5,561 research outputs found
Exploring disparities and similarities in European food consumption patterns
This paper investigates the heterogeneity of food consumption patterns in Europe. The analysis relies on a wide set of indicators, namely the structure of calorie, protein and fat consumption as well as the consumption of main foodstuffs. Clusters based on estimated income elasticity of calorie and protein demand are also reported. Income elasticities of animal products tend to exceed those corresponding to the total calorie demand. The same pattern holds true for the elasticity of demand for proteins. Main dimensions of consumption are identified based on factor analysis and used subsequently for the purpose of clustering countries. The hard core clusters are those that remain stable regardless of the algorithm used in classification or the indicators as a proxy of food consumption patterns. A limited number of hard core clusters of countries emerged. The paper concludes with a discussion of clusters with homogeneous patterns of consumption.food consumption patterns, Europe, factor analysis, cluster analysis, hard-core clusters
Ecology of Freshwater Turtles in Back Bay, Virginia
The freshwater turtle community of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park is comprised of seven species: Clemmys guttata, Chrysemys picta, Chelydra serpentina, Kinosternon subrubrum, Pseudemys rubrivenfris, Terrapene carolina, and Trachemys scripta. Resource partitioning in this community is accomplished by habitat selection and dietary differences. Three species exhibit strong female biased sexual size dimorphism and one species strong male biased sexual size dimorphism; three species do not exhibit strong size dimorphism. Nesting occurs from about late-May through June and probably longer. Clutch size ranges from a low of three in the smallest species (Kinosternon subrubrum) to a high of 55 in the largest species (Chelydra serpentina). Trapping success varied seasonally and annually. Freshwater turtles play important ecological roles in wetland ecosystems and every effort should be made to insure the continued viability of all populations
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Back Bay, Virginia
(First Paragraph) Past authors who documented the distributions of eastern North American amphibians and reptiles illustrated the southeastern corner of Virginia as the northern limit of distribution for many species (Conant 1958, 1975; Martof et al. 1980). These maps were not sufficiently detailed to allow resolution of specific areas; the entire region was completely shaded
Advertisement Call and Distribution of the Treefrogs Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor in Virginia
The gray treefrog complex consists of two sibling species that are indistinguishable morphologically, the diploid Hyla chrysoscelis and the tetraploid Hyla versicolor. Identification is possible in the field only by audio recognition of male advertisement call trill rates (pulses/second). During 1979-1983 we evaluated taped calls of these two species taken from 89 populations from throughout Virginia to map their respective ranges and to evaluate differences in call parameters. Hyla chrysoscelis occurs in the Coastal Plain, eastern and southern Piedmont, and in southwestern Virginia. Hyla versicoloroccurs in the Piedmont, Blue Ridge, and Ridge and Valley regions south to Wythe and Tazewell counties. Sympatric sites occur in several locations in the Piedmont and both species are syntopic in several of them. Male trill rates are significantly related to Ambient and body temperatures. Rates produced by male H. chrysoscelis (\u3e31/s) are twice as fast as that for H. versicolor (\u3c30/s); they did not overlap in our samples at any temperature. Trill rates and call duration in southwestern Virginia populations of H. chrysoscelis differed significantly from those in eastern populations when adjusted for ambient temperature. Adjusted trill rate and duration in H. Chrysoscelis populations in sympatry with H. versicolor were not significantly different from allopatric populations but were for H. versicolor
GDNF and GFRα-1 Are Components of the Axolotl Pronephric Duct Guidance System
AbstractIn mammals, secretion of GDNF by the metanephrogenic mesenchyme is essential for branching morphogenesis of the ureteric bud and, thus, metanephric development. However, the expression pattern of GDNF and its receptor complexâthe GPI-linked ligand-binding protein, GFRα-1, and the Ret tyrosine kinase signaling proteinâindicates that it could operate at early steps in kidney development as well. Furthermore, the developing nephric systems of fish and amphibian embryos express components of the GDNF signaling system even though they do not make a metanephros. We provide evidence that GDNF signaling through GFRα-1 is sufficient to direct pathfinding of migrating pronephric duct cells in axolotl embryos by: (1) demonstrating that application of soluble GFRα-1 to an embryo lacking all GPI-linked proteins rescues PND migration in a dose-dependent fashion, (2) showing that application of excess soluble GFRα-1 to a normal embryo inhibits migration and that inhibition is dependent upon GDNF-binding activity, and (3) showing that the PND will migrate toward a GDNF-soaked bead in vivo, but will fail to migrate when GDNF is applied uniformly to the flank. These data suggest that PND pathfinding is accomplished by migration up a gradient of GDNF
Actions of N-arachidonyl-glycine in a rat inflammatory pain model
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While cannabinoid receptor agonists have analgesic activity in inflammatory pain states they produce a range of side effects. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the arachidonic acid-amino acid conjugate, N-arachidonyl-glycine (NA-glycine) is effective in acute pain models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study we examined the effect of NA-glycine in a rat model of inflammatory pain. Intrathecal administration of NA-glycine (70 â 700 nmol) and the pan-cannabinoid receptor agonist HU-210 (10 nmol) reduced the mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia induced by intraplantar injection of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). The actions of HU-210, but not NA-glycine were reduced by the cannabinoid CB<sub>1 </sub>receptor antagonist AM251. The cannabinoid CB<sub>2 </sub>receptor antagonist SR144528 also had no effect on the actions of NA-glycine. In contrast, N-arachidonyl-GABA (NA-GABA, 700 nmol) and N-arachidonyl-alanine (NA-alanine, 700 nmol) had no effect on allodynia and hyperalgesia. HU-210, but not NA-glycine produced a reduction in rotarod latency.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that NA-glycine may provide a novel non-cannabinoid receptor mediated approach to alleviate inflammatory pain.</p
Trapping of magnetic flux by the plunge region of a black hole accretion disk
The existence of the radius of marginal stability means that accretion flows
around black holes invariably undergo a transition from a MHD turbulent
disk-like flow to an inward plunging flow. We argue that the plunging inflow
can greatly enhance the trapping of large scale magnetic field on the black
hole, and therefore may increase the importance of the Blandford-Znajek (BZ)
effect relative to previous estimates that ignore the plunge region. We support
this hypothesis by constructing and analyzing a toy-model of the dragging and
trapping of a large scale field by a black hole disk, revealing a strong
dependence of this effect on the effective magnetic Prandtl number of the MHD
turbulent disk. Furthermore, we show that the enhancement of the BZ effect
depends on the geometric thickness of the accretion disk. This may be, at least
in part, the physical underpinnings of the empirical relation between the
inferred geometric thickness of a black hole disk and the presence of a radio
jet.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal. See
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~chris/publications/movies/flux_trapping.html for
animation
Association of the tumour necrosis factor alpha -308 but not the interleukin 10 -627 promoter polymorphism with genetic susceptibility to primary sclerosing cholangitis
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown aetiology. Abnormalities in immune regulation and genetic associations suggest that PSC is an immune mediated disease. Several polymorphisms within the tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) promoter genes have been described which influence expression of these cytokines. This study examines the possible association between polymorphisms at the â308 and â627 positions in the TNF-α and IL-10 promoter genes, respectively, and susceptibility to PSC.
METHODS TNF-α â308 genotypes were studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 160 PSC patients from Norway and the UK compared with 145 ethnically matched controls. IL-10 â627 genotypes were studied by PCR in 90 PSC patients compared with 84 ethnically matched controls.
RESULTS A total of 16% of Norwegian PSC patients and 12% of British PSC patients were homozygous for the TNF2 allele compared with 3% and 6% of respective controls. The TNF2 allele was present in 60% of PSC patients versus 30% of controls (ORcombined data=3.2 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.8â4.5); pcorr=10â5). The association between the TNF2 allele and susceptibility to PSC was independent of the presence of concurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the PSC patients; 61% of PSC patients without IBD had TNF2 compared with 30% of controls (ORcombined data=3.2 (95% CI 1.2â9.0); pcorr=0.006 ). There was no difference in the â627 IL-10 polymorphism distributions between patients and controls in either population. The increase in TNF2 allele in PSC patients only occurs in the presence of DRB1*0301 (DR3) and B8. In the combined population data, DRB1*0301 showed a stronger association with susceptibility to PSC than both the TNF2 and B8 alleles (ORcombined data=3.8, pcorr=10â6 v ORcombined data=3.2, pcorr=10â5 vORcombined data =3.41, pcorr=10â4, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS This study identified a significant association between possession of the TNF2 allele, a GâA substitution at position â308 in the TNF-α promoter, and susceptibility to PSC. This association was secondary to the association of PSC with the A1-B8-DRB1*0301-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 haplotype. No association was found between the IL-10 â627 promoter polymorphism and PSC
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