AN ECONOMIC MODEL FOR IRRIGATION WELL MANAGEMENT IN A DECLINING AQUIFER

A computerized model is developed that uses the aquifer characteristics and irrigation requirements to estimate hydraulic properties of a well pumping from an unconfined aquifer with a steadily declining water table. The model simulates electrically-powered well operation under the most economical conditions. High versatility of model inputs allows examination of many facets of well management. One example is the effect of electricity price on the ratio of energy cost of total cost of supplying water at different average total heads. At current electricity prices, energy accounted for 65 to 70 percent of total water costs. In a second example, as average annual efficiency decreased, average annual cost per acre-foot increased and average annual pumping volume decreased, leaving average annual total energy costs almost constant.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Pyrolytic graphite gauge for measuring heat flux

A gauge for measuring heat flux, especially heat flux encountered in a high temperature environment, is provided. The gauge includes at least one thermocouple and an anisotropic pyrolytic graphite body that covers at least part of, and optionally encases the thermocouple. Heat flux is incident on the anisotropic pyrolytic graphite body by arranging the gauge so that the gauge surface on which convective and radiative fluxes are incident is perpendicular to the basal planes of the pyrolytic graphite. The conductivity of the pyrolytic graphite permits energy, transferred into the pyrolytic graphite body in the form of heat flux on the incident (or facing) surface, to be quickly distributed through the entire pyrolytic graphite body, resulting in small substantially instantaneous temperature gradients. Temperature changes to the body can thereby be measured by the thermocouple, and reduced to quantify the heat flux incident to the body

Eroding Potentiometers

Eroding potentiometers have been devised for measuring the time-dependent positions of char fronts advancing through layers of insulating material subject to intense heating from one side. In the original application, the material layers of interest are thermal insulators in rocket motors and the heat comes from firing of the motors, but the principle of operation is equally applicable to other insulating materials subject to intense heating (e.g., ablative fire-retardant materials). Measuring the thickness decrement of propellant (in hybrid motors in particular) is another possible application of this transducer. Telemetry informs mission control of the propellant left after each burn. An eroding potentiometer could be characterized, more precisely, as an eroding two-wire resistor. It includes a twisted pair of thin, insulated wires oriented along the thickness of, and embedded in, the layer of thermal-insulation material to be tested (see figure). The electrical insulation material on the wires should be one for which the charring temperature is about the same as (or perhaps slightly less than) that of the thermal- insulation material to be tested. In the original rocket-motor application, the wires have a diameter of 0.003 in. (.0.08 mm), are made of manganin, and are coated with polyimide for electrical insulation. Outside the thermal insulation on the cold side, the wire leads are connected to a Wheatstone bridge circuit for measurement of electrical resistance change

Validation of a portable, waterproof blood pH analyser for elasmobranchs

Quantifying changes in blood chemistry in elasmobranchs can provide insights into the physiological insults caused by anthropogenic stress, and can ultimately inform conservation and management strategies. Current methods for analysing elasmobranch blood chemistry in the field are often costly and logistically challenging. We compared blood pH values measured using a portable, waterproof pH meter (Hanna Instruments HI 99161) with blood pH values measured by an i- STAT system (CG4+ cartridges), which was previously validated for teleost and elasmobranch fishes, to gauge the accuracy of the pH meter in determining whole blood pH for the Cuban dogfish (Squalus cubensis) and lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris). There was a significant linear relationship between values derived via the pH meter and the i- STAT for both species across a wide range of pH values and temperatures (Cuban dogfish: 6.8-7.1 pH 24-30 degrees C; lemon sharks: 7.0-7.45 pH 25-31 degrees C). The relative error in the pH meter's measurements was similar to +/- 2.7%. Using this device with appropriate correction factors and consideration of calibration temperatures can result in both a rapid and accurate assessment of whole blood pH, at least for the two elasmobranch species examined here. Additional species should be examined in the future across a wide range of temperatures to determine whether correction factors are universal

High frequency ultrasound assessment of systemic sclerosis skin involvement:intra-observer repeatability and relationship with clinician assessment and dermal collagen content

OBJECTIVE: The modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) remains the preferred method for skin assessment in systemic sclerosis (SSc). There are concerns regarding high inter-observer variability of mRSS and negative clinical trials utilising mRSS as the primary endpoint. High frequency ultrasound (HFUS) allows objective assessment of cutaneous fibrosis in SSc. We investigated the relationship between HFUS with both mRSS and dermal collagen.METHODS: Skin thickness (ST), echogenicity and novel Shear wave elastography (SWE) were assessed in 53 SSc patients and 15 healthy controls (HC) at the finger, hand, forearm and abdomen. The relationship between HFUS parameters with mRSS (n=53) and dermal collagen (10 SSc patients and 10 HC) was investigated. Intra-observer repeatability of HFUS was calculated using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs).RESULTS: HFUS assessment of ST (hand/forearm) and SWE (finger/hand) correlated with local mRSS at some sites. Subclinical abnormalities in ST, echogenicity and SWE were present in clinically uninvolved SSc skin. Additionally, changes in echogenicity and SWE were sometimes apparent despite objectively normal ST on HFUS. ST, SWE and local mRSS correlated strongly with collagen quantification (rho 0.697, 0.709, 0.649 respectively). Intra-observer repeatability was high for all HFUS parameters (ICCs for ST 0.946-0.978, echogenicity 0.648- 0.865 and SWE 0.953-0.973).CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrates excellent reproducibility and reassuring convergent validity with dermal collagen content. Detection of subclinical abnormalities is an additional benefit of HFUS. The observed correlations with collagen quantification support further investigation of HFUS as an alternative to mRSS in clinical trial settings.</p

Trans-Activation of PPARa and induction of PPARa target genes by perfluorooctane-based chemicals

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are liganddependent transcription factors that activate target genes involved in lipid metabolism, energy homeostasis, and cell differentiation in response to diverse compounds, including environmental chemicals. The liver-expressed receptor PPARa mediates peroxisome proliferative responses associated with rodent hepatocarcinogenesis. Previous studies have established that certain perfluorooctanesulfonamide-based chemicals (PFOSAs) alter lipid metabolism, are hepatic peroxisome proliferators, and induce hepatocellular adenoma formation in rodents, suggesting that they activate PPARa. The present study investigates this question and characterizes the activation of mouse and human PPARa by PFOSAs. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), an end-stage metabolite common to several PFOSAs, was found to activate both mouse and human PPARa in a COS-1 cell-based luciferase reporter trans-activation assay. Halfmaximal activation (EC 50 ) occurred at 13-15 mM PFOS, with no significant difference in the responsiveness of mouse and human PPARa. Mouse and human PPARa were activated by perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA) over a similar concentration range; however, cellular toxicity precluded an accurate determination of EC 50 values. Studies of 2-N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol were less informative due to its insolubility. These findings were verified in an FAO rat hepatoma cell line that stably expresses PPARa, where the endogenous PPARa target genes peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme and peroxisomal 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase were activated up to $10-20-fold by PFOS and FOSA. The interactions of PPARa with PFOS and FOSA, and the potential of these chemicals for activation of unique sets of downstream target genes, may help explain the diverse biological effects exhibited by PFOSAs and may aid in the evaluation of human and environmental risks associated with exposure to this important class of fluorochemicals

Patient‐reported outcomes after 3‐dimensional conformal, intensity‐modulated, or proton beam radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested differing toxicity patterns for patients with prostate cancer who receive treatment with 3‐dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), or proton beam therapy (PBT). METHODS: The authors reviewed patient‐reported outcomes data collected prospectively using validated instruments that assessed bowel and urinary quality of life (QOL) for patients with localized prostate cancer who received 3DCRT (n = 123), IMRT (n = 153) or PBT (n = 95). Clinically meaningful differences in mean QOL scores were defined as those exceeding half the standard deviation of the baseline mean value. Changes from baseline were compared within groups at the first post‐treatment follow‐up (2‐3 months from the start of treatment) and at 12 months and 24 months. RESULTS: At the first post‐treatment follow‐up, patients who received 3DCRT and IMRT, but not those who received PBT, reported a clinically meaningful decrement in bowel QOL. At 12 months and 24 months, all 3 cohorts reported clinically meaningful decrements in bowel QOL. Patients who received IMRT reported clinically meaningful decrements in the domains of urinary irritation/obstruction and incontinence at the first post‐treatment follow‐up. At 12 months, patients who received PBT, but not those who received IMRT or 3DCRT, reported a clinically meaningful decrement in the urinary irritation/obstruction domain. At 24 months, none of the 3 cohorts reported clinically meaningful changes in urinary QOL. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received 3DCRT, IMRT, or PBT reported distinct patterns of treatment‐related QOL. Although the timing of toxicity varied between the cohorts, patients reported similar modest QOL decrements in the bowel domain and minimal QOL decrements in the urinary domains at 24 months. Prospective randomized trials are needed to further examine these differences. Cancer 2013. © 2013 American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer patients who receive 3‐dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity‐modulated radiotherapy, or proton beam therapy report distinct patterns of treatment‐related quality of life. Although the timing of toxicity varies between cohorts, patients report similar modest quality‐of‐life decrements in the bowel domain and minimal QOL decrements in the urinary domains at 24 months.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97476/1/27956_ftp.pd

Efficient Visual Search from Synchronized Auditory Signals Requires Transient Audiovisual Events

BACKGROUND: A prevailing view is that audiovisual integration requires temporally coincident signals. However, a recent study failed to find any evidence for audiovisual integration in visual search even when using synchronized audiovisual events. An important question is what information is critical to observe audiovisual integration. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we demonstrate that temporal coincidence (i.e., synchrony) of auditory and visual components can trigger audiovisual interaction in cluttered displays and consequently produce very fast and efficient target identification. In visual search experiments, subjects found a modulating visual target vastly more efficiently when it was paired with a synchronous auditory signal. By manipulating the kind of temporal modulation (sine wave vs. square wave vs. difference wave; harmonic sine-wave synthesis; gradient of onset/offset ramps) we show that abrupt visual events are required for this search efficiency to occur, and that sinusoidal audiovisual modulations do not support efficient search. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Thus, audiovisual temporal alignment will only lead to benefits in visual search if the changes in the component signals are both synchronized and transient. We propose that transient signals are necessary in synchrony-driven binding to avoid spurious interactions with unrelated signals when these occur close together in time

A Multicenter Study of the Validity and Reliability of Responses to Hand Cold Challenge as Measured by Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging and Thermography:outcome measures for systemic sclerosis-related Raynaud's phenomenon

Objective: Reliable and objective outcome measures to facilitate clinical trials of novel treatments for systemic sclerosis (SSc)–related Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) are badly needed. Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) and thermography are noninvasive measures of perfusion that have shown excellent potential. This multicenter study was undertaken to determine the reliability and validity of a hand cold challenge protocol using LSCI, standard thermography, and low‐cost cell phone/mobile phone thermography (henceforth referred to as mobile thermography) in patients with SSc‐related RP. Methods: Patients with RP secondary to SSc were recruited from 6 UK tertiary care centers. The patients underwent cold challenge on 2 consecutive days. Changes in cutaneous blood flow/skin temperature at each visit were imaged simultaneously using LSCI, standard thermography, and mobile thermography. Measurements included area under the curve (AUC) for reperfusion/rewarming and maximum blood flow rate/skin temperature after rewarming (MAX). Test–retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Estimated latent correlations (estimated from multilevel models, taking values between −1 and 1; denoted as rho values) were used to assess the convergent validity of LSCI and thermography. Results: In total, 159 patients (77% with limited cutaneous SSc) were recruited (84% female, median age 63.3 years). LSCI and standard thermography both had substantial reliability, with ICCs for the reperfusion/rewarming AUC of 0.67 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.54, 0.76) and 0.68 (95% CI 0.58, 0.80), respectively, and ICCs for the MAX of 0.64 (95% CI 0.52, 0.75) and 0.72 (95% CI 0.64, 0.81), respectively. Very high latent correlations were present for the AUCs of LSCI and thermography (ρ = 0.94; 95% CI 0.87, 1.00) and for the AUCs of standard and mobile thermography (ρ = 0.98; 95% CI 0.94, 1.00). Conclusion: This is the first multicenter study to examine the reliability and validity of cold challenge using LSCI and thermography in patients with SSc‐related RP. LSCI and thermography both demonstrated good potential as outcome measures. LSCI, standard thermography, and mobile thermography had very high convergent validity

Multiple-input multiple-output causal strategies for gene selection

Traditional strategies for selecting variables in high dimensional classification problems aim to find sets of maximally relevant variables able to explain the target variations. If these techniques may be effective in generalization accuracy they often do not reveal direct causes. The latter is essentially related to the fact that high correlation (or relevance) does not imply causation. In this study, we show how to efficiently incorporate causal information into gene selection by moving from a single-input single-output to a multiple-input multiple-output setting.Journal ArticleResearch Support, N.I.H. ExtramuralResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe