System For Data Acquisition From High Voltage Terminals

An inexpensive data acquisition system has been designed to provide high voltage isolation for data acquisition in analog, digital, and pulse modes. The telemetry system uses GaAs light sources, fiber optics, and phototransistors to accomplish the data transmission. Prewired logic boards have been adapted to accomplish the timing and logic functions. Seven decades of digital data are transmitted error free, pulse data can be transmitted at rates up to 1 MHz, and analog data are transmitted with 0.05% full scale accuracy. © 1972 The American Institute of Physics

Effect of tumor necrosis factor antagonism on allergen-mediated asthmatic airway inflammation

SummaryObjectiveTo assess whether tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonism can attenuate eosinophilic airway inflammation in patients with mild-to-moderate allergic asthma.DesignRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.SettingNational Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center.PatientsTwenty-six patients with mild-to-moderate allergic asthma, receiving only inhaled β-2-agonists, who demonstrated both an early and late phase response to inhalational allergen challenge.InterventionInjection of a soluble TNF receptor (TNFR:Fc, etanercept, Enbrel) or placebo, 25mg subcutaneously, twice weekly for 2 weeks, followed by a bronchoscopic segmental allergen challenge.MeasurementsThe primary outcome measure was whether TNFR:Fc can access the lung and inhibit TNF bioactivity. Secondary outcome measures included pulmonary eosinophilia, Th2-type cytokines, and airway hyperresponsiveness.ResultsAnti-TNF therapy was associated with transient hemiplegia in one patient, which resulted in suspension of the study. Data from the 21 participants who completed the study were analyzed. Following treatment, patients receiving anti-TNF therapy had significantly increased TNFR2 levels in epithelial lining fluid (ELF) (P<0.001), consistent with delivery of TNFR:Fc to the lung. TNF antagonism did not attenuate pulmonary eosinophilia and was associated with an increase in ELF IL-4 levels (P=0.033) at 24h following segmental allergen challenge. TNF antagonism was not associated with a change in airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine.ConclusionsTNF antagonism may not be effective for preventing allergen-mediated eosinophilic airway inflammation in mild-to-moderate asthmatics. Transient hemiplegia, which may mimic an evolving stroke, may be a potential toxicity of anti-TNF therapy

Continuous Limit of Discrete Systems with Long-Range Interaction

Discrete systems with long-range interactions are considered. Continuous medium models as continuous limit of discrete chain system are defined. Long-range interactions of chain elements that give the fractional equations for the medium model are discussed. The chain equations of motion with long-range interaction are mapped into the continuum equation with the Riesz fractional derivative. We formulate the consistent definition of continuous limit for the systems with long-range interactions. In this paper, we consider a wide class of long-range interactions that give fractional medium equations in the continuous limit. The power-law interaction is a special case of this class.Comment: 23 pages, LaTe

Recombination and structural characteristics of CdTe/GaAs layered structures

Epitaxial layers of CdTe grown on GaAs by H2 transport VPE have been investigated. Excess carrier lifetime depth profiles have been examined by transient microwave absorption technique. The recombination and trapping lifetime depth profiles are compared with depth distribution of the elements composing the structure determined by Ar+ SIMS. Correlation of the profiles of recombination parameters with depth scans of the composition elements and C, O impurities within structure is discussed

Reforming tuberculosis control in Ukraine: results of pilot projects and implications for the national scale-up of DOTS.

The period of economic transition has had severe consequences for health and health systems in Ukraine. The tuberculosis (TB) situation illustrates this. The strategy recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for TB, directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS), has the potential to provide real improvements in TB services, forming the basis of the response to the growing epidemic. In 2002, Ukraine, financially supported by USAID and the European Community (EC), began to introduce DOTS through pilot projects in Mariupol and Kyiv City. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, health service cost, patient cost, and the cost-effectiveness of these pilots, in order to inform the national scale-up of DOTS. The study finds that DOTS is feasible and has the potential to be both effective and cost-effective in Ukraine. Following this study, Ukraine adopted DOTS as a national TB control strategy in 2005. However, the pilots also found that there are several evidence-related concerns and perverse economic incentives to both providers and patients that will need to be addressed if national scale-up is to be successful. These include concerns related to the treatment of MDR-TB, economic benefits to some patients to remain hospitalized, and payments to providers and health facilities that support current practices. These will need to be addressed if Ukraine is to develop an effective response to its emerging TB epidemic

ON INTEGRAL REPRESENTATION OF THETRANSLATION OPERATOR

The formulation in the explicit form of quantum expression of the one-dimensional translation operator as well as Hermitian operator of momentum and its eigenfunctions are presented. The interrelation between the momentum and the wave number has been generalized for the processes with a non-integer dimensionality α. The proof of the fractional representation of the translation operator is considered. Some aspects of the translations in graduate spaces and their integral representation, as well as applications in physics are discussed. The integral representation of the translation operator is proposed