Fasciola hepatica development in the experimentally infected black rat Rattus rattus

Coat colour changes in polar animals are related to seasonal variation in photic inputs. The present work was performed to study the photoresponses of hair follicular melanocytes in human skin. The melanocytes, being photosensitive cells, can function as UV biosensors, since dendrites extend towards the source of UV light. Fifty-one skin biopsies from the margin of vitiligo were subjected to whole skin organ cultures. These were exposed to a pulse of UV light to study hair bulb melanocytes in vitiligo. It is observed that the melanocytes are seen within the anagen matrix. These melanocytes are poorly dendritic in control and dark-incubated cultures. On UV exposure, they become highly dendritic, the dendrites extending towards the hair shaft in 93.5%. They show prominent catechol oxidase and noradrenaline positivity, all features of UV responsiveness. The melanocytes within the hair follicle are not directly exposed to UV light. The melanocyte dendricity and the alignment of dendrites towards the shaft on UV exposure indicate that the columns of the cells in the hair shaft act as an efficient fibre-optic system, transmitting UV light. Morphologically, the keratinocytes in the hair shaft are arranged in compressed linear columns which resemble the coaxial bundles of commercial fibre-optic strands as is observed in plants. Keratinocytes in the inner and outer sheaths do not show this arrangement. Thus the hair follicle functions as a specialised UV receptor in the skin responding to nuances of photic inputs in human skin. This is reflected in coat colour changes in animals exposed to large variations in day-night cycles.     

The politics of conservative elites and the 'liberal media' argument

Recent evidence suggests that conservative elites' claims of a liberal media are having an impact upon public perceptions of news coverage. With this in mind, we examined two related questions in the context of the 1988, 1992, and 1996 presidential elections. First, what factors may be prompting conservative elites to make allegations of liberal media bias? Second, what factors may influence when news media report these criticisms during presidential campaigns? Findings suggest that these criticisms of news media are at least partly strategic and reflect a dynamic relationship between political elites and journalists during a presidential campaign.     

An effective back‐off selection technique for reliable beacon reception in VANETs

In safety‐critical scenarios, reliable reception of beacons transmitted by a subject vehicle is critical to avoid vehicle collision. According to the employed contention window sizes in IEEE 802.11p, beacons are transmitted with a small contention window size. As a result, multiple vehicles contend for the shared channel access by selecting the same back‐off slot. This is a perfect recipe for synchronous collisions wherein reliable beacon delivery cannot be guaranteed for any vehicle. We consider the problem of selecting the back‐off slots from the current contention window to provide reliable delivery of beacons transmitted by a subject vehicle to its neighbors. Given a safety scenario, we propose a Pseudo‐Random Number Generator (PRNG)‐inspired back‐off selection (PBS) technique. The proposed technique works on the hypothesis that synchronous collisions of beacons transmitted by a subject vehicle can be reduced if all its neighbors select different back‐off slots (ie, not the back‐off slot selected by the subject vehicle). The discrete‐event simulations demonstrate that PBS can increase the overall message reception from a subject vehicle, in comparison with the uniform random probability back‐off selection in IEEE 802.11p.     

Determination of the average channel temperature of GaN MOSHFETs under continuous wave and periodic-pulsed RF operational conditions

We present a method to determine the average device channel temperature of AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor heterostructure field effect transistors (MOSHFETs) in the time domain under continuous wave (CW) and periodic-pulsed RF (radiation frequency) operational conditions. The temporal profiles of microwave output power densities of GaN MOSHFETs were measured at 2 GHz under such conditions and used for determination of the average channel temperature. The measurement technique in this work is also being utilized to determine the thermal time constant of the devices. Analytical temporal solutions of temperature profile in MOSHFETs are provided to support the method. The analytical solutions can also apply to generic field effect transistors (FETs) with an arbitrary form of time-dependent heat input at the top surface of the wafer. It is found that the average channel temperature of GaN MOSHFETs on a 300 μm sapphire substrate with the output power of 10 W/mm can be over 400 °C in the CW mode while the average channel temperature of GaN MOSHFETs on a SiC substrate with the same thickness only reaches 50 °C under the same condition. The highest average channel temperature in a pulsed RF mode will vary with respect to the duty cycle of the pulse and type of the substrate.     

DENSITY of FRESH and FROZEN SEAFOOD

The apparent density varied from 1042 to 1093 kg/m³ and 972 to 1017 kg/m³ for fresh seafood at 20C and frozen seafood at -30C, respectively. the apparent density of frozen squid mantle meat decreased from 1062 to 990 kg/m³ when temperature varied from -1.5 to -40C.     

Estimation of reliability of stress-strength model with non-identical component strengths

An attempt has been made in this paper to estimate the reliability of an s-out-of-k system with non-identical component strengths when component strengths follow an exponential distribution. A further assumption is made that all the components are subjected to a common random stress which also follow an exponential distribution. Bayes and maximum likelihood estimators of such system reliability are considered. A Bayes estimate is obtained by using Lindley's approximation. Comparisons are made on the basis of efficiency and Pitman nearness probability through a Monte-Carlo study.     

Absence of rDNA amplification in the uninucleolate oocyte of the cockroach Blattella germanica (Oorthoptera: Blattidae)

1. Three resorcinol derivatives with N-isopropyl (orciprenaline), N-t-butyl (terbutaline) and N-p-hydroxypheny-t-butyl (Me506) amine substituents have been compared with (--)-isoprenaline for their ability to produce beta-receptor mediated reductions in serotonin-induced increases in pulmonary resistance, decreases in soleus muscle contractility and increases in heart rate in anaesthetized cats. 2. For all parameters studied the four compounds produced similar maximal responses and dose-response curves were close to parallel. From the graphs doses of the compounds producing 50% of the maximal response (ED50) were interpolated, and from these dose-ratios with respect to (--)-isoprenaline [drug ED50:(--)-isoprenaline ED50] were calculated on a molar basis. 3. Increasing the size of the amine substituent from N-isopropyl to N-t-butyl led to an increase in beta-receptor stimulant activity in bronchial and skeletal muscle, but not in the heart. The change from N-t-butyl to N-p-hydroxyphenyl-t-butyl did not further affect stimulant activity in any of the parameters studied. 4. Calculation of selectivity ratios [molar dose-ratio (heart): molar dose-ratio (pulmonary resistance)] showed that orciprenaline was non-selective, and that terbutaline and Me506 showed a similar degree of selectivity for beta2- as opposed to beta1-receptor mediated actions.     

Nitrosourea pharmacodynamics in relation to the central nervous system

Time-response curves were established for the effect of 3 doses of pimozide, a potent and specific dopamine receptor blocker, on deprivation-induced drinking in rats. Injections occurred once every 3 days at intervals of 2, 4, 8, and 16 hr prior to the daily 15 min drinking period. Pimozide produced a significant attenuation in the amount of water normally consumed (on nondrug days) whose degree varied with the proximity of the injection to the drinking period. Only the 2 higher doses (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg) produced a significant dose dependent effect which was strongest at the 2 hr interval and which gradually weakened by the 8th post injection hr. The relevance of these findings for a direct versus an indirect action of the drug on water intake is discussed.