Additional reactor protection system of RBMK-1500

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

Analysis of anticipated transients without scram of RBMK-1500 reactor showed that additional reactor protection system is required. Data of accident analysis in the case of loose of external electric power and loose of vacuum in condensers of turbines are provided

Corrections and additions to CONTEMPT-LT computer codes for containment analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eerikaeinen, Lauri.

1980-01-01

The report presents a new version of CONTEMPT-LT/26 tainment code. The corrections and additions are applicable also to other CONTEMPT-LT versions. Thermodynamical background of corrections are shortly described, and in addition, some essential points which should be taken into account in the analysis of a pressure suppression containment have been pointed out. The results obtained by the corrected version have been compared to those calculated by the original program, and to the measured data in the Marviken containment experiment No 10. Finally, it has been indicated that for reliable pressure suppression analysis a wide ranging condensation model for air-steam mixture is necessary. (author)

Microstructural analysis of ceramic masses with waste kaolin addition for the red ceramic production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vida, Talita Almeida; Fagury Neto, Elias; Rabelo, Adriano Alves

2010-01-01

Incorporating reject industrial ceramic mixtures has proved viable in the reduction of environmental liabilities. In this study, we sought to study the potential use of ceramic formulations with the addition of tailings from the production of kaolin clay to the region of the city of Maraba-PA. Formulations were obtained with two clays of this region with the addition of up to 60% by weight of kaolin waste. The microstructural analyses were carried out from the preparation of specimens that were sintered at 1000 and 1200 °C with level 3 hours. The samples prepared were used to observe the microstructure by optical microscope, to determine the constituents of each formulation after burning. And later analysis was performed X-rays diffraction, to quantify the phases present. It was observed that increasing the content of the mixture of kaolin clay caused the reaction of kaolinite forming the primary mullite from 1000 ° C. For a firing temperature around 1200 ° C showed the presence of mullite even the addition of 20% kaolin, noting also the presence of secondary kaolinite. (author)

Amino-Acid Network Clique Analysis of Protein Mutation Non-Additive Effects: A Case Study of Lysozme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dengming Ming

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Optimizing amino-acid mutations in enzyme design has been a very challenging task in modern bio-industrial applications. It is well known that many successful designs often hinge on extensive correlations among mutations at different sites within the enzyme, however, the underpinning mechanism for these correlations is far from clear. Here, we present a topology-based model to quantitively characterize non-additive effects between mutations. The method is based on the molecular dynamic simulations and the amino-acid network clique analysis. It examines if the two mutation sites of a double-site mutation fall into to a 3-clique structure, and associates such topological property of mutational site spatial distribution with mutation additivity features. We analyzed 13 dual mutations of T4 phage lysozyme and found that the clique-based model successfully distinguishes highly correlated or non-additive double-site mutations from those additive ones whose component mutations have less correlation. We also applied the model to protein Eglin c whose structural topology is significantly different from that of T4 phage lysozyme, and found that the model can, to some extension, still identify non-additive mutations from additive ones. Our calculations showed that mutation non-additive effects may heavily depend on a structural topology relationship between mutation sites, which can be quantitatively determined using amino-acid network k-cliques. We also showed that double-site mutation correlations can be significantly altered by exerting a third mutation, indicating that more detailed physicochemical interactions should be considered along with the network clique-based model for better understanding of this elusive mutation-correlation principle.

The Revealed Competitiveness of Major Ports in the East Asian Region: An Additive Market Share Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Seung Kim

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In the single cargo market, the ordinary market share analysis method has been the representative tool for revealed competitiveness analysis. This paper develops and employs an applied market share index called the additive market share (AMS. Data are collected from 15 major container ports for the 1998-2013 period. In comparison to the results of an ordinary market share analysis, the highest AMS is observed for the Bohai Rim port cluster from 2008, not for the Yangtze River cluster or the Pearl River cluster. There are substitutable relationships between Yangtze River and non-Chinese ports and between Pearl River and Bohai Rim ports from 2001. Finally, there is an internal competition at Pearl River and Yangtze River ports, whereas Bohai Rim and non-Chinese ports show internally complementary relationships.

Analysis of redox additive-based overcharge protection for rechargeable lithium batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanan, S. R.; Surampudi, S.; Attia, A. I.; Bankston, C. P.

1991-01-01

The overcharge condition in secondary lithium batteries employing redox additives for overcharge protection, has been theoretically analyzed in terms of a finite linear diffusion model. The analysis leads to expressions relating the steady-state overcharge current density and cell voltage to the concentration, diffusion coefficient, standard reduction potential of the redox couple, and interelectrode distance. The model permits the estimation of the maximum permissible overcharge rate for any chosen set of system conditions. Digital simulation of the overcharge experiment leads to numerical representation of the potential transients, and estimate of the influence of diffusion coefficient and interelectrode distance on the transient attainment of the steady state during overcharge. The model has been experimentally verified using 1,1-prime-dimethyl ferrocene as a redox additive. The analysis of the experimental results in terms of the theory allows the calculation of the diffusion coefficient and the formal potential of the redox couple. The model and the theoretical results may be exploited in the design and optimization of overcharge protection by the redox additive approach.

The influence analysis of addition number of plate to heat exchanger performance of TRIGA 2000 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henky P Rahardjo; V I S Wardhani

2007-01-01

In order to reduce the existing bubble in the core of Bandung TRIGA 2000 reactor during its operation above 1000 kW, was done by increasing the effectivity of the heat exchanger (HE). One of the methods for increasing this effectivity is done by adding the number of plate to heat exchanger. To get an appropriate number of plate to be added on achieving its requirement, the analysis to know how the comparison of its performance on variation of addition the number of plate, is needed. The analysis was done by using the NTU-Effectivity method. The variables which influence its effectivity was obtained from the operational experiences since of the year 2000 until 2005. Besides that, it was assumed that the properties of working fluid had not much changed on its temperature and its pressure and small fouling deposit on the plate of HE. The results show that generally the addition of the number of plate would increase the effectivity of the heat exchanger. But for the low flow rate of the primary(600 gpm) and the high flow rate of the secondary(6000 gpm), a little bit of increasing effectivity was obtained for the addition the number of plate, and the effectivity had been reached to above 98%. (author)

ANALYSIS OF MPC ACCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR ADDITION OF FILLER MATERIALS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

W. Wallin

1996-01-01

This analysis is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development Department (WPDD) in response to a request received via a QAP-3-12 Design Input Data Request (Ref. 5.1) from WAST Design (formerly MRSMPC Design). The request is to provide: Specific MPC access requirements for the addition of filler materials at the MGDS (i.e., location and size of access required). The objective of this analysis is to provide a response to the foregoing request. The purpose of this analysis is to provide a documented record of the basis for the response. The response is stated in Section 8 herein. The response is based upon requirements from an MGDS perspective

Precessing rotating flows with additional shear: stability analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Salhi, A; Cambon, C

2009-03-01

We consider unbounded precessing rotating flows in which vertical or horizontal shear is induced by the interaction between the solid-body rotation (with angular velocity Omega(0)) and the additional "precessing" Coriolis force (with angular velocity -epsilonOmega(0)), normal to it. A "weak" shear flow, with rate 2epsilon of the same order of the Poincaré "small" ratio epsilon , is needed for balancing the gyroscopic torque, so that the whole flow satisfies Euler's equations in the precessing frame (the so-called admissibility conditions). The base flow case with vertical shear (its cross-gradient direction is aligned with the main angular velocity) corresponds to Mahalov's [Phys. Fluids A 5, 891 (1993)] precessing infinite cylinder base flow (ignoring boundary conditions), while the base flow case with horizontal shear (its cross-gradient direction is normal to both main and precessing angular velocities) corresponds to the unbounded precessing rotating shear flow considered by Kerswell [Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 72, 107 (1993)]. We show that both these base flows satisfy the admissibility conditions and can support disturbances in terms of advected Fourier modes. Because the admissibility conditions cannot select one case with respect to the other, a more physical derivation is sought: Both flows are deduced from Poincaré's [Bull. Astron. 27, 321 (1910)] basic state of a precessing spheroidal container, in the limit of small epsilon . A Rapid distortion theory (RDT) type of stability analysis is then performed for the previously mentioned disturbances, for both base flows. The stability analysis of the Kerswell base flow, using Floquet's theory, is recovered, and its counterpart for the Mahalov base flow is presented. Typical growth rates are found to be the same for both flows at very small epsilon , but significant differences are obtained regarding growth rates and widths of instability bands, if larger epsilon values, up to 0.2, are considered. Finally

Economic Analysis of Additive Manufacturing Integration in Injection Molding Process Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Charalambis, Alessandro; Kerbache, Laoucine; Tosello, Guido

The purpose of this research is to analyze how additive manufacturing can create value when it is utilized as a supportive technology to injection molding by quantifying the cost advantages that can be obtained. Tooling for the product development phase is investigated as pilot integration area...... of additive manufacturing with injection molding. Cost considerations are discussed through the development of a cost estimation model. The study shows that integration of additive manufacturing in the product development phase for fabrication of soft tooling is economically convenient with a cost reduction...... of 79,8% and 89,9%. The cost models on additive manufacturing have been built so far on the idea of substituting injection molding with additive manufacturing. In response to this literature gap, this research addresses the advantages of additive manufacturing utilized in a synergistic rather than...

Additive interaction in survival analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rod, Naja Hulvej; Lange, Theis; Andersen, Ingelise

2012-01-01

It is a widely held belief in public health and clinical decision-making that interventions or preventive strategies should be aimed at patients or population subgroups where most cases could potentially be prevented. To identify such subgroups, deviation from additivity of absolute effects...... an empirical example of interaction between education and smoking on risk of lung cancer. We argue that deviations from additivity of effects are important for public health interventions and clinical decision-making, and such estimations should be encouraged in prospective studies on health. A detailed...... is the relevant measure of interest. Multiplicative survival models, such as the Cox proportional hazards model, are often used to estimate the association between exposure and risk of disease in prospective studies. In Cox models, deviations from additivity have usually been assessed by surrogate measures...

Statistical analysis of sediment toxicity by additive monotone regression splines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, de W.J.; Besten, den P.J.; Braak, ter C.J.F.

2002-01-01

Modeling nonlinearity and thresholds in dose-effect relations is a major challenge, particularly in noisy data sets. Here we show the utility of nonlinear regression with additive monotone regression splines. These splines lead almost automatically to the estimation of thresholds. We applied this

Multivariate qualitative analysis of banned additives in food safety using surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

He, Shixuan; Xie, Wanyi; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Liqun; Wang, Yunxia; Liu, Xiaoling; Liu, Yulong; Du, Chunlei

2015-02-01

A novel strategy which combines iteratively cubic spline fitting baseline correction method with discriminant partial least squares qualitative analysis is employed to analyze the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy of banned food additives, such as Sudan I dye and Rhodamine B in food, Malachite green residues in aquaculture fish. Multivariate qualitative analysis methods, using the combination of spectra preprocessing iteratively cubic spline fitting (ICSF) baseline correction with principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) classification respectively, are applied to investigate the effectiveness of SERS spectroscopy for predicting the class assignments of unknown banned food additives. PCA cannot be used to predict the class assignments of unknown samples. However, the DPLS classification can discriminate the class assignment of unknown banned additives using the information of differences in relative intensities. The results demonstrate that SERS spectroscopy combined with ICSF baseline correction method and exploratory analysis methodology DPLS classification can be potentially used for distinguishing the banned food additives in field of food safety.

Food additives: an ethical evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mepham, Ben

2011-01-01

Food additives are an integral part of the modern food system, but opinion polls showing most Europeans have worries about them imply an urgent need for ethical analysis of their use. The existing literature on food ethics, safety assessment and animal testing. Food additives provide certain advantages in terms of many people's lifestyles. There are disagreements about the appropriate application of the precautionary principle and of the value and ethical validity of animal tests in assessing human safety. Most consumers have a poor understanding of the relative benefits and risks of additives, but concerns over food safety and animal testing remain high. Examining the impacts of food additives on consumer sovereignty, consumer health and on animals used in safety testing should allow a more informed debate about their appropriate uses.

Fat stigmatization in television shows and movies: a content analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Himes, Susan M; Thompson, J Kevin

2007-03-01

To examine the phenomenon of fat stigmatization messages presented in television shows and movies, a content analysis was used to quantify and categorize fat-specific commentary and humor. Fat stigmatization vignettes were identified using a targeted sampling procedure, and 135 scenes were excised from movies and television shows. The material was coded by trained raters. Reliability indices were uniformly high for the seven categories (percentage agreement ranged from 0.90 to 0.98; kappas ranged from 0.66 to 0.94). Results indicated that fat stigmatization commentary and fat humor were often verbal, directed toward another person, and often presented directly in the presence of the overweight target. Results also indicated that male characters were three times more likely to engage in fat stigmatization commentary or fat humor than female characters. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first information regarding the specific gender, age, and types of fat stigmatization that occur frequently in movies and television shows. The stimuli should prove useful in future research examining the role of individual difference factors (e.g., BMI) in the reaction to viewing such vignettes.

Additive Representations of Preferences, A New Foundation of Decision Analysis; The Algebraic Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.P. Wakker (Peter)

1991-01-01

textabstractIn Wakker (1989, "Additive Representations of Preferences, A New Foundation of Decision Analysis"), a new foundation of decision analysis was given. The main tool was a way to derive comparisons of "tradeoffs" from ordinal preferences, with comparisons of tradeoffs revealing orderings of

Multivariate qualitative analysis of banned additives in food safety using surface enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Shixuan; Xie, Wanyi; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Liqun; Wang, Yunxia; Liu, Xiaoling; Liu, Yulong; Du, Chunlei

2015-02-25

A novel strategy which combines iteratively cubic spline fitting baseline correction method with discriminant partial least squares qualitative analysis is employed to analyze the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy of banned food additives, such as Sudan I dye and Rhodamine B in food, Malachite green residues in aquaculture fish. Multivariate qualitative analysis methods, using the combination of spectra preprocessing iteratively cubic spline fitting (ICSF) baseline correction with principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) classification respectively, are applied to investigate the effectiveness of SERS spectroscopy for predicting the class assignments of unknown banned food additives. PCA cannot be used to predict the class assignments of unknown samples. However, the DPLS classification can discriminate the class assignment of unknown banned additives using the information of differences in relative intensities. The results demonstrate that SERS spectroscopy combined with ICSF baseline correction method and exploratory analysis methodology DPLS classification can be potentially used for distinguishing the banned food additives in field of food safety. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis Of Resistance And Effective Wake Friction Due To Addition Of Stern Tunnels On Passenger Ship Using Cfd

Science.gov (United States)

Chrismianto, D.; Tuswan; Manik, P.

2018-03-01

In this study, the stern tunnel to improve the efficiency of ship propulsion system is analysed. Stern tunnels installed on the two sides of the ship stern. Analysis of ship resistance and wake friction of the ship using CFD are carried out. The stern tunnel height (Hw) and length (L) are implemented to find the better stern tunnel form of the ship. The result of analysis showed that model has a high stern tunnels (Hw) of 1,444 m or additional high stern tunnels ratio of 16% and stern long tunnels (L) about 7 m is a model that has the smallest resistance about 1.1137 N or able to make reduction of resistance amount 11.2582%. While, the model with the addition of height of 0.2 m and a length of 9 m of stern tunnel is a model that has the better advanced speed about 4,927% in increase, and better wake friction about 30.4% in reduce.

Influence of additives on the stability of the phases of alumina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosario, D.C.C.; Gouvea, D.

2011-01-01

Problems with the stability of gamma alumina in catalytic reactions have been solved with the inclusion of additives during the synthesis of alumina. These additives stabilize the temperature of phase transition allowing the use of metastable alumina at high temperatures, but the mechanisms of action of additives are not well defined. It is known that each family of additive or additives behaves in different ways for this stabilization. This work aimed to study the performance of MgO and ZrO 2 , respectively at different concentrations in alumina synthesized via Pechini. The samples were analyzed by DSC, X-ray diffraction, measurement of specific surface area by BET analysis, and infrared analysis. The results showed an increase in transition temperature for both additives, and a different changes for specific surface area, showing that MgO and ZrO 2 work on improving the stability but with distinct mechanisms. (author)

River catchment rainfall series analysis using additive Holt-Winters method

Science.gov (United States)

Puah, Yan Jun; Huang, Yuk Feng; Chua, Kuan Chin; Lee, Teang Shui

2016-03-01

Climate change is receiving more attention from researchers as the frequency of occurrence of severe natural disasters is getting higher. Tropical countries like Malaysia have no distinct four seasons; rainfall has become the popular parameter to assess climate change. Conventional ways that determine rainfall trends can only provide a general result in single direction for the whole study period. In this study, rainfall series were modelled using additive Holt-Winters method to examine the rainfall pattern in Langat River Basin, Malaysia. Nine homogeneous series of more than 25 years data and less than 10% missing data were selected. Goodness of fit of the forecasted models was measured. It was found that seasonal rainfall model forecasts are generally better than the monthly rainfall model forecasts. Three stations in the western region exhibited increasing trend. Rainfall in southern region showed fluctuation. Increasing trends were discovered at stations in the south-eastern region except the seasonal analysis at station 45253. Decreasing trend was found at station 2818110 in the east, while increasing trend was shown at station 44320 that represents the north-eastern region. The accuracies of both rainfall model forecasts were tested using the recorded data of years 2010-2012. Most of the forecasts are acceptable.

Responses of ecosystem nitrogen cycle to nitrogen addition: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Meng; Yang, Yuanhe; Luo, Yiqi; Fang, Changming; Zhou, Xuhui; Chen, Jiakuan; Yang, Xin; Li, Bo

2011-03-01

• Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) addition may substantially alter the terrestrial N cycle. However, a comprehensive understanding of how the ecosystem N cycle responds to external N input remains elusive. • Here, we evaluated the central tendencies of the responses of 15 variables associated with the ecosystem N cycle to N addition, using data extracted from 206 peer-reviewed papers. • Our results showed that the largest changes in the ecosystem N cycle caused by N addition were increases in soil inorganic N leaching (461%), soil NO₃⁻ concentration (429%), nitrification (154%), nitrous oxide emission (134%), and denitrification (84%). N addition also substantially increased soil NH₄+ concentration (47%), and the N content in belowground (53%) and aboveground (44%) plant pools, leaves (24%), litter (24%) and dissolved organic N (21%). Total N content in the organic horizon (6.1%) and mineral soil (6.2%) slightly increased in response to N addition. However, N addition induced a decrease in microbial biomass N by 5.8%. • The increases in N effluxes caused by N addition were much greater than those in plant and soil pools except soil NO₃⁻, suggesting a leaky terrestrial N system. © 2010 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2010 New Phytologist Trust.

Dissolved oxygen analysis for hydropower additions on the Illinois River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundquist, M.J.; Elver, S.A.

1993-01-01

The Illinois Waterway is comprised of a system of eight locks along the Illinois River, the Des Plaines River, and the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal which allow commercial barge traffic between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan at the City of Chicago. Opportunities for production of hydroelectric power is present at several of these lock and dams. This paper presents the field study and computer simulation conducted to determine the feasibility of constructing hydroelectric powerhouses on two of these lock and dams. So as not to degrade recent improvements to water quality, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in issuing the construction and operating licenses for these two hydroelectric facilities, requires the hydropower additions to not reduce the dissolved oxygen (D.O.) level downstream of the hydroelectric facilities below 6 parts per million (ppm). Presently, the waterway discharge passes through taintor gates at both of these lock and dam facilities which creates aeration. The addition of hydroelectric powerhouses would divert water from these spillways through generation equipment; consequently, the spillway aeration would not occur. The purpose of the study was to determine the amount of power generation from these facilities, given the existing waterway water quality and the FERC D.O. criteria. A computer simulation generation analysis was conducted to provide a database of the waterway water quality. A four-month extensive field collection survey was conducted over the 63 kilometer (39 mile) reach of the waterway which comprises the two downstream pools of the Brandon Road and Dresden Island projects, and 3 kilometers (2 miles) upstream of the Brandon Road Project. The analysis revealed that the hydroelectric additions were economically feasible and are an example of how the benefits of hydroelectric development can be balanced with environmental concerns

An Analysis Of Tensile Test Results to Assess the Innovation Risk for an Additive Manufacturing Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adamczak Stanisław

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the innovation risk for an additive manufacturing process. The analysis was based on the results of static tensile tests obtained for specimens made of photocured resin. The assessment involved analyzing the measurement uncertainty by applying the FMEA method. The structure of the causes and effects of the discrepancies was illustrated using the Ishikawa diagram. The risk priority numbers were calculated. The uncertainty of the tensile test measurement was determined for three printing orientations. The results suggest that the material used to fabricate the tensile specimens shows clear anisotropy of the properties in relation to the printing direction.

Additive Manufacturing Solutions in the United States Marine Corps

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

public release. Distribution is unlimited. 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This project conducts a cost benefit analysis to...continuous liquid interface production (CLIP). The findings from the cost benefit analysis show a cost advantage for additive manufacturing at the...Corps, cost benefit analysis, CLIP 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 119 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT Unclassified 18. SECURITY

Failure location prediction by finite element analysis for an additive manufactured mandible implant.

Science.gov (United States)

Huo, Jinxing; Dérand, Per; Rännar, Lars-Erik; Hirsch, Jan-Michaél; Gamstedt, E Kristofer

2015-09-01

In order to reconstruct a patient with a bone defect in the mandible, a porous scaffold attached to a plate, both in a titanium alloy, was designed and manufactured using additive manufacturing. Regrettably, the implant fractured in vivo several months after surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the failure of the implant and show a way of predicting the mechanical properties of the implant before surgery. All computed tomography data of the patient were preprocessed to remove metallic artefacts with metal deletion technique before mandible geometry reconstruction. The three-dimensional geometry of the patient's mandible was also reconstructed, and the implant was fixed to the bone model with screws in Mimics medical imaging software. A finite element model was established from the assembly of the mandible and the implant to study stresses developed during mastication. The stress distribution in the load-bearing plate was computed, and the location of main stress concentration in the plate was determined. Comparison between the fracture region and the location of the stress concentration shows that finite element analysis could serve as a tool for optimizing the design of mandible implants. Copyright © 2015 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the constituents in jojoba wax used as a food additive by LC/MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Atsuko; Jin, Zhe-Long; Sugimoto, Naoki; Sato, Kyoko; Yamazaki, Takeshi; Tanamoto, Kenichi

2005-10-01

Jojoba wax is a natural gum base used as a food additive in Japan, and is obtained from jojoba oil with a characteristically high melting point. Although the constituents of jojoba oil have been reported, the quality of jojoba wax used as a food additive has not yet been clarified. In order to evaluate its quality as a food additive and to obtain basic information useful for setting official standards, we investigated the constituents and their concentrations in jojoba wax. LC/MS analysis of the jojoba wax showed six peaks with [M+H]+ ions in the range from m/z 533.6 to 673.7 at intervals of m/z 28. After isolation of the components of the four main peaks by preparative LC/MS, the fatty acid and long chain alcohol moieties of the wax esters were analyzed by methanolysis and hydrolysis, followed by GC/MS. The results indicated that the main constituents in jojoba wax were various kinds of wax esters, namely eicosenyl octadecenoate (C20:1-C18:1) (1), eicosenyl eicosenoate (C20:1-C20:1) (II), docosenyl eicosenoate (C22:1-C20:1) (III), eicosenyl docosenoate (C20:1-C22:1) (IV) and tetracosenyl eiosenoate (C24:1-C20:1) (V). To confirm and quantify the wax esters in jojoba wax directly, LC/MS/MS analysis was performed. The product ions corresponding to the fatty acid moieties of the wax esters were observed, and by using the product ions derived from the protonated molecular ions of wax esters the fatty acid moieties were identified by MRM analysis. The concentrations of the wax esters I, II and III, in jojoba wax were 5.5, 21.4 and 37.8%, respectively. In summary, we clarified the main constituents of jojoba wax and quantified the molecular species of the wax esters without hydrolysis by monitoring their product ions, using a LC/MS/MS system.

Temporal Drivers of Liking Based on Functional Data Analysis and Non-Additive Models for Multi-Attribute Time-Intensity Data of Fruit Chews.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuesten, Carla; Bi, Jian

2018-06-03

Conventional drivers of liking analysis was extended with a time dimension into temporal drivers of liking (TDOL) based on functional data analysis methodology and non-additive models for multiple-attribute time-intensity (MATI) data. The non-additive models, which consider both direct effects and interaction effects of attributes to consumer overall liking, include Choquet integral and fuzzy measure in the multi-criteria decision-making, and linear regression based on variance decomposition. Dynamics of TDOL, i.e., the derivatives of the relative importance functional curves were also explored. Well-established R packages 'fda', 'kappalab' and 'relaimpo' were used in the paper for developing TDOL. Applied use of these methods shows that the relative importance of MATI curves offers insights for understanding the temporal aspects of consumer liking for fruit chews.

Genome-wide analysis of adolescent psychotic-like experiences shows genetic overlap with psychiatric disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Oliver; Dudbridge, Frank; Cardno, Alastair G; Freeman, Daniel; Lu, Yi; Lundstrom, Sebastian; Lichtenstein, Paul; Ronald, Angelica

2018-03-31

This study aimed to test for overlap in genetic influences between psychotic-like experience traits shown by adolescents in the community, and clinically-recognized psychiatric disorders in adulthood, specifically schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. The full spectra of psychotic-like experience domains, both in terms of their severity and type (positive, cognitive, and negative), were assessed using self- and parent-ratings in three European community samples aged 15-19 years (Final N incl. siblings = 6,297-10,098). A mega-genome-wide association study (mega-GWAS) for each psychotic-like experience domain was performed. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-heritability of each psychotic-like experience domain was estimated using genomic-relatedness-based restricted maximum-likelihood (GREML) and linkage disequilibrium- (LD-) score regression. Genetic overlap between specific psychotic-like experience domains and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression was assessed using polygenic risk score (PRS) and LD-score regression. GREML returned SNP-heritability estimates of 3-9% for psychotic-like experience trait domains, with higher estimates for less skewed traits (Anhedonia, Cognitive Disorganization) than for more skewed traits (Paranoia and Hallucinations, Parent-rated Negative Symptoms). Mega-GWAS analysis identified one genome-wide significant association for Anhedonia within IDO2 but which did not replicate in an independent sample. PRS analysis revealed that the schizophrenia PRS significantly predicted all adolescent psychotic-like experience trait domains (Paranoia and Hallucinations only in non-zero scorers). The major depression PRS significantly predicted Anhedonia and Parent-rated Negative Symptoms in adolescence. Psychotic-like experiences during adolescence in the community show additive genetic effects and partly share genetic influences with clinically-recognized psychiatric disorders, specifically schizophrenia and

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of an additive element in metal oxide nanometer film using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiu, Junshan; Liu, Shiming; Sun, Meiling; Dong, Lili

2018-01-20

The photoelectric performance of metal ion-doped TiO 2 film will be improved with the changing of the compositions and concentrations of additive elements. In this work, the TiO 2 films doped with different Sn concentrations were obtained with the hydrothermal method. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Sn element in TiO 2 film was achieved with laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) with the calibration curves plotted accordingly. The photoelectric characteristics of TiO 2 films doped with different Sn content were observed with UV visible absorption spectra and J-V curves. All results showed that Sn doping could improve the optical absorption to be red-shifted and advance the photoelectric properties of the TiO 2 films. We had obtained that when the concentration of Sn doping in TiO 2 films was 11.89  mmol/L, which was calculated by the LIBS calibration curves, the current density of the film was the largest, which indicated the best photoelectric performance. It indicated that LIBS was a potential and feasible measured method, which was applied to qualitative and quantitative analysis of the additive element in metal oxide nanometer film.

Cleaning Process Development for Metallic Additively Manufactured Parts

Science.gov (United States)

Tramel, Terri L.; Welker, Roger; Lowery, Niki; Mitchell, Mark

2014-01-01

Additive Manufacturing of metallic components for aerospace applications offers many advantages over traditional manufacturing techniques. As a new technology, many aspects of its widespread utilization remain open to investigation. Among these are the cleaning processes that can be used for post finishing of parts and measurements to verify effectiveness of the cleaning processes. Many cleaning and drying processes and measurement methods that have been used for parts manufactured using conventional techniques are candidates that may be considered for cleaning and verification of additively manufactured parts. Among these are vapor degreasing, ultrasonic immersion and spray cleaning, followed by hot air drying, vacuum baking and solvent displacement drying. Differences in porosity, density, and surface finish of additively manufactured versus conventionally manufactured parts may introduce new considerations in the selection of cleaning and drying processes or the method used to verify their effectiveness. This presentation will review the relative strengths and weaknesses of different candidate cleaning and drying processes as they may apply to additively manufactured metal parts for aerospace applications. An ultrasonic cleaning technique for exploring the cleanability of parts will be presented along with an example using additively manufactured Inconel 718 test specimens to illustrate its use. The data analysis shows that this ultrasonic cleaning approach results in a well-behaved ultrasonic cleaning/extraction behavior. That is, it does not show signs of accelerated cavitation erosion of the base material, which was later confirmed by neutron imaging. In addition, the analysis indicated that complete cleaning would be achieved by ultrasonic immersion cleaning at approximately 5 minutes, which was verified by subsequent cleaning of additional parts.

Anomaly Detection In Additively Manufactured Parts Using Laser Doppler Vibrometery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hernandez, Carlos A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-09-29

Additively manufactured parts are susceptible to non-uniform structure caused by the unique manufacturing process. This can lead to structural weakness or catastrophic failure. Using laser Doppler vibrometry and frequency response analysis, non-contact detection of anomalies in additively manufactured parts may be possible. Preliminary tests show promise for small scale detection, but more future work is necessary.

Analysis of habitat characteristics of small pelagic fish based on generalized additive models in Kepulauan Seribu Waters

Science.gov (United States)

Rivai, A. A.; Siregar, V. P.; Agus, S. B.; Yasuma, H.

2018-03-01

One of the required information for sustainable fisheries management is about the habitat characteristics of a fish species. This information can be used to map the distribution of fish and map the potential fishing ground. This study aimed to analyze the habitat characteristics of small pelagic fishes (anchovy, squid, sardine and scads) which were mainly caught by lift net in Kepulauan Seribu waters. Research on habitat characteristics had been widely done, but the use of total suspended solid (TSS) parameters in this analysis is still lacking. TSS parameter which was extracted from Landsat 8 along with five other oceanographic parameters, CPUE data and location of fishing ground data from lift net fisheries in Kepulauan Seribu were included in this analysis. This analysis used Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to evaluate the relationship between CPUE and oceanographic parameters. The results of the analysis showed that each fish species had different habitat characteristics. TSS and sea surface height had a great influence on the value of CPUE from each species. All the oceanographic parameters affected the CPUE of each species. This study demonstrated the effective use of GAMs to identify the essential habitat of a fish species.

Children Who Are Hearing Impaired with Additional Disabilities and Related Aspects of Parental Stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Hintermair, Manfred

2000-01-01

In this German study, 317 parents of children with hearing impairments and additional disabilities completed both the Parenting Stress Index and an additional questionnaire on demographics and related information. Analysis showed consistently high stress scores in the Child Domain, whereas the Parent Domain showed only a slight tendency toward…

Characterization of Metal Powders Used for Additive Manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Slotwinski, J A; Garboczi, E J; Stutzman, P E; Ferraris, C F; Watson, S S; Peltz, M A

2014-01-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques can produce complex, high-value metal parts, with potential applications as critical parts, such as those found in aerospace components. The production of AM parts with consistent and predictable properties requires input materials (e.g., metal powders) with known and repeatable characteristics, which in turn requires standardized measurement methods for powder properties. First, based on our previous work, we assess the applicability of current standardized methods for powder characterization for metal AM powders. Then we present the results of systematic studies carried out on two different powder materials used for additive manufacturing: stainless steel and cobalt-chrome. The characterization of these powders is important in NIST efforts to develop appropriate measurements and standards for additive materials and to document the property of powders used in a NIST-led additive manufacturing material round robin. An extensive array of characterization techniques was applied to these two powders, in both virgin and recycled states. The physical techniques included laser diffraction particle size analysis, X-ray computed tomography for size and shape analysis, and optical and scanning electron microscopy. Techniques sensitive to structure and chemistry, including X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive analytical X-ray analysis using the X-rays generated during scanning electron microscopy, and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy were also employed. The results of these analyses show how virgin powder changes after being exposed to and recycled from one or more Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) additive manufacturing build cycles. In addition, these findings can give insight into the actual additive manufacturing process.

Characterization of Metal Powders Used for Additive Manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Slotwinski, JA; Garboczi, EJ; Stutzman, PE; Ferraris, CF; Watson, SS; Peltz, MA

2014-01-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques1 can produce complex, high-value metal parts, with potential applications as critical parts, such as those found in aerospace components. The production of AM parts with consistent and predictable properties requires input materials (e.g., metal powders) with known and repeatable characteristics, which in turn requires standardized measurement methods for powder properties. First, based on our previous work, we assess the applicability of current standardized methods for powder characterization for metal AM powders. Then we present the results of systematic studies carried out on two different powder materials used for additive manufacturing: stainless steel and cobalt-chrome. The characterization of these powders is important in NIST efforts to develop appropriate measurements and standards for additive materials and to document the property of powders used in a NIST-led additive manufacturing material round robin. An extensive array of characterization techniques was applied to these two powders, in both virgin and recycled states. The physical techniques included laser diffraction particle size analysis, X-ray computed tomography for size and shape analysis, and optical and scanning electron microscopy. Techniques sensitive to structure and chemistry, including X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive analytical X-ray analysis using the X-rays generated during scanning electron microscopy, and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy were also employed. The results of these analyses show how virgin powder changes after being exposed to and recycled from one or more Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) additive manufacturing build cycles. In addition, these findings can give insight into the actual additive manufacturing process. PMID:26601040

Strong-stability-preserving additive linear multistep methods

KAUST Repository

Hadjimichael, Yiannis

2018-02-20

The analysis of strong-stability-preserving (SSP) linear multistep methods is extended to semi-discretized problems for which different terms on the right-hand side satisfy different forward Euler (or circle) conditions. Optimal perturbed and additive monotonicity-preserving linear multistep methods are studied in the context of such problems. Optimal perturbed methods attain larger monotonicity-preserving step sizes when the different forward Euler conditions are taken into account. On the other hand, we show that optimal SSP additive methods achieve a monotonicity-preserving step-size restriction no better than that of the corresponding nonadditive SSP linear multistep methods.

Economic impact and market analysis of a special event: The Great New England Air Show

Science.gov (United States)

Rodney B. Warnick; David C. Bojanic; Atul Sheel; Apurv Mather; Deepak Ninan

2010-01-01

We conducted a post-event evaluation for the Great New England Air Show to assess its general economic impact and to refine economic estimates where possible. In addition to the standard economic impact variables, we examined travel distance, purchase decision involvement, event satisfaction, and frequency of attendance. Graphic mapping of event visitors' home ZIP...

Microstructure and mechanical properties of molybdenum silicides with Al additions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosales, I.; Bahena, D.; Colin, J.

2007-01-01

Several molybdenum silicides alloys with different aluminum additions were produced by the arc-cast method. Microstructure observed in the alloys presented a variation of the precipitated second phase respect to the aluminum content. Evaluation of the compressive behavior at high temperature of the alloys shows an important improvement in its ductility, approximately of 20%. Fracture toughness was increased proportionally with Al content. In addition at room temperature the alloys show a better mechanical behavior in comparison with the sample unalloyed. In general, Al additions result to be a good alternative to improve the resistance of these intermetallic alloys. The results are interpreted on the base of the analysis of second phase strengthening

Meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging studies shows altered fractional anisotropy occurring in distinct brain areas in association with depression.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, Melissa L

2011-09-01

Fractional anisotropy anomalies occurring in the white matter tracts in the brains of depressed patients may reflect microstructural changes underlying the pathophysiology of this disorder. We conducted a meta-analysis of fractional anisotropy abnormalities occurring in major depressive disorder using voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging studies. Using the Embase, PubMed and Google Scholar databases, 89 relevant data sets were identified, of which 7 (including 188 patients with major depressive disorder and 221 healthy controls) met our inclusion criteria. Authors were contacted to retrieve any additional data required. Coordinates were extracted from clusters of significant white matter fractional anisotropy differences between patients and controls. Relevant demographic, clinical and methodological variables were extracted from each study or obtained directly from authors. The meta-analysis was carried out using Signed Differential Mapping. Patients with depression showed decreased white matter fractional anisotropy values in the superior longitudinal fasciculus and increased fractional anisotropy values in the fronto-occipital fasciculus compared to controls. Using quartile and jackknife sensitivity analysis, we found that reduced fractional anisotropy in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus was very stable, with increases in the right fronto-occipital fasciculus driven by just one study. In conclusion, our meta-analysis revealed a significant reduction in fractional anisotropy values in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, which may ultimately play an important role in the pathology of depression.

Addition of electric arc furnace dust in hot metal changing the form of addition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques Sobrinho, Vicente de Paulo Ferreira; Oliveira, Jose Roberto de; Vieira, Estefano Aparecido; Telles, Victor Bridi; Grillo, Felipe Fardin; Tenorio, Jorge Alberto Soares; Espinosa, Denise Crocce Romano

2014-01-01

This research aims to study the incorporation of the mass of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), by addition in hot metal (1.78% Si) at a temperature of 1,400 degrees Celsius. The EAFD is from a steel plant producing long steel. The addition of the EAFD was as received, in the form of briquettes without agitation of the hot metal and in the form of briquettes with agitation of the hot metal. Previously, the EAFD was characterized using the following techniques: chemical analysis, size analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis. The achievement of fusion experiments in laboratory scale, took place in a vertical tubular furnace with temperature control. The fusion experiments to assess the incorporation of EAFD mass used graphite crucibles. After cooling, the hot metal and the slag, remaining in the crucible, were weighed to do a mass balance. A flow of inert gas (argon) was maintained inside the furnace during the experiments. Results show that the experiment with addition of EAFD as received presents the best result of incorporating the mass of the final hot metal (1.73%) combined with the lowest percentage of volatilized mass of EAFD (46.52%). The experiment addition of EAFD in the form of briquette with agitation of hot metal presents the lowest percentage of slag mass (4.58%). The zinc content of volatilized EAFD (64.30%) is higher than the zinc content of the imported ore concentrate (52%) and zinc content of the national ore concentrate (12% to 39%). The presence of lead and cadmium in the slag characterizing it as a hazardous solid waste. (author)

Analysis of occupational accidents: prevention through the use of additional technical safety measures for machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Dźwiarek, Marek; Latała, Agata

2016-01-01

This article presents an analysis of results of 1035 serious and 341 minor accidents recorded by Poland's National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in 2005-2011, in view of their prevention by means of additional safety measures applied by machinery users. Since the analysis aimed at formulating principles for the application of technical safety measures, the analysed accidents should bear additional attributes: the type of machine operation, technical safety measures and the type of events causing injuries. The analysis proved that the executed tasks and injury-causing events were closely connected and there was a relation between casualty events and technical safety measures. In the case of tasks consisting of manual feeding and collecting materials, the injuries usually occur because of the rotating motion of tools or crushing due to a closing motion. Numerous accidents also happened in the course of supporting actions, like removing pollutants, correcting material position, cleaning, etc.

Regression analysis of informative current status data with the additive hazards model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Shishun; Hu, Tao; Ma, Ling; Wang, Peijie; Sun, Jianguo

2015-04-01

This paper discusses regression analysis of current status failure time data arising from the additive hazards model in the presence of informative censoring. Many methods have been developed for regression analysis of current status data under various regression models if the censoring is noninformative, and also there exists a large literature on parametric analysis of informative current status data in the context of tumorgenicity experiments. In this paper, a semiparametric maximum likelihood estimation procedure is presented and in the method, the copula model is employed to describe the relationship between the failure time of interest and the censoring time. Furthermore, I-splines are used to approximate the nonparametric functions involved and the asymptotic consistency and normality of the proposed estimators are established. A simulation study is conducted and indicates that the proposed approach works well for practical situations. An illustrative example is also provided.

Analysis of occupational accidents: prevention through the use of additional technical safety measures for machinery

Science.gov (United States)

Dźwiarek, Marek; Latała, Agata

2016-01-01

This article presents an analysis of results of 1035 serious and 341 minor accidents recorded by Poland's National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in 2005–2011, in view of their prevention by means of additional safety measures applied by machinery users. Since the analysis aimed at formulating principles for the application of technical safety measures, the analysed accidents should bear additional attributes: the type of machine operation, technical safety measures and the type of events causing injuries. The analysis proved that the executed tasks and injury-causing events were closely connected and there was a relation between casualty events and technical safety measures. In the case of tasks consisting of manual feeding and collecting materials, the injuries usually occur because of the rotating motion of tools or crushing due to a closing motion. Numerous accidents also happened in the course of supporting actions, like removing pollutants, correcting material position, cleaning, etc. PMID:26652689

[Total analysis of organic rubber additives].

Science.gov (United States)

He, Wen-Xuan; Robert, Shanks; You, Ye-Ming

2010-03-01

In the present paper, after middle pressure chromatograph separation using both positive phase and reversed-phase conditions, the organic additives in ethylene-propylene rubber were identified by infrared spectrometer. At the same time, by using solid phase extraction column to maintain the main component-fuel oil in organic additves to avoid its interfering with minor compounds, other organic additves were separated and analysed by GC/Ms. In addition, the remaining active compound such as benzoyl peroxide was identified by CC/Ms, through analyzing acetone extract directly. Using the above mentioned techniques, soften agents (fuel oil, plant oil and phthalte), curing agent (benzoylperoxide), vulcanizing accelerators (2-mercaptobenzothiazole, ethyl thiuram and butyl thiuram), and antiagers (2, 6-Di-tert-butyl-4-methyl phenol and styrenated phenol) in ethylene-propylene rubber were identified. Although the technique was established in ethylene-propylene rubber system, it can be used in other rubber system.

Radiolytic stabilization of poly(methyl methacrylate) using commercial additives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aquino, Katia Aparecida da Silva

2000-04-01

Poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, Acrigel, a Brazilian polymer, is used in the manufacture of medical supplies sterelizable by ionizing radiation. However, when PMMA is gamma-irradiated it undergoes main chain scissions, which promote molecular degradation causing reduction in its mechanical properties. Therefore, radiolytic of PMMA is important for it to become commercially radiosterizable. In this work some commercial additives, originally used in photo-and thermo-oxidate stabilization of polymers, were tested. Only two additives, type HALS (Hindered Amine Light Stabilizer), denoted Scavenger, showed a good protective quality. The investigation of radiation-induced main scissions was carried out by viscosimetric method. The most effective additive, added to the polymer system at 0.3 w/w%, promotes a great molecular radioprotection of 93%. That means a reduction of G-value (scissions/100 eV) from 0.611 to 0.053. In addition, the glassy transition temperature (T g ) of PMMA (no additive) significantly changed by radiation does not change when PMMA (with additive) is irradiated. The spectroscopy analysis, FT-IR and NMR ( 1 H), showed that the radioprotector added to the system does not change the PMMA structure. (author)

BIOMETRICAL ANALYSIS OF ARABIAN FOALS AND THEIR LATER SUCCESSES IN SHOWS AND ON RACE TRACK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. PIESZKA

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Arabian horses are one of the most important products of Polish horse breeding.Many of them are International and World champions in shows; others are very wellknown as courageous race horses. To obtain such champions it is necessary to takeunder consideration many factors affecting the final results. The objective of thisstudy was to evaluate the effect of biometrical measurements of the foals at birthaccording to their future successes in shows and on racetrack. The study was carriedout on 143 horses winning in shows and in races. Body weight, height at withers,girth and canon circumferences taken at birth of these horses were analysed.Additionally coat colour was studied. All studied animals were divided into threegroups according to each measurement and the differences between such groupswere evaluated according points obtained for particular place at shows and place inraces. It was stated that horses heavier at birth and with higher girth circumferencegot more successes both at shows and on racetrack. Horses with higher height atwithers at birth were more successful in shows while animals with higher canoncircumference won oftener at race track. It was observed that the most courageousrace horses were bay while most champions were grey.

Genetic Analysis of the Additional Sex Combs Locus of Drosophila Melanogaster

OpenAIRE

Sinclair, DAR.; Campbell, R. B.; Nicholls, F.; Slade, E.; Brock, H. W.

1992-01-01

Additional sex combs (Asx) is a member of the Polycomb group of genes, which are thought to be required for maintenance of chromatin structure. To better understand the function of Asx, we have isolated nine new alleles, each of which acts like a gain of function mutation. Asx is required for normal determination of segment identity. Asx(P1) shows an unusual phenotype in that anterior and posterior homeotic transformations are seen in the same individuals, suggesting that Asx(P1) might upset ...

Meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies shows altered fractional anisotropy occurring in distinct brain areas in association with depression

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, Melissa L

2011-09-27

Abstract Fractional anisotropy anomalies occurring in the white matter tracts in the brains of depressed patients may reflect microstructural changes underlying the pathophysiology of this disorder. We conducted a meta-analysis of fractional anisotropy abnormalities occurring in major depressive disorder using voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging studies. Using the Embase, PubMed and Google Scholar databases, 89 relevant data sets were identified, of which 7 (including 188 patients with major depressive disorder and 221 healthy controls) met our inclusion criteria. Authors were contacted to retrieve any additional data required. Coordinates were extracted from clusters of significant white matter fractional anisotropy differences between patients and controls. Relevant demographic, clinical and methodological variables were extracted from each study or obtained directly from authors. The meta-analysis was carried out using Signed Differential Mapping. Patients with depression showed decreased white matter fractional anisotropy values in the superior longitudinal fasciculus and increased fractional anisotropy values in the fronto-occipital fasciculus compared to controls. Using quartile and jackknife sensitivity analysis, we found that reduced fractional anisotropy in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus was very stable, with increases in the right fronto-occipital fasciculus driven by just one study. In conclusion, our meta-analysis revealed a significant reduction in fractional anisotropy values in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, which may ultimately play an important role in the pathology of depression.

Hydration of Portland cement with additions of calcium sulfoaluminates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Saoût, Gwenn; Lothenbach, Barbara; Hori, Akihiro; Higuchi, Takayuki; Winnefeld, Frank

2013-01-01

The effect of mineral additions based on calcium aluminates on the hydration mechanism of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was investigated using isothermal calorimetry, thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance and pore solution analysis. Results show that the addition of a calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA) to the OPC does not affect the hydration mechanism of alite but controls the aluminate dissolution. In the second blend investigated, a rapid setting cement, the amorphous calcium aluminate reacts very fast to ettringite. The release of aluminum ions strongly retards the hydration of alite but the C–S–H has a similar composition as in OPC with no additional Al to Si substitution. As in CSA–OPC, the aluminate hydration is controlled by the availability of sulfates. The coupling of thermodynamic modeling with the kinetic equations predicts the amount of hydrates and pore solution compositions as a function of time and validates the model in these systems.

An analysis of the possibility for health implications of joint actions and interactions between food additives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groten, J.P.; Butler, W.; Feron, V.J.; Kozianowski, G.; Renwick, A.G.; Walker, R.

2000-01-01

The possibility that structurally unrelated food additives could show either joint actions or interactions has been assessed based on their potential to share common sites and mechanisms of action or common pathways of elimination. All food additives approved in the European Union and allocated

Microstructural characterisation of Al-Si cast alloys containing rare earth additions

Science.gov (United States)

Elgallad, E. M.; Ibrahim, M. F.; Doty, H. W.; Samuel, F. H.

2018-05-01

This paper presents a thorough study on the effect of rare earth elements, specifically La and Ce, on the microstructure characteristics of non-modified and Sr-modified A356 and A413 alloys. Several alloys were prepared by adding 1% La and 1% Ce either individually or in combination. Microstructural characterisation was carried out using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis as well as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The results showed that the individual and combined additions of La and Ce did not bring about any modification or even refinement in the eutectic Si structure. Moreover, these additions were found to negate the modification effect of Sr, particularly in the presence of La. The A356 and A413 alloys containing La and/or Ce displayed high phase volume fractions owing to the formation of Al-Si-La/Ce/(La,Ce) and Al-Ti-La/Ce intermetallic phases. DSC analysis revealed that the formation temperatures of these phases varied from 560 to 568 °C and 568 to 574 °C, respectively. This analysis also showed that the addition of La and Ce whether individually or in combination resulted in a depression in the eutectic temperature and a considerable increase in the solidification range, particularly for the A413 alloy.

Genome-wide association analysis reveals putative Alzheimer's disease susceptibility loci in addition to APOE.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertram, Lars; Lange, Christoph; Mullin, Kristina; Parkinson, Michele; Hsiao, Monica; Hogan, Meghan F; Schjeide, Brit M M; Hooli, Basavaraj; Divito, Jason; Ionita, Iuliana; Jiang, Hongyu; Laird, Nan; Moscarillo, Thomas; Ohlsen, Kari L; Elliott, Kathryn; Wang, Xin; Hu-Lince, Diane; Ryder, Marie; Murphy, Amy; Wagner, Steven L; Blacker, Deborah; Becker, K David; Tanzi, Rudolph E

2008-11-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a genetically complex and heterogeneous disorder. To date four genes have been established to either cause early-onset autosomal-dominant AD (APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2(1-4)) or to increase susceptibility for late-onset AD (APOE5). However, the heritability of late-onset AD is as high as 80%, (6) and much of the phenotypic variance remains unexplained to date. We performed a genome-wide association (GWA) analysis using 484,522 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on a large (1,376 samples from 410 families) sample of AD families of self-reported European descent. We identified five SNPs showing either significant or marginally significant genome-wide association with a multivariate phenotype combining affection status and onset age. One of these signals (p = 5.7 x 10(-14)) was elicited by SNP rs4420638 and probably reflects APOE-epsilon4, which maps 11 kb proximal (r2 = 0.78). The other four signals were tested in three additional independent AD family samples composed of nearly 2700 individuals from almost 900 families. Two of these SNPs showed significant association in the replication samples (combined p values 0.007 and 0.00002). The SNP (rs11159647, on chromosome 14q31) with the strongest association signal also showed evidence of association with the same allele in GWA data generated in an independent sample of approximately 1,400 AD cases and controls (p = 0.04). Although the precise identity of the underlying locus(i) remains elusive, our study provides compelling evidence for the existence of at least one previously undescribed AD gene that, like APOE-epsilon4, primarily acts as a modifier of onset age.

Activation of CO2-reducing methanogens in oil reservoir after addition of nutrient.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Guang-Chao; Zhou, Lei; Mbadinga, Serge Maurice; You, Jing; Yang, Hua-Zhen; Liu, Jin-Feng; Yang, Shi-Zhong; Gu, Ji-Dong; Mu, Bo-Zhong

2016-12-01

Nutrient addition as part of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) operations have important implications for more energy recovery from oil reservoirs, but very little is known about the in situ response of microorganisms after intervention. An analysis of two genes as biomarkers, mcrA encoding the key enzyme in methanogenesis and fthfs encoding the key enzyme in acetogenesis, was conducted during nutrient addition in oil reservoir. Clone library data showed that dominant mcrA sequences changed from acetoclastic (Methanosaetaceae) to CO 2 -reducing methanogens (Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales), and the authentic acetogens affiliated to Firmicutes decreased after the intervention. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and Jackknife environment clusters revealed evidence on the shift of the microbial community structure among the samples. Quantitative analysis of methanogens via qPCR showed that Methanobacteriales and Methanomicrobiales increased after nutrient addition, while acetoclastic methanogens (Methanosaetaceae) changed slightly. Nutrient treatment activated native CO 2 -reducing methanogens in oil reservoir. The high frequency of Methanobacteriales and Methanomicrobiales (CO 2 -reducers) after nutrient addition in this petroleum system suggested that CO 2 -reducing methanogenesis was involved in methane production. The nutrient addition could promote the methane production. The results will likely improve strategies of utilizing microorganisms in subsurface environments. Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Is there still a role for additional linear ablation in addition to pulmonary vein isolation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation? An Updated Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xiaoliang; Jiang, Jingzhou; Ma, Yuedong; Tang, Anli

2016-04-15

The benefits and risks of additional left atrium (LA) linear ablation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) remain unclear. Randomized controlled trials were identified in the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane databases, and the relevant papers were examined. Pooled relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were estimated using random effects models. The primary endpoint was the maintenance of sinus rhythm after a single ablation. Nine randomized controlled trials involving 1138 patients were included in this analysis. Additional LA linear ablation did not improve the maintenance of the sinus rhythm following a single procedure (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.93-1.13; P=0.60). A subgroup analysis demonstrated that all methods of additional linear ablation failed to improve the outcome. Additional linear ablation significantly increased the mean procedural time (166.53±67.7 vs. 139.57±62.44min, Plinear ablation did not exhibit any benefits in terms of sinus rhythm maintenance for paroxysmal AF patients following a single procedure. Additional linear ablation significantly increased the mean procedural, fluoroscopy and RF application times. This additional ablation was not associated with a statistically significant increase in complication rates. This finding must be confirmed by further large, high-quality clinical trials. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Proteome Analysis of the Plant Pathogenic Fungus Monilinia laxa Showing Host Specificity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olja Bregar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Brown rot fungus Monilinia laxa (Aderh. & Ruhl. Honey is an important plant pathogen in stone and pome fruits in Europe. We applied a proteomic approach in a study of M. laxa isolates obtained from apples and apricots in order to show the host specifity of the isolates and to analyse differentially expressed proteins in terms of host specifity, fungal pathogenicity and identification of candidate proteins for diagnostic marker development. Extracted mycelium proteins were separated by 2-D electrophoresis (2-DE and visualized by Coomassie staining in a non-linear pH range of 3–11 and Mr of 14–116 kDa. We set up a 2-DE reference map of M. laxa, resolving up to 800 protein spots, and used it for image analysis. The average technical coefficient of variance (13 % demonstrated a high reproducibility of protein extraction and 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE PAGE, and the average biological coefficient of variance (23 % enabled differential proteomic analysis of the isolates. Multivariate statistical analysis (principal component analysis discriminated isolates from two different hosts, providing new data that support the existence of a M. laxa specialized form f. sp. mali, which infects only apples. A total of 50 differentially expressed proteins were further analyzed by LC-MS/MS, yielding 41 positive identifications. The identified mycelial proteins were functionally classified into 6 groups: amino acid and protein metabolism, energy production, carbohydrate metabolism, stress response, fatty acid metabolism and other proteins. Some proteins expressed only in apple isolates have been described as virulence factors in other fungi. The acetolactate synthase was almost 11-fold more abundant in apple-specific isolates than in apricot isolates and it might be implicated in M. laxa host specificity. Ten proteins identified only in apple isolates are potential candidates for the development of M. laxa host-specific diagnostic markers.

Additives for cement compositions based on modified peat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kopanitsa, Natalya, E-mail: kopanitsa@mail.ru; Sarkisov, Yurij, E-mail: sarkisov@tsuab.ru; Gorshkova, Aleksandra, E-mail: kasatkina.alexandra@gmail.com; Demyanenko, Olga, E-mail: angel-n@sibmail.com [Tomsk State University of Architecture and Building, 2, Solyanaya sq., Tomsk, 634003 (Russian Federation)

2016-01-15

High quality competitive dry building mixes require modifying additives for various purposes to be included in their composition. There is insufficient amount of quality additives having stable properties for controlling the properties of cement compositions produced in Russia. Using of foreign modifying additives leads to significant increasing of the final cost of the product. The cost of imported modifiers in the composition of the dry building mixes can be up to 90% of the material cost, depending on the composition complexity. Thus, the problem of import substitution becomes relevant, especially in recent years, due to difficult economic situation. The article discusses the possibility of using local raw materials as a basis for obtaining dry building mixtures components. The properties of organo-mineral additives for cement compositions based on thermally modified peat raw materials are studied. Studies of the structure and composition of the additives are carried out by physicochemical research methods: electron microscopy and X-ray analysis. Results of experimental research showed that the peat additives contribute to improving of cement-sand mortar strength and hydrophysical properties.

Synthesis And Characterization of PVDF-LiBOB Electrolyte Membrane With ZrO2 As Additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etty Wigayati

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The electrolyte membrane serves as ions medium transport and as a separator between the anode and cathode in lithium ion battery. The polymer used for the electrolyte membrane must have sufficiently high mechanical strength to withstand the pressure between the anode and cathode, a thin size and has a chemical and thermal stability. Polymer electrolyte membrane of Lithium bisoxalate Borate(LiBOB salt with PVdF as matrix polymer and the additive is ZrO2 has been fabricated. The method used is a doctor blade. The concentration of the additive is varied. The membranes were characterized using FT-IR, XRD, SEM and EIS. XRD analysis showed that the crystallinity index increases with the addition of ZrO2. The presence of functional groups bewteen Lithium salts and polymer interaction shown by FTIR analysis. The morphology of the membrane surface was shown by SEM analysis. SEM image and mapping show the morphology of the membrane have typical porous layer. The electrical conductivity increases with additions of ZrO2.

Significance of Glucose Addition on Chitosan-Glycerophosphate Hydrogel Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dian Susanthy

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Chitosan-glycerophosphate hydrogel can be used as dental scaffold due to its thermosensitivity, gelation performance at body temperature, suitable acidity for body condition, biocompatibility, and ability to provide good environment for cell proliferation and differentiation. Previous study showed that glucose addition to the chitosan solution before steam sterilization improved its hydrogel mechanical strength. However, the effectiveness of glucose addition was still doubted because glucose might undergo Maillard reaction in that particular condition. The aims of this study are to confirm whether the glucose addition can increase the hydrogel mechanical strength and gelation rate effectively and also to compare their performance to be dental scaffold. This research was performed through several steps, namely preparation of chitosan-glycerophosphate solution, addition of glucose, gelation time test, gel mechanical strength measurement, functional group analysis, and physical properties measurements (pH, viscosity, and pore size. The result showed that glucose addition did not improve the hydrogel mechanical strength and gelation rate, neither when it was added before nor after steam sterilization. Glucose addition before steam sterilization seemed to trigger Maillard reaction or browning effect, while glucose addition after steam sterilization increased the amount of free water molecules in the hydrogel. Chitosan and glycerophosphate interact physically, but interaction between chitosan and glucose seems to occur chemically and followed by the formation of free water molecules. Glucose addition decreases the solution viscosity and hydrogel pore size so the hydrogel performance as dental scaffold is lowered.

Fuel and Additive Characterization for HCCI Combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aceves, S M; Flowers, D; Martinez-Frias, J; Espinosa-Loza, F; Pitz, W J; Dibble, R

2003-01-01

This paper shows a numerical evaluation of fuels and additives for HCCl combustion. First, a long list of candidate HCCl fuels is selected. For all the fuels in the list, operating conditions (compression ratio, equivalence ratio and intake temperature) are determined that result in optimum performance under typical operation for a heavy-duty engine. Fuels are also characterized by presenting Log(p)-Log(T) maps for multiple fuels under HCCl conditions. Log(p)-Log(T) maps illustrate important processes during HCCl engine operation, including compression, low temperature heat release and ignition. Log(p)-Log(T) diagrams can be used for visualizing these processes and can be used as a tool for detailed analysis of HCCl combustion. The paper also includes a ranking of many potential additives. Experiments and analyses have indicated that small amounts (a few parts per million) of secondary fuels (additives) may considerably affect HCCl combustion and may play a significant role in controlling HCCl combustion. Additives are ranked according to their capability to advance HCCl ignition. The best additives are listed and an explanation of their effect on HCCl combustion is included

The influence of cellulose nanocrystal additions on the performance of cement paste

Science.gov (United States)

Yizheng Cao; Pablo Zavaterri; Jeff Youngblood; Robert Moon; Jason Weiss

2015-01-01

The influence of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) addition on the performance of cement paste was investigated. Our mechanical tests show an increase in the flexural strength of approximately 30% with only 0.2% volume of CNCs with respect to cement. Isothermal calorimetry (IC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) show that the degree of hydration (DOH) of the cement paste...

[Analysis of constituents of ester-type gum bases used as natural food additives].

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Atsuko; Masuda, Aino; Sugimoto, Naoki; Yamagata, Kazuo; Yamazaki, Takeshi; Tanamoto, Kenichi

2007-12-01

The differences in the constituents of ten ester-type gum bases used as natural food additives in Japan (urushi wax, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, rice bran wax, shellac wax, jojoba wax, bees wax, Japan wax, montan wax, and lanolin) were investigated. Several kinds of gum bases showed characteristic TLC patterns of lipids. In addition, compositions of fatty acid and alcohol moieties of esters in the gum bases were analyzed by GC/MS after methanolysis and hydrolysis, respectively. The results indicated that the varieties of fatty acids and alcohols and their compositions were characteristic for each gum base. These results will be useful for identification and discrimination of the ester-type gum bases.

[Determination of the Plant Origin of Licorice Oil Extract, a Natural Food Additive, by Principal Component Analysis Based on Chemical Components].

Science.gov (United States)

Tada, Atsuko; Ishizuki, Kyoko; Sugimoto, Naoki; Yoshimatsu, Kayo; Kawahara, Nobuo; Suematsu, Takako; Arifuku, Kazunori; Fukai, Toshio; Tamura, Yukiyoshi; Ohtsuki, Takashi; Tahara, Maiko; Yamazaki, Takeshi; Akiyama, Hiroshi

2015-01-01

"Licorice oil extract" (LOE) (antioxidant agent) is described in the notice of Japanese food additive regulations as a material obtained from the roots and/or rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, G. inflata or G. glabra. In this study, we aimed to identify the original Glycyrrhiza species of eight food additive products using LC/MS. Glabridin, a characteristic compound in G. glabra, was specifically detected in seven products, and licochalcone A, a characteristic compound in G. inflata, was detected in one product. In addition, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) (a kind of multivariate analysis) using the data of LC/MS or (1)H-NMR analysis was performed. The data of thirty-one samples, including LOE products used as food additives, ethanol extracts of various Glycyrrhiza species and commercially available Glycyrrhiza species-derived products were assessed. Based on the PCA results, the majority of LOE products was confirmed to be derived from G. glabra. This study suggests that PCA using (1)H-NMR analysis data is a simple and useful method to identify the plant species of origin of natural food additive products.

Effect of addition of olive leaves before fruits extraction process to some monovarietal Tunisian extra-virgin olive oils using chemometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonda, Ammar; Akram, Zribi; Boutheina, Gargouri; Guido, Flamini; Mohamed, Bouaziz

2014-01-08

The analysis of the effect of cultivar and olive leaves addition before the extraction on the different analytical values revealed significant differences (p olive leaves. Twenty-three compounds were characterized, representing 86.1-99.2% of the total volatiles. Chétoui cultivar has the highest amount of (E)-2-hexenal, followed by Chemlali cultivar, whereas (E)-2-hexen-1-ol was the major constituent of Zalmati and crossbreeding Chemlali by Zalmati cultivars. Sensory analysis showed that Chemlali and Chétoui Zarzis possessed a high fruity, bitter, and pungent taste, whereas the Zalmati and crossbreeding Chemlali by Zalmati had a 'green' taste among its attributes. Indeed, the taste panel found an improvement of the oil quality when an amount of olive leaves (3%) added to the olives fruits.

The work of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Food Additives (EURL) and its support for the authorisation process of feed additives in the European Union: a review

Science.gov (United States)

von Holst, Christoph; Robouch, Piotr; Bellorini, Stefano; de la Huebra, María José González; Ezerskis, Zigmas

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT This paper describes the operation of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Feed Additives (EURL) and its role in the authorisation procedure of feed additives in the European Union. Feed additives are authorised according to Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003, which introduced a completely revised authorisation procedure and also established the EURL. The regulations authorising feed additives contain conditions of use such as legal limits of the feed additives, which require the availability of a suitable method of analysis for official control purposes under real world conditions. It is the task of the EURL to evaluate the suitability of analytical methods as proposed by the industry for this purpose. Moreover, the paper shows that one of the major challenges is the huge variety of the methodology applied in feed additive analysis, thus requiring expertise in quite different analytical areas. In order to cope with this challenge, the EURL is supported by a network of national reference laboratories (NRLs) and only the merged knowledge of all NRLs allows for a scientifically sound assessment of the analytical methods. PMID:26540604

An Additive-Multiplicative Cox-Aalen Regression Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheike, Thomas H.; Zhang, Mei-Jie

2002-01-01

Aalen model; additive risk model; counting processes; Cox regression; survival analysis; time-varying effects......Aalen model; additive risk model; counting processes; Cox regression; survival analysis; time-varying effects...

Managing water addition to a degraded core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuan, P.; Hanson, D.J.; Odar, F.

1992-01-01

In this paper the authors present information that can be used in severe accident management by providing an improved understanding of the effects of water addition to a degraded core. This improved understanding is developed using a diagram showing a sequence of core damage states. Whenever possible, a temperature and a time after accident initiation are estimated for each damage state in the sequence diagram. This diagram can be used to anticipate the evolution of events during an accident. Possible responses of plant instruments are described to identify these damage states and the effects of water addition. The rate and amount of water addition needed (a) to remove energy from the core, (b) to stabilize the core or (c) to not adversely affect the damage progression, are estimated. Analysis of the capability to remove energy from large cohesive and particulate debris beds indicates that these beds may not be stabilized in the core region and they may partially relocate to the lower plenum of the reactor vessel

Histological and biomechanical analysis of porous additive manufactured implants made by direct metal laser sintering: a pilot study in sheep.

Science.gov (United States)

Stübinger, Stefan; Mosch, Isabel; Robotti, Pierfrancesco; Sidler, Michéle; Klein, Karina; Ferguson, Stephen J; von Rechenberg, Brigitte

2013-10-01

It was the aim of this study to analyze osseointegrative properties of porous additive manufactured titanium implants made by direct metal laser sintering in a sheep model after an implantation period of 2 and 8 weeks. Three different types of implants were placed in the pelvis of six sheep. In each sheep were placed three standard machined (M), three sandblasted and etched (SE), and three porous additive manufactured (AM) implants. Of these three implants (one per type) were examined histologically and six implants were tested biomechanically. Additionally a semiquantitative histomorphometrical and qualitative fluorescent microscopic analysis were performed. After 2 and 8 weeks bone-to-implant-contact (BIC) values of the AM surface (2w: 20.49% ± 5.18%; 8w: 43.91% ± 9.69%) revealed no statistical significant differences in comparison to the M (2w: 20.33% ± 11.50%; 8w: 25.33% ± 4.61%) and SE (2w: 43.67 ± 12.22%; 8w: 53.33 ± 8.96%) surfaces. AM surface showed the highest increase of the BIC between the two observation time points. Considering the same implantation period histomorphometry and fluorescent labelling disclosed no significant differences in the bone surrounding the three implants groups. In contrast Removal-torque-test showed a significant improve in fixation strength (P ≤ 0.001) for the AM (1891.82 ± 308, 44 Nmm) surface after eight weeks in comparison to the M (198.93±88,04 Nmm) and SE (730.08 ± 151,89 Nmm) surfaces. All three surfaces (M, SE, and AM) showed sound osseointegration. AM implants may offer a possible treatment option in clinics for patients with compromised bone situations. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley Company.

Gene expression analysis of two extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis isolates show that two-component response systems enhance drug resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Guohua; Cui, Zhenling; Sun, Xian; Peng, Jinfu; Jiang, Jun; Wu, Wei; Huang, Wenhua; Chu, Kaili; Zhang, Lu; Ge, Baoxue; Li, Yao

2015-05-01

Global analysis of expression profiles using DNA microarrays was performed between a reference strain H37Rv and two clinical extensively drug-resistant isolates in response to three anti-tuberculosis drug exposures (isoniazid, capreomycin, and rifampicin). A deep analysis was then conducted using a combination of genome sequences of the resistant isolates, resistance information, and related public microarray data. Certain known resistance-associated gene sets were significantly overrepresented in upregulated genes in the resistant isolates relative to that observed in H37Rv, which suggested a link between resistance and expression levels of particular genes. In addition, isoniazid and capreomycin response genes, but not rifampicin, either obtained from published works or our data, were highly consistent with the differentially expressed genes of resistant isolates compared to those of H37Rv, indicating a strong association between drug resistance of the isolates and genes differentially regulated by isoniazid and capreomycin exposures. Based on these results, 92 genes of the studied isolates were identified as candidate resistance genes, 10 of which are known resistance-related genes. Regulatory network analysis of candidate resistance genes using published networks and literature mining showed that three two-component regulatory systems and regulator CRP play significant roles in the resistance of the isolates by mediating the production of essential envelope components. Finally, drug sensitivity testing indicated strong correlations between expression levels of these regulatory genes and sensitivity to multiple anti-tuberculosis drugs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These findings may provide novel insights into the mechanism underlying the emergence and development of drug resistance in resistant tuberculosis isolates and useful clues for further studies on this issue. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Show Horse Welfare: Horse Show Competitors' Understanding, Awareness, and Perceptions of Equine Welfare.

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Melissa A; Hiney, Kristina; Richardson, Jennifer C; Waite, Karen; Borron, Abigail; Brady, Colleen M

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of stock-type horse show competitors' understanding of welfare and level of concern for stock-type show horses' welfare. Data were collected through an online questionnaire that included questions relating to (a) interest and general understanding of horse welfare, (b) welfare concerns of the horse show industry and specifically the stock-type horse show industry, (c) decision-making influences, and (d) level of empathic characteristics. The majority of respondents indicated they agree or strongly agree that physical metrics should be a factor when assessing horse welfare, while fewer agreed that behavioral and mental metrics should be a factor. Respondent empathy levels were moderate to high and were positively correlated with the belief that mental and behavioral metrics should be a factor in assessing horse welfare. Respondents indicated the inhumane practices that most often occur at stock-type shows include excessive jerking on reins, excessive spurring, and induced excessive unnatural movement. Additionally, respondents indicated association rules, hired trainers, and hired riding instructors are the most influential regarding the decisions they make related to their horses' care and treatment.

Isobolographic Analysis for Additive, Synergism and Antagonism Effects in Binary Mixture of Mesosulfuron + Iodosulfuron and Clodinafop-Propargyl

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A Chitband

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The reduction of herbicide applications is a main research priority in recent years for herbicide reducing the risk of side-effects and costs from herbicides. Therefore To predicting additive, synergism or antagonism effects mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron and clodinafop-propargyl two herbicides mixture on wild oat with isobole curvatures, greenhouse experimental in completely randomized design with 36 treatments (in dose-response arrangements and four replicates for each experiment treatments were conducted at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Treatments included mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron alone at doses of 0 , 2.4, 6, 12, 18 and 24 g ai ha-1, clodinafop alone at doses of 0, 6.4, 16, 32, 48 and 64 g ai ha-1 and six mixtures ratio of doses of two herbicides above mentioned as 100:0%,75:25%, 50:50%, 25:75% , 10:90% and 0:100%. The results showed mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron and clodinafop-propargyl at high dose rates showed complete control of wild oat. In addition Concentration Addition (CA model describe Fitted the data better than Hewlett and Voelund models. On the other hand, herbicides combination with each other showed additive effects on wild oat control, As by increasing the clodinafop-propargyl ratio in mixtures (90% clodinafop-propargyl + 10% mesosulfuron + iodosulfuron increased wild oat control compared with other mixing ratios remarkably.

Romanian Consumers’ Willingness to Buy Foodstuffs Containing Food Additives: Results of a Conjoint Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktória Szucs

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Results of the literature and the authors’ previous studies showed consumers’ high anxiety regarding food additives as well as their high demand for additive-free products in Romania, even at higher prices. Hence, the aim of our work was to analyse the willingness to buy and preference of foodstuffs containing natural and artificial food additives in Romania.A complex conjoint analysis (rating-based and choice-based was performed amongst Romanian consumers. Conjoint cards were created from two groups of food additives (‘preservatives’ and ‘packaging gases’, and consisting of two ‘model foodstuffs’ (pre-packed sliced cheese and chips. For the study, three factors were selected: ‘preservatives’ (artificial/natural, ‘packaging gases’ (contains/does not contain and ‘price’ (average+10%/average+20%. Results were collected via the internet and data were analysed with the help of SPSS Conjoint and XLSTAT softwares. ‘Preservatives’ have a dominant importance and ‘natural preservatives’ have a high utility in shopping decisions. ‘Natural’ compounds have higher importance in the example of foodstuffs thought to contain less food additives (pre-packed sliced cheese, while the presence of ‘packaging gases’ is acceptable to respondents in easy to handle and convenient foodstuffs. With the help of the cluster analysis, the promising target group (‘desire for natural’ characterising additive-free foodstuffs  that contain natural compounds was identified. Restricted comparison of the rating-based and the choice-based analysis showed that the choice-based method was easier to handle and understand for the participants. Regarding the results, a threefold conclusion was established: the ‘prominence effect’ is greater for the choice-based than the rating-based analysis; the effect of ‘level focusing’ is smaller in the rating-based than in the choice-based analysis; the ‘compatibility effect’ the rating

Additive manufacturing of Ti-Si-N ceramic coatings on titanium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yanning; Sahasrabudhe, Himanshu; Bandyopadhyay, Amit

2015-01-01

Highlights: • 3D Printing or additive manufacturing of hard Ti-Si-N based ceramics coating on Ti metal substrate. • Understanding of phase transformation as a function of compositional variation. • Evaluation of influence of processing parameters and composition on wear resistance. - Abstract: In this study, Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS TM ) was employed towards Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing of Ti-Si-N coatings with three different Ti-Si ratios on commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti) substrate. Microstructural analysis, phase analysis using X-ray diffraction, wear resistance and hardness measurements were done on LENS™ processed 3D printed coatings. Coatings showed graded microstructures and in situ formed phases. Results showed that microstructural variations and phase changes influence coating's hardness and wear resistance directly. High hardness values were obtained from all samples’ top surface where the hardness of coatings can be ranked as 90% Ti-10% Si-N coating (2093.67 ± 144 HV 0.2 ) > 100% Ti-N coating (1846 ± 68.5 HV 0.2 ) > 75% Ti-25% Si-N coating (1375.3 ± 61.4 HV 0.2 ). However, wear resistance was more dependent on inherent Si content, and samples with higher Si content showed better wear resistance

Additive manufacturing of Ti-Si-N ceramic coatings on titanium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Yanning; Sahasrabudhe, Himanshu; Bandyopadhyay, Amit, E-mail: amitband@wsu.edu

2015-08-15

Highlights: • 3D Printing or additive manufacturing of hard Ti-Si-N based ceramics coating on Ti metal substrate. • Understanding of phase transformation as a function of compositional variation. • Evaluation of influence of processing parameters and composition on wear resistance. - Abstract: In this study, Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS{sup TM}) was employed towards Additive Manufacturing/3D Printing of Ti-Si-N coatings with three different Ti-Si ratios on commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti) substrate. Microstructural analysis, phase analysis using X-ray diffraction, wear resistance and hardness measurements were done on LENS™ processed 3D printed coatings. Coatings showed graded microstructures and in situ formed phases. Results showed that microstructural variations and phase changes influence coating's hardness and wear resistance directly. High hardness values were obtained from all samples’ top surface where the hardness of coatings can be ranked as 90% Ti-10% Si-N coating (2093.67 ± 144 HV{sub 0.2}) > 100% Ti-N coating (1846 ± 68.5 HV{sub 0.2}) > 75% Ti-25% Si-N coating (1375.3 ± 61.4 HV{sub 0.2}). However, wear resistance was more dependent on inherent Si content, and samples with higher Si content showed better wear resistance.

Stabilized zirconia with cerium and neodymium addition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrade, I.M. de; Pessoa, R.C.; Nasar, M.C.; Nasar, R.S.; Rodriques, M.K.C.; Oliveira, J.F.

2006-01-01

Zr 0,9 Ce 0,05 Nd 0,05 O 1,975 system was synthesized with the use of the Pechini method. The polymeric resin was calcined at 350 deg C/3 h and analysed by FTIR that show bands relative to organic. Radicals esther type. The TGA curve indicated the polymeric decomposition occurring from 30 deg C to 740 deg C. DTA analysis show a exothermic peak in 100 deg C due to loss of water of material. From 500 deg C to 800 deg C was observed a intense peak due to polymer decomposition and the zirconia crystallization. The calcined powder from 350 deg C/3 h e 30 min to 900 deg/3 h were analysed by XRD that show the crystalline phase formation with the increase of temperature. The X-ray diffraction pattern show the presence of two phases, such as tetragonal and cubic of zirconia demonstrating that neodymium and cerium additions led to zirconia stabilization. (author)

A retrospective cost-analysis of additional homeopathic treatment in Germany: Long-term economic outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Ostermann, Julia K.; Witt, Claudia M.; Reinhold, Thomas

2017-01-01

Objectives This study aimed to provide a long-term cost comparison of patients using additional homeopathic treatment (homeopathy group) with patients using usual care (control group) over an observation period of 33 months. Methods Health claims data from a large statutory health insurance company were analysed from both the societal perspective (primary outcome) and from the statutory health insurance perspective (secondary outcome). To compare costs between patient groups, homeopathy and control patients were matched in a 1:1 ratio using propensity scores. Predictor variables for the propensity scores included health care costs and both medical and demographic variables. Health care costs were analysed using an analysis of covariance, adjusted for baseline costs, between groups both across diagnoses and for specific diagnoses over a period of 33 months. Specific diagnoses included depression, migraine, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, and headache. Results Data from 21,939 patients in the homeopathy group (67.4% females) and 21,861 patients in the control group (67.2% females) were analysed. Health care costs over the 33 months were 12,414 EUR [95% CI 12,022–12,805] in the homeopathy group and 10,428 EUR [95% CI 10,036–10,820] in the control group (phomeopathy: EUR 6,289 [6,118–6,460]; control: EUR 5,498 [5,326–5,670], phomeopathy: EUR 1,794 [1,770–1,818]; control: EUR 1,438 [1,414–1,462], phomeopathy patients generated higher costs than control patients. Conclusion The analysis showed that even when following-up over 33 months, there were still cost differences between groups, with higher costs in the homeopathy group. PMID:28915242

A Fully Non-Metallic Gas Turbine Engine Enabled by Additive Manufacturing Part I: System Analysis, Component Identification, Additive Manufacturing, and Testing of Polymer Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Grady, Joseph E.; Haller, William J.; Poinsatte, Philip E.; Halbig, Michael C.; Schnulo, Sydney L.; Singh, Mrityunjay; Weir, Don; Wali, Natalie; Vinup, Michael; Jones, Michael G.;

Additional chromosome abnormalities in chronic myeloid leukemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui-Hua Hsiao

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The Philadelphia (Ph chromosome and/or Breakpoint cluster region-Abelson leukemia virus oncogene transcript are unique markers for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML. However, CML demonstrates heterogeneous presentations and outcomes. We analyzed the cytogenetic and molecular results of CML patients to evaluate their correlation with clinical presentations and outcome. A total of 84 newly diagnosed CML patients were enrolled in the study. Patients were treated according to disease status. Bone marrow samples were obtained to perform cytogenetic and molecular studies. Clinical presentations, treatment courses, and survival were reviewed retrospectively. Among 84 patients, 72 had chronic phase and 12 had accelerated phase CML. Cytogenetic study showed 69 (82.1% with the classic Ph chromosome, 6 (7.2% with a variant Ph chromosome, and 9 (10.7% with additional chromosome abnormalities. Fifty-four (64.3% cases harbored b3a2 transcripts, 29 (34.5% had b2a2 transcript, and 1 had e19a2 transcript. There was no difference in clinical presentations between different cytogenetic and molecular groups; however, additional chromosome abnormalities were significantly associated with the accelerated phase. Imatinib therapy was an effective treatment, as measured by cytogenetic response, when administered as first- and second-line therapy in chronic phase patients. Survival analysis showed that old age, additional chromosome abnormalities, high Sokal score, and no cytogenetic response in second-line therapy had a significant poor impact (p<0.05. In conclusion, we presented the cytogenetic and molecular pattern of CML patients and demonstrated that the additional chromosome abnormality was associated with poor outcome.

Tsallis non-additive entropy and natural time analysis of seismicity

Science.gov (United States)

Sarlis, N. V.; Skordas, E. S.; Varotsos, P.

2017-12-01

Within the context of Tsallis non-additive entropy [1] statistical mechanics -in the frame of which kappa distributions arise [2,3]- a derivation of the Gutenberg-Richter (GR) law of seismicity has been proposed [4,5]. Such an analysis leads to a generalized GR law [6,7] which is applied here to the earthquakes in Japan and California. These seismic data are also studied in natural time [6] revealing that although some properties of seismicity may be recovered by the non-additive entropy approach, temporal correlations between successive earthquake magnitudes should be also taken into account [6,8]. The importance of such correlations is strengthened by the observation of periods of long range correlated earthquake magnitude time series [9] a few months before all earthquakes of magnitude 7.6 or larger in the entire Japanese area from 1 January 1984 to 11 March 2011 (the day of the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake) almost simultaneously with characteristic order parameter variations of seismicity [10]. These variations appear approximately when low frequency abnormal changes of the electric and magnetic field of the Earth (less than around 1Hz) are recorded [11] before strong earthquakes as the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in Japan in 2011 [12]. 1. C Tsallis, J Stat Phys 52 (1988) 479 2. G Livadiotis, and D J McComas, J Geophys Res 114 (2009) A11105 3. G Livadiotis, Kappa Distributions. (Elsevier, Amsterdam) 2017. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-804638-8.01001-9 4. O Sotolongo-Costa, A Posadas, Phys Rev Lett 92 (2004) 048501 5. R Silva, G França, C Vilar, J Alcaniz, Phys Rev E 73 (2006) 026102 6. N Sarlis, E Skordas, P Varotsos, Phys Rev E 82 (2010) 021110 7. L Telesca, Bull Seismol Soc Am 102 (2012) 886-891 8. P Varotsos, N Sarlis, E Skordas, Natural Time Analysis: The new view of time. (Springer, Berlin) 2011. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16449-1 9. P Varotsos, N Sarlis, E Skordas, J Geophys Res Space Physics 119 (2014) 9192. 10. N Sarlis, E Skordas, P Varotsos, T

Thermo-mechanical properties of poly ε-caprolactone/poly L-lactic acid blends: addition of nalidixic acid and polyethylene glycol additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, P; Albadarin, Ahmad B; Al-Muhtaseb, Ala'a H; Mangwandi, Chirangano; Walker, G M

2015-05-01

The search for ideal biomaterials is still on-going for tissue regeneration. In this study, blends of poly ε-caprolactone (PCL) with poly l-lactic acid (PLLA), nalidixic acid (NA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were prepared. Mechanical and thermal properties of the blends were investigated by tensile and flexural analysis, DSC, TGA, WXRD, MFI, BET, SEM and hot stage optical microscopy. Results showed that the loading of PLLA caused a significant decrease in tensile strength and almost total eradication of the elongation at break of PCL matrix, especially after PEG and NA addition. Increased stiffness was also noted with additional NA, PEG and PLLA, resulting in an increase in the flexural modulus of the blends. Isothermal degradation indicated that bulk PCL, PLLA and the blends were thermally stable at 200°C for the duration of 2h making extrusion of the blends at this temperature viable. Morphological study showed that increasing the PLLA content and addition of the very low viscosity PEG and powder NA decreased the Melt Flow Indexer and increased the viscosity. At the higher temperature, the PLLA begins to soften and eventually melts allowing for increased flow and, coupling this with, the natural increase in MFI caused by temperature is enhanced further. The PEG and NA addition increased dramatically the pore volume which is important for cell growth and flow transport of nutrients and metabolic waste. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acid Rain Analysis by Standard Addition Titration.

Science.gov (United States)

Ophardt, Charles E.

1985-01-01

The standard addition titration is a precise and rapid method for the determination of the acidity in rain or snow samples. The method requires use of a standard buret, a pH meter, and Gran's plot to determine the equivalence point. Experimental procedures used and typical results obtained are presented. (JN)

Towards understanding the effects of additives on the vermicomposting of sewage sludge.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Meiyan; Lv, Baoyi; Zhao, Chunhui; Yang, Jian

2015-03-01

This work evaluated the effects of additives on the chemical properties of the final products (vermicompost) from vermicomposting of sewage sludge and the adaptable characteristics of Eisenia fetida during the process. An experimental design with different ratios of sewage sludge and the additives (cattle dung or pig manure) was conducted. The results showed that the vermicomposting reduced total organic carbon and the quotient of total organic carbon to total nitrogen (C/N ratio) of the initial mixtures and enhanced the stability and agronomical value of the final products. Notably, principal component analysis indicated that the additives had significant effects on the characteristics of the vermicomposts. Moreover, the vermibeds containing cattle dung displayed a better earthworm growth and reproduction than those with pig manure. Additionally, redundancy analysis demonstrated that electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and C/N ratio played crucial roles on earthworm growth and reproduction. In all, the additives with high C/N ratio, pH buffering capacity, and low EC are recommended to be used for vermicomposting of sewage sludge.

A comparison of genotyping-by-sequencing analysis methods on low-coverage crop datasets shows advantages of a new workflow, GB-eaSy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickland, Daniel P; Battu, Gopal; Hudson, Karen A; Diers, Brian W; Hudson, Matthew E

2017-12-28

Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), a method to identify genetic variants and quickly genotype samples, reduces genome complexity by using restriction enzymes to divide the genome into fragments whose ends are sequenced on short-read sequencing platforms. While cost-effective, this method produces extensive missing data and requires complex bioinformatics analysis. GBS is most commonly used on crop plant genomes, and because crop plants have highly variable ploidy and repeat content, the performance of GBS analysis software can vary by target organism. Here we focus our analysis on soybean, a polyploid crop with a highly duplicated genome, relatively little public GBS data and few dedicated tools. We compared the performance of five GBS pipelines using low-coverage Illumina sequence data from three soybean populations. To address issues identified with existing methods, we developed GB-eaSy, a GBS bioinformatics workflow that incorporates widely used genomics tools, parallelization and automation to increase the accuracy and accessibility of GBS data analysis. Compared to other GBS pipelines, GB-eaSy rapidly and accurately identified the greatest number of SNPs, with SNP calls closely concordant with whole-genome sequencing of selected lines. Across all five GBS analysis platforms, SNP calls showed unexpectedly low convergence but generally high accuracy, indicating that the workflows arrived at largely complementary sets of valid SNP calls on the low-coverage data analyzed. We show that GB-eaSy is approximately as good as, or better than, other leading software solutions in the accuracy, yield and missing data fraction of variant calling, as tested on low-coverage genomic data from soybean. It also performs well relative to other solutions in terms of the run time and disk space required. In addition, GB-eaSy is built from existing open-source, modular software packages that are regularly updated and commonly used, making it straightforward to install and maintain

Characterization of Starch Edible Films with Different Essential Oils Addition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šuput Danijela

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated properties of starch-based edible films with oregano and black cumin essential oil addition. Essential oils addition positively affected film swelling (decreased due to essential oil addition, mechanical properties (tensile strength decreased while elongation at break increased, and water vapor barrier properties (decreased along with essential oils addition. Control film did not have any biological activity, which proves the need for essential oils addition in order to obtain active packaging. Oregano oil was more effective in terms of biological activity. Endothermal peak, above 200°C, represents total thermal degradation of edible films. Diffraction pattern of control film showed significant destruction of A-type crystal structure. Addition of essential oils resulted in peak shape change: diffraction peaks became narrower. Principal Component Analysis has been used to assess the effect of essential oils addition on final starch-based edible films characteristics with the aim to reveal directions for the film characteristics improvement, since the next phase will be optimal film application for food packaging.

Additional Leave as the Determinant of Retirement Timing—Retaining Older Workers in Norway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Åsmund Hermansen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Faced with a rapidly aging labor force, increasing the labor supply of older workers has become an important goal for European countries. Offering additional leave to older workers with the option of withdrawing a contractual pension (contractual early retirement pension AFP has become a widespread retention measure in Norwegian companies. Thus far, no studies documenting the effects of individual retention measures on early retirement behavior have been published. The aim of this article is to examine whether offering additional leave impacts the relative risk of withdrawal of a contractual pension. The analysis uses a difference-in-differences approach and examines whether offering additional leave to counteract early retirement impacts the retirement decisions of 61- and 62-year-olds within the next two years of their employment, controlling for a range of different individual and company characteristics. This is achieved by comparing changes and differences in the individual relative risk of retiring early on the contractual pension (AFP scheme in the period 2001–2010 among older workers in companies with and without the retention measure. The analysis shows an overall average increase in the relative risk of a 61- or 62-year-old worker retiring on the contractual pension between 2001 and 2010; however, among older workers employed in companies offering additional leave there has been a decrease in the relative risk. The effect of additional leave is evident both before and after controlling for the selected individual and company characteristics. Thus, the analysis shows that offering additional leave as a retention measure reduces the individual relative risk of withdrawing a contractual pension (AFP in the next two years of employment among older workers between the age of 61 and 62 years.

Meta-analysis on Methane Mitigating Properties of Saponin-rich Sources in the Rumen: Influence of Addition Levels and Plant Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anuraga Jayanegara

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Saponins have been considered as promising natural substances for mitigating methane emissions from ruminants. However, studies reported that addition of saponin-rich sources often arrived at contrasting results, i.e. either it decreased methane or it did not. The aim of the present study was to assess ruminal methane emissions through a meta-analytical approach of integrating related studies from published papers which described various levels of different saponin-rich sources being added to ruminant feed. A database was constructed from published literature reporting the addition of saponin-rich sources at various levels and then monitoring ruminal methane emissions in vitro. Accordingly, levels of saponin-rich source additions as well as different saponin sources were specified in the database. Apart from methane, other related rumen fermentation parameters were also included in the database, i.e. organic matter digestibility, gas production, pH, ammonia concentration, short-chain fatty acid profiles and protozoal count. A total of 23 studies comprised of 89 data points met the inclusion criteria. The data obtained were subsequently subjected to a statistical meta-analysis based on mixed model methodology. Accordingly, different studies were treated as random effects whereas levels of saponin-rich source additions or different saponin sources were considered as fixed effects. Model statistics used were p-value and root mean square error. Results showed that an addition of increasing levels of a saponin-rich source decreased methane emission per unit of substrate incubated as well as per unit of total gas produced (ptea>quillaja, statistically they did not differ each other. It can be concluded that methane mitigating properties of saponins in the rumen are level- and source-dependent.

Analysis and Design of a Maglev Permanent Magnet Synchronous Linear Motor to Reduce Additional Torque in dq Current Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Xing

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The maglev linear motor has three degrees of motion freedom, which are respectively realized by the thrust force in the x-axis, the levitation force in the z-axis and the torque around the y-axis. Both the thrust force and levitation force can be seen as the sum of the forces on the three windings. The resultant thrust force and resultant levitation force are independently controlled by d-axis current and q-axis current respectively. Thus, the commonly used dq transformation control strategy is suitable for realizing the control of the resultant force, either thrust force and levitation force. However, the forces on the three windings also generate additional torque because they do not pass the mover mass center. To realize the maglev system high-precision control, a maglev linear motor with a new structure is proposed in this paper to decrease this torque. First, the electromagnetic model of the motor can be deduced through the Lorenz force formula. Second, the analytic method and finite element method are used to explore the reason of this additional torque and what factors affect its change trend. Furthermore, a maglev linear motor with a new structure is proposed, with two sets of 90 degrees shifted winding designed on the mover. Under such a structure, the mover position dependent periodic part of the additional torque can be offset. Finally, the theoretical analysis is validated by the simulation result that the additionally generated rotating torque can be offset with little fluctuation in the proposed new-structure maglev linear motor. Moreover, the control system is built in MATLAB/Simulink, which shows that it has small thrust ripple and high-precision performance.

Estimating Additive and Non-Additive Genetic Variances and Predicting Genetic Merits Using Genome-Wide Dense Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Su, Guosheng; Christensen, Ole Fredslund; Ostersen, Tage

2012-01-01

of genomic predictions for daily gain in pigs. In the analysis of daily gain, four linear models were used: 1) a simple additive genetic model (MA), 2) a model including both additive and additive by additive epistatic genetic effects (MAE), 3) a model including both additive and dominance genetic effects...

Identification of irradiated food additives by photostimulated luminescence (PSL) method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Hye Jeong; Kwon, Joong Ho; KIm, Dong Ho; Hur, Jung Mu; Yang, Suh Yung; Lee, Byoung Hun

2008-01-01

Photostimulated luminescence (PSL), electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermoluminescence (TL) analyses were conducted to detect whether 258 kinds of extracted and powdered forms food additives were irradiated or not. In a view of the PSL results, 9 kinds of the extracted and powdered samples (3.2%) showed over 5,000 photon counts (60 sec) -1 and these samples were judged to be irradiation-positive. Thirty nine kinds of the samples (15.6%) yielded 700-5,000 photon counts (60 sec) -1 and these samples were grouped into irradiation-potential, while the samples showed below 700 photon counts (60 sec) -1 sec were judged to be irradiation-negative. TL glow curves for minerals separated from 5 samples were detected at 150 degrees C with high intensity. However, TL analysis did not apply to other irradiation-positive and irradiation-potential samples because the minerals for TL detection were not separated from the samples. ESR measurements for irradiation-positive and irradiation-potential samples, judged by PSL detection, showed no specific signals to irradiation. The results indicated that PSL could be applied to identify irradiation treatment of extracted and powdered food additives, while TL was optional and ESR was not suitable for detection extracted and powdered food additives

Effects of additives on the co-pyrolysis of municipal solid waste and paper sludge by using thermogravimetric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Shiwen; Yu, Zhaosheng; Lin, Yan; Lin, Yousheng; Fan, Yunlong; Liao, Yanfen; Ma, Xiaoqian

2016-06-01

By using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the effects of different additives (MgO, Al2O3 and ZnO) on the pyrolysis characteristics and activation energy of municipal solid waste (MSW), paper sludge (PS) and their blends in N2 atmosphere had been investigated in this study. The experiments resulted that these additives were effective in reducing the initial temperature and activation energy. However, not all the additives were beneficial to reduce the residue mass and enhance the index D. For the different ratios of MSW and PS, the same additive even had the different influences. The catalytic effects of additives were not obvious and the pyrolysis became difficult with the increase of the proportion of PS. Based on all the contrast of the pyrolysis characteristics, MgO was the best additive and 70M30P was the best ratio, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal analysis of laser additive manufacturing of aluminium alloys: Experiment and simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Bock, Frederic E.; Froend, Martin; Herrnring, Jan; Enz, Josephin; Kashaev, Nikolai; Klusemann, Benjamin

2018-05-01

Laser additive manufacturing (LAM) has become increasingly popular in industry in recent decades because it enables exceptional degrees of freedom regarding the structural design of lightweight components compared to subtractive manufacturing techniques. Laser metal deposition (LMD) of wire-fed material shows in particular the advantages such as high process velocity and efficient use of material compared to other LAM processes. During wire-based LMD, the material is deposited onto a substrate and supplemented by successive layers allowing a layer-wise production of complex three-dimensional structures. Despite the increased productivity of LMD, regarding the ability to process aluminium alloys, there is still a lack in quality and reproducibility due to the inhomogeneous temperature distribution during the process, leading to undesired residual stresses, distortions and inconsistent layer geometries and poor microstructures. In this study, the aluminium alloy AA5087 as wire and AA5754 as substrate material were utilized for LMD. In order to obtain information about the temperature field during LMD, thermocouple and thermography measurements were performed during the process. The temperature measurements were used to validate a finite element model regarding the heat distribution, which will be further used to investigate the temperature field evolution over time. To consider the continuous addition of material within the FE-model, an inactive/active element approach was chosen, where initially deactivated elements are activated corresponding to the deposition of material. The first results of the simulation and the experiments show good agreement. Therefore, the model can be used in the future for LMD process optimization, e.g., in terms of minimizing local variations of the thermal load for each layer.

Influence of additives on the stability of the phases of alumina; Influencia de aditivos na estabilidade das fases da alumina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosario, D.C.C.; Gouvea, D., E-mail: deisedorosario@usp.br [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Metalurgica e de Materiais. Laboratorio de Processos Ceramicos

2011-07-01

Problems with the stability of gamma alumina in catalytic reactions have been solved with the inclusion of additives during the synthesis of alumina. These additives stabilize the temperature of phase transition allowing the use of metastable alumina at high temperatures, but the mechanisms of action of additives are not well defined. It is known that each family of additive or additives behaves in different ways for this stabilization. This work aimed to study the performance of MgO and ZrO{sub 2}, respectively at different concentrations in alumina synthesized via Pechini. The samples were analyzed by DSC, X-ray diffraction, measurement of specific surface area by BET analysis, and infrared analysis. The results showed an increase in transition temperature for both additives, and a different changes for specific surface area, showing that MgO and ZrO{sub 2} work on improving the stability but with distinct mechanisms. (author)

Anatomically ordered tapping interferes more with one-digit addition than two-digit addition: a dual-task fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Soylu, Firat; Newman, Sharlene D

2016-02-01

Fingers are used as canonical representations for numbers across cultures. In previous imaging studies, it was shown that arithmetic processing activates neural resources that are known to participate in finger movements. Additionally, in one dual-task study, it was shown that anatomically ordered finger tapping disrupts addition and subtraction more than multiplication, possibly due to a long-lasting effect of early finger counting experiences on the neural correlates and organization of addition and subtraction processes. How arithmetic task difficulty and tapping complexity affect the concurrent performance is still unclear. If early finger counting experiences have bearing on the neural correlates of arithmetic in adults, then one would expect anatomically and non-anatomically ordered tapping to have different interference effects, given that finger counting is usually anatomically ordered. To unravel these issues, we studied how (1) arithmetic task difficulty and (2) the complexity of the finger tapping sequence (anatomical vs. non-anatomical ordering) affect concurrent performance and use of key neural circuits using a mixed block/event-related dual-task fMRI design with adult participants. The results suggest that complexity of the tapping sequence modulates interference on addition, and that one-digit addition (fact retrieval), compared to two-digit addition (calculation), is more affected from anatomically ordered tapping. The region-of-interest analysis showed higher left angular gyrus BOLD response for one-digit compared to two-digit addition, and in no-tapping conditions than dual tapping conditions. The results support a specific association between addition fact retrieval and anatomically ordered finger movements in adults, possibly due to finger counting strategies that deploy anatomically ordered finger movements early in the development.

Vacuum pyrolysis of waste tires with basic additives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xinghua; Wang Tiejun; Ma Longlong; Chang Jie

2008-01-01

Granules of waste tires were pyrolyzed under vacuum (3.5-10 kPa) conditions, and the effects of temperature and basic additives (Na 2 CO 3 , NaOH) on the properties of pyrolysis were thoroughly investigated. It was obvious that with or without basic additives, pyrolysis oil yield increased gradually to a maximum and subsequently decreased with a temperature increase from 450 deg. C to 600 deg. C, irrespective of the addition of basic additives to the reactor. The addition of NaOH facilitated pyrolysis dramatically, as a maximal pyrolysis oil yield of about 48 wt% was achieved at 550 deg. C without the addition of basic additives, while a maximal pyrolysis oil yield of about 50 wt% was achieved at 480 deg. C by adding 3 wt% (w/w, powder/waste tire granules) of NaOH powder. The composition analysis of pyrolytic naphtha (i.b.p. (initial boiling point) ∼205 deg. C) distilled from pyrolysis oil showed that more dl-limonene was obtained with basic additives and the maximal content of dl-limonene in pyrolysis oil was 12.39 wt%, which is a valuable and widely-used fine chemical. However, no improvement in pyrolysis was observed with Na 2 CO 3 addition. Pyrolysis gas was mainly composed of H 2 , CO, CH 4 , CO 2 , C 2 H 4 and C 2 H 6 . Pyrolytic char had a surface area comparable to commercial carbon black, but its proportion of ash (above 11.5 wt%) was much higher

Matrix effect and correction by standard addition in quantitative liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Shinya; Tsukada, Katsuo

2002-01-11

An evaluation of the feasibility of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with atmospheric pressure ionization was made for quantitation of four diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins, okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-1, pectenotoxin-6 and yessotoxin in scallops. When LC-MS was applied to the analysis of scallop extracts, large signal suppressions were observed due to coeluting substances from the column. To compensate for these matrix signal suppressions, the standard addition method was applied. First, the sample was analyzed and then the sample involving the addition of calibration standards is analyzed. Although this method requires two LC-MS runs per analysis, effective correction of quantitative errors was found.

Responses of Woody Plant Functional Traits to Nitrogen Addition: A Meta-Analysis of Leaf Economics, Gas Exchange, and Hydraulic Traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hongxia; Li, Weibin; Adams, Henry D; Wang, Anzhi; Wu, Jiabing; Jin, Changjie; Guan, Dexin; Yuan, Fenghui

2018-01-01

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been found to significantly affect plant growth and physiological performance in terrestrial ecosystems. Many individual studies have investigated how N addition influences plant functional traits, however these investigations have usually been limited to a single species, and thereby do not allow derivation of general patterns or underlying mechanisms. We synthesized data from 56 papers and conducted a meta-analysis to assess the general responses of 15 variables related to leaf economics, gas exchange, and hydraulic traits to N addition among 61 woody plant species, primarily from temperate and subtropical regions. Results showed that under N addition, leaf area index (+10.3%), foliar N content (+7.3%), intrinsic water-use efficiency (+3.1%) and net photosynthetic rate (+16.1%) significantly increased, while specific leaf area, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate did not change. For plant hydraulics, N addition significantly increased vessel diameter (+7.0%), hydraulic conductance in stems/shoots (+6.7%), and water potential corresponding to 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity ( P 50 , +21.5%; i.e., P 50 became less negative), while water potential in leaves (-6.7%) decreased (became more negative). N addition had little effect on vessel density, hydraulic conductance in leaves and roots, or water potential in stems/shoots. N addition had greater effects on gymnosperms than angiosperms and ammonium nitrate fertilization had larger effects than fertilization with urea, and high levels of N addition affected more traits than low levels. Our results demonstrate that N addition has coupled effects on both carbon and water dynamics of woody plants. Increased leaf N, likely fixed in photosynthetic enzymes and pigments leads to higher photosynthesis and water use efficiency, which may increase leaf growth, as reflected in LAI results. These changes appear to have downstream effects on hydraulic function through increases

Expression analysis of genes associated with human osteosarcoma tumors shows correlation of RUNX2 overexpression with poor response to chemotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadikovic, Bekim; Thorner, Paul; Chilton-MacNeill, Susan; Martin, Jeff W; Cervigne, Nilva K; Squire, Jeremy; Zielenska, Maria

2010-01-01

Human osteosarcoma is the most common pediatric bone tumor. There is limited understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying osteosarcoma oncogenesis, and a lack of good diagnostic as well as prognostic clinical markers for this disease. Recent discoveries have highlighted a potential role of a number of genes including: RECQL4, DOCK5, SPP1, RUNX2, RB1, CDKN1A, P53, IBSP, LSAMP, MYC, TNFRSF1B, BMP2, HISTH2BE, FOS, CCNB1, and CDC5L. Our objective was to assess relative expression levels of these 16 genes as potential biomarkers of osteosarcoma oncogenesis and chemotherapy response in human tumors. We performed quantitative expression analysis in a panel of 22 human osteosarcoma tumors with differential response to chemotherapy, and 5 normal human osteoblasts. RECQL4, SPP1, RUNX2, and IBSP were significantly overexpressed, and DOCK5, CDKN1A, RB1, P53, and LSAMP showed significant loss of expression relative to normal osteoblasts. In addition to being overexpressed in osteosarcoma tumor samples relative to normal osteoblasts, RUNX2 was the only gene of the 16 to show significant overexpression in tumors that had a poor response to chemotherapy relative to good responders. These data underscore the loss of tumor suppressive pathways and activation of specific oncogenic mechanisms associated with osteosarcoma oncogenesis, while drawing attention to the role of RUNX2 expression as a potential biomarker of chemotherapy failure in osteosarcoma

Feed addition of curcumin to laying hens showed anticoccidial effect, and improved egg quality and animal health.

Science.gov (United States)

Galli, Gabriela M; Da Silva, Aleksandro S; Biazus, Angelisa H; Reis, João H; Boiago, Marcel M; Topazio, Josué P; Migliorini, Marcos J; Guarda, Naiara S; Moresco, Rafael N; Ourique, Aline F; Santos, Cayane G; Lopes, Leandro S; Baldissera, Matheus D; Stefani, Lenita M

2018-01-31

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the addition of curcumin in the diet of commercial laying hens could have an anticoccidial action and improve egg quality. For this, 60 laying hens were divided into three groups: T0 (the control group); T30 and T50 (30 and 50 mg/kg of curcumin in the feed, respectively). Eggs recently laid were collected on days 14 and 21 of the experiment, and stored for 21 days. It was observed increased specific gravity and yolk index in stored eggs of the groups T30 and T50 compared to T0. The yolk color reduced in the eggs stored from groups T30 and T50 compared to T0. Moreover, TBARS levels were lower in fresh and stored eggs from groups T30 and T50. It was observed increased TAC levels in fresh eggs from groups T30 and T50 and in stored eggs from the group T50. The presence of curcumin was not detected by HPLC in the yolk and albumen. Seric levels of albumin and uric acid did not differ between groups, while seric levels of total proteins increased on day 21 on groups T30 and T50. Finally, it was observed a significant reduction on the number of oocysts in fecal samples on days 14 and 21 of T30 and T50 compared to T0. Based on these evidences, it is possible to conclude that the addition of curcumin in the diet of laying hens has an anticoccidial effect and improves egg quality. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of cerium additive and secondary phase analysis on Ag0.5Bi0 ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid 28012, Spain. MS received 27 ... XRD analysis showed the presence of pyrochlore structure and secondary phase when more .... The present work reports the effect of incorporation of cerium in ...

Colour change of bakery products influenced by used additions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Čáslavková

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study deals with the effects of selected additions of vegetable origin on the colour of whole grain breads. The colour was assessed using model samples which were made of mixtures containing various wholemeal flour types (wheat, spelt, and rye flour and increasing amounts of additions in the form of buckwheat, oat, and barley flour. The additions were 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 per cent. Colour measurement was performed instrumentally, using an image analysis method which was modified for the purposes of this study. It was found out that, regardless of the flour/addition ratio, both factors in the form of wheat, spelt, and rye wholemeal flour, and barley, oat and buckwheat flour additions and their interactions exhibited a significant influence on the colour of the bakery products (P P < 0.05 were found for the following combinations: mixture of wheat flour with buckwheat, barley, and oat; mixture of spelt flour with buckwheat and oat; and mixture of rye flour with buckwheat and barley. The proposed general regression model which was created using the data obtained in the experiment, showed colour variability of more than 95 per cent.

CPR in medical TV shows: non-health care student perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Alismail, Abdullah; Meyer, Nicole C; Almutairi, Waleed; Daher, Noha S

2018-01-01

There are over a dozen medical shows airing on television, many of which are during prime time. Researchers have recently become more interested in the role of these shows, and the awareness on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Several cases have been reported where a lay person resuscitated a family member using medical TV shows as a reference. The purpose of this study is to examine and evaluate college students' perception on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and when to shock using an automated external defibrillator based on their experience of watching medical TV shows. A total of 170 students (nonmedical major) were surveyed in four different colleges in the United States. The survey consisted of questions that reflect their perception and knowledge acquired from watching medical TV shows. A stepwise regression was used to determine the significant predictors of "How often do you watch medical drama TV shows" in addition to chi-square analysis for nominal variables. Regression model showed significant effect that TV shows did change students' perception positively ( p <0.001), and they would select shock on asystole as the frequency of watching increases ( p =0.023). The findings of this study show that high percentage of nonmedical college students are influenced significantly by medical shows. One particular influence is the false belief about when a shock using the automated external defibrillator (AED) is appropriate as it is portrayed falsely in most medical shows. This finding raises a concern about how these shows portray basic life support, especially when not following American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines. We recommend the medical advisors in these shows to use AHA guidelines and AHA to expand its expenditures to include medical shows to educate the public on the appropriate action to rescue an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patient.

Between and beyond additivity and non-additivity : the statistical modelling of genotype by environment interaction in plant breeding

OpenAIRE

Eeuwijk, van, F.A.

1996-01-01

In plant breeding it is a common observation to see genotypes react differently to environmental changes. This phenomenon is called genotype by environment interaction. Many statistical approaches for analysing genotype by environment interaction rely heavily on the analysis of variance model. Genotype by environment interaction is then taken to be equivalent to non-additivity. This thesis criticizes the analysis of variance approach. Modelling genotype by environment interaction by non-addit...

Additional weekend therapy may reduce length of rehabilitation stay after stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Coralie English

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Questions: Among people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke, does additional weekend physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy reduce the length of rehabilitation hospital stay compared to those who receive a weekday-only service, and does this change after controlling for individual factors? Does additional weekend therapy improve the ability to walk and perform activities of daily living, measured at discharge? Does additional weekend therapy improve health-related quality of life, measured 6 months after discharge from rehabilitation? Which individual, clinical and hospital characteristics are associated with shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay? Design: This study pooled individual data from two randomised, controlled trials (n = 350 using an individual patient data meta-analysis and multivariate regression. Participants: People with stroke admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Intervention: Additional weekend therapy (physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy compared to usual care (5 days/week therapy. Outcome measures: Length of rehabilitation hospital stay, independence in activities of daily living measured with the Functional Independence Measure, walking speed and health-related quality of life. Results: Participants who received weekend therapy had a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay. In the un-adjusted analysis, this was not statistically significant (MD –5.7 days, 95% CI –13.0 to 1.5. Controlling for hospital site, age, walking speed and Functional Independence Measure score on admission, receiving weekend therapy was significantly associated with a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay (β = 7.5, 95% CI 1.7 to 13.4, p = 0.001. There were no significant between-group differences in Functional Independence Measure scores (MD 1.9 points, 95% CI –2.8 to 6.6, walking speed (MD 0.06 m/second, 95% CI –0.15 to 0.04 or health-related quality of life (SMD –0.04, 95% CI �

Additional weekend therapy may reduce length of rehabilitation stay after stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Coralie; Shields, Nora; Brusco, Natasha K; Taylor, Nicholas F; Watts, Jennifer J; Peiris, Casey; Bernhardt, Julie; Crotty, Maria; Esterman, Adrian; Segal, Leonie; Hillier, Susan

2016-07-01

Among people receiving inpatient rehabilitation after stroke, does additional weekend physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy reduce the length of rehabilitation hospital stay compared to those who receive a weekday-only service, and does this change after controlling for individual factors? Does additional weekend therapy improve the ability to walk and perform activities of daily living, measured at discharge? Does additional weekend therapy improve health-related quality of life, measured 6 months after discharge from rehabilitation? Which individual, clinical and hospital characteristics are associated with shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay? This study pooled individual data from two randomised, controlled trials (n=350) using an individual patient data meta-analysis and multivariate regression. People with stroke admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Additional weekend therapy (physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy) compared to usual care (5 days/week therapy). Length of rehabilitation hospital stay, independence in activities of daily living measured with the Functional Independence Measure, walking speed and health-related quality of life. Participants who received weekend therapy had a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay. In the un-adjusted analysis, this was not statistically significant (MD -5.7 days, 95% CI -13.0 to 1.5). Controlling for hospital site, age, walking speed and Functional Independence Measure score on admission, receiving weekend therapy was significantly associated with a shorter length of rehabilitation hospital stay (β=7.5, 95% CI 1.7 to 13.4, p=0.001). There were no significant between-group differences in Functional Independence Measure scores (MD 1.9 points, 95% CI -2.8 to 6.6), walking speed (MD 0.06 m/second, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.04) or health-related quality of life (SMD -0.04, 95% CI -0.26 to 0.19) at discharge. Modest evidence indicates that additional weekend therapy might reduce

GC-MS and FI-IR analysis of the bio-oil with addition of ethyl acetate during storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le eZhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Different mass fractions (0%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15% of ethyl acetate were added to bio-oil for improving its storage stability during storage at 40℃ for 35d. For different bio-oils during storage, physical properties were characterized and chemical components were determined by GC-MS and FT-IR. The results of properties characterization showed that, addition of ethyl acetate could instantly lower bio-oil viscosity, water content, and dramatically decrease the rate of aging. pH value of bio-oil can be instantly improved by adding ethyl acetate. GC-MS results revealed that addition of various content of ethyl acetate into bio-oil and its storage at 40℃ for 35d could both lead to disappearance of previous compounds and generation of new compounds. FT-IR results showed that addition of various content of ethyl acetate into bio-oils and its storage at 40℃ for 35d could slightly change the wavenumbers of substantial functional groups in bio-oils.

Analysis of Water Mist Suppression with Foam Additive in Wind Generator

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Chen-Wei Chiu[1; Yin-Tsz Lin[1; Yi-Liang Shu[2

2015-01-01

The study adopted a 20-foot long container to simulate the situation inside a turbine cabin. Water mist sprays were installed internally and used to perform fire extinguishing tests. Under these different scenarios, several operating factors were adjusted with the results of each adjustment subsequently measured. The operating factors studied included： operating pressures, foam concentrations, cabin opening issues, and obstacles. Each of the factors was compared with the others so as to find out which combinations would be most suitable for a water mist spray system installed inside a wind turbine cabin. The presence of obstructions hinders the direct impact of the mist spray on the fire source and in average an additional 2 to 3 minutes is required to put out the fire. This study found that the effect of the foam-water ratio is linear. Regardless of the scenario, the optimum mixture ratio is 3%. The line graph shows that the most unsuitable aqueous film-forming mixture ratio is 6%. This experiment found that the main fire extinguishing mechanism of water mist spray is the cooling of a large area via water droplets. This system is very effective in bringing down the temperature. The addition of foam in water mist spray, however, impaired the effectiveness of the cooling effect although the fire control mechanism via emulsification markedly reduced the time required to put out the fire. The increase in foam magnification will considerably enhance the fire extinguishing efficiency.

Meta-analysis of high-latitude nitrogen-addition and warming studies implies ecological mechanisms overlooked by land models

Science.gov (United States)

Bouskill, N. J.; Riley, W. J.; Tang, J. Y.

2014-12-01

Accurate representation of ecosystem processes in land models is crucial for reducing predictive uncertainty in energy and greenhouse gas feedbacks with the climate. Here we describe an observational and modeling meta-analysis approach to benchmark land models, and apply the method to the land model CLM4.5 with two versions of belowground biogeochemistry. We focused our analysis on the aboveground and belowground responses to warming and nitrogen addition in high-latitude ecosystems, and identified absent or poorly parameterized mechanisms in CLM4.5. While the two model versions predicted similar soil carbon stock trajectories following both warming and nitrogen addition, other predicted variables (e.g., belowground respiration) differed from observations in both magnitude and direction, indicating that CLM4.5 has inadequate underlying mechanisms for representing high-latitude ecosystems. On the basis of observational synthesis, we attribute the model-observation differences to missing representations of microbial dynamics, aboveground and belowground coupling, and nutrient cycling, and we use the observational meta-analysis to discuss potential approaches to improving the current models. However, we also urge caution concerning the selection of data sets and experiments for meta-analysis. For example, the concentrations of nitrogen applied in the synthesized field experiments (average = 72 kg ha-1 yr-1) are many times higher than projected soil nitrogen concentrations (from nitrogen deposition and release during mineralization), which precludes a rigorous evaluation of the model responses to likely nitrogen perturbations. Overall, we demonstrate that elucidating ecological mechanisms via meta-analysis can identify deficiencies in ecosystem models and empirical experiments.

Hanseniaspora uvarum from winemaking environments show spatial and temporal genetic clustering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Warren eAlbertin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hanseniaspora uvarum is one of the most abundant yeast species found on grapes and in grape must, at least before the onset of alcoholic fermentation which is usually performed by Saccharomyces species. The aim of this study was to characterise the genetic and phenotypic variability within the H. uvarum species. One hundred and fifteen strains isolated from winemaking environments in different geographical origins were analysed using 11 microsatellite markers and a subset of 47 strains were analysed by AFLP. H. uvarum isolates clustered mainly on the basis of their geographical localisation as revealed by microsatellites. In addition, a strong clustering based on year of isolation was evidenced, indicating that the genetic diversity of Hanseniaspora uvarum isolates was related to both spatial and temporal variations. Conversely, clustering analysis based on AFLP data provided a different picture with groups showing no particular characteristics, but provided higher strain discrimination. This result indicated that AFLP approaches are inadequate to establish the genetic relationship between individuals, but allowed good strain discrimination. At the phenotypic level, several extracellular enzymatic activities of enological relevance (pectinase, chitinase, protease, β-glucosidase were measured but showed low diversity. The impact of environmental factors of enological interest (temperature, anaerobia and copper addition on growth was also assessed and showed poor variation. Altogether, this work provided both new analytical tool (microsatellites and new insights into the genetic and phenotypic diversity of H. uvarum, a yeast species that has previously been identified as a potential candidate for co-inoculation in grape must, but whose intraspecific variability had never been fully assessed.

The additional value of bioelectrical impedance analysis-derived muscle mass as a screening tool in geriatric assessment for fall prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Puyenbroeck, Karolien; Roelandts, Lieven; Van Deun, Thomas; Van Royen, Paul; Verhoeven, Veronique

2012-01-01

The decline in skeletal muscle in old age is a factor in the development of functional limitations. The objective of this study was to assess if there is a correlation between muscle mass based on bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) detection and the fall incidence in nursing home residents and to examine the risk factors for falling in nursing home residents. This prospective cohort study was part of a longitudinal study on nutritional issues in 52 nursing homes in Antwerp (Belgium) from October 2007 to April 2008. Two hundred and seventy-six people aged 65 years and older were included. Each subject was assessed with BIA, the timed get-up-and-go test, the Katz score, the Mini Nutritional Assessment - Short Form and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. The primary outcome parameter was fall incidence during the study. The prevalence of sarcopenia varied from 24.3 to 81.5% depending on which definition was used. No association was found between BIA-derived muscle mass and fall incidence. Logistic regression analysis showed that gait speed (odds ratio 1.029; p = 0.003) and mental health (odds ratio 0.981; p = 0.015) are significantly associated with fall incidence in nursing homes. A receiver operating characteristic curve showed that none of the BIA-derived muscle parameters are good predictors of the risk of falling. This study shows that there is no association between sarcopenia based on BIA and fall incidence and that BIA-derived muscle mass has no additional value in predicting fall incidents compared to the timed get-up-and-go test. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Extraction and Analysis of Information Related to Research & Development Declared Under an Additional Protocol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idinger, J.; Labella, R.; Rialhe, A.; Teller, N.

2015-01-01

The additional protocol (AP) provides important tools to strengthen and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the safeguards system. Safeguards are designed to verify that States comply with their international commitments not to use nuclear material or to engage in nuclear-related activities for the purpose of developing nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. Under an AP based on INFCIRC/540, a State must provide to the IAEA additional information about, and inspector access to, all parts of its nuclear fuel cycle. In addition, the State has to supply information about its nuclear fuel cycle-related research and development (R&D) activities. The majority of States declare their R&D activities under the AP Articles 2.a.(i), 2.a.(x), and 2.b.(i) as part of initial declarations and their annual updates under the AP. In order to verify consistency and completeness of information provided under the AP by States, the Agency has started to analyze declared R&D information by identifying interrelationships between States in different R&D areas relevant to safeguards. The paper outlines the quality of R&D information provided by States to the Agency, describes how the extraction and analysis of relevant declarations are currently carried out at the Agency and specifies what kinds of difficulties arise during evaluation in respect to cross-linking international projects and finding gaps in reporting. In addition, the paper tries to elaborate how the reporting quality of AP information with reference to R&D activities and the assessment process of R&D information could be improved. (author)

Metabolic modeling of energy balances in Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae shows that pyruvate addition increases growth rate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamminga, Tjerko; Slagman, Simen-Jan; Bijlsma, Jetta J E; Martins Dos Santos, Vitor A P; Suarez-Diez, Maria; Schaap, Peter J

2017-10-01

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is cultured on large-scale to produce antigen for inactivated whole-cell vaccines against respiratory disease in pigs. However, the fastidious nutrient requirements of this minimal bacterium and the low growth rate make it challenging to reach sufficient biomass yield for antigen production. In this study, we sequenced the genome of M. hyopneumoniae strain 11 and constructed a high quality constraint-based genome-scale metabolic model of 284 chemical reactions and 298 metabolites. We validated the model with time-series data of duplicate fermentation cultures to aim for an integrated model describing the dynamic profiles measured in fermentations. The model predicted that 84% of cellular energy in a standard M. hyopneumoniae cultivation was used for non-growth associated maintenance and only 16% of cellular energy was used for growth and growth associated maintenance. Following a cycle of model-driven experimentation in dedicated fermentation experiments, we were able to increase the fraction of cellular energy used for growth through pyruvate addition to the medium. This increase in turn led to an increase in growth rate and a 2.3 times increase in the total biomass concentration reached after 3-4 days of fermentation, enhancing the productivity of the overall process. The model presented provides a solid basis to understand and further improve M. hyopneumoniae fermentation processes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2339-2347. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Economic trade-offs of additive manufacturing integration in injection moulding process chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Charalambis, Alessandro; Kerbache, Laoucine; Tosello, Guido

2017-01-01

Additive Manufacturing has emerged as an innovative set of novel technologies capable of replacing established manufacturing processes due to fabrication of highly complex parts and its continuous improvements of efficiency and cost effectiveness. This study is based on the idea that through...... the creation of synergies between additive and conventional manufacturing technologies it is possible to achieve greater cost advantages and operational benefits than by substituting injection moulding with additive manufacturing. The analysis presented explores the cost advantages that can be secured when...... additive manufacturing is used to support the fabrication of mould inserts for the product development phase of the injection moulding process chain. This study shows that fabrication of soft tooling by mean of AM is economically convenient with a cost reduction between 80% and 90%. Break-even points...

Effects of In and Ni Addition on Microstructure of Sn-58Bi Solder Joint

Science.gov (United States)

Mokhtari, Omid; Nishikawa, Hiroshi

2014-11-01

In this study, the effect of adding 0.5 wt.% and 1 wt.% In and Ni to Sn-58Bi solder on intermetallic compound (IMC) layers at the interface and the microstructure of the solder alloys were investigated during reflow and thermal aging by scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro-analysis. The results showed that the addition of minor elements was not effective in suppressing the IMC growth during the reflow; however, the addition of 0.5 wt.% In and Ni was effective in suppressing the IMC layer growth during thermal aging. The thickening kinetics of the total IMC layer was analyzed by plotting the mean thickness versus the aging time on log-log coordinates, and the results showed the transition point from grain boundary diffusion control to a volume diffusion control mechanism. The results also showed that the minor addition of In can significantly suppress the coarsening of the Bi phase.

Proteomic Analysis Shows Constitutive Secretion of MIF and p53-associated Activity of COX-2−/− Lung Fibroblasts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mandar Dave

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The differential expression of two closelyassociated cyclooxygenase isozymes, COX-1 and COX-2, exhibited functions beyond eicosanoid metabolism. We hypothesized that COX-1 or COX-2 knockout lung fibroblasts may display altered protein profiles which may allow us to further differentiate the functional roles of these isozymes at the molecular level. Proteomic analysis shows constitutive production of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF in lung fibroblasts derived from COX-2−/− but not wild-type (WT or COX-1−/− mice. MIF was spontaneously released in high levels into the extracellular milieu of COX2−/− fibroblasts seemingly from the preformed intracellular stores, with no change in the basal gene expression of MIF. The secretion and regulation of MIF in COX-2−/− was “prostaglandin-independent.” GO analysis showed that concurrent with upregulation of MIF, there is a significant surge in expression of genes related to fibroblast growth, FK506 binding proteins, and isomerase activity in COX-2−/− cells. Furthermore, COX-2−/− fibroblasts also exhibit a significant increase in transcriptional activity of various regulators, antagonists, and co-modulators of p53, as well as in the expression of oncogenes and related transcripts. Integrative Oncogenomics Cancer Browser (IntroGen analysis shows downregulation of COX-2 and amplification of MIF and/or p53 activity during development of glioblastomas, ependymoma, and colon adenomas. These data indicate the functional role of the MIF-COX-p53 axis in inflammation and cancer at the genomic and proteomic levels in COX-2-ablated cells. This systematic analysis not only shows the proinflammatory state but also unveils a molecular signature of a pro-oncogenic state of COX-1 in COX-2 ablated cells.

Orientation-free and differentially pumped addition of a low-flux reactive gas beam to a surface analysis system.

Science.gov (United States)

Harthcock, Colin; Jahanbekam, Abdolreza; Eskelsen, Jeremy R; Lee, David Y

2016-11-01

We describe an example of a piecewise gas chamber that can be customized to incorporate a low flux of gas-phase radicals with an existing surface analysis chamber for in situ and stepwise gas-surface interaction experiments without any constraint in orientation. The piecewise nature of this gas chamber provides complete angular freedom and easy alignment and does not require any modification of the existing surface analysis chamber. In addition, the entire gas-surface system is readily differentially pumped with the surface chamber kept under ultra-high-vacuum during the gas-surface measurements. This new design also allows not only straightforward reconstruction to accommodate the orientation of different surface chambers but also for the addition of other desired features, such as an additional pump to the current configuration. Stepwise interaction between atomic oxygen and a highly ordered pyrolytic graphite surface was chosen to test the effectiveness of this design, and the site-dependent O-atom chemisorption and clustering on the graphite surface were resolved by a scanning tunneling microscope in the nm-scale. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to further confirm the identity of the chemisorbed species on the graphite surface as oxygen.

Additive Intensity Regression Models in Corporate Default Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lando, David; Medhat, Mamdouh; Nielsen, Mads Stenbo

2013-01-01

We consider additive intensity (Aalen) models as an alternative to the multiplicative intensity (Cox) models for analyzing the default risk of a sample of rated, nonfinancial U.S. firms. The setting allows for estimating and testing the significance of time-varying effects. We use a variety of mo...

Synthesis and characterization of cement slurries additives with epoxy resins - kinetics, thermodynamic and calorimetric analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavares, A.M.G.; Andrade Junior, M.A.S.; Cestari, A.R.; Vieira, E.F.S.

2010-01-01

Cement has been used in the world, presenting a wide versatility. However, due to its chemical nature, it is subject to several types of chemical damages, especially for agents of acidic nature. With the purpose of increase its life-time, new cement slurries have been modified with the addition of specific additives. The objective of this work is to modify cement slurries with epoxy resins, which promote higher resistance of those materials in relation to acid attacks. Three cement slurries were synthesized with epoxy resins and a standard slurries, which was composed by cement and water. After 30 days of hydration, the samples were characterized by XDR, FTIR and thermal analysis (TG and DSC). The hydration processes of the cement slurries were studied by heat-conduction microcalorimetry. A kinetic study of HCl interaction with the new slurries were performed by the batch methodology at 25, 35, 45 e 55 deg C. It was verified that the addition of the polymers delayed the processes of hydration of the slurries, decreasing the flow of heat released as a function of the amount of added resin and, increased the resistance of those slurries to the acid attack. (author)

Ionic Liquids as Novel Lubricants and /or Lubricant Additives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qu, J. [ORNL; Viola, M. B. [General Motors Company

2013-10-31

This ORNL-GM CRADA developed ionic liquids (ILs) as novel lubricants or oil additives for engine lubrication. A new group of oil-miscible ILs have been designed and synthesized with high thermal stability, non-corrosiveness, excellent wettability, and most importantly effective anti-scuffing/anti-wear and friction reduction characteristics. Mechanistic analysis attributes the superior lubricating performance of IL additives to their physical and chemical interactions with metallic surfaces. Working with a leading lubricant formulation company, the team has successfully developed a prototype low-viscosity engine oil using a phosphonium-phosphate IL as an anti-wear additive. Tribological bench tests of the IL-additized formulated oil showed 20-33% lower friction in mixed and elastohydrodynamic lubrication and 38-92% lower wear in boundary lubrication when compared with commercial Mobil 1 and Mobil Clean 5W-30 engine oils. High-temperature, high load (HTHL) full-size engine tests confirmed the excellent anti-wear performance for the IL-additized engine oil. Sequence VID engine dynamometer tests demonstrated an improved fuel economy by >2% for this IL-additized engine oil benchmarked against the Mobil 1 5W-30 oil. In addition, accelerated catalyst aging tests suggest that the IL additive may potentially have less adverse impact on three-way catalysts compared to the conventional ZDDP. Follow-on research is needed for further development and optimization of IL chemistry and oil formulation to fully meet ILSAC GF-5 specifications and further enhance the automotive engine efficiency and durability.

Effect of cysteine and cystine addition on sensory profile and potent odorants of extruded potato snacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Majcher, Małgorzata A; Jeleń, Henryk H

2007-07-11

Aromas generated in extruded potato snacks without and with addition of 0.25, 0.5, and 1% (w/w) of flavor precursors, cysteine and cystine, were compared and evaluated by descriptive sensory profiling. The results showed that high addition of cysteine (0.5 and 1%) resulted in the formation of undesirable odor and taste described as mercaptanic/sulfur, onion-like, and bitter; on the contrary, addition of cystine even at high concentration gave product with pleasant odor and taste, slightly changed into breadlike notes. GC/O analysis showed cysteine to be a much more reactive flavor precursor than cystine, stimulating formation of 12 compounds with garlic, sulfury, burnt, pungent/beer, cabbage/mold, meatlike, roasted, and popcorn odor notes. Further analysis performed by the AEDA technique identified 2-methyl-3-furanthiol (FD 2048) as a most potent odorant of extruded potato snacks with 1% addition of cysteine. Other identified compounds with high FD were butanal, 3-methyl-2-butenethiol, 2-methylthiazole, methional, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, and 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone. In the case of cystine addition (1%) the highest FD factors were calculated for butanal, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, benzenemethanethiol, methional, phenylacetaldehyde, dimethyltrisulfide, 1-octen-3-ol, 1,5-octadien-3-one, and 2-acetylpyrazine.

Analysis of Latest Experience in Design of Industrial Buildings Reconstruction by Constructing Additional Interfloor Overlaps

Science.gov (United States)

Peshnina, I.; Sinitsina, O.

2017-11-01

The study relevance is determined by the increasing interest in reconstruction of city historical centers and located in the area of industrial buildings the functional profile of which needs to be changed. The problem of obtaining extra usable spaces in the historical centers of cities is solved by raising the number of storeys in the buildings which can be achieved by the construction of additional built-in inter-floor overlaps. The article is dedicated to the analysis of the recent years’ experience in reconstruction design involving this method in our country and abroad, in the Netherlands, in particular. The article presents the results of the analysis of the experience in reconstruction of the objects by constructing additional inter-floor overlaps and aims to define the optimum construction solution for built-in inter-floor overlapping and to develop non-existing solutions for wide application of this method in the reconstruction of a building with non-unified and unmodulated parameters. It was determined as expedient to apply a monolith reinforced concrete slab with the use of steel profiled flooring as a formwork and reinforcement and steel beams designed as “Built-in Beams” for the construction of built-in inter-floor overlaps in reconstruction. The article will be useful for specialists doing research in the sphere of reconstruction of the buildings and for the practical activity of design engineers.

Rice straw addition as sawdust substitution in oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) planted media

Science.gov (United States)

Utami, Christine Pamardining; Susilawati, Puspita Ratna

2017-08-01

Oyster mushroom is favorite by the people because of the high nutrients. The oyster mushroom cultivation usually using sawdust. The availability of sawdust become difficult to find. It makes difficulties of mushroom cultivation. Rice straw as an agricultural waste can be used as planted media of oyster mushroom because they contain much nutrition needed to the mushroom growth. The aims of this research were to analysis the influence of rice straw addition in a baglog as planted media and to analysis the concentration of rice straw addition which can substitute sawdust in planted media of oyster mushroom. This research used 4 treatment of sawdust and rice straw ratio K = 75 % : 0 %, P1 = 60 % : 15 %, P2 = 40 % : 35 %, P3 = 15 % : 60 %. The same material composition of all baglog was bran 20%, chalk 5%, and water 70%. The parameters used in this research were wet weight, dry weight, moisture content and number of the mushroom fruit body. Data analysis was used ANOVA test with 1 factorial. The results of this research based on statistical analysis showed that there was no influence of rice straw addition in a planted media on the oyster mushroomgrowth. 15% : 60% was the concentrationof rice straw additionwhich can substitute the sawdust in planted media of oyster mushroom.

The Analysis of Silver Nanoparticles After the Manipulation of Synthesis Parameters and with the Addition of Potassium 2-(9-Carboxy-1-Octylnonylsulfanyl)-Malonate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chin, S.Y.; Hakam, M.A.O.; Goh, S.C.; Yarmo, M.A.

2011-01-01

This research aimed to synthesize and characterize silver nanoparticles by manipulating the parameters involved in stabilizing the particles. The silver nanoparticles in this research were synthesized by reduction process of silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) with sodium borohydrate (NaBH 4 ) as the reducing agent. The addition of potassium 2- (9-carboxy-1-octylnonylsulfanyl)-malonate into silver nanoparticles solution functioned as a stabilizing agent. The parameters involved in this research were the effect of time towards stability of silver nanoparticles, the effect of addition of potassium 2-(9-carboxy-1-octylnonylsulfanyl)- malonate and the pH level effect towards the synthesized silver nanoparticles. Based on the results obtained from Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), we have observed that the incorporation of potassium 2-(9-carboxy-1- octyl-nonanesulfonyl)-malonate as the stabilizing agent can prevent the agglomeration of silver nanoparticles within 16 days which is a breakthrough for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles by using sodium borohydride. The micrograph showed that the size of silver nanoparticles synthesized were within the range of 1.5 nm to 8.3 nm. In addition to that, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) technique was used in this research to measure the average size of the silver nanoparticles which stabilized with potassium 2-(9-carboxy-1-octyl-nonanesulfonyl)-malonate. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis was carried out to view the effect of manipulated pH level on crystalline silver nanoparticles structure. The XRD diffractogram showed the diffraction peaks which can be indexed to planes of face- centered cubic (fcc) of pure silver. (author)

Analysis of the effects of section 29 tax credits on reserve additions and production of gas from unconventional resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1990-09-01

Federal tax credits for production of natural gas from unconventional resources can stimulate drilling and reserves additions at a relatively low cost to the Treasury. This report presents the results of an analysis of the effects of a proposed extension of the Section 29 alternative fuels production credit specifically for unconventional gas. ICF Resources estimated the net effect of the extension of the credit (the difference between development activity expected with the extension of the credit and that expected if the credit expires in December 1990 as scheduled). The analysis addressed the effect of tax credits on project economics and capital formation, drilling and reserve additions, production, impact on the US and regional economies, and the net public sector costs and incremental revenues. The analysis was based on explicit modeling of the three dominant unconventional gas resources: Tight sands, coalbed methane, and Devonian shales. It incorporated the most current data on resource size, typical well recoveries and economics, and anticipated activity of the major producers. Each resource was further disaggregated for analysis based on distinct resource characteristics, development practices, regional economics, and historical development patterns.

Analysis of the effects of section 29 tax credits on reserve additions and production of gas from unconventional resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-09-01

Federal tax credits for production of natural gas from unconventional resources can stimulate drilling and reserves additions at a relatively low cost to the Treasury. This report presents the results of an analysis of the effects of a proposed extension of the Section 29 alternative fuels production credit specifically for unconventional gas. ICF Resources estimated the net effect of the extension of the credit (the difference between development activity expected with the extension of the credit and that expected if the credit expires in December 1990 as scheduled). The analysis addressed the effect of tax credits on project economics and capital formation, drilling and reserve additions, production, impact on the US and regional economies, and the net public sector costs and incremental revenues. The analysis was based on explicit modeling of the three dominant unconventional gas resources: Tight sands, coalbed methane, and Devonian shales. It incorporated the most current data on resource size, typical well recoveries and economics, and anticipated activity of the major producers. Each resource was further disaggregated for analysis based on distinct resource characteristics, development practices, regional economics, and historical development patterns

A manual on using additives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Bong Hoon

1991-10-01

This book consists of five chapters, which describe plasticizer ; summary, synthesis of plasticizer, basic notion, analysis and test on plasticizer, stabilizer ; stabilizer for plastic, an antioxidant, phosphorous acid estelle, ultraviolet ray absorbent, performance of stabilizer, influence on another additives, mix case of PVC production and analysis method for stabilizer, ultraviolet ray absorbent ; basic property and ultraviolet ray absorbent maker, anti-static agent ; basics, anti-static agent of a high molecule and analysis of anti-static agent, flame retardant of plastic.

Technological foundations of processing tomato pomace in feed additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Yegorov

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Search for new types of alternative raw material for the efficient development of poultry industry and problem of waste disposal of canning industry made it necessary to develop a method of processing tomato pomace in feed additives. Materials and methods. Sampling, preparation and testing were carried out by general and specific organ oleptic and physical-technological methods of assessment and analysis of the properties of raw materials and finished products. Results. Incorporation of tomato pomace in the feed additive reduces the cost of raw materials and expenses associated with moistening of the mixture before extrusion and incorporation of chalk feed will solve the problem of calcium imbalance of laying hens. It was found that extrusion process has improved the physical properties of feed additive and showed the possibility of its use as a feed component: moisture content decreased by 34.5 %, the angle of repose increased by 11.4 %, flowability decreased by 39.7 % and bulk density decreased by 32.3 %. Conclusions. The resulting feed additive will solve the problem of diversification of raw materials, waste, calcium imbalance of laying hens and reduce expenses on compound animal feedstuff production.

Effect of mineral additives on structure and properties of concrete for pavements

Science.gov (United States)

Sobol, Khrystyna; Markiv, Taras; Hunyak, Oleksii

2017-12-01

Concrete pavements is an attractive alternative to asphalt pavements because of its lower cost and higher durability. Major contribution to sustainable development can be made by partial replacement of cement in concrete pavement with supplementary cementitious materials of different nature and origin. In this paper, the effect of natural zeolite and perlite additives in complex with chemical admixtures on the structure and properties of concrete for pavement was studied. Compressive and flexural strength test was used to study the mechanical behavior of designed concrete under load. Generally, the compressive strength of both control concrete and concrete containing mineral additives levels at the later ages of hardening. The microstructure analysis of concrete with mineral additives of different nature activity showed the formation of additional amount of hydration products such as tobermorite type calcium hydrosilicate which provide self-reinforcement of hardening concrete system.

Regression analysis of mixed recurrent-event and panel-count data with additive rate models.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Liang; Zhao, Hui; Sun, Jianguo; Leisenring, Wendy; Robison, Leslie L

2015-03-01

Event-history studies of recurrent events are often conducted in fields such as demography, epidemiology, medicine, and social sciences (Cook and Lawless, 2007, The Statistical Analysis of Recurrent Events. New York: Springer-Verlag; Zhao et al., 2011, Test 20, 1-42). For such analysis, two types of data have been extensively investigated: recurrent-event data and panel-count data. However, in practice, one may face a third type of data, mixed recurrent-event and panel-count data or mixed event-history data. Such data occur if some study subjects are monitored or observed continuously and thus provide recurrent-event data, while the others are observed only at discrete times and hence give only panel-count data. A more general situation is that each subject is observed continuously over certain time periods but only at discrete times over other time periods. There exists little literature on the analysis of such mixed data except that published by Zhu et al. (2013, Statistics in Medicine 32, 1954-1963). In this article, we consider the regression analysis of mixed data using the additive rate model and develop some estimating equation-based approaches to estimate the regression parameters of interest. Both finite sample and asymptotic properties of the resulting estimators are established, and the numerical studies suggest that the proposed methodology works well for practical situations. The approach is applied to a Childhood Cancer Survivor Study that motivated this study. © 2014, The International Biometric Society.

Assessing direct analysis in real-time-mass spectrometry (DART-MS) for the rapid identification of additives in food packaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Ackerman, L K; Noonan, G O; Begley, T H

2009-12-01

The ambient ionization technique direct analysis in real time (DART) was characterized and evaluated for the screening of food packaging for the presence of packaging additives using a benchtop mass spectrometer (MS). Approximate optimum conditions were determined for 13 common food-packaging additives, including plasticizers, anti-oxidants, colorants, grease-proofers, and ultraviolet light stabilizers. Method sensitivity and linearity were evaluated using solutions and characterized polymer samples. Additionally, the response of a model additive (di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate) was examined across a range of sample positions, DART, and MS conditions (temperature, voltage and helium flow). Under optimal conditions, molecular ion (M+H+) was the major ion for most additives. Additive responses were highly sensitive to sample and DART source orientation, as well as to DART flow rates, temperatures, and MS inlet voltages, respectively. DART-MS response was neither consistently linear nor quantitative in this setting, and sensitivity varied by additive. All additives studied were rapidly identified in multiple food-packaging materials by DART-MS/MS, suggesting this technique can be used to screen food packaging rapidly. However, method sensitivity and quantitation requires further study and improvement.

Advertising Discourse Analysis of FES stores: Killing Love, Cowards Show

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Venegas Ahumada

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The objective is to analyze the structural and photographic discourse of the Autumn-Winter campaign 2008 of FES stores for young people. This was done by a semiotic theory and a critical-structural methodology of discourse. An analysis of 4 advertising photographs was done, and at once an analysis of the discourse “FES says no to violence against Women”, which explains the campaign’s target. The result is: The discourse was subjected to production condition (society of control and makes advertising a way to homogenize subjectivity of masses to consume. Recognition conditions demonstrate that this advertising discourse of symbolic violence means a type of violation of Men and Women Rights. An action like this requires commitment of Psychology in order to promote the social humanizing change, by means of university teaching and professional tasks.

The effect of nozzle location on the concentration profiles in chemical addition tank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, B. H.; Kim, E. K.; Ro, T. S.; Lee, C. H.

2001-01-01

A numerical analysis of the flow and injection characteristics is performed for the flow field created by water injected into a cylindrical tank with an initially stationary fluid. The flow is relevant to the operation of the chemical addition system in the chemical and volume control system( CVCS) of nuclear power plants. This study is performed to improve the current design which has a disk block inside tank. The numerical analysis for the flow and injection characteristics in chemical addition tank are carried out using CFD code FLUENT 5. Results show that the inlet nozzle installed in tangential direction at the uppermost region of the tank cylinder and the outlet nozzle located at the center of the tank bottom is very effective in enhancing the injection in the tank

Influence of metal additives on pyrolysis behavior of bituminous coal by TG-FTIR analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su, Wenjuan; Fang, Mengxiang; Cen, Jianmeng; Li, Chao; Luo, Zhongyang; Cen, Kefa [Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou (China). State Key Lab. of Clean Energy Utilization

2013-07-01

To study the catalytic effects of alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal additives on coal pyrolysis behavior, bituminous coal loaded NaCl, KCl, CaCl{sub 2}, MgCl{sub 2}, FeCl{sub 3} and NiCl{sub 2} was respectively investigated using Thermogravimetry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (TG-FTIR). Results indicated that the maximum mass loss rate decreased under the metal additives in the primary pyrolysis stage. The total mass loss of pyrolysis was reduced in metals catalyzed pyrolysis except for Na loaded sample. Kinetic analysis was taken for all samples adopting the method of Coats-Redfern. Activation energy of raw coal in the primary pyrolysis stage was 92.15vkJ.mol{sup -1}, which was lowered to 44.59-73.42 kJ.mol{sup -1} under metal additives. The orders of catalytic effect for this bituminous coal were Mg > Fe > Ca > Ni > K > Na according to their activation energies. Several investigated volatiles including CH{sub 4}, CO{sub 2}, CO, toluene, phenol and formic acid were identified from FTIR spectra. The yields of CH{sub 4}, CO{sub 2}, toluene, phenol and formic acid were decreased, but the evolution of CO was increased. The presence of metals in the coal samples have been involved in a repeated bond-forming and bond-breaking process, which greatly hindered the release of tars during pyrolysis as the tar precursors were connected to coal/char matrix and were thermally cracked, becoming a part of char.

Nontargeted Screening Method for Illegal Additives Based on Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Yanqing; Zhou, Zhihui; Kong, Hongwei; Lu, Xin; Zhao, Xinjie; Chen, Yihui; Chen, Jia; Wu, Zeming; Xu, Zhiliang; Zhao, Chunxia; Xu, Guowang

2016-09-06

Identification of illegal additives in complex matrixes is important in the food safety field. In this study a nontargeted screening strategy was developed to find illegal additives based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). First, an analytical method for possible illegal additives in complex matrixes was established including fast sample pretreatment, accurate UHPLC separation, and HRMS detection. Second, efficient data processing and differential analysis workflow were suggested and applied to find potential risk compounds. Third, structure elucidation of risk compounds was performed by (1) searching online databases [Metlin and the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB)] and an in-house database which was established at the above-defined conditions of UHPLC-HRMS analysis and contains information on retention time, mass spectra (MS), and tandem mass spectra (MS/MS) of 475 illegal additives, (2) analyzing fragment ions, and (3) referring to fragmentation rules. Fish was taken as an example to show the usefulness of the nontargeted screening strategy, and six additives were found in suspected fish samples. Quantitative analysis was further carried out to determine the contents of these compounds. The satisfactory application of this strategy in fish samples means that it can also be used in the screening of illegal additives in other kinds of food samples.

Changes of Properties of Bitumen Binders by Additives Application

Science.gov (United States)

Remišová, Eva; Holý, Michal

2017-10-01

Requirements for properties of bituminous binders are determined in the European standards. The physico-chemical behaviour of bitumen depends on its colloidal structure (asphaltenes dispersed into an oily matrix constituted by saturates, aromatics and resins) that depends primarily on its crude source and processing. Bitumen properties are evaluated by group composition, elementary analysis, but more often conventional or functional tests. Bitumen for road uses is assessed according to the physical characteristics. For the purpose of improving the qualitative properties of bitumen and asphalts the additives are applied e.g. to increase elasticity, improving the heat stability, improving adhesion to aggregate, to decrease viscosity, increasing the resistance to aging, to prevent binder drainage from the aggregate surface, etc. The objective of presented paper is to assess and compare effect of additives on properties of bitumen binders. In paper, the results of bitumen properties, penetration, softening point, and dynamic viscosity of two paving grade bitumen 35/50, 50/70 and polymer modified bitumen PmB 45/80-75 are analyzed and also the changes of these properties by the application of selected additives (Sasobit, Licomont BS100, Wetfix BE and CWM) to improve adhesion to aggregate and improve workability. Measurements of properties have been performed according to the relevant European standards. The laboratory tests showed significantly increasing the softening point of paving grade bitumen 50/70 and 35/50 by 13 to 45°C. The effect of various additives on bitumen softening point is different. Penetration varies according to type of bitumen and type of used additive. The penetration values of modified bitumen PmB 45/80-75 with additives Sasobit and Licomont BS100 show increase of bitumen stiffness of 16 0.1mm and a shift in the gradation. The changes in penetration and in softening point significantly shown when calculating on Penetration index as a parameter of

The physicochemical quality and meat microstructure of post laying hen with addition of Biduri (Calotropis gigantea) latex extract

Science.gov (United States)

Nuhriawangsa, A. M. P.; Hertanto, B. S.; Kartikasari, L. R.; Swastike, W.; Cahyadi, M.; Rasid, S.

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of extract level of Biduri latex on the meat quality of laying hens. The materials of this research were Biduri latex and thigh meat from hens strain Lohman. The latex was tapped from a young tissue stem and centrifuged for its supernatant. Meats were smeared with latex, punctured and incubated for 30 minutes. Concentrations of latex were 0, 3, 6 and 9% from the weight of meat (w/w). The variables were water, dissolved protein, crude fat content, tenderness and microstructure of meat. The statistical analysis method using ANOVA and if there was a mean difference, Duncan test was used. Descriptive analysis was used for microstructures of meat by comparing its hydrolysis conditions. The study showed that fat had significant difference (P meat structure. The fat content increased with addition of 3% latex. The value of dissolved protein increased but tenderness decreased by addition extract of 6% latex. The addition of Biduri latex extract showed that hydrolysis in the microstructure of meat. The addition of 6% latex was the best meat quality.

Analysis of Additive Manufacturing for Sustainment of Naval Aviation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

decline and allow manufacturers to explore alternative product designs and supply processes at lower risk. If the aerospace and defense industry...C. SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING During the design and development of new products or systems, engineers must consider the...Bradford L., and Vhance V. Valencia. 2017. “3D-Printing Design Using Systems Engineering.” In Additive Manufacturing Handbook: Product Development for the

Additive conjoint measurement for multiattribute utility

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maas, A.; Wakker, P.P.

1994-01-01

This paper shows that multiattribute utility can be simplified by methods from additive conjoint measurement. Given additive conjoint measurability under certainty, axiomatizations can be simplified, and implementation and reliability of elicitation can be improved. This also contributes to the

Real-Time Geometric Analysis of Additive Manufacturing, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Current selective laser melting additive manufacturing (AM) systems do not have adequate process control features for wide-spread adoption across NASA. In this...

Simple scattering analysis and simulation of optical components created by additive manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Rank, M.; Horsak, A.; Heinrich, A.

2017-10-01

Additive manufacturing of optical elements is known but still new to the field of optical fabrication. In 3D printers, the parts are deposited layer-by-layer approximating the shape defined in optics design enabling new shapes, which cannot be manufactured using conventional methods. However, the layered structure also causes surface roughness and subsurface scattering, which decrease the quality of optical elements. Illuminating a flat sample with a laser beam, different light distributions are generated on a screen depending on the printing orientation of the sample. Whereas the laser beam is mainly diffused by the samples, a line shaped light distribution can be achieved for a special case in which the laser light goes parallel to the layer structure. These optical effects of 3D printed parts are analyzed using a goniometric setup and fed back into the optics simulation with the goal to improve the design considering the characteristics of the real sample. For a detailed look on the effect, the total scattering is split up into surface contributions and subsurface scattering using index matching techniques to isolate the effects from each other. For an index matched sample with negligible surface effects the line shaped distribution turns into a diffraction pattern which corresponds to the layer thickness of the printer. Finally, an optic simulation with the scattering data is set up for a simple curved sample. The light distribution measured with a robot-based goniophotometer differs from the simulation, because the curvature is approximated by the layer structure. This makes additional analysis necessary.

Rasch analysis suggested three unidimensional domains for Affiliate Stigma Scale: additional psychometric evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Chih-Cheng; Su, Jian-An; Tsai, Ching-Shu; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Liu, Jiun-Horng; Lin, Chung-Ying

2015-06-01

To examine the psychometrics of the Affiliate Stigma Scale using rigorous psychometric analysis: classical test theory (CTT) (traditional) and Rasch analysis (modern). Differential item functioning (DIF) items were also tested using Rasch analysis. Caregivers of relatives with mental illness (n = 453; mean age: 53.29 ± 13.50 years) were recruited from southern Taiwan. Each participant filled out four questionnaires: Affiliate Stigma Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and one background information sheet. CTT analyses showed that the Affiliate Stigma Scale had satisfactory internal consistency (α = 0.85-0.94) and concurrent validity (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: r = -0.52 to -0.46; Beck Anxiety Inventory: r = 0.27-0.34). Rasch analyses supported the unidimensionality of three domains in the Affiliate Stigma Scale and indicated four DIF items (affect domain: 1; cognitive domain: 3) across gender. Our findings, based on rigorous statistical analysis, verified the psychometrics of the Affiliate Stigma Scale and reported its DIF items. We conclude that the three domains of the Affiliate Stigma Scale can be separately used and are suitable for measuring the affiliate stigma of caregivers of relatives with mental illness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of mineral additives on structure and properties of concrete for pavements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sobol Khrystyna

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Concrete pavements is an attractive alternative to asphalt pavements because of its lower cost and higher durability. Major contribution to sustainable development can be made by partial replacement of cement in concrete pavement with supplementary cementitious materials of different nature and origin. In this paper, the effect of natural zeolite and perlite additives in complex with chemical admixtures on the structure and properties of concrete for pavement was studied. Compressive and flexural strength test was used to study the mechanical behavior of designed concrete under load. Generally, the compressive strength of both control concrete and concrete containing mineral additives levels at the later ages of hardening. The microstructure analysis of concrete with mineral additives of different nature activity showed the formation of additional amount of hydration products such as tobermorite type calcium hydrosilicate which provide self-reinforcement of hardening concrete system.

Orange-flavored soft drink with the addition of isolated whey protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirian Souza Prado

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Current assay developed an orange-flavored soda pop with the addition of isolated whey protein, bottled in a 2L-polyethylene terephthalate container and stored at room temperature for 90 days. Physical, chemical, microbiological and sensorial analyses were conducted periodically on the product. The physicochemical analysis showed pH 3.53, 11.5ºBrix and 224 mg of citric acid per 100 mL of the drink and the following proximal composition: protein 0.501%, humidity 88.9%, ash 0.084% and carbohydrates 10.5%. Microbiological analyses detected no microorganisms during the storage period of the drink. Sensorial analysis results had good acceptability. Results showed that the product is stable when stored at room temperature for 90 days. This beverage contains higher nutritional rates and the same calorie rates when compared to sodas and some oranges juices found on the consumer market.

Free Radical Addition Polymerization Kinetics without Steady-State Approximations: A Numerical Analysis for the Polymer, Physical, or Advanced Organic Chemistry Course

Science.gov (United States)

Iler, H. Darrell; Brown, Amber; Landis, Amanda; Schimke, Greg; Peters, George

2014-01-01

A numerical analysis of the free radical addition polymerization system is described that provides those teaching polymer, physical, or advanced organic chemistry courses the opportunity to introduce students to numerical methods in the context of a simple but mathematically stiff chemical kinetic system. Numerical analysis can lead students to an…

Effect of granular activated carbon addition on the effluent properties and fouling potentials of membrane-coupled expanded granular sludge bed process.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, An; Liang, Heng; Qu, Fangshu; Bai, Langming; Li, Guibai; Ngo, Huu Hao; Guo, Wenshan

2014-11-01

To mitigate membrane fouling of membrane-coupled anaerobic process, granular activated carbon (GAC: 50 g/L) was added into an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB). A short-term ultrafiltration test was investigated for analyzing membrane fouling potential and underlying fouling mechanisms. The results showed that adding GAC into the EGSB not only improved the COD removal efficiency, but also alleviated membrane fouling efficiently because GAC could help to reduce soluble microbial products, polysaccharides and proteins by 26.8%, 27.8% and 24.7%, respectively, compared with the control system. Furthermore, excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy analysis revealed that GAC addition mainly reduced tryptophan protein-like, aromatic protein-like and fulvic-like substances. In addition, the resistance distribution analysis demonstrated that adding GAC primarily decreased the cake layer resistance by 53.5%. The classic filtration mode analysis showed that cake filtration was the major fouling mechanism for membrane-coupled EGSB process regardless of the GAC addition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanical properties of sheet metal components with local reinforcement produced by additive manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Ünsal, Ismail; Hama-Saleh, R.; Sviridov, Alexander; Bambach, Markus; Weisheit, A.; Schleifenbaum, J. H.

2018-05-01

New technological challenges like electro-mobility pose an increasing demand for cost-efficient processes for the production of product variants. This demand opens the possibility to combine established die-based manufacturing methods and innovative, dieless technologies like additive manufacturing [1, 2]. In this context, additive manufacturing technologies allow for the weight-efficient local reinforcement of parts before and after forming, enabling manufacturers to produce product variants from series parts [3]. Previous work by the authors shows that the optimal shape of the reinforcing structure can be determined using sizing optimization. Sheet metal parts can then be reinforced using laser metal deposition. The material used is a pearlite-reduced, micro-alloyed steel (ZE 630). The aim of this paper is to determine the effect of the additive manufacturing process on the material behavior and the mechanical properties of the base material and the resulting composite material. The parameters of the AM process are optimized to reach similar material properties in the base material and the build-up volume. A metallographic analysis of the parts is presented, where the additive layers, the base material and also the bonding between the additive layers and the base material are analyzed. The paper shows the feasibility of the approach and details the resulting mechanical properties and performance.

Is the classical law of the addition of probabilities violated in quantum interference?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arsenovic, Dusan; Bozic, Mirjana; Vuskovic, Lepsa

2002-01-01

We analyse and compare the positive and negative arguments on whether quantum interference violates the classical law of the addition of probabilities. The analysis takes into account the results of recent interference experiments in neutron, electron and atom optics. Nonclassical behaviour of atoms was found in atomic experiments where the measurements included their time of arrival and space distribution. We determine probabilities of elementary events associated with the nonclassical behaviour of particles in interferometers. We show that the emergence of the interference pattern in the process of accumulation of such elementary events is consistent with the classical law of the addition of probabilities

Effect of indium addition in U-Zr metallic fuel on lanthanide migration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yeon Soo, E-mail: yskim@anl.gov [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Wiencek, T.; O' Hare, E.; Fortner, J.; Wright, A. [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Cheon, J.S.; Lee, B.O. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111 Daedeok-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-353 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-02-15

Advanced fast reactor concepts to achieve ultra-high burnup (∼50%) require prevention of fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI). Fission product lanthanide accumulation at high burnup is substantial and significantly contributes to FCCI upon migration to the cladding interface. Diffusion barriers are typically used to prevent interaction of the lanthanides with the cladding. A more active method has been proposed which immobilizes the lanthanides through formation of stable compounds with an additive. Theoretical analysis showed that indium, thallium, and antimony are good candidates. Indium was the strongest candidate because of its low reactivity with iron-based cladding alloys. Characterization of the as-fabricated alloys was performed to determine the effectiveness of the indium addition in forming compounds with lanthanides, represented by cerium. Tests to examine how effectively the dopant prevents lanthanide migration under a thermal gradient were also performed. The results showed that indium effectively prevented cerium migration.

Effect of indium addition in U-Zr metallic fuel on lanthanide migration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yeon Soo; Wiencek, T.; O' Hare, E.; Fortner, J.; Wright, A.; Cheon, J. S.; Lee, B. O.

2017-02-01

Advanced fast reactor concepts to achieve ultra-high burnup (~50%) require prevention of fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI). Fission product lanthanide accumulation at high burnup is substantial and significantly contributes to FCCI upon migration to the cladding interface. Diffusion barriers are typically used to prevent interaction of the lanthanides with the cladding. A more active method has been proposed which immobilizes the lanthanides through formation of stable compounds with an additive. Theoretical analysis showed that indium, thallium, and antimony are good candidates. Indium was the strongest candidate because of its low reactivity with iron-based cladding alloys. Characterization of the as-fabricated alloys was performed to determine the effectiveness of the indium addition in forming compounds with lanthanides, represented by cerium. Tests to examine how effectively the dopant prevents lanthanide migration under a thermal gradient were also performed. The results showed that indium effectively prevented cerium migration.

Additives for high-load extruders; Additivsysteme fuer hochbelastete Spritzgussmaschinen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fletschinger, M.; Brand, F. [Ciba Speciality Chemicals Inc., Basel (Switzerland)

2004-12-01

The requirement for tight sealing of hydraulic systems, such as between the moving cylinders and the seals in extruders, has led to the development of new technologies in particular with respect to the sealing materials. Today PTFE/bronze (Poly-Tetra-Fluoro-Ethylene/embedded bronze powder) seals are widely used for these applications, which require in addition reliability and long seal life. Needs to replace environmentally problematic hydraulic fluids based on ZnDTP has gained momentum and therefore new lubricants have also been evaluated for these hydraulic systems. The well-known seal manufacturer Busak + Shamban observed axial tiny scratches in the contact area cylinder-seal on the metal surface when replacing ZnDTP based with Zn-free lubricants. ''Micro-scratching'' refers to this phenomenon, which ultimately leads to fluid leakage thus reducing the efficiency of the hydraulic systems. A first assumption was that this problem is associated with the additive technology. A subsequent root cause analysis clearly showed that this preliminary hypothesis was incorrect. An in depth investigation showed that the phenomenon occurs when the load carrying capacity of the lubricant is insufficient and is not associated with the lubricant additive technology (Zn-free vs. Zn-containing). The load carrying capacity is predominantly determined by the selection of the correct lubricant viscosity and by its appropriate wear inhibition system. In this work it could be demonstrated that there are also Zn-free lubricants available which meet all these requirements. (orig.)

Genomic analysis of codon usage shows influence of mutation pressure, natural selection, and host features on Marburg virus evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Izza; Butt, Azeem M; Tahir, Shifa; Idrees, Muhammad; Tong, Yigang

2015-08-26

The Marburg virus (MARV) has a negative-sense single-stranded RNA genome, belongs to the family Filoviridae, and is responsible for several outbreaks of highly fatal hemorrhagic fever. Codon usage patterns of viruses reflect a series of evolutionary changes that enable viruses to shape their survival rates and fitness toward the external environment and, most importantly, their hosts. To understand the evolution of MARV at the codon level, we report a comprehensive analysis of synonymous codon usage patterns in MARV genomes. Multiple codon analysis approaches and statistical methods were performed to determine overall codon usage patterns, biases in codon usage, and influence of various factors, including mutation pressure, natural selection, and its two hosts, Homo sapiens and Rousettus aegyptiacus. Nucleotide composition and relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) analysis revealed that MARV shows mutation bias and prefers U- and A-ended codons to code amino acids. Effective number of codons analysis indicated that overall codon usage among MARV genomes is slightly biased. The Parity Rule 2 plot analysis showed that GC and AU nucleotides were not used proportionally which accounts for the presence of natural selection. Codon usage patterns of MARV were also found to be influenced by its hosts. This indicates that MARV have evolved codon usage patterns that are specific to both of its hosts. Moreover, selection pressure from R. aegyptiacus on the MARV RSCU patterns was found to be dominant compared with that from H. sapiens. Overall, mutation pressure was found to be the most important and dominant force that shapes codon usage patterns in MARV. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed codon usage analysis of MARV and extends our understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to codon usage and evolution of MARV.

Gene expression profiling in colon of mice exposed to food additive titanium dioxide (E171).

Science.gov (United States)

Proquin, Héloïse; Jetten, Marlon J; Jonkhout, Marloes C M; Garduño-Balderas, Luis G; Briedé, Jacob J; de Kok, Theo M; Chirino, Yolanda I; van Loveren, Henk

2018-01-01

Dietary factors that may influence the risks of colorectal cancer, including specific supplements, are under investigation. Previous studies showed the capacity of food additive titanium dioxide (E171) to induce DNA damage in vitro and facilitate growth of colorectal tumours in vivo. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms behind these effects after E171 exposure. BALB/c mice were exposed by gavage to 5 mg/kg bw /day of E171 for 2, 7, 14, and 21 days. Transcriptome changes were studied by whole genome mRNA microarray analysis on the mice's distal colons. In addition, histopathological changes as well as a proliferation marker were analysed. The results showed significant gene expression changes in the olfactory/GPCR receptor family, oxidative stress, the immune system and of cancer related genes. Transcriptome analysis also identified genes that thus far have not been included in known biological pathways and can induce functional changes by interacting with other genes involved in different biological pathways. Histopathological analysis showed alteration and disruption in the normal structure of crypts inducing a hyperplastic epithelium. At cell proliferation level, no consistent increase over time was observed. These results may offer a mechanistic framework for the enhanced tumour growth after ingestion of E171 in BALB/c mice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Jauch-Piron States and σ-Additivity

Science.gov (United States)

Bunce, L. J.; Hamhalter, Jan

We study σ-additivity of the physically plausible Jauch-Piron states on a von Neumann algebra M. Amongst other consequences we extend our earlier results [5] by showing that geometric conditions much weaker than pureness imply σ-additivity for a Jauch-Piron state and, further, that if M is properly infinite and the continuum hypothesis is assumed to be true then all Jauch-Piron factor states are σ-additive.

Effects of gliadin addition on the rheological, microscopic and thermal characteristics of wheat gluten.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatkar, B S; Barak, Sheweta; Mudgil, Deepak

2013-02-01

In the present study, micro-structural, thermal and rheological changes in the gluten network upon addition of gliadins at 5% and 10% levels were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic rheometry. The addition of gliadins decreased the peak dough height inferring decrease in dough strength. The dough stability also decreased from 3.20 to 1.40 min upon addition of 10% gliadin to the base flour. The TGA profile and the glass transition behavior of the control gluten and gluten obtained from dough with gliadin added at 5% and 10% levels showed decrease in thermal stability. The SEM micrograph of the control gluten showed foam like protein matrix. As the gliadin percentage in the gluten was increased, the compactness of the gluten structure reduced considerably leading to the formation of a more open weak gluten network. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factor analysis shows association between family activity environment and children's health behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrie, Gilly A; Coveney, John; Cox, David N

2011-12-01

To characterise the family activity environment in a questionnaire format, assess the questionnaire's reliability and describe its predictive ability by examining the relationships between the family activity environment and children's health behaviours - physical activity, screen time and fruit and vegetable intake. This paper describes the creation of a tool, based on previously validated scales, adapted from the food domain. Data are from 106 children and their parents (Adelaide, South Australia). Factor analysis was used to characterise factors within the family activity environment. Pearson-Product Moment correlations between the family environment and child outcomes, controlling for demographic variation, were examined. Three factors described the family activity environment - parental activity involvement, opportunity for role modelling and parental support for physical activity - and explained 37.6% of the variance. Controlling for demographic factors, the scale was significantly correlated with children's health behaviour - physical activity (r=0.27), screen time (r=-0.24) and fruit and vegetable intake (r=0.34). The family activity environment questionnaire shows high internal consistency and moderate predictive ability. This study has built on previous research by taking a more comprehensive approach to measuring the family activity environment. This research suggests the family activity environment should be considered in family-based health promotion interventions. © 2011 The Authors. ANZJPH © 2011 Public Health Association of Australia.

Radiographic analysis of odontogenic cysts showing displacement of the mandibular canal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Bong Hae

2003-01-01

To assess the radiographic findings of odontogenic cysts showing displacement of the mandibular canal using computed tomographic (CT) and panoramic images. CT and panoramic images of 63 odontogenic cysts (27 dentigerous, 16 odontogenic keratocysts, and 20 radicular cysts) were analyzed to evaluate the following parameters: the dimension and shape of the cysts, and the effect of the cysts on the mandibular canal and cortical plates. Of the 63 cysts examined in the study, 35 (55.6%) showed inferior displacement of the mandibular canal and 46 (73.0%) showed perforation of the canal. There were statistically significant differenced between CT and panoramic images in depicting displacement and perforation of the mandibular canal. Cortical expansion was seen in 46 cases (73.0%) and cortical perforation in 23 cases (36.5%). The radicular cysts showed cortical expansion and perforation less frequently than the other cyst groups. Large cysts of mandible should be evaluated by multiplanar CT images in order to detect the mandibular canal and cortical bone involvement.

Principal component analysis of sensory properties of chicken breast muscle supplemented with different feed additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Haščík

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of different dietary supplements (bee pollen, propolis, and probiotic on sensory quality of chicken breast muscle. The experiment was performed with 180 one day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks of mixed sex. The dietary treatments were as follows: 1. basal diet with no supplementation as control (C; 2. basal diet plus 400 mg bee pollen extract per 1 kg of feed mixture (E1; 3. basal diet plus 400 mg propolis extract per 1 kg of feed mixture (E2; 4. basal diet plus 3.3 g probiotic preparation based on Lactobacillus fermentum added to drinking water (E3. Sensory properties of chicken breast muscle were assessed by a five-member panel that rated the meat for aroma, taste, juiciness, tenderness and overall acceptability. The ANOVA results for each attribute showed that at least one mean score for any group differs significantly (p ≤0.05. Subsequent Tukey's HSD revealed that only C group had significantly higher mean score (p ≤0.05 for each attribute compared with E2 group. As regards the E1 and E3 groups, there were not significant differences (p >0.05 in aroma, taste and tenderness when compared to C group, with the significantly lowest juiciness value (p ≤0.05 found in E3 group and significantly lower values of overall acceptability in both groups (p ≤0.05. In addition, it is noteworthy that control group received the highest raking scores for each sensory attribute, i.e. the supplements did not influence positively the sensory quality of chicken breast meat. Principal component analysis (PCA of the sensory data showed that the first 3 principal components (PCs explained 69.82% of the total variation in 5 variables. Visualisation of extracted PCs has shown that groups were very well represented, with E2 group clearly distinguished from the others.  Normal 0 21 false false false SK X-NONE X-NONE

GenoGAM: genome-wide generalized additive models for ChIP-Seq analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Stricker, Georg; Engelhardt, Alexander; Schulz, Daniel; Schmid, Matthias; Tresch, Achim; Gagneur, Julien

2017-08-01

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-Seq) is a widely used approach to study protein-DNA interactions. Often, the quantities of interest are the differential occupancies relative to controls, between genetic backgrounds, treatments, or combinations thereof. Current methods for differential occupancy of ChIP-Seq data rely however on binning or sliding window techniques, for which the choice of the window and bin sizes are subjective. Here, we present GenoGAM (Genome-wide Generalized Additive Model), which brings the well-established and flexible generalized additive models framework to genomic applications using a data parallelism strategy. We model ChIP-Seq read count frequencies as products of smooth functions along chromosomes. Smoothing parameters are objectively estimated from the data by cross-validation, eliminating ad hoc binning and windowing needed by current approaches. GenoGAM provides base-level and region-level significance testing for full factorial designs. Application to a ChIP-Seq dataset in yeast showed increased sensitivity over existing differential occupancy methods while controlling for type I error rate. By analyzing a set of DNA methylation data and illustrating an extension to a peak caller, we further demonstrate the potential of GenoGAM as a generic statistical modeling tool for genome-wide assays. Software is available from Bioconductor: https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/GenoGAM.html . gagneur@in.tum.de. Supplementary information is available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Production of wood pellets. Influence of additives on production, quality, storage, combustion and life cycle analysis of wood pellets; Herstellung von Holzpellets. Einfluss von Presshilfsmitteln auf Produktion, Qualitaet, Lagerung, Verbrennung sowie Energie- und Oekobilanz von Holzpellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasler, P.; Nussbaumer, T. [Verenum, Zuerich (Switzerland); Buerli, J. [Buerli Pellets, Willisau (Switzerland)

2001-07-01

This report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) presents the results of a study concerning the influence of additives on the various factors related to the manufacture of wood pellets and their use. Results of tests concerning the production, storage and combustion of wood pellets with and without additives are presented. Process modifications are discussed. The report shows that for all investigated additives neither energy consumption nor pellet throughput was improved. The influence of additives on the mechanical strength of the pellets is discussed, as are the combustion characteristics of the pellets, which emit significantly lower levels of NO{sub x} and particulate matter than typical wood chips. The authors recommend the application of advanced control technology to ensure optimum combustion conditions. A life-cycle analysis is presented which shows that pellets are ecologically more favourable than wood chips. The ecological potential for improvement in the manufacturing process is discussed, including emission reductions and heat recovery.

Effect of Hydrogen Addition on Methane HCCI Engine Ignition Timing and Emissions Using a Multi-zone Model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zi-han; Wang, Chun-mei; Tang, Hua-xin; Zuo, Cheng-ji; Xu, Hong-ming

2009-06-01

Ignition timing control is of great importance in homogeneous charge compression ignition engines. The effect of hydrogen addition on methane combustion was investigated using a CHEMKIN multi-zone model. Results show that hydrogen addition advances ignition timing and enhances peak pressure and temperature. A brief analysis of chemical kinetics of methane blending hydrogen is also performed in order to investigate the scope of its application, and the analysis suggests that OH radical plays an important role in the oxidation. Hydrogen addition increases NOx while decreasing HC and CO emissions. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) also advances ignition timing; however, its effects on emissions are generally the opposite. By adjusting the hydrogen addition and EGR rate, the ignition timing can be regulated with a low emission level. Investigation into zones suggests that NOx is mostly formed in core zones while HC and CO mostly originate in the crevice and the quench layer.

Machinability of Al 6061 Deposited with Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Aldwell, Barry; Kelly, Elaine; Wall, Ronan; Amaldi, Andrea; O'Donnell, Garret E.; Lupoi, Rocco

2017-10-01

Additive manufacturing techniques such as cold spray are translating from research laboratories into more mainstream high-end production systems. Similar to many additive processes, finishing still depends on removal processes. This research presents the results from investigations into aspects of the machinability of aluminum 6061 tubes manufactured with cold spray. Through the analysis of cutting forces and observations on chip formation and surface morphology, the effect of cutting speed, feed rate, and heat treatment was quantified, for both cold-sprayed and bulk aluminum 6061. High-speed video of chip formation shows changes in chip form for varying material and heat treatment, which is supported by the force data and quantitative imaging of the machined surface. The results shown in this paper demonstrate that parameters involved in cold spray directly impact on machinability and therefore have implications for machining parameters and strategy.

Ruminal degradation kinetic of Brachiaria decumbens silages with different nitrogen additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Odimári Pricila Pires do Prado

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to assess levels of nitrogen additive Silogen® pasto on ruminal in vitro degradability gas production in Brachiaria decumbens silages. The nitrogen additive contained bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus curvatus, Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici and minimum nitrogen to 360 g/kg. The levels were: 0.0; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0 and 2.5%. In fractionation were calculated total carbohydrates (TC, non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC, soluble and rapidly degradable (A + B1, potentially degradable (B2 and degradable (C. The kinetic parameters of FC and NFC were estimated using the technique of in vitro gas production. Data were subjected to analysis of variance at 5%. The level additive did not influence the TC and fraction A + B1. The levels of nitrogen additive influenced the NFC, fractions B2 and C. For NFC content 2.0% showed the lowest (22.0 %. The lower levels of additive nitrogen (0, 1.0 and 1.5 % had higher fractions of B2 (average 40.2 % and lower values for the fraction C (average 20.0 % . There was no difference in the volume of gas CNF (average 86.73 mL and final volume of gas produced (average 195.79 mL. Was no influence of nitrogen additives for the time of colonization, the lowest time of 3.89 h to 1.0%. The volume of gas of FC was influenced by levels of nitrogen additives with higher values to 0 % from 1.0 %, and 114.74 and 115.09 mL, respectively. Degradation rates of FC and FNC were also affected by the concentrations of nitrogenous additives, which presented higher rates to the levels of 2.0 and 2.5%. It follows that the lower levels of additives to 1.5 % promoted the reduction of the C fraction and increased B2, and greater production of gas volume of the fiber in these silages, showing better nutritional value in these silages.

Measurement of fracture toughness of metallic materials produced by additive manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Quénard, O.; Dorival, O.; Guy, Ph.; Votié, A.; Brethome, K.

2018-04-01

This study focuses on the microstructure and mechanical properties of metallic materials produced by additive layer manufacturing (ALM), especially the laser beam melting process. The influence of the specimen orientation during the ALM process and that of two post-build thermal treatments were investigated. The identified metal powder is Ti-6Al-4V (titanium base). Metallographic analysis shows their effects on the microstructure of the metals. Mechanical experiments involving tensile tests as well as toughness tests were performed according to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) norms. The results show that the main influence is that of the thermal treatments; however the manufacturing stacking direction may lead to some anisotropy in the mechanical properties.

The effect of Tricresyl-Phosphate (TCP) as an additive on wear of Iron (Fe)

Science.gov (United States)

Ghose, Hiren M.; Ferrante, John; Honecy, Frank C.

1987-01-01

The effect of tricresyl phosphate (TCP) as an antiwear additive in lubricant trimethyol propane triheptanoate (TMPTH) was investigated. The objective was to examine step loading wear by use of surface analysis, wetting, and chemical bonding changes in the lubricant. The investigation consisted of steploading wear studies by a pin or disk tribometer, the effects on wear related to wetting by contact angle and surface tension measurements of various liquid systems, the chemical bonding changes between lubricant and TCP chromatographic analysis, and by determining the reaction between the TCP and metal surfaces through wear scar analysis by Auger emission spectroscopy (AES). The steploading curve for the base fluid alone shows rapid increase of wear rate with load. The steploading curve for the base fluid in presence of 4.25 percent by volume TCP under dry air purge has shown a great reduction of wear rate with all loads studied. It has also been found that the addition of 4.25 percent by volume TCP plus 0.33 percent by volume water to the base lubricant under N2 purge also greatly reduces the wear rate with all loads studied. AES surface analysis reveals a phosphate type wear resistant film, which greatly increases load-bearing capacity, formed on the iron disk. Preliminary chromatographic studies suggest that this film forms either because of ester oxidation or TCP degradation. Wetting studies show direct correlation between the spreading coefficient and the wear rate.

Influence of Mg O and B2O3 addition on reaction sintering, properties and microstructure of Aluminum titanate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ajami, R.; Sarpoolaki, H.; Akbari, G. H.

2007-01-01

The effect of Mg O and B 2 O 3 on the formation, physical properties, phase analysis and microstructure of aluminum titanate was investigated. Density results showed the sample containing of 1 wt percent B 2 O 3 and 2 wt percent Mg O leads to the highest density while the lowest density was seen in samples containing 1 wt percent B 2 O 3 compared to pure aluminum titanate. Regarding the phase analysis of samples, Mg O was found most effective additive on reaction sintering of aluminum titanate through the intermediate phases. Furthermore at the temperatures above 1350 d eg C , B 2 O 3 promote the formation reaction of aluminum titanate. Microstructural analysis showed the samples containing Mg O are fine grain and homogeneous. Thermal expansion coefficient of samples with additives is greater than pure aluminum titanate. Pure aluminum titanate samples and one containing B 2 O 3 additive decompose to Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 after 5 hours heat treatment at 1150 d eg C while the samples containing 2 wt percent Mg O was stable even after 25 hours

EFFECT OF THE Si POWDER ADDITIONS ON THE PROPERTIES OF SiC COMPOSITES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GUOGANG XU

2012-09-01

Full Text Available By means of transient plastic phase process, the SiC silicon carbide kiln furniture materials were produced through adding Si powder to SiC materials. At the condition of the same additions of SiO2 powder, the effect of the Si powder additions on properties of silicon carbide materials after sintered at 1450°C for 3 h in air atmosphere was studied by means of SEM and other analysis methods. The results showed that silicon powder contributes to both sintering by liquid state and plastic phase combination to improve the strength of samples. When the Si powder additions is lower than 3.5 %, the density and strength of samples increase and porosity decrease with increasing Si powder additions. However when the Si powder additions is higher than 3.5 %, the density and strength of samples decrease and porosity increase with increasing Si powder additions. With increasing of Si additions, the residual strength of sample after thermal shocked increased and linear change rate decreased, and get to boundary value when Si additions is 4.5 %. The results also indicated that at the same sintering temperature, the sample with 3.5 % silicon powder has maximum strength.

Self-assembled two-dimensional gold nanoparticle film for sensitive nontargeted analysis of food additives with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yiping; Yu, Wenfang; Yang, Benhong; Li, Pan

2018-05-15

The use of different food additives and their active metabolites has been found to cause serious problems to human health. Thus, considering the potential effects on human health, developing a sensitive and credible analytical method for different foods is important. Herein, the application of solvent-driven self-assembled Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) for the rapid and sensitive detection of food additives in different commercial products is reported. The assembled substrates are highly sensitive and exhibit excellent uniformity and reproducibility because of uniformly distributed and high-density hot spots. The sensitive analyses of ciprofloxacin (CF), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), tartrazine and azodicarbonamide at the 0.1 ppm level using this surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate are given, and the results show that Au NP arrays can serve as efficient SERS substrates for the detection of food additives. More importantly, SERS spectra of several commercial liquors and sweet drinks are obtained to evaluate the addition of illegal additives. This SERS active platform can be used as an effective strategy in the detection of prohibited additives in food.

From root to fruit: RNA-Seq analysis shows that arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis may affect tomato fruit metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Zouari, Inès; Salvioli, Alessandra; Chialva, Matteo; Novero, Mara; Miozzi, Laura; Tenore, Gian Carlo; Bagnaresi, Paolo; Bonfante, Paola

2014-03-21

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) establishes a beneficial symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The formation of the mycorrhizal association in the roots leads to plant-wide modulation of gene expression. To understand the systemic effect of the fungal symbiosis on the tomato fruit, we used RNA-Seq to perform global transcriptome profiling on Moneymaker tomato fruits at the turning ripening stage. Fruits were collected at 55 days after flowering, from plants colonized with Funneliformis mosseae and from control plants, which were fertilized to avoid responses related to nutrient deficiency. Transcriptome analysis identified 712 genes that are differentially expressed in fruits from mycorrhizal and control plants. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of these genes showed 81 overrepresented functional GO classes. Up-regulated GO classes include photosynthesis, stress response, transport, amino acid synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism functions, suggesting a general impact of fungal symbiosis on primary metabolisms and, particularly, on mineral nutrition. Down-regulated GO classes include cell wall, metabolism and ethylene response pathways. Quantitative RT-PCR validated the RNA-Seq results for 12 genes out of 14 when tested at three fruit ripening stages, mature green, breaker and turning. Quantification of fruit nutraceutical and mineral contents produced values consistent with the expression changes observed by RNA-Seq analysis. This RNA-Seq profiling produced a novel data set that explores the intersection of mycorrhization and fruit development. We found that the fruits of mycorrhizal plants show two transcriptomic "signatures": genes characteristic of a climacteric fleshy fruit, and genes characteristic of mycorrhizal status, like phosphate and sulphate transporters. Moreover, mycorrhizal plants under low nutrient conditions produce fruits with a nutrient content similar to those from non-mycorrhizal plants under high nutrient conditions

THE INFLUENCE OF NANO-ADDITIVES ON THE PHYSICO-MECHANICAL PROPERTIES FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Евгений Петрович Матус

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the current state of research of the effect of nanodispersed additives on the properties of fiber reinforced portland cement composites. The results of tests on the strength and viscosity of solutions and samples of fine-grained concrete based on cement binder and cement steel and basalt fiber, carbon nanotubes, silicates, nanosized powder of CaО and degidrol. The effect of methods of introduction of the mixture of nano-additives on the clutch fibers with the matrix. Analysis of experimental data showed the absence of a systematic positive effect of increasing the mechanical strength of the composites due to the introduction of carbon nanotubes.

Tomato Fruits Show Wide Phenomic Diversity but Fruit Developmental Genes Show Low Genomic Diversity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijee Mohan

Full Text Available Domestication of tomato has resulted in large diversity in fruit phenotypes. An intensive phenotyping of 127 tomato accessions from 20 countries revealed extensive morphological diversity in fruit traits. The diversity in fruit traits clustered the accessions into nine classes and identified certain promising lines having desirable traits pertaining to total soluble salts (TSS, carotenoids, ripening index, weight and shape. Factor analysis of the morphometric data from Tomato Analyzer showed that the fruit shape is a complex trait shared by several factors. The 100% variance between round and flat fruit shapes was explained by one discriminant function having a canonical correlation of 0.874 by stepwise discriminant analysis. A set of 10 genes (ACS2, COP1, CYC-B, RIN, MSH2, NAC-NOR, PHOT1, PHYA, PHYB and PSY1 involved in various plant developmental processes were screened for SNP polymorphism by EcoTILLING. The genetic diversity in these genes revealed a total of 36 non-synonymous and 18 synonymous changes leading to the identification of 28 haplotypes. The average frequency of polymorphism across the genes was 0.038/Kb. Significant negative Tajima'D statistic in two of the genes, ACS2 and PHOT1 indicated the presence of rare alleles in low frequency. Our study indicates that while there is low polymorphic diversity in the genes regulating plant development, the population shows wider phenotype diversity. Nonetheless, morphological and genetic diversity of the present collection can be further exploited as potential resources in future.

Recruitment Methods and Show Rates to a Prostate Cancer Early Detection Program for High-Risk Men: A Comprehensive Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Giri, Veda N.; Coups, Elliot J.; Ruth, Karen; Goplerud, Julia; Raysor, Susan; Kim, Taylor Y.; Bagden, Loretta; Mastalski, Kathleen; Zakrzewski, Debra; Leimkuhler, Suzanne; Watkins-Bruner, Deborah

2009-01-01

Purpose Men with a family history (FH) of prostate cancer (PCA) and African American (AA) men are at higher risk for PCA. Recruitment and retention of these high-risk men into early detection programs has been challenging. We report a comprehensive analysis on recruitment methods, show rates, and participant factors from the Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program (PRAP), which is a prospective, longitudinal PCA screening study. Materials and Methods Men 35–69 years are eligible if they have a FH of PCA, are AA, or have a BRCA1/2 mutation. Recruitment methods were analyzed with respect to participant demographics and show to the first PRAP appointment using standard statistical methods Results Out of 707 men recruited, 64.9% showed to the initial PRAP appointment. More individuals were recruited via radio than from referral or other methods (χ2 = 298.13, p < .0001). Men recruited via radio were more likely to be AA (p<0.001), less educated (p=0.003), not married or partnered (p=0.007), and have no FH of PCA (p<0.001). Men recruited via referrals had higher incomes (p=0.007). Men recruited via referral were more likely to attend their initial PRAP visit than those recruited by radio or other methods (χ2 = 27.08, p < .0001). Conclusions This comprehensive analysis finds that radio leads to higher recruitment of AA men with lower socioeconomic status. However, these are the high-risk men that have lower show rates for PCA screening. Targeted motivational measures need to be studied to improve show rates for PCA risk assessment for these high-risk men. PMID:19758657

Effect of Micronutrient Powder Addition on Sensory Properties of Foods for Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Field, Katherine M; Duncan, Alison M; Keller, Heather H; Stark, Ken D; Duizer, Lisa M

2017-10-01

Micronutrient fortification can improve nutrient intake of older adults in long-term care. However, previous studies indicate that micronutrient fortification can alter food sensory attributes and, potentially, consumer liking. Others have found no effect of fortification on liking. This research investigates the effect of micronutrient powder addition on the sensory properties of selected foods commonly served in long-term care. A micronutrient powder containing 9 vitamins and 3 minerals was added to tomato soup and oatmeal at different levels. Using projective mapping, changes in sensory properties were observed with powder addition. Descriptive analysis, used to quantify these changes, showed that both the tomato soup and oatmeal had reduced flavor as the amount of added micronutrient powder increased. Oatmeal also showed changes in texture with fortification. Consumer liking scores for tomato soup showed that micronutrient addition affected liking when 100% of a daily dose was added into the soup. Addition of 50% of the daily dose did not affect liking. Oatmeal liking did not differ between fortified and unfortified samples. Results from this research can be used to decide whether a micronutrient powder of selected vitamins and minerals can be added to foods served to older adults in long-term care. Although sensory properties of the foods will be altered, fortification of both tomato soup and oatmeal with the developed powder is possible without reducing consumer liking to the point where it is disliked. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Showing Value (Editorial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Koufogiannakis

2009-06-01

librarians on student achievement. Todd notes, “If we do not show value, we will not have a future. Evidence-based practice is not about the survival of school librarians, it’s about the survival of our students” (40. In this issue we feature school libraries and their connection to evidence based practice. Former Editor-in-Chief, Lindsay Glynn, began putting the wheels in motion for this feature almost a year ago. She invited Carol Gordon and Ross Todd to act as guest editors of the section, drawing upon their contacts and previous work in this field. The result is an issue with five feature articles exploring different aspects of the connection between school libraries and evidence based practice, from the theoretical to the practical. In addition, there is a thought-provoking Commentary by David Loertscher, asking whether we need the evolutionary model of evidence based practice, or something more revolutionary!In addition to the Feature section, we have a well-rounded issue with articles on the topics of library human resources, and the development of a scholars’ portal. As well, there are a record 10 evidence summaries and our educational EBL101 column. I hope there is something for everyone in this issue of EBLIP – enjoy, and see you soon in Stockholm!

Alpha-conotoxin analogs with additional positive charge show increased selectivity towards Torpedo californica and some neuronal subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kasheverov, I.E.; Zhmak, M.N.; Vulfius, C.A.; Corbacheva, E.V.; Mordvintsev, D.Y.; Utkin, Y.N.; van Elk, R.; Smit, A.B.; Tsetlin, V.I.

2006-01-01

α-Conotoxins from Conus snails are indispensable tools for distinguishing various subtypes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), and synthesis of α-conotoxin analogs may yield novel antagonists of higher potency and selectivity. We incorporated additional positive charges into α-conotoxins

Vocational High School Students’ Creativity in Food Additives with Problem Based Learning Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ratnasari, D.; Supriyanti, T.; Rosbiono, M.

2017-09-01

The aim of this study is to verify the creativity of vocational students through Problem Based Learning approach in the food additives. The method which used quasi-experiment with one group posttest design. The research subjects were 32 students in grade XII of a vocational high school students courses chemical analysis in Bandung city. Instrument of creativity were essay, Student Worksheet, and observation sheets. Creativity measured include creative thinking skills and creative act skills. The results showed creative thinking skills and creative act skills are good. Research showed that the problem based learning approach can be applied to develop creativity of vocational students in the food additives well, because the students are given the opportunity to determine their own experiment procedure that will be used. It is recommended to often implement Problem Based Learning approach in other chemical concepts so that students’ creativity is sustainable.

Analysis and discussion on reports of additional safety assessment of nuclear installations with respect to the Fukushima accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sene, Monique; Sene, Raymond

2011-11-01

This document proposes an analysis of the reports made by the different operators of nuclear installations within the frame of a safety audit of the French nuclear installations with respect to the Fukushima accident. Operators (mainly AREVA, the CEA and EDF) were asked to perform additional safety assessments. In a first part, the conclusions of EDF reports are analysed regarding the seismic risk, the flooding risk, the situation of some specific sites (Fessenheim, Tricastin), other phenomena (rains, winds), loss of electricity supplies and of cooling systems, severe accidents, hydrogen issue, chemical hazards, subcontractors, crisis management. Conclusions of AREVA reports are analysed for the different sites (Tricastin, La Hague, MELOX factory, Romans factory). Conclusions of CEA reports are analysed for the different concerned installations (ATPu, Masurca, Osiris, Phenix, Jules Horowitz reactor). A second part proposes a global analysis of EDF's additional safety assessment reports regarding earthquake, flooding, other extreme natural phenomena, loss of electricity supplies and cooling system, subcontracting conditions, crisis management, and radiation protection organisation. AREVA's and CEA's reports are then analysed in terms of report structure and content, and for the different concerned sites

The impact of multiple show-ups on eyewitness decision-making and innocence risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Andrew M; Bertrand, Michelle; Lindsay, R C L; Kalmet, Natalie; Grossman, Deborah; Provenzano, Daniel

2014-09-01

If an eyewitness rejects a show-up, police may respond by finding a new suspect and conducting a second show-up with the same eyewitness. Police may continue finding suspects and conducting show-ups until the eyewitness makes an identification (Study 1). Relatively low criterion-setting eyewitnesses filter themselves out of the multiple show-ups procedure by choosing the first suspect with whom they are presented (Studies 2 and 3). Accordingly, response bias was more stringent on the second show-up when compared with the first, but became no more stringent with additional show-ups. Despite this stringent shift in response bias, innocence risk increased with additional show-ups, as false alarms cumulate (Studies 2 and 3). Although unbiased show-up instructions decreased innocent suspect identifications, the numbers were still discouraging (Study 4). Given the high number of innocent suspects who would be mistakenly identified through the use of multiple show-up procedures, using such identifications as evidence of guilt is questionable. Although evidence of guilt is limited to identifications from a single show-up, practical constraints might sometimes require police to use additional show-ups. Accordingly, we propose a stronger partition between evidentiary and investigative procedures. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

An Analysis of Trafficking Receptors Shows that CD44 and P-Selectin Glycoprotein Ligand-1 Collectively Control the Migration of Activated Human T-Cells

KAUST Repository

Ali, Amal J.

2017-05-03

Selectins guide the traffic of activated T-cells through the blood stream by mediating their tethering and rolling onto inflamed endothelium, in this way acting as beacons to help navigate them to sites of inflammation. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of E-selectin ligands expressed on activated human T-cells. We identified several novel glycoproteins that function as E-selectin ligands. Specifically, we compared the role of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) and CD43, known E-selectin ligands, to CD44, a ligand that has not previously been characterized as an E-selectin ligand on activated human T-cells. We showed that CD44 acts as a functional E-selectin ligand when expressed on both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells. Moreover, the CD44 protein carries a binding epitope identifying it as hematopoietic cell E- and/or L-selectin ligand (HCELL). Furthermore, by knocking down these ligands individually or together in primary activated human T-cells, we demonstrated that CD44/HCELL, and not CD43, cooperates with PSGL-1 as a major E-selectin ligand. Additionally, we demonstrated the relevance of our findings to chronic autoimmune disease, by showing that CD44/HCELL and PSGL-1, but not CD43, from T-cells isolated from psoriasis patients, bind E-selectin.

Investigation of additives for preventing ash fouling and sintering during barley straw combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Liang; Skreiberg, Øyvind; Becidan, Michael

2014-01-01

Formation of potassium chloride reduces ash sintering temperature and causes fouling deposits in biomass combustion applications. In the present work, the capacity of two mineral additives zeolite 24A and kaolin to capture KCl were investigated. A series of thermogravimetric experiments were carried out to measure fractions of KCl retained in the two additives as function of reaction temperature and heating time. The residues from additive-KCl mixtures after heating treatment were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). When heated at 900 °C for 1 h, the overall KCl capturing efficiencies of the two additives were 60% and 45% for zeolite 24A and kaolin respectively, which slightly decreased to 50% and 43% as the heating time increased to 12 h. At 1000 °C, the fractions of KCl captured by zeolite 24A and kaolin significantly decreased from 50% and 40% to 26% and 17%, as the KCl-additive mixtures were heated for 1 and 12 h, respectively. The decrease in of the overall KCl capturing efficiencies is mainly attributed to reduction of surface areas and chemically active compounds of the two additives with increasing temperature and heating time. The XRD analysis results showed that both zeolite 24A and kaolin can react with KCl to form different potassium aluminium silicates. It indicates that chemical reactions play an important role in the overall capturing process. The effects of zeolite 24A and kaolin on sintering behaviors of the barley straw ash were also investigated. The residues from sintering tests were analyzed by a combination of X-Ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-Ray analysis (SEM-EDX). The barley straw ash melted intensively at elevated temperatures. Together with XRD analysis, the SEM-EDX analysis results revealed that severe melting of the barley straw ash was due to formation and fusion of low temperature melting potassium silicates. Addition of kaolin and zeolite 24A significantly

Desulfurization of coal by pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis with addition of KOH/NaOH

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quanrun Liu; Haoquan Hu; Shengwei Zhu; Qiang Zhou; Wenying Li; Xianyong Wei; Kechang Xie [Dalian University of Technology, Dalian (China). Institute of Coal Chemical Engineering

2005-08-01

In this paper, a two-step desulfurization process for high-sulfur coal was investigated. Two Chinese coals with the addition of 10 wt % potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide were pyrolyzed under an atmosphere of nitrogen or hydrogen in a fixed-bed reactor at 600{sup o}C, and then the obtained chars were washed with hot water. The results indicated that, without the addition of an alkali component, the sulfur removal of these two coals by pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis is {approximately}40%-50% and the sulfur content of chars is reduced only slightly, in comparison with the original coals; with the addition of 10 wt % potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide into the original coals and the chars being washed with hot water, the sulfur removal is {approximately}70%-80% and the sulfur content in chars is reduced dramatically. The combustion behavior of chars was also investigated, using thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that those chars that had an added alkali component and were subjected to water-washing were more reactive and can be burned more easily than those without added alkali, which was also confirmed by a kinetics analysis of char combustion. 21 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs.

Additive Manufacturing for Cost Efficient Production of Compact Ceramic Heat Exchangers and Recuperators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shulman, Holly [Ceralink Incorporated, Troy, NY (United States); Ross, Nicole [Ceralink Incorporated, Troy, NY (United States)

2015-10-30

An additive manufacture technique known as laminated object manufacturing (LOM) was used to fabricate compact ceramic heat exchanger prototypes. LOM uses precision CO2 laser cutting of ceramic green tapes, which are then precision stacked to build a 3D object with fine internal features. Modeling was used to develop prototype designs and predict the thermal response, stress, and efficiency in the ceramic heat exchangers. Build testing and materials analyses were used to provide feedback for the design selection. During this development process, laminated object manufacturing protocols were established. This included laser optimization, strategies for fine feature integrity, lamination fluid control, green handling, and firing profile. Three full size prototypes were fabricated using two different designs. One prototype was selected for performance testing. During testing, cross talk leakage prevented the application of a high pressure differential, however, the prototype was successful at withstanding the high temperature operating conditions (1300 °F). In addition, analysis showed that the bulk of the part did not have cracks or leakage issues. This led to the development of a module method for next generation LOM heat exchangers. A scale-up cost analysis showed that given a purpose built LOM system, these ceramic heat exchangers would be affordable for the applications.

Effect of Addition of Natural Antioxidants on the Shelf-Life of “Chorizo”, a Spanish Dry-Cured Sausage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirian Pateiro

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The dose effect of the addition of natural antioxidants (tea, chestnut, grape seed and beer extracts on physicochemical, microbiological changes and on oxidative stability of dry-cured “chorizo”, as well as their effect during the storage under vacuum conditions was evaluated. Color parameters were significantly (p < 0.05 affected by the addition of antioxidants so that samples that contained antioxidants were more effective in maintaining color. The improving effects were dose-dependent with highest values with the dose of 50 mg/kg during ripening and depend on the extract during vacuum packaging. Addition of antioxidants decreased (p < 0.05 the oxidation, showing thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS values below 0.4 mg MDA/kg. Natural antioxidants matched or even improved the results obtained for butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT. Regarding texture profile analysis (TPA analysis, hardness values significantly (p < 0.001 decreased with the addition of antioxidants, obtaining the lower results with the dose of 200 mg/kg both during ripening and vacuum packaging. Antioxidants reduced the counts of total viable counts (TVC, lactic acid bacteria (LAB, mold and yeast. Free fatty acid content during ripening and under vacuum conditions showed a gradual and significant (p < 0.05 release as a result of lipolysis. At the end of ripening, the addition of GRA1000 protected chorizos from oxidative degradation.

HIV-1 phylogenetic analysis shows HIV-1 transits through the meninges to brain and peripheral tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamers, Susanna L; Gray, Rebecca R; Salemi, Marco; Huysentruyt, Leanne C; McGrath, Michael S

2011-01-01

Brain infection by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has been investigated in many reports with a variety of conclusions concerning the time of entry and degree of viral compartmentalization. To address these diverse findings, we sequenced HIV-1 gp120 clones from a wide range of brain, peripheral and meningeal tissues from five patients who died from several HIV-1 associated disease pathologies. High-resolution phylogenetic analysis confirmed previous studies that showed a significant degree of compartmentalization in brain and peripheral tissue subpopulations. Some intermixing between the HIV-1 subpopulations was evident, especially in patients that died from pathologies other than HIV-associated dementia. Interestingly, the major tissue harboring virus from both the brain and peripheral tissues was the meninges. These results show that (1) HIV-1 is clearly capable of migrating out of the brain, (2) the meninges are the most likely primary transport tissues, and (3) infected brain macrophages comprise an important HIV reservoir during highly active antiretroviral therapy. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Additionality of an Innovation Subsidy Program Targeted at SMEs: An Exploratory Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonja Radas

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the effectiveness of a recently introduced innovation subsidy program targeted at SMEs in Croatia. Three aspects of program additionality were evaluated: input, output and behavioral aspects. Both qualitative and survey research was employed, and four case studies with selected recipient companies were conducted. This study is a response to the policy-makers’ need for early program assessment. It attempts to show that even with early evaluation and small population of recipients it is possible to gain insight into program effectiveness. The analysis suggests that the effects of programs targeted at innovative SMEs might need to be evaluated differently than general subsidies. This is especially evident in the evaluation of input additionality. The analysis indicates that SMEs which started with a higher R&D capability tend to increase R&D intensity while participating in the program. The program raised R&D and innovation capability of the participating SMEs, but commercialization of project results remains a concern.

CFD Analysis of the Oscillating Flow within a Stirling Engine with an Additively Manufactured Foil Type Regenerator

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Songgang; Solomon, Laura

2017-11-01

The simplistic design, fuel independence, and robustness of Stirling convertors makes them the ideal choice for use in solar power and combined heat and power (CHP) applications. A lack of moving parts and the use of novel flexure bearings allows free-piston type Stirling engines to run in excess of ten years without degradation or maintenance. The key component to their overall efficiency is the regenerator. While a foil type regenerator outperforms a sintered random fiber regenerator, limitation in manufacturing and keeping uniform spacing between the foils has limited their overall use. However, with the advent of additive manufacturing, a robust foil type regenerator can be cheaply manufactured without traditional limitations. Currently, a CFD analysis of the oscillating internal flow within the novel design was conducted to evaluate the flow loses within the system. Particularly the pressure drop across the regenerator in comparison to a traditionally used random fiber regenerator. Additionally, the heat transfer and flow over the tubular heater hear was evaluated. The results of the investigation will be used to optimize the operation of the next generation of additively manufactured Stirling convertors. This research was supported by ARPA-E and West Virginia University.

Electron beam additive manufacturing with wire - Analysis of the process

Science.gov (United States)

Weglowski, Marek St.; Błacha, Sylwester; Pilarczyk, Jan; Dutkiewicz, Jan; Rogal, Łukasz

2018-05-01

The electron beam additive manufacturing process with wire is a part of global trend to find fast and efficient methods for producing complex shapes elements from costly metal alloys such as stainless steels, nickel alloys, titanium alloys etc. whose production by other conventional technologies is unprofitable or technically impossible. Demand for additive manufacturing is linked to the development of new technologies in the automotive, aerospace and machinery industries. The aim of the presented work was to carried out research on electron beam additive manufacturing with a wire as a deposited (filler) material. The scope of the work was to investigate the influence of selected technological parameters such as: wire feed rate, beam current, travelling speed, acceleration voltage on stability of the deposition process and geometric dimensions of the padding welds. The research revealed that, at low beam currents, the deposition process is unstable. The padding weld reinforcement is non-uniform. Irregularity of the width, height and straightness of the padding welds can be observed. At too high acceleration voltage and beam current, burn-through of plate and excess penetration weld can be revealed. The achieved results and gained knowledge allowed to produce, based on EBAM with wire process, whole structure from stainless steel.

Drag reduction by natural polymeric additives in PMDS microchannel: Effect of types of additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Fiona W.M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Drag reduction technology was used in medical applications to enhance the blood flow in semiclogged blood streams which can be an alternative treatment for atherosclerosis. In this present study, natural polymeric drag reducing additives (DRA was introduced to replace synthetic polymer which has the possibility of bringing side effects to human health. Three different sources, namely okra, aloe vera and hibiscus were utilized to extract the natural polymeric additives which were then tested in custom made microchannel simulating human heart blood vessels. The performance of different types of additives was evaluated using pressure measurements. The maximum drag reduction up to 63.48% is achieved using 300 ppm of hibiscus mucilage at operating pressure of 50 mbar. In this present work, hibiscus showed the best drag reduction performance, giving the highest %FI in most of the cases. This experimental results proved that these natural polymeric additives could be utilized as DRA in enhancing the blood flow in semiclogged blood streams.

Can Additional Homeopathic Treatment Save Costs? A Retrospective Cost-Analysis Based on 44500 Insured Persons.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia K Ostermann

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to compare the health care costs for patients using additional homeopathic treatment (homeopathy group with the costs for those receiving usual care (control group.Cost data provided by a large German statutory health insurance company were retrospectively analysed from the societal perspective (primary outcome and from the statutory health insurance perspective. Patients in both groups were matched using a propensity score matching procedure based on socio-demographic variables as well as costs, number of hospital stays and sick leave days in the previous 12 months. Total cumulative costs over 18 months were compared between the groups with an analysis of covariance (adjusted for baseline costs across diagnoses and for six specific diagnoses (depression, migraine, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, and headache.Data from 44,550 patients (67.3% females were available for analysis. From the societal perspective, total costs after 18 months were higher in the homeopathy group (adj. mean: EUR 7,207.72 [95% CI 7,001.14-7,414.29] than in the control group (EUR 5,857.56 [5,650.98-6,064.13]; p<0.0001 with the largest differences between groups for productivity loss (homeopathy EUR 3,698.00 [3,586.48-3,809.53] vs. control EUR 3,092.84 [2,981.31-3,204.37] and outpatient care costs (homeopathy EUR 1,088.25 [1,073.90-1,102.59] vs. control EUR 867.87 [853.52-882.21]. Group differences decreased over time. For all diagnoses, costs were higher in the homeopathy group than in the control group, although this difference was not always statistically significant.Compared with usual care, additional homeopathic treatment was associated with significantly higher costs. These analyses did not confirm previously observed cost savings resulting from the use of homeopathy in the health care system.

Can Additional Homeopathic Treatment Save Costs? A Retrospective Cost-Analysis Based on 44500 Insured Persons

Science.gov (United States)

Ostermann, Julia K.; Reinhold, Thomas; Witt, Claudia M.

2015-01-01

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the health care costs for patients using additional homeopathic treatment (homeopathy group) with the costs for those receiving usual care (control group). Methods Cost data provided by a large German statutory health insurance company were retrospectively analysed from the societal perspective (primary outcome) and from the statutory health insurance perspective. Patients in both groups were matched using a propensity score matching procedure based on socio-demographic variables as well as costs, number of hospital stays and sick leave days in the previous 12 months. Total cumulative costs over 18 months were compared between the groups with an analysis of covariance (adjusted for baseline costs) across diagnoses and for six specific diagnoses (depression, migraine, allergic rhinitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, and headache). Results Data from 44,550 patients (67.3% females) were available for analysis. From the societal perspective, total costs after 18 months were higher in the homeopathy group (adj. mean: EUR 7,207.72 [95% CI 7,001.14–7,414.29]) than in the control group (EUR 5,857.56 [5,650.98–6,064.13]; phomeopathy EUR 3,698.00 [3,586.48–3,809.53] vs. control EUR 3,092.84 [2,981.31–3,204.37]) and outpatient care costs (homeopathy EUR 1,088.25 [1,073.90–1,102.59] vs. control EUR 867.87 [853.52–882.21]). Group differences decreased over time. For all diagnoses, costs were higher in the homeopathy group than in the control group, although this difference was not always statistically significant. Conclusion Compared with usual care, additional homeopathic treatment was associated with significantly higher costs. These analyses did not confirm previously observed cost savings resulting from the use of homeopathy in the health care system. PMID:26230412

Allochthonous Addition of Meteoritic Organics to the Lunar Regolith

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas-Keprta, K. L.; Clemett, S.; Ross, D. K.; Le, L.; Rahman, Z.; McKay, D. S.; Gibson, E. K.; Gonzalez, C.

2013-01-01

Preparation of lunar samples 74220,861 was discussed in detail in [3, 4]. Our analysis sequence was as follows: optical microscopy, UV fluorescence imaging, -Raman, FESEM-EDX imaging and mapping, FETEMEDX imaging and mapping of a Focused Ion Beam (FIB) extracted section, and NanoSIMs analysis. We observed fluffytextured C-rich regions of interest (ROI) on three different volcanic glass beads. Each ROI was several m2 in size and fluoresced when exposed to UV. Using FESEM/EDX, the largest ROI measured 36 m and was located on an edge of a plateau located on the uppermost surface of the bead. The ROI was covered on one edge by a siliceous filament emanating from the plateau surface indicating it was attached to the bead while on the Moon. EDX mapping of the ROI shows it is composed primarily of heterogeneously distributed C. Embedded with the carbonaceous phase are localized concentrations of Si, Fe, Al and Ti indicating the presence of glass and/or minerals grains. -Raman showed strong D- and G-bands and their associated second order bands; intensity and location of these bands indicates the carbonaceous matter is structurally disorganized. A TEM thin section was extracted from the surface of a glass bead using FIB microscopy. High resolution TEM imaging and selected area electron diffraction demonstrate the carbonaceous layer to be amorphous; it lacked any long or short range order characteristic of micro- or nanocrystalline graphite. Additionally TEM imaging also revealed the presence of submicron mineral grains, typically < 50 nm in size, dispersed within the carbonaceous layer. NanoSIMs data will be presented and discussed at the meeting. Given the noted similarities between the carbonaceous matter present on 74220 glass beads and meteoritic kerogen, we suggest the allochthonous addition of meteoritic organics as the most probable source for the C-rich ROIs.

Nutritional value of grass silage of mombasa associated with additives agroindustrial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Euclides Reuter de Oliveira

2014-06-01

Full Text Available It was aimed to evaluate the chemical composition of grass silage-mombasa associated with different additives in four times of opening the silo. The experiment was conducted in UFGD. After harvesting the forage, biomass in natura crushed, was taken to the lab, homogenized and enriched on the basis of natural mass, with the following additives: 5% wheat bran, 5% of waste (broken grain and soy ice cream cone of soybean, 5% urea in natural matter and the witness (without additive.The silos were opened after (unprocessed material, 15, 30 and 45 days, for the analysis of chemical composition. The data obtained were analyzed through the statistical programme SISVAR and averages were compared to 5% of probability, by Skott-Knot. The grass silage- mombasa without additive presented major (P0.05 of grass silage- mombasa associated with 5 of urea in 15 days and 45 of silage. The grass silage-mombasa with 5% urea showed the highest crude protein content at time 0 and differed from other treatments. The silage of mombasa associated with 5% urea provided greater in vitro digestibility of dry matter to 15 days of silage.

Self-organization processes in polysiloxane block copolymers, initiated by modifying fullerene additives

Science.gov (United States)

Voznyakovskii, A. P.; Kudoyarova, V. Kh.; Kudoyarov, M. F.; Patrova, M. Ya.

2017-08-01

Thin films of a polyblock polysiloxane copolymer and their composites with a modifying fullerene C60 additive are studied by atomic force microscopy, Rutherford backscattering, and neutron scattering. The data of atomic force microscopy show that with the addition of fullerene to the bulk of the polymer matrix, the initial relief of the film surface is leveled more, the larger the additive. This trend is associated with the processes of self-organization of rigid block sequences, which are initiated by the field effect of the surface of fullerene aggregates and lead to an increase in the number of their domains in the bulk of the polymer matrix. The data of Rutherford backscattering and neutron scattering indicate the formation of additional structures with a radius of 60 nm only in films containing fullerene, and their fraction increases with increasing fullerene concentration. A comparative analysis of the data of these methods has shown that such structures are, namely, the domains of a rigid block and are not formed by individual fullerene aggregates. The interrelation of the structure and mechanical properties of polymer films is considered.

Response of Syngonium podophyllum L. ‘White Butterfly’ shoot cultures to alternative media additives and gelling agents, and flow cytometric analysis of regenerants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JAIME A. TEIXEIRA DA SILVA

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Teixeira da Silva JA. 2015. Response of Syngonium podophyllum L. ‘White Butterfly’ shoot cultures to alternative media additives and gelling agents, and flow cytometric analysis of regenerants. Nusantara Bioscience 7: 26-32. Syngonium podophyllum L. (arrowhead vine is a popular leafy indoor pot plant whose tissue culture has been established, primarily through in vitro shoot culture, but several interesting aspects have not yet been explored. In this study, cv. ‘White Butterfly’ was used to investigate the response of shoot formation to alternative gelling agents and media additives. Gellan gum (Gelrite® at 2 g/L resulted in greater leaf production, plantlet fresh weight and higher chlorophyll content (SPAD value than all other gelling agents tested, including agar, Bacto agar, phytagel, oatmeal agar, potato dextrose agar, barley starch and corn starch, when on a basal Hyponex® (NPK = 6.5: 6: 19; 3 g/L medium. Several alternative liquid medium additives tested (low and full fat milk, Coca-Cola®, coffee, Japanese green, Oolong and Darjeeling teas negatively impacted plant growth, stunted roots and decreased chlorophyll content (SPAD value of leaves. Plant growth on medium with refined sucrose or table sugar responded similarly. Poor growth was observed when crude extract from a high rebaudioside-containing stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni line - an artificial sweetener - was used. Leaf tissue from the control did not show any endopolyploidy but low levels of endopolyploidy (8C were detected in some treatments.

Safety assessment of sodium acetate, sodium diacetate and potassium sorbate food additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadzadeh-Aghdash, Hossein; Sohrabi, Yousef; Mohammadi, Ali; Shanehbandi, Dariush; Dehghan, Parvin; Ezzati Nazhad Dolatabadi, Jafar

2018-08-15

Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of sodium acetate (SA), sodium diacetate (SDA), and potassium sorbate (PS) was tested on Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC). Cytotoxicity was investigated by MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis, while genotoxicity was evaluated using DNA fragmentation and DAPI staining assays. The growth of treated HUVECs with various concentrations of SA, SDA and PS decreased in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The IC50 of 487.71, 485.82 and 659.96 µM after 24 h and IC50 of 232.05, 190.19 and 123.95 µM after 48 h of treatment were attained for SA, SDA and PS, respectively. Flow cytometry analysis showed that early and late apoptosis percentage in treated cells was not considerable. Also neither considerable DNA fragmentation nor DNA smear was observed using DAPI staining and DNA ladder assays. Overall, it can be concluded that the aforementioned food additives can be used as safe additives at low concentration in food industry. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dioscorea alata tuber proteome analysis shows over thirty dioscorin isoforms and novel tuber proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Shruti; Gupta, Ravi; Deswal, Renu

2017-05-01

In Dioscorea, dioscorin (31 kDa) is the major storage protein constituting 85% of the total tuber proteins. An integrated proteomic and biochemical approach was used to understand the physiological role of dioscorin in the two contrasting growth stages (germinating and mature tuber). HPLC analysis showed 3 fold reduction in mannitol and 12.88 and 1.24 fold increase in sucrose and maltose in the germinating tuber. A 1.8 and 3 fold increase in sucrose phosphate synthase and mannitol dehydrogenase activity respectively was observed in the germinating tuber while a 2 fold higher invertase probably lowers the sucrose accumulation in the mature tuber. SDS-PAGE and 2-D maps of the mature and germinating tubers confirmed depletion (more than 50%) of dioscorin on germination. Dioscorin was purified using ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography with 43.32 fold purification and 38.16 yield. Out of a trail of 35 spots at 31 kDa only 12 spots (identified as dioscorin isoforms) were present in the 2D gel of the purified fraction. To search for other tuber proteins besides dioscorin, the unbound fractions of DEAE column were analysed by 2DGE. DREB 1A, caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase and Rab-1 small GTP binding protein were identified perhaps for the first time in the Dioscorea proteome. The interactome analysis revealed these to be involved in oxidative stress, carotenoid synthesis and vesicular transport. This is perhaps the first attempt to identify tuber proteome (although limited) and to understand the physiological significance of these proteins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The additional value of the lateral chest radiograph for the detection of small pulmonary nodules-a ROC analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kluthke, Robin Alexander; Kickuth, Ralph; Bansmann, Paul Martin; Tüshaus, Carolin; Adams, Stephan; Liermann, Dieter; Kirchner, Johannes

2016-11-01

For the past 30 years, many authors have described different advantages of the use of the additional lateral chest radiograph. However, some radiologic departments gave up performing the lateral view recently. A potential reason for this might be a lack of evidence for any diagnostic benefit of the additional lateral view of the thorax in recent studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic benefit of the additional lateral view for the detection of small pulmonary nodules compared with CT examinations as a gold standard. The patient population consisted of 45 patients with SPN and 45 patients without SPN. Four radiologists with varying experience in the assessment of thoracic imaging first examined the sole posteroanterior (PA) projection. After a few days, they were instructed to examine the PA and the additional lateral view. A receiver-operating characteristic analysis was accomplished to compare the documented results. The mean Az value of the sole PA view was 0.75 and 0.77 by the combination of PA and additional lateral view. So, there was no significant difference between the detectable Az values (Δ = 0.02; p = 0.384). With a cut-off value of >3, the additional view even reduced the sensitivity by averaging to 5.6%. The decrease of sensitivity by using the additional view was most detectable within the group of more experienced radiologists. The additional lateral view of the chest provides no diagnostic benefit in the detection of small pulmonary nodules in comparison with the sole PA projection. Nevertheless, the results of the present study must not be understood as a general evaluation of the benefits of the lateral radiograph per se, because we did not examine other relevant issues (i.e. cardiac failure, lung parenchyma diseases or abnormalities in hilar anatomy). Advances in knowledge: Our study demonstrates a lack of evidence for any diagnostic benefit of the additional lateral view of the thorax in detecting SPN.

Photon and proton activation analysis of iron and steel standards using the internal standard method coupled with the standard addition method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masumoto, K.; Hara, M.; Hasegawa, D.; Iino, E.; Yagi, M.

1997-01-01

The internal standard method coupled with the standard addition method has been applied to photon activation analysis and proton activation analysis of minor elements and trace impurities in various types of iron and steel samples issued by the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan (ISIJ). Samples and standard addition samples were once dissolved to mix homogeneously, an internal standard and elements to be determined and solidified as a silica-gel to make a similar matrix composition and geometry. Cerium and yttrium were used as an internal standard in photon and proton activation, respectively. In photon activation, 20 MeV electron beam was used for bremsstrahlung irradiation to reduce matrix activity and nuclear interference reactions, and the results were compared with those of 30 MeV irradiation. In proton activation, iron was removed by the MIBK extraction method after dissolving samples to reduce the radioactivity of 56 Co from iron via 56 Fe(p, n) 56 Co reaction. The results of proton and photon activation analysis were in good agreement with the standard values of ISIJ. (author)

Weekend hospitalization and additional risk of death: an analysis of inpatient data.

Science.gov (United States)

Freemantle, N; Richardson, M; Wood, J; Ray, D; Khosla, S; Shahian, D; Roche, W R; Stephens, I; Keogh, B; Pagano, D

2012-02-01

To assess whether weekend admissions to hospital and/or already being an inpatient on weekend days were associated with any additional mortality risk. Retrospective observational survivorship study. We analysed all admissions to the English National Health Service (NHS) during the financial year 2009/10, following up all patients for 30 days after admission and accounting for risk of death associated with diagnosis, co-morbidities, admission history, age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, seasonality, day of admission and hospital trust, including day of death as a time dependent covariate. The principal analysis was based on time to in-hospital death. National Health Service Hospitals in England. 30 day mortality (in or out of hospital). There were 14,217,640 admissions included in the principal analysis, with 187,337 in-hospital deaths reported within 30 days of admission. Admission on weekend days was associated with a considerable increase in risk of subsequent death compared with admission on weekdays, hazard ratio for Sunday versus Wednesday 1.16 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.18; P < .0001), and for Saturday versus Wednesday 1.11 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.13; P < .0001). Hospital stays on weekend days were associated with a lower risk of death than midweek days, hazard ratio for being in hospital on Sunday versus Wednesday 0.92 (95% CI 0.91 to 0.94; P < .0001), and for Saturday versus Wednesday 0.95 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.96; P < .0001). Similar findings were observed on a smaller US data set. Admission at the weekend is associated with increased risk of subsequent death within 30 days of admission. The likelihood of death actually occurring is less on a weekend day than on a mid-week day.

ATLAS particle detector CSC ROD software design and implementation, and, Addition of K physics to chi-squared analysis of FDQM

CERN Document Server

Hawkins, Donovan Lee

2005-01-01

In this thesis I present a software framework for use on the ATLAS muon CSC readout driver. This C++ framework uses plug-in Decoders incorporating hand-optimized assembly language routines to perform sparsification and data formatting. The software is designed with both flexibility and performance in mind, and runs on a custom 9U VME board using Texas Instruments TMS360C6203 digital signal processors. I describe the requirements of the software, the methods used in its design, and the results of testing the software with simulated data. I also present modifications to a chi-squared analysis of the Standard Model and Four Down Quark Model (FDQM) originally done by Dr. Dennis Silverman. The addition of four new experiments to the analysis has little effect on the Standard Model but provides important new restrictions on the FDQM. The method used to incorporate these new experiments is presented, and the consequences of their addition are reviewed.

Influence of training and competitive sessions on peripheral β-endorphin levels in training show jumping horses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Cravana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: To investigate the effects of training sessions on circulating β-endorphin changes in sport horses before and after competition and to ascertain whether competition would affect this response. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 trained jumping horses were randomly assigned to one of two training groups: Group A (competing and Group B (not competing. To determined plasma β-endorphin concentrations, two pre- and postcompetition training weeks at aerobic workout and two competitive show jumping event days at anaerobic workout were measured before, 5 and 30 min after exercise. Exercise intensity is described using lactate concentrations and heart rate. The circuit design, intensity, and duration of training sessions were the same for both groups. Results: In Group A, one-way analysis of variance for repeated measures (RM-ANOVA showed significant effects of exercise on β-endorphin changes (F=14.41; p<0.001, only in the post-competition training sessions, while in Group B showed no significant effects. Two-way RM-ANOVA showed, after post-competition training sessions, a significant difference between Group A and Group B (F=6.235; p=0.023, with higher β-endorphin changes in Group A, compared to Group B. During the competitive show jumping sessions, one-way RM ANOVA showed significant effects of exercise on β-endorphin changes (F=51.10; p<0.001. The statistical analysis, in Group A, showed a significant difference between postcompetition training and competitive exercise (F=6.32; p=0.024 with higher β-endorphin values in competitive sessions compared to those of post-competition training. Conclusion: Lactate concentrations seem to be the main factors being correlated with the raise of β-endorphin during anaerobic exercise of competitive events. Exercise of low intensity, as well as that one of training sessions, does not appear to stimulate a significant increased release of β-endorphin and it may depend on the duration of the exercise

Titanium oxide nanoparticles as additives in engine oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meena Laad

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This research study investigates the tribological behaviour of titanium oxide (TiO2 nanoparticles as additives in mineral based multi-grade engine oil. All tests were performed under variable load and varying concentrations of nanoparticles in lubricating oil. The friction and wear experiments were performed using pin-on-disc tribotester. This study shows that mixing of TiO2 nanoparticles in engine oil significantly reduces the friction and wear rate and hence improves the lubricating properties of engine oil. The dispersion analysis of TiO2 nanoparticles in lubricating oil using UV spectrometer confirms that TiO2 nanoparticles possess good stability and solubility in the lubricant and improve the lubricating properties of the engine oil. Keywords: Titanium oxide, Nanoparticles, UV spectrometer, Tribotester, Engine oil

Boron carbide nanostructures: A prospective material as an additive in concrete

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Paviter; Kaur, Gurpreet; Kumar, Rohit; Kumar, Umesh; Singh, Kulwinder; Kumar, Manjeet; Bala, Rajni; Meena, Ramovatar; Kumar, Akshay

2018-05-01

In recent decades, manufacture and ingestion of concrete have increased particularly in developing countries. Due to its low cost, safety and strength, concrete have become an economical choice for protection of radiation shielding material in nuclear reactors. As boron carbide has been known as a neutron absorber material makes it a great candidate as an additive in concrete for shielding radiation. This paper presents the synthesis of boron carbide nanostructures by using ball milling method. The X-ray diffraction pattern, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope analysis confirms the formation of boron carbide nanostructures. The effect of boron carbide nanostructures on the strength of concrete samples was demonstrated. The compressive strength tests of concrete cube B4C powder additives for 0 % and 5 % of total weight of cement was compared for different curing time period such as 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. The high compressive strength was observed when 5 wt % boron carbide nanostructures were used as an additive in concrete samples after 28 days curing time and showed significant improvement in strength.

Reducing the ordering temperature of CoPt nanoparticles by B additive

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khemjeen, Yutthaya [Materials Science and Nanotechnology Program, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002 (Thailand); Pinitsoontorn, Supree, E-mail: psupree@kku.ac.th; Chompoosor, Apiwat [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002 (Thailand); Integrated Nanotechnology Research Center, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002 (Thailand); Nanotec-KKU Center of Excellence on Advanced Nanomaterials for Energy Production and Storage, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002 (Thailand); Maensiri, Santi [School of Physics, Institute of Science, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000 (Thailand)

2014-08-07

We reported the effect of boron addition on magnetic properties and structure of CoPt nanoparticles prepared by a polyol method. The magnetic property measurement showed that the CoPt-B sample exhibited a much larger coercivity compared to the sample without B additive at the same annealing temperature. Transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that the average particle size was about 2 nm for the as-synthesized sample with the ratio of Co and Pt close to 1:1. After annealing, the particle sizes increased but the composition was maintained. The phase transformation of the nanoparticles versus temperature was investigated using a combination of X-ray diffraction and in-situ X-ray absorption analysis. It was shown that the phase transition temperature at which the nanoparticles change from the disordered A1 phase to the ordered L1{sub 0} phase occurs at temperature of 600 °C. We concluded that boron additives could reduce the ordering temperature of CoPt of about 100 °C.

Mechanical Properties Analysis Of Composite Magnetic Base On hexa ferrite And Polyester Or Epoxy Matrix With Silane Additive Addition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudirman; Ridwan; Mujamilah; K K, Aloma; Rembulan, Marisa; Fitriyanti

2003-01-01

Application of composite magnetic especially hexa ferrite magnet for industry and home industry in Indonesia has been used. Research purposes were making composite magnetic by mixing hexa ferrite powder with polyester or epoxy and studying the effect of coupling agent 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APE) addition on mechanical properties of composite magnetic. The coupling agent may increase bonding properties between magnetic powder and matrix polymer, so that tensile strength of magnetic composite will increase without decreasing the magnetic properties. Magnetic powder (SrM or BaM) wich be coated by coupling agent were added to matrix polyester and mekpo or epoxy and versamid, mixed until homogen then pressing into to the dumbbell form molding. For epoxy matrix, pressing was done in hot press at 70 deg. C and 150 kg/cm 2 following by cooling in cold press, while for polyester matrix pressing was done in hydraulic press and following by curing at 70 deg. C in an oven for 1 hour. The composition of magnetic powder were varied to 30, 40 and 50% volume fraction and coupling agent were varied to 5, 10 and 15 ml for every volume fraction. The result showed that 10 ml added of coupling agent was give best mechanical properties both polyester and epoxy matrix. However generally, increasing of magnetic powder content decreased the tensile strength of magnetic composite. The properties of magnetic composite SrM was better than BaM either in polyester or epoxy matrix

Compost Addition Enhanced Hyphal Growth and Sporulation of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi without Affecting Their Community Composition in the Soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Yang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM fungi form symbiotic associations with most crop plant species in agricultural ecosystems, and are conspicuously influenced by various agricultural practices. To understand the impact of compost addition on AM fungi, we examined effect of four compost rates (0, 11.25, 22.5, and 45 Mg/ha on the abundance and community composition of AM fungi in seedling, flowering, and mature stage of soybean in a 1-year compost addition experiment system in Northeast China. Soybean [Glycine max (L. Merrill] was used as test plant. Moderate (22.5 Mg/ha and high (45 Mg/ha levels of compost addition significantly increased AM root colonization and extraradical hyphal (ERH density compared with control, whereas low (11.5 Mg/ha level of compost addition did not cause significant increase in AM root colonization and ERH density. AM fungal spore density was significantly enhanced by all the compost rates compared with control. The temporal variations analysis revealed that, AM root colonization in seedling stage was significantly lower than in flowering and mature stage. Although AM fungal operational taxonomic unit richness and community composition was unaffected by compost addition, some abundant AM fungal species showed significantly different response to compost addition. In mature stage, Rhizophagus fasciculatum showed increasing trend along with compost addition gradient, whereas the opposite was observed with Paraglomus sp. In addition, AM fungal community composition exhibited significant temporal variation during growing season. Further analysis indicated that the temporal variation in AM fungal community only occurred in control treatment, but not in low, moderate, and high level of compost addition treatments. Our findings highlighted the significant effects of compost addition on AM growth and sporulation, and emphasized that growth stage is a stronger determinant than 1-year compost addition in shaping AM fungal community in

Compost Addition Enhanced Hyphal Growth and Sporulation of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi without Affecting Their Community Composition in the Soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wei; Gu, Siyu; Xin, Ying; Bello, Ayodeji; Sun, Wenpeng; Xu, Xiuhong

2018-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form symbiotic associations with most crop plant species in agricultural ecosystems, and are conspicuously influenced by various agricultural practices. To understand the impact of compost addition on AM fungi, we examined effect of four compost rates (0, 11.25, 22.5, and 45 Mg/ha) on the abundance and community composition of AM fungi in seedling, flowering, and mature stage of soybean in a 1-year compost addition experiment system in Northeast China. Soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merrill] was used as test plant. Moderate (22.5 Mg/ha) and high (45 Mg/ha) levels of compost addition significantly increased AM root colonization and extraradical hyphal (ERH) density compared with control, whereas low (11.5 Mg/ha) level of compost addition did not cause significant increase in AM root colonization and ERH density. AM fungal spore density was significantly enhanced by all the compost rates compared with control. The temporal variations analysis revealed that, AM root colonization in seedling stage was significantly lower than in flowering and mature stage. Although AM fungal operational taxonomic unit richness and community composition was unaffected by compost addition, some abundant AM fungal species showed significantly different response to compost addition. In mature stage, Rhizophagus fasciculatum showed increasing trend along with compost addition gradient, whereas the opposite was observed with Paraglomus sp. In addition, AM fungal community composition exhibited significant temporal variation during growing season. Further analysis indicated that the temporal variation in AM fungal community only occurred in control treatment, but not in low, moderate, and high level of compost addition treatments. Our findings highlighted the significant effects of compost addition on AM growth and sporulation, and emphasized that growth stage is a stronger determinant than 1-year compost addition in shaping AM fungal community in black soil of

Compost Addition Enhanced Hyphal Growth and Sporulation of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi without Affecting Their Community Composition in the Soil

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wei; Gu, Siyu; Xin, Ying; Bello, Ayodeji; Sun, Wenpeng; Xu, Xiuhong

2018-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form symbiotic associations with most crop plant species in agricultural ecosystems, and are conspicuously influenced by various agricultural practices. To understand the impact of compost addition on AM fungi, we examined effect of four compost rates (0, 11.25, 22.5, and 45 Mg/ha) on the abundance and community composition of AM fungi in seedling, flowering, and mature stage of soybean in a 1-year compost addition experiment system in Northeast China. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] was used as test plant. Moderate (22.5 Mg/ha) and high (45 Mg/ha) levels of compost addition significantly increased AM root colonization and extraradical hyphal (ERH) density compared with control, whereas low (11.5 Mg/ha) level of compost addition did not cause significant increase in AM root colonization and ERH density. AM fungal spore density was significantly enhanced by all the compost rates compared with control. The temporal variations analysis revealed that, AM root colonization in seedling stage was significantly lower than in flowering and mature stage. Although AM fungal operational taxonomic unit richness and community composition was unaffected by compost addition, some abundant AM fungal species showed significantly different response to compost addition. In mature stage, Rhizophagus fasciculatum showed increasing trend along with compost addition gradient, whereas the opposite was observed with Paraglomus sp. In addition, AM fungal community composition exhibited significant temporal variation during growing season. Further analysis indicated that the temporal variation in AM fungal community only occurred in control treatment, but not in low, moderate, and high level of compost addition treatments. Our findings highlighted the significant effects of compost addition on AM growth and sporulation, and emphasized that growth stage is a stronger determinant than 1-year compost addition in shaping AM fungal community in black soil of

Improving the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire using Rasch analysis.

OpenAIRE

Koopmans, L.; Bernaards, C.M.; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Buuren, S. van; Beek, A.J. van der; Vet, H.C.W. de

2014-01-01

Recently, the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) version 0.2 was developed using Rasch analysis. The goal of the current study was to improve targeting of the IWPQ scales by including additional items. The IWPQ 0.2 (original) and 0.3 (including additional items) were examined using Rasch analysis. Additional items that showed misfit or did not improve targeting were removed from the IWPQ 0.3, resulting in a final IWPQ 1.0. Subsequently, the scales showed good model fit and relia...

Influence of training and competitive sessions on peripheral β-endorphin levels in training show jumping horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Cravana, Cristina; Medica, P; Ragonese, G; Fazio, E

2017-01-01

To investigate the effects of training sessions on circulating β-endorphin changes in sport horses before and after competition and to ascertain whether competition would affect this response. A total of 24 trained jumping horses were randomly assigned to one of two training groups: Group A (competing) and Group B (not competing). To determined plasma β-endorphin concentrations, two pre- and post-competition training weeks at aerobic workout and two competitive show jumping event days at anaerobic workout were measured before, 5 and 30 min after exercise. Exercise intensity is described using lactate concentrations and heart rate. The circuit design, intensity, and duration of training sessions were the same for both groups. In Group A, one-way analysis of variance for repeated measures (RM-ANOVA) showed significant effects of exercise on β-endorphin changes (F=14.41; prelease of β-endorphin and it may depend on the duration of the exercise program. Moreover, the responses during exercise in the course of post-competition training sessions seem to be significantly different from those the pre-competition training. These data show that the preliminary competitive stress induced additional significant changes of β-endorphin pattern. It would reflect the need of a long-lasting modulation of fatigue and pain perception related to the effect of an additional physical and mental effort for the consecutive competitive and training sessions.

Surface-specific additive manufacturing test artefacts

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Andrew; Racasan, Radu; Blunt, Liam

2018-06-01

Many test artefact designs have been proposed for use with additive manufacturing (AM) systems. These test artefacts have primarily been designed for the evaluation of AM form and dimensional performance. A series of surface-specific measurement test artefacts designed for use in the verification of AM manufacturing processes are proposed here. Surface-specific test artefacts can be made more compact because they do not require the large dimensions needed for accurate dimensional and form measurements. The series of three test artefacts are designed to provide comprehensive information pertaining to the manufactured surface. Measurement possibilities include deviation analysis, surface texture parameter data generation, sub-surface analysis, layer step analysis and build resolution comparison. The test artefacts are designed to provide easy access for measurement using conventional surface measurement techniques, for example, focus variation microscopy, stylus profilometry, confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the test artefacts may be simply visually inspected as a comparative tool, giving a fast indication of process variation between builds. The three test artefacts are small enough to be included in every build and include built-in manufacturing traceability information, making them a convenient physical record of the build.

Dolomitic lime containing hydraulic additive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lagzdina, S.; Sedmalis, U.; Bidermanis, L.; Liepins, J.; Grosvalds, I.

1997-01-01

To obtain qualitative dolomitic lime the optimum calcination temperature of dolomite containing about 9 % of clayey substances is 900 deg C. The mechanical strength of dolomitic lime containing 30 % of brick waste additive after 6-9 months of hardening is 1.4-1.5 times higher than that of samples without hydraulic additive, for calcium lime - 2.2-2.6 times higher. Generally the mechanical strength of dolomitic lime is higher than that one of calcium lime. It can be explained by the active role of MgO in the hydration and hardening processes of dolomitic lime. Xray diffraction phase analysis was performed by X-ray diffractometer DPON-3M with Cu-K α emission filter

Polymorphism of CRISPR shows separated natural groupings of Shigella subtypes and evidence of horizontal transfer of CRISPR

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chaojie; Li, Peng; Su, Wenli; Li, Hao; Liu, Hongbo; Yang, Guang; Xie, Jing; Yi, Shengjie; Wang, Jian; Cui, Xianyan; Wu, Zhihao; Wang, Ligui; Hao, Rongzhang; Jia, Leili; Qiu, Shaofu; Song, Hongbin

2015-01-01

Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) act as an adaptive RNA-mediated immune mechanism in bacteria. They can also be used for identification and evolutionary studies based on polymorphisms within the CRISPR locus. We amplified and analyzed 6 CRISPR loci from 237 Shigella strains belonging to the 4 species groups, as well as 13 Escherichia coli strains. The CRISPR-associated (cas) gene sequence arrays of these strains were screened and compared. The CRISPR sequences from Shigella were conserved among subtypes, suggesting that CRISPR may represent a new identification tool for the detection and discrimination of Shigella species. Secondary structure analysis showed a different stem-loop structure at the terminal repeat, suggesting a distinct recognition mechanism in the formation of crRNA. In addition, the presence of “self-target” spacers and polymorphisms within CRISPR in Shigella indicated a selective pressure for inhibition of this system, which has the potential to damage “self DNA.” Homology analysis of spacers showed that CRISPR might be involved in the regulation of virulence transmission. Phylogenetic analysis based on CRISPR sequences from Shigella and E. coli indicated that although phenotypic properties maintain convergent evolution, the 4 Shigella species do not represent natural groupings. Surprisingly, comparative analysis of Shigella repeats with other species provided new evidence for CRISPR horizontal transfer. Our results suggested that CRISPR analysis is applicable for the detection of Shigella species and for investigation of evolutionary relationships. PMID:26327282

Polymorphism of CRISPR shows separated natural groupings of Shigella subtypes and evidence of horizontal transfer of CRISPR.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chaojie; Li, Peng; Su, Wenli; Li, Hao; Liu, Hongbo; Yang, Guang; Xie, Jing; Yi, Shengjie; Wang, Jian; Cui, Xianyan; Wu, Zhihao; Wang, Ligui; Hao, Rongzhang; Jia, Leili; Qiu, Shaofu; Song, Hongbin

2015-01-01

Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) act as an adaptive RNA-mediated immune mechanism in bacteria. They can also be used for identification and evolutionary studies based on polymorphisms within the CRISPR locus. We amplified and analyzed 6 CRISPR loci from 237 Shigella strains belonging to the 4 species groups, as well as 13 Escherichia coli strains. The CRISPR-associated (cas) gene sequence arrays of these strains were screened and compared. The CRISPR sequences from Shigella were conserved among subtypes, suggesting that CRISPR may represent a new identification tool for the detection and discrimination of Shigella species. Secondary structure analysis showed a different stem-loop structure at the terminal repeat, suggesting a distinct recognition mechanism in the formation of crRNA. In addition, the presence of "self-target" spacers and polymorphisms within CRISPR in Shigella indicated a selective pressure for inhibition of this system, which has the potential to damage "self DNA." Homology analysis of spacers showed that CRISPR might be involved in the regulation of virulence transmission. Phylogenetic analysis based on CRISPR sequences from Shigella and E. coli indicated that although phenotypic properties maintain convergent evolution, the 4 Shigella species do not represent natural groupings. Surprisingly, comparative analysis of Shigella repeats with other species provided new evidence for CRISPR horizontal transfer. Our results suggested that CRISPR analysis is applicable for the detection of Shigella species and for investigation of evolutionary relationships.

Identification of Coloring Additives used in Jajan Sirat Production Sold at Pasar Umum Negara, District of Negara, Jembrana Regency, Bali Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Komang Ari Andika

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to identify the types and doses of coloring additives used in the making of jajan Sirat which was sold at Pasar Umum Negara, Jembrana, Bali. Before taking samples, surveys and interviews were conducted to the traders and consumers regarding their understanding on coloring additives. The samples were taken from some traders at Negara public market, District of Negara, Jembrana, Bali. Then, the samples were prepared by using woolen thread absorption technique. Qualitative analytical procedure were conducted using chromatographic paper analysis, while quantitative analysis were conducted using spectrophotometer UV-VIS. Paper chromatography analysis showed, the samples contained restricted synthetic coloring substances (GN scarlet, orange G and sudan I and allowed coloring substances (tartrazine, sunset yellow, karmoisin, amaranth, and eritrosin. Spectrophotometric analysis showed that most of samples contained coloring substances exceeding the prescribed dosage. The percentage of samples containing overdosed coloring substances was 58.33 %, whereas the percentage of samples containing coloring substances under permitted dosage was 16.67 %. The percentage of samples containing banned dye was 25.00 %.

Basophil activation test with food additives in chronic urticaria patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Min-Gyu; Song, Woo-Jung; Park, Han-Ki; Lim, Kyung-Hwan; Kim, Su-Jung; Lee, Suh-Young; Kim, Sae-Hoon; Cho, Sang-Heon; Min, Kyung-Up; Chang, Yoon-Seok

2014-01-01

The role of food additives in chronic urticaria (CU) is still under investigation. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between food additives and CU by using the basophil activation test (BAT). The BAT using 15 common food additives was performed for 15 patients with CU who had a history of recurrent urticarial aggravation following intake of various foods without a definite food-specific IgE. Of the 15 patients studied, two (13.3%) showed positive BAT results for one of the tested food additives. One patient responded to monosodium glutamate, showing 18.7% of CD203c-positive basophils. Another patient showed a positive BAT result to sodium benzoate. Both patients had clinical correlations with the agents, which were partly determined by elimination diets. The present study suggested that at least a small proportion of patients with CU had symptoms associated with food additives. The results may suggest the potential utility of the BAT to identity the role of food additives in CU.

Systems level analysis of systemic sclerosis shows a network of immune and profibrotic pathways connected with genetic polymorphisms.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Matthew Mahoney

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Systemic sclerosis (SSc is a rare systemic autoimmune disease characterized by skin and organ fibrosis. The pathogenesis of SSc and its progression are poorly understood. The SSc intrinsic gene expression subsets (inflammatory, fibroproliferative, normal-like, and limited are observed in multiple clinical cohorts of patients with SSc. Analysis of longitudinal skin biopsies suggests that a patient's subset assignment is stable over 6-12 months. Genetically, SSc is multi-factorial with many genetic risk loci for SSc generally and for specific clinical manifestations. Here we identify the genes consistently associated with the intrinsic subsets across three independent cohorts, show the relationship between these genes using a gene-gene interaction network, and place the genetic risk loci in the context of the intrinsic subsets. To identify gene expression modules common to three independent datasets from three different clinical centers, we developed a consensus clustering procedure based on mutual information of partitions, an information theory concept, and performed a meta-analysis of these genome-wide gene expression datasets. We created a gene-gene interaction network of the conserved molecular features across the intrinsic subsets and analyzed their connections with SSc-associated genetic polymorphisms. The network is composed of distinct, but interconnected, components related to interferon activation, M2 macrophages, adaptive immunity, extracellular matrix remodeling, and cell proliferation. The network shows extensive connections between the inflammatory- and fibroproliferative-specific genes. The network also shows connections between these subset-specific genes and 30 SSc-associated polymorphic genes including STAT4, BLK, IRF7, NOTCH4, PLAUR, CSK, IRAK1, and several human leukocyte antigen (HLA genes. Our analyses suggest that the gene expression changes underlying the SSc subsets may be long-lived, but mechanistically interconnected

Migraineurs without aura show microstructural abnormalities in the cerebellum and frontal lobe.

Science.gov (United States)

Granziera, C; Romascano, D; Daducci, A; Roche, A; Vincent, M; Krueger, G; Hadjikhani, N

2013-12-01

The involvement of the cerebellum in migraine pathophysiology is not well understood. We used a biparametric approach at high-field MRI (3 T) to assess the structural integrity of the cerebellum in 15 migraineurs with aura (MWA), 23 migraineurs without aura (MWoA), and 20 healthy controls (HC). High-resolution T1 relaxation maps were acquired together with magnetization transfer images in order to probe microstructural and myelin integrity. Clusterwise analysis was performed on T1 and magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) maps of the cerebellum of MWA, MWoA, and HC using an ANOVA and a non-parametric clusterwise permutation F test, with age and gender as covariates and correction for familywise error rate. In addition, mean MTR and T1 in frontal regions known to be highly connected to the cerebellum were computed. Clusterwise comparison among groups showed a cluster of lower MTR in the right Crus I of MWoA patients vs. HC and MWA subjects (p = 0.04). Univariate and bivariate analysis on T1 and MTR contrasts showed that MWoA patients had longer T1 and lower MTR in the right and left pars orbitalis compared to MWA (p < 0.01 and 0.05, respectively), but no differences were found with HC. Lower MTR and longer T1 point at a loss of macromolecules and/or micro-edema in Crus I and pars orbitalis in MWoA patients vs. HC and vs. MWA. The pathophysiological implications of these findings are discussed in light of recent literature.

PRECISE - pregabalin in addition to usual care: Statistical analysis plan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Mathieson (Stephanie); L. Billot (Laurent); C. Maher (Chris); A.J. McLachlan (Andrew J.); J. Latimer (Jane); B.W. Koes (Bart); M.J. Hancock (Mark J.); I. Harris (Ian); R.O. Day (Richard O.); J. Pik (Justin); S. Jan (Stephen); C.-W.C. Lin (Chung-Wei Christine)

2016-01-01

textabstractBackground: Sciatica is a severe, disabling condition that lacks high quality evidence for effective treatment strategies. This a priori statistical analysis plan describes the methodology of analysis for the PRECISE study. Methods/design: PRECISE is a prospectively registered, double

PRACTICE OF DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ ADDITIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY COMPETENCIES IN A MODERN UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. G. Syryamkina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to show the possibilities of formation ofnew approaches to the development of additional interdisciplinary competencies of university youth in modern conditions.Methods. The methods involve such theoretical methods as analysis of scientific literature and documents, generalization of empirical data.Results and scientific novelty. The article includes experience of many years in the sphere of development of students’ additional interdisciplinary competencies of the National Research Tomsk State University (TSU. The authors present cases of two TSU structural subdivisions: Center for Social and Professional Volunteering and Park of Social and Humanitarian Technologies. The effective educational technologies proposed by the authors are analysed. Transition from the theoretical (knowledge training of students to practically-oriented training is an actual trend today. A graduate of a modern university should have a broad vision, communication skills, desire for cooperation, self-development, creative application of gained knowledge and lifelong learning, in other words –the development of students’ additional interdisciplinary competencies. In this regard, the role of students’ extracurricular practical work in a university is increasing. This work requires organizational and educational support. The article gives description and analysis of effective educational forms of technologies for development of students’ additional interdisciplinary competencies within their extracurricular activities in the mentioned above structural units of the university.Practical significance. Higher educational establishments can use presented materials for improvement of an educational process.

Rapid planar chromatographic analysis of 25 water-soluble dyes used as food additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Morlock, Gertrud E; Oellig, Claudia

2009-01-01

A rapid planar chromatographic method for identification and quantification of 25 water-soluble dyes in food was developed. In a horizontal developing chamber, the chromatographic separation on silica gel 60F254 high-performance thin-layer chromatography plates took 12 min for 40 runs in parallel, using 8 mL ethyl acetate-methanol-water-acetic acid (65 + 23 + 11 + 1, v/v/v/v) mobile phase up to a migration distance of 50 mm. However, the total analysis time, inclusive of application and evaluation, took 60 min for 40 runs. Thus, the overall time/run can be calculated as 1.5 min with a solvent consumption of 200 microL. A sample throughput of 1000 runs/8 h day can be reached by switching between the working stations (application, development, and evaluation) in a 20 min interval, which triples the analysis throughput. Densitometry was performed by absorption measurement using the multiwavelength scan mode in the UV and visible ranges. Repeatabilities [relative standard deviation (RSD), 4 determinations] at the first or second calibration level showed precisions of mostly or = 0.9987) and RSD values ( or = 0.9996). If necessary for confirmation, online mass spectra were recorded within a minute.

Urine proteome analysis in Dent's disease shows high selective changes potentially involved in chronic renal damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Santucci, Laura; Candiano, Giovanni; Anglani, Franca; Bruschi, Maurizio; Tosetto, Enrica; Cremasco, Daniela; Murer, Luisa; D'Ambrosio, Chiara; Scaloni, Andrea; Petretto, Andrea; Caridi, Gianluca; Rossi, Roberta; Bonanni, Alice; Ghiggeri, Gian Marco

2016-01-01

Definition of the urinary protein composition would represent a potential tool for diagnosis in many clinical conditions. The use of new proteomic technologies allows detection of genetic and post-trasductional variants that increase sensitivity of the approach but complicates comparison within a heterogeneous patient population. Overall, this limits research of urinary biomarkers. Studying monogenic diseases are useful models to address this issue since genetic variability is reduced among first- and second-degree relatives of the same family. We applied this concept to Dent's disease, a monogenic condition characterised by low-molecular-weight proteinuria that is inherited following an X-linked trait. Results are presented here on a combined proteomic approach (LC-mass spectrometry, Western blot and zymograms for proteases and inhibitors) to characterise urine proteins in a large family (18 members, 6 hemizygous patients, 6 carrier females, and 6 normals) with Dent's diseases due to the 1070G>T mutation of the CLCN5. Gene ontology analysis on more than 1000 proteins showed that several clusters of proteins characterised urine of affected patients compared to carrier females and normal subjects: proteins involved in extracellular matrix remodelling were the major group. Specific analysis on metalloproteases and their inhibitors underscored unexpected mechanisms potentially involved in renal fibrosis. Studying with new-generation techniques for proteomic analysis of the members of a large family with Dent's disease sharing the same molecular defect allowed highly repetitive results that justify conclusions. Identification in urine of proteins actively involved in interstitial matrix remodelling poses the question of active anti-fibrotic drugs in Dent's patients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of nine food additives in red wine by ion-suppression reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using trifluoroacetic acid and ammonium acetate as ion-suppressors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yong-Gang; Chen, Xiao-Hong; Yao, Shan-Shan; Pan, Sheng-Dong; Li, Xiao-Ping; Jin, Mi-Cong

2012-01-01

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of nine food additives, i.e., acesulfame, saccharin, caffeine, aspartame, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, stevioside, dehydroacetic acid and neotame in red wine. The effects of ion-suppressors, i.e., trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and ammonium acetate (AmAc) on retention behavior of nine food additives in RP-HPLC separation were discussed in detail. The relationships between retention factors of solutes and volume percent of ion-suppressors in the mobile-phase systems of acetonitrile-TFA aqueous solution and acetonitrile-TFA-AmAc aqueous solution were quantitatively established, respectively. The results showed that the ion suppressors had not only an ion suppression effect, but also an organic modification effect on the acidic analytes. The baseline separation of nine food additives was completed by a gradient elution with acetonitrile-TFA(0.01%, v/v)-AmAc(2.5 mmol L(-1)) aqueous solution as the mobile phase. The recoveries were between 80.2 - 99.5% for all analytes with RSDs in the range of 1.5 - 8.9%. The linearities were in the range of 0.2 - 100.0 mg L(-1) with determination coefficients (r(2)) higher than 0.9991 for all analytes. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were between 0.53 - 0.99 mg L(-1). The applicability of the proposed method to detect and quantify food additives has been demonstrated in the analysis of 30 real samples.

Individual patient data meta-analysis shows no association between the SNP rs1800469 in TGFB and late radiotherapy toxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnett, Gillian C.; Elliott, Rebecca M.; Alsner, Jan; Andreassen, Christian N.; Abdelhay, Osama; Burnet, Neil G.; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Coles, Charlotte E.; Gutiérrez-Enríquez, Sara; Fuentes-Raspall, Maria J.; Alonso-Muñoz, Maria C.; Kerns, Sarah; Raabe, Annette; Symonds, R. Paul; Seibold, Petra; Talbot, Chris J.; Wenz, Frederik; Wilkinson, Jennifer; Yarnold, John; Dunning, Alison M.

2012-01-01

Background and purpose: Reported associations between risk of radiation-induced normal tissue injury and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TGFB1, encoding the pro-fibrotic cytokine transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), remain controversial. To overcome publication bias, the international Radiogenomics Consortium collected and analysed individual patient level data from both published and unpublished studies. Materials and methods: TGFB1 SNP rs1800469 c.-1347T>C (previously known as C-509T) genotype, treatment-related data, and clinically-assessed fibrosis (measured at least 2 years after therapy) were available in 2782 participants from 11 cohorts. All received adjuvant breast radiotherapy. Associations between late fibrosis or overall toxicity, reported by STAT (Standardised Total Average Toxicity) score, and rs1800469 genotype were assessed. Results: No statistically significant associations between either fibrosis or overall toxicity and rs1800469 genotype were observed with univariate or multivariate regression analysis. The multivariate odds ratio (OR), obtained from meta-analysis, for an increase in late fibrosis grade with each additional rare allele of rs1800469 was 0.98 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.85–1.11). This CI is sufficiently narrow to rule out any clinically relevant effect on toxicity risk in carriers vs. non-carriers with a high probability. Conclusion: This meta-analysis has not confirmed previous reports of association between fibrosis or overall toxicity and rs1800469 genotype in breast cancer patients. It has demonstrated successful collaboration within the Radiogenomics Consortium.

Leaching of plastic additives to marine organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koelmans, Albert A.; Besseling, Ellen; Foekema, Edwin M.

2014-01-01

It is often assumed that ingestion of microplastics by aquatic species leads to increased exposure to plastic additives. However, experimental data or model based evidence is lacking. Here we assess the potential of leaching of nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) in the intestinal tracts of Arenicola marina (lugworm) and Gadus morhua (North Sea cod). We use a biodynamic model that allows calculations of the relative contribution of plastic ingestion to total exposure of aquatic species to chemicals residing in the ingested plastic. Uncertainty in the most crucial parameters is accounted for by probabilistic modeling. Our conservative analysis shows that plastic ingestion by the lugworm yields NP and BPA concentrations that stay below the lower ends of global NP and BPA concentration ranges, and therefore are not likely to constitute a relevant exposure pathway. For cod, plastic ingestion appears to be a negligible pathway for exposure to NP and BPA. - Highlights: • Uptake of plastic additives after plastic ingestion was modeled for worms and fish. • This was done for bisphenol A and nonylphenol. • Uncertainty was accounted for by Monte Carlo simulations. • It appeared that exposure by plastic ingestion was negligible for fish. • Plastic ingestion may occasionally be relevant for marine worms. - Leaching of nonylphenol and bisphenol A from ingested microplastic may be relevant for the lugworm, but is irrelevant for fish like cod

Show-Bix &

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

The anti-reenactment 'Show-Bix &' consists of 5 dias projectors, a dial phone, quintophonic sound, and interactive elements. A responsive interface will enable the Dias projectors to show copies of original dias slides from the Show-Bix piece ”March på Stedet”, 265 images in total. The copies are...

High Strength and Ductility of Additively Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel Explained

Science.gov (United States)

Shamsujjoha, Md.; Agnew, Sean R.; Fitz-Gerald, James M.; Moore, William R.; Newman, Tabitha A.

2018-04-01

Structure-property relationships of an additively manufactured 316L stainless steel were explored. A scanning electron microscope and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis revealed a fine cellular-dendritic (0.5 to 2 μm) substructure inside large irregularly shaped grains ( 100 μm). The cellular structure grows along the crystallographic directions. However, texture analysis revealed that the main texture component is inclined by 15 deg from the building direction. X-ray diffraction line profile analysis indicated a high dislocation density of 1 × 1015 m-2 in the as-built material, which correlates well with the observed EBSD microstructure and high-yield strength, via the traditional Taylor hardening equation. Significant variations in strain hardening behavior and ductility were observed for the horizontal (HB) and vertical (VB) built samples. Ductility of HB and VB samples measured 49 and 77 pct, respectively. The initial growth texture and subsequent texture evolution during tensile deformation are held responsible for the observed anisotropy. Notably, EBSD analysis of deformed samples showed deformation twins, which predominately form in the grains with aligned parallel to the loading direction. The VB samples showed higher twinning activity, higher strain hardening rates at high strain, and therefore, higher ductility. Analysis of annealed samples revealed that the observed microstructures and properties are thermally stable, with only a moderate decrease in strength and very similar levels of ductility and anisotropy, compared with the as-built condition.

TRANSITION METAL OXIDES AS MATERIALS FOR ADDITIVE LASER MARKING ON STAINLESS STEEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihail Stoyanov Mihalev

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The product information plays an important role in the improvement of the manufacturing, allowing the tracking of the part through the full life cycle. Laser marking is one of the most versatile techniques for this purpose. In this paper, a modification of the powder bed selective laser melting for additive laser marking of stainless steel parts is presented. This modification is based on the use of only one transition metal oxide chemically bonded to the stainless steel substrate, without using any additional materials and cleaning substances. The resulting additive coatings, produced from initial MoO3 and WO3 powders, show strong adhesion, high hardness, long durability and a high optical contrast. For estimation of the chemical and structural properties, the Raman and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD spectroscopy have been implemented. A computer model of the process of the laser melting and re-solidification has been developed as well. A comparative analysis of the properties of both (MoO3 and WO3 additive coatings has been performed. An attempt for a qualitative explanation of the thermo-chemical phenomena during the marking process has been undertaken.

Porosity Measurements and Analysis for Metal Additive Manufacturing Process Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Slotwinski, John A; Garboczi, Edward J; Hebenstreit, Keith M

2014-01-01

Additive manufacturing techniques can produce complex, high-value metal parts, with potential applications as critical metal components such as those found in aerospace engines and as customized biomedical implants. Material porosity in these parts is undesirable for aerospace parts - since porosity could lead to premature failure - and desirable for some biomedical implants - since surface-breaking pores allows for better integration with biological tissue. Changes in a part's porosity during an additive manufacturing build may also be an indication of an undesired change in the build process. Here, we present efforts to develop an ultrasonic sensor for monitoring changes in the porosity in metal parts during fabrication on a metal powder bed fusion system. The development of well-characterized reference samples, measurements of the porosity of these samples with multiple techniques, and correlation of ultrasonic measurements with the degree of porosity are presented. A proposed sensor design, measurement strategy, and future experimental plans on a metal powder bed fusion system are also presented.

Impacts of half a degree additional warming on the Asian summer monsoon rainfall characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Donghyun; Min, Seung-Ki; Fischer, Erich; Shiogama, Hideo; Bethke, Ingo; Lierhammer, Ludwig; Scinocca, John F.

2018-04-01

This study investigates the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C above pre-industrial conditions (Paris Agreement target temperatures) on the South Asian and East Asian monsoon rainfall using five atmospheric global climate models participating in the ‘Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts’ (HAPPI) project. Mean and extreme precipitation is projected to increase under warming over the two monsoon regions, more strongly in the 2.0 °C warmer world. Moisture budget analysis shows that increases in evaporation and atmospheric moisture lead to the additional increases in mean precipitation with good inter-model agreement. Analysis of daily precipitation characteristics reveals that more-extreme precipitation will have larger increase in intensity and frequency responding to the half a degree additional warming, which is more clearly seen over the South Asian monsoon region, indicating non-linear scaling of precipitation extremes with temperature. Strong inter-model relationship between temperature and precipitation intensity further demonstrates that the increased moisture with warming (Clausius-Clapeyron relation) plays a critical role in the stronger intensification of more-extreme rainfall with warming. Results from CMIP5 coupled global climate models under a transient warming scenario confirm that half a degree additional warming would bring more frequent and stronger heavy precipitation events, exerting devastating impacts on the human and natural system over the Asian monsoon region.

Multiscale Analysis of Effects of Additive and Multiplicative Noise on Delay Differential Equations near a Bifurcation Point

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klosek, M.M.

2004-01-01

We study effects of noisy and deterministic perturbations on oscillatory solutions to delay differential equations. We develop the multiscale technique and derive amplitude equations for noisy oscillations near a critical delay. We investigate effects of additive and multiplicative noise. We show that if the magnitudes of noise and deterministic perturbations are balanced, then the oscillatory behavior persists for long times being sustained by the noise. We illustrate the technique and its results on linear and logistic delay equations. (author)

Early hydration of portland cement with crystalline mineral additions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahhal, V.; Talero, R.

2005-01-01

This research presents the effects of finely divided crystalline mineral additions (quartz and limestone), commonly known as filler, on the early hydration of portland cements with very different mineralogical composition. The used techniques to study the early hydration of blended cements were conduction calorimeter, hydraulicity (Fratini's test), non-evaporable water and X-ray diffraction. Results showed that the stimulation and the dilution effects increase when the percentage of crystalline mineral additions used is increased. Depending on the replacement proportion, the mineralogical cement composition and the type of crystalline addition, at 2 days, the prevalence of the dilution effect or the stimulation effect shows that crystalline mineral additions could act as sites of heat dissipation or heat stimulation, respectively

Magnetic resonance imaging in the preoperative setting for breast cancer patients with undetected additional disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barco, Israel [Breast Unit, Department of Gynecology, University Hospital of Mútua Terrassa, Research Foundation Mútua Terrassa, University of Barcelona (Spain); Chabrera, Carolina [Department of Nursing, School of Health Science TecnoCampus Mataró-Maresme (Spain); and others

2016-10-15

Highlights: • Preoperative MRI displays additional disease in 10.4% of cases in patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma. • In cases with a complex intraductal-associated component, MRI is helpful in managing the surgical approach, and can potentially reduce reoperation rates. • Preoperative MRI showed a 91.9% agreement with the final histology, but core-needle biopsy cannot be rejected, so as to limit unnecessary surgery. • When MRI shows additional disease, there is often a change in the initial surgical plan. • Evolving surgery techniques, such as oncoplastic procedures, can be safely performed as an alternative to mastectomy in some patients. - Abstract: Objective: The last few years have witnessed a significant increase in the preoperative use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for staging purposes in breast cancer (BC) patients. Many studies have confirmed the improvement that MRI can provide in terms of diagnostic assessment, especially with regard to additional disease foci. In the present study, we address the advantages and disadvantages of MRI in the preoperative setting for BC patients. Patients and methods: There were 1513 consecutive breast MRI studies performed in patients with either primary or recurrent BC, who were scheduled for surgery. Results: Beyond the primary lesion, 10.4% of our cases had additional disease at the final histological assessment. MRI overall sensitivity, when considering tumour size and additional foci together, was 74.3%, and 80.3% when considering additional foci exclusively. MRI specificity for additional disease was 95.3%, positive predictive value was 77.4%, and negative predictive value was 94.6%. Nevertheless, 5% of cases had additional tumours that were missed by MRI or, conversely, had additional foci on MRI that were not confirmed by histology. Age (p = 0.020) and lobular carcinomas (p = 0.030) showed significance in the multivariate analysis by logistic regression, using the presence of additional

Understanding child stunting in India: a comprehensive analysis of socio-economic, nutritional and environmental determinants using additive quantile regression.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nora Fenske

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Most attempts to address undernutrition, responsible for one third of global child deaths, have fallen behind expectations. This suggests that the assumptions underlying current modelling and intervention practices should be revisited. OBJECTIVE: We undertook a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of child stunting in India, and explored whether the established focus on linear effects of single risks is appropriate. DESIGN: Using cross-sectional data for children aged 0-24 months from the Indian National Family Health Survey for 2005/2006, we populated an evidence-based diagram of immediate, intermediate and underlying determinants of stunting. We modelled linear, non-linear, spatial and age-varying effects of these determinants using additive quantile regression for four quantiles of the Z-score of standardized height-for-age and logistic regression for stunting and severe stunting. RESULTS: At least one variable within each of eleven groups of determinants was significantly associated with height-for-age in the 35% Z-score quantile regression. The non-modifiable risk factors child age and sex, and the protective factors household wealth, maternal education and BMI showed the largest effects. Being a twin or multiple birth was associated with dramatically decreased height-for-age. Maternal age, maternal BMI, birth order and number of antenatal visits influenced child stunting in non-linear ways. Findings across the four quantile and two logistic regression models were largely comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis confirms the multifactorial nature of child stunting. It emphasizes the need to pursue a systems-based approach and to consider non-linear effects, and suggests that differential effects across the height-for-age distribution do not play a major role.

Understanding child stunting in India: a comprehensive analysis of socio-economic, nutritional and environmental determinants using additive quantile regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Nora; Burns, Jacob; Hothorn, Torsten; Rehfuess, Eva A

2013-01-01

Most attempts to address undernutrition, responsible for one third of global child deaths, have fallen behind expectations. This suggests that the assumptions underlying current modelling and intervention practices should be revisited. We undertook a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of child stunting in India, and explored whether the established focus on linear effects of single risks is appropriate. Using cross-sectional data for children aged 0-24 months from the Indian National Family Health Survey for 2005/2006, we populated an evidence-based diagram of immediate, intermediate and underlying determinants of stunting. We modelled linear, non-linear, spatial and age-varying effects of these determinants using additive quantile regression for four quantiles of the Z-score of standardized height-for-age and logistic regression for stunting and severe stunting. At least one variable within each of eleven groups of determinants was significantly associated with height-for-age in the 35% Z-score quantile regression. The non-modifiable risk factors child age and sex, and the protective factors household wealth, maternal education and BMI showed the largest effects. Being a twin or multiple birth was associated with dramatically decreased height-for-age. Maternal age, maternal BMI, birth order and number of antenatal visits influenced child stunting in non-linear ways. Findings across the four quantile and two logistic regression models were largely comparable. Our analysis confirms the multifactorial nature of child stunting. It emphasizes the need to pursue a systems-based approach and to consider non-linear effects, and suggests that differential effects across the height-for-age distribution do not play a major role.

Additive manufacturing in maxillofacial reconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dincă Luciana Laura

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the benefits of using additive manufacturing technologies in maxillofacial reconstruction are highlighted. Based on a real clinical case, the paper describes the manufacture of an implant prototype replacing the right zygomatic bone and a part of maxilla using additive manufacturing technologies. The face is the most expressive part of the human body that makes us unique. It was shown that the maxillofacial prostheses help to improve the psychological state of patients affected by, because low self esteem feeling appears commonly to this patients with the facial defects. The aim of this paper is to show how using additive manufacturing technologies methods within this research, the producing a surgical model will help surgeon to improve the pre-operative planning. For this we used additive manufacturing technologies such as Stereolitography to achieve the biomodel and FDM-fused deposition modelling to obtain a prototype model because these technologies make it possible to obtain prosthesis according to the physical and mechanical requirements of the region of implantation.

Feasibility analysis of the use of sugar cane bagasse ash as mineral addition to cementitious mortars; Analise da viabilidade de utilizacao da cinza do bagaco de cana-de-acucar como adicao mineral em argamassas cimenticias

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fazzan, J.V.; Pereira, A.M.; Moraes, M.J.B. de; Akasaki, J.L.; Sanches, A.O.; Malmonge, J. A., E-mail: jvfazzan@hotmail.com [Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP), Ilha Solteira, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia. Departamento de Fisica e Quimica

2014-07-01

Currently, Brazil is experiencing an expansion of sugarcane plantations, which makes the country the world's largest producer of sugarcane. With the bagasse generated during the process, is generated the bagasse ash cane sugar (CBC) which consists mainly of silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}) and presents as potential alternative raw material for the production of cement composites. In this context, the objective of this study is to evaluate the reactivity of the CBC through physical and chemical analysis, for the production of mortars. The study of the CBC was performed by means of XRF testing, XRD, SEM and ADL. Mortar specimens with different percentages of CBC in partial replacement of Portland cement, for analysis of compressive strength were also produced. Despite the mixtures with additions have lower resistance to conventional mortars, the results showed the potential of the CBC as reactive mineral addition. (author)

Fluxional additives: a second generation control in enantioselective catalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibi, Mukund P; Manyem, Shankar; Palencia, Hector

2006-10-25

The concept of "fluxional additives", additives that can adopt enantiomeric conformations depending on the chiral information in the ligand, is demonstrated in enantioselective Diels-Alder and nitrone cycloaddition reactions. The additive design is modular, and diverse structures are accessible in three steps. Chiral Lewis acids from main group and transition metals show enhancements in enantioselectivity in the presence of these additives.

Show me the money: incorporating financial motives into the gambling motives questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Dechant, Kristianne

2014-12-01

Although research has only recently begun to measure what motivates all levels of gambling involvement, motives could offer a theoretically interesting and practical way to subtype gamblers in research and for responsible gambling initiatives. The Gambling Motives Questionnaire (GMQ) is one measure that weaves together much of the gambling motives literature, but it has been criticized for neglecting financial reasons for gambling. This study uses a series of factor analyses to explore the effect of adding nine financial motives to the GMQ in a heterogeneous sample of 1,014 adult past-year gamblers. After trimming trivial financial motives, the penultimate factor analysis of the 15 GMQ items and four financial motives led to a four-factor solution, with factors tapping enhancement, social, coping and financial motives, as predicted. A final factor analysis performed on a modified GMQ-F (i.e., 16 items, including a financial subscale) revealed the same four factors, and hierarchical regression showed that the financial motives improve the GMQ-F's prediction of gambling frequency. This study provides evidence that omitting financial motives is a clear gap in the GMQ, yet suggests that the GMQ is a promising tool that can be conceptually and empirically strengthened with the simple addition of financial items.

Biocompatibility of photopolymers for additive manufacturing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonhardt Stefan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available To establish photopolymers for the production of class II or class III medical products by additive manufacturing it is essential to know which components of photopolymeric systems, consisting of monomers, photoinitiators and additives, are the determining factors on their biocompatible properties. In this study the leachable substances of a cured photopolymeric system were eluted and identified by HPLC-MS detection. In addition the cured photopolymer was testes for cytotoxicity and genotoxicity according to DIN EN ISO 10993 for long time applications. The results showed that uncured residual monomers are the determining factor on the biocompatible properties of the photopolymeric system. Strategies to reduce these residual monomers in the cured photopolymer are presented.

Radiation effects on cancer mortality among A-bomb survivors, 1950-72. Comparison of some statistical models and analysis based on the additive logit model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otake, M [Hiroshima Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Science

1976-12-01

Various statistical models designed to determine the effects of radiation dose on mortality of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from specific cancers were evaluated on the basis of a basic k(age) x c(dose) x 2 contingency table. From the aspects of application and fits of different models, analysis based on the additive logit model was applied to the mortality experience of this population during the 22year period from 1 Oct. 1950 to 31 Dec. 1972. The advantages and disadvantages of the additive logit model were demonstrated. Leukemia mortality showed a sharp rise with an increase in dose. The dose response relationship suggests a possible curvature or a log linear model, particularly if the dose estimated to be more than 600 rad were set arbitrarily at 600 rad, since the average dose in the 200+ rad group would then change from 434 to 350 rad. In the 22year period from 1950 to 1972, a high mortality risk due to radiation was observed in survivors with doses of 200 rad and over for all cancers except leukemia. On the other hand, during the latest period from 1965 to 1972 a significant risk was noted also for stomach and breast cancers. Survivors who were 9 year old or less at the time of the bomb and who were exposed to high doses of 200+ rad appeared to show a high mortality risk for all cancers except leukemia, although the number of observed deaths is yet small. A number of interesting areas are discussed from the statistical and epidemiological standpoints, i.e., the numerical comparison of risks in various models, the general evaluation of cancer mortality by the additive logit model, the dose response relationship, the relative risk in the high dose group, the time period of radiation induced cancer mortality, the difference of dose response between Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the relative biological effectiveness of neutrons.

Comportamento agressivo em shows musicais: analisando notícias de jornal impresso

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Eduardo Pimentel

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This paper reports a content analysis of the newspaper articles dealing with aggressive behavior in music shows. This analysis permits an understanding of the characteristics of these situations, the aggressive behaviors in shows, and the way in which the print media treat the subject. Despite of the newspapers’ influence on public opinion formation, that is, the transmission of attitudes and behavior repertoires, this kind of analysis is rarely reported in Brazilian social psychological literature. Some 31 newspaper articles were content analyzed as to aggressive behavior during music shows. Results indicate that aggressive behaviors occur in shows of most varied musical styles. Results are discussed on the basis of social cognitive theory.

Retrospective Analysis of Patient Presentations at the Sydney (Australia) Royal Easter Show from 2012 to 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Crabtree, Nathan; Mo, Shirley; Ong, Leon; Jegathees, Thuvarahan; Wei, Daniel; Fahey, David; Liu, Jia Jenny

2017-04-01

Introduction Comprehensive studies on the relationship between patient demographics and subsequent treatment and disposition at a single mass-gathering event are lacking. The Sydney Royal Easter Show (SRES; Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia) is an annual, 14-day, agricultural mass-gathering event occurring around the Easter weekend, attracting more than 800,000 patrons per year. In this study, patient records from the SRES were analyzed to examine relationships between weather, crowd size, day of week, and demographics on treatment and disposition. This information would help to predict factors affecting patient treatment and disposition to guide ongoing training of first responders and to evaluate the appropriateness of staffing skills mix at future events. Hypothesis Patient demographics, environmental factors, and attendance would influence the nature and severity of presentations at the SRES, which would influence staffing requirements. A retrospective analysis of 4,141 patient record forms was performed for patients who presented to St John Ambulance (Australian Capital Territory, Australia) at the SRES between 2012 and 2014 inclusive. Presentation type was classified using a previously published minimum data set. Data on weather and crowd size were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) and the SRES, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v22 (IBM; Armonk, New York USA). Between 2012 to 2014, over 2.5 million people attended the SRES with 4,141 patients treated onsite. As expected, the majority of presentations were injuries (49%) and illnesses (46%). Although patient demographics and presentation types did not change over time, the duration of treatment increased. A higher proportion of patients were discharged to hospital or home compared to the proportion of patients discharged back to the event. Patients from rural/regional locations (accounting for 15% of all patients) were

Comprehensive behavioral analysis of Ox1r-/- mice showed implication of orexin receptor-1 in mood, anxiety and social behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md Golam Abbas

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Neuropeptides orexin A and orexin B, which are exclusively produced by neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area, play an important role in the regulation of a wide range of behaviors and homeostatic processes, including regulation of sleep/wakefulness states and energy homeostasis. The orexin system has close anatomical and functional relationships with systems that regulate the autonomic nervous system, emotion, mood, the reward system and sleep/wakefulness states. Recent pharmacological studies using selective antagonists have suggested that orexin receptor-1 (OX1R is involved in physiological processes that regulate emotion, the reward system and autonomic nervous system. Here, we examined Ox1r-/- mice with a comprehensive behavioral test battery to screen additional OX1R functions. Ox1r-/- mice showed increased anxiety-like behavior, altered depression-like behavior, slightly decreased spontaneous locomotor activity, reduced social interaction, increased startle response and decreased prepulse inhibition. These results suggest that OX1R plays roles in social behaviour and sensory motor gating in addition to roles in mood and anxiety.

The Development of Korea Additional Protocol System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shim, Hye Won; Yeo, Jin Kyun

2008-01-01

The Agreement between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the IAEA for the Application of Safeguards in Connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (the Safeguards Agreement) entered into force on 14 November 1975. The Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement (the Additional Protocol) was signed on 21 June 1999 and entered into force on 19 February 2004. ROK has been submitting annual updated reports of initial declaration on every May 15th since August 2004. Additional protocol reports were submitted through Protocol Reporter provided by IAEA. Annual declarations were simply uploaded and stored in the Accounting Information Treatment System of KINAC, which did not provide data analysis and management function. There have been demands for improvement to handle ever-increasing information. KAPS (Korea Additional Protocol System) has been developed to assist and administrate the additional protocol related works effectively. The new system enables integrated management including composition of additional protocol report and version control, periodical update of related information, results of IAEA complementary access to each facility

A Novel Terpolymer as Fluid Loss Additive for Oil Well Cement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A terpolymer comprised of sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS, fumaric acid (FA, and acrylamide (AM was synthesized by aqueous free radical copolymerization and evaluated as fluid loss additive for oil well cement. The chemical structure and performance of the terpolymer were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA; the molecular weight and its distribution were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC. The optimum reaction conditions of polymerization were obtained: a reaction temperature of 50°C, a mass ratio of SSS/FA/AM 4 : 2 : 14, initiator 0.1%, and reaction time of 4 h; characterization indicated that the SSS/FA/AM had a certain molecular weight and excellent temperature-resistant and salt-resistant properties. The results show that SSS/FA/AM has a good fluid loss performance, in which the API fluid loss of the oil cement slurry could be controlled within 100 mL at 160°C. In addition, it had little effect on the cement compressive strength. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM of the filter cake showed that SSS/FA/AM could be adsorbed on the surface of the cement particles and produce a hydrated layer to prevent fluid loss from the oil well cement.

Additive and synergistic antiandrogenic activities of mixtures of azol fungicides and vinclozolin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christen, Verena [University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Gründenstrasse 40, CH-4132 Muttenz (Switzerland); Crettaz, Pierre [Federal Office of Public Health, Division Chemical Products, 3003 Bern (Switzerland); Fent, Karl, E-mail: karl.fent@fhnw.ch [University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Gründenstrasse 40, CH-4132 Muttenz (Switzerland); ETH Zürich, Department of Environmental System Sciences, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollution Dynamics, Universitätsstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zürich (Switzerland)

2014-09-15

Objective: Many pesticides including pyrethroids and azole fungicides are suspected to have an endocrine disrupting property. At present, the joint activity of compound mixtures is only marginally known. Here we tested the hypothesis that the antiandrogenic activity of mixtures of azole fungicides can be predicted by the concentration addition (CA) model. Methods: The antiandrogenic activity was assessed in MDA-kb2 cells. Following assessing single compounds activities mixtures of azole fungicides and vinclozolin were investigated. Interactions were analyzed by direct comparison between experimental and estimated dose–response curves assuming CA, followed by an analysis by the isobole method and the toxic unit approach. Results: The antiandrogenic activity of pyrethroids deltamethrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate and permethrin was weak, while the azole fungicides tebuconazole, propiconazole, epoxiconazole, econazole and vinclozolin exhibited strong antiandrogenic activity. Ten binary and one ternary mixture combinations of five antiandrogenic fungicides were assessed at equi-effective concentrations of EC{sub 25} and EC{sub 50}. Isoboles indicated that about 50% of the binary mixtures were additive and 50% synergistic. Synergism was even more frequently indicated by the toxic unit approach. Conclusion: Our data lead to the conclusion that interactions in mixtures follow the CA model. However, a surprisingly high percentage of synergistic interactions occurred. Therefore, the mixture activity of antiandrogenic azole fungicides is at least additive. Practice: Mixtures should also be considered for additive antiandrogenic activity in hazard and risk assessment. Implications: Our evaluation provides an appropriate “proof of concept”, but whether it equally translates to in vivo effects should further be investigated. - Highlights: • Humans are exposed to pesticide mixtures such as pyrethroids and azole fungicides. • We assessed the antiandrogenicity of

Additive and synergistic antiandrogenic activities of mixtures of azol fungicides and vinclozolin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christen, Verena; Crettaz, Pierre; Fent, Karl

2014-01-01

Objective: Many pesticides including pyrethroids and azole fungicides are suspected to have an endocrine disrupting property. At present, the joint activity of compound mixtures is only marginally known. Here we tested the hypothesis that the antiandrogenic activity of mixtures of azole fungicides can be predicted by the concentration addition (CA) model. Methods: The antiandrogenic activity was assessed in MDA-kb2 cells. Following assessing single compounds activities mixtures of azole fungicides and vinclozolin were investigated. Interactions were analyzed by direct comparison between experimental and estimated dose–response curves assuming CA, followed by an analysis by the isobole method and the toxic unit approach. Results: The antiandrogenic activity of pyrethroids deltamethrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate and permethrin was weak, while the azole fungicides tebuconazole, propiconazole, epoxiconazole, econazole and vinclozolin exhibited strong antiandrogenic activity. Ten binary and one ternary mixture combinations of five antiandrogenic fungicides were assessed at equi-effective concentrations of EC 25 and EC 50 . Isoboles indicated that about 50% of the binary mixtures were additive and 50% synergistic. Synergism was even more frequently indicated by the toxic unit approach. Conclusion: Our data lead to the conclusion that interactions in mixtures follow the CA model. However, a surprisingly high percentage of synergistic interactions occurred. Therefore, the mixture activity of antiandrogenic azole fungicides is at least additive. Practice: Mixtures should also be considered for additive antiandrogenic activity in hazard and risk assessment. Implications: Our evaluation provides an appropriate “proof of concept”, but whether it equally translates to in vivo effects should further be investigated. - Highlights: • Humans are exposed to pesticide mixtures such as pyrethroids and azole fungicides. • We assessed the antiandrogenicity of pyrethroids and

Food and food additives in severe atopic dermatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Bever, H P; Docx, M; Stevens, W J

1989-11-01

In this study the role of food additives, tyramine and acetylsalicylic acid, was investigated by double-blind placebo-controlled challenges (DBPCC) in 25 children with severe atopic dermatitis (AD). All children challenged with foods (n = 24), except one, showed one or more positive reactions to the DBPCC with foods. Positive reactions presented as different combinations of flares of skin symptoms, intestinal symptoms and respiratory symptoms. Seventeen children (70.8%) showed a positive challenge to egg, 12 to wheat (50%), eight to milk (33.3%) and eight to soya (33.3%). Six children underwent DBPCC with food additives, tyramine and acetylsalicylic acid. All were found to demonstrate positive skin and/or intestinal reactions to at least one of the food additives. Two children reacted to tartrazine, three to sodium benzoate, two to sodium glutamate, two to sodium metabisulfite, four to acetylsalicylic acid and one to tyramine. It is concluded that some foods, food additives, tyramine and acetylsalicylic acid, can cause positive DBPCC in children with severe AD.

Effect of inorganic additive sodium pyrophosphate tetrabasic on positive electrolytes for a vanadium redox flow battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Se-Kook; Shim, Joonmok; Yang, Jung Hoon; Jin, Chang-Soo; Lee, Bum Suk; Lee, Young-Seak; Shin, Kyoung-Hee; Jeon, Jae-Deok

2014-01-01

Sodium pyrophosphate tetrabasic (SPT) is employed as an inorganic additive in the positive electrolyte of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) to improve its long-term stability and electrochemical performance. The results of precipitation tests show that the long-term stability of positive electrolytes (2 MV(V) solution in 4 M total sulfates with 0.05 M SPT additive) is improved compared to the blank one. UV-vis and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements also suggest that the addition of SPT can effectively delay the formation of precipitation in positive electrolytes, and no new substances are formed in V(V) electrolytes with SPT. The calcined precipitates extracted from the electrolytes with and without a SPT additive are identified as V 2 O 5 by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. A VRFB single-unit cell employing positive electrolytes with an additive exhibits the high energy efficiency of 74.6% at a current density of 40 mA cm 2 at the 500 th cycle at 20°C, compared to 71.8% for the cell employing the electrolyte without an additive. Moreover, the cell employing the electrolyte with an additive exhibits less discharge capacity fading during cycling in comparison with the pristine one. The disassembled cell without an additive shows a large number of V 2 O 5 precipitation particles on the felt electrode after 500 cycles. Meanwhile, the felt electrode of the cell with an additive has little precipitation. That precipitation gives rise to an imbalance between the positive and negative half-cell electrolytes, which results in a significant capacity loss. The additive has shown positive results under limited laboratory short-term and small-scale conditions

PDC Journeys to Product Analysis Development and Additive Manufacturing?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shalina Sheik Muhamad

2015-01-01

The technology for product development and manufacturing has gone through many advancements. It is widely recognised that it would provide competitive advantage for engineering organization in term of product development cycle, productivity, sustainability and efficiency. We begin by describing the general characteristic of design process that will need to be integrated in product life cycle management. In Nuclear Malaysia, especially in engineering design activities the majority have been using 3D modelling. This paper discusses on the current product design practiced in Nuclear Malaysia, new product development process and new manufacturing technique which is additive manufacturing. (author)

Dolphin shows and interaction programs: benefits for conservation education?

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, L J; Zeigler-Hill, V; Mellen, J; Koeppel, J; Greer, T; Kuczaj, S

2013-01-01

Dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs are two types of education programs within zoological institutions used to educate visitors about dolphins and the marine environment. The current study examined the short- and long-term effects of these programs on visitors' conservation-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs demonstrated a significant short-term increase in knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Three months following the experience, participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs retained the knowledge learned during their experience and reported engaging in more conservation-related behaviors. Additionally, the number of dolphin shows attended in the past was a significant predictor of recent conservation-related behavior suggesting that repetition of these types of experiences may be important in inspiring people to conservation action. These results suggest that both dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs can be an important part of a conservation education program for visitors of zoological facilities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improving Rural Women Income through Cocoyam Value Addition ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

empowered rural women to become entrepreneurs at various levels. ... have showed that value added agriculture can be one way to preserve small farmers .... The results in Table 2 show the level of utilization of cocoyam value addition.

Addition of electric arc furnace dust in hot metal changing the form of addition; Adicao de poeira de aciaria eletrica em ferro-gusa liquido alterando a forma de adicao

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marques Sobrinho, Vicente de Paulo Ferreira; Oliveira, Jose Roberto de; Vieira, Estefano Aparecido, E-mail: vicente@ifes.edu.br [Institulo Federal do Espirito Santo (IFES), ES (Brazil); Telles, Victor Bridi; Grillo, Felipe Fardin; Tenorio, Jorge Alberto Soares; Espinosa, Denise Crocce Romano [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Escola Politecnica

2014-07-01

This research aims to study the incorporation of the mass of electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), by addition in hot metal (1.78% Si) at a temperature of 1,400 degrees Celsius. The EAFD is from a steel plant producing long steel. The addition of the EAFD was as received, in the form of briquettes without agitation of the hot metal and in the form of briquettes with agitation of the hot metal. Previously, the EAFD was characterized using the following techniques: chemical analysis, size analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) microanalysis. The achievement of fusion experiments in laboratory scale, took place in a vertical tubular furnace with temperature control. The fusion experiments to assess the incorporation of EAFD mass used graphite crucibles. After cooling, the hot metal and the slag, remaining in the crucible, were weighed to do a mass balance. A flow of inert gas (argon) was maintained inside the furnace during the experiments. Results show that the experiment with addition of EAFD as received presents the best result of incorporating the mass of the final hot metal (1.73%) combined with the lowest percentage of volatilized mass of EAFD (46.52%). The experiment addition of EAFD in the form of briquette with agitation of hot metal presents the lowest percentage of slag mass (4.58%). The zinc content of volatilized EAFD (64.30%) is higher than the zinc content of the imported ore concentrate (52%) and zinc content of the national ore concentrate (12% to 39%). The presence of lead and cadmium in the slag characterizing it as a hazardous solid waste. (author)

Additive Manufacturing: A Comparative Analysis of Dimensional Accuracy and Skin Texture Reproduction of Auricular Prostheses Replicas.

Science.gov (United States)

Unkovskiy, Alexey; Spintzyk, Sebastian; Axmann, Detlef; Engel, Eva-Maria; Weber, Heiner; Huettig, Fabian

2017-11-10

The use of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and additive manufacturing in maxillofacial prosthetics has been widely acknowledged. Rapid prototyping can be considered for manufacturing of auricular prostheses. Therefore, so-called prostheses replicas can be fabricated by digital means. The objective of this study was to identify a superior additive manufacturing method to fabricate auricular prosthesis replicas (APRs) within a digital workflow. Auricles of 23 healthy subjects (mean age of 37.8 years) were measured in vivo with respect to an anthropometrical protocol. Landmarks were volumized with fiducial balls for 3D scanning using a handheld structured light scanner. The 3D CAD dataset was postprocessed, and the same anthropometrical measurements were made in the CAD software with the digital lineal. Each CAD dataset was materialized using fused deposition modeling (FDM), selective laser sintering (SLS), and stereolithography (SL), constituting 53 APR samples. All distances between the landmarks were measured on the APRs. After the determination of the measurement error within the five data groups (in vivo, CAD, FDM, SLS, and SL), the mean values were compared using matched pairs method. To this, the in vivo and CAD dataset were set as references. Finally, the surface structure of the APRs was qualitatively evaluated with stereomicroscopy and profilometry to ascertain the level of skin detail reproduction. The anthropometrical approach showed drawbacks in measuring the protrusion of the ear's helix. The measurement error within all groups of measurements was calculated between 0.20 and 0.28 mm, implying a high reproducibility. The lowest mean differences of 53 produced APRs were found in FDM (0.43%) followed by SLS (0.54%) and SL (0.59%)--compared to in vivo, and again in FDM (0.20%) followed by SL (0.36%) and SLS (0.39%)--compared to CAD. None of these values exceed the threshold of clinical relevance (1.5%); however, the qualitative

Radiolytic stabilization of poly(methyl methacrylate) using commercial additives; Estabilizacao radiolitica do poli(metacrilato de metila) usando aditivos comerciais

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aquino, Katia Aparecida da Silva

2000-04-01

Poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, Acrigel, a Brazilian polymer, is used in the manufacture of medical supplies sterelizable by ionizing radiation. However, when PMMA is gamma-irradiated it undergoes main chain scissions, which promote molecular degradation causing reduction in its mechanical properties. Therefore, radiolytic of PMMA is important for it to become commercially radiosterizable. In this work some commercial additives, originally used in photo-and thermo-oxidate stabilization of polymers, were tested. Only two additives, type HALS (Hindered Amine Light Stabilizer), denoted Scavenger, showed a good protective quality. The investigation of radiation-induced main scissions was carried out by viscosimetric method. The most effective additive, added to the polymer system at 0.3 w/w%, promotes a great molecular radioprotection of 93%. That means a reduction of G-value (scissions/100 eV) from 0.611 to 0.053. In addition, the glassy transition temperature (T{sub g}) of PMMA (no additive) significantly changed by radiation does not change when PMMA (with additive) is irradiated. The spectroscopy analysis, FT-IR and NMR ({sup 1}H), showed that the radioprotector added to the system does not change the PMMA structure. (author)

Online Italian fandoms of American TV shows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonora Benecchi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Internet has changed media fandom in two main ways: it helps fans connect with each other despite physical distance, leading to the formation of international fan communities; and it helps fans connect with the creators of the TV show, deepening the relationship between TV producers and international fandoms. To assess whether Italian fan communities active online are indeed part of transnational online communities and whether the Internet has actually altered their relationship with the creators of the original text they are devoted to, qualitative analysis and narrative interviews of 26 Italian fans of American TV shows were conducted to explore the fan-producer relationship. Results indicated that the online Italian fans surveyed preferred to stay local, rather than using geography-leveling online tools. Further, the sampled Italian fans' relationships with the show runners were mediated or even absent.

Cost utility, budget impact, and scenario analysis of racecadotril in addition to oral rehydration for acute diarrhea in children in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rautenberg TA

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Tamlyn Anne Rautenberg,1,2 Ute Zerwes,3 Way Seah Lee4 1IGES Institut GmbH, Berlin, Germany; 2Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; 3Assessment in Medicine GmbH, Lörrach, Germany; 4Department of Pediatrics, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Objective: To perform cost utility (CU and budget impact (BI analyses augmented by scenario analyses of critical model structure components to evaluate racecadotril as adjuvant to oral rehydration solution (ORS for children under 5 years with acute diarrhea in Malaysia.Methods: A CU model was adapted to evaluate racecadotril plus ORS vs ORS alone for acute diarrhea in children younger than 5 years from a Malaysian public payer’s perspective. A bespoke BI analysis was undertaken in addition to detailed scenario analyses with respect to critical model structure components.Results: According to the CU model, the intervention is less costly and more effective than comparator for the base case with a dominant incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of –RM 1,272,833/quality-adjusted life year (USD –312,726/quality-adjusted life year in favor of the intervention. According to the BI analysis (assuming an increase of 5% market share per year for racecadotril+ORS for 5 years, the total cumulative incremental percentage reduction in health care expenditure for diarrhea in children is 0.136578%, resulting in a total potential cumulative cost savings of –RM 73,193,603 (USD –17,983,595 over a 5-year period. Results hold true across a range of plausible scenarios focused on critical model components.Conclusion: Adjuvant racecadotril vs ORS alone is potentially cost-effective from a Malaysian public payer perspective subject to the assumptions and limitations of the model. BI analysis shows that this translates into potential cost savings for the Malaysian public health care system. Results hold true at evidence-based base

Effect of small addition of Mn on the passivation of Zn in 0.1 M NaOH solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang Xiuling; Zhang Bo; Han Enhou; Ke Wei

2011-01-01

The passivation of pure Zn (99.995 wt%) and Zn-0.4Mn (0.4 wt% Mn) alloy in a deaerated 0.1 M NaOH solution (pH 12.9) was investigated by electrochemical measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance measurements show that addition of 0.4 wt% Mn can decrease the passive current density of Zn in the passive region. XPS surface analysis indicates that there is approximately 1.0-2.0 at% Mn 2+ being incorporated into the passive film on Zn-0.4Mn alloy with Mn content being higher in the outer layers. Mott-Schottky analysis shows that the incorporated Mn can decrease concentration of defects in the film. AFM observations disclose that Mn can decrease the grain size of the film. The mechanism by which Mn additions improve the passivity of Zn is that the incorporated Mn can inhibit ions transportation in the film and inhibit its growth. Meanwhile, Mn can also promote the nucleation of Zn oxides and decrease film porosity.

Additivity vs Synergism: Investigation of the Additive Interaction of Cinnamon Bark Oil and Meropenem in Combinatory Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shun-Kai; Yusoff, Khatijah; Mai, Chun-Wai; Lim, Wei-Meng; Yap, Wai-Sum; Lim, Swee-Hua Erin; Lai, Kok-Song

2017-11-04

Combinatory therapies have been commonly applied in the clinical setting to tackle multi-drug resistant bacterial infections and these have frequently proven to be effective. Specifically, combinatory therapies resulting in synergistic interactions between antibiotics and adjuvant have been the main focus due to their effectiveness, sidelining the effects of additivity, which also lowers the minimal effective dosage of either antimicrobial agent. Thus, this study was undertaken to look at the effects of additivity between essential oils and antibiotic, via the use of cinnamon bark essential oil (CBO) and meropenem as a model for additivity. Comparisons between synergistic and additive interaction of CBO were performed in terms of the ability of CBO to disrupt bacterial membrane, via zeta potential measurement, outer membrane permeability assay and scanning electron microscopy. It has been found that the additivity interaction between CBO and meropenem showed similar membrane disruption ability when compared to those synergistic combinations which was previously reported. Hence, results based on our studies strongly suggest that additive interaction acts on a par with synergistic interaction. Therefore, further investigation in additive interaction between antibiotics and adjuvant should be performed for a more in depth understanding of the mechanism and the impacts of such interaction.

Additivity vs Synergism: Investigation of the Additive Interaction of Cinnamon Bark Oil and Meropenem in Combinatory Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shun-Kai Yang

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Combinatory therapies have been commonly applied in the clinical setting to tackle multi-drug resistant bacterial infections and these have frequently proven to be effective. Specifically, combinatory therapies resulting in synergistic interactions between antibiotics and adjuvant have been the main focus due to their effectiveness, sidelining the effects of additivity, which also lowers the minimal effective dosage of either antimicrobial agent. Thus, this study was undertaken to look at the effects of additivity between essential oils and antibiotic, via the use of cinnamon bark essential oil (CBO and meropenem as a model for additivity. Comparisons between synergistic and additive interaction of CBO were performed in terms of the ability of CBO to disrupt bacterial membrane, via zeta potential measurement, outer membrane permeability assay and scanning electron microscopy. It has been found that the additivity interaction between CBO and meropenem showed similar membrane disruption ability when compared to those synergistic combinations which was previously reported. Hence, results based on our studies strongly suggest that additive interaction acts on a par with synergistic interaction. Therefore, further investigation in additive interaction between antibiotics and adjuvant should be performed for a more in depth understanding of the mechanism and the impacts of such interaction.

The structure of additive conservation laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helmut Reen

1979-01-01

All additive conserved quantities are listed for a system with short range central force interaction between the particles: a special case shows up in Boltzmann H-theorem and his derivation of the Maxwell velocity distribution. It is concluded that in classical mechanics of mass points there are no other additive conservation laws besides of energy, momentum, angular momentum and center of mass motion. A generator is considered of a symmetry transformation defined as integral over a conserved local current density where the latter, in general, needs not be covariant under translations

Sintering nanodisperse zirconium powders with various stabilizing additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antsiferov V.N.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Effect of various stabilizing additives on sintering kinetics of nanodisperse powders was studied by thermomechanical analysis. Temperature ranges of the most intense shrinking, characteristic points of shrinking rate changes were established. Peaks characterizing the most intense shrinking of nanodisperse zirconium powder samples were shown to allow to arrange the stabilizing additives as follows: Y2O3→CeO2→TiO2.

Parametrically Guided Generalized Additive Models with Application to Mergers and Acquisitions Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jianqing; Maity, Arnab; Wang, Yihui; Wu, Yichao

2013-01-01

Generalized nonparametric additive models present a flexible way to evaluate the effects of several covariates on a general outcome of interest via a link function. In this modeling framework, one assumes that the effect of each of the covariates is nonparametric and additive. However, in practice, often there is prior information available about the shape of the regression functions, possibly from pilot studies or exploratory analysis. In this paper, we consider such situations and propose an estimation procedure where the prior information is used as a parametric guide to fit the additive model. Specifically, we first posit a parametric family for each of the regression functions using the prior information (parametric guides). After removing these parametric trends, we then estimate the remainder of the nonparametric functions using a nonparametric generalized additive model, and form the final estimates by adding back the parametric trend. We investigate the asymptotic properties of the estimates and show that when a good guide is chosen, the asymptotic variance of the estimates can be reduced significantly while keeping the asymptotic variance same as the unguided estimator. We observe the performance of our method via a simulation study and demonstrate our method by applying to a real data set on mergers and acquisitions.

Estimating additive and non-additive genetic variances and predicting genetic merits using genome-wide dense single nucleotide polymorphism markers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guosheng Su

Full Text Available Non-additive genetic variation is usually ignored when genome-wide markers are used to study the genetic architecture and genomic prediction of complex traits in human, wild life, model organisms or farm animals. However, non-additive genetic effects may have an important contribution to total genetic variation of complex traits. This study presented a genomic BLUP model including additive and non-additive genetic effects, in which additive and non-additive genetic relation matrices were constructed from information of genome-wide dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP markers. In addition, this study for the first time proposed a method to construct dominance relationship matrix using SNP markers and demonstrated it in detail. The proposed model was implemented to investigate the amounts of additive genetic, dominance and epistatic variations, and assessed the accuracy and unbiasedness of genomic predictions for daily gain in pigs. In the analysis of daily gain, four linear models were used: 1 a simple additive genetic model (MA, 2 a model including both additive and additive by additive epistatic genetic effects (MAE, 3 a model including both additive and dominance genetic effects (MAD, and 4 a full model including all three genetic components (MAED. Estimates of narrow-sense heritability were 0.397, 0.373, 0.379 and 0.357 for models MA, MAE, MAD and MAED, respectively. Estimated dominance variance and additive by additive epistatic variance accounted for 5.6% and 9.5% of the total phenotypic variance, respectively. Based on model MAED, the estimate of broad-sense heritability was 0.506. Reliabilities of genomic predicted breeding values for the animals without performance records were 28.5%, 28.8%, 29.2% and 29.5% for models MA, MAE, MAD and MAED, respectively. In addition, models including non-additive genetic effects improved unbiasedness of genomic predictions.

Tribological study on rapeseed oil with nano-additives in close contact sliding situation

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Rajeev Nayan; Harsha, A. P.; Singh, Sagar

2018-02-01

The present work deals with the tribological evaluation of three types of nano-additives, i.e., copper oxide (CuO; ≈ 151.2 nm), cerium oxide (CeO2; ≈ 80 nm) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE; ≈ 90.4 nm) with rapeseed oil under steel-steel sliding contacts. The nano-additives concentrations in the base oil were 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5% w/v for the lubricant formulation. Further, the rapeseed oil was also epoxidized by a chemical method and the tribological behavior was compared with the base oil (unmodified oil) at similar nano-additives concentrations. The ASTM standards were followed for the study of wear preventive and extreme-pressure analysis of nanolubricants, and it was carried out using four-ball tester. In the antiwear test, CeO2 and PTFE nano-additives have shown the significant reduction in the wear scar diameter at the concentration of 0.1% w/v. In the extreme-pressure test, 0.5% w/v concentration was optimum for oxide nanoparticles; however, PTFE nanoparticles did not show positive effect with both the base oils. Different characterization techniques were employed to confirm the oil modification and for the study of the worn surfaces.

Laser additive manufacturing of high-performance materials

CERN Document Server

Gu, Dongdong

2015-01-01

This book entitled “Laser Additive Manufacturing of High-Performance Materials” covers the specific aspects of laser additive manufacturing of high-performance new materials components based on an unconventional materials incremental manufacturing philosophy, in terms of materials design and preparation, process control and optimization, and theories of physical and chemical metallurgy. This book describes the capabilities and characteristics of the development of new metallic materials components by laser additive manufacturing process, including nanostructured materials, in situ composite materials, particle reinforced metal matrix composites, etc. The topics presented in this book, similar as laser additive manufacturing technology itself, show a significant interdisciplinary feature, integrating laser technology, materials science, metallurgical engineering, and mechanical engineering. This is a book for researchers, students, practicing engineers, and manufacturing industry professionals interested i...

Addition of blood to a phycogenic bone substitute leads to increased in vivo vascularization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbeck, Mike; Sader, Robert; Ghanaati, Shahram; Najman, Stevo; Stojanović, Sanja; Živković, Jelena M; Mitić, Žarko; Choukroun, Joseph; Kovačević, Predrag; James Kirkpatrick, C

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to analyze the effects of the addition of blood to the phycogenic bone substitute Algipore ® on the severity of in vivo tissue reaction. Initially, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the bone substitute was conducted to analyze its chemical composition. The subcutaneous implantation model in Balb/c mice was then applied for up to 30 d to analyze the tissue reactions on the basis of specialized histochemical, immunohistochemical, and histomorphometrical methods. The data of the FTIR analysis showed that the phycogenic bone substitute material is mainly composed of hydroxyapatite with some carbonate content. The in vivo analyses revealed that the addition of blood to Algipore ® had a major impact on both angiogenesis and vessel maturation. The higher vascularization seemed to be based on significantly higher numbers of multinucleated TRAP-positive cells. However, mostly macrophages and a relatively low number of multinucleated giant cells were involved in the tissue reaction to Algipore ® . The presented data show that the addition of blood to a bone substitute impacts the tissue reaction to it. In particular, the immune response and the vascularization were influenced, and these are believed to have a major impact on the regenerative potential of the process of bone tissue regeneration. (paper)

Characterization of additives typically employed in EPDM formulations by using FT-IR of gaseous pyrolyzates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natália Beck Sanches

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR was employed to investigate the gaseous pyrolysis products of ethylene - propylene - diene rubber (EPDM. The objective was to evaluate the potential of FT-IR analysis of gaseous pyrolyzates (PY-G/FT-IR for characterization of EPDM additives. Two EPDM formulations, containing additives typically employed in EPDM rubbers, were analyzed. Initially, gaseous pyrolysis products from paraffin oil, stearic acid, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline, tetramethylthiuram monosulfide (TMTM, tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD, and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT were characterized separately, and their main absorptions were identified. Subsequently, the gaseous pyrolysis products of raw, unvulcanized, and vulcanized EPDM formulations were analyzed. The similarities observed in the FT-IR spectra of unvulcanized and vulcanized EPDM show that the vulcanization process does not interfere with the pyrolysis products. The identification of the functional groups of the studied additives was possible in both unvulcanized and vulcanized EPDM samples, without solvent extraction. Results also demonstrate that the PY-G/FT-IR technique can identify additives containing sulfur in concentrations as low as 1.4 phr (1.26% in both unvulcanized and vulcanized EPDM. However, the method showed some limitation due to overlapping and to similarities of TMTM and TMTD PY-G/FT-IR spectra, which could not be distinguished from each other. The PY-G/FT-IR technique is a faster and cheaper alternative to the sophisticated techniques usually applied to detection of additives in rubbers.

Characterization of the Tribological Behavior of Graphene-Based Additives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Erck, Robert

2014-09-01

XG-supplied nanocrystalline additives were extensively tested for friction and wear behavior. A technique for investigating the stability of additives was developed, and a report covered filtration and centrifugation methods for settling and filterable content. Friction and wear trends in partially and fully formulated oils were reported. Particle size analysis was performed and reported.

Radiochemical methods and spectroscopical analyses for investigating the catalytic effects of 2-methyltetrahydro-anthraquinone and phenanthraquinone in wood pulp production using the soda additive method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besser, R. v.

1982-01-01

The studies were to show whether 2-methyltetrahydroanthraquinone or phenanthraquinone, two additives obtainable at low cost, will have a suitable catalytic effect on the delignification using the soda additive pulping method. For this purpose, soda cookings have been made in a 7 l rotary autoclave. The results have shown that 2-MeTHAQ is by far the better catalytic agent. Further experiments have been made to investigate the mode of action of the redox additives, intended to reveal further characteristics which can be correlated with the knowledge obtained from the preceding soda cookings. The analysis shows that there is a connection between the analytical lignin characteristics and the effectiveness of quinoid additives. (orig./PW) [de

Longitudinal data analysis of polymorphisms in the κ-casein and β-lactoglobulin genes shows differential effects along the trajectory of the lactation curve in tropical dairy goats.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardona, Samir Julián Calvo; Cadavid, Henry Cardona; Corrales, Juan David; Munilla, Sebastián; Cantet, Rodolfo J C; Rogberg-Muñoz, Andrés

2016-09-01

The κ-casein (CSN-3) and β-lactoglobulin (BLG) genes are extensively polymorphic in ruminants. Several association studies have estimated the effects of polymorphisms in these genes on milk yield, milk composition, and cheese-manufacturing properties. Usually, these results are based on production integrated over the lactation curve or on cross-sectional studies at specific days in milk (DIM). However, as differential expression of milk protein genes occurs over lactation, the effect of the polymorphisms may change over time. In this study, we fitted a mixed-effects regression model to test-day records of milk yield and milk quality traits (fat, protein, and total solids yields) from Colombian tropical dairy goats. We used the well-characterized A/B polymorphisms in the CSN-3 and BLG genes. We argued that this approach provided more efficient estimators than cross-sectional designs, given the same number and pattern of observations, and allowed exclusion of between-subject variation from model error. The BLG genotype AA showed a greater performance than the BB genotype for all traits along the whole lactation curve, whereas the heterozygote showed an intermediate performance. We observed no such constant pattern for the CSN-3 gene between the AA homozygote and the heterozygote (the BB genotype was absent from the sample). The differences among the genotypic effects of the BLG and the CSN-3 polymorphisms were statistically significant during peak and mid lactation (around 40-160 DIM) for the BLG gene and only for mid lactation (80-145 DIM) for the CSN-3 gene. We also estimated the additive and dominant effects of the BLG locus. The locus showed a statistically significant additive behavior along the whole lactation trajectory for all quality traits, whereas for milk yield the effect was not significant at later stages. In turn, we detected a statistically significant dominance effect only for fat yield in the early and peak stages of lactation (at about 1-45 DIM

Controlling the microstructure and properties of wire arc additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V with trace boron additions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bermingham, M.J.; Kent, D.; Zhan, H.; StJohn, D.H.; Dargusch, M.S.

2015-01-01

This study demonstrates that trace boron addition to Ti–6Al–4V coupons produced by additive layer manufacturing is an effective way to eliminate the deleterious anisotropic microstructures often encountered with this manufacturing technique. Trace boron additions (up to 0.13 wt.%) to this alloy eliminate grain boundary-α and colony-α, and instead produce a homogeneous α-microstructure consisting of fine equiaxed α-grains in both as-deposited and heat treated coupons. Prior-β grains remain columnar with boron addition but become narrower due to the wider solidification range and growth restricting effect of the boron solute. Compared to unmodified Ti–6Al–4V alloy, Ti–6Al–4V modified with trace boron additions showed up to 40% improvement in plasticity with no loss in strength under uniaxial compression at room temperature. Boron additions were found to inhibit twinning transmission that causes sudden large load drops during deformation of the unmodified Ti–6Al–4V alloy in the heat treated condition

The Last Gender Picture Show to Closure Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sven Grampp

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This work presents in (and especially on one detail what it means to practice gender analysis as formal image analysis in the context of television shows. The chosen example for that is the closing scene of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (USA 1997-2003. This television show engages in a highly self-reflexive manner with common pop cultural representations of gender, which becomes particularly prevalent and radically condensed in the series finale.

Effects of CuBr addition to CH3NH3PbI3(Cl) perovskite photovoltaic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Oku, Takeo; Ohishi, Yuya; Tanaka, Hiroki

2018-01-01

Effects of CuBr addition to perovskite CH3NH3PbI3(Cl) precursor solutions on photovoltaic properties were investigated. The CH3NH3Pb(Cu)I3(Cl,Br)-based photovoltaic devices were fabricated by a spin-coating technique, and the microstructures of the devices were investigated by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Current density-voltage characteristics were improved by a small amount of CuBr addition, which resulted in improvement of the conversion efficiencies of the devices. The structure analysis showed decrease of unit cell volume and increase of Cu/Br composition by the CuBr addition, which would indicate the Cu/Br substitution at the Pb/I sites in the perovskite crystal, respectively.

Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on magnesium in addition to beta-blocker for prevention of postoperative atrial arrhythmias after coronary artery bypass grafting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Xiaosan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Atrial arrhythmia (AA is the most common complication after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG. Only beta-blockers and amiodarone have been convincingly shown to decrease its incidence. The effectiveness of magnesium on this complication is still controversial. This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of magnesium as a sole or adjuvant agent in addition to beta-blocker on suppressing postoperative AA after CABG. Methods We searched the PubMed, Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, Cochrane library databases and online clinical trial database up to May 2012. We used random effects model when there was significant heterogeneity between trials and fixed effects model when heterogeneity was negligible. Results Five randomized controlled trials were identified, enrolling a total of 1251 patients. The combination of magnesium and beta-blocker did not significantly decrease the incidence of postoperative AA after CABG versus beta-blocker alone (odds ratio (OR 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI 0.86-1.47, P = 0.40. Magnesium in addition to beta-blocker did not significantly affect LOS (weighted mean difference −0.14 days of stay, 95% CI −0.58 to 0.29, P = 0.24 or the overall mortality (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.08-4.56, P = 0.62. However the risk of postoperative adverse events was higher in the combination of magnesium and beta-blocker group than beta-blocker alone (OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.66-4.71, P = 0.0001. Conclusions This meta-analysis offers the more definitive evidence against the prophylactic administration of intravenous magnesium for prevention of AA after CABG when beta-blockers are routinely administered, and shows an association with more adverse events in those people who received magnesium.

Dynamic {sup 11}C-methionine PET analysis has an additional value for differentiating malignant tumors from granulomas: an experimental study using small animal PET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Songji; Zhao, Yan [Hokkaido University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan); Hokkaido University, Department of Tracer Kinetics and Bioanalysis, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan); Kuge, Yuji; Hatano, Toshiyuki [Hokkaido University, Central Institute of Isotope Science, Sapporo (Japan); Yi, Min; Kohanawa, Masashi [Hokkaido University, Department of Advanced Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan); Magota, Keiichi; Tamaki, Nagara [Hokkaido University, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan); Nishijima, Ken-ichi [Hokkaido University, Department of Molecular Imaging, Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo (Japan)

2011-10-15

We evaluated whether the dynamic profile of L-{sup 11}C-methionine ({sup 11}C-MET) may have an additional value in differentiating malignant tumors from granulomas in experimental rat models by small animal positron emission tomography (PET). Rhodococcus aurantiacus and allogenic rat C6 glioma cells were inoculated, respectively, into the right and left calf muscles to generate a rat model bearing both granulomas and tumors (n = 6). Ten days after the inoculations, dynamic {sup 11}C-MET PET was performed by small animal PET up to 120 min after injection of {sup 11}C-MET. The next day, after overnight fasting, the rats were injected with {sup 18}F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose ({sup 18}F-FDG), and dynamic {sup 18}F-FDG PET was performed up to 180 min. The time-activity curves, static images, and mean standardized uptake value (SUV) in the lesions were calculated. {sup 11}C-MET uptake in the granuloma showed a slow exponential clearance after an initial distribution, while the uptake in the tumor gradually increased with time. The dynamic pattern of {sup 11}C-MET uptake in the granuloma was significantly different from that in the tumor (p < 0.001). In the static analysis of {sup 11}C-MET, visual assessment and SUV analysis could not differentiate the tumor from the granuloma in all cases, although the mean SUV in the granuloma (1.48 {+-} 0.09) was significantly lower than that in the tumor (1.72 {+-} 0.18, p < 0.01). The dynamic patterns, static images, and mean SUVs of {sup 18}F-FDG in the granuloma were similar to those in the tumor (p = NS). Dynamic {sup 11}C-MET PET has an additional value for differentiating malignant tumors from granulomatous lesions, which deserves further elucidation in clinical settings. (orig.)

Grab That Mike: communicative issues in French Talk Show "Grab That Mike": questões comunicativas em um "Talk Show" Francês

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludwina Van Son

2004-12-01

Full Text Available In this analysis we have chosen a recent French talk show to illustrate how communication is turned into some new kind of "ideology"nowadays: in other words, you have to communicate if you consider yourself a citizen of today's world. The main characteristic of issue-centered talk shows being the destabilization of the implicit rules and participation framework, we observe how the so-called democratic right to express ourselves is (misused by the talk show host to secure the dynamics of the show. In order to reveal the host's manipulations, we have examined the verbal interactions between host and guests on the following issues: topic choice, turn-taking mechanisms and identity construction of the talk show's guests. In the perspective that this kind of talk show presents itself as a public space where direct democracy can be exercised, the analysis of the discursive strategies of the talk show host reveals the impact of a mediatic participation framework.Para a presente análise escolhemos um "talk show" francês recente para ilustrar como a comunicação se transforma em um novo tipo de ideologia: em outras palavras, você deve se comunicar se você se considera um cidadão do mundo de hoje. Sendo a principal característica do talk show a desestabilização das regras implícitas e o framework de participação, observamos como o tal direito democrático de expressão é interpretado pelo apresentador para manter a dinâmica do programa. Para revelar suas manipulações, examinamos as interações verbais entre apresentador e convidados nos seguintes temas: escolha do tópico, mecanismos de tomada de turno e construção de identidade dos convidados. É nessa perspectiva que este tipo de programa se apresenta como um espaço público onde a democracia direta pode ser exercitada; a análise das estratégias discursivas do apresentador do talk show revela o impacto de um framework de participação mediada.

Effect of Ferrous Additives on Magnesia Stone Hydration

Science.gov (United States)

Zimich, V.

2017-11-01

The article deals with the modification of the magnesia binder with additives containing two- and three-valent iron cations which could be embedded in the chloromagnesium stone structure and also increase the strength from 60 MPa in a non-additive stone to 80MPa, water resistance from 0.58 for clear stone to 0.8 and reduce the hygroscopicity from 8% in the non-additive stone to 2% in the modified chloromagnesium stone. It is proposed to use the iron hydroxide sol as an additive in the quantities of up to 1% of the weight of the binder. The studies were carried out using the modern analysis methods: the differentialthermal and X-ray phase analysis. The structure was studied with an electron microscope with an X-ray microanalyzer. A two-factor plan-experiment was designed which allowed constructing mathematical models characterizing the influence of variable factors, such as the density of the zatcher and the amount of sol in the binder, on the basic properties of the magnesian stone. The result of the research was the magnesia stone with the claimed properties and formed from minerals characteristic for magnesian materials as well as additionally formed from amachenite and goethite. It has been established that a highly active iron hydroxide sol the ion sizes of which are commensurate with magnesium ions is actively incorporated into the structure of pentahydroxychloride and magnesium hydroxide changing the habit of crystals compacting the structure of the stone and changing its hygroscopicity.

On adjustment for auxiliary covariates in additive hazard models for the analysis of randomized experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vansteelandt, S.; Martinussen, Torben; Tchetgen, E. J Tchetgen

2014-01-01

We consider additive hazard models (Aalen, 1989) for the effect of a randomized treatment on a survival outcome, adjusting for auxiliary baseline covariates. We demonstrate that the Aalen least-squares estimator of the treatment effect parameter is asymptotically unbiased, even when the hazard...... that, in view of its robustness against model misspecification, Aalen least-squares estimation is attractive for evaluating treatment effects on a survival outcome in randomized experiments, and the primary reasons to consider baseline covariate adjustment in such settings could be interest in subgroup......'s dependence on time or on the auxiliary covariates is misspecified, and even away from the null hypothesis of no treatment effect. We furthermore show that adjustment for auxiliary baseline covariates does not change the asymptotic variance of the estimator of the effect of a randomized treatment. We conclude...

Processing of pure titanium containing titanium-based reinforcing ceramics additives using spark plasma sintering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mondiu Olayinka DUROWOJU

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The densification behaviour, microstructural changes and hardness characteristics during spark plasma sintering of CP-Ti reinforced with TiC, TiN, TiCN and TiB2 were investigated. Commercially pure Ti powders were dry mixed with varied amounts (2.5 and 5 wt. % of the ceramic additives using a T2F Turbula mixer for 5 h and at a speed of 49 rpm. The blended composite powders were then sintered using spark plasma sintering system (model HHPD-25 from FCT Germany at a heating rate of 100oC min-1, dwell time of 5 min and sintering temperature of 950ºC. The sintering of CP-Ti was used as a base study to select the proper spark plasma sintering temperature for full density. Densification was monitored through analysis of the recorded punch displacement and the measured density of the sintered samples using Archimedes method. High densities ranging from 97.8% for 5% TiB2 addition to 99.6% for 5% TiCN addition were achieved at a relatively low temperature of 950°C. Microstructural analyses show a uniform distribution of the additives and finer structure showing their inhibitive effect on grain growth. An improved hardness was observed in all the cases with highest values obtained with TiCN as a result of the combined effect of TiC and TiN. A change in the fracture mode from trans granular to intergranular was also observed.

Methods to place a value on additional evidence are illustrated using a case study of corticosteroids after traumatic brain injury

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McKenna, Claire; Griffin, Susan; Koffijberg, Hendrik; Claxton, Karl

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To establish whether evidence about the effectiveness of a health care intervention is sufficient to justify the use of the intervention in practice and show how value of information (VOI) analysis can be used to place a value on the need for additional evidence and inform research

Analysis of time to event outcomes in randomized controlled trials by generalized additive models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christos Argyropoulos

Full Text Available Randomized Controlled Trials almost invariably utilize the hazard ratio calculated with a Cox proportional hazard model as a treatment efficacy measure. Despite the widespread adoption of HRs, these provide a limited understanding of the treatment effect and may even provide a biased estimate when the assumption of proportional hazards in the Cox model is not verified by the trial data. Additional treatment effect measures on the survival probability or the time scale may be used to supplement HRs but a framework for the simultaneous generation of these measures is lacking.By splitting follow-up time at the nodes of a Gauss Lobatto numerical quadrature rule, techniques for Poisson Generalized Additive Models (PGAM can be adopted for flexible hazard modeling. Straightforward simulation post-estimation transforms PGAM estimates for the log hazard into estimates of the survival function. These in turn were used to calculate relative and absolute risks or even differences in restricted mean survival time between treatment arms. We illustrate our approach with extensive simulations and in two trials: IPASS (in which the proportionality of hazards was violated and HEMO a long duration study conducted under evolving standards of care on a heterogeneous patient population.PGAM can generate estimates of the survival function and the hazard ratio that are essentially identical to those obtained by Kaplan Meier curve analysis and the Cox model. PGAMs can simultaneously provide multiple measures of treatment efficacy after a single data pass. Furthermore, supported unadjusted (overall treatment effect but also subgroup and adjusted analyses, while incorporating multiple time scales and accounting for non-proportional hazards in survival data.By augmenting the HR conventionally reported, PGAMs have the potential to support the inferential goals of multiple stakeholders involved in the evaluation and appraisal of clinical trial results under proportional and

Global morphological analysis of marine viruses shows minimal regional variation and dominance of non-tailed viruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Brum, Jennifer R; Schenck, Ryan O; Sullivan, Matthew B

2013-09-01

Viruses influence oceanic ecosystems by causing mortality of microorganisms, altering nutrient and organic matter flux via lysis and auxiliary metabolic gene expression and changing the trajectory of microbial evolution through horizontal gene transfer. Limited host range and differing genetic potential of individual virus types mean that investigations into the types of viruses that exist in the ocean and their spatial distribution throughout the world's oceans are critical to understanding the global impacts of marine viruses. Here we evaluate viral morphological characteristics (morphotype, capsid diameter and tail length) using a quantitative transmission electron microscopy (qTEM) method across six of the world's oceans and seas sampled through the Tara Oceans Expedition. Extensive experimental validation of the qTEM method shows that neither sample preservation nor preparation significantly alters natural viral morphological characteristics. The global sampling analysis demonstrated that morphological characteristics did not vary consistently with depth (surface versus deep chlorophyll maximum waters) or oceanic region. Instead, temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration, but not chlorophyll a concentration, were more explanatory in evaluating differences in viral assemblage morphological characteristics. Surprisingly, given that the majority of cultivated bacterial viruses are tailed, non-tailed viruses appear to numerically dominate the upper oceans as they comprised 51-92% of the viral particles observed. Together, these results document global marine viral morphological characteristics, show that their minimal variability is more explained by environmental conditions than geography and suggest that non-tailed viruses might represent the most ecologically important targets for future research.

Expression QTL analysis of top loci from GWAS meta-analysis highlights additional schizophrenia candidate genes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Jong, Simone; van Eijk, Kristel R; Zeegers, Dave W L H

2012-01-01

of the Psychiatric GWAS consortium (PGC) yielded five novel loci for schizophrenia. In this study, we aim to highlight additional schizophrenia susceptibility loci from the PGC study by combining the top association findings from the discovery stage (9394 schizophrenia cases and 12 462 controls) with expression QTLs...

A survey of useful salt additives in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry of lipids: introducing nitrates for improved analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Rian L; Bunch, Josephine

2012-07-15

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is a powerful technique for the direct analysis of lipids in complex mixtures and thin tissue sections, making it an extremely attractive method for profiling lipids in health and disease. Lipids are readily detected as [M+H](+), [M+Na](+) and [M+K](+) ions in positive ion MALDI mass spectrometry (MS) experiments. This not only decreases sensitivity, but can also lead to overlapping m/z values of the various adducts of different lipids. Additives can be used to promote formation of a particular adduct, improving sensitivity, reducing spectral complexity and enhancing structural characterization in collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments. Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Cs(+) and NH(4)(+) cations were considered as a range of salt types (acetates, chlorides and nitrates) incorporated into DHB matrix solutions at concentrations between 5 and 80 mM. The study was extended to evaluate the effect of these additives on CID experiments of a lipid standard, after optimization of collision energy parameters. Experiments were performed on a hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) instrument. The systematic evaluation of new and existing additives in MALDI-MS and MS/MS of lipids demonstrated the importance of additive cation and anion choice and concentration for tailoring spectral results. The recommended choice of additive depends on the desired outcomes of the experiment to be performed (MS or MS/MS). Nitrates are found to be particularly useful additives for lipid analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

77 FR 13522 - Safety Zone; Baltimore Air Show, Patapsco River, Baltimore, MD

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-07

... public event will consist of military and civilian aircraft performing low-flying, high-speed precision... Harbor. In addition to the air show dates, military and civilian aircraft performing in the air show will...[deg]14'30'' N, longitude 076[deg]36'30'' W; thence to the point of origin. This safety zone will be...

Time dependent patient no-show predictive modelling development.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yu-Li; Hanauer, David A

2016-05-09

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop evident-based predictive no-show models considering patients' each past appointment status, a time-dependent component, as an independent predictor to improve predictability. Design/methodology/approach - A ten-year retrospective data set was extracted from a pediatric clinic. It consisted of 7,291 distinct patients who had at least two visits along with their appointment characteristics, patient demographics, and insurance information. Logistic regression was adopted to develop no-show models using two-thirds of the data for training and the remaining data for validation. The no-show threshold was then determined based on minimizing the misclassification of show/no-show assignments. There were a total of 26 predictive model developed based on the number of available past appointments. Simulation was employed to test the effective of each model on costs of patient wait time, physician idle time, and overtime. Findings - The results demonstrated the misclassification rate and the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic gradually improved as more appointment history was included until around the 20th predictive model. The overbooking method with no-show predictive models suggested incorporating up to the 16th model and outperformed other overbooking methods by as much as 9.4 per cent in the cost per patient while allowing two additional patients in a clinic day. Research limitations/implications - The challenge now is to actually implement the no-show predictive model systematically to further demonstrate its robustness and simplicity in various scheduling systems. Originality/value - This paper provides examples of how to build the no-show predictive models with time-dependent components to improve the overbooking policy. Accurately identifying scheduled patients' show/no-show status allows clinics to proactively schedule patients to reduce the negative impact of patient no-shows.

Electron-microscopy studies of NaAlH{sub 4} with TiF{sub 3} additive: hydrogen-cycling effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrei, C.M.; Holmestad, R. [Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Physics, Trondheim (Norway); Walmsley, J.C. [SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Trondheim (Norway); Brinks, H.W.; Hauback, B.C. [Institute for Energy Technology, P.O. Box 40, Kjeller (Norway); Srinivasan, S.S.; Jensen, C.M. [University of Hawaii, Department of Chemistry, Honolulu, HI (United States)

2005-02-01

NaAlH{sub 4} is a promising candidate material for hydrogen storage. Ti additives are effective in reducing the reaction temperatures and improving kinetics. In this work, the microstructure of NaAlH{sub 4} with 2% TiF{sub 3} has been studied in different conditions using a combination of transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, both with energy-dispersive spectroscopic X-ray analysis. The effect of the additive on particle and grain size was examined after the initial ball-milling process and after 15 cycles. The additive has an uneven distribution in the sample after ball milling. Selected-area diffraction and high-resolution imaging confirmed the presence of TiF{sub 3}. This phase accounts for most of the Ti in the material at this stage and showed limited mixing with the alanate. The grain size within particles for TiF{sub 3} is larger than for the alanate particles. Diffraction from the latter was dominated by metallic aluminium. After cycling, the TiF{sub 3} has decomposed and energy-dispersive spectroscopic X-ray analysis maps showed some combination of Ti with the alanate phase. There is no significant change in the measurable grain size of the Al-containing alanate particles between the ball-milled and the 15-cycled samples, but more cycles result in agglomeration of the material. (orig.)

The three catalases in Deinococcus radiodurans: Only two show catalase activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Sun-Wook; Jung, Jong-Hyun; Kim, Min-Kyu; Seo, Ho Seong; Lim, Heon-Man; Lim, Sangyong

2016-01-15

Deinococcus radiodurans, which is extremely resistant to ionizing radiation and oxidative stress, is known to have three catalases (DR1998, DRA0146, and DRA0259). In this study, to investigate the role of each catalase, we constructed catalase mutants (Δdr1998, ΔdrA0146, and ΔdrA0259) of D. radiodurans. Of the three mutants, Δdr1998 exhibited the greatest decrease in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) resistance and the highest increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels following H2O2 treatments, whereas ΔdrA0146 showed no change in its H2O2 resistance or ROS level. Catalase activity was not attenuated in ΔdrA0146, and none of the three bands detected in an in-gel catalase activity assay disappeared in ΔdrA0146. The purified His-tagged recombinant DRA0146 did not show catalase activity. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis of the deinococcal catalases revealed that the DR1998-type catalase is common in the genus Deinococcus, but the DRA0146-type catalase was found in only 4 of 23 Deinococcus species. Taken together, these results indicate that DR1998 plays a critical role in the anti-oxidative system of D. radiodurans by detoxifying H2O2, but DRA0146 does not have catalase activity and is not involved in the resistance to H2O2 stress. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of prosthetic models produced by traditional and additive manufacturing methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jin-Young; Kim, Hae-Young; Kim, Ji-Hwan; Kim, Jae-Hong; Kim, Woong-Chul

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to verify the clinical-feasibility of additive manufacturing by comparing the accuracy of four different manufacturing methods for metal coping: the conventional lost wax technique (CLWT); subtractive methods with wax blank milling (WBM); and two additive methods, multi jet modeling (MJM), and micro-stereolithography (Micro-SLA). Thirty study models were created using an acrylic model with the maxillary upper right canine, first premolar, and first molar teeth. Based on the scan files from a non-contact blue light scanner (Identica; Medit Co. Ltd., Seoul, Korea), thirty cores were produced using the WBM, MJM, and Micro-SLA methods, respectively, and another thirty frameworks were produced using the CLWT method. To measure the marginal and internal gap, the silicone replica method was adopted, and the silicone images obtained were evaluated using a digital microscope (KH-7700; Hirox, Tokyo, Japan) at 140X magnification. Analyses were performed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey post hoc test (α=.05). The mean marginal gaps and internal gaps showed significant differences according to tooth type (Pmanufacturing method (Pmanufacturing methods were within a clinically allowable range, and, thus, the clinical use of additive manufacturing methods is acceptable as an alternative to the traditional lost wax-technique and subtractive manufacturing.

An analysis of candidates for addition to the Clean Air Act list of hazardous air pollutants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sonya Lunder; Tracey J. Woodruff; Daniel A. Axelrad [University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). School of Public Health

2004-02-01

There are 188 air toxics listed as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the Clean Air Act (CAA), based on their potential to adversely impact public health. This paper presents several analyses performed to screen potential candidates for addition to the HAPs list. We analyzed 1086 HAPs and potential HAPs, including chemicals regulated by the state of California or with emissions reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). HAPs and potential HAPs were ranked by their emissions to air, and by toxicity-weighted (tox-wtd) emissions for cancer and noncancer, using emissions information from the TRI and toxicity information from state and federal agencies. Separate consideration was given for persistent, bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), reproductive or developmental toxins, and chemicals under evaluation for regulation as toxic air contaminants in California. Forty-four pollutants were identified as candidate HAPs based on three ranking analyses and whether they were a PBT or a reproductive or developmental toxin. Of these, nine qualified in two or three different rankings (ammonia (NH{sub 3}), copper (Cu), Cu compounds, nitric acid (HNO{sub 3}), N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, sulfuric acid (H{sub 2}SO{sub 4}), vanadium (V) compounds, zinc (Zn), and Zn compounds). This analysis suggests further evaluation of several pollutants for possible addition to the CAA list of HAPs. 28 refs., 2 figs., 11 tabs.

Additive manufacturing of tunable lenses

Science.gov (United States)

Schlichting, Katja; Novak, Tobias; Heinrich, Andreas

2017-02-01

Individual additive manufacturing of optical systems based on 3D Printing offers varied possibilities in design and usage. In addition to the additive manufacturing procedure, the usage of tunable lenses allows further advantages for intelligent optical systems. Our goal is to bring the advantages of additive manufacturing together with the huge potential of tunable lenses. We produced tunable lenses as a bundle without any further processing steps, like polishing. The lenses were designed and directly printed with a 3D Printer as a package. The design contains the membrane as an optical part as well as the mechanical parts of the lens, like the attachments for the sleeves which contain the oil. The dynamic optical lenses were filled with an oil. The focal length of the lenses changes due to a change of the radius of curvature. This change is caused by changing the pressure in the inside of the lens. In addition to that, we designed lenses with special structures to obtain different areas with an individual optical power. We want to discuss the huge potential of this technology for several applications. Further, an appropriate controlling system is needed. Wéll show the possibilities to control and regulate the optical power of the lenses. The lenses could be used for illumination tasks, and in the future, for individual measurement tasks. The main advantage is the individuality and the possibility to create an individual design which completely fulfills the requirements for any specific application.

The application of condensate water as an additional cooling media intermittently in condenser of a split air conditioning

Science.gov (United States)

Ardita, I. N.; Subagia, I. W. A.

2018-01-01

The condensate water produced by indoor a split air conditioning is usually not utilized and thrown away into the environment. The result of measurement shows that the temperature of condensate water produced by split air conditioning is quite low, that is 19-22 °C at the rate of 16-20 mL / min and it has PH balance. Under such conditions, Air Condensate produced by split air conditioning should still be recovered as an additional cooling medium on the condenser. This research will re-investigate the use of condensate water as an intermittent additional cooling of the condenser to increase the cooling capacity and performance of the air conditioning system. This research is done by experimental method whose implementation includes; designing and manufacturing of experimental equipment, mounting measuring tools, experimental data retrieval, data processing and yield analysis. The experimental results show that the use of condensate water as an intermittent additional cooling medium on split air conditioning condenser can increase the refrigeration effect about 2%, cooling capacity about 4% and 7% of COP system. Experimental results also show a decrease in power consumption in the system compressor about 3%

Bayesian analysis of repairable systems showing a bounded failure intensity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guida, Maurizio; Pulcini, Gianpaolo

2006-01-01

The failure pattern of repairable mechanical equipment subject to deterioration phenomena sometimes shows a finite bound for the increasing failure intensity. A non-homogeneous Poisson process with bounded increasing failure intensity is then illustrated and its characteristics are discussed. A Bayesian procedure, based on prior information on model-free quantities, is developed in order to allow technical information on the failure process to be incorporated into the inferential procedure and to improve the inference accuracy. Posterior estimation of the model-free quantities and of other quantities of interest (such as the optimal replacement interval) is provided, as well as prediction on the waiting time to the next failure and on the number of failures in a future time interval is given. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the proposed inferential procedure

Effects of organic solvent and cationic additive on capillary electrophoresis of peptides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surugau, L.N.; Bergstrom, Ed T.

2008-01-01

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) of nine peptides namely, bradykinin, bradykinin fragment 1-5, substance P, Arg 8 -vasopressin, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), bombesin, leucine-enkephalin, methionine-enkephalin and oxytocin were carried out using 0.5 % and 1.0 % formic acid (FA) as the separation buffers, added with acetonitrile (ACN) and triethylamine (TEA) as an additive at low pH. The electrophoretic behaviour of these peptides was examined at different concentration of TEA (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mM), and ACN (30, 40, 50, 60, 70 %) at their respective measured final pH. The results showed that all nine peptides were fully resolved with addition of 10 - 20 mM TEA. Peak efficiency was improved significantly by increasing TEA concentration up to 40 mM where 800 000 m -1 was obtained. Without TEA, the closely related enkephalins were co-migrating. Interestingly, by addition of as little as 5 mM TEA has sufficient to separate them almost at baseline. Increasing ACN to 40 % has shortened the analysis time by ca. 1 min. However, further increase of ACN can cause peak broadening and current instability. (author)

Effects of organic solvent and cationic additive on capillary electrophoresis of peptides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surugau, L.N.; Bergstrom, E.T.

2008-01-01

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) of nine peptides namely, bradykinin, bradykinin fragment 1-5, substance P, Arg 8 -vasopressin, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), bombesin, leucine-enkephalin, methionine-enkephalin and oxytocin were carried out using 0.5 % and 1.0 % formic acid (FA) as the separation buffers, added with acetonitrile (ACN) and triethylamine (TEA) as an additive at low pH. The electrophoretic behavior of these peptides was examined at different concentration of TEA (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mM), and ACN (30, 40, 50, 60, 70 %) at their respective measured final pH. The results showed that all nine peptides were fully resolved with addition of 10-20 mM TEA. Peak efficiency was improved significantly by increasing TEA concentration up to 40 mM where 800 000 m -1 was obtained. Without TEA, the closely related enkephalins were co-migrating. Interestingly, by addition of as little as 5 mM TEA has sufficient to separate them almost at baseline. Increasing ACN to 40 % has shortened the analysis time by ca. 1 min. However, further increase of ACN can cause peak broadening and current instability. (author)

How additive noise generates a phantom attractor in a model with cubic nonlinearity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bashkirtseva, Irina; Ryashko, Lev, E-mail: lev.ryashko@urfu.ru

2016-10-07

Two-dimensional nonlinear system forced by the additive noise is studied. We show that an increasing noise shifts random states and localizes them in a zone far from deterministic attractors. This phenomenon of the generation of the new “phantom” attractor is investigated on the base of probability density functions, mean values and variances of random states. We show that increasing noise results in the qualitative changes of the form of pdf, sharp shifts of mean values, and spikes of the variance. To clarify this phenomenon mathematically, we use the fast–slow decomposition and averaging over the fast variable. For the dynamics of the mean value of the slow variable, a deterministic equation is derived. It is shown that equilibria and the saddle-node bifurcation point of this deterministic equation well describe the stochastic phenomenon of “phantom” attractor in the initial two-dimensional stochastic system. - Highlights: • Two-dimensional nonlinear system with cubic nonlinearity is studied. • Additive noise generates a new phantom attractor. • By averaging over the fast variable one-dimensional equation is derived. • Phantom attractor appearance is analyzed by bifurcation analysis of this equation.

Determination of semi-volatile additives in wines using SPME and GC-MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagandykova, Gulyaim N; Alimzhanova, Mereke B; Nurzhanova, Yenglik T; Kenessov, Bulat

2017-04-01

Parameters of headspace solid-phase microextraction, such as fiber coating (85μm CAR/PDMS), extraction time (2min for white and 3min for red wines), temperature (85°C), pre-incubation time (15min) were optimized for identification and quantification of semi-volatile additives (propylene glycol, sorbic and benzoic acids) in wines. To overcome problems in their determination, an evaporation of the wine matrix was performed. Using the optimized method, screening of 25 wine samples was performed, and the presence of propylene glycol, sorbic and benzoic acids was found in 22, 20 and 6 samples, respectively. Analysis of different wines using a standard addition approach showed good linearity in concentration ranges 0-250, 0-125, and 0-250mg/L for propylene glycol, sorbic and benzoic acids, respectively. The proposed method can be recommended for quality control of wine and disclosing adulterated samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rationale for Haze Formation after Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) Addition to Red Wine.

Science.gov (United States)

Sommer, Stephan; Dickescheid, Christian; Harbertson, James F; Fischer, Ulrich; Cohen, Seth D

2016-09-14

The aim of this study was to identify the source of haze formation in red wine after the addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and to characterize the dynamics of precipitation. Ninety commercial wines representing eight grape varieties were collected, tested with two commercial CMC products, and analyzed for susceptibility to haze formation. Seventy-four of these wines showed a precipitation within 14 days independent of the CMC product used. The precipitates of four representative samples were further analyzed for elemental composition (CHNS analysis) and solubility under different conditions to determine the nature of the solids. All of the precipitates were composed of approximately 50% proteins and 50% CMC and polyphenols. It was determined that the interactions between CMC and bovine serum albumin are pH dependent in wine-like model solution. Furthermore, it was found that the color loss associated with CMC additions required the presence of proteins and cannot be observed with CMC and anthocyanins alone.

24 CFR 235.1218 - Additional eligibility requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

...; Direct Endorsement § 235.1218 Additional eligibility requirements. (a) Mortgage amount. It must be in an... par on one of the following dates, whichever rate is higher: (i) The date the Direct Endorsement mortgagee's underwriter signs the Mortgage Credit Analysis Worksheet (form HUD-92900 WS); or (ii) The date...

[Effect of biochar addition on soil evaporation.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jian; Niu, Wen Quan; Zhang, Ming Zhi; Li, Yuan; Lyu, Wang; Li, Kang-Yong; Zou, Xiao-Yang; Liang, Bo-Hui

2016-11-18

In order to determine the rational amount of biochar application and its effect on soil hydrological processes in arid area, soil column experiments were conducted in the laboratory using three biochar additions (5%, 10% and 15%) and four different biochar types (devaporation. The results showed that the addition of biochar could change the phreatic water recharge, soil water-holding capacity, capillary water upward movement and soil evaporation obviously. But the effects were different depending on the type of biochar raw material and the size of particle. The phreatic water recharge increased with the increasing amount of biochar addition. The addition of biochar could obviously enlarge the soil water-holding capacity and promote the capillary water upward movement rate. This effect was greater when using the material of bamboo charcoal compared with using wood charcoal, while biochar with small particle size had greater impact than that with big particle size. The biochar could effectively restrain the soil evaporation at a low addition amount (5%). But it definitely promoted the soil evaporation if the addition amount was very high. In arid area, biochar addition in appropriate amount could improve soil water retention capacity.

Analysis of Nanoparticle Additive Couple Stress Fluids in Three-layered Journal Bearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, T V V L N; Sufian, S; Mohamed, N M

2013-01-01

The present theoretical study investigates the load capacity and friction coefficient in a three-layered journal bearing lubricated with nanoparticle additive couple stress fluids. The couple stresses effects are analyzed based on Stokes micro-continuum theory. The nondimensional pressure and shear stress expressions are derived using modified Reynolds equation. The nondimensional load capacity increases and the coefficient of friction decreases using nanoparticle additive lubricants with couple stress effects. The three-layered journal bearing performance characteristics are improved with increase in both (i) surface adsorbent fluid film layer thickness and (ii) dynamic viscosity ratio of surface to core layer.

Analysis of additive generators of fuzzy operations represented by rational functions

Science.gov (United States)

Ledeneva, T. M.

2018-03-01

This article presents an approach for determining additive generators of commutative and associative operations. Its applicability for finding generators of triangular norms and conorms is shown. Conditions for the parameters of increasing generators that generate triangular conorms in the class of rational functions are determined.

Effects of Ce and Zr addition on microstructure and hardness of Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bevilaqua, William Lemos; Reguly, Afonso; Froehlich, Andre Ronaldo; Stadtlander, Antonio Ricardo

2016-01-01

The effects of cerium and zirconium contents (0.3%-0.16%Zr; 0.3%-0.27%Zr e 0.3%-0.36%Zr) to aluminum alloy 354.0 was investigated by microstructural analysis and hardness measurements in as-cast and heat-treated conditions. The macrostructure show an excellent grain refinement for all Ce and Zr contents used. Additionally, the Cu-Ce reaction during solidification changes significantly the age hardening process of modified alloys. (author)

AirShow 1.0 CFD Software Users' Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Mohler, Stanley R., Jr.

2005-01-01

AirShow is visualization post-processing software for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Upon reading binary PLOT3D grid and solution files into AirShow, the engineer can quickly see how hundreds of complex 3-D structured blocks are arranged and numbered. Additionally, chosen grid planes can be displayed and colored according to various aerodynamic flow quantities such as Mach number and pressure. The user may interactively rotate and translate the graphical objects using the mouse. The software source code was written in cross-platform Java, C++, and OpenGL, and runs on Unix, Linux, and Windows. The graphical user interface (GUI) was written using Java Swing. Java also provides multiple synchronized threads. The Java Native Interface (JNI) provides a bridge between the Java code and the C++ code where the PLOT3D files are read, the OpenGL graphics are rendered, and numerical calculations are performed. AirShow is easy to learn and simple to use. The source code is available for free from the NASA Technology Transfer and Partnership Office.

H-point standard additions method for simultaneous determination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids with simultaneous addition of two analytes

Science.gov (United States)

Givianrad, M. H.; Saber-Tehrani, M.; Aberoomand-Azar, P.; Mohagheghian, M.

2011-03-01

The applicability of H-point standard additions method (HPSAM) to the resolving of overlapping spectra corresponding to the sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim is verified by UV-vis spectrophotometry. The results show that the H-point standard additions method with simultaneous addition of both analytes is suitable for the simultaneous determination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in aqueous media. The results of applying the H-point standard additions method showed that the two drugs could be determined simultaneously with the concentration ratios of sulfamethoxazole to trimethoprim varying from 1:18 to 16:1 in the mixed samples. Also, the limits of detections were 0.58 and 0.37 μmol L -1 for sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, respectively. In addition the means of the calculated RSD (%) were 1.63 and 2.01 for SMX and TMP, respectively in synthetic mixtures. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in some synthetic, pharmaceutical formulation and biological fluid samples.

Sintering of magnesia: effect of additives

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Effect of different additives, namely Cr2O3, Fe2O3 and TiO2, up to 2 wt% was studied on the sinter- ing and .... mental distribution of the components is shown in figure 7. It shows ... Chiang Y M, Birniand D and Kingery W 1996 Physical ceram-.

Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Thick Honeycombs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Hedayati

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Honeycombs resemble the structure of a number of natural and biological materials such as cancellous bone, wood, and cork. Thick honeycomb could be also used for energy absorption applications. Moreover, studying the mechanical behavior of honeycombs under in-plane loading could help understanding the mechanical behavior of more complex 3D tessellated structures such as porous biomaterials. In this paper, we study the mechanical behavior of thick honeycombs made using additive manufacturing techniques that allow for fabrication of honeycombs with arbitrary and precisely controlled thickness. Thick honeycombs with different wall thicknesses were produced from polylactic acid (PLA using fused deposition modelling, i.e., an additive manufacturing technique. The samples were mechanically tested in-plane under compression to determine their mechanical properties. We also obtained exact analytical solutions for the stiffness matrix of thick hexagonal honeycombs using both Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. The stiffness matrix was then used to derive analytical relationships that describe the elastic modulus, yield stress, and Poisson’s ratio of thick honeycombs. Finite element models were also built for computational analysis of the mechanical behavior of thick honeycombs under compression. The mechanical properties obtained using our analytical relationships were compared with experimental observations and computational results as well as with analytical solutions available in the literature. It was found that the analytical solutions presented here are in good agreement with experimental and computational results even for very thick honeycombs, whereas the analytical solutions available in the literature show a large deviation from experimental observation, computational results, and our analytical solutions.

Development of flexible, free-standing, thin films for additive manufacturing and localized energy generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, Billy; McCollum, Jena; Pantoya, Michelle L., E-mail: michelle.pantoya@ttu.edu [Mechanical Engineering Department, Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX 79409 (United States); Heaps, Ronald J.; Daniels, Michael A. [Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 (United States)

2015-08-15

Film energetics are becoming increasingly popular because a variety of technologies are driving a need for localized energy generation in a stable, safe and flexible form. Aluminum (Al) and molybdenum trioxide (MoO{sub 3}) composites were mixed into a silicon binder and extruded using a blade casting technique to form flexible free-standing films ideal for localized energy generation. Since this material can be extruded onto a surface it is well suited to additive manufacturing applications. This study examines the influence of 0-35% by mass potassium perchlorate (KClO{sub 4}) additive on the combustion behavior of these energetic films. Without KClO{sub 4} the film exhibits thermal instabilities that produce unsteady energy propagation upon reaction. All films were cast at a thickness of 1 mm with constant volume percent solids to ensure consistent rheological properties. The films were ignited and flame propagation was measured. The results show that as the mass percent KClO{sub 4} increased, the flame speed increased and peaked at 0.43 cm/s and 30 wt% KClO{sub 4}. Thermochemical equilibrium simulations show that the heat of combustion increases with increasing KClO{sub 4} concentration up to a maximum at 20 wt% when the heat of combustion plateaus, indicating that the increased chemical energy liberated by the additional KClO{sub 4} promotes stable energy propagation. Differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis show that the silicone binder participates as a fuel and reacts with KClO{sub 4} adding energy to the reaction and promoting propagation.

Development of flexible, free-standing, thin films for additive manufacturing and localized energy generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Billy Clark

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Film energetics are becoming increasingly popular because a variety of technologies are driving a need for localized energy generation in a stable, safe and flexible form. Aluminum (Al and molybdenum trioxide (MoO3 composites were mixed into a silicon binder and extruded using a blade casting technique to form flexible free-standing films ideal for localized energy generation. Since this material can be extruded onto a surface it is well suited to additive manufacturing applications. This study examines the influence of 0-35% by mass potassium perchlorate (KClO4 additive on the combustion behavior of these energetic films. Without KClO4 the film exhibits thermal instabilities that produce unsteady energy propagation upon reaction. All films were cast at a thickness of 1 mm with constant volume percent solids to ensure consistent rheological properties. The films were ignited and flame propagation was measured. The results show that as the mass percent KClO4 increased, the flame speed increased and peaked at 0.43 cm/s and 30 wt% KClO4. Thermochemical equilibrium simulations show that the heat of combustion increases with increasing KClO4 concentration up to a maximum at 20 wt% when the heat of combustion plateaus, indicating that the increased chemical energy liberated by the additional KClO4 promotes stable energy propagation. Differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analysis show that the silicone binder participates as a fuel and reacts with KClO4 adding energy to the reaction and promoting propagation.

Exogenous addition of H2 for an in situ biogas upgrading through biological reduction of carbon dioxide into methane.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulat, Daniel Girma; Mosbæk, Freya; Ward, Alastair James; Polag, Daniela; Greule, Markus; Keppler, Frank; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund; Feilberg, Anders

2017-10-01

Biological reduction of CO 2 into CH 4 by exogenous addition of H 2 is a promising technology for upgrading biogas into higher CH 4 content. The aim of this work was to study the feasibility of exogenous H 2 addition for an in situ biogas upgrading through biological conversion of the biogas CO 2 into CH 4. Moreover, this study employed systematic study with isotope analysis for providing comprehensive evidence on the underlying pathways of CH 4 production and upstream processes. Batch reactors were inoculated with digestate originating from a full-scale biogas plant and fed once with maize leaf substrate. Periodic addition of H 2 into the headspace resulted in a completely consumption of CO 2 and a concomitant increase in CH 4 content up to 89%. The microbial community and isotope analysis shows an enrichment of hydrogenotrophic Methanobacterium and the key role of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis for biogas upgrading to higher CH 4 content. Excess H 2 was also supplied to evaluate its effect on overall process performance. The results show that excess H 2 addition resulted in accumulation of H 2 , depletion of CO 2 and inhibition of the degradation of acetate and other volatile fatty acids (VFA). A systematic isotope analysis revealed that excess H 2 supply led to an increase in dissolved H 2 to the level that thermodynamically inhibit the degradation of VFA and stimulate homo-acetogens for production of acetate from CO 2 and H 2 . The inhibition was a temporary effect and acetate degradation resumed when the excess H 2 was removed as well as in the presence of stoichiometric amount of H 2 and CO 2 . This inhibition mechanism underlines the importance of carefully regulating the H 2 addition rate and gas retention time to the CO 2 production rate, H 2 -uptake rate and growth of hydrogenotrophic methanogens in order to achieve higher CH 4 content without the accumulation of acetate and other VFA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meta-analysis of high-latitude nitrogen-addition and warming studies imply ecological mechanisms overlooked by land models

Science.gov (United States)

Bouskill, N. J.; Riley, W. J.; Tang, J.

2014-08-01

Accurate representation of ecosystem processes in land models is crucial for reducing predictive uncertainty in energy and greenhouse gas feedbacks with the atmosphere. Here we describe an observational and modeling meta-analysis approach to benchmark land models, and apply the method to the land model CLM4.5 with two versions of belowground biogeochemistry. We focused our analysis on the above and belowground high-latitude ecosystem responses to warming and nitrogen addition, and identified mechanisms absent, or poorly parameterized in CLM4.5. While the two model versions predicted similar trajectories for soil carbon stocks following both types of perturbation, other variables (e.g., belowground respiration) differed from the observations in both magnitude and direction, indicating the underlying mechanisms are inadequate for representing high-latitude ecosystems. The observational synthesis attribute these differences to missing representations of microbial dynamics, characterization of above and belowground functional processes, and nutrient competition. We use the observational meta-analyses to discuss potential approaches to improving the current models (e.g., the inclusion of dynamic vegetation or different microbial functional guilds), however, we also raise a cautionary note on the selection of data sets and experiments to be included in a meta-analysis. For example, the concentrations of nitrogen applied in the synthesized field experiments (average =72 kg ha-1 yr-1) are many times higher than projected soil nitrogen concentrations (from nitrogen deposition and release during mineralization), which preclude a rigorous evaluation of the model responses to nitrogen perturbation. Overall, we demonstrate here that elucidating ecological mechanisms via meta-analysis can identify deficiencies in both ecosystem models and empirical experiments.

Car Gestures - Advisory warning using additional steering wheel angles.

Science.gov (United States)

Maag, Christian; Schneider, Norbert; Lübbeke, Thomas; Weisswange, Thomas H; Goerick, Christian

2015-10-01

Advisory warning systems (AWS) notify the driver about upcoming hazards. This is in contrast to the majority of currently deployed advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that manage emergency situations. The target of this study is to investigate the effectiveness, acceptance, and controllability of a specific kind of AWS that uses the haptic information channel for warning the driver. This could be beneficial, as alternatives for using the visual modality can help to reduce the risk of visual overload. The driving simulator study (N=24) compared an AWS based on additional steering wheel angle control (Car Gestures) with a visual warning presented in a simulated head-up display (HUD). Both types of warning were activated 3.5s before the hazard object was reached. An additional condition of unassisted driving completed the experimental design. The subjects encountered potential hazards in a variety of urban situations (e.g. a pedestrian standing on the curbs). For the investigated situations, subjective ratings show that a majority of drivers prefer visual warnings over haptic information via gestures. An analysis of driving behavior indicates that both warning approaches guide the vehicle away from the potential hazard. Whereas gestures lead to a faster lateral driving reaction (compared to HUD warnings), the visual warnings result in a greater safety benefit (measured by the minimum distance to the hazard object). A controllability study with gestures in the wrong direction (i.e. leading toward the hazard object) shows that drivers are able to cope with wrong haptic warnings and safety is not reduced compared to unassisted driving as well as compared to (correct) haptic gestures and visual warnings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk of adverse events with bevacizumab addition to therapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lai XX

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Xi-Xi Lai, Ren-Ai Xu, Yu-Ping Li, Han Yang Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China Background: Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor ligand, has shown survival benefits in the treatment of many types of malignant tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the risk of the most clinically relevant adverse events related to bevacizumab in advanced NSCLC.Methods: Databases from PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to August 2015, were searched to identify relevant studies. We included prospective randomized controlled Phase II/III clinical trials that compared therapy with or without bevacizumab for advanced NSCLC. Summary relative risk (RR and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random effects or fixed effects according to the heterogeneity among included trials.Results: A total of 3,745 patients from nine clinical trials were included in the meta-analysis. Summary RRs showed a statistically significant bevacizumab-associated increased risk in three of the adverse outcomes studied: proteinuria (RR =7.55, hypertension (RR =5.34, and hemorrhagic events (RR =2.61. No statistically significant differences were found for gastrointestinal perforation (P=0.60, arterial and venous thromboembolic events (P=0.35 and P=0.92, respectively, or fatal events (P=0.29.Conclusion: The addition of bevacizumab to therapy in advanced NSCLC did significantly increase the risk of proteinuria, hypertension, and hemorrhagic events but not arterial/venous thromboembolic events, gastrointestinal perforation, or fatal adverse events. Keywords: toxicities, angiogenesis inhibitors, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, meta-analysis, safety

Marmosets, Raree shows and Pulcinelle: an Analysis and Edition of a Hitherto-Unpublished Carnival Play by Antonio de Zamora

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Plata

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is an analyisis, annotation and edition of the Mojiganga del mundinovo (‘The raree show, a carnival play’ by Antonio de Zamora. The play was performed in 1698 Madrid by the troupe of Carlos Vallejo, along with the sacramental one-act play El templo vivo de Dios (‘The living temple of God’. The hitherto unpublished text is based on the only two extant manuscripts, located in archives in Madrid. Despite the play’s title, my analysis argues that the novelty in this play is not so much the raree show, a contraption popularized four decades earlier in Golden Age theater, as the marmosets. The death of two marmosets and the ensuing desolation of their owner, Ms. Estupenda, both trigger the play and provide it with a plot. The marmosets, too, point to a changing mentality in late 17th-century society, regarding the possession among ladies of marmosets and other monkeys as pets.

The behaviour of molybdenum dialkyldithiocarbamate friction modifier additives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, Jocelyn Claire Herries

2001-01-01

In recent years there has been growing concern to produce energy-efficient lubricated components and modem engine oil specifications require lubricants to demonstrate fuel efficiency in standardised engine tests. One important method of producing low friction and thus fuel-efficient lubricants is to use oil-soluble, molybdenum-containing, friction modifier additives. In optimal conditions these additives are able to produce very low friction coefficients, in the range 0.045 to 0.075 in boundary lubrication conditions. Very little is known about the chemical and physical mechanisms by which oil soluble molybdenum additives form low friction films in tribological contacts. Information about their activity could lead to optimal use of these additives in lubricants and, therefore, more efficient engine running. The work outlined in this thesis investigated the behaviour of oil-soluble molybdenum additives and showed that these additives were able to effectively reduce friction in the absence of other additives such as ZnDTP. Their activity was shown to be highly concentration and temperature dependent and was also found to be sensitive to the roughness of the contacting surfaces. Raman spectroscopy was used to analyse the chemical nature of molybdenum-containing reaction films and found that friction reduction indubitably arises from the local formation of platelets (diameter 30-50 nm) of MoS 2 . The formation of MoS 2 -rich films was found to occur only during direct asperity-asperity rubbing of the contacting surfaces (this type of contact being especially prevalent in pure sliding contacts). At elevated temperatures and in the presence of oxidising gases the consumption of MoDTC was monitored. MoDTC concentration dropped until the total value fell below a critical level to reduce friction. The study showed that decay rate of molybdenum-containing species was reduced by the addition of peroxide-decomposing antioxidants. (author)

Evaluation of the chemical modifications in petroleum asphalt cement with the addition of polypropylene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcondes, C.P.; Sales, M.J.A.; Resck, I.S.; Farias, M.M.; Souza, M.V.R.

2010-01-01

Studies show that the common distress mode in the Brazilian highway network are fatigue cracks and plastic deformation, which are associated with the type of material used in the pavement layers, structural project, excessive traffic load and weathering. To minimize these defects, research on modifiers such as polymers, added to asphalt binders have been developed to provide physical, chemical and rheological improvement. This paper investigates chemical modifications of the binders with the addition of PP by FTIR, NMR and DSC. FTIR spectra of pure and modified binder showed no differences in absorption. NMR analysis showed no strong chemical bonds between the binder and PP. DSC curve of PP showed a melting temperature of 160 deg C (ΔH = 94J/g) and the pure binder presented an endothermic transition between 20 and 40 deg C (ΔH = 2J/g). In the DSC curves of mixtures, these transitions are not significant, indicating possible interactions between asphalt binder and PP. (author)

A novel baseline-correction method for standard addition based derivative spectra and its application to quantitative analysis of benzo(a)pyrene in vegetable oil samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Na; Li, Xiu-Ying; Zou, Zhe-Xiang; Lin, Li-Rong; Li, Yao-Qun

2011-07-07

In the present work, a baseline-correction method based on peak-to-derivative baseline measurement was proposed for the elimination of complex matrix interference that was mainly caused by unknown components and/or background in the analysis of derivative spectra. This novel method was applicable particularly when the matrix interfering components showed a broad spectral band, which was common in practical analysis. The derivative baseline was established by connecting two crossing points of the spectral curves obtained with a standard addition method (SAM). The applicability and reliability of the proposed method was demonstrated through both theoretical simulation and practical application. Firstly, Gaussian bands were used to simulate 'interfering' and 'analyte' bands to investigate the effect of different parameters of interfering band on the derivative baseline. This simulation analysis verified that the accuracy of the proposed method was remarkably better than other conventional methods such as peak-to-zero, tangent, and peak-to-peak measurements. Then the above proposed baseline-correction method was applied to the determination of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in vegetable oil samples by second-derivative synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. The satisfactory results were obtained by using this new method to analyze a certified reference material (coconut oil, BCR(®)-458) with a relative error of -3.2% from the certified BaP concentration. Potentially, the proposed method can be applied to various types of derivative spectra in different fields such as UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy.

Crumb evaluation of bread with hemp products addition by means of image analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Švec

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Hemp flour composition (20–30% proteins, 7–13% fat and more than 40% saccharides is a precondition for its usage into non-traditional cereal products. Corresponding to the fact, that hemp proteins are represented mostly by edestin, a low-molecular globulin, technological behaviour of composites containing 5–20% of hemp flour is basically different. The effect was clearly reflected in specific bread volume decrease, comparing standard wheat bread vs. wheat-hemp one. Sensorial profile of such fortified product depends on hemp sample origin, the better one was observed for dehulled wholemeal hemp flour addition. Image analysis of black-white bread cut prints revealed increasing pore densities (up to about 74% at reversely diminishing mean cell areas (up to about 31% for bread altered by hulled wholemeal hemp flour. Comparing to wheat standard W2, crumb appearance of bread enhanced by 5% and 20% of dehulled hemp wholemeal was described by conversely lower cell density (11 and 9 vs. 13 pores per cm2 with verifiably larger cells (3.13 a 4.25 mm2 against 2.35 mm2. Specific bread volume and crumb penetration were significantly correlated to both cell density (r −0.69 and −0.65, respectively; P = 99.9 % and to cell mean area (0.79 and 0.69, respectively; P = 99.9 %.

Computer aided analysis of additional chromosome aberrations in Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia using a simplified computer readable cytogenetic notation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohr Brigitte

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The analysis of complex cytogenetic databases of distinct leukaemia entities may help to detect rare recurring chromosome aberrations, minimal common regions of gains and losses, and also hot spots of genomic rearrangements. The patterns of the karyotype alterations may provide insights into the genetic pathways of disease progression. Results We developed a simplified computer readable cytogenetic notation (SCCN by which chromosome findings are normalised at a resolution of 400 bands. Lost or gained chromosomes or chromosome segments are specified in detail, and ranges of chromosome breakpoint assignments are recorded. Software modules were written to summarise the recorded chromosome changes with regard to the respective chromosome involvement. To assess the degree of karyotype alterations the ploidy levels and numbers of numerical and structural changes were recorded separately, and summarised in a complex karyotype aberration score (CKAS. The SCCN and CKAS were used to analyse the extend and the spectrum of additional chromosome aberrations in 94 patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL and secondary chromosome anomalies. Dosage changes of chromosomal material represented 92.1% of all additional events. Recurring regions of chromosome losses were identified. Structural rearrangements affecting (pericentromeric chromosome regions were recorded in 24.6% of the cases. Conclusions SCCN and CKAS provide unifying elements between karyotypes and computer processable data formats. They proved to be useful in the investigation of additional chromosome aberrations in Ph-positive ALL, and may represent a step towards full automation of the analysis of large and complex karyotype databases.

TG/FT-IR characterization of additives typically employed in EPDM formulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natália Beck Sanches

2015-06-01

Full Text Available AbstractThermogravimetric analysis coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG/FT-IR is a very popular technique for rubbers characterization. It involves analyses of the base polymer and additives. Ethylene–propylene–diene (EPDM rubbers are frequently investigated by TG/FT-IR; however, the focus has been the degradation temperature range of the polymer. In this study, unvulcanized and vulcanized EPDM rubber and its additives were investigated by TG/FT-IR, without solvent extraction, and in a wide temperature range. Initially, the additives were individually characterized. TG/FT-IR identified the characteristic groups of all the additives analyzed and distinguished them from each other. Afterwards, unvulcanized and vulcanized EPDM rubbers were investigated without prior extraction.TG/FT-IR detected absorptions due to the additives tetramethylthiuram monosulfide and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole. Both of these sulfur-containing additives were present in the EPDM formulation at concentrations of 0.7 phr (0.63 wt %. The TG/FT-IR technique had some limitations, because not all the additives in EPDM rubber were detected. Paraffin oil, stearic acid and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline functional groups were not observed in either the unvulcanized or vulcanized EPDM. Nevertheless, in addition to the ability of this method to detect sulfur-containing groups, the lack of a pre-extraction reduces the time and effort required for additive analysis in rubbers.

The three catalases in Deinococcus radiodurans: Only two show catalase activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Sun-Wook [Research Division for Biotechnology, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup, 580-185 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Biological Sciences, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Jong-Hyun; Kim, Min-Kyu; Seo, Ho Seong [Research Division for Biotechnology, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup, 580-185 (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Heon-Man [Department of Biological Sciences, College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Sangyong, E-mail: saylim@kaeri.re.kr [Research Division for Biotechnology, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup, 580-185 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-01-15

Deinococcus radiodurans, which is extremely resistant to ionizing radiation and oxidative stress, is known to have three catalases (DR1998, DRA0146, and DRA0259). In this study, to investigate the role of each catalase, we constructed catalase mutants (Δdr1998, ΔdrA0146, and ΔdrA0259) of D. radiodurans. Of the three mutants, Δdr1998 exhibited the greatest decrease in hydrogen peroxide (H{sub 2}O{sub 2}) resistance and the highest increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels following H{sub 2}O{sub 2} treatments, whereas ΔdrA0146 showed no change in its H{sub 2}O{sub 2} resistance or ROS level. Catalase activity was not attenuated in ΔdrA0146, and none of the three bands detected in an in-gel catalase activity assay disappeared in ΔdrA0146. The purified His-tagged recombinant DRA0146 did not show catalase activity. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis of the deinococcal catalases revealed that the DR1998-type catalase is common in the genus Deinococcus, but the DRA0146-type catalase was found in only 4 of 23 Deinococcus species. Taken together, these results indicate that DR1998 plays a critical role in the anti-oxidative system of D. radiodurans by detoxifying H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, but DRA0146 does not have catalase activity and is not involved in the resistance to H{sub 2}O{sub 2} stress. - Highlights: • The dr1998 mutant strain lost 90% of its total catalase activity. • Increased ROS levels and decreased H{sub 2}O{sub 2} resistance were observed in dr1998 mutants. • Lack of drA0146 did not affect any oxidative stress-related phenotypes. • The purified DRA0146 did not show catalase activity.

The three catalases in Deinococcus radiodurans: Only two show catalase activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Sun-Wook; Jung, Jong-Hyun; Kim, Min-Kyu; Seo, Ho Seong; Lim, Heon-Man; Lim, Sangyong

2016-01-01

Deinococcus radiodurans, which is extremely resistant to ionizing radiation and oxidative stress, is known to have three catalases (DR1998, DRA0146, and DRA0259). In this study, to investigate the role of each catalase, we constructed catalase mutants (Δdr1998, ΔdrA0146, and ΔdrA0259) of D. radiodurans. Of the three mutants, Δdr1998 exhibited the greatest decrease in hydrogen peroxide (H_2O_2) resistance and the highest increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels following H_2O_2 treatments, whereas ΔdrA0146 showed no change in its H_2O_2 resistance or ROS level. Catalase activity was not attenuated in ΔdrA0146, and none of the three bands detected in an in-gel catalase activity assay disappeared in ΔdrA0146. The purified His-tagged recombinant DRA0146 did not show catalase activity. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis of the deinococcal catalases revealed that the DR1998-type catalase is common in the genus Deinococcus, but the DRA0146-type catalase was found in only 4 of 23 Deinococcus species. Taken together, these results indicate that DR1998 plays a critical role in the anti-oxidative system of D. radiodurans by detoxifying H_2O_2, but DRA0146 does not have catalase activity and is not involved in the resistance to H_2O_2 stress. - Highlights: • The dr1998 mutant strain lost 90% of its total catalase activity. • Increased ROS levels and decreased H_2O_2 resistance were observed in dr1998 mutants. • Lack of drA0146 did not affect any oxidative stress-related phenotypes. • The purified DRA0146 did not show catalase activity.

Genoa Boat Show – Good Example of Event Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dunja Demirović

2012-07-01

Full Text Available International Boat Show, a business and tourist event, has been held annually in Italian city of Genoa since 1962. The fair is one of the oldest, largest and best known in the field of boating industry worldwide, primarily due to good management of the event and it can serve as case study for domestic fair organizers to improve the quality of their business and services. Since Belgrade is the city of fairs, but compared to Genoa still underdeveloped in terms of trade shows, the following tasks imposed naturally in this study: to determine the relationship of the organizers of Genoa Boat Show in the sector of preparation and fair offer, in the sector of selection and communication with specific target groups (especially visitors, services during the fair and functioning of the city during the fair. During the research the authors have mostly used historical method, comparison, synthesis and the interview method. The results of theoretical research, in addition, may help not only managers of fair shows and of exhibitions, but also to organizers of other events in our country

Additive subgroups of topological vector spaces

CERN Document Server

Banaszczyk, Wojciech

1991-01-01

The Pontryagin-van Kampen duality theorem and the Bochner theorem on positive-definite functions are known to be true for certain abelian topological groups that are not locally compact. The book sets out to present in a systematic way the existing material. It is based on the original notion of a nuclear group, which includes LCA groups and nuclear locally convex spaces together with their additive subgroups, quotient groups and products. For (metrizable, complete) nuclear groups one obtains analogues of the Pontryagin duality theorem, of the Bochner theorem and of the Lévy-Steinitz theorem on rearrangement of series (an answer to an old question of S. Ulam). The book is written in the language of functional analysis. The methods used are taken mainly from geometry of numbers, geometry of Banach spaces and topological algebra. The reader is expected only to know the basics of functional analysis and abstract harmonic analysis.

Cost-effectiveness of additional catheter-directed thrombolysis for deep vein thrombosis

Science.gov (United States)

ENDEN, T.; RESCH, S.; WHITE, C.; WIK, H. S.; KLØW, N. E.; SANDSET, P. M.

2013-01-01

Summary Background Additional treatment with catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) has recently been shown to reduce post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). Objectives To estimate the cost effectiveness of additional CDT compared with standard treatment alone. Methods Using a Markov decision model, we compared the two treatment strategies in patients with a high proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and a low risk of bleeding. The model captured the development of PTS, recurrent venous thromboembolism and treatment-related adverse events within a lifetime horizon and the perspective of a third-party payer. Uncertainty was assessed with one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyzes. Model inputs from the CaVenT study included PTS development, major bleeding from CDT and utilities for post DVT states including PTS. The remaining clinical inputs were obtained from the literature. Costs obtained from the CaVenT study, hospital accounts and the literature are expressed in US dollars ($); effects in quality adjusted life years (QALY). Results In base case analyzes, additional CDT accumulated 32.31 QALYs compared with 31.68 QALYs after standard treatment alone. Direct medical costs were $64 709 for additional CDT and $51 866 for standard treatment. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was $20 429/QALY gained. One-way sensitivity analysis showed model sensitivity to the clinical efficacy of both strategies, but the ICER remained < $55 000/QALY over the full range of all parameters. The probability that CDT is cost effective was 82% at a willingness to pay threshold of $50 000/QALY gained. Conclusions Additional CDT is likely to be a cost-effective alternative to the standard treatment for patients with a high proximal DVT and a low risk of bleeding. PMID:23452204

Characterizations of milkfish (Chanos chanos) meatballs as effect of nanoencapsulation liquid smoke addition

Science.gov (United States)

Swastawati, Fronthea; Ambaryanto; Cahyono, Bambang; Wijayanti, Ima; Chilmawati, Diana

2018-02-01

Milkfish meatballs are one of the value-added product that is potential to be developed because this product is favored by consumers. The aims of this study were mainly to evaluate the effect of nano encapsulation liquid smoke addition to the properties of milkfish meatballs. The different concentration (0%, 1%, 3% and 5%) of nano encapsulation liquid smoke was treated into milkfish meatballs with three replications. Test parameters used include texture (hardness, deformation and gel strength); proximate (moisture, protein, fat, ash and carbohydrates content); sensory (organoleptic and hedonic). Parametric data were analysis using ANOVA and non-parametric parameters using Kruskal Wallis test. Analysis of variant shows that nanoencapsulation gave significant effect on the hardness, deformation, and gel strength; protein, lipid, ash and water content(P0.05). The best texture characteristic was obtained by milkfish meatball added with 1% of nanoencapsulation liquid smoke indicated by the moisture water; protein; fat; ash and carbohydrate content: 66,35%; 12,69%; 6,75%; 2,42% and 5,93% respectively. The best organoleptic and hedonic value of milkfish meatballs was achieved by a panelist at the sample with the addition of 1% liquid smoke, but this sample found gave no significance different to control in terms of sensory valle.

Water-Soluble Cellulose Derivatives Are Sustainable Additives for Biomimetic Calcium Phosphate Mineralization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Taubert

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The effect of cellulose-based polyelectrolytes on biomimetic calcium phosphate mineralization is described. Three cellulose derivatives, a polyanion, a polycation, and a polyzwitterion were used as additives. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, IR and Raman spectroscopy show that, depending on the composition of the starting solution, hydroxyapatite or brushite precipitates form. Infrared and Raman spectroscopy also show that significant amounts of nitrate ions are incorporated in the precipitates. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy shows that the Ca/P ratio varies throughout the samples and resembles that of other bioinspired calcium phosphate hybrid materials. Elemental analysis shows that the carbon (i.e., polymer contents reach 10% in some samples, clearly illustrating the formation of a true hybrid material. Overall, the data indicate that a higher polymer concentration in the reaction mixture favors the formation of polymer-enriched materials, while lower polymer concentrations or high precursor concentrations favor the formation of products that are closely related to the control samples precipitated in the absence of polymer. The results thus highlight the potential of (water-soluble cellulose derivatives for the synthesis and design of bioinspired and bio-based hybrid materials.

Process Modeling and Validation for Metal Big Area Additive Manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simunovic, Srdjan [ORNL; Nycz, Andrzej [ORNL; Noakes, Mark W. [ORNL; Chin, Charlie [Dassault Systemes; Oancea, Victor [Dassault Systemes

2017-05-01

Metal Big Area Additive Manufacturing (mBAAM) is a new additive manufacturing (AM) technology based on the metal arc welding. A continuously fed metal wire is melted by an electric arc that forms between the wire and the substrate, and deposited in the form of a bead of molten metal along the predetermined path. Objects are manufactured one layer at a time starting from the base plate. The final properties of the manufactured object are dependent on its geometry and the metal deposition path, in addition to depending on the basic welding process parameters. Computational modeling can be used to accelerate the development of the mBAAM technology as well as a design and optimization tool for the actual manufacturing process. We have developed a finite element method simulation framework for mBAAM using the new features of software ABAQUS. The computational simulation of material deposition with heat transfer is performed first, followed by the structural analysis based on the temperature history for predicting the final deformation and stress state. In this formulation, we assume that two physics phenomena are coupled in only one direction, i.e. the temperatures are driving the deformation and internal stresses, but their feedback on the temperatures is negligible. The experiment instrumentation (measurement types, sensor types, sensor locations, sensor placements, measurement intervals) and the measurements are presented. The temperatures and distortions from the simulations show good correlation with experimental measurements. Ongoing modeling work is also briefly discussed.

Ulysses transposable element of Drosophila shows high structural similarities to functional domains of retroviruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Evgen'ev, M B; Corces, V G; Lankenau, D H

1992-06-05

We have determined the DNA structure of the Ulysses transposable element of Drosophila virilis and found that this transposon is 10,653 bp and is flanked by two unusually large direct repeats 2136 bp long. Ulysses shows the characteristic organization of LTR-containing retrotransposons, with matrix and capsid protein domains encoded in the first open reading frame. In addition, Ulysses contains protease, reverse transcriptase, RNase H and integrase domains encoded in the second open reading frame. Ulysses lacks a third open reading frame present in some retrotransposons that could encode an env-like protein. A dendrogram analysis based on multiple alignments of the protease, reverse transcriptase, RNase H, integrase and tRNA primer binding site of all known Drosophila LTR-containing retrotransposon sequences establishes a phylogenetic relationship of Ulysses to other retrotransposons and suggests that Ulysses belongs to a new family of this type of elements.

Preliminary benefit-cost analysis of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) power addition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callaway, J.M.; Lezberg, A.J.; Scott, M.J.; Tawil, J.J.

1984-07-01

The primary objective of this report is to conduct a preliminary benefit-cost study for the proposed power addition to FFTF to determine whether the project is cost-effective. If the project is authorized, construction will begin in 1986 and end in 1991. Full power operation is scheduled to begin in 1991 and a project life of 20 years is assumed. The undiscounted cost during the construction period of the FFTF power addition is estimated to be approximately $117 million over the construction period (1984 dollars). An additional $3 million is estimated as the opportunity cost - or value of these resources in their most favorable alternative use - of surplus FFTF equipment and unused CRBR equipment, including materials for steam generator fabrication. The annual operating and maintenance cost of the project is estimated to be about $2.1 million in 1984 dollars. 20 references

Experimental analysis on semi-finishing machining of Ti6Al4V additively manufactured by direct melting laser sintering

Science.gov (United States)

Imbrogno, Stano; Bordin, Alberto; Bruschi, Stefania; Umbrello, Domenico

2016-10-01

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques are particularly appealing especially for titanium aerospace and biomedical components because they permit to achieve a strong reduction of the buy-to-fly ratio. However, finishing machining operations are often necessary to reduce the uneven surface roughness and geometrics because of local missing accuracy. This work shows the influence of the cutting parameters, cutting speed and feed rate, on the cutting forces as well as on the thermal field observed in the cutting zone, during a turning operation carried out on bars made of Ti6Al4V obtained by the AM process called Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). Moreover, the sub-surface microstructure alterations due to the process are also showed and commented.

Additivity for parametrized topological Euler characteristic and Reidemeister torsion

OpenAIRE

Badzioch, Bernard; Dorabiala, Wojciech

2005-01-01

Dwyer, Weiss, and Williams have recently defined the notions of parametrized topological Euler characteristic and parametrized topological Reidemeister torsion which are invariants of bundles of compact topological manifolds. We show that these invariants satisfy additivity formulas paralleling the additive properties of the classical Euler characteristic and Reidemeister torsion of finite CW-complexes.

An Alkaline Protease from Bacillus pumilus MP 27: Functional Analysis of its Binding Model towards its Applications as Detergent Additive

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehak Baweja

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A proteolytic strain of Bacillus pumilus MP 27 was isolated from water samples of Southern ocean produced alkaline protease. Since protease production need expensive ingredients, an economically viable process was developed by using low cost carbon source, wheat straw, supplemented with peptone. This protease was active within temperature ranges 10˚C -70˚C at pH 9. This process was optimized by response surface methodology using a Box Bekhman design by Design Expert 7.0 software that increased the protease activity to 776.5 U/ml. Moreover, the enzyme was extremely stable at a broad range of temperature and pH retaining 69% of its activity at 50 ºC and 70% at pH 11. The enzyme exhibited excellent compatibility with surfactants and commercial detergents, showing 87% stability with triton X-100 and ̴ 100% stability with Tide commercial detergent. The results of the wash performance analysis demonstrated considerably good de-staining at 50ºC and 4ºC with low supplementation (109 U/ml. Molecular modeling of the protease revealed the presence of serine proteases, subtilase family and serine active site and further docking supported the association of catalytic site with the various substrates. Certainly, such protease can be considered as a good detergent additive in detergent industry with a possibility to remove the stains effectively even in a cold wash.

An Alkaline Protease from Bacillus pumilus MP 27: Functional Analysis of Its Binding Model toward Its Applications As Detergent Additive.

Science.gov (United States)

Baweja, Mehak; Tiwari, Rameshwar; Singh, Puneet K; Nain, Lata; Shukla, Pratyoosh

2016-01-01

A proteolytic strain of Bacillus pumilus MP 27 was isolated from water samples of Southern ocean produced alkaline protease. Since protease production need expensive ingredients, an economically viable process was developed by using low cost carbon source, wheat straw, supplemented with peptone. This protease was active within temperature ranges 10-70°C at pH 9. This process was optimized by response surface methodology using a Box Bekhman design by Design Expert 7.0 software that increased the protease activity to 776.5 U/ml. Moreover, the enzyme was extremely stable at a broad range of temperature and pH retaining 69% of its activity at 50°C and 70% at pH 11. The enzyme exhibited excellent compatibility with surfactants and commercial detergents, showing 87% stability with triton X-100 and 100% stability with Tide commercial detergent. The results of the wash performance analysis demonstrated considerably good de-staining at 50 and 4°C with low supplementation (109 U/ml). Molecular modeling of the protease revealed the presence of serine proteases, subtilase family and serine active site and further docking supported the association of catalytic site with the various substrates. Certainly, such protease can be considered as a good detergent additive in detergent industry with a possibility to remove the stains effectively even in a cold wash.

Public risk perception of food additives and food scares. The case in Suzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Linhai; Zhong, Yingqi; Shan, Lijie; Qin, Wei

2013-11-01

This study examined the factors affecting public risk perception of food additive safety and possible resulting food scares using a survey conducted in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. The model was proposed based on literature relating to the role of risk perception and information perception of public purchase intention under food scares. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The results showed that attitude towards behavior, subjective norm and information perception exerted moderate to high effect on food scares, and the effects were also mediated by risk perceptions of additive safety. Significant covariance was observed between attitudes toward behavior, subjective norm and information perception. Establishing an effective mechanism of food safety risk communication, releasing information of government supervision on food safety in a timely manner, curbing misleading media reports on public food safety risk, and enhancing public knowledge of the food additives are key to the development and implementation of food safety risk management policies by the Chinese government. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of the reduction mechanism of ironsands with addition of blast furnace bag dust

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Xiangdong; Chen, Yunfei; Liu, Yiran

2018-02-01

To improve the reduction properties of ironsands carbon-containing briquettes, the behavior of ironsand during reduction by the addition of blast furnace bag dust (BFBD) is studied using a high temperature resistance furnace, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the reduction mechanism is discussed in this study. The results showed that the reduction level and compressive strength of ironsand carbon-containing briquettes could be promoted by increasing the proportion of BFBD. When the addition rate of BFBD was 31.25%, the metallization rate and compressive strength increased from 82.1% and 21.5 N/a to 91.4% and 172.5 N/a, respectively. Metallic iron reduced from BFBD particles favored the carbon gasification reaction, which enhanced the internal CO concentration, and then promoted the FeTiO3 reduction to Fe in ironsand. Meanwhile, a large amount of the liquid phase generated during the reduction process also favored Fe2+ diffusion, spread of iron joined crystals and the growth of crystals, which resulted in the improvement of the compressive strength of the ironsand carbon-containing briquettes.

Monocytes of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia show alterations in cholesterol metabolism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soufi Muhidien

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Elevated plasma cholesterol promotes the formation of atherosclerotic lesions in which monocyte-derived lipid-laden macrophages are frequently found. To analyze, if circulating monocytes already show increased lipid content and differences in lipoprotein metabolism, we compared monocytes from patients with Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH with those from healthy individuals. Methods Cholesterol and oxidized cholesterol metabolite serum levels of FH and of healthy, gender/age matched control subjects were measured by combined gas chromatography – mass spectroscopy. Monocytes from patients with FH and from healthy subjects were isolated by antibody-assisted density centrifugation. Gene expression profiles of isolated monocytes were measured using Affymetrix HG-U 133 Plus 2.0 microarrays. We compared monocyte gene expression profiles from FH patients with healthy controls using a Welch T-test with correction for multiple testing (p Results Using microarray analysis we found in FH patients a significant up-regulation of 1,617 genes and a down-regulation of 701 genes compared to monocytes from healthy individuals. These include genes of proteins that are involved in the uptake, biosynthesis, disposition, and cellular efflux of cholesterol. In addition, plasma from FH patients contains elevated amounts of sterols and oxysterols. An increased uptake of oxidized as well as of native LDL by FH monocytes combined with a down-regulation of NPC1 and ABCA1 explains the lipid accumulation observed in these cells. Conclusion Our data demonstrate that circulating FH monocytes show differences in cell physiology that may contribute to the early onset of atherosclerosis in this disease.

Ancient bacteria show evidence of DNA repair

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Sarah Stewart; Hebsgaard, Martin B; Christensen, Torben R

2007-01-01

-term survival of bacteria sealed in frozen conditions for up to one million years. Our results show evidence of bacterial survival in samples up to half a million years in age, making this the oldest independently authenticated DNA to date obtained from viable cells. Additionally, we find strong evidence...... geological timescales. There has been no direct evidence in ancient microbes for the most likely mechanism, active DNA repair, or for the metabolic activity necessary to sustain it. In this paper, we couple PCR and enzymatic treatment of DNA with direct respiration measurements to investigate long...... that this long-term survival is closely tied to cellular metabolic activity and DNA repair that over time proves to be superior to dormancy as a mechanism in sustaining bacteria viability....

Effect of highly dispersed yttria addition on thermal stability of hydroxyapatite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parente, P.; Savoini, B.; Ferrari, B.; Monge, M.A.; Pareja, R.; Sanchez-Herencia, A.J.

2013-01-01

The capability of the colloidal method to produce yttria (Y 2 O 3 ) dispersed hydroxyapatite (HA) has been investigated as an alternative method to the conventional method of mechanical mixing and sintering for developing HA-based materials that could exhibit controllable and enhanced functional properties. A water based colloidal route to produce HA materials with highly dispersed Y 2 O 3 has been applied, and the effect of 10 wt.% Y 2 O 3 addition to HA investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These measurements evidence a remarkable effect of this Y 2 O 3 addition on decomposition mechanisms of synthetic HA. Results show that incorporation of Y 2 O 3 as dispersed second phase is beneficial because it hinders the decomposition mechanisms of HA into calcium phosphates. This retardation will allow the control of the sintering conditions for developing HA implants with improved properties. Besides, substitution of Ca 2+ with Y 3+ ions appears to promote the formation of OH − vacancies, which could improve the conductive properties of HA favorable to osseointegration. - Highlights: ► We reveal the influence of Y 2 O 3 on thermal stability of hydroxyapatite. ► Incorporation of Y 2 O 3 delays decomposition of hydroxyapatite to calcium phosphates. ► Addition of Y 2 O 3 enables sintering conditions more favorable to the densification.

Can Automated Facial Expression Analysis Show Differences Between Autism and Typical Functioning?

Science.gov (United States)

Borsos, Zsófia; Gyori, Miklos

2017-01-01

Exploratory analyses of emotional expressions using a commercially available facial expression recognition software are reported, from the context of a serious game for screening purposes. Our results are based on a comparative analysis of two matched groups of kindergarten-age children (high-functioning children with autism spectrum condition: n=13; typically developing children: n=13). Results indicate that this technology has the potential to identify autism-specific emotion expression features, and may play a role in affective diagnostic and assistive technologies.

Genomic Model with Correlation Between Additive and Dominance Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Tao; Christensen, Ole Fredslund; Vitezica, Zulma Gladis; Legarra, Andres

2018-05-09

Dominance genetic effects are rarely included in pedigree-based genetic evaluation. With the availability of single nucleotide polymorphism markers and the development of genomic evaluation, estimates of dominance genetic effects have become feasible using genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP). Usually, studies involving additive and dominance genetic effects ignore possible relationships between them. It has been often suggested that the magnitude of functional additive and dominance effects at the quantitative trait loci are related, but there is no existing GBLUP-like approach accounting for such correlation. Wellmann and Bennewitz showed two ways of considering directional relationships between additive and dominance effects, which they estimated in a Bayesian framework. However, these relationships cannot be fitted at the level of individuals instead of loci in a mixed model and are not compatible with standard animal or plant breeding software. This comes from a fundamental ambiguity in assigning the reference allele at a given locus. We show that, if there has been selection, assigning the most frequent as the reference allele orients the correlation between functional additive and dominance effects. As a consequence, the most frequent reference allele is expected to have a positive value. We also demonstrate that selection creates negative covariance between genotypic additive and dominance genetic values. For parameter estimation, it is possible to use a combined additive and dominance relationship matrix computed from marker genotypes, and to use standard restricted maximum likelihood (REML) algorithms based on an equivalent model. Through a simulation study, we show that such correlations can easily be estimated by mixed model software and accuracy of prediction for genetic values is slightly improved if such correlations are used in GBLUP. However, a model assuming uncorrelated effects and fitting orthogonal breeding values and dominant

Optimisation of amylase and xylanase addition in dependance of white flour amylase activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lončar Davor M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this study the effect of different quantities of added amylase to white wheat flours characterized with different activities of naturally existing amylases is tested. Response surface methodology is chosen to test the effects of main applied technological parameters on bread quality responses. Independent variables are chosen to be: quantity of added amylase and bulk fermentation time, while analysed responses are: specific volume, grain structure, bulk fermentation. Bread quality responses are statistically significant, while predicted and observed responses correspond very well, which allows good prediction of bread quality parameters based on applied technological parameters and flour characteristics. Score analysis shows that optimum quantity of amylase addition regarding bread quality depends on the activity of naturally existing amylases. Optimal quantity of added xylanase in bread samples made from both flour types is 0.004%. Xylanase improved properties of white wheat bread and higher effect is experienced with flour that has more active naturally existing amylases. Addition of amylase has statistically significantly increased a* values of crust. Addition of xylanase has statistically significantly decreased values of b* in comparison to the respective bread sample with only added amylase.

Improved Gasifier Availability with Bed Material and Additives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grootjes, A.J.; Van der Meijden, C.M.; Visser, H.J.M.; Van der Drift, A. [ECN Biomass and Energy Efficiency, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-07-15

In order to valorize several feedstock, gasification is one of the technologies developed over the past decades. ECN developed the MILENA gasifier. In order for MILENA to become a commercial success, the gasifier needs to be feedstock flexible, robust and economically sound, operating with high availability. One of the characteristics of MILENA is high efficiency but with a higher tar content, compared to some other Dual Fluidized Bed (DFB) gasifiers. In order to reduce the issues that are associated with high tar levels in the product gas, the effect of a number of primary measures was studied. This paper presents results obtained in the last two years, focused on improving the gasifier availability by conducting experiments in a 25 kWth lab scale MILENA gasifier. Amongst others, gas composition, tar content and calorific value of the product gas were compared. Scanning Electron Microscope analysis was used to investigate bed material changes. Results show that Austrian olivine can be activated by Fuel B as well as by Additive A and B. The water-gas shift reaction is enhanced and the tar content is reduced significantly, especially the heavy tars that dominate the tar dew point. Activated olivine has a calcium-rich layer. The results show that with MILENA, we are able to lower and control the tar dew point, which will possibly increase the availability of a MILENA gasifier.

B2-ordered iron-aluminium alloys strengthening. Influence of additions (Ni and B) and microstructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colas, David

2004-01-01

We study the effects of additions (Ni and B) and microstructure on the mechanical behaviour of 40 at. % Al iron-aluminium alloys. From a macroscopic point of view, we show that nickel reinforces FeAl alloys over the whole temperature range, but that it simultaneously leads to emphasize the room temperature brittleness of these alloys through a cleavage stress decrease. We confirm powder metallurgy grain refining interest to enhance yield stress as well as fracture resistance. We show that nickel-induced yield stress effect is additive to 'Hall-Petch' one. Also, we point out that the strengthening phenomena (nickel or grain size) cause the yield stress anomaly, which these alloys usually present, to be hidden. Through a dislocation structures analysis of deformed materials we precise that low temperature nickel-induced solid solution hardening (SSH) cannot be explained on the basis of classical SSH theories but more probably through nickel influence upon the Peierls stress. Moreover, we show that the APB tubes dragging model may be compatible with our microscopic and macroscopic results about the anomaly. Eventually, we put into relation a dynamic super-dislocations multiplication process observation (in situ transmission microscopy) with the nickel-containing alloys tendency to cleavage. (author) [fr

Use of inelastic analysis in cask design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ammerman, Douglas J.; Breivik, Nicole L.

2000-01-01

In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of inelastic analysis are discussed. Example calculations and designs showing the implications and significance of factors affecting inelastic analysis are given. From the results described in this paper it can be seen that inelastic analysis provides an improved method for the design of casks. It can also be seen that additional code and standards work is needed to give designers guidance in the use of inelastic analysis. Development of these codes and standards is an area where there is a definite need for additional work. The authors hope that this paper will help to define the areas where that need is most acute

Liquid Superlubricity of Polyethylene Glycol Aqueous Solution Achieved with Boric Acid Additive.

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Xiangyu; Li, Jinjin; Zhang, Chenhui; Luo, Jianbin

2018-03-27

Boric acid is a weak acid and has been used as a lubrication additive because of its special structure. In this study, we report that boric acid could achieve a robust superlubricity (μ friction coefficient of approximately 0.004-0.006 could be achieved with boric acid under neutral conditions (pH of approximately 6.4), which is different from the acidic conditions leading to superlubricity. The influence of various factors, including boric acid concentration, sliding speed, applied load, PEG molecular weight, and the volume of lubricant on the superlubricity, were investigated. The results reveal that the PEG aqueous solution with the boric acid additive could achieve superlubricity under a wide range of conditions. The surface composition analysis shows that the synergy effect between boric acid and PEG provides sufficient H + ions to realize the running-in process. Moreover, a composite tribochemical film composed of silica and ammonia-containing compounds were formed on the ball surface, contributing to the superlubricity. The film thickness calculation shows that superlubricity was achieved in a mixed lubrication region, and therefore, the superlubricity state was dominated by both the composite tribochemical film formed via the tribochemical reaction on the contact surfaces and the hydrodynamic lubricating film between the contact surfaces. Such a liquid superlubricity achieved under neutral conditions is of importance for both scientific understanding and engineering applications.

Comprehensive Behavioral Analysis of Male Ox1r−/− Mice Showed Implication of Orexin Receptor-1 in Mood, Anxiety, and Social Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, Md. G.; Shoji, Hirotaka; Soya, Shingo; Hondo, Mari; Miyakawa, Tsuyoshi; Sakurai, Takeshi

2015-01-01

Neuropeptides orexin A and orexin B, which are exclusively produced by neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area, play an important role in the regulation of a wide range of behaviors and homeostatic processes, including regulation of sleep/wakefulness states and energy homeostasis. The orexin system has close anatomical and functional relationships with systems that regulate the autonomic nervous system, emotion, mood, the reward system, and sleep/wakefulness states. Recent pharmacological studies using selective antagonists have suggested that orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) is involved in physiological processes that regulate emotion, the reward system, and autonomic nervous system. Here, we examined Ox1r−/− mice with a comprehensive behavioral test battery to screen additional OX1R functions. Ox1r−/− mice showed increased anxiety-like behavior, altered depression-like behavior, slightly decreased spontaneous locomotor activity, reduced social interaction, increased startle response, and decreased prepulse inhibition. These results suggest that OX1R plays roles in social behavior and sensory motor gating in addition to roles in mood and anxiety. PMID:26696848

Phosphate analysis of natural sausage casings preserved in brines with phosphate additives as inactivating agent - Method validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijnker, J J; Tjeerdsma-van Bokhoven, J L M; Veldhuizen, E J A

2009-01-01

Certain phosphates have been identified as suitable additives for the improvement of the microbial and mechanical properties of processed natural sausage casings. When mixed with NaCl (sodium chloride) and used under specific treatment and storage conditions, these phosphates are found to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever via treated casings. The commercially available Quantichrom™ phosphate assay kit has been evaluated as to whether it can serve as a reliable and low-tech method for routine analysis of casings treated with phosphate. The outcome of this study indicates that this particular assay kit has sufficient sensitivity to qualitatively determine the presence of phosphate in treated casings without interference of naturally occurring phosphate in salt used for brines in which casings are preserved.

Interfacial behavior of common food contact polymer additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Heiserman, W M; Can, S Z; Walker, R A; Begley, T H; Limm, W

2007-07-15

Irganox 1076 (IN1076) and Irganox 1010 (IN1010), phenol containing species often used as antioxidant additives in food packaging polymers have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups. Consequently these additives are likely to absorb to surfaces where their free energy is minimized. Experiments described in this work examine the two-dimensional phase behavior and vibrational structure of IN1076 and IN1010 films adsorbed to the air/water interface. Surface pressure isotherms show that repeated compression of these films leads to continued irreversible loss of molecules and that on a per molecule basis, this loss is more pronounced for IN1076 than for IN1010. Differences in the surface properties of these two antioxidant additives are interpreted based on differences in molecular structure. Surface specific vibrational measurements of these organic films show very little conformational order, implying that even when closely packed, both antioxidant species have little affinity for forming highly organized domains. These findings have important ramifications for mechanisms that reduce antioxidant activity in polymers as well as descriptions of antioxidant blooming on polymer surfaces.

Systematic analysis of DEMETER-like DNA glycosylase genes shows lineage-specific Smi-miR7972 involved in SmDML1 regulation in Salvia miltiorrhiza.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jiang; Li, Caili; Lu, Shanfa

2018-05-08

DEMETER-like DNA glycosylases (DMLs) initiate the base excision repair-dependent DNA demethylation to regulate a wide range of biological processes in plants. Six putative SmDML genes, termed SmDML1-SmDML6, were identified from the genome of S. miltiorrhiza, an emerging model plant for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) studies. Integrated analysis of gene structures, sequence features, conserved domains and motifs, phylogenetic analysis and differential expression showed the conservation and divergence of SmDMLs. SmDML1, SmDML2 and SmDML4 were significantly down-regulated by the treatment of 5Aza-dC, a general DNA methylation inhibitor, suggesting involvement of SmDMLs in genome DNA methylation change. SmDML1 was predicted and experimentally validated to be target of Smi-miR7972. Computational analysis of forty whole genome sequences and almost all of RNA-seq data from Lamiids revealed that MIR7972s were only distributed in some plants of the three orders, including Lamiales, Solanales and Boraginales, and the number of MIR7972 genes varied among species. It suggests that MIR7972 genes underwent expansion and loss during the evolution of some Lamiids species. Phylogenetic analysis of MIR7972s showed closer evolutionary relationships between MIR7972s in Boraginales and Solanales in comparison with Lamiales. These results provide a valuable resource for elucidating DNA demethylation mechanism in S. miltiorrhiza.

The influence of applying additional weight to the affected leg on gait patterns during aquatic treadmill walking in people poststroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Taeyou; Lee, Dokyeong; Charalambous, Charalambos; Vrongistinos, Konstantinos

2010-01-01

Jung T, Lee D, Charalambous C, Vrongistinos K. The influence of applying additional weight to the affected leg on gait patterns during aquatic treadmill walking in people poststroke. To investigate how the application of additional weights to the affected leg influences gait patterns of people poststroke during aquatic treadmill walking. Comparative gait analysis. University-based aquatic therapy center. Community-dwelling volunteers (n=22) with chronic hemiparesis caused by stroke. Not applicable. Spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters. The use of an ankle weight showed an increase in the stance phase percentage of gait cycle (3%, P=.015) when compared with no weight. However, the difference was not significant after a Bonferroni adjustment was applied for a more stringent statistical analysis. No significant differences were found in cadence and stride length. The use of an ankle weight showed a significant decrease of the peak hip flexion (7.9%, P=.001) of the affected limb as compared with no weight condition. This decrease was marked as the reduction of unwanted limb flotation because people poststroke typically show excessive hip flexion of the paretic leg in the late swing phase followed by fluctuating hip movements during aquatic treadmill walking. The frontal and transverse plane hip motions did not show any significant differences but displayed a trend of a decrease in the peak hip abduction during the swing phase with additional weights. The use of additional weight did not alter sagittal plane kinematics of the knee and ankle joints. The use of applied weight on the affected limb can reduce unwanted limb flotation on the paretic side during aquatic treadmill walking. It can also assist the stance stability by increasing the stance phase percentage closer to 60% of gait cycle. Both findings can contribute to the development of more efficient motor patterns in gait training for people poststroke. The use of a cuff weight does not seem to reduce the

Actinobacteria from Termite Mounds Show Antiviral Activity against Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus, a Surrogate Model for Hepatitis C Virus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Aiello Padilla

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Extracts from termite-associated bacteria were evaluated for in vitro antiviral activity against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV. Two bacterial strains were identified as active, with percentages of inhibition (IP equal to 98%. Both strains were subjected to functional analysis via the addition of virus and extract at different time points in cell culture; the results showed that they were effective as posttreatments. Moreover, we performed MTT colorimetric assays to identify the CC50, IC50, and SI values of these strains, and strain CDPA27 was considered the most promising. In parallel, the isolates were identified as Streptomyces through 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Specifically, CDPA27 was identified as S. chartreusis. The CDPA27 extract was fractionated on a C18-E SPE cartridge, and the fractions were reevaluated. A 100% methanol fraction was identified to contain the compound(s responsible for antiviral activity, which had an SI of 262.41. GC-MS analysis showed that this activity was likely associated with the compound(s that had a peak retention time of 5 min. Taken together, the results of the present study provide new information for antiviral research using natural sources, demonstrate the antiviral potential of Streptomyces chartreusis compounds isolated from termite mounds against BVDV, and lay the foundation for further studies on the treatment of HCV infection.

Laser-Based Additive Manufacturing of Zirconium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Himanshu Sahasrabudhe

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Additive manufacturing of zirconium is attempted using commercial Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENSTM technique. A LENSTM-based approach towards processing coatings and bulk parts of zirconium, a reactive metal, aims to minimize the inconvenience of traditional metallurgical practices of handling and processing zirconium-based parts that are particularly suited to small volumes and one-of-a-kind parts. This is a single-step manufacturing approach for obtaining near net shape fabrication of components. In the current research, Zr metal powder was processed in the form of coating on Ti6Al4V alloy substrate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS as well as phase analysis via X-ray diffraction (XRD were studied on these coatings. In addition to coatings, bulk parts were also fabricated using LENS™ from Zr metal powders, and measured part accuracy.

Ammonium nitrate: combustion mechanism and the role of additives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinditskii, Valery P.; Egorshev, Viacheslav Yu.; Levshenkov, Anton I.; Serushkin, Valery V. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, 9 Miusskaya Sq., 125047, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2005-09-01

This paper presents an analysis of the observed combustion behavior of AN mixtures with different additives, fuels, and energetic materials. It has been determined on the basis of flame structure investigation by fine tungsten-rhenium thermocouples that the surface temperature of AN is controlled by the dissociation reaction of the salt occurring at the surface. Results obtained have indicated that the leading reaction of combustion of AN doped with additives proceeds in the condensed phase up to pressures of 20-30 MPa. A reason for the inability of pure AN to burn is suggested and the role of additives in the combustion mechanism is discussed. (Abstract Copyright [2005], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Role of cerium, lanthanum, and strontium additions in an Al-Si-Mg (A356) alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nabawy, Ahmed M.; Samuel, Agnes M.; Samuel, Fawzy H. [Universite du Quebec, Chicoutimi (Canada). Dept. des Sciences Appliquees; Alkahtani, Saleh A.; Abuhasel, Khaled A. [Salman Bin Abdulaziz Univ., Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Mechanical Engineering Dept.

2016-05-15

The effects of individual and combined additions of cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La), and strontium (Sr) on the eutectic modification and solidification characteristics of an Al-Si-Mg (A356) aluminum alloy were investigated using optical microscopy and thermal analysis techniques. Addition of Ce, La, and Sr resulted in different depression levels of the eutectic nucleation temperature and eutectic growth undercooling, generating modified eutectic structures exhibiting different levels of modification. Microstructural results showed that the best modification levels using individual additions were achieved by Sr which produced a fine fibrous eutectic structure, followed by La, which produced a refined lamellar structure, with Ce providing the lowest level of modification. On the other hand, a combined addition of Ce and Sr provided the highest modification level, with the production of a very fine fibrous eutectic silicon structure. In general, the addition of Sr helped to further increase the refinement obtained in the alloys containing La or Ce + La additions. In the latter alloy, the main intermetallic phases observed were La(Al,Si){sub 2} and Al{sub 20}(La,Ce)Ti{sub 2}Si. The improved modification levels were found to be proportional to the depression in the eutectic nucleation temperature and the eutectic growth undercooling. A high cooling rate also improved the modification level by at least one level.

Gun Shows and Gun Violence: Fatally Flawed Study Yields Misleading Results

Science.gov (United States)

Hemenway, David; Webster, Daniel; Pierce, Glenn; Braga, Anthony A.

2010-01-01

A widely publicized but unpublished study of the relationship between gun shows and gun violence is being cited in debates about the regulation of gun shows and gun commerce. We believe the study is fatally flawed. A working paper entitled “The Effect of Gun Shows on Gun-Related Deaths: Evidence from California and Texas” outlined this study, which found no association between gun shows and gun-related deaths. We believe the study reflects a limited understanding of gun shows and gun markets and is not statistically powered to detect even an implausibly large effect of gun shows on gun violence. In addition, the research contains serious ascertainment and classification errors, produces results that are sensitive to minor specification changes in key variables and in some cases have no face validity, and is contradicted by 1 of its own authors’ prior research. The study should not be used as evidence in formulating gun policy. PMID:20724672

Influence of pentavalent dopant addition to polarization and bioactivity of hydroxyapatite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhal, Jharana; Bose, Susmita; Bandyopadhyay, Amit

2013-01-01

Influence of pentavalent tantalum doping in bulk hydroxyapatite (HAp) ceramics has been investigated for polarizability and bioactivity. Phase analysis from X-ray diffraction measurement indicates that increasing dopant concentration decreased the amount of HAp phase and increased β-TCP and/or α-TCP phases during sintering at 1250 °C in a muffle furnace. Results from thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) measurements showed that doping hindered charge storage ability in HAp ceramics, and doped samples stored fewer charge compared to pure HAp. However, doping enhanced wettability of HAp samples, which was improved further due to polarization. In vitro human osteoblast cell–material interaction study revealed an increase in bioactivity due to dopant addition and polarization compared to pure HAp. This increase in bioactivity was attributed to the increase in wettability due to surface charge and dopant addition. - Highlights: • Tantalum doping makes HAp unstable during sintering at 1250 °C and forms TCP. • Tantalum doping reduces charge storage ability of HAp ceramics. • Even with lower charge storage ability tantalum doping improves wettability. • Tantalum doping enhances bioactivity of calcium phosphate based sintered compacts

Additional EIPC Study Analysis: Interim Report on High Priority Topics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadley, Stanton W [ORNL

2013-11-01

Between 2010 and 2012 the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC) conducted a major long-term resource and transmission study of the Eastern Interconnection (EI). With guidance from a Stakeholder Steering Committee (SSC) that included representatives from the Eastern Interconnection States Planning Council (EISPC) among others, the project was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved a long-term capacity expansion analysis that involved creation of eight major futures plus 72 sensitivities. Three scenarios were selected for more extensive transmission- focused evaluation in Phase 2. Five power flow analyses, nine production cost model runs (including six sensitivities), and three capital cost estimations were developed during this second phase. The results from Phase 1 and 2 provided a wealth of data that could be examined further to address energy-related questions. A list of 13 topics was developed for further analysis; this paper discusses the first five.

Airline Overbooking Problem with Uncertain No-Shows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunxiao Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper considers an airline overbooking problem of a new single-leg flight with discount fare. Due to the absence of historical data of no-shows for a new flight, and various uncertain human behaviors or unexpected events which causes that a few passengers cannot board their aircraft on time, we fail to obtain the probability distribution of no-shows. In this case, the airlines have to invite some domain experts to provide belief degree of no-shows to estimate its distribution. However, human beings often overestimate unlikely events, which makes the variance of belief degree much greater than that of the frequency. If we still regard the belief degree as a subjective probability, the derived results will exceed our expectations. In order to deal with this uncertainty, the number of no-shows of new flight is assumed to be an uncertain variable in this paper. Given the chance constraint of social reputation, an overbooking model with discount fares is developed to maximize the profit rate based on uncertain programming theory. Finally, the analytic expression of the optimal booking limit is obtained through a numerical example, and the results of sensitivity analysis indicate that the optimal booking limit is affected by flight capacity, discount, confidence level, and parameters of the uncertainty distribution significantly.

Effect of Addition of Natural Antioxidants on the Shelf-Life of “Chorizo”, a Spanish Dry-Cured Sausage

Science.gov (United States)

Pateiro, Mirian; Bermúdez, Roberto; Lorenzo, José Manuel; Franco, Daniel

2015-01-01

The dose effect of the addition of natural antioxidants (tea, chestnut, grape seed and beer extracts) on physicochemical, microbiological changes and on oxidative stability of dry-cured “chorizo”, as well as their effect during the storage under vacuum conditions was evaluated. Color parameters were significantly (p antioxidants so that samples that contained antioxidants were more effective in maintaining color. The improving effects were dose-dependent with highest values with the dose of 50 mg/kg during ripening and depend on the extract during vacuum packaging. Addition of antioxidants decreased (p antioxidants matched or even improved the results obtained for butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Regarding texture profile analysis (TPA) analysis, hardness values significantly (p antioxidants, obtaining the lower results with the dose of 200 mg/kg both during ripening and vacuum packaging. Antioxidants reduced the counts of total viable counts (TVC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), mold and yeast. Free fatty acid content during ripening and under vacuum conditions showed a gradual and significant (p < 0.05) release as a result of lipolysis. At the end of ripening, the addition of GRA1000 protected chorizos from oxidative degradation. PMID:26785337

Reduction in secondary dendrite arm spacing in cast eutectic Al-Si piston alloys by cerium addition

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, R.; Asmael, M. B. A.; Shahizan, N. R.; Gandouz, S.

2017-01-01

The effects of Ce on the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) and mechanical behavior of Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys were investigated. The reduction of SDAS at different Ce concentrations was evaluated in a directional solidification experiment via computer-aided cooling curve thermal analysis (CA‒CCTA). The results showed that 0.1wt%-1.0wt% Ce addition resulted in a rapid solidification time, Δ t s, and low solidification temperature, Δ T S, whereas 0.1wt% Ce resulted in a fast solidification time, Δ t a-Al, of the α-Al phase. Furthermore, Ce addition refined the SDAS, which was reduced to approximately 36%. The mechanical properties of the alloys with and without Ce were investigated using tensile and hardness tests. The quality index ( Q) and ultimate tensile strength of (UTS) Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys significantly improved with the addition of 0.1wt% Ce. Moreover, the base alloy hardness was improved with increasing Ce concentration.

Studies of alumina additions in zirconia - magnesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muccillo, R.

1987-01-01

Ionic conductivity measurements have been carried out in the 500 0 C - 1000 0 C temperature range in Mg - PSZ (Partially Stabilized Zirconia) with 0.5 to 10 mol % alumina additions. All specimens were prepared by pressing followed by pre - and sintering at 1000 0 C/2h and1450 0 C/4h, respectively. Thermal histerysis of the ionic conductivity have been detected, probably due to phase changes in the Mg-PSZ samples. The results show that alumina additions up to 2.1% enhances densification with no major variations in electrical resistivity values. (Author) [pt

Rational design of cement composites containing pozzolanic additions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Keppert, M.; Urbanová, Martina; Brus, Jiří; Čáchová, M.; Fořt, J.; Trník, A.; Scheinherrová, L.; Záleská, M.; Černý, R.

2017-01-01

Roč. 148, 1 September (2017), s. 411-418 ISSN 0950-0618 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-13778S Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : cement composites * pozzolanic additions * XRD analysis Subject RIV: JN - Civil Engineering OBOR OECD: Civil engineering Impact factor: 3.169, year: 2016

Addition of docetaxel and/or zoledronic acid to standard of care for hormone-naive prostate cancer: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Pengfei; Wen, Feng; Fu, Ping; Yang, Yu; Li, Qiu

2017-07-31

The effectiveness of the addition of docetaxel and/or zoledronic acid to the standard of care (SOC) for hormone-naive prostate cancer has been evaluated in the STAMPEDE trial. The object of the present analysis was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these treatment options in the treatment of advanced hormone-naive prostate cancer in China. A cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model was carried out from the Chinese societal perspective. The efficacy data were obtained from the STAMPEDE trial and health utilities were derived from previous studies. Transition probabilities were calculated based on the survival in each group. The primary endpoint in the analysis was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), and model uncertainties were explored by 1-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. SOC alone generated an effectiveness of 2.65 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at a lifetime cost of $20,969.23. At a cost of $25,001.34, SOC plus zoledronic acid was associated with 2.69 QALYs, resulting in an ICER of $100,802.75/QALY compared with SOC alone. SOC plus docetaxel gained an effectiveness of 2.85 QALYs at a cost of $28,764.66, while the effectiveness and cost data in the SOC plus zoledronic acid/docetaxel group were 2.78 QALYs and $32,640.95. Based on the results of the analysis, SOC plus zoledronic acid, SOC plus docetaxel, and SOC plus zoledronic acid/docetaxel are unlikely to be cost-effective options in patients with advanced hormone-naive prostate cancer compared with SOC alone.

Chemical characteristic and functional properties of arenga starch-taro (Colocasia esculanta L.) flour noodle with turmeric extracts addition

Science.gov (United States)

Ervika Rahayu N., H.; Ariani, Dini; Miftakhussolikhah, E., Maharani P.; Yudi, P.

2017-01-01

Arenga starch-taro (Colocasia esculanta L.) flour noodle is an alternative carbohydrate source made from 75% arenga starch and 25% taro flour, but it has a different color with commercial noodle product. The addition of natural color from turmeric may change the consumer preference and affect chemical characteristic and functional properties of noodle. This research aims to identify chemical characteristic and functional properties of arenga starch-taro flour noodle with turmeric extract addition. Extraction was performed using 5 variances of turmeric rhizome (0.06; 0.12; 0.18; 0.24; and 0.30 g (fresh weight/ml water). Then, noodle was made and chemical characteristic (proximate analysis) as well as functional properties (amylose, resistant starch, dietary fiber, antioxidant activity) were then evaluated. The result showed that addition of turmeric extract did not change protein, fat, carbohydrate, amylose, and resistant starch content significantly, while antioxidant activity was increased (23,41%) with addition of turmeric extract.

Radon in Austrian tourist mines and show caves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ringer, W.; Graeser, J.

2009-01-01

The radon situation in tourist mines and show caves is barely investigated in Austria. This paper investigates the influence of its determining factors, such as climate, structure and geology. For this purpose, long-term time-resolved measurements over 6 to 12 months in 4 tourist mines and 2 show caves - with 5 to 9 measuring points each - have been carried out to obtain the course of radon concentration throughout the year. In addition, temperature and air-pressure were measured and compared to the data outside where available. Results suggest that the dominating factors of the average radon concentration are structure and location (geology) of the tunnel-system, whereas the diurnal and annual variation is mainly caused by the changing airflow, which is driven by the difference in temperature inside and outside. Downcast air is connected with very low radon concentrations, upcast air with high concentrations. In some locations the maximum values appear when the airflow ceases. But airflow can be different in different parts of mines and caves. Systems close to the surface show generally lower radon levels than the ones located deeper underground. Due to variation of structure, geology and local climate, the radon situation in mines and caves can only be described by simultaneous measurements at several measuring points. (orig.)

Fuel additive improves plant`s air quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kratch, K.

1995-07-01

Employees of a major pulp and paper manufacturer complained to the Michigan Department of Public Health that emissions from liquefied petroleum gas-powered fork-lifts used in one of the facility`s warehouses were making them ill. The new and tight building was locking in carbon monoxide emissions, according to the plant`s vehicle maintenance supervisor. Although LPG is a clean-burning fuel, it absorbs impurities from pipelines, resulting in emissions problems. After the company introduced a fuel additive to the LPG, employees` symptoms disappeared. According to the maintenance supervisor, there have been no complaints since the additive was introduced five years ago. A major US auto manufacturer also found the additive helpful in reducing carbon monoxide emissions from forklift trucks in a large parts warehouse to levels within OSHA limits. The carmaker conducted a test of 10 forklifts at its Toledo, Ohio, plant to determine the additive`s effectiveness. Trucks were equipped with new or rebuilt vaporizers, and their carburetors were adjusted for the lowest carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions levels prior to the test. According to Advanced Technology, five trucks were filled with LPG and treated with CGX-4, and five used fuel from the same stock but without the additive. All were operated 16 hours a day, six days a week without further tuning or adjusting. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions were measured at 30-, 45- and 65-day intervals. Test results show that all of the trucks using the additive maintained low levels of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions longer than trucks not using the additive.

Evaluation of PCDD/Fs characterization in animal feed and feed additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, MeeKyung; Kim, Sooyeon; Yun, Seon Jong; Kwon, Jin-Wook; Son, Seong-Wan

2007-09-01

Safety control of feed and feed additives is necessary to have safe food of animal origin. Based on media reports, nine incidents regarding dioxins and/or PCBs contaminations occurred worldwide during the last decade. Korea is a country which imports feed and feed additives. In this study, various kinds of feed and feed additives were analyzed to monitor the contamination level of dioxins. The level of PCDD/Fs in fish oil was the highest with a concentration of 23.33ngkg(-1), which is equivalent to a toxicological concentration of 4.68ngWHO-TEQ/kg. Feed from animals origin such as chicken meal, animal fat, fish meal, fish oil, and shell powder showed relatively higher concentrations of PCDD/Fs. Feed from plants origin, minerals, and additives ranged from non-detects for bit pulp and ethoxyquin to 8.28ngkg(-1) for dl-methionine. From a toxicological point of view, the highest concentration in vitamins was 0.08ngWHO-TEQ/kg among the feed additives. 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF was the dominant congener in samples of fish oil, fish meal, and shell powder. Animal fat showed that the pattern of PCDD/Fs depends on the sources of contamination. A sample of animal fat showed 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF and the other sample showed 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD as a primary congener. Generally, low levels of PCDDs were detected in feed additives. Patterns of PCDD/Fs in choline chloride were different with that in choline chloride from an incident in Europe in 2000.

Meta-analysis identifies 29 additional ulcerative colitis risk loci, increasing the number of confirmed associations to 47

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anderson, Carl A; Boucher, Gabrielle; Lees, Charlie W

2011-01-01

Genome-wide association studies and candidate gene studies in ulcerative colitis have identified 18 susceptibility loci. We conducted a meta-analysis of six ulcerative colitis genome-wide association study datasets, comprising 6,687 cases and 19,718 controls, and followed up the top association...... signals in 9,628 cases and 12,917 controls. We identified 29 additional risk loci (P associated loci to 47. After annotating associated regions using GRAIL, expression quantitative trait loci data and correlations with non-synonymous SNPs, we...... identified many candidate genes that provide potentially important insights into disease pathogenesis, including IL1R2, IL8RA-IL8RB, IL7R, IL12B, DAP, PRDM1, JAK2, IRF5, GNA12 and LSP1. The total number of confirmed inflammatory bowel disease risk loci is now 99, including a minimum of 28 shared association...

INFLUENCE OF NATURAL ADDITIVES ON PROTEIN COMPLEX OF BREAD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dana Urminská

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The study focuses on researching the influence of natural additives on certain technological characteristics of mixtures used for bread production, more particularly the influence of N substances in used raw material on selected qualitative parameters of bread. The blends for bread production to be analysed were prepared by mixing wheat flour with an addition of oat, buckwheat, lentil and chickpea wholegrain flour in different portions (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 %. The experiment showed that the addition of natural additives worsened the protein complex of the blends used in bread production (worsening also qualitative parameters known as product volume. The loaves prepared with an addition of buckwheat, oat, lentil and chickpea were evaluated to be of a lesser quality from a technological viewpoint when compared with pure wheat loaves. The lower content of gluten forming proteins and the generally changed protein composition of blends due to additives caused a lower percentage of wet gluten content, its lower extensibility and swelling capacity. The sedimentation value (Zeleny index decreased proportionally with the increase of addition until the level was unsatisfactory for raw material intended for bakery purposes. The N content in experimental loaves was higher than in the reference loaves and it increased according to the selected additive and its portion in the blend (more with the addition of lentil and chickpea, less in case of buckwheat and oat which is considered as positive from a nutritional point of view. But from the technological point of view the additives did not show any positive influence and caused a lower loaf bread volume. The most significant decrease of the loaf bread volume was found with the addition of 50 % of buckwheat (- 45.6 %. Better results were obtained with a lower portion of the additive: loaf with an addition of 30 % of chickpea (volume decreased by 12.8 % > loaf with an addition of 30 % of lentil (volume

Magnetic resonance imaging in the preoperative setting for breast cancer patients with undetected additional disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Barco, Israel; Chabrera, Carolina; García-Fernández, Antonio; Fraile, Manel; Vidal, MCarmen; González, Sonia; Lain, Jose María; Reñé, Assumpta; Canales, Lidia; Vallejo, Elena; Deu, Jordi; Pessarrodona, Antoni; Giménez, Nuria; García-Font, Marc

2016-10-01

The last few years have witnessed a significant increase in the preoperative use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for staging purposes in breast cancer (BC) patients. Many studies have confirmed the improvement that MRI can provide in terms of diagnostic assessment, especially with regard to additional disease foci. In the present study, we address the advantages and disadvantages of MRI in the preoperative setting for BC patients. There were 1513 consecutive breast MRI studies performed in patients with either primary or recurrent BC, who were scheduled for surgery. Beyond the primary lesion, 10.4% of our cases had additional disease at the final histological assessment. MRI overall sensitivity, when considering tumour size and additional foci together, was 74.3%, and 80.3% when considering additional foci exclusively. MRI specificity for additional disease was 95.3%, positive predictive value was 77.4%, and negative predictive value was 94.6%. Nevertheless, 5% of cases had additional tumours that were missed by MRI or, conversely, had additional foci on MRI that were not confirmed by histology. Age (p=0.020) and lobular carcinomas (p=0.030) showed significance in the multivariate analysis by logistic regression, using the presence of additional foci diagnosed by MRI as a dependent variable. Preoperative MRI seems to have a role in preoperative tumour staging for breast cancer patients, as it discloses additional disease foci in some patients, including contralateral involvement. However, given the lack of absolute accuracy, core-needle biopsy cannot be neglected in the diagnosis of such additional malignant foci, which could result in a change in surgical treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to build institutionalization on students: a pilot experiment on a didactical design of addition and subtraction involving negative integers

Science.gov (United States)

Fuadiah, N. F.; Suryadi, D.; Turmudi

2018-05-01

This study focuses on the design of a didactical situation in addition and subtraction involving negative integers at the pilot experiment phase. As we know, negative numbers become an obstacle for students in solving problems related to them. This study aims to create a didactical design that can assist students in understanding the addition and subtraction. Another expected result in this way is that students are introduced to the characteristics of addition and subtraction of integers. The design was implemented on 32 seventh grade students in one of the classes in a junior secondary school as the pilot experiment. Learning activities were observed thoroughly including the students’ responses that emerged during the learning activities. The written documentation of the students was also used to support the analysis in the learning activities. The results of the analysis showed that this method could help the students perform a large number of integer operations that could not be done with a number line. The teacher’s support as a didactical potential contract was still needed to encourage institutionalization processes. The results of the design analysis used as the basis of the revision are expected to be implemented by the teacher in the teaching experiment.

Additional Analysis of the ESTCP Discrimination Study Data at Camp Sibert, Alabama. Project 200504: Practical Discrimination Strategies for Application to Live Sites

Science.gov (United States)

2008-10-20

Dr. Stephen Billings Dr. Leonard Pasion Sky Research, Inc) Laurens Beran UBC-GIF Approved for public release; distribution...Sites 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Contract # W912HQ-05-C-0018 6. AUTHOR(S) Dr. Stephen Billings, Dr. Leonard Pasion (Sky Research, Inc.) Laurens Beran...representative of the test datasets. ESTCP MM-0504: Additional Analysis of Camp Sibert Data Sky Research Inc October 2008 References [1] L.R. Pasion , N

Some azine and azole derivatives as antioxidant additives for lithium lubricating grease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reda M. Fikry

2013-06-01

The structure of these compounds has been confirmed using elemental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy. On the other hand, lithium lubricating grease was prepared and evaluated according to the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI and Egyptian Standard (ES. The antioxidant compounds were tested for the prepared grease with concentration 0.1 wt.%. The efficiency of these compounds has been determined using total acid number. It was found that the prepared lithium grease resists oxidation reaction in the presence of these compounds. A correlation between the chemical structure of these compounds and their efficiency as antioxidants additives was discussed. Data showed that the efficiency of these compounds as antioxidants decreases in the order: compound I > compound II > compound III.

Effect of zirconium addition on the microstructure and performance of carbon foam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Wanqian [State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China); Zhang Hongbo, E-mail: wanqian20089@126.com [State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China); Xiong Xiang; Xiao Feng [State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China)

2010-05-15

A novel carbon foam was prepared from mixtures of mesophase pitch and dopant (zirconium), followed by foaming, carbonization and graphitization. The influence of Zr on the microstructure and properties of these foams was analyzed. Results have shown that Zr can promote the graphitization degree of carbon foams, which lead to an increase of thermal conductivity. The high bulk thermal conductivity of 63 W/m K was achieved with an addition of 3 wt% at heat treatment temperature of 2573 K. The d{sub 002} spacings of graphitic foams are found to decrease with the increase of dopant concentration in the pitch. SEM analysis also showed micro-cracks at the ligament of the doped graphitic foam, which might be responsible for the decrease of the compressive strength.

Dynamic 11C-methionine PET analysis has an additional value for differentiating malignant tumors from granulomas: an experimental study using small animal PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Songji; Zhao, Yan; Kuge, Yuji; Hatano, Toshiyuki; Yi, Min; Kohanawa, Masashi; Magota, Keiichi; Tamaki, Nagara; Nishijima, Ken-ichi

2011-01-01

We evaluated whether the dynamic profile of L- 11 C-methionine ( 11 C-MET) may have an additional value in differentiating malignant tumors from granulomas in experimental rat models by small animal positron emission tomography (PET). Rhodococcus aurantiacus and allogenic rat C6 glioma cells were inoculated, respectively, into the right and left calf muscles to generate a rat model bearing both granulomas and tumors (n = 6). Ten days after the inoculations, dynamic 11 C-MET PET was performed by small animal PET up to 120 min after injection of 11 C-MET. The next day, after overnight fasting, the rats were injected with 18 F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose ( 18 F-FDG), and dynamic 18 F-FDG PET was performed up to 180 min. The time-activity curves, static images, and mean standardized uptake value (SUV) in the lesions were calculated. 11 C-MET uptake in the granuloma showed a slow exponential clearance after an initial distribution, while the uptake in the tumor gradually increased with time. The dynamic pattern of 11 C-MET uptake in the granuloma was significantly different from that in the tumor (p 11 C-MET, visual assessment and SUV analysis could not differentiate the tumor from the granuloma in all cases, although the mean SUV in the granuloma (1.48 ± 0.09) was significantly lower than that in the tumor (1.72 ± 0.18, p 18 F-FDG in the granuloma were similar to those in the tumor (p = NS). Dynamic 11 C-MET PET has an additional value for differentiating malignant tumors from granulomatous lesions, which deserves further elucidation in clinical settings. (orig.)

Gut Transcriptome Analysis Shows Different Food Utilization Efficiency by the Grasshopper Oedaleous asiaticus (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xunbing; McNeill, Mark Richard; Ma, Jingchuan; Qin, Xinghu; Tu, Xiongbing; Cao, Guangchun; Wang, Guangjun; Nong, Xiangqun; Zhang, Zehua

2017-08-01

Oedaleus asiaticus B. Bienko is a persistent pest occurring in north Asian grasslands. We found that O. asiaticus feeding on Stipa krylovii Roshev. had higher approximate digestibility (AD), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD), compared with cohorts feeding on Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel, Artemisia frigida Willd., or Cleistogenes squarrosa (Trin.) Keng. Although this indicated high food utilization efficiency for S. krylovii, the physiological processes and molecular mechanisms underlying these biological observations are not well understood. Transcriptome analysis was used to examine how gene expression levels in O. asiaticus gut are altered by feeding on the four plant species. Nymphs (fifth-instar female) that fed on S. krylovii had the largest variation in gene expression profiles, with a total of 88 genes significantly upregulated compared with those feeding on the other three plants, mainly including nutrition digestive genes of protein, carbohydrate, and lipid digestion. GO and KEGG enrichment also showed that feeding S. krylovii could upregulate the nutrition digestion-related molecular function, biological process, and pathways. These changes in transcripts levels indicate that the physiological processes of activating nutrition digestive enzymes and metabolism pathways can well explain the high food utilization of S. krylovii by O. asiaticus. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Effect of Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing on Integrated Printed Electronic Conductors

Science.gov (United States)

Bournias-Varotsis, Alkaios; Wang, Shanda; Hutt, David; Engstrøm, Daniel S.

2018-07-01

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) is a low temperature manufacturing method capable of embedding printed electronics in metal components. The effect of UAM processing on the resistivity of conductive tracks printed with five different conductive pastes based on silver, copper or carbon flakes/particles in either a thermoplastic or thermoset filler binder are investigated. For all but the carbon-based paste, the resistivity changed linearly with the UAM energy input. After UAM processing, a resistivity increase of more than 150 times was recorded for the copper based thermoset paste. The silver based pastes showed a resistivity increase of between 1.1 and 50 times from their initial values. The carbon-based paste showed no change in resistivity after UAM processing. Focussed ion beam microstructure analysis of the printed conductive tracks before and after UAM processing showed that the silver particles and flakes in at least one of the pastes partly dislodged from their thermoset filler creating voids, thereby increasing the resistivity, whereas the silver flakes in a thermoplastic filler did not dislodge due to material flow of the polymer binder. The lowest resistivity (8 × 10-5 Ω cm) after UAM processing was achieved for a thermoplastic paste with silver flakes at low UAM processing energy.

The Effect of Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing on Integrated Printed Electronic Conductors

Science.gov (United States)

Bournias-Varotsis, Alkaios; Wang, Shanda; Hutt, David; Engstrøm, Daniel S.

2018-03-01

Ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) is a low temperature manufacturing method capable of embedding printed electronics in metal components. The effect of UAM processing on the resistivity of conductive tracks printed with five different conductive pastes based on silver, copper or carbon flakes/particles in either a thermoplastic or thermoset filler binder are investigated. For all but the carbon-based paste, the resistivity changed linearly with the UAM energy input. After UAM processing, a resistivity increase of more than 150 times was recorded for the copper based thermoset paste. The silver based pastes showed a resistivity increase of between 1.1 and 50 times from their initial values. The carbon-based paste showed no change in resistivity after UAM processing. Focussed ion beam microstructure analysis of the printed conductive tracks before and after UAM processing showed that the silver particles and flakes in at least one of the pastes partly dislodged from their thermoset filler creating voids, thereby increasing the resistivity, whereas the silver flakes in a thermoplastic filler did not dislodge due to material flow of the polymer binder. The lowest resistivity (8 × 10-5 Ω cm) after UAM processing was achieved for a thermoplastic paste with silver flakes at low UAM processing energy.

Structural and biocompatibility properties of dextran from Weissella cibaria JAG8 as food additive.

Science.gov (United States)

Tingirikari, Jagan Mohan Rao; Kothari, Damini; Shukla, Rishikesh; Goyal, Arun

2014-09-01

Dextran produced from Weissella cibaria JAG8 was purified and characterized. The molecular mass of dextran as determined by the gel filtration and copper bicinchoninate method was approximately, 800 kDa. Monosaccharide analysis revealed that the polysaccharide comprised only glucose units. Dynamic light scattering study confirmed the mono-disperse nature of dextran with hydrodynamic radius of 900 nm. Surface morphology study of dextran by scanning electron microscopy showed the porous web like structure. Cytotoxicity studies on human cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line showed non-toxic and biocompatible nature of dextran. The relative browning for dextran from W. cibaria JAG8 was similar to commercial prebiotic Nutraflora P-95 and 3-fold lower than Raftilose P-95. Synthesis of dextran by dextransucrase treated, sucrose-supplemented skimmed milk revealed the promising potential of dextran as a food additive.

Analysis of emergency department waiting lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urška Močnik

2014-10-01

show that emergency department teams face overcrowding at certain periods. This is particularly challenging for employees performing 24-hour standbys, when they are working at the limit of their capacity. The results show that the total cost of waiting lines with two physicians is higher in all cases. The introduction of an additional channel or employing an additional physician increases the total cost by 35 to 50 %. Employing an additional physician is therefore not economically justified.Conclusion: This study showed how a computer model can be used to improve the information basis for decision-making in healthcare organization management. Based on quantitative data obtained by using a model with alternative scenarios, we developed an economic analysis of alternatives and made a decision. The cost analysis of potentially employing an additional physician showed that the cost would exceed the benefits obtained in all scenarios analyzed. The proposed decision-support method can be implemented at a very low cost in all healthcare organizations dealing with similar problems.

Zero additives preservation of Raphia palm wine | Dioha ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Palm wine obtained from Raphia palm (Raphia hookeri) in Ayingba, Kogi State, Nigeria, was pasteurized through zero addition of preservative and placed on the shelf for 6 months. After 6 months, another sample of palm wine obtained from the same area was fetched and comparative analysis was carried out on both wine ...

The effect of silver (Ag) addition to mechanical and electrical properties of copper alloy (Cu) casting product

Science.gov (United States)

Felicia, Dian M.; Rochiem, R.; Laia, Standley M.

2018-04-01

Copper have good mechanical properties and good electrical conductivities. Therefore, copper usually used as electrical components. Silver have better electrical conductivities than copper. Female contact resistor is one of the electrical component used in circuit breaker. This study aims to analyze the effect of silver addition to hardness, strength, and electric conductivity properties of copper alloy. This study uses variation of 0; 0.035; 0.07; 0.1 wt. % Ag (silver) addition to determine the effect on mechanical properties and electrical properties of copper alloy through sand casting process. Modelling of thermal analysis and structural analysis was calculated to find the best design for the sand casting experiments. The result of Cu-Ag alloy as cast will be characterized by OES test, metallography test, Brinell hardness test, tensile test, and LCR meter test. The result of this study showed that the addition of silver increase mechanical properties of Cu-Ag. The maximum hardness value of this alloy is 83.1 HRB which is Cu-0.01 Ag and the lowest is 52.26 HRB which is pure Cu. The maximum strength value is 153.2 MPa which is Cu-0.07 Ag and the lowest is 94.6 MPa which is pure Cu. Silver addition decrease electrical properties of this alloy. The highest electric conductivity is 438.98 S/m which is pure Cu and the lowest is 52.61 S.m which is Cu-0.1 Ag.

The negative effect of Zr addition on the high temperature strength in alumina-forming austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Joonoh; Jang, Min-Ho; Kang, Jun-Yun; Lee, Tae-Ho

2014-01-01

The effect of a Zr addition on the precipitation behavior and mechanical properties in Nb-containing alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) stainless steels was investigated using tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) analysis. The TEM observation showed that a Zr addition led to the formation of a (Nb,Zr)(C,N) complex particle, which coarsened the Nb-rich carbonitride. Tensile tests were performed at an elevated temperature (700 °C), and both the tensile and yield strengths decreased with a Zr addition. This unexpected result of a Zr addition was due to the reduction of the precipitation strengthening by particle coarsening. - Highlights: • The effect of Zr on high temperature strength in AFA steel containing Nb was studied. • Both the tensile and yield strengths of an AFA steel decreased with Zr-addition. • This is due to the reduction of precipitation strengthening by particle coarsening. • Nb(C,N) and (Nb,Zr)(C,N) particles were precipitated in an AFA and Zr-added AFA steel. • The size of (Nb,Zr)(C,N) particle is much bigger than that of Nb(C,N) particle

Additive derivations on algebras of measurable operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayupov, Sh.A.; Kudaybergenov, K.K.

2009-08-01

Given a von Neumann algebra M we introduce the so-called central extension mix(M) of M. We show that mix(M) is a *-subalgebra in the algebra LS(M) of all locally measurable operators with respect to M, and this algebra coincides with LS(M) if and only if M does not admit type II direct summands. We prove that if M is a properly infinite von Neumann algebra then every additive derivation on the algebra mix(M) is inner. This implies that on the algebra LS(M), where M is a type I ∞ or a type III von Neumann algebra, all additive derivations are inner derivations. (author)

Microstructure investigation and first-principle analysis of die-cast AZ91 alloy with calcium addition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, L.; Wang, F.; Yang, L.; Chen, L.J.; Liu, Z.; Wang, Y.M.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Die-cast AZ91 with Ca addition was investigated experimentally and theoretically. → Precipitation sequence was confirmed with increasing Ca addition. → Phase stability difference was verified by first-principle calculation. → Valence configurations were associated with alloying effects of Al, Mg and Ca. - Abstract: In order to get improved mechanical properties of die-cast AZ91 alloy under elevated temperatures, Ca element was added as a cost-effective alloying constituent. It appeared that minor Ca addition less than 0.5 wt% would result in no apparent change in microstructure, but the tensile strength at elevated temperatures was improved considerably. When increasing Ca addition to more than 1.0 wt%, Al 2 Ca phase will precipitate during solidification, no Mg 2 Ca phase was discovered. Homogeneous microstructure and high temperature stability in tensile strength of die-cast AZ91 alloy with Ca addition was mainly attributed to the precipitation of Al 2 Ca phase, which considerably refined the bulky β-Mg 17 Al 12 phase distributed originally at the grain boundaries of die-cast AZ91 alloy with no Ca addition. The priority of Al 2 Ca phase compared to Mg 2 Ca phase in precipitation sequence was verified by first-principle calculation of their cohesive energy and formation enthalpy, and can also be associated with more bounding electrons between Al and Ca atoms.

Improving Performance of Software Implemented Floating Point Addition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hindborg, Andreas Erik; Karlsson, Sven

2011-01-01

We outline and evaluate hardware extensions to an integer processor pipeline which allow IEEE 754 oating point, FP, addition to be eciently implemented in software. With a very moderate increase in hardware resources, our perfor- mance evaluation shows that, for a benchmark that executes 12.5% FP...... addition instructions, our approach exhibits a rel- ative slowdown of 3.38 to 15.15 as compared to dedicated hardware. This is a signicant improvement of pure software emulation which leads to relative slowdowns up to 45.33....

Flame Retardant Polyamide Fibres: The Challenge of Minimising Flame Retardant Additive Contents with Added Nanoclays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Horrocks

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This work shows that halogen-free, flame retarded polyamide 6 (PA6, fabrics may be produced in which component fibres still have acceptable tensile properties and low levels (preferably ≤10 wt % of additives by incorporating a nanoclay along with two types of flame retardant formulations. The latter include (i aluminium diethyl phosphinate (AlPi at 10 wt %, known to work principally in the vapour phase and (ii ammonium sulphamate (AS/dipentaerythritol (DP system present at 2.5 and 1 wt % respectively, believed to be condense phase active. The nanoclay chosen is an organically modified montmorillonite clay, Cloisite 25A. The effect of each additive system is analysed in terms of its ability to maximise both filament tensile properties relative to 100% PA6 and flame retardant behaviour of knitted fabrics in a vertical orientation. None of the AlPi-containing formulations achieved self-extinguishability, although the presence of nanoclay promoted lower burning and melt dripping rates. The AS/DP-containing formulations with total flame retardant levels of 5.5 wt % or less showed far superior properties and with nanoclay, showed fabric extinction times ≤ 39 s and reduced melt dripping. The tensile and flammability results, supported by thermogravimetric analysis, have been interpreted in terms of the mechanism of action of each flame retardant/nanoclay type.

Influence of reaction products of K-getter fuel additives on commercial vanadia-based SCR catalysts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castellino, Francesco; Jensen, Anker Degn; Johnsson, Jan Erik

2009-01-01

, deactivation rates up to 3%/day have been measured. The spent catalysts have been characterized by bulk chemical analysis, Hg-porosimetry and SEM-EDX. NH3-chemisorption tests on the spent elements and activity tests on catalyst powders obtained by crushing the monoliths have also been carried out. The catalyst...... characterization has shown that poisoning by K is the main deactivation mechanism. The results show that binding K in K–P salts will not reduce the rate of catalyst deactivation....... as a K-getter additive. The formed aerosols have been characterized by using both a SMPS system and a low pressure cascade impactor, showing a dual-mode volume-based size distribution with a first peak at around 30 nm and a second one at diameters >1 μm. The different peaks have been associated...

Effects of nitrogen addition on soil microbes and their implications for soil C emission in the Gurbantunggut Desert, center of the Eurasian Continent.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Gang; Cao, Yan Feng; Wang, Bin; Li, Yan

2015-05-15

Nitrogen (N) deposition can influence carbon cycling of terrestrial ecosystems. However, a general recognition of how soil microorganisms respond to increasing N deposition is not yet reached. We explored soil microbial responses to two levels of N addition (2.5 and 5 gN m(-2) yr(-1)) in interplant soil and beneath shrubs of Haloxylon ammodendron and their consequences to soil respiration in the Gurbantunggut Desert, northwestern China from 2011 to 2013. Microbial biomass and respiration were significantly higher beneath H. ammodendron than in interplant soil. The responses of microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial respiration (MR) showed opposite responses to N addition in interplant and beneath H. ammodendron. N addition slightly increased MBC and MR in interplant soil and decreased them beneath H. ammodendron, with a significant inhibition only in 2012. N addition had no impacts on the total microbial physiological activity, but N addition decreased the labile carbon substrate utilization beneath H. ammodendron when N addition level was high. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis showed that N addition did not alter the soil microbial community structure as evidenced by the similar ratios of fungal to bacterial PLFAs and gram-negative to gram-positive bacterial PLFAs. Microbial biomass and respiration showed close correlations with soil water content and dissolved carbon, and they were independent of soil inorganic nitrogen across three years. Our study suggests that N addition effects on soil microorganisms and carbon emission are dependent on the respiratory substrates and water availability in the desert ecosystem. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of additive outliers on tests for unit roots and cointegration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans); N. Haldrup (Niels)

1994-01-01

textabstractThe properties of the univariate Dickey-Fuller test and the Johansen test for the cointegrating rank when there exist additive outlying observations in the time series are examined. The analysis provides analytical as well as numerical evidence that additive outliers may produce spurious

Application of Natural Mineral Additives in Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Linek, Malgorzata; Nita, Piotr; Wolka, Paweł; Zebrowski, Wojciech

2017-12-01

The article concerns the idea of using selected mineral additives in the pavement quality concrete composition. The basis of the research paper was the modification of cement concrete intended for airfield pavements. The application of the additives: metakaolonite and natural zeolite was suggested. Analyses included the assessment of basic physical properties of modifiers. Screening analysis, assessment of micro structure and chemical microanalysis were conducted in case of these materials. The influence of the applied additives on the change of concrete mix parameters was also presented. The impact of zeolite and metakaolinite on the mix density, oxygen content and consistency class was analysed. The influence of modifiers on physical and mechanical changes of the hardened cement concrete was discussed (concrete density, compressive strength and bending strength during fracturing) in diversified research periods. The impact of the applied additives on the changes of internal structure of cement concrete was discussed. Observation of concrete micro structure was conducted using the scanning electron microscope. According to the obtained lab test results, parameters of the applied modifiers and their influence on changes of internal structure of cement concrete are reflected in the increase of mechanical properties of pavement quality concrete. The increase of compressive and bending strength in case of all analysed research periods was proved.

Additive manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mumith, A; Thomas, M; Shah, Z; Coathup, M; Blunn, G

2018-04-01

Increasing innovation in rapid prototyping (RP) and additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is bringing about major changes in translational surgical research. This review describes the current position in the use of additive manufacturing in orthopaedic surgery. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:455-60.

Emissions from a Diesel Engine using Fe-based Fuel Additives and a Sintered Metal Filtration System.

Science.gov (United States)

Bugarski, Aleksandar D; Hummer, Jon A; Stachulak, Jozef S; Miller, Arthur; Patts, Larry D; Cauda, Emanuele G

2016-03-01

A series of laboratory tests were conducted to assess the effects of Fe-containing fuel additives on aerosols emitted by a diesel engine retrofitted with a sintered metal filter (SMF) system. Emission measurements performed upstream and downstream of the SMF system were compared, for cases when the engine was fueled with neat ultralow sulfur diesel (ULSD) and with ULSD treated with two formulations of additives containing Fe-based catalysts. The effects were assessed for four steady-state engine operating conditions and one transient cycle. The results showed that the SMF system reduced the average total number and surface area concentrations of aerosols by more than 100-fold. The total mass and elemental carbon results confirmed that the SMF system was indeed very effective in the removal of diesel aerosols. When added at the recommended concentrations (30 p.p.m. of iron), the tested additives had minor adverse impacts on the number, surface area, and mass concentrations of filter-out (FOut) aerosols. For one of the test cases, the additives may have contributed to measurable concentrations of engine-out (EOut) nucleation mode aerosols. The additives had only a minor impact on the concentration and size distribution of volatile and semi-volatile FOut aerosols. Metal analysis showed that the introduction of Fe with the additives substantially increased Fe concentration in the EOut, but the SMF system was effective in removal of Fe-containing aerosols. The FOut Fe concentrations for all three tested fuels were found to be much lower than the corresponding EOut Fe concentrations for the case of untreated ULSD fuel. The results support recommendations that these additives should not be used in diesel engines unless they are equipped with exhaust filtration systems. Since the tested SMF system was found to be very efficient in removing Fe introduced by the additives, the use of these additives should not result in a measurable increase in emissions of de novo generated

Targeted Structural Optimization with Additive Manufacturing of Metals

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Adam; Hull, Patrick

2015-01-01

The recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) of metals have now improved the state-of-the-art such that traditionally non-producible parts can be readily produced in a cost-effective way. Because of these advances in manufacturing technology, structural optimization techniques are well positioned to supplement and advance this new technology. The goal of this project is to develop a structural design, analysis, and optimization framework combined with AM to significantly light-weight the interior of metallic structures while maintaining the selected structural properties of the original solid. This is a new state-of-the-art capability to significantly reduce mass, while maintaining the structural integrity of the original design, something that can only be done with AM. In addition, this framework will couple the design, analysis, and fabrication process, meaning that what has been designed directly represents the produced part, thus closing the loop on the design cycle and removing human iteration between design and fabrication. This fundamental concept has applications from light-weighting launch vehicle components to in situ resource fabrication.

Flatbed scanners as a source of imaging. Brightness assessment and additives determination in a nickel electroplating bath.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, M; Amigo, J M; Bro, R; Ostra, M; Ubide, C; Zuriarrain, J

2011-05-23

Desktop flatbed scanners are very well-known devices that can provide digitized information of flat surfaces. They are practically present in most laboratories as a part of the computer support. Several quality levels can be found in the market, but all of them can be considered as tools with a high performance and low cost. The present paper shows how the information obtained with a scanner, from a flat surface, can be used with fine results for exploratory and quantitative purposes through image analysis. It provides cheap analytical measurements for assessment of quality parameters of coated metallic surfaces and monitoring of electrochemical coating bath lives. The samples used were steel sheets nickel-plated in an electrodeposition bath. The quality of the final deposit depends on the bath conditions and, especially, on the concentration of the additives in the bath. Some additives become degraded with the bath life and so is the quality of the plate finish. Analysis of the scanner images can be used to follow the evolution of the metal deposit and the concentration of additives in the bath. Principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to find significant differences in the coating of sheets, to find directions of maximum variability and to identify odd samples. The results found are favorably compared with those obtained by means of specular reflectance (SR), which is here used as a reference technique. Also the concentration of additives SPB and SA-1 along a nickel bath life can be followed using image data handled with algorithms such as partial least squares (PLS) regression and support vector regression (SVR). The quantitative results obtained with these and other algorithms are compared. All this opens new qualitative and quantitative possibilities to flatbed scanners. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of additive tariffs in the electricity sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apolinario, I.; Felizardo, N.; Leite Garcia, A.; Oliveira, P.; Trindade, A.; Vasconcelos, J.; Verdelho, P.

2004-01-01

This paper presents and discusses a methodology for the calculation and application of tariffs in the electricity sector based on the principle of tariff additivity. It shows how such tariffs can reflect costs and assure the absence of cross subsidies between clients. The methodology presented was adopted in the Portuguese Tariff Code for electricity by the Portuguese Energy Regulator (ERSE). The work presented in this article reflects the experience acquired by ERSE during the preparation, discussion and implementation of that Code. Allowed revenues are determined separately for every regulated activity, assuring that there are no cross subsidies between activities. Additionally, the application of the tariff additivity principle assures the nonexistence of cross subsidies between consumers. Regulated tariffs applicable to end users of electricity are determined by summation, variable by variable, of the different activity tariffs in accordance with the services the costumer uses and in the proportion of that use. The corollary is that if the different activity tariffs are cost reflective and promote efficiency in resource allocation, the tariffs applicable to consumers (access tariffs or integral tariffs) will also reflect costs in the same manner. Therefore, besides economic efficiency, equity between non binding system consumers and binding system consumers is promoted. The examples presented in the article intend to show how additive tariffs reflect costs giving adequate economic price signals for the rational use of the networks and electric energy consumption

Transfer of Training in Simple Addition.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yalin; Campbell, Jamie I D

2017-04-18

In recent years several researchers have proposed that skilled adults may solve single-digit addition problems (e.g. 3 + 1 = 4, 4 + 3 = 7) using a fast counting procedure. Practicing a procedure, often leads to transfer of learning and faster performance of unpracticed items. Such transfer has been demonstrated using a counting-based alphabet arithmetic task (e.g., B + 4 = C D E F) that indicated robust generalization of practice (i.e., RT gains) when untrained transfer problems at test had been implicitly practiced (e.g., practice B + 3, test B + 2 or B + 1). Here we constructed analogous simple addition problems (practice 4 + 3, test 4 + 2 or 4 + 1). In each of three experiments (total n = 108) participants received six practice blocks followed by two test blocks of new problems to examine generalization effects. Practice of addition identity-rule problems (i.e., 0 + N = N) showed complete transfer of RT gains made during practice to unpracticed items at test. In contrast, the addition ties (2 + 2, 3 + 3, etc.) presented large RT costs for unpracticed problems at test, but sped up substantially in the second test block. This pattern is consistent with item-specific strengthening of associative memory. The critical items were small non-tie additions (sum ≤ 10) for which the test problems would be implicitly practiced if counting was employed during practice. In all three experiments (and collectively) there was no evidence of generalization for these items in the first test block, but there was robust speed up when the items were repeated in the second test block. Thus, there was no evidence of the generalization of practice that would be expected if counting procedures mediated our participants' performance on small non-tie addition problems.

Studies on Juice Quality Obtained from Pomegranate and Various Vegetables Additions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anamaria Pop

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the interest in antioxidants, mainly present in fruits and vegetables, has prompted research in the field of commercial beverages. Taking into account new requirements to improve the quality of feeding behaviour by getting juices without added sugar, the consumer health benefits and high organoleptics properties, it was decided to study the correlation quality of raw pomegranates with other vegetables such as celery, carrot and sharon fruit in order to obtain pomegranate juice with vegetable additions. The vegetable raw materials were chosen in order to improve the quality and organoleptic properties of the pomegranate juice with vegetable additions by optimizing the “in-house” method, to obtaining a stable formulation. The main objectives of the study were characterization of raw and addition materials, studied by psycho-chemical analysis, evaluating of the antioxidant capacity of 4 types of pomegranate juice with additions in different proportions,  establish the best type of mixture juice. Consumer preference was established in sensory analysis  based on hedonic test with 9 point scale, the type of juice with additions with the following concentrations: pomegranate 50%, Sharon 10%, celery 30%, carrot 10%. Positive correlations were performed between antioxidant capacity and type of juice preferred by consumers.

Additional file 4: Figure S2. of WorMachine: machine learning-based phenotypic analysis tool for worms

OpenAIRE

Hakim, Adam; Mor, Yael; Toker, Itai; Levine, Amir; Neuhof, Moran; Markovitz, Yishai; Rechavi, Oded

2018-01-01

Features used to establish worm masculinity. Violin plots show the morphological features (A) and fluorescent features (B) used to determine the masculinity of him-5; [tph-1p::GFP] worms. A total of 545 pre-labeled worms of each sex were used for analysis (****p < 10–4, ***p < 10–3, *p < 0.05, two-tailed t test after α = 0.01 trimming to exclude extreme outliers with false discovery rate (FDR) correction for multiple comparisons). Only features that were significantly distinct and had pl...

Assessment of the theoretical basis of the Rule of Additivity for the nucleation incubation time during continuous cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Y.T.; Lowe, T.C.; Asaro, R.J.

1997-01-01

The rule of additivity was first proposed by Scheil and Steinberg for predicting the incubation time for nucleation of solid phases during continuous-cooling phase transformations, and has since been widely used for both the nucleation incubation and the entire process of phase transformation. While having been successfully used to calculate the transformed volume fraction during continuous cooling in many steel alloy systems, there is experimental evidence that shows rule of additivity to be invalid for describing the incubation time for nucleation. Attempts to prove the validity of the rule of additivity for the incubation time have not met with much success, and much confusion still exists about its applicability to the incubation time. This article investigates the additivity of the consumption of the incubation time for nucleation during continuous cooling through an analysis based upon classical nucleation theory. It is rigorously demonstrated that the rule of additivity is invalid for the incubation time for nucleation. However, in practice, the relative error caused by using the rule of additivity could be very small in many cases due to the resolution limit of current experimental techniques. The present theory provides an explanation for the failure of the rule of additivity in predicting the incubation time for nucleation during continuous cooling. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Fine-mapping additive and dominant SNP effects using group-LASSO and Fractional Resample Model Averaging

Science.gov (United States)

Sabourin, Jeremy; Nobel, Andrew B.; Valdar, William

2014-01-01

Genomewide association studies sometimes identify loci at which both the number and identities of the underlying causal variants are ambiguous. In such cases, statistical methods that model effects of multiple SNPs simultaneously can help disentangle the observed patterns of association and provide information about how those SNPs could be prioritized for follow-up studies. Current multi-SNP methods, however, tend to assume that SNP effects are well captured by additive genetics; yet when genetic dominance is present, this assumption translates to reduced power and faulty prioritizations. We describe a statistical procedure for prioritizing SNPs at GWAS loci that efficiently models both additive and dominance effects. Our method, LLARRMA-dawg, combines a group LASSO procedure for sparse modeling of multiple SNP effects with a resampling procedure based on fractional observation weights; it estimates for each SNP the robustness of association with the phenotype both to sampling variation and to competing explanations from other SNPs. In producing a SNP prioritization that best identifies underlying true signals, we show that: our method easily outperforms a single marker analysis; when additive-only signals are present, our joint model for additive and dominance is equivalent to or only slightly less powerful than modeling additive-only effects; and, when dominance signals are present, even in combination with substantial additive effects, our joint model is unequivocally more powerful than a model assuming additivity. We also describe how performance can be improved through calibrated randomized penalization, and discuss how dominance in ungenotyped SNPs can be incorporated through either heterozygote dosage or multiple imputation. PMID:25417853

Microstructure, characterizations, functionality and compressive strength of cement-based materials using zinc oxide nanoparticles as an additive

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nochaiya, Thanongsak [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000 (Thailand); Sekine, Yoshika [Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tokai University, 4-1-1 Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa 259-1292 (Japan); Choopun, Supab [Applied Physics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Chaipanich, Arnon, E-mail: arnon.chaipanich@cmu.ac.th [Advanced Cement-Based Materials Research Unit, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand)

2015-05-05

Highlights: • Nano zinc oxide was used as an additive material. • Microstructure and phase characterization of pastes were characterized using SEM and XRD. • TGA and FTIR were also used to determine the hydration reaction. • Compressive strength of ZnO mixes was found to increase at 28 days. - Abstract: Zinc oxide nanoparticles as a nanophotocatalyst has great potential for self-cleaning applications in concrete structures, its effects on the cement hydration, setting time and compressive strength are also important when using it in practice. This paper reports the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles, as an additive material, on properties of cement-based materials. Setting time, compressive strength and porosity of mortars were investigated. Microstructure and morphology of pastes were characterized using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Moreover, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) were also used to determine the hydration reaction. The results show that Portland cement paste with additional ZnO was found to slightly increase the water requirement while the setting time presented prolongation period than the control mix. However, compressive strength of ZnO mixes was found to be higher than that of PC mix up to 15% (at 28 days) via filler effect. Microstructure, XRD and TGA results of ZnO pastes show less hydration products before 28 days but similar at 28 days. In addition, FTIR results confirmed the retardation when ZnO was partially added in Portland cement pastes.

Microstructure, characterizations, functionality and compressive strength of cement-based materials using zinc oxide nanoparticles as an additive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nochaiya, Thanongsak; Sekine, Yoshika; Choopun, Supab; Chaipanich, Arnon

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Nano zinc oxide was used as an additive material. • Microstructure and phase characterization of pastes were characterized using SEM and XRD. • TGA and FTIR were also used to determine the hydration reaction. • Compressive strength of ZnO mixes was found to increase at 28 days. - Abstract: Zinc oxide nanoparticles as a nanophotocatalyst has great potential for self-cleaning applications in concrete structures, its effects on the cement hydration, setting time and compressive strength are also important when using it in practice. This paper reports the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles, as an additive material, on properties of cement-based materials. Setting time, compressive strength and porosity of mortars were investigated. Microstructure and morphology of pastes were characterized using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Moreover, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) were also used to determine the hydration reaction. The results show that Portland cement paste with additional ZnO was found to slightly increase the water requirement while the setting time presented prolongation period than the control mix. However, compressive strength of ZnO mixes was found to be higher than that of PC mix up to 15% (at 28 days) via filler effect. Microstructure, XRD and TGA results of ZnO pastes show less hydration products before 28 days but similar at 28 days. In addition, FTIR results confirmed the retardation when ZnO was partially added in Portland cement pastes

23 CFR 658.11 - Additions, deletions, exceptions, and restrictions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... experiencing above normal accident rates and/or accident severities? Does analysis of the accident problem indicate that the addition of larger trucks have aggravated existing accident problems? (4) What are the... specific travel lanes of multi-lane facilities, construction zones, adverse weather conditions or...

Carrageenan as a dry strength additive for papermaking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenhua Liu

Full Text Available Carrageenans are commercially important sulfated gums found in various species of red seaweeds (Rhodophyta, wherein they serve a structural function similar to that of pectins in land plants. In this study, carrageenan was used independently or in combination with cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM and/or Al2(SO43 to explore its application as a dry strength additive in papermaking. Strength index determination, ash content detection, FTIR characterization and SEM observation were performed on prepared handsheets. The results showed that with 0.6% Al2(SO43 and 0.2% carrageenan as additives, the tensile index increased by 13.53% and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC retention increased by 57.06%. With 0.6% Al2(SO43, 0.2% carrageenan and 0.03% CPAM as additives, PCC retention increased by 121% while the tensile index did not fall compared to handsheets without additives, indicating that carrageenan could enhance the strength of handsheets and be used as an anionic dry strength agent.

The effect of Al and Cr additions on pack cementation zinc coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaliampalias, D.; Papazoglou, M.; Tsipas, S.; Pavlidou, E.; Skolianos, S.; Stergioudis, G.; Vourlias, G.

2010-01-01

Zinc is widely used as a protective coating material due to its corrosion resistant properties. The structure and oxidation resistance of Al and Cr mixed zinc coatings, deposited by pack cementation process, is thoroughly examined in this work. The morphology and chemical composition of the as-deposited and oxidized samples was accomplished by electron microscopy while the phase identification was performed by XRD diffraction analysis. The experimental results showed that the addition of aluminum or chromium in the pack mixture forms only Al and Cr rich phases on the surface of the specimens without affecting significantly the phase composition of the rest zinc coatings. In the case of Zn-Al coatings, the overlying layer contains high concentrations of Al together with lower amounts of zinc and iron and in Zn-Cr coatings this layer contains Cr, Fe and Zn atoms and has much smaller thickness. The presence of these additional layers promotes significantly the oxidation resistance of the zinc pack coatings and they preserve most of their initial thickness and chemical content when exposed to an aggressive environment while their oxidation mass gain was measured at low levels during the oxidation tests.

Additives aided composting of green waste: effects on organic matter degradation, compost maturity, and quality of the finished compost.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabhane, Jagdish; William, S P M Prince; Bidyadhar, Rajnikant; Bhilawe, Priya; Anand, Duraisamy; Vaidya, Atul N; Wate, Satish R

2012-06-01

The effect of various additives such as fly ash, phosphogypsum, jaggery, lime, and polyethylene glycol on green waste composting was investigated through assessing their influence on microbial growth, enzymatic activities, organic matter degradation, bulk density, quality of finished compost including gradation test, heavy metal analysis, etc. A perusal of results showed that addition of jaggery and polyethylene glycol were helpful to facilitate composting process as they significantly influenced the growth of microbes and cellulase activity. The quality of finished compost prepared from jaggery and polyethylene glycol added treatments were superior to other composts, wherein reduction in C/N ratio was more than 8% in jaggery treatment. All other parameters of compost quality including gradation test also favored jaggery and polyethylene glycol as the best additives for green waste composting. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laser additive manufacturing bulk graphene-copper nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zengrong; Chen, Feng; Lin, Dong; Nian, Qiong; Parandoush, Pedram; Zhu, Xing; Shao, Zhuqiang; Cheng, Gary J

2017-11-03

The exceptional mechanical properties of graphene make it an ideal nanofiller for reinforcing metal matrix composites (MMCs). In this work, graphene-copper (Gr-Cu) nanocomposites have been fabricated by a laser additive manufacturing process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy were utilized to characterize the fabricated nanocomposites. The XRD, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and TEM results demonstrated the feasibility of laser additive manufacturing of Gr-Cu nanocomposites. The microstructures were characterized by high resolution TEM and the results further revealed the interface between the copper matrix and graphene. With the addition of graphene, the mechanical properties of the composites were enhanced significantly. Nanoindentation tests showed that the average modulus value and hardness of the composites were 118.9 GPa and 3 GPa respectively; 17.6% and 50% increases were achieved compared with pure copper, respectively. This work demonstrates a new way to manufacture graphene copper nanocomposites with ultra-strong mechanical properties and provides alternatives for applications in electrical and thermal conductors.

Additive Manufacturing Cloud via Peer-Robot Collaboration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Yao

2016-05-01

Full Text Available When building a 3D printing cloud manufacturing platform, self-sensing and collaboration on manufacturing resources present challenging problems. This paper proposes a peer-robot collaboration framework to deal with these issues. Each robot combines heterogeneous additive manufacturing hardware and software, acting as an intelligent agent. Through collaboration with other robots, it forms a dynamic and scalable integration manufacturing system. The entire distributed system is managed by rules that employ an internal rule engine, which supports rule conversion and conflict resolution. Two additive manufacturing service scenarios are designed to analyse the efficiency and scalability of the framework. Experiments show that the presented method performs well in tasks requiring large-scale access to resources and collaboration.

Effects of sulphur addition on modification and mechanical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

CW Onyia, BA Okorie, NI Amalu, SI Neife ... The results showed that the addition of sulphur to Al-12wt%Si alloy modified the Al-Si eutectic ... of the eutectic silicon structure with significant decrease in mechanical properties of the alloy and this ...

Human microRNA oncogenes and tumor suppressors show significantly different biological patterns: from functions to targets.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Wang

Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs which play essential roles in many important biological processes. Therefore, their dysfunction is associated with a variety of human diseases, including cancer. Increasing evidence shows that miRNAs can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, and although there is great interest in research into these cancer-associated miRNAs, little is known about them. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of putative human miRNA oncogenes and tumor suppressors. We found that miRNA oncogenes and tumor suppressors clearly show different patterns in function, evolutionary rate, expression, chromosome distribution, molecule size, free energy, transcription factors, and targets. For example, miRNA oncogenes are located mainly in the amplified regions in human cancers, whereas miRNA tumor suppressors are located mainly in the deleted regions. miRNA oncogenes tend to cleave target mRNAs more frequently than miRNA tumor suppressors. These results indicate that these two types of cancer-associated miRNAs play different roles in cancer formation and development. Moreover, the patterns identified here can discriminate novel miRNA oncogenes and tumor suppressors with a high degree of accuracy. This study represents the first large-scale bioinformatic analysis of human miRNA oncogenes and tumor suppressors. Our findings provide help for not only understanding of miRNAs in cancer but also for the specific identification of novel miRNAs as miRNA oncogenes and tumor suppressors. In addition, the data presented in this study will be valuable for the study of both miRNAs and cancer.

SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF ADDITIONAL FOOD INTRODUCTION, STATED IN THE NATIONAL PROGRAM OF THE INFANTS FEEDING OPTIMIZATION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. PART II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Skvortsova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The article contains the results of the study of clinical and biochemical blood markers of iron metabolism in infants. This study represents a part of the research, aimed to scientific confirmation of the statements associated with additional food introduction and stated in the «National program of the infants feeding optimization in the Russian Federation». In controlled conditions the children were divided into 2 main groups: feeding with breast milk and with artificial milk formulas. Each group was divided into sub-groups according to the age of the additional food introduction: 4, 5 or 6 months. The received data suggest that the iron content was appropriate in both groups at the age of 4 months before the additional food introduction; there was a gradual decrease of several values after that, especially marked in children feeding with breast milk and later introduction of additional food. The comparative analysis showed that at the age of 9 months the lowest values were in breast-fed children with additional food introduction at the age of 6 months. This can be associated not only with late additional food introduction, but also with difficulties occurring when beginning it at this age and leading to insufficient supply with certain nutrients, including iron. The detailed analysis of diets for children of different sub-groups will be discussed in the next article.

Alzheimer's-associated Aβ oligomers show altered structure, immunoreactivity and synaptotoxicity with low doses of oleocanthal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitt, Jason; Roth, William; Lacor, Pascale; Smith, Amos B.; Blankenship, Matthew; Velasco, Pauline; De Felice, Fernanda; Breslin, Paul; Klein, William L.

2009-01-01

It now appears likely that soluble oligomers of amyloid-β 1-42 peptide, rather than insoluble fibrils, act as the primary neurotoxin in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Consequently, compounds capable of altering the assembly state of these oligomers (referred to as ADDLs) may have potential for AD therapeutics. Phenolic compounds are of particular interest for their ability to disrupt Aβ oligomerization and reduce pathogenicity. This study has focused on oleocanthal (OC), a naturally-occurring phenolic compound found in extra-virgin olive oil. OC increased the immunoreactivity of soluble Aβ species, when assayed with both sequence- and conformation-specific Aβ antibodies, indicating changes in oligomer structure. Analysis of oligomers in the presence of OC showed an upward shift in MW and a ladder-like distribution of SDS-stable ADDL subspecies. In comparison with control ADDLs, oligomers formed in the presence of OC (Aβ-OC) showed equivalent colocalization at synapses but exhibited greater immunofluorescence as a result of increased antibody recognition. The enhanced signal at synapses was not due to increased synaptic binding, as direct detection of fluorescently-labeled ADDLs showed an overall reduction in ADDL signal in the presence of OC. Decreased binding to synapses was accompanied by significantly less synaptic deterioration assayed by drebrin loss. Additionally, treatment with OC improved antibody clearance of ADDLs. These results indicate oleocanthal is capable of altering the oligomerization state of ADDLs while protecting neurons from the synaptopathological effects of ADDLs and suggest OC as a lead compound for development in AD therapeutics.

Investigation of Technological Operations Affecting the Determination of Concentration of Ionol Additive in Insulating Oil in High-Voltage Equipment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korobeynikov S.M.

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Ionol oxidation inhibitor level control is included into normative indicators list for diagnostics of internal insulation condition of any oil-filled high voltage device. Concentration of oxidation inhibitor in dielectric liquid should be from 0,08 % to 0,40 % mass. Power supply network chemistry laboratories use such methods as spectroscopy, spectrometry, chromatography and many others. Russian insulation service specialists use the method of ionol concentration measurement in oils based on gas-liquid chromatography. In the first place it is related to the fact that gas chromatographs are installed for several tasks, including definition of inhibitor’s mass concentration. However, as practice shows, the use of this method for additive analysis, especially in old acidified mineral oils is linked to some difficulties. The aim of this work is identify technologic faults that may occur during definition of ionol inhibitive additive in dielectric liquid with gas-liquid chromatography method, and, as a consequence, may lead to incorrect calculation of ionol additional concentration to oil, necessary for its antioxygenic properties maintenance and high insulation quality provision during high voltage device functioning. The object of the research is insulating oil with more than 35 years’ operating cycle, presenting a complex multiplex matrix of hydrocarbons and oxygenates preventing reliable determination of ionol additive with gas-liquid chromatography method. Executed researches show that the main input into “correct” final result obtention during calculation of additional additive concentration was made by such technological operations as water content in extractant and technology of sample introduction into chromatograph’s evaporation tank

Reduction of irradiation off-odor and lipid oxidation in ground beef by α-tocopherol addition and the use of a charcoal pack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, S.H.; Jang, A.; Kim, J.K.; Song, H.P.; Kim, J.H.; Lee, M.; Jo, C.

2009-01-01

A combination of a charcoal pack during irradiation and α-tocopherol addition into ground beef was applied to eliminate an irradiation characteristic off-odor and to retard the lipid oxidation caused by the irradiation process. Ground beef was mixed with 200 ppm α-tocopherol and gamma irradiated with 0, 5, and 10 kGy with or without a charcoal pack present during the irradiation treatment. The pH of the control group was lower than that of α-tocopherol and charcoal pack treatment initially but increased rapidly and showed higher pH at day 7. Addition of α-tocopherol with or without charcoal pack addition showed lower 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values in irradiated ground beef at days 3 and 7 compared to those without addition. The color of ground beef was not significantly affected by the treatment. However, odor preference result showed that 10 kGy-irradiated ground beef with a combination of charcoal pack and α-tocopherol addition had higher scores than the control group regardless of irradiation. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis identified various volatile compounds that were created by irradiation of ground beef. These compounds were reduced or eliminated when a charcoal pack was used during the irradiation process. The results of the present study imply that combination of packaging with a charcoal pack during the irradiation process and addition of α-tocopherol into ground beef is a good method to effectively eliminate an irradiation off-odor and retard the lipid oxidation development in ground beef caused by irradiation

Reduction of irradiation off-odor and lipid oxidation in ground beef by {alpha}-tocopherol addition and the use of a charcoal pack

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sohn, S.H. [Busan Regional Food and Drug Administration, Busan 608-829 (Korea, Republic of); Jang, A. [National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Suwon 441-706 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, J.K. [Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Service, Northern Marianas College, Saipan, MP 96950 (Korea, Republic of); Song, H.P. [Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, J.H. [Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Service, Northern Marianas College, Saipan, MP 96950 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, M. [Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921 (Korea, Republic of); Jo, C. [Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: cheorun@cnu.ac.kr

2009-02-15

A combination of a charcoal pack during irradiation and {alpha}-tocopherol addition into ground beef was applied to eliminate an irradiation characteristic off-odor and to retard the lipid oxidation caused by the irradiation process. Ground beef was mixed with 200 ppm {alpha}-tocopherol and gamma irradiated with 0, 5, and 10 kGy with or without a charcoal pack present during the irradiation treatment. The pH of the control group was lower than that of {alpha}-tocopherol and charcoal pack treatment initially but increased rapidly and showed higher pH at day 7. Addition of {alpha}-tocopherol with or without charcoal pack addition showed lower 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values in irradiated ground beef at days 3 and 7 compared to those without addition. The color of ground beef was not significantly affected by the treatment. However, odor preference result showed that 10 kGy-irradiated ground beef with a combination of charcoal pack and {alpha}-tocopherol addition had higher scores than the control group regardless of irradiation. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis identified various volatile compounds that were created by irradiation of ground beef. These compounds were reduced or eliminated when a charcoal pack was used during the irradiation process. The results of the present study imply that combination of packaging with a charcoal pack during the irradiation process and addition of {alpha}-tocopherol into ground beef is a good method to effectively eliminate an irradiation off-odor and retard the lipid oxidation development in ground beef caused by irradiation.

ADDITIVES FOR COLD ASPHALT-CONCRETE MADE FROM EMULSION-MINERAL MIXES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. V. Vavilov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the additives use for cold asphalt emulsion mixes. Urgency of the issue consists in the necessity of usage justification and regulation of additive for cold mixes properties adjustment. The article is represented as the general result of analysis of regulatory, literary and other sources related to additive using for CAEM.The main part of the article proposes and justifies the classification of CAEM additives according to their functional purpose (the main purpose of additive: increasing of strength, water resistance, durability, regulating curing and technological modifiers. Depending on the purpose the criteria of technical efficiency of additive using are presented. For each criteria provided the methods determining one or more quality indicators. The quality indicator changing is indicator of additive efficiency. There is provided the formula determining the efficiency of CAEM curing period reduction additives. As an example provided efficiency calculation and evaluation of additives for regulation (acceleration CAEM curing according to the previously published experimental data. The efficiency of curing regulating additives was determined according to the function of temporal changes of CAEM compressing strength and dynamic modulus of elasticity.The article provides the example list of materials that could be or currently used as additives for cold mixes. The conclusion states that proposed classification and criteria give base to purposive regulation of cold asphalt emulsion mixture compositions and their properties.

Specific Adaptation of Gas Atomization Processing for Al-Based Alloy Powder for Additive Manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, Iver [Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States); Siemon, John [Alcoa, Inc, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

2017-06-30

The initial three atomization attempts resulted in “freeze-outs” within the pour tubes in the pilot-scale system and yielded no powder. Re-evaluation of the alloy liquidus temperatures and melting characteristics, in collaboration with Alcoa, showed further superheat to be necessary to allow the liquid metal to flow through the pour tube to the atomization nozzle. A subsequent smaller run on the experimental atomization system verified these parameters and was successful, as were all successive runs on the larger pilot scale system. One alloy composition froze-out part way through the atomization on both pilot scale runs. SEM images showed needle formation and phase segregations within the microstructure. Analysis of the pour tube freeze-out microstructures showed that large needles formed within the pour tube during the atomization experiment, which eventually blocked the melt stream. Alcoa verified the needle formation in this alloy using theoretical modeling of phase solidification. Sufficient powder of this composition was still generated to allow powder characterization and additive manufacturing trials at Alcoa.

Effect of Fe-Mn addition on microstructure and magnetic properties of NdFeB magnetic powders

Science.gov (United States)

Kurniawan, C.; Purba, A. S.; Setiadi, E. A.; Simbolon, S.; Warman, A.; Sebayang, P.

2018-03-01

In this paper, the effect of Fe-Mn alloy addition on microstructures and magnetic properties of NdFeB magnetic powders was investigated. Varied Fe-Mn compositions of 1, 5, and 10 wt% were mixed with commercial NdFeB type MQA powders for 15 minutes using shaker mill. The characterizations were performed by powder density, PSA, XRD, SEM, and VSM. The Fe-Mn addition increased the powder density of NdFeB/Fe-Mn powders. On the other side, particle size distribution slightly decreased as the Fe-Mn composition increases. Magnetic properties of NdFeB/Fe-Mn powders changed with the increasing of Fe-Mn content. SEM analysis showed the particle size of NdFeB/Fe-Mn powder was smaller as the Fe-Mn composition increases. It showed that NdFeB/Fe-Mn particles have different size and shape for NdFeB and Fe-Mn particles separately. The optimum magnetic properties of NdFeB/Fe-Mn powder was achieved on the 5 wt% Fe-Mn composition with remanence M r = 49.45 emu/g, coercivity H c = 2.201 kOe, and energy product, BH max = 2.15 MGOe.

Metagenomic characterization of the effect of feed additives on the gut microbiome and antibiotic resistome of feedlot cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Milton; Webb, Megan; Ghimire, Sudeep; Blair, Amanda; Olson, Kenneth; Fenske, Gavin John; Fonder, Alex Thomas; Christopher-Hennings, Jane; Brake, Derek; Scaria, Joy

2017-09-25

In North America, antibiotic feed additives such as monensin and tylosin are added to the finishing diets of feedlot cattle to counter the ill-effects of feeding diets with rapidly digestible carbohydrates. While these feed additives have been proven to improve feed efficiency and reduce liver abscess incidence, how these products impact the gastrointestinal microbiota is not completely understood. In this study, we analyzed the impact of providing antibiotic feed additives to feedlot cattle using metagenome sequencing of treated and control animals. Our results indicate that use of antibiotic feed additives does not produce discernable changes at the phylum level. However, treated cattle had reduced abundance of gram-positive bacteria at the genus level. The abundance of Ruminococcus, Erysipelotrichaceae and Lachnospiraceae in the gut of treated steers was reduced. Functional analysis of the data indicates that there was only minimal impact due to the treatment in the rumen. Genes involved in detoxification were significantly increased in the rumen of AB steers. But the relative abundance of these genes was < 0.3%. However, our results did not show any correlation between the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in the gut microbiota and the administration of antibiotic feed additives.