Guiana dolphin is the top predator of highest toxicological concern in Brazil and many studies on levels of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxicant (PBT) pollutants have been performed on the species. However, due t...
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Guiana dolphin is the top predator of highest toxicological concern in Brazil and many studies on levels of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxicant (PBT) pollutants have been performed on the species. However, due to high costs of the analyses, only one investigation comprised the determination of dioxins and related compounds (DRCs) in Guiana dolphin tissues. The dioxin responsive-chemically activated luciferase gene expression (DR-CALUX(A (R))) cell bioassay was used in the present study for the analyses of hepatic samples from 28 male Guiana dolphins in order to screen estuarine environments for DRCs, comprising three regions (Northeastern, Southeastern, and Southern) and four states [Parana (PR), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Espirito Santo (ES), and Ceara (CE)] of Brazil. High bioanalytical equivalent (BEQ) concentrations [dioxins (pg BEQ/g lipid)] were found, varying from 1.94 to 15.6 pg BEQ/g. A significant negative correlation between BEQ concentrations and total length was found in Guiana dolphins from Brazil (all analysed dolphins). This pattern also was verified for RJ state, pointing to (1) chemically induced developmental disruption or to (2) increasing efficiency of the detoxifying activity with the growth of the animal. Comparison was performed with literature data and significantly higher BEQ levels were found in Brazilian Guiana dolphins than in those reported for North Sea harbour porpoises. Higher levels were found in Southeastern (the most PBT-contaminated area of the country) than in Southern region. However, it is not possible to affirm that Guiana dolphins are more contaminated by DRCs in SE than in S region, because individuals were lengthier in S than in SE region. Our results seem to have mirrored dolphin exposure to PCBs in Brazil according to the literature. Further studies are required for investigating the hypotheses 1 and 2 mentioned above.
Traditionally, automatic design rule correction (DRC) problem is modeled as a linear program with technology rules and design intents modeled as difference constraints under a minimum perturbation objective. However, ...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9781479966585
Traditionally, automatic design rule correction (DRC) problem is modeled as a linear program with technology rules and design intents modeled as difference constraints under a minimum perturbation objective. However, these linear programs are often infeasible due to conflicts arising from rules and intents, lack of space or due to incomplete modeling. It is then required to identify problematic constraints and either dilute or drop them to make the linear program feasible. In presence of uniform grid and only difference type constraints, a weighted constraint graph is constructed and infeasibilities are detected as positive cycles. However, this approach breaks down in presence of multiple layer specific grids or discrete track patterns. In this paper, we suggest a novel method for Infeasible Constraint Set Identification (ICSI) for such layouts. Our method transforms the constraint set into a Boolean implications set. Since each implication has only two variables, solving the ICSI problem amounts to determining 2-Satisfiability of the implications set. We then suggest various strategies to resolve infeasibilities.
The nocturnal strepsirhine primates of western Africa (comprising the countries from Senegal to DRC) are represented by two subfamilies: the bushbabies (Galaginae, Groves, 2001; Grubb et al., 2003) and the pottos and ...
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The nocturnal strepsirhine primates of western Africa (comprising the countries from Senegal to DRC) are represented by two subfamilies: the bushbabies (Galaginae, Groves, 2001; Grubb et al., 2003) and the pottos and angwantibos (Perodicticinae, Groves, 2001; Grubb et al., 2003). Little information is available on the behaviour, ecology, distribution and conservation status of nocturnal primates in Nigeria, partly because of the nocturnal lifestyles of these primates, which makes them challenging to study. Earlier surveys found a considerable variety of forest dwelling nocturnal strepsirrhines in southern Nigeria including angwantibos (at that time all grouped as Arctocebus calabarensis), pottos (Perodicticus potto), needle-clawed bushbabies (at that time all grouped together as Euoticus elegantulus), Allen's bushbabies (at that time all grouped together as Galago alleni) and Demidoff's bushbabies (at that time were combined with Thomas's bushbaby as Galago demidovii) (Oates & Jewell, 1967; Oates, 1969; Jewell & Oates, 1969; Powell, 1997).
In this work, test-patterns, test-cases and layout-patterns generations are widely investigated in the sense of turnaround time for creation and/or modification. STPRL, a novel behavioral modeling language for test-pa...
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ISBN:
(纸本)9780819466556
In this work, test-patterns, test-cases and layout-patterns generations are widely investigated in the sense of turnaround time for creation and/or modification. STPRL, a novel behavioral modeling language for test-pattern creation, is being proposed. The turn-around time for both creation and modification is hugely reduced at no degradation in either accuracy or performance. Furthermore, STPRL provides considerable performance improvements in custom test-patterns creation over available automatic layout creation tools. Our method has been verified with real data at different node-technologies and for migration from and between different technology nodes.
Background: The mechanism underlying the role of UV light exposure from sunlight in the etiology of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is unclear. Patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, a disease characterized by severe...
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Background: The mechanism underlying the role of UV light exposure from sunlight in the etiology of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is unclear. Patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, a disease characterized by severe sensitivity to UV radiation and a defect in nucleotide excision repair, have a high incidence of CMM, which suggests that DNA repair capacity (DRC) plays a role in sunlight-induced CMM in the general population as well. Methods: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study of DRC and CMM among 312 non-Hispanic white CMM patients who had no prior chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and 324 cancer-free control subjects who were frequency-matched to case patients on age, sex, and ethnicity. Information on demographic variables, risk factors, and tumor characteristics was obtained from questionnaires and medical records. We used the host-cell reactivation assay to measure the DRC in study subjects' lymphocytes. All statistical tests were two sided. Results: Case patients had a 19% lower mean ( standard deviation [SD]) DRC (8.5 +/- 3.4%) than control subjects (10.5 +/- 5.1%), a statistically significant difference (P < .001). DRC that was at or below the median value (i.e., 9.4%) in control subjects was associated with increased risk for CMM after adjustment for age, sex, and other covariates (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.45 to 2.82). We observed a dose-response relationship between decreased DRC and increased risk of CMM (P-trend < .001). Patients with tumors on sun-exposed skin had statistically significantly lower DRC than patients with tumors on unexposed skin (8.2 +/- 3.3% versus 9.5 +/- 3.5%;P = .004). Conclusions: Reduced DRC is an independent risk factor for CMM and may contribute to susceptibility to sunlight-induced CMM among the general population.
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