Measurement of stressful postures during daily activities: An observational study with older people.

This study measured the postures of older people during cooking and laundry. A sample of men and women aged 75+ years (n=27) was recruited and observed in a home-like environment. Postures were recorded with a measurement system in an objective and detailed manner. The participants were videotaped to be able to see where 'critical' postures occurred, as defined by a trunk inclination of ≥60°. Analysis of data was facilitated by specially developed software. Critical postures accounted for 3% of cooking and 10% of laundry, occurring primarily during retrieving from and putting in lower cabinets, the refrigerator, laundry basket or washing machine as well as disposing into the waste bin. These tasks involve a great variation in postural changes and pose a particular risk to older people. The results suggest that the use of stressful postures may decrease efficiency and increase fatigue, eventually leading to difficulties with daily activities. The specific tasks identified during which critical postures occurred should be targeted by designers in order to improve the activities. A few examples are given of how better design can reduce or eliminate some of the postural constraints.

Reproductive biology of Black Anglerfish (Lophius budegassa) in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea

Gonadal morphology and reproductive biology of the Black Anglerfish (Lophius budegassa) were studied by examining 4410 specimens collected between June 2007 and December 2010 in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Ovaries and testes presented traits common among fishes of the order Lophiiformes. Spawning occurred between November and March. Size at first maturity (L50) was 33.4 cm in total length (TL) for males and 48.2 cm TL for females. Black Anglerfish is a total spawner with group-synchronous oocyte development and determinate fecundity. Fecundity values ranged from 87,569 to 398,986 oocytes, and mean potential fecundity was estimated at 78,929 (standard error of the mean [SE] 13,648) oocytes per kilogram of mature female. This study provides the first description of the presence of 2–3 eggs sharing the same chamber and a semicystic type of spermatogenesis for Black Anglerfish. This new information allows for a better understanding of Black Anglerfish reproduction—knowledge that will be useful for the assessment and management of this species.

Adjustment of ocean color sensor calibration through multi-band statistics

The band-by-band vicarious calibration of on-orbit satellite ocean color instruments, such as SeaWiFS and MODIS, using ground-based measurements has significant residual uncertainties. This paper applies spectral shape and population statistics to tune the calibration of the blue bands against each other to allow examination of the interband calibration and potentially provide an analysis of calibration trends. This adjustment does not require simultaneous matches of ground and satellite observations. The method demonstrates the spectral stability of the SeaWiFS calibration and identifies a drift in the MODIS instrument onboard Aqua that falls within its current calibration uncertainties.

Environmental characteristics of the marine and estuarine habitats of Karwar: an overview

A review is made of the environmental features of Karwar coastal waters, describing the currents, waves, inshore water hydrology and bottom features of the bay. The intertidal and the estuarine environment are described, considering various environmental stress factors. Future prospects regarding man's effects on the environment, such as development projects, are discussed briefly.

An efficient and robust pitch marking algorithm on the speech waveform for TD-PSOLA

In a Text-to-Speech system based on time-domain techniques that employ pitch-synchronous manipulation of the speech waveforms, one of the most important issues that affect the output quality is the way the analysis points of the speech signal are estimated and the actual points, i.e. the analysis pitchmarks. In this paper we present our methodology for calculating the pitchmarks of a speech waveform, a pitchmark detection algorithm, which after thorough experimentation and in comparison with other algorithms, proves to behave better with our TD-PSOLA-based Text-to-Speech synthesizer (Time- Domain Pitch-Synchronous Overlap Add Text to Speech System).

人猿超科较旧大陆猴Fractalkine基因存在30bp缺失突变

下载PDF阅读器观察Fractalkine从旧大陆猴向人猿超科进化过程中基因的进化规律,为研究Fractalkine基因的进化和免疫学功能演变关系提供理论和实验基础,先用简并引物PCR(Degenerated PCR)法分别扩增Fractalkine的3个外显子,其产物经琼脂糖凝胶回收、纯化后测序,然后用BioEdit,Clustal及DNAStar软件拼接、分析各物种间基因序列的差异.发现人猿超科较旧大陆猴Fractalkine基因除了有散在的点突变外,在其粘蛋白样区还有一明显的30个核苷酸的缺失突变,并对突变的可能机制及其对Fractalkine可能的功能影响进行讨论.

Future directions in modelling

An improved understanding of lean fuel turbulent premixed flames must play a central role in the fundamental science of these new concepts.

猕猴毛发皮质醇测量方法探索

毛发是评估下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴(HPA轴)慢性活性变化很好的样品,毛发皮质醇的提取方法非常重要.为保证毛发皮质醇提取过程的可靠性,实验使用了液氮冷冻研磨:设计了空白对照组(磷酸缓冲液(PBS))(n=3)、原管组(n=10)和新管组(n=10),以检验缓冲液、离心管对提取的潜在干扰;对同一动物样品(n=16)两次独立提取的结果及毛发皮质醇浓度与受到的极端攻击量(血浆皮质醇浓度的间接指标)(n=16)进行了Pearson相关分析.结果表明:空白对照组测量结果为0pg/mg:新管浓度值与原管无显著性差异(F(1,19)=0.041,P=0.843,one-wayANOVA);两次独立提取结果高度正相关(r=0.893,P=0.000);皮质醇浓度与受到的极端攻击量中度正相关(r=0.591,P=0.008).因此,离心管、缓冲液对实验没有显著性干扰,溶液中皮质醇来源于毛发样品;提取操作流程可靠,所得数据可信.