Analysing the similarity of proteins based on a new approach to empirical mode decomposition

The function of a protein can be partially determined by the information contained in its amino acid sequence. It can be assumed that proteins with similar amino acid sequences normally have closer functions. Hence analysing the similarity of proteins has become one of the most important areas of protein study. In this work, a layered comparison method is used to analyze the similarity of proteins. It is based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method, and protein sequences are characterized by the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The similarity of proteins is studied with a new cross-correlation formula. It seems that the EMD method can be used to detect the functional relationship of two proteins. This kind of similarity method is a complement of traditional sequence similarity approaches which focus on the alignment of amino acids

Copycat firesetting : bridging two research areas

Deliberate firesetting costs our community in destruction to property and lives. Public concern heightens when similar fires occur in a series, raising the specter of copycat firesetting. Difficulties associated with researching copycat crimes in general mean that not a lot is known about copycat firesetting. As an initial step toward filling this research gap, we explore connections between research on copycat crime and research into deliberate firesetting. The intention is to extract salient features from what is known about the phenomena of deliberate firesetting and copycat crime, map them together, and point out shared and unique characteristics. It is argued that a “copycat firesetter” is likely to exist as a distinct subgroup and potentially requiring targeted interventions.

Planning and governance approaches for protecting World Heritage Areas: A comparison of the Great Barrier Reef and the Florida Everglades

The focus of this paper is on two World Heritage Areas: the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia and the Everglades in Florida. While both are World Heritage listed by the UNESCO, the Everglades is on the "World Heritage in Danger" list and the Great Barrier Reef could be on this list within the next year if present pressures continue. This paper examines the planning approaches and governance structures used in these two areas (Queensland and Florida) to manage the growth and development pressures. To make the analysis manageable, given the scale of these World Heritage areas, case studies at the local government level will be used: the Cairns Regional Council in Queensland and Monroe County in Florida. The case study analysis will involve three steps: (1) examination of the various plans at the federal, state, local levels that impact upon environmental quality in the Great Barrier Reef and Everglades; (2) assessing the degree to which these plans have been implemented; and (3) determine if (and how) the plans have improved environmental quality. In addition to the planning analysis we will also examine the governance structures (Lebel et al. 2006) within which planning operates. In any comparative analysis context is important (Hantrais 2009). Contextual differences between Queensland and Florida have previously been examined by Sipe, et al. (2007) and will be used as the starting point for this analysis. Our operating hypothesis and preliminary analysis suggests that the planning approaches and governance structures used in Florida and Queensland are considerably different, but the environmental outcomes may be similar. This is based, in part, on Vella (2004) who did a comparative analysis of environmental practices in the sugar industry in Florida and Queensland. This research re-examines this hypothesis and broadens the focus beyond the sugar industry to growth and development more broadly.

Development of a new design expression for the in-plane shear capacity of the partially grouted concrete masonry walls

Partially grouted masonry walls subjected to in-plane shear exhibit a complex behaviour because of the influence of the aspect ratio, the pre-compression, the grouting pattern, the ratios of the horizontal and the vertical reinforcements, the boundary conditions and the characteristics of the constituent materials. The existing in-plane shear expressions for the partially grouted masonry are formulated as sum of strength of three parameters, namely, the masonry, the reinforcement and the axial force. The parameter ‘masonry’ includes the wall aspect ratio and the masonry compressive strength; the aspect ratio of the unreinforced panel inscribed into the grouted cores and bond beams are not considered, although failure is often dominated by these unreinforced masonry panels. This paper describes the dominance of these panels, particularly those that are squat, to the shear capacity of whole of shear walls. Further, the current design formulae are shown highly un-conservative by many researchers; this paper provides a potential reason for this un-conservativeness. It is shown that by including an additional term of the unreinforced panel aspect ratio a rational design formula could be established. This new expression is validated with independent test results reported in the literature – both Australian and overseas; the predictions are shown to be conservative.

The Macroecology of Airborne Pollen in Australian and New Zealand Urban Areas

he composition and relative abundance of airborne pollen in urban areas of Australia and New Zealand are strongly influenced by geographical location, climate and land use. There is mounting evidence that the diversity and quality of airborne pollen is substantially modified by climate change and land-use yet there are insufficient data to project the future nature of these changes. Our study highlights the need for long-term aerobiological monitoring in Australian and New Zealand urban areas in a systematic, standardised, and sustained way, and provides a framework for targeting the most clinically significant taxa in terms of abundance, allergenic effects and public health burden.

Associations between extreme precipitation and childhood hand, foot and mouth disease in urban and rural areas in Hefei, China

Background Understanding the relationship between extreme weather events and childhood hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is important in the context of climate change. This study aimed to quantify the relationship between extreme precipitation and childhood HFMD in Hefei, China, and further, to explore whether the association varied across urban and rural areas. Methods Daily data on HFMD counts among children aged 0–14 years from 2010 January 1st to 2012 December 31st were retrieved from Hefei Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Daily data on mean temperature, relative humidity and precipitation during the same period were supplied by Hefei Bureau of Meteorology. We used a Poisson linear regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model to assess the association between extreme precipitation (≥ 90th precipitation) and childhood HFMD, controlling for mean temperature, humidity, day of week, and long-term trend. Results There was a statistically significant association between extreme precipitation and childhood HFMD. The effect of extreme precipitation on childhood HFMD was the greatest at six days lag, with a 5.12% (95% confident interval: 2.7–7.57%) increase of childhood HFMD for an extreme precipitation event versus no precipitation. Notably, urban children and children aged 0–4 years were particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme precipitation. Conclusions Our findings indicate that extreme precipitation may increase the incidence of childhood HFMD in Hefei, highlighting the importance of protecting children from forthcoming extreme precipitation, particularly for those who are young and from urban areas.

Pesticide exposure assessment in rice paddy areas: A Japanese perspective

This chapter provides an overview of the Japanese regulatory issues regarding pesticide use in rice paddies and an introduction of the new pesticide registration program. In addition, the experience of the environmental monitoring of pesticides and the modeling approaches used for the calculation of predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) in surface water and ground water systems adjacent to rice paddies in Japan are also discussed. Japan has been one of the major pesticide users in the world. Although having a long history in rice cultivation, the pesticide exposure assessment for paddy rice production received less attention compared with EU and US. Applications of up-to-date techniques and the development of realistic assessment procedures under specific climatic conditions as well as mitigation management practices for controlling pesticide contamination are important for an environmental-friendly rice production. Through the international cooperation and research exchanges, advances in pesticide risk assessment for rice paddies in Asian region and other rice-growing areas in the world would contribute to sustainable rice production. Transplanting of rice seedlings grows almost all rice paddies in Japan. The land preparation starts around April and June, and the harvest season lasts from August to October depending on the region and the rice varieties. Most of the rice paddies are treated with herbicides and other crop protection products, such as fungicides and insecticides that are applied during the crop season accordingly. Newly developed insecticides and fungicides are also applied during seedbed preparation.

Ergodic control of partially observed Markov chains

The ergodic or long-run average cost control problem for a partially observed finite-state Markov chain is studied via the associated fully observed separated control problem for the nonlinear filter. Dynamic programming equations for the latter are derived, leading to existence and characterization of optimal stationary policies.

Evaluation of CaO-CeO2-partially stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings

Plasma sprayable powders were prepared from ZrO2-CaO-CeO2 system using an organic binder and coated onto stainless steel substrates previously coated by a bond coat (Ni 22Cr 20Al 1.0Y) using plasma spraying. The coatings exhibited good thermal barrier characteristics and excellent resistance to thermal shock at 1000 degrees C under simulated laboratory conditions (90 half hour cycles without failure) and at 1200 degrees C under accelerated burner rig test conditions (500 2 min cycles without failure). No destabilization of cubic/tetragonal ZrO2 phase fraction occured either during the long hours (45 h cumulative) or the large number of thermal shock tests. Growth of a distinct SiO2 rich region within the ceramic was observed in the specimens thermal shock cycled at 1000 degrees C apart from mild oxidation of the bond coat. The specimens tested at 1200 degrees C had a glassy appearance on the top surface and exhibited severe oxidation of the bond coat at the ceramic-bond coat interface. The glassy appearance of the surface is due to the formation of a liquid silicate layer attributable to the impurity phase present in commercial grade ZrO2 powder. These observations are supported by SEM analysis and quantitative EDAX data.

Themes in landscape architecture publishing: Past trends, future needs

Many scholars acknowledge the need for rigorous research in landscape architecture to improve practice and teaching, and several recent studies have explored research trends in the discipline. This study continues this exploration by reviewing the articles published in the three prominent English- language landscape architecture journals: Landscape Journal, Landscape Review, and the Journal of Landscape Architecture. Specifically, this study analyzes the abstracts from 441 research articles to determine specific themes and publishing trends over 31 years (1982–2013). Findings indicate that “history” is by far the most prominent research theme, followed by “social and cultural processes and issues” and “aesthetics.” Several themes—such as “sustainability and green infrastructure,” “participation and collaboration,” and “research methods and methodologies”—have become more prominent in recent years. However, topics of current social and political concern—such as “climate change,” “active living,” “energy,” and “health”—are not yet prominent themes in the research literature, and could be key areas for future contribution. With the exception of a few themes, findings also suggest a moderate degree of alignment between research and practice. The article concludes with recommendations for future areas of research that will better position landscape architecture as a research- oriented profession with broad social relevance.

Roles of forced nicotine exposure and Comt gene disruption in the development of addiction-related behavioural and neurochemical changes in mice

Activation of midbrain dopamine systems is thought to be critically involved in the addictive properties of abused substances. Drugs of abuse increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens and dorsal striatum, which are the target areas of mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine pathways, respectively. Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens is thought to mediate the attribution of incentive salience to rewards, and dorsal striatal dopamine release is involved in habit formation. In addition, changes in the function of prefrontal cortex (PFC), the target area of mesocortical dopamine pathway, may skew information processing and memory formation such that the addict pays an abnormal amount of attention to drug-related cues. In this study, we wanted to explore how long-term forced oral nicotine exposure or the lack of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), one of the dopamine metabolizing enzymes, would affect the functioning of these pathways. We also wanted to find out how the forced nicotine exposure or the lack of COMT would affect the consumption of nicotine, alcohol, or cocaine. First, we studied the effect of forced chronic nicotine exposure on the sensitivity of dopamine D2-like autoreceptors in microdialysis and locomotor activity experiments. We found that the sensitivity of these receptors was unchanged after forced oral nicotine exposure, although an increase in the sensitivity was observed in mice treated with intermittent nicotine injections twice daily for 10 days. Thus, the effect of nicotine treatment on dopamine autoreceptor sensitivity depends on the route, frequency, and time course of drug administration. Second, we investigated whether the forced oral nicotine exposure would affect the reinforcing properties of nicotine injections. The chronic nicotine exposure did not significantly affect the development of conditioned place preference to nicotine. In the intravenous self-administration paradigm, however, the nicotine-exposed animals self-administered nicotine at a lower unit dose than the control animals, indicating that their sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of nicotine was enhanced. Next, we wanted to study whether the Comt gene knock-out animals would be a suitable model to study alcohol and cocaine consumption or addiction. Although previous work had shown male Comt knock-out mice to be less sensitive to the locomotor-activating effects of cocaine, the present study found that the lack of COMT did not affect the consumption of cocaine solutions or the development of cocaine-induced place preference. However, the present work did find that male Comt knock-out mice, but not female knock-out mice, consumed ethanol more avidly than their wild-type littermates. This finding suggests that COMT may be one of the factors, albeit not a primary one, contributing to the risk of alcoholism. Last, we explored the effect of COMT deficiency on dorsal striatal, accumbal, and prefrontal cortical dopamine metabolism under no-net-flux conditions and under levodopa load in freely-moving mice. The lack of COMT did not affect the extracellular dopamine concentrations under baseline conditions in any of the brain areas studied. In the prefrontal cortex, the dopamine levels remained high for a prolonged time after levodopa treatment in male, but not female, Comt knock-out mice. COMT deficiency induced accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, which increased further under levodopa load. Homovanillic acid was not detectable in Comt knock-out animals either under baseline conditions or after levodopa treatment. Taken together, the present results show that although forced chronic oral nicotine exposure affects the reinforcing properties of self-administered nicotine, it is not an addiction model itself. COMT seems to play a minor role in dopamine metabolism and in the development of addiction under baseline conditions, indicating that dopamine function in the brain is well-protected from perturbation. However, the role of COMT becomes more important when the dopaminergic system is challenged, such as by pharmacological manipulation.

Conformational analysis of hydroxyproline and its protected derivatives by 1H NMR

From a computer simulation of the 270 MHz 1H NMR spectra of hydroxyproline (Hyp) and its protected derivatives, precise values of ring vicinal coupling constants were obtained. These couplings were related to ring torsional angles, using a Karplus type analysis. From the NMR analysis it was observed that the pyrrolidine ring possesses a unique and highly homogeneous conformation (Cγ-exo form). Temperature dependence studies on protected dipeptides suggest that the pyrrolidine ring conformation is independent of backbone conformation. An unusual X-Hyp, β-turn was observed for Boc-Aib-Hyp-NHMe.

Structural Response of Partially Fibrous Concrete Beams

The inclusion of fibers into a matrix over only a partial thickness of the beam is regarded as partially fiber reinforcing a beam. This concept is fully invoked in the present investigation. A tensile strain enhancement factor, t, as determined by a direct tension test, forms a convenient engineering parameter that takes care of the influence of the aspect ratio and volume fraction of the given type of fiber. The appropriate thickness of the beam section to be reinforced with fibers is computed using the above parameter. Necessary analytical expressions were developed to compute the moment enhancement factor associated with different values of the parameter, t. The validity of the approach was experimentally demonstrated. Practically similar deflection patterns for fully and partially fibrous sections were observed. The applicability of the method developed in practical situations, such as the design of airfield and highway pavements with fiber conretes, is cited.

Single-Symbol ML Decodable Distributed STBCs for Partially-Coherent Cooperative Networks

A relay network with N relays and a single source-destination pair is called a partially-coherent relay channel (PCRC) if the destination has perfect channel state information (CSI) of all the channels and the relays have only the phase information of the source-to-relay channels. In this paper, first, a new set of necessary and sufficient conditions for a space-time block code (STBC) to be single-symbol decodable (SSD) for colocated multiple antenna communication is obtained. Then, this is extended to a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for a distributed STBC (DSTBC) to be SSD for. a PCRC. Using this, several SSD DSTBCs for PCRC are identified. It is proved that even if a SSD STBC for a co-located MIMO channel does not satisfy the additional conditions for the code to be SSD for a PCRC, single-symbol decoding of it in a PCRC gives full-diversity and only coding gain is lost. It is shown that when a DSTBC is SSD for a PCRC, then arbitrary coordinate interleaving of the in-phase and quadrature-phase components of the variables does not disturb its SSD property for PCRC. Finally, it is shown that the possibility of channel phase compensation operation at the relay nodes using partial CSI at the relays increases the possible rate of SSD DSTBCs from (2)/(N) when the relays do not have CSI to(1)/(2), which is independent of N.