Diffusion of particles in an expanding sphere with an absorbing boundary

We study the problem of particles undergoing Brownian motion in an expanding sphere whose surface is an absorbing boundary for the particles. The problem is akin to that of the diffusion of impurities in a grain of polycrystalline material undergoing grain growth. We solve the time dependent diffusion equation for particles in a d-dimensional expanding sphere to obtain the particle density function (function of space and time). The survival rate or the total number of particles per unit volume as a function of time is evaluated. We have obtained particular solutions exactly for the case where d=3 and a parabolic growth of the sphere. Asymptotic solutions for the particle density when the sphere growth rate is small relative to particle diffusivity and vice versa are derived.Comment: 12 pages. To appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41 (2008

Ion concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid in wakefulness, sleep and sleep deprivation in healthy humans

Sleep is controlled by a circadian rhythmicity, via a reduction of arousal-promoting neuromodulatory activity, and by accumulation of somnogenic factors in the interstitial fluid of the brain. Recent experiments in mice suggest that a reduced neuronal excitability caused by a reduced concentration of potassium in the brain, concomitant with an increased concentration of calcium and magnesium, constitutes an important mediator of sleep. In the present study, we examined whether such changes in ion concentrations could be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of healthy humans. Each subject underwent cerebrospinal fluid collection at three occasions in a randomized order: at 15:00 hours–17:00 hours during waking, at 06:00 hours–07:00 hours immediately following 1 night of sleep, and at 06:00 hours–07:00 hours following 1 night of sleep deprivation. When compared with wakefulness, both sleep and sleep deprivation produced the same effect of a small (0.1 mm, about 3%), but robust and highly significant, reduction in potassium concentration. Calcium and magnesium concentrations were unchanged. Our results support a circadian modulation of neuronal excitability in the brain mediated via changes of the interstitial potassium concentration

Vibronic structure in triatomic molecules : The hydrocarbon flame bands of the formyl radical (HCO). A theoretical study

A theoretical study of the vibrational structure of the math 2A′ ground and math 2A′ excited states of the formyl radical, HCO, and its deuterated form, DCO, has been performed. The potential energy surfaces have been computed by means of a multiconfigurational perturbative method, CASPT2. The computed geometries and the harmonic and anharmonic frequencies are successfully compared to the available experimental information. The vibrational intensities of the transition math 2A′↔math 2A′ have been computed both for absorption and emission. The results lead to accurate determinations of several structural parameters and some reassignments of the vibrational transitions of the so-called hydrocarbon flame bands of the formyl [email protected]

Estimating Survival in Patients with Operable Skeletal Metastases: An Application of a Bayesian Belief Network

BACKGROUND: Accurate estimations of life expectancy are important in the management of patients with metastatic cancer affecting the extremities, and help set patient, family, and physician expectations. Clinically, the decision whether to operate on patients with skeletal metastases, as well as the choice of surgical procedure, are predicated on an individual patient's estimated survival. Currently, there are no reliable methods for estimating survival in this patient population. Bayesian classification, which includes bayesian belief network (BBN) modeling, is a statistical method that explores conditional, probabilistic relationships between variables to estimate the likelihood of an outcome using observed data. Thus, BBN models are being used with increasing frequency in a variety of diagnoses to codify complex clinical data into prognostic models. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of developing bayesian classifiers to estimate survival in patients undergoing surgery for metastases of the axial and appendicular skeleton. METHODS: We searched an institution-owned patient management database for all patients who underwent surgery for skeletal metastases between 1999 and 2003. We then developed and trained a machine-learned BBN model to estimate survival in months using candidate features based on historical data. Ten-fold cross-validation and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed to evaluate the BNN model's accuracy and robustness. RESULTS: A total of 189 consecutive patients were included. First-degree predictors of survival differed between the 3-month and 12-month models. Following cross validation, the area under the ROC curve was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.80-0.93) for 3-month probability of survival and 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77-0.90) for 12-month probability of survival. CONCLUSIONS: A robust, accurate, probabilistic naïve BBN model was successfully developed using observed clinical data to estimate individualized survival in patients with operable skeletal metastases. This method warrants further development and must be externally validated in other patient populations

Factor VIII:C concentrate purified from plasma using monoclonal antibodies: human studies

Conventional clotting factor concentrates have, until recently, been of intermediate purity, containing less than 1% of the coagulation factor, and greater than 99% extraneous plasma proteins such as fibrinogen, fibronectin, gamma globulins, and traces of many others. We report here the results of a new factor VIII concentrate that is purified from human plasma using a mouse monoclonal antibody to factor VIII:vWF in an affinity chromatography system. The resultant concentrate has an activity of between 3,000 and 5,000 U/mg protein before albumin is added as a stabilizer. Seven patients with severe hemophilia A and no inhibitor who were positive for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have been treated solely with this concentrate for over 24 months. Factor usage in these patients has ranged from 611 U/kg/yr to 2,022 U/kg/yr. These patients have infused approximately once per week on the average, most often for joint hemorrhages. The efficacy of the concentrate is excellent. No allergic reactions have occurred and no factor VIII antibodies have developed. In these seven patients mean CD4 counts stabilized (856 +/- 619 at screen v 778 +/- 686 at 24 months) and there was reversal of skin test anergy. In a comparison group on conventional intermediate purity concentrate chosen retrospectively decreases in mean CD4 cell counts similarly did not occur. However, the number of the comparison patients who were anergic increased over the course of the study. These observations indicate the possibility that more highly purified concentrates may stabilize immune function in HIV seropositive patients

The Mantis Network III: Expanding the limits of chemical searches within ultra hot-Jupiters. New detections of Ca I, V I, Ti I, Cr I, Ni I, Sr II, Ba II, and Tb II in KELT-9 b

Cross-correlation spectroscopy is an invaluable tool in the study of exoplanets. However, aliasing between spectral lines makes it vulnerable to systematic biases. This work strives to constrain the aliases of the cross-correlation function to provide increased confidence in the detections of elements in the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) observed with high-resolution spectrographs. We use a combination of archival transit observations of the UHJ KELT-9 b obtained with the HARPS-N and CARMENES spectrographs and show that it is possible to leverage each instrument's strengths to produce robust detections at substantially reduced signal-to-noise. Aliases that become present at low signal-to-noise regimes are constrained through a linear regression model. We confirm previous detections of H I, Na I, Mg I, Ca II, Sc II, Ti II, Cr II, Fe I, and Fe II, and detect eight new species Ca I, Cr I, Ni I, Sr II, Tb II at the 5$\sigma$ level and Ti I, V I, Ba II above the 3$\sigma$ level. Ionised terbium (Tb II) has never before been seen in an exoplanet atmosphere. We further conclude that a 5$\sigma$ threshold may not provide a reliable measure of confidence when used to claim detections, unless the systematics in the cross-correlation function caused by aliases are taken into account.Comment: Accepted for publication on the 1st of April 202