660 research outputs found
Estimating productivity of water at different spatial scales using simulation modeling
Water resources / Productivity / Simulation models / Water scarcity / Water supply / Water balance / Performance indexes / Indicators / River basins / Cropping systems / Crop yield / Cotton / Hydrology / Economic analysis
Comparing estimates of actual evapotranspiration from satellites, hydrological models, and field data: a case study from Western Turkey
Evapotranspiration / Estimation / Remote sensing / Satellite surveys / Field tests / Measurement / Productivity / Crops / Water requirements / Water balance / Irrigation management / River basins / Hydrology / Models / Turkey / Gediz River
Integrated basin modeling
Simulation models / Irrigation management / Water balance / Groundwater / River basins / Hydrology / Flow / Evapotranspiration / Precipitation / Soils / Turkey / Gediz Basin
Using datasets from the Internet for hydrological modeling: an example from the Kntnk Menderes Basin, Turkey
River basin development / Water resources / Data collection / Models / Hydrology / Land classification / Water management / Water scarcity / Water allocation / Stream flow / Water demand / Turkey / Kntnk Menderes Basin
NEURAL EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION OF AUTISM CANDIDATE GENES IN ZEBRAFISH
The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) refer to a large heterogeneous set of developmental disorders defined by two behavioral domains: 1) Impairment of social comprehension and abnormal development of social communication, and 2) the presence of stereotypical and repetitive behaviors. The etiology of ASD is complex, with both genetic and environmental components. De novo and inherited mutations within DPP6 and PSMD12 have been identified within individuals diagnosed with ASD suggesting an etiologic role. Understanding the functionality of these genes could lead novel treatments for ASD. Zebrafish were utilized as a model system for the assessment of functionality of the orthologous genes dpp6a, dpp6b, and psmd12. Zebrafish are an ideal model system for neurological disorders because they develop quickly, share many fundamental brain structures and capacities with humans, and are genetically malleable. This work demonstrates commercially available antibodies designed to DPP6 bind promiscuously; therefore, necessitating a continued search for specific antibodies. In addition, three TALE Nucleases (TALENs) were designed to specifically target the psmd12 gene. In order to elucidate psmd12 mutants, genotyping assays were designed and a specific antibody was ascertained. These tools will be critical in the development of an allelic series and functional assessment of psmd12
DNA fingerprinting analysis of coagulase negative staphylococci implicated in catheter related bloodstream infections
AIMS: The epidemiological assessment of cases of coagulase negative staphylococcal catheter related
bloodstream infection.
METHODS: Two hundred and thirty patients with suspected catheter related bloodstream infection were
evaluated over a two year period. Central venous catheters were cultured both endoluminally and
extraluminally. Peripheral blood, catheter hubs, skin entry, and skin control sites were also cultured.
Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to DNA fingerprint coagulase negative staphylococci
isolated from patients with presumptive catheter related bloodstream infection.
RESULTS: Sixty cases of catheter related bloodstream infection were identified, 21 of which were
attributed to coagulase negative staphylococci. Two hundred and ninety four separate isolates of
coagulase negative staphylococci from the 21 cases of catheter related bloodstream infection were
subjected to PFGE (mean of 14 for each case). Catheter related bloodstream infection was only
confirmed by PFGE analysis in 16 of the 21 cases because in the remaining five cases peripheral blood
and central venous catheter coagulase negative staphylococci isolates were different. Skin entry, control
skin, and central venous catheter hub isolates matched peripheral blood isolates in six, four, and
seven cases, respectively. Coagulase negative staphylococci isolates could not be cultured from the
patientsâ own skin in seven cases of catheter related bloodstream infection. Central venous catheter
lumens were colonised in all cases of catheter related bloodstream infection compared with 44â81%
of cases that had positive external surface catheter tip cultures, depending on the threshold used to
define significant growth.
CONCLUSIONS: Catheter related bloodstream infection as a result of coagulase negative staphylococci
may be over stated in about a quarter of cases, unless a discriminatory technique is used to fingerprint
isolates. No single, simplistic route of bacterial contamination of central venous catheters was identified,
but endoluminal catheter colonisation is invariably present in cases of catheter related
bloodstream infection.
The use of central venous catheters as a means of access for
monitoring and as a route of administration of drugs has
become almost mandatory in patients with serious
illnesses. Infections of central venous catheters are common
and coagulase negative staphylococci remain the most
frequent pathogensâfor example, 37% of 1267 isolates in one
meta-analysis.Controversy remains over the source of, and
route of access by, these bacteria to the central venous
catheters. Recent developments, such as catheters with
antimicrobial properties, are an important advance,
but
until such issues are resolved it remains unclear how best to
reduce the risk of catheter related bloodstream infection.
âPulsed field gel electrophoresis is well recognised as the
gold standard for fingerprinting coagulase negative staphylococciâ
Because there are at least 33 distinct coagulase negative
staphylococci species that have been identified, and because
methods that use phenotyping alone cannot accurately
distinguish between strains of coagulase negative staphylococci,
DNA fingerprinting is required to clarify the epidemiology
of coagulase negative staphylococci catheter related bacterial
bloodstream infection. Despite the accepted difficulties in
determining the relatedness of coagulase negative staphylococci,
diagnostic laboratories routinely rely on limited
information from phenotypic tests to compare isolates fro
Modeling scenarios for water allocation in the Gediz Basin, Turkey
Water management / Water allocation / Models / River basin development / Hydrology / Decision making / Environmental effects / Water use efficiency / Climate / Irrigation water / Irrigated farming / Stream flow / Surface water / Salt water intrusion / Turkey / Gediz Basin
Growth and form of the mound in Gale Crater, Mars: Slope wind enhanced erosion and transport
Ancient sediments provide archives of climate and habitability on Mars. Gale Crater, the landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), hosts a 5-km-high sedimentary mound (Mount Sharp/Aeolis Mons). Hypotheses for mound formation include evaporitic, lacustrine, fluviodeltaic, and aeolian processes, but the origin and original extent of Galeâs mound is unknown. Here we show new measurements of sedimentary strata within the mound that indicate âŒ3° outward dips oriented radially away from the mound center, inconsistent with the first three hypotheses. Moreover, although mounds are widely considered to be erosional remnants of a once crater-filling unit, we find that the Gale moundâs current form is close to its maximal extent. Instead we propose that the moundâs structure, stratigraphy, and current shape can be explained by growth in place near the center of the crater mediated by wind-topography feedbacks. Our model shows how sediment can initially accrete near the crater center far from crater-wall katabatic winds, until the increasing relief of the resulting mound generates mound-flank slope winds strong enough to erode the mound. The slope wind enhanced erosion and transport (SWEET) hypothesis indicates mound formation dominantly by aeolian deposition with limited organic carbon preservation potential, and a relatively limited role for lacustrine and fluvial activity. Morphodynamic feedbacks between wind and topography are widely applicable to a range of sedimentary and ice mounds across the Martian surface, and possibly other planets
Random permutation tests of nonuniform differential item functioning in multigroup item factor analysis
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