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Cycle Period (cycle + period)
Selected AbstractsDevelopment of dynamic stability in children's rhythmic movementDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Eric G. James Abstract This study examined the hypothesis that the stability of rhythmic motor patterns increases with developmental age in children. Children aged 6 and 10 years and adults (18- to 23-year-olds) rocked back and forth at their preferred amplitude and frequency while seated on a wooden box placed atop a force platform. Participants performed the seated rocking task with their feet supported and unsupported. There was an age-related decrease in rocking frequency and variability of the rocking cycle period, while the stability of the rocking dynamics increased, as indexed by the standard deviation of the phase angle of center of pressure motion. The presence of foot support decreased the stability of the rocking dynamics and reduced cycle period variability in the children, but not the adults. The results revealed that increments of age are associated with an increase in the stability of rhythmic motor patterns even when environmental conditions are altered. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 51: 465,473, 2009 [source] Nonstationary spatio-temporal small rodent dynamics: evidence from long-term Norwegian fox bounty dataJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2009John-André Henden Summary 1The geographical pattern in Fennoscandian small rodent population dynamics with a southern noncyclic and a northern cyclic region, and with latitudinal gradients in density-dependent structure, cycle period length and spatial synchrony within the northern cyclic region, has been widely publicized and interpreted in the ecological literature. However, the time-series data on which these inferences have been established are relatively short and originate from a specific time period (mostly around 1970,90). Hence, it can be questioned whether the geographical population dynamics patterns are consistent over time (i.e. whether they are stationary). 2Here we analyse an almost century long (1880,1976) panel of fox bounty time series including 18 counties of Norway, thus spanning the whole range of latitudes of Fennoscandia (i.e. 15 latitudinal degrees). These fox time series mirror the dynamics of their dominant small rodent prey, in particular, with respect to cycle period length and spatial synchrony. 3While we found some evidence consistent with previous analyses showing a clearly patterned dynamics according to latitude, such patterns were not stationary on a longer time-scale. In particular, we observed a shift from an extensively synchronous (i.e. regionalized) 4-year cycle north of 60°N just after the ,Little Ice Age' (1880,1910) to a diversification of cycle period length (3,5 years) and eventually, partial loss of cyclicity and synchronicity in later periods. Incidents of loss of cyclicity appeared to be preceded by changes in cycle period (i.e. period lengthening and shortening). 4These results show that the dynamics of Fennoscandian small rodents, and their associated guild of predators, are more prone to change than previously acknowledged. [source] Development and simulation studies of an unsteady state biofilter model for the treatment of cyclic air emissions of an ,-pinene gas streamJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 7 2005Christina Dirk-Faitakis Abstract This paper describes the development and simulation of an unsteady state biofilter model used to predict dynamic behaviour of cyclically-operated biofilters and compares it with experimental results obtained from three, parallel, bench-scale biofilters treating both periodically fluctuating concentrations and constant concentrations of an ,-pinene-laden gas stream. The dynamic model, using kinetic parameters estimated from the constant concentration biofilter, was able to predict the performance of cyclic biofilters operating at short cycle periods (ie, in the order of minutes and hours). Steady state kinetic data from a constant concentration biofilter can be used to predict unsteady state biofilter operation. At a 24 h cycle period, the dynamic model compared well with experimental results. For long cycle periods (ie, hours and days), removal efficiency decreased after periods of non-loading: the longer the period of non-loading, the poorer the biofilter's performance at the re-commencement of pollutant loading. At longer time scales the model did not effectively predict transient behaviour, as adsorption and changes in kinetic parameters were not accounted for. Modelling results showed that similar biofiltration performance for the cyclic and constant concentration biofiltration of ,-pinene is expected for biofilters operating solely in the first order kinetics regime. Poorer performance for cyclic biofilters following Monod kinetics spanning the entire kinetics range is expected as the cycle amplitude increases. The most important parameters affecting the performance of a cyclically-operated biofilter with short cycle periods are: amplitude of cyclic fluctuations, Cg, max/Cg, relative value of the half-saturation constant in the Monod expression, Ks, and effective diffusivity of ,-pinene in the biofilm, De. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Investigation of solid,gas reaction heat transformer system with the consideration of multistep reactionsAICHE JOURNAL, Issue 9 2008C. Wang Abstract The performance of solid,gas reaction heat transformer system using MnCl2 and CaCl2 was investigated with the consideration of multistep reactions between CaCl2 and NH3. The reactions between CaCl2 and NH3 could be CaCl2·2/4NH3 and CaCl2·4/8NH3. The simulated results were verified by the experimental data. From the analysis results, it was concluded that the two reactions between CaCl2 and NH3 existed simultaneously. The favored conditions for the simultaneous occurrence of multistep reactions were discussed. The main reaction in the system with the initial state of CaCl2·2NH3 and CaCl2·4NH3 were designated as the reaction of CaCl2·2/4NH3 and CaCl2·4/8NH3, respectively. It was concluded that high driving temperature TM, large relative gas volume, and large specific heat transfer area were the favored conditions for the simultaneous occurrence of multistep reactions in the systems both with the initial state of CaCl2·2NH3 and CaCl2·4NH3. High initial charging pressure P0 was favored for the system with the initial state of CaCl2·2NH3, while low P0 was favored for the system with the initial state of CaCl2·4NH3. The impacts of the simultaneous occurrence of multistep reactions on the system performance indicators [temperature lift, specific power, and system coefficient of performance (COP)] were also investigated in this article. It was concluded that the occurrence of the reaction of CaCl2·4/8NH3 for the initial state of CaCl2·2NH3 led to better system performance, i.e., larger temperature lift, larger specific power, and larger system COP. However, the occurrence of the reaction of CaCl2·2/4NH3 for the initial state of CaCl2·4NH3 would lead to lower specific power. The temperature lift and system COP were larger for the initial state of CaCl2·4NH3; while the cycle period was shorter for the initial state of CaCl2·2NH3. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2008 [source] Do mountain hare populations cycle?OIKOS, Issue 9 2007Scott Newey We investigated the occurrence and distribution of multi-annual cycles in abundance of mountain hare populations across a wide area of their range in northern Europe. We analysed 125 time-series of mountain hare abundance indexed from hunting bag records and questionnaire responses from Scotland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland. We also reanalysed 17 previously published time-series based on hunting bag records and snow track indices from mountain hare populations in Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Italy. Autocorrelation analysis showed that 45% of mountain hare populations showed evidence of cycles, characterised by significant negative autocorrelations at half or the whole cycle period. The amplitude and periodicity of cycles varied between and within countries. Time-series in Scotland were characterised by high-amplitude weak cycles with a mean periodicity of nine years but with a range of 4,15 years. Norwegian and Swedish time-series revealed low amplitude weak cycles with a 3,7 year period. Finnish time-series showed low amplitude cycles with a 4,11 year period. Alpine time-series were predominantly non-cyclic, while the limited number of series from Russia showed high amplitude weak cycles with an 8,11 year period. The results reveal that mountain hare populations show a wide range of population dynamics with distinct regional differences in periodicity, amplitude and density dependent structure of cycles. These findings suggest that different factors may limit or regulate mountain hare populations in different regions of Europe thus supporting the results of recent field studies. [source] Tuning in the transcriptome: basins of attraction in the yeast cell cycleCELL PROLIFERATION, Issue 4 2000R. R. Klevecz Image processing techniques and wavelet analyses have been applied to the yeast cell cycle expression microchip data to reveal large-scale temporally coherent structures and high frequency oscillations in mRNA levels through the cycle. Because transitions in expression frequently occur in phase, they appear as peaks or troughs in colour maps and contour plots of expression levels. Although apparent in the untreated data, these transitions were identified and enhanced by convolution of a Laplacian kernel with the expression arrays of the first 4096 genes. Transitions associated with maximum up- or down-regulation of mRNA levels appear as bands at 30,40 min intervals through two cell cycles. Time-frequency analyses using wavelet transforms support these visualization techniques and lead to the conclusion that, with respect to gene expression, the dominant period is not the cell cycle (90,120 min) but, more commonly, the higher frequency 30,40 minute submultiple of the cycle period. [source] Modeling of Methane Oxidative Coupling under Periodic Operation by Neural NetworkCHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 5 2005F. Abdolahi Abstract A set of feed forward multilayer neural network models have been proposed to predict CH4 conversion, C2 and ethylene selectivity of methane oxidative coupling under periodic operation. These parameters predicted by the proposed neural network are based on cycle period, cycle split, and CH4 and O2 mole fractions in the first and second part of the period. Due to the dynamic nature of periodic operation and the kinetic complexity of the investigated reactions, the proposed approach is an effective tool to model the system. The agreement between model predictions and experimental data was quite satisfactory. The models could be employed to optimize the experimental conditions in order to get better output from the catalytic reaction. It is concluded that the neural network is an effective tool for modeling catalytic chemical reactions under periodic operation. [source] FLR-2, the glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit, is involved in the neural control of intestinal functions in Caenorhabditis elegansGENES TO CELLS, Issue 10 2009Akane Oishi The intestine plays an essential role in organism-wide regulatory networks in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In Caenorhabditis elegans, class 1 flr genes (flr-1, flr-3 and flr-4) act in the intestine and control growth rates and defecation cycle periods, while class 2 flr genes (flr-2, flr-5, flr-6 and flr-7) are characterized by mutations that suppress the slow growth of class 1 flr mutants. This study revealed that flr-2 gene controls antibacterial defense and intestinal color, confirming that flr-2 regulates intestinal functions. flr-2 encoded the only glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit in C. elegans and was expressed in certain neurons. Furthermore, FLR-2 bound to another secretory protein GHI-1, which belongs to a family of lipid- and lipopolysaccharide-binding proteins. A ghi-1 deletion mutation partially suppressed the short defecation cycle periods of class 1 flr mutants, and this effect was enhanced by flr-2 mutations. Thus, FLR-2 acts as a signaling molecule for the neural control of intestinal functions, which is achieved in a functional network involving class 1 and class 2 flr genes as well as ghi-1. These results are informative to studies of glycoprotein hormone signaling in higher animals. [source] Cell cycle execution point analysis of ORC function and characterization of the checkpoint response to ORC inactivation in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeGENES TO CELLS, Issue 6 2006Daniel G. Gibson Chromosomal replication initiates through the assembly of a prereplicative complex (pre-RC) at individual replication origins in the G1-phase, followed by activation of these complexes in the S-phase. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the origin recognition complex (ORC) binds replication origins throughout the cell cycle and participates in pre-RC assembly. Whether the ORC plays an additional role subsequent to pre-RC assembly in replication initiation or any other essential cell cycle process is not clear. To study the function of the ORC during defined cell cycle periods, we performed cell cycle execution point analyses with strains containing a conditional mutation in the ORC1, ORC2 or ORC5 subunit of ORC. We found that the ORC is essential for replication initiation, but is dispensable for replication elongation or later cell cycle events. Defective initiation in ORC mutant cells results in incomplete replication and mitotic arrest enforced by the DNA damage and spindle assembly checkpoint pathways. The involvement of the spindle assembly checkpoint implies a defect in kinetochore-spindle attachment or sister chromatid cohesion due to incomplete replication and/or DNA damage. Remarkably, under semipermissive conditions for ORC1 function, the spindle checkpoint alone suffices to block proliferation, suggesting this checkpoint is highly sensitive to replication initiation defects. We discuss the potential significance of these overlapping checkpoints and the impact of our findings on previously postulated role(s) of ORCs in other cell cycle functions. [source] Development and simulation studies of an unsteady state biofilter model for the treatment of cyclic air emissions of an ,-pinene gas streamJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 7 2005Christina Dirk-Faitakis Abstract This paper describes the development and simulation of an unsteady state biofilter model used to predict dynamic behaviour of cyclically-operated biofilters and compares it with experimental results obtained from three, parallel, bench-scale biofilters treating both periodically fluctuating concentrations and constant concentrations of an ,-pinene-laden gas stream. The dynamic model, using kinetic parameters estimated from the constant concentration biofilter, was able to predict the performance of cyclic biofilters operating at short cycle periods (ie, in the order of minutes and hours). Steady state kinetic data from a constant concentration biofilter can be used to predict unsteady state biofilter operation. At a 24 h cycle period, the dynamic model compared well with experimental results. For long cycle periods (ie, hours and days), removal efficiency decreased after periods of non-loading: the longer the period of non-loading, the poorer the biofilter's performance at the re-commencement of pollutant loading. At longer time scales the model did not effectively predict transient behaviour, as adsorption and changes in kinetic parameters were not accounted for. Modelling results showed that similar biofiltration performance for the cyclic and constant concentration biofiltration of ,-pinene is expected for biofilters operating solely in the first order kinetics regime. Poorer performance for cyclic biofilters following Monod kinetics spanning the entire kinetics range is expected as the cycle amplitude increases. The most important parameters affecting the performance of a cyclically-operated biofilter with short cycle periods are: amplitude of cyclic fluctuations, Cg, max/Cg, relative value of the half-saturation constant in the Monod expression, Ks, and effective diffusivity of ,-pinene in the biofilm, De. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Chromosome replication patterns in the hyperthermophilic euryarchaea Archaeoglobus fulgidus and Methanocaldococcus (Methanococcus) jannaschiiMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2002Sophie Maisnier-Patin Summary We analysed chromosome replication patterns in the two hyperthermophilic euryarchaea Archaeoglobus fulgidus and Methanocaldococcus (Methanococcus) jannaschii by marker frequency analysis (MFA). For A. fulgidus, the central region of the chromosomal physical map displayed a higher relative abundance in gene dosage during exponential growth, with two continuous gradients to a region of lower abundance at the diametrically opposite side of the genome map. This suggests bidirectional replication of the A. fulgidus chromosome from a single origin. The organization of the putative replication origin region relative to the cdc6, mcm and DNA polymerase genes differed from that reported for Pyrococcus species. No single replication origin or termination regions could be identified for M. jannaschii, adding to the list of unusual properties of this organism. The organization of the A. fulgidus cell cycle was characterized by flow cytometry analysis of the samples from which genomic DNA was extracted for MFA. The relative lengths of the cell cycle periods were found to be similar to those of crenarchaea. [source] | |||||||||||||