Recent interest in Nash equilibria led to a study of the price of anarchy (POA) and the strong price of anarchy (SPOA) for scheduling problems. The two measures express the worst case ratio between the cost of an equilibrium (a pure Nash equilibrium, and a strong equilibrium, respectively) to the cost of a social optimum. The atomic players are the jobs, and the delay of a job is the completion...

Phytoestrogen [plant estrogenic-like molecule(s)] research has grown rapidly in recent years due to their potential health benefits. However, little is known about phytoestrogen's effects on the CNS. Androgen metabolizing enzymes are known to regulate neuroendocrine functions and reproductive behaviors, while calcium-binding proteins are associated with protecting against neurodegenerative dise...

Organics are among the most abundant aerosol components in the atmosphere. However, there are still large uncertainties with emissions of primary organic aerosol (POA) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (precursor gases of secondary organic aerosol, SOA), formation of SOA, and chemical and physical properties (e.g., hygroscopicity) of POA and SOA. All these may have significant impacts on ae...

Steroid hormones of gonadal origin act on the neonatal brain to produce sex differences that underlie adult reproductive physiology and behavior. Neuronal sex differences occur on a variety of levels, including differences in regional volume and/or cell number, morphology, physiology, molecular signaling, and gene expression. In the rodent, many of these sex differences are determined by steroi...

PURPOSE To study the effects of sevoflurane and isoflurane on noradrenaline release from the rat preoptic area (POA). METHOD Sixteen male Wistar rats were studied. A microdialysis probe with a 2 mm long semipermeable membrane was implanted in the POA. Dialysates were collected at intervals often minutes. After obtaining five control samples for 50 min, 30 min inhalation of 3% sevoflurane or 1...

Rapid species diversifications provide fascinating insight into the development of biodiversity in time and space. Most biological radiations studied to date, for example that of cichlid fishes or Andean lupines, are confined to isolated geographical areas like lakes, islands or island-like regions. Using DNA sequence data of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) for many species of t...

Experiments were carried out on male rabbits, anesthetized with urethane, bilaterally vagotomized, paralysed and artificially ventilated. The preoptic area (POA) was stimulated at three different levels of CO2: in hypo- normo- and hypercapnia under normothermia, moderate hyperthermia and hyperthermia. Changes in central respiratory activity (monitored by phrenic nerve activity) due to CO2 level...

Maciej Wódkiewicz* The soil seed bank and seed germination capacity of Poa annua in the vicinity of the Polish Halina Galera* Antarctic Station (South Shetlands, Antarctica) were investigated. It was documented that Katarzyna J. Chwedorzewska† annual bluegrass can reproduce sexually and produce a functional seed bank of close to Irena Giełwanowska‡ and 5000 seeds/m under maritime Antarctic cond...