34,688 research outputs found
Development and validation of the Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT).
Existing risk stratification tools have limitations and clinical experience suggests they are not used routinely. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a preoperative risk stratification tool to predict 30-day mortality after non-cardiac surgery in adults by analysis of data from the observational National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) Knowing the Risk study
The molecular cloning and characterisation of cDNA coding for the alpha subunit of the acetylcholine receptor
The published version of this article is available at Oxford Journals in Nucleic Acids Research at
http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/10/19/5809.full.pdf+htmlA rare cDNA coding for most of the α subunit of the Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has been cloned into bacteria. The use of a mismatched oligonucleotide primer of reverse transcriptase facilitated the design of an efficient, specific probe for recombinant bacteria. DNA sequence analysis has enabled the elucidation of a large part of the polypeptide primary sequence which is discussed in relation to its acetylcholine binding activity and the location of receptor within the plasma membrane.
When used as a radioactive probe, the cloned cDNA binds specifically to a single Torpedo mRNA species of about 2350 nucleotides in length but fails to show significant cross-hybridisation with a subunit mRNA extracted from cat muscle
Light trapping in translucent samples and its effect on the hemispherical transmittance obtained by an integrating sphere
When a beam of light is incident on a translucent sample, a significant fraction of the light is scattered at high angles. Some of this scattered light may be trapped inside the substrate through multiple reflections and total internal reflection, similar to light coupling into an optical fiber. The trapping depends on factors such as the surface roughness of the external surfaces and/or the size and distribution of scattering particles inside the sample. The scattered light may thus escape out of the sample at a shifted position relative to the incident beam. This leads to port losses in an integrating sphere. The detected signal from the light entering the sphere then underestimates the hemispherical transmittance. In this paper the signal versus lateral position has been measured in an attempt to estimate the error and to find an extrapolation procedure for the correct transmittance value. The lateral measurements were carried out by moving a detector behind the sample, a procedure carried out at several angles of incidence. Different illumination methods have also been studied both theoretically and experimentally to further investigate what effect light trapping can have when characterising scattering samples
Interacting Supernovae: Types IIn and Ibn
Supernovae (SNe) that show evidence of strong shock interaction between their
ejecta and pre-existing, slower circumstellar material (CSM) constitute an
interesting, diverse, and still poorly understood category of explosive
transients. The chief reason that they are extremely interesting is because
they tell us that in a subset of stellar deaths, the progenitor star may become
wildly unstable in the years, decades, or centuries before explosion. This is
something that has not been included in standard stellar evolution models, but
may significantly change the end product and yield of that evolution, and
complicates our attempts to map SNe to their progenitors. Another reason they
are interesting is because CSM interaction is an efficient engine for making
bright transients, allowing super-luminous transients to arise from normal SN
explosion energies, and allowing transients of normal SN luminosities to arise
from sub-energetic explosions or low radioactivity yield. CSM interaction
shrouds the fast ejecta in bright shock emission, obscuring our normal view of
the underlying explosion, and the radiation hydrodynamics of the interaction is
challenging to model. The CSM interaction may also be highly non-spherical,
perhaps linked to binary interaction in the progenitor system. In some cases,
these complications make it difficult to definitively tell the difference
between a core-collapse or thermonuclear explosion, or to discern between a
non-terminal eruption, failed SN, or weak SN. Efforts to uncover the physical
parameters of individual events and connections to possible progenitor stars
make this a rapidly evolving topic that continues to challenge paradigms of
stellar evolution.Comment: Final draft of a chapter in the "SN Handbook". Accepted. 25 pages, 3
fig
Managing and monitoring radiant and convective heat flows in temperate zone urban environments
Modeling and experimental techniques for studying the impact of facades and roofing materials plus building layouts, on the UHI and interior energy use have been carried out for Sydney, which has a temperate zone climate. Cool roofing is treated as a multi-parameter sensitivity problem where changes in one of: solar reflectance, sub-roof R-value, and roof thermal mass (via material type or with phase change layers), plus change from cooling to heating season, alter the sensitivity of energy use and external surface temperatures to all of the other design settings. For high-rise layouts the issue of aspect ratio (height/spacing) plus spacing cover were considered. Special attention was paid to the night-time as an indicator of UHI problems and hence to flows of thermal radiation from the sky and from surfaces. Models needed to be accurate on this influence while a low cost, compact and portable technique for monitoring thermal radiation flows has been developed and calibrated using simultaneous full sky data from a pyrgeometer. An additional aspect of cool roofing has recently emerged involving modification to convective flow and cool air flow towards ground from varieties of multilayer roofing, including proliferation of solar modules on urban roofs, and additional layers involving polymer mesh or another solid layer
Arginase from kiwifruit: properties and seasonal variation
The in vitro activity of arginase (EC 3.5.3.1) was investigated in youngest-mature leaves and roots (1-3 mm diameter) of kiwifruit vines (Actinidia deliciosa var. deliciosa) during an annual growth cycle, and enzyme from root material partially purified. No seasonal trend in the specific activity of arginase was observed in roots. Measurements in leaves, however, rose gradually during early growth and plateaued c. 17 weeks after budbreak. Changes in arginase activity were not correlated with changes in the concentration of arginine (substrate) or glutamine (likely end-product of arginine catabolism) in either tissue during the growth cycle. Purification was by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The kinetic properties of the enzyme, purified 60-fold over that in crude extracts, indicated a pH optimum of 8.8, and a Km (L-arginine) of 7.85 mM. Partially-purified enzyme was deactivated by dialysis against EDTA, and reactivated in the presence of Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺
Edge-Based Compartmental Modeling for Infectious Disease Spread Part III: Disease and Population Structure
We consider the edge-based compartmental models for infectious disease spread
introduced in Part I. These models allow us to consider standard SIR diseases
spreading in random populations. In this paper we show how to handle deviations
of the disease or population from the simplistic assumptions of Part I. We
allow the population to have structure due to effects such as demographic
detail or multiple types of risk behavior the disease to have more complicated
natural history. We introduce these modifications in the static network
context, though it is straightforward to incorporate them into dynamic
networks. We also consider serosorting, which requires using the dynamic
network models. The basic methods we use to derive these generalizations are
widely applicable, and so it is straightforward to introduce many other
generalizations not considered here
Noncommutative generalizations of theorems of Cohen and Kaplansky
This paper investigates situations where a property of a ring can be tested
on a set of "prime right ideals." Generalizing theorems of Cohen and Kaplansky,
we show that every right ideal of a ring is finitely generated (resp.
principal) iff every "prime right ideal" is finitely generated (resp.
principal), where the phrase "prime right ideal" can be interpreted in one of
many different ways. We also use our methods to show that other properties can
be tested on special sets of right ideals, such as the right artinian property
and various homological properties. Applying these methods, we prove the
following noncommutative generalization of a result of Kaplansky: a (left and
right) noetherian ring is a principal right ideal ring iff all of its maximal
right ideals are principal. A counterexample shows that the left noetherian
hypothesis cannot be dropped. Finally, we compare our results to earlier
generalizations of Cohen's and Kaplansky's theorems in the literature.Comment: 41 pages. To appear in Algebras and Representation Theory. Minor
changes were made to the numbering system, in order to remain consistent with
the published versio
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