Plasma igniter for internal combustion engine

An igniter for the air/fuel mixture used in the cylinders of an internal combustion engine is described. A conventional spark is used to initiate the discharge of a large amount of energy stored in a capacitor. A high current discharge of the energy in the capacitor switched on by a spark discharge produces a plasma and a magnetic field. The resultant combined electromagnetic current and magnetic field force accelerates the plasma deep into the combustion chamber thereby providing an improved ignition of the air/fuel mixture in the chamber

Immunocytochemical localization of the main intrinsic polypeptide (MIP) in ultrathin frozen sections of rat lens.

The in situ distribution of the 26-kdalton Main Intrinsic Polypeptide (MIP or MP 26), a putative gap junction protein in ocular lens fibers, was defined at the electron microscope level using indirect immunoferritin labeling of ultrathin frozen sections of rat lens. MIP was found distributed throughout the plasma membrane of the lens fiber cell, with no apparent distinction between junctional and nonjunctional membrane. MIP was not detectable in the basal or lateral plasma membrane of the lens epithelial cell, including the interepithelial cell gap junctions; nor was MIP detectable in the plasma membrane or gap junctions of the hepatocyte. Previous reports have indicated that the protein composition of the lens fiber cell junction differs from that of the hepatocyte gap junction. The evidence presented here suggests that the composition of the fiber cell junction and plasma membrane is also immunocytochemically distinct from that of its progenitor, the lens epithelial cell

Multicentre observational cohort study of NSAIDs as risk factors for postoperative adverse events in gastrointestinal surgery

Introduction: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended as postoperative analgesia by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society. Recent studies have raised concerns that NSAID administration following colorectal anastomosis may be associated with increased risk of anastomotic leak. This multicentre study aims to determine NSAIDs' safety profile following gastrointestinal resection. Methods and analysis: This prospective, multicentre cohort study will be performed over a 2-week period utilising a collaborative methodology. Consecutive adults undergoing open or laparoscopic, elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection will be included. The primary end point will be the 30-day morbidity, assessed using the Clavien-Dindo classification. This study will be disseminated through medical student networks, with an anticipated recruitment of at least 900 patients. The study will be powered to detect a 10% increase in complication rates with NSAID use. Ethics and dissemination: Following the Research Ethics Committee Chairperson's review, a formal waiver was received. This study will be registered as a clinical audit or service evaluation at each participating hospital. Dissemination will take place through previously described novel research collaborative networks

An atomic scale comparison of the reaction of Bioglass® in two types of simulated body fluid

A class of melt quenched silicate glasses, containing calcium, phosphorus and alkali metals, and having the ability to promote bone regeneration and to fuse to living bone, is produced commercially as Bioglass. The changes in structure associated with reacting the bioglass with a body fluid simulant (a buffered Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane growth medium solution or a blood plasma-like salt simulated body fluid) at 37°C have been studied using both high energy and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. This has corroborated the generic conclusions of earlier studies based on the use of calcia–silica sol-gel glasses whilst highlighting the important differences associated with glass composition; the results also reveal the more subtle effects on reaction rates of the choice of body fluid simulant. The results also indicate the presence of tricalcium phosphate crystallites deposited onto the surface of the glass as a precursor to the growth of hydroxyapatite, and indicates that there is some preferred orientation to their growth

Annotated check-list of plants occuring in lake Manyara National Park

Volume: 2

Infinite partition monoids

Let $\mathcal P_X$ and $\mathcal S_X$ be the partition monoid and symmetric group on an infinite set $X$. We show that $\mathcal P_X$ may be generated by $\mathcal S_X$ together with two (but no fewer) additional partitions, and we classify the pairs $\alpha,\beta\in\mathcal P_X$ for which $\mathcal P_X$ is generated by $\mathcal S_X\cup\{\alpha,\beta\}$. We also show that $\mathcal P_X$ may be generated by the set $\mathcal E_X$ of all idempotent partitions together with two (but no fewer) additional partitions. In fact, $\mathcal P_X$ is generated by $\mathcal E_X\cup\{\alpha,\beta\}$ if and only if it is generated by $\mathcal E_X\cup\mathcal S_X\cup\{\alpha,\beta\}$. We also classify the pairs $\alpha,\beta\in\mathcal P_X$ for which $\mathcal P_X$ is generated by $\mathcal E_X\cup\{\alpha,\beta\}$. Among other results, we show that any countable subset of $\mathcal P_X$ is contained in a $4$-generated subsemigroup of $\mathcal P_X$, and that the length function on $\mathcal P_X$ is bounded with respect to any generating set

Museum DNA reveals the demographic history of the endangered Seychelles warbler

The importance of evolutionary conservation – how understanding evolutionary forces can help guide conservation decisions – is widely recognized. However, the historical demography of many endangered species is unknown, despite the fact that this can have important implications for contemporary ecological processes and for extinction risk. Here, we reconstruct the population history of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) – an ecological model species. By the 1960s, this species was on the brink of extinction, but its previous history is unknown. We used DNA samples from contemporary and museum specimens spanning 140 years to reconstruct bottleneck history. We found a 25% reduction in genetic diversity between museum and contemporary populations, and strong genetic structure. Simulations indicate that the Seychelles warbler was bottlenecked from a large population, with an ancestral Ne of several thousands falling to <50 within the last century. Such a rapid decline, due to anthropogenic factors, has important implications for extinction risk in the Seychelles warbler, and our results will inform conservation practices. Reconstructing the population history of this species also allows us to better understand patterns of genetic diversity, inbreeding and promiscuity in the contemporary populations. Our approaches can be applied across species to test ecological hypotheses and inform conservation

An Optimal Linear Time Algorithm for Quasi-Monotonic Segmentation

Monotonicity is a simple yet significant qualitative characteristic. We consider the problem of segmenting a sequence in up to K segments. We want segments to be as monotonic as possible and to alternate signs. We propose a quality metric for this problem using the l_inf norm, and we present an optimal linear time algorithm based on novel formalism. Moreover, given a precomputation in time O(n log n) consisting of a labeling of all extrema, we compute any optimal segmentation in constant time. We compare experimentally its performance to two piecewise linear segmentation heuristics (top-down and bottom-up). We show that our algorithm is faster and more accurate. Applications include pattern recognition and qualitative modeling.Comment: This is the extended version of our ICDM'05 paper (arXiv:cs/0702142