We present a computational tool to develop an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) - air-fuel ratio (AFR) operating range for homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines. A single- cylinder Ricardo E-6 engine running in HCCI mode, with external EGR is simulated using an improved probability density function (PDF)-based engine cycle model. For a base case, the in-cylinder temperature and unbu

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of antenatal betamethasone on fetal and uteroplacental hemodynamics. METHODS: The study comprised 33 women with singleton high-risk pregnancies (23-33 weeks; 27 pregnancies < 30 weeks) not in labor, but at risk for preterm delivery based on fetal or maternal indications. They were treated with two doses of 12 mg betamethasone intramuscularly 24 h ap

Cardiovascular risk increases with chronological as well as biological aging, and one marker of this might be telomere length. The telomere cap is located at the end of the DNA helix and serves to protect its end. This is an evolutionary adaptation which has resulted in stabilization of the DNA strand within the chromosome. During the life course, telomeres tend to shorten in most cells, with the

Evaluation, prioritization and selection of candidate requirements are of tremendous importance and impact for subsequent software development. Effort, time as well as quality constraints have to be taken into account. Typically, different stakeholders have conflicting priorities and the requirements of all these stakeholders have to be balanced in an appropriate way to ensure maximum value of the

What exactly are opinions? What does it mean to express an attitude? Given the ubiquitous use of surveys, polls and rating scales, it seems we ought to have firm answers to these fundamental questions, but we do not. Here we present a novel approach to investigate the nature of attitudes. We created a self-transforming paper survey of moral opinions, covering both foundational principles, and curr

We have addressed the importance of B cell tolerance to collagen type II, a matrix protein, which is a target in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its mouse models. We generated a germline-encoded anti-collagen type II (CII) IgH replacement anti-C1 B cell mouse strain (ACB) to investigate how B cell tolerance to CII, a matrix protein, is subverted and to further understand pathogenesis of RA. Phenotyp

Convergence of the T-matrix scheme is proved under more general assumptions than in Ramm [J. Math. Phys. 23, 1123–5 (1982)] and for more general boundary conditions. Stability of the numerical scheme towards small perturbations of data and convergence of the expansion coefficients are established. Dependence of the rate of convergence on the choice of basis functions is discussed. Dependence of th

Aim: To evaluate vibration perception thresholds of patients with and without diabetes, before and after surgical carpal tunnel release. of patients with and without diabetes. Methods: In a prospective study, 35 consecutive patients with diabetes and carpal tunnel syndrome were age and gender matched with 31 patients without diabetes having idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. Preoperatively, 6, 12

Abstract not available.

There are two interpretations of rhetoric that are backed by a long tradition: as the theory of argumentation and persuasion, which is how it was born in Antiquity, and as the taxonomy of rhetorical figures, which is the form in which it reigned supreme from the 16th century onwards. In both of these senses, advertising discourse today is the favoured, and in fact almost exclusive, domain of rheto

Review of the English translation of the novel Die Ästhetik des Widerstands by German-Swedish writer Peter Weiss (1916 - 1982) in connection with the problems of the avant-garde as critical practice (the overall theme of this issue of the journal Reconstruction which is concluded by the review in question).

The article explores issues concerning the reconfiguration of human and animal bodies in modern biotechnology. The examples are based on xenotransplantation: Transplantation of cells, tissue and organs from animals to humans. Three thematic issues that emerged from xenotransplantation research in Sweden in the 1990s and early 2000s are examined in the article. The first issue concerns how the pig