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BCIT Citations Collection

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Measurement of anomalous dispersion in molecular iodine vapour by a simple interferometric method
The index of refraction of iodine vapour was measured in regions of anomalous dispersion. These measurements were made using a Michelson interferometer illuminated by a tunable dye laser, and encompass 30 GHz regions centered near 17 408.3 and 17 565.1 cm−1. These regions contained several rovibrational lines of the transition, and at a vapour pressure of 0.28 Torr (1 Torr = 133.3 Pa) the index of refraction near these lines was found to vary by a few parts in 107., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Mid-embryo patterning and precision in Drosophila segmentation
In early development, genes are expressed in spatial patterns which later define cellular identities and tissue locations. The mechanisms of such pattern formation have been studied extensively in early Drosophila (fruit fly) embryos. The gap gene hunchback (hb) is one of the earliest genes to be expressed in anterior-posterior (AP) body segmentation. As a transcriptional regulator for a number of downstream genes, the spatial precision of hb expression can have significant effects in the development of the body plan. To investigate the factors contributing to hb precision, we used fine spatial and temporal resolution data to develop a quantitative model for the regulation of hb expression in the mid-embryo. In particular, modelling hb pattern refinement in mid nuclear cleavage cycle 14 (NC14) reveals some of the regulatory contributions of simultaneously-expressed gap genes. Matching the model to recent data from wild-type (WT) embryos and mutants of the gap gene Krüppel (Kr) indicates that a mid-embryo Hb concentration peak important in thoracic development (at parasegment 4, PS4) is regulated in a dual manner by Kr, with low Kr concentration activating hb and high Kr concentration repressing hb. The processes of gene expression (transcription, translation, transport) are intrinsically random. We used stochastic simulations to characterize the noise generated in hb expression. We find that Kr regulation can limit the positional variability of the Hb mid-embryo border. This has been recently corroborated in experimental comparisons of WT and Kr- mutant embryos. Further, Kr regulation can decrease uncertainty in mid-embryo hb expression (i.e. contribute to a smooth Hb boundary) and decrease between-copy transcriptional variability within nuclei. Since many tissue boundaries are first established by interactions between neighbouring gene expression domains, these properties of Hb-Kr dynamics to diminish the effects of intrinsic expression noise may represent a general mechanism contributing to robustness in early development., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received: December 5, 2014; Accepted: December 15, 2014; Published: March 20, 2015.
Mitigating agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
Agriculture contributes significantly to anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), with estimates of agriculture's contribution ranging from 10% to 25% of total global GHG emissions per year. The science regarding mitigating (reducing and removing) GHGs through agriculture is conflicting and inconclusive. However, the severity and urgency of climate change and its potential effects on food security demonstrate that we must include mitigation within food system planning frameworks. In British Columbia, Canada, the provincial government has established significant GHG reduction targets for its agencies, and has called on local governments to reduce their carbon footprints through a charter and incentive, as well as through growth management legislation. At the same time, local governments, are giving increased attention to development of local/regional agri-food systems. However, GHG mitigation efforts do not yet seem to factor into local agri-food system discussions. Although frameworks for reporting agriculture GHGs exist, local government measurement of agriculture mitigation is hampered by a lack of agriculture GHG inventories, limited data availability, and the inherent variability in agriculture emissions and removals due to the dynamic nature of farm ecosystems. With the goal of informing local governments and food system planners on the importance of agriculture GHG mitigation, this paper (1) reviews the science of GHGs, (2) describes sources of agriculture GHG emissions and illustrates potential mitigation practices, (3) discusses the variability of agriculture mitigation science, (4) highlights the importance of agriculture GHG inventories, and (5) emphasizes the necessity for local agriculture mitigation strategies., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Submitted 18 April 2011 ; Revised 4 July 2011 and 1 August 2011 ; Accepted 2 September 2011 ; Published online 20 March 2012.
Modeling the evolution of gene regulatory networks for spatial patterning in embryo development
A central question in evolutionary biology concerns the transition between discrete numbers of units (e.g. vertebrate digits, arthropod segments). How do particular numbers of units, robust and characteristic for one species, evolve into another number for another species? Intermediate phases with a diversity of forms have long been theorized, but these leave little fossil or genomic data. We use evolutionary computations (EC) of a gene regulatory network (GRN) model to investigate how embryonic development is altered to create new forms. The trajectories are epochal and non-smooth, in accord with both the observed stability of species and the evolvability between forms., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Modelling the effects of structural cracking on carbonation front advance into concrete
Concrete structures are almost certain to contain cracks due to different physiochemical mechanisms. The formation of cracks is sure to affect its durability by altering ion and fluid transport properties. This includes the incursion of CO2 into the structure. There presently exists no consensus on how to model the effects of structural cracking on carbonation progress within concrete structures. This paper first examines the concept of effective diffusion based on simultaneous diffusion of CO2 through sound and cracked concrete and then considers a series diffusion concept where CO2 diffuses first into the crack, and then outwards into the sound concrete. It is concluded that the effective diffusion concept is not valid for structurally cracked concrete. Instead, research efforts should be concentrated on developing a two–phase series diffusion model., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Moisture response of sheathing board in conventional and rain-screen wall systems with shiplap cladding
Building enclosures are subjected to a random climatic loading on the exterior surface and a relatively stable indoor condition on the interior. These loadings result in a transport of heat, air, and moisture across the building enclosure. In this paper, the drying and wetting of sheathing board in two exterior walls, more specifically 2×6 in.2 wood-frame conventional (no strapping between sheathing membrane and cladding) and a rain-screen wall system (with vertical strapping), are investigated through an experimental field study. The experiment is carried out at British Columbia Institute of Technology field exposure test facility, where the test walls are exposed to the coastal climate (Vancouver weather) on the exterior and controlled indoor temperature and relative humidity conditions in the interior. The field experimental results indicate significant moisture accumulation on the exterior sheathing boards (plywood) during the Winter period. During the 9-month monitoring period from March 13 to Dec. 6, 2009, the plywood underwent a process of drying and wetting. In both the conventional and rain-screen wall systems, the plywood dried to a comparable moisture level during the Summer before the wetting process started. For the wall systems considered in this study, the plywood in the rain-screen wall has a tendency of faster drying and wetting in the Spring and Fall seasons, respectively, in comparison to the plywood in the conventional wall, which is attributed to the presence of an air gap in the rain-screen wall between the sheathing membrane and the cladding. A similar trend is observed during the monitoring period from December 7 to June 15, 2010., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Manuscript received January 14, 2010; accepted for publication August 14, 2010; published online October 2010.
Molecular targets for therapeutic intervention after spinal cord injury
In an effort to develop therapies for promoting neurological recovery after spinal cord injury, much work has been done to identify the cellular and molecular factors that control axonal regeneration within the injured central nervous system. This review summarizes the current understanding of a number of the elements within the spinal cord environment that inhibit axonal growth and outlines the factors that influence the neuron’s ability to regenerate its axon after injury. Recent insights in these areas have identified important molecular pathways that are potential targets for therapeutic intervention, raising hope for victims of spinal cord injury., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Noise in the segmentation gene network of Drosophila, with implications for mechanisms of body axis specification
Specification of the anteroposterior (head-to-tail) axis in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is one of the best understood examples of embryonic pattern formation, at the genetic level. A network of some 14 segmentation genes controls protein expression in narrow domains which are the first manifestation of the segments of the insect body. Work in the New York lab has led to a databank of more than 3300 confocal microscope images, quantifying protein expression for the segmentation genes, over a series of times during which protein pattern is developing (http://flyex.ams.sunysb.edu/FlyEx/). Quantification of the variability in expression evident in this data (both between embryos and within single embryos) allows us to determine error propagation in segmentation signalling. The maternal signal to the egg is highly variable, with noise levels more than several times those seen for expression of downstream genes. This implies that error suppression is active in the embryonic patterning mechanism. Error suppression is not possible with the favoured mechanism of local concentration gradient reading for positional specification. We discuss possible patterning mechanisms which do reliably filter input noise., Peer-reviewed article, Published.
Optimization and single-laboratory validation of a method for the determination of flavonolignans in milk thistle seeds by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection
Seeds of milk thistle, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn., are used for treatment and prevention of liver disorders and were identified as a high priority ingredient requiring a validated analytical method. An AOAC International expert panel reviewed existing methods and made recommendations concerning method optimization prior to validation. A series of extraction and separation studies were undertaken on the selected method for determining flavonolignans from milk thistle seeds and finished products to address the review panel recommendations. Once optimized, a single-laboratory validation study was conducted. The method was assessed for repeatability, accuracy, selectivity, LOD, LOQ, analyte stability, and linearity. Flavonolignan content ranged from 1.40 to 52.86 % in raw materials and dry finished products and ranged from 36.16 to 1570.7 μg/mL in liquid tinctures. Repeatability for the individual flavonolignans in raw materials and finished products ranged from 1.03 to 9.88 % RSD, with HorRat values between 0.21 and 1.55. Calibration curves for all flavonolignan concentrations had correlation coefficients of >99.8 %. The LODs for the flavonolignans ranged from 0.20 to 0.48 μg/mL at 288 nm. Based on the results of this single-laboratory validation, this method is suitable for the quantitation of the six major flavonolignans in milk thistle raw materials and finished products, as well as multicomponent products containing dandelion, schizandra berry, and artichoke extracts. It is recommended that this method be adopted as First Action Official Method status by AOAC International., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 1 June 2015; Revised 14 July 2015; Accepted 16 July 2015; Published online 31 July 2015.
Osmoregulation in the halophilic bacterium halomonas elongata
Halophilic bacteria use a variety of osmoregulatory methods, such as the accumulation of one or more compatible solutes. The wide diversity of compounds that can act as compatible solute complicates the task of understanding the different strategies that halophilic bacteria use to cope with salt. This is specially challenging when attempting to go beyond the pathway that produces a certain compatible solute towards an understanding of how the metabolic network as a whole addresses the problem. Metabolic reconstruction based on genomic data together with Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) is a promising tool to gain insight into this problem. However, as more of these reconstructions become available, it becomes clear that processes predicted by genome annotation may not reflect the processes that are active in vivo. As a case in point, E. coli is unable to grow aerobically on citrate in spite of having all the necessary genes to do it. It has also been shown that the realization of this genetic potential into an actual capability to metabolize citrate is an extremely unlikely event under normal evolutionary conditions. Moreover, many marine bacteria seem to have the same pathways to metabolize glucose but each species uses a different one. In this work, a metabolic network inferred from genomic annotation of the halophilic bacterium Halomonas elongata and proteomic profiling experiments are used as a starting point to motivate targeted experiments in order to find out some of the defining features of the osmoregulatory strategies of this bacterium. This new information is then used to refine the network in order to describe the actual capabilities of H. elongata, rather than its genetic potential., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received: September 20, 2016; Accepted: November 17, 2016; Published: January 12, 2017.
Pattern selection in plants
Background and Aims A study is made by computation of the interplay between the pattern formation of growth catalysts on a plant surface and the expansion of the surface to generate organismal shape. Consideration is made of the localization of morphogenetically active regions, and the occurrence within them of symmetry-breaking processes such as branching from an initially dome-shaped tip or meristem. Representation of a changing and growing three-dimensional shape is necessary, as two-dimensional work cannot distinguish, for example, formation of an annulus from dichotomous branching. Methods For the formation of patterns of chemical concentrations, the Brusselator reaction-diffusion model is used, applied on a hemispherical shell and generating patterns that initiate as surface spherical harmonics. The initial shape is hemispherical, represented as a mesh of triangles. These are combined into finite elements, each made up of all the triangles surrounding each node. Chemical pattern is converted into shape change by moving nodes outwards according to the concentration of growth catalyst at each, to relieve misfits caused by area increase of the finite element. New triangles are added to restore the refinement of the mesh in rapidly growing regions. Key Results The postulated mechanism successfully generates: tip growth (or stalk extension by an apical meristem) to ten times original hemisphere height; tip flattening and resumption of apical advance; and dichotomous branching and higher-order branching to make whorled structures. Control of the branching plane in successive dichotomous branchings is tackled with partial success and clarification of the issues. Conclusions The representation of a growing plant surface in computations by an expanding mesh that has no artefacts constraining changes of shape and symmetry has been achieved. It is shown that one type of pattern-forming mechanism, Turing-type reaction-diffusion, acting within a surface to pattern a growth catalyst, can generate some of the most important types of morphogenesis in plant development., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received: 26 July 2007; Returned for revision: 5 October 2007; Accepted: 15 October 2007; Published electronically: 28 November 2007.
Performance of sprayed fiber reinforced polymer strengthened timber beams
A study was carried out to investigate the use of Sprayed Fiber Reinforced Polymer (SFRP) for retrofit of timber beams. A total of 10-full scale specimens were tested. Two different timber preservatives and two different bonding agents were investigated. Strengthening was characterized using load deflection diagrams. Results indicate that it is possible to enhance load-carrying capacity and energy absorption characteristics using the technique of SFRP. Of the two types of preservatives investigated, the technique appears to be more effective for the case of creosote-treated specimens, where up to a 51% improvement in load-carrying capacity and a 460% increase in the energy absorption capacity were noted. Effectiveness of the bonding agent used was dependent on the type of preservative the specimen had been treated with., Peer-reviewed article, Published. Received 26 July 2010; Revised 8 October 2010; Accepted 12 October 2010.

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