Highlights • We showed variations of the Japanese face from 3D facial images of 1126 individuals. • These results can be used as standard reference data for the facial image comparison. • The ...statistics were carefully acquired by making good use of the 3D capture system. • The statistics consists of a larger Japanese sample than that has been reported before. • All results except those for the “upper/lower lip ratio” showed normal distribution.
Unpredictable climate change is already having a profound effect on our agricultural crops thus, the need to have periodic data base on their physiology. The consequences of the change is becoming ...more wide spread affecting all component of our ecosystem including the vegetable species. The present studies was carried out to study cowpea seed germination and seedling establishment of seven varieties (Sampea-5, Sampea-6, Sampea-7, Sampea-8, Sampea-9, Sampea-10 and Sampea-12) in the laboratory and botanical garden of the Department of Biological Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria-Nigeria. Cowpea is used to substitute the insufficient expensive animal protein in the diet of many people in Nigeria either directly or in other preparation. Water absorption rate of cowpea seeds during imbibitions were determined after 30 min of soaking in water. Significant difference were found among Sampea-5, Sampea-7, Sampea-8, Sampea-10 and Sampea-12 while there was no significant difference between Sampea-6 and Sampea-7 in terms of water absorption rate. Mean comparison showed that the highest germination percentage (100%), seedling weight change (1.52 g), shoot length (25.81 cm), root length (23.12 cm) was observed. Based on this result, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant difference in the rate of imbibitions as well as shoots and root length exist in the seven cowpea varieties.
Geometry control is required in space structures to satisfy the precision requirements of the measurement equipment supported by them. The authors discuss various strategies of static geometry ...control and provide new methodologies for the solution of the actuator-placement problem in prestressed adaptive space trusses. (AIAA)
The problem of optimal placement of active members which are used for vibration control in adaptive truss structures is investigated. The control scheme is based on the method of eigenvalue ...assignment as a means of shaping the transient response of the controlled adaptive structures, and the minimization of required control action is considered as the optimization criterion. To this end, a performance index which measures the control strokes of active members is formulated in an efficient way. In order to reduce the computation burden, particularly for the case where the locations of active members have to be selected from a large set of available sites, several heuristic searching schemes are proposed for obtaining the near-optimal locations. The proposed schemes significantly reduce the computational complexity of placing multiple active members to the order of that when a single active member is placed.
Background In addition to reducing the level of blood pressure (BP), telmisartan was expected to show the long-term neuroprotective effects preventing accumulation of cellular amyloid beta peptide ...(Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (pτ) by ameliorating neuroinflammation. Methods We examined effects of telmisartan on cellular Aβ and pτ with inflammatory responses in the brain of a spontaneously hypertensive stroke resistant (SHR-SR) rat by giving either telmisartan at 0 (vehicle), .3 mg/kg/day or 3 mg/kg/day, orally, from 3 months of age and performed immunohistologic analysis at 6, 12, and 18 months. Compared with normotensive Wistar rats, numbers of Aβ- and pτ-positive neurons in the cerebral cortex progressively increased with age until 18 months in the SHR-SR rats, as did the numbers of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1)-positive microglia, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-positive neurons, and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1)-positive neurons. Results Low-dose telmisartan significantly decreased the numbers of Aβ- and pτ-positive neuron as well as the numbers of TNF-α-positive neurons, Iba-1-positive microglia, and MCP-1-positive neurons at 6, 12, and 18 months. High-dose telmisartan reduced BP and showed a further reduction of cellular Aβ and pτ. Conclusions The present study suggests that accumulation of cellular Aβ and pτ and the inflammatory responses were decreased via improving metabolic syndrome with low-dose telmisartan and improving both metabolic syndrome and hypertension with high-dose telmisartan.
The obesity paradox has recently attracted considerable interest in the study of many diseases. In this investigation we examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and prognosis after ...left ventricular assist system (LVAS) implantation.
We measured the BMI of 64 patients 3 months after LVAS implantation for end-stage heart failure. The patients were classified according to BMI into Group A (BMI <16 kg/m(2)), Group B (BMI 16 to 18.4 kg/m(2)) or Group C (BMI > or =18.5 kg/m(2)). We compared the prognosis among these three groups after a mean follow-up period of 583 days.
Seven patients were weaned from their LVAS, 24 received heart transplantation, 25 died on the transplant waiting list, and 8 remain on the list. Long-term (>1 year) mortality was significantly higher in Group A than in Groups B and C (59% vs 40% and 18%, respectively; p < 0.05). The incidence of sepsis was also significantly higher in Group A than in Groups B and C (68% vs 45% and 32%, respectively; p < 0.05). After multivariate adjustment, BMI <16 kg/m(2) (hazard ratio HR 14.9; 95% confidence interval CI 2.61 to 86.0; p < 0.01) and levels of C-reactive protein (HR 1.56; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.13; p < 0.01) were independent predictors of mortality.
A lower BMI indicated a poor prognosis, as well as a higher incidence of a fatal complication, sepsis, after LVAS implantation. Control of BMI could be an effective way to improve management of patients with LVAS.
