2,647 research outputs found
Southern California partyboat sampling study Quarterly Report no. 8
Between April 1 and June 30, 1977, 125 trips were
sampled aboard southern California partyboats by Department
personnel. A total of 14,842 fishes belonging to 72 species was identified and measured. Otoliths were
removed from 134 rockfish carcasses representing 20
species for age deterination studies.
The 10 most common species sampled during the quarter
accounted for 76.9% of the catch. Individually, the most
common were Pacific mackerel, Scomber japonicus (16.9%);
kelp bass, Paralabrax clathratus (14.5%); bocaccio, Sebastes paucispinis (11.4%); Pacific bonito, Sarda chiliensis (10.3%); barred sand bass, Paralabrax nebulifer (5.6%); olive rockfish, Sebastes serranoides (5.3%); chilipepper, S. goodei (4.0%); California barracuda, Sphyraena argentea (2.9%); and ocean whitefish, Caulolatilus princeps (2.8%).
Fishing effort switched from "rockcod" to surface
activity as it did during the second quarter of 1976 (26pp.
Enhancement of the ferromagnetic order of graphite after sulphuric acid treatment
We have studied the changes in the ferromagnetic behavior of graphite powder
and graphite flakes after treatment with diluted sulphuric acid. We show that
this kind of acid treatment enhances substantially the ferromagnetic
magnetization of virgin graphite micrometer size powder as well as in graphite
flakes. The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) amplitude at 300 K measured in
a micrometer size thin graphite flake after acid treatment reaches values
comparable to polycrystalline cobalt.Comment: 3.2 pages, 4 figure
How a spin-glass remembers. Memory and rejuvenation from intermittency data: an analysis of temperature shifts
The memory and rejuvenation aspects of intermittent heat transport are
explored theoretically and by numerical simulation for Ising spin glasses with
short-ranged interactions. The theoretical part develops a picture of
non-equilibrium glassy dynamics recently introduced by the authors. Invoking
the concept of marginal stability, this theory links irreversible
`intermittent' events, or `quakes' to thermal fluctuations of record magnitude.
The pivotal idea is that the largest energy barrier surmounted prior
to by thermal fluctuations at temperature determines the rate of the intermittent events occurring near . The idea leads
to a rate of intermittent events after a negative temperature shift given by
, where the `effective age' has
an algebraic dependence on , whose exponent contains the temperatures
before and after the shift. The analytical expression is verified by numerical
simulations. Marginal stability suggests that a positive temperature shift could erase the memory of the barrier . The simulations show
that the barrier controls the intermittent dynamics,
whose rate is hence .
Additional `rejuvenation' effects are also identified in the intermittency
data for shifts of both signs.Comment: Revised introduction and discussion. Final version to appear in
Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experimen
Legal issues in clouds: towards a risk inventory.
Cloud computing technologies have reached a high level of development, yet a number of obstacles still exist that must be overcome before widespread commercial adoption can become a reality. In a cloud environment, end users requesting services and cloud providers negotiate service-level agreements (SLAs) that provide explicit statements of all expectations and obligations of the participants. If cloud computing is to experience widespread commercial adoption, then incorporating risk assessment techniques is essential during SLA negotiation and service operation. This article focuses on the legal issues surrounding risk assessment in cloud computing. Specifically, it analyses risk regarding data protection and security, and presents the requirements of an inherent risk inventory. The usefulness of such a risk inventory is described in the context of the OPTIMIS project
Volumetric evaluation of CT images of adrenal glands in primary aldosteronism
Objectives: To investigate whether adrenal volumetry provides better agreement with adrenal vein sampling (AVS) than conventional CT for subtyping PA. Furthermore, we evaluated whether the size of this contralateral adrenal was a prognostic factor for clinical outcome after unilateral adrenalectomy.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed volumes of both adrenal glands of the 180 CT-scans (88/180 with unilateral and 92/180 with bilateral disease) of the patients with PA included in the SPARTACUS trial of which 85 also had undergone an AVS. In addition, we examined CT-scans of 20 healthy individuals to compare adrenal volumes with published normal values.Results: Adrenal volume was higher for the left than the right adrenal (mean and SD: 6.49 ± 2.77 ml versus 5.25 ± 1.87 ml for the right adrenal; p < 0.001). Concordance between volumetry and AVS in subtyping was 58.8%, versus 51.8% between conventional CT results and AVS (p = NS). The volumes of the contralateral adrenals in the patients with unilateral disease (right 4.78 ± 1.37 ml; left 6.00 ± 2.73 ml) were higher than those of healthy controls reported in the literature (right 3.62 ± 1.23 ml p < 0.001; left 4.84 ± 1.67 ml p = 0.02). In a multivariable analysis the contralateral volume was not associated with biochemical or clinical success, nor with the defined daily doses of antihypertensive agents at 1 year follow-up.Conclusions: Volumetry of the adrenal glands is not superior to current assessment of adrenal size by CT for subtyping patients with PA. Furthermore, in patients with unilateral disease the size of the contralateral adrenal is enlarged but its size is not associated with outcome.</p
Evaluation of a New Balloon Catheter for Difficult Calcified Lesions in Infrainguinal Arterial Disease: Outcome of a Multicenter Registry
The purpose of this study was to assess the technical performance and immediate procedure outcome of a new balloon catheter in the treatment of calcified lesions in infrainguinal arterial disease. Seventy-five patients with infrainguinal arterial disease were prospectively entered into the registry. The catheter (ReeKross Clearstream, Ireland) is a 5- to 6-Fr balloon catheter with a rigid shaft intended for enhanced pushability. Only technical procedural outcome was recorded. Treated calcified lesions (range: 5–30 cm), assessed angiographically, were located in the superficial femoral, popliteal, and crural arteries. In 67 patients the lesion was an occlusion. Guidewire passage occurred subintimally in 68 patients. In 24 patients a standard balloon catheter was chosen as first treatment catheter: 5 failed to cross the lesion, 8 balloons ruptured, and in 11 patients there was an inadequate dilatation result. In only one of the five patients did subsequent use of the ReeKross catheter also fail in lesion crossing. The ReeKross was successful as secondary catheter in the other 23 cases. In 50 patients the ReeKross was used as primary catheter. In total the ReeKross crossed the lesions in 74 patients. After passage and dilatation with this catheter in 73 patients (1 failed true-lumen reentry), 19 had >30% residual lesions, of which 11 were not treated and 8 were successfully stented. No ReeKross balloons ruptured. We conclude that in the treatment of difficult calcified lesions in arterial stenotic or occlusive disease, the choice of a high-pushability angioplasty catheter, with more calcification-resistant balloon characteristics, like the ReeKross, warrants consideration
The Objectives of Stakeholder Involvement in Transdisciplinary Research. A Conceptual Framework for a Reflective and Reflexive Practise
Transdisciplinary research is a well-recognised approach to address complex real-world problems. However, the
literature on a central aspect of transdisciplinarity, namely stakeholder involvement, largely lacks a reflection on its objectives. In response, we present a framework defining four general rationales for stakeholder involvement: normative, substantive, social-learning, and implementation objectives. We demonstrate the applicability of the framework and analyse how the design and processes of three collaborative research projects dealing with
sustainable land management in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America were affected by motivations
to include stakeholders. Our assessment indicates that at the projects' outset, many scientists pursued a normative rationale and saw stakeholder involvement as a burden. In the course of the projects, the substantive objective became more relevant as being closely linked to the core mandate of scientists. The projects also aimed for social learning and implementation processes, which, however, did not remain uncontested among team members. Overall, our
study indicates that jointly negotiating, clarifying, communicating, and reflecting the underlying objectives of
stakeholder involvement can help developing more effective interaction strategies and clarifying expectations.
The conceptual framework can guide a systematic reflective and reflexive practise and support the planning and
co-designing of future transdisciplinary research projects
(Bio-)chemische und physikalische Sensoren auf der Basis eines einzigen Transducerprinzips
Die wichtigste Einheit von modernen Mikroanalysesystemen, wie µTAS (Micro Total Analysis System), „Labor auf einem Chip“, elektronische Zunge, usw. ist die Detektoreinheit. Diese Detektoreinheit besteht in der Regel aus unterschiedlichen (bio-)chemischen und physikalischen Sensoren sowohl für die Kontrolle der (bio-)chemischen und physikalischen Kenngrößen in Flüßigkeiten als auch für die Minimierung oder für die Kompensierung des Einflußes von Störgrößen. Üblicherweise unterscheiden sich die Strukturen bzw. die sensitiven Schichten und Transducersprinzipen der (bio-)chemischen Sensoren von denen, die für physikalische Sensoren anwendbar sind. Deshalb ist die kommerzielle Realisierung solcher Multisensorsysteme häufig problematisch aufgrund der komplizierten Technologie bzw. der höheren Produktionskosten.
In diesem Beitrag stellen wir ein neues Konzept für ein multifunktionales hybrides Sensormodul unter dem Einsatz eines einzigen Transducersprinzips auf der Basis der Feldeffektstruktur, sowohl für (bio-)chemische als auch physikalische Sensoren vor.
Das entwickelte Sensormodul wird für die Messung von zwei (bio-)chemischen Kenngrößen (pH, Penicillinkonzentration) und drei physikalischen Kenngrößen (Temperatur, Flußgeschwindigkeit bzw. Flußrichtung) unter dem Einsatz von lediglich zwei Sensorstrukturen, einem Ionengenerator und einer Referenzelektrode realisiert und deren Eigenschaften untersucht. Ein pH-sensitiver ISFET (Ionensensitiver Feldeffekttransistor) auf der Basis von Ta2O5 wird als Transducer eingesetzt. Details der experimentellen Ergebnisse, insbesondere Messungen in biologischen Flüssigkeiten, wie im humanen Blut bzw. Urin, werden demonstriert. Perspektiven des neuen Konzepts- „(Bio-)chemische und physikalische Sensoren auf der Basis eines einzigen Transducersprinzips“ werden diskutiert
The nucleotide and partial amino acid sequences of rat fetuin
Fetuins are among the major plasma proteins, yet their biological role has remained elusive. Here we report the molecular cloning of rat fetuin and the sequence analysis of a full-length clone, RF619 of 1456 bp with an open reading frame of 1056 bp encoding 352 amino acid residues. The coding part of RF619 was identical with the cDNA sequence of the natural inhibitor of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase from rat (pp63) except for four substitutions and a single base insertion causing divergence of the predicted protein sequences. Partial amino acid sequences of rat plasma fetuin were in agreement with the predictions based on the RF619 cDNA. Purified rat fetuin inhibited the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase in vitro. Therefore, we conclude that RF619 and pp63 cDNA encode the same protein, i.e. authentic rat fetuin which is a functional tyrosine kinase inhibitor
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