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Several Unique Features (several + unique_feature)
Selected AbstractsAn unusual lateral luxation of an upper incisor owing to long-term boxing without protectionDENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2008Ron Bechor The tooth displacement gradually worsened over several months because the boxer received repeated blows to the head without using a mouthguard. Being a chronic dental trauma, rather than an acute lateral luxation, this case had several unique features: the labial plate of the alveolar bone was penetrated, the root apex was free in the vestibulum, the tooth was mobile (second degree) and radiographs revealed bone resorption. This case emphasized the need for a mouthguard to be used even with amateur boxing. The dental practitioner should educate his sportsmen,patients of the risk of sport-related dental trauma and the benefit of a mouthguard. [source] ModEco: an integrated software package for ecological niche modelingECOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2010Qinghua Guo ModEco is a software package for ecological niche modeling. It integrates a range of niche modeling methods within a geographical information system. ModEco provides a user friendly platform that enables users to explore, analyze, and model species distribution data with relative ease. ModEco has several unique features: 1) it deals with different types of ecological observation data, such as presence and absence data, presence-only data, and abundance data; 2) it provides a range of models when dealing with presence-only data, such as presence-only models, pseudo-absence models, background vs presence data models, and ensemble models; and 3) it includes relatively comprehensive tools for data visualization, feature selection, and accuracy assessment. [source] The Courts of the Prior and the Bishop of Durham in the Later Middle AgesHISTORY, Issue 278 2000Cynthia J. Neville The operation of the common law in late medieval county Durham was characterized by several unique features. Among these were the independence of episcopal officials from interference from royal agents in the execution of the law, and the great variety of temporal courts found there. Within the lands of the palatinate, jurisdiction over suspects accused of felony was shared by both the bishop and the prior of Durham. The origins of this unusual division of judicial authority was an agreement dated c.1229, known as Le Convenit. It defined the relationship between the bishop, the temporal lord of the palatinate, and the prior of the Benedictine monastery in Durham who, as a landholder second only to the bishop, held a separate court for the suit of his free tenants. That relationship was often fraught with tension, for both lords were jealous of the prestige , and the revenues , incumbent on the exercise of judicial authority in their lands. This article examines the origins of Le Convenit, and the consequences of the agreement on criminal legal procedure in late medieval Durham. Successive priors of the monastery struggled tirelessly against the bishops to preserve the privileges they won in 1229, and Le Convenit remained throughout this period a potent weapon in their determination to give expression to lordly power and authority. [source] Triad of polar residues implicated in pH specificity of acidic mammalian chitinasePROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 3 2009Andrea M. Olland Abstract Acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) is a mammalian chitinase that has been implicated in allergic asthma. One of only two active mammalian chinases, AMCase, is distinguished from other chitinases by several unique features. Here, we present the novel structure of the AMCase catalytic domain, both in the apo form and in complex with the inhibitor methylallosamidin, determined to high resolution by X-ray crystallography. These results provide a structural basis for understanding some of the unique characteristics of this enzyme, including the low pH optimum and the preference for the ,-anomer of the substrate. A triad of polar residues in the second-shell is found to modulate the highly conserved chitinase active site. As a novel target for asthma therapy, structural details of AMCase activity will help guide the future design of specific and potent AMCase inhibitors. [source] Polar low le Cygne: Satellite observations and numerical simulationsTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 598 2004Chantal Claud Abstract A polar low (PL) which occurred in October 1993 over the Norwegian Sea is investigated from an observational and a numerical point of view. This PL has several unique features: it developed early in the season, it lasted for about 3 days, and its trajectory was such that it passed over weather stations so that ,conventional' observations of the low are available. The conditions of the formation, development and decay of the PL are investigated using a double approach: satellite data from several instruments are used together to document the mesoscale structure of the low, and two versions of a limited-area model are run to investigate the dynamics of the low. Numerical model fields are compared to quantities derived from TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder, the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager, and satellite radar altimeter data. In spite of a better spatial resolution of the models, humidity and surface wind speeds are less organized in the simulations than in satellite retrievals. The number of vertical levels, especially for the lowest layers of the atmosphere, appears to be an essential component for a good simulation of the trajectory of the low. There is, however, good overall agreement between modelled and satellite-derived fields, and the good quality of the simulations allows inferences to be made regarding the essential physical and dynamical processes taking place during the formation and development of the PL. We find that the PL was the result of favourable flow conditions at the surface in the form of a shallow arctic front established south of the ice edge, together with an upper-level potential-vorticity anomaly setting the stage for a positive interaction. Later on, the strong surface sensible- and latent-heat fluxes contributed to the extensive vertical development. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the approach adopted here, which relies not only on simulations but also on observations to get a very complete description of such disturbances. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Heart Rate Variability Fraction,A New Reportable Measure of 24-Hour R-R Interval VariationANNALS OF NONINVASIVE ELECTROCARDIOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Maciej Sosnowski M.D. Background: The scatterplot of R-R intervals has several unique features. Its numerical evaluation may produce a new useful index of global heart rate variability (HRV) from Holter recordings. Methods: Two-hundred and ten middle-aged healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. The study was repeated the next day in 165 subjects. Each subject had a 24-hour ECG recording taken. Preprocessed data were transferred into a personal computer and the standard HRV time-domain indices: standard deviation of total normal R-R intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of averaged means of normal R-R intervals over 5-minute periods (SDANN), triangular index (TI), and pNN50 were determined. The scatterplot area (0.2,1.8 second) was divided into 256 boxes, each of 0.1-second interval, and the number of paired R-R intervals was counted. The heart rate variability fraction (HRVF) was calculated as the two highest counts divided by the number of total beats differing from the consecutive beat by <50 ms. The HRVF was obtained by subtracting this fraction from 1, and converting the result to a percentage. Results: The normal value of the HRVF was 52.7 ± 8.6%. The 2,98% range calculated from the normal probability plot was 35.1,70.3%. The HRVF varied significantly with gender (female 48.7 ± 8.4% vs male 53.6 ± 8.6%, P = 0.002). The HRVF correlated with RRI (r = 0.525) and showed a similar or better relationship with SDNN (0.851), SDANN (0.653), and TI (0.845) than did the standard HRV measures with each other. Bland-Altman plot showed a good day-by-day reproducibility of the HRVF, with the intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.839 and a low relative standard error difference (1.8%). Conclusion: We introduced a new index of HRV, which is easy for computation, robust, reproducible, easy to understand, and may overcome the limitations that belong to the standard HRV measures. This index, named HRV fraction, by combining magnitude, distribution, and heart-rate influences, might become a clinically useful index of global HRV. [source] The dual role of Fas-ligand as an injury effector and defense strategy in diabetes and islet transplantation,BIOESSAYS, Issue 2 2006Michal Pearl-Yafe The exact process that leads to the eruption of autoimmune reactions against , cells and the evolution of diabetes is not fully understood. Macrophages and T cells may launch an initial immune reaction against the pancreatic islets of Langerhans, provoking inflammation and destructive insulitis. The information on the molecular mechanisms of the emergence of , cell injury is controversial and points to possibly important roles for the perforin,granzyme, Fas,Fas-ligand (FasL) and tumor-necrosis-factor-mediated apoptotic pathways. FasL has several unique features that make it a potentially ideal immunomodulatory tool. Most important, FasL is selectively toxic to cytotoxic T cells and less harmful to regulatory T cells. This review discusses the intrinsic sensitivity of , cells to FasL-mediated apoptosis, the conditions that underlie this , cell sensitivity, and the feasibility of using FasL to arrest autoimmunity and prevent islet allograft rejection. In both the autoimmune and transplant settings, it is imperative to progress from the administration of nonspecific immunosuppressive therapy to the concept of ,-cell-specific immunomodulation. FasL evolves as a prime candidate for antigen-specific immunomodulation. BioEssays 28: 211,222, 2006. © 2006 Wiley periodicals, Inc. 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