Immunological Evolution of Albumin in the Estrildine Finches (Aves, Passeriformes) Is Far From Clock-Like

1991 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 417
Author(s):  
PR Baverstock ◽  
L Christidis ◽  
M Krieg ◽  
J Birrell

On the basis of microcomplement fixation studies, the finch Taeniopygia guttata has an albumin whose immunological properties are very different from those of other finches. Outgroup analysis, microcomplement fixation of transferrin, and electrophoretic behaviour of finch albumin, together with phylogenetic considerations based upon chromosomes and allozymes, revealed that the difference is due to rapid change in the immunological properties of T. guttata albumin rather than to a distant relationship of T. guttata to other finches. Indeed, the immunological properties of the albumin of T. guttata has undergone about 15 times as much change as would be expected for an albumin clock. The results highlight the caution that should be exercised when applying the molecular clock ad hoc to immunological data.

Author(s):  
Andrew Briggs ◽  
Hans Halvorson ◽  
Andrew Steane

Two scientists and a philosopher aim to show how science both enriches and is enriched by Christian faith. The text is written around four themes: 1. God is a being to be known, not a hypothesis to be tested; 2. We set a high bar on what constitutes good argument; 3. Uncertainty is OK; 4. We are allowed to open up the window that the natural world offers us. This is not a work of apologetics. Rather, the text takes an overview of various themes and gives reactions and responses, intended to place science correctly as a valued component of the life of faith. The difference between philosophical analysis and theological reflection is expounded. Questions of human identity are addressed from philosophy, computer science, quantum physics, evolutionary biology and theological reflection. Contemporary physics reveals the subtle and open nature of physical existence, and offers lessons in how to learn and how to live with incomplete knowledge. The nature and role of miracles is considered. The ‘argument from design’ is critiqued, especially arguments from fine-tuning. Logical derivation from impersonal facts is not an appropriate route to a relationship of mutual trust. Mainstream evolutionary biology is assessed to be a valuable component of our understanding, but no exploratory process can itself fully account for the nature of what is discovered. To engage deeply in science is to seek truth and to seek a better future; it is also an activity of appreciation, as one may appreciate a work of art.


1989 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kemali ◽  
M. Maj ◽  
B. Carpiniello ◽  
R.D. Giurazza ◽  
M. Impagnatiello ◽  
...  

Summary141 patients with an ICD-9 diagnosis of schizophrenic psychosis were followed up prospectively for 3 years in 7 Italian centres, representative of the different degrees of application of the psychiatric reform law (Law 180) passed in 1978. It was agreed that each centre would treat the patients according to its routine, and that all contacts with the patients and each intervention performed would be carefully recorded in an ad hoc schedule. The baseline evaluation of psychosocial adjustment was performed by the Disability Assessment Schedule (DAS), and this assessment was then repeated every 6 months during the follow-up period. At the end of this period, the rating on the DAS section 5 was taken as a global measure of patients’ psychosocial outcome. On a stepwise logistic regression analysis, 2 variables were found to be significantly predictive of psychosocial outcome, that is the use of social and/or vocational skills training (associated with a favourable outcome) and the number of days/year of full hospitalization (associated with a poor outcome). Trieste and Arezzo were the only centres in which a significant improvement of the score on some DAS subscales (namely, “occupational role, interest” and “social withdrawal”) was detected. In the whole patient sample, the difference between the final and the baseline score on these subscales correlated significantly with the number/year of outpatient contacts and of home visits. These findings confirm the favourable impact of the community-oriented care provided in some Italian centres on the Psychosocial outcome of schizophrenic patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yuxuan Gao ◽  
Haiming Liang ◽  
Bingzhen Sun

With the rapid development of e-commerce, whether network intelligent recommendation can attract customers has become a measure of customer retention on online shopping platforms. In the literature about network intelligent recommendation, there are few studies that consider the difference preference of customers in different time periods. This paper proposes the dynamic network intelligent hybrid recommendation algorithm distinguishing time periods (DIHR), it is a integrated novel model combined with the DEMATEL and TOPSIS method to solved the problem of network intelligent recommendation considering time periods. The proposed method makes use of the DEMATEL method for evaluating the preference relationship of customers for indexes of merchandises, and adopt the TOPSIS method combined with intuitionistic fuzzy number (IFN) for assessing and ranking the merchandises according to the indexes. We specifically introduce the calculation steps of the proposed method, and then calculate its application in the online shopping platform.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Olivier Fradette ◽  
Charles Marty ◽  
Pascal Tremblay ◽  
Daniel Lord ◽  
Jean-François Boucher

Allometric equations use easily measurable biometric variables to determine the aboveground and belowground biomasses of trees. Equations produced for estimating the biomass within Canadian forests at a large scale have not yet been validated for eastern Canadian boreal open woodlands (OWs), where trees experience particular environmental conditions. In this study, we harvested 167 trees from seven boreal OWs in Quebec, Canada for biomass and allometric measurements. These data show that Canadian national equations accurately predict the whole aboveground biomass for both black spruce and jack pine trees, but underestimated branches biomass, possibly owing to a particular tree morphology in OWs relative to closed-canopy stands. We therefore developed ad hoc allometric equations based on three power models including diameter at breast height (DBH) alone or in combination with tree height (H) as allometric variables. Our results show that although the inclusion of H in the model yields better fits for most tree compartments in both species, the difference is minor and does not markedly affect biomass C stocks at the stand level. Using these newly developed equations, we found that carbon stocks in afforested OWs varied markedly among sites owing to differences in tree growth and species. Nine years after afforestation, jack pine plantations had accumulated about five times more carbon than black spruce plantations (0.14 vs. 0.80 t C·ha−1), highlighting the much larger potential of jack pine for OW afforestation projects in this environment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 2035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ing-Chau Chang ◽  
Chin-En Yen ◽  
Jacky Lo

In traditional symbol-level network coding (SLNC)-based cooperative content distribution approaches, they ignore nodes in the vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) having various network-coded content pieces and distinct levels of interests and selfishness for different kinds of content data, which further prevents these vehicular nodes from forwarding their content information to other nodes. With these approaches, these nodes suffer from the low ratio and the long latency to receive all content information. In this paper, based on distinct levels of node interests and selfishness on different content information, we first categorize vehicular nodes into four classes, that is, the destination, intermediate, irrelevant and overhearing ones and then designate their associated credit-based incentive approaches. Second, we modify the flow of traditional SLNC-based cooperative content distribution operations and propose the content bitmap to realize the difference of network-coded content pieces among vehicular nodes. Further, we rigidly combine the proposed credit-based incentive approach with the modified SLNC-based cooperative content distribution operations in SocialCode to encourage all classes of vehicular nodes to rise their incentives for sharing content data in the cooperative content distribution process. Finally, we perform NS-2 simulations on a street map of downtown Taipei, Taiwan to exhibit the high efficiency of SocialCode over related credit-based incentive approaches by analyzing the following performance metrics, that is, average decoding percentage, file downloading delay and credits, with respect to different file sizes and total numbers of vehicular nodes. As the best knowledge we have, SocialCode is one of the first few researches that works on the integration between the credit-based incentive protocol and the SLNC-based cooperative content distribution.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Issler

<p>On physical grounds, the rate of bed entrainment in gravity mass flows should be determined by the properties of the bed material and the dynamical variables of the flow. Due to the complexity of the process, most entrainment formulas proposed in the literature contain some ad-hoc parameter not tied to measurable snow properties. Among the very few models without free parameters are the Eglit–Grigorian–Yakimov (EGY) model of frontal entrainment from the 1960s and two formulas for basal entrainment, one from the 1970s due to Grigorian and Ostroumov (GO) and one (IJ) implemented in NGI’s flow code MoT-Voellmy. A common feature of these three approaches is their treating erosion as a shock and exploiting jump conditions for mass and momentum across the erosion front. The erosion or entrainment rate is determined by the difference between the avalanche-generated stress at the erosion front and the strength of the snow cover. The models differ with regard to how the shock is oriented and which momentum components are considered. The present contribution shows that each of the three models has some shortcomings: The EGY model is ambiguous if the avalanche pressure is too small to entrain the entire snow layer, the IJ model neglects normal stresses, and the GO model disregards shear stresses and acceleration of the eroded mass. As they stand, neither the GO nor the IJ model capture situations―observed experimentally by means of profiling radar―in which the snow cover is not eroded progressively but suddenly fails on a buried weak layer as the avalanche flows over it. We suggest a way to resolve the ambiguity in the EGY model and sketch a more comprehensive model combining all three approaches to capture gradual entrainment from the snow-cover surface together with erosion along a buried weak layer.</p>


1974 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. 383-392
Author(s):  
David R. Pedrick

The difference in the effects of rough water on similar sailing yachts has been one of the intriguing puzzles that sailors, designers, and researchers have long tried to understand. It is not uncommon for two yachts of equal performance in smooth-sea conditions to have their speed or pointing ability reduced by different amounts when encountering waves. To investigate the causes of such behavior, it is important to have a rational procedure to analyze how changes in hull form, weight distribution, rig, and other design features affect the speed and motions of sailing yachts. This paper discusses the relationship of wind to rough water and of motions and added resistance to wave length and height. It then describes a procedure to predict motions, sailing speed, and speed-made-good to windward in realistic windward sailing conditions. The procedure utilizes results of heeled and yawed model tests of 12-metre yachts in oblique regular waves to predict performance in a Pierson-Moskowitz sea state corresponding closely to the equilibrium true wind speed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Noviana Norrohmat ◽  
Umar Nimran ◽  
Kusdi Raharjo ◽  
Hamidah Nayati Utami ◽  
Endang Siti Astuti

The purpose of this research is to determine the organizational support for professionalism that has never been done before. The research approach is to conceptualize the structure of the relationship of variables from a study. Verification research is to test the hypothesis through data collection in the field using two methods, namely descriptive survey and explanatory survey. The use of both methods aims to analyze the causality relationship between research variables in accordance with the hypothesis quantitatively. There is significant influence between the variables of organizational support to professional variables. However, different results are found on the influence of organizational support variables on OCB and performance that have no significant effect. There is also an indirect influence between organizational support variables on OCB and performance through intermediary intervening professionalism variables. The difference between this research and the previous research are the use of constructs and the measurement in the unit of analysis being used.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Trevisani ◽  
M. Cavalli ◽  
L. Marchi

Abstract. High-resolution topographic data expand the potential of quantitative analysis of the earth surface, improving the interpretation of geomorphic processes. In particular, the morphologies of the channel beds of mountain streams, which are characterised by strong spatial variability, can be analysed much more effectively with this type of data. In this study, we analysed the aerial LiDAR topographic data of a headwater stream, the Rio Cordon (watershed area: 5 km2), located in the Dolomites (north-eastern Italy). The morphology of the channel bed of Rio Cordon is characterised by alternating step pools, cascades, and rapids with steps. We analysed the streambed morphology by means of ad hoc developed morphometric indices, capable of highlighting morphological features at a high level of spatial resolution. To perform the analysis and the data interpolation, we carried out a channel-oriented coordinate transformation. In the new coordinate system, the calculation of morphometric indices in directions along and transverse to the flow direction is straightforward. Three geomorphometric indices were developed and applied as follows: a slope index computed on the whole width of the channel bed, directional variograms computed along the flow direction and perpendicular to it, and local anomalies, calculated as the difference between directional variograms at different spatial scales. Directional variograms in the flow direction and local anomalies have proven to be effective at recognising morphologic units, such as steps, pools and clusters of large boulders. At the spatial scale of channel reaches, these indices have demonstrated a satisfactory capability to outline patterns associated with boulder cascades and rapids with steps, whereas they did not clearly differentiate between morphologies with less marked morphological differences, such as step pools and cascades.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 234
Author(s):  
Pascal Dieudonné Roy-Ema

For over sixty years (from 1910 to 1973), Martin Heidegger carried out a work of thought which led him to create a large quantity of neologisms. It also led him to create a new use of idioms in the German language. This was regarded as a renewed vocabulary. His study bears new meanings and expresses the philosopher's work of thought and the new concepts he proposes. Among them is the Ereignis that this text proposes to question the content. The Ereignis is what makes time and being belongs to each other. It is the relationship of all the relations engendered by this co-membership. This is made possible by the difference installed at the heart of the same. Heidegger himself admitted that the Ereignis was the keyword of his whole thought since the early 1930s. It is the word-director of his thought.


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