Integrated Hydrological Modeling for Water Resources Management of Heeia Coastal Wetland in Hawaii.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

Management of erectile dysfunction post-radical prostatectomy

© 2015 Saleh et al.Radical prostatectomy is a commonly performed procedure for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. One of the long-term complications is erectile dysfunction. There is little consensus on the optimal management; however, it is agreed that treatment must be prompt to prevent fibrosis and increase oxygenation of penile tissue. It is vital that patient expectations are discussed, a realistic time frame of treatment provided, and treatment started as close to the prostatectomy as possible. Current treatment regimens rely on phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors as a first-line therapy, with vacuum erection devices and intraurethral suppositories of alprostadil as possible treatment combination options. With nonresponders to these therapies, intracavernosal injections are resorted to. As a final measure, patients undergo the highly invasive penile prosthesis implantation. There is no uniform, objective treatment program for erectile dysfunction post-radical prostatectomy. Management plans are based on poorly conducted and often underpowered studies in combination with physician and patient preferences. They involve the aforementioned drugs and treatment methods in different sequences and doses. Prospective treatments include dietary supplements and gene therapy, which have shown promise with there proposed mechanisms of improving erectile function but are yet to be applied successfully in human patients

Lymphotoxins and cytomegalovirus cooperatively induce interferon-beta, establishing host-virus détente

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related cytokines regulate cell death and survival and provide strong selective pressures for viruses, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), to evolve counterstrategies in order to persist in immune-competent hosts. Signaling by the lymphotoxin (LT)-β receptor or TNF receptor-1, but not Fas or TRAIL receptors, inhibits the cytopathicity and replication of human CMV by a nonapoptotic, reversible process that requires nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)-dependent induction of interferon-β (IFN-β). Efficient induction of IFN-β requires virus infection and LT signaling, demonstrating the need for both host and viral factors in the curtailment of viral replication without cellular elimination. LTα-deficient mice and LTβR-Fc transgenic mice were profoundly susceptible to murine CMV infection. Together, these results reveal an essential and conserved role for LTs in establishing host defense to CMV

The Impacts of Climate Change and Wetland Restoration on the Water Balance Components of the Coastal Wetland

The coastal wetlands represent the critical interface between the terrestrial and ocean zones, which have gained vital importance in terms of economic and environmental aspects. Land cover change (LU) and climate change (CC) are considered the determinant factors for the changes in nutrient fluxes, thermal energy, and water balance components (WBCs). These factors are also expected to affect each other through interaction process effects. An essential tool that may be used to evaluate the sustainability and availability of water resources for food security and the ecological health of coastal zones is a hydrological modeling technique. The Heeia coastal wetlands in Hawaii, USA, are used as a case study in this study to evaluate the effects of LU and CC on WBCs

Modeling of series-connected photovoltaic cells

© 2016 IEEE. This paper proposes a new model for series-connected photovoltaic (PV) cells, using a modified one-diode equivalent-circuit model. The PV modules comprise many series-connected cells to generate more electrical power. This modified model starts with the conventional one-diode equivalent-circuit (parallel-connected current source with a diode and a shunt resistance which are connected in series with a series resistance and a load) of PV cells and then proposes a new way of connecting the aforementioned circuit elements. The advantage of the presented modified model, is that it can model the series-connected PV cells by a new representation of one-diode equivalent-circuit. To validate the results of the modified model, similar input variables are applied to the conventional and the presented models. The current/voltage (I/V) characteristics are then calculated from both models and compared. The results show that the difference between the calculated I/V characteristics using the two models is much less than 1 percent. The presented approach can thus, be very useful for researchers or engineers to quickly and easily determine the performance of PV modules

Automated Archaeological Feature Detection Using Deep Learning on Optical UAV Imagery: Preliminary Results

This communication article provides a call for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) users in archaeology to make imagery data more publicly available while developing a new application to facilitate the use of a common deep learning algorithm (mask region-based convolutional neural network; Mask R-CNN) for instance segmentation. The intent is to provide specialists with a GUI-based tool that can apply annotation used for training for neural network models, enable training and development of segmentation models, and allow classification of imagery data to facilitate auto-discovery of features. The tool is generic and can be used for a variety of settings, although the tool was tested using datasets from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Iran, Iraq, and Jordan. Current outputs suggest that trained data are able to help identify ruined structures, that is, structures such as burials, exposed building ruins, and other surface features that are in some degraded state. Additionally, qanat(s), or ancient underground channels having surface access holes, and mounded sites, which have distinctive hill-shaped features, are also identified. Other classes are also possible, and the tool helps users make their own training-based approach and feature identification classes. To improve accuracy, we strongly urge greater publication of UAV imagery data by projects using open journal publications and public repositories. This is something done in other fields with UAV data and is now needed in heritage and archaeology. Our tool is provided as part of the outputs given

Seasonal effects on the corneoconjunctival microflora in a population of Persian cats in Iran

This study was performed to determine the normal seasonal aerobic and an-aerobic corneoconjunctival bacterial flora in cats. Thirty eyes of 15 clinically normal client-owned Persian cats were evaluated. All cats lived in a similar indoor/outdoor home environment being fed the same diet for the entire year. The cats did not receive any medications and were found to be clinically healthy 1 week prior to each microbial sampling. The cats were not exposed to other cats during the study period. Microbial samples were collected at the same time of day on the first day of the second month of each of the four seasons. During sample collection, a sterile swab was rolled over the corneoconjunctival surface avoiding contact with surrounding skin or hair. Immediately after sample collection, microbiologic aerobic and anaerobic cultures were initiated. Gram-positive bacteria were the most prevalent isolates. The most commonly isolated bacterial organisms across all seasons were Staphylococcus epidermidis (41/95; 43.2%), β-hemolytic streptococcus (18/95; 18.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (17/95; 17.9%), and Escherichia coli (11/95; 11.5%). Twenty-five cultures of a total of 120 (20.8%) were negative. One negative culture was collected in the summer, while 21 cultures were negative in fall and winter. Gram-positive bacteria were the predominant micro-organisms of the normal ocular surface of healthy cats in all seasons in this study. This result is in agreement with previous publications

Modeling of a New High Voltage Power Supplyfor Microwave Generators with Three Magnetrons

This original work treats the modeling of a new type of HV power supply with several magnetrons (treated case   N=3 magnetrons).The design of this new power supply uses a new single-phase high voltage transformer with magnetic shunts supplying three doublers voltage cells, each one composed of a capacitor and a diode. Each cell supplies in its turn one magnetron. The π equivalent model of the transformer is developed taking account the saturation phenomena and the stabilization process of each magnetron current. The model of the transformer is based on the determination of the analytical expressions of the non linear inductances that can be stored from the fitting of the magnetization curve B (H) of material used. The resulting model will be implemented under Matlab-Simulink code. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental measurement for one magnetron, thus provides, relative to the current device, gainsof volume, weight and cost of all power supply with respecting the conditions recommended by the constructor of magnetron current: Ipeak<1.2 A, Imean≈ 300 mA.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v3i2.223

Draft Genome Sequence of Photorhabdus luminescens Strain BA1, an Entomopathogenic Bacterium Isolated from Nematodes Found in Egypt

Photorhabdus luminescens strain BA1 is an entomopathogenic bacterium that forms a symbiotic association with Heterorhabditis nematodes. We report here a 5.0-Mbp draft genome sequence for P. luminscens strain BA1, with a G+C content of 42.46% and 4,250 candidate protein-coding genes