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Introduction: Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is a solid waste in agricultural production that contains abundant lignocellulosic fibers. The indiscriminate disposal of SMS will lead to significant resource waste and pollution of the surrounding environment. The isolation and screening of microorganisms with high cellulase degradation capacity is the key to improving SMS utilization. Methods: The cellulose-degrading microbial consortiums were constructed through antagonism and enzyme activity test. The effect of microbial consortiums on lignocellulose degradation was systematically evaluated by SMS liquid fermentation experiments. Results: In this study, four strains of cellulose-degrading bacteria were screened, and F16, F, and F7 were identified as B. amyloliquefaciens, PX1 identified as B. velezensis. At the same time, two groups of cellulose efficient degrading microbial consortiums (PX1 + F7 and F16 + F) were successfully constructed. When SMS was used as the sole carbon source, their carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) activities were 225.16 and 156.63 U/mL, respectively, and the filter paper enzyme (FPase) activities were 1.91 and 1.64 U/mL, respectively. PX1 + F7 had the highest degradation rate of hemicellulose and lignin, reaching 52.96% and 52.13%, respectively, and the degradation rate of F16 + F was as high as 56.30%. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis showed that the surface microstructure of SMS changed significantly after microbial consortiums treatment, and the change of absorption peak in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the increase of crystallinity in X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that the microbial consortiums had an actual degradation effect on SMS. The results showed that PX1 + F7 and F16 + F could effectively secrete cellulase and degrade cellulose, which had practical significance for the degradation of SMS. Discussion: In this study, the constructed PX1 + F7 and F16 + F strains can effectively secrete cellulase and degrade cellulose, which holds practical significance in the degradation of SMS. The results can provide technical support for treating highcellulose solid waste and for the comprehensive utilization of biomass resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Visual field defect (VFD) refers to the phenomenon that the eye is unable to see a certain area within the normal range of vision, which may be caused by eye diseases, neurological diseases and other reasons. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is expected to be an effective treatment for the recovery or partial recovery of VFD. This paper describes the potential for tDCS in combination with visual retraining strategies to have a positive impact on vision recovery, and the potential for neuroplasticity to play a key role in vision recovery. Methods: This case report includes two patients. Patient 1 was diagnosed with a right occipital hemorrhage and homonymous hemianopia. Patient 2 had multiple facial fractures, a contusion of the right eye, and damage to the optic nerve of the right eye, which was diagnosed as a peripheral nerve injury (optic nerve injury). We administered a series of treatments to two patients, including transcranial direct current stimulation; visual field restoration rehabilitation: paracentric gaze training, upper and lower visual field training, VR rehabilitation, and perceptual training. One time per day, 5 days per week, total 6 weeks. Results: After 6 weeks of visual rehabilitation and tDCS treatment, Patient 1 Humphrey visual field examination showed a significant improvement compared to the initial visit, with a reduction in the extent of visual field defects, increased visual acuity, and improvement in most visual functions. Patient 2 had an expanded visual field, improved visual sensitivity, and substantial improvement in visual function. Conclusion: Our case reports support the feasibility and effectiveness of tDCS combined with visual rehabilitation training in the treatment of occipital stroke and optic nerve injury settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carotid web is commonly found in the carotid bulb or the beginning of the internal carotid artery. It presents as a thin layer of proliferative intimal tissue originating from the arterial wall and extending into the vessel lumen. A large body of research has proven that the carotid web is a risk factor for ischemic stroke. This review summarizes the current research status of the carotid web and focuses on its imaging presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daphnia galeata is a common and dominant species in warmer waters, and has a strong top-down effect on both phytoplankton and bacteria. The knowledge of its temporal and spatial patterns of genetic diversity is fundamental in understanding its population dynamics and potential ecological function in ecosystems. Its population genetics have been investigated at regional scales but few within regions or at smaller spatial scales. Here, we examined the fine-scale spatial genetic variation of D. galeata within four large, deep reservoirs in wet and dry seasons and the six-year variation of genetic diversity in one of the reservoirs by using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and microsatellites (simple sequence repeat). Our study shows that fine-scale spatial genetic variation commonly occurred within the reservoirs, indicating strong environmental selection at least in the two of reservoirs with strong longitudinal gradients. Since the environmental gradients established in the dry season was largely reduced in the wet season, the fine-scale spatial genetic variation was much higher in the dry season. The dynamics of local genetic diversity did not follow the theoretical pattern of rapid erosion but peaked in mid or mid-late growth season. The local genetic diversity of D. galeata appears to be shaped and maintained not only by recruitment from resting egg banks but also by gene flow within reservoirs. The temporal and fine-scale genetic variation within a water body suggests that it is necessary to pay attention to sampling periods and locations of a given water body in regional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amylose content (AC) is an important indicator for rice quality grading. The rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology provides rich spectral and spatial information on observed objects, making non-destructive monitoring of crop quality possible. To test the potential of UAV-based hyperspectral images in AC estimation, in this study, observations on five rice cultivars were carried out in eastern China (Zhejiang province) for four consecutive years (from 2017 to 2020). The correlations between spectral and textural variables of UAV-based hyperspectral images at different growth stages (booting, heading, filling, and ripening) and AC (%) were analyzed, and the linear regression models based on spectral variables alone, textural variables alone, and combined spectral and textural variables were established. The results showed that the sensitive bands (P< 0.001) to AC were mainly centered in the green (536-568 nm) and red regions (630-660nm), with spectral and textural variables at the ripening stage giving the highest negative correlation coefficient of -0.868 and -0.824, respectively. Models based on combined spectral and textural variables give better estimation than those based on spectral or textural variables alone, characterized by less variables and higher accuracy. The best models using spectral or textural variables alone both involved three growth stages (heading, filling, and ripening), with root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.01% and 1.04%, respectively, while the models based on combined spectral and textural variables have RMSE of 1.04% 0.844% with only one (ripening stage) or two (ripening and filling stages) growth stages involved. The combination of spectral and textural variables of UAV-based hyperspectral images is expected to simplify data acquisition and enhance estimation accuracy in remote sensing of rice AC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mounting studies have investigated impairments in social cognitive domains (including theory of mind [ToM] and facial emotion recognition [FER] in adult patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). However, to date, inconsistent findings remain. Methods: A search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases was conducted until December 2021. Hedges g effect sizes were computed with a random-effects model. Meta-regressions were used to assess the potential confounding factors of between-study variability in effect sizes. Results: The meta-analysis included 41 studies, with a combined sample of 1,749 adult patients with TLE and 1,324 healthy controls (HCs). Relative to HCs, adult patients with TLE showed large impairments in ToM (g = --0.92) and cognitive ToM (g = --0.92), followed by medium impairments in affective ToM (g=--0.79) and FER (g=--0.77). Besides, no (statistically) significant differences were observed between themagnitude of social cognition impairment in adult with TLE who underwent and those who did not undergo epilepsy surgery. Meta-regressions exhibited that greater severity of executive functioning was associated with more severe ToM defects, and older age was associated with more severe FER defects. Conclusions: Results of thismeta-analysis suggest that adult patients with TLE show differential impairments in the core aspects of social cognitive domains (including ToM and FER), which may help in planning individualized treatment with appropriate cognitive and behavioral interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have investigated impairments in two key domains of social cognition (theory of mind [ToM] and facial emotion recognition [FER]) in children and adolescents with epilepsy. However, inconsistent conclusions were found. Our objective was to characterize social cognition performance of children and adolescents with epilepsy. A literature search was conducted using Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase databases. The article retrieval, screening, quality assessment (Newcastle-Ottawa-Scale), and data extraction were performed independently by two investigators. A random-effects model was used to examine estimates. The meta-analysis included 19 studies, with a combined sample of 623 children and adolescents with epilepsy (mean [SD] age, 12.13 [2.62] years; 46.1% female) and 677 healthy controls [HCs]) (mean [SD] age, 11.48 [2.71] years; 50.7% female). The results revealed that relative to HCs, children and adolescents with epilepsy exhibited deficits in ToM (g = -1.08, 95% CI [-1.38, -0.78], p < 0.001, the number of studies [k] = 13), FER (g = -0.98, 95% CI [-1.33, -0.64], p < 0.001, k = 12), and ToM subcomponents (cognitive ToM: g = -1.04, 95% CI [-1.35, -0.72], p < 0.001, k = 12] and affective ToM: g = -0.73, 95% CI [-1.12, -0.34], p < 0.001, k = 8). In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in social cognition deficits between children and adolescents with focal epilepsy and generalized epilepsy. Meta-regressions confirmed the robustness of the results. These quantitative results further deepen our understanding of the two core domains of social cognition in children and adolescents with epilepsy and may assist in the development of cognitive interventions for this patient population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXenes) with outstanding metal conductivity and unique gas sensing characteristics have become a rising star in detecting volatile organic compounds. However, the chemical instability of MXenes, such as easy oxidation in high temperature and humid environments, leads to the reduction of electrical properties, which may limit their use in long-term operation applications. In this work, we introduce MoO3 with many oxygen vacancies through a facile method to improve the conductivity of TiO2/Ti3C2Tx, and improve its stability and electrical properties through a ternary heterostructure. We also demonstrate a gas sensor based on the MoO3/TiO2/Ti3C2Tx composite, and the beauty of such sensors is their stability under high oxidation conditions. In addition, due to the formation of more active centers and heterojunctions, the sensor's response to various VOCs at room temperature is 20-40 times higher than that of the pristine MXene sensor. Moreover, it has a unique and better response to isopropanol vapor. This work offers a solution to the industrial application of MXene based gas sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mammalian retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) normally cannot regenerate axons nor survive after optic nerve injury, this failure is partially reversed by inducing sterile inflammation in the eye. Infiltrative myeloid cells express the axogenic protein oncomodulin (Ocm) but additional, as-yet-unidentified, factors are also required. We show here that infiltrative macrophages express stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF1, CXCL12), which plays a central role in this regard. Among many growth factors tested in culture, only SDF1 enhances Ocm activity, an effect mediated through intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) elevation and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K) activation. SDF1 deficiency in myeloid cells (CXCL12flx/flxLysM-Cre2/+ mice) or deletion of the SDF1 receptor CXCR4 in RGCs (intraocular AAV2-Cre in CXCR4flx/flx mice) or SDF1 antagonist AMD3100 greatly suppresses inflammationinduced regeneration and decreases RGC survival to baseline levels. Conversely, SDF1 induces optic nerve regeneration and RGC survival, and, when combined with Ocm/cAMP, SDF1 increases axon regeneration to levels similar to those induced by intraocular inflammation. In contrast to deletion of phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten), which promotes regeneration selectively from aRGCs, SDF1 promotes regeneration from non-aRGCs and enables the latter cells to respond robustly to Pten deletion; however, SDF1 surprisingly diminishes the response of aRGCs to Pten deletion. When combined with inflammation and Pten deletion, SDF1 enables many RGCs to regenerate axons the entire length of the optic nerve. Thus, SDF1 complements the effects of Ocm in mediating inflammation-induced regeneration and enables different RGC subtypes to respond to Pten deletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a leading therapeutic candidate for several ocular diseases and induces optic nerve regeneration in animal models. Paradoxically, however, although CNTF gene therapy promotes extensive regeneration, recombinant CNTF (rCNTF) has little effect. Because intraocular viral vectors induce inflammation, and because CNTF is an immune modulator, we investigated whether CNTF gene therapy acts indirectly through other immune mediators. The beneficial effects of CNTF gene therapy remained unchanged after deleting CNTF receptor alpha (CNTFRα) in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the projection neurons of the retina, but were diminished by depleting neutrophils or by genetically suppressing monocyte infiltration. CNTF gene therapy increased expression of C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) in immune cells and retinal glia, and recombinant CCL5 induced extensive axon regeneration. Conversely, CRISPR-mediated knockdown of the cognate receptor (CCR5) in RGCs or treating wild-type mice with a CCR5 antagonist repressed the effects of CNTF gene therapy. Thus, CCL5 is a previously unrecognized, potent activator of optic nerve regeneration and mediates many of the effects of CNTF gene therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-care behavior plays a major role in diabetic management. However, in China, a satisfactory instrument has not yet been developed to evaluate the compliance of self-care behavior for young patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The Diabetes Behavior Rating Scale (DBRS) has a potential to be the first mature instrument. The purpose of this study is to cross-culturally adapt the DBRS, and preliminarily evaluate its psychometric properties. The instrument translation included translation, back translation and culture adaptation. Psychometric properties were assessed in a sample of 116 young patients with T1DM adapting insulin injection therapy. The Chinese version of the DBRS was divided to four subscales. Cronbach's a for the total scale was 0.92. The mean inter-item and item-total correlations were 0.35 and 0.54 respectively. Test-retest reliability showed good temporal stability (r=0.81, P=0.001). Negative correlations were found between DBRS scores with the Diabetes Distress Scale scores (r=-0.32, P=0.003) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels (r=-0.36, P=0.002). Higher DBRS scores correlated with better glycemic control. The Chinese insulin injection therapy version of the DBRS is well translated and culturally adapted. It shows good overall reliability and validity and appears to be a valuable tool for assessing the diabetic self-care behaviors for young patients with T1DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) own unique capabilities to communicate with nucleic acids and ribonucleoproteins and are emerging as indispensable compositions of the regulatory messages encoded in the genome. Due to lack of 3' termini, circRNAs are more resistant to degradation by exonuclease RNase R and possess greater stability than linear RNAs. Moreover, circRNAs can act as microRNA (miRNA) sponge and affect messenger RNA (mRNA) splicing and transcription. By virtue of their great stability and elaborate regulatory mechanisms of gene expression, circRNAs play important roles in certain physiological activities. The development, homeostasis and stress response of the central nervous system (CNS) depend upon precise temporal and spatial regulation of gene networks. Moreover, emerging evidence has revealed that circRNAs are spatiotemporally regulated and dynamically expressed during brain development; therefore, they can exert significant influences on CNS development and diseases. In this review, we highlight the biogenesis of circRNAs and their central roles in regulation of CNS development and diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether education level and occupation are risk factors of vaginitis in pregnant women and to investigate relationship between vaginitis occurrence during pregnancy and perinatal mortality rates. Methods: A total of 319 women of early pregnancy or mid-pregnancy were enrolled. Six specimens were collected from posterior fornix of each pregnant woman and then cultured for identification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, intestinal bacteria, general bacteria, fungi, mycoplasma, and chlamydia, respectively. Results: The pregnant women in the "elementary school or below" group and the "middle school" group had significantly higher incidences of vaginitis compared with the pregnant women in the groups of "high school", "skill education", and "college or above". The pregnant women in the groups of "Worker", "Government employee", "Company employee", and "Professionals" had significantly lower vaginitis incidences. The women with infections of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, intestinal bacteria, and general bacteria had higher perinatal mortalities (0.063 ± 0.011, 0.052 ± 0.012, and 0.017 ± 0.008, respectively) than women with infections of fungi, mycoplasma, and Chlamydia (0.002 ± 0.007, 0.003 ± 0.004, and 0.001 ± 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Education level and occupation are risk factors related to incidences of vaginitis in pregnant women. The bacteria-related vaginitis is a major reason of perinatal mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the association between alcohol intake and the risk of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have been inconclusive. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate alcohol intake as a risk factor for MDS. We performed a systematic literature search of articles published before March, 2014 using Web of Science, PubMed and the Cochrane Library. Two evaluators independently selected and reviewed studies based on predetermined selection criteria. The fixed- or random-effects models were used to summarize the estimates of odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 9 studies (8 case-control and 1 cohort) met the inclusion criteria of this meta-analysis. No significant association was observed between alcohol consumption and MDS when comparing drinkers to non-drinkers (OR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.88-1.53) or between subgroups stratified by alcohol history, gender, ethnicity, study design, source of patients or MDS subtypes. However, the data indicated a stronger association of alcohol with MDS in individuals who consumed ≥10 g/day (OR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.08-2.21) vs. those who consumed <10 g/day (OR=1.09, 95% CI: 0.78-1.53). This meta-analysis suggests that alcohol intake may increase the risk of MDS in a dose-dependent manner. However, additional well-designed, prospective cohort studies are required to verify these findings and identify other risk factors associated with MDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To investigate characteristics of straylight before and after thin-flap LASIK performed with femtosecond laser versus with mechanical microkeratome and assess changes at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively. METHODS: One hundred twenty-eight consecutive eyes from 66 patients were included in this prospective study. Sixty-one eyes of 31 patients had thin-flap LASIK with femtosecond laser. In addition, 67 eyes from 35 patients underwent thin-flap LASIK with mechanical microkeratome were included for comparison. Following flap creation, all eyes were ablated using the VIXS S4 excimer laser system (Visx USA, Inc., Santa Clara, CA). Straylight values were measured using the C-Quant straylight meter (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) preoperatively and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months and 1 year postoperatively. RESULTS: Preoperatively, the mean straylight values were 0.93 ± 0.11. After femtosecond laser-assisted thin-flap LASIK, the values were 1.00 ± 0.11, 0.98 ± 0.10, and 0.99 ± 0.12 at 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month, respectively, and significantly increased (F = 7.62, P > .0001) compared to preoperative values. However, these values decreased and returned to preoperative levels at 6 months and 1 year postoperatively (0.92 ± 0.09 and 0.89 ± 0.13, respectively; P > .05). The postoperative-preoperative increases in straylight were reduced in the femtosecond laser group compared to the mechanical microkeratome group (0.05 ± 0.13 vs 0.10 ± 0.13 at 1 month postoperatively; P < .05). This difference was statistically significant at 1 month postoperatively (P = .04). A negative significant correlation was also found between preoperative straylight values and postoperative-preoperative increases. CONCLUSIONS: Straylight increased significantly in the early stages after femtosecond laser-assisted thin-flap LASIK. However, these values improved over time and gradually returned to preoperative levels, which may be related to the progression of corneal healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plants, the circadian clock is an endogenous mechanism that controls a wide range of biological processes. To date, as one of the key world crops, little is known about the molecular mechanism and components of the circadian clock in maize ( Zea mays). In this study, we characterized the CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 gene of maize ( ZmCCA1), an ortholog of CCA1 in Arabidopsis thaliana ( AtCCA1). Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that ZmCCA1 was expressed in leaves and stem apex meristems in a rhythmic pattern under long day and short day conditions, and its peak gene expression appeared during the morning. ZmCCA1 transcripts accumulated in all tissues evaluated, with higher levels in tassels and ears. Additionally, the expression of another photoperiod gene ZmTOC1 peaked 12 h after dawn on long days and at 10 h after dawn on short days. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that the ZmCCA1 protein is directed to the cell nucleus. Overexpression of ZmCCA1 in Arabidopsis reduced the expression levels of downstream genes, including GIGANTEA ( AtGI), CONSTANS ( AtCO), and FLOWERING LOCUST ( AtFT), and resulted in longer hypocotyls and delayed flowering. Taken together, our data suggest that ZmCCA1 may be a core component of the circadian clock in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-based seismic evaluations of structures can give clear illustrations of seismic demands made upon structures. This paper presents a 3-dimensional energy-based modal pushover analysis (3D EMPA) method with equivalent three degree of freedom (ETDOF) system and equal-displacement rule. The lateral-rotational coupled effect on structures asymmetric in plan is considered using the energy-based modal pushover analysis (EMPA), which is more robust than the traditional Modal Pushover Analysis (MPA) procedure. The proposed procedure was validated against a nonlinear time history analysis of a 5-storey structure. The results show that the method is able to take higher mode effects into account and that the instability of capacity spectra will be avoided. The maximum deformation obtained from EMPA shows good agreement with a nonlinear time history analysis results of the original system. The proposed EMPA procedure appears to be reliable and effective for evaluating the seismic response of asymmetric-plan structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-fault ground motions, potentially with large amplitude and typical velocity pulses, may significantly impact the performance of a wide range of structures. The current study is aimed at evaluating the safety implications of the near-fault effect on nuclear power plant facilities designed according to the Chinese code. To this end, a set of nearfault ground motions at rock sites with typical forward-directivity effect is examined with special emphasis on several key parameters and response spectra. Spectral comparison of the selected records with the Chinese and other code design spectra was conducted. The bi-normalized response spectra in terms of different corner periods are utilized to derive nuclear design spectra. It is concluded that nuclear design spectra on rock sites derived from typical rupture directivity records are significantly influenced both by the earthquake magnitude and the rupture distance. The nuclear design spectra specified in the code needs to be adjusted to reflect the near-fault directivity effect of large earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake produced a rich set of over 1,400 accelerograms, which helped us to better understand strong ground motions from such a large event. Using the abundant data, we investigated the characteristics of response spectral accelerations from this event. This study includes: the spatial distribution of spectral amplitudes at three periods selected to represent ground motions at short, short-middle, and middle-long period ranges; attenuations of response spectral accelerations at periods between 0.05 and 10 s; comparison between the observed ground motions and predicted motions from empirically based equations [Abrahamson and Silva,1997; Boore et al., 1997; Campbell, 1997; Huo, 1989] commonly used in America and China; comparison between the average response spectra at three distance bins and the Chinese seismic design spectra under major earthquake (with the recurrent interval of over 2,000 years);, the vertical-to-horizontal ratio of response spectra and its dependence on the rupture distance, period, and local site condition; and comparison between the fault-normal and fault-parallel component spectral accelerations within the rupture distance of 60 km. Based on these analyses, we finally drew some conclusions regarding the engineering characteristics of spectral accelerations from large earthquakes, such as Wenchuan of Mw 7.9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a performance-based methodology for the assessment of seismic vulnerability and capacity of buildings. The vulnerability assessment methodology is based on the HAZUS methodology and the improved capacitydemand-diagram method. The spectral displacement ( S d) of performance points on a capacity curve is used to estimate the damage level of a building. The relationship between S d and peak ground acceleration (PGA) is established, and then a new vulnerability function is expressed in terms of PGA. Furthermore, the expected value of the seismic capacity index (SCev) is provided to estimate the seismic capacity of buildings based on the probability distribution of damage levels and the corresponding seismic capacity index. The results indicate that the proposed vulnerability methodology is able to assess seismic damage of a large number of building stock directly and quickly following an earthquake. The SCev provides an effective index to measure the seismic capacity of buildings and illustrate the relationship between the seismic capacity of buildings and seismic action. The estimated result is compared with damage surveys of the cities of Dujiangyan and Jiangyou in the M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, revealing that the methodology is acceptable for seismic risk assessment and decision making. The primary reasons for discrepancies between the estimated results and the damage surveys are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to retailing new vehicles, automotive manufacturers in the United States sell millions of vehicles through leasing and to fleet customers every year. The majority of these vehicles are returned to the automotive manufacturers at the end of the contracted term and must be "remarketed." In 2007, about 10 million used vehicles were sold at more than 400 auctions in the United States. Large consigners face decisions every day about when, where, and at what price to offer these vehicles, which has significant financial implications for their profitability. To address the challenges of the distribution process, Power Information Network (PIN), a division of J.D. Power and Associates, developed the PIN Optimal Distribution of Auction Vehicles System (ODAV), an automated decision optimization system that helps remarketers maximize profits through the most advantageous distribution of their auction vehicles. At the core of the system is a combination of three models that determine the distribution of the vehicles on a daily basis: a nearest neighbor linear regression model for short-term auction price forecasting; an autoregressive integrated moving average time-series analysis model for volume-price elasticity; and a genetic algorithm optimizer for vehicle distribution. Since its launch in 2003, PIN has been providing ODAV services on a daily basis, and to date, more than two million vehicles have been distributed through this system. In this paper, we will describe the PIN ODAV System, its implementation, and the business impact by using as an example the experience with our largest client, Chrysler Group LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In displacement&hyphen;based seismic design, constant&hyphen;ductility strength demand spectra &lpar;CDSDS&rpar; are useful for preliminary design of new structures where the global displacement ductility capacity is known. The CDSDS can provide the required inelastic lateral strength of new structures from the required elastic lateral strength. Based on a statistical study of the nonlinear time history for a single&hyphen;degree&hyphen;of&hyphen;freedom system, the mean CDSDS corresponding to four site conditions are presented, and expressions of the inelastic spectra are proposed. It is concluded that site conditions, ductility level, and structural period have important effects on the CDSDS; however, damping and post&hyphen;yield stiffness effects are of minor importance.

Several equivalent representations of pulse&hyphen;type ground motions in a near&hyphen;fault region are studied to provide a quantitative understanding of certain dynamic properties of simple pulses. The objective is to describe near&hyphen;fault motions with eight sets of simple pulse waveforms and to find the distinctions between them. Dynamic time history response features of a damped single&hyphen;degree&hyphen;of&hyphen;freedom system subjected to pulse excitations are examined. These special aspects of pulse waveforms and their response spectra should be taken into account in the estimation of ground motions for a project site close to a fault.

In this article, the authors focus on a study related to the isolation on low molecular weight RNA from various plant species. They inform that researchers used polyethylene glycol and absolute ethanol for isolating RNA with yields greater than 80 microgram per gram of fresh-weight tissues of plants. They mention that researchers utilized cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) buffer for cell lysis.