5,092 research outputs found
Intra-Project Externality and Layout Variables in Residential Condominium Appraisals
This study examines the impact of intra-project externalities and layout variables on the selling prices of 897 condominium units in the cities of Irvine and Santa Ana in Orange County, California. It documents that, at a micro-level, proximity to intra-project externalities such as greenspace, swimming pools, recreational areas, traffic noise, and the like, and project layout variables representing the location of individual condominium units within multiunit structures, have significant effects on the property values of units within a condominium project. The results indicate that, when cost is not prohibitive, both appraisers and underwriters should take intra-project externalities and layout variables into consideration when estimating property values or underwriting residential mortgages for condominium properties.
Stability and dissipativity analysis of static neural networks with time delay
This paper is concerned with the problems of stability and dissipativity analysis for static neural networks (NNs) with time delay. Some improved delay-dependent stability criteria are established for static NNs with time-varying or time-invariant delay using the delay partitioning technique. Based on these criteria, several delay-dependent sufficient conditions are given to guarantee the dissipativity of static NNs with time delay. All the given results in this paper are not only dependent upon the time delay but also upon the number of delay partitions. Some examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness and reduced conservatism of the proposed results.published_or_final_versio
Asymmetric ephaptic inhibition between compartmentalized olfactory receptor neurons.
In the Drosophila antenna, different subtypes of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) housed in the same sensory hair (sensillum) can inhibit each other non-synaptically. However, the mechanisms underlying this underexplored form of lateral inhibition remain unclear. Here we use recordings from pairs of sensilla impaled by the same tungsten electrode to demonstrate that direct electrical ("ephaptic") interactions mediate lateral inhibition between ORNs. Intriguingly, within individual sensilla, we find that ephaptic lateral inhibition is asymmetric such that one ORN exerts greater influence onto its neighbor. Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy of genetically identified ORNs and circuit modeling indicate that asymmetric lateral inhibition reflects a surprisingly simple mechanism: the physically larger ORN in a pair corresponds to the dominant neuron in ephaptic interactions. Thus, morphometric differences between compartmentalized ORNs account for highly specialized inhibitory interactions that govern information processing at the earliest stages of olfactory coding
Vertical and longitudinal electron density structures of equatorial E- and F-regions
From global soundings of ionospheric electron density made with FORMOSAT
3/COSMIC satellites for September 2006–August 2009, day-night variations in
vertical and longitudinal structures of the electron densities in equatorial
E- and F-regions for different seasons are investigated for the first time.
The results reveal that the wavenumber-3 and wavenumber-4 patterns
dominated the nighttime (22:00–04:00 LT) F-region longitudinal structures in
solstice and in equinox seasons, respectively. In daytime (08:00–18:00 LT)
F-region, the wavenumber-4 patterns governed the longitudinal structures in
the September equinox and December solstice, and wavenumber-3 in March
equinox and June solstice respectively. A comparison of the daytime
and nighttime longitudinal electron density structures indicates that they
are approximately 180° out of phase with each other. It is believed that
this out of phase relation is very likely the result of the opposite phase
relation between daytime and nighttime nonmigrating diurnal tidal winds that
modulate background E-region dynamo electric field at different places,
leading to the day-night change in the locations of the equatorial plasma
fountains that are responsible for the formation of the F-region
longitudinal structures. Further, a good consistency between the locations
of the density structures in the same seasons of the different years for
both daytime and nighttime epochs has been noticed indicating that the
source mechanism for these structures could be the same
Field-Induced Transition in the S=1 Antiferromagnetic Chain with Single-Ion Anisotropy in a Transverse Magnetic Field
The field-induced transition in one-dimensional S=1 Heisenberg
antiferromagnet with single-ion anisotropy in the presence of a transverse
magnetic field is obtained on the basis of the Schwinger boson mean-field
theory. The behaviors of the specific heat and susceptibility as functions of
temperature as well as the applied transverse field are explored, which are
found to be different from the results obtained under a longitudinal field. The
anomalies of the specific heat at low temperatures, which might be an
indicative of a field-induced transition from a Luttinger liquid phase to an
ordered phase, are explicitly uncovered under the transverse field. A schematic
phase diagram is proposed. The theoretical results are compared with
experimental observations.Comment: Revtex, 7 figure
ROCSAT-1 telecommunication experiments
This paper addresses a telecommunication payload project approved by the R.O.C. NSPO's ROCSAT-1 space program. This project will enable several innovative experiments via the low-earth-orbit satellite ROCSAT-1, including multipath fading channel characterization, ionospheric scintillation measurement, real-time voice communications, and CDMA data communications. A unified L/S-band transponder payload is proposed for conducting these experiments in an efficient way. The results of these experiments would provide the evolving mobile communication communities with fruitful information
Negative correlation between terminal velocity and VHF radar reflectivity: observation and plausible explanation
Resolving the nature of the Rosette HH1 jet facing strong UV dissipation
The Rosette HH1 jet is a collimated flow immersed in the strong UV radiation
field of the Rosette Nebula. We investigate the physical properties of the
Rosette HH1 jet using high-quality narrow-band images and high-dispersion
spectroscopy. The new images show that the axis of the jet is not precisely
aligned with the star near the base of the jet. The high resolution of the
spectra allows us to accurately determine the contributions from the \ion{H}{2}
region, jet, and star. The appoaching and receding sides of the expanding shell
of the Rosette Nebula are at heliocentric velocities of 13 and 40 km s,
while the jet reaches a maximum velocity offset at a heliocentric velocity of
30 km s. The [\ion{S}{2}] doublet ratios indicate an electron density
of 1000 cm in the jet and 100 cm in the \ion{H}{2}
region. With a careful subtraction of the nebular and jet components, we find
the stellar H line is dominated by a broad absorption profile with
little or no emission component, indicating a lack of substantial circumstellar
material. The circumstellar material has most likely been photo-evaporated by
the strong UV radiation field in the Rosette Nebula. The evaporation time scale
is 10 -- 10 yr. The Rosette HH1 jet source provides evidence for an
accelerated evolution from a CTTS to a WTTS due to the strong UV radiation
field; therefore, both CTTSs and WTTSs can be spatially mixed in regions with
massive star formation.Comment: 8 figure
Inhibition of miR-146a-5p and miR-8114 in Insulin- Secreting Cells Contributes to the Protection of Melatonin against Stearic Acid-Induced Cellular Senescence by Targeting Mafa.
Chronic exposure to elevated levels of saturated fatty acids results in pancreatic β-cell senescence. However, targets and effective agents for preventing stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence are still lacking. Although melatonin administration can protect β-cells against lipotoxicity through anti-senescence processes, the precise underlying mechanisms still need to be explored. Therefore, we investigated the anti-senescence effect of melatonin on stearic acid-treated mouse β-cells and elucidated the possible role of microRNAs in this process.
β-Cell senescence was identified by measuring the expression of senescence-related genes and senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches were used to investigate the involvement of microRNAs in stearic acid-evoked β-cell senescence and dysfunction. Bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter activity assays were applied to predict the direct targets of microRNAs.
Long-term exposure to a high concentration of stearic acid-induced senescence and upregulated miR-146a-5p and miR- 8114 expression in both mouse islets and β-TC6 cell lines. Melatonin effectively suppressed this process and reduced the levels of these two miRNAs. A remarkable reversibility of stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence and dysfunction was observed after silencing miR-146a-5p and miR-8114. Moreover, V-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog A (Mafa) was verified as a direct target of miR-146a-5p and miR-8114. Melatonin also significantly ameliorated senescence and dysfunction in miR-146a-5pand miR-8114-transfected β-cells.
These data demonstrate that melatonin protects against stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence by inhibiting miR-146a- 5p and miR-8114 and upregulating Mafa expression. This not only provides novel targets for preventing stearic acid-induced β-cell dysfunction, but also points to melatonin as a promising drug to combat type 2 diabetes progression
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