Equilibrium fluctuations for gradient exclusion processes with conductances in random environments

We study the equilibrium fluctuations for a gradient exclusion process with conductances in random environments, which can be viewed as a central limit theorem for the empirical distribution of particles when the system starts from an equilibrium measure

The Potential of Social Media as a Vehicle for Social Action

Social network services (SNS) are potentially full of social capital, yet it remains unclear how to use SNS to generate productive social behavior. This proposal seeks to study how SNS users establish and foster a sense of community online. Identifying those features can be useful in encouraging pro-social participation offline.https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/archivedposters/1006/thumbnail.jp

A cooperative-relational approach to digital libraries

Copyright @ 2007 Springer-Verlag, Berlin HeidelbergThis paper presents a novel approach to model-driven development of Digital Library (DL) systems. The overall idea is to allow Digital Library systems designers (e.g. information architects, librarians, domain experts) to easily design such systems by using a visual language. We designed a Domain Specific Visual Language for such a purpose and developed a framework supporting it; this framework helps designers by automatically generating code for the defined Digital Library system, so that they do not have to get involved into technical issues concerning its deployment. In our approach, both Human-Computer Interaction and Computer Supported Collaborative Work techniques are exploited when generating interfaces and services for the specific Digital Library domain

Dynamical large deviations for a boundary driven stochastic lattice gas model with many conserved quantities

We prove the dynamical large deviations for a particle system in which particles may have different velocities. We assume that we have two infinite reservoirs of particles at the boundary: this is the so-called boundary driven process. The dynamics we considered consists of a weakly asymmetric simple exclusion process with collision among particles having different velocities

Evolutionary diversity peaks at mid-elevations along an Amazon-to-Andes elevation gradient

Elevation gradients present enigmatic diversity patterns, with trends often dependent on the dimension of diversity considered. However, focus is often on patterns of taxonomic diversity and interactions between diversity gradients and evolutionary factors, such as lineage age, are poorly understood. We combine forest census data with a genus level phylogeny representing tree ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms, and an evolutionary depth of 382 million years, to investigate taxonomic and evolutionary diversity patterns across a long tropical montane forest elevation gradient on the Amazonian flank of the Peruvian Andes. We find that evolutionary diversity peaks at mid-elevations and contrasts with taxonomic richness, which is invariant from low to mid-elevation, but then decreases with elevation. We suggest that this trend interacts with variation in the evolutionary ages of lineages across elevation, with contrasting distribution trends between younger and older lineages. For example, while 53% of young lineages (originated by 10 million years ago) occur only below ∼1,750 m asl, just 13% of old lineages (originated by 110 million years ago) are restricted to below ∼1,750 m asl. Overall our results support an Environmental Crossroads hypothesis, whereby a mid-gradient mingling of distinct floras creates an evolutionary diversity in mid-elevation Andean forests that rivals that of the Amazonian lowlands

VERTICAL MIGRATION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE VICINITY OF THE CHERNOBYL CONFINEMENT SHELTER

Studies on vertical migration of Chernobyl-origin radionuclides in the 5-km zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) in the area of the Red Forest experimental site were completed. Measurements were made by gamma spectrometric methods using high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors with beryllium windows. Alpha-emitting isotopes of plutonium were determined by the measurement of the x-rays from their uranium progeny. The presence of {sup 60}Co, {sup 134,137}Cs, {sup 154,155}Eu, and {sup 241}Am in all soil layers down to a depth of 30 cm was observed. The presence of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 241}Am were noted in the area containing automorphous soils to a depth of 60 cm. In addition, the upper soil layers at the test site were found to contain {sup 243}Am and {sup 243}Cm. Over the past ten years, the {sup 241}Am/{sup 137}Cs ratio in soil at the experimental site has increased by a factor of 3.4, nearly twice as much as would be predicted based solely on radioactive decay. This may be due to 'fresh' fallout emanating from the ChNPP Confinement Shelter

Effects of Jatropha lubricant thermo-oxidation on the tribological behaviour of engine cylinder liners as measured by a reciprocating friction test

Bio-lubricants have emerged as a potential and viable way to replace, totally or partially, mineral oils due to their effectiveness in the boundary lubrication regime for different applications, including, automotive engine operation. However, the effect of thermo-oxidation caused by the long-term use of the bio-lubricants on their tribological properties has been scarcely analysed. In this work, the effect of thermo-oxidation of Jatropha oil (JO), an engine mineral oil (EMO) and a blend made up of 80%vol. EMO and 20%vol. JO (B20) on the tribological behaviour of a simulated piston ring/engine cylinder liner interface was studied in reciprocating friction tests at 26 and 100 °C. The oils were thermally oxidized and characterized in terms of carbonyl compounds, depletion of ZDDP additives, changes in kinematic viscosity and viscosity index. Friction coefficients, wear rates and scar morphologies were assessed. Thermo-oxidation resulted in significant viscosity increases in JO compared to EMO and B20. Also, it generated increased friction coefficients for JO and B20. However, they were lower than those for fresh and aged EMO. EMO increased the wear rate after thermo-oxidation in contrast to JO. Smearing was generated using most oil samples while severe scuffing was only produced by using fresh JO at 100 °C

ASSESSMENT OF THE RADIONUCLIDE COMPOSITION OF "HOT PARTICLES" SAMPLED IN THE CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOURTH REACTOR UNIT

Fuel-containing materials sampled from within the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) 4th Reactor Unit Confinement Shelter were spectroscopically studied for gamma and alpha content. Isotopic ratios for cesium, europium, plutonium, americium, and curium were identified and the fuel burnup in these samples was determined. A systematic deviation in the burnup values based on the cesium isotopes, in comparison with other radionuclides, was observed. The conducted studies were the first ever performed to demonstrate the presence of significant quantities of {sup 242}Cm and {sup 243}Cm. It was determined that there was a systematic underestimation of activities of transuranic radionuclides in fuel samples from inside of the ChNPP Confinement Shelter, starting from {sup 241}Am (and going higher), in comparison with the theoretical calculations

l-Leucine supplemented whey protein. Dose–response effect on heart mTOR activation of sedentary and trained rats

AbstractThe aim of the study was to investigate the effect of leucine supplementation combined with exercise and whey protein in cardiac mTOR anabolic pathway. Ninety-six weanling male Wistar rats were divided into eight groups and fed diets containing either casein or WP plus increasing levels (0, 3, 4.5 and 6% of diet) of l-leucine for 30days. A parallel set of eight groups was exercised for comparison. Serum aspartate amino transferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and branched chain amino acids were determined by standard methods, and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and p70S6K by the Western blot analysis. Chronic l-leucine supplementation was capable of increasing both mTOR and p70S6K phosphorylation in the heart in a dose-dependent fashion, independent of the type of dietary protein in both groups, sedentary and exercised, but the exercise potentialized the activation of the anabolic pathway. The content of protein in heart increase with l-leucine supplementation and the heart mass relativized by body mass did not change. In conclusion, the combination of l-leucine and milk proteins (casein or whey protein) has the potential to increase the mTOR pathway in the cardiac muscle without increasing the heart mass. The novelty of this study is to show the effectiveness of a blend of leucine and whey protein as a viable alternative to maximize the activation of the anabolic pathway of cardiac muscle and that the exercise can improve this process

Diagnóstico etiológico en meningitis y encefalitis por técnicas de biología molecular

ResumenIntroducciónEl estudio etiológico de las infecciones del sistema nervioso central se ha realizado tradicionalmente con cultivos bacterianos y con reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) para virus herpes simple (VHS). Los cultivos bacterianos pueden disminuir su rendimiento en pacientes que hayan usado antibióticos previos a la toma de muestra, y el solicitar PCR solo para virus VHS reduce el diagnóstico etiológico a un solo agente. El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar las causas infecciosas en meningitis y encefalitis en niños, utilizando conjuntamente la microbiología convencional y la biología molecular, con el fin de mejorar el diagnóstico etiológico de estas enfermedades.Pacientes y métodoSe estudiaron 19 pacientes con sospecha de meningitis y encefalitis, de manera prospectiva, hospitalizados en el hospital Luis Calvo Mackenna en Santiago de Chile, entre el 1 de marzo de 2011 y el 30 de marzo de 2012. Luego de obtener el consentimiento informado, a las muestras de LCR se les realizó examen citoquímico, cultivo, PCR múltiple bacteriana (N. meningitidis, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae) y PCR en tiempo real para HSV-1 y 2, VVZ, VEB, CMV, VHH-6 y enterovirus. Se recabaron datos clínicos y epidemiológicos desde la ficha clínica del paciente.ResultadosDe los 19 pacientes analizados 2 (10%) fueron diagnosticados por métodos microbiológicos convencionales y 7 (37%) al adicionar biología molecular (p=0,02). Tres pacientes presentaron meningitis por S. pneumoniae, uno por Enterobacter cloacae, 2 pacientes meningoencefalitis por VHS-1 y uno meningitis por VVZ.ConclusionesLa adición de la PCR a los métodos microbiológicos convencionales de diagnóstico en las infecciones del sistema nervioso central aumenta significativamente la probabilidad de detectar el agente causal. La incorporación rutinaria del diagnóstico molecular permitiría un manejo más oportuno y racional.AbstractIntroductionThe aetiological study of infections of the central nervous system has traditionally been performed using bacterial cultures and, more recently, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for herpes simplex virus (HSV). Bacterial cultures may not have good performance, especially in the context of patients who have received antibiotics prior to sampling, and a request for HSV only by PCR reduces the information to only one aetiological agent. The aim of this study is to determine the infectious causes of meningitis and encephalitis, using traditional microbiology and molecular biology to improve the aetiological diagnosis of these diseases.Patients and methodA prospective study was conducted on 19 patients with suspected meningitis, admitted to the Luis Calvo Mackenna Hospital in Santiago, Chile, from March 1, 2011 to March 30, 2012. After obtaining informed consent, the CSF samples underwent cytochemical study, conventional culture, multiplex PCR for the major producing bacterial meningitis (N. meningitidis, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae), real-time single PCR for HSV-1 and 2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV-6 and enterovirus. Clinical and epidemiological data were also collected from the clinical records.ResultsOf the 19 patients analysed, 2 were diagnosed by conventional methods and 7 by adding molecular biology (increase to 37%). Three patients had meningitis due to S. pneumoniae, one due to Enterobacter cloacae, 2 patients meningoencephalitis HSV-1, and one VZV meningitis.ConclusionsThe addition of PCR to conventional diagnostic methods in CNS infections increases the probability of finding the causal agent. This allows a more adequate, timely and rational management of the disease