The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices is haploid and has a small genome size in the lower limit of eukaryotes.

The genome size, complexity, and ploidy of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus intraradices was determined using flow cytometry, reassociation kinetics, and genomic reconstruction. Nuclei of G. intraradices from in vitro culture, were analyzed by flow cytometry. The estimated average length of DNA per nucleus was 14.07+/-3.52 Mb. Reassociation kinetics on G. intraradices DNA indicated a haploid genome size of approximately 16.54 Mb, comprising 88.36% single copy DNA, 1.59% repetitive DNA, and 10.05% fold-back DNA. To determine ploidy, the DNA content per nucleus measured by flow cytometry was compared with the genome estimate of reassociation kinetics. G. intraradices was found to have a DNA index (DNA per nucleus per haploid genome size) of approximately 0.9, indicating that it is haploid. Genomic DNA of G. intraradices was also analyzed by genomic reconstruction using four genes (Malate synthase, RecA, Rad32, and Hsp88). Because we used flow cytometry and reassociation kinetics to reveal the genome size of G. intraradices and show that it is haploid, then a similar value for genome size should be found when using genomic reconstruction as long as the genes studied are single copy. The average genome size estimate was 15.74+/-1.69 Mb indicating that these four genes are single copy per haploid genome and per nucleus of G. intraradices. Our results show that the genome size of G. intraradices is much smaller than estimates of other AMF and that the unusually high within-spore genetic variation that is seen in this fungus cannot be due to high ploidy.

Interpretation of wind components as compositional variables

The classical statistical study of the wind speed in the atmospheric surface layer is madegenerally from the analysis of the three habitual components that perform the wind data,that is, the component W-E, the component S-N and the vertical component,considering these components independent.When the goal of the study of these data is the Aeolian energy, so is when wind isstudied from an energetic point of view and the squares of wind components can beconsidered as compositional variables. To do so, each component has to be divided bythe module of the corresponding vector.In this work the theoretical analysis of the components of the wind as compositionaldata is presented and also the conclusions that can be obtained from the point of view ofthe practical applications as well as those that can be derived from the application ofthis technique in different conditions of weather

alr approach for replacing values below the detection limit

All of the imputation techniques usually applied for replacing values below thedetection limit in compositional data sets have adverse effects on the variability. In thiswork we propose a modification of the EM algorithm that is applied using the additivelog-ratio transformation. This new strategy is applied to a compositional data set and theresults are compared with the usual imputation techniques

Evaluation of the speed-oligo direct Mycobacterium tuberculosis assay for molecular detection of mycobacteria in clinical respiratory specimens.

We present the first evaluation of a novel molecular assay, the Speed-oligo Direct Mycobacterium tuberculosis (SO-DMT) assay, which is based on PCR combined with a dipstick for the detection of mycobacteria and the specific identification of M. tuberculosis complex (MTC) in respiratory specimens. A blind evaluation was carried out in two stages: first, under experimental conditions on convenience samples comprising 20 negative specimens, 44 smear- and culture-positive respiratory specimens, and 11 sputa inoculated with various mycobacterium-related organisms; and second, in the routine workflow of 566 fresh respiratory specimens (4.9% acid-fast bacillus [AFB] smear positives, 7.6% MTC positives, and 1.8% nontuberculous mycobacteria [NTM] culture positives) from two Mycobacterium laboratories. SO-DMT assay showed no reactivity in any of the mycobacterium-free specimens or in those with mycobacterium-related organisms. Compared to culture, the sensitivity in the selected smear-positive specimens was 0.91 (0.92 for MTC and 0.90 for NTM), and there was no molecular detection of NTM in a tuberculosis case or vice versa. With respect to culture and clinical data, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the SO-DMT system in routine specimens were 0.76 (0.93 in smear positives [1.0 for MTC and 0.5 for NTM] and 0.56 in smear negatives [0.68 for MTC and 0.16 for NTM]), 0.99, 0.85 (1.00 in smear positives and 0.68 in smear negatives), and 0.97, respectively. Molecular misidentification of NTM cases occurred when testing 2 gastric aspirates from two children with clinically but not microbiologically confirmed lung tuberculosis. The SO-DMT assay appears to be a fast and easy alternative for detecting mycobacteria and differentiating MTC from NTM in smear-positive respiratory specimens.

Analytical expressions for the flame front speed in the downward combustion of thin solid fuels and comparison to experiments

We derive analytical expressions for the propagation speed of downward combustion fronts of thin solid fuels with a background flow initially at rest. The classical combustion model for thin solid fuels that consists of five coupled reaction-convection-diffusion equations is here reduced into a single equation with the gas temperature as the single variable. For doing so we apply a two-zone combustion model that divides the system into a preheating region and a pyrolyzing region. The speed of the combustion front is obtained after matching the temperature and its derivative at the location that separates both regions.We also derive a simplified version of this analytical expression expected to be valid for a wide range of cases. Flame front velocities predicted by our analyticalexpressions agree well with experimental data found in the literature for a large variety of cases and substantially improve the results obtained from a previous well-known analytical expression

Effect of initial conditions on the speed of reaction-diffusion fronts

The effect of initial conditions on the speed of propagating fronts in reaction-diffusion equations is examined in the framework of the Hamilton-Jacobi theory. We study the transition between quenched and nonquenched fronts both analytically and numerically for parabolic and hyperbolic reaction diffusion. Nonhomogeneous media are also analyzed and the effect of algebraic initial conditions is also discussed

Assessing High-Speed Internet Access in the State of Iowa, October 2000

Report for the Iowa Utilities Board and the Iowa Department of Economic Development

Assessing High-Speed Internet Access in the State of Iowa: Second Assessment, February 2002

Report for Iowa Utilities Board

Assessing High-Speed Internet Access in the State of Iowa: Third Assessment, May 2003

Report for the Iowa Utilities Board.

Neuroplasticity of inhibitory control

Executive control refers to a set of abilities enabling us to plan, control and implement our behavior to rapidly and flexibly adapt to environmental requirements. These adaptations notably involve the suppression of intended or ongoing cognitive or motor processes, a skill referred to as "inhibitory control". To implement efficient executive control of behavior, one must monitor our performance following errors to adjust our behavior accordingly. Deficits in inhibitory control have been associated with the emergènce of a wide range of psychiatric disorders, ranging from drug addiction to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Inhibitory control deficits could, however, be remediated- The brain has indeed the amazing possibility to reorganize following training to allow for behavioral improvements. This mechanism is referred to as neural and behavioral plasticity. Here, our aim is to investigate training-induced plasticity in inhibitory control and propose a model of inhibitory control explaining the spatio- temporal brain mechanisms supporting inhibitory control processes and their plasticity. In the two studies entitled "Brain dynamics underlying training-induced improvement in suppressing inappropriate action" (Manuel et al., 2010) and "Training-induced neuroplastic reinforcement óf top-down inhibitory control" (Manuel et al., 2012c), we investigated the neurophysiological and behavioral changes induced by inhibitory control training with two different tasks and populations of healthy participants. We report that different inhibitory control training developed either automatic/bottom-up inhibition in parietal areas or reinforced controlled/top-down inhibitory control in frontal brain regions. We discuss the results of both studies in the light of a model of fronto-basal inhibition processes. In "Spatio-temporal brain dynamics mediating post-error behavioral adjustments" (Manuel et al., 2012a), we investigated how error detection modulates the processing of following stimuli and in turn impact behavior. We showed that during early integration of stimuli, the activity of prefrontal and parietal areas is modulated according to previous performance and impacts the post-error behavioral adjustments. We discuss these results in terms of a shift from an automatic to a controlled form of inhibition induced by the detection of errors, which in turn influenced response speed. In "Inter- and intra-hemispheric dissociations in ideomotor apraxia: a large-scale lesion- symptom mapping study in subacute brain-damaged patients" (Manuel et al., 2012b), we investigated ideomotor apraxia, a deficit in performing pantomime gestures of object use, and identified the anatomical correlates of distinct ideomotor apraxia error types in 150 subacute brain-damaged patients. Our results reveal a left intra-hemispheric dissociation for different pantomime error types, but with an unspecific role for inferior frontal areas. Les fonctions exécutives désignent un ensemble de processus nous permettant de planifier et contrôler notre comportement afin de nous adapter de manière rapide et flexible à l'environnement. L'une des manières de s'adapter consiste à arrêter un processus cognitif ou moteur en cours ; le contrôle de l'inhibition. Afin que le contrôle exécutif soit optimal il est nécessaire d'ajuster notre comportement après avoir fait des erreurs. Les déficits du contrôle de l'inhibition sont à l'origine de divers troubles psychiatriques tels que l'addiction à la drogue ou les déficits d'attention et d'hyperactivité. De tels déficits pourraient être réhabilités. En effet, le cerveau a l'incroyable capacité de se réorganiser après un entraînement et ainsi engendrer des améliorations comportementales. Ce mécanisme s'appelle la plasticité neuronale et comportementale. Ici, notre but èst d'étudier la plasticité du contrôle de l'inhibition après un bref entraînement et de proposer un modèle du contrôle de l'inhibition qui permette d'expliquer les mécanismes cérébraux spatiaux-temporels sous-tendant l'amélioration du contrôle de l'inhibition et de leur plasticité. Dans les deux études intitulées "Brain dynamics underlying training-induced improvement in suppressing inappropriate action" (Manuel et al., 2010) et "Training-induced neuroplastic reinforcement of top-down inhibitory control" (Manuel et al., 2012c), nous nous sommes intéressés aux changements neurophysiologiques et comportementaux liés à un entraînement du contrôle de l'inhibition. Pour ce faire, nous avons étudié l'inhibition à l'aide de deux différentes tâches et deux populations de sujets sains. Nous avons démontré que différents entraînements pouvaient soit développer une inhibition automatique/bottom-up dans les aires pariétales soit renforcer une inhibition contrôlée/top-down dans les aires frontales. Nous discutons ces résultats dans le contexte du modèle fronto-basal du contrôle de l'inhibition. Dans "Spatio-temporal brain dynamics mediating post-error behavioral adjustments" (Manuel et al., 2012a), nous avons investigué comment la détection d'erreurs influençait le traitement du prochain stimulus et comment elle agissait sur le comportement post-erreur. Nous avons montré que pendant l'intégration précoce des stimuli, l'activité des aires préfrontales et pariétales était modulée en fonction de la performance précédente et avait un impact sur les ajustements post-erreur. Nous proposons que la détection d'erreur ait induit un « shift » d'un mode d'inhibition automatique à un mode contrôlé qui a à son tour influencé le temps de réponse. Dans "Inter- and intra-hemispheric dissociations in ideomotor apraxia: a large-scale lesion-symptom mapping study in subacute brain-damaged patients" (Manuel et al., 2012b), nous avons examiné l'apraxie idémotrice, une incapacité à exécuter des gestes d'utilisation d'objets, chez 150 patients cérébro-lésés. Nous avons mis en avant une dissociation intra-hémisphérique pour différents types d'erreurs avec un rôle non spécifique pour les aires frontales inférieures.

Speed of reaction-transport processes

We present an approach to determining the speed of wave-front solutions to reaction-transport processes. This method is more accurate than previous ones. This is explicitly shown for several cases of practical interest: (i) the anomalous diffusion reaction, (ii) reaction diffusion in an advective field, and (iii) time-delayed reaction diffusion. There is good agreement with the results of numerical simulations

Speed of wave-front solutions to hyperbolic reaction-diffusion equations

The asymptotic speed problem of front solutions to hyperbolic reaction-diffusion (HRD) equations is studied in detail. We perform linear and variational analyses to obtain bounds for the speed. In contrast to what has been done in previous work, here we derive upper bounds in addition to lower ones in such a way that we can obtain improved bounds. For some functions it is possible to determine the speed without any uncertainty. This is also achieved for some systems of HRD (i.e., time-delayed Lotka-Volterra) equations that take into account the interaction among different species. An analytical analysis is performed for several systems of biological interest, and we find good agreement with the results of numerical simulations as well as with available observations for a system discussed recently

Monitorage national des dépendances (AMIS): rapport module 1

[Table des matières] 1. Introduction. 2. Quelques définitions et indicateurs de consommation utilisés au niveau international ( Tabac, alcool, drogues illégales, médicaments, cyberdépendance). 3. Indicateurs sociodémographiques. 4. Tabac. 5. Alcool. 6. Drogues illégales. 7. Médicaments. 8. Cyberdépendance. 9. AMIS (Addiction Monitoring in Switzerland) et l'Enquête CoRoIAR (COntinuous ROlling survey on Addictive behaviours and related Risks). 10. Abréviations. 11. Annexes.

Investigation of A High-Speed Law Enforcement Pursuit involving Toledo Police Department and the Tama County Sheriff's Office, 2002

Investigative report produced by Iowa Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman