Role of zonal flow predator-prey oscillations in triggering the transition to H-mode confinement.

Direct evidence of zonal flow (ZF) predator-prey oscillations and the synergistic roles of ZF- and equilibrium E×B flow shear in triggering the low- to high-confinement (L- to H-mode) transition in the DIII-D tokamak is presented. Periodic turbulence suppression is first observed in a narrow layer at and just inside the separatrix when the shearing rate transiently exceeds the turbulence decorrelation rate. The final transition to H mode with sustained turbulence and transport reduction is controlled by equilibrium E×B shear due to the increasing ion pressure gradient.

'Normal' nuchal translucency: a justification to refrain from detailed scan? Analysis of 6858 cases with special reference to ethical aspects.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and detection rate of major anomalies (MAs) by applying first trimester anomaly scan (FTAS) including first trimester fetal echocardiography (FTFE) to all fetuses and discuss ethical implications.

Methods: The study group included 6879 consecutive fetuses with known outcome of pregnancy (follow-up: 98%), 6565 with 'normal' nuchal translucency (NT) (≤ P95), 314 with 'increased' NT (> P95). All fetuses received FTAS/FTFE.

Nocturnality constrains morphological and functional diversity in the eyes of reef fishes.

Background: Ambient light levels are often considered to drive the evolution of eye form and function. Diel activity pattern is the main mechanism controlling the visual environment of teleost reef fish, with day-active (diurnal) fish active in well-illuminated conditions, whereas night-active (nocturnal) fish cope with dim light. Physiological optics predicts several specific evolutionary responses to dim-light vision that should be reflected in visual performance features of the eye.

Echocardiographic findings in adolescents with anorexia nervosa at beginning of treatment and after weight recovery.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder with somatic complications. The aim of the study was to analyse echocardiographic abnormalities in patients with AN at initial examination and after weight restoration. A total of 173 consecutively admitted adolescents (aged 12-17 years), diagnosed with DSM-IV AN (307.

Phylogenetic versus functional signals in the evolution of form-function relationships in terrestrial vision.

Phylogeny is deeply pertinent to evolutionary studies. Traits that perform a body function are expected to be strongly influenced by physical "requirements" of the function. We investigated if such traits exhibit phylogenetic signals, and, if so, how phylogenetic noises bias quantification of form-function relationships.

Nonhematological organ dysfunction and positive fluid balance are important determinants of outcome in adults with severe dengue infection: a multicenter study from India.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore determinants of outcome in adults with dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome.

Methods: We performed a multicenter, retrospective, observational study over a 2-year period in 3 intensive care units (ICUs) in Pune (India).

Results: One hundred eighty-four adult patients were admitted to the ICU with a positive dengue immunoglobulin M test result; 43 met the World Health Organization criteria for dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome.

Atorvastatin treatment during epileptogenesis in a rat model for temporal lobe epilepsy.

Purpose: It has been shown that blood-brain barrier leakage together with inflammation could contribute to epileptogenesis and seizure progression in a rat model for temporal lobe epilepsy. Because statins have been shown to reduce blood-brain barrier permeability and inflammation in neurological diseases, we aimed to restore the integrity of the blood-brain barrier in epileptic rats using atorvastatin. If this drug could restore the blood-brain barrier, a reduction of brain inflammation might be expected, thereby delaying or preventing the development of epilepsy.

Nocturnality in dinosaurs inferred from scleral ring and orbit morphology.

Variation in daily activity patterns facilitates temporal partitioning of habitat and resources among species. Knowledge of temporal niche partitioning in paleobiological systems has been limited by the difficulty of obtaining reliable information about activity patterns from fossils. On the basis of an analysis of scleral ring and orbit morphology in 33 archosaurs, including dinosaurs and pterosaurs, we show that the eyes of Mesozoic archosaurs were adapted to all major types of diel activity (that is, nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral) and provide concrete evidence of temporal niche partitioning in the Mesozoic.

Quasioptical design of integrated Doppler backscattering and correlation electron cyclotron emission systems on the DIII-D tokamak.

The quasioptical design of a new integrated Doppler backscattering (DBS) and correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) system is presented. The design provides for simultaneous measurements of intermediate wavenumber density and long wavelength electron temperature turbulence behavior. The Doppler backscattering technique is sensitive to plasma turbulence flow and has been utilized to determine radial electric field, geodesic acoustic modes, zonal flows, and intermediate scale (k∼1-6 cm(-1)) density turbulence.

New plasma measurements with a multichannel millimeter-wave fluctuation diagnostic system in the DIII-D tokamak (invited).

A novel multichannel, tunable Doppler backscattering (DBS)/reflectometry system has recently been developed and applied to a variety of DIII-D plasmas. Either DBS or reflectometry can be easily configured for use in a wide range of plasma conditions using a flexible quasi-optical antenna system. The multiple closely spaced channels, when combined with other fluctuation diagnostic systems, have opened up new measurements of plasma properties.

Dynamic formation of a hot field reversed configuration with improved confinement by supersonic merging of two colliding high-β compact toroids.

A hot stable field-reversed configuration (FRC) has been produced in the C-2 experiment by colliding and merging two high-β plasmoids preformed by the dynamic version of field-reversed θ-pinch technology. The merging process exhibits the highest poloidal flux amplification obtained in a magnetic confinement system (over tenfold increase). Most of the kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy with total temperature (T{i}+T{e}) exceeding 0.

Glasgow Coma Scale and laboratory markers are superior to COHb in predicting CO intoxication severity.

Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxications can affect several organ systems and lead to coma or death in severe cases. To date, COHb is routinely used as a marker for detecting CO intoxication. In this retrospective study, we investigated 173 patients admitted with CO intoxication to our intensive care unit (ICU) over a period of 8 years.

Morphological differences between the eyeballs of nocturnal and diurnal amniotes revisited from optical perspectives of visual environments.

Eyes are expected to be adapted to the physical characteristics of the visual environment, yet previous analyses failed to corroborate this observation. We demonstrate that nocturnal, crepuscular/cathemeral, and diurnal activity patterns occupy distinct areas in morphospace and are identified with high accuracies based on a discriminant analysis of visual performance features. Not only nocturnal and diurnal diel activity patterns are reflected in macroscopic morphology of the eyeball, but also the crepuscular/cathemeral patterns.

A multichannel, frequency-modulated, tunable Doppler backscattering and reflectometry system.

A novel multichannel Doppler backscattering system has been designed and tested for application on the DIII-D [J. L. Luxon, Fusion Sci.

Quantitative estimates of visual performance features in fossil birds.

Eyeball structures such as the lens diameter (LD) and axial length are generally assumed to be highly correlated with optically meaningful parameters. However, these optical constraints on eyeball macroanatomy have never been tested explicitly. Tradeoffs between benefits of improved visual performance and cost of adaptation from an increase of tissue production predict that when eyeball size increases, optical parameters such as posterior nodal distance and maximum entrance pupil diameter should increase isometrically with eyeball axial length and LD, respectively.

A correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic and the importance of multifield fluctuation measurements for testing nonlinear gyrokinetic turbulence simulations.

A correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been used to measure local, turbulent fluctuations of the electron temperature in the core of DIII-D plasmas. This paper describes the hardware and testing of the CECE diagnostic and highlights the importance of measurements of multifield fluctuation profiles for the testing and validation of nonlinear gyrokinetic codes. The process of testing and validating such codes is critical for extrapolation to next-step fusion devices.

Detection of zonal flow spectra in DIII-D by a dual-channel Doppler backscattering system.

Doppler backscattering (DBS) has been successfully used to measure the E x B flow velocity and local intermediate wavenumber density fluctuation levels in the DIII-D tokamak. Depending on the launch angle and the frequency of the probing beam, the signal backscattered from the plasma cut-off layer is sensitive to density fluctuations at a specific perpendicular wavenumber (1 < or = k(perpendicular rho(s)) < or = 4). Due to the localization and high time resolution for poloidal flow measurements, DBS is well suited to detect stationary and time-dependent shear flows [zonal flows (ZFs)].

Obesity and cardiac risk after kidney transplantation: experience at one center and comprehensive literature review.

Background: The cardiac implications of obesity in kidney transplant recipients are not well-described.

Methods: We examined associations of body mass index (BMI) at transplant with posttransplant cardiac risk among 1102 renal allograft recipients at a single center in 1991 to 2004. Cumulative posttransplant incidences of congestive heart failure (CHF), atrial fibrillation (AF), myocardial infarction, and a composite of these cardiac diagnoses were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Observation of reduced electron-temperature fluctuations in the core of H-mode plasmas.

Core electron-temperature fluctuations [0.5%< or =T[over ]_(e)/T_(e)< or =2%, k_(theta)rho_(s)< or =0.3 in neutral-beam-heated low confinement-mode (L-mode) plasmas] are observed to decrease by at least a factor of 4 in standard and quiescent high-confinement-mode (H-mode and QH-mode) regimes in the DIII-D tokamak (r/a=0.

[Intrauterine treatment of incomplete fetal heart block in a mother with Sjögren syndrome].

Background: Isolated fetal heart block is considered as an immunological disorder in the majority of cases. Mothers of affected fetuses often suffer from connective tissue disease (Sjögren syndrome or Lupus erythematodes). All of them test positive for anti-SS-A (anti Ro) and/or anti-SS-B (anti La) antibodies.

Guided bone regeneration at dehiscence-type defects using biphasic hydroxyapatite + beta tricalcium phosphate (Bone Ceramic) or a collagen-coated natural bone mineral (BioOss Collagen): an immunohistochemical study in dogs.

The aim of this study was to immunohistochemically investigate bone regeneration following application of either hydroxyapatite+beta tricalcium phosphate (BCG) or a collagen-coated natural bone mineral (BOC) in combination with a collagen membrane at dehiscence-type defects in dogs. Standardized buccal dehiscence defects were surgically created following implant bed preparation in six beagle dogs. Defects were randomly filled with either BOC (BioOss Collagen) or BCG (Bone Ceramic) according to a split-mouth design, and covered with a native porcine derived collagen membrane (BioGide).