The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is one of the most important genetic systems associated with resistance to infectious diseases in vertebrates. The spotted seal (Phoca largha) is one of the most endangered species in China. In this study, we present the first step in the molecular characterization of a DRB-like locus in the spotted seal by analyzing the nucleotide sequence of the poly...

All infant mammals make a transition from suckling milk to eating solid foods. Yet, the neuromuscular implications of the transition from a liquid-only diet to solid foods are unknown even though the transport and swallowing of liquids is different from that of solids. We used legacy electromyography (EMG) data to test hypotheses concerning the changes in motor pattern and neuromuscular control...

using tidal potential, the effect of tide on the gravity field, crustal deformation due to tidal force, and gravity variations resulted from the crustal deformation are presented. tidal potential is divided into constant and periodic (diurnal and semi-diurnal) constituents, and for each constituents crustal displacements in radial, south-north, and east-west directions are computed. the aforeme...

We present sea level observations derived from the analysis of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) data recorded at five coastal GPS sites. These sites are located in different regions around the world, both in the northern and the southern hemisphere, in different multipath environments, from rural coastal areas to busy harbors, and experience different tidal ranges. The recorded SNR data show periodi...

In this article, a new approach to tidal harmonic analysis is introduced. This approach incorporates more constituents in the least squares method for a fixed duration of noise-free tidal record and results in a more accurate tidal prediction. Moreover, it is demonstrated that 135 days of hourly data, which is significantly less than 369 days data in the Rayleigh criterion, is sufficient for th...

Community web sites exhibit two dominating properties: They often need to integrate many different information sources and they require an adequate web site management system. SEAL (SEmantic portAL) is a conceptual model that exploits ontologies for fulfilling the requirements set forth by these two properties at once. The ontology provides a high level of sophistication for web information int...

RATIONALE Reducing tidal volume decreases mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the effect of the timing of low tidal volume ventilation is not well understood. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the association of intensive care unit (ICU) mortality with initial tidal volume and with tidal volume change over time. METHODS Multivariable, time-varying Cox regression analysis ...

The Louisiana coast is among the most productive coastal areas in the US and home to the largest coastal wetland area in the nation. However, Louisiana coastal wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming rate due to natural and anthropogenic processes, including sea level rise, land subsidence and infrastructure development. Wetland loss occurs mainly along the tidal zone, which varies in wi...