Gene-environment interaction and biological monitoring of occupational exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirvonen, Ari

2005-01-01

Biological monitoring methods and biological limit values applied in occupational and environmental medicine have been traditionally developed on the assumption that individuals do not differ significantly in their biotransformation capacities. It has become clear, however, that this is not the case, but wide inter-individual differences exist in the metabolism of chemicals. Integration of the data on individual metabolic capacity in biological monitoring studies is therefore anticipated to represent a significant refinement of the currently used methods. We have recently conducted several biological monitoring studies on occupationally exposed subjects, which have included the determination of the workers' genotypes for the metabolic genes of potential importance for a given chemical exposure. The exposure levels have been measured by urine metabolites, adducts in blood macromolecules, and cytogenetic alterations in lymphocytes. Our studies indicate that genetic polymorphisms in metabolic genes may indeed be important modifiers of individual biological monitoring results of, e.g., carbon disulphide and styrene. The information is anticipated to be useful in insuring that the workplace is safe for everyone, including the most sensitive individuals. This knowledge could also be useful to occupational physicians, industrial hygienists, and regulatory bodies in charge of defining acceptable exposure limits for environmental and/or occupational pollutants

Development of in vitro techniques for individual monitoring of "3"2P

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almeida, A.P.F.; Sousa, W.O.; Dantas, A.L.A.; Dantas, B.M.

2016-01-01

The "3"2P is used in the form of liquid unsealed sources in medical facilities, research and teaching, representing a risk of internal exposure in routine activities and in case of accidental incorporation. The evaluation of "3"2P incorporation can be accomplished through in vitro bioanalysis of urine. This paper aims to provide a methodology to analyze "3"2P in biological samples, applicable to internal individual monitoring using liquid scintillation technique. The minimum detectable activity of the system was determined and the sensitivity of the technique was evaluated, based on the detected minimum effective dose. (author)

BIOLOGICAL MONITORING PROGRAM FOR EAST FORK POPLAR CREEK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ADAMS, S.M.; ASHWOOD, T.L.; BEATY, T.W.; BRANDT, C.C.

1997-10-24

In May 1985, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. As a condition of the permit a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y- 12 Plant protect the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek; EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Lear et al. 1989). A second objective of the BMAP is to document the ecological effects resulting from the implementation of a water pollution control program designed to eliminate direct discharges of wastewaters to EFPC and to minimize the inadvertent release of pollutants to the environment. Because of the complex nature of the discharges to EFPC and the temporal and spatial variability in the composition of the discharges, a comprehensive, integrated approach to biological monitoring was developed. A new permit was issued to the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995 and became effective on July 1, 1995. Biological monitoring continues to be required under the new permit. The BMAP consists of four major tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Plant discharges on the aquatic integrity of EFPC. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) biological indicator studies, (3) bioaccumulation studies, and (4) ecological surveys of the periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish communities.

Biological monitoring program for East Fork Poplar Creek

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, S.M.; Ashwood, T.L.; Beaty, T.W.; Brandt, C.C.; Christensen, S.W.; Cicerone, D.S.; Greeley, M.S. Jr.; Hill, W.R.; Kszos, L.S.

1997-04-18

In May 1985, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. As a condition of the permit, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y-12 Plant protect the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek; EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Lear et al. 1989). A second objective of the BMAP is to document the ecological effects resulting from the implementation of a water pollution control program designed to eliminate direct discharges of wastewaters to EFPC and to minimize the inadvertent release of pollutants to the environment. Because of the complex nature of the discharges to EFPC and the temporal and spatial variability in the composition of the discharges, a comprehensive, integrated approach to biological monitoring was developed. A new permit was issued to the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995 and became effective on July 1, 1995. Biological monitoring continues to be required under the new permit. The BMAP consists of four major tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Plant discharges on the aquatic integrity of EFPC. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) biological indicator studies, (3) bioaccumulation studies, and (4) ecological surveys of the periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish communities.

Monitoring biological diversity: strategies, tools, limitations, and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Erik A. Beever

2006-01-01

Monitoring is an assessment of the spatial and temporal variability in one or more ecosystem properties, and is an essential component of adaptive management. Monitoring can help determine whether mandated environmental standards are being met and can provide an early-warning system of ecological change. Development of a strategy for monitoring biological diversity...

Biological monitoring of lotic ecosystems: the role of diatoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Bere, T; Tundisi, J G

2010-08-01

Increasing anthropogenic influence on lotic environments as a result of civilisation has captured public interest because of the consequent problems associated with deterioration of water quality. Various biological monitoring methods that provide a direct measure of ecological integrity by using the response of biota to environmental changes have been developed to monitor the ecological status of lotic environments. Diatoms have been used extensively in this regard and this review attempts to summarise the basic concepts associated with biological monitoring using benthic diatoms. Where possible, examples from work carried out in Brazil are used.

A review of imaging techniques for systems biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Po Ming J

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract This paper presents a review of imaging techniques and of their utility in system biology. During the last decade systems biology has matured into a distinct field and imaging has been increasingly used to enable the interplay of experimental and theoretical biology. In this review, we describe and compare the roles of microscopy, ultrasound, CT (Computed Tomography, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging, PET (Positron Emission Tomography, and molecular probes such as quantum dots and nanoshells in systems biology. As a unified application area among these different imaging techniques, examples in cancer targeting are highlighted.

Manipulation of biological samples using micro and nano techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo, Jaime; Dimaki, Maria; Svendsen, Winnie Edith

2009-01-01

The constant interest in handling, integrating and understanding biological systems of interest for the biomedical field, the pharmaceutical industry and the biomaterial researchers demand the use of techniques that allow the manipulation of biological samples causing minimal or no damage to their natural structure. Thanks to the advances in micro- and nanofabrication during the last decades several manipulation techniques offer us the possibility to image, characterize and manipulate biological material in a controlled way. Using these techniques the integration of biomaterials with remarkable properties with physical transducers has been possible, giving rise to new and highly sensitive biosensing devices. This article reviews the different techniques available to manipulate and integrate biological materials in a controlled manner either by sliding them along a surface (2-D manipulation), by grapping them and moving them to a new position (3-D manipulation), or by manipulating and relocating them applying external forces. The advantages and drawbacks are mentioned together with examples that reflect the state of the art of manipulation techniques for biological samples (171 references).

Biological monitoring of lotic ecosystems: the role of diatoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Bere

Full Text Available Increasing anthropogenic influence on lotic environments as a result of civilisation has captured public interest because of the consequent problems associated with deterioration of water quality. Various biological monitoring methods that provide a direct measure of ecological integrity by using the response of biota to environmental changes have been developed to monitor the ecological status of lotic environments. Diatoms have been used extensively in this regard and this review attempts to summarise the basic concepts associated with biological monitoring using benthic diatoms. Where possible, examples from work carried out in Brazil are used.

A new corrosion monitoring technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Gerald K.

2000-01-01

Internal Corrosion Monitoring has relied upon 5 basic techniques. Little improvement in performance has been achieved in any of these. Many newer internal corrosion monitoring techniques have proved of little value in the field although some have instances of success in the laboratory. Industry has many high value hydrocarbon applications requiring corrosion rate monitoring for real-time problem solving and control. The high value of assets and the cost of asset replacement makes it necessary to practice cost effective process and corrosion control with sensitivity beyond the 5 basic techniques. This new metal loss technology offers this sensitivity. Traditional metal loss technology today provides either high sensitivity with short life, or conversely, long life but with substantially reduced sensitivity. The new metal loss technology offers an improved working life of sensors without significantly compromising performance. The paper discusses the limitations of existing on-line technologies and describes the performance of a new technology. This new metal loss technology was introduced at NACE Corrosion 99'. Since that time several field projects have been completed or are ongoing. This paper will discuss the new metal loss technology and report on some of the data that has been obtained.(author)

INNOVATIONS IN EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE BIOLOGY TEACHING LABORATORY.

Science.gov (United States)

BARTHELEMY, RICHARD E.; AND OTHERS

LABORATORY TECHNIQUES AND EQUIPMENT APPROPRIATE FOR TEACHING BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM STUDY BIOLOGY ARE EMPHASIZED. MAJOR CATEGORIES INCLUDE (1) LABORATORY FACILITIES, (2) EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR CULTURE OF MICRO-ORGANISMS, (3) LABORATORY ANIMALS AND THEIR HOUSING, (4) TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING PLANT GROWTH, (5) TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING…

Introduction to nuclear techniques in agronomy and plant biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vose, P.B.

1980-01-01

A scientific textbook concerning the use of nuclear techniques in agricultural and biological studies has been written. In the early chapters, basic radiation physics principles are described including the nature of isotopes and radiation, nuclear reactions, working with radioisotopes, detection systems and instrumentation, radioassay and tracer techniques. The remaining chapters describe the applications of various nuclear techniques including activation analysis for biological samples, X-ray fluorescence spectrography for plants and soils, autoradiography, isotopes in soils studies, isotopic tracers in field experimentation, nuclear techniques in plant function and soil water studies and radiation-induced mutations in plant breeding. The principles and methods of these nuclear techniques are described in a straightforward manner together with details of many possible agricultural and biological studies which students could perform. (U.K.)

Correlation studies between the results of workplace monitoring and biological parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, A.H.

1987-10-01

Some nuclear-based and non-nuclear analytical techniques have been used to look for correlations between the results of workplace monitoring and biological parameters of exposed workers in various workplace environments. The analytical competence of the external beam thick and thin target particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis has been established for elemental analysis of air particulates and biological materials. The capability of low-energy photon spectrometry (LEPS) has also been demonstrated. Using the methods of PIXE and flame AAS, some studies have been performed on the elemental composition of air particulates, human head hair, nail and urine collected in different workplace environments in Dhaka. This report contains a brief account of this research along with an outline of future research projects to be carried out in this and other related areas. 13 refs, 5 figs, 7 tabs

Remote and unattended monitoring techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abedin-Zadeh, R.; Whichello, J.

1998-01-01

In the last years, there has been a tremendous growth in the number of unattended assay and monitoring systems in the field. These systems have enabled reduced presence of inspectors while increasing the verification coverage. As part of the Strengthened safeguards System and in particular as part of the measures to improve the cost-effectiveness of safeguards, the possibility of remote transfer of authenticated and encrypted video surveillance, seals and radiation sensor data via telephone or special satellite links have been demonstrated and the necessary arrangements and infrastructure have been prepared. The evaluation of field trials of the remote monitoring systems have shown that the systems are effective in monitoring events of safeguards relevance in near real times. The systems are competitive from a cost standpoint when compared to current methods. The reduction of inspection efforts can be realized by application of remote monitoring technique with scheduled inspections and more effectively with the short notice or unannounced random inspections. It is expected that, upon completion of the necessary arrangements with the Member States authorities, the safeguards department will implement the technique widely before the year 2000

Acoustic Techniques for Structural Health Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Frankenstein, B.; Augustin, J.; Hentschel, D.; Schubert, F.; Köhler, B.; Meyendorf, N.

2008-02-01

Future safety and maintenance strategies for industrial components and vehicles are based on combinations of monitoring systems that are permanently attached to or embedded in the structure, and periodic inspections. The latter belongs to conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and can be enhanced or partially replaced by structural health monitoring systems. However, the main benefit of this technology for the future will consist of systems that can be differently designed based on improved safety philosophies, including continuous monitoring. This approach will increase the efficiency of inspection procedures at reduced inspection times. The Fraunhofer IZFP Dresden Branch has developed network nodes, miniaturized transmitter and receiver systems for active and passive acoustical techniques and sensor systems that can be attached to or embedded into components or structures. These systems have been used to demonstrate intelligent sensor networks for the monitoring of aerospace structures, railway systems, wind energy generators, piping system and other components. Material discontinuities and flaws have been detected and monitored during full scale fatigue testing. This paper will discuss opportunities and future trends in nondestructive evaluation and health monitoring based on new sensor principles and advanced microelectronics. It will outline various application examples of monitoring systems based on acoustic techniques and will indicate further needs for research and development.

Yucca Mountain Biological resources monitoring program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The US Department of Energy (US DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a possible site for a geological repository for high-level radioactive waste. To ensure site characterization activities do not adversely affect the Yucca Mountain area, an environmental program, the Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program, has been implemented monitor and mitigate environmental impacts and to ensure activities comply with applicable environmental laws. Potential impacts to vegetation, small mammals, and the desert tortoise (an indigenous threatened species) are addressed, as are habitat reclamation, radiological monitoring, and compilation of baseline data. This report describes the program in Fiscal Years 1989 and 1990. 12 refs., 4 figs., 17 tabs

Experiences on MIC monitoring by electrochemical techniques

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cristiani, P.; Perboni, G.; Hilbert, Lisbeth Rischel

2002-01-01

Some results of practical experiences on the performances of electrochemical and electric MIC monitoring techniques, coming from the discussion in the Brite-Euram thematic network "MIC of industrial materials", are presented in this paper.......Some results of practical experiences on the performances of electrochemical and electric MIC monitoring techniques, coming from the discussion in the Brite-Euram thematic network "MIC of industrial materials", are presented in this paper....

Novel OSNR Monitoring Technique in Dense WDM Systems using Inherently Generated CW Monitoring Channels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Martin Nordal

2007-01-01

We present a simple, yet effective OSNR monitoring technique based on an inherent effect in the optical modulator. Highly accurate OSNR monitoring is demonstrated in a 40 Gb/s dense WDM system with 50 GHz channel spacing.......We present a simple, yet effective OSNR monitoring technique based on an inherent effect in the optical modulator. Highly accurate OSNR monitoring is demonstrated in a 40 Gb/s dense WDM system with 50 GHz channel spacing....

Baseline requirements for assessment of mining impact using biological monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphrey, C.L.; Dostine, P.L.

1995-01-01

Biological monitoring programmes for environmental protection should provide for both early detection of possible adverse effects, and assessment of the ecological significance of these effects. Monitoring techniques are required that include responses sensitive to the impact, that can be subjected to rigorous statistical analysis and for which statistical power is high. Such issues in baseline research of 'what and how to measure?' and 'for how long?' have been the focus of a programme being developed to monitor and assess effects of mining operations on the essentially pristine, freshwater ecosystems of the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) in tropical northern Australia. Application of the BACIP (Before, After, Control, Impact, Paired differences) design, utilizing a form of temporal replication, to univariate (single species) and multivariate (community) data is described. The BACIP design incorporates data from single control and impact sites. We argue for modification of the design for particular studies conducted in streams, to incorporate additional independent control sites from adjacent catchment. Inferential power, by way of (i) more confidently attributing cause to an observed change and (ii) providing information about the ecological significance of the change, will be enhanced using a modified BACIP design. In highly valued environments such as the ARR, monitoring programmes require application of statistical tests with high power to guarantee that an impact no greater than a prescribed amount has gone undetected. A minimum number of baseline years using the BACIP approach would therefore be required in order to achieve some desired level of statistical power. This paper describes the results of power analyses conducted on 2-5 years (depending upon the technique) of baseline data from streams of the ARR and discuss the implications of these results for management. 44 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs

Neutron Scattering in Biology Techniques and Applications

CERN Document Server

Fitter, Jörg; Katsaras, John

2006-01-01

The advent of new neutron facilities and the improvement of existing sources and instruments world wide supply the biological community with many new opportunities in the areas of structural biology and biological physics. The present volume offers a clear description of the various neutron-scattering techniques currently being used to answer biologically relevant questions. Their utility is illustrated through examples by some of the leading researchers in the field of neutron scattering. This volume will be a reference for researchers and a step-by-step guide for young scientists entering the field and the advanced graduate student.

Digital holographic microscopy as a technique to monitor macrophages infected by leishmania

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza-Rodríguez, E.; Organista-Castelblanco, C.; Camacho, M.; Monroy-Ramírez, F.

2017-06-01

The Digital Holographic Microscopy in Transmission technique (DHM) is considered a useful tool in the noninvasive quantifying of transparent biological objects like living cells. In this work, we propose this technique to study and to monitor control macrophages infected by Leishmania (mouse lineJ774.A1). When the promastigotes enter in contact with healthy macrophages, they got phagocytosed and latterly confined in the formed parasitophorous vacuole. These processes change the morphology and density of the host macrophage. Both parameters can be measured in a label-free analysis of cells with the aid of the DHM technique. Our technique begins with the optical record of the holograms using a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the reconstruction of the complex optical field transmitted by macrophages. In the latter point, we employ the angular spectrum algorithm. With the complex optical field reconstruction, we compute the field amplitude and the phase difference maps, which leads to describe one morphological characterization for the samples. Using phase difference maps is possible to measure internal variations for the integral refractive index, estimating the infection level of macrophages. Through the changes in the integral refractive index, it is also possible to describe and quantify in two different states the evolution of the infection. With these results some parameters of cells have been quantified, making the DHM technique a viable tool for diagnosis of biological samples under the presence of some pathogen.

Review of biological monitoring programs at nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintana, L.R.; Oakes, T.W.; Shank, K.E.

Biological monitoring programs, as well as relevant radioecological research studies, are reviewed at specific Department of Energy facilities; the program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is discussed in detail. The biological measurements that are being used for interpreting the impact of a facility on its surrounding environment and nearby population are given. Suggestions which could facilitate interlaboratory comparison studies are presented

Biological monitoring results for cadmium exposed workers.

Science.gov (United States)

McDiarmid, M A; Freeman, C S; Grossman, E A; Martonik, J

1996-11-01

As part of a settlement agreement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) involving exposure to cadmium (Cd), a battery production facility provided medical surveillance data to OSHA for review. Measurements of cadmium in blood, cadmium in urine, and beta 2-microglobulin in urine were obtained for more than 100 workers over an 18-month period. Some airborne Cd exposure data were also made available. Two subpopulations of this cohort were of primary interest in evaluating compliance with the medical surveillance provisions of the Cadmium Standard. These were a group of 16 workers medically removed from cadmium exposure due to elevations in some biological parameter, and a group of platemakers. Platemaking had presented a particularly high exposure opportunity and had recently undergone engineering interventions to minimize exposure. The effect on three biological monitoring parameters of medical removal protection in the first group and engineering controls in platemakers is reported. Results reveal that both medical removal from cadmium exposures and exposure abatement through the use of engineering and work practice controls generally result in declines in biological monitoring parameters of exposed workers. Implications for the success of interventions are discussed.

Biological monitoring and abatement program plan for Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kszos, L.A.; Anderson, G.E.; Gregory, S.M.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Schilling, E.M.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Phipps, T.L.

1997-06-01

The overall purpose of this plan is to evaluate the receiving streams' biological communities for the duration of the permit and meet the objectives for the ORNL BMAP as outlined in the NPDES permit (Appendix). The ORNL BMAP will focus on those streams in the WOC watershed that (1) receive NPDES discharges and (2) have been identified as ecologically impacted. In response to the newly issued NPDES permit, the tasks that are included in this BMAP plan include monitoring biological communities (fish and benthic invertebrates), monitoring mercury contamination in fish and water, monitoring polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in fish, and evaluating temperature loading from ORNL outfalls. The ORNL BMAP will evaluate the effects of sediment and oil and grease, as well as the chlorine control strategy through the use of biological community data. Monitoring will be conducted at sites in WOC, First Creek, Fifth Creek, Melton Branch, and WOL

Biological monitoring and abatement program plan for Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kszos, L.A.; Anderson, G.E.; Gregory, S.M.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Schilling, E.M.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Phipps, T.L. [CKY, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

1997-06-01

The overall purpose of this plan is to evaluate the receiving streams` biological communities for the duration of the permit and meet the objectives for the ORNL BMAP as outlined in the NPDES permit (Appendix). The ORNL BMAP will focus on those streams in the WOC watershed that (1) receive NPDES discharges and (2) have been identified as ecologically impacted. In response to the newly issued NPDES permit, the tasks that are included in this BMAP plan include monitoring biological communities (fish and benthic invertebrates), monitoring mercury contamination in fish and water, monitoring polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in fish, and evaluating temperature loading from ORNL outfalls. The ORNL BMAP will evaluate the effects of sediment and oil and grease, as well as the chlorine control strategy through the use of biological community data. Monitoring will be conducted at sites in WOC, First Creek, Fifth Creek, Melton Branch, and WOL.

Economics important in selecting monitoring techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, D.P.; Byars, H.G.

1990-01-01

Failure/risk costs need to be considered when deciding on the type of corrosion monitoring and inspection. Locations with high-pressure, high-velocity streams need closer monitoring. This article discusses the risks associated with different types of fluid streams and the various inspection techniques that can range from a low-cost visual examination to mechanical calipers and electromagnetic, radiographic, and ultrasonic tools

Micro and Nano Techniques for the Handling of Biological Samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Micro and Nano Techniques for the Handling of Biological Samples reviews the different techniques available to manipulate and integrate biological materials in a controlled manner, either by sliding them along a surface (2-D manipulation), or by gripping and moving them to a new position (3-D...

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a possible site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the Yucca Mountain area, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and to ensure that activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments during fiscal year 1991 (FY91) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Activities Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support

Biological Small Angle Scattering: Techniques, Strategies and Tips

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaudhuri, Barnali [University at Buffalo (SUNY); Muñoz, Inés G. [Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Urban, Volker S. [ORNL; Qian, Shuo [ORNL

2017-12-01

This book provides a clear, comprehensible and up-to-date description of how Small Angle Scattering (SAS) can help structural biology researchers. SAS is an efficient technique that offers structural information on how biological macromolecules behave in solution. SAS provides distinct and complementary data for integrative structural biology approaches in combination with other widely used probes, such as X-ray crystallography, Nuclear magnetic resonance, Mass spectrometry and Cryo-electron Microscopy. The development of brilliant synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) beam lines has increased the number of researchers interested in solution scattering. SAS is especially useful for studying conformational changes in proteins, highly flexible proteins, and intrinsically disordered proteins. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) with neutron contrast variation is ideally suited for studying multi-component assemblies as well as membrane proteins that are stabilized in surfactant micelles or vesicles. SAS is also used for studying dynamic processes of protein fibrillation in amyloid diseases, and pharmaceutical drug delivery. The combination with size-exclusion chromatography further increases the range of SAS applications.The book is written by leading experts in solution SAS methodologies. The principles and theoretical background of various SAS techniques are included, along with practical aspects that range from sample preparation to data presentation for publication. Topics covered include techniques for improving data quality and analysis, as well as different scientific applications of SAS. With abundant illustrations and practical tips, we hope the clear explanations of the principles and the reviews on the latest progresses will serve as a guide through all aspects of biological solution SAS.The scope of this book is particularly relevant for structural biology researchers who are new to SAS. Advanced users of the technique will find it helpful for

Approaches to monitoring biological outcomes for HPV vaccination: challenges of early adopter countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wong, Charlene A; Saraiya, Mona; Hariri, Susan

2011-01-01

In this review, we describe plans to monitor the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine on biologic outcomes in selected international areas (Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Nordic countries, Scotland, and the United States) that have adopted this vaccine. This summary of monitoring plans...... provides a background for discussing the challenges of vaccine monitoring in settings where resources and capacity may vary. A variety of approaches that depend on existing infrastructure and resources are planned or underway for monitoring HPV vaccine impact. Monitoring HPV vaccine impact on biologic...

Environmental and biological monitoring in the estimation of absorbed doses of pesticides.

Science.gov (United States)

Aprea, Maria Cristina

2012-04-25

Exposure to pesticides affects most of the population, not only persons occupationally exposed. In a context of high variability of exposure, biological monitoring is important because of the various routes by which exposure can occur and because it assesses both occupational and non-occupational exposure. The main aim of this paper was to critically compare estimates of absorbed dose measured by environmental and biological monitoring in situations in which they could both be applied. The combination of exposure measurements and biological monitoring was found to provide extremely important information on the behaviour of employees, and on the proper use and effectiveness of personal protection equipment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring Techniques for Microbially Influenced Corrosion of Carbon Steel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hilbert, Lisbeth Rischel

2000-01-01

corrosion rates, when biofilm and corrosion products cover the steel surface. However, EIS might be used for detection of MIC. EN is a suitable technique to characterise the type of corrosion attack, but is unsuitable for corrosion rate estimation. The concentric electrodes galvanic probe arrangement......Abstract Monitoring Techniques for Microbially Influenced Corrosion of Carbon Steel Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of carbon steel may occur in media with microbiological activity of especially sulphate-reducing bacteria, e.g. on pipelines buried in soil and on marine structures. MIC...... of carbon steel must be monitored on-line in order to provide an efficient protection and control the corrosion. A number of monitoring techniques is industrially used today, and the applicability and reliability of these for monitoring MIC is evaluated. Coupons and ER are recommended as necessary basic...

Assessing isocyanate exposures in polyurethane industry sectors using biological and air monitoring methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Creely, K S; Hughson, G W; Cocker, J; Jones, K

2006-08-01

Isocyanates, as a chemical group, are considered to be the biggest cause of occupational asthma in the UK. Monitoring of airborne exposures to total isocyanate is costly, requiring considerable expertise, both in terms of sample collection and chemical analysis and cannot be used to assess the effectiveness of protection from wearing respiratory protective equipment (RPE). Biological monitoring by analysis of metabolites in urine can be a relatively simple and inexpensive way to assess exposure to isocyanates. It may also be a useful way to evaluate the effectiveness of control measures in place. In this study biological and inhalation monitoring were undertaken to assess exposure in a variety of workplaces in the non-motor vehicle repair sector. Companies selected to participate in the survey included only those judged to be using good working practices when using isocyanate formulations. This included companies that used isocyanates to produce moulded polyurethane products, insulation material and those involved in industrial painting. Air samples were collected by personal monitoring and were analysed for total isocyanate content. Urine samples were collected soon after exposure and analysed for the metabolites of different isocyanate species, allowing calculation of the total metabolite concentration. Details of the control measures used and observed contamination of exposed skin were also recorded. A total of 21 companies agreed to participate in the study, with exposure measurements being collected from 22 sites. The airborne isocyanate concentrations were generally very low (range 0.0005-0.066 mg m(-3)). A total of 50 of the 70 samples were polyurethane foam insulation (0.023 mg m(-3)). The most commonly detected isocyanate in the urine was hexamethylene diisocyanate, which was detected in 21 instances. The geometric mean total isocyanate metabolite concentration for the dataset was 0.29 micromol mol(-1) creatinine (range 0.05-12.64 micromol mol(-1

Yucca Mountain biological resources monitoring program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-02-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a potential site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG ampersand G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG ampersand G/EM) during fiscal year 1992 (FY92) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support

Condition Monitoring of Cables Task 3 Report: Condition Monitoring Techniques for Electric Cables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villaran, M.; Lofaro, R.; na

2009-11-30

For more than 20 years the NRC has sponsored research studying electric cable aging degradation, condition monitoring, and environmental qualification testing practices for electric cables used in nuclear power plants. This report summarizes several of the most effective and commonly used condition monitoring techniques available to detect damage and measure the extent of degradation in electric cable insulation. The technical basis for each technique is summarized, along with its application, trendability of test data, ease of performing the technique, advantages and limitations, and the usefulness of the test results to characterize and assess the condition of electric cables.

[Applications of spectral analysis technique to monitoring grasshoppers].

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Hui; Han, Jian-guo; Zhang, Lu-da

2008-12-01

Grasshopper monitoring is of great significance in protecting environment and reducing economic loss. However, how to predict grasshoppers accurately and effectively is a difficult problem for a long time. In the present paper, the importance of forecasting grasshoppers and its habitat is expounded, and the development in monitoring grasshopper populations and the common arithmetic of spectral analysis technique are illustrated. Meanwhile, the traditional methods are compared with the spectral technology. Remote sensing has been applied in monitoring the living, growing and breeding habitats of grasshopper population, and can be used to develop a forecast model combined with GIS. The NDVI values can be analyzed throughout the remote sensing data and be used in grasshopper forecasting. Hyper-spectra remote sensing technique which can be used to monitor grasshoppers more exactly has advantages in measuring the damage degree and classifying damage areas of grasshoppers, so it can be adopted to monitor the spatial distribution dynamic of rangeland grasshopper population. Differentialsmoothing can be used to reflect the relations between the characteristic parameters of hyper-spectra and leaf area index (LAI), and indicate the intensity of grasshopper damage. The technology of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy has been employed in judging grasshopper species, examining species occurrences and monitoring hatching places by measuring humidity and nutrient of soil, and can be used to investigate and observe grasshoppers in sample research. According to this paper, it is concluded that the spectral analysis technique could be used as a quick and exact tool in monitoring and forecasting the infestation of grasshoppers, and will become an important means in such kind of research for their advantages in determining spatial orientation, information extracting and processing. With the rapid development of spectral analysis methodology, the goal of sustainable monitoring

Transformer ageing modern condition monitoring techniques and their interpretations

CERN Document Server

Purkait, Prithwiraj

2017-01-01

This book is a one-stop guide to state-of-the-art research in transformer ageing, condition monitoring and diagnosis. It is backed by rigorous research projects supported by the Australian Research Council in collaboration with several transmission and distribution companies. Many of the diagnostic techniques and tools developed in these projects have been applied by electricity utilities and would appeal to both researchers and practicing engineers. Important topics covered in this book include transformer insulation materials and their ageing behaviour, transformer condition monitoring techniques and detailed diagnostic techniques and their interpretation schemes. It also features a monitoring framework for smart transformers as well as a chapter on biodegradable oil.

Monitoring severe accidents using AI techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No, Young Gyu; Ahn, Kwang Il [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Dong Hyuk [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, there has been increasing concern regarding severe accidents in nuclear facilities. Severe accident scenarios are difficult for operators to monitor and identify. Therefore, accurate prediction of a severe accident is important in order to manage it appropriately in the unfavorable conditions. In this study, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH), and fuzzy neural network (FNN), were used to monitor the major transient scenarios of a severe accident caused by three different initiating events, the hot-leg loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the cold-leg LOCA, and the steam generator tube rupture in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The SVC and PNN models were used for the event classification. The GMDH and FNN models were employed to accurately predict the important timing representing severe accident scenarios. In addition, in order to verify the proposed algorithm, data from a number of numerical simulations were required in order to train the AI techniques due to the shortage of real LOCA data. The data was acquired by performing simulations using the MAAP4 code. The prediction accuracy of the three types of initiating events was sufficiently high to predict severe accident scenarios. Therefore, the AI techniques can be applied successfully in the identification and monitoring of severe accident scenarios in real PWRs.

Monitoring severe accidents using AI techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

No, Young Gyu; Ahn, Kwang Il; Kim, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun; Lim, Dong Hyuk

2012-01-01

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, there has been increasing concern regarding severe accidents in nuclear facilities. Severe accident scenarios are difficult for operators to monitor and identify. Therefore, accurate prediction of a severe accident is important in order to manage it appropriately in the unfavorable conditions. In this study, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH), and fuzzy neural network (FNN), were used to monitor the major transient scenarios of a severe accident caused by three different initiating events, the hot-leg loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the cold-leg LOCA, and the steam generator tube rupture in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The SVC and PNN models were used for the event classification. The GMDH and FNN models were employed to accurately predict the important timing representing severe accident scenarios. In addition, in order to verify the proposed algorithm, data from a number of numerical simulations were required in order to train the AI techniques due to the shortage of real LOCA data. The data was acquired by performing simulations using the MAAP4 code. The prediction accuracy of the three types of initiating events was sufficiently high to predict severe accident scenarios. Therefore, the AI techniques can be applied successfully in the identification and monitoring of severe accident scenarios in real PWRs.

Modern techniques for condition monitoring of railway vehicle dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngigi, R W; Pislaru, C; Ball, A; Gu, F

2012-01-01

A modern railway system relies on sophisticated monitoring systems for maintenance and renewal activities. Some of the existing conditions monitoring techniques perform fault detection using advanced filtering, system identification and signal analysis methods. These theoretical approaches do not require complex mathematical models of the system and can overcome potential difficulties associated with nonlinearities and parameter variations in the system. Practical applications of condition monitoring tools use sensors which are mounted either on the track or rolling stock. For instance, monitoring wheelset dynamics could be done through the use of track-mounted sensors, while vehicle-based sensors are preferred for monitoring the train infrastructure. This paper attempts to collate and critically appraise the modern techniques used for condition monitoring of railway vehicle dynamics by analysing the advantages and shortcomings of these methods.

Biological water quality monitoring using chemiluminescent and bioluminescent techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, R. R.

1978-01-01

Automated chemiluminescence and bioluminescence sensors were developed for the continuous monitoring of microbial levels in water supplies. The optimal chemical procedures were determined for the chemiluminescence system to achieve maximum sensitivity. By using hydrogen peroxide, reaction rate differentiation, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), and carbon monoxide pretreatments, factors which cause interference were eliminated and specificity of the reaction for living and dead bacteria was greatly increased. By employing existing technology with some modifications, a sensitive and specific bioluminescent system was developed.

Biological basis of the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lance, D.R.; McInnis, D.O.

2005-01-01

In principle, the sterile insect technique (SIT) is applicable to controlling a wide variety of insect pests, but biological factors, interacting with socio-economic and political forces, restrict its practical use to a narrower set of pest species and situations. This chapter reviews how the biology and ecology of a given pest affect the feasibility and logistics of developing and using the SIT against that pest insect. The subjects of pest abundance, distribution, and population dynamics are discussed in relation to producing and delivering sufficient sterile insects to control target populations. Pest movement and distribution are considered as factors that influence the feasibility and design of SIT projects, including the need for population- or area-wide management approaches. Biological characteristics, that affect the ability of sterile insects to interact with wild populations, are presented, including the nature of mating systems of pests, behavioural and physiological consequences of mass production and sterilization, and mechanisms that males use to block a female's acquisition and/or use of sperm from other males. An adequate knowledge of the biology of the pest species and potential target populations is needed, both for making sound decisions on whether integration of the SIT into an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programme is appropriate, and for the efficient and effective application of the technique. (author)

Biomagnetic Monitoring of Atmospheric Pollution: A Review of Magnetic Signatures from Biological Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofman, Jelle; Maher, Barbara A; Muxworthy, Adrian R; Wuyts, Karen; Castanheiro, Ana; Samson, Roeland

2017-06-20

Biomagnetic monitoring of atmospheric pollution is a growing application in the field of environmental magnetism. Particulate matter (PM) in atmospheric pollution contains readily measurable concentrations of magnetic minerals. Biological surfaces, exposed to atmospheric pollution, accumulate magnetic particles over time, providing a record of location-specific, time-integrated air quality information. This review summarizes current knowledge of biological material ("sensors") used for biomagnetic monitoring purposes. Our work addresses the following: the range of magnetic properties reported for lichens, mosses, leaves, bark, trunk wood, insects, crustaceans, mammal and human tissues; their associations with atmospheric pollutant species (PM, NO x , trace elements, PAHs); the pros and cons of biomagnetic monitoring of atmospheric pollution; current challenges for large-scale implementation of biomagnetic monitoring; and future perspectives. A summary table is presented, with the aim of aiding researchers and policy makers in selecting the most suitable biological sensor for their intended biomagnetic monitoring purpose.

National Biological Monitoring Inventory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, R.L.

1979-01-01

The National Biological Monitoring Inventory, initiated in 1975, currently consists of four computerized data bases and voluminous manual files. MAIN BIOMON contains detailed information on 1,021 projects, while MINI BIOMON provides skeletal data for over 3,000 projects in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, plus a few in Canada and Mexico. BIBLIO BIOMON and DIRECTORY BIOMON complete the computerized data bases. The structure of the system provides for on-line search capabilities to generate details of agency sponsorship, indications of funding levels, taxonomic and geographic coverage, length of program life, managerial focus or emphasis, and condition of the data. Examples of each of these are discussed and illustrated, and potential use of the Inventory in a variety of situations is emphasized

Magnetic separation techniques in sample preparation for biological analysis: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Jincan; Huang, Meiying; Wang, Dongmei; Zhang, Zhuomin; Li, Gongke

2014-12-01

Sample preparation is a fundamental and essential step in almost all the analytical procedures, especially for the analysis of complex samples like biological and environmental samples. In past decades, with advantages of superparamagnetic property, good biocompatibility and high binding capacity, functionalized magnetic materials have been widely applied in various processes of sample preparation for biological analysis. In this paper, the recent advancements of magnetic separation techniques based on magnetic materials in the field of sample preparation for biological analysis were reviewed. The strategy of magnetic separation techniques was summarized. The synthesis, stabilization and bio-functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles were reviewed in detail. Characterization of magnetic materials was also summarized. Moreover, the applications of magnetic separation techniques for the enrichment of protein, nucleic acid, cell, bioactive compound and immobilization of enzyme were described. Finally, the existed problems and possible trends of magnetic separation techniques for biological analysis in the future were proposed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, S.M.; Brandt, C.C.; Christensen, S.W.; Greeley, M.S.JR.; Hill, W.R.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Stewart, A.J.

2000-09-01

The revised Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, as described, will be conducted as required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued for the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995 and became effective July 1, 1995. The basic approach to biological monitoring used in this program was developed by the staff in the Environmental Science Division (ESD) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) at the request of the Y-12 Plant. The revision to the BMAP plan is based on results of biological monitoring conducted during the period of 1985 to present. Details of the specific procedures used in the current routine monitoring program are provided; experimental designs for future studies are described in less detail. The overall strategy used in developing this plan was, and continues to be, to use the results obtained from each task to define the scope of future monitoring efforts. Such efforts may require more intensive sampling than initially proposed in some areas (e.g., additional bioaccumulation monitoring if results indicate unexpectedly high PCBs or Hg) or a reduction in sampling intensity in others (e.g., reduction in the number of sampling sites when no impact is still observed). The program scope will be re-evaluated annually. By using the results of previous monitoring efforts to define the current program and to guide us in the development of future studies, an effective integrated monitoring program has been developed to assess the impacts of Y-12 Plant operations (past and present) on the biota of EFPC and to document the ecological effects of remedial actions.

The impact of landsat satellite monitoring on conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Leimgruber, Peter; Christen, Catherine A; Laborderie, Alison

2005-07-01

Landsat 7's recent malfunctioning will result in significant gaps in long-term satellite monitoring of Earth, affecting not only the research of the Earth science community but also conservation users of these data. To determine whether or how important Landsat monitoring is for conservation and natural resource management, we reviewed the Landsat program's history with special emphasis on the development of user groups. We also conducted a bibliographic search to determine the extent to which conservation research has been based on Landsat data. Conservation biologists were not an early user group of Landsat data because a) biologists lacked technical capacity--computers and software--to analyze these data; b) Landsat's 1980s commercialization rendered images too costly for biologists' budgets; and c) the broad-scale disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology did not develop until the mid-to-late 1980s. All these conditions had changed by the 1990s and Landsat imagery became an important tool for conservation biology. Satellite monitoring and Landsat continuity are mandated by the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992. This legislation leaves open commercial options. However, past experiments with commercial operations were neither viable nor economical, and severely reduced the quality of monitoring, archiving and data access for academia and the public. Future satellite monitoring programs are essential for conservation and natural resource management, must provide continuity with Landsat, and should be government operated.

Machine monitoring via current signature analysis techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, S.F.; Castleberry, K.N.; Nowlin, C.H.

1992-01-01

A significant need in the effort to provide increased production quality is to provide improved plant equipment monitoring capabilities. Unfortunately, in today's tight economy, even such monitoring instrumentation must be implemented in a recognizably cost effective manner. By analyzing the electric current drawn by motors, actuator, and other line-powered industrial equipment, significant insights into the operations of the movers, driven equipment, and even the power source can be obtained. The generic term 'current signature analysis' (CSA) has been coined to describe several techniques for extracting useful equipment or process monitoring information from the electrical power feed system. A patented method developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is described which recognizes the presence of line-current modulation produced by motors and actuators driving varying loads. The in-situ application of applicable linear demodulation techniques to the analysis of numerous motor-driven systems is also discussed. The use of high-quality amplitude and angle-demodulation circuitry has permitted remote status monitoring of several types of medium and high-power gas compressors in (US DOE facilities) driven by 3-phase induction motors rated from 100 to 3,500 hp, both with and without intervening speed increasers. Flow characteristics of the compressors, including various forms of abnormal behavior such as surging and rotating stall, produce at the output of the specialized detectors specific time and frequency signatures which can be easily identified for monitoring, control, and fault-prevention purposes. The resultant data are similar in form to information obtained via standard vibration-sensing techniques and can be analyzed using essentially identical methods. In addition, other machinery such as refrigeration compressors, brine pumps, vacuum pumps, fans, and electric motors have been characterized

Non-destructive high-resolution thermal imaging techniques to evaluate wildlife and delicate biological samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lavers, C; Franklin, P; Franklin, P; Plowman, A; Sayers, G; Bol, J; Shepard, D; Fields, D, E-mail: brnc-radarcomms1@nrta.mod.u [Sensors Team, Plymouth University at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon (United Kingdom) and Paignton Zoological Park, Paignton, Devon (United Kingdom); Thermal Wave Imaging, Inc., 845 Livernoise St, Ferndale, MI (United States); Buckfast Butterfly and Otter Sanctuary, Buckfast, Devon (United Kingdom)

2009-07-01

Thermal imaging cameras now allows routine monitoring of dangerous yet endangered wildlife in captivity. This study looks at the potential applications of radiometrically calibrated thermal data to wildlife, as well as providing parameters for future materials applications. We present a non-destructive active testing technique suitable for enhancing imagery contrast of thin or delicate biological specimens yielding improved thermal contrast at room temperature, for analysis of sample thermal properties. A broad spectrum of animals is studied with different textured surfaces, reflective and emissive properties in the infra red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some surface features offer biomimetic materials design opportunities.

Non-destructive high-resolution thermal imaging techniques to evaluate wildlife and delicate biological samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavers, C; Franklin, P; Franklin, P; Plowman, A; Sayers, G; Bol, J; Shepard, D; Fields, D

2009-01-01

Thermal imaging cameras now allows routine monitoring of dangerous yet endangered wildlife in captivity. This study looks at the potential applications of radiometrically calibrated thermal data to wildlife, as well as providing parameters for future materials applications. We present a non-destructive active testing technique suitable for enhancing imagery contrast of thin or delicate biological specimens yielding improved thermal contrast at room temperature, for analysis of sample thermal properties. A broad spectrum of animals is studied with different textured surfaces, reflective and emissive properties in the infra red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some surface features offer biomimetic materials design opportunities.

Techniques for the generation and monitoring of vapors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, G.O.

1981-01-01

Controlled test atmospheres can be produced using a variety of techniques. Gases are usually generated by using flow dilution methods while vapors are produced by using solvent injection and vaporization, saturation, permeation and diffusion techniques. The resulting gas mixtures can be monitored and measured using flame ionization, photoionization, electrochemical and infrared analytical systems. An ideal system for the production of controlled test atmospheres would not only be able to generate controlled test atmospheres, but also monitor all pertinent environmental parameters, such as temperature, humidity, and air flow

Impurity monitoring by laser-induced fluorescence techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelbwachs, J.A.

1984-01-01

Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy can provide a highly sensitive and selective means of detecting atomic and ionic impurities. Because the photodetector can be physically isolated from the laser-excited region, these techniques can be applied to monitoring in hostile environments. The basic concepts behind fluorescence detection are reviewed. Saturated optical excitation is shown to maximize impurity atom emission yield while mitigating effects of laser intensity fluctuations upon absolute density calibration. Monitoring in high- and low-pressure monitoring environments is compared. Methods to improve detection sensitivity by luminescence background suppression are presented

Manipulation of biological samples using micro and nano techniques

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Castillo, Jaime; Dimaki, Maria; Svendsen, Winnie Edith

2009-01-01

to their natural structure. Thanks to the advances in micro- and nanofabrication during the last decades several manipulation techniques offer us the possibility to image, characterize and manipulate biological material in a controlled way. Using these techniques the integration of biomaterials with remarkable...

The development of digital monitoring technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, In Soo; Kim, D. H.; Kim, J. S.; Kim, C. H.; Kim, G. O.; Park, H. Y.; Suh, S. Y.; Sung, S. H.; Song, S. J.; Lee, C. K.; Jang, G. S.; Hur, S.

1997-08-01

A study has been performed for advanced DSP technology for the digital nuclear I and C systems for the monitoring and diagnosis techniques for high-pressurized structures integrity in NSSS. In the development of advanced DSP technology, real time process, communication network and signal validation were selected as the essential technologies of the digital signal process, and the requirements and methodology for the application of these technologies in NPP were established through technical analysis. Based on its results, the DPIS and the signal validation algorithm were developed. For the real-time process, the necessary requirements were define and the methodology of real-time software modeling was developed. For the communication network, the methodology of selection of the communication technique and developing procedure were established with an extraction of requirements. Functions, requirements, structure and technical specification were developed for the DPIS, and a real-time signal validation algorithm was developed and implemented for the signal validation. In a study on monitoring techniques for abnormal conditions, test and experimental facilities have been set up in order to carry out the required tests during research activities. Studies concentrated on how to acquire proper vibration or emission signals from mechanical structures and equipments, and to diagnose effectively the abnormal conditions of high pressure structure integrity. The algorithms of automatic signal analysis and diagnosis for abnormal conditions have been developed in this study to assist the operator's monitoring and diagnosis activities on structure integrity using new technologies. (author). 23 refs., 68 tabs., 196 figs

The development of digital monitoring technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koo, In Soo; Kim, D. H.; Kim, J. S.; Kim, C. H.; Kim, G. O.; Park, H. Y.; Suh, S. Y.; Sung, S. H.; Song, S. J.; Lee, C. K.; Jang, G. S.; Hur, S.

1997-08-01

A study has been performed for advanced DSP technology for the digital nuclear I and C systems for the monitoring and diagnosis techniques for high-pressurized structures integrity in NSSS. In the development of advanced DSP technology, real time process, communication network and signal validation were selected as the essential technologies of the digital signal process, and the requirements and methodology for the application of these technologies in NPP were established through technical analysis. Based on its results, the DPIS and the signal validation algorithm were developed. For the real-time process, the necessary requirements were define and the methodology of real-time software modeling was developed. For the communication network, the methodology of selection of the communication technique and developing procedure were established with an extraction of requirements. Functions, requirements, structure and technical specification were developed for the DPIS, and a real-time signal validation algorithm was developed and implemented for the signal validation. In a study on monitoring techniques for abnormal conditions, test and experimental facilities have been set up in order to carry out the required tests during research activities. Studies concentrated on how to acquire proper vibration or emission signals from mechanical structures and equipments, and to diagnose effectively the abnormal conditions of high pressure structure integrity. The algorithms of automatic signal analysis and diagnosis for abnormal conditions have been developed in this study to assist the operator`s monitoring and diagnosis activities on structure integrity using new technologies. (author). 23 refs., 68 tabs., 196 figs.

Pump failure leads to alternative vertical pump condition monitoring technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeVilliers, Adriaan; Glandon, Kevin

2011-01-01

Condition monitoring and detecting early signs of potential failure mechanisms present particular problems in vertical pumps. Most often, the majority of the pump assembly is not readily accessible for visual or audible inspection or conventional vibration monitoring techniques using accelerometers and/or proximity sensors. The root cause failure analysis of a 2-stage vertical centrifugal service-water pump at a nuclear power generating facility in the USA is presented, highlighting this long standing challenge in condition monitoring of vertical pumps. This paper will summarize the major findings of the root cause analysis (RCA), highlight the limitations of traditional monitoring techniques, and present an expanded application of motor current monitoring as a means to gain insight into the mechanical performance and condition of a pump. The 'real-world' example of failure, monitoring and correlation of the monitoring technique to a detailed pump disassembly inspection is also presented. This paper will explain some of the reasons behind well known design principles requiring natural frequency separation from known forcing frequencies, as well as explore an unexpected submerged brittle fracture failure mechanism, and how such issues may be avoided. (author)

Atmospheric pollution in the Tula Industrial Corridor studied using a bio monitor and nuclear analytical techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez C, M. A.; Solis, C.; Andrade, E. [UNAM, Instituto de Fisica, Apdo. Postal 20-364, 01000 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Beltran H, R. I. [Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Centro de Investigaciones Quimicas, Carretera Pachuca-Tulancingo Km. 4.5, 42184 Pachuca, Hidalgo (Mexico); Issac O, K. [Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Facultad de Medicina, Paseo Tollocan s/n, esq. Jesus Carranza, 50120 Toluca, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Lucho C, C. A. [Universidad Politecnica de Pachuca, Carretera Pachuca-Cd. Sahagun Km. 20, Hidalgo (Mexico); Lopez R, M. C.; Longoria, L. C. [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca s/n, 52750 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)

2011-02-15

This study deals with the application of nuclear analytical techniques to analyze trace elements in the biological monitor Tillandsia usneoides. Biological monitors provides an alternative advantageous way of particulate matter sampling in air pollution studies, since there is no need of special sampling devices, accumulation time can be as long as desired. T. usneoides, which occurs naturally throughout Mexico, was used to monitor air quality of Tula-Vito-Apasco (TVA) industrial corridor at central Mexico. This area is considered one of the critical zones of the country because of atmospheric contaminants high concentration. Particulate matter is regulated by Mexican norms, but its chemical composition is not. Plants were transplanted from a clean environment to four sites at the TVA corridor, and exposed for 12 weeks from February to April 2008. Trace element accumulation of plants was determined by particle induced X-ray emission and neutron activation analysis. Results reveal differences in trace elements distribution among sites in the TVA corridor. Furthermore, anthropogenic elements (S, V) and crustal elements (Ca) in T. usneoides exhibit high levels. Highly toxic elements such as Hg, As and Cr although present at trace levels, showed un enrichment relative to the initial values, when transplanted to the TVA corridor. Results show that monitoring with T. usneoides allows a first approximation of air sources to provide insights of the atmospheric pollution in the TVA corridor. (Author)

Atmospheric pollution in the Tula Industrial Corridor studied using a bio monitor and nuclear analytical techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez C, M. A.; Solis, C.; Andrade, E.; Beltran H, R. I.; Issac O, K.; Lucho C, C. A.; Lopez R, M. C.; Longoria, L. C.

2011-01-01

This study deals with the application of nuclear analytical techniques to analyze trace elements in the biological monitor Tillandsia usneoides. Biological monitors provides an alternative advantageous way of particulate matter sampling in air pollution studies, since there is no need of special sampling devices, accumulation time can be as long as desired. T. usneoides, which occurs naturally throughout Mexico, was used to monitor air quality of Tula-Vito-Apasco (TVA) industrial corridor at central Mexico. This area is considered one of the critical zones of the country because of atmospheric contaminants high concentration. Particulate matter is regulated by Mexican norms, but its chemical composition is not. Plants were transplanted from a clean environment to four sites at the TVA corridor, and exposed for 12 weeks from February to April 2008. Trace element accumulation of plants was determined by particle induced X-ray emission and neutron activation analysis. Results reveal differences in trace elements distribution among sites in the TVA corridor. Furthermore, anthropogenic elements (S, V) and crustal elements (Ca) in T. usneoides exhibit high levels. Highly toxic elements such as Hg, As and Cr although present at trace levels, showed un enrichment relative to the initial values, when transplanted to the TVA corridor. Results show that monitoring with T. usneoides allows a first approximation of air sources to provide insights of the atmospheric pollution in the TVA corridor. (Author)

Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant biological monitoring and abatement program (BMAP) plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, S.M.; Brandt, C.C.; Cicerone, D.S. [and others

1998-02-01

The proposed Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, as described, will be conducted for the duration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued for the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995, and which became effective July 1, 1995. The basic approach to biological monitoring used in this program was developed by the staff in the Environmental Sciences Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of Y-12 Plant personnel. The proposed BMAP plan is based on results of biological monitoring conducted since 1985. Details of the specific procedures used in the current routine monitoring program are provided, but experimental designs for future studies are described in less detail. The overall strategy used in developing this plan was, and continues to be, to use the results obtained from each task to define the scope of future monitoring efforts. Such efforts may require more intensive sampling than initially proposed in some areas or a reduction in sampling intensity in others. By using the results of previous monitoring efforts to define the current program and to guide them in the development of future studies, an effective integrated monitoring program has been developed to assess the impacts of the Y-12 Plant operation on the biota of EFPC and to document the ecological effects of remedial actions.

Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant biological monitoring and abatement program (BMAP) plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, S.M.; Brandt, C.C.; Cicerone, D.S.

1998-02-01

The proposed Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, as described, will be conducted for the duration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued for the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995, and which became effective July 1, 1995. The basic approach to biological monitoring used in this program was developed by the staff in the Environmental Sciences Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of Y-12 Plant personnel. The proposed BMAP plan is based on results of biological monitoring conducted since 1985. Details of the specific procedures used in the current routine monitoring program are provided, but experimental designs for future studies are described in less detail. The overall strategy used in developing this plan was, and continues to be, to use the results obtained from each task to define the scope of future monitoring efforts. Such efforts may require more intensive sampling than initially proposed in some areas or a reduction in sampling intensity in others. By using the results of previous monitoring efforts to define the current program and to guide them in the development of future studies, an effective integrated monitoring program has been developed to assess the impacts of the Y-12 Plant operation on the biota of EFPC and to document the ecological effects of remedial actions

Description and implementation of acid/base titrimetric techniques for process monitoring; Descripcion e implementacion de tecnicas titrimetricas acido/base para la monitorizacion de procesos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marcelino Represa, M.; Guisasola i Canudas, A.; Casa Alvero, C.; Lafuente Sancho, F. J.

2006-07-01

The basis of titrimetric techniques is that the proton production (or consumption) rate can be indirectly measured with the amount of base (or acid) dosage necessary to maintain the pH at a certain setpoint value. Titrimetric measurements are very useful for the monitoring of any process that influences pH with simple equipment (an accurate pH control loop). This work describes the theoretical basis of titrimetric measurements and shows three examples of the application of titrimetric techniques for the process monitoring: CO{sub 2} absorption, nitrification and biological organic matter removal. (Author)

Tennessee's East Fork Poplar Creek: A biological monitoring and abatement program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halbrook, R.S.; Loar, J.M.; Adams, S.M.; Black, M.C.; Boston, H.L.; Greeley, M.S. Jr.; Hill, W.R.; Hinzman, R.L.; McCarthy, J.F.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Schilling, E.M.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Stewart, A.J.; Gatz, A.J.

1991-01-01

On May 1985, a Biological Monitoring Program was developed for East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) in eastern Tennessee, United States. This stream originates within the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant that produces nuclear weapons components for the Department of Energy. Water and sediment in the stream contain metals, organic chemicals, and radionuclides from releases that have occurred over the past 45 years. The creek also receives urban and some agricultural runoff and effluent from the City of Oak Ridge's Wastewater Treatment Facility (WTF). The biological monitoring program includes four major tasks: (1) ambient toxicity testing: (2) bioaccumulation studies; (3) biological indicator studies; and (4) ecological monitoring of stream communities, including periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish. Biological conditions are monitored at six sites on EFPC ranging from kilometer 24.4 near the headwaters to kilometer 6.3 near the month. A site on Brushy Fork, A stream just north of Oak Ridge, is used as reference. Ambient (instream) toxicity was monitored through the use of 7-day static-renewal tests that measured the survival and growth of fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) larvae and the survival and reproduction of a microstrustacean (Ceriodaphnia dubia). Full-strength water from EFPC within the Y-12 Plant boundary was frequently toxic to Ceriodaphnia, but less frequently toxic to the minnow larvae. Chlorine has been identified as an important toxicant in upper EFPC. Water samples from six sites in EFPC downstream from the Y-12 Plant boundary were tested eight times with both species during a 2-year period (October, 1986 through October, 1988). These sites were ranked by the number of times they were ''best'' or ''worst'' for each species. Water samples collected for use in the ambient toxicity tests were routinely analyzed for conductivity, pH, alkalinity, hardness, total residual and free chlorine, and temperature

AN EVALUATION OF CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR LOW-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC CABLES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LOFARO, R.J.; GROVE, E.; SOO, P.

2000-01-01

Aging of systems and components in nuclear power plants is a well known occurrence that must be managed to ensure the continued safe operation of these plants. Much of the degradation due to aging is controlled through periodic maintenance and/or component replacement. However, there are components that do not receive periodic maintenance or monitoring once they are installed; electric cables are such a component. To provide a means of monitoring the condition of electric cables, research is ongoing to evaluate promising condition monitoring (CM) techniques that can be used in situ to monitor cable condition and predict remaining life. While several techniques are promising, each has limitations that must be considered in its application. This paper discusses the theory behind several of the promising cable CM techniques being studied, along with their effectiveness for monitoring aging degradation in typical cable insulation materials, such as cross-linked polyethylene and ethylene propylene rubber. Successes and limitations of each technique are also presented

Study of laser monitoring techniques of pollutants in atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, T. A. A.

2006-01-01

There are several techniques used as a tool for monitoring the pollutions in the atmosphere, where the laser radiation sending through the sample of atmosphere to be investigated ether transmission or the scattering of the light, all the way through a variety of different techniques for monitoring the air quality. We are showed in this study the comparison of detection techniques through measuring the light scattered in some particular direction, rather than measuring direction the attenuation due to two type of scattering (Rayieh scattering and Mie scattering) during (optical Radar, Roman backscattering and Resonance fluorescence).(Author)

Towards a biological monitoring guidance value for acrylamide.

Science.gov (United States)

Sams, C; Jones, K; Warren, N; Cocker, J; Bell, S; Bull, P; Cain, M

2015-08-19

Acrylamide is classified as a potential human carcinogen and neurotoxicant. Biological monitoring is a useful tool for monitoring worker exposure. However, other sources of exposure to acrylamide (including cigarette smoke and diet) also need to be considered. This study has performed repeat measurements of the urinary mercapturic acids of acrylamide (AAMA) and its metabolite glycidamide (GAMA) and determined globin adducts in 20 production-plant workers at a UK acrylamide production facility. The relationship between biomarker levels and environmental monitoring data (air levels and hand washes) was investigated. Good correlations were found between all of the biomarkers (r(2)=0.86-0.91) and moderate correlations were found between the biomarkers and air levels (r(2) = 0.56-0.65). Our data show that urinary AAMA is a reliable biomarker of acrylamide exposure. Occupational hygiene data showed that acrylamide exposure at the company was well within the current UK Workplace Exposure Limit. The 90th percentile of urinary AAMA in non-smoking production-plant workers (537 μmol/mol creatinine (n = 59 samples)) is proposed as a possible biological monitoring guidance value. This 90th percentile increased to 798 μmol/mol if smokers were included (n = 72 samples). These values would be expected following an airborne exposure of less than 0.07 mg/m(3), well below the current UK workplace exposure limit of 0.3mg/m(3). Comparison of biomarker levels in non-occupationally exposed individuals suggests regional variations (between UK and Germany), possibly due to differences in diet. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

OAK RIDGE Y-12 PLANT BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND ABATEMENT PROGRAM (BMAP) PLAN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ADAMS, S.M.; BRANDT, C.C.; CHRISTENSEN, S.W.; CICERONE, D.S.; GREELEY, M.S.JR; HILL, W.R.; HUSTON, M.S.; KSZOS, L.A.; MCCARTHY, J.F.; PETERSON, M.J.; RYON, M.G.; SMITH, J.G.; SOUTHWORTH, G.R.; STEWART, A.J.

1998-10-01

The proposed Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) for East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, as described, will be conducted for the duration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued for the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995, and which became effective July 1, 1995. The basic approach to biological monitoring used in this program was developed by the staff in the Environmental Sciences Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the request of Y- 12 Plant personnel. The proposed BMAP plan is based on results of biological monitoring conducted since 1985. Details of the specific procedures used in the current routine monitoring program are provided but experimental designs for future studies are described in less detail. The overall strategy used in developing this plan was, and continues to be, to use the results obtained from each task to define the scope of future monitoring efforts. Such efforts may require more intensive sampling than initially proposed in some areas (e.g., additional toxicity testing if initial results indicate low survival or reproduction) or a reduction in sampling intensity in others (e.g., reduction in the number of sampling sites when no impact is observed). By using the results of previous monitoring efforts to define the current program and to guide us in the development of future studies, an effective integrated monitoring program has been developed to assess the impacts of the Y-12 Plant operation on the biota of EFPC and to document the ecological effects of remedial actions.

Assessment of ground-based monitoring techniques applied to landslide investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Uhlemann, S.; Smith, A.; Chambers, J.; Dixon, N.; Dijkstra, T.; Haslam, E.; Meldrum, P.; Merritt, A.; Gunn, D.; Mackay, J.

2016-01-01

A landslide complex in the Whitby Mudstone Formation at Hollin Hill, North Yorkshire, UK is periodically re-activated in response to rainfall-induced pore-water pressure fluctuations. This paper compares long-term measurements (i.e., 2009-2014) obtained from a combination of monitoring techniques that have been employed together for the first time on an active landslide. The results highlight the relative performance of the different techniques, and can provide guidance for researchers and practitioners for selecting and installing appropriate monitoring techniques to assess unstable slopes. Particular attention is given to the spatial and temporal resolutions offered by the different approaches that include: Real Time Kinematic-GPS (RTK-GPS) monitoring of a ground surface marker array, conventional inclinometers, Shape Acceleration Arrays (SAA), tilt meters, active waveguides with Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring, and piezometers. High spatial resolution information has allowed locating areas of stability and instability across a large slope. This has enabled identification of areas where further monitoring efforts should be focused. High temporal resolution information allowed the capture of 'S'-shaped slope displacement-time behaviour (i.e. phases of slope acceleration, deceleration and stability) in response to elevations in pore-water pressures. This study shows that a well-balanced suite of monitoring techniques that provides high temporal and spatial resolutions on both measurement and slope scale is necessary to fully understand failure and movement mechanisms of slopes. In the case of the Hollin Hill landslide it enabled detailed interpretation of the geomorphological processes governing landslide activity. It highlights the benefit of regularly surveying a network of GPS markers to determine areas for installation of movement monitoring techniques that offer higher resolution both temporally and spatially. The small sensitivity of tilt meter measurements

The role and future of in-vitro isotopic techniques in molecular biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dar, L.; Khan, B.K.

2004-01-01

In this review we discuss isotopic in-vitro molecular biology techniques, and their advantages and applications. Isotopic methods have helped to shape molecular biology since its early days. Despite the availability of non-isotopic alternatives, isotopic methods continue to be used in molecular biology due to certain advantages, especially related to sensitivity and cost-effectiveness. Numerous techniques involving the use of isotopes help in the characterization of genes, including the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or mutations. Other isotopic molecular methods are utilized to study the phenotypic expression of gene sequences and their mutation. Emerging branches of molecular biology like functional genomics and proteomics are extremely important for exploiting the rapidly growing data derived from whole genomic sequencing of human and microbial genomes. Recent molecular biology applications like the high-throughput array techniques are relevant in the context of both structural and functional genomics. In proteomics, stable isotope based technology has found applications in the analysis of protein structure and interactions. (author)

Human Biological Monitoring of Diisononyl Phthalate and Diisodecyl Phthalate: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gurusankar Saravanabhavan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available High molecular-weight phthalates, such as diisononyl phthalate (DINP, and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP, are widely used as plasticizers in the manufacturing of polymers and consumer products. Human biological monitoring studies have employed the metabolites of DINP and DIDP as biomarkers to assess human exposure. In this review, we summarize and analyze publicly available scientific data on chemistry, metabolism, and excretion kinetics, of DINP and DIDP, to identify specific and sensitive metabolites. Human biological monitoring data on DINP and DIDP are scrutinised to assess the suitability of these metabolites as biomarkers of exposure. Results from studies carried out in animals and humans indicate that phthalates are metabolised rapidly and do not bioaccmulate. During Phase-I metabolism, ester hydrolysis of DINP and DIDP leads to the formation of hydrolytic monoesters. These primary metabolites undergo further oxidation reactions to produce secondary metabolites. Hence, the levels of secondary metabolites of DINP and DIDP in urine are found to be always higher than the primary metabolites. Results from human biological monitoring studies have shown that the secondary metabolites of DINP and DIDP in urine were detected in almost all tested samples, while the primary metabolites were detected in only about 10% of the samples. This indicates that the secondary metabolites are very sensitive biomarkers of DINP/DIDP exposure while primary metabolites are not. The NHANES data indicate that the median concentrations of MCIOP and MCINP (secondary metabolites of DINP and DIDP, resp. at a population level are about 5.1 μg/L and 2.7 μg/L, respectively. Moreover, the available biological monitoring data suggest that infants/children are exposed to higher levels of phthalates than adults.

Human Biological Monitoring of Diisononyl Phthalate and Diisodecyl Phthalate: A Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saravanabhavan, G.; Murray, J.

2012-01-01

High molecular-weight phthalates, such as diisononyl phthalate (Din), and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), are widely used as plasticizers in the manufacturing of polymers and consumer products. Human biological monitoring studies have employed the metabolites of DINP and DIDP as bio markers to assess human exposure. In this review, we summarize and analyze publicly available scientific data on chemistry, metabolism, and excretion kinetics, of DINP and DIDP, to identify specific and sensitive metabolites. Human biological monitoring data on DINP and DIDP are scrutinised to assess the suitability of these metabolites as bio markers of exposure. Results from studies carried out in animals and humans indicate that phthalates are metabolised rapidly and do not bio accumulate. During Phase-I metabolism, ester hydrolysis of DINP and DIDP leads to the formation of hydrolytic monoesters. These primary metabolites undergo further oxidation reactions to produce secondary metabolites. Hence, the levels of secondary metabolites of DINP and DIDP in urine are found to be always higher than the primary metabolites. Results from human biological monitoring studies have shown that the secondary metabolites of DINP and DIDP in urine were detected in almost all tested samples, while the primary metabolites were detected in only about 10% of the samples. This indicates that the secondary metabolites are very sensitive bio markers of DINP/DIDP exposure while primary metabolites are not. The NHANES data indicate that the median concentrations of MCIOP and MCINP (secondary metabolites of DINP and DIDP, resp.) at a population level are about 5.1 μg/L and 2.7 μg/L, respectively. Moreover, the available biological monitoring data suggest that infants/children are exposed to higher levels of phthalates than adults.

Monitoring Severe Accidents Using AI Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

No, Young Gyu; Kim, Ju Hyun; Na, Man Gyun; Ahn, Kwang Il

2011-01-01

It is very difficult for nuclear power plant operators to monitor and identify the major severe accident scenarios following an initiating event by staring at temporal trends of important parameters. The objective of this study is to develop and verify the monitoring for severe accidents using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH) and fuzzy neural network (FNN). The SVC and PNN are used for event classification among the severe accidents. Also, GMDH and FNN are used to monitor for severe accidents. The inputs to AI techniques are initial time-integrated values obtained by integrating measurement signals during a short time interval after reactor scram. In this study, 3 types of initiating events such as the hot-leg LOCA, the cold-leg LOCA and SGTR are considered and it is verified how well the proposed scenario identification algorithm using the GMDH and FNN models identifies the timings when the reactor core will be uncovered, when CET will exceed 1200 .deg. F and when the reactor vessel will fail. In cases that an initiating event develops into a severe accident, the proposed algorithm showed accurate classification of initiating events. Also, it well predicted timings for important occurrences during severe accident progression scenarios, which is very helpful for operators to perform severe accident management

Recent advances in electronic nose techniques for monitoring of fermentation process.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Hui; Zhang, Hang; Chen, Quansheng; Mei, Congli; Liu, Guohai

2015-12-01

Microbial fermentation process is often sensitive to even slight changes of conditions that may result in unacceptable end-product quality. Thus, the monitoring of the process is critical for discovering unfavorable deviations as early as possible and taking the appropriate measures. However, the use of traditional analytical techniques is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this sense, the most effective way of developing rapid, accurate and relatively economical method for quality assurance in microbial fermentation process is the use of novel chemical sensor systems. Electronic nose techniques have particular advantages in non-invasive monitoring of microbial fermentation process. Therefore, in this review, we present an overview of the most important contributions dealing with the quality control in microbial fermentation process using the electronic nose techniques. After a brief description of the fundamentals of the sensor techniques, some examples of potential applications of electronic nose techniques monitoring are provided, including the implementation of control strategies and the combination with other monitoring tools (i.e. sensor fusion). Finally, on the basis of the review, the electronic nose techniques are critically commented, and its strengths and weaknesses being highlighted. In addition, on the basis of the observed trends, we also propose the technical challenges and future outlook for the electronic nose techniques.

Assessment of biological leaf tissue using biospeckle laser imaging technique

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, M. Z.; Mujeeb, A.; Nirala, A. K.

2018-06-01

We report on the application of an optical imaging technique, the biospeckle laser, as a potential tool to assess biological and medicinal plant leaves. The biospeckle laser technique is a non-invasive and non-destructive optical technique used to investigate biological objects. Just after their removal from plants, the torn leaves were used for biospeckle laser imaging. Quantitative evaluation of the biospeckle data using the inertia moment (IM) of the time history speckle pattern, showed that the IM can be utilized to provide a biospeckle signature to the plant leaves. It showed that leaves from different plants can have their own characteristic IM values. We further investigated the infected regions of the leaves that display a relatively lower biospeckle activity than the healthy tissue. It was easy to discriminate between the infected and healthy regions of the leaf tissue. The biospeckle technique can successfully be implemented as a potential tool for the taxonomy of quality leaves. Furthermore, the technique can help boost the quality of ayurvedic medicines.

Role of cytogenetic techniques in biological dosimetry of absorbed radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rao, B.S.

2016-01-01

In most of the radiation accidents, physical dosimetric information is rarely available. Further, most of the accidental exposures are non-uniform involving either partial body or localized exposure to significant doses. In such situations, physical dosimetry does not provide reliable dose estimate. It has now been realized that biological dosimetric techniques can play an important role in the assessment of absorbed dose. In recent years, a number of biological indicators of radiation have been identified. These include the kinetics of onset and persistence of prodromal syndromes (radiation sickness), cytogenetic changes in peripheral blood lymphocytes, hematological changes, biochemical indicators, ESR spectroscopy of biological samples, induction of gene mutations in red blood cells, cytogenetic and physiological changes in skin and neurophysiological changes. In general, dosimetric information is derived by a combination of several different methods, as they have potential to serve as prognostic indicators. The role of cytogenetic techniques in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) as biological indicators of absorbed radiation is reviewed here

Behavior change techniques implemented in electronic lifestyle activity monitors: a systematic content analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, Elizabeth J; Lewis, Zakkoyya H; Mayrsohn, Brian G; Rowland, Jennifer L

2014-08-15

Electronic activity monitors (such as those manufactured by Fitbit, Jawbone, and Nike) improve on standard pedometers by providing automated feedback and interactive behavior change tools via mobile device or personal computer. These monitors are commercially popular and show promise for use in public health interventions. However, little is known about the content of their feedback applications and how individual monitors may differ from one another. The purpose of this study was to describe the behavior change techniques implemented in commercially available electronic activity monitors. Electronic activity monitors (N=13) were systematically identified and tested by 3 trained coders for at least 1 week each. All monitors measured lifestyle physical activity and provided feedback via an app (computer or mobile). Coding was based on a hierarchical list of 93 behavior change techniques. Further coding of potentially effective techniques and adherence to theory-based recommendations were based on findings from meta-analyses and meta-regressions in the research literature. All monitors provided tools for self-monitoring, feedback, and environmental change by definition. The next most prevalent techniques (13 out of 13 monitors) were goal-setting and emphasizing discrepancy between current and goal behavior. Review of behavioral goals, social support, social comparison, prompts/cues, rewards, and a focus on past success were found in more than half of the systems. The monitors included a range of 5-10 of 14 total techniques identified from the research literature as potentially effective. Most of the monitors included goal-setting, self-monitoring, and feedback content that closely matched recommendations from social cognitive theory. Electronic activity monitors contain a wide range of behavior change techniques typically used in clinical behavioral interventions. Thus, the monitors may represent a medium by which these interventions could be translated for

Physical integrity: the missing link in biological monitoring and TMDLs.

Science.gov (United States)

Asmus, Brenda; Magner, Joseph A; Vondracek, Bruce; Perry, Jim

2009-12-01

The Clean Water Act mandates that the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nation's waters be maintained and restored. Physical integrity has often been defined as physical habitat integrity, and as such, data collected during biological monitoring programs focus primarily on habitat quality. However, we argue that channel stability is a more appropriate measure of physical integrity and that channel stability is a foundational element of physical habitat integrity in low-gradient alluvial streams. We highlight assessment tools that could supplement stream assessments and the Total Maximum Daily Load stressor identification process: field surveys of bankfull cross-sections; longitudinal thalweg profiles; particle size distribution; and regionally calibrated, visual, stream stability assessments. Benefits of measuring channel stability include a more informed selection of reference or best attainable stream condition for an Index of Biotic Integrity, establishment of a baseline for monitoring changes in present and future condition, and indication of channel stability for investigations of chemical and biological impairments associated with sediment discontinuity and loss of habitat quality.

Diffraction Techniques in Structural Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Egli, Martin

2016-01-01

A detailed understanding of chemical and biological function and the mechanisms underlying the molecular activities ultimately requires atomic-resolution structural data. Diffraction-based techniques such as single-crystal X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and neutron diffraction are well established and they have paved the road to the stunning successes of modern-day structural biology. The major advances achieved in the last 20 years in all aspects of structural research, including sample preparation, crystallization, the construction of synchrotron and spallation sources, phasing approaches, and high-speed computing and visualization, now provide specialists and nonspecialists alike with a steady flow of molecular images of unprecedented detail. The present unit combines a general overview of diffraction methods with a detailed description of the process of a single-crystal X-ray structure determination experiment, from chemical synthesis or expression to phasing and refinement, analysis, and quality control. For novices it may serve as a stepping-stone to more in-depth treatises of the individual topics. Readers relying on structural information for interpreting functional data may find it a useful consumer guide. PMID:27248784

Techniques for Non-Invasive Monitoring of Arterial Blood Pressure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnes S. Meidert

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Since both, hypotension and hypertension, can potentially impair the function of vital organs such as heart, brain, or kidneys, monitoring of arterial blood pressure (BP is a mainstay of hemodynamic monitoring in acutely or critically ill patients. Arterial BP can either be obtained invasively via an arterial catheter or non-invasively. Non-invasive BP measurement provides either intermittent or continuous readings. Most commonly, an occluding upper arm cuff is used for intermittent non-invasive monitoring. BP values are then obtained either manually (by auscultation of Korotkoff sounds or palpation or automatically (e.g., by oscillometry. For continuous non-invasive BP monitoring, the volume clamp method or arterial applanation tonometry can be used. Both techniques enable the arterial waveform and BP values to be obtained continuously. This article describes the different techniques for non-invasive BP measurement, their advantages and limitations, and their clinical applicability.

A vision for global monitoring of biological invasions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Latombe, G.; Pyšek, Petr; Jeschke, J.M.; Blackburn, T. M.; Bacher, S.; Capinha, C.; Costello, M. J.; Fernández, M.; Gregory, R. D.; Hobern, D.; Hui, C.; Jetz, W.; Kumschick, S.; McGrannachan, C.; Pergl, Jan; Roy, H. E.; Scalera, R.; Squires, Z. E.; Wilson, J. R. U.; Winter, M.; Genovesi, P.; McGeoch, M. A.

2017-01-01

Roč. 213, part B (2017), s. 295-308 ISSN 0006-3207 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36079G Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) AP1002 Program:Akademická prémie - Praemium Academiae Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : biological invasions * monitoring * management Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Biodiversity conservation Impact factor: 4.022, year: 2016

Suitable activated stable nuclide tracer technique and its applications in biology and medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Weicheng

1989-01-01

Stable isotopes as tracers in biology and medicine have been more extensively used. Mass spectrometry has been a classic technique in the analysis of stable isotopes because it is very sensitive and precise. Activation analysis has recently been introduced as an analytical tool. Its fast speed and simplicity is a great advantage for handling large batches of samples in isotopic tracer experiments. The combination of enriched stable isotope tracer studies and activation analysis techniques has become an ideal and reliable technique, especially in the fields of biology and medicine. This paper presents a survey of the fundamental principle, the character and the applications in biology and medicine for the suitable activated stable isotope tracer techniques

Post decommissioning monitoring of uranium mines; a watershed monitoring program based on biological response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russel, C.; Coggan, A.; Ludgate, I.

2006-01-01

Rio Algom Limited and Denison Mines own and operated uranium mines in the Elliot Lake area. The mines operated from the late 1950's to the mid 1960's and again for the early 1970's to the 1990's when the mines ceased operations. There are eleven decommissioned mines in the Serpent River watershed. At the time of decommissioning each mine had it's own monitoring program, which had evolved over the operating life of the mine and did not necessarily reflect the objectives associated with the monitoring of decommissioned sites. In order to assess the effectiveness of the decommissioning plans and monitoring the cumulative effects within the watershed, a single watershed monitoring program was developed in 1999: the Serpent River Watershed Monitoring Program which focused on water and sediment quality within the watershed and response of the biological community over time. In order to address other 'source area' monitoring, three complimentary objective-focused programs were developed 1) the In- Basin Monitoring Program, 2) the Source Area Monitoring Program and 3) the TMA Operational Monitoring Program. Through development this program framework and monitoring programs that were objective- focused, more meaningful data has been provided while providing a significant reduction in the cost of monitoring. These programs allow for the reduction in scope over time in response to improvement in the watershed. This talk will describe the development of these programs, their implementation and effectiveness. (author)

Opportunity of interventional radiology: advantages and application of interventional technique in biological target therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teng Gaojun; Lu Qin

2007-01-01

Interventional techniques not only provide opportunity of treatment for many diseases, but also alter the traditional therapeutic pattern. With the new century of wide application of biological therapies, interventional technique also shows extensive roles. The current biological therapy, including gene therapy, cell transplantation therapy, immunobiologic molecule therapy containing cell factors, tumor antibody or vaccine, recombined proteins, radioactive-particles and targeting materials therapy, can be locally administrated by interventional techniques. The combination of targeting biological therapies and high-targeted interventional technique holds advantages of minimal invasion, accurate delivery, vigorous local effect, and less systemic adverse reactions. Authors believe that the biological therapy may arise a great opportunity for interventional radiology, therefore interventional colleagues should grasp firmly and promptly for the development and extension in this field. (authors)

Selected methods of waste monitoring using modern analytical techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hlavacek, I.; Hlavackova, I.

1993-11-01

Issues of the inspection and control of bituminized and cemented waste are discussed, and some methods of their nondestructive testing are described. Attention is paid to the inspection techniques, non-nuclear spectral techniques in particular, as employed for quality control of the wastes, waste concentrates, spent waste leaching solutions, as well as for the examination of environmental samples (waters and soils) from the surroundings of nuclear power plants. Some leaching tests used abroad for this purpose and practical analyses by the ICP-AES technique are given by way of example. The ICP-MS technique, which is unavailable in the Czech Republic, is routinely employed abroad for alpha nuclide measurements; examples of such analyses are also given. The next topic discussed includes the monitoring of organic acids and complexants to determine the degree of their thermal decomposition during the bituminization of wastes on an industrial line. All of the methods and procedures highlighted can be used as technical support during the monitoring of radioactive waste properties in industrial conditions, in the chemical and radiochemical analyses of wastes and related matter, in the calibration of nondestructive testing instrumentation, in the monitoring of contamination of the surroundings of nuclear facilities, and in trace analysis. (author). 10 tabs., 1 fig., 14 refs

Biological mineralization of iron: Studies using Moesbauer spectroscopy and complementary techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Webb, J.; Kim, K.S.; Tran, K.C.; Pierre, T.G.S.

1988-01-01

Biological deposition of solid Fe-containing phases can be studied using 57 Fe Moessbauer spectroscopy. Other techniques are needed in order to understand this complex process. These include proton-induced X-ray and γ-ray emission (PIXE/PIGME), electron microscopy, electron and X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and chemical characterization of organic components. This paper reviews and evaluates the application of these techniques to biological mineralization of Fe, particularly that occurring in the radula teeth of the marine molluscs, chitons and limpets. (orig.)

Radon monitoring technique with electret collecting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Zhiheng; Zuo Fuqi; Xiao Detao; Zhao Xkiuliang

1991-12-01

The integrating radon monitoring technique with electret collecting is a method which collects the 218 Po + positive ions by electrostatic field produced by electret. It has greatly improved the sensitivity of radon measurement. The response factor of this method reaches to 4.7 cm -2 Bq -1 m 3 h -1 , 1000 times larger than that of common passive sampling method. The monitoring device and its principle are introduced. The measuring results of radon concentration and radon flux rate and quality assurance system by using this method in the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, Human Environmental Monitoring Central Station and some uranium mines are also presented. The analytical results show that the radon concentration in the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant is affected by wind direction. When wind directs toward sea, the radon concentration is high. If the wind is to the contrary, it is low. The radon concentration ratio of both is about 2

An integrated strategy for biological effects monitoring in Scottish coastal waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, R.A.; Dobson, J.; Richardson, L.; Hill, A.

1999-01-01

The paper summarises SEPA's current programme of water quality and biological effects monitoring and, using recent examples, discusses the current environmental issues affecting the condition of our coastal waters. (author)

Acoustic monitoring techniques for corrosion degradation in cemented waste canisters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naish, C.C.; Buttle, D.; Wallace-Sims, R.; O'Brien, T.M.

1991-01-01

This report describes work to investigate acoustic emission as a non-intrusive monitor of corrosion and degradation of cemented wasteforms where the waste is a potentially reactive metal. The acoustic data collected shows good correlation with the corrosion rate as measured by hydrogen gas evolution rates and the electrochemically measured corrosion rates post cement hardening. The technique has been shown to be sensitive in detecting stress caused by expansive corrosion product within the cemented wasteform. The attenuation of the acoustic signal by the wasteform reduced the signal received by the monitoring equipment by a factor of 10 over a distance of approximately 150-400 mm, dependent on the water level in the cement. Full size packages were successfully monitored. It is concluded that the technique offers good potential for monitoring cemented containers of the more reactive metals, for example Magnox and aluminium. (author)

Measurement and instrumentation techniques for monitoring plutonium and uranium particulates released from nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nero, A.V. Jr.

1976-08-01

The purpose of this work has been an analysis and evaluation of the state-of-the-art of measurement and instrumentation techniques for monitoring plutonium and uranium particulates released from nuclear facilities. The occurrence of plutonium and uranium in the nuclear fuel cycle, the corresponding potential for releases, associated radiological protection standards and monitoring objectives are discussed. Techniques for monitoring via decay radiation from plutonium and uranium isotopes are presented in detail, emphasizing air monitoring, but also including soil sampling and survey methods. Additionally, activation and mass measurement techniques are discussed. The availability and prevalence of these various techniques are summarized. Finally, possible improvements in monitoring capabilities due to alterations in instrumentation, data analysis, or programs are presented

Clustering: An Interactive Technique to Enhance Learning in Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ambron, Joanna

1988-01-01

Explains an interdisciplinary approach to biology and writing which increases students' mastery of vocabulary, scientific concepts, creativity, and expression. Describes modifications of the clustering technique used to summarize lectures, integrate reading and understand textbook material. (RT)

Cytogenetic techniques as biological indicator and dosimeter of radiation damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadjidekova, V.; Hristova, R.

2006-01-01

Full text: The cytogenetic methods are established techniques for bio monitoring and bio dosimetry of professionally and accidentally exposed to ionizing radiation subjects. They are applied to continue the evaluation of the physical dosimetry and to consider the individual radiosensitivity. The results of cytogenetic monitoring and dosimetry of radiation exposed subjects carried out during the last 5 years in laboratory of Radiation Genetics, NCRRP is reported. Laboratory of Radiation genetics performs cytogenetic monitoring of low dose radiation professionally or medically exposed subjects: workers in Kozloduy NPP, radioactive waste repository workers, X-rays diagnostically exposed patients, and radiotherapy exposed as well. Three cytogenetic indicators are applied as the most sensitive indicators for human radiation exposure: analysis of micronuclei (MN), chromosomal aberrations (CA) and stable translocations (FISH). The optimized methodology for application of different cytogenetic techniques for radiation estimation is discussed

Standard evaluation techniques for containment and surveillance radiation monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fehlau, P.E.

1982-01-01

Evaluation techniques used at Los Alamos for personnel and vehicle radiation monitors that safeguard nuclear material determine the worst-case sensitivity. An evaluation tests a monitor's lowest sensitivity regions with sources that have minimum emission rates. The result of our performance tests are analyzed as a binomial experiment. The number of trials that are required to verify the monitor's probability of detection is determined by a graph derived from the confidence limits for a binomial distribution. Our testing results are reported in a way that characterizes the monitor yet does not compromise security by revealing its routine performance for detecting process materials

Flaw evolution monitoring by acoustic emission technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghia, S.; Sala, A.; Lucia, A.

1986-01-01

Flaw evolution monitoring during mechanical fatigue test has been performed by acoustic emission (AE) technique. Testing on 1:5 reduced scale vessel containing fabrication defects was carried out in the frame of an European program for pressure component residual life evaluation. Characteristics of AE signals associated to flaw evolution are discussed

Biological monitoring to determine worker dose in a butadiene processing plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bechtold, W.E.; Hayes, R.B. [National Cancer Inst., Bethesda, MD (United States)

1995-12-01

Butadiene (BD) is a reactive gas used extensively in the rubber industry and is also found in combustion products. Although BD is genotoxic and acts as an animal carcinogen, the evidence for carcinogenicity in humans is limited. Extrapolation from animal studies on BD carcinogenicity to risk in humans has been controversial because of uncertainties regarding relative biologic exposure and related effects in humans vs. experimental animals. To reduce this uncertainty, a study was designed to characterize exposure to BD at a polymer production facility and to relate this exposure to mutational and cytogenetic effects. Biological monitoring was used to better assess the internal dose of BD received by the workers. Measurement of 1,2-dihydroxy-4-(N-acetylcysteinyl) butane (M1) in urine served as the biomarker in this study. M1 has been shown to correlate with area monitoring in previous studies. Most studies that relate exposure to a toxic chemical with its biological effects rely on exposure concentration as the dose metric; however, exposure concentration may or may not reflect the actual internal dose of the chemical.

A comparative examination of several techniques for the routine determination of mercury in biological samples by neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faanhof, A.; Das, H.A.

1978-01-01

A comparative examination of the most important techniques for the separation of mercury from irradiated biological material was made. Procedures for routine analysis and results for standard materials are given. Activation was performed at a thermal neutron flux of approximately 5x10 12 nxcm -2 xs -1 during ( 3 ) 2 offers a convenient solution to this problem. The variation of the neutron flux with the irradiation position can be measured by the application of thin iron rings as flux monitors. Losses of mercury due to uptake in the wall of the irradiation containers are negligible. The most powerful destruction technique for large samples is that based on a stainless-steel bomb. (T. I.)

Manipulating and Monitoring On-Surface Biological Reactions by Light-Triggered Local pH Alterations.

Science.gov (United States)

Peretz-Soroka, Hagit; Pevzner, Alexander; Davidi, Guy; Naddaka, Vladimir; Kwiat, Moria; Huppert, Dan; Patolsky, Fernando

2015-07-08

Significant research efforts have been dedicated to the integration of biological species with electronic elements to yield smart bioelectronic devices. The integration of DNA, proteins, and whole living cells and tissues with electronic devices has been developed into numerous intriguing applications. In particular, the quantitative detection of biological species and monitoring of biological processes are both critical to numerous areas of medical and life sciences. Nevertheless, most current approaches merely focus on the "monitoring" of chemical processes taking place on the sensing surfaces, and little efforts have been invested in the conception of sensitive devices that can simultaneously "control" and "monitor" chemical and biological reactions by the application of on-surface reversible stimuli. Here, we demonstrate the light-controlled fine modulation of surface pH by the use of photoactive molecularly modified nanomaterials. Through the use of nanowire-based FET devices, we showed the capability of modulating the on-surface pH, by intensity-controlled light stimulus. This allowed us simultaneously and locally to control and monitor pH-sensitive biological reactions on the nanodevices surfaces, such as the local activation and inhibition of proteolytic enzymatic processes, as well as dissociation of antigen-antibody binding interactions. The demonstrated capability of locally modulating the on-surface effective pH, by a light stimuli, may be further applied in the local control of on-surface DNA hybridization/dehybridization processes, activation or inhibition of living cells processes, local switching of cellular function, local photoactivation of neuronal networks with single cell resolution and so forth.

Introducing Mammalian Cell Culture and Cell Viability Techniques in the Undergraduate Biology Laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowey-Dellinger, Kristen; Dixon, Luke; Ackerman, Kristin; Vigueira, Cynthia; Suh, Yewseok K; Lyda, Todd; Sapp, Kelli; Grider, Michael; Crater, Dinene; Russell, Travis; Elias, Michael; Coffield, V McNeil; Segarra, Verónica A

2017-01-01

Undergraduate students learn about mammalian cell culture applications in introductory biology courses. However, laboratory modules are rarely designed to provide hands-on experience with mammalian cells or teach cell culture techniques, such as trypsinization and cell counting. Students are more likely to learn about cell culture using bacteria or yeast, as they are typically easier to grow, culture, and manipulate given the equipment, tools, and environment of most undergraduate biology laboratories. In contrast, the utilization of mammalian cells requires a dedicated biological safety cabinet and rigorous antiseptic techniques. For this reason, we have devised a laboratory module and method herein that familiarizes students with common cell culture procedures, without the use of a sterile hood or large cell culture facility. Students design and perform a time-efficient inquiry-based cell viability experiment using HeLa cells and tools that are readily available in an undergraduate biology laboratory. Students will become familiar with common techniques such as trypsinizing cells, cell counting with a hemocytometer, performing serial dilutions, and determining cell viability using trypan blue dye. Additionally, students will work with graphing software to analyze their data and think critically about the mechanism of death on a cellular level. Two different adaptations of this inquiry-based lab are presented-one for non-biology majors and one for biology majors. Overall, these laboratories aim to expose students to mammalian cell culture and basic techniques and help them to conceptualize their application in scientific research.

Novel nuclear magnetic resonance techniques for studying biological molecules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laws, David D.

2000-01-01

Over the fifty-five year history of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), considerable progress has been made in the development of techniques for studying the structure, function, and dynamics of biological molecules. The majority of this research has involved the development of multi-dimensional NMR experiments for studying molecules in solution, although in recent years a number of groups have begun to explore NMR methods for studying biological systems in the solid-state. Despite this new effort, a need still exists for the development of techniques that improve sensitivity, maximize information, and take advantage of all the NMR interactions available in biological molecules. In this dissertation, a variety of novel NMR techniques for studying biomolecules are discussed. A method for determining backbone (φ/ψ) dihedral angles by comparing experimentally determined 13 C a , chemical-shift anisotropies with theoretical calculations is presented, along with a brief description of the theory behind chemical-shift computation in proteins and peptides. The utility of the Spin-Polarization Induced Nuclear Overhauser Effect (SPINOE) to selectively enhance NMR signals in solution is examined in a variety of systems, as are methods for extracting structural information from cross-relaxation rates that can be measured in SPINOE experiments. Techniques for the production of supercritical and liquid laser-polarized xenon are discussed, as well as the prospects for using optically pumped xenon as a polarizing solvent. In addition, a detailed study of the structure of PrP 89-143 is presented. PrP 89-143 is a 54 residue fragment of the prion proteins which, upon mutation and aggregation, can induce prion diseases in transgenic mice. Whereas the structure of the wild-type PrP 89-143 is a generally unstructured mixture of α-helical and β-sheet conformers in the solid state, the aggregates formed from the PrP 89-143 mutants appear to be mostly β-sheet.

Corrosion monitoring of insulated pipe using radiographic technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azali Muhammad; Abd Aziz Mohamed; Abd Razak Hamzah; Mohd Pauzi Ismail; Abd Nassir Ibrahim; Shaharudin Sayuti; Shukri Ahmad

2001-01-01

In petrochemical and power plants, detection of corrosion and evaluation of deposit in insulated pipes using radiographic technique are considered as very challenging tasks. In general this degradation problem is attributed to water condensation. It causes the formation of deposit and scale inside the pipe, as well as between the insulation and pipe in cold temperature pipes. On the other hand, for hot temperature pipes the main problem is mainly due to corrosion/erosion attack inside the pipe. In the study of corrosion in pipelines, one of the most important parameters to be monitored and measured is he wall thickness. Currently, most pipeline corrosion monitoring and evaluation for both insulated and non-insulated pipes is performed using an ultrasonic method. The most common technique is that based on the A-Scan, using either a normal flaw detector or some form of dedicated equipment. However, with recent development of ultrasonic technology, more advance method, namely B-Scan and C-scan techniques are also available. The most notable disadvantage of using this method is that the insulation covering the pipe has to be removed before the inspection can be carried out and this is considered as not so cost effective. Due to this reason, the possibility of employing other alternative NDT method, namely radiographic testing method was studied. The technique used in this studied are known as tangential technique. In this study it was found that the result found using tangential technique is consistent with the actual thickness of the pipe. Result of this study is presented and discussed in this paper. (Author)

[Amanitine determination as an example of peptide analysis in the biological samples with HPLC-MS technique].

Science.gov (United States)

Janus, Tomasz; Jasionowicz, Ewa; Potocka-Banaś, Barbara; Borowiak, Krzysztof

Routine toxicological analysis is mostly focused on the identification of non-organic and organic, chemically different compounds, but generally with low mass, usually not greater than 500–600 Da. Peptide compounds with atomic mass higher than 900 Da are a specific analytical group. Several dozen of them are highly-toxic substances well known in toxicological practice, for example mushroom toxin and animal venoms. In the paper the authors present an example of alpha-amanitin to explain the analytical problems and different original solutions in identifying peptides in urine samples with the use of the universal LC MS/MS procedure. The analyzed material was urine samples collected from patients with potential mushroom intoxication, routinely diagnosed for amanitin determination. Ultra filtration with centrifuge filter tubes (limited mass cutoff 3 kDa) was used. Filtrate fluid was directly injected on the chromatographic column and analyzed with a mass detector (MS/MS). The separation of peptides as organic, amphoteric compounds from biological material with the use of the SPE technique is well known but requires dedicated, specific columns. The presented paper proved that with the fast and simple ultra filtration technique amanitin can be effectively isolated from urine, and the procedure offers satisfactory sensitivity of detection and eliminates the influence of the biological matrix on analytical results. Another problem which had to be solved was the non-characteristic fragmentation of peptides in the MS/MS procedure providing non-selective chromatograms. It is possible to use higher collision energies in the analytical procedure, which results in more characteristic mass spectres, although it offers lower sensitivity. The ultra filtration technique as a procedure of sample preparation is effective for the isolation of amanitin from the biological matrix. The monitoring of selected mass corresponding to transition with the loss of water molecule offers

Molecular biology - Part I: Techniques, terminology, and concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, J. Martin

1996-01-01

Purpose/Objective: One of the barriers to understanding modern molecular biology is the lack of a clear understanding of the relevant terminology, techniques, and concepts. This refresher course is intended to address these deficiencies starting from a basic level. The lecture will cover many of the common uses of recombinant DNA, including gene cloning and manipulation. The goal is to enable the nonspecialist to increase his or her understanding of molecular biology in order to more fully enjoy reading current publications and/or listening seminars. Radiation biologists trying to understand a little more molecular biology should also benefit. The following concepts will be among those explained and illustrated: restriction endonucleases, gel electrophoresis, gene cloning, use of vectors such as plasmids, bacteriophage, cosmids and viruses, cDNA and genomic libraries, Southern, Northern, and Western blotting, fluorescent in situ hybridization, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gel retardation, and reporter gene assays

Proposal for a biological environmental monitoring approach to be used in libraries and archives.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasquarella, Cesira; Saccani, Elisa; Sansebastiano, Giuliano Ezio; Ugolotti, Manuela; Pasquariello, Giovanna; Albertini, Roberto

2012-01-01

In cultural-heritage-related indoor environments, biological particles represent a hazard not only for cultural property, but also for operators and visitors. Reliable environmental monitoring methods are essential for examining each situation and assessing the effectiveness of preventive measures. We propose an integrated approach to the study of biological pollution in indoor environments such as libraries and archives. This approach includes microbial air and surface sampling, as well as an investigation of allergens and pollens. Part of this monitoring plan has been applied at the Palatina Library in Parma, Italy. However, wider collections of data are needed to fully understand the phenomena related with biological contamination, define reliable contamination threshold values, and implement appropriate preventive measures.

37Ar monitoring techniques and on-site inspection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Rongliang; Chen Yinliang; Li Wei; Wang Hongxia; Hao Fanhua

2001-01-01

37 Ar is separated, purified and extracted from air sample with a low temperature gas-solid chromatographic purifying method, prepared into a radioactive measurement source and its radioactivity is measured with a proportional counter. Based on the monitoring result, a judgement can be made if an nuclear explosion event has happened recently in a spectabilis area. A series of element techniques that are associated the monitoring of the trace element 37 Ar have been investigated and developed. Those techniques include leaked gas sampling, 37 Ar separation and purification, 37 Ar radioactivity measurement and the on-site inspection of 37 Ar. An advanced 37 Ar monitoring method has been developed, with which 200 liters of air can be treated in 2 hours with sensitivity of 0.01 Bq/L for 37 Ar radioactivity measurement. A practical 37 Ar On-site Inspection system has been developed. This research work may provide technical and equipment support for the verification protection, verification supervision and CTBT verification

Introduction to nuclear techniques in agronomy and plant biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vose, P.B.

1980-01-01

The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: nature of isotopes and radiation; nuclear reactions; working with radioisotopes; detection systems and instrumentation; radioassay; radioisotopes and tracer principles; stable isotopes as tracers - mainly the use of 15 N; activation analysis for biological samples; x-ray fluorescence spectrography for plants and soils; autoradiography; isotopes in soils studies; isotopic tracers in field experimentation; nuclear techniques in plant science; nuclear techniques for soil water; radiation and other induced mutation in plant breeding. (author)

Monitoring techniques for the manufacture of tapered optical fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Mullaney, Kevin; Correia, Ricardo; Staines, Stephen E; James, Stephen W; Tatam, Ralph P

2015-10-01

The use of a range of optical techniques to monitor the process of fabricating optical fiber tapers is investigated. Thermal imaging was used to optimize the alignment of the optical system; the transmission spectrum of the fiber was monitored to confirm that the tapers had the required optical properties and the strain induced in the fiber during tapering was monitored using in-line optical fiber Bragg gratings. Tapers were fabricated with diameters down to 5 μm and with waist lengths of 20 mm using single-mode SMF-28 fiber.

Interim Report on Concrete Degradation Mechanisms and Online Monitoring Techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahadevan, Sankaran [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Agarwal, Vivek [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Neal, Kyle [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Kosson, David [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Adams, Douglas [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2014-09-01

The existing nuclear power plants in the United States have initial operating licenses of 40 years, though most of these plants have applied for and received license extensions. As plant structures, systems, and components age, their useful life—considering both structural integrity and performance—is reduced as a result of deterioration of the materials. The research on online monitoring of concrete structures conducted under the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Pathway of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program at Idaho National Laboratory will develop and demonstrate concrete structures health monitoring capabilities. Assessment and management of aging concrete structures in nuclear plants require a more systematic approach than simple reliance on existing code margins of safety. Therefore, structural health monitoring is required to produce actionable information regarding structural integrity that supports operational and maintenance decisions. Through this research project, several national laboratories and Vanderbilt University propose to develop a framework of research activities for the health monitoring of nuclear power plant concrete structures that includes the integration of four elements—damage modeling, monitoring, data analytics, and uncertainty quantification. This report briefly discusses available techniques and ongoing challenges in each of the four elements of the proposed framework with emphasis on degradation mechanisms and online monitoring techniques.

On-line Monitoring and Calibration Techniques in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashemian, H.M.

2011-01-01

Years of research, testing and experience in the field of sensor diagnostics have yielded many technologies which offer financial as well as operational benefits to the nuclear industry. Among these technologies are On-Line Monitoring (OLM) and On-Line Calibration of critical process monitoring sensors such as resistance temperature detectors (RTD), thermocouples, and pressure transmitters to name a few. The remote access and verification of these sensors have been shown to limit the exposure of maintenance personnel to harsh environments while at the same time effectively and efficiently diagnosing the health and performance of these sensors. In addition to sensors, technologies exist in determining not only the health of instrumentation and control (I and C) cabling that carries the signals from these sensors, but also these same cable testing techniques can be used in the remote evaluation of many end devices used in safety related operations as well. Given these advances in sensor system monitoring techniques it would seem to follow that nuclear utilities from around the world would be applying these tried and true techniques to optimize up time and to provide additional confidence in the output of processing sensors. However, although several of the world's regulatory bodies have approved of the concept of these techniques, few utilities have undertaken to fully embrace on-line monitoring and on-line calibration of nuclear process sensors. In the United States efforts are now underway, with representatives of the U.S. nuclear industry and nuclear power plant vendors to obtain generic NRC licensing for the use of OLM in nuclear power plants. If approved, generic licensing will help pave the way toward greater implementation of OLM and its related calibration techniques. (author)

Investigation progress of imaging techniques monitoring stem cell therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Jun; An Rui

2006-01-01

Recently stem cell therapy has showed potential clinical application in diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, malignant tumor and trauma. Efficient techniques of non-invasively monitoring stem cell transplants will accelerate the development of stem cell therapies. This paper briefly reviews the clinical practice of stem cell, in addition, makes a review of monitoring methods including magnetic resonance and radionuclide imaging which have been used in stem cell therapy. (authors)

Water Quality Monitoring: An Environmental Studies Unit for Biology 20/30. Teacher's Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Environment, Edmonton. Environmental Education Resources Branch.

The objective of this environmental studies unit is to establish a water quality monitoring project for high school students in Alberta while simultaneously providing a unit which meets the objectives of the Biology 20 program (and which may also be used in Biology 10 and 30). Through this project, students assist in the collection,…

Water Quality Monitoring: An Environmental Studies Unit for Biology 20/30. Student Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Environment, Edmonton. Environmental Education Resources Branch.

The objective of this environmental studies unit is to establish a water quality monitoring project for high school students in Alberta while simultaneously providing a unit which meets the objectives of the Biology 20 program (and which may also be used in Biology 10 and 30). Through this project, students assist in the collection,…

Evaluation of conformal radiotherapy techniques through physics and biologic criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloch, Jonatas Carrero

2012-01-01

In the fight against cancer, different irradiation techniques have been developed based on technological advances and aiming to optimize the elimination of tumor cells with the lowest damage to healthy tissues. The radiotherapy planning goal is to establish irradiation technical parameters in order to achieve the prescribed dose distribution over the treatment volumes. While dose prescription is based on radiosensitivity of the irradiated tissues, the physical calculations on treatment planning take into account dosimetric parameters related to the radiation beam and the physical characteristics of the irradiated tissues. To incorporate tissue's radiosensitivity into radiotherapy planning calculations can help particularize treatments and establish criteria to compare and elect radiation techniques, contributing to the tumor control and the success of the treatment. Accordingly, biological models of cellular response to radiation have to be well established. This work aimed to study the applicability of using biological models in radiotherapy planning calculations to aid evaluating radiotherapy techniques. Tumor control probability (TCP) was studied for two formulations of the linear-quadratic model, with and without repopulation, as a function of planning parameters, as dose per fraction, and of radiobiological parameters, as the α/β ratio. Besides, the usage of biological criteria to compare radiotherapy techniques was tested using a prostate planning simulated with Monte Carlo code PENELOPE. Afterwards, prostate planning for five patients from the Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto, USP, using three different techniques were compared using the tumor control probability. In that order, dose matrices from the XiO treatment planning system were converted to TCP distributions and TCP-volume histograms. The studies performed allow the conclusions that radiobiological parameters can significantly influence tumor control

A novel calorimetry technique for monitoring electron beam curing of polymer resins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, J.H.; Johnston, A.; Petrescue, L.; Hojjati, M.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the development of a calorimetry-based technique for monitoring of the curing of electron beam (EB) curable resins, including design of the calorimeter hardware and the development of an analytical model for calculating resin cure rates and radiation dose. Factors affecting the performance of the calorimeter were investigated. Experimental trials monitoring the curing of epoxy resin were conducted under single pass and multiple passes of EB irradiation. Results show that the developed calorimeter is a simple, inexpensive and reasonably accurate technique for monitoring the EB curing of cationic epoxies

Remote sensing techniques in monitoring areas affected by forest fire

Science.gov (United States)

Karagianni, Aikaterini Ch.; Lazaridou, Maria A.

2017-09-01

Forest fire is a part of nature playing a key role in shaping ecosystems. However, fire's environmental impacts can be significant, affecting wildlife habitat and timber, human settlements, man-made technical constructions and various networks (road, power networks) and polluting the air with emissions harmful to human health. Furthermore, fire's effect on the landscape may be long-lasting. Monitoring the development of a fire occurs as an important aspect at the management of natural hazards in general. Among the used methods for monitoring, satellite data and remote sensing techniques can be proven of particular importance. Satellite remote sensing offers a useful tool for forest fire detection, monitoring, management and damage assessment. Especially for fire scars detection and monitoring, satellite data derived from Landsat 8 can be a useful research tool. This paper includes critical considerations of the above and concerns in particular an example of the Greek area (Thasos Island). This specific area was hit by fires several times in the past and recently as well (September 2016). Landsat 8 satellite data are being used (pre and post fire imagery) and digital image processing techniques are applied (enhancement techniques, calculation of various indices) for fire scars detection. Visual interpretation of the example area affected by the fires is also being done, contributing to the overall study.

Application of data fusion techniques and technologies for wearable health monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Rachel C; Villeneuve, Emma; White, Ruth J; Sherratt, R Simon; Holderbaum, William; Harwin, William S

2017-04-01

Technological advances in sensors and communications have enabled discrete integration into everyday objects, both in the home and about the person. Information gathered by monitoring physiological, behavioural, and social aspects of our lives, can be used to achieve a positive impact on quality of life, health, and well-being. Wearable sensors are at the cusp of becoming truly pervasive, and could be woven into the clothes and accessories that we wear such that they become ubiquitous and transparent. To interpret the complex multidimensional information provided by these sensors, data fusion techniques are employed to provide a meaningful representation of the sensor outputs. This paper is intended to provide a short overview of data fusion techniques and algorithms that can be used to interpret wearable sensor data in the context of health monitoring applications. The application of these techniques are then described in the context of healthcare including activity and ambulatory monitoring, gait analysis, fall detection, and biometric monitoring. A snap-shot of current commercially available sensors is also provided, focusing on their sensing capability, and a commentary on the gaps that need to be bridged to bring research to market. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Definition of a near real time microbiological monitor for space vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Kilgore, Melvin V., Jr.; Zahorchak, Robert J.; Arendale, William F.

1989-01-01

Efforts to identify the ideal candidate to serve as the biological monitor on the space station Freedom are discussed. The literature review, the evaluation scheme, descriptions of candidate monitors, experimental studies, test beds, and culture techniques are discussed. Particular attention is given to descriptions of five candidate monitors or monitoring techniques: laser light scattering, primary fluorescence, secondary fluorescence, the volatile product detector, and the surface acoustic wave detector.

An intensity-monitoring technique for measuring ellipsometric transients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Droog, J.M.M.; Bootsma, G.A.

1979-01-01

Intensity-monitoring techniques make possible the measurement of rapid changes in the ellipsometric parameters. Methods used hitherto have been suitable for measuring slight changes only and require prior knowledge of the Δ and Ψ values for the initial surface. It is shown that larger changes can

Biological monitoring and selected trends in environmental quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suffern, J.S.; West, D.C.; Kemp, H.T.; Burgess, R.L.

1976-10-01

Under a contract with the President's Council on Environmental Quality, the National Inventory of Selected Biological Monitoring Programs at ORNL was used to identify documented environmental trends. Fish population trends were described for the Great Lakes and the Colorado River system. Trends in amphibian populations in the northeast were examined and correlated with acid precipitation. Increases in breeding success among large birds of prey were correlated with reductions in ambient levels of DDT and its residues. Geographic variation in PCB contamination was examined along with differences between aquatic and terrestrial contamination levels. Changes in air quality were documented, and their effects on plant viability were outlined. Trends in the biological effects of environmental deposition of lead were documented. Long-term changes in forest structure in the southeast were presented, and a general reduction in wildlife habitat, associated with land use practices, was documented for several areas in the US

Novel nuclear magnetic resonance techniques for studying biological molecules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laws, David Douglas [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2000-06-01

Over the fifty-five year history of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), considerable progress has been made in the development of techniques for studying the structure, function, and dynamics of biological molecules. The majority of this research has involved the development of multi-dimensional NMR experiments for studying molecules in solution, although in recent years a number of groups have begun to explore NMR methods for studying biological systems in the solid-state. Despite this new effort, a need still exists for the development of techniques that improve sensitivity, maximize information, and take advantage of all the NMR interactions available in biological molecules. In this dissertation, a variety of novel NMR techniques for studying biomolecules are discussed. A method for determining backbone (Φ/Ψ) dihedral angles by comparing experimentally determined ¹³C_a, chemical-shift anisotropies with theoretical calculations is presented, along with a brief description of the theory behind chemical-shift computation in proteins and peptides. The utility of the Spin-Polarization Induced Nuclear Overhauser Effect (SPINOE) to selectively enhance NMR signals in solution is examined in a variety of systems, as are methods for extracting structural information from cross-relaxation rates that can be measured in SPINOE experiments. Techniques for the production of supercritical and liquid laser-polarized xenon are discussed, as well as the prospects for using optically pumped xenon as a polarizing solvent. In addition, a detailed study of the structure of PrP 89-143 is presented. PrP 89-143 is a 54 residue fragment of the prion proteins which, upon mutation and aggregation, can induce prion diseases in transgenic mice. Whereas the structure of the wild-type PrP 89-143 is a generally unstructured mixture of α-helical and β-sheet conformers in the solid state, the aggregates formed from the PrP 89-143 mutants appear to be mostly β-sheet.

Environmental monitoring of Chinook Salmon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, D.; Boreham, D.

2008-01-01

The importance of monitoring plants and animals in the environment as become increasingly important with recent developments over the past few years. New ICRP recommendations, coming into effect summer 2007, require the monitoring of non-human biota. There is increasing public concern for safety and general well-being of plants and animals near nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities. However, most current monitoring techniques do not adequately address this concern. I will discuss several current biological techniques to address the radiation sensitivity animals in the environment, including their advantages and drawbacks. Our research has examined several aquatic animals to determine their sensitivity to radiation. (author)

Monitoring of civil engineering structures using Digital Image Correlation technique

Science.gov (United States)

Malesa, M.; Szczepanek, D.; Kujawińska, M.; Świercz, A.; Kołakowski, P.

2010-06-01

The Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique enables full field, noncontact measurements of displacements and strains of a wide variety of objects. An adaptation of the DIC technique for monitoring of civil-engineering structures is presented in the paper. A general concept of the complex, automatic monitoring system, in which the DIC sensor plays an important role is described. Some new software features, which aim to facilitate outdoor measurements and speed up the correlation analysis, is also introduced. As an example of application, measurements of a railway bridge in Nieporet (Poland) are presented. The experimental results are compared with displacements of a FEM model of the bridge.

Virtual Lab Demonstrations Improve Students’ Mastery of Basic Biology Laboratory Techniques

OpenAIRE

Maldarelli, Grace A.; Hartmann, Erica M.; Cummings, Patrick J.; Horner, Robert D.; Obom, Kristina. M.; Shingles, Richard; Pearlman, Rebecca S.

2009-01-01

Biology laboratory classes are designed to teach concepts and techniques through experiential learning. Students who have never performed a technique must be guided through the process, which is often difficult to standardize across multiple lab sections. Visual demonstration of laboratory procedures is a key element in teaching pedagogy. The main goals of the study were to create videos explaining and demonstrating a variety of lab techniques that would serve as teaching tools for undergradu...

Development of infrared spectroscopy techniques for environmental monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sandsten, Jonas

2000-08-01

Infrared spectroscopy techniques have long been utilized in identifying and quantifying species of interest to us. Many of the elementary molecules in the atmosphere interact with infrared radiation through their ability to absorb and emit energy in vibrational and rotational transitions. A large variety of methods for monitoring of molecules and aerosol particles by collecting samples or by using remote sensing methods are available. The objective of the work presented in this thesis was to develop infrared spectroscopic techniques to further enhance the amount of useful information obtained from gathering spectral data. A new method for visualization and quantification of gas flows based on gas-correlation techniques was developed. Real-time imaging of gas leaks and incomplete or erratic flare combustion of ethene was demonstrated. The method relies on the thermal background as a radiation source and the gas can be visualized in absorption or in emission depending on the temperature difference. Diode laser spectroscopy was utilized to monitor three molecular species at the same time and over the same path. Two near-infrared diode lasers beams were combined in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal and by difference-frequency generation a third beam was created, enabling simultaneous monitoring of oxygen, water vapor and methane. Models of aerosol particle cross sections were used to simulate the diffraction pattern of light scattered by fibers, spherical particles and real particles, such as pollen, through a new aerosol particle sensing prototype. The instrument, using a coupled cavity diode laser, has been designed with a ray-tracing program and the final prototype was employed for single aerosol particle sizing and identification.

Benefits of a Biological Monitoring Program for Assessing Remediation Performance and Long-Term Stewardship - 12272

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, Mark [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States)

2012-07-01

The Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) is a long-running program that was designed to evaluate biological conditions and trends in waters downstream of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. BMAP monitoring has focused on aquatic pathways from sources to biota, which is consistent with the sites' clean water regulatory focus and the overall cleanup strategy which divided remediation areas into watershed administrative units. Specific programmatic goals include evaluating operational and legacy impacts to nearby streams and the effectiveness of implemented remediation strategies at the sites. The program is characterized by consistent, long-term sampling and analysis methods in a multidisciplinary and quantitative framework. Quantitative sampling has shown conclusively that at most Oak Ridge stream sites, fish and aquatic macro-invertebrate communities have improved considerably since the 1980s. Monitoring of mercury and PCBs in fish has shown that remedial and abatement actions have also improved stream conditions, although in some cases biological monitoring suggests further actions are needed. Follow-up investigations have been implemented by BMAP to identify sources or causes, consistent with an adaptive management approach. Biological monitoring results to date have not only been used to assess regulatory compliance, but have provided additional benefits in helping address other components of the DOE's mission, including facility operations, natural resource, and scientific goals. As a result the program has become a key measure of long-term trends in environmental conditions and of high value to the Oak Ridge environmental management community, regulators, and the public. Some of the BMAP lessons learned may be of value in the design, implementation, and application of other long-term monitoring and stewardship programs, and assist environmental managers in the assessment and prediction of the effectiveness of

L-Lake zooplankton: L-Lake/Steel Creek Biological Monitoring Program, November 1985--December 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowers, J.A. [Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States); Bowen, M. [Normandeau Associates, Inc., New Ellenton, SC (United States)

1992-03-01

The L- Lake Biological Monitoring Program was designed to meet environmental regulatory requirements associated with the restart of L-Reactor and address portions of Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act, which requires an applicant for a discharge permit to provide scientific evidence that the discharge causes no significant impact on the indigenous ecosystem. The Department of Energy (DOE) must demonstrate that the discharge of L-Reactor affluent into L Lake will not inhibit the eventual establishment of a ``Balanced Biological Community`` (BBC) in at least 50% of the lake. This report details results of monitoring zooplankton populations in L-Lake.

L-Lake zooplankton: L-Lake/Steel Creek Biological Monitoring Program, November 1985--December 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowers, J.A.; Bowen, M.

1992-03-01

The L- Lake Biological Monitoring Program was designed to meet environmental regulatory requirements associated with the restart of L-Reactor and address portions of Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act, which requires an applicant for a discharge permit to provide scientific evidence that the discharge causes no significant impact on the indigenous ecosystem. The Department of Energy (DOE) must demonstrate that the discharge of L-Reactor affluent into L Lake will not inhibit the eventual establishment of a ''Balanced Biological Community'' (BBC) in at least 50% of the lake. This report details results of monitoring zooplankton populations in L-Lake

Assessment of knowledge of participants on basic molecular biology techniques after 5-day intensive molecular biology training workshops in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Yisau, J I; Adagbada, A O; Bamidele, T; Fowora, M; Brai, B I C; Adebesin, O; Bamidele, M; Fesobi, T; Nwaokorie, F O; Ajayi, A; Smith, S I

2017-07-08

The deployment of molecular biology techniques for diagnosis and research in Nigeria is faced with a number of challenges, including the cost of equipment and reagents coupled with the dearth of personnel skilled in the procedures and handling of equipment. Short molecular biology training workshops were conducted at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), to improve the knowledge and skills of laboratory personnel and academics in health, research, and educational facilities. Five-day molecular biology workshops were conducted annually between 2011 and 2014, with participants drawn from health, research facilities, and the academia. The courses consisted of theoretical and practical sessions. The impact of the workshops on knowledge and skill acquisition was evaluated by pre- and post-tests which consisted of 25 multiple choice and other questions. Sixty-five participants took part in the workshops. The mean knowledge of molecular biology as evaluated by the pre- and post-test assessments were 8.4 (95% CI 7.6-9.1) and 13.0 (95 CI 11.9-14.1), respectively. The mean post-test score was significantly greater than the mean pre-test score (p biology workshop significantly increased the knowledge and skills of participants in molecular biology techniques. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(4):313-317, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Recent advances in nuclear techniques for environmental radioactivity monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Ajay; Tripathi, R.M.

2016-01-01

The environmental radioactivity monitoring was first started in the late 1950s following the global fallout from testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. Nuclear analytical techniques are generally classified into two categories: destructive and non-destructive. Destructive techniques are carried out through several analytical methods such as α-spectrometry, liquid Scintillation counting system, solid state nuclear track detector, spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), chromatography techniques, electro-analytical techniques etc. However, nondestructive methods include gamma spectrometry, X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, neutron activation analysis (NAA) etc. The development of radiochemical methods and measurement techniques using alpha and gamma spectrometry have been described in brief

Non-linear dielectric monitoring of biological suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treo, E F; Felice, C J

2007-01-01

Non-linear dielectric spectroscopy as a tool for in situ monitoring of enzyme assumes a non-linear behavior of the sample when a sinusoidal voltage is applied to it. Even many attempts have been made to improve the original experiments, all of them had limited success. In this paper we present upgrades made to a non-linear dielectric spectrometer developed and the results obtained when using different cells. We emphasized on the electrode surface, characterizing the grinding and polishing procedure. We found that the biological medium does not behave as expected, and the non-linear response is generated in the electrode-electrolyte interface. The electrochemistry of this interface can bias unpredictably the measured non-linear response

The isolated Leptospira Spp. Identification by molecular biological techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duangjai Suwancharoen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacteria of Leptospira spp. Identification of this bacterium relies on serotyping and genotyping. Data base for animal causative serovars in Thailand is limited. As the unknown serovars are found in the laboratory, they need to be sent overseas for referent identification. To reduce the cost, this research intended to develop a leptospiral identification method which is user–friendly and able to classify efficiently. Ten Leptospira isolations were cultured from urine samples. They were identified by three molecular biological techniques, including Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE, Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST. These methods were developed and compared to find the most suitable one for leptospiral identification. VNTR was found to be inappropriate since it could not identify the agents and it did not show the PCR product. PFGE and MLST gave the same results of the unknown 1 and 2 which were L.weilii sv Samin st Samin. Unknown 4 showed different results by each technique. Unknown 5 to 10 were likely to be L.meyeri sv Ranarum st ICF and Leptonema illini sv Illini st 3055 by PFGE but MLST could not identify the serovar. However, molecular biological technique for Leptospira identification should be done by several methods in order to confirm the result of each other.

Optoacoustic technique for noninvasive monitoring of blood oxygenation: a feasibility study

Science.gov (United States)

Esenaliev, Rinat O.; Larina, Irina V.; Larin, Kirill V.; Deyo, Donald J.; Motamedi, Massoud; Prough, Donald S.

2002-08-01

Replacement of invasive monitoring of cerebral venous oxygenation with noninvasive techniques offers great promise in the management of life-threatening neurologic illnesses including traumatic brain injury. We developed and built an optoacoustic system to noninvasively monitor cerebral venous oxygenation; the system includes a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser and a specially designed optoacoustic probe. We tested the system in vitro in sheep blood with experimentally varied oxygenation. Our results demonstrated that (1) the amplitude and temporal profile of the optoacoustic waves increase with blood oxygenation in the range from 24% to 92%, (2) optoacoustic signals can be detected despite optical and acoustic attenuation by thick bone, and (3) the system is capable of real-time and continuous measurements. These results suggest that the optoacoustic technique is technically feasible for continuous, noninvasive monitoring of cerebral venous oxygenation.

Using reefcheck monitoring database to develop the coral reef index of biological integrity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Hai Yen T.; Pedersen, Ole; Ikejima, Kou

2009-01-01

The coral reef indices of biological integrity was constituted based on the reef check monitoring data. Seventy six minimally disturbed sites and 72 maximallv disturbed sites in shallow water and 39 minimally disturbed sites and 37 maximally disturbed sites in deep water were classified based...... on the high-end and low-end percentages and ratios of hard coral, dead coral and fieshy algae. A total of 52 candidate metrics was identified and compiled, Eight and four metrics were finally selected to constitute the shallow and deep water coral reef indices respectively. The rating curve was applied.......05) and coral damaged by other factors -0.283 (pcoral reef indices were sensitive responses to stressors and can be capable to use as the coral reef biological monitoring tool....

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program; Annual report, FY91

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a possible site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the Yucca Mountain area, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and to ensure that activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments during fiscal year 1991 (FY91) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Activities Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.

Application of X-ray emission techniques for monitoring environmental pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernasconi, G.; Danesi, P.R.; Dargie, M.; Haselberger, N.; Markowicz, A.; Tajani, A.

1997-01-01

X-ray emission techniques are versatile and powerful methods used for multielement non-destructive analysis. They include X-ray fluorescence (XRF), particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), scanning electron microscopy combined with X-ray spectrometry and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Since many years the IAEA has utilised and promoted these techniques for the analysis of environmental, biological and geological samples. In this paper recent progress at our laboratory in selected aspects related to the application of X-ray emission techniques is briefly overviewed. (authors)

Mycoplasma testing of cell substrates and biologics: Review of alternative non-microbiological techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Volokhov, Dmitriy V; Graham, Laurie J; Brorson, Kurt A; Chizhikov, Vladimir E

2011-01-01

Mycoplasmas, particularly species of the genera Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma, are known to be occasional microbial contaminants of cell cultures that produce biologics. This presents a serious concern regarding the risk of mycoplasma contamination for research laboratories and commercial facilities developing and manufacturing cell-derived biological and biopharmaceutical products for therapeutic use. Potential undetected contamination of these products or process intermediates with mycoplasmas represents a potential safety risk for patients and a business risk for producers of biopharmaceuticals. To minimize these risks, monitoring for adventitious agents, such as viruses and mycoplasmas, is performed during the manufacture of biologics produced in cell culture substrates. The "gold standard" microbiological assay, currently recommended by the USP, EP, JP and the US FDA, for the mycoplasma testing of biologics, involves the culture of viable mycoplasmas in broth, agar plates and indicator cells. Although the procedure enables highly efficient mycoplasma detection in cell substrates and cell-derived products, the overall testing strategy is time consuming (a minimum of 28 days) and requires skilled interpretation of the results. The long time period required for these conventional assays does not permit their use for products with short shelf-lives or for timely 'go/no-go' decisions during routine in-process testing. PCR methodology has existed for decades, however PCR based and other alternative methods for mycoplasma detection have only recently been considered for application to biologics manufacture. The application of alternative nucleic acid-based, enzyme-based and/or recombinant cell-culture methods, particularly in combination with efficient sample preparation procedures, could provide advantages over conventional microbiological methods in terms of analytical throughput, simplicity, and turnaround time. However, a challenge to the application of alternative

Experimental Research on Quick Structural Health Monitoring Technique for Bridges Using Smartphone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuefeng Zhao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the recent years, with the development and popularization of smartphone, the utilization of smartphone in the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM has attracted increasing attention owing to its unique feature. Since bridges are of great importance to society and economy, bridge health monitoring has very practical significance during its service life. Furthermore, rapid damage assessment of bridge after an extreme event such as earthquake is very important in the recovery work. Smartphone-based bridge health monitoring and postevent damage evaluation have advantages over the conventional monitoring techniques, such as low cost, ease of installation, and convenience. Therefore, this study investigates the implementation feasibility of the quick bridge health monitoring technique using smartphone. A novel vision-based cable force measurement method using smartphone camera is proposed, and, then, its feasibility and practicality is initially validated through cable model test. An experiment regarding multiple parameters monitoring of one bridge scale model is carried out. Parameters, such as acceleration, displacement, and angle, are monitored using smartphone. The experiment results show that there is a good agreement between the reference sensor and smartphone measurements in both time and frequency domains.

Health Monitoring of Composite Material Structures using a Vibrometry Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Mark J.

1997-01-01

Large composite material structures such as aircraft and Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVS) operate in severe environments comprised of vehicle dynamic loads, aerodynamic loads, engine vibration, foreign object impact, lightning strikes, corrosion, and moisture absorption. These structures are susceptible to damage such as delamination, fiber breaking/pullout, matrix cracking, and hygrothermal strain. To ensure human safety and load-bearing integrity, these structures must be inspected to detect and locate often invisible damage and faults before becoming catastrophic. Moreover, nearly all future structures will need some type of in-service inspection technique to increase their useful life and reduce maintenance and overall costs. Possible techniques for monitoring the health and indicating damage on composite structures include: c-scan, thermography, acoustic emissions using piezoceramic actuators or fiber-optic wires with gratings, laser ultrasound, shearography, holography, x-ray, and others. These techniques have limitations in detecting damage that is beneath the surface of the structure, far away from a sensor location, or during operation of the vehicle. The objective of this project is to develop a more global method for damage detection that is based on structural dynamics principles, and can inspect for damage when the structure is subjected to vibratory loads to expose faults that may not be evident by static inspection. A Transmittance Function Monitoring (TFM) method is being developed in this project for ground-based inspection and operational health monitoring of large composite structures as a RLV. A comparison of the features of existing health monitoring approaches and the proposed TFM method is given.

Monitoring techniques of the western corn rootworm are the precursor to effective IPM strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemic, Darija; Mikac, Katarina M; Kozina, Antonela; Benitez, Hugo A; McLean, Christopher M; Bažok, Renata

2016-02-01

The western corn rootworm (WCR) is economically the most important pest of maize in Croatia. To predict WCR adult population abundance and variability, traditional, genetic and morphometric monitoring of populations was conducted over time through each phase of the WCR invasion process in Croatia. Through traditional monitoring it was shown that WCR established their current population and reached economic densities after 14 years persisting in the study area. Regression-tree-based modelling showed that the best predictor of WCR adult abundance was the total amount of rainfall. Genetic monitoring indicated that genetic differentiation increased over time at the intrapopulation level, and morphometric monitoring indicated that wing morphotypes varied according to edaphic landscape changes. Traditional population metric surveys are important in WCR integrated pest management (IPM), as such surveys can be effectively used to predict population abundances. Novel-use monitoring techniques such as genetics and geometric morphometrics can be used to provide valuable information on variation within and among populations. The monitoring techniques presented herein provide sound data to assist in the understanding of both WCR ecology and population genetics and may provide more information than that currently available using traditional techniques (e.g. sticky traps), and as such these additional techniques should be written into IPM for WCR. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Application of remote debugging techniques in user-centric job monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dos Santos, T; Mättig, P; Harenberg, T; Volkmer, F; Beermann, T; Kalinin, S; Ahrens, R; Wulff, N

2012-01-01

With the Job Execution Monitor, a user-centric job monitoring software developed at the University of Wuppertal and integrated into the job brokerage systems of the WLCG, job progress and grid worker node health can be supervised in real time. Imminent error conditions can thus be detected early by the submitter and countermeasures can be taken. Grid site admins can access aggregated data of all monitored jobs to infer the site status and to detect job misbehaviour. To remove the last 'blind spot' from this monitoring, a remote debugging technique based on the GNU C compiler suite was developed and integrated into the software; its design concept and architecture is described in this paper and its application discussed.

Quarterly Progress Report - Biological Monitoring Program for East Fork Poplar Creek

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, S.M.; Christensen, S.W.; Greeley, M.S.jr; Hill, W.R.; McCarthy, J.F.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Stewart, A.J.

2000-10-18

In May 1985, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. As a condition of the permit, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y-12 Plant protect the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek; EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Loar et al. 1989). A second objective of the BMAP is to document the ecological effects resulting from the implementation of a water pollution control program designed to eliminate direct discharges of wastewaters to EFPC and to minimize the inadvertent release of pollutants to the environment. Because of the complex nature of the discharges to EFPC and the temporal and spatial variability in the composition of the discharges, a comprehensive, integrated approach to biological monitoring was developed. A new permit was issued to the Y-12 Plant on April 28, 1995 and became effective on July 1, 1995. Biological monitoring continues to be required under the new permit. The BMAP consists of four major tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Plant discharges on the aquatic integrity of EFPC. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) biological indicator studies, (3) bioaccumulation studies, and (4) ecological surveys of the periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish communities. Monitoring is currently being conducted at five primary EFPC sites, although sites may be excluded or added depending upon the specific objectives of the various tasks. Criteria used in selecting the sites include: (1) location of sampling sites used in other studies, (2) known or suspected sources of downstream impacts, (3) proximity to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) boundaries, (4) concentration of mercury in the adjacent floodplain, (5) appropriate habitat distribution, and

Quarterly Progress Report - Biological Monitoring Program for East Fork Poplar Creek

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, S. M.; Christensen, S. W.; Greeley, M.S. jr; McCracken, M.K.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth G. R.; Stewart, A. J.

2001-01-19

In May 1985, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 National Security Complex (formerly the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant). As a condition of the permit, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y-12 Complex protect the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek; EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Loar et al. 1989). A second objective of the BMAP is to document the ecological effects resulting from the implementation of a water pollution control program designed to eliminate direct discharges of wastewaters to EFPC and to minimize the inadvertent release of pollutants to the environment. Because of the complex nature of the discharges to EFPC and the temporal and spatial variability in the composition of the discharges, a comprehensive, integrated approach to biological monitoring was developed. A new permit was issued to the Y-12 Complex on April 28, 1995 and became effective on July 1, 1995. Biological monitoring continues to be required under the new permit. The BMAP consists of four major tasks that reflect different but complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Complex discharges on the aquatic integrity of EFPC. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) biological indicator studies, (3) bioaccumulation studies, and (4) ecological surveys of the periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish communities. Monitoring is currently being conducted at five primary EFPC sites, although sites may be excluded or added depending upon the specific objectives of the various tasks. Criteria used in selecting the sites include: (1) location of sampling sites used in other studies, (2) known or suspected sources of downstream impacts, (3) proximity to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) boundaries, (4) concentration of mercury in the

Data Integration for Health and Stress Monitoring: Biological Metabolites, Wearables Data, and Self-Reporting

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Jocelyn T.

Integrative and unobtrusive approaches to monitoring health and stress can assist in preventative medicine and disease management, and provide capabilities for complex work environments, such as military deployments and long-duration human space exploration missions. With many data streams that could potentially provide critical information about the health, behavior, and psychosocial states of individuals or small groups, the central question of this research is how to reliably measure health and stress states over time. This integrative approach to health and stress monitoring has implemented biological metabolite profiling, wearables data analysis, and survey assessment for comparing biological, behavioral, and psychological perspectives. Health monitoring technologies aim to provide objective data about health status. Providing objective information can help mitigate biases or blind spots in an individual's perception. Consider an individual who is unwilling to openly admit to psychosocial distress and unhealthy habits, or an individual who has habituated to long-term stressors and is unable to recognize a chronic state of high stress. Both honesty and self-awareness are required for accurate self-reporting. Digital health technologies, such as wearable devices, provide objective data for health monitoring. Compared to surveys, wearables are less influenced by participant openness, and compared to biological samples, wearables require less equipment and less labor for analysis. However, inherent to every data stream are limitations due to uncertainty and sensitivity. This research has been conducted in collaboration with Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS), which is a Mars analog research site on the slopes on Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. During 8-month and 12-month HI-SEAS missions in the 2014-2016 timeframe, twelve individuals provided hair and urine samples for metabolite profiling, utilized consumer-grade wearables to monitor sleep and

Results of the F/H Effluent Treatment Facility biological monitoring program, July 1987--July 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Specht, W.L.

1992-07-01

As required by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) under NPDES Permit SCO000175, biological monitoring was conducted in Upper Three Runs Creek to determine if discharges from the F/H Effluent Treatment Facility have adversely impacted the biotic community of the receiving stream. Data included in this summary report encompass July 1987 through July 1991. As originally designed, the F/H ETF was not expected to remove all of the mercury from the wastewater; therefore, SCDHEC specified that studies be conducted to determine if mercury was bioaccumulating in aquatic biota. Subsequent to approval of the biological monitoring program, an ion exchange column was added to the F/H ETF specifically to remove mercury, which eliminated mercury from the F/H ETF effluent. The results of the biological monitoring program indicate that at the present rate of discharge, the F/H ETF effluent has not adversely affected the receiving stream with respect to any of the parameters that were measured. The effluent is not toxic at the in-stream waste concentration and there is no evidence of mercury bioaccumulation

NATO Advanced Research Workshop, 19-22 May 1997: Rapid Method for Monitoring the Environment for Biological Hazards

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1997-01-01

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop met for the purpose of bringing to light rapid methods for monitoring the environment for biological hazards such as biological warfare agents, naturally occurring...

Continuous monitoring of back-wall stress corrosion cracking propagation by means of potential drop techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Yasumoto; Atsumi, Takeo; Shoji, Tetsuo

2006-01-01

In order to investigate the applicability of the potential drop techniques to the continuous monitoring of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) propagation, SCC tests were performed in a sodium thiosulfate solution at room temperature using plate specimens with weldments. The SCC propagation was monitored using the techniques of direct current potential drop (DCPD), alternating current potential drop (ACPD) and modified induced current potential drop (MICPD) on the reverse side that on which the SCC existed and effectiveness of each technique for the continuous monitoring from the reverse side of SCC was compared from the viewpoints of sensitivity to the crack propagation and measurement stability. The MICPD and DCPD techniques permit continuous monitoring of the back-wall SCC propagation, which initiates from a fatigue pre-crack at a depth of about 4 mm, from which it propagates through more than 80% of the specimen thickness. The MICPD technique can decrease the effect of the current flowing in the direction of the crack length by focusing the induced current into the local area of measurement using induction coils, so that the sensitivity of the continuous monitoring of the back wall SCC propagation is higher than that of the DCPD and ACPD techniques. (author)

First annual report on the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loar, J.M.; Amano, H.; Jimenez, B.D.; Kitchings, J.T.; Meyers-Schoene, L.; Mohrbacher, D.A.; Olsen, C.R.

1992-08-01

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. BMAP consists of seven major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs on-site and the aquatic environs off-site. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota; (3) biological indicator studies; (4) instream ecological monitoring; (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment; (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL); and (7) contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system. This document, the first of a series of annual reports presenting the results of BMAP, describes studies that were conducted from March through December 1986

First annual report on the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loar, J. M. [ed.; Adams, S. M.; Blaylock, B. G.; Boston, H. L.; Frank, M. L.; Garten, C. T.; Houston, M. A.; Kimmel, B. L.; Ryon, M. G.; Smith, J. G.; Southworth, G. R.; Stewart, A. J.; Walton, B. T.; Berry, J. B.; Talmage, S. S. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Amano, H. [JAERI, Tokai Res., Establishment, Ibari-Ken (Japan); Jimenez, B. D. [School of Pharmacy, Univ. of Puerto Rico (San Juan); Kitchings, J. T. [ERCE, Denver, CO (United States); Meyers-Schoene, L. [Advanced Sciences, Inc., Fernald, OH (United States); Mohrbacher, D. A. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Olsen, C. R. [USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States). Office of Health and Environmental Research

1992-08-01

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. BMAP consists of seven major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs on-site and the aquatic environs off-site. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota; (3) biological indicator studies; (4) instream ecological monitoring; (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment; (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL); and (7) contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system. This document, the first of a series of annual reports presenting the results of BMAP, describes studies that were conducted from March through December 1986.

Assessment of Knowledge of Participants on Basic Molecular Biology Techniques after 5-Day Intensive Molecular Biology Training Workshops in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Yisau, J. I.; Adagbada, A. O.; Bamidele, T.; Fowora, M.; Brai, B. I. C.; Adebesin, O.; Bamidele, M.; Fesobi, T.; Nwaokorie, F. O.; Ajayi, A.; Smith, S. I.

2017-01-01

The deployment of molecular biology techniques for diagnosis and research in Nigeria is faced with a number of challenges, including the cost of equipment and reagents coupled with the dearth of personnel skilled in the procedures and handling of equipment. Short molecular biology training workshops were conducted at the Nigerian Institute of…

Yucca Mountain biological resources monitoring program; Annual report FY92

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-02-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize Yucca Mountain as a potential site for a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities (SCA) do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, an environmental program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG&G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG&G/EM) during fiscal year 1992 (FY92) for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the YMP environmental program. The six program areas are Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises, Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support.

Performance Monitoring Techniques Supporting Cognitive Optical Networking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caballero Jambrina, Antonio; Borkowski, Robert; Zibar, Darko

2013-01-01

High degree of heterogeneity of future optical networks, such as services with different quality-of-transmission requirements, modulation formats and switching techniques, will pose a challenge for the control and optimization of different parameters. Incorporation of cognitive techniques can help...... to solve this issue by realizing a network that can observe, act, learn and optimize its performance, taking into account end-to-end goals. In this letter we present the approach of cognition applied to heterogeneous optical networks developed in the framework of the EU project CHRON: Cognitive...... Heterogeneous Reconfigurable Optical Network. We focus on the approaches developed in the project for optical performance monitoring, which enable the feedback from the physical layer to the cognitive decision system by providing accurate description of the performance of the established lightpaths....

Program of environmental and bio monitoring sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, H.

2012-01-01

This presentation is about the importance of the biological signs to determine the environmental features characteristics.The low level of taxonomic resolution and the environmental perturbation is determined by the bio monitoring techniques

Development of in vitro techniques for individual monitoring of {sup 32}P; Desenvolvimento de tecnicas in vitro para monitoracao individual de {sup 32}P

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almeida, A.P.F.; Sousa, W.O.; Dantas, A.L.A.; Dantas, B.M., E-mail: adantas@ird.gov.br, E-mail: wander@ird.gov.br, E-mail: bmdantas@ird.gov.br [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Divisao de Dosimetria

2016-07-01

The {sup 32}P is used in the form of liquid unsealed sources in medical facilities, research and teaching, representing a risk of internal exposure in routine activities and in case of accidental incorporation. The evaluation of {sup 32}P incorporation can be accomplished through in vitro bioanalysis of urine. This paper aims to provide a methodology to analyze {sup 32}P in biological samples, applicable to internal individual monitoring using liquid scintillation technique. The minimum detectable activity of the system was determined and the sensitivity of the technique was evaluated, based on the detected minimum effective dose. (author)

Application of X-ray fluorescence analytical techniques in phytoremediation and plant biology studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Necemer, Marijan; Kump, Peter; Scancar, Janez; Jacimovic, Radojko; Simcic, Jurij; Pelicon, Primoz; Budnar, Milos; Jeran, Zvonka; Pongrac, Paula; Regvar, Marjana; Vogel-Mikus, Katarina

2008-01-01

Phytoremediation is an emerging technology that employs the use of higher plants for the clean-up of contaminated environments. Progress in the field is however handicapped by limited knowledge of the biological processes involved in plant metal uptake, translocation, tolerance and plant-microbe-soil interactions; therefore a better understanding of the basic biological mechanisms involved in plant/microbe/soil/contaminant interactions would allow further optimization of phytoremediation technologies. In view of the needs of global environmental protection, it is important that in phytoremediation and plant biology studies the analytical procedures for elemental determination in plant tissues and soil should be fast and cheap, with simple sample preparation, and of adequate accuracy and reproducibility. The aim of this study was therefore to present the main characteristics, sample preparation protocols and applications of X-ray fluorescence-based analytical techniques (energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry-EDXRF, total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry-TXRF and micro-proton induced X-ray emission-micro-PIXE). Element concentrations in plant leaves from metal polluted and non-polluted sites, as well as standard reference materials, were analyzed by the mentioned techniques, and additionally by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The results were compared and critically evaluated in order to assess the performance and capability of X-ray fluorescence-based techniques in phytoremediation and plant biology studies. It is the EDXRF, which is recommended as suitable to be used in the analyses of a large number of samples, because it is multi-elemental, requires only simple preparation of sample material, and it is analytically comparable to the most frequently used instrumental chemical techniques. The TXRF is compatible to FAAS in sample preparation, but relative to AAS it is fast, sensitive and

Solid Phase Microextraction and Related Techniques for Drugs in Biological Samples

OpenAIRE

Moein, Mohammad Mahdi; Said, Rana; Bassyouni, Fatma; Abdel-Rehim, Mohamed

2014-01-01

In drug discovery and development, the quantification of drugs in biological samples is an important task for the determination of the physiological performance of the investigated drugs. After sampling, the next step in the analytical process is sample preparation. Because of the low concentration levels of drug in plasma and the variety of the metabolites, the selected extraction technique should be virtually exhaustive. Recent developments of sample handling techniques are directed, from o...

Monitoring and evaluation techniques for airborne contamination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yihua, Xia [China Inst. of Atomic Energy, Beijing (China)

1997-06-01

Monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are of great importance for the purpose of protection of health and safety of workers in nuclear installations. Because airborne contamination is one of the key sources to cause exposure to individuals by inhalation and digestion, and to cause diffusion of contaminants in the environment. The main objectives of monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are: to detect promptly a loss of control of airborne material, to help identify those individuals and predict exposure levels, to assess the intake and dose commitment to the individuals, and to provide sufficient documentation of airborne radioactivity. From the viewpoint of radiation protection, the radioactive contaminants in air can be classified into the following types: airborne aerosol, gas and noble gas, and volatile gas. In this paper, the following items are described: sampling methods and techniques, measurement and evaluation, and particle size analysis. (G.K.)

Monitoring and evaluation techniques for airborne contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Yihua

1997-01-01

Monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are of great importance for the purpose of protection of health and safety of workers in nuclear installations. Because airborne contamination is one of the key sources to cause exposure to individuals by inhalation and digestion, and to cause diffusion of contaminants in the environment. The main objectives of monitoring and evaluation of airborne contamination are: to detect promptly a loss of control of airborne material, to help identify those individuals and predict exposure levels, to assess the intake and dose commitment to the individuals, and to provide sufficient documentation of airborne radioactivity. From the viewpoint of radiation protection, the radioactive contaminants in air can be classified into the following types: airborne aerosol, gas and noble gas, and volatile gas. In this paper, the following items are described: sampling methods and techniques, measurement and evaluation, and particle size analysis. (G.K.)

Biomarker monitoring in sports doping control.

Science.gov (United States)

Pottgiesser, Torben; Schumacher, Yorck Olaf

2012-06-01

Biomarker monitoring can be considered a new era in the effort against doping. Opposed to the old concept in doping control of direct detection of a prohibited substance in a biological sample such as urine or blood, the new paradigm allows a personalized longitudinal monitoring of biomarkers that indicate non-physiological responses independently of the used doping technique or substance, and may cause sanctioning of illicit practices. This review presents the development of biomarker monitoring in sports doping control and focuses on the implementation of the Athlete Biological Passport as the current concept of the World Anti Doping Agency for the detection of blood doping (hematological module). The scope of the article extends to the description of novel biomarkers and future concepts of application.

Report on the biological monitoring program at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, January--December 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kszos, L.A.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.

1998-03-01

On September 24, 1987, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet issued an Agreed Order that required the development of a Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). A plan for the biological monitoring of the receiving streams was implemented in 1987 and consisted of ecological surveys, toxicity monitoring of effluents and receiving streams, evaluation of bioaccumulation of trace contaminants in biota, and supplemental chemical characterization of effluents. Beginning in fall 1991, the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory added data collection and report preparation to its responsibilities for the PGDP BMP. The BMP has been continued because it has proven to be extremely valuable in (1) identifying those effluents with the potential for adversely affecting instream fauna, (2) assessing the ecological health of receiving streams, and (3) guiding plans for remediation and protecting human health. The BMP for PGDP consists of three major tasks: (1) effluent toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation studies, and (3) ecological surveys of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and fish. With the exception of the benthic macroinvertebrate community surveys, this report focuses on activities from January to December 1997.

Report on the biological monitoring program at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, January-December 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kszos, L.A.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.

1998-03-01

On September 24, 1987, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet issued an Agreed Order that required the development of a Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). A plan for the biological monitoring of the receiving streams was implemented in 1987 and consisted of ecological surveys, toxicity monitoring of effluents and receiving streams, evaluation of bioaccumulation of trace contaminants in biota, and supplemental chemical characterization of effluents. Beginning in fall 1991, the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory added data collection and report preparation to its responsibilities for the PGDP BMP. The BMP has been continued because it has proven to be extremely valuable in (1) identifying those effluents with the potential for adversely affecting instream fauna, (2) assessing the ecological health of receiving streams, and (3) guiding plans for remediation and protecting human health. The BMP for PGDP consists of three major tasks: (1) effluent toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation studies, and (3) ecological surveys of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and fish. With the exception of the benthic macroinvertebrate community surveys, this report focuses on activities from January to December 1997

Validation of New Crack Monitoring Technique for Victoria Class High-Pressure Air Bottles

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

Defence Research and Development Canada Recherche et développement pour la défense Canada Validation of new crack monitoring technique for Victoria ...Validation of new crack monitoring technique for Victoria class high-pressure air bottles Ian Thompson John R. MacKay Defence Research and Development...Canada Scientific Report DRDC-RDDC-2014-R81 June 2014 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Department of National Defence), 2014 © Sa Majesté

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loar, J.M.; Adams, S.M.; Allison, L.J.; Blaylock, B.G.; Boston, H.L.; Huston, M.A.; Kimmel, B.L.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Stewart, A.J.; Walton, B.T.; Kitchings, J.T.; Olsen, C.R.

1991-09-01

On April 1, 1986, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (EPA 1986). As specified in Part 3: Special Conditions (Item H) of the permit, a plan for biological monitoring of the Clinch River, White Oak Creek (WOC), Northwest Tributary (NWT) of WOC, Melton Branch (MB), Fifth Creek, and First Creek shall be submitted for approval to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (TDHE) within 90 days of the effective date of the permit. The plan, which is referred to in Part 3 (H) of the permit as the Biological Monitoring Plan and Abatement Program (BMPAP), describes characterization monitoring studies to be conducted for the duration of the permit (5 years). In order to be consistent with the terminology used for the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Programs for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plan and the Oak Ridge K-25 Plant, BMPAP will subsequently be referred to as the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP). The proposed BMAP outlined in this document is based on preliminary discussions held on December 9, 1985, between staff of Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (ORNL and Central Management), the US Department of Energy (DOE), EPA, and TDHE. 232 refs., 11 figs., 7 tabs

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loar, J.M.; Adams, S.M.; Allison, L.J.; Blaylock, B.G.; Boston, H.L.; Huston, M.A.; Kimmel, B.L.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Stewart, A.J.; Walton, B.T.; Kitchings, J.T.; Olsen, C.R.

1991-09-01

On April 1, 1986, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was issued for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (EPA 1986). As specified in Part 3: Special Conditions (Item H) of the permit, a plan for biological monitoring of the Clinch River, White Oak Creek (WOC), Northwest Tributary (NWT) of WOC, Melton Branch (MB), Fifth Creek, and First Creek shall be submitted for approval to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (TDHE) within 90 days of the effective date of the permit. The plan, which is referred to in Part 3 (H) of the permit as the Biological Monitoring Plan and Abatement Program (BMPAP), describes characterization monitoring studies to be conducted for the duration of the permit (5 years). In order to be consistent with the terminology used for the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Programs for the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plan and the Oak Ridge K-25 Plant, BMPAP will subsequently be referred to as the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP). The proposed BMAP outlined in this document is based on preliminary discussions held on December 9, 1985, between staff of Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (ORNL and Central Management), the US Department of Energy (DOE), EPA, and TDHE. 232 refs., 11 figs., 7 tabs.

Proteomic Challenges: Sample Preparation Techniques for Microgram-Quantity Protein Analysis from Biological Samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Feist

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Proteins regulate many cellular functions and analyzing the presence and abundance of proteins in biological samples are central focuses in proteomics. The discovery and validation of biomarkers, pathways, and drug targets for various diseases can be accomplished using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. However, with mass-limited samples like tumor biopsies, it can be challenging to obtain sufficient amounts of proteins to generate high-quality mass spectrometric data. Techniques developed for macroscale quantities recover sufficient amounts of protein from milligram quantities of starting material, but sample losses become crippling with these techniques when only microgram amounts of material are available. To combat this challenge, proteomicists have developed micro-scale techniques that are compatible with decreased sample size (100 μg or lower and still enable excellent proteome coverage. Extraction, contaminant removal, protein quantitation, and sample handling techniques for the microgram protein range are reviewed here, with an emphasis on liquid chromatography and bottom-up mass spectrometry-compatible techniques. Also, a range of biological specimens, including mammalian tissues and model cell culture systems, are discussed.

Proteomic Challenges: Sample Preparation Techniques for Microgram-Quantity Protein Analysis from Biological Samples

Science.gov (United States)

Feist, Peter; Hummon, Amanda B.

2015-01-01

Proteins regulate many cellular functions and analyzing the presence and abundance of proteins in biological samples are central focuses in proteomics. The discovery and validation of biomarkers, pathways, and drug targets for various diseases can be accomplished using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. However, with mass-limited samples like tumor biopsies, it can be challenging to obtain sufficient amounts of proteins to generate high-quality mass spectrometric data. Techniques developed for macroscale quantities recover sufficient amounts of protein from milligram quantities of starting material, but sample losses become crippling with these techniques when only microgram amounts of material are available. To combat this challenge, proteomicists have developed micro-scale techniques that are compatible with decreased sample size (100 μg or lower) and still enable excellent proteome coverage. Extraction, contaminant removal, protein quantitation, and sample handling techniques for the microgram protein range are reviewed here, with an emphasis on liquid chromatography and bottom-up mass spectrometry-compatible techniques. Also, a range of biological specimens, including mammalian tissues and model cell culture systems, are discussed. PMID:25664860

Proteomic challenges: sample preparation techniques for microgram-quantity protein analysis from biological samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Feist, Peter; Hummon, Amanda B

2015-02-05

Proteins regulate many cellular functions and analyzing the presence and abundance of proteins in biological samples are central focuses in proteomics. The discovery and validation of biomarkers, pathways, and drug targets for various diseases can be accomplished using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. However, with mass-limited samples like tumor biopsies, it can be challenging to obtain sufficient amounts of proteins to generate high-quality mass spectrometric data. Techniques developed for macroscale quantities recover sufficient amounts of protein from milligram quantities of starting material, but sample losses become crippling with these techniques when only microgram amounts of material are available. To combat this challenge, proteomicists have developed micro-scale techniques that are compatible with decreased sample size (100 μg or lower) and still enable excellent proteome coverage. Extraction, contaminant removal, protein quantitation, and sample handling techniques for the microgram protein range are reviewed here, with an emphasis on liquid chromatography and bottom-up mass spectrometry-compatible techniques. Also, a range of biological specimens, including mammalian tissues and model cell culture systems, are discussed.

Optoacoustic laser monitoring of cooling and freezing of tissues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larin, Kirill V; Larina, I V; Motamedi, M; Esenaliev, R O

2002-01-01

Real-time monitoring of cooling and freezing of tissues, cells, and other biological objects with a high spatial and time resolution, which is necessary for selective destruction of cancer and benign tumours during cryotherapy, as well as for preventing any damage to the structure and functioning of biological objects in cryobiology, is considered. The optoacoustic method, based on the measurement and analysis of acoustic waves induced by short laser pulses, is proposed for monitoring the cooling and freezing of the tissue. The effect of cooling and freezing on the amplitude and time profile of acoustic signals generated in real tissues and in a model object is studied. The experimental results indicate that the optoacoustic laser technique can be used for real-time monitoring of cooling and freezing of biological objects with a submillimeter spatial resolution and a high contrast. (laser biology and medicine)

Study on biological dosimetry of premature chromosome condensation technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Bo

2005-01-01

The premature chromosome condensation technique has been applied for biological dosimetry purpose. Premature chromo-some condensation was induced by incubating unstimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes in the presence of okadaic acid or calyculin A (a phosphatase inhibitor) which eliminated the need for fusion with mitotic cells. It is now possible to examine the early damage induced by radiation. It is simple, exact when it combines with fluorecence in situ hybridization. (authors)

New Sensors and Techniques for the Structural Health Monitoring of Propulsion Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Woike

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The ability to monitor the structural health of the rotating components, especially in the hot sections of turbine engines, is of major interest to aero community in improving engine safety and reliability. The use of instrumentation for these applications remains very challenging. It requires sensors and techniques that are highly accurate, are able to operate in a high temperature environment, and can detect minute changes and hidden flaws before catastrophic events occur. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, through the Aviation Safety Program (AVSP, has taken a lead role in the development of new sensor technologies and techniques for the in situ structural health monitoring of gas turbine engines. This paper presents a summary of key results and findings obtained from three different structural health monitoring approaches that have been investigated. This includes evaluating the performance of a novel microwave blade tip clearance sensor; a vibration based crack detection technique using an externally mounted capacitive blade tip clearance sensor; and lastly the results of using data driven anomaly detection algorithms for detecting cracks in a rotating disk.

Determination of biologically active phenols and polyphenols in various objects by chromatographic techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kochetova, M V; Semenistaya, E N; Larionov, Oleg G; Revina, A A

2007-01-01

Chromatographic techniques for determination of biologically active phenols and polyphenols are considered. Various methods for sample preparation and detection are compared. The advantages of high performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection for determination of antioxidants are demonstrated. Data on determination of biologically active phenols and polyphenols published in the period from 1995 to 2005 are analysed.

Elemental analysis of biological materials. Current problems and techniques with special reference to trace elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

Selected techniques were reviewed for the assay of trace and minor elements in biological materials. Other relevant information is also presented on the need for such analyses, sampling, sample preparation and analytical quality control. In order to evaluate and compare the applicability of the various analytical techniques on a meaningful and objective basis, the materials chosen for consideration were intended to be typical of a wide range of biological matrics of different elemental compositions, namely Bowen's kale, representing a plant material, and NBS bovine liver, IAEA animal muscle, and blood serum, representing animal tissues. The subject is reviewed under the following headings: on the need for trace element analyses in the life sciences (4 papers); sampling and sample preparation for trace element analysis (2 papers); analytical techniques for trace and minor elements in biological materials (7 papers); analytical quality control (2 papers)

Remote Sensing Dynamic Monitoring of Biological Invasive Species Based on Adaptive PCNN and Improved C-V Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PENG Gang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Biological species invasion problem bring serious damage to the ecosystem, and have become one of the six major enviromental problems that affect the future economic development, also have become one of the hot topic in domestic and foreign scholars. Remote sensing technology has been successfully used in the investigation of coastal zone resources, dynamic monitoring of the resources and environment, and other fields. It will cite a new remote sensing image change detection algorithm based on adaptive pulse coupled neural network (PCNN and improved C-V model, for remote sensing dynamic monitoring of biological species invasion. The experimental results show that the algorithm is effective in the test results of biological species invasions.

Techniques for Primary-to-Secondary Leak Monitoring in PWR Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, Wook; Chi, Jun Hwa; Kang, Duck Won; Tae, Jeong Woo

2006-01-01

Historically, corrosion and mechanical damage have made steam generator tubes in PWR plants see various types of degradation from both the primary and secondary sides of the tubes. Since the tube degradation can lead to through-wall failure, the plant personnel should make efforts to prevent the failure. One of such preventive efforts is to monitor primary-to-secondary leakage (PSL) that usually precedes the tube rupture. Thus the objective of PSL monitoring is to make operators to determine when to shutdown the plant in order to minimize the likelihood of propagation of leaks to tube rupture under normal and faulted conditions This paper addresses briefly the status of techniques for PSL monitoring used in PWR plants

ASSESSMENT OF CABLE AGING USING CONDITION MONITORING TECHNIQUES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GROVE, E.; LOFARO, R.; SOO, P.; VILLARAN, M.; HSU, F.

2000-01-01

Electric cables in nuclear power plants suffer degradation during service as a result of the thermal and radiation environments in which they are installed. Instrumentation and control cables are one type of cable that provide an important role in reactor safety. Should the polymeric cable insulation material become embrittled and cracked during service, or during a loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) and when steam and high radiation conditions are anticipated, failure could occur and prevent the cables from fulfilling their intended safety function(s). A research program is being conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory to evaluate condition monitoring (CM) techniques for estimating the amount of cable degradation experienced during in-plant service. The objectives of this program are to assess the ability of the cables to perform under a simulated LOCA without losing their ability to function effectively, and to identify CM techniques which may be used to determine the effective lifetime of cables. The cable insulation materials tested include ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) and cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). Accelerated aging (thermal and radiation) to the equivalent of 40 years of service was performed, followed by exposure to simulated LOCA conditions. The effectiveness of chemical, electrical, and mechanical condition monitoring techniques are being evaluated. Results indicate that several of these methods can detect changes in material parameters with increasing age. However, each has its limitations, and a combination of methods may provide an effective means for trending cable degradation in order to assess the remaining life of cables

A fully automated health-care monitoring at home without attachment of any biological sensors and its clinical evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Motoi, Kosuke; Ogawa, Mitsuhiro; Ueno, Hiroshi; Kuwae, Yutaka; Ikarashi, Akira; Yuji, Tadahiko; Higashi, Yuji; Tanaka, Shinobu; Fujimoto, Toshiro; Asanoi, Hidetsugu; Yamakoshi, Ken-ichi

2009-01-01

Daily monitoring of health condition is important for an effective scheme for early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of lifestyle-related diseases such as adiposis, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other diseases. Commercially available devices for health care monitoring at home are cumbersome in terms of self-attachment of biological sensors and self-operation of the devices. From this viewpoint, we have been developing a non-conscious physiological monitor installed in a bath, a lavatory, and a bed for home health care and evaluated its measurement accuracy by simultaneous recordings of a biological sensors directly attached to the body surface. In order to investigate its applicability to health condition monitoring, we have further developed a new monitoring system which can automatically monitor and store the health condition data. In this study, by evaluation on 3 patients with cardiac infarct or sleep apnea syndrome, patients' health condition such as body and excretion weight in the toilet and apnea and hypopnea during sleeping were successfully monitored, indicating that the system appears useful for monitoring the health condition during daily living.

Detection of Atmospheric Explosions at IMS Monitoring Stations using Infrasound Techniques

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Christie, Douglas R; Kennett, Brian L; Tarlowski, Chris

2006-01-01

Work is continuing on the development of infrasound techniques that can be used to improve detection, location and discrimination capability for atmospheric nuclear explosions at International Monitoring System (IMS...

Third report on the Oak Ridge K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for Mitchell Branch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinzman, R.L. [ed.; Adams, S.M.; Ashwood, T.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)] [and others

1995-08-01

As a condition of the modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP; now referred to as the Oak Ridge K-25 Site) on September 11, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for the receiving stream (Mitchell Branch or K-1700 stream). On October 1, 1992, a renewed NPDES permit was issued for the K-25 Site. A biological monitoring plan was submitted for Mitchell Branch, Poplar Creek, Poplar Creek Embayment of the Clinch River and any unnamed tributaries of these streams. The objectives of BMAP are to (1) demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site protect and maintain the use of Mitchell Branch for growth and propagation of fish and other aquatic life and (2) document the effects on stream biota resulting from operation of major new pollution abatement facilities, including the Central Neutralization Facility (CNF) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) incinerator. The BMAP consists of four tasks: (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring; (3) assessment of fish health; and (4) instream monitoring of biological communities, including benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. This document, the third in a series, reports on the results of the Oak Ridge K-25 Site BMAP; it describes studies that were conducted over various periods of time between June 1990 and December 1993, although monitoring conducted outside this time period is included, as appropriate.

Third report on the Oak Ridge K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for Mitchell Branch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinzman, R.L.

1995-08-01

As a condition of the modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP; now referred to as the Oak Ridge K-25 Site) on September 11, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for the receiving stream (Mitchell Branch or K-1700 stream). On October 1, 1992, a renewed NPDES permit was issued for the K-25 Site. A biological monitoring plan was submitted for Mitchell Branch, Poplar Creek, Poplar Creek Embayment of the Clinch River and any unnamed tributaries of these streams. The objectives of BMAP are to (1) demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site protect and maintain the use of Mitchell Branch for growth and propagation of fish and other aquatic life and (2) document the effects on stream biota resulting from operation of major new pollution abatement facilities, including the Central Neutralization Facility (CNF) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) incinerator. The BMAP consists of four tasks: (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring; (3) assessment of fish health; and (4) instream monitoring of biological communities, including benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. This document, the third in a series, reports on the results of the Oak Ridge K-25 Site BMAP; it describes studies that were conducted over various periods of time between June 1990 and December 1993, although monitoring conducted outside this time period is included, as appropriate

Low dose monitoring by double implant technique in IC fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, I.B.; Weidemann, J.

1995-01-01

The utilisation of low dose implant monitoring (using Boron) in a manufacturing line has been discussed. The utilisation of phosphorus ions as the second implant dose were also studied as comparison. The technique relies on the fact that the sheet resistant of doped layer will increase significantly when damaged by relatively low implant dose. The technique is very sensitive and applicable for adjusting the channel dose so that an accurate threshold voltage in MOS device could be achieved

The practicalities and pitfalls of establishing a policy-relevant and cost-effective soil biological monitoring scheme

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faber, J.H.; Creamer, R.E.; Mulder, C.; Römbke, J.; Rutgers, M.; Sousa, J.P.; Stone, D.; Griffiths, B.S.

2013-01-01

A large number of biological indicators have been proposed over the years for assessing soil quality. Although many of those have been applied in monitoring schemes across Europe, no consensus exists on the extent to which these indicators might perform best and how monitoring schemes can be further

Pipe Wall Thickness Monitoring Using Dry-Coupled Ultrasonic Waveguide Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheong, Yong Moo; Kim, Ha Nam; Kim, Hong Pyo

2012-01-01

In order to monitor a corrosion or FAC (Flow Accelerated Corrosion) in a pipe, there is a need to measure pipe wall thickness at high temperature. Ultrasonic thickness gauging is the most commonly used non-destructive testing technique for wall thickness measurement. However, current commonly available ultrasonic transducers cannot withstand high temperatures, such as above 200 .deg. C. It is therefore necessary to carry out manual measurements during plant shutdowns. The current method thus reveals several disadvantages: inspection have to be performed during shutdowns with the possible consequences of prolonging down time and increasing production losses, insulation has to be removed and replaced for each manual measurement, and scaffolding has to be installed to inaccessible areas, resulting in considerable cost for interventions. It has been suggested that a structural health monitoring approach with permanently installed ultrasonic thickness gauges could have substantial benefits over current practices. The main reasons why conventional piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers cannot be used at high temperatures are that the piezo-ceramic becomes depolarized at temperature above the Curie temperature and because differential thermal expansion of the substrate, couplant, and piezoelectric materials cause failure. In this paper, a shear horizontal waveguide technique for wall thickness monitoring at high temperature is investigated. Two different designs for contact to strip waveguide are shown and the quality of output signal is compared and reviewed. After a success of acquiring high quality ultrasonic signal, experiment on the wall thickness monitoring at high temperature is planned

Monitoring of Lactic Fermentation Process by Ultrasonic Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Alouache, B.; Touat, A.; Boutkedjirt, T.; Bennamane, A.

The non-destructive control by using ultrasound techniques has become of great importance in food industry. In this work, Ultrasound has been used for quality control and monitoring the fermentation stages of yogurt, which is a highly consumed product. On the contrary to the physico-chemical methods, where the measurement instruments are directly introduced in the sample, ultrasound techniques have the advantage of being non-destructive and contactless, thus reducing the risk of contamination. Results obtained in this study by using ultrasound seem to be in good agreement with those obtained by physico-chemical methods such as acidity measurement by using a PH-meter instrument. This lets us to conclude that ultrasound method may be an alternative for a healthy control of yoghurt fermentation process.

Computational intelligence techniques for biological data mining: An overview

Science.gov (United States)

Faye, Ibrahima; Iqbal, Muhammad Javed; Said, Abas Md; Samir, Brahim Belhaouari

2014-10-01

Computational techniques have been successfully utilized for a highly accurate analysis and modeling of multifaceted and raw biological data gathered from various genome sequencing projects. These techniques are proving much more effective to overcome the limitations of the traditional in-vitro experiments on the constantly increasing sequence data. However, most critical problems that caught the attention of the researchers may include, but not limited to these: accurate structure and function prediction of unknown proteins, protein subcellular localization prediction, finding protein-protein interactions, protein fold recognition, analysis of microarray gene expression data, etc. To solve these problems, various classification and clustering techniques using machine learning have been extensively used in the published literature. These techniques include neural network algorithms, genetic algorithms, fuzzy ARTMAP, K-Means, K-NN, SVM, Rough set classifiers, decision tree and HMM based algorithms. Major difficulties in applying the above algorithms include the limitations found in the previous feature encoding and selection methods while extracting the best features, increasing classification accuracy and decreasing the running time overheads of the learning algorithms. The application of this research would be potentially useful in the drug design and in the diagnosis of some diseases. This paper presents a concise overview of the well-known protein classification techniques.

Attempts to develop a new nuclear measurement technique of β-glucuronidase levels in biological samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unak, T.; Avcibasi, U.; Yildirim, Y.; Cetinkaya, B.

2003-01-01

β-Glucuronidase is one of the most important hydrolytic enzymes in living systems and plays an essential role in the detoxification pathway of toxic materials incorporated into the metabolism. Some organs, especially liver and some tumour tissues, have high level of β-glucuronidase activity. As a result the enzymatic activity of some kind of tumour cells, the radiolabelled glucuronide conjugates of cytotoxic, as well as radiotoxic compounds have potentially very valuable diagnostic and therapeutic applications in cancer research. For this reason, a sensitive measurement of β-glucuronidase levels in normal and tumour tissues is a very important step for these kinds of applications. According to the classical measurement method of β-glucuronidase activity, in general, the quantity of phenolphthalein liberated from its glucuronide conjugate, i.e. phenolphthalein-glucuronide, by β-glucuronidase has been measured by use of the spectrophotometric technique. The lower detection limit of phenolphthalein by the spectrophotometric technique is about 1-3 mg. This means that the β-glucuronidase levels could not be detected in biological samples having lower levels of β-glucuronidase activity and therefore the applications of the spectrophotometric technique in cancer research are very seriously limited. Starting from this consideration, we recently attempted to develop a new nuclear technique to measure much lower concentrations of β-glucuronidase in biological samples. To improve the detection limit, phenolphthalein-glucuronide and also phenyl-N-glucuronide were radioiodinated with 131 I and their radioactivity was measured by use of the counting technique. Therefore, the quantity of phenolphthalein or aniline radioiodinated with 131 I and liberated by the deglucuronidation reactivity of β-glucuronidase was used in an attempt to measure levels lower than the spectrophotometric measurement technique. The results obtained clearly verified that 0.01 pg level of

Y-12 National Security Complex Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program 2007 Calendar Yeare Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, M.J.; Greeley, M. S. Jr.; Morris, G. W.; Roy, W. K.; Ryan, M. G.; Smith, J. G.; Southworth, G. R.

2008-07-01

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12 Complex) which became effective May 1, 2006, continued a requirement for a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP). The BMAP was originally developed in 1985 to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y-12 Complex protected the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek: EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Loar et al. 1989). The objectives of the current BMAP are similar, specifically to assess stream ecological conditions relative to regulatory limits and criteria, to assess ecological impacts as well as recovery in response to Y-12 operations, and to investigate the causes of continuing impacts. The BMAP consists of three tasks that reflect complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Complex discharges on the biotic integrity of EFPC. These tasks include: (1) bioaccumulation monitoring, (2) benthic macroinvertebrate community monitoring, and (3) fish community monitoring. As required by the NPDES permit, the BMAP benthic macroinvertebrate community monitoring task includes studies to annually evaluate the receiving stream's biological integrity in comparison to TN Water Quality Criteria. BMAP monitoring is currently being conducted at five primary EFPC sites, although sites may be excluded or added depending upon the specific objectives of the various tasks. Criteria used in selecting the sites include: (1) location of sampling sites used in other studies, (2) known or suspected sources of downstream impacts, (3) proximity to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) boundaries, (4) appropriate habitat distribution, and (5) access. The primary sampling sites include upper EFPC at kilometers (EFKs) 24.4 and 23.4 [upstream and downstream of Lake Reality (LR) respectively]; EFK 18.7 (also EFK 18.2 and 19), located

Water Quality & Pollutant Source Monitoring: Field and Laboratory Procedures. Training Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Water Program Operations (EPA), Cincinnati, OH. National Training and Operational Technology Center.

This training manual presents material on techniques and instrumentation used to develop data in field monitoring programs and related laboratory operations concerned with water quality and pollution monitoring. Topics include: collection and handling of samples; bacteriological, biological, and chemical field and laboratory methods; field…

Fuel rod puncturing and fission gas monitoring system examination techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Woong Sup

1999-02-01

Fission gas products accumulated in irradiated fuel rod is 1-2 cm 3 in CANDU and 40-50 cm 3 in PWR fuel rod. Fuel rod puncturing and fission gas monitoring system can be used for both CANDU and PWR fuel rod. This system comprises puncturing device located at in cell part and monitoring device located at out cell part. The system has computerized 9 modes and can calculate both void volume and mass volume only single puncturing. This report describes techniques and procedure for operating fuel rod puncturing and gas monitoring system which can be play an important role in successful operation of the devices. Results obtained from the analysis can give more influence over design for fuel rods. (Author). 6 refs., 9 figs

Monitoring volcanic thermal activity by Robust Satellite Techniques: achievements and perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Tramutoli, V.; Marchese, F.; Mazzeo, G.; Pergola, N.

2009-12-01

Satellite data have been increasingly used in last decades to study active volcanoes and to monitor thermal activity variation in space-time domain. Several satellite techniques and original methods have been developed and tested, devoted to hotspot detection and thermal monitoring. Among them, a multi-temporal approach, named RST (Robust Satellite Techniques), has shown high performances in detecting hotspots, with a low false positive rate under different observational and atmospheric conditions, providing also a potential toward low-level thermal anomalies which may announce incoming eruptions. As the RST scheme is intrinsically exportable on different geographic areas and satellite sensors, it has been applied and tested on a number of volcanoes and in different environmental conditions. This work presents major results and outcomes of studies carried out on Etna and Stromboli (Italy), Merapi (Java Indonesia), Asamayama (Japan), Jebel Al Tair (Yemen) by using different satellite systems and sensors (e.g. NOAA-AVHRR, EOS-MODIS, MSG-SEVIRI). Performances on hotspot detection, early warning and real-time monitoring, together with capabilities in possible thermal precursor identification, will be presented and discussed.

Novel Damage Detection Techniques for Structural Health Monitoring Using a Hybrid Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dengjiang Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study presents a technique for detecting fatigue cracks based on a hybrid sensor monitoring system consisting of a combination of intelligent coating monitoring (ICM and piezoelectric transducer (PZT sensors. An experimental procedure using this hybrid sensor system was designed to monitor the cracks generated by fatigue testing in plate structures. A probability of detection (POD model that quantifies the reliability of damage detection for a specific sensor or the nondestructive testing (NDT method was used to evaluate the weight factor for the ICM and PZT sensors. To estimate the uncertainty of model parameters in this study, the Bayesian method was employed. Realistic data from fatigue testing was used to validate the overall method, and the results show that the novel damage detection technique using a hybrid sensor can quantify fatigue cracks more accurately than results obtained by conventional sensor methods.

Detection and Characterization of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species in Biological Systems by Monitoring Species-Specific Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, Micael; Zielonka, Jacek; Karoui, Hakim; Sikora, Adam; Michalski, Radosław; Podsiadły, Radosław; Lopez, Marcos; Vasquez-Vivar, Jeannette; Kalyanaraman, Balaraman; Ouari, Olivier

2018-05-20

Since the discovery of the superoxide dismutase enzyme, the generation and fate of short-lived oxidizing, nitrosating, nitrating, and halogenating species in biological systems has been of great interest. Despite the significance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in numerous diseases and intracellular signaling, the rigorous detection of ROS and RNS has remained a challenge. Recent Advances: Chemical characterization of the reactions of selected ROS and RNS with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin traps and fluorescent probes led to the establishment of species-specific products, which can be used for specific detection of several forms of ROS and RNS in cell-free systems and in cultured cells in vitro and in animals in vivo. Profiling oxidation products from the ROS and RNS probes provides a rigorous method for detection of those species in biological systems. Formation and detection of species-specific products from the probes enables accurate characterization of the oxidative environment in cells. Measurement of the total signal (fluorescence, chemiluminescence, etc.) intensity does not allow for identification of the ROS/RNS formed. It is critical to identify the products formed by using chromatographic or other rigorous techniques. Product analyses should be accompanied by monitoring of the intracellular probe level, another factor controlling the yield of the product(s) formed. More work is required to characterize the chemical reactivity of the ROS/RNS probes, and to develop new probes/detection approaches enabling real-time, selective monitoring of the specific products formed from the probes. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 1416-1432.

Comparative study of electromechanical impedance and Lamb wave techniques for fatigue crack detection and monitoring in metallic structures

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Say Ian; Liu, Yu; Soh, Chee Kiong

2012-04-01

Fatigue cracks often initiate at the weld toes of welded steel connections. Usually, these cracks cannot be identified by the naked eyes. Existing identification methods like dye-penetration test and alternating current potential drop (ACPD) may be useful for detecting fatigue cracks at the weld toes. To apply these non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques, the potential sites have to be accessible during inspection. Therefore, there is a need to explore other detection and monitoring techniques for fatigue cracks especially when their locations are inaccessible or cost of access is uneconomical. Electro-mechanical Impedance (EMI) and Lamb wave techniques are two fast growing techniques in the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) community. These techniques use piezoelectric ceramics (PZT) for actuation and sensing. Since the monitoring site is only needed to be accessed once for the instrumentation of the transducers, remote monitoring is made possible. The permanent locations of these transducers also translate to having consistent measurement for monitoring. The main focus of this study is to conduct a comparative investigation on the effectiveness and efficiency of the EMI technique and the Lamb wave technique for successful fatigue crack identification and monitoring of welded steel connections using piezoelectric transducers. A laboratory-sized non-load carrying fillet weld specimen is used in this study. The specimen is subjected to cyclic tensile load and data for both techniques are acquired at stipulated intervals. It can be concluded that the EMI technique is sensitive to the crack initiation phase while the Lamb wave technique correlates well with the crack propagation phase.

The use of environmental monitoring as a technique to identify isotopic enrichment activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchmann, Jose Henrique

2000-01-01

The use of environmental monitoring as a technique to identify activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle has been proposed, by international organizations, as an additional measure to the safeguards agreements in force. The elements specific for each kind of nuclear activity, or nuclear signatures, inserted in the ecosystem by several transfer paths, can be intercepted with better or worse ability by different live organisms. Depending on the kind of signature of interest, the anthropogenic material identification and quantification require the choice of adequate biologic indicators and, mainly, the use of sophisticated techniques associated with elaborate sample treatments. This work demonstrates the technical viability of using pine needles as bioindicators of nuclear signatures associated with uranium enrichment activities. Additionally, it proposes the use of a technique widely diffused nowadays in the scientific community, the High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS), to identify the signature corresponding to that kind of activities in the ecosystem. It can be also found a description of a methodology recently being applied in analytical chemistry,based on uncertainties estimates metrological concepts, used to calculate the uncertainties associated with the obtained measurement results. Nitric acid solutions with a concentration of 0.3 mol.kg -1 , used to wash pine needles sampled near facilities that manipulate enriched uranium and containing only 0.1 μg.kg -1 of uranium, exhibit a 235 U: 238 U isotopic abundance ratio of 0.0092±0.0002, while solutions originated from samples collected at places located more than 200 km far from activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle exhibit a value of 0.0074±0.0002 for this abundance ratio. Similar results were obtained for samples collected in different places permit to confirm the presence of anthropogenic uranium and demonstrate the viability of using this technique and the

Nutrient Film Technique (NFT Hydroponic Monitoring System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helmy Helmy

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Plant cultivation using hydroponic is very popular today. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT hydroponic system is commonly used by people. It can be applied indoor or outdoor. Plants in this systemneed nutrient solution to grow well. pH, TDS and temperature of the nutrient solution must be check to ensure plant gets sufficient nutrients. This research aims todevelop monitoring system of NFT hydroponic. Farmer will be able to monitor pH, TDS and temperature online. It will ease farmer to decide which plant is suitable to be cultivated and time to boost growth.Delay of the system will be measured to know system performance. Result shows that pH is directly proportional with TDS. Temperature value has no correlation with pH and TDS. System has highest delay during daylight and afternoon but it will decline in the night and morning. Average of delay in the morning is 11 s, 28.5 s in daylight, 32 s in the afternoon and 17.5 s in the night.

Fundamental and assessment of concrete structure monitoring by using acoustic emission technique testing: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Desa, M. S. M.; Ibrahim, M. H. W.; Shahidan, S.; Ghadzali, N. S.; Misri, Z.

2018-04-01

Acoustic emission (AE) technique is one of the non-destructive (NDT) testing, where it can be used to determine the damage of concrete structures such as crack, corrosion, stability, sensitivity, as structure monitoring and energy formed within cracking opening growth in the concrete structure. This article gives a comprehensive review of the acoustic emission (AE) technique testing due to its application in concrete structure for structural health monitoring (SHM). Assessment of AE technique used for structural are reviewed to give the perception of its structural engineering such as dam, bridge and building, where the previous research has been reviewed based on AE application. The assessment of AE technique focusing on basic fundamental of parametric and signal waveform analysis during analysis process and its capability in structural monitoring. Moreover, the assessment and application of AE due to its function have been summarized and highlighted for future references

Assessment of beta-emitter radionuclides in biological samples using liquid scintillation counting. Application to the study of internal doses in molecular and cellular biology techniques; Evaluacion en muestras biologicas de radionucleidos emisores beta mediante espectrometria de centelleo en fase liquida. Aplicaciones al estudio de dosis internas en tecnicas de investigacion de biologia molecular y celular

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sierra, I.; Delgado, A.; Navarro, T.; Macias, M. T.

2007-07-01

The radioisotopic techniques used in Molecular and Cellular Biology involve external and internal irradiation risk. It is necessary to control the possible internal contamination associated to the development of these techniques. The internal contamination risk can be due to physical and chemical properties of the labelled compounds, aerosols generated during the performance technique. The aim of this work was to estimate the possible intake of specific beta emitters during the technique development and to propose the required criterions to perform Individual Monitoring. The most representative radioisotopic techniques were selected attending their potential risk of internal contamination. Techniques were analysed applying IAEA methodology according to the used activity in each technique. It was necessary to identify the worker groups that would require individual monitoring on the base of their specific risk. Different measurement procedures were applied to study the possible intake in group risk and more than 160 persons were measured by in vitro bioassay. (Author) 96 refs.

Novel all-optical dispersion monitoring technique for ultra-high-speed WDM networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui Sheng; Li Li; Liu Deming, E-mail: cuisheng@mail.hust.edu.cn [Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, No.1037, Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei, 430074 (China)

2011-02-01

This paper represents a novel all-optical dispersion monitoring technique based on fiber parametric amplifiers (FOPAs). The monitoring method is truly bit-rate transparent because it is enabled by the exponential power transfer function (PTF) provided by the FOPA gain. The slope of the PTF is increased from 2 to 3 by choosing appropriate phase-matching conditions. Due to the steeper PTF the monitoring sensitivity is greatly improved compared to the other PTF-based methods proposed before. The PTF obtained by numerical simulations agrees very well with the experimental results. Numerical simulations are then used to demonstrate that our method can be used to monitor signals in various modulation formats.

Acoustic impedance rhinometry (AIR): a technique for monitoring dynamic changes in nasal congestion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patuzzi, Robert; Cook, Alison

2014-01-01

We describe a simple and inexpensive method for monitoring nasal air flow resistance using measurement of the small-signal acoustic input impedance of the nasal passage, similar to the audiological measurement of ear drum compliance with acoustic tympanometry. The method requires generation of a fixed sinusoidal volume–velocity stimulus using ear-bud speakers, and an electret microphone to monitor the resultant pressure fluctuation in the nasal passage. Both are coupled to the nose via high impedance silastic tubing and a small plastic nose insert. The acoustic impedance is monitored in real-time using a laptop soundcard and custom-written software developed in LabView 7.0 (National Instruments). The compact, lightweight equipment and fast time resolution lends the technique to research into the small and rapid reflexive changes in nasal resistance caused by environmental and local neurological influences. The acoustic impedance rhinometry technique has the potential to be developed for use in a clinical setting, where the need exists for a simple and inexpensive objective nasal resistance measurement technique. (paper)

A Wireless Fatigue Monitoring System Utilizing a Bio-Inspired Tree Ring Data Tracking Technique

OpenAIRE

Bai, Shi; Li, Xuan; Xie, Zhaohui; Zhou, Zhi; Ou, Jinping

2014-01-01

Fatigue, a hot scientific research topic for centuries, can trigger sudden failure of critical structures such as aircraft and railway systems, resulting in enormous casualties as well as economic losses. The fatigue life of certain structures is intrinsically random and few monitoring techniques are capable of tracking the full life-cycle fatigue damage. In this paper, a novel in-situ wireless real-time fatigue monitoring system using a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique is propo...

Development of techniques for monitoring corrosion in Magnox plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haines, N.F.; Whittle, I.; Wilson, R.

1974-01-01

Steel oxidation in Magnox reactors has led to the development of techniques for measuring oxide thicknesses. An account is given of the methods used by the CEGB for making non-destructive measurements of oxide coatings both in the laboratory and remotely in the core regions of reactors. Specific techniques include β back-scattering which is compared with conventional microscope or weight gain methods for particular applications. The laser corrosion monitor and an ultrasonic method are described and compared as in-reactor techniques. An eddy current method is being developed for reactor regions where access is extremely restricted. A discussion considers the effect of oxide form upon the response of the instruments. The necessary further work is described which establishes the usefulness of each instrument over a range of oxide thicknesses and steels of different physical properties. (author)

Critical and subcritical damage monitoring of bonded composite repairs using innovative non-destructive techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Grammatikos, S. A.; Kordatos, E. Z.; Aggelis, D. G.; Matikas, T. E.; Paipetis, A. S.

2012-04-01

Infrared Thermography (IrT) has been shown to be capable of detecting and monitoring service induced damage of repair composite structures. Full-field imaging, along with portability are the primary benefits of the thermographic technique. On-line lock-in thermography has been reported to successfully monitor damage propagation or/and stress concentration in composite coupons, as mechanical stresses in structures induce heat concentration phenomena around flaws. During mechanical fatigue, cyclic loading plays the role of the heating source and this allows for critical and subcritical damage identification and monitoring using thermography. The Electrical Potential Change Technique (EPCT) is a new method for damage identification and monitoring during loading. The measurement of electrical potential changes at specific points of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) under load are reported to enable the monitoring of strain or/and damage accumulation. Along with the aforementioned techniques Finally, Acoustic Emission (AE) method is well known to provide information about the location and type of damage. Damage accumulation due to cyclic loading imposes differentiation of certain parameters of AE like duration and energy. Within the scope of this study, infrared thermography is employed along with AE and EPCT methods in order to assess the integrity of bonded repair patches on composite substrates and to monitor critical and subcritical damage induced by the mechanical loading. The combined methodologies were effective in identifying damage initiation and propagation of bonded composite repairs.

Volcanic Monitoring Techniques Applied to Controlled Fragmentation Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Kueppers, U.; Alatorre-Ibarguengoitia, M. A.; Hort, M. K.; Kremers, S.; Meier, K.; Scharff, L.; Scheu, B.; Taddeucci, J.; Dingwell, D. B.

2010-12-01

ejection and that the evaluated results were mostly in good agreement. We will discuss the technical difficulties encountered, e.g. the temporal synchronisation of the different techniques. Furthermore, the internal data management of the DR prevents at present a continuous recording and only a limited number of snapshots is stored. Nonetheless, in at least three experiments the onset of particle ejection was measured by all different techniques and gave coherent results of up to 100 m/s. This is a very encouraging result and of paramount importance as it proofs the applicability of these independent methods to volcano monitoring. Each method by itself may enhance our understanding of the pressurisation state of a volcano, an essential factor in ballistic hazard evaluation and eruption energy estimation. Technical adaptations of the DR will overcome the encountered problems and allow a more refined data analysis during the next campaign.

Mechanical seal monitoring technique by acoustic emission measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kataoka, Tadashi; Fujita, Yoshihiro; Kawaguchi, Kazunori; Saito, Kazuhiro; Yokota, Setsuo; Hisada, Yasuhide; Masahiro, Komatsu

1987-09-20

This report describes a technique for mechanical seal monitoring through acoustic emission (AE) measurement. The equipment consists of an AE sensor, preamplifier, multiplexer, main amplifier, effective value transducer and computer system. When the sealed liquid pressure undergoes a large change, the seal surface configuration is monitored and evaluated accurately through AE measurement. If the mechanical seal surface id damaged or worn, the AE level is kept high or continues to fluctuate largely for a rather long period. When leak occurs, the AE value shows great fluctuations either at extremely low levels or at high levels. The former trend is considered to result from a decrease in solid contact due to an excessive amount of liquid film being formed at the seal surface during leak. In the latter case, the leak is attributed to severe damage to the seal surface. (18 figs, 1 tab, 5 photos, 3 refs)

WS-010: EPR-First Responders: Personal monitoring techniques and protective clothing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The purpose of this working session is that the participant can apply their knowledge in relation to the personal monitoring techniques and protective clothing. They have to know the use of the radiation measurement instrumentation available in each region

Development of tools for integrated monitoring and assessment of hazardous substances and their biological effects in the Baltic Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehtonen, Kari K; Sundelin, Brita; Lang, Thomas; Strand, Jakob

2014-02-01

The need to develop biological effects monitoring to facilitate a reliable assessment of hazardous substances has been emphasized in the Baltic Sea Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission. An integrated chemical-biological approach is vitally important for the understanding and proper assessment of anthropogenic pressures and their effects on the Baltic Sea. Such an approach is also necessary for prudent management aiming at safeguarding the sustainable use of ecosystem goods and Services. The BEAST project (Biological Effects of Anthropogenic Chemical Stress: Tools for the Assessment of Ecosystem Health) set out to address this topic within the BONUS Programme. BEAST generated a large amount of quality-assured data on several biological effects parameters (biomarkers) in various marine species in different sub-regions of the Baltic Sea. New indicators (biological response measurement methods) and management tools (integrated indices) with regard to the integrated monitoring approach were suggested.

The integration of novel diagnostics techniques for multi-scale monitoring of large civil infrastructures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Soldovieri

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In the recent years, structural monitoring of large infrastructures (buildings, dams, bridges or more generally man-made structures has raised an increased attention due to the growing interest about safety and security issues and risk assessment through early detection. In this framework, aim of the paper is to introduce a new integrated approach which combines two sensing techniques acting on different spatial and temporal scales. The first one is a distributed optic fiber sensor based on the Brillouin scattering phenomenon, which allows a spatially and temporally continuous monitoring of the structure with a "low" spatial resolution (meter. The second technique is based on the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR, which can provide detailed images of the inner status of the structure (with a spatial resolution less then tens centimetres, but does not allow a temporal continuous monitoring. The paper describes the features of these two techniques and provides experimental results concerning preliminary test cases.

Monitoring of Corrientes facility using nuclear registers techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yesquen L, S.

1994-01-01

Knowledge of fluid movement in the reservoir is a key to enhanced production management. Direct measurement of water and oil saturation variations with time, is the most reliable method in determining the depletion profile of reservoirs with ample range of permeabilities. This paper illustrates how nuclear logging techniques aids proper management in strong water drive reservoir named Cetico Corrientes Field, in east Peru. Important production increase was obtained with work over and drilling program, based on reservoir monitoring using thermal decay tool. (author). 7 figs

An energy-efficient communication method based on the relationships between biological signals for ubiquitous health monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Hyok Chon; Na, Doosu; Ko, Byung Geun; Lee, Songjun

2008-01-01

Wireless sensor networks have been studied in the area of intelligent transportation systems, disaster perception, environment monitoring, ubiquitous healthcare, home network, and so on. For the ubiquitous healthcare, the previous systems collect the sensed health related data at portable devices without regard to correlations of various biological signals to determine the health conditions. It is not the energy-efficient method to gather a lot of information into a specific node to decide the health condition. Since the biological signals are related with each other to estimate certain body condition, it is necessary to be collected selectively by their relationship for energy efficiency of the networked nodes. One of researches about low power consumption is the reduction of the amount of packet transmission. In this paper, a health monitoring system, which allows the transmission of the reduced number of packets by means of setting the routing path considered the relations of biological signals, is proposed.

Cleaning of polluted water using biological techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, M.

1992-01-01

Ground-water at many Danish locations has been polluted by organic substances. This pollution has taken place in relation to leaks or spills of, for example, petrol from leaky tanks or oil separators. The article describes a new biological technique for the purification of ground-water polluted by petrol and diesel oils leaked at a petrol station. The technique involves decompostion by bacteria. During decompostion the biomass in the filter increases and carbon dioxide and water is produced, so there is no waste product from this process. The two units consist of an oil-separator which separates the diesel oil and petrol from the water, and a bio-filter which is constructed as an aired-through inverted filter to which nutrient salts are continually added. The filter-material used is in the form of plastic rings on which the oil-decomposing bacteria grow and reproduce themselves. The system is further described. It is claimed that the bio-filter can decompose 7 kg of petrol and diesel oil in one week, larger ones decompose more. The servicelife of the system is expected to be 4-6 years. Current installation costs are 20.000 - 100.000 Danish kroner, according to size. (AB)

Techniques of monitoring blood glucose during pregnancy for women with pre-existing diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Moy, Foong Ming; Ray, Amita; Buckley, Brian S; West, Helen M

2017-06-11

Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is recommended as a key component of the management plan for diabetes therapy during pregnancy. No existing systematic reviews consider the benefits/effectiveness of various techniques of blood glucose monitoring on maternal and infant outcomes among pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes. The effectiveness of the various monitoring techniques is unclear. To compare techniques of blood glucose monitoring and their impact on maternal and infant outcomes among pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (30 November 2016), searched reference lists of retrieved studies and contacted trial authors. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs comparing techniques of blood glucose monitoring including SMBG, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) or clinic monitoring among pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus (type 1 or type 2). Trials investigating timing and frequency of monitoring were also included. RCTs using a cluster-randomised design were eligible for inclusion but none were identified. Two review authors independently assessed study eligibility, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Data were checked for accuracy. The quality of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. This review update includes at total of 10 trials (538) women (468 women with type 1 diabetes and 70 women with type 2 diabetes). The trials took place in Europe and the USA. Five of the 10 included studies were at moderate risk of bias, four studies were at low to moderate risk of bias, and one study was at high risk of bias. The trials are too small to show differences in important outcomes such as macrosomia, preterm birth, miscarriage or death of baby. Almost all the reported GRADE outcomes were assessed as being very low-quality evidence. This was due to design limitations in the studies, wide confidence intervals, small

Future strategy and puzzles of heavy ion beam mediated technique in genetic improvement of biological bodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Qunce

2007-01-01

The 7 research puzzles in the genetic improvement of biological bodies made by ion beam mediated technique, are worth noticed. The technical ideas, including one mediated technique in physics, 2 significant subjects, 3 effective changes, the mediated evidences of 4 aspects and 5 biological characteristics, were particularly put forward according to the existing states in the field. The 2 significant subjects consist of the mechanics of the allogenetic materials entering into the acceptor and they being to be recombined. The 3 effective changes include from studying morphology to genetic laws, from researching M1 generation to the next generations, from determining the single character to the synthetic traits. The mediated evidences of 4 aspects come from morphology, physiology and biochemistry, molecule biology. The 5 biological characteristics are mainly reproduction, development, photosynthesis, bad condition-resistant and quality. (authors)

Swept frequency acoustic interferometry technique for chemical weapons verification and monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinha, D.N.; Anthony, B.W.; Lizon, D.C.

1995-03-01

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are important for rapid on-site verification and monitoring of chemical munitions, such as artillery shells and bulk containers. Present NDE techniques provide only limited characterizations of such munitions. This paper describes the development of a novel noninvasive technique, swept-frequency acoustic interferometry (SFAI), that significantly enhances the capability of munitions characterizations. The SFAI technique allows very accurate and simultaneous determination of sound velocity and attenuation of chemical agents over a large frequency range inside artillery shells, in addition to determining agent density. The frequency-dependent sound velocity and attenuation can, in principle, provide molecular relaxation properties of the chemical agent. The same instrument also enables a direct fill-level measurement in bulk containers. Industrial and other applications of this general-purpose technique are also discussed.

Identification of microorganisms involved in nitrogen removal from wastewater treatment systems by means of molecular biology techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Figueroa, M.; Alonso-Gutierrez, J.; Campos, J. L.; Mendez, R.; Mosquera-Corral, A.

2010-01-01

The identification of the main bacteria populations present in the granular biomass from a biological reactor treating wastewater has been performed by applying two different molecular biology techniques. By means of the DGGE technique five different genera of heterotrophic bacteria (Thiothrix, Thauera, Cloroflexi, Comamonas y Zoogloea) and one of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomanas) were identified. The FISH technique, based on microscopy, allowed the in situ visualization and quantification of those microorganisms. Special attention was paid to filamentous bacteria distribution (Thiothrix and Cloroflexi) which could exert a structural function in aerobic granular sludge. (Author) 26 refs.

Comparison Of Several Metrology Techniques For In-line Process Monitoring Of Porous SiOCH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fossati, D.; Imbert, G.; Beitia, C.; Yu, L.; Plantier, L.; Volpi, F.; Royer, J.-C.

2007-01-01

As porous SiOCH is a widely used inter-metal dielectric for 65 nm nodes and below, the control of its elaboration process by in-line monitoring is necessary to guarantee successful integration of the material. In this paper, the sensitivities of several non-destructive metrology techniques towards the film elaboration process drifts are investigated. It appears that the two steps of the process should be monitored separately and that corona charge method is the most sensitive technique of the review for this application

Prediction of UV spectra and UV-radiation damage in actual plasma etching processes using on-wafer monitoring technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jinnai, Butsurin; Fukuda, Seiichi; Ohtake, Hiroto; Samukawa, Seiji

2010-01-01

UV radiation during plasma processing affects the surface of materials. Nevertheless, the interaction of UV photons with surface is not clearly understood because of the difficulty in monitoring photons during plasma processing. For this purpose, we have previously proposed an on-wafer monitoring technique for UV photons. For this study, using the combination of this on-wafer monitoring technique and a neural network, we established a relationship between the data obtained from the on-wafer monitoring technique and UV spectra. Also, we obtained absolute intensities of UV radiation by calibrating arbitrary units of UV intensity with a 126 nm excimer lamp. As a result, UV spectra and their absolute intensities could be predicted with the on-wafer monitoring. Furthermore, we developed a prediction system with the on-wafer monitoring technique to simulate UV-radiation damage in dielectric films during plasma etching. UV-induced damage in SiOC films was predicted in this study. Our prediction results of damage in SiOC films shows that UV spectra and their absolute intensities are the key cause of damage in SiOC films. In addition, UV-radiation damage in SiOC films strongly depends on the geometry of the etching structure. The on-wafer monitoring technique should be useful in understanding the interaction of UV radiation with surface and in optimizing plasma processing by controlling UV radiation.

Research on monitoring and management information integration technique in waste treatment and management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong Jinsong; Yu Ren; Mao Wei

2013-01-01

The integration of the waste treatment process and the device status monitoring information and management information is a key problem required to be solved in the information integration of the waste treatment and management. The main content of the monitoring and management information integration is discussed in the paper. The data exchange techniques, which are based on the OPC, FTP and data push technology, are applied to the different monitoring system respectively, according to their development platform, to realize the integration of the waste treatment process and device status monitoring information and management information in a waste treatment center. (authors)

L-Lake fish: L-Lake/Steel Creek Biological Monitoring Program, January 1986--December 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayers, R.E. Jr.; Mealing, H.G. III

1992-04-01

The L Lake Biological Monitoring Program was designed to meet environmental regulatory requirements associated with the re-start of L-Reactor and address portions of Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act, which requires an applicant for a discharge permit to provide scientific evidence that the discharge causes no significant impact on the indigenous ecosystem. The Department of Energy (DOE) must demonstrate that the discharge of L-Reactor effluent into L Lake will not inhibit the eventual establishment of a ''Balanced Biological Community'' (BBC) in at least 50% of the lake

L-Lake fish: L-Lake/Steel Creek Biological Monitoring Program, January 1986--December 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sayers, R.E. Jr.; Mealing, H.G. III [Normandeau Associates, Inc., New Ellenton, SC (United States)

1992-04-01

The L Lake Biological Monitoring Program was designed to meet environmental regulatory requirements associated with the re-start of L-Reactor and address portions of Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act, which requires an applicant for a discharge permit to provide scientific evidence that the discharge causes no significant impact on the indigenous ecosystem. The Department of Energy (DOE) must demonstrate that the discharge of L-Reactor effluent into L Lake will not inhibit the eventual establishment of a ``Balanced Biological Community`` (BBC) in at least 50% of the lake.

A noninvasive multimodal technique to monitor brain tumor vascularization

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Vishal; Gonzalez-Gomez, Ignacio; Laug, Walter E.

2007-09-01

Determination of tumor oxygenation at the microvascular level will provide important insight into tumor growth, angiogenesis, necrosis and therapeutic response and will facilitate to develop protocols for studying tumor behavior. The non-ionizing near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique has the potential to differentiate lesion and hemoglobin dynamics; however, it has a limited spatial resolution. On the other hand, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has achieved high spatial resolution with excellent tissue discrimination but is more susceptible to limited ability to monitor the hemoglobin dynamics. In the present work, the vascular status and the pathophysiological changes that occur during tumor vascularization are studied in an orthotopic brain tumor model. A noninvasive multimodal approach based on the NIRS technique, namely steady state diffuse optical spectroscopy (SSDOS) along with MRI, is applied for monitoring the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin and water within tumor region. The concentrations of oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin and water within tumor vasculature are extracted at 15 discrete wavelengths in a spectral window of 675-780 nm. We found a direct correlation between tumor size, intratumoral microvessel density and tumor oxygenation. The relative decrease in tumor oxygenation with growth indicates that though blood vessels infiltrate and proliferate the tumor region, a hypoxic trend is clearly present.

A noninvasive multimodal technique to monitor brain tumor vascularization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, Vishal; Gonzalez-Gomez, Ignacio; Laug, Walter E

2007-01-01

Determination of tumor oxygenation at the microvascular level will provide important insight into tumor growth, angiogenesis, necrosis and therapeutic response and will facilitate to develop protocols for studying tumor behavior. The non-ionizing near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique has the potential to differentiate lesion and hemoglobin dynamics; however, it has a limited spatial resolution. On the other hand, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has achieved high spatial resolution with excellent tissue discrimination but is more susceptible to limited ability to monitor the hemoglobin dynamics. In the present work, the vascular status and the pathophysiological changes that occur during tumor vascularization are studied in an orthotopic brain tumor model. A noninvasive multimodal approach based on the NIRS technique, namely steady state diffuse optical spectroscopy (SSDOS) along with MRI, is applied for monitoring the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin and water within tumor region. The concentrations of oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin and water within tumor vasculature are extracted at 15 discrete wavelengths in a spectral window of 675-780 nm. We found a direct correlation between tumor size, intratumoral microvessel density and tumor oxygenation. The relative decrease in tumor oxygenation with growth indicates that though blood vessels infiltrate and proliferate the tumor region, a hypoxic trend is clearly present

Plants status monitor: Modelling techniques and inherent benefits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breeding, R.J.; Lainoff, S.M.; Rees, D.C.; Prather, W.A.; Fickiessen, K.O.E.

1987-01-01

The Plant Status Monitor (PSM) is designed to provide plant personnel with information on the operational status of the plant and compliance with the plant technical specifications. The PSM software evaluates system models using a 'distributed processing' technique in which detailed models of individual systems are processed rather than by evaluating a single, plant-level model. In addition, development of the system models for PSM provides inherent benefits to the plant by forcing detailed reviews of the technical specifications, system design and operating procedures, and plant documentation. (orig.)

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program. Progress report, October 1992--December 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-05-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, a program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG ampersand G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG ampersand G/EM) from October 1992 through December 1993 for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the environmental program for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP): Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support

Yucca Mountain Biological Resources Monitoring Program. Progress report, January 1994--December 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-07-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (as amended in 1987) to study and characterize the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential geological repository for high-level nuclear waste. During site characterization, the DOE will conduct a variety of geotechnical, geochemical, geological, and hydrological studies to determine the suitability of Yucca Mountain as a potential repository. To ensure that site characterization activities do not adversely affect the environment at Yucca Mountain, a program has been implemented to monitor and mitigate potential impacts and ensure activities comply with applicable environmental regulations. This report describes the activities and accomplishments of EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc. (EG and G/EM) from January 1994 through December 1994 for six program areas within the Terrestrial Ecosystem component of the environmental program for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP): Site Characterization Effects, Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), Habitat Reclamation, Monitoring and Mitigation, Radiological Monitoring, and Biological Support

[Retrospective study of the implementation of the qualitative PCR technique in biological samples for monitoring toxoplasmosis in pediatric patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

Science.gov (United States)

Nigro, Mónica G; Figueroa, Carlos; Ledesma, Bibiana A

2014-01-01

Toxoplasmosis is an opportunistic infection caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The infection is severe and difficult to diagnose in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Twelve patients receiving HSCT were monitored post-transplant, by qualitative PCR at the Children's Hospital S.A.M.I.C. "Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan". The monitoring of these patients was defined by a history of positive serology for toxoplasmosis in the donor or recipient and because their hematologic condition did not allow the use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for prophylaxis. During the patients' monitoring, two of them with positive PCR results showed signs of illness by T. gondii and were treated with pyrimethamine-clindamycin. In two other patients, toxoplasmosis was the cause of death and an autopsy finding, showing negative PCR results. Four patients without clinical manifestations received treatment for toxoplasmosis because of positive PCR detection. In four patients there were no signs of toxoplasmosis disease and negative PCR results during follow-up. The qualitative PCR technique proved useful for the detection of toxoplasmosis reactivation in HSCT recipients, but has limitations in monitoring and making clinical decisions due to the persistence of positive PCR over time and manifestations of toxicity caused by the treatment. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Macro to microfluidics system for biological environmental monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Delattre, Cyril; Allier, Cédric P; Fouillet, Yves; Jary, Dorothée; Bottausci, Frederic; Bouvier, Denis; Delapierre, Guillaume; Quinaud, Manuelle; Rival, Arnaud; Davoust, Laurent; Peponnet, Christine

2012-01-01

Biological environmental monitoring (BEM) is a growing field of research which challenges both microfluidics and system automation. The aim is to develop a transportable system with analysis throughput which satisfies the requirements: (i) fully autonomous, (ii) complete protocol integration from sample collection to final analysis, (iii) detection of diluted molecules or biological species in a large real life environmental sample volume, (iv) robustness and (v) flexibility and versatility. This paper discusses all these specifications in order to define an original fluidic architecture based on three connected modules, a sampling module, a sample preparation module and a detection module. The sample preparation module highly concentrates on the pathogens present in a few mL samples of complex and unknown solutions and purifies the pathogens' nucleic acids into a few μL of a controlled buffer. To do so, a two-step concentration protocol based on magnetic beads is automated in a reusable macro-to-micro fluidic system. The detection module is a PCR based miniaturized platform using digital microfluidics, where reactions are performed in 64 nL droplets handled by electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) actuation. The design and manufacture of the two modules are reported as well as their respective performances. To demonstrate the integration of the complete protocol in the same system, first results of pathogen detection are shown. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Monitoring of biological odour filtration in closed environments with olfactometry and an electronic nose

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willers, H.C.; Gijsel, de P.; Ogink, N.W.M.; Amico, D' A.; Martinelli, E.; Natale, Di C.; Ras, van N.; Waarde, van der J.

2004-01-01

Air treatment with a compact biological membrane filter, and air quality monitoring with an electronic nose were tested in the laboratory on air from a cage containing six mice. Additional analyses of air to and from the filter were performed using olfactometry and ammonia and hydrogen sulphide gas

Cure Monitoring Techniques for Adhesive Bonding Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-11-01

l TABLE OF CONTIW Section Pase I INTRODUCTION 1. Program Overviev 1 2. Smary 2 II MONITORING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS 3 1. Development of a...encountered in the electronics/signal/ computer interfaces, although solvable, have slowed progress and starting a bondline monitoring program to do a...AIWAL/MLBC) as Project Engineer. The program manager is Mr. C. A. May. The principal investigator is Dr. A. Wereta, Jr., assisted by Mass. W. G. Caple, J

An integrated sensing technique for smart monitoring of water pipelines

Science.gov (United States)

Bernini, Romeo; Catapano, Ilaria; Soldovieri, Francesco; Crocco, Lorenzo

2014-05-01

Lowering the rate of water leakage from the network of underground pipes is one of the requirements that "smart" cities have to comply with. In fact, losses in the water supply infrastructure have a remarkable social, environmental and economic impact, which obviously conflicts with the expected efficiency and sustainability of a smart city. As a consequence, there is a huge interest in developing prevention policies based on state-of-art sensing techniques and possibly their integration, as well as in envisaging ad hoc technical solutions designed for the application at hand. As a contribution to this framework, in this communication we present an approach aimed to pursue a thorough non-invasive monitoring of water pipelines, with both high spatial and temporal resolution. This goal is necessary to guarantee that maintenance operations are performed timely, so to reduce the extent of the leakage and its possible side effects, and precisely, so to minimize the cost and the discomfort resulting from operating on the water supply network. The proposed approach integrates two sensing techniques that work at different spatial and temporal scales. The first one is meant to provide a continuous (in both space and time) monitoring of the pipeline and exploits a distributed optic fiber sensor based on the Brillouin scattering phenomenon. This technique provides the "low" spatial resolution information (at meter scale) needed to reveal the presence of a leak and call for interventions [1]. The second technique is based on the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and is meant to provide detailed images of area where the damage has been detected. GPR systems equipped with suitable data processing strategies [2,3] are indeed capable of providing images of the shallow underground, where the pipes would be buried, characterized by a spatial resolution in the order of a few centimeters. This capability is crucial to address in the most proper way maintenance operations, by for

Water sampling techniques for continuous monitoring of pesticides in water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Šunjka Dragana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Good ecological and chemical status of water represents the most important aim of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, which implies respect of water quality standards at the level of entire river basin (2008/105/EC and 2013/39/EC. This especially refers to the control of pesticide residues in surface waters. In order to achieve the set goals, a continuous monitoring program that should provide a comprehensive and interrelated overview of water status should be implemented. However, it demands the use of appropriate analysis techniques. Until now, the procedure for sampling and quantification of residual pesticide quantities in aquatic environment was based on the use of traditional sampling techniques that imply periodical collecting of individual samples. However, this type of sampling provides only a snapshot of the situation in regard to the presence of pollutants in water. As an alternative, the technique of passive sampling of pollutants in water, including pesticides has been introduced. Different samplers are available for pesticide sampling in surface water, depending on compounds. The technique itself is based on keeping a device in water over a longer period of time which varies from several days to several weeks, depending on the kind of compound. In this manner, the average concentrations of pollutants dissolved in water during a time period (time-weighted average concentrations, TWA are obtained, which enables monitoring of trends in areal and seasonal variations. The use of these techniques also leads to an increase in sensitivity of analytical methods, considering that pre-concentration of analytes takes place within the sorption medium. However, the use of these techniques for determination of pesticide concentrations in real water environments requires calibration studies for the estimation of sampling rates (Rs. Rs is a volume of water per time, calculated as the product of overall mass transfer coefficient and area of

ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF MELOXICAM IN PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATIONS AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aisha Noreen

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Meloxicam (MX belongs to the family of oxicams which is the most important group of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs and is widely used for their analgesics and antipyretic activities. It inhibits both COX-I and COX-II enzymes with less gastric and local tissues irritation. A number of analytical techniques have been used for the determination of MX in pharmaceutical as well as in biological fluids. These techniques include titrimetry, spectrometry, chromatography, flow injection spectrometry, fluorescence spectrometry, capillary zone electrophoresis and electrochemical techniques. Many of these techniques have also been used for the simultaneous determination of MX with other compounds. A comprehensive review of these analytical techniques has been done which could be useful for the analytical chemists and quality control pharmacists.

Vibro-acoustic condition monitoring of Internal Combustion Engines: A critical review of existing techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Delvecchio, S.; Bonfiglio, P.; Pompoli, F.

2018-01-01

This paper deals with the state-of-the-art strategies and techniques based on vibro-acoustic signals that can monitor and diagnose malfunctions in Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) under both test bench and vehicle operating conditions. Over recent years, several authors have summarized what is known in critical reviews mainly focused on reciprocating machines in general or on specific signal processing techniques: no attempts to deal with IC engine condition monitoring have been made. This paper first gives a brief summary of the generation of sound and vibration in ICEs in order to place further discussion on fault vibro-acoustic diagnosis in context. An overview of the monitoring and diagnostic techniques described in literature using both vibration and acoustic signals is also provided. Different faulty conditions are described which affect combustion, mechanics and the aerodynamics of ICEs. The importance of measuring acoustic signals, as opposed to vibration signals, is due since the former seem to be more suitable for implementation on on-board monitoring systems in view of their non-intrusive behaviour, capability in simultaneously capturing signatures from several mechanical components and because of the possibility of detecting faults affecting airborne transmission paths. In view of the recent needs of the industry to (-) optimize component structural durability adopting long-life cycles, (-) verify the engine final status at the end of the assembly line and (-) reduce the maintenance costs monitoring the ICE life during vehicle operations, monitoring and diagnosing system requests are continuously growing up. The present review can be considered a useful guideline for test engineers in understanding which types of fault can be diagnosed by using vibro-acoustic signals in sufficient time in both test bench and operating conditions and which transducer and signal processing technique (of which the essential background theory is here reported) could be

Tritium monitoring techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeVore, J.R.; Buckner, M.A.

1996-05-01

As part of their operations, the U.S. Navy is required to store or maintain operational nuclear weapons on ships and at shore facilities. Since these weapons contain tritium, there are safety implications relevant to the exposure of personnel to tritium. This is particularly important for shipboard operations since these types of environments can make low-level tritium detection difficult. Some of these ships have closed systems, which can result in exposure to tritium at levels that are below normally acceptable levels but could still cause radiation doses that are higher than necessary or could hamper ship operations. This report describes the state of the art in commercial tritium detection and monitoring and recommends approaches for low-level tritium monitoring in these environments

Improvement of Leukemia diagnose with molecular techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos Rudin, M.E.

1997-01-01

The objective of this study was to contribute with new techniques to the clinical diagnosis and to the monitoring of mycloid chronic leukemias in Costa Rica. The same one achieved to determine that is viable to apply radioactive and non reactive methodologies, for the molecular detection of the Philadelphia chromosome.It also found that the application of techniques of cellular biology, helps to classify better the mycloide leukemias and the chronic mycloproliferatives and miclodisplaced disorders. (S. Grainger) [es

1. Biologic monitoring at Barsebaeck nuclear power plant 1985-1997. 2. Biological monitoring at Swedish nuclear power plants in 1998. Annual report 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, Jan; Mo, K.; Thoernqvist, S.

1999-06-01

This report gives an account for two studies on the ecological effects of effluents to the aquatic environment from the Swedish nuclear power plants: 1. The results of biological monitoring at the Barsebaeck nuclear power plant during the period 1985-1997 are summarised. Comparisons are made with a previous report from 1969-1983. The fish community was studied by fyke net test fishing in the cooling water effluent area along a gradient out to unaffected sites. The loss of young eels in the cooling water intake was estimated annually. Damage on female grey mullet oocyte development was analysed on samples of cooling water exposed fish. 2. The biological monitoring at the Swedish nuclear power plants during 1998 was with minor exceptions performed according to the established programmes. The monitoring at Forsmark is running in the enclosed Biotest basin at the cooling water outlet and in the surrounding archipelago. Reference data are collected at Finbo, NW Aaland, and in the nearby Graesoe archipelago. In 1998 as in previous years the benthic macro fauna abundance within the Biotest basin showed strong variations. In the beginning of the year abundance and biomass were low, in the autumn though, higher than average. Oskarshamn: The monitoring is performed in the small effluent bay, Hamnefjaerden bay, in the waters surrounding the cooling water plume and in a reference area, Kvaedoe-fjaerden, 100 km north of the power plant. Perch and roach catches have been high in the Hamnefjaerden bay since the late 1980's. In 1998 catches of perch were on a higher level than in 1997, both in spring and in summer. The changes for roach were small. A moderate decrease in eel catches took place in 1997 and 1998, indicating a reduced effect of stockings in the late 1980's. Ringhals: The monitoring is performed in the area close to the cooling water outlet, which is located at an open coast, and in a reference area. An attraction of yellow eel to the effluent area has been

Project GRETE: evaluation of non destructive testing techniques for monitoring of material degradation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coste, J.F.

2001-01-01

The material aging of major critical components of nuclear installations due to in-service conditions may lead to a degradation of their mechanical characteristics. The early detection of material changes and their monitoring using innovative non destructive testing techniques would allow to plan actions in order to prevent the apparition of macroscopic damage (e.g. cracks). One major difficulty in using these particular techniques is to correlate the changes in the measured NDT signals to the microstructural changes in the material due to aging. This problem may be solved through careful microstructural examinations of the material damage. The objective of the project GRETE is to illustrate the potential use of NDT techniques for the monitoring of material degradation through two examples: neutron irradiation of reactor pressure vessel steel and thermal fatigue of piping. The purpose of this paper is to present the project and its programme of work. (author)

Comparison of process estimation techniques for on-line calibration monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shumaker, B. D.; Hashemian, H. M.; Morton, G. W.

2006-01-01

The goal of on-line calibration monitoring is to reduce the number of unnecessary calibrations performed each refueling cycle on pressure, level, and flow transmitters in nuclear power plants. The effort requires a baseline for determining calibration drift and thereby the need for a calibration. There are two ways to establish the baseline: averaging and modeling. Averaging techniques have proven to be highly successful in the applications when there are a large number of redundant transmitters; but, for systems with little or no redundancy, averaging methods are not always reliable. That is, for non-redundant transmitters, more sophisticated process estimation techniques are needed to augment or replace the averaging techniques. This paper explores three well-known process estimation techniques; namely Independent Component Analysis (ICA), Auto-Associative Neural Networks (AANN), and Auto-Associative Kernel Regression (AAKR). Using experience and data from an operating nuclear plant, the paper will present an evaluation of the effectiveness of these methods in detecting transmitter drift in actual plant conditions. (authors)

Components for real-time state monitoring of biological sewage treatment plants; Komponenten zur Echtzeit-Zustandserfassung biologischer Klaeranlagen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Obenaus, F.; Rosenwinkel, K.H. [Hannover Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Siedlungswasserwirtschaft und Abfalltechnik

1999-07-01

Described is a method for the acquision of comprehensive state monitoring data from a sewage treatment plant's biological stage. The focus is on the measuring point in the effluent from preliminary cleaning. This is the most critical point of the system, its function being safeguarded only if the pollution load induced by the inflow to the biological stage can be exactly monitored. (orig.) [German] Beschrieben wurde eine Methode zum Erhalt umfassender Zustandsinformationen aus der biologischen Reinigungsstufe einer Klaeranlage, wobei der Schwerpunkt der Ausfuehrungen sich der Messstelle im Ablauf der Vorklaerung als kritischstem Punkt des Systems widmete, dessen Funktion nur bei genauer Erfassung der durch den Zulauf zur biologischen Stufe induzierten Belastung gewaehrleistet ist. (orig.)

Short-term biological variation of clinical chemical values in dumeril's monitors (Varanus dumerili)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bertelsen, Mads Frost; Kjelgaard-Hansen, Mads Jens; Howell, Jennifer R.

2007-01-01

Plasma biochemical values are routinely used in the medical management of ill reptiles, and for monitoring the health of clinically normal animals. Laboratory tests, including clinical biochemical values, are subject to biological and analytical variation, the magnitude of which determines the ut...

Non-contact remote monitoring technique of reactor structural elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Hideo; Mori, Kazuo; Ozawa, Norimitsu; Akedo, Jun; Seimiya, Koichi; Chikamori, Kunio; Umezawa, Akihiko

1998-01-01

This study aims at development of technique to measure and estimate, at high precision, fine machining scratch, crack and so on formed on grinding tubular elements, especially inner faces of small diameter tube at an optical mirror grade, and at establishment of estimation technique on reliability and soundness of the tubular elements. In this fiscal year, on optical type non-contact monitoring technique, investigations on optical illumination condition and holding accuracy required for the non-contact holding mechanism were conducted by using a sensor head trially produced in 1995 fiscal year. And, in order to realize a high precision non-contact holding in a tube of optical detection system to upgrade static holding properties (holding stiffness, holding attitude, and so on) of pneumatic type inner tube non-contact holding mechanism, realization of increase in supplying air pressure and experiments using a holding mechanism to increase pore numbers of air injecting nozzle were conducted. And, on materials surface technique, effect of difference in pre-machining method (cutting and bright annealing) at inner face of small diameter stainless tube on their smooth machining property was examined. (G.K.)

Improving Perioperative Outcomes Through Minimally Invasive and Non-invasive Hemodynamic Monitoring Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashige Yamada

2018-05-01

Full Text Available An increasing number of patients require precise intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring due to aging and comorbidities. To prevent undesirable outcomes from intraoperative hypotension or hypoperfusion, appropriate threshold settings are required. These setting can vary widely from patient to patient. Goal-directed therapy techniques allow for flow monitoring as the standard for perioperative fluid management. Based on the concept of personalized medicine, individual assessment and treatment are more advantageous than conventional or uniform interventions. The recent development of minimally and noninvasive monitoring devices make it possible to apply detailed control, tracking, and observation of broad patient populations, all while reducing adverse complications. In this manuscript, we review the monitoring features of each device, together with possible advantages and disadvantages of their use in optimizing patient hemodynamic management.

Biological Monitoring Using Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators of Water Quality of Maroaga Stream in the Maroaga Cave System, Presidente Figueiredo, Amazon, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christiane Brito Uherek

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Aquatic environments are being modified by anthropogenic activities regarding their biological, physical, and chemical conditions; even pristine aquatic ecosystems can be threatened. This study focused on the biological monitoring of Maroaga Stream—a first order stream located in an Environmental Protection Area in the Amazon using the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP Score System. The BMWP Score System revealed that the Maroaga Stream was a Class I stream (score of 138 points, indicating clean or not significantly altered water quality. The results suggest the adequate environmental conditions and ecological responses of the Maroaga Stream.

Alternating current techniques for corrosion monitoring in water reactor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isaacs, H.S.; Weeks, J.R.

1977-01-01

Corrosion in both nuclear and fossil fueled steam generators is generally a consequence of the presence of aggressive impurities introduced into the coolant system through condenser leakage. The impurities concentrate in regions of the steam generator protected from coolant flow, in crevices or under deposited corrosion products and adjacent to heat transfer surfaces. These three factors, the aggressive impurity, crevice type areas and heat transfer surfaces appear to be the requirements for the onset of rapid corrosion. Under conditions where coolant impurities do not concentrate the corrosion rates are low, easily measured and can be accounted for by allowances in the design of the steam generator. Rapid corrosion conditions cannot be designed for and must be suppressed. The condition of the surfaces when rapid corrosion develops must be markedly different from those during normal operation and these changes should be observable using electrochemical techniques. This background formed the basis of a design of a corrosion monitoring device, work on which was initiated at BNL. The basic principles of the technique are described. The object of the work is to develop a corrosion monitoring device which can be operated with PWR steam generator secondary coolant feed water

Utilisation of acoustic emission technique to monitor lubrication condition in a low speed bearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordin Jamaludin; Mohd Jailani Mohd Nor

2003-01-01

Monitoring of lubrication condition in rolling element bearings through the use of vibration analysis is an established technique. However, this success has not mirrored at low rotational speeds. At low speeds the energy generated from the poor lubricated bearing lubrication might not show as an obvious change in signature and thus become undetectable using conventional vibration measuring equipment. This paper presents an investigation into the applicability of acoustic emission technique and analysis for detecting poorly lubricated bearing rotating at a speed of 1.12 rpm. Investigations were centered on a test-rig designed to simulate the real bearing used in the field. The variation of lubricant amount in the low-speed bearing was successfully monitored using a new developed method known as pulse injection technique (PIT). The PIT technique was based on acoustic emission method. The technique involved transmitting a Dirac pulse to the test bearing via a transmitting acoustic emission sensor while the bearing was in operation. Analysing the captured acoustic emission signatures using established statistical method could differentiate between properly and poorly lubricated bearing. (Author)

Report on the biological monitoring program for Bear Creek at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1989-1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinzman, R.L.; Beauchamp, J.J.; Cada, G.F.; Peterson, M.J.

1996-04-01

The Bear Creek Valley watershed drains the area surrounding several closed Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant waste disposal facilities. Past waste disposal practices in the Bear Creek Valley resulted in the contamination of Bear Creek and consequent ecological damage. Ecological monitoring by the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was initiated in the Bear Creek watershed in May 1984 and continues at present. Studies conducted during the first year provided a detailed characterization of the benthic invertebrate and fish communities in Bear Creek. The initial characterization was followed by a biological monitoring phase in which studies were conducted at reduced intensities

Report on the biological monitoring program for Bear Creek at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1989-1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinzman, R.L. [ed.; Beauchamp, J.J.; Cada, G.F.; Peterson, M.J. [and others

1996-04-01

The Bear Creek Valley watershed drains the area surrounding several closed Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant waste disposal facilities. Past waste disposal practices in the Bear Creek Valley resulted in the contamination of Bear Creek and consequent ecological damage. Ecological monitoring by the Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was initiated in the Bear Creek watershed in May 1984 and continues at present. Studies conducted during the first year provided a detailed characterization of the benthic invertebrate and fish communities in Bear Creek. The initial characterization was followed by a biological monitoring phase in which studies were conducted at reduced intensities.

Review of techniques for on-line monitoring and inspection of laser welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao, J; Yan, Y

2005-01-01

Laser welding has been applied to various industries, in particular, automotive, aerospace and microelectronics. However, traditional off-line testing of the welds is costly and inefficient. Therefore, on-line inspection systems with low cost have being developed to increase productivity and maintain high welding quality. This paper presents the applications of acoustic, optical, visual, thermal and ultrasonic techniques and latest development of laser welding monitoring. The advantages and limitations of these techniques are also discussed

Instrumentation techniques for monitoring shock and detonation waves

Science.gov (United States)

Dick, R. D.; Parrish, R. L.

1985-09-01

CORRTEX (Continuous Reflectometry for Radius Versus Time Experiments), SLIFER (Shorted Location Indication by Frequency of Electrical Resonance), and pin probes were used to monitor several conditions of blasting such as the detonation velocity of the explosive, the functioning of the stemming column confining the explosive, and rock mass motion. CORRTEX is a passive device that employs time-domain reflectometry to interrogate the two-way transit time of a coaxial cable. SLIFER is an active device that monitors the changing frequency resulting from a change in length of a coaxial cable forming an element of an oscillator circuit. Pin probes in this application consist of RG-174 coaxial cables, each with an open circuit, placed at several known locations within the material. Each cable is connected to a pulse-forming network and a voltage source. When the cables are shorted by the advancing wave, time-distance data are produced from which a velocity can be computed. Each technique, installation of the gauge, examples of the signals, and interpretation of the records are described.

Monitoring biodiversity loss with primary species-occurrence data: toward national-level indicators for the 2010 target of the convention on biological diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Soberón, Jorge; Peterson, A Townsend

2009-02-01

Development of effective indicators is indispensable for countries and societies to monitor effects of their actions on biodiversity, as is recognized in decision VI/26 of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Good indicators would ideally be scalable, at least for the different scales that characterize biodiversity patterns and process. Existing indicators are mostly global in scope, and often based on secondary information, such as classifications of endangered species, rather than on primary data. We propose a complementary approach, based on the increased availability of raw data about occurrences of species, cutting-edge modeling techniques for estimating distributional areas, and land-use information based on remotely sensed data to allow estimation of rates of range loss for species affected by land-use conversion. This method can be implemented by developing countries, given increasing availability of data and the open and well-documented nature of the techniques required.

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) monitoring techniques in the Sacramento--San Joaquin Estuary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, D.E.

1977-01-01

Various methods have been used to monitor the striped bass population in the Sacramento--San Joaquin Estuary. Sampling in the spring with towed plankton nets has provided an adequate description of spawning time and area, but this sampling has not adequately measured egg standing crops and larva and post-larva mortality rates. Tow-net sampling effectively measures the abundance of young in midsummer. A midwater-trawl survey is satisfactory for measuring the abundance of young in the fall but not in the winter. Techniques have not been fully evaluated for monitoring one-year-old bass. Catch-per-unit-effort data from sportfishing party boats were useful for monitoring two-year-olds, until a change in angling regulations increased recruitment age. The Petersen method and indices developed from party-boat catches are the best methods for monitoring bass that are three years old and older. Long-term trends in catch can be monitored through postcard surveys and party-boat catches

Monitoring by Control Technique - Compliant (Low/No VOC/HAP) Inks and Coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Stationary source emissions monitoring is required to demonstrate that a source is meeting the requirements in Federal or state rules. This page is about Compliant (Low/No VOC/HAP) Inks and Coatings control techniques used to reduce pollutant emissions.

Free Flap Reconstruction Monitoring Techniques and Frequency in the Era of Restricted Resident Work Hours.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Urjeet A; Hernandez, David; Shnayder, Yelizaveta; Wax, Mark K; Hanasono, Matthew M; Hornig, Joshua; Ghanem, Tamer A; Old, Matthew; Jackson, Ryan S; Ledgerwood, Levi G; Pipkorn, Patrik; Lin, Lawrence; Ong, Adrian; Greene, Joshua B; Bekeny, James; Yiu, Yin; Noureldine, Salem; Li, David X; Fontanarosa, Joel; Greenbaum, Evan; Richmon, Jeremy D

2017-08-01

Free flap reconstruction of the head and neck is routinely performed with success rates around 94% to 99% at most institutions. Despite experience and meticulous technique, there is a small but recognized risk of partial or total flap loss in the postoperative setting. Historically, most microvascular surgeons involve resident house staff in flap monitoring protocols, and programs relied heavily on in-house resident physicians to assure timely intervention for compromised flaps. In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education mandated the reduction in the hours a resident could work within a given week. At many institutions this new era of restricted resident duty hours reshaped the protocols used for flap monitoring to adapt to a system with reduced resident labor. To characterize various techniques and frequencies of free flap monitoring by nurses and resident physicians; and to determine if adapted resident monitoring frequency is associated with flap compromise and outcome. This multi-institutional retrospective review included patients undergoing free flap reconstruction to the head and/or neck between January 2005 and January 2015. Consecutive patients were included from different academic institutions or tertiary referral centers to reflect evolving practices. Technique, frequency, and personnel for flap monitoring; flap complications; and flap success. Overall, 1085 patients (343 women [32%] and 742 men [78%]) from 9 institutions were included. Most patients were placed in the intensive care unit postoperatively (n = 790 [73%]), while the remaining were placed in intermediate care (n = 201 [19%]) or in the surgical ward (n = 94 [7%]). Nurses monitored flaps every hour (q1h) for all patients. Frequency of resident monitoring varied, with 635 patients monitored every 4 hours (q4h), 146 monitored every 8 hours (q8h), and 304 monitored every 12 hours (q12h). Monitoring techniques included physical examination (n = 949 [87

Y-12 National Security Complex Biological Monitoring And Abatement Program 2008 Calendar Year Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, M. J.; Greeley Jr., M. S.; Mathews, T. J.; Morris, G. W.; Roy, W. K.; Ryon, M. G.; Smith, J. G.; Southworth, G. R.

2009-07-01

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued for the Oak Ridge Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12 Complex) which became effective May 1, 2006, continued a requirement for a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP). The BMAP was originally developed in 1985 to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Y-12 Complex protected the classified uses of the receiving stream (East Fork Poplar Creek: EFPC), in particular, the growth and propagation of aquatic life (Loar et al. 1989). The objectives of the current BMAP are similar, specifically to assess stream ecological conditions relative to regulatory limits and criteria, to assess ecological impacts as well as recovery in response to Y-12 operations, and to investigate the causes of continuing impacts. The BMAP consists of three tasks that reflect complementary approaches to evaluating the effects of the Y-12 Complex discharges on the biotic integrity of EFPC. These tasks include: (1) bioaccumulation monitoring, (2) benthic macroinvertebrate community monitoring, and (3) fish community monitoring. As required by the NPDES permit, the BMAP benthic macroinvertebrate community monitoring task includes studies to annually evaluate the receiving stream's biological integrity in comparison to TN Water Quality Criteria. BMAP monitoring is currently being conducted at five primary EFPC sites, although sites may be excluded or added depending upon the specific objectives of the various tasks. Criteria used in selecting the sites include: (1) location of sampling sites used in other studies, (2) known or suspected sources of downstream impacts, (3) proximity to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) boundaries, (4) appropriate habitat distribution, and (5) access. The primary sampling sites include upper EFPC at kilometers (EFKs) 24.4 and 23.4 [upstream and downstream of Lake Reality (LR) respectively]; EFK 18.7 (also EFK 18.2 and 19), located off

Comparison of Calibration Techniques for Low-Cost Air Quality Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Malings, C.; Ramachandran, S.; Tanzer, R.; Kumar, S. P. N.; Hauryliuk, A.; Zimmerman, N.; Presto, A. A.

2017-12-01

Assessing the intra-city spatial distribution and temporal variability of air quality can be facilitated by a dense network of monitoring stations. However, the cost of implementing such a network can be prohibitive if high-quality but high-cost monitoring systems are used. To this end, the Real-time Affordable Multi-Pollutant (RAMP) sensor package has been developed at the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies of Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with SenSevere LLC. This self-contained unit can measure up to five gases out of CO, SO2, NO, NO2, O3, VOCs, and CO2, along with temperature and relative humidity. Responses of individual gas sensors can vary greatly even when exposed to the same ambient conditions. Those of VOC sensors in particular were observed to vary by a factor-of-8, which suggests that each sensor requires its own calibration model. To this end, we apply and compare two different calibration methods to data collected by RAMP sensors collocated with a reference monitor station. The first method, random forest (RF) modeling, is a rule-based method which maps sensor responses to pollutant concentrations by implementing a trained sequence of decision rules. RF modeling has previously been used for other RAMP gas sensors by the group, and has produced precise calibrated measurements. However, RF models can only predict pollutant concentrations within the range observed in the training data collected during the collocation period. The second method, Gaussian process (GP) modeling, is a probabilistic Bayesian technique whereby broad prior estimates of pollutant concentrations are updated using sensor responses to generate more refined posterior predictions, as well as allowing predictions beyond the range of the training data. The accuracy and precision of these techniques are assessed and compared on VOC data collected during the summer of 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA. By combining pollutant data gathered by each RAMP sensor and applying

Development of sensing techniques for weaponry health monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Eugene; Ruffin, Paul B.; Walker, Ebonee A.; Brantley, Christina L.

2013-04-01

Due to the costliness of destructive evaluation methods for assessing the aging and shelf-life of missile and rocket components, the identification of nondestructive evaluation methods has become increasingly important to the Army. Verifying that there is a sufficient concentration of stabilizer is a dependable indicator that the missile's double-based solid propellant is viable. The research outlined in this paper summarizes the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center's (AMRDEC's) comparative use of nanoporous membranes, carbon nanotubes, and optical spectroscopic configured sensing techniques for detecting degradation in rocket motor propellant. The first sensing technique utilizes a gas collecting chamber consisting of nanoporous structures that trap the smaller solid propellant particles for measurement by a gas analysis device. In collaboration with NASA-Ames, sensing methods are developed that utilize functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as the key sensing element. The optical spectroscopic sensing method is based on a unique light collecting optical fiber system designed to detect the concentration of the propellant stabilizer. Experimental setups, laboratory results, and overall effectiveness of each technique are presented in this paper. Expectations are for the three sensing mechanisms to provide nondestructive evaluation methods that will offer cost-savings and improved weaponry health monitoring.

Role of nuclear analytical probe techniques in biological trace element research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, K.W.; Pounds, J.G.

1985-01-01

Many biomedical experiments require the qualitative and quantitative localization of trace elements with high sensitivity and good spatial resolution. The feasibility of measuring the chemical form of the elements, the time course of trace elements metabolism, and of conducting experiments in living biological systems are also important requirements for biological trace element research. Nuclear analytical techniques that employ ion or photon beams have grown in importance in the past decade and have led to several new experimental approaches. Some of the important features of these methods are reviewed here along with their role in trace element research, and examples of their use are given to illustrate potential for new research directions. It is emphasized that the effective application of these methods necessitates a closely integrated multidisciplinary scientific team. 21 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Current status of molecular biological techniques for plant breeding in the Republic of Korea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sohn, Seong-Han; Lee, Si-Myung; Park, Bum-Seok; Yun, In-Sun; Goo, Doe-Hoe; Kim, Seok-Dong [Rural Development Administration, National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Suwon (Korea)

2002-02-01

Classical plant breeding has played an important role in developing new varieties in current agriculture. For decades, the technique of cross-pollination has been popular for breeding in cereal and horticultural crops to introduce special traits. However, recently the molecular techniques get widely accepted as an alternative tool in both introducing a useful trait for developing the new cultivars and investigating the characteristics of a trait in plant, like the identification of a gene. Using the advanced molecular technique, several genetically modified (GM) crops (e.g., Roundup Ready Soybean, YieldGard, LibertyLink etc.) became commercially cultivated and appeared in the global market since 1996. The GM crops, commercially available at the moment, could be regarded as successful achievements in history of crop breeding conferring the specific gene into economically valuable crops to make them better. Along with such achievements, on the other hand these new crops have also caused the controversial debate on the safety of GM crops as human consumption and environmental release as well. Nevertheless, molecular techniques are widespread and popular in both investigating the basic science of plant biology and breeding new varieties compared to their conventional counterparts. Thus, the Department of Bioresources at the National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (NIAST) has been using the molecular biological techniques as a complimentary tool for the improvement of crop varieties for almost two decades. (author)

Monitoring of airborne biological particles in outdoor atmosphere. Part 1: Importance, variability and ratios.

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Andrés; Amo de Paz, Guillermo; Rastrojo, Alberto; García, Ana M; Alcamí, Antonio; Gutiérrez-Bustillo, A Montserrat; Moreno, Diego A

2016-03-01

The first part of this review ("Monitoring of airborne biological particles in outdoor atmosphere. Part 1: Importance, variability and ratios") describes the current knowledge on the major biological particles present in the air regarding their global distribution, concentrations, ratios and influence of meteorological factors in an attempt to provide a framework for monitoring their biodiversity and variability in such a singular environment as the atmosphere. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, pollen and fragments thereof are the most abundant microscopic biological particles in the air outdoors. Some of them can cause allergy and severe diseases in humans, other animals and plants, with the subsequent economic impact. Despite the harsh conditions, they can be found from land and sea surfaces to beyond the troposphere and have been proposed to play a role also in weather conditions and climate change by acting as nucleation particles and inducing water vapour condensation. In regards to their global distribution, marine environments act mostly as a source for bacteria while continents additionally provide fungal and pollen elements. Within terrestrial environments, their abundances and diversity seem to be influenced by the land-use type (rural, urban, coastal) and their particularities. Temporal variability has been observed for all these organisms, mostly triggered by global changes in temperature, relative humidity, et cetera. Local fluctuations in meteorological factors may also result in pronounced changes in the airbiota. Although biological particles can be transported several hundreds of meters from the original source, and even intercontinentally, the time and final distance travelled are strongly influenced by factors such as wind speed and direction. [Int Microbiol 2016; 19(1):1-1 3]. Copyright© by the Spanish Society for Microbiology and Institute for Catalan Studies.

Biological monitors for low levels of ionising radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohankumar, M.N.; Jeevanram, R.K.

1995-01-01

The biological effects of high doses of ionising radiation are well understood and the methods of measurement of these doses well established. However the effects due to extremely low doses remain by and large uncertain. This is because of the fact that at such low doses no gross symptoms are seen. In fact, at these levels the occurrence of double strand breaks leading to the formation of chromosomal aberrations like dicentrics is rare and chances of mutation due to base damage are negligible. Hence neither chromosomal aberration studies nor mutational assays are useful for detecting doses of the order of a few milligray. Results of exhaustive work done by various laboratories indicate that below 20 mGy the chromosomal aberration technique based on scoring of dicentrics cannot distinguish between a linear or a threshold model. However indirect methods like unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) appear to be promising for the detection of radiation exposures due to low levels of radiation. This report reviews the available literature on the biological effects of low levels of ionising radiation and highlights the merits and demerits of the various methods employed in the measurement of UDS and SCE. The phenomenon of radio-adaptive response (RAR) and its relation to DNA repair is also discussed. (author)

Cutaneous respirometry as novel technique to monitor mitochondrial function: A feasibility study in healthy volunteers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

F.A. Harms (Floor A.); R.J. Stolker (Robert); E.G. Mik (Egbert)

2016-01-01

textabstractBackground: The protoporphyrin IX-triplet state lifetime technique (PpIX-TSLT) is proposed as a potential clinical non-invasive tool to monitor mitochondrial function. This technique has been evaluated in several animal studies. Mitochondrial respirometry allows measurement in vivo of

Data verification and evaluation techniques for groundwater monitoring programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercier, T.M.; Turner, R.R.

1990-12-01

To ensure that data resulting from groundwater monitoring programs are of the quality required to fulfill program objectives, it is suggested that a program of data verification and evaluation be implemented. These procedures are meant to supplement and support the existing laboratory quality control/quality assurance programs by identifying aberrant data resulting from a variety of unforeseen circumstances: sampling problems, data transformations in the lab, data input at the lab, data transfer, end-user data input. Using common-sense principles, pattern recognition techniques, and hydrogeological principles, a computer program was written which scans the data for suspected abnormalities and produces a text file stating sample identifiers, the suspect data, and a statement of how the data has departed from the expected. The techniques described in this paper have been developed to support the Y-12 Plant Groundwater Protection Program Management Plan

Application of rule-based data mining techniques to real time ATLAS Grid job monitoring data

CERN Document Server

Ahrens, R; The ATLAS collaboration; Kalinin, S; Maettig, P; Sandhoff, M; dos Santos, T; Volkmer, F

2012-01-01

The Job Execution Monitor (JEM) is a job-centric grid job monitoring software developed at the University of Wuppertal and integrated into the pilot-based “PanDA” job brokerage system leveraging physics analysis and Monte Carlo event production for the ATLAS experiment on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). With JEM, job progress and grid worker node health can be supervised in real time by users, site admins and shift personnel. Imminent error conditions can be detected early and countermeasures can be initiated by the Job’s owner immideatly. Grid site admins can access aggregated data of all monitored jobs to infer the site status and to detect job and Grid worker node misbehaviour. Shifters can use the same aggregated data to quickly react to site error conditions and broken production tasks. In this work, the application of novel data-centric rule based methods and data-mining techniques to the real time monitoring data is discussed. The usage of such automatic inference techniques on monitorin...

Pulsed electrical discharges for medicine and biology techniques, processes, applications

CERN Document Server

Kolikov, Victor

2015-01-01

This book presents the application of pulsed electrical discharges in water and water dispersions of metal nanoparticles in medicine (surgery, dentistry, and oncology), biology, and ecology. The intensive electrical and shock waves represent a novel technique to destroy viruses and this way to  prepare anti-virus vaccines. The method of pulsed electrical discharges in water allows to decontaminate water from almost all known bacteria and spores of fungi being present in human beings. The nanoparticles used are not genotoxic and mutagenic. This book is useful for researchers and graduate students.

Biological monitoring of chlorpyrifos exposure to rice farmers in Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Phung, Dung Tri; Connell, Des; Miller, Greg; Hodge, Mary; Patel, Renu; Cheng, Ron; Abeyewardene, Manel; Chu, Cordia

2012-04-01

Chlorpyrifos is the most common organophosphate insecticide registered for use in Vietnam and is widely used in agriculture, particularly rice farming. However, chlorpyrifos exposure to and adverse effects on farmers has not been evaluated. In this study, biological monitoring of chlorpyrifos exposure in a group of rice farmers was conducted after a typical application event using back-pack spraying. Urine samples (24 h) were collected from the rice farmers before and post insecticide application. Samples were analysed for 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCP), the major urinary metabolite of chlorpyrifos, using an enzymatic pre-treatment before extraction followed by HPLC-MS/MS. Absorbed Daily Dose (ADD) of chlorpyrifos for farmers were then estimated from urinary TCP levels, expressed as μg g(-1)creatinine. The analytical method for urinary TCP had a low detection limit (0.6 μg L(-1)), acceptable recovery values (80-114%), and low relative percentage differences in duplicate and repeated samples. Post-application chlorpyrifos ADD of farmers varied from 0.4 to 94.2 μg kg(-1) (body weight) d(-1) with a mean of 19.4 μg kg(-1) d(-1) which was approximately 80-fold higher than the mean baseline exposure level (0.24 μg kg(-1) d(-1)). Hazard Quotients (ratio of the mean ADD for rice farmers to acute oral reference dose) calculated using acute oral reference doses recommended by United States and Australian agencies varied from 2.1 (Australian NRA), 4.2 (US EPA) to 6.9 (ATSDR). Biological monitoring using HPLC-MS/MS analysis of urinary TCP (24 h) was found to be an effective method for measuring chlorpyrifos exposure among farmers. This case study found that Vietnamese rice farmers had relatively high exposures to chlorpyrifos after application, which were likely to have adverse health effects. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cell biological and biomechanical evaluation of two different fixation techniques for rotator cuff repair.

Science.gov (United States)

Klinger, H-M; Koelling, S; Baums, M H; Kahl, E; Steckel, H; Smith, M M; Schultz, W; Miosge, N

2009-06-01

Our objective was to evaluate the cell biology and biomechanical aspects of the healing process after two different techniques in open rotator cuff surgery - double-loaded bio-absorbable suture anchors combined with so-called arthroscopic Mason-Allen stitches (AAMA) and a trans-osseous suture technique combined with traditional modified Mason-Allen stitches (SMMA). Thirty-six mature sheep were randomized into two repair groups. After 6, 12, or 26 weeks, evaluation of the reinsertion site of the infraspinatus tendon was performed. The mechanical load-to-failure and stiffness results did not indicate a significant difference between the two groups. After 26 weeks, fibrocartilage was sparse in the AAMA group, whereas the SMMA group showed the most pronounced amount of fibrocartilage. We found no ultrastructural differences in collagen fiber organization between the two groups. The relative expression of collagen type II mRNA in the normal group was 1.11. For the AAMA group, 6 weeks after surgery, the relative expression was 55.47, whereas for the SMMA group it was 1.90. This in vivo study showed that the AAMA group exhibited a tendon-to-bone healing process more favorable in its cell biology than that of the traditional SMMA technique. Therefore, the AAMA technique might also be more appropriate for arthroscopic repair.

Development of non-intrusive monitoring techniques - ESDRED and TEM projects at Mont Terri and the Grimsel test site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breen, B.; Johnson, M.; Frieg, B.; Blechschmidt, I.; Manukyan, E.; Marelli, S.; Maurer, H.R.

2008-01-01

The EC Integrated Project, IP ESDRED (Engineering Studies and Demonstration of Repository Designs) was commissioned to establish a sound technical basis for demonstrating the safety of disposing of spent fuel and long-lived radioactive wastes in deep geological formations and to underpin the development of a common European view on the main issues related to the management and disposal of radioactive waste. The in situ development of non-intrusive monitoring techniques is included within the programme as an important component of the overall ESDRED programme. Monitoring will play an important role in providing information to the repository operator and to society in general and to support decision-making about if and when, to move from one phase to the next. The challenges, when constructing engineered barrier systems (EBS) to isolate the waste, is the ability to monitor the waste and the barriers, once isolated. Conventional monitoring systems depend upon wires or cable s to transfer information from the monitoring sensors outside the barriers. Monitoring sensors also have a limited lifetime and new sensors cannot be emplaced without disturbing the barrier. The development of non-intrusive monitoring systems which do not rely upon 'hard-wired' connection, thus providing the opportunity for continued monitoring after isolation. The ESDRED partners developed a programme utilising cross-hole seismic tomography to monitor an experimental demonstration by Nagra at Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory (URL). The work programme includes PhD studies to conduct full seismic waveform analysis and to develop algorithms to address natural anisotropy in the Opalinus clay at Mont Terri. Following on from the ESDRED developments, some of ESDRED partner organisations identified a further opportunity for developing in situ monitoring techniques utilising the construction and testing programme of a low pH shotcrete plug being constructed in granite at the Grimsel Test Site

Application of Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing Technique in Monitoring the Ground Deformation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Liu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The monitoring of ground deformation is important for the prevention and control of geological disaster including land subsidence, ground fissure, surface collapse, and landslides. In this study, a distributed optical fiber sensing technique based on Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analysis (BOTDA was used to monitor the ground deformation. The principle behind the BOTDA is first introduced, and then laboratory calibration test and physical model test were carried out. Finally, BOTDA-based monitoring of ground fissure was carried out in a test site. Experimental results show that the distributed optical fiber can measure the soil strain during ground deformation process, and the strain curve responded to the soil compression and tension region clearly. During field test in Wuxi City, China, the ground fissures deformation area was monitored accurately and the trend of deformation can also be achieved to forecast and warn against the ground fissure hazards.

A Monte Carlo technique for signal level detection in implanted intracranial pressure monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Avent, R K; Charlton, J D; Nagle, H T; Johnson, R N

1987-01-01

Statistical monitoring techniques like CUSUM, Trigg's tracking signal and EMP filtering have a major advantage over more recent techniques, such as Kalman filtering, because of their inherent simplicity. In many biomedical applications, such as electronic implantable devices, these simpler techniques have greater utility because of the reduced requirements on power, logic complexity and sampling speed. The determination of signal means using some of the earlier techniques are reviewed in this paper, and a new Monte Carlo based method with greater capability to sparsely sample a waveform and obtain an accurate mean value is presented. This technique may find widespread use as a trend detection method when reduced power consumption is a requirement.

Bioluminescence : the potential of a non-invasive bio-optical imaging technique and improvement of animal research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hesselink, J. W.; van Dam, G. M.

2007-01-01

Bioluminescence is an optical imaging technique that exploits the emission of photons at specific wavelengths based on energy-dependent reactions catalysed by luciferases. The technique makes it possible to monitor measure, and track biological processes in living animals. A short review is

Development of structural health monitoring techniques using dynamics testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, G.H. III [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Experimental Structural Dynamics Dept.

1996-03-01

Today`s society depends upon many structures (such as aircraft, bridges, wind turbines, offshore platforms, buildings, and nuclear weapons) which are nearing the end of their design lifetime. Since these structures cannot be economically replaced, techniques for structural health monitoring must be developed and implemented. Modal and structural dynamics measurements hold promise for the global non-destructive inspection of a variety of structures since surface measurements of a vibrating structure can provide information about the health of the internal members without costly (or impossible) dismantling of the structure. In order to develop structural health monitoring for application to operational structures, developments in four areas have been undertaken within this project: operational evaluation, diagnostic measurements, information condensation, and damage identification. The developments in each of these four aspects of structural health monitoring have been exercised on a broad range of experimental data. This experimental data has been extracted from structures from several application areas which include aging aircraft, wind energy, aging bridges, offshore structures, structural supports, and mechanical parts. As a result of these advances, Sandia National Laboratories is in a position to perform further advanced development, operational implementation, and technical consulting for a broad class of the nation`s aging infrastructure problems.

Application of a distributed optical fiber sensing technique in monitoring the stress of precast piles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Y; Shi, B; Wei, G Q; Zhang, D; Chen, S E

2012-01-01

Due to its ability in providing long distance, distributed sensing, the optical fiber sensing technique based on a Brillouin optical time domain reflectometer (BOTDR) has a unique advantage in monitoring the stability and safety of linear structures. This paper describes the application of a BOTDR-based technique to measure the stress within precast piles. The principle behind the BOTDR and the embedding technique for the sensing optical fiber in precast piles is first introduced, and then the analysis method and deformation and stress calculation based on distributed strain data are given. Finally, a methodology for using a BOTDR-based monitoring workflow for in situ monitoring of precast piles, combined with a practical example, is introduced. The methodology requires implantation of optical fibers prior to pile placement. Field experimental results show that the optical fiber implantation method with slotting, embedding, pasting and jointing is feasible, and have accurately measured the axial force, side friction, end-bearing resistance and bearing feature of the precast pile according to the strain measuring data. (paper)

Analysis of ultrasonic techniques for monitoring milk coagulation during cheesemaking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budelli, E; Lema, P; Pérez, N; Negreira, C

2012-01-01

Experimental determination of time of flight and attenuation has been proposed in the literature as alternatives to monitoring the evolution of milk coagulation during cheese manufacturing. However, only laboratory scale procedures have been described. In this work, the use of ultrasonic time of flight and attenuation to determine cutting time and its feasibility to be applied at industrial scale were analyzed. Limitations to implement these techniques at industrial scale are shown experimentally. The main limitation of the use of time of flight is its strong dependence with temperature. Attenuation monitoring is affected by a thin layer of milk skin covering the transducer, which modifies the signal in a non-repetitive way. The results of this work can be used to develop alternative ultrasonic systems suitable for application in the dairy industry.

A novel noninvasive all optical technique to monitor physiology of an exercising muscle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saxena, Vishal [Department of Radiology, University of Southern California, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027 (United States); Marcu, Laura [Department of Bioengineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Karunasiri, Gamani [Department of Physics, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California 93943 (United States)], E-mail: Vsaxena@usc.edu

2008-11-07

An all optical technique based on near-infrared spectroscopy and mid-infrared imaging (MIRI) is applied as a noninvasive, in vivo tool to monitor the vascular status of skeletal muscle and the physiological changes that occur during exercise. A near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique, namely, steady state diffuse optical spectroscopy (SSDOS) along with MIRI is applied for monitoring the changes in the values of tissue oxygenation and thermometry of an exercising muscle. The NIRS measurements are performed at five discrete wavelengths in a spectral window of 650-850 nm and MIRI is performed in a spectral window of 8-12 {mu}m. The understanding of tissue oxygenation status and the behavior of the physiological parameters derived from thermometry may provide a useful insight into muscle physiology, therapeutic response and treatment.

A novel noninvasive all optical technique to monitor physiology of an exercising muscle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, Vishal; Marcu, Laura; Karunasiri, Gamani

2008-01-01

An all optical technique based on near-infrared spectroscopy and mid-infrared imaging (MIRI) is applied as a noninvasive, in vivo tool to monitor the vascular status of skeletal muscle and the physiological changes that occur during exercise. A near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique, namely, steady state diffuse optical spectroscopy (SSDOS) along with MIRI is applied for monitoring the changes in the values of tissue oxygenation and thermometry of an exercising muscle. The NIRS measurements are performed at five discrete wavelengths in a spectral window of 650-850 nm and MIRI is performed in a spectral window of 8-12 μm. The understanding of tissue oxygenation status and the behavior of the physiological parameters derived from thermometry may provide a useful insight into muscle physiology, therapeutic response and treatment.

Comprehensive Biological Monitoring to Assess Isocyanates and Solvents Exposure in the NSW Australia Motor Vehicle Repair Industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jimmy; Cantrell, Phillip; Nand, Aklesh

2017-10-01

Urethane products that contain isocyanates are extensively used in the motor vehicle repair (MVR) industry and other industries such as furniture and cabinet-making as two-pack spray paints, clears, and adhesives. Attention has recently been refocussed on isocyanate-containing chemicals, particularly in paints. The spray painters in the MVR industry had a propensity to develop industrial asthma at a rate 80 times higher than the general public, which was previously reported in the UK. To track workers exposure to isocyanates, urine samples were collected from 196 spray painters who worked mainly in 78 MVR shops across 54 New South Wales (NSW) towns and suburbs. The biological monitoring also covered exposure testing to a wide variety of solvents including aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, and alcohols. The main finding of the study was that 2.6% of the spray painters surveyed in the MVR industry in NSW that handled isocyanate-containing paints showed exposure to isocyanates; with 1.0% being moderately exposed, which is more than twice the current UK's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Biological Monitoring Guidance Value (BMGV) of 1 µmol mol-1 creatinine. Potential exposures to toluene (a solvent often found in paint thinners) was monitored via hippuric acid (HA) urine levels and showed 2.6% of the spray painters surveyed to be over the US' American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Biological Exposure Index (BEI) of 1010 mmol/mole creatinine for HA. The other solvents or their metabolites were all below their respective BEI; these comprised benzene, xylene, ethyl benzene, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, methanol, and ethanol. These findings indicate that isocyanates and certain solvents exposure were occurring in the NSW Australia vehicle repair industry, albeit at lower levels than previous occupational biological monitoring studies that showed higher exposure levels, particularly for isocyanates. One reason for this could be the increasing use

Laser and optical techniques employed in enviromental monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sunesson, A

1988-03-01

Monitoring of trace gases in the atmosphere has been performed with differential absorption lidar and differential optical absorption spectroscopy. A new mobile differential absorption lidar system has been constructed it is described in detail and examples of SO/sub 2/ and NO/sub 2/ measurements are given. Studies of the NO/sub 2/ concentration distribution in an urban area during a temperature inversion were performed. Detection of CI/sub 2/ with DIAL was investigated. Using a narrow-bandwidth laser system range-resolved measurements of NO and Hg were investigated. Mapping of NO and Hg plumes was performed. The use of mercury as a tracer gas for geothermal energy exploration was investigated during a field test in Iceland. Contrary to expectations very low mercury concentrations were detected. A high-resolution differential optical absorption system has been constructed and applied in longh-path monitoring of SO/sub 2/ and NO/sub 2/. Detection of atmospheric atomic mercury was investigated. A multipass absorption cell (White cell) has been constructed and used for spectroscopic measurements. Weak oxygen absorption lines in the vicinity of the Hg line were studied both with laser and optical techniques. (With 176 refs.)

Low level waste management: a compilation of models and monitoring techniques. Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mosier, J.E.; Fowler, J.R.; Barton, C.J. (comps.)

1980-04-01

In support of the National Low-Level Waste (LLW) Management Research and Development Program being carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science Applications, Inc., conducted a survey of models and monitoring techniques associated with the transport of radionuclides and other chemical species from LLW burial sites. As a result of this survey, approximately 350 models were identified. For each model the purpose and a brief description are presented. To the extent possible, a point of contact and reference material are identified. The models are organized into six technical categories: atmospheric transport, dosimetry, food chain, groundwater transport, soil transport, and surface water transport. About 4% of the models identified covered other aspects of LLW management and are placed in a miscellaneous category. A preliminary assessment of all these models was performed to determine their ability to analyze the transport of other chemical species. The models that appeared to be applicable are identified. A brief survey of the state-of-the-art techniques employed to monitor LLW burial sites is also presented, along with a very brief discussion of up-to-date burial techniques.

Low level waste management: a compilation of models and monitoring techniques. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mosier, J.E.; Fowler, J.R.; Barton, C.J.

1980-04-01

In support of the National Low-Level Waste (LLW) Management Research and Development Program being carried out at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science Applications, Inc., conducted a survey of models and monitoring techniques associated with the transport of radionuclides and other chemical species from LLW burial sites. As a result of this survey, approximately 350 models were identified. For each model the purpose and a brief description are presented. To the extent possible, a point of contact and reference material are identified. The models are organized into six technical categories: atmospheric transport, dosimetry, food chain, groundwater transport, soil transport, and surface water transport. About 4% of the models identified covered other aspects of LLW management and are placed in a miscellaneous category. A preliminary assessment of all these models was performed to determine their ability to analyze the transport of other chemical species. The models that appeared to be applicable are identified. A brief survey of the state-of-the-art techniques employed to monitor LLW burial sites is also presented, along with a very brief discussion of up-to-date burial techniques

A Shear Horizontal Waveguide Technique for Monitoring of High Temperature Pipe Thinning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheong, Yongmoo; Kim, Hongpyo; Lee, Duckhyun

2014-01-01

An ultrasonic thickness measurement method is a well-known and most commonly used non-destructive testing technique for wall thickness monitoring of a piping or plate. However, current commonly available ultrasonic transducers cannot withstand high temperatures of, above 200 .deg. C. Currently, the variation of wall thickness of the pipes is determined by a portable ultrasonic gauge during plant shutdowns. This manual ultrasonic method reveals several disadvantages: inspections have to be performed during shutdowns with the possible consequences of prolonging down time and increasing production losses, insulation has to be removed and replaced for each manual measurement, and scaffolding has to be installed to inaccessible areas, resulting in considerable cost for intervention. In addition, differences of the measurement conditions such as examiner, temperature, and couplant could result in measurement errors. It has been suggested that a structural health monitoring approach with permanently installed ultrasonic thickness gauges could have substantial benefits over current practices. In order to solve those fundamental problems occurring during the propagation of ultrasound at high temperature, a shear horizontal waveguide technique for wall thickness monitoring at high temperatures is developed. A dry clamping device without a couplant for the acoustic contact between waveguide and pipe surface was designed and fabricated. The shear horizontal waveguides and clamping device result in an excellent S/N ratio and high accuracy of measurement with long exposure in an elevated temperature condition. A computer program for on-line monitoring of the pipe thickness at high temperature for a long period of time was developed. The system can be applied to monitor the FAC in carbon steel piping in a nuclear power plant after a verification test for a long period of time

Performance Monitoring Of A Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Lathe Using Pattern Recognition Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Daneshmend, L. K.; Pak, H. A.

1984-02-01

On-line monitoring of the cutting process in CNC lathe is desirable to ensure unattended fault-free operation in an automated environment. The state of the cutting tool is one of the most important parameters which characterises the cutting process. Direct monitoring of the cutting tool or workpiece is not feasible during machining. However several variables related to the state of the tool can be measured on-line. A novel monitoring technique is presented which uses cutting torque as the variable for on-line monitoring. A classifier is designed on the basis of the empirical relationship between cutting torque and flank wear. The empirical model required by the on-line classifier is established during an automated training cycle using machine vision for off-line direct inspection of the tool.

The development of advanced instrumentation and control technology -The development of digital monitoring technique-

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jun, Jong Sun; Lee, Byung Sun; Han, Sang Joon; Shin, Yong Chul; Kim, Yung Baek; Kim, Dong Hoon; Oh, Yang Kyoon; Suh, Yung; Choi, Chan Duk; Kang, Byung Hun; Hong, Hyung Pyo; Shin, Jee Tae; Moon, Kwon Kee; Lee, Soon Sung; Kim, Sung Hoh; Koo, In Soo; Kim, Dong Wan; Huh, Sub [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-07-01

A study has been performed for the advanced DSP technology for digital nuclear I and C systems and its prototype, and for the monitoring and diagnosing techniques for the highly-pressurized components in NSSS. In the DSP part, the DSP requirements for NPPs have been induced for the performance of the DSP systems and the functional analysis for Reactor Coolant System (RCS) has been performed as the embodied target system. Total quantities of the I and C signals, signal types, and signal functions were also investigated in Ulchin NPP units 3 and 4. From these basis, the prototype facility was configured for performance validation and algorithm implementation. In order to develop the methods of DSP techniques and algorithms, the current signal validation methods have been studied and analyzed. In the analysis for the communication networks in NPP, the basic technique for the configuration of communication networks and the important considerations for applying to NPPs have been reviewed. Test and experimental facilities have been set up in order to carry out the required tests during research activities on the monitoring techniques for abnormal conditions. Studies were concentrated on methods how to acquire vibration signals from the mechanical structures and equipment including rotating machinery and reactor, and analyses for the characteristics of the signals. Fuzzy logic was evaluated as a good technique to improve the reliability of the monitoring and diagnosing algorithm through the application of the theory such as the automatic pattern recognition algorithm of the vibration spectrum, the alarm detection and diagnosis for collisions of loose parts. 71 figs, 32 tabs, 64 refs. (Author).

The development of advanced instrumentation and control technology -The development of digital monitoring technique-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Jong Sun; Lee, Byung Sun; Han, Sang Joon; Shin, Yong Chul; Kim, Yung Baek; Kim, Dong Hoon; Oh, Yang Kyoon; Suh, Yung; Choi, Chan Duk; Kang, Byung Hun; Hong, Hyung Pyo; Shin, Jee Tae; Moon, Kwon Kee; Lee, Soon Sung; Kim, Sung Hoh; Koo, In Soo; Kim, Dong Wan; Huh, Sub

1995-07-01

A study has been performed for the advanced DSP technology for digital nuclear I and C systems and its prototype, and for the monitoring and diagnosing techniques for the highly-pressurized components in NSSS. In the DSP part, the DSP requirements for NPPs have been induced for the performance of the DSP systems and the functional analysis for Reactor Coolant System (RCS) has been performed as the embodied target system. Total quantities of the I and C signals, signal types, and signal functions were also investigated in Ulchin NPP units 3 and 4. From these basis, the prototype facility was configured for performance validation and algorithm implementation. In order to develop the methods of DSP techniques and algorithms, the current signal validation methods have been studied and analyzed. In the analysis for the communication networks in NPP, the basic technique for the configuration of communication networks and the important considerations for applying to NPPs have been reviewed. Test and experimental facilities have been set up in order to carry out the required tests during research activities on the monitoring techniques for abnormal conditions. Studies were concentrated on methods how to acquire vibration signals from the mechanical structures and equipment including rotating machinery and reactor, and analyses for the characteristics of the signals. Fuzzy logic was evaluated as a good technique to improve the reliability of the monitoring and diagnosing algorithm through the application of the theory such as the automatic pattern recognition algorithm of the vibration spectrum, the alarm detection and diagnosis for collisions of loose parts. 71 figs, 32 tabs, 64 refs. (Author)

Biosensors for Real-Time Monitoring of Radiation-Induced Biologic Effects in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, James R.; Balogh, Lajos; Majoros, Istvan; Keszler, Balazs; Myc, Andrzej; Kukowska-Latallo, Jolanta; Norris, Theodore; delaiglesia, Felix; Beeson, Nicholas W. (Compiler)

2002-01-01

This work seeks to develop cellular biosensors based on dendritic polymers. Nanoscale polymer structures less than 20 nm in diameter will be used as the basis of the biosensors. The structures will be designed to target into specific cells of an astronaut and be able to monitor health issues such as exposure to radiation. Multiple components can be assembled on the polymers including target directors, analytical devices (such as molecular probes), and reporting agents. The reporting will be accomplished through fluorescence signal monitoring, with the use of multispectral analysis for signal interpretation. These nanosensors could facilitate the success and increase the safety of extended space flight. The design and assembly of these devices has been pioneered at the Center for Biologic Nanotechnology in the University of Michigan. This period, synthesis of the test-bed biosensors continued. Studies were performed on the candidate fluorescent dyes to determine which might be suitable for the biosensor under development. Development continued on producing an artificial capillary bed as a tool for the use in the production of the fluorescence signal monitor. Work was also done on the in vitro multispectral analysis system, which uses the robotic microscope.

Biological monitors for low levels of ionising radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohankumar, M N; Jeevanram, R K [Safety Research and Health Physics Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam (India)

1996-12-31

The biological effects of high doses of ionising radiation are well understood and the methods of measurement of these doses well established. However the effects due to extremely low doses remain by and large uncertain. This is because of the fact that at such low doses no gross symptoms are seen. In fact, at these levels the occurrence of double strand breaks leading to the formation of chromosomal aberrations like dicentrics is rare and chances of mutation due to base damage are negligible. Hence neither chromosomal aberration studies nor mutational assays are useful for detecting doses of the order of a few milligray. Results of exhaustive work done by various laboratories indicate that below 20 mGy the chromosomal aberration technique based on scoring of dicentrics cannot distinguish between a linear or a threshold model. However indirect methods like unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) appear to be promising for the detection of radiation exposures due to low levels of radiation. This report reviews the available literature on the biological effects of low levels of ionising radiation and highlights the merits and demerits of the various methods employed in the measurement of UDS and SCE. The phenomenon of radio-adaptive response (RAR) and its relation to DNA repair is also discussed. (author). 98 refs., 11 figs., 4 tabs.

Innovative Technique for High-Accuracy Remote Monitoring of Surface Water

Science.gov (United States)

Gisler, A.; Barton-Grimley, R. A.; Thayer, J. P.; Crowley, G.

2016-12-01

Lidar (light detection and ranging) provides absolute depth and topographic mapping capability compared to other remote sensing methods, which is useful for mapping rapidly changing environments such as riverine systems and agricultural waterways. Effectiveness of current lidar bathymetric systems is limited by the difficulty in unambiguously identifying backscattered lidar signals from the water surface versus the bottom, limiting their depth resolution to 0.3-0.5 m. Additionally these are large, bulky systems that are constrained to expensive aircraft-mounted platforms and use waveform-processing techniques requiring substantial computation time. These restrictions are prohibitive for many potential users. A novel lidar device has been developed that allows for non-contact measurements of water depth down to 1 cm with an accuracy and precision of shallow to deep water allowing for shoreline charting, measuring water volume, mapping bottom topology, and identifying submerged objects. The scalability of the technique opens up the ability for handheld or UAS-mounted lidar bathymetric systems, which provides for potential applications currently unavailable to the community. The high laser pulse repetition rate allows for very fine horizontal resolution while the photon-counting technique permits real-time depth measurement and object detection. The enhanced measurement capability, portability, scalability, and relatively low-cost creates the opportunity to perform frequent high-accuracy monitoring and measuring of aquatic environments which is crucial for monitoring water resources on fast timescales. Results from recent campaigns measuring water depth in flowing creeks and murky ponds will be presented which demonstrate that the method is not limited by rough water surfaces and can map underwater topology through moderately turbid water.

Monitoring of airborne biological particles in outdoor atmosphere. Part 2: Metagenomics applied to urban environments

OpenAIRE

Núñez, Andrés; Amo de Paz, Guillermo; Rastrojo, Alberto; García, Ana M.; Alcamí, Antonio; Gutiérrez-Bustillo, A. Montserrat; Moreno, Diego A.

2016-01-01

The air we breathe contains microscopic biological particles such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and pollen, some of them with relevant clinic importance. These organisms and/or their propagules have been traditionally studied by different disciplines and diverse methodologies like culture and microscopy. These techniques require time, expertise and also have some important biases. As a consequence, our knowledge on the total diversity and the relationships between the different biological entit...

Steel Creek water quality: L-Lake/Steel Creek Biological Monitoring Program, November 1985--December 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowers, J.A.; Kretchmer, D.W.; Chimney, M.J.

1992-04-01

The Savannah River Site (SRS) encompasses 300 sq mi of the Atlantic Coastal Plain in west-central South Carolina. The Savannah River forms the western boundary of the site. Five major tributaries of the Savannah River -- upper Three Runs Creek, Four Mile Creek, Pen Branch, Steel Creek, and Lower Three Runs Creek -- drain the site. All but Upper Three Runs Creek receive, or in the past received, thermal effluents from nuclear production reactors. In 1985, L Lake, a 400-hectare cooling reservoir, was built on the upper reaches of Steel Creek to receive effluent from the restart of L-Reactor, and protect the lower reaches from thermal impacts. The Steel Creek Biological Monitoring Program was designed to meet envirorunental regulatory requirements associated with the restart of L-Reactor and complements the Biological Monitoring Program for L Lake. This extensive program was implemented to address portions of Section 316(a) of the Clean Water Act. The Department of Energy (DOE) must demonstrate that the operation of L-Reactor will not significantly alter the established aquatic ecosystems

Track Detection Technique Using CR-39 for Determining Depleted Uranium in Biological Specimens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murbat, S.M.

2013-01-01

Track detecting technique using CR-39 track detector has been implemented for determining depleted uranium concentration in biological specimens (tissues, bones, and blood) of patients infected with cancer diseases. Results were compared with specimens of patients infected with conventional diseases (noncancerous). Specimens were collected from middle and south of Iraq have been contaminated with depleted uranium in the Gulf war in 1991. Results show that this technique is efficient for determining depleted uranium concentration in biological specimens. It was found that all studies samples determine for patients infected with cancer diseases contain a high concentration of depleted uranium (more than the international standard) comparing with noncancerous diseases. Moreover, it was found that persons infected with Leukemia show more sensitive to uranium concentrations to induce the diseases (66-202 ppb), while (116- 1910 ppb) concentrations were needed for inducing cancer diseases in organs and tissues. Result confirmed the correlation between cancerous diseases and the munitions made of depleted uranium used in the Gulf war in 1991 leads to contaminate the Iraqi environment and causes a high risk against people in Iraq.

Utility of the molecular biology techniques to the analytical control of the microbiological quality of waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Codony, F.; Martin Perez, L.; Morato, J.; Dominguez Gual, M. C.

2009-01-01

The molecular biology techniques made accessible to the water industry the ability to detect and quantify, in a few hours, any organism known. given this scenario, it is important to realize the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques to get a better picture of the scope of its implementation and its most that probably usefulness. We must be familiar with these techniques to understand the results and properly evaluate its detection limit. (Author) 4 refs.

Monitoring Biological Modes in a Bioreactor Process by Computer Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samia Semcheddine

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the general framework of fermentation system modeling and monitoring, focusing on the fermentation of Escherichia coli. Our main objective is to develop an algorithm for the online detection of acetate production during the culture of recombinant proteins. The analysis the fermentation process shows that it behaves like a hybrid dynamic system with commutation (since it can be represented by 5 nonlinear models. We present a strategy of fault detection based on residual generation for detecting the different actual biological modes. The residual generation is based on nonlinear analytical redundancy relations. The simulation results show that the several modes that are occulted during the bacteria cultivation can be detected by residuals using a nonlinear dynamic model and a reduced instrumentation.

The biological response of plucked human hair to low-dose radiation: a measure of individual radiosensitivity and a technique for biological dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, D.

1997-01-01

It is often assumed that the effects of radiation are linear with dose and that high dose effects can be extrapolated to low dose levels. However, there are a variety of mechanisms which can alter the response at low doses. The most important of these relate to induced sensitivity or induced repair mechanisms. It is therefore important that this area is studied in more depth by looking at the molecular effects and damage to cells at low doses. It is well known that there are certain rare genetic syndromes which predispose individuals to cancer, e.g. ataxia telangiectasia. It is also probable that there is a large range of sensitivity in the natural variation of individuals to the risk of radiation-induced cancer. It is proposed that radiosensitivity is studied using stimulated lymphocytes from whole blood and the technique extended to look at the effects in cell cultures established from human hair. Radiation treatment of cell cultures established from plucked human hair has been previously advocated as a non-invasive technique for non-uniform biological dosimetry and it is proposed that these techniques are adapted to the use of hair to estimate individual radiosensitivity. The aim is to establish and optimize these techniques for culturing keratinocytes from plucked human hair follicles with a view to study biological markers for the subsequent assessment of radiosensitivity. Preliminary results are promising and suggest that the technique for culturing keratinocytes from hair presents a feasible approach. Results from this primary cell culture technique and results from the comparison of the micronuclei data obtained from the cell cultures and stimulated lymphocytes will be presented. (author)

Ignition and monitoring technique for plasma processing of multicell superconducting radio-frequency cavities

Science.gov (United States)

Doleans, Marc

2016-12-01

An in-situ plasma processing technique has been developed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) to improve the performance of the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities in operation. The technique uses a low-density reactive neon-oxygen plasma at room-temperature to improve the surface work function, to help remove adsorbed gases on the RF surface, and to reduce its secondary emission yield. SNS SRF cavities have six accelerating cells and the plasma typically ignites in the cell where the electric field is the highest. This article details the technique to ignite and monitor the plasma in each cell of the SNS cavities.

Virtual Lab Demonstrations Improve Students’ Mastery of Basic Biology Laboratory Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace A. Maldarelli

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Biology laboratory classes are designed to teach concepts and techniques through experiential learning. Students who have never performed a technique must be guided through the process, which is often difficult to standardize across multiple lab sections. Visual demonstration of laboratory procedures is a key element in teaching pedagogy. The main goals of the study were to create videos explaining and demonstrating a variety of lab techniques that would serve as teaching tools for undergraduate and graduate lab courses and to assess the impact of these videos on student learning. Demonstrations of individual laboratory procedures were videotaped and then edited with iMovie. Narration for the videos was edited with Audacity. Undergraduate students were surveyed anonymously prior to and following screening to assess the impact of the videos on student lab performance by completion of two Participant Perception Indicator surveys. A total of 203 and 171 students completed the pre- and posttesting surveys, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed to compare student perceptions of knowledge of, confidence in, and experience with the lab techniques before and after viewing the videos. Eleven demonstrations were recorded. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant increase in the number of students reporting increased knowledge of, confidence in, and experience with the lab techniques after viewing the videos. Incorporation of instructional videos as prelaboratory exercises has the potential to standardize techniques and to promote successful experimental outcomes.

Environmental and biological monitoring of benzene during self-service automobile refueling.

OpenAIRE

Egeghy, P P; Tornero-Velez, R; Rappaport, S M

2000-01-01

Although automobile refueling represents the major source of benzene exposure among the nonsmoking public, few data are available regarding such exposures and the associated uptake of benzene. We repeatedly measured benzene exposure and uptake (via benzene in exhaled breath) among 39 self-service customers using self-administered monitoring, a technique rarely used to obtain measurements from the general public (130 sets of measurements were obtained). Benzene exposures averaged 2.9 mg/m(3) (...

Biological and Physiochemical Techniques for the Removal of Zinc from Drinking Water: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naseem Zahra

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Presence of Zinc (II in drinking water beyond permissible limits is considered unsafe for human health. Many different anthropogenic activities including mining, burning of petroleum, industrialization, and urbanization cause a release of considerably higher amounts of zinc into the waterbodies. A permissible limit of 5 mg/L is set by various environmental and pollution control authorities beyond which water may cause respiratory, liver, gonads, and brain disorders. Due to these health hazards, it is important to remove exceeding amounts of zinc from drinking water. Zinc enters drinking water from various sources such as corrosive pipelines, release of industrial effluents, and metal leaching. Different biological and physiochemical techniques are used to remove zinc involving chemical precipitation, ion exchange, adsorption, biosorbents, distillation, ozonation, and membrane filtration technology. Among these technologies, physical process of adsorption using low cost adsorbents is not only economical but abundant, efficient, and easily available. In present review different physiochemical and biological techniques are discussed for the removal of Zinc from drinking water.

Marine molecular biology: an emerging field of biological sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Narsinh L; Jain, Roopesh; Natalio, Filipe; Hamer, Bojan; Thakur, Archana N; Müller, Werner E G

2008-01-01

An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies and instruments for biomedical research has resulted in significant advances in the biological sciences. However, the value of molecular techniques for addressing problems in marine biology has only recently begun to be cherished. It has been proven that the exploitation of molecular biological techniques will allow difficult research questions about marine organisms and ocean processes to be addressed. Marine molecular biology is a discipline, which strives to define and solve the problems regarding the sustainable exploration of marine life for human health and welfare, through the cooperation between scientists working in marine biology, molecular biology, microbiology and chemistry disciplines. Several success stories of the applications of molecular techniques in the field of marine biology are guiding further research in this area. In this review different molecular techniques are discussed, which have application in marine microbiology, marine invertebrate biology, marine ecology, marine natural products, material sciences, fisheries, conservation and bio-invasion etc. In summary, if marine biologists and molecular biologists continue to work towards strong partnership during the next decade and recognize intellectual and technological advantages and benefits of such partnership, an exciting new frontier of marine molecular biology will emerge in the future.

Development of Electronic Nose and Near Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis Techniques to Monitor the Critical Time in SSF Process of Feed Protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Jiang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In order to assure the consistency of the final product quality, a fast and effective process monitoring is a growing need in solid state fermentation (SSF industry. This work investigated the potential of non-invasive techniques combined with the chemometrics method, to monitor time-related changes that occur during SSF process of feed protein. Four fermentation trials conducted were monitored by an electronic nose device and a near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS spectrometer. Firstly, principal component analysis (PCA and independent component analysis (ICA were respectively applied to the feature extraction and information fusion. Then, the BP_AdaBoost algorithm was used to develop the fused model for monitoring of the critical time in SSF process of feed protein. Experimental results showed that the identified results of the fusion model are much better than those of the single technique model both in the training and validation sets, and the complexity of the fusion model was also less than that of the single technique model. The overall results demonstrate that it has a high potential in online monitoring of the critical moment in SSF process by use of integrating electronic nose and NIRS techniques, and data fusion from multi-technique could significantly improve the monitoring performance of SSF process.

Sources of uncertainty in individual monitoring for photographic,TL and OSL dosimetry techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferreira, Max S.; Silva, Everton R.; Mauricio, Claudia L.P., E-mail: max.das.ferreira@gmail.com, E-mail: everton@ird.gov.br, E-mail: claudia@ird.gov.br [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

The identification of the uncertainty sources and their quantification is essential to the quality of any dosimetric results. If uncertainties are not stated for all dose measurements informed in the monthly dose report to the monitored radiation facilities, they need to be known. This study aims to analyze the influence of different sources of uncertainties associated with photographic, TL and OSL dosimetric techniques, considering the evaluation of occupational doses of whole-body exposure for photons. To identify the sources of uncertainty it was conducted a bibliographic review in specific documents that deal with operational aspects of each technique and the uncertainties associated to each of them. Withal, technical visits to individual monitoring services were conducted to assist in this identification. The sources of uncertainty were categorized and their contributions were expressed in a qualitative way. The process of calibration and traceability are the most important sources of uncertainties, regardless the technique used. For photographic dosimetry, the remaining important uncertainty sources are due to: energy and angular dependence; linearity of response; variations in the films processing. For TL and OSL, the key process for a good performance is respectively the reproducibility of the thermal and optical cycles. For the three techniques, all procedures of the measurement process must be standardized, controlled and reproducible. Further studies can be performed to quantify the contribution of the sources of uncertainty. (author)

Toward greener analytical techniques for the absolute quantification of peptides in pharmaceutical and biological samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Eeckhaut, Ann; Mangelings, Debby

2015-09-10

Peptide-based biopharmaceuticals represent one of the fastest growing classes of new drug molecules. New reaction types included in the synthesis strategies to reduce the rapid metabolism of peptides, along with the availability of new formulation and delivery technologies, resulted in an increased marketing of peptide drug products. In this regard, the development of analytical methods for quantification of peptides in pharmaceutical and biological samples is of utmost importance. From the sample preparation step to their analysis by means of chromatographic or electrophoretic methods, many difficulties should be tackled to analyze them. Recent developments in analytical techniques emphasize more and more on the use of green analytical techniques. This review will discuss the progresses in and challenges observed during green analytical method development for the quantification of peptides in pharmaceutical and biological samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Refolding techniques for recovering biologically active recombinant proteins from inclusion bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Miyazaki, Masaya

2014-02-20

Biologically active proteins are useful for studying the biological functions of genes and for the development of therapeutic drugs and biomaterials in a biotechnology industry. Overexpression of recombinant proteins in bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, often results in the formation of inclusion bodies, which are protein aggregates with non-native conformations. As inclusion bodies contain relatively pure and intact proteins, protein refolding is an important process to obtain active recombinant proteins from inclusion bodies. However, conventional refolding methods, such as dialysis and dilution, are time consuming and, often, recovered yields of active proteins are low, and a trial-and-error process is required to achieve success. Recently, several approaches have been reported to refold these aggregated proteins into an active form. The strategies largely aim at reducing protein aggregation during the refolding procedure. This review focuses on protein refolding techniques using chemical additives and laminar flow in microfluidic chips for the efficient recovery of active proteins from inclusion bodies.

Refolding Techniques for Recovering Biologically Active Recombinant Proteins from Inclusion Bodies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Biologically active proteins are useful for studying the biological functions of genes and for the development of therapeutic drugs and biomaterials in a biotechnology industry. Overexpression of recombinant proteins in bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, often results in the formation of inclusion bodies, which are protein aggregates with non-native conformations. As inclusion bodies contain relatively pure and intact proteins, protein refolding is an important process to obtain active recombinant proteins from inclusion bodies. However, conventional refolding methods, such as dialysis and dilution, are time consuming and, often, recovered yields of active proteins are low, and a trial-and-error process is required to achieve success. Recently, several approaches have been reported to refold these aggregated proteins into an active form. The strategies largely aim at reducing protein aggregation during the refolding procedure. This review focuses on protein refolding techniques using chemical additives and laminar flow in microfluidic chips for the efficient recovery of active proteins from inclusion bodies.

Potential drop technique for monitoring stress corrosion cracking growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neves, Celia F.C.; Schvartzman, Monica M.A.M.; Moreira, Pedro A.L.D.P.L.P.

2002-01-01

Stress corrosion cracking is one of most severe damage mechanisms influencing the lifetime of components in the operation of nuclear power plants. To assess the initiation stages and kinetics of crack growth as the main parameters coming to residual lifetime determination, the testing facility should allow active loading of specimens in the environment which is close to the real operation conditions of assessed component. Under cooperation of CDTN/CNEN and International Atomic Energy Agency a testing system has been developed by Nuclear Research Institute, Czech Republic, that will be used for the environmentally assisted cracking testing at CDTN/CNEN. The facility allows high temperature autoclave corrosion mechanical testing in well-defined LWR water chemistry using constant load, slow strain rate and rising displacement techniques. The facility consists of autoclave and refreshing water loop enabling testing at temperatures up to 330 deg C. Active loading system allows the maximum load on a specimen as high as 60 kN. The potential drop measurement is used to determine the instant crack length and its growth rate. The paper presents the facility and describes the potential drop technique, that is one of the most used techniques to monitor crack growth in specimens under corrosive environments. (author)

Innovative Ultrasonic Techniques for Inspection and Monitoring of Large Concrete Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niederleithinger E.

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Ultrasonic echo and transmission techniques are used in civil engineering on a regular basis. New sensors and data processing techniques have lead to many new applications in the structural investigation as well as quality control. But concrete structures in the nuclear sector have special features and parameters, which pose problems for the methods and instrumentation currently available, e.g. extreme thickness, dense reinforcement, steel liners or special materials. Several innovative ultrasonic techniques have been developed to deal with these issues at least partly in lab experiments and pilot studies. Modern imaging techniques as multi-offset SAFT have been used e. g. to map delaminations. Thick concrete walls have successfully been inspected, partly through a steel liner. Embedded ultrasonic sensors have been designed which will be used in monitoring networks of large concrete structures above and below ground. In addition, sensitive mathematical methods as coda wave interferometry have been successfully evaluated to detect subtle changes in material properties. Examples of measurements and data evaluation are presented.

Using acoustic emission technique to monitor fractures on the analogous pressure pipes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lichen

1989-01-01

By using the acoustic emission technique to monitor the fractures on analogous pressure pipes of the primary circuit which has had cracks and loading with pressure was investigated. The dynamical process, from cracking to fracturing, was recorded by the acoustic emission technique. Comparing with the conventional method, this method gives more informations, such as pre-cracking, cracking growing, fast fracturing and the pressure values at different phases. During testing time a microcomputer was used for real-time data processing and locating the fracturing position. These data are useful for the mechanical analysis of the reactor components

Development and evaluation of a technique for in vivo monitoring of 60Co in human liver

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, GH; Silva, MC; Mello, JQ; Dantas, ALA; Dantas, BM

2018-03-01

60Co is an artificial radioactive metal produced by activation of iron with neutrons. It decays by beta particles and gamma radiation and represents a risk of internal exposure of workers involved in the maintenance of nuclear power reactors. Intakes can be quantified through in vivo monitoring. This work describes the development of a technique for the quantification of 60Co in human liver. The sensitivity of the method is evaluated based on the minimum detectable effective doses. The results allow to state that the technique is suitable either for monitoring of occupational exposures or evaluation of accidental intakes.

Optical coherence tomography for glucose monitoring in blood

Science.gov (United States)

Ullah, Hafeez; Hussain, Fayyaz; Ikram, Masroor

2015-08-01

In this review, we have discussed the potential application of the emerging imaging modality, i.e., optical coherence tomography (OCT) for glucose monitoring in biological tissues. OCT provides monitoring of glucose diffusion in different fibrous tissues like in sclera by determining the permeability rate with acceptable accuracy both in type 1 and in type 2 diabetes. The maximum precision of glucose measurement in Intralipid suspensions, for example, with the OCT technique yields the accuracy up to 4.4 mM for 10 % Intralipid and 2.2 mM for 3 % Intralipid.

Tools and techniques for ageing predictions in nuclear reactors through condition monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, R.M.P.

1994-01-01

To operate the nuclear reactors beyond their design predicted life is gaining importance because of huge replacement and decommissioning costs. But experience shows that nuclear plant safety and reliability may decline in the later years of plant life due to ageing degradation. Ageing of nuclear plant components, structures and systems, if unmitigated reduces their safety margins provided in the design and thus increases risks to public health and safety. These safety margins must be monitored throughout plant service life including any extended life. Condition monitoring of nuclear reactor components/equipment and systems can be done to study the effect of ageing, status of safety margins and effect of corrective and mitigating actions taken. The tools and techniques of condition monitoring are also important in failure trending, predictive maintenance, evaluation of scheduled maintenance, in mitigation of ageing, life extension and reliability studies. (author). 1 fig., 1 annexure

Biological monitoring of arsenic exposure of gallium arsenide- and inorganic arsenic-exposed workers by determination of inorganic arsenic and its metabolites in urine and hair

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamauchi, H.; Takahashi, K.; Mashiko, M.; Yamamura, Y. (St. Marianna Univ. School of Medicine, Kawasaki (Japan))

1989-11-01

In an attempt to establish a method for biological monitoring of inorganic arsenic exposure, the chemical species of arsenic were measured in the urine and hair of gallium arsenide (GaAs) plant and copper smelter workers. Determination of urinary inorganic arsenic concentration proved sensitive enough to monitor the low-level inorganic arsenic exposure of the GaAs plant workers. The urinary inorganic arsenic concentration in the copper smelter workers was far higher than that of a control group and was associated with high urinary concentrations of the inorganic arsenic metabolites, methylarsonic acid (MAA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA). The results established a method for exposure level-dependent biological monitoring of inorganic arsenic exposure. Low-level exposures could be monitored only by determining urinary inorganic arsenic concentration. High-level exposures clearly produced an increased urinary inorganic arsenic concentration, with an increased sum of urinary concentrations of inorganic arsenic and its metabolites (inorganic arsenic + MAA + DMAA). The determination of urinary arsenobetaine proved to determine specifically the seafood-derived arsenic, allowing this arsenic to be distinguished clearly from the arsenic from occupational exposure. Monitoring arsenic exposure by determining the arsenic in the hair appeared to be of value only when used for environmental monitoring of arsenic contamination rather than for biological monitoring.

Radioisotope Sample Measurement Techniques in Medicine and Biology. Proceedings of the Symposium on Radioisotope Sample Measurement Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1965-01-01

The medical and biological applications of radioisotopes depend on two basically different types of measurements, those on living subjects in vivo and those on samples in vitro. The International Atomic Energy Agency has in the past held several meetings on in vivo measurement techniques, notably whole-body counting and radioisotope scanning. The present volume contains the Proceedings of the first Symposium the Agency has organized to discuss the various aspects of techniques for sample measurement in vitro. The range of these sample measurement techniques is very wide. The sample may weigh a few milligrams or several hundred grams, and may be in the gaseous, liquid or solid state. Its radioactive content may consist of a single, known radioisotope or several unknown ones. The concentration of radioactivity may be low, medium or high. The measurements may be made manually or automatically and any one of the many radiation detectors now available may be used. The 53 papers presented at the Symposium illustrate the great variety of methods now in use for radioactive- sample measurements. The first topic discussed is gamma-ray spectrometry, which finds an increasing number of applications in sample measurements. Other sections of the Proceedings deal with: the use of computers in gamma-ray spectrometry and multiple tracer techniques; recent developments in activation analysis where both gamma-ray spectrometry and computing techniques are applied; thin-layer and paper radio chromatographic techniques for use with low energy beta-ray emitters; various aspects of liquid scintillation counting techniques in the measurement of alpha- and beta-ray emitters, including chemical and colour quenching; autoradiographic techniques; calibration of equipment; and standardization of radioisotopes. Finally, some applications of solid-state detectors are presented; this section may be regarded as a preview of important future developments. The meeting was attended by 203 participants

Combining non-invasive techniques for delimitation and monitoring of chlorinated solvents in groundwater

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrenbom, Charlotte; Åkesson, Sofia; Hagerberg, David; Dahlin, Torleif; Holmstrand, Henry; Johansson, Sara

2016-04-01

Large numbers of polluted areas cause leakage of hazardous pollutants into our groundwater. Remediated actions are needed in a vast number of areas to prevent degradation of the quality of our water resources. As excavation of polluted masses is problematic as it often moves the pollutants from one site to another (in best case off site treatment is carried out), in-situ remediation and monitoring thereof needs further development. In general, we need to further develop and improve how we retrieve information on the status of the underground system. This is needed to avoid costly and hazardous shipments associated with excavations and to avoid unnecessary exposure when handling polluted masses. Easier, cheaper, more comprehensive and nondestructive monitoring techniques are needed for evaluation of remediation degree, degradation status of the contaminants and the remaining groundwater contaminant plume. We investigate the possibility to combine two investigation techniques, which are invasive to a very low degree and can give a very good visualization and evaluation of pollutant status underground and changes therein in time. The two methods we have combined are Direct Current resistivity and time-domain Induced Polarization tomography (DCIP) and Compound Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA) and their use within the context of DNAPL contaminated sites. DCIP is a non-invasive and non-destructive geoelectrical measurement method with emerging new techniques for 4D mapping for promising visualization of underground hydrogeochemical structures and spatial distribution of contaminants. The strength of CSIA is that inherent degradation-relatable isotopic information of contaminant molecules remains unaffected as opposed to the commonly used concentration-based studies. Our aim is to evaluate the possibilities of gas sampling on the ground surface for this technique to become non-invasive and usable without interfering ground conditions.Drillings together with soil and

Exploration of the speleotherapeutic potential through the cellular and molecular biology techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Munteanu Constantin

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: Exploring the speleotherapy effects on morphology and physiology of dermal and pulmonary fibroblast obtained from Wistar rats tissue in normal conditions and after induction of experimental “astma” awareness with ovalbumin. Materials and methods: Before initiation of dermal and pulmonary fibroblast cultures, 60 of Wistar rats 75-100 g were divided into two groups: control and sensitized with ovalalbumin. 10 animals of each group were sent to Cacica and Dej salt mines and maintained in a speleotherapy regime. Another 10 animals in each group were monitored separately in INRMFB Biobase . Dermal and pulmonary fibroblast cultures were initiated by enzymatic techniques from appropriate tissue taken of each group Wistar rats. Morphological monitoring was done by phase contast microscopy; biochemical and molecular changes of cultures obtained from animals treated speleothropic compared to control, was experimental establised by electrophoresis and Western Blotting techniques.Results: Experimental data revealed the expression of several proteins after the speleotherapeutic treatment. These data were analysed compared with control, using a specific software.Conclusions: Speleotherapeutic treatment of Wistar rats caused significant differences in morphology and protein expression of dermal and pulmonary fibroblatst grown in the laboratory. These differences support the protective effects of speleotherapy compared with data obtained from animals untreated and sensitized with ovalbumin, having induced experimental asthma status.

Development of environmental impact monitoring protocol for offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS): A biological perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyewon; Kim, Yong Hoon; Kang, Seong-Gil; Park, Young-Gyu

2016-01-01

Offshore geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO_2), known as offshore carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), has been under active investigation as a safe, effective mitigation option for reducing CO_2 levels from anthropogenic fossil fuel burning and climate change. Along with increasing trends in implementation plans and related logistics on offshore CCS, thorough risk assessment (i.e. environmental impact monitoring) needs to be conducted to evaluate potential risks, such as CO_2 gas leakage at injection sites. Gas leaks from offshore CCS may affect the physiology of marine organisms and disrupt certain ecosystem functions, thereby posing an environmental risk. Here, we synthesize current knowledge on environmental impact monitoring of offshore CCS with an emphasis on biological aspects and provide suggestions for better practice. Based on our critical review of preexisting literatures, this paper: 1) discusses key variables sensitive to or indicative of gas leakage by summarizing physico-chemical and ecological variables measured from previous monitoring cruises on offshore CCS; 2) lists ecosystem and organism responses to a similar environmental condition to CO_2 leakage and associated impacts, such as ocean acidification and hypercapnia, to predict how they serve as responsive indicators of short- and long-term gas exposure, and 3) discusses the designs of the artificial gas release experiments in fields and the best model simulation to produce realistic leakage scenarios in marine ecosystems. Based on our analysis, we suggest that proper incorporation of biological aspects will provide successful and robust long-term monitoring strategies with earlier detection of gas leakage, thus reducing the risks associated with offshore CCS. - Highlights: • This paper synthesizes the current knowledge on environmental impact monitoring of offshore Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). • Impacts of CO_2 leakage (ocean acidification, hypercapnia) on marine

Development of environmental impact monitoring protocol for offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS): A biological perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyewon, E-mail: hyewon@ldeo.columbia.edu [Division of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964 (United States); Kim, Yong Hoon, E-mail: Yong.Kim@rpsgroup.com [RPS ASA, 55 Village Square Drive, South Kingstown, RI 02879 (United States); Kang, Seong-Gil, E-mail: kangsg@kriso.re.kr [Offshore CCS Research Unit, Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, 32 1312 Beon-gil, Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Deaejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Young-Gyu, E-mail: ypark@kiost.ac.kr [Ocean Circulation and Climate Change Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, 787 Haeanro, Ansan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-02-15

Offshore geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), known as offshore carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), has been under active investigation as a safe, effective mitigation option for reducing CO{sub 2} levels from anthropogenic fossil fuel burning and climate change. Along with increasing trends in implementation plans and related logistics on offshore CCS, thorough risk assessment (i.e. environmental impact monitoring) needs to be conducted to evaluate potential risks, such as CO{sub 2} gas leakage at injection sites. Gas leaks from offshore CCS may affect the physiology of marine organisms and disrupt certain ecosystem functions, thereby posing an environmental risk. Here, we synthesize current knowledge on environmental impact monitoring of offshore CCS with an emphasis on biological aspects and provide suggestions for better practice. Based on our critical review of preexisting literatures, this paper: 1) discusses key variables sensitive to or indicative of gas leakage by summarizing physico-chemical and ecological variables measured from previous monitoring cruises on offshore CCS; 2) lists ecosystem and organism responses to a similar environmental condition to CO{sub 2} leakage and associated impacts, such as ocean acidification and hypercapnia, to predict how they serve as responsive indicators of short- and long-term gas exposure, and 3) discusses the designs of the artificial gas release experiments in fields and the best model simulation to produce realistic leakage scenarios in marine ecosystems. Based on our analysis, we suggest that proper incorporation of biological aspects will provide successful and robust long-term monitoring strategies with earlier detection of gas leakage, thus reducing the risks associated with offshore CCS. - Highlights: • This paper synthesizes the current knowledge on environmental impact monitoring of offshore Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). • Impacts of CO{sub 2} leakage (ocean acidification

Contrast monitoring techniques in CT pulmonary angiography: An important and underappreciated contributor to breast dose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitchell, D.P., E-mail: dpmmitchell@gmail.com; Rowan, M., E-mail: mrowan@mater.ie; Loughman, E., E-mail: eloughman@mater.ie; Ridge, C.A., E-mail: cridge@mater.ie; MacMahon, P.J., E-mail: pmacmahon@mater.ie

2017-01-15

Objective: The aims of our study were to evaluate the contribution of contrast-monitoring techniques to breast dose in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and to investigate the effect of a reduced peak kilovoltage (kV) monitoring scan protocol on breast dose and Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) diagnostic quality. Materials and methods: Single center retrospective study of 221 female patients undergoing a reduced kV 80 kV contrast-monitoring CTPA protocol compared to 281 patients using the conventional 120 kV contrast-monitoring protocol (Siemens Somatom Definition AS + ). 99 pregnant patients analyzed separately. ImPACT dosimetry software was used to calculate dose. Group subsets were evaluated to assess CTPA diagnostic quality. Results: The contrast-monitoring component of a CTPA study constituted 27% of the overall breast dose when using a standard 120 kV protocol compared to only 7% of the overall breast dose in the 80 kV study group. The dose to the breast from the contrast-monitoring component alone was reduced by 79% in the non-pregnant patients (0.36mGy ± 0.37 versus 1.7mGy ± 1.02; p < 0.001), and by 88% in the pregnant population (0.25 mGy ± 0.67 versus 2.24mGy ± 1.61; p < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in CTPA diagnostic quality or timing. Conclusion: Despite a short scan length and relatively small DLP, contrast-monitoring techniques (test-bolus or bolus-tracked) set at 120 kV can account for 27% of the overall breast dose accrued from a CTPA study. By decreasing the kilovoltage of the contrast-monitoring component, a significant reduction in breast dose for pregnant and non-pregnant female patients can be achieved without affecting CTPA quality or timing.

Spectroscopic techniques in the study of human tissues and their components. Part I: IR spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsztyńska-Janus, Sylwia; Szymborska-Małek, Katarzyna; Gąsior-Głogowska, Marlena; Walski, Tomasz; Komorowska, Małgorzata; Witkiewicz, Wojciech; Pezowicz, Celina; Kobielarz, Magdalena; Szotek, Sylwia

2012-01-01

Among the currently used methods of monitoring human tissues and their components many types of research are distinguished. These include spectroscopic techniques. The advantage of these techniques is the small amount of sample required, the rapid process of recording the spectra, and most importantly in the case of biological samples - preparation of tissues is not required. In this work, vibrational spectroscopy: ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy will be used. Studies are carried out on tissues: tendons, blood vessels, skin, red blood cells and biological components: amino acids, proteins, DNA, plasma, and deposits.

Impedance-Based Cable Force Monitoring in Tendon-Anchorage Using Portable PZT-Interface Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanh-Canh Huynh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a portable PZT interface for tension force monitoring in the cable-anchorage subsystem is developed. Firstly, the theoretical background of the impedance-based method is presented. A few damage evaluation approaches are outlined to quantify the variation of impedance signatures. Secondly, a portable PZT interface is designed to monitor impedance signatures from the cable-anchorage subsystem. One degree-of-freedom analytical model of the PZT interface is established to explain how to represent the loss of cable force from the change in the electromechanical impedance of the PZT interface as well as reducing the sensitive frequency band by implementing the interface device. Finally, the applicability of the proposed PZT-interface technique is experimentally evaluated for cable force-loss monitoring in a lab-scaled test structure.

Lamb-Wave-Based Tomographic Imaging Techniques for Hole-Edge Corrosion Monitoring in Plate Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dengjiang Wang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study presents a novel monitoring method for hole-edge corrosion damage in plate structures based on Lamb wave tomographic imaging techniques. An experimental procedure with a cross-hole layout using 16 piezoelectric transducers (PZTs was designed. The A0 mode of the Lamb wave was selected, which is sensitive to thickness-loss damage. The iterative algebraic reconstruction technique (ART method was used to locate and quantify the corrosion damage at the edge of the hole. Hydrofluoric acid with a concentration of 20% was used to corrode the specimen artificially. To estimate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the real corrosion damage was compared with the predicted corrosion damage based on the tomographic method. The results show that the Lamb-wave-based tomographic method can be used to monitor the hole-edge corrosion damage accurately.

Assessment of necessary regularity of internal irradiation monitoring on the basis of direct and indirect methods of dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malykhin, V.M.; Ivanova, N.I.

1981-01-01

It is shown that when assessing the necessary periodicity of internal irradiation monitoring, it is required to take account of the nature (rhythm) of radionuclide intake to the organism during the monitoring period, the effective period of radionuclide biological half-life, its activity in the organism, sensitivity of the technique applied and the labour-consumig character of the monitoring method [ru

Second report on the Oak Ridge K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for Mitchell Branch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, J.G. [ed.; Adams, S.M.; Hinzman, R.L.; Kszos, L.A.; Loar, J.M.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Southworth, G.R. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Crumby, W.D. [Automated Sciences Group, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

1994-03-01

On September 11, 1986, a modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was issued for the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP; now referred to as the Oak Ridge K-25 Site), a former uranium-enrichment production facility. As required in Part III of the permit, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for the biological monitoring of Mitchell Branch (K-1700 stream) and submitted for approval to the US EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The plan described biomonitoring activities that would be conducted over the duration of the permit. The objectives of the BMAP are to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for the Oak Ridge K-25 Site protect and maintain the use of Mitchell Branch for growth and propagation of fish and other aquatic life, and to document the effects on stream biota resulting from operation of major new pollution abatement facilities. The BMAP consists of four tasks: ambient toxicity testing; bioaccumulation studies; biological indicator studies; and ecological surveys of stream communities, including benthic macroinvertebrates and fish. This document is the second in a series of reports presenting the results of the studies that were conducted over various periods of time between August 1987 and June 1990.

An overview of environmental pollution and monitoring techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qureshi, I.H.

1997-01-01

Environmental pollution has become a world-wide concern as it is likely to affect the ecological system and human health. The indiscriminate release of harmful chemicals and toxic heavy metals in the environment by industrial, agricultural and other activities of man may adversely affect the quality of our air, water and food resources. These toxic chemicals may find their way to living organisms and human body through food chain and may induce various metabolic disorders. It is, therefore, necessary to assess the quality of environment by measuring the concentration of pollutants in air, water, soil and food materials and to establish base-line level. Since the pollutants are present in extremely small amounts, sensitive and accurate analytical techniques have to be employed to obtain reliable data. Studies on the measurement of essential and toxic inorganic elements in various food items and other materials have been carried out at PINSTECH with a view to assess the safety of diet and to establish baseline values. These values will he helpful, in future, to monitor the degree of pollution and to suggest possible remedial and control measures. The estimation of some of the inorganic pollutants and the techniques used in our laboratories and briefly discussed. (author)

Principles of the NATM and other uses of the geologic monitoring techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, J.D.; Sander, H.J.

1991-01-01

The NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method) differs in several respects from other construction methods. Also referred to as the open-quotes sequential method,close quotes or the open-quotes observational tunneling method,close quotes NATM offers outstanding flexibility by extending the design into the construction phase. Geologic monitoring of the underground opening (tunnel, shaft or cavern) on an on-going basis provides the means by which the precise support measures and tunnel advance sequence may be matched to varying rock conditions. The pragmatic principles, developed and perfected by NATM Engineers, depend upon sophisticated in situ monitoring of rock conditions on an ongoing basis. These same monitoring techniques, born of the need to determine safe, efficient ground support, are also utilized in the long term checking of existing tunnels. In addition, the instrumentation and program systems of NATM can provide accurate measurements to meet many of the site characterization requirements of underground nuclear repositories even when employed in combination with mechanical excavation

Development and evaluation of a technique for in vivo monitoring of 60Co in the lungs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mello, J.Q. de; Lucena, E.A.; Dantas, A.L.A.; Dantas, B.M.

2015-01-01

60 Co is a fission product of 235 U and represents a risk of internal exposure of workers in nuclear power plants, especially those involved in the maintenance of potentially contaminated parts and equipment. The control of 60 Co intake by inhalation can be performed through in vivo monitoring. This work describes the evaluation of a technique through the minimum detectable activity and the corresponding minimum detectable effective doses, based on biokinetic and dosimetric models of 60 Co in the human body. The results allow to state that the technique is suitable either for monitoring of occupational exposures or evaluation of accidental intakes. (author)

Determination of trace metals in Cladophora glomerata: C. glomerata as a potential biological monitor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keeny, W.L.; Breck, W.G.; Vanloon, G.W.; Page, J.A.

1976-01-01

A differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry method has been developed for the determination of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu in Cladophora glomerata. The method has been applied to samples taken in August from a remote island in Lake Ontario (Main Duck) and a shore site near Kingston, Ontario (Deadman Bay). It is postulated that C. glomerata can act as a biological monitor, concentrating the trace metals present in the aqueous environment with a reasonably constant CF for each element.

Identification of a biomarker for propetamphos and development of a biological monitoring assay.

Science.gov (United States)

K Jones G Wang S J Garfitt J Cocker

1999-01-01

This paper describes the identification of a human metabolite of propetamphos ((E-O-2-isopropylcarbonyl-1-methylvinyl-O-methylethylphosphoramidothioate), formed by the hydrolytic cleavage of the enol-vinyl-phosphate bond, and the development of an analytical method suitable for biological monitoring of propetamphos exposure. The metabolite has been detected in the urine of exposed workers but not in that of control subjects. The analytical method involves azeotropic distillation of the urine with acetonitrile, followed by derivatization with pentafluorobenzyl bromide and analysis using gas chromatography with flame photometric detection.

Large scale air monitoring: Biological indicators versus air particulate matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossbach, M.; Jayasekera, R.; Kniewald, G.

2000-01-01

Biological indicator organisms are widely used for monitoring and banking purposes since many years. Although the complexity of the interactions between bioorganisms and their environment is generally not easily comprehensible, environmental quality assessment using the bioindicator approach offers some convincing advantages compared to direct analysis of soil, water, or air. Direct measurement of air particulates is restricted to experienced laboratories with access to expensive sampling equipment. Additionally, the amount of material collected generally is just enough for one determination per sampling and no multidimensional characterization might be possible. Further, fluctuations in air masses have a pronounced effect on the results from air filter sampling. Combining the integrating property of bioindicators with the world wide availability and uniform matrix characteristics of air particulates as a prerequisite for global monitoring of air pollution will be discussed. A new approach for sampling urban dust using large volume filtering devices installed in air conditioners of large hotel buildings is assessed. A first experiment was initiated to collect air particulates (300 to 500 g each) from a number of hotels during a period of three to four months by successive vacuum cleaning of used inlet filters from high volume air conditioning installations reflecting average concentrations per three months in different large cities. This approach is expected to be upgraded and applied for global monitoring. Highly positive correlated elements were found in lichen such as K/S, Zn/P, the rare earth elements (REE) and a significant negative correlation between Fig and Cu was observed in these samples. The ratio of concentrations of elements in dust and Usnea spp. is highest for Cr, Zn, and Fe (400-200) and lowest for elements such as Ca, Rb, and Sr (20-10). (author)

[Analytical quality in biological monitoring of workers exposed to chemicals: experience of the Prevention and Safety at the Workplace Service in Modena].

Science.gov (United States)

Alpaca, R I Paredes; Migliore, A; Di Rico, R; Canali, Claudia; Rota, Cristina; Trenti, T; Cariani, Elisabetta

2010-01-01

The quality of laboratory data is one of the main factors in guaranteeing efficacy of biological monitoring. To analyze the quality of laboratory data used for biological monitoring of exposed workers. A survey involving 18 companies employing 945 workers in the area of Modena, Italy, was carried out in 2008. Most of the 9 private laboratories receiving biological samples did not perform directly part or all of the laboratory assessments requested, but this was not indicated in the final report. Major problems were observed in the application of internal quality control, and only one laboratory participated in external quality assessment for blood lead measurements. Our results raise major concerns on the traceability and reliability of laboratory assessments performed for biomonitoring of exposed workers. Systematic evaluation of the quality of analytical data would be highly recommendable.

Fourth report on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loar, J.M. [ed.

1994-04-01

In response to a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC) and selected tributaries. BMAP currently consists of six major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs on-site and the aquatic environs off-site. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota, (3) biological indicator studies, (4) instream ecological monitoring, (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment, and (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake. The ecological characterization of the WOC watershed will provide baseline data that can be used to document the ecological effects of the water pollution control program and the remedial action program. The long-term nature of BMAP ensures that the effectiveness of remedial measures will be properly evaluated.

Second report on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loar, J.M.; Appellanis, S.M.; Jimenez, B.D.; Huq, M.V.; Meyers-Schone, L.J.; Mohrbacher, D.A.; Olsen, C.R.

1992-12-01

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. BMAP consists of seven major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs on-site and the aquatic environs off-site. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota; (3) biological indicator studies; (4) instream ecological monitoring; (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment; (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL); and (7) contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system. This document, the second of a series of annual reports, described the results of BMAP studies conducted in 1987

Second report on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loar, J.M. [ed.; Adams, S.M.; Bailey, R.D.; Blaylock, B.G.; Boston, H.L.; Cox, D.K.; Huston, M.A.; Kimmel, B.L.; Loar, J.M.; Olsen, C.R.; Ryon, M.G.; Shugart, L.R.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Stewart, A.J.; Walton, B.T.; Talmage, S.S.; Murphy, J.B.; Valentine, C.K. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Appellanis, S.M.; Jimenez, B.D. [Puerto Rico Univ., San Juan (Puerto Rico); Huq, M.V. [Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection, Hamden, CT (United States); Meyers-Schone, L.J. [Frankfurter, Gross-Gerau (Germany); Mohrbacher, D.A. [Automated Sciences Group, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Olsen, C.R. [USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States). Environmental Sciences Div.; Stout, J.G. [Cincinnati Univ., OH (United States)

1992-12-01

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1986, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. BMAP consists of seven major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs on-site and the aquatic environs off-site. These tasks are (1) toxicity monitoring; (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota; (3) biological indicator studies; (4) instream ecological monitoring; (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment; (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL); and (7) contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system. This document, the second of a series of annual reports, described the results of BMAP studies conducted in 1987.

Assessment of refinery effluents and receiving waters using biologically-based effect methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

Within the EU it is apparent that the regulatory focus on the use of biologically-based effects methods in the assessment of refinery effluents and receiving waters has increased in the past decade. This has been reflected in a recent refinery survey which revealed an increased use of such methods for assessing the quality of refinery effluents and their receiving waters. This report provides an overview of recent techniques used for this purpose. Several case studies provided by CONCAWE member companies describe the application of biological methods to effluent discharge assessment and surface water monitoring. The case studies show that when biological methods are applied to refinery effluents and receiving waters they raise different questions compared with those obtained using physical and chemical methods. Although direct measurement of the toxicity of effluent and receiving to aquatic organisms is the most cited technique, more recent efforts include tests that also address the persistence of effluent toxicity once discharged into the receiving water. Similarly, ecological monitoring of receiving waters can identify effects of effluent inputs arising from species interactions and other secondary effects that would not always be apparent from the results of biological tests conducted on single aquatic organisms. In light of recent and proposed regulatory developments the objectives of this report are therefore to: Discuss the application of biologically-based effects methods (including ecological monitoring) to refinery discharges and receiving waters; Assess the implications of such methods for future regulation of refinery discharges; and Provide guidance on good practice that can be used by refineries and the downstream oil industry to carry out and interpret data obtained using biologically-based effects methods. While the emphasis is on the toxic effects of effluents, other properties will also be covered because of their interdependency in determining

Assessment of refinery effluents and receiving waters using biologically-based effect methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-01-15

Within the EU it is apparent that the regulatory focus on the use of biologically-based effects methods in the assessment of refinery effluents and receiving waters has increased in the past decade. This has been reflected in a recent refinery survey which revealed an increased use of such methods for assessing the quality of refinery effluents and their receiving waters. This report provides an overview of recent techniques used for this purpose. Several case studies provided by CONCAWE member companies describe the application of biological methods to effluent discharge assessment and surface water monitoring. The case studies show that when biological methods are applied to refinery effluents and receiving waters they raise different questions compared with those obtained using physical and chemical methods. Although direct measurement of the toxicity of effluent and receiving to aquatic organisms is the most cited technique, more recent efforts include tests that also address the persistence of effluent toxicity once discharged into the receiving water. Similarly, ecological monitoring of receiving waters can identify effects of effluent inputs arising from species interactions and other secondary effects that would not always be apparent from the results of biological tests conducted on single aquatic organisms. In light of recent and proposed regulatory developments the objectives of this report are therefore to: Discuss the application of biologically-based effects methods (including ecological monitoring) to refinery discharges and receiving waters; Assess the implications of such methods for future regulation of refinery discharges; and Provide guidance on good practice that can be used by refineries and the downstream oil industry to carry out and interpret data obtained using biologically-based effects methods. While the emphasis is on the toxic effects of effluents, other properties will also be covered because of their interdependency in determining

Remote and terrestrial ground monitoring techniques integration for hazard assessment in mountain areas

Science.gov (United States)

Chinellato, Giulia; Kenner, Robert; Iasio, Christian; Mair, Volkmar; Mosna, David; Mulas, Marco; Phillips, Marcia; Strada, Claudia; Zischg, Andreas

2014-05-01

In high mountain regions the choice of appropriate sites for infrastructure such as roads, railways, cable cars or hydropower dams is often very limited. In parallel, the increasing demand for supply infrastructure in the Alps induces a continuous transformation of the territory. The new role played by the precautionary monitoring in the risk governance becomes fundamental and may overcome the modeling of future events, which represented so far the predominant approach to these sort of issues. Furthermore the consequence of considering methodologies alternative to those more exclusive allow to reduce costs and increasing the frequency of measurements, updating continuously the cognitive framework of existing hazard condition in most susceptible territories. The scale factor of the observed area and the multiple purpose of such regional ordinary surveys make it convenient to adopt Radar Satellite-based systems, but they need to be integrated with terrestrial systems for validation and eventual early warning purposes. Significant progress over the past decade in Remote Sensing (RS), Proximal Sensing and integration-based sensor networks systems now provide technologies, that allow to implement monitoring systems for ordinary surveys of extensive areas or regions, which are affected by active natural processes and slope instability. The Interreg project SloMove aims to provide solutions for such challenges and focuses on using remote sensing monitoring techniques for the monitoring of mass movements in two test sites, in South Tyrol (Italy) and in Grisons Canton (Switzerland). The topics faced in this project concern mass movements and slope deformation monitoring techniques, focusing mainly on the integration of multi-temporal interferometry, new generation of terrestrial technologies for differential digital terrain model elaboration provided by laser scanner (TLS), and GNSS-based topographic surveys, which are used not only for validation purpose, but also for

Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy for Studying Biological Samples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irmgard D. Dietzel

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM is a scanning probe technique that utilizes the increase in access resistance that occurs if an electrolyte filled glass micro-pipette is approached towards a poorly conducting surface. Since an increase in resistance can be monitored before the physical contact between scanning probe tip and sample, this technique is particularly useful to investigate the topography of delicate samples such as living cells. SICM has shown its potential in various applications such as high resolution and long-time imaging of living cells or the determination of local changes in cellular volume. Furthermore, SICM has been combined with various techniques such as fluorescence microscopy or patch clamping to reveal localized information about proteins or protein functions. This review details the various advantages and pitfalls of SICM and provides an overview of the recent developments and applications of SICM in biological imaging. Furthermore, we show that in principle, a combination of SICM and ion selective micro-electrodes enables one to monitor the local ion activity surrounding a living cell.

Adaptive management and monitoring for birds and bats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palmer, C. [Bear Mountain Wind Ltd., BC (Canada); Hemmera, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2010-07-01

The wind power industry is still in its infancy in British Columbia, and the potential impacts to the province's environment and resources are not well-understood. This PowerPoint presentation discussed the adaptive management techniques used at the Bear Mountain Wind park. The techniques were used to address uncertainty related to mitigation needs, to reduce project costs associated with mitigation, and to provide biological data. The long-term monitoring project was conducted to address uncertainties about potential environmental impacts in the region and to reduce the potential for regulatory delays. Impacts associated with the development of a wind power plant include loss of habitat, sensory disturbances, and potential collisions with birds and bats. Mitigation strategies include the careful placement of turbines in certain areas, timing alterations, and the use of a cut-in speed. Adaptive management techniques were used to improve mitigation strategies and monitor their success. The techniques facilitated environmental assessment approvals and deferred mitigation procedures until they were needed. Bat and raptor collision data collected at the site were included. figs.

Development and evaluation of a technique for in vivo monitoring of {sup 60}Co in human liver

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dantas, B.M.; Dantas, A.L.A.; Gomes, G.H.; Silva, M.C.; Mello, J.Q., E-mail: bmdantas@ird.gov.br [Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2017-07-01

{sup 60}Co is an artificial radioactive metal produced by activation of iron with neutrons. It decays by beta particles and gamma radiation and represents a risk of internal exposure of workers involved in the maintenance of nuclear power reactors. Intakes can be quantified through in vivo monitoring. This work describes the development of a technique for the quantification of {sup 60}Co in human liver. The sensitivity of the method is evaluated based on the minimum detectable effective doses. The results allow to state that the technique is suitable either for monitoring of occupational exposures or evaluation of accidental intakes. (author)

HIGHLY SELECTIVE SENSORS FOR CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE AGENTS, INSECTICIDES AND VOCS BASED ON A MOLECULAR SURFACE IMPRINTING TECHNIQUE

Science.gov (United States)

Abstract was given as an oral platform presentation at the Pittsburgh Conference, Orlando FL (March 5-9, 2006). Research described is the development of sensors based on molecular surface imprinting. Applications include the monitoring of chemical and biological agents and inse...

National inventory of selected biological monitoring programs. Summary report of current or recently completed projects, 1976

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemp, H. T.

1976-10-01

The Inventory has resulted in establishment of a series of data bases containing biological monitoring information of varying types, namely, directory of investigators, record of projects received from mail questionnaire, detailed description of selected biomonitoring projects, and bibliographic citations supporting the projects received. This report contains detailed descriptions of selected biomonitoring projects organized on a state-by-state basis and with appropriate indices.

Lab-Based Measurement of Remediation Techniques for Radiation Portal Monitors (Initial Report)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livesay, Jake

2012-01-01

Radiation Portal Monitors (RPM) deployed by the Second Line of Defense (SLD) are known to be sensitive to the natural environmental radioactive background. There are several techniques used to mitigate the effects of background on the monitors, but since the installation environments can vary significantly from one another the need for a standardized, systematic, study of remediation techniques was proposed and carried out. This study is not meant to serve as the absolute last word on the subject. The data collected are, however, intelligible and useful. Some compromises were made, each of which will be described in detail. The hope of this initial report is to familiarize the SLD science teams with ORNL's effort to model the effect of various remediation techniques on simple, static backgrounds. This study provides a good start toward benchmarking the model, and each additional increment of data will serve to make the model more robust. The scope of this initial study is limited to a few basic cases. Its purpose is to prove the utility of lab-based study of remediation techniques and serve as a standard data set for future use. This importance of this first step of standardization will become obvious when science teams are working in parallel on issues of remediation; having a common starting point will do away with one category of difference, thereby making easier the task of determining the sources of disagreement. Further measurements will augment this data set, allowing for further constraint of the universe of possible situations. As will be discussed in the 'Going Forward' section, more data will be included in the final report of this work. Of particular interest will be the data taken with the official TSA lead collimators, which will provide more direct results for comparison with installation data.

Monitoring cure of composite resins using frequency dependent electromagnetic sensing techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Kranbuehl, D. E.; Hoff, M. S.; Loos, A. C.; Freeman, W. T., Jr.; Eichinger, D. A.

1988-01-01

A nondestructive in situ measurement technique has been developed for monitoring and measuring the cure processing properties of composite resins. Frequency dependent electromagnetic sensors (FDEMS) were used to directly measure resin viscosity during cure. The effects of the cure cycle and resin aging on the viscosity during cure were investigated using the sensor. Viscosity measurements obtained using the sensor are compared with the viscosities calculated by the Loos-Springer cure process model. Good overall agreement was obtained except for the aged resin samples.

An introduction to biological NMR spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marion, Dominique

2013-01-01

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for biologists interested in the structure, dynamics, and interactions of biological macromolecules. This review aims at presenting in an accessible manner the requirements and limitations of this technique. As an introduction, the history of NMR will highlight how the method evolved from physics to chemistry and finally to biology over several decades. We then introduce the NMR spectral parameters used in structural biology, namely the chemical shift, the J-coupling, nuclear Overhauser effects, and residual dipolar couplings. Resonance assignment, the required step for any further NMR study, bears a resemblance to jigsaw puzzle strategy. The NMR spectral parameters are then converted into angle and distances and used as input using restrained molecular dynamics to compute a bundle of structures. When interpreting a NMR-derived structure, the biologist has to judge its quality on the basis of the statistics provided. When the 3D structure is a priori known by other means, the molecular interaction with a partner can be mapped by NMR: information on the binding interface as well as on kinetic and thermodynamic constants can be gathered. NMR is suitable to monitor, over a wide range of frequencies, protein fluctuations that play a crucial role in their biological function. In the last section of this review, intrinsically disordered proteins, which have escaped the attention of classical structural biology, are discussed in the perspective of NMR, one of the rare available techniques able to describe structural ensembles. This Tutorial is part of the International Proteomics Tutorial Programme (IPTP 16 MCP). (authors)

Biological variation of the natriuretic peptides and their role in monitoring patients with heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Alan H B; Smith, Andrew

2004-03-15

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the inactive metabolite NT-proBNP are proven tests for diagnosis and staging of severity for patients with heart failure. However, the utility of these biomarkers for monitoring the success of drug therapy remains to be determined. Results of longitudinal studies on serial blood testing must be linked to overall patient morbidity and mortality outcomes. We previously determined the 8-week biological variability (BV) of BNP and NT-proBNP assays in healthy subjects and the 1-day BV for BNP alone in patients with compensated and stable heart failure. From these studies, the percent statistical change in serial samples of approximately 100% difference was estimated (95% confidence). We applied the biological variability concepts to the serial results of BNP and NT-proBNP collected from patients with heart failure and compared the performance of these two markers. While there are minor differences in the results between the assays from one time period to another, the overall interpretation of results are essentially identical. Moreover, the majority of individual serial time points are not significantly different from the previous value. Frequent testing (e.g. daily) for BNP and NT-proBNP to monitor therapy for patients with CHF is not indicated, as overall changes require several days to become evident.

A novel technique to monitor thermal discharges using thermal infrared imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthulakshmi, A L; Natesan, Usha; Ferrer, Vincent A; Deepthi, K; Venugopalan, V P; Narasimhan, S V

2013-09-01

Coastal temperature is an important indicator of water quality, particularly in regions where delicate ecosystems sensitive to water temperature are present. Remote sensing methods are highly reliable for assessing the thermal dispersion. The plume dispersion from the thermal outfall of the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam, on the southeast coast of India, was investigated from March to December 2011 using thermal infrared images along with field measurements. The absolute temperature as provided by the thermal infrared (TIR) images is used in the Arc GIS environment for generating a spatial pattern of the plume movement. Good correlation of the temperature measured by the TIR camera with the field data (r(2) = 0.89) make it a reliable method for the thermal monitoring of the power plant effluents. The study portrays that the remote sensing technique provides an effective means of monitoring the thermal distribution pattern in coastal waters.

Holographic monitoring of spatial distributions of singlet oxygen in water

Science.gov (United States)

Belashov, A. V.; Bel'tyukova, D. M.; Vasyutinskii, O. S.; Petrov, N. V.; Semenova, I. V.; Chupov, A. S.

2014-12-01

A method for monitoring spatial distributions of singlet oxygen in biological media has been developed. Singlet oxygen was generated using Radachlorin® photosensitizer, while thermal disturbances caused by nonradiative deactivation of singlet oxygen were detected by the holographic interferometry technique. Processing of interferograms yields temperature maps that characterize the deactivation process and show the distribution of singlet oxygen species.

Fluorescent Probes and Fluorescence (Microscopy Techniques — Illuminating Biological and Biomedical Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregor P. C. Drummen

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Fluorescence, the absorption and re-emission of photons with longer wavelengths, is one of those amazing phenomena of Nature. Its discovery and utilization had, and still has, a major impact on biological and biomedical research, since it enables researchers not just to visualize normal physiological processes with high temporal and spatial resolution, to detect multiple signals concomitantly, to track single molecules in vivo, to replace radioactive assays when possible, but also to shed light on many pathobiological processes underpinning disease states, which would otherwise not be possible. Compounds that exhibit fluorescence are commonly called fluorochromes or fluorophores and one of these fluorescent molecules in particular has significantly enabled life science research to gain new insights in virtually all its sub-disciplines: Green Fluorescent Protein. Because fluorescent proteins are synthesized in vivo, integration of fluorescent detection methods into the biological system via genetic techniques now became feasible. Currently fluorescent proteins are available that virtually span the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Concomitantly, fluorescence imaging techniques were developed, and often progress in one field fueled innovation in the other. Impressively, the properties of fluorescence were utilized to develop new assays and imaging modalities, ranging from energy transfer to image molecular interactions to imaging beyond the diffraction limit with super-resolution microscopy. Here, an overview is provided of recent developments in both fluorescence imaging and fluorochrome engineering, which together constitute the “fluorescence toolbox” in life science research.

Monitoring for environmental mutagenesis in wild animals - lessons from human studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tawn, E.J.

1999-01-01

The increasing realisation that environmental monitoring practices need to demonstrate radiological protection of the whole ecosystem has led to suggestions that genotoxic techniques derived from human monitoring of radiation exposure could be applied to other animal species. Human studies have highlighted the need to establish the relationship between exposure, genetic effect and biological consequence so that different study objectives, e.g. hazard identification, dose estimation, risk evaluation, can be addressed by the application of the most appropriate and informative assay. (author)

General principles governing sampling and measurement techniques for monitoring radioactive effluents from nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitoussi, L.

1978-01-01

An explanation is given of the need to monitor the release of radioactive gases and liquid effluents from nuclear facilities, with particular emphasis on the ICRP recommendations and on the interest in this problem shown by the larger international organizations. This is followed by a description of the classes of radionuclides that are normally monitored in this way. The characteristics of monitoring 'in line' and 'by sample taking' are described; the disadvantages of in line monitoring and the problem of sample representativity are discussed. There follows an account of the general principles for measuring gaseous and liquid effluents that are applied in the techniques normally employed at nuclear facilities. Standards relating to the specifications for monitoring instruments are at present being devised by the International Electrotechnical Commission, and there are still major differences in national practices, at least as far as measurement thresholds are concerned. In conclusion, it is shown that harmonization of practices and standardization of equipment would probably help to make international relations in the field more productive. (author)

Dynamic optimization of distributed biological systems using robust and efficient numerical techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilas, Carlos; Balsa-Canto, Eva; García, Maria-Sonia G; Banga, Julio R; Alonso, Antonio A

2012-07-02

Systems biology allows the analysis of biological systems behavior under different conditions through in silico experimentation. The possibility of perturbing biological systems in different manners calls for the design of perturbations to achieve particular goals. Examples would include, the design of a chemical stimulation to maximize the amplitude of a given cellular signal or to achieve a desired pattern in pattern formation systems, etc. Such design problems can be mathematically formulated as dynamic optimization problems which are particularly challenging when the system is described by partial differential equations.This work addresses the numerical solution of such dynamic optimization problems for spatially distributed biological systems. The usual nonlinear and large scale nature of the mathematical models related to this class of systems and the presence of constraints on the optimization problems, impose a number of difficulties, such as the presence of suboptimal solutions, which call for robust and efficient numerical techniques. Here, the use of a control vector parameterization approach combined with efficient and robust hybrid global optimization methods and a reduced order model methodology is proposed. The capabilities of this strategy are illustrated considering the solution of a two challenging problems: bacterial chemotaxis and the FitzHugh-Nagumo model. In the process of chemotaxis the objective was to efficiently compute the time-varying optimal concentration of chemotractant in one of the spatial boundaries in order to achieve predefined cell distribution profiles. Results are in agreement with those previously published in the literature. The FitzHugh-Nagumo problem is also efficiently solved and it illustrates very well how dynamic optimization may be used to force a system to evolve from an undesired to a desired pattern with a reduced number of actuators. The presented methodology can be used for the efficient dynamic optimization of

Impact of Tactile-Cued Self-Monitoring on Independent Biology Work for Secondary Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Catherine; McDougall, Dennis; Black, Rhonda S.; King-Sears, Margaret E.

2014-01-01

Results from a multiple baseline with changing conditions design across high school students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) indicated that the students increased the percentage of independent work they completed in their general education biology class after learning tactile-cued self-monitoring. Students maintained high…

77 FR 24228 - Condition Monitoring Techniques for Electric Cables Used in Nuclear Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

... Used in Nuclear Power Plants AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Regulatory guide; issuance... guide, (RG) 1.218, ``Condition Monitoring Techniques for Electric Cables Used in Nuclear Power Plants... of electric cables for nuclear power plants. RG 1.218 is not intended to be prescriptive, instead it...

First report on the Oak Ridge K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for Mitchell Branch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, J.G. [ed.; Adams, S.M.; Kszos, L.A.; Ryon, M.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Loar, J.M.

1993-08-01

A modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was issued to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (now referred to as the Oak Ridge K-25 Site) on September 11, 1986. The Oak Ridge K-25 Site is a former uranium-enrichment production facility, which is currently managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. for the US Department of Energy. As required in Part III (L) of that permit, a plan for the biological monitoring of Mitchell Branch (K-1700 stream) was prepared and submitted for approval to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation [formerly the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (Loar et al. 1992b)]. The K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) described biomonitoring activities that would be conducted over the duration of the permit. Because it was anticipated that the composition of existing effluent streams entering Mitchell Branch would be altered shortly after the modified permit was issued, sampling of the benthic invertebrate and fish communities (Task 4 of BMAP) was initiated in August and September 1986 respectively.

First report on the Oak Ridge K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for Mitchell Branch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.G.; Adams, S.M.; Kszos, L.A.; Ryon, M.G.; Southworth, G.R.; Loar, J.M.

1993-08-01

A modified National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was issued to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (now referred to as the Oak Ridge K-25 Site) on September 11, 1986. The Oak Ridge K-25 Site is a former uranium-enrichment production facility, which is currently managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. for the US Department of Energy. As required in Part III (L) of that permit, a plan for the biological monitoring of Mitchell Branch (K-1700 stream) was prepared and submitted for approval to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation [formerly the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (Loar et al. 1992b)]. The K-25 Site Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) described biomonitoring activities that would be conducted over the duration of the permit. Because it was anticipated that the composition of existing effluent streams entering Mitchell Branch would be altered shortly after the modified permit was issued, sampling of the benthic invertebrate and fish communities (Task 4 of BMAP) was initiated in August and September 1986 respectively

Condition monitoring of a check valve for nuclear power plants by means of acoustic emission technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Min Rae; Leee, Jun Hyun; Kim, Jung Tack; Kim, Jung Soo; Luk, V. K.

2003-01-01

This work performed in support of the International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative(INERI) program, which was to develop and demonstrate advanced sensor and computational technology for on-line monitoring of the condition of components, structures, and systems in advanced and next-generation nuclear power plants (NPPs). The primary object of this work is to investigate advanced condition monitoring systems based on acoustic emission detection that can provide timely detection of check valve degradation and service aging so that maintenance/replacement could be preformed prior to loss of safety function. The research is focused on the capability of AE technique to provide diagnostic information useful in determining check valve aging and degradation, check valve failures and undesirable operating modes. This work also includes the investigation and adaptation of several advanced sensor technologies such as accelerometer and advanced ultrasonic technique. In addition, this work will develop advanced sophisticated signal processing, noise reduction, and pattern recognition techniques and algorithms from check valve degradation.

Condition monitoring of a check valve for nuclear power plants by means of acoustic emission technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, M. R.; Lee, J. H.; Kim, J. T.; Kim, J. S.; Luk, V. K.

2003-01-01

This work performed in support of the International Nuclear Energy Research Institute (INERI) program, which was to develop and demonstrate advanced sensor and computational technology for on-line monitoring of the condition of components, structures, and systems in advanced and next-generation nuclear power plants (NPPs). This primary object of this work is to investigate advanced condition monitoring systems based on acoustic emission detection that can provide timely detection of check valve degeneration and service aging so that maintenance/replacement could be preformed prior to loss safety function. The research is focused on the capability of AE technique to provide diagnostic information useful in determining check valve aging and degradation check valve failure and undesirable operating modes. This work also includes the investigation and adaptation of several advanced sensor technologies such as accelerometer and advanced ultrasonic technique. In addition, this work will develop advanced sophisticated signal processing, noise reduction, and pattern recognition techniques and algorithms from check valve degradation.

Developmental biology, the stem cell of biological disciplines

OpenAIRE

Gilbert, Scott F.

2017-01-01

Developmental biology (including embryology) is proposed as "the stem cell of biological disciplines.” Genetics, cell biology, oncology, immunology, evolutionary mechanisms, neurobiology, and systems biology each has its ancestry in developmental biology. Moreover, developmental biology continues to roll on, budding off more disciplines, while retaining its own identity. While its descendant disciplines differentiate into sciences with a restricted set of paradigms, examples, and techniques, ...

Robotic Spent Fuel Monitoring – It is time to improve old approaches and old techniques!

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tobin, Stephen Joseph [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dasari, Venkateswara Rao [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Trellue, Holly Renee [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-12-13

This report describes various approaches and techniques associated with robotic spent fuel monitoring. The purpose of this description is to improve the quality of measured signatures, reduce the inspection burden on the IAEA, and to provide frequent verification.

Biological anti-TNF drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prado, Mônica Simon; Bendtzen, Klaus; Andrade, Luis Eduardo Coelho

2017-01-01

practice shows a significant percentage of individuals who do not exhibit the desired response. Loss of therapeutic benefit after initial successful response is designated secondary failure. Immune-biological agents are not self-antigens and are therefore potentially immunogenic. Secondary failure...... is frequently caused by antibodies against immune-biologicals, known as anti-drug antibodies (ADA). ADA that neutralize circulating immune-biologicals and/or promote their clearance can reduce treatment efficacy. Furthermore, ADA can induce adverse events by diverse immunological mechanisms. This review...... provides a comprehensive overview of ADA in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with anti-TNF immune-biologicals, and explores the concept of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) as an effective strategy to improve therapeutic management. Expert opinion: Monitoring circulating ADA and therapeutic immune-biological...

Development on high precision monitoring technique of radon and thoron in environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imaizumi, Masayuki; Hamada, Hiromasa; Goto, Masahiro; Nakazato, Hiroomi; Mori, Mitsuhiro

1999-01-01

In a field of the environmental management, many technical research and developments such as monitoring on drainage section and flowing speed change of groundwater, analysis on alternating flow phenomenon between surface water and groundwater, analysis on water leakage at a dam, forecasting of landslide, safety evaluation on ground due to detection of faults, have conducted. And, an application to analysis on gas flowing phenomenon from underground to atmosphere as a part of study on evaluation of effect of gas emitted from earth surface on the earth environment was investigated. This study aimed to elucidate behaviors of radon and thoron at environment and to develop a high precision monitoring technique on radon and thoron required to conduct an advanced application to a tracer in hydrology, applied geology, and environment engineering. (G.K.)

Applying monitoring, verification, and accounting techniques to a real-world, enhanced oil recovery operational CO2 leak

Science.gov (United States)

Wimmer, B.T.; Krapac, I.G.; Locke, R.; Iranmanesh, A.

2011-01-01

The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is being tested for oil fields in the Illinois Basin, USA. While this technology has shown promise for improving oil production, it has raised some issues about the safety of CO2 injection and storage. The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) organized a Monitoring, Verification, and Accounting (MVA) team to develop and deploy monitoring programs at three EOR sites in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, USA. MVA goals include establishing baseline conditions to evaluate potential impacts from CO2 injection, demonstrating that project activities are protective of human health and the environment, and providing an accurate accounting of stored CO2. This paper focuses on the use of MVA techniques in monitoring a small CO2 leak from a supply line at an EOR facility under real-world conditions. The ability of shallow monitoring techniques to detect and quantify a CO2 leak under real-world conditions has been largely unproven. In July of 2009, a leak in the pipe supplying pressurized CO2 to an injection well was observed at an MGSC EOR site located in west-central Kentucky. Carbon dioxide was escaping from the supply pipe located approximately 1 m underground. The leak was discovered visually by site personnel and injection was halted immediately. At its largest extent, the hole created by the leak was approximately 1.9 m long by 1.7 m wide and 0.7 m deep in the land surface. This circumstance provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate the performance of several monitoring techniques including soil CO2 flux measurements, portable infrared gas analysis, thermal infrared imagery, and aerial hyperspectral imagery. Valuable experience was gained during this effort. Lessons learned included determining 1) hyperspectral imagery was not effective in detecting this relatively small, short-term CO2 leak, 2) even though injection was halted, the leak remained dynamic and presented a safety risk concern

Development and evaluation of a technique for in vivo monitoring of {sup 60}Co in the lungs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mello, J.Q. de; Lucena, E.A.; Dantas, A.L.A.; Dantas, B.M., E-mail: bmdantas@ird.gov.br [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

{sup 60}Co is a fission product of {sup 235}U and represents a risk of internal exposure of workers in nuclear power plants, especially those involved in the maintenance of potentially contaminated parts and equipment. The control of {sup 60}Co intake by inhalation can be performed through in vivo monitoring. This work describes the evaluation of a technique through the minimum detectable activity and the corresponding minimum detectable effective doses, based on biokinetic and dosimetric models of {sup 60}Co in the human body. The results allow to state that the technique is suitable either for monitoring of occupational exposures or evaluation of accidental intakes. (author)

Noninvasive Assessment of Cell Fate and Biology in Transplanted Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Franchi, Federico; Rodriguez-Porcel, Martin

2017-01-01

Recently, molecular imaging has become a conditio sine qua non for cell-based regenerative medicine. Developments in molecular imaging techniques, such as reporter gene technology, have increasingly enabled the noninvasive assessment of the fate and biology of cells after cardiovascular applications. In this context, bioluminescence imaging is the most commonly used imaging modality in small animal models of preclinical studies. Here, we present a detailed protocol of a reporter gene imaging approach for monitoring the viability and biology of Mesenchymal Stem Cells transplanted in a mouse model of myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury.

Condition monitoring and signature analysis techniques as applied to Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) [Paper No.: VIA - 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rangarajan, V.; Suryanarayana, L.

1981-01-01

The technique of vibration signature analysis for identifying the machine troubles in their early stages is explained. The advantage is that a timely corrective action can be planned to avoid breakdowns and unplanned shutdowns. At the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), this technique is applied to regularly monitor vibrations of equipment and thus is serving as a tool for doing corrective maintenance of equipment. Case studies of application of this technique to main boiler feed pumps, moderation pump motors, centrifugal chiller, ventilation system fans, thermal shield ventilation fans, filtered water pumps, emergency process sea water pumps, and antifriction bearings of MAPS are presented. Condition monitoring during commissioning and subsequent operation could indicate defects. Corrective actions which were taken are described. (M.G.B.)

Clarification of the Use of Biological Data and Information in the 2002 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report Guidance

Science.gov (United States)

The memorandum modifies the 2002 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report Guidance to provide clarity and promote consistency in the manner in which states use biological data and information in developing their 2002 submissions.

Third report on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loar, J.M. [ed.; Adams, S.M.; Bailey, R.D. [and others

1994-03-01

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1985, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. The BMAP currently consists of six major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs at ORNL. These are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota, (3) biological indicator studies, (4) instream ecological monitoring, (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment, and (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL). The investigation of contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system was originally a task of the BMAP but, in 1988, was incorporated into the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facility Investigation for the Clinch River, a separate study to assess offsite contamination from all three Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge.

Third report on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program for White Oak Creek Watershed and the Clinch River

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loar, J.M.; Adams, S.M.; Bailey, R.D.

1994-03-01

As a condition of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on April 1, 1985, a Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) was developed for White Oak Creek (WOC); selected tributaries of WOC, including Fifth Creek, First Creek, Melton Branch, and Northwest Tributary; and the Clinch River. The BMAP currently consists of six major tasks that address both radiological and nonradiological contaminants in the aquatic and terrestrial environs at ORNL. These are (1) toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation monitoring of nonradiological contaminants in aquatic biota, (3) biological indicator studies, (4) instream ecological monitoring, (5) assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial environment, and (6) radioecology of WOC and White Oak Lake (WOL). The investigation of contaminant transport, distribution, and fate in the WOC embayment-Clinch River-Watts Bar Reservoir system was originally a task of the BMAP but, in 1988, was incorporated into the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facility Investigation for the Clinch River, a separate study to assess offsite contamination from all three Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge

Improved Statistical Fault Detection Technique and Application to Biological Phenomena Modeled by S-Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansouri, Majdi; Nounou, Mohamed N; Nounou, Hazem N

2017-09-01

In our previous work, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of the linear multiscale principal component analysis (PCA)-based moving window (MW)-generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) technique over the classical PCA and multiscale principal component analysis (MSPCA)-based GLRT methods. The developed fault detection algorithm provided optimal properties by maximizing the detection probability for a particular false alarm rate (FAR) with different values of windows, and however, most real systems are nonlinear, which make the linear PCA method not able to tackle the issue of non-linearity to a great extent. Thus, in this paper, first, we apply a nonlinear PCA to obtain an accurate principal component of a set of data and handle a wide range of nonlinearities using the kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) model. The KPCA is among the most popular nonlinear statistical methods. Second, we extend the MW-GLRT technique to one that utilizes exponential weights to residuals in the moving window (instead of equal weightage) as it might be able to further improve fault detection performance by reducing the FAR using exponentially weighed moving average (EWMA). The developed detection method, which is called EWMA-GLRT, provides improved properties, such as smaller missed detection and FARs and smaller average run length. The idea behind the developed EWMA-GLRT is to compute a new GLRT statistic that integrates current and previous data information in a decreasing exponential fashion giving more weight to the more recent data. This provides a more accurate estimation of the GLRT statistic and provides a stronger memory that will enable better decision making with respect to fault detection. Therefore, in this paper, a KPCA-based EWMA-GLRT method is developed and utilized in practice to improve fault detection in biological phenomena modeled by S-systems and to enhance monitoring process mean. The idea behind a KPCA-based EWMA-GLRT fault detection algorithm is to

Induced modifications on algae photosynthetic activity monitored by pump-and-probe technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbini, R; Colao, F; Fantoni, R; Palucci, A; Ribezzo, S [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Frascati, Rome (Italy). Dip. Innovazione; Tarzillo, G; Carlozzi, P; Pelosi, E [CNR, Florence (Italy). Centro Studi Microorganismi Autotrofi

1995-12-01

The lidar fluorosensor system available at ENEA Frascati has been used for a series of laboratory measurements on brackish-water and marine phytoplankton grown in laboratory with the proper saline solution. The system, already used to measure the laser induced fluorescence spectra of different algae species and their detection limits, has been upgraded with a short pulse Nd:YAG laser and rearranged to test a new technique based on laser pump and probe excitation. Results of this new technique for remote monitoring of the in-vivo photosynthetic activity will be presented, as measured during a field campaign carried out in Florence during the Autumn 1993, where the effects of an actinic saturating light and different chemicals have also been checked.

Application of thin layer activation technique for monitoring corrosion of carbon steel in hydrocarbon processing environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, R C; Biswal, Jayashree; Pant, H J; Samantray, J S; Sharma, S C; Gupta, A K; Ray, S S

2018-05-01

Acidic crude oil transportation and processing in petroleum refining and petrochemical operations cause corrosion in the pipelines and associated components. Corrosion monitoring is invariably required to test and prove operational reliability. Thin Layer Activation (TLA) technique is a nuclear technique used for measurement of corrosion and erosion of materials. The technique involves irradiation of material with high energy ion beam from an accelerator and measurement of loss of radioactivity after the material is subjected to corrosive environment. In the present study, TLA technique has been used to monitor corrosion of carbon steel (CS) in crude oil environment at high temperature. Different CS coupons were irradiated with a 13 MeV proton beam to produce Cobalt-56 radioisotope on the surface of the coupons. The corrosion studies were carried out by subjecting the irradiated coupons to a corrosive environment, i.e, uninhibited straight run gas oil (SRGO) containing known amount of naphthenic acid (NA) at high temperature. The effects of different parameters, such as, concentration of NA, temperature and fluid velocity (rpm) on corrosion behaviour of CS were studied. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the FNCA workshop on plant mutation breeding 2001. Molecular biological techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kume, Tamikazu; Watanabe, Kazuo; Tano, Shigemitsu

2002-02-01

The FNCA (Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia) Workshop on Plant Mutation Breeding was held on 20-24 August 2001 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Workshop was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The Kasetsart University (KU), the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (OAEP) and Department of Agriculture (DOA) acted as local host and the organizer with the cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). The Workshop was attended by two participants, a Project Leader and an expert on molecular biological techniques for plant mutation breeding, from each of the participating countries, i.e. China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. One participant from the Republic of Korea, nine participants from Japan and thirteen participants from Thailand including three invited speakers attended the Workshop. Eleven papers including three invited papers on the current status of molecular biological techniques for plant mutation breeding were presented. Discussions were focused to further regional cooperation, to review and discuss results of past activities. The Medium-Term Plan of the project on the application of radiation and radioisotopes for agriculture in participating countries of Regional Nuclear Cooperation Activities (RNCA) was formulated and agreed. This proceeding compiles the invited and contributed papers that were submitted from the speakers. (author)

Air-coupled ultrasound: a novel technique for monitoring the curing of thermosetting matrices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lionetto, Francesca; Tarzia, Antonella; Maffezzoli, Alfonso

2007-07-01

A custom-made, air-coupled ultrasonic device was applied to cure monitoring of thick samples (7-10 mm) of unsaturated polyester resin at room temperature. A key point was the optimization of the experimental setup in order to propagate compression waves during the overall curing reaction by suitable placement of the noncontact transducers, placed on the same side of the test material, in the so-called pitch-catch configuration. The progress of polymerization was monitored through the variation of the time of flight of the propagating longitudinal waves. The exothermic character of the polymerization was taken into account by correcting the measured value of time of flight with that one in air, obtained by sampling the air velocity during the experiment. The air-coupled ultrasonic results were compared with those obtained from conventional contact ultrasonic measurements. The good agreement between the air-coupled ultrasonic results and those obtained by the rheological analysis demonstrated the reliability of air-coupled ultrasound in monitoring the changes of viscoelastic properties at gelation and vitrification. The position of the transducers on the same side of the sample makes this technique suitable for on-line cure monitoring during several composite manufacturing technologies.

Report on the biological monitoring program at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant December 1990 to November 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kszos, L.A. [ed.

1994-03-01

On September 23, 1987, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet issued an Agreed Order that required the development of a Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). Beginning in fall 1991, the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) added data collection and report preparation to its responsibilities for the PGDP BMP. The BMP has been continued because it has proven to be extremely valuable in identifying those effluents with the potential for adversely affecting instream fauna, assessing the ecological health of receiving streams, guiding plans for remediation, and protecting human health. In September 1992, a renewed permit was issued which requires toxicity monitoring of continuous and intermittent outfalls on a quarterly basis. The BMP for PGDP consists of three major tasks: (1) effluent and ambient toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation studies, and (3) ecological surveys of stream communities. This report includes ESD/ORNL activities occurring from December 1990 to November 1992.

Report on the biological monitoring program at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant December 1990 to November 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kszos, L.A.

1994-03-01

On September 23, 1987, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet issued an Agreed Order that required the development of a Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). Beginning in fall 1991, the Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) added data collection and report preparation to its responsibilities for the PGDP BMP. The BMP has been continued because it has proven to be extremely valuable in identifying those effluents with the potential for adversely affecting instream fauna, assessing the ecological health of receiving streams, guiding plans for remediation, and protecting human health. In September 1992, a renewed permit was issued which requires toxicity monitoring of continuous and intermittent outfalls on a quarterly basis. The BMP for PGDP consists of three major tasks: (1) effluent and ambient toxicity monitoring, (2) bioaccumulation studies, and (3) ecological surveys of stream communities. This report includes ESD/ORNL activities occurring from December 1990 to November 1992

Monitoring alloy formation during mechanical alloying process by x-ray diffraction techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Kadir Masrom; Noraizam Md Diah; Mazli Mustapha

2002-01-01

Monitoring alloying (MA) is a novel processing technique that use high energy impact ball mill to produce alloys with enhanced properties and microscopically homogeneous materials starting from various powder mixtures. Mechanical alloying process was originally developed to produce oxide dispersion strengthened nickel superalloys. In principal, in high-energy ball milling process, alloy is formed by the result of repeated welding, fracturing and rewelding of powder particles in a high energy ball mill. In this process a powder mixture in a ball mill is subjected to high-energy collisions among balls. MA has been shown to be capable of synthesizing a variety of materials. It is known to be capable to prepare equilibrium and non-equilibrium phases starting from blended elemental or prealloyed powders. The process ability to produce highly metastable materials such as amorphous alloys and nanostructured materials has made this process attractive and it has been considered as a promising material processing technique that could be used to produce many advanced materials at low cost. The present study explores the conditions under which aluminum alloys formation occurs by ball milling of blended aluminum and its alloying elements powders. In this work, attempt was made in producing aluminum 2024 alloys by milling of blended elemental aluminum powder of 2024 composition in a stainless steel container under argon atmosphere for up to 210 minutes. X-ray diffraction together with thermal analysis techniques has been used to monitor phase changes in the milled powder. Results indicate that, using our predetermined milling parameters, alloys were formed after 120 minutes milling. The thermal analysis data was also presented in this report. (Author)

Factors affecting the longevity of interim ILW stores, monitoring methods and techniques supporting store life extension - 59151

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, Jenny; Wickham, Stephen; Hicks, Tim; Richardson, Phil; McKinney, James; Morris, Darrell; Brownridge, Melanie; Tearle, Mark

2012-01-01

Life-limiting features of stores (i.e. components of a typical Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) store that are vulnerable to failure) can be separated into those related to store design, the continuing operation of the store and equipment and store management. Environmental factors, including temperature, humidity, atmospheric pollutants and radiation fields also affect the longevity of ILW storage buildings and the integrity of the waste packages within the store. The current condition of the store and the causes and rates of any observed deterioration need to be determined to estimate the current operating life of the store and to analyse the costs and benefits associated with life extension. Suitable monitoring techniques and methods for extending the operating life of stores, either by remediation or replacement of identified life-limiting features, have also been assessed. Techniques including visual inspection (directly or by use of CCTV or inspection cells), corrosion coupons, crane monitoring and a wide range of indirect measurement methods can be used to monitor the condition of life-limiting features and the store environment. Methods for extending store life include the application of paint or coatings to retard degradation, use of electro-chemical treatments and repair of the concrete structure or replacement of components. Life-limiting features and environmental factors that affect the longevity of facilities for the interim storage of ILW have been identified through a literature review and Expert Workshop. Monitoring techniques are available for the key life-limiting feature of structural integrity of reinforced concrete, and for the atmospheric or surface concentration of corrosion-accelerating substances. Methods for remediating the reinforced concrete structure or crane rails to increase the expected lifetime of the store are also reviewed. Many of these techniques have previously been used at radioactive waste stores or other nuclear facilities in

Precision and costs of techniques for self-monitoring of serum glucose levels.

OpenAIRE

Chiasson, J. L.; Morrisset, R.; Hamet, P.

1984-01-01

The poor correlation between serum and urine glucose measurements has led to the development of new techniques for monitoring the blood glucose level in diabetic patients. Either a nurse or the patient can perform these tests, which involve spreading a single drop of blood onto a reagent strip. A colour change that is proportional to the serum glucose level can be read visually or with a reflectance meter. Evaluated against simultaneous serum glucose levels determined by the hospital biochemi...

Surface analysis and techniques in biology

CERN Document Server

Smentkowski, Vincent S

2014-01-01

This book highlights state-of-the-art surface analytical instrumentation, advanced data analysis tools, and the use of complimentary surface analytical instrumentation to perform a complete analysis of biological systems.

Fatigue damage monitoring for basalt fiber reinforced polymer composites using acoustic emission technique

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wentao; Li, Hui; Qu, Zhi

2012-04-01

Basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) is a structural material with superior mechanical properties. In this study, unidirectional BFRP laminates with 14 layers are made with the hand lay-up method. Then, the acoustic emission technique (AE) combined with the scanning electronic microscope (SEM) technique is employed to monitor the fatigue damage evolution of the BFRP plates in the fatigue loading tests. Time-frequency analysis using the wavelet transform technique is proposed to analyze the received AE signal instead of the peak frequency method. A comparison between AE signals and SEM images indicates that the multi-frequency peaks picked from the time-frequency curves of AE signals reflect the accumulated fatigue damage evolution and fatigue damage patterns. Furthermore, seven damage patterns, that is, matrix cracking, delamination, fiber fracture and their combinations, are identified from the time-frequency curves of the AE signals.

Biogeosystem technique as a method to overcome the Biological and Environmental Hazards of modern Agricultural, Irrigational and Technological Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinitchenko, Valery; Batukaev, Abdulmalik; Zinchenko, Vladimir; Zarmaev, Ali; Magomadov, Ali; Chernenko, Vladimir; Startsev, Viktor; Bakoev, Serojdin; Dikaev, Zaurbek

2014-05-01

Modern challenge for humanity is to replace the paradigm of nature use and overcome environmental hazards of agronomy, irrigation, industry, and other human activities in biosphere. It is utterly reasonable to stop dividing biosphere on shares - the human habitat and the environment. In the 21st century it is an outdated anthropocentrism. Contradicting himself to biosphere Humankind has the problems. The new paradigm of biosphere control by methods of Biogeosystem technique is on agenda of Humankind. Key directions of Biogeosystem technique. Tillage. Single rotary milling 20…30-50…60 sm soil layer optimizes the evolution and environment of soil, creates a favorable conditions for the rhizosphere, increases the biological productivity of biosphere by 30-50% compared to the standard agricultural practices for the period up to 40 years. Recycle material. Recycling of mineral and organic substances in soil layer of 20…30-50…60 sm in rotary milling soil processing provides wastes clean return to biosphere. Direct intrasoil substances synthesis. Environmentally friendly robot wasteless nanotechnology provides direct substances synthesis, including fertilizers, inside the soil. It eliminates the prerequisites of the wastes formation under standard industrial technologies. Selective substance's extraction from soil. Electrochemical robotic nanotechnology provides selective substances extraction from soil. The technology provides recovery, collection and subsequent safe industrial use of extracted substances out of landscape. Saving fresh water. An important task is to save fresh water in biosphere. Irrigation spends water 4-5 times more of biological requirements of plants, leads to degradation of soil and landscape. The intrasoil pulse continuous-discrete paradigm of irrigation is proposed. It provides the soil and landscape conservation, increases the biological productivity, save the fresh water up to 10-20 times. The subsurface soil rotary processing and

Cross-continental comparisons of butterfly assemblages in tropical rainforests: implications for biological monitoring

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Basset, Y.; Eastwood, R.; Sam, L.; Lohman, D. J.; Novotný, Vojtěch; Treuer, T.; Miller, S. E.; Weiblen, G. D.; Pierce, N. E.; Bunyavejchewin, S.; Sakchoowong, W.; Kongnoo, P.; Osorio-Arenas, M. A.

2013-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 3 (2013), s. 223-233 ISSN 1752-458X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/09/0115; GA ČR GAP505/10/0673; GA MŠk ME09082; GA MŠk LC06073 Grant - others:US National Science Foundarion(US) DEB 0816749; International Foundarion for Science Grant(CZ) D/4986-1 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : Barro Colorado Island * biological monitoring * Center for Tropical Forest Science Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 1.937, year: 2013 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2012.00205.x/pdf

Novel biospectroscopy sensor technologies towards environmental health monitoring in urban environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obinaju, Blessing E.; Martin, Francis L.

2013-01-01

Biospectroscopy is an emerging inter-disciplinary field that exploits the application of sensor technologies [e.g., Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy] to lend novel insights into biological questions. Methods involved are relatively non-destructive so samples can subsequently be analysed by more conventional approaches, facilitating deeper mechanistic insights. Fingerprint spectra are derived and these consist of wavenumber–absorbance intensities; within a typical biological experiment, a complex dataset is quickly generated. Biological samples range from biofluids to cytology to tissues derived from human or sentinel sources, and analyses can be carried out ex vivo or in situ in living tissue. A reference range of a designated normal state can be derived; anything outside this is potentially atypical and discriminating chemical entities identified. Computational approaches allow one to minimize within-category confounding factors. Because of ease of sample preparation, low-cost and high-throughput capability, biospectroscopy approaches herald a new greener means of environmental health monitoring in urban environments. -- Highlights: ► Biospectroscopy is an emerging inter-disciplinary field. ► Physical sciences sensors with computational tools lend novel insights into biology. ► Analyse in a non-destructive manner; correlate with conventional methodologies. ► Low-cost, high-throughput and label-free (i.e., a green) technology. ► Can be applied to environmental health monitoring in urban environments. -- Biospectroscopy techniques allow the fingerprinting of biological material in a wide range of contexts that could relate to environmental health monitoring in urban environments

Synthetic Biology: Mapping the Scientific Landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Oldham, Paul; Hall, Stephen; Burton, Geoff

2012-01-01

This article uses data from Thomson Reuters Web of Science to map and analyse the scientific landscape for synthetic biology. The article draws on recent advances in data visualisation and analytics with the aim of informing upcoming international policy debates on the governance of synthetic biology by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. We use mapping techniques to identify how synthetic biology can best be understood and the range of institutions, researchers and funding agencies involved. Debates under the Convention are likely to focus on a possible moratorium on the field release of synthetic organisms, cells or genomes. Based on the empirical evidence we propose that guidance could be provided to funding agencies to respect the letter and spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity in making research investments. Building on the recommendations of the United States Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues we demonstrate that it is possible to promote independent and transparent monitoring of developments in synthetic biology using modern information tools. In particular, public and policy understanding and engagement with synthetic biology can be enhanced through the use of online interactive tools. As a step forward in this process we make existing data on the scientific literature on synthetic biology available in an online interactive workbook so that researchers, policy makers and civil society can explore the data and draw conclusions for themselves. PMID:22539946

Metagenomic applications in environmental monitoring and bioremediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Techtmann, Stephen M; Hazen, Terry C

2016-10-01

With the rapid advances in sequencing technology, the cost of sequencing has dramatically dropped and the scale of sequencing projects has increased accordingly. This has provided the opportunity for the routine use of sequencing techniques in the monitoring of environmental microbes. While metagenomic applications have been routinely applied to better understand the ecology and diversity of microbes, their use in environmental monitoring and bioremediation is increasingly common. In this review we seek to provide an overview of some of the metagenomic techniques used in environmental systems biology, addressing their application and limitation. We will also provide several recent examples of the application of metagenomics to bioremediation. We discuss examples where microbial communities have been used to predict the presence and extent of contamination, examples of how metagenomics can be used to characterize the process of natural attenuation by unculturable microbes, as well as examples detailing the use of metagenomics to understand the impact of biostimulation on microbial communities.

Synthetic Biology: Putting Synthesis into Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Jing; Luo, Yunzi; Zhao, Huimin

2010-01-01

The ability to manipulate living organisms is at the heart of a range of emerging technologies that serve to address important and current problems in environment, energy, and health. However, with all its complexity and interconnectivity, biology has for many years been recalcitrant to engineering manipulations. The recent advances in synthesis, analysis, and modeling methods have finally provided the tools necessary to manipulate living systems in meaningful ways, and have led to the coining of a field named synthetic biology. The scope of synthetic biology is as complicated as life itself – encompassing many branches of science, and across many scales of application. New DNA synthesis and assembly techniques have made routine the customization of very large DNA molecules. This in turn has allowed the incorporation of multiple genes and pathways. By coupling these with techniques that allow for the modeling and design of protein functions, scientists have now gained the tools to create completely novel biological machineries. Even the ultimate biological machinery – a self-replicating organism – is being pursued at this moment. It is the purpose of this review to dissect and organize these various components of synthetic biology into a coherent picture. PMID:21064036

Human biological monitoring for exposure assessment in response to an incident involving hazardous materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheepers, Paul T J; van Brederode, Nelly E; Bos, Peter M J; Nijhuis, Nicole J; van de Weerdt, Rik H J; van der Woude, Irene; Eggens, Martin L

2014-12-15

Biological monitoring in humans (HBM) is widely used in the field of occupational and environmental health. In the situation of an unexpected release of hazardous materials HBM may contribute to the medical support and treatment of exposed individuals from the general population or of emergency responders. Such exposure information may also be used to respond to individual concerns such as questions about a possible relationship between the chemicals released during the incident and health effects. In The Netherlands a guideline was prepared to support early decision-making about the possible use of HBM for exposure assessment during or as soon as possible following a chemical incident. The application of HBM in such an emergency setting is not much different from situations where HBM is normally used but there are some issues that need extra attention such as the choice of the biomarker, the biological media to be sampled, the time point at which biological samples should be collected, the ethics approval and technical implementation of the study protocol and the interpretation and communication of the study results. These issues addressed in the new guideline will support the use of HBM in the management of chemical disasters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biology, diversity and strategies for the monitoring and control of triatomines--Chagas disease vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Jane; Lorenzo, Marcelo

2009-07-01

Despite the relevant achievements in the control of the main Chagas disease vectors Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus, several factors still promote the risk of infection. The disease is a real threat to the poor rural regions of several countries in Latin America. The current situation in Brazil requires renewed attention due to its high diversity of triatomine species and to the rapid and drastic environmental changes that are occurring. Using the biology, behaviour and diversity of triatomines as a basis for new strategies for monitoring and controlling the vectorial transmission are discussed here. The importance of ongoing long-term monitoring activities for house infestations by T. infestans, Triatoma brasiliensis, Panstrongylus megistus, Triatoma rubrovaria and R. prolixus is also stressed, as well as understanding the invasion by sylvatic species. Moreover, the insecticide resistance is analysed. Strong efforts to sustain and improve surveillance procedures are crucial, especially when the vectorial transmission is considered interrupted in many endemic areas.

Development of in vitro bioanalysis technique for individual monitoring of {sup 32}P; Desenvolvimento de técnicas de bioanálise in vitro para monitoração individual de {sup 32}P

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almeida, Ana Paula F. de; Dantas, Bernardo M.; Sousa, Wanderson O., E-mail: bmdantas@ird.gov.br [Instituto de Radioproteção e Dosimetria /Divisão de Dosimetria, Rio de Janeiro-RJ (Brazil)

2017-07-01

{sup 32}P is usually handled in the form of liquid unsealed sources in medical facilities, in research and teaching institutions, and in industrial radiopharmaceutical production plants. Such practices represent a risk of internal exposure in routine activities and in case of accidents. The estimation of {sup 32}P incorporation can be accomplished through in vitro bioassay. This paper presents a methodology to analyze {sup 32}P in biological samples, applicable to internal individual monitoring using liquid scintillation technique. Based on the experimental results it is possible to conclude that the technique presents enough sensitivity to detect activities that result in committed effective dose in the order of 1 mSv. (author)

Developmental biology, the stem cell of biological disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Scott F

2017-12-01

Developmental biology (including embryology) is proposed as "the stem cell of biological disciplines." Genetics, cell biology, oncology, immunology, evolutionary mechanisms, neurobiology, and systems biology each has its ancestry in developmental biology. Moreover, developmental biology continues to roll on, budding off more disciplines, while retaining its own identity. While its descendant disciplines differentiate into sciences with a restricted set of paradigms, examples, and techniques, developmental biology remains vigorous, pluripotent, and relatively undifferentiated. In many disciplines, especially in evolutionary biology and oncology, the developmental perspective is being reasserted as an important research program.

Integrating biological indicators in a Soil Monitoring Network (SMN to improve soil quality diagnosis - a case study in Southern Belgium (Wallonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krüger, I.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Description of the subject. Soil organisms and their activities are essential for soil ecosystem functioning and they can thus be used as pertinent indicators of soil quality. Recent efforts have been undertaken to include biological indicators of soil quality into regional/national monitoring networks. Objectives. The aim of this study was to provide a first dataset of six biological indicators and two eco-physiological quotients for two landscape units in Wallonia. These spatial units are characterized by homogeneous climate conditions, soil type, land-use and management (here, grasslands in the Ardennes, and croplands in the Loam Region. Method. Respiration potential, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, net nitrogen mineralization, metabolic potential of soil bacteria and earthworm abundance were measured at a total of 60 sites in two different landscape units (LSU. Variability within each LSU was studied. Data was synthesized through calculation of a comprehensive score and presentation as radar plots. Results. All selected biological indicators were significantly higher under grassland than under cropland soils, highlighting the biological indicators' power of discrimination between main land use types. Variability within LSU depended on the biological indicator and was generally higher in grassland than in cropland soils. Each site could unambiguously be assigned to its landscape unit based on its calculated comprehensive score. Radar plots allowed an assessment of the distribution of values within a landscape unit at a glance. Conclusions. The pilot-study defined the first baseline values for agricultural soils in Wallonia and laid the foundation for a monitoring network of biological soil quality.

Ratiometric analysis of fura red by flow cytometry: a technique for monitoring intracellular calcium flux in primary cell subsets.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily R Wendt

Full Text Available Calcium flux is a rapid and sensitive measure of cell activation whose utility could be enhanced with better techniques for data extraction. We describe a technique to monitor calcium flux by flow cytometry, measuring Fura Red calcium dye by ratiometric analysis. This technique has several advantages: 1 using a single calcium dye provides an additional channel for surface marker characterization, 2 allows robust detection of calcium flux by minority cell populations within a heterogeneous population of primary T cells and monocytes 3 can measure total calcium flux and additionally, the proportion of responding cells, 4 can be applied to studying the effects of drug treatment, simultaneously stimulating and monitoring untreated and drug treated cells. Using chemokine receptor activation as an example, we highlight the utility of this assay, demonstrating that only cells expressing a specific chemokine receptor are activated by cognate chemokine ligand. Furthermore, we describe a technique for simultaneously stimulating and monitoring calcium flux in vehicle and drug treated cells, demonstrating the effects of the Gαi inhibitor, pertussis toxin (PTX, on chemokine stimulated calcium flux. The described real time calcium flux assay provides a robust platform for characterizing cell activation within primary cells, and offers a more accurate technique for studying the effect of drug treatment on receptor activation in a heterogeneous population of primary cells.

A comparative study of two advanced spraying techniques for the deposition of biologically active enzyme coatings onto bone-substituting implants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jonge, Lise T. de; Ju, J.; Leeuwenburgh, S.C.G.; Yamagata, Y.; Higuchi, T.; Wolke, J.G.C.; Inoue, K.; Jansen, J.A.

2010-01-01

Surface modification of implant materials with biomolecule coatings is of high importance to improve implant fixation in bone tissue. In the current study, we present two techniques for the deposition of biologically active enzyme coatings onto implant materials. The well-established thin film ElectroSpray Deposition (ESD) technique was compared with the SAW-ED technique that combines high-frequency Surface Acoustic Wave atomization with Electrostatic Deposition. By immobilizing the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) onto implant surfaces, the influence of both SAW-ED and ESD deposition parameters on ALP deposition efficiency and ALP biological activity was investigated. ALP coatings with preserved enzyme activity were deposited by means of both the SAW-ED and ESD technique. The advantages of SAW-ED over ESD include the possibility to spray highly conductive protein solutions, and the 60-times faster deposition rate. Furthermore, significantly higher deposition efficiencies were observed for the SAW-ED technique compared to ESD. Generally, it was shown that protein inactivation is highly dependent on both droplet dehydration and the applied electrical field strength. The current study shows that SAW-ED is a versatile and flexible technique for the fabrication of functionally active biomolecule coatings.

Monitoring Nuclear Facilities Using Satellite Imagery and Associated Remote Sensing Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafitte, Marc; Robin, Jean‑Philippe

2015-01-01

The mission of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) is “to support the decision making and actions of the European Union in the field of the CFSP and in particular the CSDP, including European Union crisis management missions and operations, by providing, at the request of the Council or the European Union High Representative, products and services resulting from the exploitation of relevant space assets and collateral data, including satellite and aerial imagery, and related services”. The SatCen Non‑Proliferation Team, part of the SatCen Operations Division, is responsible for the analysis of installations that are involved, or could be involved, in the preparation or acquisition of capabilities intended to divert the production of nuclear material for military purposes and, in particular, regarding the spread of Weapons of Mass destruction and their means of delivery. For the last four decades, satellite imagery and associated remote sensing and geospatial techniques have increasingly expanded their capabilities. The unprecedented Very High Resolution (VHR) data currently available, the improved spectral capabilities, the increasing number of sensors and ever increasing computing capacity, has opened up a wide range of new perspectives for remote sensing applications. Concurrently, the availability of open source information (OSINF), has increased exponentially through the medium of the internet. This range of new capabilities for sensors and associated remote sensing techniques have strengthened the SatCen analysis capabilities for the monitoring of suspected proliferation installations for the detection of undeclared nuclear facilities, processes and activities. The combination of these remote sensing techniques, imagery analysis, open source investigation and their integration into Geographic Information Systems (GIS), undoubtedly improve the efficiency and comprehensive analysis capability provided by the SatCen to the EU stake‑holders. The

Expert system and process optimization techniques for real-time monitoring and control of plasma processes

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jie; Qian, Zhaogang; Irani, Keki B.; Etemad, Hossein; Elta, Michael E.

1991-03-01

To meet the ever-increasing demand of the rapidly-growing semiconductor manufacturing industry it is critical to have a comprehensive methodology integrating techniques for process optimization real-time monitoring and adaptive process control. To this end we have accomplished an integrated knowledge-based approach combining latest expert system technology machine learning method and traditional statistical process control (SPC) techniques. This knowledge-based approach is advantageous in that it makes it possible for the task of process optimization and adaptive control to be performed consistently and predictably. Furthermore this approach can be used to construct high-level and qualitative description of processes and thus make the process behavior easy to monitor predict and control. Two software packages RIST (Rule Induction and Statistical Testing) and KARSM (Knowledge Acquisition from Response Surface Methodology) have been developed and incorporated with two commercially available packages G2 (real-time expert system) and ULTRAMAX (a tool for sequential process optimization).

Liquid membrane extraction techniques for trace metal analysis and speciation in environmental and biological matrices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ndungu, Kuria

1999-04-01

In this thesis, liquid-membrane-based methods for the analysis of trace metal species in samples of environmental and biological origin were developed. By incorporating extracting reagents in the membrane liquid, trace metal ions were selectively separated from humic-rich natural waters and urine samples, prior to their determination using various instrumental techniques. The extractions were performed in closed flow systems thus allowing easy automation of both the sample clean-up and enrichment. An acidic organophosphorus reagent (DEHPA) and a basic tetraalkylammonium reagent (Aliquat-336) were used as extractants in the membrane liquid to selectively extract and enrich cationic and anionic metal species respectively. A speciation method for chromium species was developed that allowed the determination of cationic Cr(III) species and anionic CR(VI) species in natural water samples without the need of a chromatographic separation step prior to their detection. SLM was also coupled on-line to potentiometric stripping analysis providing a fast and sensitive method for analysis of Pb in urine samples. A microporous membrane liquid-liquid extraction (MMLLE) method was developed for the determination of organotin compounds in natural waters that reduced the number of manual steps involved in the LLE of organotin compounds prior to their CC separation. Clean extracts obtained after running unfiltered humic-rich river water samples through the MMLLE flow system allowed selective determination of all the organotin compounds in a single run using GC-MS in the selected ion monitoring mode (SIM) 171 refs, 9 figs, 4 tabs

Indexed bibliography on tritium: its sources and projections, behavior, measurement and monitoring techniques, health physics aspects, and waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, M.N.; Holoway, C.F.; Houser, B.L.; Jacobs, D.G.

1975-08-01

References are presented to the world literature on sources of tritium in the environment, the migration of tritium in the environment and uptake by biological materials, monitoring methods, health aspects, and radioactive waste management. Subject, author, and permuted title indexes are included. (U.S.)

Techniques to assess biological variation in destructive data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tijskens, L.M.M.; Schouten, R.E.; Jongbloed, G.; Konopacki, P.J.

2018-01-01

Variation is present in all measured data, due to variation between individuals (biological variation) and variation induced by the measuring system (technical variation). Biological variation present in experimental data is not the result of a random process but strictly subject to deterministic

A comparison of biological effect and spray liquid distribution and deposition for different spray application techniques in different crops

OpenAIRE

Larsolle, Anders; Wretblad, Per; Westberg, Carl

2002-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare a selection of spray application techniques with different application volumes, with respect to the spray liquid distribution on flat surfaces, the deposition in fully developed crops and the biological effect. The spray application techniques in this study were conventional spray technique with three different nozzles: Teelet XR, Lechler ID and Lurmark DriftBeta, and also AirTec, Danfoil, Hardi Twin, Kyndestoit and Släpduk. The dynamic spray liquid ...

Comparison of optical coherence tomography, the pulsed photoacoustic technique, and the time-of-flight technique in glucose measurements in vitro

OpenAIRE

Kinnunen, M. (Matti)

2006-01-01

Abstract The development of a non-invasive glucose monitoring technique is very important because it would tremendously diminish the need to puncture the skin when taking blood samples and help diabetic patients in controlling their blood glucose levels and in treating Diabetes Mellitus. The focus of this thesis is on measuring the effect of glucose on the light scattering properties of a tissue-simulating phantom and biological tissues in vitro. Optical coherence tomography (OCT), the pul...

Automated Miniaturized Instrument for Space Biology Applications and the Monitoring of the Astronauts Health Onboard the ISS

Science.gov (United States)

Karouia, Fathi; Peyvan, Kia; Danley, David; Ricco, Antonio J.; Santos, Orlando; Pohorille, Andrew

2011-01-01

Human space travelers experience a unique environment that affects homeostasis and physiologic adaptation. The spacecraft environment subjects the traveler to noise, chemical and microbiological contaminants, increased radiation, and variable gravity forces. As humans prepare for long-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and beyond, effective measures must be developed, verified and implemented to ensure mission success. Limited biomedical quantitative capabilities are currently available onboard the ISS. Therefore, the development of versatile instruments to perform space biological analysis and to monitor astronauts' health is needed. We are developing a fully automated, miniaturized system for measuring gene expression on small spacecraft in order to better understand the influence of the space environment on biological systems. This low-cost, low-power, multi-purpose instrument represents a major scientific and technological advancement by providing data on cellular metabolism and regulation. The current system will support growth of microorganisms, extract and purify the RNA, hybridize it to the array, read the expression levels of a large number of genes by microarray analysis, and transmit the measurements to Earth. The system will help discover how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and how pathogenic bacteria sometimes increase their virulence in space, facilitating the development of adequate countermeasures to decrease risks associated with human spaceflight. The current stand-alone technology could be used as an integrated platform onboard the ISS to perform similar genetic analyses on any biological systems from the tree of life. Additionally, with some modification the system could be implemented to perform real-time in-situ microbial monitoring of the ISS environment (air, surface and water samples) and the astronaut's microbiome using 16SrRNA microarray technology. Furthermore, the current system can be enhanced

Multi-Wave and Hybrid Imaging Techniques: A New Direction for Nondestructive Testing and Structural Health Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuhua Cheng

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In this article, the state-of-the-art multi-wave and hybrid imaging techniques in the field of nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring were comprehensively reviewed. A new direction for assessment and health monitoring of various structures by capitalizing the advantages of those imaging methods was discussed. Although sharing similar system configurations, the imaging physics and principles of multi-wave phenomena and hybrid imaging methods are inherently different. After a brief introduction of nondestructive evaluation (NDE , structure health monitoring (SHM and their related challenges, several recent advances that have significantly extended imaging methods from laboratory development into practical applications were summarized, followed by conclusions and discussion on future directions.

Report on the Biological Monitoring Program at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant December 1992--December 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kszos, L.A.; Hinzman, R.L.; Peterson, M.J.; Ryon, M.G.; Smith, J.G.; Southworth, G.R.

1995-06-01

On September 24, 1987, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet issued an Agreed Order that required the development of a Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). The goals of BMP are to demonstrate that the effluent limitations established for PGDP protect and maintain the use of Little Bayou and Big Bayou creeks for growth and propagation of fish and other aquatic life, characterize potential health and environmental impacts, document the effects of pollution abatement facilities on stream biota, and recommend any program improvements that would increase effluent treatability. The BMP for PGDP consists of three major tasks: effluent and ambient toxicity monitoring, bioaccumulation studies, and ecological surveys of stream communities (i.e., benthic macroinvertebrates and fish). This report includes ESD activities occurring from December 1992 to December 1993, although activities conducted outside this time period are included as appropriate.

The Effective Ransomware Prevention Technique Using Process Monitoring on Android Platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanggeun Song

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Due to recent indiscriminate attacks of ransomware, damage cases including encryption of users’ important files are constantly increasing. The existing vaccine systems are vulnerable to attacks of new pattern ransomware because they can only detect the ransomware of existing patterns. More effective technique is required to prevent modified ransomware. In this paper, an effective method is proposed to prevent the attacks of modified ransomware on Android platform. The proposed technique specifies and intensively monitors processes and specific file directories using statistical methods based on Processor usage, Memory usage, and I/O rates so that the process with abnormal behaviors can be detected. If the process running a suspicious ransomware is detected, the proposed system will stop the process and take steps to confirm the deletion of programs associated with the process from users. The information of suspected and exceptional processes confirmed by users is stored in a database. The proposed technique can detect ransomware even if you do not save its patterns. Its speed of detection is very fast because it can be implemented in Android source code instead of mobile application. In addition, it can effectively determine modified patterns of ransomware and provide protection with minimum damage.

Noble Gas Measurement and Analysis Technique for Monitoring Reprocessing Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

William S. Charlton

1999-01-01

An environmental monitoring technique using analysis of stable noble gas isotopic ratios on-stack at a reprocessing facility was developed. This technique integrates existing technologies to strengthen safeguards at reprocessing facilities. The isotopic ratios are measured using a mass spectrometry system and are compared to a database of calculated isotopic ratios using a Bayesian data analysis method to determine specific fuel parameters (e.g., burnup, fuel type, fuel age, etc.). These inferred parameters can be used by investigators to verify operator declarations. A user-friendly software application (named NOVA) was developed for the application of this technique. NOVA included a Visual Basic user interface coupling a Bayesian data analysis procedure to a reactor physics database (calculated using the Monteburns 3.01 code system). The integrated system (mass spectrometry, reactor modeling, and data analysis) was validated using on-stack measurements during the reprocessing of target fuel from a U.S. production reactor and gas samples from the processing of EBR-II fast breeder reactor driver fuel. These measurements led to an inferred burnup that matched the declared burnup with sufficient accuracy and consistency for most safeguards applications. The NOVA code was also tested using numerous light water reactor measurements from the literature. NOVA was capable of accurately determining spent fuel type, burnup, and fuel age for these experimental results. Work should continue to demonstrate the robustness of this system for production, power, and research reactor fuels

Autopsy tissues as biological monitors of human exposure to environmental pollutants. A case study: Concentrations of metals and PCDD/Fs in subjects living near a hazardous waste incinerator.

Science.gov (United States)

Domingo, José L; García, Francisco; Nadal, Martí; Schuhmacher, Marta

2017-04-01

Human biomonitoring is of tremendous importance to prevent potential adverse effects derived from human exposure to chemicals. Blood and urine are among the biological monitors more frequently used. However, biological matrices such as breast milk, hair, nails, saliva, feces, teeth, and expired air are also often used. In addition, and focused mainly on long-term exposure, adipose tissue and other human tissues like bone, liver, brain or kidney, are also used as biological monitors of certain substances, especially for long-term biomonitoring. However, for this kind of tissues sampling is always a limiting factor. In this paper, we have examined the role of autopsy tissues as biological monitors of human exposure to environmental pollutants. For it, we have used a case study conducted near a hazardous waste incinerator (HWI) in Catalonia (Spain), in which the concentrations of metals and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), have been periodically determined in autopsy tissues of subjects living in the area under potential influence of the facility. This case study does not show advantages -in comparison to other appropriate biomonitors such as blood- in using autopsy tissues in the monitoring of long-term exposure to metals and PCDD/Fs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preliminary studies for monitoring erosion in pipelines by the acoustic emission technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiboni, G.B. [Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana (UTFPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Programa de Pos-graduacao em Engenharia Mecanica e de Materiais; Marquardt, T.A.S; SantaMaria, V.A.R.; Silva, C.H. [Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana (UTFPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil)

2009-07-01

The aim of this work is to present some applications of Acoustic Emission (AE), which is a powerful technique for nondestructive testing in Tribology, treated here as tests of friction, wear by contact fatigue, wear by slip and wear by erosion. In this work a special attention is given to solid particle erosion and hydro-abrasive erosion, problems found in almost every pipeline that lead to local loss of material and eventually rupture of the line. The technique of AE can be used as an efficient online tool when, primarily, to monitor tribological aspects such as the rate of wear of materials, as well as detect the spread of flaws in them. In wear by erosion, specifically, the parameters of RMS and acoustic energy are capable of correlation with the type of mechanism for removal of material. As a preliminary goal, erosive tests were performed with gas (air) without erosive particles, monitored by AE, varying the surface of the samples and the internal diameter the nozzle, taking the differences in signs of AE. Correlation between parameters of RMS and amplitude were noticed with the variables of the tests, such as roughness and fluid velocity. The RMS parameter showed a exponential correction with the fluid velocity, however the amplitude signals had a linear behavior. The knowledge of these parameters is essential for the development of a system that is able to quantify the wear rate of a pipeline without taking it out of operation. (author)

Long-term temperature monitoring at the biological community site on the Nankai accretionary prism off Kii Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Goto, S.; Hamamoto, H.; Yamano, M.; Kinoshita, M.; Ashi, J.

2008-12-01

Nankai subduction zone off Kii Peninsula is one of the most intensively surveyed areas for studies on the seismogenic zone. Multichannel seismic reflection surveys carried out in this area revealed the existence of splay faults that branched from the subduction zone plate boundary [Park et al., 2002]. Along the splay faults, reversal of reflection polarity was observed, indicating elevated pore fluid pressure along the faults. Cold seepages with biological communities were discovered along a seafloor outcrop of one of the splay faults through submersible observations. Long-term temperature monitoring at a biological community site along the outcrop revealed high heat flow carried by upward fluid flow (>180 mW/m2) [Goto et al., 2003]. Toki et al. [2004] estimated upward fluid flow rates of 40-200 cm/yr from chloride distribution of interstitial water extracted from sediments in and around biological community sites along the outcrop. These observation results suggest upward fluid flow along the splay fault. In order to investigate hydrological nature of the splay fault, we conducted long-term temperature monitoring again in the same cold seepage site where Goto et al. [2003] carried out long-term temperature monitoring. In this presentation, we present results of the temperature monitoring and estimate heat flow carried by upward fluid flow from the temperature records. In this long-term temperature monitoring, we used stand-alone heat flow meter (SAHF), a probe-type sediment temperature recorder. Two SAHFs (SAHF-3 and SAHF-4) were used in this study. SAHF-4 was inserted into a bacterial mat, within several meters of which the previous long-term temperature monitoring was conducted. SAHF-3 was penetrated into ordinary sediment near the bacterial mat. The sub-bottom temperature records were obtained for 8 months. The subsurface temperatures oscillated reflecting bottom- water temperature variation (BTV). For sub-bottom temperatures measured with SAHF-3 (outside of

Multisensor remote sensing data and GIS techniques for monitoring preservation areas - A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimabukuro, Y.E.; Lee, D.C.L.; Dos Santos, J.R.

1992-01-01

The capability of remote sensing and Geographic Information System techniques for detecting and monitoring the anthropic alterations which sometimes occur in preservation areas is discussed. Attention is given to the Emas National Park in the southwest Goias State, Brazil. TM/Landsat data from July 29, 1988 (before a fire that occurred there) and August 14, 1988, (after the fire) and AVHRR/NOAA data obtained in this period covered by TM images were used to monitor the biomass burning. The TM images were registered to a topographic map in order to compile a data base including information such as drainage, roads, elevation, and vegetation type for this park. Pixels classified as burned areas using band 3 of AVHRR images were overlayed on the map derived from the data base. The integration of elevation, TM multitemporal data, and information derived from AVHRR images is found to be a valuable tool for managers in detecting and evaluating damage and in monitoring the regeneration process of land cover. 15 refs

Advances in Structural Biology and the Application to Biological Filament Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Popp, David; Koh, Fujiet; Scipion, Clement P M; Ghoshdastider, Umesh; Narita, Akihiro; Holmes, Kenneth C; Robinson, Robert C

2018-04-01

Structural biology has experienced several transformative technological advances in recent years. These include: development of extremely bright X-ray sources (microfocus synchrotron beamlines and free electron lasers) and the use of electrons to extend protein crystallography to ever decreasing crystal sizes; and an increase in the resolution attainable by cryo-electron microscopy. Here we discuss the use of these techniques in general terms and highlight their application for biological filament systems, an area that is severely underrepresented in atomic resolution structures. We assemble a model of a capped tropomyosin-actin minifilament to demonstrate the utility of combining structures determined by different techniques. Finally, we survey the methods that attempt to transform high resolution structural biology into more physiological environments, such as the cell. Together these techniques promise a compelling decade for structural biology and, more importantly, they will provide exciting discoveries in understanding the designs and purposes of biological machines. © 2018 The Authors. BioEssays Published by WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

Experience and improved techniques in radiological environmental monitoring at major DOE low-level waste disposal sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-09-01

A summary of routine radiological environmental surveillance programs conducted at major active US Department of Energy (DOE) solid low-level waste (LLW) disposal sites is provided. The DOE disposal sites at which monitoring programs were reviewed include those located at Hanford, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), Nevada Test Site (NTS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Savannah River Plant (SRP). The review is limited to activities conducted for the purpose of monitoring disposal site performance. Areas of environmental monitoring reviewed include air monitoring for particulates and gases, monitoring of surface water runoff, surface water bodies, ground water, monitoring of surface soils and the vadose zone, and monitoring of ambient penetrating radiation. Routine environmental surveillance is conducted at major LLW disposal sites at various levels of effort for specific environmental media. In summary, all sites implement a routine monitoring program for penetrating radiation. Four sites (INEL, NTS, LANL, and SRP) monitor particulates in air specifically at LLW disposal sites. Hanford monitors particulates at LLW sites in conjunction with monitoring of other site operations. Particulates are monitored on a reservationwide network at ORNL. Gases are monitored specifically at active LLW sites operated at NTS, LANL, and SRP. Ground water is monitored specifically at LLW sites at INEL, LANL, and SRP, in conjunction with other operations at Hanford, and as part of a reservationwide program at NTS and ORNL. Surface water is monitored at INEL, LANL, and SRP LLW sites. Surface soil is sampled and analyzed on a routine basis at INEL and LANL. Routine monitoring of the vadose zone is conducted at the INEL and SRP. Techniques and equipment in use are described and other aspects of environmental monitoring programs, such as quality assurance and data base management, are reviewed

Development and application of techniques for monitoring the bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greer, C.; Hawar, J.; Samson, R.

1994-01-01

A series of tests was designed to examine bioremediation potential in soil and to monitor performance during the treatment operation. Physical and chemical characterization of the soil provides information on the types of organics, their concentrations, and whether interfering materials are present. Microbiological assessment involves culturing of bacterial populations in the soil and examination of the colonies to determine which have the genetic potential to degrade the soil contaminants. Catabolic gene probes are used to survey viable bacteria from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Such soils consistently demonstrate the presence of bacteria possessing the genetic capability to degrade simple straight-chain alkanes and aromatics. Mineralization and respirometric studies are indicators of the biological activity in the soil, and can be directed at microbial activity towards specific substrates. Gene probe monitoring of a petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil during biopile treatment demonstrated that hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial numbers and activity were temperature dependent. The results showed that the activity of the indigenous bacteria as measured by hexadecane mineralization also correlated with the disappearance of the oil and grease. The application of this protocol has provided a useful means to screen contaminated soils for bacteria with desirable catabolic properties and to monitor pollutant-degrading bacteria during biotreatment. 15 refs., 10 figs

Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) technology for monitoring biological foaming in activated sludge: full scale plant verification.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, J W; Cha, D K; Kim, I; Son, A; Ahn, K H

2008-02-01

Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) technology was evaluated as a monitoring tool for quantification of Gordonia amarae in activated sludge systems. The fatty acid, 19:1 alcohol, which was identified as a unique fatty acid in G. amarae was not only confirmed to be present in foaming plant samples, but the quantity of the signature peak correlated closely with the degree of foaming. Foaming potential experiment provided a range of critical foaming levels that corresponded to G. amarae population. This range of critical Gordonia levels was correlated to the threshold signature FAME amount. Six full-scale wastewater treatment plants were selected based on a survey to participate in our full-scale study to evaluate the potential application of the FAME technique as the Gordonia monitoring tool. Greater amounts of signature FAME were extracted from the mixed liquor samples obtained from treatment plants experiencing Gordonia foaming problems. The amounts of signature FAME correlated well with the conventional filamentous counting technique. These results demonstrated that the relative abundance of the signature FAMEs can be used to quantitatively monitor the abundance of foam-causing microorganism in activated sludge.

A Wireless Fatigue Monitoring System Utilizing a Bio-Inspired Tree Ring Data Tracking Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi Bai

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Fatigue, a hot scientific research topic for centuries, can trigger sudden failure of critical structures such as aircraft and railway systems, resulting in enormous casualties as well as economic losses. The fatigue life of certain structures is intrinsically random and few monitoring techniques are capable of tracking the full life-cycle fatigue damage. In this paper, a novel in-situ wireless real-time fatigue monitoring system using a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique is proposed. The general framework, methodology, and verification of this intelligent system are discussed in details. The rain-flow counting (RFC method is adopted as the core algorithm which quantifies fatigue damages, and Digital Signal Processing (DSP is introduced as the core module for data collection and analysis. Laboratory test results based on strain gauges and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF sensors have shown that the developed intelligent system can provide a reliable quick feedback and early warning of fatigue failure. With the merits of low cost, high accuracy and great reliability, the developed wireless fatigue sensing system can be further applied to mechanical engineering, civil infrastructures, transportation systems, aerospace engineering, etc.

A wireless fatigue monitoring system utilizing a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shi; Li, Xuan; Xie, Zhaohui; Zhou, Zhi; Ou, Jinping

2014-03-05

Fatigue, a hot scientific research topic for centuries, can trigger sudden failure of critical structures such as aircraft and railway systems, resulting in enormous casualties as well as economic losses. The fatigue life of certain structures is intrinsically random and few monitoring techniques are capable of tracking the full life-cycle fatigue damage. In this paper, a novel in-situ wireless real-time fatigue monitoring system using a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique is proposed. The general framework, methodology, and verification of this intelligent system are discussed in details. The rain-flow counting (RFC) method is adopted as the core algorithm which quantifies fatigue damages, and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is introduced as the core module for data collection and analysis. Laboratory test results based on strain gauges and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors have shown that the developed intelligent system can provide a reliable quick feedback and early warning of fatigue failure. With the merits of low cost, high accuracy and great reliability, the developed wireless fatigue sensing system can be further applied to mechanical engineering, civil infrastructures, transportation systems, aerospace engineering, etc.

Self-Monitoring vs. Implementation Intentions: a Comparison of Behaviour Change Techniques to Improve Sleep Hygiene and Sleep Outcomes in Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Mairs, Lucinda; Mullan, Barbara

2015-10-01

This study seeks to investigate and compare the efficacy of self-monitoring and implementation intentions-two post-intentional behaviour change techniques-for improving sleep hygiene behaviours and sleep outcomes in university students. Seventy-two undergraduate students completed baseline measures of four sleep hygiene behaviours (making the sleep environment restful, avoiding going to bed hungry/thirsty, avoiding stress/anxiety-provoking activities near bed time and avoiding caffeine in the evening), as well as the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and the insomnia severity index (ISI). Participants were randomly assigned to an active-control diary-keeping, self-monitoring condition or completed implementation intentions for each behaviour. Post-intervention measurement was completed 2 weeks after baseline. Repeated measures analyses of variance found significant main effects of time for improvements in making the sleep environment restful and avoiding going to bed hungry or thirsty, as well as PSQI and ISI scores. Non-significant interactions suggested no group differences on any variable, except for increasing avoidance of stress and anxiety-provoking activities before bed time, for which only implementation intentions were found to be effective. Attrition was higher amongst self-monitoring participants. Both self-monitoring and implementation intentions appear to be promising behaviour change techniques for improving sleep hygiene and sleep. Future research should examine the acceptability of the two behaviour change techniques and the relationship with differential attrition, as well as effect size variations according to behaviour and technique. Researchers should investigate potential additive or interactive effects of the techniques, as they could be utilised in a complementary manner to target different processes in effecting behaviour change.

Strategies for Biologic Image-Guided Dose Escalation: A Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sovik, Aste; Malinen, Eirik; Olsen, Dag Rune

2009-01-01

There is increasing interest in how to incorporate functional and molecular information obtained by noninvasive, three-dimensional tumor imaging into radiotherapy. The key issues are to identify radioresistant regions that can be targeted for dose escalation, and to develop radiation dose prescription and delivery strategies providing optimal treatment for the individual patient. In the present work, we review the proposed strategies for biologic image-guided dose escalation with intensity-modulated radiation therapy. Biologic imaging modalities and the derived images are discussed, as are methods for target volume delineation. Different dose escalation strategies and techniques for treatment delivery and treatment plan evaluation are also addressed. Furthermore, we consider the need for response monitoring during treatment. We conclude with a summary of the current status of biologic image-based dose escalation and of areas where further work is needed for this strategy to become incorporated into clinical practice

Techniques for monitoring pileated woodpeckers.

Science.gov (United States)

Evelyn L Bull; Richard S. Holthausen; Marie G. Henjum

1990-01-01

Methods of locating pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) are described, including imitating pileated woodpecker vocalizations, identifying nest and roost trees, and finding foraging signs. Populations of pileated woodpeckers can be monitored by using (1) density of breeding pairs, (2) reproduction, and (3) presence or absence of birds. The...

Nanofluidic device for continuous multiparameter quality assurance of biologics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Sung Hee; Chandra, Divya; Ouyang, Wei; Kwon, Taehong; Karande, Pankaj; Han, Jongyoon

2017-08-01

Process analytical technology (PAT) is critical for the manufacture of high-quality biologics as it enables continuous, real-time and on-line/at-line monitoring during biomanufacturing processes. The conventional analytical tools currently used have many restrictions to realizing the PAT of current and future biomanufacturing. Here we describe a nanofluidic device for the continuous monitoring of biologics' purity and bioactivity with high sensitivity, resolution and speed. Periodic and angled nanofilter arrays served as the molecular sieve structures to conduct a continuous size-based analysis of biologics. A multiparameter quality monitoring of three separate commercial biologic samples within 50 minutes has been demonstrated, with 20 µl of sample consumption, inclusive of dead volume in the reservoirs. Additionally, a proof-of-concept prototype system, which integrates an on-line sample-preparation system and the nanofluidic device, was demonstrated for at-line monitoring. Thus, the system is ideal for on-site monitoring, and the real-time quality assurance of biologics throughout the biomanufacturing processes.

Report on the biological monitoring program at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, January--December 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)