Public Perceptions and Actions towards Sustainable Groundwater Management in the Pacific Northwest Region,USA

A 50-question survey was developed by the land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest to document public awareness, aptitudes, attitudes and actions toward water issues in the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, USA. Demographic data were also collected about the survey respondents. The statistically designed survey was completed by over 50% of the 1800 residents who were solicited for the study. The public consider clean groundwater a high priority issue. Survey respondents currently consider groundwater quality to be good; however, most people are unaware of groundwater quantity issues. In the last 5 years, a majority of survey respondents have taken voluntary actions both to protect groundwater quality and to conserve the use of this resource. People want the government to focus more attention on groundwater issues; however, they are unwilling to pay increased taxes to achieve this end. Based on this survey, the land grant universities need to increase groundwater education programmes for the public using television, radio, newspapers and the Internet rather than by the traditional workshop delivery methods.     

Software design: concept generation as part of formal and informalprocesses

This paper examines the relationship between formal product development management tools and actual business processes in a world class company, NCR, Dundee, Scotland, UK, whose manufactured products include significant associated computer software written and designed in-house. After providing some background to the company and the research project which has led to this paper, a detailed case study of the software design and development processes in NCR is presented. This is contrasted with the formal management approach NCR is endeavoring to follow. The authors identify some key inconsistencies between the two processes and consider the implications for improving the management of the concept generation process     

Doppler spectrum analysis versus direct femoral artery pressure measurement for rapid assessment of aortoiliac obstruction

Adequate patient selection is required to limit the clinical workload and improve the cost-effectiveness of noninvasive hemodynamic evaluation of the aortoiliac system. In a prospective blinded fashion the traditional invasive technique of direct femoral artery pressure measurements and the computerized Doppler spectrum analysis of blood flow velocities in the common femoral artery were studied. Both tests for rapid assessment of aortoiliac obstruction were compared with duplex ultrasonographic imaging, using a peak systolic velocity ratio of 2.5 to demonstrate stenoses of 50% or more. In a series of 17 consecutive patients (34 aortoiliac segments) with suspected aortoiliac obstructive disease, a good level of agreement (kappa = 0.6) was found for both methods when compared with duplex scanning. Analysis of deviations from the duplex registrations indicated an overestimation of the pathologic cases using femoral artery pressure measurements and an underestimation using Doppler spectrum analysis of blood flow velocities in the common femoral artery. Both methods were well tolerated, but femoral artery pressure measurements had a higher technical failure rate. Because of its noninvasive character and its feasibility the Doppler technique is preferred for the selection of patients for more extensive duplex sonographic investigation.     

Separation of inhibition and activation of the allosteric yeast chorismate mutase

Yeast chorismate mutase (EC 5.4.99.5) shows homotropic activation by the substrate, allosteric activation by tryptophan, and allosteric inhibition by tyrosine. In this study mutants of chorismate mutase have been found that remain sensitive to one allosteric effector (tryptophan) but insensitive to the other (tyrosine). These mutations are located in the catalytic domain: loop 220s (212-226) and helix 12 (227-251). The first example starts with the Thr-266 --> Ile mutant that had previously been shown to be locked in the activated R state. The additional mutation Ile-225 --> Thr unlocks the R state and restores the activation by tryptophan but not the inhibition by tyrosine. The second example refers to a molecular trigger for the switch between the T and R state: a hydrogen-bonded system, which stabilizes only the T state, from Tyr-234 to Glu-23 to Arg-157. Various mutants of Tyr-234, especially Tyr-234 --> Phe, are unresponsive to tyrosine but are activated by tryptophan. This separation of activation from inhibition may indicate a pathway for activation that is independent of the allosteric transition and may also be consistent with an intermediate structure between T and R states.     

Prefrontal involvement in "temporal bridging" and timing movement

Brain activity exclusively related to a temporal delay has rarely been investigated using modern brain imaging. In this study we exploited the temporal resolution of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterise, by sinusoidal regression analysis, differential neuroactivation patterns induced in healthy subjects by two sensorimotor synchronization tasks different in their premovement delay of either 0.6 s or 5 s. The short event rate condition required rhythmic tapping, while the long event rate condition required timing of intermittent movements. Left rostral prefrontal cortex, medial frontal cortex, SMA and supramarginal gyrus demonstrated increased MR signal intensity during low frequency synchronization, suggesting that these brain regions form a distributed neural network for cognitive time management processes, such as time estimation and motor output timing. Medial frontal cortex showed a biphasic pattern of response during both synchronization conditions, presumably reflecting frequency-independent motor output related attention. As predicted, sensorimotor and visual association areas demonstrated increased MR signal intensity during high frequency synchronization.     

Electrical and optical properties of the four-terminaldouble-heterostructure opto-electronic switch

The authors extend the theory of the three-terminal double-heterostructure opto-electronic switch (DOES) device, in which the third terminal (the injector) makes contact to the bulk section of the active region, to the four-terminal DOES, in which the fourth terminal (the source) accesses the inversion channel at the n-n heterojunction. The source is shown to be capable of initiating switching at lower current densities than the injector. The effects of incident light on the device are also examined, yielding results similar to the injection of carriers at the source and injector. Incomplete ionization of the charge sheet and two-dimensional quantum effects in the channel, which have been neglected in previous DOES models, have been included. These effects are shown to affect significantly the characteristics of the device and to reduce the discrepancy between simulated and experimental results     

Development and differentiation of the anuran auditory brainstem during metamorphosis: an acetylcholinesterase histochemical study

The time course of cell differentiation and the presence of histochemically defined areas in brainstem auditory nuclei were examined in developing bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana, using cresyl violet staining and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry. In the medulla, the dorsolateral nucleus (DLN) can be seen as a distinct structure in its adult location only at Gosner stage 40 and beyond. The majority of cells in the DLN are not fully differentiated until late metamorphic climax (stages 45-46) and early postmetamorphosis. The more ventral vestibular nucleus differentiates earlier (stage 37) than the DLN. Adult-like organization of auditory nuclei in the torus semicircularis (TS) of the midbrain cannot be reliably discerned until metamorphic climax stages. Cellular masses in the brainstem reveal AChE from the earliest stage examined (stage 27) but the intensity of staining differs among cell groups. Staining intensity in the DLN is at a peak in recently metamorphosed froglets. The time course of cell differentiation in the DLN precedes slightly or is coincident with the increased, transient presence of AChE. Staining of the superior olive stabilizes at a moderate level in early postmetamorphic stages. Ventral regions of the principal nucleus in the TS stain more intensely than dorsal regions beginning at stage 40. This dorsal-ventral gradient in staining persists in adult stages. There is a transient decline in staining of the laminar nucleus in metamorphic climax stages. Staining intensity in the magnocellular nucleus peaks during stages 40-46 and in early postmetamorphic froglets and then declines in adults, paralleling the pattern seen in the DLN. These data suggest that metamorphic climax and early froglet periods are an important developmental window for major differentiation and maturational events in the auditory brainstem.     

Ca-ATPase and bone cell mineralization

The plasma membrane Ca-ATPases play an important role in the regulation of intracellular Ca2+ ion concentration by pumping Ca2+ out of the cell into the extracellular fluid at the expense of ATP. These pumps potentially play an important role in the delivery of Ca2+ during mineralization of hard tissues such as bone. The properties of the plasma membrane Ca2+ pump are compared with those of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum and the factors regulating pump function are presented. The different gene products for the plasma membrane Ca-ATPases are described as well as their known functional significance. Particular attention is paid on the plasma membrane Ca2+ pumps present in mineralizing tissues and evidence supporting a role for these pumps in the transcellular delivery of Ca2+ during the process of mineralization is also presented.     

Relative stability of a minimal CTG repeat expansion in a large kindred with myotonic dystrophy

The genetic basis for myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a CTG trinucleotide repeat expansion. The number of CTG repeats commonly increases in affected individuals of successive generations, in association with anticipation. We identified a large DM family in which multiple members had minimal CTG repeat expansions, and in which the number of CTG repeats remained in the minimally expanded range through at least three, and possibly four, generations. This relative stability of minimal CTG repeat expansions may help to maintain the DM mutation in the population.