The radiated noise from isotropic turbulence

The noise radiated from isotropic turbulence at low Mach numbers and high Reynolds numbers, as derived by Proudman (1952), was the first application of Lighthill's Theory of Aerodynamic Noise to a complete flow field. The theory presented by Proudman involves the assumption of the neglect of retarded-time differences and so replaces the second-order retarded-time and space covariance of Lighthill's stress tensor, T _ij , and in particular its second time derivative, by the equivalent simultaneous covariance. This assumption is a valid approximation in the derivation of the ² T _ij /t ² covariance at low Mach numbers, but is not justified when that covariance is reduced to the sum of products of the time derivatives of equivalent second-order velocity covariances as required when Gaussian statistics are assumed. When these assumptions are removed the changes to the analysis are substantial, but the change in the numerical result for the total acoustic power is small.This paper is based on an alternative analysis which does not neglect retarded times. It makes use of the Lighthill relationship, whereby the fourth-order T _ij retarded-time covariance is evaluated from the square of a similar second-order covariance, which is assumed known. In this derivation no statistical assumptions are involved. This result, using distributions for the second-order space-time velocity squared covariance based on the Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results of both Sarkar and Hussaini (1993) and Dubois (1993), is compared with a re-evaluation of Proudman's original model. These results are then compared with the sound power derived from a phenomenological model based on simple approximations to the retarded-time/space covariance of T _xx . Finally, the recent numerical solutions of Sarkar and Hussaini (1993) for the acoustic power are compared with the results obtained from the analytic solutions.     

Self-Immolative Activation of β-Galactosidase-Responsive Probes for In Vivo MR Imaging in Mouse Models

Our lab has developed a new series of self-immolative MR agents for the rapid detection of enzyme activity in mouse models expressing β-galactosidase (β-gal). We investigated two molecular architectures to create agents that detect β-gal activity by modulating the coordination of water to Gd^III. The first is an intermolecular approach, wherein we designed several structural isomers to maximize coordination of endogenous carbonate ions. The second involves an intramolecular mechanism for q modulation. We incorporated a pendant coordinating carboxylate ligand with a 2, 4, 6, or 8 carbon linker to saturate ligand coordination to the Gd^III ion. This renders the agent ineffective. We show that one agent in particular (6-C pendant carboxylate) is an extremely effective MR reporter for the detection of enzyme activity in a mouse model expressing β-gal.     

Scheduling the Australian Football League

Generating a schedule for a professional sports league is an extremely demanding task. Good schedules have many benefits for the league, such as higher attendance and TV viewership, lower costs and increased fairness. The Australian Football League is particularly interesting because of an unusual competition format integrating a single round-robin tournament with additional games. Furthermore, several teams have multiple home venues and some venues are shared by multiple teams. This paper presents a 3-phase process to schedule the Australian Football League. The resulting solution outperforms the official schedule with respect to minimizing and balancing travel distance and breaks, while satisfying more requirements.     

Functional neural network analysis in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease using EEG and graph theory

Background  

Although a large body of knowledge about both brain structure and function has been gathered over the last decades, we still have a poor understanding of their exact relationship. Graph theory provides a method to study the relation between network structure and function, and its application to neuroscientific data is an emerging research field. We investigated topological changes in large-scale functional brain networks in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) by means of graph theoretical analysis of resting-state EEG recordings. EEGs of 20 patients with mild to moderate AD, 15 FTLD patients, and 23 non-demented individuals were recorded in an eyes-closed resting-state. The synchronization likelihood (SL), a measure of functional connectivity, was calculated for each sensor pair in 0.5–4 Hz, 4–8 Hz, 8–10 Hz, 10–13 Hz, 13–30 Hz and 30–45 Hz frequency bands. The resulting connectivity matrices were converted to unweighted graphs, whose structure was characterized with several measures: mean clustering coefficient (local connectivity), characteristic path length (global connectivity) and degree correlation (network 'assortativity'). All results were normalized for network size and compared with random control networks.     

Synthesis of novel tetrazole C5-linked C0- and C2-ribonucleoside phosphoramidites using MePOM and POM groups for probing RNA catalysis

Novel C5-linked C₀- and C₂-tetrazole ribonucleoside phosphoramidites were designed and synthesized via tetrazole C-nucleosides. Pivaloyloxymethyl (POM) and methyl-substituted POM (MePOM) groups were introduced as N-protecting groups in the tetrazole ring that can be readily removed under mild basic conditions. The phosphoramidites were successfully incorporated into the VS ribozyme substrate and hence providing a chemogenetic approach to determine which nucleobases of ribozymes function as the acid or base, in the studies of ribozyme general acid and base catalysis.     

Evidence for trimer formation during dipole clustering in Mg doped LiF

The clustering of (Mg²⁺V^?) pairs in LiF into higher order complexes is followed using dielectric loss and ITC. The results show clearly that, even at low temperatures and with high impurity content crystals, the decay follows a third-order reaction indicating that trimers are the predominant clusters formed. This is supported by the ITC results which do not give any indication of dimer formation.Difficulties may arise with the measurement of dielectric loss. An additional transient signal at ~1 kHz is observed to grow and then decay with aging time at 25°C. This signal is thought to be associated with the presence of dislocations introduced into the crystals during rapid quenching.     

Enthalpies and entropies of fusion of some substituted dipeptides

Enthalpies and temperatures of fusion or transition for four substituted dipeptides (Nacetylamides of glycyl-L-alanine (NAGAA),L-alanyl-L-alanine (NAA₂A),L-prolyl-glycine (NAPGA) andL-leucyl-L-proline monohydrate (NALPA·H₂O)) were determined by differential scanning calorimetry and the entropies of fusion derived. The results obtained have been compared with those of the corresponding substituted aminoacids and some of their racemic crystalline mixtures. The enthalpies and entropies of fusion of some substituted aminoacids have been redetermined. The results are discussed in comparison with crystal structural data, which has been reported in the literature or determined recently by some of the authors. Rationalization of the fusion parameters was attempted mainly on the basis of the number of intramolecular hydrogen bonds and the packing densities in the crystals.This work was carried out with the financial support from the Italian C.N.R. (Rome) and from the Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research.     

Aqueous solutions containing amino acids and peptides. Part 22 - free energetic and enthalpic virial coefficients at 25°C for some interactions of isofunctional amides

The excess free energies of aqueous solutions containing N-acetyl-L-prolinamide, N-acetyl-N-methyl-L-alaninamide and binary mixtures of these have been determined at 25°C from isopiestic measurements. The corresponding excess enthalpies for the last two systems have been obtained from enthalpy of dilution measurements. The results derived have been considered using the Savage-Wood group additivity principle, and it is shown that this works remarkably well although deviations are observed which are probably significant.Presented at the sixth Italian meeting on Calorimetry and Thermal Analysis (AICAT) held in Naples, December 4–7, 1984.