Automated patient monitoring system

Radio-linked patient monitoring system collects several channels of physiological data from as many as 64 hospital patients and transmits the data in digital form to a central control station. The system consists of a central control station and battery-operated patient units comprising small strap-on electronics packages

Kinetics of the reduction of metalloproteins by chromous ion

The reduction of Cu(330) in Rhus vernicifera laccase by chromous ion is 30% faster than reduction of Cu(614) at room temperature [pH 4.8, µ = 0.1 (NaCl)], and two parallel first-order paths, attributed to heterogeneity of the protein, are observed at both wavelengths. The reactions of stellacyanin, spinach and French-bean plastocyanins, and cytochrome c with chromous ion under similar conditions are faster than that with laccase by factors of 102 to 104, and are first order in protein concentration. Comparison of rates and activation parameters for the reduction of "blue" copper in laccase, stellacyanin, and the two plastocyanins indicates that reduction of the Cu(614) site in laccase may occur by intramolecular electron transfer from one of the Cu(330) sites. Our value of ΔH (17.4 kcal/mol) for the chromous ion reduction of cytochrome c is consistent with a mechanism in which major conformational changes in the protein must accompany electron transfer

Sensitivity of arrest in mode-coupling glasses to low-q structure

We quantify, within mode coupling theory, how changes in the liquid structure affect that of the glass. Apart from the known sensitivity to the structure factor $S(q)$ at wavevectors around the first sharp diffraction peak $q_0$, we find a strong (and inverted) response to structure at wavevectors \emph{below} this peak: an increase in $S(q_0/2)$ {\em lowers} the degree of arrest over a wide $q$-range. This strong sensitivity to `caged cage' packing effects, on length scales of order 2d, is much weaker in attractive glasses where short-range bonding dominates the steric caging effect.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. v2: 3 figures replaced; text rewritte

Confirmation of Anomalous Dynamical Arrest in attractive colloids: a molecular dynamics study

Previous theoretical, along with early simulation and experimental, studies have indicated that particles with a short-ranged attraction exhibit a range of new dynamical arrest phenomena. These include very pronounced reentrance in the dynamical arrest curve, a logarithmic singularity in the density correlation functions, and the existence of `attractive' and `repulsive' glasses. Here we carry out extensive molecular dynamics calculations on dense systems interacting via a square-well potential. This is one of the simplest systems with the required properties, and may be regarded as canonical for interpreting the phase diagram, and now also the dynamical arrest. We confirm the theoretical predictions for re-entrance, logarithmic singularity, and give the first direct evidence of the coexistence, independent of theory, of the two coexisting glasses. We now regard the previous predictions of these phenomena as having been established.Comment: 15 pages,15 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Marked expansion of exocrine and endocrine pancreas with incretin therapy in humans with increased exocrine pancreas dysplasia and the potential for glucagon-producing neuroendocrine tumors.

Controversy exists regarding the potential regenerative influences of incretin therapy on pancreatic β-cells versus possible adverse pancreatic proliferative effects. Examination of pancreata from age-matched organ donors with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) treated by incretin therapy (n = 8) or other therapy (n = 12) and nondiabetic control subjects (n = 14) reveals an ∼40% increased pancreatic mass in DM treated with incretin therapy, with both increased exocrine cell proliferation (P < 0.0001) and dysplasia (increased pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia, P < 0.01). Pancreata in DM treated with incretin therapy were notable for α-cell hyperplasia and glucagon-expressing microadenomas (3 of 8) and a neuroendocrine tumor. β-Cell mass was reduced by ∼60% in those with DM, yet a sixfold increase was observed in incretin-treated subjects, although DM persisted. Endocrine cells costaining for insulin and glucagon were increased in DM compared with non-DM control subjects (P < 0.05) and markedly further increased by incretin therapy (P < 0.05). In conclusion, incretin therapy in humans resulted in a marked expansion of the exocrine and endocrine pancreatic compartments, the former being accompanied by increased proliferation and dysplasia and the latter by α-cell hyperplasia with the potential for evolution into neuroendocrine tumors

Parasitoids of the western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in British Columbia, 1977-78

In 1977, the western spruce budworm, <i>Choristoneura occidentalis</i> Free., caused serious defoliation of Douglas-fir (<i>Pseudotsuga menziesii</i> [Mirb.] Franco) over 246,000 hectares, the largest area ever infested by the budworm in British Columbia. The budworm was surveyed in 1977 and 1978, as the population declined; 25 parasitoid species were found. Early-stage larval parasitism averaged 40%, late-stage 20%, and pupal 16% (1977) and 25% (1978). Total parasitism was 61% (1977) and 69% (1978); in 1977, 17% of the egg masses were attacked. Disease incidence was very low. The sudden decline of the budworm in 1978 over the entire infestation, regardless of parasitoid populations, suggested that parasitism was not a major factor. The widespread occurrence of parasitoids throughout the infestation suggests that they would not have been seriously affected overall by pesticide applications on limited areas

Low Mass Dark Matter and Invisible Higgs Width In Darkon Models

The Standard Model (SM) plus a real gauge-singlet scalar field dubbed darkon (SM+D) is the simplest model possessing a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark-matter candidate. In this model, the parameters are constrained from dark matter relic density and direct searches. The fact that interaction between darkon and SM particles is only mediated by Higgs boson exchange may lead to significant modifications to the Higgs boson properties. If the dark matter mass is smaller than a half of the Higgs boson mass, the Higgs boson can decay into a pair of darkons resulting in a large invisible branching ratio. The Higgs boson will be searched for at the LHC and may well be discovered in the near future. If a Higgs boson with a small invisible decay width will be found, the SM+D model with small dark matter mass will be in trouble. We find that by extending the SM+D to a two-Higgs-doublet model plus a darkon (THDM+D) it is possible to have a Higgs boson with a small invisible branching ratio and at the same time the dark matter can have a low mass. We also comment on other implications of this model.Comment: RevTeX, 15 pages, 11 figures. A few typos corrected and some references adde

Information requirements for guidance and control systems

Control or guidance system performance dependency on information handling by subsystem

Numerical study of the glass-glass transition in short-ranged attractive colloids

We report extensive numerical simulations in the {\it glass} region for a simple model of short-ranged attractive colloids, the square well model. We investigate the behavior of the density autocorrelation function and of the static structure factor in the region of temperatures and packing fractions where a glass-glass transition is expected according to theoretical predictions. We strengthen our observations by studying both waiting time and history dependence of the numerical results. We provide evidence supporting the possibility that activated bond-breaking processes destabilize the attractive glass, preventing the full observation of a sharp glass-glass kinetic transition.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures; Proceedings of "Structural Arrest Transitions in Colloidal Systems with Short-Range Attractions", Messina, Italy, December 2003 (submitted to J. Phys.: Condens. Matt.