Assessment of estrus cyclicity in the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) by measurement of fecal progesterone metabolite 5 alpha-P-3OH, using a non-invasive assay

Reproductive management of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is important for its conservation. To monitor its estrous cyclicity, we earlier used an indirect ELISA to show that levels of fecal progesterone (P(4))-metabolite (allopregnanolone: 5 alpha-P-3OH) in semi-captive females sampled randomly positively correlated with serum P(4) levels [12]. In this longitudinal study (51 weeks), we measured levels of fecal 5 alpha-P-3OH and serum P(4) in seven semi-captive female elephants. Females exhibited three types of hormonal profiles. Four females showed cyclical patterns of fecal 5 alpha-P-3OH and serum P(4) typical of normal estrous cycles, two showed acyclic pattern while one showed high values indicative of a pregnant animal. Values for anestrous or follicular phases were <= 0.3 mu g g(-1), (5 alpha-P-3OH) and <= 0.3 ng mL(-1) (P(4)); for luteal phase 0.32-11.09 mu g g(-1) (5 alpha-P-3OH) and 0.32-1.48 ng mL(-1) (P(4)); for pregnancy 1.41-7.38 mu g g(-1) (5 alpha-P-3OH) and 0.39-1.6 ng mL(-1) (R(4)). A positive correlation (t = 8.8, p < 0.01, n = 321) between levels of fecal 5 alpha-P-3OH and serum P4 was observed. A random sample of 30 free-ranging female elephants showed fecal 5 alpha-P-3OH values of 0.06-23.4 mu g g(-1), indicating them to be in different stages of estrous cyclicity. This study is the first to assess the reproductive phases of female Asian elephants based on the correlative-patterns of both the fecal 5 alpha-P-3OH and serum P(4) values over multiple estrous cycles. This has a potential application in the reproductive management and conservation of Asian elephants. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structures of new crystal forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase and functionally important plasticity of the molecule

The X-ray structures of new crystal forms of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase from M.similar to tuberculosis reported here and the results of previous X-ray studies of the enzyme from different sources provide a picture of the functionally relevant plasticity of the protein molecule. The new X-ray results confirm the connection deduced previously between the closure of the lid at the peptide-binding site and the opening of the gate that separates the peptide-binding and tRNA-binding sites. The plasticity of the molecule indicated by X-ray structures is in general agreement with that deduced from the available solution NMR results. The correlation between the lid and the gate movements is not, however, observed in the NMR structure.

Strong electron correlation of Re 5d electrons in Ca2FeReO6

We have investigated the electronic structure of a double perovskite Ca2FeReO6 using photoemission spectroscopy and LDA+U bandstructure calculations. Small spectral weight at the Fermi level observed above the metal–insulator transition temperature, gradually disappears with decreasing T, forming a small (≤50 meV) energy gap. To reproduce this small energy gap, we require a very large effective U (Ueff) for Re (4 eV) in addition to Ueff of 4 eV for Fe. From simple calculations in terms of the ionic radii, we demonstrate that the Fe–Re bandwidth is smaller than that of Fe–Mo in Ca2FeMoO6, which should yield a strong electron correlation in the Re 5d bands.

Association rule mining activity : A general formalism

Mining association rules from a large collection of databases is based on two main tasks. One is generation of large itemsets; and the other is finding associations between the discovered large itemsets. Existing formalism for association rules are based on a single transaction database which is not sufficient to describe the association rules based on multiple database environment. In this paper, we give a general characterization of association rules and also give a framework for knowledge-based mining of multiple databases for association rules.

General classical theory of spinning particles in a meson field

An exact classical theory of the motion of a point dipole in a meson field is given which takes into account the effects of the reaction of the emitted meson field. The meson field is characterized by a constant $\chi =\mu /\hslash $ of the dimensions of a reciprocal length, $\mu $ being the meson mass, and as $\chi \rightarrow $ 0 the theory of this paper goes over continuously into the theory of the preceding paper for the motion of a spinning particle in a Maxwell field. The mass of the particle and the spin angular momentum are arbitrary mechanical constants. The field contributes a small finite addition to the mass, and a negative moment of inertia about an axis perpendicular to the spin axis. A cross-section (formula (88 a)) is given for the scattering of transversely polarized neutral mesons by the rotation of the spin of the neutron or proton which should be valid up to energies of 10$^{9}$ eV. For low energies E it agrees completely with the old quantum cross-section, having a dependence on energy proportional to p$^{4}$/E$^{2}$ (p being the meson momentum). At higher energies it deviates completely from the quantum cross-section, which it supersedes by taking into account the effects of radiation reaction on the rotation of the spin. The cross-section is a maximum at E $\sim $ 3$\cdot $5$\mu $, its value at this point being 3 $\times $ 10$^{-26}$ cm.$^{2}$, after which it decreases rapidly, becoming proportional to E$^{-2}$ at high energies. Thus the quantum theory of the interaction of neutrons with mesons goes wrong for E $\gtrsim $ 3$\mu $. The scattering of longitudinally polarized mesons is due to the translational but not the rotational motion of the dipole and is at least twenty thousand times smaller. With the assumption previously made by the present author that the heavy partilesc may exist in states of any integral charge, and in particular that protons of charge 2e and - e may occur in nature, the above results can be applied to charged mesons. Thus transversely polarised mesons should undergo a very big scattering and consequent absorption at energies near 3$\cdot $5$\mu $. Hence the energy spectrum of transversely polarized mesons should fall off rapidly for energies below about 3$\mu $. Scattering plays a relatively unimportant part in the absorption of longitudinally polarized mesons, and they are therefore much more penetrating. The theory does not lead to Heisenberg explosions and multiple processes.

Discovering injective episodes with general partial orders

Frequent episode discovery is a popular framework for temporal pattern discovery in event streams. An episode is a partially ordered set of nodes with each node associated with an event type. Currently algorithms exist for episode discovery only when the associated partial order is total order (serial episode) or trivial (parallel episode). In this paper, we propose efficient algorithms for discovering frequent episodes with unrestricted partial orders when the associated event-types are unique. These algorithms can be easily specialized to discover only serial or parallel episodes. Also, the algorithms are flexible enough to be specialized for mining in the space of certain interesting subclasses of partial orders. We point out that frequency alone is not a sufficient measure of interestingness in the context of partial order mining. We propose a new interestingness measure for episodes with unrestricted partial orders which, when used along with frequency, results in an efficient scheme of data mining. Simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms.

Vertical uplift capacity of a group of two coaxial anchors in a general c-phi soil

The vertical uplift resistance of a group of two horizontal coaxial strip anchors, embedded in a general c-phi soil (where c is the unit cohesion and phi is the soil friction angle), has been determined by using the lower bound finite element limit analysis. The variation of uplift factors F-c and F-gamma, due to the components of soil cohesion and unit weight, respectively, with changes in depth (H)/width (B) has been established for different values of vertical spacing (S)/B. As compared to a single isolated anchor, the group of two anchors provides a significantly greater magnitude of F-c for phi <= 20 degrees and with H/B >= 3. The magnitude of F-c becomes almost maximum when S/B is kept closer to 0.5H/B. On the other hand, with the same H/B, as compared to a single anchor, hardly any increase in F-gamma occurs for a group of two anchors.

Selective double quantum resolved correlation experiment for the complete separation of entire proton NMR spectra of enantiomers

The present study reports a two dimensional NMR experiment which separates single quantum spectra of enantiomers from that of a racemic mixture. This is a blend of selective double quantum refocusing, for resolving couplings and chemical shift interactions along two dimensions followed by correlation of the selectively excited protons to the entire coupled spin network. The concept is solely based on the presence of distinct intra methyl dipolar couplings of different enantiomers when dissolved in chiral orienting media. The analysis of single enantiomer spectrum obtained from respective F-2 cross sections yield all the spectral information. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review of correlations between SPT N and shear modulus: A new correlation applicable to any region

A low strain shear modulus plays a fundamental role in earthquake geotechnical engineering to estimate the ground response parameters for seismic microzonation. A large number of site response studies are being carried out using the standard penetration test (SPT) data, considering the existing correlation between SPT N values and shear modulus. The purpose of this paper is to review the available empirical correlations between shear modulus and SPT N values and to generate a new correlation by combining the new data obtained by the author and the old available data. The review shows that only few authors have used measured density and shear wave velocity to estimate shear modulus, which were related to the SPT N values. Others have assumed a constant density for all the shear wave velocities to estimate the shear modulus. Many authors used the SPT N values of less than 1 and more than 100 to generate the correlation by extrapolation or assumption, but practically these N values have limited applications, as measuring of the SPT N values of less than 1 is not possible and more than 100 is not carried out. Most of the existing correlations were developed based on the studies carried out in Japan, where N values are measured with a hammer energy of 78%, which may not be directly applicable for other regions because of the variation in SPT hammer energy. A new correlation has been generated using the measured values in Japan and in India by eliminating the assumed and extrapolated data. This correlation has higher regression coefficient and lower standard error. Finally modification factors are suggested for other regions, where the hammer energy is different from 78%. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Composition of Extrafloral Nectar Influences Interactions between the Myrmecophyte Humboldtia brunonis and its Ant Associates

Ant-plant interactions often are mediated by extrafloral nectar (EFN) composition that may influence plant visitation by ants. Over a 300 km range in the Indian Western Ghats, we investigated the correlation between the EFN composition of the myrmecophytic ant-plant Humboldtia brunonis (Fabaceae) and the number and species of ants visiting EFN. EFN composition varied among H. brunonis populations and between plant organs (floral bud vs. young leaf EFN). In general, EFN was rich in sugars with small quantities of amino acids, especially essential amino acids, and had moderate invertase activity. In experiments at the study sites with sugar and amino acid solutions and with leaf or floral bud EFN mimics, dominant EFN-feeding ants differentiated between solutions as well as between mimics. The castration parasite Crematogaster dohrni (northern study site) was the least selective and did not exhibit any clear feeding preferences, while the largely trophobiont-tending non-protective Myrmicaria brunnea (middle study site) preferred higher sucrose concentrations and certain essential/non-essential amino acid mixtures. The mutualistic Technomyrmex albipes (southern study site) preferred sucrose over glucose or fructose solutions and consumed the leaf EFN mimic to a greater extent than the floral bud EFN mimic. This young leaf EFN mimic had low sugar concentrations, the lowest viscosity and sugar: amino acid ratio, was rich in essential amino acids, and appeared ideally suited to the digestive physiology of T. albipes. This preference for young leaf EFN may explain the greater protection afforded to young leaves than to floral buds by T. albipes, and may also help to resolve ant-pollinator conflicts. The differential response of dominant ants to sugar, amino acids, or solution viscosity suggests that plants can fine-tune their interactions with local ants via EFN composition. Thus, EFN can mediate local partner-choice mechanisms in ant-plant interactions.

A tracking-based general framework to image halftoning

Existing approches to digital halftoning of image are based primarily on thresholding. We propose a general framework fot image halftoning whcrc some function uf the output halftone tracks another function of the input gray-tone.This appcoach is shown lo unify most existing algorithms and to provide useful insights. Further, the new intcrpretation allows us to remedy problems in existing aigorithrms such as the error dlffusion, and sohsequently to achieve halftones haavmg superior quality. The proposed method is very general nature is an advantage since it offers a wide choice of three Cilters and a update rule. An intercstmg product of this framework is that equally good, or better, half-tones are possible ro be obtained by thresholding a noise proccess instead of the image itself.

Structure and deformation correlation of closed-cell aluminium foam subject to uniaxial compression

We report the results of an experimental and numerical study conducted on a closed-cell aluminium foam that was subjected to uniaxial compression with lateral constraint. X-ray computed tomography was utilized to gain access into the three-dimensional (3-D) structure of the foam and some aspects of the deformation mechanisms. A series of advanced 3-D image analyses are conducted on the 3-D images aimed at characterizing the strain localization regions. We identify the morphological/geometrical features that are responsible for the collapse of the cells and the strain localization. A novel mathematical approach based on a Minkowski tensor analysis along with the mean intercept length technique were utilized to search for signatures of anisotropy across the foam sample and its evolution as a function of loading. Our results show that regions with higher degrees of anisotropy in the undeformed foam have a tendency to initiate the onset of cell collapse. Furthermore, we show that strain hardening occurs predominantly in regions with large cells and high anisotropy. We combine the finite element method with the tomographic images to simulate the mechanical response of the foam. We predict further deformation in regions where the foam is already deformed. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc. All rights reserved.

Climate change induced risk in water quality control problems

A modeling framework is presented in this paper, integrating hydrologic scenarios projected from a General Circulation Model (GCM) with a water quality simulation model to quantify the future expected risk. Statistical downscaling with a Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) is carried out to develop the future scenarios of hydro-climate variables starting with simulations provided by a GCM. A Multiple Logistic Regression (MLR) is used to quantify the risk of Low Water Quality (LWQ) corresponding to a threshold quality level, by considering the streamflow and water temperature as explanatory variables. An Imprecise Fuzzy Waste Load Allocation Model (IFWLAM) presented in an earlier study is then used to develop adaptive policies to address the projected water quality risks. Application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated with the case study of Tunga-Bhadra river in India. The results showed that the projected changes in the hydro-climate variables tend to diminish DO levels, thus increasing the future risk levels of LWQ. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Correlation of Calcification on Excised Aortic Valves by Micro-Computed Tomography with Severity of Aortic Stenosis

Background and aim of the study: The quantification of incidentally found aortic valve calcification on computed tomography (CT) is not performed routinely, as data relating to the accuracy of aortic valve calcium for estimating the severity of aortic stenosis (AS) is neither consistent nor validated. As aortic valve calcium quantification by CT is confounded by wall and coronary ostial calcification, as well as motion artifact, the ex-vivo micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) of stenotic aortic valves allows a precise measurement of the amounts of calcium present. The study aim, using excised aortic valves from patients with confirmed AS, was to determine if the amount of calcium on micro-CT correlated with the severity of AS. Methods: Each of 35 aortic valves that had been excised from patients during surgical valve replacement were examined using micro-CT imaging. The amount of calcium present was determined by absolute and proportional values of calcium volume in the specimen. Subsequently, the correlation between calcium volume and preoperative mean aortic valve gradient (MAVG), peak transaortic velocity (V-max), and aortic valve area (AVA) on echocardiography, was evaluated. Results: The mean calcium volume across all valves was 603.2 +/- 398.5 mm(3), and the mean ratio of calcium volume to total valve volume was 0.36 +/- 0.16. The mean aortic valve gradient correlated positively with both calcium volume and ratio (r = 0.72, p <0.001). V-max also correlated positively with the calcium volume and ratio (r = 0.69 and 0.76 respectively; p <0.001). A logarithmic curvilinear model proved to be the best fit to the correlation. A calcium volume of 480 mm(3) showed sensitivity and specificity of 0.76 and 0.83, respectively, for a diagnosis of severe AS, while a calcium ratio of 0.37 yielded sensitivity and specificity of 0.82 and 0.94, respectively. Conclusion: A radiological estimation of calcium amount by volume, and its proportion to the total valve volume, were shown to serve as good predictive parameters for severe AS. An estimation of the calcium volume may serve as a complementary measure for determining the severity of AS when aortic valve calcification is identified on CT imaging. The Journal of Heart Valve Disease 2012;21:320-327