Psammomermis nitidulensis n. sp. (Nematoda : Mermithidae) from sap beetles (Coleoptera : Nitidulidae) with biological observations and a key to the species of Psammomermis

#Psammomermis nitidulensis n. sp. (#Nematoda : #Mermithidae) est décrit provenant de trois espèces de coléoptères suceurs de sève, #Carpophilus lugubris Murray, #C. antiquus Melsh et #Colopterus truncatus (Randall) (#Coleoptera : #Nitidulidae), récoltées dans le Comté de Mason, Illinois, Etats-Unis d'Amérique. Ce Mermithide diffère des autres espèces du genre par la forme des amphides et leur type d'association avec les glandes amphidiales, la longueur et la forme des #vagina vera et #vagina uterina. Une clé des espèces du genre #Psammomermis$est proposée et la diagnose en est amendée. Le Mermithide peut provoquer jusqu'à 80$, un vecteur important de champignons mycotoxigènes. Des recherches sont en cours concernant l'utilisation possible de ce Mermithide en vue du contrôle biologique de cet insecte nuisible. (Résumé d'auteur

No Way Out? The Question of Unilateral Withdrawals or Referrals to the ICC and Other Human Rights Courts

This Article addresses the consequent issue: What if a state, self-referring or referring the situation in another country, changes its mind and attempts to withdraw its ICC referral? What is the role and appropriate response of the ICC at that point? This issue becomes especially relevant and pressing as events in Uganda unfold and the possibility looms of an attempted withdrawal of Uganda\u27s referral. This Article examines the Rome Statute, the drafting history, and the expert commentaries, together with the statutory and case law of the other major human rights courts and bodies, and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties ( Vienna Convention ), in an effort to provide a comprehensive analysis of whether a state party can lawfully withdraw a referral from the ICC. To set the stage, it first examines the self-referral phenomenon and explores the reasons why attempted withdrawal of self-referrals is likely to arise

Nuclear Transition: From Three Mile Island to Chernobyl

The regulation of the commercial nuclear power industry in the United States is experiencing a radical transformation caused by dramatic changes in nuclear power markets and politics. This Article addresses the economic and political displacement and realignment of nuclear regulation during the period of transition from the traditional model of regulation to the emerging post-industrial model. The transition dates from March 28, 1979, the date of the incident at Three Mile Island, to April 26, 1986, the date of the Chernobyl accident. Part II describes the nuclear market and the signs of fatigue. Part III discusses the political and regulatory responses to market failure. Part IV discusses the traditional, transitional, and post-industrial models of regulation

Nuclear Transition: From Three Mile Island to Chernobyl

The regulation of the commercial nuclear power industry in the United States is experiencing a radical transformation caused by dramatic changes in nuclear power markets and politics. This Article addresses the economic and political displacement and realignment of nuclear regulation during the period of transition from the traditional model of regulation to the emerging post-industrial model. The transition dates from March 28, 1979, the date of the incident at Three Mile Island, to April 26, 1986, the date of the Chernobyl accident. Part II describes the nuclear market and the signs of fatigue. Part III discusses the political and regulatory responses to market failure. Part IV discusses the traditional, transitional, and post-industrial models of regulation

Criterion and concurrent validity of the activPAL (TM) professional physical activity monitor in adolescent females

peer-reviewedBackground: The activPAL has been identified as an accurate and reliable measure of sedentary behaviour. However, only limited information is available on the accuracy of the activPAL activity count function as a measure of physical activity, while no unit calibration of the activPAL has been completed to date. This study aimed to investigate the criterion validity of the activPAL, examine the concurrent validity of the activPAL, and perform and validate a value calibration of the activPAL in an adolescent female population. The performance of the activPAL in estimating posture was also compared with sedentary thresholds used with the ActiGraph accelerometer.Methodologies: Thirty adolescent females (15 developmental; 15 cross-validation) aged 15-18 years performed 5 activities while wearing the activPAL, ActiGraph GT3X, and the Cosmed K4B2. A random coefficient statistics model examined the relationship between metabolic equivalent (MET) values and activPAL counts. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine activity thresholds and for cross-validation. The random coefficient statistics model showed a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.93 (standard error of the estimate = 1.13). An optimal moderate threshold of 2997 was determined using mixed regression, while an optimal vigorous threshold of 8229 was determined using receiver operating statistics. The activPAL count function demonstrated very high concurrent validity (r = 0.96, pPUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe

Geostatistical modelling of a coal seam for resource risk assessment

The evaluation of a coal seam for profitable extraction requires the estimation of its thickness and quality characteristics together with the spatial variability of these variables. In many cases the only data available for the estimation are from a limited number of exploration and feasibility drill holes. Spatial variability can be quantified by geostatistical modelling, which provides the basis for estimation (kriging). In cases where the spatial variability of the seam thickness and quality characteristics has a significant impact on how the coal is extracted and stored, geostatistical simulation may be preferable to geostatistical kriging methods. The aim of this paper is to present an improved approach to resource risk assessment by propagating the uncertainty in semi-variogram model parameters into the spatial variability of coal variables. We show that a more realistic assessment of risk is obtained when the uncertainty of semi-variogram model parameters is taken into account. The methodology is illustrated with a coal seam from North-western Spain. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.E. Pardo-Igúzquiza, P.A. Dowd, J.M. Baltuille, M. Chica-Olm

Inhibition by Anandamide of 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Cell Death in PC12 Cells

6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a selective neurotoxin that is widely used to investigate cell death and protective strategies in models of Parkinson's disease. Here, we investigated the effects of the endogenous cannabinoid, anandamide, on 6-OHDA-induced toxicity in rat adrenal phaeochromocytoma PC12 cells. Morphological analysis and caspase-3 activity assay revealed that anandamide inhibited 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis. The protection was not affected by antagonists of either cannabinoid receptors (CB1 or CB2) or the vanilloid receptor TRPV1. Anandamide-dependent protection was reduced by pretreatment with LY294002 (inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, PI3K) and unaffected by U0126 (inhibitor of extracellularly-regulated kinase). Interestingly, phosphorylation of c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) in cells exposed to 6-OHDA was strongly reduced by anandamide pre-treatment. Furthermore, 6-OHDA induced c-Jun activation and increased Bim expression, both of which were inhibited by anandamide. Together, these data demonstrate antiapoptotic effects of anandamide and also suggest a role for activation of PI3K and inhibition of JNK signalling in anandamide-mediated protection against 6-OHDA

Multiple cut-off grade optimization by genetic algorithms and comparison with grid search method and dynamic programming

Optimization of cut-off grades is a fundamental issue for mineral deposits. Determination of optimum cut-off grades, instead of application of a static cut-off grade for the life of a mine, maximizes the net present value. The authors describe the general problem of cut-off grade optimization for multi-mineral deposits and outline the use of genetic algorithms, the grid search method, and dynamic programming for optimal cut-off grade schedules for deposits with up to three constituent minerals. The methods are compared by assessing the results of the implications involved in using them.E. Cetin and P.A. Dow

USF Jesuit Foundation Grant Application Coversheet

This is a 2-page cover sheet that goes into the budget breakdown for the USF Jesuit Foundation Grant Application