Inheritance of spatial learning ability in inbred mice: A classical genetic analysis.

The inheritance of spatial learning ability in inbred mice was examined by performance of a classical genetic cross between the 2 inbred strains C57BL/6Ibg and DBA/2Ibg. The inbreds were crossed to produce the 1st filial generation (F?) hybrids. F? mice were bred to each other and were backcrossed to the parental strains to produce 3 hybrid generations with recombinant genotypes. The animals were tested for spatial learning ability in the Morris water task. All hybrid generations showed greater spatial learning ability than the inbreds, with F? hybrids showing the greatest degree of spatial learning. The inheritance pattern for spatial learning differed between male and female mice, with males showing a type of inheritance in which dominant genes made the major contribution to the expression of the behavior. Females showed equal contributions of dominance deviation and additive genetic effects. The results are discussed in terms of fitness value to the animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimization of a self-aligned titanium silicide process forsubmicron technology

The optimization of a manufacturable self-aligned titanium silicide process is described. In particular, the integrity of the TiSi ₂ layer has been studied versus the BPSG reflow conditions. Excellent contact resistance and very low leakage currents have been obtained. The good device parameters obtained with an n⁺ or n ⁺/p⁺ gate have demonstrated that the self-aligned process can be integrated in a 0.8-μm double-metal CMOS process     

Nickel release from inexpensive jewelry and hair clasps purchased in an EU country — Are consumers sufficiently protected from nickel exposure?

Background

Nickel allergic subjects are at risk factor of acquiring hand eczema. In 1990 and 1994, respectively, Denmark and member states in the EU regulated nickel release from selected consumer products. The intention was that the nickel epidemic could be controlled and prevented if the general population was protected from high cutaneous nickel concentrations. Despite a decrease, the prevalence of nickel allergy remains high as nearly 10% of young women are nickel allergic.

Objective

This study aimed to perform dimethylglyoxime (DMG) testing of inexpensive jewelry and hair clasps purchased from random stores in Copenhagen, Denmark to detect the proportion of items that may result in nickel allergy.

Methods

Inexpensive jewelry and hair clasps were purchased from 36 stores and street vendors in Copenhagen and were later tested for nickel release using the DMG test.

Results

The study showed that 19.3% hair clasps, 14.8% earrings, and 12.9% necklaces intended for adult women released an excessive amount of nickel. Of 25 stores visited, 36.0% sold DMG positive jewelry. For items designed for children, excessive nickel release was identified in hair clasps (79.4%) and in finger rings (20%). Four (50.0%) of 8 children clothing stores sold jewelry that released too much nickel.

Discussion

Excessive nickel release has been regulated since 1990 in Denmark. However, 1/5 of purchased items released nickel in concentrations that may lead to nickel allergy. Especially hair clasps intended for children released an excessive amount of nickel.     

(210)Po and (210)Pb in the tissues of the deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus from the Menez Gwen field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge)

The hydrothermal deep-sea vent fauna is naturally exposed to a highly specific environment enriched in potentially toxic species such as sulfides, metals and natural radionuclides due to the convective seawater circulation inside the oceanic crust and its interaction with basaltic or ultramafic host rocks. However, data on radionuclides in biota from such environment are very limited. An investigation was carried out on tissue partitioning of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb, two natural radionuclides within the ²³⁸U decay chain, in Bathymodiolus azoricus specimens from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Menez Gwen field). These two elements showed different distributions with high ²¹⁰Pb levels in gills and high ²¹⁰Po levels in both gills and especially in the remaining parts of the body tissue (including the digestive gland). Various factors that may explain such partitioning are discussed. However, ²¹⁰Po levels encountered in B. azoricus were not exceptionally high, leading to weighted internal dose rate in the range 3 to 4 μGy h^− 1. These levels are slightly higher than levels characterizing coastal mussels (~ 1 μGy h^− 1).     

Bayesian model for flow-class dependent distributions of fecal-indicator bacterial concentration in surface waters

A Bayesian statistical water quality model is demonstrated to predict fecal-indicator bacterial concentrations for waterbodies without sufficient monitoring data for data-intensive modeling techniques. Using a truncated bivariate normal likelihood function and the readily available observations of flow and bacterial concentration, the Bayesian approach propagates the uncertainty in the model parameterization to the final predictions of in-stream bacterial concentration. The proposed model captures the variation in the magnitude of bacterial loading between dry and wet conditions by estimating separate sets of model parameters for different flow conditions, but also has the capability to pool the data among flow conditions. The model can be used in two ways: first, the model specifies the percent of time that the recreational season in-stream concentration is not in compliance with the relevant water quality standard, and second, the model estimates the necessary bacterial load reduction for multiple flow conditions to meet the relevant water quality standard. Using an eleven year monitoring record for a site sampled at a monthly frequency on the Youghiogheny River in southwestern Pennsylvania, USA, the model parameters are updated and posterior predictions are generated for each 2-year increment. After six years of sampling, the predicted percent of time that the recreational season in-stream bacterial concentration is not in compliance with the relevant water quality is 82% with 95% CI(80,85), and the bacterial load reductions required to meet the standard are 14.7 CI(14.6,14.8), 14.5 CI(14.3, 14.6), and 14.0 CI(13.9, 14.2) log₁₀(cfu/day) for the high, normal, and dry flow conditions, respectively. The change in estimated load reduction and percent exceedance resulting from additional monitoring for this site becomes small after six years of sampling, indicating that a decision does not need to be postponed for additional monitoring.     

Error-resilient decoding of context-based adaptive binary arithmetic codes

This paper addresses the problem of error-resilient decoding of bitstreams produced by the CABAC (context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding) algorithm used in the H.264 video coding standard. The paper describes a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation algorithm improving the CABAC decoding performances in the presence of transmission errors. Methods improving the re-synchronization and error detection capabilities of the decoder are then described. A variant of the CABAC algorithm supporting error detection based on a forbidden interval is presented. The performances of the decoding algorithm are first assessed with theoretical sources and by considering different binarization codes. They are compared against those obtained with Exp-Golomb codes and with a transmission chain making use of an error-correcting code. The approach has been integrated in an H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video coder and decoder. The PSNR gains obtained are discussed.