A survey of electric and hybrid vehicle simulation programs, volume 1

Development and capabilities of automotive performance simulation programs suitable for electric and hybrid vehicle studies are considered

A survey of electric and hybrid vehicle simulation programs

Results of a survey conducted within the United States to determine the extent of development and capabilities of automotive performance simulation programs suitable for electric and hybrid vehicle studies are summarized. Altogether, 111 programs were identified as being in a usable state. The complexity of the existing programs spans a range from a page of simple desktop calculator instructions to 300,000 lines of a high-level programming language. The capability to simulate electric vehicles was most common, heat-engines second, and hybrid vehicles least common. Batch-operated programs are slightly more common than interactive ones, and one-third can be operated in either mode. The most commonly used language was FORTRAN, the language typically used by engineers. The higher-level simulation languages (e.g. SIMSCRIPT, GPSS, SIMULA) used by "model builders" were conspicuously lacking

Increased systemic inflammation is associated with cardiac and vascular dysfunction over the first 12 weeks of antiretroviral therapy among undernourished, HIV-infected adults in Southern Africa.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.INTRODUCTION: Persistent systemic inflammation is associated with mortality among undernourished, HIV-infected adults starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in sub-Saharan Africa, but the etiology of these deaths is not well understood. We hypothesized that greater systemic inflammation is accompanied by cardiovascular dysfunction over the first 12 weeks of ART. METHODS: In a prospective cohort of 33 undernourished (body mass index <18.5 kg/m2) Zambian adults starting ART, we measured C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α receptor 1 (TNF-α R1), and soluble CD163 and CD14 at baseline and 12 weeks. An EndoPAT device measured the reactive hyperemia index (LnRHI; a measure of endothelial responsiveness), peripheral augmentation index (AI; a measure of arterial stiffness), and heart rate variability (HRV; a general marker of autonomic tone and cardiovascular health) at the same time points. We assessed paired changes in inflammation and cardiovascular parameters, and relationships independent of time point (adjusted for age, sex, and CD4+ T-cell count) using linear mixed models. RESULTS: Serum CRP decreased (median change -3.5 mg/l, p=0.02), as did TNF-α R1 (-0.31 ng/ml, p<0.01), over the first 12 weeks of ART. A reduction in TNF-α R1 over 12 weeks was associated with an increase in LnRHI (p=0.03), and a similar inverse relationship was observed for CRP and LnRHI (p=0.07). AI increased in the cohort as a whole over 12 weeks, and a reduction in sCD163 was associated with a rise in the AI score (p=0.04). In the pooled analysis of baseline and 12 week data, high CRP was associated with lower HRV parameters (RMSSD, p=0.01; triangular index, p<0.01), and higher TNF- α R1 accompanied lower HRV (RMSSD, p=0.07; triangular index, p=0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Persistent inflammation was associated with impaired cardiovascular health over the first 12 weeks of HIV treatment among undernourished adults in Africa, suggesting cardiac events may contribute to high mortality in this population.This work was supported by the Vanderbilt Meharry Center for AIDS Research (NIH grant number P30 AI54999); the NIH Fogarty International Center, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, and National Institute of Mental Health, through the Vanderbilt-Emory-Cornell-Duke Consortium for Global Health Fellows (grant number R25 TW009337); the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (CTSA award number UL1TR000445) and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (grant IP.2009.33011.004)

Forgiveness and politics : Reading Matthew 18:21–35 with survivors of armed conflict in Colombia

This project was made possible through the support of a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF). The authors thank Fernando Abilio Mosquera-Brand, Milton Alfonso Acosta-Benítez, Francis Alexis Pineda, and Laura Cadavid-Valencia, who along with G.M.C. and R.W.H. carried out the fieldwork. The authors also thank those who commented on early versions of this article at presentations in Berlin, Oxford, Boston, Medellín, and Bogotá, especially David López-Amaya.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A survey of electric and hybrid vehicles simulation programs. Volume 2: Questionnaire responses

The data received in a survey conducted within the United States to determine the extent of development and capabilities of automotive performance simulation programs suitable for electric and hybrid vehicle studies are presented. The survey was conducted for the Department of Energy by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Volume 1 of this report summarizes and discusses the results contained in Volume 2

The Comportmental Learning Disabilities of Early Frontal Lobe Damage

Two adult patients are described who suffered bilateral prefrontal damage early in life and who subsequently came to psychiatric attention because of severely aberrant behaviour. A battery of developmental psychology paradigms (not previously used to assess neurologically impaired individuals) showed that social and moral development of these 2 patients was arrested at an immature stage. In comparison with other types of brain damage which disrupt cognitive development, frontal damage acquired early in life appears to provide the neurological substrate for a special type of learning disability in the realms of insight, foresight, social judgement, empathy, and complex reasoning

A novel suture method to place and adjust peripheral nerve catheters

We have developed a peripheral nerve catheter, attached to a needle, which works like an adjustable suture. We used in‐plane ultrasound guidance to place 45 catheters close to the femoral, saphenous, sciatic and distal tibial nerves in cadaver legs. We displaced catheters after their initial placement and then attempted to return them to their original positions. We used ultrasound to evaluate the initial and secondary catheter placements and the spread of injectate around the nerves. In 10 cases, we confirmed catheter position by magnetic resonance imaging. We judged 43/45 initial placements successful and 42/43 secondary placements successful by ultrasound, confirmed in 10/10 cases by magnetic resonance imaging

Therapeutic target-site variability in α1-antitrypsin characterized at high resolution

The intrinsic propensity of [alpha]1-antitrypsin to undergo conformational transitions from its metastable native state to hyperstable forms provides a motive force for its antiprotease function. However, aberrant conformational change can also occur via an intermolecular linkage that results in polymerization. This has both loss-of-function and gain-of-function effects that lead to deficiency of the protein in human circulation, emphysema and hepatic cirrhosis. One of the most promising therapeutic strategies being developed to treat this disease targets small molecules to an allosteric site in the [alpha]1-antitrypsin molecule. Partial filling of this site impedes polymerization without abolishing function. Drug development can be improved by optimizing data on the structure and dynamics of this site. A new 1.8 Å resolution structure of [alpha]1-antitrypsin demonstrates structural variability within this site, with associated fluctuations in its upper and lower entrance grooves and ligand-binding characteristics around the innermost stable enclosed hydrophobic recess. These data will allow a broader selection of chemotypes and derivatives to be tested in silico and in vitro when screening and developing compounds to modulate conformational change to block the pathological mechanism while preserving function

Prospectus, June 7, 1982

STUGO WELCOMES SUMMER STUDENTS; News Digest; Graduates, guests enjoy Graduation ceremonies; Board discusses possible funding; Parkland summer session begins today, Jume 7; New Prospectus staff beginning this summer; Improvements set for Champaign; Champaign may decide to consolidate precincts; College for Kids getting bigger and better; Nurse\u27s pinning ceremony held at Krannert Center; Sun may be too much of a good thing for some; C-U Happenings...: Student collection on display at gallery, EMTs offered credit for driver ed class, Parkland giving June Workshop on childcare; Theatre group tours with plays for children; Children\u27s games can keep you fit; Warmer weather forecast for May; Something new for your summer garden; Parkland grads take jobs, continue education...; Community Calendar; Recycling raises funds for athletes; Private eye role puts Martin back in public eye; Punk culture produces \u27Fear\u27; A comic book in 3D: \u27Conan the Barbarian\u27; Superjock or stay-at-home...miniature golf suits everyone to a tee: Different strokes for different folks; Cobras will competehttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1982/1017/thumbnail.jp