590 research outputs found
CPA eldercare : a practitioner\u27s resource guide;
3 1/2 disk not readable and so not included in PDFhttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1104/thumbnail.jp
CPA eldercare : a practitioner\u27s resource guide;
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1114/thumbnail.jp
Dynamic and Sparsity Adaptive Compressed Sensing Based Active User Detection and Channel Estimation of Uplink Grant-Free SCMA
In uplink (UL) grant-free sparse code multiple access (SCMA) systems, unlike the conventional contention-based transmission, users' activities should be known before data decoding due to sporadic transmission in massive machine-type communication (mMTC). Since compressed sensing (CS) is the theory of sparse signal reconstruction with fewer samples, this theory is a good solution to detect active users. In this paper, we propose the dynamic and sparsity adaptive compressed sensing (DSACS) based active user detection (AUD) and channel estimation (CE) of UL grant-free SCMA. Unlike most of the CS-based methods, sparsity knowledge or potential active user list is not needed in the proposed algorithm, which is already not known in the practical systems. The proposed algorithm adopts a stagewise approach to expand the set of accurate active users for adaptively achieve the sparsity level. It uses the temporal correlation of users' activity to improve performance and reduce complexity. Then, false detected users are eliminated with joint message passing algorithm (JMPA), and channel gains of the accurate active users are estimated again in CE with feedback. The simulation results show that the proposed method without sparsity knowledge is capable of achieving detection in various scenarios in case of sporadic transmission in mMTC
Ascaroside Expression in Caenorhabditis elegans Is Strongly Dependent on Diet and Developmental Stage
Background:
The ascarosides form a family of small molecules that have been isolated from cultures of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. They are often referred to as “dauer pheromones” because most of them induce formation of long-lived and highly stress resistant dauer larvae. More recent studies have shown that ascarosides serve additional functions as social signals and mating pheromones. Thus, ascarosides have multiple functions. Until now, it has been generally assumed that ascarosides are constitutively expressed during nematode development.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
Cultures of C. elegans were developmentally synchronized on controlled diets. Ascarosides released into the media, as well as stored internally, were quantified by LC/MS. We found that ascaroside biosynthesis and release were strongly dependent on developmental stage and diet. The male attracting pheromone was verified to be a blend of at least four ascarosides, and peak production of the two most potent mating pheromone components, ascr#3 and asc#8 immediately preceded or coincided with the temporal window for mating. The concentration of ascr#2 increased under starvation conditions and peaked during dauer formation, strongly supporting ascr#2 as the main population density signal (dauer pheromone). After dauer formation, ascaroside production largely ceased and dauer larvae did not release any ascarosides. These findings show that both total ascaroside production and the relative proportions of individual ascarosides strongly correlate with these compounds' stage-specific biological functions.
Conclusions/Significance:
Ascaroside expression changes with development and environmental conditions. This is consistent with multiple functions of these signaling molecules. Knowledge of such differential regulation will make it possible to associate ascaroside production to gene expression profiles (transcript, protein or enzyme activity) and help to determine genetic pathways that control ascaroside biosynthesis. In conjunction with findings from previous studies, our results show that the pheromone system of C. elegans mimics that of insects in many ways, suggesting that pheromone signaling in C. elegans may exhibit functional homology also at the sensory level. In addition, our results provide a strong foundation for future behavioral modeling studies
Relationships within aphids Cinara (Cupressobium) (Hemiptera) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences
The relationships between Cinara (Cupressobium) aphids inhabiting woody parts and leaves of conifers belonging to Cupressaceae have been studied using a mitochondrial gene (COI) and a nuclear gene (EF1-α). Based on the COI sequences, genetic distances between species ranged from 5.6 % between Cinara (C.) tujafilina (del Guercio) and Cinara (C.) juniperi (De Geer) to 10.5 % between C. (C.) tujafilina and Cinara (C.) mordvilkoi (Pašek). Genetic distances among EF1-α sequences were lower and showed from 0.1 % between C. cupressi and C. juniperi to 2.3 % between C. tujafilina and C. mordvilkoi. Molecular phylogenetic trees were constructed using the Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic analysis and maximum parsimony (MP) criterion. Phylogenetic trees obtained based on COI and EF1-α marker genes created two sister clades. Our results indicate that Cinara (Cupressobium) are a monophyletic group of aphids. Phylogenetic relationships amongst Cupressobium aphids do not result from the association with the host plant, but from the feeding site on the host plant or an ability to change the microhabitat on the plant. As closely related species inhabit similar microhabitats on different host plants, it suggests that the host switching is the main mode of speciation in this subgenus
Increased charcoal yield & production of lighter oils from the slow pyrolysis of biomass
In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions from solid fuels, a considerable amount of research is going into how improve the manufacturing processes and product properties of the products from pyrolysis. One aspect that is often overlooked is the production of charcoal for cooking and soil remediation, which is an inefficient conversion process. There is considerable interest into using additives to increase charcoal yields, and based on the observation from fast pyrolysis work that certain catalyst tar cracking pathways can deposit considerable amounts of coke on the surface of the catalyst, there is a potential application to slow pyrolysis processes producing charcoal. Alumino-silicate catalysts have been shown to have a relatively high tendency to do this. This work hypothesises that this catalysation can be applied to slow pyrolysis, with low cost alumino-silicate minerals, specially bentonite clay, which has been added to pine pyrolysis in concentrations up to 60% wt (against input biomass) at temperatures 300–700 °C.
This study has shown that the use of bentonite clay minerals can be beneficial to the process, as there is an increase in the charcoal yield from biomass, whilst the proximate analysis of the charcoal shows little change from levels expected from biomass only pyrolysis. The conversion of oil to charcoal was more effective at high temperatures due to higher levels of oil cracking. At 700 °C with 60% clay loading, charcoal yield increased 16%wt (dry ash free basis) was seen, while at the same time 19% extra gas was produced at the expense of 35% of the oil from raw pine pyrolysis. This indicates fuel properties of the charcoal are predictable, and changes in yield considerable. At the same time, the abundance of lower molecular weight oils is increased (relative to 4-methyl phenol). It is though that pyrolysis oil reacts with the clay, causing the heavier tars to disproportionate into charcoal and gas
Zn treatment effects on biological potential of fennel bulbs as affected by in vitro digestion process
Zn treatment effects on the stability of polyphenols, MDA (malondialdehyde) content, antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibition activities of two varieties of fennel bulbs were studied by using an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model. Likewise, the effect of Zn on viability cells of E. coli was also performed. The results revealed that high amounts of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds were released during the digestion process, especially after the intestinal phase. Additionally, the antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibitory activity were affected by the gastrointestinal digestion process and seems to be correlated with total phenol contents. On the other hand, the viability of E. coli was not affected by the activity of our tested bulbs during passage through the artificial digestion model, but the treated bulbs activity contribute relatively to the inhibition growth of bacteria. The survival of E. coli in fennel bulbs was challenged with simulated gastrointestinal fluids and the results showed that the E. coli strains, despite having experienced a viability reduction at the intestinal phase, were able to overcome the exposure to the gastrointestinal synthetic fluids. This E. coli ability reinforces the need for good hygienic measures to assure safe fresh produce, even for those that are rich in antibacterial compounds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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