Utilization of Goddard and IITRI formulae for the evaluation of the cost of satellites - Application to the ESRO programs

Use of Goddard and IITRI formulae for evaluating cost of ESRO satellite program

Molecular Diversity of Legume Root-Nodule Bacteria in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia

BACKGROUND: Symbiotic relationships between leguminous plants (family Fabaceae) and nodule-forming bacteria in Australia native ecosystems remain poorly characterized despite their importance. Most studies have focused on temperate parts of the country, where the use of molecular approaches have already revealed the presence of Bradyrhizobium, Ensifer (formerly Sinorhizobium), Mesorhizobium and Rhizobium genera of legume root-nodule bacteria. We here provide the first molecular characterization of nodulating bacteria from tropical Australia. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 45 nodule-forming bacterial strains, isolated from eight native legume hosts at eight locations in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, were examined for their genetic diversity and phylogenetic position. Using SSU rDNA PCR-RFLPs and phylogenetic analyses, our survey identified nine genospecies, two of which, Bradyrhizobium genospp. B and P, had been previously identified in south-eastern Australia and one, Mesorhizobium genospecies AA, in southern France. Three of the five newly characterized Bradyrhizobium genospecies were more closely related to B. japonicum USDA110, whereas the other two belonged to the B. elkanii group. All five were each more closely related to strains sampled in various tropical areas outside Australia than to strains known to occur in Australia. We also characterized an entirely novel nodule-forming lineage, phylogenetically distant from any previously described rhizobial and non-rhizobial legume-nodulating lineage within the Rhizobiales. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, the present results support the hypothesis of tropical areas being centres of biodiversity and diversification for legume root-nodule bacteria and confirm the widespread occurrence of Bradyrhizobium genosp. B in continental Australia

EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF A COMPUTATIONAL PROGRAM FOR SIMULATING HYBRID SOLAR AND GAS WATER HEATING SYSTEMS

This work presents the methodology and results of the validation of a computer program for the simulation of water heating systems combining solar energy and gas. Two experimental systems, named series and parallel, were assembled. These systems have the same components, differing on how they are connected. All the components were individually characterized and their parameters determined. Simulations of the behavior of the thermal tank, gas heater and solar collector were performed and confronted to experimental data. The results show that the simulation program “AQUESOLGAS” can accurately describe the behavior of water heating systems with solar energy and gas

EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF A COMPUTATIONAL PROGRAM FOR SIMULATING HYBRID SOLAR AND GAS WATER HEATING SYSTEMS

This work presents the methodology and results of the validation of a computer program for the simulation of water heating systems combining solar energy and gas. Two experimental systems, named series and parallel, were assembled. These systems have the same components, differing on how they are connected. All the components were individually characterized and their parameters determined. Simulations of the behavior of the thermal tank, gas heater and solar collector were performed and confronted to experimental data. The results show that the simulation program “AQUESOLGAS” can accurately describe the behavior of water heating systems with solar energy and gas

Numerical simulations of compressible Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence in stratified fluids

We present results from numerical simulations of Rayleigh-Taylor turbulence, performed using a recently proposed lattice Boltzmann method able to describe consistently a thermal compressible flow subject to an external forcing. The method allowed us to study the system both in the nearly-Boussinesq and strongly compressible regimes. Moreover, we show that when the stratification is important, the presence of the adiabatic gradient causes the arrest of the mixing process.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Proceedings of II Conference on Turbulent Mixing and Beyond (TMB-2009

Medulloblastoma has a global impact on health related quality of life: Findings from an international cohort.

BackgroundUnderstanding the global impact of medulloblastoma on health related quality of life (HRQL) is critical to characterizing the broad impact of this disease and realizing the benefits of modern treatments. We evaluated HRQL in an international cohort of pediatric medulloblastoma patients.MethodsSeventy-six patients were selected from 10 sites across North America, Europe, and Asia, who participated in the Medulloblastoma Advanced Genomics International Consortium (MAGIC). The Health Utilities Index (HUI) was administered to patients and/or parents at each site. Responses were used to determine overall HRQL and attributes (ie specific subdomains). The impact of various demographic and medical variables on HRQL was considered-including molecular subgroup.ResultsThe majority of patients reported having moderate or severe overall burden of morbidity for both the HUI2 and HUI3 (HUI2 = 60%; HUI3 = 72.1%) when proxy-assessed. Self-care in the HUI2 was rated as higher (ie better outcome) for patients from Western versus Eastern sites, P = .02. Patients with nonmetastatic status had higher values (ie better outcomes) for the HUI3 hearing, HUI3 pain, and HUI2 pain, all P < .05. Patients treated with a gross total resection also had better outcomes for the HUI3 hearing (P = .04). However, those who underwent a gross total resection reported having worse outcomes on the HUI3 vision (P = .02). No differences in HRQL were evident as a function of subgroup.ConclusionsBy examining an international sample of survivors, we characterized the worldwide impact of medulloblastoma. This is a critical first step in developing global standards for evaluating long-term outcomes

Poultry litter: great potential for electrical energy generation in Brazil

Abstract. Due to the rapid industrialization and population growth there is a higher energy demand. As a result of this factor the greenhouse effect has been aggravating the weather around the globe. Many countries are seeking for sources of renewable and clean energy in order to reduce the air pollution. The biomass energy is an alternative that may interest everyone, since it is a renewable source and there are several technologies for its processing. This study aims to quantify the generation of poultry litter in the production of broiler chickens in the country, to identify the technologies for the available energy conversion, to quantify the potential for electrical energy generation and indicate through technical analysis the most feasible technology to explore the energy potential. In Brazil the biomass derived from the poultry litter represents 1% of all the available biomass, compared to the straw and sugar cane bagasse, regarding the biomass used in the electrical energy generation this percentage increases to 7%. Using the process which is more efficient (gasification) with the poultry litter produced in the country in 2010 (8.23 X 10 9 kg), it is estimated a production of 503.77MW. This energy may be injected into the network to meet the demand at times of increased consumption

Bias in protein and potassium intake collected with 24-h recalls (EPIC-Soft) is rather comparable across European populations

Purpose: We investigated whether group-level bias of a 24-h recall estimate of protein and potassium intake, as compared to biomarkers, varied across European centers and whether this was influenced by characteristics of individuals or centers. Methods: The combined data from EFCOVAL and EPIC studies included 14 centers from 9 countries (n = 1,841). Dietary data were collected using a computerized 24-h recall (EPIC-Soft). Nitrogen and potassium in 24-h urine collections were used as reference method. Multilevel linear regression analysis was performed, including individual-level (e.g., BMI) and center-level (e.g., food pattern index) variables. Results: For protein intake, no between-center variation in bias was observed in men while it was 5.7% in women. For potassium intake, the between-center variation in bias was 8.9% in men and null in women. BMI was an important factor influencing the biases across centers (p <0.01 in all analyses). In addition, mode of administration (p = 0.06 in women) and day of the week (p = 0.03 in men and p = 0.06 in women) may have influenced the bias in protein intake across centers. After inclusion of these individual variables, between-center variation in bias in protein intake disappeared for women, whereas for potassium, it increased slightly in men (to 9.5%). Center-level variables did not influence the results. Conclusion: The results suggest that group-level bias in protein and potassium (for women) collected with 24-h recalls does not vary across centers and to a certain extent varies for potassium in men. BMI and study design aspects, rather than center-level characteristics, affected the biases across center

Modal Codon Usage: Assessing the Typical Codon Usage of a Genome

Most genomes are heterogeneous in codon usage, so a codon usage study should start by defining the codon usage that is typical to the genome. Although this is commonly taken to be the genomewide average, we propose that the mode—the codon usage that matches the most genes—provides a more useful approximation of the typical codon usage of a genome. We provide a method for estimating the modal codon usage, which utilizes a continuous approximation to the number of matching genes and a simplex optimization. In a survey of bacterial and archaeal genomes, as many as 20% more of the genes in a given genome match the modal codon usage than the average codon usage. We use the mode to examine the evolution of the multireplicon genomes of Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 and Borrelia burgdorferi B31. In A. tumefaciens, the circular and linear chromosomes are characterized by a common “chromosome-like” codon usage, whereas both plasmids share a distinct “plasmid-like” codon usage. In B. burgdorferi, in addition to different codon-usage biases on the leading and lagging strands of DNA replication found by McInerney (McInerney JO. 1998. Replicational and transcriptional selection on codon usage in Borrelia burgdorferi. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 95:10698–10703), we also detect a codon-usage similarity between linear plasmid lp38 and the leading strand of the chromosome and a high similarity among the cp32 family of plasmids