Exact solution of new integrable nineteen-vertex models and quantum spin-1 chains

New exactly solvable nineteen vertex models and related quantum spin-1 chains are solved. Partition functions, excitation energies, correlation lengths, and critical exponents are calculated. It is argued that one of the non-critical Hamiltonians is a realization of an integrable Haldane system. The finite-size spectra of the critical Hamiltonians deviate in their structure from standard predictions by conformal invariance.Comment: 16 pages, to appear in Z. Phys. B, preprint Cologne-94-474

Passive Aeroelastic Tailored Wing Modal Test Using the Fixed Base Correction Method

In modal testing and finite element model correlation, analysts desire modal results using free-free or rigid boundary conditions to ease comparisons of test versus analytical data. It is often expensive both in cost and schedule to build and test with boundary conditions that replicate the free-free or rigid boundaries. Static test fixtures for load testing are often large, heavy, and unyielding, but do not provide adequate boundaries for modal tests because they are dynamically too flexible and often contain natural frequencies within the frequency range of interest of the test article. Dynamic coupling between the test article and test fixture complicates the model updating process because significant effort is required to model the test fixture and boundary conditions in addition to the test article. If there were a way to correct the modal results for fixture coupling, then setups used for other structural testing could be adequate for modal testing. In the case described in this paper, a partial static loads testing setup was used, which allowed significant schedule and cost savings by eliminating a unique setup for a modal test. A fixed base correction technique was investigated during modal testing of a flexible wing cantilevered from part of a static test fixture. The technique was successfully used to measure the wing modes de-coupled from the dynamically active test fixture. The technique is promising for future aircraft applications, but more research is needed

Bacteriologic and clinical efficacy of ofloxacin 0.3% versus ciprofloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solutions in the treatment of patients with culture-positive bacterial keratitis.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy and safety of ofloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solution with ciprofloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solution in patients with culture-positive bacterial keratitis. METHODS: Patients with a microbiologic diagnosis of bacterial keratitis were included in this double-masked, parallel-group study and were randomized to treatment with either ofloxacin 0.3% or ciprofloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solution. One drop of the study medication was instilled during the daytime according to the following schedule: every half-hour on study day 1, every hour on days 2 through 4, and every 2 hours on days 5 through 21. Healing, the primary outcome measure, was defined as complete reepithelialization, accompanied by nonprogression of stromal infiltrate for 2 days. Secondary outcome measures included signs and symptoms of infection. Patients were monitored throughout the study period for any adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 217 patients completed the study: 112 were treated with ofloxacin and 105 were treated with ciprofloxacin. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most commonly encountered pathogen in all patients. Complete corneal reepithelialization occurred in 85% of those treated with ofloxacin and in 77% of those treated with ciprofloxacin (p = 0.32). The average time to corneal ulcer healing was 13.7 days in those treated with ofloxacin and 14.4 days in those treated with ciprofloxacin. Both treatments were well tolerated with no patient discontinuing the study because of side effects. CONCLUSION: Ofloxacin 0.3% and ciprofloxacin 0.3% ophthalmic solutions are effective and safe in the treatment of patients with culture-positive bacterial keratitis

Intranasal sodium citrate solution improves olfaction in post-viral hyposmia

Background: Calcium plays an integral role in olfactory signal transduction, including feedback inhibition. Sodium citrate acts as a calcium sequestrant and when applied intranasally, reduces free calcium available for feedback inhibition, which should theoretically improve olfaction. We aimed to investigate the utility of intranasal sodium citrate in improving the olfactory function of hyposmic patients, by performing this prospective placebo controlled, single-blinded trial. Methodology: Monorhinal olfactory testing for odour identification and threshold was performed in hyposmic patients using “Sniffin’ Sticks”, before and after treatment. Treatment consisted of sodium citrate solution application to the olfactory cleft. Sodium chloride solution was applied to the contralateral olfactory cleft, which therefore acted as placebo control. Patients were blinded to the side of sodium citrate application, and side of treatment was randomized between patients. Results: 57 patients participated in the trial, aged 22-79. Causes of hyposmia included: post-viral (7); posttraumatic (10); sinonasal (30) and idiopathic (10). Compared with placebo, there was significant improvement in the identification scores of participants with post-viral hyposmia, following sodium citrate treatment. No significant change in olfactory function occurred for either identification or threshold in any other aetiological subgroup. Conclusions: Intranasal sodium citrate may be of benefit to patients with post-viral hyposmia

Responses in bacterial community structure to waste nutrients from aquaculture: an in situ microcosm experiment in a Chilean fjord

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus.Chilean salmon farms release inorganic nutrients excreted by the fish into the surrounding water in Patagonian fjords. The objective of this experiment from the Comau Fjord (42.2 degrees S) in southern Chile was to study how increased input of ammonium (NH4) and phosphate (PO4) from salmon farms might affect the community structure of bacteria in surface waters where fish farms are located. We used microcosms (35 l) with NH4-N and PO4-P added to the natural seawater in a gradient of nutrient-loading rates, with the same N: P ratio as in salmon aquaculture effluents. Additionally, we measured bacterial community structure at different depths in the Comau Fjord to assess the natural variation to compare with our experiment. We used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to create 16S rDNA fingerprints of the bacterial communities and monitored biological and environmental variables (chlorophyll a, inorganic nutrients, pH, microbial abundance). The nutrient- loading rate had a significant impact on the bacterial community structure, and the community dissimilarity between low and high nutrient additions was up to 78%. Of the measured environmental variables, phytoplankton abundance and increased pH from photosynthesis had a significant effect. We observed no significant changes in bacterial diversity, which remained at the same level as in the unmanipulated community. Thus, the bacterial community of the fjord was not resistant, but resilient within the time frame and nutrient gradient of our experiment.http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/aei/v9/p21-32

Shuffled Complex-Self Adaptive Hybrid EvoLution (SC-SAHEL) optimization framework

Simplicity and flexibility of meta-heuristic optimization algorithms have attracted lots of attention in the field of optimization. Different optimization methods, however, hold algorithm-specific strengths and limitations, and selecting the best-performing algorithm for a specific problem is a tedious task. We introduce a new hybrid optimization framework, entitled Shuffled Complex-Self Adaptive Hybrid EvoLution (SC-SAHEL), which combines the strengths of different evolutionary algorithms (EAs) in a parallel computing scheme. SC-SAHEL explores performance of different EAs, such as the capability to escape local attractions, speed, convergence, etc., during population evolution as each individual EA suits differently to various response surfaces. The SC-SAHEL algorithm is benchmarked over 29 conceptual test functions, and a real-world hydropower reservoir model case study. Results show that the hybrid SC-SAHEL algorithm is rigorous and effective in finding global optimum for a majority of test cases, and that it is computationally efficient in comparison to algorithms with individual EA

Super monitor design for fast link failure localization in all-optical networks

Monitoring cycle (m-cycle) based design is cost efficient for fast link failure detection and localization in all-optical networks. An m-cycle is an optical loop-back pre-cross-connection of a supervisory wavelength with a dedicated monitor. Generally, a simple monitor is placed at an arbitrary node of an m-cycle for supervision. In this paper, we propose a novel monitor structure, called super monitor. A super monitor is used to supervise multiple intersecting cycles and placed at the intersection node. For a given set of m-cycles, we use super monitors to replace some (or all) simple monitors that originally locate in the set. Two major advantages of the super monitor are: 1) it has lower hardware cost; 2) the collocation of monitoring devices reduces the management cost simultaneously. Besides, the super monitor does not incur additional bandwidth cost. We formulate an integer linear program (ILP) to solve the problem of monitor placement. Numerical results show that our ILP can efficiently place the monitors with a significantly minimized monitoring cost. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2011 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2011), Kyoto, Japan, 5-9 June 2011. In Proceedings of the IEEE ICC, 2011, p. 1-

A nature-derived, flexible and three dimensional (3D) nano-composite for chronic wounds pH monitoring

Current technologies on conductive carbon aerogels are merely for application of super-capacitors, anodes of lithium ion batteries and electrocatalysts. To our best knowledge, carbon nanofibre (CNF) aerogels in biomedical application of chronic wound monitoring have not been reported yet. In this paper, we proposed a chronic wounds pH sensor, which is based on 3D free-standing conductive CNF aerogel derived from pyrolyzed bacterial cellulose (p-BC) as conducting substrate and it is incorporated with flexible and proton-selective PDMS/PANI composite. The resulted p-BC/PDMS/PANI nanocomposite is soft, flexible, and can exhibit near Nernst limit pH sensitivity (~−50.4 mV/pH) in pH buffer solution, and −29 mV/pH in in vitro simulated wound fluid. This renders its applications in flexible bio-sensors and smart wound dressings