A new continuous planar fit method for calculating fluxes in complex, forested terrain.

The planar fit method is often recommended for long-term eddy covariance flux measurements since it offers a number of advantages over rotating into streamwise coordinates. For sites over complex, forested terrain a single planar fit may not account for complex variations in slope and canopy cover with wind direction. An alternative to the planar fit method is presented where the tilt angle is fitted as a continuous function of the wind direction. This retains many of the benefits of the planar fit method, while at the same time better representing local variations in tilt with wind direction

Laser Shock Wave Assisted Patterning on NiTi Shape Memory Alloy Surfaces

An advanced direct imprinting method with low cost, quick, and less environmental impact to create thermally controllable surface pattern using the laser pulses is reported. Patterned micro indents were generated on Ni50Ti50 shape memory alloys (SMA) using an Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm combined with suitable transparent overlay, a sacrificial layer of graphite, and copper grid. Laser pulses at different energy densities which generates pressure pulses up to 10 GPa on the surface was focused through the confinement medium, ablating the copper grid to create plasma and transferring the grid pattern onto the NiTi surface. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope images of square pattern with different sizes were studied. One dimensional profile analysis shows that the depth of the patterned sample initially increase linearly with the laser energy until 125 mJ/pulse where the plasma further absorbs and reflects the laser beam. In addition, light the microscope image show that the surface of NiTi alloy was damaged due to the high power laser energy which removes the graphite layer

Recoverable Stress Induced Two-Way Shape Memory Effect on NiTi Surface Using Laser-Produced Shock Wave

The surfaces of Ni50Ti50 shape memory alloys (SMAs) were patterned by laser scribing. This method is more simplistic and efficient than traditional indentation techniques, and has also shown to be an effective method in patterning these materials. Different laser energy densities ranging from 5 mJ/pulse to 56 mJ/pulse were used to observe recovery on SMA surface. The temperature dependent heat profiles of the NiTi surfaces after laser scribing at 56 mJ/pulse show the partially-recovered indents, which indicate a shape memory effect (SME) Experimental data is in good agreement with theoretical simulation of laser induced shock wave propagation inside NiTi SMAs. Stress wave closely followed the rise time of the laser pulse to its peak values and initial decay. Further investigations are underway to improve the SME such that the indents are recovered to a greater extent

The proteomes of neurotransmitter receptor complexes form modular networks with distributed functionality underlying plasticity and behaviour

Neuronal synapses play fundamental roles in information processing, behaviour and disease. Neurotransmitter receptor complexes, such as the mammalian N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor complex (NRC/MASC) comprising 186 proteins, are major components of the synapse proteome. Here we investigate the organisation and function of NRC/MASC using a systems biology approach. Systematic annotation showed that the complex contained proteins implicated in a wide range of cognitive processes, synaptic plasticity and psychiatric diseases. Protein domains were evolutionarily conserved from yeast, but enriched with signalling domains associated with the emergence of multicellularity. Mapping of protein–protein interactions to create a network representation of the complex revealed that simple principles underlie the functional organisation of both proteins and their clusters, with modularity reflecting functional specialisation. The known functional roles of NRC/MASC proteins suggest the complex co-ordinates signalling to diverse effector pathways underlying neuronal plasticity. Importantly, using quantitative data from synaptic plasticity experiments, our model correctly predicts robustness to mutations and drug interference. These studies of synapse proteome organisation suggest that molecular networks with simple design principles underpin synaptic signalling properties with important roles in physiology, behaviour and disease

The molecular evolution of the vertebrate behavioural repertoire

How the sophisticated vertebrate behavioural repertoire evolved remains a major question in biology. The behavioural repertoire encompasses the set of individual behavioural components that an organism uses when adapting and responding to changes in its external world. Although unicellular organisms, invertebrates and vertebrates share simple reflex responses, the fundamental mechanisms that resulted in the complexity and sophistication that is characteristic of vertebrate behaviours have only recently been examined. A series of behavioural genetic experiments in mice and humans support a theory that posited the importance of synapse proteome expansion in generating complexity in the behavioural repertoire. Genome duplication events, approximately 550 Ma, produced expansion in the synapse proteome that resulted in increased complexity in synapse signalling mechanisms that regulate components of the behavioural repertoire. The experiments demonstrate the importance to behaviour of the gene duplication events, the diversification of paralogues and sequence constraint. They also confirm the significance of comparative proteomic and genomic studies that identified the molecular origins of synapses in unicellular eukaryotes and the vertebrate expansion in proteome complexity. These molecular mechanisms have general importance for understanding the repertoire of behaviours in different species and for human behavioural disorders arising from synapse gene mutations

Population Genetics of Franciscana Dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei): Introducing a New Population from the Southern Edge of Their Distribution

Due to anthropogenic factors, the franciscana dolphin, Pontoporia blainvillei, is the most threatened small cetacean on the Atlantic coast of South America. Four Franciscana Management Areas have been proposed: Espiritu Santo to Rio de Janeiro (FMA I), São Paulo to Santa Catarina (FMA II), Rio Grande do Sul to Uruguay (FMA III), and Argentina (FMA IV). Further genetic studies distinguished additional populations within these FMAs. We analyzed the population structure, phylogeography, and demographic history in the southernmost portion of the species range. From the analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences, 5 novel haplotypes were found, totalizing 60 haplotypes for the entire distribution range. The haplotype network did not show an apparent phylogeographical signal for the southern FMAs. Two populations were identified: Monte Hermoso (MH) and Necochea (NC)+Claromecó (CL)+Río Negro (RN). The low levels of genetic variability, the relative constant size over time, and the low levels of gene flow may indicate that MH has been colonized by a few maternal lineages and became isolated from geographically close populations. The apparent increase in NC+CL+RN size would be consistent with the higher genetic variability found, since genetic diversity is generally higher in older and expanding populations. Additionally, RN may have experienced a recent split from CL and NC; current high levels of gene flow may be occurring between the latter ones. FMA IV would comprise four franciscana dolphin populations: Samborombón West+Samborombón South, Cabo San Antonio+Buenos Aires East, NC+CL+Buenos Aires Southwest+RN and MH. Results achieved in this study need to be taken into account in order to ensure the long-term survival of the species.Fil: Gariboldi, María Constanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Tunez, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Luján; ArgentinaFil: Dejean, Cristina Beatriz. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Ciencias Antropológicas. Sección Antropología Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Failla, Mauricio. Fundación Cethus; ArgentinaFil: Vitullo, Alfredo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Negri, Maria Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; ArgentinaFil: Cappozzo, Humberto Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; Argentin

Relationships Among Self-Efficacy, Social Support, Social Problem Solving, and Self-Management in a Rural Sample Living With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Self-management behaviors are important for control of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, determining factors that promote effective self-management behaviors may be significant for improving the well-being of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study examined relationships among self-efficacy, social support, social problem solving, and diabetes self-management behaviors. Further, this study evaluated whether social support and social problem solving were mediators of the relationship between self-efficacy and diabetes self-management behaviors in those living with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Using a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design, data from a convenience sample of 152 rural people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus were examined. Findings indicated that self-efficacy was a strong predictor of diabetes self-management. The effect of social support on diabetes self-management differed among men and women in the sample. Social support and social problem solving were significantly associated with diabetes self-management in men. Neither social support nor social problem solving were mediators of the relationship between self-efficacy and diabetes self-management in this sample. These findings suggest that nurses need to consider implementing interventions to improve patients’ self-efficacy and potentially influence diabetes self-management

Neural correlates of sexual cue reactivity in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours

Although compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) has been conceptualized as a "behavioural" addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking) to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions

Diets containing sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) meals are hypocholesterolemic in young rats

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