Correlations, partitioning and bioaccumulation of heavy metals between different compartments of Lake Balaton

Correlations between trace metals in dissolved and particulate phases, zooplankton, mussels and sediments in Lake Balaton were investigated. The degree of correlation between the various metals was different in each of the investigated compartments. Particulate metal concentrations (microg g(-1)) were anti-correlated with suspended particulate matter (SPM) (mg l(-1)), indicating a dilution effect, while total metal concentrations in the water column (microg l(-1)) were highly correlated with SPM, implying a major influence of the turbidity on the total metal concentrations. Between compartments, not many significant correlations were recognized. Only Ba, Ca, Sr and Mg are correlated in the sediments and in the particulate phase, suggesting common sources for both compartments. Partitioning coefficients (Kd) of trace metals between dissolved and particulate phases are generally low, typical for natural water and fairly stable over the lake. Most of the trace metals (Zn, Co, Cd and Pb) exist in the particulate phase (for about 70% of the total metal load). Cu and Ni are exceptions, showing a more equal distribution. Bioconcentration factors (BCF) of zooplankton and mussels were comparable to those of other natural waters. A negative biomagnification from suspended particulate matter to zooplankton and from sediment to mussel was recognized for all trace metals, except a small enrichment of Zn in zooplankton and Cd in mussel. Four factors were recognized in SPM and in sediments but they did not contain the same group of metals. Cluster analysis showed that metal accumulations in the sediments were different between northern and southern shores and in SPM between western and eastern areas.     

eTuner: tuning schema matching software using synthetic scenarios

Most recent schema matching systems assemble multiple components, each employing a particular matching technique. The domain user mustthen tune the system: select the right component to be executed and correctly adjust their numerous “knobs” (e.g., thresholds, formula coefficients). Tuning is skill and time intensive, but (as we show) without it the matching accuracy is significantly inferior. We describe eTuner, an approach to automatically tune schema matching systems. Given a schema S, we match S against synthetic schemas, for which the ground truth mapping is known, and find a tuning that demonstrably improves the performance of matching S against real schemas. To efficiently search the huge space of tuning configurations, eTuner works sequentially, starting with tuning the lowest level components. To increase the applicability of eTuner, we develop methods to tune a broad range of matching components. While the tuning process is completely automatic, eTuner can also exploit user assistance (whenever available) to further improve the tuning quality. We employed eTuner to tune four recently developed matching systems on several real-world domains. The results show that eTuner produced tuned matching systems that achieve higher accuracy than using the systems with currently possible tuning methods.     

Maximum Likelihood (ML) Symbol Timing Recovery (STR) Techniques for Reconfigurable PAM and QAM Modems

A fast symbol timing recovery (STR) scheme suitable for flexible-symbol-rate, burst-mode M-ary QAM (M-QAM) and PAM (M-PAM) demodulators used in broadband communications is proposed. The maximum- likelihood (ML) estimation is used to derive a feed-forward STR strategy to achieve fast and accurate derivation of the optimum timing instant with a very short training preamble for applications requiring short packet transmission. In addition, the signal sample at the optimum timing instant is reproduced by interpolation. Analysis to derive the ML-based timing estimation algorithm and STR structure is presented. Analytical models are developed to evaluate the effects of imperfect interpolation and channel additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) on the timing estimation performance. The derived expressions can be used for optimum interpolation filter design and selection of key parameters to achieve the required mean squared timing error. Simulation results are in good agreement with the analytical prediction.     

Microbiology of potatoes and potato products: a review

Many types of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms exist on fresh, minimally processed, and fully processed potato products. Potatoes are processed into many products including frozen, dried, ready-to-eat, and minimally processed. The microbiological quality of finished potato products is influenced by the natural microflora, processing, handling, and human contact. The natural microflora of potatoes are influenced by soil and airborne inocula, agricultural practices, harvesting methods, and storage conditions. The microflora of processed products are influenced by all of the factors and conditions affecting the natural microflora as well as the processes applied to the product. Increased consumer demand for new and existing potato products highlights the importance of ensuring their microbiological safety. This review considers the sources of microorganisms, microflora, foodborne disease pathogens, and outbreaks associated with, and selected microbiological research involving, potatoes and potato products.     

Cotherapy behavior, group therapy process, and treatment outcome.

Six outpatient psychotherapy groups were studied over a 5-mo period. A process analysis system was used to classify co-therapy teams along 2 dimensions, consistency–inconsistency and similarity–dissimilarity. The classification was based on the degree to which co-therapists' interventions focused on individual patients, pairs of patients, the group as a whole, or nonperson discussion topics. Types and amounts of therapeutic work were also determined for the 45 patients and 12 co-therapists. Treatment outcome was assessed by structured interviews and questionnaires. Patients from consistent co-therapy teams (vs inconsistent teams) produced significantly higher levels of documented work and reported significantly better improvement for 2 outcome scores (social shyness/inhibition and psychosomatic problems). Patients from dissimilar co-therapy teams (vs similar teams) produced significantly higher levels of undocumented work and reported significantly better improvement for 1 outcome score (interpersonal functioning). Explanations concerning competition between co-therapists and the effects of patients' levels of work on co-therapists' behavior are discussed. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal Undernutrition Modulates Neonatal Rat Cerebrovascular Structure,Function, and Vulnerability to Mild Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury via Corticosteroid-Dependent and -Independent Mechanisms

The present study explored the hypothesis that an adverse intrauterine environment caused by maternal undernutrition (MUN) acted through corticosteroid-dependent and -independent mechanisms to program lasting functional changes in the neonatal cerebrovasculature and vulnerability to mild hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury. From day 10 of gestation until term, MUN and MUN-metyrapone (MUN-MET) group rats consumed a diet restricted to 50% of calories consumed by a pair-fed control; and on gestational day 11 through term, MUN-MET groups received drinking water containing MET (0.5 mg/mL), a corticosteroid synthesis inhibitor. P9/P10 pups underwent unilateral carotid ligation followed 24 h later by 1.5 h exposure to 8% oxygen (HI treatment). An ELISA quantified MUN-, MET-, and HI-induced changes in circulating levels of corticosterone. In P11/P12 pups, MUN programming promoted contractile differentiation in cerebrovascular smooth muscle as determined by confocal microscopy, modulated calcium-dependent contractility as revealed by cerebral artery myography, enhanced vasogenic edema formation as indicated by T2 MRI, and worsened neurobehavior MUN unmasked HI-induced improvements in open-field locomotion and in edema resolution, alterations in calcium-dependent contractility and promotion of contractile differentiation. Overall, MUN imposed multiple interdependent effects on cerebrovascular smooth muscle differentiation, contractility, edema formation, flow-metabolism coupling and neurobehavior through pathways that both required, and were independent of, gestational corticosteroids. In light of growing global patterns of food insecurity, the present study emphasizes that infants born from undernourished mothers may experience greater risk for developing neonatal cerebral edema and sensorimotor impairments possibly through programmed changes in neonatal cerebrovascular function.     

Influence of strain rate and crystallographic orientation on dynamic recrystallization of pure Zn during room-temperature compression

This work investigates the strain rate dependence of dynamic recrystallization behaviour of high-purity zinc in room temperature compression under strain rates of 10-4 s-1,10-2 s-1 and 0.5 s-1.Results from electron backscatter diffraction provide insight into the deformation and dynamic recrystallization mech-anisms operative.Continuous dynamic recrystallization,twin-induced dynamic recrystallization,and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization are all active under compressive deformation at room temper-ature.Due to the high stacking fault energy of Zn,continuous dynamic recrystallization is the dominant mechanism while discontinuous dynamic recrystallization only operates in the early stages of compres-sion at 10-4 S-1.Dynamic recrystallization kinetics are enhanced at higher strain rates(10-2 s-1 and 0.5 s-1)due to an increased contribution from twin-induced dynamic recrystallization.The present study reveals that the controlling mechanisms for continuous dynamic recrystallization are basalslip and 2nd order pyramidalslip activity.Because the activation of slip systems is mainly deter-mined by crystallographic orientation,continuous dynamic recrystallization behaviour varies with grain orientation according to their propensity for basal and 2nd order pyramidal slip.     

Scattering effect of SiO2 particles on correlated color temperature uniformity of multi-chip white light LEDs

This study proposes the addition of SiO₂ scattering particles into the phosphor layer of a multi-chip white light LED (MCW-LED) for enhancing its performance. It is demonstrated by computer simulations that SiO₂ particles can bring significant effects on the correlated color temperature (CCT) uniformity and luminous flux. Through the simulation experiments, it was found that the MCW-LED with hybrid SiO₂ structure with SiO₂ particle size around 1 μm can achieve higher color uniformity than other package structures. We investigated the influence of SiO₂ (quartz) concentration on the CCT and the output flux of the MCW-LED with CCTs 7000, 7700, and 8500 K, respectively. Compared to an LED package without SiO₂, SiO₂ packages can shrink the CCT deviation about 48%. In this study, it was demonstrated that the inclusion of about 5–10% SiO₂ can produce an MCW-LED with higher CCT uniformity and optimal lumen output.