longitudinal associations of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and megalin (LRP2; LDL receptor-related protein-2) gene polymorphisms with central adiposity. We used data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), an ongoing prospective open cohort study. Study participants consisted of non-Hispanic white adults residing in Baltimore city, with one or more visits at age ≥50 years, and complete data (n 609-617). Repeated assessments on waist circumference (WC) and waist:hip ratio (WHR) were available. Multiple linear mixed models were used to estimate mid-follow-up age central adiposity level and annual rate of change with cut-points set at the sex-specific 80th percentile. The four binary outcomes were: 'elevated central adiposity' (ECA-WC and ECA-WHR) and 'significant increase in central adiposity' (SICA-WC and SICA-WHR). SNP for VDR (four SNP: (1) rs11568820 (CdX-2:T/C); (2) rs1544410 (BsmI:G/A); (3) rs7975232 (ApaI:A/C); (4) rs731236 (TaqI:G/A)) and Megalin (three SNP: (1) rs3755166:G/A; (2) rs2075252:C/T; (3) rs4668123:C/T) genes were selected. SNP latent classes (SNPLC) and SNP haplotypes (SNPHAP) were created. Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that, in men, higher ECA-WHR odds were associated with SNPLC Megalin2:rs3755166[-]/rs2075252[TT]/rs4668123[T-] (v. Megalin1:rs3755166[-]/rs2075252[CC]/rs4668123[-]) (OR 2·87; 95 % CI 1·15, 7·12; P = 0·023) and that SNPLC Megalin3:rs3755166[-]/rs2075252[CT]/rs4668123[-] (v. Megalin1) was linked to lower SICA-WC odds (OR 0·48; 95 % CI 0·26, 0·88; P = 0·019) (P > 0·05 for sex × SNPLC). In women, VDR3 SNPHAP (GAA:bAT) was related to lower odds of ECA-WC (OR 0·37; 95 % CI 0·16, 0·87; P = 0·023) (P < 0·05 for sex × SNPHAP), VDR1 SNPHAP (GCA:baT) was associated with greater odds and VDR3 SNPHAP (GAA:bAT) with lower odds of SICA-WC (P > 0·05 for sex × SNPHAP). Vitamin D-related gene polymorphisms were associated with central adiposity status and change. Future mechanistic studies are needed to confirm those polymorphisms' biological significance to central adiposity.

75 FR 62169 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the United...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-07

... for Grant Proposals: Study of the United States Institutes for Student Leaders on U.S. History and..., 2012. Application Deadline: December 3, 2010. Executive Summary: The Branch for the Study of the United... proposal submissions for the design and implementation of six (6) Study of the U.S. Institutes for Student...

Estimation of lifetime of carbonaceous aerosol from open crop residue burning during Mount Tai Experiment 2006 (MTX2006)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, X. L.; Kanaya, Y.; Wang, Z. F.; Komazaki, Y.; Taketani, F.; Akimoto, H.; Pochanart, P.; Liu, Y.

2012-06-01

Studying the emission ratios of carbonaceous aerosols (element carbon, EC, and organic carbon, OC) from open biomass burning helps to reduce uncertainties in emission inventories and provides necessary constraints for model simulations. We measured apparent elemental carbon (ECa) and OC concentrations at the summit of Mount Tai (Mt. Tai) during intensive open crop residue burning (OCRB) episodes using a Sunset OCEC analyzer. Equivalent black carbon (BCe) concentrations were determined using a Multiple Angle Absorption Photometer (MAAP). In the fine particle mode, OC and EC showed strong correlations (r > 0.9) with carbon monoxide (CO). Footprint analysis using the FLEXPART_WRF model indicated that OCRB in central east China (CEC) had a significant influence on ambient carbonaceous aerosol loadings at the summit of Mt. Tai. ΔECa/ΔCO ratios resulting from OCRB plumes were 14.3 ± 1.0 ng m-3 ppbv-1 at Mt. Tai. This ratio was more than three times those resulting from urban pollution in CEC, demonstrating that significant concentrations of soot particles were released from OCRB. ΔOC/ΔCO ratio from fresh OCRB plumes was found to be 41.9 ± 2.6 ng m-3 ppbv-1 in PM1. The transport time of smoke particles was estimated using the FLEXPART_WRF tracer model by releasing inert particles from the ground layer inside geographical regions where large numbers of hotspots were detected by a MODIS satellite sensor. Fitting regressions using the e-folding exponential function indicated that the removal efficiency of OC (normalized to CO) was much larger than that of ECa mass, with mean lifetimes of 27 h (1.1 days) for OC and 105 h (4.3 days) for ECa, respectively. The lifetime of black carbon estimated for the OCRB events in east China was comparably lower than the values normally adopted in the transport models. Short lifetime of organic carbon highlighted the vulnerability of OC to cloud scavenging in the presence of water-soluble organic species from biomass combustion.

Calcium content and high calcium adaptation of plants in karst areas of southwestern Hunan, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Xiaocong; Deng, Xiangwen; Xiang, Wenhua; Lei, Pifeng; Ouyang, Shuai; Wen, Hongfang; Chen, Liang

2018-05-01

Rocky desertification is a major ecological problem of land degradation in karst areas. In these areas, the high soil calcium (Ca) content has become an important environmental factor that can affect the restoration of vegetation. Consequently, the screening of plant species that can adapt to high Ca soil environments is a critical step in vegetation restoration. In this study, three grades of rocky desertification sample areas were selected in karst areas of southwestern Hunan, China (LRD: light rocky desertification; MRD: moderate rocky desertification; and IRD: intense rocky desertification). Each grade of these sample areas had three sample plots in different slope positions, each of which had four small quadrats (one in rocky-side areas, three in non-rocky-side areas). We measured the Ca content of leaves, branches, and roots from 41 plant species, as well as soil total Ca (TCa) and exchangeable Ca (ECa) at depths of 0-15, 15-30, and 30-45 cm in each small quadrat. The results showed that the soil Ca2+ content in rocky-side areas was significantly higher than that in non-rocky-side areas (p < 0.05). The mean soil TCa and ECa content increased gradually along with the grade of rocky desertification, in the order IRD > MRD > LRD. For all plant functional groups, the plant Ca content of aboveground parts was significantly higher than that of the belowground parts (p < 0.05). The soil ECa content had significant effects on plant Ca content of the belowground parts but had no significant effects on plant Ca content of the aboveground parts. Of the 41 plant species that were sampled, 17 were found to be dominant (important value > 1). The differences in Ca2+ content between the aboveground and belowground parts of the 17 dominant species were calculated, and their correlations with soil ECa content were analyzed. The results showed that these 17 species can be divided into three categories: Ca-indifferent plants, high-Ca plants, and low-Ca plants. These findings provide a vital theoretical basis and practical guide for vegetation restoration and ecosystem reconstruction in rocky desertification areas.

Can we quantify the variability of soil moisture across scales using Electromagnetic Induction ?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinet, Jérémy; von Hebel, Christian; van der Kruk, Jan; Govers, Gerard; Vanderborght, Jan

2017-04-01

Soil moisture is a key variable in many natural processes. Therefore, technological and methodological advancements are of primary importance to provide accurate measurements of spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture. In that context, ElectroMagnetic Induction (EMI) instruments are often cited as a hydrogeophysical method with a large potential, through the measurement of the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated the potential of EMI to characterize variability of soil moisture on both agricultural and forested land covers in a (sub-) tropical environment. These differences in land use could be critical as differences in temperature, transpiration and root water uptake can have significant effect, notably on the electrical conductivity of the pore water. In this study, we used an EMI instrument to carry out a first assessment of the impact of deforestation and agriculture on soil moisture in a subtropical region in the south of Brazil. We selected slopes of different topographies (gentle vs. steep) and contrasting land uses (natural forest vs. agriculture) within two nearby catchments. At selected locations on the slopes, we measured simultaneously ECa using EMI and a depth-weighted average of the soil moisture using TDR probes installed within soil pits. We found that the temporal variability of the soil moisture could not be measured accurately with EMI, probably because of important temporal variations of the pore water electrical conductivity and the relatively small temporal variations in soil moisture content. However, we found that its spatial variability could be effectively quantified using a non-linear relationship, for both intra- and inter-slopes variations. Within slopes, the ECa could explained between 67 and 90% of the variability of the soil moisture, while a single non-linear model for all the slopes could explain 55% of the soil moisture variability. We eventually showed that combining a specific relationship for the most degraded slope (steep slope under agriculture) and a single relationship for all the other slopes, both non-linear relations, yielded the best results with an overall explained variance of 90%. We applied the latter model to measurements of the ECa along transects at the different slopes, which allowed us to highlight the strong control of topography on the soil moisture content. We also observed a significant impact of the land use with higher moisture content on the agricultural slopes, probably due to a reduced evapotranspiration.

Synthesis and structural characterization of the Zintl phases Na{sub 3}Ca{sub 3}TrPn{sub 4}, Na{sub 3}Sr{sub 3}TrPn{sub 4}, and Na{sub 3}Eu{sub 3}TrPn{sub 4} (Tr=Al, Ga, In; Pn=P, As, Sb)

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

Wang, Yi; Suen, Nian-Tzu; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002

15 new quaternary Zintl phases have been synthesized by solid-state reactions from the respective elements, and their structures have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Na{sub 3}E{sub 3}TrPn{sub 4} (E=Ca, Sr, Eu; Tr=Al, Ga, In; Pn=P, As, Sb) crystallize in the hexagonal crystal system with the non-centrosymmetric space group P6{sub 3}mc (No. 186). The structure represents a variant of the K{sub 6}HgS{sub 4} structure type (Pearson index hP22) and features [TrPn{sub 4}]{sup 9–} tetrahedral units, surrounded by Na{sup +} and Ca{sup 2+}, Sr{sup 2+}, Eu{sup 2+} cations. The nominal formula rationalization [Na{sup +}]{sub 3}[E{sup 2+}]{sub 3}[TrPn{sub 4}]{sup 9–} follows themore » octet rule, suggesting closed-shell configurations for all atoms and intrinsic semiconducting behavior. However, structure refinements for several members hint at disorder and mixing of cations that potentially counteract the optimal valence electron count. - Graphical abstract: The hexagonal, non-centrosymmetric structure of Na{sub 3}E{sub 3}TrPn{sub 4} (E=Ca, Sr, Eu; Tr=Al, Ga, In; Pn=P, As, Sb) features [TrPn{sub 4}]{sup 9–} tetrahedral units, surrounded by Na{sup +} and Ca{sup 2+}, Sr{sup 2+}, Eu{sup 2+} cations. - Highlights: • 15 quaternary phosphides, arsenides, and antimonides are synthesized and structurally characterized. • The structure is a variant of the hexagonal K{sub 6}HgS{sub 4}-type, with distinctive pattern for the cations. • Occupational and/or positional disorder of yet unknown origin exists for some members of the series.« less

The anti-esophageal cancer cell activity by a novel tyrosine/phosphoinositide kinase inhibitor PP121

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

Peng, Yi; Zhou, Yajuan; Department of Radiation Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Wuhan 430071

Here we explored the potential effect of PP121, a novel dual inhibitor of tyrosine and phosphoinositide kinases, against human esophageal cancer cells. We showed that PP121 exerted potent cytotoxic effect in primary (patient-derived) and established (Eca-109, TE-1 and TE-3 lines) esophageal cancer cells, possibly through activating caspase-3-dependnent apoptosis. PP121 was, however, non-cytotoxic to the normal human esophageal epithelial cells (EECs). At the molecular level, we showed that PP121 blocked Akt-mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) activation in esophageal cancer cells, which was restored by introducing a constitutively-active Akt (CA-Akt). Yet, CA-Akt only partly inhibited cytotoxicity by PP121 in Eca-109 cells. Importantly, wemore » showed that PP121 inhibited nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) signaling activation in esophageal cancer cells, which appeared independent of Akt-mTOR blockage. In vivo, oral administration of PP121 remarkably inhibited Eca-109 xenograft growth in nude mice, and significantly improved mice survival. Further, the immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot assays analyzing xenografted tumors showed that PP121 inhibited Akt-mTOR and NFκB activations in vivo. Together, we demonstrate that PP121 potently inhibits esophageal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, possibly through concurrently inhibiting Akt-mTOR and NFκB signalings. - Highlights: • PP121 is cytotoxic against primary and established esophageal cancer cells. • PP121 induces caspase-3-dependnent apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells. • PP121 blocks Akt-mTOR activation in esophageal cancer cells. • PP121 inhibits NFκB activation, independent of Akt-mTOR blockage. • PP121 inhibits Eca-109 xenograft growth and Akt-mTOR/NFκB activation in vivo.« less

L-Phenylalanine concentration in blood of phenylketonuria patients: a modified enzyme colorimetric assay compared with amino acid analysis, tandem mass spectrometry, and HPLC methods.

PubMed

De Silva, Veronica; Oldham, Charlie D; May, Sheldon W

2010-09-01

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by an impaired conversion of L-phenylalanine (Phe) to L-tyrosine, typically resulting from a deficiency in activity of a hepatic and renal enzyme L-phenylalanine hydroxylase. The disease is characterized by an increased concentration of Phe and its metabolites in body fluids. A modified assay based on an enzymatic-colorimetric methodology was developed for measuring blood Phe levels in PKU patients; this method is designed for use with undeproteinized samples and avoids the use of solvents or amphiphilic agents. Thus, the method could be suitable for incorporation into a simple home-monitoring device. We report here on a comparison of blood Phe concentrations in PKU patients measured in undeproteinized plasma using this enzyme colorimetric assay (ECA), with values determined by amino acid analysis (AAA) of deproteinized samples, and HPLC and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analyses of dried blood spot (DBS) eluates. Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.951, 0.976 and 0.988 were obtained when AAA-measured Phe concentrations were compared with the ECA-, HPLC- or MS/MS-measured values, respectively. A Bland-Altman analysis revealed that mean Phe concentrations determined using AAA were on average 65 μmol/L lower than values measured by our ECA. These results may be the result of minimizing the manipulations performed on the patient sample compared with AAA, HPLC, and MS/MS methods, which involve plasma deproteinization or DBS elution and derivatization. The results reported here confirm that Phe concentrations determined by our ECA method are comparable to those determined by other widely used methods for a broad range of plasma Phe concentrations.

An AIS-based high-resolution ship emission inventory and its uncertainty in Pearl River Delta region, China.

PubMed

Li, Cheng; Yuan, Zibing; Ou, Jiamin; Fan, Xiaoli; Ye, Siqi; Xiao, Teng; Shi, Yuqi; Huang, Zhijiong; Ng, Simon K W; Zhong, Zhuangmin; Zheng, Junyu

2016-12-15

Ship emissions contribute significantly to air pollution and impose health risks to residents along the coastal area. By using the refined data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), this study developed a highly resolved ship emission inventory for the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, China, home to three of ten busiest ports in the world. The region-wide SO 2 , NO X , CO, PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and VOC emissions in 2013 were estimated to be 61,484, 103,717, 10,599, 7155, 6605, and 4195t, respectively. Ocean going vessels were the largest contributors of the total emissions, followed by coastal vessels and river vessels. In terms of ship type, container ship was the leading contributor, followed by conventional cargo ship, dry bulk carrier, fishing ship, and oil tanker. These five ship types accounted for >90% of total emissions. The spatial distributions of emissions revealed that the key emission hot spots all concentrated within the newly proposed emission control area (ECA) and ship emissions within ECA covered >80% of total ship emissions in the PRD, highlighting the importance of ECA in emissions reduction in the PRD. The uncertainties of emission estimates of pollutants were quantified, with lower bounds of -24.5% to -21.2% and upper bounds of 28.6% to 33.3% at 95% confidence intervals. The lower uncertainties in this study highlighted the powerfulness of AIS data in improving ship emission estimates. The AIS-based bottom-up methodology can be used for developing and upgrading ship emission inventory and formulating effective control measures on ship emissions in other port regions wherever possible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

76 FR 2432 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: FY2012 Humphrey...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-13

... countries' development needs in key areas including public health, sustainable growth, and democratic... leadership skills for public service in their countries. Each year the Humphrey Program brings accomplished... combining non-degree graduate study, leadership training, and professional development. Candidates for the...

Internationalization and Faculty-Led Service Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradshaw, Geoffrey W.

2013-01-01

In 2010, Madison Area Technical College (Madison College), a comprehensive community college in Madison, Wisconsin, was selected by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) to head a consortium project to expand the capacity of community colleges to offer study-abroad programs. The project focuses on…

Topsoil thickness effects on phosphorus and potassium dynamics on claypan soils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Due to variable depth to claypan (DTC) across landscapes, nutrient supply from subsoils, and crop removal, precise P and K fertilizer management on claypan soil fields can be difficult. Therefore, a study was performed to determine if DTC derived from soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) coul...

76 FR 68250 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the U.S...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-03

... for Grant Proposals: Study of the U.S. Institutes for Women Student Leaders on Women's Leadership... States Institutes for Women Student Leaders on Women's Leadership. Applicants may submit a proposal to... undergraduate students from the countries and regions noted below with in-depth seminars on Women's Leadership...

76 FR 6172 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Summer Institutes...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-03

... applications from accredited post-secondary education institutions in the United States. The awarding of one or... specific field of study, while also heightening their awareness of the history and evolution of U.S... should be addressed. In addition to promoting a better understanding of a specific field of study and the...

75 FR 11612 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: The U.S./Pakistan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-11

... Islamabad for at least one day to coordinate pre-departure and post program briefings with the Public... approximately 100-140 participants from Pakistan the opportunity to study and take an active part in journalism... United States the opportunity to study public administration techniques and processes in both countries...

School of pharmacy-based medication therapy management program: development and initial experience.

PubMed

Lam, Annie; Odegard, Peggy Soule; Gardner, Jacqueline

2012-01-01

To describe a school of pharmacy-community pharmacy collaborative model for medication therapy management (MTM) service and training. University of Washington (UW) School of Pharmacy (Seattle), from July to December 2008. MTM services and training. A campus-based MTM pharmacy was established for teaching, practice, and collaboration with community pharmacies to provide comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) and MTM training. Number of collaborating pharmacies, number of patients contacted, number of CMRs conducted, and estimated cost avoidance (ECA). UW Pharmacy Cares was licensed as a Class A pharmacy (nondispensing) and signed "business associate" agreements with six community pharmacies. During July to December 2008, 10 faculty pharmacists completed training and 5 provided CMR services to 17 patients (5 telephonic and 12 face-to-face interviews). A total of 67 claims (17 CMRs and 50 CMR-generated claims) were submitted for reimbursement of $1,642 ($96.58/CMR case). Total ECA was $54,250, averaging $3,191.19 per patient. Seven student pharmacists gained CMR interview training. Interest in collaboration by community pharmacies was lower than expected; however, the campus-community practice model addressed unmet patient care needs, reduced outstanding MTM CMR case loads, increased ECA, and facilitated faculty development and training of student pharmacists.

MiR-210 expression reverses radioresistance of stem-like cells of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Chen, Xin; Guo, Jia; Xi, Ru-Xing; Chang, Yu-Wei; Pan, Fei-Yang; Zhang, Xiao-Zhi

2014-01-01

AIM: To investigate the expression of miR-210 and the role it plays in the cell cycle to regulate radioresistance in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: MiR-210 expression was evaluated in 37 pairs of ESCC tissues and matched para-tumorous normal oesophageal tissues from surgical patients who had not received neoadjuvant therapy, and in the cells of two novel radioresistant cell lines, TE-1R and Eca-109R, using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The transient up-regulation of miR-210 expression in TE-1R and Eca-109R cells was studied using liposomes and was confirmed using qRT-PCR. The rate of cell survival after a series of radio-treatment doses was evaluated using the clone formation assay. Flow cytometry was used to detect the changes to the cell cycle patterns due to radiation treatment. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA-PKcs) after irradiation, and the cell sphere formation assay was used to evaluate the proliferative ability of the cancer stem-like cells. RESULTS: The level of miR-210 expression was significantly decreased, by 21.3% to 97.2%, with the average being 39.2% ± 16.1%, in the ESCC tissues of most patients (81.1%, 30 of 37 vs patients with high miR-210 expression, P < 0.05). A low level of expression of miR-210 was correlated with a poorly differentiated pathological type (P < 0.01) but was not correlated with the T-stage or lymph node infiltration (both P > 0.05). Early local recurrences (< 18 mo, n = 19) after radiotherapy were significantly related with low miR-210 expression (n = 13, P < 0.05). The level of miR-210 was decreased by approximately 73% (vs TE-1, 0.27 ± 0.10, P < 0.01) in the established radioresistant TE-IR cell line and by 52% (vs Eca-109, 0.48 ± 0.17, P < 0.05) in the corresponding Eca-109R line. Transient transfection with a miR-210 precursor increased the level of miR-210 expression, leading to a significant increase in cell survival after radiotherapy (P < 0.05). Twenty-four hours after radiation, the proportion of pmiR-210 cells in S phase was increased (vs control cells, 30.4% ± 0.4%, and vs untreated TE-1R cells, 23.3% ± 0.7%, P < 0.05 for both). The levels of DNA-PKcs (0.21 ± 0.07) and ATM (0.12 ± 0.03, P < 0.05) proteins were significantly lower in the PmiR-210 cells than in control cells, but no differences were found in the levels of the corresponding mRNAs in the two cell types (P > 0.05 for all). Exogenous miR-210 expression decreased the diameter of pmiR-210 cell spheres (vs control cells, 0.60 ± 0.14, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: MiR-210 expression is negatively correlated with the pathological type and the local survival rate after radiotherapy, and high expression of miR-210 may reverse the radioresistance of ESCC stem-like cells. PMID:25493243

Functional reorganization during cognitive function tasks in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

PubMed

Keller, Jürgen; Böhm, Sarah; Aho-Özhan, Helena E A; Loose, Markus; Gorges, Martin; Kassubek, Jan; Uttner, Ingo; Abrahams, Sharon; Ludolph, Albert C; Lulé, Dorothée

2018-06-01

Cognitive deficits, especially in the domains of social cognition and executive function including verbal fluency, are common in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. There is yet sparse understanding of pathogenesis of the underlying, possibly adaptive, cortical patterns. To address this issue, 65 patients with ALS and 33 age-, gender- and education-matched healthy controls were tested on cognitive and behavioral deficits with the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), cortical activity during social cognition and executive function tasks (theory of mind, verbal fluency, alternation) adapted from the ECAS was determined in a 3 Tesla scanner. Compared to healthy controls, ALS patients performed worse in the ECAS overall (p < 0.001) and in all of its subdomains (p < 0.02), except memory. Imaging revealed altered cortical activation during all tasks, with patients consistently showing a hyperactivation in relevant brain areas compared to healthy controls. Additionally, cognitively high performing ALS patients consistently exhibited more activation in frontal brain areas than low performing patients and behaviorally unimpaired patients presented with more neuronal activity in orbitofrontal areas than behaviorally impaired patients. In conclusion, hyperactivation in fMRI cognitive tasks seems to represent an early adaptive process to overcome neuronal cell loss in relevant brain areas. The hereby presented cortical pattern change might suggest that, once this loss passes a critical threshold and no cortical buffering is possible, clinical representation of cognitive and behavioral impairment evolves. Future studies might shed light on the pattern of cortical pattern change in the course of ALS.

Predictors of antegrade flow at internal carotid artery during carotid artery stenting with proximal protection.

PubMed

Harada, Kei; Kakumoto, Kosuke; Oshikata, Shogo; Fukuyama, Kozo

2018-06-01

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) with proximal occlusion effectively prevent distal cerebral embolism by flow arrest at internal carotid artery (ICA); however, the method can expose antegrade flow at ICA due to incomplete flow arrest. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of antegrade flow during CAS with proximal protection. We retrospectively analyzed clinical and angiographic data among 143 lesions treated with CAS with proximal protection by occluding the common carotid artery (CCA) and external carotid artery (ECA). Flow arrest or antegrade flow at ICA was confirmed by contrast injection during proximal protection. Antegrade flow at ICA was observed in 12 lesions (8.4%). Compared with lesions in which flow arrest of ICA was achieved, the diameter of the superior thyroid artery (STA) was significantly larger (2.4 ± 0.34 vs. 1.4 ± 0.68 mm, p < 0.001), and the rate of ECA branches other than the STA located 0-10 mm above the bifurcation was significantly higher (50 vs. 8.4%, p < 0.001). Results of multivariate analysis revealed that a diameter of the STA ≥ 2.3 mm (OR 44, 95% CI 8.1-237; p < 0.001) and ECA branches other than the STA located 0-10 mm above the bifurcation (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.1-32; p = 0.036) were independent predictors of antegrade flow. Distal filter protection should be combined with proximal protection for the lesions with antegrade flow to prevent distal migration of the carotid debris.

The interacting winds of Eta Carinae: Observed forbidden line changes and the Forbidden Blue(-Shifted) Crab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gull, Theodore R.; Madura, Thomas; Corcoran, Michael F.; Teodoro, Mairan; Richardson, Noel; Hamaguchi, Kenji; Groh, Jose H.; Hillier, Desmond John; Damineli, Augusto; Weigelt, Gerd

2015-01-01

The massive binary, Eta Carinae (EC), produces such massive winds that strong forbidden line emission of singly- and doubly-ionized iron traces wind-wind interactions from the current cycle plus fossil interactions from one, two and three 5.54-year cycles ago.With an eccentricity of >0.9, the >90 solar mass primary (EC-A) and >30 solar mass secondary (EC-B) approach to within 1.5 AU during periastron and recede to nearly 30 AU across apastron. The wind-wind structures move outward driven by the 420 km/s primary wind interacting with the ~3000 km/s secondary wind yielding partially-accelerated compressed primary wind shells that are excited by mid-UV from EC-A and in limited lines of sight, FUV from EC-B.These structures are spectroscopically and spatially resolved by HST's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. At critical binary phases, we have mapped the central 2'x2' region in the light of [Fe III] and [Fe II] with spatial resolution of 0.12' and velocity resolution of 40 km/s.1) The bulk of forbidden emission originates from the large cavity northwest of EC and is due to ionization of massive ejecta from the 1840s and 1890s eruptions. The brightest clumps are the Weigelt Blobs C and D, but there are additionally multiple, fainter emission clumps. Weigelt B appears to have faded.2) Three concentric, red-shifted [FeII] arcs expand at ~470 km/s excited by mid-UV of EC-A.3) The structure of primarily blue-shifted [Fe III] emission resembles a Maryland Blue Crab. The claws appear at the early stages of the high-excitation recovery from the periastron passage, expand at radial velocities exceeding the primary wind terminal velocity, 420 km/s and fade as the binary system approaches periastron with the primary wind enveloping the FUV radiation from EC-B.4) All [Fe III] emission faded by late June 2014 and disappeared by August 2, 2014, the beginning of periastron passage.Comparisons to HST/STIS observations between 1998 to 2004.3 indicate long-term fading of [Fe II]. Likewise, Na D emission has faded. 3D hydro/radiative models suggest a small decrease (< factor of 2) in primary mass loss rate to be the cause.

75 FR 21126 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Study of the U.S...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... group of up to 25 Pakistani students with a uniquely designed program that provides a comparative... for Grant Proposals: Study of the U.S. Institute for Pakistani Student Leaders on Comparative Public... the design and implementation of a six- week academic institute for up to 25 Pakistani student leaders...

Youth Perspectives on Risk and Resiliency: A Case Study from Juiz De Fora, Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, Penelope; Nikolajski, Cara; Borrero, Sonya; Zickmund, Susan

2014-01-01

The present work seeks to contribute to studies of cross-cultural risk and resiliency by presenting results from qualitative research with adolescents attending programs for at-risk youth in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. In 1990, Brazil introduced the Child and Adolescent Act (ECA), a significant piece of legislation that has had a direct impact on how…

The Effect of Emotional Feedback on Behavioral Intention to Use Computer Based Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terzis, Vasileios; Moridis, Christos N.; Economides, Anastasios A.

2012-01-01

This study introduces emotional feedback as a construct in an acceptance model. It explores the effect of emotional feedback on behavioral intention to use Computer Based Assessment (CBA). A female Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) with empathetic encouragement behavior was displayed as emotional feedback. More specifically, this research aims…

A Test of the Relationship between Reading Ability & Standardized Biology Assessment Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Denise A.

2014-01-01

Little empirical evidence suggested that independent reading abilities of students enrolled in biology predicted their performance on the Biology I Graduation End-of-Course Assessment (ECA). An archival study was conducted at one Indiana urban public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, by examining existing educational assessment data to test…

Standards-Based Curriculum, Differentiated Instruction, and End of Course Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartnell, Benjamin Jeffry

2011-01-01

Differentiated instruction, standards-based curriculum, and end of course assessments (ECAs) are not mandated in most high schools across the United States. As such, classroom grades do not accurately reflect district report cards. In particular, grades at the study site, a suburban high school, do not show the specific standards and benchmarks…

Continuous Severe Plastic Deformation Processing of Aluminum Alloys

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

Raghavan Srinivasan; Prabir K. Chaudhury; Balakrishna Cherukuri

2006-06-30

Metals with grain sizes smaller than 1-micrometer have received much attention in the past decade. These materials have been classified as ultra fine grain (UFG) materials (grain sizes in the range of 100 to 1000-nm) and nano-materials (grain size <100-nm) depending on the grain size. This report addresses the production of bulk UFG metals through the use of severe plastic deformation processing, and their subsequent use as stock material for further thermomechanical processing, such as forging. A number of severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods for producing bulk UFG metals have been developed since the early 1990s. The most promising ofmore » these processes for producing large size stock that is suitable for forging is the equal channel angular extrusion or pressing (ECAE/P) process. This process involves introducing large shear strain in the work-piece by pushing it through a die that consists of two channels with the same cross-sectional shape that meet at an angle to each other. Since the cross-sections of the two channels are the same, the extruded product can be re-inserted into the entrance channel and pushed again through the die. Repeated extrusion through the ECAE/P die accumulates sufficient strain to breakdown the microstructure and produce ultra fine grain size. It is well known that metals with very fine grain sizes (< 10-micrometer) have higher strain rate sensitivity and greater elongation to failure at elevated temperature, exhibiting superplastic behavior. However, this superplastic behavior is usually manifest at high temperature (> half the melting temperature on the absolute scale) and very low strain rates (< 0.0001/s). UFG metals have been shown to exhibit superplastic characteristics at lower temperature and higher strain rates, making this phenomenon more practical for manufacturing. This enables part unitization and forging more complex and net shape parts. Laboratory studies have shown that this is particularly true for UFG metals produced by SPD techniques. This combination of properties makes UFG metals produced by SPD very attractive as machining, forging or extrusion stock, both from the point of view of formability as well as energy and cost saving. However, prior to this work there had been no attempt to transfer these potential benefits observed in the laboratory scale to industrial shop floor. The primary reason for this was that the laboratory scale studies had been conducted to develop a scientific understanding of the processes that result in grain refinement during SPD. Samples that had been prepared in the laboratory scale were typically only about 10-mm diameter and 50-mm long (about 0.5-inch diameter and 2-inches long). The thrust of this project was three-fold: (i) to show that the ECAE/P process can be scaled up to produce long samples, i.e., a continuous severe plastic deformation (CSPD) process, (ii) show the process can be scaled up to produce large cross section samples that could be used as forging stock, and (iii) use the large cross-section samples to produce industrial size forgings and demonstrate the potential energy and cost savings that can be realized if SPD processed stock is adopted by the forging industry. Aluminum alloy AA-6061 was chosen to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach used. The CSPD process developed using the principles of chamber-less extrusion and drawing, and was demonstrated using rolling and wire drawing equipment that was available at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In a parallel effort, ECAE/P dies were developed for producing 100-mm square cross section SPD billets for subsequent forging. This work was carried out at Intercontinental Manufacturing Co. (IMCO), Garland TX. Forging studies conducted with the ECAE/P billets showed that many of the potential benefits of using UFG material can be realized. In particular, the material yield can be increased, and the amount of material that is lost as scrap can be reduced by as much as 50%. Forging temperatures can also be reduced by over 150ºC, resulting in energy savings in the operation of billet heating furnaces. Looking at only the energy required to make forgings from stock materials, estimated energy savings associated with reduced scrap and lower furnace operating temperatures were greater than 40% if ECAE/P stock material was used instead of conventionally extruded stock. Subsequent heat treatment of the forged materials to the T6 condition showed that the mechanical properties of parts made from the ECAE/P stock material were the same as of those made from conventional extruded stock material. Therefore, the energy and cost savings benefits can be realized by the use SPD processed material as forging stock without sacrificing properties in the final part.« less

75 FR 17996 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Trans-Saharan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-08

... professional development through three- to four-week study tours and internships in the U.S.; (2) to provide U... of U.S. Studies and Overseas Programs. The recipient of this award will conduct a second round of U.S... come to the U.S. for 3-4 weeks of study of electoral processes, the role of media and citizens...

Pilot testing a digital pet avatar for older adults.

PubMed

Chi, Nai-Ching; Sparks, Olivia; Lin, Shih-Yin; Lazar, Amanda; Thompson, Hilaire J; Demiris, George

Social isolation in older adults is a major public health concern. An embodied conversational agent (ECA) has the potential to enhance older adults' social interaction. However, little is known about older adults' experience with an ECA. In this paper, we conducted a pilot study to examine the perceived acceptance and utility of a tablet-based conversational agent in the form of an avatar (termed "digital pet") for older adults. We performed secondary analysis of data collected from a study that employed the use of a digital pet in ten older adults' homes for three months. Most of the participants enjoyed the companionship, entertainment, reminders, and instant assistance from the digital pet. However, participants identified limited conversational ability and technical issues as system challenges. Privacy, dependence, and cost were major concerns. Future applications should maximize the agent's conversational ability and the system's overall usability. Our results can inform future designs of conversational agents for older adults, which need to include older adults as system co-designers to maximize usability and acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 2: Materials considerations. [materials used in boilers and heat exchangers of energy conversion systems for electric power plants using coal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, D. E.

1976-01-01

Extensive studies are presented which were carried out on materials behavior in nine advanced energy conversion systems employing coal and coal-derived fuels. The areas of materials behavior receiving particular attention in this regard are: (1) fireside corrosion and erosion in boiler and heat exchanger materials, (2) oxidation and hot corrosion of gas turbine materials, (3) liquid metal corrosion and mass transport, (4) high temperature steam corrosion, (5) compatability of materials with coal slag and MHD seed, (6) reaction of materials with impure helium, (7) allowable stresses for boiler and heat exchanger materials, (8) environmental effects on mechanical properties, and (9) liquid metal purity control and instrumentation. Such information was then utilized in recommending materials for use in the critical components of the power systems, and at the same time to identify materials problem areas and to evaluate qualitatively the difficulty of solving those problems. Specific materials recommendations for critical components of the nine advanced systems under study are contained in summary tables.

Comparative Evaluation of Phase 1 Results from the Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS). [coal utilization for electric power plants feasibility analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Ten advanced energy conversion systems for central-station, based-load electric power generation using coal and coal-derived fuels which were studied by NASA are presented. Various contractors were selected by competitive bidding to study these systems. A comparative evaluation is provided of the contractor results on both a system-by-system and an overall basis. Ground rules specified by NASA, such as coal specifications, fuel costs, labor costs, method of cost comparison, escalation and interest during construction, fixed charges, emission standards, and environmental conditions, are presented. Each system discussion includes the potential advantages of the system, the scope of each contractor's analysis, typical schematics of systems, comparison of cost of electricity and efficiency for each contractor, identification and reconciliation of differences, identification of future improvements, and discussion of outside comments. Considerations common to all systems, such as materials and furnaces, are also discussed. Results of selected in-house analyses are presented, in addition to contractor data. The results for all systems are then compared.

Antitumor effects evaluation of a novel porphyrin derivative in photodynamic therapy.

PubMed

Li, Jian-Wei; Wu, Zhong-Ming; Magetic, Davor; Zhang, Li-Jun; Chen, Zhi-Long

2015-12-01

In this paper, the antitumor activity of a novel porphyrin-based photosensitizer 5,10,15,20-tetrakis[(5-diethylamino)pentyl] porphyrin (TDPP) was reported in vitro and in vivo. The photophysical and cellular properties of TDPP were investigated. The singlet oxygen generation quantum yield of TDPP was detected; it showed a high singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.52. The intracellular distribution of photosensitizer was detected with laser scanning confocal microscopy. The efficiency of TDPP-photodynamic therapy (PDT) in vitro was analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and in situ trypan blue exclusion test. Treated with a 630-nm laser, TDPP can kill cultured human esophageal cancer cell line (Eca-109) cells and reduce the growth of Eca-109 xenograft tumors significantly in BABL/c nude mice. And histopathological study was also used to confirm the antitumor effect. It has the perspective to be developed as a new antitumor drug in photodynamic therapy and deserves further investigation.

Identification of a Novel Class of Covalent Modifiers of Hemoglobin as Potential Antisickling Agents

PubMed Central

Omar, A. M.; Mahran, M. A.; Ghatge, M. S.; Chowdhury, N.; Bamane, F. H. A.; El-Araby, M. E.; Abdulmalik, O.; Safo, M. K.

2015-01-01

Aromatic aldehydes and ethacrynic acid (ECA) exhibit antipolymerization properties that are beneficial for sickle cell disease therapy. Based on ECA pharmacophore and its atomic interaction with hemoglobin, we designed and synthesized several compounds--designated as KAUS (imidazolylacryloyl derivatives)--that we hypothesized would bind covalently to βCys93 of hemoglobin and inhibit sickling. The compounds surprisingly showed weak allosteric and antisickling properties. X-ray studies of hemoglobin in complex with representative KAUS compounds revealed an unanticipated mode of Michael addition reaction between the β-unsaturated carbon and the N-terminal αVal1 nitrogen at the α-cleft of hemoglobin, with no observable interaction with βCys93. Interestingly, the compounds exhibited almost no reactivity with the free amino acids, L-Val, L-His and L-Lys, however showed some reactivity with both glutathione and L-Cys. Our findings provide a molecular level explanation to the compounds biological activities and an important framework for targeted modifications that would yield novel potent antisickling agents. PMID:25974708

Lessons Learned from Analyses of the Improved TOW Vehicle with Implications for Future Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

on ECA on the ITV. This research was de - signed to identify the source of the discrepancy between the ECA and other source data, and to determine ways...not to prevent the transfer of bad ideas (and MANPRINT costs ) from system to system, but to facilitate the transfer of good ideas (and MANPRINT savings...AVERAGE PP 1 2 1.50 4 5 4.00 2.33 TIpo 1 1 1.00 2 5 2.00 1.33 FR 3 4 3.50 4 5 4.00 3.67 TLD 1 1 1.00 2 5 2.00 1.33 TT 1 1 1.00 2 5 2.00 1.33 DR 1 5

Synergistic Use of MODIS and AIRS in a Variational Retrieval of Cloud Parameters.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jun; Menzel, W. Paul; Zhang, Wenjian; Sun, Fengying; Schmit, Timothy J.; Gurka, James J.; Weisz, Elisabeth

2004-11-01

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) measurements from the Earth Observing System's (EOS's) Aqua satellite enable global monitoring of the distribution of clouds. MODIS is able to provide a cloud mask, surface and cloud types, cloud phase, cloud-top pressure (CTP), effective cloud amount (ECA), cloud particle size, and cloud optical thickness at high spatial resolution (1 5 km). The combined MODIS AIRS system offers the opportunity for improved cloud products, better than from either system alone; this improvement is demonstrated in this paper with both simulated and real radiances. A one-dimensional variational (1DVAR) methodology is used to retrieve the CTP and ECA from AIRS longwave (650 790 cm-1 or 15.38 12.65 μm) cloudy radiance measurements (hereinafter referred to as MODIS AIRS 1DVAR). The MODIS AIRS 1DVAR cloud properties show significant improvement over the MODIS-alone cloud properties and slight improvement over AIRS-alone cloud properties in a simulation study, while MODIS AIRS 1DVAR is much more computationally efficient than the AIRS-alone 1DVAR; comparisons with radiosonde observations show that CTPs improve by 10 40 hPa for MODIS AIRS CTPs over those from MODIS alone. The 1DVAR approach is applied to process the AIRS longwave cloudy radiance measurements; results are compared with MODIS and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite sounder cloud products. Data from ground-based instrumentation at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Cloud and Radiation Test Bed in Oklahoma are used for validation; results show that MODIS AIRS improves the MODIS CTP, especially in low-level clouds. The operational use of a high-spatial-resolution imager, along with information from a high-spectral-resolution sounder will be possible with instruments planned for the next-generation geostationary operational instruments.

Detailed Analysis of Criteria and Particle Emissions from a Very Large Crude Carrier Using a Novel ECA Fuel.

PubMed

Gysel, Nicholas R; Welch, William A; Johnson, Kent; Miller, Wayne; Cocker, David R

2017-02-07

Ocean going vessels (OGVs) operating within emission control areas (ECA) are required to use fuels with ≤0.1 wt % sulfur. Up to now only distillate fuels could meet the sulfur limits. Recently refiners created a novel low-sulfur heavy-fuel oil (LSHFO) meeting the sulfur limits so questions were posed whether nitric oxide (NO x ) and particulate matter (PM) emissions were the same for the two fuels. This project characterized criteria pollutants and undertook a detailed analysis of PM emissions from a very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) using a distillate ECA fuel (MGO) and novel LSHFO. Results showed emission factors of NO x were ∼5% higher with MGO than LSHFO. PM 2.5 emission factors were ∼3 times higher with LSHFO than MGO, while both were below values reported by Lloyds, U.S. EPA and CARB. A detailed analysis of PM revealed it was >90% organic carbon (OC) for both fuels. Elemental carbon (EC) and soot measured with an AVL microsoot sensor (MSS) reflected black carbon. PM size distributions showed unimodal peaks for both MGO (20-30 nm) and LSHFO (30-50 nm). Particle number (PN) emissions were 28% and 17% higher with the PPS-M compared to the SMPS for LSHFO and MGO, respectively.

Teaching Experience and Expectations of Early-Career Academics in Mozambique: The Case of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cossa, Eugénia Flora Rosa; Buque, Domingos Carlos; Fringe, Jorge Jaime dos Santos

2016-01-01

This mixed-methods study explored how early-career academics (ECA) at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) acquire pedagogical knowledge, develop their teaching experience as well as examine their expectations regarding the teaching profession. A questionnaire, composed mostly of closed questions and one open-ended question, was applied to 71…

Collaborative Learning with Screen-Based Simulation in Health Care Education: An Empirical Study of Collaborative Patterns and Proficiency Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, L. O.; Soderstrom, T.; Ahlqvist, J.; Nilsson, T.

2011-01-01

This article is about collaborative learning with educational computer-assisted simulation (ECAS) in health care education. Previous research on training with a radiological virtual reality simulator has indicated positive effects on learning when compared to a more conventional alternative. Drawing upon the field of Computer-Supported…

Strengthening the Teaching Self-Efficacy of Early Career Academics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmings, Brian Colin

2015-01-01

This article reports on a qualitative study exploring teaching self-efficacy (defined as a belief in capability to execute teaching-related tasks) in a higher education context. It is based on the views of 12 early career academics (ECAs) employed at Charles Sturt University who were interviewed to learn more about how their teaching self-efficacy…

Education/Connection/Action: Community Literacies and Shared Knowledges as Creative Productions for Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Licona, Adela C.; Gonzales, J. Sarah

2013-01-01

This article highlights Education/Connection/Action (ECA), a locally developed community pedagogy deployed at a youth activism summer camp that served as a site for a community/academic teaching and research collaboration. Youth considered connections between a set of issues, including a local ban on Ethnic Studies, the School-to-Prison Pipeline,…

Rationale and design of the Atrial Fibrillation health Literacy Information Technology Trial: (AF-LITT).

PubMed

Guhl, Emily N; Schlusser, Courtney L; Henault, Lori E; Bickmore, Timothy W; Kimani, Everlyne; Paasche-Orlow, Michael K; Magnani, Jared W

2017-11-01

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia that is challenging for patients and adversely impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Long-term management of AF requires that patients adhere to complex therapies, understand difficult terminology, navigate subspecialty care, and have continued symptom monitoring with the goal of preventing adverse outcomes. Continued interventions to ameliorate the patient experience of AF are essential. The Atrial Fibrillation health Literacy Information Technology Trial (AF-LITT; NCT03093558) is an investigator-initiated, 2-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT). This RCT is a pilot in order to implement a novel, smartphone-based intervention to address the patient experience of AF. This pilot RCT will compare a combination of the Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) and the Alive Cor Kardia Mobile heart rhythm monitor to the current standard of care. The study will enroll 180 adults with non-valvular AF who are receiving anticoagulation for stroke prevention and randomize them to receive a 30-day intervention (smartphone-based ECA/Kardia) or standard of care, which will include a symptom and adherence journal. The primary end-points are improvement in HRQoL and self-reported adherence to anticoagulation. The secondary end-points are the acceptability of the intervention to participants, its use by participants, and acceptability to referring physicians. The AF-LITT pilot aims to evaluate the efficacy of the ECA/Kardia to improve HRQoL and anticoagulant adherence, and to guide its implementation in a larger, multicenter clinical trial. The intervention has potential to improve HRQoL, adherence, and health care utilization in individuals with chronic AF. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perinatal Decision Making for Preterm Infants with Congenital Heart Disease: Determinable Risk Factors for Mortality.

PubMed

Lynema, Stephanie; Fifer, Carlen G; Laventhal, Naomi T

2016-06-01

For premature infants with congenital heart disease (CHD), it may be unclear when the burdens of treatment outweigh potential benefits. Parents may thus have to choose between comfort care at birth and medical stabilization until surgical repair is feasible. Better defined outcome data, including risk factors for mortality, are needed to counsel expectant parents who are considering intensive care for premature infants with CHD. We sought to evaluate outcomes in this population to inform expectant parents considering intensive versus palliative care at birth. We performed a retrospective cohort study of infants born <34 weeks who received intensive care with critical or moderately severe CHD predicted to require surgery in the neonatal period or the first 6 months of life. 46 % of 54 infants survived. Among non-survivors, 74 % died prior to surgery (median age 24 days). Of the infants that underwent surgery, 75 % survived. Survival was lower among infants <32 weeks gestational age (GA) (p = 0.013), with birth weight (BW) <1500 g (p = 0.011), or with extra-cardiac anomalies (ECA) (p = 0.015). GA and ECA remained significant risk factors for mortality in multiple logistic regression analysis. In summary, GA < 32 weeks, BW < 1500 g, and ECA are determinable prenatally and were significant risk factors for mortality. The majority of infants who survived to cardiac intervention survived neonatal hospitalization, whereas most of the infants who died did so prior to surgery. For some expectant parents, this early declaration of mortality may support a trial of intensive care while avoiding burdensome interventions.

[Prevalence of carotid artery stenosis in nonagenarians: Survey in a primary care hospital].

PubMed

Bohlender, J; Nussberger, J; Ménard, J; Bohlender, B

2017-06-01

Carotid artery stenosis increases with age and may cause brain ischemia if arterial hypotension occurs. We performed a monocentric pilot study to investigate its prevalence in the very elderly and to assess its potential influence on blood pressure (BP) goals during antihypertensive treatment. All patients≥90 years of a primary care medical ward were prospectively included over 15 months. Ultrasound exams of the precerebral arteries were offered to all elderly patients for routine evaluation of their cardiovascular risk. Frequencies of stenosed common, internal and external carotid arteries (CCA, ICA, ECA) were analyzed together with clinical BP and antihypertensive therapy. Patients with circulatory shock and readmissions were excluded. Sixty-three patients aged 92±3 years (78% female) hospitalized for a median of 11 days were included. On admission, 76% were on antihypertensive drugs vs. 86% at discharge. Mean admission BP was 149/77 vs. 129/72mmHg at discharge; systolic BP<140mmHg 36% vs 64% (P<0.05). Mean intima-media thickness (ACC, right/left) was 8.7/9.4mm. Prevalence of plaque or stenosis<60% was: CCA 19.0%, ICA 19.0%, ECA 31.7%, bulb 74.6%; of stenosis≥60%: CCA 0%, ICA 7.9%, ECA 19.0%, ICA bilateral 1.6% (unilateral occlusion 3.1%, no bilateral). Coincidence of systolic BP<120mmHg and ACI stenosis≥60% had a probability of 1-2%. Concerning the risk of brain ischemia due to carotid artery stenosis, a BP goal<140mmHg should be safe for most nonagenarians. If individual BP goals are lower, searching for significant stenosis by ultrasound may be useful. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Rationale and design of the Atrial Fibrillation health Literacy Information Technology Trial: (AF-LITT)

PubMed Central

Guhl, Emily N.; Schlusser, Courtney L.; Henault, Lori E.; Bickmore, Timothy W.; Kimani, Everlyne; Paasche-Orlow, Michael K.; Magnani, Jared W.

2017-01-01

Background Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia that is challenging for patients and adversely impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Long-term management of AF requires that patients adhere to complex therapies, understand difficult terminology, navigate subspecialty care, and have continued symptom monitoring with the goal of preventing adverse outcomes. Continued interventions to ameliorate the patient experience of AF are essential. Design The Atrial Fibrillation health Literacy Information Technology Trial (AF-LITT; NCT03093558) is an investigator-initiated, 2-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT). This RCT is a pilot in order to implement a novel, smartphone-based intervention to address the patient experience of AF. This pilot RCT will compare a combination of the embodied conversational agent (ECA) and the Alive Cor Kardia Mobile heart rhythm monitor to the current standard of care. The study will enroll 180 adults with non-valvular AF who are receiving anticoagulation for stroke prevention and randomize them to receive a 30-day intervention (smartphone-based ECA/Kardia) or standard of care, which will include a symptom and adherence journal. The primary end-points are improvement in HRQoL and self-reported adherence to anticoagulation. The secondary end-points are the acceptability of the intervention to participants, its use by participants, and acceptability to referring physicians. Conclusions The AF-LITT pilot aims to evaluate the efficacy of the ECA/Kardia to improve HRQoL and anticoagulant adherence, and to guide its implementation in a larger, multicenter clinical trial. The intervention has potential to improve HRQoL, adherence, and health care utilization in individuals with chronic AF. PMID:28923492

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

Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Hirt, Evelyn H.; Veeramany, Arun

This research report summaries the development and evaluation of a prototypic enhanced risk monitor (ERM) methodology (framework) that includes alternative risk metrics and uncertainty analysis. This updated ERM methodology accounts for uncertainty in the equipment condition assessment (ECA), the prognostic result, and the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) model. It is anticipated that the ability to characterize uncertainty in the estimated risk and update the risk estimates in real time based on equipment condition assessment (ECA) will provide a mechanism for optimizing plant performance while staying within specified safety margins. These results (based on impacting active component O&M using real-time equipmentmore » condition information) are a step towards ERMs that, if integrated with AR supervisory plant control systems, can help control O&M costs and improve affordability of advanced reactors.« less

CecropinXJ, a silkworm antimicrobial peptide, induces cytoskeleton disruption in esophageal carcinoma cells.

PubMed

Xia, Lijie; Wu, Yanling; Kang, Su; Ma, Ji; Yang, Jianhua; Zhang, Fuchun

2014-10-01

Antimicrobial peptides exist in the non-specific immune system of organism and participate in the innate host defense of each species. CecropinXJ, a cationic antimicrobial peptide, possesses potent anticancer activity and acts preferentially on cancer cells instead of normal cells, but the mechanism of cancer cell death induced by cecropinXJ remains largely unknown. This study was performed to investigate the cytoskeleton-disrupting effects of cecropinXJ on human esophageal carcinoma cell line Eca109 using scanning electron microscopy observation, fluorescence imaging, cell migration and invasion assays, western blotting, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. The electronic microscope and fluorescence imaging observation suggested that cecropinXJ could result in morphological changes and induce damage to microtubules and actin of Eca109 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The cell migration and invasion assays demonstrated that cecropinXJ could inhibit migration and invasion of tumor cells. Western blot and qRT-PCR analysis showed that there was obvious correlation between microtubule depolymerization and actin polymerization induced by cecropinXJ. Moreover, cecropinXJ might also cause decreased expression of α-actin, β-actin, γ-actin, α-tubulin, and β-tubulin genes in concentration- and time-dependent manners. In summary, this study indicates that cecropinXJ triggers cytotoxicity in Eca109 cells through inducing the cytoskeleton destruction and regulating the expression of cytoskeleton proteins. This cecropinXJ-mediated cytoskeleton-destruction effect is instrumental in our understanding of the detailed action of antimicrobial peptides in human cancer cells and cecropinXJ might be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer in the future. © The Author 2014. Published by ABBS Editorial Office in association with Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Inversion of multi-frequency electromagnetic induction data for 3D characterization of hydraulic conductivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brosten, Troy R.; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Schultz, Gregory M.; Curtis, Gary P.; Lane, John W.

2011-01-01

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) instruments provide rapid, noninvasive, and spatially dense data for characterization of soil and groundwater properties. Data from multi-frequency EMI tools can be inverted to provide quantitative electrical conductivity estimates as a function of depth. In this study, multi-frequency EMI data collected across an abandoned uranium mill site near Naturita, Colorado, USA, are inverted to produce vertical distribution of electrical conductivity (EC) across the site. The relation between measured apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and hydraulic conductivity (K) is weak (correlation coefficient of 0.20), whereas the correlation between the depth dependent EC obtained from the inversions, and K is sufficiently strong to be used for hydrologic estimation (correlation coefficient of − 0.62). Depth-specific EC values were correlated with co-located K measurements to develop a site-specific ln(EC)–ln(K) relation. This petrophysical relation was applied to produce a spatially detailed map of K across the study area. A synthetic example based on ECa values at the site was used to assess model resolution and correlation loss given variations in depth and/or measurement error. Results from synthetic modeling indicate that optimum correlation with K occurs at ~ 0.5 m followed by a gradual correlation loss of 90% at 2.3 m. These results are consistent with an analysis of depth of investigation (DOI) given the range of frequencies, transmitter–receiver separation, and measurement errors for the field data. DOIs were estimated at 2.0 ± 0.5 m depending on the soil conductivities. A 4-layer model, with varying thicknesses, was used to invert the ECa to maximize available information within the aquifer region for improved correlations with K. Results show improved correlation between K and the corresponding inverted EC at similar depths, underscoring the importance of inversion in using multi-frequency EMI data for hydrologic estimation.

Inversion of multi-frequency electromagnetic induction data for 3D characterization of hydraulic conductivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brosten, T.R.; Day-Lewis, F. D.; Schultz, G.M.; Curtis, G.P.; Lane, J.W.

2011-01-01

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) instruments provide rapid, noninvasive, and spatially dense data for characterization of soil and groundwater properties. Data from multi-frequency EMI tools can be inverted to provide quantitative electrical conductivity estimates as a function of depth. In this study, multi-frequency EMI data collected across an abandoned uranium mill site near Naturita, Colorado, USA, are inverted to produce vertical distribution of electrical conductivity (EC) across the site. The relation between measured apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and hydraulic conductivity (K) is weak (correlation coefficient of 0.20), whereas the correlation between the depth dependent EC obtained from the inversions, and K is sufficiently strong to be used for hydrologic estimation (correlation coefficient of -0.62). Depth-specific EC values were correlated with co-located K measurements to develop a site-specific ln(EC)-ln(K) relation. This petrophysical relation was applied to produce a spatially detailed map of K across the study area. A synthetic example based on ECa values at the site was used to assess model resolution and correlation loss given variations in depth and/or measurement error. Results from synthetic modeling indicate that optimum correlation with K occurs at ~0.5m followed by a gradual correlation loss of 90% at 2.3m. These results are consistent with an analysis of depth of investigation (DOI) given the range of frequencies, transmitter-receiver separation, and measurement errors for the field data. DOIs were estimated at 2.0??0.5m depending on the soil conductivities. A 4-layer model, with varying thicknesses, was used to invert the ECa to maximize available information within the aquifer region for improved correlations with K. Results show improved correlation between K and the corresponding inverted EC at similar depths, underscoring the importance of inversion in using multi-frequency EMI data for hydrologic estimation. ?? 2011.

Tidal Distortion and Disruption of Earth-Crossing Asteriods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Love, Stanley G.; Bottke, William, Jr.

1997-01-01

We represent results of numerical simulations that show Earth's tidal forces can both distort and disrupt Earth-crossing asteriods (ECAs) that have weak rubble-pile structures. Building on previous studies, we consider more realistic asteriod shapes and trajectories, test a variety of spin and rates and axis orientations, and employ a dissipation algorithm to more accurately treat collisions between particles.

Athletics, Music, Languages, and Leadership: How Parents Influence the Extracurricular Activities of Their Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashbourne, Dianne; Andres, Lesley

2015-01-01

In this study, we explore the impact that parents have on the participation of their children in extracurricular activities (ECAs) in a sample of Canadian parents with children between the ages of four and 17. Employing a concurrent, nested, mixed methods strategy, we use the insights gained through semi-structured interviews with parents to…

Using Standardized Tests to Identify Prior Knowledge Necessary for Success in Algebra: A Predictive Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Jennifer

2014-01-01

This study sought to determine if there is a relationship between students' scores on the eighth-grade Indiana State Test of Education Progress Plus (ISTEP+) exam and success on Indiana's Algebra End-of-Course Assessment (ECA). Additionally, it sought to determine if algebra success could be significantly predicted by the achievement in one or…

Yield rate of chromosomal microarray analysis in fetuses with congenital heart defects.

PubMed

Turan, Sifa; Asoglu, Mehmet Resit; Gabbay-Benziv, Rinat; Doyle, Lauren; Harman, Christopher; Turan, Ozhan M

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to calculate the yield rates of CMA in fetuses diagnosed with various CHDs in a tertiary center. This cohort study collected prenatal genetic test results of 145 fetuses diagnosed with CHD. All 145 cases underwent Conventional karyotype (CK), followed by CMA in cases of negative CK result. "Detection rate" of genetic abnormalities was calculated as the percentage of cases with genetic abnormalities identified. The rate of genetic abnormalities detected by CK was first calculated, and then the cumulative detection rate was calculated in the study population. "Yield rate of CMA" was determined by subtracting the cumulative detection rate from the detection rate of CK. The cumulative detection rate was assumed to represent the detection rate of CMA since it is due to the fact that if CMA had been done for all patients before CK, it would have diagnosed all the genetic abnormalities in the study population, and thus it was named as anticipated CMA. Of the 145 CHD cases, 92 (63.4%) had isolated CHD and 53 (36.6%) had concomitant CHD and extracardiac anomaly (ECA). The detection rate of genetic abnormalities was 14% and 33.8% for CK and anticipated-CMA respectively (p < .001). The yield rate of CMA was 19.8% and 16.1% before and after the exclusion of cases with 22q.11.2 deletion/duplication, respectively. The detection rates of genetic abnormalities for isolated CHD, and concomitant CHD-ECA groups were 6.5% and 26.4% by CK, and 23.9% and 50.9% by anticipated-CMA, respectively (p < .01). The yield rate of CMA was 17.4% and 24.5% for isolated CHD and concomitant CHD-ECA cases, respectively. CMA increases the diagnostic yield in fetuses with CHD, regardless of whether it is isolated or not. CMA should be the modality of choice when investigating the genetic origin of CHDs until whole exome or genome sequencing is implemented into routine clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

Analysis of energy conservation alternatives for standard Army building. Final report

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

Hittle, D.C.; O'Brien, R.E.; Percivall, G.S.

1983-03-01

This report describes energy conservation alternatives for five standard Army building designs. By surveying maps of major Army installations and using the Integrated Facilities System, the most popular designs were determined to be a two-company, rolling-pin-shaped barracks for enlisted personnel; a Type 64 barracks; a motor repair shop; a battalion headquarters and classroom building; and an enlisted personnel mess hall. The Building Loads Analysis and System Thermodynamics (BLAST) energy-analysis computer program was used to develop baseline energy consumption for each design based on the building descriptions and calibrated by comparison with the measured energy usage of similar buildings. Once themore » baseline was established, the BLAST program was used to study energy conservation alternatives (ECAs) which could be retrofit to the existing buildings. The ECAs included closing off air-handling units, adding storm windows, adding 2 in. (0.051 m) of exterior insulation to the walls, partially blocking the windows, adding roof insulation, putting up south overhangs, installing programmable thermostats, recovering heat from exhaust fans, installing temperature economizers, replacing lights, and installing partitions between areas of differing temperature.« less

Silencing Prx1 and/or Prx5 sensitizes human esophageal cancer cells to ionizing radiation and increases apoptosis via intracellular ROS accumulation

PubMed Central

Gao, Mai-cang; Jia, Xiao-di; Wu, Qi-fei; Cheng, Yan; Chen, Fen-rong; Zhang, Jun

2011-01-01

Aim: To investigate whether down-regulation of peroxiredoxin 1 (Prx1) and/or peroxiredoxin 5 (Prx5) sensitizes human esophageal cancer cells to ionizing radiation (IR). Methods: Human esophageal carcinoma cell lines Eca-109 and TE-1 were used. Prx mRNA expression profiles in Eca-109 and TE-1 cells were determined using RT-PCR. Two highly expressed isoforms of Prxs, Prx1 and Prx5, were silenced by RNA interference (RNAi). Following IR, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis were measured using flow cytometry, the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were measured, and the radiosensitizing effect of RNAi was observed. Tumor xenograft model was also used to examine the radiosensitizing effect of RNAi in vivo. Results: Down-regulation of Prx1 and/or Prx5 by RNAi does not alter the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, but made human tumor cells more sensitive to IR-induced apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. When the two isoforms were decreased simultaneously, intracellular ROS and apoptosis significantly increased after IR. Conclusion: Silencing Prx1 and/or Prx5 by RNAi sensitizes human Eca-109 and TE-1 cells to IR, and the intracellular ROS accumulation may contribute to the radiosensitizing effect of the RNAi. PMID:21468086

A novel riboregulator switch system of gene expression for enhanced microbial production of succinic acid.

PubMed

Wang, Jing; Wang, Haoyuan; Yang, Le; Lv, Liping; Zhang, Zhe; Ren, Bin; Dong, Lichun; Li, Ning

2018-04-01

In this paper, a novel riboregulator Switch System of Gene Expression including an OFF-TO-ON switch and an ON-TO-OFF switch was designed to regulate the expression state of target genes between "ON" and "OFF" by switching the identifiability of ribosome recognition site (RBS) based on the thermodynamic stability of different RNA-RNA hybridizations between RBS and small noncoding RNAs. The proposed riboregulator switch system was employed for the fermentative production of succinic acid using an engineered strain of E. coli JW1021, during which the expression of mgtC gene was controlled at "ON" state and that of pepc and ecaA genes were controlled at the "OFF" state in the lag phase and switched to the "OFF" and "ON" state once the strain enters the logarithmic phase. The results showed that using the strain of JW1021, the yield and productivity of succinic acid can reach 0.91 g g -1 and 3.25 g L -1  h -1 , respectively, much higher than those using the strains without harboring the riboregulator switch system.

Meteoalarm severe wind gust thresholds from uniform periods in ECA&D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijnant, I. L.

2010-09-01

The main aim of our work is to propose new thresholds for Meteoalarm severe weather warnings which are based on the local climate, specifically for the severe wind gust warnings because the variability of these thresholds is currently rather extreme and unrealistic. In order to achieve this we added validated wind data to the database of the European Climate Assessment and Database project (ECA&D) and analysed them. We also developed wind related indices for ECA&D in order to facilitate further research. Since 2007 most of the severe weather warnings issued by the National Weather Services in Europe can be found on one website: www.meteoalarm.eu. For the 30 participating countries colour codes (yellow, orange, red) are presented on a map of Europe to reflect the severity of the weather event and its possible impact. The thresholds used for these colour codes obviously depend on the type of severe weather, but should also reflect local climate (for example: identical heat waves will have a more significant impact in Sweden than in Spain). The current Meteoalarm guideline is to issue second level warnings (orange) 1-30 times a year and third level warnings (red) less than once a year (being the total number of warnings from a specific country for all of the different sorts of severe weather events in that year). There is no similar guideline for specific sorts of severe weather events and participating countries choose their own thresholds. As a result we see unrealistic differences in the frequency and thresholds of the warnings for neighbouring countries. New thresholds based on return values would reflect the local climate of each country and give a more uniform indication of the social impact. Additionally, without uniform definitions of severe weather it remains difficult to determine if severe weather in Europe is changing. ECA&D receives long series of daily data from 62 countries throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. So far we have 7 countries that provide us with wind data. Quality control and homogeneity tests are conducted on all data before analysis is carried out. For wind data the standard ECA&D homogeneity tests (SNHT, Pettitt, Buishand and Von Neuman Ratio) are performed on the wind gust factor (the ratio of the maximum daily gust to the daily average wind speed) and a relatively new test (Petrovic's ReDistribution Method) on wind direction data. For the Dutch data we compared the results of the homogeneity tests with the available meta-data. Inhomogeneous series are not corrected but the older part (before the most recent break) is excluded from further analysis.

Soft rot erwiniae: from genes to genomes.

PubMed

Toth, Ian K; Bell, Kenneth S; Holeva, Maria C; Birch, Paul R J

2003-01-01

SUMMARY The soft rot erwiniae, Erwinia carotovora ssp. atroseptica (Eca), E. carotovora ssp. carotovora (Ecc) and E. chrysanthemi (Ech) are major bacterial pathogens of potato and other crops world-wide. We currently understand much about how these bacteria attack plants and protect themselves against plant defences. However, the processes underlying the establishment of infection, differences in host range and their ability to survive when not causing disease, largely remain a mystery. This review will focus on our current knowledge of pathogenesis in these organisms and discuss how modern genomic approaches, including complete genome sequencing of Eca and Ech, may open the door to a new understanding of the potential subtlety and complexity of soft rot erwiniae and their interactions with plants. The soft rot erwiniae are members of the Enterobacteriaceae, along with other plant pathogens such as Erwinia amylovora and human pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Yersinia spp. Although the genus name Erwinia is most often used to describe the group, an alternative genus name Pectobacterium was recently proposed for the soft rot species. Ech mainly affects crops and other plants in tropical and subtropical regions and has a wide host range that includes potato and the important model host African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha). Ecc affects crops and other plants in subtropical and temperate regions and has probably the widest host range, which also includes potato. Eca, on the other hand, has a host range limited almost exclusively to potato in temperate regions only. Disease symptoms: Soft rot erwiniae cause general tissue maceration, termed soft rot disease, through the production of plant cell wall degrading enzymes. Environmental factors such as temperature, low oxygen concentration and free water play an essential role in disease development. On potato, and possibly other plants, disease symptoms may differ, e.g. blackleg disease is associated more with Eca and Ech than with Ecc. http://www.scri.sari.ac.uk/TiPP/Erwinia.htm, http://www.ahabs.wisc.edu:16080/ approximately pernalab/erwinia/index.htm, http://www.tigr.org/tdb/mdb/mdbinprogress.html, http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/E_carotovora/.

Testing Consent Agreement for N-methylpyrrolidone

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA has signed an Enforceable Consent Agreement (ECA) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., with Arco Chemical Company, BASF Corporation, and International Specialty Products Company.

Upper Extremity Radiography

MedlinePlus

... at www.asrt.org. Revised and updated 2009. Lo que usted necesita saber acerca de... Radiografia de ... llamar a las imágenes de rayos X de los dedos, manos, muñecas, codos, antebrazos u hombros. Estos ...

Guidance Documents for Marine Fuel

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The following guidance documents apply to marine fuel used in ocean-going vessels. All vessels that operate in the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) must generally use fuel with 1,000 ppm sulfur or less.

Mental health and the labor force participation of older workers.

PubMed

Mitchell, J M; Anderson, K H

1989-01-01

Over the past 20 years, while mortality rates have dramatically declined, the prevalence of work-related stress has increased. This phenomenon suggests that the population's physical health has improved, but mental health has deteriorated. Concomitantly, fewer older workers are participating in the labor force. Our paper, using data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) program, assesses whether the decline in numbers of older workers is linked to the increasing prevalence of job-related stress. Our results indicate that symptoms of poor mental health are the most important determinants of work behavior. Surprisingly, economic and demographic characteristics appear to have little impact on an individual's labor force participation status. Further research is needed, however, because the ECA data provides insufficient information to accurately assess the relative importance of both mental health and economic factors on the retirement decision.

Silver Flakes and Silver Dendrites for Hybrid Electrically Conductive Adhesives with Enhanced Conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Hongru; Li, Zhuo; Tian, Xun; Yan, Shaocun; Li, Zhe; Guo, Xuhong; Ma, Yanqing; Ma, Lei

2018-03-01

Silver dendrites were prepared by a facile replacement reaction between silver nitrate and zinc microparticles of 20 μm in size. The influence of reactant molar ratio, reaction solution volume, silver nitrate concentration, and reaction time on the morphology of dendrites was investigated systematically. It was found that uniform tree-like silver structures are synthesized under the optimal conditions. Their structure can be described as a trunk, symmetrical branches, and leaves, which length scales of 5-10, 1-2 μm, and 100-300 nm, respectively. All features were systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, and x-ray powder diffraction. A hybrid fillers system using silver flakes and dendrites as electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) exhibited excellent overall performance. This good conductivity can be attributed mainly to the synergy between the silver microflakes (5-20 μm sized irregular sheet structures) and dendrites, allowing more conductive pathways to be formed between the fillers. In order to further optimize the overall electrical conductivity, various mixtures of silver microflakes and silver dendrites were tested in ECAs, with results indicating that the highest conductivity was shown when the amounts of silver microflakes, silver dendrites and the polymer matrix were 69.4 wt.% (20.82 vol.%), 0.6 wt.% (0.18 vol.%), and 30.0 wt.% (79.00 vol.%), respectively. The corresponding mass ratio of silver flakes to silver dendrites was 347:3. The resistivity of ECAs reached as low as 1.7 × 10-4 Ω cm.

The Effects of Nicotine on MK-801-induced Attentional Deficits: An Animal Model of Schizophrenia

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

1 Overview of Schizophrenia ............…....................................................... 1 1) Treatments for Schizophrenia...MK-801 (0 or 0.15 mg/kg) and nicotine (0 or 6.0 mg/kg/day) at baseline (pre- treatment ) and on days 4, 7, and 14 (Means+SEM). xi...ECA) and the National Comorbidity Study (NCS) (USDHHS, 1999; APA, 2000). Support for a gender bias in schizophrenia is mixed with hospital- based

Ocular Blood Flow in Rabbits under Deep Anesthesia: A Real-Time Measurement Technique and Its Application in Characterizing Retinal Ischemia.

PubMed

Bhatti, Mehwish Saba; Tang, Tong Boon; Chen, Hui Cheng

2018-04-09

In this study, we reported a new technique based on laser speckle flowgraphy to record the ocular blood flow in rabbits under deep anesthesia, and proposed parameters to characterize retinal ischemia. We applied the proposed technique to study the correlation of blood flow between the eyes of normal non-anesthetized animals, and to characterize the occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and external carotid artery (ECA). We established a correlation in blood flow between the eyes of non-anesthetized animals, and derived two new parameters, namely, the laterality index and vascular perfusion estimate (VPE). Our experimental results from 16 eyes (of 13 New Zealand white rabbits) showed a reduction in ocular blood flow with a significant decrease in the VPE after the occlusion of the ECA (p < 0.001). A low/minimal effect on blood flow was observed with the occlusion of the ICA. In conclusion, we demonstrated a means for the real-time measurement of the ocular blood flow in rabbits under deep anesthesia by using laser speckle flowgraphy and the VPE as an indicator of successful occlusion. The proposed technique might be applicable in quantifying the efficacy of new drugs and interventions for the treatment of retinal ischemia.

Surgical Anatomy of the Cervical Part of the Hypoglossal Nerve.

PubMed

Kariuki, Brian Ngure; Butt, Fawzia; Mandela, Pamela; Odula, Paul

2018-03-01

Iatrogenic injuries to cranial nerves, half of which affect the hypoglossal nerve, occur in up to 20% of surgical procedures involving the neck. The risk of injury could be minimized by in-depth knowledge of its positional and relational anatomy. Forty-one hypoglossal nerves were dissected from cadaveric specimens and positions described in relation to the internal carotid artery (ICA), external carotid artery (ECA), carotid bifurcation, mandible, hyoid bone, mastoid process, and the digastric tendon. The distance of the nerve from where it crossed the ICA and ECA to the carotid bifurcation was 29.93 (±5.99) mm and 15.19 (±6.68) mm, respectively. The point where it crossed the ICA was 12.24 (±3.71) mm superior to the greater horn of hyoid, 17.16 (±4.40) mm inferior to the angle of the mandible, and 39.08 (±5.69) mm from tip of the mastoid. The hypoglossal nerve loop was inferior to the digastric tendon in 73% of the cases. The hypoglossal nerves formed high loops in this study population. Caution should be exercised during surgical procedures in the neck. The study also revealed that the mastoid process is a reliable fixed landmark to locate the hypoglossal nerve.

Voltage-dependent Ca2+ release from the SR of feline ventricular myocytes is explained by Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release.

PubMed

Piacentino, V; Dipla, K; Gaughan, J P; Houser, S R

2000-03-15

1. Direct voltage-gated (voltage-dependent Ca2+ release, VDCR) and Ca2+ influx-gated (Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release, CICR) sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release were studied in feline ventricular myocytes. The voltage-contraction relationship predicted by the VDCR hypothesis is sigmoidal with large contractions at potentials near the Ca2+ equilibrium potential (ECa). The relationship predicted by the CICR hypothesis is bell-shaped with no contraction at ECa. 2. The voltage dependence of contraction was measured in ventricular myocytes at physiological temperature (37 C), resting membrane potential and physiological [K+]. Experiments were performed with cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in the pipette or in the presence of the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (isoprenaline; ISO). 3. The voltage-contraction relationship was bell-shaped in Na+-free solutions (to eliminate the Na+ current and Na+-Ca2+ exchange, NCX) but the relationship was broader than the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L)-voltage relationship. 4. Contractions induced with voltage steps from normal resting potentials to -40 mV are thought to represent VDCR rather than CICR. We found that cAMP and ISO shifted the voltage dependence of ICa,L activation to more negative potentials so that ICa,L was always present with steps to -40 mV. ICa,L at -40 mV inactivated when the holding potential was decreased (VŁ = -57.8 +/- 0.49 mV). 5. ISO increased inward current, SR Ca2+ load and contraction in physiological [Na+] and a broad bell-shaped voltage-contraction relationship was observed. Inhibition of reverse-mode NCX, decreasing ICa,L and decreasing SR Ca2+ loading all decreased contractions at strongly positive potentials near ECa. 6. The voltage-contraction relationship in 200 microM cadmium (Cd2+) was bell-shaped, supporting a role of ICa,L rather than VDCR. 7. All results could be accounted for by the CICR hypothesis, and many results exclude the VDCR hypothesis.

Elimination of biofilm and microbial contamination reservoirs in hospital washbasin U-bends by automated cleaning and disinfection with electrochemically activated solutions.

PubMed

Swan, J S; Deasy, E C; Boyle, M A; Russell, R J; O'Donnell, M J; Coleman, D C

2016-10-01

Washbasin U-bends are reservoirs of microbial contamination in healthcare environments. U-Bends are constantly full of water and harbour microbial biofilm. To develop an effective automated cleaning and disinfection system for U-bends using two solutions generated by electrochemical activation of brine including the disinfectant anolyte (predominantly hypochlorous acid) and catholyte (predominantly sodium hydroxide) with detergent properties. Initially three washbasin U-bends were manually filled with catholyte followed by anolyte for 5min each once weekly for five weeks. A programmable system was then developed with one washbasin that automated this process. This U-bend had three cycles of 5min catholyte followed by 5min anolyte treatment per week for three months. Quantitative bacterial counts from treated and control U-bends were determined on blood agar (CBA), R2A, PAS, and PA agars following automated treatment and on CBA and R2A following manual treatment. The average bacterial density from untreated U-bends throughout the study was >1×10(5) cfu/swab on all media with Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounting for ∼50% of counts. Manual U-bend electrochemically activated (ECA) solution treatment reduced counts significantly (<100cfu/swab) (P<0.01 for CBA; P<0.005 for R2A). Similarly, counts from the automated ECA-treatment U-bend were significantly reduced with average counts for 35 cycles on CBA, R2A, PAS, and PA of 2.1±4.5 (P<0.0001), 13.1±30.1 (P<0.05), 0.7±2.8 (P<0.001), and 0 (P<0.05) cfu/swab, respectively. P. aeruginosa was eliminated from all treated U-bends. Automated ECA treatment of washbasin U-bends consistently minimizes microbial contamination. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Fine-mapping and mutation analysis of TRPM1: a candidate gene for leopard complex (LP) spotting and congenital stationary night blindness in horses.

PubMed

Bellone, Rebecca R; Forsyth, George; Leeb, Tosso; Archer, Sheila; Sigurdsson, Snaevar; Imsland, Freyja; Mauceli, Evan; Engensteiner, Martina; Bailey, Ernest; Sandmeyer, Lynne; Grahn, Bruce; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Wade, Claire M

2010-05-01

Leopard Complex spotting occurs in several breeds of horses and is caused by an incompletely dominant allele (LP). Homozygosity for LP is also associated with congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) in Appaloosa horses. Previously, LP was mapped to a 6 cm region on ECA1 containing the candidate gene TRPM1 (Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamily M, Member 1) and decreased expression of this gene, measured by qRT-PCR, was identified as the likely cause of both spotting and ocular phenotypes. This study describes investigations for a mutation causing or associated with the Leopard Complex and CSNB phenotype in horses. Re-sequencing of the gene and associated splice sites within the 105 624 bp genomic region of TRPM1 led to the discovery of 18 SNPs. Most of the SNPs did not have a predictive value for the presence of LP. However, one SNP (ECA1:108,249,293 C>T) found within intron 11 had a strong (P < 0.0005), but not complete, association with LP and CSNB and thus is a good marker but unlikely to be causative. To further localize the association, 70 SNPs spanning over two Mb including the TRPM1 gene were genotyped in 192 horses from three different breeds segregating for LP. A single 173 kb haplotype associated with LP and CSNB (ECA1: 108,197,355- 108,370,150) was identified. Illumina sequencing of 300 kb surrounding this haplotype revealed 57 SNP variants. Based on their localization within expressed sequences or regions of high sequence conservation across mammals, six of these SNPs were considered to be the most likely candidate mutations. While the precise function of TRPM1 remains to be elucidated, this work solidifies its functional role in both pigmentation and night vision. Further, this work has identified several potential regulatory elements of the TRPM1 gene that should be investigated further in this and other species.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 9: Closed-cycle MHD. [energy conversion efficiency of electric power plants using magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsu, T. C.

1976-01-01

A closed-cycle MHD system for an electric power plant was studied. It consists of 3 interlocking loops, an external heating loop, a closed-cycle cesium seeded argon nonequilibrium ionization MHD loop, and a steam bottomer. A MHD duct maximum temperature of 2366 K (3800 F), a pressure of 0.939 MPa (9.27 atm) and a Mach number of 0.9 are found to give a topping cycle efficiency of 59.3%; however when combined with an integrated gasifier and optimistic steam bottomer the coal to bus bar efficiency drops to 45.5%. A 1978 K (3100 F) cycle has an efficiency of 55.1% and a power plant efficiency of 42.2%. The high cost of the external heating loop components results in a cost of electricity of 21.41 mills/MJ (77.07 mills/kWh) for the high temperature system and 19.0 mills/MJ (68.5 mills/kWh) for the lower temperature system. It is, therefore, thought that this cycle may be more applicable to internally heated systems such as some futuristic high temperature gas cooled reactor.

Study on ice cloud optical thickness retrieval with MODIS IR spectral bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hong; Li, Jun

2005-01-01

The operational Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products for cloud properties such as cloud-top pressure (CTP), effective cloud amount (ECA), cloud particle size (CPS), cloud optical thickness (COT), and cloud phase (CP) have been available for users globally. An approach to retrieve COT is investigated using MODIS infrared (IR) window spectral bands (8.5 mm, 11mm, and 12 mm). The COT retrieval from MODIS IR bands has the potential to provide microphysical properties with high spatial resolution during night. The results are compared with those from operational MODIS products derived from the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) bands during day. Sensitivity of COT to MODIS spectral brightness temperature (BT) and BT difference (BTD) values is studied. A look-up table is created from the cloudy radiative transfer model accounting for the cloud absorption and scattering for the cloud microphysical property retrieval. The potential applications and limitations are also discussed. This algorithm can be applied to the future imager systems such as Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R.

75 FR 63242 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Junior Faculty...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-14

... the early stages of their careers from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia... sciences from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo...

40 CFR 80.534 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.534 [Reserved] ...

Testing Consent Order For Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA has issued a Testing Consent Order that incorporates an Enforceable Consent Agreement (ECA) pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), with the Dow Chemical Company, Shell Oil Company, and Ciba-Geigy Corporation.

A lower baseline glomerular filtration rate predicts high mortality and newly cerebrovascular accidents in acute ischemic stroke patients.

PubMed

Dong, Kai; Huang, Xiaoqin; Zhang, Qian; Yu, Zhipeng; Ding, Jianping; Song, Haiqing

2017-02-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is gradually recognized as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cardio-/cerebrovascular disease. This study aimed to examine the association of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and clinical outcomes at 3 months after the onset of ischemic stroke in a hospitalized Chinese population.Totally, 972 patients with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled into this study. Modified of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations were used to calculate eGFR and define CKD. The site and degree of the stenosis were examined. Patients were followed-up for 3 months. Endpoint events included all-cause death and newly ischemic events. The multivariate logistic model was used to determine the association between renal dysfunction and patients' outcomes.Of all patients, 130 patients (13.4%) had reduced eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m), and 556 patients had a normal eGFR (≥90 mL/min/1.73 m). A total of 694 patients suffered from cerebral artery stenosis, in which 293 patients only had intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS), 110 only with extracranial carotid atherosclerotic stenosis (ECAS), and 301 with both ICAS and ECAS. The patients with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m had a higher proportion of death and newly ischemic events compared with those with a relatively normal eGFR. Multivariate analysis revealed that a baseline eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m increased the risk of mortality by 3.089-fold and newly ischemic events by 4.067-fold. In further analysis, a reduced eGFR was associated with increased rates of mortality and newly events both in ICAS patients and ECAS patients. However, only an increased risk of newly events was found as the degree of renal function deteriorated in ICAS patients (odds ratio = 8.169, 95% confidence interval = 2.445-14.127).A low baseline eGFR predicted a high mortality and newly ischemic events at 3 months in ischemic stroke patients. A low baseline eGFR was also a strong independent predictor for newly ischemic events in ICAS patients.

Impact of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Degradation Products on Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity for Platinum Electrocatalysts

DOE PAGES

Christ, J. M.; Neyerlin, K. C.; Wang, H.; ...

2014-10-30

The impact of model membrane degradation compounds on the relevant electrochemical parameters for the oxygen reduction reaction (i.e. electrochemical surface area and catalytic activity), was studied for both polycrystalline Pt and carbon supported Pt electrocatalysts. Model compounds, representing previously published, experimentally determined polymer electrolyte membrane degradation products, were in the form of perfluorinated organic acids that contained combinations of carboxylic and/or sulfonic acid functionality. Perfluorinated carboxylic acids of carbon chain length C1 – C6 were found to have an impact on electrochemical surface area (ECA). The longest chain length acid also hindered the observed oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance, resultingmore » in a 17% loss in kinetic current (determined at 0.9 V). Model compounds containing sulfonic acid functional groups alone did not show an effect on Pt ECA or ORR activity. Lastly, greater than a 44% loss in ORR activity at 0.9V was observed for diacid model compounds DA-Naf (perfluoro(2-methyl-3-oxa-5-sulfonic pentanoic) acid) and DA-3M (perfluoro(4-sulfonic butanoic) acid), which contained both sulfonic and carboxylic acid functionalities.« less

Modeling Thermal Effects for Simulation of Post Exposure Baking (PEB) Process in Positive Photoresist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asai, Satoru; Hanyu, Isamu; Nunokawa, Mitsuji; Abe, Masayuki

1991-03-01

We studied the thermal effects in a positive photoresist during post exposure baking (PEB). Infrared analysis and the reduced dissolution rate in the exposed resist suggest that the carboxylic acid is decreased and/or that ECA solvent evaporates. In order to simulate the effects, we assume that the concentration of the alkali-soluble material (carboxylic acid) decreases equivalently. Our model explains PEB and enables its effects to be simulated.

Fatigue properties of an 1421 aluminum alloy processed by ECAE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mogucheva, A.; Kaibyshev, R.

2010-07-01

Fatigue properties and fatigue crack growth rate were examined in an Al-Mg-Li-Sc-Zr allow subjected to equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) with rectangular shape of channels up to a total strain of ~4 at a temperature of 325°C followed by solution treatment with subsequent oil quenching with aging. After this processing the fraction recrystallized was ~80pct; the deformed microstructure remains essentially unchanged under solution treatment due to high density of Al3Sc coherent dispersoids playing a role of effective pinning agents. It was shown that the fatigue limit of this material attained a value of ~185 MPa. Thermomechanical processing provided a decrease in fatigue crack propagation growth rate and an increase in the stress intensity factor, K1c, in comparison with extruded bar. However, characteristics of crack propagation resistance did not attain values suitable for application of this alloy for critical aircraft components.

Leveraging the BPEL Event Model to Support QoS-aware Process Execution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaid, Farid; Berbner, Rainer; Steinmetz, Ralf

Business processes executed using compositions of distributed Web Services are susceptible to different fault types. The Web Services Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) is widely used to execute such processes. While BPEL provides fault handling mechanisms to handle functional faults like invalid message types, it still lacks a flexible native mechanism to handle non-functional exceptions associated with violations of QoS levels that are typically specified in a governing Service Level Agreement (SLA), In this paper, we present an approach to complement BPEL's fault handling, where expected QoS levels and necessary recovery actions are specified declaratively in form of Event-Condition-Action (ECA) rules. Our main contribution is leveraging BPEL's standard event model which we use as an event space for the created ECA rules. We validate our approach by an extension to an open source BPEL engine.

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

Valiev, R.Z.; Islamgaliev, R.K.; Kuzmina, N.F.

Intense plastic straining techniques such as torsion straining and equal channel angular (ECA) pressing are processing procedures which may be used to make beneficial changes in the properties of materials through a substantial refinement in the microstructure. Although intense plastic straining procedures have been used for grain refinement in numerous experiments reported over the last decade, there appears to have been no investigations in which these procedures were used with metal matrix composites. The present paper describes a series of experiments in which torsion straining and ECA pressing were applied to an Al-6061 metal matrix composite reinforced with 10 volumemore » % of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} particulates. As will be demonstrated, intense plastic straining has the potential for both reducing the grain size of the composite to the submicrometer level and increasing the strength at room temperature by a factor in the range of {approximately}2 to {approximately}3.« less

Subsurface structures and properties of a medium-scale peatland area by means of hydrogeophysical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altdorff, Daniel; van der Kruk, Jan; Bechtold, Michel; Tiemeyer, Bärbel; Huismann, Sander

2013-04-01

Intact peatlands are natural sinks of climate-relevant atmospheric CO2 and they are able to store high amounts of organic carbon (C). In addition, intact peatlands are increasingly important given positive effects on biodiversity, hydrological processes and corresponding management issues. Nevertheless, large parts of peatlands in populated areas were modified by human activity during the last centuries. In Germany, more than 90% of the peatlands are drained, mainly for agricultural use. Due to the recent recognition of the positive effects of intact peatlands, there are presently several initiatives for re-wetting parts of these peatlands. However, a restoration to nearly natural conditions needs an evaluation of the current situation as well as an assessment of the restoration potential. Therefore, soil properties like peat layer thickness, bulk density and moisture content need to be known. Non-invasive hydrogeophysical methods offer the possibility for a time and cost-effective characterization of peatlands. In this study, we investigated a medium-scale peatland area (approximately 35 ha) of the 3000 ha large 'Großes Moor' peatland. We present apparent conductivity (ECa) values obtained from Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) measurements representative for three investigation depths (approximately 0.25, 0.5, and 1m). We selected zones with dissimilar ECa to identify areas where strong changes in the subsoil properties with depth are expected (i.e. shallow peat soil on top of sand). Within these areas, additional measurements were made using Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) and soil sampling was performed. In total, six 30 m long GPR profiles and corresponding common midpoint (CMP) measurements were recorded. Additionally, 15 soil cores were taken down to a depth of 0.9 m in order to obtain peat thickness, water content, pore water EC, bulk density (BD), as well as C and N content. Each core was divided into several 5 to 20 cm thick layers to obtain information on the vertical variation of these soil properties with depth. Our results indicate that the peat layer is generally characterized by lower BD, higher pore water EC, higher C content, and higher water contents compared to the underlying sand layer. Preliminary EMI results indicate a ECa - C content correlation that decreases with EMI investigation depth from 0.25 to 1 m. Regarding all soil core properties, the strongest contrast occurs at the peat-sand interface. This contrast also clearly appears in some of the GPR results. The EMI apparent conductivities are positively correlated with soil water content and peat thickness obtained from the soil cores. Preliminary GPR results confirm an increased thickness of the upper layer in areas with increased ECa values. The EMI results also reveal clear patterns linked over several fields with different land use history that represent natural structures in the subsurface.

Radiological Diagnosis and Management of Epistaxis

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

Krajina, Antonín, E-mail: antonin.krajina@fnhk.cz; Chrobok, Viktor, E-mail: viktor.chrobok@fnhk.cz

The majority of episodes of spontaneous posterior epistaxis treated with embolisation are idiopathic in nature. The angiographic findings are typically normal. Specific angiographic signs are rare and may include the following: a tumour blush, telangiectasia, aneurysm, and/or extravasation. Selective internal carotid artery (ICA) angiography may show rare causes of epistaxis, such as traumatic or mycotic aneurysms, which require different treatment approaches. Complete bilateral selective external and internal carotid angiograms are essential to evaluation. The images should be analysed for detection of central retinal blush in the external carotid artery (ECA) and anastomoses between the branches of the ECA and ICA.more » Monocular blindness and stroke are two of the most severe complications. Embolisation aims to decrease flow to the bleeding nasal mucosa while avoiding necrosis of the nasal skin and palate mucosa. Embolisation is routinely performed with a microcatheter positioned in the internal maxillary artery distal to the origin of the meningeal arteries. A guiding catheter should be placed in the proximal portion of the ECA to avoid vasospasm. Embolisation with microparticles is halted when the peripheral branches of the sphenopalatine artery are occluded. The use of coils is not recommended because recurrent epistaxis may occur due to proximal embolization; moreover, the option of repeat distal embolisation is lost. The success rate of embolisation therapy (accounting for late recurrence of bleeding) varies between 71 and 94 %. Results from endoscopic surgery are quite comparable. When epistaxis is refractory to nasal packing or endoscopic surgery, embolisation is the treatment of choice in some centres.« less

Challenges to recruitment and retention of the state health department epidemiology workforce.

PubMed

Beck, Angela J; Boulton, Matthew L; Lemmings, Jennifer; Clayton, Joshua L

2012-01-01

With nearly one quarter of the combined governmental public health workforce eligible for retirement within the next few years, recruitment and retention of workers is a growing concern. Epidemiology has been identified as a potential workforce shortage area in state health departments. Understanding strategies for recruiting and retaining epidemiologists may help health departments stabilize their epidemiology workforce. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists conducted a survey, the Epidemiology Capacity Assessment (ECA), of state health departments to identify recruitment and retention factors. The ECA was distributed to 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and four U.S. territories in 2009. The 50 states and DC are included in this analysis. The State Epidemiologist completed the organizational-level assessment; health department epidemiologists completed an individual-level assessment. Data were analyzed in 2010. All states responded to the ECA, as did 1544 epidemiologists. Seventeen percent of epidemiologists reported intent to retire or change careers in the next 5 years. Ninety percent of states and DC identified state and local government websites, schools of public health, and professional organizations as the most useful recruitment tools. Top recruitment barriers included salary scale, hiring freezes, and ability to offer competitive pay; lack of promotion opportunities and merit raise restrictions were main retention barriers. Although the proportion of state health department epidemiologists intending to retire or change careers during the next 5 years is lower than the estimate for the total state public health workforce, important recruitment and retention barriers for the employees exist. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contrail formation in the tropopause region caused by emissions from an Ariane 5 rocket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voigt, Ch.; Schumann, U.; Graf, K.

2016-07-01

Rockets directly inject water vapor and aerosol into the atmosphere, which promotes the formation of ice clouds in ice supersaturated layers of the atmosphere. Enhanced mesospheric cloud occurrence has frequently been detected near 80-kilometer altitude a few days after rocket launches. Here, unique evidence for cirrus formation in the tropopause region caused by ice nucleation in the exhaust plume from an Ariane 5-ECA rocket is presented. Meteorological reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts show significant ice supersaturation at the 100-hectopascal level in the American tropical tropopause region on November 26, 2011. Near 17-kilometer altitudes, the temperatures are below the Schmidt-Appleman threshold temperature for rocket condensation trail formation on that day. Immediately after the launch from the Ariane 5-ECA at 18:39 UT (universal time) from Kourou, French Guiana, the formation of a rocket contrail is detected in the high resolution visible channel from the SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager) on the METEOSAT9 satellite. The rocket contrail is transported to the south and its dispersion is followed in SEVIRI data for almost 2 h. The ice crystals predominantly nucleated on aluminum oxide particles emitted by the Ariane 5-ECA solid booster and further grow by uptake of water vapor emitted from the cryogenic main stage and entrained from the ice supersaturated ambient atmosphere. After rocket launches, the formation of rocket contrails can be a frequent phenomenon under ice supersaturated conditions. However, at present launch rates, the global climate impact from rocket contrail cirrus in the tropopause region is small.

Evaluation of AIRS cloud properties using MPACE data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xuebao; Li, Jun; Menzel, W. Paul; Huang, Allen; Baggett, Kevin; Revercomb, Henry

2005-12-01

Retrieval of cloud properties from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) aboard the NASA Aqua satellite has been investigated. The cloud products from the collocated MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data are used to characterize the AIRS sub-pixel cloud information such as cloud phase, cloud coverage, and cloud layer information. A Minimum Residual (MR) approach is used to retrieve cloud microphysical properties once the cloud top pressure (CTP) and effective cloud amount (ECA) are determined from AIRS CO2 absorption channels between 720 and 790 cm-1. The cloud microphysical properties can be retrieved by minimizing the differences between the observations and the calculations using AIRS longwave window channels between 790 and 1130 cm-1. AIRS is used to derive cloud properties during the Mixed Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (MPACE) field campaign. Comparison with measurements obtained from lidar data is made for a test day, showing that AIRS cloud property retrievals agree with in situ lidar observations. Due to the large solar zenith angle, the MODIS operational retrieval approach is not able to provide cloud microphysics north of Barrow, Alaska; however, AIRS provides cloud microphysical properties with its high spectral resolution IR measurements.

Federal Register notice: Testing Consent Orders on Aniline and Seven Substituted Anilines

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA has signed ECAs with manufacturers (including importers) to perform health and environmental effects tests on aniline and with manufacturers to perform health and/or environmental effects tests on seven substituted anilines they manufacture.

75 FR 20656 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: smART Power: Visual...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-20

... specific projects must demonstrate high artistic ability, excellent interpersonal skills, and be conversant... progress towards outcomes or the results achieved. Examples of outputs include the number of people trained...

40 CFR 80.510 - What are the standards and marker requirements for NRLM diesel fuel and ECA marine fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... following areas: (1) Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Area, which includes the following States and counties, through..., Elk, Jefferson, Clarion, Forest, Venango, Mercer, Crawford, Lawrence, Beaver, Washington, and Greene...

Ship Technology Workshop Materials from Collaboration with Mexico to Reduce Emissions from Ships

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On September 26, 2012, a ship technology seminar was held to provide Mexican stakeholders with information about some of the ship technologies needed to meet the requirements of MARPOL Annex VI and an ECA.

Nutrient Estimation Using Subsurface Sensing Methods

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This report investigates the use of precision management techniques for measuring soil conductivity on feedlot surfaces to estimate nutrient value for crop production. An electromagnetic induction soil conductivity meter was used to collect apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) from feedlot p...

40 CFR 80.526 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel Standards and Requirements § 80.526 [Reserved] ...

40 CFR 80.523 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel Standards and Requirements § 80.523 [Reserved] ...

76 FR 14725 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Open Competition...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-17

.... Carry out post-grant engagement. The grant recipient will develop enhancement activities that reinforce....6. Post-grant Plan. A post-grant plan that demonstrates how the grantee and participants will...

Selectivity in the Reinnervation of the Lateral Gastrocnemius Muscle after Nerve Repair with Ethyl Cyanoacrylate in the Rat

PubMed Central

Landegren, Thomas; Risling, Mårten; Hammarberg, Henrik; Persson, Jonas K. E.

2011-01-01

There is a need for complementary surgical techniques that enable rapid and reliable primary repair of transected nerves. Previous studies after peripheral nerve transection and repair with synthetic adhesives have demonstrated regeneration to an extent comparable to that of conventional techniques. The aim of this study was to compare two different repair techniques on the selectivity of muscle reinnervation after repair and completed regeneration. We used the cholera toxin B technique of retrograde axonal tracing to evaluate the morphology, the number, and the three-dimensional location of α-motoneurons innervating the lateral gastrocnemius muscle and compared the results after repair with either ethyl cyanoacrylate (ECA) or epineural sutures of the transected parent sciatic nerve. In addition, we recorded the wet weight of the muscle. Six months after transection and repair of the sciatic nerve, the redistribution of the motoneuron pool was markedly disorganized, the motoneurons had apparently increased in number, and they were scattered throughout a larger volume of the spinal cord gray matter with a decrease in the synaptic coverage compared to controls. A reduction in muscle weight was observed as well. No difference in morphometric variables or muscle weight between the two repair methods could be detected. We conclude that the selectivity of motor reinnervation following sciatic nerve transection and subsequent repair with ECA is comparable to that following conventional micro suturing. PMID:21577248

77 FR 6168 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: English Language Evaluation Surveys, OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-07

...: Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Program Survey. OMB Control Number: None. Type of Request... methods: Email: [email protected] . Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): ECA/P/V, SA-5, C2 Floor...

40 CFR 80.503-80.509 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....503-80.509 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel General Information §§ 80.503-80.509 [Reserved] ...

1,1,2-Trichloroethane (TCE); Final Enforceable Consent Agreement and Testing Consent Order

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA has issued an enforceable consent agreement (ECA) with The Dow Chemical Company; Vulcan Materials Company; Occidental Chemical Corp; Oxy Vinyls, LP; Georgia Gulf Corp; Westlake Chemical Corp; PPG, Borden Chemicals & Plastics, and Formosa Plastics.

Evidence for the Continuous Latent Structure of Mania in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area from Multiple Latent Structure and Construct Validation Methodologies

PubMed Central

Prisciandaro, James J.; Roberts, John E.

2011-01-01

Background Although psychiatric diagnostic systems have conceptualized mania as a discrete phenomenon, appropriate latent structure investigations testing this conceptualization are lacking. In contrast to these diagnostic systems, several influential theories of mania have suggested a continuous conceptualization. The present study examined whether mania has a continuous or discrete latent structure using a comprehensive approach including taxometric, information-theoretic latent distribution modeling (ITLDM), and predictive validity methodologies in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study. Methods Eight dichotomous manic symptom items were submitted to a variety of latent structural analyses; including factor analyses, taxometric procedures, and ITLDM; in 10,105 ECA community participants. Additionally, a variety of continuous and discrete models of mania were compared in terms of their relative abilities to predict outcomes (i.e., health service utilization, internalizing and externalizing disorders, and suicidal behavior). Results Taxometric and ITLDM analyses consistently supported a continuous conceptualization of mania. In ITLDM analyses, a continuous model of mania demonstrated 6:52:1 odds over the best fitting latent class model of mania. Factor analyses suggested that the continuous structure of mania was best represented by a single latent factor. Predictive validity analyses demonstrated a consistent superior ability of continuous models of mania relative to discrete models. Conclusions The present study provided three independent lines of support for a continuous conceptualization of mania. The implications of a continuous model of mania are discussed. PMID:20507671

Inhibition kinetics and molecular simulation of p-substituted cinnamic acid derivatives on tyrosinase.

PubMed

Cui, Yi; Hu, Yong-Hua; Yu, Feng; Zheng, Jing; Chen, Lin-Shan; Chen, Qing-Xi; Wang, Qin

2017-02-01

This study was to investigate the inhibition effects of para-substituted cinnamic acid derivatives (4-chlorocinnamic acid, 4-ethoxycinnamic acid and 4-nitrocinnamic acid) on tyrosinase catalyzing the substrates, with the purpose of elucidating the inhibition mechanism of the tested derivatives on tyrosinase by the UV-vis spectrum, fluorescence spectroscopy, copper interacting and molecular docking, respectively. The native-PAGE results showed that 4-chlorocinnamic acid (4-CCA), 4-ethoxycinnamic acid (4-ECA) and 4-nitrocinnamic acid (4-NCA) had inhibitory effects on tyrosinase. Spectrophotometric analysis used to determine the inhibition capabilities of these compounds on tyrosinase catalyzing L-tyrosine (L-Tyr) and L-3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) as well. The IC 50 values and inhibition constants were further determined. Moreover, quenching mechanisms of tested compounds to tyrosinase belonged to static type and a red shift on fluorescence emission peak occurred when 4-NCA added. Copper interacting and molecular docking demonstrated that 4-CCA could not bind directly to the copper, but it could interact with residues in the active center of tyrosinase. Meanwhile, 4-ECA and 4-NCA could chelate a copper ion of tyrosinase. Anti-tyrosinase activities of para-substituted cinnamic acid derivatives would lay scientific foundation for their utilization in designing of novel tyrosinase inhibitors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Emergency wounds treated with cyanoacrylate and long-term results in pediatrics: a series of cases; what are the advantages and boards?

PubMed Central

Gulalp, Betul; Seyhan, Tamer; Gursoy, Sonnur; Altinors, M Nur

2009-01-01

Background Ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate (ECA) is a tissue adhesive material applied to close superficial wounds. The aim of this study was to explore the benefits of cyanoacrylates in the emergency department in children with current application with regard to cost-effectiveness, satisfaction and long follow up. Findings Patients were treated after assignment of the consent with an explanation by the relatives in a tertiary emergency department (ED), 2007. The evaluation was based on different superficial wound repairs due to blunt trauma within a 2-hour time period (<6 hours), and small wounds (≤3 cm). These wounds were cleansed with serum sale and then dried with gauze. Wound repairs were observed for six months in order to observe the tissue changes. The patient's age, sex, indication, application time, pain score, cost, additional tending (if needed), complications, and cosmetic satisfaction were recorded. A total of 9 patients were evaluated and followed for 6 months. Except for one, all children were treated without any serious complications. ECA was cost-effective, time-saving, and provided successful repair satisfaction by a blinded plastic surgeon and patient/parents. Conclusion This report displayed the pediatric effective use of cyanoacrylates, even in non- traditional repairs in the emergency departments. PMID:19594954

Dibasic Esters; Final Enforceable Consent Agreement and Testing Consent Order

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Under section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), EPA has issued a testing consent order (Order) that incorporates an enforceable consent agreement (ECA) with the Aceto Corporation, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and Solutia Inc.

Panic disorder and its subtypes: a comprehensive analysis of panic symptom heterogeneity using epidemiological and treatment seeking samples

PubMed Central

Roberson-Nay, R.; Kendler, K. S.

2014-01-01

Background Panic disorder (PD) is a heterogeneous syndrome that can present with a variety of symptom profiles that potentially reflect distinct etiologic pathways. The present study represents the most comprehensive examination of phenotypic variance in PD with and without agoraphobia for the purpose of identifying clinically relevant and etiologically meaningful subtypes. Method Latent class (LC) and factor mixture analysis were used to examine panic symptom data ascertained from three national epidemiologic surveys [Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA), National Comorbidity Study (NCS), National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), Wave 1], a twin study [Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders (VATSPSUD)] and a clinical trial (Cross-National Collaborative Panic Study [CNCPS]). Results Factor mixture models (versus LC) generally provided better fit to panic symptom data and suggested two panic classes for the ECA, VATSPSUD and CNCPS, with one class typified by prominent respiratory symptoms. The NCS yielded two classes, but suggested both qualitative and quantitative differences. The more contemporary NESARC sample supported a two and three class model, with the three class model suggesting two variants of respiratory panic. The NESARC’s three class model continued to provide the best fit when the model was restricted to a more severe form of PD/panic disorder with agoraphobia. Conclusions Results from epidemiologic and clinical samples suggest two panic subtypes, with one subtype characterized by a respiratory component and a second class typified by general somatic symptoms. Results are discussed in light of their relevance to the etiopathogenesis of PD. PMID:21557895

Getting off the Bain path: Are there any metastable states of cubic elements?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehl, Michael J.; Boyer, Larry L.

2003-03-01

Body-centered and face-centered cubic crystals can be considered as special cases of a body-centered tetragonal crystal with c/a = 1 and 2, respectively. First-principles calculations along this Bain path show that elements with an fcc (bcc) ground state are elastically unstable with respect to a tetragonal distortion in the bcc (fcc) phase. Starting with a normally fcc element and calculating E(c/a) for c/a < 1 we find a local minimum near c/a = 2/3, while for a bcc element we find a local minimum at some c/a > 2. It is tempting to conclude that these bct minima, which are required by continuity, are metastable, but calculations by several authors show that, at least for Al, Cu, and Pd, the bct structures are unstable with respect to an orthorhombic distortion. We use a simple "magic strain" construction(L. L. Boyer, Acta Cryst. A) 45, FC29 (1989).(M. J. Mehl and L. L. Boyer, Phys. Rev. B) 43, 9498 (1991). to study the stability of these bct states, and present examples which suggest that no fcc or bcc element has a metastable bct state.

Heat stress redistributes blood flow in arteries of the brain during dynamic exercise.

PubMed

Sato, Kohei; Oue, Anna; Yoneya, Marina; Sadamoto, Tomoko; Ogoh, Shigehiko

2016-04-01

We hypothesized that heat stress would decrease anterior and posterior cerebral blood flow (CBF) during exercise, and the reduction in anterior CBF would be partly associated with large increase in extracranial blood flow (BF). Nine subjects performed 40 min of semirecumbent cycling at 60% of the peak oxygen uptake in hot (35°C; Heat) and thermoneutral environments (25°C; Control). We evaluated BF and conductance (COND) in the external carotid artery (ECA), internal carotid artery (ICA), and vertebral artery (VA) using ultrasonography. During the Heat condition, ICA and VA BF were significantly increased 10 min after the start of exercise (P < 0.05) and thereafter gradually decreased. ICA COND was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), whereas VA COND remained unchanged throughout Heat. Compared with the Control, either BF or COND of ICA and VA at the end of Heat tended to be lower, but not significantly. In contrast, ECA BF and COND at the end of Heat were both higher than levels in the Control condition (P < 0.01). During Heat, a reduction in ICA BF appears to be associated with a decline in end-tidal CO2 tension (r = 0.84), whereas VA BF appears to be affected by a change in cardiac output (r = 0.87). In addition, a change in ECA BF during Heat was negatively correlated with a change in ICA BF (r = -0.75). Heat stress resulted in modification of the vascular response of head and brain arteries to exercise, which resulted in an alteration in the distribution of cardiac output. Moreover, a hyperthermia-induced increase in extracranial BF might compromise anterior CBF during exercise with heat stress. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

A hybrid approach to modeling and control of vehicle height for electronically controlled air suspension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xiaoqiang; Cai, Yingfeng; Wang, Shaohua; Liu, Yanling; Chen, Long

2016-01-01

The control problems associated with vehicle height adjustment of electronically controlled air suspension (ECAS) still pose theoretical challenges for researchers, which manifest themselves in the publications on this subject over the last years. This paper deals with modeling and control of a vehicle height adjustment system for ECAS, which is an example of a hybrid dynamical system due to the coexistence and coupling of continuous variables and discrete events. A mixed logical dynamical (MLD) modeling approach is chosen for capturing enough details of the vehicle height adjustment process. The hybrid dynamic model is constructed on the basis of some assumptions and piecewise linear approximation for components nonlinearities. Then, the on-off statuses of solenoid valves and the piecewise approximation process are described by propositional logic, and the hybrid system is transformed into the set of linear mixed-integer equalities and inequalities, denoted as MLD model, automatically by HYSDEL. Using this model, a hybrid model predictive controller (HMPC) is tuned based on online mixed-integer quadratic optimization (MIQP). Two different scenarios are considered in the simulation, whose results verify the height adjustment effectiveness of the proposed approach. Explicit solutions of the controller are computed to control the vehicle height adjustment system in realtime using an offline multi-parametric programming technology (MPT), thus convert the controller into an equivalent explicit piecewise affine form. Finally, bench experiments for vehicle height lifting, holding and lowering procedures are conducted, which demonstrate that the HMPC can adjust the vehicle height by controlling the on-off statuses of solenoid valves directly. This research proposes a new modeling and control method for vehicle height adjustment of ECAS, which leads to a closed-loop system with favorable dynamical properties.

Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Selection for Important Traits in Domestic Horse Breeds

PubMed Central

Petersen, Jessica L.; Mickelson, James R.; Rendahl, Aaron K.; Valberg, Stephanie J.; Andersson, Lisa S.; Axelsson, Jeanette; Bailey, Ernie; Bannasch, Danika; Binns, Matthew M.; Borges, Alexandre S.; Brama, Pieter; da Câmara Machado, Artur; Capomaccio, Stefano; Cappelli, Katia; Cothran, E. Gus; Distl, Ottmar; Fox-Clipsham, Laura; Graves, Kathryn T.; Guérin, Gérard; Haase, Bianca; Hasegawa, Telhisa; Hemmann, Karin; Hill, Emmeline W.; Leeb, Tosso; Lindgren, Gabriella; Lohi, Hannes; Lopes, Maria Susana; McGivney, Beatrice A.; Mikko, Sofia; Orr, Nicholas; Penedo, M. Cecilia T.; Piercy, Richard J.; Raekallio, Marja; Rieder, Stefan; Røed, Knut H.; Swinburne, June; Tozaki, Teruaki; Vaudin, Mark; Wade, Claire M.; McCue, Molly E.

2013-01-01

Intense selective pressures applied over short evolutionary time have resulted in homogeneity within, but substantial variation among, horse breeds. Utilizing this population structure, 744 individuals from 33 breeds, and a 54,000 SNP genotyping array, breed-specific targets of selection were identified using an FST-based statistic calculated in 500-kb windows across the genome. A 5.5-Mb region of ECA18, in which the myostatin (MSTN) gene was centered, contained the highest signature of selection in both the Paint and Quarter Horse. Gene sequencing and histological analysis of gluteal muscle biopsies showed a promoter variant and intronic SNP of MSTN were each significantly associated with higher Type 2B and lower Type 1 muscle fiber proportions in the Quarter Horse, demonstrating a functional consequence of selection at this locus. Signatures of selection on ECA23 in all gaited breeds in the sample led to the identification of a shared, 186-kb haplotype including two doublesex related mab transcription factor genes (DMRT2 and 3). The recent identification of a DMRT3 mutation within this haplotype, which appears necessary for the ability to perform alternative gaits, provides further evidence for selection at this locus. Finally, putative loci for the determination of size were identified in the draft breeds and the Miniature horse on ECA11, as well as when signatures of selection surrounding candidate genes at other loci were examined. This work provides further evidence of the importance of MSTN in racing breeds, provides strong evidence for selection upon gait and size, and illustrates the potential for population-based techniques to find genomic regions driving important phenotypes in the modern horse. PMID:23349635

Understanding the effects of PEMFC contamination from balance of plant assembly aids materials: In situ studies

DOE PAGES

Opu, Md.; Bender, G.; Macomber, Clay S.; ...

2015-06-29

In this study, in situ performance data were measured to assess the degree of contamination from leachates of five families of balance of plant (BOP) materials (i.e., 2-part adhesive, grease, thread lock/seal, silicone adhesive/seal and urethane adhesive/seal) broadly classified as assembly aids that may be used as adhesives and lubricants in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems. Leachate solutions, derived from soaking the materials in deionized (DI) water at elevated temperature, were infused into the fuel cell to determine the effect of the leachates on fuel cell performance. During the contamination phase of the experiments, leachate solution was introducedmore » through a nebulizer into the cathode feed stream of a 50 cm 2 PEMFC operating at 0.2 A/cm 2 at 80°C and 32%RH. Voltage loss and high frequency resistance (HFR) were measured as a function of time and electrochemical surface area (ECA) before and after contamination were compared. Two procedures of recovery, one self-induced recovery with DI water and one driven recovery through cyclic voltammetry (CV) were investigated. Finally, performance results measured before and after contamination and after CV recovery are compared and discussed.« less

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 12: Fuel cells. [energy conversion efficiency of, for use in electric power plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warde, C. J.; Ruka, R. J.; Isenberg, A. O.

1976-01-01

A parametric assessment of four fuel cell power systems -- based on phosphoric acid, potassium hydroxide, molten carbonate, and stabilized zirconia -- has shown that the most important parameters for electricity-cost reduction and/or efficiency improvement standpoints are fuel cell useful life and power density, use of a waste-heat recovery system, and fuel type. Typical capital costs, overall energy efficiencies (based on the heating value of the coal used to produce the power plant fuel), and electricity costs are: phosphoric acid $350-450/kWe, 24-29%, and 11.7 to 13.9 mills/MJ (42 to 50 mills/kWh); alkaline $450-700/kWe, 26-31%, and 12.8 to 16.9 mills/MJ (46 to 61 mills/kWh); molten carbonate $480-650/kWe, 32-46%, and 10.6 to 19.4 mills/MJ (38 to 70 mills/kWh), stabilized zirconia $420-950/kWe, 26-53%, and 9.7 to 16.9 mills/MJ (35 to 61 mills/kWh). Three types of fuel cell power plants -- solid electrolytic with steam bottoming, molten carbonate with steam bottoming, and solid electrolyte with an integrated coal gasifier -- are recommended for further study.

Understanding the effects of PEMFC contamination from balance of plant assembly aids materials: In situ studies

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

Opu, Md.; Bender, G.; Macomber, Clay S.

In this study, in situ performance data were measured to assess the degree of contamination from leachates of five families of balance of plant (BOP) materials (i.e., 2-part adhesive, grease, thread lock/seal, silicone adhesive/seal and urethane adhesive/seal) broadly classified as assembly aids that may be used as adhesives and lubricants in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems. Leachate solutions, derived from soaking the materials in deionized (DI) water at elevated temperature, were infused into the fuel cell to determine the effect of the leachates on fuel cell performance. During the contamination phase of the experiments, leachate solution was introducedmore » through a nebulizer into the cathode feed stream of a 50 cm 2 PEMFC operating at 0.2 A/cm 2 at 80°C and 32%RH. Voltage loss and high frequency resistance (HFR) were measured as a function of time and electrochemical surface area (ECA) before and after contamination were compared. Two procedures of recovery, one self-induced recovery with DI water and one driven recovery through cyclic voltammetry (CV) were investigated. Finally, performance results measured before and after contamination and after CV recovery are compared and discussed.« less

Voltage-dependent Ca2+ release from the SR of feline ventricular myocytes is explained by Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release

PubMed Central

Piacentino, Valentino; Dipla, Konstantina; Gaughan, John P; Houser, Steven R

2000-01-01

Direct voltage-gated (voltage-dependent Ca2+ release, VDCR) and Ca2+ influx-gated (Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release, CICR) sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release were studied in feline ventricular myocytes. The voltage-contraction relationship predicted by the VDCR hypothesis is sigmoidal with large contractions at potentials near the Ca2+ equilibrium potential (ECa). The relationship predicted by the CICR hypothesis is bell-shaped with no contraction at ECa. The voltage dependence of contraction was measured in ventricular myocytes at physiological temperature (37 °C), resting membrane potential and physiological [K+]. Experiments were performed with cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) in the pipette or in the presence of the β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (isoprenaline; ISO). The voltage-contraction relationship was bell-shaped in Na+-free solutions (to eliminate the Na+ current and Na+-Ca2+ exchange, NCX) but the relationship was broader than the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L)-voltage relationship. Contractions induced with voltage steps from normal resting potentials to -40 mV are thought to represent VDCR rather than CICR. We found that cAMP and ISO shifted the voltage dependence of ICa,L activation to more negative potentials so that ICa,L was always present with steps to -40 mV. ICa,L at -40 mV inactivated when the holding potential was decreased (V½ =−57·8 ± 0·49 mV). ISO increased inward current, SR Ca2+ load and contraction in physiological [Na+] and a broad bell-shaped voltage-contraction relationship was observed. Inhibition of reverse-mode NCX, decreasing ICa,L and decreasing SR Ca2+ loading all decreased contractions at strongly positive potentials near ECa. The voltage-contraction relationship in 200 μM cadmium (Cd2+) was bell-shaped, supporting a role of ICa,L rather than VDCR. All results could be accounted for by the CICR hypothesis, and many results exclude the VDCR hypothesis. PMID:10718736

76 FR 66769 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-27

.... Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation, programs must... encompass differences including, but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location... cultural exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall...

U.S. EPA, Pesticide Product Label, LEMON FRESH, 09/25/1985

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2011-04-21

... _e_c_a_~_~1~0? r'L ~t_at ~~_~~_!.~ ~~ldrd to Hu~_a~.'l_~_~~_ d5?~esJi£~~~~als DANGER ~eep Out of Reach of Children, Corrosive Causes ...

40 CFR 80.556-80.559 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....556-80.559 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Small Refiner Hardship Provisions §§ 80.556-80.559 [Reserved] Other...

40 CFR 80.514-80.519 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....514-80.519 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel General Information §§ 80.514-80.519 [Reserved] Motor Vehicle Diesel...

40 CFR 80.528-80.529 - [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....528-80.529 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel Standards and Requirements §§ 80.528-80.529...

Genome sequences of Escherichia coli strains that cause persistent and transient mastitis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The genomes of two strains of Escherichia coli that cause bovine mastitis were sequenced. These strains are known to be associated with persistent and transient mastitis: strain ECA-B causes a transient infection, and ECC-M leads to a persistent infection....

Differential blood flow responses to CO2 in human internal and external carotid and vertebral arteries

PubMed Central

Sato, Kohei; Sadamoto, Tomoko; Hirasawa, Ai; Oue, Anna; Subudhi, Andrew W; Miyazawa, Taiki; Ogoh, Shigehiko

2012-01-01

Arterial CO2 serves as a mediator of cerebral blood flow (CBF), and its relative influence on the regulation of CBF is defined as cerebral CO2 reactivity. Our previous studies have demonstrated that there are differences in CBF responses to physiological stimuli (i.e. dynamic exercise and orthostatic stress) between arteries in humans. These findings suggest that dynamic CBF regulation and cerebral CO2 reactivity may be different in the anterior and posterior cerebral circulation. The aim of this study was to identify cerebral CO2 reactivity by measuring blood flow and examine potential differences in CO2 reactivity between the internal carotid artery (ICA), external carotid artery (ECA) and vertebral artery (VA). In 10 healthy young subjects, we evaluated the ICA, ECA, and VA blood flow responses by duplex ultrasonography (Vivid-e, GE Healthcare), and mean blood flow velocity in middle cerebral artery (MCA) and basilar artery (BA) by transcranial Doppler (Vivid-7, GE healthcare) during two levels of hypercapnia (3% and 6% CO2), normocapnia and hypocapnia to estimate CO2 reactivity. To characterize cerebrovascular reactivity to CO2, we used both exponential and linear regression analysis between CBF and estimated partial pressure of arterial CO2, calculated by end-tidal partial pressure of CO2. CO2 reactivity in VA was significantly lower than in ICA (coefficient of exponential regression 0.021 ± 0.008 vs. 0.030 ± 0.008; slope of linear regression 2.11 ± 0.84 vs. 3.18 ± 1.09% mmHg−1: VA vs. ICA, P < 0.01). Lower CO2 reactivity in the posterior cerebral circulation was persistent in distal intracranial arteries (exponent 0.023 ± 0.006 vs. 0.037 ± 0.009; linear 2.29 ± 0.56 vs. 3.31 ± 0.87% mmHg−1: BA vs. MCA). In contrast, CO2 reactivity in ECA was markedly lower than in the intra-cerebral circulation (exponent 0.006 ± 0.007; linear 0.63 ± 0.64% mmHg−1, P < 0.01). These findings indicate that vertebro-basilar circulation has lower CO2 reactivity than internal carotid circulation, and that CO2 reactivity of the external carotid circulation is markedly diminished compared to that of the cerebral circulation, which may explain different CBF responses to physiological stress. PMID:22526884

Chemically amplified i-line positive resist for next-generation flat panel display

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hsing-Chieh; Lu, Ying-Hao; Huang, Shin-Yih; Lan, Wei-Jen; Hanabata, Makoto

2017-03-01

Traditional diazonaphthoquinone (DNQ) positive photoresists are widely used for TFT-LCD array process. Current LTPS technology has more than 600ppi resolution is required for small or middle-sized TFT liquid crystal display panels. One of the ways to enhance resolution is to apply i-line single exposure system instead of traditional g/h/ibroadband exposure system. We have been developing i-line chemically amplified photoresist ECA 200 series for the next generation flat panel display (FPD). ECA 200 consists of three components: a phenol resin, a photo acid generator and dissolution enhancer. We applied two different types of dissolution enhancers with two different kinds of protected groups to our resist materials. As a result, we achieved higher sensitivity, higher resolution, less footing of the resist profile and reduced standing wave effect compared with traditional DNQ photoresists. In addition, we have found further property of photoresist that does not need post exposure bake (PEB) process. This resist has a great advantage at most of current panel plants without PEB process.

SMART-1/CLEMENTINE Study of Humorum and Procellarum Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carey, William; Foing, Bernard H.; Koschny, Detlef; Pio Rossi, Angelo; Josset, Jean-Luc

A study undertaken by ESA to define a European Reference Architecture for Space Exploration is due to be completed in September 2008. The development of this architecture over the past twelve months has identified a number of key capabilities, among them a lunar lander system, which could form the basis for Europe's contribution to the future exploration of space in collaboration with International Partners. The focus of this paper will be on the lunar lander system, and will present the results of an analysis of possible payloads that could be accommodated by the lander. As the industrial study is at the Phase 0 or Pre-Phase A level, the design of such a lander system is at a very early stage in its development, but an estimation of the payload capacity allows a general assessment of the types of possible payloads that could be carried, currently this capacity is estimated at 1.1 tonnes of gross payload mass to the lunar surface (assuming an Ariane 5 ECA launch). An important characteristic of the lunar lander is that it provides a versatile and flexible system for utilisation in a broad range of lunar missions which include: - Independent lunar exploration missions for science, technology demonstration and research. - Delivery of logistics and cargo to support human surface sortie missions. - Delivery of logistics to a lunar base/outpost. - Deployment of individual infrastructure elements in support of a lunar base/outpost. Based on the above different types of missions, a number of configurations of "reference payload" sets are in the process of being defined that cover specific exploration objectives related primarily to capability demonstration, exploration enabling research and enabled science. Aspects covered include: ISRU, robotics, mobility, human preparation, life science and geology. This paper will present the current status of definition of the Reference Payload sets.

76 FR 25748 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals; International...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-05

... for Grant Proposals; International Visitor Leadership Program Assistance Award Announcement Type: New... awards to administer the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP is the U.S. Department... legislation. Purpose: The International Visitor Leadership Program seeks to increase mutual understanding...

Exploring application of cardanol from natural resource: Chemistry and products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cardanol (cashew nut shell liquid, CNSL) is a renewable raw material derived from a byproduct of the cashew nut processing industry. First, two natural plasticizers derived from cardanol, cardanol acetate (CA) and epoxidated cardanol acetate (ECA), have been synthesized and characterized by 1HNMR an...

Relationship between cotton yield and soil electrical conductivity, topography, and landsat imagery

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding spatial and temporal variability in crop yield is a prerequisite to implementing site-specific management of crop inputs. Apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa), soil brightness, and topography are easily obtained data that can explain yield variability. The objectives of this stu...

Development of the First National Mexican Emission Inventories for Ships Using the Waterway Network Ship Traffic, Energy, and Environmental Model (STEEM)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The purpose of this report is to help policy makers and stakeholders understand results, limitations and advantages of the ship emissions estimations that will form the basis of a Mexican ECA designation proposal.

40 CFR 799.5025 - Testing consent orders for mixtures without Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Numbers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) Polytetrafluoroethylene, DCN No. 63040000018B ......do Do. Fluorotelomer-based composite substance: (1) For Paper containing three of the following chemical substances as specified in the ECA: (i) Perfluoroalkylethyl...) Perfluoroalkyl acrylate copolymer, ACC 158022 ......do Do. (iii) Perfluoroalkyl methacrylate polymer, EPA...

Validation of the ANOCOVA model for regional scale ECa-ECe calibration

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over the past decade two approaches have emerged as the preferred means for assessing salinity at regional scale: (1) vegetative indices from satellite imagery (e.g., MODIS enhanced vegetative index, NDVI, etc.) and (2) analysis of covariance (ANOCOVA) calibration of apparent soil electrical conduct...

Farm scale application of EMI and FDR sensors to measuring and mapping soil water content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rallo, Giovanni; Provenzano, Giuseppe

2017-04-01

Soil water content (SWC) controls most water exchange processes within and between the soil-plants-atmosphere continuum and can therefore be considered as a practical variable for irrigation farmer choices. A better knowledge of spatial SWC patterns could improve farmer's awareness about critical crop water status conditions and enhance their capacity to characterize their behavior at the field or farm scale. However, accurate soil moisture measurement across spatial and temporal scales is still a challenging task and, specifically at intermediate spatial (0.1-100 ha) and temporal (minutes to days) scales, a data gap remains that limits our understanding over reliability of the SWC spatial measurements and its practical applicability in irrigation scheduling. In this work we compare the integrated EM38 (Geonics Ltd. Canada) response, collected at different sensor positions above ground to that obtained by integrating the depth profile of volumetric SWC measured with Diviner 2000 (Sentek) in conjunction with the depth response function of the EM38 when operated in both horizontal and vertical dipole configurations. On a 1.0-ha Olive grove site in Sicliy (Italy), 200 data points were collected before and after irrigation or precipitation events following a systematic sampling grid with focused measurements around the tree. Inside two different zone of the field, characterized from different soil physical properties, two Diviner 2000 access tube (1.2 m) were installed and used for the EM38 calibration. After calibration, the work aimed to propose the combined use of the FDR and EMI sensors to measuring and mapping root zone soil water content. We found strong correlations (R2 = 0.66) between Diviner 2000 SWC averaged to a depth of 1.2 m and ECa from an EM38 held in the vertical mode above the soil surface. The site-specific relationship between FDR-based SWC and ECa was linear for the purposes of estimating SWC over the explored range of ECa monitored at field levels. Volumetric SWC changes in the root zone were observed by differencing the maps, where differences in the observed ECa are primarily the result of changes in soil water status. As with the data showed in the research, more structured patterns occur after wetting event, indicating the presence of subsurface flow or root water uptake paths. A vision for the future at hydrological watershed scale is to combine EMI measurements with FDR-based sensor networks, the last with the scope to constrain calibration of the EMI measurements.

Microsurgical anatomy of the human carotid body (glomus caroticum): Features of its detailed topography, syntopy and morphology.

PubMed

Schulz, Sissy-Amelie; Wöhler, Aliona; Beutner, Dirk; Angelov, Doychin N

2016-03-01

The human glomus caroticum (GC) is not readily accessible during ordinary anatomical teaching courses because of insufficient time and difficulties encountered in the preparation. Accordingly, most anatomical descriptions of its location, relationship to neighboring structures, size and shape are supported only by drawings, but not by photographs. The aim of this study is to present the GC with all associated roots and branches. Following microscope-assisted dissection and precise photo-documentation, a detailed analysis of location, syntopy and morphology was performed. We carried out this study on 46 bifurcations of the common carotid artery (CCA) into the external (ECA) and internal (ICA) carotid arteries and identified the GC in 40 (91%) of them. We found significant variations regarding the location of the GC and its syntopy: GC was associated with CCA (42%), ECA (28%) and ICA (30%) lying on the medial or lateral surface (82% or 13%, respectively) or exactly in the middle (5%) of the bifurcation. The short and long diameter of its oval form varied from 1.0 × 2.0 to 5.0 × 5.0mm. Connections with the sympathetic trunk (100%), glossopharyngeal (93%), vagus (79%) and hypoglossal nerve (90%) could be established in 29 cadavers. We conclude that precise knowledge of this enormous variety might be very helpful not only to students in medicine and dentistry during anatomical dissection courses, but also to surgeons working in this field. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Sunset dates of chemicals subject to final TSCA section 4: test requirements and related section 12(b) actions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This table lists all chemical substances and mixtures that are and/or have been the subject of final TSCA Section 4 test rules and/or TSCA Section 4 enforceable consent agreements/orders (ECAs) issued under the TSCA Existing Chemicals Testing Program.

76 FR 16033 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs...

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... of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division: Sports... the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Title of Information Collection: Bureau of Educational and... Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division (ECA/P/V) Form Number...

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... complex global challenges related to the participants' community activities. Strong project designs will... program include participation in the design and direction of program implementation including recruitment... Partner Countries: Proposals need to embrace a global program design that incorporates all of the proposed...

Estimating spatial variations in water content of clay soils from time-lapse electrical conductivity surveys

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil water content (theta) is one of the most important drivers for many biogeochemical fluxes at different temporal and spatial scales. Hydrogeophysical non-invasive sensors that measure the soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) have been widely used to infer spatial and temporal patterns of...

75 FR 16544 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership...

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... for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership Program With Central Europe Announcement Type: New Grant... Leadership Program with Central Europe. Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions... exchange activities will focus broadly on the themes of civic rights and responsibilities, leadership, and...

76 FR 10422 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership...

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2011-02-24

... for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership Program With Sub-Saharan Africa Announcement Type: New... competition for the Youth Leadership Program with Sub-Saharan Africa. Public and private non-profit..., community service, and youth leadership development, and to support follow-on projects in their home...

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2011-03-17

... for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership Program With South Asia (Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives) and the Youth Leadership Program With Azerbaijan Announcement Type: New Cooperative Agreement. Funding... Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for two Youth Leadership...

76 FR 11837 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership...

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2011-03-03

... for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership and Teacher Professional Development Program With Bosnia and... Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the Youth Leadership and Teacher Professional....-based exchange activities on civic education, leadership, and community service for high school students...

75 FR 56472 - Amendments to Enforceable Consent Agreement Procedural Rules

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2010-09-16

... process that EPA is changing include when and how to initiate negotiations and inserting a firm deadline at which negotiations will terminate. EPA is also deleting, modifying, or consolidating several... Committee (ITC) provisions in a separate section, to make it clearer that there is one ECA negotiation...

76 FR 33395 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collections: ECA Sports & Culture Evaluation Surveys

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2011-06-08

... information collection requests to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval in accordance with... Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Survey. OMB Control Number: None. Type of Request: New Collection... Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) participants who were involved in selected cultural programs from 2000...

75 FR 75197 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Ambassadors...

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2010-12-02

... countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and the..., Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela (Approximately $2,000,000 Total, With One to Four Awards) A project conducted in English for participants from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru...

75 FR 80879 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: English Language...

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2010-12-23

... online program that blends various social media and web-based technologies to provide professional... needs assessments internationally, developing and implementing training programs through virtual media... all media including electronic media, and in all languages and editions. The program should be...

77 FR 2472 - Great Lakes Steamship Repower Incentive Program

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2012-01-18

... Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not... Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, we are publishing a separate document that will serve as... allow the use of residual fuel in the replacement diesel engines that exceeds the global and ECA sulfur...

77 FR 2497 - Great Lakes Steamship Repower Incentive Program

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2012-01-18

... allow the use of residual fuel in the replacement diesel engines that exceeds the global and ECA sulfur... changes, see the direct final rule EPA has published in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of today's... substantial number of small entities. Small entities include small businesses, small organizations, and small...

Plasticizers derived from cardanol: Synthesis and plasticization properties for poly(vinyl chloride)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Two natural plasticizers derived from cardanol, cardanol acetate (CA), and epoxidized cardanol acetate (ECA), were synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The plasticizing effects of the obtained plasticizers on semi-rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) formulations were also investigated. Tw...

75 FR 21131 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA); Request for Grant Proposals: Kennedy-Lugar...

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2010-04-22

... countries at the time of publication of this RFGP are: Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali...), Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria... opportunities; (4) monitoring student health, safety and welfare, host family and coordinator performance and...

40 CFR 80.603 - What are the pre-compliance reporting requirements for NRLM diesel fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... requirements for NRLM diesel fuel? 80.603 Section 80.603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Recordkeeping and Reporting...

40 CFR 80.603 - What are the pre-compliance reporting requirements for NRLM diesel fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... requirements for NRLM diesel fuel? 80.603 Section 80.603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Recordkeeping and Reporting...

40 CFR 80.610 - What acts are prohibited under the diesel fuel sulfur program?

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2010-07-01

... diesel fuel sulfur program? 80.610 Section 80.610 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Violation Provisions § 80.610...

40 CFR 80.610 - What acts are prohibited under the diesel fuel sulfur program?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... diesel fuel sulfur program? 80.610 Section 80.610 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Violation Provisions § 80.610...

40 CFR 80.511 - What are the per-gallon and marker requirements that apply to NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., all NRLM diesel fuel must comply with the cetane index or aromatics standard of § 80.510. (3) Except... index or aromatics standard of 80.510(a) shall apply to all NRLM diesel fuel beginning August 1, 2007...

40 CFR 80.511 - What are the per-gallon and marker requirements that apply to NRLM diesel fuel, ECA marine fuel...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., all NRLM diesel fuel must comply with the cetane index or aromatics standard of § 80.510. (3) Except... index or aromatics standard of 80.510(a) shall apply to all NRLM diesel fuel beginning August 1, 2007...

Claypan depth effect on soil phosphorus and potassium dynamics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Understanding the effects of fertilizer addition and crop removal on long-term change in spatially-variable soil test P (STP) and soil test K (STK) is crucial for maximizing the use of grower inputs on claypan soils. Using apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) to estimate topsoil depth (or depth to...

75 FR 9997 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP): One-time...

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2010-03-04

... Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation, projects must... encompass differences including, but not limited to, ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location... exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take...

75 FR 18005 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: The U.S...

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2010-04-08

..., SA-5, Floor C2, Department of State, Washington, DC 20522-0582. IV.3d.2. Diversity, Freedom and... including, but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status... countries whose people do not fully [[Page 18009

76 FR 14719 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Professional...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-17

... Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation, programs must... encompass differences including, but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location... exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take...

75 FR 66413 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: FY 2012 Fulbright...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-28

... Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines. Pursuant to the Bureau's authorizing legislation, programs must... encompass differences including, but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location... exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take...

75 FR 2181 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Global...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-14

... Solicitation Package for further information. IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines: Pursuant to... ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, and physical challenges... whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take appropriate steps to...

76 FR 27143 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Cooperative Agreement Proposals...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-10

... by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations * * * and thus to assist in the development of friendly..., curriculum and materials development, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction, assessment, evaluation...

40 CFR 80.607 - What are the requirements for obtaining an exemption for diesel fuel or ECA marine fuel used for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... section, will cause the exemption to be void ab initio. (6) If any information required under paragraph (c... void ab initio, and may make the party liable for a violation of this subpart. (f) Effects of exemption...

77 FR 30045 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: English Language Evaluation Surveys

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-21

...] 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: English Language Evaluation Surveys ACTION: Notice... clearance will allow ECA/P/V, as part of the English Language Evaluation, to conduct surveys of participants in the ETA Program, E-Teacher Scholarship program, and the English Language Specialist Program...

22 CFR 61.7 - Review and appeal procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Review and appeal procedures. 61.7 Section 61.7 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL... as follows: Attestation Program Review Board ECA/GCV—Attestation Officer, Department of State, 301...

75 FR 21113 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Community College...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... business management and tourism and hospitality management. Faculty participants will be required to have... involved in the social and cultural life of their local U.S. communities: For example, making presentations...; Allied Health Fields, including Nursing; Applied Engineering; Information Technology; and Media. In...

Environmental Compliance Assessment System (ECAS) - Oregon Supplement

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-04-01

m2 square meter yd yard m 3 cubic meter ys 2 square yard mg milligram yd3 cubic yard mi 1inc yr year lag microgram JAm micrometer 4lPa micropascals...Wilderness, Strawberry Mountain Wilder- ness, Diamond Peak Wilderness, Crater Lake National Park, Kalmiopsis Wilderness, Mountain Lake Wilderness, and

Inversion of soil electrical conductivity data to estimate layered soil properties

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

CBulk apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) sensors respond to multiple soil properties, including clay content, water content, and salt content (i.e., salinity). They provide a single sensor value for an entire soil profile down to a sensor-dependent measurement depth, weighted by a nonlinear...

Patterns of zone management uncertainty in cotton using tarnished plant bug distributions, NDVI, soil EC, yield and thermal imagery

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Management zones for various crops have been delineated using NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), apparent bulk soil electrical conductivity (ECa - Veris), and yield data; however, estimations of uncertainty for these data layers are equally important considerations. The objective of this...

Analysis of pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM) services in community pharmacies over 7 years.

PubMed

Barnett, Mitchell J; Frank, Jessica; Wehring, Heidi; Newland, Brand; VonMuenster, Shannon; Kumbera, Patty; Halterman, Tom; Perry, Paul J

2009-01-01

Although community pharmacists have historically been paid primarily for drug distribution and dispensing services, medication therapy management (MTM) services evolved in the 1990s as a means for pharmacists and other providers to assist physicians and patients in managing clinical, service, and cost outcomes of drug therapy. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA 2003) and the subsequent implementation of Medicare Part D in January 2006 for the more than 20 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Part D benefit formalized MTM services for a subset of high-cost patients. Although Medicare Part D has provided a new opportunity for defining the value of pharmacist-provided MTM services in the health care system, few publications exist which quantify changes in the provision of pharmacist-provided MTM services over time. To (a) describe the changes over a 7-year period in the primary types of MTM services provided by community pharmacies that have contracted with drug plan sponsors through an MTM administrative services company, and (b) quantify potential MTM-related cost savings based on pharmacists' self-assessments of the likely effects of their interventions on health care utilization. Medication therapy management claims from a multistate MTM administrative services company were analyzed over the 7-year period from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2006. Data extracted from each MTM claim included patient demographics (e.g., age and gender), the drug and type that triggered the intervention (e.g., drug therapeutic class and therapy type as either acute, intermittent, or chronic), and specific information about the service provided (e.g., Reason, Action, Result, and Estimated Cost Avoidance [ECA]). ECA values are derived from average national health care utilization costs, which are applied to pharmacist self-assessment of the "reasonable and foreseeable" outcome of the intervention. ECA values are updated annually for medical care inflation. From a database of nearly 100,000 MTM claims, a convenience sample of 50 plan sponsors was selected. After exclusion of claims with missing or potentially duplicate data, there were 76,148 claims for 23,798 patients from community pharmacy MTM providers in 47 states. Over the 7-year period from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2006, the mean ([SD] median) pharmacy reimbursement was $8.44 ([$5.19] $7.00) per MTM service, and the mean ([SD] median) ECA was $93.78 ([$1,022.23] $5.00). During the 7-year period, pharmacist provided MTM interventions changed from primarily education and monitoring for new or changed prescription therapies to prescriber consultations regarding cost-efficacy management (Pearson chi-square P<0.001). Services also shifted from claims involving acute medications (e.g. penicillin antibiotics, macrolide antibiotics, and narcotic analgesics) to services involving chronic medications (e.g., lipid lowering agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitors, and beta-blockers; P<0.001), resulting in significant changes in the therapeutic classes associated with MTM claims and an increase in the proportion of older patients served (P<0.001). These trends resulted in higher pharmacy reimbursements and greater ECA per claim over time (P<0.001). MTM interventions over a 7-year period evolved from primarily the provision of patient education involving acute medications towards consultation-type services for chronic medications. These changes were associated with increases in reimbursement amounts and pharmacist-estimated cost savings. It is uncertain if this shift in service type is a result of clinical need, documentation requirements, or reimbursement opportunities.

Using Electromagnetic Induction Technique to Detect Hydropedological Dynamics: Principles and Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qing; Liao, Kaihua; Doolittle, James; Lin, Henry

2014-05-01

Hydropedological dynamics including soil moisture variation, subsurface flow, and spatial distributions of different soil properties are important parameters in ecological, environmental, hydrological, and agricultural modeling and applications. However, technical gap exists in mapping these dynamics at intermediate spatial scale (e.g., farm and catchment scales). At intermediate scales, in-situ monitoring provides detailed data, but is restricted in number and spatial coverage; while remote sensing provides more acceptable spatial coverage, but has comparatively low spatial resolution, limited observation depths, and is greatly influenced by the surface condition and climate. As a non-invasive, fast, and convenient geophysical tool, electromagnetic induction (EMI) measures soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) and has great potential to bridge this technical gap. In this presentation, principles of different EMI meters are briefly introduced. Then, case studies of using repeated EMI to detect spatial distributions of subsurface convergent flow, soil moisture dynamics, soil types and their transition zones, and different soil properties are presented. The suitability, effectiveness, and accuracy of EMI are evaluated for mapping different hydropedological dynamics. Lastly, contributions of different hydropedological and terrain properties on soil ECa are quantified under different wetness conditions, seasons, and land use types using Classification and Regression Tree model. Trend removal and residual analysis are then used for further mining of EMI survey data. Based on these analyses, proper EMI survey designs and data processing are proposed.

A summary of the ECAS MHD power plant results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seikel, G. R.; Harris, L. P.

1976-01-01

The performance and the cost of electricity (COE) for MHD systems utilizing coal or coal derived fuels are summarized along with a conceptual open cycle MHD plant design. The results show that open cycle coal fired recuperatively preheated MHD systems have potentially one of the highest coal-pile-to-bus bar efficiencies (48.3%) and also one of the lowest COE of the systems studied. Closed cycle, inert gas systems do not appear to have the potential of exceeding the efficiency of or competing with the COE of advanced steam plants.

Learning Icelandic Language and Culture in Virtual Reykjavik: Starting to Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bédi, Branislav; Arnbjörnsdóttir, Birna; Vilhjálmsson, Hannes Högni; Helgadóttir, Hafdís Erla; Ólafsson, Stefán; Björgvinsson, Elías

2016-01-01

This paper describes how beginners of Icelandic as a foreign and second language responded to playing the first scene in Virtual Reykjavik, a video game-like environment where learners interact with virtual characters--Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). This game enables learners to practice speaking and listening skills, to learn about the…

76 FR 39967 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Global Connections...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-07

... between American and Russian secondary school students. Bi-national teams will work together in a joint... legislation. Purpose: The U.S.-Russia Virtual Science Challenge for Youth will link teams of secondary school...: (1) An online, interactive project between Russian and American high school students that includes...

76 FR 71418 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Leadership...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-17

...) Community Engagement (volunteerism, philanthropy, and social/ corporate responsibility). The exchange format... thoroughly explore the primary themes and selected subtheme in a creative, memorable, and practical way. All... outcomes will be measured; and (4) provides a clear description of the data collection strategies for each...

76 FR 16031 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-22

... of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division: Sports... with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Title of Information Collection: Bureau of Educational and... Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division (ECA/P/V) Form Number...

Environmental Compliance Assessment System (ECAS). South Carolina Supplement. U.S. Army

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-04-01

Cyanamide. 156627 2.50 Captan 133062 25.00 Carbaryl 63252 25.00 Carbon Disulfide 75150 150.00 Carbon Tetrachloride 56235 150.00. Carbonyl Sulfide...1120714 + b-Propiolactone 57578 7.50 Propoxur 114261 2.50 Propylene Dichloride 78875 1750.00 1,2 Propylene Oxide 75569 250.00 Propylenimine (1,2

76 FR 25740 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Young Turkey/Young...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-05

... integrated into the exchange experience. Strong project designs will ground and augment the exchange... America Fellowship Themes Proposals need to embrace a program design that fully incorporates one of the... Emerging Leaders: This project is designed to support and promote transatlantic dialogue on foreign policy...

The illuminating role of laser scanning digital elevation models in precision agriculture experimental designs - an agro-ecology perspective

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Laser scanning data streams, when linked with multi-spectral, hyperspectral, apparent soil electro-conductivity (ECa), or other kinds of geo-referenced data streams, aid in the creation of maps that allow useful applications in agricultural systems. These combinations of georeferenced information p...

77 FR 31008 - Enforceable Consent Agreement Development for Two Cyclic Siloxanes; Solicitation of Interested...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-24

... EPA. EPA has evaluated the proposal and believes that proceeding with the negotiation of a consent... in participating in the negotiations to notify EPA and announces a public meeting to initiate negotiations. DATES: The meeting to initiate ECA negotiations for D4 and D5 environmental monitoring will be...

75 FR 29798 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Survey of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-27

... Objectives, Goals and Implementation (POGI) document, for additional formatting and technical requirements... Solicitation Package for complete budget guidelines and formatting instructions. IV.3f. Application Deadline.../S/A-11-01. Methods of Submission: Applications may be submitted in one of two ways: (1) In hard-copy...

76 FR 71107 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Gender Assessment Surveys, OMB Control Number...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-16

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7687] 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Gender... of 1995. Title of Information Collection: Gender Assessment Surveys. OMB Control Number: None. Type... requirements, this request for a new information collection clearance will allow ECA/P/V, as part of the Gender...

77 FR 10033 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Gender Assessment Surveys, OMB Control Number...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-21

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7803] 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Gender... accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Title of Information Collection: Gender Assessment... request for a new information collection clearance will allow ECA/P/V, as part of the Gender Assessment...

75 FR 21096 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: 2010 Community...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

..., and social challenges are intimately linked to their counterparts on a global scale. So too, are each community's solutions and approaches to these problems. Making progress on today's complex global challenges... economic, environmental, political, and social well-being of their communities. As a global tool to address...

40 CFR 80.536 - How are NRLM diesel fuel credits used and transferred?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are NRLM diesel fuel credits used... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.536 How...

40 CFR 80.536 - How are NRLM diesel fuel credits used and transferred?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are NRLM diesel fuel credits used... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.536 How...

40 CFR 80.594 - What are the pre-compliance reporting requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel? 80.594 Section 80.594 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements § 80.594 What are the pre-compliance reporting requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel? (a...

40 CFR 80.616 - What are the enforcement exemptions for California diesel distributed within the State of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... for California diesel distributed within the State of California? 80.616 Section 80.616 Protection of... ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Violation Provisions § 80.616 What are the enforcement exemptions for California diesel distributed within...

40 CFR 80.535 - How are NRLM diesel fuel credits generated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are NRLM diesel fuel credits... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.535 How are NRLM diesel...

40 CFR 80.532 - How are motor vehicle diesel fuel credits used and transferred?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are motor vehicle diesel fuel... AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80...

40 CFR 80.531 - How are motor vehicle diesel fuel credits generated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are motor vehicle diesel fuel... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.531 How...

40 CFR 80.552 - What compliance options are available to motor vehicle diesel fuel small refiners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... to motor vehicle diesel fuel small refiners? 80.552 Section 80.552 Protection of Environment... Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Small Refiner Hardship Provisions § 80.552 What compliance options are available to motor vehicle diesel fuel...

40 CFR 80.512 - May an importer treat diesel fuel as blendstock?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false May an importer treat diesel fuel as... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel General Information § 80.512 May an importer treat diesel...

40 CFR 80.535 - How are NRLM diesel fuel credits generated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are NRLM diesel fuel credits... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.535 How are NRLM diesel...

40 CFR 80.616 - What are the enforcement exemptions for California diesel distributed within the State of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... for California diesel distributed within the State of California? 80.616 Section 80.616 Protection of... ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Violation Provisions § 80.616 What are the enforcement exemptions for California diesel distributed within...

40 CFR 80.594 - What are the pre-compliance reporting requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel? 80.594 Section 80.594 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements § 80.594 What are the pre-compliance reporting requirements for motor vehicle diesel fuel? (a...

40 CFR 80.512 - May an importer treat diesel fuel as blendstock?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false May an importer treat diesel fuel as... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel General Information § 80.512 May an importer treat diesel...

40 CFR 80.531 - How are motor vehicle diesel fuel credits generated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How are motor vehicle diesel fuel... (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80.531 How...

40 CFR 80.532 - How are motor vehicle diesel fuel credits used and transferred?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How are motor vehicle diesel fuel... AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Temporary Compliance Option § 80...

40 CFR 80.552 - What compliance options are available to motor vehicle diesel fuel small refiners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... to motor vehicle diesel fuel small refiners? 80.552 Section 80.552 Protection of Environment... Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Small Refiner Hardship Provisions § 80.552 What compliance options are available to motor vehicle diesel fuel...

Publicity as an Instrument of Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caudill, Susan

Albert Einstein and the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists (ECAS) conducted a reform-based public communication campaign for the international control of atomic energy after the Second World War. The Committee raised funds and sought publicity for its proposed solution to the problem of war and the management of peace. Its solution was the…

77 FR 43899 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Humphrey Evaluation Survey

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-26

... Department to: Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of our functions. Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the proposed collection... Collection This request for a new information collection will allow ECA/P/V to conduct a descriptive survey...

77 FR 69539 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Humphrey Evaluation Survey

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-19

... comments to permit the Department to: Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper functions of the Department. Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost... collection: This request for a new information collection will allow ECA/P/V to conduct a descriptive survey...

75 FR 11976 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Global Connections...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-12

... United States. The Global Connections and Exchange (GCE) program utilizes technology to create an... throughout the world. Social media such as Facebook, YouTube, mobile technology and blogs offer young people.... In order to harness these powerful technology tools to remove stereotypes and impel change, youth...

75 FR 8777 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Youth Ambassadors...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-25

... three-week exchange for high school youth (ages 15-18) and adult educators focused on civic education..., interactive training, presentations, visits to high schools, local cultural activities, civic education... North American integration. An equal number of American high school students will participate in a U.S...

75 FR 13198 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: The Indonesia...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-18

... 20522-0582. Please refer to Solicitation Package for further information. IV.3d.2. Diversity, Freedom... encompass differences including, but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location... exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take...

76 FR 25755 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals; The Future Leaders...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-05

...., Washington, DC 20037. IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines Pursuant to the Bureau's..., race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, and disabilities. Applicants are... programs of educational and cultural exchange in countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and...

75 FR 75190 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-02

...-5, Floor C2, Department of State, Washington, DC 20037. IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy..., but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, and... not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take appropriate steps to provide...

75 FR 47339 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Global...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-05

.... Please refer to Solicitation Package for further information. IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy... including, but not limited to ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status... countries whose people do not fully enjoy freedom and democracy,'' the Bureau ``shall take appropriate steps...

75 FR 63247 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Sports Youth...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-14

... for Grant Proposals: Sports Youth Visitor Program Announcement Type: New Cooperative Agreement Funding... implementation of several short- term, high-visibility sports exchanges taking place during calendar year 2011... developing a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture. Through these projects, the Sports Visitor...

A Hybrid Approach for Supporting Adaptivity in E-Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Omari, Mohammad; Carter, Jenny; Chiclana, Francisco

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify a framework to support adaptivity in e-learning environments. The framework reflects a novel hybrid approach incorporating the concept of the event-condition-action (ECA) model and intelligent agents. Moreover, a system prototype is developed reflecting the hybrid approach to supporting adaptivity…

76 FR 27149 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals; Access Teacher...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-10

... needs analysis survey and English language proficiency assessment plan to be administered at the... collaboration with selected English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) providers and designed to improve... performing participants from the online courses; 4. A five-week online follow-up course designed to assist...

77 FR 70874 - Notification of the Next Meetings of the U.S.-Chile FTA Environmental Affairs Council and ECA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-27

... Free Trade Agreement Environmental Affairs Council and Environmental Cooperation Agreement Joint... Commission pursuant to Chapter 19 (Environment) of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (``FTA'') and... the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement; and (4) the Environmental Review of the United States...

75 FR 25025 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: U.S. Professional...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

... Section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to cooperate with the Bureau in the administration of this... Leadership (PAL) and the Professional Advising Leadership Expansion (PEP) programs. Funding not to exceed.... 3. Logistics The recipient will be responsible for international and domestic travel arrangements...

75 FR 21119 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Cultural Visitors...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... Office of Citizen Exchanges, Cultural Programs Division, in the implementation of short-term, high... influencers, artists, arts managers, and foreign youth with special interest in the arts. The Cultural.... citizens to conferences or conference-type seminars overseas; nor is funding available for bringing foreign...

76 FR 18615 - 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Public...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-04

...: Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Public Diplomacy Program Surveys. OMB Control Number: 1405-0158. Type... and Cultural Affairs, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Evaluation Division (ECA/P/ V). Form Number: SV... State. [FR Doc. 2011-7931 Filed 4-1-11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710-05-P ...

Nearly metastable rhombohedral phases of bcc metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehl, Michael J.; Finkenstadt, Daniel

2008-02-01

The energy E(c/a) for a bcc element stretched along its [001] axis (the Bain path) has a minimum at c/a=1 , a maximum at c/a=2 , and an elastically unstable local minimum at c/a>2 . An alternative path connecting the bcc and fcc structures is the rhombohedral lattice. The primitive lattice has R3¯m symmetry, with the angle α changing from 109.4° (bcc), to 90° (simple cubic), to 60 ° (fcc). We study this path for the non-magnetic bcc transition metals (V, Nb, Mo, Ta, and W) using both all-electron linearized augmented plane wave and projector augmented wave VASP codes. Except for Ta, the energy E(α) has a local maximum at α=60° , with local minima near 55° and 70° , the latter having lower energy, suggesting the possibility of a metastable rhombohedral state for these materials. We first examine the elastic stability of the 70° minimum structure, and determine that only W is elastically stable in this structure, with the smallest eigenvalue of the elastic tensor at 4GPa . We then consider the possibility that tungsten is actually metastable in this structure by looking at its vibrational and third-order elastic stability.

Irrigation salinity hazard assessment and risk mapping in the lower Macintyre Valley, Australia.

PubMed

Huang, Jingyi; Prochazka, Melissa J; Triantafilis, John

2016-05-01

In the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia, secondary soil salinization occurs due to excessive deep drainage and the presence of shallow saline water tables. In order to understand the cause and best management, soil and vadose zone information is necessary. This type of information has been generated in the Toobeah district but owing to the state border an inconsistent methodology was used. This has led to much confusion from stakeholders who are unable to understand the ambiguity of the results in terms of final overall risk of salinization. In this research, a digital soil mapping method that employs various ancillary data is presented. Firstly, an electromagnetic induction survey using a Geonics EM34 and EM38 was used to characterise soil and vadose zone stratigraphy. From the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) collected, soil sampling locations were selected and with laboratory analysis carried out to determine average (2-12m) clay and EC of a saturated soil-paste extract (ECe). EM34 ECa, land surface parameters derived from a digital elevation model and measured soil data were used to establish multiple linear regression models, which allowed for mapping of various hazard factors, including clay and ECe. EM38 ECa data were calibrated to deep drainage obtained from Salt and Leaching Fraction (SaLF) modelling of soil data. Expert knowledge and indicator kriging were used to determine critical values where the salinity hazard factors were likely to contribute to a shallow saline water table (i.e., clay ≤35%; ECe>2.5dS/m, and deep drainage >100mm/year). This information was combined to produce an overall salinity risk map for the Toobeah district using indicator kriging. The risk map shows potential salinization areas and where detailed information is required and where targeted research can be conducted to monitor soil conditions and water table heights and determine best management strategies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The evolution of shipping emissions and the costs of recent and forthcoming emission regulations in the northern European emission control area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, L.; Jalkanen, J.-P.; Kalli, J.; Kukkonen, J.

2013-06-01

An extensive inventory of marine exhaust emissions is presented in the northern European emission control area (ECA) in 2009 and 2011. The emissions of SOx, NOx, CO2, CO and PM2.5 were evaluated using the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM). We have combined the information on individual vessel characteristics and position reports generated by the Automatic Identification System (AIS). The emission limitations from 2009 to 2011 have had a significant impact on reducing the emissions of both SOx and PM2.5. The predicted emissions of SOx originated from IMO-registered marine traffic have been reduced by 33%, from 322 ktons to 217 ktons, in the ECA from 2009 to 2011. The corresponding predicted reduction of PM2.5 emissions was 20%, from 74 ktons to 59 ktons. The highest CO2 and PM2.5 emissions in 2011 were located in the vicinity of the coast of the Netherlands, in the English Channel, near the South-Eastern UK and along the busiest shipping lines in the Danish Straits and the Baltic Sea. The changes of emissions and the financial costs caused by various regulative actions since 2005 were also evaluated, based on the increased direct fuel costs. We also simulated the effects and direct costs associated with the forthcoming switch to low-sulfur distillate fuels in 2015. According to the projections for the future, there will be a reduction of 85% in SOx emissions and a~reduction of 50% in PM2.5 emissions in 2015, compared with the corresponding shipping emissions in 2011 in the ECA. The corresponding relative increase in fuel costs for all shipping varied between 10% and 63%, depending on the development of the prices of fuels and the use of the sulfur scrubber equipment.

The evolution of shipping emissions and the costs of regulation changes in the northern EU area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, L.; Jalkanen, J.-P.; Kalli, J.; Kukkonen, J.

2013-11-01

An extensive inventory of marine exhaust emissions is presented in the northern European emission control area (ECA) in 2009 and 2011. The emissions of SOx, NOx, CO2, CO and PM2.5 were evaluated using the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM). We have combined the information on individual vessel characteristics and position reports generated by the automatic identification system (AIS). The emission limitations from 2009 to 2011 have had a significant impact on reducing the emissions of both SOx and PM2.5. The predicted emissions of SOx originated from IMO (International Maritime Organization)-registered marine traffic have been reduced by 29%, from 320 kt to 231 kt, in the ECA from 2009 to 2011. The corresponding predicted reduction of PM2.5 emissions was 17%, from 72 kt to 61 kt. The highest CO2 and PM2.5 emissions in 2011 were located in the vicinity of the coast of the Netherlands, in the English Channel, near the south-eastern UK and along the busiest shipping lines in the Danish Straits and the Baltic Sea. The changes of emissions and the financial costs caused by various regulative actions since 2005 were also evaluated, based on the increased direct fuel costs. We also simulated the effects and direct costs associated with the forthcoming switch to low-sulfur distillate fuels in 2015. According to the projections for the future, there will be a reduction of 87% in SOx emissions and a reduction of 48% in PM2.5 emissions in 2015, compared with the corresponding shipping emissions in 2011 in the ECA. The corresponding relative increase in fuel costs for all IMO-registered shipping varied between 13% and 69%, depending on the development of the prices of fuels and the use of the sulfur scrubber equipment.

Aspirin and Clopidogrel Inhibit Aneurysm Healing after HydroCoil Implantation in External Carotid Artery Aneurysm Model.

PubMed

Zhang, Chao; Li, Peiliang; Xi, Guohua; Gemmete, Joseph J; Chaudhary, Neeraj; Thompson, B Gregory; Pandey, Aditya S

2016-11-01

To understand whether the use of antiplatelet agents leads to less intra-aneurismal tissue formation following coil implantation in a rat end-pouch external carotid artery (ECA) aneurysm model. End-pouch ECA aneurysms were created in adult rats and were then embedded with either platinum or HydroCoils. Rats were treated either with aspirin, clopidogrel, aspirin + clopidogrel, or saline for 2 weeks after coil implantation. At 2 weeks after coil implantation, rats were sacrificed and the aneurysm pouch was removed for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. A blinded single observer calculated the percentage of the organized area and the residual length of elastic lamina within the aneurysm. Student's t-test was used to compare data from image analysis between the different groups. Within the platinum group, the organized tissue area was not affected by antiplatelet administration (aspirin versus saline, P = .83; clopidogrel versus saline, P = .46; aspirin + clopidogrel versus saline, P = .54). For the HydroCoil group, the organized tissue area was significantly reduced (aspirin versus saline, P = .02; clopidogrel versus saline, P = .04; aspirin + clopidogrel versus saline, P = .02) in rats treated with antiplatelet agents; however, no difference (aspirin versus clopidogrel, P = .8; aspirin versus aspirin + clopidogrel, P = .3; clopidogrel versus aspirin + clopidogrel, P = .5) was found among type or combination of antiplatelets administered. HydroCoil-treated aneurysms had a similar number of macrophages compared to the platinum group (P = .3819); however, the HydroCoil group had significant suppression of macrophages in the groups treated with combined antiplatelets (P = .02). Following HydroCoil implantation, the area of organized tissue is diminished significantly in a rat end-pouch ECA aneurysm model treated with antiplatelets. Copyright © 2016 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterizing the Sources and Processing of Submicron Aerosols at a Coastal Site near Houston, TX, with a Specific Focus on the Impact of Regional Shipping Emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulze, B.; Wallace, H. W., IV; Bui, A.; Flynn, J. H., III; Erickson, M. H.; Griffin, R. J.

2017-12-01

The Texas Gulf Coast region historically has been influenced heavily by regional shipping emissions. However, the effects of the recent establishment of the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA) on aerosol properties in this region are presently unknown. In order to understand better the current sources and processing mechanisms influencing coastal aerosol near Houston, a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) was deployed for three weeks at a coastal location during May-June 2016. Total mass loadings of organic and inorganic non-refractory aerosol components during onshore flow periods were similar to those published before establishment of the regulations. Using estimated methanesulfonic acid (MSA) mass loadings and published biogenic MSA:non-sea-salt-sulfate (nss-SO4) ratios, we determined that over 70% of nss-SO4 over the Gulf was from anthropogenic sources, predominantly shipping emissions. Mass spectral analysis indicated that for periods with similar backward-trajectory-averaged meteorological conditions, air masses influenced by shipping emissions have an increased mass fraction of ions related to carboxylic acids and a significantly larger oxygen-to-carbon (O:C) ratio than air masses that stay within the ECA boundary, suggesting that shipping emissions impact marine organic aerosol (OA) oxidation state. Amine fragment mass loadings were positively correlated with anthropogenic nss-SO4 during onshore flow, implying anthropogenic-biogenic interaction in marine OA production. Five OA factors were resolved by positive matrix factorization, corresponding to a hydrocarbon-like OA, a semi-volatile OA, and three different oxygenated organic aerosols ranked by their O:C ratio (OOA-1, OOA-2, and OOA-3). OOA-1 constituted the majority of OA mass during a period likely influenced by aqueous-phase processing and may be linked to local glyoxal/methylglyoxal-related sources. OOA-2 was produced within the Houston urban region and was dominant during a multi-day period of air mass recirculation due to land-sea breeze effects. OOA-3, which was linked to shipping emissions, represented the majority of OA mass during onshore flow periods.

Synthesis of tin, silver and their alloy nanoparticles for lead-free interconnect applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Hongjin

SnPb solders have long been used as interconnect materials in microelectronic packaging. Due to the health threat of lead to human beings, the use of lead-free interconnect materials is imperative. Three kinds of lead-free interconnect materials are being investigated, namely lead-free metal solders (SnAg, SnAgCu, etc.), electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). However, there are still limitations for the full utilization of these lead-free interconnect materials in the microelectronic packaging, such as higher melting point of lead-free metal solders, lower electrical conductivity of the ECAs and poor adhesion of CNTs to substrates. This thesis is devoted to the research and development of low processing temperature lead-free interconnect materials for microelectronic packaging applications with an emphasis on fundamental studies of nanoparticles synthesis, dispersion and oxidation prevention, and nanocomposites fabrication. Oxide-free tin (Sn), tin/silver (96.5Sn3.5Ag) and tin/silver/copper (96.5Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu) alloy nanoparticles with different sizes were synthesized by a low temperature chemical reduction method. Both size dependent melting point and latent heat of fusion of the synthesized nanoparticles were obtained. The nano lead-free solder pastes/composites created by dispersing the SnAg or SnAgCu alloy nanoparticles into an acidic type flux spread and wet on the cleaned copper surface at 220 to 230°C. This study demonstrated the feasibility of nano sized SnAg or SnAgCu alloy particle pastes for low processing temperature lead-free interconnect applications in microelectronic packaging.

A summary of the ECAS performance and cost results for MHD systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seikel, G. R.; Sovie, R. J.; Burns, R. K.; Barna, G. J.; Burkhart, J. A.; Nainiger, J. J.; Smith, J. M.

1976-01-01

The potential is examined of various advanced power plant concepts using coal and coal-derived fuel. The results indicate that open cycle coal fired direct preheat MHD systems have potentially one of the highest coal-pile-to-bus-bar efficiencies and also one of the lowest costs of electricity (COE) of the systems studied. Closed cycle MHD systems may have the potential to approach the efficiency and COE of open cycle MHD. The 1200-1500 F liquid metal MHD systems studied do not appear to have the potential of exceeding the efficiency or competing with the COE of advanced steam plants.

Genome-Wide Association Study among Four Horse Breeds Identifies a Common Haplotype Associated with In Vitro CD3+ T Cell Susceptibility/Resistance to Equine Arteritis Virus Infection ▿

PubMed Central

Go, Yun Young; Bailey, Ernest; Cook, Deborah G.; Coleman, Stephen J.; MacLeod, James N.; Chen, Kuey-Chu; Timoney, Peter J.; Balasuriya, Udeni B. R.

2011-01-01

Previously, we have shown that horses could be divided into susceptible and resistant groups based on an in vitro assay using dual-color flow cytometric analysis of CD3+ T cells infected with equine arteritis virus (EAV). Here, we demonstrate that the differences in in vitro susceptibility of equine CD3+ T lymphocytes to EAV infection have a genetic basis. To investigate the possible hereditary basis for this trait, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to compare susceptible and resistant phenotypes. Testing of 267 DNA samples from four horse breeds that had a susceptible or a resistant CD3+ T lymphocyte phenotype using both Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip and Sequenom's MassARRAY system identified a common, genetically dominant haplotype associated with the susceptible phenotype in a region of equine chromosome 11 (ECA11), positions 49572804 to 49643932. The presence of a common haplotype indicates that the trait occurred in a common ancestor of all four breeds, suggesting that it may be segregated among other modern horse breeds. Biological pathway analysis revealed several cellular genes within this region of ECA11 encoding proteins associated with virus attachment and entry, cytoskeletal organization, and NF-κB pathways that may be associated with the trait responsible for the in vitro susceptibility/resistance of CD3+ T lymphocytes to EAV infection. The data presented in this study demonstrated a strong association of genetic markers with the trait, representing de facto proof that the trait is under genetic control. To our knowledge, this is the first GWAS of an equine infectious disease and the first GWAS of equine viral arteritis. PMID:21994447

76 FR 13256 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: American Music Abroad

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-10

... well-developed public relations and outreach strategy. Proposals must include specific information... international and U.S. media as part of a comprehensive media and public relations strategy developed by the.... Approval of media and public relations strategies and arrangements for a showcase event; 6. Approval of all...

76 FR 27156 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals; Teacher Exchange...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-10

... fluidity and synergy. The international teachers gain an in-depth understanding of U.S. schools... implementation at host universities and schools. International teachers in the U.S. for a semester audit two... 2013 to visit the home schools of selected international teacher alumni, to develop lesson plans on...

75 FR 17989 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: American Youth...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-08

... for American high school students and educators that will enable the participants to gain firsthand... service. Upon returning home, the students will apply what they have learned to serve their schools and... high school students and adult educators from the United States with an opportunity to travel abroad on...

Field-scale monitoring of the long-term impact and sustainability of drainage water reuse using ECa-directed soil sampling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Diminishing freshwater resources have brought attention to the reuse of degraded water as a water resource rather than a disposal problem. Drainage water from tile-drained, irrigated agricultural land is degraded water that is often in large supply, but the long-term impact and sustainability of it...

76 FR 76802 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Empowering Women...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-08

... so will cause your proposal to be declared technically ineligible. IV.3d. Please take into consideration the following information when preparing your proposal narrative: IV.3d.1 Adherence To All...., Washington, DC 20037. IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines. Pursuant to the Bureau's...

75 FR 5836 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Indonesia-U.S...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-04

... document. Failure to do so will cause your proposal to be declared technically ineligible. IV.3d. Please take into consideration the following information when preparing your proposal narrative: IV.3d.1... of State, Washington, DC 20522-0582. IV.3d.2 Diversity, Freedom and Democracy Guidelines Pursuant to...

76 FR 25733 - 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: DS-7001 and DS-7005, DOS-Sponsored Academic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-05

... and DS- 7005, DOS-Sponsored Academic Exchange Program Application, OMB Control Number 1405-0138 ACTION... Collection: DOS-Sponsored Academic Exchange Program Application. OMB Control Number: 1405-0138. Type of... Cultural Affairs, ECA/A/E/EUR. Form Number: DS-7001, DS-7005. Respondents: Applicants for the Academic...

Letters from Early Career Academics: The Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Field of Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfrey, Laura; Enright, Eimear; Rynne, Steven

2017-01-01

Taking our lead from Rainer Maria Rilke's (1929) "Letters to a Young Poet", our broader project aimed to create a space for dialogue and intergenerational learning between Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (PESP) Early Career Academics (ECAs) and members of the PESP professoriate. This paper focuses specifically on the experiences of…

75 FR 21102 - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Request for Grant Proposals: Kennedy-Lugar Youth...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... with U.S. host families and schools and monitor their health, safety and welfare, and identify and..., Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Thailand, and Turkey. The Bureau reserves the... (20) Macedonia (15) Senegal (17) Malaysia (50) Sierra Leone (7) Mali (17) South Africa (6) Morocco (25...

Environmental Compliance Assessment System (ECAS)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-02-01

between producers of agricultural and forestry commodities, on the property of another person. "* Restricted Use Pesticide - any pesticide whose label...agencies have responsibility in the areas indicated: "* Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology and Pesticides - has responsibility for the...regula- tion of pesticide and herbicide management. " Department of Natural Resources - handles all permits required by state and Federal environmental

40 CFR 80.596 - How is a refinery motor vehicle diesel fuel volume baseline calculated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false How is a refinery motor vehicle diesel... Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements § 80.596 How is a refinery motor vehicle diesel fuel volume baseline calculated? (a) For purposes...

40 CFR 80.596 - How is a refinery motor vehicle diesel fuel volume baseline calculated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How is a refinery motor vehicle diesel... Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements § 80.596 How is a refinery motor vehicle diesel fuel volume baseline calculated? (a) For purposes...

40 CFR 80.554 - What compliance options are available to NRLM diesel fuel small refiners?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... to NRLM diesel fuel small refiners? 80.554 Section 80.554 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel Small Refiner Hardship Provisions § 80.554 What compliance options are available to NRLM diesel fuel small refiners? (a) Option 1: A...

40 CFR 80.604 - What are the annual reporting requirements for refiners and importers of NRLM diesel fuel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... requirements for refiners and importers of NRLM diesel fuel? 80.604 Section 80.604 Protection of Environment... Motor Vehicle Diesel Fuel; Nonroad, Locomotive, and Marine Diesel Fuel; and ECA Marine Fuel... importers of NRLM diesel fuel? Beginning with the annual compliance period that begins June 1, 2007, or the...