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Kinds of Starting Terms modified by Starting Selected AbstractsInteractive Cover Design Considering Physical ConstraintsCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 7 2009Yuki Igarashi Abstract We developed an interactive system to design a customized cover for a given three-dimensional (3D) object such as a camera, teapot, or car. The system first computes the convex hull of the input geometry. The user segments it into several cloth patches by drawing on the 3D surface. This paper provides two technical contributions. First, it introduces a specialized flattening algorithm for cover patches. It makes each two-dimensional edge in the flattened pattern equal to or longer than the original 3D edge; a smaller patch would fail to cover the object, and a larger patch would result in extra wrinkles. Second, it introduces a mechanism to verify that the user-specified opening would be large enough for the object to be removed. Starting with the initial configuration, the system virtually "pulls" the object out of the cover while avoiding excessive stretching of cloth patches. We used the system to design real covers and confirmed that it functions as intended. [source] Science gateways made easy: the In-VIGO approachCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6 2007Andréa M. Matsunaga Abstract Science gateways require the easy enabling of legacy scientific applications on computing Grids and the generation of user-friendly interfaces that hide the complexity of the Grid from the user. This paper presents the In-VIGO approach to the creation and management of science gateways. First, we discuss the virtualization of machines, networks and data to facilitate the dynamic creation of secure execution environments that meet application requirements. Then we discuss the virtualization of applications, i.e. the execution on shared resources of multiple isolated application instances with customized behavior, in the context of In-VIGO. A Virtual Application Service (VAS) architecture for automatically generating, customizing, deploying, and using virtual applications as Grid services is then described. Starting with a grammar-based description of the command-line syntax, the automated process generates the VAS description and the VAS implementation (code for application encapsulation and data binding) that is deployed and made available through a Web interface. A VAS can be customized on a per-user basis by restricting the capabilities of the original application or by adding to it features such as parameter sweeping. This is a scalable approach to the integration of scientific applications as services into Grids and can be applied to any tool with an arbitrarily complex command-line syntax. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] 585-nm Pulsed Dye Laser in the Treatment of Surgical Scars Starting on the Suture Removal DayDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 1 2003Keyvan Nouri MD Background The optimal time frame to improve the quality and cosmetic appearance of scars by laser therapy has not been clearly elucidated by prior controlled clinical trials. Objective To determine the efficacy of the 585-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) in the treatment of surgical scars starting on the day of suture removal. Methods Eleven patients (skin types I,IV) with 12 postoperative linear scars that were greater than 2 cm were treated three times on monthly intervals with the 585-nm PDL (450 ,s, 10-mm spot size, 3.5 J/cm2 with 10% overlap) on one scar half, whereas the other half received no treatment. Scars were later evaluated by a blinded examiner using the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) for pigmentation, vascularity, pliability, and height. Scars were then blindly examined for cosmetic appearance using a visual analog scale. Results One month after the last treatment, final scar analysis by the blinded examiner revealed a significant difference between treated and untreated sites, with the treated halves scoring better in all scar parameters in the VSS and in cosmetic appearance. The treated halves demonstrated an overall average improvement in the VSS between the first treatment score and the final score of 54% versus 10% in the controls (P=0.0002). The cosmetic appearance score (0=worst; 10=best) at final assessment was significantly better for the treated scars, scoring 7.3 versus the averaged control score of 5.2 (P=0.016). Conclusion The 585-nm PDL is effective and safe in improving the quality and cosmetic appearance of surgical scars in skin types I,IV starting on the day of suture removal. [source] Identification of molecular markers that are expressed in discrete anterior,posterior domains of the endoderm from the gastrula stage to mid-gestationDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 7 2007Billie A. Moore-Scott Abstract Little is known about how the endoderm germ layer is patterned along the anterior,posterior (A-P) axis before the formation of a gut tube (embryonic day [e] 7.5,8.5 in mouse), largely due to a paucity of molecular markers of endoderm. In particular, there are few genes that mark posterior domains of endoderm that give rise to the midgut and hindgut. We have identified 8 molecular markers that are expressed in discrete domains of the gastrula stage endoderm (e7.5), suggesting that a significant level of pattern exists in the endoderm before the formation of a gut tube. Three genes Tmprss2, NM_029639, and Dsp are expressed in a presumptive midgut domain overlying the node, a domain for which molecular markers have not previously been identified. Two genes, Klf5 and Epha2 are expressed in posterior endoderm associated with the primitive streak. Expression of these five genes persists in the midgut and/or hindgut at e8.5, 9.5 and 10.5, suggesting that these genes are markers of these domains throughout these stages of development. We have identified three genes Slc39a8, Amot, and Dp1l1, which are expressed in the visceral endoderm at e7.5. Starting at e9.5, Dp1l1 is expressed de novo in the liver, midgut, and hindgut. Our findings suggest that presumptive midgut and hindgut domains are being established at the molecular level by the end of gastrulation, earlier than previously thought, and emphasize the importance of endoderm patterning before the formation of the fetal gut. Developmental Dynamics 236:1997,2003, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Reagan Administration, Economic Warfare, and Starting to Close Down the Cold War*DIPLOMATIC HISTORY, Issue 3 2005Alan P. Dobson First page of article [source] Prediction of the behaviour of landslide dams using a geomorphological dimensionless indexEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 1 2003L. Ermini Abstract Landslide dams are a common phenomenon. They form when a landslide reaches the bottom of a river valley causing a blockage. The first effect of such a dam is the infilling of a lake that inundates the areas upstream, while the possibility of a sudden dam collapse, with a rapid release of the impounded waters, poses a higher flood risk to the downstream areas. The results of the main inventories carried out to date on landslide dams, have been examined to determine criteria for forecasting landslide dam evolution with particular emphasis on the assessment of dam stability. Not all landslides result in the blockage of a river channel. This only occurs with ones that can move a large amount of material with moderate or high-velocities. In most cases, these landslides are triggered by rainfall events or high magnitude earthquakes. A relationship also exists between the volume of the displaced material and the landslide dam stability. Several authors have proposed that landslide dam behaviour can be forecast by defining various geomorphological indexes, that result from the combination of variables identifying both the dam and the dammed river channel. Further developments of this geomorphological approach are presented in this paper by the definition of a dimensionless blockage index. Starting with an analysis of 84 episodes selected worldwide, it proved to be a useful tool for making accurate predictions concerning the fate of a landslide dam. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of species diversity on disease riskECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 4 2006F. Keesing Abstract The transmission of infectious diseases is an inherently ecological process involving interactions among at least two, and often many, species. Not surprisingly, then, the species diversity of ecological communities can potentially affect the prevalence of infectious diseases. Although a number of studies have now identified effects of diversity on disease prevalence, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear in many cases. Starting with simple epidemiological models, we describe a suite of mechanisms through which diversity could increase or decrease disease risk, and illustrate the potential applicability of these mechanisms for both vector-borne and non-vector-borne diseases, and for both specialist and generalist pathogens. We review examples of how these mechanisms may operate in specific disease systems. Because the effects of diversity on multi-host disease systems have been the subject of much recent research and controversy, we describe several recent efforts to delineate under what general conditions host diversity should increase or decrease disease prevalence, and illustrate these with examples. Both models and literature reviews suggest that high host diversity is more likely to decrease than increase disease risk. Reduced disease risk with increasing host diversity is especially likely when pathogen transmission is frequency-dependent, and when pathogen transmission is greater within species than between species, particularly when the most competent hosts are also relatively abundant and widespread. We conclude by identifying focal areas for future research, including (1) describing patterns of change in disease risk with changing diversity; (2) identifying the mechanisms responsible for observed changes in risk; (3) clarifying additional mechanisms in a wider range of epidemiological models; and (4) experimentally manipulating disease systems to assess the impact of proposed mechanisms. [source] Philosophical Arguments, Historical Contexts, and Theory of Education1EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2007Daniel Tröhler Abstract This paper argues that many philosophical arguments within the education discourse are too little embedded in their own historical contexts. Starting out from the obvious fact that philosophers of education use sources from the past, the paper asks how we can deal with the arguments that these sources contain. The general attitude within philosophy of education, which views arguments as timeless, is being challenged by the insight that arguments always depend upon their own contexts. For this reason, citing past authors, heroes, or enemies without respecting the context says more about our interest at the present time than it does about the times of the authors examined. Conversely, the contextual approach helps us to avoid believing that ,timeless truths' are to be found in different texts of different ages. However, the present contribution in no way advocates a total relativization of statements. Quite the contrary; it claims that the contextual approach helps us to understand the traditions and contexts within which we ourselves, as researchers, are positioned. And this self-awareness is believed to be the proper starting position for theoretical statements about education. [source] Blockade of caspase-1 increases neurogenesis in the aged hippocampusEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 10 2007Carmelina Gemma Abstract Adult hippocampal neurogenesis dramatically decreases with increasing age, and it has been proposed that this decline contributes to age-related memory deficits. Central inflammation contributes significantly to the decrease in neurogenesis associated with ageing. Interleukin-1, is a proinflammatory cytokine initially synthesized as an inactive precursor that is cleaved by caspase-1 to generate the biologically active mature form. Whether IL-1, affects neurogenesis in the aged hippocampus is unknown. Here we analysed cells positive for 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU; 50 mg/kg) in animals in which cleavage of IL-1, was inhibited by the caspase-1 inhibitor Ac-YVAD-CMK (10 pmol). Aged (22 months) and young (4 months) rats received Ac-YVAD-CMK for 28 days intracerebroventricularly through a brain infusion cannula connected to an osmotic minipump. Starting on day 14, animals received a daily injection of BrdU for five consecutive days. Unbiased stereology analyses performed 10 days after the last injection of BrdU revealed that the total number of newborn cells generated over a 5-day period was higher in young rats than in aged rats. In addition, there was a 53% increase in the number of BrdU-labelled cells of the aged Ac-YVAD-CMK-treated rats compared to aged controls. Immunofluorescence studies were performed to identify the cellular phenotype of BrdU-labelled cells. The increase in BrdU-positive cells was not due to a change in the proportion of cells expressing neuronal or glial phenotypes in the subgranular zone. These findings demonstrate that the intracerebroventricular administration of Ac-YVAD-CMK reversed the decrease in hippocampal neurogenesis associated with ageing. [source] Impaired fear conditioning but enhanced seizure sensitivity in rats given repeated experience of withdrawal from alcoholEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 12 2001D. N. Stephens Abstract Repeated experience of withdrawal from chronic alcohol treatment increases sensitivity to seizures. It has been argued by analogy that negative affective consequences of withdrawal also sensitize, but repeated experience of withdrawal from another sedative-hypnotic drug, diazepam, results in amelioration of withdrawal anxiety and aversiveness. We tested whether giving rats repeated experience of withdrawal from alcohol altered their ability to acquire a conditioned emotional response (CER). Male Hooded Lister rats were fed a nutritionally complete liquid diet as their only food source. Different groups received control diet, or diet containing 7% ethanol. Rats receiving ethanol diet were fed for either 24 days (Single withdrawal, SWD), or 30 days, with two periods of 3 days, starting at day 11, and 21, in which they received control diet (Repeated withdrawal, RWD). All rats were fed lab chow at the end of their liquid diet feeding period. Starting 12 days after the final withdrawal, groups of Control, SWD and RWD rats were given pentylenetetrazole (PTZ; 30 mg/kg, i.p.) three times a week, and scored for seizures. The occurrence of two successive Stage 5 seizures was taken as the criterion for full PTZ kindling. Other groups of control, SWD and RWD rats were trained to operate levers to obtain food, and were then exposed, in a fully counterbalanced design, to light and tone stimuli which predicted unavoidable footshock (CS+), or which had no consequences (CS,). Rats consumed approximately 17.5 g/kg/day of ethanol, resulting in blood alcohol levels of approximately 100 mg/dL. Repeated administration of PTZ resulted in increasing seizure scores. RWD rats achieved kindling criterion faster than either Control or SWD rats. No differences were seen in the groups in flinch threshold to footshock (0.3 mA). At a shock intensity of 0.35 mA, Control, but not RWD or SWD rats showed significant suppression to the CS+ CS, presentation did not affect response rates. The three groups differed in their response to pairing the CS+ with increasing shock levels, the Controls remaining more sensitive to the CS+. SWD rats showed significant suppression of lever pressing during CS+ presentations only at 0.45 and 0.5 mA, and RWD rats only at 0.5 mA. Giving rats repeated experience of withdrawal from chronic ethanol results in increased sensitivity to PTZ kindling, but reduces their ability to acquire a CER. Withdrawal kindling of sensitivity to anxiogenic events does not seem to occur under circumstances which give rise to kindling of seizure sensitivity. [source] Convenient Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of 5-Functionalized 1,2,4-Triazolium Ylides Starting from N,,N, -Disubstituted CarbohydrazonamidesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 35 2008Mehdi Khankischpur Abstract 5-Functionalized 1,2,4-triazolium ylides have been prepared in good yields and in very short reaction times by reacting N,,N, -disubstituted carbohydrazonamides with 1,1,-carbonylbis(1,2,4-triazole), 1,1,-thiocarbonyldiimidazole or diphenyl N -cyanimidocarbonate under microwave irradiation. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008) [source] Rapid and Easy Access to (E)-1,3-Enynes, 1,3-Diynes and Allenes Starting from Propargylic Acetals, Exploiting the Different Reactivity of Lithium and Mixed Lithium,Potassium Organometallic ReagentsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 35 2007Marco Blangetti Abstract The treatment of propargylic acetals with various lithium and mixed lithium,potassium Schlosser reagents, has allowed a one-pot synthesis of (E)-1,3-enynes, 1,3-diynes and allenes, depending on the reaction conditions and the selected base. Various reaction conditions were investigated in order to control the selectivity of the reactions and to obtain pure products. The metallation,elimination sequence in the presence of a suitable electrophile has provided a linear route to functionalized (E)-conjugated enynes, diynes and allenes.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007) [source] Synthesis and Conformational Analysis of Geodiamolide AnaloguesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 17 2007Srinivasa Marimganti Abstract Starting with the ,-hydroxy and ,-amino acid derivatives 13 and 21, the two closely related geodiamolide analogs 32 and 35, respectively, were prepared. Compared to the natural cyclodepsipeptide geodiamolide (1), the macrocycles 32 and 35 have a smaller ring size (17- vs. 18-membered). Conformational analysis by ROESY spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation revealed that the reduced ring size causes the polypropionate sector to flip with regard to the geodiamolide conformation.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007) [source] Nucleophilic Carbenes and Pseudo-Cross-Conjugated Mesomeric Betaines of Indazole Starting from Analogues of the Alkaloid-Betaine NigellicineEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 10 2005Andreas Schmidt Abstract The alkaloid Nigellicine possesses the indazolium-3-carboxylate ring system as electronically relevant partial structure which represents a member of the class of pseudo-cross-conjugated mesomeric betaines. Indazolium-3-carboxylate, prepared starting from indazole-3-carboxylic acid by an esterification,methylation,saponification sequence, can be converted into the isoconjugated phenyl- and 4-(nitrophenyl)amidates and the thiocarboxylate as additional examples of pseudo-cross-conjugated systems. In accordance with results of ab initio calculations decarboxylation of indazolium-3-carboxylate with formation of the nucleophilic carbene indazol-3-ylidene begins at approximately 40 °C as evidenced by temperature-dependent NMR spectroscopy. The carbene can be trapped with protons as indazolium salts, and carbon dioxide which reconstitutes the pseudo-cross-conjugated mesomeric betaine. According to the calculations, the carbene adopts a singlet ground state. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005) [source] The European Judicial Organisation in a New Paradigm: The Influence of Principles of ,New Public Management' on the Organisation of the European CourtsEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 6 2008Elaine Mak Recent reforms regarding the European Courts raise the question in which way do ,new public management' principles influence the European judicial organisation and how is a balance struck between these principles and classic ,rule of law' principles? The article first presents a classification of these types of principles in the framework for discussion regarding the European judicial organisation. Starting out from two paradigms, an inquiry is made into the status of the two sets of principles in the present-day European ,constitutional' framework. Second, the interaction of principles is investigated with regard to a number of current dilemmas, including the demarcation of the judicial domain, the management of the Courts and the distribution of judicial competences. [source] GENETICS AND RECENT HUMAN EVOLUTIONEVOLUTION, Issue 7 2007Alan R. Templeton Starting with "mitochondrial Eve" in 1987, genetics has played an increasingly important role in studies of the last two million years of human evolution. It initially appeared that genetic data resolved the basic models of recent human evolution in favor of the "out-of-Africa replacement" hypothesis in which anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa about 150,000 years ago, started to spread throughout the world about 100,000 years ago, and subsequently drove to complete genetic extinction (replacement) all other human populations in Eurasia. Unfortunately, many of the genetic studies on recent human evolution have suffered from scientific flaws, including misrepresenting the models of recent human evolution, focusing upon hypothesis compatibility rather than hypothesis testing, committing the ecological fallacy, and failing to consider a broader array of alternative hypotheses. Once these flaws are corrected, there is actually little genetic support for the out-of-Africa replacement hypothesis. Indeed, when genetic data are used in a hypothesis-testing framework, the out-of-Africa replacement hypothesis is strongly rejected. The model of recent human evolution that emerges from a statistical hypothesis-testing framework does not correspond to any of the traditional models of human evolution, but it is compatible with fossil and archaeological data. These studies also reveal that any one gene or DNA region captures only a small part of human evolutionary history, so multilocus studies are essential. As more and more loci became available, genetics will undoubtedly offer additional insights and resolutions of human evolution. [source] AN EXACT FORM OF THE BREEDER'S EQUATION FOR THE EVOLUTION OF A QUANTITATIVE TRAIT UNDER NATURAL SELECTIONEVOLUTION, Issue 11 2005John S. Heywood Abstract Starting with the Price equation, I show that the total evolutionary change in mean phenotype that occurs in the presence of fitness variation can be partitioned exactly into five components representing logically distinct processes. One component is the linear response to selection, as represented by the breeder's equation of quantitative genetics, but with heritability defined as the linear regression coefficient of mean offspring phenotype on parent phenotype. The other components are identified as constitutive transmission bias, two types of induced transmission bias, and a spurious response to selection caused by a covariance between parental fitness and offspring phenotype that cannot be predicted from parental phenotypes. The partitioning can be accomplished in two ways, one with heritability measured before (in the absence of) selection, and the other with heritability measured after (in the presence of) selection. Measuring heritability after selection, though unconventional, yields a representation for the linear response to selection that is most consistent with Darwinian evolution by natural selection because the response to selection is determined by the reproductive features of the selected group, not of the parent population as a whole. The analysis of an explicitly Mendelian model shows that the relative contributions of the five terms to the total evolutionary change depends on the level of organization (gene, individual, or mated pair) at which the parent population is divided into phenotypes, with each frame of reference providing unique insight. It is shown that all five components of phenotypic evolution will generally have nonzero values as a result of various combinations of the normal features of Mendelian populations, including biparental sex, allelic dominance, inbreeding, epistasis, linkage disequilibrium, and environmental covariances between traits. Additive genetic variance can be a poor predictor of the adaptive response to selection in these models. The narrow-sense heritability s,2A/s,2P should be viewed as an approximation to the offspring-parent linear regression rather than the other way around. [source] Optimization of segmented linear Paul traps and transport of stored particlesFORTSCHRITTE DER PHYSIK/PROGRESS OF PHYSICS, Issue 8-10 2006S. Schulz Abstract Single ions held in linear Paul traps are promising candidates for a future quantum computer. Here, we discuss a two-layer microstructured segmented linear ion trap. The radial and axial potentials are obtained from numeric field simulations and the geometry of the trap is optimized. As the trap electrodes are segmented in the axial direction, the trap allows the transport of ions between different spatial regions. Starting with realistic numerically obtained axial potentials, we optimize the transport of an ion such that the motional degrees of freedom are not excited, even though the transport speed far exceeds the adiabatic regime. In our optimization we achieve a transport within roughly two oscillation periods in the axial trap potential compared to typical adiabatic transports that take of the order 102 oscillations. Furthermore heating due to quantum mechanical effects is estimated and suppression strategies are proposed. [source] Reliability Analysis of Technical Systems/Structures by means of Polyhedral Approximation of the Safe/Unsafe DomainGAMM - MITTEILUNGEN, Issue 2 2007K. Marti Abstract Reliability analysis of technical structures and systems is based on an appropriate (limit) state function separating the safe and unsafe/states in the space of random parameters. Starting with the survival conditions, hence, the state equation and the condition for the admissibility of states, an optimizational representation of the state function can be given in terms of the minimum function of a certainminimization problem. Selecting a certain number of boundary points of the safe/unsafe domain, hence, on the limit state surface, the safe/unsafe domain is approximated by a convex polyhedron defined by the intersection of the half spaces in the parameter space generated by the tangent hyperplanes to the safe/unsafe domain at the selected boundary points on the limit state surface. The resulting approximative probability functions are then defined by means of probabilistic linear constraints in the parameter space, where, after an appropriate transformation, the probability distribution of the parameter vector can be assumed to be normal with zero mean vector and unit covariance matrix. Working with separate linear constraints, approximation formulas for the probability of survival of the structure are obtained immediately. More exact approximations are obtained by considering joint probability constraints, which, in a second approximation step, can be evaluated by using probability inequalities and/or discretization of the underlying probability distribution. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Long-Cycle Electrochemical Behavior of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized on Stainless Steel in Li Ion BatteriesADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 7 2009Charan Masarapu Abstract Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered to be excellent candidates for high performance electrode materials in Li ion batteries. The nanometer-sized pore structures of CNTs can provide the hosting sites for storing large numbers of Li ions. A short diffusion distance for the Li ions may bring about a high discharge rate. The long-cycle performance of aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) directly synthesized on stainless-steel foil as an anode material in lithium battery is demonstrated. An increase in the specific capacity with an increase in the cycle number is observed. Starting at a value of 132,mA hg,1 in the first cycle at a current rate of 1,C, the specific capacity increased about 250% to a value of 460,mA hg,1 after 1,200 cycles. This is an unusual but a welcoming behavior for battery applications. It is found that the morphology of the MWNTs with structural and surface defects and the stainless-steel substrate play an important role in enhancing the capacity during the cycling process. [source] Preliminary Results from the Use of New Vascular Access (Hemaport) for HemodialysisHEMODIALYSIS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2003J Ahlmén One of the most important factors for an optimal chronic hemodialysis is a well- functioning vascular access. Still the A-V-fistula is the best alternative. When repeated failures arise new access alternatives are needed. The Hemaport combines a PTFE-graft with a percutaneous housing of titan. Starting and stopping the dialysis session is simple and needle-free. The first clinical experiences are presented. Thirteen patients (m-age 60 years) in 6 centres had used the Hemaport system. Out of 11 functioning devices 7 were placed on the upper arm and 4 were located on the thigh. The total days in observation were 2.156 days with 769 dialysis sessions performed. Six patients had used the Hemaport system for more than 6 months. Mean blood flow was 364, range 100,450 ml/min with a mean venous and arterial pressure of 100 mm Hg, range 30,250, and 16 mm Hg respectively, range , 140 to + 259. Thrombosis interventions have been required in 14 percent to obtain a functioning vascular access. Two patients contributed with more than half of these events. Mechanical or pharmacological thrombolysis can be performed through the Hemaport dialysis lid without open surgery. Six implants have been removed and in 5 of these cases a new Hemaport was implanted. The reasons for removing the device were related to insufficient vascular flow, thrombosis, and/or infection. In patients with repeated access problems, a new vascular access (Hemaport) has been clinically used for about 1 year. By its design, Hemaport offers a novel approach. [source] Equality in Higher Education in Northern IrelandHIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2005R.D. Osborne The higher education sector in Northern Ireland has been fully involved in the public policies designed to enhance equality. Starting with measures designed to secure greater employment between Catholics and Protestants, known as fair employment, the policies are now designed to promote equality of opportunity across nine designated groups together with the promotion of ,good relations' on the grounds of religion and race. The paper examines the implementation of this new policy framework in the universities and suggests that progress to date has been fairly limited. [source] Trefftz solutions for piezoelectricity by Lekhnitskii's formalism and boundary-collocation methodINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 13 2006N. Sheng Abstract In this paper, a solution procedure for plane piezoelectricity is developed by Trefftz boundary-collocation method. Starting with the general plane piezoelectricity solution derived by Lekhnitskii's formalism, the basic sets of Trefftz functions which satisfy the homogeneous governing equations are derived. Moreover, special sets of Trefftz functions are derived for impermeable elliptical voids, impermeable sharp cracks and permeable sharp cracks with arbitrary orientations with respect to the material poling direction. The functions in the special sets satisfy not only the homogeneous governing equations but also the boundary conditions at the peripheries of the pertinent defects. By adopting Trefftz functions as the trial functions, multi-domain Trefftz boundary-collocation method is formulated. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the formulation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Online trained support vector machines-based generalized predictive control of non-linear systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 10 2006S. Iplikci Abstract In this work, an online support vector machines (SVM) training method (Neural Comput. 2003; 15: 2683,2703), referred to as the accurate online support vector regression (AOSVR) algorithm, is embedded in the previously proposed support vector machines-based generalized predictive control (SVM-Based GPC) architecture (Support vector machines based generalized predictive control, under review), thereby obtaining a powerful scheme for controlling non-linear systems adaptively. Starting with an initially empty SVM model of the unknown plant, the proposed online SVM-based GPC method performs the modelling and control tasks simultaneously. At each iteration, if the SVM model is not accurate enough to represent the plant dynamics at the current operating point, it is updated with the training data formed by persistently exciting random input signal applied to the plant, otherwise, if the model is accepted as accurate, a generalized predictive control signal based on the obtained SVM model is applied to the plant. After a short transient time, the model can satisfactorily reflect the behaviour of the plant in the whole phase space or operation region. The incremental algorithm of AOSVR enables the SVM model to learn the new training data pair, while the decremental algorithm allows the SVM model to forget the oldest training point. Thus, the SVM model can adapt the changes in the plant and also in the operating conditions. The simulation results on non-linear systems have revealed that the proposed method provides an excellent control quality. Furthermore, it maintains its performance when a measurement noise is added to the output of the underlying system. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The cell membrane complex: Three related but different cellular cohesion components of mammalian hair fibersINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE, Issue 3 2010C. Robbins J. Cosmet. Sci., 60, 437,465 (July/August 2009) Synopsis The structure, chemistry and physical properties of the cell membrane complex (CMC) of keratin fibers are reviewed, highlighting differences in the three types of CMC. Starting with Rogers' initial description of the CMC in animal hairs, several important developments have occurred that will be described, adding new details to this important structure in mammalian hair fibers. These developments show that essentially all of the covalently bound fatty acids of the beta layers are in the cuticle and exist as monolayers. The beta layers of the cortex are bilayers that are not covalently bonded but are attached by ionic and polar linkages on one side to the cortical cell membranes and on the other side to the delta layer. The delta layer between cortical cells consists of five sublayers; its proteins are clearly different from the delta layer that exists between cuticle cells. The cell membranes of cuticle cells are also markedly different from the cell membranes of cortical cells. Models with supporting evidence are presented for the three different types of cell membrane complex: cuticle,cuticle CMC, cuticle,cortex CMC, and cortex,cortex CMC. [source] Studies on pyrolysis of vegetable market wastes in presence of heat transfer resistance and deactivationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 9 2005Ruby Ray Abstract In the present investigation, the pyrolysis of predried vegetable market waste (dp=5.03 mm) has been studied using a cylindrical pyrolyser having diameter of 250 mm under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions within the temperature range of 523,923 K with an intention to investigate the effective contribution of different heat transfer controlling regime namely intra-particle, external along with kinetically control regime on the overall global rate of pyrolysis. Thermogravimetric method of analysis was utilized to obtain experimental data for both isothermal and non-isothermal cases by coupling a digital balance with the pyrolyser. The pyrolysis of vegetable market waste has been observed to exhibit deactivated concentration independent pyrolysis kinetics, analogous to catalytic poisoning, throughout the entire range of study. The deactivation is of 1st order up to 723 K and follows the 3rd order in the temperature range of 723 Tayloring standard TDDFT approaches for computing UV/Vis transitions in thiocarbonyl chromophoresINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 4 2008Julien Preat Abstract We report the development of an accurate computational procedure for the calculation of the n , ,* (,max,1) and , , ,* (,max,2) transitions of a set of thiocarbonyl derivatives. To ensure converged results, all calculations are carried out using the 6-311+G(2df,p) basis set for time-dependent calculations, and the 6-311G(2df,p) for the ground-state geometrical optimization. Starting with two hybrids, PBE0 and B3LYP, the Hartree,Fock exchange percentage (,) used is optimized in order to reach excitation energies that fit experimental data. It turns out that BLYP(,) is the more adequate functional for calibration. For the n , ,* excitation, the optimal , value lies in the 0.10,0.20 interval, whereas for the , , ,* process setting , equal to 0.10 provides the most accurate results. The corresponding mean absolute errors (MAE) are limited to 17 nm for ,max,1, and to 10 nm for ,max,2, allowing a consistent and accurate prediction of both transitions. We also assess the merits of the ZINDO//AM1 scheme and it turns out that the semi-empirical method only provides a poor prediction of the ,max of thiocarbonyl derivatives, especially for the n , ,* transition. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008 [source] Our Obligation to the DeadJOURNAL OF APPLIED PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2 2002Bob Brecher Can we have a real obligation to the dead, just as we do to the living, or is such a notion merely sentimental or metaphorical? Starting with the example of making a promise, I try to show that we can, since the dead, as well as the living, can have interests, not least because the notion of a person is, in part, a moral construction. ,The dead', then, are not merely dead, but particular dead persons, members of something like the sort of ,transgenerational community' proposed by Avner de,Shalit. More generally, I argue, we have an obligation to the dead that goes beyond the particularities of promise,making, on account of their role in having made us who we are. I then suggest, though only embryonically, that such obligations may appropriately be discharged by remembering the dead, who they were and what they did. Finally, I consider some possible objections. [source] Effect of two restorative materials on root dentine erosionJOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010Silvia Jorge Domiciano Abstract This study sought to evaluate the microhardness of root dentine adjacent to glass-ionomer and composite resin restorations after erosive challenge. A crossover study was performed in two phases of 4 consecutive days each. One hundred twelve bovine root dentine slabs were obtained, and standardized box-shaped cavities were prepared at center of each specimen. The prepared cavities were randomly restored with glass-ionomer cement or composite resin. The slabs were randomly assigned among 14 volunteers, which wore intraoral palatal device containing four restored root dentin slabs. Starting on the second day, half of the palatal acrylic devices were immersed extraorally in a lemonade-like carbonated soft drink for 90 s, four times daily for 3 days. After 3-day wash-out, dentine slabs restored with the alternative material were placed into palatal appliance and the volunteers started the second phase of this study. After erosive challenges, microhardness measurements were performed. Regardless of the restorative material employed, eroded specimens demonstrated lower microhardness value (p < 0.0001). At eroded condition examined in this study, dentine restored with glass-ionomer cement showed higher microhardness values (p < 0.0001). It may be concluded that the glass-ionomer cement decreases the progression of root dentine erosion at restoration margin. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2010 [source] H-bond donor strength;JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2009Abraham parameter; A quantum chemical model is introduced to predict the H-bond donor strength of monofunctional organic compounds from their ground-state electronic properties. The model covers OH, NH, and CH as H-bond donor sites and was calibrated with experimental values for the Abraham H-bond donor strength parameter A using the ab initio and density functional theory levels HF/6-31G** and B3LYP/6-31G**. Starting with the Morokuma analysis of hydrogen bonding, the electrostatic (ES), polarizability (PL), and charge transfer (CT) components were quantified employing local molecular parameters. With hydrogen net atomic charges calculated from both natural population analysis and the ES potential scheme, the ES term turned out to provide only marginal contributions to the Abraham parameter A, except for weak hydrogen bonds associated with acidic CH sites. Accordingly, A is governed by PL and CT contributions. The PL component was characterized through a new measure of the local molecular hardness at hydrogen, ,(H), which in turn was quantified through empirically defined site-specific effective donor and acceptor energies, EEocc and EEvac. The latter parameter was also used to address the CT contribution to A. With an initial training set of 77 compounds, HF/6-31G** yielded a squared correlation coefficient, r2, of 0.91. Essentially identical statistics were achieved for a separate test set of 429 compounds and for the recalibrated model when using all 506 compounds. B3LYP/6-31G** yielded slightly inferior statistics. The discussion includes subset statistics for compounds containing OH, NH, and active CH sites and a nonlinear model extension with slightly improved statistics (r2 = 0.92). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009 [source]
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