Observations of the wind-induced exchange at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay

Water density and velocity data from two ~75-day deployments across the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay were used in conjunction with wind velocity and sea level records to describe the transverse structure of wind-induced subtidal exchange. Acoustic Doppler current profilers, electromagnetic current meters, and conductivity-temperature-depth recorders were deployed at the entrance to the bay from mid-April to early July of 1999 and from early September to mid-November of 1999. Three main scenarios of wind-induced exchange were identified: (1) Northeasterly (NE) winds consistently drove water from the coast toward the lower Chesapeake Bay as well as water from the upper bay to the lower bay, which was indicated by the surface elevation slopes across the lower bay and along the bay. This resulted in water piling up against the southwestern corner of the bay. The subtidal flow over the southern portion of the bay entrance was directed to the left of the wind direction, likely the result of the influence of Coriolis and centripetal accelerations on the adjustment of the sea level gradients. Over the northern shallow half of the entrance, the subtidal flows were nearly depth-independent and in the same direction as the wind. (2) Southwesterly (SW) winds caused opposite sea level gradients (relative to NE winds), which translated into near-surface outflows throughout the entrance and near-bottom inflows restricted to the channels. This wind-induced circulation enhanced the two-way exchange between the estuary and the adjacent ocean. (3) Northwesterly winds produced the same exchange pattern as NE winds. Water piled up against the southwestern corner of the bay causing net outflow in the deep, southern area and downwind flow over the shallow areas. Northwesterly winds greater than 12 m/s caused the most efficient flushing of the bay, driving water out over the entire mouth of the estuary

Soft Substrates Promote Homogeneous Self-Renewal of Embryonic Stem Cells via Downregulating Cell-Matrix Tractions

Maintaining undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) culture has been a major challenge as mESCs cultured in Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) conditions exhibit spontaneous differentiation, fluctuating expression of pluripotency genes, and genes of specialized cells. Here we show that, in sharp contrast to the mESCs seeded on the conventional rigid substrates, the mESCs cultured on the soft substrates that match the intrinsic stiffness of the mESCs and in the absence of exogenous LIF for 5 days, surprisingly still generated homogeneous undifferentiated colonies, maintained high levels of Oct3/4, Nanog, and Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) activities, and formed embryoid bodies and teratomas efficiently. A different line of mESCs, cultured on the soft substrates without exogenous LIF, maintained the capacity of generating homogeneous undifferentiated colonies with relatively high levels of Oct3/4 and AP activities, up to at least 15 passages, suggesting that this soft substrate approach applies to long term culture of different mESC lines. mESC colonies on these soft substrates without LIF generated low cell-matrix tractions and low stiffness. Both tractions and stiffness of the colonies increased with substrate stiffness, accompanied by downregulation of Oct3/4 expression. Our findings demonstrate that mESC self-renewal and pluripotency can be maintained homogeneously on soft substrates via the biophysical mechanism of facilitating generation of low cell-matrix tractions

Identification of Gene Networks and Pathways Associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome

BACKGROUND: The underlying change of gene network expression of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) remains elusive. We sought to identify GBS-associated gene networks and signaling pathways by analyzing the transcriptional profile of leukocytes in the patients with GBS. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Quantitative global gene expression microarray analysis of peripheral blood leukocytes was performed on 7 patients with GBS and 7 healthy controls. Gene expression profiles were compared between patients and controls after standardization. The set of genes that significantly correlated with GBS was further analyzed by Ingenuity Pathways Analyses. 256 genes and 18 gene networks were significantly associated with GBS (fold change ≥2, P<0.05). FOS, PTGS2, HMGB2 and MMP9 are the top four of 246 significantly up-regulated genes. The most significant disease and altered biological function genes associated with GBS were those involved in inflammatory response, infectious disease, and respiratory disease. Cell death, cellular development and cellular movement were the top significant molecular and cellular functions involved in GBS. Hematological system development and function, immune cell trafficking and organismal survival were the most significant GBS-associated function in physiological development and system category. Several hub genes, such as MMP9, PTGS2 and CREB1 were identified in the associated gene networks. Canonical pathway analysis showed that GnRH, corticotrophin-releasing hormone and ERK/MAPK signaling were the most significant pathways in the up-regulated gene set in GBS. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals the gene networks and canonical pathways associated with GBS. These data provide not only networks between the genes for understanding the pathogenic properties of GBS but also map significant pathways for the future development of novel therapeutic strategies

National survey of outcomes and practices in acute respiratory distress syndrome in Singapore

The authors acknowledge the following as the total funding sources for this study: 1. SICM NICER grant: logistical, non-monetary, support from the Society of Intensive Care Medicine Singapore. This was in the form of Ngee Ann Polytechnic students (8) who collected the data for the study for one month. 2. NMRC (National medical research council) grant for Dr, Matthew Cove (partial support for this study): This was in the shape of salary support for all his research related activity. (NMRC/TA/0015/2013) (MEC)

Utility Pricing Auction for Multi-Period Resource Allocation in Multi-Machine Flow Shop Problems

10.1145/1409540.1409547ACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Relational capital and manufacturing capability: the role of knowledge transfer in small and medium enterprises manufacturing sector

Knowledge transfer is a vital component in the growth and advancement of any industry. Manufacturing SMEs, which played a major role in a nation's economy, relied heavily on relational capital, need to capitalise on this resource to further enhance their competitiveness. One of the proposed methods is through knowledge transfer. Hence, this study endeavors to analyse the relationship between relational capital and knowledge transfer, and the role of knowledge transfer as the mediator between relational capital and competitive capabilities in the area of competitive pricing and quality. This study proposes that firms that promote knowledge transfer in their organisations will have improved competitive capabilities than firms that do not. Using the result from a total sample of 145 manufacturing SMEs, a survey showed that the relationship between a firm's relational capital has a positive and significant relationship with knowledge transfer. Also, the study found that knowledge transfer played the role of mediator between relational capital and competitive capabilities in relation to the quality, but not for competitive pricing

Identification of Copper(II)-Lactate Complexes in Cu₂O Electrodeposition Baths: Deprotonation of the alpha-Hydroxyl Group in Highly Concentrated Alkaline Solution

This was Paper 1628 presented at the Honolulu, Hawaii, Meeting of the Society, October 2–7, 2016.Unveiling dissolved species in electrodeposition baths helps our understanding of electrodeposition behavior, such as growth orientation. A highly concentrated aqueous alkaline copper(II)–lactate solution is used for the electrodeposition of copper(I) oxide (Cu₂O) thin films with orientations; the semiconductor properties of these films facilitate their use in solar-cell materials, photocathodes, and photocatalysts. However, the dissolved species, presumably copper(II)–lactate complexes, cannot be deduced on the basis of known thermodynamic data, and have not been convincingly determined yet. In this work, we determine these cupric complexes by pH titration, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), including probe-ESI-MS (PESI-MS). Using PESI-MS, we successfully analyzed a highly concentrated solution without sample dilution. The determined complexes are Cu(H₋₁L)L⁻ and Cu(H₋₁L)₂²⁻ (CH₃CH(O⁻)COO⁻) is a lactate ion with a deprotonated α-hydroxyl group. As far as we know, this is the first direct experimental observation of H₋₁L²⁻ ions in a highly concentrated aqueous alkaline copper(II)–lactate solution. We also propose that H₋₁L²⁻ is stabilized by the high concentration and through coordination to copper(II) ions

A study on determining factors influence pricing competitive for airlines in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors influence pricing competitive dynamic airlines by passenger for the specific routes of Kuala Lumpur to Singapore between the Prime Carrier and Low-Cost Carrier. This research was derived in response of World’s Busiest International Air Routes report from OAG Aviation Worldwide that shows more than 30,000 flights frequency in both directions for international route Kuala Lumpur to Singapore during 12 months in 2018. This study will be understanding the influence in pricing competitive between forecast on demand, and product quality. A framework model has been proposed to determine the factors on competitive airlines pricing in Malaysia and the variables are Market Segmentation, Product Quality and Demand Forecast. This research used a quantitative data collection method to gather or to prompt information from respondents, in this case passenger who is using flights from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. A total of 424 passengers was sampled and the set of questionnaires were distributed using the non- probability sampling technique which is convenience sampling to obtain sample data to be analyzed. The analysis in this study was conducted using descriptive statistical analysis tools. – SPSS – version 23. Results from the multiple analysis demonstrate that product quality and demand forecast as factors influencing pricing competitive