On Upper Bounds for Toroidal Mosaic Numbers

In this paper, we work to construct mosaic representations of knots on the torus, rather than in the plane. This consists of a particular choice of the ambient group, as well as different definitions of contiguous and suitably connected. We present conditions under which mosaic numbers might decrease by this projection, and present a tool to measure this reduction. We show that the order of edge identification in construction of the torus sometimes yields different resultant knots from a given mosaic when reversed. Additionally, in the Appendix we give the catalog of all 2 by 2 torus mosaics.Comment: 10 pages, 111 figure

The effect of alkylphenols on lobster shell hardening

Author Posting. © National Shellfisheries Association, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of National Shellfisheries Association for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Shellfish Research 31 (2012): 555-562, doi:10.2983/035.031.0215.Alkylphenols, anthropogenic estrogenic endocrine disruptors in vertebrates, have been found in lobsters (Homarus americanus) in New England sites. We hypothesize that alkylphenols interfere in the shell hardening during molting. We used an in vitro cuticle bioassay to investigate the effects of 2 alkylphenolic compounds—2,4-bis-(dimethylbenzyl) phenol (compound 3) and bisphenol A (BPA; 4,4′-dihydroxy-2,2-diphenylpropane (also referred to as 4,4′-(propan-2-ylidene) diphenol)) on tyrosine incorporation during the hardening of new cuticle following lobster molting. During sclerotization, both alkylphenols and cold tyrosine competed with C14-tyrosine incorporation in a concentration-dependent manner. This process was also phenoloxidase dependent, as treatment with phenylthiourea (PTU; a phenoloxidase inhibitor) significantly decreased C14-tyrosine incorporation. We also found that incorporation of C14-2,4-bis-(dimethylbenzyl) phenol during the shell hardening process was inhibited by cold alkylphenol, cold tyrosine, or PTU, and competition was concentration dependent. Furthermore, incorporation of tyrosine and derivatives into new cuticle decreased with time after molting from 27% incorporation 1 day after a molt to 6% by 4 days after a molt. In nonmolting cuticles, there was no incorporation of alkylphenol or tyrosine derivatives. When lobsters were injected with 2,4-bis-(dimethylbenzyl) phenol during the premolt stage, it took the shells 12 ± 1 days to harden sufficiently to resist deflection by 5 lb pressure exerted by a pressure gauge, compared with 7 ± 1 days for control shells. Thus, shell hardening is delayed significantly by the presence of 2,4-bis-(dimethylbenzyl) phenol. The effects of this compound on shell hardening may result in lobsters' susceptibility to microbial invasion and, therefore, may contribute to the onset of shell disease.This research was supported by the National Marine Fisheries Service as the New England Lobster Research Initiative: Lobster Shell Disease under NOAA grant NA06NMF4720100 to the University of Rhode Island Fisheries Center

accelerating wrf i/o performance with adios2 and network-based streaming

With the approach of Exascale computing power for large-scale High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters, the gap between compute capabilities and storage systems is growing larger. This is particularly problematic for the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), a widely-used HPC application for high-resolution forecasting and research that produces sizable datasets, especially when analyzing transient weather phenomena. Despite this issue, the I/O modules within WRF have not been updated in the past ten years, resulting in subpar parallel I/O performance. This research paper demonstrates the positive impact of integrating ADIOS2, a next-generation parallel I/O framework, as a new I/O backend option in WRF. It goes into detail about the challenges encountered during the integration process and how they were addressed. The resulting I/O times show an over tenfold improvement when using ADIOS2 compared to traditional MPI-I/O based solutions. Furthermore, the study highlights the new features available to WRF users worldwide, such as the Sustainable Staging Transport (SST) enabling Unified Communication X (UCX) DataTransport, the node-local burst buffer write capabilities and in-line lossless compression capabilities of ADIOS2. Additionally, the research shows how ADIOS2's in-situ analysis capabilities can be smoothly integrated with a simple WRF forecasting pipeline, resulting in a significant improvement in overall time to solution. This study serves as a reminder to legacy HPC applications that incorporating modern libraries and tools can lead to considerable performance enhancements with minimal changes to the core application.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2201.0822

Symptomatic spinal cord malperfusion after stent-graft coverage of the entire descending aorta

Objective: The study aims to identify risk constellations for symptomatic spinal cord malperfusion in patients undergoing extensive stent-graft coverage of the thoracic aorta. Methods: From 1997 through 2009, 26 patients (mean age 70 years) underwent extensive stent-graft coverage of the thoracic aorta. Indications for stent-graft placement were atherosclerotic aneurysms (n=18) and penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers (PAUs) (n=8). In 16 patients, a re-routing procedure was required to gain sufficient proximal landing zone length. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage was not routinely applied owing to the necessity of maintaining continuing anti-platelet therapy due to severe cardiovascular co-morbidities. Results: Technical success was 100%. Five patients developed symptomatic spinal cord malperfusion. All symptomatic patients had impaired spinal cord blood supply by acute or chronic occlusion of at least two major blood-supplying vascular territories of the spinal cord. Secondary CSF drainage improved neurologic symptoms in all patients without causing any anti-platelet therapy-related collateral injury. Conclusions: Extensive stent-graft coverage of the entire thoracic aorta can be performed with a high rate of success. If collateral blood supply to the spinal cord is maintained, occlusion of the intercostal arteries does not cause symptomatic malperfusion. However, if acute or chronic occlusion of the subclavian, lumbar or hypogastric arteries is present, likelihood of symptomatic malperfusion dramatically increase

The investigation of lipoxygenases as therapeutic targets in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has an extremely poor prognosis with limited chemotherapy options, therefore the identification of new therapeutic targets would aid in disease management. Arachidonic acid is metabolised by cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes. The lipoxygenase isoenzymes 5-LOX and 12-LOX have been implicated in carcinogenesis. We aimed to examine 5-LOX and 12-LOX protein expression in a large retrospective series of mesothelioma samples. Further to this, the in vitro cytotoxic effects of lipoxygenase pathway inhibitors were investigated in mesothelioma cells. Archival samples from 83 patients with MPM were examined by immunohistochemistry for expression of the 5-LOX and 12-LOX proteins. The MTS assay was used to assess cell viability following 72h treatment with the lipoxygenase pathway inhibitors baicalein, licofelone, MK-886 and zileuton in the MPM cell lines NCI-H2052, NCI-H2452 and MSTO-211H. Positive 12-LOX protein expression was recorded in 69/83 (83%) and positive 5-LOX expression was observed in 56/77 (73%) of MPM tissue samples. Co-expression of 5-LOX with 12-LOX was seen in 46/78 (58%) of MPM samples. Positive expression of 5-LOX, 12-LOX and COX-2 proteins was identified in the NCI-H2052, NCI-H2452 and MSTO-211H MPM cell lines. Baicalein (12-LOX and 15-LOX inhibitor) was effective in 3/3 MPM cell lines at low concentrations with an IC50 range of 9.6μM to 20.7μM. We have demonstrated that the 5-LOX and 12-LOX proteins are expressed in a significant proportion of MPM samples (73% and 83% respectively) and may represent novel therapeutic targets in this disease. We have demonstrated that the inhibition of the LOX pathway using baicalein may be effective as a novel treatment for MPM, however further human pharmacokinetic studies are required in order to establish whether the concentration used in vitro is clinically achievable

Influence of flowability and MAH-content of maleated polyolefines on rheological and mechanical interaction effects of wood fillers in polyolefines

Wood plastic composite (WPC) is an important representative of the group of natural fibre reinforced plastics. In order to bond the polar wood fibres chemically to the nonpolar polymer matrix, coupling agents are used. The most important group of coupling agents for WPC are maleated polyolefins in which the backbone polymer as well as the maleic anhydride content (MAH-content) can be varied. In this study, the influence of the flowability and the MAH-content of coupling agents on rheological and mechanical interaction effects of wood fillers in different WPC formulations have been investigated. It has been shown that the MAH-content as well as the flowability of coupling agents is in terms of rheological interaction effects of negligible influence. Furthermore, it was found that mechanical interactions are significantly influenced by coupling agents. In this context, the flowability of the coupling agent is of greater importance than the MAH-content

Fertility Preservation in Girls

Children that undergo treatment for cancer are at risk of suffering from subfertility or hormonal dysfunction due to the detrimental effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic agents on the gonads. Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue prior to treatment offers the possibility of restoring gonadal function after resumption of therapy. Effective counseling and management of pediatric patients is crucial for preserving their future reproductive potential. The purpose of this article is to review recent literature and to revise recommendations we made in a 2007 article. Pediatric hemato-oncology, reproductive endocrinology, surgery, anesthesia and bioethics perspectives are discussed and integrated to propose guidelines for offering ovarian cryopreservation to premenarcheal girls with cancer

Pulsed electromagnetic energy treatment offers no clinical benefit in reducing the pain of knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review

Background The rehabilitation of knee osteoarthritis often includes electrotherapeutic modalities as well as advice and exercise. One commonly used modality is pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF). PEMF uses electro magnetically generated fields to promote tissue repair and healing rates. Its equivocal benefit over placebo treatment has been previously suggested however recently a number of randomised controlled trials have been published that have allowed a systematic review to be conducted. Methods A systematic review of the literature from 1966 to 2005 was undertaken. Relevant computerised bibliographic databases were searched and papers reviewed independently by two reviewers for quality using validated criteria for assessment. The key outcomes of pain and functional disability were analysed with weighted and standardised mean differences being calculated. Results Five randomised controlled trials comparing PEMF with placebo were identified. The weighted mean differences of the five papers for improvement in pain and function, were small and their 95% confidence intervals included the null. Conclusion This systematic review provides further evidence that PEMF has little value in the management of knee osteoarthritis. There appears to be clear evidence for the recommendation that PEMF does not significantly reduce the pain of knee osteoarthritis