The dilator function of the vascular endothelium is critical for optimal tissue perfusion, and this is brought into stark reality in a number of diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and preeclampsia, in which endothelium-dependent vasodilator function is impaired. Prostacyclin and nitric oxide (NO) were the earliest identified endothelium-dependent vasodilators, but it was soon found that ...

An anticipatory system for guiding plot development in interactive narratives is described. The executable model is a finite automaton that provides the implemented system with a lookahead. The identification of undesirable future states in the model is used to guide the player, in a transparent manner. In this way, too radical twists of the plot that lead to behaviors of the autonomous fellow ...

Motivation The increase in available microbial genome sequences has resulted in an increase in the size of the pangenomes being analyzed. Current pangenome visualizations are not intended for the pangenome sizes possible today and new approaches are necessary in order to convert the increase in available information to increase in knowledge. As the pangenome data structure is essentially a coll...

Transposable elements are the major drivers of genome evolution and plasticity. Due to their transposition mode, they are classified into two major classes as Retrotransposons and DNA transposons. The En/Spm or CACTA elements are diverse group of DNA transposons proliferating in plant genomes. Various bioinformatics and molecular approaches were used for identification and distribution of CACTA...

concrete shear walls are the most prevalent structural systems resisting lateral loads due to earthquakes in high-rise buildings. very large in-plane stiffness of shear walls provides an excellent drift control in the structure. however, structural damages and early code shortcomings threaten the efficiency of existing structural walls against earthquake. recently, fiber reinforced polymer (frp...