Trace

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Chemistry

Kinds of Trace

  • i trace

  • Terms modified by Trace

  • trace amount
  • trace analysis
  • trace concentration
  • trace copper
  • trace determination
  • trace element
  • trace element analysis
  • trace element composition
  • trace element concentration
  • trace element content
  • trace element data
  • trace element distribution
  • trace element geochemistry
  • trace fossil
  • trace gase
  • trace interval
  • trace level
  • trace metal
  • trace mineral
  • trace protein
  • trace quantity

  • Selected Abstracts


    Measuring Model Flexibility With Parameter Space Partitioning: An Introduction and Application Example

    COGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 8 2008
    Mark A. Pitt
    Abstract A primary criterion on which models of cognition are evaluated is their ability to fit empirical data. To understand the reason why a model yields a good or poor fit, it is necessary to determine the data-fitting potential (i.e., flexibility) of the model. In the first part of this article, methods for comparing models and studying their flexibility are reviewed, with a focus on parameter space partitioning (PSP), a general-purpose method for analyzing and comparing all classes of cognitive models. PSP is then demonstrated in the second part of the article in which two connectionist models of speech perception (TRACE and ARTphone) are compared to learn how design differences affect model flexibility. [source]


    Heavy Metals in Matrices of Food Interest: Sequential Voltammetric Determination at Trace and Ultratrace Level of Copper, Lead, Cadmium, Zinc, Arsenic, Selenium, Manganese and Iron in Meals

    ELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 18 2004
    Clinio Locatelli
    Abstract The voltammetric methods are very suitable and versatile techniques for the simultaneous metal determination in complex matrices. The present work, regarding the sequential determination of Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) by square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV), As(III), Se(IV) by square-wave cathodic stripping voltammetry (SWCSV) and Mn(II), Fe(III) by square-wave voltammetry (SWV) in matrices involved in foods and food chain as wholemeal, wheat and maize meal, are an interesting example of the possibility to sequentially determine each single element in real samples. Besides the set up of the analytical method, particular attention is aimed either at the problem of possible signal interference or to show that, using the peak area Ap as instrumental datum, it is possible to achieve lower limits of detection. The analytical procedure was verified by the analysis of the standard reference materials: Wholemeal BCR-CRM 189, Wheat Flour NIST-SRM 1567a and Rice Flour NIST-SRM 1568a. Precision, as repeatability, and accuracy, expressed as relative standard deviation and relative error, respectively, were lower than 6% in all cases. In the presence of reciprocal interference, the standard addition method considerably improved the resolution of the voltammetric technique. Once set up on the standard reference materials, the analytical procedure was transferred and applied to commercial meals sampled on market for sale. A critical comparison with spectroscopic measurements is also discussed. [source]


    The stationary Boltzmann equation for a two-component gas for soft forces in the slab

    MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 14 2008
    Stéphane Brull
    Abstract The stationary Boltzmann equation for soft forces in the context of a two-component gas is considered in the slab. An existence theorem is proved when one component satisfies a given indata profile and the other component satisfies diffuse reflection at the boundaries in a renormalized sense. Weak L1 compactness is extracted from the control of the entropy production term. Trace at the boundaries is also controlled. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    The stationary Boltzmann equation for a two-component gas in the slab

    MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 2 2008
    Stéphane Brull
    Abstract The stationary Boltzmann equation for hard forces in the context of a two-component gas is considered in the slab. An L1 existence theorem is proved when one component satisfies a given indata profile and the other component satisfies diffuse reflection at the boundaries. Weak L1 compactness is extracted from the control of the entropy production term. Trace at the boundaries are also controlled. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Trace amine-associated receptors and their ligands

    BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 8 2006
    R Zucchi
    Classical biogenic amines (adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin and histamine) interact with specific families of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The term ,trace amines' is used when referring to p- tyramine, ,-phenylethylamine, tryptamine and octopamine, compounds that are present in mammalian tissues at very low (nanomolar) concentrations. The pharmacological effects of trace amines are usually attributed to their interference with the aminergic pathways, but in 2001 a new gene was identified, that codes for a GPCR responding to p- tyramine and ,-phenylethylamine but not to classical biogenic amines. Several closely related genes were subsequently identified and designated as the trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs). Pharmacological investigations in vitro show that many TAAR subtypes may not respond to p- tyramine, ,-phenylethylamine, tryptamine or octopamine, suggesting the existence of additional endogenous ligands. A novel endogenous thyroid hormone derivative, 3-iodothyronamine, has been found to interact with TAAR1 and possibly other TAAR subtypes. In vivo, micromolar concentrations of 3-iodothyronamine determine functional effects which are opposite to those produced on a longer time scale by thyroid hormones, including reduction in body temperature and decrease in cardiac contractility. Expression of all TAAR subtypes except TAAR1 has been reported in mouse olfactory epithelium, and several volatile amines were shown to interact with specific TAAR subtypes. In addition, there is evidence that TAAR1 is targeted by amphetamines and other psychotropic agents, while genetic linkage studies show a significant association between the TAAR gene family locus and susceptibility to schizophrenia or bipolar affective disorder. British Journal of Pharmacology (2006) 149, 967,978. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0706948 [source]


    Incremental Updates for Rapid Glossy Global Illumination

    COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2001
    Xavier Granier
    We present an integrated global illumination algorithm including non-diffuse light transport which can handle complex scenes and enables rapid incremental updates. We build on a unified algorithm which uses hierarchical radiosity with clustering and particle tracing for diffuse and non-diffuse transport respectively. We present a new algorithm which chooses between reconstructing specular effects such as caustics on the diffuse radiosity mesh, or special purpose caustic textures, when high frequencies are present. Algorithms are presented to choose the resolution of these textures and to reconstruct the high-frequency non-diffuse lighting effects. We use a dynamic spatial data structure to restrict the number of particles re-emitted during the local modifications of the scene. By combining this incremental particle trace with a line-space hierarchy for incremental update of diffuse illumination, we can locally modify complex scenes rapidly. We also develop an algorithm which, by permitting slight quality degradation during motion, achieves quasi-interactive updates. We present an implementation of our new method and its application to indoors and outdoors scenes. [source]


    Model Based Evaluation of Bridge Decks Using Ground Penetrating Radar

    COMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2008
    Kimberly Belli
    Interpretation of the radar signal is typically performed through preliminary filtering techniques and interpretation is based on viewing numerous signals in the form of a scan. Although anomalies can be evident in the scanned image, quantification and interpretation of the main issue remain ambiguous. This article presents the ambiguity and common methods of interpretation based on response amplitude and travel time. An integrated medium is developed and used as a forward modeling tool to generate a realistic radar reflection of a reinforced concrete bridge deck with defects. A healthy deck reflection is obtained from a separate model and is combined with an inverse solution to quantifiably estimate unknown subsurface properties such as layer thickness and dielectric constants of subsurface materials evident in the realistic radar trace as well as. The forward modeling tool and associated model based assessment provides an objective computational alternative to the interpretation of scanned images. [source]


    Introduction to diffusion tensor imaging mathematics: Part III.

    CONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 2 2006
    Tensor calculation, noise, optimization, simulations
    Abstract The mathematical aspects of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTMRI, or DTI), the measurement of the diffusion tensor by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are discussed in this three-part series. Part III begins with a comparison of different ways to calculate the tensor from diffusion-weighted imaging data. Next, the effects of noise on signal intensities and diffusion tensor measurements are discussed. In MRI signal intensities as well as DTI parameters, noise can introduce a bias (systematic deviation) as well as scatter (random deviation) in the data. Propagation-of-error formulas are explained with examples. Step-by-step procedures for simulating diffusion tensor measurements are presented. Finally, methods for selecting the optimal b factor and number of b = 0 images for measuring several properties of the diffusion tensor, including the trace (or mean diffusivity) and anisotropy, are presented. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part A 28A: 155,179, 2006 [source]


    Toward a neuro-developmental account of the development of declarative memory

    DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
    Patricia J. Bauer
    Abstract The study of the biological bases of memory has a long history. Based on research with patients with specific lesions and disease, animal models, and neuroimaging studies, the neural substrate that supports declarative memory in adults has been relatively well articulated. By contrast, studies of the neural bases of memory in development is in its infancy. Yet joint consideration of the processes involved in building a memory trace, and of the time course of development of the neural structures involved, has contributed to the generation of specific predictions regarding the sources of age-related change. Specifically, there are suggestions that in infancy and very early childhood, encoding and consolidation processes account for substantial age-related variance in long-term declarative memory. With development, the locus of age-related variability in the vulnerability of memory traces shifts to the later-stage processes of memory storage and retrieval. These insights are afforded by consideration of multiple levels of analysis, from the biological to the behavioral. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 50: 19,31, 2008. [source]


    Some aspects of spiralian development

    ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 1 2010
    Claus Nielsen
    Abstract Nielsen, C. 2010. Some aspects of spiralian development. ,Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 20,28 Spiralian development is not only a characteristic early cleavage pattern, with shifting orientations of the cleavage planes, but also highly conserved cell lineages, where the origin of several organs can be traced back to identifiable cells in the lineage. These patterns are well documented in annelids, molluscs, nemertines, and platyhelminths and are considered ancestral of a bilaterian clade including these phyla. Spiral cleavage has not been documented in ecdysozoans, and no trace of the spiral development pattern is seen in phoronids and brachiopods. Origin of the spatial organization in spiralian embryos is puzzling, but much of the information appears to be encoded in the developing oocyte. Fertilization and "pseudofertilization" apparently provides the information defining the secondary, anterior-posterior body axis in many species. The central nervous system consists of three components: an apical organ, derived from the apical blastomeres 1a111 -1d111, which degenerates before or at metamorphosis; the cerebral ganglia derived from other blastomeres of the first micromere quartet and retained in the adult as a preoral part of the brain; and the originally circumblastoporal nerve cord, which has become differentiated into a perioral part of the brain, the paired or secondarily fused ventral nerve cords, and a small perianal nerve ring. [source]


    When an epithelium ceases to exist , an ultrastructural study on the fate of the embryonic coelom in Epiperipatus biolleyi (Onychophora, Peripatidae)

    ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 3 2004
    Georg Mayer
    Abstract It is an accepted fact that fusion between the coelomic cavities and the primary body cavity occurs during development in the Arthropoda. However, such a fusion is much disputed in the Onychophora. In order to clarify this subject, the fate of embryonic coelomic cavities has been studied in an onychophoran. Ultrastructural investigations in this paper provide evidence that embryonic coelomic cavities fuse with spaces of the primary body cavity in Epiperipatus biolleyi. During embryogenesis, the somatic and splanchnic portions of the mesoderm separate and the former coelomic linings are transformed into mesenchymatic tissue. The resulting body cavity therefore represents a mixture of primary and secondary (coelomic) body cavities, i.e. the ,mixocoel'. The nephridial anlage is already present, when the ,mixocoel' is formed, although there is no trace of a sacculus yet. The lumen of the nephridial anlage, thus, communicates with the newly formed ,mixocoel'. Accordingly, the lumen of the nephridial sacculus cannot be regarded as a kind of ,persisting coelomic cavity' in E. biolleyi. Our findings support the hypothesis that the ,mixocoel' was already present in the common stem species of the Onychophora and Euarthropoda. [source]


    Interference from Trace Copper in Electrochemical Investigations Employing Carboxylic Acid Terminated Thiol Modified Gold Electrodes

    ELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 6 2009
    Xiaohu Qu
    Abstract Unexpectedly, electrochemistry at variable chain length carboxylic acid terminated alkylthiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold electrodes gives rise to a Faradaic process in buffered aqueous electrolyte solution. In particular, the three-carbon chain length, 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), exhibits a chemically reversible process with a mid-point potential of 175,mV vs. Ag/AgCl under conditions of cyclic voltammetry. This process is associated with the presence of trace (parts per billion) amounts of copper(II) ions present in the chemical reagents used to prepare the aqueous electrolyte and also from the gold electrode itself. The carboxylic acid moiety on the SAM concentrates Cu2+ ions by coordination and this surface confined layer is then reduced. Methods to minimize the interference of Cu2+ ions at carboxylic acid terminated SAM are discussed and caution with respect to the interpretation of protein electrochemistry is recommended when using carboxylic acid functionalized SAMs to provide biocompatible electrochemical transduction surfaces, unless a metal free environment can be obtained. [source]


    System zones in capillary zone electrophoresis: Moving boundaries caused by freely migrating hydrogen ions

    ELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 2 2005
    Jozef L. Beckers
    Abstract We demonstrate that system zones (SZs) can be expected in background electrolytes (BGEs) with a low buffer capacity. The mobilities of this type of SZ (mSZ) could be determined by calculations both based on a mathematical model and by a simulation program. The values of mSZ are increasing for decreasing buffer capacities and lower concentrations of the BGEs. For completely unbuffered BGEs with a pH below 7, the mSZ reached values up to 350×10,9 m2V,1s,1. This value indicates that the existence of this type of SZ originates from migrating hydrogen ions. Although both the mathematical model and simulation program do not consider the influence of the pH of the sample solution, experiments have shown that the pH of the sample solution is also very important. The lower the pH of the sample solution, the larger the mSZ in a specific BGE for cationic SZs. Using completely unbuffered BGEs the hydrogen ions present in the original sample start to migrate freely through the capillary tube with the mobility of a single hydrogen ion and cause stepwise disturbances in the base line of the detector trace. It is remarkable that this type of SZ appears not to affect the electromigration dispersion (EMD) in a strong way and so far only dips could be obtained experimentally. [source]


    English, literacy, rhetoric: changing the project?

    ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006
    Bill Green
    Abstract In this paper I begin to trace two movements in the curriculum history and cultural politics of English teaching: on the one hand, a shift from ,literature' to ,literacy', as organizing principles for the field, and on the other, from ,language' to ,rhetoric'. I do so within a particular understanding of history, as embracing past present and future dimensions. My aim is two-fold: to open up questions about the subject's historical legacy, and to draw attention to some of the emerging challenges and prospects for English teaching today and tomorrow. [source]


    Cognitive outcome of status epilepticus in adults

    EPILEPSIA, Issue 2007
    Christoph Helmstaedter
    Summary There is no doubt that structural morphological brain lesions and malformations in epilepsy represent major etiological factors for the cognitive impairments seen in this disease. The role of epileptic activity and seizures for cognition and cognitive development, however, is less easily determined. Epileptic dysfunction ranges from interictal and periictal activity over self-terminating seizures to non-convulsive and convulsive status epilepticus, which appear the most severe conditions along this continuum. The decisive question in this regard is as to whether cognitive impairments observed in the acute epileptic condition are reversible or not. Impairments from interictal or postictal epileptic dysfunction are reversible and may interfere at most with brain maturation and cognitive development in the young patient. Seizures and ictal dysfunction in contrast, even when reversible, can leave a permanent trace which extends the phase of postictal recovery. As for status epilepticus and subsequent cognitive decline it often remains open whether the epileptic condition itself or the underlying clinical condition is causative for the aftermath. While there is evidence for both possibilities, group data from neuropsychological cross sectional and longitudinal studies indicate that more severe mental impairments, which in turn indicate more severe clinical conditions, appear to be a risk factor for sustaining status epilepticus, rather than that status epilepticus causes the cognitive decline. Reviewing the literature the cognitive condition in patients with status epilepticus varies with the type of epilepsy, the etiology of epilepsy, severity of the status, and the age of the patient. [source]


    The Transient Titanocene(II): Direct Synthesis from Solvated Titanium(II) Chloride and Cyclopentadienylsodium and Ensuing Interception with Diphenylacetylene as 1,1-Bis(cyclopentadienyl)-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyltitanacyclopentadiene,

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2007
    John J. Eisch
    Abstract For the first time the unstable titanocene(II) has been directly synthesized by the Wilkinson metallocene approach, namely the interaction of a THF-soluble form of titanium(II) chloride with two equivalents of cyclopentadienylsodium in THF solution at 0°,25 °C. Because of the transient existence of the titanocene(II) thereby obtained, it could only be chemically trapped in high yield as 1,1-bis(cyclopentadienyl)-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyltitanacyclopentadiene by two equivalents of diphenylacetylene, if the acetylene was added at 25 °C, without removal of the by-product LiCl and NaCl. If the addition of the acetylene was delayed, in order to filter off the LiCl and NaCl from the reaction mixture, then no trace of the titanacyclopentadiene derivative was found upon hydrolytic workup. Instead, a significant portion of the acetylene was found to have undergone hydrotitanation. This finding is clear evidence that the titanocene(II) had undergone a precedented rearrangement to a known dimer having the structure of a titanocene(III) hydride with a fulvalene bridge between the titanium centers. We suggest that the LiCl and NaCl present in the unfiltered reaction mixture form a dichloro complex with titanocene(II) and thereby retard its dimerizing rearrangement to the titanocene(III) hydride. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007) [source]


    Sensory gating in primary insomnia

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 11 2010
    Ilana S. Hairston
    Abstract Although previous research indicates that sleep architecture is largely intact in primary insomnia (PI), the spectral content of the sleeping electroencephalographic trace and measures of brain metabolism suggest that individuals with PI are physiologically more aroused than good sleepers. Such observations imply that individuals with PI may not experience the full deactivation of sensory and cognitive processing, resulting in reduced filtering of external sensory information during sleep. To test this hypothesis, gating of sensory information during sleep was tested in participants with primary insomnia (n = 18) and good sleepers (n = 20). Sensory gating was operationally defined as (i) the difference in magnitude of evoked response potentials elicited by pairs of clicks presented during Wake and Stage II sleep, and (ii) the number of K complexes evoked by the same auditory stimulus. During wake the groups did not differ in magnitude of sensory gating. During sleep, sensory gating of the N350 component was attenuated and completely diminished in participants with insomnia. P450, which occurred only during sleep, was strongly gated in good sleepers, and less so in participants with insomnia. Additionally, participants with insomnia showed no stimulus-related increase in K complexes. Thus, PI is potentially associated with impaired capacity to filter out external sensory information, especially during sleep. The potential of using stimulus-evoked K complexes as a biomarker for primary insomnia is discussed. [source]


    Traffic analysis in optical burst switching networks: a trace-based case study

    EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, Issue 7 2009
    Ahmad Rostami
    Optical burst switching (OBS) appears as a promising technology for building dynamic optical transport networks. The main advantage of OBS is that it allows for dynamic allocation of resources at sub-wavelength granularity. Nevertheless, the burst contention problem, which occurs frequently inside the network, has to be addressed before OBS can be really deployed as the next generation optical transport network. Recently a lot of attention is devoted to different approaches for resolving contentions in OBS networks. Although performance analysis of these approaches is strongly dependent on the traffic characteristics in the network, the majority of the studies is so far based on very hypothetical traffic assumptions. In this study we use traces of real measurements in the Internet to derive realistic data about the traffic that is injected into the OBS network. Specifically, we investigate the marginal distributions of burst size, burst interdeparture time, assembly delay and number of packets per burst as well as the burstiness of the burst traces. We demonstrate that the performance of an OBS core node using the real traces is pretty similar to the results obtained when the traffic arriving to the core node is assumed to be Poisson. In fact, usage of the Poisson as the process of burst arrival to the core node leads in all the investigated cases to an upper bound on the burst drop rate at that node. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    THE POTENTIAL OF THE FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT FOR FAMILY LAWYERS1

    FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
    Forrest S. MostenArticle first published online: 7 DEC 200
    Family lawyers are major beneficiaries of the reforms set out in the Family Law Education Reform Project (FLER) Report. This commentary from a veteran family law practitioner explores the needs of the family law bar for the training of law students in practical, interdisciplinary, client-centered lawyering that goes beyond the traditional case method. I trace many of the current innovations evolving in family law practice and how FLER reforms will not only benefit law schools but also have a major impact in the courts and private practice sector. [source]


    De novo synthesis, uptake and proteolytic processing of lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase, ,-trace, in the kidneys

    FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 23 2009
    Nanae Nagata
    Lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase (L-PGDS) is a multifunctional protein that produces prostaglandin D2 and binds and transports various lipophilic substances after secretion into various body fluids as ,-trace. L-PGDS has been proposed to be a useful diagnostic marker for renal injury associated with diabetes or hypertension, because the urinary and plasma concentrations are increased in patients with these diseases. However, it remains unclear whether urinary L-PGDS is synthesized de novo in the kidney or taken up from the blood circulation. In crude extracts of monkey kidney and human urine, we found L-PGDS with its original N-terminal sequence starting from Ala23 after the signal sequence, and also its N-terminal-truncated products starting from Gln31 and Phe34. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibody 5C11, which recognized the amino-terminal Ala23,Val28 loop of L-PGDS, revealed that both the mRNA and the intact form of L-PGDS were localized in the cells of Henle's loop and the glomeruli of the kidney, indicating that L-PGDS is synthesized de novo in these tissues. However, truncated forms of L-PGDS were found in the lysosomes of tubular cells, as visualized by immunostaining with 10A5, another monoclonal antibody, which recognized the three-turn ,-helix between Arg156 and Thr173. These results suggest that L-PGDS is taken up by tubular cells and actively degraded within their lysosomes to produce the N-terminal-truncated form. Structured digital abstract ,,MINT-7266187: L-PGDS (uniprotkb:P41222) and Cathepsin D (uniprotkb:Q4R4P0) colocalize (MI:0403) by fluorescence microscopy (MI:0416) ,,MINT-7266176: L-PGDS (uniprotkb:P41222) and Cathepsin B (uniprotkb:Q4R5M2) colocalize (MI:0403) by fluorescence microscopy (MI:0416) [source]


    Roles of adenine anchoring and ion pairing at the coenzyme B12 -binding site in diol dehydratase catalysis

    FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 24 2008
    Ken-ichi Ogura
    The X-ray structure of the diol dehydratase,adeninylpentylcobalamin complex revealed that the adenine moiety of adenosylcobalamin is anchored in the adenine-binding pocket of the enzyme by hydrogen bonding of N3 with the side chain OH group of Ser,224, and of 6-NH2, N1 and N7 with main chain amide groups of other residues. A salt bridge is formed between the ,-NH2 group of Lys,135 and the phosphate group of cobalamin. To assess the importance of adenine anchoring and ion pairing, Ser,224 and Lys,135 mutants of diol dehydratase were prepared, and their catalytic properties investigated. The S,224A, S,224N and K,135E mutants were 19,2% as active as the wild-type enzyme, whereas the K,135A, K,135Q and K,135R mutants retained 58,76% of the wild-type activity. The presence of a positive charge at the ,135 residue increased the affinity for cobalamins but was not essential for catalysis, and the introduction of a negative charge there prevented the enzyme,cobalamin interaction. The S,224A and S,224N mutants showed a kcat/kinact value that was less than 2% that of the wild-type, whereas for Lys,135 mutants this value was in the range 25,75%, except for the K,135E mutant (7%). Unlike the wild-type holoenzyme, the S,224N and S,224A holoenzymes showed very low susceptibility to oxygen in the absence of substrate. These findings suggest that Ser,224 is important for cobalt,carbon bond activation and for preventing the enzyme from being inactivated. Upon inactivation of the S,224A holoenzyme during catalysis, cob(II)alamin accumulated, and a trace of doublet signal due to an organic radical disappeared in EPR. 5,-Deoxyadenosine was formed from the adenosyl group, and the apoenzyme itself was not damaged. This inactivation was thus considered to be a mechanism-based one. [source]


    Evaluating low level sequence identities

    FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2001
    AROM homologous?, Are Aspergillus QUTA
    A review published several years ago [Hawkins, A.R. & Lamb, H.K. (1995) Eur. J. Biochem. 232, 7,18] proposed that genetic, biochemical and physiological data can override sequence comparison in the determination of homology in instances where structural information is unavailable. Their lead example was the hypothesis that the transcriptional activator protein for quinate catabolism in Aspergillus nidulans, QUTA, is derived from the pentafunctional AROM protein by a gene duplication followed by cleavage [Hawkins, A.R., Lamb, H.K., Moore, J.D. & Roberts, C.F. (1993) Gene136, 49,54]. We tested this hypothesis by a sensitive combination of position-specific log-odds scoring matrix methods. The position-specific log-odds scoring matrices were derived from a large number of 3-dehydroquinate synthase and 5- enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase domains that were proposed to be the domains from the AROM protein that gave rise to the transcriptional activator protein for quinate metabolism. We show that the degree and pattern of similarity between these position-specific log-odds scoring matrices and the transcriptional activator protein for quinate catabolism in A. nidulans is that expected for random sequences of the same composition. This level of similarity provides no support for the suggested gene duplication and cleavage. The lack of any trace of evidence for homology following a comprehensive sequence analysis indicates that the homology hypothesis is without foundation, underlining the necessity to accept only similarity of sequence and/or structure as evidence of evolutionary relatedness. Further, QUTA is homologous throughout its entire length to an extended family of fungal transcriptional regulatory proteins, rendering the hypothesized QUTA,AROM homology even more problematic. [source]


    Quantum measurement and information

    FORTSCHRITTE DER PHYSIK/PROGRESS OF PHYSICS, Issue 2-3 2003
    Z. Hradil
    The operationally defined invariant information introduced by Brukner and Zeilinger is related to the problem of estimation of quantum states. It quantifies how the estimated states differ in average from the true states in the sense of Hilbert-Schmidt norm. This information evaluates the quality of the measurement and data treatment adopted. Its ultimate limitation is given by the trace of inverse of Fisher information matrix. [source]


    K-Ar age determination, whole-rock and oxygen isotope geochemistry of the post-collisional Bizmi,en and Çalt, plutons, SW Erzincan, eastern Central Anatolia, Turkey

    GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005
    Ayten Önal
    Abstract Post-collisional granitoid plutons intrude obducted Neo-Tethyan ophiolitic rocks in central and eastern Central Anatolia. The Bizmi,en and Çalt, plutons and the ophiolitic rocks that they intrude are overlain by fossiliferous and flyschoidal sedimentary rocks of the early Miocene Kemah Formation. These sedimentary rocks were deposited in basins that developed at the same time as tectonic unroofing of the plutons along E,W and NW,SE trending faults in Oligo-Miocene time. Mineral separates from the Bizmi,en and Çalt, plutons yield K-Ar ages ranging from 42 to 46,Ma, and from 40 to 49,Ma, respectively. Major, trace, and rare-earth element geochemistry as well as mineralogical and textural evidence reveals that the Bizmi,en pluton crystallized first, followed at shallower depth by the Çalt, pluton from a medium-K calcalkaline, I-type hybrid magma which was generated by magma mixing of coeval mafic and felsic magmas. Delta 18O values of both plutons fall in the field of I-type granitoids, although those of the Çalt, pluton are consistently higher than those of the Bizmi,en pluton. This is in agreement with field observations, petrographic and whole-rock geochemical data, which indicate that the Bizmi,en pluton represents relatively uncontaminated mantle material, whereas the Çalt, pluton has a significant crustal component. Structural data indicating the middle Eocene emplacement age and intrusion into already obducted ophiolitic rocks, suggest a post-collisional extensional origin. However, the pure geochemical discrimination diagrams indicate an arc origin which can be inherited either from the source material or from an upper mantle material modified by an early subduction process during the evolution of the Neo-Tethyan ocean. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    A unified continuum representation of post-seismic relaxation mechanisms: semi-analytic models of afterslip, poroelastic rebound and viscoelastic flow

    GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010
    Sylvain Barbot
    SUMMARY We present a unified continuum mechanics representation of the mechanisms believed to be commonly involved in post-seismic transients such as viscoelasticity, fault creep and poroelasticity. The time-dependent relaxation that follows an earthquake, or any other static stress perturbation, is considered in a framework of a generalized viscoelastoplastic rheology whereby some inelastic strain relaxes a physical quantity in the material. The relaxed quantity is the deviatoric stress in case of viscoelastic relaxation, the shear stress in case of creep on a fault plane and the trace of the stress tensor in case of poroelastic rebound. In this framework, the instantaneous velocity field satisfies the linear inhomogeneous Navier's equation with sources parametrized as equivalent body forces and surface tractions. We evaluate the velocity field using the Fourier-domain Green's function for an elastic half-space with surface buoyancy boundary condition. The accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparisons with finite-element simulations of viscoelastic relaxation following strike-slip and dip-slip ruptures for linear and power-law rheologies. We also present comparisons with analytic solutions for afterslip driven by coseismic stress changes. Finally, we demonstrate that the proposed method can be used to model time-dependent poroelastic rebound by adopting a viscoelastic rheology with bulk viscosity and work hardening. The proposed method allows one to model post-seismic transients that involve multiple mechanisms (afterslip, poroelastic rebound, ductile flow) with an account for the effects of gravity, non-linear rheologies and arbitrary spatial variations in inelastic properties of rocks (e.g. the effective viscosity, rate-and-state frictional parameters and poroelastic properties). [source]


    Delineating the rupture planes of an earthquake doublet using Source-Scanning Algorithm: application to the 2005 March 3 Ilan Doublet, northeast Taiwan

    GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2010
    Chih-Wen Kan
    SUMMARY Correct identification of the fault plane(s) associated with an earthquake doublet is a very challenging problem because the pair of events often occurs in close space and time with almost the same magnitude. Most long-period waveforms of an earthquake doublet are severely tangled and thus unsuitable for conventional waveform inversion methods. In this study, we try to resolve this issue by utilizing the recently developed Source-Scanning Algorithm (SSA). The SSA systematically searches the model space for seismic sources whose times and locations are most compatible with the observed arrivals of large amplitudes on seismograms. The identification of a seismic source is based on the brightness function, which is defined as the summation of the normalized waveform amplitudes at the predicted arrival times at all stations. By illuminating the spatiotemporal distribution of asperities during an earthquake's source process, we are able to constrain the orientation of the rupture propagation that, in turn, leads to the identification of the fault plane. A series of synthetic experiments are performed to test SSA's resolution under various scenarios including different directions of rupture propagation, imperfect station coverage and short origin time difference between the two events of a doublet. Because only short-period records are needed in the analysis, the proposed method is best suited for an earthquake doublet with a short time gap between the two events. Using the 2005 Ilan doublet (the origin time difference is only 70 s) that occurred in northeast Taiwan as an example, we show that the trace of the brightest spots moves towards the west and infer the E,W-striking plane to be the actual fault plane. [source]


    The bright spot in the West Carpathian upper mantle: a trace of the Tertiary plate collision,and a caveat for a seismologist

    GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2010
    Piotr
    SUMMARY The 2-D full waveform modelling of the mantle arrivals from the CELEBRATION 2000 profiles crossing the Carpathian orogen suggests two possible tectonic models for the collision of ALCAPA (Alpine-Carpathian-Pannonian) and the European Plate in the West Carpathians in southern Poland and Slovakia. Due to an oblique (NE-SW) convergence of plates, the character of the collision may change along the zone of contact of the plates: in the western part of the area an earlier collision might have caused substantial crustal shortening and formation of a crocodile-type structure, with the delaminated lower crust of ,100 km length acting as a north-dipping reflecting discontinuity in the uppermost mantle. In the eastern part, a less advanced collision only involved the verticalization of the subducted slab remnant after a slab break-off. The lower crustal remnant of ,10 km size in the uppermost mantle acts as a pseudo-diffractor generating observable mantle arrivals. Due to the similarity of synthetic data generated by both models, the question of the non-uniqueness of seismic data interpretation, that may lead to disparate tectonic inferences, is also discussed. [source]


    Optimal measurement of relative and absolute delay times by simulated annealing

    GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2002
    S. Chevrot
    Summary Conventional approaches to determine relative arrival times of body waves recorded by a local or a regional array rely on cross-correlations between pairs of traces. This problem is better posed as a non-linear inverse problem, which involves the minimization of a cost function that measures the difference between a reference unknown waveform that can be time delayed, and the observed data. The unknown parameters that are solved for, are the amplitude values at each time sample of the optimal waveform and its time delay defined for each trace. The problem, which has a large number of unknown parameters, is solved with simulated annealing. The algorithm is very efficient and can be used for a routine analysis of seismic data. The application of this method to several earthquakes recorded during different PASSCAL experiments demonstrates that it provides accurate and robust differential traveltime measurements even with very noisy data. [source]


    Detection and analysis of LNAPL using the instantaneous amplitude and frequency of ground-penetrating radar data

    GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 1 2002
    Luciana Orlando
    This paper reports the results of using the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) method to detect light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) floating on the water table in an area where the thickness of LNAPL present ranges from a few centimetres to several decimetres. To understand the GPR response in this context, GPR theoretical models are calculated using information from the literature and hydrogeological field data. The study revealed that in the case of LNAPL floating on the water table in a static condition, there is an increase in the reflection amplitude from the water table due to the decrease in the capillary fringe. Nevertheless the amplitude of reflection from the water table can discriminate the contaminated from the non-contaminated zone. Apart from an analysis of the real traces, the analysis of some attributes of the complex trace, instantaneous amplitude, phase and frequency, are also good tools to detect hydrocarbons floating on the water table. Such attributes, depending on both the signal frequency and the hydrocarbon thickness, can also give information about the thickness of the hydrocarbon layer. It is concluded that analysing the lateral variations in signal amplitude of the real trace and in the amplitude, phase and instantaneous frequency of the complex signal permits the delimiting of the area polluted by the hydrocarbon. [source]


    From the Hagedoorn imaging technique to Kirchhoff migration and inversion

    GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 6 2001
    Norman Bleistein
    The seminal 1954 paper by J.G. Hagedoorn introduced a heuristic for seismic reflector imaging. That heuristic was a construction technique , a ,string construction' or ,ruler and compass' method , for finding reflectors as an envelope of equal traveltime curves defined by events on a seismic trace. Later, Kirchhoff migration was developed. This method is based on an integral representation of the solution of the wave equation. For decades Kirchhoff migration has been one of the most popular methods for imaging seismic data. Parallel with the development of Kirchhoff wave-equation migration has been that of Kirchhoff inversion, which has as its objectives both structural imaging and the recovery of angle-dependent reflection coefficients. The relationship between Kirchhoff migration/inversion and Hagedoorn's constructive technique has only recently been explored. This paper addresses this relationship, presenting the mathematical structure that the Kirchhoff approach adds to Hagedoorn's constructive method and showing the relationship between the two. [source]