1,074 research outputs found
Neural network based modeling and simulation for the optimization of safety logic
Get PDFThesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-47).by Neeraj Agarwal.M.Eng
sj-docx-1-prf-10.1177_02676591211042559 – Supplemental material for Differences in the serum metabolic profile to identify potential biomarkers for cyanotic versus acyanotic heart disease
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-prf-10.1177_02676591211042559 for Differences in the serum metabolic profile to identify potential biomarkers for cyanotic versus acyanotic heart disease by Suman Vimal, Renuka Ranjan, Surabhi Yadav, Gauranga Majumdar, Balraj Mittal, Neeraj Sinha and Surendra Kumar Agarwal in Perfusion</p
“The media will always have axes to grind but the police have the capacity to project their side of the story better” – Neeraj Kumar
No full textNeeraj Kumar recently retired as the Commissioner of Police Delhi, having served in the Indian Police Service for over 37 years in a wide range of roles. He has now penned his first book, a collection of stories pertaining to high-profile cases solved during his nine year tenure at the Central Bureau of Investigation. Ahead of the London launch of the book, he spoke to Sonali Campion about the IPS, security and corruption in India. Dial D for Don: Inside stories of CBI missions will be launched at the Nehru Centre on 13 July at 6.30pm. The event is free and open to all and will include a panel with leading journalist Owen Bennett Jones and the author. Details here
Computing Shortest Paths in the Plane with Removable Obstacles
Get PDFWe consider the problem of computing a Euclidean shortest path in the presence of removable obstacles in the plane. In particular, we have a collection of pairwise-disjoint polygonal obstacles, each of which may be removed at some cost c_i > 0. Given a cost budget C > 0, and a pair of points s, t, which obstacles should be removed to minimize the path length from s to t in the remaining workspace? We show that this problem is NP-hard even if the obstacles are vertical line segments. Our main result is a fully-polynomial time approximation scheme (FPTAS) for the case of convex polygons. Specifically, we compute an (1 + epsilon)-approximate shortest path in time O({nh}/{epsilon^2} log n log n/epsilon) with removal cost at most (1+epsilon)C, where h is the number of obstacles, n is the total number of obstacle vertices, and epsilon in (0, 1) is a user-specified parameter. Our approximation scheme also solves a shortest path problem for a stochastic model of obstacles, where each obstacle's presence is an independent event with a known probability. Finally, we also present a data structure that can answer s-t path queries in polylogarithmic time, for any pair of points s, t in the plane
Comparative compression ignition engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics, and trace metals in particulates from Waste cooking oil, Jatropha and Karanja oil derived biodiesels
No full textIn the present study, comparison of performance, combustion and emission characteristics of a single cylinder compression ignition (CI) genset engine fueled by biodiesels derived from Waste cooking oil (WCO), Jatropha and Karanja oils vis-a-vis baseline mineral diesel has been carried out. Performance and combustion investigations were carried out at constant engine speed (1500 rpm) and six engine loads (0-100%). WCO biodiesel showed slightly higher heat release rate (HRR) than baseline mineral diesel, while it was slightly lower for Karanja and Jatropha biodiesels. Hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions were lower, while carbon monoxide (CO) emission was relatively higher for biodiesels compared to baseline diesel. Smoke opacity was higher for Karanja and Jatropha biodiesels compared to baseline diesel. WCO biodiesel exhibited comparable smoke opacity with baseline mineral diesel except at full load, where it was relatively lower. Particulates were collected from the engine exhaust on a quartz filter paper using a partial flow dilution tunnel at 50 and 100% engine loads, for trace metal analysis using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). It was found that trace metals such as Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Zn and Al showed higher concentrations in particulates from all test fuels, while Ba, Cd, Cr, Mn and Mo showed relatively lower concentrations in the particulates collected.
Alzheimer's Fibroblasts are More Susceptible to Oxidative Stress
No full textMarshall, Pamela L., Alzheimer’s Fibroblasts Are More Susceptible to Oxidative Stress. Master’s of Science (Biomedical Sciences). May 2001. Recent evidence indicates that oxidative stress contributes to neuronal death in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In addition, it has been suggested that AD is a systemic illness in which the development of the disease is only visible in the brain. The aim of this research is to develop experimental procedures using a simple cell model, the fibroblast, to determine if proteins derived from AD skin fibroblasts are more sensitive to oxidation by reactive oxygen species than non-AD cells, and to assess the ability of antioxidants to prevent this oxidative damage in AD fibroblasts. Preliminary findings suggest that changes in sensitivity are already detectable in fibroblasts from AD patients, probably as a consequence of genetic component as well as other risk factors. Therefore, this biochemical marker might have the potential for identifying individuals at risk for AD
Osmoregulatory Alterations in Taurine Uptake by Cultured Human and Bovine Lens Epithelial Cells
No full textSchafer, Grant D., Osmoregulatory Alterations in Taurine Uptake by Cultured Human and Bovine Lens Epithelial Cells. Master of Science (Biomedical Sciences), July, 2002, 47 pp., 3 tables, 12 figures, bibliography, 43 titles. Purpose. Using cultured human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) and bovine lens epithelial cells (BLECs) and the nature of the relationship between taurine-concentrating capability and intracellular polyol accumulation or extracellular hypertonicity. Methods. The kinetic characteristics of taurine accumulation based upon the measurement in vitro [3H]-taurine uptake were compared in cultured HLECs and BLECs pre-exposed to either galactose-supplemented medium or extracellular hypertonicity. Results: The capacity to accumulate [3H]-taurine was significantly lowered after chronic (20 hour) incubation of cultured BLECs in 40 mmol/l galactose in contrast to HLECs. Inhibition of the intracellular taurine transport site appeared to be noncompetitive as there was a marked reduction in the Vmax without significant alteration in the Km. Galactitol content in BLECs exceeded five times that found in HLECs. The coadministration of the aldose reductase inhibitor, sorbinil with 40 mmol/l galactose completely prevented the inhibitory effect of galactose on [3H]-taurine uptake. Acute expression (3 hours) of HLECs and BLECs to a range of 10 to 40 mmol/l galactitol or 10 to 40 mmol/l galactose plus sorbinil-supplemented medium suggested by Dixon plot analysis that neither galactitol nor galactose interacted with the extracellular taurine transport site. In contrast, [3H]-taurine accumulation was markedly elevated in both HLECs and BLECs after chronic exposure to galactose-free medium made hyperosmotic by supplementation with sodium chloride. The enhanced taurine uptake capacity involved an increase in Vmax without significant change in the Km value. Conclusions: These results demonstrate lens epithelial cells express a taurine transporter protein capable of active uptake but predisposed to inhibition by intracellular galactitol when the sugar alcohol is present in high enough concentration to interfere with cell metabolism. Furthermore, lens epithelial cells respond to hypertonic stress by raising taurine transport activity
Fall Prevention in Postacute Care: Best Practices Versus Documented Practices
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 3/31/2017
Falls are a quality measure under national value-based care initiatives. Thus, this session will present results from a mixed-methods study examining the alignment between best practices and rehabilitation patient documentation to inform future quality initiatives and documentation refinement.
Primary Author and Speaker: Natalie Leland
Contributing Authors: Carin Wong, Jenny Martinez, Brenda Fagan, Kate Wilber, Debra Saliba, Neeraj Sood</jats:p
The Role of 14-3-3 in the Signaling of Cardiac Hypertrophy
No full textEllis, Joel J., The Role of 14-3-3 in the Signaling of Cardiac Hypertrophy. Master of Science (Biotechnology), January, 2002, 97pp., 21 illustrations, bibliography, 46 titles. The METF2 family of transcription factors is regulated by class II histone deacetylaces in the nucleus. MEF2-dependent gene expression in cardiomyocytes is augmented by the 14-3-3 chaperone family which binds and sequesters class II HDACs in the cytoplasm upon the activation of CaM kinase I & IV. A 14-3-3β mutant was made by conservatively substituting aspartate for serine 60 and serine 65. In MEF2 enhancer-reporter transfection assays, expression of the 14-3-3β double mutant silenced transcription mediated by CaM KI & IV in both cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells. Co-expression of the 14-3-3β double mutant was also able to suppress MEF2 enhancer activation by phenylephrine in cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells. Mammalian two-hybrid cloning of the 14-3-3β wild-type and double mutant genes will allow analysis of the protein-protein interaction between the different 14-3-3β monomers. These data suggest that 14-3-3β plays a critical role in the silencing of MEF2 mediated hypertrophy-sensitive gene transcription
Exercise-Evoked Metabolic Adaptations in Canine Myocardium
No full textStuewe, Steven Richard, Exercise-Evoked Metabolic Adaptations in Canine Myocardium. Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Sciences), November 1999; 128 pp; 4 tables; 17 figures; bibliography, 130 titles. Aerobic exercise training evokes adaptations in the myocardial contractile machinery that enhance cardiac functional capabilities, and the myocardium’s capacity to consume energy. Despite considerable investigative effort, the effects of exercise training on myocardial intermediary metabolism, the source of energy for cardiac function, have not been defined. The investigations described herein were undertaken to delineate the effects of aerobic exercise training on key rate-controlling enzymes of myocardial intermediary metabolism and energy transport, and to characterize the effects of acute exercise on cardiac messenger RNA transcripts encoding metabolic enzymes. To address these questions, dogs were conditioned by a 9 wk treadmill running program or cage rested for 4 wk. Exercise conditioning was documented by a significant decrease in heart rate at rest and during submaximal exercise. A panel of glycolytic and oxidative enzymes was measured in myocardial extracts. It was demonstrated that aerobic exercise training of dogs selectively increased capacities of key rate-controlling enzymes of each of the major pathways of intermediary metabolism in ventricular myocardium. In addition, it appeared that the training-evoked increases in enzyme activities were due to increased enzyme contents, not to changes in substrate affinity. The same training program was implemented to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise training on the myocardium’s energy shuttling system. Total creatine kinase (CK) activity and content of the CKMB isoenzyme were measured in canine myocardial extracts. It was demonstrated that aerobic exercise training increased total myocardial CK activity and CKMB content, although the CKMB isoenzyme remained minor component of the myocardial CK system. A third investigation was conducted to examine the effects of aerobic exercise on the abundance of messenger RNA (mRNA) encoding key enzymes involved in myocardial energy production and transport. Left ventricular myocardium was sampled 30 min after an exercise bout, and messenger RNA transcripts were analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Exercise increased in the myocardial abundance of mRNA transcripts encoding glyceraldeheyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and the CK-M subunit. These mRNA enhancements could be responsible, at least in part, for exercise-evoked adaptations in myocardial metabolic enzymes demonstrated in the first two investigations
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