ActiveGraph: A digital library visualization tool

ActiveGraph is an information visualization tool designed to provide users with a concise, customizable view of objects in a digital library. A set of digital library objects is represented as a data set in a two- or three-dimensional scatter plot. The data set can represent any digital library objects in any medium: books, journals, papers, images, Web resources, or even entire databases. Since ActiveGraph is intended for use in the context of digital libraries, data attributes consist for the most part of metadata fields such as title, author, date of publication, and number of citations. Data attributes are mapped to six visual attributes of the scatter plot: the X-, Y-, and Z-axes, color, size, and shape. The metadata for a selected data point are displayed in a control panel on the right-hand side of the screen. Users can edit the metadata and even add new metadata fields. Thus ActiveGraph allows users to both view and customize the contents of a library. Because of its flexibility in handling digital library objects and metadata of different types, ActiveGraph can be used in a variety of digital library applications. In this paper, we describe two: LibGraph, which is a visualization of a collaborative library, and CiteGraph, which is a visualization of citation statistics. Both applications were designed for use by scientists and engineers, for whom scatter plots are familiar and intuitive visualizations.     

Distributions of the potential and electric field of an electrode elliptic array used in tumor electrotherapy: Analytical and numerical solutions

To estimate the potential and electric field generated by any electrode array is very useful in effective tumor destruction. At present, an electrode array that takes into account the ellipsoidal geometry of the solid tumors has not been proposed. We present both analytical and numerical solutions for the potential and electric field in a solid tumor established by an electrode array with elliptic shape which may be used in vitro, in vivo and in clinical studies for cancer treatment with electrotherapy. These analytical and numerical solutions are obtained using multipole expansion and the finite difference method. Distributions of potential and electric field magnitudes are computed in function of the eccentricity of an elliptical array and compared with those obtained with a circular array of electrode. Maximum difference and Root Means Square Error are used to compare the distributions of the potential and electric field in leading-order and first-order correction and between the analytical and numerical solutions. The results show a good agreement between these distributions in both orders and the analytical and numerical solutions. It was concluded that the mathematical approach presented in this study is a tool for a rapid design of electrode elliptical arrays in order to induce the maximum destruction of the tumor. Moreover, it is shown that, for all values of eccentricity, there is a good correspondence between the distributions of the potential and the electric field for leading-order and first-order correction and for both the analytical and numerical solutions.     

Diabetes Mellitus and Its Implications in Aortic Stenosis Patients

Aortic stenosis (AS) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are both progressive diseases that if left untreated, result in significant morbidity and mortality. Several studies revealed that the prevalence of DM is substantially higher in patients with AS and, thus, the progression from mild to severe AS is greater in those patients with DM. DM and common comorbidities associated with both diseases, DM and AS, increase patient management complexity and make aortic valve replacement the only effective treatment. For that reason, a better understanding of the pathogenesis underlying both these diseases and the relationships between them is necessary to design more appropriate preventive and therapeutic approaches. In this review, we provided an overview of the main aspects of the relationship between AS and DM, including common comorbidities and risk factors. We also discuss the established treatments/therapies in patients with AS and DM.     

Distributed Healthcare: Simultaneous Assessment of Multiple Individuals

Employing pervasive computing technologies can help enable continuous patient monitoring and assessment in various settings outside of hospitals, lowering healthcare costs and allowing earlier detection of problems     

Blast Densification: Multi-Instrumented Case History

A comprehensive blast densification field study was conducted at a test site in South Carolina to densify a loose soil layer at a depth between z = 8–13?m. The study included extensive laboratory and field characterizations and four carefully monitored blast events. Results revealed that densification is not an instantaneous phenomenon; underlying time-dependent processes involve resedimentation, drainage of excess pore pressure as the granular skeleton deforms and the effective stress recovers, and secondary settlement effects, which do not involve excess pore pressure dissipation. The degree of densification decreased in successive blasting events, and the soil gradually evolved toward an asymptotical terminal density associated with blast densification. The blasting sequence and detonation delays appeared to have a minor effect on shear-induced movements. The increase in penetration resistance manifested 2?years after four blasting-drainage events. Instead, surface settlement using standard surveying techniques, subsurface deformation assessment, and subsurface pore fluid pressure monitoring provided valuable, real-time indicators of the soil response to the blasting events.     

Neurocognitive function in monozygotic twins discordant for combat exposure: Relationship to posttraumatic stress disorder.

Neuropsychological deficits have been reported among trauma survivors with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is often assumed that these cognitive difficulties are toxic consequences of trauma exposure. Alternatively, they may reflect preexisting characteristics that contribute to the likelihood of developing PTSD. To address this possibility, the authors evaluated cognitive performance in monozygotic twin pairs who were discordant for combat exposure. Pairs were grouped according to whether the combat-exposed brother developed PTSD. The combat-unexposed cotwins of combat veterans with PTSD largely displayed the same performance as their brothers, which was significantly lower than that of non-PTSD combat veterans and their brothers. The results support the notion that specific domains of cognitive function may serve as premorbid risk or protective factors in PTSD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparation and evaluation of Co/Al2O3 catalysts in the production of hydrogen from thermo-catalytic decomposition of methane: Influence of operating conditions on catalyst performance

This paper presents the synthesis of Co-doped Al₂O₃ catalysts, developed by our group, with porous structures and high surface areas. The catalytic activity of the materials obtained was evaluated in the catalytic decomposition of methane, which is an attractive method for CO/CO₂-free production of hydrogen, particularly for fuel cell applications.The catalysts were shown to be active and stable in relation to the catalytic decomposition of methane reaction. It was observed that the catalytic performance is dependent on the catalyst characteristics and on the operational conditions employed.The conversion of methane increased with metal loading, reaction temperature and N₂:CH₄ molar ratio.     

Contents of biologically active polyamines in chicken meat,liver, heart and skin after slaughter and their changes during meat storage and cooking

Dietary polyamines, putrescine, spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM), participate in an array of important physiological roles, including tumour growth. Thus, reliable information on polyamine content in foods has been needed. We therefore determined polyamine contents in chilled chicken meat and giblets (n = 20) and skin (n = 10) 24 h after slaughter. The polyamines were determined, after extraction with perchloric acid, as dansyl derivatives, using an HPLC method. Mean SPD values were 4.8, 10.2, 11.4, 48.7 and 12.1 mg kg⁻¹ and SPM values were 36.8, 38.0, 24.3, 133 and 82.7 mg kg⁻¹ in breast, thigh, skin, liver and heart, respectively. Significant statistical correlations between SPD and SPM contents were observed in breast, thigh, skin and liver, whereas correlations were insignificant in heart. An increase of SPD and SPM was apparent in breasts and thighs stored at −18 °C for 6 months; however, it was significant only for SPM in thighs. The losses of both SPD and SPM were statistically insignificant during storage of aerobically packaged breasts up to 9 days at +2 °C. A significant decrease of SPM to about 60% of the initial contents was observed in both vacuum-packaged and in modified atmosphere (20% CO₂ and 80% O₂)-stored breasts on day 21 at +2 °C. For both SPD and SPM, roasting, grilling and frying of fresh breasts caused losses of about 40–60% of the initial contents (higher than boiling and stewing). Similarly, losses of SPM, due to roasting of breasts frozen for 3 or 6 months, were higher than those caused by stewing. Putrescine was detected only sporadically and at levels close to the detection limit of 1.0 mg kg⁻¹ (fresh matter).     

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