1,099 research outputs found
Integrating TRPV1 Receptor Function with Capsaicin Psychophysics
No full text© 2016 Gregory Smutzer and Roni K. Devassy. Capsaicin is a naturally occurring vanilloid that causes a hot, pungent sensation in the human oral cavity. This trigeminal stimulus activates TRPV1 receptors and stimulates an influx of cations into sensory cells. TRPV1 receptors function as homotetramers that also respond to heat, proinflammatory substances, lipoxygenase products, resiniferatoxin, endocannabinoids, protons, and peptide toxins. Kinase-mediated phosphorylation of TRPV1 leads to increased sensitivity to both chemical and thermal stimuli. In contrast, desensitization occurs via a calcium-dependent mechanism that results in receptor dephosphorylation. Human psychophysical studies have shown that capsaicin is detected at nanomole amounts and causes desensitization in the oral cavity. Psychophysical studies further indicate that desensitization can be temporarily reversed in the oral cavity if stimulation with capsaicin is resumed at short interstimulus intervals. Pretreatment of lingual epithelium with capsaicin modulates the perception of several primary taste qualities. Also, sweet taste stimuli may decrease the intensity of capsaicin perception in the oral cavity. In addition, capsaicin perception and hedonic responses may be modified by diet. Psychophysical studies with capsaicin are consistent with recent findings that have identified TRPV1 channel modulation by phosphorylation and interactions with membrane inositol phospholipids. Future studies will further clarify the importance of capsaicin and its receptor in human health and nutrition
Generalized TASE-RK methods for stiff problems
No full textA family of Time-Accurate and Stable Explicit (TASE) methods for the numerical integration of Initial Value Problems in stiff Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) y'(t) = f (t, y) was recently introduced in [1]. The main idea was to make local extrapolation of a stabilized Euler method. More recently, in [3] a similar approach by considering the stabilization of arbitrary explicit Runge-Kutta methods (TASE-RK) was analyzed. In this case the explicit Runge-Kutta method integrates a transformed ODE obtained by multiplying the vector field f (t, y) by a certain operator which approximates the identity mapping up to a given order p. The main inconvenience of both approaches is that to reach order p the solution of p2 linear systems plus the evaluation of p derivatives are required per integration step.In order to substantially reduce the computational costs of the former approaches in the linear system solution, but maintaining the good accuracy and stability properties, a new family of TASE-RK methods which allow to introduce a few more free parameters are considered. The formulation of the methods was conceived to be implemented not only in sequential mode but it admits parallelism in a straightforward way. Furthermore, since these methods are linearly implicit, connections to the class of W-methods [19] are properly established. The order conditions for the new class of methods are widely studied by using the rooted tree theory. For p = 3, 4, new methods with p sequential stages and order p are derived and compared on semidiscrete 1D and 2D Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) to those in [1,3] and other standard Rosenbrock and W-methods in the literature.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of IMACS. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons .org /licenses /by-nc -nd /4 .0/)
The morphological effects of sediment diversions the Lower Mississippi River
No full textThe wetlands in the Mississippi delta (USA) are drastically subsiding and eroding. Many projects and researches are ongoing to determine how this “drowning effect” of the delta can be stopped. One of the solutions that could be feasible is implementing sediment diversions in the levees of the Lower Mississippi River in order to divert sediment into the delta. This thesis addresses the morphological effects of river diversions on the Lower Mississippi River. The main objective is to analyze and optimize trade-offs between delta building and river navigability. For this purpose a 2DH numerical model with Delf3D has been created; the model simulates the hydro- and morphodynamic behavior. The river reach which has been studied is the final 110 km of the river from Point a la Hache at River Kilometer 78 (RK 78) down to the mouth of the river (RK -30), below Head of Passes. The hydrodynamic model has been calibrated and verified with flow and stage data from daily observations on the river. With the available sediment data a calibration has been carried out of the morphological behavior in the river. The model has been used to simulate several scenarios to get insight in the problems in the delta. From analysis of the model results the river bed in the study area can be divided into three categories. Upstream of RK 4 the bed is subject to erosion, around RK 4 the bed is practically in equilibrium and downstream of RK 4 the bed is subject to sedimentation. The reach downstream of RK 4 is the dredging reach; after analyzing the long-term simulation of 20 years it is not expected that the dredging quantities will decrease in the future. Closing off West Bay diversion has a positive effect on the dredging quantities. The best diversion site for this study area is found in the inner bend of the river upstream of Empire (RK 47) at RK 53. This site is most efficient and diverts the largest quantities of sand through the diversion.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience
The Dunston Manuscript
No full textVariously titled 80 Slides and a Memory, Fit for a King and others this is the definitive performed version as an invited reading in 2001 to the Urban Design Group. It describes in blank verse the early stages of the Gateshead Garden Festival illustrated with slide
Associating Gender with Neighbourhood Deprivation in Lagos State, Nigeria
No full textAJOL has removed this paper from the website after it was found to be published in another academic publication. AJOL has requestd that both journal editorial boards investigate this matter further with the author
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Transcriptions of Albanian Violin Music for Viola: History, Musical Style and Teaching Tools for the Intermediate to Advanced Player
No full textABSTRACTTranscriptions of Albanian Violin Music for Viola: History, Musical Style and Teaching Tools for the Intermediate to Advanced Player byBesnik YzeiriThe aim of the present study was fourfold: to add valuable new pieces to the viola repertoire; to do so specifically highlighting Albanian classical music; to develop a methodology for making transcriptions for that instrument; and to demonstrate the usefulness of such works specifically to guide intermediate and advanced viola performance students toward higher technical levels. The author accomplished these goals by carefully choosing appropriate pieces, exploring and comparing the transcribing methodologies of William Primrose, Watson Forbes, and Lionel Tertis, and synthesizing a framework for accomplishing the best transcription method for the task. The author then applied this framework specifically to Albanian composer Pjetër Gaci’s Concertino and Concerto for Violin and Piano, transcribing them for viola and piano, and finally using these transcriptions as case studies as teaching tools for intermediate to advanced viola students
Rankine models for time-dependent gravity spreading of terrestrial source flows over subplanar slopes
No full textGeological mass flows extruding from a point source include mud, lava, and salt issued from subsurface reservoirs and ice from surface feeders. The delivery of the material may occur via a salt stock, a volcanic pipe (for magma and mud flows), or a valley glacier (for ice). All these source flows are commonly skewed by a superposed far-field velocity vector imposed by the topographic slope and thus develop plumes having a wide range of shapes. The morphological evolution of the perimeter of the plumes (in plan view) can be simulated by varying the key parameters in a simple analytical flow description on the basis of Rankine equations. Our model systematically varies the strength of the point source relative to the downslope far-field velocity of its expelled mass. The flow lines are critically controlled by the relative speed of the two rates, which can be concisely expressed by the dimensionless Rankine number (Rk, introduced in this study). For steady flows, plume widths can be expressed as a function of Rk. The viscosity of the rock, mud, or lava mass involved in the gravity flow affects Rk and thus the appearance of the plumes. For unsteady source strength, Rk becomes time dependent and the plume width varies over time. The model flow shapes suggest that the plume shapes of natural gravity flows of terrestrial surface materials (mud, lava, salt, and ice) commonly express fast initial flux of the source, followed by an exponential decline of the source strength. Flows having initially higher Rk but otherwise equal life cycles create broader plumes. Peaks in the source flux due to magmatic pulsing during the eruption cycle can explain the formation of pillow lavas. Rather than instantaneously reaching full strength before declining, some natural source flows start by swelling slowly, leading to the creation of unique plume shapes like a flying saucerGeoscience & EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience
RWP-RK Domain 3 (OsRKD3) induces somatic embryogenesis in black rice
No full textBackground: Plants have the unique capability to form embryos from both gametes and somatic cells, with the latter process known as somatic embryogenesis. Somatic embryogenesis (SE) can be induced by exposing plant tissues to exogenous growth regulators or by the ectopic activation of embryogenic transcription factors. Recent studies have revealed that a discrete group of RWP-RK DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN (RKD) transcription factors act as key regulators of germ cell differentiation and embryo development in land plants. The ectopic overexpression of reproductive RKDs is associated with increased cellular proliferation and the formation of somatic embryo-like structures that bypass the need for exogenous growth regulators. However, the precise molecular mechanisms implicated in the induction of somatic embryogenesis by RKD transcription factors remains unknown. Results: In silico analyses have identified a rice RWP-RK transcription factor, named Oryza sativa RKD3 (OsRKD3), which is closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana RKD4 (AtRKD4) and Marchantia polymorpha RKD (MpRKD) proteins. Our study demonstrates that the ectopic overexpression of OsRKD3, which is expressed preferentially in reproductive tissues, can trigger the formation of somatic embryos in an Indonesian black rice landrace (Cempo Ireng) that is normally resistant to somatic embryogenesis. By analyzing the transcriptome of induced tissue, we identified 5,991 genes that exhibit differential expression in response to OsRKD3 induction. Among these genes, 50 were up-regulated while the other half were down-regulated. Notably, approximately 37.5 of the up-regulated genes contained a sequence motif in their promoter region, which was also observed in RKD targets from Arabidopsis. Furthermore, OsRKD3 was shown to mediate the transcriptional activation of a discrete gene network, which includes several transcription factors such as APETALA 2-like (AP2-like)/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF), MYB and CONSTANS-like (COL), and chromatin remodeling factors associated with hormone signal transduction, stress responses and post-embryonic pathways. Conclusions: Our data show that OsRKD3 modulates an extensive gene network and its activation is associated with the initiation of a somatic embryonic program that facilitates genetic transformation in black rice. These findings hold substantial promise for improving crop productivity and advancing agricultural practices in black rice. © 2023, The Author(s)
On localization properties of Fourier transforms of hyperfunctions
No full textAbstractIn [A.G. Smirnov, Fourier transformation of Sato's hyperfunctions, Adv. Math. 196 (2005) 310–345] the author introduced a new generalized function space U(Rk) which can be naturally interpreted as the Fourier transform of the space of Sato's hyperfunctions on Rk. It was shown that all Gelfand–Shilov spaces Sα′0(Rk) (α>1) of analytic functionals are canonically embedded in U(Rk). While the usual definition of support of a generalized function is inapplicable to elements of Sα′0(Rk) and U(Rk), their localization properties can be consistently described using the concept of carrier cone introduced by Soloviev [M.A. Soloviev, Towards a generalized distribution formalism for gauge quantum fields, Lett. Math. Phys. 33 (1995) 49–59; M.A. Soloviev, An extension of distribution theory and of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem related to quantum gauge theory, Comm. Math. Phys. 184 (1997) 579–596]. In this paper, the relation between carrier cones of elements of Sα′0(Rk) and U(Rk) is studied. It is proved that an analytic functional u∈Sα′0(Rk) is carried by a cone K⊂Rk if and only if its canonical image in U(Rk) is carried by K
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