Durability testing modified compression ignition engines fueled with straight plant oil

Many short-run studies point to the potential for direct fueling of compression ignition engines with plant oil fuels. There is a much smaller body of work that examines the potential for these fuels in long-run tests that illuminate engine endurance and longevity issues. Generally, longevity studies involving direct fueling of engines with straight plant oils have shown significant impact to the life of the engine, though test results vary widely depending on the oil, engine type, test conditions, and measurement approach. This study utilizes a previously designed modification kit [1] to investigate the longevity implications of directly fueling straight plant oil in an indirect injection (IDI) listeroid type, slow speed stationary engine common in agro-processing applications in developing countries. Specifically this study focuses on the lubrication oil by developing a model to characterize the engine wear and estimate lube oil change frequency. The model is extended to an analysis of the piston rings. Cylinder liner wear, emissions, engine performance, and a visual investigation of several critical engine components are also studied.     

Patients with stroke confined to basal ganglia have diminished response to rehabilitation efforts

Deregulation of expression of the cell cycle regulator cyclin D1 (cD1) may be responsible for rapid proliferation of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). We have studied the expression of cD1 in 46 SCCHNs using immunohistochemistry. Before biopsy, the patients received an in vivo infusion of iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd) for cell proliferation assessment. Additionally, the level of apoptosis was estimated using in situ end labeling (ISEL). Among 33 tumors, the proportion of cD1(+) cells varied from 0.5 to 51.3% (19.9 +/- 2.2%). Thirteen tumors did not express cD1. The fraction of S-phase (IdUrd-positive) cells was 26.3 +/- 1.8% in cD1(+) versus 20.0 +/- 2.4% in cD1(-) tumors (P = 0.06). The percentages of cD1(+) cells and of S-phase cells were not correlated (P = 0.37). Apoptosis was detected by ISEL in 15 of 33 tumors studied. ISEL-positive tumors contained a significantly higher proportion of cD1(+) cells (14.9 +/- 2.6%) than cD1(-) ones (7.9 +/- 2.8%; P = 0.03). There was a positive correlation between the percentage of cD1(+) cells and the degree of ISEL (r = 0.54; P < 0.001). In noninvolved oral mucosa, cD1(+) cells were located primarily in the suprabasal layers (29.3 +/- 3.8% versus 1.2 +/- 0. 2% in the basal layer). Only 23 of 44 mucosal specimens contained cD1(+) cells. All cD1(-) samples were proliferatively active and contained IdUrd-labeled cells. The percentage of cD1(+) cells in the oral epithelium from nontumor controls (uvula samples) was significantly higher than in the SCCHN group in both basal (2.4 +/- 0.4%; P = 0.008) and suprabasal (42.7 +/- 3.3%; P = 0.005) layers. Additionally, whereas in uvuli, cD1(+) cells were distributed evenly along the epithelial lining, in SCCHN samples the regions showing cD1 expression alternated with areas in which cD1 expression was undetectable. These data indicate that cD1 expression in SCCHN varies among tumors and is not correlated with cell proliferation. In noninvolved oral mucosa, cD1 expression differs from that in truly normal epithelium obtained from nontumor patients. A correlation between cD1 expression and the extent of ISEL positivity suggests a possible involvement of cD1 expression in the apoptotic pathways.     

Variations of 3-methylhistidine in blood of dairy cows

Blood plasma 3-methylhistidine, in comparison with other blood variables, has been measured in high-yielding dairy cows with relation to energy and protein supply. Circulating 3-methylhistidine markedly increased to 1 wk after calving, then continuously decreased to 5 wk postpartum to lower than during the last 2 wk of pregnancy. In experiments 36 d after calving, circulating 3-methylhistidine did not change during 24 h despite marked variations of food intake. Peak 3-methylhistidine immediately after parturition coincided with relatively low insulin, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, glucose, protein, and urea with elevated concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids and with greatest estimated energy and protein deficiencies. However, during the ensuing period to 12 wk of lactation, circulating 3-methylhistidine was not closely related to these measures nor to creatinine, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and milk production, but relationships to milk protein yield were close. The postparturient increase of 3-methylhistidine may have been a consequence of enhanced breakdown of skeletal muscle and uterine smooth muscle or another pool with a transiently enhanced turnover rate. Variations of plasma 3-methylhistidine were associated only in part with estimated negative energy and protein balances and corresponding endocrine and metabolic adaptations.     

Testing the optimality properties of a dual antibiotic treatment in a two-locus,two-allele model

Mathematically speaking, it is self-evident that the optimal control of complex, dynamical systems with many interacting components cannot be achieved with ‘non-responsive’ control strategies that are constant through time. Although there are notable exceptions, this is usually how we design treatments with antimicrobial drugs when we give the same dose and the same antibiotic combination each day. Here, we use a frequency- and density-dependent pharmacogenetics mathematical model based on a standard, two-locus, two-allele representation of how bacteria resist antibiotics to probe the question of whether optimal antibiotic treatments might, in fact, be constant through time. The model describes the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of different sub-populations of the bacterium Escherichia coli that compete for a single limiting resource in a two-drug environment. We use in vitro evolutionary experiments to calibrate and test the model and show that antibiotic environments can support dynamically changing and heterogeneous population structures. We then demonstrate, theoretically and empirically, that the best treatment strategies should adapt through time and constant strategies are not optimal.     

Internet Predictions

More than a dozen leading experts give their opinions on where the Internet is headed and where it will be in the next decade in terms of technology, policy, and applications. They cover topics ranging from the Internet of Things to climate change to the digital storage of the future.     

Epstein-Barr virus serology and Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disorders in pediatric liver transplant recipients

Epstein-Barr virus serology was performed before and after transplantation in 116 patients of a total series of 261 pediatric OLT recipients. Thirty-nine percent had no immunity before OLT, but this percentage decreased to 11.2% at 6 months and 10.5% at 2 years after transplantation. In this series, 10 children developed a B cell lymphoproliferative disease. Four had adenotonsillar involvement, 2 of them with associated digestive tract invasion. Three of these are alive, 2 after retransplantation for chronic rejection subsequent to arrest of immunosuppression. The fourth died from bone marrow aplasia. Three patients with multiorgan involvement died from multisystemic failure. The remaining 3 patients had a pseudotumoral mass. Two of these are alive, 1 after retransplantation for hepatic localization and secondary vascular and biliary complication. The last died from cachexia. Four patients developed the syndrome after viral reactivation, and 6 after primo infection. Four patients were under FK506 rescue therapy. We conclude that a high rate of EBV primo infection is observed in the first months after transplantation. A significant percentage will develop EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease, which causes death in half of the patients, including all these with multiorgan involvement. Half of the patients may survive, but because immunosuppression must be stopped, retransplantation for chronic rejection is often necessary in survivors.     

Intraabdominal pyloromyotomy through the umbilical route: a technical improvement

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Performing a pyloromyotomy through a supraumbilical skin fold incision will leave an almost invisible scar and therefore has definitive cosmetic advantages. This alternative approach may be related to technical difficulties in delivering a large pyloric tumor when compared with the conventional pyloromyotomy through a right upper quadrant incision. However, in situ (intraabdominal) myotomy can help overcome this inconvenience. METHODS: Of 122 cases of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis operated on between January 1990 and August 1996, 29 underwent a pyloromyotomy performed intraabdominally through the umbilical route. The medical records of these babies were reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-three boys and six girls (median age, 30 days; range, 17 to 70 days) underwent surgery. The median hospital stay was 2.5 days. There were two intraoperative technical complications (small mucosal perforation) and one postoperative wound complication (abcess formation) requiring local drainage. CONCLUSIONS: In situ pyloromyotomy through the umbilical route is an elegant alternative in cases of a large pyloric tumor.     

A method for determining probability based allowable currentratings for BPA's transmission lines

Allowable current ratings for Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) transmission lines are presently based on conservative deterministic criteria. This conservative criteria has served BPA well for many years with minimal cost penalty as most lines have historically been stability limited. Beginning in the mid-70s, a number of BPA's lines have shifted from stability limited to thermally limited, suggesting the conservative assumptions in the present allowable current rating model may be associated with significant cost penalties. A new method, based on probabilistic techniques, is described which diminishes the conservative assumptions in the present deterministic method promising substantial cost savings. General probabilistic equations are developed and the overall technique's philosophy discussed. The probabilistic method revolves around statistical ambient weather models which are reported. Research work has been performed to characterize weather regions in BPA's service area assembling limited statistical weather models for each region. Planned future work is outlined including the development and deployment of a data acquisition system capable of collecting ambient weather data in support of probabilistic line ratings