561 research outputs found
The importance of credit for macroeconomic activity: identification through heterogeneity
Bank loans ; Monetary policy - United States ; Macroeconomics
Human-Centered Computer Vision
Contains fulltext :
241512.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)Symposium on The Art and Science of Pattern Recognitio
Selectivity of the First Two Glycerol Dehydrogenation Steps Determined Using Scaling Relationships
Glycerol is a byproduct of biodiesel production and an abundant feedstock that can be used for the synthesis of high-value chemicals. There are many approaches for glycerol valorization, but, due to the complicated reaction mechanism, controlling which products are produced is challenging. Here, we describe glycerol\u27s chemical selectivity for different metallic catalysts using descriptors for carbon (mainly *C, *CH2OH) and oxygen (mainly *O, CH3O*). The quality of these descriptors and the weighted combinations thereof are validated based on their fit, via linear regression, to the binding energies of all reaction intermediates generated in the first two glycerol dehydrogenation steps on a number of close-packed Ru, Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, and Au surfaces. We show that *CH2OH is a better descriptor than *C for the studied carbon-bound intermediates, which is attributed to the observation that the adjacent *OH group interacts with the surface. This leads to a negative oxygen dependence, which can be generalized to similar alcohol-derived adsorbates. Furthermore, we show that CH3O* is a better oxygen descriptor than *0 for the studied intermediates. This is mainly attributed to the difference between the single and double bonds, as we show that *OH is closer to the accuracy of CH3O*. Multilinear regression with different combinations of *C, *O, and *OH is comparable in accuracy to that of *CH2OH and CH3O*. Scaling relationships are used to determine the selectivity map for glycerol dehydrogenation. The results show that the first dehydrogenation is selective toward two different intermediates (one bonded via the secondary carbon and the other via the secondary oxygen) depending on the relative bond strength of the carbon and oxygen descriptors. The second dehydrogenation step results in five intermediates, again depending primarily on the relative bond strength of carbon and oxygen to the surface. The selectivity maps can be used together with kinetic considerations and experimental data to find catalyst candidates for glycerol dehydrogenation
A 7-year follow-up of sacral anterior root stimulation for bladder control in patients with a spinal cord injury: quality of life and users' experiences\ud
Study design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.\ud
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Objectives: To assess long-term effects and quality of life (QoL) of using sacral anterior root stimulation (SARS) in spinal cord injured patients.\ud
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Setting: Neurosurgical and Urological Departments of a large teaching hospital and a large rehabilitation centre in the Netherlands.\ud
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Methods: In all, 42 patients with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) implanted between 1987 and 2000 were included. A questionnaire was constructed to determine complications, technical failures and personal experiences of the patients. The Qualiveen questionnaire was used and the outcome was compared with data obtained from a reference group of 400 SCI patients with neurogenic bladder problems not using the bladder controller. The Qualiveen questionnaire measures disease-specific aspects in four domains with respect to limitations, constraints, fears and feelings and general QoL aspects, suitable for use in SCI patients with urinary disorders.\ud
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Results: The results of 37 patients are presented. Our results with the bladder controller with respect to medical and technical complications and infection rates are similar to the results presented by others. From users' experiences, the most important advantages reported were a decreased infection rate (68%), improved social life (54%) and continence (54%). Comparison of the obtained results of our patient group with the Qualiveen questionnaire with a reference group not using the bladder controller indicates that the specific impact of urinary disorders in the four domains on QoL is reduced and that general QoL is improved.\ud
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Conclusion: SARS is effective and safe for neurogenic bladder management in patients with complete SCI. Users' experiences are positive. Furthermore, this therapy seems to reduce the effects of urinary-disorder-specific QoL aspects, and to increase the QoL in general\u
Ventricular tachycardia after administration of sildenafil citrate: a case report
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has not previously been reported that sildenafil citrate causes malignant arrhythmias in humans.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 41-year-old man developed sustained ventricular tachycardia following sildenafil citrate administration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It cannot be dismissed that this patient experienced ventricular tachycardia as an adverse effect of sildenafil citrate administration.</p
Partial melting of ordinary chondrites: Lost City (H) and St. Severin (LL)
Eucrites and diogenites are examples of asteroidal basalts and orthopyroxenites, respectively. As they are found intermingled in howardites, which are inferred to be regolith breccias, eucrites and diogenites are thought to be genetically related. But the details of this relationship and of their individual origins remain controversial. Work by Jurewicz et al. showed that 1170-1180 C partial melts of the (anhydrous) Murchison (CM) chondrite have major element compositions extremely similar to primitive eucrites, such as Sioux County. However, the MnO contents of these melts were about half that of Sioux County, a problem for the simple partial melting model. In addition, partial melting of Murchison could not produce diogenites, because residual pyroxenes in the Murchison experiments were too Fe- and Ca-rich and were minor phases at all but the lowest temperatures. A parent magma for diogenites needs an expanded low-calcium pyroxene field. In their partial melting study of an L6 chondrite, Kushiro and Mysen found that ordinary chondrites did have an expanded low-Ca pyroxene field over that of CV chondrites (i.e., Allende), probably because ordinary chondrites have lower Mg/Si ratios. This study expands that of both Kushiro and Mysen and Jurewicz et al. to the Lost City (H) and St. Severin (LL) chondrites at temperatures ranging from 1170 to 1325 C, at an fO2 of one log unit below the iron-wuestite buffer (IW-1)
Adherence to subcutaneous interferon beta-1a treatment using an electronic injection device:a prospective open-label Scandinavian noninterventional study (the ScanSmart study)
Background: Disease modifying drugs help control the course of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS); however, good adherence is needed for long-term outcomes.
Objective: To evaluate patient adherence to treatment with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a using RebiSmart® and assess injection-site reactions and treatment satisfaction.
Methods: This prospective, single-arm, open-label, noninterventional multicenter Phase IV trial included disease modifying drug-experienced mobile patients with RRMS. Adherence was measured over 12 weeks. Items 13–23, 35, 37, and 38 of the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Concerns Questionnaire (injection-site reactions and treatment satisfaction) were recorded at 12 weeks.
Results: Sixty patients were recruited (mean age 43.7 [±SD 7.9] years; 83% female; mean years since multiple sclerosis diagnosis 6.7 [SD 4.5]). Adherence data were obtained in 54 patients only due to technical problems with six devices. Over 12 weeks, 89% (n=48) of patients had ≥90% adherence to treatment. Most patients experienced mild influenza-like symptoms and injection-site reactions, and global side effects were minimal. Most patients (78%) rated the convenience as the most important aspect of the device, and most experienced no or mild pain.
Conclusion: RRMS patients treated with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a, administered with RebiSmart, demonstrated generally good adherence, and the treatment was generally well tolerated
Lake Kivu expedition : geophysics, hydrography, sedimentology (preliminary report)
In March 1971, seven members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
were engaged in a multidisciplinary study of Lake Kivu. This expedition represents
part of a long-range program concerned with the structural and hydrographical
settings of the East African Rift Lakes and their relationships to
the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden Rifts. The program started in May 1963 with
a geophysical study on Lake Malawi (von Herzen and Vacquier, 1967). Several
expeditions of our Institution into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden area in 1964,
1965 and 1966 (Degens and Ross, 1969) provided detailed geological information
on the "northern" extension of the East African Rift. And finally our study of
last year on Lake Tanganyika c1osed a major gap in the program; it allowed
us to out1ine a model on the evolution of a rift which starts with (i) bulging
of the earth's crust, (ii) block-faulting, (iii) volcanism and hydrothermal
activity, and which has its final stage in (iv) sea floor spreading (Degens
et al. 1971). In the case of Lake Tanganyika, only the second stage of this
evolution series has been reached, i.e. block-faulting. In contrast, the Red
Sea and the Gulf of Aden had already evolved to active sea floor spreading, almost
25 million years ago. Somewhere along the line between Lake Tanganyika
and the Gulf of Aden must lie the "missing link" of this evolution series.
Lake Kivu, almost 100 miles to the north of Lake Tanganyika is situated
at the highest point of the Rift Valley and is surrounded by active volcanoes
and geothermal springs. As recently as 1944, lava flows reached the lake
shore. This lake was therefore, a natural choice to test our hypothesis on
the origin and development of rifts. Furthermore, the occurrence of large
quantities of dissolved gases, e.g., CO2 and methane, represented an interesting
geochemical phenomenon worthwhile to investigate.Supported by the National Science Foundation
with Grants GA 19262, GB 20956, and GU 3927;
grants from the Petroleum Research Fund of
the American Chemical Society PRF#1943A2;
and by private research funds of the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution
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