An expression f = σ+ τ(x− x) is an immediate witness to the positivity condition on f . In general, one wants to characterize polynomials f which are positive, or nonnegative, on a semialgebraic set K ⊆ R in terms of sums of squares and the polynomials used to define K. Representation theorems of this type have a long and illustrious history, going back at least to Hilbert. There has been much ...

Contractions of isolated strips of cat spleen due to 5-hydroxytryptamine, adrenaline, histamine and acetylcholine were antagonized by phenoxybenzamine. Responses to both 5-hydroxytryptamine and adrenaline were not blocked in strips which were protected by a high concentration of either 5-hydroxytryptamine or adrenaline throughout exposure to phenoxybenzamine. The contraction due to a large dose...

A novel delivery method is described that incorporates taste stimuli into edible strips for determining n-propylthiouracil (PROP) taster status. Edible strips that contained 400 or 600 nanomoles of PROP were prepared for psychophysical studies. Using these strips, we measured taste intensity, taste hedonics, and taste quality responses in a sample of healthy volunteers (n = 118). Participants w...

OBJECTIVES The mucosa of human detrusor strips impairs catecholamine-induced relaxation. In order to elucidate which signal transduction pathways are involved in this cross talk between the mucosa and detrusor, we have studied the effects of several pharmacological agonists and antagonists on noradrenaline-mediated relaxation in intact and mucosa-denuded detrusor strips. PATIENTS AND METHODS ...

BACKGROUND Glucose measurement is the cornerstone of diabetes control. In the hospital setting, the same device and package of test strips (50 or 100 strips) can be used to monitor glucose in several patients, which can increase cross contamination. The objective of our study is to measure bacterial contamination in glucose test strips, comparing results in individual single-use packets (one ho...

Abstract Concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns are widely used in civil engineering because of their excellent bearing capacity; however, the reinforcement CFST lacks effective measures. To strengthen quickly and effectively, two methods, namely, winding FRP (fiber reinforced polymer) or strips, were explored this work. Two unconfined columns, eight FRP-strengthened four welded strip-streng...

The phenomenon of spiral pair synchronization by oscillating strips (Nozaki-Bekki solution) in a 2D CGLE is investigated analytically. The equations describing the interaction of the strips with one another and with spirals are derived. Analysis of the equations shows that under certain conditions the strips lead to frequency and phase locking of the spirals. In this case the spiral pair (dipol...

Airborne LiDAR point cloud of a forest contains three dimensional data, from which vertical stand structure (including information about under-story trees) can be derived. This paper presents a segmentation approach for multi-story stands that strips the point cloud to its canopy layers, identifies individual tree segments within each layer using a DSM-based tree identification method as a buil...

OBJECTIVE This study used nationwide data to determine the prevalence of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) among all non-institutionalized persons living in Norway and to estimate the prevalence of SMBG among diabetes patients, the frequency and cost of SMBG, and the use of different glucometers. METHODS This retrospective, descriptive study is based on data of sales of glucometer strip...