— The scope of this study is to present a complete statistical framework for model identification of wavelet neural networks (WN). In each step in WN construction we test various methods already proposed in literature. In the first part we compare four different methods for the initialization and construction of the WN. Next various information criteria as well as sampling techniques proposed i...

Let Wn be a random walk on the locally free group with m generators subject to periodic boundary conditions, and let T (Wn) be the set of removable elements. We prove that limn→∞ E(#T (Wn)) m ≤ 0.32893 for m ≥ 4. This result disproves a conjecture (due to Vershik et. al. [3]) that the limit tends to 1 3 as m → ∞.

A traditional single-stage reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) procedure is effective in determining West Nile (WN) virus in avian tissue and infected cell cultures. However, the procedure lacks the sensitivity to detect WN virus in equine tissue. We describe an RT-nested PCR (RT-nPCR) procedure that identifies the North American strain of WN virus directly in equine and av...

The 1999 outbreak of West Nile (WN) virus in the northeastern United States was the first known natural occurrence of this flavivirus in the Western Hemisphere. In 1999 and 2000, 82 independent Connecticut WN virus isolates were cultured from nine species of birds, five species of mosquitoes, and one striped skunk. Nucleotide sequences obtained from these isolates identified 30 genetic changes,...

After an epidemic of West Nile (WN) virus neurologic infections in southeastern Romania in 1996, human and animal surveillance were established to monitor continued transmission of the virus. During 1997 and 1998, neurologic infections were diagnosed serologically as WN encephalitis in 12 of 322 patients in 19 southeastern districts and in 1 of 75 Bucharest patients. In addition, amid a country...

In addition to human encephalitis and meningitis cases, the West Nile (WN) virus outbreak in the summer and fall of 1999 in New York State resulted in bird deaths in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. From August to December 1999, 295 dead birds were laboratory-confirmed with WN virus infection; 262 (89%) were American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). The New York State Department of Health r...

OBJECTIVE Extracellular nucleotides and nucleosides are involved in regulation of skeletal muscle blood flow. Diabetes induces cardiovascular dysregulation, but the extent to which the vasodilatatory capacity of nucleotides and nucleosides is affected in type 2 diabetes is unknown. The present study investigated 1) the vasodilatatory effect of ATP, uridine-triphosphate (UTP), and adenosine (ADO...

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an invariably fatal plasma cell malignancy, primarily due to the therapeutic resistance which ultimately arises. Much of the resistance results from the expression of various survival factors. Despite this, the ribonucleoside analogue, 8-chloro-adenosine (8-Cl-Ado), is cytotoxic to a number of MM cell lines. Previously, we established that the analogue incorporates into...

Adenosine (ADO) receptor antagonists (aminophylline, caffeine) blunt the respiratory roll-off response to hypoxia in the newborn. This study was designed to determine the ADO receptor subtype involved in the respiratory depression. Chronically catheterized lambs of 7-16 days of age breathed via face mask a gas mixture with a fraction of inspired O2 of 0.21 (normoxia) or 0.07 (hypoxia), while be...

The use of cardioplegia during surgically induced ischemia greatly reduces myocardial metabolic requirements. However, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion may occur, resulting in poor functional recovery after ischemia. This study investigated if augmentation of intracellular ATP could be achieved by delivering known ATP synthesis promoters (adenosine and/or phosphate) during cardioplegic ar...