Exterior stable domain segmentation integral equation method for scattering problems

This paper is concerned with the development of an exterior domain segmentation method for the solution of two- or three-dimensional time-harmonic scattering problems in acoustic media. This method, based on a variational localized, symmetric, boundary integral equation formulation leads, upon discretization, to a sparse system of algebraic equations whose solution requires only O(N) multiplications, where N is the number of unknown nodal pressures on the scatterer surface. The new procedure is analogous to the one developed recently¹ except that in the present formulation we avoid completely the use of the hypersingular operator, thereby reducing the computational complexity. Numerical experiments for a rigid circular cylindrical scatterer subjected to a plane incident wave serve to assess its accuracy for normalized wave numbers, ka, ranging from 0 to 30, both directly on the scatterer and in the far field, and to confirm that, contrary to standard boundary integral equation formulations, the present procedure is valid for critical frequencies.     

Nonparametric estimation from length-biased data under competing risks

A new model for cross-sectional lifetime data is presented. The model is based on the length-bias assumption, and it is adapted to situations in which several types of censoring may occur. The NPMLE of the survival function is derived. An EM-algorithm to approximate the NPMLE is devised. The performance of the introduced estimator is investigated through simulations. A real set of data collected as part of a study on unemployment duration in Spain is used for illustration purposes.     

Genetic Susceptibility to Periodontal Disease in Down Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Severe periodontitis is prevalent in Down syndrome (DS). This study aimed to identify genetic variations associated with periodontitis in individuals with DS. The study group was distributed into DS patients with periodontitis (n = 50) and DS patients with healthy periodontium (n = 36). All samples were genotyped with the “Axiom Spanish Biobank” array, which contains 757,836 markers. An association analysis at the individual marker level using logistic regression, as well as at the gene level applying the sequence kernel association test (SKAT) was performed. The most significant genes were included in a pathway analysis using the free DAVID software. C12orf74 (rs4315121, p = 9.85 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 8.84), LOC101930064 (rs4814890, p = 9.61 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 0.13), KBTBD12 (rs1549874, p = 8.27 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 0.08), PIWIL1 (rs11060842, p = 7.82 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 9.05) and C16orf82 (rs62030877, p = 8.92 × 10⁻⁵, OR = 0.14) showed a higher probability in the individual analysis. The analysis at the gene level highlighted PIWIL, MIR9-2, LHCGR, TPR and BCR. At the signaling pathway level, PI3K-Akt, long-term depression and FoxO achieved nominal significance (p = 1.3 × 10⁻², p = 5.1 × 10⁻³, p = 1.2 × 10⁻², respectively). In summary, various metabolic pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of periodontitis in DS, including PI3K-Akt, which regulates cell proliferation and inflammatory response.     

A finite element scheme with a high order absorbing boundary condition for elastodynamics

A high-order absorbing boundary condition (ABC) is devised on an artificial boundary for time-dependent elastic waves in unbounded domains. The configuration considered is that of a two-dimensional elastic waveguide. In the exterior domain, the unbounded elastic medium is assumed to be isotropic and homogeneous. The proposed ABC is an extension of the Hagstrom–Warburton ABC which was originally designed for acoustic waves, and is applied directly to the displacement field. The order of the ABC determines its accuracy and can be chosen to be arbitrarily high. The initial boundary value problem including this ABC is written in second-order form, which is convenient for geophysical finite element (FE) analysis. A special variational formulation is constructed which incorporates the ABC. A standard FE discretization is used in space, and a Newmark-type scheme is used for time-stepping. A long-time instability is observed, but simple means are shown to dramatically postpone its onset so as to make it harmless during the simulation time of interest. Numerical experiments demonstrate the performance of the scheme.     

Antioxidant mechanism of grape procyanidins in muscle tissues: Redox interactions with endogenous ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol

The present study investigates the antioxidant mechanism of grape procyanidins and, in particular, their aptitude to establish redox interactions with two important components of the endogenous antioxidant system of muscle tissues, α-tocopherol (α-TOH) and ascorbic acid (AA). To this end, the progress of lipid oxidation was monitored in fish muscle supplemented with grape procyanidins at the concentrations usually employed in antioxidant food applications, and then related to the redox stability of the endogenous α-TOH and AA. In addition to the lipid oxidation protective effect, the incorporation of procyanidins also provided an improvement of the redox stability of the endogenous components in a straight procyanidinic concentration-dependent manner. Results showed the capacity of procyanidins to repair oxidised α-TOH at medium-long term, and to delay the AA depletion. Therefore, such cooperative redox interaction of exogenous procyanidins adequately complements the natural α-TOH regenerative system supplied by AA that is efficient at the early post mortem stages.     

Preparation and characterization of PVA films with magnetic nanoparticles: The effect of particle loading on drug release behavior

This article deals with the drug release behavior of theophylline (Th) from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels, prepared with magnetic nanoparticles at different particle loadings. These biocompatible matrices were obtained by incorporating different amounts of an aqueous ferrofluid into PVA hydrogels, loaded with Th as a marker for drug‐delivery studies. PVA films with magnetic particles proved to be magnetic field‐responsive materials as the drug release decreased through the application of a relative low and uniform magnetic field for particle concentrations of 0.9% w/w or higher. Moreover, the percentage of restriction of drug release is found to be correlated with particle loading. The in vitro release profiles were analyzed by applying a semiempirical power law to obtain the kinetic parameters. The value of the release exponent was found to be in the range 0.54–0.56 in all experiments, which thus indicates a predominant diffusional mechanism for drug release from these smart magnetic hydrogels. This effect suggests the possibility of modulating the release behavior by controlling the particle content in the preparation of the composites. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Piaget's stage learning hypothesis revisited.

Found evidence to support the stage learning hypothesis of Piaget (1974) in a reanalysis of the B. Inhelder et al (1974) data. Data show that the initial level of development was a good indicator of the degree of learning attainable through training. Results may in part be due to the reduction of variance attributable to aggregating the experiments, as well as the use of a different model to test the stage learning hypothesis. (French abstract) (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)