5,654 research outputs found
The StoreGate: a Data Model for the Atlas Software Architecture
The Atlas collaboration at CERN has adopted the Gaudi software architecture
which belongs to the blackboard family: data objects produced by knowledge
sources (e.g. reconstruction modules) are posted to a common in-memory data
base from where other modules can access them and produce new data objects. The
StoreGate has been designed, based on the Atlas requirements and the experience
of other HENP systems such as Babar, CDF, CLEO, D0 and LHCB, to identify in a
simple and efficient fashion (collections of) data objects based on their type
and/or the modules which posted them to the Transient Data Store (the
blackboard). The developer also has the freedom to use her preferred key class
to uniquely identify a data object according to any other criterion. Besides
this core functionality, the StoreGate provides the developers with a powerful
interface to handle in a coherent fashion persistable references, object
lifetimes, memory management and access control policy for the data objects in
the Store. It also provides a Handle/Proxy mechanism to define and hide the
cache fault mechanism: upon request, a missing Data Object can be transparently
created and added to the Transient Store presumably retrieving it from a
persistent data-base, or even reconstructing it on demand.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 4 pages, LaTeX, MOJT00
Dial variations in temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen from the neritic waters off Cochin during April (peak summer)
Dial variations of important hydrographic parameters were studied continuously
for 7 days at a 100 m depth station off Cochin. The frequency of observations varied
from 1-3 hourly intervals. In surface waters, the ranges in temperature, salinity and
dissolved oxygen values recorded during 10-17 April were 30.64°-32.36°C, 34.56-
34.68 X lO''' and 4.06-4.65 ml/1 respectively. Tlie STD profiles in the diurnal study
revealed clearly the premonsoon warming (30°-31°C) in the upper 0-30 m depth
zone. In the water column up to 50 m depth, mean salinity values ranged from 34.6
to 35 X 10 while dissolved oxygen values were above 4 mI/1. Time series observations
on the production and utilisation of dissolved oxygen revealed wide fluctuation
from hour to hour. Vertical gradients in the diurnal study indicated the existence of
thermocline around 60 m depth with sharp decline in temperature and dissolved
oxygen and increase in salinity below 60 m. The diurnal variation on the distribution
of temperature and dissolved oxygen exhibited significant rhythmic tidal impulse of a
semi-diurnal wave pattern which was more prominent in the bottom layer below 60 m
Abnormal phosphomonoester signals in 31P MR spectra from patients with hepatic lymphoma. A possible marker of liver infiltration and response to chemotherapy.
Hepatic infiltration by lymphoma can be difficult to detect by conventional methods. We have studied 22 patients in vivo 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the liver and compared the results with the clinical staging and assessment of liver involvement by computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US), and liver function tests (LFTs). We find that the phosphomonoester (PME) to ATP, and the PME to Pi ratios are the best indication of liver involvement as in all the patients with liver involvement apparent on CT or US, these ratios were elevated (greater than 2 s.d. above the control mean). Of the patients with deranged LFTs but normal CT or US, five out of nine showed increased PME/ATP and PME/Pi ratios, and in the patients with normal LFTs and normal CT or US, three out of eight patients had raised PME ratios. Extracts of lymphomatous lymph nodes contain high concentrations of phosphoethanolamine which suggests that this compound is responsible for the increase in the PME peak. Eleven patients were studied again after chemotherapy, and those with initially raised PME/ATP and PME/Pi ratios all showed a decrease in these ratios towards normal. The patients with initially normal ratios showed no changes
Effect of environmental fluctuations on coastal tuna fisheries
It is generally recognised that fluctuatiops in the environmental parameters in the seas have a significant influence on the life history, abundance and migratory habits of fishes. It is well known that along the south west coast of India seasonal ab~ndance and migration towards coastal area by pelagic species such as oil sardine and mackerel are governed by several meteorological and oceanographic parameters such as seawater temperature, salinity, pH, upwelling, nutrient concentration and plankton production which are in turn influenced by wind, rainfall and coastal current
Anomalous interactions in confined charge-stabilized colloid
Charge-stabilized colloidal spheres dispersed in weak 1:1 electrolytes are
supposed to repel each other. Consequently, experimental evidence for anomalous
long-ranged like-charged attractions induced by geometric confinement inspired
a burst of activity. This has largely subsided because of nagging doubts
regarding the experiments' reliability and interpretation. We describe a new
class of thermodynamically self-consistent colloidal interaction measurements
that confirm the appearance of pairwise attractions among colloidal spheres
confined by one or two bounding walls. In addition to supporting previous
claims for this as-yet unexplained effect, these measurements also cast new
light on its mechanism.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, RevTeX4. Conference proceedings for CODEF-04,
Colloidal Dispersions in External Fields, March 29 - April 1, 200
Interferon Gamma-Dependent Intestinal Pathology Contributes to the Lethality in Bacterial Superantigen-Induced Toxic Shock Syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) caused by the superantigen exotoxins of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes is characterized by robust T cell activation, profound elevation in systemic levels of multiple cytokines, including interferon-γ (IFN-γ), followed by multiple organ dysfunction and often death. As IFN-γ possesses pro- as well as anti-inflammatory properties, we delineated its role in the pathogenesis of TSS. Antibody-mediated in vivo neutralization of IFN-γ or targeted disruption of IFN-γ gene conferred significant protection from lethal TSS in HLA-DR3 transgenic mice. Following systemic high dose SEB challenge, whereas the HLA-DR3.IFN-γ+/+ mice became sick and succumbed to TSS, HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− mice appeared healthy and were significantly protected from SEB-induced lethality. SEB-induced systemic cytokine storm was significantly blunted in HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− transgenic mice. Serum concentrations of several cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-12p40 and IL-17) and chemokines (KC, rantes, eotaxin and MCP-1) were significantly lower in HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− transgenic mice. However, SEB-induced T cell expansion in the spleens was unaffected and expansion of SEB-reactive TCR Vβ8+ CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was even more pronounced in HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− transgenic mice when compared to HLA-DR3.IFN-γ+/+ mice. A systematic histopathological examination of several vital organs revealed that both HLA-DR3.IFN-γ+/+ and HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− transgenic mice displayed comparable severe inflammatory changes in lungs, and liver during TSS. Remarkably, whereas the small intestines from HLA-DR3.IFN-γ+/+ transgenic mice displayed significant pathological changes during TSS, the architecture of small intestines in HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− transgenic mice was preserved. In concordance with these histopathological changes, the gut permeability to macromolecules was dramatically increased in HLA-DR3.IFN-γ+/+ but not HLA-DR3.IFN-γ−/− mice during TSS. Overall, IFN-γ seemed to play a lethal role in the immunopathogenesis of TSS by inflicting fatal small bowel pathology. Our study thus identifies the important role for IFN-γ in TSS
On the nature of long-range contributions to pair interactions between charged colloids in two dimensions
We perform a detailed analysis of solutions of the inverse problem applied to
experimentally measured two-dimensional radial distribution functions for
highly charged latex dispersions. The experiments are carried out at high
colloidal densities and under low-salt conditions. At the highest studied
densities, the extracted effective pair potentials contain long-range
attractive part. At the same time, we find that for the best distribution
functions available the range of stability of the solutions is limited by the
nearest neighbour distance between the colloidal particles. Moreover, the
measured pair distribution functions can be explained by purely repulsive pair
potentials contained in the stable part of the solution.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Self-similar shear-thickening behavior in CTAB/NaSal surfactant solutions
The effect of salt concentration Cs on the critical shear rate required for
the onset of shear thickening and apparent relaxation time of the
shear-thickened phase, has been investigated systematically for dilute
CTAB/NaSal solutions. Experimental data suggest a self-similar behavior of the
critical shear rate and relaxation time as functions of Cs. Specifically, the
former ~ Cs^(-6) whereas the latter ~ Cs^(6) such that an effective Weissenberg
number for the onset of the shear thickened phase is only weakly dependent on
Cs. A procedure has been developed to collapse the apparent shear viscosity
versus shear rate data obtained for various values of Cs into a single master
curve. The effect of Cs on the elastic modulus and mesh size of the
shear-induced gel phase for different surfactant concentrations is discussed.
Experiments performed using different flow cells (Couette and cone-and-plate)
show that the critical shear rate, relaxation time and the maximum viscosity
attained are geometry-independent. The elastic modulus of the gel phase
inferred indirectly by employing simplified hydrodynamic instability analysis
of a sheared gel-fluid interface is in qualitative agreement with that
predicted for an entangled phase of living polymers. A qualitative mechanism
that combines the effect of Cs on average micelle length and Debye parameter
with shear-induced configurational changes of rod-like micelles is proposed to
rationalize the self-similarity of SIS formation.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figure
Environmental impact assessment in the shrimp farming areas of Nagapattinam Quaid-E-Milleth district, Tamil Nadu
To assess the effects of shrimp farming on
the environment and on the coastal population,
a study was undertaken by a team of scientific
and technical staff of CMFRl in Nagapattinam
Quaid-e-Milleth district, Tamil Nadu in September,
1995. Several small and large farms and
corporate farms in nine coastal places, where a number of farms are located were
covered in the study. With the help of the mobile
laboratory of the CMFR Institute, the team
collected and aneilysed soil, water and plankton
samples in the inlet and outlet of the farm areas,
shrimp ponds and from the wells of the nearby
villages. Estimations on hydrological parameters,
nutrients and total and differential
counts of bacteria in the water and soil samples
were made following standard procedures
Long-term safety and efficacy of intramuscular administration of Cl-1023 (AdGVVEGF121.10) in patients with intermittent claudication
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