Implementing a Consistency Criterion in Numerical Solution of the Bioelectric Forward Problem

The bioelectric forward problem is frequently formulated as an integral equation that relates unknown surface potentials with their known current generators, in a given volume conductor. The matrix of the discretized equations is singular, and this may cause difficulties in obtaining a numerical solution to the problem. A consistency criterion for the discretized equations is utilized in a new algorithm for the forward problem. Some examples of sources in a uniform spherical volume conductor were solved employing the new algorithm. It was found that the algorithm is reliable even when the number of discretized elements was relatively small. A comparison with the deflation method was done. In some examples the results were very close to each other. In other examples the results of the new algorithm were better.     

Stratified turbulent-turbulent gas-liquid flow in horizontal and inclined pipes

A two-dimensional model for stratified turbulent-turbulent gas-liquid flow in inclined pipes is proposed. The gas phase is treated as bulk flow, but an exact solution is carried out for the liquid phase, applying the eddy viscosity theory to model the turbulent viscosity. The interfacial structure is taken into consideration using appropriate correlations for the interfacial shear stress. The model is capable of predicting the liquid velocity field, holdup and pressure drop given gas and liquid flow rates, physical properties, pipe size, and angle of inclination. The results are substantially better than the prediction of Lockhart and Martinelli (1949) correlation and better than the Taitel and Dukler (1976) model for stratified flow.     

Strategies for collection and processing of occupational information in making career decisions.

The dialogs of 384 users of a computerized occupational information and guidance system were monitored and utilized to examine the strategies used in the exploration of occupational information. The analysis was based on the pattern of the use of the major components of the system and on the content of the requested occupational information. An analysis of the users' dialogs with the system revealed the various patterns of exploring occupational information. These patterns were interpreted as reflecting different strategies-search within alternatives across attributes, or search within attributes across alternatives. Different possible strategies, including the sequential elimination approach for career decision making, are reviewed. The implications for career counseling and computerized career decision making systems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gene Variant of Barrier to Autointegration Factor 2 (Banf2w) Is Concordant with Female Determination in Cichlids

Oreochromis fishes exhibit variability of sex-determination (SD) genes whose characterization contributes to understanding of the sex differentiation network, and to effective tilapia farming, which requires all-male culture. However, O. niloticus (On) amh is the only master-key regulator (MKR) of SD that has been mapped (XY/XX SD-system on LG23). In O. aureus (Oa), LG3 controls a WZ/ZZ SD-system that has recently been delimited to 9.2 Mbp, with an embedded interval rich with female-specific variation, harboring two paics genes and banf2. Developing genetic markers within this interval and using a hybrid Oa stock that demonstrates no recombination repression in LG3, we mapped the critical SD region to 235 Kbp on the orthologous On physical map (p < 1.5 × 10⁻²⁶). DNA-seq assembly and peak-proportion analysis of variation based on Sanger chromatograms allowed the characterization of copy-number variation (CNV) of banf2. Oa males had three exons capable of encoding 90-amino-acid polypeptides, yet in Oa females, we found an extra copy with an 89-amino-acid polypeptide and three non-conservative amino acid substitutions, designated as banf2w. CNV analysis suggested the existence of two to five copies of banf2 in diploidic Cichlidae. Disrupting the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p < 4.2 × 10⁻³), banf2w was concordant with female determination in Oa and in three cichlids with LG3 WZ/ZZ SD-systems (O. tanganicae, O. hornorum and Pelmatolapia mariae). Furthermore, exclusive RNA-seq expression in Oa females strengthened the candidacy of banf2w as the long-sought LG3 SD MKR. As banf genes mediate nuclear assembly, chromatin organization, gene expression and gonad development, banf2w may play a fundamental role inducing female nucleus formation that is essential for WZ/ZZ SD.     

Time-domain analysis of bandgap characteristics of two-dimensional periodic structures by use of a source-model technique

We introduce a time-domain source-model technique for analysis of two-dimensional, transverse-magnetic, plane-wave scattering by a photonic crystal slab composed of a finite number of identical layers, each comprising a linear periodic array of dielectric cylinders. The proposed technique takes advantage of the periodicity of the slab by solving the problem within a unit cell of the periodic structure. A spectral analysis of the temporal behavior of the fields scattered by the slab shows a clear agreement between frequency bands where the spectral density of the transmitted energy is low and the bandgaps of the corresponding two-dimensionally infinite periodic structure. The effect of the bandwidth of the incident pulse and its center frequency on the manner it is transmitted through and reflected by the slab is studied via numerical examples.     

Secure Two-Party Computation via Cut-and-Choose Oblivious Transfer

Protocols for secure two-party computation enable a pair of parties to compute a function of their inputs while preserving security properties such as privacy, correctness and independence of inputs. Recently, a number of protocols have been proposed for the efficient construction of two-party computation secure in the presence of malicious adversaries (where security is proven under the standard simulation-based ideal/real model paradigm for defining security). In this paper, we present a protocol for this task that follows the methodology of using cut-and-choose to boost Yao’s protocol to be secure in the presence of malicious adversaries. Relying on specific assumptions (DDH), we construct a protocol that is significantly more efficient and far simpler than the protocol of Lindell and Pinkas (Eurocrypt 2007) that follows the same methodology. We provide an exact, concrete analysis of the efficiency of our scheme and demonstrate that (at least for not very small circuits) our protocol is more efficient than any other known today.     

Pulsed Laser Induced Decomposition of Energetic Polymers: Comparison of ultraviolet (355 nm) and infrared (9.3 μm) initiation

Irradiation of the energetic polymer GAP (glycidyl azido polymer) by a high power pulsed UV laser leads to its rapid decomposition. A large amount of solid and gaseous material is released, and in the presence of an inert gas, a shock wave develops. Comparison with an inert polymer indicates that the energy released by the exothermicity of the decomposition reaction contributes significantly to the shock formative energy. The energy released in the micro-explosion can be estimated from the analysis of the shock front propagation velocity. It is found that irradiation of polymers in which GAP is diluted by an inert polymer, may lead to a higher shock intensity than irradiation of neat GAP. Possible causes for this apparent inconsistency (which is not observed upon initiation by a pulsed infrared laser) are discussed.