Operational filtering of traffic data

An operational filter of traffic state variables is presented for use in designing computer-aided traffic surveillance and control systems. A total of 166 data sets from three traffic surveillance systems were used in the filter development. All the data sets were best represented by an ARIMA (0,1,3) filter. This filter has the following advantages: (1) it yields minimum mean-square-error forecasts if stationarity of the observations can be obtained; (2) it provides much better results than the existing ad hoc filters; (3) it is computationally tractable; and (4) it requires modest computer storage of data. Suggestions and implications for the use of this filter are given.     

Effect of stress on choline acetyltransferase activity of the brain and the adrenal of the rat.

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was determined in cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, midbrain and adrenal gland of rats exposed to acute or chronic stress. The exposure of animals to acute immobilization and cold stress (4 degrees C) for one hour resulted in a significant decline of ChAT activity in all brain regions examined except for the medulla oblongata. Moreover, the exposure to acute stress resulted in significant increase of the same enzyme in the adrenal gland. However, chronic exposure of animals to cold stress (4 degrees C) for 7 days resulted in no significant changes of ChAT activity in all tissues examined except for a decline in the midbrain and an increase in the medulla oblongata. The administration of corticosterone (2.0 mg/kg) 1 h prior to sacrificing caused an effect similar to that of acute stress on ChAT activity in all brain regions except for the hypothalamus and the cerebellum. It was concluded from this experiment that stress-induced changes in the ChAT activity of specific brain regions might be mediated by the adrenal steroids.     

SAP is required for generating long-term humoral immunity

Long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells are the primary cellular components of long-term humoral immunity and as such are vitally important for the protection afforded by most vaccines. The SAP gene has been identified as the genetic locus responsible for X-linked lymphoproliferative disease, a fatal immunodeficiency. Mutations in SAP have also been identified in some cases of severe common variable immunodeficiency disease. The underlying cellular basis of this genetic disorder remains unclear. We have used a SAP knockout mouse model system to explore the role of SAP in immune responses. Here we report that mice lacking expression of SAP generate strong acute IgG antibody responses after viral infection, but show a near complete absence of virus-specific long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells, despite the presence of virus-specific memory CD4+ T cells. Adoptive transfer experiments show that SAP-deficient B cells are normal and the defect is in CD4+ T cells. Thus, SAP has a crucial role in CD4+ T-cell function: it is essential for late B-cell help and the development of long-term humoral immunity but is not required for early B-cell help and class switching.     

Estimation of Cloud Node Acquisition Waseem Ahmed and Yongwei Wu简

Over the past decade, there has been a paradigm shift leading consumers and enterprises to the adoption of cloud computing services. Even though most cases are still in the early stages of transition, there has been a steady increase in the implementation of the pay-as-you-go or pay-as-you-grow models offered by cloud providers. Whether applied as an extension of virtual infrastructure, software, or platform as a service, many users are still challenged by the estimation of adequate resource allocation and the wide variations in pricing. Customers require a simple method of predicting future demand in terms of the number of nodes to be allocated in the cloud environment. In this paper, we review and discuss existing methodologies for estimating the demand for cloud nodes and their corresponding pricing policies. Based on our review, we propose a novel approach using the Hidden Markov Model to estimate the acquisition of cloud nodes.     

Revision of the digger wasps of the Ampulicidae and Heterogynaidae (Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia,with the description of a new species of the enigmatic genus Heterogyna Nagy

The apoid wasps of the families Ampulicidae and Heterogynaidae of Saudi Arabia are revised. In Ampulicidae, four species in three genera are reported, of which three species are recorded for the first time from Saudi Arabia (Al-Baha, Asir and Riyadh regions): Ampulex assimilis Kohl, Dolichurus arabicus Ohl and Trirogma caerulea Westwood. Additionally, the family Heterogynaidae is reported for the first time from Saudi Arabia (Asir and Riyadh regions), and a new species, Heterogyna saudita sp. nov., is described, diagnosed and illustrated. An illustrated key to the species of Heterogyna from the Arabian Peninsula is provided.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C23C70A7-AA1C-47C0-951A-D164E7B20001     

TTC21B contributes both causal and modifying alleles across the ciliopathy spectrum

Ciliary dysfunction leads to a broad range of overlapping phenotypes, collectively termed ciliopathies. This grouping is underscored by genetic overlap, where causal genes can also contribute modifier alleles to clinically distinct disorders. Here we show that mutations in TTC21B, which encodes the retrograde intraflagellar transport protein IFT139, cause both isolated nephronophthisis and syndromic Jeune asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy. Moreover, although resequencing of TTC21B in a large, clinically diverse ciliopathy cohort and matched controls showed a similar frequency of rare changes, in vivo and in vitro evaluations showed a significant enrichment of pathogenic alleles in cases (P < 0.003), suggesting that TTC21B contributes pathogenic alleles to ～5% of ciliopathy cases. Our data illustrate how genetic lesions can be both causally associated with diverse ciliopathies and interact in trans with other disease-causing genes and highlight how saturated resequencing followed by functional analysis of all variants informs the genetic architecture of inherited disorders.     

Tunability of physical properties of (Cd:Zn)S thin film by Close Space Sublimation Process (CSSP)

The present paper reports on a systematic study of the influence of Zn alloying on the structural and optical properties of Cd1 xZnxS thin films. X-ray diffraction study for structural analysis reveals that the two binary compounds have been completely transformed into ternary compound with hexagonal (wurtzite) structure with preferred orientation along c-direction with (002) planes. The optical properties such as optical constants and band gap energy of the films were examined by using spectroscopic ellipsometer and Photospectrometery. It was found that the optical constants (n and k) decrease with the addition of Zn content in the alloy. It was also confirmed that the band gap increases with increasing Zn amount in the alloy and is attributed to quantum size effect in the grain size. Raman spectroscopy analysis shows one dominant phonon band at 326 cm 1, the so-called longitudinal optical (LO) mode for all the alloy composition (x). The appearance of a single phonon band in the Raman spectra established the formation of single phase hexagonal structured Cd1 xZnxS thin film. The LO band is asymmetrically broaden and high frequency shifted due to potential fluctuation caused by the dopant material. The AFM results showed that the surface roughness was decreased with increasing Zn content.     

A preliminary survey of the insect fauna of the Hajar Mountain Range,Oman

The Hajar Mountain Range of Northern Oman is an important centre of species endemism, and of biogeographical interest as a crossroads between the Afrotropical and Palaearctic regions. Despite this, the invertebrate fauna of the region is largely unknown, with very little dedicated research or surveys having been undertaken until now. Here we present the invertebrate species collected and identified from five different survey locations within the Hajar Mountains. This preliminary checklist contains 296 records, of which 36 are new records for Oman. Our surveys also discovered two new species of ant: Lepisiota omanensis collected from Jebel Qahwan Reserve and at the base of Jebel Akhdar, and Anochetus annetteae from Hibra Village in the Nakhl Region.