Exogenous environmental changes are known to affect the intrinsic characteristics of biological organizms. For instance, the synthesis rate of the morphogen decapentaplegic (Dpp) in a Drosophila wing imaginal disc has been found to double with an increase of 5.9°C in ambient temprerature. If not compensated, such a change would alter the signaling Dpp gradient significantly and thereby the deve...

We evaluated the BDProbeTec ET system (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, Md.), a strand displacement amplification-based technique, for direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 867 clinical samples. Of 294 extrapulmonary specimens, 52 had positive results by both BDProbeTec ET and culture and 209 had negative results by both methods; sensitivity and specificity were 76.5 and 95.9%, respectivel...

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of centre of pressure (COP) and centre of mass (COM) fluctuations in ballet dancers standing quietly. Ten healthy young women performing classic ballet dance as recreational exercise (dancer group) and 10 healthy non-ballet dancers young women who were not ballet dancers (control group) participated in this study. Participants were in...

A proneural cluster of dorsocentral bristles forms adjacent to the dorsal side of wg-expressing cells in the notum region of the wing imaginal disc. It has been shown that wg activity is required for these structures to form. However, the restriction of this proneural cluster to the dorsal posterior side of the wg expression domain in the anterior compartment of the wing imaginal disc has sugge...

We provide a stochastic analysis of hard disk performance, including a closed form solution for the average access time of a memory request. The model we use covers a wide range of types and applications of disks, and in particular it captures modern innovations like zone bit recording. The derivation is based on an analytical technique we call “shuffling”, which greatly simplifies the analysis...

PURPOSE AND METHODS Postmyelography CT studies of 84 patients with 114 thoracic herniated disks were reviewed for endplate irregularity, sclerosis, and/or disk-space calcification that could suggest a migratory path of the herniated fragment. RESULTS Abnormal straight or curvilinear densities (the "nuclear trial sign") were present at the level of the disk or endplate in 46% of the cases. MR ...

Disc brakes have evolved over time to be a reliable method of decelerating and stopping a vehicle. There have been different designs of disc brake systems for different applications. This review gives a detailed description of different geometries of the components and the materials used in a disc brake system. In spite of all the improvements, there are still many operational issues related to...

In this paper, finite element elastic contact analysis of a functionally graded (FG) hollow brake disk in contact with pad, subjected to rotation, contact pressure and frictional heat is presented. The material properties vary through the thickness according to a power-law characterised by a grading index, n. The material property is purely steel at the core part and gradually moves and appr...