17 Dendritic and axonal arbors of many neuronal types exhibit self-avoidance, in which branches 18 repel each other. In some cases, these neurites interact with those of neighboring neurons, a 19 phenomenon called self/non-self discrimination. The functional roles of these processes remain 20 unknown. Here, we used retinal starburst amacrine cells (SACs), critical components of a 21 direction-s...

This overview assesses some distinguishing features of the cetacean (whale, dolphin, porpoise) air sac system that may relate to the anatomy and function of the paranasal sinuses in terrestrial mammals. The cetacean respiratory tract has been modified through evolution to accommodate living in water. Lack of paranasal sinuses in modern cetaceans may be a diving adaptation. Bone-enclosed air cha...

The Safe Control Systems (SaCS) method is a pattern-based method supporting the development of conceptual designs for safety critical systems. A pattern language offers support for the method by six different kinds of basic patterns, operators for combining patterns, and a graphical notation for visualising a pattern composition. Intended users of SaCS are system developers, safety engineers an...

Diverticular disease occurs when diverticula, small pouches or sacs, develop in weak spots found in the walls of the colon. Depending on the state of these sacs, two conditions may result: diverticulosis or diverticulitis. The condition is referred to as diverticulosis if the small sacs do not become inflamed or bleed. Many cases are asymptomatic, but some people may experience cramping, bloati...

Flight control systems, railway interlocking systems, and nuclear reactor protection systems are examples of safety critical systems from different industrial domains. A safety critical system within any of these domains requires some type of acceptance from a safety authority prior to commissioning. The minimum prerequisite for achieving acceptance is to comply with relevant normative requirem...

A new model based on the robust Ant Colony System (ACS) is introduced. The proposed Sensitive ACS (SACS) model extends ACS using the sensitive reaction of ants to pheromone trails. Each ant is endowed with a pheromone sensitivity level allowing different types of responses to pheromone trails. The SACS model facilitates a good balance between search exploitation and search exploration. Both ACS...

Serotoninergic fibers densely innervate olfactory bulb glomeruli, the first sites of synaptic integration in the olfactory system. Acting through 5HT2A receptors, serotonin (5HT) directly excites external tufted cells (ETCs), key excitatory glomerular neurons, and depolarizes some mitral cells (MCs), the olfactory bulb's main output neurons. We further investigated 5HT action on MCs and determi...

OBJECTIVE Emerging data implicate activation of the complement cascade in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the relationships between components of the complement system, metabolic risk factors, and family history of type 2 diabetes in healthy South Asians. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We recruited 119 healthy, first-degree relatives of Sou...

The objective of the paper is to describe the formal definitions for the Specification of Asynchronous Communicating System (SACS). This is a process algebra which is a descendent of the synchronous variant of Calculus of Communicating Systems (CCS) known as Synchronous Calculus of Communicating Systems (SCCS). To this end, we present Structured Operational Semantics (SOS) for the constructs of...

The ultrastructure of the layer of alveolar sacs of Tetrahymena thermophila and its relationship with the plasma membrane were examined in thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas. In thin sections, the plasma membrane and outer alveolar membrane are seen to parallel each other closely and are linked by struts 9 ran wide spaced at 9 nm intervals. The plasma and alveolar membranes have differe...