Calmness of the Feasible Set Mapping for Linear Inequality Systems

In this paper we deal with parameterized linear inequality systems in the n-dimensional Euclidean space, whose coefficients depend continuosly on an index ranging in a compact Hausdorff space. The paper is developed in two different parametric settings: the one of only right-hand-side perturbations of the linear system, and that in which both sides of the system can be perturbed. Appealing to the backgrounds on the calmness property, and exploiting the specifics of the current linear structure, we derive different characterizations of the calmness of the feasible set mapping, and provide an operative expresion for the calmness modulus when confined to finite systems. In the paper, the role played by the Abadie constraint qualification in relation to calmness is clarified, and illustrated by different examples. We point out that this approach has the virtue of tackling the calmness property exclusively in terms of the system’s data.

Three-dimensional planar model estimation using multi-constraint knowledge based on k-means and RANSAC

Plane model extraction from three-dimensional point clouds is a necessary step in many different applications such as planar object reconstruction, indoor mapping and indoor localization. Different RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC)-based methods have been proposed for this purpose in recent years. In this study, we propose a novel method-based on RANSAC called Multiplane Model Estimation, which can estimate multiple plane models simultaneously from a noisy point cloud using the knowledge extracted from a scene (or an object) in order to reconstruct it accurately. This method comprises two steps: first, it clusters the data into planar faces that preserve some constraints defined by knowledge related to the object (e.g., the angles between faces); and second, the models of the planes are estimated based on these data using a novel multi-constraint RANSAC. We performed experiments in the clustering and RANSAC stages, which showed that the proposed method performed better than state-of-the-art methods.

Oxygen isotope and paleomagnetic stratigraphy of sediment core V28-239

Core Vema 28-238 preserves an excellent oxygen isotope and magnetic stratigraphy and is shown to contain undisturbed sediments deposited continuously through the past 870,000 yr. Detailed correlation with sequences described by Emiliani in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean is demonstrated. The boundaries of 22 stages representing alternating times of high and low Northern Hemisphere ice volume are recognized and dated. The record is interpreted in terms of Northern Hemisphere ice accumulation, and is used to estimate the range of temperature variation in the Caribbean.

Electrophysiologic assessment of conduction abnormalities and atrial arrhythmias associated with amyloid cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND Arrhythmias in cardiac amyloidosis (CA) result in significant comorbidity and mortality but have not been well characterized. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to define intracardiac conduction, atrial arrhythmia substrate, and ablation outcomes in a group of advanced CA patients referred for electrophysiologic study. METHODS Electrophysiologic study with or without catheter ablation was performed in 18 CA patients. Findings and catheter ablation outcomes were compared to age- and gender-matched non-CA patients undergoing catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). RESULTS Supraventricular tachycardias were seen in all 18 CA patients (1 AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, 17 persistent atrial tachycardia [AT]/AF). The HV interval was prolonged (>55 ms) in all CA patients, including 6 with normal QRS duration (≤100 ms). Thirteen supraventricular tachycardia ablations were performed in 11 patients. Of these, 7 underwent left atrial (LA) mapping and ablation for persistent AT/AF. Compared to non-CA age-matched comparator AF patients, CA patients had more extensive areas of low-voltage areas LA (63% ± 22% vs 34% ± 22%, P = .009) and a greater number of inducible ATs (3.3 ± 1.9 ATs vs 0.2 ± 0.4 ATs, P <.001). The recurrence rate for AT/AF 1 year after ablation was greater in CA patients (83% vs 25%), and the hazard ratio for postablation AT/AF recurrence in CA patients was 5.4 (95% confidence interval 1.9-35.5, P = .007). CONCLUSION In this group of patients with advanced CA and atrial arrhythmias, there was extensive conduction system disease and LA endocardial voltage abnormality. Catheter ablation persistent AT/AF in advanced CA was associated with a high recurrence rate and appears to have a limited role in control of these arrhythmias.

The three sludge system for nitrogen and phosphorus removal /

"Presented at the 44th Annual Conference of the Water Pollution Control Federation, San Francisco, California (October, 1971)"--P. 1.

State-of-art review: water pollution control benefits and costs,

Includes bibliographies.

Locating a strand of the Seattle Fault Zone in southeast Seattle, Washington through topographic analysis, borehole analysis and ground penetrating radar

Contributing to the evaluation of seismic hazards, a previously unmapped strand of the Seattle Fault Zone (SFZ), cutting across the southwest side of Lake Washington and southeast Seattle, is located and characterized on the basis of bathymetry, borehole logs, and ground penetrating radar (GPR). Previous geologic mapping and geophysical analysis of the Seattle area have generally mapped the locations of some strands of the SFZ, though a complete and accurate understanding of locations of all individual strands of the fault system is still incomplete. A bathymetric scarp-like feature and co-linear aeromagnetic anomaly lineament defined the extent of the study area. A 2-dimensional lithology cross-section was constructed using six boreholes, chosen from suitable boreholes in the study area. In addition, two GPR transects, oblique to the proposed fault trend, served to identify physical differences in subsurface materials. The proposed fault trace follows the previously mapped contact between the Oligocene Blakeley Formation and Quaternary deposits, and topographic changes in slope. GPR profiles in Seward Park and across the proposed fault location show the contact between the Blakeley Formation and unconsolidated glacial deposits, but it does not constrain an offset. However, north-dipping beds in the Blakely Formation are consistent with previous interpretations of P-wave seismic profiles on Mercer Island and Bellevue, Washington. The profiles show the mapped location of the aeromagnetic lineament in Lake Washington and the inferred location of the steeply-dipping, high-amplitude bedrock reflector, representing a fault strand. This north-dipping reflector is likely the same feature identified in my analysis. I characterize the strand as a splay fault, antithetic to the frontal fault of the SFZ. This new fault may pose a geologic hazard to the region.

Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation: Bidirectional Neuroprosthetics for Tremor and BCI

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Ultrastructure, aggregation-state, and crystal growth of biogenic nanocrystalline sphalerite and wurtzite

In this study, we investigated the size, submicrometer-scale structure, and aggregation state of ZnS formed by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in a SRB-dominated biofilm growing on degraded wood in cold (Tsimilar to8degreesC), circumneutral-pH (7.2-8.5) waters draining from an abandoned, carbonate-hosted Pb-Zn mine. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) data reveal that the earliest biologically induced precipitates are crystalline ZnS nanoparticles 1-5 nm in diameter. Although most nanocrystals have the sphalerite structure, nanocrystals of wurtzite are also present, consistent with a predicted size dependence for ZnS phase stability. Nearly all the nanocrystals are concentrated into 1-5 mum diameter spheroidal aggregates that display concentric banding patterns indicative of episodic precipitation and flocculation. Abundant disordered stacking sequences and faceted, porous crystal-aggregate morphologies are consistent with aggregation-driven growth of ZnS nanocrystals prior to and/or during spheroid formation. Spheroids are typically coated by organic polymers or associated with microbial cellular surfaces, and are concentrated roughly into layers within the biofilm. Size, shape, structure, degree of crystallinity, and polymer associations will all impact ZnS solubility, aggregation and coarsening behavior, transport in groundwater, and potential for deposition by sedimentation. Results presented here reveal nanometer- to micrometer-scale attributes of biologically induced ZnS formation likely to be relevant to sequestration via bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) of other potential contaminant metal(loid)s, such as Pb2+, Cd2+, As3+ and Hg2+, into metal sulfides. The results highlight the importance of basic mineralogical information for accurate prediction and monitoring of long-term contaminant metal mobility and bioavailability in natural and constructed bioremediation systems. Our observations also provoke interesting questions regarding the role of size-dependent phase stability in biomineralization and provide new insights into the origin of submicrometer- to millimeter-scale petrographic features observed in low-temperature sedimentary sulfide ore deposits.

Relationship between thirty post-thaw spermatozoal characteristics and the field fertility of 11 high-use Australian dairy AI sires

This study determined the relationship between two measures of field fertility of I I high-use Australian artificial insemination (AI) dairy bulls and thirty standard laboratory assessments of spermatozoal post-thaw viability. The two measures of field fertility used, conception rates (cCR) and non-return rates (cNRR), were both corrected for all major non-bull variables. Sperm viability assessments were conducted on semen collected within the same season as that used to derive the field fertility estimates. These assessments measured sperm concentration, motility, morphology and membrane integrity at thawing, after 2 h incubation and after the swim-up sperm selection procedure. Derivations of these measures and in vitro embryo fertilizing and developmental capacity were also determined. The Genstat Statistical Package [Genstat 5 Release 4.2 Reference Manual, VSN International, Oxford, 20001 was used to conduct an analysis of variance on the viability parameters across semen straws and bulls, and to calculate the strength of correlation between each semen parameter, cNRR and cCR in a correlation matrix. Step forward multiple regression identified the combination of semen parameters that were most highly correlated with cCR and with cNRR. The sperm parameters identified as being most predictive of cCR were the percentage of morphologically normal sperm immediately post-thaw (zeroNorm), the number of morphologically normal sperm after the swim-up procedure (nSuNorm), and the rate of zygote cleavage in vitro (Clv); the predictive equation formed by these parameters accounted for 70% of variance. The predictive equation produced for cNRR contained the variables zeroNorm, the proportion of membrane intact sperm after 2 h incubation at 37 degreesC (twoMem) and Clv and accounted for 76.5% of the variation. ZeroNorm was found to be consistent across straws and semen batches within-bull and the sperm parameter with the strongest individual predictive capacity for both cCR (P = 0.1) and cNRR (P = 0.001). Post-thaw sperm parameters can be used to predict field fertility of Australian dairy sires; the calculated predictive equations are particularly useful for identifying and monitoring bulls of very high and very low potential fertility within a group. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The potential of microarrays to assist shrimp breeding and production: a review

The shrimp aquaculture industry is a relatively new livestock industry, having developed over the past 30 years. Thus, it is poised to take advantage of new technologies from the outset of selective breeding programs. This contrasts with long established livestock industries, where there are already highly specialised breeds. This review focuses specifically on the potential application of microarrays to shrimp breeding. Potential applications of microarrays in selective breeding programs are summarised. Microarrays can be used as a rapid means to generate molecular markers for genetic linkage mapping, and genetic maps have been constructed for yeast, Arabidopsis and barley using microarray technology. Microarrays can also be used in the hunt for candidate genes affecting particular traits, leading to development of perfect markers for these traits (i.e. causative mutations). However, this requires that microarray analysis be combined with genetic linkage mapping, and that substantial genomic information is available for the species in question. A novel application of microarrays is to treat gene expression as a quantitative trait in itself and to combine this with linkage mapping to identify quantitative trait loci controlling the levels of gene expression; this approach may identify higher level regulatory genes in specific pathways. Finally, patterns of gene expression observed using microarrays may themselves be treated as phenotypic traits in selection programs (e.g. a particular pattern of gene expression might be indicative of a disease tolerant individual). Microarrays are now being developed for a number of shrimp species in laboratories around the world, primarily with a focus on identifying genes involved in the immune response. However, at present, there is no central repository of shrimp genomic information, which limits the rate at which shrimp genomic research can be progressed. The application of microarrays to shrimp breeding will be extremely limited until there is a shared repository of genomic information for shrimp, and the collective will and resources to develop comprehensive genomic tools for shrimp.

Eradicating feral cats to protect Galapagos Land Iguanas: methods and strategies

A three-year programme to eradicate Feral Cats Felis catus from the island of Baltra in the Galapagos archipelago achieved good results by Initially poisoning with sodium monofluoroacetate (compound 1080) then trapping or shooting the remaining cats. The poisoning campaign removed 90% of the cats, its success being attributable to pre-baiting with unpolsoned baits to accustom cats to eating baits and placing enough baits to ensure that all cats encountered several baits within their home range. This, together with the use of metaclopromide (Pileran) as an anti-emetic, overcame a problem associated with poor retention of 1080 in thawed fish baits that limited the dose available to 1 mg 1080lbait, a quality Insufficient to kill large cats. Removal of the remaining cats was delayed by a weather-Induced irruption of Black Rats Rattus rattus and House Mice Mus musculus that enabled recruitment of kittens in 2002, but made cats more susceptible to trapping and shooting in 2003 when rodent populations collapsed. Since July 2003 no sign of a cat has been detected on Baltra despite extensive searching and monitoring throughout 2004. As cat abundance has decreased there have been more locally-bred Juvenile iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus) seen during annual censuses. However, such recruitment may reflect the increasing maturity and higher fecundity of iguanas repatriated from 1991 onwards rather than being a direct result of reduced cat predation alone. More time is necessary to determine the benefits of reduced cat predation on the Iguana population.

Global assessment of coral bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change

Elevated ocean temperatures can cause coral bleaching, the loss of colour from reef-building corals because of a breakdown of the symbiosis with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium. Recent studies have warned that global climate change could increase the frequency of coral bleaching and threaten the long-term viability of coral reefs. These assertions are based on projecting the coarse output from atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (GCMs) to the local conditions around representative coral reefs. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive global assessment of coral bleaching under climate change by adapting the NOAA Coral Reef Watch bleaching prediction method to the output of a low- and high-climate sensitivity GCM. First, we develop and test algorithms for predicting mass coral bleaching with GCM-resolution sea surface temperatures for thousands of coral reefs, using a global coral reef map and 1985-2002 bleaching prediction data. We then use the algorithms to determine the frequency of coral bleaching and required thermal adaptation by corals and their endosymbionts under two different emissions scenarios. The results indicate that bleaching could become an annual or biannual event for the vast majority of the world's coral reefs in the next 30-50 years without an increase in thermal tolerance of 0.2-1.0 degrees C per decade. The geographic variability in required thermal adaptation found in each model and emissions scenario suggests that coral reefs in some regions, like Micronesia and western Polynesia, may be particularly vulnerable to climate change. Advances in modelling and monitoring will refine the forecast for individual reefs, but this assessment concludes that the global prognosis is unlikely to change without an accelerated effort to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

The human genome and gene expression profiling

The mapping and sequencing of the human genome has generated a large resource for answering questions about human disease. This achievement is akin in scientific importance to developing the periodic table of elements. Plastic surgery has always been at the frontier medical research. This resource will help us to improve our understanding on the many unknown physiological and pathogical conditions we deal with daily, such as wound heating keloid scar formation, Dupuytren's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, vascular malformation and carcinogenesis. We are primed in obtaining both disease and normal tissues to use this resource and applying it to clinical use. This review is about the human genome, the basis of gene expression profiling and how it will affect our clinical and research practices in the future and for those embarking on the use of this new technology as a research tool, we provide a brief insight on its limitations and pitfalls. (C) 2006 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.