Modelling biological processes under anaerobic conditions through integrating titrimetric and off-gas measurements-applied to EBPR systems.

An innovative method for modelling biological processes under anaerobic conditions is presented and discussed. The method is based on titrimetric and off-gas measurements. Titrimetric data is recorded as the addition rate of hydroxyl ions or protons that is required to maintain pH in a bioreactor at a constant level. An off-gas analysis arrangement measures, among other things, the transfer rate of carbon dioxide. The integration of these signals results in a continuous signal which is solely related to the biological reactions. When coupled with a mathematical model of the biological reactions, the signal allows a detailed characterisation of these reactions, which would otherwise be difficult to achieve. Two applications of the method to the enhanced biological phosphorus removal processes are presented and discussed to demonstrate the principle and effectiveness of the method.     

Energy management for commercial servers

Servers: high-end, multiprocessor systems running commercial workloads, have typically included extensive cooling systems and resided in custom-built rooms for high-power delivery. Recently, as transistor density and demand for computing resources have rapidly increased, even these high-end systems face energy-use constraints. Commercial-server energy management now focuses on conserving power in the memory and microprocessor subsystems. Because their workloads are typically structured as multiple application programs, system-wide approaches are more applicable to multiprocessor environments in commercial servers than techniques that primarily apply to single-application environments, such as those based on compiler optimizations.     

Widespread microsatellite instability in sebaceous tumours of patients with the Muir-Torre syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Thoracic injury remains a major source of morbidity and mortality in urban trauma centers. With the advent and increasing expertise in video assisted thoracic surgery, this modality has become an attractive alternative in the management of patients with thoracic injury. This report will review our experience with video assisted thoracic surgery at a level I trauma center and attempt to further delineate the indications for and timing of thoracoscopy in thoracic trauma. METHODS: We identified 16 patients who had undergone video assisted thoracic surgery following chest trauma between July 1991 and June 1994. There were 15 penetrating and one blunt trauma. All 16 patients were initially treated with tube thoracostomy. From 0-20 days post-injury, video assisted thoracic surgery was attempted with either diagnostic or therapeutic intentions. RESULTS: Twelve of the 16 patients (75%) had successful thoracoscopy. Three patients had diaphragmatic injury excluded and nine patients had successful evacuation of clotted hemothoraces. Evacuation of clotted hemothorax up to 7 days post-injury was safe and easily accomplished. Four patients (25%) had unsuccessful thoracoscopy and were converted to standard thoracotomy; failure was attributed to either suboptimal single lung ventilation or severe pleural inflammatory reaction. The only death in the entire group occurred 10 days after a thoracotomy for retained hemothorax. The median post-operative hospital stay following successful video assisted thoracic surgery was 3.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Video assisted thoracic surgery can be utilized as an effective and safe method for the initial diagnostic evaluation and surgical management of stable patients with penetrating thoracic trauma.     

Distraction effects on muscle. Leg lengthening studied in rabbits

We investigated changes in the anterior tibial muscle during lengthening of the lower leg in rabbits. In 37 rabbits, an osteotomy of the right middle tibia was performed and was fixed by a unilateral external fixator. The rabbits were randomized into 6 groups. In groups 1, 2, and 3 the tibiae were distracted 0.5 mm/day. In groups 1 and 2, the rabbits were killed after 14 and 28 days of distraction, respectively, and in group 3 after 28 days of distraction, followed by 14 days of rest. Groups 1a, 2a, and 3a served as controls. They were treated similarly as groups 1, 2, and 3, but no distraction was performed. Proliferating cell nuclei were labeled with 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine and were identified by immunohistochemical staining. The weight of the muscle was measured. During bone lengthening the muscle showed signs of growth, as indicated by increasing weight and number of proliferating cell nuclei. This was observed only during lengthening and it ceased when the lengthening was stopped.     

One-step fluorescent probe product-enhanced reverse transcriptase assay

The Chiari type II malformation is the leading cause of death in infants with myelomeningocele. The authors report 17 cases of symptomatic Chiari type II malformation occurring in two distinct age dependent population. In Group I, 13 neonates and infants in the first year of life presented with cranial nerve and brain stem dysfunction characterized by vocal cord paralysis, apnea, dysphagia and laryngeal stridor. In Group II, 4 patients developed signs and symptoms after the first year of life. In this group, the presentation was more insidious and included neck pain and cerebellar manifestations. The surgical treatment consisted initially in shunt implantation or revision and when there was no improvement, posterior fossa decompression was performed. The response to the surgical treatment differed considerably between the two groups: older patients improved promptly after surgery and there was no casualties; in newborn and infants, especially those under 6 months of age, the mortality rate was 46.1%. The authors stress that prompt diagnosis and surgical intervention should be performed in order to produce a favorable outcome.     

Development and simulation studies of an unsteady state biofilter model for the treatment of cyclic air emissions of an α‐pinene gas stream

This paper describes the development and simulation of an unsteady state biofilter model used to predict dynamic behaviour of cyclically‐operated biofilters and compares it with experimental results obtained from three, parallel, bench‐scale biofilters treating both periodically fluctuating concentrations and constant concentrations of an α‐pinene‐laden gas stream. The dynamic model, using kinetic parameters estimated from the constant concentration biofilter, was able to predict the performance of cyclic biofilters operating at short cycle periods (ie, in the order of minutes and hours). Steady state kinetic data from a constant concentration biofilter can be used to predict unsteady state biofilter operation. At a 24 h cycle period, the dynamic model compared well with experimental results. For long cycle periods (ie, hours and days), removal efficiency decreased after periods of non‐loading: the longer the period of non‐loading, the poorer the biofilter's performance at the re‐commencement of pollutant loading. At longer time scales the model did not effectively predict transient behaviour, as adsorption and changes in kinetic parameters were not accounted for. Modelling results showed that similar biofiltration performance for the cyclic and constant concentration biofiltration of α‐pinene is expected for biofilters operating solely in the first order kinetics regime. Poorer performance for cyclic biofilters following Monod kinetics spanning the entire kinetics range is expected as the cycle amplitude increases. The most important parameters affecting the performance of a cyclically‐operated biofilter with short cycle periods are: amplitude of cyclic fluctuations, C_{g, max}/C_g, relative value of the half‐saturation constant in the Monod expression, K_s, and effective diffusivity of α‐pinene in the biofilm, D_e. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

A fuzzy logic rule-based automatic target recognizer

Methods for modeling and managing uncertainty in computer vision systems have received increased attention in recent years. Automatic target recognition is one application area of computer vision where the demands are particularly acute. In this article, fuzzy logic is proposed as a means of handling uncertainty in an expert system structure for automatic target recognition. A new technique for logical inference is described which is well-suited for this type of application. A prototype system has been developed and tested on multisensor and temporal images. the results are compared to a similar expert system which used a numeric uncertainty calculus.     

The ontogeny and significance of infants' facial expressions in the first 9 months of life.

Four studies examined aspects of the differential emotions theory (DET) hypothesis of expressive behavior development. In Study 1, facial-expressive movements of 108 2.5–9-mo-old infants were video recorded in positive and negative mother–infant interactions (conditions). As expected, Max-specified full-face and partial expressions of interest, joy, sadness, and anger were morphologically stable between the 2 ages. Studies 1 and 2 confirmed predicted differential responding to mother sadness and anger expressions and to composite positive and negative conditions. Discrete negative expressions exceeded negative blends, and the amount of both expression types remained stable across ages. Studies 3 and 4 provided varying degrees of support for the social validity of Max-specified infant negative affect expressions. Conclusions include revisions and clarifications of DET. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic influences on job satisfaction: A reply to Cropanzano and James.

Responds to the points made by R. Cropanzano and K. James (see record 1991-00462-001) concerning the article by R. D. Arvey et al (1989). The authors acknowledge that the Arvey et al study is based on a single design, makes use of a small and special sample, and, as such, is vulnerable to threats of internal and external validity. Nevertheless, after providing a more comprehensive conceptual and empirical context for the study, and after reviewing a number of the issues raised by Cropanzano and James, the authors conclude that it is not premature to accept the idea that work attitudes are partially genetically influenced. Indeed, the authors use behavioral genetic theory, together with data gathered in the Arvey et al study, to make specific point predictions regarding the outcomes of an array of studies that easily can be undertaken. Finally, the authors acknowledge that the comments and issues raised by Cropanzano and James, along with the interchange, can offer directions for future research in this important area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)