Computer simulation of the heavy-duty turbo-compounded diesel cycle for studies of engine efficiency and performance

Reductions in heat loss at appropriate points in the diesel engine which result in substantially increased exhaust enthalpy were shown. The concepts for this increased enthalpy are the turbocharged, turbocompounded diesel engine cycle. A computer simulation of the heavy duty turbocharged turbo-compounded diesel engine system was undertaken. This allows the definition of the tradeoffs which are associated with the introduction of ceramic materials in various parts of the total engine system, and the study of system optimization. The basic assumptions and the mathematical relationships used in the simulation of the model engine are described

Flumes and weirs

Presented at the 2002 USCID/EWRI conference, Energy, climate, environment and water - issues and opportunities for irrigation and drainage on July 9-12 in San Luis Obispo, California.Includes bibliographical references.Long-throated flumes and broad-crested weirs provide a practical, low-cost, flexible means of measuring open-channel flows in new and existing irrigation systems and have distinct advantages over other flume and weir devices. Application of these flumes and weirs has been greatly facilitated by the 1999 release of the WinFlume software used to design and calibrate these structures, and the recent publication of Water Measurement with Flumes and Weirs, a text providing comprehensive information on design, calibration, construction, and operation issues. The primary advantages of these flumes and weirs are that they can be custom-designed to satisfy unique operational and site requirements, and they can be computer calibrated without the need for laboratory testing. In addition, these devices are easily and economically constructed, and a number of commercially built, pre-calibrated devices are available. This paper and accompanying poster describe the use of the WinFlume software and present examples to illustrate application to a range of situations, including various flow rates, channel types, and construction techniques

Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Internet search patterns have emerged as a novel data source for monitoring infectious disease trends. We propose that these data can also be used more broadly to study the impact of health policies across different regions in a more efficient and timely manner.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>As a test use case, we studied the relationships between abortion-related search volume, local abortion rates, and local abortion policies available for study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our initial integrative analysis found that, both in the US and internationally, the volume of Internet searches for abortion is inversely proportional to local abortion rates and directly proportional to local restrictions on abortion.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings are consistent with published evidence that local restrictions on abortion lead individuals to seek abortion services outside of their area. Further validation of these methods has the potential to produce a timely, complementary data source for studying the effects of health policies.</p

Seasonal changes in patterns of gene expression in avian song control brain regions.

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.Photoperiod and hormonal cues drive dramatic seasonal changes in structure and function of the avian song control system. Little is known, however, about the patterns of gene expression associated with seasonal changes. Here we address this issue by altering the hormonal and photoperiodic conditions in seasonally-breeding Gambel's white-crowned sparrows and extracting RNA from the telencephalic song control nuclei HVC and RA across multiple time points that capture different stages of growth and regression. We chose HVC and RA because while both nuclei change in volume across seasons, the cellular mechanisms underlying these changes differ. We thus hypothesized that different genes would be expressed between HVC and RA. We tested this by using the extracted RNA to perform a cDNA microarray hybridization developed by the SoNG initiative. We then validated these results using qRT-PCR. We found that 363 genes varied by more than 1.5 fold (>log(2) 0.585) in expression in HVC and/or RA. Supporting our hypothesis, only 59 of these 363 genes were found to vary in both nuclei, while 132 gene expression changes were HVC specific and 172 were RA specific. We then assigned many of these genes to functional categories relevant to the different mechanisms underlying seasonal change in HVC and RA, including neurogenesis, apoptosis, cell growth, dendrite arborization and axonal growth, angiogenesis, endocrinology, growth factors, and electrophysiology. This revealed categorical differences in the kinds of genes regulated in HVC and RA. These results show that different molecular programs underlie seasonal changes in HVC and RA, and that gene expression is time specific across different reproductive conditions. Our results provide insights into the complex molecular pathways that underlie adult neural plasticity

A new marker based on the avian spindlin gene that is able to sex most birds, including species problematic to sex with CHD markers

We have developed a new marker (Z43B) that can be successfully used to identify the sex of most birds (69%), including species difficult or impossible to sex with other markers. We utilized the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata EST microsatellite sequence (CK309496) which displays sequence homology to the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the avian spindlin gene. This gene is known to be present on the Z and W chromosomes. To maximize cross-species utility, the primer set was designed from a consensus sequence created from homologs of CK309496 that were isolated from multiple distantly related species. Both the forward and reverse primer sequences were 100% identical to 14 avian species, including the Z chromosome of eight species and the chicken Gallus gallus W chromosome, as well as the saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus. The Z43B primer set was assessed by genotyping individuals of known sex belonging to 61 non-ratite species and a single ratite. The Z and W amplicons differed in size making it possible to distinguish between males (ZZ) and females (ZW) for the majority (69%) of non-ratite species tested, comprising 10 orders of birds. We predict that this marker will be useful for obtaining sex-typing data for ca 6,869 species of birds (69% of non-ratites but not galliforms). A wide range of species could be sex-typed including passerines, shorebirds, eagles, falcons, bee-eaters, cranes, shags, parrots, penguins, ducks, and a ratite species, the brown kiwi, Apteryx australis. Those species sexed include species impossible or problematic to sex-type with other markers (magpie, albatross, petrel, eagle, falcon, crane, and penguin species)

Multistate Shigellosis Outbreak and Commercially Prepared Food, United States

In 2000, shigellosis traced to a commercially prepared dip developed in 406 persons nationwide. An ill employee may have inadvertently contaminated processing equipment. This outbreak demonstrates the vulnerability of the food supply and how infectious organisms can rapidly disseminate through point-source contamination of a widely distributed food item

Polarization of the Effects of Autoimmune and Neurodegenerative Risk Alleles in Leukocytes

To extend our understanding of the genetic basis of human immune function and dysfunction, we performed an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) study of purified CD4[superscript +] T cells and monocytes, representing adaptive and innate immunity, in a multi-ethnic cohort of 461 healthy individuals. Context-specific cis- and trans-eQTLs were identified, and cross-population mapping allowed, in some cases, putative functional assignment of candidate causal regulatory variants for disease-associated loci. We note an over-representation of T cell–specific eQTLs among susceptibility alleles for autoimmune diseases and of monocyte-specific eQTLs among Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease variants. This polarization implicates specific immune cell types in these diseases and points to the need to identify the cell-autonomous effects of disease susceptibility variants

Autosomal and Z-linked microsatellite markers enhanced for cross-species utility and assessed in a range of birds, including species of conservation concern

Microsatellite markers were designed to be of utility for genotyping multiple species of birds, including those of conservation concern, hence saving resources and enabling species/genome comparisons. We used the proven approach of Dawson et al. (Mol Ecol Resour 10:475–494, 2010) and assessed markers in multiple species, including nine species of conservation interest. We ensured both primer sequences matched multiple species (13 loci) or designed primer sets from expressed sequence tags (2 loci). Eleven primer sets were 100 % identical to the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) and a second passerine species and/or the chicken (Gallus gallus). All 15 loci were polymorphic when assessed in a non-source species (Gouldian finch, Erythrura gouldiae) suggesting utility in multiple species. Four of the five Z-linked loci were assessed in at least nine additional species each (including ratites). All were variable in multiple species, demonstrating cross-species utility and potential for identifying Z chromosome rearrangements

Trans-pQTL study identifies immune crosstalk between Parkinson and Alzheimer loci

Objective: Given evidence from genetic studies, we hypothesized that there may be a shared component to the role of myeloid function in Parkinson and Alzheimer disease (PD and AD) and assessed whether PD susceptibility variants influenced protein expression of well-established AD-associated myeloid genes in human monocytes. Methods: We repurposed data in which AD-related myeloid proteins CD33, TREM1, TREM2, TREML2, TYROBP, and PTK2B were measured by flow cytometry in monocytes from 176 participants of the PhenoGenetic Project (PGP) and Harvard Aging Brain Study. Linear regression was used to identify associations between 24 PD risk variants and protein expression. The 2 cohorts were meta-analyzed in a discovery analysis, and the 4 most strongly suggestive results were validated in an independent cohort of 50 PGP participants. Results: We discovered and validated an association between the PD risk allele rs12456492G in the RIT2 locus and increased CD33 expression (pjoint = 3.50 × 10−5) and found strongly suggestive evidence that rs11060180A in the CCDC62/HIP1R locus decreased PTK2B expression (pjoint = 1.12 × 10−4). Furthermore, in older individuals, increased CD33 expression on peripheral monocytes was associated with a greater burden of parkinsonism (p = 0.047), particularly bradykinesia (p = 6.64 × 10−3). Conclusions: We find that the rs12456492 PD risk variant affects expression of AD-associated protein CD33 in peripheral monocytes, which suggests that genetic factors for these 2 diseases may converge to influence overlapping innate immune-mediated mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration. Furthermore, the effect of the rs12456492G PD risk allele on increased CD33 suggests that the inhibition of certain myeloid functions may contribute to PD susceptibility, as is the case for AD