8,646 research outputs found

    Darwinian transformation of a 'scarcely nutritious fluid' into milk

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    In an early challenge to an aspect of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, Jackson Mivart contended that milk could not have evolved ‘from a scarcely nutritious fluid from an accidentally hypertrophied cutaneous gland’. The evolutionary change from a gland secretion to milk involves an increase in calcium and protein concentrations by up to 100- and 1000-fold, respectively. Even so, the challenge, we suggest, is not just a problem of scale. An increase in the concentrations of calcium and phosphate brings an increased risk of calcification of the secretory gland because calcium phosphate is highly insoluble. In addition, two of the four constituent milk casein proteins (Îș and αS2) aggregate to produce toxic amyloid fibrils. It is proposed that both problems were solved through the cosecretion of ancestral ÎČ- and Îș-caseins to form a stable amorphous aggregate of both proteins with sequestered amorphous calcium phosphate, that is, a primordial casein micelle. Evolutionarily, a gradual increase in the concentration of casein micelles could therefore produce progressively more nutritious fluids for the neonate without endangering the reproductive potential of the mother

    SAR antenna calibration techniques

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    Calibration of SAR antennas requires a measurement of gain, elevation and azimuth pattern shape, boresight error, cross-polarization levels, and phase vs. angle and frequency. For spaceborne SAR antennas of SEASAT size operating at C-band or higher, some of these measurements can become extremely difficult using conventional far-field antenna test ranges. Near-field scanning techniques offer an alternative approach and for C-band or X-band SARs, give much improved accuracy and precision as compared to that obtainable with a far-field approach

    Letter to the Editor: a response to Horne and Lucey (2017)

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    No abstract available

    Impacts of the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 on Shareholders’ Wealth in the Tobacco Industry

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    This study examines the impact and efficiency of the design of the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 in deregulating the tobacco production industry. Results offer a number of policy implications of which deregulation of an economically challenged industry can be achieved without the use of taxpayer funds.Tobacco Buyout, Tobacco Industry, Event Study, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy,

    Subsequent Remedial Measures 2000 and Beyond

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    Subsequent Remedial Measures 2000 and Beyond

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    Investigation of individual factors impacting the effectiveness of requirements inspections: a replicated experiment

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    Cataloged from PDF version of article.This paper presents a replication of an empirical study regarding the impact of individual factors on the effectiveness of requirements inspections. Experimental replications are important for verifying results and investigating the generality of empirical studies. We utilized the lab package and procedures from the original study, with some changes and additions, to conduct the replication with 69 professional developers in three different companies in Turkey. In general the results of the replication were consistent with those of the original study. The main result from the original study, which is supported in the replication, was that inspectors whose degree is in a field related to software engineering are less effective during a requirements inspection than inspectors whose degrees are in other fields. In addition, we found that Company, Experience, and English Proficiency impacted inspection effectiveness
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