A photometric study of the eclipsing binary RX Hercules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jeffreys, K. W.

1980-01-01

A new photoelectric light curve of RX Hercules, a binary system with similar components, has been analyzed using Wood's computer model. RX Her, using Popper's spectroscopic mass ratio of q = 0.8472, turned out to be composed of a dimmer AO component and a larger B9.5 component. This detached system, upon analysis of the residuals in secondary minimum, shows some asymmetry during ingress which then disappears just before secondary minimum. The eccentricity e = 0.022 determined in this study is a little larger than previously published values of e = 0.018. In combination with the spectroscopic analysis of Popper, and ubvy data of Olson and Hill and Hilditch new photometric elements for RX Her were found.

A convenient and accurate parallel Input/Output USB device for E-Prime.

PubMed

Canto, Rosario; Bufalari, Ilaria; D'Ausilio, Alessandro

2011-03-01

Psychological and neurophysiological experiments require the accurate control of timing and synchrony for Input/Output signals. For instance, a typical Event-Related Potential (ERP) study requires an extremely accurate synchronization of stimulus delivery with recordings. This is typically done via computer software such as E-Prime, and fast communications are typically assured by the Parallel Port (PP). However, the PP is an old and disappearing technology that, for example, is no longer available on portable computers. Here we propose a convenient USB device enabling parallel I/O capabilities. We tested this device against the PP on both a desktop and a laptop machine in different stress tests. Our data demonstrate the accuracy of our system, which suggests that it may be a good substitute for the PP with E-Prime.

Persistence at low temperature of the P beta' ripple in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine multilamellar vesicles containing either glycosphingolipids or cholesterol.

PubMed

Rock, P; Thompson, T E; Tillack, T W

1989-03-13

The disappearance and reappearance of the P beta' ripple in multilamellar liposomes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) has been examined by freeze-etch electron microscopy. The presence of less than 10 mol% of various glycosphingolipids or cholesterol in the liposomes markedly increases the time required for ripple disappearance when the vesicles are cooled from 38 degrees C to 30 degrees C, as compared to the pure phospholipid. Once the ripples have begun to disappear in the two-component vesicles, they do not uniformly reappear until the system is heated above the main transition of DPPC and allowed to cool into the pretransition region. These results suggest that the long time for ripple disappearance in the two-component systems reflects a slow molecular reorganization process which occurs when the systems are forced to change from the P beta' gel to the L beta' gel by a temperature downshift.

The Implications of Pervasive Computing on Network Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briscoe, R.

Mark Weiser's late-1980s vision of an age of calm technology with pervasive computing disappearing into the fabric of the world [1] has been tempered by an industry-driven vision with more of a feel of conspicuous consumption. In the modified version, everyone carries around consumer electronics to provide natural, seamless interactions both with other people and with the information world, particularly for eCommerce, but still through a pervasive computing fabric.

Stochastic dynamics in a two-dimensional oscillator near a saddle-node bifurcation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Inchiosa, M. E.; In, V.; Bulsara, A. R.

We study the oscillator equations describing a particular class of nonlinear amplifier, exemplified in this work by a two-junction superconducting quantum interference device. This class of dynamic system is described by a potential energy function that can admit minima (corresponding to stable solutions of the dynamic equations), or {open_quotes}running states{close_quotes} wherein the system is biased so that the potential minima disappear and the solutions display spontaneous oscillations. Just beyond the onset of the spontaneous oscillations, the system is known to show significantly enhanced sensitivity to very weak magnetic signals. The global phase space structure allows us to apply a centermore » manifold technique to approximate analytically the oscillatory behavior just past the (saddle-node) bifurcation and compute the oscillation period, which obeys standard scaling laws. In this regime, the dynamics can be represented by an {open_quotes}integrate-fire{close_quotes} model drawn from the computational neuroscience repertoire; in fact, we obtain an {open_quotes}interspike interval{close_quotes} probability density function and an associated power spectral density (computed via Renewal theory) that agree very well with the results obtained via numerical simulations. Notably, driving the system with one or more time sinusoids produces a noise-lowering injection locking effect and/or heterodyning.« less

PICSiP: new system-in-package technology using a high bandwidth photonic interconnection layer for converged microsystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tekin, Tolga; Töpper, Michael; Reichl, Herbert

2009-05-01

Technological frontiers between semiconductor technology, packaging, and system design are disappearing. Scaling down geometries [1] alone does not provide improvement of performance, less power, smaller size, and lower cost. It will require "More than Moore" [2] through the tighter integration of system level components at the package level. System-in-Package (SiP) will deliver the efficient use of three dimensions (3D) through innovation in packaging and interconnect technology. A key bottleneck to the implementation of high-performance microelectronic systems, including SiP, is the lack of lowlatency, high-bandwidth, and high density off-chip interconnects. Some of the challenges in achieving high-bandwidth chip-to-chip communication using electrical interconnects include the high losses in the substrate dielectric, reflections and impedance discontinuities, and susceptibility to crosstalk [3]. Obviously, the incentive for the use of photonics to overcome the challenges and leverage low-latency and highbandwidth communication will enable the vision of optical computing within next generation architectures. Supercomputers of today offer sustained performance of more than petaflops, which can be increased by utilizing optical interconnects. Next generation computing architectures are needed with ultra low power consumption; ultra high performance with novel interconnection technologies. In this paper we will discuss a CMOS compatible underlying technology to enable next generation optical computing architectures. By introducing a new optical layer within the 3D SiP, the development of converged microsystems, deployment for next generation optical computing architecture will be leveraged.

The Use of Lithium in the Treatment of Thyrotoxicosis

PubMed Central

Temple, R.; Berman, M.; Robbins, J.; Wolff, J.

1972-01-01

Since lithium has been shown to inhibit release of iodine from the thyroid, we have investigated its therapeutic potential in thyrotoxicosis. Eight detailed 131I kinetic studies were performed on seven thyrotoxic women and data was analyzed using a computer program. Lithium at serum levels of about 1 mEq liter decreased the loss of 131I from the thyroid, led to a fall in serum 131I levels and diminished urinary 131I excretion. Computer simulation of the lithium effect required, in every case, that lithium inhibit hormonal and nonhormonal thyroid iodine release. In five cases a second lithium effect was required for a satisfactory fit of the model soluton with observed data: namely, an inhibition of hormone disappearance from serum. Neither inhibition of release nor of hormone disappearance seemed to be affected by methimazole (release: 52% decrease without methimazole, 60% with methimazole; hormone disappearance: ∼60% decrease in both). When Li+ was discontinued, recovery of the iodine release rate and hormone disappearance rate over the observed time span was variable, ranging from no recovery to rates that exceeded pre-Li+ values. When Li+ is used alone its effect on serum hormone levels is diminished due to continued accumulation of iodide by the thyroid. Thus, serum thyroxine-iodine levels fell 21-30% in 6-8 days in patients who did not receive methimazole and 15-67% in the methimazole-treated subjects. For prolonged therapy, therefore, a thiocarbamide drug must be used in conjunction with Li+. The similarity of inhibition of iodine release from the thyroid produced by Li+ and iodides is discussed. PMID:4115707

Glucose Disappearance in Biological Treatment Systems

PubMed Central

Jeris, John S.; Cardenas, Raul R.

1966-01-01

Laboratory scale anaerobic and aerobic treatment units were conditioned with a daily slug-feed of glucose. After a period of acclimation and stabilization, glucose disappearance was monitored continuously after the slug feed. A continuous sampling apparatus is described. Mathematical analysis of the data indicate zero-order reactions for both biological treatment systems. PMID:16349685

On the Fate of Debris Associated with the Disappearance of Flight MH370: a Dynamical System Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancho, A. M.; Garcia-Garrido, V. J.; Wiggins, S.; Mendoza, C.

2015-12-01

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on the morning of the 8th of March 2014 is one of the great mysteries of our time. One relevant aspect of this mystery is that not a single piece of debris from the aircraft was found during the intensive surface search carried out in the months following the crash. Difficulties in the search efforts were due to the uncertainty in the plane's final impact point and the time passed since the accident and rise the question on how the debris was scattered in an always moving ocean, for which there exist multiple datasets that do not uniquely determine its state. Our approach to this problem is based on dynamical systems tools that identify dynamic barriers and coherent structures governing transport. By combining publicly available information supplied by different ocean data sources with these mathematical techniques, we are able to assess the spatio-temporal state of the ocean in the priority search area at the time of impact and the following weeks. Using this information we propose a revised search strategy by showing why one might not have expected to find debris in some large search areas targeted by the search services and determining regions where one might have expected impact debris to be located and that were not subjected to any exploration. This research has been supported by MINECO under grants MTM2014-56392-R and ICMAT Severo Ochoa project SEV-2011-0087 and ONR grant No. N00014- 01-1-0769. Computational support from CESGA is acknowledged. References [1] V. J. García-Garrido, A. M. Mancho, S. Wiggins, and C. Mendoza. A dynamical systems perspective on the absence of debris associated with the disappearance of flight MH370. Nonlin. Processes Geophys. Discuss., 2,1197-1225, doi:10.5194/npgd-2-1197-2015, 2015

A Computational Model of Afterimage Rotation in the Peripheral Drift Illusion Based on Retinal ON/OFF Responses

PubMed Central

Hayashi, Yuichiro; Ishii, Shin; Urakubo, Hidetoshi

2014-01-01

Human observers perceive illusory rotations after the disappearance of circularly repeating patches containing dark-to-light luminance. This afterimage rotation is a very powerful phenomenon, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying it. Here, we use a computational model to show that the afterimage rotation can be explained by a combination of fast light adaptation and the physiological architecture of the early visual system, consisting of ON- and OFF-type visual pathways. In this retinal ON/OFF model, the afterimage rotation appeared as a rotation of focus lines of retinal ON/OFF responses. Focus lines rotated clockwise on a light background, but counterclockwise on a dark background. These findings were consistent with the results of psychophysical experiments, which were also performed by us. Additionally, the velocity of the afterimage rotation was comparable with that observed in our psychophysical experiments. These results suggest that the early visual system (including the retina) is responsible for the generation of the afterimage rotation, and that this illusory rotation may be systematically misinterpreted by our high-level visual system. PMID:25517906

Rapid protein disappearance rates along the small intestine advantage poultry performance and influence the post-enteral availability of amino acids.

PubMed

Truong, Ha H; Chrystal, Peter V; Moss, Amy F; Selle, Peter H; Liu, Sonia Yun

2017-12-01

A foundation diet, an intermediate blend and a summit diet were formulated with different levels of soyabean meal, casein and crystalline amino acids to compare 'slow' and 'rapid' protein diets. The diets were offered to male Ross 308 chicks from 7 to 28 d post-hatch and assessed parameters included growth performance, nutrient utilisation, apparent digestibility coefficients and disappearance rates of starch and protein (N) in four small intestinal segments. Digestibility coefficients and disappearance rates of sixteen amino acids in three small intestinal segments and amino acid concentrations in plasma from portal and systemic circulations from the foundation and summit diets were determined. The dietary transition significantly accelerated protein (N) disappearance rates in the distal jejunum and ileum. The transition from foundation to summit diets significantly increased starch digestibility coefficients in the ileum and disappearance rates in all four small intestinal segments. These starch responses were associated with significant enhancements in nutrient utilisation. The dietary transition linearly increased digestibility coefficients and disappearance rates of amino acids in the majority of cases. The summit diet increased plasma concentrations of five amino acids but decreased those of four amino acids relative to the foundation diet to significant extents. Plasma concentrations of free amino acids were higher in the portal than systemic circulations. Rapid protein disappearance rates advantaged poultry performance and influenced post-enteral availability of amino acids. If the underlying mechanisms are to be identified, further research into the impact of protein digestive dynamics on broiler performance is required but appears justified.

Motion-induced blindness and microsaccades: cause and effect

PubMed Central

Bonneh, Yoram S.; Donner, Tobias H.; Sagi, Dov; Fried, Moshe; Cooperman, Alexander; Heeger, David J; Arieli, Amos

2010-01-01

It has been suggested that subjective disappearance of visual stimuli results from a spontaneous reduction of microsaccade rate causing image stabilization, enhanced adaptation and a consequent fading. In motion-induced-blindness (MIB) salient visual targets disappear intermittently when surrounded by a moving pattern. We investigated whether changes in microsaccade rate can account for MIB. We first determined that the moving mask does not affect microsaccade metrics (rate, magnitude, and temporal distribution). We then compared the dynamics of microsaccades during reported illusory disappearance (MIB) and physical disappearance (Replay) of a salient peripheral target. We found large modulations of microsaccade rate following perceptual transitions, whether illusory (MIB) or real (Replay). For MIB, the rate also decreased prior to disappearance and increased prior to reappearance. Importantly, MIB persisted in the presence of microsaccades although sustained microsaccade rate was lower during invisible than visible periods. These results suggest that the microsaccade system reacts to changes in visibility, but microsaccades also modulate MIB. The latter modulation is well described by a Poisson model of the perceptual transitions assuming that the probability for reappearance and disappearance is modulated following a microsaccade. Our results show that microsaccades counteract disappearance, but are neither necessary nor sufficient to account for MIB. PMID:21172899

A quasi-intermittency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Da-Ren; Wang, Xu-Ming; Wang, Ying-Mei; Wang, Wen-Xiu; Chen, He-Sheng

2002-03-01

A kind of discontinuous and noninvertible area-preserving maps can display behaviors as a dissipative one, so it may be addressed as a "quasi-dissipative system"^1. In a quasi-dissipative system the disappearance of some elliptic periodic orbits and the elliptic islands around them via a collision with the discontinuous border of the system function can be observed. A chaotic quasi-attractor dominates behavior of the system after the disappearance of the elliptic periodic orbit and a sequence of transition elliptic periodic orbits. When the chaotic quasi-attractor just appears, the chaotic time sequence shows a random intersperse between laminar and turbulence phases. All these are very similar to the properties of type V intermittency happened in a dissipative system. So, we may call the phenomenon as a "type V quasi-intermittency". However, there can be only some remnants of the last disappeared transition elliptic island instead of its "ghost", therefore type V quasi-intermittency does not obey the characteristic scaling laws of type V intermittency. ^1 J. Wang et al., Phys.Rev.E, 64(2001)026202.

The disappearing third dimension.

PubMed

Rowe, Timothy; Frank, Lawrence R

2011-02-11

Three-dimensional computing is driving what many would call a revolution in scientific visualization. However, its power and advancement are held back by the absence of sustainable archives for raw data and derivative visualizations. Funding agencies, professional societies, and publishers each have unfulfilled roles in archive design and data management policy.

Bistable behavior of the lac operon in E. coli when induced with a mixture of lactose and TMG.

PubMed

Díaz-Hernández, Orlando; Santillán, Moisés

2010-01-01

In this work we investigate multistability in the lac operon of Escherichia coli when it is induced by a mixture of lactose and the non-metabolizable thiomethyl galactoside (TMG). In accordance with previously published experimental results and computer simulations, our simulations predict that: (1) when the system is induced by TMG, the system shows a discernible bistable behavior while, (2) when the system is induced by lactose, bistability does not disappear but excessively high concentrations of lactose would be required to observe it. Finally, our simulation results predict that when a mixture of lactose and TMG is used, the bistability region in the extracellular glucose concentration vs. extracellular lactose concentration parameter space changes in such a way that the model predictions regarding bistability could be tested experimentally. These experiments could help to solve a recent controversy regarding the existence of bistability in the lac operon under natural conditions.

Disappearance and disintegration of comets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sekanina, Z.

1984-01-01

The present investigation has the objective to provide a summary of the existing evidence on the disappearance of comets and to draw conclusions regarding the physical processes involved in the disappearance. Information concerning the classification of evidence and the causes of apparent disappearance of comets is presented in a table. Attention is given to the dissipating comets, the headless sungrazing comet 1887 I, and the physical behavior of the dissipating comets and the related phenomena. It is found that all comets confined to the planetary region of the solar system decay on astronomically short time scales. However, only some of them appear to perish catastrophically. Some of the observed phenomena could be successfully interpreted. But little insight has been obtained into the character of the processes which the dissipating comets experience.

Detection, isolation and diagnosability analysis of intermittent faults in stochastic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Rongyi; He, Xiao; Wang, Zidong; Zhou, D. H.

2018-02-01

Intermittent faults (IFs) have the properties of unpredictability, non-determinacy, inconsistency and repeatability, switching systems between faulty and healthy status. In this paper, the fault detection and isolation (FDI) problem of IFs in a class of linear stochastic systems is investigated. For the detection and isolation of IFs, it includes: (1) to detect all the appearing time and the disappearing time of an IF; (2) to detect each appearing (disappearing) time of the IF before the subsequent disappearing (appearing) time; (3) to determine where the IFs happen. Based on the outputs of the observers we designed, a novel set of residuals is constructed by using the sliding-time window technique, and two hypothesis tests are proposed to detect all the appearing time and disappearing time of IFs. The isolation problem of IFs is also considered. Furthermore, within a statistical framework, the definition of the diagnosability of IFs is proposed, and a sufficient condition is brought forward for the diagnosability of IFs. Quantitative performance analysis results for the false alarm rate and missing detection rate are discussed, and the influences of some key parameters of the proposed scheme on performance indices such as the false alarm rate and missing detection rate are analysed rigorously. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is illustrated via a simulation example of an unmanned helicopter longitudinal control system.

Going, Going, Gone: Localizing Abrupt Offsets of Moving Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maus, Gerrit W.; Nijhawan, Romi

2009-01-01

When a moving object abruptly disappears, this profoundly influences its localization by the visual system. In Experiment 1, 2 aligned objects moved across the screen, and 1 of them abruptly disappeared. Observers reported seeing the objects misaligned at the time of the offset, with the continuing object leading. Experiment 2 showed that the…

An investigation on the effect of second-order additional thickness distributions to the upper surface of an NACA 64 sub 1-212 airfoil. [using flow equations and a CDC 7600 digital computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hague, D. S.; Merz, A. W.

1975-01-01

An investigation was conducted on a CDC 7600 digital computer to determine the effects of additional thickness distributions to the upper surface of an NACA 64 sub 1 - 212 airfoil. Additional thickness distributions employed were in the form of two second-order polynomial arcs which have a specified thickness at a given chordwise location. The forward arc disappears at the airfoil leading edge, the aft arc disappears at the airfoil trailing edge. At the juncture of the two arcs, x = x, continuity of slope is maintained. The effect of varying the maximum additional thickness and its chordwise location on airfoil lift coefficient, pitching moment, and pressure distribution was investigated. Results were obtained at a Mach number of 0.2 with an angle-of-attack of 6 degrees on the basic NACA 64 sub 1 - 212 airfoil, and all calculations employ the full potential flow equations for two dimensional flow. The relaxation method of Jameson was employed for solution of the potential flow equations.

An investigation on the effect of second-order additional thickness distributions to the upper surface of an NACA 64-206 airfoil. [using flow equations and a CDC 7600 digital computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merz, A. W.; Hague, D. S.

1975-01-01

An investigation was conducted on a CDC 7600 digital computer to determine the effects of additional thickness distributions to the upper surface of an NACA 64-206 airfoil. Additional thickness distributions employed were in the form of two second-order polynomial arcs which have a specified thickness at a given chordwise location. The forward arc disappears at the airfoil leading edge, the aft arc disappears at the airfoil trailing edge. At the juncture of the two arcs, x = x, continuity of slope is maintained. The effect of varying the maximum additional thickness and its chordwise location on airfoil lift coefficient, pitching moment, and pressure distribution was investigated. Results were obtained at a Mach number of 0.2 with an angle-of-attack of 6 degrees on the basic NACA 64-206 airfoil, and all calculations employ the full potential flow equations for two dimensional flow. The relaxation method of Jameson was employed for solution of the potential flow equations.

Bipartite discrimination of independently prepared quantum states as a counterexample to a parallel repetition conjecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akibue, Seiseki; Kato, Go

2018-04-01

For distinguishing quantum states sampled from a fixed ensemble, the gap in bipartite and single-party distinguishability can be interpreted as a nonlocality of the ensemble. In this paper, we consider bipartite state discrimination in a composite system consisting of N subsystems, where each subsystem is shared between two parties and the state of each subsystem is randomly sampled from a particular ensemble comprising the Bell states. We show that the success probability of perfectly identifying the state converges to 1 as N →∞ if the entropy of the probability distribution associated with the ensemble is less than 1, even if the success probability is less than 1 for any finite N . In other words, the nonlocality of the N -fold ensemble asymptotically disappears if the probability distribution associated with each ensemble is concentrated. Furthermore, we show that the disappearance of the nonlocality can be regarded as a remarkable counterexample of a fundamental open question in theoretical computer science, called a parallel repetition conjecture of interactive games with two classically communicating players. Measurements for the discrimination task include a projective measurement of one party represented by stabilizer states, which enable the other party to perfectly distinguish states that are sampled with high probability.

Brain-computer interface controlled functional electrical stimulation device for foot drop due to stroke.

PubMed

Do, An H; Wang, Po T; King, Christine E; Schombs, Andrew; Cramer, Steven C; Nenadic, Zoran

2012-01-01

Gait impairment due to foot drop is a common outcome of stroke, and current physiotherapy provides only limited restoration of gait function. Gait function can also be aided by orthoses, but these devices may be cumbersome and their benefits disappear upon removal. Hence, new neuro-rehabilitative therapies are being sought to generate permanent improvements in motor function beyond those of conventional physiotherapies through positive neural plasticity processes. Here, the authors describe an electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interface (BCI) controlled functional electrical stimulation (FES) system that enabled a stroke subject with foot drop to re-establish foot dorsiflexion. To this end, a prediction model was generated from EEG data collected as the subject alternated between periods of idling and attempted foot dorsiflexion. This prediction model was then used to classify online EEG data into either "idling" or "dorsiflexion" states, and this information was subsequently used to control an FES device to elicit effective foot dorsiflexion. The performance of the system was assessed in online sessions, where the subject was prompted by a computer to alternate between periods of idling and dorsiflexion. The subject demonstrated purposeful operation of the BCI-FES system, with an average cross-correlation between instructional cues and BCI-FES response of 0.60 over 3 sessions. In addition, analysis of the prediction model indicated that non-classical brain areas were activated in the process, suggesting post-stroke cortical re-organization. In the future, these systems may be explored as a potential therapeutic tool that can help promote positive plasticity and neural repair in chronic stroke patients.

Emergence of Adaptive Computation by Single Neurons in the Developing Cortex

PubMed Central

Famulare, Michael; Gjorgjieva, Julijana; Moody, William J.

2013-01-01

Adaptation is a fundamental computational motif in neural processing. To maintain stable perception in the face of rapidly shifting input, neural systems must extract relevant information from background fluctuations under many different contexts. Many neural systems are able to adjust their input–output properties such that an input's ability to trigger a response depends on the size of that input relative to its local statistical context. This “gain-scaling” strategy has been shown to be an efficient coding strategy. We report here that this property emerges during early development as an intrinsic property of single neurons in mouse sensorimotor cortex, coinciding with the disappearance of spontaneous waves of network activity, and can be modulated by changing the balance of spike-generating currents. Simultaneously, developing neurons move toward a common intrinsic operating point and a stable ratio of spike-generating currents. This developmental trajectory occurs in the absence of sensory input or spontaneous network activity. Through a combination of electrophysiology and modeling, we demonstrate that developing cortical neurons develop the ability to perform nearly perfect gain scaling by virtue of the maturing spike-generating currents alone. We use reduced single neuron models to identify the conditions for this property to hold. PMID:23884925

The Effect of Context Change on Simple Acquisition Disappears with Increased Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leon, Samuel P.; Abad, Maria J. F.; Rosas, Juan M.

2010-01-01

The goal of this experiment was to assess the impact that experience with a task has on the context specificity of the learning that occurs. Participants performed an instrumental task within a computer game where different responses were performed in the presence of discriminative stimuli to obtain reinforcers. The number of training trials (3,…

Potential fire behavior in pine flatwood forests following three different fuel reduction techniques

Treesearch

Patrick Brose; Dale Wade

2002-01-01

A computer modeling study to determine the potential fire behavior in pine flatwood forests following three fuel hazard reduction treatments: herbicide, prescribed fire and thinning was conducted in Florida following the 1998 wildfire season. Prescribed fire provided immediate protection but this protection quickly disappeared as the rough recovered. Thinning had a...

EarthVision 2000: Examining Students' Representations of Complex Data Sets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vellom, R. Paul; Pape, Stephen J.

2000-01-01

Examines pencil-and-paper graphs produced by students at the beginning of a 1-week summer teacher/student institute as well as computer-based graphs produced by those same students at the end of the institute. Initial problems with managing data sets and producing meaningful graphs disappeared quickly as students used the process of "building…

Investigation of Doppler spectra of laser radiation scattered inside hand skin during occlusion test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlov, I. O.; Zherebtsov, E. A.; Zherebtsova, A. I.; Dremin, V. V.; Dunaev, A. V.

2017-11-01

Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is a method widely used in diagnosis of microcirculation diseases. It is well known that information about frequency distribution of Doppler spectrum of the laser radiation scattered by moving red blood cells (RBC) usually disappears after signal processing procedure. Photocurrent’s spectrum distribution contains valuable diagnostic information about velocity distribution of the RBC. In this research it is proposed to compute the indexes of microcirculation in the sub-ranges of the Doppler spectrum as well as investigate the frequency distribution of the computed indexes.

Solving phase appearance/disappearance two-phase flow problems with high resolution staggered grid and fully implicit schemes by the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-04-01

The phase appearance/disappearance issue presents serious numerical challenges in two-phase flow simulations. Many existing reactor safety analysis codes use different kinds of treatments for the phase appearance/disappearance problem. However, to our best knowledge, there are no fully satisfactory solutions. Additionally, the majority of the existing reactor system analysis codes were developed using low-order numerical schemes in both space and time. In many situations, it is desirable to use high-resolution spatial discretization and fully implicit time integration schemes to reduce numerical errors. In this work, we adapted a high-resolution spatial discretization scheme on staggered grid mesh and fully implicit time integrationmore » methods (such as BDF1 and BDF2) to solve the two-phase flow problems. The discretized nonlinear system was solved by the Jacobian-free Newton Krylov (JFNK) method, which does not require the derivation and implementation of analytical Jacobian matrix. These methods were tested with a few two-phase flow problems with phase appearance/disappearance phenomena considered, such as a linear advection problem, an oscillating manometer problem, and a sedimentation problem. The JFNK method demonstrated extremely robust and stable behaviors in solving the two-phase flow problems with phase appearance/disappearance. No special treatments such as water level tracking or void fraction limiting were used. High-resolution spatial discretization and second- order fully implicit method also demonstrated their capabilities in significantly reducing numerical errors.« less

When the rhythm disappears and the mind keeps dancing: sustained effects of attentional entrainment.

PubMed

Trapp, Sabrina; Havlicek, Ondrej; Schirmer, Annett; Keller, Peter E

2018-01-17

Research has demonstrated that the human cognitive system allocates attention most efficiently to a stimulus that occurs in synchrony with an established rhythmic background. However, our environment is dynamic and constantly changing. What happens when rhythms to which our cognitive system adapted disappear? We addressed this question using a visual categorization task comprising emotional and neutral faces. The task was split into three blocks of which the first and the last were completed in silence. The second block was accompanied by an acoustic background rhythm that, for one group of participants, was synchronous with face presentations, and for another group was asynchronous. Irrespective of group, performance improved with background stimulation. Importantly, improved performance extended into the third silent block for the synchronous, but not for the asynchronous group. These data suggest that attentional entrainment resulting from rhythmic environmental regularities disintegrates only gradually after the regularities disappear.

Bistable Behavior of the Lac Operon in E. Coli When Induced with a Mixture of Lactose and TMG

PubMed Central

Díaz-Hernández, Orlando; Santillán, Moisés

2010-01-01

In this work we investigate multistability in the lac operon of Escherichia coli when it is induced by a mixture of lactose and the non-metabolizable thiomethyl galactoside (TMG). In accordance with previously published experimental results and computer simulations, our simulations predict that: (1) when the system is induced by TMG, the system shows a discernible bistable behavior while, (2) when the system is induced by lactose, bistability does not disappear but excessively high concentrations of lactose would be required to observe it. Finally, our simulation results predict that when a mixture of lactose and TMG is used, the bistability region in the extracellular glucose concentration vs. extracellular lactose concentration parameter space changes in such a way that the model predictions regarding bistability could be tested experimentally. These experiments could help to solve a recent controversy regarding the existence of bistability in the lac operon under natural conditions. PMID:21423364

Influence of mobility restriction on habituation of the vestibular apparatus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gorgiladze, G. I.; Kazanskaya, G. S.

1980-01-01

Test results presented indicate that 30-day hypokinesia did not affect the intensity of nystagmus: velocity of slow phase, total number of jerks, and duration of the reaction in animals were the same as before mobility restriction and did not differ from those of the control group. However, hypokinesia resulted in the disappearance of habituation of the vestibulary system to repeated angular accelerations. The known hypokinetic changes in the endocrine system were studied. It was concluded that reduction in adrenergic function may be the cause of disappearance of vestibular apparatus habituation during hypokinesia.

Evidence for an Inactivating System of Nitrate Reductase in Hordeum vulgare L. during Darkness That Requires Protein Synthesis 1

PubMed Central

Travis, R. L.; Jordan, W. R.; Huffaker, R. C.

1969-01-01

The disappearance of nitrate reductase activity in leaves of Hordeum vulgare L. during darkness was inhibited by cycloheximide, actinomycin D, and low temperature. Thus, protein synthesis was probably required for the disappearance of nitrate reductase in the dark. Since chloramphenicol did not affect the rate of loss of activity, the degradation or inactivation apparently required protein synthesis by the cytoplasmic ribosomal system. Consistent with this observation, nitrate reductase is also reportedly located in the cytoplasm. Thus, the amount of nitrate reductase activity present in leaves of barley may be controlled by a balance between activating and inactivating systems. PMID:16657182

GREEN SUPERCOMPUTING IN A DESKTOP BOX

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HSU, CHUNG-HSING; FENG, WU-CHUN; CHING, AVERY

2007-01-17

The computer workstation, introduced by Sun Microsystems in 1982, was the tool of choice for scientists and engineers as an interactive computing environment for the development of scientific codes. However, by the mid-1990s, the performance of workstations began to lag behind high-end commodity PCs. This, coupled with the disappearance of BSD-based operating systems in workstations and the emergence of Linux as an open-source operating system for PCs, arguably led to the demise of the workstation as we knew it. Around the same time, computational scientists started to leverage PCs running Linux to create a commodity-based (Beowulf) cluster that provided dedicatedmore » computer cycles, i.e., supercomputing for the rest of us, as a cost-effective alternative to large supercomputers, i.e., supercomputing for the few. However, as the cluster movement has matured, with respect to cluster hardware and open-source software, these clusters have become much more like their large-scale supercomputing brethren - a shared (and power-hungry) datacenter resource that must reside in a machine-cooled room in order to operate properly. Consequently, the above observations, when coupled with the ever-increasing performance gap between the PC and cluster supercomputer, provide the motivation for a 'green' desktop supercomputer - a turnkey solution that provides an interactive and parallel computing environment with the approximate form factor of a Sun SPARCstation 1 'pizza box' workstation. In this paper, they present the hardware and software architecture of such a solution as well as its prowess as a developmental platform for parallel codes. In short, imagine a 12-node personal desktop supercomputer that achieves 14 Gflops on Linpack but sips only 185 watts of power at load, resulting in a performance-power ratio that is over 300% better than their reference SMP platform.« less

Multistability and hidden attractors in a relay system with hysteresis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhusubaliyev, Zhanybai T.; Mosekilde, Erik; Rubanov, Vasily G.; Nabokov, Roman A.

2015-06-01

For nonlinear dynamic systems with switching control, the concept of a "hidden attractor" naturally applies to a stable dynamic state that either (1) coexists with the stable switching cycle or (2), if the switching cycle is unstable, has a basin of attraction that does not intersect with the neighborhood of that cycle. We show how the equilibrium point of a relay system disappears in a boundary-equilibrium bifurcation as the system enters the region of autonomous switching dynamics and demonstrate experimentally how a relay system can exhibit large amplitude chaotic oscillations at high values of the supply voltage. By investigating a four-dimensional model of the experimental relay system we finally show how a variety of hidden periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic attractors arise, transform and disappear through different bifurcations.

Simulation and observation of line-slip structures in columnar structures of soft spheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winkelmann, J.; Haffner, B.; Weaire, D.; Mughal, A.; Hutzler, S.

2017-07-01

We present the computed phase diagram of columnar structures of soft spheres under pressure, of which the main feature is the appearance and disappearance of line slips, the shearing of adjacent spirals, as pressure is increased. A comparable experimental observation is made on a column of bubbles under forced drainage, clearly exhibiting the expected line slip.

Simulation and observation of line-slip structures in columnar structures of soft spheres.

PubMed

Winkelmann, J; Haffner, B; Weaire, D; Mughal, A; Hutzler, S

2017-07-01

We present the computed phase diagram of columnar structures of soft spheres under pressure, of which the main feature is the appearance and disappearance of line slips, the shearing of adjacent spirals, as pressure is increased. A comparable experimental observation is made on a column of bubbles under forced drainage, clearly exhibiting the expected line slip.

Signs of an Impending Hard Disk Crash

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldborough, Reid

2004-01-01

If you have worked with computers for any length of time, you have undoubtedly heard the warnings and the recommendations. Data stored on PCs can disappear in a nanosecond. You need to back up any crucial data you cannot risk losing. Ideally, you should store at least one set of crucial back-up data off-site in case of a fire, flood or other…

Random graph models for dynamic networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiao; Moore, Cristopher; Newman, Mark E. J.

2017-10-01

Recent theoretical work on the modeling of network structure has focused primarily on networks that are static and unchanging, but many real-world networks change their structure over time. There exist natural generalizations to the dynamic case of many static network models, including the classic random graph, the configuration model, and the stochastic block model, where one assumes that the appearance and disappearance of edges are governed by continuous-time Markov processes with rate parameters that can depend on properties of the nodes. Here we give an introduction to this class of models, showing for instance how one can compute their equilibrium properties. We also demonstrate their use in data analysis and statistical inference, giving efficient algorithms for fitting them to observed network data using the method of maximum likelihood. This allows us, for example, to estimate the time constants of network evolution or infer community structure from temporal network data using cues embedded both in the probabilities over time that node pairs are connected by edges and in the characteristic dynamics of edge appearance and disappearance. We illustrate these methods with a selection of applications, both to computer-generated test networks and real-world examples.

Digestion of feed amino acids in the rumen and intestine of steers measured using a mobile nylon bag technique.

PubMed

Taghizadeh, A; Danesh Mesgaran, M; Valizadeh, R; Shahroodi, F Eftekhar; Stanford, K

2005-05-01

The disappearance of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and amino acids (AA) in steers after rumen incubation and intestinal passage of alfalfa hay, barley hay, corn silage, barley grain, corn grain, wheat bran, meat meal, fish meal, cottonseed meal, and soybean meal were measured in 3 steers using a mobile nylon bag technique. Ruminal degradation of individual AA differed between feedstuffs. For barley hay and corn silage, the ruminal disappearance of total AA was higher and lower than the other feedstuffs, respectively. The intestinal digestibility of total AA in alfalfa hay was lower than the digestion of CP. The intestinal digestibility of Arg and His was higher than that of total AA in alfalfa hay, meat meal, cottonseed meal, soybean meal, barley hay, and wheat bran. In addition, the intestinal digestibility of Lys was higher than that of total AA in alfalfa hay, meat meal, cottonseed meal, soybean meal, barley hay, corn silage, and wheat bran. The intestinal disappearance of CP in most cases was higher than that of DM. The results indicated that feedstuffs with lower ruminal disappearance of DM, CP, total AA, essential AA, and nonessential AA generally had a higher intestinal disappearance, resulting in a relatively constant total tract disappearance. These results could be used to improve the current system of diet formulation in ruminants.

[Why do good drugs disappear?].

PubMed

Brezis, Mayer; Tomer, Ron; Klang, Samuel; Hammerman, Ariel

2010-10-01

Old drugs, with proved efficacy and safety, are disappearing from the market. For instance, nitrofurantoin, an inexpensive effective agent for urinary tract infections with low incidence of bacterial resistance in comparison to other antibiotics, is becoming unavailable. Alpha-methyldopa and hydraLazine, drugs of choice for pregnancy hypertension, are no longer available. Chlorthalidone, a Long acting thiazide with best evidence on efficacy, is no Longer marketed in Israel. Switching to newer agents increases costs and is often associated with relative uncertainty about safety and efficacy. The reason for the disappearance of old drugs is a combination of market failures and failures in production and regulatory processes. System revisions are needed to allow continued availability of old, safe and effective drugs.

Automatically Log Off Upon Disappearance of Facial Image

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

log off a PC when the user’s face disappears for an adjustable time interval. Among the fundamental technologies of biometrics, facial recognition is... facial recognition products. In this report, a brief overview of face detection technologies is provided. The particular neural network-based face...ensure that the user logging onto the system is the same person. Among the fundamental technologies of biometrics, facial recognition is the only

Superconductor—Insulator Transitions in Pure Polycrystalline Nb Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Couedo, F.; Crauste, O.; Bergé, L.; Dolgorouky, Y.; Marrache-Kikuchi, C.; Dumoulin, L.

2012-12-01

We report on a study of the transport properties of Nb thin films. By varying the thickness of the films from 263 Å to 25 Å, we observed a depression of the superconductivity. Magnetic field was also applied up to 6 T, inducing the disappearance of the superconductivity and the onset of an insulating behavior. The results were compared to those we have already obtained on a highly disordered system, a-NbxSi1-x, to understand whether the same mechanisms for the disappearance of the superconductivity could be at play in pure metallic thin films and in highly disordered systems.

Computed tomography contrast media extravasation: treatment algorithm and immediate treatment by squeezing with multiple slit incisions.

PubMed

Kim, Sue Min; Cook, Kyung Hoon; Lee, Il Jae; Park, Dong Ha; Park, Myong Chul

2017-04-01

In our hospital, an adverse event reporting system was initiated that alerts the plastic surgery department immediately after suspecting contrast media extravasation injury. This system is particularly important for a large volume of extravasation during power injector use. Between March 2011 and May 2015, a retrospective chart review was performed on all patients experiencing contrast media extravasation while being treated at our hospital. Immediate treatment by squeezing with multiple slit incisions was conducted for a portion of these patients. Eighty cases of extravasation were reported from approximately 218 000 computed tomography scans. The expected extravasation volume was larger than 50 ml, or severe pressure was felt on the affected limb in 23 patients. They were treated with multiple slit incisions followed by squeezing. Oedema of the affected limb disappeared after 1-2 hours after treatment, and the skin incisions healed within a week. We propose a set of guidelines for the initial management of contrast media extravasation injuries for a timely intervention. For large-volume extravasation cases, immediate management with multiple slit incisions is safe and effective in reducing the swelling quickly, preventing patient discomfort and decreasing skin and soft tissue problems. © 2016 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spin Hall Effect and Weak Antilocalization in Graphene/Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Heterostructures.

PubMed

Garcia, Jose H; Cummings, Aron W; Roche, Stephan

2017-08-09

We report on a theoretical study of the spin Hall Effect (SHE) and weak antilocalization (WAL) in graphene/transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) heterostructures, computed through efficient real-space quantum transport methods, and using realistic tight-binding models parametrized from ab initio calculations. The graphene/WS 2 system is found to maximize spin proximity effects compared to graphene on MoS 2 , WSe 2 , or MoSe 2 with a crucial role played by disorder, given the disappearance of SHE signals in the presence of strong intervalley scattering. Notably, we found that stronger WAL effects are concomitant with weaker charge-to-spin conversion efficiency. For further experimental studies of graphene/TMDC heterostructures, our findings provide guidelines for reaching the upper limit of spin current formation and for fully harvesting the potential of two-dimensional materials for spintronic applications.

Preparation and in vitro/in vivo evaluation of antimicrobial ocular in situ gels containing a disappearing preservative for topical treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.

PubMed

Saher, Osama; Ghorab, Dalia M; Mursi, Nadia M

2016-08-01

The study aimed to formulate and evaluate levofloxacin hemihydrate ocular in situ gels along with freshly prepared disappearing preservative reported to be safer to human eyes. Formulae were prepared using thermosensitive (PF127 and PF68) or ion-activated (Gelrite) polymers. They were evaluated for gelation temperature (GT), capacity, content uniformity, pH, rheological behavior, in vitro drug release with kinetic analysis. Best formulae were exposed to storage effect to select the optimum formula that was subjected to different sterilization methods and in vivo evaluation. The prepared disappearing preservative (sodium perborate monohydrate) proved to be active oxidative preservative and compatible with our formulae. F9 (24% PF127, 15% PF 68, 0.5% levofloxacin hemihydrate, and 0.0025% sodium perborate monohydrate) showed prolonged drug release (12 h), acceptable GT, viscosity, and pH. It remained stable over 3 months at two temperatures and was best sterilized by filtration. It showed longer residence time (12 h) in rabbits' eye fluids compared with the Levoxin® eye drops (4 h). This successful attempt of using thermo-gelling system along with a disappearing type of preservatives would allow the use of these systems to achieve sustained release of antimicrobial drugs with minimum risk of eye damage improving patient compliance and treatment efficacy.

Experimental research on showing automatic disappearance pen handwriting based on spectral imaging technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Yi; Xu, Lei; Liu, Ningning; Huang, Wei; Xu, Xiaojing

2016-10-01

Purpose to find an efficient, non-destructive examining method for showing the disappearing words after writing with automatic disappearance pen. Method Using the imaging spectrometer to show the potential disappearance words on paper surface according to different properties of reflection absorbed by various substances in different bands. Results the disappeared words by using different disappearance pens to write on the same paper or the same disappearance pen to write on different papers, both can get good show results through the use of the spectral imaging examining methods. Conclusion Spectral imaging technology can show the disappearing words after writing by using the automatic disappearance pen.

Tutorial Guide: Computer-Aided Structural Modeling (CASM). Version 5.00

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-04-01

2-3 SITE-SPECIFIC DATA DIALOG WINDOW ................. 2-4 SAVING PROJECT DATA ....................... 2-7 PRINTING PROJECT CRITERIA DATA...you to the main CASM screen without saving changes. REGIONAL DATA DIALOG WINDOW The Regonal• Dtadlalg windtow contim ms0•twrmofogoik hronimdon.The...Information so that It will be Included In your hardcopy output. 3. Select OK to save your Regional Data entries. The Regional Data dalog window will disappear

Corrected Article: Simulation and observation of line-slip structures in columnar structures of soft spheres [Phys. Rev. E 96, 012610 (2017)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winkelmann, J.; Haffner, B.; Weaire, D.; Mughal, A.; Hutzler, S.

2017-07-01

We present the computed phase diagram of columnar structures of soft spheres under pressure, of which the main feature is the appearance and disappearance of line slips, the shearing of adjacent spirals, as pressure is increased. A comparable experimental observation is made on a column of bubbles under forced drainage, clearly exhibiting the expected line slip.

Real-time visual target tracking: two implementations of velocity-based smooth pursuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etienne-Cummings, Ralph; Longo, Paul; Van der Spiegel, Jan; Mueller, Paul

1995-06-01

Two systems for velocity-based visual target tracking are presented. The first two computational layers of both implementations are composed of VLSI photoreceptors (logarithmic compression) and edge detection (difference-of-Gaussians) arrays that mimic the outer-plexiform layer of mammalian retinas. The subsequent processing layers for measuring the target velocity and to realize smooth pursuit tracking are implemented in software and at the focal plane in the two versions, respectively. One implentation uses a hybrid of a PC and a silicon retina (39 X 38 pixels) operating at 333 frames/second. The software implementation of a real-time optical flow measurement algorithm is used to determine the target velocity, and a closed-loop control system zeroes the relative velocity of the target and retina. The second implementation is a single VLSI chip, which contains a linear array of photoreceptors, edge detectors and motion detectors at the focal plane. The closed-loop control system is also included on chip. This chip realizes all the computational properties of the hybrid system. The effects of background motion, target occlusion, and disappearance are studied as a function of retinal size and spatial distribution of the measured motion vectors (i.e. foveal/peripheral and diverging/converging measurement schemes). The hybrid system, which tested successfully, tracks targets moving as fast as 3 m/s at 1.3 meters from the camera and it can compensate for external arbitrary movements in its mounting platform. The single chip version, whose circuits tested successfully, can handle targets moving at 10 m/s.

VARIATIONS OF ABSORPTION TROUGHS IN THE QUASAR SDSS J125216.58+052737.7

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Zhi-Fu; Qin, Yi-Ping, E-mail: zhichenfu@126.com

2015-01-20

In this work, we analyze the spectra of quasar J125216.58+052737.7 (z {sub em} = 1.9035) which was observed by SDSS-I/II on 2003 January 30 and by BOSS on 2011 April 2. Both the continuum and the absorption spectra of this quasar show obvious variations between the two epochs. In the SDSS-I/II spectrum, we detect 8 C IV λλ1548,1551 absorption systems, which are detected at z {sub abs} = 1.9098, 1.8948, 1.8841, 1.8770, 1.8732, 1.8635, 1.8154, and 1.7359, respectively, and one Mg II λλ2796,2803 absorption system at z {sub abs} = 0.9912. Among these absorption systems, two C IV λλ1548,1551 absorptionmore » systems at z {sub abs} = 1.9098 and 1.7359 and the Mg II λλ2796,2803 absorption system are imprinted on the BOSS spectrum as well, and have similar absorption strengths when compared to those measured from the SDSS-I/II spectrum. Three C IV λλ1548,1551 absorption systems at z {sub abs} = 1.8948, 1.8841, and 1.8770 are also detected in the BOSS spectrum, while their absorption strengths are much weaker than those measured from the SDSS-I/II spectrum; three systems at z {sub abs} = 1.8732, 1.8635, and 1.8154 disappeared from the BOSS spectrum. Based on the variability analysis, the absorption systems that disappeared and weakened are likely to be intrinsic to the quasar. If these intrinsic absorption gases are blown away from the central region of the quasar, with respect to the quasar system, the absorption systems that disappeared would have separation velocities of 3147 kms{sup –1}, 4161 km s{sup –1}, and 9241 km s{sup –1}, while the absorption systems that weakened would have separation velocities of 900 km s{sup –1}, 2011 km s{sup –1}, and 2751 km s{sup –1}. Well-coordinated variations of the six C IV λλ1548,1551 absorption systems that disappeared and weakened, occurring on a timescale of 1026.7 days at the quasar rest frame, can be interpreted as a result of global changes in the ionization state of the absorbing gas.« less

Causal evidence for retina dependent and independent visual motion computations in mouse cortex

PubMed Central

Hillier, Daniel; Fiscella, Michele; Drinnenberg, Antonia; Trenholm, Stuart; Rompani, Santiago B.; Raics, Zoltan; Katona, Gergely; Juettner, Josephine; Hierlemann, Andreas; Rozsa, Balazs; Roska, Botond

2017-01-01

How neuronal computations in the sensory periphery contribute to computations in the cortex is not well understood. We examined this question in the context of visual-motion processing in the retina and primary visual cortex (V1) of mice. We disrupted retinal direction selectivity – either exclusively along the horizontal axis using FRMD7 mutants or along all directions by ablating starburst amacrine cells – and monitored neuronal activity in layer 2/3 of V1 during stimulation with visual motion. In control mice, we found an overrepresentation of cortical cells preferring posterior visual motion, the dominant motion direction an animal experiences when it moves forward. In mice with disrupted retinal direction selectivity, the overrepresentation of posterior-motion-preferring cortical cells disappeared, and their response at higher stimulus speeds was reduced. This work reveals the existence of two functionally distinct, sensory-periphery-dependent and -independent computations of visual motion in the cortex. PMID:28530661

[Ulcerative colitis in remission with cerebral abscess and septic pulmonary emboli: a case report].

PubMed

Yamauchi, Takahiro; Katsumura, Hirotoshi; Noguchi, Yoshiyuki; Kikuta, Ken-ichiro

2013-12-01

A 69-year-old man with a 4-year history of ulcerative colitis (UC) presented at our hospital with high fever, dysarthria, and right hemiparesis. Computed tomography (CT) of the head revealed a low-density area in the left temporal lobe. Chest CT exposed multiple pulmonary nodules in his right lung. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated a 3-cm tumor with ring enhancement located in the left temporal lobe. The patient was diagnosed with a brain abscess and septic pulmonary emboli (SPE); antibiotic therapy was initiated. Shrinkage of the brain abscess was not observed in a follow-up MRI;thus, he underwent aspiration and drainage of the abscess 11 days after his hospitalization. Intravenous antibiotic therapy was continued for 6 weeks after the operation. Follow-up chest CT performed 48 days after his hospitalization revealed disappearance of the SPE. Follow-up head MRI conducted 63 days after his hospitalization indicated that the cyst had almost disappeared. Occurrence of a brain abscess in patients with UC has been very rarely reported in Japan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of a brain abscess in conjunction with UC and SPE. It is believed that patients with UC have compromised immunity and exhibit activation of the blood coagulation system. Our report suggests that medical practitioners should consider the possibility of a brain abscess and SPE for patients with UC.

High resolution solar observations in the context of space weather prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Guo

Space weather has a great impact on the Earth and human life. It is important to study and monitor active regions on the solar surface and ultimately to predict space weather based on the Sun's activity. In this study, a system that uses the full power of speckle masking imaging by parallel processing to obtain high-spatial resolution images of the solar surface in near real-time has been developed and built. The application of this system greatly improves the ability to monitor the evolution of solar active regions and to predict the adverse effects of space weather. The data obtained by this system have also been used to study fine structures on the solar surface and their effects on the upper solar atmosphere. A solar active region has been studied using high resolution data obtained by speckle masking imaging. Evolution of a pore in an active region presented. Formation of a rudimentary penumbra is studied. The effects of the change of the magnetic fields on the upper level atmosphere is discussed. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) have a great impact on space weather. To study the relationship between CMEs and filament disappearance, a list of 431 filament and prominence disappearance events has been compiled. Comparison of this list with CME data obtained by satellite has shown that most filament disappearances seem to have no corresponding CME events. Even for the limb events, only thirty percent of filament disappearances are associated with CMEs. A CME event that was observed on March 20, 2000 has been studied in detail. This event did not show the three-parts structure of typical CMEs. The kinematical and morphological properties of this event were examined.

Uncertainty dimension and basin entropy in relativistic chaotic scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernal, Juan D.; Seoane, Jesús M.; Sanjuán, Miguel A. F.

2018-04-01

Chaotic scattering is an important topic in nonlinear dynamics and chaos with applications in several fields in physics and engineering. The study of this phenomenon in relativistic systems has received little attention as compared to the Newtonian case. Here we focus our work on the study of some relevant characteristics of the exit basin topology in the relativistic Hénon-Heiles system: the uncertainty dimension, the Wada property, and the basin entropy. Our main findings for the uncertainty dimension show two different behaviors insofar as we change the relativistic parameter β , in which a crossover behavior is uncovered. This crossover point is related with the disappearance of KAM islands in phase space, which happens for velocity values above the ultrarelativistic limit, v >0.1 c . This result is supported by numerical simulations and by qualitative analysis, which are in good agreement. On the other hand, the computation of the exit basins in the phase space suggests the existence of Wada basins for a range of β <0.625 . We also studied the evolution of the exit basins in a quantitative manner by computing the basin entropy, which shows a maximum value for β ≈0.2 . This last quantity is related to the uncertainty in the prediction of the final fate of the system. Finally, our work is relevant in galactic dynamics, and it also has important implications in other topics in physics such as as in the Störmer problem, among others.

Sex differences on a computerized mental rotation task disappear with computer familiarization.

PubMed

Roberts, J E; Bell, M A

2000-12-01

The area of cognitive research that has produced the most consistent sex differences is spatial ability. Particularly, men consistently perform better on mental rotation tasks than do women. This study examined the effects of familiarization with a computer on performance of a computerized two-dimensional mental rotation task. Two groups of college students (N=44) performed the rotation task, with one group performing a color-matching task that allowed them to be familiarized with the computer prior to the rotation task. Among the participants who only performed the rotation task, the 11 men performed better than the 11 women. Among the participants who performed the computer familiarization task before the rotation task, how ever, there were no sex differences on the mental rotation task between the 10 men and 12 women. These data indicate that sex differences on this two-dimensional task may reflect familiarization with the computer, not the mental rotation component of the task. Further research with larger samples and increased range of task difficulty is encouraged.

Graphene as a flexible template for controlling magnetic interactions between metal atoms.

PubMed

Lee, Sungwoo; Kim, Dongwook; Robertson, Alex W; Yoon, Euijoon; Hong, Suklyun; Ihm, Jisoon; Yu, Jaejun; Warner, Jamie H; Lee, Gun-Do

2017-03-01

Metal-doped graphene produces magnetic moments that have potential application in spintronics. Here we use density function theory computational methods to show how the magnetic interaction between metal atoms doped in graphene can be controlled by the degree of flexure in a graphene membrane. Bending graphene by flexing causes the distance between two substitutional Fe atoms covalently bonded in graphene to gradually increase and these results in the magnetic moment disappearing at a critical strain value. At the critical strain, a carbon atom can enter between the two Fe atoms and blocks the interaction between relevant orbitals of Fe atoms to quench the magnetic moment. The control of interactions between doped atoms by exploiting the mechanical flexibility of graphene is a unique approach to manipulating the magnetic properties and opens up new opportunities for mechanical-magnetic 2D device systems.

Cerebral blood flow changes in very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis with catatonia before and after successful treatment.

PubMed

Tsujino, Naohisa; Nemoto, Takahiro; Yamaguchi, Taiju; Katagiri, Naoyuki; Tohgi, Nao; Ikeda, Ryu; Shiraga, Nobuyuki; Mizumura, Sunao; Mizuno, Masafumi

2011-10-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes in a patient with very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOS) with catatonia. A 64-year-old woman developed catatonia after experiencing persecutory delusions. The patient's rCBF was examined using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with easy Z-score imaging system. Before treatment, hypoperfusion was observed in the striatum and the thalamus, whereas hyperperfusion was observed in the left lateral frontal cortex and the left temporal cortex. After treatment, the disproportions in rCBF disappeared, and hyperperfusion was observed in the motor cortex. Sequential SPECT findings suggest that rCBF abnormalities may be correlated with the symptomatology of catatonia in patients with VLOS. © 2011 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2011 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Simulated Impact of Climate Change on Fremont Native American Maize Farming in Utah at the MCA-LIA Transition, ca. 12-14th c. CE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomson, M. J.; MacDonald, G. M.

2016-12-01

We present the results of a computational crop modeling experiment for ancient Fremont Native American Zea mays farming in the Uinta Basin, Utah, at the Medieval Climate Anomaly to Little Ice Age (MCA-LIA) transition, ca. 850-1450 CE. This period coincides with the rapid disappearance of complex Native American cultures from the American Southwest. The crop model (the Environment Policy Impact Calculator, EPIC) was driven by statistically downscaled precipitation, temperature and shortwave radiative flux from the Community Earth System Model Last Millennium Ensemble (CESM LME). We found that maize yield responded to changes in the model-reconstructed temperature and precipitation; and periods of reduced maize yields corresponded to the abandonment of higher elevation Fremont 14C-dated archaeological sites. EPIC produces good agreement between modeled and historically reported maize yields for the 19th century.

Fixtureless nonrigid part inspection using depth cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Hanwei; Xu, Jun; Xu, Chenxi; Pan, Ming

2016-10-01

In automobile industry, flexible thin shell parts are used to cover car body. Such parts could have a different shape in a free state than the design model due to dimensional variation, gravity loads and residual strains. Special inspection fixtures are generally indispensable for geometric inspection. Recently, some researchers have proposed fixtureless nonridged inspect methods using intrinsic geometry or virtual spring-mass system, based on some assumptions about deformation between Free State shape and nominal CAD shape. In this paper, we propose a new fixtureless method to inspect flexible parts with a depth camera, which is efficient and low computational complexity. Unlike traditional method, we gather two point cloud set of the manufactured part in two different states, and make correspondences between them and one of them to the CAD model. The manufacturing defects can be derived from the correspondences. Finite element method (FEM) disappears in our method. Experimental evaluation of the proposed method is presented.

TRANSFORMATION PATHWAYS OF HEXACHLOROCYCLOPENTADIENE IN THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

An environmental assessment of the transformation and transport pathways of hexachlorocyclopentadiene (hex) in simulated aquatic systems in presented. Hydrolytic and photolytic disappearance rate constants in distilled and natural waters and in sediment-water systems are given. S...

Ethylene Decomposition Initiated by Ultraviolet Radiation from Low Pressure Mercury Lamps: Kinetics Model Prediction and Experimental Verification.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jozwiak, Zbigniew Boguslaw

1995-01-01

Ethylene is an important auto-catalytic plant growth hormone. Removal of ethylene from the atmosphere surrounding ethylene-sensitive horticultural products may be very beneficial, allowing an extended period of storage and preventing or delaying the induction of disorders. Various ethylene removal techniques have been studied and put into practice. One technique is based on using low pressure mercury ultraviolet lamps as a source of photochemical energy to initiate chemical reactions that destroy ethylene. Although previous research showed that ethylene disappeared in experiments with mercury ultraviolet lamps, the reactions were not described and the actual cause of ethylene disappearance remained unknown. Proposed causes for this disappearance were the direct action of ultraviolet rays on ethylene, reaction of ethylene with ozone (which is formed when air or gas containing molecular oxygen is exposed to radiation emitted by this type of lamp), or reactions with atomic oxygen leading to formation of ozone. The objective of the present study was to determine the set of physical and chemical actions leading to the disappearance of ethylene from artificial storage atmosphere under conditions of ultraviolet irradiation. The goal was achieved by developing a static chemical model based on the physical properties of a commercially available ultraviolet lamp, the photochemistry of gases, and the kinetics of chemical reactions. The model was used to perform computer simulations predicting time dependent concentrations of chemical species included in the model. Development of the model was accompanied by the design of a reaction chamber used for experimental verification. The model provided a good prediction of the general behavior of the species involved in the chemistry under consideration; however the model predicted lower than measured rate of ethylene disappearance. Some reasons for the model -experiment disagreement are radiation intensity averaging, the experimental technique, mass transfer in the chamber, and incompleteness of the set of chemical reactions included in the model. The work is concluded with guidelines for development of a more complex mathematical model that includes elements of mass transfer inside the reaction chamber, and uses a three dimensional approach to distribute radiation from the low pressure mercury ultraviolet tube.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations and their outcomes in chronic hypocalcaemia.

PubMed

Maiti, Abhishek; Chatterjee, Sudip

2013-03-01

Hypocalcaemia is an established cause of neurological and psychiatric disease with numerous clinical manifestations. The aim of the study was to determine the outcome of severe neuropsychiatric manifestations of chronic hypocalcaemia after correction of calcium levels. Clinical and laboratory data of 22 patients seen between 1999 and 2009 were retrospectively analysed. Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, albumin and parathormone values were measured in all cases. All patients except infants under one year of age had computed tomography (CT) scans of the head. Most patients (n = 19; 86%) presented with generalised tonic clonic convulsions while three had seizures with psychiatric manifestations. Movement disorders were present in 4 patients and one had candida meningitis. Nineteen of the 22 patients had primary hypoparathyroidism of which one had associated mucocutaneous candidiasis. One had pseudohypoparathyroidism and two had vitamin D deficiency. All patients improved with calcitriol and calcium treatment. Twelve of the 14 patients with convulsions could be taken off anticonvulsants. Hemiballismus disappeared in one patient and choreiform movements disappeared in one patient and dystonia in two patients. Psychiatric manifestations improved but did not disappear in the three patients who had them. Adult patients with seizures or neuropsychiatric manifestations should have calcium levels checked. Seizure disorders due to chronic hypocalcaemia had excellent prognosis on correction of serum calcium levels. Movement disorders improved markedly. Psychiatric manifestations did not improve substantially on correction of serum calcium levels.

Below the Disappearing Marshes of an Urban Estuary ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Marshes in the urban Jamaica Bay Estuary, New York, USA are disappearing at an average rate of 13 ha/yr, and multiple stressors (e.g., wastewater inputs, dredging activities, groundwater removal, and global warming) may be contributing to marsh losses. Among these stressors, wastewater nutrients are suspected to be an important contributing cause of marsh deterioration. We used census data, radiometric dating, stable nitrogen isotopes, and soil surveys to examine the temporal relationships between human population growth and soil nitrogen; and we evaluated soil structure with computer-aided tomography, surface elevation and sediment accretion trends, carbon dioxide emissions, and soil shear strength to examine differences among disappearing (Black Bank and Big Egg) and stable marshes (JoCo). Radiometric dating and nitrogen isotope analyses suggested a rapid increase in human wastewater nutrients beginning in the late 1840s, and a tapering off beginning in the 1930s when wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were first installed. Current WWTPs nutrient loads to Jamaica Bay are approximately 13 995 kg N/d and 2767 kg P/d. At Black Bank, the biomass and abundance of roots and rhizomes and percentage of organic matter on soil were significantly lower, rhizomes larger in diameter, carbon dioxide emission rates and peat particle density significantly greater, and soil strength significantly lower compared to the stable JoCo Marsh, suggesting Black Bank has elevated d

High-Accuracy Comparison Between the Post-Newtonian and Self-Force Dynamics of Black-Hole Binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanchet, Luc; Detweiler, Steven; Le Tiec, Alexandre; Whiting, Bernard F.

The relativistic motion of a compact binary system moving in circular orbit is investigated using the post-Newtonian (PN) approximation and the perturbative self-force (SF) formalism. A particular gauge-invariant observable quantity is computed as a function of the binary's orbital frequency. The conservative effect induced by the gravitational SF is obtained numerically with high precision, and compared to the PN prediction developed to high order. The PN calculation involves the computation of the 3PN regularized metric at the location of the particle. Its divergent self-field is regularized by means of dimensional regularization. The poles ∝ {(d - 3)}^{-1} that occur within dimensional regularization at the 3PN order disappear from the final gauge-invariant result. The leading 4PN and next-to-leading 5PN conservative logarithmic contributions originating from gravitational wave tails are also obtained. Making use of these exact PN results, some previously unknown PN coefficients are measured up to the very high 7PN order by fitting to the numerical SF data. Using just the 2PN and new logarithmic terms, the value of the 3PN coefficient is also confirmed numerically with very high precision. The consistency of this cross-cultural comparison provides a crucial test of the very different regularization methods used in both SF and PN formalisms, and illustrates the complementarity of these approximation schemes when modeling compact binary systems.

The disappearing momentum of the supercurrent in the superconductor-to-normal phase transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirsch, J. E.

2016-06-01

A superconductor in a magnetic field has surface currents that prevent the magnetic field from penetrating its interior. These currents carry kinetic energy and mechanical momentum. When the temperature is raised and the system becomes normal the currents disappear. Where do the kinetic energy and mechanical momentum of the currents go, and how? Here we propose that the answer to this question reveals a key necessary condition for materials to be superconductors, that is not part of conventional BCS-London theory: superconducting materials need to have hole carriers.

Dyakonov-Shur instability across the ballistic-to-hydrodynamic crossover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendl, Christian B.; Lucas, Andrew

2018-03-01

We numerically solve semiclassical kinetic equations and compute the growth rate of the Dyakonov-Shur instability of a two-dimensional Fermi liquid in a finite length cavity. When electron-electron scattering is fast, we observe the well-understood hydrodynamic instability and its disappearance due to viscous dissipation. When electron-electron scattering is negligible, we find that the instability re-emerges for certain boundary conditions but not for others. We discuss the implications of these findings for experiments.

Dyakonov-Shur instability across the ballistic-to-hydrodynamic crossover

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mendl, Christian B.; Lucas, Andrew

Here, we numerically solve semiclassical kinetic equations and compute the growth rate of the Dyakonov-Shur instability of a two-dimensional Fermi liquid in a finite length cavity. When electron-electron scattering is fast, we observe the well-understood hydrodynamic instability and its disappearance due to viscous dissipation. When electron-electron scattering is negligible, we find that the instability re-emerges for certain boundary conditions but not for others. We discuss the implications of these findings for experiments.

Dyakonov-Shur instability across the ballistic-to-hydrodynamic crossover

DOE PAGES

Mendl, Christian B.; Lucas, Andrew

2018-03-19

Here, we numerically solve semiclassical kinetic equations and compute the growth rate of the Dyakonov-Shur instability of a two-dimensional Fermi liquid in a finite length cavity. When electron-electron scattering is fast, we observe the well-understood hydrodynamic instability and its disappearance due to viscous dissipation. When electron-electron scattering is negligible, we find that the instability re-emerges for certain boundary conditions but not for others. We discuss the implications of these findings for experiments.

[A Case Strongly Suspected of Being Pulmonary Toxocariasis Showing Multiple Pulmonary Nodules with a Disappearing and Reappearing Halo Sign].

PubMed

Takakura, Akira; Harada, Shinya; Katono, Ken; Igawa, Satoshi; Katagiri, Masato; Yanase, Nobuo; Masuda, Noriyuki

2015-03-01

We report herein on a case strongly suspected of being pulmonary toxocariasis. A 22-year-old Indonesian man referred to our hospital presented with abnormal chest shadows upon medical examination. He had no symptoms. He did not have any pets nor did he eat raw beef or chicken. Hematological examination revealed eosinophilia and elevation of IgE. Chest computed tomography revealed 3 pulmonary nodules with the halo sign. We suspected a parasite infection and performed antiparasite antibody testing. Ascaris suum was slightly positive on the screening test. As specific antibody against the larval excretory-secretory products of Toxocara canis, measured at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, was positive (level 3 up to 8). Subsequently, the abnormal chest shadows disappeared. However, two months later, 2 pulmonary nodules with the halo sign reappeared in other places. Diagnostic therapy with albendazole was performed for 8 weeks. Mild hepatic impairment emerged during therapy, but it was within the allowed range. Thereafter, the results improved for the imaging findings, eosinophilia, serum IgE level, and specific antibody. The antibody level became negative two months after the treatment had ended. We should consider toxocariasis in the differential diagnosis of migratory nodular shadows with the halo sign on chest computed tomography, and immunoserological testing is useful for the diagnosis.

Origins of extreme broadening mechanisms in near-edge x-ray spectra of nitrogen compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinson, John; Jach, Terrence; Elam, W. T.; Denlinger, J. D.

2014-11-01

We demonstrate the observation of many-body lifetime effects in valence-band x-ray emission. A comparison of the N K α emission of crystalline ammonium nitrate to molecular-orbital calculations revealed an unexpected, extreme broadening of the NO σ recombination—so extensively as to virtually disappear. GW calculations establish that this disappearance is due to a large imaginary component of the self-energy associated with the NO σ orbitals. Building upon density-functional theory, we have calculated radiative transitions from the nitrogen 1 s level of ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride using a Bethe-Salpeter method to include electron-hole interactions. The absorption and emission spectra of both crystals evince large, orbital-dependent sensitivity to molecular dynamics. We demonstrate that many-body effects as well as thermal and zero-point motion are vital for understanding observed spectra. A computational approach using average atomic positions and uniform broadening to account for lifetime and phonon effects is unsatisfactory.

Exchange interaction between the triplet exciton and the localized spin in copper-phthalocyanine.

PubMed

Wu, Wei

2014-06-14

Triplet excitonic state in the organic molecule may arise from a singlet excitation and the following inter-system crossing. Especially for a spin-bearing molecule, an exchange interaction between the triplet exciton and the original spin on the molecule can be expected. In this paper, such exchange interaction in copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc, spin-½) was investigated from first-principles by using density-functional theory within a variety of approximations to the exchange correlation, ranging from local-density approximation to long-range corrected hybrid-exchange functional. The magnitude of the computed exchange interaction is in the order of meV with the minimum value (1.5 meV, ferromagnetic) given by the long-range corrected hybrid-exchange functional CAM-B3LYP. This exchange interaction can therefore give rise to a spin coherence with an oscillation period in the order of picoseconds, which is much shorter than the triplet lifetime in CuPc (typically tens of nanoseconds). This implies that it might be possible to manipulate the localized spin on Cu experimentally using optical excitation and inter-system crossing well before the triplet state disappears.

Rapid disappearance of a warm, dusty circumstellar disk.

PubMed

Melis, Carl; Zuckerman, B; Rhee, Joseph H; Song, Inseok; Murphy, Simon J; Bessell, Michael S

2012-07-04

Stars form with gaseous and dusty circumstellar envelopes, which rapidly settle into disks that eventually give rise to planetary systems. Understanding the process by which these disks evolve is paramount in developing an accurate theory of planet formation that can account for the variety of planetary systems discovered so far. The formation of Earth-like planets through collisional accumulation of rocky objects within a disk has mainly been explored in theoretical and computational work in which post-collision ejecta evolution typically is ignored, although recent work has considered the fate of such material. Here we report observations of a young, Sun-like star (TYC 8241 2652 1) where infrared flux from post-collisional ejecta has decreased drastically, by a factor of about 30, over a period of less than two years. The star seems to have gone from hosting substantial quantities of dusty ejecta, in a region analogous to where the rocky planets orbit in the Solar System, to retaining at most a meagre amount of cooler dust. Such a phase of rapid ejecta evolution has not been previously predicted or observed, and no currently available physical model satisfactorily explains the observations.

Stability analysis of multi-group deterministic and stochastic epidemic models with vaccination rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhi-Gang; Gao, Rui-Mei; Fan, Xiao-Ming; Han, Qi-Xing

2014-09-01

We discuss in this paper a deterministic multi-group MSIR epidemic model with a vaccination rate, the basic reproduction number ℛ0, a key parameter in epidemiology, is a threshold which determines the persistence or extinction of the disease. By using Lyapunov function techniques, we show if ℛ0 is greater than 1 and the deterministic model obeys some conditions, then the disease will prevail, the infective persists and the endemic state is asymptotically stable in a feasible region. If ℛ0 is less than or equal to 1, then the infective disappear so the disease dies out. In addition, stochastic noises around the endemic equilibrium will be added to the deterministic MSIR model in order that the deterministic model is extended to a system of stochastic ordinary differential equations. In the stochastic version, we carry out a detailed analysis on the asymptotic behavior of the stochastic model. In addition, regarding the value of ℛ0, when the stochastic system obeys some conditions and ℛ0 is greater than 1, we deduce the stochastic system is stochastically asymptotically stable. Finally, the deterministic and stochastic model dynamics are illustrated through computer simulations.

The origin of Korotkoff sounds and the accuracy of auscultatory blood pressure measurements.

PubMed

Babbs, Charles F

2015-12-01

This study explores the hypothesis that the sharper, high frequency Korotkoff sounds come from resonant motion of the arterial wall, which begins after the artery transitions from a buckled state to an expanding state. The motions of one mass, two nonlinear springs, and one damper, driven by transmural pressure under the cuff, are used to model and compute the Korotkoff sounds according to principles of classical Newtonian physics. The natural resonance of this spring-mass-damper system provides a concise, yet rigorous, explanation for the origin of Korotkoff sounds. Fundamentally, wall stretching in expansion requires more force than wall bending in buckling. At cuff pressures between systolic and diastolic arterial pressure, audible vibrations (> 40 Hz) occur during early expansion of the artery wall beyond its zero pressure radius after the outward moving mass of tissue experiences sudden deceleration, caused by the discontinuity in stiffness between bucked and expanded states. The idealized spring-mass-damper model faithfully reproduces the time-domain waveforms of actual Korotkoff sounds in humans. Appearance of arterial sounds occurs at or just above the level of systolic pressure. Disappearance of arterial sounds occurs at or just above the level of diastolic pressure. Muffling of the sounds is explained by increased resistance of the artery to collapse, caused by downstream venous engorgement. A simple analytical model can define the physical origin of Korotkoff sounds, suggesting improved mechanical or electronic filters for their selective detection and confirming the disappearance of the Korotkoff sounds as the optimal diastolic end point. Copyright © 2015 American Society of Hypertension. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computational study on UV curing characteristics in nanoimprint lithography: Stochastic simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koyama, Masanori; Shirai, Masamitsu; Kawata, Hiroaki; Hirai, Yoshihiko; Yasuda, Masaaki

2017-06-01

A computational simulation model of UV curing in nanoimprint lithography based on a simplified stochastic approach is proposed. The activated unit reacts with a randomly selected monomer within a critical reaction radius. Cluster units are chained to each other. Then, another monomer is activated and the next chain reaction occurs. This process is repeated until a virgin monomer disappears within the reaction radius or until the activated monomers react with each other. The simulation model well describes the basic UV curing characteristics, such as the molecular weight distributions of the reacted monomers and the effect of the initiator concentration on the conversion ratio. The effects of film thickness on UV curing characteristics are also studied by the simulation.

7 CFR 784.11 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 784.11 Section 784.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetence, disappearance or dissolution...

7 CFR 786.111 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 786.111 Section 786.111 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution...

7 CFR 701.33 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 701.33 Section 701.33 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In case of death, incompetency, or disappearance of any...

7 CFR 784.11 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 784.11 Section 784.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetence, disappearance or dissolution...

7 CFR 701.33 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 701.33 Section 701.33 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In case of death, incompetency, or disappearance of any...

7 CFR 701.33 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 701.33 Section 701.33 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In case of death, incompetency, or disappearance of any...

7 CFR 784.11 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 784.11 Section 784.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetence, disappearance or dissolution...

7 CFR 701.33 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 701.33 Section 701.33 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In case of death, incompetency, or disappearance of any...

7 CFR 786.111 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 786.111 Section 786.111 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution...

7 CFR 784.11 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 784.11 Section 784.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetence, disappearance or dissolution...

7 CFR 786.111 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 786.111 Section 786.111 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution...

7 CFR 786.111 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 786.111 Section 786.111 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution...

7 CFR 786.111 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 786.111 Section 786.111 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution...

7 CFR 784.11 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 784.11 Section 784.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetence, disappearance or dissolution...

[New Forms of Hysteria: Globalization, Market and the Comeback of Hysteria].

PubMed

Ortega, Lucio González

2012-09-01

Hysterical disorder has had different interpretations and therapeutic approaches according to the different cultural contexts. In the Middle Ages, hysteria was conceived as devilish possessions whose symptoms became a sort of veracity certificate for the era's cultural pillar: the Bible. During Renaissance, hysteria obeys a new master: Science, dramatizing the neurological degenerative injuries to give reputation to physicians of the time. There is a kind of consensus: hysteria is an ever less observable disorder in consultation. It has practically disappeared in the North American Diagnosis Manual, DSM-IV. We wonder, has hysteria as such disappeared? Has it gotten new expressions? Psychoanalytic review of hysteria, followed by a qualitative, historical and hermeneutic study. In these days of globalization, science is not the master anymore; instead, science is at the service of computing and market. The market biggest sellers are: depressive and anxious disorders, bulimia, anorexia, fibromyalgia, sexual drawbacks, somatoform disorders and extreme exhaustion disorder. Hysteria, raising bewilderment in modern medicine, comes back, cut up into pieces, in the form of these multiple disorders. Not only hysteria has not disappeared, but it has increased in consultation, almost perfect simulation of the disorders most promoted by capitalistic markets, granting power to the new master. Subsequently, its powerlessness is denounced, nothing alleviates said disorders. As Freud stated, the problem lies in the fact that this word does not have a receiver to decipher it. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

A kinetic study of the interaction between atomic oxygen and aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Akers, F. I.; Wightman, J. P.

1976-01-01

This study was concerned with the effects of NH4Cl and (NH4)2SO4 aerosols on the kinetics of disappearance of atomic oxygen. Atomic oxygen was generated by a 2.45-GHz microwave discharge and the kinetics of disappearance measured in a fast flow system using NO2 titration. Values of the recombination coefficient for heterogeneous wall recombination were determined for clean, H2SO4-coated, and (NH4)2SO4-coated Pyrex to be 0.000050, 0.000020, and 0.000019, respectively. A rapid exothermic chemical reaction was found to occur between atomic oxygen and an NH4Cl wall coating; the products were NH3, NO, H2O, and HCl. The NH4Cl aerosol was generated by gas phase reaction of NH3 with HCl. The aerosol particles were approximately spherical and nearly monodisperse with a mean diameter of 1.6 plus or minus 0.2 micron. The rate constant for the disappearance of atomic oxygen in the presence of NH4Cl aerosol was measured. No significant decrease was observed in the rate of disappearance of atomic oxygen in the presence of an (NH4)2SO4 aerosol at a concentration of 285 mg per cu m.

7 CFR 82.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 82.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS CLINGSTONE PEACH DIVERSION PROGRAM § 82.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a clingstone peach grower...

7 CFR 82.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 82.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS CLINGSTONE PEACH DIVERSION PROGRAM § 82.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a clingstone peach grower...

7 CFR 82.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 82.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS CLINGSTONE PEACH DIVERSION PROGRAM § 82.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a clingstone peach grower...

7 CFR 82.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 82.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS CLINGSTONE PEACH DIVERSION PROGRAM § 82.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a clingstone peach grower...

7 CFR 82.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 82.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS CLINGSTONE PEACH DIVERSION PROGRAM § 82.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a clingstone peach grower...

7 CFR 81.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 81.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS PRUNE/DRIED PLUM DIVERSION PROGRAM § 81.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a prune/plum producer that...

7 CFR 701.33 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 701.33 Section... RELATED PROGRAMS PREVIOUSLY ADMINISTERED UNDER THIS PART § 701.33 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In case of death, incompetency, or disappearance of any participant, any cost-share payment due shall...

7 CFR 1430.611 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.611... Disaster Assistance Payment Program II (DDAP-II) § 1430.611 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a person that is eligible to receive...

7 CFR 1430.611 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.611... Disaster Assistance Payment Program II (DDAP-II) § 1430.611 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a person that is eligible to receive...

7 CFR 1430.611 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.611... Disaster Assistance Payment Program II (DDAP-II) § 1430.611 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a person that is eligible to receive...

7 CFR 81.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 81.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS PRUNE/DRIED PLUM DIVERSION PROGRAM § 81.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a prune/plum producer that...

7 CFR 81.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 81.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS PRUNE/DRIED PLUM DIVERSION PROGRAM § 81.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a prune/plum producer that...

7 CFR 1430.611 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.611... Disaster Assistance Payment Program II (DDAP-II) § 1430.611 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a person that is eligible to receive...

7 CFR 81.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 81.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS PRUNE/DRIED PLUM DIVERSION PROGRAM § 81.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a prune/plum producer that...

7 CFR 1430.611 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.611... Disaster Assistance Payment Program II (DDAP-II) § 1430.611 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a person that is eligible to receive...

7 CFR 81.17 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 81.17 Section... DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS PRUNE/DRIED PLUM DIVERSION PROGRAM § 81.17 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency, disappearance, or dissolution of a prune/plum producer that...

A retrospective analysis of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for gastric cancer with peritoneal metastasis

PubMed Central

Yuan, Meiqin; Wang, Zeng; Hu, Guinv; Yang, Yunshan; Lv, Wangxia; Lu, Fangxiao; Zhong, Haijun

2016-01-01

Peritoneal metastasis (PM) is a poor prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients with advanced gastric cancer with PM by retrospective analysis. A total of 54 gastric cancer patients with positive ascitic fluid cytology were included in this study: 23 patients were treated with systemic chemotherapy combined with HIPEC (HIPEC+ group) and 31 received systemic chemotherapy alone (HIPEC- group). The patients were divided into 4 categories according to the changes of ascites, namely disappear, decrease, stable and increase. The disappear + decrease rate in the HIPEC+ group was 82.60%, which was statistically significantly superior to that of the HIPEC- group (54.80%). The disappear + decrease + stable rate was 95.70% in the HIPEC+ group and 74.20% in the HIPEC- group, but the difference was not statistically significant. In 33 patients with complete survival data, including 12 from the HIPEC+ and 21 from the HIPEC- group, the median progression-free survival was 164 and 129 days, respectively, and the median overall survival (OS) was 494 and 223 days, respectively. In patients with ascites disappear/decrease/stable, the OS appeared to be better compared with that in patients with ascites increase, but the difference was not statistically significant. Further analysis revealed that patients with controlled disease (complete response + partial response + stable disease) may have a better OS compared with patients with progressive disease, with a statistically significant difference. The toxicities were well tolerated in both groups. Therefore, HIPEC was found to improve survival in advanced gastric cancer patients with PM, but the difference was not statistically significant, which may be attributed to the small number of cases. Further studies with larger samples are required to confirm our data. PMID:27446587

The Changing Medical Care System: Some Implications for Medical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foreman, Spencer

1986-01-01

The medical care system is undergoing widespread and significant changes. Individual hospitals may be disappearing as mergers, acquisitions, and a variety of multi-institutional arrangements become the dominant form and as a host of free-standing medical enterprises spread out into the community. (MLW)

7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

Ubiquitous computing in the military environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholtz, Jean

2001-08-01

Increasingly people work and live on the move. To support this mobile lifestyle, especially as our work becomes more intensely information-based, companies are producing various portable and embedded information devices. The late Mark Weiser coined the term, 'ubiquitous computing' to describe an environment where computers have disappeared and are integrated into physical objects. Much industry research today is concerned with ubiquitous computing in the work and home environments. A ubiquitous computing environment would facilitate mobility by allowing information users to easily access and use information anytime, anywhere. As war fighters are inherently mobile, the question is what effect a ubiquitous computing environment would have on current military operations and doctrine. And, if ubiquitous computing is viewed as beneficial for the military, what research would be necessary to achieve a military ubiquitous computing environment? What is a vision for the use of mobile information access in a battle space? Are there different requirements for civilian and military users of this technology? What are those differences? Are there opportunities for research that will support both worlds? What type of research has been supported by the military and what areas need to be investigated? Although we don't yet have all the answers to these questions, this paper discusses the issues and presents the work we are doing to address these issues.

Data management in NOAA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callicott, William M.

1993-01-01

The NOAA archives contain 150 terabytes of data in digital form, most of which are the high volume GOES satellite image data. There are 630 data bases containing 2,350 environmental variables. There are 375 million film records and 90 million paper records in addition to the digital data base. The current data accession rate is 10 percent per year and the number of users are increasing at a 10 percent annual rate. NOAA publishes 5,000 publications and distributes over one million copies to almost 41,000 paying customers. Each year, over six million records are key entered from manuscript documents and about 13,000 computer tapes and 40,000 satellite hardcopy images are entered into the archive. Early digital data were stored on punched cards and open reel computer tapes. In the late seventies, an advanced helical scan technology (AMPEX TBM) was implemented. Now, punched cards have disappeared, the TBM system was abandoned, most data stored on open reel tapes have been migrated to 3480 cartridges, many specialized data sets were distributed on CD ROM's, special archives are being copied to 12 inch optical WORM disks, 5 1/4 inch magneto-optical disks were employed for workstation applications, and 8 mm EXABYTE tapes are planned for major data collection programs. The rapid expansion of new data sets, some of which constitute large volumes of data, coupled with the need for vastly improved access mechanisms, portability, and improved longevity are factors which will influence NOAA's future systems approaches for data management.

Empirical confirmation of creative destruction from world trade data.

PubMed

Klimek, Peter; Hausmann, Ricardo; Thurner, Stefan

2012-01-01

We show that world trade network datasets contain empirical evidence that the dynamics of innovation in the world economy indeed follows the concept of creative destruction, as proposed by J.A. Schumpeter more than half a century ago. National economies can be viewed as complex, evolving systems, driven by a stream of appearance and disappearance of goods and services. Products appear in bursts of creative cascades. We find that products systematically tend to co-appear, and that product appearances lead to massive disappearance events of existing products in the following years. The opposite-disappearances followed by periods of appearances-is not observed. This is an empirical validation of the dominance of cascading competitive replacement events on the scale of national economies, i.e., creative destruction. We find a tendency that more complex products drive out less complex ones, i.e., progress has a direction. Finally we show that the growth trajectory of a country's product output diversity can be understood by a recently proposed evolutionary model of Schumpeterian economic dynamics.

Empirical Confirmation of Creative Destruction from World Trade Data

PubMed Central

Klimek, Peter; Hausmann, Ricardo; Thurner, Stefan

2012-01-01

We show that world trade network datasets contain empirical evidence that the dynamics of innovation in the world economy indeed follows the concept of creative destruction, as proposed by J.A. Schumpeter more than half a century ago. National economies can be viewed as complex, evolving systems, driven by a stream of appearance and disappearance of goods and services. Products appear in bursts of creative cascades. We find that products systematically tend to co-appear, and that product appearances lead to massive disappearance events of existing products in the following years. The opposite–disappearances followed by periods of appearances–is not observed. This is an empirical validation of the dominance of cascading competitive replacement events on the scale of national economies, i.e., creative destruction. We find a tendency that more complex products drive out less complex ones, i.e., progress has a direction. Finally we show that the growth trajectory of a country’s product output diversity can be understood by a recently proposed evolutionary model of Schumpeterian economic dynamics. PMID:22719989

Application of a fast skyline computation algorithm for serendipitous searching problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koizumi, Kenichi; Hiraki, Kei; Inaba, Mary

2018-02-01

Skyline computation is a method of extracting interesting entries from a large population with multiple attributes. These entries, called skyline or Pareto optimal entries, are known to have extreme characteristics that cannot be found by outlier detection methods. Skyline computation is an important task for characterizing large amounts of data and selecting interesting entries with extreme features. When the population changes dynamically, the task of calculating a sequence of skyline sets is called continuous skyline computation. This task is known to be difficult to perform for the following reasons: (1) information of non-skyline entries must be stored since they may join the skyline in the future; (2) the appearance or disappearance of even a single entry can change the skyline drastically; (3) it is difficult to adopt a geometric acceleration algorithm for skyline computation tasks with high-dimensional datasets. Our new algorithm called jointed rooted-tree (JR-tree) manages entries using a rooted tree structure. JR-tree delays extend the tree to deep levels to accelerate tree construction and traversal. In this study, we presented the difficulties in extracting entries tagged with a rare label in high-dimensional space and the potential of fast skyline computation in low-latency cell identification technology.

Middle-class mythology and the Houdini disappearing act: health care and jobs joined at the hip.

PubMed

Ehrle, Lynn Howard; Cleveland, Robert W

2010-01-01

Myths have long legs. Once they become integrated into the cultural ethos they are almost impossible to dislodge. The Middle Class Myth is a case in point. Spoken of in reverential terms, the conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. economy is driven by a vast middle class, anchoring its consumer-driven system of goods and services. But contrary to frequent statements by pundits, politicians, and many economists, the middle class has actually disappeared. Another commonly held myth--that the United States has the best health care system in the world--is perpetuated by medical leaders and the mainstream media. Despite huge worker layoffs causing 50 million to be without health insurance, and millions more who are underinsured, the myth persists. A third myth, one currently in vogue among media pundits and politicians, is that health care and jobs are two separate issues and policymakers can deal with them as unrelated to each other, when in reality they are inextricably interwoven--the connective tissue of a physically and mentally robust workforce. The authors use Census Bureau after-tax income and Federal Reserve data to demonstrate that the middle class has disappeared, leaving millions of Americans with little disposable income, meager savings, and no health care safety net.

[Morphological structure of rat epiphysis exposed to electromagnetic radiation from communication devices].

PubMed

Yashchenko, S G; Rybalko, S Yu

Pineal gland is one of the most important components of homeostasis - the supporting system of the body. It participates in the launch of stress responses, restriction of their development, prevention of adverse effects on the body. There was proved an impact of electromagnetic radiation on the epiphysis. However, morphological changes in the epiphysis under exposure to electromagnetic radiation of modern communication devices are studied not sufficiently. For the time present the population is daily exposed to electromagnetic radiation, including local irradiation on the brain. These date determined the task of this research - the study of the structure of rat pineal gland under the exposure to electromagnetic radiation from personal computers and mobile phones. These date determined the task of this research - the study of the structure of rat pineal gland under the exposure to electromagnetic radiation from personal computers and mobile phones. Performed transmission electron microscopy revealed signs of degeneration of dark and light pinealocytes. These signs were manifested in the development of a complex of general and specific morphological changes. There was revealed the appearance of signs of aging and depletion transmission electron microscopy both in light and dark pinealocytes. These signs were manifested in the accumulation of lipofuscin granules and electron-dense "brain sand", the disappearance of nucleoli, cytoplasm vacuolization and mitochondrial cristae enlightenment.

[THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM IN CHILDREN WITH INFLUENZA INFECTION].

PubMed

Dudnik, V; Mantak, G; Andrikevych, I; Roizman, A

2015-01-01

Clinical changes in the cardiovascular system observed in most patients. The extent and nature of these changes may depend on the characteristics of epidemic outbreaks, such as virus, immune responsiveness, age composition patients. Flu-like lesions of the cardiovascular system in most cases occurring beneficial--quickly disappear change of heart, normal pulse and blood pressure.

Renormalization Group for nonlinear oscillators in the absence of linear restoring force

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, A.; Bhattacharjee, J. K.

2010-09-01

Perturbative Renormalization Group (RG) has been very useful in probing periodic orbits in two-dimensional dynamical systems (Sarkar A., Bhattacharjee J. K., Chakraborty S. and Banerjee D., arXiv:1005.2858v1 (2010)). The method relies on finding a linear center, around which perturbation analysis is done. However it is not obvious as to how systems devoid of any linear terms may be approached using this method. We propose here how RG can be done even in the absence of linear terms. We successfully apply the method to extract correct results for a variant of the second-order Riccati equation. In this variant the periodic orbit disappears as a parameter is varied. Our RG captures this disappearance correctly. We have also applied the technique successfully on the force-free Van der Pol-Duffing oscillator.

A case of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis successfully treated with mepolizumab.

PubMed

Terashima, Takeshi; Shinozaki, Taro; Iwami, Eri; Nakajima, Takahiro; Matsuzaki, Tatsu

2018-03-27

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is an allergic pulmonary disease comprising a complex hypersensitivity reaction to Aspergillus fumigatus. Clinical features of ABPA are wheezing, mucoid impaction, and pulmonary infiltrates. Oral corticosteroids and anti-fungal agents are standard therapy for ABPA, but long-term use of systemic corticosteroids often causes serious side effects. A 64-year-old woman was diagnosed with ABPA based on a history of bronchial asthma (from 40 years of age), elevated total IgE, the presence of serum precipitating antibodies and elevated specific IgE antibody to A. fumigatus, and pulmonary infiltration. Bronchoscopy showed eosinophilic mucoid impaction. Systemic corticosteroid therapy was initiated, and her symptoms disappeared. Peripheral eosinophilia and pulmonary infiltration recurred five months after cessation of corticosteroid treatment. Systemic corticosteroids were re-initiated and itraconazole was added as an anti-fungal agent. The patient was free of corticosteroids, aside from treatment with a short course of systemic corticosteroids for asthma exacerbation, and clinically stable with itraconazole and asthma treatments for 3 years. In 2017, she experienced significant deterioration. Laboratory examination revealed marked eosinophilia (3017/μL) and a chest computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated pulmonary infiltration in the left upper lobe and mucoid impaction in both lower lobes. The patient was treated with high-dose inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, and theophylline; spirometry revealed a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) of 1.01 L. An uncontrolled asthma state was indicated by an Asthma Control Test (ACT) score of 18. Mepolizumab, 100 mg every 4 weeks, was initiated for the treatment of severe bronchial asthma with ABPA exacerbation. Bronchial asthma symptoms dramatically improved, and ACT score increased to 24, by 4 weeks after mepolizumab treatment. Peripheral eosinophil count decreased to 174/μL. Spirometry revealed improvement of lung function (FEV 1 : 1.28 L). A chest CT scan demonstrated the disappearance of pulmonary infiltration and mucoid impaction. To our knowledge, this is the first case of ABPA to be treated with mepolizumab. Dramatic improvements were observed in symptoms, lung function, peripheral eosinophil counts, and chest images. Mepolizumab could serve as an alternative treatment with the potential to provide a systemic corticosteroid-sparing effect.

Stent graft in the treatment of pseudoaneurysms of the hepatic arteries.

PubMed

Lü, Peng-Hua; Zhang, Xi-Cheng; Wang, Li-Fu; Chen, Zhao-Lei; Shi, Hai-Bin

2013-10-01

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the technical feasibility, procedural complications, clinical follow-up, and computed tomography (CT) scan outcomes of hepatic artery pseudoaneurysms (HAPs) treated with stent graft. Between October 2004 and October 2009, we treated 8 patients with HAPs with stent graft. Stent graft deployment was technically successful in all the patients. Complete exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm preserving patency of the hepatic artery was achieved in 6 patients. Total occlusion of the common hepatic artery was observed in 1 patient, and vasospasm of proper hepatic artery and endoleak from distal stent margin were observed in another patient. The 2 patient were controlled through occlusion parent artery with coils. After these procedures, symptoms of bleeding and abdominal pain disappeared. Follow-up enhanced CT scan was performed at an average of 14 months (range, 6-26 months), which showed complete disappearance of the HAP and patency of the stent without intrastent stenosis in 6 patients who had successful deployment of the stent. Endovascular treatment of HAPs using stent graft can maintain the hepatic artery blood flow and could be considered as an alternative to embolization.

Evaluation of capillary permeability and microcirculation in patients with chronic venous hypertension treated with venoruton by the vacuum suction chamber (VSC) device and laser-Doppler flowmetry.

PubMed

Belcaro, G; D'Aulerio, A; Rulo, A; Candiani, C

1988-01-01

A new system to study capillary permeability, the VSC (vacuum suction chamber) device has been developed to evaluate the variations of capillary permeability in postphlebitic limbs. The VSC device produces by negative pressure [obtained in a plastic chamber applied to the skin at the perimalleolar region] a wheal which disappears in normals in less than one hour. In twelve patients with moderate [superficial] venous hypertension and in twelve patients with postphlebitic limbs the time of disappearance of the wheals was significantly longer in comparison with ten normal limbs. There was also a significantly increased time of disappearance of the wheals in postphlebitic legs in comparison with those with superficial incompetence. The validation of the VSC technique with venous occlusion plethysmography (VOP) showed that the increase of time of disappearance of the wheals is well correlated with the increase of capillary permeability demonstrated by VOP. After 2 weeks treatment with Venoruton (at the dosage of 1000 mg t.i.d.) the time of disappearance of the wheal was significantly reduced in both groups of patients (while it was unchanged in normals). Laser-Doppler parameters used together with the VSC device to evaluate the microcirculatory changes associated with an altered capillary permeability also showed a significant improvement of the laser-Doppler parameters after treatment. In conclusion there is evidence by the VSC device that capillary permeability [which is abnormally increased] in chronic venous hypertension is improved [decreased] after treatment for two weeks with Venoruton. This study demonstrated also the efficacy of the VSC device to study capillary permeability and the effects of drugs active on capillary permeability.

Congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm

PubMed Central

Wang, Bin; Li, He; Zhang, Li; He, Lin; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Cong; Wang, Jing; Lv, Qing; Shang, Xiaoke; Liu, Jinping; Xie, Mingxing

2018-01-01

Abstract Rationale: Left atrial appendage aneurysms (LAAA) are rare. Patients with LAAA are often diagnosed incidentally or after cardiac tachyarrhythmia or systemic thromboembolism happen. Early diagnosis and surgical resection is of utmost importance to prevent hazardous adverse events. Patient concerns: We present a case of 46-year-old man with congenital LAAA. The individual in this manuscript has given written informed consent to publish these case details. Diagnoses: Imaging studies, such as echocardiography, cardiovascular computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), demonstrated the large cavity arising from the left atrial appendage. The diagnosis of LAAA was confirmed. Interventions: The patient underwent an aneurysmectomy without any complications. Outcomes: TTE confirmed the disappearance of the LAAA from the left parasternal short-axis view of the aortic root postoperatively. The patient remained asymptomatic without any adverse events at his 3-month follow-up visits. Lessons: The associated high risk of life-threatening complications and the relative ease of surgical removal suggest that prompt evaluation should be considered in patients with lesions adjacent to the left heart border. PMID:29480827

RS3PE Syndrome with Iliopsoas Bursitis Distinguished from an Iliopsoas Abscess Using a CT-guided Puncture.

PubMed

Fukui, Shoichi; Iwamoto, Naoki; Tsuji, Sosuke; Umeda, Masataka; Nishino, Ayako; Nakashima, Yoshikazu; Suzuki, Takahisa; Horai, Yoshiro; Koga, Tomohiro; Kawashiri, Shin-ya; Ichinose, Kunihiro; Hirai, Yasuko; Tamai, Mami; Nakamura, Hideki; Origuchi, Tomoki; Kawakami, Atsushi

2015-01-01

A 55-year-old man was diagnosed with remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography for cancer screening showed a mass with low-density centers with an enhanced rim in the left iliopsoas muscle. We suspected an iliopsoas abscess and performed computed-tomography-guided puncture of the mass. Both Gram staining and the culture of the fluid were negative. We diagnosed the patient with RS3PE syndrome with iliopsoas bursitis and administered low-dose corticosteroids without antibiotics. The symptoms, including left hip pain, quickly disappeared following treatment. Clinicians should be aware that iliopsoas bursitis may resemble an iliopsoas abscess. As a result, it is important to make an accurate differential diagnosis.

Decrease of Airway Allergies After Lung Transplantation Is Associated With Reduced Basophils and Eosinophils.

PubMed

Niedzwiecki, M; Yamada, Y; Inci, I; Weder, W; Jungraithmayr, W

2016-01-01

Allergies are hypersensitive reactions of the immune system on antigen exposure similar to immune reactions after transplantation (Tx). Their activity can change after Tx. The lung as a transplantable organ is challenged two-fold, by antigens from the blood and the air environment. Herein we analyzed if airway allergies change after lung Tx. We systematically reviewed patients' airway allergies before and after lung Tx between 1992 and 2014. The course of lymphocytes, thrombocytes, and leukocytes, among them neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils, was analyzed in patients in whom airway allergies have changed and in whom they did not change. From 362 lung transplanted patients, 44 patients had suffered from allergies before Tx (12.2%). In 20 of these patients (45.5%), airway allergies disappeared completely within 1 year after lung Tx and were persistently absent thereafter. In these patients, basophils and eosinophils decreased significantly (P < .0012); in contrast, cells did not decrease in patients whose allergies did not disappear. Leukocytes overall, and in particular, neutrophils, decreased significantly in patients whose allergy disappeared (P < .014, P < .012, respectively). Airway allergies disappeared in almost half of cases after lung Tx. Along with this reduction, basophils and eosinophils decreased as potentially responsible cells for this phenomenon. These findings may stimulate intensified research on basophils and eosinophils as major drivers of airway allergies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implicitly solving phase appearance and disappearance problems using two-fluid six-equation model

DOE PAGES

Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua; Zhang, Hongbin

2016-01-25

Phase appearance and disappearance issue presents serious numerical challenges in two-phase flow simulations using the two-fluid six-equation model. Numerical challenges arise from the singular equation system when one phase is absent, as well as from the discontinuity in the solution space when one phase appears or disappears. In this work, a high-resolution spatial discretization scheme on staggered grids and fully implicit methods were applied for the simulation of two-phase flow problems using the two-fluid six-equation model. A Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov (JFNK) method was used to solve the discretized nonlinear problem. An improved numerical treatment was proposed and proved to be effectivemore » to handle the numerical challenges. The treatment scheme is conceptually simple, easy to implement, and does not require explicit truncations on solutions, which is essential to conserve mass and energy. Various types of phase appearance and disappearance problems relevant to thermal-hydraulics analysis have been investigated, including a sedimentation problem, an oscillating manometer problem, a non-condensable gas injection problem, a single-phase flow with heat addition problem and a subcooled flow boiling problem. Successful simulations of these problems demonstrate the capability and robustness of the proposed numerical methods and numerical treatments. As a result, volume fraction of the absent phase can be calculated effectively as zero.« less

Lump and lump-soliton solutions to the (2+1) -dimensional Ito equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jin-Yun; Ma, Wen-Xiu; Qin, Zhenyun

2017-06-01

Based on the Hirota bilinear form of the (2+1) -dimensional Ito equation, one class of lump solutions and two classes of interaction solutions between lumps and line solitons are generated through analysis and symbolic computations with Maple. Analyticity is naturally guaranteed for the presented lump and interaction solutions, and the interaction solutions reduce to lumps (or line solitons) while the hyperbolic-cosine (or the quadratic function) disappears. Three-dimensional plots and contour plots are made for two specific examples of the resulting interaction solutions.

Very large pericardial effusion attributable to minoxidil: resolution without drainage of fluid.

PubMed

Shirwany, Arsalan; D'Cruz, Ivan A; Munir, Ahmad

2002-08-01

A 52-year-old man with a history of chronic hypertension presented with worsening dyspnea and leg edema. He had been on minoxidil for 10 years. The cardiac silhouette was markedly enlarged. Echocardiography and computed tomography showed a large pericardial effusion. His cardiac status was stable and he was in no cardiorespiratory distress. No attempt was made to drain the fluid. Minoxidil was discontinued, and a month later, the effusion had virtually disappeared. Cessation of minoxidil administration and conservative management may suffice, even though the pericardial effusion is large.

Non-locality Sudden Death in Tripartite Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeger, Gregg; Ann, Kevin

2009-03-01

Bell non-locality sudden death is the disappearance of non-local properties in finite times under local phase noise, which decoheres states only in the infinite-time limit. We consider the relationship between decoherence, disentanglement, and Bell non-locality sudden death in bipartite and tripartite systems in specific large classes of state preparation.

Microbial degradation of the lamprey larvicide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol in sediment-water systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kempe, Lloyd L.

1973-01-01

The selective lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM), maintained in the water at concentrations of 1 to 6 I?g/ml for several hours, kills larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in tributaries of the Great Lakes. Because the fate of TFM in the environment is a matter of concern, the interactions of this chemical with river and lake sediments were studied in laboratory experiments. In mixtures of TFM, water, and sediment held in aquariums, the TFM decreased progressively and nearly or completely disappeared in 1 to 4 weeks; concentrations of the fluoride ion increased; and the systems became nontoxic for sea lamprey larvae and goldfish (Carassius auratus). If the reduction in TFM ceased before all of the chemical had disappeared, the process resumed when nutrient broth was added. Loss of TFM from the systems was prevented by the addition of an antiseptic (phenol) and by heat sterilization. Enrichment cultures of microorganisms isolated from stream and lake sediments degraded TFM in nutrient broths. I conclude that TFM is degraded by microorganisms that live in sediment-water systems.

Phonological similarity effect in complex span task.

PubMed

Camos, Valérie; Mora, Gérôme; Barrouillet, Pierre

2013-01-01

The aim of our study was to test the hypothesis that two systems are involved in verbal working memory; one is specifically dedicated to the maintenance of phonological representations through verbal rehearsal while the other would maintain multimodal representations through attentional refreshing. This theoretical framework predicts that phonologically related phenomena such as the phonological similarity effect (PSE) should occur when the domain-specific system is involved in maintenance, but should disappear when concurrent articulation hinders its use. Impeding maintenance in the domain-general system by a concurrent attentional demand should impair recall performance without affecting PSE. In three experiments, we manipulated the concurrent articulation and the attentional demand induced by the processing component of complex span tasks in which participants had to maintain lists of either similar or dissimilar words. Confirming our predictions, PSE affected recall performance in complex span tasks. Although both the attentional demand and the articulatory requirement of the concurrent task impaired recall, only the induction of an articulatory suppression during maintenance made the PSE disappear. These results suggest a duality in the systems devoted to verbal maintenance in the short term, constraining models of working memory.

Performance assessment of imaging plates for the JHR transfer Neutron Imaging System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, E.; Guimbal, P. AB(; )

2018-01-01

The underwater Neutron Imaging System to be installed in the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR-NIS) is based on a transfer method using a neutron activated beta-emitter like Dysprosium. The information stored in the converter is to be offline transferred on a specific imaging system, still to be defined. Solutions are currently under investigation for the JHR-NIS in order to anticipate the disappearance of radiographic films commonly used in these applications. We report here the performance assessment of Computed Radiography imagers (Imaging Plates) performed at LLB/Orphée (CEA Saclay). Several imaging plate types are studied, in one hand in the configuration involving an intimate contact with an activated dysprosium foil converter: Fuji BAS-TR, Fuji UR-1 and Carestream Flex XL Blue imaging plates, and in the other hand by using a prototypal imaging plate doped with dysprosium and thus not needing any contact with a separate converter foil. The results for these imaging plates are compared with those obtained with gadolinium doped imaging plate used in direct neutron imaging (Fuji BAS-ND). The detection performances of the different imagers are compared regarding resolution and noise. The many advantages of using imaging plates over radiographic films (high sensitivity, linear response, high dynamic range) could palliate its lower intrinsic resolution.

Exploring the History of Time in an Integrated System: the Ramifications for Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, M. B.; Adams, L. E.; Allen, T. L.; Arrigo, J. S.; Bain, D. J.; Bray, E. N.; Duncan, J. M.; Hermans, C. M.; Pastore, C.; Schlosser, C. A.; Vorosmarty, C. J.; Witherell, B. B.; Wollheim, W. M.; Wreschnig, A. J.

2009-12-01

Characteristic time scales are useful and simple descriptors of geophysical and socio-economic system dynamics. Focusing on the integrative nature of the hydrologic cycle, new insights into system couplings can be gained by compiling characteristic time scales of important processes driving these systems. There are many examples of changing characteristic time scales. Human life expectancy has increased over the recent history of medical advancement. The transport time of goods has decreased with the progression from horse to rail to car to plane. The transport time of information changed with the progression from letter to telegraph to telephone to networked computing. Soil residence time (pedogenesis to estuary deposition) has been influenced by changing agricultural technology, urbanization, and forest practices. Surface water residence times have varied as beaver dams have disappeared and been replaced with modern reservoirs, flood control works, and channelization. These dynamics raise the question of how these types of time scales interact with each other to form integrated Earth system dynamics? Here we explore the coupling of geophysical and socio-economic systems in the northeast United States over the 1600 to 2010 period by examining characteristic time scales. This visualization of many time scales serves as an exploratory analysis, producing new hypotheses about how the integrated system dynamics have evolved over the last 400 years. Specifically, exponential population growth and the evolving strategies to maintain that population appears as fundamental to many of the time scales.

Exchange interaction between the triplet exciton and the localized spin in copper-phthalocyanine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Wei, E-mail: wei.wu@ucl.ac.uk

2014-06-14

Triplet excitonic state in the organic molecule may arise from a singlet excitation and the following inter-system crossing. Especially for a spin-bearing molecule, an exchange interaction between the triplet exciton and the original spin on the molecule can be expected. In this paper, such exchange interaction in copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc, spin-1/2 ) was investigated from first-principles by using density-functional theory within a variety of approximations to the exchange correlation, ranging from local-density approximation to long-range corrected hybrid-exchange functional. The magnitude of the computed exchange interaction is in the order of meV with the minimum value (1.5 meV, ferromagnetic) given by themore » long-range corrected hybrid-exchange functional CAM-B3LYP. This exchange interaction can therefore give rise to a spin coherence with an oscillation period in the order of picoseconds, which is much shorter than the triplet lifetime in CuPc (typically tens of nanoseconds). This implies that it might be possible to manipulate the localized spin on Cu experimentally using optical excitation and inter-system crossing well before the triplet state disappears.« less

Reflex epilepsy and reflex seizures of the visual system: a clinical review.

PubMed

Zifkin, B G; Kasteleijn-Nolst Trenité, D

2000-09-01

Reflex epilepsy of the visual system is charecterised by seizures precipitated by visual stimuli. EEG responses to intermittent photic stimulation depend on the age and sex of the subject and on how stimulation is performed: abnormalities are commonest in children and adolescents, especially girls. Only generalised paroxysmal epileptiform discharges are clearly linked to epilepsy. Abnormal responses may occur in asymptomatic subjects, especially children. Photosensitivity has an important genetic component. Some patients are sensitive to patterns, suggesting an occipital trigger for these events. Myoclonus and generalised convulsive and nonconvulsive seizures may be triggered by visual stimuli. Partial seizures occur less often and can be confused with migraine. Although usually idiopathic, photosensitive epilepsy may occur in degenerative diseases and some patients with photosensitive partial seizures have brain lesions. Sunlight and video screens, including television, video games, and computer displays, are the commonest environmental triggers of photosensitive seizures. Outbreaks of triggered seizures have occurred when certain flashing or patterned images have been broadcast. There are regulations to prevent this in some countries only. Pure photosensitive epilepsy has a good prognosis. There is a role for treatment with and without antiepileptic drugs, but photosensitivity usually does not disappear spontaneously, and then typically in the third decade.

The Future of Catalogers and Cataloging.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holley, Robert P.

1981-01-01

Future emphasis in cataloging will be on the sharing of high quality bibliographic records through a national network. As original cataloging decreases, catalogers, rather than disappearing, will more likely be managers of the library's bibliographic control system. (Author/RAA)

When hope and grief intersect: rates and risks of prolonged grief disorder among bereaved individuals and relatives of disappeared persons in Colombia.

PubMed

Heeke, Carina; Stammel, Nadine; Knaevelsrud, Christine

2015-03-01

Forced disappearance is a frequent phenomenon in violent conflicts and regimes, yet little is known about unresolved grief processes as a possible outcome of the disappearance of a loved one. This study investigates prolonged grief disorder (PGD) and its risk factors in a sample of persons who lost a significant other to disappearance as compared with a sample of bereaved individuals, both groups having experienced displacement due to the armed conflict in Colombia. In a cross-sectional study conducted in four Colombian provinces, 73 persons who lost a significant other to disappearance and 222 bereaved individuals completed measures of PGD (PG-13), depression (HSCL-25), and PTSD (PCL-C) via face-to-face interviews. Trauma- and loss-related variables, including the extent to which significant others of disappeared persons hoped that their loved one was still alive, were assessed. Results indicated that 23% of participants who lost a significant other to disappearance met criteria for PGD as compared to 31.5% in bereaved participants. No differences were found between the two groups in terms of symptom severity of PGD, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or traumatic exposure. Regression analysis indicated that, among relatives and friends of disappeared persons, the extent of hope predicted PGD above and beyond depression severity whereas among bereaved persons, PGD was predicted by time since the loss, the number of traumatic events and symptom severity of PTSD and depression. The instruments were not validated for use in Colombia; generalizability of findings is limited. Forced disappearance is related to prolonged grief reactions, particularly when those left behind maintain hope that the disappeared person is still alive. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stress disorders of families of the disappeared: a controlled study in Honduras.

PubMed

Quirk, G J; Casco, L

1994-12-01

The effect of forced disappearance on the physical and psychological health of family members was assessed by interviews carried out in Honduras. Families of the disappeared were compared with two control groups: (1) families who lost a member due to accident or illness; and (2) families where no one had died within the past 10 years. Constellations of stress-related symptoms commonly seen in post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders were approx. 2 times more prevalent in families of the disappeared as compared to the other two groups, indicating that families of the disappeared suffer over and above that due to normal grieving. It is suggested that the atmosphere of fear and isolation experienced by families of the disappeared is a causative factor in the prolongation of stress-related disorders years after the traumatic event.

On the Lagrangian description of unsteady boundary-layer separation. II - The spinning sphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Dommelen, Leon L.

1990-01-01

A theory to explain the initial stages of unsteady separation was proposed by Van Dommelen and Cowley (1989). This theory is verified for the separation process that occurs at the equatorial plane of a sphere or a spheroid which is impulsively spun around an axis of symmetry. A Lagrangian numerical scheme is developed which gives results in good agreement with Eulerian computations, but which is significantly more accurate. This increased accuracy, and a simpler structure to the solution, also allows verification of the Eulerian structure, including the presence of logarithmic terms. Further, while the Eulerian computations broke down at the first occurrence of separation, it is found that the Lagrangian computation can be continued. It is argued that this separated solution does provide useful insight into the further evolution of the separated flow. A remarkable conclusion is that an unseparated vorticity layer at the wall, a familiar feature in unsteady separation processes, disappears in finite time.

The characters of ion acoustic rogue waves in nonextensive plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Hai-su; Lin, Mai-mai; Gong, Xue; Duan, Wen-shan

2017-10-01

Several well-known nonlinear waves in the rational solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation are studied in two-component plasmas consisting of ions fluid and nonextensive electrons, such as Kuznetsov-Ma breather (K-M), bright soliton, rogue wave (RW), Akhmediev breather (AB) and dark soliton, and so on. In this paper, we have investigated the characteristics of K-M, AB, and RW's propagation in plasma with nonextensive electron distribution, and the dependence of amplitude and width for ion acoustic rogue waves in this system. It is found that K-M' triplet is appearance-disappearance-appearance-disappearance. AB solitons only appear once and RW is a single wave that appears from nowhere and then disappears. It is also noted that the wave number and nonextensive parameter of electrons have a significant influence on the maximum envelope amplitude, but, the influence of the width was not significant. At the same time, the effects of the small parameter, which represent the nonlinear strength, on the amplitude and width of ion acoustic rogue waves are also being highlighted.

NUMERICAL ANALYSES FOR TREATING DIFFUSION IN SINGLE-, TWO-, AND THREE-PHASE BINARY ALLOY SYSTEMS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tenney, D. R.

1994-01-01

This package consists of a series of three computer programs for treating one-dimensional transient diffusion problems in single and multiple phase binary alloy systems. An accurate understanding of the diffusion process is important in the development and production of binary alloys. Previous solutions of the diffusion equations were highly restricted in their scope and application. The finite-difference solutions developed for this package are applicable for planar, cylindrical, and spherical geometries with any diffusion-zone size and any continuous variation of the diffusion coefficient with concentration. Special techniques were included to account for differences in modal volumes, initiation and growth of an intermediate phase, disappearance of a phase, and the presence of an initial composition profile in the specimen. In each analysis, an effort was made to achieve good accuracy while minimizing computation time. The solutions to the diffusion equations for single-, two-, and threephase binary alloy systems are numerically calculated by the three programs NAD1, NAD2, and NAD3. NAD1 treats the diffusion between pure metals which belong to a single-phase system. Diffusion in this system is described by a one-dimensional Fick's second law and will result in a continuous composition variation. For computational purposes, Fick's second law is expressed as an explicit second-order finite difference equation. Finite difference calculations are made by choosing the grid spacing small enough to give convergent solutions of acceptable accuracy. NAD2 treats diffusion between pure metals which form a two-phase system. Diffusion in the twophase system is described by two partial differential equations (a Fick's second law for each phase) and an interface-flux-balance equation which describes the location of the interface. Actual interface motion is obtained by a mass conservation procedure. To account for changes in the thicknesses of the two phases as diffusion progresses, a variable grid technique developed by Murray and Landis is employed. These equations are expressed in finite difference form and solved numerically. Program NAD3 treats diffusion between pure metals which form a two-phase system with an intermediate third phase. Diffusion in the three-phase system is described by three partial differential expressions of Fick's second law and two interface-flux-balance equations. As with the two-phase case, a variable grid finite difference is used to numerically solve the diffusion equations. Computation time is minimized without sacrificing solution accuracy by treating the three-phase problem as a two-phase problem when the thickness of the intermediate phase is less than a preset value. Comparisons between these programs and other solutions have shown excellent agreement. The programs are written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution on the CDC 6600 with a central memory requirement of approximately 51K (octal) 60 bit words.

THEORY OF SOLAR MERIDIONAL CIRCULATION AT HIGH LATITUDES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dikpati, Mausumi; Gilman, Peter A., E-mail: dikpati@ucar.edu, E-mail: gilman@ucar.edu

2012-02-10

We build a hydrodynamic model for computing and understanding the Sun's large-scale high-latitude flows, including Coriolis forces, turbulent diffusion of momentum, and gyroscopic pumping. Side boundaries of the spherical 'polar cap', our computational domain, are located at latitudes {>=} 60 Degree-Sign . Implementing observed low-latitude flows as side boundary conditions, we solve the flow equations for a Cartesian analog of the polar cap. The key parameter that determines whether there are nodes in the high-latitude meridional flow is {epsilon} = 2{Omega}n{pi}H{sup 2}/{nu}, where {Omega} is the interior rotation rate, n is the radial wavenumber of the meridional flow, H ismore » the depth of the convection zone, and {nu} is the turbulent viscosity. The smaller the {epsilon} (larger turbulent viscosity), the fewer the number of nodes in high latitudes. For all latitudes within the polar cap, we find three nodes for {nu} = 10{sup 12} cm{sup 2} s{sup -1}, two for 10{sup 13}, and one or none for 10{sup 15} or higher. For {nu} near 10{sup 14} our model exhibits 'node merging': as the meridional flow speed is increased, two nodes cancel each other, leaving no nodes. On the other hand, for fixed flow speed at the boundary, as {nu} is increased the poleward-most node migrates to the pole and disappears, ultimately for high enough {nu} leaving no nodes. These results suggest that primary poleward surface meridional flow can extend from 60 Degree-Sign to the pole either by node merging or by node migration and disappearance.« less

Tungsten Carbide Grain Size Computation for WC-Co Dissimilar Welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Dongran; Cui, Haichao; Xu, Peiquan; Lu, Fenggui

2016-06-01

A "two-step" image processing method based on electron backscatter diffraction in scanning electron microscopy was used to compute the tungsten carbide (WC) grain size distribution for tungsten inert gas (TIG) welds and laser welds. Twenty-four images were collected on randomly set fields per sample located at the top, middle, and bottom of a cross-sectional micrograph. Each field contained 500 to 1500 WC grains. The images were recognized through clustering-based image segmentation and WC grain growth recognition. According to the WC grain size computation and experiments, a simple WC-WC interaction model was developed to explain the WC dissolution, grain growth, and aggregation in welded joints. The WC-WC interaction and blunt corners were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The WC grain size distribution and the effects of heat input E on grain size distribution for the laser samples were discussed. The results indicate that (1) the grain size distribution follows a Gaussian distribution. Grain sizes at the top of the weld were larger than those near the middle and weld root because of power attenuation. (2) Significant WC grain growth occurred during welding as observed in the as-welded micrographs. The average grain size was 11.47 μm in the TIG samples, which was much larger than that in base metal 1 (BM1 2.13 μm). The grain size distribution curves for the TIG samples revealed a broad particle size distribution without fine grains. The average grain size (1.59 μm) in laser samples was larger than that in base metal 2 (BM2 1.01 μm). (3) WC-WC interaction exhibited complex plane, edge, and blunt corner characteristics during grain growth. A WC ( { 1 {bar{{1}}}00} ) to WC ( {0 1 1 {bar{{0}}}} ) edge disappeared and became a blunt plane WC ( { 10 1 {bar{{0}}}} ) , several grains with two- or three-sided planes and edges disappeared into a multi-edge, and a WC-WC merged.

Airborne particle dispersion to an operating room environment during sliding and hinged door opening.

PubMed

Sadrizadeh, Sasan; Pantelic, Jovan; Sherman, Max; Clark, Jordan; Abouali, Omid

2018-03-08

Operating rooms (ORs) are usually over-pressurized in order to prevent the penetration of contaminated air and the consequent risk of surgical site infection. However, a door-opening can result in the rapid disappearance of pressure and contaminants can then easily penetrate into the surgical zone. Therefore, a broad knowledge and understanding of OR ventilation systems and their protective potential is essential for optimizing the surgical environment. This study investigated the air quality and level of airborne particles during a single and multiple door-opening cycles in an operating room supplied by a turbulent-mixing ventilation system. The exploration was carried out numerically using computational fluid dynamics. Model validation was performed to ensure the validity of the achieved results. The OR was initially over-pressurized by approximately 15Pa, relative to the adjacent corridors. Both sliding and hinged doors were simulated and compared. Penetration of bacteria carrying particles from the corridors to the OR can be successfully restricted by using a positive-pressure system. However, the results clearly indicate that frequent door opening can interfere with airflow ventilation systems, alter the pressure gradient, and increase the infection risk for the patient undergoing surgical intervention. Door-opening disturbs the airflow field and could result in containment failure. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Repletion of Zinc and Iron Deficiencies Improves Cognition of Premenopausal Women.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-10-01

to our earlier observations in premenopausal women (1, 13) and are consistent with the fact that many premenopausal women select diets that are low...women: associations of diet with serum ferritin and plasma zinc disappearance, and of serum ferritin with plasma zinc and plasma zinc disappearance...women: Associations of diet with serum ferritin and plasma zinc disappearance and of serum ferritin with plasma zinc and plasma zinc disappearance. J

Forced disappearance in an era of globalization: biopolitics, shadow networks, and imagined worlds.

PubMed

Rozema, Ralph

2011-01-01

In this article, I argue that the practice of forced disappearance of persons on the part of paramilitary groups has become linked to specific processes of globalization. Global flows related to biopolitics, global crime networks, and dehumanizing imaginations reproduced by mass media together constitute a driving force behind forced disappearances. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Colombian city of Medellín, I analyze how these global flows interact with local armed actors, helping create a climate conducive to forced disappearance. These mechanisms in Colombia show similarities to those in some African and Asian countries. Gaining insight into the mechanisms behind forced disappearance may help prevent it from occurring in the future. Enhancing social inclusion of residents, unraveling the transnational crime networks in which perpetrators are involved, and disseminating rehumanizing images of victims all contribute to curbing the practice of forced disappearance.

Anthropomorphic bias found in typically developing children is not found in children with autistic spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Chaminade, Thierry; Rosset, Delphine; Da Fonseca, David; Hodgins, Jessica K; Deruelle, Christine

2015-02-01

The anthropomorphic bias describes the finding that the perceived naturalness of a biological motion decreases as the human-likeness of a computer-animated agent increases. To investigate the anthropomorphic bias in autistic children, human or cartoon characters were presented with biological and artificial motions side by side on a touchscreen. Children were required to touch one that would grow while the other would disappear, implicitly rewarding their choice. Only typically developing controls depicted the expected preference for biological motion when rendered with human, but not cartoon, characters. Despite performing the task to report a preference, children with autism depicted neither normal nor reversed anthropomorphic bias, suggesting that they are not sensitive to the congruence of form and motion information when observing computer-animated agents' actions. © The Author(s) 2014.

The inviscid axisymmetric stability of the supersonic flow along a circular cylinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duck, Peter W.

1990-01-01

The supersonic flow past a thin straight circular cylinder is investigated. The associated boundary-layer flow (i.e. the velocity and temperature field) is computed; the asymptotic, far downstream solution is obtained, and compared with the full numerical results. The inviscid, linear, axisymmetric (temporal) stability of this boundary layer is also studied. A so-called 'doubly generalized' inflexion condition is derived, which is a condition for the existence of so-called 'subsonic' neutral modes. The eigenvalue problem (for the complex wavespeed) is computed for two free-stream Mach numbers (2.8 and 3.8), and this reveals that curvature has a profound effect on the stability of the flow. The first unstable inviscid mode is seen to disappear rapidly as curvature is introduced, while the second (and generally the most important) mode suffers a substantially reduced amplification rate.

Reconstructing the Neanderthal brain using computational anatomy.

PubMed

Kochiyama, Takanori; Ogihara, Naomichi; Tanabe, Hiroki C; Kondo, Osamu; Amano, Hideki; Hasegawa, Kunihiro; Suzuki, Hiromasa; Ponce de León, Marcia S; Zollikofer, Christoph P E; Bastir, Markus; Stringer, Chris; Sadato, Norihiro; Akazawa, Takeru

2018-04-26

The present study attempted to reconstruct 3D brain shape of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens based on computational neuroanatomy. We found that early Homo sapiens had relatively larger cerebellar hemispheres but a smaller occipital region in the cerebrum than Neanderthals long before the time that Neanderthals disappeared. Further, using behavioural and structural imaging data of living humans, the abilities such as cognitive flexibility, attention, the language processing, episodic and working memory capacity were positively correlated with size-adjusted cerebellar volume. As the cerebellar hemispheres are structured as a large array of uniform neural modules, a larger cerebellum may possess a larger capacity for cognitive information processing. Such a neuroanatomical difference in the cerebellum may have caused important differences in cognitive and social abilities between the two species and might have contributed to the replacement of Neanderthals by early Homo sapiens.

The inviscid axisymmetric stability of the supersonic flow along a circular cylinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duck, Peter W.

1989-01-01

The supersonic flow past a thin straight circular cylinder is investigated. The associated boundary layer flow (i.e., the velocity and temperature field) is computed; the asymptotic, far downstream solution is obtained, and compared with the full numerical results. The inviscid, linear, axisymmetric (temporal) stability of this boundary layer is also studied. A so called doubly generalized inflexion condition is derived, which is a condition for the existence of so called subsonic neutral modes. The eigenvalue problem (for the complex wavespeed) is computed for two freestream Mach numbers (2.8 and 3.8), and this reveals that curvature has a profound effect on the stability of the flow. The first unstable inviscid mode is seen to rapidly disappear as curvature is introduced, while the second (and generally the most important) mode suffers a substantially reduced amplification rate.

[Effective combination therapy using radiation and a daily low dose of cis-platinum for advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma in an elderly patient--report of a case].

PubMed

Tamura, M; Miyashita, T; Ogiso, A; Kotani, A; Oguchi, M; Izuno, I

1994-01-01

An 83-year-old male with advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma was treated with combined radiotherapy and a daily low dose of cis-platinum with excellent results. In the early part of the treatment, radiotherapy was delivered in fractions of 1.8 Gy/day (5 days/week) to a cumulative dose of 20 Gy, concomitantly with UFT (400 mg/day po), but the response was not adequate. Then, instead of UFT, a single intravenous injection of cis-platinum (5 mg) was administered within 30 min after each radiation session without intravenous hydration. The total dose of cis-platinum was 140 mg and that of radiation was 70 Gy. Moderate leukocytopenia and moderate mucositis/dermatitis were observed as side effects, but despite the lack of intravenous hydration no signs of renal toxicity were observed. Partial remission was attained by the end of the therapy, remnant lesions progressively diminished in size, and 4 months later all of them had completely disappeared on the computed tomogram. The prognosis is favorable, and neither recurrence nor metastasis has been found in the 14-month follow-up period since the lesions disappeared.

Ultradian activity rhythms in large groups of newly hatched chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus).

PubMed

Nielsen, B L; Erhard, H W; Friggens, N C; McLeod, J E

2008-07-01

A clutch of young chicks housed with a mother hen exhibit ultradian (within day) rhythms of activity corresponding to the brooding cycle of the hen. In the present study clear evidence was found of ultradian activity rhythms in newly hatched domestic chicks housed in groups larger than natural clutch size without a mother hen or any other obvious external time-keeper. No consistent synchrony was found between groups housed in different pens within the same room. The ultradian rhythms disappeared with time and little evidence of group rhythmicity remained by the third night. This disappearance over time suggests that the presence of a mother hen may be pivotal for the long-term maintenance of these rhythms. The ultradian rhythm of the chicks may also play an important role in the initiation of brooding cycles during the behavioural transition of the mother hen from incubation to brooding. Computer simulations of individual activity rhythms were found to reproduce the observations made on a group basis. This was achievable even when individual chick rhythms were modelled as independent of each other, thus no assumptions of social facilitation are necessary to obtain ultradian activity rhythms on a group level.

Is there any place for LDR brachytherapy for head and neck carcinomas in HDR era?

PubMed

Fijuth, Jacek

2009-03-01

In Poland, the classical LDR brachytherapy for head and neck carcinomas with Ir-192 wires or hairpins has completely disappeared some time ago after 30 years of successful clinical use. Can this technique be fully and safely replaced by HDR or PDR application? This option seems attractive because of new possibilities of 3D reconstruction and computer real-time treatment planning and optimization. However, in my opinion, long time is needed to get a clinical and scientific experience that has been accumulated for decades with the use of LDR technique.

[Mediastinal Pancreatic Pseudocyst with Pancreatic Pleural Effusion].

PubMed

Sasajima, Motoko; Kawai, Hideki; Suzuki, Yohei; Saito, Yoshitaro; Eto, Takeshi

2017-06-01

A 72-year-old man with chronic alcohol related pancreatitis was admitted for dyspnea and pain at the upper body. Chest X-ray showed right massive pleural effusion. Chest and abdominal contrast enhanced thin slice computed tomography revealed the route from the pancreatic head reaching the right thoracic cavity via the esophagus hiatus and the communication between the cystic lesion and main pancreatic duct. We drained the pleural effusion that showed abnormally high amylase activity. We diagnosed his illness as mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst with pancreatic pleural effusion. Endoscopic Nasopancreatic Drainage catheter was placed in the main pancreatic duct, and the pleural effusion disappeared.

[Unfixed Mesh Plug Migration from Inguinal Ring to Urinary Bladder].

PubMed

Okada, Koichi; Nakayama, Jiro; Adachi, Shiro; Miyake, Osamu

2018-02-01

A 65-year-old man presented to a clinic with a chief complaint of macrohematuria and frequent urination. The computed tomographic scan and cystoscopy revealed a dome of bladder tumor. He was referred to our hospital with the diagnosis of bladder tumor. He had undergone bilateral inguinal hernia repair and magnetic resonance imaging suggested mesh plug migration on the urinary bladder inserted into the right inguinal lesion 11 years previously. Under the diagnosis of mesh plug migration, partial cystectomy with extraction of the foreign body was performed. After the surgery he was well and symptoms had disappeared.

7 CFR 1430.222 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 1430.222 Section 1430.222 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Contract Program § 1430.222 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency...

7 CFR 1430.311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.311 Section 1430.311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Disaster Assistance Payment Program § 1430.311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death...

7 CFR 1429.112 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1429.112 Section 1429.112 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... ASSISTANCE PAYMENT PROGRAM § 1429.112 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of death...

7 CFR 1430.311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.311 Section 1430.311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Disaster Assistance Payment Program § 1430.311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death...

7 CFR 1430.311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.311 Section 1430.311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Disaster Assistance Payment Program § 1430.311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death...

7 CFR 1430.222 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 1430.222 Section 1430.222 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Contract Program § 1430.222 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency...

7 CFR 1429.112 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1429.112 Section 1429.112 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... ASSISTANCE PAYMENT PROGRAM § 1429.112 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of death...

7 CFR 1429.112 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1429.112 Section 1429.112 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... ASSISTANCE PAYMENT PROGRAM § 1429.112 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of death...

7 CFR 1430.222 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 1430.222 Section 1430.222 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Contract Program § 1430.222 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency...

7 CFR 1430.222 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 1430.222 Section 1430.222 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Contract Program § 1430.222 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency...

7 CFR 1430.222 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 1430.222 Section 1430.222 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Contract Program § 1430.222 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of death, incompetency...

7 CFR 1430.311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.311 Section 1430.311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Disaster Assistance Payment Program § 1430.311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death...

7 CFR 1430.311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 1430.311 Section 1430.311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT... Disaster Assistance Payment Program § 1430.311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. In the case of death...

Development of a 3D muon disappearance algorithm for muon scattering tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackwell, T. B.; Kudryavtsev, V. A.

2015-05-01

Upon passing through a material, muons lose energy, scatter off nuclei and atomic electrons, and can stop in the material. Muons will more readily lose energy in higher density materials. Therefore multiple muon disappearances within a localized volume may signal the presence of high-density materials. We have developed a new technique that improves the sensitivity of standard muon scattering tomography. This technique exploits these muon disappearances to perform non-destructive assay of an inspected volume. Muons that disappear have their track evaluated using a 3D line extrapolation algorithm, which is in turn used to construct a 3D tomographic image of the inspected volume. Results of Monte Carlo simulations that measure muon disappearance in different types of target materials are presented. The ability to differentiate between different density materials using the 3D line extrapolation algorithm is established. Finally the capability of this new muon disappearance technique to enhance muon scattering tomography techniques in detecting shielded HEU in cargo containers has been demonstrated.

Overnight Changes Recorded by Phoenix Conductivity Probe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

This graph presents simplified data from overnight measurements by the Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander from noon of the mission's 70th Martian day, or sol, to noon the following sol (Aug. 5 to Aug. 6, 2008).

The graph shows that water disappeared from the atmosphere overnight, at the same time that electrical measurements detected changes consistent with addition of water to the soil.

Water in soil appears to increase overnight, when water in the atmosphere disappears.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Morphological changes in cysticerci of Taenia taeniaeformis after mebendazole treatment.

PubMed

Borgers, M; De Nollin, S; Verheyen, A; Vanparijs, O; Thienpont, D

1975-10-01

The progressive micromorphological changes in Taenia taeniaeformis cysticerci, induced by a single parenteral treatment of the infected mice with mebendazole, are described. The time-related alterations concerned the tegument and tegumental cells and were successively: disappearance of microtubules, accumulation of secretory substances in the Golgi areas, decrease in number to complete loss of microtriches, "ballooning" of all tegumental cells with subsequent burst, vacuolization and degeneration of the tegument, and finally necrosis of the pseudoproglottids. Similar but less pronounced injuries were seen in the scolices, although microtubules disappeared as early as in the pseudoproglottids. Microtubules from the host tissues remained intact. The meaning of the apparent primary interference of mebendazole with the microtubular system in relation to the subsequently observed death of the cysticercoids is discussed.

Emergence of nanoscale inhomogeneity in the superconducting state of a homogeneously disordered conventional superconductor

PubMed Central

Kamlapure, Anand; Das, Tanmay; Ganguli, Somesh Chandra; Parmar, Jayesh B.; Bhattacharyya, Somnath; Raychaudhuri, Pratap

2013-01-01

The notion of spontaneous formation of an inhomogeneous superconducting state is at the heart of most theories attempting to understand the superconducting state in the presence of strong disorder. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, we experimentally demonstrate that under the competing effects of strong homogeneous disorder and superconducting correlations, the superconducting state of a conventional superconductor, NbN, spontaneously segregates into domains. Tracking these domains as a function of temperature we observe that the superconducting domains persist across the bulk superconducting transition, Tc, and disappear close to the pseudogap temperature, T*, where signatures of superconducting correlations disappear from the tunneling spectrum and the superfluid response of the system. PMID:24132046

Emergence of nanoscale inhomogeneity in the superconducting state of a homogeneously disordered conventional superconductor.

PubMed

Kamlapure, Anand; Das, Tanmay; Ganguli, Somesh Chandra; Parmar, Jayesh B; Bhattacharyya, Somnath; Raychaudhuri, Pratap

2013-10-17

The notion of spontaneous formation of an inhomogeneous superconducting state is at the heart of most theories attempting to understand the superconducting state in the presence of strong disorder. Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy and high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, we experimentally demonstrate that under the competing effects of strong homogeneous disorder and superconducting correlations, the superconducting state of a conventional superconductor, NbN, spontaneously segregates into domains. Tracking these domains as a function of temperature we observe that the superconducting domains persist across the bulk superconducting transition, Tc, and disappear close to the pseudogap temperature, T*, where signatures of superconducting correlations disappear from the tunneling spectrum and the superfluid response of the system.

Users of the main smartphone operating systems (iOS, Android) differ only little in personality

PubMed Central

Stieger, Stefan; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich

2017-01-01

The increasingly widespread use of mobile phone applications (apps) as research tools and cost-effective means of vast data collection raises new methodological challenges. In recent years, it has become a common practice for scientists to design apps that run only on a single operating system, thereby excluding large numbers of users who use a different operating system. However, empirical evidence investigating any selection biases that might result thereof is scarce. Henceforth, we conducted two studies drawing from a large multi-national (Study 1; N = 1,081) and a German-speaking sample (Study 2; N = 2,438). As such Study 1 compared iOS and Android users across an array of key personality traits (i.e., well-being, self-esteem, willingness to take risks, optimism, pessimism, Dark Triad, and the Big Five). Focusing on Big Five personality traits in a broader scope, in addition to smartphone users, Study 2 also examined users of the main computer operating systems (i.e., Mac OS, Windows). In both studies, very few significant differences were found, all of which were of small or even tiny effect size mostly disappearing after sociodemographics had been controlled for. Taken together, minor differences in personality seem to exist, but they are of small to negligible effect size (ranging from OR = 0.919 to 1.344 (Study 1), ηp2 = .005 to .036 (Study 2), respectively) and may reflect differences in sociodemographic composition, rather than operating system of smartphone users. PMID:28467473

Users of the main smartphone operating systems (iOS, Android) differ only little in personality.

PubMed

Götz, Friedrich M; Stieger, Stefan; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich

2017-01-01

The increasingly widespread use of mobile phone applications (apps) as research tools and cost-effective means of vast data collection raises new methodological challenges. In recent years, it has become a common practice for scientists to design apps that run only on a single operating system, thereby excluding large numbers of users who use a different operating system. However, empirical evidence investigating any selection biases that might result thereof is scarce. Henceforth, we conducted two studies drawing from a large multi-national (Study 1; N = 1,081) and a German-speaking sample (Study 2; N = 2,438). As such Study 1 compared iOS and Android users across an array of key personality traits (i.e., well-being, self-esteem, willingness to take risks, optimism, pessimism, Dark Triad, and the Big Five). Focusing on Big Five personality traits in a broader scope, in addition to smartphone users, Study 2 also examined users of the main computer operating systems (i.e., Mac OS, Windows). In both studies, very few significant differences were found, all of which were of small or even tiny effect size mostly disappearing after sociodemographics had been controlled for. Taken together, minor differences in personality seem to exist, but they are of small to negligible effect size (ranging from OR = 0.919 to 1.344 (Study 1), ηp2 = .005 to .036 (Study 2), respectively) and may reflect differences in sociodemographic composition, rather than operating system of smartphone users.

Parallel and Preemptable Dynamically Dimensioned Search Algorithms for Single and Multi-objective Optimization in Water Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolson, B.; Matott, L. S.; Gaffoor, T. A.; Asadzadeh, M.; Shafii, M.; Pomorski, P.; Xu, X.; Jahanpour, M.; Razavi, S.; Haghnegahdar, A.; Craig, J. R.

2015-12-01

We introduce asynchronous parallel implementations of the Dynamically Dimensioned Search (DDS) family of algorithms including DDS, discrete DDS, PA-DDS and DDS-AU. These parallel algorithms are unique from most existing parallel optimization algorithms in the water resources field in that parallel DDS is asynchronous and does not require an entire population (set of candidate solutions) to be evaluated before generating and then sending a new candidate solution for evaluation. One key advance in this study is developing the first parallel PA-DDS multi-objective optimization algorithm. The other key advance is enhancing the computational efficiency of solving optimization problems (such as model calibration) by combining a parallel optimization algorithm with the deterministic model pre-emption concept. These two efficiency techniques can only be combined because of the asynchronous nature of parallel DDS. Model pre-emption functions to terminate simulation model runs early, prior to completely simulating the model calibration period for example, when intermediate results indicate the candidate solution is so poor that it will definitely have no influence on the generation of further candidate solutions. The computational savings of deterministic model preemption available in serial implementations of population-based algorithms (e.g., PSO) disappear in synchronous parallel implementations as these algorithms. In addition to the key advances above, we implement the algorithms across a range of computation platforms (Windows and Unix-based operating systems from multi-core desktops to a supercomputer system) and package these for future modellers within a model-independent calibration software package called Ostrich as well as MATLAB versions. Results across multiple platforms and multiple case studies (from 4 to 64 processors) demonstrate the vast improvement over serial DDS-based algorithms and highlight the important role model pre-emption plays in the performance of parallel, pre-emptable DDS algorithms. Case studies include single- and multiple-objective optimization problems in water resources model calibration and in many cases linear or near linear speedups are observed.

Observations on the Re-Emergence of a Binary System in UK Universities for Economics Degree Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talbot, Steve; Reeves, Alan; Johnston, James

2014-01-01

An audit of economics provision shows that over the past decade economics has disappeared from large parts of the UK's higher education landscape, especially the post-1992 universities. In the north of Britain the binary system has effectively re-emerged leaving many potential students unable to study key subjects such as economics. Post-1992…

7 CFR 760.1311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 760.1311 Section 760.1311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Program § 760.1311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.29 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 760.29 Section 760.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Provisions § 760.29 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.29 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 760.29 Section 760.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Provisions § 760.29 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.29 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 760.29 Section 760.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Provisions § 760.29 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.1311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 760.1311 Section 760.1311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Program § 760.1311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.29 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 760.29 Section 760.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Provisions § 760.29 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.1311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 760.1311 Section 760.1311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Program § 760.1311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.1311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 760.1311 Section 760.1311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Program § 760.1311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.1311 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 760.1311 Section 760.1311 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Program § 760.1311 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

7 CFR 760.29 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance. 760.29 Section 760.29 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY... Provisions § 760.29 Death, incompetency, or disappearance. In the case of the death, incompetency, or...

Comparison of the physiological relevance of systemic vs. portal insulin delivery to evaluate whole body glucose flux during an insulin clamp

PubMed Central

Farmer, Tiffany D.; Jenkins, Erin C.; O'Brien, Tracy P.; McCoy, Gregory A.; Havlik, Allison E.; Nass, Erik R.; Nicholson, Wendell E.; Printz, Richard L.

2014-01-01

To understand the underlying pathology of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, an accurate determination of whole body glucose flux needs to be made by a method that maintains key physiological features. One such feature is a positive differential in insulin concentration between the portal venous and systemic arterial circulation (P/S-IG). P/S-IG during the determination of the relative contribution of liver and extra-liver tissues/organs to whole body glucose flux during an insulin clamp with either systemic (SID) or portal (PID) insulin delivery was examined with insulin infusion rates of 1, 2, and 5 mU·kg−1·min−1 under either euglycemic or hyperglycemic conditions in 6-h-fasted conscious normal rats. A P/S-IG was initially determined with endogenous insulin secretion to exist with a value of 2.07. During an insulin clamp, while inhibiting endogenous insulin secretion by somatostatin, P/S-IG remained at 2.2 with PID, whereas, P/S-IG disappeared completely with SID, which exhibited higher arterial and lower portal insulin levels compared with PID. Consequently, glucose disappearance rates and muscle glycogen synthetic rates were higher, but suppression of endogenous glucose production and liver glycogen synthetic rates were lower with SID compared with PID. When the insulin clamp was performed with SID at 2 and 5 mU·kg−1·min−1 without managing endogenous insulin secretion under euglycemic but not hyperglycemic conditions, endogenous insulin secretion was completely suppressed with SID, and the P/S-IG disappeared. Thus, compared with PID, an insulin clamp with SID underestimates the contribution of liver in response to insulin to whole body glucose flux. PMID:25516552

20 CFR 218.3 - When an employee disappears.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... before the month of the disappearance. (b) Employee has a current connection. (1) The Board may pay... met at the time of the disappearance: (i) The employee has a current connection with the railroad...) Employee has no current connection. If the employee does not have a current connection and the employee's...

20 CFR 218.3 - When an employee disappears.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... before the month of the disappearance. (b) Employee has a current connection. (1) The Board may pay... met at the time of the disappearance: (i) The employee has a current connection with the railroad...) Employee has no current connection. If the employee does not have a current connection and the employee's...

33 CFR 173.53 - Immediate notification of death or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Immediate notification of death or disappearance. 173.53 Section 173.53 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... and Accident Reporting § 173.53 Immediate notification of death or disappearance. (a) When, as a...

33 CFR 173.53 - Immediate notification of death or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Immediate notification of death or disappearance. 173.53 Section 173.53 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... and Accident Reporting § 173.53 Immediate notification of death or disappearance. (a) When, as a...

33 CFR 173.53 - Immediate notification of death or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Immediate notification of death or disappearance. 173.53 Section 173.53 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... and Accident Reporting § 173.53 Immediate notification of death or disappearance. (a) When, as a...

Political repression and its psychological effects on Honduran children.

PubMed

Munczek, D S; Tuber, S

1998-12-01

This paper, based on an exploratory study in Honduras, examines the psychological effects of political disappearance and assassination on surviving child family members. There are few, if any, comparative field studies of non-immigrant, non-refugee or non-clinical populations of children with forcibly disappeared and assassinated parents. In Latin America, violent state power has been exercised in a number of ways, including physical intimidation, jailing, murder and "disappearance". This research compares 16 Honduran children who have experienced the loss of a parent through forced disappearance with 11 Honduran children who suffered a similar loss from a political assassination. Surviving parents or caretakers of these children were also interviewed. Differences between children of the disappeared and assassinated were analyzed using a Rorschach object relations scale, post-traumatic stress and symptom and behavior scales and interviews with the children and the surviving parents. Both groups of children have symptoms of traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and aggressive feelings. Children of both groups remain symptomatic for many years after their loss and children with disappeared parents present more unconscious emotional disturbance in the Rorschach object relations scale than children with assassinated parents. The lack of physical, emotional and legal resolution in forced disappearance appears to impede mourning and a return to age-appropriate concerns.

Involvement of α-, γ- and δ-Tocopherol Isomers from
Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) Seed Oil or Oil Mixtures in
the Biphasic DPPH˙ Disappearance Kinetics

PubMed Central

Broznić, Dalibor; Milin, Čedomila

2016-01-01

Summary The antioxidant activity of three types of pumpkin seed oil or oil mixtures (cold- -pressed, produced from roasted seed paste and salad) produced in the northern part of Croatia and the kinetics of their behaviour as free radical scavengers were investigated using DPPH˙. In addition, the involvement of oil tocopherol isomers (α-, γ- and δ-) in different steps of DPPH˙ disappearance and their impact on the rate of reaction were analysed. The kinetics of DPPH˙ disappearance is a two-step process. In the first step, rapid disappearance of DPPH˙ occurs during the first 11 min of the reaction, depending on the oil type, followed by a slower decline in the second step. To describe DPPH˙ disappearance kinetics, six mathematical models (mono- and biphasic) were tested. Our findings showed that γ- and δ-tocopherols affected DPPH˙ disappearance during the first step, and α-tocopherol in the second step of the reaction. Moreover, α-tocopherol demonstrated 30 times higher antioxidant activity than γ- and δ-tocopherols. The results indicated the biphasic double-exponential behaviour of DPPH˙ disappearance in oil samples, due to the complexity of reactions that involve different tocopherol isomers and proceed through different chemical pathways. PMID:27904410

Involvement of α-, γ- and δ-Tocopherol Isomers from
Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) Seed Oil or Oil Mixtures in
the Biphasic DPPH˙ Disappearance Kinetics.

PubMed

Broznić, Dalibor; Jurešić, Gordana Čanadi; Milin, Čedomila

2016-06-01

The antioxidant activity of three types of pumpkin seed oil or oil mixtures (cold- -pressed, produced from roasted seed paste and salad) produced in the northern part of Croatia and the kinetics of their behaviour as free radical scavengers were investigated using DPPH˙. In addition, the involvement of oil tocopherol isomers (α-, γ- and δ-) in different steps of DPPH˙ disappearance and their impact on the rate of reaction were analysed. The kinetics of DPPH˙ disappearance is a two-step process. In the first step, rapid disappearance of DPPH˙ occurs during the first 11 min of the reaction, depending on the oil type, followed by a slower decline in the second step. To describe DPPH˙ disappearance kinetics, six mathematical models (mono- and biphasic) were tested. Our findings showed that γ- and δ-tocopherols affected DPPH˙ disappearance during the first step, and α-tocopherol in the second step of the reaction. Moreover, α-tocopherol demonstrated 30 times higher antioxidant activity than γ- and δ-tocopherols. The results indicated the biphasic double-exponential behaviour of DPPH˙ disappearance in oil samples, due to the complexity of reactions that involve different tocopherol isomers and proceed through different chemical pathways.

Detection of a Hot Binary Companion of eta Carinae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sonnebom, G.; Iping, R. C.; Gull, T. R.; Massa, D. L.; Hillier, D. J.

2006-01-01

A hot companion of eta Carinae has been detected using high resolution spectra (905 - 1180 A) obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. Observations were obtained at two epochs of the 2024-day orbit: 2003 June during ingress to the 2003.5 X-ray eclipse and 2004 April several months after egress. These data show that essentially all the far-UV flux from eta Car shortward of Lyman alpha disappeared at least two days before the start of the X-ray eclipse (2003 June 29), implying that the hot companion, eta Car B, was also eclipsed by the dense wind or extended atmosphere of eta Car A. Analysis of the far-UV spectrum shows that eta Car B is a luminous hot star. N II 1084-1086 emission disappears at the same time as the far-UV continuum, indicating that this feature originates from eta Car B itself or in close proximity to it. The strong N II emission also raises the possibility that the companion star is nitrogen rich. The observed FUV flux levels and spectral features, combined with the timing of their disappearance, is consistent with eta Carinae being a massive binary system

Detection of a Hot Binary Companion of eta Carinae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sonneborn, G.; Iping, R. C.; Gull, T. R.; Massa, D.; Hillier, D. J.

2006-01-01

A hot companion of eta Carinae has been detected using high resolution spectra (905 - 1 180 Angsroms) obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. Observations were obtained at two epochs of the 2024-day orbit: 2003 June during ingress to the 2003.5 X-ray eclipse and 2004 April several months after egress. These data show that essentially all the far-UV flux from eta Car shortward of Lyman alpha disappeared at least two days before the start of the X-ray eclipse (2003 June 29), implying that the hot companion, eta Car By was also eclipsed by the dense wind or extended atmosphere of eta Car A. Analysis of the far-UV spectrum shows that eta Car B is a luminous hot star. N II 1084-1086 emission disappears at the same time as the far-UV continuum, indicating that this feature originates from eta Car B itself or in close proximity to it. The strong N II emission also raises the possibility that the companion star is nitrogen rich. The observed FUV flux levels and spectral features, combined with the timing of their disappearance, are consistent with eta Carinae being a massive binary system.

Hepatic metabolism of neurotensin.

PubMed

Brook, C W; Shulkes, A; Sewell, R B; Smallwood, R A

1987-04-01

Neurotensin is released from the intestinal mucosa into the portal circulation and, to exert a systemic effect, it must traverse the liver intact. We examined the potential role of the liver in neurotensin clearance using the isolated perfused rat liver model. With N-terminal and C-terminal directed RIAs and HPLC, we demonstrated rapid metabolism of intact neurotensin to inactive N-terminal fragments in the isolated rat liver system. The disappearance half-lives of C-terminal and N-terminal immunoreactivity were 20.4 +/- 6.0 min and 82.7 +/- 7.7 min, respectively, (P less than 0.002). To assess whether this neurotensin disappearance might be due to metabolism within the perfusate itself by a peptidase released from liver, we further incubated neurotensin in perfusate previously circulated through liver. A rapid and progressive breakdown of intact neurotensin to N-terminal fragments was again shown. These data demonstrate that a substantial proportion of the hepatic clearance of neurotensin is attributable to release of a peptidase by the liver into the circulation.

Human-Climate Interactions Drive Loss of Isolated Wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krapu, C.; Kumar, M.

2017-12-01

The disappearance of geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) across the American midcontinent is known to be related to the expansion of row crops such as soybeans and maize northward beginning in the late 20th century. GIWs provide a range of ecosystem services yet frequently undergo preferential loss due to agriculture and development, among other factors. In this study we examined the dynamics of GIWs in the North Dakota Prairie Pothole Region from 1984-2015 in relation to shifts in agricultural practices. Using a newly developed metric of wetland drainage and consolidation, we found that the disappearance of these wetlands was hastened by an intense multiyear wet period during 1995-2000. This wet period led to widespread installation of agricultural drainage systems and annual loss rates of wetlands as high as 366 km2 per year. An analysis of wetland area-perimeter relationships further confirms that these drainage systems led to the widespread consolidation of wetlands into larger, more permanent complexes.

Interactive, computer-assisted tracking of speckle trajectories in fluorescence microscopy: application to actin polymerization and membrane fusion.

PubMed

Smith, Matthew B; Karatekin, Erdem; Gohlke, Andrea; Mizuno, Hiroaki; Watanabe, Naoki; Vavylonis, Dimitrios

2011-10-05

Analysis of particle trajectories in images obtained by fluorescence microscopy reveals biophysical properties such as diffusion coefficient or rates of association and dissociation. Particle tracking and lifetime measurement is often limited by noise, large mobilities, image inhomogeneities, and path crossings. We present Speckle TrackerJ, a tool that addresses some of these challenges using computer-assisted techniques for finding positions and tracking particles in different situations. A dynamic user interface assists in the creation, editing, and refining of particle tracks. The following are results from application of this program: 1), Tracking single molecule diffusion in simulated images. The shape of the diffusing marker on the image changes from speckle to cloud, depending on the relationship of the diffusion coefficient to the camera exposure time. We use these images to illustrate the range of diffusion coefficients that can be measured. 2), We used the program to measure the diffusion coefficient of capping proteins in the lamellipodium. We found values ∼0.5 μm(2)/s, suggesting capping protein association with protein complexes or the membrane. 3), We demonstrate efficient measuring of appearance and disappearance of EGFP-actin speckles within the lamellipodium of motile cells that indicate actin monomer incorporation into the actin filament network. 4), We marked appearance and disappearance events of fluorescently labeled vesicles to supported lipid bilayers and tracked single lipids from the fused vesicle on the bilayer. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that vesicle fusion has been detected with single molecule sensitivity and the program allowed us to perform a quantitative analysis. 5), By discriminating between undocking and fusion events, dwell times for vesicle fusion after vesicle docking to membranes can be measured. Copyright © 2011 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Directed polymers on a disordered tree with a defect subtree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madras, Neal; Yıldırım, Gökhan

2018-04-01

We study the question of how the competition between bulk disorder and a localized microscopic defect affects the macroscopic behavior of a system in the directed polymer context at the free energy level. We consider the directed polymer model on a disordered d-ary tree and represent the localized microscopic defect by modifying the disorder distribution at each vertex in a single path (branch), or in a subtree, of the tree. The polymer must choose between following the microscopic defect and finding the best branches through the bulk disorder. We describe three possible phases, called the fully pinned, partially pinned and depinned phases. When the microscopic defect is associated only with a single branch, we compute the free energy and the critical curve of the model, and show that the partially pinned phase does not occur. When the localized microscopic defect is associated with a non-disordered regular subtree of the disordered tree, the picture is more complicated. We prove that all three phases are non-empty below a critical temperature, and that the partially pinned phase disappears above the critical temperature.

Correlation of martensitic transformation temperatures of Ni- Mn-Ga/Al-X alloys to non-bonding electron concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramudu, M.; Satish Kumar, A.; Seshubai, V.; Rajasekharan, T.

2015-02-01

The martensitic transformation TM of the alloys of Ni-Mn-Ga and Ni-Mn-Al show a general trend of increase with electron per atom ratio (e/a) calculated from the total number of electrons outside the rare gas shell of the atoms. However prediction of TM fails among iron substituted Ni-Mn-Ga alloys and those with In doped for Ga, due to the absence of a useful trend. A scheme of computing modified electron concentration is presented considering only the non-bonding electrons per atom Ne/a of the compounds, based on Pauling's ideas on the electronic structure of metallic elements. Systematic variation of TM with Ne/a is reproduced for a large number of alloys of Ni-Mn-Ga and the anomaly observed for Fe containing alloys with e/a disappears. The non-bonding electron concentration is thus demonstrated to be effective in predicting TM of shape memory alloys of Ni-Mn-Ga-X system including the isoelectronic compounds of Ni-Mn-Ga-In.

Study of the Vapor-Liquid Coexistence Curve and the Critical Curve for Nonazeotropic Refrigerant Mixture R152a + R114 System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kabata, Yasuo; Higashi, Yukihiro; Uematsu, Masahiko; Watanabe, Koichi

Measurements of the vapor-liquid coexistence curve in the critical region for the refrigerant mixture of R152a (CH3CHF2: 1, l-difluoroethane) +R 114 (CCIF2CCIF2 :1, 2-dichloro-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrafluoroethane) system were made by visual observation of the disappearance of the meniscus at the vapor-liquid interface within an optical cell. Forty-eight saturated densities along the vapor-liquid coexistence curve between 204 and 861 kg·m-3 for five different compositions of 10, 20, 50, 80 and 90 wt% R 152a were obtained in the temperature range 370 to 409 K. The experimental errors of temperature, density, and mass fraction were estimated within ±10mK, ±0.5% and +0.05 %, respectively. On the basis of these measurements, the critical parameters of five different compositions for the R 152a +R 114 system were determined in consideration of the meniscus disappearance level as well as intensity of the critical opalescence. In accordance with the previous results of three other refrigerant mixtures, i.e., R 12 +R 22 system, R 22 +R 114 system and R 13B1 + R 114 system, the coexistence curve and critical curve on the temperature-density diagram for binary refrigerant mixtures were discussed. In addition, correlations of its composition dependence for this system were proposed.

An analytical study of the dual mass mechanical system stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolov, Svetoslav; Sinapov, Petko; Kralov, Ivan; Ignatov, Ignat

2011-12-01

In this paper an autonomous, nonlinear model of five ordinary differential equations modeling the motion of a dual mass mechanical system with universal joint is studied. The model is investigated qualitatively. On the base of the stability analysis performed, we obtain that the system is: i) in an equilibrium state, or ii) in a structurally unstable behavior when equilibrium states disappear. In case (i) the system is in a normal technical condition and in case (ii) hard break-downs take place.

Search for Muon Neutrino and Antineutrino Disappearance in MiniBooNE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilar-Arevalo, A. A.; Anderson, C. E.; Bazarko, A. O.; Brice, S. J.; Brown, B. C.; Bugel, L.; Cao, J.; Coney, L.; Conrad, J. M.; Cox, D. C.; Curioni, A.; Djurcic, Z.; Finley, D. A.; Fleming, B. T.; Ford, R.; Garcia, F. G.; Garvey, G. T.; Grange, J.; Green, C.; Green, J. A.; Hart, T. L.; Hawker, E.; Imlay, R.; Johnson, R. A.; Karagiorgi, G.; Kasper, P.; Katori, T.; Kobilarcik, T.; Kourbanis, I.; Koutsoliotas, S.; Laird, E. M.; Linden, S. K.; Link, J. M.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Y.; Louis, W. C.; Mahn, K. B. M.; Marsh, W.; Mauger, C.; McGary, V. T.; McGregor, G.; Metcalf, W.; Meyers, P. D.; Mills, F.; Mills, G. B.; Monroe, J.; Moore, C. D.; Mousseau, J.; Nelson, R. H.; Nienaber, P.; Nowak, J. A.; Osmanov, B.; Ouedraogo, S.; Patterson, R. B.; Pavlovic, Z.; Perevalov, D.; Polly, C. C.; Prebys, E.; Raaf, J. L.; Ray, H.; Roe, B. P.; Russell, A. D.; Sandberg, V.; Schirato, R.; Schmitz, D.; Shaevitz, M. H.; Shoemaker, F. C.; Smith, D.; Soderberg, M.; Sorel, M.; Spentzouris, P.; Spitz, J.; Stancu, I.; Stefanski, R. J.; Sung, M.; Tanaka, H. A.; Tayloe, R.; Tzanov, M.; van de Water, R. G.; Wascko, M. O.; White, D. H.; Wilking, M. J.; Yang, H. J.; Zeller, G. P.; Zimmerman, E. D.

2009-08-01

The MiniBooNE Collaboration reports a search for νμ and ν¯μ disappearance in the Δm2 region of 0.5-40eV2. These measurements are important for constraining models with extra types of neutrinos, extra dimensions, and CPT violation. Fits to the shape of the νμ and ν¯μ energy spectra reveal no evidence for disappearance at the 90% confidence level (C.L.) in either mode. The test of ν¯μ disappearance probes a region below Δm2=40eV2 never explored before.

STEM Progress in Katrina's Wake

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzales, Dana

2008-01-01

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, it caused a devastating impact on the Crescent City's public education system. The devastating storm and its aftermath completely wiped out the educational infrastructure of the New Orleans Public Schools, making one of the country's largest metropolitan school districts virtually disappear. Two…

Creating Asset-Rich Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Teresa Northern; Leslie-Toogood, Adrienne; Kaff, Marilyn

2005-01-01

Adolescents today face increasing challenges, while the support systems that should help them meet and surmount those challenges are rapidly disappearing. Yearly statistics on teen substance abuse, depression, suicide, and violent crime continue to escalate. Teens with low attachments to school are most vulnerable because they are less likely to…

Search for sterile neutrinos in muon neutrino disappearance mode at FNAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anokhina, A.; Bagulya, A.; Benettoni, M.; Bernardini, P.; Brugnera, R.; Calabrese, M.; Cecchetti, A.; Cecchini, S.; Chernyavskiy, M.; Dal Corso, F.; Dalkarov, O.; Del Prete, A.; De Robertis, G.; De Serio, M.; Di Ferdinando, D.; Dusini, S.; Dzhatdoev, T.; Fini, R. A.; Fiore, G.; Garfagnini, A.; Guerzoni, M.; Klicek, B.; Kose, U.; Jakovcic, K.; Laurenti, G.; Lippi, I.; Loddo, F.; Longhin, A.; Malenica, M.; Mancarella, G.; Mandrioli, G.; Margiotta, A.; Marsella, G.; Mauri, N.; Medinaceli, E.; Mingazheva, R.; Morgunova, O.; Muciaccia, M. T.; Nessi, M.; Orecchini, D.; Paoloni, A.; Papadia, G.; Paparella, L.; Pasqualini, L.; Pastore, A.; Patrizii, L.; Polukhina, N.; Pozzato, M.; Roda, M.; Roganova, T.; Rosa, G.; Sahnoun, Z.; Shchedrina, T.; Simone, S.; Sirignano, C.; Sirri, G.; Spurio, M.; Stanco, L.; Starkov, N.; Stipcevic, M.; Surdo, A.; Tenti, M.; Togo, V.; Vladymyrov, M.

2017-01-01

The NESSiE Collaboration has been setup to undertake a conclusive experiment to clarify the muon-neutrino disappearance measurements at short baselines in order to put severe constraints to models with more than the three-standard neutrinos. To this aim the current FNAL-Booster neutrino beam for a Short-Baseline experiment was carefully evaluated by considering the use of magnetic spectrometers at two sites, near and far ones. The detector locations were studied, together with the achievable performances of two OPERA-like spectrometers. The study was constrained by the availability of existing hardware and a time-schedule compatible with the undergoing project of multi-site Liquid-Argon detectors at FNAL. The settled physics case and the kind of proposed experiment on the Booster neutrino beam would definitively clarify the existing tension between the ν _{μ } disappearance and the ν e appearance/disappearance at the eV mass scale. In the context of neutrino oscillations the measurement of ν _{μ } disappearance is a robust and fast approach to either reject or discover new neutrino states at the eV mass scale. We discuss an experimental program able to extend by more than one order of magnitude (for neutrino disappearance) and by almost one order of magnitude (for antineutrino disappearance) the present range of sensitivity for the mixing angle between standard and sterile neutrinos. These extensions are larger than those achieved in any other proposal presented so far.

Building blocks of a fish head: Developmental and variational modularity in a complex system.

PubMed

Lehoux, Caroline; Cloutier, Richard

2015-11-01

Evolution of the vertebrate skull is developmentally constrained by the interactions among its anatomical systems, such as the dermatocranium and the sensory system. The interaction between the dermal bones and lateral line canals has been debated for decades but their morphological integration has never been tested. An ontogenetic series of 97 juvenile and adult Amia calva (Actinopterygii) was used to describe the patterning and modularity of sensory lateral line canals and their integration with supporting cranial bones. Developmental modules were tested for the otic canal and supratemporal commissure by computing correlations in the branching sequence of groups of pores. Landmarks were digitized on 25 specimens to test a priori hypotheses of variational and developmental modularity at the level of canals and dermal bones. Branching sequence suggests a specific patterning supported by significant positive correlations in the sequence of appearance of branches between bilateral sides. Differences in patterning between the otic canal and the supratemporal commissure and tests of modularity with geometric morphometrics suggest that both canals form distinct modules. The integration between bones and canals was insufficient to detect a module. However, both components were not independent. Groups of pores tended to disappear without affecting other groups of pores suggesting that they are quasi-independent units acting as modules. This study provides evidence of a hierarchical organization for the modular sensory system that could explain variation of pattern of canals among species and their association with dermal bones. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Liquid-liquid transition in ST2 water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Palmer, Jeremy C.; Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z.; Debenedetti, Pablo G.

2012-12-01

We use the weighted histogram analysis method [S. Kumar, D. Bouzida, R. H. Swendsen, P. A. Kollman, and J. M. Rosenberg, J. Comput. Chem. 13, 1011 (1992), 10.1002/jcc.540130812] to calculate the free energy surface of the ST2 model of water as a function of density and bond-orientational order. We perform our calculations at deeply supercooled conditions (T = 228.6 K, P = 2.2 kbar; T = 235 K, P = 2.2 kbar) and focus our attention on the region of bond-orientational order that is relevant to disordered phases. We find a first-order transition between a low-density liquid (LDL, ρ ≈ 0.9 g/cc) and a high-density liquid (HDL, ρ ≈ 1.15 g/cc), confirming our earlier sampling of the free energy surface of this model as a function of density [Y. Liu, A. Z. Panagiotopoulos, and P. G. Debenedetti, J. Chem. Phys. 131, 104508 (2009), 10.1063/1.3229892]. We demonstrate the disappearance of the LDL basin at high pressure and of the HDL basin at low pressure, in agreement with independent simulations of the system's equation of state. Consistency between directly computed and reweighted free energies, as well as between free energy surfaces computed using different thermodynamic starting conditions, confirms proper equilibrium sampling. Diffusion and structural relaxation calculations demonstrate that equilibration of the LDL phase, which exhibits slow dynamics, is attained in the course of the simulations. Repeated flipping between the LDL and HDL phases in the course of long molecular dynamics runs provides further evidence of a phase transition. We use the Ewald summation with vacuum boundary conditions to calculate long-ranged Coulombic interactions and show that conducting boundary conditions lead to unphysical behavior at low temperatures.

Dynamic memory of a single voltage-gated potassium ion channel: A stochastic nonequilibrium thermodynamic analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Banerjee, Kinshuk, E-mail: kbpchem@gmail.com

2015-05-14

In this work, we have studied the stochastic response of a single voltage-gated potassium ion channel to a periodic external voltage that keeps the system out-of-equilibrium. The system exhibits memory, resulting from time-dependent driving, that is reflected in terms of dynamic hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics. The hysteresis loop area has a maximum at some intermediate voltage frequency and disappears in the limits of low and high frequencies. However, the (average) dissipation at long-time limit increases and finally goes to saturation with rising frequency. This raises the question: how diminishing hysteresis can be associated with growing dissipation? To answer this,more » we have studied the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of the system and analyzed different thermodynamic functions which also exhibit hysteresis. Interestingly, by applying a temporal symmetry analysis in the high-frequency limit, we have analytically shown that hysteresis in some of the periodic responses of the system does not vanish. On the contrary, the rates of free energy and internal energy change of the system as well as the rate of dissipative work done on the system show growing hysteresis with frequency. Hence, although the current-voltage hysteresis disappears in the high-frequency limit, the memory of the ion channel is manifested through its specific nonequilibrium thermodynamic responses.« less

Sustained trilineage recovery and disappearance of abnormal chromosome clone in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome following combination therapy with cytokines (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and erythropoietin) and high-dose methylprednisolone.

PubMed

Imai, Y; Fukuoka, T; Nakatani, A; Ohsaka, A; Takahashi, A

1996-04-01

We report a case of hypoplastic myelodyplastic syndrome (MDS) (refractory anemia (RA)) in which sustained trilineage haematological response and persistent disappearance of an abnormal chromosome clone were achieved after treatment with combination therapy of cytokines (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and erythropoietin (Epo)) and methylprednisolone (mPSL) pulse dose. The patient's haematological recovery was rapid and maintained even after cessation of the therapy. In addition, the predominant chromosome clone 13q- in bone marrow cells disappeared in the fourth week. The patient's improved bone marrow haemopoiesis and disappearance of the abnormal chromosome has continued to the present, 13 months after treatment. The occurrence of both trilineage response and abnormal chromosome disappearance in MDS patients treated with cytokine(s) or steroids is rare. Combination therapy might therefore be advantageous in MDS.

The solar ionisation rate deduced from Ulysses measurements and its implications to interplanetary Lyman alpha-intensity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Summanen, T.; Kyroelae, E.

1995-01-01

We have developed a computer code which can be used to study 3-dimensional and time-dependent effects of the solar cycle on the interplanetary (IP) hydrogen distribution. The code is based on the inverted Monte Carlo simulation. In this work we have modelled the temporal behaviour of the solar ionisation rate. We have assumed that during the most of the time of the solar cycle there is an anisotopic latitudinal structure but right at the solar maximum the anisotropy disappears. The effects of this behaviour will be discussed both in regard to the IP hydrogen distribution and IP Lyman a a-intensity.

Web-Based Consumer Health Information: Public Access, Digital Division, and Remainders

PubMed Central

Lorence, Daniel; Park, Heeyoung

2006-01-01

Public access Internet portals and decreasing costs of personal computers have created a growing consensus that unequal access to information, or a “digital divide,” has largely disappeared for US consumers. A series of technology initiatives in the late 1990s were believed to have largely eliminated the divide. For healthcare patients, access to information is an essential part of the consumer-centric framework outlined in the recently proposed national health information initiative. Data from a recent study of health information-seeking behaviors on the Internet suggest that a “digitally underserved group” persists, effectively limiting the planned national health information infrastructure to wealthier Americans. PMID:16926743

Industrial Arts/Technology: What Are We Doing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howlett, James; Huff, Brad

2007-01-01

The push to prepare all students for college has resulted in the near disappearance of high school industrial arts courses. This trend is exemplified by California high schools' adherence to the University of California and California State University systems' prescribed courses, called the "A to G" requirements, which students must take…

Continental-scale increase in stream and lake phosphorus: Are oligotrophic systems disappearing in the U.S.?

EPA Science Inventory

Phosphorus (P) is one of two nutrients that most commonly limit the productivity of freshwater ecosystems. Widespread increases in stream and lake total phosphorus (TP) concentrations over the period 2000-2014 were identified through periodic probability surveys of thousands of w...

Gallium scan in intracerebral sarcoidosis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makhija, M.C.; Anayiotos, C.P.

1981-07-01

Sarcoidosis involving the nervous system probably occurs in about 4% of patients. The usefulness of brain scintigraphy in these cases has been suggested. In this case of cerebral sarcoid granuloma, gallium imaging demonstrated the lesion before treatment and showed disappearance of the lesion after corticosteroid treatment, which correlated with the patient's clinical improvement.

New Zealand health reforms: effect on ophthalmic practice.

PubMed

Raynel, S; Reynolds, H

1999-01-01

Are specialized ophthalmic units with inpatient facilities going to disappear in the New Zealand public health system? We have entered the era of cost containment, business methodologies, bench marking, day case surgery, and technologic advances. The dilemma for nursing is maintenance of a skill base with dwindling clinical practice areas.

Intralacrimal migration of Masterka® stents.

PubMed

Fayet, B; Racy, E; Katowitz, W R; Katowitz, J A; Ruban, J-M; Brémond-Gignac, D

2018-03-01

Tearing and conjunctivitis in children are commonly due to lacrimal drainage system obstruction. Congenital nasolacrimal obstruction is a common pathology treated by probing with or without silicone stent insertion, depending upon the age of the child. The silicone stent is self-retaining and placed for at least one month. Masterka ® is a recent version of Monoka ® , which may lead to the same surgical complications, such as intralacrimal migration. The medical records of two patients surgically treated with the Masterka ® probe for nasolacrimal duct obstruction, who developed intralacrimal migration of the stent, were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. A 41-month-old child and an 18-month-old child presented with disappearance of the silicone tube after 7 days and 2 years respectively. In the first case, the tube migrated completely within the lacrimal system and became externalized through the nose at 2 years, while in the second case, the Masterka ® was retrieved through a canalicular approach. In both cases, infants had no further tearing. The frequency self-retaining stent disappearance is estimated at 15%. Among these cases, intralacrimal migration is only reported in 0.5% of cases. To prevent intralacrimal migration, the surgical technique must follow a certain number of rules. Management, based on residual epiphora, is discussed. Prevention of intralacrimal migration of self-retaining stents involves a rigorous analysis of the relationship between the meatus and the fixation head at the time of placement. After lacrimal intubation, scheduled monitoring is necessary to screen for stent disappearance. Management is based on clinical findings, anterior rhinoscopy and even exploratory canaliculotomy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Comparison of three techniques for estimating the forage intake of lactating dairy cows on pasture.

PubMed

Macoon, B; Sollenberger, L E; Moore, J E; Staples, C R; Fike, J H; Portier, K M

2003-09-01

Quantifying DMI is necessary for estimation of nutrient consumption by ruminants, but it is inherently difficult on grazed pastures and even more so when supplements are fed. Our objectives were to compare three methods of estimating forage DMI (inference from animal performance, evaluation from fecal output using a pulse-dose marker, and estimation from herbage disappearance methods) and to identify the most useful approach or combination of approaches for estimating pasture intake by lactating dairy cows. During three continuous 28-d periods in the winter season, Holstein cows (Bos taurus; n = 32) grazed a cool-season grass or a cool-season grass-clover mixture at two stocking rates (SR; 5 vs. 2.5 cows/ha) and were fed two rates of concentrate supplementation (CS; 1 kg of concentrate [as-fed] per 2.5 or 3.5 kg of milk produced). Animal response data used in computations for the animal performance method were obtained from the latter 14 d of each period. For the pulse-dose marker method, chromium-mordanted fiber was used. Pasture sampling to determine herbage disappearance was done weekly throughout the study. Forage DMI estimated by the animal performance method was different among periods (P < 0.001; 6.5, 6.4, and 9.6 kg/d for Periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively), between SR (P < 0.001; 8.7 [low SR] vs. 6.3 kg/d [high SR]) and between CS (P < 0.01; 8.4 [low CS] vs. 6.6 kg/d [high CS]). The period and SR effect seemed to be related to forage mass. The pulse-dose marker method generally provided greater estimates of forage DMI (as much as 11.0 kg/d more than the animal performance method) and was not correlated with the other methods. Estimates of forage DMI by the herbage disappearance method were correlated with the animal performance method. The difference between estimates from these two methods, ranging from -4.7 to 5.4 kg/d, were much lower than their difference from pulse-dose marker estimates. The results of this study suggest that, when appropriate for the research objectives, the animal performance or herbage disappearance methods may be useful and less costly alternatives to using the pulse-dose method.

Reasoning the causality of city sprawl, traffic congestion, and green land disappearance in Taiwan using the CLD model.

PubMed

Chen, Mei-Chih; Chang, Kaowen

2014-11-06

Many city governments choose to supply more developable land and transportation infrastructure with the hope of attracting people and businesses to their cities. However, like those in Taiwan, major cities worldwide suffer from traffic congestion. This study applies the system thinking logic of the causal loops diagram (CLD) model in the System Dynamics (SD) approach to analyze the issue of traffic congestion and other issues related to roads and land development in Taiwan's cities. Comparing the characteristics of development trends with yearbook data for 2002 to 2013 for all of Taiwan's cities, this study explores the developing phenomenon of unlimited city sprawl and identifies the cause and effect relationships in the characteristics of development trends in traffic congestion, high-density population aggregation in cities, land development, and green land disappearance resulting from city sprawl. This study provides conclusions for Taiwan's cities' sustainability and development (S&D). When developing S&D policies, during decision making processes concerning city planning and land use management, governments should think with a holistic view of carrying capacity with the assistance of system thinking to clarify the prejudices in favor of the unlimited developing phenomena resulting from city sprawl.

Mathematical model for the growth of phases in binary multiphase systems upon isothermic annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molokhina, L. A.; Rogalin, V. E.; Filin, S. A.; Kaplunov, I. A.

2017-09-01

A phenomenological mathematical model of the formation and growth of phases in a binary multiphase system with allowance for factors influencing the process of diffusion in a binary system is presented. It is shown that phases can grow for a certain time at different ratios between diffusion parameters according to a parabolic law that depends on the duration of isothermic annealing. They then slow their growth after successor phases appear at their interface with one component and can completely disappear from a diffusion layer or begin to grow again, but only at a rate slower than during their initial formation. The dependence of the thickness of each phase layer in a multiphase diffusion zone on the duration of isothermic annealing and the ratio between the diffusion parameters in neighboring phases is obtained. It is established that a certain ratio between the phase growth and rates of dissolution with allowance for the coefficients of diffusion in each phase and the periods of incubation can result in the complete disappearance of one phase as early as the onset of the growth of phase nuclei and be interpreted as a process of reaction diffusion.

Characterising groundwater dynamics in Western Victoria, Australia using Menyanthes software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woldeyohannes, Yohannes; Webb, John

2010-05-01

Water table across much of the western Victoria, Australia have been declining for at least the last 10-15 years, and this is attributed to the consistently low rainfall for these years, but over the same period of time there has been substantial change in land use, with grazing land replaced by cropping and tree plantations appearing in some areas. Hence, it is important to determine the relative effect the climate and land use factors on the water table changes. Monitoring changes in groundwater levels to climate variables and/or land use change is helpful in indicating the degree of threat faced to agricultural and public assets. The dynamics of the groundwater system in the western Victoria, mainly on the basalt plain, have been modelled to determine the climatic influence in water table fluctuations. In this study, a standardized computer package Menyanthes was used for quantifying the influence of climatic variables on the groundwater level, statistically estimating trends in groundwater levels and identify the properties that determine the dynamics of groundwater system. This method is optimized for use on hydrological problems and is based on the use of continuous time transfer function noise model, which estimates the Impulse response function of the system from the temporal correlation between time series of groundwater level and precipitation surplus. In this approach, the spatial differences in the groundwater system are determined by the system properties, while temporal variation is driven by the dynamics of the input into the system. 80 time series models are analysed and the model output parameter values characterized by their moments. The zero-order moment Mo of a distribution function is its area and M1 is related to the mean of the impulse response function. The relation is M1/Mo. It is a measure of the system's memory. It takes approximately 3 times the mean time (M1/Mo) for the effect of a shower to disappear completely from the system. Overall, the model fitted the data well, explaining 89% (median value of R2) of variation in groundwater level using the climatic variables (rainfall and evaporation) left without significant trend (-0.046 m/yr, on average), which is within the range of variable input standard error. The average estimated system response (memory to disappear) is 5.2 years which is less than by 1/10th of the previously estimated time using Ground Water Flow System approach. The average Mo is 1.45 m, which means that a precipitation of 365 mm/yr will eventually lead to a ground water level rise of 1.45 m on the location. The Menyanthes result is compared with HARTT (Hydrograph Analysis and Time Trends) method. The trend and Mo estimate using Menyanthes and HARTT show comparable result. From a time series analysis there is no indication that the groundwater table was rising/falling due to changes in landuse, at least not during the observation period.

Building Higher Doctoral Programs to Drive Faculty Development: Concepts for Integrating a European Model in the U.S. Higher Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caudill, Jason G.

2016-01-01

This paper provides an introductory discussion of the value and theoretical structure of a higher doctorate in American academia. The theory is that such a structure would help to guide academic careers and provide a credentialing system that is absent in most accrediting processes and disappearing with the decline of tenure. The goal is to ignite…

An artificial Kepler dichotomy? Implications for the coplanarity of planetary systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bovaird, Timothy; Lineweaver, Charles H.

2016-10-01

We challenge the assumptions present in previous efforts to model the ensemble of detected Kepler systems, which require a dichotomous stellar population of `fertile' and `sterile' planet producing stars. We remove the assumption of Rayleigh distributed mutual inclinations between planets and show that the need for two distinct stellar populations disappears when the inner part of planetary disks are assumed to be flat, rather than flared.

Pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail associated with chronic pancreatitis successfully treated by transpapillary cyst drainage.

PubMed

Naitoh, Itaru; Ohara, Hirotaka; Okayama, Yasutaka; Nakazawa, Takahiro; Ando, Tomoaki; Hayashi, Kazuki; Okumura, Fumihiro; Kitajima, Yasuhiro; Ban, Tessin; Miyabe, Katsuyuki; Ueno, Koichiro; Joh, Takashi; Sano, Hitoshi

2008-09-01

We report a 50-year-old male with pseudocysts in the pancreatic tail associated with chronic pancreatitis successfully treated by transpapillary cyst drainage. He had previously undergone ultrasonography-guided percutaneous cyst drainage for a pancreatic pseudocyst in our hospital. He was readmitted due to abdominal pain and fever. Computed tomography showed recurrence of a pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail measuring 5 cm in diameter. Since conservative treatment failed, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography was performed. There was communication between the pseudocyst and the main pancreatic duct, and pancreatic duct stenosis proximal to the pseudocyst. First, transpapillary pancreatic duct drainage was performed using a plastic stent, but the pseudocyst did not decrease in size and became infected. After removal of the stent, a pigtail type nasocystic catheter was placed in the pseudocyst via the pancreatic duct. The pseudocyst infection immediately disappeared, and the pseudocyst gradually decreased and disappeared. After removal of the nasocystic catheter, no recurrence was observed. As transpapillary drainage of pancreatic pseudocyst, cyst drainage and pancreatic duct drainage have been reported. In our patient with pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail, duct drainage was ineffective and the pseudocyst was infected, whereas cyst drainage was very effective. We considered that cyst drainage by a nasocystic catheter was the first-line therapy as the transpapillary drainage of the pancreatic pseudocyst.

Object Permanence After a 24-Hr Delay and Leaving the Locale of Disappearance: The Role of Memory, Space, and Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, M. Keith; Meltzoff, Andrew N.

2004-01-01

Fourteen-month-old infants saw an object hidden inside a container and were removed from the disappearance locale for 24 hr. Upon their return, they searched correctly for the hidden object, demonstrating object permanence and long-term memory. Control infants who saw no disappearance did not search. In Experiment 2, infants returned to see the…

Absolute negative mobility in the anomalous diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ruyin; Chen, Chongyang; Nie, Linru

2017-12-01

Transport of an inertial Brownian particle driven by the multiplicative Lévy noise was investigated here. Numerical results indicate that: (i) The Lévy noise is able to induce absolute negative mobility (ANM) in the system, while disappearing in the deterministic case; (ii) the ANM can occur in the region of superdiffusion while disappearing in the region of normal diffusion, and the appropriate stable index of the Lévy noise makes the particle move along the opposite direction of the bias force to the maximum degree; (iii) symmetry breaking of the Lévy noise also causes the ANM effect. In addition, the intrinsic physical mechanism and conditions for the ANM to occur are discussed in detail. Our results have the implication that the Lévy noise plays an important role in the occurrence of the ANM phenomenon.

3D Reconstruction of Chick Embryo Vascular Geometries Using Non-invasive High-Frequency Ultrasound for Computational Fluid Dynamics Studies.

PubMed

Tan, Germaine Xin Yi; Jamil, Muhammad; Tee, Nicole Gui Zhen; Zhong, Liang; Yap, Choon Hwai

2015-11-01

Recent animal studies have provided evidence that prenatal blood flow fluid mechanics may play a role in the pathogenesis of congenital cardiovascular malformations. To further these researches, it is important to have an imaging technique for small animal embryos with sufficient resolution to support computational fluid dynamics studies, and that is also non-invasive and non-destructive to allow for subject-specific, longitudinal studies. In the current study, we developed such a technique, based on ultrasound biomicroscopy scans on chick embryos. Our technique included a motion cancelation algorithm to negate embryonic body motion, a temporal averaging algorithm to differentiate blood spaces from tissue spaces, and 3D reconstruction of blood volumes in the embryo. The accuracy of the reconstructed models was validated with direct stereoscopic measurements. A computational fluid dynamics simulation was performed to model fluid flow in the generated construct of a Hamburger-Hamilton (HH) stage 27 embryo. Simulation results showed that there were divergent streamlines and a low shear region at the carotid duct, which may be linked to the carotid duct's eventual regression and disappearance by HH stage 34. We show that our technique has sufficient resolution to produce accurate geometries for computational fluid dynamics simulations to quantify embryonic cardiovascular fluid mechanics.

Study of the effect of bacteria on the disappearance and transformation of CO in the sealed fire zone of coal mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Xiaowei; Wu, Shibo; Deng, Jun; Yang, Yifan; Jiang, Hua; Wang, Kai

2017-01-01

When the underground coal mine gob area has been sealed due to the coal spontaneous combustion, under the low oxygen and potentially high temperature environment, the CO concentration could drop sharply and disappear quickly. But it could rise rapidly after re-opening. These indicate that the disappearance is the only index for coal burnt out. In order to find a way how let CO disappear, experiments have been conducted using the newly developed experiment setup for three samples, raw, watered and bacteria-free coal sample. The CO and CO2 concentration have been monitored and analyzed. The results show the bacteria in the coal do consume CO and increase the chance of CO transfer to CO2. These results reveal how let CO disappear in a sealed zone from a new aspect. And the accuracy was improved when used gas index to determine combustion status for coal spontaneous combustion.

A visual stethoscope to detect the position of the tracheal tube.

PubMed

Kato, Hiromi; Suzuki, Akira; Nakajima, Yoshiki; Makino, Hiroshi; Sanjo, Yoshimitsu; Nakai, Takayoshi; Shiraishi, Yoshito; Katoh, Takasumi; Sato, Shigehito

2009-12-01

Advancing a tracheal tube into the bronchus produces unilateral breath sounds. We created a Visual Stethoscope that allows real-time fast Fourier transformation of the sound signal and 3-dimensional (frequency-amplitude-time) color rendering of the results on a personal computer with simultaneous processing of 2 individual sound signals. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the Visual Stethoscope can detect bronchial intubation in comparison with auscultation. After induction of general anesthesia, the trachea was intubated with a tracheal tube. The distance from the incisors to the carina was measured using a fiberoptic bronchoscope. While the anesthesiologist advanced the tracheal tube from the trachea to the bronchus, another anesthesiologist auscultated breath sounds to detect changes of the breath sounds and/or disappearance of bilateral breath sounds for every 1 cm that the tracheal tube was advanced. Two precordial stethoscopes placed at the left and right sides of the chest were used to record breath sounds simultaneously. Subsequently, at a later date, we randomly entered the recorded breath sounds into the Visual Stethoscope. The same anesthesiologist observed the visualized breath sounds on the personal computer screen processed by the Visual Stethoscope to examine changes of breath sounds and/or disappearance of bilateral breath sound. We compared the decision made based on auscultation with that made based on the results of the visualized breath sounds using the Visual Stethoscope. Thirty patients were enrolled in the study. When irregular breath sounds were auscultated, the tip of the tracheal tube was located at 0.6 +/- 1.2 cm on the bronchial side of the carina. Using the Visual Stethoscope, when there were any changes of the shape of the visualized breath sound, the tube was located at 0.4 +/- 0.8 cm on the tracheal side of the carina (P < 0.01). When unilateral breath sounds were auscultated, the tube was located at 2.6 +/- 1.2 cm on the bronchial side of the carina. The tube was also located at 2.3 +/- 1.0 cm on the bronchial side of the carina when a unilateral shape of visualized breath sounds was obtained using the Visual Stethoscope (not significant). During advancement of the tracheal tube, alterations of the shape of the visualized breath sounds using the Visual Stethoscope appeared before the changes of the breath sounds were detected by auscultation. Bilateral breath sounds disappeared when the tip of the tracheal tube was advanced beyond the carina in both groups.

Separating Rhetoric from Reality: Supporting Teachers in Negotiating Beyond the Status Quo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Susi

2004-01-01

Across the country, new and experienced teachers find themselves losing the confidence and energy it takes to challenge an unacceptable status quo. Too often, dynamic educators disappear within systems that are antithetical to what they envisioned when they entered the profession or they leave the profession altogether. This article describes the…

Vocational Preferences of Early Adolescents: Their Development in Social Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vondracek, Fred W.; Silbereisen, Rainer K.; Reitzle, Matthias; Wiesner, Margit

1999-01-01

This study compared the timing of early vocational preferences in young adolescents from former East Germany and West Germany. Results suggested that as the memory of the Communist system fades and as younger adolescents have had less exposure to it, East-West differences tend to disappear. The formation of early vocational preferences was…

Before Ritalin: Children and Neurasthenia in the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakker, Nelleke

2010-01-01

This article is concerned with the history of the neurological disorder that preceded ADHD: "neurasthenia" or nervousness, conceived of as a functional disease of the nervous system. Around 1900 it appeared on the scene of children's disorders and it disappeared at the time of the pharmacological turn in psychiatry by the late 1960s. In…

"We Treat Them All the Same, But…". Disappearing Ethnic Homogeneity in Czech Classrooms and Teachers' Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarkovská, Lucie; Lišková, Katerina; Obrovská, Jana

2015-01-01

This article argues that the Czech education system is structured to operate in an ethnically homogeneous society. Although the Czech Republic is becoming increasingly heterogeneous, teachers deploy discursive practices of "sameness despite difference" that obscure such growing diversity. This article is grounded in the historical…

Image and Integrate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starkman, Neal

2007-01-01

Carol Harrison is the registrar at the College of Southern Maryland, and back in the days of paper, she used to have a problem: keeping track of students' records, especially as they moved from one department to another, and through one process or system after another. It wasn't that the records disappeared; they were just, well, occasionally hard…

Resistance and resilience of alpine lake fauna to fish introductions

Treesearch

R.A. Knapp; K.R. Matthews; O. Sarnelle

2001-01-01

Abstract. This paper reports on the response by amphibians, benthic macroinvertebrates, and zooplankton in naturally fishless alpine lakes to fish introductions and subsequent fish disappearance. We assessed resistance (the degree to which a system is altered when the environment changes) by comparing faunal distribution and abundance in lakes that have never been...

Creativity, Magic and Morality: The Dilemma of the Young Gifted Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buescher, Thomas M.

1979-01-01

The article explores the dilemma of young gifted children (ages 4-8 years) in the evolution and resolution of their own system of morality. The author explains that research and observation has revealed a systematic appearance and disappearance of magical thinking (the hallmark of the onset of reasoning) in four stages. (PHR)

Training in Flux

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Corey; Keen, Larry

2008-01-01

When Martin Lancaster took over as president of the North Carolina Community College System more than a decade ago, the state, not unlike much of the nation, stood at the precipice of a massive economic shift. As traditional manufacturing and farming jobs--from tobacco to furniture to textiles--began to disappear, demand for a new breed of worker…

Extrinsic grouping factors in motion-induced blindness

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

We investigated how various grouping factors altered subjective disappearances of the individual targets in the motion-induced blindness display. The latter relies on a moving mask to render highly salient static targets temporarily subjectively invisible. Specifically, we employed two extrinsic grouping factors, the connectedness and the common region, and examined whether their presence would make targets more resilient against the suppression. In addition, we investigated whether the presence of an illusory Kanizsa triangle would affect the suppression of the inducing Pac-Man elements. We quantified the perceptual dynamics using the proportion of the disappearance time (this indicates whether targets became more resilient against the suppression), and the proportion of simultaneous disappearance and reappearance events (characterizes the tendency for the targets to disappear or reappear as a group). We report that a single mask that encompassed all targets (a common region grouping) significantly increased the proportion of simultaneous disappearance and reappearance events, but had no effect on the proportion of the disappearance time. In contrast, a line that connected two targets significantly decreased the total invisibility time, but had no impact on the simultaneity of the disappearance and reappearance events. We found no statistically significant effect of the presence of the illusory Kanizsa triangle on either measure. Finally, we found no interaction either between the common region and the connectedness or between the common region and the presence of the illusory Kanizsa triangle. Our results indicate that extrinsic grouping factors might influence the perception differently than the intrinsic ones and highlight the importance of using several measures to characterize the perceptual dynamics, as various grouping factors might affect it differentially. PMID:29381747

Papulonodular mucinosis in a suspected systemic lupus erythematosus patient.

PubMed

Ausavarungnirun, Rujikan; Srisuttiyakorn, Chutika

2014-02-01

We present a 45-years-old suspected systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) woman who had papulonodular mucinosis (PNM), without other cutaneous LE lesion. The lesions of PNM distributed on both legs which were an unusual location. In addition, the renal involvement was found and suspected from lupus nephritis. The patient was treated with prednisolone, mycofenolate mofetil and chloroquine. After 2 months of follow-up, the renal involvement was improved along with the disappearance ofskin lesions.

Estimating the Information Extracted by a Single Spiking Neuron from a Continuous Input Time Series.

PubMed

Zeldenrust, Fleur; de Knecht, Sicco; Wadman, Wytse J; Denève, Sophie; Gutkin, Boris

2017-01-01

Understanding the relation between (sensory) stimuli and the activity of neurons (i.e., "the neural code") lies at heart of understanding the computational properties of the brain. However, quantifying the information between a stimulus and a spike train has proven to be challenging. We propose a new ( in vitro ) method to measure how much information a single neuron transfers from the input it receives to its output spike train. The input is generated by an artificial neural network that responds to a randomly appearing and disappearing "sensory stimulus": the hidden state. The sum of this network activity is injected as current input into the neuron under investigation. The mutual information between the hidden state on the one hand and spike trains of the artificial network or the recorded spike train on the other hand can easily be estimated due to the binary shape of the hidden state. The characteristics of the input current, such as the time constant as a result of the (dis)appearance rate of the hidden state or the amplitude of the input current (the firing frequency of the neurons in the artificial network), can independently be varied. As an example, we apply this method to pyramidal neurons in the CA1 of mouse hippocampi and compare the recorded spike trains to the optimal response of the "Bayesian neuron" (BN). We conclude that like in the BN, information transfer in hippocampal pyramidal cells is non-linear and amplifying: the information loss between the artificial input and the output spike train is high if the input to the neuron (the firing of the artificial network) is not very informative about the hidden state. If the input to the neuron does contain a lot of information about the hidden state, the information loss is low. Moreover, neurons increase their firing rates in case the (dis)appearance rate is high, so that the (relative) amount of transferred information stays constant.

Phenomenal permanence and the development of predictive tracking in infancy.

PubMed

Bertenthal, Bennett I; Longo, Matthew R; Kenny, Sarah

2007-01-01

The perceived spatiotemporal continuity of objects depends on the way they appear and disappear as they move in the spatial layout. This study investigated whether infants' predictive tracking of a briefly occluded object is sensitive to the manner by which the object disappears and reappears. Five-, 7-, and 9-month-old infants were shown a ball rolling across a visual scene and briefly disappearing via kinetic occlusion, instantaneous disappearance, implosion, or virtual occlusion. Three different measures converged to show that predictive tracking increased with age and that infants were most likely to anticipate the reappearance of the ball following kinetic occlusion. These results suggest that infants' knowledge of the permanence and nonpermanence of objects is embodied in their predictive tracking.

BOOK REVIEW: Numerical Recipes in C++: The Art of Scientific Computing (2nd edn)1 Numerical Recipes Example Book (C++) (2nd edn)2 Numerical Recipes Multi-Language Code CD ROM with LINUX or UNIX Single-Screen License Revised Version3Numerical Recipes in C++: The Art of Scientific Computing (2nd edn) Numerical Recipes Example Book (C++) (2nd edn) Numerical Recipes Multi-Language Code CD ROM with LINUX or UNIX Single-Screen License Revised Version

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Press, William H.; Teukolsky, Saul A.; Vettering, William T.; Flannery, Brian P.

2003-05-01

The two Numerical Recipes books are marvellous. The principal book, The Art of Scientific Computing, contains program listings for almost every conceivable requirement, and it also contains a well written discussion of the algorithms and the numerical methods involved. The Example Book provides a complete driving program, with helpful notes, for nearly all the routines in the principal book. The first edition of Numerical Recipes: The Art of Scientific Computing was published in 1986 in two versions, one with programs in Fortran, the other with programs in Pascal. There were subsequent versions with programs in BASIC and in C. The second, enlarged edition was published in 1992, again in two versions, one with programs in Fortran (NR(F)), the other with programs in C (NR(C)). In 1996 the authors produced Numerical Recipes in Fortran 90: The Art of Parallel Scientific Computing as a supplement, called Volume 2, with the original (Fortran) version referred to as Volume 1. Numerical Recipes in C++ (NR(C++)) is another version of the 1992 edition. The numerical recipes are also available on a CD ROM: if you want to use any of the recipes, I would strongly advise you to buy the CD ROM. The CD ROM contains the programs in all the languages. When the first edition was published I bought it, and have also bought copies of the other editions as they have appeared. Anyone involved in scientific computing ought to have a copy of at least one version of Numerical Recipes, and there also ought to be copies in every library. If you already have NR(F), should you buy the NR(C++) and, if not, which version should you buy? In the preface to Volume 2 of NR(F), the authors say 'C and C++ programmers have not been far from our minds as we have written this volume, and we think that you will find that time spent in absorbing its principal lessons will be amply repaid in the future as C and C++ eventually develop standard parallel extensions'. In the preface and introduction to NR(C++), the authors point out some of the problems in the use of C++ in scientific computing. I have not found any mention of parallel computing in NR(C++). Fortran has quite a lot going for it. As someone who has used it in most of its versions from Fortran II, I have seen it develop and leave behind other languages promoted by various enthusiasts: who now uses Algol or Pascal? I think it unlikely that C++ will disappear: it was devised as a systems language, and can also be used for other purposes such as scientific computing. It is possible that Fortran will disappear, but Fortran has the strengths that it can develop, that there are extensive Fortran subroutine libraries, and that it has been developed for parallel computing. To argue with programmers as to which is the best language to use is sterile. If you wish to use C++, then buy NR(C++), but you should also look at volume 2 of NR(F). If you are a Fortran programmer, then make sure you have NR(F), volumes 1 and 2. But whichever language you use, make sure you have one version or the other, and the CD ROM. The Example Book provides listings of complete programs to run nearly all the routines in NR, frequently based on cases where an anlytical solution is available. It is helpful when developing a new program incorporating an unfamiliar routine to see that routine actually working, and this is what the programs in the Example Book achieve. I started teaching computational physics before Numerical Recipes was published. If I were starting again, I would make heavy use of both The Art of Scientific Computing and of the Example Book. Every computational physics teaching laboratory should have both volumes: the programs in the Example Book are included on the CD ROM, but the extra commentary in the book itself is of considerable value. P Borcherds

Extracorporeal albumin dialysis: a procedure for prolonged relief of intractable pruritus in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

PubMed

Parés, Albert; Cisneros, Laura; Salmerón, Joan M; Caballería, Llorenç; Mas, Antoni; Torras, Albert; Rodés, Juan

2004-06-01

Pruritus is a distressing symptom in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, and when uncontrollable it is an indication for liver transplantation. Since pruritus can result from unknown substances that accumulate systemically as a consequence of impaired biliary secretion, we have assessed whether a new extracorporeal albumin dialysis (ECAD) procedure, the molecular-adsorbing recirculating system-MARS, has any effect on pruritus of cholestasis. Four patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and resistant pruritus were treated with two 7-h ECAD sessions 1 day apart. Pruritus was recorded from 15 days before the first session, before and after each session, and during the follow-up using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Standard liver tests as well as serum bile acid levels were also measured. There was a clear association between ECAD treatment and relief of itching, which promptly disappeared in two patients, or decreased markedly in the other two. One patient was free of pruritus for 18 months except for short periods with mild pruritus. The second patient experienced amelioration of itching, which almost disappeared completely and recurred mildly 4 months later. In the other two patients pruritus was alleviated markedly after ECAD but gradually recurred. These two patients were treated again 9 and 7 months later with favorable effects on pruritus. The scratching skin lesions improved or disappeared in parallel with the alleviation of itching. The albumin dialysis procedure did not result in liver test changes, except for circulating bile acids, which decreased in all the patients. No significant adverse effects were observed. The ECAD procedure seems to be an effective alternative for the treatment of patients with pruritus of cholestasis who do not respond to other therapeutic methods.

The disappearance and reformation of the accretion disc during a low state of FO Aquarii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hameury, J.-M.; Lasota, J.-P.

2017-09-01

Context. FO Aquarii, an asynchronous magnetic cataclysmic variable (intermediate polar) went into a low state in 2016, from which it slowly and steadily recovered without showing dwarf nova outbursts. This requires explanation since in a low state, the mass-transfer rate is in principle too low for the disc to be fully ionised and the disc should be subject to the standard thermal and viscous instability observed in dwarf novae. Aims: We investigate the conditions under which an accretion disc in an intermediate polar could exhibit a luminosity drop of two magnitudes in the optical band without showing outbursts. Methods: We use our numerical code for the time evolution of accretion discs, including other light sources from the system (primary, secondary, hot spot). Results: We show that although it is marginally possible for the accretion disc in the low state to stay on the hot stable branch, the required mass-transfer rate in the normal state would then have to be extremely high, of the order of 1019 g s-1 or even larger. This would make the system so intrinsically bright that its distance should be much larger than allowed by all estimates. We show that observations of FO Aqr are well accounted for by the same mechanism that we have suggested as explaining the absence of outbursts during low states of VY Scl stars: during the decay, the magnetospheric radius exceeds the circularisation radius, so that the disc disappears before it enters the instability strip for dwarf nova outbursts. Conclusions: Our results are unaffected, and even reinforced, if accretion proceeds both via the accretion disc and directly via the stream during some intermediate stages; the detailed process through which the disc disappears still requires investigation.

Microwave thermal emission from periodic surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kong, J. A.; Lin, S. L.; Chuang, S. L.

1984-01-01

The emissivity of a periodic surface is calculated from one minus the reflectivity by using the reciprocity principle. The reflectivity consists of the sum of all scattered power as determined from the modal theory which obeys both the principle of reciprocity and the principle of energy conservation. The theoretical results are matched to experimental data obtained from brightness temperature measurements as functions of viewing angle for soil moisture in plowed fields. The threshold phenomenon with regard to the appearing and disappearing of modes in their contributions to the scattered field amplitudes is discussed in connection with the theoretical results. It is shown that this approach for calculating the emissivity greatly reduces computational efforts by requiring substantially smaller matrix sizes.

Improvements in Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis and Hepatic Portal Venous Gas with Conservative Therapy in a Patient on Maintenance Dialysis.

PubMed

Torigoe, Kenta; Arai, Hideyuki; Yamashita, Ayuko; Muraya, Yoshiaki; Obata, Yoko; Nishino, Tomoya

2016-01-01

A 77-year-old man on maintenance dialysis developed hypotension, nausea and abdominal pain one hour after beginning to undergo hemodialysis. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) showed gas shadows in the intrahepatic portal vein and the small intestinal wall, but no signs indicating intestinal necrosis. Three days later, the gas shadows on abdominal CT disappeared by conservative therapy. In cases with both pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis and hepatic portal venous gas, intestinal necrosis should therefore be suspected and surgical therapy should also be considered, particularly in hemodialysis patients with a risk of intestinal ischemia. However, conservative therapy may be an option in cases with no intestinal necrosis.

Rapid spontaneous resolution of acute subdural haematoma in a patient with chronic alcoholism.

PubMed

Hadjigeorgiou, Georgios; Chamilos, Christos; Petsanas, Adamantios; Vranos, Georgios; Foteas, Pavlos; Spiridakis, Filokypros

2012-06-01

Acute subdural haematoma (ASDH) constitutes one of the most critical emergencies in neurosurgery. There are only several reports that show the rapid disappearance of ASDH without surgical intervention. We report a case of a 64-year-old alcoholic man who had a traumatic subdural haematoma after a fall from a height of about eight meters on level ground. The computed tomography (CT) of the brain on admission demonstrated a left parietooccipital ASDH. A follow-up CT scan after 8 hours showed resolution of the hematoma. The patient was discharged 9 days later with no neurological deficit. We discuss the possible mechanisms of the rapid resolution of the ASDH.

Conservative treatment of massive hemothorax in a girl with neuroblastoma.

PubMed

Shiokawa, Naohiro; Okamoto, Yasuhiro; Kodama, Yuichi; Nishikawa, Takuro; Tanabe, Takayuki; Mukai, Motoi; Yoshioka, Takako; Kawano, Yoshifumi

2016-10-01

We report the case of a 1-year-old girl with stage 4 neuroblastoma who developed massive hemothorax due to tumor invasion before treatment. She presented with tachypnea, worsening anemia, and oxygen desaturation. Hemothorax was diagnosed based on chest radiography, ultrasonography, and diagnostic thoracic puncture results. High neuron-specific enolase, vanillylmandelic acid, and homovanillic acid as well as computed tomography strongly supported a diagnosis of neuroblastoma. Chemotherapy along with intermittent puncture drainage, oxygen, and blood transfusion reduced the accumulated blood, and hemothorax disappeared within 1 week. Thus, it is possible to avoid invasive treatment for massive hemothorax by initiating chemotherapy for chemosensitive solid tumors, including neuroblastoma. © 2016 Japan Pediatric Society.

Advantage of vein grafts for anomalous origin of a right coronary artery.

PubMed

Kansaku, Rei; Saitoh, Hirofumi; Eguchi, Shoji; Maruyama, Yukio; Ohtsuka, Hideaki; Higuchi, Kotaro

2009-03-01

A 66-year-old man with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery suffered from chest pain. The results of coronary angiography and multidetector computer tomography indicated that the proximal right coronary artery was intermittently compressed, causing the ischemia. Coronary artery bypass grafting was regarded as a reliable treatment compared with percutaneous coronary intervention or other surgeries. Because of plentiful flow of the right coronary artery, we decided to use a vein graft to avoid competitive flow. Postoperative coronary angiography revealed intact flow in both the native coronary artery and the vein graft 1 year after the surgery. The myocardial ischemia seen on scintigraphy and the chest pain had disappeared.

The use of technetium-99m-labeled human serum albumin diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid single-photon emission CT scan in the follow-up of type II endoleak treatment.

PubMed

Nakai, Motoki; Sato, Hirotatsu; Ikoma, Akira; Sonomura, Tetsuo; Sato, Morio

2014-03-01

An 84-year-old woman presented with persistent type II endoleak with sac expansion from 57 mm to 75 mm during 4-year follow-up after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. The patient underwent transabdominal embolization with coils and N-butyl cyanoacrylate/ethiodized oil (Lipiodol; Guerbet, Villepinte, France) mixture (2.5 mL). Because of the anticipated embolization artifacts on follow-up computed tomography (CT), technetium-99m-labeled human serum albumin diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid single-photon emission computed tomography ((99m)Tc-HSAD SPECT) was performed before and after the intervention. Perigraft accumulation on (99m)Tc-HSAD SPECT corresponding to the endoleak disappeared after embolization. CT scan performed 12 months after embolization showed no signs of sac expansion. (99m)Tc-HSAD SPECT may be useful for evaluating therapeutic effect after embolization for endoleak. Copyright © 2014 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Little ice bodies, huge ice lands, and the up-going of the big water body

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ultee, E.; Bassis, J. N.

2017-12-01

Ice moving out of the huge ice lands causes the big water body to go up. That can cause bad things to happen in places close to the big water body - the land might even disappear! If that happens, people living close to the big water body might lose their homes. Knowing how much ice will come out of the huge ice lands, and when, can help the world plan for the up-going of the big water body. We study the huge ice land closest to us. All around the edge of that huge ice land, there are smaller ice bodies that control how much ice makes it into the big water body. Most ways of studying the huge ice land with computers struggle to tell the computer about those little ice bodies, but we have found a new way. We will talk about our way of studying little ice bodies and how their moving brings about up-going of the big water.

Greater apparent absorption of flavonoids is associated with lesser human fecal flavonoid disappearance rates.

PubMed

Simons, Andrean L; Renouf, Mathieu; Murphy, Patricia A; Hendrich, Suzanne

2010-01-13

It was hypothesized that 5,7,4'-OH-flavonoids disappeared more rapidly from human fecal incubations and were less absorbable by humans than flavonoids without 5-OH moieties. Anaerobic fecal disappearance rates over 24 h were determined for 15 flavonoids in samples from 20 men and 13 women. In these anaerobic fecal mixtures, flavonoids with 5,7,4'-OH groups, genistein, apigenin, naringenin, luteolin, kaempferol, and quercetin (disappearance rate, k=0.46+/-0.10 h(-1)), and methoxylated flavonoids, hesperetin and glycitein (k=0.24+/-0.21 h(-1)), disappeared rapidly compared with flavonoids lacking 5-OH (e.g., daidzein, k=0.07+/-0.03 h(-1)). Apparent absorption of flavonoids that disappeared rapidly from in vitro fecal incubations, genistein, naringenin, quercetin, and hesperetin, was compared with that of daidzein, a slowly disappearing flavonoid, in 5 men and 5 women. Subjects ingested 104 micromol of genistein and 62 micromol of daidzein (soy milk), 1549 micromol of naringenin and 26 micromol of hesperetin (grapefruit juice), and 381 micromol of quercetin (onions) in three test meals, each separated by 1 week. Blood and urine samples were collected over 24 h after each test meal. Plasma flavonoid concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 1 microM. The apparent absorption, expressed as percentage of ingested dose excreted in urine, was significantly less for naringenin (3.2+/-1.7%), genistein (7.2+/-4.6%), hesperetin (7.3+/-3.2%), and quercetin (5.6+/-3.7%) compared with daidzein (43.4+/-15.5%, p=0.02). These data affirmed the hypothesis that the 5,7,4'-OH of flavonoids limited apparent absorption of these compounds in humans.

Effect of nylon bag and protozoa on in vitro corn starch disappearance.

PubMed

van Zwieten, J T; van Vuuren, A M; Dijkstra, J

2008-03-01

An in vitro experiment was carried out to study whether the presence of protozoa in nylon bags can explain the underestimation of the in situ degradation of slowly degradable starch. Corn of a high (flint) and a low (dent) vitreousness variety was ground over a 3-mm screen, weighed in nylon bags with a pore size of 37 microm, and washed in cold water. Samples of washed cornstarch were incubated in 40-mL tubes with faunated and defaunated ruminal fluid. An additional amount of washed corn, in nylon bags, was inserted in each incubation tube. Incubations were carried out for 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h, and starch residue in tube and nylon bag was determined. In general, starch disappearance from the nylon bag was less than from the tube, and was less with faunated than defaunated rumen fluid, but corn variety did not affect starch disappearance. When no protozoa were present, the disappearance of starch from the bags was higher after 6 and 12 h incubation compared with presence of protozoa. However, in the tubes, there was no difference in starch disappearance due to presence or absence of protozoa. Estimated lag time was higher in presence (4.6 h) then absence (3.6 h) of protozoa. It was concluded that the effect of presence or absence of protozoa on starch disappearance differs within or outside nylon bags. The reduced disappearance rate of starch inside the nylon bags in the presence of protozoa helps to explain the underestimation of starch degradation based on the in sacco procedure when compared with in vivo data upon incubation of slowly degradable starch sources.

Computational study of the free energy landscape of the miniprotein CLN025 in explicit and implicit solvent.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Alex; Mokoema, Pol; Corcho, Francesc; Bisetty, Khrisna; Perez, Juan J

2011-02-17

The prediction capabilities of atomistic simulations of peptides are hampered by different difficulties, including the reliability of force fields, the treatment of the solvent or the adequate sampling of the conformational space. In this work, we have studied the conformational profile of the 10 residue miniprotein CLN025 known to exhibit a β-hairpin in its native state to understand the limitations of implicit methods to describe solvent effects and how these may be compensated by using different force fields. For this purpose, we carried out a thorough sampling of the conformational space of CLN025 in explicit solvent using the replica exchange molecular dynamics method as a sampling technique and compared the results with simulations of the system modeled using the analytical linearized Poisson-Boltzmann (ALPB) method with three different AMBER force fields: parm94, parm96, and parm99SB. The results show the peptide to exhibit a funnel-like free energy landscape with two minima in explicit solvent. In contrast, the higher minimum nearly disappears from the energy surface when the system is studied with an implicit representation of the solvent. Moreover, the different force fields used in combination with the ALPB method do not describe the system in the same manner. The results of this work suggest that the balance between intra- and intermolecular interactions is the cause of the differences between implicit and explicit solvent simulations in this system, stressing the role of the environment to define properly the conformational profile of a peptide in solution.

The thermodynamic origin of hysteresis in insertion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dreyer, Wolfgang; Jamnik, Janko; Guhlke, Clemens; Huth, Robert; Moškon, Jože; Gaberšček, Miran

2010-05-01

Lithium batteries are considered the key storage devices for most emerging green technologies such as wind and solar technologies or hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles. Despite the tremendous recent advances in battery research, surprisingly, several fundamental issues of increasing practical importance have not been adequately tackled. One such issue concerns the energy efficiency. Generally, charging of 1010-1017 electrode particles constituting a modern battery electrode proceeds at (much) higher voltages than discharging. Most importantly, the hysteresis between the charge and discharge voltage seems not to disappear as the charging/discharging current vanishes. Herein we present, for the first time, a general explanation of the occurrence of inherent hysteretic behaviour in insertion storage systems containing multiple particles. In a broader sense, the model also predicts the existence of apparent equilibria in battery electrodes, the sequential particle-by-particle charging/discharging mechanism and the disappearance of two-phase behaviour at special experimental conditions.

Monitoring the onset of neuromuscular blockade with double burst stimulation (DBS).

PubMed

Gorgias, N; Maidatsi, P; Zaralidou, A; Ourailoglou, V; Fakidou, A; Giala, M

1998-11-01

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the suitability of the DBS mode in the determination of the proper time to perform tracheal intubation following cisatracurium muscle relaxation. The DBS3.3 pattern was administered to the ulnar nerve at the wrist in 45 patients paralyzed with cisatracurium 0.15 mg.kg-1 and tracheal intubation was attempted immediately after the disappearance of both palpable contractions of the adductor pollicis. Intubation conditions were assessed with a standard four-graded scoring system and the onset time of the relaxant was determined. Forty-two patients (93%) exhibited acceptable intubation conditions as soon as both responses to DBS were absent and the estimated apparent onset time, according to the stimulation mode applied, was 114.68 +/- 13.2 sec. Our data suggest that disappearance of both palpable responses to DBS3.3 may be used as an accurate predictor of acceptable intubation conditions, following nondepolarizing relaxants such as cisatracurium.

The thermodynamic origin of hysteresis in insertion batteries.

PubMed

Dreyer, Wolfgang; Jamnik, Janko; Guhlke, Clemens; Huth, Robert; Moskon, Joze; Gaberscek, Miran

2010-05-01

Lithium batteries are considered the key storage devices for most emerging green technologies such as wind and solar technologies or hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles. Despite the tremendous recent advances in battery research, surprisingly, several fundamental issues of increasing practical importance have not been adequately tackled. One such issue concerns the energy efficiency. Generally, charging of 10(10)-10(17) electrode particles constituting a modern battery electrode proceeds at (much) higher voltages than discharging. Most importantly, the hysteresis between the charge and discharge voltage seems not to disappear as the charging/discharging current vanishes. Herein we present, for the first time, a general explanation of the occurrence of inherent hysteretic behaviour in insertion storage systems containing multiple particles. In a broader sense, the model also predicts the existence of apparent equilibria in battery electrodes, the sequential particle-by-particle charging/discharging mechanism and the disappearance of two-phase behaviour at special experimental conditions.

What Would a Socially Just Education System Look like?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nandy, Lisa

2012-01-01

The Coalition came to power in 2010 with a radical, controversial vision for education and set about transforming the UK landscape. The Secretary of State described how, in future, autonomous schools and colleges would compete with one another to raise standards, high performers would expand and others improve or disappear. His aim is for children…

Hydrophilic Association in a Dilute Glutamine Solution Persists Independent of Increasing Temperature.

PubMed

Rhys, Natasha H; Soper, Alan K; Dougan, Lorna

2015-12-24

Recent studies suggest that hydrophilic interactions play an important role in controlling self-assembly in biological processes. To explore the effect of temperature on this interaction, we extend our previous work on the glutamine-water system at 24 °C (at a mole ratio of 1 glutamine to 269 water molecules) and present additional neutron diffraction data, at the same concentration, at 37 and 60 °C, using hydrogen/deuterium substitution on the water and glutamine, coupled with further extensive empirical potential structure refinement computer simulations. Taking all the possible hydrophilic couplings between glutamine molecules into account, we find that nearly one-fifth of the glutamines in solution are linked by hydrogen bonds at any one time. This number contrasts strongly with the ∼3-4% fraction found in the same simulation with random packing and no hydrogen bonds. Within the uncertainties imposed by dilute solution statistics, we find no temperature dependence in these values. The clusters are highly transitory, forming and disappearing rapidly as the simulations proceed. Hydrophobic association of the alkyl groups on glutamine without concomitant hydrophilic association of the charged head and side-chain groups is only weakly observed.

Evaluation of Cognitive Function of Children with Developmental Disabilities by means of Button-Press Task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakazono, Shogo; Kobori, Satoshi

The button-press task means that the subject observes a moving target and presses a button to stop it when the target enters a specified area on a computer display. Subjects perform normal task, suppressed task and delayed task. In the suppressed task, the moving target disappears at some point during the trial. In the delayed task, there is some lag time between the time of pressing button and of stopping target. In these tasks, subjects estimate the movement of the target, and press the button considering his/her own reaction time. In our previous study, we showed that cognitive and motor function was able to be evaluated by these tasks. In this study, we examined error data of children with developmental disabilities to evaluate the cognitive function, and investigated the learning processes. Moreover, we discussed the developmental stages by comparing the children with disabilities to normal control children, and we clarified the behavior characteristics of children with developmental disabilities. Asa result, it was shown that our evaluation method and system for the button-press task were effective to evaluate cognitive ability of children with developmental disabilities.

Reasoning the Causality of City Sprawl, Traffic Congestion, and Green Land Disappearance in Taiwan Using the CLD Model

PubMed Central

Chen, Mei-Chih; Chang, Kaowen

2014-01-01

Many city governments choose to supply more developable land and transportation infrastructure with the hope of attracting people and businesses to their cities. However, like those in Taiwan, major cities worldwide suffer from traffic congestion. This study applies the system thinking logic of the causal loops diagram (CLD) model in the System Dynamics (SD) approach to analyze the issue of traffic congestion and other issues related to roads and land development in Taiwan’s cities. Comparing the characteristics of development trends with yearbook data for 2002 to 2013 for all of Taiwan’s cities, this study explores the developing phenomenon of unlimited city sprawl and identifies the cause and effect relationships in the characteristics of development trends in traffic congestion, high-density population aggregation in cities, land development, and green land disappearance resulting from city sprawl. This study provides conclusions for Taiwan’s cities’ sustainability and development (S&D). When developing S&D policies, during decision making processes concerning city planning and land use management, governments should think with a holistic view of carrying capacity with the assistance of system thinking to clarify the prejudices in favor of the unlimited developing phenomena resulting from city sprawl. PMID:25383609

Quantum correlations in non-inertial cavity systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harsij, Zeynab, E-mail: z.harsij@ph.iut.ac.ir; Mirza, Behrouz, E-mail: b.mirza@cc.iut.ac.ir

2016-10-15

Non-inertial cavities are utilized to store and send Quantum Information between mode pairs. A two-cavity system is considered where one is inertial and the other accelerated in a finite time. Maclaurian series are applied to expand the related Bogoliubov coefficients and the problem is treated perturbatively. It is shown that Quantum Discord, which is a measure of quantumness of correlations, is degraded periodically. This is almost in agreement with previous results reached in accelerated systems where increment of acceleration decreases the degree of quantum correlations. As another finding of the study, it is explicitly shown that degradation of Quantum Discordmore » disappears when the state is in a single cavity which is accelerated for a finite time. This feature makes accelerating cavities useful instruments in Quantum Information Theory. - Highlights: • Non-inertial cavities are utilized to store and send information in Quantum Information Theory. • Cavities include boundary conditions which will protect the entanglement once it has been created. • The problem is treated perturbatively and the maclaurian series are applied to expand the related Bogoliubov coefficients. • When two cavities are considered degradation in the degree of quantum correlation happens and it appears periodically. • The interesting issue is when a single cavity is studied and the degradation in quantum correlations disappears.« less

A SEARCH FOR VERY HIGH ENERGY GAMMA RAYS FROM THE MISSING LINK BINARY PULSAR J1023+0038 WITH VERITAS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aliu, E.; Archambault, S.; Archer, A.

2016-11-10

The binary millisecond radio pulsar PSR J1023+0038 exhibits many characteristics similar to the gamma-ray binary system PSR B1259–63/LS 2883, making it an ideal candidate for the study of high-energy nonthermal emission. It has been the subject of multiwavelength campaigns following the disappearance of the pulsed radio emission in 2013 June, which revealed the appearance of an accretion disk around the neutron star. We present the results of very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations carried out by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System before and after this change of state. Searches for steady and pulsed emission of both datamore » sets yield no significant gamma-ray signal above 100 GeV, and upper limits are given for both a steady and pulsed gamma-ray flux. These upper limits are used to constrain the magnetic field strength in the shock region of the PSR J1023+0038 system. Assuming that VHE gamma rays are produced via an inverse Compton mechanism in the shock region, we constrain the shock magnetic field to be greater than ∼2 G before the disappearance of the radio pulsar and greater than ∼10 G afterward.« less

Observations on the influence of water and soil pH on the persistence of insecticides.

PubMed

Chapman, R A; Cole, C M

1982-01-01

The pH-disappearance rate profiles were determined at ca. 25 degrees C for 24 insecticides at 4 or 5 pH values over the range 4.5 to 8.0 in sterile phosphate buffers prepared in water-ethanol (99:1 v/v). Half-lives measured at pH 8 were generally smaller than at lower pH values. Changes in half lives between pH 8.0 and 4.5 were largest (greater than 1000x) for the aryl carbamates, carbofuran and carbaryl, the oxime carbamate, oxamyl, and the organophosphorus insecticide, trichlorfon. In contrast, half lives of phorate, terbufos, heptachlor, fensulfothion and aldicarb were affected only slightly by pH changes. Under the experimental conditions described half lives at pH8 varied from 1-2 days for trichlorfon and oxamyl to greater than 1 year for fensulfothion and cypermethrin. Insecticide persistence on alumina (acid, neutral and basic), mineral soils amended with aluminum sulfate or calcium hydroxide to different pH values and four natural soils of different pH was examined. No correlation was observed between the measured pH of these solids and the rate of disappearance of selected insecticides applied to them. These observations demonstrate the difficulty of extrapolating the pH dependent disappearance behaviour observed in homogeneous solution to partially solid heterogeneous systems such as soil.

[Comparative investigation of the non-histone proteins of chromatin from pigeon erythroblasts and erythrocytes].

PubMed

Fedina, A B; Gazarian, G G

1976-01-01

Chromosomal non-histone proteins are obtained from nuclei of two types of pigeon erythroid cells: erythroblasts (cells active in RNA synthesis) and erythrocytes (cells with repressed RNA synthesis). They are well soluble in solutions of low ionic strength. Electrophoretic separation of the obtained non-histone proteins in polyacrylamide gels with urea and SDS shows the presence of qualitative differences in the pattern of non-histone proteins of chromatine from erythroblasts and erythrocytes. By electrophoresis in urea some protein bands of non-histone proteins of chromatine from erythroblasts were found which disappear with the aging of cells. At the same time two protein fractions were observed in chromatine from erythrocytes which were absent in that of erythroblasts. Disappearance of some high molecular weight protein fractions from erythrocyte chromatine as compared to erythroblasts was observed by separation of the non-histone proteins in the presence of SDS. These fractions of the non-histone proteins disappearing during aging of cells are well extractable from erythroblast chromatine by 0.35 M NaCl solution. In the in vitro system with E. coli RNA polymerase addition of non-histone proteins of chromatine from erythroblasts to chromatine from erythrocytes increases RNA synthesis 2--3 times. At the same time addition of non-histone proteins from erythrocytes is either without any influence on this process or somewhat inhibiting.

Evaluation of virtual reality bronchoscopy as a learning and assessment tool.

PubMed

Moorthy, K; Smith, S; Brown, T; Bann, S; Darzi, A

2003-01-01

Conventional training in bronchoscopy involves a trainee performing on a real patient under supervision. This method of training is not only expensive, but there is also potential for increased patient discomfort. Simulators permit the acquisition of necessary technical skills required for the procedure. Virtual reality (VR) has been an integral part of training in aviation, and the application of this technology in medical training needs to be evaluated. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a VR bronchoscopy simulator as a learning and assessment tool. The bronchoscopic simulator (HT Medical Systems, Maryland, USA) is a VR computer programme. The simulator has the ability to assess competence by a set of parameters, which formed the data for the study. Nine novices without previous bronchoscopic experience formed the study group (group 1). Nine experienced bronchoscopists having performed between 200 and 1000 bronchoscopies formed the other group (group 2). We assessed the efficacy of the system as a learning tool by studying whether there was a significant difference between the first and subsequent sessions of the subjects from group 1 and by comparing the performance of the two groups. Statistical analysis was done using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. There was a significant difference in performance between the first attempt of group 1 and the performance of the experts in terms of percentage of segments visualised and number of wall collisions and the economy of performance. Among the subjects from group 1, there was a significant improvement in percentage of segments visualised by the third attempt (p = 0.04), in the economy of performance by the sixth attempt (0.008) and in the number of wall collisions by the sixth attempt (0.024). When each attempt of the novices was compared with the performance of group 2, the significance in the difference of the percentage of segments studied (p = 0.09) and the economy of performance disappeared by the third attempt (0.06), while the difference in the number of wall collisions disappeared by the fifth attempt (p = 0.06). This study has been able to establish the face, construct and content validity of the simulator and the potential for it to be an effective training tool. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Rate of disappearance of labeled carbon dioxide from the lungs of humans during breath holding: a method for studying the dynamics of pulmonary CO2 exchange

PubMed Central

Hyde, Richard W.; Puy, Ricardo J. M.; Raub, William F.; Forster, Robert E.

1968-01-01

The dynamics of CO2 exchange in the lungs of man was studied by observing the rate of disappearance of a stable isotope of CO2 (13CO2) from the alveolar gas during breath holding. Over 50% of the inspired isotope disappeared within the first 3 sec followed by a moderately rapid logarithmic decline in which one-half of the remaining 13CO2 disappeared every 10 sec. The large initial disappearance of 13CO2 indicated that alveolar 13CO2 equilibrated in less than 3 sec with the CO2 stored in the pulmonary tissues and capillary blood. The volume of CO2 in the pulmonary tissues calculated from this initial disappearance was 200 ml or 0.33 ml of CO2 per milliliter of pulmonary tissue volume. The alveolar to end-capillary gradient for 13CO2 was calculated by comparing the simultaneous disappearance rates of 13CO2 and acetylene. At rest and during exercise this gradient for 13CO2 was either very small or not discernible, and diffusing capacity for CO2 (DLCO2) exceeded 200 ml/(min × mm Hg). After the administration of a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor the rate of disappearance of 13CO2 decreased markedly. DLCO2 fell to 42 ml/(min × mm Hg) and at least 70% of the exchange of 13CO2 with the CO2 stores in the pulmonary tissues and blood was blocked by the inhibitor. These changes were attributed to impairment of exchange of 13CO2 with the bicarbonate in the pulmonary tissues and blood. The pH of the pulmonary tissues (Vtis) was determined by a method based on the premise that the CO2 space in the pulmonary tissues blocked by the inhibitor represented total bicarbonate content. At an alveolar PCO2 of 40 mm Hg pH of Vtis equalled 6.97 ± 0.09. PMID:5658586

Extinct New Zealand megafauna were not in decline before human colonization

PubMed Central

Allentoft, Morten Erik; Heller, Rasmus; Oskam, Charlotte L.; Lorenzen, Eline D.; Hale, Marie L.; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Jacomb, Christopher; Holdaway, Richard N.; Bunce, Michael

2014-01-01

The extinction of New Zealand's moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) followed the arrival of humans in the late 13th century and was the final event of the prehistoric Late Quaternary megafauna extinctions. Determining the state of the moa populations in the pre-extinction period is fundamental to understanding the causes of the event. We sampled 281 moa individuals and combined radiocarbon dating with ancient DNA analyses to help resolve the extinction debate and gain insights into moa biology. The samples, which were predominantly from the last 4,000 years preceding the extinction, represent four sympatric moa species excavated from five adjacent fossil deposits. We characterized the moa assemblage using mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellite markers developed specifically for moa. Although genetic diversity differed significantly among the four species, we found that the millennia preceding the extinction were characterized by a remarkable degree of genetic stability in all species, with no loss of heterozygosity and no shifts in allele frequencies over time. The extinction event itself was too rapid to be manifested in the moa gene pools. Contradicting previous claims of a decline in moa before Polynesian settlement in New Zealand, our findings indicate that the populations were large and stable before suddenly disappearing. This interpretation is supported by approximate Bayesian computation analyses. Our analyses consolidate the disappearance of moa as the most rapid, human-facilitated megafauna extinction documented to date. PMID:24639531

Pseudocyst in the Pancreatic Tail Associated with Chronic Pancreatitis Successfully Treated by Transpapillary Cyst Drainage

PubMed Central

Naitoh, Itaru; Ohara, Hirotaka; Okayama, Yasutaka; Nakazawa, Takahiro; Ando, Tomoaki; Hayashi, Kazuki; Okumura, Fumihiro; Kitajima, Yasuhiro; Ban, Tessin; Miyabe, Katsuyuki; Ueno, Koichiro; Joh, Takashi; Sano, Hitoshi

2008-01-01

We report a 50-year-old male with pseudocysts in the pancreatic tail associated with chronic pancreatitis successfully treated by transpapillary cyst drainage. He had previously undergone ultrasonography-guided percutaneous cyst drainage for a pancreatic pseudocyst in our hospital. He was readmitted due to abdominal pain and fever. Computed tomography showed recurrence of a pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail measuring 5 cm in diameter. Since conservative treatment failed, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography was performed. There was communication between the pseudocyst and the main pancreatic duct, and pancreatic duct stenosis proximal to the pseudocyst. First, transpapillary pancreatic duct drainage was performed using a plastic stent, but the pseudocyst did not decrease in size and became infected. After removal of the stent, a pigtail type nasocystic catheter was placed in the pseudocyst via the pancreatic duct. The pseudocyst infection immediately disappeared, and the pseudocyst gradually decreased and disappeared. After removal of the nasocystic catheter, no recurrence was observed. As transpapillary drainage of pancreatic pseudocyst, cyst drainage and pancreatic duct drainage have been reported. In our patient with pseudocyst in the pancreatic tail, duct drainage was ineffective and the pseudocyst was infected, whereas cyst drainage was very effective. We considered that cyst drainage by a nasocystic catheter was the first-line therapy as the transpapillary drainage of the pancreatic pseudocyst. PMID:21897788

An Impending Crisis: The Disappearance of Exceptionalities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Laurence J.

1977-01-01

A humorous satire on the proliferation of categories of exceptionalities, the article parodies current research by discussing the problem of disappearing exceptionalities in relation to imaginary interviews, research programs, and teacher reactions. (GW)

Object Permanence After a 24-Hr Delay and Leaving the Locale of Disappearance: The Role of Memory, Space, and Identity

PubMed Central

Moore, M. Keith; Meltzoff, Andrew N.

2005-01-01

Fourteen-month-old infants saw an object hidden inside a container and were removed from the disappearance locale for 24 hr. Upon their return, they searched correctly for the hidden object, demonstrating object permanence and long-term memory. Control infants who saw no disappearance did not search. In Experiment 2, infants returned to see the container either in the same or a different room. Performance by room-change infants dropped to baseline levels, suggesting that infant search for hidden objects is guided by numerical identity. Infants seek the individual object that disappeared, which exists in its original location, not in a different room. A new behavior, identity-verifying search, was discovered and quantified. Implications are drawn for memory, spatial understanding, object permanence, and object identity. PMID:15238047

Object permanence after a 24-hr delay and leaving the locale of disappearance: the role of memory, space, and identity.

PubMed

Moore, M Keith; Meltzoff, Andrew N

2004-07-01

Fourteen-month-old infants saw an object hidden inside a container and were removed from the disappearance locale for 24 hr. Upon their return, they searched correctly for the hidden object, demonstrating object permanence and long-term memory. Control infants who saw no disappearance did not search. In Experiment 2, infants returned to see the container either in the same or a different room. Performance by room-change infants dropped to baseline levels, suggesting that infant search for hidden objects is guided by numerical identity. Infants seek the individual object that disappeared, which exists in its original location, not in a different room. A new behavior, identity-verifying search, was discovered and quantified. Implications are drawn for memory, spatial understanding, object permanence, and object identity. Copyright 2004 APA, all rights reserved

Motion-Induced Blindness and Troxler Fading: Common and Different Mechanisms

PubMed Central

Bonneh, Yoram S.; Donner, Tobias H.; Cooperman, Alexander; Heeger, David J.; Sagi, Dov

2014-01-01

Extended stabilization of gaze leads to disappearance of dim visual targets presented peripherally. This phenomenon, known as Troxler fading, is thought to result from neuronal adaptation. Intense targets also disappear intermittently when surrounded by a moving pattern (the “mask”), a phenomenon known as motion-induced blindness (MIB). The similar phenomenology and dynamics of these disappearances may suggest that also MIB is, likewise, solely due to adaptation, which may be amplified by the presence of the mask. Here we directly compared the dependence of both phenomena on target contrast. Observers reported the disappearance and reappearance of a target of varying intensity (contrast levels: 8%–80%). MIB was induced by adding a mask that moved at one of various different speeds. The results revealed a lawful effect of contrast in both MIB and Troxler fading, but with opposite trends. Increasing target contrast increased (doubled) the rate of disappearance events for MIB, but decreased the disappearance rate to half in Troxler fading. The target mean invisible period decreased equally strongly with target contrast in MIB and in Troxler fading. The results suggest that both MIB and Troxler are equally affected by contrast adaptation, but that the rate of MIB is governed by an additional mechanism, possibly involving antagonistic processes between neuronal populations processing target and mask. Our results link MIB to other bi-stable visual phenomena that involve neuronal competition (such as binocular rivalry), which exhibit an analogous dependency on the strength of the competing stimulus components. PMID:24658600

Assessment of the mobile bag method for estimation of in vivo starch digestibility.

PubMed

Ghoorchi, T; Lund, P; Larsen, M; Hvelplund, T; Hansen-Møller, J; Weisbjerg, M R

2013-02-01

The objective was to assess the ability of the in situ mobile nylon bag method for predicting small intestinal and total tract starch digestibility. Starch disappearance was measured for 18 samples of different cereals and legumes subjected to different physical and chemical processing methods and compared with coherent in vivo digestibility. Starch disappearance was measured both with and without initial ruminal pre-incubation during 4 h. Bags were retrieved from either the ileal cannula or faeces. Two dry Danish Holstein cows fitted with rumen cannulas were used for rumen pre-incubations and two lactating Danish Holstein cows fitted with duodenal and ileal cannulas were used for intestinal incubations. Rumen pre-incubation had no significant effect on disappearance from bags recovered in faeces. The disappearance of legume starch was lower, both in the rumen and small intestine, compared with starch from barley, wheat, oats, ear maize and maize. Transit times of the mobile bags from duodenum to ileum were not significantly different between feeds. A weak positive correlation was found between in vivo small intestinal and total tract digestibility of starch and disappearance obtained using the mobile bag technique across a broad range of starch sources. Omitting two less conventional starch sources (NaOH wheat and xylose-treated barley) resulted in a high (0.87) correlation between total tract in vivo digestibility and mobile bag disappearance. The use of the mobile bag method for estimation of in vivo starch digestibility will therefore depend on the starch type.

Linear-array-based photoacoustic tomography for label-free high-throughput detection and quantification of circulating melanoma tumor cell clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hai, Pengfei; Zhou, Yong; Zhang, Ruiying; Ma, Jun; Li, Yang; Wang, Lihong V.

2017-03-01

Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters arise from multicellular grouping in the primary tumor and elevate the metastatic potential by 23 to 50 fold compared to single CTCs. High throughout detection and quantification of CTC clusters is critical for understanding the tumor metastasis process and improving cancer therapy. In this work, we report a linear-array-based photoacoustic tomography (LA-PAT) system capable of label-free high-throughput CTC cluster detection and quantification in vivo. LA-PAT detects CTC clusters and quantifies the number of cells in them based on the contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of photoacoustic signals. The feasibility of LA-PAT was first demonstrated by imaging CTC clusters ex vivo. LA-PAT detected CTC clusters in the blood-filled microtubes and computed the number of cells in the clusters. The size distribution of the CTC clusters measured by LA-PAT agreed well with that obtained by optical microscopy. We demonstrated the ability of LA-PAT to detect and quantify CTC clusters in vivo by imaging injected CTC clusters in rat tail veins. LA-PAT detected CTC clusters immediately after injection as well as when they were circulating in the rat bloodstreams. Similarly, the numbers of cells in the clusters were computed based on the CNRs of the photoacoustic signals. The data showed that larger CTC clusters disappear faster than the smaller ones. The results prove the potential of LA-PAT as a promising tool for both preclinical tumor metastasis studies and clinical cancer therapy evaluation.

Comparative study on stress distribution around internal tapered connection implants according to fit of cement- and screw-retained prostheses.

PubMed

Lee, Mi-Young; Heo, Seong-Joo; Park, Eun-Jin; Park, Ji-Man

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to compare the passivity of implant superstructures by assessing the strain development around the internal tapered connection implants with strain gauges. A polyurethane resin block in which two implants were embedded served as a measurement model. Two groups of implant restorations utilized cement-retained design and internal surface of the first group was adjusted until premature contact between the restoration and the abutment completely disappeared. In the second group, only nodules detectable to the naked eye were removed. The third group employed screw-retained design and specimens were generated by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing system (n=10). Four strain gauges were fixed on the measurement model mesially and distally to the implants. The strains developed in each strain gauge were recorded during fixation of specimens. To compare the difference among groups, repeated measures 2-factor analysis was performed at a level of significance of α=.05. The absolute strain values were measured to analyze the magnitude of strain. The mean absolute strain value ranged from 29.53 to 412.94 µm/m at the different strain gauge locations. According to the result of overall comparison, the cement-retained prosthesis groups exhibited significant difference. No significant difference was detected between milled screw-retained prostheses group and cement-retained prosthesis groups. Within the limitations of the study, it was concluded that the cement-retained designs do not always exhibit lower levels of stress than screw-retained designs. The internal adjustment of a cement-retained implant restoration is essential to achieve passive fit.

More About The Video Event Trigger

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Glenn L.

1996-01-01

Report presents additional information about system described in "Video Event Trigger" (LEW-15076). Digital electronic system processes video-image data to generate trigger signal when image shows significant change, such as motion, or appearance, disappearance, change in color, brightness, or dilation of object. Potential uses include monitoring of hallways, parking lots, and other areas during hours when supposed unoccupied, looking for fires, tracking airplanes or other moving objects, identification of missing or defective parts on production lines, and video recording of automobile crash tests.

Editorial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murray, Jo; Lawden, Mike

1988-06-01

This will be a year of metamorphosis for Starlink with major hardware upgrades and the widespread adoption of the ADAM software environment. Most of the original VAXs will be replaced with MicroVAX 3500 based Local Area VAX Clusters (LAVCs); also disappearing from these sites will be the old ARGS as the Digisolve Ikon becomes the principal image display. This comes ten years after the idea of co-ordinating the computing activities of the UK astronomical community was first mooted. Those pre-natal days of Starlink are remembered by Professor Mike Disney in the article which follows. Many Starlink users will be surprised to learn that a centralised computing facility with only remote access or occasional visits for users was considered! (Actually the first machine, the RAL database/communictaiont MicroVAX, began operating a user service only this year.) It is instructive to look at some of the proposals for national data-analysis facilities which were forerunners of Starlink. For example, funding of £40,000 initially with £10,000 annually was requested for computer enhancements at RGO to provide a spectral reduction service. The hardware recommendation was based on a single Interdata 10 computer with a 64KByte memory and a total of 5MByte of disc! Once again, it is a pleasure to thank all the contributors to the Bulletin, and invite our readers to contribute to forthcoming editions.

Nitrous oxide production and mRNA expression analysis of nitrifying and denitrifying bacterial genes under floodwater disappearance and fertilizer application.

PubMed

Riya, Shohei; Takeuchi, Yuki; Zhou, Sheng; Terada, Akihiko; Hosomi, Masaaki

2017-06-01

A pulse of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission has been observed following the disappearance of floodwater by drainage. However, its mechanism is not well understood. We conducted a column study to clarify the mechanism for N 2 O production during floodwater disappearance by using a microsensor and determining the bacterial gene expression. An increase in N 2 O flux was observed following floodwater disappearance after the addition of NH 4 + , with a corresponding increase in the concentrations of NO 3 - and dissolved N 2 O in the oxic and anoxic soil layers, respectively. The transcription level of the bacterial amoA mRNA did not change, while that of nirK mRNA increased sharply after an hour of floodwater disappearance. An additional anoxic soil slurry experiment demonstrated that the addition of NO 3 - induced the expression of nirK gene and caused a concomitant increase in N 2 O production. These findings suggest that NO 3 - production in the oxic layers is important as it provides a substrate and induces the synthesis of denitrification enzymes in the anoxic layer during N 2 O production.

Effects of growth stage and growing degree day accumulations on triticale forages: 2) In-vitro disappearance of neutral detergent fiber

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The use of winter triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) in dairy-cropping systems has expanded greatly in recent years, partly because of its value as a forage crop, but also to improve land stewardship by providing winter ground cover. Our objectives were to use 2-pool and 3-pool nonlinear models to...

Effects of growth stage and growing degree day accumulations on triticale forages: 1) Dry matter yield, nutritive value, and in-vitro dry matter disappearance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The use of triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) in dairy-cropping systems has expanded greatly in recent years, partly to improve land stewardship by providing winter ground cover. Our objectives were to establish relationships relating indices of nutritive value with growth stage or accumulated gro...

Student Digital Piracy in the Florida State University System: An Exploratory Study on Its Infrastructural Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiss, Jeffrey

2010-01-01

Digital piracy is a problem that may never disappear from society. Through readily available resources such as those found in a university, students will always have access to illegal goods. While piracy is a global phenomenon, an institution's resources combined with the typical college student's lack of funds makes it more lucrative. Students…

Slaves, "Coloni," and Status Confusion in the Late Roman Empire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basta, Hannah

2017-01-01

From the dawn of the Roman Empire, slavery played a major and essential role in Roman society. While slavery never completely disappeared from ancient Roman society, its position in the Roman economy shifted at the beginning of the period called Late Antiquity (14 CE-500 CE). At this time, the slave system of the Roman world adjusted to a new…

NARS data

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Surface water monitoring data from national aquatic surveys (lakes, streams, rivers)This dataset is associated with the following publication:Stoddard , J., J. Van Sickle, A. Herlihy, J. Brahney, S. Paulsen , D. Peck , R. Mitchell , and A. Pollard. Continental-scale increase in stream and lake phosphorus: Are oligotrophic systems disappearing in the U.S.?. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, USA, 50(7): 3409-3415, (2016).

Lifelong Guidance: How Guidance and Counselling Support Lifelong Learning in the Contrasting Contexts of China and Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Zhixin

2016-01-01

Due to the effects of globalisation and rapid technological development, traditional linear life course patterns of the past are gradually disappearing, and this affects education and learning systems as well as labour markets. Individuals are forced to develop lifestyles and survival strategies to manage job insecurity and make their skills and…

Skill Acquisition: Compilation of Weak-Method Problem Solutions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-12

difference largely disappears by the fourth day when they are still working - with Perverse EMACS. Compared to Day 1 on EMACS. there is large postive ...This reinforces the idea that production representation captures significant features of our procedural knowledge and that differences between...memory load is certainly consistent with the working memory plus production system hypothesis. Immediate Feedback The importance of immediate

Phytoremediation of TNT: C. roseus hairy roots as a model system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lauritzen, J.R.; Hughes, J.B.; Shanks, J.V.

Widespread contamination by 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) of Soil exists at former munitions production and handling facilities. Phytoremediation may be an effective alternative to existing methods of TNT remediation: incineration is highly expensive and recalcitrant reduction products are formed in composting. Recently, the intrinsic ability of plants to transform TNT has been demonstrated using hairy root cultures of Catharanthus roseus as a model system. Kinetic studies were performed at concentrations of 30 and 50 mg/L TNT in growth medium. The pseudo-first order rate constants for disappearance ranged from 0.0103 to 0.0161 (L/g-day); TNT disappears completely within seven to ten days of exposure.more » The fate of the TNT molecule in plants is also currently under study, mass balance studies were performed with 1-{sup 14}C TNT. After a seven day exposure period, 72% of the label was associated with the roots and 30% was associated with the medium. However, HPLC analysis shows that less than 5% (wt%) of the TNT added is recoverable from both the plants and the media in the form of reduction products. 11 refs., 2 figs.« less

Interaction of abiotic and microbial processes in hexachloroethane reduction in groundwater

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, A. Lynn; Gschwend, Philip M.

1994-01-01

In order to gain insight into mechanisms of hexachloroethane reduction, hexa- and pentachloroethane transformation rates were measured in anaerobic groundwater samples. For samples spiked with pentachloroethane, disappearance of pentachloroethane was accompanied by tetrachloroethylene production. Transformation rates were similar in unpoisoned and in HgCl2-poisoned samples, and rates were within ±20% of predictions based on measured pH and second-order dehydrochlorination rate constants determined in clean laboratory systems, indicating that the fate of pentachloroethane in this system is dominated by abiotic reactions. No hexachloroethane transformation was observed in HgCl2-poisoned samples, whereas in unpoisoned samples, hexachloroethane disappearance was accompanied by production of tetrachloroethylene as well as traces of pentachloroethane. Although only minor amounts of pentachloroethane accumulated, as much as 30% of the hexachloroethane transformation pathway proceeds via a pentachloroethane intermediate. This suggests that the microbial reduction of hexachloroethane proceeds at least in part through a free-radical mechanism. To the extent that hexachloroethane reduction to tetrachloroethylene occurs through a pentachloroethane intermediate, the first step in the sequence, the microbially-mediated step, is the slow step; the subsequent abiotic dehydrohalogenation step occurs much more rapidly.

Collapse of the ν = 1 quantum Hall effect near a Landau level crossing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasdemir, Sukret; Liu, Yang; Mueed, M. A.; Pfeiffer, Loren; West, Ken; Baldwin, Kirk; Shayegan, Mansour

2015-03-01

We report magneto-resistance measurements of 2D hole systems (density 2 . 1 ×1011 cm-2) confined to a 40-nm-wide GaAs quantum well as a function of tilted magnetic fields. We observe a strong ν = 1 quantum Hall effect (QHE) at zero parallel field (B| |). The ν = 1 QHE disappears at B| | ~= 4 . 8 T , where we expect a crossing between the lowest two Landau levels. Near this crossing, the energy gap for the ν = 1 QHE collapses from 6 K to zero in a very small B| | range of 0.3 T. The ν = 1 QHE comes back at B| | ~= 8 . 1 T and eventually disappears at B| | > 17 T where the system becomes bilayer-like. The sudden collapse of the ν = 1 QHE and the fact that it comes back after a large B| | range of 3.3 T is intriguing and suggests a pinning of the Landau levels near the crossing. We acknowledge support through the NSF (DMR-1305691, DMR-1310199 and MRSEC DMR-0819860), the DOE BES (DE-FG02-00-ER45841), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Grant GBMF4420), and the Keck Foundation.

A "Stationery" Kinetics Experiment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, L.; Goberdhansingh, A.

1988-01-01

Describes a simple redox reaction that occurs between potassium permanganate and oxalic acid that can be used to prepare an interesting disappearing ink for demonstrating kinetics for introductory chemistry. Discusses laboratory procedures and factors that influence disappearance times. (CW)

Broad absorption line disappearance and emergence using multiple-epoch spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGraw, S. M.; Brandt, W. N.; Grier, C. J.; Filiz Ak, N.; Hall, P. B.; Schneider, D. P.; Anderson, S. F.; Green, P. J.; Hutchinson, T. A.; Macleod, C. L.; Vivek, M.

2017-08-01

We investigate broad absorption line (BAL) disappearance and emergence using a 470 BAL-quasar sample over ≤0.10-5.25 rest-frame years with at least three spectroscopic epochs for each quasar from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We identify 14 disappearing BALs over ≤1.73-4.62 rest-frame years and 18 emerging BALs over ≤1.46-3.66 rest-frame years associated with the C IV λλ1548,1550 and/or Si IV λλ1393,1402 doublets, and report on their variability behaviour. BAL quasars in our data set exhibit disappearing/emerging C IV BALs at a rate of 2.3^{+0.9}_{-0.7} and 3.0^{+1.0}_{-0.8} per cent, respectively, and the frequency for BAL to non-BAL quasar transitions is 1.7^{+0.8}_{-0.6} per cent. We detect four re-emerging BALs over ≤3.88 rest-frame years on average and three re-disappearing BALs over ≤4.15 rest-frame years on average, the first reported cases of these types. We infer BAL lifetimes along the line of sight to be nominally ≲ 100-1000 yr using disappearing C IV BALs in our sample. Interpretations of (re-)emerging and (re-)disappearing BALs reveal evidence that collectively supports both transverse-motion and ionization-change scenarios to explain BAL variations. We constrain a nominal C IV/Si IV BAL-outflow location of ≲ 100 pc from the central source and a radial size of ≳ 1× 10-7 pc (0.02 au) using the ionization-change scenario, and constrain a nominal outflow location of ≲ 0.5 pc and a transverse size of ˜0.01 pc using the transverse-motion scenario. Our findings are consistent with previous work, and provide evidence in support of BALs tracing compact flow geometries with small filling factors.

An exploration of the basis for patient complaints about the oldness of magazines in practice waiting rooms: cohort study.

PubMed

Arroll, Bruce; Alrutz, Stowe; Moyes, Simon

2014-12-11

To explore the basis for patient complaints about the oldness of most magazines in practice waiting rooms. Cohort study. Waiting room of a general practice in Auckland, New Zealand. 87 magazines stacked into three mixed piles and placed in the waiting room: this included non-gossipy magazines (Time magazine, the Economist, Australian Women's Weekly, National Geographic, BBC History) and gossipy ones (not identified for fear of litigation). Gossipy was defined as having five or more photographs of celebrities on the front cover and most gossipy as having up to 10 such images. The magazines were marked with a unique number on the back cover, placed in three piles in the waiting room, and monitored twice weekly. Disappearance of magazines less than 2 months old versus magazines 3-12 months old, the overall rate of loss of magazines, and the rate of loss of gossipy versus non-gossipy magazines. 47 of the 82 magazines with a visible date on the front cover were aged less than 2 months. 28 of these 47 (60%) magazines and 10 of the 35 (29%) older magazines disappeared (P=0.002). After 31 days, 41 of the 87 (47%, 95% confidence interval 37% to 58%) magazines had disappeared. None of the 19 non-gossipy magazines (the Economist and Time magazine) had disappeared compared with 26 of the 27 (96%) gossipy magazines (P<0.001). All 15 of the most gossipy magazines and none of the non-gossipy magazines [corrected] had disappeared by 31 days. The study was terminated at this point. General practice waiting rooms contain mainly old magazines. This phenomenon relates to the disappearance of the magazines rather than to the supply of old ones. Gossipy magazines were more likely to disappear than non-gossipy ones. On the grounds of cost we advise practices to supply old copies of non-gossipy magazines. A waiting room science curriculum is urgently needed. © Arroll et al 2014.

Successful Aortic Banding for Type IA Endoleak Due to Neck Dilatation after Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Case Report.

PubMed

Tashima, Yasushi; Tamai, Koichi; Shirasugi, Takehiro; Sato, Kenichiro; Yamamoto, Takahiro; Imamura, Yusuke; Yamaguchi, Atsushi; Adachi, Hideo; Kobinata, Toshiyuki

2017-09-25

A 69-year-old man with a type IA endoleak that developed approximately 21 months after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) of a 46 mm diameter aneurysm was referred to our department. He had impaired renal function, Parkinson's disease, and previous cerebral infarction. Computed tomography angiography showed a type IA endoleak with neck dilatation and that the aneurysm had grown to 60 mm in diameter. We decided to perform aortic banding. The type IA endoleak disappeared after banding and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 10. Aortic banding may be effective for type IA endoleak after EVAR and less invasive for high-risk patients in particular.

Three-dimensional observation of an helical hot structure during a sawtooth crash in the WT-3 tokamak.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, S; Igami, H; Tanaka, H; Maekawa, T

2004-07-23

Sawtooth crashes in an Ohmically heated plasma in the WT-3 tokamak have been observed by using soft x-ray computer tomography at three different poloidal cross sections around the torus. Initially, collapsing proceeds slowly with keeping the helical structure of an m = 1/n = 1 hot core around the torus. It accelerates as the helical hot structure is strongly deformed and fades away in the manner that the hot core at the high field side becomes obscure and disappears, while that at the low field side is deformed into a thin crescent aligned along the inversion circle, which survives even at the completion of the crash. Copyright 2004 The American Physical Society

20 CFR 404.722 - Rebuttal of a presumption of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... is still alive after the disappearance. Example 2: Evidence shows that the worker left the family... wife several days after the disappearance to state he intended to begin a new life in California. In...

20 CFR 404.722 - Rebuttal of a presumption of death.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... is still alive after the disappearance. Example 2: Evidence shows that the worker left the family... wife several days after the disappearance to state he intended to begin a new life in California. In...

The ephemeral and the enduring: Trajectories of disappearance for the scientific objects of American Cold War nuclear weapons testing

DOE PAGES

Hanson, Todd

2016-07-01

Here, the historical material culture produced by American Cold War nuclear weapons testing includes objects of scientific inquiry that can be generally categorized as being either ephemeral or enduring. Objects deemed to be ephemeral were of a less substantial nature, being impermanent and expendable in a nuclear test, while enduring objects were by nature more durable and long-lasting. Although all of these objects were ultimately subject to disappearance, the processes by which they were transformed, degraded, or destroyed prior to their disappearing differ. Drawing principally upon archaeological theory, this paper proposes a functional dichotomy for categorizing and studying the historicalmore » trajectories of nuclear weapons testing technoscience artifacts. In examining the transformation patterns of steel towers and concrete blockhouses in particular, it explores an associated loss of scientific method that accompanies a science object's disappearance.« less

Effects of chemical additives on hydrocarbon disappearance and biodegradation in freshwater marsh microcosms.

PubMed

Nyman, J A; Klerks, P L; Bhattacharyya, S

2007-09-01

We determined how a cleaner and a dispersant affected hydrocarbon biodegradation in wetland soils dominated by the plant Panicum hemitomon, which occurs throughout North and South America. Microcosms received no hydrocarbons, South Louisiana crude, or diesel; and no additive, a dispersant, or a cleaner. We determined the concentration of four total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) measures and 43 target hydrocarbons in water and sediment fractions 1, 7, 31, and 186 days later. Disappearance was distinguished from biodegradation via hopane-normalization. After 186 days, TPH disappearance ranged from 24% to 97%. There was poor correlation among the four TPH measures, which indicated that each quantified a different suite of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon disappearance and biodegradation were unaltered by these additives under worse-case scenarios. Any use of these additives must generate benefits that outweigh the lack of effect on biodegradation demonstrated in this report, and the increase in toxicity that we reported earlier.

Evolution of secondary whirls in thermoconvective vortices: Strengthening, weakening, and disappearance in the route to chaos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castaño, D.; Navarro, M. C.; Herrero, H.

2016-01-01

The appearance, evolution, and disappearance of periodic and quasiperiodic dynamics of fluid flows in a cylindrical annulus locally heated from below are analyzed using nonlinear simulations. The results reveal a route of the transition from a steady axisymmetric vertical vortex to a chaotic flow. The chaotic flow regime is reached after a sequence of successive supercritical Hopf bifurcations to periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic flow regimes. A scenario similar to the Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse scenario is verified in this convective flow. In the transition to chaos we find the appearance of subvortices embedded in the primary axisymmetric vortex, flows where the subvortical structure strengthens and weakens, that almost disappears before reforming again, leading to a more disorganized flow to a final chaotic regime. Results are remarkable as they connect to observations describing formation, weakening, and virtual disappearance before revival of subvortices in some atmospheric swirls such as dust devils.

Study of the effect of solar flares on the VLF signal during D layer disappearance time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palit, Sourav; Chakrabarti, Sandip Kumar; Ray, Suman

We have modeled the effect of solar flare on the VLF signal during D layer disappearance time of the lower ionosphere by using the Monte Carlo simulation and a simple chemical scheme We have calculated the electron density profile during the flare using GEANT4 and the chemical model and put it as input to the LWPC to find the VLF amplitude variation due to the flare during the time when the D-layer is disappearing. We have compared the effect on the observed VLF signals with this model. We found that the long decay phase of a solar flare specially during the D-layer disappearance time causes the shifting of the sunset terminator times of VLF signals towards the nighttime. For observation we have taken the data for NWC-IERC propagation path. We have investigated the effect for different classes of flares.

The ephemeral and the enduring: Trajectories of disappearance for the scientific objects of American Cold War nuclear weapons testing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanson, Todd

Here, the historical material culture produced by American Cold War nuclear weapons testing includes objects of scientific inquiry that can be generally categorized as being either ephemeral or enduring. Objects deemed to be ephemeral were of a less substantial nature, being impermanent and expendable in a nuclear test, while enduring objects were by nature more durable and long-lasting. Although all of these objects were ultimately subject to disappearance, the processes by which they were transformed, degraded, or destroyed prior to their disappearing differ. Drawing principally upon archaeological theory, this paper proposes a functional dichotomy for categorizing and studying the historicalmore » trajectories of nuclear weapons testing technoscience artifacts. In examining the transformation patterns of steel towers and concrete blockhouses in particular, it explores an associated loss of scientific method that accompanies a science object's disappearance.« less

Risk markers for disappearance of pediatric Web resources

PubMed Central

Hernández-Borges, Angel A.; Jiménez-Sosa, Alejandro; Torres-Álvarez de Arcaya, Maria L.; Macías-Cervi, Pablo; Gaspar-Guardado, Maria A.; Ruíz-Rabaza, Ana

2005-01-01

Objectives: The authors sought to find out whether certain Webometric indexes of a sample of pediatric Web resources, and some tests based on them, could be helpful predictors of their disappearance. Methods: The authors performed a retrospective study of a sample of 363 pediatric Websites and pages they had followed for 4 years. Main measurements included: number of resources that disappeared, number of inbound links and their annual increment, average daily visits to the resources in the sample, sample compliance with the quality criteria of 3 international organizations, and online time of the Web resources. Results: On average, 11% of the sample disappeared annually. However, 13% of these were available again at the end of follow up. Disappearing and surviving Websites did not show differences in the variables studied. However, surviving Web pages had a higher number of inbound links and higher annual increment in inbound links. Similarly, Web pages that survived showed higher compliance with recognized sets of quality criteria than those that disappeared. A subset of 14 quality criteria whose compliance accounted for 90% of the probability of online permanence was identified. Finally, a progressive increment of inbound links was found to be a marker of good prognosis, showing high specificity and positive predictive value (88% and 94%, respectively). Conclusions: The number of inbound links and annual increment of inbound links could be useful markers of the permanence probability for pediatric Web pages. Strategies that assure the Web editors' awareness of their Web resources' popularity could stimulate them to improve the quality of their Websites. PMID:16059427

Algebraic multigrid preconditioners for two-phase flow in porous media with phase transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bui, Quan M.; Wang, Lu; Osei-Kuffuor, Daniel

2018-04-01

Multiphase flow is a critical process in a wide range of applications, including oil and gas recovery, carbon sequestration, and contaminant remediation. Numerical simulation of multiphase flow requires solving of a large, sparse linear system resulting from the discretization of the partial differential equations modeling the flow. In the case of multiphase multicomponent flow with miscible effect, this is a very challenging task. The problem becomes even more difficult if phase transitions are taken into account. A new approach to handle phase transitions is to formulate the system as a nonlinear complementarity problem (NCP). Unlike in the primary variable switching technique, the set of primary variables in this approach is fixed even when there is phase transition. Not only does this improve the robustness of the nonlinear solver, it opens up the possibility to use multigrid methods to solve the resulting linear system. The disadvantage of the complementarity approach, however, is that when a phase disappears, the linear system has the structure of a saddle point problem and becomes indefinite, and current algebraic multigrid (AMG) algorithms cannot be applied directly. In this study, we explore the effectiveness of a new multilevel strategy, based on the multigrid reduction technique, to deal with problems of this type. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method through numerical results for the case of two-phase, two-component flow with phase appearance/disappearance. We also show that the strategy is efficient and scales optimally with problem size.

Diaphragm pacing system implanted in a patient with ALS.

PubMed

Kotan, Dilcan; Kaymak, Kamil; Gündogdu, Aslı Aksoy

2016-08-10

The diaphragm pacing system (DPS) is a life quality improving operation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who need mechanical ventilation or have chronic respiratory insufficiency. This procedure is gaining in popularity, and the number of centers implanting diaphragm pacing systems (DPS) is increasing. DPS delays the need for a ventilation machine in the early stages of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease. In this case study, we present a young female ALS patient. A DPS was implanted after respiratory insufficiency began. In the one-year follow-up period following her operation, her need for ventilatory support disappeared.

Visual cues in low-level flight - Implications for pilotage, training, simulation, and enhanced/synthetic vision systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foyle, David C.; Kaiser, Mary K.; Johnson, Walter W.

1992-01-01

This paper reviews some of the sources of visual information that are available in the out-the-window scene and describes how these visual cues are important for routine pilotage and training, as well as the development of simulator visual systems and enhanced or synthetic vision systems for aircraft cockpits. It is shown how these visual cues may change or disappear under environmental or sensor conditions, and how the visual scene can be augmented by advanced displays to capitalize on the pilot's excellent ability to extract visual information from the visual scene.

Mobile bag starch prececal disappearance and postprandial glycemic response of four forms of barley in horses.

PubMed

Philippeau, C; Varloud, M; Julliand, V

2014-05-01

To determine prececal starch digestibili-ty and estimate glucose uptake from the digestion of 4 forms of barley in the small intestine, 4 mature cecally fistulated geldings (449 ± 41 kg BW) fed a 62:38 (wt/wt) meadow hay:concentrate diet at 1.7 kg DM/100 kg BW were included in a 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment. During each period, horses received 80% DM of their concentrate as 1 of the 4 forms of a same batch of barley, whole grain, 2.5 mm ground, steam flaked, and pelleted. Hay was offered in 2 equal meals and concentrate in 2 unequal meals. The starch supply in the morning meal amounted 2.7 g starch/kg BW. At each period, mobile bag DM and starch disappearance was determined. Except for ground barley, each form of barley was 4 mm ground before being introduced in the bag. Nylon bags containing each substrate were intubated in the horse receiving the pelleted barley. Bags were collected in the cecum for 10 h postintubation. At each period, postprandial glycemia was measured on blood samples collected on the 4 horses via an indwelling jugular catheter just before the concentrate morning meal and for 8 h. No hay in the morning meal was given the day of the measurements. Whole blood glucose was analyzed with a portable blood glucose meter. Mobile bag prececal DM disappearance and starch disappearance depended (P < 0.01) on barley form. Prececal starch disappearance of whole barley was the lowest but no difference (P > 0.05) was detected among the 3 processed grains. No significant effect of barley form was found whatever the glycemic parameters. No significant correlation was reported between glycemic parameters and the amount of prececal mobile bag disappeared starch calculated as the starch intake in the morning meal by the mobile bag starch disappearance. To conclude, the whole form of barley exhibited the lowest prececal mobile bag starch disappearance whereas, in relationship with large individual variations, no significant variation has been shown in glycemic parameters. Further investigations should be performed to improve methods for estimating prececal starch digestion of processed cereals in the different digestive segments of horses.

Chimera Type Behavior in Nonlocal Coupling System with Two Different Inherent Frequencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Larry; Li, Ping-Cheng; Tseng, Hseng-Che

2014-03-01

From the research of Kuramoto and Strogatz, arrays of identical oscillators can display a remarkable pattern, named chimera state, in which phase-locked oscillators coexist with drifting ones in nonlocal coupling oscillator system. We consider further in this study, two groups of oscillators with different inherent frequencies and arrange them in a ring. When the difference of the inherent frequencies is within some specific parameter range, oscillators of nonlocal coupling system show two distinct chimera states. When the parameter value exceeds some threshold value, two chimera states disappear. They show different features. The statistical dynamic behavior of the system can be described by Kuramoto theory.

Comparison of PCE and TCE disappearance in heated volatile organic analysis vials and flame-sealed ampules.

PubMed

Costanza, Jed; Pennell, Kurt D

2008-02-01

The rates of hydrolysis reported for tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) at elevated temperatures range over two orders-of-magnitude, where some of the variability may be due to the presence of a gas phase. Recent studies suggest that volatile organic analysis (VOA) vials provide a low-cost and readily available zero headspace system for measuring aqueous-phase hydrolysis rates. This work involved measuring rates of PCE and TCE disappearance and the corresponding appearance of dechlorination products in water-filled VOA vials and flame-sealed ampules incubated at 21 and 55 degrees C for up to 95.5 days. While PCE and TCE concentrations readily decreased in the VOA vials to yield first-order half lives of 11.2 days for PCE and 21.1 days for TCE at 55 degrees C, concentrations of anticipated dechlorination products, including chloride, remained constant or were not detected. The rate of PCE disappearance was 34 times faster in VOA vials at 55 degrees C compared to values obtained with flame-sealed ampules containing PCE-contaminated water. In addition, the concentration of TCE increased slightly in flame-sealed ampules incubated at 55 degrees C, while a decrease in TCE levels was observed in the VOA vials. The observed losses of PCE and TCE in the VOA vials were attributed to diffusion and sorption in the septa, rather than to dechlorination. These findings demonstrate that VOA vials are not suitable for measuring rates of volatile organic compound hydrolysis at elevated temperatures.

FOB-SH: Fragment orbital-based surface hopping for charge carrier transport in organic and biological molecules and materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spencer, J.; Gajdos, F.; Blumberger, J., E-mail: j.blumberger@ucl.ac.uk

2016-08-14

We introduce a fragment orbital-based fewest switches surface hopping method, FOB-SH, designed to efficiently simulate charge carrier transport in strongly fluctuating condensed phase systems such as organic semiconductors and biomolecules. The charge carrier wavefunction is expanded and the electronic Hamiltonian constructed in a set of singly occupied molecular orbitals of the molecular sites that mediate the charge transfer. Diagonal elements of the electronic Hamiltonian (site energies) are obtained from a force field, whereas the off-diagonal or electronic coupling matrix elements are obtained using our recently developed analytic overlap method. We derive a general expression for the exact forces on themore » adiabatic ground and excited electronic state surfaces from the nuclear gradients of the charge localized electronic states. Applications to electron hole transfer in a model ethylene dimer and through a chain of ten model ethylenes validate our implementation and demonstrate its computational efficiency. On the larger system, we calculate the qualitative behaviour of charge mobility with change in temperature T for different regimes of the intermolecular electronic coupling. For small couplings, FOB-SH predicts a crossover from a thermally activated regime at low temperatures to a band-like transport regime at higher temperatures. For higher electronic couplings, the thermally activated regime disappears and the mobility decreases according to a power law. This is interpreted by a gradual loss in probability for resonance between the sites as the temperature increases. The polaron hopping model solved for the same system gives a qualitatively different result and underestimates the mobility decay at higher temperatures. Taken together, the FOB-SH methodology introduced here shows promise for a realistic investigation of charge carrier transport in complex organic, aqueous, and biological systems.« less

FOB-SH: Fragment orbital-based surface hopping for charge carrier transport in organic and biological molecules and materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, J.; Gajdos, F.; Blumberger, J.

2016-08-01

We introduce a fragment orbital-based fewest switches surface hopping method, FOB-SH, designed to efficiently simulate charge carrier transport in strongly fluctuating condensed phase systems such as organic semiconductors and biomolecules. The charge carrier wavefunction is expanded and the electronic Hamiltonian constructed in a set of singly occupied molecular orbitals of the molecular sites that mediate the charge transfer. Diagonal elements of the electronic Hamiltonian (site energies) are obtained from a force field, whereas the off-diagonal or electronic coupling matrix elements are obtained using our recently developed analytic overlap method. We derive a general expression for the exact forces on the adiabatic ground and excited electronic state surfaces from the nuclear gradients of the charge localized electronic states. Applications to electron hole transfer in a model ethylene dimer and through a chain of ten model ethylenes validate our implementation and demonstrate its computational efficiency. On the larger system, we calculate the qualitative behaviour of charge mobility with change in temperature T for different regimes of the intermolecular electronic coupling. For small couplings, FOB-SH predicts a crossover from a thermally activated regime at low temperatures to a band-like transport regime at higher temperatures. For higher electronic couplings, the thermally activated regime disappears and the mobility decreases according to a power law. This is interpreted by a gradual loss in probability for resonance between the sites as the temperature increases. The polaron hopping model solved for the same system gives a qualitatively different result and underestimates the mobility decay at higher temperatures. Taken together, the FOB-SH methodology introduced here shows promise for a realistic investigation of charge carrier transport in complex organic, aqueous, and biological systems.

Diagnosed but Not Defeated: The Experiences of African-American Males with Past Histories of Enrollment in Special Education Who Successfully Attend Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strickland-Dixon, Kennedi

2013-01-01

African-American males are disappearing at alarming rates before our eyes through racially driven practices that secure their position in the penal system and special education. Though many scholars in the field of education have highlighted alarming rates of incarceration and overrepresentation in special education for African-American males,…

A Demonstration of the Continuous Phase (Second-Order) Transition of a Binary Liquid System in the Region around Its Critical Point

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Michael R.

2006-01-01

In most general chemistry and introductory physical chemistry classes, critical point is defined as that temperature-pressure point on a phase diagram where the liquid-gas interface disappears, a phenomenon that generally occurs at relatively high temperatures or high pressures. Two examples are: water, with a critical point at 647 K (critical…

The Disappearance and Death of Ettore Majorana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerra, Francesco; Robotti, Nadia

2013-06-01

At the end of March 1938, Ettore Majorana disappeared under still mysterious circumstances while he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Naples. We exploit new archival documents that provide evidence that without any doubt he was deceased before September 1939. These include documents pertaining to the foundation of a Fellowship in his name, announced on November 3, 1939, in the journal, The Missions of the Society of Jesus, and documents pertaining to the Police and Vatican inquires after his disappearance. We conclude by discussing the biographical sketch of Majorana that his uncle Giuseppe Majorana wrote before his death in 1940.

The iothalamate clearance in cats with experimentally induced renal failure.

PubMed

Ohashi, F; Kuroda, K; Shimada, T; Shimada, Y; Ota, M

1996-08-01

Plasma iothalamate (IOT) disappearance rates were measured after a single-injection of IOT (113.8 mg/kg, IV) in cats with experimentally induced renal failure. The disappearance rates especially fitted into the one compartment model. The mean value of plasma disappearance rates of IOT in these cats with induced renal failure (2.16 +/- 0.240 x 10(-3) micrograms/ml/min) was markedly lower than that of clinically healthy cats (4.10 +/- 1.00 x 10(-3) micrograms/ml/min). These results demonstrate that IOT clearance is available for evaluation of renal function in cats.

Disappearing Polymorphs Revisited

PubMed Central

Bučar, Dejan-Krešimir; Lancaster, Robert W; Bernstein, Joel

2015-01-01

Nearly twenty years ago, Dunitz and Bernstein described a selection of intriguing cases of polymorphs that disappear. The inability to obtain a crystal form that has previously been prepared is indeed a frustrating and potentially serious problem for solid-state scientists. This Review discusses recent occurrences and examples of disappearing polymorphs (as well as the emergence of elusive crystal forms) to demonstrate the enduring relevance of this troublesome, but always captivating, phenomenon in solid-state research. A number of these instances have been central issues in patent litigations. This Review, therefore, also highlights the complex relationship between crystal chemistry and the law. PMID:26031248

Toward a Better Understanding of Psychological Symptoms in People Confronted With the Disappearance of a Loved One: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Lenferink, Lonneke I M; de Keijser, Jos; Wessel, Ineke; de Vries, Doety; Boelen, Paul A

2017-01-01

The disappearance of a loved one is claimed to be the most stressful type of loss. The present review explores the empirical evidence relating to this claim. Specifically, it summarizes studies exploring the prevalence and correlates of psychological symptoms in relatives of missing persons as well as studies comparing levels of psychopathology in relatives of the disappeared and the deceased. Two independent reviewers performed a systematic search in PsychINFO, Web of Science, and Medline, which resulted in 15 studies meeting predefined inclusion criteria. Eligible studies included quantitative peer-reviewed articles and dissertations that assessed psychopathology in relatives of missing person. All reviewed studies were focused on disappearances due to war or state terrorism. Prevalence rates of psychopathology were mainly described in terms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and varied considerably among the studies. Number of experienced traumatic events and kinship to the missing person were identified as correlates of psychopathology. Comparative studies showed that psychopathology levels did not differ between relatives of missing and deceased persons. The small number of studies and the heterogeneity of the studies limit the understanding of psychopathology in those left behind. More knowledge about psychopathology postdisappearance could be gained by expanding the focus of research beyond disappearances due to war or state terrorism.

Quantitative computed tomography and aerosol morphometry in COPD and alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency.

PubMed

Shaker, S B; Maltbaek, N; Brand, P; Haeussermann, S; Dirksen, A

2005-01-01

Relative area of emphysema below -910 Hounsfield units (RA-910) and 15th percentile density (PD15) are quantitative computed tomography (CT) parameters used in the diagnosis of emphysema. New concepts for noninvasive diagnosis of emphysema are aerosol-derived airway morphometry, which measures effective airspace dimensions (EAD) and aerosol bolus dispersion (ABD). Quantitative CT, ABD and EAD were compared in 20 smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 22 patients with alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (AAD) with a similar degree of airway obstruction and reduced diffusion capacity. In both groups, there was a significant correlation between RA-910 and PD15 and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). A significant correlation was also found between EAD, RA-910 and PD15 in the study population as a whole. Upon separation into two groups, the significance disappeared for the smokers with COPD and strengthened for those with AAD, where EAD correlated significantly with RA-910 and PD15. ABD was similar in the two groups and did not correlate with PFT and quantitative CT in either group. In conclusion, based on quantitative computed tomography and aerosol-derived airway morphometry, emphysema was significantly more severe in patients with alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency compared with patients with usual emphysema, despite similar measures of pulmonary function tests.

Recurrent focal choroidal excavation following multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) associated with acute idiopathic blind spot enlargement.

PubMed

Jabbarpoor Bonyadi, Mohammad Hossein; Hassanpour, Kiana; Soheilian, Masoud

2018-04-01

To present a recurrent case of conforming focal choroidal excavation (FCE) following multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) in a 25-year-old woman. Following spontaneous MEWDS sings resolution our patient noted a recurrent decrease in vision. Repeated OCT revealed elevation and mild disruption of RPE layer at fovea without previous angiographic MEWDS signs. At this time, short-term systemic steroid therapy was started and visual acuity became normal. Following quiescence of the new-onset phase, the conforming type of FCE located in inferior macula appeared in OCT. In the following next 2 years recurrence of presumptive focal subfoveal choriocapillaritis occurred for three times presenting with blurred vision. During every acute attack, above-mentioned FCE disappeared and returned back again after resolution of presumptive focal choriocapillaritis. This is the first and unique case of recurrent type of FCE following MEWDS. It seems to disappear during active phase of presumptive focal choriocapillaritis and then returns after the eye has become quiescent.

[Temporary disappearance of EEG activity during reversible respiratory failure in rabbits and cats].

PubMed

Jurco, M; Tomori, Z; Tkácová, R; Calfa, J

1989-02-01

The dynamics of changes of EEG activity was studied on the model of reversible respiratory failure in rabbits and cats in pentobarbital anesthesia. During N2 inhalation, apnea of 60 second duration, and subsequent resuscitation the electrocorticogram in bifrontal and bioccipital connection was recorded. Evaluation of 19 episodes of apnea in 7 rabbits and of 25 episodes in 8 cats yielded the following results: 1. During hyperventilation induced by N2 inhalation a certain activation of the EEG was observed (spindles more pronounced, increased occurrence rate of discharges of the reticular activation system). 2. At the onset of apnea the EEG was still distinct, suggesting that primary apnea is presumably not caused by anoxia and the accompanying electric silence of the structures that control respiration. 3. Disappearance of EEG occurred within 50 seconds from the onset of apnea in rabbits and within 30 seconds in cats. 4. After repeated episodes of apnea lasting for 60 sec., artificial ventilation mostly resulted in normalization of EEG.

Origin of asteroids and the missing planet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Opik, E. J.

1977-01-01

Consideration is given to Ovenden's (1972) theory concerning the existence of a planet of 90 earth masses which existed from the beginning of the solar system and then disappeared 16 million years ago, leaving only asteroids. His model for secular perturbations is reviewed along with the principle of least interaction action (1972, 1973, 1975) on which the model is based. It is suggested that the structure of the asteroid belt and the origin of meteorites are associated with the vanished planet. A figure of 0.001 earth masses is proposed as a close estimate of the mass of the asteroidal belt. The hypothesis that the planet was removed through an explosion is discussed, noting the possible origin of asteroids in such a manner. Various effects of the explosion are postulated, including the direct impact of fragments on the earth, their impact on the sun and its decreased radiation, and the direct radiation of the explosion. A model for the disappearance of the planet by ejection in a gravitational encounter with a passing mass is also described.

Disappearance of nodal gap across the insulator-superconductor transition in a copper-oxide superconductor.

PubMed

Peng, Yingying; Meng, Jianqiao; Mou, Daixiang; He, Junfeng; Zhao, Lin; Wu, Yue; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; He, Shaolong; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Xiaoyang; Peng, Qinjun; Wang, Zhimin; Zhang, Shenjin; Yang, Feng; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Lee, T K; Zhou, X J

2013-01-01

The parent compound of the copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors is a Mott insulator. Superconductivity is realized by doping an appropriate amount of charge carriers. How a Mott insulator transforms into a superconductor is crucial in understanding the unusual physical properties of high-temperature superconductors and the superconductivity mechanism. Here we report high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurement on heavily underdoped Bi₂Sr₂-xLaxCuO(₆+δ) system. The electronic structure of the lightly doped samples exhibit a number of characteristics: existence of an energy gap along the nodal direction, d-wave-like anisotropic energy gap along the underlying Fermi surface, and coexistence of a coherence peak and a broad hump in the photoemission spectra. Our results reveal a clear insulator-superconductor transition at a critical doping level of ~0.10 where the nodal energy gap approaches zero, the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic order disappears, and superconductivity starts to emerge. These observations clearly signal a close connection between the nodal gap, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation Using a Liver Graft With Congenital Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt

PubMed Central

Kamei, Hideya; Imai, Hisashi; Onishi, Yasuharu; Sugimoto, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Kojiro; Ogura, Yasuhiro

2016-01-01

Background Despite of recent development of imaging modalities, congenital intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (IPSS) is rarely diagnosed. Therefore, living donor liver transplantation using a liver graft with IPSS has not been previously published. Materials and Methods We report a 28-year-old male patient with end-stage liver disease secondary to Wilson disease. His 26-year-old brother was a potential living donor, who had an IPSS of 25 mm in diameter at segment 6 as shown by computed tomography. Liver function tests were normal, and blood ammonia concentration was in the upper limit of normal. Results Living donor liver transplantation was uneventfully performed. After surgery, a recipient liver function tests showed a quick recovery, and serum ammonia levels were consistently normal. Although thrombosis inside the IPSS was confirmed by computed tomography on postoperative day 21, this thrombosis disappeared at 3 months posttransplant with anticoagulants. Currently (12 months posttransplant), the patient has fully recovered, and the IPSS is still the same size. Conclusions Based on our experience, liver allografts with IPSS can be accepted as potential liver allografts. PMID:27500240

Outcome of Preterm Infants with Transient Cystic Periventricular Leukomalacia on Serial Cranial Imaging Up to Term Equivalent Age.

PubMed

Sarkar, Subrata; Shankaran, Seetha; Barks, John; Do, Barbara T; Laptook, Abbot R; Das, Abhik; Ambalavanan, Namasivayam; Van Meurs, Krisa P; Bell, Edward F; Sanchez, Pablo J; Hintz, Susan R; Wyckoff, Myra H; Stoll, Barbara J; Carlo, Waldemar A

2018-04-01

To determine the outcome of preterm infants whose cystic periventricular leukomalacia "disappeared" on serial screening cranial imaging studies. Infants ≤26 weeks of gestation born between 2002 and 2012 who had cranial imaging studies at least twice, the most abnormal study at <28 days of age and another closest to 36 weeks, were reviewed. The outcome of late death (after 36 weeks postmenstrual age) or neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in surviving infants at 18-26 months corrected age was compared between the infants with no cystic periventricular leukomalacia on both studies and cystic periventricular leukomalacia that disappeared (cystic periventricular leukomalacia at <28 days but not at 36 weeks), persisted (cystic periventricular leukomalacia on both studies), or appeared late (cystic periventricular leukomalacia only at 36 weeks). Predictors of NDI were evaluated by logistic regression. Of 7063 eligible infants, 433 (6.1%) had cystic periventricular leukomalacia. Among the 433 infants with cystic periventricular leukomalacia, cystic periventricular leukomalacia disappeared in 76 (18%), persisted in 87 (20%), and 270 (62%) had late cystic periventricular leukomalacia. Loss to follow-up ranged between 3% and 13%. Death or NDI was more common in infants with disappeared cystic periventricular leukomalacia compared with those with no cystic periventricular leukomalacia (38 of 72 [53%] vs 1776 of 6376 [28%]; OR [95% CI] 2.8 [1.8-4.6]). Disappeared, persistent, and late cystic periventricular leukomalacia were all also independently associated with NDI (OR 1.17, 1.21, and 1.16, respectively). Infants with "disappeared" cystic periventricular leukomalacia are at increased risk of adverse outcome similar to infants with persistent or late cystic periventricular leukomalacia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Disappearance of enlarged nuchal translucency before 14 weeks' gestation: relationship with chromosomal abnormalities and pregnancy outcome.

PubMed

Müller, M A; Pajkrt, E; Bleker, O P; Bonsel, G J; Bilardo, C M

2004-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the natural course of enlarged nuchal translucency (NT) and to determine if its disappearance before 14 weeks' gestation is a favorable prognostic sign in relation to fetal karyotype and pregnancy outcome. A total of 147 women with increased NT (> 95th centile) at first measurement were included in this study. A second measurement was performed in all cases, at an interval of at least 2 days. Both measurements were taken between 10 + 3 and 14 + 0 weeks. All women underwent chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis for subsequent karyotyping. In those women with a normal karyotype, a fetal anomaly scan was performed at 20 weeks' gestation. Pregnancy outcome was recorded in all cases. The finding of persistent or disappearing NT enlargement was analyzed in relation to fetal karyotype and pregnancy outcome. Of the 147 paired measurements, NT remained enlarged at the second measurement in 121 (82%) cases. An abnormal karyotype was found in 35% of these cases. In 26 (18%) fetuses the NT measurement was found to be below the 95th percentile at the second measurement and in only two of them an abnormal karyotype was found (8%). In the 103 chromosomally normal fetuses an adverse outcome (i.e. fetal loss or structural defects) was recorded in 22 fetuses with persistent enlargement (28%) and in four fetuses with disappearing enlargement (17%). Disappearance of an enlarged NT before 14 weeks' gestation is not a rare phenomenon and seems to be a favorable prognostic sign with respect to fetal karyotype. Overall, no significant difference in pregnancy outcome was found between chromosomally normal fetuses with persisting or disappearing NT enlargement. Copyright 2004 ISUOG

Variable-length analog of Stavskaya process: A new example of misleading simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, A. D.; Silva, F. S. G.; Sousa, C. S.; Toom, A.

2017-05-01

This article presents a new example intended to showcase limitations of computer simulations in the study of random processes with local interaction. For this purpose, we examine a new version of the well-known Stavskaya process, which is a discrete-time analog of the well-known contact processes. Like the bulk of random processes studied till now, the Stavskaya process is constant-length, that is, its components do not appear or disappear in the course of its functioning. The process, which we study here and call Variable Stavskaya, VS, is similar to Stavskaya; it is discrete-time; its states are bi-infinite sequences, whose terms take only two values (denoted here as "minus" and "plus"), and the measure concentrated in the configuration "all pluses" is invariant. However, it is a variable length, which means that its components, also called particles, may appear and disappear under its action. The operator VS is a composition of the following two operators. The first operator, called "birth," depends on a real parameter β; it creates a new component in the state "plus" between every two neighboring components with probability β independently from what happens at other places. The second operator, called "murder," depends on a real parameter α and acts in the following way: whenever a plus is a left neighbor of a minus, this plus disappears (as if murdered by that minus which is its right neighbor) with probability α independently from what happens to other particles. We prove for any α <1 and any β >0 and any initial measure μ that the sequence μ (𝖵𝖲)t (the result of t iterative applications of VS to μ) tends to the measure δ⊕ (concentrated in "all pluses") as t →∞ . Such a behavior is often called ergodic. However, the Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field approximations, which we performed, behaved as if μ (𝖵𝖲)t tended to δ⊕ much slower for some α ,β ,μ than for some others. Based on these numerical results, we conjecture that 𝖵𝖲 has phases, but not in that simple sense as the classical Stavskaya process.

State-changes in the swimmeret system: a neural circuit that drives locomotion

PubMed Central

Tschuluun, N.; Hall, W. M.; Mulloney, B.

2009-01-01

Summary The crayfish swimmeret system undergoes transitions between a silent state and an active state. In the silent state, no patterned firing occurs in swimmeret motor neurons. In the active state, bursts of spikes in power stroke motor neurons alternate periodically with bursts of spikes in return stroke motor neurons. In preparations of the isolated crayfish central nervous system (CNS), the temporal structures of motor patterns expressed in the active state are similar to those expressed by the intact animal. These transitions can occur spontaneously, in response to stimulation of command neurons, or in response to application of neuromodulators and transmitter analogues. We used single-electrode voltage clamp of power-stroke exciter and return-stroke exciter motor neurons to study changes in membrane currents during spontaneous transitions and during transitions caused by bath-application of carbachol or octopamine (OA). Spontaneous transitions from silence to activity were marked by the appearance of a standing inward current and periodic outward currents in both types of motor neurons. Bath-application of carbachol also led to the development of these currents and activation of the system. Using low Ca2+–high Mg2+ saline to block synaptic transmission, we found that the carbachol-induced inward current included a direct response by the motor neuron and an indirect component. Spontaneous transitions from activity to silence were marked by disappearance of the standing inward current and the periodic outward currents. Bath-application of OA led promptly to the disappearance of both currents, and silenced the system. OA also acted directly on both types of motor neurons to cause a hyperpolarizing outward current that would contribute to silencing the system. PMID:19880720

State-changes in the swimmeret system: a neural circuit that drives locomotion.

PubMed

Tschuluun, N; Hall, W M; Mulloney, B

2009-11-01

The crayfish swimmeret system undergoes transitions between a silent state and an active state. In the silent state, no patterned firing occurs in swimmeret motor neurons. In the active state, bursts of spikes in power stroke motor neurons alternate periodically with bursts of spikes in return stroke motor neurons. In preparations of the isolated crayfish central nervous system (CNS), the temporal structures of motor patterns expressed in the active state are similar to those expressed by the intact animal. These transitions can occur spontaneously, in response to stimulation of command neurons, or in response to application of neuromodulators and transmitter analogues. We used single-electrode voltage clamp of power-stroke exciter and return-stroke exciter motor neurons to study changes in membrane currents during spontaneous transitions and during transitions caused by bath-application of carbachol or octopamine (OA). Spontaneous transitions from silence to activity were marked by the appearance of a standing inward current and periodic outward currents in both types of motor neurons. Bath-application of carbachol also led to the development of these currents and activation of the system. Using low Ca(2+)-high Mg(2+) saline to block synaptic transmission, we found that the carbachol-induced inward current included a direct response by the motor neuron and an indirect component. Spontaneous transitions from activity to silence were marked by disappearance of the standing inward current and the periodic outward currents. Bath-application of OA led promptly to the disappearance of both currents, and silenced the system. OA also acted directly on both types of motor neurons to cause a hyperpolarizing outward current that would contribute to silencing the system.

Continuous melting through a hexatic phase in confined bilayer water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubeltzu, Jon; Corsetti, Fabiano; Fernández-Serra, M. V.; Artacho, Emilio

2016-06-01

Liquid water is not only of obvious importance but also extremely intriguing, displaying many anomalies that still challenge our understanding of such an a priori simple system. The same is true when looking at nanoconfined water: The liquid between constituents in a cell is confined to such dimensions, and there is already evidence that such water can behave very differently from its bulk counterpart. A striking finding has been reported from computer simulations for two-dimensionally confined water: The liquid displays continuous or discontinuous melting depending on its density. In order to understand this behavior, we have analyzed the melting exhibited by a bilayer of nanoconfined water by means of molecular dynamics simulations. At high density we observe the continuous melting to be related to the phase change of the oxygens only, with the hydrogens remaining liquidlike throughout. Moreover, we find an intermediate hexatic phase for the oxygens between the liquid and a triangular solid ice phase, following the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young theory for two-dimensional melting. The liquid itself tends to maintain the local structure of the triangular ice, with its two layers being strongly correlated yet with very slow exchange of matter. The decoupling in the behavior of the oxygens and hydrogens gives rise to a regime in which the complexity of water seems to disappear, resulting in what resembles a simple monoatomic liquid. This intrinsic tendency of our simulated water may be useful for understanding novel behaviors in other confined and interfacial water systems.

Observational articles: a tool to reconstruct ecological history based on chronicling unusual events.

PubMed

Boero, Ferdinando

2013-01-01

Natural history is based on observations, whereas modern ecology is mostly based on experiments aimed at testing hypotheses, either in the field or in a computer. Furthermore, experiments often reveal generalities that are taken as norms. Ecology, however, is a historical discipline and history is driven by both regularities (deriving from norms) and irregularities, or contingencies, which occur when norms are broken. If only norms occured, there would be no history. The current disregard for the importance of contingencies and anecdotes is preventing us from understanding ecological history. We need rules and norms, but we also need records about apparently irrelevant things that, in non-linear systems like ecological ones, might become the drivers of change and, thus, the determinants of history. The same arguments also hold in the field of evolutionary biology, with natural selection being the ecological driver of evolutionary change. It is important that scientists are able to publish potentially important observations, particularly those that are unrelated to their current projects that have no sufficient grounds to be framed into a classical eco-evolutionary paper, and could feasibly impact on the history of the systems in which they occurred. A report on any deviation from the norm would be welcome, from the disappearance of species to their sudden appearance in great quantities. Any event that an "expert eye" (i.e. the eye of a naturalist) might judge as potentially important is worth being reported.

Efficacy of combination therapy of anti-TNF-α antibody infliximab and methotrexate in refractory entero-Behçet's disease.

PubMed

Iwata, Shigeru; Saito, Kazuyoshi; Yamaoka, Kunihiro; Tsujimura, Shizuyo; Nawata, Masao; Hanami, Kentaro; Tanaka, Yoshiya

2011-04-01

It is often difficult to manage refractory gastrointestinal tract complications of Behçet's disease (entero-BD) by conventional therapy. In this study, we assessed the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of the combination therapy of infliximab, an anti-tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF)-α antibody, and methotrexate in ten patients with refractory entero-BD refractory to conventional therapies. The short- (weeks) and long-term (by 2 years) effects of infliximab at 3-5 mg/kg body weight every 8 weeks on the clinical course and intestinal manifestations were assessed by abdominal computed tomography (CT) and colonoscopy. The primary endpoint was the rate of disappearance of ileocecal ulceration at 12 months of therapy. All patients showed improvement of gastrointestinal symptoms and disease-associated complications within 4 weeks. Furthermore, the rate of disappearance of ileocecal ulcerations was 50% (5/10 patients) at 6 months and 90% (9/10 patients) at 12 months, and, therefore 90% of patients were satisfied with the primary endpoint. Furthermore, corticosteroid dose was significantly reduced from 22.0 to 1.8 mg/day at 24 months. No severe adverse effects were observed during the 24 months of follow-up. We provide evidence for the rapid and excellent efficacy of infliximab in patients with refractory entero-BD and that the combination of infliximab and methotrexate brings about long-term alleviation of entero-BD and excellent tolerability.

Crohn’s Disease Successfully Treated With Infliximab in a Patient Receiving Hemodialysis: Case Report and Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Chiba, Mitsuro; Tsuda, Satoko; Tsuji, Tsuyotoshi; Nakane, Kunio; Komatsu, Masafumi; Miura, Yoshiko; Ishida, Toshiya; Shibahara, Toru; Nishimoto, Tadashi

2014-01-01

Abstract There is limited information in the use of antitumor necrosis factor α, infliximab, in patients on hemodialysis. In Crohn’s disease (CD), only 3 cases are reported. A 76-year-old man on hemodialysis for renal failure caused by immunoglobulin A nephropathy developed diarrhea and abdominal pains. A marked edema was observed in the pretibia and ankle. An increase of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, hypoalbuminemia, hypocholesterolemia, and moderate anemia was found. Ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) found wall thickness in the left colon. Sigmoidoscopy revealed multiple ulcers in the sigmoid colon and noncaseating epithelioid granuloma was found in the biopsy specimen. Barium enema study exhibited collar button signs and longitudinal ulcers in the left colon. A severe form of CD was diagnosed. Metronidazole seemed to decrease CRP but was ineffective in ameliorating diarrhea. Infliximab rather than steroid hormone was chosen for the treatment. Standard induction therapy with infliximab was initiated. Symptoms rapidly improved then disappeared. CD activity index decreased from 747 to a remission level of 134 after 2 infusions of infliximab. Scheduled maintenance infliximab therapy was administered after the induction therapy. Ultrasonography and CT showed a disappearance of the wall thickness of the colon. Adverse reactions were not observed. Infliximab was effective and safe in a patient with CD on hemodialysis. Our case has added additional literature in accordance with previous reports supporting infliximab as effective and safe in patients on hemodialysis. PMID:25101989

Degradation and metabolite production of tylosin in anaerobic and aerobic swine-manure lagoons.

PubMed

Kolz, A C; Moorman, T B; Ong, S K; Scoggin, K D; Douglass, E A

2005-01-01

Watershed contamination from antibiotics is becoming a critical issue because of increased numbers of confined animal-feeding operations and the use of antibiotics in animal production. To understand the fate of tylosin in manure before it is land-applied, degradation in manure lagoon slurries at 22 degrees C was studied. Tylosin disappearance followed a biphasic pattern, where rapid initial loss was followed by a slow removal phase. The 90% disappearance times for tylosin, relomycin (tylosin D), and desmycosin (tylosin B) in anaerobically incubated slurries were 30 to 130 hours. Aerating the slurries reduced the 90% disappearance times to between 12 and 26 hours. Biodegradation and abiotic degradation occur, but strong sorption to slurry solids was probably the primary mechanism of tylosin disappearance. Dihydrodesmycosin and an unknown degradate with molecular mass of m/z 934.5 were detected. Residual tylosin remained in slurry after eight months of incubation, indicating that degradation in lagoons is incomplete and that residues will enter agricultural fields.

An exploration of the basis for patient complaints about the oldness of magazines in practice waiting rooms: cohort study

PubMed Central

Alrutz, Stowe; Moyes, Simon

2014-01-01

Objective To explore the basis for patient complaints about the oldness of most magazines in practice waiting rooms. Design Cohort study. Setting Waiting room of a general practice in Auckland, New Zealand. Participants 87 magazines stacked into three mixed piles and placed in the waiting room: this included non-gossipy magazines (Time magazine, the Economist, Australian Women’s Weekly, National Geographic, BBC History) and gossipy ones (not identified for fear of litigation). Gossipy was defined as having five or more photographs of celebrities on the front cover and most gossipy as having up to 10 such images. Interventions The magazines were marked with a unique number on the back cover, placed in three piles in the waiting room, and monitored twice weekly. Main outcome measures Disappearance of magazines less than 2 months old versus magazines 3-12 months old, the overall rate of loss of magazines, and the rate of loss of gossipy versus non-gossipy magazines. Results 47 of the 82 magazines with a visible date on the front cover were aged less than 2 months. 28 of these 47 (60%) magazines and 10 of the 35 (29%) older magazines disappeared (P=0.002). After 31 days, 41 of the 87 (47%, 95% confidence interval 37% to 58%) magazines had disappeared. None of the 19 non-gossipy magazines (the Economist and Time magazine) had disappeared compared with 26 of the 27 (96%) gossipy magazines (P<0.001). All 15 of the most gossipy magazines and all 19 of the non-gossipy magazines had disappeared by 31 days. The study was terminated at this point. Conclusions General practice waiting rooms contain mainly old magazines. This phenomenon relates to the disappearance of the magazines rather than to the supply of old ones. Gossipy magazines were more likely to disappear than non-gossipy ones. On the grounds of cost we advise practices to supply old copies of non-gossipy magazines. A waiting room science curriculum is urgently needed. PMID:25500116

Verifying the Rechargeability of Li-CO2 Batteries on Working Cathodes of Ni Nanoparticles Highly Dispersed on N-Doped Graphene.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhang; Wang, Xin-Gai; Zhang, Xu; Xie, Zhaojun; Chen, Ya-Nan; Ma, Lipo; Peng, Zhangquan; Zhou, Zhen

2018-02-01

Li-CO 2 batteries could skillfully combine the reduction of "greenhouse effect" with energy storage systems. However, Li-CO 2 batteries still suffer from unsatisfactory electrochemical performances and their rechargeability is challenged. Here, it is reported that a composite of Ni nanoparticles highly dispersed on N-doped graphene (Ni-NG) with 3D porous structure, exhibits a superior discharge capacity of 17 625 mA h g -1 , as the air cathode for Li-CO 2 batteries. The batteries with these highly efficient cathodes could sustain 100 cycles at a cutoff capacity of 1000 mA h g -1 with low overpotentials at the current density of 100 mA g -1 . Particularly, the Ni-NG cathodes allow to observe the appearance/disappearance of agglomerated Li 2 CO 3 particles and carbon thin films directly upon discharge/charge processes. In addition, the recycle of CO 2 is detected through in situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry. This is a critical step to verify the electrochemical rechargeability of Li-CO 2 batteries. Also, first-principles computations further prove that Ni nanoparticles are active sites for the reaction of Li and CO 2 , which could guide to design more advantageous catalysts for rechargeable Li-CO 2 batteries.

The paddle move commonly used in magic tricks as a means for analysing the perceptual limits of combined motion trajectories.

PubMed

Hergovich, Andreas; Gröbl, Kristian; Carbon, Claus-Christian

2011-01-01

Following Gustav Kuhn's inspiring technique of using magicians' acts as a source of insight into cognitive sciences, we used the 'paddle move' for testing the psychophysics of combined movement trajectories. The paddle move is a standard technique in magic consisting of a combined rotating and tilting movement. Careful control of the mutual speed parameters of the two movements makes it possible to inhibit the perception of the rotation, letting the 'magic' effect emerge--a sudden change of the tilted object. By using 3-D animated computer graphics we analysed the interaction of different angular speeds and the object shape/size parameters in evoking this motion disappearance effect. An angular speed of 540 degrees s(-1) (1.5 rev. s(-1)) sufficed to inhibit the perception of the rotary movement with the smallest object showing the strongest effect. 90.7% of the 172 participants were not able to perceive the rotary movement at an angular speed of 1125 degrees s(-1) (3.125 rev. s(-1)). Further analysis by multiple linear regression revealed major influences on the effectiveness of the magic trick of object height and object area, demonstrating the applicability of analysing key factors of magic tricks to reveal limits of the perceptual system.

Documenting Architectural Heritage in Bahia, Brazil, Using Spherical Photogrammetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Amorim, A. L.; Fangi, G.; Malinverni, E. S.

2013-07-01

The Cultural Heritage disappears at a rate higher than we are able, not only, to restore but also to document: human and natural factors, negligence or worst, deliberate demolitions put in danger the collective Architectural Heritage (AH). According to CIPA statements, the recording is important and has to follow some guidelines. The Architectural and Urban Heritage data have to be historically related, critically assessed and analyzed, before to be organized according to a thematic structure and become available for further uses. This paper shows the experiences developed by the Laboratory of Computer Graphics applied to Architecture and Design (LCAD), at the Architecture School of the Federal University of Bahia (FAUFBA), Brazil, in cooperation with the Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM, DICEA Department), Italy, in documenting architectural heritage. The research set up now has been carried out in the historical sites of Bahia, as Pelourinho neighborhood, a World Heritage by UNESCO. Other historical sites are in the plan of this survey, like the cities of Lençóis and Mucugê in Chapada Diamantina region. The aim is to build a technological platform based on low cost digital technologies and open source tools, such as Panoramic Spherical Photogrammetry, Spatial Database, Geographic Information Systems, Three-dimensional Geometric Modeling, CAD technology, for the collection, validation and dissemination of AH.

High-Rate Strong-Signal Quantum Cryptography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yuen, Horace P.

1996-01-01

Several quantum cryptosystems utilizing different kinds of nonclassical lights, which can accommodate high intensity fields and high data rate, are described. However, they are all sensitive to loss and both the high rate and the strong-signal character rapidly disappear. A squeezed light homodyne detection scheme is proposed which, with present-day technology, leads to more than two orders of magnitude data rate improvement over other current experimental systems for moderate loss.

Market dynamics 1995.

PubMed

Cochrane, J D

1996-01-01

The healthcare industry last year saw a continuation of the market-based reform revolution. Competition and economic forces are squeezing dollars out of the system but at varying rates depending on where you are in the country. Health benefit and hospital cost variations appear to be directly related to managed care penetration. Treatment protocol variations may also be related to economic incentives. The question is, will the variations disappear over the coming years?

Stereocontrolled Additions to a Rigid Bicyclo [3.3.0] Octane Ring System

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-05

bridgehead carbon. The metals studied were palladium, platinum, and the Raney nickel catalyst . The catalysts themselves are usually absorbed on an...Catalytic Hydrogenation Reaction The Raney nickel catalyst yielded extremely pure product in a single isomeric form when the reaction was run with...ethyl acetate was 68.7%, a noted increase over that obtained with the Raney nickel catalyst . 31 Disappearance of the double bond peak again

Reliability of fluorescein dye disappearance test in assessment of adults with nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

PubMed

Kashkouli, Mohsen Bahmani; Mirzajani, Hoora; Jamshidian-Tehrani, Mansooreh; Pakdel, Farzad; Nojomi, Marzieh; Aghaei, Gholam-Hossein

2013-01-01

To evaluate the role of fluorescein dye disappearance test (FDDT) in assessment of adults with primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (PANDO) and its correlation with age and severity of epiphora. In a prospective, cross-sectional comparative study, FDDT at 2 (2-FDDT), 5 (5-FDDT), and 10 (10-FDDT) minutes were performed in 58 eyes of 58 patients with PANDO (case) and 58 eyes of 58 subjects without epiphora (control) between 2008 and 2010. Exclusion criteria were any disease, trauma, or medications that might have an effect on tear drainage system. Patients with functional or incomplete obstruction and upper lacrimal drainage system obstruction were excluded in the case group. FDDT and severity of epiphora were graded. Case and control groups were matched. 2-FDDT showed a sensitivity of 82.8%, specificity of 91.4%, positive predictive value of 90.6%, and negative predictive value of 84.1%. Sensitivity and negative predictive value decreased to 71.1% and 78.6% in 5-FDDT. 5-FDDT specificity and positive predictive value, however, increased to 94.8% and 93.5%, respectively. There was no statistically significant correlation between severity of epiphora and age with FDDT. FDDT is a simple, reliable, and highly specific test in assessment of adults with PANDO.

[Brachytherapy in France: current situation and economic outlook due to the unavailability of iridium wires].

PubMed

Le Vu, B; Boucher, S

2014-10-01

In 2013, about 6000 patients were treated with brachytherapy, the number diminishing by 2.6% per year since 2008. Prostate, breast and gynecological cancers are the most common types of cancers. Since 2008, the number of brachytherapy facilities has decreased by 18%. In medicoeconomic terms, brachytherapy faces many problems: the coding system is outdated; brachytherapy treatments cost as much as internal radiation; fees do not cover costs; since iridium wire has disappeared from the market, the technique will be transferred to more expensive high-speed or pulse dose rates. The French financing grid based on the national study of costs lags behind changes in such treatments and in the best of cases, hospitals resorting to alternatives such as in-hospital brachytherapy are funded at 46% of their additional costs. Brachytherapy is a reference technique. With intense pressure on hospital pricing, financing brachytherapy facilities will become even more problematic as a consequence of the disappearance of iridium 192 wires. The case of brachytherapy illustrates the limits of the French financing system and raises serious doubts as to its responsiveness. Copyright © 2014 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

[Orthostatic postural tachycardia: study of 8 patients].

PubMed

Santiago Pérez, S; Ferrer Gila, T

1998-02-07

The occurrence of syncopal episodes is a very frequent event. In the absence of a structural systemic or cardiac disease, syncope is resulting of an anomalous cardiovascular response neurally mediated by the autonomic nervous system. It is the final common manifestation of different abnormal mechanisms and is frequently precipitated by orthostatism. Orthostatic intolerance syndrome refers to the development of symptoms during the upright posture that disappear in supine position. Tachycardia may be one of the clinical features of the syndrome. During orthostatic stress a hyperadrenergic response, with maintained increment of heart rate and associated symptoms, is developed. Changes in blood pressure may be diverse and in some cases hypotension and syncope occurs. Eight patients with symptoms of orthostatic intolerance who underwent autonomic evaluation and were diagnosed from postural tachycardia are presented. In all the cases an abnormal increment of heart rate during tilting was found and it was associated to hyperadrenergic symptoms. Evidence of restricted sympathetic impairment was observed in six cases with distal reduction of sudomotor function and abnormal adrenergic response during Valsalva manoeuvre. Symptoms disappeared or mostly subsided with pharmacological (amitriptyline in one case, phenobarbital in another one and non-cardioselective beta-blockers in six patients) and non-pharmacological treatment. In further examinations heart rate and blood pressure were normal.

Magnetic properties influenced by interfaces in ultrathin Co/Ge(1 0 0) and Co/Ge(1 1 1) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsay, J. S.; Yao, Y. D.; Cheng, W. C.; Tseng, T. K.; Wang, K. C.; Yang, C. S.

2003-10-01

Magnetic properties influenced by interfaces in ultrathin Co/Ge(1 0 0) and Co/Ge(1 1 1) films with thickness below 28 monolayers (ML) have been studied using the surface magneto-optic Kerr effect (SMOKE) technique. In both systems, the nonferromagnetic layer, as an interface between Co and Ge, plays an important role during annealing. In general, ultrathin Co films with fixed total thickness but fabricated at different temperatures on the same substrate, their Kerr hysteresis loops disappear roughly at the same temperature. This suggests that the thickness of the interfacial layer could inversely prevent the diffusion between Co and Ge substrate. From the annealing studies for both systems with total film thickness of 28 monolayers, we have found that Kerr signal disappears at 375 K for Co/Ge(1 1 1) and 425 K for Co/Ge(1 0 0) films. This suggests that Co/Ge(1 1 1) films possess a lower thermal stability than that of the Co/Ge(1 0 0) films. Our experimental data could be explained by different interfacial condition between Ge(1 0 0) and Ge(1 1 1), the different onset of interdiffusion, and the surface structure condition of Ge(1 0 0) and Ge(1 1 1).

Phase segregation and spontaneous symmetry breaking in a bidirectional two-channel non-conserving model with narrow entrances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Natasha; Gupta, A. K.

2017-04-01

Motivated by connections between the inputs and outputs of several transport mechanisms and multi-species functionalities, we studied an open system of a two-species totally asymmetric simple exclusion process with narrow entrances, which assimilate the synergy of the particles with the surrounding environment through Langmuir kinetics (LK). We analyzed the model within the framework of mean-field theory, and examined complex phenomena such as boundary-induced phase transitions and spontaneous symmetry breaking for variant conditions of attachment and detachment rates. Based on the theoretical investigations we obtained the phase boundaries for various symmetric and asymmetric phases. Our finding displays a prolific behavior, highlighting the significant effect of LK rates on symmetry breaking. It is found that for lower orders of LK rates, the number of symmetrical and asymmetrical phases increases notably, while for their higher orders symmetry breaking disappears, revealing that the presence of bulk non-conserving processes can resume/break the uniformity between two species. The critical value of LK rates beyond which the asymmetrical phases disappears is identified. The theoretical findings are explored by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. The effect of the system size and symmetry breaking incident on the Monte Carlo simulation results has also been examined based on particle density histograms.

Old and New Magic Numbers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Talmi, Igal

2008-11-11

The discovery of magic numbers led to the shell model. They indicated closure of major shells and are robust: proton magic numbers are rather independent of the occupation of neutron orbits and vice versa. Recently the magic property became less stringent and we hear a lot about the discovery of new magic numbers. These, however, indicate sub-shell closures and strongly depend on occupation numbers and hence, may be called quasi-magic numbers. Some of these have been known for many years and the mechanism for their appearance as well as disappearance, was well understood within the simple shell model. The situationmore » will be illustrated by a few examples which demonstrate the simple features of the shell model. Will this simplicity emerge from the complex computations of nuclear many-body theory?.« less

Virtual drug discovery: beyond computational chemistry?

PubMed

Gilardoni, Francois; Arvanites, Anthony C

2010-02-01

This editorial looks at how a fully integrated structure that performs all aspects in the drug discovery process, under one company, is slowly disappearing. The steps in the drug discovery paradigm have been slowly increasing toward virtuality or outsourcing at various phases of product development in a company's candidate pipeline. Each step in the process, such as target identification and validation and medicinal chemistry, can be managed by scientific teams within a 'virtual' company. Pharmaceutical companies to biotechnology start-ups have been quick in adopting this new research and development business strategy in order to gain flexibility, access the best technologies and technical expertise, and decrease product developmental costs. In today's financial climate, the term virtual drug discovery has an organizational meaning. It represents the next evolutionary step in outsourcing drug development.

Human Fascioliasis: A Re-emerging Disease in Upper Egypt

PubMed Central

Mekky, Mohamed A.; Tolba, Mohammed; Abdel-Malek, Mohamed O.; Abbas, Wael A.; Zidan, Mohamed

2015-01-01

In recent years, the number of humans infected with Fasciola has risen rapidly. Diagnosis is based mainly on detection of eggs in stool analysis. The rate of infection in Egypt is unknown. In this retrospective study, we describe 23 cases of hepatic fascioliasis, and only 2 of these cases showed eggs in stools. The symptoms of infection, such as pyrexia of unknown origin, epigastric pain, and abdominal distension, were suggestive. Imaging techniques, including abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography, were very helpful in detecting hepatic changes. An indirect hemagglutination assay proved to be of value for diagnosis. Treatment using a 2-day triclabendazole regimen cured the infection and signs of hepatic involvement disappeared. Combining both imaging techniques and laboratory tests is essential for diagnosis of fascioliasis in the early stage. PMID:25870421

Mesoscopic Dynamical Differences from Quantum State Preparation in a Bose-Hubbard Trimer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, M. K.; Neely, T. W.; Bradley, A. S.

2018-06-01

Conventional wisdom is that quantum effects will tend to disappear as the number of quanta in a system increases, and the evolution of a system will become closer to that described by mean-field classical equations. In this Letter we combine newly developed theoretical and experimental techniques to propose and analyze an experiment using a Bose-Hubbard trimer where the opposite is the case. We find that differences in the preparation of a centrally evacuated trimer can lead to readily observable differences in the subsequent dynamics which increase with system size. Importantly, these differences can be detected by the simple measurements of atomic number.

Ergovaline disappearance from a ruminally incubated buffer

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ergovaline (ERV) is an alkaloid present in endophyte-infected tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) that is thought to contribute to fescue toxicosis in cattle. To determine the disappearance of ERV in the temporarily washe reticulorumen, steer (n=8) were pair-fed alfalfa cubes at 1.5× NEM and received ...

7 CFR 1434.22 - Death, incompetency, or disappearance; appeals; other loan provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, incompetency, or disappearance; appeals; other loan provisions. 1434.22 Section 1434.22 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS NONRECOURSE MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOAN AND...

Below the Disappearing Marshes of an Urban Estuary: Historic Nitrogen Trends and Soil Structure

EPA Science Inventory

Marshes in the urban Jamaica Bay Estuary, New York, USA are disappearing at an average rate of 13 ha/yr, and multiple stressors (e.g., wastewater inputs, dredging activities, groundwater removal, and global warming) may be contributing to marsh losses. Among these stressors, wa...

Why Does the Goldfish Disappear in the Fishbowl?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Yuhua; Shi, Fengliang

2009-01-01

You may have observed that a small goldfish swimming in a spherical fishbowl can suddenly disappear. Why does this happen? The effect is due to total internal reflection. In this paper we find the locations of the fish and the observer's eye for which the fish cannot be seen.

Apparently, We Disappeared

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richerme, Lauren Kapalka

2011-01-01

An examination of the 2005-2010 online archives of major American network news stations and newspapers reveals a troubling picture for music education. News stories frequently mention the disappearance of music education. When the media mention the existence of music education, they often promote it as a means of raising standardized test scores…

Assessing aspen using remote sensing

Treesearch

Randy Hamilton; Kevin Megown; Jeff DiBenedetto; Dale Bartos; Anne Mileck

2009-01-01

Large areas of aspen (Populus tremuloides) have disappeared and continue to disappear from western forests due to successional decline and sudden aspen decline (SAD). This loss of aspen ecosystems negatively impacts watersheds, wildlife, plants, and recreation. Much can still be done to restore aspen if timely and appropriate action is taken. However, land managers...

Algebraic multigrid preconditioners for two-phase flow in porous media with phase transitions [Algebraic multigrid preconditioners for multiphase flow in porous media with phase transitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bui, Quan M.; Wang, Lu; Osei-Kuffuor, Daniel

Multiphase flow is a critical process in a wide range of applications, including oil and gas recovery, carbon sequestration, and contaminant remediation. Numerical simulation of multiphase flow requires solving of a large, sparse linear system resulting from the discretization of the partial differential equations modeling the flow. In the case of multiphase multicomponent flow with miscible effect, this is a very challenging task. The problem becomes even more difficult if phase transitions are taken into account. A new approach to handle phase transitions is to formulate the system as a nonlinear complementarity problem (NCP). Unlike in the primary variable switchingmore » technique, the set of primary variables in this approach is fixed even when there is phase transition. Not only does this improve the robustness of the nonlinear solver, it opens up the possibility to use multigrid methods to solve the resulting linear system. The disadvantage of the complementarity approach, however, is that when a phase disappears, the linear system has the structure of a saddle point problem and becomes indefinite, and current algebraic multigrid (AMG) algorithms cannot be applied directly. In this study, we explore the effectiveness of a new multilevel strategy, based on the multigrid reduction technique, to deal with problems of this type. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method through numerical results for the case of two-phase, two-component flow with phase appearance/disappearance. In conclusion, we also show that the strategy is efficient and scales optimally with problem size.« less

Algebraic multigrid preconditioners for two-phase flow in porous media with phase transitions [Algebraic multigrid preconditioners for multiphase flow in porous media with phase transitions

DOE PAGES

Bui, Quan M.; Wang, Lu; Osei-Kuffuor, Daniel

2018-02-06

Multiphase flow is a critical process in a wide range of applications, including oil and gas recovery, carbon sequestration, and contaminant remediation. Numerical simulation of multiphase flow requires solving of a large, sparse linear system resulting from the discretization of the partial differential equations modeling the flow. In the case of multiphase multicomponent flow with miscible effect, this is a very challenging task. The problem becomes even more difficult if phase transitions are taken into account. A new approach to handle phase transitions is to formulate the system as a nonlinear complementarity problem (NCP). Unlike in the primary variable switchingmore » technique, the set of primary variables in this approach is fixed even when there is phase transition. Not only does this improve the robustness of the nonlinear solver, it opens up the possibility to use multigrid methods to solve the resulting linear system. The disadvantage of the complementarity approach, however, is that when a phase disappears, the linear system has the structure of a saddle point problem and becomes indefinite, and current algebraic multigrid (AMG) algorithms cannot be applied directly. In this study, we explore the effectiveness of a new multilevel strategy, based on the multigrid reduction technique, to deal with problems of this type. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method through numerical results for the case of two-phase, two-component flow with phase appearance/disappearance. In conclusion, we also show that the strategy is efficient and scales optimally with problem size.« less

Open-system dynamics of entanglement:a key issues review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aolita, Leandro; de Melo, Fernando; Davidovich, Luiz

2015-04-01

One of the greatest challenges in the fields of quantum information processing and quantum technologies is the detailed coherent control over each and every constituent of quantum systems with an ever increasing number of particles. Within this endeavor, harnessing of many-body entanglement against the detrimental effects of the environment is a major pressing issue. Besides being an important concept from a fundamental standpoint, entanglement has been recognized as a crucial resource for quantum speed-ups or performance enhancements over classical methods. Understanding and controlling many-body entanglement in open systems may have strong implications in quantum computing, quantum simulations of many-body systems, secure quantum communication or cryptography, quantum metrology, our understanding of the quantum-to-classical transition, and other important questions of quantum foundations. In this paper we present an overview of recent theoretical and experimental efforts to underpin the dynamics of entanglement under the influence of noise. Entanglement is thus taken as a dynamic quantity on its own, and we survey how it evolves due to the unavoidable interaction of the entangled system with its surroundings. We analyze several scenarios, corresponding to different families of states and environments, which render a very rich diversity of dynamical behaviors. In contrast to single-particle quantities, like populations and coherences, which typically vanish only asymptotically in time, entanglement may disappear at a finite time. In addition, important classes of entanglement display an exponential decay with the number of particles when subject to local noise, which poses yet another threat to the already-challenging scaling of quantum technologies. Other classes, however, turn out to be extremely robust against local noise. Theoretical results and recent experiments regarding the difference between local and global decoherence are summarized. Control and robustness-enhancement techniques, scaling laws, statistical and geometrical aspects of multipartite-entanglement decay are also reviewed; all in order to give a broad picture of entanglement dynamics in open quantum systems addressed to both theorists and experimentalists inside and outside the field of quantum information.

Open-system dynamics of entanglement: a key issues review.

PubMed

Aolita, Leandro; de Melo, Fernando; Davidovich, Luiz

2015-04-01

One of the greatest challenges in the fields of quantum information processing and quantum technologies is the detailed coherent control over each and every constituent of quantum systems with an ever increasing number of particles. Within this endeavor, harnessing of many-body entanglement against the detrimental effects of the environment is a major pressing issue. Besides being an important concept from a fundamental standpoint, entanglement has been recognized as a crucial resource for quantum speed-ups or performance enhancements over classical methods. Understanding and controlling many-body entanglement in open systems may have strong implications in quantum computing, quantum simulations of many-body systems, secure quantum communication or cryptography, quantum metrology, our understanding of the quantum-to-classical transition, and other important questions of quantum foundations.In this paper we present an overview of recent theoretical and experimental efforts to underpin the dynamics of entanglement under the influence of noise. Entanglement is thus taken as a dynamic quantity on its own, and we survey how it evolves due to the unavoidable interaction of the entangled system with its surroundings. We analyze several scenarios, corresponding to different families of states and environments, which render a very rich diversity of dynamical behaviors.In contrast to single-particle quantities, like populations and coherences, which typically vanish only asymptotically in time, entanglement may disappear at a finite time. In addition, important classes of entanglement display an exponential decay with the number of particles when subject to local noise, which poses yet another threat to the already-challenging scaling of quantum technologies. Other classes, however, turn out to be extremely robust against local noise. Theoretical results and recent experiments regarding the difference between local and global decoherence are summarized. Control and robustness-enhancement techniques, scaling laws, statistical and geometrical aspects of multipartite-entanglement decay are also reviewed; all in order to give a broad picture of entanglement dynamics in open quantum systems addressed to both theorists and experimentalists inside and outside the field of quantum information.

Aqueous-phase disappearance of atrazine, metolachlor, and chlorpyrifos in laboratory aquaria and outdoor macrocosms

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mazanti, L.; Rice, C.; Bialek, K.; Sparling, D.; Stevenson, C.; Johnson, W.E.; Kangas, P.; Rheinstein, J.

2003-01-01

Dissipation processes are described for a combination of commonly used pesticides--atrazine (6-chloro-4--ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine), metolachlor (2-chloro-N-[2-ethyl-6-methyl-phenyl]-N-[2-methoxy-l-methylethyl] acetamide), and chlorpyrifos (O-O diethyl O-[3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinyl] phosphorothioate)--in a laboratory and outdoor pond systems. Dosing rates and timing were designed to duplicate those common in the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA. Treatment ranged from 2 and 2.5 mg/L to 0.2 and 0.25 mg/L respectively for atrazine and metolachlor, and chlorpyrifos was added at 1.0 and 0.1 mg/L in the aquaria and at 0.1 mg/L in the outdoor macrocosms. Chlorpyrifos disappearance was rapid in all of the systems and followed a two-phase sequence. Initial half-lives varied from 0.16 da), to 0.38 day and showed similar rates in the aquaria and the outdoor systems. The second phase of the chlorpyrifos loss pattern was slower (18-20 days) in all the treatments except for the low herbicide treatment in the outdoor test, where it was 3.4 days. Compared to the outdoor system, herbicide losses were much slower in the aquaria, e.g., 150 days for atrazine and 55 days for metolachlor, and no appreciable loss of herbicide was apparent in the high-treated aquaria. In the outdoor systems, the half-lives for the low herbicide treatment were 27 days and 12 days, respectively, for atrazine and metolachlor, and 48 and 20 days, respectively for the high herbicide-treated pond. Very low levels of CIAT (6-amino-2-chloro-4-iso-propylamino-s-triazine) and CEAT (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-ethylamino-s-triazine), degradation products of atrazine, were observed in the outdoor studies.

Visionary leadership and the future of VA health system.

PubMed

Bezold, C; Mayer, E; Dighe, A

1997-01-01

As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes the change over to Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISNs) the need for new and better leadership is warranted if VA wants to not only survive, but thrive in the emerging twenty-first century healthcare system. VA can prepare for the future and meet the challenges facing them by adopting a system of visionary leadership. The use of scenarios and vision techniques are explained as they relate to VA's efforts to move toward their new system of VISNs. The four scenarios provide snapshots of possible futures for the U.S. healthcare system as well as the possible future role and mission of VA--from VA disappearing to its becoming a premier virtual organization.

The evolution of amphibian metamorphosis: insights based on the transformation of the aortic arches of Pelobates fuscus (Anura)

PubMed Central

Kolesová, Hana; Lametschwandtner, Alois; Roček, Zbyněk

2007-01-01

In order to gain insights into how the aortic arches changed during the transition of vertebrates to land, transformations of the aortic arches during the metamorphosis of Pelobates fuscus were investigated and compared with data from the early development of a recent ganoid fish Amia calva and a primitive caudate amphibian Salamandrella keyserlingi. Although in larval Pelobates, as in other non-pipid anurans, the gill arches serve partly as a filter-feeding device, their aortic arches maintain the original piscine-like arrangement, except for the mandibular and hyoid aortic arches which were lost. As important pre-adaptations for breathing of atmospheric oxygen occur in larval Pelobates (which have well-developed, though non-respiratory lungs and pulmonary artery), transformation of aortic arches during metamorphosis is fast. The transformation involves disappearance of the ductus Botalli, which results in a complete shunting of blood into the lungs and skin, disappearance of the ductus caroticus, which results in shunting of blood into the head through the arteria carotis interna, and disappearance of arch V, which results in shunting blood to the body through arch IV (systemic arch). It is supposed that the branching pattern of the aortic arches of permanently water-dwelling piscine ancestors, of intermediate forms which occasionally left the water and of primitive tetrapods capable of spending longer periods of time on land had been the same as in the prematamorphic anuran larvae or in some metamorphosed caudates in which the ductus caroticus and ductus Botalli were not interrupted, and arch V was still complete. PMID:17367494

The evolution of amphibian metamorphosis: insights based on the transformation of the aortic arches of Pelobates fuscus (Anura).

PubMed

Kolesová, Hana; Lametschwandtner, Alois; Rocek, Zbynek

2007-04-01

In order to gain insights into how the aortic arches changed during the transition of vertebrates to land, transformations of the aortic arches during the metamorphosis of Pelobates fuscus were investigated and compared with data from the early development of a recent ganoid fish Amia calva and a primitive caudate amphibian Salamandrella keyserlingi. Although in larval Pelobates, as in other non-pipid anurans, the gill arches serve partly as a filter-feeding device, their aortic arches maintain the original piscine-like arrangement, except for the mandibular and hyoid aortic arches which were lost. As important pre-adaptations for breathing of atmospheric oxygen occur in larval Pelobates (which have well-developed, though non-respiratory lungs and pulmonary artery), transformation of aortic arches during metamorphosis is fast. The transformation involves disappearance of the ductus Botalli, which results in a complete shunting of blood into the lungs and skin, disappearance of the ductus caroticus, which results in shunting of blood into the head through the arteria carotis interna, and disappearance of arch V, which results in shunting blood to the body through arch IV (systemic arch). It is supposed that the branching pattern of the aortic arches of permanently water-dwelling piscine ancestors, of intermediate forms which occasionally left the water and of primitive tetrapods capable of spending longer periods of time on land had been the same as in the prematamorphic anuran larvae or in some metamorphosed caudates in which the ductus caroticus and ductus Botalli were not interrupted, and arch V was still complete.

Pupil size tracks perceptual content and surprise.

PubMed

Kloosterman, Niels A; Meindertsma, Thomas; van Loon, Anouk M; Lamme, Victor A F; Bonneh, Yoram S; Donner, Tobias H

2015-04-01

Changes in pupil size at constant light levels reflect the activity of neuromodulatory brainstem centers that control global brain state. These endogenously driven pupil dynamics can be synchronized with cognitive acts. For example, the pupil dilates during the spontaneous switches of perception of a constant sensory input in bistable perceptual illusions. It is unknown whether this pupil dilation only indicates the occurrence of perceptual switches, or also their content. Here, we measured pupil diameter in human subjects reporting the subjective disappearance and re-appearance of a physically constant visual target surrounded by a moving pattern ('motion-induced blindness' illusion). We show that the pupil dilates during the perceptual switches in the illusion and a stimulus-evoked 'replay' of that illusion. Critically, the switch-related pupil dilation encodes perceptual content, with larger amplitude for disappearance than re-appearance. This difference in pupil response amplitude enables prediction of the type of report (disappearance vs. re-appearance) on individual switches (receiver-operating characteristic: 61%). The amplitude difference is independent of the relative durations of target-visible and target-invisible intervals and subjects' overt behavioral report of the perceptual switches. Further, we show that pupil dilation during the replay also scales with the level of surprise about the timing of switches, but there is no evidence for an interaction between the effects of surprise and perceptual content on the pupil response. Taken together, our results suggest that pupil-linked brain systems track both the content of, and surprise about, perceptual events. © 2015 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relationships between transit time in man and in vitro fermentation of dietary fiber by fecal bacteria.

PubMed

Oufir, L E; Barry, J L; Flourié, B; Cherbut, C; Cloarec, D; Bornet, F; Galmiche, J P

2000-08-01

To assess the effects of drug-induced changes in mean transit time (MTT) on the activity of human fecal flora in vitro. The activity of fecal flora was estimated by the ability of a fecal inoculum to ferment a substrate (beet fiber) in vitro in a batch system for 24 h. The inoculum was collected from 8 healthy volunteers studied during three 3-week randomized periods, who received a controlled diet alone (control period) or the same diet with either cisapride or loperamide. Cisapride and loperamide were adjusted in order to halve and double MTT measured during the control period. At the end of each period, the percentage disappearance of the initial added substrate and the concentration and the profile of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), were determined. In the control period, the pH of the inoculum and SCFA concentration were inversely related to MTT (P=0.0001). Individual SCFA production was also significantly related to MTT (P<0.01). Cisapride-reduced transit time was associated with a significant rise in the concentrations of total SCFAs (P<0.05), propionic and butyric acids (P<0.05) and the percentage substrate disappearance (P<0.05). Inverse relations were observed during the loperamide period. Moreover, MTT was inversely related to the percentage substrate disappearance (P<0.001), SCFA production (P<0.001) and butyrate production (P<0.0005). Changes in MTT alter bacterial activity and modify the bacterial pathways affecting the proportion of individual SCFAs. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 603-609

Paleolakes in the Gobi region of southern Mongolia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehmkuhl, Frank; Grunert, Jörg; Hülle, Daniela; Batkhishig, Ochirbat; Stauch, Georg

2018-01-01

Numerous lakes and remnants of paleolakes exist in western and southern Mongolia. For six basins in the area, detailed geomorphological maps were compiled, based on extensive field studies and remote sensing datasets. Several phases of high and low lake levels were reconstructed and dated by radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence. During the marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 lakes in southern and western Mongolia mostly disappeared. In contrast, large paleolakes existed during the last interglacial (MIS 5e) and lasted probably until the beginning of the last glacial. These huge lakes were caused by a strong East Asian summer monsoon, which reached southern and even western Mongolia. During the MIS 3 the monsoon was considerably weaker and most of the lakes were relatively small or even disappeared. Higher lake levels of this period were only recorded at the Orog Nuur. However, at this time the lake was fed by glacial melt water from the Khangai Mountains. The MIS 2 was again a very dry period. The previously supposed phase of synchronous high lake levels and glaciations in southern and western Mongolia is not supported by the data presented here. During the Holocene, lakes in the western and southern part of the study area evolved differently. Early Holocene high lake levels were reconstructed for the western lakes, while most of the southern lakes had highest lake levels in the mid-Holocene. These differences can be attributed to different moisture bearing atmospheric systems. In the late Holocene lake levels were generally low and in the last 50 years most lakes completely disappeared due to a strong human usage of the water resources.

Waveguide resonance mode response of stacked structures of metallic sub-wavelength slit arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokuda, Yasunori; Takano, Keisuke; Sakaguchi, Koichiro; Kato, Kosaku; Nakajima, Makoto; Akiyama, Koichi

2018-05-01

Detailed measurements of the optical properties of two-tier systems composed of metallic plates perforated with periodic sub-wavelength slit patterns were carried out using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. We demonstrate that the transmission properties observed experimentally for various configurations can be reproduced successfully by simulations based on the finite-differential time-domain method. Fabry-Perot-like waveguide resonance mode behaviors specific to this quasi-dielectric system were then investigated. For structures with no lateral displacement between the slit-array plates, mode disappearance phenomena, which are caused by destructive interference between the odd-order mode and the blue- or red-shifted even-order modes, were observed experimentally. The uncommon behavior of the even-order modes was examined precisely to explain the slit-width dependence. For structures with half-pitched displacement between the plates, extraordinarily strong transmission was observed experimentally, even when the optical paths were shut off. This result was interpreted in terms of the propagation of surface plasmon polaritons through very thin and labyrinthine spacings that inevitably exist between the metallic plates. Furthermore, the optical mode disappearance phenomena are revealed to be characterized by anticrossing of the two mixing modes formed by even- and odd-order modes. These experimental observations that are supported theoretically are indispensable to the practical use of this type of artificial dielectric and are expected to encourage interest in optical mode behaviors that are not typically observed in conventional dielectric systems.

Parental Involvement and Public Schools: Disappearing Mothers in Labor and Politics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shuffelton, Amy

2017-01-01

In this article, I argue that the material and rhetorical connection between "parental involvement" and motherhood has the effect of making two important features of parental involvement disappear. Both of these features need to be taken into account to think through the positive and negative effects of parental involvement in public…

Lateral cervical cleft: a previously unreported anomaly resulting from incomplete disappearance of the second pharyngeal (branchial) cleft.

PubMed

Gürsoy, M H; Gedikoğlu, G; Tanyel, F C

1999-03-01

The authors present a 2-year-old boy with a skin defect located in the right lateral side of the neck. They suggest the defect is a partial failure of disappearance of the second pharyngeal (branchial) cleft and propose a name of lateral cervical cleft.

33 CFR 173.53 - Immediate notification of death or disappearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Immediate notification of death or disappearance. 173.53 Section 173.53 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) BOATING SAFETY VESSEL NUMBERING AND CASUALTY AND ACCIDENT REPORTING Casualty and Accident Reporting § 173.53 Immediate...

38 CFR 3.656 - Disappearance of veteran.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of a claim. The total amount payable will be the lesser of these amounts: (1) The service death pension rate if the veteran was receiving service pension or the improved death pension rate if the... the presumption of death under § 3.212. (d) When any veteran has disappeared for 90 days or more and...

Boundary migration and disappearance of voids in Alpha-Al2O3 at 2000 deg C

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komatsu, M.; Fujita, H.

1984-01-01

A series of photographs taken with Osaka University's high temperature 3MV electron microscope of alpha-A1(z)O(3) at 2000 C is presented. The dynamic study shows grain boundary migration in progress and demonstrates that disappearance of voids is controlled by boundary migration.

"Snapchat," Youth Subjectivities and Sexuality: Disappearing Media and the Discourse of Youth Innocence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charteris, Jennifer; Gregory, Sue; Masters, Yvonne

2018-01-01

Research on youth subjectivities and disappearing media is still in its infancy. Ephemeral technologies such as Snapchat, Frankly and Wickr offer young people opportunities for discursive agency, harnessing teenage discourses of social positioning. These media facilitate social mobility in teen peer contexts by providing a medium for dynamic and…

Asymmetric disappearance and periodic asymmetric phenomena of rocking dynamics in micro dual-capacitive energy harvester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jianxiong; Guo, Xiaoyu; Huang, Run

2018-06-01

We study asymmetric disappearance and period asymmetric phenomena starting with a rocking dynamic in micro dual-capacitive energy harvester. The mathematical model includes nonlinear electrostatic forces from the variable dual capacitor, the numerical functioned forces provided by suspending springs, linear damping forces and an external vibration force. The suspending plate and its elastic supports were designed in a symmetric structure in the micro capacitor, however, the reported energy harvester was unavoidable starting with a asymmetric motion in the real vibration environment. We found that the designed dual energy capacitive harvester can harvest ˜6 µW with 10V input voltage, and under 0.8 time's resonant frequency vibration. We also discovered that the rocking dynamics of the suspended plate can be showed with an asymmetric disappearance or periodic asymmetric phenomena starting with an asymmetric motion. The study of these asymmetric disappearance and period asymmetric phenomena were not only important for the design of the stability of the micro capacitor for sensor or the energy harvesting, but also gave a deep understanding of the rocking nonlinear dynamics of the complex micro structures and beams.

[Disappearance of Philadelphia chromosomes after remission induction in lymphoid crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia].

PubMed

Nagafuji, K; Iwakiri, R; Miyamoto, T; Okamura, H; Yokota, E; Matsumoto, I

1992-09-01

The authors report a rare case of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in which the Ph1 clone disappeared after remission induction of lymphoid crisis. A 58-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of fever in July 1988. The white cell count was elevated. Bone marrow aspirate showed hypercellularity with myeloid hyperplasia. In the chromosomal analysis, Ph1 chromosomes were detected in 100% of bone marrow cells analysed. Diagnosis of CML was made and treatment was initiated with recombinant interferon-alpha 2a. Hematological remission without cytogenetic improvement was achieved. In March 1990 he developed lymphoid crisis with proliferation of CD10-positive cells. The chromosomal analysis revealed additional abnormalities including, 45, X, -Y, t(9;22) (q34;q11), +1, -8. With vincristine 0.6 mgX4, pirarubicin 15 mgX4, dexamethasone 40 mgX4 therapy complete remission was obtained. In December 1990 the Ph1 positive clone completely disappeared judging from normal karyotypes in the chromosomal analysis and the disappearance of M-bcr gene rearrangement.

Describing Myxococcus xanthus Aggregation Using Ostwald Ripening Equations for Thin Liquid Films

PubMed Central

Bahar, Fatmagül; Pratt-Szeliga, Philip C.; Angus, Stuart; Guo, Jiaye; Welch, Roy D.

2014-01-01

When starved, a swarm of millions of Myxococcus xanthus cells coordinate their movement from outward swarming to inward coalescence. The cells then execute a synchronous program of multicellular development, arranging themselves into dome shaped aggregates. Over the course of development, about half of the initial aggregates disappear, while others persist and mature into fruiting bodies. This work seeks to develop a quantitative model for aggregation that accurately simulates which will disappear and which will persist. We analyzed time-lapse movies of M. xanthus development, modeled aggregation using the equations that describe Ostwald ripening of droplets in thin liquid films, and predicted the disappearance and persistence of aggregates with an average accuracy of 85%. We then experimentally validated a prediction that is fundamental to this model by tracking individual fluorescent cells as they moved between aggregates and demonstrating that cell movement towards and away from aggregates correlates with aggregate disappearance. Describing development through this model may limit the number and type of molecular genetic signals needed to complete M. xanthus development, and it provides numerous additional testable predictions. PMID:25231319

High Temperature Texturing of Engineered Materials in a Magnetic Field

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

by 43.7 % after magnetic annealing in a 19 T field. The kink at the demagnetization curve disappeared and, in addition, a much better squareness of...the demagnetization curves was observed after the magnetic annealing (Figure 10). The improvement in the hard magnetic properties after magnetic ...A number of materials systems have been tested in a variety of magnetic fields (8-20 Tesla) and temperatures (500 to 1250oC). Four materials

Radiation-induced extrinsic photoconductivity in Li-doped Si.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fenimore, E.; Mortka, T.; Corelli, J. C.

1972-01-01

Investigation of the effects of lithium on radiation-produced complexes having long-time stability by examining the localized energy levels in the forbidden gap which give rise to extrinsic photoconductivity. The levels are found to disappear and in some cases shift with annealing in the 100-450 C temperature range. Due to the complexity of the system and the present lack of adequate theory, no complete analysis of the data obtained could be made.

DIRAC universal pilots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stagni, F.; McNab, A.; Luzzi, C.; Krzemien, W.; Consortium, DIRAC

2017-10-01

In the last few years, new types of computing models, such as IAAS (Infrastructure as a Service) and IAAC (Infrastructure as a Client), gained popularity. New resources may come as part of pledged resources, while others are in the form of opportunistic ones. Most but not all of these new infrastructures are based on virtualization techniques. In addition, some of them, present opportunities for multi-processor computing slots to the users. Virtual Organizations are therefore facing heterogeneity of the available resources and the use of an Interware software like DIRAC to provide the transparent, uniform interface has become essential. The transparent access to the underlying resources is realized by implementing the pilot model. DIRAC’s newest generation of generic pilots (the so-called Pilots 2.0) are the “pilots for all the skies”, and have been successfully released in production more than a year ago. They use a plugin mechanism that makes them easily adaptable. Pilots 2.0 have been used for fetching and running jobs on every type of resource, being it a Worker Node (WN) behind a CREAM/ARC/HTCondor/DIRAC Computing element, a Virtual Machine running on IaaC infrastructures like Vac or BOINC, on IaaS cloud resources managed by Vcycle, the LHCb High Level Trigger farm nodes, and any type of opportunistic computing resource. Make a machine a “Pilot Machine”, and all diversities between them will disappear. This contribution describes how pilots are made suitable for different resources, and the recent steps taken towards a fully unified framework, including monitoring. Also, the cases of multi-processor computing slots either on real or virtual machines, with the whole node or a partition of it, is discussed.

C IV broad absorption line variability in QSO spectra from SDSS surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Cicco, Demetra; Brandt, William N.; Grier, Catherine J.; Paolillo, Maurizio

2017-12-01

Broad absorption lines (BALs) in the spectra of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are thought to arise from outflowing winds along our line of sight; winds, in turn, are thought to originate from the accretion disk, in the very surroundings of the central supermassive black hole (SMBH), and they likely affect the accretion process onto the SMBH, as well as galaxy evolution. BALs can exhibit variability on timescales typically ranging from months to years. We analyze such variability and, in particular, BAL disappearance, with the aim of investigating QSO physics and structure. We search for disappearing C IV BALs in the spectra of 1319 QSOs from different programs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS); the analyzed time span covers 0.28-4.9 yr (rest frame), and the source redshifts are in the range 1.68-4.27. This is to date the largest sample ever used for such a study. We find 67 sources (5.1_{-0.6}^{+0.7}% of the sample) with 73 disappearing BALs in total (3.9_{-0.5}^{+0.5}% of the total number of C IV BALs detected; some sources have more than one BAL that disappears). We compare the sample of disappearing BALs to the whole sample of BALs, and investigate the correlation in the variability of multiple troughs in the same spectrum. We also derive estimates of the average lifetime of a BAL trough and of the BAL phase along our line of sight.

Lethality of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in human tumour cell lines with different radiosensitivities.

PubMed

Coco-Martin, J M; Ottenheim, C P; Bartelink, H; Begg, A C

1996-03-01

In order to find an explanation for the eventual disappearance of all chromosome aberrations in two radiosensitive human tumour cell lines, the type and stability of different aberration types was investigated in more detail. To classify the aberrations into unstable and stable types, three-colour fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed, including a whole-chromosome probe, a pancentromere probe, and a stain for total DNA. This technique enables the appropriate classification of the aberrations principally by the presence (stable) or not (unstable) of a single centromere per chromosome. Unstable-type aberrations were found to disappear within 7 days (several divisions) in the two radiosensitive and the two radioresistant tumour lines investigated. Stable-type aberrations were found to remain at an approximately constant level over the duration of the experiment (14 days; 8-10 divisions) in the two radioresistant lines. In contrast, the majority of these stable-type aberrations had disappeared by 14 days in the two radiosensitive lines. The previous findings of disappearance of total aberrations in radiosensitive cells was therefore not due to a reduced induction of stable-type aberrations, but the complete disappearance of cells with this aberration type. These results could not be explained by differences in apoptosis or G1 blocks. Two possible explanations for these unexpected findings involve non-random induction of unstable-type aberrations, or lethality of stable-type aberrations. The results suggest caution in the use of stable-type aberration numbers as a predictor for radiosensitivity.

Upregulation of interleukin 7 receptor alpha and programmed death 1 marks an epitope-specific CD8+ T-cell response that disappears following primary Epstein-Barr virus infection.

PubMed

Sauce, Delphine; Larsen, Martin; Abbott, Rachel J M; Hislop, Andrew D; Leese, Alison M; Khan, Naeem; Papagno, Laura; Freeman, Gordon J; Rickinson, Alan B

2009-09-01

In immunocompetent individuals, the stability of the herpesvirus-host balance limits opportunities to study the disappearance of a virus-specific CD8(+) T-cell response. However, we noticed that in HLA-A 0201-positive infectious mononucleosis (IM) patients undergoing primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, the initial CD8 response targets three EBV lytic antigen-derived epitopes, YVLDHLIVV (YVL), GLCTLVAML (GLC), and TLDYKPLSV (TLD), but only the YVL and GLC reactivities persist long-term; the TLD response disappears within 10 to 27 months. While present, TLD-specific cells remained largely indistinguishable from YVL and GLC reactivities in many phenotypic and functional respects but showed unique temporal changes in two markers of T-cell fate, interleukin 7 receptor alpha (IL-7Ralpha; CD127) and programmed death 1 (PD-1). Thus, following the antigen-driven downregulation of IL-7Ralpha seen on all populations in acute IM, in every case, the TLD-specific population recovered expression unusually quickly post-IM. As well, in four of six patients studied, TLD-specific cells showed very strong PD-1 upregulation in the last blood sample obtained before the cells' disappearance. Our data suggest that the disappearance of this individual epitope reactivity from an otherwise stable EBV-specific response (i) reflects a selective loss of cognate antigen restimulation (rather than of IL-7-dependent signals) and (ii) is immediately preceded, and perhaps mediated, by PD-1 upregulation to unprecedented levels.

Detecting impossible changes in infancy: a three-system account

PubMed Central

Wang, Su-hua; Baillargeon, Renée

2012-01-01

Can infants detect that an object has magically disappeared, broken apart or changed color while briefly hidden? Recent research suggests that infants detect some but not other ‘impossible’ changes; and that various contextual manipulations can induce infants to detect changes they would not otherwise detect. We present an account that includes three systems: a physical-reasoning, an object-tracking, and an object-representation system. What impossible changes infants detect depends on what object information is included in the physical-reasoning system; this information becomes subject to a principle of persistence, which states that objects can undergo no spontaneous or uncaused change. What contextual manipulations induce infants to detect impossible changes depends on complex interplays between the physical-reasoning system and the object-tracking and object-representation systems. PMID:18078778

Unknown radio emission at about 3 MHz recorded in Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farges, T.; Blanc, E.; Strand, E.

2012-04-01

A wideband electric field antenna has been installed in Norway (at Hessdalen, 62°41' North and 11°12' East). A signal of 50 ms is automatically recorded every 5 s in order to monitor the spectral variations from 1 kHz to 5 MHz. Signals have been acquired during more than one year from September 2010 to December 2011. The measured electromagnetic spectrum is very similar to other spectra commonly measured in other places in the World. It shows emissions in numerous bands at fixed frequencies corresponding to radio transmissions in VLF, LF, MF and HF bands. However, one emission is quite different and arouses our curiosity. We find a quasi-continuous radio emission at a frequency varying from 2.7 to more than 3.4 MHz with a mean value of 3.0 MHz. The bandwidth is quite large (about 40 kHz) while it is about 9 kHz for all the other radio emissions at frequencies higher than 100 kHz. During the night, the frequency is relatively stable at about 3.1 MHz while during day-time a frequency shift of 200-300 kHz is often observed. These variations can be quick (few tens of minutes) or slow (several hours). Moreover, the emission disappears during day-time, the disappearance duration depending on the daylight duration. From November to the end of March, there is almost no disappearance while in April disappearances are more frequent and longer. From May to July, the emission disappears systematically during day-time from 6:00 UT to 20:00 UT. At the sunrise time the emission frequency suddenly decreases and systematically disappears when it reaches a threshold value (from 2.7 to 2.85 MHz). The emission (frequency and duration) is not influenced by the magnetic storms. We will show in the paper statistical results and some hypothesis on the mechanism which can produce this radio emission.

Demographic Change, Social Security Systems, and Savings1

PubMed Central

Bloom, David E.; Canning, David; Mansfield, Richard K.; Moore, Michael

2009-01-01

In theory, improvements in healthy life expectancy should generate increases in the average age of retirement, with little effect on savings rates. In many countries, however, retirement incentives in social security programs prevent retirement ages from keeping pace with changes in life expectancy, leading to an increased need for life-cycle savings. Analyzing a cross-country panel of macroeconomic data, we find that increased longevity raises aggregate savings rates in countries with universal pension coverage and retirement incentives, though the effect disappears in countries with pay-as-you-go systems and high replacement rates. PMID:19865594

Effects of fescue type and sampling date on the ruminal disappearance kinetics of autumn-stockpiled tall fescue.

PubMed

Flores, R; Coblentz, W K; Ogden, R K; Coffey, K P; Looper, M L; West, C P; Rosenkrans, C F

2007-06-01

Two tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) forages, one an experimental host plant/endophyte association containing a novel endophyte (HM4) that produces low or nil concentrations of ergot alkaloids, and the other a typical association of Kentucky 31 tall fescue and the wild-type endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum; E+), were autumn-stockpiled following late-summer clipping and fertilization with 56 kg/ha of N to assess the nutritive value and ruminal disappearance kinetics of autumn-stockpiled tall fescue forages. Beginning on December 4, 2003, sixteen 361 +/- 56.4-kg replacement dairy heifers were stratified by weight and breeding and assigned to one of four 1.6-ha pastures (2 each of E+ and HM4) that were strip-grazed throughout the winter. Pastures were sampled before grazing was initiated (December 4), each time heifers were allowed access to a fresh strip (December 26, January 15, and February 4), and when the study was terminated (February 26). For fiber components, there were no interactions between fescue type and sampling date for either pregrazed or postgrazed forages. Over sampling dates, neutral detergent fiber (NDF; 56.5 to 67.8%), acid detergent fiber (27.7 to 34.9%), hemicellulose (28.8 to 34.0%), cellulose (25.0 to 28.1%), and lignin (3.61 to 10.05%) varied with sampling date, but patterns were almost exclusively curvilinear with time. Ruminal disappearance rate of dry matter (DM) was not affected by any treatment factor (overall mean for both pregrazed and postgrazed forages = 0.050 h(- 1)); similar responses were observed for NDF disappearance (overall mean = 0.048 h(- 1)). Interactions of fescue type and sampling date were observed for both pregrazed and postgrazed forages with respect to effective ruminal disappearance of DM; however, estimates were relatively high for all forages (overall mean = 64.0%). Effective disappearance of NDF was relatively extensive for all forages (overall mean = 55.4% of NDF). Based on the results of this trial, the endophyte status of stockpiled tall fescue forages had little practical effect on forage nutritive value and kinetics of ruminal DM or NDF disappearance. Overall, autumn-stockpiled tall fescue forages would appear to be a legitimate and lower cost alternative to harvested forages, and appear to possess suitable nutritional characteristics for developing dairy heifers in the Ozark Highlands.

[Immunocytochemical studies on the phase of differentiation of hatching gland cells in brine shrimp, Artemia salina].

PubMed

Li, Ling; Fan, Ting Jun; Wang, Xiao Feng; Cong, Ri Shan; Yu, Qiu Tao; Zhong, Qi Wang

2004-04-01

Hatching enzyme (HE), synthesized in hatching gland cells (HGCs), plays vital roles in animal hatching. Immunocytochemical techniques employing anti-GST-UVS.2 antiserum, prepared from Xenopus HE and with specificity to brine shrimp HE, were first used to investigate the differentiation and variability of hatching gland cells (HGCs) in the hatching process of embryos of brine shrimp, Artemia salina, in this study. HGCs with immunoreactivity to anti-GST-UVS.2 antiserum were identified, for the first time, in brine shrimp embryos during hatching process. Immunocytochemical staining results showed that, (1) HE-positive immunoreactivity is really specific to Artemia HE, and its appearance and disappearance are closely correlated with the hatching process of Artemia salina. (2) Artemia HGCs, first appeared in embryos 5 hours before hatching and disappeared 4 hours after hatching, were also a transient type of cells, with an existence period of 9 hours. (3) The head portion of Artemia embryo is probably the initial position of HE secretion, and likely to be the main position of HE secretion as well. The detailed process and mechanism need to be studied. (4) The appearance of HGCs is in a synchronous mode from places all over the embryos, and their disappearance is also in a synchronous mode. (5) The number of HGCs increased gradually along with embryo development process and reached a maximum number at hatching. Contrarily, the number of HGCs decreased gradually after hatching, and HGCs disappeared 5 hours after hatching. However, the intensity of HE-positive reaction was almost at the same level at the period of HGCs'presence. (6) Artemia HGCs were distributed throughout the body of embryos at all time during their presence. Therefore, it can concluded that Artemia HGCs, as a transient type of cells, first appeared in embryos 4 hours before hatching and disappeared in embryos 5 hours after hatching, and with distinguished patterns of appearance, disappearance and distribution in embryos. What is the final destiny of Artemia HGCs after hatching? And what is the biological significance of remanet HGCs, still existing until 4 hours after hatching, in fresh-hatched Artemia larvae? Is it possible that the HGCs are involved in larvae yolk digestion? Moreover, what is the molecular mechanism of HGCs' synchronous sudden appearance and disappearance? All these questions remain to be further studied and approved.

Computer-supported indirect-form lifestyle-modification support program using Lifestyle Intervention Support Software for Diabetes Prevention (LISS-DP) for people with a family history of type 2 diabetes in a medical checkup setting: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Tokunaga-Nakawatase, Yuri; Nishigaki, Masakazu; Taru, Chiemi; Miyawaki, Ikuko; Nishida, Junko; Kosaka, Shiho; Sanada, Hiromi; Kazuma, Keiko

2014-10-01

To investigate the effect of a computer-supported indirect-form lifestyle-modification program using Lifestyle Intervention Support Software for Diabetes Prevention (LISS-DP), as a clinically feasible strategy for primary prevention, on diet and physical activity habits in adults with a family history of type 2 diabetes. This was a two-arm, randomized controlled trial: (1) lifestyle intervention (LI) group (n=70); (2) control (n=71). Healthy adults aged 30-60 years with a history of type 2 diabetes among their first-degree relatives were recruited. LI group received three times of lifestyle intervention using LISS-DP during six-month intervention period via mail. Lifestyle intervention group showed significantly greater decrease in energy intake six months after baseline, compared to control (-118.31 and -24.79 kcal/day, respectively, p=0.0099, Cohen's d=0.22), though the difference disappeared 1 year after from baseline. No difference was found in physical activity energy expenditure. A computer-based, non-face-to-face lifestyle intervention was effective on dietary habits, only during the intervention period. Further examination of the long-term effects of such intervention and physical activity is required. Copyright © 2014 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antidiabetic Bis-Maltolato-OxoVanadium(IV): Conversion of inactive trans- to bioactive cis-BMOV for possible binding to target PTP-1B

PubMed Central

Scior, Thomas; Mack, Hans-Georg; García, José Antonio Guevara; Koch, Wolfhard

2008-01-01

The postulated transition of Bis-Maltolato-OxoVanadium(IV) (BMOV) from its inactive trans- into its cis-aquo-BMOV isomeric form in solution was simulated by means of computational molecular modeling. The rotational barrier was calculated with DFT – B3LYP under a stepwise optimization protocol with STO-3G, 3-21G, 3-21G*, and 6-31G ab initio basis sets. Our computed results are consistent with reports on the putative molecular mechanism of BMOV triggering the insulin-like cellular response (insulin mimetic) as a potent inhibitor of the protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1B). Initially, trans-BMOV is present in its solid dosage form but in aqueous solution, and during oral administration, it is readily converted into a mixture of “open-type” and “closed-type” complexes of cis-aquo-BMOV under equilibrium conditions. However, in the same measure as the “closed-type” complex binds to the cytosolic PTP-1B, it disappears from solution, and the equilibrium shifts towards the “closed-type” species. In full accordance, the computed binding mode of cis-BMOV is energetically favored over sterically hindered trans-BMOV. In view of our earlier report on prodrug hypothesis of vanadium organic compounds the present results suggest that cis-BMOV is the bioactive species. PMID:19920909

Oral [13C]glucose oxidation during prolonged exercise after high- and low-carbohydrate diets.

PubMed

Péronnet, F; Rhéaume, N; Lavoie, C; Hillaire-Marcel, C; Massicotte, D

1998-08-01

The effect of a diet either high or low in carbohydrates (CHO) on exogenous 13C-labeled glucose oxidation (200 g) during exercise (ergocycle: 120 min at 64.0 +/- 0.5% maximal oxygen uptake) was studied in six subjects. Between 40 and 80 min, exogenous glucose oxidation was significantly higher after the diet low in CHO (0.63 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.52 +/- 0.04 g/min), but this difference disappeared between 80 and 120 min (0.71 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.69 +/- 0.04 g/min). The oxidation rate of plasma glucose, computed from the volume of 13CO2 produced the 13C-to-12C ratio in plasma glucose at 80 min, and of glucose released from the liver, computed from the difference between plasma glucose and exogenous glucose oxidation, was higher after the diet low in CHO (1.68 +/- 0.26 vs. 1.41 +/- 0.17 and 1.02 +/- 0.20 vs. 0.81 +/- 0.14 g/min, respectively). In contrast the oxidation rate of glucose plus lactate from muscle glycogen (computed from the difference between total CHO oxidation and plasma glucose oxidation) was lower (0.31 +/- 0.35 vs. 1.59 +/- 0.20 g/min). After a diet low in CHO, the oxidation of exogenous glucose and of glucose released from the liver is increased and partly compensates for the reduction in muscle glycogen availability and oxidation.

Effects of nuclear structure in the spin-dependent scattering of weakly interacting massive particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaev, M. A.; Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, H. V.

1993-06-01

We present calculations of the nuclear from factors for spin-dependent elastic scattering of dark matter WIMPs from123Te and131Xe isotopes, proposed to be used for dark matter detection. A method based on the theory of finite Fermi systems was used to describe the reduction of the single-particle spin-dependent matrix elements in the nuclear medium. Nucleon single-particle states were calculated in a realistic shell model potential; pairing effects were treated within the BCS model. The coupling of the lowest single-particle levels in123Te to collective 2+ excitations of the core was taken into account phenomenologically. The calculated nuclear form factors are considerably less then the single-particle ones for low momentum transfer. At high momentum transfer some dynamical amplification takes place due to the pion exchange term in the effective nuclear interaction. But as the momentum transfer increases, the difference disappears, the momentum transfer increases and the quenching effect disappears. The shape of the nuclear form factor for the131Xe isotope differs from the one obtained using an oscillator basis.

Resonant x-ray scattering reveals possible disappearance of magnetic order under hydrostatic pressure in the Kitaev candidate γ - Li 2 IrO 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Breznay, Nicholas P.; Ruiz, Alejandro; Frano, Alex

2017-07-05

Honeycomb iridates such as γ-Li 2IrO 3 are argued to realize Kitaev spin-anisotropic magnetic exchange, along with Heisenberg and possibly other couplings. While systems with pure Kitaev interactions are candidates to realize a quantum spin-liquid ground state, in γ-Li 2IrO 3 it has been shown that the presence of competing magnetic interactions leads to an incommensurate spiral spin order at ambient pressure below 38 K. In this paper, we study the pressure sensitivity of this magnetically ordered state in single crystals of γ-Li 2IrO 3 using resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) under applied hydrostatic pressures of up to 3 GPa. Finally,more » RXS is a direct probe of electronic order, and we observe the abrupt disappearance of the q sp = (0.57, 0, 0) spiral order at a critical pressure P c = 1.4 GPa with no accompanying change in the symmetry of the lattice.« less

Modified high-density lipoproteins by artificial sweetener, aspartame, and saccharin, showed loss of anti-atherosclerotic activity and toxicity in zebrafish.

PubMed

Kim, Jae-Yong; Park, Ki-Hoon; Kim, Jihoe; Choi, Inho; Cho, Kyung-Hyun

2015-01-01

Safety concerns have been raised regarding the association of chronic consumption of artificial sweeteners (ASs) with metabolic disorders, especially in the heart and brain. There has been no information on the in vivo physiological effects of AS consumption in lipoprotein metabolism. High-dosage treatment (final 25, 50, and 100 mM) with AS (aspartame, acesulfame K, and saccharin) to human high-density lipoprotein (HDL) induced loss of antioxidant ability along with elevated atherogenic effects. Aspartame-treated HDL3 (final 100 mM) almost all disappeared due to putative proteolytic degradation. Aspartame- and saccharin-treated HDL3 showed more enhanced cholesteryl ester transfer activity, while their antioxidant ability was disappeared. Microinjection of the modified HDL3 exacerbated the inflammatory death in zebrafish embryos in the presence of oxLDL. These results show that AS treatment impaired the beneficial functions of HDL, resulting in loss of antioxidant and anti-atherogenic activities. These results suggest that aspartame and saccharin could be toxic to the human circulation system as well as embryonic development via impairment of lipoprotein function.

Arctic Sea Ice in a 1.5°C Warmer World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niederdrenk, Anne Laura; Notz, Dirk

2018-02-01

We examine the seasonal cycle of Arctic sea ice in scenarios with limited future global warming. To do so, we analyze two sets of observational records that cover the observational uncertainty of Arctic sea ice loss per degree of global warming. The observations are combined with 100 simulations of historical and future climate evolution from the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model Grand Ensemble. Based on the high-sensitivity observations, we find that Arctic September sea ice is lost with low probability (P≈ 10%) for global warming of +1.5°C above preindustrial levels and with very high probability (P> 99%) for global warming of +2°C above preindustrial levels. For the low-sensitivity observations, September sea ice is extremely unlikely to disappear for +1.5°C warming (P≪ 1%) and has low likelihood (P≈ 10%) to disappear even for +2°C global warming. For March, both observational records suggest a loss of 15% to 20% of Arctic sea ice area for 1.5°C to 2°C global warming.

The Case of the Disappearing E-Book: Academic Libraries and Subscription Packages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Georgas, Helen

2015-01-01

One of the standard models for e-book licensing in academic libraries is the subscription package. This study is a one-year analysis of "disappeared" titles from ebrary's Academic Complete™ collection. During 2013, 3462 titles were deleted. Deleted titles were mainly recent publications (published within the last ten years), with a high…

Announcing the First Results from Daya Bay: Discovery of a New Kind of

Science.gov Websites

collaboration observed tens of thousands of interactions of electron antineutrinos, caught by six massive was the sizable disappearance, equal to about six percent. Although disappearance has been observed in . "Even with only the six detectors already operating, we have more target mass than any similar

Disappearing-Reappearing Rabbit Trick: A New Twist to an Old Liquid Nitrogen Demonstration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haub, Elaine K.

2001-01-01

Demonstrations using liquid nitrogen are very common in chemistry courses and chemistry outreach programs, and the shrinking of a balloon when cooled and its subsequent "re-inflation" upon warming is a crowd pleaser. Uses a rabbit balloon which "disappears" as it is lowered into the hat and "reappears" when it is…

Phenomenal Permanence and the Development of Predictive Tracking in Infancy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bertenthal, Bennett I.; Longo, Matthew R.; Kenny, Sarah

2007-01-01

The perceived spatiotemporal continuity of objects depends on the way they appear and disappear as they move in the spatial layout. This study investigated whether infants' predictive tracking of a briefly occluded object is sensitive to the manner by which the object disappears and reappears. Five-, 7-, and 9-month-old infants were shown a ball…

A Bermuda Triangle? A Case Study of the Disappearance of Competence-Based Vocational Training Policy in the Context of Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, Inge; Dutson, Judith

1995-01-01

Observations of job training of special needs students were analyzed in terms of operational demands, staffing levels, resources, and trainee interaction. The competence approach often disappeared in the face of more pressing concerns; it serves to legitimate a political response rather than solve an educational problem. (SK)

Program Evaluation without a Client: The Case of the Disappearing Intended Users

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mertens, Donna M.

2010-01-01

Evaluators know they are supposed to identify and engage with stakeholders. What happens when the client has a very narrow concept of the meaning of evaluation? What happens when the primary stakeholders, including the client, disappear just as the evaluation gets started? First, it is important to acknowledge the challenge, then develop a…

Dual baseline search for muon neutrino disappearance at 0.5 eV 2 < Delta m 2 < 40 eV 2

DOE PAGES

Mahn, K B.M.

2011-06-01

The SciBooNE and MiniBooNE collaborations report the results of a ν μ disappearance search in the &Delta'm 2 region of 0.5-40 eV 2. The neutrino rate as measured by the SciBooNE tracking detectors is used to constrain the rate at the MiniBooNE Cherenkov detector in the first joint analysis of data from both collaborations. Two separate analyses of the combined data samples set 90% confidence level (CL) limits on ν μ disappearance in the 0.5-40 eV 2 Δm 2 region, with an improvement over previous experimental constraints between 10 and 30 eV 2

Dual baseline search for muon neutrino disappearance at 0.5eV2<Δm2<40eV2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahn, K. B. M.; Nakajima, Y.; Aguilar-Arevalo, A. A.; Alcaraz-Aunion, J. L.; Anderson, C. E.; Bazarko, A. O.; Brice, S. J.; Brown, B. C.; Bugel, L.; Cao, J.; Catala-Perez, J.; Cheng, G.; Coney, L.; Conrad, J. M.; Cox, D. C.; Curioni, A.; Dharmapalan, R.; Djurcic, Z.; Dore, U.; Finley, D. A.; Fleming, B. T.; Ford, R.; Franke, A. J.; Garcia, F. G.; Garvey, G. T.; Giganti, C.; Gomez-Cadenas, J. J.; Grange, J.; Green, C.; Green, J. A.; Guzowski, P.; Hanson, A.; Hart, T. L.; Hawker, E.; Hayato, Y.; Hiraide, K.; Huelsnitz, W.; Imlay, R.; Johnson, R. A.; Jones, B. J. P.; Jover-Manas, G.; Karagiorgi, G.; Kasper, P.; Katori, T.; Kobayashi, Y. K.; Kobilarcik, T.; Kourbanis, I.; Koutsoliotas, S.; Kubo, H.; Kurimoto, Y.; Laird, E. M.; Linden, S. K.; Link, J. M.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Y.; Louis, W. C.; Loverre, P. F.; Ludovici, L.; Mariani, C.; Marsh, W.; Masuike, S.; Matsuoka, K.; Mauger, C.; McGary, V. T.; McGregor, G.; Metcalf, W.; Meyers, P. D.; Mills, F.; Mills, G. B.; Mitsuka, G.; Miyachi, Y.; Mizugashira, S.; Monroe, J.; Moore, C. D.; Mousseau, J.; Nakaya, T.; Napora, R.; Nelson, R. H.; Nienaber, P.; Nowak, J. A.; Orme, D.; Osmanov, B.; Otani, M.; Ouedraogo, S.; Patterson, R. B.; Pavlovic, Z.; Perevalov, D.; Polly, C. C.; Prebys, E.; Raaf, J. L.; Ray, H.; Roe, B. P.; Russell, A. D.; Sanchez, F.; Sandberg, V.; Schirato, R.; Schmitz, D.; Shaevitz, M. H.; Shibata, T.-A.; Shoemaker, F. C.; Smith, D.; Soderberg, M.; Sorel, M.; Spentzouris, P.; Spitz, J.; Stancu, I.; Stefanski, R. J.; Sung, M.; Takei, H.; Tanaka, H. A.; Tanaka, H.-K.; Tanaka, M.; Tayloe, R.; Taylor, I. J.; Tesarek, R. J.; Tzanov, M.; Uchida, Y.; van de Water, R.; Walding, J. J.; Wascko, M. O.; White, D. H.; White, H. B.; Wilking, M. J.; Yokoyama, M.; Yang, H. J.; Zeller, G. P.; Zimmerman, E. D.

2012-02-01

The SciBooNE and MiniBooNE collaborations report the results of a νμ disappearance search in the Δm2 region of 0.5-40eV2. The neutrino rate as measured by the SciBooNE tracking detectors is used to constrain the rate at the MiniBooNE Cherenkov detector in the first joint analysis of data from both collaborations. Two separate analyses of the combined data samples set 90% confidence level (CL) limits on νμ disappearance in the 0.5-40eV2 Δm2 region, with an improvement over previous experimental constraints between 10 and 30eV2.

Object permanence in cats: Analysis in locomotor space.

PubMed

Thinus-Blanc, C; Poucet, B; Chapuis, N

1982-04-01

Stages IV and V object permanence were studied with 38-40-week-old cats. A constraining apparatus preventing animals from pursuing the bowl containing meat before it was concealed was used. Either the bowl was seen moving and disappeared from view behind a screen (stage IV trials), or after this sequence, it reappeared from behind the first screen and disappeared behind a second screen (stage V trials). In both situations cats performed significantly above chance but the paths taken to reach the food were different according to the stage. In stage V trials, cats expressed a preference for the path leading to the end of the second screen where the food was last seen disappearing. Copyright © 1982. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Preliminary Experience of Endovascular Embolization Using N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate for Hemoptysis due to Infectious Pulmonary Artery Pseudoaneurysms via Systemic Arterial Approach.

PubMed

Torikai, Hideyuki; Hasegawa, Ichiro; Jinzaki, Masahiro; Narimatsu, Yoshiaki

2017-10-01

We report 5 patients with hemoptysis due to infectious pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysm (PAP) treated with endovascular embolization using N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) injected via bronchial and nonbronchial systemic arterial approaches. Infectious diseases included inactive tuberculosis (n = 3), nontuberculous mycobacteriosis (n = 1), and chronic infection of unknown origin (n = 1). Seven PAPs were detected on selective systemic angiography, and injection of NBCA was performed. Disappearance of all PAPs was confirmed on systemic arteriography after the intervention. In all patients, hemoptysis was stopped without major complications, and it did not recur during the follow-up period (mean, 351 d; range, 285-427 d). Copyright © 2016 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simulating contaminant attenuation, double-porosity exchange, and water age in aquifers using MOC3D

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goode, Daniel J.

1999-01-01

MOC3D is a general-purpose computer model developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for simulation of three-dimensional solute transport in ground water (Konikow and others, 1996). The model is an update to the widely used USGS two-dimensional solute-transport model (MOC) and is implemented as an optional “package” for the ground-water flow model MODFLOW (Harbaugh and McDonald, 1996). Directly coupling the time-tested MOC transport algorithms with the widely used MODFLOW program makes MOC3D a powerful tool for simulation of solute transport in ground water in many hydrogeologic settings. The model simulates transport processes that include:Advection - Transport of dissolved solutes at the same rate as the average ground-water flow velocity.Diffusion - Spreading of solute from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, caused by “random” molecular motionDispersion - Diffusion-like spreading of solute that is caused primarily by spatial variability in aquifer properties, which results in spatial variability in transport velocity.Retardation - Reduction in the apparent solute velocity, compared to the ground-water velocity, caused by linear equilibrium sorption on aquifer materials.Decay - Disappearance of solute caused by reactions such as radioactive decay or biodegradation that are proportional to concentration.Growth - Creation (or disappearance) of solute mass caused by reactions that proceed independent of the solute concentration, such as some cases of biodegradationDouble-porosity exchange - rate-limited exchange of solute mass between mobile and immobile zones; for example, between fractures and the rock matrix.

Reabsorption atelectasis in a porcine model of ARDS: regional and temporal effects of airway closure, oxygen, and distending pressure.

PubMed

Derosa, Savino; Borges, João Batista; Segelsjö, Monica; Tannoia, Angela; Pellegrini, Mariangela; Larsson, Anders; Perchiazzi, Gaetano; Hedenstierna, Göran

2013-11-01

Little is known about the small airways dysfunction in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). By computed tomography (CT) imaging in a porcine experimental model of early ARDS, we aimed at studying the location and magnitude of peripheral airway closure and alveolar collapse under high and low distending pressures and high and low inspiratory oxygen fraction (FIO2). Six piglets were mechanically ventilated under anesthesia and muscle relaxation. Four animals underwent saline-washout lung injury, and two served as healthy controls. Beyond the site of assumed airway closure, gas was expected to be trapped in the injured lungs, promoting alveolar collapse. This was tested by ventilation with an FIO2 of 0.25 and 1 in sequence during low and high distending pressures. In the most dependent regions, the gas/tissue ratio of end-expiratory CT, after previous ventilation with FIO2 0.25 low-driving pressure, was significantly higher than after ventilation with FIO2 1; with high-driving pressure, this difference disappeared. Also, significant reduction in poorly aerated tissue and a correlated increase in nonaerated tissue in end-expiratory CT with FIO2 1 low-driving pressure were seen. When high-driving pressure was applied or after previous ventilation with FIO2 0.25 and low-driving pressure, this pattern disappeared. The findings suggest that low distending pressures produce widespread dependent airway closure and with high FIO2, subsequent absorption atelectasis. Low FIO2 prevented alveolar collapse during the study period because of slow absorption of gas behind closed airways.

Potentially inappropriate medication: Association between the use of antidepressant drugs and the subsequent risk for dementia.

PubMed

Heser, Kathrin; Luck, Tobias; Röhr, Susanne; Wiese, Birgitt; Kaduszkiewicz, Hanna; Oey, Anke; Bickel, Horst; Mösch, Edelgard; Weyerer, Siegfried; Werle, Jochen; Brettschneider, Christian; König, Hans-Helmut; Fuchs, Angela; Pentzek, Michael; van den Bussche, Hendrik; Scherer, Martin; Maier, Wolfgang; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Wagner, Michael

2018-01-15

Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) is associated with an increased risk for detrimental health outcomes in elderly patients. Some antidepressant drugs are considered as PIM, but previous research on the association between antidepressants and subsequent dementia has been inconclusive. Therefore, we investigated whether the intake of antidepressants, particularly of those considered as PIM according to the Priscus list, would predict incident dementia. We used data of a prospective cohort study of non-demented primary care patients (n = 3239, mean age = 79.62) to compute Cox proportional hazards models. The risk for subsequent dementia was estimated over eight follow-ups up to 12 years depending on antidepressant intake and covariates. The intake of antidepressants was associated with an increased risk for subsequent dementia (HR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.16-2.02, p = .003; age-, sex-, education-adjusted). PIM antidepressants (HR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.06-2.10, p = .021), but not other antidepressants (HR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.66-1.66, p = .863), were associated with an increased risk for subsequent dementia (in age-, sex-, education-, and depressive symptoms adjusted models). Significant associations disappeared after global cognition at baseline was controlled for. Methodological limitations such as selection biases and self-reported drug assessments might have influenced the results. Only antidepressants considered as PIM were associated with an increased subsequent dementia risk. Anticholinergic effects might explain this relationship. The association disappeared after the statistical control for global cognition at baseline. Nonetheless, physicians should avoid the prescription of PIM antidepressants in elderly patients whenever possible. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Idiopathic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome associated with bilateral pleural and pericardial effusions: a case report.

PubMed

Yanamoto, Shozaburo; Fukae, Jiro; Fukiyama, Yurie; Fujioka, Shinsuke; Ouma, Shinji; Tsuboi, Yoshio

2016-07-20

Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome is characterized by symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema in the dorsum of the hands or feet. Most cases of remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome are idiopathic, but some are secondary to malignancy, autoimmune disease, or neurodegenerative disorders. Pleural and pericardial effusions are unusual complications in idiopathic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome. A 74-year-old Japanese woman presented to our hospital with arthralgia and pitting edema in her feet. She had pain in multiple joints, peripheral edema, and a markedly elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Enhanced computed tomography and laboratory data showed no evidence of malignancy. These findings suggested that she had idiopathic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome. She also developed respiratory distress because of bilateral pleural and pericardial effusions. Laboratory data showed that serum vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 were significantly elevated. After administration of steroids, her pleural and pericardial effusions decreased and finally disappeared. Furthermore, vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 decreased when the pleural and pericardial effusions disappeared. Here we report the case of a patient with idiopathic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome associated with life-threatening complications, including bilateral pleural and pericardial effusions during the course of the illness, which led to respiratory failure and atrial fibrillation. Elevated vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 may be associated with the cause of pleural and pericardial effusions in idiopathic remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema syndrome.

Augmented Reality Guidance for the Resection of Missing Colorectal Liver Metastases: An Initial Experience.

PubMed

Ntourakis, Dimitrios; Memeo, Ricardo; Soler, Luc; Marescaux, Jacques; Mutter, Didier; Pessaux, Patrick

2016-02-01

Modern chemotherapy achieves the shrinking of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) to such extent that they may disappear from radiological imaging. Disappearing CRLM rarely represents a complete pathological remission and have an important risk of recurrence. Augmented reality (AR) consists in the fusion of real-time patient images with a computer-generated 3D virtual patient model created from pre-operative medical imaging. The aim of this prospective pilot study is to investigate the potential of AR navigation as a tool to help locate and surgically resect missing CRLM. A 3D virtual anatomical model was created from thoracoabdominal CT-scans using customary software (VR RENDER(®), IRCAD). The virtual model was superimposed to the operative field using an Exoscope (VITOM(®), Karl Storz, Tüttlingen, Germany). Virtual and real images were manually registered in real-time using a video mixer, based on external anatomical landmarks with an estimated accuracy of 5 mm. This modality was tested in three patients, with four missing CRLM that had sizes from 12 to 24 mm, undergoing laparotomy after receiving pre-operative oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. AR display and fine registration was performed within 6 min. AR helped detect all four missing CRLM, and guided their resection. In all cases the planned security margin of 1 cm was clear and resections were confirmed to be R0 by pathology. There was no postoperative major morbidity or mortality. No local recurrence occurred in the follow-up period of 6-22 months. This initial experience suggests that AR may be a helpful navigation tool for the resection of missing CRLM.

Quantum Jeffreys prior for displaced squeezed thermal states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwek, L. C.; Oh, C. H.; Wang, Xiang-Bin

1999-09-01

It is known that, by extending the equivalence of the Fisher information matrix to its quantum version, the Bures metric, the quantum Jeffreys prior can be determined from the volume element of the Bures metric. We compute the Bures metric for the displaced squeezed thermal state and analyse the quantum Jeffreys prior and its marginal probability distributions. To normalize the marginal probability density function, it is necessary to provide a range of values of the squeezing parameter or the inverse temperature. We find that if the range of the squeezing parameter is kept narrow, there are significant differences in the marginal probability density functions in terms of the squeezing parameters for the displaced and undisplaced situations. However, these differences disappear as the range increases. Furthermore, marginal probability density functions against temperature are very different in the two cases.

[Tension Pneumothorax Developing Hemothorax after Chest Tube Drainage].

PubMed

Sakai, Takehiro; Sawada, Masahiro; Sato, Yutaka; Kimura, Futoshi; Yagihashi, Nobuo; Iwabuchi, Tadashi; Kimura, Daisuke; Tsushima, Takao; Hatanaka, Ryo

2016-11-01

A 61-year-old man visited a physician complaining of progressive chest pain and dyspnea. The chest radiography showed complete collapse of the right lung suggesting tension pneumothorax. The patient was transferred to our hospital. A small amount of the right pleural effusion was also seen in addition to pulmonary collapse on the chest radiography. Chest drainage was performed, and continuous air leakage was seen. At 2 hours later, air leakage was disappeared but the bloody effusion was noted. The chest radiography revealed massive effusion and the enhanced computed tomography showed active bleeding. The emergency surgery was conducted. The bleeding point was a ruptured vessel between the apical parietal pleura and the pulmonary bulla. Hemostasis and the resection of the bullae was performed. Careful observation after chest drainage is necessary to prepare unexpected hemothorax in case of tension pneumothorax with pleural effusion.

First Results at ultra-high Rλ in a wind tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuechler, Christian; Bodenschatz, Eberhard; Bewley, Gregory P.

2017-11-01

With a new active grid installed, the Variable Density Turbulence Tunnel (VDTT) at the Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization produced homogeneous turbulence at Reynolds numbers up to Rλ 7500 . The active grid consisted of 111 individually controllable flaps that produced more intense turbulence than classical fixed grids. We varied the Reynolds number by changing the pressure of sulfur hexafluoride gas in the tunnel between 0.5 and 15 bar, which changes the viscosity of the gas. With hot wire probes called NSTAPs that were 30 microns long, we measured velocity spectra and structure functions. While a bottleneck is present in the spectra at Reynolds numbers up to Rλ < 3000 , the bottleneck weakens and disappears at higher Rλ. We compare this observation with measurements made in the field and with computer simulations.

Human fascioliasis: a re-emerging disease in upper Egypt.

PubMed

Mekky, Mohamed A; Tolba, Mohammed; Abdel-Malek, Mohamed O; Abbas, Wael A; Zidan, Mohamed

2015-07-01

In recent years, the number of humans infected with Fasciola has risen rapidly. Diagnosis is based mainly on detection of eggs in stool analysis. The rate of infection in Egypt is unknown. In this retrospective study, we describe 23 cases of hepatic fascioliasis, and only 2 of these cases showed eggs in stools. The symptoms of infection, such as pyrexia of unknown origin, epigastric pain, and abdominal distension, were suggestive. Imaging techniques, including abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography, were very helpful in detecting hepatic changes. An indirect hemagglutination assay proved to be of value for diagnosis. Treatment using a 2-day triclabendazole regimen cured the infection and signs of hepatic involvement disappeared. Combining both imaging techniques and laboratory tests is essential for diagnosis of fascioliasis in the early stage. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Bilateral stress fracture of the fibulae and periostitis of the tibiae.

PubMed

Tsuchie, Hiroyuki; Okada, Kyoji; Nagasawa, Hiroyuki; Chida, Shuichi; Shimada, Yoichi

2010-01-01

This study describes a unique case of bilateral stress fractures of the fibulae and provides a literature review. A 16-year-old female badminton player presented with pain around the bilateral distal lateral legs. She had mild bilateral varus deformity at the knee joint, and the bilateral ankles showed valgus deformity in standing posture. Radiographs and computed tomography showed periosteal reactions on the bilateral distal fibulae. Technetium-99m bone scintigraphy demonstrated increased uptake in the bilateral distal fibulae and the bilateral middle third of the tibiae. A diagnosis of bilateral distal fibular stress fractures was made. She was advised to stop playing badminton until the symptoms disappeared. Varus deformity of the knee and valgus deformity of the ankle may have influenced the mechanism underlying bilateral symmetric stress fractures. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Non-Existence of Black Hole Solutionsfor a Spherically Symmetric, Static Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finster, Felix; Smoller, Joel; Yau, Shing-Tung

We consider for j=1/2, 3/2,... a spherically symmetric, static system of (2j+1) Dirac particles, each having total angular momentum j. The Dirac particles interact via a classical gravitational and electromagnetic field. The Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell equations for this system are derived. It is shown that, under weak regularity conditions on the form of the horizon, the only black hole solutions of the EDM equations are the Reissner-Nordstrom solutions. In other words, the spinors must vanish identically. Applied to the gravitational collapse of a "cloud" of spin-1/2-particles to a black hole, our result indicates that the Dirac particles must eventually disappear inside the event horizon.

Quantum steering and entanglement in three-mode triangle Bose-Hubbard system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalaga, J. K.; Leoński, W.; Szczȩśniak, R.

2017-11-01

We consider the possibility of generation steerable states in Bose-Hubbard system composed of three interacting wells in the form of a triangle. We show that although our system still fulfills the monogamy relations, the presence of additional coupling which transforms a chain of wells onto triangle gives a variety of new possibilities for the generation of steerable quantum states. Deriving analytical formulas for the parameters describing steering and bipartite entanglement, we show that interplay between two couplings influences quantum correlations of various types. We compare the time evolution of steering parameters to those describing bipartite entanglement and find the relations between the appearance of maximal entanglement and disappearance of steering effect.

Effects on fisheries and waterbirds of raising water levels at Kerkini Reservoir, a Ramsar site in northern greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crivelli, A. J.; Grillas, P.; Jerrentrup, H.; Nazirides, T.

1995-05-01

A new, higher dam was installed at Kerkini Reservoir in 1982, causing habitat and landscape disruption. A decrease in the area of grassland and shallow water areas, the rapid disappearance of reedbeds, the appearance of beds of Nymphaea, and the disappearance of half the forest area were all observed between 1982 and 1991. With the new hydrological regime, a lacustrine system was created, with an extensive, rather deep (4-8 m), pelagic zone favorable for the development of coarse fish species throughout the year. After 1982, an increase in fishing effort and a change in the relative abundance of fish species in the catch, including the disappearance of eels and wels, were observed. The impact of the rise in the water level of breeding aquatic birds led to a general decline in species typical of marshy habitats in favor of species preferring deeper open water habitats. A decrease was recorded in bird species that feed largely on invertebrates and to a lesser extent fish (e.g., glossy ibis) and that require extensive shallow feeding areas. There was a decline in geese, whose nests were regularly flooded, and a major increase in piscivorous birds, particularly diving birds (e.g., cormorants), which prefer deeper open water and benefitted directly from the large increase in coarse fish biomass. The disappearance of birds breeding in flooded meadows (e.g., black-winged stilts) and of those restricted to reedbeds (e.g., marsh harrier) occurred from 1983. Over the same period, the changes in populations of wintering birds at Kerkini were different from those occurring in other wetlands in northern Greece. The changes recorded in the populations of wintering birds at Kerkini did not therefore result from overall regional trends but from the major habitat modifications that occurred to this wetland. As for breeding birds, strictly piscivorous species increased greatly as a result of the increased availability of fish, but also due to the appearance of many suitable night roosting sites (flooded trees) and to the great increase in the area of open water greater than 2 m deep. Today, Kerkini has become the most important breeding site in Greece for a majority of colonial waterbirds. In contrast, wintering shorebirds practically disappeared. The many changes recorded in the status of breeding and wintering birds at Kerkini can mostly be explained by the changes that occurred in the functioning of the ecosystem and in the habitat structure following the inauguration of the new hydrological regime. These changes did not all occur at the same time: some were immediate and others required a delay before they could be detected.

Pulp Revascularization on Permanent Teeth with Open Apices in a Middle-aged Patient.

PubMed

Wang, Yu; Zhu, Xiaofei; Zhang, Chengfei

2015-09-01

Pulp revascularization is a promising procedure for the treatment of adolescents' immature permanent teeth with necrotic pulp and/or apical periodontitis. However, the ability to successfully perform pulp revascularization in a middle-aged patient remains unclear. A 39-year-old woman was referred for treatment of teeth #20 and #29 with necrotic pulp, extensive periapical radiolucencies, and incomplete apices. Pulp revascularization procedures were attempted, including root canal debridement, triple antibiotic paste medication, and platelet-rich plasma transplantation to act as a scaffold. Periapical radiographic and cone-beam computed tomographic examinations were used to review the changes in the apical lesions and root apex configuration. The patient remained asymptomatic throughout the 30-month follow-up. Periapical radiographic examination revealed no change in the apical lesions of either tooth at 8 months. The periapical radiolucency disappeared on tooth #20 and significantly decreased on tooth #29 by the 30-month follow-up, findings that were also confirmed by cone-beam computed tomographic imaging. No evidence of root lengthening or thickening was observed. Successful revascularization was achieved in a middle-aged patient's teeth. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A computed microtomography method for understanding epiphyseal growth plate fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staines, Katherine A.; Madi, Kamel; Javaheri, Behzad; Lee, Peter D.; Pitsillides, Andrew A.

2017-12-01

The epiphyseal growth plate is a developmental region responsible for linear bone growth, in which chondrocytes undertake a tightly regulated series of biological processes. Concomitant with the cessation of growth and sexual maturation, the human growth plate undergoes progressive narrowing, and ultimately disappears. Despite the crucial role of this growth plate fusion ‘bridging’ event, the precise mechanisms by which it is governed are complex and yet to be established. Progress is likely hindered by the current methods for growth plate visualisation; these are invasive and largely rely on histological procedures. Here we describe our non-invasive method utilising synchrotron x-ray computed microtomography for the examination of growth plate bridging, which ultimately leads to its closure coincident with termination of further longitudinal bone growth. We then apply this method to a dataset obtained from a benchtop microcomputed tomography scanner to highlight its potential for wide usage. Furthermore, we conduct finite element modelling at the micron-scale to reveal the effects of growth plate bridging on local tissue mechanics. Employment of these 3D analyses of growth plate bone bridging is likely to advance our understanding of the physiological mechanisms that control growth plate fusion.

SOAP: A Tool for the Fast Computation of Photometry and Radial Velocity Induced by Stellar Spots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boisse, I.; Bonfils, X.; Santos, N. C.; Figueira, P.

2013-04-01

Dark spots and bright plages are present on the surface of dwarf stars from spectral types F to M, even in their low-active phase (like the Sun). Their appearance and disappearance on the stellar photosphere, combined with the stellar rotation, may lead to errors and uncertainties in the characterization of planets both in radial velocity (RV) and photometry. Spot Oscillation and Planet (SOAP) is a tool offered to the community that enables to simulate spots and plages on rotating stars and computes their impact on RV and photometric measurements. This tool will help to understand the challenges related to the knowledge of stellar activity for the next decade: detect telluric planets in the habitable zone of their stars (from G to M dwarfs), understand the activity in the low-mass end of M dwarf (on which future projects, like SPIRou or CARMENES, will focus), limitation to the characterization of the exoplanetary atmosphere (from the ground or with Spitzer, JWST), search for planets around young stars. These can be simulated with SOAP in order to search for indices and corrections to the effect of activity.

Spontaneous resolution of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia on high-resolution computed tomography in a patient with renal cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Tanaka, Yasutaka; Saraya, Takeshi; Kurai, Daisuke; Ishii, Haruyuki; Takizawa, Hajime; Goto, Hajime

2014-11-14

Spontaneous resolution of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia has rarely been reported. A 59-year-old man presented to our hospital because of pyrexia (38°C) and shaking chills for 2 days. He had a history of right nephrectomy due to renal cell carcinoma and left upper lobectomy for lung metastasis in the last 1.5 years. Two months previously, he was treated with oral prednisolone (20 mg/day) plus the intravenous mTOR inhibitor, temsirolimus (25 mg/week), for brain metastasis. On radiological examination, thoracic computed tomography showed diffuse ground glass opacities spreading in bilateral middle to lower lung fields. Although transbronchial biopsy specimens and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid demonstrated the presence of accumulation of black-colored Pneumocystis jirovecii cysts in the lung, his chief complaints and radiological abnormalities disappeared completely with no treatment. This case demonstrates a unique clinical presentation of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, in that spontaneous resolution was noted on clinical and sequential radiological evaluations. Increasing numbers of cytotoxic drugs and biological therapies have emerged, and changes in the immune status due to underlying diseases or administration of immunosuppressive drugs might affect the inflammatory process of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, as in the present case.

Virtual reality and the psyche. Some psychoanalytic approaches to media addiction.

PubMed

Weisel, Anja

2015-04-01

This paper explores the ramifications of excessive use of media on personality development, the development of symbolic and thinking functions and on psychic reality. In doing so, the questions of whether there are specific media objects possessing an intrinsic symbolic quality, and which attachments in the inner world of a child/adolescent can be mobilized or destroyed are discussed. By selecting specific material, computer gamers use their game to activate the field of a personal psychic reality. Hereby, they attempt some kind of self-healing. However, after leaving the game, conflicts and traumata re-enacted but unresolved in the game disappear from their temporary representation without generating any resonance in the gamer's psychic experience. Consequently, although states of mind and affects are activated in the computer game, their processing and integration fail; the game results in a compulsive repetition. The construction and consolidation of retrievable maturation and structural development, the representation of the unrepresentable, succeed in the context of the triangulating analytic relationship, initially through a jointly performed symbolic and narrative re-experience or the recreation of the game. Theoretical considerations are illustrated by means of clinical vignettes. © 2015, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Family Policy in the US, Japan, Germany, Italy and France: Parental Leave, Child Benefits/Family Allowances, Child Care, Marriage/Cohabitation, and Divorce. A Briefing Paper Prepared by the Council on Contemporary Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henneck, Rachel

Within the last 50 years, the work-family-household arrangements upon which social policy systems in industrial nations were formulated have disappeared. This briefing paper examines how social policies of the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, and France have responded. The paper is presented in two major sections. The first section describes…

Large-N -approximated field theory for multipartite entanglement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Facchi, P.; Florio, G.; Parisi, G.; Pascazio, S.; Scardicchio, A.

2015-12-01

We try to characterize the statistics of multipartite entanglement of the random states of an n -qubit system. Unable to solve the problem exactly we generalize it, replacing complex numbers with real vectors with Nc components (the original problem is recovered for Nc=2 ). Studying the leading diagrams in the large-Nc approximation, we unearth the presence of a phase transition and, in an explicit example, show that the so-called entanglement frustration disappears in the large-Nc limit.

Photo-excited zero-resistance states in quasi-two-dimensional GaAs / Al xGa 1- xAs devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mani, R. G.

2007-12-01

We illustrate some experimental features of the recently discovered radiation-induced zero-resistance states in the high-mobility GaAs/AlGaAs system, with a special emphasis on the interplay between the radiation-induced changes in the diagonal resistance and the Hall effect. We show that, quantum Hall effects, i.e., quantum Hall plateaus, disappear under photoexcitation, at the minima of the radiation-induced magnetoresistance oscillations.

Kinetics of degradation of surfactant-solubilized fluoranthene by a Sphingomonas paucimobilis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willumsen, P.A.; Arvin, E.

To achieve a better quantitative understanding of the stimulating or inhibiting effect of surfactants on the metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a biodegradation model describing solubilization, bioavailability, and biodegradation of crystalline fluoranthene is proposed and used to model experimental data. The degradation was investigated in batch systems containing the PAH-degrading bacterium Sphingomonas paucimobilis strain EPA505, the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100, and a fluoranthene-amended liquid mineral salts medium. Surfactant-enhanced biodegradation is complex; however, the biodegradation model predicted fluoranthene disappearance and the initial mineralization well. Surfactant-amendment did increase fluoranthene mineralization rates by strain EPA505; however, the increases were not proportional tomore » the rates of fluoranthene solubilization. The surfactant clearly influenced the microbial PAH metabolism as indicated by a rapid accumulation of colored products and by a surfactant -related decreased in the overall extent of fluoranthene mineralization. Model estimations of the bioavailability of micelle-solubilized fluoranthene, the relatively fast fluoranthene disappearance, and the accumulation of extracellular compounds in the degradation system suggest that low availability of micellar fluoranthene is not the only factor controlling surfactant-enhanced biodegradation. Also factors such as the extent of accumulation and bioavailability of the PAH metabolites and the crystalline solubilization rate in the presence of surfactants may determine the overall effect of surfactant-enhanced biodegradation of high molecular weight PAHs.« less

Disappearance of the inversion effect during memory-guided tracking of scrambled biological motion.

PubMed

Jiang, Changhao; Yue, Guang H; Chen, Tingting; Ding, Jinhong

2016-08-01

The human visual system is highly sensitive to biological motion. Even when a point-light walker is temporarily occluded from view by other objects, our eyes are still able to maintain tracking continuity. To investigate how the visual system establishes a correspondence between the biological-motion stimuli visible before and after the disruption, we used the occlusion paradigm with biological-motion stimuli that were intact or scrambled. The results showed that during visually guided tracking, both the observers' predicted times and predictive smooth pursuit were more accurate for upright biological motion (intact and scrambled) than for inverted biological motion. During memory-guided tracking, however, the processing advantage for upright as compared with inverted biological motion was not found in the scrambled condition, but in the intact condition only. This suggests that spatial location information alone is not sufficient to build and maintain the representational continuity of the biological motion across the occlusion, and that the object identity may act as an important information source in visual tracking. The inversion effect disappeared when the scrambled biological motion was occluded, which indicates that when biological motion is temporarily occluded and there is a complete absence of visual feedback signals, an oculomotor prediction is executed to maintain the tracking continuity, which is established not only by updating the target's spatial location, but also by the retrieval of identity information stored in long-term memory.

A dynamical systems perspective on the absence of debris associated with the disappearance of flight MH370

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Garrido, V. J.; Mancho, A. M.; Wiggins, S.; Mendoza, C.

2015-07-01

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on the morning of the 8 March 2014 is one of the great mysteries of our time. Perhaps the most relevant aspect of this mystery is that not a single piece of debris from the aircraft has been found. Difficulties in the search efforts, due to the uncertainty in the plane's final impact point and the time that has passed since the accident, bring the question on how the debris has scattered in an always moving ocean, for which there are multiple data sets that do not uniquely determine its state. Our approach to this problem is based on the use of Lagrangian Descriptors (LD), a novel mathematical tool coming from dynamical systems theory that identifies dynamic barriers and coherent structures governing transport. By combining publicly available information supplied by different ocean data sources with these mathematical techniques, we are able to assess the spatio-temporal state of the ocean in the priority search area at the time of impact and the following weeks. Using this information we propose a revised search strategy by showing why one might not have expected to find debris in some large search areas targeted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), and determining regions where one might have expected impact debris to be located and that have not been subjected to any exploration.

Energy shifts in photoemission lines during the tetragonal- to cubic-phase transition in BaTiO3 single crystals and systems with CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 overlayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welke, M.; Huth, P.; Dabelow, K.; Gorgoi, M.; Schindler, K.-M.; Chassé, A.; Denecke, R.

2018-05-01

In BaTiO3 the phase transition from tetragonal to cubic is connected with the disappearance of the ferroelectric polarization. In photoelectron spectroscopy huge transient shifts in the binding energies of all core-level photoemission lines have been observed while heating and cooling through the Curie temperature. Excitation energies from 2 keV to 6 keV have been used to show this to be a bulk effect and not a surface effect alone. These observations are discussed in terms of charging, which results from the disappearance of the ferroelectric polarization. This mechanism has previously been proposed as the origin of electron emission in ferroelectric materials. Besides the jump-like shifts, additional permanent shifts in binding energies have been observed for the tetragonal and the cubic phase. These experimental shifts have been related to theoretical ones from ab initio calculations. In addition to BaTiO3 single crystals, systems with CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 overlayers on BaTiO3 have been investigated. The low conductivity of these layers sets them apart from metallic overlayers like Fe or Co, where the shifts are suppressed. This difference adds further support for charging as the origin of the effect.

High-dose nebulized budesonide is effective for mild asthma exacerbations in children under 3 years of age.

PubMed

Saito, M; Kikuchi, Y; Kawarai Lefor, A; Hoshina, M

2017-01-01

Background. High-dose inhaled steroid therapy has been shown to be effective in children and adults with asthma exacerbations. However, few reports are available regarding its efficacy for asthma exacerbations in younger children. Objective. In this study, we administered high-dose nebulized budesonide therapy for mild asthma exacerbations in children < 3 years of age and compared its efficacy and safety with systemic steroid therapy. Methods. This study included children < 3 years old with mild asthma exacerbations. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups: the BIS group was given 1 mg of nebulized budesonide twice daily, and the PSL group received prednisolone 0.5 mg/kg iv three times daily. Days to disappearance of wheezing, days of steroid use, days of oxygen use, serum cortisol level, and incidence of adverse events during treatment were compared between the groups. Result. Wheezing disappeared after an average of five days, and steroids were administered for an average of five days in both groups, with no significant difference in days of oxygen use. Serum cortisol levels at initiation and during the course of treatment remained unchanged in the BIS group, and were decreased in the PSL group; however, the decrease in the latter group was not pathologic. Conclusion. For children < 3 years old with mild asthma exacerbations, high-dose nebulized budesonide therapy is equally as effective as systemic steroid therapy.

Anti-proliferative and gene expression actions of resveratrol in breast cancer cells in vitro

PubMed Central

Yang, Sheng-Huei; Tsai, Po-Wei; Wang, Shwu-Huey; Wang, Ching-Chiung; Lee, Yee-Shin; Cheng, Guei-Yun; HuangFu, Wei-Chun; London, David; Tang, Heng-Yuan; Fu, Earl; Yen, Yun; Liu, Leroy F.; Lin, Hung-Yun; Davis, Paul J.

2014-01-01

We have used a perfusion bellows cell culture system to investigate resveratrolinduced anti-proliferation/apoptosis in a human estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). Using an injection system to perfuse media with stilbene, we showed resveratrol (0.5 – 100 μM) to decrease cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Comparison of influx and medium efflux resveratrol concentrations revealed rapid disappearance of the stilbene, consistent with cell uptake and metabolism of the agent reported by others. Exposure of cells to 10 μM resveratrol for 4 h daily × 6 d inhibited cell proliferation by more than 60%. Variable extracellular acid-alkaline conditions (pH 6.8 – 8.6) affected basal cell proliferation rate, but did not alter anti-proliferation induced by resveratrol. Resveratrol-induced gene expression, including transcription of the most up-regulated genes and pro-apoptotic p53-dependent genes, was not affected by culture pH changes. The microarray findings in the context of induction of anti-proliferation with brief daily exposure of cells to resveratrol—and rapid disappearance of the compound in the perfusion system—are consistent with existence of an accessible initiation site for resveratrol actions on tumor cells, e.g., the cell surface receptor for resveratrol described on integrin αvβ3. PMID:25436977

Phytoremediation of chlorpyrifos in aqueous system by riverine macrophyte, Acorus calamus: toxicity and removal rate.

PubMed

Wang, Qinghai; Li, Cui; Zheng, Ruilun; Que, Xiaoe

2016-08-01

The potential of Acorus calamus to remove chlorpyrifos from water was assessed under laboratory conditions. Toxic effects of the insecticide in A. calamus were evaluated using pulse-amplitude modulated chlorophyll fluorescence techniques as well. At exposure concentrations above 8 mg L(-1), A. calamus showed obvious phytotoxic symptom with significant reduction in quantum efficiency of PSII (ΦPSII) and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) in 20-day test; the inhibition of maximal quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) was accompanied by a significant rise in initial chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo) within 15-day exposures. Fv/Fm and Fo recover to the normal level after 20-day exposure. The reduced removal rate to chlorpyrifos was observed with increase of initial chlorpyrifos concentrations. At application levels of 1, 2, and 4 mg L(-1), the disappearance rate of chlorpyrifos in the hydroponic system with plants was significantly greater than that without plants during the 20-day test periods. Chlorpyrifos was taken up from medium and transferred to above ground tissues by the plant and significant amounts of chlorpyrifos accumulated in plant tissues. The result indicated that A. calamus can promote the disappearance of chlorpyrifos from water and may be used for phytoremediation of water contaminated with a relatively low concentration of chlorpyrifos insecticide (<4 mg L(-1)).

Mechanical Behavior of AZ31B Mg Alloy Sheets under Monotonic and Cyclic Loadings at Room and Moderately Elevated Temperatures

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Ngoc-Trung; Seo, Oh Suk; Lee, Chung An; Lee, Myoung-Gyu; Kim, Ji-hoon; Kim, Heon Young

2014-01-01

Large-strain monotonic and cyclic loading tests of AZ31B magnesium alloy sheets were performed with a newly developed testing system, at different temperatures, ranging from room temperature to 250 °C. Behaviors showing significant twinning during initial in-plane compression and untwinning in subsequent tension at and slightly above room temperature were recorded. Strong yielding asymmetry and nonlinear hardening behavior were also revealed. Considerable Bauschinger effects, transient behavior, and variable permanent softening responses were observed near room temperature, but these were reduced and almost disappeared as the temperature increased. Different stress–strain responses were inherent to the activation of twinning at lower temperatures and non-basal slip systems at elevated temperatures. A critical temperature was identified to account for the transition between the twinning-dominant and slip-dominant deformation mechanisms. Accordingly, below the transition point, stress–strain curves of cyclic loading tests exhibited concave-up shapes for compression or compression following tension, and an unusual S-shape for tension following compression. This unusual shape disappeared when the temperature was above the transition point. Shrinkage of the elastic range and variation in Young’s modulus due to plastic strain deformation during stress reversals were also observed. The texture-induced anisotropy of both the elastic and plastic behaviors was characterized experimentally. PMID:28788514

The impact of salpingectomy and single-dose systemic methotrexate treatments on ovarian reserve in ectopic pregnancy.

PubMed

Sahin, Cagdas; Taylan, Enes; Akdemir, Ali; Ozgurel, Banu; Taskıran, Dilek; Ergenoglu, Ahmet M

2016-10-01

To investigate the effects of salpingectomy and methotrexate treatments on ovarian reserve in ectopic pregnancy. In this prospective study, a total of 131 patients with ectopic pregnancy were divided into 3 groups of methotrexate (MTX) only (Group-1, n: 55), salpingectomy only (Group-2, n: 61), and salpingectomy following MTX (Group-3, n: 15). Pretreatment and post-treatment anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were evaluated. Significant differences in AMH levels were detected between group 1 and group 2 (2.52±1.28 vs. 1.96±1.66, p=0.043), and group 1 and group 3 (2.52±1.28 vs. 1.77±0.76, p=0.035) at one month postoperative. However, these differences disappeared at the 3rd postoperative month. When AMH levels were compared within the same group, postoperative one month AMH levels were significantly lower than the preoperative AMH levels only in group 3 (p=0.03). However, this difference also disappeared at the 3rd postoperative month. Systemic single-dose methotrexate treatment, unilateral salpingectomy, and salpingectomy following methotrexate administration in ectopic pregnancy were reassuring based on pretreatment and post-treatment AMH levels. Current medical and surgical treatment approaches do not have an obvious negative effect on ovarian reserve. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution of pressures and correlations in the glasma produced in high energy nuclear collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruggieri, M.; Liu, J. H.; Oliva, L.; Peng, G. X.; Greco, V.

2018-04-01

We consider the SU(2) glasma with Gaussian fluctuations and study its evolution by means of classical Yang-Mills equations solved numerically on a lattice. Neglecting in this first study the longitudinal expansion, we follow the evolution of the pressures of the system and compute the effect of the fluctuations in the early stage up to t ≈2 fm /c , that is the time range in which the glasma is relevant for high energy collisions. We measure the ratio of the longitudinal over the transverse pressure, PL/PT, and we find that unless the fluctuations carry a substantial amount of the energy density at the initial time, they do not change significantly the evolution of PL/PT in the early stage and that the system remains quite anisotropic. We also measure the longitudinal fields correlators both in the transverse plane and along the longitudinal direction: while at initial time fields appear to be anticorrelated in the transverse plane, this anticorrelation disappears in the very early stage, and the correlation length in the transverse plane increases. On the other hand, we find a dependence of the gauge invariant correlator on the longitudinal coordinate, which we interpret as a partial loss of correlation induced by the dynamics that we dub the gauge invariant string breaking. We finally study the effect of fluctuations on the longitudinal correlations: we find that string breaking is accelerated by the fluctuations and waiting for a sufficiently long time fluctuations lead to the complete breaking of the color strings.

A Dynamical System Approach to the Surface Search of Debris from MH370

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancho, Ana M.; Garcia-Garrido, V. J.; Wiggins, S.; Mendoza, C.

2015-11-01

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on the morning of the 8th of March 2014 is one of the great mysteries of our time. One relevant aspect of this mystery is that not a single piece of debris from the aircraft was found during the intensive surface search carried out in the months following the crash. Difficulties in the search efforts, due to the uncertainty in the plane's final impact point and the time passed since the accident, brought the question on how the debris was scattered in an always moving ocean, for which there were multiple datasets that do not uniquely determined its state. Our approach to this problem is based on dynamical systems tools that identify dynamic barriers and coherent structures governing transport. By combining different ocean data with these mathematical techniques, we are able to assess the spatio-temporal state of the ocean in the priority search area at the time of impact and the following weeks. Using this information we propose a revised search strategy by showing why one might not have expected to find debris in some large search areas targeted by the search services and determining regions where one might have expected impact debris to be located and that have not been subjected to any exploration. This research has been supported by MINECO under grants MTM2014-56392-R and ICMAT Severo Ochoa project SEV-2011-0087 and ONR grant No. N00014- 01-1-0769. Computational support from CESGA is acknowledged.

Upregulation of Interleukin 7 Receptor Alpha and Programmed Death 1 Marks an Epitope-Specific CD8+ T-Cell Response That Disappears following Primary Epstein-Barr Virus Infection▿ †

PubMed Central

Sauce, Delphine; Larsen, Martin; Abbott, Rachel J. M.; Hislop, Andrew D.; Leese, Alison M.; Khan, Naeem; Papagno, Laura; Freeman, Gordon J.; Rickinson, Alan B.

2009-01-01

In immunocompetent individuals, the stability of the herpesvirus-host balance limits opportunities to study the disappearance of a virus-specific CD8+ T-cell response. However, we noticed that in HLA-A*0201-positive infectious mononucleosis (IM) patients undergoing primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, the initial CD8 response targets three EBV lytic antigen-derived epitopes, YVLDHLIVV (YVL), GLCTLVAML (GLC), and TLDYKPLSV (TLD), but only the YVL and GLC reactivities persist long-term; the TLD response disappears within 10 to 27 months. While present, TLD-specific cells remained largely indistinguishable from YVL and GLC reactivities in many phenotypic and functional respects but showed unique temporal changes in two markers of T-cell fate, interleukin 7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα; CD127) and programmed death 1 (PD-1). Thus, following the antigen-driven downregulation of IL-7Rα seen on all populations in acute IM, in every case, the TLD-specific population recovered expression unusually quickly post-IM. As well, in four of six patients studied, TLD-specific cells showed very strong PD-1 upregulation in the last blood sample obtained before the cells’ disappearance. Our data suggest that the disappearance of this individual epitope reactivity from an otherwise stable EBV-specific response (i) reflects a selective loss of cognate antigen restimulation (rather than of IL-7-dependent signals) and (ii) is immediately preceded, and perhaps mediated, by PD-1 upregulation to unprecedented levels. PMID:19605492

Prognostic Impact of Indocyanine Green Plasma Disappearance Rate in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients after Radiofrequency Ablation: A Prognostic Nomogram Study

PubMed Central

Azumi, Motoi; Suda, Takeshi; Terai, Shuji; Akazawa, Kouhei

2017-01-01

Objective Radiofrequency ablation has been used widely for the local ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma, particularly in its early stages. The study aim was to identify significant prognostic factors and develop a predictive nomogram for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have undergone radiofrequency ablation. We also developed the formula to predict the probability of 3- and 5-year overall survival based on clinical variables. Methods We retrospectively studied 96 consecutive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone radiofrequency ablation as a first-line treatment. Independent and significant factors affecting the overall survival were selected using a Cox proportional hazards model, and a prognostic nomogram was developed based on these factors. The predictive accuracy of the nomogram was determined by Harrell's concordance index and compared with the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score and Japan Integrated Staging score. Results A multivariate analysis revealed that age, indocyanine green plasma disappearance rate, and log(des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin) level were independent and significant factors influencing the overall survival. The nomogram was based on these three factors. The mean concordance index of the nomogram was 0.74±0.08, which was significantly better than that of conventional staging systems using the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score (0.54±0.03) and Japan Integrated Staging score (0.59±0.07). Conclusion This study suggested that the indocyanine green plasma disappearance rate and age at radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin (DCP) are good predictors of the prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients after radiofrequency ablation. We successfully developed a nomogram using obtainable variables before treatment. PMID:28458303

Prognostic Impact of Indocyanine Green Plasma Disappearance Rate in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients after Radiofrequency Ablation: A Prognostic Nomogram Study.

PubMed

Azumi, Motoi; Suda, Takeshi; Terai, Shuji; Akazawa, Kouhei

2017-01-01

Objective Radiofrequency ablation has been used widely for the local ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma, particularly in its early stages. The study aim was to identify significant prognostic factors and develop a predictive nomogram for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have undergone radiofrequency ablation. We also developed the formula to predict the probability of 3- and 5-year overall survival based on clinical variables. Methods We retrospectively studied 96 consecutive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone radiofrequency ablation as a first-line treatment. Independent and significant factors affecting the overall survival were selected using a Cox proportional hazards model, and a prognostic nomogram was developed based on these factors. The predictive accuracy of the nomogram was determined by Harrell's concordance index and compared with the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score and Japan Integrated Staging score. Results A multivariate analysis revealed that age, indocyanine green plasma disappearance rate, and log (des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin) level were independent and significant factors influencing the overall survival. The nomogram was based on these three factors. The mean concordance index of the nomogram was 0.74±0.08, which was significantly better than that of conventional staging systems using the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score (0.54±0.03) and Japan Integrated Staging score (0.59±0.07). Conclusion This study suggested that the indocyanine green plasma disappearance rate and age at radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin (DCP) are good predictors of the prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients after radiofrequency ablation. We successfully developed a nomogram using obtainable variables before treatment.

Comparison of cellulose vs. plastic cigarette filter decomposition under distinct disposal environments.

PubMed

Joly, François-Xavier; Coulis, Mathieu

2018-02-01

It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are discarded annually, making them numerically the most common type of litter on Earth. To accelerate their disappearance after disposal, a new type of cigarette filters made of cellulose, a readily biodegradable compound, has been introduced in the market. Yet, the advantage of these cellulose filters over the conventional plastic ones (cellulose acetate) for decomposition, remains unknown. Here, we compared the decomposition of cellulose and plastic cigarettes filters, either intact or smoked, on the soil surface or within a composting bin over a six-month field decomposition experiment. Within the compost, cellulose filters decomposed faster than plastic filters, but this advantage was strongly reduced when filters had been used for smoking. This indicates that the accumulation of tars and other chemicals during filter use can strongly affect its subsequent decomposition. Strikingly, on the soil surface, we observed no difference in mass loss between cellulose and plastic filters throughout the incubation. Using a first order kinetic model for mass loss of for used filters over the short period of our experiment, we estimated that conventional plastic filters take 7.5-14 years to disappear, in the compost and on the soil surface, respectively. In contrast, we estimated that cellulose filters take 2.3-13 years to disappear, in the compost and on the soil surface, respectively. Our data clearly showed that disposal environments and the use of cellulose filters must be considered when assessing their advantage over plastic filters. In light of our results, we advocate that the shift to cellulose filters should not exempt users from disposing their waste in appropriate collection systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Balancing Accuracy and Computational Efficiency for Ternary Gas Hydrate Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, M. D.

2011-12-01

Geologic accumulations of natural gas hydrates hold vast organic carbon reserves, which have the potential of meeting global energy needs for decades. Estimates of vast amounts of global natural gas hydrate deposits make them an attractive unconventional energy resource. As with other unconventional energy resources, the challenge is to economically produce the natural gas fuel. The gas hydrate challenge is principally technical. Meeting that challenge will require innovation, but more importantly, scientific research to understand the resource and its characteristics in porous media. Producing natural gas from gas hydrate deposits requires releasing CH4 from solid gas hydrate. The conventional way to release CH4 is to dissociate the hydrate by changing the pressure and temperature conditions to those where the hydrate is unstable. The guest-molecule exchange technology releases CH4 by replacing it with a more thermodynamically stable molecule (e.g., CO2, N2). This technology has three advantageous: 1) it sequesters greenhouse gas, 2) it releases energy via an exothermic reaction, and 3) it retains the hydraulic and mechanical stability of the hydrate reservoir. Numerical simulation of the production of gas hydrates from geologic deposits requires accounting for coupled processes: multifluid flow, mobile and immobile phase appearances and disappearances, heat transfer, and multicomponent thermodynamics. The ternary gas hydrate system comprises five components (i.e., H2O, CH4, CO2, N2, and salt) and the potential for six phases (i.e., aqueous, liquid CO2, gas, hydrate, ice, and precipitated salt). The equation of state for ternary hydrate systems has three requirements: 1) phase occurrence, 2) phase composition, and 3) phase properties. Numerical simulation of the production of geologic accumulations of gas hydrates have historically suffered from relatively slow execution times, compared with other multifluid, porous media systems, due to strong nonlinearities and phase transitions. This paper describes and demonstrates a numerical solution scheme for ternary hydrate systems that seeks a balance between accuracy and computational efficiency. This scheme uses a generalize cubic equation of state, functional forms for the hydrate equilibria and cage occupancies, variable switching scheme for phase transitions, and kinetic exchange of hydrate formers (i.e., CH4, CO2, and N2) between the mobile phases (i.e., aqueous, liquid CO2, and gas) and hydrate phase. Accuracy of the scheme will be evaluated by comparing property values and phase equilibria against experimental data. Computational efficiency of the scheme will be evaluated by comparing the base scheme against variants. The application of interest will the production of a natural gas hydrate deposit from a geologic formation, using the guest molecule exchange process; where, a mixture of CO2 and N2 are injected into the formation. During the guest-molecule exchange, CO2 and N2 will predominately replace CH4 in the large and small cages of the sI structure, respectively.

The Salient History of Dalton Education in the Netherlands

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Ploeg, Piet

2014-01-01

In the Netherlands there are 400 Dalton schools, while Dalton education has all but disappeared elsewhere, including in its country of origin: the USA. Following a brief period in the 1920s in which it enjoyed strong international interest, it disappeared from the scene. How can it be that the Dalton Plan still exists only in the Netherlands? This…

Disappearance and appearance of an indigestible marker in feces from growing pigs as affected by pre- and post-diet composition

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Indigestible markers are commonly utilized in digestion studies, but the disappearance or appearance of a marker in feces can be affected by diet composition or particle size, or by the feed intake or the BW of an animal. There is limited information relative to how long after removal or introductio...

Preserving a Critical National Asset: "America's Disadvantaged Students and the Crisis in Faith-Based Urban Schools"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Education, 2008

2008-01-01

On April 24, 2008, President George W. Bush convened an array of education and community stakeholders in Washington, D.C. to address the quickening disappearance of faith-based schools in America's cities. The disappearance of these schools, which have played a fundamental role in the American story of religious freedom and tolerance, community…

Effects of Early Motor Intervention in the Prone Position of Full-Term Infants through the First Year of Life.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douret, L.

1993-01-01

Full-term infants who had slept in the prone position since birth were followed to detect early postural abnormalities and differentiate potential peripheral abnormality from abnormalities of a central origin. Results showed that disappearance of initial signs of abnormality appeared to be muscular, and symptoms disappeared faster when a motor…

7 CFR 707.6 - Death, disappearance, or incompetency of one eligible to apply for payment pursuant to the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Death, disappearance, or incompetency of one eligible to apply for payment pursuant to the regulations in this part. 707.6 Section 707.6 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM PAYMENTS DUE...

Pedagogies of Hauntology in History Education: Learning to Live with the Ghosts of Disappeared Victims of War and Dictatorship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zembylas, Michalinos

2013-01-01

Michalinos Zembylas examines how history education can be reconceived in terms of Jacques Derrida's notion of "hauntology," that is, as an ongoing conversation with the "ghost"--in the case of this essay, the ghosts of disappeared victims of war and dictatorship. Here, Zembylas uses hauntology as both metaphor and pedagogical methodology for…

Evolution and advection of solar mesogranulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muller, Richard; Auffret, Herve; Roudier, Thierry; Vigneau, Jean; Simon, George W.; Frank, Zoe; Shine, Richard A.; Title, Alan M.

1992-01-01

A three-hour sequence of observations at the Pic du Midi observatory has been obtained which shows the evolution of solar mesogranules from appearance to disappearance with unprecedented clarity. It is seen that the supergranules, which are known to advect the granules with their convective motion, also advect the mesogranules to their boundaries. This process controls the evolution and disappearance of mesogranules.

Progression of pulmonary disease after disappearance of Pseudomonas in cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Sharma, G D; Tosi, M F; Stern, R C; Davis, P B

1995-07-01

Once cystic fibrosis (CF) patients become chronically colonized, eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is rare. We report five patients, each colonized for at least 6 yr, whose subsequent cultures did not reveal PA or any other gram-negative pathogen for at least 2 yr. Two patients harbored yeast, normal throat flora, and occasional colonies of Aspergillus fumigatus, but no PA, Haemophilus influenzae, or other gram-negative pathogens. In two patients, sputum cultures revealed Staphylococcus aureus. Sputum smear showed no gram-negative organisms in any patient. Antipseudomonal antibody titers in all patients decreased during the noncolonized period. However, titers increased in four other CF patients who had continued PA colonization. Despite disappearance of PA, four of five patients had clinical progression of lung disease with deterioration of FEV1. We conclude that (1) PA, even after it has chronically colonized the airways of CF patients, can occasionally disappear; and (2) lung disease can progress despite the disappearance of PA. Thus, the elimination of a milieu favorable to PA, such as might be anticipated with therapy directed at the basic defect, may not be sufficient to halt the pulmonary disease progression in CF.

Microinjection of the monoclonal anti-tubulin antibody YL1/2 inhibits cleavage of sand dollar eggs.

PubMed

Oka, M T; Arai, T; Hamaguchi, Y

1990-12-01

Two monoclonal antibodies against alpha-tubulin (YL1/2 and D2D6) were microinjected into the egg of the sand dollar Clypeaster japonicus, and their effects on cleavage of the egg were investigated. They had already been shown by immunoblotting to react specifically with egg tubulin and by immunofluorescence to stain the mitotic apparatus [OKA et al., (1990). Cell Motil. Cytoskel. 16:239-250]. Injection of YL1/2 prevented chromosome movement and cleavage, although the cleavage furrow developed in some cases. In all eggs injected at prometaphase, metaphase, or anaphase, the birefringence of the mitotic apparatus disappeared immediately after injection. Injection of D2D6 had no significant effect on mitosis or cleavage of whole eggs injected after nuclear disappearance, although it prevented the disappearance of the nuclear envelope in 54% of the eggs injected before the disappearance. FITC-conjugated D2D6 did not accumulate in the spindle when injected into the dividing sand dollar egg. These results indicate that YL1/2 disassembled microtubules, whereas D2D6 did not bind to microtubules in the living cell.

A laboratory study of the persistence of carbofuran and its 3-hydroxy- and 3 keto-metabolites in sterile and natural mineral and organic soils.

PubMed

Miles, J R; Tu, C M; Harris, C R

1981-01-01

In a laboratory study, the persistence of carbofuran and its 3-hydroxy- and 3-keto-metabolites was examined separately over 16 wk in sterile and natural organic (muck) and mineral (loam) soils. Carbofuran was relatively persistent in sterile soils; at 8 wk 77% remained in the sterile muck and about 50% remained in the sterile loam. In the natural muck 25% of initial carbofuran remained at wk whereas in the natural loam carbofuran had completely disappeared by that time. The 3-ketocarbofuran was very short-lived even in the sterile muck where only 50% remained at 1 wk. The 3-hydroxycarbofuran degraded appreciably on zero day in the natural soils (with conversion to 3-keto-carbofuran) and about 90% had disappeared in 1 wk. A more detailed study of the persistence of 3-hydroxycarbofuran in the natural soils showed complete disappearance in 2 days in loam and in 3 days in muck. The 3-ketocarbofuran produced from the 3-hydroxy-carbofuran reached a maximum concentration in 1 day and then disappeared within 4 days in loam and about 1 wk in muck.

Surface compositional variations of Mo-47Re alloy as a function of temperature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoekje, S. J.; Outlaw, R. A.; Sankaran, S. N.

1993-01-01

Molybdenum-rhenium alloys are candidate materials for the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) as well as for other applications in generic hypersonics. These materials are expected to be subjected to high-temperature (above 1200 C) casual hydrogen (below 50 torr), which could potentially degrade the material strength. Since the uptake of hydrogen may be controlled by the contaminant surface barriers, a study of Mo-47Re was conducted to examine the variations in surface composition as a function of temperature from 25 C to 1000 C. Pure molybdenum and rhenium were also examined and the results compared with those for the alloy. The analytical techniques employed were Auger electron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, ion scattering spectroscopy, and x ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The native surface was rich in metallic oxides that disappeared at elevated temperatures. As the temperature increased, the carbon and oxygen disappeared by 800 C and the surface was subsequently populated by the segregation of silicon, presumably from the grain boundaries. The alloy readily chemisorbed oxygen, which disappeared with heating. The disappearance temperature progressively increased for successive dosings. When the alloy was exposed to 800 torr of hydrogen at 900 C for 1 hour, no hydrogen interaction was observed.

Progress towards understanding the nature of chromatid breakage.

PubMed

Bryant, P E; Gray, L J; Peresse, N

2004-01-01

The wide range of sensitivities of stimulated T-cells from different individuals to radiation-induced chromatid breakage indicates the involvement of several low penetrance genes that appear to link elevated chromatid breakage to cancer susceptibility. The mechanisms of chromatid breakage are not yet fully understood. However, evidence is accumulating that suggests chromatid breaks are not simply expanded DNA double-strand breaks (DSB). Three models of chromatid breakage are considered. The classical breakage-first and the Revell "exchange" models do not accord with current evidence. Therefore a derivative of Revell's model has been proposed whereby both spontaneous and radiation-induced chromatid breaks result from DSB signaling and rearrangement processes from within large looped chromatin domains. Examples of such rearrangements can be observed by harlequin staining whereby an exchange of strands occurs immediately adjacent to the break site. However, these interchromatid rearrangements comprise less than 20% of the total breaks. The rest are thought to result from intrachromatid rearrangements, including a very small proportion involving complete excision of a looped domain. Work is in progress with the aim of revealing these rearrangements, which may involve the formation of inversions adjacent to the break sites. It is postulated that the disappearance of chromatid breaks with time results from the completion of such rearrangements, rather than from the rejoining of DSB. Elevated frequencies of chromatid breaks occur in irradiated cells with defects in both nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) pathways, however there is little evidence of a correlation between reduced DSB rejoining and disappearance of chromatid breaks. Moreover, at least one treatment which abrogates the disappearance of chromatid breaks with time leaves DSB rejoining unaffected. The I-SceI DSB system holds considerable promise for the elucidation of these mechanisms, although the break frequency is relatively low in the cell lines so far derived. Techniques to study and improve such systems are under way in different cell lines. Clearly, much remains to be done to clarify the mechanisms involved in chromatid breakage, but the experimental models are becoming available with which we can begin to answer some of the key questions. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Dual baseline search for muon antineutrino disappearance at 0.1 eV²

DOE PAGES

Cheng, G.; Huelsnitz, W.; Aguilar-Arevalo, A. A.; ...

2012-09-25

The MiniBooNE and SciBooNE collaborations report the results of a joint search for short baseline disappearance of ν¯ μ at Fermilab’s Booster Neutrino Beamline. The MiniBooNE Cherenkov detector and the SciBooNE tracking detector observe antineutrinos from the same beam, therefore the combined analysis of their data sets serves to partially constrain some of the flux and cross section uncertainties. Uncertainties in the ν μ background were constrained by neutrino flux and cross section measurements performed in both detectors. A likelihood ratio method was used to set a 90% confidence level upper limit on ν¯ μ disappearance that dramatically improves uponmore » prior limits in the Δm²=0.1–100 eV² region.« less

Experience and Attitudes towards Information Technology among First-Year Medical Students in Denmark: Longitudinal Questionnaire Survey

PubMed Central

2004-01-01

Background As more and more information technology (IT) resources become available both for support of campus- based medical education and for Web-based learning, it becomes increasingly interesting to map the information technology resources available to medical students and the attitudes students have towards their use. Objective To determine how extensively and effectively information handling skills are being taught in the medical curriculum, the study investigated Internet and computer availability and usage, and attitudes towards information technology among first-year medical students in Aarhus, Denmark, during a five-year period. Methods In the period from 1998 to 2002, students beginning the first semester of medical school were given courses on effective use of IT in their studies. As a part of the tutorials, the students were asked to complete a web-based questionnaire which included questions related to IT readiness and attitudes towards using IT in studies. Results A total of 1159 students (78%) responded. Overall, 71.7% of the respondents indicating they had access to a computer at home, a number that did not change significantly during the study period. Over time, the power of students' computers and the use of e-mail and Internet did increase significantly. By fall 2002, approximately 90% of students used e-mail regularly, 80% used the Internet regularly, and 60% had access to the Internet from home. Significantly more males than females had access to a computer at home, and males had a more positive attitude towards the use of computers in their medical studies. A fairly constant number of students (3-7%) stated that they would prefer not to have to use computers in their studies. Conclusions Taken together with our experience from classroom teaching, these results indicate optional teaching of basic information technology still needs to be integrated into medical studies, and that this need does not seem likely to disappear in the near future. PMID:15111276

Below the disappearing marshes of an urban estuary: historic nitrogen trends and soil structure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wigand, Cathleen; Roman, Charles T.; Davey, Earl; Stolt, Mark; Johnson, Roxanne; Hanson, Alana; Watson, Elizabeth B.; Moran, S. Bradley; Cahoon, Donald R.; Lynch, James C.; Rafferty, Patricia

2014-01-01

Marshes in the urban Jamaica Bay Estuary, New York, USA are disappearing at an average rate of 13 ha/yr, and multiple stressors (e.g., wastewater inputs, dredging activities, groundwater removal, and global warming) may be contributing to marsh losses. Among these stressors, wastewater nutrients are suspected to be an important contributing cause of marsh deterioration. We used census data, radiometric dating, stable nitrogen isotopes, and soil surveys to examine the temporal relationships between human population growth and soil nitrogen; and we evaluated soil structure with computer-aided tomography, surface elevation and sediment accretion trends, carbon dioxide emissions, and soil shear strength to examine differences among disappearing (Black Bank and Big Egg) and stable marshes (JoCo). Radiometric dating and nitrogen isotope analyses suggested a rapid increase in human wastewater nutrients beginning in the late 1840s, and a tapering off beginning in the 1930s when wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were first installed. Current WWTPs nutrient loads to Jamaica Bay are approximately 13 995 kg N/d and 2767 kg P/d. At Black Bank, the biomass and abundance of roots and rhizomes and percentage of organic matter on soil were significantly lower, rhizomes larger in diameter, carbon dioxide emission rates and peat particle density significantly greater, and soil strength significantly lower compared to the stable JoCo Marsh, suggesting Black Bank has elevated decomposition rates, more decomposed peat, and highly waterlogged peat. Despite these differences, the rates of accretion and surface elevation change were similar for both marshes, and the rates of elevation change approximated the long term relative rate of sea level rise estimated from tide gauge data at nearby Sandy Hook, New Jersey. We hypothesize that Black Bank marsh kept pace with sea level rise by the accretion of material on the marsh surface, and the maintenance of soil volume through production of larger diameter rhizomes and swelling (dilation) of waterlogged peat. JoCo Marsh kept pace with sea-level rise through surface accretion and soil organic matter accumulation. Understanding the effects of multiple stressors, including nutrient enrichment, on soil structure, organic matter accumulation, and elevation change will better inform management decisions aimed at maintaining and restoring coastal marshes.

Below the disappearing marshes of an urban estuary: historic nitrogen trends and soil structure.

PubMed

Wigand, Cathleen; Roman, Charles T; Davey, Earl; Stolt, Mark; Johnson, Roxanne; Hanson, Alana; Watson, Elizabeth B; Moran, S Bradley; Cahoon, Donald R; Lynch, James C; Rafferty, Patricia

2014-06-01

Marshes in the urban Jamaica Bay Estuary, New York, USA are disappearing at an average rate of 13 ha/yr, and multiple stressors (e.g., wastewater inputs, dredging activities, groundwater removal, and global warming) may be contributing to marsh losses. Among these stressors, wastewater nutrients are suspected to be an important contributing cause of marsh deterioration. We used census data, radiometric dating, stable nitrogen isotopes, and soil surveys to examine the temporal relationships between human population growth and soil nitrogen; and we evaluated soil structure with computer-aided tomography, surface elevation and sediment accretion trends, carbon dioxide emissions, and soil shear strength to examine differences among disappearing (Black Bank and Big Egg) and stable marshes (JoCo). Radiometric dating and nitrogen isotope analyses suggested a rapid increase in human wastewater nutrients beginning in the late 1840s, and a tapering off beginning in the 1930s when wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were first installed. Current WWTPs nutrient loads to Jamaica Bay are approximately 13 995 kg N/d and 2767 kg P/d. At Black Bank, the biomass and abundance of roots and rhizomes and percentage of organic matter on soil were significantly lower, rhizomes larger in diameter, carbon dioxide emission rates and peat particle density significantly greater, and soil strength significantly lower compared to the stable JoCo Marsh, suggesting Black Bank has elevated decomposition rates, more decomposed peat, and highly waterlogged peat. Despite these differences, the rates of accretion and surface elevation change were similar for both marshes, and the rates of elevation change approximated the long-term relative rate of sea level rise estimated from tide gauge data at nearby Sandy Hook, New Jersey. We hypothesize that Black Bank marsh kept pace with sea level rise by the accretion of material on the marsh surface, and the maintenance of soil volume through production of larger diameter rhizomes and swelling (dilation) of waterlogged peat. JoCo Marsh kept pace with sea-level rise through surface accretion and soil organic matter accumulation. Understanding the effects of multiple stressors, including nutrient enrichment, on soil structure, organic matter accumulation, and elevation change will better inform management decisions aimed at maintaining and restoring coastal marshes.

Synergism of Cattle and Bison Inoculum on Ruminal Fermentation and Select Bacterial Communities in an Artificial Rumen (Rusitec) Fed a Barley Straw Based Diet.

PubMed

Oss, Daniela B; Ribeiro, Gabriel O; Marcondes, Marcos I; Yang, WenZhu; Beauchemin, Karen A; Forster, Robert J; McAllister, Tim A

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the effect of increasing the proportion of bison relative to cattle inoculum on fermentation and microbial populations within an artificial rumen (Rusitec). The experiment was a completely randomized design with a factorial treatment structure (proportion cattle:bison inoculum; 0:100, 33:67, 67:33, and 100:0) replicated in two Rusitec apparatuses ( n = 8 fermenters). The experiment was 15 d with 8 d of adaptation and 7 d of sampling. Fermenters were fed a diet of 70:30 barley straw:concentrate (DM basis). True digestibility of DM was determined after 48 h of incubation from d 13 to 15, and daily ammonia (NH 3 ) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production were measured on d 9-12. Protozoa counts were determined at d 9, 11, 13, and 15 and particle-associated bacteria (PAB) from d 13 to 15. Select bacterial populations in the PAB were measured using RT-qPCR. Fermenter was considered the experimental unit and day of sampling as a repeated measure. Increasing the proportion of bison inoculum resulted in a quadratic effect ( P < 0.05) on straw, concentrate and total true DM disappearance and on straw and total neutral detergent fiber (aNDF) disappearance, with greater disappearances observed with mixed inoculum. There were no effect of source or proportion of inoculum on ADF disappearance ( P > 0.05). Increasing bison inoculum linearly increased ( P < 0.05) concentrate aNDF disappearance, total and concentrate N disappearance as well as total daily VFA and acetate production. A positive quadratic response ( P < 0.05) was observed for daily NH 3 -N, propionate, butyrate, valerate, isovalerate and isobutyrate production, as well as the acetate:propionate ratio. Increasing the proportion of bison inoculum linearly increased ( P < 0.05) total protozoa numbers. No effects were observed on pH, total gas and methane production, microbial N synthesis, or copies of 16S rRNA associated with total bacteria, Selenomonas ruminantium or Prevotella bryantii . Increasing bison inoculum had a quadratic effect ( P < 0.05) on Fibrobacter succinogenes , and tended to linearly ( P < 0.10) increase Ruminococcus flavefaciens and decrease ( P < 0.05) Ruminococcus albus copy numbers. In conclusion, bison inoculum increased the degradation of feed protein and fiber. A mixture of cattle and bison rumen inoculum acted synergistically, increasing the DM and aNDF disappearance of barley straw.

Synergism of Cattle and Bison Inoculum on Ruminal Fermentation and Select Bacterial Communities in an Artificial Rumen (Rusitec) Fed a Barley Straw Based Diet

PubMed Central

Oss, Daniela B.; Ribeiro, Gabriel O.; Marcondes, Marcos I.; Yang, WenZhu; Beauchemin, Karen A.; Forster, Robert J.; McAllister, Tim A.

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the effect of increasing the proportion of bison relative to cattle inoculum on fermentation and microbial populations within an artificial rumen (Rusitec). The experiment was a completely randomized design with a factorial treatment structure (proportion cattle:bison inoculum; 0:100, 33:67, 67:33, and 100:0) replicated in two Rusitec apparatuses (n = 8 fermenters). The experiment was 15 d with 8 d of adaptation and 7 d of sampling. Fermenters were fed a diet of 70:30 barley straw:concentrate (DM basis). True digestibility of DM was determined after 48 h of incubation from d 13 to 15, and daily ammonia (NH3) and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production were measured on d 9–12. Protozoa counts were determined at d 9, 11, 13, and 15 and particle-associated bacteria (PAB) from d 13 to 15. Select bacterial populations in the PAB were measured using RT-qPCR. Fermenter was considered the experimental unit and day of sampling as a repeated measure. Increasing the proportion of bison inoculum resulted in a quadratic effect (P < 0.05) on straw, concentrate and total true DM disappearance and on straw and total neutral detergent fiber (aNDF) disappearance, with greater disappearances observed with mixed inoculum. There were no effect of source or proportion of inoculum on ADF disappearance (P > 0.05). Increasing bison inoculum linearly increased (P < 0.05) concentrate aNDF disappearance, total and concentrate N disappearance as well as total daily VFA and acetate production. A positive quadratic response (P < 0.05) was observed for daily NH3-N, propionate, butyrate, valerate, isovalerate and isobutyrate production, as well as the acetate:propionate ratio. Increasing the proportion of bison inoculum linearly increased (P < 0.05) total protozoa numbers. No effects were observed on pH, total gas and methane production, microbial N synthesis, or copies of 16S rRNA associated with total bacteria, Selenomonas ruminantium or Prevotella bryantii. Increasing bison inoculum had a quadratic effect (P < 0.05) on Fibrobacter succinogenes, and tended to linearly (P < 0.10) increase Ruminococcus flavefaciens and decrease (P < 0.05) Ruminococcus albus copy numbers. In conclusion, bison inoculum increased the degradation of feed protein and fiber. A mixture of cattle and bison rumen inoculum acted synergistically, increasing the DM and aNDF disappearance of barley straw. PMID:28018336

Molecular dynamic of curcumin/chitosan interaction using a computational molecular approach: Emphasis on biofilm reduction.

PubMed

Khezri, Azam; Karimi, Arsalan; Yazdian, Fatemeh; Jokar, Mahmoud; Mofradnia, Soheil Rezazadeh; Rashedi, Hamid; Tavakoli, Zahra

2018-07-15

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have been used to enhance bioavailability and biological activities. Chitosan incorporating curcumin can serve as a biocompatible substitute for metallic nanoparticles in preventing biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans and plaque on teeth. The interactions between chitosan nanoparticle as a carrier and curcumin, a natural antibacterial agent, were simulated. The binding conformation between curcumin-chitosan was obtained using the Lamarckian Genetic Algorithm in Autodock™ software in chitosan nanoparticle. The interaction stability was examined in the molecular dynamic stages, with isothermal-isobaric ensemble in the CHARMM Force Field. The results showed the root mean square deviation (RMSD) and the root mean square fluctuations (RMSF) for all complex's atoms were relaxed after 4ns (RMSD for the all-atoms was 26.81±0.1 (Å); RMSF 1.13±0.02Å). For each section, the estimation of RMSD, RMSF, radius of gyration, inter-H bond and other analysis confirmed that, during the first interval;10ns, there was a stable binding between the two sections. Although all bindings disappeared from 10 to 20ns, the curcumin was trapped inside the chitosan nanoparticles, and no release took place until 20ns, after which the curcumin began to release. This trend suggests that chitosan nanoparticle has ability to carry the curcumin. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-functionality star-branched macromolecules: polymer size and virial coefficients.

PubMed

Randisi, Ferdinando; Pelissetto, Andrea

2013-10-21

We perform high-statistics Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice model to compute the radius of gyration Rg, the center-to-end distance, the monomer distribution, and the second and third virial coefficients of star polymers for a wide range of functionalities f, 6 ≤ f ≤ 120. We consider systems with a large number L of monomers per arm (100 is approximately < L is approximately < 1000 for f ≤ 40 and 100 is approximately < L is approximately < 400 for f = 80, 120), which allows us to determine accurately all quantities in the scaling regime. Results are extrapolated to determine the behavior of the different quantities in the limit f → ∞. Structural results are finally compared with the predictions of the Daoud-Cotton model. It turns out that the blob picture of a star polymer is essentially correct up to the corona radius Rc, which depends on f and which varies from 0.7Rg for f = 6 to 1.0Rg for f = 40. The outer region (r > Rc), in which the monomer distribution decays exponentially, shrinks as f increases, but it does not disappear in the scaling regime even in the limit f → ∞. We also consider the Daoud-Cotton scaling relation Rg (2)~f(1-ν)L(2ν), which is found to hold only for f > 100.

Boltzmann-conserving classical dynamics in quantum time-correlation functions: "Matsubara dynamics".

PubMed

Hele, Timothy J H; Willatt, Michael J; Muolo, Andrea; Althorpe, Stuart C

2015-04-07

We show that a single change in the derivation of the linearized semiclassical-initial value representation (LSC-IVR or "classical Wigner approximation") results in a classical dynamics which conserves the quantum Boltzmann distribution. We rederive the (standard) LSC-IVR approach by writing the (exact) quantum time-correlation function in terms of the normal modes of a free ring-polymer (i.e., a discrete imaginary-time Feynman path), taking the limit that the number of polymer beads N → ∞, such that the lowest normal-mode frequencies take their "Matsubara" values. The change we propose is to truncate the quantum Liouvillian, not explicitly in powers of ħ(2) at ħ(0) (which gives back the standard LSC-IVR approximation), but in the normal-mode derivatives corresponding to the lowest Matsubara frequencies. The resulting "Matsubara" dynamics is inherently classical (since all terms O(ħ(2)) disappear from the Matsubara Liouvillian in the limit N → ∞) and conserves the quantum Boltzmann distribution because the Matsubara Hamiltonian is symmetric with respect to imaginary-time translation. Numerical tests show that the Matsubara approximation to the quantum time-correlation function converges with respect to the number of modes and gives better agreement than LSC-IVR with the exact quantum result. Matsubara dynamics is too computationally expensive to be applied to complex systems, but its further approximation may lead to practical methods.

Costs, charges, and revenues for hospital diagnostic imaging procedures: differences by modality and hospital characteristics.

PubMed

Sistrom, Christopher Lee; McKay, Niccie L

2005-06-01

This study examined financial data reported by Florida hospitals concerning costs, charges, and revenues related to imaging services. Financial reports to the Florida Hospital Uniform Reporting System by all licensed acute care facilities for fiscal year 2002 were used to calculate four financial indices on a per procedure basis. These included charge, net revenue, operating expense (variable cost), and contribution margin. Analysis, stratified by cost center (imaging modality), tested the effects of bed size, ownership, teaching status, and urban or rural status on the four indices. The mean operating expense and charge per procedure were as follows: computed tomography (CT): $51 and $1565; x-ray and ultrasound: $55 and $410; nuclear medicine (NM): $135 and $1138; and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): $165 and $2048. With all four modalities, for-profit hospitals had higher charges than not-for-profit and public facilities. Excepting NM, however, the difference by ownership disappeared when considering net revenue. Operating expense did not differ by ownership type or bed size. Operating expense (variable cost) per procedure is considerably lower for CT than for MRI. Consequently, when diagnostically equivalent, CT is preferable to MRI in terms of costs for hospitals. If the cost structure of nonhospital imaging is at all similar to hospitals, the profit potential for performing CT and MRI seems to be substantial, which has relevance to the issue of imaging self-referral.

Experimental Demonstration of Coherent Control in Quantum Chaotic Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bitter, M.; Milner, V.

2017-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate coherent control of a quantum system, whose dynamics is chaotic in the classical limit. Interaction of diatomic molecules with a periodic sequence of ultrashort laser pulses leads to the dynamical localization of the molecular angular momentum, a characteristic feature of the chaotic quantum kicked rotor. By changing the phases of the rotational states in the initially prepared coherent wave packet, we control the rotational distribution of the final localized state and its total energy. We demonstrate the anticipated sensitivity of control to the exact parameters of the kicking field, as well as its disappearance in the classical regime of excitation.

Disorder trapping by rapidly moving phase interface in an undercooled liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galenko, Peter; Danilov, Denis; Nizovtseva, Irina; Reuther, Klemens; Rettenmayr, Markus

2017-08-01

Non-equilibrium phenomena such as the disappearance of solute drag, the origin of solute trapping and evolution of disorder trapping occur during fast transformations with originating metastable phases [D.M. Herlach, P.K. Galenko, D. Holland-Moritz, Metastable solids from undrercooled melts (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2007)]. In the present work, a theoretical investigation of disorder trapping by a rapidly moving phase interface is presented. Using a model of fast phase transformations, a system of governing equations for the diffusion of atoms, and the evolution of both long-range order parameter and phase field variable is formulated. First numerical solutions are carried out for a congruently melting binary alloy system.

Shot noise enhancement from non-equilibrium plasmons in Luttinger liquid junctions.

PubMed

Kim, Jaeuk U; Kinaret, Jari M; Choi, Mahn-Soo

2005-06-29

We consider a quantum wire double junction system with each wire segment described by a spinless Luttinger model, and study theoretically shot noise in this system in the sequential tunnelling regime. We find that the non-equilibrium plasmonic excitations in the central wire segment give rise to qualitatively different behaviour compared to the case with equilibrium plasmons. In particular, shot noise is greatly enhanced by them, and exceeds the Poisson limit. We show that the enhancement can be explained by the emergence of several current-carrying processes, and that the effect disappears if the channels effectively collapse to one because of fast plasmon relaxation processes, for example.

[Case of acute ophthalmoparesis with gaze nystagmus].

PubMed

Ikuta, Naomi; Tada, Yukiko; Koga, Michiaki

2012-01-01

A 61-year-old man developed double vision subsequent to diarrheal illness. Mixed horizontal-vertical gaze palsy in both eyes, diminution of tendon reflexes, and gaze nystagmus were noted. His horizontal gaze palsy was accompanied by gaze nystagmus in the abducent direction, indicative of the disturbance in central nervous system. Neither limb weakness nor ataxia was noted. Serum anti-GQ1b antibody was detected. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were normal. The patient was diagnosed as having acute ophthalmoparesis. The ophthalmoparesis and nystagmus gradually disappeared in 3 months. The accompanying nystagmus suggests that central nervous system disturbance may also be present with acute ophthalmoparesis.

Electrostatic demonstration of free-fall weightlessness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balukovic, Jasmina; Slisko, Josip; Corona Cruz, Adrian

2015-05-01

The phenomena of free-fall weightlessness have been demonstrated to students for many years in a number of different ways. The essential basis of all these demonstrations is the fact that in free-falling, gravitationally accelerated systems, the weight force and weight-related forces (for example, friction and hydrostatic forces) disappear. In this article, an original electrostatic demonstration of weightlessness is presented. A charged balloon fixed at the opening of a plastic container cannot lift a light styrofoam sphere sitting on the bottom when the container is at rest. However, while the system is in free-fall, the sphere becomes weightless and the charged balloon is able to lift it electrostatically.

Shot noise enhancement from non-equilibrium plasmons in Luttinger liquid junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jaeuk U.; Kinaret, Jari M.; Choi, Mahn-Soo

2005-06-01

We consider a quantum wire double junction system with each wire segment described by a spinless Luttinger model, and study theoretically shot noise in this system in the sequential tunnelling regime. We find that the non-equilibrium plasmonic excitations in the central wire segment give rise to qualitatively different behaviour compared to the case with equilibrium plasmons. In particular, shot noise is greatly enhanced by them, and exceeds the Poisson limit. We show that the enhancement can be explained by the emergence of several current-carrying processes, and that the effect disappears if the channels effectively collapse to one because of fast plasmon relaxation processes, for example.

Sugar Cane: A Bitter-Sweet Legacy. A Study of the Disappearing African-American Worker on the Sugar Cane Plantations in Southern Louisiana.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, John A., Jr.; And Others

This resource/study guide is designed to accompany the instructional video, "Sugar Cane: A Bitter-Sweet Legacy," which explores the significance of cultivating, harvesting, and refining sugar cane. It is also a brief study of the disappearing African-American workers on the sugar cane plantations in southern Louisiana. Seven main ideas…

[Post-partum thyroiditis].

PubMed

Neves, Celestino; Alves, Marta; Delgado, Luís; Medina, J Luís

2009-01-01

In the post-partum period the immune alterations are associated with the multiple autoimmune diseases relapse. After birth, immune-tolerance variation slowly disappear, and is observed a return to a normal state - after an exacerbation period - of autoimmune reactivity, during which a great increase in T cells and autoantibodies is observed. In this period - 3 to 9 months after birth - the thyroid autoimmune disease relapses or reappears. The reactivation of the immune system in the post-partum period unchains an acute phase of celular destruction which characterizes the post-partum thyroiditis.

Untoward effects of a sympathomimetic amine. [decongestant produced arrhythmia in pilot

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Billings, C. E.; Ralston, R. H.; Hare, D. E.

1974-01-01

Presentation and discussion of a clinical report describing asymptomatic multifocal ventricular premature contractions in a professional pilot. He had been taking heavy doses of a systemic decongestant agent, pseudoephedrine, prescribed by a physician. He was taken off the medication, and over the next few days the PVCs became less frequent, then disappeared. It is pointed out that physician's instructions to pilots must be given with the realization that some airmen may follow the instructions too zealously in an attempt to remain on flying status.

Jellyfish prediction of occurrence from remote sensing data and a non-linear pattern recognition approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albajes-Eizagirre, Anton; Romero, Laia; Soria-Frisch, Aureli; Vanhellemont, Quinten

2011-11-01

Impact of jellyfish in human activities has been increasingly reported worldwide in recent years. Segments such as tourism, water sports and leisure, fisheries and aquaculture are commonly damaged when facing blooms of gelatinous zooplankton. Hence the prediction of the appearance and disappearance of jellyfish in our coasts, which is not fully understood from its biological point of view, has been approached as a pattern recognition problem in the paper presented herein, where a set of potential ecological cues was selected to test their usefulness for prediction. Remote sensing data was used to describe environmental conditions that could support the occurrence of jellyfish blooms with the aim of capturing physical-biological interactions: forcing, coastal morphology, food availability, and water mass characteristics are some of the variables that seem to exert an effect on jellyfish accumulation on the shoreline, under specific spatial and temporal windows. A data-driven model based on computational intelligence techniques has been designed and implemented to predict jellyfish events on the beach area as a function of environmental conditions. Data from 2009 over the NW Mediterranean continental shelf have been used to train and test this prediction protocol. Standard level 2 products are used from MODIS (NASA OceanColor) and MERIS (ESA - FRS data). The procedure for designing the analysis system can be described as following. The aforementioned satellite data has been used as feature set for the performance evaluation. Ground truth has been extracted from visual observations by human agents on different beach sites along the Catalan area. After collecting the evaluation data set, the performance between different computational intelligence approaches have been compared. The outperforming one in terms of its generalization capability has been selected for prediction recall. Different tests have been conducted in order to assess the prediction capability of the resulting system in operational conditions. This includes taking into account several types of features with different distances in both the spatial and temporal domains with respect to prediction time and site. Moreover the generalization capability has been measured via cross-fold validation. The implementation and performance evaluation results are detailed in the present communication together with the feature extraction from satellite data. To the best of our knowledge the developed application constitutes the first implementation of an automate system for the prediction of jellyfish appearance founded on remote sensing technologies.

Ruminal phytate degradation of maize grain and rapeseed meal in vitro and as affected by phytate content in donor animal diets and inorganic phosphorus in the buffer.

PubMed

Haese, E; Lengowski, M; Gräter, E; Föll, A; Möhring, J; Steingass, H; Schollenberger, M; Rodehutscord, M

2017-10-01

The ruminal disappearance of phytate phosphorus (InsP 6 -P) from maize grain and rapeseed meal (RSM) was determined in two in vitro studies. In experiment 1, two diets differing in phosphorus (P) and InsP 6 -P concentration were fed to the donor animals of rumen fluid (diet HP: 0.49% P in dry matter, diet LP: 0.29% P). Maize grain and RSM were incubated in a rumen fluid/saliva mixture for 3, 6, 12 and 24 h. In experiment 2, a diet similar to diet HP was fed, and the rumen fluid was mixed with artificial saliva containing 120 mg inorganic P/l (Pi) or no inorganic P (P0). Maize grain and RSM were incubated with either buffer for 3, 6, 12 and 24 h. Total P (tP) and InsP 6 concentration were analysed in the fermenter fluids and feed residues. The disappearance of InsP 6 -P from maize was completed after 12 h of incubation in both experiments. From RSM, 93% (diet LP) and 99% (diet HP) of the InsP 6 -P in experiment 1 and 80% (Pi) and 89% (P0) in experiment 2 had disappeared after 24 h of incubation. InsP 6 -P disappearance was higher when diet HP was fed (maize: 3 and 6 h; RSM: 6 and 24 h of incubation) and when rumen fluid was mixed with buffer P0 (maize: 6 h; RSM: 12 and 24 h of incubation). InsP 6 -P concentration in the fermenter fluids was higher for maize, but no accumulation of InsP 6 -P occurred, indicating a prompt degradation of soluble InsP 6 . These results confirmed the capability of rumen micro-organisms to efficiently degrade InsP 6 . However, differences between the feedstuffs and diet composition as well as the presence of inorganic P in the in vitro system influenced the degradation process. Further studies are required to understand how these factors affect InsP 6 degradation and their respective relevance in vivo. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Anthropogenic and geomorphic controls on peatland dynamics in contrasting floodplain environments during the Holocene and its impact on carbon storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verstraeten, Gert; Broothaerts, Nils; Notebaert, Bastiaan

2016-04-01

Peatlands are an important store of carbon in terrestrial environments, and scientific interest in peatlands has increased strongly in the light of the recent global climatic changes. Much attention has been paid to peatland dynamics in extensive arctic and boreal wetlands or to blanket peat in temperate regions. Nevertheless, long-term dynamics of peat in alluvial wetlands in temperate regions remains largely underresearched. In this study, data from three contrasting environments were used to provide more insights in the anthropogenic and geomorphic controls on peatland dynamics. The results show a high variability in alluvial peatland dynamics between the different study sites. In the central Belgian Loess Belt, alluvial peatlands developed during the early Holocene but gradually disappeared from the Mid-Holocene onwards due to the gradual intensification of agricultural activities in the catchment and consequent higher sedimentation rates in the floodplain system. The end of peat growth is shown to be diachronous at catchment scale, ranging between 6500 and 500 cal a BP. The disappearance of the alluvial peatlands has important implications since it potentially reduces the storage of locally produced C. Nevertheless, it was shown that this reduced production of local C but was outbalanced by the burial of hillslope derived C. Also within the sandy catchments of the Belgian Campine region alluvial peatlands initiated in the early Holocene but, here, they abruptly disappeared in the Mid-Holocene before the onset of intense agricultural activities in the catchment. This suggests that for the sandy regions, anthropogenic impact on peatland dynamics is less important compared to natural factors. For these regions, the disappearance of alluvial peatland formation resulted in a sharp decline in alluvial carbon storage as there is no compensation through hillslope derived C input. For the upper Dee catchment in NE Scotland, Holocene carbon floodplain storage varies strongly along the river gradient as a result of varying geomorphic conditions and changes in hillslope-valley connectivity that control alluvial peatland formation. Overall, alluvial peatland dynamics are shown to be highly variable, in space, timing, rate of changes and controlling factors. This has important implications on C-storage studies and questions the possibilities of extrapolation of single site studies towards larger areas.